18.09

Autumn-salad-butternut-squash-spinach-feta

It’s always a sad day when the season of light, simple suppers draws to a close. As much as I love eating hearty comfort food, there’s nothing quite like getting to the end of the day and knowing that you can pull together a wholesome and delicious salad for dinner in the time it takes to watch an episode of Modern Family on Netflix. All summer long we ate salads in varying forms, and so instead of letting them be replaced all together by pies and casseroles and heavy meat dishes, I’m experimenting with new, more autumnally-themed salad recipes. And this one is just the ticket!

The butternut squash, when baked, goes sweet and almost caramelly, and sits so well alongside salty feta cheese. And if you can resist the urge to eat the roasted + salted butternut squash seeds the very second they come out of the oven, they add an amazing popcorn-y crunch which rounds the  salad out so very well. I really do find it tricky not to eat the seeds before the salad’s even been assembled though, really I do…

Chopping-spinach Spinach-leaves Butternut-squash-feta-and-spinach-salad

So, to make…I’ve not listed particularly exact amounts, because it’s really more of a ‘judge by eye’ kind of recipe. The quantities listed below make a generous two person salad.

Ingredients ::
1 medium butternut squash (or any other squash of your choosing)
Seeds from the squash, for roasting and scattering
1/2 pack feta cheese
2/3 large handfuls of spinach
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Pinch nutmeg
Salt, olive oil, + balsamic vinegar

- Cut up the butternut squash (reserving the seeds in a separate bowl) into slices about half an inch to an inch thick, then lay out onto a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Scatter over a pinch each of flaky sea salt and ground nutmeg, and then place into an oven preheated to 190 degrees to cook for about half an hour.

- Remove any large strands of squash flesh from the seeds, then dress them with a splash of olive oil, salt, and the smoked paprika. Line a small baking tray with parchment paper, spread out the seeds onto the tray in a single layer, and then roast for 10 minutes. When cooked, the seeds should smell faintly popcorny and be slightly puffed up.

- When cooked through, remove the butternut squash from the oven and allow to cool. Take a handful at a time of the spinach, roll it into a rough ball, and then cut it into approx. 1 inch ribbons. Place into serving dishes, and top with the cooled slices of butternut squash.

- Crumble over feta, then add a handful of roasted seeds. Dress with olive oil + balsamic vinegar, and take a few seconds to appreciate how beautiful the contrast is between the orange, white and green, before demolishing in 30 seconds flat.

Fast-midweek-dinner-recipe Winter-salad-recipe

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Posted in AUTUMN, FROM MY HOME TO YOURS, RECIPE, SAVOURY

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17.09

Sunset-over-the-thames

4.5 :: hours spent talking non-stop with lovely Megs! We met up for the first time after having spoken online for easily two years now, and it was amazing!

20” :: the size of the pizza Miss Meg and I demolished between us (from Homeslice, one of my favourite places to get pizza in London)

30 :: the amount of seconds I’d been sat on the train up to London, when I realised I’d forgotten my headphones. A tragedy, since I’d downloaded the 1975′s album especially!

10 :: minutes spent walking slowly over the river on the way home, admiring the sunset.

1 :: pair of cashmere socks worn in the evening, that are almost certainly the best pair of socks I’ve ever worn.

3 :: extra stops than usual on my train journey home (the perils of travelling home in rush hour)

47 :: minutes spent on the phone with my lovely Bess, talking blogging and business and so many other things besides.

9.30 :: the time we went to bed yesterday evening, about 2 hours earlier than normal.

1/2 :: a chapter read aloud from our new book, ‘A History of English Food’ by Clarissa Dickson Wright. I bought it for my Grandma the last Christmas we had together, and had been reading it aloud to her in the months before she died. I promised her I’d finish reading it aloud on her behalf, and now Jason and I are fulfilling that promise! It’s such a fascinating read, we’re just loving it.

0 :: blisters gained, even though I walked everywhere in London yesterday and didn’t get the tube once! All thanks to the magic of my mint green Boden brogues :)

1 :: portion of Snog frozen yoghurt eaten (with oreos, raspberries, and caramel sauce) even though I was full to bursting after that colossal pizza.

500+ :: times I regretted wearing an autumnally-themed outfit, when the weather was most definitely more summer than autumn (much to my dismay).

Tell me, how was your Tuesday? :)

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Posted in A SNAPSHOT, in numbers

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16.09

How-to-make-cinnamon-lattes

When it comes to coffee-making, things have moved on a bit in our house since my last tutorial. A ROK espresso machine arrived in the post a couple of weekends back (delivered by a delivery man I see so often we’re now on a first name basis…) and has been the cause of a mini-coffee revolution around these parts. As much as I loved my old 6-cup Bialetti stovetop pot, being able to brew just enough espresso for one (sublimely tasty!) coffee is brilliant beyond belief. And it doesn’t hurt that the ROK a thing of beauty, either. Let me tell you more about it…

ROK-portafilterROK-espresso-machine

The coffee machine is a manual one, which ROK say gives greater control over the espresso it makes. You just fill up the little portafilter with ground coffee, use the tamp to press it all in tight, pour freshly boiled water in to the top of the machine, then push down the two metal arms to force the water through the coffee grounds and brew the espresso! It’s blissfully quiet, and like I said previously, brews just the right amount of espresso to make a generously sized latte/flat white/cappuccino. I’ve been so impressed by the quality of the coffee too- the only thing that isn’t so amazing is the little manual milk frothed that comes with the machine, but I’m still so happy with the little Bodum one I bought during summer that it’s not been a problem at all! It looks so very swanky too- I was nervous that it would look out of place in our little kitchen, but it’s so handsome I’ve been leaving it out on show 24/7!

Now, let’s get on to the cinnamon part of this cinnamon-themed tutorial.

Making-espresso-with-ROK Untitled-1

To make the cinnamon syrup that’ll flavour the coffee, just put one cup of water and one cup of granulated sugar into a saucepan. Then break up 3 cinnamon sticks, and add them in with the water and sugar. Heat the mixture over a medium flame until the sugar has completely dissolved, then simmer for 8-10 minutes until the syrup has thickened ever so slightly. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve, and then decant into a bottle.

To make the latte, brew an espresso using your coffee machine, and heat up enough milk to fill your mug two-thirds full. Take it off the heat just before it boils, then use a milk frother to whisk up the milk and get a nice velvety foam. Pour the milk into the espresso, and then add in a couple of drops of the cinnamon syrup. It makes the coffee taste extra rich and smooth, and more festive than should be legal so early on in autumn!

Cinnamon-syrup-recipeCinnamon-latte-recipe Homemade-Starbucks-cinnamon-latte-recipe

The ROK espresso machine is available to buy from Selfridges, who sent me through this one to test and review here on Cider with Rosie. It’s definitely more of an investment than the pod coffee machines that are so popular right now, but in my opinion is in a whole league above when it comes to making great coffee. Perhaps one to put on this year’s Christmas list?

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Posted in COFFEE, FROM MY HOME TO YOURS, TUTORIAL

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15.09

Autumn-picnicPouring-hot-chocolate Autumn-outdoor-activities Hot-chocolate-picnic Jason-and-Teddy Hot-chocolate-from-thermos  Autumn-hot-chocolate-picnic  Hot-chocolate-in-tin-mugs Jason-Rosie-and-Teddy

If you, like me, are fond of the contrast between hot and cold (think burying down under a heavy duvet but leaving the windows wide open on chilly autumn nights, and the satisfaction of changing into warm dry clothes after getting soaked with rain), then taking a flask of hot chocolate along on a country walk this autumn will most certainly be a thing to try. We did it this past weekend, and drank our way through several mug-fuls of piping hot chocolate whilst enjoying the crisp autumn breeze on our faces, and watching Teddy charge around us chasing crows. I think it’s set to be my new favourite way of making a routine weekend dog walk feel extra special this autumn.

p.s. I’m wearing jumper from Brora (past season, similar cut here), shirt from Hollister, jeans from GAP (on sale right now!), and Hunters. Jason’s wearing shirt from H&M, jeans from Tommy Hilfiger, and Hunters. Teddy is wearing a rather handsome black spaniel coat he grew all by himself.

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34 Comments
Posted in AUTUMN, TRY THIS

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