Dinner Monday 9 October - Fish Hash

Working my way through the disappointingly unsmoky smoked sea bass, so had second portion as a good, old-fashioned hash.


Fish Hash
1 red onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
100g cooked fish
1 medium potato (about 220g),parboiled and cut into dice
100g frozen petit pois
handful parsley, chopped
4 spring onions, sliced fine
1 large, organic, free-range egg
salt & black pepper

100g fine beans, steamed
1 fat vine tomato, chopped

Spray a non-stick skillet with a little olive oil. Fry the red onion and garlic for a few minutes, then add the parboiled potato cubes. Fry until golden, about 20 minutes, stirring from time to time.Add the petit pois, parsley, spring onions and fish.

Mix well and season to taste with salt & plenty of black pepper. clear a space int he centre of the fry pan and push the hash off to the sides in a circle. Crack the egg into the circle and fry to your degree of doneness - you may want to cover the egg with a pan lid to help the top set.
Turn out onto a serving dish, garnish with the tomato and fine beans and serve.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 540.7
Carbohydrate (g) 61.5
Protein (g) 47.6
Fat (g) 12.4
Fibre (g) 14.6

Lunch Monday 9 October - A Curly Stew

Curly Stew
300g curly kale
1 onion, chopped fine
2-3 cloves garlic
75g fusilli lunghi
50g mi-cuit oven roasted tomatoes
2 teaspoons Marigold Bouillon powder

Spray a non-stick pan with a litle oil and sautee the onions and garlic until transparent and soft. Add the kale and saute until wilted.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water the the boil and cook the fusilli.

When the fusilli is cooked and the kale is also cooked, add the mi-cuit tomatoes, the bouillon powder and the fusilli to the kale. Reserve about one pint of the pasta cooking water and add that to the kale & fusilli as well.

Simmer for a few minutes and serve.


Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 477.4
Carbohydrate (g) 83.2
Protein (g) 22.5
Fat (g) 5.9
Fibre (g) 20.3


Stand well clear! 20 grams of fibre (happy guts).

Breakfast Monday 9 October - (sigh) Alpen

Yet again, Alpen with light Horlicks and coffee.

Not feeling terribly creative after yesterday's excesses in Blackheath.

Dinner Sunday 8 October - Dinner? Did someone mention food?

Got home from the drunken lunch just in time to settle in on the sofa for a new Simpson's episode and - FALL ASLEEP.

Snoozed on the sofa until nearly 22:00 then had a few nibbles in the evening - Hovis Crackers, Pagen Krisprolls, a couple tablespoons of peanut butter and a small chuck of cheese. Not the best food choices, but then neither was 2 bottle of wine....

Lunch Sunday 8 October - Blackheath Bacchanalia

Well, had lunch in an Italian place on the way back down to Blackheath station after the walk. Think it was called Davito. Three courses for £6.95 - although the 3rd "course" is a cup of coffee!
I started with Mozzarella Caprese (the classic tomato, basil & mozzarella salad) and L. had Mozzarella en Carozza, which means "Mozzarella in a Carriage". It's basically a grilled cheese sandwich with an attitude.

This is Nigella Lawson's recipe for Mozzarella in Carrozza

This classic Italian dish gave rise to fried mozzarella. Bread slices are pressed around mozzarella cheese, floured, dipped in egg, then deep-fried.

INGREDIENTS:
6 slices white bread, crusts removed
1 fist-sized ball mozzarella, cut into approximately 1/4-inch slices, then strips
1/2 cup whole milk
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 egg
Salt and pepper
Olive oil (not extra-virgin) for frying

PREPARATION:Make sandwiches out of the bread and mozzarella, leaving a little margin around the edges unfilled with cheese, and press the edges together with your fingers to help seal. (One of the advantages of soft white bread is that it is easily smushed together.)

Pour the milk into one soup bowl, the flour into another, and beat the egg with salt and pepper in another. Warm the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Dunk the sandwiches briefly, one by one, in the milk, then dredge in the flour, then dip in the beaten egg.

Fry in hot oil on each side till crisp and golden and remove to a paper towel.

Yield: 2 servings

Found this on About.com's website..... interesting that there version has the comment: "Cut in half and apply to face."

Wonder if that is a meant to be funny or if it is an error?

about

For mains L had Spaghetti Carbonara and I had a Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni.

It was OK, not the best I have ever had, but certainly respectable for the price.

All this was liberally washed down with not one, not two but THREE bottles of wine.

Oh dear....

So, of course, it made perfect sense when we walked past an adjoining wine bar that had red leather chairs that we HAD to stop in there are share a bottle of rose. Actually, they had a very nice little terrace outside that we ended up sitting on - rock pool, tinkling waterfall, koi carp & goldfish. All very nice and it reminded me of Bali.

Anyway, suffice it to say we ended up rather drunk.

Breakfast Sunday 8 October - Still climbing the Alp(en)

One of these days I will finish off the Alpen. Not today, sadly!

Just had a quick breakfast of Alpen muesli with light Horlicks on place of milk and coffee. I quite like adding the hot Horlicks to the Alpen - it makes it a sort of porridge, without the cooking.

Off the do a 4 kilometer charity fundraising walk for the WWF in Greenwich Park with a friend - trying to help save a few Snow Leopards.

WWF Home Page


My Fundraising Page

Dinner Saturday 7 October - Sea Bass with Asparagus & Udon in a Miso Broth

Sea Bass with Asparagus & Udon in a Miso Broth
1 sea bass fillet, cooked (about 100g)
43g udon noodles, cooked according to package instructions
200 g asparagus, steamed until tender
2 tablespoon mirin
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 t sugar
1 pint dashi
1 tablespoon white miso paste

40g spring onions, sliced finely
1 teaspoon 7 spice pepper

Mix together the dashi, mirin, soy sauce and sugar and bring to a simmer. Add the miso to one ladleful of the broth and mix well until dissolved. Add the miso mix to the broth and remove from the heat.

Arrange the cooked noodles, asparagus and sea bass in a serving bowl. Ladle over the miso broth and garnish with the spring onions and 7 spice pepper.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 502.2
Carbohydrate (g) 62.9
Protein (g) 40.6
Fat (g) 6.7
Fibre (g) 6.2

Lunch Saturday 7 October - Fish Soup

Thursday afternoon I was in Chapel Market. The fishmonger had some nice looking sea bass, 2 for £5.00. I had found a smoker bag that I forgot I had bought in one of the kitchen drawers and thought smoked sea bass sounded quite nice, so I bought a brace.

Well, I got home with the fish and scaled and filleted them, then popped the fillets into a dish and placed the dish into the smoker bag, according to the instructions. The whole thing then goes into the oven, where the heat of the oven is supposed to burn the Finnish wood chips inside the bag and smoke the contents without filling the kitchen with smoke.

Well, the bass certainly was cooked at the end. It had virtually no smoky taste, however. In future, I will stick to tea smoking - cheaper and more efficient!

Here is the smoker bag I bought:

It is made by a Finnish company called Savu. I do not recommend it!

Anyway, I had the heads and carcasses of the two sea bass, so I had fish fumet and turned the fumet into a simple fish soup.

Fish Soup
heads and carcasses of two fish
1/2 leek, sliced (about 100g - use the green part and save the white part of the soup)
1 carrot, chopped (about 70g)
1 rib celery, chopped
1 handful parsley
1 few peppercorns
juice 1/2 lemon or 1 tablespoon vinegar
enough water to cover

Simmer everything together for about 45 minutes. Strain off the liquid and put it back on the heat; reduce to about 750ml.

While the fumet is reducing, pick over the fish carcass and remove any bit of flesh from the bones. Depending on how good you are at filleting, you may get very little or quite a bit. If you are using cod carcasses, don't forget that cod have some delicious meat on their heads, in the form of cod cheeks.

To the fumet, add:
1/2 leek, slice finely (about 100g - use the white part of the leek here)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
200g potatoes, chopped
1 anchovy fillets (about 13g)
whatever fish flakes you recovered from the carcass.

Simmer over low heat until vegetables are very tender. Puree with a hand mixer or in a blender. Correct the seasoning with salt & white pepper to taste.

Just before serving, stir in

1 tablespoon lemon juice
small handful chopped parsley.

Makes one large serving (2 bowls).

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 353.1
Carbohydrate (g) 35.3
Protein (g) 30.5
Fat (g) 10.4
Fibre (g) 5.5

Breakfast Saturday 7 October - Back on the cereal chain gang

Well, I finished up the last of my homemade dill bread yesterday with the Eggs Florentine and I am not going to make or buy any more bread until I finish at least one box of cereal.

I am closest to finishing the unsweetened Alpen, so back on that again. Had a 40g portion with some hot light Horlicks instead of milk, 150g raspberries and some coffee.

Also had the same yesterday morning. I reckon I should be finished the Alpen in another 3-4 days. Then I just have:

• Shredded Wheat
• Bran Flakes
• M&S Luxury Muesli
• Porridge Oats
• Mornflake Oat bran (which I love!)

In future, I do not want to have more than two kinds of cereal in the house at any given time. Ideally, I would like one oatmeal or oat bran and one cold cereal. And that's it!

No more cereal hoarding.

Dinner Friday 6 October - Leftover Celeriac Veloute

Just had the other portion of the celeriac along with some broccoli.

Had a disappointing run in with a smoker bag - more on that tomorrow.

Lunch Friday 6 October - Eggs Florentine

Eggs Florentine
2 slices bread
150g cooked spinach
2 duck eggs
4 tablespoons single cream
15g grated Parmesan cheese
salt, pepper & nutmeg to taste

You will need 2 cooking rings or 2 ramekins.

Use the cooking rings to cut out round from the slices of bread. Toast and place in bottom of the ring. If using ramekins, cut a circle of bread to fir the bottom and toast.

I used the bread scraps to make the crumbs for the Celeriac Veloute, along with the last slice of Dan's Dilly Bread.

Chop the spinach finely and season highly with pepper and nutmeg. Add salt to taste. Press the spinach into the rings or ramekins and leave a depression in the centre for the eggs.

Crack an egg into each ring or ramekin and top with 1 tablespoon cream.

Place in a preheated moderate oven (Gas 4) and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until egg is just beginning to set. Add another tablespoon cream and 1/2 the grated Parmesan to each ring or ramekin. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until top is just browning.

Remove from oven. If using rings, slide a knife around each ring to loosen filling and place on serving plate with a spatula. Remove ring to serve. If using ramekins, serve in the ramekin.

Serve with a salad of mixed leaves.


Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 516.8
Carbohydrate (g) 20.1
Protein (g) 35.3
Fat (g) 33.1
Fibre (g) 7.

Dinner Thursday 5 October - Celeriac Veloute

Autumn is on its way and celeriac is back in season. Cooked the first of this autumn's in an old favourite, celeriac veloute.


Celeriac Veloute
1 large celeriac (about 400g)
20g sauce flour
1 tablespoon Marigold Vegetable Bouillon
1 teaspoon Butter Buds (optional)
3 tablespoons single cream
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chervil

50g reduced fat cheddar cheese
80g bread crumbs

Peel celeriac and cut in half. Cut each half into thin slices, about 1/4" thick. Drop the slices in a bowl of cold water with the juice of 1/2 lemon as you work - this prevents the celeriac from discolouring.

When all the celeriac is sliced, place it in a steamer and steam over boiling water for about 10 minutes.

Allow to cool and then arrange the slices neatly in a baking dish. Using the water over which the celeriac was steamed, make a veloute sauce. The steaming water will have picked up some of the celeriac taste, so add the bouillon powder, Butter Buds (if used), herbs and salt & pepper to taste.

Simmer over low heat until reduced to about 1 pint.

Mix the sauce flour with a little cold water and add to the sauce.

Cook for 5-10 minutes, until thickened. Add the cream.

Pour the sauce over the celeriac, shake the dish to make sure that the sauce cover all the slices and gets into the cracks between slices of celeriac and is evenly distributed.

Mix together the crumbs and grated cheese. Sprinkle over to top of the celeriac and spread evenly

Bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition Summary Per Serving
Calories (kcal) 354.7
Protein (g) 16.9
Carbohydrate (g) 48.5
Fat (g) 11.2

Snack Thursday 5 October - Granadilla

In the spirit of my quest to try something new at least once a month, I tried a granadilla.

Sort of like a giant non-wrinkly passion fruit. It was very sweet and full of crunchy, edible seeds, like a passion fruit.

According to the Wikipedia:

"The sweet granadilla (Spanish: granadilla) is a plant of the species named Passiflora ligularis because of the plant's ligulate corollae. It is native to the Andes Mountains between Bolivia and Venezuela. It grows as far south as northern Argentina and as far north as Mexico and in the tropical mountains of Africa and Australia. Sweet granadilla likes climates ranging from 15° to 18° C and between 600 and 1000 mm of annual rain. It lives at altitudes ranging from 1700 to 2600 meters above sea level."

Lunch Thursday 5 October - Stir Steam variation

This is a variation the stir steams I eat regularly. See the very first entry in this blog for the basic recipe (and numerous place elsewhere)

Stir Steam Variation
1 portion basic Chinese style sauce for stir steam
1 nest Chinese egg noodles (about 50g)
100g bean sprouts, blanched
60g baby corn
60g mange tout
60g buna shemiji mushrooms
100g king prawns
60g spring onions, sliced

Bring the basic Chinese style sauce to a simmer, add the mushrooms and cook until they are tender.

Meanwhile, boil the noodles together with the baby corn for 4 minutes. Split the corn into 4's
lengthwise.

Thicken with 1 tablespoons corn flour in a little bit of cold water. Add the mange tout and prawns to the Chinese style sauce and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the spring onions, cooked noodles and baby corn to toss well.




Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 484.5
Protein (g) 40.0
Carbohydrate (g) 66.7
Fat (g) 6.4
Fibre (g) 6.8

Breakfast Thursday 5 October - Blueberries and Toast

Had two slices of Dan's Dilly bread with coffee for breakfast, followed by a punnet of Polish blueberries.

Dinner Wednesday 4 October - Langoustine Bisque

The method for making langoustine stock is listed under 21 September. But here is is again, as well.

I had a bunch of langoustine thoraxes & claws from the great Shellfish Bonanza - I put the tails in the freezer, but made bisque from the "junk" as I did not have room in the freezer for the whole critter.

Langoustine Bisque
langoustine shells from about 18 langoustine
1 carrot
1 rib celery
1 shallot
1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon pepper corns
small bunch parsley
few sprig chervil

1 teaspoon tomato puree
1 large glass (250ml) white wine
1 small glass (50ml) brandy
salt & pepper to taste

60 ml single cream
10g butter
20g sauce flour
paprika to taste
few sprigs parsley or chervil

Place the langoustine shells (heads, legs, thorax shells) on a baking tray and place in a low oven (Gas Mark 2 or 3) for about 45 minutes until they are dried and fragrant.

Place the legs in a mortar & pestle and crush lightly. Or if you have a heavy duty blender, you can whizz them up in the blender.

I just use the shells and discard the organs inside the thorax. I leave them there for roasting, but when it comes to whizz them up, I don't want the bits. Probably just be being fussy.

Add the toasted shells (including legs) to a large sauce pan. Add the chopped carrot, celery and shallot, 1/2 lemon, a few pepper corns, and parsley & chervil. Add enough water to just cover the ingredients, cover and simmer for about 35 minutes.

Strain the stock and discard the shells and vegetables. Add the tomato paste (more for colour than any thing else), the wine and the brandy and return to the heat.

Cook over low heat until it is much reduced; you want to end up with about 750ml - 1 litre of stock.

Taste the stock and add salt & pepper (if necessary). I sometimes add a tiny bit of sugar - 1/2 teaspoonful.

Make a roux of the butter and flour. Allow to cook to a light fawn colour and then add the stock and stir till slightly thickened. Add the cream and continue to stir - the bisque should be slightly thickened and glossy. Add a bit of paprika & correct the seasoning.

Allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes over low heat.

Just before serving, add 1 tablespoon more of brandy. Garnish with parsley or chervil.

Makes 1 large serving (two bowls)

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 381.1
Carbohydrate (g) 17.0
Protein (g) 20.5
Fat (g) 25.1
Fibre (g) 0.6

Lunch Wednesday 4 October- A Japanese Influenced Tuna Salad

A Japanese Influenced Tuna Salad
1 tuna steak (1bout 170g)
50g wild rocket
1 tomato (about 150g)
200g asparagus spears
150g new potatoes
1 teaspoon wasabi (or to taste)
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon seven spice powder

Spray a frying pan with a little olive oil and sear the tuna steak on either side to your preferred degree of doneness.

Boil or steam the new potaties and asparagus and allow to cool.

Line a plate with rocket leaves. Arrange the tuna steak, new poatoes, asparagus and tomato on the leaves.

Mix together the wasabi & soy sauce and drizzle over the salad.

Garnish the tuna with 7 spice powder.

See Dinner Thursday 14 September for Seven Spice Powder recipe.


Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 437.1
Protein (g) 60.5
Carbohydrate (g) 35.5
Fat (g) 7.0
Fibre (g) 7.9

Breakfast Wednesday 4 October - Strawberries & mushrooms!

OK, so weird combination, but not as odd as it sounds as I did not eat them at the same time.

Woke up very early this AM and had a bowl of strawberries around 07:00. Then had the remainder of the Waitrose Roasted Wild Mushroom paste on a slice of toast around 09:30, when strawberries had worn off.

Dinner 3 October - Gado Gado

Gado Gado
Gado Gado is an Indonesian composed salad. There are as many variations on the ingredients are there are cooks who make gado gado. Here is mine:
1006 beansprouts, blanched in boiling hot water for 60 seconds & refreshed
150g dwarf beans, steamed
60g cooked spinach
1 carrot, shredded finely
100g cabbage leaves, blanched in boiling hot water for 60 seconds & refreshed
1 tomato, sliced
4 quails eggs, hard boiled
100g deep fried tofu
2 tablespoons soy sauce
50g shallots, finely sliced
1 teaspoon oil

Fry the sliced shallots in the oil until brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels.

Cut the deep fried tofu into bite sized pieces and toss with the soy sauce.

Arrange all ingredients on a serving plate. Garnish with the crispy fried shallot and serve with gado gado dressing.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 725.8
Carbohydrate (g) 50.3
Protein (g) 48.2
Fat (g) 38.1
Fibre (g) 16.2

I used some "bumbu gado gado" that I bought on a recent foray into China Town. It is Enak Eco brand and made me nostalgic. Enak Eco is found all over Indonesia, but it is made in Malang, Java. I visited Malang on the way to Mount Bromo, an active volcano & one of the most spectacular sights in Java.

I did not get to take any pictures at Mt Bromo as my camera was ruined by the incredibly fine volcanic sand from Bromo that gets everywhere. I remember sitting on the rim, waiting for the sunrise & being very upset that my camera was not working. Thankfully, Anton was there are reminded me to observe the incredible scene unfolding in front of me rather than concentrate on the broken camera.

Good man.

Here is a picture of Mount Bromo.


And here is a picture of some Enak Eco products



Here is a recipe for gado gado dressing. The same sauce is used for satay.

Sambal kacang (Peanut sauce )
This is the best-known, most popular sauce for satay. It is also used for gado-gado, and goes well with any grilled meat.
If you like your satay sauce chilli-hot, there are several quite passable powdered instant sauces on the market. For making it yourself, there are various so-called short cuts, most of them involving crunchy peanut butter. Avoid these; the method described below is as easy, cheaper and much nicer.

Makes about 280 ml / 1/2 pint / 1-1/4 cups of sauce

112 ml / 4 fl oz / 1/2 cup vegetable oil
225 g / 8 oz / 1-1/3 cups raw peanuts
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 shallots, chopped
A thin slice of shrimp paste (optional)
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
450 ml / 16 fl oz / 2 cups water
1 tbsp tamarind water or juice of a lemon

Stir-fry the peanuts for 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain in a colander, and leave to cool. Then pound or grind the nuts into a fine powder, using a blender, coffee grinder, or pestle and mortar. Discard the oil, except for 1 tablespoonful.

Crush the garlic, shallots and shrimp paste in a mortar with a little salt, and fry in the remaining oil for 1 minute. Add the chilli powder, sugar, soy sauce and water. Bring this to the boil, then add the ground peanuts. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce becomes thick; this should take about 8-10 minutes. Add the tamarind water or lemon juice and more salt if needed.

Recipe by Sri Owen from Indonesian Regional Cooking.

Lunch Tuesday 3 October - Stir Steam of Vegetables with Fish Cake

Chinese style Stir-Steamed Vegetables & Prawns
This was the first recipe in this blog and has been repeated many times as it is a favourite. But, here goes again...

I call this method "stir-steaming" because the veggies are steamed over the broth, rather than stir fried in a wok. No oil except a bit of sesame for flavour.

First, make the broth:
Ingredients:
1 fish or veggie stock cube (or use 1 pint of homemade, light flavoured stock)
3 fat garlic cloves, smashed, minced, pressed or otherwise obliterated
about a 1 inch segment of fresh ginger root, peeled & grated
3-4 birds eye chills, or to taste
10g (about 4 pieces) dried Chinese Shiitake mushrooms
6 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons Shao Shing rice wine (or dry sherry)

Soak the mushrooms in boiling water until soft. Remove the woody stems and cut into fine strips. Strain the mushroom liquor into a saucepan; be sure to leave behind any debris from the mushrooms.

Add to the mushroom liquor
1 stock cube (if using fresh stock, boil it and soak the mushrooms in the hot stock, then strain to remove any mushroom debris)
the chopped chills
the crushed garlic
the grated ginger
the Shao Shing
the soy sauce

Bring to a simmer and simmer about 30 mins. This makes enough broth/sauce for 2 servings.

The rest:
In a bamboo steamer, place
one carrot, scrubbed and sliced into coins
60g baby corn, split in two lengthwise
100g broccoli, cut into florets
Place the vegetables in a steamer basket and steam over one serving of broth for about 5 minutes, until just tender and bright coloured. Add

60g sliced mange tout

and steam for another minute or two. The vegetables should retain some crunch.

Remove the steamer basket and place it over a serving dish to keep warm. Add to the broth

1 tablespoon corn flour mixed with a little cold water to form a paste
100g Chinese fish cake, sliced

Cook over medium heat until the sauce is thickened. This should only take 2-3 minutes.

Add

40g spring onions, sliced fine
a shake of sesame oil (about 1/2 teaspoon)

Remove from heat. Place all the steamed vegetables in a serving dish. Pour over the sauce with the fish cake slices and spring onions and mix gently but mix well so each piece is coated with sauce.


Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 302.3
Protein (g) 25.3
Carbohydrate (g) 44.2
Fat (g) 4.2
Fibre (g) 6.5

Breakfast Tuesday 3 October - Wild Mushroom Pate & Toast

During the great Waitrose frenzy, I picked up a tub of their own brand "Roasted Wild Mushroom Pate Enriched with Madeira".

And very nice it is, too. So, had 1/2 tub on a slice of Dan's Dilly bread with some sliced tomatoes.

Must stop making bread for a while as it has gotten me off track with the cereal hoard... although I do love making bread!

Dinner 2 October - Malaysian Curry Noodles

Malaysian Curry Noodles
1 tablespoon Malaysian curry powder
1 tablespoons coconut powder made up with 100ml water (or equivalent thin coconut milk)
1 tablespoon chili bean paste
1 tablespoon ketjap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 thumb of ginger, peeled and grated
1 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bird's eye chillis, sliced fine
1 teaspoon golden unrefined sugar
2 tablespoons Shao Shing rice wine

Mix all ingredients together and simmer over low heat until thick.

Toss together:
2 nest Chinese egg noodles, cooked according to package instructions
200g bean sprouts, blanched in boiling hot water for 1 minute & refreshed

Add to the sauce and mix well. Garnish with:
40g spring onions, washed, trimmed and sliced fine.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 477.2
Carbohydrate (g) 71.1
Protein (g) 19.0
Fat (g) 13.3
Fibre (g) 7.3

Lunch Monday 2 October - A Japanese Style Noodle Soup

A Japanese Style Noodle Soup
1 pint dashi
2 tablespoons mirin
1 teaspoon golden unrefined sugar
1 bundle (50g) soba noodles, cooked according to package instructions
100g Japanese or Chinese fish cake, sliced thinly
300g pak choi (about 4 small heads), washed and quartered & steamed until tender
4 spring onions, washed, trimmed and sliced finely
1 teaspoon seven spice powder

Arrange cooked noodles & pak choi in serving bowl.

Add the sugar & mirin to the dashi and bring to a simmer. Add the fish cake slices and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Remove the fish cake slices and arrange in bowl with the noodles & pak choi. Ladle over the hot broth and garnish with 7 spice powder & spring onions.

See Dinner Thursday 14 September for Seven Spice Powder recipe

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 359.1
Carbohydrate (g) 60.3
Protein (g) 18.6
Fat (g) 3.3
Fibre (g) 4.7

Breakfast Monday 2 October - Dilly Bread, Gorgonzola & tomatoes

Had two slices of Dan's Dilly bread, toasted and the last 50g tranche of some gorgonzola cheese. After I took the photo I decided the tomatoes looked pretty good too, so I add two of them.

Dinner Sunday 1 October - Tea smoked Salmon with Udon Noodles

Tea smoked Salmon with Udon Noodles
120g wild Alaskan Salmon fillet
1/2 bundle udon noodles (about 40g)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
4 spring onions, shredded (about 40g)
100g tender stem broccoli

See Dinner Thursday 17 August for tea smoking method.

I wanted something nice to eat, with minimal effort as still feeling pretty lousy. So, I smoked the salmon and prepared the noodles very simple and had with some steamed broccoli.

The sauce for the noodles was just the soy & mirin, heated together until they form large bubbles are are starting to get syrupy. Toss in the cooked noodles and shredded spring onions.


Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 534.5
Protein (g) 44.4
Carbohydrate (g) 72.7
Fat (g) 6.4
Fibre (g) 3.7

Lunch Sunday 30 October - Can of soup

Yes, I am feeling that rough that the best I could muster was to open a can of soup and have Baxter's Spicy Parsnip Soup with a piece of toast.

Have some salmon that I tea smoked yesterday and must eat that up for supper...

Breakfast Sunday 1 October - Toasted Red Leicester on Dan's Dilly Bread

Had two slices of Dan's Dilly bread toasted with some Marks & Spencer Red Leicester cheese and a sliced tomato.

Very tasty and seemed like proper "invalid" food, so I don't care how many calories or grams of saturated fat it contained.

Woke up feeling worse than yesterday. I hate being sick and have no talent for being sick.

Dinner Saturday 23 September - Veggies

Feeling totally AWFUL today. Nasty, unpleasant cold with sore throat, bunged up nose and general achiness and feeling shite.

Crab boil would have been a waste, as I can barely taste anything, so just ate the veggies that I had bought to have with the crabs.

Corn on the cob, tomatoes and asparagus always reminds me of summer. Down on the Jersey shore, when I was a kid, we would bring corn from our neighbours farm, Joe Longstreth, and have it with fresh caught crabs from the Barnegat Bay.

A lot of the corn (or "sweetcorn", as the English like to call it) that I have had in the UK has been rubbish and anything but sweet. These ears were from the fellow in the market that I get my tomatoes, peppers, broccoli etc from and they were damn good.

Lunch Saturday 30 September - Wild Pacific Salmon and Salad plus Dill Bread

Last night, I had some yoghurt that needed using up and was trying to think of what to do with it. Figured I would use it in a loaf of bread (as I was about out of feather rolls anyway).

Flipped through the recipe box and found recipe for Dan's Dilly Bread, given to me by my cousin Betsy's husband, Dan Matt. Dan was a chef when I knew him, many years ago. Just Googled his name and found this:

Daniel J. Matt

The original recipe calls for 1 cup of ricotta cheese, but I figured yoghurt would do. I also used 2 shallots in place of the 1 tablespoon of minced onion called for in the original. And I used more flour as I had more liquid. Other than that, it is pretty much Dan's recipe.

Dan's Dilly Bread
2 fluid ounces water water
1 tablespoon dried yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
240g natural, unsweetened yoghurt
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 duck egg
2 tablespoons dill seed
1 shallots, diced fine (40g)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
450g strong white bread flour

Mix the yeast with the warm water and one tablespoon sugar. Leave to one side until foaming, about 10 minutes.

Mix together the yoghurt, egg, other tablespoon sugar, salt, dill seeds, & diced shallots.

Add the yeast mixture and stir well. Add the baking soda.

Gradually add the flour and stir until the dough is too stiff to stir any more. Turn out onto a floured board and knead, incorporating the rest of the flour.

Place is a greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave in fridge overnight.

Next morning, knock back the dough and knead again. Form into a loaf and place into a 2 pound loaf tin. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk. Bake in a moderate oven, Gas Mark 5, for40 minutes or until it sound hollow when tapped.

This makes one loaf of approximately 840g.

Nutrition Data per gram
Calories (kcal) 2.4
Carbohydrate (g) 0.4
Protein (g) 0.1
Fat (g) 0.0

Never understood why this recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon of soda (amidst all the flour and yeast), but I add it anyway. The original recipe does not call for rising overnight in fridge - I got tired last night and did not want to wait up for it to rise and bake.

Breakfast Saturday 30 September - Last of the feather rolls & mango smoothie

Had the last 2 feather rolls with some coffee, then made a smoothie of a (very) ripe mango and a clementine.

Feeling awful to day - Pris woke me up at 7:00 today, screaming for her breakfast from the bedroom window sill.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I realised I was sick. I was 100% fine when I went to bed - now I cannot breathe, feel like my sinuses are full of concrete, have a sore throat and zero energy.

Poor me.... I blame the sugar from yesterday. Went to Covent Garden yesterday with a mate and "accidentally" went into CyberCandy's new shop on Garrick Street

I went a little crazy....

• candy necklaces
• Twizzlers (liquorice & strawberry)
• Charleston Chew (chocolate & vanilla)
• Good 'n' Plenty
• Boston Baked Beans
• Milk Duds
• Tootsie Roll
• Sweet Tarts
• Chocolate Turtles
• Red Hots
• Boyer Mallow Cup
• Boyer Peanut Butter Cup (FAR superior to Reese's)

I don't know what came over me - I don't really have a sweet tooth, but it was just so FUN to see all my childhood favourites. I felt 10 years old again, in Sam's Corner Shop on the DC line...

Then we went to the NZ shop (Kiwi Fruits) and friend insisted I have something called a "Pinky" bar. Oh dear.

Should not have eaten the candy necklace, Twizzlers and Pinky bar.

OK, realistically, my cold is more likely from the crowds in Covent Garden than from sugar, but I feel awful anyway.

CyberCandy

Dinner Friday 29 September - Tivall "Chicken" slices, rice, onion gravy & veggies

Had some Tivall "Roast Chicken" style TVP slices which were purchased in the Great Waitrose Frenzy.

So, dinner was

• the Tivall slices,
• leftover onion gravy, (leftover from Dinner Wednesday 27 September)
• wild rice,
• broccoli and
• some mushrooms cooked in white wine (leftover from the Lasagna had for Dinner Sunday 24 September )

Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 622.7
Protein (g) 35.4
Carbohydrate (g) 69.2
Fat (g) 23.0
Fibre (g) 8.2

Clearing away all the leftovers before the crab feast....

Lunch Friday 29 September - Fusilli Lunghi & Ratatouille

Had to make some space in the freezer for the shellfish bonanza, so removed my ice cubes trays (I was enjoying having ice again!) and the last portion of rataouille (see Lunch Saturday 23 September for recipe).

Had the ratatouille as a sauce for some fusilli lunghi, with a shaving of grated half fat cheddar from Waitrose (which actually tastes pretty nice). Most reduced fat cheeses seem to be as tasty as rubber, but Waitrose's is actually pretty good.


Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 510.4
Protein (g) 24.0
Carbohydrate (g) 71.8
Fat (g) 14.2
Fibre (g) 8.8

Breakfast Friday 29 September - Strawberries & Feather Rolls

Started the day off with a punnet of strawberries, 2 feather rolls and coffee.

Went back to Chapel Market fishmonger and got another box of langoustine (for a friend) and a box of blue crabs (for me).

Plan to do the crabs in an old fashioned crab boil (to see what they are like) and then, if they are up to it, Singaporean style chilli crabs.

Dinner Thursday 28 September - Salad of Jerusalem Artichokes, Peas & Prawns

Salad of Jerusalem Artichokes, Peas & Prawns
250g Jerusalem artichokes, well scrubbed and cut into slices
100g petit pois
100g cooked prawns
50g pointed green cabbage, finely shredded
40g spring onions, finely sliced
Steam artichoke slices until tender. Add peas and steam another 2 minutes.

Make a dressing of
1 tablespoon hemp oil
juice 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Pour over the other ingredients and combine well.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 478.0
Carbohydrate (g) 57.7
Protein (g) 28.3
Fat (g) 15.5
Fibre (g) 10.3

Shellfish bonanza!

Well, I was in Chapel Market just now and the fishmonger who is there late in the week (usually Thursday - Sunday) had boxes for frozen langoustine for a FIVER.

Too good to pass up! So, even though

1) The freezer is pretty full
2) I am enjoying having ice making capacity and
2) I still have some langoustine I bought in China Town in the freezer

I could not resist and bought another box.

Got them home and wrenched off the heads/thoraxes so I could just put the tails in the freezer to save space. Currently making a big batch of langoustine bouillon and will probably make a proper, blow out bisque with them.

Trying to decide whether or not to so back to fishmonger. He had 2 boxes of langoustine (I am tempted to get the other) and he also had blue crabs. I love blue crabs, like we used to get in Maryland and New Jersey. Not a lot of meat of them, but very tasty. These were from Sri Lanka, but they looked similar.

I have some Zatarain's Crab Boil in the kitchen which I brought back from New York and it is singing to me "buy the crabs and use me".

Decisions, decisions!

Zatarain's Crab Boil

Lunch Thursday 28 September - Soft Herb Soup and Salad of Avocados& Tomatoes

Soft Herb Soup
200g new potatoes, halved or quartered
1 medium onion, chopped (about 180g)
1/2 leek (green part), washed carefully & shredded
3 cloves garlic, sliced
750 ml vegetable stock (homemade of cub/powder etc)
generous handful fresh parsley (about 10g)
generous handful fresh snipped chives (about 10g)
generous handful fresh dill (about 10g)
1 teaspoon dried chervil (would love to get fresh, but hard to come by)

Put the potatoes, onions, garlic and leeks in a pot with the stock and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Add the herbs and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Place the soup in a liquidiser and process until smooth. Serve hot or chilled, garnished with a few chives

Makes two servings.

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 120.5
Carbohydrate (g) 25.0
Protein (g) 4.7
Fat (g) 0.8
Fibre (g) 4.5


I have Chinese flowering chives in at the moment, so used them, but any chives would be fine.

I had the soup with an avocado & tomato salad, dressed with a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar.

Got a chance to try out my new gadget from Lakeland Limited, as avocado sheller - it works! It is sort of like a blunt, curved knife that you use to separate the flesh from the shell in one piece.

Breakfast Thursday 28 September - Feather Rolls & Raspberries

Last night I made some Feather Rolls (an old recipe), but I modified the recipe slightly to try to

1) save a few calories and
2) use up some weird and wonderful flours I have around.

Original Recipe:

Nan's Feather Rolls
1 tablespoon dried yeast
1 cup / 8 fl oz warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 large egg
2 cups white flour (about 250g)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add yeast and sugar to warm water. Leave to stand until yeast is foaming (10 mins or so).

Add the butter, egg, salt and flour to the mix. Beat vigorously with a rotary or electric mixer for 5 minutes. You can beat by hand, but you need really good upper arm strength and about 10 mins of it.

Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 mins. Beat down and divide among 8 - 12 muffin cups (American muffin cups, not those Yorkshire pudding things). Each cup should be about 1/2 full. How many depends on how big your muffin cups are!

Leave to rise again until the mixture has filled the cups. Bake in a hot oven 400 degrees/ Gas Mark 6 for about 15-20 minutes.

Serving Suggestion: Try not to eat them all at once!


My Revised Version
1 tablespoon dried yeast
1 cup / 8 fl oz warm water
1 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 duck egg
100g Grade 00 white flour
100g brown rice flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add yeast and sugar to warm water. Leave to stand until yeast is foaming (10 mins or so).

Add the oil, egg, salt and flour to the mix. Beat vigorously with a rotary or electric mixer for 5 minutes. You can beat by hand, but you need really good upper arm strength and about 10 mins of it.

Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 mins. Beat down and divide among 12 muffin cups. Each cup should be about 1/2 full.

Leave to rise again until the mixture has filled the cups. Bake in a hot oven 400 degrees/ Gas Mark 6 for about 15-20 minutes.

Makes 12 rolls.

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 97.0
Carbohydrate (g) 14.2
Protein (g) 2.5
Fat (g) 3.4
Fibre (g) 0.7


They came out OK, but the texture is different than usual (less flour and different kinds of flour).

Dinner Wednesday 27 September - Quorn "Ribsters", Onion Gravy & Veggies

Quorn "Ribsters" with New Potatoes, Broccoli and Dwarf Beans

This is more clearing out the freezer! I have a load of Quorn products in there at the moment, from the many Sainsbury's "Buy One, get One Free" offers or the "2 for £2.50" offers which I never seem to be able to resist....

This are supposed to be like pork ribs, but you could not prove it my me, as I have never eaten ribs and have not eaten pork in over 35 years.

On the plus side, I have now cleared out enough stuff that I can get three - that's right THREE ice cube trays in the freezer. As a Yank, I like ice in my drinks (as essential for a vodka & tonic as lime wedges). Now I can fit them in again, so this makes me happy.

Onion Gravy
one large onion, halved and sliced finely (about 200g)
10g butter
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry English mustard
1 tablespoon cornflour or sauce flour
500ml vegetable stock (homemade or cube, powder whatever)

Saute the onions slowly in the butter until they are browned and soft - at least 30 minutes. Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder and salt/pepper to taste. Simmer together for 30 minutes. Mix the flour with a little water to make a paste and add to the gravy. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes and serve.

Makes 2 servings

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 105.3
Carbohydrate (g) 12.2
Protein (g) 2.4
Fat (g) 5.3
Fibre (g) 1.4


Nutrition Data for whole meal:

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 366.4
Carbohydrate (g) 45.1
Protein (g) 24.7
Fat (g) 10.7
Fibre (g) 11.4

I used an (new) item from the condiment hoard for the first time in this gravy. "Uncle Roy's Gravy Salt", puchased during the recent Waitrose frenzy. It is just salt & caramel, so I don't know why I bothered. Nice label (I am such a sucker).

Uncle Roy's Gravy Salt

Lunch Wednesday 27 September - Leftover Quorn & Mango

Resurrected the leftover Quorn and Mango a l'Orange (see Dinner Monday 25 September) as a salad by mixing it with some shredded romaine.

Just as nice cold as warm.

Breakfast Wednesday 27 September - Just toast again

Finished off the last of the second loaf of homemade seeded oatmeal bread, toasted, with Marmite.

Dinner Tuesday 26 September - Pak Choi & Wild Rice

Pak Choi & Wild Rice
1 tablespoon dried shrimp
2-3 cloves garlic
10 fluid ounces vegetable stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons Shao Shing rice wine (or dry sherry)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water, stems removed, sliced finely
1 tablespoon cornflour
350g pak choi, washed and halved or quartered according to size
small handful Chinese Flowering Chives (about 10g)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

60g (dry weight) wild rice, cooked

Pound together dried shrimp & garlic in a mortar and pestle. Add to the vegetable stock along with the mushrooms, soy sauce, sugar & Shao Shing. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the pak choi and cover. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

Remove the pak choi and arrange in a serving plate. Add the cornflour mixture to the sauce and boil for a few minutes to thicken. Add the chives & sesame oil and pour the sauce over the pak choi. Serve with wild rice.


Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 415.5
Carbohydrate (g) 76.5
Protein (g) 17.5
Fat (g) 4.9
Fibre (g) 5.1

This does not look very appetizing, but it tasted great!

Lunch Tuesday 26 September - Leftover Lasagna

Ate the other portion of lasagna (see Dinner Sunday 24 September ) with a rocket & tomato salad.

Breakfast Tuesday 26 September - Toast & coffee

I had a couple of slices of the home made seeded oatmeal bread - one with Marmite, one with Patum Peperium - The Gentleman's Relish. And of course, coffee.

Dinner Monday 25 September - Quorn & Mango a l'Orange

Well, I had a coupon..... a while back, I said that whenever you see me using weird and wonderful sauce packets, it is invariably because I had coupon for a free one or the like.

Anyway, this sachet of Crosse & Blackwell a l'Orange sauce had been knocking about for ages, so decided to use it up. Here's what came out:

Quorn & Mango a l'Orange
1 teaspoon oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2-3 bird's eye chillis, sliced
1 large onion, sliced (about 200g)
one small red pepper, cut into strips (about 100g)
one small yellow pepper, cut into strips (about 100g)
one sachet a L'orange sauce mix
2 plain Quorn fillets, cut into strips
40g spring onions, sliced
one mango, peeled & cut into small cubes (about 350g)

Put the oil in a wok and saute the garlic, onions and chillis until the onions are soft. Add the peppers and saute another few minutes. Add the Quorn fillet strips and the sauce mix with the amount of water suggested on the pouch (300 ml, in my case).

Simmer 5 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add the spring onions and chopped mango and stir through.

Makes 2 servings.


Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 285.8
Carbohydrate (g) 50.8
Protein (g) 10.0
Fat (g) 5.1
Fibre (g) 9.7

Lunch Monday 25 September - An Enchanted Broccoli Forest!

Enchanted Broccoli Forest
75g brown rice, cooked
200g broccoli, cut into "trees"
one large onion
1/2 c vegetable stock (homemade or not)
50g half fat cheddar cheese
2 portions low fat white Sauce (see Dinner 24 September)

Spray a non stick skillet with a little oil and fry the onions until softened. Add the stock and simmer over low heat until onions are thoroughly cooked and stock is all but evaporated.

Add the white sauce & the cooked rice. Also add any extraneous stems bits from the broccoli, cut fine.

Pile into a casserole dish, smooth the top and sprinkle the cheese over the surface.

Steam the broccoli until it is just barely tender. Stand the broccoli stems upright in the rice mixtures, creating a forest of broccoli trees.

Cover the casserole and bake in a moderate oven, Gas Mark 4 for 20-30 minutes or until bubbling. Serve hot.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 539.6
Carbohydrate (g) 74.0
Protein (g) 35.0
Fat (g) 12.2
Fibre (g) 8.9

This is a variation of one of the classic vegetarian meals of the 1970's Mollie Katzen's "Enchanted Broccoli Forest", from her book by the same name. The original has the rice in a egg custard. I did it this way as I wanted to use up the white sauce!

Here is her website:
Mollie Katzen

I took a picture of the whole "forest" but it is obscured by steam...

Breakfast Monday 25 September - Tortilla & grapes

Polished off the last portion of tortilla with a bunch red grapes & coffee.

Dinner Sunday 24 September - Lasagna

Lasagna
2 serving ratatouille (see Lunch Saturday 23 September )
2 serving white sauce (see below)
15g grated Parmesan cheese
125g grated low fat mozzarella
250g mushrooms, sliced fine
100g broccoli, chopped
5 square sheets of lasagna (120g)

Pop one serving of ratatouille in the blender with a bit of water and blend briefly into a chunky sauce.

Select a baking dish as close to the size of you lasagna sheets as possible.

Place a bit of sauce in the bottom of the dish and add one sheet of lasagna pasta. Top with 1/2 of the un-blended ratatouille, then the second sheet of lasagna pasta and some some sauce. Next add a layer of mushrooms, some more sauce and your third sheet of lasagna. Then another layer of ratatouille and some more sauce. Top that with your fourth sheet of pasta and then the chopped broccoli, the last on the sauce and the fifth sheet of lasagna.

Finally, top the whole thing with the white sauce & grated cheeses.

Cover and bake at Gas Mark 4 for about 45 minutes. Remove the cover and bake until the top is nicely browned, about another 30 minutes.

Make 2 generous portions.

Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 603.6
Protein (g) 35.5
Carbohydrate (g) 74.1
Fat (g) 18.7
Fibre (g) 11.0


Low fat White Sauce
one pint semi skimmed milk
30g sauce flour or cornflour
1 teaspoon Marigold Vegetable Bouillon
salt & white pepper to taste
a pinch of nutmeg
2 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Mix together a little of the cold milk and the flour in a sauce pan. Gradually add the rest in the milk, beating all the time so no lumps form. Add the bouillon and cook over low heat until the sauce thickens. Add salt & pepper to taste and a sprinkling of fresh nutmeg. Finally add the chopped parsley.

I used the whey in which the cheese was packed as part of my pint of "milk".

Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 61.7
Carbohydrate (g) 11.0
Protein (g) 3.6
Fat (g) 0.5
Fibre (g) 0.3


Hadn't had lasagna in ages (not having had a working oven) and I thought the blitzed up ratatouille would make a nice sauce (as indeed it did).

This really should have been three or four portion, but I was HUNGRY!

Lunch Sunday 24 September - Tortilla and salad

Well, that's it.

One serving of tortilla and a salad of romaine lettuce, tomato and beet root.

Ta-da!

Breakfast Sunday 24 September - Morecambe Bay Potted Shrimps and Grapes

Morecambe Bay Potted Shrimps and Grapes

As it's Sunday (and I had them in the fridge) I started off today with 2 thin slices of toasted homemade seeded oatmeal bread, a tub of Morecambe Bay potted shrimp and a bunch of grapes.

The potted shrimp were bought in Waitrose during the most recent food buying frenzy. They were £2.39 for a two ounce tub. OK, but (no surprise) I prefer my own potted shrimp. Must stop in on Steve Hatt sometime soon and pick up some brown shrimp to pot my own.

Here's Waitrose's article about their potted shrimp:

Waitrose Morecambe Bay Potted Shrimp

If you are not familiar, potted shrimp are just shrimp cooked with butter and spices, them packed in little tubs/pots and sealed with a layer of butter. I generally add some mace to my potted shrimps; these did not appear to have any seasoning. Don't get me wrong - they were nice. Just not as good as mine.

Dinner Saturday 23 September - A Salad

Just a salad. Had a lump of dolcelatte and some Ryvita mid afternoon, so not so hungry

50g rocket
100g carrot, grated
1 rib celery, sliced fine (about 50g)
1 sachet Ken's Lite Italian Dressing
200g cherry tomatoes
200g beet root

Just mixed together the grated carrot and celery with a sachet of Ken's Lite Italian Dressing I found in the fridge. I think I picked it up in the hospital cafeteria when I was visiting my Mum in January. 'bout time it got used up. Add a few caraway seeds, as I like them with carrot especially.


Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 229.7
Protein (g) 7.8
Carbohydrate (g) 38.0
Fat (g) 6.6
Fibre (g) 9.2

Lunch Saturday 23 September - Ratatouille Pasta

Since I did not eat the ratatouille with pasta last night, I had it for lunch today.

Ratatouille
250g onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
300g aubergine
425g courgettes
1 small red pepper (about 125g)
1 small pepper (about 125g)
2 X 400g tinned chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
1 large glass white wine (250ml)
1 tablespoon sugar (if needed)
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 bay leaf

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add the aubergine, courgettes and pepper and saute until softened. Add the herbs, the tinned tomatoes and the white wine. Simmer over low heat until thickened and well reduced, about 1 hour.

Taste and add the sugar if the tomatoes are lacking sweetness on their own. Season to taste withs salt & pepper. Can be served hot or at room temperature.

Makes 4 serving of about 400g each.

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 170.8
Carbohydrate (g) 18.8
Protein (g) 6.0
Fat (g) 8.1
Fibre (g) 6.0

Lunch was one serving of ratatouille with a serving of fusilli lunghi (75g) and the other half of the tin of artichokes thrown in (120g), plus a bit of Parmesan (10g)

Nutrition Data for complete meal
Calories (kcal) 502.6
Protein (g) 20.1
Carbohydrate (g) 79.0
Fat (g) 11.9
Fibre (g) 8.8

Breakfast Saturday 23 September - Tortilla

Started off the day with some of the leftover tortilla from Lunch Thursday 21 September.

Well, it is mostly eggs and potatoes...

Dinner Friday 22 September - Crisps, peanuts, V&Ts

Well, dinner was supposed to be ratatouille with pasta after the pub. But, I ended up sharing a few bags of crisps and a couple bags of peanuts and so was not hungry when I got in.

This is sort of ironic, on the day that the British Heart Foundation launch their "Food for Thought" campaign

Food4Thought

The image of the girl drinking cooking oil has some people in a lather, but they make a point. There is the equivalent of 2 1/2 teaspoons of oil in the average packet of crisps. Eat one or two a day, as many British kids do and it soon adds up. One packet a day equals FIVE LITRES A YEAR.

Yipes!

'Pack-a-day crisp habit' warning

Had thought the ratatouille & pasta would be great after a night drinking and it probably would have been, had I been hungry!

Lunch Friday 22 September - Tofu, Enoki and Broccoli Udon

Tofu, Enoki and Broccoli Udon
Make a broth from
1 Maggi cube
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shao Shing rice wine
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 "thumb" ginger, grated
2 bird's eye chillis, sliced
400 ml water

Simmer together for 20 minutes.

80g deep fried tofu cubes, quartered
125g broccoli
40g udon noodles
80g enoki mushrooms
1 tablespoon cornflour
4 spring onions, slivered

Add the tofu to the broth to warm through. Meanwhile, cook udon according to pack instructions. Steam the broccoli over the udon while it cooks.

Mix the cornflour with a little cold water and use it to thick the sauce. Toss the cooked broccoli, the udon and the enoki mushrooms in the hot sauce. The enoki need only the briefest of cooking, so a sluice in the hot sauce will be enough. Toss in the spring onions, mix and serve.




Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 406.0
Protein (g) 30.2
Carbohydrate (g) 46.4
Fat (g) 11.0
Fibre (g) 6.8

Breakfast Friday 22 September - Dried Apricots

Had two pieces of homemade seeded oatmeal bread, Marmite, 50g of dried apricots and coffee this AM.

Dinner Thursday 21 September - Langoustine Linguine

I was in China Town yesterday and I saw some langoustines which were a pretty good deal - £8.49 per kilo.

I love langoustines, although the arguably are not great value for money. Most of them seems to get thrown away; hence extracting every bit of flavour from the shells.

This sauce starts out like you are making a bisque. In fact, it probably is just a highly reduced bisque.

In the past, I would have used LOADS of butter and double cream. This is an effort to be a bit healthier and more calorie conscious. I don't know; langoustine are a bit of a "treat" so maybe I should have gone the whole hog! The sauce was pretty rich as it was.



Langoustine Linguine
250g whole, raw langoustine (about 7)
1 carrot
1 rib celery
1 shallot
1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon pepper corns
small bunch parsley
few sprig chervil

1 teaspoon tomato puree
1 large glass (250ml) white wine
1 small glass (50ml) brandy
salt & pepper to taste

30 ml single cream
10g butter
15g plain flour

75g linguine

Peel the langoustine tails. Place the langoustine shells (heads, legs, thorax shells) on a baking tray and place in a low oven (Gas Mark 2) for about 45 minutes until they are dried and fragrant.
Place the legs in a mortar & pestle and crush lightly. Add the toasted shells (including legs) to a large sauce pan. Add the chopped carrot, celery and shallot, 1/2 lemon, a few pepper corns, and parsley & chervil. Add enough water to just cover the ingredients, cover and simmer for about 35 minutes.

Strain the stock and discard the shells and vegetables. Add the tomato paste (more for colour than any thing else), wine & brandy and return to the heat.

Cook over low heat until it is much reduced; probably and 1/8th or less of its original volume. You will need about 4 fluid ounces of concentrated stock.

Taste the stock and add salt & pepper (if necessary). I sometimes add a tiny bit of sugar - 1/2 teaspoonful.

Make a roux of the butter and flour. Allow to cook to a light fawn colour and then add the stock and stir to make a thickened sauce. Add the cream and continue to stir - the sauce should be thick and glossy.

Meanwhile, cook the linguine according to package instructions. Add the cooked linguine to the sauce and keep warm while you cook the langoustines.

Spray a non-stick fry pan with a little olive oil. Bring to high heat and add the seasoned langoustine. Cook briefly, until they just begin to curl. Remove from heat and add a squeeze of fresh lemon.

Turn the linguine out onto a serving plate. Garnish with the cooked langoustine and a few sprigs of fresh parsley.

Langoustine (French name) are variously known as Scampi (Italian name, used in the US and in the UK), Norway Lobster or Dublin Bay Prawns. The scientific name Nephrops norvegicus

Sweet and delicious, by any name.

Nutrition Data
Calories (kcal) 427.6
Carbohydrate (g) 45.8
Protein (g) 26.3
Fat (g) 15.1
Fibre (g) 2.5

Lunch Thursday 21 September - Tortilla and Broccoli Salad

Tortilla and Broccoli Salad
I seemed to have loads of eggs at the moment. I bought 2 dozen quail's eggs at Waitrose during my extravaganza. I also bought 6 duck eggs while I was there. Not sure what got me buying so many "non-standard" eggs, I guess a reaction against my local Islington Sainsbury's as they had stopped stocking both quail & duck eggs.

Anyway, I also had 6 chicken eggs in the fridge, so I decided to make a big tortilla.

Tortilla
1 large onion, chopped (about 200g)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
400g new potatoes, boiled and sliced
80g Spanish olives, sliced (mine were jalapeno stuffed)
25g anchovies, minced
6 large free-range, organic eggs, beaten

Fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan until golden. Add the cooked, sliced potatoes and rosemary and mix well, but be careful not to break up the potatoes too much. Add the olives and anchovies and mix again.

Finally, pour over the beaten eggs and cook over low heat, shaking pan from time to time, until eggs are largely set with just a few wet patches on top.

Pop under a pre-heated grill until eggs are set on top. Allow to cool and cut into wedges.

Can be eaten hot or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Data per serving
Calories (kcal) 283.9
Carbohydrate (g) 19.1
Protein (g) 16.1
Fat (g) 16.6
Fibre (g) 2.5


Broccoli Salad
200g broccoli, steamed until tender
2 small sweet orange peppers, deseeded and sliced (about 45g)
2 ribs celery, sliced fine (about 80g)

Toss the veggies together. Make a dressing of:

juice 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon hemp oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt & pepper to taste

Pour over veggies, mix gently and leave to stand for 30 minutes. Add

1 fat, vine ripened tomato, chopped (about 150g)

Line a plate with about 100g leaves (here is a mix of radish greens and romaine). Pile to salad on top and serve with the tortilla slices.

Salad Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 277.6
Protein (g) 11.8
Carbohydrate (g) 21.4
Fat (g) 16.4
Fibre (g) 10.0

Total Meal Nutrition Summary
Calories (kcal) 561.5
Protein (g) 27.9
Carbohydrate (g) 40.5
Fat (g) 33.0
Fibre (g) 12.5