Cluck's Corner of the Internet
Yes, Fridays make me happy. Pretty food also makes me happy, like this rather fetching salmon with watercress and pink grapefruit – I‘ve been wanting to post this for ages; yummy recipe and rather good pic too if i do say so myself 🙂
Would love to claim that this was my dinner last night – but it was nowhere near that sunny here, so some cabbage and bacon with sausages were my post-run supper. No pics – it wasn’t pretty food 🙂
Aaaw! will you look at the wee fella? Saw him in Waitrose and had to have him 🙂
(Garlic included for scale – not just being ponsey. Original picture had halved cherry toms on the chopping board, but then I realized it looked like normal sized toms next to a normal sized pumpkin…. doh)
Seemed a shame to cut him up, but that I did and made a tasty accompaniment to my dinner; veal scaloppini with agro dolce sauce and pinenuts – except I didn’t have any veal so it’s pork but shhhhh 😉
Yesterday was a long day; early start to catch the train to London, then headed all the way across town to Greenwich. Today will be a long day too, but at least I get to drive myself there and back with no pesky trains to make me panic. I only got my driving licence when I was 25, and had plenty of years getting along just fine with public transportation but since I started driving myself around the idea of relying on a train to get me to a meeting on time brings me out in a cold sweat. Leave home 5 mins late, you miss the train and it’s another half hour until the next one. Leave home 5 mins late in your car…….. just have to drive a little faster 🙂
As I’m not a morning person, breakfast is a bit much for me to do ‘early’ – priority is making sure clothes aren’t on inside out (not always achieved….). The kettle is a no-go zone so, with the Man being away, I’ll have to stick with using the idiot-proof Nespresso coffee pod machine. After I’ve been on the road about an hour I’m normally ready for some food – fruit salad and yogurt not ideal here, so I take along some easy-to-eat provisions for the journey, otherwise known as padkos. Today’s in-car treat is Bacon & Egg Cluck-Muffins 🙂 Coconut flour muffins with bacon, mushroom and tomato plus some veggie ones with shredded broccoli stem instead of bacon and a chunk of goat’s cheese to attempt to make up for the lack of bacon.
I attempted these at the weekend and thought I knew better than to bother with paper muffin cases – the tin is still soaking and I’ve resorted to Soda Crystals……
Well, this should be
easy. All foods are fair-game for dinner time, and we have plenty time to cook
– so simples. Right?
After the first few
nights of creative, vegetarian inspired food (with meat added) the ideas began
to run out. Hit a bad time at work and
was too tired to think about food. Very unlike me. The veg drawer of the fridge was running low,
but I still had a stash of ‘banned’ foods in the larder “in case of
emergency”. I started to crave the
old food, like lamb meatballs and salad with hummus and salad, stuffed into pitta
breads. That wouldn’t be so bad, right? Just a couple of pitta breads and some
hummus; I could give it up again tomorrow. And it’s got salad and meat so can’t hurt…. so I did, and then it did hurt and I didn’t do it again – for a while 🙁
Rule # 1: Be prepared
If buying meat, try
to put a bit aside in the freezer. Not stock-piling here, just a dinner worth
of sausages, chicken, white fish fillets and pork chops. Worst case scenario, you have sausages
with leftover salad for dinner. Not bad if you ask me. If you have leftover
stews or bolognaise sauce, freeze the spare (no need to over-eat, or bin it). Handy even if only a small portion.
Eating real food
means eating fresh food. You know, the stuff that has a limited life and won’t
survive in the back of a cupboard for 12 months. It goes off. You have to use
it while it’s good.
Sometimes that’s
great – goody! Avocado for dinner and it’s not even an anniversary!! (comment only really applies to bBits, who still
consider avo’s to be a bit of an exotic treat).
Prepare to be
flexible with your planned menu, so if that pumpkin has gone so far beyond ripe
that even the compost bin flinches, then dinner is not cancelled. Likewise, I’ve been caught out by substitutions in the veg box delivery. I’d planned a
meal around 1 particular item, so when that was swapped for something entirely
different my plan was scuppered. No problem.
Rule #2: Have a few
options up your sleeve
Sometimes you’ll spot something you’d
forgotten was there but doesn’t have a place in tonight’s dinner. I’ll add a
few more later but 2 options here
Have lots of dinner
ideas to share -but you’ll have to wait for those 🙂
After an early start, and lovely day out shopping and lunching with a friend, it was time to come home and deal with Sunday evening chores. Boo! Laundry, dishes and dinner. Normally i love nothing more than spending time slaving over a hot stove but, as it’s just me on my lonesome, there doesn’t seem much point. Then I remembered I’d got lamb from the farm shop specially, and the leftovers were destined for my lunchbox today, so I pulled myself together and got cracking.
Roast multi-coloured carrots dressed with pomegranate molasses [tastes like vimto] and sesame seeds, s+p roast lamb, baba ganoush and greek yogurt.
Not bad. Would have been nicer hotter, but got a bit side tracked hanging up laundry.Probably just as well i was on my own; garlic in the baba ganoush was pretty strong 🙂 Fortunately not included in the lunch reincarnation: frisée lettuce, slivers of radish, cherry toms, pesto and yogurt dressing. Well, it’s more interesting than a tuna baguette 🙂
Ooops, forgot about the 3rd task – dishes. Oh well, tonight is a no-cook dinner so plenty of time for that later.
As much as one needs to be frugal with the food one has spent a large amount of money on, I also like to be frugal with my time. Getting the most out of my time spent on shopping trips, running errands and time in the kitchen. For that reason I tend to get ahead by doing little extra things which will save me time and effort when I’m at my laziest (i.e. any time in the morning before 9am). Small tasks which can be done while a pot is simmering, but don’t actually feel like extra effort.
Making stock (or bone broth) in the pressure cooker is a great one. Unlike making in a big pot, there’s no need to skim off scum, or watch that it doesn’t boil over. Also, the cooking is done in about 30 mins, and 15 mins to cool/ release pressure, so the messy tasks are done while you’re still in ‘cooking’ mode and not 4 hours+ later when you’ve sat down with a bottle of vino watching TV, and now really can’t be arsed to deal with a heavy pot of hot, greasy stuff – animal fat is a bugger to clean up, and the pot and lid is normally caked with burned bits of scum (might just be the way I do it!). I’ve found that using the pressure cooker you get a clearer stock and the result is more consistent, probably because you use less water as it all stays in the pot, so less need for straining and reducing to get the desired colour and flavour. I also like to think that the pressurised container, kept sealed after cooking, is quite a sterile environment so I don’t mind leaving it outside (unopened) overnight if I have left it a bit late to cool and freeze batches. Will share my method another time.
Back to the topic. So last night I made zoodles (zucchini- noodles) to have with some leftover ragu. I make these all the time now, and it’s a better alternative to the spaghetti squash recommended by a lot of the US blogs – when was the last time you saw spaghetti squash in a UK supermarket?? Simply take a firm courgette (or a zucchini if you prefer) and julienne it with a speed peeler. Some people suggest steaming them, or zapping it in the microwave, to heat up but I prefer them just raw, with a hot sauce poured over. Keeps a nice texture and saves washing up another pot. I do stirfry them if I’m using them to replace egg noodles – treat them gently, like fresh egg noodles, and they take on a nice bit of colour and flavour. Not too long tho, or they just go soggy as the water is driven out.
You can buy these tools in most kitchen shops now; Kuhn Rikon make a pretty sturdy looking version. It’s just a variation on the y-shaped speed peelers. Mine was part of a set gifted to me by my Mother in law in SA (thanks Ma!) and tbh, when I first got it I was a bit sceptical about how much we’d use it. I assumed it would just make a mushy mess, but this thing is razor sharp – as I have found when (stoopidly) peeling things into my palm or washing the dishes. Back to the zoodles. So, nifty gadget and impressive looking veg. Only problem is that you end up with funny shaped bits of courgette left.
Rather than compost them, I chop it into equal-sized pieces and store in a little tub. Conveniently 1 courgette gives me enough zoodles for 1 dinner, and the left over bits are enough for a frittata for 1 🙂 The result is a rather tasty breakie, with no knives required in the morning. Just toss the veg into the pan, TV chef style and add eggs. Voila!
With the hubby away, and some spare time on my hands, I got started early on 70-462 prepping my Saturday brunch. (should have been breakfast but got distracted by checking what’s new on the inter web). Last night I took some frozen spinach and put it in ramekins to defrost overnight
Then, in the morning, I squeezed out all the water (bit messy with the chopped frozen spinach as the bits got everywhere, so think I’ll use fresh next time and wilt it just before I need it). Put a small knob of butter on the spinach, seasoned with S+P, topped each with 2 eggs and about a tablespoon of double cream. Found a bit of hard cheddar in the fridge so grated some on top.
And finally, baked in the oven @ 180c for about 15 mins until golden and bubbling.
Served with a teaspoon – yummy. Could have baked a little less, so the eggs would have been 70-463 runnier, but I like the golden cheese – needs work.
It’s been a bit of a stressful day. My hubby is away for work, on another continent, and has fallen seriously ill. Fortunately, private travel insurance meant he was dealt with quickly and hospital bills weren’t an issue. All this worry has left me exhausted and I’m in need a bit of comfort. No wine left in the house. Tempted to swing by Waitrose for a pizza – maybe dough and cheese will make it better?
An initial sweep of the leftovers has identified frozen spicy chicken wings, some soft goat’s cheese, unripe peaches (prob shouldn’t leave those in the fridge) and an avocado that has finally ripened. Did have Thai chicken curry scheduled but not sure I can be bothered with that now; and just realised that the leftover coconut milk I’d saved for it has not gone off 🙁 sod it.
Right, in that case I’ll go for chicken thighs sautéed with onion and some of the fresh mushrooms which arrived in this morning’s veg box, and I have no idea what I’ll use them for. Splash of dry sherry, touch of Dijon mustard, and a little cream and tarragon to finish. Smidge of garlic would have been nice but yummy anyway – like chicken pie without the pastry! Hug in a bowl.
Now, here’s the
tough one. If I can’t have toast or that fortified wholegrain cereal I’ve been
told for years I must eat, or else, and I don’t have time to cook breakfast
every morning what am I supposed to eat?
On some of the blogs I’ve followed they suggest eating dinner for breakfast (I know the other way round is brinner, so is this deckfast?). This doesn’t really appeal to me as I tend to use a lot of chili and garlic in
my dinners, and first thing in the morning it’s a bit much. Plus, I’m not a
morning person so on school-days I prefer to get my full duvet time then grab
breakie and go. Solution to this has been preparing a big tub of fruit salad
twice a week, and serving with double cream or a few dollops of full-fat greek
yogurt. This happily sees me through to about 1pm when I have my lunch. Who’d
have thunk it?
If I’ve got an early
start and have to drive somewhere (so bowl of fruit and spoon not a great idea)
then a few cooked sausages and chunks of cheese, or muffin sized frittatas all
make good padkos 🙂
On the weekends,
away from the daily-grind, I like a big breakfast. Going out for brunch used to
be a nice treat but the vast majority of menu items are with bread, which isn’t
surprising given the tradition of fresh baked goods in the morning, and even the
yoghurt tends to come with sweetened granola. There are a few, gold-star
exceptions – but I’ll come to those later.
Instead, at home,
we’ll knock-up soft-boiled eggs with asparagus spears, scrambles with wilted
greens (like chard or beetroot tops) mixed-in, full english, parsnip rostis or
shredded sweet potato topped with ham and poached eggs, all take a little more
time but worth the effort.
When
I decided to restart writing this blog, I took a look at what I’d
started out with some 4 years ago, and it struck me how much has
changed since then both in my life and in my eating habits.
I
always considered that the food we ate as ‘healthy’ (while not being
raw-vegan-organic-Eton educated etc.) but looking at my scrappy
notebooks of shopping lists and menus, I think we were in denial!
While
we ate a fair amount of variety, almost every dinner was and
mashed potato, and
noodles, and
couscous, and
bread. Then there’s the unaccounted for M&S sarnies (someone may
have had 2 at a time – ahem) while out on a shopping trip. The crisps
and dip with a few beers before dinner. The nachos in the bar,
because we were being good and not ordering burgers and chips.
Crumpets with jam or marmite, because I needed them 😉
We
decided to give Paleo a go at my husband’s suggestion, partly for
health reasons (he’s a bit of a running fanatic) and due to the
research we’d read about the effects of sugar and wheat on the body.
Having both suffered some minor, and major, symptoms it seemed worth
a go. Plus, being given the green-light to eat meat & fat – where
do I sign up?!
Why
are you on a diet?
So
you’re on the gluten-free thing, then?
Don’t
you get bored eating meat and vegetables every day?
Oh,
it’s Atkins 1.2
What
can
you eat then?
I’ve
heard these things a few times since I changed my eating habits last
year. I’ve also realised how little some people know or understand
about the food they eat everyday – my favourite; you don’t eat pasta?
Have couscous instead, that’s really good for you!
So,
let’s address a few of these.
As
someone who has always been fairly-slim, and moderately active with a
snobbery about commercial junk-food, I’ve never gone over a UK size
10-12 and I didn’t set out to lose weight. So I was surprised
when I suddenly fitted into a size 8 – most of this was due to losing
inches off my bust, so actual weight loss was only about 5kg. The
biggest difference for me was the extra energy I felt and
stabilization of my hunger – no more 3pm dash to the vending machine
for a Double-Decker hit. No more hangry (hungry / angry) episodes at
the weekends.
Yes,
I do avoid gluten, but I also don’t eat the ‘gluten-free’ food
substitutes such as tapioca, rice and corn, and I don’t eat sugar or
starchy legumes either (easy to spot – they look and behave like
potato)
There
seem to be a lot more restaurants now who serve you meals without
sides as standard now, which makes things easier. Plus it’s a lot
more interesting for me to eat steak with beautifully wilted spinach
and dressed green beans than the standard ‘chips’.
I
can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend than grazing over a
stack of food-porn and cooking up a storm. I thought cutting out
processed food would be easy enough, as we’ve never been ones for
ready meals and I don’t have a sweet tooth, but I was surprised at
just how much processed carb-based food we were eating by way of
rice, pasta and bread. A bacon sarnie on the weekend for brunch,
fajitas for dinner, the occasional pizza, antipasti with ciabatta to
mop up sauces….. I digress. At first, I was unsure how I could make
a whole week of menus, let alone a month’s worth, without repeats and
the dreaded oh, so it’s carrots and peas again. So I dug into my
stash of food magazines and trusted recipe sites for inspiration –
even then, so many were only half a meal with the final line: Serve
with crusty bread
or the bigger cop-out: Serve
with seasonal veg…
what veg? cooked how?
After
Bing’ing and checking dozens of ‘Paleo’ food blogs, I found a couple
I liked. There are a lot of food-nazis out there who want to jump all
over bloggers for daring to include a teaspoonful of sauce that has a
wheat or soy derivative in the ingredients, or < SHOCK
HORROR
> include cheese, and I ain’t got time for that. Paleo-friendly
versions of things like fish sauce or soy sauce are available in some
parts of the U.S. and at specialist stores, but elsewhere we don’t
always have that choice. Given the choice between a smidge of
wheat, or no Asian food – I’ll take my chances. To (badly) quote Voltaire
“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”.
So,
no, I don’t get bored. I feel like I’ve entered a whole new world of
food and have never been more excited by cooking. Looking back at my
old menus, we were eating pasta at least twice a week, and sometimes
bread twice a day – surely you’d get bored with that?!
This
isn’t a ‘diet’ – it’s a lifestyle choice, like being vegetarian or
vegan. Broadly speaking, Paleo (or Primal) diets include meat,
fish, fruits, and vegetables. It can be high or low carb. Atkins can
have processed grains and sugar. As long as it’s low-carb, that’s
what matters.
The
main focus for me is to eat good quality food, and to enjoy it. I
don’t want franken-foods and, having cut them out from my diet,
I’ve seen what wheat and sugar do to my body and mood if I
reintroduce them.
We
eat everything! Meat with fat, fish and vegetables with full fat
dairy products (in moderation, not due to the fat content but because lactose
is a sugar) and fruit (again, in moderation due to fructose). Eating
real food is satisfying in flavour, texture and nutrition. It does
take a little longer to prepare than an oven ready meal, but actual
cooking time is often less and I tend to make more than 1 meal at
a time anyway while I’ve got something to use up and the oven is on.
The fact that most meals are prepared from scratch, and can’t be
eaten without a fork, means food is savoured and not just troughed –
think how easy it is to eat a hamburger. I could eat 2 without even
noticing, and I’d still be hungry after. I don’t count calories, but
for those who do: 250 calories * 2 = 500 calories. That’s about the
same as a salad with goat’s cheese. NAUGHTY! It’s about choices. I’d
rather have option B and not be hungry after (and not have a bloated
stomach or insulin spike soon followed by the crash).
Obviously, you’ll have spotted the price difference there, but this
is a meal we’re talking about here; something you do 3 times a day,
putting food into your body. By not going for the leanest, prime-cuts
of meat, you also cut the price significantly. By eating consciously,
there is less need to snack because you know
you’ve had a meal, and protein + fat = satisfied.
As
for what exactly we eat; well I’ll be updating you on that soon 🙂