Recipe: Carrot Fritters

Carrots are one vegetable that Lyra is really fussy about, she will eat them cooked in a stew or soup but if I just boil or steam them she won't even try them.  It is like she knows that they aren't going to be soft enough, or just bleurgh...I don't get it.

In a bid to get her to eat more than a couple of pieces of carrot we made some fritters together. For the last week or so Lyra has been helping me make EVERY snack and meal we've had by standing up on her little step stool and chucking ingredients into bowls or onto plates. Having Lyra help me is so much fun, but it really takes a lot of organisation and planning on my part...like I have to think about how much chopping I might have to do, if there is any raw meat or eggs, how long things take to actually cook (patience isn't a trait she has developed yet) and I also have to try to get all the ingredients and stuff out and ready before she pulls the stool over to the counter and climbs up.  

These fritters are great because they don't have any added egg so it doesn't matter so much if little ones feel the need for quality control.  We managed to make the batter for the fritters and fry them with very little difficulty, the hardest part was letting them sit until dinner time (that pesky patience again).  Lyra ate 2 and a half with her dinner of leftover stuffed pepper, and I enjoyed 4 with some salad and couscous. There were 4 or 5 leftover and they tasted great cold the next day.  

Carrot Fritters

Ingredients 

200g grated carrots (or courgettes, or a combination) 

50g grated cheddar cheese

50g plain flour

pinch of ground cumin

pinch of ground coriander 

2 TBSP water 

oil for pan frying

Method 

In a bowl combine veg, cheese, flour and spices and mix to distribute the ingredients. 

Add the water a little at a time until you have a batter that is sticky but not runny. 

Heat a frying pan on medium heat and add the oil. 

Once the oil is hot gently plop TSBPs of the mixture into the pan and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon. 

Fry for 3-4 mins on one side, flip carefully and fry until golden on the other side. 

Remove from pan and place on paper towel to soak up any extra oil. 

Repeat until all the batter is cooked. 

We put ours in an oven proof dish and kept warm in the oven for a couple of hours until SOMEONE couldn't stand it anymore and started crying at the kitchen door. 

Enjoy with some creme fraiche for dipping, or on their own. 

Recipe: Smoked Haddock Chowder

Every once in a while dinner time rolls around and I think...oh rats...why am I making this!? I just know that Lyra isn't going to like it.  9 times out of 10 I am wrong and she does like whatever it is that I am convinced she won't. She constantly amazes me with her love of food (wonder where she gets that from) and I can really only name a handful of things she consistently turns her nose up...carrots cooked in any way other than in a stew. Even so I was pretty sure she wasn't going to be all that enthralled with the incredibly smokey chowder I whipped up earlier this week. 

Again, I was wrong...kind of.  Yes, she managed to pick out every single piece of cauliflower and hand them over to me one by one, but she devoured her smoked haddock and potatoes with delight and screamed out MORE MORE MORE. I couldn't help but chuckle while I nibbled on her cauliflower cast outs. 

Smoked Haddock Chowder
Serves 2 adults 2 toddlers

Ingredients: 

1 fillet of undyed smoked haddock

1 pint of whole milk 

a handful of cauliflower florets broken into small pieces 

3 medium white potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes 

1 medium leek thinly sliced in half circles 

oil or butter to sauté 

Method: 

In a large enough sauce pan, with a lid, gently heat the milk. Once simmering place the haddock in the milk and poach until the fish is cooked. Carefully lift out the fish once it is cooked, let cool and flake into bite sized pieces. Reserve milk. 

In a large pot sauté leeks in oil or butter until soft. Add in cauliflower and potatoes and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Pour the warm milk that you poached the fish in over the vegetables and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. 

Once the vegetables are soft add the flaked fish and simmer until the fish has warmed through. 

If needed add a splash more milk, or cream. 

For Lyra I used a slotted spoon to drain off most of the milk to reduce any mess.  

Meal Planning: Meat Free Meals

Before Lyra was born we made a conscious effort to eat less meat, but now that she is here and eating like a pro we are more conscientious about how balanced our meals are...meaning adding more meat (back) into our diet.  

For a 2 week period I usually buy 500g of minced beef, 400ish g of skinless, boneless chicken thighs, and 450g of stewing beef to make 5 meals. On top of that we will have fish, usually salmon, once over the 2 weeks. Typing it out it seems like a lot of meat, especially compared to what we used to eat, but we are still making an effort to limit the amount of meat we eat.  

After taking the meat and fish meals into account I have 8 meat free dinners to plan each fortnight.  Keeping these 8 meals fresh, exciting and packed with all the good things Lyra needs can be challenging.  I use Pinterest a lot for inspiration, and have a good handful of firm favourites up my sleeve so meal planning doesn't take me too long, most of the time. 

Here are some of my recent finds, and good ol' stand-bys...some with links to recipes.  

quinoa, black bean and butternut squash soup

butternut squash mac n cheese

mushroom stroganoff

maple mushroom burgers with sweet potato fries

carrot soup with grilled cheese

courgette pasta 

risotto 

barley and lentil soup

falafel

grilled halloumi with greek salad and chick peas 

lentil bolognaise

red lentil dahl

chunky vegetable soup 

pasta with aubergine

broccoli and pepper stir fry 

and of course...

PIZZA 

Recipe: Courgette and Cheddar Loaf

Every couple of weeks I like to bake a loaf cake to slice up and have in the freezer for snacks.  I usually make a banana bread, or carrot cake...something sweet, but recently I made this recipe for zucchini cheddar bread from the Weelicious website (check it out if you haven't already, it is an amazing resource for meal and snack ideas).  

This savoury loaf is essentially a soda bread and mixes up super quick with no added butter or oil.  The added zucchini is a great way to sneak a bit of veg into Lyra's diet.  I substituted white flour, because that is what I had in the cupboard.  So easy.  

Once completely cooled the loaf slices really easily.  I sliced it into 1cm thick slices and wrapped each one individually in cling film.  Into the freezer they went and now I can just take one out at breakfast and it is defrosted well before snack time.  

Recipes: Lentil Bolognese

I am not sure why I have had so much trouble finding a good lentil bolognese recipe.  In the past I think the recipes I have tried have always turned out either too watery or not seasoned properly or just bleurgh.  The thing is, lentil bolognese is a CHEAP way to get loads of good STUFF since red lentils are jam packed with fibre, iron, vitamin b and protein so I would like to actually ENJOY eating it.  

I plan vegetarian dishes for about half of our dishes and something like lentil bolognese, where I can make a pretty decent sized pot for not too much money, is a great way to bulk out my Meal Plan.  I came across THIS RECIPE on the Tesco Real Food site and thought I would try it out...with a few tweaks. 

It was REALLY GOOD, it tasted like Bolognese, it had the consistency and texture of Bolognese, it stuck to and coated the pasta, I will make it again.  

Of course, it is my tweaks that have made it the way it is (yeah...right) so here's what I did: 

LENTIL BOLOGNESE 

Ingredients 

1 tin of chopped tomatoes 

1 small onion, finely chopped 

1 clove garlic, finely chopped, 

150g red lentils, rinsed 

320g jar of Dolmio Bolognese Pasta Sauce (or your favourite brand BUT it needs to be a thick sauce)

1 tsp bouillon powder (we like Marigold Swiss Bouillon) 

good handful of grated parmesan cheese

Method: 

gently fry onion and garlic in a little bit of oil until soft, add lentils and coat in the oil.  

sprinkle in bouillon powder and then add in chopped tomatoes and pasta sauce. 

bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender and falling apart, about 30-40 mins, stirring every 10 mins. 

add a splash of water if it looks dry. 

when the lentils are cooked add in the cheese and good pinch of black pepper and stir to melt the cheese into the sauce. 

serve with your favourite pasta shape. 

this sauce freezes well and also keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days.