Visit to Oxford

We tend to go to Oxford at least once a year and our favourite time to go is just after Christmas. So we did exactly that this year as well. It was the perfect opportunity to just relax, eat out and have no further plans.

In Oxford we normally stay at the Malmaison hotel right by the Oxford Castle. The building used to be a prison, which certainly gives its own interesting twist to the features. It's always good to stay there with all that friendly staff, nice bar and excellent rooms, also the location is very convenient.

A visit to the Botanic Gardens is always a must for me. Even in the winter there are many blooming plants and it's great to have a walk there on the canalside. This is the place where I normally take my most Oxford photos, so I hope that you like plants.

We also went to several of our standard pubs. Turf Tavern is a really nice one hidden away in a small alley. The pub also features in the Inspector Morse novels by Colin Dexter. Then we detected a new pub, Beerd, with excellent drinks and artisanal pizzas.

I consider shopping right after Christmas to be a bit naughty, but what else can you do when you walk into Oxford's Blackwell's bookshop with its huge offering. And guess what, Inspector Morse used to hang around here too. See his favourite hangouts here, which are quite similar to mine! 

Enjoy the photos!

 

Your VegHog

Ginger shots

Don't let the title fool you, this post is not about alcohol. Quite the contrary it's about a health drink that I have started fancying more and more and that can easily be blended at home. The shot refers purely to the size of the drink. 

I made these refreshing morning ginger shots from fresh ginger blended into freshly pressed lime juice and cloudy apple juice. This drink is so healthy and revitalising in the morning. You can make them even more punchy by adding more ginger. I promise you, you will get awake.

Have a good week everyone!

Your VegHog

My cooking essentials – Dry cupboard stuff

How did you get into the new year? I spent the evening at home and was so happy about it after all the travels. Today I started the day by emptying the freezer and to my annoyance got rid of quite a bit of stuff. That made me to have a resolution for the new year to keep a better freezer regime. I want to label and date everything and make commitments to use frozen stuff in the near future to avoid waste and to be able to utilise the freezer more efficiently. At least it's nice and nearly empty now, so this is a good start. I haven't really made any other resolutions apart from maybe trying to eat more lightly. Towards the end of last year my eating slipped quite a bit towards roast dinners, eating out, generally stuffing myself etc. and that's something that I want to change, simply by eating less and more nutritious stuff especially during the working week. Have you made any New Year's resolutions?

The freezer clearing reminded me of the dry cupboard. Already last year I organised my dry cupboard, and wanted to write a little bit about it to you and show the whole chaos. I have listed here 10 of my cooking essentials that should be found in my dry cupboard at all times, otherwise I might not cope. I prefer having organic options, but that isn't always possible. I only have a very small and very annoying dry cupboard, so it isn't always easy to keep a good stock at home. Sometimes things can be forgotten on the back. I have promised to myself to take better care of the cupboard as well and keep it tidy.

Pasta – I tend to have a collection of different pasta shapes at all times in my cupboard, as they can make a quick emergency dish easily or more fine dishes when there is more time for cooking. I probably make a couple of pasta dishes per week, quite often also pasta salads for work or add alphabet pasta to soups and broths.

Noodles – Noodles are so good for stir frys or quick weekday broths. I have only started using noodles more in recent years, but they are a very good addition to many dishes.

Grains – Versatile grains (rice, pearled spelt, pearled barley, couscous, freekeh and many more) are very important in my cooking. I just love adding them pretty much everywhere. Now having enthusiasm more and more for the Middle Eastern cuisine and having detected pilafs again, I have also eaten more rice dishes. It's a cheap way of making tasty meals.

Flour – Flour is needed at all times for bread and roll baking, and sometimes for sweet baking. My favourite for quite a while has been spelt flour and I have posted many recipes on the blog where spelt flour is used.

Pulses – Dried or canned lentils, chickpeas, peas and beans are a must in the cupboard. The only pain with some of them is only to remember to soak them overnight, which requires more planning for cooking. This is a cheap and nutritious way to boost your veggie dishes.

Soya products – Diverse dried soya products are handy to be had as addition to sauces, soups, stir fries, pretty much anywhere. They contain good proteins for vegetarians and I'll get more and more used to different dried soya products, as they can add a nice texture to dishes.

Granola – Granola is a perfect addition to breakfast bowls and keeps you going for a long time. I love a very nutty granola.

Berry powders – Healthy berry powders are perfect added to yogurt or smoothies for the extra vitamin boost. I quite often also use them in baking, like in some spelt rolls. My favourites are sea-buckthorn and cranberry.

Crackers – Crackers are always a practical and quick snack. Just have them with some cheese and they can quickly fill you, especially the thin rye breads. They are also practical to store, because they keep for a while in the cupboard.

Coffee – Coffee is absolutely essential for me and always has to be available. On weekday mornings I won't leave the house without having had a cup of coffee first. On the weekends I have more time to enjoy my coffee at home and several batches can come during the day.

These were some of the main dry products I use, but of course there are many more. What are you keeping in your dry cupboard?

Your VegHog