Weekend Carnivore

I love it when I discover a new favourite food.  When I was in Barcelona last month, I ate a lot of my meals from an up scale salad bar. It was full of a delightful array of olives and some of my favourite vegetables such as artichokes and sundried tomatoes.  One of the vegetables that was frequently part of the salad spread was hearts of palm.

I have had hearts of palm a few times in the past but only in small quantities and years apart from each serving. For some reason, it was on this trip that I discovered that I really like hearts of palm. I thought that perhaps it was just that quality of the ingredients that the hotel used which made the difference.  So, when I got back home to London I decided to buy a couple cans and see if  I still enjoyed the taste.  I ate the entire can of hearts of palm within a few moments of opening it. So, I guess that was a yes!

Hearts of palm is a vegetable that comes from the inner core of some varieties of palm tree. Which makes it sound very exotic indeed. The taste is similar to an artichoke heart with a slightly smoother texture.  They are also very low in fat and calories.  That has to be a winning combination in any food.

Part of why I enjoy vegetarian cooking so much is that there is always a new vegetable or fruit like this to discover and when you do chances are they are really healthy for you too. Which gives me plenty of excuses to play around and find new recipes for these ingredients.   Which is exactly when I have been doing with hearts of palm.  One of my favourite new heart of palm recipe is this hearts of palm and spinach dip recipe. It is reduced fat but certainly not reduced flavour.

Hearts of palm and spinach dip

Hearts of palm and spinach dip recipe

Ingredients:

15 grams spring onions, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
55 grams frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed of excess liquid
100 grams hearts of palm, from a can, drained
100 grams reduced fat mayonnaise
60 grams reduced fat sour cream
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Using a mini chopper or a food processor, blitz together the spring onions and crushed garlic until the onions are finely chopped.
2. Add the defrosted spinach and pulse until that is broken up and about the same size as the onions. It won’t fully get to that size but try your best.
3. Add in the hearts of palm and pulse once again. This time you want these to be slightly bigger than the onions.
4. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream and lemon juice. Blitz until everything is well combined but not too thin.
5. Scrape everything into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least an hour.

Serves: 6

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

It was party time again this weekend. This time it was an anniversary party for a London based sci fi group I attend. Yup, I am a geek and not afraid to admit it! I was asked if I would mind bringing some cookies and cakes for the party. Me, mind a chance to bake and share food? Not a chance!

Baked Cheesecake Brownies Recipe

The only question was which recipes to add to the menu. I knew it had to be something chocolate but wasn’t sure in exactly what form. That was until I saw a post about these cheesecake brownies on MaryMoh’s Keep Learning Keep Smiling blog.

Cheesecake brownies are an evil invention of some cook that decided chewy chocolate brownies weren’t tempting enough and needed a layer of cheesecake baked on top. I suppose, it does save you from having decide which one to have when you can have both at the same time.

This particular cheesecake brownies recipe was really easy to put together and ended up tasting great too. The cheesecake part of the cheesecake brownie recipe is especially nice and rose to great heights over the rim of the brownie pan. It is the baked sort of cheesecake and so you get that lovely springy texture.

I saved a couple of the cheesecake brownie squares back from the party plate and put them in the fridge for a naughty breakfast the next day. It turned out that the cheesecake portion of the baked cheesecake brownie recipe got even better after spending a night chilling!

I think these cheesecake brownies are going to come out again and I can see myself making all sorts of adaptations to the recipe. Even as I am writing this, I am imagining what they would be like with some chocolate chips mixed into the cheesecake mixture. Surely chocolate chip cheesecake brownies can’t fail!

Everybody loves it when they get the chance to post one of their award winning recipes on their food blog. Well, I can’t do that because while I entered this recipe into a cooking contest it didn’t actually win. However, I was really proud of it. So, I am taking this opportunity to show off my non-award winning tart recipe!

A few times throughout the year, Recipezaar hosts cooking contests that start off with all the contestants being given a list of ingredients. Right up until the great ingredient reveal, it is a complete mystery what will be on the list. Once we have the ingredients list, you then have to create a recipe using at least five of the ingredients on this list.

The list of ingredients for this latest contest was:

1. Beef broth
2. Canned tomato soup
3. Prepared yellow mustard (American mustard)
4. Sour cream~ all varieties
5. Prepared pie pastry- frozen shells, refrigerated rolled dough, or homemade (shortcrust pastry)
6. Sliced almonds
7. Prepared horseradish ~jarred, not raw
8. Balsamic vinegar
9. Blue/ bleu cheese
10. Red onions
11. Mini marshmallows
12. Brown rice
13. Plain bread crumbs
14. Shredded coconut
15. Fresh broccoli
16. Red miso paste
17. Canned salmon
18. Ground turkey
19. Liquid smoke
20. French fried onions
21. Worcestershire sauce
22. Evaporated milk ~any
23. Canned DICED tomatoes ~ no additional seasoning or ingredients
24. Flour or whole wheat tortillas
25. Pumpkin pie spice
26. Hard Pretzels ~any shape

This latest recipe contest, had the additional twist that the recipe have to fit into a specific category.

The categories we could pick from for our recipe contest entries were:

1. Appetizers
2. Brunch Buffet
3. Potluck at the Office

It is a good thing that I like a challenge because it certainly was a mixed bag of ingredients! As soon as I got the list I put my thinking cap on and I eventually came up with these balsamic onion, mushroom and blue cheese tarts.

The recipe development period of this contest took place over the build up to Christmas and the judging period took place over the holiday. So, I wanted to come up with a recipe that I thought would fit into the party season. The judging is done by the other contestants and general Recipezaar members doing blind tastings (your name isn’t on the recipe at this stage) and then rating them. So, if you want to be in with a shot you have to actually get people to make the recipe. I went with the idea of these little blue cheese tarts thinking that since they are served cold they would make good make ahead party food.

In the end, my balsamic onion, mushroom and blue cheese tarts didn’t win the contest. They did get some good reviews though and really just having people try and enjoy what I come up with for these contests is the fun part for me. That is especially true when the contest ingredients force me to learn how to prepare a recipe I would never have made without the extra push.

I was really happy with the sweet tangy taste of the balsamic onions and how well it paired with the earthy tastes of the mushrooms and blue cheese. I am sure I will be making the recipe again myself rather than just for the contest. That has to be a good sign that it wasn’t that bad! Try them and see for yourself!

Balsamic Onion, Mushroom & Blue Cheese Tarts

Balsamic onion, mushroom and blue cheese tarts

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 cups chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
350 grams shortcrust pastry, the store bought pre-rolled variety.
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream, reduced fat is fine (you can also use creme fraiche)
1 pinch salt
1 pinch fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
70 grams blue cheese, a nice squidgy variety

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400f/200c/gas mark 6
2. Put a pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter.
3. Once the butter starts to froth, put the thinly sliced red onions in and turn the heat down to low.
4. Cook, stirring often, until the onions have become translucent. This will take about 10 minutes but keep an eye on them.
5. Add the sugar and the balsamic vinegar to the onions and cook on low, stirring often for about 10 minutes until the onion mixture is sticky and the liquid thickened up.
6. Set the onions aside to cool.
7. Melt the remaining butter in another pan and cook the mushrooms for a few minutes until they have just started to change colour.
8. Set the mushrooms aside to cool.
9. Whilst the onions and mushrooms are cooling, layout your pastry. You want the pastrt to be about as thick as a pinkie finger. If your pre-rolled pastry is thicker roll it out to the desired thickness.
10. Using a round cookie cutter or a glass, cut out 12 rounds of the pastry.
11. Press each round of pastry into a hole of a 12 yield muffin tin. If your pan usually sticks, spray each hole with cooking spray before hand.
12. Next, put the egg and sour cream into a bowl with the salt and pepper and beat together.
13. Stir through the dried parsley and crumbled blue cheese. Set aside.
14. Spoon a bit of the balsamic onions into the base of each tart.
15. Top the onions with the mushrooms, trying to cover as much of the surface as possible.
16. Spoon the blue cheese mixture over the top of each tart.
17. Put tarts in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until the pastry has gone golden and the cheese mixture has set.
18. Take out of the oven and allow to cool before serving so the cheese mixture can firm up a little bit.

Serves: 12

The new year has arrived and yet again many of us are hanging our heads in dietary shame. Things have been bad enough in our home that I am not even allowing myself to step on the scale for the next month. If I see the number without having a whole month to do damage control I may end up beyond depressed. If I didn’t gain ten pounds I will consider it a result. Yup, that bad!

All of which means it is time to get serious again and shift this weight. I am so sick of stagnating with my weight loss. Which is more or less what I have done for the past year. I know I can get to the finish line. It just requires me to focus and and not be sidetracked.

So, to usher back in my diet blinkers I am starting the healthy eating over with a new version of – what you must know by now – is pretty much my favourite dish. What you have to love about hummus is that once you have a basic hummus recipe down you can play with it in any number of ways. Even changing up just a few ingredients can make, what tastes like, a totally different hummus recipe.

In addition to jump starting the diet efforts, I am also aiming to use up things lurking in the back of my fridge before I allow myself to buy any ‘new and interesting’ items. I am always wanting to try new things but then I end up with half a jar of something that I don’t know how to use in enough ways to finish off.

Preserved lemons are something I was playing with not too long back. When I opened the fridge to try and brainstorm for a new hummus recipe, sure enough, that partially used jar of preserved lemons was sitting right there between the fish sauce and the the mango wasabi mustard. After a bit of contemplation, I took up the challenge.

Guess what? It turns out preserved lemons can work really well in a hummus recipe. Since both have Middle Eastern origins that shouldn’t be too shocking, I suppose. Plus, most hummus recipes include lemon juice. So, the basic flavours are already accounted for in the classic recipe.

Most things I have read about how to use preserved lemons in recipes, only includes using the skin. I couldn’t find anything about using the preserved lemon pulp but it felt so wrong to just throw them out. I threw them into the mix rather than throwing them away and it turns out that it actually really worked. I think that is because they carry the salt content. So, if you just either skip or limit the salt in the rest of your hummus recipe it works well and you haven’t wasted any of the lemon.

I have a feeling this won’t be the last hummus recipe I develop over the next year as I try to continue down the scales. If they all work this well, I will be a happy – hopefully smaller – woman.

Preserved lemon hummus

preserved lemon hummus recipe

Ingredients:
1 (400g) can chickpeas, drained but the liquid reserved
1/4 cup tahini
3 cloves garlic
2 preserved lemons, including the pulp, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons reserved chickpea juice
freshly ground pepper, to taste
sea salt, to taste, if required
fresh parsley and lemon zest, to garnish

Directions:

1. Put the chickpeas, tahini, garlic and preserved lemons into a blender or food processor.
2. Blitz in short bursts, pushing the mixture down when needed until everything is combined.
3. Add the chickpea juice and mix for a few more seconds. If you want it less thick you can always add more of the juice.
4. Taste a bit and decide if you need to add any salt. If you do add the salt and pepper. If not, just the pepper and mix for a couple seconds.
5. Roughly chop parsley and zest a lemon.
6. Serve topped with the parsley and lemon

Serves: 2 to 4

I love cooking and baking for parties because it means I get to try out new recipes and share out the calories. Otherwise, the baked goodies would just sit here willing me to allow them to jump straight on to my, already too big, belly.

Since the Christmas and New Year period is the season of parties, now is the point in the year where I do most of my baking. I save up recipes from magazines and websites all year round just for this time when I can bake and taste without feeling all that guilty about it. Though, I am fully aware that my diet will return with a vengeance in the New Year as a sort of culinary rehab.

In addition to baking and cooking the Christmas recipes of others, I also enjoy creating my own Christmas baking recipes. I am much more of a cook than a baker and I always feel a bit of shock when a baking recipe I have devised actually turns out okay. This weekend, I was met with just such a moment of shock when these mocha chocolate cupcakes turned out to be pretty darn good!

The recipe is based on the idea of a black coffee cake recipe which is in a copy of an American church cookbook from 1980 that my Nana gave to me when I turned 18. The original cake isn’t decorated at all. It is simply a cake with no topping. So, not only was I nervous about turning it into cupcakes but I also wasn’t certain a topping was going to work. Yet, it turned out to work very well indeed.

Since I was making them for a Christmas party, I used food colouring to turn the buttercream frosting festive red and green. However, you could very easily skip that stage and just use the white buttercream frosting. In fact, I think if you did that and just dusted the top lightly with cocoa powder you could call them espresso cupcakes.

For these though, I carried through the coffee theme to the top of the mocha chocolate cupcake recipe by topping each off with a chocolate covered coffee bean. That may sound a tad posh but I found a whole big bag of them on sale at lidls for £1.99. Your party guests never need to know!

Mocha chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting

Mocha chocolate cupcake recipe

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup strong coffee
1 cup milk (I use semi-skimmed)

For the buttercream frosting:

1 cup butter, softened
3 1/2 cups icing sugar (same thing as powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

To decorate:

Chocolate covered coffee beans (optional)
Assortment of edible sprinkles (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 35Of/180c/gas mark 4
2. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Add the eggs, oil, coffee and milk to the dry mix and beat on a medium speed until well combined.
4. Line a cupcake pan with papers and pour the batter into each paper. Fill about half way up or it will spill out over the top of the paper while cooking. I got 15 cupcakes from this mix. So, you may have to bake in batches depending on how many holes there are in your tin.
5. Bake for between 15 and 20 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle of the chocolate cupcakes comes out ‘just moist’.
6. Take out of the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. They need to be completely cool before you add the frosting.
7. When the mocha chocolate cupcakes are cooled, start making your buttercream frosting by putting the butter, sugar and salt in a large bowl and beat until blended.
8. Add the milk and vanilla and beat for another 3 to 5 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
9. If you want to make coloured frosting, divide your buttercream frosting recipe into as many bowls as you want colours. Then add a few drops at a time to each bowl and beat on low until combined. If you want a deeper colour add more drops until you get what you require.
10. Spread an equal amount of frosting on top of each mocha chocolate cupcake.
11. Decorate each mocha chocolate cupcake with a chocolate covered coffee bean and sprinkles, if using.

Makes: about 15 cupcakes depending on the size of your tin