Turkish Inspired Meat Feast

Last night I made a huge amount of food for just me and Kev. I love Turkish food and often miss it, there's a good Turkish place in Chichester but the take out from there isn't as good as the quality of the food when you eat in so I had to resort to making my own.

To start, I made some spinach, feta, mint and lamb 'pasties'. They tasted great, probably needed to be a little smaller. I just cut puff pastry into squares and filled with the ingredients. The lamb was taken from the meat balls I made for the main so it was partially cooked and already seasoned. I baked them for about 15 minutes after glazing with some milk to make them nice and golden. I had them with some aubergine and tomato dip, made by roasting aubergine and tomatoes, adding some smoked paprika and seasoning and blending roughly.

For the main, I made some tahini and lemon chicken legs. I sliced two lemons and covered the bottom of a roasting dish with them. Then I mixed tahini with lemon juice, olive oil, smoked paprika and salt and used it as a coating for the chicken legs. I roasted them for about half an hour. They were really tender from the steam coming from the lemons and had a crispy, sesame skin. So tasty.

I also made harissa meat balls. I mixed lamb mince with some bread crumbs and them mixed in a paste I made. The paste included: a tablespoon of harissa, some fennel seeds, some olive oil, salt and pepper and lemon juice, half a red onion and two red chillies, finely chopped, plus a few cloves of crushed garlic. I left the mix to stand, then shaped them into meatballs, shallow fried them and then baked for 20 minutes.

Finally, I made some smoked houmous by blending garlic, tahini, chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and a teaspoon of the harissa paste.

I served the massive feast with a chopped salad of red onion, radish, cucumber, tomato and an orange bell pepper. And a bowl of olives.

Protein Pods

These are gluten free, dairy free and sugar frees and have the stamp of approval from me and from Dixie, my second niece.  Separate the whites from three eggs and put them into the blender.
You then take a couple of cups of pecans, the same of cashews, a handful of peanuts and a handful of mixed seeds (I got all the ingredients from Lidl, super cheap.  Add a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon and a couple of tablespoons of honey and blend for about 30 seconds.  I mixed in a few chopped, dried figs and some goji berries too. Then pressed the mix into a greased cupcake tray. I baked them on about 180 for  about fifteen minutes. They hold their shape really well.

See Instagram for pictures, here.

Breakfast and Lunch: Vanilla Oatmeal, Avocado on Toast

Whilst on half term, I am enjoying eating what I want when I want, partly because I am not at work and partly because I have the house to myself. Ollie's away with his mum and Kev's in America with his dad.

Breakfast is oatmeal with almond milk, cooks just like porridge. Stir in some vanilla essence and add toppings of your choice. I am trying to eat healthy proteins with every meal so along with raspberries and bananas it has this linseed mix (which is really good for your digestion too) and some organic salt free, sugar free peanut butter. I topped it with this agave nectar which is a low GI version of honey, it's twice as expensive but because I bought most of the other ingredients from Lidl I could afford it.

This is my favourite lunch and it's really healthy too. Mix mashed avocado with seasoning, lemon juice and some balsamic vinegar. Spread on toast, I am eating Vogel soya and linseed bread at the moment because it is low GI. Top with sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds and cayenne pepper (which has a load of health benefits) and drizzle with olive oil.

Baked Salmon and Brown Rice with Chinese Greens

Last night I made a meal for the lovely Emma, she liked it so much that I had to blog the recipe for her. It's really healthy, quick and simple to make.

Marinade a side of salmon in teriyaki sauce, peanut oil, lemon juice and salt. Then bake it in loads of the teriyaki marinade (so that it almost poaches, as this keeps it moist but beware - the marinade will burn, maybe cook it on some tin foil to avoid damaging the baking tray). Sprinkling some dried chillies on top will add a nice heat without taking away the flavour of the fish.

Fry chopped garlic and ginger in peanut oil, add some Chinese greens; I used pak choi, soya beans, peas (frozen), and spring onion. Fry for a few minutes, adding a dash of rice wine and some dark soy sauce. Throw in a packet of microwave wholegrain rice and stir.

Serve the salmon on top of the rice and enjoy! Emma and I ate it in front of XFactor, which Emma is a big fan of as you can see.

Rainbow Beef

The reading into nutrition I have been doing has recommended trying to get as many rainbow colours into your food as possible. Makes sense really. This is a really simple stir fry. Beef steak was marinaded overnight in soy sauce and lime juice. Then I fried some thinly sliced garlic and chillies in coconut oil, and added ginger puree, sliced peppers, carrots, broccoli, and pak choi. I threw in the beef with some more soy sauce and oyster sauce, plus a dash of agave nectar and fried until it browned all over. I then added sliced spring onions and some soy beans (I buy them frozen as it's cheaper).That's it, done. It was spicy and fresh and this whole wok's worth was eaten so must have been good. 

No chilli sauce required. 

Ollie was not having an adventurous week and opted for some chicken instead. Grr.

Wholewheat Pasta and Broccoli with Kale and Olive Pesto

This is a tasty way to get your vegetables in and a good low GI dinner and/or lunch.
Boil some wholewheat pasta and just before it's finished throw in some good quality broccoli.
Whilst that's cooking throw some kale, sundried tomatoes, olives, garlic, sunflower seeds and olive oil into a blender. Blitz until it becomes a rough paste. Season well. I then fried some smoked bacon lardons because Kev doesn't accept it as a meal if it doesn't have some kind of animal in it. You can also add red onion and olives to this mix if you want extra texture.
Mix the pesto well with the pasta and broccoli whilst it's still hot. Add some parmesan cheese. It's delicious. Kev and I loved it, the flavour was intense and it was also good cold the next day for lunch. Ollie couldn't be persuaded to eat it though, his scampi dinner is below!

Curry Night with Marto

My great friend, long time vegetarian and 'avid' blog reader, Martin has recently moved up to bonny Scotland and I made a Keralan meal to bid him farewell. This consisted of vegetable curry, naan breads, chickpea pilau and a coconut dahl. I also made tandoori chicken with vegetables.

To make the dahl I fried off some onions and garlic and in a separate pan, dry fried some mustardseeds, garam masala, chilli flakes and turmeric. Then added the onions and garlic to the spices. Then I added some precooked green lentils, a tin of coconut milk, a tin of tomatoes a pinch of salt and a half pint of vegetable stock. Then I left this to cook down for about 40 minutes.

To make the curry I dry fried chilli powder, cumin, turmeric and then added a splash of peanut oil, largely chopped onions, cauliflower, courgette, okra and fried that off for a few minutes until it was coated in the spices and added a tin of tomatoes. I added salt and pepper. Then this was left to cook for about 30 minutes.

For the pilau rice I fried brown rice in peanut oil, garlic, salt and turmeric, then added a tin of chickpeas and a pint of vegetable stock. and left this to cook for 20-25 minutes until the water had cooked away.

The chicken is really simple, just roughly chop into two inch pieces, some red onion, green and red peppers and a couple of tomatoes, then chuck them into a roasting dish with some chicken legs. Toss everything in some peanut oil and tandoori spice and roast for about half an hour.

We all ate too much and it was a lovely feast to see Martin off on his adventure.

New Eating Direction: Low Glycemic Index Foods

I have taken a slightly different direction in my cooking after doing some reading. This month I have been cooking foods with good proteins, good fibres and complex carbohydrates that score low on the glycemic index.
First thing to tackle was snacks. I have a real intolerance for sugar and have been experimenting with natural alternatives, I made some some really simple nut and seed bars by blitzing up some dried apricots, pecan nuts and sunflower seeds, adding some dessicated coconut, coconut oil and a table spoon of agave nectar, then pressing the mixture into a baking tray and baking for around 25 minutes. They were nice, didn't last a long time before becoming slightly soggy though so might need soring wrapped in greaseproof paper perhaps?

Next I made pickled vegetables. There are carrots, chillies, fennel, cucumbers and garlic cloves in there. First you heat some apple cider vinegar, diluted with water - three parts to one. Add a couple of spoons of unrefined brown sugar, a teaspoon of salt and simmer until all is disolved, Then poor over the vegetables in a jar, adding dill, mustardseeds and some fennel seeds too. Leave in the fridge until cooled. Ready to snack on in 24 hours, but tastier the longer you leave it.

Finally we snacked on crudite with a homemade chipotle mayonnaise. I mixed regular mayonnaise with smoked paprika, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Really tasty.

Quesadilla with Corn and Salad

Tonight's meal was a first for me, I made quesadilla. Preheat the oven to a low heat, to keep each quesadilla warm whilst the others are cooking.

You use flour tortilla, with whatever filling you like. We had chorizo, manchego cheese, red onion and kidney beans. I think you need cheese though, to hold it all together. You place one tortilla in a round skillet pan - used about five sprays of one calorie olive oil spray, then evenly spread the topping. press down on the filling and then add the top tortilla. Once the bottom tortilla has browned, you have to toss them. That's really difficult. You have to do it really quickly so that the filling doesn't shoot out. It's tricky.

Kev and Ollie loved them, Kev ate four and Ollie ate five. Although the former added hot sauce and the latter, his version: absolutely loads of mayonnaise.

Tonight's Dinner was... Halloumi and Prawn Salad - low carb, under 350 calories

Tonight we had some salad leaves, mixed with tomato, red onion and cucumber - all thinly sliced. I then fried some padron peppers in a skillet with a spray of 1 calorie olive oil mist, added them to the salad, fried some halloumi in the same pan, added that and then dropped in a bag of raw king prawns. I had made a dressing of lemon juice, parsley
(chopped, fresh) seasoning, olive oil and chopped fresh chilli. I poured half of this into the skillet with the prawns and mixed the rest with the salad. Once the prawns were done I mixed everything together and served. It was fresh and zingy, pretty tasty and really healthy.

No Ollie again tonight, Kev ate his with gusto and without any extra sauce or salt but then he was distracted by his new iPad so I don't know if he even noticed he was eating dinner.

Mango Chicken: low carb, under 300 calories

Delicious, fresh and really filling. 

Rub a skinless, boneless chicken breast (sliced in half lengthways if it's thick) with salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary. Fry in a skillet with 1 calorie olive oil spray and a squeeze of lime until cooked through. Keep warm. Then add chopped mango and a shake of cayenne pepper to the skillet, fry on a medium heat for a couple of minutes, add a splash of rum, a teaspoon of chopped ginger, a dash of red wine vinegar and a couple of spoonfuls of lime. Cook for another couple of minutes. Put the chicken on a bed of lettuce and sliced peppers (squeeze some lime and salt on top of the leaves and toss). Pour the mango sauce over everything and serve.

It was quite spicy and so no chilli sauce was used by my husband. 

We both felt really full afterwards.

Ollie wasn't here tonight to critique but I think he'd like it. 

  

Tonight's Low Carb' Dinner: Jamie's Jerk Pork

This recipe isn't mine. It's stolen and slightly adapted from that pseudo cockney Jamie Oliver. It's jerk pork with a corn and crunchy tortilla salad.

It actually took a lot longer than that fake prole' claimed. He said fifteen minutes and it took me about an hour. You put two tortillas in an oven proof dish and bake them for about ten minutes until the edges are crispy. You griddle the corn on the cob with some olive oil and seasoning. The pork is a fillet which you slice into 1 1/2 inch discs. I couldn't remember exactly how Jamie made his jerk sauce and he's keeping that secret pretty close to his faux working class chest. Here's how I made mine: I 'wanged' ginger, honey, soy sauce, thyme, allspice, one scotch bonnet, red wine vinegar, two cloves of garlic and some olive oil into my 'Jamie Oliver' blender. Sorry. Then I blended it together whilst adding about three quarters of a pint of chicken stock. I reduced the mixture over a medium heat, until it had become a syrup.

I spooned about three tablespoons into a frying pan and cooked the pork in it until it had caramelised on the outside and was still tender on the inside.

For the salad I put some romaine lettuce, tomato, pepper, red onion into the dish with the tortillas. Then I added the corn which I removed with a sharp knife. I put about a tablespoon of olive oil on top, with a squeeze of lemon and some salt.

I did add some fresh parsley to the salad and some soured cream to the dishes as you can see. That's it. You can see why it took more than a 'pukka' fifteen minutes.

Kev's verdict was: 'unbelievably tasty'
He didn't add any hot sauce but he did add an extra spoonful of jerk sauce.
Ollie wasn't here.
We discussed whether we can afford to go to Bali on honeymoon.

Overall 9/10, I will definitely make this again but will make a big pot of jerk sauce so that it's quicker next time.

Next Week's Low Carb' Dinners

Don't worry, we will be back to healthy eating from tomorrow, and here's what we will be having.

High Carb' Pie

I've gone viral, and not in a good way, so Kev's cooking tonight which means it's a high carb', high calorie, high fat pie. It's beef and stilton pie with daupinoise potatoes.

Tonight I tried a low carb', low GI version of chips, by using carrots instead of potatoes. It wasn't exactly a roaring success because they were a bit slippery and greasy. I will work on them and re post. The burger towers are a good low carb' alternative though, you just make discs out of whatever is at home and pile them up with burgers. We didn't have them  today but homemade, peppered burgers work best for extra flavour.

Today's towers consisted of slices of: beef steak tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, beetroot, chorizo, red onion and gherkins or pickled chillies.

I give the burgers 8/10 and the chips 5/10.
Hot sauce added by Kev: none.
Ollie: had them with bread, only ate the lettuce when it was at a 2:5 ratio with mayonnaise.
Table chat: how good Kev is at punching one of those things that measures how good you are at punching (really good).

Tonight's Low Carb' Dinner: Beef and Broccoli in Oyster Sauce

Tonight's dinner was a beef stir fry. I used: cashew nuts (which I'd toasted) carrots, spring onions, tenderstem broccoli, garlic, green chilli and rump steak. The sauce was made from sesame oil (not much), oyster sauce (lots), soy sauce (some) lime juice (the more you use, the more tender the beef will be) and a pinch of sugar.
As soon as I got in from work, I marinaded the steaks in the sauce. I left them for as long as it took me to change my clothes, moan at Kev for drinking beer, sniff Ollie's PE kit and change into leggings. Then I thinly sliced everything else, fried all but the beef and the spring onions until softened slightly. I mixed in the spring onions and put the lot in a separate bowl. The beef then went into the same pan and browned on a high heat for a few minutes before all the other junk went back in.

Here's the verdict:
Ollie: had pizza instead.
Kev said: 'amazing' - this is one of his two stock phrases so not exactly high praise.
Amount of hot sauce used by Kev: medium to high.
Dinner table conversation: Ollie and school.