Author Archives: Jo's food bites

Is 3 the magic number?

Posted in food, gluten free, healthy eating, healthy fats, home baking, home cooking, mains, meat, meat free, pudding, recipe, salad, starter, Uncategorized, vegan, vegetarian by

The other day I fancied a super speedy breakfast – in truth I couldn’t be bothered to put much effort in! So, 3 minutes later I was chomping on a piece of gluten-free toast slathered (such an onomatopoeic word) in crunchy peanut butter and topped with slices of banana.Delicious.IMG_20160812_100340My caption within my IG post stated, ‘Two’s company but in this case three is definitely not a crowd.’ This got me thinking… I often eat a combination of 3 flavours without thinking about it.

This morning I had a kefir, coconut and maca smoothie. Yesterday’s lunch for my hubby – quail eggs and bacon on gf toast. The day before…avocado, scrambled eggs and oatcakes.  Don’t worry I’m not going to list all my meals over the last month. But, when I look back over my IG account over 50% (always like a statistic) of my meals are a 3 flavour combination.

I started to think about old childhood favourites …fish, chips and mushy peas, beans on toast with grated cheese on top…ooh…choux pastry, cream (i.e. profiteroles) and chocolate sauce.

I have just looked up from typing at my cookbook selection and there on the shelves is Three Good Things by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Not sure whether I feel a challenge coming on…would I have to count spices and seasoning as one of my three?

Another winning combination – smoked salmon, lemon juice and bread. Must stop||

It does make me wonder though how much we complicate things – do we need to combine so many flavours in one dish or do we actually savour simple, more?

Love to know your thoughts and your favourite combinations of 3.

 

 

 

 

Ginger and lemon gluten free muffins

Posted in cake, coeliac, dairy free, eggs, food, ginger, gluten free, home baking, pudding, recipe, specialised diet, Uncategorized by

Recipe testing this afternoon coincided with visitors arriving so these muffins had willing victims / volunteers to test them. With the mention of ginger within, one of the visitors who normally resists cake grabbed a sample with gusto. The cakes didn’t let me down. I am using coconut sugar in lots of my cooking at the moment – still a sugar but with less fructose content.

The resulting cakes were flavoursome, light and an even texture…success 🙂  We ate them whilst drinking tea…they would be delicious served as a desert with vanilla ice cream / Greek yoghurt and a drizzle of Limoncella!!

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Preheat oven to 180c / gas 4

12 muffin tray  – good quality non- stick ( I used Prestige – didn’t need to grease)

Ingredients:

170 g gluten-free self-raising flour       150 g butter

150 g coconut sugar         4 eggs (3 if not using gf flour)

2 pieces of stem ginger chopped into fine pieces

1 tbsp of syrup from stem ginger jar

grated rind of 1 lemon

Method:

Put all the ingredients  for the muffins in to a bowl and mix well until smooth. Spoon the mixture in to prepared tin.

 

Bake for about 15 mins – until skewer is clean.

Place on a rack to cool.

Devour 🙂

 

Corn on the cob curry 

Posted in food, food is medicine, gluten free, healthy eating, home cooking, meat free, specialised diet, superfood, turmeric, Uncategorized, vegetables, vegetarian by

A really simple, mild but full of flavour curry. Served on a bed of brown rice.

My daughters don’t enjoy hot and spicy food but this curry goes down very well indeed.

The blend of peanuts and yoghurt ensure a creamy sauce that coats the accompanying rice well.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 corn on the cob – chopped in half and then split length ways

50 g gram / chickpea flour         3 tbsp groundnut oil

1 450 g carton of Greek yogurt

250 g unsalted peanuts – ground

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp chilli powder

500 ml water

Method:

Cook the prepared corn on the cob in boiling water for 6-8 minutes. Drain.

On high, heat the oil in a frying pan and add the flour – stirring continuously for a couple of minutes. Turn the heat down to a moderate temperature and add the ground peanuts, Stir for a coupe of minutes. Add the yoghurt, turmeric and chilli and stir till mixed thoroughly.Slowly add the 500 ml of water stirring all the time to create a thick sauce. Add the corn on the cob and simmer until all heated through.

Serve on a bed of warm rice.

Pork and apricot casserole

Posted in casserole, coeliac, functional food, gluten free, home cooking, mains, meat, Uncategorized by

This is a recipe I have made for years but more recently seem to have forgotten how wonderfully well the flavours go together. Having dug around in the freezer during an ‘eat from the freezer’ week (is it only our house or does everyone have a freezer purge / food amnesty once in a while?) I located four pork loin chops. I love making a casserole – very little preparation and the Aga does the rest. An ideal dish for a slow cooker.

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Sometimes I put an assortment of ingredients in to a casserole and then serve with simple vegetables. This casserole lends itself to simplicity – 3 flavours: onions, pork and apricots. It is then scrumptious with roast potatoes, honeyed carrots etc.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 large white onion  – finely diced

4 pork loin steaks – cut in to large pieces

1 large tin of apricots or 6-8 dried apricots cut in to chunks

Gluten free plain flour        Olive oil – 1 tbsp    Water

Salt and pepper to season

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan and soften the onions. Add the pork steaks and seal both sides. Add a couple of tbsp of flour and mix well. Slowly add water, stirring continuously until a thin gravy is created. Add the apricots and seasoning. Ensure the steaks are covered in liquid. Cover and place in the oven on a low heat for a couple of hours or until the pork is tender.

This dish also works well with prunes instead of apricots.

Cooking is therapy

Posted in beating cancer, breast cancer, cancer, coeliac, eating disorder, food is medicine, functional food, gluten free, home cooking, positive mind, recipe, superfood, Uncategorized, vegan, vegetarian by

Having had a day last week that was very different to the norm and not the sort of day I would like to repeat, it was wonderful to receive a postal delivery of dry ingredients that I had ordered prior to my op. I always get very excited when new, to me, flavours arrive.

This is my comfort zone, my area of contentment and my normality – cooking is my therapy.

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I use lots of spices in my cooking and have always been relatively confident playing around with combinations (with only the very occasional flavour disaster). My latest delivery contains sumac and za’ater – two spices I have not used myself although I have eaten many Persian and Middle Eastern dishes. So, while I recover and am relatively housebound I will enjoy spending my time conjuring up recipes. Watch this space …

Mint and Feta whip

Posted in cheese, dressing, food, food is medicine, functional food, gluten free, healthy eating, home cooking, meat free, paprika, salad, side dish, Uncategorized by

This combination of flavours tastes absolutely gorgeous and compliments many dishes – my husband enjoys it with burgers and I think it adds a new level to a salad. Unfortunately no picture does it justice ..so here goes:20160723_171433Ingredients:

200 g Feta cheese chopped in to small chunks

150 ml sour cream         2 tsp paprika

2 tbsp honey           Handful of chopped mint

Method:

Put all the ingredients in to a bowl and mix thoroughly until smooth.

Place in fridge until serving.

Cranberry salsa

Posted in coeliac, dairy free, food, fruit, gluten free, home cooking, magimix, meat free, recipe, salad, side dish, Uncategorized, vegetables by

I think the finest meal is one where you have the opportunity to have a multitude of different flavour combinations – probably why I love a roast dinner with all the extra trimmings.

A barbecue is one such opportunity – a plate can be laden with a multitude of little bits of this and that.

This is one such dish.

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Ingredients:

1 large white onion – finely chopped             Zest and juice of 2 limes

1 large green pepper – finely chopped          600 g of cranberry sauce

Mint – large handful chopped          Coriander – large handful chopped

Method:

Put all the ingredients in to a large bowl and combine thoroughly.

 

This salsa is perfect with meat, fish and salads – an all round great accompaniment.

I put the salsa in to the empty cranberry sauce jars. It will last for at least a week in the fridge (if not devoured beforehand!)

Beef burgers

Posted in dairy free, functional food, gluten free, healthy fats, home cooking, mains, meat, recipe, Uncategorized by

Nothing beats out-door cooked food in my mind. We may have erratic and unpredictable weather in this country (UK) but we need very little persuading to fire up a barbecue at the merest hint of a blue sky.

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If my family want to eat a burger when we have a barbecue, I don’t have a problem with this as long as I make them from scratch so I know exactly what is in them.

Makes 9 / 10 burgers

Ingredients:

750 g prime beef mince ideally sourced locally

1 large white onion  – chopped finely       2 cloves of garlic – chopped finely

3 slices of green jalapeno pickled pepper – chopped finely

3 slices of red jalapeno pickled pepper – chopped finely

Method:

Put all the ingredients in to a large mixing bowl and combine all the ingredients thoroughly.

Using damp hands form in to burger patties.

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Cover and place in the fridge for about 45 minutes. Prior to placing on the barbecue, pan fry to seal both sides.

Serve with a cranberry salsa (recipe on blog)

Happiness is homegrown

Posted in food, food is medicine, fruit, functional food, healthy eating, home cooking, home grown, home produce, recipe, Uncategorized by

I don’t have a very large back garden – about a fifth of an acre  – but the space is put to good use. Because the house is up for sale, I haven’t planted the vegetable plot this year…probably should have done as we haven’t sold yet!!  The garden has a variety of fruit trees – Victoria Plum, Grenadier Apple, Egremont Russet and James Grieve  desert apples, Damson, Bartlett and Conference Pear, Gooseberry, Red / Blackcurrant bushes and Rhubarb. Each year these wonderful plants provide a vast quantity of fruit – so much last year that I had to buy another chest freezer! This year, due to the odd weather, the gooseberry bushes have borne little fruit and the plum tree is clearly resting after a bumper crop last year. However, all other trees are covered in ripening fruit.

The chickens indicated this morning that the red and black currants were ready for picking – red and black juice stained beaks were a real give away!  So… half an hour later 2 bowls were filled…still masses left to pick off the laden stems 🙂

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and so begins the making and baking…pies, cakes, puddings, cassis, flavoured vodkas, jams etc.

 

Rhubarb and ginger gluten free cake

Posted in cake, eggs, food, functional food, ginger, gluten free, healthy eating, home baking, recipe, Uncategorized by

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I think this is one of my favourite flavour combinations. Because there are pieces of ginger around the top of the cake it means you get a delicious ginger hit with every mouthful.

This works best with fresh rhubarb which is in plentiful supply at this time of year.

Preheat oven to 180c  / gas mark 4. Prepare an 18 cm round tin. I use Prestige cookware

Ingredients:

170 g gluten-free self-raising flour        150 g light muscovado sugar

170 g softened butter   4 eggs (3 if using non gf fl)

1 stem of rhubarb chopped and each chunk split in half lengthways then softened by roasting in oven.20160717_094255

3 pieces of stem ginger – 2 finely chopped and 1 chopped in to larger pieces for the top of the cake.

Method:

Mix all ingredients (except rhubarb) together until smooth.

Fold in rhubarb half the rhubarb and the finely chopped ginger..

Arrange the remaining rhubarb and ginger around the top of the cake.

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Bake in centre of the oven for about 20-25 mins.