Carrot and Coriander Soup

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

This soup has a lovely creamy texture, but without the cream so it’s good for you! I have a real aversion to coriander leaf, but strangely I don't mind coriander seeds which does add a nice flavour and compliments the carrots. You could use ground coriander, but I like the lemony fragrance of the seeds and it’s fun to smash them to smithereens!

This made enough for about 5-6 servings.

Ingredients:

• 25g (1oz) butter
• 1 Tablespoon crushed coriander seeds
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 rashers of lean bacon, cut into pieces
• 454g (1lb) carrots, sliced
• 25g (1oz) long grain rice
• 1.2 litres (2 pints) vegetable stock (I just used Knorr Stock pots)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion, bacon and coriander seeds and cook over a gentle heat until the onions are soft - do not allow them to brown and if necessary half cover the pot with a lid. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
2. Add the carrots, rice, stock and seasoning. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
3. Liquidise the soup until smooth, return to the saucepan and reheat if necessary.

COOK'S NOTES:

• Dry fry the coriander seeds to intensify their flavour and make them easier to grind.

Best Ever Chocolate Brownies

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

These brownies are truly decadent! They are super fudgy and squidgy and most definitely calorific but they are worth treating yourself. When they come out of the oven they are still really runny and undercooked, so they’re best when they’ve been in the fridge overnight and they’ve set a bit more.

My brother took these into work and his colleagues LOVED them! 3 of them have asked me to bake them a batch each!

Steve’s Mum likes to eat these with strawberries and cream as a nice dessert.

• Makes: 16 squares
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: top
• You will need: an 8-9 inch square tin, greased and lined with baking paper

Ingredients:

• 185g unsalted butter
• 185g dark chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Tesco value)
• 3 large eggs
• 275g caster sugar, golden if possible
• 85g plain flour (or ground almonds if you have a wheat intolerance)
• 40g cocoa
• 50g white chocolate, roughly chopped
• 50g milk chocolate, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
2. Put the butter and dark chocolate into a small bowl and place over a pan of hot water to melt. Allow to cool.
3. Beat the eggs and sugar for a few minutes using an electric hand mixer until pale, thick and mousse-like. This can take up to 5 minutes so be patient!
4. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
5. Sift the flour and cocoa into the combined mixtures and gently fold in. Stir in the chopped milk and white chocolate.
6. Pour into the lined tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the mixture no longer wobbles when the tin is gently shaken. The top should be dark and have a shiny crust.
7. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for at least 1 hour before attempting to cut into squares.
8. Store in the fridge wrapped in foil for about a week, if it’s not eaten before then!

Pollinating Butternut Squash By Hand

Squash plants have two different flowers: male and female. For fruit to grow successfully, pollination needs to occur between the two different types of flower.

 

If your fruit is turning black and is rotting it means it hasn’t been pollinated properly.

The photo above shows the male flower, which is usually on a long straight stem coming from the main plant.

If you look inside, you will see they have a single stamen on the with pollen on it.

 

The photo above shows the female flower. You should be able to tell which ones are female flowers because they will have the fruits attached.

This one was closed, so I had to use my fingers to open it up. The female flower has a multi-stemmed stigma on the inside and without meaning to sound crude, it looks like the female form on the human anatomy.

In the above photo you can see where I’ve taken some pollen from a male flower stamen (the bright yellow powder) and rubbed it onto the female flower stigma. Try to get it onto all parts of the female stigma.

Try and check your plants every day to see if there are any female flowers that need pollinating. They tend to wilt quickly and then they fall off, leaving you with rotten fruits!