Tonight I tried a variation on my sister's low carb standby, baked chicken with mozzarella and yummy veg. As this is to feed a non-Atkins partner, I particularly liked the fact that you don't miss a starch when making this and it's delicious. While it takes a little while to cook, it's not particularly labour intensive and you can vary it depending on what you have in the cupboard - I'm sure this would be just as nice with a root veg and goat's cheese mash, for example, and it works with or without the olives, jalapenos, coriander and mushrooms. You could substitute the stir fried savoy cabbage with nutmeg and mustard seeds for steamed asparagus and kale, too.
To serve two
For the chicken:
1/2 can tinned tomatoes
Squirt tom puree
4 spring onions or half an onion, chopped medium fine
2 cloves garlic
4 mushrooms or 2 tbsps black olives or 2 tbsps chopped pickled jalapenos (depending on taste)
2 chicken breasts
1 ball mozzarella cheese
Bunch coriander (optional)
Saute the onions and garlic in a little olive oil until smelling nice and softened. Add mushrooms at this point if using and fry until golden brown. Add the tinned tomatoes and tomato puree, season to taste with herbs, salt and pepper; allow to simmer down to a sludgy paste. Take your chicken breasts and place in an ovenproof dish; stab with a big knife to make loose slits, spoon over the tomato mix (add in your olives/jalapenos/both at this point on top, if using - nice with all three optional additions); then slice the mozzarella ball into six and put three slices on each tomato mix covered breast. Bake at GM 5 for about 40 mins.
For the cabbage:
6 leaves savoy cabbage
2 oz butter
Splash olive oil
1/2 fresh nutmeg, grated
Tsp black mustard seeds or caraway seeds
When the chicken has 15 mins to go, melt the butter in the pan over a low heat. Add the oil to stop it burning. Toast the spices for a minute or two, then add the leaves, chopped into long shreds. Stir gently once in a while for 10 - 15 mins, or til cooked.
Meanwhile... steam enough broccoli per head to make up a portion each.
Serve each breast with cabbage on the side and broccoli on the plate with leftover tomato sauce from the chicken cooking dish.
Yum!
Monday, 1 March 2010
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Low carb lifestyle, here I come
The time has come to do something. To do something about the extra two tires around my middle, my third chin and the fact I can no longer get into backless dresses without horrible shame (or in fact anything even remotely resembling a size I'd be happy to admit to in public). I guess all this cooking has come at a cost...
Part of the wake up call came on our recent trip to The Gambia - not to be harsh, but the majority of the tourists in our hotel were seriously obese and it made me think that if I didn't get to grips with them I could be there too in a year or two's time.
So, I've decided to follow the only diet that I can feel even remotely comfortable with and understand how it works - Atkins. For the uninitiated, this is a high-fat, medium-protein and very low-carb regime (visit the website if you're interested or can't see how this would possibly work). My joy in it is that it's a diet where I will probably reliably lose weight fairly quickly week by week, and I get to eat most veg, all meat, poultry and fish, and liberal helpings of eggs, butter, cream and cheese. I have to wave goodbye to all sugar and processed carbs like pasta, bread and mash. It's a fair trade. Some Atkins friendly recipes coming up... all serve one but can of course be doubled/quadrupled up for more people.
Marinated prawns (nice lunch recipe)
Generous handful of cooked prawns
Glug olive oil
Juice of half a lime
1/4 red onion or equivalent spring onions
1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1 red chili, finely chopped
2 tbsps freshly chopped coriander
Some chopped olives if liked (I skip this bit)
Serve over 1/2 a chopped avocado and some salad leaves with salt and pepper after chilling in the fridge for the morning (this is perfect for work if you make it, take it, stash it in the fridge and unleash for lunch). Recipe courtesy of my friend Anne.
Comforting chicken, mushroom and veg for dinner
1/2 chicken breast cut into 1" dice
6 mushrooms, roughly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp butter
4 spears asparagus
Small handful mangetout
6 broccoli florets
1 small tub of M&S or similar hollandaise (if you're feeling virtuous, try Delia for a proper recipe... I was home from work and hungry!)
In a frying pan, gently fry off the diced chicken with the olive oil and a pinch of mixed herbs. Saute gently until mostly cooked through.
Meanwhile, set up a saucepan with a fan steamer inside and 1 - 2" of boiling water over a high heat. Place your green veg inside and place a lid firmly on top.
In a third, small, pan, put 1/4 - 1/3 (depending on taste) of the tub of hollandaise over a very low heat to warm through.
In the frying pan, your chicken should be looking mostly cooked and a little brown around the edges. Add the butter, when it's melted add the mushrooms and garlic and stir to avoid burning or over browning.
After 5 mins or a little less, everything should be ready: on a large dinner plate, arrange the veg to one side; cover with the hollandaise, and add the chicken and garlicky mushroom mix to the other side of the plate.
Who said dieting had to be miserable?
Part of the wake up call came on our recent trip to The Gambia - not to be harsh, but the majority of the tourists in our hotel were seriously obese and it made me think that if I didn't get to grips with them I could be there too in a year or two's time.
So, I've decided to follow the only diet that I can feel even remotely comfortable with and understand how it works - Atkins. For the uninitiated, this is a high-fat, medium-protein and very low-carb regime (visit the website if you're interested or can't see how this would possibly work). My joy in it is that it's a diet where I will probably reliably lose weight fairly quickly week by week, and I get to eat most veg, all meat, poultry and fish, and liberal helpings of eggs, butter, cream and cheese. I have to wave goodbye to all sugar and processed carbs like pasta, bread and mash. It's a fair trade. Some Atkins friendly recipes coming up... all serve one but can of course be doubled/quadrupled up for more people.
Marinated prawns (nice lunch recipe)
Generous handful of cooked prawns
Glug olive oil
Juice of half a lime
1/4 red onion or equivalent spring onions
1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1 red chili, finely chopped
2 tbsps freshly chopped coriander
Some chopped olives if liked (I skip this bit)
Serve over 1/2 a chopped avocado and some salad leaves with salt and pepper after chilling in the fridge for the morning (this is perfect for work if you make it, take it, stash it in the fridge and unleash for lunch). Recipe courtesy of my friend Anne.
Comforting chicken, mushroom and veg for dinner
1/2 chicken breast cut into 1" dice
6 mushrooms, roughly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp butter
4 spears asparagus
Small handful mangetout
6 broccoli florets
1 small tub of M&S or similar hollandaise (if you're feeling virtuous, try Delia for a proper recipe... I was home from work and hungry!)
In a frying pan, gently fry off the diced chicken with the olive oil and a pinch of mixed herbs. Saute gently until mostly cooked through.
Meanwhile, set up a saucepan with a fan steamer inside and 1 - 2" of boiling water over a high heat. Place your green veg inside and place a lid firmly on top.
In a third, small, pan, put 1/4 - 1/3 (depending on taste) of the tub of hollandaise over a very low heat to warm through.
In the frying pan, your chicken should be looking mostly cooked and a little brown around the edges. Add the butter, when it's melted add the mushrooms and garlic and stir to avoid burning or over browning.
After 5 mins or a little less, everything should be ready: on a large dinner plate, arrange the veg to one side; cover with the hollandaise, and add the chicken and garlicky mushroom mix to the other side of the plate.
Who said dieting had to be miserable?
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Scratch mid week meal
I really, really couldn't be bothered to go to the supermarket in the snow this evening. That and the fact that I had loads of root vegetables left from Sunday's feast and thanks to some decent advice in cookery books, a reasonable store cupboard, means that a really good midweek supper is possible in about half an hour. However you do have to be either a) organised enough to make and freeze your own meatballs (I mean, really) or b) a bit of an Ikea addict and have the habit of picking up a packet of their lovely frozen swedish ones whenever you need some new glassware. The latter is me. Especially given my frequent glass smashing habit.
So I started the meatballs first. 1 chopped onion, 3 cloves of garlic chopped fine *thank you God for food processors*, cooked til soft in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add your meatballs dependent on appetite of hungry man. Then I added half a glass of rose that happened to be hanging around in the fridge, a carton of chopped Italian tomatoes,a slug of tasbasco and a small glug of balsamic vinegar. Seasoned well and cooked over a medium to low heat for 25 minutes cooks the meatballs through and reduces off some of the sauce.
In the meantime, I chopped two large carrots, a palm sized piece of celeriac and the same size of swede to 1 cm dice and boiled til slightly soft - about ten minutes. This then goes in the food processor with some butter and quite a bit of goat's cheese, diced quite finely but not quite to a puree and again seasoned well. All the veg is organic and British (for about 5p more a kilo than imported and non-organic - well worth it).
It's now sat on top of the stove awaiting a last reheat when J comes home, smelling lovely and having had a sneaky mouthful, tasting pretty good too.
Update: That was amazing. The root veg mash was creamy with the goat's cheese (I have a feeling it was better reheated, giving a chance for the cheese to melt in and cook slightly) and a little bit sweet, making it the perfect companion with the sweetish tomato sauce, just slightly acidic with the balsamic. I'm definitely making this again.
So I started the meatballs first. 1 chopped onion, 3 cloves of garlic chopped fine *thank you God for food processors*, cooked til soft in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add your meatballs dependent on appetite of hungry man. Then I added half a glass of rose that happened to be hanging around in the fridge, a carton of chopped Italian tomatoes,a slug of tasbasco and a small glug of balsamic vinegar. Seasoned well and cooked over a medium to low heat for 25 minutes cooks the meatballs through and reduces off some of the sauce.
In the meantime, I chopped two large carrots, a palm sized piece of celeriac and the same size of swede to 1 cm dice and boiled til slightly soft - about ten minutes. This then goes in the food processor with some butter and quite a bit of goat's cheese, diced quite finely but not quite to a puree and again seasoned well. All the veg is organic and British (for about 5p more a kilo than imported and non-organic - well worth it).
It's now sat on top of the stove awaiting a last reheat when J comes home, smelling lovely and having had a sneaky mouthful, tasting pretty good too.
Update: That was amazing. The root veg mash was creamy with the goat's cheese (I have a feeling it was better reheated, giving a chance for the cheese to melt in and cook slightly) and a little bit sweet, making it the perfect companion with the sweetish tomato sauce, just slightly acidic with the balsamic. I'm definitely making this again.
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Sunday lunch
So the cooking task for this weekend was a three course vegetarian lunch for five, with no lentils (that could be detected), blue cheese or mushrooms, to celebrate new year with Jonno, Anne, Ollie and Frances. I had a lovely hungover Saturday afternoon reading recipe books (my favourite way to spend an afternoon, bar virtually none...), before going with sweetcorn chowder to start with, chocolate brownies with hot chocolate sauce to end with and vegetarian shepherd's pie with goat's cheese mash in the middle. All three gave me a chance to try out my much anticipated and deeply exciting food processor, a thing of joy which will make my kitchen life much easier.
The sweetcorn chowder was lovely, especially in fairly small portions as a starter. It said it would serve six - more like 12 as a starter, so when doing this again, I'd halve the quantities. The soup was lovely as is without the tortilla topping if you're watching your diet - but I'd check the seasoning depending on what sort of stock you're using as this needed salt and pepper in quite large quantities with Marigold bouillon. It'd be loads healthier and just as nice with a little bit of chopped chili as a garnish rather than the crisps, and I added in a bit of extra garlic and a chili into the soup itself at the processing stage.
You can see the recipe for the shepherd's pie here . It worked fine as a main course for five and would probably serve six if pushed (as it's really filling, and if you're having a starter and pudding you can serve less of it with a green salad). It was incredible fiddly to do though, took up three pans, a mixing bowl and loads of implements and then into another dish to bake and serve. Definitely not one for a school night. I'll keep this as my veggie special meal for guests - but my pumpkin and mushroom four cheese lasagne is slightly less faffy to make. Good to have another option though, and if you have pulse-haters, they'll hardly notice anything in the filling other than the black-eye beans which are pretty and retain their looks during cooking.
These were lovely, especially served with some Mackie's vanilla icecream and a few strawberries. Don't make the mistake of trying to make people eat two, though, or only the men will make it to an empty plate.
It was nice to have the opportunity to think through a bit more about feeding people, and I realise I am quite lazy about relying on a decent cut of meat or fish to make an interesting meal. Now I've got loads of different pulses in I've got another reason for preparing a little bit more before getting to the stove - but it does undeniably take longer to put together. A small feeling of dread hits me when any recipe calls for overnight soaking...
The sweetcorn chowder was lovely, especially in fairly small portions as a starter. It said it would serve six - more like 12 as a starter, so when doing this again, I'd halve the quantities. The soup was lovely as is without the tortilla topping if you're watching your diet - but I'd check the seasoning depending on what sort of stock you're using as this needed salt and pepper in quite large quantities with Marigold bouillon. It'd be loads healthier and just as nice with a little bit of chopped chili as a garnish rather than the crisps, and I added in a bit of extra garlic and a chili into the soup itself at the processing stage.
You can see the recipe for the shepherd's pie here . It worked fine as a main course for five and would probably serve six if pushed (as it's really filling, and if you're having a starter and pudding you can serve less of it with a green salad). It was incredible fiddly to do though, took up three pans, a mixing bowl and loads of implements and then into another dish to bake and serve. Definitely not one for a school night. I'll keep this as my veggie special meal for guests - but my pumpkin and mushroom four cheese lasagne is slightly less faffy to make. Good to have another option though, and if you have pulse-haters, they'll hardly notice anything in the filling other than the black-eye beans which are pretty and retain their looks during cooking.
These were lovely, especially served with some Mackie's vanilla icecream and a few strawberries. Don't make the mistake of trying to make people eat two, though, or only the men will make it to an empty plate.
It was nice to have the opportunity to think through a bit more about feeding people, and I realise I am quite lazy about relying on a decent cut of meat or fish to make an interesting meal. Now I've got loads of different pulses in I've got another reason for preparing a little bit more before getting to the stove - but it does undeniably take longer to put together. A small feeling of dread hits me when any recipe calls for overnight soaking...
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Scratch Sunday lunch and going ethical
J and I went to see friends at the weekend - old housemates and assorted friends, girlfriends and boyfriends in Holloway. We turned up with wine at 1pm as requested only to find everyone very hungover and a fridge empty apart from a value chicken and some drumsticks... Miraculously not Sunday-morning hungover myself (too many Christmas parties in the week meant an early booze free-ish Saturday night) and with nine hungry people, there was only one thing for it. Armed with the roast chicken recipe from last week, I sent J to the shops for a few vital supplies (ready made yorkshire puddings, potatoes and a lemon) and started cooking. The afternoon was vastly improved by Jen's addition of mince-pie-loveliness for pudding... Jus-rol ready puff pastry, rolled out thin; spread mincemeat on top, sprinkle with lemon zest, roll into sausage shape, cut into inch-long pieces and bake at GM4 til it's done, served with custard or ice-cream (or both if you're J and greedy).
The meal itself was fine - veg, roast regular and sweet potatoes, yorkshire puds, roast chicken and gravy - but the meat really lacked the flavour and texture of the chicken from last weekend. And no wonder. Battery reared broilers with a horrible quality of life = unappetizing, fatty meat that no amount of butter, fresh herbs, lemon and garlic can save. The drumsticks were slightly better but I don't hold out much hope of the soup from the resulting stock. As I've been cooking a lot more lately, but buying fairly good quality ingredients, it really made me think again about how we eat.
Following on from last Sunday's revelation about food quality, late in the day by north London standards, I'm starting to think far more about the ethical dimension of what I put on my plate. I've already become one of those annoying people who asks whether the fish is farmed when eating out, and I've decided very literally to put my money where my mouth is from 2010. As of January 1st next year, we're eating seasonal, free range, organic food from small local suppliers as often as possible. That's not to say there won't be the occasional trip to Sainsbury's (particularly for that emergency bottle of wine). And no, I'm not starting with an organic veg box - mainly because I don't want to throw away box after box of turnips - there's only so much root veg soup one girl can eat, particularly when I can't heat it up in the office the next day. Some weeks we eat out most nights. But lots of the time I cook most nights, and I'm becoming more and more convinced that if enough of us at least try, then we can make a difference to supermarket buying patterns and farming techniques. This also extends to making meat an occasional treat rather than the centrepiece of every evening meal.
Now if someone just can tell me where I can buy a regular, tasty, good-for-the-enviroment-and-my-wallet lunch every day without swelling the ever-growing coffers of Pret a Manger, I'll be on to a winner.
The meal itself was fine - veg, roast regular and sweet potatoes, yorkshire puds, roast chicken and gravy - but the meat really lacked the flavour and texture of the chicken from last weekend. And no wonder. Battery reared broilers with a horrible quality of life = unappetizing, fatty meat that no amount of butter, fresh herbs, lemon and garlic can save. The drumsticks were slightly better but I don't hold out much hope of the soup from the resulting stock. As I've been cooking a lot more lately, but buying fairly good quality ingredients, it really made me think again about how we eat.
Following on from last Sunday's revelation about food quality, late in the day by north London standards, I'm starting to think far more about the ethical dimension of what I put on my plate. I've already become one of those annoying people who asks whether the fish is farmed when eating out, and I've decided very literally to put my money where my mouth is from 2010. As of January 1st next year, we're eating seasonal, free range, organic food from small local suppliers as often as possible. That's not to say there won't be the occasional trip to Sainsbury's (particularly for that emergency bottle of wine). And no, I'm not starting with an organic veg box - mainly because I don't want to throw away box after box of turnips - there's only so much root veg soup one girl can eat, particularly when I can't heat it up in the office the next day. Some weeks we eat out most nights. But lots of the time I cook most nights, and I'm becoming more and more convinced that if enough of us at least try, then we can make a difference to supermarket buying patterns and farming techniques. This also extends to making meat an occasional treat rather than the centrepiece of every evening meal.
Now if someone just can tell me where I can buy a regular, tasty, good-for-the-enviroment-and-my-wallet lunch every day without swelling the ever-growing coffers of Pret a Manger, I'll be on to a winner.
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Christmas cards
A non-food blog, for once.
Tonight marked the first time in my life when I've actually sent Christmas cards, properly, to all my scattered people across the planet. It's something I don't normally bother with; mainly as not many people do it, and partially because I've always thought it was a bit of a waste of resources. This year is different, somehow. Earlier this week I got to thinking about friends of mine, close and distant, and the fact that I'm now in touch with wider members of my family that I haven't been in touch with before. Christmas cards, a small, personal token of regard, are a little way of saying 'I've thought of you in the last few weeks, I'm glad we're in touch and I'd like to keep it that way'. Particularly with the growing number of friends of mine who are now living overseas.
Part of this is also how exciting it is to receive proper post - rather than the usual round of bills, payslips and circulars. I put myself in the shoes of a friend in Japan who would not be expecting a card - and included a long personal note inside about how my year has gone, and some questions about his, in his card.
This is not a paean to the round robin. Actually, I can't imagine anything I'd rather less receive than an update on so and so's sister who's had a boob job, and whose child now has a swanky job at a merchant bank. It's not that I wouldn't like to hear those things - just that I'd rather not hear them in a letter written as blandly as possible so as not to upset any elderly relations reading it, photocopied on the office copier and shoved into an envelope with two handwritten words on the card itself (name of sender and recipient). Let's either do christmas cards properly, or not at all.
Tonight marked the first time in my life when I've actually sent Christmas cards, properly, to all my scattered people across the planet. It's something I don't normally bother with; mainly as not many people do it, and partially because I've always thought it was a bit of a waste of resources. This year is different, somehow. Earlier this week I got to thinking about friends of mine, close and distant, and the fact that I'm now in touch with wider members of my family that I haven't been in touch with before. Christmas cards, a small, personal token of regard, are a little way of saying 'I've thought of you in the last few weeks, I'm glad we're in touch and I'd like to keep it that way'. Particularly with the growing number of friends of mine who are now living overseas.
Part of this is also how exciting it is to receive proper post - rather than the usual round of bills, payslips and circulars. I put myself in the shoes of a friend in Japan who would not be expecting a card - and included a long personal note inside about how my year has gone, and some questions about his, in his card.
This is not a paean to the round robin. Actually, I can't imagine anything I'd rather less receive than an update on so and so's sister who's had a boob job, and whose child now has a swanky job at a merchant bank. It's not that I wouldn't like to hear those things - just that I'd rather not hear them in a letter written as blandly as possible so as not to upset any elderly relations reading it, photocopied on the office copier and shoved into an envelope with two handwritten words on the card itself (name of sender and recipient). Let's either do christmas cards properly, or not at all.
Ahhh, Sundays
Today was a happy day - Sunday lunch with two of my best friends and the boy.
My Mum always used to make a gorgeous, creamy watercress soup when I was little, but almost all of the recipes online or in my cookery books include potato, which is far too heavy if it's for a starter. I finally managed to find something uploaded by an American on allrecipes.com - great for all sorts of things. Melt 60g of butter in a large pan, and whisk in 55g plain flour to a roux base. Then slowly add 945ml chicken stock (I didn't have any in, and used those new jelly stock things by Knorr - ok, but slightly too salty - definitely stick with homemade if you have it) then 340g (four supermarket bags) of chopped watercress. Simmer for 20 minutes, then add 475 ml half-and-half. (For English cooks, that's a mix of single cream and milk - slightly heavier on the milk). Warm through and serve with a sprig of watercress on top.
This was almost exactly what Mum used to make and created three calls for seconds.
Then roast chicken. I've started making much more of where my food is sourced from, and how it's looked after for the meat option - mainly as a result of watching a documentary on More 4 called The End of the Line about the complete loss of fish stocks, which then made me think much more about everything else I eat. So this was an organic, corn fed, free range bird and was absolutely gorgeous. I tried a Nigel Slater tip or two: inside the bird, half a lemon and a chunk of butter; the skin outside rubbed with a mix of chopped tarragon, chopped thyme, three cloves of garlic and lots of butter. The other half of the lemon was squeezed over the top and kept in the roasting tin, then plenty of salt and pepper. The result was gorgeous; made even nicer by gravy made in the roasting dish with a glass of white wine and a glug of vermouth. Mmmm. Trying this one again.
To finish I made a self-saucing pudding from the Australian Women's Weekly cookbook, the recipe for which I won't post until I've got it right - it was nice, but the sponge top was far too doughy and the sauce wasn't really chocolatey enough. Still, by this time, the drinkers were several glasses of wine to the good and the non-drinker was on a caffeine high so no complaints!
A three and a half hour lunch = lovely afternoon.
My Mum always used to make a gorgeous, creamy watercress soup when I was little, but almost all of the recipes online or in my cookery books include potato, which is far too heavy if it's for a starter. I finally managed to find something uploaded by an American on allrecipes.com - great for all sorts of things. Melt 60g of butter in a large pan, and whisk in 55g plain flour to a roux base. Then slowly add 945ml chicken stock (I didn't have any in, and used those new jelly stock things by Knorr - ok, but slightly too salty - definitely stick with homemade if you have it) then 340g (four supermarket bags) of chopped watercress. Simmer for 20 minutes, then add 475 ml half-and-half. (For English cooks, that's a mix of single cream and milk - slightly heavier on the milk). Warm through and serve with a sprig of watercress on top.
This was almost exactly what Mum used to make and created three calls for seconds.
Then roast chicken. I've started making much more of where my food is sourced from, and how it's looked after for the meat option - mainly as a result of watching a documentary on More 4 called The End of the Line about the complete loss of fish stocks, which then made me think much more about everything else I eat. So this was an organic, corn fed, free range bird and was absolutely gorgeous. I tried a Nigel Slater tip or two: inside the bird, half a lemon and a chunk of butter; the skin outside rubbed with a mix of chopped tarragon, chopped thyme, three cloves of garlic and lots of butter. The other half of the lemon was squeezed over the top and kept in the roasting tin, then plenty of salt and pepper. The result was gorgeous; made even nicer by gravy made in the roasting dish with a glass of white wine and a glug of vermouth. Mmmm. Trying this one again.
To finish I made a self-saucing pudding from the Australian Women's Weekly cookbook, the recipe for which I won't post until I've got it right - it was nice, but the sponge top was far too doughy and the sauce wasn't really chocolatey enough. Still, by this time, the drinkers were several glasses of wine to the good and the non-drinker was on a caffeine high so no complaints!
A three and a half hour lunch = lovely afternoon.
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