Smoky Baked Beans with Portabello Mushrooms & Halloumi

I've been meaning to blog a home-cooked baked bean recipe for some time now, and never got round to it for some reason. I'm having a bit of a bean phase at the moment, so thought it was finally time to write up the recipe. To make the beans a bit more interesting, I decided to serve them with potatoes, mushrooms and halloumi cheese, but they also make a great jacket potato or enchilada filling.  

As they take a long time to cook, it's worth making a double batch of these beans to make 2 meals. Simply add some extra spices and a tin of sweetcorn to make a tasty chilli.

Serves 4

For the baked beans:

• 1 cup dried haricot beans, soaked overnight (or 2 cans, drained - see quick version below)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp black treacle/molasses
• 1 carton passata
• 1 chilli, finely diced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp vegetarian Worcester sauce

To serve:

• A 225g/8oz pack of halloumi cheese, cut into 8 slices
• 4 large Portobello mushrooms, peeled
• 450g/1lb baby new potatoes

Drain the beans from their soaking water. Boil for 10 minutes in fresh, boiling water, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Drain.

Whilst the beans are cooking, make the sauce... 
Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Sauté the onion for a few minutes to soften, before adding the bell pepper, chilli and garlic. Cook for a further 3-5 minutes.
Add the remaining baked bean sauce ingredients, plus the cooked beans. Simmer on a low heat in a covered pan for 30-45 minutes, or until the beans are soft and tender.

Just before the baked beans are cooked, boil the baby new potatoes until tender, drain and drizzle with a little olive oil.
Brush the mushrooms with oil and griddle, bbq or grill/broil for a few minutes on each side. Repeat with the halloumi.

To Serve: Spoon a portion of beans on to each of the mushrooms. Top with 2 slices of halloumi and serve with a few boiled potatoes per person.

Quick version: Use 2 tins of haricot beans instead of the dried beans; Use around two thirds of the passata and cook the tomato sauce for 15 minutes before adding the beans. Simmer for a further 5 minutes before serving.
Camping version: Use 2 cans of baked beans and a tin of ratatouille add 4 tbsp of spicy barbecue sauce and heat. Serve with barbecued Portabello mushrooms, halloumi and garlic bread.
Vegan version: Omit the halloumi or swap it for your favourite dairy-free cheese.
Slow cooker version: Boil the soaked beans rapidly for 10 minutes in a pan, then transfer into the slow cooker with all the remaining baked bean ingredients. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

I'm entering this recipe to this month's Cooking With Herbs linky hosted by Karen at Lavender & Lovage 

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The best small(ish) music festivals in the Midlands 2015

The sun is shining and the main UK festival season is looming; The Mirror has even predicted a heatwave (surely such a quality paper couldn't get it wrong?!), so I thought I'd post a round of some of the festivals Mr O and I have been pondering over visiting this year, plus some other local (to us) festivals. In case you don't know, we're seasoned festival goers, and having done the big festivals pre-kids, we now prefer a lower-key event where we can actually get some sleep at night and have a hot shower when needed!

Our teenage daughters, Miss O and Miss K, are undecided on whether or not to join in with our festivities this year, as they now have rather more refined musical tastes than us! However, I have picked these festivals for their family-friendly facilities and prices, even if they don't appeal to my kids any more. Although my daughters wouldn't appreciate them now, they used to love festivals with craft activities, circus skills workshops and a place to hang out away from the main stage. 

I have excluded some great-sounding festivals from my line up, as some of the festivals I liked the sound of do not offer family tickets, and/or charge adult prices for teens under 16. If a child under 16 must be accompanied by an adult over 18/21 to enter the festival, then surely they should be charged a child/youth or reduced price?!

If you have younger children, do take a look at my family friendly festival guide, with plenty of tips on how to make a festival fun for all the family.You can also find lots of quick and simple camping meal ideas here.

May 21-24
Bearded Theory, Catton Hall, Walton upon Trent, Derbyshire
We've been to a couple of BTs and enjoyed this friendly, chilled-out festival, the great range of bands and good facilities for families. See my review of Bearded Theory 2012 here (different venue).There are 5 stages hosting an eclectic range of acts, a children's village and teen zone.
Adult weekend ticket inc. camping £94, child weekend tickets age 0-5 free, 6-11 £22, 12-16 £45, family camping area available.
Headliners this year include The Mission, New Model Army, James and Eat Static.

May 22-24
Glastonbudget, Turnpost Farm, Leicestershire
This festival appeals to me, as it would mean that I could see tribute acts of artists who have either disbanded, died or were out of my price range when popular!
Adult weekend ticket inc. camping £76, children aged under 5 £4, 6-15 £39, 16-17 £65, family camping costs an extra £3 per person.
Headliners include a good range of rock, retro, pop and indie tribute bands such as Kazabian, Totally Tina (Turner) and (Freddie) Mercury plus some new and acoustic acts.

June 5-7
Lunar Festival, The Umberslade Estate, Warwickshire (5 miles south of Birmingham)
This one is a serious contender for us, as it's fairly local and offers some great workshops as well as great music; I'd also love to see Julian Cope play live. There are 2 stages, workshops for kids and adults and late night clubs.
Adult weekend ticket inc. camping £94, Family weekend ticket £199.
Headliners this year include Tinariwen, The Fall, Wilko Johnson, The Bootleg Beatles and Julian Cope, as well as a wide variety of other acts.

June 19-21 
Acoustic Festival of GB, Uttoxeter Race Course Staffordshire
Adult weekend ticket £85 + £20 camping, Children under 10 £1, ages 10-15 £15 +£5 camping.
The big plus for this festival is that you can park next to your tent. Believe you me, this is a perk worth paying for, especially when you have younger children with lots of stuff to cart around! Headliners include Big Country, Beautiful South and Show of Hands. 

July 3-5
Godiva Festival, War Memorial Park, Coventry
FREE
We're definitely going to the Godiva Festival, as it's free! There's no camping on site, so if you're willing to take a risk, book your hotel accommodation before the line up is finalised. We've booked a room at the local Premier Inn and are looking forward to the main acts being announced in the next few weeks - UPDATE: The Wombats, Fun Lovin’ Criminals and Embrace are set to headline Coventry Godiva Festival 2015
Godiva is actually quite a big festival; in fact it claims to be the country’s biggest free family music festival, with with 3 stages and a family field for little ones. 

July 24-26
Nozstock The Farm, Rowden Paddocks, Bromyard, Herefordshire
Adult weekend £105, Teens £85, under 12s free.
I love the sound of Nizstock, but sadly won't be able to go as we'll be on holiday. There's a plethora of stages with music, comedy and theatre.Children will love the activities in the Enchanted Glade and there are also baby-friendly facilities. Headliners include The Wu Tang Clan, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Beardyman and DJ Hype. 

July 24-26
Barefoot Festival, Prestwold Hall, Loughborough, Leicestershire
Adult weekened ticket inc. camping £90, child weekend ticket £38, under 5s free
Barefoot Firewalk tickets for over 12s cost an additional £33
No line up has been announced yet, but last years headliners included some talented, but lesser-known artists such as Laurel Canyons and Josephine & The Artizans, plus a range of folk, blues, indie and cabaret acts. There is also a kids' zone and arts workshops running during the weekend.

Aug 14-16
Farmer Phil's, Ratlinghope, Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Adult weekend ticket £76, family weekend ticket £239...inc. a full week's camping.
Farmer Phil's started off small and has grown each year. It offers great camping facilities, and children's workshops, craft activities and bouncy castles.
Headliners include Ferocious Dog, 3 Daft Monkeys and Talisman. 

Sept 4-6
Off the Tracks, Donington Park Farmhouse, Castle Donington Derbyshire
Adult weekend ticket inc. camping £80, children under 12s free, aged 12-15 £45. 
Off The Tracks has 4 stages, a proper campsite with well-maintained pitches, hook-ups, hard-standing, real showers and toilets. Children's activities, play areas and workshops. Headliners include Banco di Gaia and Dreadzone

Sept  11-13
Shrewsbury Fields Forever, Shropshire; Venue Not Yet Decided
(Tickets not yet on sale)
This is a bit of a wild card, as it might not go ahead. However, it's the one that my kids would probably be most interested in attending as it has hosted some very well known acts over the last few years.
SFF is Shropshire’s largest multi arena live indie, alternative, electronic, dance and popular music, comedy and arts festival, however due to a fall out over their previous venue (West Mids Showground), this year's festival may or may not be going ahead at an alternative venue. Last year's head liners included Tinie Tempah, The Cribs and Shed Seven. Keep a look out for more information!

If you know of any other similar festivals in the Midlands, do let me know and I'll add them to the list.

For details and reviews of more family-friendly festivals all over the UK, visit Festival Kidz.

Integrity Statement

I have NOT received any incentives to promote any of these festivals. All views expressed are genuine. However, if anyone want to offer me free tickets to a festival, I am always willing to review!!! Images featured are from various festivals we have been to and not necessarily of the festivals featured.

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Cheat's Patatas Bravas

This is another one of my non-recipes, which seams almost too simple to be worth blogging, however it makes a cheap, quick and super-easy vegan meal which can be cooked in about 20 minutes.

Patatas Bravas should really served as a tapas dish, however, it makes a great camping/festival meal and is also good for an end of the week/month dinner, when the cupboards (and purse) are bare!

Serves 4

• 2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil 
• 1 kg/2lb bag of frozen potato cubes, almost defrosted 
• 1 large jar of tomato and chilli pasta sauce 

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan/baking dish. Shallow fry or roast the potato chunks until cooked, crisp and golden brown (about 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally).
Throw in the jar of tomato and chilli sauce and any extras (see below) and heat through for a further few minutes until piping hot.

Serve with bread, olives and salad.

Alternatives: To bulk this out, add some extra veg/protein along with the tomato sauce (eg: a tin of drained beans/chickpeas/sweetcorn/sliced mushrooms/veggie salami/chorizo etc...anything ready cooked.). You could also swap the potato cubes for frozen chips, wedges or even hash browns.
For a cheaper version, use 'real' potatoes and a home made tomato sauce. 
Make individual portions and serve as a tapas dish whilst watching Spain play in the World Cup!

I'm entering this recipe to this month's Credit Crunch Munch , hosted at Gingey Bites and founded by Fab Food 4 All and Fuss Free Flavours.



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Piri-Piri Mushroom & Halloumi 'Burger'

This super-easy meal was inspired by a well-known chicken burger chain. I ate there once. I enjoyed the 'burger' but didn't know how they could possibly charge £6 (that's without any side orders) for something so cheap and simple to prepare. I knew I could make a similar meal far cheaper with better ingredients, so I did...

Assuming you have most of the piri-piri/peri-peri sauce ingredients already, this costs around £1.50 per portion for the 'burger'. For 4 servings, I used: Sainsbury's Halloumi £2.25, large, flat mushrooms £1.40, burger buns 70p, lemon 35p, lettuce 60p.

Serves 4

For the burgers:

• 1 (250g/10oz) pack of halloumi cheese cut into 8 slices
• 4 large flat/Portabello mushrooms, wiped and de-stalked
• 4 burger buns (or make your own)
• Finely sliced lettuce

For the piri-piri sauce:

• 1-2 red chillis - finely chopped (or use 2 tsp frozen chopped chilli, or hot chilli sauce)
• 1 lemon, juiced (add zest for more citrus flavour)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• A pinch of salt (vegan version only)

Make up the piri-piri sauce, by mixing the ingredients together in a small bowl, or whizzing up in a mini food-processor.

Brush the mushrooms with the sauce and either fry, grill or barbecue them until soft and golden brown. Keep warm in the oven.

Repeat with the halloumi cheese slices.

Put a little shredded lettuce on the bottom half of a bread roll.

Layer up with the mushroom and 2 slices of cheese, a little more piri-piri sauce and topping with the other half of the bun.

Serve with grilled corn-on-the-cob and/or home-made seasoned sweet potato wedges.

Mushroom alternative: For fungi-phobes like Miss K, use grilled bell pepper instead.
Vegan alternative: Omit the halloumi and top the mushroom with a good dollop of vegan coleslaw.

Camping alternative: Use ready made piri-piri sauce.

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Cheddar Cheese Fondue

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It might be a little retro for some, but the Onykahonie household love a cheese fondue; in fact we love anything cheesy, including Eurovision,  X Factor and Abba! 

In this recipe, I added a British twists by swapping the traditional Emmental cheese for Cheddar, as I find the combination of Gruyère and Emmental is just too cheesy, even for a cheese lover like me! I also used dry British cider instead of wine and I prefer the flavour with the Cheddar...

Serves 2-4 - double this recipe to share with more people

• 1 clove of garlic
• 225 ml/1 cup dry/hard cider (or dry white wine) 
• 150g/6oz medium or mature Cheddar cheese, grated
• 150g/6oz vegetarian Gruyère cheese, grated
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp apple brandy/kirsch (optional)
• A little grated nutmeg
• toasted ciabatta/pitta, bread-sticks, crudites, potato wedges, breaded mushrooms, onion rings etc, for dipping

Cut the clove of garlic in half and rub around the inside of the pan/fondue pan.
Mix the brandy/kirsch or a little of the cider/wine with the cornflour, in a cup.
Heat the cider/wine (add the halved garlic clove too, if you like) in the pan until warm.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cornflour mixture and season with nutmeg.
Return to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring regularly. 
As soon as the mixture starts to bubble, add the cheese a little at a time, whisking all the time, until the cheese has melted and you have a smooth mixture.

Keep warm and serve with baked/toasted chunks of ciabatta, crudites, bread-sticks etc.

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Alternative: For a quick and easy cheese fondue without all the faff, just take a whole Camembert, remove any plastic packaging and wrap in a layer of grease-proof paper (or original wrapping) and foil.

Bake for 20 minutes at 180C/170C Fan/Gas4/350F or on the barbecue. 

When melted, score around the top and remove the 'skin'.

To flavour the cheese, score little cuts into the top of the cheese before cooking and insert slices of garlic and/or springs of rosemary. Remove these before serving.

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Baked Corn on the Cob

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This isn't a recipe as such, but I thought I'd share the idea, as this was the best corn on the cob I've ever cooked (or eaten!). I think that cooking the corn in its husk and then wrapping in foil, makes it more moist and juicy.

• 4 sweetcorn cobs in their husks
• 2 tbsp butter, dairy-free spread or olive oil
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

Strip off the outer layers of the husk, until you get to the thinner, softer layers. 

Peel the inner layers back carefully, so they remain attached to the cob.

Lay each corn cob on a sheet of foil.

Spread or brush the marinade over the corn. 

Wrap the husk layers back over the corn, then wrap tightly in foil.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190C/180C Fan/Gas 5/375F (or in the bonfire embers) for 30-40 minutes. Alternatively grill on the barbecue, turning occasionally.

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Veggie Sausage & Baked Bean Pasta

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Not only is this meal quick and easy to prepare, it's cheap and filling too, especially if you use store's own economy brands! (I used ASDA's veggie sausages £1.58, baked beans 25p, passata 29p, onion 10p, red peppers 75p, pasta 29p - total to feed 4 people £3.26)

Serves 4, takes 30 minutes to cook.

• 1-2 vegetarian/vegan sausages per person
• 1 tin of baked beans (or any other kind of tinned beans)
• 500ml passata
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• ½ tsp mixed dried herbs or oregano
• 2 red bell peppers cut into chunks
• 2 tbsp veggie Worcester sauce (optional)
• Black pepper to taste
• 250g dried pasta

Heat a drop of oil in a large pan.
Cook the onion, garlic and peppers for 5 minutes on a medium heat until softened.
Add the passata, Worcester sauce, herbs and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the sausages and pasta.
Drain the pasta, chop the sausages into chunks and mix both into the pasta sauce.

Alternatives: For an even quicker meal, use a jar of ready made tomato pasta sauce instead of the onion, garlic and passata. 
Swap the baked beans for any other tinned beans, to reduce the sugar content.
Use any vegetables you need to use up (mushrooms, sweetcorn, courgette etc), rather than the peppers, to make this dish even more economical.

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Solfest Music Festival - a review

We almost bought tickets for Solfest last year, but the horrendous weather put us off. I’m so glad we went this year though, as the sun shined most of the weekend, with just a few scattered showers on the Friday. This made it our first mud-free festival for three years!

Solfest is a small, family-friendly festival held on Tarnside Farm near Aspatria in Cumbria over the August bank holiday weekend.The location is stunning, if somewhat hard to find (signage from the main roads approaching the festival would be beneficial, for those of us who don’t know the area!).

The great thing about Solfest, is that you can actually camp right next to your car, so you don’t need to lug your tent, camping equipment and kids, for what seems likes miles until you can find a space to pitch your tent! We arrived on the Friday afternoon, when most of the prime spots had been snapped up, so I would recommend either arriving on the Thursday (for an extra £15 per car) or early on Friday.

The festival campsite is split into different areas (noisy - right near the main arena toward the dance tent, family - near the main arena but away from the dance tent, quiet- the furthest away from the main arena, but much flatter and near to the live-in vehicles field).

We opted for the family field which was mainly sloping; this meant that we all found we slid down our airbeds at night! Although we camped away from the noisy camping field, we could still hear the rather loud bass coming from the dance tent, until around 4am each morning! There were portaloos and water taps dotted around the campsite and a few showers were available at a cost of £3.00. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the portaloos, but the loo roll and hand sanitiser did tend to run out during the day, so make sure you take your own!

Barbecues and campfires are permitted on the campsite and many families seemed to go back for a barbecue in the evenings. You can also take your own food and drink into the arena (no glass bottles). If you don’t want to self-cater though, there were plenty of reasonably-priced food stalls (lots of vegetarian options available) and the bar prices weren't bad either.

My kids, being 12 and 14, were happy to sit and watch the bands with us, but as the whole festival area was enclosed, we were more than happy for them to wander off on their own to the different stages or to get something to eat or drink. We did have a wander through the kids’ area though, and thought it looked great; there were all sorts of FREE facilities and activities to keep babies and children of all ages occupied, including a massive wooden climbing frame and sandpit, bouncy castles, face painting, baby chill-out tent, craft and music activities, live entertainment, circus skills and even a ‘youth club’ for teens to hang out in with a pool table, table football etc. 

Solfest is the only festival I've been to, where they haven’t announced the running order in advance. Apparently this is to encourage people to come for the whole festival and not just for their favourite band/s, but I can’t really see the point of this as you have to buy a weekend ticket anyway!

Although it's small, we were surprised at the variety of music on offer on the two outdoor stages, bar stage, dance tent and 3 other smaller, covered stages. There was a good mixture of bands, with Maximo Park, Flogging Molly and The Afro Celt Sound System headlining the main stage. We particularly enjoyed seeing our old favourites Oysterband and discovering Dehli2 Dublin, (Asian/Irish fusion!) who really got the crowd going and seemed very happy to go down so well at the festival.

There was plenty of room to sit and watch the bands, or to get up and dance, depending on your mood. Strangely, the smaller Dry Stone stage (featuring more folk-based bands) often pulled a bigger crowd than the Main Stage acts; the Sunday ceilidh proving to be particularly popular.

We found Solfest to be one of the friendliest and most laid-back festivals we've been to (and we've been to quite a few!). We had a fantastic time and would happily go again next year, weather permitting!

Read my full review over at Festival Kidz.

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Quorn Souvlaki

Having just come back from a fantastic family holiday on Zakynthos, I thought I'd try and recreate a vegetarian version of Mr O's favourite Greek meal - chicken souvlaki. I used Quorn fillets for this recipe, but you could swap them for a vegan alternative if preferred.

Serves 4

• 4 Quorn fillets
• 2 large bell peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 1 onion, peeled, quartered and separated into layers
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Juice of half a lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 4 skewers (soak in water if wooden)

Allow the Quorn fillets to defrost for an hour or 2 in the fridge. 

Cut into 1" chunks (I cut the Quorn fillets into 6 pieces each).

Mix the oil, lemon juice and oregano in a bowl.

Add the Quorn and stir to coat, then add the vegetables and stir again. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for a further hour to marinate.

Wrap in foil and cook on the bbq for around 10 minutes, turning occasionally, or bake in the oven at 180C/170C fan/Gas 4/350F. Open foil and allow to brown slightly for a further 5 minutes.

Serve in warmed pittas with a dollop of tzatziki for a lunch (gyros) or with Greek rice or potatoes as a main meal.

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Vegetarian 'Hawaiian' Quesadillas

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When I was growing up, fresh pineapple was considered positively exotic! We might have had tinned pineapple in fruit salads, or maybe on a Hawaiian pizza, but that was about it. Apparently pineapple on pizza isn't exactly traditional in Hawaii though, so apologies to any Hawaiian readers and especially to Little Ferraro Kitchen. 

Although I now love fresh pineapple, I hadn't thought of putting it in a sandwich; I came up with this simple veggie/vegan wrap combo after being inspired by a similar meat-based dish on Closet Cooking. I wasn't sure if the flavours would work with a meat substitute, but they really do. Coincidentally, Ephee has recently blogged an alternative vegan version over on her amazing blog: L'éphémère quotidienneté des repas et autres trucs de magie.

These quesadillas are really quick and easy to make, so are great for lunches and camping trips. 

Makes 4

• 4 slices of vegetarian/vegan bacon/ham, cooked if preferred and chopped
• 2-4 thin slices of pineapple (fresh is best, but tinned will do), chopped
• 2 tbsp pickled jalapenos, chopped (optional)
• 200g/8oz mozzarella/cheddar/vegan melting cheese
• 4 tbsp tomato puree/tomato salsa/bbq sauce
• 4 tortilla wraps

Fry or grill the veggie bacon/ham until lightly browned (this is optional, but I prefer it crispy!).
Spread half of each tortilla with a spoonful of tomato puree or your preferred alternative.
Divide the remaining ingredients between each wrap.
Fold the wraps in half and heat through until the cheese has melted, either in a hot pan or in a panini press/grill.
Slice into wedges and serve with salad.

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Foxholes Castle campsite in Shropshire - a review

We spent a fabulous few days at Foxholes Castle Campsite, in sunny Shropshire, over half term. Yes, the sun actually shined on us for practically the whole weekend, which hasn't happened to us for about three years! I did, of course, pack the precautionary wellies and waterproof coats, but luckily we didn't need them at all.

Foxholes is located just outside the pretty village town of Bishop's Castle. While the site caters for caravans, camper-vans and tents (plus two on-site statics and a bunk house), there are no electric hook ups and most of the fields are gently sloping, so tenters were actually in a majority, which was a pleasant surprise.

Facility-wise, the site has a recently built toilet block with solar powered showers and rain-water/well-water flushed loos; these were clean and spider-free and impressively, the solar powered showers were hot too! There is also a covered washing-up area, campers' freezer, fridge and phone re-charging point and extensive waste recycling facilities. Most importantly for us though, was the availability of fire pits for hire (£3 per stay) and fire logs (£3 per bag).

One thing I must have a little gripe about though, is their charge for teenagers. While I have no desire to share a site with hoards of rampaging teens, I equally feel that parents sharing a pitch with responsible teens should not be penalised. Our stay per night with a 12 and 14 year old was £24, but this will go up to £28 per night next year as both girls will be classed as adults. However, if we had two children under 12, the cost would have been a very reasonable £20 per night. I really don't see how 13 year olds can be classed as adults when sharing a tent with their parents, especially on such and isolated, rural site, which really isn't going to appeal to those who want to wreak havoc and disturb other campers!

On a plus point, we booked our pitch as a last minute getaway after seeing the good weather forecast. On arrival, the friendly owner offered us a choice of  'pitches' which, as there is no electric hook ups or hard standing, basically meant we could find a space anywhere we liked! We chose a spot on the gently sloping and very spacious main tent field. The outlook over the beautiful Shropshire countryside was amazing.

If you enjoy walking, the Stiperstones, the Long Mynd and the Shropshire Way are all within easy reach of Bishop's Castle; we also visited Mitchell's Fold stone circle and Powis Castle. I must just mention the Stiperstones Inn, where we received a warm welcome and had a lovely lunch after a walk across the Stiperstones ridge. This traditional pub serves a good range of clearly marked vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free snacks, sandwiches and meals (plus meat-based meals, of course!) and can prepare other dishes on request, depending on your dietary requirements.

Evening entertainment for us consisted of of stroll through fields along the Shropshire Way into Bishop's Castle for a drink in the local micro brewery, the Three Tuns, followed by a slightly slower stroll back to the campsite and dinner around the campfire. We smelt like smoked kippers, but we had a great time!

I would thoroughly recommend Foxholes to anyone who enjoys 'real' camping, and we certainly hope to return in the not to distant future. 

Integrity Statement
This holiday was taken at my own expense. I did not receive payment or any incentives from any of the businesses/websites mentioned. 

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Mexican Rice Burritos

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This isn't a recipe as such, just a combination of convenience foods, which makes a tasty and filling meal suitable for camping or festival cooking. Double the ingredients if serving as a main meal and/or add some roasted or fried bell peppers, onion and mushrooms.

Makes 4

• 1 bag (250g/10oz) ready-cooked Mexican rice (microwave type such as Uncle Ben's)
• 200g/8oz (1 small tin/½ large tin) of refried beans
• 100g/4oz grated mozzarella/cheddar/vegan melting cheese
• 4 Mexican tortilla wraps
• Salsa/guacamole and salad to serve, optional

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Tip the rice into a pan and add a few tbsp of water. Cook gently for around 5 minutes, until heated through.
Heat one wrap at a time in a large frying pan (no oil). Spread on 2 tbsp of refried beans, ¼ of the rice and top with ¼  of the grated cheese. Add a dollop of guacamole, or salsa if wanted. 

Fold the 2 sides of the tortilla in first, then fold the bottom and roll up into a burrito. 

Eat as soon as they are made, or wrap all of the burritos together in foil to keep them warm until you are all ready to eat.

Find lots more camping recipes here.

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Paneer Tikka Kebabs

These simple paneer tikka kebabs taste delicious cooked on the barbecue, but can be grilled or baked instead.

• 200g/8oz paneer, cubed
• 2 bell peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into quarters 

For the marinade:

• 2 tsp tandoori/tikka spice mix or paste
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 heaped tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Zest and juice of 1 large lemon

For the mint sauce:

• 1 cup of plain yogurt/dairy-free yogurt
• 1 small clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp garden mint sauce concentrate (the type you add your own sugar and vinegar to)
• A few dashes of chilli sauce

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl.
Add all of the kebab ingredients and coat well in the marinade.
Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for an hour.
Soak wooden kebab skewers in water for a few minutes (to help prevent them from burning), and thread alternate chunks of paneer, onion and pepper onto the skewers.
Grill or bbq for around 10 minutes, turning occasionally.
Serve in a warm pitta or naan bread with salad and mint sauce. 

To make the mint sauce, simply mix all of the ingredients together, adding chilli sauce to taste.

Alternative: Use diced meat-free/Quorn 'chicken-style' fillets instead of paneer if preferred.
For an easy camping version, just swap the marinade ingredients, for a ready-made tikka paste.
Vegan version: Use whole button mushrooms or firm, pressed tofu instead of the paneer.

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Vegetarian and vegan camping dessert recipes

Unfortunately, as the weather was so terrible last summer, our usual camping trips were curtailed, so let's hope we have better weather this year! We don't always have a dessert when camping, but if we do, I tend to prepare something simple, sweet and tasty using seasonal fruits and convenience products. 

Hot

• Camp fire dampers - make up a sweet scone packet mix, reserving a small amount of the dry mix, for rolling. Add just enough water/milk to make a slightly sticky dough. Divide into golf ball sized pieces and roll each ball out into a long thin sausage using your hands and a little of the dry mix. Cover the end of some sticks in foil. Coil the scone mix around the foil covered stick, over-lapping the dough slightly so there are no gaps. Bake over the camp fire or bbq embers for around 10 minutes, turning regularly, until golden brown. Remove from the stick and fill with jam, cream, lemon curd, chocolate spread etc. (see photo). 
  n.b. The thicker the stick, the more filling you'll be able to add - They need to be around 50cm+ long, so that you don't cook your hands! 
• Cookie pancakes - make up a cookie packet mix or buy a tub of cookie dough. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into a greased frying pan. Cook on a low heat for 5 minutes, flip and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve warm.
• Barbecued bananas - cut a slit lengthwise down each fruit (while the skin is still on). Insert chocolate buttons/dairy-free chocolate along the slit. Wrap in foil and barbecue for around 10 minutes.
• Fruit crumble - add some chopped cooking apples (and sugar to taste) into a pan with a drop of water. Simmer until the fruit is soft. Top with one packet of crumble mix. Cover pan and simmer on a low heat, until heated through.
• Sweet wraps - Warm a tortilla wrap in a frying pan. Put a spoonful or two of jam, peanut butter or chocolate spread in the centre. Top with sliced banana or strawberries. Fold the wrap like a burrito and flip over to warm through.
• Pancakes - re-heat ready-made pancakes in a frying pan, top with jam, chocolate spread, toffee sauce or lemon juice & sugar etc.
• Fruit skewers with a chocolate dipping sauce - Melt some chocolate/dairy-free chocolate in a pan and stir in some cream, evaporated milk or vegan cream to make chocolate sauce. Make some fresh fruit skewers (which you can cook on the bbq if you like) and dip these into the sauce.  
• Mini doughnuts with a chocolate dipping sauce - prepare the sauce as above.
• Shop-bought cake and ready-made custard 
• Barbecued fresh pineapple slices - cook on the bbq.

Cold

• Fresh fruit
• Strawberries and cream/vegan cream.
• Eton mess - simply mix cream (use canned squirty cream, mascarpone or crème fraiche) with crushed shop-bought meringues and fresh strawberries or raspberries.
• Deconstructed strawberry shortcake - make as above but using crushed shortbread biscuits (for a vegan version use dairy-free shortbread and vegan squirty cream).

Do let me know your favourite camping puddings and I'll add them to the list!

Find more camping recipes here.

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Green Vegetable Burritos

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I'm not sure if these are strictly burritos or not, but whatever they're called, they make a nice quick and healthy snack or lunch. You can of course, vary the vegetables depending on what you have available.

Makes 4

• 2 medium courgettes/zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
• 1 large green pepper, deseeded and sliced
• 75g/3oz spinach, washed
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1-2 tsp mild chilli powder
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp pickled jalapeños chopped
• 1 cup of grated hard cheese/vegan cheese
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro (optional)
• 4 corn tortilla wraps

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan. 
Fry the courgette and pepper until softened and just starting to brown.

Add the garlic, herbs, jalapeños and chilli powder and stir well.

Throw in the spinach and coriander and allow to wilt for a minute or two.

Heat the tortillas until warm (in a pan, microwave or oven). 

Fill with the vegetable mixture and a sprinkle of cheese, fold and eat!

If you have more time, you could make your own flatbread wraps.

Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes is hosting a sandwich themed No Croutons Required this month, which is handy, as I wrote this post just before I found out the theme!

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