Food Photo of the Day ~ Ploughman's Sandwich

This is one of my favourite sandwiches as it is fairly simple and so satisfying. I enjoy many ploughmans while in England and when I am feeling the need here, I create this for an afternoon lunch. Multigrain bread with a nice spread of Ploughmans pickle, a hefty bed of spinach and arugula, a good strong English or old cheddar, juicy tomato slices and a nip of Colman's English mustard. I serve it with a sprightly pickled onion and crisp apple slices. So delicious and it keeps me going until dinner. 

Hope everyone is good. I have packed quite a bit into this week so far and it is only Wednesday. - JD 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Sunday Brunch Pancakes

Pancakes are a simple way to refuel and feed the masses for Sunday brunch especially when paired with blueberries, oatmeal and ground flax seeds. I took this a step further and sprinkled a mixture of unsweetened shredded coconut, dried apricots, sunflower seeds, crushed almonds, and whole flax seeds, I know flax seed overload, after I placed the batter in the pan. I call these everything pancakes because they are loaded with goodness and substance. Not heavy just healthy. 

A bit of an dreary overcast Sunday, which is alright. Enjoy your day.  - JD 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Loaded Oat Bran

Sunday brunch was a bit more casual this weekend. Cooked oat bran with all sorts of lovely toppings to add some crunch, sweetness, fibre and nutrition. Chopped dried apricots, crushed almonds, unsweetened shredded coconut, flax seeds and sunflower seeds. The kidlets had fun picking and choosing which to add. I also added a drizzle of maple syrup and just a touch of milk, to mine. Oat bran loaded like this made more of a delicious balanced cereal, rather than dumping sugar on it trying to get some flavour. There are many ways to dress up an otherwise bland breakfast cereal by adding ingredients like these. Simple, healthy and a great way to start the day! 

Hope everyone had a good weekend, we did. We managed to do some Halloween costume shopping... oh it is never too early for Halloween! - JD    

Superfoods

Superfoods are super abundant in the culinary world. More healthy and nutritional eating seems to prevail as we all look for more ways to increase our vitamin and mineral intake while living longer lives. Fuelling the body right rather than filling it with saturated empty calories. Conscious living and healing the body with our culinary or dietary needs. A healthy body equals a healthy mind. Healthy cooking can be simple and delicious and by incorporating more superfoods we are maximizing nutritional value that offer plenty of health benefits.

The recipes in this cookbook are based around veggies, fruit, whole grains, legumes, lean protein, low fat diary, nuts and seeds. The darker, brighter and greener the fruit or veg the better. Essentially it is inspired by a Mediterranean style diet; more plant based and rich in antioxidants. This cookbook is superabundant with varied ingredients and recipes to prove that healthy cooking... and eating not only tastes great but is not complicated at all. 

Most of the recipes offer a short ingredient list which make them even more easy  to replicate at home. There are healthier versions of those infamous comfort foods we love so much. The photos definitely help in making this book a very appetizing and inspiring one. If you are looking for tastier ways to increase your veg, I recommend this book. If you want to maximize the nutritional value of your meals, I recommend this book. If you want to put forward a healthier more balance you, I recommend this book. 

For that past few weeks I have been craving cauliflower, don't know why, I just have. I bought a nice crown not sure exactly what would become of it until I was flipping through the Superfoods cookbook and stopped at this dish. The recipe I am sharing uses cauliflower. This is a very simple and easy dish and a great way to enjoy this veg. Roasted cauliflower smells and tastes so good and paired with the few simple ingredients it was a pleasant superfood that will be enjoyed many times. Oven roasted goodness!  

Cauliflower with Orange Zest & Green Onion

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Makes 4 servings 

1 head cauliflower (about 1 3/4 lb/875 g) cored and cut into uniform-sized florets

1 tablespoon olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground pepper 

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped green onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

4 lemon wedges

Put the cauliflower florets in a large bowl and add cold water to cover. Let stand for 20 - 30 minutes, then drain and pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC)

Spread the cauliflower in a single layer in a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast, turning every 10 minutes and sprinkling with 1-2 tablespoons cold water each time, until the florets are tender and lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

Pile the green onion, parsley and orange zest on a cutting board and finely chop them together. Using your fingers, toss the finished mixture on the board to distribute all the ingredients evenly. When the cauliflower is done, remove it from the oven and sprinkle evenly with the green-onion mixture. Spoon the cauliflower into a warmed serving dish and garnish with the lemon wedges. Server right away. 

Have a good long weekend everyone! - JD 

Delicious Oat Bran Flax Muffins

I must start off by saying these muffins are by far the most tasty muffins I have made. Packed with loads of fibre, some fruit and veg to maximize taste and give a simple healthy twist. These would be great to start your day, as a snack or for packed lunches. They do have nuts however if you are unable to enjoy nuts or can not have them at school or work then just omit them and add raisins instead.

Delicious Oat Bran Flax Muffins

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makes 12 muffins

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

 3/4 cup ground flax seed 

3/4 cup oat bran

1 cup of dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground British mixed spice, optional 

3/4 cup milk (skim or 2%, which ever you prefer)

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups shredded carrots

2 apples, peeled and shredded

1 orange, rind grated 

1 cup chopped nuts (unsalted walnuts, almonds or mixed nuts) 

Pre heat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC)

Grease a muffin tin or line the tin with muffin papers.

Shred... grate the carrots, apples and the orange rind then set aside.  

In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients (flour, ground flax, oat bran, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and mixed spice). Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine all the wet ingredients (milk, eggs, vanilla, oil, carrots, apples and grated orange rind) plus the nuts and give a stir to combine those ingredients. Now add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fill the prepared muffin cups about 2/3 of the way full. Bake in the preheated 350ºF (175ºC) oven for 15 or 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. 

Notes: I thought that the next time I make these I will cut down on the amount of sugar added. I may also add 1 to 2 cups of grated zucchini. You may also want to add about 1/2 cup of raisins or dried cranberries. Replace some of the flour with whole wheat flour.  

Hope everyone had a great weekend! - JD 

Muffin Tin Chef

This cookbook was given to me by a lovely lady; who knew I would appreciate what this cookbook has to offer. Some cookbooks are based around a theme, an ingredient or time. This cookbook is based around  a bakeware item... the muffin tin. 

Everyone has a muffin tin and how often do we use it. The other day we received the Lakeland catalogue and there are plenty of tin moulds to fill any creative kitchen. All the recipes revolve around the usage of the common muffin tin regardless if it's, silicone, metal, stoneware, or cast-iron. If you have a basic muffin tin than cooking and re-creating these recipes would be quite simple. You will view classic meal time options like... meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, falafels, burgers, and desserts differently. 

I have booked marked plenty of recipes to try. My husband had a bit of a laugh as I placed a yellow sticky note to the majority of the pages. I guess it would seem a bit funny to bookmark so many pages... so many recipes so; however it will take the flipping through the pages trying to find a recipe guess work out of it for me later. I want to make the Cheesy Sage Biscuits for Thursday nights dinner.

Even though I have made muffins, yorkshire puds, and eggs in the muffin tin I have. I was quite taken with the Fruity Energy Bites. Dried fruit and seeds to give you a boost and also they require no oven just the freezer to set. Which is a blessing in this sweltering heatwave. Whether you are running off to work, school or in a need of a healthy snack these bites are perfect for a quick energy boost.

Fruity Energy Bites

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Serves 12

1 1/2 cups pitted dried dates, chopped

1 cup dried Mission figs, chopped

1 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios

1/3 cup hemp seeds

1/4 brown rice syrup

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or coffee extract

In a food processor, process the dates, figs, apricots, pistachios, and hemp seeds until finely chopped. Add the brown rice syrup, cocoa, salt, orange zest, and vanilla or coffee extract, and process until the mixture clumps together. Pack the mixture into 24 mini muffin cups and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Unmould and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. 

... And here is my moment of kitchen zen.  

Hope everyone had a good weekend. - JD 

Vegetarian

Eating more vegetables is easy with this straightforward vegetarian cookbook. Spares on the introduction and concentrates more on the 100 plus recipes it has to offer. This book is hefty, 320 pages, however compact. Offering one page recipes with a deliciously enticing recipe photograph on the other. Vegetables are reminiscent of every season. Whether they are cool, crisp, warm, or hearty... vegetables are plenty throughout the year. And incorporating more vegetarian recipes has become more appetizing.

There are plenty of wonderful recipes in this cookbook and since it is still October one recipe I would like to share this recipe, Ginger Pumpkin Triangles.

Ginger Pumpkin Triangles

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Makes 9

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups (240g) finely diced pie pumpkin

3 tablespoons pine nuts

4 teaspoons finely grated ginger

1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 cup (10g) chopped cilantro (coriander)

6 sheets filo pastry

4 tablespoons (60g) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Step 1: Heat oil in a skillet (fry-pan) on medium heat. Sauté the pumpkin for 8 minutes, until tender. Add pine nuts, ginger, chili and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Mix in cilantro.

Step 2: Working with two sheets of fill at a time, place on a clean work surface. Brush top side of pastry with butter. Cut lengthwise into 3 even-sized strips. Place a heaped teaspoon of mixture on one end of each pastry strip. 

Step 3: Fold pastry and filling over to forn a triangle. Continue folding, keeping triangular shape, until end of strip. 

Step 4: Arrange triangles on tray. Brush with butter. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling. 

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden and crisp. Serve warm.

Another recipe, from the cookbook, I would like to share is the Bell Pepper & Sunflower Seed Dip.

Bell Pepper & Sunflower Seed Dip

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Serves 6 

1 cup (130g) sunflower seeds

3 red bell peppers (capsicums), deseeded and halved

olive oil, for cooking

1 hot red chili, deseeded and coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC)

Spread sunflower seeds in an oven pan and toast in oven for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Place the bell pepper halves, skin side up, in an oven pan. Rub skins with a little olive oil and roast for 20 minutes, or until skin blisters. 

Removes peppers from oven and place in a bowl, setting oven pan aside.

Cover peppers with plastic wrap and leave to cool (this allows the peppers to sweat so that their skins peel off easily). Remove and discard skins.

Place bell peppers and any pan juices, along with chili and garlic, in the bowl of a food processor. Blend. Add sunflower seeds and olive oil, and process again until smooth. Season to taste.

Spoon dip into a serving bowl. 

Enjoy! - JW