Waste not, Want not….

creamy broccoli and blue cheese soup

Another great tasting recipe from 5 aday catering

If your anything like me and our household wasting food is not an option in these challenging austerity times.  Now more than ever with the ever-increasing prices in food and fuel I like to ensure that nothing ever goes to waste.

So that got me thinking, we have friends coming over for dinner this weekend, and with the main course already sorted (another roast, after all you can’t beat it!) what to do for starters and pudding…. With the winter weather dragging it self out, something warm and comforting and of course homemade.

With plenty of Apples in the fruit bowl and a couple of Broccoli stems in the fridge, how about Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup for starters and Apple Mix fruit crumble for pudding?  Quick and easy top make and no faffing around when our guests arrive.

What you will need for the soup:

2 Medium sized Broccoli Stems

1 Medium sized onion

Blue Cheese of your choice (I use Danish Blue)

2 Sticks celery

Few sprigs Fresh Thyme

2 Large Potatoes

Chicken/Vegetable Stock

Creme Fraiche

All you need to do is sweat the onion and celery in a little olive oil for about 5 mins, cut up the broccoli and add this into the pan and continue to sweat for a further few mins.  Peel and cut up the potatoes in the chunks and add to the pan, add the stock and bring to the boil.  Once boiled, turn the heat down and simmer for 30 mins.  With a hand blender blitz all the contents of the pan until you have a smooth consistency, and the fresh thyme and season to taste.  Serve in bowl and add a teaspoon of creme fraiche to each bowl and serve with my homemade warm crusty bread.

Mum’s the word…..

Every year around this time I find myself asking the same question, what on earth do you buy someone who has almost everything?  With Mothers day upon us,  I have spent hours searching through shops looking for that perfect gift, panicking and worrying about what to buy her, so I have decided on top of the present I have finally bought I am going to cook a slap-up roast and to top it all I am going to make the most lemony, zingy mothers day cake.

On the menu – Roast Turkey with all the trimmings, Cranberry & Red Current Gravy, Roast & Mash Potatoes & a selection of fresh Vegetables.

The piece de resistance though is the cake – this is how you make it. 

to buy homemade cakes, why not visit our website – http://www.5adaycatering.co.uk

• 350g very soft butter
• 350g caster sugar , plus 1 tbsp
• 250g self-raising flour
• 3 eggs
• 100g ground almonds
• 150ml pot natural yogurt
• 2 lemons , zest and juice

• 12 tbsp lemon curd
• 500g pack marzipan
• 500g fondant icing sugar , sieved
• yellow, pink and green food colouring

Mix the butter, sugar, flour, almonds, yogurt, zest of lemon and juice of one of the lemons, once mixed split the mixture into two and cook in the 20cm cake tins for 35/40 mins.

Juice the second lemon and mix with a little sugar, when the cakes have cooked, cool on a wire rack and spike the cakes gently with a fork and spoon the cold lemon mixture over the cakes – leave to cool.

Sandwich the cake half’s together with 8 tbsp of the lemon curd, brush the rest over the top of the cake, break of 50g of the marzipan and put to one side,  roll the rest out and cover the cake.

Mix enough water with the fondant icing to make a thick mixture, set a little to one side and then mix in yellow food colouring, spoon it over the cake letting it dribble down the sides until the cake is covered.

To decorate, break the rest of the marzipan in half, with one half mix in the pink food colouring and rose shape decorations,  mix in the green colouring to the other half and make leaf shapes.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do – Happy Mothers day Mum!!!!!