Presto Pasta Nights Event

I'm going to try my hand at another blogging event - Presto Pasts Nights.  This is a weekly event hosted by Ruth at 4everykitchen.com and guest hosts.  This week's guest host is Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes, so how could I resist.

I've resurrected a pasta dish from my archive way back in August 2009 - Pasta Bake with Pepperoni, Tomatoes and Garden Herbs.  As you can see from the title this recipe contains pancetta and pepperoni but for vegetarians this could be left out and mushrooms and courgette added instead.

It really is a quick, simple and tasty supper - so wish me luck!

No Crouton Required - April

Well, I can barely believe it but I've won a second No Croutons Required badge: success with my Walnut and Rosemary soda bread recipe - hurrah!

Back with a Challenge

Well, it's been a while but I'm back and the encouragement I needed was to be found in this month's No Croutons Required challenge.  Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes has been very generous this month allowing a choice of challenges and, as a July baby, I've gone back through my archives to find a delicious bread to enter the fray.



A reminder of July - beautiful sweet peas




Rosemary and Walnut Soda Bread - Yum!


The recipe of choice from my archive is Rosemary and Walnut soda bread, easy to make and bake and delicious with almost any soup - here's the link to the recipe.

Cook Book Clearance

It's the new year and a tradition time for clearing cupboards and cleaning at Holly Grove.  During this process I came to the conclusion that I just don't have enough space for my ever expanding cook book collection; but what to do about it?

Well, I could sort through and take the less well used books to the local charity shop or I could pass them on to family and friends.  So with my mind set on reducing the library I spent a few hours going through the titles and the result was...I can't bear to part with any of them!  But as a salve to my conscience I'm going to give one book away to a reader of my blog. 

To be in with a chance to receive my copy of Second Helpings of Roast Chicken by Simon Hopkinson (in very good condition) all you have to do is add a comment to this post and/or become a follower of Holly Grove Kitchen blog, please provide your email address in the comment and I'll contact the lucky recipient for their address details.  

I'll select the winner at random on 31st January - unfortunately I have to restrict this giveaway to UK readers (postage costs and all that!).

Festive Frost

At first I wasn't sure that this month's NCR challenge from Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes belonged on my kitchen blog - a festive photo challenge - it seemed more suitable for Holly Grove Garden.  Anyway after wrapping up like an eskimo and venturing out into the garden to take some winter wonderland photos I came back to a white onion soup and suddenly the challenge seemed most appropriate. There's nothing like an onion soup to warm the cockles of your heart and beat a nasty cold...except perhaps a delicious mug of hot chocolate!

Anyway the temperature here in the Shropshire countryside remains around minus 7 degrees and the hoar frost on the shrubs and trees makes a lovely picture...I hope you'll agree?

Winter Blue

And now here's the recipe for the white onion soup to warm us up after venturing out with the camera, yum!

Winter White

White Onion Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 oz butter
4 large onions, thinly sliced
1 small leek, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
250ml white wine
500ml vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
small bunch parsley, chopped 

Method
Melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Add the leek, onion and garlic and cook slowly with the lid on for about 10 minutes until softened but not browned.

Add the wine and bring to a fast boil.  Boil until the wine has reduced by about a third.  Add the stock, bay leaves and parsley and bring back to the boil, then turn the heat down.  Simmer for about 2 hours and then blend using a hand blender.  Seve with good brown bread.

Ingredient Challenge

Following my early success in the No Croutons Required monthly challenge last month I thought I'd risk it again and make a dish for the November challenge.  This one is more tricky as it's using an ingredient selected by Lisa that I've never cooked with before - quinoa.

From the reading that I've done on this grain, I understand that it can be used in place of couscous or rice in most recipes.  With this in mind, and given that I submitted a soup recipe for the October challenge, I've decided to try a salad this time.  The resulting dish was lighter than a couscous version and less grainy than a rice version; I'll be trying quinoa again perhaps in a soup next time.

Quinoa, Courgette and Dolcelatte Salad

Ingredients

75g quinoa

1 small courgette, sliced into ribbons using a vegetable peeler

quarter of a red onion, finely diced

75g cherry tomatoes, halved

1 small red chilli, finely diced

75g dolcelatte, cut into small cubes

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Cook the quinoa following the packet instructions.  Drain and refresh under cold running water.  Leave to drain and cool.

When cool, add the courgette ribbons, chopped onion, chilli, cherry tomatoes and dolcelatte cubes and toss together well.  Whisk the olive oil and red wine vinegar together and pour over the salad.  Toss together and there you have it!

Note: I didn't add any salt to this salad as the salty flavour of the cheese added enough flavour for me.

Tinned Tomatoes: No Croutons Required - Noodles

My entry for October's challenge -  Mushroom and Noodle Soup