Spinach, Goat Cheese and Tomato Quiche - from the pantry

I'm feeling rebellious. I've been meaning to make a quiche for a few days but have no intention of following a recipe or making a trip to the grocery store before I start cooking.  Surely I should be able to fill a tart shell with what I have in the house and to make it sublime.  I need my taste buds to sing with pantry staples. Isn't that the way it ought to be? I think great cooking is all about being creative, inventive and using what you have and not being tied to a certain method or recipe. I don't want to be told what flavors work together, I want to look in my fridge and pantry and put them together my way and you should put them together your way - because from all the blogs I read I bet they'll be fantastic - here's my way!

Pasta Puttanesca - My Way

Legend has it that Pasta Puttanesca was the dish of choice by Italian ladies of the night. It certainly is a very  satisfying dish for anyone who has worked up an appetite. I thought I'd spice up our midweek pasta  and make my own version of puttanesca.  I'm not quite sure how authentic this is and always feel a bit of a fraud  when conjuring up Italian dishes without a drop of Italian blood running in my veins. Happily everyone seemed to like this, even the picky eater which was surprising, I thought she might be put off by the anchovies but they seemed to melt into the sauce leaving a delicious saltiness.

Mango, Strawberry, Banana Smoothie

Do try this for breakfast, or for a pick-me-up during the day when the energy levels start to flag.  If you're making it for children there's a host of goodies you can slip in and they won't have the slightest idea. In principal I'm not a believer in hiding "good" foods in children's meals, however when it comes to smoothies I just can't resist.  They're the perfect foil for psyllium husks (great fiber) flaxseed or cod liver oil and if you're feeling really brave a "greens" powder.  How about you - are you above slipping the odd goody into your little ones drink?

Smoothies are a bit like soup, all you really need is a blueprint. I happened to have some fresh mango in the fridge and some frozen strawberries and bananas but you could just as easily use any other berry or fruit.  I do find however, that a frozen banana adds "stability" to a smoothie, it's always a good idea to have a bunch peeled and sitting in the freezer.

Avocado Toast with Harissa Paste for Breakfast, Lunch or Supper - or anytime!

I was in Barnes and Noble yesterday picking up books for the girls latest school project when I found I had quite naturally gravitated to the cookbook section.  My two addictions in life are cookbooks and coffee.  I simply can't manage without either. I tried once and became extremely grumpy. Anyway, I found a recipe in Daphne Oz's new book "Relish" (which is lovely) for toast with avocado and harissa paste.  As you might recall I ADORE harissa, a very spicy spice but I've never found it in a paste.  I shot off to the supermarket and scoured the shelves and there, to my delight, was harissa PASTE.  It looks like this:



I couldn't quite remember what the recipe called for exactly (I haven't actually bought the book yet but I expect I will succumb very soon) but thought I couldn't go too far wrong as there were only about 4 ingredients.  I LOVED it and could happily eat it for breakfast, lunch and supper - and anytime in between. If for some reason spice is not your thing - this isn't for you.  If you like a little spice go and track down some harissa paste and make toast!

Lemon Chicken with Sage from the Garden and an Unconventional Cooking Method

A perfectly cooked chicken - despite its cooking time!

Sage is one of my very favorite herbs with it's velvety leaves and pungent smell.  I love to eat it but also to pick bunches of it and have them in the kitchen.

The unconventional cooking method was temperature and time.  I had timed the roast to be perfectly cooked by the time I had dropped off and picked up various children in various places at various times.  I left one at home to make sure nothing caught fire. Then of course everyone's times changed, frantic calls were made to turn down the oven, turn up the oven, turn off the oven, turn on the oven.  When I returned home 2 hours later the chicken was NOT cooked through!!! It was turned up one last time for one last blast and came out beautifully.  The meat fell off the bone.