Braising cucumber and greens is not something that jumps to mind when you are thinking about using this summer’s cucumber crop in dinner.

But years ago, I came across a recipe for braised cucumber and greens.

I think it was served with couscous, but who really knows.

Sometimes I can’t remember where the recipes I have in my head come from!

For this recipe, I use the larger pearl couscous.

Braised cucumber and lettuce with pearl couscous recipe

To cook the couscous

• • Finely dice two shallots. Heat a little butter in a saucepan, that has a tight-fitting lid. Add shallots and fry until translucent.
  • Add couscous and two cups of stock. For this recipe I used turkey stock – that’s what I had in the freezer and I’m trying to use up what I have on hand at the moment – but you could use chicken. Bring to the boil.
  • Place on the lid and reduce the heat to as low as possible. I cook with induction, so down to number one it goes.
  • Leave the couscous alone for the next 15 minutes.
  • After 15 minutes take off the lid and stir with a fork. You have to use a fork, as to not squash the couscous. It should be cooked.
  • If it isn’t, place the lid back on the saucepan and leave for another 5 minutes.

I used Blu; gourmet Pearl Couscous, which I had in the cupboard. At the moment I am trying to use up what I have on hand and not visit the shopping centre, unless really really needed. Gabriel Gate had no part in me deciding to use this product and I would have paid for it sometime in the past.

To braise the cucumber and greens

• • Go to the garden and pick two cucumbers and lettuce.
  • Slice the cucumber into rounds. Wash and break up the lettuce into bite-size pieces
  • Heat a little olive oil in a large saucepan, that has a tight-fitting lid.
  • Add the cucumber and fry off for a couple of minutes. Add the greens.
  • Add one cup of white wine (I had to open a bottle for this and drank the rest).
  • Season with salt, white pepper and sugar. Place lid on the saucepan and cook for five minutes over medium heat.

To finish off, fold the cooked cucumber and lettuce into the couscous.

Enjoy!

I am using up what is in my cupboards, making BM eat the meals that I come up with.

I opened the herb cupboard and there was a jar of dried Shiitake mushrooms, looking back at me, waiting to be re-hydrated, cooked and eaten.

As I am on a ‘how to cook Quinoa’ cooking binge, I thought ‘hey, let’s cook the shiitake with the quinoa’ for tonight’s dinner, what have we got to lose.

I'm going to cook this recipe in the pressure cooker.

Quinoa with Shiitake mushrooms

As the Shiitake mushrooms are dried and need soaking, I put them in the pressure cooker bowl first, then top with two parts boiling water, followed by 1-part quinoa.

You must place the mushrooms, water and quinoa in this order, so the mushroom can re-hydrate a little as the pressure cooker heats up.

For this recipe, I’m calling a part, a 500-millilitre container.

I added a cinnamon stick, some star anise and cardamom pods for flavour and forgot to add salt (which the recipe needed) 

Everything was then cooked in the pressure cooker for 3 minutes on high pressure.

Season with salt, to taste.

Popping up in my feed is pictures of people cooking amazing things – seafood, tagines, roast with all the trimmings – no one is really living on what they have in their pantry.

I’m taking a different approach and trying to use up what I have in the pantry first, cooking what I have on hand.

And it turns out, I have a lot of Quinoa on hand, leftover from now non-existent catering jobs.

As cooking is in my blood, heart and soul, I am going to work out as many ways to cook Quinoa as possible, maybe come up with 100 recipes.

So far, I have three.

This recipe was served as a side dish with last nights dinner (Building Maintenance doesn’t feel like I’ve fed him right unless there are carbs on the plate).

The next night, I stuffed it into zucchini, then baked the lot in the oven covered with fresh tomato sauce.

Quinoa with pickled lemon and parsley recipe.

Cook Quinoa using pressure cooker method, 1-part Quinoa 2 parts water, 3 minutes on high pressure.

Finely mince a 250 ml jar of pickled lemons and a bunch of parsley.

Once the Quinoa has cooked for its three minutes and the steam has released from the pressure cooker, but the quinoa is still hot, stir through the minced lemon and parsley.

Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

A friend told me recently, that in tough times make sure you have Brussels Sprouts. They will survive at the bottom of your fridge through everything.

Here’s how you cook them

To save on the typing, from now on I’m going to call Brussels Sprouts, BS.

I like to peel off any leaves for the outside that are past their best.

You can either cut a cross in the bottom of each BS or cut each BS in half vertically.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Blanc your BS in the boiling water for 2 minutes. I do less time, not more, as I like my BS still crispy. Not grey and soggy. 

Dice a couple of strips of bacon and one onion.

Heat a frying pan. Add a spoonful of butter. Melt.

Add the bacon and onion to the frypan. Fry off until the bacon is crisp, and the onion cooked.

Throw in the BS. Fry off until they start to brown.

To finish the BS off, pour in ½ cup of white wine. Add a pinch of salt, pepper and the chef’s secret ingredient, sugar.  

On this day, I’ve served mine with a rack of Wattlebank park farm lamb

Stay safe and keep cooking!