Prawns with Ginger

This recipe was inspired by the takeaway classic, Prawns with Ginger and Spring Onions.

The only thing was, I didn't have any spring onions and I wanted to increase the amount of vegetables.  This is what I made up, I hope you enjoy (I did!)

Why I don't do internet food shopping any more

When my son was a baby, I used to get internet food shopping all of the time.  It was convenient, it meant I didn't have to traipse round a store with a crying baby, it made sense to me but after years of doing it, I went away from the practice and this is why.

Image from Meat Free Monday

The best Sunday Lunches when you're single or have a small family

When you're single or only have one or two others in the family to cater for, the traditional Sunday Lunch can feel like "too much".  Do you really want to be eating the same food all week?  Or wasting loads?  Probably not.

So I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite alternative Sunday Lunches which still feel "special" enough to be eating on the day of rest.  Funnily enough, some foods really just don't fit the bill.  After making a Sunday lasagne twice, I resolved not to do it again.  Don't get me wrong, I love lasagne but it's just not Sunday is it?

Stews are a mainstay of my Sunday cooking.  For one if there are leftovers, they freeze well so you can avoid that "are we eating this again?" feeling and have something lovely from the freezer for your work lunch to make your friends jealous and feel loved in winter from the inside.

Kaleidoslaw

My colourful chopped salad (or kaleidoslaw if you will) was an attempt to get the rainbow of foods into one dish.  Winter is such a tough old time on the body and no need to ignore salads at this time of year, especially for lunch.  Have something heartier in the evening if you like.

This is very simple to make and adaptable to what you have in.  Why not give it a go?

Make changes in your life today

When you first start thinking about changing in your life, it's easy to put things off.

Today seems too hard.  "I'll just have one last cupcake" if that's what you're doing or "I'll have one last glass of wine", "I'll exercise tomorrow."

Well carpe diem.  If the first day is always "tomorrow", then it will never happen.  Never.  How many years will we spend dissatisfied with our own behaviours in life before we change them?  It can be a disturbingly long time.

Individual Bread and Butter Pudding

I had a craving for a proper old fashioned pud the other day and this really fit the bill with some lovely custard.  Yum!

Nachos

A while back I posted an easy recipe for salsa and suggested you could make some nachos with it; so here we are.  This is great with store bought salsa or with your own and is loaded with other tasty morsels which are still counting towards your 5 a day!

Quick tip, do keep an eye on it under the grill (broiler) and make sure you use a heat proof plate!

Seabass with Mexican Rice Salad

I've said before that rather than making rice from cauliflower, my way to make rice and carbs healthier is to include vegetables alongside it.  This was a great and filling dish as a result without feeling "cheated".

Peri Peri Chicken

I read an article recently about chillis and how they are supposed to promote weight loss.  Now I'm a sceptic but it occurred to me that I really like spicy food and hadn't been eating as much of it recently.  So not out of any desire or assumption this is a weight loss recipe (it isn't), I decided to ramp up the chilli and boy was it good!

Like most of us, I've had peri peri (or piri piri chicken) from fast food places and never been massively impressed.  It all seemed to be heat and no flavour and chicken that tasted like it had been cooked far in advance.  I wondered, if I cooked from fresh ingredients, could I do better?

Yes I can and here's the recipe...  Ok, it's not as quick as buying it but once the paste is made, the rest of the time is just cooking in the oven.  You can get on with life, read a story with your child, do housework, sit down and drink a cup of tea...

Do make enough for two because the leftovers are also amazing.  Either serve with rice, salad or wedges or serve warm or cold in a pitta.

Baked trout with prawns and chilli and garlic sauce

I love cooking whole trout on the bone and it slips off so easily when cooked but it's not for everyone.  If you're not a fan, use trout or salmon fillets instead.

I waxed lyrical about the joys of trout with my Trout with Green beans recipe but the joy with trout is that so often it's easy to find one in a supermarket fish counter which is the perfect size for one person.  As a fresh water farmed fish as well, no concerns about overfishing either.  I decided to have my trout with a gently spiced lemon butter sauce and I think it was a bit of a hit.  I hope you agree!

Prawn Salad with Asian Style "Pesto"

Ok, not pesto but taking the idea of pesto, i.e. herbs, nuts, garlic, oil (all right, all right, no cheese) finely chopped together as a dressing.  Whatever it is, it is lovely.  Go with it.  I'm tempted to make this for steamed fish, poached chicken, grilled tofu or just vegetables but with these prawns, it is really rather good.  The thing is, it is pretty lovely, very tasty and very healthy!

This would obviously be great with noodles instead but using these finely shredded vegetables makes it way more healthy.

The year to be more flexible

My new year's resolution for 2016 is to stretch more.  Boring!  Ok, here is my reason why.  I posted some months back about a foot injury.  Months down the line, although it's only now at the stage of "minor and occasional discomfort" and it's not stopping me running any more, when it was checked out recently by a foot surgeon he looked at me with a steely gaze and said...

"Do you stretch?"
"Not enough." I said.
He laughed and said "Right answer!"

It turns out that my calves are super tight from years of running and wearing heels.  Obviously if you have any aches and pains, it's great to see an expect to assess your situation, don't rely on some unqualified person like me on the internet!  So I now have two different calf stretches to do for twenty seconds, five times and I have to do them twice a day and once before and after any exercise.