Spicy veggie lasagne (Serves: 6, prep time: 20 mins, cooking time: 50 minutes)

I think it's time for me to consult the thesaurus because this is another dish that I refer to as 'hearty'! I do like substantial meals :)  The underlying spices in this lasagne add a subtle depth and the chickpeas create a great texture.

1 red onion, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 red chilli, diced finely
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbspn tomato puree
50g brown rice
1 small glass white wine

25g butter

25g wholemeal flour

300ml mlk

1tsp wholegrain mustard

60g cheddar cheese, grated

200g fresh spinach or broccoli
3 diced courgettes
1 x 400g tin chickpeas
handful of chopped, fresh oregano
5g fresh mint, diced finely

250g wholewheat lasagne



Fry onion, garlic, chilli and spices on a low heat until the onion starts to go transparent.

Add the chopped tomatoes, brown rice and tomato puree and simmer for 20 minutes. 

After about 15 minutes, prepare the cheese sauce:
melt the butter, remove from the heat, stir in the flour, gradually stir in the milk. put back on the heat and warm gently but do not boil, add the mustard and cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Set aside. 

To the tomato mixture, add the spinach, courgettes, chickpeas and oregano, stir well and remove from the heat.

in a dish, (I use a pyrex dish that is about 12" x 8" and 2" deep), put a thin layer of the tomato mixture, topped with a layer of wholewheat lasagne sheets, then layer on the cheese sauce. Continue to build in this way, finishing with a layer of cheese sauce.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 180.

Veggie Creole Gumbo (Serves 6 - 8; 20 minutes prep; 40 minutes cooking)

This spicy, hearty bowl of wholesomeness has a delicious balance of flavour and spice.

1 onion, sliced finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2" ginger, grated 
1 scotch bonnet chilli, diced finely

2 aubergines, diced
2 sweet potatoes, diced
2 red peppers, diced
2 courgettes, diced

450ml stock
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
150g okra, sliced (and tops removed)

2 x 400g tins black eyed beans
80g fresh coriander, chopped

Fry onion, garlic, ginger and chilli in a little olive oil.

Add the diced aubergine, sweet potato, red pepper and okra and stir fry until slightly browned.

Add the stock, tomatoes, white wine vinegar, tomato puree and okra and simmer for 30minutes.

Add the black eyed beans and coriander and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.

Lamb and flagelot bean stew (serves 5, prep time: 15 mins, cooking time: 90 mins)

This is very comforting and tasty as the nights draw in and the temperatures decline. I love to cosy up with a tasty, warming stew!

400g lamb rump steak, diced
2 medium-sized onions, diced finely
3 cloves garlic, sliced finely

Worcestershire sauce

150ml red wine

300ml stock

400g chopped tomatoes (1 tin)

800g flagelot beans (2 tins)
2 large carrots, diced
250g mushrooms, diced
1 celeriac, peeled and diced
1 tbsp tomato puree
Fresh thyme (salt & pepper if desired)



Roll the lamb rump in seasoned flour and fry it (in a non-stick frying pan with olive oil) until browned. 

At the same time, in a large stainless steel stewpot, sweat the onion over a gentle heat for 5 minutes, adding the garlic partway through.

When the lamb pieces are all browned, add those to the stewpot, too. Splash some Worcestershire sauce over the meat and allow the onion, garlic and lamb to infuse for a minute or two before adding the red wine, stock and tomatoes. 
Stir well.
Allow to cook for 5 minutes. Then add the beans, carrots, mushrooms and celeriac. 
Squirt in the tomato puree and add the fresh thyme and seasoning.

Simmer gently on the stove top for between and hour and and hour and a half to allow all the flavours to infuse. 

Strawberry cake - wheat free, sugar free, delicious

It was my son's dad's birthday and we decided to make a cake. I asked what kind of cake we should make. The answer... strawberry cake with purple icing. 
I don't recommend the icing, but the strawberry cake was good! It's wheat free, whole grain, sugar free and strawberries have a fair amount of fibre from the seeds.

200g organic stoneground, wholegrain spelt flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
100g organic unsalted butter (at room temperature)
100ml agave nectar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
A splash of milk
400g fresh strawberries, halved with stalks removed


Mix together the flour and baking powder in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, blend together the soft butter and agave nectar. I used a hand blender.  When blended into a creamy paste, add the egg and vanilla paste and mix thoroughly.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter/agave/egg /vanilla mixture, stirring continuously. If it starts to look dry, add a splash of milk if desired. The final mixture should be thick and gloopy, not runny but also not dry with powdery bits visible.

Put the cake mixture into a greased 8" baking dish. Put the strawberries on the top.

Bake in the oven at 160 degrees for 1 hour. Keep an eye on it so the strawberries don't burn!

in the oven

cooked   - with purple icing

The joy of Nasi Goreng!

The other day I looked in my fridge and it was full of leftovers. This joyous recipe turned all my leftovers into a really tasty dish (this is enough just for one person):


1/2 small white onion, diced
1 carrot, cut into julienne strips
a handful of mushrooms, sliced
tail end of a butternut squash, diced
1 garlic clove, sliced
1/4 scotch bonnet chilli
1 cup brown rice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 egg

Over a medium-low heat, fry the onion, mushroom, butternut squash and carrot in a little sesame oil until soft (about 5 minutes)
Add the garlic and chilli and fry for a further minute. 
Add the rice, soy sauce, more sesame oil, mint and coriander and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Finally, crack the egg into the frying pan and stir until the egg has cooked.

Serve and enjoy! It's so tasty and satisfying. 

Experiments in the kitchen

In recent weeks I have been experimenting in the kitchen.

I'm working on a bean burger recipe and haven't quite cracked it yet - the flavour is good but the texture isn't right.

I made a mushroom stew which has a lovely flavour but is  a bit too delicate.  It needs a bit more oomph.

Today I am cooking up a storm, creating an aubergine and mozarella tomato bake. It's about 30 degrees outside and this is a very wintry dish, but I felt in need of comfort food!

I found a US website dedicated to unprocessed food and daily recipes. It's really inspiring to find a fellow non-processed foodie out there. The blog is called 100daysofrealfood and is much bigger and slicker than mine. The recipes rely on US ingredients but are worth checking out. There is some good information on there about what constitutes a whole grain, for example.

I have changed my cheesy leek bake recipe which I will update on here as well as a crunchier flapjack which I am very pleased with.

So there's lots going on but nothing solid to post yet. My blog is a collection of good recipes, and not all the steps I take along the way so bear with me whilst my experiments continue :)

hot plum heaven!

I have just invented a small bowl of heaven. It's probably not low GI but probably could be with the addition of an oaty crumble topping. 

5 plums, quartered and de-stoned
100ml red wine (I used old wine)
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 star anise
1 tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp vanilla paste

Put it all in a pan on the stove and simmer gently, with a lid on, for an hour, stirring occasionally. 

I ate the hot plums with cold, creamy natural yoghurt and it was d-i-v-i-n-e! I would share a photo but I ate it all before I thought about my camera. 

Next time - and there will definitely be a next time! -  will put oats on top, mixed with flaked almonds or whole toasted almonds (both of which I seem to be addicted to and which is okay because they are really good for you) to lower the Glycemix Index rating. 

happy poaching :)

Lentil and chickpea curry (Serves: 3, Preparation: 25 minutes, Cooking: 25 minutes)

The lovely thing about this recipe (apart from the fact that it tastes really moreish) is that you can change the contents to change the flavour profile. Cauliflower goes really well, for example. In fact, you may notice that in the photo I didn't use chickpeas!

Basic ingredients

1 red onion, diced

1 tbspn olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 red chilli, diced finely

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp curry powder

1" ginger, grated

juice of 1/2 lemon

Contents

100g red lentils

1 large carrot, grated

250ml stock

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

100g fresh spinach

A handful of chopped coriander

In a large saucepan, fry the basic curry ingredients over a low heat for a good 5 minutes, allowing all the flavours to combine. 

Then add the main contents, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Energising stir fry vegetables (Serves: 4, Preparation time: 30 minutes, Cooking time: 10 minutes)

If you get the balance of sauce and veg right, this is absolutely delicious. It tastes authentically Asian. Feel free to add some red chilli pepper if you like it hot. 

Stir fry sauce

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp thai fish sauce

1 tsp umbeoshi plum puree

1 tsp miso paste

1/2 tsp chinese 5 spice

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1" ginger, grated

Veg

60g mushrooms, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

1 carrot, in batons

1/2 chinese cabbage, sliced

 180g bean sprouts

150g sprouting broccoli

1 small tin bamboo shoots

a few cashew nuts

4 spring onions, sliced

handful of coriander

First , mix together all of the ingredients for the stir fry sauce in a small jar and shake well.

Then put a small amount of olive oil to a wok or large frying pan. 

Add all the veg except the coriander and spring onions and fry  for 3 minutes on a very high heat, stirring occasionally.

Pour the stir fry sauce over the vegetables and continue to cook for a furher 2 minutes. 

Stir through the coriander and spring onions before serving. 

Serve with brown rice or quinoa.

Refreshing Quinoa (serves 4, preparation 5 minutes, cooking 12 minutes)

Quinoa is a complete protein and very good for you. It's quick to cook and a good alternative to brown rice.  This recipe adds flavour to quinoa so it can be eaten as an accompaniment to any dish with or without sauce.

1 x 250ml cup of  quinoa

100ml white wine

1 garlic clove, crushed

500ml water

handful of flaked almonds

handful of shredded mint leaves

3 spring onions, sliced

juice of 1 small lime - don't overdo the lime

Put the quinoa into a saucepan on a medium heat for about 30 seconds. Add the white wine and let it sizzle for another 30 seconds.

Add the water and crushed garlic clove amd simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes.

When complete, stir through the lime juice and toss in the spring onions, almonds and herbs to taste (you can use coriander or parsley instead of mint if you prefer). 

energy snack - potentially a bit naughty

Whilst on a yoga retreat in the French Alps recently, my lovely friend Sam accidentally invented the nicest snack ever. I have adapted it slightly here:


60g dried figs, cut into small pieces
150g slowly toasted whole almonds
150g slowly toasted whole cashews
1 tablespoon golden linseeds. 

Put all of the ingredients into a tupperware pot and shake it up. Take it everywhere you go for a filling and tasty snack.

The genius accidental discovery that Sam made in France was the combination of dried figs combined with linseeds. The linseeds adhere to the sticky interior of the figs and it tastes divine. 

As always, my number one tip for nuts is to put them in a dry frying pan on a really low heat for a good hour and let them slowly, slowly, slowly toast. It transforms a boring old nut into a  gastronomic delicacy.

I am eating barrelfuls of this mixture right now. I think it has superseded my love of flapjack. just. 

And why is it naughty? Because dried fruit is about 70% sugar. But the linseeds are very high in fibre and nuts are so healthy (especially almonds) that it's better than a million other snacks in the world. This is, after all, how I dare to live :)

Salad Days

I have recently become a bit addicted to salad. That sounds really boring and scarcely worth blogging about, but I'm loving it!

Salad fulfils the criteria of my diet: fresh ingredients, unprocessed, largely vegetarian, low GI. It's also quick, satisfying, varied, healthy and delicious.

I think the secret is having good balsamic and olive oil. I recently invested in really nice bottles of each and it makes a huge difference.

My favourite salad is really quite basic:

BASE
baby salad leaves
pitted green olives, halved
cucumber, sliced
grated carrot
diced red pepper
baby plum tomatoes

PROTEIN - choose from
fried halloumi
prawns
fish fillet (e.g. sea bass, mackerel or salmon)

DRESSING
balsamic and olive oil

OPTIONAL EXTRAS
toasted almonds
toasted cashews
fresh mint leaves
fresh coriander leaves


Today I was really late for a hair appointment and I threw the basic ingredients into a large tupperware pot (bar the carrot - there was no time!) along with a handful of fresh king prawns, grabbed a fork and trotted off. I ate it on the train and it was delicious - and so fast.

yay for salad!

Timings guide to a Roast Chicken Dinner: meat and 5 veg!

Bizarrely, my latest favourite thing - despite not being a fan of celery - is to sit my chicken onto a bed of celery sticks before roasting.
I put a lemon, halved into the cavity along with a full bulb of garlic.
I rub olive oil into the chicken skin.
Then I roast, uncovered, at 200 degrees.

40 minutes before the bird is done, I baste it before adding diced par-boiled potatoes or celeriac around the bird. I swirl the chicken juice around all over the potatoes / celeriac.

If using potatoes (which are not low GI but I make an exception on Easter Sunday and Christmas Day),  only King Edwards will do. I boil them for 10 minutes first until the surface is a bit fluffy as this gives them nice crispy edges.

10 minutes later, (30 minutes before the bird is done) I add sliced fennel around the chicken and baste the whole lot again.

When everything is cooked, I remove the celeriac (or potatoes), celery and fennel, allow the chicken to rest whilst I make gravy from the juices in the roasting tin.  For the gravy, a glass of white wine and some stock give volume to the chicken juices and sticky brown bits which I am careful to scrape from the tin.

The celery tastes divine - it absorbs all of the chicken juice and is rich and delicious. The fennel tastes similar.

I usually serve with some steamed / lightly boiled carrot and broccoli and - on special occasions - a mini yorkshire pudding. It's amazing how many special occasions I have ;)

Here is a 'How To' timeline for a 1.6kg chicken to eat at 13.00h:

10.30: remove chicken from the fridge (it should be removed 30mins prior to cooking). Prepare the chicken (garlic and lemon in the cavity, olive oil on the skin). Put it in the roasting dish on top of a bed of celery (this can be 2 layers thick)

11.00: chicken in the oven at 200C

11.30 peel and dice the celeriac (or potatoes)

11.45 boil the celeriac / potatoes for 10 minutes until a bit soft. Whilst boiling, slice the fennel.

12.00 put the celeriac / potatoes in the roasting dish around the chicken and baste the chicken (spoon the juices up over the bird)

12.05 put the fennel into the roasting dish too.

12.25 peel and slice carrots and broccoli

12.35 simmer the carrots and broccoli for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven, but keep the veg in for a further 10 minutes.

12.45 I use ready made yorkshire puddings and this is when they go in the oven for 5 minutes.  Remove veg from the oven and from the roasting dish.  Make gravy.

12.50 remove yorkshire puddings from the oven and turn off the oven.

12.55 plate the food

13.00 serve


Goodbye Easter, it was fun :)

Aromatic Duck and Canellini bean (Serves: 3, Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 40 minutes)

What I love about this dish is the distinctive flavour. So many dishes are variations on a theme - Asian spice, Italian tomato base or Curry. Welcome to something unique. It's very easy to make and I find the aromatic spices both comforting and moreish!

350g duck mini fillets

2tsp wholemeal flour

1tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp turmeric 

1/4 tsp ground coriander

pinch cinnamon 

4 cloves

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 carrot, grated

1 yellow pepper, diced

250ml stock (I use chicken stock)

100ml white wine

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 x 400g tin cannelini beans, drained

Coat the duck in the dry ingredients.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan and brown the coated duck. Set aside.

Into the duck pan, fry the onion, garlic, carrot and pepper for 5 minutes in the remaining duck fat. Scrape up the brown bits.

Add the stock, wine, tomatoes, beans and the browned duck.

Simmer for 25 minutes with the lid on.

Serve with brown rice and / or cauliflower cheese

A word about porridge

I eat porridge for breakfast virtually every day. And have done for 10 years, without getting bored!

I use whole oats (Jordan's chunky organic oats to be precise). I soak them overnight - i.e. add some water to 50g of oats and store in a tupperware pot in the fridge overnight. The next morning, I add a bit more water to the soaked oats and heat either in a pan at home or in the microwave at work.  To serve, I add a tablespoon of milk.

Work colleagues often exclaim as to how I can eat porridge without milk or sugar.

Last week I ran out of oats. I borrowed some oats from a friend. They were not whole oats. And they were disgusting. Really.  No wonder people need to add milk and sugar.

Whole oats, pre-soaked makes the end result creamy and tasty without having to resort to milk and sugar.

It was a revelation for me and one that may prove helpful to others trying to avoid dairy and sugar.

Other tips include:
Add 10 blueberries to the top.
Add sliced apple and flaked toasted almonds. Perhaps a few raisins and a teaspoon of cinnamon too.
Add a couple of squares of 85% dark chocolate.

Cheesy Ham and Leek Bake (Serves: 3, Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 35 minutes)

Comfort food at its best. I sometimes ignore the bread as it's quite time consuming and eat the bake with wholemeal pasta instead.

BREAD

60g wholemeal flour

Pinch bicarbonate of soda

150ml cold water

50g butter

2 eggs, beaten

40g cheddar cheese, grated

FILLING

400g leeks, sliced finely

200g white mushrooms, sliced

120g cooked ham, diced

small handful of fresh oregano

SAUCE

25g butter

25g wholemeal flour

300ml mlk

1tsp wholegrain mustard

60g cheddar cheese, grated

First, weight and prepare all the ingredients and heat the oven to 180 / Gas 4.

Start with the filling:

Gently fry the leeks and mushrooms  in a littel olive oil, for 5 minutes. Add the ham and oregano. Set to one side. 

Next, the bread:

Put the water and butter together in a pan and heat gently until the butter has melted.

Remove from the heat.

To the liquid, gradulaly add the flour and bicarbonate of soda, stirring continuously.

Gradually add the eggs and stir until fully mixed in. Finally, add the cheese.

Now the sauce:

Melt the butter in a pan. Remove from the heat. Gradually stir in the flour.

Gradually add the milk and stir until there are no lumps.  Add the mustard and cheese.

Finally, build and bake:

Put the filling in a baking tray and pour over the sauce.

Pour the bread mixture into each of the holes in a 12 hole bun baking tray.

Bake both trays in the oven at 180 for 25 minutes.

When cooked, serve by heaping 1/3 of the filling over 4 of the bread buns.

Bircher Muesli (Serves: 1, Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: none)

I often eat this for breakfast on days when I don't have time to make porridge, although it also makes a filling dessert or snack. It is creamy and rich yet super healthy. 

40g oats

2 tsp linseeds

juice of 1 apple (approx 50ml)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

8 raspberries (frozen or fresh)

30ml natural yoghurt

Put all the ingredients except the yoghurt into a small bowl, mix, cover and leave in the fridge overnight.

Before serving, add natural yoghurt, stir through and enjoy!

Lentil & Celeriac Shepherd's Pie (Serves: 6, Preparation time: 45 minutes, Cooking time: 30 minutes)

Celeriac is a good alternative to potaotes. It tastes a bit like mild celery and complements the rich tomato base in this dish. I reckon this is one the tastiest things on my blog, it's awesome! 

Sauce

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

2 sticks celery, sliced finely

1 carrot, sliced or grated

1 courgette, sliced or grated
1 red  pepper, diced

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes (I use Waitrose Organic with chopped herbs)

1 tbsp tomato puree

Splash Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

Content

250g puy lentils

250g mushrooms, in quarters

1 red peppers, diced

100g fresh spinach
25g fresh basil 

Topping

2 x celeriac, peeled and diced into 1cm squares

500ml water or stock

100g cheddar cheese, grated (use more or less, as you wish)

First peel and dice the celeriac. I sometimes do this the day before. Fry the diced celeriac in oil for 5 minutes, then add 500ml water or  stock, add the lid and cook  over a medium heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. (when cooked, drain and set aside)

Meanwhile, put the lentils into a large pan and cover with water. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Whilst the celeriac and lentils are cooking, you can slice the veg for the sauce. Fry the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, courgette and 1 red pepper in a pan over a low-medium heat for about 5 minutes.  

Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and a good splash of lea and perrins.
Simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and blend into a smooth sauce, using a hand blender.

When the lentils are cooked, drain them and  return them to the large saucepan. Add the blended sauce, mushrooms, the second red pepper, torn basil and spinach. 

Simmer gently in the pan for approx 10 minutes. 

Transfer to a pyrex dish or individual ramekins.

Cover the top with the diced, cooked celeriac and grated cheese. Bake in the oven at 180 for 20 minutes.