Tag: lemon

A mixed bean salad

Vegan, oil free, gluten free, delicious.

This oil free recipe gets its creaminess from the Violife ‘white’ and the borlotti beans. red beans will also work. Carrot adds sweetness and cucumber a delicious coolness. The rucola is used as a herb as it is strong and peppery in flavour, all offsetting the slight bitterness from the chicory. Thus giving a wonderful easy to eat oil free salad containing all the nutrients needed.

For gallbladder and liver health it is also possible to add dandelion leaf finely chopped, it goes well in this dish adding it’s own flavour in-between the chicory and rucola. It is possible to forage dandelion almost anywhere, be careful to choose clean plants not near busy roads but in meadows or parks where the air is cleaner. Or like I do simply grow it in your garden as it is a healthy nutritious plant.

The lemon juice and salt bring out all the natural flavours of the fresh ingredients and with the rucola and the dandelion leaf you don’t need pepper.

red chicory, finely chopped
spring onion thinly sliced
grated carrot
dandelion leaf finely chopped
a small tin of green borlotti beans (red kidney beans are also good)
greek white ‘goats cheese’ Violife, in small chunks
rucola, very finely chopped (arugula)
red cayenne chilli very finely chopped
cucumber in small chunks
paprika, orange, sliced and chopped (bell pepper)
lemon juice to taste
salt  to taste

 

Getting better

Why would ‘better’ be something we have to go out and get?

Surely it should be with us all the time, but the same wording is used for ‘getting’ ill – as if it is something we shop for at the supermarket

Well

Perhaps it is something we get.

Most of us spend most of our lives living with some kind of low grade inflammation all over
This is what we consider normal and it gets worse with age
We have gotten so used to it we think it’s normal

We eat junk, we know it’s junk, we eat rubbish, we know it’s rubbish, we turn our noses up at fruit, we refuse to eat vegetables and we have phobias about eating salads.

We are all addicted to sugar, fat and refined carbs, and wonder why we feel vaguely sick all the time.

Stop messing about, you know why you feel sick all the time. You eat crap! You pay no attention whatsoever to the quality of the food you put in your mouth, half the time you don’t even know what it is!
You just shove the fastest, easiest, nearest crap into your mouth and assume all will be well, just like everybody else, till, when you are fifty you find yourself on a gurney being rushed into surgery for a bypass.

Welcome to the western world where your diet will kill you.

Having just reached a similar point myself I know where that place is, being hospitalised is scary.

Going out and ‘getting’ better is where it’s at.

Get yourself a better diet, get yourself healthy, get yourself fit, get that feel good factor into your life now – start now by eating your veggies before you die.
Get your head round it, get rid of your junk addiction and start eating real food.

I thought I had a fairly healthy diet, mostly vegan mostly plant based, I loathe meats anyway so I don’t eat them. I hate milk, I’m not keen on greasy stuff or sweet things I don’t eat sweets as such, but I slip often enough to make my diet pretty damn useless anyway, so I need to clean up my act.
Recently I was eating bars of chocolate, white buns with jam and clotted cream, tiramisu, mayonnaise, prawns and fish slathered in oils and even some meats like roast beef. I was completely off the rails.
Then came the easter celebrations and plates full of filled eggs and devilled eggs and other dishes made with eggs, french cheeses, white bread, jams and clotted cream and serious overdoses of chocolate.

I ate everything. I overate.

No wonder I ended up in hospital with stabbing pains in my guts the day after, the DAY after!

I did it all to myself,

I know what to do now. You know what to do too, you do, you have always known, but you don’t listen to it, you only listen to your food addiction and every day you make the easy wrong choice, and you know you do. Even in the face of your own addictions, your own habits, your own routines, as well as advertising, the misinformation, propaganda and the immense social pressure we are all under, change anyway.
Start anyway.
Just like me you need to change your diet before it kills you.

get better
get healthy

 

 

 

Dandelion salad with artichokes

Super simple super nice

seriously good for your gall

Why?

Well – dandelions have been famous throughout history for helping the liver and gallbladder, this little plant is also a diuretic, thus great for the kidneys and helps the immune system.

I have used the plant before in salads, it’s a bit like rucola, nice and pungent and bitter. It adds a lot of fresh flavour to salad dishes.

It is also delicious, I used the leaves chopped and the flower petals scattered over the dish.

And artichokes are scientifically proven to help the liver and gallbladder, to help with nausea and vomiting, and is also an antioxidant. I’m on firmer ground here as some of this has actually been studied. And is thus now considered proven scientific fact, which we like.

I got the artichokes out of a tin as they are not quite in season yet here, though I recommend them fresh if you can be bothered to prepare them. They are one of my favourite foods when in season.

You know you can even order artichoke on your pizza if you want, it’s all good.

Sprinkle on some lemon juice and a pinch of salt on the salad and you’re good to go.

That’s all you need.

Emergency gallstones

So I got out of hospital yesterday with my gallbladder still in me

What a treat

To get to keep all your body parts

I am pleased I managed to avoid surgery, they are all so very keen to chop you up and take bits out.

Like it’s some kind of fashion.

The problem is not the gallbladder, the problem is the gallstones, it’s the gallstones that need to go so why not leave the gallbladder which has a job to do and just remove the gallstones? That strikes me as far more logical. The surgical technique would be practically the same.

Unfortunately any and all cures for gallstones or ways of removing gallstones or in fact any other kind of treatment for gallstones except surgery is not supported in mainstream medicine, so you’re fucked before you start! You have to drop conventional medicine and go your own route if you want to keep all your insides right where they are. Which is the route I have decided to take.

Very careful menu planning, loose weight slowly and gently, drink lots of water, lots more exercise, and meditation

Specially the meditation

As, together with the searing stabbing pains from gallstones I also am extremely bad tempered lately, I mean white hot rage, temper tantrums and anger attacks for no reason.

I’ve got a gall!

It’s even in the language, it’s become part of the language. Gall!

Yes the anger, the rage, the temper are all part of gallstones and gallbladder and liver problems.

Apparently my digestive system rules.

In my research the only place I have found references to the emotional aspect of this is in chinese medicine, and partially in ayurvedic medicine nothing in western medical literature, though I’m sure if I dug a bit deeper I might find some reference to it.

So we will see what happens now.
I have an appointment with my GP to go and I have made an appointment with an ayurvedic GP as well. (Yes I wish it was Deepak Chopra as well – but he doesn’t practice here)

Of course I will be trying every fad and find and alternative AS WELL as keeping an eye on the mainstream, after all, the goal is to survive.

So now onto a good meditation hour and………..

Wish me luck – I need it.

 

‘Bami,’ noodles easy vegan style

A quick simple wok dish
Ready in no time
A clean and easy recipe if you like you can use any bits of any suitable vegetables you have left over

Of course it’s vegan!

You will need Mie.. Mie is a kind of noodle made from wheat, one rose or swirl of mie per person is enough.
You can use noodles if you wish.
Don’t overdo it, too many noodles or mie spoil it.
With this recipe you want to really taste the veggies

This makes enough for 4

Ingredients

Mie 4 nests

prepare all the vegetables in advance.

One large onion cut in half and then thinly sliced.
Garlic 3 large cloves halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
A chunk of ginger the same size as the garlic altogether, sliced to the same size as the garlic
juice of 1 lemon
sugar 1 tbsp. (or a little more to taste if the lemon is very strong)
4 tbsp Ketjap benteng manis (sweet soy sauce)
2 tbsp ketjap asin (salt soy sauce)
One paprika finely sliced, any colour
Green french beans blanched and cut in half.
Courgette, 1/3 of an average sized one. sliced lengthwise into strips
A little sunflower oil or peanut oil to start the cooking off in the wok.
salt to taste

technique

Chop all the vegetables as instructed above in advance
Blanch cool and cut the beans in advance.
Put a pan of water on to boil and cook the mie according to the instructions on the packet.

Add a little oil to the wok and quickly heat the ginger and garlic without burning them, turn them out onto a dish

Then sear the beans to get a little colour and flavour into them and turn them out onto a dish

Add the onion, paprika, mushrooms and courgette to the pan and toss turning the heat low
just as they are starting to soften.
Then add the beans, ginger and garlic back into the pan.

Add the lemon juice, the ketjap benteng manis, the ketjap asin and the sugar and stir through.

Add in the cooked and drained mie
for four people I add four mie ‘nests’
Turn it all over in the pan and mix well turning the heat right down to avoid burning.

Taste the cooking liquid,
it is important that you taste the liquid in the pan for balance

Add more sugar and/or ketjap asin to balance the lemon juice and ketjap benteng manis as needed,
taste it all again till you are satisfied with the flavour balance, adding salt only if you must.

Serve immediately

Any leftovers can be frozen and are delicious if reheated in the wok.

 

 

Baba Ganoush

Otherwise known as Aubergine dip or if you don’t even use the word Aubergine, eggplant dip.

A delicious middle eastern recipe that is also simple to make, very nutritious as well as delicious.

It is also possible to play with the flavour profile by adding spices and herbs or even other vegetables.

The recipe.

2 Aubergines
2 cloves of garlic
40ml of olive oil, or 2 tbsp
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cumin
40ml Tahini or 2 tbsp
juice of a lemon
salt to taste
finely chopped parsley to finnish.

Grill or roast the Aubergines whole for 35 – 40 minutes, or until blackened and soft.
Allow to cool completely.
Peel or scoop out the flesh.

put all the ingredients into the blender except the parsley,
and mix till it’s a smooth luscious paste.
season to taste, and serve with the chopped parsley sprinkled on top.

super easy and greet as a snack with crackers.

Enjoy.

Glorious food shopping

groceries

I love shopping.
Specially shopping for food.

Today I ran around happily in three different supermarkets and the greengrocers looking at all the delicious wares on display.

Scouring the shelves for exotic fruit and heirloom vegetables, I also find unusual grains and nuts. For a moment I thought the supermarket was all out of tofu! That would have been a disaster!

I feel like a hunter gatherer, foraging for all that is good and healthy, fresh and interesting. Recipes shunt through my head in quick succession as I pick up prickly pears and orange blossom honey. Minneola oranges are carefully bagged up. I find beetroot so fresh the green stalks are still crisp and leafy, such freshness I simply could not resist. Passionfruit and limes fall into my basket along with little gem lettuces to turn over on the BBQ. Glorious aubergines, a rich, dark purple, are absolutely at their best now and so versatile.

I sort carefully through the Spanish garlic and fill a bag with shallots. My mouth starts to water. I can hear it frying gently in the pan.

I leave the supermarket clutching my swag closely to me. Smug at the huge haul and sporting a wide grin on my face. I know I have gone a bit mad, I have so much I can barely lift it all. I make a quick getaway to the next shop.

Saving the best for last I head for the greengrocers, it is my favourite shop. Here I spy out fresh coconut and black grapes. Thai basil, fresh ginger, turmeric, lemon grass, and a pineapple. The smoothies are going to be so delicious I just know I’ll make one the minute I get home.

Happy shopping everyone.

Vegan mayonnaise

recipe

I’ve mentioned it often enough. My vegan mayonnaise recipe. So here it is. I eat this almost every day. It keeps well in a closed jar or pot in the fridge and there are many variations. Mayonnaise is a good basic recipe which can be changed and tweaked for different flavours. Add garlic and it becomes aioli, add herbs for freshness, add spices for curry flavour or a chilli hit. The choice is yours. Change the kind of oil you use or the kind of sweetner, the vinegar or citrus. Use orange instead of lemon, or use lime, or white balsamic vinegar. The variations are endless.

Dare to experiment, you will soon find the one that works for you.

There are two ways you can mix this. The newer one is to throw it all together with the oil on top and stick blend it in one go. This does not work so well for me. I use the slow method.

First add all the ingredients, except the oil. I give this a blend first to get a soft frothy little mixture.

Then using a stick blender I slowly add the oil and mix it all carefully so it does not split. Do not rush.

Aquafaba. I use the water from a tin of chickpeas, but it can be the water from any kind of tinned beans. Or if you boil up your own beans after soaking them overnight you can try cooling and using that aquafaba. After much experimentation I have found that tinned chickpea water works best for me.

The original recipe calls for a 1/2 tsp vinegar white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. I use all lemon juice

Vegetable oil, Avocado oil, peanut oil sunflower oil. I have found that sunflower oil works best for me. I never use rapeseed oil.

Mustard, here you can use any kind of mustard you like, Dijon is my favourite.

The original recipe calls for maple syrup but any kind of sweetner will work, honey or even crystal stevia. I now use a powder or icing sugar.

1 cup sunflower oil.
1/4 cup chickpea aquafaba
1/4 tsp fine table salt
1 and 1/2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp icing sugar

technique.
Mix all the ingredients except the oil and give it a light whisk till it lightly foams.
Slowly drizzle in the oil mixing well all the time to create a soft thick mass.
Put the mixture in a pot or jar with a tightly closing lid and keep in the fridge.

Good luck, Mayonnaise can be tricky!

Red cabbage salad

Red Cabbage salad Recipe

1/4 red cabbage
4 large radishes
1 Spring onion
Juice of half a lemon
grated lemon zest. (1/2 a lemon)
1 tbsp Mirin
Celtic sea salt to taste
3 tbsp Hellmann’s vegan mayonnaise. (or homemade vegan mayonnaise)

Technique.

Cut the stalk out of the red cabbage and remove any bruised outer leaves.
Finely slice the cabbage, into approximately 1-2 mm strips, the fineness of the chopping, or slicing makes the difference here.
Place in a bowl and massage firmly to bring out the colour and soften the texture.
Add the salt. (be sparing with the salt)
Grate in the lemon zest – be careful to avoid the pith as the zest is so much more fragrant.
Squeeze 1/2 the lemon and add the juice to the cabbage, mixing well.
Top and tail the radishes and slice to 1mm thickness, slice as finely as you can leaving the radish in nice wafer-thin translucent rounds, mix with the cabbage. Use a mandolin if you can’t do this well with a knife.
Finely slice the spring onion making sure to use the white and green parts, 2mm thickness is fine enough for the spring onions.
Add a tablespoon of mirin.
Add three tablespoons of mayonnaise.
Mix thoroughly and leave to chill for an hour, then mix again to stir the juices through.
It is ready to serve.

This will produce a juicy, cool and fragrant cabbage salad with a generous dressing which is refreshing and satisfying.

P.S. It is always possible to change the chopping techniques, but this will change the whole texture of the dish. It is always possible to change some of the ingredients, ordinary table salt if you have no celtic sea salt. Normal mayonaise if you do not have vegan or Hellman’s. Instead of Mirin, a small spoon of sugar – but remember that changing the ingredients changes the entire flavour of the dish.

Try it, let me know how it went, I look forward to your comments.

Recipes to go

 

Time to get it together to show you some recipes.

I have terrible trouble writing them down and then I have terrible trouble finding the scrap of paper I wrote them down on when I want to try it again.

Most recipes are in my head.
Or, I invent them as I go along, using whatever it is I have access to.
I am completely useless at menu planning for the week or the month as I use what I can find.
Be it fresh from the market, already in the fridge, or frozen a while ago.
(And did I stick a date on it before it went into the freezer?)
Probably not, but I am getting better at that, so it’s good that it does all make sense in my head.

Getting the recipes and techniques onto paper, or in this case screen, is a different kettle of fish.
Specially if you are planning to write about cabbage.

So here they are, the lovely photos of food including the cabbage salad.
You will find the recipe on the recipes page.

It’s super easy and involves no cooking whatsoever, just some knife skills.

It was served with roast potatoes cooked ‘en papillote’ slightly cooled and sliced.
Slices of avocado with fresh squeezed lemon juice, celtic sea salt, multi pepper and whole Sichuan peppercorns.
With s sampling of carrots roast in the oven with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, celtic sea salt and after allowing them to cool slightly, fresh chopped parsley.

A delicious refreshing summer dinner dish.

Hope you enjoy.