Tea time tabouleh

Tabouleh salad with grilled chicken

Food blog + gluttonous tendencies = expanding waistline.

TWO extra belt holes since Christmas to be exact.

Time for a lighter diner me thinks - tabouleh and griddled chicken.

nice sweet tomatoes - hooray

Butterflied chicken grilling away nicely

Tabouleh - serves 2

80g bulgar wheat

80g flat leaf parsley (aka a massive bunch)

the leaves from a few stalks of mint, finely chopped

4 finely cut spring onions

handful of nice tomatoes, in small cubes

juice of 2 lemons

very, very good glug of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Pour salted boiling water over the bulgar wheat and leave for 10-15 mins.

Its nice when there is still a little texture to the grain i.e. don’t nuke it.

Drain, the run some cold water over the grain to chill it.

Add the cooked bulgar wheat to the other ingredients.

Stir and serve.

Enjoy.

Secret ingredient scones

Yogurt scones

I am continuing with my theme of simple pleasures. The work with the bathroom is dragging on, it has been 6 weeks with out a shower and I'm pretty sure that even the flies are avoiding me now. I’ve been to too busy and when I've not been busy I've been too lethargic to do any "serious" cooking this week. I got big into cooking through being big into eating so I would consider myself a "eater" first and a "cook" second so my desire for that foodie hit is still very much present. 

These scones are rather lovely. Very light and fluffy, which demand to be eaten with raspberry jam, clotted cream and a cup of tea. Simple pleasure personified. To achieve these scones' full potential they would be best enjoyed on some quiet mid summer afternoon in the garden. I, however, did not have that luxury. I brought them to work to cheer everyone up. Even in a windowless staffroom in Fife they were still pleasant enough for me to have 3 at morning break. 

I made a less successful version of these scones at the weekend to welcome the awesome M. and her new man S. who were staying for the weekend. In my excitement of seeing them I forgot to add in bicarb and sugar. Doh! Still edible but this is a much better recipe. I thought about making another batch but 30 minutes later they were all gone with only a few crumbs left as evidence of their existence. It was a classic case of "it was the thought that counted". Nothing brings warmth and welcome to a home more than scones fresh out the oven.

The secret ingredient, in case you are wondering, is yogurt.

Yogurt scones with raspberry jam and extra yogurt (clotted cream is better)

Secret ingredient scones/yogurt scones/my best scone recipe

Makes about 20 mini scones (I think, to be honest I'm not sure as I ate a few before I had the chance to count - ma bad)

Oven set to 200 degrees

500g self-raising flour

80g butter at room temperature

6 dsp caster sugar

8 dsp natural yogurt

8dsp milk plus a little extra from painting on top

Sift the flour into a big mixing bowl.

Rub in the butter until there are no more lumps.

Add in the sugar and mix.

Add the yogurt and milk to the flour mixture and stir.

Use your hands to make it into a ball.

Roll out till approx 2-3 cm thick.

Cut out yer scones and brush them with a little extra milk.

Bake for 10-12 mins

Enjoy.

Baked brie with pea shoot and apple salad

I am a great believer in quiet, simple pleasures. My Saturday involved being wined and dined Michelin style.  It was a great experience; the highlights included a beautifully cooked sea bass and a startling 2003 Monbazillac.  Despite all this it didn’t really match up to my effortless-by-comparison Sunday lunch of baked brie with pea shoot and apple salad. Maybe simple pleasures are perhaps indicative of a lack of sophistication but I want to think it is a love of something more honest, more cheek-smackingly-tasty.

Perhaps I am just over thinking the whole thing? It is, at the end of the day, just food. Nothing as noble as ending world hunger or eradicating T.B. If only I could apply myself…

Anyways, I’m going off at a tangent. You need to make this! Uber easy and tasty (unless you don’t like cheese).  I served it with pea shoot and apple salad to freshen the dish up a bit.

Baked brie – serves 2 for lunch or 4 as a starter

Oven set to 180 degrees

Round brie (camembert is good too)

1/2 teaspoon runny honey

clove of garlic

Take the brie out the packaging and cut the bloomy rind off the top.

Cut the garlic in half and give it a good rub over the top of the cheese.

Drizzle the honey over the cheese.

Put the cheese back in the wooden box and bake for 15 minutes till gooey.

Enjoy.