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As mentioned in Day 23 of The Challenge The concept of using cauliflower in such a way is one I was introduced to relatively recently. It is low in calories, but smooth and decadent tasting. The trick is to balance the flavours effectively: not too much garlic, enough acidity to bring out the cauliflower. Miso paste works well in this, as does balsamic vinegar. In this case I used lemon juice, and skipped the miso as I thought the spinach and bacon would give the dish the deeper notes otherwise provided by the miso. Ingredients: Half a head of Cauliflower hut into florets 3 cloves of garlic, peeled 1/2 c milk 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 handfuls of spinach 1 cup of mushrooms, sliced 4 rashers of thick cut bacon, cut into pieces Spaghetti for 2 Pepper and parmesan to taste 1) Steam the cauliflower florets for 5 minutes or until tender, then blend with the garlic, milk and lemon juice until silky smooth. If using miso, add it now, or feel free to swap out the lemon juice for another acid. This step can be done in advance and added to the other ingredients later. 2) Cook your spaghetti as per instructions, reserving a little pasta water when you drain it. 3)In a pan, cook your bacon until it has rendered its fat and it turning crispy. Set it aside on a kitchen towel to dry. 4) In the same pan, fry your mushrooms, then just wilt your spinach. 5) Toss all ingredients together in the pasta pot or in a bowl. If the sauce is too thick, add some lemon juice or the pasta water, depending on your taste test determinations. Pepper and cheese to taste. The sauce to this can be paired with a number of alternatives to the bacon. We have done it successfully with asparagus, for example. I plan on trying it with pumpkin. It was a surprise how rich and decadent this tastes, and while I still very much enjoy a classic carbonara with all the cream and eggs, this is a very worthy alternative.

As mentioned in Day 23 of The Challenge We tend to have a light meal for lunch, like soup or salad, and we live around the corner from a farm stall. This happened because of their phenomenal fresh carrots and kale. It took all of 15 minutes to get on the table, as well as prepping for the cauliflower carbonara for dinner, it was packed full of flavours, textures, and colours while being light and easy. I highly recommend this! Just skip the eggs to make this salad vegan. Ingredients: 2 onions, spiralised 2 normal carrots (or one huge one), spiralised on the ribbon setting Kale 2 tbsp olive oil 3 tsp honey 1 tsp nigella seeds a handful of walnuts a handful of sage leaves 2 eggs 1 red pepper 2 stalks of celery 4 sundried tomatoes 1 tsp balsamic vinegar Salt and pepper to taste 1) Cut kale into thirds and steam for a few minutes, until the leaves just start to change colour - not too long as you want to retain some crunch. Place on plates. 2) thinly slice the red pepper and plate with the kale. 3) Heat half of the olive oil into a pan. When it is shimmering, add the onions and sauté until tender and starting to brown. Add nigela seeds and cook for a few more minutes before adding to the kale. 4) Meanwhile heat the rest of the oil in a second pan and sauté the carrots. Add the balsamic and the honey and the sage leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, and plate up. 5) Poach the eggs for 4 minutes, then carefully extract them and place them on top of the salad. Add walnuts, celery sticks and sun-dried tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste and serve. We had this with grapes and tasty bread and local cheese, as well as a home-made mayonnaise. My husband declares to be one of his favourite things I've made.

The Challenge update: So last week was a busy one, with a couple of nights shifts and other bits going on, so we needed a big meal that would give us leftovers for the week - the jambalaya - and something easy to prep ahead then assemble quickly - the carbonara. The jackets and salad were a lunch and a quick dinner on getting back home tonight. For the rest, it was a week of leftovers or of being away. Here is the recipe for the kale and honey carrot salad, and here is the one for the carbonara. Recipe for the jambalaya coming soon!

As mentioned in Day 20 of The Challenge There are a number of different ways of doing this recipe, but many of those ways seem heavy on stodge and light on veg, so we tweaked a bit. It was filling but not too heavy, perfect for an early autumn supper! Ingredients: 6 big cabbage leaves 6 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed 1 c of peas 1/4 head of broccoli 2 c of spinach, blanched, or 2 cubes of defrosted frozen spinach 1/4 summer squash, chopped 3 eggs 1/2 c cheese of your choice (we used a local soft cheese) 2 TBSP of butter 2 TBSP of chutney of your choice ( we used our freshly made plum chutney) 2 tsp fresh thyme 2 tsp fresh oregano 1 tsp mustard Salt and Pepper 1) Steam the cabbage leaves for 5 minutes. Roast the squash for 10 minutes at 180°C in 1 tbsp of butter in the oven proof dish you will be using for the pie. 2) Mix mashed potatoes, peas, spinach, broccoli, cheese and eggs together in a bowl. Add the thyme, oregano, mustard, salt and pepper and mix well. 3) Add the squash to the potato mixture and make sure that the butter spreads around the whole dish. Line the pie dish with the cabbage leaves, leaving one for the top. 4) Fill the pie, spread chutney over the top and close the cabbage leaves over the pie filling. Dot the top with butter, and bake for a half hour until the top is golden brown. Serve with chutney, mustard or on its own. This was very tasty, I had meant to add carrots, but being the entertainment part of the Dinner and a Show for my baby got to me and I forgot the carrots. It also could have used a touch more salt, but other than that, this one was definitely a keeper. As with most things, I will play around with veg, add bacon occasionally, and maybe alter the seasoning, and I recommend that you do the same. Make it yours!

Challenge update: I've seen a variety of versions of this in recipes, but they always seem too heavy and lacking in veg, but I liked the idea of a pie with a cabbage crust instead of a pie shell. It had potatoes and cheese to act as the food glue, but we also had a lot of veg in there to lighten it up, with spinach, peas, broccoli and squash. It was moreish and filling, good for an evening at the start of the autumn! Recipe here!

As mentioned in Day 18 of The Challenge As previously mentioned, it is plum season. We spent a couple of days making two types of plum jam and a plum and apple chutney, so we decided to use the immature chutney to marinate a couple of pork chops, which we then slow roasted over veg. Served with its veg and juices, with a cider on the side it was beautiful. Ingredients: 2 pork chops 4 carrots, sliced 3 potatoes, in chunks 2 red onions, chopped 1 apple, chopped 8 plums, chopped 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 2 tsp cooking sake 1 red chilli, chopped 4 big cabbage leaves 2 tsp black sesame seeds 1) Line a deep oven proof dish with the cabbage leaves. Add potatoes, onions and carrot to the dish, reserving 1/2 onion. Place pork chops over the top. 2) Stew plums and apples in a small amount of water. Add sake and rice wine vinegar, chilli and the remaining half onion. 3) Spoon the plum and apple over the pork. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. 4) Roast covered at 150°C for 2 hours, then uncover for the last 20 minutes. Serve with crusty bread for the juices. We were very happy with this. No tweaks! The pork was tender, the veg absorbed the flavours and juices. Extra juices are great mopped up, or save them for a risotto!

As mentioned in Day 17 of The Challenge This is one of our own creation. Born of leftover Mulligatawny soup and a love (read obsession) for soufflés which developed during our time in South Africa, this is a big favourite in our house and not done nearly as often as I would like! Light and fluffy, the mulligatawny flavours are attenuated but present. We tend to serve it on a bed of spiralised and sautéed veg, usually carrots and courgettes. This lends the meal a freshness, while also bulking it out (soufflés are basically very tasty air...). Ingredients: For the soufflé: 3/4 c mulligatawny soup (see recipe here) 2 tsp butter for the roux, 1 tbsp for the dish 2 tsp flour 3 egg yolks 8 egg whites 2 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp fenugreek seeds fried in 1 tsp butter Parmesan, grated, for the top - approx. 1/4 c. For the veggie beds: 3 courgettes, spiralised 2 carrots, spiralised 2 onions, spiralised 1 tbsp peanut oil 1 tsp white sesame seeds 1 tsp black sesame seeds 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 1 tsp cooking sake 1/2 tbsp pomegranate molasses 1) Make a roux by melting the butter in a saucepan and mixing in the flour. Add the mulligatawny soup, then beat in the egg yolks. 2) Beat the egg white to form stiff peaks. Mix one third of these into the mulligatawny roux, then carefully fold in the rest of the whites. 3) Butter a soufflé dish thoroughly, then mix together the spices. Coat the inside of the buttered dish with the spices. 4) Pour the soufflé batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle parmesan over the top. 5) Place this in an oven-proof dish filled with hot water (about half as high as the soufflé dish), and place the whole thing in the oven at 200°C for 35-40 minutes (if using a big dish. With individual dishes, 8-10 minutes only!) 6) Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan over medium high heat. sauté the onion for a minute then add the carrot, sauté a couple more minutes then add the courgette. 7) Add sesame seeds, soy sauce, vinegar and sake to the pan and toss. Don't add too much as you don't want these to be soupy. Also, don't over cook them. A little bite is good. 8) Dish, and drizzle a little pomegranate molasses over the top. Remove the soufflé from the oven and spoon immediately over the veggie beds before it collapses. I personally love this. I wasn't sure how it would go when I first went off script with soufflés, and then when I went even further off by using soup for a base instead of a batter, but things turned out rather well. I encourage anyone to try their hand at soufflés! Be creative with them! Let me know if you have any suggestions, anything you want me to try, and then share the results from, or anything you tried and want to share.

Challenge update: I love a good risotto. I thoroughly enjoy the traditional ones with actual names, but I also enjoy making risotto with a variety of liquids instead of the more regular broth and wine. In this case I used the left over juices (and veg) from the cabbage dumplings and last night's plum pork. The complimented each other nicely with their fruity flavours - apricot and plum respectively. To keep it from being too sweet, I added a dash or red wine and some oregano. Some plums and walnuts to round it off, and we had an easy dinner that used up some leftovers and satisfied Sir Shouts-A-Lot enough to quieten him and make him happy. Unless anyone has made both and particularly wants, I won't include a recipe as it was specifically based on left overs, but do say if you want one, or if you want me to make one up for you including the right notes, drop me a comment or a message and I can make that happen. Including it for the challenge though, and as inspiration :) No post tomorrow as we will be out.

As mentioned in Day 16 of The Challenge I heard about this every year on New Year's Eve for years in The 90th Birthday or Dinner For One (do watch it if you have a minute, it is very entertaining), without ever knowing what it was. Then I tried it a couple of years ago and loved it and it has become a staple. It has a good mix of warm spice notes, and a good solid base. There are masses of different recipes out there for Mulligatawny Soup, which made it to Europe during the Raj and is thus a very tasty vestige of the British Empire and colonialism. I tried a number of different recipes and then tweaked to make one of my own. I hope you enjoy! Do leave comments :) Ingredients: 1/4 c butter 1 onion, chopped 1 carrot, diced 1 hot red pepper, diced half a head of garlic, minced 2 tsp ginger, minced 2 apples diced 3 tomatoes, diced 1/2 tsp of paprika (or tandoori powder - I find it adds a richer flavour note) 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp of curry powder of your choice (I used a strong Moroccan one, but have also used an orange curry powder from a market in Munich) 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp cinnamon Black pepper to taste - I like to use a lot, but the choice is yours 1/2 c red lentils 2/3 c coconut milk 3 c of chicken broth Roasted nuts to garnish (cashews are my favourite, but otherwise walnuts are very nice too) Fresh coriander to garnish 1) Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion, carrot, and pepper for a few minutes until the onion is translucent. 2) Add the garlic, ginger apples and tomatoes. Cook a further few minutes and then chuck in the spices and stir. 3) Add lentils and broth. Bring to a boil then simmer for about a half hour, until the lentils are cooked (red lentils cook quickly, so no need to soak them but you can if you want or if in doubt - over night will be super sure, but a few hours works too.) 4) Blend til about 75% of the soup is smooth, but with enough chunks remaining for texture, then add coconut milk. 5) Add toppings and serve. traditionally this would be with naan, but we've done it with tattie scones, flat bread or regular crusty bread. Any of these work. There is a reason this has become a staple for us. I hope you enjoy it too. We had no James to dish it, but I'm glad I actually looked this one up :) *Note: Don't worry about leftovers. It heats up fine, or you can make Miss Sophie's Soufflés! (Recipe coming very soon!)

Challenge update: Using leftover mulligatawny soup, we made Miss Sophie's Soufflés (see the video link in the Mulligatawny recipe) on a bed of spiralised courgette and carrot. Light but tasty. The flavours complimented each other beautifully, and it is a worthy use of left over soup (the soufflés also paved the way for custard with the leftover cake, as there were egg yolks left ;) ). It is now officially plum season, so we have somehow managed to buy about 5kgs of them in the last 3 days, which means that it is plum jam (2 different types!) and chutney season and tonight we used plum and apple stew to coat pork chops for a roast. Succulent and tender, sweet, but with a bit of a kick, this is a must try! Here is the recipe to Miss Sophie's soufflés, and here is the Plum Pork roast recipe.