Posted in Diabetes, Food, other sides to this life, Poldark, Recipes, Robin Ellis, tagged delicious dishes, Delicious Dishes for Diabetics, diabetes cookbook, Making Poldark, mediterranean way of eating, Poldark, winston graham on December 1, 2012| 6 Comments »
Making Poldark has been Nooked at last!
Nick it on NOOK–it’s a steal!
It’s available now on NOOK.
Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged lentils with spinach, one pot meals on November 29, 2012| 10 Comments »
Meredith’s Ayervedic consultant gave lentils the thumbs up yesterday.
A break for me–I love all lentils.
Meredith’s not so keen, though she likes the taste—their tendency to “airify” is not so agreeable.
There’s a big glass jar of green/grey Puy-type lentils on the shelf in the larder that’s seen no action for months, so…
inspired by a recipe in Rose Elliott’s Bean Book that combines lentils and spinach (and remembering the pound plus of beautiful organic spinach in the fridge)–I gleefully took it down last night.
This and is another one pot meal–though some brown basmati rice makes for a good companion !
for 4
8oz green/grey lentils–washed thoroughly, but no need to soak them
2 celery sticks–washed
1 clove garlic–peeled
half a large onion–peeled
water to cover the lentils by an inch or a bit more
the other half of the onion–chopped
1 clove garlic–pulped with half a teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
450gms/1lb spinach–washed and drained. (Use frozen if you like–thawed and squeezed)
a couple of pinches of salt
juice of a lemon
Evidence of a change of mind!
Posted in Food, Recipes, tagged artichoke omelette, dry white beans, La Sostanza on November 27, 2012| 10 Comments »
I like a plate of beans–with olive oil swirled over them.
Plate of white beans and olive oil at La Sostanza, Firenze. An aside to their famous artichoke omelette.
There are good quality beans available now in glass jars. Quickly heated up and plated.
But perhaps you have a packet of dry white beans that may have spent some time on a shelf–daring you to do something about them?
Ever present, silently reproachful, waiting for some action–they can be intimidating!
The sooner they are treated the better and it’s simple this way.
Put half a pound of dry beans in a bowl and cover them with cold water.
Leave to soak overnight.
Heat the oven to 170C/340F.
Drain the beans and rinse them.
Put them into a medium casserole/pot/pan and cover them again with a top-of- the-thumb joint of cold water.
Cover the casserole and bring it to the boil.
Place it on the middle shelf of the oven and leave for 40 minutes.
Test for softness, leaving it longer if necessary–the older the beans, the longer it will take.
Add a teaspoon of salt to the casserole and leave to cool in the liquid.
When you are ready to eat, reheat them in a little of their liquid, adding half an organic vegetable stock cube, crumbled.
Drain the beans and serve them hot. Season to taste with salt and pepper, adding a swirl of the best olive oil you have.
The plate of beans I can do, but the high-sided omelette filled with crispy roasted artichokes still eludes me.
Un de ces jours!
Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged fennel au gratin, riverford farm cookbook on November 26, 2012| 13 Comments »
I bought some impressive looking fennel at the organic market.
It sat on the kitchen island demanding attention.
I sliced one to eat raw at lunch after pasta–with a piece of parmesan or pecorino and some of the new olive oil. We had enjoyed doing this in Tuscany–cleanses the palate (and helps avoid flatulance, according to my researcher–aka Meredith!)
It was tenderly crunchy–not in the least stringy.
Fennel gratin I thought–supper with a sweet potato and tarator sauce.
I’d never cooked it before and my search for guidance led me to the Riverford Farm Cookbook.
Rosemary and garlic was suggested with cream and parmesan.
I have substituted coconut cream (see below if you are unfamiliar with this ingredient) and added more parmesan.
Serves 2 as a main course–4 as an accompanying vegetable.
4 largish fennel bulbs–cleaned, cored and sliced vertically in half inch pieces
1 pint/450ml stock to blanch the fennel–I use organic vegetable stock cubes
3 garlic cloves–peeled and crushed with a knife
1 teaspoon rosemary needles–chopped fine
160ml coconut cream—the difference between coconut milk/cream and cream of coconut is fully explained here: http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-coconut-m-75446/. It looks like milk, it is NOT sweetened and it does NOT taste of coconut!
1/2 tablespoon parmesan to mix in with the cream+ more for the topping–a tablespoon perhaps.
(The version below is fat free.)
salt and pepper
This looks uncooked–but it is!
Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged pasta recipe, ridged courgettes/zucchini, vegetarian pasta, vegetarian recipe, zucchini pasta on November 22, 2012| 14 Comments »
Our friend Helen is a natural cook.
She rarely uses recipe books; rather she builds a dish from the ingredients to hand–throwing in this and that from time to time with an instinctive sense of when it’s right.
I love watching her cook.
She prepared this pasta on our visit last year–a reviving lunch after a morning working in the olive grove.
It was creamily delicious–hard not to take another spoonful! It seems to get better and better just sitting on the table. How did she managed to make it turn out that way?
I asked her to cook it again for us this November–while I took notes.
She uses a variety of courgette/zucchini that is paler than those I find here and has raised ridges–ideal for catching the garlicky olive oil sauce.
No matter–I shall try this at home with the common dark green variety.
Here’s what she did:
for 4
a pound and a half/750gms zucchini/courgettes–sliced evenly
3 tblsps olive oil (their own!)
2 garlic cloves–peeled, crunched under a knife and roughly chopped
a pinch of chili powder–(Helen adds more when her son Lucio is expected for lunch. Sometimes she doesn’t add any when it’s just her and Keith.)
hot water
salt
A handful of chopped parsley
400gms/16oz–wholewheat spiral pasta (or other shapes)
parmesan cheese to grate for those that like it
(Those additional tablespoons of hot pasta water prevent the dish from tasting too dry. )
Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged Delicious Dishes for Diabetics, recipe roast peppers, roasted red peppers on November 6, 2012| 5 Comments »
This is from Delicious Dishes for Diabetics.
Our friend Mark tried this the other day and wrote to me afterwards saying:
the peppers and onion you did for us – “salad with an edge” – delicious, but mine was way overcooked. So either my oven is hot, or yours is cool. Have you got a reliable thermometer to check it?
So I did it again a couple of days ago and reduced the oven time to 15 minutes–but kept the same temperature. Meredith thought they were still too charred–not for me though!
The thickness of the peppers is a factor.
These below are a thinner, cone-shaped variety grown locally.
The recipe asks for 220C –which I normally reduce by 10 degrees because I have a convection oven (fan-assisted).
(Next time I cook these, I’ll try them at 200C (fan-assisted) for 20 minutes.)
Thanks Mark–useful feedback!
Serves 4
Here’s a nice gooey slightly piquant salad that profits from the addition of some flaked very fresh feta or goat’s cheese.You could also add a few slices of thin pancetta for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
4 red peppers–cut in half lengthwise, deseeded and cut into strips
1 fresh red chili–not too hot, deseeded and cut into strips
4 tbsp olive oil
1 large or 2 medium red onions--peeled, cut in half and thickly sliced
2 cloves of garlic–peeled and sliced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
fresh basil–chopped (if available)
Heat the oven at 210°C (normal oven–this is a CHANGE from the recipe in my book!)/425°F/Gas Mark
Posted in Diabetes, Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged non dairy sauce, Tahini, tarator sauce, vegan sauce on November 4, 2012| 14 Comments »
TARAT! TARAAHH!!–a sauce for all seasons–TARATOR!
Discovered this sauce while looking for an alternative to yogurt.
Meredith is cutting out dairy products for a few weeks while she takes advice from an ayurvedic practitioner in Albi.
We’ve been we eating mainly vegetarian–and more lightly in the evenings.
It is a challenge for me and I’m enjoying it.
New Directions I’m calling it and it will be a chapter in the new book Healthy Eating for life.
Tarator is variously described as a yogurt soup from Bulgaria and a sauce from Lebanon.
My version of this tahini based sauce is loose, lemony and lightly garlicky, to be enjoyed with meat or vegetables.
For lunch today I’m revisiting a salad from Delicious Dishes-–Roast Red Pepper Salad with an edge–(recipe tomorrow).
We had the sauce with it and enjoyed it.
for 2
3 tblsps tahini
2 tblsps lemon juice
1 garlic clove–peeled and pulped in 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon cumin powder
4 tblsps water
1 tblsp parsley–chopped
Posted in Diabetes, Food, Recipes, tagged mushroom and leek, Pearl barley, risotto, Stylist.co.uk on November 2, 2012| 14 Comments »
Traditionally risotto is made with Italian arborio rice–a round variety that plumps up well as it absorbs liquid, while still retaining a bite at its centre.
As white rice–a carbohydrate converting more quickly to sugar–it’s not ideal for those with diabetes.
Pearl barley is an acceptable substitute. It has a delicious nuttiness all it own while modestly hosting the mushrooms and leeks (in this case).
This takes a little time but when you come to cook it, the zen of making risotto (!) kicks in and it becomes a quiet meditation followed by a satisfying chew.
Risotto has the virtue of being a meal-in-one dish–eventually!
As with omelettes, you add the the subject to the base and serve it in one.
This is adapted from an original recipe by Emma Booth who won a prize with it in Stylist.co.uk magazine!
for 2/3
2 garlic heads–cloves separated but skin left on
4 tbsps olive oil
1 oz dried mushrooms–soaked in 200ml warm water.
(These are not always easy to find but they’re a good taste engine, adding depth to the dish.)
(If you can’t get dried mushrooms, just use the 200ml warm water!)
200g fresh mushrooms–sliced thin
11/2 leeks–chopped fine
200g pearl barley–rinsed thoroughly until the water runs clear
1 tsp fresh thyme–chopped
600ml stock–I use organic vegetable stock cubes
2 tblsps white wine
50g/2oz Parmesan–grated
black pepper and salt
heat the oven to 190C/380F
Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged Halloween, Pumpkin, riverford farm cookbook on October 30, 2012| 23 Comments »
Hard to resist this photo!
It was hard to resist the thing itself!
I bought this beauty in Castres market on Saturday morning from a young woman’s stall that was covered in pumpkins of all sizes.
I liked shape of the 2e too!
She told me not to peel it–just scoop out the seeds and cut it into chunks.
The skin and flesh contain vitamin A, flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants such as leutin, xanthin, and carotenes in abundance; in other words health giving properties–good things!
This idea is an aside in the Riverford Farm Cookbook (a treasure trove).
for two
1 smallish pumpkin–about 1 kilo/2lbs–quartered, seeded and cut into chunks
1 tsp cumin powder
salt and pepper
1 red chili–chopped
1 garlic clove–chopped
2 tblsps olive oil
roasted pumpkin seeds
heat the oven to 200C/400F
Meredith tells me most pumpkins sold in America are carved up for jack o’lanterns–not supper!
Happy Halloween Everyone!
Posted in Diabetes, Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, Robin Ellis, tagged cauliflower, chickpea, comfort food, curry on October 28, 2012| 18 Comments »
We had simple salmon fillet for supper the evening that we returned from the clinic.
The next night I felt a little more adventurous, but in need of something easy and preferably from a single pot–a ladleful of taste over some basmati brown rice; comfort food that cooks itself.
I looked in the fridge and found a cauliflower in good condition, a leek and a bottle of chickpeas on the shelf in the larder and I knew there were a few small tomatoes left to gather at the end of the garden–perfect!
I love buying cauliflowers–their tight white heads look so tempting and beautiful.
However sometimes they stay in the fridge–not exactly forgotten, but requiring some thought.
What am I going to do with that cauliflower?!
Cosy cauliflower curry–why not?
Here goes…!
1 onion--chopped small
2 garlic cloves–chopped
2 tblsps olive oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp each of turmeric, cumin powder and ginger powder
1/2 tsp each of coriander powder, cayenne powder
8oz tomatoes–chopped roughly
1 pint/450 ml stock–I use organic vegetable stock cubes
1 cauliflower–separated into bite-size florets
1 leek–cleaned and sliced
3 tblsps cooked chickpeas (from a tin [a can] or bottle–you may not need the whole tin. Spoon out the required amount and drain off any liquid–but no need to rinse.)
salt and pepper
2 tblsps of whisked low/no fat yogurt or coconut cream (my new discovery; more on that in future posts)
–
Includes photo from the NEW Poldark series!
Robin Ellis 