Growing broad beans this season? Here's two ways to use them.

I am well aware that broad beans are an acquired taste, and not everyone's cup of tea.

A bit like Brussels sprouts really. Both can be cooked up in the same way. If I had the choice, I'd choose broad beans, hands down.

Broad beans are easy, they are not fussy and easy as to grow.

At the start of Spring, choose a patch (a metre by a metre). Dig it over and sow some seed(about 12-16 seeds). You will soon be rewarded with loads of yummy beans.


1. Broad bean and bacon creamy pasta.

Boil up two cups of pasta shapes( I used curly macaroni here), in the last couple of minutes, add a cup of shelled broad beans. If they are large and older broad beans, you may have to peel the beans (once cooked), as the skins are usually tough and chewy.

While the pasta is cooking, fry off the bacon. Add the garlic and stir, add the cream and simmer for a few minutes until the cream starts to thicken. At this point add salt and pepper.

Add the pasta to the cream mixture, stir through and serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, if liked. One of my girls loves the stuff and won't eat pasta without it. 

2. Broad bean and bacon fry up.

This is one of my favourite broad bean side dishes, as it takes no time and is ready in a flash, and Oh. So. Tasty.

Slice a small onion, a few rashers of bacon and cook them on a medium heat until the onion is soft.
Add two cups of cooked broad beans and stir until combined and the beans have warmed through.

An InLinkz Link-up

My new favorite thing to eat

I have quit the community garden. I can't give myself to the gardens without sacrificing my own mental health. Just not doing it. Head. Brick wall. That is all I have to say about that.

I am working towards a healthier me. Except for the wine. You will never take the wine. It might be my undoing, where my weight is concerned.

I have found a favourite thing to eat though. It is a quick and easy lunch solution, as long as you have a decent head of lettuce on hand.

What's more it is delicious and satisfying.

Firstly you need to fry some bacon. I know, BACON. This is a BLT like you will never find, plus mine has cucumber. You could make it your own, and add whatever you like. It doesn't have to be bacon. I have used grilled chicken and pesto mayo, and it's just as good.

While your bacon or chicken is cooking, lay out a couple of good large leaves of lettuce. Lay some slices of cucumber and tomato down the middle, and a lashing of mayonnaise.

Have you ever tried to make your own mayo? It is easy as pie. This is the way I make homemade mayonnaise ever since I saw it on Masterchef. Works every time.

Lay some bacon or chicken on top and wrap it up. Eat. You could even have two!

An InLinkz Link-up

Australia Day breakfast at Beachport

We've been caravaning by the sea this long weekend. It's back home today, then Izzy starts her first full kindy year tomorrow! 

On Sunday, I attended my first Australia Day breakfast ever, in Beachport. The breaky was delicious, it's a credit to the Beachport Lions Club and the perfect example that volunteers make the world go round.

Standing, singing and listening to the crowd sing the national anthem was awesome, followed by the presentation. I'll be sure not to miss another Australia Day breakfast if I can help it, just for the food alone!

How did you celebrate Australia Day?

Elaine Donaldson, receiving her Australia Day award.
An impressive young lady, Rachel Smith, won the young Australian of the year award,
and The Beachport Duck Race won the event of the year.

Mmmm, bacon!

Amazing cauliflower soup

Make this soup and I can guarantee your taste buds will thank you, it is awesome. Cauliflowers have been cheap the past couple of weeks, I picked one up on my last big shop, along with a leek. 

Little shite was stealing pieces of cauli, but she won't eat
cooked veggies!

120 grams bacon, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 leek (about 170 grams of) sliced

1 head cauliflower(850 grams)

6 cups of vegetable stock (vegeta brand)

Cook bacon for a few minutes on medium heat.

Add sliced leeks and saute for 5 minutes, until soft. 

Add cauli and vegetable stock.

Bring to the boil, then simmer with a lid on for 30 minutes.

Blitz with a stick blender, season and serve.

Cauliflower and leek soup with fried pancetta and chilli oil.
To.die.for.

When I received our family tax benefit top up, I treated us to some luxury food. Scallops, even though frozen, still yummy, and a small block of pancetta. Looking at this now, it could have done with some of those little rosemary flowers I posted yesterday. I used the cauli soup as a sauce, yum!

Leek, bacon and potato soup

Again we come home from Mums with veggie goodness! Perpetual leeks from her garden(I have them too, but not as good looking as these ones!), and spuds from Kalangadoo, no doubt given to her by a good friend from the town I grew up in as a kid.

Real brushed spuds, grown in volcanic dirt,  unlike the ones from this story featured in current affairs telly this week.

The obvious creation was Leek and potato soup. So this was my lunch on Wednesday, with all the trimmings, and it was delicioso(thank you google spell). I may have Spanish heritage but I can hardly speak or spell a word of it!

2 Tblspn olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 medium leeks, sliced

3 rashers bacon, chopped

5 medium potatoes, large diced

1 Litre water, or stock, you choose

Leaves from a sprig of thyme

Celery salt (this is what I threw in because I didn't have real celery on hand. If you do however, slice a stalk and throw it in when you fry up the leeks) 

Heat oil, add garlic, leeks and bacon and saute for about 5 minutes.

Add potato, thyme and water, bring to the boil and simmer rapidly for 20 minutes.

Plug in your stick blender and whiz until smooth as you like.

A couple of serving suggestions - 

Croutons and a sprinkling of paprika

Easy peasy croutons

Butter sliced bread, both sides.

Sprinkle on flavour, both sides. In this instance, I used mixed  dry herbs(out the garden) on one slice and finely grated parmesan on the other.

Cut into cubes and place on baking tray.

Bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes, or until desired crunchiness is reached.

Serve a small handful in middle of soup with a sprinkling of paprika. 

(any leftover croutons will store in an airtight container and are equally as scrumptious tossed in a salad!)

Crispy, Chunky, goodness.

Before blitzing soup, reserve a couple chunks of potato and leek per bowl.

Fry off a few strips of bacon until crispy good.

Serve in middle of bowl. Kapow!

Yumtious stuff right there peoples!

Spaghetti Carbonara

This was my pic for the Fat Mum Slim Photo a Day Challenge for the 13th of August - simple. It was also part of our dinner for that night. I needed something quick to go with our chops, and leftover salad (from the night before), and it is quick, it only takes as long as the pasta cooks. It's meant to be made with fettucine, but hey, I had spaghetti. 

You can add whatever ingredients you want. I have used up left over chicken and broccoli(I added this to the pasta pot towards the end), or added mushrooms when cooking the bacon.

Fettuccine Carbonara

280gr bacon, chopped

375gr fettucine

3 eggs yolks

1 cup cream

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

salt and pepper

Put pasta on to cook.

 Fry bacon until crisp, drain.

Beat together egg, cream and cheese.

Drain cooked pasta and combine with cream mixture and bacon.

Serve.