Fabulous Falafels (super easy)

These were ridiculously easy. I definitely didn't eat the entire thing whilst drinking g&ts. 

Previous versions I've made have been very wet - these were great! I don't think they'd fry well though. Baking helps them hold together.

Ingredients

1 small onion, diced

1 garlic clove, smashed/diced

1 x 400g/14oz can chickpeas

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 tbsp lemon juice (from a bottle)

1 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)

salt 

1 egg

Fry the onion and garlic off in a bit of water to soften, then add the spices and fry for another minute or two. 

Drain the chickpeas and add to the pan. Keep it on the heat and stir it round a bit to get rid of any excess moisture. 

Take the pan off the heat and mash the mixture until it's as smooth as you like (add some salt at this point if you like). 

Add the egg and the lemon juice and give it another good mash/stir. 

Dollop a dessertspoon of the mixture onto a baking sheet and bake for about 15-20min in a 200°C oven. 

I made 14 and ate the whole lot myself! 

0 points on WW

Easy Tzatziki

Totally unauthentic I suspect, but quick.

2 tsp mint sauce
125g natural yoghurt
2 cloves diced/crushed garlic
Salt to taste

Dice the garlic with a big chef's knife if you have one, then smash it with the flat of the knife along with some salt.

Stir in with the rest of the ingredients, et voila!

Celeriac & Carrot Soup

I don't want to make those of you working this week feel jealous, but I used part of my time off yesterday to clean out my fridge. I know.

This recipe proves that even the most dodgy looking (shriveled actually) root vegetable can be turned into soup. I took the celeriac out of the fridge to clean it and didn't want to put it back in. Nice.

There's no chilli in this one, and I think I missed the spice although it was still tasty, so add it in if you like.

Ingredients (serves 6)

4 carrots, sliced
1 peeled, diced celeriac
1 onion (I used red)
1 tin tomatoes (optional)
1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
150g red lentils
1 litre water
1 veg stock cube

Method

1. Slice the carrots and dice the onion and celeriac. 
2. Tip the veg into the largest pan you have and just cover with water. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer to soften the veg.
3. Whilst the veg is softening, add the spices to the pan.
4. Tip in the red lentils. I don't bother rinsing them!
5. Stir well, and add the tomatoes if using. They make the soup more orangey and give a slight sweetness. 
6. Add the rest of the water and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer until all veg are soft.
7. Blend with a stick blender and add more water if it's too thick.
8. Sprinkle with coriander if you have it growing on the windowsill!

0 smart points on WW

Carrot cake baked oats (no sweetener)

**WW edit**
With 65g sultanas at 11 points and 70g oats at 7, I reckon it's 18 for the whole thing. You could dice an apple instead of using sultanas but you might need to cook it for longer.

Another week, another gain! I really need to do something about this, and despite not having a sweet tooth, I *need* to avoid the leftover biscuits and chocolate at work. In fact, they're not even leftover - they keep appearing at meetings, and there are a few of them.

Every time I've made baked oats with sweetener I've had to bin them, so this is my creation, baked on a weekday morning with one eye half open (they're easy to do).

I only had dried figs in because I ordered them online by accident before Christmas thinking they were fresh figs (to put in a posh gin we had).

Ingredients
1 grated carrot
70g oats
100g fat free natural yoghurt
1 egg
40g dried figs (or replace with other dried fruit)
25g sultanas
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Orange zest

If you want it a little sweeter, add a tbsp of date syrup (2syns I think).

Method
Mix thoroughly and add to a silicone baking dish (makes turning out easier).

I cut mine into 12 pieces, and given the ingredients, I reckon every 4 pieces count as 1 x Hex b. Or, each piece is 1.5 syns. 

Blackberry Gin (for Christmas!)

This week, I will mostly be making Blackberry Gin. You can substitute the gin for vodka, and the blackberries for damsons*, sloes*, plums* or raspberries. If you have a sweet tooth (I have a gin tooth not a sweet one), use 500g of sugar instead. Don't forget you can always add it later though.

Take a big, clip top (or screw top) jar and fill with the following:

1 litre of gin (not the good stuff)
675g blackberries
375g sugar

Seal jar.
Give it a good shake.
Keep shaking every few days until sugar dissolves.
Keep the jar in a dark place for about 3 months.

Strain the gin from the fruit (save it to make a grown up pudding at Christmas).

Test gin extensively before rebottling to make sure it's sweet enough. If it's not add a bit of sugar.

*If using damsons, sloes or plums, shove them into the freezer overnight before making this recipe to avoid staining your hands and stabbing yourself with a fork (you need to break the skins first).

Chickpea and apricot curry

I've tweaked another Jack Monroe recipe to make it healthy eating friendly. My husband saw me with the recipe book out and was pleased to see we'd be having it for dinner, so I hope my version lives up to the original!

1 can chickpeas
5 apricots
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1 carrot
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp spicy paprika
1 carton passata
1 veg stock cube
Fresh coriander, to serve

Finely chop the carrot, onion and garlic (I actually grated them today as I'd already got the food processor out to make these delicious falafels - just leave out the flour and use a little chickpea water to help bind them).

Fry the onion, garlic, carrot and chilli together until soft along with the spices.

Add the passata, the stock cube and a little extra water if necessary.

Drain the chickpeas (reserve the liquid to try some of these recipes) and add to the pan, leaving to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Just before serving, stir through the apricots.

Serves 2

0 point Vegetable Curry

I've adapted my pork and aubergine curry to take account of what I had in the fridge, and I've replaced the potatoes in the original recipe with butternut squash (on cheap in Asda).

Both recipes are inspired by Monroe's (or Jonaki's) Baba Gosht.

Ingredients
2 diced onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
350g each of carrot and butternut squash, diced
2 aubergine
1/2 tsp each of ground ginger, cinnamon and tumeric
1 tsp ground cumin
a pinch of salt
1 tin chopped tomatoes
Half a tin of water
8 blocks frozen spinach
fresh coriander

Method
Spray a large frying pan with frylight. Add onion, carrot and squash and fry until softened.

Reduce heat and add spices. Add a splash of water, then add the chilli and garlic.

Add the tomatoes and half a tin of water.

Add the spinach. Bring it back to the boil for a minute, add the chunks of aubergine, cover and simmer for 20min or so until tender.

Serve with fresh coriander if you have any in!

Serves 4-6