Garden to Table Recipes : Rhubarb and Custard Cream Cheesecake

A couple of years ago we acquired an allotment, which had been a bit of a dream for me for a while. The dream involved baskets and baskets of home grown fruits and vegetables that would see us through the winter months, balmy evenings spent enjoying views across the countryside whilst sipping wine on our home made pallet bench, and involving the rest of the family in our [semi] self sufficiency venture.

In reality it was hard work. Now I'm not afraid of a bit of hard graft & really enjoyed clearing our plot and getting some veggies planted. At first the whole family joined in too and it was a great way to do something together. By the following spring the enthusiasm began to wane, and one by one the kids drifted off and no longer waned to be involved. A combination of bad weather, longer working hours, and a frozen shoulder made us realise that maybe an allotment wasn't for us after all - not to mention the fact that my fingers aren't all that green and woman cannot live off potatoes alone.

After many years of attempting to grow tomatoes and peppers at home, I made the decision earlier this year that no more growing of vegetables would be carried out on these premises, and the piles and piles of seedling pots were disposed of. (Then Jack brings a tomato plant home, and decides to plant some runner beans!)

One thing I have had lots of success in growing though, is rhubarb. Ok, so you don't have to be green fingered to be successful at growing rhubarb as it just grows and grows year after year, but it does make me feel like a real gardener when I snap a few stalks off to use in a crumble - from garden to table within the space of an hour.

Last weekend I made a Rhubarb & Custard Cheesecake (recipe can be found lower down this post) using rhubarb from the garden. Oven roasted rhubarb is *the* best, and it's such a lovely pink colour, so perfect on the top of a creamy cheesecake. The cheesecake was so good, and the whole family loved it, although I did have to remove the rhubarb from the top for a couple of fussy ones.

Another rhubarb recipe that I make over and over is my rhubarb cake, which can be thrown together really easily, and keeps really well in an airtight container, making it great for lunchboxes throughout the week (as well as a delicious dessert served with custard).

Worktop Express have included my Rhubarb Cake in their 'From Garden to Table' recipe ebook, along with some other delicious looking recipes made using home grown produce, which you can find below.

Dig Your Food eBook 2017 on Scribd

Do you grow your own fruit and vegetables? 

I would love to hear about your successes.

Rhubarb & Custard Cream Cheesecake by Helen Jessup on Scribd

Family Meals : Paprika Chicken with Chorizo & Olives

I've mentioned before on this blog that I cook the majority of our family meals from scratch, and on most nights of the week. We rarely eat out, and only have takeaways very occasionally, and if we do it's only usually from the local chippy.

We also have very little food waste in this house, which I put down to meal planning (albeit a bit haphazardly at the moment), cooking from scratch, and always using up any leftovers by making them into another meal, freezing them, or eating for lunch the following day.

I also encourage our family to eat our evening meals together as much as possible. It's not always easy with two teenagers though, especially at this time of the year when they're out with their friends for the majority of the evening, so it's often only three of us at the dinner table. At least 3 or 4 times a week we do all manage to sit down together though, and some of our favourite meals involve a large panful of food in the centre of the table with breads, salads and vegetables on the side for everyone to help themselves to.

This article about the benefits of family meals is a very interesting read, and should encourage all families to try and eat together as much as possible. 

• 10 Benefits of Family Meals

This Paprika Chicken dish is one of the many dishes that I enjoy cooking, as I know everyone will enjoy it, and it takes a minimal amount of effort to make. As the majority of the ingredients used are from Iceland's cook from frozen range it means that you can always have a supply of ingredients in the freezer ready to whip up a meal at any time, without the worry that anything is going to go off.

The dish could be served with salad and bread or roast potatoes and steamed vegetables, but I chose to serve it with a large pot of ratatouille (which is always delicious the following day on a jacket potato or pasta), bread rolls (who knew you could buy frozen ready baked bread rolls), and Iceland steamed rice.

Ratatouille is also a great way to use up vegetables from the bottom of the fridge, such as onions, peppers, mushrooms, aubergines, courgettes and tomatoes, as well as carrots, leeks, butternut squash and cabbage. Just like a 'fridge bottom' soup or curry, almost any veg can go into a ratatouille, but using the Iceland Mediterranean Vegetables as a base gives it a great flavour, as well as saving valuable time by not having any chopping to do.

Paprika Chicken with Chorizo & Olives by Helen Jessup on Scribd

This is quite simply one of the easiest, tastiest, cook from [almost] scratch, no chopping, no waste, family meals that you could ever wish to make. That's the #PowerofFrozen!

a commissioned post for Iceland Foods #PowerofFrozen