Orange and Carrot Cake

Some cakes are very easy to make, this is one of them. I brought this over to a friend’s the other day, and although the instructions had been to bring chocolates it seemed to go down very well.

You could easily use cinnamon instead of cardamom, and ordinary white sugar instead of golden.

2 eggs

180g golden sugar

60g butter

120g flour (I used Dove’s Farm gluten free white flour)

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon xantham gum

⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom

180g peeled carrots

zest of 1 orange

butter for greasing the tin

7 tablespoons icing sugar

1 tablespoon orange juice

Pre-heat your oven to 200^oC, and grease a 20cm round baking tin.

Place the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer. Melt the butter, and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes. Add the butter to the eggs and sugar, and whisk well. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, and sift these into the wet mix. Use the electric mixer again until you have a smooth dough.

Grate your carrots and zest the orange, and add these to the dough. Once all the ingredients are well mixed, pour the dough into a greased baking tin. Bake on 200^oC for about 30 minutes, until the cake is baked and a skewer comes out clean when you do the skewer test.

Remove the cake from the oven, and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Leave the cake to cool completely.

When the cake is cool you can add the icing. Sift the icing sugar into a small bowl. Add the orange juice, a little bit at a time, and stir well. You may not need all the liquid, which is why it is useful to add a little at a time. It’s always easier to add more liquid than to rescue the icing when it has become too wet.

Pour the icing over the cake, and use a palette knife to spread it evenly over the cake. Leave it to set before serving.

Creamy Spinach Sauce

Creamy sauces go with lots of things, like jacket potatoes, pasta, or even in a vegetable pie. I had this sauce with my pasta last night, after a very stressful day at work. And it did the trick, I felt a lot better after some comfort food, curled up on the sofa with my book.

The herbs can be varied, as can the flour, you can use ordinary flour, or gluten free flour, or corn flour … the list goes on and on. This works quite well though, it gives an interesting texture.

Serves 2

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons ground rice

450ml milk

a pinch each of salt and pepper

1 mild green chilli (seeds removed)

80g wensleydale cheese with onion and chives

100g spinach

6 large leaves of fresh basil

1 sprig of fresh thyme

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the ground rice, and stir well. Gradually add the milk and whisk until you have a smooth liquid. Add the salt and pepper to taste, and let the liquid boil for a few minutes so that it thickens. Finely chop the chilli, and remove the seeds (or leave them in if you prefer a hotter taste). Add the chilli to the sauce.

Grate the cheese and add it to the sauce. Add the spinach and herbs a few minutes before the sauce is ready to be served. You don’t want to let the spinach boil for too long, as it looses its texture and becomes soft. If you serve the sauce while the spinach is still slightly crisp it gives a much more interesting texture.

Asparagus & Artichoke Risotto

Risotto is one of those things that is very easy and quick to make, and yet deliciously yummy.  It’s a perfect comfort food for rainy days, and even works well in warm weather, served with a glass of chilled wine. 

Serves 2

1 tablespoon butter

2 small shallots

1 clove of garlic

150g Arborio rice

160g asparagus

200ml white wine

120g artichoke hearts

900ml vegetable stock

100g parmesan

a few sprigs of fresh parsley

Melt the butter in a sauté pan or wide saucepan. Finely chop the shallots and garlic, and add to the butter. Sweat the shallots until they are soft and golden. Add the rice, and stir well until the rice has a slightly glossy look. Chop the asparagus into 1cm long pieces, and add to the shallots. Add a little bit of vegetable stock, and stir. As the rice soaks in the liquid, gradually add more, little by little.

Once you have added about half the vegetable stock, add the wine, and then continue to add stock. It will take about 30 minutes or so before the rice is cooked. When the rice is almost done (test the softness, it should be soft but not mushy), add the artichoke hearts. You can get jars ready cooked ones in olive oil in most supermarkets.  

When the risotto is ready to be served, add about half the parmesan, and stir it in. Serve the rest of the parmesan and the parsley with the risotto.

The Joys of Sprouting Seeds

My packed lunches back in the days of primary school always attracted a lot of attention. (Norwegian schools don’t provide meals, so every child brings their own packed lunch.) Most kids bring sandwiches of some description, and that is what my packed lunches were as well, but I often had these strange worm-like green things emerging from my food. These were sprouted seeds.

Step 1

Decide what to grow. There are gazillions of different seeds to choose from. You can sprout most seeds, just make sure they are edible. Some companies sell seeds and seed mixes that are designed to be sprouted, with instructions on the packet. But there is no reason why you have to use these, your imagination is the limit.

Step 2

Pour a tablespoon of seeds into a jar. This doesn’t look much, but they grow more than you would think. As a rule, the smaller the seeds, the less you should use at one time.

Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours. This kick-starts the growing. I use a sprouting-jar, but there is no need to buy any specialist equipment, you can use a jam jar or a plastic bottle with the top cut off. You will also need a small tea-towel and an elastic band. Place the tea-towel over the top of the jar/bottle, and fasten it with the elastic band.

Step 3

Drain the seeds, and place the jar upside down so any residual water runs out: you don’t want a soggy soup gathering in the bottom of the jar. The best way to empty the jar is to use the tea-towel as a sieve, to let the water escape but keeping the seeds in the jar.

Cover the jar with a towel to keep it dark for the first 24 hours. This encourages the sprouting.

Step 4

The seeds want to be rinsed twice a day while they are growing. This is so that they have access to clean water, which makes them grow more, and also to clean them to avoid fungus settling and growing. Each time you rinse them; fill the jar with water, and then empty the jar. Repeat three times, and then leave the jar upside down.

Step 5

Repeat step 4 for three to four days, depending on the type of seed. Some grow quicker than others. They are ready when there are little green leaves emerging at the top of each sprouted seed.

Step 6

Start using your seeds. You can put them in the fridge to make them last longer. I find that they keep longer if you rinse them once a day even after they are ready sprouted.

Lunch Salad with Feta Cheese

When making salads I often don’t bother measuring things, a bit of difference from time to time just makes them more interesting. And also, salads are kind of the free spirits of the food world; they shouldn’t be too restrained by pre-prescribed rules. Find a salad box that is about the right size for your appetite, and fill it as full as you think you need. You can add the vinaigrette right away, or you can keep it in a separate small container and add it immediately before your meal.

Lettuce

Cucumber

Cherry Tomatoes

Radishes

Yellow pepper

Red onion

Olives

Feta Cheese

Fresh parsley

Sprouted seeds

Red wine vinegar

Olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Slice the vegetables and cheese, and place them all in a lunch-box or on a plate. Mix the vinegar, oil and black pepper, and add to the salad.

Oat Cakes with Tomatoes & Olives

These oatcakes have the sort of taste that goes well with a rustic look, which is just as well, because I usually decide I need oatcakes late at night, and at that point I am not normally in the mood for making anything too dainty. They’re brilliant for snacking on, and also for breakfast with some cheese and dip.

Makes 20 oat cakes

200g oats

a pinch each of ground sea salt, ground black pepper and ground dried chilli

20g sun-dried tomatoes

15g olives

3 tablespoons butter

150ml water

Pre-heat your oven to 200^oC.

Measure the oats and place them in a bowl. Add the spices, finely chop the tomatoes and olives, and add these to the oats. Melt the butter and add to the oats. Finally add the water until the mixture becomes a workable dough. You may not need all the water.

Shape the dough into oatcakes, using a spoon to drop the dough on a greased baking tray, and flattening them with a spatula. They should be about 0.5cm thick to ensure that they bake evenly.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the cakes have turned golden in colour.

Quick Dill-Coated Polenta

I was very lazy last night; I came home late from work, and couldn’t really be bothered cooking anything. The only problem was that I was starving hungry, so something had to be done. As I was rummaging through my food-cupboard I discovered a packet of ready made polenta, and it turned out that I also had some frozen vegetables in the freezer. After some further investigation I decided on dill and parmesan to go with the polenta. The result was surprisingly tasty, and I ended up with a very enjoyable meal.

Serves 2 or 3 as a main course

1 packet ready made polenta (500g) or a similar amount if you make your own from scratch

2 tablespoons fresh dill

½ teaspoon ground sea salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon dried chilli

3 tablespoons parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil

Slice the polenta into 1cm thick slices. Place these in a bowl, and cover with chopped dill, salt, pepper and chilli. Grate the parmesan, and sprinkle it over the polenta. Distribute the herbs, spices and cheese evenly around the polenta, and drizzle the oil over it all. Make sure all the polenta is covered, and leave it to marinade for 30 minutes or so (the longer you leave it the better the flavour, you could even leave it overnight if possible).

Place the polenta in a warn frying pan, pour the remaining marinade over it, and fry on medium heat for approximately 3 minutes on each side.

This can be served with any number of side dishes.

Mushroom Pâté

A while ago I made a mushroom pâté for some friends, and it proved a big hit, so when trying to make something interesting to add to my breakfasts this week, I suddenly thought of mushrooms. I couldn’t remember exactly what went into the pâté I made earlier, but I am fairly sure it included mushrooms and cream cheese, so this is my own take on the matter. I have tested it on some bread and in my lunch salad, and both worked very well. I am sure it could also be used for other things. 

½ tablespoon butter

80g leeks

2 cloves garlic

270g chestnut mushrooms

freshly ground sea salt & black pepper to taste

200g cream cheese

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

Finely chop the leeks in a food processor. Heat the butter in a saucepan and add the chopped leeks. Sauté while you finely chop the mushrooms in the food processor. Add the mushrooms to the pan, and also add salt and pepper to taste. Leave to simmer until the mushrooms are cooked and have turned a darker colour.

Spread the mixture thinly in a tray or on a plate, so that it cools down. When it is cool, add the cheese and mix well until you have got a smooth paste. Taste, add more spices if necessary, and finally add the parsley. It can be either sprinkled on top or stirred into the pâté.

The pâté will keep, refrigerated, in an airtight container for approximately 4 to 5 days.