Beetroot, goats cheese and pine nut tart

Over the past few weeks I have appeared to have accumulated an abundance of beetroot, either from local farmers markets, food festivals or my weekly veg delivery from Windmill Organics . As a child all I knew of beetroot was the pickled kind that made your cheese butties go purple but I have since discovered the delights of fresh beetroot in the like of soups, cakes or, at it's best, simply roasted.  Beetroot is great source of iron and vitamins and is a tasty way of adding to your five a day. I am planning on trying some beetroot bread soon but have been keeping things simple so far, with this Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart with Pine Nuts being a recent favourite. I picked up some lovely goats cheese from the brilliant Liverpool Cheese Company, that added a great depth of flavour to the tart without overpowering the beetroot. For more beetroot recipes check out Love Beetroot for a little inspiration. such as the intriguing sound of Lamb and Sweetfire beetroot burgers with feta.

Ingredients

Rough puff pastry made using Dan Lepard's  recipe from the brilliant ' Short and Sweet '

400g beetroot ( peeled and roasted)

2 onions

1 clove garlic

25ml balsamic vinegar

125 ml red wine

small amount of fresh thyme

1 tbps maple syrup ( can use honey but I hate the stuff)

200g soft goats cheese

Salt and pepper

50g pine nuts

olive oil for roasting and frying

Method

1.Prepare the pastry as per ' short and sweet' light rough puff recipe. The pastry can be rolled out roughly into any shape you like but I used a large quiche tin for mine, in order to give it a little bit of structure.

2. Roughly chop the beetroot into small wedges, drizzle with oil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until softened.

3. Heat some oil in a deep frying pan and add in the chopped onions. Cook the onions until they are soft and add in the chopped garlic, thyme then after a couple of minutes add in the wine, vinegar and syrup then season. Stir in the beetroot, half the pine nuts and half the cheese until loosely combined.

4. Poor the beetroot mixture over the centre of the pastry, leaving the edges uncovered. Cut the rest of the cheese into tick slices and place on top of the mixture along with the rest of the pine nuts then cook for 20-25 minutes until pastry is golden and cheese is melted.

Cupcake fun

Seeing as it is National Cupcake Week, I thought I would write a post on cupcakes! I know that a lot of ' foodies' turn their noses up at the overly sweet smell of cupcakes but I think they bring a lot of fun to the baking world. Don't get me wrong, if I had the choice of a big fat wedge of lemon drizzle cake, that looks a bit rough around the edges and a perfectly formed cupcake with enough icing on it to give you a week long sugar rush, the lemon cake would win every time. Generally the cupcake is more about style over substance but sometimes a lady just loves pretty things and as much as I love lopsided, homely looking classics; I just cannot help but to smile at a well designed, guilt laden cupcake. Another reason I like cupcakes is that they are usually the first port of call when cooking with children, which is always fun and if made from scratch it means children get to learn how to bake a tasty treat rather than eat a cardboard like creation that has been sat in a box for months. I know that any cake is not the best for you but, as a little treat , homemade is always better than one full of salt and too many E numbers. It would be an understatement to say that the market is saturated with cupcake makers at the moment but in amongst the mass of generic cupcakes lie some pretty good bakers and cupcake artist; with good flavour combinations and thoughtful design. Say it with flours, is one cupcake decorator that I think ticks all the boxes when it comes to cupcakes; great tasting, inventive, fun and made from the heart rather than to simply make a few pennies.

I have made quite a few cupcakes in my time but I admit that my food always tastes a hell of a lot better than it looks, especially when it comes to delicate finishings. So, when I heard Say it with flours was holding a decorating class I thought I would pop along to get a few hints and tips. The class was held at Crafty Corner, a great local organisation run my a group of artistic mums that cater for all things crafty for children; well worth a visit if your little ones need entertaining. I usually shy away from anything that involves groups of women on a night out together but the session was relaxed, fun and informative and I'm glad I went along. Cupcakes may not be everyones cup of tea but, minus a bit of the icing, I certainly like the odd one with my brew.

Spread the word

I am taking a little stray away from food, as a one off, so that I can talk about my other love; books. The 8th September sees the world celebrate International Literacy day; a day in which book lovers and literacy enthusiasts bring awareness of literacy issues across the globe. As a book geek and a new mummy, I am passionate about reading and education and believe that all children should have access to books. Unfortunately there are children who have little or no access to books, even when they attend school, which is why it is important to support great organisations like Book Aid International. Book Aid helps increase access to books and supports literacy, education and development in Sub- Saharan Africa. Take a look at their website to hear more about the work they do and how they are helping to celebrate world literacy day this year.

As an ambassador for Barefoot Books, I want to support Book Aid by donating £1 for every book sold  via my online sales this month. For just £2 per month Book Aid can send a book out to Africa, so hopefully you can help send a few more out this month, whilst having a new book to share with your little one. As well as back to school favourites and books about world culture, there are lots of food related books if you have any budding foodies on your hands. All you need to do is take a look at the Barefoot shop using the links in this post and I will donate the money to Book Aid at the end of the month.

Don't forget to add discount TWENTY12 to get 20% off, if this is your first buying from Barefoot.

Snack time with Duke of Delhi

As my regular readers will know, I am a little obsessed with all things chocolate and very obsessed to all things spicy; so I was both intrigued and excited to try a new product from Duke of Delhi. Duke of Delhi offer a range of snacks that deliver ' traditional Indian flavours with a British zing '. As well as bombay mix style snacks, there is a range of biscuits on offer with flavours such as orange, chilli and chocolate and fig and cashew nut. The combinations of a curry like flavour and chocolate does sound quite strange but as a fan of chocolate and chilli combinations I thought I would give it a try. I was sent a tub of the Chocolate chunk Delhi mix to taste and it was certainly very interesting. The product is a mix inspired by Chevedo; an Indian street food that we would liken to Bombay mix. I am a fan of Bombay mix but it can often be too powdery and/or greasy; not this mix, it is light, crispy and, for me, has a good level of spice that gives just enough kick. The addition of a soft, not too bitter, chocolate is a strange yet moreish addition. My husband could not quite work it all out but that did not stop him going in for another handful. I shared his confusion and am still not 100% sure if the combination works; it is not an unpleasant taste but not something that I would naturally put together. For me this is a tasty product that is great for parties or group get togethers; to share and have a bit of fun with. Like I said, even though we could not quite get it the combination but it was fun to eat and the proof was in the wanting to have another taste, so why not tickle your taste buds and give it a go.

I am not one for endorsing a lot of products but I love companies that value their independence and take care in the production and promotion of their products. Duke of Delhi ensure that they make their food my hand using natural ingredients, from ethical sources. Not only that, they give 7% of their profit to the Elephant Family charity, which is a very nice touch. If a mix of spices and chocolate is not your, the great biscuit selection may just be.