RED THAI CURRY PASTE RECIPE AWESOME...

MAKE YOUR OWN RED THAI CURRY PASTE

I cannot shout out enough how fragrant and gorgeous this is, I made a small mason jar's worth that would have kept in the fridge for a couple of weeks, had we not eaten it all within the week!

Ingredients

(makes 4 tablespoons worth)

3 tbsp whole white peppercorns

1 flat tsp cumin seeds ground

1 flat tsp coriander seeds ground

8 dried medium hot chillies

(soaked in warm water)

1/2 tsp sea salt

6 cloves garlic

1 shallot finely diced

1 tbsp finely chopped bashed lemongrass stalk

2 tbsp coriander stems finely chopped

1 tbsp minced galangal

1 kaffir lime zested

This is the fun part, you can skip this and blitz all the ingredients up in a blender, but I urge you not to, it changes the flavour of the paste and is not as fragrant.  Place all the dry ingredients in your pestle and mortar and grind to a powder then add the rest of the ingredients and pound away until you have a lovely smooth ish paste, this took my husband (I borrowed his muscles!) around 10 minutes.

Place in a air tight jar and keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or until needed.  Most recipes for four servings require 2-4 tablespoons of the paste according to your taste.

MAKE YOUR OWN COCONUT MILK

  

     

There is a simple effective method to opening a coconut in one hit that breaks the coconut in half, over a bowl take a bolster, not a club hammer like in my photo!  My husband hit this coconut several times and not a dent or crack did it make, a quick google and a bolster tool and hey presto successful full split all the way round in the first whack!

Take your coconut and locate the three eyes in a shape of a triangle on the end, hold the coconut with the one eye point of the triangle facing up, this is the side you are going to whack as it is the weak side of the shell, with a bolster or large (machette) style knife give one solid confidante whack holding the coconut over a bowl, a crack will appear all the way around the coconut, job done!  Pull apart and let the liquid pour off into the bowl, to remove the coconut flesh from the shell you can do this one of two ways, either slide a knife between the shell and flesh and prize off or whack the outer shell cracking and peeling off.  

Either finely grate by hand or blitz in a blender all the coconut flesh, I blended my coconut for quickness and ease.

Add twice the amount of just boiled water to the coconut and blend for around two to three minutes until you have a creamy coconut milk.

Take a bowl and place a muslin over the bowl, pour your blended coconut mix into the muslin and strain into the bowl, then gather up the muslin cloth and squeeze out all the liquid.

This is your first pressing and the top of this milk with set with the coconut cream.  Repeat the process again and you will make coconut milk again but a little thinner on consistency and flavour.  Keep the now soft coconut flesh and use in cakes, soups and stir fry's.

My geeky food science bit...

Coconuts are rich in fibre, Vitamin C, E,, B1, B5, B6,, iron, selenium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous.  Extremely healthy MFCA and lauric acid easily digested and almost immediately broken down in your saliva and gastric juices.  This means pancreatic fat digesting enzymes are not essential which puts less strain on your liver allowing it to work more efficiently.  Anti viral, anti bacterial, protects body form infections and viruses.  Regulates thyroid function and is highly nutritious.

BIG GIRLS DIET GARLIC MUSHROOM STUFFED CREPE

A rich but still a weight loss dish, it's all in the portion, before my Big Girls lifestyle change I would have overloaded this beautiful crepe with three times the amount of cheese and probably double the filling and I would have finished it all even though I would have struggled to do so...The change is only in the portion not the flavour just a few mouthfuls less and you have sumptuous food and diet success!  This is one of the keys to lifestyle success for life a little change goes a long way...Lifestyle should not be restrictive it is all about balance and loving every mouthful.

Fabulous butter pan seared mushrooms with a hint of garlic and a few seared courgettes folded in to a rich egg crepe seasoned with a dusting of Parmesan and black pepper, this is a good weekend brunch served with a handful of garden salad.

Prep time 5 minutes / Cooking time 10 minutes total

 

Ingredients

(Makes 2)

4 eggs beaten

1 tsp butter optional 

1 tsp olive or coconut oil

4 mushrooms sliced

1 clove garlic sliced

1/4 courgette sliced

1 pinch dried chilli flakes optional

50g grated Parmesan

Heat a skillet to a medium high heat add the butter and oil along with the mushrooms, garlic and courgettes, sear for a couple of minutes until the courgettes have a slight colour which adds some great flavour.  Remove from the pan and set aside for now.  

Using the same skillet now add half the beaten egg mixture, lifting the pan swirl the beaten egg to the edges of the pan, using a spoon drag the cooked egg to the centre of the skillet and allow the liquid egg to flow back and fill the void do this a couple of times, turn the heat down to medium and then sprinkle half the Parmesan over the crepe, then half the mushroom and courgette mixture, fold over each side of the crepe one third in to the centre and serve, repeat for the 2nd portion.  That's it serve on its own with a smattering of dried chillies and a handful of garden salad.

BIG GIRLS DIET HALLOUMI SALAD WITH APPLE BALSAMIC GLAZE

This is such a gorgoues Not Diet Food simple super fast salad, the squeaky Greek cheese is so divine, salty, sweet and squeaky!  Skillet seared to add a wonderful nutty chewy layer of flavour to the Halloumi, served with simple garden spinach and rhubarb chard salad that is tossed through a thick apple balsamic glaze is all this salad needs, I am so into vinegars at the moment and the sweet flavour from the apple balsamic really sets the cheese off.  

I do admit to making myself share the pack of Halloumi otherwise I will eat the whole pack as the sweet and salty flavours really work for me at the moment!

Cooking time 10 minutes

 

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

1 pack of Greek halloumi sliced

4 handfuls spinach and chard

75ml apple balsamic vinegar

(If not reduced to be reduced)

1 tsp dried chillies optional

This is a really quick make salad, pre heat your skillet and once medium hot place the cheese in, there is no need for oil, leave the cheese without turning to sear, this takes around five minutes each side, turn only once and brown off the other side, turn off the heat and leave in the skillet while you toss the salad leaves in the apple balsamic glaze.

If you have thin apple balsamic vinegar and would like to intensify the flavour a little more, place your vinegar in a saucepan and heat on a high heat for a few minutes to reduce to a medium thick syrupy consistency, this intensifies the flavour and is brilliant with the cheese, that's it enjoy!

BIG GIRLS DIET JAMMON AND GOATS CHEESE BURGER BITES

Gorgeous crispy Jammon and cave aged goats cheese little beef burger bites, these were truly scrumptious, one bite and suddenly ten were gone!  Great for fridge raiders and lunch boxes and healthy too, I served mine warm with a rocket and watercress salad and homemade chilli tk.

Ingredients

(Makes 15)

500g grass feed minced beef

1 shallot finely diced

1 clove garlic grated

5 slices Jammon torn into pieces

100g cave aged goats cheese crumbled

Sea salt and black pepper

Tomato ketchup

Watercress and rocket salad

1 tbsp coconut oil

In a large frying pan add a little of the coconut oil and gently soften the onions and garlic, turn up the heat a little and add the Jammon and cook until crispy, meanwhile in a large mixing bowl place the ground beef, goats cheese, salt and pepper along with the onions and Jammon from the frying pan, mix well by hand and form into small golf ball sizes, press flat and pan fry in the coconut oil until caramelised on both sides and cooked all the way through.  Leave to rest in the pan for a couple of minutes then serve with the watercress and rocket salad and drizzle with tomato ketchup or pop in the fridge for those I need food now go to moments! 

CHOCOLATE AVOCADO ICE-CREAM

Wonderful little burst of luxuriousness, and super healthy to boot, keep these to hand in the freezer or fridge to cheer you up in those I want moments, you will not be disappointed.  Low in bad fat, high in good fat and calories your body is going to love these.

My geeky science bit...

Cacao is a super food and a small amount of 70% chocolate every day is a super boost to your health, one of the highest foods in antioxidants that remove cell damaging free radicals from your body, 50g gives you RDA 37% iron, 29% magnesium, 5.5g fibre, 44% copper, 49% manganese! calcium, potassium, protein, phosphorus, zinc and selenium.  Avocado another perfect super food that produces compounds necessary for your liver to cleanse toxins, vitamin B6, K, C, E, potassium, frolic acid, high in fibre, helps lower blood cholesterol, 1 avocado has 67% mono-unsaturated fat as oleic acid, 19% fat as palmittic and linoleum acid, 14% saturated fat but your body deals with this differently, it uses this fat rather than storing it in fatty acid chains which is how your body deals with bad simple carbohydrate saturated fat.  Coconut regulates your thyroid, highly nutritious, rich in fibre, vitamin C, E, B1, B3, B5, B6, iron selenium, sodium, calcium, magnesium,phosphorus, MCFA medium chain fatty acids as lauric acid the body converts this into the highly beneficial compound monolaurin which is anti viral, anti bacterial that in the body destroys a wide variety of disease causing organisms.  MCFA's are rapidly metabolised into energy in the liver, these saturated fats are used up more quickly by the body and less likely to be stored as fat.  Honey trace amounts of minerals, calories come from the complex carbohydrates, no fat, 95% of the energy comes from fructose and glucose.

INGREDIENTS

(Makes 9 balls)

1 ripe avocado

1/4 cup of high quality cacao 70%

1 tbsp organic honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

80ml coconut milk

Handful of chopped walnuts (optional)

Lollipop sticks

Super fast and easy to make, place all the ingredients, except the walnuts in a blender and blitz until you have a gorgeous creamy chocolate mousse, using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out balls of chocolate mousse and drop into the chopped nuts, gently roll around and place on a tray, pop in the lolly stick and place in the freezer to freeze individually, once frozen place in an air tight container and keep in the freezer.  If you are not using walnuts then just pop on to a tray and freeze as above.

BIG GIRLS DIET ASIAN MEATBALL AND SLAW WRAP

BIG GIRLS DIET JERK CHICKEN STUFFED BURRITO

There is NO diet food !!!

This will get your taste buds zinging and fill your belly from the gorgeous fragrant juicy blackened jerk chicken stuffed in to a swiss chard leaf instead of a carb loaded (weight gain) wrap (that's one secret to weight loss!) along with a homemade blow your head off habanero carrot salsa, pickled jalapenos and fresh bell peppers, wrapped up and topped with fresh guacamole, coriander, more habanero salsa and full fat sour yogurt.  This is one of those lifestyle meals that delivers great goodness to you along with the freedom to enjoy all you favourite foods just without that weight gaining maintaining ingredient, the carb loaded wrap!

OK OK I know I do prep and make a lot /can my sauces, seasonings in advance so they are all  ready at hand, I whole heartily advocate you cutting corners when you have to but also encourage you to plan a tiny bit ahead and lose those corner cuts if you want to...WHY?  Freshness, honest ingredients, lower carbon footprint, old fashioned attitude :-)

Prep time 10 minutes / Cooking time 15 minutes / Can prep in cooking time too!

Ingredients

(serves 4)

JERK CHCICKEN

4 chicken breasts 

1 tbsp coconut oil

4 tbsp jerk seasoning (recipe below)

4 chard leaves stalk removed

4 1/4 cups habanero salsa (recipe below)

4 tbsp pickled jalapenos

4 tbsp diced bell peppers

4 tbsp chopped coriander

4 tbsp guacamole (recipe below)

4 tbsp whole yogurt

The flowers are from my bolting salad 

GUACAMOLE

1 ripe avocado mashed

1 tbsp fresh coriander

1 tomato diced

1 tbsp bell pepper diced

1 spring onion diced

1 tbsp pickled jalapneos chopped

1/3 lime juice

Pinch sea salt and black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together, Ta da...that's it all done!

HOMEMADE JERK SEASONING

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp cayenne powder

1 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried chillies
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp round cinnamon

Grind all ingredients together...that's it !

JERK CHICKEN
Take your chicken breasts and cover well with the jerk spices, heat a large skillet medium high, add the coconut oil and then the chicken breasts, you want to sear them well on both sides so don't be tempted to tourn the breasts until around 3 minutes so that you have a nice blackened, NOT burnt sear, then turn the heat down low and leave to finish cooking slowly for around another 5 minutes, take off the heat and leave to rest for a couple of minutes.

I like to roughly shred the chicken with two forks but you can chop or place the whole breast in your chard leaf, whatever suits you.  Lay your chard leaf on your plate and load with the chicken, habanero salsa, pickled jalapenos, you can if you have space stuff what ever you want in side!  Fold over the left and right side, turn 180 degrees and fold over the side in front of you then as you do roll the char over on to the far side so that in effect you have turned the parcel over, this is just for presentation of course, sometimes my burritos do not look this pretty!

Top with your habenero salsa, guacamole and sour yogurt, more pickled jalapenos and some fresh coriander and your good to go, enjoy.

HOMEMADE HABANERO SALSA

Beautiful blow your head off hot fruity habanero salsa, this has a gorgeous burn that graduates to a almost to hot to handle lips, tongue and gum pulsating burn, in all a marvellous salsa to have over your chicken, fish or steak and great as a dip with corn chips, for the more sadistic pallet.  Simple to make and can be stored on the side for months and once opened in the fridge for weeks.

Don't miss out if you want all this gorgeous flavour with a lower heat, just halve the chillies for a medium hot or halve again for a mild salsa, you won't loose any of the great flavour.  

Ingredients

(Makes approx 500ml)

1 tbsp coconut or nut oil

1 onion finely chopped

3 large carrots peeled finely chopped

2 cloves garlic rough chopped

500 ml water

1 tsp fresh chopped oregano (1/2 if dried)

1 tsp crushed coriander seeds

200ml White wine vinegar

4-6 habanero chillies, stalks removed

2 large tbsp of honey

Gently cook the onions until translucent, around ten minutes, add the garlic after five minutes, then add the carrots and cook for a further five minutes, add the water and habaneros, bring to a simmer and cook until the carrots have melted into a sauce, approx twenty minutes.  

Add the White wine vinegar, oregano, coriander and honey, bring back to a bubbling simmer until you have a consistency that coats the back of a spoon and when you draw your finger down the middle of the spoon you draw a clean line in the sauce.  Take off the heat.

Have your clean sterile jars ready to pop in the oven, to sterile your jars and lids just run through the dish washer or wash in hot soapy water and rinse well, dry thoroughly then pop in your pre-heated oven 180 degrees for seven minutes, take out and fill the hot jars with the hot sauce, pop on the lids immediately, leave to cool and enjoy hearing the ping popping sounds of the jars re-setting their safety pop up buttons as the jars cool, this is one of my favourite sounds in the world self sufficient living!  These when canned successfully will last a year on the shelf, once opened keep in the fridge and use within a week.

BIG GIRLS DIET CHICKEN BURGER GUILT FREE

LOW CARB DINNERS

This is one of my top go to low carb sumptous eats.  Gorgeous juicy chicken breast bashed out thin and chargrilled, left to rest to ensure a super juicy burger, stuffed in to iceberg lettuce cups and layered with pickled jalapenos, fresh coriander, fresh red jalapeno chilli and a generous dollop of natural yogurt.  I like to make one 227g chicken breast make 4 mini burgers, it satisfys the greedy I just love to eat part of me.

Prep time 7 minutes / Cooking time 7 minutes  

Ingredients

(serves 1)

1 227g (8oz) chicken breast

1 good pinch sea salt

1 good pinch white pepper

1/2 tsp coconut oil

1/2 fresh red jalapeno

2 tbsp pickled sliced jalapenos

4 tbsp full fat natural yogurt

2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves torn

4 large outer ice berg lettuce leaves

Heat your griddle or skillet to a medium high hot, rub your chicken breast with the coconut oil on both sides and season with sea salt on both sides.  Place on your hot griddle, leave to cook until you can see it is almost half way cooked, this is in the colour change, the cooked part of the chicken breast will show an opaque colour, turn and leave to cook the last third for a couple more minutes.

Take off the heat and leave to rest for a few minutes while you assemble your plates with the lettuce leaves

HOW DOES SHE DO IT THE SECRET'S IN THE GARDEN AND PANTRY!

PREP LIKE A HERO...

Just a super hint of organsiation for a when ever day can produce a easy impromptu feast with no effort...

When friends or family rock up unexpectedly then its time for a impromptu feast,  suddenly I have been able to serve hot fresh scones coming from the oven, goregous flatbreads to stuff with garden egg salad and beetroot relish, divine crispy onion pakoras with a curry spiced mayo dip, elderflower cordial or champange and a batch of buttery short bread biscuits baking for later...A beautiful lunch that appears from nowhere with out any drama and no planning ahead and no one noticed I made it all while we chatted and caught up!

The secrets in the pantry!

  I always keep some mason jars loaded with dry pre weighed ingredients ready to go in a moments notice just by adding the wet ingredients that are written on the mason jar label, this ensures gorgeous food with no need to think drama!

This can be with any recipe you like, muffins, your favourite dinner bread rolls, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, you get the idea...I always re fill the jars once used ensuring that they are all primmed ready to go so that I can enjoy my family and friends time and still give gorgeous food at a moments notice.

The wonderful bonus for my family is that we have a abundance of food straight from the garden all year round so there is always fresh eggs from our hens, garden salad a mix of salad leaves, spinach, rhubarb chard and various kales, vegetables to saute, zoodle or stuff and my pride and joy our canning pantry of preserved roasted beetroot chutney, Asian pickled cauliflower florets and juilened 

carrots along with sweet and sour chutneys amoung a abundance of other pickles, salsas and passattas from the years harvest.

FABULOUS SPICY INDIAN PAKORAS

STUFF YOUR JAR WITH...

250g chickpea flour (gram flour)

50g self raising flour

1.5 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tspcorinader

1/2 tsp cumin

ON THE LABEL

250ml water

300g grated potato

300g sliced onions

100g fresh spinach

1 fresh chilli diced

1 ltr nut oil for frying

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS ON THE LABEL

Add all the wet to the dry and mix well, heat the oil to 180 C and spoon in generous dollops of your pakora mix, fry for around one and a half minutes each side, drain and enjoy fresh and hot.

 

GORGEOUS BUTTERY SHORT BREAD BISCUITS

STUFF YOUR JARS WITH

8oz plain flour

5oz sugar golden light

ON THE LABEL

175g chilled diced butter

2 tbsp water if needed 

2 tbsp sugar for dusting

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS ON THE LABEL

Combine, bring together, roll, cut out biscuits, sprinkle with sugar, bake 160 C around 8 mins, no colour. 

FABULOUS BUTTERY LAYERED PUFFED PARATHAS 

FILL YOUR JAR WITH

125g wholemeal flour

125 g plain white flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

ON THE LABEL

2 tbsp melted ghee or butter

140 ml water

4 tbsp melted ghee for painting

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS ON THE LABEL

Mix the wet with the dry and form in to a soft dough, knead for a couple of minutes and leave to rest for 20 minutes.  Divide the dough in to 6 balls.  Roll each ball out to a thin disk, paint the disk with some of the melted ghee and dust with a little wholewheat flour, only a dusting, fold in half, paint with the ghee again and fold in half again, now paint one more time, fold in half and then roll out until half as thick, I don't worry about the shape as the flavour and flakey melt in your mouth texture is all you can focus on when you tear, dip and eat...To cook heat a skillet medium hot and cook each side for around 1.5 minutes on each side, you want a little charring and you want to see a lovely puffed up flakey layers on the side of the parathas to finish paint each paratha with more melted ghee, the decadence of sumptuous.

Fill your jars with what ever you want and have fun knowing you can just be a super hero in the kitchen, your family will be amazed at how you whip up pancakes, waffles, muffins etc with out any effort, this prep like a hero also moves on to the fridge, see my prep like a hero for the fridge post all it takes is an hour once a week to set your fridge up for super speedy fresh cooking all at a moments notice.

CHRISTMAS BAKED CAMEMBERT LE RUSTIC

Warm gooey decadent sumptuous baked Camembert that you should only eat with a spoon, all alone snuggled up on the sofa with a chilled glass of something!  This is even more gorgeous served with calvados pan seared pear wedges wrapped in Parma ham to dunk in and elevate your private moment!

Prep time 5 minutes / Baking time 25 minutes 

Ingredients 

(serves just you)

1 Le rustic Camembert in a wooden box, stapled not glued.

50ml dry white wine

1 clove garlic thinly sliced

1 sprig of thyme optional 

1 pear cut into 8 wedges 

1 pack Parma ham

100ml calvados 

1 knob butter

1 hour of private time 

Pre heat your oven to 180 C, unwrap the Camembert and place back in the box slice the top of the cheese and slide in slivers of the garlic, pour over the white wine and place the thyme sprigs on top, pop the lid back on and place the cheese in the oven to bake for 25 minutes.  Meanwhile heat a skillet or frying pan medium hot add the butter, melt until foamy add the pear wedges and caramelise, remove from the pan and wrap the pears in the Parma ham, return to the hot pan and sear, add the calvados and poach until all the calvados has evaporated, remove from the pan and serve with the hot gooey camembert.