Month: October 2016

Banoffie Berries

There’s no question I’m a Sweet Tooth. For some reason, I usually want some dessert after dinner …even if I’m full. But it’s always a healthy option; usually fruit & nuts with yoghurt.

Tonight however, I had some leftover cream in the fridge. And an overripe banana in my fruit bowl. Now, although I’ve never eaten much of it, I love Banoffi Pie. Cream + banana = Banoffi  😛

This is basically a pimped up version of Strawberries & Cream: that was the original plan until I spotted the banana and the cogs began turning. The best thing about this is that the natural sugars in the overripe banana mean no added sugar is necessary in the cream. This dessert is super quick, easy and created from just four whole, natural ingredients.

Food FervourNB: I used a specific brand of cream that is naturally very thick (Maleny Dairies) so I can’t vouch for how well this may work for ordinary supermarket brand creams.

All you need for a single serve is: approximately 2 tablespoons of cream, 1 small overripe banana, fresh strawberries and a handful of fresh blueberries.

Finely chop the banana then simply mix vigorously with the cream, using a fork. (It might seem like a bit of work but using a blender could result in banana butter if you’re not careful. Besides, who wants to add a blender to the washing up?) Being overripe, the banana should break up pretty easily.

Simply chop your strawberries, top with the ‘Banoffi’ mix, toss over the blueberries and devour. Deeeelicious!

 

Asparagus & Eggplant Salad with Poached Egg

Time to use up some asparagus! Since it pairs well – and often – with poached egg, I was up for totally up for that today, but I wanted more variety. More veg. With one mini eggplant left in the fridge, I searched for “asparagus eggplant recipes” and found this one pretty quickly… it was quick and easy to boot.

Food Fervour

Here’s what I used:

1 small eggplant, 8 asparagus spears, 3 cherry tomatoes, 1 egg, apple cider vinegar, a handful of rocket, finely grated parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

And here’s what you do:

Quarter the eggplant then slice approximately 5mm thick pieces. Rub the pieces with salt and let rest. Meanwhile chop and discard the bottom 3cm of the asparagus spears then slice into pieces approx 3cm long. Turn the oven grill on to high.

Set a small saucepan on the stove and fill with about 5-6cm water on high heat. Cover and while it comes to the boil, rinse the salt off the eggplant and pat dry with paper towel. Then coat it generously in oil (EVOO) and spread the pieces out under the grill.

Throw the asparagus in the boiling water (to blanch), removing with a slotted spoon after a couple of minutes. Don’t tip out the water, we’re going to recycle it! Set the asparagus aside and check the eggplant; it should be ready to turn over.

Return the saucepan with the water to the stove, adding a dash of apple cider vinegar. Break the egg into a small cup or bowl then, as the vinegar water returns to the boil, grab a spoon and begin stirring the water in one direction quickly to create a ‘whirlpool’. Tip the egg right into the eye of the whirlpool then remove the saucepan from the heat source immediately and cover with the lid. The egg will keep on cookin’ in this hot environment (about 3 minutes for the perfect soft centre) as you continue your prep…

Lay a bed of rocket on your plate, placing the asparagus over the top. Remove the eggplant from the grill and scatter on the plate, then add the quartered cherry tomatoes.

Using the slotted spoon again, gently remove the egg from the saucepan, resting briefly on some paper towel to drain excess fluid, then place on top of the salad. Shower the lot with the grated parmesan, drizzling some EVOO and seasoning with salt and pepper before chowing down. You could add a little vinegar or lemon juice as well if you prefer.

Food FervourIt’s a perfect ‘light meal’ ….but I was a little hungrier than I thought so I ended up cutting a few extra pieces of parmesan to nibble on while I cleaned up. 😛

 

Turnip Scrambled-Egg-Omelette

So I bought a turnip at the farmers markets a few weeks ago because I’d never cooked with one before (I’m doing this kind of thing a bit more of late) and then …forgot about it. But today was the day. And I was stoked to find a recipe that involved eggs …because I’d just done some weight training… perfect timing for a high protein meal.

As usual, I was compelled to tweak the recipe I discovered on the Amateur Gourmet (direct link here) because I wanted to use up a few other things as well as increase the meal’s nutritional density. I’ll admit from the get-go that my omelette failed …to look like an omelette that is. I’m not so good at making perfect omelettes mostly because I refuse to use non-stick cookware. I’d hoped I’d have more success with my porcelain coated frypan as opposed to the stainless steel ones I usually use but… it wasn’t to be. :/

Food Fervour

I used: 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), approx 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 peeled & coarsely grated turnip, ½ small capsicum finely diced, 1 small finely chopped garlic clove, 1 small finger of turmeric, 1 finely chopped shallot, 1 tablespoon tamari, 2 eggs, black pepper & sea salt.

Placing the frypan over a medium heat, I added the butter & half the EVOO and as it warmed I pressed as much fluid out of the grated turnip as possible, with paper towels. I added the turnip and cooked for about 5 minutes (occasionally stirring) before adding the capsicum, garlic and finely grating the turmeric into the mix. I let that lot cook, seasoning with the salt & pepper, for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Whisking the eggs with the tamari then adding the chopped shallots, I turned the heat down to low, before pouring the egg mixture over the vegetables in the frypan, tilting it to prevent the egg from running away from the veggie mix. After a couple of minutes I scraped the edges of the omelette (realising then that it wasn’t going to stay in one piece for me!) to loosen the egg from the base of the frypan, then I began to turn ‘chunks’ of the omelette over bit by bit, to cook for 2-3 minutes more. This is basically where it became scrambled eggs. 😛

I served it up with a piece of avocado toast, some fresh tomato and gave it a good sprinkling of nutritional yeast (my current obsession due to its high protein and B vitamin content, specifically folate (B9) and B12). I was surprised to find that, rather than overly salty, it tasted relatively sweet (that was definitely the capsicum). Needless to say I cleaned my plate. 😉

Zoodles with Chickpeas & Pesto

It was time to harvest my crazy flat leaf parsley plant today. Because parsley is rarely the star in any recipe, I kinda knew I’d be making a pesto. What else can you make with an over-abundance of any green herb? I chose a Parsley & Walnut recipe I found on Taste.com.au (link to that recipe here ) …but halved the ingredients because (1) I’m single and don’t eat much and (2) I didn’t really have enough parmesan cheese left to make the full batch…

Now even before I’d finished creating it I knew how I’d be enjoying the first serving: zoodles. Zucchini noodles, for those not in the know. Because I’m not a huge fan of Italian food – pasta and the like – I’m a bit clueless about the uses of pesto: besides as a dip, all that comes to mind is its presence in pasta dishes (total cliche). So, there it was: raw zucchini spiralled into spaghetti-like strands, to be crowned with my parsley pesto… BUT… what in between? I can’t just do ‘pasta’ & pesto: I mean, where’s the nutrient density in that? ‘Myright?Food Fervour

This is how my (single serve) meal came together:

I popped a frypan on the stove, splashing in a little EVOO and setting it to a low heat. Then I cut about a quarter of a red capsicum slicing it thinly lengthwise. I added it to the frypan.

Next I ‘zoodled’ (spiralled) half of a medium sized zucchini, and arranged the ‘pasta’ bed on my plate. I added approximately ¼ cup of (cooked) chickpeas to the frypan, with the now softening capsicum and gave it a little stir. Then I retrieved some feta & my freshly made pesto from the fridge, and my nutritional yeast from the pantry. There really wasn’t much left to do…

With the chickpeas warmed and the capsicum soft, it was time to plate. (Too easy, right?) I topped the zoodles with the capsicum first, creating a kind of ‘nest’ with them, then I tipped the chickpeas into the centre. Plopping a good dollop of the pesto on top of them, I cut a little piece (maybe 20gms?) of feta, crumbled it over the lot and finished with a sprinkle of (about 1 teaspoon of) nutritional yeast.

It’s a nice light veggie meal, like a ‘warm salad’ in a respect. I found the sweetness of the capsicum tempered any bitterness of the walnut & parsley pesto, and then there was delicious saltiness of the feta and nutritional yeast. If you want to give it a go (NB vegans simply omit the feta) I’d love to know what you think. 🙂

Roasted Lamb Steak, Brussel Sprouts & Broccoli

I saw – somewhere – a picture of oven roasted brussel spouts the other day and I couldn’t get it out of my head. Even though we didn’t eat these fellas often as kids, I’ve never really hated them unlike the majority of people on the planet. So when I saw a bag of organic brussels at the markets on Saturday morning, it was ON!

I’m envisioning heaps of olive oil & garlic. Then I see broccoli in the mix. This is getting good! I bought some fresh grass fed lamb steaks at the markets as well, and since (er, excuse the candidness) it’s getting close to ‘that time of month’ I really feel like a good dose of haem iron.

So, here’s my dinner adventure for tonight:

Food FervourI used 3 ( yes 3!) garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, (approx) 100gms grass fed lamb steak, 1 small carrot, 7-8 brussel sprouts, 4-5 broccoli florets.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC

Finely chop 1 garlic clove, add 1 tblspn Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspn EVOO & 1 squeeze (approx 1 tspn) lemon juice, mix then marinade your lamb steak (approx 100gm) for at least 10 mins…

Quarter (lengthwise) 1 small carrot then, adding 1 tablespoon EVOO, 1 finely chopped garlic clove and salt to a (preferably glass) baking dish, throw in the brussel sprouts, and rub with the garlic, oil & salt mix. Do same for the carrot quarters.

Next, pop a small frypan on the stove, on high heat. Meanwhile prepare (slice) your broccoli florets. A drop of EVOO (about 1 teaspoon) will tell you when the frypan is hot, then you want to pop in your lamb… and I’m talkin’ 20 seconds tops…. turn it over, another maximum of 20 seconds then pull it off the heat. Unless prefer your meat a little more ‘rare’ (in which case just allow it to ‘rest’) add it to the baking dish with the veggies and pop it in the oven. Set your timer for 5 minutes.Food Fervour

Drizzle oil over your broccoli florets, squeeze some more lemon over then then massage the lot through. (Did I mention you should have washed your hands before you started cooking?!) When the 5 minute timer sounds, add the broccoli (& the meat, if you haven’t already) to the baking dish, turn the carrots/brussels if you wish, and reset the timer for 15 minutes. If you can remember, try to turn everything at about 7-8 minute mark. (I usually do this by deliberately setting my timer for 7 or 8 minutes… no forgetting then!)

When the timer sounds for the last time, it’s time to serve and enjoy. I think what made the dish for me was the sweetness of the Worcestershire and the wonderful tang of the lemon. Deeelish!