If you are at the beginning of

growing your own soft fruits like I am….you probably have the same problem(s) as me…one someone else gets there before you …two the berries are growing in dribs and drabs…there might be other problems but those two are my main ones….let’s not mention the birds, slugs, the cat and all the rest….so yeah…if you only have three berries like I had this afternoon forget the jam making or pies or ice cream and go for a simpler easier and more in-trend option…Overnight oats!!!!

you only have to add greek style yogurt, oats, milk of choice, more fruit, nuts, chia seeds and whatever else takes your fancy….put it in the fridge and enjoy it in the morning…..dd20 has been having overnigt oats for a while now…I’m a complete beginner…first time tomorrow…..I think I’m going to like it…my three berries are going to taste great…..

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

Edited the morning after…..Love love love overnight oats…I’m sold….now off to research different flavour combinations

FCUK

friends living in uk…the connection? ok…let me explain….Sister M was my neighbour who later looked after my daughter while I went to work…Sister N was walking down the road one day and saw M and my little one and said salaams …she just ‘knew’ she was from Malaysia the same as her children’s father….long story short Sister M wanted Sister N to meet me …and so one day when I went to pick up my little one she was there with the biggest smile I had ever seen in my life…I mention the big smile because that’s her nature, smile even when you are tested with the biggest tests in life…smile even when you are crying inside……oh and food…food connects us all three big time…Sister M can cook like no one else can…and she loves it…when her English was very poor she communicated with food …that’s my theory anyways…and Sister N and myself we just love her food…Malay/Chinese/far eastern…you name it she cooks it….we eat it…and of course our kids were a big link too…but now when we sit to eat we talk uni degrees, life paths and other more grown up issues instead of nursery places….otherwise everything else is pretty much the same…so yeah I’ll shut up now and show off the food we’ve eaten together today….Allah ibarak…oh and did I tell you Sister N looks after my youngest too….oh and she was the ‘unofficial’ driver to and from school for many years…ok ok I’m coming with the food pics….

crabs…prawns…veggie options; aubergine and pack choy and veggie goyoza and homemade chicken wontons…..

these are the chicken wontons that were eaten while cooking……only thing cooked by me and they got the seal of approval by the queen of Chinese cooking…

Is there anything better than good friends and good food together?…can’t think right now…period…too stuffed…

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

A recipe…

Garbanzos con acelgas….Chick peas with chard…

This is probably my very first post on a recipe that has no link to a website …I wouldn’t call it an original either because I’m not a natural in the kitchen…I pretty much know what I like and I find a recipe online, save it on pinterest and cook it….I find as I’m getting older that I want to recreate flavours from my childhood…I want to recreate my mother’s cooking…My mother’s cooking was always very different from anyone else’s…not only was it better but unique…she was an Andalusian with influences from Extremadura, living in the basque country where the only way to condiment a dish was parsley, if you were lucky…..so yeah this dish was ‘exotic’ by basque standards as it has cumin….

Not many ingredients…less is more is my motto when it comes to cooking too….

500 g chick peas,soaked  overnight

900 g chard chopped small ….homegrown in my case

1 large onion

4 cloves of garlic

1 large fresh tomato or tinned

stale bread (2 or 3 slices or equivalent french baguette)

1 teaspoon of cumin

salt to taste

Cook the finely chopped onions in olive oil….add chick peas cover with water and cook….I did it in the pressure cooker 20 minutes…next add chard and cook for another 20 minutes till veg are soft and finally add the majao (paste) ….you make in the pestle and mortar after frying garlic, bread, tomato and cumin in olive oil….cook until all flavours are blended….enjoy…..

Wishing you all a peaceful and productive week,

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

 

When life gives you courgettes…

of course you make dolmas….even if you haven’t got a clue how to…

dd17 suggested we make dolmas like grandma used to…but we don’t have a recipe?…who cares…let’s play it by ear…just for once let’s do it our way…a bit of cinnamon…cinnamon? are you sure?!!!…yeah go on trust me…shall we check on line? ….nah, no need…carry on…a bit of cumin, plenty of paprika, coriander …any other spices you can think of? no, that should be enough….mix it all together with some salt and pepper…what about the sauce?…well , sort of a red sauce I guess…plenty of garlic and onions and you know…whatever else takes your fancy….and just like that, my dolmas are ready for tonight’s iftar…should I add some chick peas to the sauce?…..

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines