The Simple Steamed Vegetables

On June 12, 2015 By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!Leave a comment

Dining table battles have been fought over the generations between exasperated parents and mutinous children about eating veggies. What is it about veggies that some children absolutely loathe? Parents often resort to innovative methods such as ‘hiding’ veggies in meat or disguising the taste with lots of sauces or adding them to smoothies. Hmmm.

Here’s the thing: there is nothing like the goodness of lightly steamed vegetables.

Steaming vegetables preserves its nutrients, especially the water-soluble ones. Just steam lightly, to preserve the enzymes, too. Indulge yourself by adding a large dollop of butter to your steamed veggies.

Yes it is plain, yes it is bland, yes it is boring, when pitted against kiddies’ favourites such as bolognaise or the ubiquitous shop-bought tomato ketchup. But I think it is good to teach children to enjoy the simple things, to be conscious of the subtle, and it starts with the tastebuds. Food does affect consciousness and behaviour. All part of awakened living ❤

Creamy Chicken & Capers

On June 12, 2015 By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!Leave a comment

Food is cultural and has very deep roots. I am into Soul Food because my mother brought me up on Soul Food (otherwise known as boring British food) and even now, at 47, whenever I feel battered and bruised by the world, I would curl up with some comfort food and hark back to those safe childhood days.

In my teens and twenties, my cooking evolved to embrace French (I went to a finishing school) and Italian (I am quarter italian) influences. My twenties and thirties were largely dominated by nursery food as I struggled to feed my growing family on a shoestring and time-deficits. Lately, I have been exploring German food. This was taught to me by my German neighbour in Jakarta, and here it is, with some adaptation.

How to:

Boil organic chicken in water until par cooked (about 30 minutes). Remove from heat and shred the meat. Reserve the stock. Saute some onions, button mushrooms and carrot chunks. Add in the shredded meat. Pour cream into the mixture, add the reserved chicken stock until the liquid resembles a soup. Add a small jar of capers and its water. Simmer until the liquid is reduced to think creamy consistency. Season to taste.

Served with potatoes and steamed vegetables, with a good dollop of butter. The ultimate comfort food ❤

Soul Food: Chicken Chasseur

On June 12, 2015June 12, 2015 By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!Leave a comment

Continuing from my previous week’s post on so-called Soul Food, here’s my adaptation of the french classic, Chicken Chasseur. As a working mother when my kids were young, I have always been a fan of one-pot meals, especially those that I can put on in a slow-cooker before I leave for work, and et voila, all ready when we come home, tired and hungry. As you can see from the photograph, my recipe here uses store-cupboard staples, such as passata, borlotti beans and sweet corn – and of course, frozen homemade chicken stock that I always keep in the freezer. If you can, use fresh ingredients, but this ’emergency’ food tastes yummy too. It’s in the sauce and slow-cooking, I think, and of course, the love ❤

How to:

Brown chicken thighs in olive oil until golden on both sides. Remove from pan, drain excess fat but leave about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Saute one large onion until transparent. Add 2 cloves of roughly chipped garlic and sauté until slightly softened. Add button mushrooms and sauté. Add whatever vegetables you are using. Add passata or tomato puree, wine and chicken stock. Bring to boil. Add browned chicken thighs and black peppercorns. Simmer on the lowest heat for as long as you can (minimum 2 hours). Keep adding stock to adjust the consistency. Season to taste.

Soul Food: The Classic French Bourguignon

On June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!Leave a comment

In the distant, halcyon days when the kids were young, and life was simple and good, we would painstakingly collect coupons from newspapers to enable us to travel to Paris on a shoestring. There, in the Capital of Love, we would subsist on fresh baguettes, cheeses and hams, washed down by cheap wine (for us parents), as we sat by the Seine or up in Montmatre, eating our cheap simple food.

The kids would press their noses against the window of Fauchon, and ooh-ed and aah-ed over the sumptuous and lavish food, but really, we were happy with what we had.

Our only luxury was popping into this local, traditional café that served only one type of casserole a day, be in coq au vin, poulet chasseur or boeuf bourguignon. The casseroles came in cute little individual dishes with unlimited supply of freshly-baked baguette. The stews were always hearty, rich and warmed the soul.

Here’s my version of the classic bourguignon:

Sauté chunks of braising steak (best ones are those with fat on it), chopped onions and whole garlic cloves in LOTS of butter until browned. Add in button mushrooms, carrot chunks and a large apple (or four small ones). Add more butter, homemade stock, one tablespoon of tomato puree and half a bottle of red wine. Throw in a bay leaf, bring to boil and transfer into a slow cooker or a rice cooker. Season to taste. Cook until the meat melts in your mouth (it could take hours, but that’s it about slow-food, not fast food).

Many years later, we returned to Paris. We could afford lunch at Fauchon by then, but we went looking instead for that sweet cafe. Sadly, it wasn’t there by then, but here’s my homage to Paris in the Nineties.

“Gratitude Eggs”

On May 22, 2015June 12, 2015 By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!Leave a comment

When my children were young, we used to say a little prayer of gratitude whenever we were peeling eggs. We would say, “Thank you, Mrs. Hens, for laying these lovely eggs for us. We really appreciate it.”

Cheesy, i know, but it teaches children gratitude. It teaches them that nothing in the world is ever truly without cost – someone somewhere had sacrificed something selflessly to give you the gift. It also teaches them not to waste food.

Scotch eggs were our favourite food. It was our kind of food because we could easily take them on picnics, and children loved making them.

Here’s my recipe for a vegetarian version. Please don’t ask for exact measurements – part of the delight with cooking with children is exploring and experimenting, and loving the outcome. There is no perfection in nursery food, only love.

How to make these eggs:

Soak about 400g of dried organic chickpeas overnight. Boil until soft. Boil six eggs and peel their shells off.

Mash up the cooked chickpeas with one finely chopped onion, two cloves minced garlic, half a grated carrot and a small bunch of finely chopped coriander. Divide into six patties.

Dust the cooled eggs in flour. Mould the chickpeas patties around each egg. Dip in beaten egg and roll in breadcrumbs. Bake for 20 minutes.

And enjoy 🙂

Healing Foods

On February 8, 2015February 9, 2015 By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!7 Comments

As a doctor, I am a firm believer in supporting the body to heal itself rather than a reliance on antibiotics and medicines. It has taken me a long while to arrive to this way of thinking: at the beginning, I was besotted with the miracle drugs that can ‘cure’ illnesses like magic, not being wise enough then to realise that an absence of symptoms does not equate to cure. But after half a lifetime’s journey, both as a doctor and a mother, I am now a strong believer in the philosophy that healing foods, a supportive lifestyle and love can cure most of the ills we encounter in today’s topsy-turvy world. Here are some of the core recipes:

MY GREEN SMOOTHIES

There are three parts to my green smoothies:
1. Base
Made from fruits such as bananas, avocados, dragon fruits, papaya, honey dew melons, mangoes.

2. The green layer
Organic greens. Anything will do, the dark leafy ones are more nutritious, but mix with lighter ones for a milder taste. But whatever, make sure this layer is purely organic.

3. The topping
Chia seeds, flax seeds, goji berries.

Add some water and blitz. Remember to keep blitzing until you get an almost homogenous drink.

MY GLUTEN-FREE BREAKFAST CEREAL
Oh, it is so difficult (and expensive) to find gluten-free cereals! Here’s my creation:

(1) Boil some quinoa according to packet instructions. You can do this the night before (quinoa keeps in the fridge for a couple of days).

(2) Break a slice of corn-thins and add to the quinoa.

(3) Top with fruits, nuts, goji berries and chia seeds as shown.

(4) Serve with cold milk.

(NOTE TO THOMAS: Corn thins on the breakfast bar)

BONE BROTH

Boil the following over low heat for several hours:
1. Organic, hormone-free and antibiotic-free chicken or beef bones
2. 2 tablespoons of vinegar
3. Carrots
4. Broccoli
5. Potatoes
6. Bay leaves

For a more filling meal, boil some small pasta (e.g. macaroni) separately and add to the broth just before serving.

Do not discard the leftovers (bones and veggies) – reboil it to make a weak soup and use it for the following:

BROWN RICE-MILLET BROTH

1. Add washed rice and millet into the soup and cook until tender.
2. Just before serving, break an egg into the pot and cook until the egg white is solidified and the yolk still soft (use safe eggs)
3. To serve, add garnishes: coriander leaves, spring onions, salt and pepper (the leftover bits of carrots and veggies make it all the yummier).

(NOTE TO THOMAS: No brown rice or millet at home, just use ordinary rice this week)

QUINOA & GREENS SALAD

1. Cook the quinoa according to packet instructions.
2. Prepare the base with mixed green salad leaves.
3. Add the heavier elements, such as avocados or roasted beetroot.
4. Spoon the quinoa onto the nest.
5. Top with nuts and seeds.
6. For dressing, drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

GRILLED FISH AND GREENS

1. Marinate the fish with salt and pepper. Make incisions in the flesh and put ginger slices in the incisions. Leave for a while.
2. Drizzle with olive oil.
3. Grill on a low setting until the fish is cooked (NOTE: Thomas, the grill is the fire on top)
4. In the meantime, heat up some olive oil in the pan. Add in garlic slices, stir until brown, and then add in greens. Season lightly with salt.
5. Serve with rice.

More on the medical basis of the diet I propose by the University of Massachusetts Medical School: http://www.umassmed.edu/news/news-archives/2014/04/UMMS-first-to-develop-evidence-based-diet-for-inflammatory-bowel-disease/

High Energy Blueberry Cornmeal Muffin

On November 1, 2014 By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!Leave a comment

Everybody loves muffins and it is easy to eat. But knowing my daughter, she will ask, “What’s the point of eating it? Isn’t it just empty calories?”

So on this rainy Phuket afternoon, I decided to experiment and come up with my version of turbo-charged cornmeal muffins that taste like a treat still, rather than bland health food.

The first thing I did was reduced the flour content, because white flour is just a filler. I used 75% Organic Blue Corn Meal from Arrowhead Mills. Corn meal is made by grinding corn kernels into a coarse powder. Though it is still mainly carbohydrates, the carbs in corn meal is rich in dietary fibres, good for healthy digestion and also keeps a ravenous teenager full 🙂

Corn meal is rich in iron and phosphorus. We might know a lot about the importance of iron in our diet, but phosphorus is less well-known. It helps make up your DNA, forms a component of your cell membranes and also contributes to bone mineral tissue. Your cells also use phosphorus to help activate or inactivate enzymes, so getting enough phosphorus also supports healthy enzyme function.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

70g unbleached organic white flour

180g corn meal

75g granulated white sugar

50g sesame and flax seed mix

30g chia seeds

3 tablespoons sunflower seeds

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Zest (outer yellow skin) of one lemon (optional)

240 ml fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen, do not defrost)

1 large egg (see safe eggs)

240 ml milk

60 ml UDO oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees ). Line the muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients and lemon zest. Gently stir in the berries.

In another bowl whisk together the egg, milk, and oil.

With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Bake until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 – 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Energy Food: Transformation of the Classic Pancake

On October 28, 2014 By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!3 Comments

My 14 year old daughter is a competitive athlete, and one of the best things about sports is it makes young people aware of the value of nutrition and taking care of their bodies instead of opting for heroin-chic beloved of the fashion industry and unthinking women, or eating junk food.

Georgina has a small frame that is packed solid with muscles. With her high metabolic rate, she burns a lot of calories. Thus, we have to be careful that she meets her nutritional requirements plus more. I don’t want her to go down the path of supplements and vitamins, because a happy and balanced view of food and a healthy approach to eating is a lifelong state of mind. I don’t want my daughter to grow up dependent on pills and chemicals.

Thus, we have one simple principle in our kitchen: we ask ourselves, “Is it nutritionally empty?”

Pancakes, for example. It is mainly flour, egg and some milk. Flour is a filler, nothing else. Is it worth eating it, apart from the pleasure of the taste? Do you want to fill your stomach up with white flour?

But we love pancakes!!!

Here’s our super-version of the classic pancake, it’s full of goodness:

Ingredients for the batter:

120g unbleached white flour

2 heaped tablespoons maca

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

140ml milk

1 large egg (please read about safe eggs here)

2 tablespoons of melted butter

More butter for frying

The garnishing:

1 banana, sliced

Udo oil

Wild honey

Nuts and seeds

Bee pollen

Method:

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, lightly whisk together the milk and egg, then whisk in the melted butter.

Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and, using a fork, beat until you have a smooth batter. Any lumps will soon disappear with a little mixing. Let the batter stand for a few minutes.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a knob of butter. Cook the batter until light gold in colour.

With the remaining butter, caramelise the banana slices. Pour over the pancake, drizzle Udo oil and honey on it and sprinkle with bee pollen, nuts and seeds.

She had green smoothie and the super pancakes, and off she went for an activity-filled day with a big smile on her face and bags of energy. It’s a super energy-charged breakfast, that’s for sure!

A Quirky Take on Aglio Olio

On October 23, 2014October 29, 2014 By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!Leave a comment

Aglio olio is the staple of most Italianas, and I am no different despite possessing only 25% Italian genes. Once you make the oil (which can last for days), all you need is spaghetti and perhaps some fresh parsley or basil and parmesan cheese for a superb, soul-nourishing comfort food, namely the classic spaghetti aglio olio.

Today, I made zucca aglio olio from the pumpkin I picked up on my drive in rural Phuket. I decanted the oil into a jar and used some for spaghetti. I then used pumpkin slices to ‘wipe’ clean the saucepan, and baked those pumpkin slices (I sprinkled some freshly ground sea salt over them). The baked pumpkin aglio olio tasted heavenly!

Recipe for my aglio olio:

1/3 cup good olive oil

8 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until it just begins to turn golden on the edges-don’t overcook it! Add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds more. Turn off heat. Ensure that the red pepper flakes do not burn!!

Decant into a clean jar for later use. Serve with piping hot spaghetti, topped with grated parmesan cheese, basil or parley and freshly ground salt and pepper.

And here’s the aglio olio served the traditional way, with spaghetti:

Note: my friend Azlan Adnan suggested slicing the garlic thinly with a razor for that extra flavour. Good advice!

GO ON, TRY IT!

One of my Facebook readers did, with an even better twist: she added the aglio olio pumpkin to the aglio olio spaghetti, and her adorable daughter loved it! Thanks, Mummy Loves Jayna!

Superfood Snack – Kale Scratchings

On September 26, 2014September 26, 2014 By bumblebee3londonIn Awesome Recipes, Everything!!!Leave a comment

At this time of the year, kale (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group) is plentiful and cheap in England. Until the end of the Middle Ages, kale was one of the most common green vegetables in all of Europe. It is a relative of the wild cabbage, and my Welsh mother said it is used to feed cattle. But it is also a superfood – only 3 tablespoons of this dark green leafy veg make up one fifth of your 5-a-day requirement.

Here’s my simple and quick recipe to get children and adults munching kale:

INGREDIENTS:
1 bag kale
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoon Braggs Liquid Aminos
Chili flakes
Sea salt

Preheat the oven to 100 deg. You want the oven to be on lowest possible heat to slow-roast the kale, so that it gets crispy and loses none of its nutrients.

Combine the olive oil, Braggs, chilli flakes and sea salt. Pour it into the bag containing the kale and give it a good shake. When the kale is evenly coated, pour onto a baking tray. Slow-roast for an hour, or until it’s crispy.

raisinghappystrongkids

Category: Awesome Recipes