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.

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North African veggie casserole

I posted my lunch on Instagram the other day (as I do). Kimmie asked for the recipe, so here it is.

I have blogged the Baharat spice mix before, you can find it by following the link. If you can't be stuffed with that, buy something like Moroccan or Middle Eastern spice blend from the supermarket.

1 can lentils
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans (Edgell)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 cups cubed squash
2 celery stalks
1 olive oil
3 Tablespoons Baharat spice mix
1/2 preserved lemon
2 cups water
plain yogurt, mint or coriander to garnish

Heat oil on a medium-high heat, add onion and fry until soft. Add baharat spice mix, garlic and stir for a minute.

Add 3 tablespoons of the water (so the spices don't burn), squash and celery and stir until water is absorbed.
Pour in tomatoes and rest of water. Bring to the boil and reduce heat to medium low.

Add the drained and rinsed lentils and beans. Simmer all ingredients uncovered for 15 minutes or until squash is cooked. I usually leave it until the liquid is thick and saucy.

Finely chop preserved lemon rind and stir into the casserole.

Serve up garnished with a dollop of yogurt and torn up mint leaves or coriander.

• instead of squash, use pumpkin, sweet potato or eggplant
• swap out the lentils or beans for chick peas
• add some chilli for heat
• if you don't have preserved lemon, garnish at the end with lemon zest
• add some finely grated ginger with the spices for a flavour twist

-----Recipe adapted from the Maza recipe booklet-----

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In my hand #fmy52weeksofmemories

In my hand this week was a colander. It lives on the retaining wall of my veggie patch.

 

I planted purple climbing beans next to the cubby house after the sweet peas had finished.

 

It's been such a long, hot season. I squeezed a crop of purple climbing beans right at the end.

 

I made a bean salad with what I picked. The weird thing is when they are cooked, the purple beans turn green.

 

A salad that is fondly remembered from my childhood. Mum said she got it from an Italian friend Alina. It involves garlic, vinegar and olive oil.

 

I am getting a few tomatoes here and there as well. The weather has finally turned in the last week. I think Autumn is working it's way in and those lovely warm days are starting to become less and less. I am sad, I hate the cold. My capsicums have just decided to spring into action too. I hope there is enough warmth to see them to maturity.

 

I do not care how much it rains, I do not like the coldness in the breeze of the last week. I do not like it at all!

 

 

 

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Winter warmer soup #openslather

I have started making big pots of soup again, the days are getting very cold with icy winds straight from the southern ocean. Lunch for me has been good the past month. Yesterday I made a lentil and veggie soup, it was especially good with a ladle full over some baked fish, it was seriously good.

Gorgeous minestrone, made with an Italian dried soup mix.

 

When my sister and I first moved out of home, I wanted to make lasagne and my sister berated me because I didn't know how. "It's on the packet", she scowled at me, like I was some sort of idiot. Or she was just a bitch. My lips are sealed.....but all the same, and how was I supposed to know, the recipe was on the lasagne sheet packet, probably still is. This is the one I make now, I am a little older and wiser. I've even managed to make my own pasta. 

Soup making is not hard. I've been buying bags of dried split peas, lentils and soup mixes, there are recipes on the packet and they make great additions to winter soups. Tinned equivalents would work just as well. 

I usually make soup with whatever's available in the fridge, and it is a great thing to make when there are vegies perishing, begging to be used up. I even freeze stuff when it's getting almost past it to defrost later to use in soup and casseroles. A good start to any soup is onion, carrot and celery. They rest is whatever you have on hand

Note the ends of broccoli stalks. Flavour and veggie goodness. I freeze these too, for casseroles.
I even freeze the celery ends for soup or casserole. 

I fry the onion, garlic and bacon, then add chopped vegies and a
few bay leaves. They are my secret ingredient. Add half a cup of dried yellow split peas.
 Cover with stock or water. Slowly simmer away for an hour. Add brown rice and simmer
until rice is cooked.

I have been having my soup with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and chilli oil. I love chilli oil in this sort of soup. You can make it easy with some fresh chilli or dried, and olive oil. Keep the jar in the pantry. The oil will go a loverly red colour and be packed with a flavour punch.

I used to garden for an old Italian couple, they used to make me lunch. Old Georgio made me fried eggs with chilli oil on top one day with crusty bread. I thought it was the best thing I had ever tasted. 

The garden has closed down and no one is living there now. I have big dreams about that place, if only the universe would see fit to letting me win the lotto.

What is your favourite winter warmer soup? Have you got something earmarked for that big lotto win?

Green Bean Salad

I love this salad, it brings back great food memories from my mums kitchen and the spreads she put on our kitchen table. I could eat a whole bowl full of this stuff.

I have just started getting beans aplenty from the garden, this is the first thing I have done with them. We had them cold, but makes an good warm salad as well.

I made this using a couple of handfuls of fresh green beans straight from the garden, boiled for about 5 minutes, not even that. You can leave the beans whole or cut in half.

I finely chopped up a small clove of garlic and threw it on top of the drained beans, in a bowl.

Glugged about 1-2 tablespoon of olive oil on top and a dash of vinegar(maybe a teaspoon), and mixed it all up.

  Love, love, love it!