Lazy Sundays and feeling Virtuous 

Laura Nana2 Comments

We went to the Syon Food Festival yesterday and although delicious, the majority of the food was not clean so today I want to have a bit of a kick restart. We got up late and had a simple smoothie with some added natural nutritional additions:

  • Natural yoghurt
  • Frozen berries
  • Ripe pear
  • Milled hemp seeds
  • Milled bee pollen
  • Flax seeds with goji berries and sunflower seeds

   
 Bee pollen is a great addition to smoothies and salads, I got mine from a local health food shop but you can order it online too. Its a complete food and contains proteins, vitamins, minerals, lipids and carbohydrates.

Hemp seeds are a really good source of essential fatty acids including Omega 3, 6 and GLA, it’s a more digestible protein than meat and is rich in Vitamin E. 

For the rest of the day I’m going to snack on fruit and nuts and lunch today will be oven roasted salmon fillets with Mediterranean vegetables and some fresh zingy lemon and basil new potatoes.

I love Sunday’s, they’re my favourite day. We try not to plan much and just spend the day pottering, shopping or walking the dog. 

One thing I’ve started to enjoy doing is prepping a few food bits to make my life easier during the week.

Depending on my food menu for the week, I will make my own breakfast cereal, blitz up some fresh nut butter or make some sauces for dinners, such as fresh, Parmesan-free pesto. I’ll blog recipes for all of these today/tomorrow for you. 

Happy Sunday!

A statement on snacking 

Laura Nana2 Comments

I’m a habitual picker, grazer, snacker. If it’s lying around and in my vicinity it won’t be there for long! So I’ve had to make sure I’m much more prepared now with my own ‘clean’ snacks to take my attention away from any potential unclean options. 

This week I tried making sweet potato crisps. I’m not a big crisp eater but every Sunday we have a routine of eating brunch, then a big late lunch and only fancying something light come dinner time, cue the opportunity to eat crisps and catch up on Scandal on Sky Atlantic 😜

There are only 4 ingredients needed but a little bit of patience is required 

First switch your oven on to 140 degrees (fan assisted). Then take one sweet potato and slice it in to rounds as thin as you dare. 

  
Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in the oven on a foil lined baking sheet. Once the oil had melted, sprinkle over some paprika and sea salt and add the sweet potato slices, toss around in the oil/salt/paprika mix then put it in the oven for one hour. 

  
You should turn them over half way through. Leave them to cool and crisp up on the baking tray and serve – voilà- an easy Sunday night snack that is clean eating and will satisfy your ‘hold-on-to-the-weekend’ needs. 

  

The best Peri Peri sauce in Isleworth

Laura NanaLeave a comment

Ok this sauce is amazing. Easily the best peri peri sauce I’ve had outside of Nandos. Please try it and post in the comments below your results. 



Ingredients 

  • 6 Birdseye chillies
  • 120ml olive oil
  • 70ml White wine vinegar 
  • 1 pepper – red, yellow or orange
  • 1tbsp tomato purée 
  • 2tsp salt
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • Handful or parsley, tarragon and Thyme 
  • ½ tsp paprika 
Method
Put everything in a saucepan and cook on low for 15 minutes. 
Allow to cool then blitz in a blender. 
I put mine in a jar for storage so washed an old jam jar and put it in the oven on 180 degrees whilst the sauce stewed on the hob. 
I’ve slow cooked a chicken tonight so will shred it and put some of the sauce over it. 
This would also be good mixed into mayonnaise to dip sweet potato chips in. 

Greek Lamb Burgers

Laura NanaLeave a comment

I call them Greek…it’s my take on a Greek style burger… Save anyone questioning their actual heritage! Enjoy and let me know what you think by posting in the comments below xxx

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Ingredients

  • 500g lamb mince
  • 6/7 Jacobs crackers (very well crushed)
  • 1tsp fennel seeds
  • 1tsp ground cumin
  • 1tsp smoked paprika
  • 1tsp ground coriander
  • 3 spring onions, chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1 clove garlic, grated
  • 4 burger buns

For the Yoghurt

  • ½ cucumber
  • 1 stick celery
  • Handful of chopped mint and coriander
  • 1tsp sugar
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • Sprinkle of paprika
  • 6tbsp Greek Yoghurt

 

Method

In a saucepan, fry the spring onions with the fennel seeds for 3-5 minutes. Add the grated garlic at the end to get rid of the raw taste that tends to repeat on people. Allow to cool.

In a bowl add the mince, all the spices, the crackers, the egg and the mix from the saucepan. Season well and get in there with your hands to really mix it up, don’t be dainty – scrunch those mothers up!

Separate the mix in to four and roughly shape them into burger shapes with your hands or use a ring to do it fancy. Pop them in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Make the yoghurt by grating the cucumber and celery into a tea towel. Squeeze the water out as if your life depends on it. Get all of it out!!  Put it in a bowl with the herbs and yoghurt and mix to combine. When ready to serve sprinkle over the paprika.

Fry the burgers on a medium high heat, for 15 minutes – I usually do one side for 5 minutes on a high flame to get a nice char then the other side on a lower heat for 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes covered in foil.

Toast your buns, add the burgers and yoghurt with a good squeeze of lemon juice. You could also serve them with rings of red onion and large juicy tomatoes.

Enjoy you lovely buggers!!

Roasted Tomato Soup

Laura NanaLeave a comment

Ok so every man and his dog has a tomato to soup recipe but hey, I’ll throw my hat in the ring… I made this today in a bid to stay healthy then ruined it by pairing it with olive stuffed bread…oh well…

Ingredients
800g tomatoes
1 red pepper
½ packet of fresh basil
A few Thyme sprigs if you have them
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
1tsp sugar
1 onion, finely diced
1 stick of celery, finely diced
1tbsp tomato purée
500ml chicken stock
2tbsp mascarpone (optional)

Method

Heat your oven to 220 or 200 degrees, nice and hot. Slice the tomatoes in half and place them in a roasting pan. Chop the pepper any way you like and put on top of the toms. Add the balsamic, herbs and sugar. Roast in the oven for at least 30 mins, longer if you have time (although reduce the temperature if you do).

Meanwhile, sauté the onions and celery in olive oil for 10 mins then add the tomato purée and stock. Season well.

When the tomatoes are nicely cooked, remove from the oven and tip the whole lot in the stock pan. Blitz with a stick blender then add the mascarpone, stir well and serve. Not with olive bread, is far too moreish!!

Spicy Wedges

Laura NanaLeave a comment

A really quick easy one here, spicy wedges go well with so many things – cajun salmon, pulled pork buns, ribs, chicken wings…OMG I’m getting hungry!

Ingredients

1kg White Potatoes (Maris Piper, Kind Edward etc..)
1tsp Paprika
1tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
1tsp Salt

You can easily scale this recipe up to more or less, portions given are just a guide.

Method

1. Set your oven to 180 degrees. Line a large oven pan with foil and add 2-3 tbsp of oil. Put it in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

2. Leaving the skin on, cut your potatoes into wedge-like shapes.

3. In a bowl, mix your spices and salt.

4. Take the pan out of the oven. Sprinkle over the spice and salt mix then throw in your spuds. Using 2 spoons, turn them a few times in the oil/spice/salt mix and then pop them in the oven.

5. Set a timer for 15 minutes and pour yourself a glass of wine (or beer if you have to).

6. When the timer disturbs your peace, remove the wedges and, using the spoons, turn the taters over. Set the timer for another 15 minutes and pour more wine….

7. When the timer goes off again, repeat the process – remove, turn and time again for the final 15 minutes. Don’t have anymore booze, you won’t remember how good the wedges taste.

8. Remove the wedges from the oven and decant into a suitable receptacle to serve.

A Bloody Good Burger

Laura NanaLeave a comment

I love a bloody good burger. You can’t beat a bloody good burger. True, there are many and this is just one simple submission for you to try, let me know in the comments below how you like to pimp your buns.

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Ingredients

500g Beef Mince
1 egg
6 Jacobs Crackers
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
Rosemary sprig, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 onion finely diced
Cheddar, thin slivers
Stilton, crumbled
Salt and Pepper to taste
Burger buns – brioche or sesame seeded are best
Lettuce, tomato, onion
Ketchup or your favourite relish (I’ve got a great chilli and tomato relish that works well with this)

Method

1. Bash up your Jacobs crackers in a food bag until they’re tiny little crumbs, really get your anger out, When you add these to the mince, they hold on to little bits of fat and juice, keeping the burger moist.

2. Fry your onion, garlic, chilli flakes and rosemary until soft with salt and pepper.

3. In a bowl, combine the mince, crackers, egg, and cooked onion mixture. Best to mix with your hands, just in case you have any residual anger from the cracker beating session.

4. Divide the mixture into four and shape them into burger patty shapes, I’ve got a fancy ‘cooks ring’ to do this but you’re hands will do the job just as well.

5. Oil the burgers and set your frying pan to a nice medium heat. Make sure you can put a lid or a plate on your frying pan. Put a little salt on both sides of the burgers. Once the pan has warmed up, put your burgers in and try not to move them around for the first couple of minutes. You want there to be a nice enough sizzle that you know they’re cooking but not so much that you’re risking the fire alarm going off.

6. After 4-5 mins on one side, flip the burger over and leave to get nice and charred on the other side. After another 4-5 mins or so, flip the burgers again and add some cheddar and stilton to each burger. Turn the heat down and put your lid on. This will make sure the burger gets cooked and the cheese will melt as the heat circulates the closed pan. Meanwhile, toast your buns and get your salad ready – your salad will cancel out the calories from the burger so make sure you eat it 😉

7. Remove the burgers to a plate and leave them with a little foil hat on for 4-5 mins to rest.

8. Build your burgers! Any way you like really. I like to put a little mayo on the base with lettuce, then the burger patty then my relish on the top bun.

I always serve these with oven cooked spicy potato wedges, I’ll post a recipe up of those if anyone wants? Let me know. Enjoy!

Amaaaaaazing Ribs!

Laura NanaLeave a comment

Ok I know I’ve already posted one ribs recipe on here but I’m a obsessed! For the past few weeks I’ve been researching ribs (highly technical process) and I think I’ve got a great recipe here… I am picky about ribs, I don’t just want sweet and sticky, I want savoury with sweet notes, chewy bits and charred bits. I want ribs the Americans would be proud of! Here’s my latest concoction, sounds mad but believe me it works.

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Ingredients

2 racks of pork ribs
1 tbsp English Mustard
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp Marmite
Optional 2 tsp chilli flakes

Method

1. Turn your ribs over so the concave side is facing up. You should see a membrane covering the back of the ribs. Cut into the ribs at one corner to give you some leverage to rip it off. Grab it sandwiched between some kitchen towel and pull! It is this membrane that keeps your meat tight, gets stuck in your teeth and stops the marinade soaking in as much as it could, get rid of it! Be gone evil membrane of rib doom!

2. Mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl. Spread half over your ribs and leave them to marinade in the fridge for 3 hours or so.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 150C. Cover the dish tightly with foil and cook for about 2½ hours. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes. Covering them with the rest of the marinade. Or this is the point you could throw them onto a BBQ

Serve with wedges (potatoes, oil, salt, pepper, cayenne and paprika in the oven for 45 mins) and corn on the cob for a seriously wicked Friday night dinner.

Easy Strawberry Cheesecake #NoCookDessert

Laura NanaLeave a comment

I did this for a dinner party recently and had requests to post the recipe so here you go!!

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Ingredients
500g mascarpone
284ml Double Cream
3 or 4 tbsp Icing Sugar (taste as you add)
2 punnets Strawberries
2tbsp Strawberry Jam
14 Digestive Biscuits
25g – 50g butter, melted
Pinch salt

Method
Smash up the biscuits and mix with the butter and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Whip the double cream to soft peaks. Beat the mascarpone until soft then add the double cream and icing sugar and beat well. You could add some vanilla here too to add flavour.

Slice up the strawberries, reserving some to decorate the tops. Mix with the jam.

Get some glasses or jam jars and start with a layer of biscuits, make sure you smush them down with a spoon. Then a good thick layer of mascarpone and the strawberry mix. Repeat until you’ve run out of each.

That’s it! Enjoy!