Tag: paleo

Loaded baked gem squash

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The first Time Trials {running club} started tonight, so I cooked ahead…
More about dinner later. Ugh, I hurt my ankle about 3 weeks ago and have been taking it slow ever since and I actually haven’t done ANY exercise for the past 2 weeks. I decided to go for a run tonight, only 3km, to see how it feels. Well, it hurts!
Luckily I had a nice home-cooked meal to come home to {how nice is that?!} and didn’t have to spend any time on my feet.

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These beautiful little gems {no pun intended!} came straight from our veggie garden. Apart from the gem squash, you will need:
Bacon {half a pack, about 125g, diced}
Mince {I use venison, 250g}
1 onion, chopped
Peppadew spice
Sweet chili sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Salt

Boil the gem squash in water until they are cooked. In a heavy pot, sauté the onions until soft and golden brown.
Add the diced bacon and cook. Add the mince and a few shakes of Peppadew spice and cook until the mince is just done – not dry! Add about a tbs of sweet chili sauce and season with salt.

Halve the gem squash and remove the seeds. Scoop the mince mixture inside and top with grated mozzarella cheese. Bake in a pre-heated oven of 180C for 20minutes or until the cheese has turned a golden brown.

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Enjoy with a salad of rocket, basil, fresh tomato, toasted pine nuts and olive oil. Nice and simple! X

Banting day 1…

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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.

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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

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New year, new resolutions, new challenges, new opportunities… Hello 2014!

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Ok, so we’re already a week into the new year, but I’ve been using this time to ponder a few things…

Firstly, what will my resolutions be for the new year? Ugh, I actually don’t like to make any new year’s resolutions, because they always end up forgotten by the end of January… So, I’ve decided that I won’t make any specific resolutions, apart from a few broader ones:
1) Work actively on growing Pink Poppadom
2) Continue with a healthier lifestyle, focusing even more on eliminating all bad things from our diets {grains, carbs, sugars}
3) Being more active, and
4) Cultivating a more positive mindset
{and obviously being a terrific mom, wife and ‘home exec’ – but that goes without saying… Oh yes, and being more organised!}

Secondly, what will this new year have in store? Last year was an exciting, yet hard year in a lot of respects – but most of all I feel blessed with my new son, born last year. I’m hoping there’s some great traveling on the cards for this year and big things for Pink Poppadom..!

I’ve been reading the most fabulous book – it is a lifestyle / cookbook called The Real Meal Revolution by Prof Tim Noakes. It is all about cutting carbs and all those other bad stuff from your diet, that the body does not need while still eating yummy scrummy food. We all know that I live for eating yummy scrummy food and I really believe that you can still do so without compromising your health, or flavour!
Anyways, so this book is all about ‘Banting’, which seems similar to Paleo… Oh, who can keep track of all the different terms?! Anyways, basically you stick to eating your meats, veggies and fruits, as well as certain dairy products, with the main difference that you’re encouraged to eat fat – yes, fat! Well, fatty meats and good oils, butter and cream. Nothing low-fat, no sugar, no grains or carbs or any form of processed food.
Sounds good to me! This eating style will help your body to perform better, burn off fat and just help you be the best you, you can be! {Sounds like a Dr Seuss rhyme 😉 }

There are some really fab recipes in this book to inspire you on your Banting journey – which of course, I will be cooking and sharing with y’all!

Now I just need to get myself nice and organised, get my shopping done for my weekly meals and ease into the rest of the week…

Happy Monday and happy 2014! X

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{Footnote: I will always have room in my life and diet for cupcakes! That will be my teeny tiny guilty pleasure… Perhaps I will start baking gluten-free ones…}

Chicken-salad-in-a-jar

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A great way to use up leftovers – jar it!

I used leftover roast veggie salad and layered it in a jar with some chicken mayo.
I used leftover roast chicken, chopped up and mixed with a bit of mayonnaise and a dollop of chicken gravy {chicken stock and cream}.

Voilà – lunch is sorted! {Especially handy for a picnic, road trip or a quick lunch at home while busy with some tasks…}

Enjoy! X

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All organic garden veggie salad

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I love the simple things in life – if you have to dress it up too much, there’s something not quite right… I prefer to use fewer ingredients, good ingredients, and just let them shine!
The same goes for {in my opinion} clothing, as well as home decor – keep it simple and rather invest in a few good quality and stylish items that will stay pretty and classic for years to come.
Ok, back to the salad…
Our veggie garden has been providing us with some fabulous treats over the past few weeks – butter lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, carrots, {giant} marrows, beetroot, rocket, sweet basil and coriander. The tomatoes are starting to grow, but are still green and I’ll soon be able to pick some gem squash.

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This delicious salad came mostly from my garden, except for the garlic, onions, seeds and feta cheese!

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Take a few carrots, beetroot and baby marrows {or giant ones!}, cut them into strips or wedges, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly ground sea salt and pepper. Add a couple of squashed garlic cloves and sprinkle everything with some Peppadew spice and roast in the oven for about 40minutes at 180C. After 40minutes, add a handful of pumpkin seeds and some pine nuts. Add more olive oil and roast for another 15-20minutes until everything is cooked.
In a pan, sauté 2 sliced onions on low heat in butter and olive oil. When they’re soft, add about a tbs of honey and balsamic vinegar. Let everything caramelise and set aside.

Let the onions and roast veggies cool off before tossing them with some fresh rocket and butter lettuce. Add feta cheese and serve.

Enjoy! X

Tomato & basil chicken livers – might be the best yet!

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Aren’t December holidays meant for relaxing? It’s been quite a busy couple of weeks and of course I haven’t been getting to my precious blog…
I find myself doing things {running, tucking in my boys, cooking, baking, etc} while mentally making notes of fabulous blog posts, but then I never write them. The days just seem very short all of a sudden.
Perhaps it’s a result of just enjoying the silly season, working on Pink Poppadom Foods and training for a half marathon in three weeks’ time..?

Right, so tonight I made deeeelish chicken livers – I was inspired by a recipe in my new cookbook {The Real Meal Revolution by Tim Noakes} for peri-peri chicken livers, but ended up going a slightly different route.

What you will need:

4 large plum tomatoes, cut into quarters
A handful of small rosa tomatoes, some halved and some kept whole
2 cloves of garlic
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Brown sugar
500g chicken liver
Butter
Lemon juice
Fresh basil leaves
Maize meal {you can also serve it with mash or nice crusty bread – drool!}

I started off by filling a small oven dish with tomatoes – large ripe plum tomatoes, cut into quarters and small rosa tomatoes, some halved and some kept whole – and 2 cloves of garlic, chopped. I then drizzled them with olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper and popped them in the oven for 30 minutes at 180C.
Next, I cooked a big pot of mielie meal {maize} and kept it on a low heat for about 40 minutes.
After the tomatoes did their 30mins in the oven, I sprinkled them with a bit of brown sugar and more olive oil and popped it back in the oven for another 10mins.

When the mielie meal was almost done, I cooked the livers.

Start off by cleaning the livers and cutting into bite sized pieces. Toss them in olive oil, salt & pepper.
Use a large, heavy pot or skillet and get it nice and hot. Add the livers and let it cook for a few minutes on one side. Turn and cook the other side until golden. {It helps to place a weight or another pot on top, just to weigh the livers down and to help them get more crispy and not soggy.} Add a dollop of butter and a squeeze of lemon juice.
As soon as the livers are cooked properly and a nice golden brown, add the roasted tomatoes and let it simmer for about 2 minutes. Spoon the livers & tomatoes into a serving dish {I used the dish that I roasted the tomatoes in, it just adds extra flavour!} and scatter torn basil leaves all over.
Serve with mielie meal {or whatever you fancy – polenta will be great too! But I must say, the maize was a-MAIZE-ing!}

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What a yummy and satisfying meal after a busy day – it definitely hit the spot.
X

Chicken & Apricot Terrine

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This terrine cost me my blender! Oh how I do need a food processor… {that and my ice cream maker!}
Luckily I managed to blitz up the goodies just in time, just as the smoke started to bellow from my trusty blender.
This recipe is from Sarie Kos – my favourite Afrikaans food magazine and I’ve been eyeing it for a while now. It seemed more tricky to make than it actually was.

You will need:
4 bay leaves {per pan}
3 sprigs of thyme {per pan}
Streaky bacon {enough to line 2x loaf pans plus extra to go on top – about 500g}
1 egg
500g pork mince
1 onion, finely chopped
1 handful parsley
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
250g chicken livers
Salt & black pepper
200g Turkish apricots, roughly chopped
400g Kassler chops, chopped
2 chicken breasts, skin removed and chopped

Preheat oven to 180C. Line 2x loaf pans with cling wrap and place the bay leaves and thyme at the bottom of each pan, on top of the cling wrap. Next, place the strips of bacon into the pan with the edges hanging over the pan.
In a FOOD PROCESSOR {do not ruin your blender!}, blend the onion, mince, egg, chicken livers, parsley and garlic to a smooth consistency. Season with salt & pepper.
Mix this with the chops, chicken and apricots and scoop into the pans. Cover with more bacon.
Cover the pans with foil, place in a Bain Marie {oven tray filled with water} and bake for 90minutes. Let it cool in the oven and then refrigerate overnight.
Once all set and chilled, slice thick slices and enjoy with a fresh herb salad and some mustard.
{I got two terrines from this recipe and it lasted such a long time! The more it ‘matured’ in the fridge, the better it tasted. It kept for about a week and a half before we finished it and it was absolutely fine. Will definitely make this one again and try out different variations.}
Enjoy!

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Best Steak – Ever!

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What a busy week {2 weeks actually!}… Phew! I’ve been meaning to post this and I honestly thought that I had – well, it turned out I haven’t! Oh well… Here it is – our grilled rump steak that we also entered into a steak cooking competition.
This is a giant rump – matured – rubbed with garlic, olive oil, black pepper and sea salt.

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We grilled or braaid {on 250C} the steak for about 3 minutes on each side and again 2 minutes a side {to create your char-marks}, then decreased the heat to 180C and baked it for about 7minutes. We used a big Green Egg but a Webber will do. You just want the outside to sear on a high heat and then because it’s such a thick steak, you need to lower the heat and bake it to get some heat to the centre. Ours was medium rare – perfect!
As it came off the grill, I placed dollops of coriander & chili butter on top and let it melt into the meat. {Simply chop a handful of coriander and 2 red chilies and mix with about 2 tbs of butter.}

Serve with a salad of butter lettuce, sweet basil, rosa tomatoes and olive oil.

Enjoy! X

Bacon & brinjal roll

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Two of my favourites – bacon and brinjals! I could easily eat bacon three times a day and I just LOVE the creamy texture and taste of brinjals, so I decided to try these out in a type of meatloaf roll:

Bacon & brinjal roll

The result – salty bacon meatloaf, with a creamy centre of brinjals {or eggplant} and a hint of cumin. {Cumin & brinjals go oh so well together!}

What’s also great about this dish, is that you can make it a bit in advance, say in the afternoon, to be reheated later. {Running club on Wednesdays, remember?!}

So, you will need:

Streaky bacon rashers {enough to form a 15cm roll)

500g venison mince {you can use any type, I suppose}

1 medium brinjal, chopped into small cubes

1 onion, chopped

1tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp Peppadew spice

1 egg

1 green chili, finely chopped

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbs chopped Italian parsley

Olive oil

In a skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the onions until soft. Add the cumin and parpika and let the spices fry off. Add the brinjals and cook until soft. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix the mince with the egg, Peppadew spice, cayene pepper, salt, chili & parsley.

Lay a sheet of cling wrap on your work surface and carefully arrange the bacon rashers to form a solid layer. Spoon the mince mixture on top and pat it down. Next, spoon the brinjal mixture onto the mince and carefully start to roll it.

Once you have a nice roll, remove the cling wrap and secure it with some twine.

Place it into an oven dish and bake at 180C for 40 minutes.

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This went nicely with a simple salad of roasted beetroot, mixed lettuce leaves, feta cheese and pecan nuts. Drizzle the salad with balsamic glaze and olive oil.

Enjoy!

{A few other top bacon goodies to try SOON are: Bacon Jam and bacon biltong – can I just say Oh My Goodness!!}

Honey & orange glazed chicken

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I recently bought some chickens from a farmers market – proper free-range farm chickens… Well they reminded me of the chickens we used to get in India, quite tough! Anyways, so there goes my grand ideal of eating proper free-range chickens… Although I must say that a bit of marinating helps a LOT!

Anyways, this honey & orange glazed chicken is not a farm chicken… {it’s funny though how much a free-range chicken from your favourite supermarket differs from one bought directly from the farm… I guess they just run around and have a better and more active life on the farm!} I will still try and eat proper free-range chickens as much as possible and just marinade it {with my own homemade marinade of course} – a small price to pay for wholesome goodness and a clear conscience!

The difference between shop-bought ‘free-range’ eggs and proper free-range eggs from our little hen is also quite amazing!

 

Honey & orange glazed chicken

You will need:

1 whole chicken

1 orange

1 tbs honey

freshly ground sea salt

8 carrots

Peel and cut carrots into quarters {length-wise} and place them in a casserole.

Place the whole chicken on top of the carrots and brush with the orange juice {squeezed from the orange!} and honey. Sprinkle with salt and bake at 180C for about an hour or until golden and cooked.

Serve with fresh salad leaves.

Enjoy! X

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