A chilli for the chilly nights

Quorn Chilli

Ingredients: A splash of oil, 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, a 350g packet of frozen Quorn mince, 1 tin of red kidney beans, 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, ½ a pack of mushrooms, a packet of chilli-con-carne seasoning mix, 2 tablespoons of tomato purée, ½ a mug of tap water, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 or 2 packs of microwave rice (depending on how many people are eating).

Time taken: Half an hour! This recipe takes no time at all.

Good evening readers,

I hope you’re all well tonight!

As I sit and write this it’s a dark, cool September evening in Sheffield. I’m having a cosy Friday night in with Smooth Radio for company. It’s been a lovely day at work! I got to see all of the men in the office in one day (a rare occurrence) and made it to the Rutland for a pub lunch.

We got very excited about a bit of warm autumn sunshine and sat out in the beer garden, and the pub’s chef (a character) came out to pick some flowers from the garden. Shuffled off back inside. Ten minutes later the flowers were back and they were on my plate! I had a very pretty, very floral lunch. And then made it to yoga after work. A lovely Friday.

My floral mushroom tartlet at the pub today

I hope you all have had a great end to the working week, too. And that you’re feeling relaxed and ready for the weekend now! The leaves are falling and the days are bright and crisp, and hopefully we might all get to spend some time outdoors breathing fresh air and embracing autumn this weekend. Jackets on and off and on and off again, no doubt.

So, this week in my blog post, I’m sharing with you a classic recipe that I dug out of my ‘Vegetarian Nosh for Students’ cookbook on Wednesday night. I may not be a student anymore (sad times!) but having volunteered throw a midweek dinner party and cook for five friends, I needed a simple recipe that I could cook a big amount of, all in one pan.

I turned to Veggie Nosh and found an easy-peasy-looking recipe for Quorn Chilli… and it went really well! With just a little help from friends stirring and serving, I pulled it off and even though I was in a sort of dazed hosting mode on the night, I do remember that there were lots of positive comments about the food. And Quorn mince in general. Everyone seemed to leave very full and very happy! And so I will definitely cook up this chilli again in the future. A resounding success… phew!

Want to wow your friends with a great veggie chilli? Follow these ten straightforward steps…

1.     Chop your onion, slice your mushrooms and finely slice your clove of garlic.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: If they aren’t ring pull, I’d open your tins now to be on the safe side. You never know when you might get an awkward tin that just won’t open.

2.     Heat a generous splash of oil in a wok or in a big frying pan.

3.     Add your onion and garlic to the pan, and sizzle until your onion is going soft.

4.     Make sure your hob is on full heat and add all the rest of the ingredients to the pan.

5.     Keep everything moving about in the pan until the chilli seems to be boiling.

6.     Turn the hob down to a lower heat and leave your chilli to simmer for at least ten minutes, prodding occasionally to stop it from sticking to the pan.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: You only really need ten minutes to thicken the chilli, but if you’re not quite ready to eat or if some disaster strikes during those precious ten minutes, there’s no harm in leaving the chilli to simmer for longer.

7.     When you’re ready to eat, place your plates and your microwaveable rice sachets in the microwave. Heat for a few minutes until your rice is steaming.

8.     Use an oven mitt to take everything out of the microwave. Spoon the rice onto your heated plates and then ladle out your chilli.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: This recipe makes enough chilli for 4 decent portions. If you’re feeding 4 then this is perfect! If not, then spoon portion-sized amounts of any leftover chilli into Tupperware. Leave to cool and either chill in the fridge (to eat in the next few days) or freeze for a while longer. When you’re ready to eat your chilli (first, thaw it if you froze your chilli, and then) just pop it in the microwave on full heat for about 5 minutes.

9.     Serve your chilli as it is… and voila! Or you can add cheese or potato wedges or some crusty garlic bread, if you’re in the mood for a proper Mexican feast.

10.  If you’re REALLY in the Mexican spirit, maybe try tossing some real chilies into the pan while cooking, and serve your meal with a shot of tequila! Just don’t start on the tequila until your food is ready. Safety first.

My plateful of chilli ready to be tucked in to

I hope it goes well! And remember to have fun in the kitchen! I recommend some Smooth Radio on in the background for guaranteed feel good factor while you’re cheffing.

Have a lovely weekend everyone and stroll safely,

Hayley

Ps. This week I’ve gone crazy for the Scandinavian concept of hygge (pronounced hoo-gah) … have you heard about it?? Hygge it would seem is a really sweet Danish word that we don’t have a word for in English. It kind of means cosiness and happiness and contentedness all in one go. Isn’t that a wonderful idea? I read about hygge in a magazine a week or so ago and then discovered the hygge hashtag on Instagram. It’s a cracking hashtag! People use hygge when they’re sharing photos of their homes, friends and family, pets and nature, food and drink, socks and jumpers, sun rises and sun sets. All the best things basically. Here’s a selection of some of my favourite hygge photos from this last week on Instagram, for you to enjoy...

@123wenche

@hidsigproppen

@pantherrrrr

@die_lilo

@kit_borne

@camilla.lr

@n_rasmussen_

@fenglidk

@hygge_and_me

@cleanielsen

@koelsterstolvhaner

@simonewils

@mahlerandkin

@lisbethgejl

@antoniaillustrates

@mama_j

@nannastad

@melissaaacain

@thekeatonhomestead

@themessymama

@auta_miqula_orqu

@mini_beske

@amylizabethw

@by_sachse

@winosostergaard

@mrbreinholt

@loppebaren

@louisealkj

@kreajanne

@flo_imogen

@spiserietnaestved

@badgertails

@olivia.lindegaard

@bellisabeth

@fadrysdale

@emslf

BRUISED AND IN NEED OF BLUEBERRIES

Healing Blueberry Muffins

Time taken: An hour max.

Ingredients: 200g all-purpose wholewheat flour, 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder, a pinch of salt, 25g rolled oats, 3 eggs, 75g brown sugar, 2 tablespoons honey, 175g plain yoghurt, 75g coconut oil, & 200g frozen blueberries.

Hi readers,

So, that’s another week gone by. Another week of 2015. Of Spring. Of May. Of our existence. How are you?? How has your week been? Think back to Monday morning, think to now, is life any better? Any worse? Much different? Reflect! Think back on your week and I wonder what you’ve got up to.

For me, this week has been one hell of a week. Definitely! The end of Third Year isn’t an easy nut to crack! This is the week that I’ve launched revision about the Earth’s polar environments. The week that I made it through a Spanish speaking exam without crying. The week that me and some of the geography girls presented to a roomful of people about ice streams in the Antarctic Peninsula. The week that I wrote 3 essays about representations of Africa. In about as many days. It’s been… productive to say the least.

Also, this has been the week that I met up with my friend from Montreal!! Who I haven’t seen in SO LONG. This is one of my fun-loving first year uni flatmates, who moved back to Canada in 2013… and isn’t 2013 so long ago?? It’s forever ago! So this lovely girly made the trip back to Europe this week to catch up with all the friends that she made in her year abroad. Such a big trip for her and we were all so glad to see her! Catching up on 2 years missed is so weird… and also it was like she never left!

My new life goal? Is to get to Canada to pay her a visit. Never forget to appreciate each and every friend you have, wherever they may be in the world. Been meaning to send someone a message or write them a letter? I sayyyy DO IT. Seize the day! Feel the love.

Readers, also (brace yourself for EVEN MORE wisdom)… plan all the trips in the world but try not to trip over yourself. This has been the week that I tripped over. Jogging for the bus to work in Friday morning, I hit the ground. Quite hard. Ripped my tights, bloodied both knees, grazed one hand and one elbow, damaged my baby my iPod, and also spectacularly my new iPhone on my tenth day of owning it. Shit hit the fan, readers. Shit hit the fan.

I think when you’re at your pinnacle of tiredness and stress, and suddenly you find yourself lying on a pavement feeling your pulse in your ruined knees, a small part of you gives in. It does. Well, it did for me. I made it to work for medical treatment (I’m fine). Made it through the day. Through a big meeting. And then, with little left to give in life, retired to a sunny patch of grass with Woody. Met Floss and MissMuddle for cocktails, food, beers, comedy club.

I’m recovered (more or less) and am taking life a little easier. Yesterday, I finally got to have a drink at The Botanist. It did not disappoint. Pressed an owl print at an art open night. Lost this. Learned some stuff about octopuses. Today, I got to go over to my family friends’ house for a lovely lunch. Sat in their conservatory and listened to birdsong. Helped to build a Rice Krispie volcano for a school project. I couldn’t go empty handed so I baked some blueberry muffins to take along. Really healthy ones. Shared these with the flatmates and spread some happiness. Had one myself.

As is QUITE EVIDENT I’ve lost the will with revision. Tuesday’s exam could be a sorry affair. But there’s still tomorrow to turn it around with revision!! And you never know. :) Miracles do happen! How do you feel about the week ahead, readers? Good? Bad? Ugly? Cheer up! One thing I DEFINITELY prescribe to improve even the trickiest of Mondays? A batch of Healing Blueberry Muffins. I promise, these babies will make you feel good outside and in. They’re feelgood-factor-assured. Goodness is guaranteed. Happiness lies just one bake away. Need these in your life?

Here’s how you bake up some smashingly Healing Blueberry Muffins, in just ten easy steps:

1. Heat your oven to 180˚C.

2. Line a muffin tray with 12 muffin cases.

3. In a mixing bowl, measure out your flour, baking powder and salt.

4. Then, add your oats, eggs and sugar.

5. Scoop your coconut oil into a small bowl and melt in the microwave for a minute.

6. Add your honey, yoghurt and melted coconut oil to the mixing bowl.

7. Take a wooden spoon and mix all the ingredients in your bowl together into a lumpy batter.

8. Pop your frozen blueberries in a small bowl and add a teaspoon of flour. Stir your frozen blueberries around until they’re all coated in flour.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: This is optional, I suppose, the flour just stops them turning everything blue.

9. Fold your floury frozen blueberries gently into the muffin batter. Be careful not to overmix!

10. Spoon your mix evenly between each muffin case (they should all be full to about the top) and pop your muffins in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes! Take them out when they’re risen and golden brown, and when a knife jabbed into the centre of one comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before tucking in!

And hey presto…

One batch of Healing Blueberry Muffins!

This recipe is based upon an American one that I found HERE on a wonderfully titled blog, Not Enough Cinnamon. Go check it out.

So, with brown sugar and honey instead of white sugar, yoghurt and coconut oil instead butter, wholewheat flour instead of white, 1 of your 5-a-day inside… there is NOTHING BAD about these muffins! Literally, there isn’t. And they taste so good! Really moist and wholesome and cakey. I’m more than happy with these muffins. Readers, these muffins are making me happy! They’re healing, I swear, and definitely a recipe I’ll be rolling out in the future.

Plus, this recipe has been an intro for me to the world of frozen blueberries. They’re well cheap! Frozen blueberries, readers, cost really lots less than refrigerated ones and you can store them for any amount of time. They taste just as good as fresh fruit would in your baking. Looks like a blueberry, taste like a blueberry, costs about the same as a raisin! Cue, a running blueberry theme to up and coming ChefBeHere blog posts. Sorry, not sorry!

Readers, whether you may be students, workers, astronauts, superheroes, movie stars, Antarctic explorers… if there’s any part of you that feels right now that you might benefit from a Healing Blueberry Muffin. Or your friends/family/flatmates are in need, maybe? Then GO BAKE. Do not hesitate or delay. Muffins today.

Jog safely,

Hayley