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 :)