Kale, Pumpkin and Smoked Cheese Tart

The new spreadable product is the latest, exciting new product from Applewood to join the existing range. This versatile new spreadable is an ideal cheese for today’s modern lifestyle – you can spread some over bread, stir into a variety of recipes and share with friends by dunking into various snacks.



Kale and Pumpkin Tart with Applewood Spreadable

1 28cm/11in shortcrust pastry flan case, baked blind
1 small pumpkin, seeds and peel removed
3 tbsp oil
2 small onions, sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

30g butter
1 tbsp oil
150ml double cream
4 eggs
100g Applewood Spreadable
100g grated cheese (I used cheddar but if you have Applewood Smoked, that would be even better!)


1. Make the flan case according to the instructions on the Frequently Used Recipes page.


2. Cut the pumpkin into even sized chunks add, mix with 3 tbsp oil and roast for about 30-40 minutes until tinged with brown and tender, leave to cool.

3. Heat 1 tbsp oil and 30g butter, gently fry the onions and garlic until soft and translucent, add the kale and stir for 3-4 minutes until it starts to soften, set aside to cool.




5. Mix together the Applewood Spreadable with a little cream to slacken it off, then add the rest of the cream.  Add the the eggs and beat into the cream mixture, season to taste and pour over the kale and pumpkin.  Top with the grated cheese.

6. Bake at 160C for 40 minutes until the egg is set and the cheese is golden and crispy.
Serve with leeks and peas cooked gently in butter and a little stock.

The soft sweet pumpkin went well with the texture of the kale and the smoky cheese flavour of the the Applewood Spreadable was the perfect compliment to both of them.  Although most of the ingredients in this tart are vegetarian, the Applewood Spreadable is NOT, so I would suggest that if you don't eat animal products, you choose to use Applewood Smoked Cheddar to get the smoky flavour in the tart.

I received samples of Applewood Spreadable Cheese and a hamper of food products to use in the competition, I have not been paid for this post and all opinions are my own.

Labels: Applewood Smoked Spreadable, cream, eggs, flan, Kale, Leeks, peas, pumpkin, tart

posted by Janice @ 20:43 5 Comments

Gousto - Win Dinner in a box!

Ingredients for Spiced Pumpkin and Halloumi on Bulgar Wheat with Pomegranate Seeds

Although I love to plan ahead and decide what I'm going to cook, sometimes it's difficult to find the time to get organised and  because I love my food so much, I'd prefer not to have a freezer meal very often   That's why I was so pleased when Gousto Simply Cook contacted me to try out a couple of their Gourmet recipe boxes.

What is a Gousto Gourmet Box?
Gousto provides you with all the ingredients in the right proportions to cook delicious meals at home. The produce is organic, fresh and seasonal. Gousto’s recipes are developed by a team of passionate chefs and tested by their friends and families first (very picky people). You get to choose the recipes online and every week the selection is updated to make sure there’re plenty of new recipes for you. The recipes are delivered right to your doorstep once a week so you decide when to cook. Whenever you’re on holiday or just don’t have time, simply place the subscription on hold – it’s easy.

In practice it is very simple, in a trial subscription you can decide whether to try 3 meals a week or 4 meals a week.  Three meals a week  for two people for the Gourmet box costs £42 (around £5 per person per meal) and for the Veggie Box it costs £39.  Once you  have your trial subscription you can  log in to the Gousto Simply Cook website look at the list of recipes and choose what you would like to make,  and there is a wide range to choose from and they are added to each week.  You then add the recipes to you basket and sit back and wait!


Excellent Delivery Service
What I really liked about the website was the delivery address checker, I live in rural south west Scotland and have had problems with deliveries e.g. Ocado don't deliver to our area.  So I was delighted to be able to put in my postcode and find that my parcel would be delivered on a Wednesday.  Gousto are currently delivering to all postcodes in the UK apart from a few very remote areas, they deliver in London on a Tuesday between 1pm and 6pm and to other UK areas on a Wednesday, 9am - 5pm.  The ingredients duly arrived on the appointed day packed expertly in a box with a fleecy lining and icepacks, there were no issues about signing for it and Gousto are happy to take instructions as to where to leave the parcel if you are out.

I have the opportunity to try two of the recipes, so I chose:

Spiced Pumpkin and Halloumi on Bulgar Wheat with Pomegranate Seeds


 I have always wanted to try halloumi cheese, but for some reason I never got round to buying it. What a fantastic recipe,  the pumpkin chunks are roasted in the oven with the onions, the halloumi cheese is fryed and served on top of a bulgar wheat salad which includes the roasted vegetables, pomegranate and mint.  It was really delicious and probably not something I would have made otherwise.

Oven Baked Pork Chops with Pears, Stilton and Pecan Nuts


 The oven baked pork chops with pears, stilton and pecan nuts use a similar technique to the pumpkin recipe as the pears and onions are oven roasted with the spices.  I love blue cheese and the combination of the sweet fruit, slightly earthy taste of the pecan nuts and the sharp, saltiness of the cheese was a treat to eat.

Conclusion
The recipes are excellent and are definitely something that I would want to make and eat.  There are interesting and exciting vegetarian options.  The delivery service is one of the best I have experienced. There is also very little waste as you only get enough of the ingredients to make the meal.  I would consider using the service if I was going on a self catering holiday and wanted to make nice food without the hassle of shopping, but I don't think it is something I would use on a weekly basis.

If, on the other hand, you find it difficult to decide what to make but love good food and are happy to cook, this is a great way to try out some new recipes and ingredients.


GIVEAWAY
You can win a Gousto Gourmet Box that feeds two people by following the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget. This Giveaway is only available for entrants with a UK delivery address.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was supplied with a Gousto Gourmet Box with two meals for two people.  I was not obliged to write a positive review and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: Dinner in a box, Gousto, halloumi. bulgar wheat, Pears, pecan nuts, pomegranate, Pork chops, pumpkin, Stilton

posted by Janice @ 15:00 89 Comments

Happy Halloween from Farmersgirl Kitchen

I picked up this little pumpkin at the local farmers market a couple of weeks ago.  it was just the right size to sit on a plate on my dresser.  I probably should have made more effort with the decoration but I ran out of time!

I made some little treats, not too many as we live out in the middle of nowhere and won't have a lot of visitors.  I used the chocolate spoon mould which I got from Sew White and filled it with melted white chocolate (sort of bone like!).  The black and orange sugar gave it a bit more of a Halloween look.  The buns are a simple chocolate cake mix, I baked them in Halloween papers but they seem to have parted company from them, so just took them out.

Labels: cake, chocolate, Halloween, pumpkin, Sew White, silicon mould, sugar

posted by Janice @ 21:13 5 Comments