Oh dear, I didn’t fully ‘bant’ today… {blush}
Like I said, cupcakes will always hold a special place in my heart {and stomach} and I today I baked some delicious chocolate frosted cupcakes for a friend visiting from the States. But, apart from the 2 cupcakes I had today, I did pretty well!
{Look, I’ve been eating really well for the past year, almost completely cutting out all carbs such as pastas, rice, bread, potatoes and the likes, it’s just this past month during the festive season that I’ve had a bit of bread here and there, along with some other baddies… And you won’t believe, but I’ve been feeling so horrible and sluggish, so it’s time now for a clean start and renewed good eating habits – NOT DIETING.}
Tonight we had lamb chops with a chili rub, a tomato & cucumber salsa and grilled asparagus. Yum.

For the lamb chops:
I started off by squeezing a fresh lemon onto the lamb chops and a bit of freshly ground sea salt. You need lemon with lamb chops.
For the rub, I toasted coriander seeds in a hot pan and ground those in a mortar and pestle, along with yellow mustard seeds, a fresh bird’s eye chili, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, white pepper, garlic and a bit of salt. Just grind it until it’s all mushed together and you get that great aroma – you’ll just know.
Rub the chops with the rub mixture and let it sit for about an hour before grilling.
You want to get the grill {we use a Big Green Egg, but a Weber or a regular old braai will also do. You could also use a griddle pan on the stove, but then you don’t get all the flavour…} nice and hot – to about 180C. Grill the chops for roughly 20mins {10mins each side} until they’re a golden brown and the fat has started to render nicely.

For the salsa:
Keep it simple – just chop up a few tomatoes {any variety will do, but a Roma tomato is always a great and flavorful option}, about half a cucumber and fresh sweet basil leaves. Toss with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and red wine vinegar. Season with salt.

For the asparagus:
Heat a heavy griddle pan on the stove and add a few dollops of butter. When the butter has melted and the pan is hot, add the asparagus {remember to rinse them!} and grill until you get some golden char marks. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and some salt.

Voila – nice and simple, fresh and delicious – and super healthy too!
Enjoy! X