Low fat pineapple frozen yoghurt

This recipe is so natural it only took 3 ingredients (makes approx 3 glasses worth).

Firstly, slice 1 large pineapple into small, thin pieces and remove the skin (the same size as the pictured triangles but much thinner) so they don't take too long to cook.

Place on a lined baking tray and put in the oven for 55 minutes at 120C and make sure you turn them over once.

Remove from tray before they have cooled down.

In a bowl, mix 750ml of low fat natural yoghurt with 3 tablespoons of honey and the stir in the pineapple pieces. Place bowl in freezer for a few hours or until set.

Remove from freezer, scoop out yoghurt when soft enough and serve into dishes.

Enjoy.

Lasagne

Ah the classic lasagne, so filling and it pleases the whole family (unless of course you're a vegetarian).

WARNING: Although very delicious to eat, it is a time consuming meal to make so spare yourself an hour or more plus the baking time involved too.

Filling

Dice 2 large onions and 3 large cloves of garlic and cook on a medium heat until slightly soft/half cooked. Add 1kg of beef mince and cook until it is mostly cooked/not pink anymore. Add 4 tsp of salt. Chop and add 2 large/oyster mushrooms to the mix. Add 2 tins of plum tomatoes. Add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste/concentrate. If you want it spicy, add one finely chopped chilli. Remove from heat.

Pasta sheets

Use 2 packets of lasagne sheets or enough to cover 2 layers. Soak in boiling water until soft but not soggy, remove from water.

White sauce/bechamel sauce

Melt 75g of butter with equal amounts of white flour, sieved to avoid lumps. Mix the paste on a medium heat then slowly add 900ml of milk until it's all mixed, it will thicken. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and stir well. Remove from heat once it is thick.

In a large baking dish, roughly 40cm x 30cm, oil the pan and add the first layer of pasta sheets.

Add 1/3 of the filling followed by 1/3 of the white sauce and a sprinkle of grated mozzarella cheese. Repeat process to produce a second layer. On the top layer, just finish it off with the pasta sheets, white sauce and extra cheese.

Put in a 180C oven for 45 minutes or until golden and crispy on top.

Wholemeal pancakes

Pancakes are so simple and they taste great with almost any topping, almost.

I never measure when doing pancakes, I just know when it's the right amount, it's like I just sense it.

Mix 1 cup of flour to roughly 1 cup of milk and add 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of bicarb/baking soda. If it is too runny, add a little more flour. 

Stir well with a whisk.

In a large pan, add a small amount of olive or coconut oil (the only 2 oils that are sustainable when cooking, on high temperatures, and also both very healthy).

Cook on a medium heat for roughly 2 minutes then flip over. 

Note - be careful not to have it too high or they will burn.

TIP - if you have any left over, have cold the next day with savoury toppings like tomato or marmite/vegemite.

Banana and pear cake

I grew up with hippy parents who love to make wholemeal cakes and I remember some of my friends would try to pinch it at school because it tasted so good. This is my slant on their banana cake (throw some pear in there too).

Method - 

Peel and mash one soft, slightly over ripe banana.

Remove core and chop 1 pear into small pieces.

Preheat the oven to 170C

Grease a cake tin (approx 20 x 20cm)

Melt 125g of butter together with 150g of caster sugar on a medium heat then remove from heat.

Add the pear and banana, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and stir well.

Beat 1 egg and then add to cake mixture.

Add 190g of wholemeal flour with 1 tsp of baking/bicarb soda. Add 60ml of milk and stir well.

Pour into the then then pop in the oven.

Cook for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

TIP - if you are afraid that your cake might dry out, put a ceramic dish of water right at the bottom of the oven - this adds moisture to the air in the oven (works a treat for pastries too).

Chilli con carne

The reason I started this blog was actually to print out the recipes and to create a family cook book. In this case, I wanted to add something that my husband came up with. I helped him cook this chilli con carne but it's his recipe so I can't take the credit for it.

Method (serves 4)

Level of spiciness - medium

Chop 3 garlic cloves and 2  onions, fry with a little bit of olive oil, remove from heat. Cook 400grams of beef mince and then add the onions and garlic. Chop 1 red pepper, add to pan. Add 1 tin of red beans, 3 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons of paprika, 2 tins of plum tomatoes, 2 tbsp of tomato paste, 1 stick of cinnamon, 2 tsp cumin. 

Cut very finely, 1 scotch bonnet or 1 really hot chilli and remove most of the seeds as that is where most of the heat comes from. Put lid on, let all of the moisture absorb and put the covered pan in the oven on low (150°C) for an hour.

Serve with basmati rice and a dollop of sour cream, we put truffle salt in with the rice.

Salad with white truffle salt and creamy feta

It is just that simple.

Here I used cucumber, tomatoes, celery, grilled bacon, avocado and then I chopped and blended 100gms of feta cheese with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt with white truffles then put it on top of the salad.

Chicken and vegetable quiche

I do love a good quiche and when there's chicken added, it's even better tasting.

Serves 2 

Method - 

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Whisk 6 eggs in a bowl.

Add 1 cup of chopped up vegetables (I used peas and carrots).

Add 1 finely diced cooked chicken breast.

Add 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of paprika, stir all of the ingredients.

Oil a small baking pan (approx 15cm in diametre). Pour mixture into pan and cook for 20-30 minutes or until golden on top.

Moroccan couscous with roasted lemons

I had a similar dish about a year ago at a Moroccan restaurant here in London and wanted to try to create it (or what I remember of it).

Method  (serves 3)

Roasted lemons -

Preheat oven to 160C. Cut 5 lemons into quarters, lengthways and place on a tray then drizzle olive oil and grind some sea salt over the lemons. Put in the oven for 20 minutes or until soft and slightly golden around the edges.

Couscous -

Pour 375ml of boiling water onto 250grams of couscous and half a cup of sultanas and cover for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir couscous, add 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of paprika and 5 teaspoons of salt.

Plating up -

Wet a ceramic bowl then fill bowl with couscous. Place a plate on top of the bowl. Place one hand on the plate and one hand underneath the bowl; quickly, firmly and gently flip the plate and bowl so that your top hand is now on the bottom. Place the plate on the bench then gently lift the bowl off leaving the couscous on the plate in a nicely formed shaped (I used a square bowl for this).

Coconut hot chocolate

I do love a good hot chocolate and this one is dairy free which makes it even better.

Heat coconut milk from 1 can (roughly 400ml), 2 heaped teaspoons of cocoa powder and 2 teaspoons of honey and stir while brining to the boil then take off heat when bubbles start to rise.

Dust with some cocoa powder using a sieve to avoid lumps.

Poached pear in red wine

This seems like more of a winter dessert but I had some merlot and a pear and thought "why not?"

Method-

Peel 1 pear and place in a saucepan with 1 glass of red wine (merlot or a cabernet merlot), 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat to simmer for 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy. 

Dark chocolate vegan mousse

Wow. Oh my goodness wow. I have never eaten this let alone tried making it so I had no idea what to expect.

That's right, it's vegan, dairy free and the only sugar it contains is honey and fruit sugars in the fresh fruit on top.

Serves 2

Method

Scoop out contents of 2 avocados, chop and mix with electric hand-held mixer.

Add 5 teaspoons of honey and 1 tablespoon of olive or coconut oil. Add half a cup of cocoa powder and using a wooden spoon, stir until avocado is completely mixed into the cocoa powder.

That's it.

Serve onto a plate or bowl and add fresh fruit.

Lavender and lemon iced tea

 Only having tried lavender once in my life (my lavender and white chocolate yoghurt recipe) I thought it would be fun continuing to experiment with the flower.

The weather in London at the moment is ridiculous, just as it is in our summers back in Australia. It's been 30+ degrees and a million % humidity too so this iced tea is just the ticket.

Method - in a ceramic or glass container place 2 sprigs of lavender and a one cup of boiling water. Add 1 squeeze of lemon and a teaspoon of honey. Let diffuse for 5 minutes before putting into the fridge to cool down.

In a glass, layer ice and slices of lemon and add 2 fresh sprigs of lavender.

Take the tea out of the fridge once it is slightly cooler (10 minutes is fine). Remove used lavender sprigs. Pour tea into the glass with ice and add a slice of lemon onto rim of the glass to decorate.

Cottage pie

Here I was confused about the differences between cottage pie and Shepherd's pie. Basically, Cottage pie uses minced beef and Shepherd's pie uses minced lamb so I guess you can have vegetables in either dish.

Method

This can be as difficult or as simple as you like it. You could use pre-made mashed potato or you could make your own (that's what I did). I must admit, to save time, I used frozen vegetables but they are still healthy, cheap and quick to use and not messy at all.

Mashed potato

Peel and chop 6 large potatoes and steam/boil in small amount of water until soft. Remove from heat, drain.

Either use a masher or an electric hand held mixer. I found the mixer to be quicker. I added approximately one portion of potato at a time and added a drizzle of oil each time then blended (about 6 separate times).

Pie filling

Peel and chop 3 onions and cook in a pan, remove from heat.

Next I cooked 1kg of minced beef in a pan and added 2 cups of frozen vegetables, half a cup of boiling water and 6 teaspoons of gravy powder.

Once this is cooked, remove from heat, add cooked onions to the mix.

Put mixture into a large rectangle baking tray.

Place mashed potato on top and carefully spread out evenly.

Put the cottage pie in a preheated 180C oven and cook for 20 minutes or until potato is golden brown.

Banana and peanut butter bites

Overcoming the fear of anything can sometimes take time. In this case, I'm 30 and only just starting to conquer my phobia of bananas. 

Method-

Peel and chop 1 banana. Mix banana using an electric hand-held mixer.

Add roughly 1 cup of rolled oats. Add 3 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter. Add 2 tablespoons of honey. If mixture is still a little bit runny, keep adding rolled oats until it binds together nicely.

Sprinkle a decent amount of either cinnamon or cocoa powder on a plate. Wet your hands. take about a tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball then roll it in the powder on the plate.

Refrigerate for 1 hour until firm.

Avocado, sweet potato and capsicum salad

There's nothing like a protein packed meal straight after a big run (I went for a long run this morning) but without a heavy meal on the stomach, a salad is the perfect option. Avocados are high in protein (I grew up on them, my dad is a vegetarian and they are one of his major sources of protein so we always had a surplus).

Here I used 1x chopped up avocado,
half a red capsicum, half a green capsicum,
half a chopped sweet potato that I steamed for 5 minutes,
1 x small chopped cucumber,
2 tablespoons of my homemade mayonnaise (see previous blog post),
a squeeze of lemon juice, a sprinkle of salt,
1 tablespoon of almond meal and 2 teaspoons chopped pistachio nuts.

Satsuma jam

Satsumas or mandarines as we call them in Australia are amazing, I love citrus fruits. Yesterday I bought a whole netted bag, ate half and instead of letting the other half go to waste, I figured it would make a great jam.

Method-

Peel and cut 4 satsumas/mandarines into small pieces. In a saucepan, add 4 tablespoons of sugar (I know, it's a lot of sugar but it's ok to treat yourself once in a while) and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.

Use a potato masher (or whatever those plastic/metal things are called) to press the fruit down and get the juices out. 

Bring to the boil and keep on high for roughly 3-4 minutes to let some of the liquid evaporate.

Turn heat down to low and let simmer for several minutes. Remove from heat, serve. 

If you feel that your jam is still a bit too runny, add a little more sugar and then bring to the boil again then turn heat down once again to simmer.

Cathy's lavender and white chocolate yoghurt

I do this blog simply because I love to experiment with food and I love taking photographs but to know that people are reading it is a bonus.

Soooo, I am proud to present one of my reader's attempt at my Lavender white chocolate yoghurt. It looks great, Cathy Lawrence, you are a pro!

Nectarine crumble

Instead of apple crumble, I looked at my little lonely nectarine in the bowl and figured that he could be off use instead.

So here it is.

Method-

(makes 2 jars)

Scatter roughly 2 cups of oats on a tray and toast in the grill until light brown (approx. 5 minutes).

Custard

In a bowl, mix 2 eggs with 6 teaspoons of sugar using a whisk. Add 1 cups of milk then whisk.

Take 2 jars and pour 1/4 of the oats into each jar. Pour half of the custard mixture into each jar. 

Cut 1 nectarine into slices and place half into each jar on top.

In a saucepan, place the jars and fill the pan with water near to the top. Boil for several minutes until custard mixture cooks. 

Top with more oats and a little drizzle of honey.

Rice pudding with fresh berries

I remember whenever mum and dad made a big batch of rice at dinner time, having left over rice for dessert and we just added a few ingredients to make it sweet.

Method-

Cook white basmati rice (1 cup per person), 1:2 rice to water ratio. Remove from heat before rice becomes too soft (make sure it still a tiny bit of bite).

In a separate pan, heat 1 cup of milk for every cup of rice that you use in a low-to medium heat. Add 1 egg yolk and use a whisk quickly to avoid lumps. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Add cooked rice and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer, continue cooking until the moisture has absorbed.

Serve topped with fresh fruit and cinnamon.

Avocado mousse

Avocado as a dessert, I never thought I'd try it but here it is, my first sweet avocado dish.

It's quite strange because I've done a bit of travelling and some of the places I've been to, they look at me strange when I say I want salt with my avocado as they tend to it theirs sweet (either as a smoothie or with sugar).

Method (serves 1)

Peel and blend 1 avocado. Add 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and then blend again.

Serve and top with some chopped dates for extra sweetness.

Benefits - it's dairy free therefor guilt free and it's packed with goodness and good fats that your body needs so you're really doing yourself a favour instead of eating high fatty, dairy-filled sugary desserts.

Rice stuffed blistered peppers

This dish is inspired by Mediterranean cuisine with char-grilled pepper as the focus.

Method (serves 2)

Cook 2 cups of brown rice in 4 cups of water, boil until soft but firm (20 minutes).

Steam half a cup of peeled and chopped sweet potatoes until soft (5 minutes).

In a frying pan, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, fry a handful of very finely diced steak and after 2 minutes, add 2 tablespoons of chopped courgettes (zucchini), 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of paprika. Add rice and stir well. Remove from heat.

Chop off the top and de-seed 1 capsicum. On a gas stove or on a naked flame, hold a pepper (capsicum) against the flame with tongs for 1 minutes on each side and rotate until the skin becomes black and blistering.

Remove from heat, stuff with rice filling and serve.

 

Banana and blueberry smoothie

This is a big deal for me. I had a phobia of bananas for most of my life and this morning, even peeling one was terrifying (just a bit of a drama queen).

Method (makes 2 glasses)

Peel and chop 1 1/2 bananas and blend.

Add a handful of blueberries, 1/2 cup of milk, 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and blend.

Lavender and white chocolate yoghurt

I have been dreaming about this for the last week or 2 and finally get to eat it.

This is the first time I've ever made it and the first time I've ever eaten lavender.

It is a strong flavour so try not to chew the lavender, simply let it's beautiful flavour be tasted.

Method

Melt 120 grams of white chocolate in a double boiler (I used a metal bowl on top of a saucepan of boiling water on high).

Remove from heat, wait a minute or so until the chocolate cools a little but does not harden.

Add 150 grams of low fat natural yoghurt.

Add lavender stripped from 2 sprigs of lavender.

Stir with a whisk to avoid lumps.

Spoon into a jar and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Top with more lavender for a pretty display.

Serve and enjoy.

Disclosure - warning, you might die due to amazing indulgence that is white chocolate but every mouthful is completely worth it.

Salmon pasta bake

Hands up who hates Tuna? That would be a big yes from me so I've decide to make a salmon pasta bake instead of the more popular tuna pasta bake.

Method

Cook pasta (1 cup per person), boil on high until soft but firm.

I used tinned salmon for this (but you can grill some salmon if you like).

In an oiled baking pan, place the drained pasta, the salmon from 1 tin, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of salt and then stir.

Top off with 1 tablespoon of paprika.

Cook in the grill on high for 15-20 minutes  

Brown rice bean patties

Brown rice bean patties

This is a great vegetarian option. My dad's a vegetarian and I remember how my parents would make great vegetable patties so hopefully this recipe will measure up to theirs. 

Cook 2 cups of brown rice.

Heat a tin of mixed beans (red). Put the heated beans in a tall container and mix with a hand held electric mixer until pureéd.

Mix the brown rice with the bean puree, add 1 teaspoon of salt, 4 teaspoons of paprika and mix with with a spoon. 

Cover the palms of your hands with olive oil, take a large ball of mixture (smaller than a tennis ball size but larger than a golf ball size), place on an oiled sheet of baking paper and press flat until it is approximately 1.5cm thick. 

Repeat process until all patties have been made (makes roughly 7 patties).

Put under the grill on high for 15 minutes.

Serve with whole egg mayonnaise, red peppers (capsicum) and lime wedges.

Whole egg mayonnaise

Whole egg mayonnaise

Crack 1 egg with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt and mix in a tall container with a handheld mixer for 5 seconds.

Take 1 cup of olive oil and 1 teaspoon at a time, mix this in (either stop and start or drizzle the oil slowly). This will thicken by the time the entire cup of olive oil is in the jar. 

The flavour is a little bit stronger than store-bought mayonnaise because of the olive oil so you can use whatever oil you like (but olive oil is one of the healthiest option to have).

Grilled chicken with orange and cinnamon reduction

Grilled chicken -

Put 2 chicken breasts on the grill coated in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt for 20 minutes on high.

Orange and cinnamon reduction -

Peel an orange and bring to the boil with the juice from 1 orange, 6 teaspoons of sugar and 1 cinnamon stick. Once brought to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes and then take off the heat.

Slice the grilled chicken and serve on top of pasta with the orange and cinnamon sauce.

   

Iced coffee with cinnamon

Summer is here and it's time to cool down. 

Iced coffee with cinnamon

Method - use either 1 heaped teaspoon of instant coffee or in this case, plunger coffee.

I used Illy branded coffee in my cafetiere (glass plunger jug thing...oh how technical of me) and added 2 spoons of sugar. I poured enough hot water to make one cup.

Meanwhile as that was brewing, I got a handfull of crushed ice and popped it in a jar.

Crushed ice - 

Either use an ice crushing machine or put ice cubes in a plastic bag, wrap it in a tea towel and then use any pent up aggression to whack it against a hard surface such a solid tiles (that's what I did).

Once the ice was popped into the jar, I poured the coffee in followed by the milk and then topped it off with some cinnamon (you know I love my cinnamon...and jars too).

Paprika salad dressing

This recipe can be used to make homemade mayonnaise too. Basically, I just used less olive oil in this as opposed to the amount required for mayonnaise.

Method - 

Crack one egg, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a tall container.

Use an electric hand-held blender to blend for 5 seconds.

Next, take 1 cup of olive oil and slowly add only 1 or 2 teaspoons at a time and blend with the mixer until all of the olive oil is in the container. In total, it should take about 2 minutes or so. Add 3 teaspoons of paprika and then blend until it is completely mixed in. Make sure your kitchen is not too hot otherwise the eggs will separate.

Done.

Poached apple with toffee lattice

This recipe involves a little bit more technique than some of my other recipes but it's only the toffee that it gets a little sticky (sorry, I couldn't help myself with the pun).

Method -

Poached apples
Bring sugar (4 teaspoons), 1 peeled and sliced granny smith apple, lemon and lime juice (3 tablespoons) to the boil and keep on high for one minute. Simmer on a lower heat until the apples are soft (another 2 minutes or so).

Burnt toffee lattice
You want it to slightly burn to compliment the sweetness of the cinnamon sauce and the acidity of the lemon and lime in the poached apples.

Put the sugar straight into a dry saucepan and stir until the sugar melts. Be careful to not let any sugar stick to the side of the pan as it will crystallise and ruin the toffee. Remove from the heat immediately (otherwise it will burn too quickly). Use a knife or fork to drizzle the toffee into a lattice on the baking paper.

Cinnamon sauce
Bring lemon juice (half a lemon), 4 teaspoons of sugar and 4 teaspoon of cinnamon to the boil then lower heat and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly.

Eggplant (aubergine) parmigiana with feta

This is so unbelievably simple to make it's as ridiculous.

First, lightly fry some thick slices of eggplant (aubergine), remove from heat.

Next, transfer the eggplant to the grill tray and put chopped capsicum (peppers) on top and then some slices of feta. Put under the grill on high for a few minutes or until golden brown.

Done.