Tuesday 27 July 2010

Being inventive with vegetables


We have courgettes coming out of our ears at the moments, and I'd love to hear any of your creative ideas for using them. Meanwhile, I thought I'd share one of my favourite courgette recipes with you

Courgette souffle quiche

shortcrust pastry to line a deep 10 inch pie case

I use 400g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
300g butter

Mix these ingredients together to make crumbs, and then add 1 egg to bring it into a dough

Roll out thinly and line the pie dish base and sides. Bake it blind at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes, and then take it out and let it cool down a little. Meanwhile prepare the filling.

3 medium sized courgettes (zucchini)
1 small onion
3 fat cloves of garlic
handful of grated cheddar cheese
6 sprigs of thyme ( I like lemon thyme)
8 mint leaves
2 eggs

Slice the courgette and onion and saute until softened and just beginning to colour. Add the finely chopped garlic, and saute for another couple of minutes.
Remove from the heat, and puree all these cooked ingredients.
Finely chop the herbs, and add these with the cheese to the courgette mixture. Stir, and season to taste. Once mixture has cooled slightly, beat in the two eggs, and fill the pastry case. Put back in the oven for another 25 minutes until the filling is risen and just set.

It's delicious, and 2 out of 3 of my courgette - hating children loved it!



I have been busy making a padded saddlecloth for Rosie, as she has a very prominent spine, and the saddle she came with sits so low the gullet touches her spine. Before we did any work with her I wanted to make sure she was absolutely comfortable. My brilliant saddler showed me how to do this once when I balked at spending £100 on a specially made numnah with extra 'shims' to pad it out. I stitched fleece pockets onto a lightweight numnah ( fleece is great because it has a bit of stretch in it, which you need when trying to stuff the shims in), and then cut the shim/pads out of pure wool felt (these are offcuts from a local felt maker, but otherwise they could be cut from sheets of foam gamgee). It is important to build them up in layers, and actually fit them to the contours of the pony's back.

Once they are in place, it is crucial to make sure they lie flat and unwrinkled - you don't want to create any pressure points.

It's not the prettiest thing to look at, but it works a treat, and Rosie's saddle fits much better now. Of course, in an ideal world she would have a new saddle fitted, but realistically, we have only borrowed her for the summer, and so I am not going to buy her a new saddle.

And here she is, quite happy to be going for a ride!

I am putting these three originals on Etsy soon, but thought I would offer them here at a slightly better price first in case anyone wants to grab one!


"Dancing Hare"
original acrylic painting
painting measures 13cm x 16cm and comes with a beautiful old re-used wooden frame, which measures 24cm x 29cm.

£55 + shipping /insurance



"Of Moon and Magic"
original pencil and watercolour
measures approx 20cm x 29cm, mounted with a thin gold border, and in a wooden frame
Frame measures 34cm x 44cm

for sale framed £80
or mounted, but NOT framed £60

+ shipping and insurance



"Between Times"

original pencil and watercolour
measures 29cm x 20cm
mounted with a thin gold border and in a wooden frame
Frame measures 34cm x 44cm

Framed £80
mounted but NOT framed £60
+ shipping and insurance

please email me if you are interested in any of these

14 comments:

Theres just life said...

Love the art. You are very talented. I will have to try the recipe. I am always on the look out for new ones to use the produce from the garden.

Prettypics123 said...

Courgette is brand new to me. Never heard of it before but it looks like it tastes good. I love the Hare!

freerangeart said...

The saddle pad is very nicely done. I bought one very similar for my little barrel shaped mustang to build up her withers. It is also was made with layers of shems that are memory foam and it looks almost just like yours, you should be proud of the job you have done! Well the zucchini looks yummy, love the recipe will try it out. I did not plant it this year but the neighbors give tons of it away. I do not have an exact recipe for zucchini but had some once that was cut in half length wise and the soft middle scooped out and mixed with jack cheese ( white ) bread crumbs and egg and cream then placed back in the hollowed out zucchini and baked. It was very good and looked fancy too!

Swellbelle said...

THIS EGGPLANT/COURGETTE RECIPE IS GREAT FOR A BBQ OR WITH MEATY MEALS. USUALLY ONLY ENJOYED BY ADULTS THOUGH. IT IS A MIDDLE EASTERN RECIPE I HAVE IN A COOKBOOK OF BBQ MEALS.

HASSIDA’S PICKLED EGGPLANT SALAD

2 medium eggplants
Salt
Oil
4 cloves garlic
1 red pepper
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1 tspn salt
½ tspn freshly ground black pepper
¼ tspn cayenne pepper

Cut eggplant into 1cm slices. Sprinkle cut sides with salt and leave for 30 minutes. Wash salt from eggplant and dry slices on paper towels. Heat oil in a frying pan and cook eggplant until lightly brown on each side. (Alternatively, cook them oil free in your sandwich press). Drain on a paper towel. Crush and peel garlic. Cut into thin pieces. Deseed and slice pepper. Layer eggplant, garlic, pepper and parsley in a non-metallic dish. Heat vinegar, water, salt, freshly ground black pepper and cayenne pepper together until boiling. Remove from heat and pour over layered eggplant. Make sure all the eggplant is covered. Cover dish and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Danielle Barlow said...

Levonne - I bet you do know courgette, you probably call it something different to me! Zuchini?

I shall look forward to trying those recipes - I do like stuffed vegetables!

Linda said...

Love courgettes, Artworks are fantastic as usual,:) stunning, I'm sure Rosie will appreciate your work, looks fantastic, what a good job you made. always amazes me how you manage to fit everything in, with so many ponies and children to organise.Lindax

Madeleine said...

I shall try the courgette recipe this evening - looks and sounds very tasty.

Some of your bloggers may have aubergine (Zuchini), and courgette confused...the recipe added by Swellbelle sounds as if it's for Aubergine...it sounds delicious and I will try that one too.

Bovey Belle said...

I wish I had some spare pennies at the moment - your artwork is stunning.

You have done wonders with that shimmed numnah - Rosie's a narrow little thing isn't she, no wonder she has a backbone like a kipper!

Unknown said...

Aubergine = eggplant
Courgette = zucchini

Two completely different veggies. :)

Clare Wassermann said...

Your pictures are exquisite but I am stoney broke after a holiday....Will try your recipe - I like courgette flan with goats cheese x

Dartford Warbler said...

The numnah padding looks to be working really well. I`m sure Rosie will be more comfortable thanks to your careful work.

Thank you for the courgette recipe. We are overflowing with them and it`s good to have a new idea!

Whyte Fairy said...

Greetings! Just popping by to take a peep, and I have to say, I absolutely respect a healthy hatred of baked beans. Happy Day! ^_^

RSA Online said...

Oh goodness I use zucchini in absolutely everything. Actually I just put the finishing touches on a vegetarian lasagna starring (drum roll) zucchini!

enews said...

very delicious recipe. i have added this to my favorite. even i will be waiting for your next recipe notes.

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