Spinach, pomegranate and brown rice salad

Now it's almost beach weather  (I'm being positive and assuming that there will be a break in the rain to enjoy the summer this year...) and it's starting to get warm it's definitely summer time. Pomegranates seeds are something I've only just discovered but they provide a delicious summery sweetness to this salad as a contrast to the nutty brown rice. And don't even get me started on the delight that is fresh goats cheese - so much better than feta but still that delicious hint of saltiness.  The original inspiration for this salad came from Pinch of Yum but I mixed it up to create this healthy (and easy!) main.

Bonus - this is just as good the next day for left overs :)

Spinach, pomegranate and brown rice salad

Ingredients: 

For the salad:

• 1 pack of pomegranate seeds (about half a cup)
• 1 bag  spinach chopped (about three cups)
• 2 cups cooked brown rice (you can use leftover rice or buy the handy precooked)
• Handful of  walnuts
• 50 gm goats cheese cheese (fresh is best)

For the dressing:

• 1 onion or 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoons honey
• ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 splash of lemon juice

Method: 

1. Finely chop onion or garlic and microwave for about a minute with the honey to remove the bite
2. In a jar add onion/ garlic and honey mix and all dressing ingredients. Shake well and set to one side. 
3. Prep salad ingredients, chop spinach and goats cheese and mix together with brown rice, pomegranate seeds and walnuts. 
4. Shake dressing again and drizzle over salad. 

Serve immediate. If desired you can add some roasted chicken for some extra protein. 

Easy Aubergine Tomato mince

Last week I managed to sprain my elbow whilst bouldering (it's rock climbing without ropes) It was silly as I landed badly on my arm after pushing myself too hard on the climbing. Feeling much better now but earlier in the week I was left with a very sore right arm and a whole new appreciation for how much I use my right arm and how useless my left one is.

Chopping was one of the activities that was completely out. At the best of times I'm uncoordinated meaning chopping veggies is normally hazardous but with my left arm it was down right dangerous. But feeling sorry for myself I had a craving for lasagne and so needed tomato mince to use as a base.  However, it needed tailoring to suit my limitations and some additional secret veggies.

Mince is great for bulking out with secret veggies that you hardly even notice. Grated carrot and zucchini are my standards and I often toss some soy mince in to absorb the extra liquid. This time inspired by a lasagne recipe in the latest Weight Watchers magazine, I went for roasted zucchini and aubergine.   I was a little hesitant about pre roasting the veggies (they normally get cooked in the mince) but it worked really well especially when I couldn't chop anything and so had to blend all the veggies up.

I ended up with enough tomato mince mix that I could chuck half of it into the freezer for another night. And a week on I've now got to the point where I can use my right arm again- no more typing with one hand for me!

Aubergine Tomato mince: 

Ingredients: 

1. 1 aubergine 
2. 1 zucchini 
3. 2 onions
4. 2 cloves garlic 
5. 1 tsp olive oil
6. 200gm beef mince
7. 1/4 cup red wine
8. 100gm soy mince
9. 2 cans chopped tomatoes
10. 1 tbsp marmite
11. 1/2 tsp sugar (to bring out the tomato)
12. basil and salt to taste

Method:

1. Roast the aubergine and zucchini until soft. Plunge into cold water and peel. 
2. Peel onions and garlic cloves. Add aubergine, zucchini, onions and garlic to a blender and pulse until chopped finely. 
3. In a fry pan, heat olive oil and add mince to brown. Stir red wine through mince to separate. 
4. Add pulsed veggies, tomatoes, marmite and sugar to pan
5. Simmer for about 20 mins until cooked through. 

Serve on pasta (or use as a base for lasagne!)

Mr Wolfe

Just a short shout out to Mr Wolfe, my fav cafe in Brighton where I sit and do most of my writing. It's a lovely sunny Saturday (well, mostly sunny with some cloud - this is England after all!) and I'm sitting in the window writing and watching people go by as I enjoy a latte and my new favourite cake - Pistachio and Elderflower.

I'm going to have to try and make the cake but then I'd be tempted to eat it all... maybe portion control with just one slice is best idea.

Flat bread with roast vegetables, goats cheese and balsamic vinegar.

When we were in Lewes the other weekend we went to Prezzo (the italian pizza chain) They had a flat bread salad 'pizza' which was light and tasty as a great summer alternative to the typical cheese laden pizza. I decided to try to replicate this culinary delight because who doesn't love bread with toppings? Very easy and very delicious. 

Flat bread with roast vegetables, goats cheese and balsamic vinegar

Ingredients:

1. 1 flatbread (I used Waitrose caramelised onion and goats cheese flatbread) 
2. 1/2 zucchini
3. 1 red capsicum
4. 20gm goats cheese 
5. Mushrooms 
6. Baby tomatoes
7. Fresh basil 
8. Rocket
9. Balsamic vinegar

Method:

1. Pre heat oven to 200c. Finely slice zucchini and capsicum, layer on a tray and grill until half cooked (about 15mins) 
2. Whilst the zucchini and capsicum are pre cooking, slice mushrooms, baby tomatoes and goats cheese. 
3. Layer mushrooms, pre cooked zucchini and capscium, baby tomatoes and goats cheese over flat bread. (any any other toppings you want!) 
4. Bake for about 15mins until cheese is melted and veggies are cooked. 
5. Sprinkle fresh basil and rocket over the top and finish with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Ginger 'banoffee' pie

I have a massive sweet tooth which creates a challenge when I'm trying to watch what I eat. Fruit is great especially now we're heading into summer with all the berries.  But sometimes I want something a little more interesting but still low (ish) in points which is where the inspiration for this alternative to banoffee pie (one of my favourite desserts) came from. 

Ginger 'banoffee' pie 

Makes 2 ramekins

Ingredients

1. 3x gingernut biscuits (or other biscuits if you want - but then you miss the ginger hint!) 
2. 1 pottle of mullers light toffee yoghurt 
3. 1 banana

Method 

1. Break up gingernuts into small pieces, split equally between two ramekins
2. Spoon half the yoghurt into each ramekin covering the biscuit pieces
3. Slice the banana and cover the yoghurt with banana pieces
4. Chill for approx. 30 mins until the yoghurt softens the gingernut. 

Weight watchers points - 2 per serve.

Sweet potato and veggie shepherds pie

I feel like I should come up with more imaginative names for these things rather than the ridiculously descriptive and often long things they end up with. But at least you know what you're getting in the recipe, I suppose. Also just noticed that this has really ended up being all about the food... and on that note another random recipe!

I love shepherds pie, it's good simple comfort food. Not such a big fan of the fat content in traditional shepherds pie and so I decided to change it up a bit. This is one of my vegetarian meals that can be easily modified to add some meat and therefore satisfy carnivorous other halves. Vegemite/ Marmite may seem like a weird addition to a mince mix but it's a good way of adding the extra taste as a vegetarian friendly alternative to beef stock.

Sweet potato and veggie shepherds pie. 
Makes 3 mini casserole dishes/ 4 ramekins

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cauliflower
2. 1 large carrot
3. 1 sweet potato
4. 50 gm cottage cheese
5. Paprika
6. Sea Salt
7. 1x zucchini 
8. 4x mushroom 
9. 1x onion
10. 150gm soy mince
11. 1tbsp vegemite/ marmite
12. 1 tbsp tomato salsa
13. 1/2 tsp dried basil 

Method

1. Chop cauliflower, carrot and sweet potato into small cubes and boil until mashable (about half an hour)
2. Mash with seasonings and cottage cheese. Put to one side
3. Preheat oven to 200c
4. Grate zucchini, finely chop mushrooms and onion. In a bowl mix chopped veggies, soy mince, vegemite, salsa and basil. 
5. Divide the soy mince mix between mini casserole dishes/ ramekins and cover with sweet potato mash. 
6. Bake in oven for approx. 30 mins or until cooked through.

If you want to go for the meat lovers option - Slice two uncooked sausages open and add the sausage meat to the soy mince mix. This does mean you have more meat mix so either spread the sweet potato mash more thinly or add an extra carrot.

Weight watchers points per mini casserole dish:
For veggie option - 3 points
For meat lovers - 5 points

Low fat pakoras with mint yoghurt sauce

Ah, Indian food. So delicious, so calorific (which is to be expected with cream and deep fried etc) This recipe was born out of the combination of workmate having Indian for lunch leaving the office smelling of butter chicken and having left over sweet potato/ carrot mash in the fridge.

I started not really knowing what I was making other than wanting to use leftovers and make something that had curry paste in it and ended up with surprisingly awesome pakoras and a recipe that I'm going to make next time I have a craving for Indian. 

Low fat pakoras

Ingredients

1. 1/4 cauliflower
2. 1 onion
3. 3x garlic cloves
4. 1/2 can chickpeas
5. 1 egg
6. 1 cup leftover sweet potato and carrot mash 
7. 2 tsp curry paste
8. Sea salt (I used a coriander, rose and lemon one from Pinch seasonings)
9. 1/4 tsp cumin
10. Dash of lemon juice 
11. 100gm gram flour 
12. 1 spray of Olive oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200c.
2. Blend first 10 ingredients together to create a paste. 
3. Remove from blender and mix in gram flour to create a dough like mix that just holds it's shape (it will still be very watery) 
4. Lightly oil an oven tray
5. Shape the pakora mix into balls and place on tray. (I made ten from the mix). 
6. Bake for approx. 20 mins until firm to touch.  Serve on salad greens with mint yoghurt sauce.

Weight watchers points for two- 3 points

Mint Yoghurt sauce

Ingredients 

1. 3 sprigs fresh mint
2. 1/4 cup low fat yoghurt 
3. Lemon juice and salt to taste

Method
Finely chop up mint. Mix with yoghurt. Add lemon juice and salt to taste. Leave to sit for at least ten minutes before eating.

Weight watchers points - 1 point for half the dressing

Brighton and Hove Foodies Festival

Foodies festival yesterday. Beautiful sunny spring day which was ideal for wandering around and sitting in the sun sitting in drink and wandering through the stalls to try lots of samples. Some of my favourite drinks were a watermelon mojito, Sipsmith's summer cup (probably going to invest in some of this for the summer) and a rose bellini (bubbles and a rose liqueur for a lovely turkish delight taste) .

Sadly, my favourite Brighton seasoning company, Pinch Seasonings weren't present but there were no shortage of things to try and buy. I find that these food festivals and market stalls are a great way to stock up the cupboards with delicious seasonings to make even the most boring salad interesting. I managed to mostly resist the temptation of buying cheese (I gave into a small french goat's cheese log) and stocked up on some fab oils, sauces and dressings.

Some of the highlights of my purchases: 

Saladworx - Highland based salad producer

Products purchased - Hebridean Seaweed and Grapefruit Dressing, Strawberry and Balsamic dressing and Rapeseed oil

Strawberry and balsamic was the perfect combination between sweet and savoury, I can imagine mixing it with plain rapeseed oil for a dressing or using as a marinade for chicken. Though the guy on the stall suggested trying it with ice cream for a savoury sweet kick so I may have to give that a shot!

The Hebridean Seaweed and Grapefruit Dressing was something quite different with a nice salty hint combined with the tang of grapefruit. I'm looking forward to drizzling this over asparagus or tossing on potatoes before roasting.

I kinda wished these guys had their actual salads on sale, with edible flower and herb mixes they looked great. But sadly they supposedly don't travel well so clearly I'll just have to go to the source

Fussels - Rapeseed oil producer based in Somerset

Products purchased - Smoked Rapeseed oil and Blueberry and basil salad dressing.

I love smoked rapeseed oil, I use it for white sauces or tossing over veggies before roasting for a nice smokey kick. Plus amazing drizzled over mozzarella, fresh basil and crispy bread....
This salad dressing was something a little different with a nice balance to it. It'll go nicely on a basic spinach salad or a chicken and avocado salad.


The Sauce Queen - cream based sauces
Products purchased - Garlic butter sauce and peppercorn sauce

These are delicious but calorific as the main ingredient is heavy cream. The peppercorn one is amazing over steak and potatoes (that was dinner on monday) and I thought the garlic butter would be sublime on asparagus. However, definitely special occasion only sauces and limited servings!



The Bay Tree - artisan chutneys and sauces

Products purchased - Spicy tomato and Caramelised onion chutney

Amazing paired with sweet potato/ cottage cheese on a sandwich/ cracker as the slight curry taste merges well with the sweetness/ creaminess. Delicious for something different to add some additional interest to burgers/ sandwiches

Curry Cauliflower cheese

I've been busy the last couple of days (it's a long weekend and it's even sunny for once - yay!) so I haven't had time to post this delicious side dish yet.

Thursday evening,  I wanted some good old fashioned comfort food and decided to try and copy the amazing curry cauliflower cheese that is part of the Prince George (vegetarian sunday roast) in Brighton. Possibly the best sunday roast in Brighton (definitely the best vegetarian one) and the cauliflower cheese is a large part of what is so delicious.

Next time I'd probably up the curry spices with some tumeric and maybe dial down the cheese but this really hit the spot.
Makes two small ramekins.

Curry Cauliflower cheese

Ingredients 

1. 1/2 cauliflower
2. 4 x mushrooms
3. 1 tsp butter
4. 1 tbsp flour
5. 2 tbsp milk
6. 50gm Cottage cheese 
7. 40gm low fat grated cheddar cheese
8. 1 tsp mustard
9. 1/2 tsp cumin
10. Salt 

Method

1. Chop up cauliflower and microwave to partially cook
2. Melt butter, mix in flour to make a paste, add milk and heat to make a white sauce. Mix in Cottage cheese, grated cheese, mustard, cumin and salt to taste
3. Add chopped cauliflower and mushrooms to sauce,  place in ramekins and bake for approx 30 mins in a oven about 200c. 

Points: 4 points per serve