Breakfast

Chunky Seville orange marmalade (naturally gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ Leave a comment
Jars_or_homemaded_chunky_Seville_orange_marmamalade
February 2023, marmalade making. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Something bright and cheery to start the new month. It’s that time of year when the air is full of the scents of aromatic citrus and the sweet smell of sugar. Seville oranges are in season and marmalade-making is in full swing.

New_season_Seville_oranges
New season Seville oranges. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

I do enjoy making preserves, but I find the peel-cutting for marmalade a bit of a chore. This time I made marmalade, I cooked the oranges whole, then once the oranges were cooked, I extracted the fruit pulp from the skin and was left with softer peel to slice. I found the cooked orange skin much easier to slice, and the resulting preserve tastes and looks pretty much the same, so I think this recipe will be my go-to marmalade recipe for the future.

Labelling_homemade_chunky_Seville_orange_marmalade
New season marmalade ready to label. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

You may want to cut the quantities down to make a smaller amount – I had a fair few oranges to use up!

Makes: approx. 3kg

Ingredients

  • 1kg Seville oranges, washed and left whole
  • 2.4l water
  • 1 unwaxed lemon + 60ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (the extra juice is optional but I find it helps with the set especially if the oranges have been stored for a while)
  • 1.8kg granulated sugar

1. Put the whole fruit in a large saucepan with the water. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for about 1½ hours until a skewer can be inserted into the fruit with ease. Drain the fruit using a draining spoon and leave aside until it is cool enough to handle. Keep the cooking water.

Cooking_whole_Seville_oranges_in_water
Cooking whole Seville oranges. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

2. Cut the fruit in half, then scoop the seeds and pulp into the saucepan with the cooking liquid. Halve the lemon, extract the juice and add to the saucepan along with any seeds and the lemon shells. Bring to the boil and boil steadily for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid, discard the pulp, and return the liquid to the saucepan.

3. Meanwhile, cut up the orange shells into the size of shreds you prefer and put to one side. I kept the sliced peel quite chunky, hence my name for the marmalade.

Preparing_Seville_oranges_for_chunky_marmalade
Cooked orange preparation. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

4. Stir the shredded peel into the cooking liquid. Add the sugar and extra lemon juice if using. Stir over a low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Raise the heat and boil for about 25 minutes until setting point is reached – 105.5°C . Allow to cool a little in the saucepan until the mixture begins to firm slightly, then stir the marmalade to distribute the peel before spooning into clean jars and sealing whilst still hot.

Cooking_up_chunky_Seville_orange_marmalade
Cooking the marmalade. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Cool, label and store in the usual way. Here’s a link to my other marmalade recipes if you want to compare the methods Seville orange marmalade – traditional and dark (naturally gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan)

Serving_jar_and_spoon_of_homemade_Seville_orange_marmalade
Homemade marmalade serving. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

I had a few spoonfuls of marmalade leftover once I had put the rest in jars; the “cook’s privilege” I call it. It made the perfect topping for a very indulgent bowl of porridge the next morning 🙂

Until next time, have a good few days and I look forward to posting again soon.

Chocolate_porridge_with_homemade_marmalade
Chocolate porridge with homemade marmalade. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Rise and shine oatmeal porridge (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 4 Comments

Bowl_of_oatmeal_porridge_with_blood_oranges_pecan_and_marmalade
A super sunny start to the day. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello everyone! I have something bright and cheerful for you this week. Given all the doom and gloom in the news, this tasty and super-charged breakfast will get your day off to a bright and cheerful start. It’s a seasonal update on a recipe I posted a couple of years ago.

Skinless_blood_orange_slices
Blood orange slices. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

No sooner has the bitter marmalade orange season finished, the next citrus beauties are on the horizon, coming into the shops and markets in mid-February. Actually, the season is coming to an end but I’ve been enjoying the ruby-red fleshed oranges for a couple of weeks already. This orange seems to have had a name change, and is now, rather boringly, called red orange, but I will always think of them as the blood orange or Sanguinelli. The flavour is sweet and tart at the same time. They are very juicy and you never quite know how red the flesh will be until you start peeling.

4_steps_showing_how_to_peel_and_slice_oranges
Perfect peeling. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

For the past few days the weather has been decidedly chilly here; it’s been the kind of temperature that calls for porridge. My recipe for an overnight oatmeal porridge which cooks in the slow-cooker means it is ready for you to enjoy the next morning without any fuss. The oatmeal is cooked the traditional Scottish way in just water with some salt to season. Everything else is added afterwards. I posted the original recipe back in March 2018 – you can find it here.

Slow-cooker_oatmeal_porridge_ingredients_water_salt_and_pinhead_oatmeal
Slow-cooker + water + salt + oatmeal. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

To make 6 hearty servings, put 150g pinhead oatmeal in your slow-cooker. Add a generous pinch of salt and pour over 950ml cold water. Cover with the lid and switch on to the low setting. Leave for 8 hours (up to 10). After the cooking time, the surface of the porridge will form a light skin, but give it a good stir and the creaminess of the cooked oats will be appear. Once I’ve got my portion in my cereal bowl, I mix in oat milk (I love the Barista versions for extra richness) to loosen up the texture. Once the porridge has cooled it will solidify. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week, and reheats very well in the microwave – just mash with a fork, mix in some milk and reheat.

3_steps_showing_the_cooking_of_oatmeal_porridge_in_the_slow-cooker
Slow-cooker oatmeal porridge. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

So with the cooking taken care of, you just need to make up your mind what to eat with it. To prepare the orange slices, slice the top and bottom off an orange and then remove the peel by slicing downwards with a sharp knife, trying to take only the skin and white pith away. Slice into rounds or chop smaller.

Adding_a_generous_spoonful_of_homemade_Seville_orange_marmalade_to_oatmeal_porridge
Homemade marmalade for extra citrus flavour. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Back in January, I posted my recipe for Seville orange marmalade. I’ve been putting my stocks to good use this week. It makes a great addition to a bowl of porridge, adding some sweetness and also more orange-flavour. All in all, this is a seriously citrusy and sunshiny breakfast bowl, with a few pecans sprinkled over for some crunch. I’m looking forward to my breakfast already 🙂 Until next time, I hope you have a good few days and stay healthy.

Close-up_on_oatmeal_porridge_with_marmalade_blood_oranges_and_pecan_nuts
A breakfast bowl of sunshine, Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Slow-cooker bean and vegetable hash (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 4 Comments

Plated_vegan_breakfast_cooked_overnight_in_slow-cooker
Rise and shine, bean and vegetable hash with fresh toast. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Welcome to my first post of the new year. On the menu this week is a hearty (and healthy) breakfast/supper dish cooked in the slow-cooker, perfect for the time of year and for Veganuary, as this month has become known 🙂

Plateful_of_vegan_bean_and_vegetable_hash
A hearty, healthy start to the day. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

The recipe takes next to no time to prepare, and once it’s all mixed up and in the cooker, you’ve got 9 hours to get on with your life. The hash is a simple combination of vegetables that slow-cook well, some cooked beans and a mix of spices to pep things up.

Vegetables_for_vegan_bean_and_vegetable_hash
Hash vegetables. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Cooked_borlotti_beans
Cooked borlotti beans. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Mix_of_spices_ad_herbs_for_seasoning_bean_and_vegetable_hash
Hash seasoning. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

So with no more blurb from me, here’s what to do……

Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • 225g sweet potato
  • 225g general purpose potatoes
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 each yellow and red pepper
  • 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 350g ripe tomatoes
  • 240g cooked pinto, kidney or borlotti beans
  • 1 tsp each ground cumin and smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
  • ½ tsp smoked or regular salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Freshly chopped parsley
  1. Peel the potatoes and cut into approx. 0.75cm thick pieces. Peel and slice the onion. Deseed and slice the peppers.

    Prepared_vegetables_on_chopping_board
    Prepared hash vegetables. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
  2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and stir fry the prepared vegetables for 5 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker dish.
  3. Quarter the tomatoes and mix into the vegetables along with the beans, spices and seasonings.

    Preparing_and_cooking_vegetables and beans_for_hash
    Hash preparation. Images: Kathryn Hawkins
  4. Cover with the lid. switch the slow-cooker on to the Low setting and leave to cook undisturbed overnight or up to 9 hours, until the vegetables are meltingly tender.

    Slow-cooker_close-up
    My slow cooker. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
  5. To serve, stir the mixture well. Pile on to warm serving plates and sprinkle with parsley. For breakfast, some freshly grilled toast is all the extras you need; for supper, the hash is great spooned over rice or pasta.

    Up_close_on_serving_of_vegan_bean_and_vegetable_hash
    Ready to eat. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Overnight seed and berry porridge (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 14 Comments

Bowl_of_oatmeal_porridge_with_berry_compote
Oatmeal and seed porridge with berry compote. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

It still feels more wintry than spring-like here in central Scotland. We have had a blue-sky day today, the first for a while, and the temperature is slowly rising. The snow is beginning to thaw slowly, but most of the garden is still covered in a thick, white crust of powdery snow. The snowdrops under the hedge are the first to emerge at long last and I am relieved to see that they have survived their week inside a snow-cave – what robust little flowers they are 🙂

A_clump_of_snowdrops_sheltered_from_the_snow
After-the-snow snowdrops. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

One of my favourite warming breakfast dishes is porridge, and it seems a lot of people agree: porridge has become the super-star amongst breakfast cereals, and the supermarket shelves are stacked out with different varieties and all sorts of flavours.

Tin_and_bowl_of_pinhead_oatmeal
Pinhead oatmeal for “proper” porridge”. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I like my porridge made the traditional way, which means I prefer to use oatmeal (or groats) rather than rolled oats. However, it’s not an instant breakfast and requires some organisation: the oatmeal requires overnight soaking before it can be cooked. But if you have a slow-cooker, you can cut down on the preparation: just mix everything up in the slow-cooker the night before and leave it on a low setting until the next morning, by which time it’s ready to eat as soon as you want it.

The oatmeal in the picture above is a local Scottish brand and is not guaranteed gluten-free. As you will know, oats themselves don’t contain gluten, but there is a contamination risk from other grains during processing, so if you do have a serious gluten allergy, you should seek out gluten-free oatmeal.

Slow-cooker_with_oatmeal_water_and_salt
Slow-cooker porridge: oatmeal, water and salt. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

If you don’t fancy leaving your slow-cooker on overnight, slow-cook the porridge as you like, and once cooked and cooled, the porridge will keep in the fridge for a few days. You can take out a portion and reheat it with you favourite soya, rice, nut or oat milk when you’re ready. Just pop a portion in a microwave-proof bowl, mash it with a fork and stir in some milk, then reheat on High for about 1 ½ minutes. Alternatively, you can reheat the porridge in a saucepan, with milk, in the same way.

The following quantity will make about 8 servings: pour 1.1litre water into your slow-cooker and stir in 175g pinhead oatmeal. Add a pinch of salt and mix well. Cover with the lid and switch the cooker on to the Low setting. Leave to cook, undisturbed, overnight (for 8-10 hours), until thick and soft. To serve, stir well and serve with hot, non-dairy milk mixed in. Add sugar or syrup to sweeten if you like, and top with sliced banana, fresh berries, grated apple, dried fruit etc.

Close-up_of_mixed_ground_seeds_and_frozen_summer_berries
Homemade seed mix and my frozen summer berries. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

For an extra nutritious start to the day, I like to stir a heaped tablespoon of ground seeds into my bowl porridge and top with some summer berry compote.

For the seed mix, grind 3 tbsp. flax seeds with 2 tbsp. sunflower seeds, 1 tbsp. chia seeds and 1 tbsp. sesame seeds – I use a coffee grinder to do this. Stir in 1 to 2 tbsp. ground almonds, pecans or Brazil nuts. Store in the fridge in an airtight container and use to sprinkle over anything you like for some extra nutritious nuttiness!

The berry compote is made from my freezer supply of home-grown raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. I simply put a quantity, still frozen, in a saucepan with the lid on and sit the pan over a very low heat until the berries soften and cook. I add a little vanilla sugar once the berries are cooked. Delicious eaten hot or cold.

Spoon_of_seed_porridge_with_berry_compote
A spoonful of my favourite oatmeal porridge. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

 

 

 

 

Homegrown strawberries – tips and recipe ideas

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ Leave a comment

Growing_and_harvested_homegrown_strawberries
Homegrown Scottish strawberries Images: Kathryn Hawkins

It feels like summer is here now that my strawberries are ripening. The aroma of sweet berries fills the air every time I open the greenhouse door. I have been growing strawberries in my unheated greenhouse for several years. The soil is free draining and the plants have plenty of room to spread.  Apart from an occasional feed, and plenty of water, I leave them alone to get on with the business of berry production.

Strawberries are best eaten fresh. They don’t freeze well as a fruit by themselves, but you can purée them and then serve as a sauce. The fresh purée makes excellent ice cream and sorbet too. I sometimes pop a few in with a fruit compote with other berries, but on the whole, I don’t cook them other than to make jam.

One of the best ways I’ve found to preserve them, is to dry slices in a dehydrator; this way you can enjoy them once the season is over. The perfume of drying strawberries is divine. If you have a dehydrator, slice the berries and brush them with a little lemon juice to help preserve the colour. 500g prepared strawberries, spread over 3 tiers in a dehydrator, will take between 3 ½ to 4 ½ hours at 70°C/158F. This amount yields about 65g. Sealed completely in an air-tight jar, and stored in a dark, dry cupboard, they will keep for several months. The dried slices add a splash of colour and a fragrant, fruity flavour to any bowl of cereal – especially good with Coconut granola (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan) – and they make a pretty, natural cake decoration too.

Sliced_strawberriesready_for_drying_and_dried_strawberry_slices
Drying fresh strawberry slices. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Bowl_of_granola_with_dried_strawberry_slices
Granola with home-dried strawberry slices. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

All round the garden borders, the wild strawberries are also beginning to turn colour. Whilst they are much more time-consuming to pick, they have a more perfumed flavour and make a lovely addition to a fruit salad. Leave them to ripen fully for the sweetest flavour, and eat them as soon after picking as possible – they really don’t keep well. I have a battle with the birds every year to get to them before they do! The plants are prolific spreaders, but give good ground cover and make a pretty display when in flower.

Growing_wild_small_alpine_strawberries
Alpine strawberries. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Strawberry serving suggestions

  • Fresh strawberries go well with smoked salmon, Parma or Serrano ham, and peppery leaves like rocket or watercress. They are also delicious with slices of ripe avocado.
  • Spread almond nut butter over warm toasted bread and top with lightly mashed strawberries and a little sugar for an indulgent toast topper.
  • Add finely chopped tarragon, lavender syrup, rosewater or passion fruit juice to a bowl of strawberries to enhance the floral flavour of the fresh berries.
  • For very sweet strawberries, halve and sprinkle with fruit or balsamic vinegar and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with goat’s cheese as a starter with salad ingredients.

    Fresh_strawberries_with_goat's_cheese_and_salad
    Strawberry and goat’s cheese salad with sweet berry vinegar. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
  • If you have sufficient wild strawberries, fold them into whipped cream with a little dessert wine and strawberry jam for a topping or filling for meringues.
  • For a special fruit salad, mix halved strawberries with chopped mint and sugar, then toss in some lime juice, dry white wine or crème de cassis.
  • Mash strawberries with vanilla sugar and fold into soft cheese to spread over pancakes.
  • Pop a handful of wild strawberries into white balsamic vinegar to make a sweetly scented berry dressing for fruit or leaf salads later on in the year.

 

Wild_strawberry_vinegar
Last year’s wild strawberry vinegar. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

 

Coconut granola (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

~ My virtually free-from kitchen ~ 2 Comments

Gluten_free_vegan_coconut_granola
Tray-baked homemade coconut granola. Image by Kathryn Hawkins

Breakfast is the one meal of the day that I am more choosy about than any other. I rarely have the same thing 2 days running, and often can’t face breakfast at all. At present, I am alternating between gluten-free toast, fresh fruit and coconut yogurt, and my own recipe, granola.

I turned to making my own granola after finding most ready-made combinations either too sweet or so hard and dry that they were more tortuous to eat than enjoyable. This granola recipe is easy to make and is much tastier than anything I can buy, plus you can chop and change the flavourings to suit your taste and whatever you have in the cupboard. If you like dried fruit in your granola, it is better to stir it into to the tray of still warm, cooked ingredients once the tray is of the oven – this helps to keep the fruit soft and stops it drying out and hardening in the oven.

Makes 8 servings

  • 175g thick milled or jumbo oats
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 50g coconut sugar or light brown sugar
  • 50g flaked coconut
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil or sunflower oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste
  1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan oven, gas mark 2). Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
  2. Put the oats, salt and sugar in a large bowl and toss in the coconut, coconut oil and vanilla paste. Mix well until well coated in oil.
  3. Spread the mixture evenly across the tray. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring 3 times during baking, until lightly toasted. Leave to cool on the tray.
  4.  Transfer to a clean storage jar and seal well. Delicious served with coconut rice milk and fresh berry fruits or sliced banana.

If I have them, I often add pecan pieces, flaked almonds or pumpkin seeds for extra crunch.

Breakfast_bowl_of_coconut_granola
A favourite breakfast: homemade coconut granola. Image by Kathryn Hawkins