Sweet Potato Chips (Fries)

"Hello my name is Laura and I'm addicted to Sweet Potato Chips".

Frequently I become addicted to a foodstuff.........at the moment it's sweet potato chips (fries for the international audience)!

As I see it, these are the benefits of my current sweet potato chip addiction:

1. Surely they are healthier than regular potato fries?!
2. Very quick to make, 20 minutes from raw ingredient to plate.
3. Like every other chip they taste awesome with Tomato Ketchup.

To make simply peel then cut a sweet potato into fries. Place in an oven tray with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle with salt. Cook in a high oven (230 degrees C) for 10-15 minutes or until crispy on the outside. Done.

Do you have a current food addiction?

Porridge: How Do You Eat Yours?

In recent years you may have noticed that porridge has made a serious comeback into the breakfast bowls of the UK:

• "Pret A Manger Boasted by Sales of 50000 Porridge Pots a Week" The Guardian
• "PepsiCo Invests £8.5 Million in Quaker Mill and Porridge Sales Soar" Pepsico

Porridge is even a frequent visitor to my breakfast bowl (I never thought I'd be saying that a few months ago). So why the renaissance? The population today is more health conscious and strangely porridge appears to be fashionable!

Probably for the "fashion" reason I had tried porridge for breakfast a few times. I didn't enjoy it and the experience reminded me of the porridge I ate as a child - a salty sloppy cement like substance.

So what changed? A few months ago someone made me porridge using just water. I loved it and have had it almost exclusively for breakfast since then.

After becoming a Porridge Eater I made a couple of important realisations:

• You all make and eat porridge completely differently.
• You seem very passionate about your porridge.

These points were emphasised during a recent coffee time discussion at work: 4 of us talking about porridge for 20 minutes and none of us cook or eat it the same. Points proved.

How do they eat theirs?

• One of my colleagues eats half a mixing bowl full of porridge mixed with sultanas and raisins approximately 3 hours before a long run. He makes it with 1 part oats, 2 parts water and 1 part milk. He adds more milk to the bowl when serving and loves it when the porridge floats in the milk.
• Another makes it with half water and half milk. And enjoys adding sugar and milk once served.
• Rather unfortnately my third colleague has no idea how his is made, his wife makes it. However, he recently found out that after 25 years of believing his porridge was cooked with salt it actually hadn't been.

How do I eat mines?

• I make mine with water only. 2 parts water to 1 part rolled oats.
• I serve it with Acacia honey and fresh fruit. My favourite being blackberries. 

This leaves one question. How do you eat yours?

Weekend Food Highlight #2

This weekend's food highlights were definitely a couple of fabulously simple breakfasts!


Breakfast Number 1: Banana and Oat Shake

I generally get some hard and fast exercise in first thing on a Saturday morning - allows me enjoy the weekend relatively guilt free. Afterwards I have a small brunch to help me recover. This Saturday I had a Banana and Oat Shake - absolutely delicious! I'm not a massive fan of smoothies or milkshakes but I really enjoyed this one.

Blend the following ingredients: 1 banana, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, dribble of honey, 1.5 tablespoon of rolled oats and rounghly 250ml of milk. Done.

This shake was inspired by the wonderful 'A Wee Bit of Cooking'.


Breakfast Number 2: Poached Eggs on Organic Caraway and Rye Toast


I'm lucky enough to live within a five minute walk of a gorgeous Organic Bakery. I bought a Caraway and Rye loaf there on Saturday.  For breakfast on Sunday I poached a couple of eggs and served them on a couple of slices of the Caraway and Rye bread toasted. The flavour of the Caraway just worked with the poached eggs. Gorgeous.

How to Make Hummus

Given my recent exploits in the Middle East this post was inevitable!

I love making my own hummus. It's very satisfying. The satisfaction was added to here as I made Pita bread to eat it with.

Here's how I make Hummus (me and the rest of the world).

Ingredients:

1 x tin of chick peas
2 x tablespoons of tahini
2 x crushed cloves of garlic
2 x tablespoons of olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 a teaspoon of cumin

Boil the chick peas until soft.

Then drain the chick peas.

Add the chick peas along with the remaining ingredients to a blender (I used my Cuisine Systeme 4200). Pulse until all the ingredients are combined to form a paste.

Add a couple of tablespoons of water and pulse again until the consistency is a smooth wet paste. Salt to taste.  Save the water from the tin of chick peas and add here, you may need to repeat this step a couple of times to get the right consistency.

Done.

I recently served this Hummus with homemade Pita Bread, made using this recipe. This was relatively successful, although I feel the recipe requires a little more salt than stated.

If you've never made your own Hummus please do it!

Scallops with Bacon and Cauliflower Puree

Scallops are one of my favourite ingredients. I regularly cook them at home for pasta dishes.

This recipe is fairly simple yet delicious and an impressive starter for any of your dinner guests. This combination of scallops, bacon and cauliflower is a match made in heaven and was inspired by a dish I had at Chardon D'Or a couple of years ago.


Ingredients (serves 4):

• For the puree: 1/2  cauliflower, milk, 1/2 onion, few cloves, 2 bay leaves, knob of butter.
• 12 scallops.
• 8 slices of streaky bacon.

I used this recipe from the BBC for the cauliflower puree. The subtle flavour of the cloves works nicely. I need to perfect a smoother puree.


Dry fry the bacon until crispy. Remove any excess oil before serving.


Sear the scallops in a little olive oil. A couple of minutes on each side is enough.


To serve smear a layer of the puree on the plate and delicately place the scallops and bacon on top. I added a little cress. Simple.

Weekend Food Highlight

Thought I should share a quick weekend food highlight with you.

I had an afternoon out with my Mum and Gran on Sunday. We enjoyed lots of cups of tea with a fabulous meringue. But the real food highlight was popping into Overton Farm Shop. I bought, among other things, a Romanesco. This interesting and beautiful vegetable is a cross between a Cauliflower and a Brocoli and I love them. I steamed it and ate it with a delicious Lamb Gigot Chop and some Roast Potatos (inspired by A Wee Bit of Cooking).

What was your weekend food highlight?

PS I love Overton Farm Shop! Great selection of vegetables and meats.

To Do List: 3 Months To Go

It's the 1st of October, only three months left of 2011.

I've created a "3 Months To Go To Do List" - a list of food related goals I'd like to achieve by the end of 2011.

• Eat in a Michelin Star Restaurant. I'll need to wait until my husband is home from Dubai for Christmas for this one. Most likely to go to The Kitchin. Looking forward to it!
• Make Macaroons. This has been on my to do list for quite some time!  
• Lose 14lbs. I can't believe I've actually written this down, I'm going to have to do it now. 
• Make two new recipes a month. Not entirely sure how ambitious this one is. 
• Cook Duck. Surprisingly I've never cooked duck before.

I'll let you know how I get on. Wish me luck!  

PS What's still on your 2011 to do list?