The lighting for the photos today was brilliant! It was a super bright day and I think the first bank holiday this year where the weather’s been glorious! The photos you can see without vegetables and sauce are cold! I prepared this meal in the morning before going to Crossfit, and when I returned, everything was cold so I took a photo of it without having to worry about people around the table waiting to eat and the hot food steaming up the camera lens.

This pork is apparently outdoor reared British pork, so it was probably the quality of the meat rather than my method of cooking it, but this was definitely a tasty meal; unique with the sweet potato mash, and the gravy was definitely the most delicious yet simplest gravy I’ve ever made. Sure, I’ve made gravies and nice sauces before, but they usually involve alcohol and lots of flour to cornflour, but tasted lovely and thickened up really nicely as well. I’ll definitely be using this sauce recipe again!

We also would have had more veg (I do like a huge pile of broccoli), but I didn’t make enough unfortunately. Usually, I cook way more veg than is needed, so I thought I’d reduce it a little – but there wasn’t quite enough (for our liking, at least!). So we ended up having more mash; paleo comfort food at its finest! It just means that Tim and I will have less tomorrow. But oh well.

And, we’ve saved the sweet potato skins to have as a meal with salad at some point next week. We’ll top them with cheese, bacon, garlic, onion, sweetcorn and chili! Mmmmmmm.

Anywho, blog entry for the day is here.

Pork Medallions with Apple, Onion and Sweet Potato Mash
Sauce adapted from: Appetite for China
Serves 4

Ingredients
For the sauce and medallions:
• 6 x pork medallions
• 1-2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp cornstarch (not paleo, I know! But it’s only a little. Maybe you can omit it?)
• 250 ml (1 cup) smooth orange juice (or apple juice)
• 2-4 tbsp dried fruit (I used dried blueberries and cherries; cranberries would also work well)
• 250 ml (1 cup) vegetable (or chicken) stock
• 2 tbsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce

For the mash:
• Enough sweet potatoes for your guests
• 2-3 small apples (this will depend on your own tastes)
• 2 medium onions, sliced into rings

Vegetables:
• Green veg to add colour: we had broccoli and pak choy. Other options could be kale, greens, cabbage, beans, peas, etc.

Preparation
The night before:
Ideally, you would want to soak the dried fruit in the orange juice. This means they’ll be plump and juicy. This isn’t mandatory, but simply a little extra. I do think it does make a difference; when I made my favourite carrot cake recipe, my mum actually noticed that I had done something to the dried fruit, as she said that the flavour burst in her mouth when she bit into one!

For the mash and medallions:
Turn the oven to 175°C and put the sweet potatoes in. No need to add any oil, etc. Bake them for about 2 hours. Then 30-45 minutes before the sweet potatoes are due to be taken out, put the apples in with them.

In the meantime, put about 1 tbsp butter into a large non-stick saucepan and sear the pork medallions for about 1-2 minutes on each side, until they start to brown. You will probably have to heat the butter until it’s almost started browning itself before putting in the medallions.

Once they’ve been seared, pop the medallions on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.

In the saucepan, add in the onions and sautée on a low heat until they sweat and then caramelise. Leave them to cool, ready to be mashed with the potatoes and apples, then reheated.

When the sweet potatoes and apples are cooked (poke to the centre of the apples and sweet potatoes to determien if they’re done), put them on a wire cooling rack or wooden chopping board to cool before scooping out the sweet potato flesh and putting it in the saucepan with the onions. Cut the apples into pieces, throwing away the core and seeds, but leaving the skin on. Make sure everything is cool before doing this though. Save the sweet potato skins for snacks! Mash everything together, and reheat thoroughly over the hob before serving.

Pop the medallions into the oven about 15 minutes before serving (make sure they’re not pink inside). You can add the pork juices in with the gravy.

For the sauce:
In a saucepan, add all of the ingredients listed. Bring to a boil, and then simmer until everything has reduced by about half, which should be about 5 minutes. Bring back to the boil just before serving.

For the vegetables:
Don’t forget to steam the broccoli for about 15-20 minutes before serving, and add the pak choy abuot 4 minutes before the broccoli is finished. However, you can have whatever veg you want and can cook it anyway you like!

Eaten around the table in Plymouth with the best people in my life: 25.05.2013

I always try to cook healthy and nutritious food for my brother and I while we’re at uni. I think we eat pretty well for students! We’re both trying to follow a paleo diet, which involves no wheat, sugar, grains, dairy, legumes, alcohol or potatoes. I did follow this diet strictly for 30 days, and felt no difference to my energy levels, but I think that was because I didn’t eat much wheat or sugar to begin with! I did eat grains, dairy, potatoes and legumes, however I personally feel as though these don’t damage your health if they’re eaten occasionally, and they certainly don’t seem to affect my energy levels.

It is incredibly difficult to stick to strict paleo, because there isn’t a restaurant out there with a perfectly paleo dish! Even if you could find a dish without a grain, legume or potato, it would probably be cooked in some sort of vegetable or sunflower oil. I think the closest I’ve found is Nando’s, because they do grilled chicken with sweet potato side dishes; perhaps that’s why all the Crossfit lot eat there often! So we do use paleo as a diet guideline, although we’re not 100% strict; we do like peanut butter every so often, and I have milk in my tea. Occasionally we have regular white potatoes or rice, but always limit sugar and wheat (the biggest culprits, in my opinion, of inflammation and disease these days!). However, if I was to go to a restaurant, a friend’s house, or my parent’s place, and found that my mum had made one of her famous carrot cakes or a lasagne or spaghetti carbonara was on the menu, I certainly wouldn’t turn it down!

Most people we speak to think it’s quite a radical diet, but to be honest, it really isn’t. I was surprised when my dad said to us “don’t you guys find it boring?” On the contrary! There are so many different recipes and ingredients to try! We use a lot of coconut, butter, olive oils, almonds, etc. More than we used to. Sometimes it can be a little more pricier than eating a large plate of pasta or rice (as they’re quite cheap), but fresh veg isn’t that expensive, and neither are various meats if you buy them in bulk. Remember: the freezer is your friend! Not only that, but how often do you expect to each in a day? One large and a smaller meal would be enough if you really were that tight on money!

Also, a lot of people seem to think that paleo is for weight loss. Sure, it’s great for weight loss, but if you’re on paleo JUST to lose weight, I suggest you reevaluate what you want to get from it. Weight loss is a great side-product of the diet, but the ultimate aim of eating paleo is for optimal health. This is why various paleo advocate sites suggest being strict for at least 30 days to clean your system out, and then slowly introduce various things, such as dairy, back into your diet to determine if it makes you feel sluggish or affects your adversely. I like to think that I know why I stick to paleo. I’ve read several books on the subject and feel fairly well-versed in the area. I like to know why I’m not eating wheat and sugar, and what effect that has on the body, rather than just following guidelines in a book because an expert said so.

For example, eating refined wheat and sugar causes a spike in blood-glucose levels, and as most people, especially in the Western world, eat mostly these things at every meal; bread, desserts, pasta, biscuits as snacks, and this causes elevated blood-sugar levels, which causes chronic inflammation. Sure, our body is pretty good at dealing with inflammation, but when it’s chronic, that’s when disease rears its ugly head. Of course, it’s all a lot more complicated than that, but if you’re interested in finding out more, I suggest you read the following fantastic and highly informative books:

• The Paleo Solution
• The Primal Blueprint: Reprogramme your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health and boundless energy
• It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways
• Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
• The Paleo Answer: 7 Days to Lose Weight, Feel Great, Stay Young
• Wheat Belly
• The Paleo Diet for Athletes (Revised Edition)

Carrot Timbales
Adapted from: Paleo Comfort Foods, pages 210 & 211
Serves 4

Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (or butter)
• 450g carrots, finely sliced
• 2 x large cloves of garlic
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 80ml (1/3 cup) coconut or almond milk
• 2 x eggs, beaten

Preparation
Heat the oil in a saucepan until hot. Add the carrots and garlic, toss to coat, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until tender for about half an hour or so.

Scrape the carrots into a food processor, and purée until smooth. Mix in the rest of the ingredients until homogeneous.

Spoon the purée into ramekins until they are nearly full, then cover with tin foil. If you want a crispy top, don’t cover.

When you want to cook them, preheat the oven to 165°C. Put the ramekins in a roasting dish, and pour in boiling hot water until it comes ½ way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Remove (carefully!) from the roasting tins, and serve either in the ramekin, or without. To remove, run a knife around the ramekin to help loosen the timbale.

Eaten: 03.11.2012 with my lovely family

I always try to cook different things, which really helps to improve my culinary skill. I am definitely starting to get the hang of improvising, and being able to substitute ingredients and adapt a recipe to suit our own tastes. Not only that, but it also helps to make oneself more open to food when visiting other countries, and cultures. It goes beyond just being open to their food, but also being open to more things in life, too.

When I was younger, I remember a few teachers being really impressed with the number of different types of fruits and vegetables that I knew the names of, and had tried. Once a friend came round to my house for dinner and she asked what the “yellow stuff” was on our plates. My parents were shocked that she’d never even come across sweetcorn before. Back then I had already tried things like pomegranates, Sharon fruits (persimmons), star fruits, passion fruits, and lots of other things like that.

But I feel as though it extents to more than just knowing your food; by knowing and being aware of food makes you naturally inquisitive about other things (i.e. it’s a lifestyle thing). I remember also being in secondary school (high school) and some teachers were really shocked when one pupil pointed Canada out as Australia on a map….and so was I! I went back to my parents and exclaimed to them how one couldn’t know that! And to be honest, my geography is rubbish…but surely everyone knows where Australia is, right?

Anyway, I made this meal for my mum as a mini Mother’s Day gift (even though it’s not until tomorrow). We’ll all celebrate Mother’s Day properly next weekend, because dad will be back from work in London by then, and also we can celebrate with both of our grandmothers, too. But to be fair, I don’t really think that we’ll even be celebrating that, because next week, is mum’s graduation ceremony!

Mum said that she wasn’t looking forward to this meal, as she tried gnocchi years ago (before my brother and I were born) and didn’t like it at all. Admittedly it was from a packet, but I managed to convert her by rustling up this delicious dish of fresh gnocchi! You should try it, too!

I would love to make this again, but for those who like their meat, chicken would go great with this dish! I suppose you could pan fry it before adding the mushrooms. Simple.

Fresh Gnocchi with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Source: The Culinary Chronicles
Serves: 4 generous platefuls

Ingredients
For the gnocchi:
• 750g potatoes
• 220g (~2 cups) flour
• 1 x egg
• 1 tsp salt

For the mushroom sauce:
• 2 x tbsp butter
• 500g button mushrooms
• 2 x cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp dried chives
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 500ml vegetable stock (36kcal)
• 60ml (¼ cup) double cream (150kcal)
• 30g (¼ cup) cheese, grated (I used cheddar)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

To prepare the gnocchi:
Peel the potatoes and cut them into sizes roughly the same size. Boil them in slightly salted water until they’re incredibly soft – about ½ an hour.

Drain the potatoes, reserving the water in the large pot (keep a lid on it to keep the water as hot as possible). Mash the potatoes in a large bowl, and add the flour, little by little, mixing with a wooden spoon. Keep on adding flour and mixing until the dough comes together, so that it’s easy to handle without being particularly sticky.

Separate the dough into balls, and roll each ball out into a long thin sausage-shape about ½ – ¼ “ thick. Then, use a pastry cutter to cut little balls of pillows about 1” long.

Boil the salted potato-y water (reserved from earlier), and pop the gnocchi in. Prepare a large bowl half filled with cold water. Cook some of the gnocchi (this will need to be done in batches) for a couple of minutes until they float to the surface. Remove them with a slotted spoon into the cold water.

When all of the gnocchi are cooked, drain them in a colander and set aside for later.

To prepare the sauce:
Wash and slice the mushrooms. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large pot; add the mushrooms, thyme, garlic and chives. Sauté the mushrooms until reduced and golden brown. Then add the stock, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cream, and simmer for a few more minutes, before adding the gnocchi. Let the gnocchi heat all the way through, add the cheese, stir well (being very careful not to break and mash the gnocchi), and leave to boil. Reduce to a simmer for approx. 5 minutes.

Serve piping hot with salad, or anything else of your choice.

Buon appetito!

Usually, when I ask my parents waht they want for Christmas, they always say “hmm, nothing really.” It’s so difficult to go shopping for them. Usually my brother and I buy bog-standard gifts for them. For my mum we’ll get anything with white chocolate, kitchenware of perhaps some really nice socks or music. And for dad, we’ll buy tennis or golf balls, a sports shirt or some shorts and a CD full of music we’ve downloaded for him.

But to buy something special, well, that’s difficult. I remember once we were going to buy our parents…

I also bought them home a nice bottle of wine from Italy when I went back in 2009, and I don’t think it’s even been touched yet. And my boyfriend was extremely sweet last Christmas and was determined to buy my parents something. He really tried to ask me what they would like or the sort of things they’re into, but I really couldn’t answer him. I think he got the idea that I was just being awkward, but I really wasn’t. He ended up with the idea of buying them a nice kettle, as the kettle they had recently had broken, and so they whipped out the white, plastic, cheap-looking kettle I had suring my first year at uni. So that was a really good idea! In fact, I was going to buy them a kettle for my mum’s birthday (wow, a kettle as a birthday gift!), but I forgot the reason why I didn’t. So anyway, it was set, my boyfriend could buy them a new kettle as he was adamant to get them something! But it turns out that they were just waiting until mum’s new kitchen was fitted in before they wanted to whip out the new stainless steel one they already have.

So my boyfriend was back to square one. He ended up buying some really lovely gifts, which he really shouldn’t have. But as I said, it’s hard shopping for parents. I always feel guilty during Christmas times when people say “What are you buying your parents?” and I genuinely can’t answer. I feel like such a bad daughter. Seriously, can anyone else relate to my dilemma?

So, in a bid to do something nice, I thought I’d pickle some eggs for my dad! The reason for this is because a) he likes pickled stuff, like onions, egg, olives and anything else saturated in vinegar, and b) it’s a unique gift idea, and a new experience we can all share an enjoy.

I first pickled these at the beginning November of last year, and we tried them on Christmas Eve. He was very surprised with them, and said that they were lovely! I was even surprised with that, as they were a little too sweet for my liking, although still very enjoyable. I wouldn’t have put my dad as liking his pickles too sweet. But that’s a preference thing and next time I may not even use sugar. But the eggs were lovely and purple throughout! Beautiful.

I’d love to try these again and serve them as deviled eggs!

Pickled Beet Eggs
Source: Jules Food
To pickle 8-10 eggs

Ingredients
• 8-10 eggs, hard-boiled (method below)
• 500g jar of pickled beetroot
• 1 ¾ cups (315ml) white vinegar
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp allspice or ground mixed spices
• 1 x cinnamon stick
• airtight jar (big enough to fit the eggs)

Preparation
Boiling the eggs, source: here
Pop the eggs in a saucepan and put in enough cold water to just cover them. Then put them on high heat, and once the water starts to boil, set the timer to 3 minutes, and continue to boil the water.
When 3 minutes are up, take the eggs off of the heat and pop a lid on the saucepan and set the timer to 8 minutes.
When the 8 minutes are up, run cold water over the eggs for about a minute, and leave them to stand for a while to cool down.

Your eggs are now ready! They’ll peel better if you pop them in the fridge for a while though.

Pickling the eggs
Drain the jar of beets, but make sure you keep the juice. We don’t need to beets, just the juice.
In a large enough saucepan, add the beet juice along with the vinegar, sugar and mixed spice. Split the cinnamon stick in half and add that, too.
Bring it to a boil and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Then simmer for 5 minutes.
Pop the peeled hard-boiled eggs into a jar (or in my case, I popped four eggs each in two rather large jars). The pour the hot mixture all of the eggs (including the cinnamon sticks). Leave to cool for around an hour or two.
Close with an air-tight fitting lid and store in the fridge to let the flavours blend and combine, and penetrate the eggs. You can do this for several days, or several weeks. But once they’re opened, keep them in the fridge and use within 7 days.

Yum!

Last week, in my physical chemistry lecture, I was really intrigued by the more philosophical rather than scientific introduction to a new topic. The lecturer, who also happens to be my dissertation supervisor, spoke of the Greek Epicureans who created theories as to why olive oil is more viscous than water back in around 400BC, and they were definitely on the right track!

They believed that if molecules were to have set paths, the formation of the universe is therefore set. So, one the “ball is rolling,” then the formation of the universe and all of the interactions that took place will follow on from that, and we can just sit back and relax while the world as we know it is created. However, this logic denies the existence of free will. So there must be some wobbly molecules of unpredictability in their “paths.” Which explains the formation, I suppose, of human nature.

I mean, this is pretty indepth stuff. I may even be wrong with what I’ve written, but it’s definitely something I’d be interested in reading more about. I’d quite like a big book on the topic just to sit and read when my mind is feeling inquisitive. These sort of things make me feel so small and humble, and I actually feel privileged that I get to learn some of the incredible things that have been pondered over for centuries.

My lecturer was also saying that if you ever get the opportunity to go to Florence, Italy, there is a museum that displays not only Galileo’s scientific equipment, but also his finger, which was from when he was tortured for standing by his claims that the Sun in the centre of the Solar System, and not the Earth.

So, in a bid to combine my passion for cooking, and to celebrate the Greek’s fantastic discoveries, which were way ahead of their time, I pieced together a beautiful moussaka. When I first looked at the ingredients and saw that there were no potatoes, I thought perhaps the recipe missed it out. But it turns out that potatoes aren’t actually a traditional part of the dish, but can be incorporated within. I also thought the potatoes would be mashed, placed on top and sprinkled with cheese, similar to that of a shepherds, cottage or fish pie. However, you’re supposed to incorporate slices of either roasted or fried potatoes in with the aubergines.

And that’s another thing: what healthiness there is of this dish is ruined by shallow or deep frying the aubergines and potatoes (if you choose to use them). But of course you can get around this by roasting them, which is a common option most of the recipes I’ve looked at online seem to choose.

I was going to use only aubergines, but when I asked my mum to get the ingredients for this, she only bought about 550g of aubergine (rather than 1kg). So I just replaced what was missing with potato.

One of the downsides to this dish, is that it requires quite a few pots and pans. However, as it’s finished off in the oven, you can prepare it ahead, so you appear the cool, calm and collected cook.

Roasted Aubergine & Potato Moussaka
Adapted from: Food and Cook (in Spanish)
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
• 4 tbsps olive oil
• 3 x medium potatoes
• 2 x large aubergines
• 3 x cloves of garlic
• 2 x onions
• 800g lamb (or beef, if preferred)
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 125ml (½ cup) red wine, white wine or vegetable stock
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground mixed spice (or allspice)
• 1 tsp dried mint
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• a few fresh mint leaves
• salt and pepper
• béchamel sauce
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• approx. 90-150g grated cheddar (or combine with other cheese, such as goat’s cheese)

For the béchamel sauce:
• 100g flour
• 100g butter
• 800ml milk
• 2-3 tsp nutmeg
• salt and pepper

Preparation
Aubergine preparation:
First, wash the aubergines, and slice them lengthways into fairly thin-to-medium-sized slices. Then, cover both sides with a generous sprinkling of salt, and leave them to sit in a colander for 30 minutes. Make sure you leave them in or over a sink, as their oil will seep out.

Afterwards, wash the aubergine in cold water, and then dry them with kitchen roll, trying to squeeze some of the water out, too.

Roasting the vegetables:
Preheat the oven to 200◦C. Slice the potatoes into discs (don’t bother peeling them) and place them, along with the aubergine slices, into a roasting dish. Sprinkle them with 2 tbsps olive oil and mix them about to cover them all a little. Then, pop them into the oven for 10 minutes, and then turn the tray around and roast for another 10 minutes. Then, remove from the oven, mix the vegetables around and then place back into the oven for 5 minutes. Finally, turn the tray around and roast for a final 5 minutes.

This makes the total roasting time of the vegetables 30 minutes. So in the meantime you can prepare the lamb.

Preparing the lamb:
Firstly, dice the onions. In a large skillet heat a tablespoon of olive oil, and add the minced garlic into it. When you hear the garlic starting to sizzle, smell beautifully and turn a little brown, add the diced onions and continue to cook until they turn golden brown.

Then, add the lamb, cinnamon, ground spice, salt and pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes; until all fo the lamb had turned brown. Then incorporate the tomatoes, stock or wine, parsley and mint into the mix,and let cook and reduce for about 20 minutes.

While this is cooking, you can prepare the béchamel sauce (but don’t forget about the vegetables).

Making the béchamel sauce:
Put the butter into a saucepan, and gently melt. Then sieve in all of the flour and mix to create a roux. Then, before the roux burns, add the milk, salt, pepper and 2-3 teaspoons of nutmeg, and turn the heat up a little. Continue to stir until it’s all combined and starts to thicken. A smooth and silky sauce, with a pale yellow colour, will start to form. The secret is to heat is slowly, with continuous stirring, and to be patient. It will take about 10 minutes in total.

Assembling the moussaka:
Before assembling the moussaka, put 1 tbsp of oil into an oven dish, and grease the whole inside of it. Then layer the bottom with half of the potatoes and aubergines. Don’t worry if they overlap, just try to make sure there are minimum holes in the bottom. Then, spread half of the lamb across the aubergine and potato layer, and then layer the rest of the potatoes and aubergines, before finishing off with the rest of the lamb.

Then, pour the béchamel sauce across the top of the lamb, making sure to cover everything. Sprinkle over the cheese, and then 1 tsp of nutmeg.

To cook and serve:
The moussaka is probably still quite warm, so simply pop it into the oven at 200◦C for 30 minutes. However, if you choose to bake the moussaka another day, pop it into an oven preheated at 175◦C for 90-120 minutes.

To finish, if you want, turn the grill on the brown the cheese on top. And serve, hot, with salad.

Mmmm, enjoy the flavours.