Mountain Bikes and Garlic

I did once own a mountain bike. I'm not sure why I had it as I never rode it off-road, just potted around country lanes, wondering why it was such hard work.  The nearest I've got to serious downhill mountain bike stuff was when I worked as a chalet girl in Chatel, France, we didn't have any snow for the first few weeks and one of the team thought it would be a great idea to take mountain bikes up in the cable car and then ride them back down.  I opted for sitting in the sun at the top of the mountain writing postcards, I was the only one injury-free at the end of the day!
But since moving back to the country I decided to join the local cycling club, not realising initially that mountain bikes were the bikes of choice (I turned up on my thin-tyred hybrid and was sent on my way!).
Luckily I have been loaned a rather gorgeous bike so now take part in the ride around The Chilterns each week - and what a great way to explore, albeit I am focused on the ground more than the surroundings as, watching out for tree stumps, mud, holes and the like is pretty crucial.
But what I didi spot as we were storming through a woodland this week, was a carpet of beautiful wild garlic.  Asking if everyone could stop whilst I pick a bunch of garlic was not really an option - trying to keep sixteen cyclists together all evening is already a big enough task, so today I retraced our route, this time on foot and with a big bag!


One of the tastiest things to make with wild garlic is this delicious pesto - rich, pungent and very moreish!



Wild Garlic and Hazelnut Pesto

100g wild garlic (flowers and leaves)
100g hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
30g parmesan, grated
juice of 1/2 lemon
100ml-200ml extra virgin olive oil

- Place the garlic and hazelnuts in a food processor and process until completed broken down.
- Add the parmesan and lemon juice and blitz again.
- With the machine running slowly pour in the oil, adding more if you like a looser consistency.
- Spoon into a jar, cover with a little oil and store in the fridge.

Walking the Camino

What an amazing experience - one I would wholeheartedly recommend to anybody who loves a bit of a walk!
The Camino Frances is the most popular of all the Camino routes to Santiago de Compostela in North West Spain, and I can understand why.  It starts in St Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees and finishes around 780 km later in Santiago.   This was a test run for us, so with only one week to spare we managed to cover 102 miles.
Day one is a bit of a shock to the system, with a huge mountain to climb and over 17 miles to walk to the next hostel.  We were told we couldn't climb the mountain as there was deep snow at the top and it would be too dangerous.  Some of the party were relieved, others disappointed, but for those that thought we would be having an easier day, they were in for a bit of a shock!  We still had to climb to 1057 metres to reach our dinner and beds for the night!
Apart from the walking, the next best thing about the camino is the people you meet.  Everyone has a different story to tell as to why they are there, and there were lots of stories that certainly made me feel very humble, including a robust 74 year old woman who had walked the route 7 times and this time had started in Austria!
I had anticipated returning home a little slimmer, but fortunately the food was far too good for that to be the case - lots of great almond dishes, roasted peppers, surprisingly good fish, perfect paella, and great garlic soup! And of course we were walking through the Navarre and Rioja wine areas, so it would have been rude not to sample a little each night to help us sleep!




Quick and Easy Paella

Serves 4

 1 tbsp olive oil
 1 red onion, peeled and diced
 1 garlic clove, crushed
 pinch saffron
 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
 300 g long grain rice
 1 x 400 g can chopped tomatoes
 900 ml fish or vegetable stock
 400 g mixed seafood (frozen is fine)
 100 g peas
 seasoning
 handful chopped parsley

• Heat the oil in a large frying pan and saute the onion for 4-5 minutes then stir in the garlic, saffron and paprika and cook for 1 minute.
• Stir in the rice to coat with the spices, then pour in the chopped tomatoes and stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15-18 minutes, stirring from time to time, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
• Stir in the seafood and peas, cover the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Check for seasoning, scatter with parsley and serve.

Happy eating!

Joy x

Training for a pilgrimage

Well it's not long now before myself and six friends head off for St Jean Pied de Port to start the Camino de Santiago - a very long walk across the top of Spain.  We are only going to do a quarter of it - with the intention of returning each year for the next three years to complete the 791km pilgrimage!
Needless to say we've had a strict training programme in place (?!) - stomping over the Chilterns most weekends, trying to find the steepest hill we could, to acclimatise ourselves to the accrued ascent of 990 metres on day one!
And obviously to compensate (and reward) us for each training session, there has to be cake (to be honest, I'm not sure anybody would have turned up for the training had cake not been made available!).
On one of our walks we were lucky enough to find a church that not only provided tea and coffee, with a kettle and fridge with milk, there was also cake in the fridge - what a welcome treat that was.  If you are walking the Ridgeway, take time to wander off the trail to Nuffield church for a bit of sustenance.
One of the group can't tolerate dairy, so each week I had the fun task of coming up with a different delicious dairy-free cake - another challenge I really relish!  Baking without dairy is actually pretty straight forward, and most of you who follow me regularly will know that I am a great lover of coconut oil (and the brand I think is the best for flavour and quality is Coconoil), so this is used for fat instead of butter and works really well.
Up until now though I'd never attempted pastry, so gave myself a new challenge!  And I'm pleased to say the result is pretty tasty.

Fig Tarts

Makes approx 10-12

For the pastry –

60 g wholemeal plain flour

100 g plain flour

1 tbsp caster sugar

60 g Coconoil

6-7 tbsp iced water

For the filling –

225 g dried figs, chopped

2 tbsp dark muscovado sugar

pinch nutmeg

·        -To make the pastry, mix the flours and sugar in a bowl and then place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

·        -Melt the Coconoil in a microwave and leave to cool.

·        -Slowly spoon the coconoil into the flours, rubbing it into the flour as you would if you were using butter.  Return the bowl to the freezer for 15 minutes.

·        -Meanwhile, cook the figs in a pan over a medium heat with 300 ml water, until most of the water has been absorbed.  Stir in the sugar and nutmeg until the sugar has dissolved then remove from the heat.  Place in a food processor and blend until nearly smooth.  Leave to cool.

·        -Remove the pastry mix from the freezer and break up any large lumps with your fingers.

·        -Spoon in the water, using a knife to mix it in, then use your hands to finally bring the dough together.  Roll into a ball then wrap in cling film and leave to stand for 20 minutes to rest.

·        -Roll out on a floored work surface, then use a pastry cutter to cut 10-12 circles and place these in a cake tin.  Spoon the fig mixture into the pastry cases.

     Bake for 20-22 minutes at 180°C (450°F) Gas mark 4.

      Eat warm or cold with a dollop of creme fraiche (if you can tolerate dairy!).

       Happy Eating 

J     Joy xx

·      

    

·     

Finally out of hibernation

It's that time of year when, after a few days of sunshine I finally feel like I can come out of hibernation.  No more layering on the clothes, staying indoors because it's dark at 4pm, or eating comfort foods due to being bored!  Yes, it even happens to me!
This is the time of year I love, it's time to get out and get living life to the full again.  And I do mean for you to get out - don't exercise in a gym when it's sunny outside - get out there and climb a hill or cycle to the shops - include it into your daily routine.  I feel hugely lucky that I live in the beautiful Chilterns so for me the perfect antidote to feeling sluggish is a brisk walk over the nearest hill - it's amazing how positive I feel when I return home.
For a lot of people it's also a time for spring cleaning, but as I've never been that keen on hoovering and dusting, I tend to do my spring cleaning on myself!  I will not mention the D word, or I will have you all rushing to make cauldrons of cabbage soup and the like, but spring cleaning your body is a great way to help you towards optimum health and vitality, and all it takes is changing your eating habits to only include fresh, clean foods.
Cutting out processed foods doesn't have to be difficult, and once you start experimenting and enjoying fresh food, you will never eat processed food out of choice again!
Next time you go food shopping fill your basket with fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits, nuts, seeds, eggs, fresh fish, lean meat, olive oil, quinoa, rice, lentils, coconut milk, spices, and anything else you love that is not processed, then go home and start to experiment (that's pretty much what all good cooks do to come up with recipes).  You will be amazed at what you can make - tabbouleh with grilled fish, Spanish tortilla, Thai curry, vegetable soups, fish pie, rice salad - the list is endless, and not a processed food in sight.  Here's what I came up with this weekend - a protein rich meal made with fresh ingredients, ready on the plate in 20 minutes!

Salmon Burgers with Griddled Asparagus

Serves 4

700 g salmon fillet
20 g fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 sticks lemon grass, sliced
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
5 g fresh coriander
freshly milled black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
400 g asparagus
4 eggs
2 tbsp flaked almonds

- Place the salmon, ginger, lemon grass, sesame seeds, coriander and pepper into a food processor and blitz until well combined.
-Using wet hands, shape into 4 burgers then chill for 20 minutes.
-Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and 1 tbsp olive oil on a griddle.  Cook the salmon burgers for 6-8 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through the middle.  Keep warm.
-Poach the eggs in a pan of simmering water, and cook the asparagus on the griddle for 2-3 minutes.
-Serve the salmon burger on a bed of asparagus, topped with the poached egg and sprinkled with flaked almonds.

Happy eating!

Joy x

Cooking from scratch

I am constantly telling clients that the only true way of knowing what is going into your body is to make everything from scratch, preferably using the best ingredients you can find.
Not only will you know what is going into your body, you can also be in total control of how balanced your diet is - tweaking things in recipes to increase your protein intake or reduce carbs for example, depending on what you are trying to achieve.
You may think it's easy for me to preach this, as it's my job and I do it all the time, but really it's just common sense, not only for your health but also for your budget - buying prepared food costs more too!
And even though it's my job, it doesn't always go according to plan!  This gorgeous looking vegan chocolate ice-cream tasted very odd (I was trying to be clever by using delicious coconut oil in ice-cream), so instead I melted it down and used it as a rich chocolate sauce.  So playing with food and experimenting is a great way of learning.
And cooking from scratch doesn't just apply to healthy main meals - these amazing coconut bars (Bounty lookalikes!) are very easy to make and taste one hundred times better that the shop bought ones - plus they are much lower in sugar and salt and higher in protein and fibre - a great reason to eat a few more!

Coconut Bars

Makes 18

175 g coconut oil

200g block creamed coconut, roughly chopped

2 tbsp honey

1 lime (or lemon)

175g desiccated coconut

200 g dark chocolate (85% cocoa), roughly chopped

·          - Base line a 20cm square tin.

·          - Place the coconut oil, creamed coconut and honey in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir occasionally until fully melted.

·          - Finely grate the rind of the lime and stir this into the bowl along with a tbsp of lime-juice and the desiccated coconut.  Mix together well.

·          - Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top.

·          - Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

·          - Remove the tin from the fridge and turn out the coconut block.  Cut into 18 bars, place these on a sheet of baking paper on a cooling rack and place in the freezer while you melt the chocolate.

·          -Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, until completely melted.

      - Using two forks, toss the bars in the melted chocolate and then leave on the greaseproof paper to set.

-    - Place in an air-tight container to store.

  

Stressful Times Need Food

Although we think of stress as something that comes from too much work, not getting to a date on time, burning dinner or just being totally disorganised and having too much on your plate, it's important to remember it also comes from your emotions too.  So if you are upset or sad, your body sees this as another stress, and it's important to know how to deal with this, to prevent it from causing long-term illness, such as excess weight, heart problems, depression or anxiety problems.
Stress uses up vitamins and minerals that are needed for every function in the body, so while your nutrients are being used for stress they are not being used to digest your food, support your immune system, produce energy or keeping you hair and skin healthy.
The B vitamins are especially important with regards to stress - B1 and B3 play a vital role in maintaining a healthy mental attitude, B6 helps to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps the body to deal with depression (serotonin is know as the 'happy hormone'), B12 is called the memory vitamin as it used mostly in the brain.
In general B vitamins are also needed for the production of energy, and without energy it's hard to cope with anything!
To ensure a good intake of B vitamins eat a variety of colourful vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, nuts, seeds and eggs.

Vegeree

Serves 4

1 large red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
350 g butternut, deseeded and chopped
2 large courgettes, sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp olive oil
300 g basmati rice
4 large eggs
handful parsley leaves
seasoning

- Preheat the oven to 200° (400°F) Gas mark 6.
- Place the onion, butternut and courgettes into a roasting tin.  Sprinkle with the cumin seeds, curry powder and oil.  Roast for 40 minutes, tossing a couple of times.
- Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the pack instructions.
- Softly boil the eggs.
- When the vegetables are cooked, drain the rice and stir into the roasting tin with the vegetables, along with the parsley.  Season to taste.
- Carefully peel the eggs and serve cut in half on top of the dish.

Happy, stress-free eating.

Joy xx

Autumn Harvest

It's the time of year I love - free food all over the place!  You just need to know where to look.  And not only is it free, if you find it in the right place it's likely to be free of pesticides and organic too!
Last weekend was spent in lovely Wales, racing a yole double on the sea around the coast of Mumbles.  Whilst racing the wild seas I could see the coast path winding it's way through bracken and over cliffs, then dipping down into beautiful white sandy bays with beach huts and ice-cream stalls - I had to walk this path!
So Sunday was spent on foot, strolling 20 miles along one of the nicest walks I have done in a long time.  And there we came across absolutely millions of the best tasting blackberries ever (as well as sloes, but we ran out of space to carry those too!).
So for the past two days I have been making everything I can think of with blackberries - a good top up of vitamin C has been had I think!  And these wonderful Paleo Blackberry Pancakes were breakfast this morning.



Paleo Blackberry Pancakes

Serves 2

1 banana, peeled
85 g ground almonds
10 g desiccated coconut
5 g sesame seeds
2 eggs
1 tbsp non-dairy milk
100 g blackberries
1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp honey or agave syrup

-Mash the banana in a large bowl.
-Stir in the ground almonds, desiccated coconut and sesame seeds.
-Beat the eggs and milk into the mixture.
-Lightly stir in 75 g of the blackberries.
-Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and spoon in two tablespoons of the mixture and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden underneath.
-Carefully flip the pancakes over and cook for 3-4 minutes on the other side until golden.
-Keep these warm then repeat the cooking process with the remaining batter.
-Serve scattered with the remaining blackberries and a drizzle of honey or agave syrup.

It's not too late to pick your own blackberries, get out to the countryside and do some foraging soon!

Joy x