My children’s father asks very little of me.  He did not mind when I gave up a highly paid job. He doesn’t mind coming home to a messy house.  He never complains when I use his credit cards to purchase things that he does not understand. He doesn’t even expect me to do the school run or to help our youngest with her homework or wake up for her 6am football sessions.

All he ever asked of me is to create a happy, nurturing home for our children. Fortunately, it isn’t such a difficult task, thanks to my mum who is Chief Happiness Officer at large: I just have to take my mind back to the sunny kitchen of my parents’ house in Southern England to know just what I have to do. So here are the offerings from my kitchen on this rainy Phuket day:

 Start the day right: green smoothies!

My friend Vivienne Webb bought a bag of avocados that she left behind. We went to the sea-gypsies area in Rawai yesterday and bought some as-natural-as-you-can-get veggies and I had some other greens in my fridge from the organic section in Villa Market. Blitzed together with some filtered water, topped with chia seeds, flax seeds and bee pollen, and voila, I have fulfilled my first task of the day, namely providing my family with a nutritious breakfast. 100% goodness, and so easy, too.

Making a veggie stock

I can’t find organic Swiss bouillon anywhere in Phuket. I have to make my own stock. It’s actually easier than you think. I just boiled these veggies in a large ceramic pot with distilled water, and then simmer on low heat for hours. You get a really delicious broth from this.

If you are an instant noodle fan, try making your own version with this stock, cooked spaghetti and lightly boiled bean sprouts. Add cooked chicken if you are not a vegetarian.  That’s what I would have for lunch, probably.

Eat rainbow colours

I am trying to get my 14 year old to eat more veggies and less red meat.  her father is worried that it will not be enough, given that she does so much sports and is going through a growth spurt.  I think it is. Broccoli has as much protein as beef. In fact, 11.1 grams per 100 calories of broccoli =  6.4 grams per 100 calories of beef. I also would add cashews and other nuts for that oomph.

From this colourful platter, I could add Thai paste for a curry, or go Italian by cooking the veggies in red pesto. If I were to go for the Thai option, I would serve it with a wild rice/red rice combo; the Italian option of course goes with spaghetti.

My secret arsenal: sprouts!

Sprouting is actually something fun and easy to do, and best of all, it is exploding with goodness.  Sprouts are rich in enzymes (even more than in uncooked fruits and vegetables). These enzymes are vital for many of the body’s functions, including extracting more amino acids, essential fatty acids, minerals and vitamins from food, so the body works more efficiently.

All you have to do is soak the seeds and then sprout on!  Make sure that the seeds you use are the ones specially for sprouting, namely not irradiated or contaminated. Put them on a sprouting tray, water daily and agitate the tray to prevent mould from forming. When the little shoots appear, they are ready to be eaten.  I add them as topping.

Making our own trail mix

This is a little sweet treat for my minx’s lunchbox tomorow.  I dehydrated some apples and pineapples in my dehydrator to make trail mix (I add nuts to the dried fruits combo). I added some gorgeous tomatoes in to make dried tomatoes, which makes a tasty addition to salads and pasta dishes. Well, that’s my lunch tomorrow.

 

Note about eating rainbow colours, as we have done today in rainy Phuket:

RED
Red fruits and vegetables are coloured by a natural plant pigment called lycopene. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that can help reduce the risk of cancer and keep our heart healthy.

PURPLE /BLUE
The plant pigment anthocyanin is what gives blue/purple fruits and vegetables their distinctive colour. Anthocyanin also has antioxidant properties that protect cells from damage and can help reduce the risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease.

ORANGE/YELLOW
Carotenoids give this group their vibrant colour. A well-known carotenoid called Betacarotene is found in sweet potatoes, pumpkins and carrots. It is converted to vitamin A, which helps maintain healthy mucous membranes and healthy eyes. Another carotenoid called lutein is stored in the eye and has been found to prevent cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, which can lead to blindness.

GREEN
Green vegetables contain a range of phytochemicals including carotenoids, indoles and saponins, all of which have anti-cancer properties. Leafy greens such as spinach and broccoli are also excellent sources of folate.

BROWN/WHITE
White fruits and vegetables contain a range of health-promoting phytochemicals such as allicin (found in garlic) which is known for its antiviral and antibacterial properties. Some members of the white group, such as bananas and potatoes, are also a good source of potassium.

 

Footnote:

It has been nine months since I gave up work, and I can honestly say, I have found gainful employment in the home. I love what I do and enjoy each day to the fullest, this simple and wholesome life without complexities and complications. For this, I have the father of my children and my mother to thank.

PS: Today’s offerings took less than two hours.  

 

 

Happy parents = happy kids. So here’s a simple-to-make sweet for grown-ups, beloved of the Italians: tiramisu. It requires no cooking or baking whatsoever, just assemble and chill.

First, you need to track down Italian sponge fingers (also known as lady fingers).  The Italian name for these fingers are savoiardi.  They are quite easy to find: in Jakarta, at Ranch Market or Hero Kemang, in Phuket, at the bakery by the supermarket in Central.  If you can’t find them, I have included the recipe at the bottom of this post. But let’s start with the tiramisu first.

INGREDIENTS

1 packet savoiardi

500g mascarpone cheese

6 eggs, separated

350ml espresso coffee, cooled

3 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

50ml cognac or brandy

Grated zest of 1 orange

1 bar good quality dark chocolate, shaved

I banana, sliced, optional

Add the sugar to the egg yolks. Beat well until the mixture is light and creamy. Add the mascarpone and half of the cognac or brandy, and beat well. Add the orange zest.
With clean utensils, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold the beaten egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.
Pour espresso into a shallow dish along with the remaining cognac and 1 teaspoon of the cocoa powder. Stir well. Quickly dip each lady finger in the espresso mixture, working one at a time, and line the bottom of a glass dish, approximately 20cm round or square.
Once the bottom of the dish is covered in an even layer of espresso-soaked lady fingers, top with 1/2 of the mascarpone mixture. Add the sliced banana. Dust with 1/2 of the cocoa. Repeat with another lady finger layer, then finally the remaining mascarpone and a final dusting of cocoa powder. Top with shaved chocolate.
Chill in the fridge for about 4 hours, then serve!

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For the savoiardi:

INGREDIENTS

4 eggs
100g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
115g plain flour

Preheat oven to around 180 C. Line three baking trays with baking parchment. Prepare a pastry bag with a plain 1.25cm piping nozzle.
Separate the eggs. Whisk the egg yolks with 1/2 of the sugar and all of the vanilla. Beat until very light coloured.
In a clean bowl beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. While beating, slowly add the salt and the remaining sugar until combined. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.

Sieve the flour over the egg mixture and gently fold it in.

Fill the pastry bag with half of the batter and pipe 9cm fingers, 4cm apart, in rows on the baking parchment. Continue with the second half of the batter in the same manner.

Bake at 180 C for about 15 minutes until firm to the touch and golden. Remove the paper and fingers from the baking tray and place on racks to cool. After cooling, remove fingers from the paper and use or store between layers of greaseproof paper in a airtight container. These freeze well.

Kids (and adults too) need greens for a variety of reasons, chiefly because greens contain the nutrients essential for healing and growth.

But kids are notoriously difficult to feed greens to. Parents over the generations have developed strategies and threats to get their little darlings to eat greens. And they are not wrong in that.

My tried and tested way has always been to get my kids to chug down green smoothies.  I swear by them. Over time, they may even grow to like it.

Here’s how you make a monster green smoothie:

Use as many different varieties of greens as you can find. Organic, if possible. If not, wash them thoroughly. The dark, leafy ones are the best. Spinach and lettuce are tasteless, so they are good starters.

To make the green combos tasty, add one or more of the following:

1. Banana

2. Apple

3. Pineapple

4. Dragonfruit

5. Melon

6. Coconut water and/or coconut flesh

Blend, and drink at room temperature, within 15 minutes.

Tip: for young children and newbies, try serving the green smoothie in shot glasses, so that it looks less intimidating.

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This is my blend for the day: I added in dates, for the sweetness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G dislikes cooking. She thinks it is ‘boring’ and a waste of time, and tries to get out of kitchen duties at home all the time. But preparing good healthy food is one of the life-skills that I absolutely insist my children learn from a young age. No excuse. Even if you are destined to be a star, you need to be self-sufficient. You need to learn how to take care of yourself.

Here are some cacao bites that G made. They were inspired by the almond bars I had at Alchemy, the lovely raw food café in Ubud, Bali.

It can’t get any simpler, or healthier. They are pure energy food, far better than any of the energy bars that you pay exorbitant prices for. Those shop-bought energy bars are full of sugars. These homemade ones are not.

Make them the G way, and you won’t regret it.

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

1. About 60g or quarter a block of Tru-Ra raw cacao butter

2. 1 to 2 cups of almonds and cashews

3. 1 handful raisins and or goji berries

4. 1 handful raw cacao nibs

5. 1-2 tablespoons wild honey

6.   1-2 tablespoons pure coconut oil

Combine all ingredients in a powerful blender. Adjust the coconut oil to a binding consistency.  Press dough into silicon moulds and chill until firm.  They are then ready to be popped out and enjoyed.

Perfect for lunchboxes!

 

PS: We used this raw cacao butter:

 

 

Food, food, food!  We sat on the beach in Phuket, eating Pad Thai. Sorry to say, I did not like it (must be my delicate tastebuds, since both Thais and foreigners alike rave over street Pad Thai at 80baht a plate). I did not like eating rice sticks with lots of flavourings and crushed peanuts.  Nutritionally, it is bankrupt.  We moved on to fried pancakes and bananas with nutella and honey.  They tasted a whole lot better, but the pancakes were nutritionally bankrupt, too. These types of food fill you up, might taste delicious even, but there is not much nutrients in them, just carbs.  And help, my 14 year old is growing at a phenomenal rate, she needs good proteins!

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And so this amazing dish that I recently learned from my German-Indonesian friend, Inge, who lives in Jakarta.  I will be eternally grateful to her. It is so simple to make, and is full of goodness. And what I love about it is, it is a storecupboard dish. I always have frozen spinach in the freezer and UHT cream in the larder, so no hassle whatsoever to rustle up this goodness.

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INGREDIENTS

1. Spinach, frozen ones that you get in bags will do, too

2. Chopped onions (my version, not Inge’s)

3. Butter

4.Full cream (about 100ml)

5. Milk (about 100ml)

6. 1 tablespoon flour

7. Grated nutmeg

8. Free-range eggs

9. Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Saute the chopped onion in butter until translucent. Roughly chop the spinach, add to the pan.  Add the flour and grated nutmeg. Add seasoning, and then add the cream and milk. Adjust for a thick, slurry-like consistency.

Spoon into oven-proof dishes. Crack an egg or two on top of each. Bake until the egg whites are cooked and the yolks slightly runny.

Thanks, Inge!

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