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I love Scotch eggs, preferably the good kind, rather than the petrol station kind. Living in Scotland, they were ubiquitous and an easy snack. Hubby particularly liked them as an on the go breakfast. Since leaving Scotland though, I have only made them once or twice and have not been able to buy them. Since making my Quail Scotch Eggs last year though, I've been meaning to make them again, and had been wondering about the idea of vegetarian Scotch eggs. During Lent, when I am vegetarian, heading off for a ski week with Little One and Hubby, I decided to try them. I figured they would make for easy, portable food for all of us and it would give me a chance to try out an idea. What better vegetarian base than lentils? To give these a little more body and coherence, I added some potatoes too. I also wanted to try them in the air fryer, having gotten that particular kitchen toy since last making them. Multiple (vegetarian) birds with one stone (or egg) as it were. As a bonus, I had extra coating for the eggs so decided to wrap bits of mozzarella too. Ingredients: 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 onion, minced 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp cumin 1 tsp tandoori powder 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp rosemary 1 tsp thyme A pinch of allspice 2c green lentils 4-5 small potatoes, chopped 300-400 ml water 1 c breadcrumbs 4 eggs (1 ball of mozzarella, grated) Salt to taste 1) In a large-ish saucepan, heat the oil and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and spices and fry for a couple more minutes until fragrant. 2) Add the lentils, potatoes and water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and then cook, stirring regularly, until the mixture is thick enough to be able to be moulded. Beware of burning at the end as it gets thicker! 3) Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 7-8 minutes. The goal is to have eggs on the harder side of mollet, where the yolk is still the slightest bit soft, minutes away from crumbly, but not runny at all. Remove and run under cold water. Peel and set aside. 4) When the lentils have thickened up nicely, mash any remaining potato bits and allow the mixture to cool. 5) When cool enough to handle, wrap a coating of the lentil mixture around each egg (or piece of mozzarella) and then roll in the breadcrumbs. 6) Here you have a choice. I cooked my Scotch eggs in the air fryer at 180°C for about 7 minutes. Alternatively you could shallow fry them in a pan on the stove using vegetable oil at about 180°C until the outside is nicely browned. We had these cold as picnic food (aside from the ones tasted straight out of the fryer). They kept well for a couple of days and made for easy packing and eating (although a little crumbly). They were tasty and I was happy with the spicing. Not exactly like a regular Scotch egg, but then, they weren't going to be as the coating was entirely different. As the lentil mixture was quite moist, I opted not to roll it in egg before in the breadcrumbs and it worked fine. The coating didn't hold together though, so I might strain it a little next time, just to get it a little drier before frying. Something else I would tweak next time would be to boil and mash the potatoes separately. They were an afterthought, and I just chucked them in the pot, but then hunting them down to mash all the bits proved challenging and I missed a few, leading to some potato chunks being left in the final coating. Otherwise, as the first test of an idea, I am quite pleased with these! The mozzarella bits were a bit on the messy side coming out of the air fryer, but also very tasty!

Growing up, sahlep, ground orchid root used in a Turkish milk-based hot drink, was a special treat, only after my dad had been on a trip to Istambul. I have discovered a shop here in Switzerland where I can find it now though, so while I like it as much as ever, it is less special and no longer a scarce commodity. Since discovering this, I have decided to start playing around with Sahlep as an ingredient in my cooking (Sahlep pancakes for example). As part of this, I decided a while back that I wanted to try Sahlep puddings. I tried a first iteration of these months ago, without baking. I simply chilled sahlep infused custard before serving. It was tasty, but the flavour needed some work, it was too sweet, and it never set. Summer was then crazy busy, and then there was the whole episode with the arrival of the Littler Bit, so I only revisited the idea in the last few weeks. We had been making macarons so I had egg yolks to use, so it seemed the logical thing to do. This time I decided to try baking the custards and tweaked the flavouring and sugar combo to boot. I also included whey, leftover from making ricotta to help balance out the sweetness. Ingredients: 2 tbsp flour 2 tbsp sugar 2 c milk 1 c whey 1 tsp cinnamon 2 tsp sahlep 2 1/2 tbsp maple sugar 2 tbsp butter 6 egg yolks 1 tsp mix spice 1 tbsp maple sugar 1) In a small saucepan, heat 1c of the milk over medium-low heat. stir in the sahlep, cinnamon and maple sugar. Stir until combined and thickened slightly, never allowing the milk to come above a simmer. Set aside. 2) In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and flour. Stir and allow to cook for a couple of minutes, then stir in 1c of the milk and the whey. Bring to a boil and immediately lower to a simmer. Cook until thickened so that a finger dragged across the back of a spoon dipped in the pot leaves a trail. The Parting of the Milk! 3) Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks in a bowl. Once the milk mixture has thickened, stir in a spoonful of it into the egg yolks to temper them until about 1 to 1 1/2c of the milk mixture has been incorporated into the eggs. Turn the heat off and stir the egg-milk mix into the pot. 4) Add the sahlep mix from step 1 and stir. Add the butter, allowing to melt and incorporate. Taste test, and add milk or cinnamon as necessary. 5) Spoon the resulting custard into a shallow baking dish or ramequins. Sprinkle over the remaining maple sugar and the mix spice. Bake at 180°C for 45-50 minutes, until set but still slightly jiggly. Serve warm or chilled. We all very much enjoyed this, but even more so on day 2 when it was cold, with lekerli (Swiss German gingerbreads) dipped in the custards. Definitely pleased with this, especially as it is quick and easy to make and can be prepped ahead if entertaining.

Ramen is something my husband started throwing together as a quick, easy and healthy meal a while back and we have it semi-regularly. He usually makes it with miso and beef broth, but we were out of miso, and I had pumpkin I wanted to use, so I went for a different flavour profile. Not what you might term authentic, Japanese ramen in the least, but tasty! Be aware, this recipe makes rather a large batch. I sometimes have issues with batch cooking... It did reheat very nicely though, with fresh noodles or a little extra stock. Ingredients: 4 onions, chopped 1 head of garlic, minced 3-4" ginger, minced 2-3 tbsp peanut oil 1 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar 1/2 leek, chopped 1 pack mangetouts, halved 1 head of broccoli, floretted 3 l beef stock 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp ras-el-hanout 2 tsp Mix spice 2 c roast pumpkin purée 1 small squash, chopped 1/3c soy sauce Noodles sesame seeds 1) Heat the oil in the bottom of a soup pot. Sauté onions until translucent, then add garlic and ginger. Cook until fragrant and starting to char a little and add squash. Cook 5 minutes, then add other ingredients except for mangetouts, noodles and sesame for seeds. 2) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until squash and broccoli have reached just shy of their desired consistency, then add noodles and mangetouts. Taste test. 3) Remove from heat and serve as soon as noodles are cooked. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. I was unsure how this would come out but I am pleased with the end result. It would go very nicely with a little fresh coriander, but I didn't happen to have any on hand. It would also work well with veggie stock if need be. Flatteringly, even my dad, who was over for dinner and an evening with the grandbabies, enjoyed it and went for seconds. Until now, his ramen experience has always been the instant kind in teenage boys' dorm rooms, and he has always complained that it smells like feet. His enjoyment of it I felt was therefore quite high praise.

Sweet potatoes are still inexpensive, which will only last another little while, so I managed to buy up rather a lot of them and then needed to use them (Oh! no! Not the sweet potatoes!) How else to use potatoes than a shepherd's pie. And if a shepherd's pie with sweet potato mash on top, then what to put underneath it? Beans! And then I found some sofrito in the fridge from another recipe, so that helped colour the flavours of the bean mix. Sofrito is a mix of blended onions, garlic, red pepper, green pepper, coriander, cumin and chilli. It is a South/Central American base used in cooking, the exact components and proportions of which vary. I also added beets to the beans. These I figured would help add some depth of flavour which a red meat dish normally has. The result was a little goopy because I was impatient with the bean mixture but very tasty. Ingredients: For the mash: 1 kg sweet potatoes, chopped 2 tbsp butter 1/4 c milk (ish) For the bean mix: 1 c dried red beans (small ones, not kidney beans, although these might work too) 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 c red lentils 2 tbsp olive oil 4 onions, chopped 1 head garlic, minced 2 beets, chopped 3 tbsp sofrito 1 1/2 c passata 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp dried coriander 1 tsp dried orange peel 1 tbsp red wine vinegar Juice of 1 lemon 1 c cheese, grated 1) Soak the beans overnight. (I actually first brought them to a low simmer with the baking soda and then put them in my wonderbag, or slow cooker overnight, and then I brought them back to a boil before adding the other ingredients.) 2) Place the beans on the stove, add the lentils and bring to a simmer. In a separate pot, boil the sweet potatoes until mashable - 20 to 25 minutes (a bit longer if you chop them bigger). 3) In a frying pan, heat the oil. Brown the onions and garlic, then add the sofrito and the spices. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, then add to the beans, along with the passata, beets, vinegar and lemon juice. Simmer to reduce until thickened to a spoonable consistency (or less if you don't mind it a bit liquidy). 4) Drain and mash the sweet potatoes with milk and butter. In a large ovenproof dish, place a layer of beans and then spread the sweet potatoes over the top. Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Bake at 180°c for 30-35 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden and the two layers have married and bubbled together. This was really tasty! It needed the beets and the brightening with the lemon and vinegar, but the spicing worked well for what it was and the beans contrasted nicely with the sweet potato mash. There was about twice as much of the bean mix as I needed, so I set the excess aside and we used it subsequently in wraps which it was very well suited to. The beans were a little mushier than I would have liked. I assumed the cook times of kidney beans, which these clearly did not need. I would recommend merely soaking them overnight rather than placing them in a slow cooker, and leaving them alone until you start bringing other bits together the next day. I enthusiastically got them back on the stove too soon and they disintegrated. As a result, the beans could have done with some more texture to them. In addition to cooking the beans a bit less, I am wondering if something like cashews might not go nicely in the bean portion. That is just musing though. I have no idea. If you try it, let me know!

Or is it Lemony Cream Pasta? Working with what we had in the fridge, this is what came out. We have a teething baby (why already at 10 weeks old? I thought we had another couple of months!) and a toddler who refused to nap today and was overtired, so it had to be quick and easy. We've all been sick so the more places I can include vitamin C, the better. This was the result this evening, and it seemed good enough to share, so here it is. Ingredients: 500g tagliatelle 1 1/2 - 2 c slab bacon, cubed 2 onions, chopped 1 c mascarpone 1 c cream 1 lemon, peel strips and juice 1 tsp sumac 6(ish) c spinach, or 6 large frozen cubes 1 tbsp vinegar - I used homemade lemon vinegar, white wine vinegar would work too. Salt and pepper Optional: Cured egg yolk grated over the top 1) Boil the pasta until al dente, as per packet instructions. Drain setting aside 2c of pasta water. Stir in mascarpone, cream, vinegar and lemon juice. Add sumac, salt and pepper. Add necessary pasta water to achieve enough sauce to coat the pasta but not have it swimming. 2) Meanwhile, brown the bacon bits in a pan over medium heat. Add onions and fry for a few minutes until translucent. Add spinach and strips of lemon peel, cooking until spinach is wilted or defrosted, depending on what you're using. 3) Stir the bacon and spinach mix into the pasta. Grate cured egg yolk over the top if using. Taste test and serve warm (optionally with a nice rosé.) We really enjoyed this. It came together quickly (the longest part was defrosting the spinach), it felt light but was flavourful. Little Bit objected to anything touching his pasta until he realised he was missing out on bacon. Definitely going to hold onto this one. Despite the cream, bacon and mascarpone, it was not overly rich or heavy. It would also have worked without the bacon (surprisingly, as I usually seem to think most things could be improved with bacon!), although it was certainly tasty with it!

I started making my own apple pectin last year, and have used it a couple of times for jellies (like my Lemon and Ginger Chilli Jelly). Apple pectin is entirely naturally occurring in apples, and in the presence of sugar, it helps gel things. I wondered if it would be possible to use pectin instead of gelatine in other things, like Panna Cotta. I do like panna cotta and like playing around with flavours for it occasionally (like my lemon-topped one, or my savoury lemongrass and coconut one!). I was a little worried that the pectin would both flavour and colour the panna cotta as it is a pink colour. As for the flavour, I decided to run with it and pair it with applesauce. The idea has been bouncing around for a little while and I finally decided to try it. Recipe Cook time: 20-30 minutes + chill time 4 hours to overnight -- Portions: 4 -- Difficulty: Easy Ingredients: 2c cream 2 c apple pectin 3 tbsp brown sugar 1 c apple sauce 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp allspice 1) Pour cream and pectin into a saucepan and heat slowly. Stir in sugar. Bring to a slow simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. 2) Mix the cinnamon and allspice into the applesauce and spoon it into the bottom of 4 or 5 glasses. Gently pour the cream mixture over the top of the apple sauce and chill overnight in the fridge. This worked. Ish. Better than I had feared but not as well as I had hoped. I initially started with 1 c pectin, but while the cream did thicken, it didn't gel. I poured it all (apple sauce included as I couldn't seem to get just the cream) back into a saucepan, and added the third tablespoon of sugar and another cup of pectin. I cooked it again and chilled it again. This time it worked! The cream was the right consistency for panna cotta, and absolutely delicious, with little bits of apple and lots of spice caught in it. The only problem was that the cream was a solid layer on top of a layer of juice. I don't know if it was from the apple sauce or from the pectin, or a little of each, but as soon as we started eating the panna cotta, the juice seeped up and mixed with the cream, and it was all a liquidy mess. Next time, I think I need to reduce both the apple sauce and the pectin a bit further to prevent that. It was still tasty though! So very tasty! Science experiment successful though. Pectin works to gel things other than jellies, as a replacement for gelatine. With some caveats! The other issue with using homemade pectin, scientifically speaking, is that it is not going to be a uniform strength. What took 2 cups of pectin this time might take 1 1/2 or 3 next time, there is no real way to know... I guess I will just have to play that one by ear. Luckily, that is how most of my cooking happens, so I'm ok with that. Also, it didn't turn pink, but was a little coloured by the spices. I will have to try this one again, with reduced ingredients, to see how it goes then. Served in little glasses, I think this could work quite nicely as a party food!

Anyone who has ever lived with me for any period of time knows that my morning go-to is oatmeal. I love it. It is quick and simple, it keeps me satisfied for the morning, even when on my feet on a busy ward (or nursing a baby every 2 hours) and I love the creamy texture. Not to mention that oats are very healthy for you. 95% of the time I have my porridge the same way (made with milk and raisins, and just a sprinkling of cinnamon over the top). Once in a while though, I like to shake things up a bit and play with other flavourings for my morning go-to, and even sometimes to sweeten the pot a little, as it were. I've posted a few oaty recipes before (Persimmon Porridge, Fenugreek Porridge, Sweet Potato Porridge, Baked Oats) but thought it was maybe time for some more. Recipes: Cook time: 15 mminutes -- Portions: 2 -- Difficulty: Easy Roast Chestnut Oats: Ingredients: 1 c oats 2 c milk 1 c roast chestnuts, crumbled or chopped A handful of raisins 1 tbsp maple or light brown sugar 1 tsp mix spice (Optional: a splash of cream) 1) In a small saucepan, place the oats, milk, most of the chestnuts and raisins and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly to prevent burning. 2) When it has thickened to the desired consistency, stir in the sugar and spice, pour out into two bowls, and top with the remaining chestnuts. Pour over the cream now, if using. Enjoy hot with a good cup of tea (or coffee if that is your thing.) Hot chocolate works too. Candied Orange Oats: Ingredients: 1 c whey 1 c milk 1 c oats 2 tbsp candied orange peel A handful of raisins 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tbsp cacao nibs 1) Place the whey, milk, oats, most of the candied orange peel and the raisins in a saucepan and soak overnight. 2) In the morning, bring the saucepan up to a simmer over medium heat. Stir regularly to prevent sticking and cook until you have achieved the desired consistency. 3) Spoon out into two bowls and top with the remaining orange peel, the cacao nibs and the cinnamon. Both of these work beautifully for a bit of a switch-up of your morning porridge. Either or neither can be soaked overnight, depending on your tastes and what is more convenient. I tend to soak whey porridge overnight as it cuts the acidity a little and comes out sweeter than it would if made fresh in the morning. I like it both ways (pun unintended), but Hubby finds making it fresh in the morning too acidic, so I have bent to his taste here. Conversely, although I do soak milk porridge overnight, I find it quite sweet in the morning, so I often make that in the morning instead. There are no hard and fast rules though! Swaps and substitutions: Both of these recipes would work with other forms of hot cereal. For example, for cream of what, substitute out the cup of oats for 6 tbsp of cream of wheat. For a vegan or dairy-free experience, swap out the whey or the milk for your favourite nut milk. Personally, I would go for almond milk in this instance, but the choice is yours! Instead of the mix spice in the first recipe, swap in pumpkin spice, or some cinnamon and cloves, or skip the spice altogether. Rather than the raisins, replace them with some diced prunes or dates, but be aware that these are almost a little sweeter. They do work beautifully though. Instead of the cocoa nibs, you could be truly decadent and use chocolate chips. For my part, I would go for dark ones, but it is your breakfast! (As a side note, I have been loving cocoa nibs recently and have enjoyed putting them in all sorts of things that would normally have chocolate chips. If given the chance to soak even a little, they soften up wonderfully, while still remaining toothsome, and they have that much less sugar.) Instead of the maple sugar in the first recipe, use light brown sugar. Be aware that although dark brown sugar would work too, this will deepen the flavour notes considerably. Cinnamon sugar or plain white would work too. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Instead of apple sauce, an interesting variant of this recipe could use pumpkin purée for a seasonal twist

This is my fourth rösti recipe on this blog (Courgette and Apple Rösti with Chanterelles, Non-Traditional I like that once you free yourself from the need to keep it traditional, it can become such a versatile I like traditional rösti too, but all too often, it is just a pile of greasy potatoes, with not much Toying with it in the afternoon, I was trying to figure out how rösti, even non-traditional, went with without the cheese, although I certainly enjoyed both, As a side note, if I continue to play around with traditional

Littler Bit has arrived, spelling the end of a rather tough pregnancy. My body and energy levels are bouncing back, but not so my sleep schedule. I now have a toddler and a newborn to contend with, so we'll see what effect this has on my cooking going forward. My sister, she of the Variations on a Theme recipes, is staying with us to help for a while. Shortly after arriving she mentioned having seen an idea somewhere for a rainbow lasagna, but without actually looking at what it entailed. We have since spent the last few days bouncing ideas around and decided to try our own version tonight. Well received by all (except Little Bit, who as a toddler, objects to various elements of his food touching each other, a necessity in lasagna), so here it is. It is maybe an intimidating ingredient list, but assembly is very quick! Caution: the quantities below resulted in about two complete lasagna pans-worth -- about double what we had intended. This worked out well, as we now have ready-made leftovers. Reduce all ingredients except cheese and red pepper for a single dish. Ingredients: 2 beets, peeled and sliced 1 1/2c ricotta 2 c spinach (or 2 large cubes of frozen spinach) 3/4 c tinned tomato 1 c black beans - cooked or tinned 1 large eggplant, thinly sliced 2 zucchinis, thinly sliced 2 c butternut squash purée* (from roasted squash scooped out of its skin) 1 tbsp butter, melted 2 red bell peppers, quartered lengthwise 2c grated cheese (we used gruyère- and raclette-type cheese leftover in the fridge) 1/3 c mascarpone 1/4 c whey, milk, or stock (we used whey) ~6 lasagna sheets 1 tsp sumac 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp urfa biber 1/2 tsp allspice 2 tsp sage 1 tsp thyme 1/2 tsp tarragon Handful of pomegranate seeds Salt and Pepper to taste * Could be replaced with pumpkin purée, either homemade or tinned (if you have the good fortune to live in a place where that is available to you). 1) Steam beets until al dente. Blitz with just enough whey, milk or stock to allow the blender to run smoothly. Add spinach, sage, thyme, tarragon and 1c ricotta. Set aside. 2) In a bowl, mix squash purée with 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, allspice and sumac. Add mascarpone and remaining ricotta. Set aside. 3) In another bowl, roughly mash up black beans with tomatoes, and add the urfa biber and remaining half teaspoon of cinnamon. 4) Brush a baking dish with melted butter. Line the bottom of the dish with lasagna sheets and brush with butter again. Spread beans and tomato mixture in a thin layer over the lasagna sheets and cover with eggplant slices. Spread a layer of the beet mixture and arrange a layer of zucchini sliced over the top. Sprinkle on a layer of grated cheese and then spread the squash mix, followed by the red pepper and another layer of cheese. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over the top and grind a generous amount of black pepper. 5) Bake at 180° C/350°F for 45-60 minutes. Seve hot (with a nice glass of red if so inclined). We were very pleased with how this came out! Once his portion was deconstructed, even the toddler consented to have some. The consistency was a little goopy, resulting in a tendency to flow, rather than come out in nice squares. For structural integrity purposes, we should have used thinner layers of the puree, but we thought this would have been to the detriment of flavour -- after all, this is a meal, not an engineering project! The squash layer, taste-tested prior to assembly, would be great to experiment with as the filling for a pie! It was sweet and dessert-y, with warm flavour notes and a rich, creamy texture. We had intended to add orange zest to either the squash layer or the final layer, but forgot. In terms of eating the rainbow, this tasted great, but the green and blue sort of got lost. To truly eat the rainbow, we would need to devise a green/blue layer that held its own a little better without overshadowing the others. For example, a layer of beet greens over the zucchini. As a side note, the ricotta in this was homemade last week, as I had wanted to try freezing the ricotta. We defrosted it for this dish and found that it held its flavour well, although its texture was slightly grainier. This is a good solution for keeping ricotta on hand, as long as you don't need a smooth, whipped texture. This could easily be made gluten-free, by simply omitting the pasta layer, which we included primarily for structural-integrity purposes.