Pear, Stilton & Honey Roasted Betroot

There is a farm shop up the road from our house which sells wonderful beetroot called ‘dirty beets’. I tried them roasted in this salad and they were great. The quantity below serves 3 people as a main or 5 as a side salad.

Ingredients

4 large ripe pears

8 beetroot trimmed, scrubbed and peeled

A portion of stilton cheese (I used blue)

Lots of fresh rocket

2 tbs. clear honey

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Dash of olive oil

For the dressing mix the following:

4 tbs. balsamic vinegar

2 tbs. good olive oil

2 tbs. very finely chopped fresh basil

1/4 tsp. sugar

Rock salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

To make

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Slice the prepared beetroot into quarter wedges and boil in a large pan of water for 20 minutes. Drain and add to a large roasting tin with a dash of olive oil. Drizzle the 2 tbsp of clear honey over the beetroots. Add a sprinkling of black pepper. Shake the dish to ensure the beetroot is coated. Roast for 20 minutes or until tender.

While the beetroot are boiling, peel the pears, slice into wedges and remove cores. Place in a small roasting tin and roast for approximately 10 minutes.

Leave to cool separately (otherwise the beetroot will colour the pears).

When you’re ready to eat, add the beetroot and pears to the rocket, crumble the stilton over and mix through the dressing.

Mediterranean Feast

For the past month or so, I have been consumed with our latest house project, the creation of a "master suite." Winston would argue that our contractor Andy is actually creating a new office and bath for him, but that's another post altogether. :) Now that Andy is 75% complete, I'm back to thinking about food, not tile, paint, or light fixtures.

This delicious meal was whipped up in the midst of the renovations. We were without air conditioning for about 2.5 weeks, so I used our grill as much as possible. Enjoy!

First on the list was this lovely Chickpea Salad.

1 can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1 tomato-diced

1 handful of cilantro or parsley- ripped into small bits
olive oil and balsamic vinegar

2 cloves of garlic-diced

salt and pepper

Combine and let it sit on the counter while you are making the rest of the meal. It gets better over time.

Next, was a quick Tahini and Yogurt Dip.

Greek yogurt-plain

tahini- 2 tbs or so depending on your taste

salt and pepper

glug of olive oil

Combine and set in the frig until serving. Serve with pita

Next was the grilling! Most of you probably know that I refuse to eat beef (I'm weird like that), but I love lamb! Don't ask. ANYWAY, so next on the menu was grilling off the lamb sliders and red onion slices. The onion is self explanatory, but here's the scoop on the sliders.

1 lb ground lamb

3 cloves garlic- crushed

salt and pepper

sprinkle or two of breadcrumbs

1 tbs garam masala (Indian seasoning)

glug of olive oil

Combine and form into small patties. Grill on a medium flame until cooked. I like them pink in the middle. If you don't have access to a grill, just pull out a skillet and fry in a little oil. They're yummy that way too.

I also pulled together a simple green salad while the sliders were sizzling away on the grill. So, that's it! Throw it all on a plate and enjoy. Win and I certainly did!

Dirtball Back Porch Lunch

I’ve always been attracted to the concept of canned sardines—little oily fish in a can—and the fact they are good for you, cheap and accessible. But I’ve never found a way to eat them that was completely satisfying. They’re OK tasting but they ain’t a chicken taco.

Anyway, with nothing to eat in the house and Molly at Mahjong, I pulled a leftover can of Cento sardines from the icebox to give them another try. I enlisted mayonnaise, cracked black pepper, Cajun seasonings and Crystal to jazz things up. I put the mess on some water crackers (I would have used saltines, but Molly won't have them in the house). I discovered that the more Crystal I added to each bite the better the stuff tasted. Altogether—and with a beer, I would give it a B+ for an easy, tasty Riley lunch.