FRUIT AND NUT SNACK BARS

Good Morning to you,

'If more of us valued food and cheer and song,
above hoarded gold,
it would be a merrier world.'

J.R.R. Tolkien

It's time that I owned up,

I am one of the many people who love the J.R.R. Tolkien books, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, so I was very excited to see the final part of the Hobbit when it was released at the cinema.

I know, these films are not to everyone's taste, but I love them. 

I remember reading The Hobbit in 1977 and I found it a real page turner, but of course with Natasha being a little girl and Danielle a baby, there was not much time to read..... but I did find snippets of time, and that was usually when Danielle fell asleep, which I seem to remember did not happen very often.  Of course she slept, but she was a baby who seemed to be awake more than she was asleep, especially at night time, but as she grew and became a teenager, that trend was reversed, she seemed to sleep more than she was awake. I know she won't mind me telling you this, as we often laugh about it ourselves.

During the quiet times, I would snatch the odd few minutes to read a chapter and even though I terrified myself with the description of the Orcs, (remember, it was a different time and I had never read anything like this book before) it didn't prevent me from finishing the book. I really do not like scary films, even comedy scary films, but there was something about the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings which drew me in.  

..... so when I discovered that Peter Jackson was turning the books into films, well I was so very excited, if a little unsure, because I have often found when a book is turned into a film, the characters in the film don't fit my expectations, but with these films, I can honestly say, I was not disappointed.

Each year, I waited patiently for the next film to be released and if Natasha and Danielle were home, we would all go to the cinema together to watch the newly released film on Boxing Day.  It became quite a family tradition.

Mmm, I wonder, now that  the final Hobbit film has been released, what will be our  new Boxing Day tradition.

Talking of Danielle, it just flitted through my mind,  I really wish I had this recipe, I am making today of,

fruit and nut snack bars, when Danielle was a baby, as they really would have boosted my energy levels. There are many versions of these snack bars and to be honest you can add the nuts and dried fruits of your choice.  I tend to add whatever I have to hand.  The only thing I have never added before is an egg and baking powder, so I was interested to read Elizabeth Hutchinson's recipe which included both ingredients, so I decided to add  the extra ingredients this time and I was very pleased with the result.

So it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to is,

the fabulous Michael Buble.  I know I have featured Michael before, but I really do enjoy his music.  What's not to love about,

It's A Beautiful Day

Who's Lovin' You

Close Your Eyes

and

Come Dance With Me

When Michael tours, here in England, his concerts are sold out in no time at all, which makes it very difficult to buy a ticket..... but maybe one day, yes, one day, I will be lucky enough to see him sing live, but until then, I will continue to enjoy his albums.

So with Michael dueting with Bryan Adams and singing 'After All' it is time to organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

TO 

MAKE
FRUIT AND NUT

SNACK BARS

3 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter

2 tablespoons of runny honey

2 large, very ripe bananas

1 medium egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

300g rolled jumbo oats

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of baking powder

200g of mixed seeds

125g of de-stoned soft dates

150g of mixed dried berries

(eg dried cherries and dried cranberries)

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

You will need an 8" x 12" deep baking pan

HOW 

TO MAKE

FRUIT AND NUT

SNACK BARS

Line the baking pan with

parchment paper.

Set aside until needed.

Using a large bowl,

mash the bananas,

add

the

peanut butter,

the

honey,

the egg,

(Whisk the egg before you add it to the bowl.)

the

vanilla extract

then

mix the

ingredients together.

Next,

add the cinnamon to the bowl,

the

baking powder,

the 

rolled oats,

the 

mixed seeds,

chop the dates into small pieces

and

add to the bowl

and

finally,

the 

dried fruits.

Mix

all the ingredients together
until thoroughly combined.

Place the mixture

into the lined baking pan

and using the back of a spoon,

press the mixture firmly into the baking pan.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes

Remove the baking pan from the oven

and whilst still warm,

cut the bars into the size which suits you.

Allow the fruit and nut snack bars to cool in the pan,

then

when time is short 

and

you need to eat something which is healthy,

these fruit and nut snack bars will be ready and waiting

for you to

enjoy.

The reason these are so popular in my house is that George is, as I have mentioned to you before, a keen swimmer and walker.  Often when we return from our walks, George is ready to go to the swimming pool to swim his laps.  When time is short, he does not want to eat lunch, but he will eat one of these snack bars, which as well as being enjoyable,  are filled with ingredients which will give him energy to complete his 3 mile swim.

You will see that I cut 8 portions of the fruit and nut snack bars, this is because they are mainly for George, but if I want to eat a snack bar, they are too large and so I cut them in half, so actually, if you want smaller portions you will be able to cut 16 snack bars.

Also you can make the snack bars deeper, by using a smaller pan, but remember you will need to bake them for another five minutes or so.

These bars are not very sweet, so if you prefer a sweeter flavour, add a little more honey.  The one thing I would say is, be sure to use ripe bananas as  this is a very good recipe for using up bananas which are left in the fruit bowl, which no one has eaten..... waste not want not.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

BROWN LENTIL SHEPHERD'S PIE

Good Afternoon to you,

I love where I live, as everyone is so friendly.

On most days, George and I go for a three mile walk  around the village and on our walks we meet all sorts of lovely people.

Yesterday, for instance, we met a lady with two of the most adorable 'Scottie' dogs, whose names were Millie and Rooney.  I immediately thought that Rooney was named after the football player, Wayne Rooney, but not so.  After talking to the owner, she said she had named her dog Rooney after Mickey Rooney, the actor. Who would of thought it.

When we first saw the lady approaching us in the distance, with her little dogs, both of us stopped talking to each other and broke out into a smile. We both knew we just had to stop and say hello. Both Millie and Rooney were so gorgeous, but the tale of their beginnings was not so rosy. I won't go into details, as it would be too distressing for you to hear, suffice it to say that both Millie and Rooney were found in a dog rescue shelter. Both dogs, who are brother and sister were there because they had been mistreated. The new owner had cared for the dogs for two years and it was so obvious that they were so well loved, but it was so sad to hear that it had taken Millie, who we could see was a nervous little dog, over a year to wag her tail.... how awful. The owner said the first time Millie wagged her tail was such a heartwarming experience that she cried with tears of joy.

We stayed to talk for a while and of course we fussed and stroked Millie and Rooney whilst we talked, but we knew after ten minutes that we had to let the lady carry on with her walk and we needed to be on our way.  As they left us, we watched them walking away and we could see that Rooney's tail was wagging beautifully, but little Millie's was less so. 

It is just so sad to think that a person or persons could be so cruel to these beautiful little dogs, but we consoled ourselves with the fact that both Millie and Rooney were now enjoying  a wonderful life, filled with love.  

Both George and I are hoping that in the near future, we will bump into these little dogs again, just so that we can give them a little more fuss, I'm sure both Millie and Rooney won't mind.

As we walked away, we turned back again to see that the lady had only managed to walk about 30 yards, before someone else had stopped to talk to her. We did wonder how long it would take her to complete her walk, if every few yards she was stopped by someone who wanted to talk to her and fuss Millie and Rooney.   I feel sure, that she would not mind, as she was a lovely lady and is probably very used to it by now. 

Talking of completing a task, it took me an age to cook this,

Brown Lentil Shepherd's Pie, not because it takes an age to make, but because the phone kept ringing and I had to keep stopping what I was doing, but,

I persevered and it was oh so worth it.  I have not made this dish for a year or so, and then I received this months edition of Good Housekeeping, a magazine I love. Inside was a recipe for a vegetarian Shepherd's Pie and it reminded me that I had not shared with you my version.  So I thought it time to remedy that situation.

So, it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to today, might surprise you.  The album is,

'X' by Ed Sheeran.  Whilst there are a couple of tracks that don't float my boat, the vast majority do and I feel it is always good to be open to new music. Listen to,

'Tenerife Sea'

'Thinking Out Loud'

and

'Afire Love'

which include the words,

'I would look into your eyes until the sun comes up

and we're wrapped in light and life and love.

Put your open lips on mine and slowly let them shut

for they're designed to be together.

With your body next to mine our hearts will beat as one

and we're set alight, we're Afire love'

They are such beautiful words.

So with 'Even My Dad Does Sometimes' playing, it is time to organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

TO MAKE

BROWN LENTIL SHEPHERD'S PIE

THE FILLING

1 large onion

1 large carrot

125g chestnut mushrooms

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

1 clove of garlic

60 ml red wine (optional)

1/2 pint chicken stock

400g tin of tomatoes

400g tin of brown lentils

or

200g of dried lentils

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

THE TOPPING

500g sweet potatoes

500g white potatoes

A knob of butter

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

HOW 

TO MAKE

BROWN LENTIL SHEPHERD'S PIE

THE POTATO TOPPING

Peel, 

the sweet potato

and

white potato

then

cut into chunks.

Pop into a pan of boiling, salted water

and cook until tender.

When tender, strain the water

and

mash the potato

with 

a knob of butter.

Replace the lid on the saucepan

and set aside until needed.

THE FILLING

Finely chop the onions.

Place the olive oil into a wide pan

and

add the onions.

Using a moderate heat

cook until golden brown.

Chop the mushrooms into small

pieces

and

add to the pan.

Crush the garlic

and 

add to the pan

and cook for a minute or so.

Add the tomato paste

and 

stir into the ingredients.

Cook for a further minute.

Finely dice the carrot

and

add to the pan.

Again,

stir the ingredients together.

Add the wine,

and turn up the heat to

allow the alcohol to evaporate.

This should take a couple of minutes.

Reduce the heat.

Chop the tinned tomatoes

and add to the pan

along

with the

chicken stock.

(Looking at this photo you would imagine

it was a cup of tea, but no, honestly,

it is chicken stock.) 

Place a lid on the pan 

and

bring the ingredients to the boil,

reduce the heat

and 

simmer for 10 minutes.

Drain the tin of brown lentils

and wash

under cold, running water.

Add to the pan

and cook for a further 15 minutes.

After 10 minutes,

check,

firstly to make sure the carrots are cooked

and

secondly

if you find the mixture is getting a little too thick,

add a little water to loosen the mixture,

but not too loose

otherwise the mashed potato will 

sink into the filling.

Taste

and

season as necessary.

Give the ingredients a final stir.

Place the lentil mixture into a

relatively deep bowl

or 

deep pie dish

and

place the

mashed sweet potato/white potato on top.

I find spooning it around the edges

first and then filling in the centre

guarantees that I have an even spread of

potato.

Place in a pre-heated oven

for 45 minutes

 or until the top is crispy.

Then all there is left to do

is

spoon yourself

a

couple of scoops of
this

Brown Lentil Shepherd's Pie

and

enjoy!

I have to tell you that usually when I make this Shepherd's pie I make it with dried green or brown lentils. I cook them first, which takes about 40 minutes and whilst they are cooking I start making the mash potato topping, but last week, I was in a supermarket which were selling tinned brown lentils for 29p a tin and it was such a bargain that I decided to try them.... and I am so pleased I did, because it turned this dish into quite a quick meal to prepare.  I actually bought two tins, so when time is of the essence, I can make this Shepherd's pie again, quite quickly.

Also, I added red wine, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.  If we have a little bit of red wine hanging around which has not been drunk, then I usually add it to a dish, but don't worry, if you have none, as the dish does taste just as scrummy without the wine.

Oh and I thought I would mention that I realise this is another recipe with sweet potato, but I have to tell you, I love sweet potato, and also, they are very reasonably priced at the moment, so I am enjoying them before they become too expensive.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

SWEET POTATO SPAGHETTI

Good Morning to you,

I was wondering,

are you in the habit of making New Year's resolutions?

I used to be.

Religiously, every New Year's Eve I would make a list of three or four resolutions, which at the time of writing, I really meant to keep.

They were never earth shattering resolutions, they tended to be,

I must exercise more.

I must eat more healthily.

I must cut down on my much loved  chocolate.

I must make more time for myself.

..... as I said, not very earth shattering New Year's resolutions,

but this year, I have decided, I am not going to make any New Year's resolutions.  No, not even one. 

Absolutely not, instead I have decided on something completely different.  

Well actually, thinking about it, I suppose this could be classed as a New Year's resolution, but I prefer to think of it as more of a, 'wake up and smell the coffee' moment.

So what is it.

I have decided,  that from now on, I am not going to allow negativity to seep it's way into my life anymore.

Interestingly, I read this quote, and I have to tell you it resonated with me.

'If you are part of the wrong group,

nothing you do is right'

I cannot attribute this quote to anyone, because I discovered it in an old notebook of mine, which believe it or not is 15 years old. I have so many notebooks, which include shopping lists, Christmas present lists, notes on plants I want to buy, plants I need to move, music I hear on the radio..... random information, but all the notes are part of my daily life, but back to the quote. I obviously liked the quote enough to write it down at the time, but I had forgotten about it.  So here I am, in the year 2015 having decided this will be the year that I heed this advice.

Now I am not saying that I am surrounded by negative people, because I am not, I have some really lovely friends, but as you know,  all it takes, is one person to be the fly in the ointment.

Just one person to make you feel that whatever you do is never right.

So, I have 'girded my loins' and had a talk with myself.... and after much soul searching, I have decided to gently cut the person out of my life..... it will not  be easy to do, as I never want to hurt the person concerned.... crazy isn't it, I have to cope with the negativity, but I do not want to hurt the person who is causing the negativity.  

But do you know something, after fighting with the decision for so long, having made the decision, I feel so much better within myself.

I'm not sure that the person I am talking about will feel the same once she realises, but hey ho, this is for my sanity.

How about you, do you struggle with negativity? 

How about New Year's resolutions?  

Do you manage to keep the resolutions you make?

What I do love about a new year, is the idea, that we have a fresh canvas which we can paint any way which way we like.

... and this new year, brought me something new. Do you remember, last week I showed you a strange contraption  and I asked you if you knew what it was?  Well just incase you did not know, it is a Spiralizer.  It was a Christmas gift and I love it.  

With my new Spiralizer this is what  we are going to make today.

sweet potato spaghetti..... it is delicious.  We enjoyed the sweet potato spaghetti with salmon which I marinated in soy sauce, ginger and chilli.

So it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to today is another Christmas present.... I am very lucky indeed.

I have played this album over and over again and I absolutely love it.  If you love Barbara Streisand you will just adore this album.  I had never heard of Blake Shelton, but his voice is fabulous.  If I were really pushed to choose a favourite track, then I think it would have to be Barbara's duet with Blake..... but it only slightly nudged itself to be top of the pops, because I really love this whole album.

So with Barbara and Blake singing 'I'd Want It To Be You', it is time  to organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

TO MAKE

SWEET POTATO SPAGHETTI

700g sweet potato

1/2 tablespoon of sesame seeds

1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon of fish sauce

2 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce

1 tablespoon of olive oil

You will also need,

a Spiralizer

with a Chipper attachment

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

HOW 

TO MAKE

SWEET POTATO SPAGHETTI

Peel the sweet potato

and

cut it in half.

Attach one half

of the sweet potato

to the spiralizer

and

turn the handle

and

ta-daa,

you have sweet potato

which looks like spaghetti.

Place the second half

of the sweet potato

on to the Spiralizer

and

repeat the process.

At this point, you are going to feel that this

is much too much sweet potato spaghetti,

but trust me it isn't.

Oh and you will be left with

little pieces of sweet potato.

I just pop them into a zip lock

bag and use them when I am making

soup.

Brush a large baking tray

with

olive oil

and

place the 

sweet potato spaghetti

onto the baking tray

and

pop the tray into the oven for 10 minutes.

Whilst the sweet potato spaghetti

is in the oven,

make the dressing.

Add the toasted sesame oil,

the

dark soy sauce,

the fish sauce

and the

sweet chilli sauce

into a small bowl

and

mix the ingredients together.

After 10 minutes,

remove the sweet potato spaghetti

from the oven

and toss.

You will notice a few strands

have become a little

brown, but don't worry

this does not spoil the dish.

Return to the oven for a further

5 minutes or until the sweet potato spaghetti

is cooked.

When cooked,

place the sweet potato spaghetti

into a dish.

Here you can see how the sweet potato spaghetti

has reduced, so what seemed like

far too much sweet potato in it's raw state,

turns out to be enough for 2 when it

has been cooked.

Sprinkle over the sesame seeds

and

drizzle over the dressing.

Toss all the ingredients together.

Believe me when I say,

 if you are a lover of

sweet potato,

you will add this recipe to

your repertoire

and

 make it 

over and over again.

We enjoyed the

sweet potato spaghetti

with some Scottish Lochmuir salmon fillets.

Honestly,

I cannot stress enough

how much

we loved this recipe.

Now I have to tell you, the sweet potatoes which are available here at the moment are huge, so I found it difficult to Spiralize.  So I decided to cut the sweet potato in half. You might find that your sweet potatoes are smaller, so there will be no need to cut them in half.

As far as the dressing goes, please do not be put off by the smell of the fish sauce, it isn't the nicest of smells, but added to a dressing it works perfectly.  I add 2 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce, to the dressing, but perhaps your preference is 1.  I would say, play around with the dressing and taste as you make it, then you will find the right flavour to suit you.  

Also you could toast the sesame seeds, but I find as I include toasted sesame oil, this imparts a lovely sesame flavour, but again, if you wish to you could toast the sesame seeds.

Now then, as for the price of a Spiralizer, I did not want to look up the price as it was a gift, but the Lakeland booklet popped through my letterbox yesterday and inside I saw a Spiralizer for £29.99p. Now as you know, gadgets do not impress me, and if I were to be honest, if I had seen a Spiralizer at an Ideal Home Exhibition, I would have passed it by and just thought of it as another gadget which if bought, would be popped into the cupboard, never to see the light of day again, but I cannot stress enough how impressed I am with this Spiralizer.  I feel for George and I, this is a unique way for us to enjoy vegetables. My Spiralizer sits on the shelf, so that I can pick it up and use it as and when needed, and I have to tell you, it has been needed quite a few times since I received it as a Christmas gift.

This week I am going to use another attachment to see how I can use a spiralized cucumber..... this is so much fun..... I am loving it.

So take care of yourself and I will see you next Thursday.