Weekend Carnivore

Often part of managing to stay on a diet is learning how to cope with those naughty cravings that strike everybody from time to time.  You can decide to let yourself have a blow out where you have the calorie laden treat you are desiring or deny yourself it. The denial path may feel as if it is the correct one but if I do that then I end up wanting the naughty treat even more and chances are I will eventually give in and in a bigger way that would have originally been the case.

There is, as Tony Blair so famously once said, a third way. That third way is to find a recipe that adapts the naughty recipe and makes it so that you can enjoy a healthier version of the treat. Okay, it might not be exactly the same but it is close and it stops you going for broke and blowing the diet.

This week, I was really craving some sort of fruit cobbler but I knew there was no way I could justify having all those eggs and butter that goes into a normal cobbler recipe. So, I took to the foodie internet and searched for a cobbler recipe that would satisfy my craving but be pretty low fat.

I was on Food.com (the new name for Recipezaar) when I saw Lady Pit’s recipe for her Any Fruit Fast Fat Free Cobbler recipe and thought it was worth a try.   The only sutible fruit I had for this fat free cobbler recipe was some frozen blueberries. A blueberry cobbler sounded really good and so I decided that was going to be the way to go.

fat free vegan blueberry cobbler recipe

The cobbler recipe was really easy to put together.  Essentially, all you do is mix together the dry ingredients with the wet, pour it into a pan and then throw the fruit in and let it bake.  I didn’t even bother to defrost my frozen blueberries and it still worked just fine.

The only change I made to the fat free cobbler recipe was to use light soy milk instead of the normal milk that was called for in the original recipe. Since the original cobbler recipe didn’t call for any eggs, this then turned this into a fat free vegan cobbler recipe.

No, it wasn’t exactly the same as a traditional blueberry cobbler that is full of eggs, real milk and butter but it was very tasty, easy and hit the craving spot without making me feel guilty. That has to be a win and I know I will be making this again with whatever frozen fruit I happen to have around. I am thinking it would be especially nice with some frozen cherries for when I get a cherry pie craving.

Perhaps the only change I would make to this vegan cobbler recipe is to bake it in a smaller dish. I think I used a slightly bigger one than was called for in the recipe and that meant it didn’t get very thick. However, it tasted great and the oozing and juicy warm blueberries mixed with the cobbler crust was just what my tastebuds were calling out to enjoy.  It was a bit like a giant flat blueberry muffin with extra juicy blueberries and that isn’t going to be a bad combination for me.

Shall we start by getting out of the way what I consider to be a pancake? You would think that would be a pretty simple debate but when you are an American that lives in the UK it becomes slightly more confusing.  What they British consider to be pancakes are much thinner than what Americans would think of when they hear the word ‘pancake’. British pancakes have much more in common with crepes than American pancakes. They are thin and often filled with something. Hence, more like a crepe regardless of how unpleased they may be to be compared with the French. They are very tasty but they are not what I consider to be a pancake.

American pancakes are much thicker, raise a bit and are proper comfort food for me. Like so many comfort foods, the cravings for them often come at times when you simply are not prepared.  Such as the case this weekend when I woke up simply needing to have pancakes.  I had flour and baking powder but no eggs. The only milk I had was soy milk. I didn’t even have the normal vegetable oil I would use to make pancakes.  To make matters even worse, it was cinnamon pancakes that were the focus of my pancake cravings and I apparently had also run out of cinnamon! Crisis!

The pancake craving wasn’t going away though and so I decided to see what I could do with what I did have on hand.  I have made vegan pancake recipes before and enjoyed them. So, I knew that I could make a good pancake without egg. Soy milk works fine too in vegan pancakes. I actually prefer making vegan pancakes with a vanilla soy milk for that extra layer of flavour. I only had the normal sweetened soy milk though so that was going to have to do the job.

The bigger questions was what oil to use to make these vegan pancakes. I didn’t have any vegetable oil and  I wasn’t going to use olive oil or avocado oil.  I still have a bit of that macadamia nut oil that I bought at last year’s Masterchef Live.  So, I thought why not try that? It might even give a nice nutty background taste to the vegan pancake recipe.

Finding something to replace the cinnamon was the final challenge. I’ve have chocolate with cardamom flavouring in the past and also in a few cakes. It isn’t a huge leap in flavour from cinnamon and so I figured now was the time to find out if cardamom and macadamia nut oil would go together well as part of a vegan pancake recipe.

It sure did! The macadamia nut oil provides a lovely nutty background taste without overpowering the batter. If I had prepared to do this recipe and had slightly deeper pockets, I might have chopped up some actual macadamia nuts and stirred them into the batter. I am sure that would have added an extra special taste to the vegan pancakes.  As predicted, the cardamom worked in a very similar way to cinnamon and brought sweet and spicy feel to the pancakes.

To finish off the vegan pancake recipe, I griddled some banana slices and popped them on top before drizzling a bit of agave syrup over the top. If I hadn’t been so stuck on this being a vegan pancake recipe, I would have gone for honey.

Vegan cardamom macadamia nut pancakes

Cardamom vegan pancakes

Ingredients:

100 grams plain flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 cup soy milk

1 tablespoon macadamia nut oil

Directions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients together into a large bowl and combine well.

2. Add the milk and the macadamia nut oil and stir until thoroughly mixed. If you are finding your batter is just a bit too thick at this stage then add a bit more soy milk.

3. Heat a griddle or frying pan until it is hot enough to make pancakes. I usually drop a tiny bit of water onto it and if it instantly sizzles I consider it ready to be used.

4. Either spray with non-fat cooking spray or use a tiny bit of the macadamia nut oil and then start to drop the batter on the hot surface.

5. Leave each vegan pancake until bubbles have started to form on the pancake. Then flip over and cook for a minute or so on the other side. Watch carefully because they can very easily go from perfectly golden brown to burned and ruined.

6. Divide the vegan pancakes onto two plates, top with your choice of toppings and enjoy!

Serves: 2

With a note of sorrow,  I wave goodbye to the summer of 2010.  It feels as if I have barely stood still since the end of spring.    In the summer months alone, I have been to Brighton, Munich, Salzburg,  Paris, York, Wales and Barcelona.  Travelling and tasting food from so many different regions of Europe has been fantastic but it has meant that I haven’t spend all that much time in my own kitchen.

So, while I am going to miss the warm weather adventures, I am also welcoming the opportunity to stay in a bit more and reacquaint myself with my normal cooking routine.  Which, at this time of year is switching from light summer meals to more hearty food. Right about now, my eye turns to root vegetables and finding different ways of bringing them into my cooking.

One way that I have used them in recent years is to create root vegetable mash instead of a normal mashed potato.  Mashing a bit of whatever other root vegetables you have in your vegetable drawer into your normal mashed potato not only adds a bit of colour but extra nutrients as well.   Even if you aren’t cooking a vegetarian meal, swapping a root vegetable mash on top of a traditional shepherd’s pie instead of the normal mashed potato will be a nice change and healthier too.

With a bit of a chill in the air the today, I wanted to make us a meal tonight that was going to warm our insides while filling us up. This can sometimes be a challenge when we are following a vegetarian diet. Of course, I could just make another soup or a vegetarian stew but there will be plenty of those through the course of the winter.  So, I rummaged through my cupboard to help me brainstorm up ideas for a hearty winter vegetarian meal.

We had a can of kidney beans in chilli sauce which kept calling out to me and I decided that I wanted to do something with it for the meal. Not really in the mood for tacos or beans and rice, I decided to play with an idea of a bean pie that has been kicking around in my head for a few weeks.

All I did was sauté some basic vegetables such as onion, carrots and celery.  Then I tipped in the can of chilli kidney beans and added some spices.  I piled it all into two mini casserole dishes and then topped it with a root vegetable mash that I made from potatoes and butternut squash.

What was great was that I was able to cook everything up in the morning and put the casserole dishes into the the fridge. Then, when it was time to cook the evening meal all I had to do was put them into the oven for 15 minutes and the meal was ready.

You have to love it when a meal is simple, healthy and filling.  Perhaps the only change I would make is to add a bit of hot sauce to the mix. I am a total spice wimp so I tend to lay off the spicy heat but anybody who likes things hotter should consider adding a few drops.

Chilli bean pies topped with root vegetable mash

Chilli bean pie recipe

Ingredients:

500 grams potatoes, peeled and quartered

200 grams butternut squash, peeled and chopped into big cubes

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 a large onion, diced

100 grams carrots, diced

100 grams celery, diced

1 (420 gram) can kidney beans in chilli sauce

1 teaspoon barbecue sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 f, 190 c, gas mark 5.

2. Put a large pot of water on to boil and put the potato and squash into cook until ready for mashing.

3. Meanwhile, heat  the olive oil in a pan before adding the onion, carrots and celery.  Cook over a medium heat, stirring often until the onion and celery have begun to soften.

4. Add the beans, including all the chilli sauce juices, to the vegetables.  Cook for about three minutes until warmed through.

5. Stir in the barbecue sauce and garlic powder until well blended.

6. Spoon the bean and vegetable mixture into two oven proof mini casserole dishes.

7. Drain the potatoes and butternut squash and mash with a bit of salt and pepper to taste.  If you want a creamier mash certainly feel free to add a bit of butter or margarine to the mash.

8. Pile the root vegetable mash on top of the bean mixture.

9. Put the dishes on a baking tray and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Serves: 2

Isn’t it funny how as soon as the sun comes out and it starts to feel like summer everybody suddenly becomes extra focused on eating healthy? You would think that one day we would all figure out that if we ate better all year round we wouldn’t have to go scrambling for diet recipes when summer finally arrives. We all do it though and with it feeling hot and steamy in London this week (not something that happens all that often!) my shopping trolley was even more filled with fruit and vegetables than normal. 

Ever since we have decided to go full force into the weekend carnivore lifestyle of eating mostly vegetarian recipes, our vegetable drawer is bursting at the seams anyway but I do tend to get more adventurous when the summer recipe season hits. I will buy any vegetable that looks good and challenge myself to come up with a new healthy vegetarian recipe that I can work into my diet.  This week, I picked up an aubergine with no real plan as to which vegetarian recipe I would be making. 

An aubergine, by the way, is what my fellow Americans call an eggplant. So, if you are scratching your head wondering what I might be talking about with this recipe just rest assured that this is simply an eggplant recipe by another name. I knew I had been living in the UK for a long time (14 years this month) when I caught myself thinking aubergine rather than eggplant. When your mind thinks the word of the country you moved to instead of the one you grew up with you know you have finally gone native!

My husband has come a long way with his vegetable eating habits and will try just about anything.  However, I knew from the past that unless it is very well hidden he isn’t going to be a big fan of any aubergine recipe. So, that meant that my newly purchased aubergine was destine for a vegetarian lunch recipe.

For the past month, I have been participating in a cooking event over at Recipezaar (yes, I do spend a LOT of time there..such great people and recipes!) where we cook food from different regions of the world.  One of the regions we have just finished “visiting” is Greece. So, I had a whole bunch of Mediterranean bits and bobs hanging around in the fridge. Aubergine fits so well into Greek cooking that I knew it wouldn’t be hard to come up with a Greek vegetarian recipe.

Not having a clue how the eggplant recipe would end up, I started by slicing my eggplant lengthwise and griddling them.  If you do it well there isn’t much that is better tasting than grilled aubergine because it really works so well as a base for any other flavours you want to add to it. Which, is exactly what I did because amongst the remains of my Greek cooking ingredients was a little bit of feta.  I took a little bit of a gamble and cut up some fresh basil I had laying around and mashed it into the feta. You know what!? That was a stunning combination and I will be using it again in other recipes. The fresh basil really took that salty feta to a different level.

I spread that mixture over the griddled aubergine and then raided my fridge for any jarred Mediterranean vegetables and added them to the aubergine and feta stacks.   Then I plated up and tucked in to my newly developed low fat vegetarian recipe.  That was followed shortly by giving myself a nice firm pat on the back because they were SO good. The artichoke might have been chunky enough to make them slightly unwieldy when transferring to the plate but it was worth it for me since I can’t get enough of artichokes lately. Really though, this aubergine and feta recipe is so versatile and you could add any vegetables you desire to the top.

For me, two of these slices made for a perfect light vegetarian lunch recipe but I  could see this aubergine and fetish recipe being served as an appetizer recipe before a special meal. Equally, I could also see a side salad being added for a lovely summertime meal on the patio.  If you have a barbecue you could even do the grilling of the aubergine on that and make it an easy outdoor meal. Why not try them and let me know how that basil and feta combination worked out for you?

Mediterranean aubergine and basil feta stack recipe

Mediterranean aubergine and basil feta stack recipe

Ingredients:

2 lengthwise slices of aubergine (eggplant), about as thick as your small finger
60 grams reduced fat feta cheese
3 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
20 grams sundried tomatoes from a jar, drained well
30 grams marinated artichokes, drained well
30 grams green unstuffed olives

Directions:

1. Heat a griddle ban until very hot and then grill your aubergine slices until done. You can lightly oil the pan if you wish, I just used the tiniest amount of light cooking spray.
2. Mash the feta up in a bowl and stir in the chopped fresh basil until well combined.
3. Put the aubergine slices on a plate and spread an equal amount of the feta mixture over the top.
4. Chop up the sundried tomatoes, artichokes and olives and pile them on top of the feta mixture.

Serves: 1

All this fluke warm weather we have been having in London has gotten me thinking about summer eating.  Hot evenings of eating hearty salads for meals are just around the corner. With those light meals I know we are also going to be craving refreshing desserts.

My husband really enjoys those ice pops you can get in a any number of unnatural colours from the corner store. This year, I thought I would try my hand and learning to make my own healthier versions of those frozen ice pops. Also, with a little imagination I thought I might be able to come up with some interesting varieties to keep the idea fresh throughout the summer.

Not only will they be far better for both of us but they don’t actually require all that much effort or money to produce. The ice pop molds are available at any number of supermarkets at this time of year. I picked my set up at Ikea for just over a pound. Apart from the molds, the cost comes down to whatever you decide to put into your ice pops.

For my first attempt at making my own frozen ice pops I went for a kiwi and lemon ice pop recipe. My mother in law had recently been staying with us and left behind several kiwi fruits. I didn’t want them to go to waste and I was sure I could work them into the recipe. For the lemon, I went with a diet cloudy lemonade.

For any American readers, in the UK lemonade means a carbonated drink such as Sprite. However, the cloudy version is much closer in taste to what Americans think of as lemonade. The only difference is that it is carbonated. However, I am sure this kiwi and lemon ice pop recipe would work with non-carbonated lemonade too.

It really couldn’t be much easier to make these kiwi and lemon ice pops and the great thing is that a total of three ingredients goes into the recipe. I can’t even begin to think how many chemicals go into the ones we had been buying!

I am looking forward to a summer of trying out new ice pop varieties. I am sure the possibilities are endless. I am even thinking of “adult” cocktail varieties that could be done.  There is some ginger wine in my fridge that is begging to be used.

Kiwi and Lemon Ice Pops

Kiwi and Lemon Ice Pop Recipe

Ingredients:

80 grams kiwi flesh
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 cup cloudy lemonade

Directions:

1. Purée the kiwi flesh. You can use a traditional blender or a stick blender to do this. I went with the stick blender.
2. Stir in the honey.
3. Pour in the cloudy lemonade and mix everything together until well combined.
4. Pour into the ice pop molds and freeze overnight.

Makes: 6 ice pops

There is a party in my mouth and you are all invited!

Okay, well maybe that is a tad extreme but I have been on an adventure with this recipe all day. I woke up with an idea for a new dip recipe floating in my head. By the time lunch came around I just knew that I had to try it out and see if the new dip recipe I had dancing in my brain would work. Caution was thrown to the wind and I decided to have a crisps and dips lunch.

I was aiming for a creamy dip recipe but I didn’t want to go the normal onion or spinach dip path. Instead, I thought that mixing together some Italian themed ingredients was the way to go. I knew that I wanted sundried tomatoes to be a key feature to the new dip recipe and that I wanted to use low fat cream cheese as the base.

A good rummage in the fridge helped be bring my plan together. You can’t have something Italian without garlic. So, a few cloves had to go into the dip recipe. Then, I thought that throwing some green olives could add a nice hint of salty depth to the dip. Lastly, I threw in some lemon juice and zest in an attempt to lift the whole flavour of the low fat dip.

The results of the dip experiment? Yummy! All of the fresh flavours work very well together and make the taste buds pops. Plus, the light cream cheese means all the lovely creamy dip texture is there without nearly as much fat as you would think. Perhaps best of all, it takes a total of 30 seconds in the mini chopper to make!

Easy Sundried Tomato and Olive Dip

East sundried tomato and olive dip

Ingredients:

1 cloves garlic, minced
25 grams pitted green olives
50 grams sundried tomatoes in oil, drained but leave a bit of the oil clinging
200 grams light cream cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
zest of half a lemon

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients into a mini chopper or food processor and use the pulse setting for about 30 seconds until everything is mixed up but there is still a bit of texture to the tomatoes.

2. Get the crisps and enjoy! It would probably be really yummy spread on a bagel too.

Serves: 4

I feel a tad bit of a fraud. A few weeks ago, I was reading a message board for UK food bloggers when I saw a post asking if anybody would be interested in reviewing a brand of yoghurt. I love trying out new things, so I said yes. A few weeks later, there is a knock at the door and 14 – yes 14 – containers of yoghurt were being delivered.

No problem there other than figuring out how I was going to use all that yoguhurt before it expired. Where I feel a bit of a fraud is that the yoghurt I was suppose to try out and review was Total Greek Yoghurt. Far from being the first time that I have tried this brand of Greek yoghurt, I have in fact been eating and enjoying Total Greek Yoghurt as part of my diet for a few years now.

In fact, if you read back through Weekend Carnivore, you will find a number of posts where I evangelize about Greek yoghurt in general. There are a variety of reasons for my tubthumping. Firstly, even the full fat version of Greek yoghurt, and especially the Total brand, is still pretty low fat. So, once you get down to the fat free – what Total calls 0% – you are at very low calories and no fat.

More importantly for me though, is that I am lactose intolerant and for some reason, when I eat Greek yoghurt I don’t react. Without sounding like a commercial – and I promise you I would never do a false review of any product – this is only the case with the Total brand of Greek yoghurt. I have tried supermarket brands of ‘Greek style yoghurt’ and I more often than not react. I won’t claim to know why and please don’t assume that it won’t be the case for you if you are lactose intolerant but it is true for me.

Apart from the healthy nature of Greek yoghurt, I enjoy using it as an ingredient because it is so versatile. I often eat it at breakfast, as you would predict, topped with fruit or even with a bit of whatever sugar free jam I have on hand swirled into the mix. However, where it really comes into its own for me is as a replacement for sour cream, creme fraiche or, even in some cases, cream.

When cooking something like a creamy sauce or curry, I will happily stir in a bit of the Greek yoghurt and get the same result. For this I would favour the full fat version since it doesn’t separate at all during heat.

As a general rule, I find that the less fat you have in the Greek yoghurt the more sour the taste and the less creamy. This is the same with Total and it simply means that where I would want to replace cream I use the full fat variety (I have used it to make homemade ice cream, for example) and when I want to replace sour cram or creme fraiche I go down to the 2% or o% varieties.

One way that I use the lower fat varieties is to cut into mayo to make lower fat coleslaw, potato salad or dip recipes. You don’t notice a taste difference but you sure do notice the calorie and fat grams difference.

To mark my mission to finish 14 tubs of Total Greek Yoghurt before their New Year expiry dates, I thought I would create a new recipe that combined two of my favourite uses for the ingredient. Spinach dip is an American party classic and every good American home cook has a potato salad recipe in their recipe arsenal too. So, I thought why not combine the two?

This was the result and I have to say I rather enjoyed it and I hope you do too!

Low fat spinach dip potato salad

Low fat spinach dip potato salad

Ingredients:

450 grams baby new potatoes, skins left on
110 grams frozen spinach
70 grams fat free mayonnaise
85 grams 2% Total Greek Yoghurt
2 tablespoons dried onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon vegetable bullion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
salt and freshly ground pepper, to season

Directions:

1. Cook the baby new potatoes and let them cool slightly. I do this by steaming them for 30 minutes in my electric steamer but you could boil them too.
2. While the potatoes cook and cool, defrost the frozen spinach and squeeze out all the excess liquid.
3. In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and stir really well to fully combine. Use a good amount of seasoning since there is a lot of moisture going into this recipe. However, judge how much salt you need based on how salty your bullion powder is because it can be rather salty.
4.Stir the spinach into the bowl just to combine with the mayo and yoghurt mixture.
5. Cut the baby potatoes in half width wise and fold into the spinach mixture.
6. Cover and cool in the fridge for at least an hour to allow the flavours to develop.
7. Take out of the fridge, give a good stir and serve.

Makes: 4 hearty servings

December has arrived and for most of us the calendar change signals that a month of hardcore cooking and baking is on the horizon.

I have a huge stack of cooking magazines and recipes I have printed out from the internet sitting on my desk as I try to widdle them down to decide what exactly I will be cooking and baking for the Christmas period. You would think after all that foodie focused research I would be settled on a menu by now. The problem is that the more I see the more I want to make but I want to be careful of not biting off more than I can (literally) chew.

One thing I do know is that Christmas cooking period is going to be one of those times where I won’t be sticking strictly to a vegetarian diet. However, I do really want to try as much as possible to be cooking and serving mostly vegetarian Christmas recipes.

The good thing though is that it really isn’t very hard to do that. When you think about it, most of the Christmas cookies and cakes we will munch over the holiday period are vegetarian by their very nature. Then, the normal Christmas dinner trimmings are also largely vegetarian. At least that is the case if you skip doing your roast potatoes in goose fat. Frankly, even when I wasn’t so focused on vegetarian cooking that never appealed to me anyway.

As I make my way through a largely vegetarian Christmas, I will check in and share my vegetarian cooking adventures. Hopefully, it will give some of you also trying to eat mostly vegetarian over the Christmas cooking period of bit of inspiration.

For now though, it is on to finally forming a solid Christmas cooking schedule. So, time to settle down with that stack of Christmas cooking magazines and make my mind up. At least until I change it again.

Of course, I can’t do that research without having a good hot beverage by my side. This month for the vegetarian swap I participate in over at Recipezaar, I picked out this Mayan Hot Chocolate recipe posted by Recipezaar member the80srule.

spiced hot chocolate recipe

It turns out this hot chocolate recipe is the perfect partner to planning my vegetarian Christmas cooking. Firstly, the big sell for me, is that it is actually made with soy chocolate milk. I am lactose intolerant so whenever I make a creamy drink like hot chocolate I have to weigh up the consequences. I could make a normal hot chocolate recipe with water, I suppose, but any lover of hot chocolate knows that is simply never the same. Amazingly though, I had never thought of using soy chocolate milk as the base of a hot chocolate recipe but it really did work.

What really makes this hot chocolate recipe special though are the spices that go into the mixture. First in the pot, is a bit of cinnamon which gives a real Christmas feel to the hot chocolate recipe. Then comes the real surprise, a pinch of cayenne pepper. You would think that would make it hot and spicy but really it just adds a back ground warmth to the hot chocolate.

So, make yourself your own mug of this spiced hot chocolate and pull up your own pile of Christmas recipes and join the foodie December ritual of planning your holiday baking and Christmas cooking. Let the games begin!

These days, two topics dominate both media coverage and personal conversations. Seriously, have any of us gone one full day in the past year without hearing anything about either the budget crisis or what is called the obesity crisis? Well, here is a recipe that, in its own way, addresses both issues.

If you want to save money on your food budget, one the best ways to do so is to make the most of your ingredients. A great deal of what most people normally throw in the trash could actually go towards making meals.

For example, instead of throwing away your carrot and onion peels, keep them in the freezer until you have filled up a freezer bag. Then use all those trimming to make a vegetable stock. Not only have you made the most of something you have already bought but you save yourself having to pay for store bought stock or stock cubes.

When, I was in the States, I discovered broccoli slaw. I guess this is something that became popular after I left the States to move to the UK because I hadn’t even heard of it until recently. Basically, it is just like coleslaw but instead of cabbage the main ingredient is shredded broccoli. It turned out to be really very tasty. Also, depending on the dressing you use for the broccoli slaw recipe it can be very healthy. Broccoli is, after all, a super food.

Upon my return to the UK, I decided to try to figure out how to make my own broccoli slaw recipe since it isn’t available in British supermarkets. When I investigated what went into making a broccoli slaw I found out that the broccoli used is actually the broccoli stem. How great is that? Something which the vast majority of us just chop off and throw away can be used to make something so tasty and healthy. You simply use a vegetable peeler to take off the top layer of the broccoli stem and then you are ready to make your broccoli slaw recipe.

So, in one full swoop you can take on both the budget and obesity crisis by making this tasty low fat and healthy broccoli slaw recipe. I cut the vegetables chunky because that way I can have it has a side dish when I want but I can also have it as a lunch salad all on its own if I desire. Plus, I am usually too lazy to pull out the food processor to shred them.

Chunky broccoli slaw with apricots

chunky broccoli slaw recipe

Ingredients:

45 grams broccoli stem
85 grams carrots
70 grams green cabbage
55 grams law fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1 tablespoon skim milk
25 grams dried apricots

Directions:

1. Peel the carrots and broccoli stalk and then cut them into matchstick sized pieces.
2. Use a knife to shred the cabbage and put into a large bowl with the carrots and broccoli.
3. In another bowl, mix together the mayo, mustard, onion flakes and milk until well combined.
4. Fold the vegetable mixture into the mayo mixture until all of the vegetables are covered in the dressing.
5. Slice the dried apricots into thin slices and fold into the slaw mixture.
6. Chill in the fridge for an hour or so and then serve.

Makes 2 to 4 servings

I feel so Masterchef or Top Chef by saying something has been done ‘two ways’! One time wouldn’t it just be great if they simply admitted to the judges that they were just trying to impress them by sneaking in more dishes than the challenge required? For me though, this one is more about me having one recipe which I have simply changed a few things on in order to make the two different recipes. Near enough everything in the recipes are the same apart from some different spices.

My spice and herb cabinet is overflowing. I am always buying stuff to try and use it a few times before it moves to the back never to been seen again. I would love it if you could just buy a spice by the pinch or the tablespoon for those times when you just need that little bit for one recipe. Recently, I have decided to challenge myself into finding ways to use some of those herbs and spices which have been lurking unloved for far too long.

The other day, I had a sudden craving for flatbreads but didn’t really want to do anything that involved yeast and letting things rise. I just never plan my cravings far enough ahead to factor in the time for yeast to do it’s thing. In the back of my head, I recalled a quick flatbread recipe that didn’t involve yeast. I used that as a base and decided to experiment.

The first combination I tried for the flatbread recipe was garlic and cumin. In both cases, I used the powdered variety of the garlic and the cumin to that it would mix smoothly into the dough. I ended up really liking this version of the flatbread recipe. They were especially nice with some hummus and they reheated really well the next day. I stored them in the fridge in some foil and simply stuck them in the microwave for 30 seconds and they were back to true form.

Garlic and cumin flatbread recipe

garlic and cumin flatbread recipe

Ingredients:

250g strong white bread flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (use the sea salt if at all possible..it makes for a really nice texture within the flatbread)
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
125ml warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and create a hole in the middle.
2. Mix the water and the oil in a jug.
3. Slowly pour the water and oil mixture into the hole in the middle of the dry ingredients. While doing that, you want to be slowly pushing the dry mixture down into the wet to incorporate it.
4. Once finished pouring in the water and oil mixture, gently mix with your hands until it comes together as a dough.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. You don’t need to add extra flour unless it is really, really sticking. Otherwise just go with it until it feels like a proper texture.
6. Divide the dough into eight equal sized balls.
7. Roll each ball out until they are about the size of a pita bread.
8. Heat a pan until it is really hot and then turn down the heat to a ‘high low’. You could use a griddle pan if you want put I don’t have one.
9. If you wish, you can lightly oil the pan at this stage but mine turned out fine without adding any extra fat.
10. Put a few flatbreads at a time into the hot pan.
11. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side and then transfer to a serving dish and enjoy. Seriously..that easy!

Serves: 8

With that flatbread recipe having worked so well, I got a tad more adventurous the second time around. For what feels like forever, I have had a container of the Middle Eastern dukkah spice blend hanging out in the cupboard. I first had it at a food fair where olive oil covered bread was then dipped in the dukkah before eaten as a snack. It really was tasty!

However, once I brought it home I just didn’t really know what to do with it. Since I associate flatbread with Middle Eastern food, I wondered if I could make use of it in this recipe. I think it worked out pretty well. It certainly has a different texture to the first batch but in a good way. Plus, I rolled these out thinner to make them bigger and feel like a different sort of bread.

I suspect, that how much dukkah you would need in the recipe will depend on a number of factors. Firstly, as it is a blend rather than an out and out spice, different blends are going to taste different. Secondly, my dukkah has been sitting around for a while and no doubt has lost a good deal of the potency it had when originally purchased. So, when making your own version of this flatbread recipe, just keep that in mind and go with what your instinct tells you.

Dukkah spiced flatbread recipe

dukkah flatbread recipe

Ingredients:

250g strong white bread flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (use the sea salt if at all possible..it makes for a really nice texture within the flatbread)
3 tablespoons dukkah
1/2 cup fresh coriander, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
125ml warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Put all the dry ingredients and the coriander and lemon zest into a large bowl and create a hole in the middle.
2. Mix the water and the oil in a jug.
3. Slowly pour the water and oil mixture into the hole in the middle of the dry ingredients. While doing that, you want to be slowly pushing the dry mixture down into the wet to incorporate it.
4. Once finished pouring in the water and oil mixture, gently mix with your hands until it comes together as a dough.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. You don’t need to add extra flour unless it is really, really sticking. Otherwise just go with it until it feels like a proper texture.
6. Divide the dough into 6 equal sized balls.
7. Roll each ball out until they are about the size of a small tortilla.
8. Heat a pan until it is really hot and then turn down the heat to a ‘high low’. You could use a griddle pan if you want put I don’t have one.
9. If you wish, you can lightly oil the pan at this stage but mine turned out fine without adding any extra fat.
10. Put a few flatbreads at a time into the hot pan.
11. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side and then transfer to a serving dish and enjoy. Seriously..that easy!

Serves: 6

If you wanted to make this flat breads three ways (ooh, I am so trendy..lol) you can just take out all of the seasoning apart from the salt and make the base flatbread recipe. They plain ones are good too and taste much like a pita.

The base flatbread recipe is great because not only is it very low fat but it also qualifies as a vegan recipe. On top of which, it takes just over 10 minutes from start to finish. Perfect for when you have that craving for some bread but can’t be bothered waiting for yeast to do that yeasty thing it does.