Grown up food


Dover sole, vegetable rice and spinach and kale with toasted pine nuts

I am trying to cook more fish in my household. I totally recommend the book, 'Japanese women don't get old or fat'. In it she talks about the benefits of the Japanese diet and eating fish several times a week. Japanese people have the world’s highest expectancy, with men living to be 78 and women’s average 85. Even though there are high levels of pollution, stress, smoking and drinking, they still outlive the rest of the world. Why is this? If you’ve lived for any length of time in Japan, you know that it’s all about the diet. The Japanese diet has changed in recent years, but it’s still among the healthiest in the world, and one of these reasons - is the amount of fish consumed. So what better reason than to try my dover sole recipe.

This recipe is for Dover sole, spinach & kale with vegetable rice topped with toasted pine nuts.

Dover sole:
In a large frying pan melt a tbsp of butter, add 2 fillets of fish (I used Dover sole, but cod, plaice, haddock and salmon would be nice too). After a few mins add some seasoning, I used a sprinkle of fish seasoning, but some lemon or lime zest and juice would work well too. It's cooked when white fish is white and not opaque, about 8-10 mins. Serve with some toasted pine nuts 
Vegetable rice 
In a frying pan, add a little olive oil - about a tbsp, when hot,  add some veg, what ever you may have hiding in the freezer or fridge. I used some frozen stir fry veg and  some frozen mixed veg - of peas, sweetcorn, chopped green beans and carrots. Frozen veg is great to keep for a simple and quick supper like this.
Stir until cooked, add some cooked rice, you can add a beaten egg if you wish, add a little light soy sauce. A sprinkle of chopped spring onion would finish it off nicely.

Kale & spinach
In a large saucepan add a little olive oil and a clove of chopped garlic, add some chopped kale and a large handful of baby spinach. Put the lid on for a few mins until wilted. Turn off the heat.

Seabass & Portobella Mushrooms

Seabass is my favourite fish and I love cooking it this way. Place fillet on a piece of foil, lay slices of lemon on top. Fold foil and crunch sides together so there is a small opening in the top. Drizzle a little white wine on top of the fish and crunch top of foil so the fish is completely sealed. Place on a baking tray and cook for 15 minutes.

I cooked the mushrooms in a small pan with butter and spicy italian seasoning. Serve with a green salad. I like to serve this fish in the foil to add interest.
Easy Yummy  Fish Pie

It's cold outside, so thought I'd make something warm and tasty for dinner. I don't actually measure anything, I'm once of those throw it all in the pan cooks and hope it all works out. It did on this occasion, but didn't a few days ago when I put too much bicarbonate in my cookies!
Anyway this easy fish pie:

Poach some fish, I used a small skinless boneless fillet of salmon and 2 skinless fillets of cod. Cut into bite size peices and cooked in a pan with a little butter and covered with milk. Cook about 10 mins. Can also use a pack of fish pie mix.

I peeled and chopped into medium sized pieces about 4 large potatoes. Boil for about 20 mins until soft. Drain water, mash with a little butter, pepper if you like (I don't add salt to anything, but you can if you wish), and a little milk to bind. When the fish is cooked I threw in a couple of handfuls of frozen mixed veg - peas, sweetcorn, carrot and chopped green beans, and some pepper. Cook for about 5 mins.
Pour mixture into a large dish and top with potato. I added a little more pepper and sprinkling of grated cheese.
Cook at about 200 degrees until brown and bubbling - about 20 -30 mins.
Lovely served with a green salad.
Great for the whole family including little people 

Vegetarian Summers Evening Dinner


Homemade vegetable samosas.

Made with peas, sweetcorn, red onion and feta cheese, with a sprinkling of tikki seasoning and wrapped in filo pastry.

Reasonably healthy as baked in the oven and so yummy ! 

 Method:
Take a square of film pastry and place spoonful of the mixture and roll into and triangle shape. Brush with beaten egg and cook for 10 mins until crisp.

Both my 2 year old and hubby love them, and they're perfect for a picnic, or a summers evening dinner. My daughter has hers with steamed veg and new potatoes and hubby and I are going to have ours with halloumi, tzatziki and some tabbouleh, which by the way I've never made before ! 


It worked! Can't believe it wasn't as difficult as I thought, and actually quite yummy! 

Tabouleh
Bulghar wheat, red onion, tomato, lemon juice and zest, olive oil and parsley and mint from the garden! 

Tzatziki
Greek yogurt, lemon juice & chopped cucmber

Halloumi
Sliced halloumi griddled and then sprinkled with chilli flakes


Vegetable Lasagne

 A tasty way to get the children to eat more veggies. There are many ways to make this, using jars, packet mixes or all from scratch, I slightly cheated with a packet cheese sauce!  It's also nice with 3 leeks and a pack of chestnut mushrooms.
In a large frying pan cook your veggies, whatever you have hiding in the bottom of the fridge. I used 2 sliced red peppers, a sliced leek, 3 sliced courgettes and half a chopped aubergine. During cooking I added a tin of chopped tomatoes, freshly ground black pepper and a sprinkling of chilli flakes (leave out if you don't like spicy).
Pour half into a lasagne dish, top with a layer of lasagne sheets (dried is fine), top with cheese sauce and some torn up buffalo mozzarella. Repeat with another layer of vegetables, lasagne sheets, cheese sauce and mozzarella.
Cook at around 220 degrees for 20-30 mins until brown and bubbling. Can be frozen in smaller portions once cooled . 
Lovely served with a green salad.


Low GI Spiced Tabbouleh with Mackerel, Kale and Spinach


Here is a recipe for a very healthy low GI salad recipe. I took the idea from a GI cookbook, as hubby is trying to be extra fit this month, so thought this would help in his training.

The glycaemic index (GI) is a rating system for foods containing carbohydrates. It shows how quickly each food affects your blood sugar (glucose) level when that food is eaten on its own.



High GI foods
Carbohydrate foods that are broken down quickly by your body and cause a rapid increase in blood glucose have a high GI rating. High GI foods include:

  • sugar and sugary foods
  • sugary soft drinks
  • white bread
  • potatoes
  • white rice

Low and medium GI foods


Low or medium GI foods are broken down more slowly and cause a gradual rise in blood sugar levels over time. They include:

  • some fruit and vegetables (but not dried fruit)
  • pulses
  • wholegrain foods, such as porridge oats 
I know there seems like a lot of ingredients, but you can substitute for anything suitable that you might have lying around.

Ingredients 
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tbsp cumin seed
  • 2 roasted red peppers, sliced (I used the ones from a jar)
  • 2 red red chillies deseeded and thinly sliced 
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1 courgette, diced
  • 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly chopped
  • Tin chick peas drained and rinsed
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
  • Handful of baby spinach
  • Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lines 
  • 175g bulgur wheat, rinsed, well drained, then left to soak in 200ml cold water 
  • 25g toasted flaked almonds 
  • Handful of chopped mint leaves
  • 100g smoked mackerel fillets, skinned and flaked

Method 
  • Dry-fry the seeds in a small frying pan until fragrant, then crush and set aside.
  • In the same frying pan, add a little olive oil and when hot cook courgette until soft.
  • In a large salad bowl combine all ingredients and mix together gently 
  • Check seasoning
  • Serve with lime wedges 


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