Simple Mutha Supper!

For this post I want to keep it real. I'm talking about quick, healthy, easy meals with a few simple ingredients that taste like a hug feels. Or something.

Here are three...and a half recipes for you to try this weekend. Perfect for something super fast and healthy to set you up for a night out, or to rustle up before a night in front of the telly.

Please let me know what you think or how they worked out for you.

I'm not one for measuring and weighing every little thing so just go with it. Experiment. Live life on the edge. I like the sense of danger. It makes me feel alive.

Celery cashew soup
Don't judge it till you've tried it.

Glug of olive oil or similar
1 cup cashew nuts
2 heads of celery, chopped
1 potato, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 spoon Bouillon powder or other veg stock
1 mug of soya milk or alternative
flat leaf parsley, chopped (if in doubt, just chop it)
Nutmeg, salt and black pepper to taste.

Method:

Heat the oil in a large pan and with the lid on, on a low heat, sweat the potato, celery, onion and garlic for about 10 minutes. Give the pan a shake every few minutes so nothing sticks and burns.

Throw in the cashew nuts and sweat for a further 2 mins. Then add enough boiling water to cover the veg and stir in the veg stock.

Simmer for about 1/2hr until everything is nice and soft. Blitz the soup in a food processor until smooth. Then add the milk and season with the nutmeg (freshly grated is best), salt (taste the soup first as some veg stocks can be very salty!) and pepper.

Stir in the chopped parsley and serve! Ta daa!

I like this with toasted spelt bread. But that's just how I roll.

Variation:

To make a deliciously creamy, vegan spinach soup, swap the celery for spinach. Omit the parsley though! Also, adding a fennel bulb to this recipe is delicious. You can also use the fennel tops in the soup and on top as a garnish.

Courgetti with avocado pesto and stir fried tofu

This meal is insanely tasty and so simple you'll be asking yourself why you didn't think it up. But you didn't and I did. You're just going to have to live with that.

I bought my Spiralizer from Amazon. I've managed to add bits of my fingers to the ingredients a few times so just be careful!

Serves 2.

Coconut oil or other fryng oil
1 slab of tofu cut into squares. keep it chunky

For the marinade:
Teryaki sauce
juice of 1 lime
1 green chilli, sliced

For the pesto:
1 ripe avo, mashed
Juice of 1/2 lemon or 1 lime
Handful fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

2 courgettes, spiralized!
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 inch chunk of ginger, sliced into matchstick kinda size

To serve:
Pine nuts gently toasted in a dry frying pan
1/2 a lime



Method:

Melt enough coconut oil in a frying pan to cover the base generously.
Gently fry the tofu chunks with the chilli, sliced garlic and ginger, turning frequently, until golden brown.

In a wok gently stir fry the courgetti in coconut oil for a few minutes until they soften.

Meanwhile, mash up all the pesto ingredients together and mix it with the courgetti in the wok.

Drain the tofu on kitchen toil and discard the garlic and ginger. It will most likely be burnt.

Plate up, scatter with pine nuts and squeeze that lime!

Shove it in yer gob! Yummy.

Spaghetti alla Olivia

I made it, so I named it. Plus my name is basically Olive in Italian.

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

Spaghetti. obviously.
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup black olives
1 tablespoon capers
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bag of rocket

Avocado pesto from previous recipe. I would use the juice of 1 lemon rather than lime though.

Grated vegan cheese to top. I like the almond one with this recipe. Available in Planet Organic or another well stocked health food store.

Method:
Cook pasta. Bung everything together. Done,

I drizzle the spaghetti with olive oil before adding anything else as I like it extra lubricated!

Hope you enjoy these meals as much as I do. If in doubt, add lemon or lime juice to EVERYTHING as it makes food taste AWESOME!

If you enjoyed this post please follow me on Instagram for more food porn and bite sized ideas!

Eat well. Xx

Flavour Fiestaaa!

I am having a love affair. It's with a hot, spicy and colourful lover called Mexican food. Now, I'm no Thomasina Miers, although I could be found stuffing my chops with fish tacos and other delicious delights in Wahaca last night, but there's something so wonderfully simplistic about Mexican food that anyone can have a go at recreating or reinventing classic dishes at home.  There's a certain magic combination of ingredients that turns up to the party time and time again and always delivers. Spicy, fun, easy to socialise with and always so colourful and attractive. The perfect guest! These key ingredients are avocado, peppers, lime, chilli, coriander, garlic, salsa, cheese, beans and of course the corn tortillas and nachos. I disregard meat (except fish) as I don't eat it or cook it. I'm also not a fan of dairy. I'm not vegan myself but many of the meals I cook are. I am pescetarian and I eat organic, free range eggs. I avoid dairy for ethical and health reasons. I'm happy to answer questions on this if you feel the need to ask.

I have always avoided vegan "cheese" as I don't like to eat food that has an ingredients list as long as my arm. I also try to limit my soya intake. I was recently given a new vegan cheese to try which is made from coconut fat. Now being a coconut freak I was happy to try it. It also only has six ingredients. OH MY GOD! It is amazing. It grates, melts and tastes like......CHEESE!

I have progressed from the "build your own" boxed meal kits available in supermarkets and moved onto a more rustic, experimental formulation. The recipes you will find here are very simple and fool proof. Nothing fancy. Just honest and wholesome. I do recommend washing it all down with (100% blue agave) tequila however. Unless you're working or driving. Please drink responsibly. Coincidentally, it was National Tequila Day recently. As if I needed a reason to drink it. I would suggest that one day is not enough to celebrate such an ingenius invention as tequila, and we should extend the celebration to a week, or even better, a month. Vote for me!

What's not to love about Mexican food? There's something about the combination of the staple ingredients and flavours that makes my toes curl with pleasure and against my better judgement,  stuff one more bulging fajita into my greedy gob before moaning about how full and fat I am. Oh well.

I like to use corn tortillas. You get 13 in this pack and they will last in the fridge for a week once opened. Just seal them with a food clip or an air tight box.














So, to cooking.....


Vegan quesadillas with chunky guacamole and spicy potato wedges with garlic mayo...

Serves 2/makes 8 quesadillas

2 ripe avocados
1 clove garlic, crushed
About 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Juice of 1/2 lime
Fresh coriander, chopped
pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper
Large chunk of cheese (vegan or dairy), grated

Sweet Potato wedges:
Slice a sweet potato into wedges, toss them in a bowl with oil and smoked paprika until they are covered in it. Put on a baking tray in a hot oven (about 180 degrees) for about 30mins until soft and lovely looking.

Crush a clove of garlic and mix with 2 tablespoons of mayo. Job done.


Mix all the ingredients except the cheese (and obviously not the sweet potato wedges or mayo) together in a bowl. Chop the avocado into chunks rather than mashing it.

Spoon the filling onto one half of a tortilla and top with the grated cheese. Fold the other half over it. Place into a hot, dry frying pan and heat gently for a few minutes each side. Remove and cut the quesadilla in half. Serve with a hot salsa and a cold beer.

Veggie tacos

Real tacos are not the crisp, dry, shrapnelling monstrosities found in the afore mentioned box kits. They are soft corn or wheat tortillas that resemble little boats filled with tasty morsels. Be adventurous with your fillings. The only limit is your imagination. Dirty.

I recently made very simple bell pepper, spinach, mushroom red onion and vegan almond cheese tacos for a light supper. Served with a very chunky guacamole. Sometimes simple is best.

Veggie Huevos Rancheros-2 ways!

The first time I made this dish I wanted to keep it very simple. I didn't use a tin of tomatoes as it was just for myself. Instead I added a handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half.

For one:
tablespoon of cooking oil such as rapeseed
2 eggs (organic, free range)
1 Red bell pepper, sliced
Handful cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 green chilli, chopped or sliced
small bunch coriander, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

To serve:
2 corn tortillas
1/2 avocado
Chunk of cheese, grated
1/2 lime
Coriander, chopped
Hot sauce of choice

Fry the onion, pepper and chilli in a pan until softened, Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Make two holes in the mixture, add a teaspoon of oil in each hole and gently add the eggs. cover the pan with a lid and fry for a few more minutes. Flip your eggs if you don't like them runny! There are no rules set in Aztec stone here!

For huevos rancheros for two, omit the cherry tomatoes and use a can of chopped or plum tomatoes instead. Use a whole onion and two bell peppers of different colours, and four eggs. Wacky, huh? You may want to stick the pan under a hot grill for a few minutes to cook the eggs on top.

Warm the tortillas in a dry frying pan and plate up! Sprinkle grated cheese on first or over the mixture and then place the avocado slices on last. Season as you wish and squeeze fresh lime over the glory that is the riot of colour on your plate! Bueno!

Three Bean Chilli with home-made guacamole and corn tortilla chips.

I made this for a dinner party recently. Two of my guests were meat enthusiasts but said they didn't miss the meat at all. It is hearty, rich and satisfying.

1 red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic
2 fresh chillies (1 red, one green) sliced
2 bell peppers (red and green) sliced
1 can each of kidney, pinto and black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans chopped tomatoes
2tsp smoked paprika
Dash of Worcester sauce
Table spoon bouillon or other veggie stock mixed in about 200ml hot water.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and add the peppers, chillies, onion and garlic. Stir occasionally and cook for about ten minutes or until they have softened. Add the three varieties of beans and chopped tomatoes. Season with the salt, pepper, paprika. Then add the veggie stock and Worcester sauce. Stir it all together and leave to simmer on a low heat for about 1/2 an hour. Stirring every 10 minutes or so. You don't want a burned bottom!

Guacamole:
2 ripe avocados, mashed or chopped chunky if preferred
about 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 small handful coriander, chopped
finely chopped 1/4 red onion
1 green chilli, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Smash the lot around in a bowl until the ingredients know each other a bit too well.

Serve the chilli with brown rice, guacamole and tortilla chips and a sprig of fresh coriander, for pretty.

Frozen Margarita

I couldn't imagine having all this deliciously spicy food without anything cool and refreshing to wash it all down with.

Per person:
35ml 100% blue agave tequila
25ml or juice of one lime
15ml agave syrup
2 cups ice

Place all ingredients in a blender and blitz!

Salty rim? Run a segment of lime around the outside of the glass rim and then rotate it in a bowl of salt till the salt sticks to the glass.

Equally as delicious served on the rocks and not frozen.

CHEERS!

Pancakes equals happiness!

Weekends now mean one thing and one thing only:

PANCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKES!!!!!!!

Here are a few of my latest creations. They can be made vegan by substituting the eggs with two small, ripe, mashed bananas.

A simple but great tasting pancake batter is my spelt cinnamon pancake recipe. This can easily be modified to make the mixture more adventurous.












Spelt Cinnamon Pancakes
Makes six pancakes. Serves 2 or one very greedy person. No names mentioned...

100g spelt flour
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 medium eggs
200-250ml unsweetened almond milk or similar
a few drops almond extract
Coconut oil for frying.
Cinnamon, almond butter and fresh fruit to serve.

Sieve the dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix in the eggs and then gradually add the milk until the consistency is fluid but still relatively thick (If you leave the batter to rest you may need to add more milk as the protein powder can make the mixture thicken). Heat a large frying pan with a teaspoon of coconut milk. Slowly spoon in the batter to form about three to four small pancakes at a time. Fry gently for a few minutes and use a spatula to turn them over. They should be lightly browned on both sides.

When all the pancakes are ready, spread the first one with almond butter and then stack them with banana and berries of your choice. Drizzle with honey or syrup and sprinkle with cinnamon. serve with nice-cream and enjoy!

Nice-Cream:

Plain:
Two medium sized frozen bananas
a squeeze of agave syrup or two medjool dates
A dash of unsweetened almond milk

Blitz in a high powered blender until it has thick consistency of ice-cream. Serve immediately.

Variations:
Add a large dessert spoon of peanut butter
Add a cup of frozen mixed berries

Omit the almond milk for a thicker result.

Pancake variations:

Chocolate pancakes with peanut butter nice-cream and blueberries: Simply add 50g cacao powder to the dry mixture.

I'll be making apple and cinnamon pancakes this weekend. Keep an eye out on Instagram for the results!

Eat well. Xx

Smoothie operator

Just when I thought I had mastered the art of making and drinking smoothies, I discover I am doing it all wrong.

I have fallen for smoothie bowls. Search for #smoothiebowl on Instagram and hundreds of beautiful creations will appear and if you're like me you'll be salivating and thinking about them day and night.

The idea is to make a smoothie and eat it from a bowl. Revolutionary, non? It makes sense. When you blitz a meal and drink it down quickly, the digestive process doesn't get a chance to work as well as it would if you were chewing solid food and then swallowing it. When we chew we produce amylase in our saliva. This is an important enzyme which breaks down starch and kicks off the rest of the digestive process in your body. Your liquid meal will arrive in your stomach more quickly than solid food would, meaning you might not digest it properly or absorb all the nutrients as well. 

What I find so appealing about these bowls of loveliness is how they can be decorated to look so appetising. To make a smoothie bowl, I start with a base of vegan milk or coconut water, a banana (preferably frozen), a tea spoon or two of nut butter and a scoop of vegan/veggie protein powder. Then you can freestyle it to your mood! Add fruit (fresh or frozen), powdered greens or spirulina, oats, avocado, seeds. Finally, to decorate your gloop use fruit, nuts, seeds, goji berries, dried mullberries, shelled hemp seeds, chia seeds, dessicated coconut or coconut chips, cacao nibs, nut butters, superfoods, even edible flowers! The only limit is your imagination.

I have compiled a few recipes below but they are so versatile and can be varied as much as you choose. I'm a bit of a renegade in the kitchen and don't tend to measure out ingredients so just try and experiment a bit with quantities. It's all personal preference anyway.

I use a Vitamix in my kitchen. It is an expensive piece of equipment but so worth it. It is high powered and the blades can deal with frozen bananas, hard nuts and ice for when I need an emergency frozen margarita or six.

Cheeky Monkey

1 tablespoon chia seeds soaked over night in vanilla rice milk

8fl oz vanilla rice milk

1 frozen banana 

1/2 cup organic jumbo rolled oats

1 scoop of banana split spirutein protein powder (Nature's Plus)

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

Blitz all together in food processor.

(If the consistancy is too thick just add some filtered water and give it another whizz in the food processor)

For topping: toasted coconut chips, banana slices and raw cacao nibs.

Green Energy

8fl oz vegan milk like almond milk

1 frozen banana

2 scoops of Source of Life energy shake (From Nature's Plus)

1/2 cup jumbo rolled oats

2 tspoons almond butter

1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds

To top: raw cacao nibs, dessicated coconut, fresh strawberries and spirulina crunchies

Berry Tempting

8fl oz vegan milk or coconut water

1 frozen banana

1 cup mixed frozen berries

1 tablespoon acai powder

1 teaspoon almond butter

To top: 1 sliced kiwi, strawberries, dessicated coconut and cacao nibs.

Chocolate Dream

8fl oz Coconut water

1/2 ripe avocado 

2 tablespoons raw cacao powder

1 tablespoon ground almonds

2 medjool dates

To top: 1/2 ripe avocado, raspberries, blackberries, whole almonds, toasted coconut chips. 

I defy you not to go to your happy place whilst eating this!

Here are some variations:

Total food porn. 

Now go forth and create beautiful smoothie bowls!

Eat well. Xx

www.naturesplus.com for protein powder info and stockists

www.bonpom.com for raw super foods and treats!

East Dulwich Rocks!

I love my neighbourhood. We are a civilised lot in ED. There is a friendly, relaxed community vibe here and there are some fantastic independent businesses which I feel deserve some praise and recognition.

I will be publishing a series of posts celebrating the local businesses in ED, from health and specialist food shops, to pubs, bars and restaurants and let's not forget the market stalls who are trading weekly in all weathers! All of whom have individual character and their own, unique appeal.

Keep your eyes peeled because you'll want to frequent these beauties!

Be well. X

A few of my favourite things...

I was fortunate to find myself at the natural food and products Mecca that is The Natural Products Show in London Olympia a few weeks ago. The food section is always exciting and I love seeing (and tasting!) all the new and innovative products.

Amongst all the stalls of health foods and natural products there were a few gems which really stood out. Here are a few I found that are definitely worth checking out:

The first product I fell upon was this AMAZING organic sesame and cocoa spread from Sunita www.sunitafoods.co.uk which is totally addictive and I have to hide it to prevent myself from attacking it with a spoon and devouring the whole lot! It's basically chocolate tahini spread. Good on its own or on whatever (or whoever) you fancy!

I'm a big fan of their solid blocks of polenta which I fry in olive oil and eat hot or cold. They also have a great range of non chocolatey tahini. That seems really plain and boring now I have dipped my finger in the chocolate one!!

Another, more unusual product that is perhaps an acquired taste, but I find delicious, spirulina with raw honey by a Lithuanian company called Spila. They have a range of food supplements containing; spirulina and raw honey (Spila Bee). My favourite is the spirulina with raw honey and propolis (Spila Pro). Propolis, a resinous substance which is collected by bees from vegetation, has powerful, immune boosting properties.

 Spila C is chlorella with honey. Chlorella is a chlorophyll rich algae that is used to alkalise, detoxify and remove heavy metals from the body. Amongst other benefits it has also been found to increase probiotic population in the digestive tract. Chlorella is now used as a complementary supplement during radiotherapy. Its naturally high chlorophyll content is known to protect the body against harmful ultraviolet radiation.

I was also given a sample of spirulina chocolate to try. Surprisingly good but probably an acquired taste if you aren't used to the taste of spirulina. Another product which grabbed my attention and I will have to try is their Brewers yeast with propolis in honey. Sounds amazing!

Visit their website; www.spila.lt (get google to translate if you don't read Lithuanian!).

They stood no chance!

Great news!!! One of my favourite treats from The Raw Chocolate Company has gone snack size!! This is lucky as I am a greedy, compulsive pig and normally have to eat their raw chocolate mulberries until I feel sick and rather hyperactive!! Now available in pocket sized 32g snack packs. As are their raw chocolate covered goji berries. More great news!!!: their goji berries are now ORGANIC! This is fantastic as most inorganic goji berries are sprayed within an inch of their little red
lives with pesticides. Not so healthy after all!

www.therawchocolatecompany.com

The winning products I found and love are new bars called Chimpanzee bars. Whilst the health food market is chockablock with various protein and energy bars, these delicious vegan bars are unpretentious, organic and "made wih love". They come in raisin and walnut, apricot, dates and walnut and a new flavour I tried which was my favourite...beetroot and carrot! Check out their lovely website Www.Chimpanzeebar.co.uk

Available in only a few independent health food shops, Realfoods and cycle surgery. I would LOVE to see these bars more widely available.

And that's a wrap!

Thank you to all the lovely companies for the samples and keep up the good work!

See you all next year!

Eat well.

Neptune's Larder

So the new year is upon us and most likely resolutions of healthier eating and detoxification!

But what about the New Year's parties? Canapés? Well don't worry because I have discovered a range of delicious and sophisticated organic Spanish seaweed based foods from CressUk, that can be whipped up in minutes and taste amazing!

Seaweed may not be everyone's idea for the basis of a meal but believe me, its ever increasing popularity makes it the perfect food for parties and it is low in fat so you can eat twice as much! (joke).

Seaweed is a fantastic source of protein, fibre, iron, iodine, calcium and a source of vitamins such as vitamin A. Seaweed contains substances called phycocolloids, which help intestinal motility and decrease appetite. Perfect then for canapés!

These canapes are incredibly easy to make but look impressive and taste even better with a cold glass of champagne:

Seaweed Tartar Blinis:

Pack of blinis
Seaweed tartar
Salmon roe

Place the blinis on a baking sheet and warm in the oven on 150 degrees for 7-10 minutes
Remove from oven and carefully place a teaspoon of the tartar in the centre of the blini. Then add a small amount of roe on top of the tartar (I bought mine from the fantastic Moxon's fishmongers, located on Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, and branches also in South Kensington and Clapham South). Serve immediately with champagne! (Essential).


One of my favourite dishes from the impeccable C's (formerly Cipriani's) restaurant is the squid ink tagliolini which also can be found in the Harry's Bar recipe book. I have used this dish as my inspiration as it is simply divine. I used the nori pasta as I think the dark colours and flavours all complement each other.



Squid cooked in Squid Ink
675g cleaned squid
100ml olive oil
1 large celery rib, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
4 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
400ml dry white wine
125g finely chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsely, oregano and thyme)
salt and pepper
3 sachets of squid ink (approximately 12g worth of ink)


For the squid (adapted from The Harry’s Bar Cookbook): Cut the cleaned squid into small pieces, roughly 2/3 cm each. Set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onion, and garlic, and cook until soft and golden but not browned. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 3 minutes. Turn the heat to high and add the squid. Stir the squid, cooking it evenly for a few minutes. Then add the wine and herbs and bring the liquid to the boil. Turn down the heat. Add the ink from the sachets, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook over low heat, partially covered, until the squid is soft and tender. This should take about 90 minutes. Stir occasionally.

When this is complete, toss in the cooked pasta and mix well. Then assemble on a plate (do this by twizzling the pasta with a fork, it looks presentable this way!).

For a lighter, less formal yet equally as delicious meal, I created an alternative pasta dish using the wakame variety. I roasted fennel and added caper berries to give it a fresher, zingy flavour. The scallop add a different texture but don't detract from or overpower the taste of the seaweed pasta.

Scallop Seaweed Pasta
Wakame pasta

One fennel bulb,

Scallops

Caper berries

Artichoke hearts, sliced

Lemon juice

Olive oil

Furimake Japanese seasoning

season with salt and pepper




Method:
Thinly slice the fennel bulb and spread on a warm baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, season, and place in the oven on 180degrees for about 15-20 minutes. To crisp them up a little grill for 5 minutes. Slice the artichoke hearts and put to one side. Cook the pasta and toss in olive oil so it doesn't stick together. While the pasta is cooking, heat a thick slice of butter in a frying pan and add the scallops. Cook for 5 minutes, turning constantly. Do not over cook them or they will be like rubber!

When everything is cooked, assemble in a warmed dish, drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, caper berries and season.

Serve on warm plates. Sounds obvious but you'd be amazed how many people put warm food onto stone cold plates and wonder why it goes cold so quickly!

Try these simple yet stunning recipes. I have made them for my human guinea pigs who were sceptical at first but pleasantly surprised by how delicious they all were!

Happy New Year!!

Eat well. Xx

Links: www.cressuk.com
          www.moxonsfreshfish.com
          http://www.cipriani.com/locations/london.php