Cook Your Dream

Rhubarb and Almond Panna Cotta for Food Revolution Day

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Sat, 19 May 2012 08:15:00 +0000

There's nothing better than real home prepared food. Even the simplest dish, when prepared with good quality fresh local and seasonal ingredients, can taste like a dream. That being said, all food taste best when enjoyed in the company of friends and family. I love meeting my friends and family, and sharing food with them. Cooking together, laughing together. Food connects people. Food makes people happy.

Today is Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day and some of my blogger friends suggested to contribute to this amazing event by organising a potluck dinner and bringing delicious home made food. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to meet in one place as we all live in different countries or even on different continents. Luckily, thanks to modern technology, we can still meet virtually. So, here we go. Emiko came up with an idea to organise a virtual potluck dinner and "meet" through our blogs. This way, through our blogs, we all want to show support and stand up for real food.

We have all decided to cook some delicious meals using local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients. My choice was easy. I love growing my own vegetable and fruit, however the only thing that currently grows in my tiny London garden, is rhubarb. Rhubarb is the easiest plant to grow in the UK. It loves water, so much! The constant rain makes my rhubarb very happy (although, I can't say the same about myself). I'm well known among my friends for making rhubarb crumble. I wanted to surprise and try something different this time. Panna cotta is P.'s another favourite dessert. It's light, creamy and can be eaten with any seasonal fruit. A perfect easy dessert for a dinner party or Sunday lunch.

I added some crunchy caramelised almonds for an extra texture. Thick greek yogurt, silky cream, tangy rhubarb and crunchy sweet almonds, they come together in perfect harmony of flavours and textures.

Here's the menu for our virtual potluck. Meet my real friends who stood up for read food and prepared some lovely recipes:

International Nibble and Dips prepared by Karin from Yum and more, in Frankfurt Germany, originally from USA
Green Panzanella by Juls from Juls' Kitchen, in Italy
Purple Kale, Sorrel and Lancashire "Caesar" Salad by Valeria, Life Love Food, living in London, originally from Venice Italy
Mussels with real traditional Belgian fries by Regula from Foodwise, in Antwerp Belgium
Crespelle Verdi di Pesce by Emiko from Emiko Davies, in Melbourne Australia
Vanilla Honey Rhubarb Galette with fresh Whipped Cream by Zita from Zizi's Adventures, in Budapest Hungary
Rhubarb and Almond Panna Cotta by Sarka from Cook Your Dream, in London, originally from Prague Czech Republic

Rhubarb and almond panna cotta
Serves 6-7

300ml double cream
300ml milk
1/4 cup honey
7 gelatine leaves
500g greek yogurt

50g whole almonds, halved lengthwise
1tbsp honey
1tsp demerara sugar
1tsp hot water

320g rhubarb, thickly sliced
1/2 tsp grated ginger
juice of 1 lemon
90g demerara sugar
50ml water

In a heavy bottom pan, combine the cream, milk and honey, and bring to a simmer over low heat. In the meantime, soak the gelatine in cold water for 10 minutes. Remove the gelatine from the water and squeeze out any excess liquid. Remove the pan from the heat, add the gelatine leaves and stir until dissolved completely. Add the yogurt and whisk until fully combined. Strain the mixture through a sieve to remove any lumps. Divide the mixture among 6-7 cups or small bowls. Let stand at room temperature until cooled completely and then refrigerate for 4-5 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 180℃. Combine the almonds, honey, sugar and water in a small bowl. Transfer into a baking tray and roast for 8-12 minutes, stirring once or twice, until caramelised and golden. Let them cool completely and break apart.

Preheat oven to 200℃. In a bowl, combine the rhubarb, sugar, ginger, water and lemon juice. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Remove the rhubarb and set aside. Pour the rhubarb liquid into a heavy bottom pan and simmer until you reach a syrup consistency. Let cool slightly before spooning over panna cottas.

Just before serving immerse the cups in hot water for a few second to turn the panna cotta out on a serving plate. To finish the panna cotta, spoon over some rhubarb, pour over rhubarb syrup and sprinkle with caramelised almonds.

Instant Tuscany

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:51:00 +0000

A long weekend spent in Tuscany was like balsam for my soul. Although it was a working weekend, I truly enjoyed every single minute. Great Italian food, Tuscan sunshine and amazing location made my job a real pleasure. I was collaborating with my dear friend Giulia on a beautiful picnic inspired wedding dinner. I will share some photos once they are edited.

In the meantime, I show you some of my iPhone snap shots. I must admit that my Instagram addiction has reached a high level. Although P. disagree, I think Instagram is a fantastic app which brings together so much talent and inspiration.
If you want to follow my instant food and travel daily snap shots, search for cookyourdream username on Instagram.

The Ancient Dartmoor Woodlands

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:26:00 +0000

Despite the bad weather, we try to get outside whenever possible. Spending time in nature always makes me so happy and gives me energy to get through more gloomy and rainy days. There's something special about walking through endless landscapes, watching wildlife, breathing fresh air and soaking up beauty of nature. I love the feeling when everyday problems melt away and I can just relax and clear my head.

I think, I've never been checking weather forecast so often. Every time it seems that we could have a rainless day, we plan a day out. A couple of weeks ago on a rainless Saturday, we took a trip to Dartmoor. Cloudy weather made the landscape look even more dramatic and beautiful. I wasn't even missing sunshine this time. Everything was just perfect.

Black-a-Tor Copse is a National Nature Reserve. Part of the rough landscape is covered by an ancient oak woodland. These fascinating twisted oaks draped with the great variety of lichens and mosses are of national importance.

Did you know that lichens and mosses are very sensitive to air pollution and therefore are used by scientists as monitors of air quality? Lichens and mosses absorb everything that is dissolved in the rainwater. Lacking a protective outer surfaces they act like sponges soaking up and retaining all pollutants that rainwater contains. Acid rain that contains sulfur dioxide breaks down chlorophyll molecules which are responsible for the process of photosynthesis, and plants simply can not survive without photosynthesis. You can easily say what is the quality of air in your area by checking the amount of lichens and mosses growing on the trunks and branches of old trees.

The low levels of air pollution and high humidity in Dartmoor provide perfect conditions for lichens and mosses. I was quite fascinated by the beautiful scenery that has been created over hundreds of years. Rocks and trees covered by a thick soft layer of bright green moss looked like a scene from a fairytale.

King Arthur's Castle and The Beauties of Cornwall

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:28:00 +0000

After long two weeks of nearly constant rain, hailstorms and strong wind, I can only dream of sunshine while looking at pictures of our recent trip. It seems that 1 April was the first and only sunny day of April. Luckily, we decided to spend that day in Cornwall.

Cornwall is absolutely gorgeous. No wonder it's one of the most popular holiday destinations in the UK. Blue waters, sand beaches and numerous opportunities for walks along the coast, offering stunning scenery, make this area a perfect summer place to visit.

Wait, I didn't mention the food! Cornwall is also known for its culinary offerings. Where shall I start? Have you heard of the traditional Cornish pasties, local fish and seafood, cream teas with scrumptious scones, thick layer of clotted cream and fruity strawberry jam, Cornish fudge or ice cream? I could go on... Sadly, we only spent one day in Cornwall, so I didn't get to taste everything. A good reason to go back!

Speaking about blue waters, stunning coasts and breathtaking views, Tintagel is the place to visit. What better place to build a castle. Tintagel Castle was built in the 13th century by Richard, Earl of Cornwall and is believed to be the birthplace of King Arthur. Today only the ruins of the castle remain. I can't even imagine how magnificent this place must have been back in the days. I could definitely spend more than just a half a day here, but we wanted to see more of Cornwall.

To finish the already perfect day, we headed south to visit the charming coastal town of St. Ives. Although the tourist season hadn't even started, the town and beach were packed with people who came to enjoy the first sunny days. I was so happy that we arrived just before the golden hour. The town couldn't have been more picturesque.

Green is The Colour - Kiwi Fruit Muffins with Coconut

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:31:00 +0000

What is the colour of spring? Of course it's green! I need lots of this colour in my life. Generally, I need colours (and light) in my life, but green has a special place and meaning. Green to me represents freshness and vitality. It's a positive colour.

Last week I bought a basket of kiwi fruits. I blended a few of them with banana, grapes and apples for our morning smoothies or mixed them with yogurt. I still had so many kiwi fruits left and didn't know what to do with them. Then I suddenly came up with the idea of "green muffins". I loved the idea and started playing around. Sadly, the first batch was a complete disaster and ended up in the bin. I learned that you should never mash kiwi fruits and mix them with other ingredients, unless you want soggy inside and burnt outside muffins. Not my idea of light green soft and fluffy muffins at all. Second try was perfect!

This recipe inspired me to experiment with kiwi fruit even more. I already drafted another two recipes I would like to try, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my green muffins.

Kiwi fruit muffins
Makes 8 muffins

75g self raising flour
40g plain flour

45g ground almonds

20g desiccated coconut

80g sugar
pinch of salt
60g melted unsalted butter, cooled
1 egg
65ml buttermilk
3 kiwi fruits, peeled and cubed
1tbsp desiccated coconut
1 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180℃.
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg, stir in buttermilk and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir until well combined. Gently stir in most of the kiwi (reserve one tablespoon) and spoon the mixture into a lined muffin pan. Top the muffins with remaining kiwi pieces and sprinkle coconut on top.
Baked for 25-23 minutes until lightly golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Let them cool down a bit before serving. You can serve them with fresh kiwi slices.

Photos of Gluten and Dairy Free Recipes for Kallo

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:41:00 +0000

Another long London winter is over. Although current temperatures don't get over 12℃, the sound of birds chirping and blooming trees are a strong sign that spring is here. I can't wait to finally switch from winter boots to sandals and flip-flops!

Spring is an ideal time to cleanse your body, so I thought I would share some healthy gluten-free and dairy-free recipes I was shooting recently. I was delighted to be asked to photograph some recipes for Kallo, the natural organic food company. Last year, Kallo introduced new range of Organic Soya Drinks and Stock Cubes and has teamed up with two talented ladies Grace Cheetham and Sophie Conran, who developed some delicious healthy recipes.

It was a real pleasure to cook, style and shoot their gluten-free and dairy-free recipes. Even my gluten and dairy free sceptical bf loved them and asked me to make a few recipes again. You can find some of these recipes on the Kallo Food Academy Facebook site and on the Red Online website.

Sourdough Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:57:00 +0000

It all started here and here. First I saw a beautiful loaf of bread on Green Kitchen Stories blog, then I watched a Dutch oven bread video by Kinfolk which suddenly sparked a fire of curiosity inside. That was when I decided I finally had to give it a try. I have been thinking of baking sourdough bread many many times before, but I have never found the right inspiration.

Fast forward a few failures later, I'm proud to announce I finally baked the perfect loaf of bread! A few days before we went to our little vacation in Italy (you can expect a photo heavy blog post soon), I baked my third sourdough bread and I was happy with the result. Actually, I was more than happy. I felt like a child, dancing, jumping and clapping my hands.

I knew it was perfect the very moment I cut through the beautiful dark brown crust. First, the crackling sound of cutting into fresh bread that I absolutely love, then the aroma - there's nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread. The texture was just right, dense but soft with nice airy holes. All I needed was homemade butter! Bread and butter. The best combo ever.

I tried two different recipes and techniques before I found the perfect one that worked for me. I knew I wanted to bake dark bread. I love Scandinavian dark breads. Every time we travel to Finland I bring back a suitcase full of Finnish rye bread and freeze it.

Sourdough starter is obviously one essential ingredient of great bread. I grew my own rye sourdough starter (after a few failures). There's been so much written about growing your own starters already, so I'm not going to do that. Instead, I can point you to some good sources like this one or this one. It's also useful to know how to maintain your starter once you get to that point. You will find very useful info here or here.

My bread was inspired by sourdough bread recipe on Wild Yeast blog. If there is anything you want to know about bread baking, you will find it there! I also plan to buy the Tartine Bread book. Not only it was photographed by one of my favourite photographers Eric Wolfinger but it also contains detailed step-by-step instructions and images illustrating the key steps of various techniques.

Sourdough Bread
Yield 1 loaf (1kg)

387g strong bread flour
90g rye flour
280g water
240g rye sourdough starter
12g salt

In a bowl, combine the starter and water. Add the flours and stir with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients come together. Cover and let the dough rest in the bowl for 30 minutes.

Add the salt and incorporate with your hands. Continue to knead the dough in the bowl for about 5 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, lightly dampen your hand with a little water. Cover and let it ferment at room temperature for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Fold the dough in the bowl. To fold the dough, gently lift one side of the dough, stretch it upward and fold a third toward the centre. Repeat the step with the opposite side of the dough. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat with other two sides (this video demonstrates how to fold a dough). This method helps to develop the gluten.

Cover and let the dough rest at room temperature for another 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with a clean tea towel and let it rest for 20 minutes.

Place the formed loaf upside down into a floured banneton (rising basket) or a towel lined bowl heavily dusted with flour. Let the loaf proof at room temperature for 2-3 hours. You can also let it proof for 1 hour at room temperature and them place it in the fridge overnight and bake straight from the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 250℃ for at least 30 minutes to one hour before you are ready to bake. Place your Dutch oven or an oven proof dish with a lid in the oven. The dish must be very hot.

Take the dish out of the oven and sprinkle some flour on the bottom. Remove the bread from the bowl and put it in the baking dish. Slash the top of your bread, place the lid back on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Turn the heat down to 230℃. Remove the lid and bake for another 20-30 minutes, until dark brown.

Let the bread cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Weekend in The West Country

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:55:00 +0000

A weekend spent with friends, breathing fresh air and enjoying the beauty of The West Country was all I needed to recharge my inner batteries. It was my first time visiting this part of the UK and I fell in love instantly. Located between the Bristol Channel and English Channel, you don't have to travel more than half an hour to reach one of the coasts. Sounds like a perfect place to me.

Saturday morning couldn't be better. I woke up in a beautiful sunlit room. The gorgeous sunlight made me feel very happy and reminded me how much I need sunshine in my life. I hadn't felt so inspired since last summer. London winter is too long!

Local baked eggs for breakfast made the morning even better and supplied us with enough energy for most of the day.

We had shortly stopped for a few shots in Exmoor National Park before heading to the coast. Exmoor Ponies are probably the cutest horses I've ever seen. They looked so beautiful and elegant in the afternoon light.

When we finally arrived to Lynmouth, I was in awe. This small coastal village won my heart immediately. I would love to spend at least a week here.

We stopped in Glastonbury on the way home to see ruins of Glastonbury Abbey and the burial place of King Arthur.

What a weekend! I can't wait to get back and explore some more of this charming part of the UK.

Homemade Butter

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:07:00 +0000

I think it's time to finally say hi and break my radio silence. Also, I would like to wish you all a very late happy New Year. I hope your new year has started out fantastic!

I can't believe January is almost over!

I've been struggling with lack of inspiration and motivation, and that's the reason why I haven't been updating my blog lately. I have to say, though, that I've been missing you and my little blog.
Luckily, my very dear friend Giulia came in London on a working holiday. I always enjoy the time we spend together working on new ideas, brainstorming, cooking and laughing. Isn't that exactly all you need when you are looking for inspiration everywhere, but can't seem to find any?

New motivation didn't come easy to me though. I must admit that Juls and P. basically blackmailed me into working on a new projects and posts. I want to thank them for that!

Back to basics!

Complicated projects are not ideal for times when you get stuck. Just get back to basics. Start adding more, little by little. I'm not an expert on "getting stuck situations", but this worked for me.

I decided to get back to basics. I've been planning on making homemade butter for sooooo long.

What ingredients do you always have in your fridge? I usually have eggs, cheese, fresh vegetables and butter in my fridge. As Julia Child said, "Butter makes everything taste better".

Homemade butter is, however, completely different experience. It's so creamy and silky with a hint of Maldon sea salt. Add freshly baked bread and I'm sold! If that's not enough for you, head over to Juls' blog to add just one more ingredient to create an easy sandwich bursting with flavours.

You can very easily prepare butter using your food processor or blender. Using a shaking technique is much more fun and it's a perfect arms workout. After making my butter, the next day I felt like I had spent an hour in the gym. Somebody could say it's a bit too much of a hassle for butter, but believe me, it is well worth it.

Butter
yields about 90g butter

250ml double cream
Maldon sea salt to taste

Pour the double cream into a jar. The jar should be at least one third larger than the amount of double cream. Put a lid on, and start shaking the jar. After 2-3 minutes, the cream should be quite thick and nicely whipped. Continue shaking, until the cream starts to pull away from the sides of the glass. At this point it's quite hard to shake the jar, so it's easier and more effective to tap the jar firmly on a table covered with a thick layer of tea towels. Be careful not to brake the jar. Continue to tap the jar, turning it upside down and back as you go, until the buttermilk starts separating from the butter. Pour the buttermilk into another container (you can use the buttermilk later) and shake the jar a few more times to separate as much of buttermilk as possible.
Pour cold water into the jar to wash the butter. Pour off the water. Use a spoon or spatula to squeeze out as much buttermilk out of the butter as possible. Wash again until the water is clear. When the butter is clean, mix in salt to taste and refrigerate.
You can also add herbs or garlic if you like.

A Late Summer Trip to Budapest

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:58:00 +0000

Back in October, P. and I traveled to Budapest. I had heard so much about this city so I was very happy that we finally decided to make the trip. It was our only late summer holiday this year and we were so lucky that the weather cooperated. A sudden heat wave hit Europe during the first week of October, the week we were soaking up the beauty and indulging in culinary delicacies of Hungary's capital city.

I planned to post some photos from our trip and share foodie places with you, but the last two months went by so quickly I almost gave up any chance of writing this post. It took me two months, but I finally managed to edit and sort out hundreds of photos. I hope you are ready for a photo heavy post.

We spent the first three days in a small hotel in the centre, ideally located for exploring the city. St. Stephen's Basilica was literally ten minutes walk away from our hotel. Standing under its magnificent dome decorated with mosaics I felt so small. Then we climbed up to a viewing platform above the cupola to admire the view of both sides of the river Danube - hilly Buda and flat Pest.

Budapest is a city rich in historical sights, and it's even more charming at night when the entire city is beautifully lit.

The shoes on the bank of the Danube river are a sad memorial to Jews who were shot into the river during World War II.

Food was obviously very important part of our trip and we were not disappointed. We had our first Hungarian meal at Pesti Disznó, choosing a traditional lecsó and chicken paprika. My mum used to make a czech version of lecsó when I was a kid, but I must say this was the best lecsó I've ever had.

There's probably no better place to sample on local delicacies than the Central Market Hall. This gorgeous three-storey building is packed with stalls selling local produce and the top floor offers hot food ready to devour. The presence of locals crowded around the stalls and eating food indicates this place is more than just a tourist attraction. We alway want to taste local food so we ordered stuffed paprika and spicy sausage served with white bread and mustard.

Zizi was our lovely host for the rest of our trip. She took us to her favourite organic farmers market on Saturday morning. I finally understand why she wakes up early every Saturday to stock up on all the wonderful fruits and vegetables. I wish we had this market in London.

After the early morning start coffee was in order. Another Zizi's favourite place, Villa Bagatelle was luckily just a short walk from the market. A three-storey villa converted to a charming cafe with their own bakery and a small home decor shop looked like my dream house.

Sunday trip to Visegrad started with fresh hot langos. A deep fried flat bread served traditionally with garlic, grated cheese or sour cream brought back so many memories of my summer holidays spent at my aunt's summer house in the Slovak Republic.

Freshly made Kürtőskalács was the perfect touch to our trip. We have a similar pastry baked over an open fire in the Czech Republic, but the original Hungarian version is the best.

We spent the last two days enjoying Budapest's numerous little cafes and wine bars. The beautiful sunny weather was perfect for sitting outside with a cup of coffee and homemade ginger lemonade from Sarki Fuszeres. This place is a very cute little cafe and deli with an outdoor seating area.

Perfectly located in front of the St. Stephen's Basilica was our favourite gelato shop Gelarto Rosa selling their gelato formed into the shape of a rose. I went back for my pumpkin and pistachio rose more than once!

This trip had everything we could have asked for - great food, friends and fun! I can't complain. My big thanks go to Zizi for being the best host, sharing her favourite places to eat and making our trip so pleasant and memorable.

I close this massive photo post with a self portrait picture taken at our favourite Divino wine bar.

Oven Dried Cherry Tomatoes and A New Portfolio Website

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:37:00 +0000

If you like tomatoes as much as I do, then you will like today's recipe. We picked the last of our cherry tomatoes about a mont ago, and I wanted to preserve the sweet red taste of summer for longer. I've been wanting to make my own sun dried tomatoes for quite a while. Sadly, London weather can't be considered sun-dried tomatoes friendly. I could succesfully make rain soaked tomatoes. However, drying tomatoes in the oven is an easy alternative. I had already made one batch in the summer, but we ate them all in a few days. Just imagine fresh wholemeal bread with slices of cheddar topped with these red gems, or scrambled eggs, enriched with a few dried tomatoes. The combinations are endless.

Making oven dried cherry tomatoes is very easy and doesn't actually need a recipe. Because cherry tomatoes are really small, you don't even have to remove the seeds. Just cut them in half, place on a baking tray, pour over olive oil mixed with your favourite spices and herbs, and dry them in the oven until they reach the desired level of dryness. Let them cool down and enjoy!

In the meantime, before I let you dream about how delicious and sweet these oven dried tomatoes are, I have some news I'd like to share with you. I have finally finished my new photography portfolio website. It still needs some finishing touches, but it's up and running already. My huge thanks go to P. who not only built the website (designed by yours truly) but also spent a particularly long time to make sure the website works fast. I think he succeeded.

Oven dried cherry tomatoes
for one 40x30cm baking tray

50-60 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
enough olive oil to fill your jar

Preheat oven to 75°C.
In a small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano. Adjust seasoning to your liking. Place the tomatoes cut side up on a baking tray. Spoon the olive oil mixture over the tomatoes and bake for 4-5 hours, until they reach the desired level of dryness . Let them cool completely, then transfer to a clean jar. Fill the jar with olive oil, making sure the tomatoes are completely submerged.
Keep the jar refrigerated and the tomatoes will last for at least a month.

Halloween Pumpkins - Pick Your Own

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:06:00 +0000

It seems like summer ended recently and it's already Halloween weekend coming up! I really like this time of year. The colourful leaves, fresh air, morning breeze, apples, pears, autumn vegetables and pumpkins, they all remind me, it's autumn. Pumpkins and Halloween however, are quite new to me. I had obviously seen and eaten pumpkins before, but we don't celebrate Halloween in the Czech Republic. I'd never carved a pumpkin until we moved to the UK, but I quickly embraced this tradition.

Last weekend P. and I took our first trip to the pumpkin patch. We usually buy pumpkins at a supermarket or garden centre. However, since I read a few blog posts about pumpkin picking, I've wanted to pick my own Halloween pumpkin. Luckily, I stumbled upon Beluncle Farm. Weather was beautiful and sunny last weekend so going to the pumpkin patch sounded like a great idea for a Sunday trip.

We arrived at the farm in the afternoon and on our arrival we were welcomed by a lovely lady who showed us the way to a large field full of gorgeous orange pumpkins of all sizes and shapes. All kids at the farm were having lots of fun picking pumpkins. I felt happy like a kid wandering through rows of pumpkins, trying to find all members of our “pumpkin family“.
We had the pleasure to chat with Mark Batchelor, who runs Beluncle Farm together with his wife Verity. He let me take some photos of his artichoke farm, but more on that some other time. The lovely lady turned out to be Mark's mother and she shared her favourite way to roast squash - with a little bit of honey. I can't wait to give it a try.

What made this trip even more special was the fact, that all proceeds from the PYO event went to Colitis and Crohn's UK. Mark and Verity's son Luke who is only 10, suffers from Crohn's disease and his parents organised the PYO weekend as a fundraising event. Is there a better thing than spending a great afternoon and helping a good cause?

I think this was an amazing event. I hope to come back next year for more pumpkin picking!

Now it's time to carve our pumpkin family! Have a happy and spooky Halloween weekend! :)

*******
Beluncle Farm, Stoke Road, Hoo, UK

Smoked Salmon and Potato Salad with Dill

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:42:00 +0000

On Tuesday I arrived back home from a short holiday to Budapest. We had such a wonderful time enjoying delicious Hungarian food, the charming city of Budapest and gorgeous Indian Summer sunshine. I couldn't have wished for more. Once I finish editing 500+ photos, I will post about our trip. There will be many foodie places tips, so stay tuned. To make the waiting easier, here's a quick recipe for my favourite smoked salmon salad. I made this recipe a few times already, and it's always a hit.

I usually use soured cream for the dressing. This time I didn't have any soured cream, so I replaced that with greek yogurt. It's a bit lighter but still very tasty.

Smoked salmon and potato salad with dill

Serves 2

400g baby potatoes

125ml (1/2 cup) greek yogurt (soured cream)

1 small garlic clove, crushed

1tsp lemon juice

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 handful fresh dill, chopped

1 spring onion, chopped

170g smoked salmon, torn into small pieces

Wash the potatoes, put them in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile, prepare the yogurt dressing. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice and season with salt a pepper. Stir in about half of the dill.

Strain the potatoes and let them sit for a while to cool down. Arrange potatoes and salmon on plates, sprinkle with the remaining dill and spring onion. Finally, spoon over the yogurt dressing and serve.

End of Summer and Beachy Head

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:44:00 +0000

I know it's been a while since I last updated this place. I just can't believe how fast summer went by! I hope your summer was sunny, filled with lots of fun, love and joy.

I'm just in the middle of packing and getting ready for our holiday to Hungary tomorrow. It is our only holiday this year, and since P. and I both turned 30 last week, it's also our little birthday present. I hope things will slow down a bit after our holiday and I will be able to get back to regular blogging. Until then, here's a quick update on my sumer.

I was a very busy girl this summer but I absolutely enjoyed it. Co-organising FBC11, meeting friends and bloggers and shooting for interesting clients filled my summer days, and I loved every bit of it. Meeting Béa from La Tartine Gourmande in person was indeed on of the highlights of my summer. She was teaching food photography and styling at the Food Blogger Connect 2011. Having lots of fun and cooking together with Juls and Zizi who stayed at mine during the conference was like having a relaxing treatment and helped me to get some energy before a Prague's photo shoot. To make my bloggers-meeting summer complete, I was hosting Alessio last week, and together we finally got to meet Asha who had shortly stopped in London during her holiday in the UK.

Uhh, time is running fast and my suitcase is still not packed yet! So I leave you here with a few pictures from a trip to Beachy Head on the south coast of England. We took the trip with P's parents and his sister who came to stay with us for a week near the end of the summer. I absolutely adore this place. I hope you will enjoy the pictures. See you soon!

Mixed Green, Tomato and Feta Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:26:00 +0000

Today I made myself the most simple basic salad for late lunch. Um, very late lunch to be honest. At least I think eating at 3.50pm is quite late to call it lunch. But I don't really care about time when I eat. I just eat when I'm hungry. I'm currently home alone, so simple fast dishes are on my menu again. As I've probably mentioned many times before, I'm too lazy to cook just for myself. Luckily it's still summer, even thought it doesn't look like that for most of the time it London, and many vegetables are in season. It's therefore easy to make a quick salad full of nutritions and vitamins.

Also our cherry tomatoes are finally ripe and red. They, however have very little chance to make it into a salad as they are most often eaten immediately after being picked. They are so sweet and juicy that I just can't resist. Although P. prefers his tomatoes less ripe with a hint of sourness and chilled from the fridge. So I always keep some tomatoes in the fridge for a quick snack.

Today's salad doesn't even need any recipe. It's seriously no-fuss salad you can throw together in a couple of minutes. Simply combine your favourite greens with one chopped tomato in a bowl, toss together with some cubed feta and your favourite dressing. Enjoy as it is, or serve with grilled meat.

Mixed green tomato and feta salad

Serves 1

50-70g mixed greens (lettuce, baby spinach, watercress, cilantro)

1 beef tomato, chopped

50g feta cheese, cubed

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1tsp balsamic vinegar

salt and freshly ground pepper

In a medium bowl, combine the greens, tomato and feta. To make the dressing mix together the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour over vegetables and lightly toss.

Our Kitchen Garden Update

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:48:00 +0000

I just found an old blog post that I wrote about a month ago but never actually posted it. It was my garden update and I couldn't believe how much our garden has changed since I wrote it. It's almost like kids, plants grow so fast. Looking at the old pictures of our kitchen garden, I felt happy and proud. I saw result of our everyday care and love we try to give to our plants. Result of the constant battle with whiteflies, leafhoppers, aphides, slugs, snails and other pests. We try to protect our plants, nurture them and they give us what they can for our care. I love our small kitchen garden. It's a hobby, pleasure and fun. I often think of my grandparents who used to have a big garden with all kinds of fruit and vegetables and some fruit trees. I would need their knowledge and experience now. They knew how to fight pests and how to give the best to every possible plant to get the best fruit and vegetable in return. I try to remember everything I can from my childhood when I used to help my grandparent in their garden, because unfortunately I can not ask them for advice. Instead, we learn. We learn every day, and we may not be the best gardeners, but we do our best and appreciate every new fruit our garden gives us.

Greek Basil

Last strawberries of the season

Mint

Although we love our garden, it's not always an easy job. Especially when weather doesn't cooperate. A typical British summer with frequent showers and lack of sunshine doesn't help our tomatoes to ripen. I'm so impatient! Large leafhoppers population nearly destroyed oregano and sage plant. It's a labour of love, but it's extremely satisfying and it's fun. For example, we grow "his" and "her" plants. P. insisted he wanted to grow chilli peppers and I had to have my rhubarb.

"Her" Rhubarb

"His" Chilli Peppers

Red Lettuce

Broad Beans

Marjoram in Bloom

Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Not all of our gardening attempts are successful. The purple sprouting broccoli plant doesn't do very well and I doubt it will ever produce any sprouts. Most of the tomatoes are still green, which is not our fault, but luckily there are already a few red ones too. We also planted new seeds of Swiss Chard, because the first plants were destroyed by black flies. Gardening is a never ending job but so rewarding.

Cherry Tomatoes

Swiss Chard

Flat Leaf Parsley

New baby spinach / Watercress

Do you remember my spring onions? They've done quite a good job growing from this:

to this:

Spring Onions

I wish you all a wonderful sunny weekend!

Gooseberry sorbet

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:24:00 +0000

I can't believe how quickly time flies. I had been waiting for summer what seemed like forever, and suddenly it's the middle of July. We have quite mild summer this year, at least for my taste. I'm a summer kind of girl and I love hot summer months with temperatures around 30C. But it's just not a case of British summer. Unfortunately, we even don't plan any summer holiday this year which means I have to be happy with British summer.

Absence of super hot summer days of course doesn't stop me from enjoying typical summer tastes and treats like ice creams and sweet juicy fruits. My favourite pick your own farm supplies me with summer fruit and vegetable that we don't grow in our small kitchen garden. I really enjoy picking seasonal fruit and veg and turning them into delicious meals.

A typical summer fruit which is difficult to find in local supermarkets is gooseberry. It's quite underestimated fruit but it's so delicious and packed with vitamin C. Many people don't like gooseberries for their typical tart taste, but I can eat kilos of them. As I've already said in my last blog post, gooseberries were one of my favourite fruit when I was a kid and they bring so many memories from my childhood. I would always pick and eat gooseberries straight off the bush in my grandparent's garden.

P. and I always try to spend as much time in nature as possible during weekends. Quite often our weekend trips lead us to the nearest pick your own farm. We picked so many gooseberries last time that I decided to make a gooseberry sorbet. I've never tried to make gooseberry sorbet before and I was really surprised how delicious it was. It's very refreshing not overly sweet sorbet and same as all sorbets it's very easy to make.

Gooseberry sorbet

800g fresh gooseberries, topped and tailed

300g golden caster sugar

300ml water

Put sugar and water in a medium sauce pan, heat over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add gooseberries, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Let it cool down slightly before pureeing in a blender or food processor. Press the mixture through a sieve into a bowl, squeezing out as much juices as possible. Leave the puree to cool completely, then pour into a freezer safe container and place in a freezer. When the sorbet starts to freeze around the edges, take it out of the freezer and stir with a fork to break up any frozen sections. Return to the freezer and repeat the process until the sorbet is completely frozen.

If you are using ice cream maker, churn according to the machine instruction.

Naked Beet Green Quiche

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:43:00 +0000

It's almost unbelievable, but summer has finally arrived in the UK! I can't describe how happy and thankful I am. After a couple of weeks of constant rain even P. had started to feel depressed. Our kitchen garden and lawn have been watered deeply and heavily, however I could see they were longing for the sunshine same we were.

When I saw the weather forecast for the past weekend, I knew instantly we wouldn't be staying at home for a moment longer than necessary. On Saturday we decided to take a photo walk to test my new zoom lens. So far I've been exclusively using prime lenses for food shots, however I started to feel the need for a zoom lens for taking pictures outside. I haven't yet fully explored the possibilities of the new lens, but I can already say I like it.

On Sunday, we went to a pick your own farm to get some fruits and vegetables which we don't grown in our mini kitchen garden. We picked lots of beets, some spring onions, baby courgettes, baby broccoli and gooseberries. I'm actually eating the gooseberries as I sit here and write this post. They are so sweet and delicious, and bring back so many memories of my childhood.

There was a reason for the huge amount of beets we picked. I'm planning to make beet chutney. I love beets in any form, but I've never tried to make beet chutney yet. If I like it, I will definitely share the recipe here. I also started using beet greens recently. I used to just discard them without realising how delicious they are! To be honest, I didn't know they are edible! Beet greens are very similar to chard leaves or fresh spinach leaves, and can be substituted for each other in many recipes. P. goes crazy for beet greens sauteed with garlic and chilli, seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper. He doesn't really care too much for spinach though. Beet greens are particularly flavourful and rich in vitamins and minerals. They are wonderful in salads and soups, but they also make a great base for savoury tarts. We love savoury tarts in this house. However, I decided to make a crustless version to save time as we were too hungry. But you can use the recipe together with your favourite tart crust.

Before I leave you with the recipe, there's someone who wants to say hi! :) Have a wonderful week.

Naked (crustless) beet green quiche

2tbsp mild olive oil

4 shallots, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 red chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped

500g beet greens, stems removed, coarsely chopped

3 slices smoked bacon, cut into small pieces

6 spring onions, finely sliced

4 eggs

150ml sour cream

150ml milk

65g cheddar, grated

pinch of grated nutmeg

salt and freshly ground pepper

grated parmesan

Lightly butter a tart pan and preheat oven to 175°C.

Heat oil in a frying pan, add the shallots and sauté until soft, but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and chili pepper and cook for another minute. Stir in beet greens and cook until they are wilted and soft, for about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and let cool slightly. Squeeze out any excess liquid. In the same pan, fry the bacon over medium heat until slightly crispy. Add the bacon and spring onions to beet greens and toss well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, milk, cheddar and nut meg. Add the beet green mixture and stir to blend. Transfer to prepared pan. Sprinkle with grated parmesan and bake until eggs are set, for about 30-40 minutes.

From My Garden - Turnip Gratin

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:12:00 +0000

I recently realised that so far I have only posted one recipe which contained some produce from my kitchen garden. I was planning to show you our strawberries, but I always picked and ate them straight off the plant when I saw a new one is beautifully red and ripe. They were so sweet and juicy I couldn't help but eat them all. P. was lucky when he got one or two.

We make salads basically every day as we get a constant supply of lettuce, rocket and herbs, but that's nothing so interesting to blog about. This actually reminds me, I still owe you a garden update! It has grown so much since my first post that you would not recognise it. We will have first tomatoes soon. I spotted some tiny green ones last week. I can't wait!

Anyway, today's post is about turnips. I discovered turnips last year. I've never eaten them before, but they are apparently commonly eaten in the UK same as swede. I actually took a liking for this vegetable, and when we were choosing seeds for our garden, I wanted to grow my own turnips. There was a funny story of our turnips. When P. was telling his parents about our garden, they were quite surprised that we grow and eat turnips, because they are known as only eaten by animals in the Czech Republic. Well, different countries have different customs for eating food. :) I'm glad I stumbled upon this vegetable and I really like it.

Their taste reminds me of radishes or more like kohlrabi, and they are delicious baked with cream or creme fraiche, pancetta, garlic and thyme. Turnip gratin became one of P's favourites. The gratin would make a great side dish for grilled meat, but we usually eat it on its own with a salad. Do you eat turnips and what's your favourite way to use them? I'd love to know.

Turnip gratin
serves 2

6 baby turnips, peeled and thinly sliced
250ml double cream
2 garlic clove, crashed
2 spring fresh thyme, leaves chopped
pinch of ground nutmeg
7 slices pancetta ham, cut into 2-3cm pieces
salt and freshly ground pepper

1tbsp grated parmesan

Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. In a small saucepan, whisk together the cream, garlic, thyme. Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Prepare a small gratin dish and arrange the turnip slices and pancetta slices in overlapping layers. Always put one pancetta slice between two turnip slices. Pour over the cream mixture and sprinkle with parmesan over top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the turnips are tender.

Rocket Pesto Penne with Chickpeas

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Sun, 29 May 2011 19:33:00 +0000

I should start by saying that I originally planned to post a raspberry cheesecake recipe which I made last week for our friends. I started writing the post on Friday and I wanted to finish it tonight. But before I could do so, I made this amazing penne with rocket pesto for my lunch and I immediately wanted to share the recipe with you.

I promise I will post the cheesecake recipe soon!

This is exactly the type of food I make for myself when I'm home alone. I opened the fridge today, checking it for ingredients I could use to make my lunch. I didn't have many options. I must admit I usually can't be bother to do the big grocery shopping when I'm home alone. I often use all leftover ingredients instead. It's a wonderful opportunity to improvise and it makes me think outside the box. Even if my experiments don't work, I don't have to worry that two people would be hungry. :)

This rocket - chickpeas - goat cheese experiment worked great though. I just used leftover chickpeas and goat cheese from yesterday's salad and combined it with some fresh rocket from my garden. Easy, fast, fresh, perfect!

My yesterday's lunch was similarly fast and easy. I picked some fresh radishes and cress from our garden and put them on rye bread with hummus for a light lunch. It's so wonderful having your own garden. I can't wait to pick fresh strawberries for tomorrow's breakfast.

Penne with rocket pesto, chickpeas and goat cheese
Serves 1

90g penne
100g canned chickpeas
50g fresh goat cheese

Rocket pesto
20g fresh rocket
10g pine nuts

1 small garlic clove
10g parmesan, cut into small pieces
pinch of salt
olive oil

Cook pasta according to package instruction.

Meanwhile, prepare the pesto. Put all the ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor and quickly process until ingredients are finely chopped. Be careful not to over-process. The texture should be a little chunky. You may need to stop the processor and scrape down the sides a few times to make sure all ingredients are well chopped and mixed. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and pulse a few more times. Add in more olive oil, as needed, until you reach your desired consistency. Check the seasoning and add more salt if necessary.

When pasta is ready, drain and return to the pan. Add the pesto and chickpeas and toss gently until the pasta is well coated with pesto. Transfer pasta on a plate, crumble goat cheese on top and serve.

A Weekend Trip to Wales

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Thu, 26 May 2011 11:05:00 +0000

I love spring! Warm but not hot sunshine, fresh air and gentle wind, reasonably long days and just occasional showers make spring the perfect season for trips. Particularly the kind of trips which involve climbing up mountains. At least, I prefer covering myself with a windbreaker jacket to sweating up a mountain.

I took a few days off last week to enjoy the company of our friends who came to visit us, and together we decided to take a tree day trip to Wales and climb up Pen y Fan (886 m) which is the highest peak in Brecon Beacons national park. As I've probably already mentioned many times here, I love British countryside and nature, but Wales is definitely one of my most favourite parts in the UK.

We were very lucky with the weather as the heavy rain that had been forecast didn't arrive and the only shower caught us while we were in the car. Cloudy sky gave us perfect lighting for landscape photography, so the only complaint about the weather was quite strong and cold wind on the top of Pen y Fan. The wind blew our friend's tripod with the camera over, but luckily the only thing that broke was the polarising filter. This once again confirmed that lens filter is a good investment.

Beautiful landscape with grass covered peaks and breathtaking views are just part of natural beauty which Becon Breacons national park offers. Coed Y Rhaeadr which means Waterfall Country is renowned waterfalls and caves area promising spectacular scenery. Sgwd y Eira is the most famous waterfall on the river Hepste. The name in English means "waterfall of snow". There's a natural path behind the waterfall so you can enjoy the unusual view of the curtain of water.

I should mention that we visited all these places in one day which felt like self destruction at the end of the day, and we slept like babies that night. Anyway, I totally enjoyed our weekend away and felt very relaxed, yet so physically tired. :)

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Goat Cheese Spaghetti

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Tue, 10 May 2011 15:13:00 +0000

I'm quite positive that proper spring is here. Outdoor temperatures stay around pleasant 18 degrees and sunshine do it's work on my garden. I will update you on garden news soon as the little patch of green that makes me so happy has grown rapidly during the last two weeks. I still have to wait to harvest my own tomatoes, however I have sufficient supply of fresh herbs and baby lettuce and spinach leaves that we treat ourselves to regularly. Warm and sunny weather also means that I tend to cook and eat lighter food with enough fresh fruit and vegetables. Pasta is, however, something constant on our menu throughout the year. I've already told you many times I'm a pasta maniac, haven't I?

This pasta dish is very quick and easy to make. It's exactly the type of food I like to cook especially during hot months, when you don't want to spent long hours near a hot stove. You can easily use any leftover pasta which you just heat up and toss with the rest of ingredients. The combo of roasted cherry tomatoes and goat cheese is fantastic on it's own. I can imagine making roasted tomato and goat cheese bruschetta, or adding both in a salad. Options are endless here, you can never go wrong with tomatoes and cheese.

It's time to think about Saturday lunch. Have a wonderful weekend!

Roasted cherry tomatoes and goat cheese spaghetti
Serves 2

13-14 cherry tomatoes
190g spaghetti
4tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp pine nuts
salt and freshly ground black pepper
125g soft goat cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp grated parmesan
handful fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place the tomatoes rubbed in olive oil on a baking tray, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions. When the pasta is ready, drain and return to the pan. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, salt and pepper. Add to the pasta with half of the goat cheese and parmesan and toss to combine. Divide pasta between two plates and place cherry tomatoes on top. Sprinkle the rest of goat cheese and basil on top, and serve.

Caramelised Onion, Broccoli and Mushroom Quinoa

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Thu, 05 May 2011 19:19:00 +0000

I wanted to post another soup recipe when I remembered I promised the next recipe would be something else than soup. I still have many soup recipes I would like to share here. Not today, though.

I have something else for you. Soups are my favourite food because you can make them ahead and just heat them up for a quick lunch. Same as soups, salads are easy and quick to make, therefore, ideal for a quick lunch. Do you like quinoa? I have become addicted to quinoa since our new year's detox. I have already tried many recipes, however combination of caramelised onion, fried mushrooms, broccoli and balsamic vinegar instantly made the top of my favourite quinoa recipe list. It's so easy and tasty that I had to share the recipe with you. This salad is very good even when it's cold, so if you have any leftovers, just keep them in an airtight container in your fridge for a quick lunch the next day.

What a shame I didn't have any quinoa left for our weekend trip to the English countryside. That would be perfect picnic food. It looks like spring has finally come back after two long cold weeks. More trips and picnics will be planned and I can't wait! I love when nature wakes up and everything around you is green and full of fresh energy. The feel of sunshine on my skip makes me very happy.

I truly love weekends spent in the countryside. The peaceful quite interrupted only by birds chirping is so relaxing and it gives me so much energy. I wish you all a great week!

Caramelised onion, mushroom and broccoli quinoa

Serves 2-3

160g quinoa

400ml vegetable stock

3tbsp olive oil

2 medium onions, peeled, halved and sliced

1/2 tsp golden cane sugar

2tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

180g mushrooms, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 head broccoli, broken into small florets

Rinse the quinoa in plenty of cold water and drain. Place it in a medium saucepan, add hot vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, until it's tender and all the liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, heat 2tbsp oil in a frying pan, add the onions and cook slowly for 15 minutes, until soft and caramelised, but not browned. Add the sugar, 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar, salt and cook for another two minutes. Stir into the cooked quinoa and set aside.

In the same pan add 1 tbsp oil and add mushrooms. Cook on medium heat, until softened, about 7 minutes. Meanwhile, put the broccoli into a large pan or Pyrex bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them sit in the water for two minutes, then drain. When mushrooms are soft, add garlic and cook for one minute. Lastly, add the drained broccoli, remaining balsamic vinegar and toss everything together. Mix the vegetables with the quinoa and onions, toss well, and serve.

I have a garden!

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:47:00 +0000

Basil, Thyme and Chive

Finally I have a garden! And I grow my own herbs and vegetables there! Oh, I can't forget strawberries! So I also grow my own fruit! :)

Last year, P. and I moved to a new house. Just the two of us, no more housemates and sharing. That was definitely one of many advantages and benefits of our new home. We love the place! Having my own space for a studio and a huge kitchen were beyond my dreams and, on top of that, we finally have a garden. It's not a big garden but it's still a garden, and most importantly I can finally grow my own herbs and vegetables. I can't be happier.

Watching my herbs and vegetables grow from a tiny seed to the first small green leaves brings me so much pleasure. There's something very rewarding about growing your own veg. I would like to share this pleasure with you, so now I invite you to take a virtual tour of my garden.

Sage

Marjoram

Oregano

Rosemary

Curry Plant

I believe that everyone can grow their own vegetables and herbs because it's surprisingly quite easy! I didn't grow the herbs above from seeds but bought potted herbs in a garden centre and replanted them. I tried the same with supermarket herbs but they usually died after a few weeks.

I grow all my herbs in big flower pots as I find it easier to protect them from snails and slugs. So far the best protection from slugs we have found is beer. Just pour some beer into a shallow container and place in your garden. The slugs will crawl in and drawn. Have you tried any other form of protection from slugs that works?

I grew all the following plants from seeds, except strawberries. It's so exciting how fast they grow!

Bright Lights Radishes

Lettuce

Tomatoes Maskotka

First "soon to be" strawberries!

There will be more of them!

Hot Orange Wonder Pepper and Cayenne Pepper

However I'm not entirely sure what's in this box on left, I think it could be rocket. I'll let you know in a few days when the tiny leaves start to resemble something. The parsley definitely need to be thinned and replanted as it looks like parsley wildwood right now!

Left: ?, Right: Parsley

Mixed Red Leaves Lettuce

Spinach

Headed Mixed Lettuce

I really wonder if these poor things will grow into spring onions one day!

Spring White Lisbon Winter Hardy Onion

I will update you on the progress my garden makes. I can't wait to show you some pics of my first fruits!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup and Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Sari @ Cook Your Dream) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 22:25:00 +0000

Another soup? It seems like we have only been eating soups in this house. The last recipe I shared was soup, too. But there's nothing wrong about soups, right? I love them. They are tasty and quick, and I can never get enough of them. Also a slightly colder weather we've got today just called for a warm comfort soup. Well, the morning was nice and sunny, but it got cloudy and chilly in the afternoon. I had got used to the beautiful warm and sunny weather quickly because I love eating outside in the garden! I had actually enjoyed this butternut squash soup in the garden too, just before I covered myself in a blanket to raise my body temperature! :)

It's been a week since a wonderful weekend full of laughter and good food with Juls and Tiina, and I still smile thinking about our breakfasts in the garden, food markets we visited, food we cooked together and our mini photography/styling workshop. There's nothing like great friends and food bloggers under one roof for a couple of days. Sadly, we were missing Beth and Chris to make the gang complete!

Why is it that time flies so fast when you are having a great time? Anyway, the weekend was short but it filled me with energy for weeks. Oh, I love food blogging!

I promise to share other recipe than soup next time!

Roasted butternut squash soup

Serves 4

1 small butternut squash (about 1kg), quartered lengthwise

3 sprigs fresh thyme

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

3 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely sliced

1 carrot, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

6 fresh sage leaves, chopped

500ml vegetable stock

500ml water

salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place the butternut squash on a baking tray, brush all over with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme, and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until soft. Let the squash cool slightly, and then scoop out the flesh and discard the skin.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and sage and cook on low heat for 10 minutes until soft, but not brown. Pour in the stock, and bring to a boil. Simmer vegetable for 5-10 minutes, until soft. Add the butternut squash and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Take the soup off the heat. Blend the soup with a hand blender or in a food processor. Check for seasoning and serve.