Baking summery eggs & becoming a fish mum

Recipe of the week...
... Pea & Goat's Cheese Sheet Pan Eggs

Ingredients: 10 eggs, 50ml milk, 25g fresh parsley leaves, small sprinkle of chilli flakes, 1 courgette, 200 frozen peas, 65g goat’s cheese, ciabatta rolls

Serves: 4 decent portions

Time taken: 45 mins max

Dietary: Vegetarian

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Hi readers,

Happy Saturday to you all!

How are you doing today? Are you well? What’s the weather doing where you are??

As I write, it’s a Saturday afternoon in July and we’re mid-storm in Sheffield. The heatwave’s broken dramatically over the last few days, with thunder and lightning and impressive cloudscapes in the sky. Now we’ve had epic rains and there are winds a-whipping! I’m sat in my room at home with a big window open, listening to gusts shake the trees about outside, and enjoying a cool breeze coming in from the garden.

Doesn’t it feel good, this break in the weather, after such a muggy, stuffy week at work?? The air’s been so close this week, it’s been like living in a swamp. I’m enjoying this fresh air very much. I’m even wearing leggings and sipping a hot drink!

I won’t wish summer away, it can come back in a few days, but I think we all will enjoy a little return to normal this weekend. Good luck trying to remember which switch turns on your windscreen wipers... and where it was you last saw your jacket. If I can give on piece of advice – try and tether your barbecue down, or else it might actually blow away.

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- Food for thought -

This week, readers, I have a few bits and bobs to recommend for you. I’ve been…

Listening

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

A random audiobook that I’ve been listening to while commuting – so interesting! I think I downloaded this based on a magazine recommendation, as it’s not the kind of book I’d normally choose. It’s historical account of the Osage Indian tribe in the US and the treacherous, murderous goings on that they endured as a community as people, after they came into money from the oil under their lands. It’s a bloody awful story and it’s not a story at all… it’s real! I’m going to read more from David Grann – my mind’s been blown.

Watching

The Incredibles 2

We went to see this at the cinema recently, me and the Vegan Mr, and I was a bit worried! The first Incredibles film is a key film I remember from being a kid and, with such a break before the sequel, I don’t think I was the only one fearing it might have been an ill-advised money-driven franchise decision. But it was good! Not a Best Film Ever and not a Very Disappointing Sequel – just something alright, somewhere in the middle. I recommend if you’re looking for a light film to watch. Edna is my fave still.

Reading

About hidden landscapes the heat is revealing

Really interesting! I happened upon this article from the BBC about the changes to the grass, as it’s been dried out by the prolonged hot weather, and the shapes that are appearing in the ground as a result. You can see the foundations of historic buildings and they’re discovering new henges which they never knew existed! And a ‘henge’… is a word! Finally, could this be a good use for drones?

Enjoying

Tramlines Festival

Last weekend I didn’t write to you, readers, because I was off dancing in a field at our local music festival. For any readers who are local to Sheffield, and didn’t get a ticket this year, I really recommend! The line-up has something for everyone and if the weather forecast is reasonable then it’s a lovely atmosphere to soak up. Get out, don your glitter… and listen to the music. My 2018 highlights were Stereophonics and Stefflon Don – both great live!

Wondering

Will Craig David have a good life?

I’m quite concerned about the welfare of our new goldfish, Craig David, having not had a pet in five years or more. We were going to get two, but the Fish Nazis at the pet shop would only sell us one fish (don’t ask), so I’m a little worried he might get lonely on his own. Does he have enough room to swim about? Are we feeding him enough? Is he bored? Does he sleep? What’s he thinking? Is he okay? And will he have a good life??

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- Feeding a friend -

My recipe this week, readers, is one I cooked for Flat Dinner this week as it was my turn to make tea for me and my housemate. It was a hot evening (32 degrees, if my car’s to be believed!) and an eventful one – we’d just met at the pet shop after work and become fish mums to our little Craig David.

I cooked in our kitchen at home, with a vanilla tealight lit, and sun pouring in through the windows. We sipped iced water from wine glasses – why not! – and talked about the ordeal involved with buying a goldfish from Pets at Home. If you haven’t been through this before, I will say only that they take fish welfare VERY seriously there...

This week’s recipe, readers, for Pea & Goat’s Cheese Sheet Pan Eggs, comes from the Co-op’s July Food magazine. I chose this recipe, after leafing through the magazine, because there’s a gorgeous big picture of the dish. I’m a fan of eggs so it caught my eye! And, on closer inspection, there seemed not to be too many ingredients required and none of them expensive to buy. And the recipe looked straightforward – billed as taking only half an hour or so to prepare.

Mainly though, the recipe just seemed interesting! I’ve baked eggs on top of other dishes before, but I’ve never really made a baked egg dish. It looked sort of like a crustless quiche. And it seemed to be a light and summery tea – perfect food for a hot evening in this heatwave. If you’d like to give it a go yourself, here’s the recipe in just seven simple steps…

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- Pea & Goat’s Cheese Sheet Pan Eggs -

Ingredients: 10 eggs, 50ml milk, 25g fresh parsley leaves, small sprinkle of chilli flakes, 1 courgette, 200 frozen peas, 65g goat’s cheese, ciabatta rolls

1.     Set some summery music playing and pour a cool drink with ice. Crack a window open wide and gather your ingredients together. Heat the oven to 200°C.

2.     Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and begin some veg prep – finely chop your parsley leaves and peel your courgette lengthways into ribbons.

3.     Whisk the eggs and milk together in a jug, then mix in the parsley. Sprinkle with chilli flakes, and season with salt and pepper.

4.     Pour the mixture into the lined baking tray, then artistically add the courgette ribbons and peas here and there, pushing some of them into the mixture.

5.     Crumble the goat’s cheese over the top and carefully transport your sheet pan eggs into the oven – try not to let it spill over the sides!

6.     Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the eggs are just set and the top is golden. Safely remove from the oven and switch this off.

7.     Slice into 4 wedges and plate up! Serve with ciabatta rolls on the side, if you like.

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- Recipe round up -

And that’s all there is to it! Pretty hands off for the chef – you have plenty of time free to fanny over your new goldfish while tea cooks in the oven. Will your goldfish pause for a photo? No. No, it won’t, but you can spend 20 minutes trying for the perfect pic, and your tea will merrily bake while you carry on.

This recipe was… A SUCCESS! We both enjoyed our tea! The dish was simple to prepare and bake exactly according to plan, it came out looking just like the picture in the magazine. I served with olive ciabatta bread from Aldi (which I highly recommend) and we both tucked in… and cleared our plates.

This dish tastes, readers, of peas and parsley… with a hint of goat’s cheese! It’s colourful and flavoursome food – not too ‘eggy’, for anyone worried about the large number of eggs that go in. It’s tasty food served with doughy bread alongside, and filling, too. According to the Co-op mag:

An easy way to feed a hungry horde – use whatever summer veg you have to hand

I would definitely give this recipe a go again in the future, readers, and would experiment with throwing in a few different veg – maybe spring onion? Or sweetcorn? It would be grand dish to prepare for a dinner party as you could pop it in the oven and then sit down for your starter course, and enjoy half an hour with your guests before serving up the main.

And I can recommend keeping your sheet pan eggs for leftovers the next day, readers. We ate half the dish for Flat Dinner this week, and the rest I took to work with me for lunch. It kept well and was just as tasty cold as it had been warm. You could even try reheating the dish – let me know, if you do, how that goes.

I’ll leave you now, readers, to go off and enjoy your weekend. Please take care I this stormy weather and, if you have to get behind the wheel, do drive safely! Wishing you all a refreshing and relaxing weekend – enjoy it, live it, be in the moment.

Bake safely,

Hayley

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- Closing thoughts -

If you’ve been inspired to give this recipe a try, readers, whether I’m speaking to you on the day of this post or you’re reading some far out time in the future... please drop me a line to let me know whether it went okay. I’d love to hear how you got on in the kitchen and your thoughts on this dish. Plus, it’d be fab if you’re able to share any tips you have for success, or your suggestions to improve the recipe? Please send your wisdom my way.

Thank you for reading!

All about the aubergine

Recipe of the week...
... Aubergine Parmigiana & Pesto Bruschetta

Ingredients: 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, 3 garlic cloves, 125g mozzarella, 1 red onion, 20g fresh basil leaves, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 aubergine, 1 vegetable stock cube, 2 ciabatta rolls, 35g Italian hard cheese, olive oil, sugar, salt & pepper

Dietary: Vegetarian

Serves: 2

Time taken: 1 hour max

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Hi readers,

Hope you’re all well and having lovely weekends... enjoying the sunshine! We’ve been out in the sun maybe a little too much, according to the Vegan Mr’s sunburn, but it has to be done eh?? Brits and all that.

My attempt at a Dry July has crashed after 2 weeks, with a delicious glass of red wine last night (… no regrets), and I also crashed my car into a metal pole this week – in an early morning attempt to reverse. Never reverse before coffee, readers, if your skills behind the wheel are as sketchy as mine.

Luckily, neither myself nor the pole were harmed on this occasion. And I’ve made it through the week, this week, without killing any goldfish. Thank god. But how about you, readers?? Have you crashed through the week with untold destruction along the way? Or has it been a peaceable week in the history of you? How have things been?

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- Food for thought -

This week, readers, I have some stuff to recommend for you which has popped up on my ChefBeHere-ing radar. Over the past week I’ve been…

Listening

To my new running playlist

Having spent weeks trying to skip songs with sweaty hands, while on the go on a run, I finally sat down and fixed a fresh running playlist. The old one had swelled to over seven hours long and some tracks I hadn’t liked since uni. My new playlist is up-to-date and gone are the old dance anthems from the Toon – it’s keeping my spirits up on hot summer runs. When was the last time you threw together a playlist?

Watching

The Bookshop

A really random independent film! My book club love going to see books which have been turned into films, or films about book clubs, or films about books in general! This one is set in 1950s England, Bill Nighy stars, and there’s a scene on a beach with a VERY intense hand kiss scene. I warn you – it’s hot stuff for a film about books. Go see, if you’re a book lover.

Reading

About President Trump’s visit to the UK

Do you think he got the message?? That we sort of don’t like him? Probably not, it was subtle. But high five to the guy who paraglided over his private golf course to shout rude things down from the sky. And high five to Sadiq Khan for approving the giant inflatable Baby Trump! I’d have loved to see it floating over London.

Enjoying

The rain

I’m sorry if this is gloating and you were somewhere on Friday that missed the rain… but god was it good. Just a few hours of a refreshing cool breeze, steely grey skies, and light drizzle. Over practically before it started, but a lovely throwback to the usual weather before this heatwave. I put on a knitted cardy and listened to rain pattering on the window.

Wondering

Will there be something good on TV now the World Cup is over?

I’m humming a merry tune and waving the World Cup on its way, readers. Not a fan! We’ve endured weeks of packed pubs, road rage in the hour leading up to every kick off, and conference calls taken over with blow-by-blow accounts of matches between teams of literally no sporting merit. It’s been BORING. And I’m excited for some good TV that has no link to football – for at least two weeks before the next footy season starts.

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- Feeding a friend -

My recipe this week, readers, is one that I prepared not long ago, for myself and the Vegan Mr on a Friday night. We were celebrating the hotshot and a big job offer he’s had – toasting to a successful career ahead for him. Any excuse for good food!

I’d gone all out and bought fancy olives to start, and limoncello desserts for our pudding! We lit a vanilla tealight and cracked the windows open for a summer breeze. We sipped squash out of wine glasses and talked excitedly about everything the Mr could buy if his pay check goes up… blackout blinds? Cocktails? Unicorns??

This week’s recipe, readers, for Aubergine Parmigiana & Pesto Bruschetta, comes from my Gousto recipe file. It’s one I’ve tried before. A great dish to cook if you have company and can eat it all in one go, as I don’t find that mozzarella reheats very well. I chose this recipe because the Mr wasn’t feeling very vegan on this night, hence a recipe including dairy, and I don’t cook enough with aubergine!

In the words of Gousto…

In this simple, warming Italian bake, tender aubergine is layered up with rich tomato sauce and then topped with two types of cheese: mozzarella for melting gooeyness and grated Italian hard for flavour. Once that's in the oven, you'll make a simple pesto to spoon over ciabatta slices – perfect for scooping!

Are you sold?? If you’re preparing one for yourself, readers, here’s the recipe in just ten simple steps…

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- Aubergine Parmigiana & Pesto Bruschetta -

Ingredients: 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, 3 garlic cloves, 125g mozzarella, 1 red onion, 20g fresh basil leaves, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 aubergine, 1 vegetable stock cube, 2 ciabatta rolls, 35g Italian hard cheese, olive oil, sugar, salt & pepper

1.     Try and clear your mind. Now is the time for good food and not for worrying. Please reframe from multitasking, over stretching yourself, or fretting about concerns that go beyond the kitchen. Heat your oven to 200°C.

2.     Begin by slicing the aubergine lengthways as thinly as you can. Heat a large frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil on a high heat and, once hot, add the sliced aubergine and cook for a few minutes on each side, until it’s beginning to brown.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: Unless your pan is colossal in size, you may have to do this in batches.

3.     Once the aubergine is cooked set it aside for now. Keep the pan and wipe clean ready to reuse. Boil a kettle and dissolve the stock cube in 50ml boiled water.

4.     Time for some veg prep! Peel and dice the red onion. Peel and finely chop (or grate) the garlic. Chop the basil finely, including the stalks. Cut the mozzarella into chunks.

5.     Then, return the pan to a medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add the diced onion with a generous pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes or until softening. Add ¾ of the chopped garlic and cook for another minute.

6.     Next, add the tomato paste, dried oregano and 1 teaspoon sugar to the pan, stir in, and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock and ½ of the chopped basil. Cook for 3 more minutes until the contents of your pan resemble a thick Bolognese sauce consistency.

7.     Time to put this all together – add half of the aubergine to an oven-proof dish in a single layer. Spoon over half of the tomato sauce and repeat so there are two layers of aubergine and sauce. Top with all of the mozzarella chunks and half of the grated Italian hard cheese.

8.     Carefully transport the dish in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese has browned – this is your aubergine parmigiana. Meanwhile, grind the remaining chopped basil, chopped garlic, and grated Italian hard cheese along with a pinch of salt in a pestle & mortar to form a smooth paste.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: If you don't have a pestle and mortar, chop everything very finely!

9.     Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon cold water and mix well – this is your pesto. Slice each ciabatta into 4 lengthways and pop onto a baking tray, then divide the pesto between the ciabatta slices and spread it about evenly.

10.  Get the tray in the oven for 5 min until the ciabatta is warmed through and crispy – this is your pesto bruschetta. Once the aubergine parmigiana has cooked and the bruschetta are looking beautiful and golden, safely take everything out of the oven and turn this off. You can plate up! Spoon your parmigiana between two dinner plates and serve the pesto bruschetta alongside… enjoy.

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- Recipe round up -

What do you reckon, readers, might you be tempted to give this recipe a go?

I would very much recommend! We both enjoyed our food – fans of hearty Italian grub. Everything came off well in the kitchen and both the parmigiana and bruschetta came out of the oven looking golden and smelling like a storm of garlic.

Crunchy bread and a cheesy tomatoey dish to dunk it in… exactly what you need on a Friday at the end of a long week. Plus, layering with aubergine instead of pasta makes this dish a little lighter than a traditional lasagne – so you definitely have room for your pudding! Readers, if you’re in the mood for some simple Italian food with strong flavours and stretchy stringy cheese then I definitely would recommend. Light a candle and fill your boots.

Until next week, I’m wishing you all a glorious week in the sun. Stay cool and take care when around metal poles, readers. Eat well and have a lovely time!

Bake safely,

Hayley

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- Closing thoughts -

If you’ve been inspired to give this recipe a try, readers, whether I’m speaking to you on the day of this post or you’re reading some far out time in the future... please drop me a line to let me know whether it went okay. I’d love to hear how you got on in the kitchen and your thoughts on this dish. Plus, it’d be fab if you’re able to share any tips you have for success, or your suggestions to improve the recipe? Please send your wisdom my way.

Thank you for reading!