Ladies Circle - Pimms, Puds and Chocolate Brownies

What did you do last night? This is the question regularly asked by the Ladies Circle UK to their members. 

Ladies Circle UK is a club for women aged 18-45 who want to meet friends, have fun and also take part in fundraising activities. The three F's - fun, friendship and fundraising are at the core of the organisation. With over 250 clubs UK wide meeting twice a month, there is a lot going on in various Ladies Circles each month.

I joined Ladies Circle about 3 years ago and since then have done things and gone places I would never have typically gone on my own.

Last night our local club, the St Albans Ladies Circle held our annual Pimms and Puds evening. This was a social event for everyone to get together and celebrate summer by drinking some yummy pimms and sampling some even more delicious desserts lovingly made by some of our members.

 

I made Nigella's Chocolate Brownies as a dessert. Nigella calls them her emergency brownies as they are so easy to make and can be pulled out of the bag hours before they are needed. The brownies are so tasty, really gooey and oozing with chocolate. They are also very moreish so be warned!

Us ladies spent time chatting, and playing a couple of games. Sharon showed us her famous two strawberries in the mouth trick - very nice Sharon!! We also spent time hearing some very frank accounts of life. Nowhere else could you find out about the indulgent habits of ladies at a local gym, the ins and outs of laser hair removal and first hand scientific research conducted by one of our members into canadian men and body hair!!  I for one am certainly a lot more clued up now than I was before!!

After many jugs of Pimms had been consumed, some special guests arrived to celebrate with us as Sharon recreated the fabulous Royal Wedding party she held in April. Much hilarity ensued as everyone tried the masks on. The masks are scarily convincing - especially Monika as William - uncanny!!

A fantastic night was had by all and it was lovely to spend time together and get to know everyone a bit better. You can find out more about Ladies Circle here. There are Circles all over the country, so its very likely there will be one near to you. For local ladies, here is the St Albans Circle website. Come and join us.

Nigella's Everyday Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients
150g Unsalted Butter
300g light brown Muscovado sugar
75g cocoa powder, sifted
150g plain flour
1tsp bicarbonate soda
pinch of salt
4 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
approx 150g milk chocolate, chopped into small nugget chunks
icing sugar to dust.

1 x 25cm square x 5cm deep lined baking tray

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees, gas mark 5.  Melt the butter over a gentle heat in a medium sized saucepan
2. When the butter has melted, add the sugar, stirring with a wooden spoon over a low heat until it blends into the butter
3. Sift together the cocoa powder, flour, bicarb and salt, then stir into the pan and mix (this will be a very dry mixture and not completely blended at this point)
4. In a bowl or jug, whisk the eggs with the vanilla extract and then mix into the brownie mixture in the pan
5. Stir in the chopped chocolate as quickly as possible and scrape into the prepared baking tin
6. Spread the mixture evenly with a spatula and cook in the preheated oven for approx 20-25 minutes,  It will look set - dark and dry on top, but wibbly underneath and a cake tester will come out gungy
7. Transfer the tin to a rack to cool before cutting into 16 and dusting with icing sugar.

Veggie News: Vegetarians urged to spill the beans in a new survey

From The Grocer:

Vegetarians, vegans, caterers and former veggies are being urged to express air their views on not eating meat in a new survey.

The Vegetarian Society has commissioned the Big Veggie Survey to highlight the difficulties vegetarians face – and identify solutions.

The questionnaire, which is available online until 3 September, is also aimed at carers, teachers and even meat-eaters that may be interested in converting.

“The Vegetarian Society has been supporting and representing vegetarians for more than 160 years so it’s tempting to think that we must have all the answers already,” said the society’s chief executive, Dr Jon Green.

“But with vegetarians, vegans and others who have an interest in vegetarianism coming from all sorts of different perspectives, it’s vitally important for us to check in every so often to find out what people really think.”

You can take part in the survey here

Torta di Mais - A Cake for Nursing Mothers

Yesterday saw the first meeting of the St Albans Vegetarian Parents support group. The group is the brain child of my friend Marianne, who wants to create a place for parents to share a love of vegetarian food, cookery, products and recipes, without all of the political stuff that can often be attributed to being a vegetarian. 

The group currently has four members, and three of us met up yesterday with our children to share recipes and sample some delicious vegetarian cake and frittata. We also discussed bringing our kids up as vegetarians, and whether we feel comfortable having them eat meat at home or elsewhere. My kids are not 100% vegetarian, although they do eat mainly vegetarian at home, so it was interesting to hear everyone's different perspectives. I also shared my Aubergine & Mozzarella Bake recipe with the group and we are hoping to swap recipes each month.

Marianne made a delicious Polenta and Aniseed cake. Aniseed is said to be especially good for improving the milk supply of nursing/breastfeeding mothers, so breastfeeding mothers are actually encouraged to eat this cake - can't be bad! 

The recipe is from a recipe book called The Vegeterranean Cookbook - an Italian vegetarian cookbook which won the Gourmand 2008 World Cookbook Awards.

Be warned, this cake does take about an hour and a half to make, but its worth it as the cake tastes delicious. I am not a massive aniseed lover and was worried that the aniseed flavour would overpower the rest of the ingredients, but the balance is just right. A sweet, fragrant taste of aniseed, without being too overbearing. 

The next meeting of the St Albans vegetarian parents support group is on the 16th of August. You don't have to live solely in St Albans, as the group is also for parents who live in the surrounding areas, but most of the meetings will be St Albans based. Do feel free to contact me if you would like to come along as we would love to have some new members.

To all my friends and fellow practitioners involved in teaching about birth and breastfeeding, do encourage any breast feeding/nursing mothers you meet to make this cake, or make it for them, as it really is delicious.

Torta di Mais

When visiting new babies in the neighbourhood, Malu's mother would bake the new mother this delightful corn and aniseed cake. The corn gives a healthy boost of energy while the aniseed provides essential nutrients that the mother can pass along to her infant. Aside from the health benefits, the subtle sweetness and the appealing texture of corn blend deliciously, especially when complemented by tea or a cappuccino. 

Serves 12.  35 Minutes Preparation & 45 minutes baking & cooling time

Ingredients
300g Cornmeal
400g Sugar
500ml Milk
100ml Vegetable Oil
1tbsp Butter
4 Eggs separated
1 tbsp Aniseed
1tbsp Baking Powder
1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
Icing sugar, for dusting 

Method

1. Butter a 10 x 15" baking tin. Flour the sides and line the bottom with baking paper
2. Combine the cornmeal, sugar, milk, oil and butter in a saucepan and whisk continuously over a medium heat
3. After around 10 minutes, the mixture should begin to pull away from the pot.
4. Continue to coo.k for an additional 3 minutes, the remove from the heat and cool completely
5. Beat the egg yolks lightly and add the cooled batter, aniseed, sifted baking powder and vanilla. Beat well to incorporate air.
6. Beat the egg whites and salt to stiff peaks in a separate bowl. Gently fold a third of the egg white into the batter until fully incorporated, before adding the rest of the remaining egg whites.
7. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake at gas mark 4/180 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick, when inserted, comes out clean.
8. Cook in the pan, before removing.
9. Dust the surface with icing sugar and serve. 

       

Tomato Curry with Coconut Rice

This Tomato Curry with Coconut Rice recipe is an adaptation of the recipe featured in the Nigella Kitchen recipe book.

In the book, Nigella says that she often has a lack of faith in meatless courses - a common perception amongst meat eaters and I will readily admit that some vegetarian dishes do leave the stomach growling, but definitely not this one. 

This Tomato Curry is very filling and also features a wonderful mixture of colours, textures and flavours to get the palette going.

Nigella uses peas as her main vegetable in the recipe, but I really don't like peas in large quantities, so I added some mixed veg - broccoli, cauliflower and carrots to my version.

The Tomato Curry is set off by a wonderful Coconut and Lime Rice. This rice is so delicious - creamy and coconutty with an added zing of lime. This is my new favourite kind of rice!

Ingredients:

For the Tomato Curry
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 large Onions
1tsp sea Salt flakes
4 cloves Garlic - peeled & chopped
800g  Cherry Tomatoes - halved
2 tsp Turmeric
1tsp English Mustard powder
1 tsp mild Chilli powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
300g mixed Veg (broccoli, cauliflower,carrots

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan with a lids, and add the chopped onions, sprinkling with the salt.  Stir frequently over a low to medium heat for about 7 minutes
2. Stir in the chopped garlic, then add the halved tomatoes, before stirring in the spices.  Cook for 20 minutes with the lid on, over a low heat.
3. Cook the mixed veg in a separate pan, in boiling salted water.  Drain, and add to the tomato curry for the last 5 minutes of cooking time. Serve on a bed of Coconut Rice.

For the Coconut Rice
2 tbsp Olive Oil

4 Spring Onions, finely chopped

2 tsps Mustard Seeds (or even better, Nigella seeds if you have them)

300g Basmati rice

1 x 400ml can of Coconut milk

600ml freshly boiled Water

1tsp Sea Salt Flakes

juice of 1 Lime

Method

1. Warm the oil in a heavy-based pan with a lid.  Add the spring onions and mustard seeds and cook for a minute or so, pushing the mixture around with a wooden spoon.
2. Stir in the rice and allow it to be slicked  with oil and thoroughly mixed with the spring onions and seeds.
3. Pour the coconut milk into a measuring jug and top up to the 1 litre mark with freshly boiled water.  Add this to the rice, stirring it in with the salt
4. Bring the rice to the boil, then turn down the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes, by which time the rice should be cooked and the liquid absorbed.
5. Fluff up with a fork as you pour in the lime juice, then add more salt and/or lime juice to taste.
6. Serve immediately with the Tomato Curry

Cheese, Red Pepper and Houmous Wrap - Photo Tutorial

Leek, Onion & Rocket Frittata - The Shared Lunch Experience

As part of my NCT antenatal teacher training, once a month I spend the day at a group tutorial. As well as the lovely people, knowledge gained, interesting presentations, stimulating conversation and feeling like a grown up for the day, by far the best thing about tutorial is the lunch!! (sorry group!). We differ from other tutor groups in that we have a shared lunch, with everyone bringing their own contribution.

Legend has it that our tutor group is the best for lunch. I have heard stories of other groups bringing sandwiches, pizza, pork pies and scotch eggs for lunch - well not us!  Our lunch is almost 100% vegetarian, with houmous and cous cous a plenty (can you tell we live near London??).

Everyone has their own signature dish that they tend to bring. Typical contributions include green salad, pasta salads, cous cous, breads, cheeses, quiches, frittatas, potato salad, houmous, freshly baked cakes, and lots more. My mouth is salivating just thinking about it! Past contributions have included Onion Tart, Falafels and soda bread. As the group dynamics change and people drift away, graduate or join every few months, the food changes too.  Favourite tutorial foods disappear and new ones arrive, changing the dynamics of our lunch table and group.

"Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly".  M F K Fisher

The concept of a shared lunch is one that many find it hard to get their heads around at first feeling that it's a lot of work to make sure everyone is covering all food bases. Yet we don't tend to liaise massively about what we are bringing and somehow each month it just works. I think that the best thing about the lunch is that almost all of the food is vegetarian. As lots of different cultures and religions make up our tutor group, it's especially fantastic when tutorials coincide with festivals and we are able to learn about and partake in delicious foods from other cultures.

For tutorial, one of the dishes I tend to make is a frittata.  Typically, it contains whatever appropriate ingredients I have in the fridge but the frittata featured is leek, onion and rocket.

Eating a meal together bonds us more as a tutor group, and allows the conversation to flow more freely. We share thoughts, musings, troubles and successes together over lunch and learn from these conversations what is essential for the next part of our individual journeys through the course and through life in general.  When I contemplate leaving my tutor group and graduating into the big wide world of antenatal teaching, I think that it is the lunch and what it symbolises that I shall miss most.

So the next time you are holding a works lunch, training day, Mum's/Friends/Family meet-up, or any other group get together, please consider a shared lunch - you may be surprised what finds its way onto the table! If any of my lovely fellow tutor group members are reading this and would like to share their delicious tutorial recipes. I am happy to feature you and them on my blog.

Ingredients
4 tbsp Olive Oil
3 Leeks, thinly sliced
1 medium Onion
100g Rocket
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 Clove Garlic, crushed
Salt & Pepper to season
5 Eggs, lightly beaten
8 tbsp grated Mature Cheddar

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. fry the onion and garlic with some sea salt for 5 minutes until softened. 
2. Add the leeks, with another tbsp of oil and cook over a low heat until slightly softened. Cover and cook the leeks, onion and garlic for a further five minutes.
3. Add the rocket and cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
5. Once cooled, add eggs, cheese, salt and pepper.
6. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Add the mixture and smooth the surface. Cook over a low heat for 15 minutes until the frittata is almost set.
7. Transfer to a pre-heated grill for 3-5 minutes until the top is set and golden.  
8. Allow the frittata to stand for 5 minutes, before removing.
9. Serve immediately, or allow to cool and transfer to the fridge for serving later.

Choi Time Tea Review

Choi Time Tea, the luxury chinese tea specialist was founded in 2004 by Melissa Choi. Choi Time ethically buys and imports quality chinese green tea directly from small, local tea growers in China to your teacup. Hailed the "Dom Perignon of the tea world" by the Sunday times style magazine, Choi Time tea is full of health benefits and completely natural, providing a great way to detox. 

I first encountered Choi Time tea at The Real Food Festival back in May. My four year old daughter was entranced by the beautiful display and the glass cups and tea pots which contained such pretty flowers in them. She was even more entranced by their names - "Jasmine, Rose" (synonymous with her favourite princesses) and felt sure that this is the kind of tea that princesses must drink. She is really into taking afternoon tea, as am I, so when I was invited to take part in a product review campaign for Choi Tea via Fuel My Blog, we jumped at the chance and she was very excited at the prospect of drinking flower tea!! 

In China, tea is like wine. Much care is taken over growing tea and creating different varieties. The Choi Time range includes Jasmine green tea pearls, Damask Rose tea buds, White Silver needle tea, Chrysanthemum flower tea and the astounding eye-opening giant flowering tea bulbs. My daughter was very excited when the flowers unfurled in front of her. They also sell some beautiful glassware including tea pots, cups and glasses. 

I was sent four different kinds of tea to sample, Damask Rose, Jasmine, Thousand Year Red and Mixed flowers. Choi Time Tea is best infused in just boiled water (82-88 degrees) 

Damask Rose Tea

Damask Rose Tea is a light, delicate and fragrant caffeine-free tea from the Fujan province of china. Rosebud Tea can help relieve anxiety and stress, boost circulation and give your skin a healthy glow. The aroma of the tea was amazing.  It took me back to those summer days as a child making rose petal perfume. This wonderful tea was delicious and was surprisingly refreshing without tasting too flowery. It also tasted delicious warm, or iced cold and this was eldest's favourite tea - definitely the height of decadence.

Thousand Year Red

Described as visual theatre, this interesting flower bud burst to life when it was dropped into boiling water, unfurling to reveal a beautiful flower. Made from green needle tea and jasmine blossoms, Thousand year red may help to aid digestion, strengthen the immune system, lower cholesterol and fight the ageing process. This was my favourite of the tea bulbs. It tasted very fragrant, and was very easy to drink. The taste became more fragrant, the longer the tea stood. The chinese believe that the colour red (symbolised by the red flower) brings luck, happiness and prosperity - lets hope so!!

Exotic Mixed Flowers

Exotic Mixed Flowers tea was by far the most theatrical. Before being placed in water, it reminded me of a hard walnut. However, once placed in the tea, it sunk to the bottom and these beautiful flowers immediately started popping up to the surface. I believe that the mixed flowers here were Rose and Chrysanthemum. Personally, the taste didn't appeal to me as much as some of the other teas, but it still tasted pleasant, if a little heavy and flowery for my liking.  Again, this tea has health benefits including being beneficial for those who suffer from asthma, bronchitis and coughs. It is also said to aid digestion, detoxify and calm nerves.

Jasmine Pearls

This was the last tea I tried. Perhaps not as pretty as the others, but definitely as delicious.  Winner of three gold stars at the Great Taste Awards 2007/08, this Jasmine Green Tea is packed with anti-oxidants and has many health benefits such as: 

• Boosts your immune system
• Prevents cancer and heart disease
• Reduces body fat
• Slow the ageing process
• Lowers blood pressure
• Fights harmful bacteria and viruses
• Helps the body regulate cholesterol levels 

Research has shown that drinking 3 cups of green tea a day can help you lose 75 calories. It is also suggested that you drink 3 cups a day for maximum health benefits. The Jasmine tea tasted light, delicate, soothing and refreshing. I used to drink a lot of green tea and this was a reminder that I should start drinking more!

Thanks to Choi Time for introducing me to such a unique, interesting tea-drinking experience.  Since sampling the tea, I can't get the taste of the Damask Rose Tea out of my head and so think I shall certainly have to order some. 

Choi Time tea is sold in Harrods, Selfridges and also online. Choi Time are kindly offering a 10% discount to Vegetarian Experience Blog Readers. Just enter the code "VegetarianExperience" at the checkout.