Carrot & Cumin Salad

Today I have a food hangover. Or maybe a wine hangover? Probably both. We were treated to the gastronomic indulgence that was a whole pig done on the spit at the Greek Deli last night. I haven't eaten rich food like that, in that quantity, for a long time, so that would explain the food hangover. I also probably won't eat like that again until Christmas, so it's OK. And it was so completely worth it. I love pork generally, but so often it's done to dryness and it doesn't meet expectations. This far exceeded expectations, was completely delicious and succulent, and the crackling was perfection.

So to keep my mind focused today, and make myself feel a little healthier I'm going to tell you all about my Carrot and Cumin Salad from Sunday. Coincidentally, this would have been a great accompaniment to last night's feast. I did alter the original recipe slightly, cooking methods, etc but nothing drastic. This is a very, very easy recipe and will be an excellent addition to the usual repertoire of summer BBQ salads, certainly will be added in our house. It comes from one of my favourite recipe books - The Simple Art of Marrying Food and Wine.

What you'll need:
6 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Cumin seeds
Olive oil
100ml Orange Juice
A handful of coriander - if you love it, add more, if not go easy.

Don't scrimp on the orange juice. A good quality, real orange juice will add flavour and the stuff from concentrate is just plain bad for you.

What you need to do:

1. I used the food processor on the fine slicing setting to chop up my carrots. It meant that they weren't all exactly the same size, gave it a great rustic look and cut them finer and quicker than I could do by hand.

2. Add the olive oil to a hot pan - 4 tablespoons was recommended by the recipe - I used a couple of healthy lugs. Add the cumin seeds and ground cumin to the oil and mix. With the finished product I felt I could have added more.

3. Add the onions and cook on a medium heat for 4-5 minutes to soften but not colour.

4. Add the orange juice and heat that through, then add the carrots. Because they were so finely chopped they didn't need to cook for long. I like my carrots with a bit of crunch, and I was making a salad not mash!!

5. Add a little bit of water, season and cook for a couple of minutes until it's all heated through. Taste the carrots to see if they're the desired texture. If you want softer carrots, cook for a little longer. I cooked them for a couple of minutes and let the sauce reduce a little bit.

6. Take the carrots of the heat, strain the sauce from the carrots, back into the pan and reduce down till it's a little thicker and more syrupy. I think that took 2-3 minutes. Pour the sauce back over the carrots and mix through. Allow to stand and cool.

7. Once cool, add the coriander and serve at room temperature.

The whole process took about 15 minutes and I did it early in the afternoon so it could just stand and cool. I had it cold the next day out the fridge and it was just as lovely. In fact the flavours had matured a little as so often happens with food that has spices in it, and it tasted even better. One of those things that can be prepped the day before you need it.

Enjoy! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Ciao
xoxo

The Quiche Pastry debate...Part 2

I've actually been knocked down this week with a stomach bug. It took everything out of me, and by Monday I still wasn't eating much. But, chef extraordinaire was out at a meeting and some dinner needed to be made. I had to attempt to eat it, considering I hadn't had anything solid since a sandwich at lunch time - it's done wonders for my diet (there is a hint of sarcasm there as I'd rather not have had the bug!) Cue some comfort food and the perfect opportunity to road-test the next pastry recipe.

As I've said time and again, the love of a quiche has got to be in it's ease. The filling and pastry had to be easy again this time because I wasn't feeling up to the challenge.

Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup oil
2 TBSP milk
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups of flour
pinch of salt

Beat it all together. Sift your flour, add the pinch of salt, pop the oil and milk in a well in the flour and beat with electric beaters and it makes an easy, crumbly base.

This time I chopped up heaps of broccoli and a little ham (leave out for the veggies and this is an easy meal for many!) I had in the fridge. I'd also bought a little bag of pinenuts and slivered almonds and threw that across the broccoli. Egg mix and in the oven. Now I overcooked this one a little. That could explain why the base was extra crumbly and a little drier than I liked. Marty also reckons that because I used oil instead of butter that would also add to the dryness. Next time, I'll pay more attention to the quiche in the oven and less attention to the TV and we'll see if it helps.

So, how did this rate:

Ease - 9/10
Flavour - 6/10
Overall - 7/10

A definite second choice. I did love the filling though and it's leftovers for dinner tonight, so maybe when my appetite has returned I'll enjoy it even more.

Let me know your ratings and which was better. Part 3 will be along in the next few weeks, don't want to be over-quiched!

xoxo

Buffalo mozzarella, Courgette and Mint Risotto...a new Favourite!

We entertained for the first time in aaagggeeessss on Saturday night, and while the evening is fresh in my mind I'll share...fresh in that I remember dinner, after copious bottles of wine the rest is hazy. Marty needed to cook a vegetarian meal, and we had already decided on risotto, just not a flavour. Whatever we were having was to be followed by the famous brownies, served hot with vanilla ice-cream.

I didn't have any recipe books on hand, all of the ones at home were not Jamie's as SOMEONE had them all at work, so I got into a trusty app on the iPhone, Jamie's 20 Minute Meals. This is a great little paid app and probably even more perfect on the iPad. You're able to quickly and easily navigate recipes, with videos on how to do the most important aspects of the recipe, and can just as quickly add the ingredients to a shopping list. This shopping list can also be sent via email, so if you're not going to get to the grocery store the other half can do it on the way home. Enough about how great the app is, just go get it!

More importantly, the recipe - if you don't have the app or an "i_" to download it to.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

1 small courgette
1 small bunch fresh mint
1 x 125g ball buffalo mozzarella
1 small red onion
1 stick celery
1 knob butter
150g risotto rice
400ml vegetable stock
100ml white wine
1/2 medium fresh red chilli
25g Parmesan
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper, ground

How to:

1. Place a large saucepan on a low to medium heat. Peel the onion and trim the celery stick, then finely chop or coarsely grate them.

2. Add the butter to the hot pan with onion and celery, a splash of olive oil and a splash of water. Cook over a low heat for around 5minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Meanwhile...

3. Trim the ends of the courgette then slice lengthways into quarters. Cut into chunks.

4. Bring the stock to the boil in a medium saucepan, then turn the heat down to low.

5. Pick the leaves off the mint stalks and put them to one side. Add the stalks to the saucepan of stock. Finely grate the Parmesan.

6. Once your vegetables are very soft, but not browned add the rice to the pan. Stir and fry the rice for a minute until translucent, then add the wine and keep stirring until the wine has been absorbed by the rice.

7. Turn the heat under the rice up to medium then add a ladleful of hot stock, avoiding the mint stalks - these are there to add flavour but not to be eaten! (Note from the chef - the heated stock is the key to a great risotto!)

8. Stir constantly and continue adding stock, a ladle at a time, waiting for the rice to soak it all up before adding the next ladleful. Continue until you've used 2/3 of the stock. Meanwhile...

9. Finely chop the mint leaves and the chilli. (Deseed the chilli if you don't like things too spicy.) Stir the chopped courgettes into the stock and keep adding it until the rice is just cooked and the risotto has a nice oozy consistency. If you run out of stock, use boiling water.

10. Take the pan of risotto off the heat. Tear the ball of mozzarella into pieces and stir into the pan with half of the chopped mint leaves.

11. Stir through half of your grated Parmesan. Taste the risotto and season well with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cover with a lid.

Here's where we changed things a little bit. The recipe recommends to get you table set, then serve the risotto between the plates, top with the remaining Parmesan, mint, chilli and serve. We make it in our Le Creuset pot, which is not only the easiest option for cooking and cleaning, but looks great when presenting. Marty stirred in the rest of the Parmesan and mint and left a little to sprinkle on top, and served as such so we could all dig in. I served this with a simple garden salad.

On the side he also cooked up a chorizo sausage for the meat-eaters to add to theirs. The risotto on it's own was completely delicious and the chorizo added was divine too. So there are 2 options for you! That's about as step-by-step as you're going to get :)

We had some the next night for dinner as well and it was fantastic. Certainly a winner in our house that will be done again, changed slightly or not. It's one for the books, and I'll put it in my recipe journal so I always have it on hand.

Hope you enjoy it too!!

xoxo

Sensational Summer Salads... Part 1

I've procrastinated enough! I have been the chief procrastinator at home for the past 2 months when it's come to this blog, and I have no reason or excuses as to why. There has been food cooked, there have been times when the computer and myself are free for this meaningful dialogue, but it just hasn't happened. Armed with a cup of tea (Rooibos to be exact), I am now making inroads to the various list of blog posts running through my head.

And what better way to start my first blog from absence with the superfood du jour, quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). Those of you that read this blog regularly will remember a post from the beginning of the year about this wonder grain. And it's popularity has just been growing! Move over couscous, brown rice and any other grain pretending, this bad boy is the shizz! At a recent dinner party, not hosted by us which was even better, we got onto the subject of this exceptional ingredient. And after ticking off a long list of goodies - it's incredibly low GI, gluten free, high in protein, has antioxidants, etc, etc - the only real problem we found is that it is tasteless. Although Marty pointed out that this is not really a problem because it makes it versatile and can be used in so many dishes because it adopts the flavours of that dish. Another pro!! Quite frankly, if quinoa was a superhero it'd be Superman, without the Kryptonite.

So we know this is superfood, and now we know there's not much flavour, so what do you do with it? Marty's restaurant has it in their lamb salad, someone else was telling me about a Mexican restaurant that does a spicy salad with it, and I'm going to introduce you to my newest Summer Salad that has been added to the BBQ repertoire. A quick and easy Quinoa salad. And to make it even easier here's a link so you can enjoy it, and find some more tasty quinoa salads. http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/quinoa-salad.php You'll notice it's not only a vegetarian salad but vegan too, so is extremely helpful when guests arrive of that persuasion. For my followers in warmer climates, make the salad and chill it. Add the seeds and nuts and you don't even have to worry about a protein with it, so on those stinking hot summer nights or days when you want something fresh, healthy and filling this is the perfect choice.

The other thing I love about it, is that there's almost always enough left over for lunch the next day so you can feel very virtuous if you've over-indulged with BBQ food the day before, because let's face it, who hasn't!

Now, it's also really important to give the grain a good soak to get rid of the saponin which coats it because that will leave a bitter taste. I think cooking for as long as the recipe suggests overcooks it a little and it gets a bit mushy. Once the little white tail shows it's pretty much cooked and if you like your grains and pulses cooked al dente then taste after 5-7, then 10minutes to see how you feel about the texture. I would also add the toasted seeds and nuts as I serve to keep them crunchy, and not mixed through and then chilled.

I hope you enjoy it and if you have a BBQ failsafe salad that comes out each time I'd love to hear about it and get some recipes from you.

Ciao,
xoxo

P.S I'm pretty sure my camera has a picture of this and MANY other delights so I'll do an upload soon! I may even have a post devoted to pictures! Who knows!!

Move over Martha...

A very industrious bug bit me yesterday, and quite frankly I'd be very happy to be at home today still being bit that by that bug and churning out jams and chutneys and whatever 'homely' things I can get my hands onto.

It all started on Sunday when I did a quick once-over the fridge to see what was needed in the grocery shopping. There, stuck at the back of the fridge was the bag of kiwifruit that Marty had sworn black and blue he was going to eat and enjoy! They were on special, 8 for $2 - bargain, and although I'll eat the odd one here and there, I'm not the world's greatest fan. But a week on, there they sat taunting me with their 'uneatenness'. So, I reached up onto the shelf for the Edmond's Cookbook for a kiwifruit chutney or jam recipe. It seemed an obvious starting point, and they certainly didn't disappoint. AND, it was easy!

My 8 kiwifruit were peeled and chopped, I even had a couple of old apples in the fridge that got used up in the recipe. However, presumption is the mother of all f%#k ups, and I presumed there was malt vinegar in the pantry. There wasn't and chutney-making was halted until Marty got home. I did have red wine vinegar, but learning my previous lesson with presumptions, I didn't presume that it would be a perfectly apt substitute. I couldn't get hold of the expert at the time, so back to waiting. As a good housewife I used this time productively to hang out washing, wash dishes and prepare the meat for dinner. And then rewarded my good behaviour with a glass of red! On his arrival, he informed me that yes red or white wine vinegar would have been fine and that malt vinegar was just what was 'in' at the time of the recipe. Good to know.

Chutney making resumed. The base of ingredients - spices, onions, apples, vinegar - were set to a gentle boil until they thickened and soften and then the kiwifruit was added. After an hour of cooking, it was set aside to cool, and I must admit that it tasted pretty good when I sampled a little before it went into the jar. I will definitely give a teaspoon a go tonight with my dinner, and we have a jar of it that will be a nice accompaniment to cheeses, or even a curry.

All this industry has got my fingers itching and I'm looking forward to the next fruit or vegetable that comes in excess. I'm hoping for some peppers and chillies so I can give Jamie's Cheeky Chili Chutney a go, and I can't wait to get the tomato plants into the garden so that next year we can make some more sun dried tomatoes, but also some tomato chutneys and sauces.

Now I'm going to spend the afternoon looking up other interesting things to preserve and make, and maybe another visit to the supermarket to get some more kiwifruit if it tastes good. Would love to try it with the white wine vinegar so that the actual chutney can retain some of the green of the kiwifruit, as opposed to it all turning a darker shade of brown. I'll explore the options before I succumb to green food colouring!

Ciao
xoxo

Chapter 2 in the stuffed vegetable book - Stuffed Zucchini this time

I hope that this post doesn't come out as disjointed or non-sensical, because instead of devoting my full attention to it I am attempting to multi-task while watching a guilty pleasure of mine but I really wanted to get this out and down 'on paper' so to speak.

It's been a little while since I've been on this blog due to procrastination, and the only way to get going, is to get going! I hope you've tried out and enjoyed the Stuffed Capsicums and now another one I love to make is the Stuffed Zucchini. Marty actually showed me how to add maximum flavour to this dish and not only whip up something healthy, but filling and delicious. I often find that the healthy food we're expected to eat can be so devoid of flavour, due to the fact that we're over-exposed to added sugar and salt. I do believe that a limited amount of salt can be added into the diet as long as it is a flaky sea salt and iodised because then you have most beneficial type, but instead of over-seasoning, adding fresh or even sometimes dried herbs can boost the flavours in a dish remarkably. I'm looking forward to the the warmer weather to replant and develop the herb garden for this very reason.

Now this recipe is so simply you'll be whipping it up weekly. I find that the filling is enough for 2, but if I make the extra I just pop it in the fridge for lunch the next day. This is another great recipe to adapt for vegetarians!

What you'll need:
A zucchini (courgette) per person

Filling:
A carrot, chopped or grated
Small can of corn
Garlic
Onion
Tomato paste
Choice of tuna. chicken or kidney beans

Hollow out the zucchini. Cook the protein with the onion and garlic. Add the carrot and corn and the insides of the zucchini, and then mash or mix in some tomato paste to taste and then stuff the mixture into the hollowed out zucchini. If you'd like to grate some cheese over the top, otherwise pop into the oven for 10 minutes then eat!

It really is as simple as that. Sometimes I add some fresh time, and parsley is delicious too. You can add in some chili, or Mexican spices and that would work beautifully.

After 10 minutes at 190 deg, it should all be soft and ready to eat. I like my carrots diced and still a little crunchy, so I tend to cook the chicken for as long as I can in the pan to make sure it is completely done, and I dice it up really small.

Enjoy this easy meal and I look forward to hearing what you think! Also decided halfway through this, not to watch TV anymore so I should have made sense!

See ya
xoxo

Stuffed Capsicums...another healthy alternative!

Today, I have been practising the fine art of procrastination. you know those days, you start off with a great big list, you hurtle through all the easy stuff and finally you're left with the bits and pieces you either didn't really want to do, think may take a long time, or are just not quite as much fun as playing endless games of Solitaire, or Spider Solitaire, or Hearts, or Mahjong. And this is the point I've got to today, and after realising how long it's been since I've blogged at all, and that I have piles of photos to upload from my camera too, I have decided to do something about it! Easier said than done let me tell you.

What I wanted to share with you today is a little recipe that's fast becoming a favourite, and to top off is deliciously healthy, and even suitable for the veggies out there. It's a recipe my trainer has given me for Stuffed Capsicums and is as easy as it is tasty. The recipe is 1 portion, but obviously that can be made for as many people as possible. What I will say is you don't need to double the recipe for 2, triple it for 3, etc as it a large recipe to begin with. I double it for 3 serves, or just make sure the capsicums are large enough to accommodate all the veg.

This version is gluten free as well, double whammy people!!

So, what you'll need:
1 Capsicum
1 Zucchini (courgette), grated
1 Carrot, grated
1 Yellow squash (patty pan/scallopino depending on where you come from!), grated
1 onion chopped up
garlic clove
Protein of your choice

And what you do:
Mix the grated up ingredients in bowl, season if you feel like it. I don't normally. In a pan, heat a little oil, or use a non-stick frying pan and brown the onions with the garlic. Now, you can chop up the clove, or leave whole and remove later, depending on how much garlic flavour you want. If you're adding a protein the next step is applicable to you - when I'm adding chicken to this dish, I chop it up and cook it with the onions in the pan, if I'm having fish or beef or even a lamb chop with it, I keep that separate. Once those onions are a little brown and soft, add your grated ingredients, mix it up then take off heat.

With your capsicums, cut them in half, take out the pips and bits, and then stuff your mixture into them. You're going to put these into an ovenproof dish and into the oven for about 25-30mins on 180-200 deg.

Once cooked, serve. As I said this does roughly one large size capsicum, and you really don't need anything else with it, but you could serve it with a salad or some brown rice maybe! You could even halve the recipe to be used as a side dish, keep as is for a side dish for 2, or double for a side dish for 4. You get the picture.

Anyone else got a healthy recipe they'd like to share? Email it to me so we can give it a go, and I'll let you know how it went.

Ciao
xoxo

And the weekend of food continued!

After the gastronomic extravaganza that was Sunday, Marty hit the pans again for a delicious dinner on Monday night too. He whipped up part of the following meal - the dauphinoise and the chicken - but I would definitely recommend adding some greens to this. The cream overload proved exactly that and I certainly felt guilty for not having the RDI of green veg!

The dauphinoise were spectacular, the chicken delicious and the link http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/mustard-chicken-quick-dauphinoise-greens too easy! My other recommendation for this meal is to perhaps separate the 2 creamy aspects into different meals. The reason being is that this foodie has not consumed that made rich dairy in months in one sitting and was very sick and unhappy the next day. I did think it was food poisoning at 1 point, but Marty wasn't sick and is so fastidious about cleanliness and the correct procedures when dealing with chicken that I knew it couldn't be that. It left me to believe that it was simply MY stomach that was being intolerant. If you eat rich food on a regular basis it may be fine for you, Marty consumes an incredible amount of dairy on a daily basis and was alright, but besides the daily - and sometimes not if I'm being good - flat white with 1, I don't do a lot of dairy.

The most unfortunate part of this all is that I LOVE Dauphinoise, and because I was so sick and lost my appetite - it's still misplaced - I didn't get to enjoy the leftovers.

Some time this week I'm going to update you on the Preservation Factory and how we did the preserved lemons. And I'll give you a sneak peek of what Easter Lunch is going to look like. Will there be another dessert collaboration? Will the lamb be traditional or is the Chef going to mix it up? Anyone have something exciting they're doing and would like to share? I look forward to hearing from you!

Ciao
xoxo

Patatas Bravas recipe

Much apologies because this has been a long time coming! I'm going to load up the recipe as directed by Jamie, but will also let you know what we did differently.

So Patatas Bravas actually means 'fierce potatoes', and these can be found in just about any tapas bar around the world in any number of variations. The thing that makes ordinary potatoes fierce is the spicy tomato sauce they're cooked and served in!

This recipe serves 4 as tapas, we used it as a side but had plenty left over!

You'll need:

• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and halved
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
• 1tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp sea salt

For the bravas sauce

• olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• 3 fresh red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbs sherry vinegar
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

The sauce is where we improvised a little and used the Five Brothers Summer Tomato Basil Sauce. After trying every available tomato sauce a few years back this is the one we settled on as the best. It has great flavours, good spices, but most importantly it tastes like tomato. We used it instead of the can of chopped tomatoes, and were able to use less of the thyme and garlic. No skimping on the chillies though!

So, what you'll need to do first is parboil those potatoes over a medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until they're starting to get tender but still holding their shape. Drain in a colander and leave to steam dry until cool.

Meanwhile, put a pan on a low heat and start your bravas sauce. Add a lug of olive oil and, once hot, add the chopped onion and sliced garlic. Cook for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft but not coloured. Add the chillies, carrot and thyme leaves and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes, sherry vinegar and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes or until the carrots are soft and the sauce is nice and thick.

While your sauce simmers, put a large frying pan on a medium heat and add 0.5cm of olive oil. Cut your potatoes into large bite-sized chunks. Once the oil is hot, carefully add your potatoes to the pan. You'll want to cook them for around 8 minutes, turning occasionally until golden all over. You'll need to do this in batches so that you don't overcrowd the pan. Add your garlic and rosemary leaves for the last minute of cooking.

Transfer the potatoes, garlic and rosemary onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain, then scatter over the paprika, fennel seeds and a good pinch of salt and toss together until well coated.

Carefully tip your sauce into a blender or use a hand blender and whizz until lovely and smooth - to be honest because we'd used the different sauce we kept it a little chunky and didn't blend. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve in a jug next to your potatoes, or if you'd rather be more traditional - as we did - pour the sauce over the potatoes and toss then serve. Keep any leftover sauce for a pizza base or pasta.

Enjoy!
xoxo

Courgette recipe

After a couple of requests for this recipe, I thought I'd post it on here!

 Serves 6 to 8 as a side                                                                                       

2 tablespoons olive oil (or duck fat if not for veggies)

3 onions, peeled and very finely sliced

180g basmati rice

7 medium courgettes, finely sliced

500ml hot chicken or vegetable stock, preferably organic

4 heaped tbls crème fraiche

150g Emmental or Cheddar cheese, finely grated

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

Method

The secret to this very simple dish is to use the best stock you can find.

Preheat the oven to 190 C/Gas 5. Get a large frying pan on a low heat and add the olive oil (or duck fat) and a splash of water. Once melted and hot, add the sliced onions and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until soft and sticky. Meanwhile, rinse your rice under cold running water until the water runs clear.

When the onions look ready, add the sliced courgettes to the pan along with the rice. Mix them up then pour in the hot stock. Turn the heat up and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the mixture to stay quite loose and oozy, so add a little more stock if needed. Take the pan off the heat and gently stir in the crème fraiche and 100g of your grated cheese. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper, then have a taste and adjust the seasoning if need be.

Lightly oil a roasting tray, gratin dish or casserole type pan, approx. 25cmx32cm. Tip everything into your prepared tray, making sure the rice is evenly distributed. Roughly flatten it out and try get most of the courgette on top to help keep in the moisture as it cooks. Sprinkle over the rest of the grated cheese.

Bake in the hot oven for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbling and the rice is beautifully cooked and has absorbed most of the liquid.

Can be served next to grilled meat or fish, or with a fresh salad.

Enjoy friends! xoxo

A vegetarian surprise

It's always important to expand one's horizons, and as a confirmed carnivore, making and enjoying some vegetarian food is testing. I'm not a fan of tofu or soy, however my friend Kara made a gorgeous tofu and beetroot casserole which was superb and packed with flavour, and I really don't like mushrooms which everyone seems to put in and on most vegetarian dishes. What I do like are courgettes (zucchinis depending on where you're from) and Jamie makes a rocking courgette and rice dish which can be used as a main - as we did when Marty's cousin Rebecca came to visit. It's very similar to making a potato bake except that it has rice layered with courgette. It is also a fantastic alternative for those of us striving to be gluten-free, or as close to it as we can! I'm sure you'll agree with me, as a foodie - or even just as someone who loves to eat, it really is quite hard to cut out an entire food group. I keep myself to 75% - 85% each week. This basically means I have roughly 2-3meals that I can play around with, as long as I watch the rest of the week. The only exception is at the moment having toast for breakfast - wholegrain, and the occasional sandwich for lunch. On top of the gluten-free thing one has to remember to keep enough proteins in the diet, and also eat enough low GI food to stay full for longer, and if any one's a follower of Chinese medicine eating brown rice and whole grains is important for Spleen function. It's exhausting keeping up with everything! Sometimes I feel I have to have a glass of wine to plan my week's meals ;)

The Courgette Gratin 

A side of curry pineapple

If anyone wants the recipe let me know and I'll send it along!

Ciao xoxo

Off the Beaten Track... a new grain for a New year!

About 2 months ago, at the market, I decided to buy a new type of grain - quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). At our favourite nut-and-grain place it promised to be a great substitute for rice and could be used in salads, etc. I didn't get to making it, but I thought tonight would finally be the night. What sparked this sudden interest was 2 things - firstly, I read about it in Madison in their detox article. It is a high protein, low GI food source which is phenomenal for the body. Secondly, I pulled out my list of 'Foods to avoid, Foods to eat' from the natropath and low-and behold there it was on 'Foods to eat'. And since I've been told gluten and wheat are NOT my friend, and sweet potato, pumpkin and occasionally couscous or brown rice get a little boring, I thought it was now or never to try it out.

The good news and the average news. The good news, you cook it for 10 - 12 minutes. 10 is good, 12 is actually overcooked. It has a great crunch to it and was perfect for what I made it for. Average news - because it's not bad- it doesn't have a lot of it's own flavour. It's more like couscous than brown rice in that respect. Season it well and mix it with great flavours and you'll be sorted. The recipe I saw it with was for poached chook, avocado and cherry tomatoes tossed with the quinoa and olive oil and lemon juice to flavour.

I made it slightly differently. I cooked off some courgettes, yellow peppers and snow peas until they were al dente while the quinoa was cooking. I chopped up some cherry toms, added a little feta and mixed these with the hot veggies in a bowl. I grilled a lamb chop to have with it, strained the quinoa and mixed it up with the veg. Now here's where the bonus of the quinoa not having too much flavour comes in. The flavour of the veg and feta comes through and you get a lovely crunchiness.

So, for everyone who's made silly New Years resolutions, for anyone who is trying a healthier diet, for anyone who's looking for an alternative to a gluten or wheat product - try it! It actually comes as a plain colour, black and a red. If you can find the mix like I did, it looks great!

Enjoy and let me know if you've come up with some interesting combinations :)

xx