Variety in my day

I do love that my days are filled with such random things to do.
Take this week for instance, not only am I testing recipes for a bread company (which are delicious, and include lots of sticky buns!), I am also writing healthy recipes for a new company called Naturya.  Their products include things such as Wheatgrass Powder, Maca Powder, Acai Powder and Hemp Protein Powder, plus lots more you've probably never heard of!  But you should, so do go to their website soon where you will find all of my delicious recipes using these great healthy ingredients.  The Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms shown here include both the Wheatgrass Powder and Hemp Protein Powder - and taste amazing!
Then on to my other job as photographer and I have been asked for pictures that represent the Diamond Jubilee or The Olympics - in other words, lots of Union Jacks on anything you can think of!  Actually it has turned out to be quite a bit of fun - lot of cupcakes (obviously), but I have also tried to be a little more adventurous, and have attempted the Union Jack in fruit!  Let me know what you think - and any other ideas that you think would be fun to do (and not too difficult please!).

Sorting out the men....

It's weekends like this one that really sort out 'the men from the boys' on the rowing front (I've just realised there is no female equivalent to this saying that would really have the same meaning!).  In my case, we are an all female squad and did our best at training in pretty chilly conditions, especially as we start at 7.30am. The thing about rowing is that there are only so many layers you can put on, before you are unable to bend in the middle - pretty important!  The best bit of all though is coming off the water and into a warm club-house for a satisfying breakfast, when you know that most people have not yet even surfaced - job done.
Of course one of the things about doing exercise in the cold is that you use up even more nutrients and calories than normal, making it doubly important to have a good feed to keep up the strength and to support the immune system from all the circulating bugs at this time of year.
One of my favourite warming foods has to be risotto - not only because I love Italian food, but also because it is easy to throw together, can be flavoured with pretty much anything you have in the store cupboard, and even tastes great as left-overs!  And despite some of the recipe books you may have read, it does not have to be stirred continuously - I made all three of these risottos at the same time, and obviously only have two arms!

A Raw Day

After attending a media event at Saf Restaurant last night, it got me to thinking how easy it is to make great food, without cooking it.  I always say that the best food starts with great ingredients, then it's up to you how you use those ingredients to get the best tastes, textures and flavours.
So I have challenged myself to eat great food all day with out cooking any of it - and this does not mean I am surviving on a few lettuce leaves!  I am training twice today, once on the river early this morning and again later tonight on the erg and with weights, so I need some good protein and carbs.
Luckily I happen to love raw fish, which is obviously a great source of protein and, armed with a food processor have come up with some great textures and flavours with other ingredients I already had in my fridge.  This is my favourite way of cooking - get out the ingredients you like then just start playing!  With raw food having a food processor is a must, as this is how you make lots of delicious sauces, pastes, or in this case rice!
As I was only playing I didn't write down quantities of anything, so you just have a rough recipe here of what I did , but the whole point is that you experiment yourself with what you have.
Pesto - firstly I made a pesto with a handful of baby spinach leaves, a few basil leaves, some walnuts, garlic and extra virgin olive oil.
Tuna - marinate in soy sauce, honey and mustard (or wasabi if you have it would be great), then roll in sesame seeds just before slicing to serve.
Parsnip 'rice' - place a peeled and chopped parsnip in the food processor with a handful of pine nuts and pulse until you have 'rice'.
Vegetables - slice a large carrot and courgette with a vegetable peeler then toss the thin slices with rocket leaves and a tiny amount of sesame oil.
Place the vegetables on the plate, top with the parsnip rice then a sliced avocado.  Slice the sesame tuna and place on top then drizzle around the pesto, followed by balsamic glaze.  Looks amazing and tastes delicious.

So, on to pudding!
Place a couple of figs, 4 prunes, a knob of stem ginger and a little of the stem ginger syrup and a pinch of nutmeg into a small blender and blitz until smooth.
Stir into natural yoghurt, not quite mixing it in, then spoon into a glass, top with chopped pecans and drizzle with honey - heaven in a glass!

Tonight I am hoping to do a raw soup similar to a gazpacho - I have lots of red peppers and celery so they lend themselves to that.  My protein may have to come from creamy mozzarella chopped into the soup.  I can't wait!

Do you have any great unusual raw recipes?  Do share them with me.

Variety in Your Diet

People always say that it feels easier to eat more healthily in the summer, mainly because it's easier to eat salads and less stodgy foods.  But winter foods don't have to be stodgy, and can be just as exciting and varied as summer foods.
Firstly, change your shopping habit - go to different shops to buy your food this week - that way, you will see different foods, rather than shopping on automatic pilot.  And if you see foods you are unsure of how to cook, buy them!  Then go home, look on the internet to learn about them and cook a new recipe that you've not done before.
There are probably hundreds of ingredients out there that you have never tried, but could find that you really love them, and that they may be good for you!
Home-made soups are an ideal meal through the winter, and they give the chance to get real variety into your diet.  Plus, they are cheap and easy to prepare.
Add spices, herbs and all your favourite ingredients, making sure there is some protein somewhere in your meal - this can be done by serving soup topped with a softly poached egg, or dropping in chunks of salmon to cook through at the end.
As an example, the soup here is made from chickpeas (great protein, lowers cholesterol & improves blood sugar levels) and spinach (antioxidant), but I also added turmeric (anti-inflammatory), ginger (anti-inflammary and anti-microbial), garlic (aids digestion, lowers cholesterol) - so you see how easy it is?  And making it yourself ensures there are no bad bits going in either.
Time to throw away the tin opener and get your pans out!

And if you are thinking of detoxing at this time of year, think again - take a look at my feature on the subject at www.lovefood.com.

New Year, new idea.....?

So here we are again, back at January, starting the new year with lots of good intentions, and no doubt a few new resolutions just waiting to be broken?  Probably best just not to make them in the first place - too much pressure.

Now is not the best time to think about going on a crash diet, or fasting detox - your body is trying to recover from all that rich food and high living over the festive season, whilst also keeping the immune system in top notch condition to prevent you from catching all those coughs and colds floating around.
The best thing right now is to eat really healthy, nutritionally-rich foods, and try to cut down on those foods that expect your liver to work double time - increase fruit, vegetables, water intake, exercise and good simple foods that the body can recognise and deal with, and avoid pre-prepared foods, stimulants like coffee and alcohol, and anything you think you may be slightly intolerant to (makes you feel bloated or gives your wind).
Great thick home-made vegetable soups are perfect right now - warming and nutritious, especially if you use a variety of ingredients - spices and herbs to add flavour, lentils to add protein (or top with a softly poached egg), a drizzle of extra virgin oil and sprinkling of pumpkin seeds for essential fats.

As you will know if you read my blog regularly, I do believe in being 80% good and 20% naughty, and over the festive period I made a very naughty dessert for friends, that certainly used up my weekly 20% in one serving!  I am sharing it with you but be sure to have a few friends to help you to eat it!



Chocolate and Salted Caramel Tart


Serves 6-8


For the pastry - 
225g flour
110g butter, cold, diced
75g caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp cold water


For the filling - 
150g dark muscovado sugar
150g unsalted butter
1 x 397g tin condensed milk
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 tsp sea salt flakes
100g dark chocolate
40g white chocolate

• To make the pastry, place the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Add the egg and enough water to bring the dough together.
• Roll in cling-film and chill for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas 5.  Roll out the dough and line a 20cm flan tin.  Chill for 10 minutes.
• Blind bake the pastry case for 20-25 minutes, until golden, removing the greaseproof paper and baking beans for the last 5 minutes.  Leave to cool.
• To make the filling, slowly melt together the sugar, butter, condensed milk and honey and bring to the boil.  Continue to cook, letting the mixture bubble, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken (about 8-10 minutes).
• Stir in the salt then pour into the pastry case.  Leave to set for 1 hour at room temperature.
• Melt both the chocolates.  Pour the dark chocolate over the top of the caramel.  Using a small spoon decorate the tart with zig-zags of white chocolate.  
• Chill for 30 minutes before serving.

Christmas Crumble

It's not as if there isn't enough naughty food to eat at this time of year, but still I love to come up with my own creations.  And after making my own stollen and after that, stollen bread and butter pudding, I still had marzipan in the fridge waiting to be used.
There's nothing I like more than challenging myself to a Ready, Steady, Cook challenge - what can I make from what I have in the kitchen.  So here it is -

Christmas Crumble
Serves 6-8

125 g coconut oil
125 g wholemeal plain flour
150 g rolled oats
pinch ground cinnamon
125 g dark muscovado sugar
50 g pumpkin seeds
2 oranges
3 apples, cored and sliced
3 pears, cored and sliced
100 g marzipan, diced
3 tbsp mincemeat

• Preheat the oven to 200C (400F) Gas Mark 6.
• Place the coconut oil, flour, oats, cinnamon, muscovado sugar and pumpkin seeds in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Grate the zest of the oranges and blend into the crumble.
• Place the apples and pears into a large oven-proof dish.  Segment the oranges over the dish to catch the juice, then stir in the orange segments with the marzipan and mincemeat.
• Spoon over the crumble and bake for 30 minutes, until the crumble is golden.
• Delicious served with creamy natural yoghurt.

Christmas Madness!

It's that time of year again when you are invited to so many parties, that a night in seems like a treat instead of the other way around.  And the choice of venue is not always one you may have chosen for yourself!
This was the case when I ate at Kitchen Italia in Covent Garden on Friday night.  I have always said that it's pretty impossible to spoil Italian food - they just use the best simple ingredients and cook them as simply as possible, right?  How wrong could I be.  Out of about twenty of us I would bet there were possibly only two or three plates that went back to the kitchen cleared of food (and these would have been the plates belonging to young strapping male rowers who, to be perfectly honest, will eat pretty much whatever you put in front of them!).  And on top of that the service was pretty appalling too.  Why do people eat in such places, especially in London where you have the choice of thousands of restaurants?
But then on to Monday night, when a friend and I choose to eat at The Glasshouse in Kew.  Wow, what a difference - neither of us can understand why this restaurant does not have a michelin star - the food was out of this world (but I do think the decor lets the place down).  My starter of smoked eel with beetroot and blinis, and desert of bread and ricotta pudding could not be faulted.  And best of all, it's local!

So now we have to start thinking about Christmas gifts, and with my allergy to shops, and really shopping in general,  the best option always is to make food gifts.  Up to date I've not had any complaints!
So, having just finished a photography shoot where we needed lots of limes, I thought I would test my lime curd recipe - it obviously won't last until it's time to give as a gift, but that means I get to eat this batch then make more again later!

Lime Curd 


Makes 2-3 jars (depending on size)


4 med eggs
zest and juice of 4 limes
350 g caster sugar
225 g unsalted butter, diced

• Place the eggs in a pan and whisk together.
• Add the remaining ingredients and place over a very low heat.  
• Whisk continuously until the curd starts to thicken - don't try to rush this over too much heat or you will have lime scrambled eggs on your hands.
• Pour into sterilised jars and leave to cool before covering.
• Keep chilled.

If you want to make lemon or orange curd, stick to the same principle, just be aware that oranges give more juice, so maybe use less of them.