Bagel Time

Well I've just finished my first week of university and I'm already experimenting with lots of options for breakfast lunch and dinner. I'm used to food shopping for my family, but food shopping for one is slightly trickier yet more exciting as I can choose anything I fancy (within budget of course) and eat when and whatever I like. Of course there are draw backs, I have to buy little and often opposed to one big shop, but that means I get more creative with the ingredients I already have. However, walking through the isles in Morrision's I was heavily tempted by the 5 for £1 bagel offer in the bakery section. Bagel's aren't something I regularly eat, but occasionally I get a craving for them, and this was was on of those times. It's probably due to the fact I've been watching the Great British Bake off on BBC iplayer where they've recently made bagels. Did you know they part boil the bagel before putting it in the oven ? This is apparently what gives them their chewy texture. But besides that little gem of information, I was once again influenced by TV and couldn't wait to have a bagel for breakfast.

 Scott stayed this weekend which was really lovely. We both had bagels, but with different spreads. I personally like Philadelphia and strawberry jam, I know how weird that sounds, but I once had it at a friends house and never looked back !!! Scott opted for strawberry jam and cheese... a combination also favoured by my grandparents on sandwiches, but that's another story.....

 I also like peanut butter (and when I'm in a really terrible mood, peanut butter and nutella, wow), and I also like to have it as a ham and salad sandwich. We toast ours but that again is optional!

 There is obviously no need for me to write a recipe for this, it was more a sort of inspiration for breakfast, as it can be quite monotonous to have the same breakfast everyday and sometimes you just need a little change. So bring on the bagels :)

Watercress soup and ploughmans lunch

This recipe is my Grandma's and I've been eating it for years! It so easy to make, and pretty cheap to make too! It tastes creamy but doesn't actually have any cream in, so it makes me feel a little healthier which is always nice...

Scott and I had this soup for lunch today, with a sort of ploughman's platter. We are little piggy's I know, but we both both try to make all meal times special and enjoy creating new and old concoctions for breakfast, lunch and tea (and the naughty snacks in between).

Ingredients:

1 onion

1 potato

butter 1oz

1 packet of watercress, (roughly a handful and a half)

milk 1/2 pint

vegetable or chicken stock 1/2 pint

salt& pepper

Optional - Cream to drizzle on top.

Chop the onion and potato. Melt the butter in a saucepan and saute the onion until transparent. Add your potato and watercress, milk and stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce your heat, cover and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then blend in small batches in a blender/liquidiser. Return to the pan and season to taste.

To serve: You could add a drizzle of cream, but to be honest, it's already delicious and creamy enough.

I don't think I really need to explain this one, but the basics are that a ploughman's is a yummy lunch time dish with fresh bread and butter, a selection of cheeses and chutneys, with a little salad. I added some salami and ham because I was being greedy in Morrison's and couldn't resist them. Just cut everything into your desired sizes and display them prettily on a plate, and that's it!We had herby onion ciabatta, and a poppy seed roll which was really and fresh.

I don't usually round the corners of my pictures, but I thought I'd give it a go to see how they looked. What do you think?

Here were just a few cheeses that I picked up on the way home from college. The Brie was lovely, very mild which is how I like it, and the red Leicester was good too. I wasn't keen one the Green waxy one though, as the texture was a bit fatty, and the herby onion flavour wasn't very strong, so it just tasted a bit like plain cheddar. The snowdonia Cheese version however is amazing, but just a little out of my price limit for a Wednesday lunchtime!  But overall, a lovely lunch :)

Cheese on toast beth stylee

I love cheese on toast. It's one of those delicious foods that always makes you feel better, especially when your ill. This week i was not ill, but after making these as a snack before going to Abersoch a few weeks back, I have developed a new food obsession from them.

  

The recipe is from my grandma's cook book which she's had since she married my grandad, and its full of old recipes in a beautifully worn out handwritten book. It's become a bit of a family heirloom now and its been the source of many scrummy meals!

Ingredients:

1 egg

3 handfuls of grated cheese

2-3 Slices of toast (depending on how cheesey you want them to be)

Salt&Pepper to taste

This makes roughly 2-3 slices

1. Grate your cheese into a bowl.

 

2. Now whisk in your egg. Don't worry if it looks a little wet, it's meant to at this stage, and the egg will fully cook !

3. Add some salt and pepper

4. Toast your toast briefly for a minute, or until fractionally toasted. This is just so both sides are slightly firmer.

5. Now spread your mixture on your toast, and grill on high for roughly 5 mins or until browned. If your cheese has toasted too quickly, lower the heat to ensure all the egg has been cooked.

And there you have it! Wonderfully thick, creamy warm cheese on toast :) I find the egg lessens the grease that you can sometimes get from just grilling the cheese.