rose bakery's quinoa and pepper salad

When i first started reading Breakfast Lunch Tea i was lusting after all the cakes and sweet things but as i'm trying to be healthy this week, the cakes will have to wait until the weekend!

So i made up a batch of this delicious salad instead to take into work for my lunches.

Rose Bakery's Quinoa and Pepper Salad - serves 6
170g (1 cup) quinoa
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow pepper (bell pepper), finely diced
2 medium onions, finely diced
1 courgette (zucchini), finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 dried red pepper (bell pepper), crushed
pinch of cumin (optional)
dash of lemon juice (optional)
chopped fresh parsley or coriander (cilantro) to garnish

Put the quinoa in a saucepan with 500ml (2 cups) water and a pinch of salt.

Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 15 mins, until the quinoa is soft and the water has been absorbed. Set aside.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the peppers, onions and courgette over a medium heat with a pinch each of salt and pepper, add the garlic and dried red pepper.

Keep stirring unitl the mixture just begins to turn soft - the vegetables must not soften too much - and the colours blend into the oil.

Check the seasoning (adding a little cumin or lemon juice if you wish).

Pour the sauce into the quinoa and mix well.

Garnish with parsley or coriander and serve warm or allow to cool to room temperature.


I've been enjoying it with some salad leaves, avocado and feta cheese - who says healthy needs to be boring?

banana smoothie

Most mornings, I start the day with a smoothie. I get up and leave home at early o'clock but have to have something to eat/drink or i end up feeling sick on the train to work. I then have a second proper breakfast at my desk, which keeps me going until lunchtime (ok then, elevensies!).

I was given a Hamilton Beach Classic Blender over 15 years ago (which has just made me think what i actually did just over 15 years ago... but that's a whole other story which i will have to come back to at some point) and it's still going strong. I know a recipe for a smoothie might seem a little simple, but this one from Breakfast Lunch Tea is my new favourite.

So here it is, and it's a lot quicker than making granola (especially for you miss baglady).


Classic Banana Smoothie - Serves 1
1 banana
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp apple juice
125ml natural yoghurt or soya milk (i use half and half)
Put all the ingredients in a food processor/blender and liquidize until smooth and frothy (does anyone remember Cresta? I can't say the word frothy without thinking about the large white polar bear wearing sunglasses)
Variations:
*Add a handful of strawberries in season
*Replace the apple juice with lime juice, the honey with 1tbsp sugar and add a handful of desiccated coconut (i would have to add a shot of rum with this one to make a delicious tropical breakfast cocktail, mmm...)
*Replace the banana with chunks of ripe mango and add a dash of lime juice to the apple juice
*Use any poached fruit and some of its liquid, especially apricots, and you won't need the apple juice

rose bakery's honey granola

I have been lusting after this book for some time now... I first saw it at the top of Gemma's book list on Dressing for Dinner. I added it to my shopping basket on Amazon a good month or so ago and had resisted completing the order until last week. I knew i had been neglecting my blog and was in need of some culinary inspiration! Anyone who knows me well, knows that i would love to run a little coffe shop one day - serving the freshest, tastiest coffee, home baked biscuits and cakes and healthy quiches and tarts.

For now, i will keep attempting to write the business plan and try out as many delicious recipes as possible so when the time comes, i will be ready!

After a weekend of cake-eating, i thought I'd better start with a healthy breakfast recipe:

Honey Granola - serves 6


Ingredients:
400g rolled oats
125g whole almonds (I used flaked)
100g sunflower seeds
100g pumpkin seeds
50g sesame seeds
1 tbsp wheatgerm
125ml sunflower oil
250ml honey (I used half honey and half maple syrup)
50g brown sugar (I left this out)
a few drops of vanilla extract
pinch of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 handful dried fruit, such as sultanas (golden raisins) or dates
milk or soya milk to serve (i like it stirred through natural yoghurt and drizzled with honey).

Preheat oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
Mix together the oats, almonds, seeds and wheatgerm in a large mixing bowl.
Place the sunflower oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a saucepan with 125ml watwe and bring up to just boiling point, stirring constantly.
Stir this into the oats and seeds and mix everything together well.
Spread out evenly onto a large baking tray (i line mine with parchment/bake-o-glide) and place in the oven for 1 hour. (i gave a little stir halfway through).
Turn the oven down to 140C/275F/Gas 1 and bake for a further hour (again, i gave a couple of stirs).
Finally, turn the oven off and allow the granola to dry out for a further hour or overnight.
Stir through the dried fruit and allow to cool completely before placing in sterilised jars (i also put some in cellophane bags to take in to work).
I have tried quite a few different granola recipes and what i like about this one is that the mixture stays quite loose rather than clumpy and it has a lovely toasty, nutty flavour.
I will try it with different combinations of fruit and nuts next time too - pecans and cranberries would be lovely.