You can not beat a classic bowl of hot cauliflower cheese soup and pancetta on cold, rainy days to warm your heart.
Whilst it's not the number one choice of veg to be consumed in its natural form in my home, cooked and blended is a great disguise and always goes down a treat, combine it with a few favourites cheese, more cheese and did I mention cheese, with some tasty salty crispy pancetta it's happiness all around.
This creamy and cosy soup is the perfect form of comfort from shielding from the rain, so pop your fashionable umbrellas, leave your new high waisted bikini in its carrier bag down head on home armed with a few ingredients your favourite people and a nice bottle of red wine and prepare to have your mind blown.
Ingredients
25g butter - or a glug of rapeseed oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 medium cauliflowers, broken into florets
1 large baking potato, cut into chunks
450 ml hot vegetable stock
70ml carton single cream
50g mature Cheddar, grated
60g mozzarella, grated
80g of cubbed/copped pancetta
Handful roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, to garnish
Directions
1.Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the cauliflower, all the potato and the stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 20 minutes, until very soft. Cool slightly.
2.Whizz the soup in a blender until smooth. Return to the rinsed-out saucepan. Add the cream and season to taste, then gently reheat, until hot but not boiling. Add cheese and stir until melted.
3. Fry the pancetta in a small frying pan until brown and crisp, pour on to a tea towel or kitchen paper and remove excess grease and scatter on top of your soup with the parsley to serve.
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I've finally done it, I took the plunge and finally bought a slow cooker, god knows what I was playing at I could have been making these tasty slow roasted brisket tacos years ago!
Now I am not a vegetarian and I know I made these veggie tacos first, but if I am honest I can not live without meat and after eating these dreamy brisket tacos you will know why. I have never cooked this particular meat so was a little anxious, but god knows why I was worried it turns out delicious every single time. It was probably a fear of not using or having a slow cooker before and worried that if I did not need much interaction with the dish once placed inside, that it would not turn out as I wanted, but as I said I am glad I went for it's one of the tastiest and easiest of dishes I've ever made.
I have cooked my slow roasted beef brisket a few times now, I look to cook it when I have family and friends over as it makes a for a great sharing dish where everyone can come together and build their own tacos, or on a Saturday evening when Leanora who I am extremely surprised loves these tacos and us girls can have a proper pig out session whilst watching our favourite Saturday night programmes.
Thanks to Kitchenwithcumbers and winning his amazing giveaway a trunk filled with amazing goodies, I had most of my ingredients to reach at hand. With a little forward planning, this dish does take between 8-10 hours to cook, after all, it is best to plan this from the night before in order for it to be ready for supper.
With this beef, you can use it not just for tacos, but a variety of dishes which I am sure I will make with my soft, melt in the mouth leftovers, ranging from tacos. Burritos. Nachos. Salads. Tostadas. Whatever you want really, even a late night snack!!!
Ingredients
Beef brisket (about a kilo/2lbs)
Spice mix
5 1/2 tbsp of cajun spice (has most of your ingredients needed, paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder salt, black pepper)
Beef
2 tbsp of olive oil
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 onion diced
185 ml orange juice
juice of half a lime
1 can of chopped tomatoes
500ml beef stock
water
1. rub spice mix over beef and leave to marinade for 3-4 hours.
2. heat the olive oil in a large deep dish and add the beef and brown on all sides. Once done set aside on a plate.
3. Add some more olive oil if needed to your deep dish and fry off your garlic and onion for 3-5 minutes until soft.
4. Add your orange juice, chopped tomatoes and stock to the dish with the garlic and onions in and heat up for a few minutes.
5. Switch on your slow cooker and add a touch of oil and whack in your beef brisket, then pour over all your stock from the deep dish over the brisket, pop the lid on and leave to cook for 8-10 hours.
6. Once all tender, shred the beef in its juice and decant into a large sharing plate.
Heat up your tacos, shred some lettuce, grate some cheese, dice up a few avocados, squeeze out a few gem nuggets of pomegranates and tuck in!
That's what I'm taco-about...
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London Mumma xx
Sweet baby cheesus, I have gone in to comfort heaven this Autumn and I am not gonna lie, I am loving it, bring on all the comfort dishes I say. The cold chill has finally reached us and all I am looking for at night, is some cuddles and a little tlc from a bowl of my new autumn dish, butternut squash man n cheese, whilst wrapped up in my new mermaid blanket.
A little twist on a classic and boy is it a good twist. Of late, my dad has been coming round every week, with butternut squash, god knows what that is all about, you would think he has opened up a squash shop, but not one for wasting food I gotta cook it up before it spoils, but trust me, I am not moaning about my squash drop off's, as I am sure to be making a big batch of this every week.
For the past few weeks I've been feeling shattered and tired and a little over worked and now I am currently poorly, so stuck at home, feeling groggy there is nothing better on a cold sick day, than this to cheer you up and warm up your cockles, plus it is great for the kids and is always a big hit in my home.
Ingredients
1 butternut squash
1 small onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 1/4 cup vegetable stock
4 oz. shredded cheddar or a mix of cheese
2 oz. cream cheese
Directions1. First, peel the butternut squash, remove the fleshy insides along with the seeds. Dice remaining squash in to small cubes, peel and roughly chop ur onion, followed by your garlic, place in your deep pot and top with stock mixture and bring all to the boil, then turn down, place your lid on top, the aim of the game is to cook until so soft that when forked the vegetables (squash) falls off, so for around 20-30 minutes.
2. Boil some fresh water in another pot and cook your macaroni as per instructions of the packet. You will notic I do not use salt, as my stock, I used bouillon is quite salty, so no need to add! Once macaroni cooked, drain and place to one side.
3. Vegetables all nice and soft, grab your blender, pour in vegetables with stock into your blender whizz up for a minute, you are after the consistency of a soup. Pour back soupy squash in to your pot, place over a low heat. Pour in your cooked macaroni, bung in your cream cheese, your mountain of glorious cheese, I go for a mix of shredded mozzarella and cheddar. Give it all a stir and serve immediately!
Fantastically tasty, comforting and oh so good for you and perfectly winter warming!
Any left over, makes for a great work lunch.
Tuck in!
London Mumma xx
For a spooktacular treat to make, eat and share with the kids or for your Halloween Party, why not whip up these super quick and delicious ghoulish ghost pretzels this Halloween.
With Halloween a mere day away and the Halloween weekend just passed, there is still so much time for ghoulish-scares and treats and these salty and sweet ghost pretzels will certainly be a winner for you and your guests plus your trick or treaters too.
The ghost pretzels are a big hit in the London Mumma household and they never last long and we've made these 3 times over the weekend just gone, plus it is great that I have a handy helper who loves helping me out. So if you have kids or nieces and nephews, get them involved, nothing like spending time together and getting creative, plus they can help wash up too, not that you will have much washing up to do.
Ingredients
60g Schar Gluten Free Pretzels (or any other)
200g White Chocolate
25g Edible Eyes
Tools
Microwavable bowl
A Fork
Parchment paper
Instructions
1. break up white chocolate into small pieces, par one for you to eat! Place broken white chocolate into a microwavable bowl and hit up for 30-40 secs and take out occasionally to give it a stir, to make sure that it has all melted.
2. Lay out your parchment paper and set to one side. Drop in your pretzels one at a time, take your fork and make sure it is all coated, then place your coated pretzels on to your parchment paper. Take 2 eyes and place on the top holes, repeat until all pretzels are done.
3. Place your parchment tray with your ghost pretzels into the fridge for 10-15 minutes until hardened, then serve.
We hope you enjoy these ghoulish ghost pretzels, as much as we did. Happy Halloween!
London Mumma xx
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Everyone should start the day off in a great way and the best way possible. What better wait to kickstart the day than with a strawberry and vanilla breakfast smoothie bowl.
With busy days and always in a hurry it is easier to just pick up something unhealthy filled with bad sugars. But with this super tasty and healthy breakfast smoothie jampacked with nuts, fruit, dairy or not, a smoothie is a great way to start the day and help keeps you fuelled all the way up to lunch.
This super easy super quick strawberry and vanilla breakfast smoothie takes no time at all, a quick whizz in my snazzy new Blendtec blender or any other good strong blender that you may have, it can be done in less than five minutes and in your stomach within three, so no excuse to not have best breakfast to start your day and can even be done whilst you're in the shower getting ready, putting I load of washing in, or quick zip around with the hoover, so there is no excuse not to make the super tasty dish.
Ingredients
1 cup of frozen strawberries
1 cup of vanilla yoghurt/plain or vanilla non-dairy yoghurt
1 tbsp of maple syrup
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
Toppings
Sunflower seeds
Chia seeds
Cornflakes
Directions
1. Add all of your ingredients into your blender and blend until smooth
2. Pour your blended smoothie into a bowl, and sprinkle your sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and cornflakes.
3. Tuck in!
Super easy and super quick and extremely tasty breakfast to start your day, perfect not just for you but family and friends too.
How do you like to start your day, what is your go-to breakfast superhero? I would love to hear in the comments below!
London Mumma xx
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With the kids returning back to school or for those eagerly starting, we are going to need to wind back into our routines and what better way than with a tasty treat for the mornings for breakfast on the run, but with little sticky fingers and faces and you in work gear, don't forget to bring those trusty wet wipes along!
I've teamed up with Contact Numbers UK to share with you some handy tips on how to maximise the savings out of your club cards and helping you to utilise their service with family favourite supermarkets such as Sainsbury's, Tesco's and Morrisons.
Contact Numbers UK have a vast directory of customer service numbers for Sainsbury's, Tesco's, Morr
With school uniforms, lunches, stationary to buy you want to make sure you watch the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves, so my dear old Ma says. For me what I like to do is use my club card rewards points to go towards Leanora's nursery clothes, so each new term all the points that I have collected and saved in Sainsbury's will go to some much-needed essentials, which consists of mostly socks and underwear. With a few additional points left over, I decided to buy a few tasty treats and make these tasty Yoghurt lollipops. A great way on scoring more points and some that they do not tell you about in store, is by checking Sainsbury's Nectar card app, a few weeks ago I managed scoring extra points, just by logging back into the app.
So quick and super easy to make only a few essentials needed and perfect for the whole family before and after school.
Ingredients
Yoghurt - Any flavour of your choice
Blueberries
Granola
Method
1. Pour in half of your yoghurt into your lollipop moulds, drop a few blueberries a sprinkle of granola and repeat until filled to the top then freeze.
That is it, how quick and simple is that, little fuss, little mess, just what Mumma needed and the kitchen too. By making your own yoghurt lollipops, you will be saving your self a whole lotta dosh, plus you know what is actually going into it.
A massive thank you to Contact Numbers UK for collaborating with me on this tasty post.
London Mumma xx
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Well hello, lovers, the past few weeks have been mental, but with things finally slowing down and filled with new found inspiration, I decided to get on with making that treat with the lemon curd that I promised you weeks ago. So here it is my new obsession these lemon curd, mascarpone, raspberry tarts, they are super quick and simply delicious summer treat.
I am totally living in a lemon siesta at the moment, from my Instagram page to my lemon curd recipe, for now, these gorgeous little tartlets and take less than 30 minutes to make and in my case share out and gobble too!
Ingredients
1 pack of filo pastry, left to one side so that it adjusts to room temperature 10-15 minutes
150g of Lemon Curd (find here to make your own)
50g of melted butter
15g of mascarpone cheese
150g raspberries (extra for you to eat)
Mint and icing sugar for decoration
Directions
- Preheat your over 180C
- Melt your butter
- Grease your 6 hole cupcake tin
- Take two pieces of your filo pastry, one at a time, brush one sheet after the other with your melted butter.
- Cut your pastry lengths Ways, then into 3 square, large enough to be able to fit into and cover the sides of your cupcake tin.
- Pop your tin into the oven for 6-8 mins or until lightly brown and crisp.
- Remove from the oven and place each filo casing on a cooling rack.
- Mix together your lemons curd and mascarpone.
- Spoon in your delicious lemony mixture and top with raspberries, dust with icing sugar and finish off with a piece of mint each.
Serve with, champagne, flowers and great company and if you are really lucky, a sunshine filled day.
London Mumma xx
Take one great ingredient and you can make wondrous magic with it - Yep that's right, Lemon!
Ever since I was a kid, I loved lemon curd, that sweet lemony jam spread all over a mountain pile of toast every Saturday for breakfast all whilst binge watching cartoons. Now an adult, armed with some basic tools, kettle, pot, glass bowl a few key ingredients and every day could be a Saturday, totes living the dream!
This delightful lemon curd is totally effortless and can go on anything and can be used for a variety of desserts too, which I will make for you soon I promise.
Ingredients
125 grams unsalted butter
Juice and zest of 3 lemons
220 grams of caster sugar
6 egg yolks
Directions
- Boil some water in a pot and place a heat proof glass bowl on top, make sure the bowl does not touch the hot water.
- Melt the butter in the glass bowl, whisk in the lemon juice, zest and sugar.
- Add the egg yolks and whisk until the Lemon curd is smooth. Continue to do so for 15 minutes, taking care not to let the curd boil. The consistency you are after is one the will coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Remove the curd mixture from heat and pour into your jars and set aside to cool before placing in the fridge. Or if in a plastic container store in the freezer, it will keep for 2 months.
Told you that was easy peasy, lemon squeezy!
The greedy piggy I am, I like to slather this on a nice slice of cake immediately or some toast whilst it's still warm. These lemon treats also make great little gifts to friends and loved ones too.
Will you be trying this Delightful Lemon Curd recipe? I hope you do! Let me know in the comments below. For more tasty recipes, don't for get to sign up or follow me below.
London Mumma xx
There is something satisfying, about biting down into a packed filo pastry finger fillers with spinach and splendour of warm feta cheese.
Be it you are looking for a warm treat to start the day, a little snack throughout the day or a new addition to your meat free Monday dish, these spinach and feta fingers well truly keep you satisfied.
Not one for wanting to slave over cooking for hours on end, I mean no one wants too, these delights take no time at all to make.
Ingredients
2tbsp olive oil
1 onion slices finely
1 clove of garlic cut finely
2 tsp of dried oregano
350 grams of spinach, washed
100 grams of feta, crumbled
1 egg whisked
1 pack of filo pastry sheets
Sesame seeds for garnish
Directions
1. Heat up your frying pan over a medium heat and add your oil. Turn on the oven to 180c, gas mark 4. Chop your onions and garlic finely along with two pinches of your oregano add all to pan and cook until onion and garlic becomes soft.
2. Whack in your spinach into the pan and cook until wilted, pop to one side to cool.
3. Cut your filo pastry in to triangles (you will need two sheets per filo finger). brush the pastry with the whisked egg and add to each a table or two of your spinach and feta filling and roll and repeat. Once done brush the top of the rolls with the remaining egg wash and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
4. Pop your Spinach and Feta Rolls in the oven for 20 mins until golden and crispy placed in the middle shelf.
London Mumma xx
What better way to celebrate Easter, than with a delicious tasty sweet treat and sharing the joy with loved ones. My Easter Meringue Delight is perfect for parties or a sweet treat after lunch or dinner and what better way than to share it with family and friends.
Leanora and I have been whipping up a storm and leaving the kitchen in need of a revamp, all in aid to create our scrumptious Easter Meringue delight.
It was my first ever time making a Meringue and after going through over a dozen eggs, on the 6th try, I've finally cracked it! Yes and eggcellent pun!
Leanora and I have been whipping up a storm and leaving the kitchen in need of a revamp, all in aid to create our scrumptious Easter Meringue delight.
It was my first ever time making a Meringue and after going through over a dozen eggs, on the 6th try, I've finally cracked it! Yes and eggcellent pun!
For me I want to create memories, be it a family Easter Egg Hunt or starting a family tradition now that I have my very own, something that each year I and Leanora too can improve and perfect and hopefully, pass on from generation to generation. And what better way for me to start, than with something totally new that I have made with my little Leanora.
Ingredients
4 egg whites
225 grams of caster sugar
1tsp of vanilla extract
1 can of cream
1 packet of mini eggs
Instructions
Ingredients
4 egg whites
225 grams of caster sugar
1tsp of vanilla extract
1 can of cream
1 packet of mini eggs
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Line out a sheet of baking parchment on a baking tray.
2. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until very stiff (I learnt the hard way and thought I could be slick by doing it by hand!) The egg whites should stand stiff, not floppy, peaks when the beaters are lifted out. Once you have reached this point, pour in half the caster sugar and the vanilla extract and whisk again until the mixture becomes very thick, firm and shiny. Add the remaining sugar and whisk again until thick, firm and shiny.
3. Grab a spatula and in a circle add a dollop of the firm meringue on top the parchment paper (I did not have a nozzle bag, thanks to L taking it into the garden earlier and filling it with soil, then trying to feed it to the Cat/Milo) once all dolloped on top, grab a fork and add in your swirls. The meringues will spread slightly as they cook, so leave enough space between each one. Bake in the oven for 1 hr, turning the heat down to 120C/100C fan/gas ½ after 30 mins. Before placing in, I did add a drop or two here and there of yellow colouring and once swirled the colouring came up prettily and perfect for an Easter table.
4. Remove from the oven – your meringue should peel easily away from the parchment, then leave to cool on a wire rack. I would like to say I made my cream, but that's a lie, I used shop bought in a can and squeezed in circles like a mad woman and popped on top all around some mini eggs.
5. There you have it an eggcellent sweet Easter Meringue Delight for you and your family and friends to enjoy.
Do you have any Easter traditions or dishes that you make each year?
Happy Easter.
With the weather still away from warmer days and nights and blissfully dreaming of the summer months, I decided to cheer us all up with a Spanish inspired dish.
Counting down the days for when Leanora and I can chase one another in the summer sun on sandy beaches and enjoy great food and a cocktail or two for Mumma what better way to pass those days or eat are days a with a One Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice meal.
I have jazzed it up, to with a some chorizo to give it a little extra kick and to help give it that real Spanish taste, this one pot dish takes no real effort and can have you sitting with friends and family and catching up in great company whilst is cooks away once in the oven.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
- 1 teaspoon of all purpose seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 1 yellow pepper chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 chorizo sliced
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups of vegetable chicken broth
- 3 cups water
- 2 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
- 2 large handfuls of frozen peas
Optional
I had mine on my plate as Leanora is not a fan - 1 cup olives sliced
I had mine on my plate as Leanora is not a fan - 1 cup olives sliced
Directions
1. Pre heat your oven 185/365f/gas mark 5. Turn on your hob and heat your oil over on a medium high heat. Clean your chicken and season with your all purpose seasoning. Brown the chicken until golden brown 5-6 minutes on each side and then place on a tray to one side.
2. pop in your chopped peppers and onion and cook until softened for a few minutes, don't forget to give it a good stir so that all are evenly cooked. whack in your garlic until lightly browned. Add your rice and give a good stir , add your stock, tins of chopped tomatoes, paprika, black pepper, sliced chorizo and frozen peas. Give it a good stir so all is nice mixed together.
3. Pop your chicken on top of it all, cover you oven proof pot with its lid and place in the middle tray in the oven and leave for 45 minutes. Or until the rice has absorbed all the fragrant liquid and becomes nice and fluffy.
4. Viola plate up serve with a nice Spanish wine for the adults, juice/water for the little people. garnish with your olives and enjoy ladies and gents.
Do you have a dish that reminds you of the summer sun? Off any where exciting soon with friends or family?
London Mumma xx
Last night I whipped up a delicious batch of Easy Sweet Mummy Chicken Fajitas, minimal amount of cooking which meant more time being spent with family and friends.
At least once throughout the week I'll cook a whole chicken and I get creative with the leftovers. Last night's creativity turned in to an easy peasy Sweet Mummy Chicken Fajitas.
Not really wanting to slave over the stove, I did and no shame in it, bought most of the ingredients ready made, but we are all allowed a cheat day right and what better way to have a cheat day than with these tasty Fajitas.
Ingredients serves 2
Half a cooked chicken
1 packet of flour tortilla wraps
1 tub of sour cream and chives
1 packet of grated mozzarella (250g)
Jalapeno Peppers sliced
Half an Iceberg lettuce
1 tub of salsa
1 tub of smashed avocado
1 lime
pack of fajita spice mix
2 tbsp of olive oil
Instructions
1. Pre heat oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Shred the remainder chicken from the bone and place in to a bowl. Heat up a frying pay and add 2 tbsp of olive oil, once nice and hot place your threaded chicken inside to heat up and sprinkle half the fajita mix on top.
2. Take 4 to 6 of your tortillas and heat up in the oven. Chop half of your iceberg lettuce and put on a large sharing board, followed by your, salsa, smashed avocado and sour cream and chive and a few handfuls of your grated mozzarella cheese.
3. Squeeze half a lime over your now heated chicken and turn off the hob and oven add to your sharing board, both the chicken and your wraps.
4. Bring to the table and enjoy your Sweet Mummy Chicken Fajitas. You can see I did not plate up my Jalapeños as I was eating with Leanora, so popped some in mine for that extra heat.
How delicious are they, they are called Sweet Chicken Fajitas, as Leanora took a bite and said 'Sweet Mummy' Chicken Fajitas.
If you make these, don't forget to tag me on your social Instagram and Twitter you can also find me on Facebook.
London Mumma xx
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