Category Archives: Food, dude!

by - 1 Comment

My Favourite Crispbread

To start, let me just say that I love this recipe. It’s easy, inexpensive, low-carb, gluten-free, vegan (if you care about such things!), contains 0% guilt, and, best of all, is delicious. I hit upon it when we were doing a keto cycle and needed something on which to spread my homemade liver pate. I found a similar recipe on the web, adapted it a little, and bingo. So I will keep this intro short, and get right to the good stuff!

 

Ingredients

feel free to double the amounts if you want an extra big batch

  • 1 ½ cup mixed seeds – flax, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, etc. (Note: you can use chia seeds too, but will need to add more water to the recipe as they soak up a ton of it)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons psyllium husk powder – Don’t omit this, it’s important for binding the dough. You can buy this online or at health food shops. Make sure it’s unflavoured!
  • Salt, to taste
  • 1 ½ cup of water – start with this, you may need more
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (This is optional. It makes the crispbread puff up a little, which you may or may not prefer.)

 

Method

  • Preheat your oven to 175°C/350°F
  • Put the seeds, psyllium, baking powder (if using), and salt in a food processor and blender. Blitz until ground. You can either leave it a bit chunky or grind it into a sand-like consistency depending on your preference and your device, but don’t let it start to turn into butter.
  • Add the water and mix into a uniform batter. It should be thick, stirrable not pourable. Let sit for about 10 minutes for the water to be absorbed, making it more dough-like. You may need to add a bit more water, but do it in small amounts to ensure you don’t make it too watery.
  • Spread the mixture on a baking tray covered with parchment paper or baking mat, ideally something non-stick. Use a spatula or similar device to spread the dough into an even layer around the tray. I aim for about ⅛” / 3 mm thickness, but you can make it thicker if you prefer. The thicker it is, the longer it will take to cook, though.
  • At this point, I like to score it into sections. I actually use a pizza wheel for this, but a knife works too. Be mindful you don’t cut through the parchment or baking mat beneath. This step is optional, as you can break it into pieces once cooked. However, if you prefer a more uniform size and shape of the servings, then scoring is key.
  • Pop it in the oven and bake. Timing here can really vary depending on the thickness and water content of the dough. I usually start to check on it after about a half hour, and then every 10 minutes or so. Ultimately you want to ensure that it is completely crisp all the way through. If the edges start to brown, but the middle is still not crisp enough, break off the ends so they don’t burn.
  • When you’re satisfied it’s all nice and crisp, take it out off the oven and allow to cool. Then break it up into servings and either eat immediately (it will be hard not to, even when it’s hot!) or store in a cupboard in a paper bag or uncovered container to maintain crispness.

I hope you love this crispbread as much as I do. Enjoy!

 

Advertisement
by - 2 Comments

Can You Learn to Love Liver?

liver pateLiver. Be honest, for most you, your first reaction to that word would be something along the lines of yuuk or eeew! I can empathise. I spent much of my life avoiding the stuff at all costs. Growing up in a somewhat meat-phobic household, this wasn’t much of a problem when I was young. I was never force-fed liver just because it was good for me!

Well, good for you it certainly is. Very good. To quote Dr. Josh Axe, “When we typically think of superfoods, we think of things like green leafy vegetables, berries from the Amazon, cocoa, green tea and other plant foods. However, certain animal foods are also highly valuable due to their rich nutrient content, especially organ meats (also called offal), which is exactly why they have been included in traditional diets for thousands of years.” (Check out the full article here.)

So, yes, liver should be considered a superfood. For one, organ meats are between 10 and 100 times higher in nutrients than corresponding muscle meats. And to put this into perspective with other non-meat foods, every nutrient found in beef liver occurs in higher levels in the liver than in apples and carrots! Check out a chart detailing this nutritional info at the bottom of this very good article by Chris Kresser.

While you’re at it, have a look at these articles from Andrew Weil and Weston Price.

“But isn’t liver potentially bad for us because of the toxins?” you may ask. Here’s what Chris Kresser has to say: “A popular objection to eating liver is the belief that the liver is a storage organ for toxins in the body. While it is true that one of the liver’s role is to neutralize toxins (such as drugs, chemical agents and poisons), it does not store these toxins. Toxins the body cannot eliminate are likely to accumulate in the body’s fatty tissues and nervous systems. On the other hand, the liver is a is a storage organ for many important nutrients (vitamins A, D, E, K, B12 and folic acid, and minerals such as copper and iron). These nutrients provide the body with some of the tools it needs to get rid of toxins.”

That said, you should only ever buy high-quality liver. Organic is a must, and ideally grass-fed in the case of beef and lamb. Stay away from anything CAFO! The good news is that even high-quality liver tends to pretty cheap, certainly cheaper than comparable muscle meat.

“But isn’t liver high in fat?” Yes, liver and other organ meats are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. However, despite years of having the contrary drummed into us, plenty of recent research indicates that there is no significant evidence that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease. Research also suggests that we’ve been misguided about the relationship between dietary cholesterol and increased heart disease as well. But that topic is worthy (and lengthy) enough for its own article, so I’ll leave it there.

Okay, by now you should be pretty convinced that liver is healthy for you. But you may still be thinking. “Yeah, but it’s gross!”  Well, okay, I admit preparing raw liver is a little disgusting, but I’m going to show you a recipe that is very easy and, in my humble opinion, rather delicious. And this is coming from a confessed liver hater! I’m talking about good old liver pate.

Pate is a great way to easily incorporate the health benefits of liver into your diet. It’s one of our main go-to in-between-meals foods these days, so I always try to keep some in the fridge. Snacking without guilt!

 

A few notes before the recipe:

  • I use chicken or lamb’s liver as they tend to have the most mild flavour.
  • Don’t fear the fat! There is a good amount of fat in pate, but as long as it’s good fat, eg organic animal fat and butter, coconut and olive oils, etc., you shouldn’t worry about it. Especially so if you’re already following a low-carb diet.
  • I’m very imprecise with my measurements. I prefer to cook using taste and experience, so apologies to anyone who prefers detailed amounts of ingredients. Besides, mindfully adding ingredients will make you a better cook, rather than just blindly following recipes. Don’t worry, though, I do give guidelines.

Ingredients

  • Liver, 250-500 grams or so
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • A few cloves of garlic
  • Coconut oil, ghee or other good oil for frying, 1-2 tablespoons
  • Allspice, a few teaspoons
  • Butter, 1-3 tablespoons or more depending on the amount of liver
  • Port/other sweet wine and/or balsamic vinegar (optional)
  • Salt (Himalayan or good sea salt) and pepper

 

Start by trimming off any sinew from the liver. Don’t worry if there are a few bits left. You can cut the liver into small pieces if you like or leave it in the big blobby shapes it comes in. Whatever’s easier for you to manage in the pan.

Heat the oil and fry the onion over a lowish heat so it caramelises nicely without browning too much. (though feel free to brown them if you prefer your onions that way) Adding a little salt to the sauteing onions can help reduce burning.

When the onions are looking soft and golden (not incinerated), raise the heat a little and add the liver. I like to add the garlic at this point, too, so it’s not as well done as the onion, keeping more of its intensity. Turn the pieces every few minutes so they brown on all sides.

When the liver’s about halfway done, you can add a few glugs of port or other sweet wine if you like. You can use dry wine too, but I prefer a touch of sweetness to help cut the richness of the liver. The alcohol will cook off in a minute or so, so safe to serve to non-drinkers. (Note that the port will impart a dark colour to the finished pate, so if you’re all about aesthetics you can skip this ingredient.)

Continue sauteing, stirring every minute or two until there are no more blood droplets on the outside of the liver pieces. Most chefs suggest leaving liver a little pink in the middle – feel free to cut pieces open to check. My own thoughts are that the texture might be a little smoother when they’ve got some pink left, but the taste shouldn’t be any different.

When it’s all done, let the mixture cool before adding it all to a food processor, along with salt, pepper, and – if you want a bit more bite and sweetness – a tablespoon or so of balsamic vinegar. At this point, you’ll also want to start adding butter and allspice.  Good butter really helps this recipe, and if you’re squeamish at all about the aftertaste of liver, it helps reduce that. So, too, does allspice, so you’ll want to use a good amount of both of these. Start with a smaller amount, though, blitzing the pate into a smooth paste, and keep adding more of each (as well as salt and pepper, if desired) until you find a nice balance of spice and richness.

You may find that you need to thin the pate out a little bit, as it can get pretty thick. I just use a bit of water, using a spatula to scrape the sides, and blitz some more. Some people use milk, or even cream (yeah, baby!) for this, but I think it’s rich enough with lots of nice butter.

Once it’s all blended nice and creamy, and seasoned to your taste (always taste your food whilst before serving!), you can scrape it into a container or two, let it cool and eat it or pop it into the fridge. I often freeze half the amount so I can have back-to-back batches without worrying about one going off. Freezing will degrade the texture a little bit, making it slightly more crumbly, but it still tastes great.

Spread the pate on some nice bread, use it as a dip for crudites or, hell, just eat it with a spoon. We’re low-carb (and this pate is too!) so we love it with carrot or celery sticks, or even better, homemade crispbread.

This approach to cooking liver has turned me from a hater into a fan, and I hope it can help you, too, to learn to love liver!

liver pate with apple slices

by - 0 comments

Don’t Be Sour About Kraut

saurkraut

As a kid growing up in New York City, sauerkraut meant one thing to me: the salty slop you slathered all over a hot dog purchased from the ubiquitous Sabrett carts to drown out the awfulness of said hot dog. That, and mustard…lots of mustard. (I never understood ketchup on dogs – to me that was reserved for burgers, but I digress.)

I never appreciated sauerkraut until much later in life, and certainly never realised the health benefits of it. Of course, those benefits were pretty much non-existent in the kraut of my youth due to over-processing, pasteurisation, and likely inclusion of all sorts of unpleasant and/or unnecessary additives.

But now, due to the growing awareness of the importance of good gut microbiome, the humble kraut has undergone something of a resurgence. It may be that it never really went away in certain cultures. That is certainly the case with kimchi, essentially a Korean version of sauerkraut (but with many more ingredients) that has continued to be a staple of Korean cuisine. And certainly, you’ve always been able to find kraut on the menu at many eastern European restaurants, not to mention the aforementioned NYC hot dog carts, and of course the glorious Reuben sandwich (which, by the way, if you haven’t tried, you owe it to yourself to do so).

I won’t bore you too much with the history of this saline side dish, rather my aim here is to show you how easy and inexpensive it is to make your own super-nutritious and tasty kraut at home with a minimum of fuss and mess. Okay, a minimum of fuss, perhaps. Mess can certainly be a part of the process, at least the way I make it. But don’t let that dissuade you, it’s worth it!

Before I dive into the method, a word about commercially-produced sauerkraut. Anything bought in a shop that doesn’t need to be refrigerated will have been heat-treated to kill any unwanted bacteria. Unfortunately, this process also kills all of the good bacteria, removing the primary health benefits of ‘live’ sauerkraut. The lactic acid fermentation that occurs in uncooked, unpasteurised kraut contains live lactobacilli and beneficial probiotic microbes and is rich in enzymes. The fibre and probiotics can improve digestion and promote the growth of healthy bowel flora, protecting against many diseases of the digestive tract. Check out these articles for more information on how good gut bacteria can also improve your immune system, and reduce anxiety and depression.

It is possible to find live sauerkraut in shops, mostly of the ‘health food’ variety, but considering the minimal cost of the ingredients, they tend to be quite overpriced. So why not make your own? Here’s how.

Start with a cabbage. It can be any type, green, white, red, Savoy, etc. Personally, I prefer a firm red or white cabbage as they tend to keep the best texture, but it’s your choice.

red cabbage

You’ll then need some salt. Please use sea salt, or even better, Himalayan pink salt, anything but iodised table salt. To be accurate, you ideally want a 2% saline solution. The easiest way to think about this is in grams. For every 100 grams of cabbage, you’ll need 2 grams of salt (100 grams x .02 = 2 grams). But, to be honest, I usually just use one tablespoon of salt for a medium sized cabbage. You can always add less salt to start, and then add more to taste. The cabbage should be salty, but not offensively so.

The salt content is very important, however. The salt draws moisture from the cabbage to create a brine. This brine creates a good environment for the proliferation of ‘good’ bacteria but discourages the stuff we don’t want in our kraut. It’s not foolproof, though, and sometimes you do get some unwanted mould or slime, particularly if you’ve under-salted your cabbage. Fortunately, I haven’t yet experienced this first-hand. Apparently, over-salting can prevent your friendly bacteria from growing too. If you suspect you’ve added too much salt, you can give the cabbage a rinse and start again.

You’ll also need a sealable jar for the cabbage to ferment in. And finally, you’ll need a little time. That’s it, no other ingredients necessary (I told you it was easy). Here’s the method in a nutshell:

Ingredients

1 cabbage

1 tablespoon salt

Peel off the outer layer or two of the cabbage. Try and keep them relatively intact, as you’ll use them later. Then slice the cabbage into fine pieces. This can be done by hand or with the shredder attachment of a food processor. With a firm round cabbage, I tend to quarter it, cut the core off each section, further slice each section in half, and the finely chop the remaining pieces. But I’m pretty handy with a knife. If you’re intimidated or just can’t be asked, cut it into eighths and feed each piece into the food processor. Easy peasy.

quartered cabbage                     cutting cabbage                    finely chopped cabbage

Put the shredded cabbage in a large bowl. Add the salt and then stick your hands in the stuff and mush it all around for 10 minutes. Some people skip the kneading step, but I find it really useful to draw the water out of the cabbage to create the brine. It can sometimes get a little messy, though. Word of advice – if you’re using red cabbage, don’t wear white clothes! Also, if you’ve got a cut on your hand, better wear some rubber gloves, or that salt will make you beg for momma.

After 10 minutes, you should have a liquidy mass of cabbage that will have shrunk sizably. Scoop the cabbage and brine into a suitably-sized jar. Take the reserved outer layer(s) of the cabbage and place it inside the jar, on top of the shredded cabbage, and press down so that it’s below the liquid line if possible. If you’ve got a little cup, ramekin, or another object that fits fairly snugly inside the jar, this will help to press it down and keep the cabbage submerged, which you want as it will help prevent any unwanted mould from growing on the cabbage.

cabbage in jar

Store the jar at room temperature out of direct sunlight. Every day or two, see if you can press the cabbage down a little more into the brine. How long the kraut will take to be ready is not an exact science. I usually give it a taste after about a week. Once it starts fermenting, it will get tangier and tangier, so you should decide when it’s ready by your taste. If it just tastes salty, but not tangy, or just a little tangy, put it back and check it in another day or two. When it finally tastes how you like it, remove the layer of cabbage from the top and stick it in the fridge where it will last a long time.

What to do with it?

Eat it, duh!

But seriously, I love to put a few spoonfuls in all types of salads to give them a little extra zing. It also goes nicely alongside a pork chop, sausage, or on top of a stew. Try not to heat it too much, though, to keep the friendly bacteria alive. And if you ever find yourself in possession of an NYC hot dog that you feel compelled to actually eat, now you know what to do!

 

by - 0 comments

Boning up on Broth

Bone-Broth

After last week’s veg-centric post on the wonders of cauliflower, I’d like to go to the meat side for something quite different, but no less healthy. If cauliflower can be considered brain food, then perhaps the subject of this post, bone broth, could be thought of as gut food, given its well-established gut-healing properties. However, to leave it at that would be selling it short, as it contains a myriad of health benefits. But before I elaborate further, let me step back a second.

What is bone broth? At its most simplistic level, it’s just boiled bones. But isn’t that just stock, you may ask, like the stuff that comes in little cubes from the supermarket? Well, not quite. They share some similarities, but in reality they’re a world apart. Stock cubes, and even most liquid stock, bought in shops have a lot of added flavouring but none of the natural goodness that comes with slow-cooking bones for long periods of time. I might add that, technically, stock is made from bones and connective tissue, whereas broth is the liquid that meat has been cooked in. However, for some reason, bone stock is more commonly referred to as bone broth. If you know why this is, please leave a comment below. For the purpose of consistency, let’s call it bone broth.

Why bone broth? Let’s start with the health benefits.

  • Have you ever heard chicken soup referred to as Jewish Penicillin? If so, it’s because it’s been used for ages to help cures colds and ills. But what is it in the soup that gives it this reputation: the bones! Or rather, what’s in the bones that gets transferred to the broth over the long cooking time. For one, there’s a natural amino acid called cysteine, which can thin the mucus in your lungs and make it less sticky, enabling it to be expelled more easily.
  • Then there are the minerals: calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus for starters. All stuff your body needs, and bone broth delivers them in an easily-absorbable package.
  • Do you have joint issues? Throw away your glucosamine + chondroitin tablets, as the collagen in bones, tendons, ligaments, and other flexible tissues, is broken down during the cooking process into  gelatin, which gives your body the raw materials to rebuild your own connective tissue, especially tendons and ligaments. It also enhances your skin, nails and hair – my wife swears by it!
  • I mentioned gut food previously. This is because bone broth contains both Glycine and Glutamine, two amino acids that can really help rebuild your gut lining.

I could go on and on. If you want to read a bit more about the health benefits of bone broth, check out the following articles, or just Google bone broth. There’s loads of great stuff out there on it.

Eat This:Bone Broth
Bone Broth—One of Your Most Healing Diet Staples
Bone Broth Benefits for Digestion, Arthritis and Cellulite

Finding good quality bone broth in shops can be a tricky affair. Some good butchers sell it, and there’s even a restaurant in NYC called Brodo which specialises in it, but the best way to get hold of it is to make it yourself. Fortunately it’s really easy! This is especially the case if you have a slow cooker, and if you don’t, I recommend you get one.  They are pretty cheap and very useful. Some, like the one I have, are actually rice cookers with added slow cooking features. Bonus! You can make your broth in it, and then use the broth to make your rice. But I’ll go more into how you can use your broth later.

First you need some bones. Any kind will do. Beef, lamb, pork, chicken, fish, whatever. You don’t have to limit your broth to one type, either. You can mix them, too. It’s important that you start with good quality bones. Ideally organic, and if beef, from cows that have been grass-fed. If you’re wondering why grass-fed, check out this trio of articles that I also referenced in my beef jerky post:

The Differences Between Grass-Fed Beef and Grain-Fed Beef
Why Grass-Fed Animal Products Are Better For You
Why Grass-Fed Trumps Grain-Fed

So where do I get my bones? From several places. First, whenever I cook up a roast, be it lamb shoulder, pork belly, chicken, etc., I save any bones. Wrapped up well, they can be stored in the freezer for a really long time until you’re ready to use them, so don’t throw them out!  If I don’t have any bones on hand, I’ll get some from my local butcher. I’m fortunate to have two nearby, M. Moen & Sons and The Ginger Pig, that sell really good quality meat. They will sell bones for cheap, or even give some away for nothing in some cases. Sometimes I order meat online from Donald Russell, based in Scotland, as they sell grass-fed (though not organic) beef at good prices, and if requested, they will throw some bones into an order for no extra charge.

If you are getting bones from the butcher, try to get ones that will fit in your slow cooker or stock pot. Trust me, I’ve slogged away with a hacksaw cutting up big beef leg bones, and it ain’t easy. If in doubt, ask the butcher to cut them for you, as they’ve got the right tools for the job! Also, if you can, try and get some joint bones, as the connective tissue in them is extra good for you. Makes your broth really thick, too, because of the amount of collagen which, if you’ve been paying attention, turns into gelatin.

For this batch, I've used a combination of lamb ribs from the butcher, and some leftover chicken bones from a roast.

For this batch, I’ve used a combination of lamb ribs from the butcher, beef off-cuts, and some leftover chicken bones from a roast.

Some people like to first roast the bones in a really hot oven, say 250C/450F, for 20 minutes or so to brown them and render any fat off them. I’m a bit lazy, and not afraid of a little fat, so I usually skip this step. Place the bones in the slow cooker and fill it with water.  If you have any veg bits that you’re not keen on eating, such as carrot tops, cauliflower leaves, etc., you can add those too. Just give them a rinse first. You can also add some seasoning here if you like. I tend to use my bone broth as part of other recipes which call for their own seasoning, so I don’t add much.  A few peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves are pretty much it. You can opt for adding onions and garlic, as they add nice flavour. I also add a couple of spoonfuls of vinegar, as supposedly it helps leach the nutrients out of the bones. One ingredient that I started adding recently is dried seaweed, as it’s got loads of minerals and good stuff that we don’t normally get enough of. I suppose it might add a touch of salty goodness as well.

I tend to start the slow cooker off on a high heat setting for the initial hour of cooking, especially if I haven’t roasted the bones first. This isn’t essential, but for some reason I feel better knowing that I’ve boiled everything a little first to kill any unwanted bacteria. Then I turn it down to a low heat, and leave it be for 24 hours (for chicken or other small bones) to 48 hours (for chunky beef and lamb bones). The nice thing about using a slow cooker instead of the hob, is that (with the exception of the initial boiling period) it won’t stink up your house with meat smells for days. Also, you don’t have to worry about the liquid boiling off or the gas flame accidentally going out.

When it’s ready to go, strain the liquid into a storage container and chuck out whatever’s left. If you’ve got pets, you can give them a treat with any meaty bits that have come off the bones. You can now either use the broth right away, or (once cooled) freeze it for later use. I usually freeze half of mine.  It’s worth noting that the cooled broth will often have a layer of congealed fat on it. You can either skim this off and use it for cooking, or throw it out if you’re a bit fat-phobic. But remember, this is good fat. Saturated fat has been demonised for years, but people are now getting hip to the misinformation we’ve been force fed by governments in bed with big food companies. Read more here or here.

So, I’ve now got all this bone broth, what do I do with it? Plenty!

  • It makes a great base for soup. I make a weekly pot of veg soup, using broth in place of, or in addition to water. It makes the soup much richer, tastier, and healthier. I could do an entire post about soups, and perhaps I will at some point. Watch this space.
  • Use it in place of water to cook grains. Your rice, barley, quinoa, etc., will taste sooo much nicer.
  • Add it to casseroles or sauces which need liquid. A mixture of bone broth and wine (or port or vermouth) does wonders for a hearty stew.
  • Make gravy with it. You’ll need to season it, and thicken it a bit with flour or corn starch, but it’s dead easy.
  • Drink it as a hot beverage on a chilly day. I usually season it with a bit of soy sauce, but you can add whatever you like.
  • Bathe in it! Okay, I’m kidding with this one. Bone broth is best taken internally.

So there you have it. Bone broth is tasty, healthy, versatile and cheap. The only excuse you’ve got for not using it is if you’re a vegetarian. And if so, I’m afraid you’re really missing out. Ah well, more for the rest of us.

Until next time…

bone-broth-jars

by - 2 Comments

Brain Food

cauliflower brainWhy ‘Brain food’, you may ask. Well, this post is about cauliflower, so the name works on several levels. First, cauliflower is brain food because it’s a good source of choline, a B vitamin known for its role in brain development. But in addition to that squidgy mass in your melon, cauliflower also benefits your heart and digestion, can help fight cancer, reduce inflammation, and all sorts of other good stuff. You can find more details here. Clearly, adding more cauliflower to your diet is a no-brainer. (See what I did there?) Finally, I call it brain food because, quite simply, it looks like brains, and that’s a good enough reason for me!

What’s really interesting to me about this cruciferous powerhouse, though, is how creatively it can be used. Sure, you can simply steam it, sauté it, eat it raw as crudite, or even boil it (though I believe there’s a special place in hell for those who boil vegetables to death), but it starts to get fun when you use it as a substitute for other carbs. I went low-carb about a year ago, dramatically reducing the sugar, grains and starchy vegetables in my diet. I did it for health, rather than weight-loss reasons, though a pleasant side effect is that I can now fit into 15-year-old trousers that I was unable to wear for years.

Because of this change in diet, I had to fill the gap previously occupied by bread, rice, potatoes and the like. I was a real carboholic, so this was not easy at first.  But then I heard about something called cauliflower rice, or cauliflower couscous, as some people refer to it. I confess I was extremely dubious about this initially. But then I figured, what the hell? I do like cauliflower anyway, so why not give it a try? Well, I made it once, and I was hooked. It’s easy, it’s healthy (technically healthful, but that just sounds silly), and most importantly, it tastes good! You can use it anywhere you would use most grains, such as with a curry or Thai stir-fry, in a grain salad such as tabbouleh, etc. I confess I’ve never tried making risotto with it, and suspect that might turn into a gloppy mess, but even if that is the case, there are so many other great uses, it doesn’t have to be perfect for everything.

So here’s how you make cauliflower rice:

Take a head – or half a head if you don’t want to make too much – of washed cauliflower. Remove the leaves and the tough core. Chop it up into reasonably small pieces, and chuck them in a food processor.

P1050224

Pulse it on and off for a bit until you’ve got grain-sized pieces. Don’t do it for too long or it will start to turn into puree. This could be fine for some recipes, but not what we’re looking for here. You may be left with the odd larger chunk or two, but you can either just eat these while you’re cooking (my technique of choice) , or re-process them afterwards.

P1050226

Tip the rice out of the food processor. You can now use it raw, sauté it in a little oil or butter, or nuke it for a minute or two. Really, whatever is your preference. Try it different ways, and see what floats your boat. Personally, I prefer sautéing it, but I can get a little lazy so often just chuck it in the microwave. If it’s going to be soaking up a lot of sauce anyway, it doesn’t need much of its own flavour.

 

Another creative way to use cauliflower is to make mashed potatoes. But of course without the potatoes.

First, cook the cauliflower. You can steam, nuke, boil or bake (at about 180C) the chopped-up florets. If baking, you may want to cover the cauliflower with foil to avoid the edges burning.

When the cauliflower is cooked soft, mash it by hand, or better yet, puree it in a food processor or with a hand blender, along with any other texture or flavour enhancers you like, such as butter, milk, cheese or garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste, and voilà, cauliflower mash! At this point you can still add other bits and bobs, if you like, such as spring onions, chopped olives, etc. Have it as a side, or use it to top fish, shepherd’s or cottage pie instead of potatoes.

 

Now here’s where it gets really interesting: cauliflower crust pizza

Once again, when I first heard of these, I was extremely doubtful. I mean, mimicking rice or potato is one thing, but pizza crust?!? That just sounds mental. However, since I do consider pizza to be nature’s perfect food, and missed it terribly on the low carb diet, I decided to give it a try. My first attempt followed a totally vegan recipe, meaning no eggs to bind the dough together. Ultimately, it was okay, but using chia seeds to bind the cauliflower crust together created a crust that was very much unlike a real pizza base. So I hunted around for an alternative recipe. I found one on the BBC Good Food site which seemed worthy of a try. I only followed it for the crust recipe, mind you. I’m enough of a seasoned cook (ha ha) to make a yummy sauce on my own, but I’m always grateful to have something to work from, which I can then modify as I see fit, or depending on what ingredients I actually have to hand at that moment.

For the base, you’ll need:

1 cauliflower (about 750g/1lb 10oz)
100g ground almonds
2 eggs, beaten
dried oregano
a little salt and pepper

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and trim the stalk end, then cut into chunks. Pulse half the cauliflower in a food processor until finely chopped, as described previously. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the remaining half. Spoon the cauliflower in a bowl, and microwave for a few minutes until softened. I don’t like to specify cooking times for nukers, as they really vary a lot, so I suggest starting with three minutes, have a look, and add more time if the cauliflower isn’t soft enough. In my microwave, a reasonably large cauliflower is soft enough after about 5 minutes. Tip onto a clean tea towel and leave to cool a little. Once cool enough to handle, scrunch up the tea towel and squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the cauliflower (this is important!), then transfer to a dry bowl.

P1050228P1050233Stir in the ground almonds, egg, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and grease with oil or butter. Mound the cauliflower mix into the centre of the tray, then use a spoon and your hands to spread out into a round. (Or be a rebel and make it a rectangle.)  I’d aim to make it approximately 2-3 cms/ 1/8″ thick.

P1050238Bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown and starting to crisp a little at the edges. Again, the timing will depend a lot on your oven, as well as how thick you’ve made your crust. The BBC recipe doesn’t say this, but I’ve had good results flipping the crust over when it’s nicely browned on one side, to ensure it’s set all the way through. You’ll have to be quite gentle if you do this, though, to keep it from falling apart.

While the base is cooking, or even better, before you start it, you can make the sauce. For this you’ll need:

1 can/pack chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 garlic clove (or more if you’re a big fan), crushed or minced
1 onion, chopped as fine or chunky as you like it
1 stick of celery, minced finely – optional
1 carrot, minced finely – optional
olive oil or butter

P1050230

Start by sautéing the onion with a little salt in the olive oil or butter. If you’re using the celery and carrot as well, to make a soffritto (which I recommend!), add those here as well, and cook until they’re all very soft, stirring regularly. Then add the garlic, cooking it for a few minutes. Some people add their garlic right at the beginning, but I find, particularly if it’s chopped finely, it can burn easily, so I add it later.

P1050235Pour in the chopped tomatoes and tomato purée, and leave to simmer gently for a little while. Keep an eye on it, giving it a stir now and then. You want the sauce to get nice and thick, which can take anywhere from 10-30 minutes. Make sure to give it a taste, and add salt and/or pepper as needed.

P1050237

For toppings, the world is your oyster. Not that I’d recommend putting oysters on pizza, mind you, but whatever floats your boat. I prefer one or more of the following:

mozzarella cheese (mozzarella di bufala is the best!)
fresh basil
grated parmesan cheese
olives
mushrooms
pepperoni, chorizo or ham slices
sliced bell peppers
aubergine slices
more garlic and/or onions
chilli flakes or fresh chilli slices

Really, just about anything you like can go on pizza.  Depending on how al dente you like your veg toppings, you might want to pre-cook them a little.

P1050240

When your base and sauce are ready, it’s time to assemble the pizza. Spread the sauce thinly out on the base, almost to the edges. Then spread whatever toppings you’ve chosen on to the pizza (but save the fresh basil until after it’s done) and bake at 240C/220C fan/gas 8 for around 10-15 minutes, making sure not to let anything on top burn. Remove it carefully from the oven, and either slice it into wedges, or just tuck into the whole pie. Note that, unlike standard pizza, this crust may be a little too delicate to pick up slices by hand. I suggest using a knife and fork. That’ll also keep you from devouring it too quickly, something I am certainly guilty of!

P1050248

So there you go. Just a few examples of some great dishes to make with the humble cauliflower.  And if you want even more ideas, check out some really cool alternative cauliflower recipes here. Your brain will thank you.

cauliflower brain

by - 0 comments

The Lamb Lies Down on Moxon Street

Just a quick one here on what’s probably my favourite meat: Lamb (Okay, maybe bacon aside, but IMHO that porky goodness occupies its own space in the carnivore’s universe!)

For my wife Sue’s birthday, I gave her a butchery course at the Ginger Pig here in London. Some of you may be thinking, ‘Gee, that’s not a very romantic gift.’ Maybe not, but trust me, she liked it. And I did, too, as I got to go along on the 2nd voucher I bought. Woo!

The Ginger Pig is well-known for selling excellent quality meat from its seven London retail locations. The course was being run out of their Moxon Street location in Marylebone, an area filled with ridiculously chichi shops displaying 5 items of clothes, priceless antiques, or Rolls Royces. There’s even a shop dedicated solely to buttons! Fortunately, the butcher shop was down to earth, and not snooty in the slightest.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a lamb carcass laid out on an enormous butcher block. Fortunately, it appeared we would not need to first hunt down and slaughter the evening’s subject. That was a relief.

IMG_20151120_190223

Our tutor for the evening, a proper old school London butcher named Perry, gave us the lowdown on what we were to expect. We were to learn all the different cuts that make up the lamb, then try our hand at some butchery techniques, followed by a big old meal of, yeah, you guessed it, lamb. Sounded good to me!

IMG_20151120_191442

And good it was. Perry proceeded to carve up the carcass into its multitude of cuts, encouraging the students to try a cut here and there. We learned a little about knife technique, using the sharpest knives I have ever encountered. Good thing we were provided with a sparkly safety glove. A little reminiscent of Michael Jackson, though I couldn’t imagine him ever doing this. Of course, there was the ubiquitous meat saw as well, not at all dissimilar to the metal-cutting hacksaws I’ve got in my tool box at home. Sue even got to have a go with it, practising her ovine surgery skills.

IMG_20151120_193859

Eventually the entire lamb was broken down into all of its cuts. In addition to the familiar leg, shoulder, chops and rack, we learned about some of the often overlooked cheaper cuts which are delicious when slow cooked, such as the scrag end (neck) and breast. The latter is apparently best cooked up similarly to a pork belly. I’ll definitely be giving this a try sometime soon!

Then the class had the amusing task of trying to put the whole carcass back together, a real 3D meat jigsaw puzzle, and not as easy as you might think!

IMG_20151120_200710

For the final educational portion of the class, each student was given a massive lamb shoulder, and the directive to bone it, ideally without making a complete mess. Again, more of a  challenge than you might expect, particularly as the shoulder blade is completely hidden within the flesh, creating quite a meticulous procedure to remove it without cutting the whole shoulder in half. But in the end we managed it.

To be honest, I found that easier than the final step, which was to roll and tie it up. I realised years ago, when taking a sailing class, that knots are not my strong point, and this was strongly reinforced as I struggled mightily to bind it up. But Sue gave me a hand after she finished hers, and we were gifted our massive lamb shoulders to take home with us. 3 kgs without the bones, and a usual price tag of £50 each!

IMG_20151121_112153

For the grand finale it was time to eat! Huge trays of slow-cooked lamb shoulder and shanks were brought out to us, along with lovely buttery mash and, most appreciated, numerous bottles of red wine, which flowed down oh so nicely.

Stuffed and tipsy, we packed up our carnivore swag, which also included several kilos of lamb bones destined for our stock pot, and dragged ourselves home. Good thing we love lamb as we wound up eating it for the rest of the week!

IMG_20151121_185249

by - 0 comments

Explosion in the vegetable aisle! In praise of the BIG ASS salad

P1050056

Real men don’t eat salad. But if they did, they’d eat BIG ASS salads. Side salads? Pfft. Let’s face it, when eating out, if you get a choice of sides, say fries or salad, are you really going to pick the salad? No siree, fries all the way. And for a starter, who orders a salad? Okay, I admit, I’m a bit of a sucker for anything with cheese in it, so a beetroot and goat cheese salad or mozzarella, basil and tomato, yeah I could do that. But a green salad? Highly unlikely.

Given these views, you might be surprised to learn that I’ve eaten pretty much the same thing every day for the past year or so that I’ve lunched at home. And being that, as of this writing,  I’ve been between jobs for quite a long time, that is a lot of lunches! Could it be? Well, given the title of this piece, I think it’s pretty obvious where I’m going with this. Yes folks, my daily lunch is none other than a salad. But let’s be clear, these are big ass salads that I’m talking here. Perhaps even BIG ASS salads, but for the sake of not having to hit the caps lock key any more than I have to, let’s just leave that as ‘big ass’, shall we?

Part of the reason for this (some might say) extreme salad consumption is that I went low carb towards the end of 2015, so I needed an alternative to the typical sandwich ritual that so many of us share. Then I found out I was sensitive (intolerant? foodist, even?) to gluten, furthering my need for a sarnie substitute. Enter the big ass salad.

One of the biggest knocks on salads is that they’re not filling. Surely you’ll be hungry an hour after eating one, right? Well, maybe, but honestly, I’m pretty much hungry an hour after I eat most anything. There are a few exceptions to this rule, such as a massive steak and chips (especially in Argentina!), an entire New York pizza pie, and anything and everything at Thanksgiving.  The important thing to note is that a big ass salad, with the proper ingredients, can be filling, satisfying, and – though you may not care – healthy.

For me, the keys to a successful big salad are the two Vs: volume and variety. This is a big ass salad after all – emphasis on the big – so naturally it needs volume. I like my salads to go to 11, piled high on the plate and spilling over the edges. Remember, this thing’s gotta fill you up!

The old adage ‘variety is the spice of life’ has never been more apt. For me, a successful big salad needs to have at least 10 ingredients. Why 10? I suppose keeping with the Spinal Tap reference, I could say 11, but that’s just getting a bit silly, so I’m sticking with 10.

P1050044

First there are the staple veggies:

  • leaves – Whatever you like. Lettuce, rocket/arugula, baby spinach, watercress, etc. Whatever you prefer. I often keep multiple types on hand, and use a mix.
  • tomatoes – I prefer cherry, baby plum or grape, as they’re sweeter and tend to have more flavour than the big ones, particularly the supermarket variety.
  • carrots – I usually grate one in as it’s easier to pick the pieces up with a fork unless you can slice them super thin.
  • beetroot – I always have some of the packaged cooked ones around, as they’re really simple to use. Forget about cooking them from scratch unless you’ve got some time, as they take forever.
  • cucumber – My wife hates these, so I only use them if the salad’s just for me.
  • avocado – Gotta be ripe! Nothing worse than a rock hard avo. We always have a few in different stages of ripeness so there’s usually a ripe one on hand when it’s needed.
  • spring onions – Get a little zing with some spring. Scallions to us Yanks.
  • peppers – Red, yellow and orange are sweeter than green, so my preference.
  • radishes – These are great to add a little peppery crunch. They seem to keep a nice long time in the fridge too.

Then there’s the protein. This is key for a big ass salad, otherwise, let’s be honest, it’s just rabbit food. Depending on your tastes, you can go loads of different ways with this. Some ideas are:

  • tinned fish – I like tuna, but sardines, mackerel, etc. also work. Tinned salmon is usually the wild kind, so that’s a good option as well.  In fact, any tinned seafood or fish can be used.
  • smoked salmon – This always feels very civilised! The nice thing about the thinly sliced packages is that you can keep emergency supplies in the freezer, and thaw them out in a couple of minutes by sitting them in hot water.
  • fresh meat or fish – Fry up a thin steak or nice piece of fish, slice it up, and you’re good to go.
  • leftover meat – Yesterday’s roast chicken, beef or lamb, shredded  or cubed, works a treat.
  • bacon – Yeah baby! The meat product you hate to love, but you know you do! (sorry vegetarians, more for us) Get good quality bacon. I go for cuts without sugar whenever I can.
  • hard boiled eggs – A great option for vegetarians and carnivores alike. So much nutrition packed into these things. We always have a few boiled eggs at the ready in the fridge, but they’re quick to make if you haven’t planned in advance. Often I’ll add an egg in addition to another protein.
  • cheese – Another vegetarian staple. I don’t know how you vegans live without it! Cube up some cheddar, crumble some feta, shave some parmesan, take your pick. I’ve never met a cheese I didn’t like. (Though I confess that I’ve never tried Casu Marzu  – Sardinian maggot cheese – and don’t know if I would.)

The fun stuff, the extras that give your big salad extra flavour and/or texture

  • nuts – The captains of crunch! I find walnuts tend to go particularly well, but use whatever you like.
  • sun dried tomatoes – Tomatoes taken to a whole new level. These are so ridiculously flavourful, just a few chopped up will go a long way.
  • olives – Aaaah, concentrated salty goodness!
  • beans – Chickpeas, lentils, red or black beans can add body and flavour (not to mention gas).

The good (for you), the bad and the ugly. These are optional ingredients that I tend to primarily add for their nutritional benefit. In actuality, though, they can taste pretty nice.

  • seaweed – A bit of an acquired taste, but can add a good touch of seafoody saltiness. There are a number of different types you can choose from such as dulse, wakame and sea spaghetti. If it’s dried, make sure to soak it first to soften it up.
  • sprouts – These also come in a variety of types: alfalfa, lentil, even quinoa and broccoli. I like to add a handful of these, as they’re really nutritious.
  • sauerkraut – I know this sounds weird, but I actually make my own kraut at home, as the fresh stuff (not the kind you buy in the supermarket) is a natural probiotic, so good for your gut!
  • Seeds – Some of these little guys, particularly pumpkin, flax, chia and hemp, are high in Omega 3s, as well as adding a bit of crunch.

Finally, the dressing. An absolute essential, a good dressing ties the whole salad together without overpowering it. My golden rule with dressing is NO BOTTLES! Store-bought dressing is nearly always filled with sugar and other crap you neither want nor need. And it’s bloody easy to make your own! I tend to go for a simple oil and vinegar concoction, with a 2:1 ratio of oil to vinegar. I use extra virgin olive oil with sherry, balsamic or red wine vinegar, depending on my mood. Sometimes I’ll use lemon juice in place of the vinegar, which works particularly nice with fish and seafood salads. You can easily play around with dressings, adding other ingredients such as fresh herbs (especially basil!) mustard, soy sauce, a bit of mayonnaise for creaminess, etc. Oh, and don’t forget the salt and pepper, or even the coolest salad could wind up bland.

When preparing the salad, I like to chop or grate the ingredients up quite fine, adding them to a big bowl as I go. Then I pour in the dressing, toss it all up, and scoop it onto a plate. A big plate. And there you have it, the big ass salad: a tasty, filling and healthful meal that just happens to look like an explosion in the vegetable aisle. Enjoy!

P1050068

 

by - 1 Comment

Beef Jerky Time!

I’m sure you’ve all heard about the recent report from the WHO proclaiming the dangers of red meat, and even more so, processed meat. Never have so many vegetarians felt so smug. I’m not going to weigh into this debate as it’s been done better many times by many more knowledgeable people than me. (Though I do have my opinions on the subject, so don’t get me started!) Rather, I wanted to take an example of one (probably rightly) demonized food, and tell you about a healthy and delicious alternative that I make regularly. I’m talking about beef jerky.

For those unfamiliar, jerky is a dried meat product fairly common in the US, and to a lesser extent, the UK. It’s somewhat similar to biltong, though South Africans would probably shoot me for saying that. Much the same way an Aussie or Brit would skewer anyone saying marmite and vegemite are the same thing. That’s another debate you won’t catch me weighing into!

Jerky is a salty, chewy little snack that seemingly lasts forever without going off – usually a bad sign with any food.  It’s a tasty treat and and good protein/energy kick when you’re on the go hiking, travelling, or whatever. The problem is that it’s generally full of bad stuff. For instance, just a quick check of a common store-bought brand lists the ingredients as:

Beef, sugar, water, soy sauce solids (wheat, soybeans, salt), salt, natural spices and flavoring, hydrolyzed soy protein, monosodium glutamate, garlic powder, guar gum, polysorbate 80, caramel color powder, sodium nitrite.

Hmmm, definitely a lot of stuff in there that I’d rather not be putting in my body. For starters, sugar is the second ingredient! Even the most backwards nutritionists these days are now hip to the fact that sugar, not fat, is the main reason for the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemics we’re experiencing in the west, so right off the bat we’ve got a big no-no. Then there’s MSG, and sodium nitrite, two other questionable additives found in many processed and cured meat products. And we haven’t even discussed the actual beef, which is most likely the factory farmed, hormone-and-antibiotic-filled misery meat found in most budget carnivorous offerings these days. This, you definitely want no part of!

Okay, so I’m going to step down off my soapbox now, and tell you that it’s actually really easy to make your own version of this moreish snack that is yummy and healthy.

The first, and most important thing you need is some good beef. This is the only expensive ingredient in jerky, as I definitely recommend you spend a bit more to get organic, or at least, grass-fed beef for this. You may ask ‘why grass-fed’? Check out these articles if you want more info on that:

The Differences Between Grass-Fed Beef and Grain-Fed Beef
Why Grassfed Animal Products Are Better For You
Why Grass-Fed Trumps Grain-Fed

It’s important that the beef doesn’t have much fat in it. Not because the fat is unhealthy, but because the fat doesn’t dry out in the dehydration process. You can always trim any fat off before making the jerky. I often use rump steak, as it’s not super expensive and is usually quite lean.

 

P1040994

It’s worth noting here, that you don’t even have to use beef. Venison works really well, too, especially as it’s very lean. I’ve never tried using lamb, but I imagine you’d need to trim the hell out of it, being that it’s generally so nice and fatty. I might give it a go one day, though. Apparently there’s even pork jerky, but it seems it’s necessary to freeze the pork for a period of time before using it to kill the bacteria which can cause trichinosis, so you might want to avoid this if you’re not feeling adventurous.

The first thing you need to do after trimming any excess fat, is slice the meat very thinly against the grain. You’ll need a nice sharp knife for this. I try and keep the slices about 2-3 mm, or ⅛” thick, but it’s okay if it’s thicker than this. It’ll just take longer to make. A good trick for making super thin slices is to freeze the meat a little beforehand. Not so it’s a frozen brick, but so it’s firm enough that it won’t get all squishy when you hold it down to slice it.

 

P1040996

 

P1050002

Once you’ve got your meat strips, it’s time to marinate them. This is where it gets fun, as you can use tons of different flavourings depending on your tastes. I tend to use a simple mix of soy sauce (or tamari, in my case, as it’s gluten free), sherry vinegar, cayenne pepper and black pepper. I’ll mix these to taste, but if you’re a slave to measurements, I’d say approximately two tablespoons soy, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and a couple of dashes of each of the peppers. Like I said, you can experiment here with whatever works for you (onion and/or garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke to name a few), but I would avoid anything too chunky or oily, as you’re going to want the meat to be able to dry out with a very low heat.

Mix up the meat and marinade, seal it up and stick it in the fridge. I let it marinate overnight, stirring it up a little now and then to make sure everything is nice and coated. You can probably get away with a few hours of marination, but if you can plan it in advance, the longer the better!

When it’s ready to go, lay the meat strips out on a rack (you may want to have a roasting pan underneath although it shouldn’t drip much) and pop it in the oven. Turn the oven on to its lowest setting, around 50° C/ 125° F, and prop the oven door open about 2 inches or so. This is to let any moisture escape. If your oven door won’t stay open by itself, stick a wooden spoon or something similar in it to hold it open.

P1050023

 

How long you’ll need to leave the jerky in the oven will depend on how thin you’ve sliced the meat, as well as your oven. I think fan ovens will dry the jerky faster. My jerky usually takes about 3-4 hours, turning the meat over once during drying, but I’ve read of some people keeping their jerky in for 10 hours. I’m guessing they’ve sliced it much thicker and/or have much lamer ovens.

‘How will I know it’s ready?’ you may ask. Take the tray out and test a few strips by bending them. They should be firm, but flexible. As some slices may be thicker than others, I’ll test each piece, taking out ones that are done, and leaving the rest to continue drying. Leave the finished jerky to cool fully before sealing it up and storing it.

IMG_20151125_111620

As this jerky doesn’t have any preservatives or sugar, it won’t last nearly as long as the store-bought stuff. I’d aim to eat it all within about a week, so wouldn’t make a massive batch. Refrigeration will prolong the life, but I prefer the taste of jerky at room temperature, so I have it in a covered container in the cupboard.

One technique I came across in my research is adding an extra degree of safety by heating the finished jerky in a preheated oven for 10 minutes at 135° C /275°F . I’m not much of a germaphobe, so haven’t tried it myself, but you can use this method if you have any concerns.

So there you have it. Give me a shout if you’ve got any questions, but now it’s beef jerky time! 

by - 0 comments

Welcome to Food, Dude!

When my wife suggested I start writing about my culinary endeavours, I was initially quite reluctant. Is what the world  needs really another food blog? Well, the answer was and is still no, but I’m going to give it one anyway.

I spend a lot of time thinking about, shopping for, and preparing food. Food is life, food is love, food is yum! Or at least it should be. Too many people take food for granted these days, especially good home-cooked food.

There’s a reason why diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, not to mention mental illnesses such as depression, are so prevalent in our society today. The food we eat is literally killing us. Of course, food isn’t the only factor in these and other common health issues, but it’s a huge part of it.

But before you think I’m just going to stand up here on my virtual soapbox (or maybe soupbox would be more appropriate), endlessly sermonising on the evils of fast food and ready meals, don’t worry. There may be a little of that, but the main aim of this blog is to just share some nice little recipes and tips to help you enjoy making and eating good (and real!) food.

Finally, it’s worth noting that I take no credit – unless otherwise stated – for inventing anything found in these posts. Over the years, I’ve found many great recipes and techniques in cookbooks, magazines, online, and via word of mouth. Sometimes I’ll put my own twists on them, sometimes I use them verbatim. Either way, I’m just passing on culinary wisdom that I’ve found really useful, inspiring, and often just plain delicious.

Enjoy!