prawn and pea risotto.

shopping list
♥ 200g arborio risotto rice
♥ 180g frozen jumbo prawns
♥ 100g peas
♥ 200ml vegetable stock
♥ one white onion, chopped
♥ two garlic cloves, chopped
♥ block of parmigiano reggiano
♥ a knob of butter
♥ lots of black pepper

makes two large portions.

so i decided to make risotto for my lovely friend nicky. with her as chief taster of course!

begin by caramelising the garlic and onion in a pan on a low heat with butter. 

after about ten minutes, add the risotto rice and lightly toast by moving around the pan for about thirty seconds before adding the stock. 

next, simmer for around 20 minutes whilst adding the stock bit by bit. add a little bit of cheese and stir it in - especially if you like your risotto extra creamy! 

don't be afraid to make more stock if you think it needs more - just don't let it stick to the pan and keep on stirring.

lastly, add the prawns about ten minutes before the end and peas five minutes before the end. it should (hopefully) all come together so that the prawns and peas have defrosted at the same time the rice is cooked.  

serve with a little black pepper, grated cheese and a smile.

mozzarella and refried bean tortillas.

shopping list
♥ four tortillas
♥ 435g can of refried beans
♥ one mozzarella ball, sliced 

makes four large tortillas or six lighter ones.









this is a really simple, mexican inspired vegetarian dish which takes minutes to make! you can might them spicier with hot refried beans, but if you regularly read my blog you'll know i'm a total wimp when it comes to heat.




mash up the refried beans and cook for a minute or so in the microwave or in a pan. 



next, arrange a couple of tablespoons of the beans with a slice of mozzarella and wrap up into a trusty triangle.



i used my housemate's lean mean grill machine which was nice as it had the grill lines on it. i suppose you could also use a frying pan or toastie maker!

and that's it really - yummy, veggie friendly wraps full of mexican beans and gooey cheese. delish!

flourless chocolate brownies: based on nigella lawson's recipe.

ahh well i'm the birthday girl today, 21+3 to be exact! whilst reluctantly avoiding changing my bio, and amongst two brilliant birthday meals so far, i've decided to make some trusty brownies to take into work. 

as you may know, i recently had a go at vegan soup as my housemate is vegan. inspired by this and the fact my friend at work doesn't eat gluten, i thought i'd have a go at these! 

based on nigella's recipe for flourless chocolate brownies, these gluten free goodies taste just as good as floury ones, with the ground almonds giving them a tasty, nutty flavour. i have tweaked her recipe to include white chocolate chunks as i love the chewy surprise every so often as you eat them. enjoy!

shopping list

♥ 200g dark chocolate (80% cocoa solids)
♥ 150g ground almonds
♥ 3 eggs
♥ 200g caster sugar
♥ 225 butter 
♥ 75g white chocolate
♥ a pinch of salt



preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. melt the chocolate and butter gently over a low heat over a saucepan. 








take the pan off the heat and add the sugar and salt, stirring as you go.




beat the eggs in one by one, and then stir in the ground almonds.

next, pour into a buttered up baking tray and drop in chunks of broken up white chocolate. push a few to the bottom of the pan so they're all randomly in the mix!

nigella's recipes says 25-30 minutes but mine are already in 40 minutes and not ready. it's hard to tell really. though my oven at the moment is from about 1978 so is probably taking ages. 

i'd say when the top starts to look harder and sort of cracked, yet when you put a fork/skewer in it comes out clean... they're done! in the end mine took 50 minutes!

leave to set before taking them out. if you want to eat them warm, i personally wait for them to set first time round and then re-warm them up with a bit of cream. yummmmmmmmmmmm!

salmon and spinach lasagne.

shopping list

♥ three salmon fillets
♥ one bag of spinach
♥ one white onion
♥ three cloves of garlic
♥ three fresh lasagne sheets
♥ 250g mascapone
♥ a handful of dill





begin by wrapping up the salmon steaks in tin foil with a splash of olive oil and a little black pepper. put them in the oven for around 20 minutes whilst you prepare the filling for the other layers.












for the spinach layer, begin by cooking the chopped onion and garlic in a pan with a touch of oil or butter. then little by little add the spinach until wilted. this will take around ten minutes.





next, prepare the mascapone layer by mixing in a handful of dill and lots of black pepper. 




by this time your salmon should be mostly cooked and flakey enough to make a salmon layer - the key is that it still stays quite chunky. don't worry if it isn't fully cooked as it will be when baked later.



i began by putting the salmon in the bottom of the lasagne dish, followed by the spinach and onion mixture, followed by a sheet of lasagne.




then put a layer of mascapone, salmon and spinach. any order is fine really as long as have two layers of salmon and enough mascapone to go on the top at the end.


bake for 30 minutes at 200 degrees, or until the top is golden brown. 

and voila!