Joy's 20-minutes Meals!

Just when I think nobody is reading what I write each week, a friend from Australia complains that I haven't written anything for ages!  That is enough incentive for me to get the thinking cap on!
Actually that is the reason for my absence - the thinking cap has been bogged down in the depths of a dissertation for my degree that finally comes to an end in precisely 68 days - not that I'm counting you understand!
The subject I have chosen for the 7000 exciting words is the effect that hydration has on athletic performance.  So, for all you would-be athletes out there you need to know that it does have an effect and yes, you do need to drink even more than the average sedentary person - at least 2 litres, possibly up to 3-4 litres depending on how much you are training.  It is a well-known fact that most athletes start their training dehydrated, and a mere 2% dehydration will effect your performance, so get drinking!

There comes a certain time of day when my head really cannot face any more studying, and lately that has been around the time that Jamie's 30-minute Meals is showing on TV, so I sit myself in front of that to see if I can get any ideas for my own recipes.  And every evening I get wound up, not only by the fact that his 30 minutes does not include getting out all your kitchen equipment (that can take a good 5 minutes!), but also that the programme is cut in certain places when something takes too long!  Why not just call it 45-minute meals then everyone would be happy?!
Anyway, I decided I would do a 20-minute lunch today - beat that Jamie!  And mine is healthy too.




Gazpacho with Avocado and Softly Boiled Egg
This is such a simple recipe and really you can add the ingredients you like, in whatever amounts you like - just taste it as you go.  Normally I would use fresh tomatoes but didn't have any, so used tomato juice instead - it really is that easy.
It's a great antioxidant-rich recipe, full of fibre and vitamins, but don't forget to add some protein - top with an egg or even some cooked, flaked salmon would be great.


Serves 2


2 red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cucumber, roughly chopped
handful basil leaves
handful parsley leaves
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbsp sherry or Balsamic vinegar
100mls olive oil
200-300mls tomato juice
seasoning to taste
1 avocado, peeled and chopped
2 eggs, softly boiled


Place all the vegetables and herbs in the food processor and process until finely chopped.
Add the liquids and seasoning to taste and process again briefly.
Serve chilled, topped with chopped avocado and egg.

Lazy Sunday mornings...............

The day finally dawned - as wet and soggy as it was the last time I attempted this crazy triathlon, The Rowers Revenge - 4km rowing (on an erg), 25km cycling and 7km run.  But this year the course was shortened slightly as Marlow bridge was closed to pedestrians and the river tow path was so muddy it wasn't really safe to run on, so we only had to complete 5km run on tarmac, which nobody complained about!
First challenge of the day - would the bike fit in the back of a mini?  I really should have checked this out before I realise.  Luckily, it just squeezed in.

After that my main concern was who I had to beat.  I had previously quickly scanned the previous years' results and figured there was a chance of winning my category (if I didn't fall off the bike, or blow up on the erg to start with).  On arrival I checked out the competition and spotted a very lean, seriously kitted out, obviously a triathlete, woman of my age - this was my competition!  I figured if she was a 'normal' triathlete she would be a swimmer and not a rower, so my original timing goal on the erg had to be revised - I had to up my game and make sure I beat her on this, and then just stay ahead for the next hour and a half cycling and running - sounds simple really!
The first bit went according to plan, I was the first to jump (OK, crawl) off the erg and head out to the bikes.  Not my strongest part of the race mainly due to inexperience and general nervousness going down steep hills on such a tiny bit of machinery, I gave it my all - for the first time ever I didn't even break going downhill.  Every time I saw somebody in front of me I made it my mission to get past them, and this I did pretty much the whole way around.  Alas, after around 12km I heard a bike coming up behind me and despite all my efforts was overtaken by my competition.  I was not deterred however and kept up the pace until the end and had to be content with second place.
Those people that say that it's just the taking part that counts really don't get it.  I felt very satisfied having completed the course but would have felt so much more satisfied had I won!

Turkish delight!

I needed a week of relaxation, so have travelled back to my house in Foca, near Izmir in Turkey.  It is a simple little fishing town, with a seafront full of little restaurants and lots of tiny backstreets with unexpected treasures tucked away.  One of the main reasons I love Foca is that it is not so easy to get to, so only the Turkish people use it as their summer retreat, and not often will you hear another English voice - perfect!
Little did I know when I booked my flights that I would be arriving in the midst of Foca Festival - a celebration of the town and its' people.  This included the biggest barbecue I have ever seen, cooking fresh fish which was then put into huge chunks of bread and given to everybody free of charge.  This was followed by the fishermen racing their boats in the harbour and then a net mending competition - it was amazing to watch, the concentration on their faces showed what skill they really have.

After this was Turkish folk dancing, not only by the experts, but the crowd were also expected to join in, and did so with great enthusiasm!
Later at night they held a concert in the town square, with music and singing by well-known musicians.  The grand finale was a firework display over the bay - amazing.  Unfortunately I missed the concert, although I had every intention of attending.  Instead my Turkish neighbours invited me to a celebration dinner - their son had just returned home after 5 months conscription to the Turkish army (every day of which he hated he later told me).  But we were not without our own concert as the son Murat plays classical guitar and his friend who had arrived with him was an opera singer.  I felt I had landed in a completely different world  - it was amazing.  I am not sure how I will be able to host a dinner party as impressive in return!

Since then my days have been filled with swimming in the beautiful sea, eating out late at night, and wandering around the backstreets of the town with my camera - my days are pretty busy, as you can see!

I had been told to look for one certain shop whilst on my wanderings, and this has turned out to be such a great find - Meltem craft shop is run by a lovely Turkish lady and her English husband.  The shop is full of local crafts and Meltem's wonderful home-made jams and chutneys, with such unusual flavours as crunchy pumpkin and molasses, crunchy apple, or even carrot jam.  Next year they are intending to open a coffee house and private dining, which I will certainly be visiting.
Each time I come here I learn new things about the people and their culture, and each time it makes me want to come back and learn and experience more.
Last night I was invited to another dinner party, this one just as delicious as the last.  Each meal starts with a mezza, which goes on for quite a long time and has to be accompanied by Raki!  Lots of little dishes of amazing flavours - fava, houmous, bean salad, green salad, stuffed peppers, cheese pastries, anchovies....the list goes on.  And then, just when you think you are full, the main dish arrives!  Sometimes it will be meat, either kebabs or meatballs, but last night for me they cooked local fish, it was so tasty.  And the great thing about Foca is the cats - when you want to clear your plate of fish-heads you just throw them over your shoulder!

Peddle power and Thames Clean-up

So, the World Masters is over for another year, and now it's on to the next event - a triathlon.  But not your normal run-of-the-mill triathlon - I am a slow 'breast-stroke, head in the air' swimmer, so swimming in open water with hundreds of other swimmers splashing and wacking me over the head is not an option!  Luckily for me the Marlow Rowers Revenge was started a few years ago, giving us rowers a chance to compete in a fun event that we may just have a chance of winning.

But for the non-rowers amongst you, don't worry, the rowing bit is done on dry land - on rowing machines (otherwise known as ergs).  4000metre row, 23.40km bike ride (in the Chiltern Hills) and 7.15km run.
So this weekend saw me puffing up and over the Surrey Hills, sporting my SPDs for the very first time - and yes, it was scary - I was in a state of panic at the sight of any junction, car, or even horse that may turn in front of me!  But I made it....twenty miles and no cuts or bruises, just one flat tyre (which was easily fixed by my co-rider Tim - sometimes being a girl is just perfect!).
I'm also back training on the Thames, but over the last couple of days have a feeling that I may have picked up something from the river water, so am feeling a little 'tender'.  It happens a lot and most people are unaware of what is pumped into our lovely river.  Fortunately there are a number of organisations that try to help in cleaning up the river and it's banks.  If you fancy joining in do take a look at Thames21 who organise clean ups - every little bit helps.

FISA World Masters, St Catharines Ontario, Canada

Every fourth year FISA holds the World Masters outside Europe, so this year we travelled across the pond to Canada, to meet up with approximately 2,600 other rowers and scullers, a huge number of whom are ex-olympians or ex-world champions, so the standard is pretty high.

One of the difficulties with travelling so far is that you can't take your own boat, so organising boat hire as well as hotels, car hire, and obviously what we were going to wear, was all pretty stressful leading up to the event.

For me the other thing that becomes an issue is food.  What to eat before and after races is always easy to plan at home but being in another country means there is less control, and this was certainly an issue in Canada, where the portion sizes are enormous, everything has a huge amount of salt and sugar, and most things come with chips (apart from these delightful chocolate apple things on sticks, which were just obscene!).  Breakfast in the hotel consisted of 'brown food' - bread, waffles, coffee, peanut butter and cornflakes - nothing that had been alive for a long, long time.  So trips to the supermarket to buy fresh fruit, muesli, snack bars and dried fruit and nuts was high on the agenda on day two!

After racing all day going out for dinner is not so much about a great experience but more about getting food in quickly, in large amounts, so most nights we were fine.  When racing was finally over (and this happened sooner than it should have done due to Hurricane Earl!) it was time for me to take control of dinner plans, to make sure we got some great food.  How lucky were we that one of the best restaurants in the area was only a short drive from our hotel - Treadwell, a restaurant that specialises in 'farm to table' food, with all the ingredients being grown or bred locally, or in the case of the perch and pickerel, coming straight out of the Lake Erie!  The food was amazing and the service just perfect.

One thing Ontario is famed for (apart from a little waterfall that everyone raves about!), is the vineyards.  Although we don't seem to get much of the wine in the UK (something to do with the export laws in Canada apparently), they do make a few good wines, one of which is Icewine - a honeyed, desert wine that is produced from grapes that are frozen on the vine (the temperature has to drop to below 10-13 degrees Celcius), and then picked by hand, sometimes at night.

Hillebrand Winery make one of the best I have tasted (it is not cheap!), and we found the best way to sample it was over lunch in their fantastic restaurant.  If you want to learn about wine making however, do not take their tour - we taught the guide more than he taught us!

One week to go......

With only one week left before we fly to Canada for the Fisa Rowing World Masters, training has taken priority over everything else (and my healthy diet has gone out of the window as I am in need of lots of calories right now!).  Training at least once and mostly twice a day does take its' toll and with work being super busy too, I will be relieved when we get to Ontario and can just focus on racing.
So, despite my trying to offer healthy options for our apple harvest, today I decided to treat myself to something a little more indulgent!


Tart Tatin
This may not be the healthiest apple recipe but it is certainly one of the tastiest.  And despite how impressive it looks, it is very simple to make.

50g unsalted butter, diced

100g light muscovado sugar

3-4 eating apples, peeled and cored and thickly sliced

225g puff pastry

             Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6.

            Place the butter and sugar in a medium sized ovenproof frying pan and heat slowly to dissolve the sugar.  Raise the heat and let the mixture bubble and caramelise for a few minutes.

       Take the pan off the heat and place the slices of apple in the pan, making a spiral around the outside then working in towards the middle.

        Place the pan back on the heat and cook for another 8-10 minutes while you roll out the pastry.

        Roll the pastry to a circle that is just slightly bigger than your pan.  Take the pan off the heat and place the pastry on top of the apple, tucking the edges inside the pan.

       Cook in the oven for 15-18 minutes until golden then remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

       Turn out using a plate placed over the pan, then turn them both over together.

Harvest Time?

At the beginning of spring this year, my neighbours Colin and Audrey and I decided we would like to have our own, shared allotment.  We got very excited at the prospect of spending sunny Sunday afternoons digging up wonderfully fresh crunchy carrots and picking succulent fruits from the many bushes we would plant.  And then our dreams were shattered......by an eight year waiting list for local allotments!  I am patient, but even I can't wait that long for a good meal!
So we had to resort to our very small gardens - Colin and Audrey were far more focused on the task than I, and experienced the delights of fresh salad leaves, the aforementioned carrots and lots more besides.  I, on the other hand, am still waiting for my tomatoes to turn from emerald green to ruby red!
However, also in our street is Ness, who has a apple tree that is positively straining to hold itself up under the weight of all the apples - and she doesn't cook - what a result!

Colin suggested we should see how many recipes we could make with Ness's apples (don't worry, I will not make you suffer all of them!).  Colin instantly went for the rich, indulgent Apple and Olive Oil Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting from Ottolenghi's first book Ottolenghi: The Cookbook.  As I am trying to avoid both wheat and dairy, my recipes have tended to be a little healthier, but obviously equally delicious!

Summer (wheat and dairy free) Crumble

900g cooking apples, peeled and chopped

2 oranges, segmented

125g strawberries, chopped

1 tbsp honey

100g oats

few fresh mint leaves

25g walnuts

25g cashew nuts

15g hazelnuts

55g light brown sugar

50g coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 180°C/360°F/Gas mark 5.

Place the apples, orange segments and strawberries in a baking dish and spoon over the honey.

Blitz the remaining ingredients in a food processor until you have a crumble mixture.

Spoon over the fruit and bake for 35-45 minutes until golden. 

Ginger Baked Apples

4 cooking apples, cored

3 knobs of stem ginger, diced

2 tbsp of stem ginger syrup

140g Cherry Active dried cherries

45g walnuts

1 tbsp freshly chopped mint leaves

2 tbsp honey

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4.

Place the cored apples into an ovenproof dish.

Mix together the ginger, dried cherries, walnuts and mint then stuff the mixture into the holes of the cored apples, sprinkling the remainder around the apples.

Pour the stem ginger syrup and the honey over the apples then cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until tender.