Super salad

Salad does not have to be soggy lettuce raw peppers and picked beetroot, a salad should be seasonal fresh exciting and have lots of different textures as well as tasting great.

So when I do a bread course I put as much thought to the lunch I will serve as I do the bread that will be made.

So this month I shared a grain that I have only recently started to eat- Quinoa. 

Quinoa Salad 

To prepare the salad you must first cook the Quinoa, place in a saucepan and cover with cold water bring to a boil and simmer until the grains turn translucent and al dente. 

Drain the water and spread the grains on a tray to cool, as they are cooling squeeze the juice of a lemon over them. 

For the rest of the salad I roasted a Spaghetti squash which I grew myself, roast with time Broightor Gold oil and a chilli until the flesh is soft. Leave aside to cool. 

For the rest of the salad I added beans, string beans, cranberries, grapes, celery mint, apple. A fennel bulb would be great if you have on just add very fresh veg. 

To assemble take the skin of the squash and shred the flesh adding to the Quinoa, then add the other chopped veg squeeze the juice of an orange and a good drizzle of Broightor Gold rapeseed oil, season with salt and pepper and mix.

Serve in a large bowl to share and garnish with mint leaves and cranberries, pine nuts would be great if you have them. 

Enjoy

Quinoa (/ˈkiːnwɑː/ or /kɨˈnoʊ.ə/, Spanish: quinua, from Quechua: kinwa), a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the true grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beetroots,spinach and tumbleweeds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa

Twilight walk

The Twilight Walk will take in Windsor Castle, the Great Park and the River Thames, with every step along the 10k route dedicated to the search for a cure.

On Sunday 6th October I will be taking part in this event, this is a very important issue for me as not only do I have a brain tumour my father Wesley Semple died from a brain tumour in March 2007. 

My sister Abby will be joining me on this walk we would like to raise money for the research of Brain tumour to help find a cure. 

This is what The Brain Tumour Charity can do with the money. 

£100 could enable us to purchase a specialist piece of equipment to analyse genetic make up, study protein structure or manipulate cells to behave in different ways.

£250 could cover a day of research for one of our leading brain tumour researchers to further the understanding of a particular type of brain tumour to provide more targeted treatment.

£400 funds a tailored information pack for 100 people newly diagnosed with a brain tumour, complete with details on how to access the support provided by The Brain Tumour Charity.

£500 could help cover the cost of a researcher to analyse tumour samples of people participating in a vital clinical trial, helping us to understand the impact of the trial and make future recommendations for treatment.

http://www.thebraintumourcharity.org/raising-funds/Events/The-Twilight-Walk

Below is a link to help us raise the money if you have enjoyed my blog or been on my Bread course at Belfast Cookery School it would be great to have your support even just £1.

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/davidsemple1

Rhubarb Curd

Rhubarb Curd

A recipe from a few years ago 

2 large stalks of rhubarb

60 grams unsalted butter

120grms caster sugar

8 eggs

Ok first thing is to gently cook the rhubarb in a little of the sugar until soft, then stain it so you are left with a bright pink liquid.

Now gently melt the butter in a heavy based pan I like my preserving pan for this.

Add the liquid and sugar and stir until dissolved, wisk the eggs and them make sure the heat is low and keep stiring as it will thicken quite quickly.

Once its like a thick smooth custard its ready.

Enjoy