Pumpkin risotto and biscuits

After the pumpkin pasta, I was thinking of what else to make with it. So I decided to make a risotto. I roasted the pumpkin whilst I was making the risotto. The pumpkin was then stirred in at the end with the cheese and lemon. I saw a recipe for a risotto served with a pesto, I like the idea so I stole it! The basil plants are doing well enough that I can use them to make pesto. Still not bored of the pumpkin!

Pumpkin risotto

• 1 Small onion, chopped
• 200 g risotto rice
• 1 Wine glass of vermouth
  
• Vegetable stock (approx 500 ml)
• 1 Lemon
• Pecorino Cheese, 2tbsps
  
• Enough pumpkin for 2, chopped

Roast the pumpkin @ 180 degrees C for 30 mins.

Meanwhile, soften the onion in a little olive oil in a saucepan. Add the rice and cook for a couple of mins. Then add the vermouth. Once this has been absorbed add the veg stock one ladle at a time. Once the stock has been absorbed, add another ladle until the rice is cooked. Stir in the lemon juice, cheese and pumpkin. Serve with the pesto.

Basil Pesto

• 1 Large handful of basil
• 1 Large handful of pinenuts
• 2 Cloves of garlic
• Lemon juice
• Olive oil

Blitz in a food processor, using the olive oil and lemon juice to taste.

For a few weeks Andrew has been making gingerbread biscuits. So I decided to give Andrew a break and make some biscuits. I saw this recipe when I was having a read through some of Stonehead's older posts. These biscuits were dead easy to make and were very hard to resist when they came out the oven. This photo doesn't do them justice.

Mackerel and beetroot salad

This is my first post for a while. We are finally settled into the flat, though I keep opening the wrong cupboard for things! We have also been very busy in the kitchen, all will be explained in future posts.

Yesterday I was in the familiar situation of sitting in front of my laptop working on my thesis. Bored of MS Word, I was trying to work out what to have for dinner. I wanted to use up the beetroot we had. Then I remembered we had some smoked mackerel and dinner was sorted. I roasted the beetroot in a foil parcel with balsamic vinegar and olive oil until soft (about an hour). I dressed some lettuce, alfalfa sprouts and cucumber with some olive oil. I pre-boiled some new potatoes and sauteed them. I made a horseradish and yogurt dressing (1 tsp of horseradish sauce, 3 tbsp of yogurt). It was a good salad. It made me feel summery, even if the weather outside was anything but summery!


This week in the box we got:

• Beetroots
• Lettuce
• Courgettes
• Broad beans
• Turnips
• Cabbage
• Potatoes
• Onions
• Carrots
  

A New Experience

Last weekend we went to back to see Andrew's family in Oxfordshire. Going to Andrew's is always great, I always come home with a new recipe from Andrew's mum (Lynn). Who is the only person I know with more cookery books than me. On Saturday we went asparagus picking. This was a new experience for Andrew and I.

We picked just enough for Sunday lunch, which was roast lamb. The asparagus was griddled, it was lovely. This was my first asparagus of the season. Which is very unlike me. Usually as soon as British asparagus is in the greengrocers, its in my basket and shortly afterwards on my plate.

We left with lots of goodies, a tigerella tomato plant, some basil, blackberry jelly and some of Andrew's dad's (Adrian) blackberry vodka. Another flavoured vodka to add to the collection. We are looking forward to the soft fruit season, so we can make even more.

Here's Amy (Andrew's sister), Lynn (Andrew's mum) and I enjoying our time in the asparagus fields.

Once again, we had a great time in Thame and it went too quickly!

Are our fingers looking green to you?

On Sunday we started are first adventures in growing something for our plate. Its no secret that my google reader is full of cooking blogs. But its also full of people who grow their own produce, from Stonehead with his fields of wonderful produce to people like My Tiny Plot and Fresh as a Daisy who make the most of their smaller plots. The idea is that I read these blogs and learn lots of tips for the day we get our own little plot. I know what people are going to say we should get an allotment but we will be getting our PhD's soon, hopefully. And we don't know where we will be next.

So on Sunday we planted some tomatoes plants and herbs in some window boxes.



We also did a window box with some cut and come again salad leaves, including rocket. Have to say it brightens up the flat.

I have to say I was quite (I think Andrew will say that was a bit of an understatement) excited when I saw that the salad seeds had started to germinate. This could addictive, however we only have a finite number of window sills!!!!! This could be a limiting factor.