Welcome to my Green Kitchen where my aim is to cook food that is chemical-free, in season and grown either by myself or purchased locally and in season…

Produce which has just come into its season has far more taste than produce which is forced and grown out of its natural season …I also think it is the anticipation and the taste of the first of the season’s crops…those first root vegetables…are sublime! or those first strawberries there is nothing quite like the first strawberry of the season!

This month’s recipe is … no… not another bread recipe as I have exhausted those for a while I thought we would have a change and today it’s “Oreo Brownies”…

Why Oreo Brownies?… for no other reason (and) definitely because I am not a fan of the said biscuits but because Lily requested that I make them and post them to her..she had apparently tried some from a cake shop and declared that they were awful and could Nannie please make her some…How could I say no!

I have to admit though that they were the best brownies I have ever made… the white cream in the middle of the Oreos turned to a sort of marshmallow texture and they are my fudgiest brownies to date…not as sweet as I thought they would be..definitely fudgy and a big hit with both grandchildren… so yes I have made another batch as Aston also loved them and he is not usually a cake eater but he does love Oreos and milk(Yuk!)

It was a quick recipe all made in a saucepan…kids would love to make it…well it is Oreos…I never ever thought I would be endorsing and singing praises of Oreos…

Ingredients:

• 140 gm unsalted butter
• 300 gm granulated sugar
• 75 gm Dutch Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs..cold straight from the fridge
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 60 gm All-Purpose Flour
• 1 packet of original Oreos mine had 20% extra

8′ x8′ tin lined.

Let’s Bake!

Put the sugar, butter, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium saucepan heat gently while stirring until the butter has melted and it has all combined it should not be too hot just very warm to the touch.

Add the beaten eggs and the vanilla and mix well to combine…Then fold in the flour until fully combined it now looks like molten chocolate…

Pour half the mixture into your prepared tin spread out and place the Oreos over the batter…I had 2 left which I crushed for the topping.

Then cover with the remaining batter and scatter with the crushed Oreos.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 30-35 mins or until a toothpick comes out nearly clean…

Allow to cool down for 20 mins in the tin before removing to a wire wrack when cool then slice and enjoy!…

Last month I talked about buying in season and why...we are now in March and still have those beautiful seasonal vegetables and fruits…Growing vegetables out of season consume a lot of energy because you grow them in artificial conditions and need resources (like heat, water and nutrients). The carbon footprint is the same if not greater than when you transport food.

I love the lovely purple broccolini or broccoli in fact I love purples and eat purple whenever I can… Purple broccolini lightly steamed or sauteed with some garlic and toasted sesame seeds a splash of sesame oil pairs wonderfully with your Sunday roast or your pasta any recipe with fish or meat where you have vegetables this of my favourites…

If you are in the Southern hemisphere then you have those lovely bell peppers or courgettes which at the moment one of my favourite ways to use courgettes is to make noodles or zoodles out of them it cuts those calories a little instead of having pasta…but it doesn’t stop at courgettes you can use almost any vegetable carrots, beets…I love them…Do you?

Kitchen Hacks!

 

In the garden…how does your garden or window box grow?

We have lots of chillies, Thai Chillies, Habanero Chillies all tenderly nurtured by my son…he has also made some lovely Habanero sauce the latest one being habanero and Mango…it certainly packs a fruity punch but very nice, especially brushing the skin of chicken or as we did the other day brushing it over the slow-cooked pork…

• 6 Habanero peppers
• 1 cup chopped mango pieces (approx. 1 large mango)
• 1 small onion roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped or grated
• 1″ piece of ginger, grated
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• olive oil

Let’s Cook!

First, give the Habaneros a good wash and de-stem them. You must be cautious or use gloves we don’t as we have learnt the hard way…lol… and make sure we wash our hands thoroughly habaneros are very hot.

Chop the mango by cutting off the side cheeks then score each cheek with a knife then press the cheek down on your cutting board and then take a slice of the squared bits of mango…Now for the middle bit where the pit is…remove the skin and then make a slice of any juicy bits of mango leaving the pit…

Now to make the sauce…saute your chopped onion and garlic in a glug of olive oil in a stainless steel pan as you are using vinegar don’t use your best-cast iron pan…

Once your onion has started to brown a little add the remainder of the ingredients and bring the mixture to a simmer gently and cook for a few mins.

Add the mixture to your blender or food processor and blend well…Carefully taste (it) will be hot and add more mango if you require a fruitier taste…you want the mango to shine through the heat of the habaneros…

Now carefully fill your sterilised bottles we save our hot sauce glass bottles they are a perfect size as they are about 5oz.

This will keep in the fridge for about a month…This sauce was made by Jamie he grows the chillies and makes the sauces…

I will say again please wear gloves when making these sauces or be very careful that you wash your hands thoroughly as the habanero releases and oil one which is used in Pepper sprays…Jamie made the mistake yesterday and just rinsed his hands and then took a shower…I had to take milk up for his eyes and even his nether regions didn’t escape as he showered and had the oil on his hands and he normally is really careful..lesson was learnt again…

The Chinese kale is also very nice we have had a few pickings and it is growing quite vigorously again so once it flowers we can pick it again…What is growing in your garden?

This blog is not political although I do have my own private thoughts my concern is that everyone is invested in this war and will everything else then take a back seat…it could set all of us back years with regards to the environment and global warming, Covid… almost everyone is relaxing the rules and I understand that as we cannot quarantine forever but it is still there and for the first time in my house…Aston tested positive for covid so we are confined to our own rooms and bathrooms thank god I have more than one bathroom…He has no real symptoms he just had a slight sore throat which is now better…but do we ignore the quarantines? they haven’t here yet but other countries have…

Now we have Putin is there now going to be another world war…World War 3?…or is this the end of the world as we know it?…it seems to me that the environment, covid and Putin are in one mix to me it doesn’t bode well…

But what an example Ukraine has set us about solidarity and National pride I pray that they will not be overcome…They are such brave people…

That is all for my Green kitchen this month…I am going to try making bao buns this week…Have any of you made them? If so any tips would be appreciated…

I look forward to your comments and suggestions on how you make your kitchen and home more sustainable so please share and you will get a mention…xx