Lemony & Zingy - Your Minimalist Houmous

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How beautiful is summer?  I bet that your weekends are action packed with BBQs, garden parties and delicious, mouth watering food.  Which is why I thought that I would share this little crowd pleaser with you.  I love home comforts and outdoor house parties are perfect if you can only cope with a garden party .  When you choose to take your party outdoors (and why not, it's not every year that summer arrives in London); you may decide to add houmous to the menu.  If you do, say no to the supermarket branded varieties and pick this little beauty instead.  It's a multiple winner for taste and nutrition.

I first came across this recipe in a cute little French recipe book.  I decided to try it out and have had several requests for the recipe since.  It's so easy to make and so intensely zingy you will be pleasantly pleased at it's intense flavour when matched with cool cucumber or celery sticks. You cannot go wrong with this unique taste of chickpea goodness!  

Nutrition tip: when you make your own houmous, you have control of how much oil gets added to the final recipe.  YOU are therefore always in control of what you eat.


INGREDIENTS

3 fat garlic cloves
Large pinch of salt
400g chickpeas from a tin (drained, but reserve the liquid)
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons tahini paste
Olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons


DIRECTIONS

1. Add the chickpeas into a blender and blend with approximately 1/4 of the juice from the tin.
2. Finely chop the garlic cloves then using your knife, mix in the the pinch of salt.
3. Add the salted garlic, paprika, cumin and tahini paste into the blended chickpeas.  Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and blend.
4. Add more of the drained liquid and olive oil until you achieve a smooth, creamy paste.
5. Finally add the juice of two lemons and blend well.
5. Serve with freshly chopped parsley and pomegranate for a burst of colour.

Enjoy!  

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Perfect Eggless Banana & Chocolate Cake

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Chocolate; she is your best mate when you are feeling down, or so you think.  You decide to indulge in a chocolate feast by baking a cake, but to your very dismay you realise that you have run out of dark chocolate.  You are also expecting guests tonight and your plans for producing the perfect indulgent dessert is suddenly tainted and there is absolutely no time to rush out to the shops for dark chocolate...  Where on earth are you going to find a milk, egg, wheat and soy free chocolate cake recipe now I wonder?

Relax, this is an excellent choice requiring only a few ingredients.  This is quite a dense cake and is very rich in flavour.  You will only need to serve a thin slice.  It could be really delicious when accompanied with a dairy free fruity sorbet.  Heaven.


INGREDIENTS
250ml water
200g soft brown sugar
75g dark brown muscovado sugar
125g dairy free margarine
35g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon wheat & gluten free baking powder
225g gluten free self raising flour
3 tablespoons ground almonds 
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon egg replacer + 1 tablespoon nut milk

FOR THE GANACHE
45g dairy free margarine
50g caster sugar
40ml water
80g icing sugar
18g cocoa powder


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 180 ºC.  Grease a round baking tray and set aside.
2. In a saucepan add the water, sugars, cocoa powder and baking powder.  Allow to simmer over a low heat.  This should take only 5 minutes.  Set aside and allow to cool until warm.
3. In a large bowl, mix the mashed bananas with the gluten free flour.  Next add the egg replacer mixed with a tablespoon of nut milk.
4. When the chocolate solution is warm to touch, pour into the flour mixture and beat to create a smooth runny texture.
5. Pour into your greased baking tray and bake in the oven for 40 - 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
6. To prepare the ganache, in a separate saucepan place the margarine, caster sugar and water and allow to simmer.  
7. Sift the cocoa powder and icing sugar then add to the saucepan.  Mix well.
8. Allow to cool, cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 20 minutes.  
9. When the glace is firm enough, beat it with a wooden spoon to soften a bit then coat the cake generously.

Serves - 8 - 10 slices

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Chiang Mai Inspired Mango & Pineapple Salad with Roasted Peanuts

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London is currently freezing, wouldn't you agree?  I have started to dream about hot tropical holidays even though sadly none have been booked!  To console myself, I pulled out one of the recipe booklets that I was given after I completed a cooking course in Thailand.  I was impressed at how relatively easy it was to prepare Thai cuisine, provided that you had all of the ingredients required of course.

You will be pleased to know that this recipe is naturally milk, egg, gluten, wheat and soy free.  The fish sauce really does add a lovely flavour in this salad.  Fish sauce is also a great alternative to soy sauce without tasting too 'fishy'.  Combined with orange juice or even lime juice and the sugar, you end up with gorgeous flavours that lean towards sweet, salty and a little bit citrusy.  

When you start to tire of green salads, why not give this delicious Thai inspired fruity salad a go?


INGREDIENTS

3 green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 fat garlic cloves
1 large red tomato
2 small mangoes, cut into pieces
1 thick chunk of fresh pineapple, cut into pieces

FOR THE SAUCE
1 teaspoon palm sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon orange juice

1 tablespoon oven roasted peanuts


METHODS

1. Prepare your sauce by mixing the palm sugar, fish sauce and orange juice together.  Lime juice is gorgeous in this recipe too.
2. Pound the beans and garlic together then add to the fishy sauce.
3. Chop your tomato into large chunks and add to a serving bowl.  Next add the fresh mango and pineapple pieces.  Pour the fish sauce over the fruit and top with the oven roasted peanuts.

This is a lovely recipe that works well with rice and chicken based dishes.  Enjoy this summery recipe.  This salad can be eaten on a vegetarian diet if you do normally eat fish. Couscous could be a wonderful accompaniment for this salad, but of course remember that this contains wheat.

Enjoy your Sunday lovely readers!

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Spiced Pear & Ginger Muffins With Mascarpone

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Some Sunday mornings, I wake up wanting something different for breakfast.  I rarely wish to stray far from the regular oats, but breakfast muffins usually satisfy the wandering belly.

These lovely muffins are delicious with a morning cup of tea.  This is also a great way of getting in a small portion of fruit for the day.  Did you know that pears are a great source of vitamins and fibre?  Fruit are low in calories and also score very well on glycaemic index measurements.  These muffins are only delicately sweetened so they really are a delicious way to start your day. 

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups gluten free oats

1 1/2 cups gluten free self-raising flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon mixed spice

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 small pears, diced into small pieces

3 tablespoons golden syrup or honey

3/4 cup mashed banana

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup mascarpone

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons egg replacer

2 tablespoons semi-skimmed milk

1/2 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl mix the flour, oats and remaining dry ingredients together.
2. Next prepare your pears and place them in a separate bowl.  Note that I left the skins of the pears on the fruit, but this is optional.  Add the mashed banana, brown sugar, mascarpone and vegetable oil to this bowl.  
3. Mix the egg replacer with 2 tablespoons of the milk and make into a paste.  Add to the pear mixture and mix well.  
4. Combine the flours and the pear mixture.  Finally add the freshly grated ginger and divide into greased muffin cases. 
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 200º for 20 - 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Makes at least 12 muffins.

Recommended reading:

• Ginger Greatness - Can It Curb Your Appetite?
• Are You A Sugar Addict?

What are your favourite breakfast muffin flavours?  Do comment below, I do love hearing from you.

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Quinoa & Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Quinoa is an excellent addition to a vegetarian diet.  This grain provides indispensible amino acids (simple form of proteins) similar to those found in meat.  Most plant foods do not contain the full sequence of essential amino acids and hence why it is recommended to eat a variety of vegetables, fruit and grains.  For example, pairing of sweet corn and tomato or apple and coconut improve the amino acid intake for that particular meal.

To reap the benefits of all that Mother Nature has to offer, eat a variety of fruit, vegetables and grains.  This ensures that your diet is rich in vitamins, minerals and the different variety of essential amino acids found in plant foods.

Quinoa is superior in that it does contain the full complement of essential amino acids.  Although the amino acid composition is influenced by both environmental and climatic factors, it is still a good source of protein. 

Another reason to love quinoa is that it is naturally gluten and wheat free.  It can be used very much like rice for stuffing vegetables or in salads to add a wonderful nutty texture.

Add it in small amounts to baking and your cakes and biscuits will still retain its silky texture. 

To tackle your baking dilemmas and add a bit of spark in your kitchen, bake cookies with quinoa for the child on a wheat or gluten free diet.  I was so excited to discover a recipe for quinoa cookies in a magazine that I knew that I just had to try it after adjusting for eggs and soy of course.

Purple Tip: If you need to exclude milk as well as egg, wheat, gluten and soy, then use dark chocolate chips only.

These cookies also need to eaten straight away.  Unlike milk, egg, wheat & soy free cakes, biscuits don't appear to hold their shape for over a day.

Quinoa & Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS

60g quinoa

60g coarse polenta 

100g rice flour

125g soft brown sugar

3/4 tsp wheat & gluten free baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

85ml olive oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp egg replacer

50g dark chocolate pieces

50g milk chocolate with hazlenut pieces

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix flours, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
2. Measure the oil in a jug, vanilla essence add egg replacer and 3 tablespoons of water.  Mix well.
3. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients, mix and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.  On a baking tray, add 1 tablespoon of the mixture for each cookie.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips.
5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
6. Leave to cool and then enjoy a biscuit, over a cup of tea.

A Busy Mum's Guide To Supper

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Would you rather hit the couch and dream of holidays than cook supper?  Tempting thought yes, but the kids are screaming and they need feeding.  Read these recipe suggestions below and before you even have the time to say 'takeaway' you will have dinner ready whether it be made by you or the kids!  Simply get them involved to speed up the process and plan your menu the week ahead.  

For year round easy recipes, pizzas are always a great place to start.  You can purchase pizza bases in advance or prepare your dough ahead of time during the weekend.  A girlfriend prepared her pizza dough two days in advance and the base was crispy and delicious.  To view see How To Host An Italian Themed Dinner Party.  I am not a fan of takeaways it's true  and you probably know this from my outrageous post Naming And Shaming The BurgerPizza, but when prepared at home you can truly have a lot of fun with a very nutritious outcome.

For recipe ideas see DIY: Are You Up For The Health Food Challenge?  What I love about pizzas are that the whole family can get involved.  Toppings can range from lean meat, poultry or seafood with plenty of favourite vegetables that the children can choose.  Don't forget that pita breads can make an excellent pizza base for individual pizzas.  This is a great 'norecipe' way of cooking!

Stuffed vegetables are another fantastic supper idea that the kids will also enjoy preparing.  Think of it as dinner chic presented in the most simple way and yet oh so delicious.  Why not try Seafood Stuffed Peppers With Garlic & Basil Squid.  Once the peppers have been halved you can just about throw in anything you want from cous cous, roasted vegetables, feta cheese, stir fried vegetables or lean mince.  Combine with fresh herbs for flavour and enjoy a well deserved cuppa whilst this cooks in the oven.

I really enjoy reading recipe ideas from An Edible Mosaic.  Faith's Cabbage, Carrot & Chicken Stir Fry sound flavoursome, quick and tasty.  It's totally desirable and perhaps the brave step you need for increasing vegetable intake for your family.

Curries may look scary with their large ingredient list but let me tell you a secret.  Once the ingredients are measured and set aside, it's essentially dinner in a pot as all you really need to do is throw in all the ingredients in a large pot then cover and simmer.  You'll see what I mean when you try Flavoursome Chicken Curry or Sushila's Paneer Explosion.  In fact, dhal or lentils really are the easiest and quickest things in the world to make.  Very appropriate for meatless Monday nights too, don't you think?  See Parippu (lentils) and you'll quickly see that  you will save time whilst preparing nutritious healthy meals for your family.

Are you a fan of rice?  This naturally wheat and gluten free alternative to pasta is done in about 10 minutes so why not combine rice with your favourite ingredients.  Try Prawn and Wild Mushroom Rice.

If you have a little bit more time up your sleeve, the extra effort that goes into preparing risottos are worth it as you will be rewarded with satisfied bellies all around the dinner table.  I especially enjoy eating Creamy Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto With Sundried Tomatoes.  Again these are recipe suggestions only so vary the ingredients to suit what you've got going in your vegetable drawer.

Stay tuned for more quick and easy recipe ideas.  I will be sure to touch on this again in the near future.

In summary quick dinner ideas could range from home made pizzas using pita breads, stir fried dishes, risottos, alternative rice based dishes or curry type dishes if you fancy a bit of heat in your kitchen.  Whatever you choose to make, have fun and involve the kids.  They will appreciate the meal and the quality time that they get to spend with you in the kitchen.

And so my lovely readers, what are you favourite quick and easy family recipe ideas?  

Mine at the moment is this Satay Tofu Recipe but I like to change the base ingredients to salmon, spring onions and broccoli.  Absolutely delicious!


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Mighty Mango Smoothie & It's Health Benefits In A Glass

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Smile triumphantly if you’ve had breakfast today.  Your pride is well deserved as breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. 

I love mangoes and you probably do too.  Except, you’ve probably forgotten how nutritious it is because it is so tasty.  I’m determined that we meet our 5 plus of fruit and vegetables a day.  So what better way to start than at breakfast?

Vitamin C

What’s more is that you’ll also get a glassful of natural vitamin C with every smoothie.  Many of you think oranges or citrus fruits when we talk about vitamin C, but mangoes are another fantastic choice to meet your daily target of 40mg per day for vitamin C.

A 100g portion of this tropical fruit will give you around 37mg of vitamin C.  A portion is generally considered around 80g, but who is counting?  As a result of eating more than one piece of fruit a day, you will be literally smiling away, flashing those healthy gums, beautiful skin and fighting off infections whilst easily meeting your recommended amount of vitamin C for the day.  

Remember that taking large doses of vitamin C supplements in the form of pills has not been proven to prevent colds.

Fibre, Polyphenols & Potassium

Are you ready for more good news?  The dietary fibre and polyphenols found in fruit and vegetables are thought to improve the metabolism of lipids, especially the oxidation of low density cholesterol (the baddies if you like). 

An earlier study in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry in 1999, found that ripe mangoes in particular are abundant in antioxidants such as polyphenols, gallic acid and fibre.  Being a tropical fruit, I am thrilled that mango has found its voice in the Western part of the world.

It really is time for the generation of the perfect dose of vitamin C, fibre, antioxidants and potassium in a glass.  Enjoy this quick and easy breakfast smoothie idea.

Ingredients

Flesh of 1 mango

1 banana

125g mango yoghurt

Ice (optional)

2 tablespoons mango puree (optional)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Methods

Blend the mango, banana and yoghurt together with the ice if using.  I used a whole mango as mine was mostly seed with a bit of flesh.  Pour the smoothie into a glass and top with the mango puree and sprinkling of cinnamon.  Wow you are ready to take on the world now J

Enjoy your day!  How do you like to eat a mango?

A Party Tart With Goats Cheese, Parmesan & Tomato

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I had the most amazing weekend with friends.  I celebrated my recent birthday with my annual cocktail party.  So we may have had a cocktail or two, or three, or four......gulp, was there really so many?  I can't remember the last time I let my hair down and painted the 'house' red.  I had so much fun, ate too much, drank too much and got a bit of a dance on the 'dance floor' too!  Fun times!  

It's true, the most simple things in life bring you the most happiness.  So if you do only one thing this week, have fun, laugh a little and most of all, smile!  It will transform you and the people around you instantly.


Here's something else to bring a smile to your face.  Tomatoes are a natural source of antioxidants such as vitamin C and lycopene.  For more information on vitamin A, see Vitamin A - Bending The Rules In Anti-Aging.


Tomatoes are actually one of the world's most commonly eaten fruit.  It is classified as a fruit as it contains seeds.  Tomato seedlings have apparently also been grown in space!


This party tart as I call it, is inspired by Delia's tart.  It is unfortunately not wheat free.  I hope to experiment again with a wheat and gluten free pastry base and I when I do, I'll be sure to share the pastry recipe with you.  




Ingredients
375g ready to roll puff pastry

125g soft goats cheese
25g parmesan cheese, grated
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon herbs de provence

2-3 large deep red tomatoes, thinly sliced

Methods
1. Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC.
2. Unroll the pastry and place this on a round pastry dish.
3. In a bowl, mix the goats cheese, parmesan, garlic and herbs de provence.  I brought some back with me from France which are absolutely pungent and aromatic.  
4. Spread the cheese mixture evenly all over the pastry base.
5. Arrange the sliced tomatoes on top and finish with a generous grating of black pepper and a tiny sprinkling of herbs de provence.
6. Bake in the oven for 55 minutes or until the pastry is a gorgeous brown.


Although this is a delicious vegetarian tart, it is rather high in fat.  The pastry I used consisted of around 24g of fat per 100g.  The addition of the cheese increases the fat content of this tart considerably.  Enjoy this with friends during special occasions.  It was perfect with cocktails once cut up into long thin pieces.