Dinner 27.06.11

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Griddled Courgette and Aubergine
With butterbeans, red onion and tomato
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Opening my fridge tonight, I was faced with a slightly sad looking aubergine, and, as usual, an abundance of tomatoes and courgette. Deciding they needed using, I spent a while flicking through the nearest cookbooks I had to hand before giving up and doing what I always do: winging it.

The result got the job done. A healthy pile of butter beans, tomato and griddled veg, the smoked paprika and garlic I through in gave it a smokey, rich flavour.
This took no time at all. Fry two small red onions with some crushed garlic and a little freshly chopped chilli. Once they are soft, tip in four or five chopped tomatoes and simmer, seasoning with salt, pepper, and a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Finally, tip a tin of butter beans into the pan and mix in.
Whilst this is reducing slightly, slice your aubergine and courgette and griddle till cooked through and nicely scored.
Spoon the tomato and bean base onto a plate and top with the grilled vegetables.

This is a nice summery recipe, not only rich in vitamins but won't leave you feeling heavy or sluggish. Perfect with a glass of white wine and a sun lounge!

xxx

Porridge of the Week #29

Porridge of the Week #29
Cherry and Acai Berry

Category: Healthy

In a pan, mix your oats (I use the Waitrose oats with wheatbran) with a large spoonful of milled flaxseed. Pour in two tablespoons of blended Acai Berry. Taking a handful of fresh cherries, remove the stone and chop into large chunks. Tip into the pan with a some berry smoothie or a red fruit juice and top up to the consistency you prefer with water. Warm the pan, stirring throughout.

I love this porridge! With the wheatbran, flax and Acai berry, it's a great healthy start as well as being really warm and fruity. Not hard work at all!
Acai is one of the top Super Foods, high in antioxidents, packed with vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C and E. As well as this, it is good for the heart, immune system, energy levels, whilst encouraging healthy hair and skin. You cannot get enough of this berry!

xxx

Porridge of the Week 26

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Porridge of the Week 26

Karolina's Healthy Porridge- with caramelised banana

Category: Healthy
Cook the porridge as normal by mixing Scottish oats with oat bran (50:50) and pinch of salt and milk. Add about 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon and 2 tbsp of dried exotic fruits (pineapple, coconut, papaya, mango, etc. I also prepared caramelised banana. To make it heat a pan with 2 tbsp caster sugar, drop of vanilla essence and tbsp water. Leave it to bubble until dark amber in colour. Add sliced banana, toss it until covered in caramel and add tbsp of butter. Fry for another minute or so. Remove from the heat and place on the top of the porridge.

Thankyou so much to Karolina, the author of the Senses in the Kitchen blog, forsending me this great recipe- and for the amazing photos. I love it when people send me content, especially when it's new porridge ideas! I always welcome content, so feel free to send me anything of interest to loulovesfood@mail.com

Okay, so there's a bit of sugar and butter in this porridge... But the oat bran and fruits more than make up for it. I love the sound of caramelised banana, so I'm really keen to give this a go. Karolina's blog is full of really gorgeous recipes, and equally gorgeous photography. I get serious envy (and hunger pangs...) when I check it out. You should go take a look- her blog is

http://www.sensesinthekitchen-karolina.blogspot.com/

Karolina- thankyou thankyou thankyou !

Karolina says...
"This is a porridge that I cooked last weekend, improvising little bit and trying not to waste last sad, rather dark and soft banana.t seems like a great winter porridge for cold day, when I can't get decent fresh berries (my favourite ones for porridge). I am not a big fan of bananas but I found it very tasty."

xxx

Food Fact of the Day...

Recently I've been going mental for popcorn! Which is kind of awesome that I've discovered this fact...

Popcorn is actually a superfood. Super low calorie, it is also anti carconogenic and just 30g - that's half a small box of popcorn in the cinema - is equivalent to one daily portion of brown rice or wholewheat pasta. Popcorn also contains three times more fibre by weight than sunflower seeds, as well as balancing your blood sugar levels and helping to lower cholesterol. It even has a dose of B vitamins to boost your energy levels. Rad.

So eat up!

xxx

Porridge of the Week # 25

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Porridge of the Week #25
Stewed apple and blueberry

Category: Healthy
Prepare the apple by chopping and peeling a large apple and microwaving with a small amount of water and a teaspoon of sugar till softened into a chunky puree. Wet the porridge oats with a grape or apple juice and put onto the heat. Tip in the stewed apple and a sprinkling of dried blueberries (optional, but the add a bit of chew and are sweeter than the fresh). Add a half a cup of fresh blueberries and stir through. This is all- your porridge is ready!

This is a nice, light and fruity porridge. It's healthy and very summery. I find you need something like that in the morning during these dark days.

x

Souper!

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Here's a quick recipe for a nice throw together soup I made the other day- A real store cupboard recipe. Soup is one of my favourite things to eat this time of year... It makes it a little less depressing.
Generally my soups are very thik, but this is quite a thin one.
This recipe is packed with beans and there's no cream (Not a fan of cream based soups!) so it's as healthy as it is tasty... Of course.

Butter , Chickpea and Sundried Tomato Soup

Empty a tin of butter beans and half a tin of chickpeas into a pan. Pour in a cup of vegetable or chicken stock. Squeeze in a teaspoon of pureed garlic (simple and store cupboard-you see?) and a tablespoon of tomato puree. Add two tablespoons of finely chopped sundried tomatoes and a teaspoon of their oil.
Slice and ad two spring onions and season with a pinch of paprika, salt, pepper and dried basil. I also add a tiny pinch of chilli powder as I like all my food to have a bit of warmth behind it- but thats optional! Warm through and blitz briefly to break down the beans a bit, but leaving it a little textured.

I serve my soup with a sundried tomato and parmesan home made roll. And in a tea cup, apparently... But only when all my bowls are in the dishwasher!

x

Porridge of the Week #22

Porridge of the Week:
Fruity Vanilla and Raspberry

Category: Healthy/Flavour
In a pan, mix your oats with soya milk. I like to use soy for this recipe as it compliments the creamy texture. As it warms through, drop in a splash of vanilla essence. Tip in half a punnet of fresh raspberries and crush with your spurtle till the oats go a beautifully deep pink. As they thicken, loosen them up with a generous amount of pomegranate and grape juice. If this is a bit specific, you could use just pomegranate- or if you like, any other fruity berry juice, as long as it is red or pink!
Pour the contents into your bowl, and cool with a spoon of strawberry or raspberry yoghurt.

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We may well and truly be into winter now, but this porridge reminds me of warmer, summery times. This was a work day recipe, but I wish I had a photo; as well as tasting really fruity and delicious, it’s really pretty to serve up- deep pink with swirls of red and a soft pink topping. It’s almost too pretty to eat…

x

Porridge of the Week #17

Fig, Raspberry and Vanilla

Porridge of the Week #17

Category: Healthy/ Flavour

Soak the oats in sweetened soya milk, adding in a drop of vanilla essence. Tip in a handful of raspberries and stir in, crushing slightly. Cut or tear up a very ripe fig into wedges and also add into the oats. Warm through and pour into a bowl. Serve with a few extra raspberries and a sprinkling of dessicated coconut.

Its that simple! Really a very quick porridge... I think it counts as healthy- the raspberries are high in fibre and there's no added sugar. Make sure you make it now whilst figs are in season! The raspberries are sharp and the fig gives it a nice crunchy texture. A lovely, light and sweet breakfast that won't leave you feeling heavy.

x

Dinner- 08.09.2010

Healthy Vegetable Quesidillas

This is a very simple and light dinner. It's the kind of thing I like if I ate heavily during the day and just need something home-y and vegetable based. Essentially, it's a very basic take on Quesidillas.

Chop some courgette, red onion, red and yellow pepper and tomato into chunks. Grill or fry lightly so it remains slightly al dente, stirring in a bit of chopped and dried chilli, cumin seeds and cajun seasoning.. Or whatever works for you. You can keep it simple, stick to the Mexican spices, or even go a bit Indian. Rub a tortilla with extra spices then tip the veg onto the wrap, pile on a thin layer of spinach and then a small amount of grated cheddar- you don't need much of this or it gets a bit greasy and overpowers the vegetables. Layer with a second tortilla.

You can grill it in three ways-
1. Fry for a minute or so till it starts to brown, then flip. This is obviously the least healthy option... But it makes it very crispy.
2. Put under the grill for about a minute. This is my preferred option- it's quick, needs no oil and gets those lovable grill marks that you wouldn't with frying.
3. I have on occasion used my diddy single-girl sized George Forman. They just make me laugh really.

Et voila. The spinach wilts, the cheese melts, and dinner is served.

x

Porridge of the Week #14

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Porridge of the Week #14

Birchermueseli

Category: Healthy

Fill a bowl with porridge oats. Cover with enough milk or apple juice (I would use apple juice) to moisten and cover, chilled, for at least an hour, or overnight. When it is ready, grate an apple into the porridge oats mix. Add a scattering of raisins and mixed seeds (make sure you only do this before serving, and not before you leave it to soak- swollen raisins and soft seeds are grim!). Stir in a fruit yoghurt- enough to make it thick and creamy.
Serve into bowls and top the cold mix with mixed fruit. You could either go for local seasonal berries such as blueberries and blackberries, or create a tropical version with mango, pineapple, etc. Chopped apple, pear and banana is also good.
Finally, top with a few roasted almonds or chopped hazelnuts.

This porridge was inspired by my recent trip to Vienna, where birchermueseli frequents most breakfast menus. After doing the rodgrod med flode, I wanted to do another International Porridge. Expect some future P.O.T.Ws from other distant climes!
This isn't a traditional porridge in that it is served cold, but its great for if you aren't really in a porridge mood (Sometimes, occasionally, it happens...) or can be really elegant to serve to guests!

x

Porridge of the Week #7

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Porridge of the week #7

Mixed berries topped with milled flaxseed, linseed and gogi berries

Category: Healthy

And I mean super healthy. Sweetened only by fruit and given great texture by the flaxseed mix- it is one of the most nutritiously rich foods you can find, packed with fibre, vitamin B, omega 3 and anti-oxidants.
Mix the porridge with milk, water or fruit juice. Tip in chopped (I find this releases the juices, and the flavour) blueberries, blackberries and strawberries. Stir till cooked through. Spoon into your bowl and top with the flaxseed mix. It sounds fancy, but its very basic. You can buy the mixes at good supermarkets and health food shops.

x

Porridge of the Week #6

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Porridge of the Week #6

Blueberry Porridge

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Category: Healthy

Get some Superfood into your diet. Blueberries are one of nature's most powerful anti-oxidants, as well as being beneficial for urinary tract health, vision and lowering cholesterol.
They have also been attributed to weight loss and promoting brain health. Super food indeed!

This is a very simple porridge. Add milk to your porridge and then heat up a handful of blueberries so they soften and release there juices. Stir into the porridge, turning it a gorgeous milky blue. Top with fresh, cold blueberries. Seriously, you cannot have too many blueberries with this porridge. The more the better!
Simple and delicious.
As an alternative to milk or water you could always really go to town and mix with blueberry or pomegranate juice to make it really fruity and boost its anti-oxidant content and health potential.

x

Porridge of the Week #3

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Porridge of the Week #3

Porridge with apple juice, apricots and mixed seeds

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Category: Healthy

Replace your milk or water with apple juice. Soak some apricots in warm water, and then add to the porridge. Sprinkle with sultanas, cinammon and mixed seeds.

I've been given some recipes for some really great, decadant porridges, but following the absolute indulgence of Aaran's porridge two weeks ago, I feel its time for a healthy porridge. Apricots are great health foods, and the apple gives you an extra shot of vitamins.

... I promise it tastes good, too!

x

Morning my Darlings!

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Good morning! I'm in such a good mood today. Breakfast can do that to me.
It is oft said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and this is something I firmly believe in. Nothing offends me more than people who skip breakfast (Apart from maybe bad grammar...)

My holy grail in life is to achieve the nutritionally perfect breakfast. I research all the contrasting theories surrounding the best things you should eat, and in what quantities- but that's a long long story for another today.

Today it was sunny, so I woke up feeling amazing anyway. This led to making celebration smoothie- banana and strawberry. I used the leftover to make smoothie porridge. Healthy, and good hot or cold! I must say I'm actually very taken with it chilled.

Whilst I'm on the topic of smoothies and porridge, let me recommend this for you-

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Breakfast Smoothie

Often in the summer I'm just not feeling the warm heaviness of porridge, even though I do love it. I like to get the same good porridge benefits but with an uber summer vibe by making a breakfast smoothie.

Simply blend yoghurt, soya milk (go on, live dangerously) with mixed oats and a bit of cereal- I find muesli is best, especially if you get one with nuts and lots of dried fruit.
Tip in a cup of frozen berries. Not only does this make it super fresh and cheap, its also much more economical! Blend it all up into a thick, cold, beautifully coloured mush in a food processor- it will have the consistency of textured sorbet.

Finally, top with some mixed fresh berries and crushed fruit and fibre. Just looking at it makes me feel as good as I do when I drink it.

Voila!

x

Aaron's Makerel with Salsa

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'A really simple Ottolenghi recipe, this is my favourite thing to do with makerel. The salsa has olives, raisins, capers, parsely, honey, celery, sherry vinegar and other yummy things that give it a really nice contrast of sweet and sharp flavours.

Add to quickly grilled makerel and it becomes a beautiful 15 minute supper. The only thing I try and do is make sure the makerel is as fresh as possible. I find that makerel becomes inedible if its over a day or two old.'

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Thanks to Aaron for contributing this post! It looks tooo beautiful. I'm always looking for new things to do with makerel as its one of my favourite fish. If you have any recipe you would like me to post, then feel free to send your ideas or photos- or if you just send me the recipe I'll try cook it up myself!

x

Dinner 12.05.10

Tonight's dinner was using up some leftover fish and lentils from the night before. I cannot stand food wastage!

It was a Ethiopian inspired dish, which I based loosely on a Lentil Wat recipe. The base is made of lentils, onions and celery, seasoned with nutmeg, grated ginger, garlic and curry powder. The fish is poached and then briefly flash fried in the nutmeg/ginger remenants, with a thin coating of whole grain mustard.

My housemates were all cooking pizza this evening and I was really craving something similar after smelling that, but I made it anyway as the fish needed eating, and I'm glad I did. There's something I really love about lentils and celery together.

This dish is so healthy and light I always feel proper Zen afterwards.

I might trot out and buy a mango...