Posts

Drink for the Gym

The gym drink I used to take to drink slowly during my workout was based on milk - too much milk at one go for compliance with Gundry, due to the sugar content - especially as I used to use lactofree milk. I have tried a few alternatives: one I liked (but my partner did not) was made with a head of romaine lettuce blended with water, salt, olive oil and some balsamic vinegar - a liquid salad in effect.  I also made a similar variation using raw beetroot, which again, was to my taste, but not to his. Today's drink was more to his taste, and is likely to become a staple: My freezer is full of bags of nuts, which I use to make nut milk. These I have soaked overnight, drained, and frozen in small bags of about a large mugful of nuts each: just enough to make a litre of nut milk. I look one of these - walnuts in this case, and placed it in the blender with two teaspoons of instant coffee granules, two drops of stevia (I don't like the flavour, I just wanted to give it a t

Coconut Yoghurt

The recipe I have used successfully so far is as follows: Ingredients: a.) Two tins of thick full fat coconut milk. b.) One tablespoon of "Symprove" probiotic, which contains L. rhamnosus,  E. faecium,  L. acidophilus,  and  L. plantarum .   c.) One teaspoon of sugar as 'food' for the yoghurt cultures. I then placed this in the oven on the lowest heat setting (just with the fan running - I did not check the temperature, but after a few hours, the container with the yoghurt was comfortably warm to the touch, but not hot); a yoghurt maker would also do the trick. I let the yogurt gently ferment for over 10 hours. At this stage, the yoghurt was white and creamy, but still too thin, unless you were aiming for a drinking or pouring yoghurt. d.) I look 1 tablespoon of plain gelatine, and dissolved it in 1/2 teacup of cold water, and then fully dissolved it by microwaving it for 1 minute. I poured the hot gelatine into the yoghurt, and stirred it in thorough

Smashed Cauliflower

I prefer quick and simple recipes: this is a regular on my dining table. Take one good head of cauliflower. Cut if up roughly, rinse, and microwave in a large covered bowl with a 1/4 cup of water for 10 minutes. Remove, and carefully drain the water. Add a good dose of olive oil, or ghee, (or goats butter)  (or indeed a combination of all three) salt, pepper and spices to taste (paprika goes well, as does rosemary.)  If you prefer, you may grate in an amount of good Parmesan Reggiano or Pecorino to give it a cheesy tang. Smash up with a hand blender (on low speed!) until it is the desired consistency. Pour over generous amounts of additional olive oil at the table. Sprinkle a little dried or fresh parsley or Nori (seaweed) sprinkles on top if you desire some colour contrast. Serve as a side dish.

Italian Marscapone and Pear Dessert

Take a firm pear, not too ripe, and chop it up. Mix it in with a tub of Italian marscapone. Serve in small portions. This cheese can also be served with a few raspberries, or a blackberries (3 or 4 per person)

Quick Mashed Green Bananas

QUICK MASHED GREEN BANANAS Take a bunch of green bananas - any variety will do, but they need to be quite green and hard. Green plantain can also be used. Cut one slit in each banana lengthwise, and place them with the skins on, in a large bowl in your microwave oven, and microwave them for ten minutes, with a 1/4 cup of water in the bowl. If you have leisure, allow them to cool; otherwise, plunge them into a basin of cold water. Once they are cool enough to touch, scrape the pulp out of the skins into a bowl. Add butter or olive oil, and mash them with a potato masher. You may briefly return them to the microwave to bring them up to the desired temperature. Serve as an accompaniment, in the same way as you would use mashed potato. They are improved with a light dusting of nutmeg.

Red Onion Soup

Red Onion Soup Take a dozen red onions, and peel and chop them up. Place them in a heavy frying pan with 1 cup of olive oil, and a tablespoon of dried rosemary, a generous teaspoon of ginger, plus salt and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer gently - do not fry them on a high heat - until quite tender. Turn off the heat, and cover, so they continue to cook gently in the low residual heat of the heavy pan. They can be left overnight at this stage, out of the fridge, for use the next day, or placed in a container in the freezer until needed. To make your soup, place the cooked onions into a pot, with a 450 mL of coconut milk, and a cup or two of water. Bring up to simmering temperature. Remove from the heat, and blend with a hand blender if desired - this can be done so that an amount of large onion pieces remain, or the soup can be smooth. Stir in a tablespoon of slaked tapioca starch or white sweet potato starch if you desire a thicker consistency, and return to the heat briefly

Coconut and Raspberry Jelly

Allow 2 tablespoons of gelatine to soak in some cold water for half an hour. Pour over 1/2 cup of boiling water, and place the bowl with the jelly in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir until quite dissolved. Pour over this 2 cups of coconut milk. Place in the fridge for 40 minutes, or until it begins to set. Add a punnet of raspberries. Whip the jelly with an egg beater or electric whisk until it foams. You may need to place it in the fridge, and take it out a while later, and re-whip it, if the jelly was not firm enough for the first beating. Decant into individual pudding bowls, and return it to the fridge until required. This jelly is pretty to look at. It is not particularly sweet, and could even be served as an appetiser before the main course.