Healthy Weekday Meal #14.........{Miso Salmon with Stir Fry Veg}

This is one of those great meals that takes next to no time to throw together and cooks really quickly as well. Inspired by a meal that my friend Paul ate when we met up for a drink the other day (non-alcoholic for me). Do what I do and buy some of the pouches of microwavable brown rice (50p in Sainsburys) and save yourself even more time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm training hard at the moment and the amount I am exercising has increased beyond recognition. Healthy eating supports all that I am doing and so this meal I have found to be perfect when coming in from a run or a swim - gets to your plate fast and fills you up nicely whilst being extremely good for you! Play around with the veg in this, Paul's one had red peppers in it which as H hates them I didn't bother with but they would work well! The Sriracha adds the heat so add more or less depending on how spicy you want it, this had a nice kick! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miso Salmon with Stir Fry Vegetables

 

2 salmon fillets

 

for the marinade:

4 tbsp. teriyaki sauce

2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp. Sriracha

1 1/2 tsp. miso paste

 

1 tbsp. coconut oil

4 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal

4 large shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1 carrot, sliced into ribbons (I used a peeler to do this)

1/2 head of broccoli, sliced into florets

fresh ginger, thumb sized piece finely grated

leaves of 2 pak choi

 

to serve - brown rice (or whatever rice you like or noodles)!

 

place all the ingredients of the marinade in a bowl and whisk together. place the salmon into a oven proof dish and cover with half of the marinade. cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven at about 200oC for about 20mins until the salmon is cooked (I uncovered it for the last 5 mins so the marinade went nice and glazed). In the mean time warm the coconut oil in a wok and then add all of the vegetables apart from the pak choi and cook for a few minutes. add the remaining marinade and the pak choi and cook for a further 4 minutes or so until the vegetables are cooked to your liking. serve over brown rice with the salmon on top.

 

 

Healthy Weekday Meal #11..........{Fish Tacos with Avocado and Mango Salsa)

Sometimes it's really hard to get back into the swing of things after a holiday and this blog has probably been the biggest casualty of my holiday blues. Oh how I miss the sun and sea and food of Italy. At some point I will actually get round to doing a post on our time there but until then i have a lovely healthy fish taco recipe for you which is perfect after a week of eating a lot of pasta!

Fish Tacos with Avocado and Mango Salsa

selection of fish - I used a piece of cod and a couple of handfuls of raw prawns 

2 limes

2 large tomatoes, diced 

1 medium avocado, diced

1 red onion, diced

1/2 red chilli, finely diced

1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped 

1/2 mango, cubed

lettuce leaves

mini tortillas 

season the fish and squeeze over juice of 1/2 lime, cook of in the coconut oil and leave aside to cool. in separate bowl mix together the tomatoes, avocado, onion, chilli, coriander and mango. season and squeeze over the juice of 1 lime. warm the tortillas in a dry pan. take the tortilla wrap, add a handful of lettuce leaves, a couple of spoonfuls of the salsa and then top with the fish (which i shredded up a bit). Serve 

When your BBF goes on a holiday......{Thai Seafood Salad}

 

 

So my wonderful bestie Paul decided to go and spend a month in Laos, lucky thing! Although I missed him desperately, I loved that every few days he managed to find the time to send me pictures such as these;

 

 

 

Hard life huh?! He also sent me a recipe - the boy knows me too well! He proclaimed it the best salad he had ever eaten so I had to give it a go myself - it was delicious with lovely fresh flavours which are perfect for the summer. I changed a few things, his version had mint leaves instead of coriander and the shallots were in the salad not in the dressing, but hey recipes are meant to be played around with. How lucky I am that even when half way across the world lovely Paul things of me and this little blog of mine! And whilst I love the photos and food stories and the fact he is having amazing experiences I am so very pleased that he is home safe and sound, he has been missed.

 

 

 

 

 

Paul's Thai style Seafood Salad

 

 

salad:
 

2 gem lettuces, roughly chopped 

small bunch of coriander, chopped

3 spring onions, sliced

200g cooked basmati rice

1 dsp coconut oil

3 squid, cut into rings

10 unpeeled raw prawns (shell on)

dressing:
 

4tbsp fish sauce

1 shallot, very finely sliced

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 1/2 lemons (or limes), juice of

1 dsp light brown sugar

 

 

put all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and mix together. warm coconut oil and toast the rice - you want to be scraping it off the pan so it looks crusty and it is more flaky then rice grains - don't be scared you need to just stand by the pan and keep on scraping and stirring. remove from pan and set aside. in the same pan cook the seafood, this takes no time at all about 5 mins for the prawns and 3 mins for the squid. take the salad vegetables and herbs and toss in a large bowl with 1/2 the dressing. and the toasted rice. divide the salad in two bowls and top with the seafood and the remaining dressing. Eat outside, dreaming of warmer climates and beautiful beaches!

Today I'm linking up with the lovely Miriam at Farm girl

Italian Tomato Toasts..... {Bruschetta}

I love Italy for so many reasons (I wrote about it here) but one of the main reasons is the food. It's where I first fell in love with cooking, where I learnt to ramp of my cooking, to appreciate flavours and textures and most importantly to respect ingredients. If you have a piece of fish fresh from the boat cook it simply with the gentlest of seasoning, if you have a piece of fresh bread rub it with a juicy fresh garlic and a drizzle of local olive oil, ripe peaches are amazing if you grill them and serve with a drizzle of honey... you catch my drift. Simplicity is the key to beautiful Italian cooking and having a glut of tomatoes growing in the garden I used them to make this simple, traditional Italian starter which is done so badly throughout the UK in fake Italian restaurants. This is how it should be done. 

 Italian Bruschetta

400g cherry tomatoes, roughly diced - I used red and yellow

1/4 red onion, very finely diced

balsamic vinegar

good quality olive oil

Ciabatta loaf (or any other stone baked white loaf), cut into thin slices and toasted

clove of garlic

S&P

basil

take the tomatoes and onion and mix together with a small dash of balsamic vinegar and a good glug of olive oil. season well and then leave to rest at room temperature for at least half an hour so flavours can develop. Take the toasted bread and rub one side of each piece with the garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. when ready to serve, add a spoonful of bruschetta onto each toast and a couple of the really small leaves of basil for decoration. This is a great canape or starter and goes very well with a chilled glass of prosecco

Linking up with Honest Mum 

And with Delcious Dish Tuesday with  Full Time Mama 

Fish in Paper........ {Fish en Papillote}

It's a funny thing when people say to me that they think cooking fish is laborious and a pain. Many a friend of mine will turn their nose up at cooking fish but to them I say "try this dish, it's simple, healthy and tastes delicious"

Cooking en papillote basically refers to the parcel you cook it in - this is a French dish and it's basically a parcel encasing the fish and vegetables which then steam cook in the oven. Mmmmm so delicious. You can be adventurous on what veg you want to use - celeriac and fennel as well as cherry tomatoes work particularly well. You don't have to make my simple creme fraiche sauce, often I will just use a bit of white wine which works just as well.

The best thing is that this dish takes very little prep and is quick to cook - a fish supper couldn't be simpler but at the same time its a pretty fancy way of cooking so you could serve it at a dinner party to much fanfare and no one would ever know - you're welcome. 

Fish en Papillote

2 fillets of halibut, or you can use any white fish plus salmon is good too

1 potato very thinly sliced

1 carrot, thinly sliced batons

1 leek, thinly sliced

4 TBSP creme fraiche

4 TBSP dry white wine

zest half lemon

2 bay leaves

S&P

Mix the creme fraiche, wine and lemon zest in a small bowl,  season. take a piece of grease proof paper and create 1 or two layers of the potato - I often add a couple of bits of butter in between to help cooking. season. layer on the leek and carrot, a bay leave and a spoonful of the sauce. place fish on top with another spoonful of sauce and season again. 

fold the grease proof paper loosely and then tuck in the sides to create a parcel (see photos). 

Cook at 200oC for approx 25mins. when out of oven make a small cut in the top so that the steam escapes and leave for a couple of minutes before serving. I just serve these in the parcel as I like the rustic look but feel free to serve nicely on the plate.

Linking up with Honest Mum 

And with Delcious Dish Tuesday with Eat Drink and Be Mary and Full Time Mama 

Soup that nourishes and revives....... {Chicken Noodle Soup}

When I wasn't feeling well last week I made roast chicken and veg and the bonus to this is the broth that you can make from the stock. H says this soup is miraculous and I have to agree that a bowlful of this can really make you start to feel more human if you are fighting various colds and aliments. If you don't fancy chilli and noodles etc then you can always make my jewish penicillen here 

Chicken Noodle Soup 

2 chillies, de-seeded and thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped 

thumbsized piece  of ginger, grated

handful of corriander, roughly chopped 

3 pints of chicken stock / broth, fresh is best but you can use pre-made or stock cubes

precooked shredded chicken, we used the left over roast 

handful of mushrooms, sliced

handful of mangetout

couple of spring onions, thinly sliced

1 carrot, thinly sliced 

noodles, I used vermicilli rice noodles 

stifry garlic, chillies and ginger in a litlle oil, after a couple of minutes add the mushrooms, onions and carrot. Once cooked pour in the stock and chicken and simmer for a while. add the noodles. sprinkle in the corriander at the last minute. serve and let your senses be revived 

Jumping on a bandwagon..... {Juicing}

Juicing seems to have been kicking around a lot in the last year or so.  The amount of articles and blog posts and tweets that I've seen raving about juicing and then I've seen how much juicers cost and I've rolled my eyes more then a couple of times and moved on with my life. Need fruit? Eat an apple I say. So now I have to back track a lot because we were very kindly given a Magi mix juicer by H's step dad and last week I decided to skeptically give it a go. And boy has it changed our lives - hair is glossier,  skin is clearer, diets are healthier and energy levels are higher. I won't go on and on becasue it's annoying but I would say both H and I have been thrilled with what a difference starting the day with a juice can make. Do you juice? What juices do you recommend?

Fresh Juices 

Some combinations we've enjoyed:

carrot, ginger, red apple, lime

spinach, celery, kiwi, green apple, lemon, cucumber 

carrot, orange, apple, pear, ginger 

beetroot, apple, spinach, cucumber, ginger  

"Vegetables are all the colours of the Rainbow, don't you know".......{Peanut, chicken and veg stir fry}

"what do you want for dinner"? says She
"whats the choice"? asks He
"something made with Chicken and or chorizo or tuna" She says "oh and lots of veg"
"chicken noodles, lots of green stuff...... you know veg" He replies excitedly
"sure thing, but vegetables are all colours of the rainbow, don't you know" She laughs

Noodles, veg and protein - staple diet for our small and humble household.

Rainbow Stir Fry 

Serves 4

for the sauce:

2 TBSP oyster sauce 
4 TBSP soy sauce 
splash white wine
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
thumb sized piece ginger, finely sliced
spring onion, finely sliced
1/2 green chili, finely sliced
1/2 red chili, finely sliced - if you don't want it to spicy half amount of use 1TSP dried chilli 
juice of 1 fresh lime 
1 DSP honey
1 DSP smooth peanut butter 

3 breasts skinless chicken, finely sliced 
handful of tenderstem broccoli
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1 carrot, sliced into thin batons 
1/4 butternut squash, roughly grated
1 leek, cut into thick batons 
groundnut oil
around 200g noodles, cooked according to instructions 


Take all the ingredients for the sauce and whisk together in a bowl. Add more soy sauce, lime juice etc to taste. Add in chicken and make sure all coated, leave to marinade whilst prepping your veg. Prep veg. Warm oil in wok and add in marinated chicken, cook out for 5 minutes or so until chicken is pretty much cooked. Add in veg and any remaining sauce, Stir fry for a further 4-5 minutes. Mix in noodles coating them with meat, veg and sauce. Serve. 

 

End of Summer Pasta..... {Lemon, garlic and chili Pasta with Halloumi}

The summer days are coming to an end and the time spent in the garden is becoming less and less. There's still some produces growing away but mainly they are getting ready to hibernate as the days get colder. I have a glut of home grown chillies and garlic that seem to glare at me when I wander in to my little kitchen “you put so much effort into growing me, cook with me, eat me". And so I did. 

End of Summer Pasta

1 green chilli, finely diced 
3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1 small red onion, diced
1DSP lemon zest, finely grated 
6TBSP Olive oil
couple of squeezes fresh lemon juice
slice of halloumi
Spaghetti / Linguine 

Cook pasta according to instructions. place the oil, chilli, onion and garlic into  pan and then warm through gently until softened (10 - 15mins). Add pasta and stir through with lemon zest,. Lemon juice and S&P. Grill halloumi and serve on top of the pasta. Eat outside and lament the end of al fresco dinners for 2014.      

Turkey Shawarma {Arabic Street Food}

I have waxed lyrical about the health benefits of using turkey in your cooking on this blog before and so when I saw that "I Love British Turkey" was launching a blogging competition I knew that I had to get involved. The competition is also run alongside The Red Tractor standard which is something that I have been passionate about since my university days (I did go to Harper Adams after all). I like that as a consumer I can see a little logo on the back and can be assured that I am buying quality British produce, whilst supporting British farmers and as British food is some of the best in the world it's win win really! 

Back to the challenge - the theme was "Arabian Nights" and I spent a great deal of time thinking about what I could do... maybe a tagine or a moussaka (both delicious of course) but I wanted to do something a bit more funky and fresh and a bit less "stereotypical". So I started to think more along the lines of street food and I suddenly came up with the idea of doing a Shawarma, which is a Arabic wrap. I usually make the dish with the more traditional chicken or lamb which is served hot in a warm wrap with crunchy veg and a garlic sauce. However, in my version I like to just make a garlic oil with a good quality British rapeseed oil and let that lightly coat the salad and add a bit of a kick!  Knowing how versatile turkey is I was confident it would take on the spicy, aromatic flavours of the dish perfectly and it did. Don't be put of with the long list of ingredients everything gets thrown in to a couple of bowls, so to speak, so this dish really doesn't take long at all.  So here you have a very fresh and incredibly tasty Turkey Shawarma - enjoy!

Turkey Shawarma

For the meat: 

400g diced turkey

1 1/2 TBSP HillFarm rapeseed oil (Red Tractor logo) 

200g Greek Yogurt (Tesco - Red Tractor logo)

1 egg, beaten lightly 

Juice 1/2 lemon

1 TSP Ras el Hanout

1 TSP cinnamon powder

2 TSP freshly ground black pepper 

Couple of pinches salt

1/2 - 1 TSP red chilli flakes (to taste, i like mine spicy)!

3 cloves garlic, crushed

Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated 

For the garlic oil:

150ml HillFarm rapeseed oil (Red Tractor logo) 

2 cloves garlic, crushed 

Squeeze of lemon juice 

For the salad:

1/2 Iceberg lettuce, finely sliced 

1/4 cucumber, shaved (with a peeler)

1 tomato, halved and thinly sliced 

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced 

3 TBS coriander, chopped 

3 TBS pomegranate seeds

6 small or 4 big wraps or flat breads (pita bread would also work well) 

Marinate the turkey in all of the ingredients listed for the meat. You want to marinate it for at least and hour preferably a few. Heat a non stick pan and cook the turkey until it is cooked through and quite dry - this is where the yogurt cooks out don't be alarmed if it looks a bit grainy whilst you cook just stick with it. This usually takes around 10 minutes, keep stirring as it cooks. 

Take the oil and crushed garlic and whisk (or blend in a blender), add in the lemon juice to taste and season - you should have a lovely sunshine yellow sauce which is heady with the smell and taste of garlic. 

Assemble the salad ingredients and toss with about a TBSP of the garlic oil.

To make your Shawarma, warm the wrap in a dry pan. Add the salad and then top with the meat and a drizzle of the oil. You can also add a few dollops of yogurt or hummus, both work well. Serve immediately and preferably with and ice cold beer or iced tea.