Two months already that we have started Everyone’s kitchen from home!
It is always amazing to see that one recipe lead to different preparations: More vegetables, less salt, more spices… And this recipe become your own! Even if we can’t get together for now, we are delighted to share with you those creations!
Thank you to Duncan, Fiona G, Fiona M, Frances, Ian, Marnie, Marta and Ula for your pictures, kind words and cheerfulness!
This week was:
Chili sin carne serve with rice
Cookie
Chili sin carne
Marnie (top) added many vegetables and Fiona (right) had some spare “plant-based” meat
Ingredients x2 (Cost per serving £1.2 – Lidl)
1 tin kidney beans, drained
1 tin chopped tomato
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground paprika
Salt and pepper
Fresh coriander/parsley
Optional: feta, chili flakes
Serve with rice
Method
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion and garlic, on medium heat, cook for 5 minutes with the spices (coriander, paprika, cumin).
Add the kidney beans and chopped tomato tin. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Simmer for 15 minutes. Once ready, add fresh parsley or coriander.
In a mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix.
Add the milk and the oil. Combine everything with your fingers. If too dry add a bit of milk, to runny add a bit of flour. Option: incorporate any powder or essence if you like.
Make about 6 balls and place on a baking tray with cooking parchment paper. Flatten the balls just a bit with your hand
Break your chocolate in small piece and place on top (or inside, or both!)
Bake for 10-12 min. When they are golden on the side, it is ready.
Warm and comforting food, that is what we need! We miss seeing each other so it is nice to catch up via email or during our weekly zoom call!
This week’s menu was simple, plant based and yummy.
Quick dhal served with Garlic bread
Chocolate cake
Quick Dhal with Garlic bread
Ingredients x2 cost per serving 0.95
300g red lentils
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp finely grated ginger root
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper
Option: add other spices such as chili, nutmeg, cinnamon … It’s up to you!
Fresh coriander
Fancy throwing more veg in it? Add spinach, chickpea, tomatoes or peppers!
For the garlic bread
Bread
A bit of soft/melted butter
Garlic powder
Method
Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat and add the onions, garlic, ginger, paprika and cumin (or other spices you are using). Cook for a good 5 minutes, until the onion has absorbed the colour of the spices.
Add the lentils in the pan and pour some boiling water to cover then. The water is going to reduce quickly so keep stirring and adding boiling water until obtaining the texture of your liking. Cook for 15-20min. Add salt and pepper.
You can also add some spinach, chickpea etc…
Taste and add spices if needed!
Serve with rice, bulgur, couscous, garlic bread. Talking about garlic bread! Nothing easier.
In a small bowl, place some butter and put it in the microwave for a few seconds only.
When the butter is soften, add some garlic powder (to your liking) and spread on your bread (toasted or fresh)
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients – Total cost £0.90 Lidl
150g plain flour
150g (dairy-free) milk
100g dark chocolate
100g sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
Method
Oven 200C
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl.
Pour in the milk and mix.
Break the chocolate in a saucepan and melt it on low heat with a bit of milk or water so it doesn’t stick.
Once it is melted, add it to your mixture.
Butter or oil slightly you cake mould if needed and pour your chocolaty mixture!
Bake for 25-30 min.
To verify if it is cooked, put a knife in the middle, if the blade comes back clean, it is ready !
Thank you to Duncan, Fiona G, Fiona M, Ian, Marta, Urzsula for sharing creations !
Late autumn to winter is the perfect time to take hardwood cuttings as the plant is dormant.
If you are pruning your favourite bush or tree, why not taking the advantage to get healthy cuttings and propagate them?
Tips
First of all, when taking your cuttings make sure your mother plant is healthy and has new growth. This is increase your chance for a good propagation.
When taking cuttings from the mother plant, always cut above a node with an angle (slope). That will avoid rotting.
ROLL TECHNIQUE
Roll technique is useful if you don’t have much space or pot.
You will need:
Cuttings
Cutting compost or mix 50% multipurpose compost,25% perlite, 25% sand.
Twine
Scissors
Empty compost bag
Secateur (clean and sharp)
Pencil (for drainage)
Step 1 – Prepare your cuttings
Your cutting should be 20cm long (roughly) and have the thickness of a pen.
When you have your plant material, working from the bottom to the top, make a straight cut below the node, measure roughly 20 cm and cut above the node with an angle.
So your cuttings will have a straight cut at the bottom and a slope cut at the tip.
Option: You can add rooting powder at the bottom.
Left: Angled cut above the node Right: Straight cut below the node
Step 2 – Cut the bag
Once you have all your cuttings ready, take your emply compost bag, open it using a a scissor and make a strip of about 30cm.
Step 3 – Prepare your roll
Place your strip downward (images and text towards you), cover with your cutting compost (3/4).
Your compost bag is black on the outside and will attract heat once the roll is finished.
Place your cuttings 3/4 in the cutting compost and 1/4 (the tip) out of it.
Step 4 – Let’s roll!
Fold the bottom of the bag to cover the bottom of the cuttings and roll. Make sure it’s tight by using twine.
Step 5 – Drainage
With a pencil make some holes at the bottom to allow drainage. Your roll is now ready. It can be placed outside as redcurrant is an outdoor plant. You can also place it in a cold frame for more protection.
Make sure it is not waterlogged and you should have new plants next autumn!
The weather has been miserable for the last few weeks; cold, snowy, and rainy. When it gets like this, my lips tend to get really dry and chapped and I won’t leave my home without some kind of lip balm on hand. I can’t stand the stinging feeling of dried, chapped lips and I especially don’t like spending a ton of money to get the all-natural products that I prefer to use. My solution, of course, was to make some myself! I will share my own recipe with you, as well as how to make your own herbal infused oils at home that you can use for cooking or making your own homemade cosmetics.
There are a couple of products that you might not have on hand for this recipe, but I will include a few links to where you can purchase them for cheap. This recipe is not vegan-friendly, but is simple enough to make with a beeswax alternative. You can also omit the honey entirely and it will not change the consistency or efficacy of the lip balm.
*These are not exactly vital to the recipe, but they certainly don’t hurt!
**I don’t purchase any pots or tubes, I reuse my cosmetic pots or I hold on to small jars that I use just for cosmetics.
The first step to this recipe is making your infused oil. There are two ways you can make this: the easiest and fastest way is made using the double boiler method on your hob; the second and more time consuming way is leaving your herbs in the carrier oil of your choice in a sealed jar for a few months (you have to shake the jar once a week). If you’re interested in the latter method, here is a site that can give you some inspiration and more details on how to make different flavours. However, I highly recommend properly researching your carrier oil of choice to make sure it is safe to use.
If coconut oil is your carrier oil of choice, it is probably best to use the first method since it solidifies at higher temperatures. Since it is the oil I used, I can walk you through step by step how I made my own chamomile infused coconut oil. The process is exactly the same regardless of the oil you use for this method.
The double boiler method is a cooking process used to protect whatever it is you’re heating – in this case, our oil and herbs – from direct heat. This gentle heating process is used for anything from melting chocolate, making sauces, and even some types of meringue! We will be using it in this recipe to make our infused oil as well as making the balm itself.
This process involves filling a large pot with water and bringing it to a boil with either another pot that fits just over the water or a metal mixing bowl.
It’s important to make sure the water touches the bottom of the receptacle you choose to hold the oil, otherwise it won’t heat properly. I suggest keeping the kettle on hand to top up the hot water as needed throughout this process. Be careful not to overfill your pot, or the hot water can potentially boil over and you could injure yourself.
Let’s get started!
Once your double boiler is ready and the water is rolling, lower the hob to medium high heat and add your oil and herbs to the bowl. If you are making just enough for this recipe, use 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 teaspoons of the herb you want to use. I used two chamomile tea bags.
Stir the oil and herbs occasionally for 30 minutes. Once the timer is up, use a strainer or cheesecloth to strain the herbs from the oil (the cheesecloth takes the finer bits out that the strainer misses, but little bits of herbs in a lip balm never hurt anyone)! Now your oil is ready to use for the lip balm, so set it aside and give your mixing bowl a quick rinse before placing it back over the water to move onto the lip balm recipe itself.
Herbal Coconut Lip Balm
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5-40 minutes
Set time: 30-60 minutes
Total time: 40-120 minutes
Ingredients:
2 ½ tablespoons beeswax*
2 tablespoons herb-infused oil
3 drops vitamin e oil
3 drops avocado oil
A drop of honey
*If you prefer a thinner balm, only use about 2 tablespoons of wax.
Method:
Set up your clean, dry pots or tubes near your hob. Using a funnel will help to minimise any mess from pouring the balm into their containers (especially if you’re using tubes instead of pots).
Over a double boiler on med-high heat, add your herb-infused oil and beeswax while stirring constantly until the beeswax has melted.
Add the drops of vitamin e oil, avocado oil, and honey. Stir them in well and then pour your balm into your containers. Leave them to set for about 1 hour and then they’re ready to use!
Notes:
If you want to add natural pigmentation to your lip balm, you can use fruit to make your own dye or you can add any other edible natural colouring (cocoa powder, turmeric, etc). Simply stir it in well before pouring it into its containers. If you would like a more comprehensive list for ideas on pigmentation, check out this site.
You can also infuse your oil with flavours other than herbs – use citrus zest, spices, or any variation on flavour you want to make!
Other oils and butters make for a luscious addition to this recipe – I will sometimes add cocoa butter or shea butter to mine. Add a tablespoon of one of these to the recipe above and adjust the beeswax by ½ to 1 tablespoon if you prefer a firmer lip balm.
Show us how you would transform the Hilltown park into your dream park. For some of you, it may be about building your own special space with big blocks to hang out with your friends, for others it may be a beautiful ice cream van or a special kids cafe with the best hot chocolates to keep you fuelled. You may be more interested in having games like pogo sticks, special swings or go-carts, or perhaps having secret bushes full of fruits to make cocktails…
All materials and colours are allowed for your design, you could use pen and paper, computer design, collage, plasticine models… You can include the whole park or just an area of it. Or you could also just draw a design of something new to go in the park. Its up to you.
We are looking for small and big ideas, originality, creativity, sustainability, colour, functionality, wild ideas…all are welcome!
To take part in the competition you need to be:
13 years old or under
Live or attend school or nursery in the Coldside/ Maryfield districts or attend to any MAXwell Centre activities.
Send us your name, age and school you attend with up to 3 photos of your design/s, whatever format they are in, to mdmaxinfo@gmail.com by the 8th of March 2021.
We will select 12 winners and announce them on Friday 12th of March. Each will have a prize bag with games, goodies and growing surprises and their original designs will be exhibited as part of the Hilltown Community Plaza Project, funded by Creative Dundee.
Send us an email if you have any questions, we are looking forward to seeing your lovely designs.
Over the past few months, in 2020, we have been cooking outside in the garden using the barbeque. Well this week we are very happy to cook in a cosy environment! A warm meal was needed! As usual, thank you so much for sharing your creations.
Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pan, add 1 chopped onion, then fry for 5 mins until softened.
Stir in 1 tsp ground coriander and 1 chopped potato, then cook for 1 min.
Add the 450g peeled and chopped carrots and 1.2l vegetable or chicken stock, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat.
Cover and cook for 20 mins until the carrots are tender.
Tip into a food processor with a handful of coriander then blitz until smooth (you may need to do this in two batches). Return to pan, taste, add salt if necessary, then reheat to serve.
This recipe is super easy and versatile – you can probably make it right now with whatever you have in your kitchen and have breakfast sorted for the week! It takes a few minutes to combine your desired ingredients to make an affordable and healthy breakfast.
Oats are an absolute staple in my kitchen and I can’t ever seem to get enough of them. I use them in my homemade cosmetics, in baked goods, as a dairy replacement, and (of course) enjoy them for breakfast! Aside from being versatile and delicious, they’re also really good for you (and your skin). In this recipe, I will show you how to make simple overnight oats for breakfast that you can just grab on your way out the door!
I love this recipe because you can add whatever toppings you want – fruit, vegetables, nuts, and so much more. If you’re like me and you prefer variety, you can make up the oats ahead of time (it will keep for about 5 days in the fridge, 2 days if you add fresh fruit and/or veg) for the week and add the toppings in the morning. I’ll even toss some fresh or frozen fruit in the night before and give it a quick stir to let the flavours mingle.
The texture of the finished oats is so wonderful, it’s like having an oat pudding for breakfast! If you don’t like to have cold food in the mornings, you can easily heat your portion up in the microwave for 1-2 minutes before eating it. If you prefer savoury breakfasts, there are recipes for savoury overnight oats but they require a little more effort and aren’t ideal if you’re in a rush to get out the door in the mornings.
Overnight Oats
This recipe makes one portion.
Prep: 5-10 minutes
Setting time: 2 hours
Total time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Porridge:
100g porridge oats*
100ml water or milk of your choice (dairy or non)
1 tablespoon yoghurt, optional**
1 tablespoon sweetener (honey, brown sugar, etc), optional
1 tablespoon chia seeds, optional
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Pinch of salt
Toppings:
—– Apple pie
60g chopped apple
2 tablespoons chopped nuts
½ teaspoon cinnamon
—– Raspberry Refresher
60g raspberries, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
½ tablespoon freshly grated ginger***
—– PB&J
2 tablespoons nut butter
2 tablespoons jam
—– Carrot Cake
22g freshly grated carrot
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon raisins
2 tablespoons chopped nuts
—– Almond Joy
1 tablespoon chocolate chips
1 tablespoon chopped almonds
1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut
⅛ teaspoon almond extract
—– Courgette Cake
66g grated courgette
2 tablespoons chopped nuts
1 tablespoon raisins
½ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
Method:
Mix all of your ingredients together in a glass jar, stir well, cover and let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours before consuming.
Add your toppings while doing the above step or add in the morning just before eating.
Keep in mind that the oats without any fresh toppings will keep for 5 days if kept covered in the fridge. If you have fresh fruit mixed in, the oats should be eaten within 2 days.
*Old-fashioned, or rolled, porridge oats are the best type to use for this recipe as they absorb moisture better than steel-cut oats.
**If you don’t have yoghurt, any other thick dairy product can replace it. I used half the measured amount and added sour cream to the recipe instead and it still turned out fantastic.
***Top tip: you can freeze fresh ginger for up to six months in a sealed, airtight container or freezer bag. Whenever you need it for a recipe, use a fine grater on the frozen ginger. It should be returned to the freezer immediately after every use or it will spoil (it also does not thaw well, it just goes soggy).
