Bread, biscuits and walking

Did anyone else notice the rain? Oh, so it wasn't just me then......

Fed up with being cooped up again over the weekend due to the rather moist weather conditions, we set about baking.

I made bread - not as virtuous as it sounds! I have had a serious case of the wanties for a bread maker for ages and this year, for my birthday I received a rather tasty one.  Over the weekend our house had a delicious warm bready-scent tickling our taste buds.

Youngest fancied making scones but a quick foray into the baking cupboard revealed a grave deficiency of baking powder. We reached for a baking cook book and found ourselves a very tasty quick and easy biscuit  recipe. Youngest was soon at work, much dusting with flour and decorating of biscuits occurring.

He is taking after his mom (me!!) coz half way through the recipe he 'tweaked it' as he knows his dad and elder bro love raisins and sultanas in their biscuits so he hurled a huge handful in for them.
The were super yum!
So yummy that I have included the recipe below:
All butter cookies**

275g/10oz plain flour
90g/3 1/3oz caster sugar
10ml/2 tsp vanilla essence
200gm/7oz butter

• Mix flour and butter until looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
• Add sugar and vanilla and process until it forms a dough.
• At this point the recipe calls for the dough being rolled into a thick sausage and chilling for half an hour - trying telling that to an 11 year old......
• So we rolled little lumps into balls and flattened, then 'stamped' to make decorated biscuits.
• Bake at 200deg c/400deg f/gas mark 6. for 8 - 10 mins.
• Try to cool on a baking tray alternatively slap backs of hands as they sneak over to pinch still steaming hot biscuits.
• Scoff with copious amounts of tea as you watch the clouds clear and decide that now would be a good time to go for a quick walk.
• Don boots and grab camera and go!

Last few instructions are not necessary to make the biscuits - they were our optional extras!

We are lucky where we live, not far from our door is this wonderful spot. Not that you can see with all this lush growth but on the right of the spout is a cave, my two boys and a dog! Told you, you couldn't see them, you'd have to wait till winter before anything would be revealed.

The meadows were full of wild flowers and in the breeze the grass waved and undulated like huge sheets of water - it was cathartic to be able to get out - I think I was beginning to suffer cabin fever!

And suddenly it's Monday again- how does that happen?
How was your weekend?
Good?
Wet?
Productive?

Have yourselves a lovely day and may the sun shine where ever you are xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

oops nearly forgot ** All Butter cookies came from this book and it was on page 400.

Yum-yum-Plum pudding and not a Jack Horner in sight!

A quick share - and a promise that photographed calories are not fattening - it is the eating of them that is totally disastrous but totally yum :)

I present to you my Plum Pudding Cake ala Nigel Slater - follow this link for the recipe Yum yum yum.

Top left - melting the butter, the honey, the syrup and the sugar (there wasn't much else apart from flour and spices and oh yes plums)
bottom left - the raw cake with the plums just prior to popping into the oven.
Main photo - the cooked cake with added plum sauce.

Delish.

Hope you all had a lovely Saturday day :)xxxxxxxxxxxx ❤ 

Baking by us (3), Himself goes up in the world and finally some precious crochet time❤

Do you ever get those moments, when having idly looked at a rather yummy recipe feel really inspired to do it?
Yes?
Do you ever, having been inspired, print the recipe out in a dash at work, stuff it in a convenient bag/pocket/drawer to retrieve at a more kitchen appropriate moment?
Yes?
Do you, then having been inspired, stuffed recipe away safely, got home and cast your eye over the baking the cupboard and decided that you have enough or nearly enough or similar or alternative items to do said baking?
Yes??
Do you then, having been inspired, printed the recipe, sort of confirmed ingredients then have to wait several days to the weekend to actually make said recipe
Yes? Yes??
Do you then find when the weekend actually arrives you have lost your cooking mojo but in a slip of concentration actually mention the words baking/weekend/new recipe to your children who  yell back at you...
YES!!

Oh... only me then - *sigh*

May I present to you............Baking by us (three) while Himself goes up in the world.

1. Windfalls, lightly cooked, chopped then tossed in cinnamon and sugar (thank you Eldest)

2. Pastry rolled and 30 mini pie bases cut ( Eldest)

3. Mini bases after chilling (Photo thanks to Youngest)

4. Pie base, with added apple and now topped with another disc and crimped (Youngest)

5. Pies - glazed with milk and sprinkled with sugar, ready for the oven (Photo thanks to Eldest)

6. Ready little pies, still steaming  from the oven (I'd tried holding one to photograph and burnt my fingers)

7. & 8. Cool enough (just) to eat and the last time you'll ever see them!!

Follow the link for the proper grown up recipe that - if I had read properly - I may not have done. Above  is our simplified-boys-and-mum-on-a-Saturday-afternoon-cooking version. The original look soo elegant and were probably made under ideal conditions - either way - ours tasted yummy❤❤, kept the boys very entertained and fed Himself - a win win situation :)

We've had a bit of a long standing niggling problem with our bathroom leaking when it rains - not every time it rains, just occasionally and when the east wind blows. Himself has been up several times and with this type of DIY, it can only be tested - when it rains.....

The repair some times lasts for months even years before it starts again.

Well, while we were away in Galloway - it rained and rained and RAINED at home - both outside the house and ..... inside the bathroom. Himself once again gritted his teeth but this time he decided to DO SOMETHING MAJOR..... no patching or re-tarring but A RE-ROOFING type mission was planned.

This entailed the purchase thereof HUGE ladders (something he's hankered after anyway so not a difficult task) it involved ripping off ENORMOUS chunks of roofing felt, TONNES of gravel (why on EARTH do you put gravel on a roof???) Years of layers of old tar and pitch which, despite being up there for ages, some of the tar was still sticky.....his trousers and hands are visual proof of the stickiness. Urgh.

With offers of many reviving cups of workman like tea, little apple pies and support from 2 boys and me, he ripped off the roof, re-pitched with thick stinky gloopy black tar from a bucket then lay down layer after layer of roofing felt.

And  did it pass the Rain-Test? On Sunday night - it hammered it down....but was it the right kind of rain? Well..... the bathroom didn't leak! So hopefully his hard weekend paid off - any way he's gone back to work for a rest!


Still surprised by the fact we all like ❤love❤ my blooming flower cushion, I wanted to try something else. Not as 'girly' a bit more edgy but still with ruffles and sporting different colours. I found my inspiration from Made in K-town. So, casting my mini-bunting aside (it is still in progress, I have just run out of cotton yarn) I have started this......

Not finished yet and still an experiment, I do *L*O*V*E the way it is going. I started with straight ruffly-wiggly diagonal lines then got bored and allowed my hook to take me where ever 'it' wanted and now I have a wonderful fracture line running right through it - causing all sorts of interesting movement.

I have a long way to go and it doesn't look anything as neat and as pretty as the original inspiration but I am still loving❤❤ the way it is developing. I will keep adding the stripes and accentuating the fracture line - watch this space!❤❤

Well, that is a small snippet of our weekend and as usual it has flown by and we are back to the beginning of a brand new week full on things to happen - bring it on!

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤Hope you all have a wonderful Monday :)❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Biscuits and walking boots

Problem

::A rainy windy Sunday::

::A bored 10 year old::

Solution

::Yummy baking cookbook::

::A raid into the baking cupboard::

I made these delish sunflower seed biscuits last weekend when we had our walking gang for the day. They were so quick and easy to make and even quicker to be eaten that I didn't even have time to grab my camera. So I promised myself and my gannets boys that I would make them again and blog the recipe down. However...... like most of my baking plans, Youngest hijacked offered to do the cooking so that

........ You can take the photos Mum.....

So, thank you to my photo/baking model, I now present to you.................

Sunflower Seed Biscuits

200gm (7 oz) self-raising flour
125gm (4 1/2 oz) butter or margarine
125gm (4 1/2 oz) light brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
75gm (2 1/2 oz) sunflower seeds
Pre heat the oven 180 deg C (350 deg F) gas mark 4

Put the flour, butter (margarine) and sugar in a bowl and mix with a fork until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Chuck in the egg and seeds, mix again and form into a ball.
Break pieces off and roll into the size of a large marble.
Place onto a prepared baking tray and use a fork to press down to flatten.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 - 15 mins.

Leave to cool (ie shut the kitchen door against marauding biscuits thieves) before eating. Apparently they can stay in an airtight container up to 5 days and be frozen for up to one month - hah fat chance!

Now for the brass tacks::

• The original recipe called for pumpkin seeds but I didn't have any so used the sunflower seeds instead
• The method advised that the dough be rolled into a sausage shape of about 20 cm then sliced. I did try that but found that as soon as the knife hit a seed, the biscuit flattened and needed re-shaping. After doing about 10 biscuits like this (rolling, cutting, reshaping and flattening out) I gave up and just rolled the large marble size and flattened with a fork - so-ooo much easier.
• Very easy to do, Youngest completely independently made them, my only input was to deal with the hot oven.
• The only drawback to this recipe? They  DO NOT last very long in this household!

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As usual. our weekend has just evaporated. A jam packed combination of clothes shopping (ugh), homework (urgh), going out to a 50th party and dancing our feet flat all night to a band (nice nice), dodging the rain (sigh) and then finally, late on Sunday afternoon -  a quick walk (at last!)

The track through the fields where swallows flew around out heads................

The view of our village.............I live down there

 

The wind blowing the cobwebs out of the boys................

...............The fields filled with nodding buttercups, red clover, plantain, vetch, 

yellow rattle, cow and field parsley..................

......................And the far away dreams in a young boy's head

So ends our weekend, are we ready for the coming week? Probably not, but hey ho - Monday is on it's way! Well, my dears, it has been lovely chatting with you, hope you all have Marvellous Mondays xxx

More cake any one?

Not that I need an excuse, but what an excuse to try a new cake recipe...........................

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!  

aka jak

Knitter

crocheter of squares for Japan

baker of cakes

Granny to my boys

gardener

friend

baby sitter

wife

mother in law

aunt

mother

my mom

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

oh, sorry, forgot to mention,

 all the cake has been eaten now - yum

You will just have to make it for yourself :P

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RICH CHOCOLATE CAKE

4oz (100 gm) plain flour

2 level tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 level sp baking powder

1/4 level tsp bicarbonate soda

pinch salt

4oz (100 gm) plain chocolate 

2oz (60gm) butter or margarine

3 oz (75gm) light soft brown sugar

1 medium sized egg

5 tbsp plain yoghurt

few drops vanilla extract

1. grease and line a 15 cm (6 inch) round cake tin with greaseproof paper
2. sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb and salt into a bowl
3. gently melt the chocolate in a second bowl with about 1 tsp water over a pan of hot water, stir until melted
4. put butter and sugar in another bowl (am glad I wasn't on washing up duty!) and beat until fluffy
5. beat in the egg and  fold in with the melted chocolate, yoghurt, vanilla into the sifted ingredients
6. turn into the greased tin and bake at 190 dec C (375 deg F, gas mark 5) for approx 45 mins until risen and firm to the touch.
7. Cool before icing.

I had been lucky enough to be given a jar of hazel nut flavoured chocolate coloured spread which I used as the icing and  then sprinkled on walnut halves and white chocolate stars. As I said before - yum and now all gone :)

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Sowing and Growing, Cooking and Eating, Walking and Breathing

Growing and Sowing

I have to admit to a feeling optimistic delight every time I go into my glasshouse. Daily, no - hourly, the seedlings seem to grow, transforming the pots of dark soil into mounds of verdant micro jungles all jostling for space. Some of the larger seedlings have been pricked out and potted on and they need even more elbow room. Outside I've got a large cloche type cold frame covering my square foot garden where beans, garlic, black kale and spring onions grow on, it won't be long before I fill that too. 

Oh yes,  there's still the potatoes to plant (soil is a bit cold), the spinach and onions to go out, the parsley and leeks, the garlic chives and ....................hmmmm my garden isn't small but it is too small for my enthusiastic seed sowing! (And I've not even started to take into account all the ornamental seeds I've sown too)

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Cooking and Eating

Ages ago I made 'veggie Cornish pasties' which is a bit of an oxymoron and is a recipe that needs a name of it's own, but it was rather tasty and I promised to share the nuts and bolts of it (not to worry they are not ingredients!).

The original recipe came from here but I did my usual and fiddled with the recipe to make it our own.

1. I used onions, courgette, carrot, potatoes and mushrooms.
2. As per the instructions I chopped, sliced and diced.
3. The vegetables were cooked over a medium heat and
4. The grated cheese and stock was added.
5. I cheated and used ready made short crust pastry and instead of making Cornish-pasty rounds I made a single large pie. The veg mix is lovely and moist and the pastry collapsed last time so this time, I lined a dish (not necessary could just grease instead) and made a double crust pie.
6. So, a quick photo before it was guzzled, with home grown salad (first decent crop of this year!) chips as a concession to  Youngest and who proclaimed himself most-starving-one and garlic bread - discovered hiding in the freezer. Yum.

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Walking and Breathing

Youngest has been away for a week at an outdoor activity centre in the Lakes, so he has had less energy than his usual firecracker self and our regular weekend yomp seemed to fizzle away. By Sunday evening I was pacing the floor feeling quite out of sorts. I kinda threw a wobbler and insisted we went out for a walk as soon as we had finished eating. Strangely all my normal walking conspirators were reluctant, preferring to podge out.

 It took a fair bit of firm talking to, to get the boys (all 3) to move but once they did, their dour moods lifted and the walk took on a refreshing cleansing feel to it. 

The evening sunlight gave everything a warm golden glow and the sky was full of dramatic flame coloured cloud. There were lambs everywhere, frolicking in the gentle warmth.

It was like meditation, my breathing connected with my footsteps and my feet connecting with the earth - wonderful.

As usual, our weekend was over in a flash. 

Here's wishing you a magnificent Monday (in the words of my fav sis in law) and a wonderful week xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Did I mention I was baking biscuits?

Must be getting old and befuddled, but I mentioned yesterday that I made biscuits then forgot the all important reporting about them! Silly me :)

Right ho,  I actually have two recipes to natter about and both are oat based (a firm favourite with us)

Recipe 14/52 - classic oat cookies

115gm (4 oz)  soft butter
140gm (5 oz) light brown sugar
1 large egg - lightly beaten
1 tablespoon mild
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
100gm (3 1/2 oz) self-raising flour
75gm (generous 2 1/2oz) dried fruit
150gm (5  1/4oz) porridge oats
preheat the oven to 180 deg C (350 deg F) gas mark 4.

Chuck together the butter, sugar, egg, milk and vanilla extract into a bowl and beat well. Add the flour, dried fruit and oats and mix well with a wooden spoon. put heaped teaspoons of the oatie yummy dough on to well greased baking trays - space well apart (otherwise all your little teaspoon lumps end up as a frisbee sized oat platter!)
Bake in a preheated oven for about 12 - 15ish minutes, I have done both times and the 12 mins gives you a softer 'cookie' with crisp edges and the 15 mins gives you a crisper crunchier biscuit, either way - they don't last long. The photos below are the THIRD baking, the previous two were munched fairly quickly soon after being lifted out of the oven (.............would you like another biscuit with those third degree burns?............)

According to the recipe you can keep them in an airtight container and eat them within 5 days - hah! fat chance.

Recipe 15/52 Jam Packed Flapjacks

This one I found on the BBC website. We've had them three times and after the initial baking, I omitted the jam as we found it just too sweet.

Delish - however - each time and despite copious amounts of greasing or grease and silver foil, these flapjacks stuck horribly. When I made them in the silicone baking tray, they didn't stick....to the base of the tray or to themselves! The flapjacks just fell apart into a pile of very yummy crumbs.

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Ok, that's enough waffling about biscuits, time to go into the kitchen and actually clear up the fall out from those flapjacks, which entails an awful amount of hoovering up of yummy oaty crumbles and I don't mean with the vacuum cleaner!!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend and here's to the start of the week!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Weekend round up and recipe number 11/52 and 13/52

Saturday, we walked in the Yorkshire Dales. It was wonderful, the fresh spring air, the crisp breeze and the gently warming sun.  We sat and drank in the view as we drank our tea. There was hardly any one about so we, in splendid isolation, revelled in the wild beauty of it all.

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Made some Jam-packed flapjacks (from BBC food) only have one to say about them - they didn't last long! Going to make them again. I did my usual and adapted the recipe slightly to our tastes and what was available in the store cupboard. (11/52)

Also tried two more different recipes and put them together for tonight's evening meal.

Lemon spaghetti 

This was a brilliantly simple and quick dish and Himself tucked in only pausing to hmmmm hmmmm as he chewed. Might be making this one again too :)

• 12oz/350g dried spaghetti
• juice of one lemon ( the recipe called for a large lemon, I used a smallish one and found this to plenty)
• good glug of olive oil
• seasoning

• cook the pasta in salted boiling water to taste, drain well and return to the pan
• mix the oil and lemon juice and salt and pepper
• pour onto the spaghetti, toss well and serve in warmed bowls.

I would be quite happy just to eat that dish with a bit of salad, but Himself likes a 'little something' extra so I made a creamy mushroom sauce to plonk on the top of the spaghetti.

I sliced mushrooms and gently fried them in a bit of butter and olive oil, then sprinkled flour on, stirred until the flour coloured slightly then added some milk to make a 'white sauce'. I then sliced thinly some garlic and chucked that in the simmering sauce. Added lots of black pepper and when cooked I served it on the spaghetti. It didn't stay on our plates for long! Nom nom (as Colouritgreen says when she has a yummy recipe!) (13/52)

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Japan - I will let you know what I doing tomorrow xx 

12/52 and Red Nose Day baking

Last night, after the marathon baking sesh, the boys went off to music. Once they returned, they rolled up their sleeves, washed their hands and iced each and every bun. 

Then, this morning, I helped Youngest to carry into his school, one small tub and 6 large tins full of chocolate iced buns. Success!


 I suspect there won't be a single one left this afternoon - oh well, back to the kitchen......

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Last night, after all that baking and icing, the last thing I wanted to do was cook an evening meal. However, Himself has permanent hollow legs and looked rather forlorn at the prospect of nothing to eat.

So a quick look in what I call my 'lazy cook book'  I found this - 

Baked Leek and Potato Gratin. 

It was really quick and easy and filling. (So it is recipe number 12/52)

2lbs potatoes - sliced (the recipe called for thinly - mine were a bit more 'rustic' in size)

2 large leeks (or several smaller ones dug out of the garden)

7oz grated cheese (the recipe called for brie or camembert but I used cheddar)

3/4 pint cream (I used milk!!)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg c
2. cook potatoes in salted boiling water until slightly softened and drain well
3. cut the leeks into 1cm lengths and blanch in boiling water then drain (I actually chucked mine into the potato water as it was already lovely and hot and just waiting there)
4. turn half the potatoes into a shallow ovenproof dish and spread out to cover the base
5. chuck in most of the leeks over the potato layer
6. cover with the remaining half of potato slices, leeks and the cheese
7. pour on the milk
8. season with salt and pepper to taste

Bake for about an hour until tender and golden and smelling absolutely delish!

The recipe suggests that if the top browns too quickly to cover with some tin foil to prevent burning.

I'd accidently broken a couple of eggs after the bun making marathon so I fried those and served them on top of the gratin and the look on Himself's face when he saw that I was still going to feed him was delightful!

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Looky Looky!

Today's heart 

was brought to me 

by 

the postman!

This sweet little coin purse has been made by Gwnïo from Gwnïo's Adventures.

 I saw it on her blog and fell in love with it!

We'd got chatting via email and blog-chat and it appears we had a very similar upbringing in the same far away countries! What a coincidence - finding an ex-Rhodie who also loves funny little cars with character, making things in wool, sewing, growing things, chickens, cats and cooking!

ddiolch 'ch!

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I've been crocheting - doing my first CAL following a list suggested by Gwnïo and have to admit the first square has turned out to be a whopping big one!

Now to start the next one!

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It is a Saturday - so guess what? Yes you guessed correctly - the weather was once again less than perfect, actually it snowed overnight! The boys needed entertaining so I set them baking, Eldest made some rather delicious shortbread biscuits (another one for the 52) and Youngest tackled making scones, complete with jam and cream. 

Suffice to say, Himself and I feel absolutely stuffed! Yum yum 

Eldest sprinkled golden caster sugar on the still warm shortbread biscuits

They were absolutely delish! (I may have already mentioned that, once or twice) We ate far too many...... then came back and had some more!

Youngest's scones - still warm and slightly soft in the centre - I can just feel the calories piling on!

Then, as the evening began to draw in, the weather felt more benign, so we donned boots and coats and set off for a short walk - to blow away any cobwebs and hopefully to burn off some calories, suspect we needed to go on a lot longer walk!!

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You can find the shortbread biscuit recipe here - thanks Mon from Holistic Mama

And if you are interested, follow this link to see what hearty happenings I got up to last year.

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Friday night and fairy lights, fire, food, feline and funk........

It's Friday evening - Woo Hoo! 

It's a funny thing, this working lark,  it's taken all week to get to Friday and now suddenly it's here and I have the whole weekend to look forward too. 

All my boys are out this evening and the house has taken on a solitary air. 

I've put on the fairy lights (we just couldn't let them go at the end of the festive season and so they remain draped and twinkling in our house) and they give a gentle kindly light. 

The fire is crackling away warming the house with a comforting protective feel to it. 

Himself has made and left for me his trademark tuna pasta recipe and I am tucking into it happily. 

The radio is hosting a 12 hour dance music marathon and I think the base line is beginning to get to me....might be time to change the station........

And the feline? Well, while I was taking photographs of my latest WIP (soon to be frogged back) her funny little furry face appeared.... I will leave you with the pictures, they say so much more that words.

.............Feed me please.......................

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And for all of you who asked for the recipe, here it is, the ..........

 'To-die-for-potato-salad'

1. 5 - 7 medium sized potatoes with their skins left on  - chopped into generous chunks
2. 1 large red onion, peeled and chopped
3. Handful of mushrooms - sliced
4. 2 garlic cloves - thinly sliced
5. Oil for frying
6. A few broccoli florets, snapped into nice 'pop in the mouth' size pieces
7. Tin of chickpeas - drained
8. Cucumber, tomato and celery - quantities to taste and all chopped into bite sized pieces
9. Cheddar cheese cubed - again to taste, I put in about tea cup's amount, there probably was more original, but I kept having to quality check it (erhem...)
10. 2 generous tablespoons of plain yoghurt
11. 2 generous teaspoons of your favourite wholegrain mustard
12. Salt and pepper

• Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender and ready to eat, drain.
• Meanwhile fry gently in oil the onion, garlic, broccoli  and mushrooms
• Once they are cooked, add the potato chunks and the drained chickpeas, mix well
• Toss in the cucumber, tomatoes and celery
• I kept the frying pan on the oven's lowest heat and stirred it enough to prevent the vegetables sticking
• Meanwhile make the dressing - mix the yoghurt, wholegrain mustard and season to taste
• Take the vegetables off the heat, toss in the cheese and mix well 
• Serve with a goodly gloop of the dressing.
• Serve to a hungry husband and be pleased at how it fills his hollow legs!!

The original recipe can be found here at Crochet with Raymond.

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Well, that's all for now, want to finish my tuna pasta off, so have yourself a good weekend where ever you are!

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As promised - Broccoli cheese pie with grated potato crust

The original recipe came from the February edition of the Vegetarian Living magazine, but as usual I adapted it somewhat.

Broccoli cheese pie with grated potato crust

Crust
100gm (3 1/2 oz) grated raw potato - with all the liquid squeezed out
60gm (2 oz) finely diced onion
pinch of salt
1 egg white - lightly beaten
Oil

Filling
tbsp oil
2 onions chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs (half a teaspoon!)
300gm (10oz) broccoli cut into small florets (the original recipe called for cauliflower but I baulked at the price when I went to buy one hence the broccoli which looked so much nicer)
130gm (4 1/2 oz) mushrooms sliced
250gm (8 1/2 oz) grated chedder cheese
2 eggs (thank you hens!) (I added the remaining egg yolk from the crust ingredients)
slosh milk
pinch paprika (optional - purely coz despite knowing I have some somewhere - I couldn't find it!!)

• preheat the oven to 180C, gas mark 6
• combine the grated (squeezed) potato and onion, salt and egg white in a bowl and mix well.
• chuck mix into a lightly oiled pie dish (23cm/9inch) and pat out to line the base and the sides
• bake for 30 minutes, then brush the now crisping up and smelling yummy crust with a little oil and bake for a further 10 minutes. Turn temperature down to 180C, gas mark 4

• meanwhile heat the oil gently in a large pan, add onion, garlic, seasoning and herbs and cook for 5mins, add the broccoli and mushrooms and 'stir fry' for about a further 5 minutes.
• sprinkle half of the cheese onto the baked crust, spoon the vegetables on top and sprinkle over the remaining cheese 
• beat the eggs and milk and pour over the top, sprinkle lightly a dusting of paprika**
• bake for a further 35 - 40 minutes or until set, serve hot or cold

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** I am assuming that coz the original recipe called for cauliflower the paprika is used for colour. I found the cheerful bright green of the broccoli seemed to negate the need.

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Right - brass tacks time

What did I alter?

1. The quantity of potato, I know the dish I used was slightly larger than the recommended one but I felt the crust was just too thin so I added more
2. Swapped broccoli for cauliflower
3. The original recipe called for baby leaf spinach to be included - I forgot to add it
4. Paprika? Well, may be if a) I used cauliflower and b) I could find it in my cupboard...........

What would I do different?

1. probably make the crust thicker again, still think it was spread a bit thin

General consensus?

It was given a good review by my veggi and non veggi friends - so a good start to this year's 52 new recipes.