Salmon

I have really grown liking eating salmon and try having it at least once a week. It is definitely my favourite seafood- not only it tastes delicious but it is rich in good fats and omega-3.
My take at salmon is either pan-fried, or cooked in the oven or a mix of both, and served with a combination of side dishes. 

 

 

Throwback lunch

Here are a few snaps of my quick and light (or rather no-so-light) lunches.

A lot of them are from previous night's leftover, and some are just made up of 'what's on hand'. The key is to have a balanced meal.

I recently 'read' a book about nutrition and there was a lot of focus on food absorption in the body and how what we put in our mouth (a combination of food items) releases different level of energy and glucose. It is essential to eat food that will release a steady rate of glucose in your body. Why? Glucose not used in the body to produce energy is stored in as fats (not so much for released of continued energy, which is why we feel hungry after a certain amount of time even if we ate a lot from a previous meal). Well this is definitely a very interesting and deep area. I am not really sure my brief summary is very clear or even true to the facts, but this is what I have mostly understood. Having had a slight insight of this food process has left me quite apprehensive about the notion of eating. The bottom line is that you need to maintain a balance. Always.

So here we go:

Fish with sweet potato chips, guacamole and quinoa for a Saturday lunch

Flaked salmon with avocado and grape tomatoes on toast

Smoked salmon and avocado on toast, with grape tomatoes

I made these chickpea patties following the recipe from Everyday Gourmet with Justine
(Recipe here) with a few alterations of my own. They turned out lovely and are really tasty.

 

I have the chickpea falafel with some couscous mixed with some diced tomatoes and cucumber and cottage cheese

Couscous with smoked salmon, avocado and cucumber

Fish cakes with potato salad, cucumber and carrots

Mashed avocado and tomato on toast with a sprinkle of chia seeds

Strawberry cheesecake from Sara Lee

There is something so deliciously good about these frozen cheesecake. I especially like the crunchy coconut biscuit base, and the pretty marble effect of the cake. The filling is so creamy and with the biscuit base, every mouthful is delectable. Cheesecake are quite simple to make. However when they come in those brillant packaging, well, I think it is okay to give the mixer a rest.

 

 

Polenta Pudding

Polenta pudding or most commonly known as 'pudding mais' in Mauritius is one of my favourite sweet treat. I had a craving for them and decided to try and make my own version. I was quite happy with the result, so here is the recipe I used.


POLENTA PUDDING RECIPE

Serves: 12 approx

Ingredients:
1/2 cup corn meal (polenta)
1 tbs custard powder
2 1/2 cups + 3 tbs of skim milk
3/4 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)
Dessicated coconut
Raisins, soaked in water for about 10 minutes  (optional)

Method:
1. Rinse corn meal and let sit in cold water for about 20 minutes.
2. Place milk in a saucepan and bring to boil.
3. Mix custard powder and 3 tbs of milk until there is no more lump.
4. Once milk is heat, pour in the custard mixture, drained corn meal and sugar.
5. Whisk until well combined, and continue stir for about 15 minutes on high until the mixture thickens, then for another 10 minutes on low heat.
6. Add your raisins, if using them.

6. Dust your pan with coconut powder. Pour polenta mixture and cover with more coconut powder. Let cooled and place in the fridge before cutting.
Serve and enjoy.

 

 

Pumpkin: soup and roasted

It is winter and pumpkin is in season. I have finally tried two of the most common pumpkin dishes: a pumpkin soup and some roasted pumpkin. Both are easy to cook and so delicious: perfect warming dishes.

 

 

 

 

My version of a fruit salad

Growing up, one of my favourite quick dessert was: fruit cocktail in syrup with nestle dessert cream.

Quick and easy to put up, and an absolute sweet treat.

Now that I am grown-up (no pun intended), I have come with the brillant idea to put up a fruit salad of my own, rather than using the overly sweet canned fruits. Also, instead of the dessert cream, I used greek yogurt. The result is a healthy and nutritious dessert.

 Here is a sneak peek at my fruit basket.

Pulled chicken

I wanted to cook pulled pork, but had to resign making pulled chicken instead. The reason is that pork is so expensive. Gosh! Anyway, I am not such a fan of pork so I was totally fine with it.

I have tried the dish twice now and both times were a success.

The recipe I used is pretty similar to that of Laura Vitale (click for recipe here). The only change I made is using breast pieces instead. I know that breast chicken can get dried up easily, but I prefer using breast chicken in my dishes (simply a habit of mine).

This dish is absolutely delicious, served with some coleslaw. Must try!

First time trial:

Second time:

Pizza

I made my own pizza again. I have to admit it could be so much less time-consuming and troublesome to buy from the pizza shops. However, by making your own, you have the freedom to choose your ingredients, and it is actually healthier. I prepared a wholemeal pizza base.

 

 

Flatbread with potato curry

This is an easy dish to put up with very basic ingredients. It is also vegetarian. If you have some time to spare, make your own flatbread using flour and yogurt, and serve with any preferred curry.


FLATBREAD RECIPE

Makes: 15 approx

Ingredients:
250g wholemeal flour
250g self-raising flour + extra for dusting
250g plain greek yogurt
Sesame seeds, optional
Olive oil, for cooking

 Method:
1. Mix flour and yogurt with a spatula until well combined.Leave to rest for about 30 minutes.
2. Flour your chopping board or surface area and then place rested dough.
Cut into small balls of approximately 60g.
3. Flour your rolling pin and roll out each dough ball until the dough is about 1/2 a cm thick (note: the dough can get sticky as you rolled them, so make sure to flour the area well). Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using them.
Place your flatbread in between baking paper to avoid sticking to each other.
4. Heat your non-stick pan and drizzle a little bit of olive oil.
When hot, place the flatbread and cook for about 2 minutes on each side.

I serve these with a potato chickpea curry.
To make this, I first boiled my potatoes until tender.
Then I fried my onions, garlic, some cumin seeds, coriander powder, tumeric and curry powder, until fragant. Then I add my cooked potatoes, chickpea and tomato puree. Add some coconut milk (if desired).  Let simmer for about 10 minutes and your curry is ready to be served.

 

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Apple and sweet potato tarts

Over the last two weeks, I have made two tarts and I am very happy with how both turn out. First tart is an apple one, with frangipane filling and the second tart is a sweet potato one, with, of course, sweet potato filling. I have used the same shortcrust pastry base for both tart crust with the ratio 2:1 of flour to butter. The only exception was to add some almond meal for the sweet potato crust. It really gave a crunchy base which was what I was looking for.

SHORTCUT PASTRY

For a 9inch tart pan

Ingredients:
250g all-purpose flour
125g butter
5-8 tbs of cold water

Variation:
50g almond meal

Method:
1. Cut your butter into small cubes.
2. Put the butter and sifted flour in a food processer. Pulse until the mixture resemble crumbles.
(Otherwise, useyour thumb and index finger to form the crumbs)
3. Add a tablespoon of water at a time, until it forms a dough.
4. Put the dough on a flat surface and form into a ball. Cover with cling wrap and rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge

5. Remove from the fridge. Roll out dough in between 2 baking paper.
6. Place onto the tart dish. Prick with a fork. Place a piece of baking paper and your baking beads or rice.
7. Put back in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
8. Blind bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees. Remove the baking bead and bake for another 10 minutes.
9. Your tart shell is ready to be used.

APPLE TART

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SWEET POTATO TART