Cycling the Backroads of Sri Lanka

As usual, I found the need to escape the English winter just as all the Christmas festivities came to head, and on Christmas Day I headed off to explore Sri Lanka by bike.  If you want to feel, smell, and be part of a country, being on a bike is pretty good way to do it.
The only downside of course is the energy required!  And when climbing some of the steep hills through the tea plantation area, I did struggle to remain polite with all the locals who called 'Good Morning' - all my energy was required for getting up the hill.  But then I remembered something that Dame Kelly Holmes talked about at the ISENC - she said that when in training her coach had told her to chat with her colleagues while she was running, so that when she was running alone in competition 'all of her oxygen would be her own' - needless to say I made it up all the hills!
My trip started in Columbo, staying with a lovely friend who was so inspired with Sri Lanka that she now imports her own delicious Kandula Tea.  As it was still the party season we spent a lot of time eating out and trying lots of great new dishes, one of which I had quite a few times at Columbo Swimming Club, and have already tried at home - devilled cashews.  Cashews are grown in Sri Lanka so are on the menu a lot, although they are not cheap even there.
After the madness of Columbo setting off to the countryside was heaven - cycling along tiny tracks and country roads, with only the odd tuk tuk or motorbike passing us, and the occasional dog chasing us for a bite at an ankle (which thankfully they never got!).
And when we got hungry we stopped at the small cafes for a bit of local food - string hoppers steamed with coconut and brown sugar were a favourite, as were homemade spicy lentil patties and vegetable samosas (and their idea of spicy is pretty hot!).
The main dinner offering in most places is a Sri Lankan buffet - don't be fooled, this is not a few salads and nibbles, this is a full buffet of at least 7-8 curry dishes, with soups, salads, sambals (spicy coconut side-dish), poppadoms, rotis, 2-3 types of rice, plus a host of other dishes we were too scared to try!  At the beginning we all made the most of the abundance of food on offer -  we figured we were using up so many calories on the bike each day.  After the first week we all realised that the eating had overtaken the cycling and we were now on a 'buffet tour' of Sri Lanka!  So it was time to reign in and be sensible, which for me just meant reverting back to Paleo rules and cutting out a few things, one of which was rice.  This caused lots of concern to the locals who don't believe you can eat curry without it!  And obviously it's their main crop and a staple of their own diets.  But for me it did the trick, I have returned without the excess buffet weight!


Devilled Cashews

Serves 4

4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
200 g raw cashew nuts
small handful curry leaves
1-2 tsp chilli powder
salt and pepper

Heat the oil until smoking hot.
Add the shallots and cashew nuts and cook until golden.
Add the curry leaves and cook until crisp.
Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
Mix together the chilli powder and seasoning and toss the nuts in the mixture.
Leave to cool slightly before serving.



After staying with friends over the holiday period and talking a lot about food, nutrition and health, it made me realise how much I assume people know about nutrition and their bodies.
So over the next few months I hope to write about nutrition basics, and how you really can affect your health, both now and in the future.  
If there are any subjects you would like me to cover just drop me a comment and I will do my best to accommodate.

Healthy, Happy Eating,

Joy x

Back to Britain

It seems like I have been away for the whole summer, although according to most people I speak to I really didn't miss the summer at all, and luckily enough for me we seem to be having it now!
One of the things I really do miss when I am travelling is not getting the opportunity to cook, especially if I visit good markets full of great ingredients.  I do get inspired, but often the inspiration wears off by the time I have returned to a (normally) cold, wet England.
Before leaving Turkey this time a friend gave me a big bag of fresh walnuts from some of his many trees, so these wonderful nuts were brought home to be used in my first batch of baking.

Walnut and Celery Scones

Makes 6-8

225g self-raising flour
40g butter
1 stick celery, diced
15g walnuts, finely chopped
10g Stilton, crumbled, plus more to serve
150ml milk

Pre-heat the oven to 220C/Gas mark 7.
Place the flour in a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Stir in the celery, walnuts and crumbled stilton, then pour in the milk and mix gently with a palette knife until the mixture comes together.
Turn out onto a floured work surface and gently roll out (or you can just pat it down with your fingers), to a thickness of about 2cm.
Cut into scones with a pastry cutter and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until they are light golden.
Serve warm, cut open and topped with a slice of Stilton.