Beef Curry

Whilst searching the internet for prospective recipes the group found this recipe for a beef curry on BBC Good Food:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/aromatic_beef_curry_90850

The group realised that we already had a lot of the spices and herbs in our cupboard so decided we should put them to use.

In a big pot we cooked the onions, garlic and beef and added in all the different spices.

We added the tin tomatoes and allowed everything to cook so all the flavours could infuse together.

It was very flavourful and all the spices worked really well with the beef. The whole group thoroughly enjoyed the curry.

Grilled Courgette and green bean salad

The group saw a picture of this salad and really liked the vibrant colours and thought it looked far more excited than a traditional lettuce based salad.

We grilled sliced courgette and green beans and roasted vine tomatoes in the oven.

We also baked the feta cheese in a tin foil parcel with a dash of olive oil and a sprinkle of oregano for about 8-10 minutes. After this we broke it up into small pieces.

For the dressing we used fresh lemon juice and olive oil and topped with toasted and chopped hazelnuts, the crumbled feta and fresh basil.

Everyone enjoyed the salad and some even said it was the best salad they ever had. The flavours were unusual but really tasty. As a group we discussed all the different vitamins in this salad and worked out we were getting 3 out of our '5 a day'- All from one dish!

We talked about replacing the green beans with asparagus, this is something the group would like to try in the upcoming weeks.

Courgette and Lemon spaghetti

The group found this recipe and thought it would be perfect for a warm summers day.

To make enough for four you will need:

400g Spaghetti

2 lemons (zest only)

3 large courgettes

bunch of parsley

70g Grana Padano (grated)

5 garlic cloves (finely chopped)

pinch of crushed chillies

olive oil

 

First we measured out the spaghetti and put it on to boil.

We then grated the courgettes, zest the lemons and chopped the garlic.

We then fried the garlic in a little oil, then added the courgette, chillie flakes and lemon zest and cooked for 3-4 minutes.

We then drained the spaghetti and added the cooked courgettes and mixed well.

We served this with parsley and some of the Grana padano.

Everyone enjoyed the spaghetti and was surprised at how tasty it was for such a simple recipe.

Prawn Cocktail

Today the group wanted to make Prawn cocktail. When looking at recipes we saw a few using avocado and the group really liked this idea.

We did some research and found that avocado is a really good source of potassium and lots of vitamins.

Everyone really liked the idea of putting the prawn cocktail in the avocado, so the avocado became the bowl!

The group agreed that the flavours worked well and made for a fresh, light starter.

Blueberry cakes

The group found a recipe for light and fluffy blueberry cakes. To make twelve of these you need:

85g Blueberries
1Tbsp of granulated sugar
85g Butter
225g self raising flour
85g Caster Sugar
1 medium egg (beaten).

First we washed the blueberries and mixed in a bowl with the granulated sugar.

Then for the cake we put the flour in the bowl and rubbed the butter in- like you would for a crumble topping.
We then added the caster sugar and mixed.
Afterwards we made a well in the mix and added the egg. We then mixed until the ingredients became a dough.

We then divided the dough into twelve to roll into balls and put a few blueberries on top.

After spacing them out on the baking tray we put in the oven at 200

Degrees for about 12 minutes.

Fresh from the oven...

..And ready to eat.

They were lovely and light, which was perfect after a filling lunch.

Homemade Burgers

This week the group made burgers from scratch.

We spoke about how making food from scratch is much better than eating processed food. The group noted that if you make food from scratch you know exactly whats in it and avoid chemicals like preservatives.

The group decided to make sweet potato chips instead of regular chips. This is because we discussed the nutritional value of sweet potato chips and found that they are much better for us than normal potato chips.

Peeling the sweet potato.

Making the sweet potato chips proved quite difficult as sweet potato is such a hard vegetable.

Cutting the sweet potato into chips.

When making the burgers we kept it simple, using lean beef mince, very finely diced onion, garlic and seasoning.

We made beef patties and put a cube of cheddar cheese in the center of the patty. This is so the cheese can melt in the middle of the burger as it cooks.

To compliment the burgers we added lettuce, tomatoes and gherkins.

Chicken and vegetable soup with Homemade Bread

Today the group wanted to make soup so we thought it would be great to make our own bread rolls to.

First we made the Dough by mixing strong flour, fast acting yeast, salt, water and a little olive oil in a bowl.

We then kneaded the dough for 10 minutes until it came together in a smooth ball. The group members enjoyed working with their hands and seeing the dough transform.

We then let the dough rest for an hour, before kneading the dough again.

Teaching how to work the dough.

We then rolled the dough into balls and left to rest for 20 minutes before baking in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Then for the soup we cooked some chicken thighs in the oven and everyone chose some vegetables which they would like in the soup. We chose garlic, onion, celery, carrots, broccoli, sweetcorn and spinach. We cooked the garlic and onion in a little oil then added carrots and celery and let them cook until soft.

After a few minutes we added some stock and the cooked shredded chicken and the rest of the vegetables. We let this simmer for half an hour before serving with the bread rolls.

Everyone loved the soup, it was tasty and healthy. The bread rolls were lots of fun to make and complimented the soup perfectly.