butterbean houmous

couldn't wait to eat it

Quickly made, butterbeans mixed some of the cooking liquid, together with a tablespoon of tamari, garlic, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice. Yum

RECIPE

half a tin of butterbeans (around 200g)
1 tbsp tamari
1 clove garlic
handful of parsley (leaves only)
olive oil
lemon juice (from half lemon/1 tbsp)
pinch of salt

Method

I use a stick blender, but you could mash the beans with a fork, or use a liquidiser instead. If you are using a fork, remember to chop the pasley and garlic really fine, otherwise you'll end up with parsley in your teeth and surprising lumps of garlic every few mouthfuls. DON'T go mad with the blender, the beans may become a bit chewy.

• drain the butterbeans, keeping back a little liquid
• put butterbeans, garlic, tahini, roughly chopped parsley, a couple of slugs of olive oil and blend until smooth, no longer
• add some liquid if it becomes a bit dry
• taste, and adjust salt if you like

amazing olive oil made by friends

you are unlikely to find a better olive oil than the one we received from Paula, Kevin and Alice

healing avocado

I did take a photo for Steve's healing avocado recipe. Voila!

Steve's avocado sandwich breakfast - healing food and hangover cure

Having listened to tales of Christmas woe, filled with fevers and flu, I was lulled into an unattractive state of smug, a vulnerable place to be. I woke up on Saturday with a sore throat, a headache and backache that made me wonder if I’d been sleep drinking. Painkillers helped a bit, but not enough to stop me feeling very sorry for myself, as I monitored my symptoms to see if I was in the running for the ‘most sick’ title. I am not an attractive invalid.

Fortunately, Steve delivered just what was needed: an open sandwich of avocado with a squeeze of lime, salt and pepper. His original recipe is for buttered toast with marmite and the lime etc on top. I didn’t fancy the marmite, so mine came without. I tried his with marmite and found it edible, much richer, almost chocolatey, and not what I wanted.

The vibrant green of the avocado is definitely a healing hue. Even with a limited sense of smell, and the inability to lift my head properly, the colour and smell of the lime made me feel cheerful and hungry. I ate mine much too quickly, and had another.

I would recommend an avocado per person. For the greedy. Especially the hungover and greedy, oh, and the ill.

Recipe

Ingredients

Ripe avocado

Bread

Butter

Lime

Pepper and salt

Method

Make a slice of toast and let it cool

Butter the toast and spread with slices of avocado.

Squeeze lime juice onto the avocado slices, add pepper and salt.

Eat.