Low G.I. (glycemic index)

Black Olive Tapenade with Beetroot and Red Onion Salad

Posted on June 25, 2012 by leroy watson

Beetroot and Red Onion Salad with Black Olive Tapenade

Tapenade is one of those things that we don’t eat enough of. Everytime we have it, we say the same thing, “Why are we not eating more tapenade!” It is delicious and is one of those classic summer dishes that reminds me of holidays in Greece and France.

I ate alot of tapenade at break times whilst picking grapes in Beaujolais. We’d have it spread over warm baguettes, with local cheese and lashings of whatever wine was in the bucket (purely medicinal, it helped to dull the back pain you see). I believe that the intense satisfaction I got from munching the tapenade pulled me through those back breaking times. The wine was certainly nothing to get excited about, unfortunately.

This is a wonderful concoction of flavours that I’ve had a little play with (of course) and omitted the use of capers due to a forgetful moment at the shops. The unique caper-ness has been replaced by the gorgeous sun-dried tomato. Not a bad substitute! I have also added raisins to add a little sweetness, the black olives can be a little bitter in these parts, Wales not being high on the olive producing charts. The rest is fairly classic tapenade, forming a delectable black paste that can be spread or dipped as you choose. I love this type of food, which is greater than the sum of its bits.

I normally think of Tapenade as being a Greek dish, but it actually hales from Provencal in France. Traditionally this puree contains caper, anchovies, black olives and olive oil. The French would normally serve it as an hors d’oeurve or stuff it into a steak.

Tapenade is alot like pesto (see our ‘Hazelnut Pesto‘ post) in that it is a joy to behold sitting in the fridge door. It just hangs around and marinates, getting better and better. It goes well in so many things and mixed with some oil, makes for an instant wonder dressing. The best part is that it has a gourmet flavour with very little needed in way of preparation.

The way you chop up your veg has a major effect on the presentation and texture of a salad. Have a little think before you begin to chop about what type of effect you’d like to create.

If you spend a little more on good quality olives here, it is well worth it. The black variety are normally a little cheaper and in their own way, just as good as some of their greener brothers and sisters.

The Bits

Tapenade – 1 cup black olive, 6 sun dried tomatoes, 2 cloves crunched garlic, 1/2 red onion, 1/4 cup raisins, juice of 1 lemon, handful of chopped parsley, sprig of rosemary, pinch of thyme and oregano, glug of olive oil, cracked black pepper and sea salt (to taste), glug of olive oil (if needed)

Salad – 1 nice red onion (thinly sliced), 4 small beetroots (cut into eighth’s), 2 cups of spinach (chopped), 3 carrots (grated), 2 stalks celery (chopped), 1 cupful of sprouts (we used green lentil sprouts)

Black Olive Tapenade in the mix…..

Do It

Tapenade – Add all ingredients to a food processor and begin to whizz. As it becomes sticky, trickle in some remaining olive oil to create a beautiful, shiny puree. Keep in a sealed container in the fridge overnight for maximum marination (new word for you there!).

Salad – We put the red onion and carrot into a food processor and grated, then chopped the celery, spinach and beetroot separately.

Serve

Thin out some tapenade by adding the same quantity of good olive oil and whisking well. You can lower the amount of tapenade if you’d prefer a lighter dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad and give a good mix in.

Place in your favourite salad bowl and top with a handful of green lentil sprouts (see our ‘sprout‘ post for how to sprout your own, its quite simple). Then spoon on some tapenade.

We have also used it to flavour soups and stews and of course in post June days we’d have it lathered on some warm oat bread.

We Love It!

This tapenade has a great balance of bitter and sweet, with the beautiful silky texture of pureed olives.

Foodie Fact

Olives are one of the oldest foods known, dating back 7,000 years. Black Olives are left to ripen for longer on the trees, green ones are picked earlier, they generally have a milder flavour. Olives are a good source of iron (which helps to carry oxegen in our blood) and are low in calories with plenty of good fats. They do however contain a decent amount of sodium and should be eaten in moderation if you’re keeping an eye on salt intake.

Twelve black olives provide 1.8mg of iron. Interestingly women need 18mg of iron per day and men only 8mg.

Categories: Dinner, Dressings, gluten-free, Healthy Eating, Low G.I. (glycemic index), Lunch, Raw Food, Recipes, Salads, Side Dish, Snacks and Inbetweens, Vegan | Tags: black olive, black olive tapenade, dairy free, dinner, food, food photography, French, gluten-free, good fats, Greece, green lentil, hazelnut pesto, healthy eating, holidays in greece, iron, low fat, onion salad, pesto, photography, raisin, raw, raw food, raw vegan, recipes, salad, sprouts, summer, summer dishes, sun-dried tomatoes, tapenade, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, wine, wine making | 8 Comments

Purple Sprouting Broccoli & Broad Bean Salad with Hazelnut Pesto

Posted on June 21, 2012 by leroy watson

Local veggies

We live on Bryn Teg which translates to English as ‘Fair Hill’. I call it tiger mountain because of the stripes, but it doesn’t seem to be catching on in these parts.

So Fair Hill it is and this salad reflects what is growing near our little home. Things are beginning to come into season and our local farm shop’s shelves are beginning to fill (thankfully). We bought what they had and this delicious salad was born. The combination of flavours worked surprisingly well with the pesto and it was even better the day later after having a good marinate in the fridge.

Broad beans (Fava beans) are special in any salad, they add a unique, nutty texture. Texture is one of the key ingredients to a brilliant salad and ingredients should be selected accordingly. Limp leaves are not the way forward! Fresh and crunchy is the key, something that is exciting to in the mouth and on the taste buds.

We have been discovering the art of salad making this raw month. Ingredients and dressings take on a completely different flavour when combined and subtle changes in flavouring can make all the difference.

Making a vegan pesto is tricky, without the pungent cheese, you just cannot recreate that unmistakable flavour. I think this is a decent attempt, matured cheese is something that vegans just have to give up on. You can buy those yeast cheese flake things.

You do end up using quite a bit of herb in the pesto, but it is well worth it.

The Bits

Salad

1 cup shelled broad beans

3 handfuls chopped sprouting purple brocolli (leaves as well)

1 sweet potato (peeled and grated)

1 courgette (1/2 grated, 1/2 cubed)

Hazelnut Pesto

4 cups basil leaves, loosely packed

1 cup fresh parsley

1 – 2 tsp sweetener of your choice

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup hazelnuts (soaked overnight, drained and rinsed)

1 – 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed

3 tbs nutritional yeast flakes (optional)

Do It

Salad – Separate your broccoli florets from the stems and leaves, chop up. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Pesto – Chop the basil and parsley until reduced to 1 cup basil and 1/4 cup parsley, blend all ingredients except hazelnuts until smooth. Add hazelnuts gradually and continue blending, adding more olive oil as needed for desired consistency. Check seasoning.

Thin down the pesto a little, a thick dressing and mix into the salad.

Serve

Dress with a few of the broccoli leaves and a few more spoonfuls of the thick pesto. Maybe a few leaves of parsley or basil if you are feeling extravagant!

Raw pesto salad

We Love It!

The glory of pesto! Mix it in yoghurt for a tasty side dish, thin with oil for a dressing, mix with hummus to make the finest hummus ever! It really is one of the finest things you can have lurking around the fridge.

Foodie Fact

Sometimes referred to as the horse bean (!), broad beans like all legumes are a high in protein and low in fat. A really meaty legume! They are packed with vitamins, fibre and have a high iron content.

Categories: Dinner, Dressings, gluten-free, Healthy Eating, Local food, Low G.I. (glycemic index), Raw Food, Recipes, Salads, Side Dish, Vegan, Welsh produce | Tags: broad beans, cooking, courgette, delicious, dinner, fair hill, fava beans, food, hazelnut pesto, health, health food, healthy eating, herbs, local produce, pesto, pungent cheese, raw, raw food, raw pesto, raw vegan, recipes, salads, summer salad, sweet potato, taste buds, tiger mountian, vegan, vegan pesto, vegetables, vegetarian, veggie, wales | 6 Comments

Raw Asian Buckwheat Stew

Posted on June 16, 2012 by leroy watson

Sprouting Buckwheat

This is not exactly Asian, not your average back street Shanghai fare; we lack some ingredients but do our best in the hills of Wales! This recipe boasts all the flavours you would expect from a classic Asian dish, with the raw touch of sprouting buckwheat and the richness of cashews. It really is a revelation that this food tastes so good cold and is so satisfying. Who knew?

We live quite remote, the nearest decent shop being 30 mins drive. For a cramped island like ours, 30 mins is quite a distance. If you can believe it, there are no fresh fruit and veg markets in the entire area. It is strange, we are quite unique. We therefore use what we have locally, there is a shed over the hill that sells the occasional organic vegetable, at this time of year, local produce for sale is quite sparse. Hence we make do and blend!

We have been missing our Thai curries, stir fries etc, so this was my attempt at adding a new set of flavours to this Beach House raw June. I like adding cucumber to dishes, it freshens and lifts things.

These recipes are known as ‘living food’ due to the sprouting going on. Anything sprouting is full of life and nutrients and is serious super fuel for your body (and mind/well-being…..).

Sprouting buckwheat has a lovely bite to it and reminds me of a fuller quinoa in flavour. It tastes and looks like a grain, but is gluten and wheat free. It can also be blended up into a lovely porridge (more of this to come). Buckwheat sprouts well and only takes a couple of days. The technique is simple enough, soak for 24 hours in fresh water, drain and wash, leave for 24 hours, drain and wash etc. Until sprouts begin to appear. It is then ready to eat.

This stew has a lovely rich feel and is very satisfying, which you need on the grey island (Britain) were it is currently summer/winter in just one day. The storms may rage outside, yet we are warm inside and dreaming of the East….

The Bits

Veg – 1 large tomato, 1 small onion, 1/3 cucumber, 1 carrot, 1/2 red chilli (check for heat)

Sauce – 2 cloves garlic, 2 inch cube of ginger, juice of 1 lime (finely chopped zest if you like a real tang), 2 teas honey, 3 tsp sesame oil, 2 tbs tamari (or light soya sauce)

Stew – 2 cups sprouting buckwheat, 1/2 cup whole cashews,

Topping – 1 1/2 cups chopped green beans, 2 teas sesame seeds, handful of broken cashews

Mid blitz aka carnage

Do It

Add all veg and sauce bits to the blender blend to a fine salsa like mix, taste check for balance of flavours, then add your stew bits and pulse a few times to break up the buckwheat and cashews slightly. Not too much, you need a little bite there. Chop up your greenbeans and scatter on top in any fashion that takes your fancy (we normally mix half into the stew).

Serve

Finish with a few sprinkles of sesame seeds (we were out of stock here) and some broken cashews.

Raw Asian Buckwheat Stew

We Love It!

This beats a sloppy Chinese takeaway any day of the week! Bursting with vitality and nutrients, this is one of our favourite raw recipes thus far.

Foodie Fact

Buckwheat is one of the most complete grains globally and contains all eight essential amino acids (meaning you can basically live on it!). It is great for diabetics as an alternative to sugary wheat and also alkalizes the blood. Buckwheat even boosts the brain, it contains high levels of lecthin and 28% of the brain is made of lecthin which also purifies the blood and actually soaks up bad cholesterol. Wonder food!

Categories: Detox, gluten-free, Healthy Eating, Healthy Living, Low G.I. (glycemic index), Lunch, Nutrition, Raw Food, Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan, Welsh produce | Tags: amino acids, asian dressing, asian food, blender, blending, blood purifier, brain boosting food, buckwheat, cashew nuts, chinese food, essential, food, food photography, living food, nutrients, organic vegetable, quinoa, raw, raw food, raw stew, raw vegan, recipes, shanghai, sprouting buckwheat, stew, superfood, superfoods, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian | 4 Comments

Raw Hazelnut, Rosemary and Lentil Hummus

Posted on June 2, 2012 by leroy watson

Day two of raw June and I’m feeling good. We have been eating quite a bit of raw food recently, so I wasn’t expecting wonders. Later in the month, who knows, maybe I’ll be sprouting!

I am working in a kitchen at the minute and its the middle of ‘silly season’, so its hard graft. I am finding no problems with the energy and when I eat healthy I find I need less sleep (which is a real help in the catering industry). It does have its advantages, I wont be missing cooking this month that’s for sure! I am also surrounded by temptation, nice looking chips and slabs of cheesecake. It’s a good test. Most of my colleagues think I’m mad, but I’m used to this (for one reason or another). I am definitely eating less and not feeling hungry, I don’t even fancy a coffee anymore, which is rare behavior.

Many people comment that raw food sounds ‘boring’. This recipe is anything but and I find most raw food to be fascinating in its complexity and creativity alone; never mind the health benefits.

This is a real gourmet raw hummus. I thought I’d start as we mean to go on. It contains a lot of ingredients, but it is much more than a dip. This will be the main part of dinner tonight, with an orange, sweet potato and red cabbage salad.

It is rich with the nuts and oil, but does not have the smooth texture of a normal hummus. The flavour is a knockout though and like with alot of health foods, you have the piece of mind that it is doing your body good and providing you with some super nutrients.

We used sprouts here due to the fact that our sprout corner is going mad. At the minute we have a variety of receptacles holding all sorts of seeds and beans. We’ve mung bean, sunflower seed, buckwheat, wheat grains, quinoa and green lentil all in various states of soak and sprout. The mung beans are a staple here, but most of the other ones we’ve either tried and failed with or are completely new to. It’s a great little experiment and the right weather for sprouts. We found it difficult in the winter to get them going and our airing cupboard seemed too warm. Now we have the happy medium of summer (ish) temperatures in Wales.

Sprout Central

We have been soaking our nuts overnight, this helps to release the enzymes and nutrients. They are also softer, better for blending. Hazelnuts are one of the good nuts, peanuts, pistachios and brazil nuts are not goodies. We will still be eating them though, just a little less than before.

It’s worth spending a little more on a good almond milk, the cheaper varieties are thinner and not as creamy.

So here’s our first attempt at a raw hummus:

The Bits
1 cup of hazelnuts, 1 cup sprouting green lentils, 1 cup sprouting chickpeas, 1 handful of dried rosemary, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil (evoo), juice and zest of 1 lemon, 1 tbs raw tahini, 1 tbs flax seeds, 2 cloves of garlic chopped, salt and pepper if you like (I used a dash of Braggs Liquid Aminos instead, it contains naturally occurring sodium and loads of good amino acids).

Do It

This is the easy part, put it all into a blender and blitz until smooth, roughly five minutes should do. If it is sticking or dry, add water as you are blending. This should loosen things up.

Serve

Great as a dip of course, or with a salad. We will be mixing it into chunky chopped vegetables tomorrow.

We Love It!

We Love sprouts! So anything they are in, we are happy about. This recipe is bursting with flavour, the hazelnuts and rosemary work together so well. It has a nice creamy, richness to it, but is low if fat. Hoorah!

Foodie Fact

Sprouting Chickpeas (Garbanzos/ Giggle beans to some) are packed full of protein. They contain more protein than milk! Many vegans and raw food types are asked about how they add protein to their diets, the truth is protein is available in many plant based foods. Nuts and seeds mainly, but sprouts are also a good source.

Chickpeas are full of carbs, but low in fat. A small serving of chickpeas contains around 50% of your daily Vitamin C requirement.

Raw Hazelnut, Rosemary and Lentil Hummus

Categories: Dinner, Healthy Eating, Healthy Living, Low G.I. (glycemic index), Nutrition, Raw Food, Recipes, Snacks and Inbetweens, Vegan | Tags: buckwheat, catering, chickpeas, dips, food, garbanzos, hazelnuts, healthy eating, healthy living, hummus, mung beans, nuts, raw, raw food, raw hummus, recipes, rosemary, sprouting, sprouts, vegetarian | 1 Comment

Quick Green Lentil Stew

Posted on May 30, 2012 by leroy watson

This is one for the ‘Beach House Basics’ page; the place to go for simple food, prepared with love (of course!). Good food does not necessarily mean complex with loads of ingredients and this is one that we make regularly.

Sometimes, when writing this blog, I forget that people just want something easy. I normally put the more elaborate or special occasion dishes that we make, but really, the everyday food is just as good, just not quite as fancy.

This stew can be made with puy lentils, which many would class as the best, I feel that green lentils make a good substitute (and are cheaper). The lemon, chilli and coriander give the stew a lift, making it great for this time of year (its springtime in Britain).

Like so many recipes, this could be used as a side dish, but for me, it deserves to be center stage. Adding the potatoes means this is a definite main course filler.

The coriander is something we had in the kitchen, but you could use any fresh green leaf herb really and the lemon could always be a lime instead.

This recipe needs dried lentils that need soaking (overnight). Otherwise this is minimal fuss and maximum munch!

This recipe will be a good dinner for two people, though we normally cook in bulk and dip into it over a few days.

Green Lentil Stew

The Bits

1 cup of green lentils (soaked overnight) or one tin, 1 clove garlic (finely chopped), 1 great carrot (chopped) , 2 large tomato (chopped), a few new potatoes (sliced), 1/2 teas of chilli flakes, 1 big handful of coriander, juice of half a lemon, a glug of olive oil, 1 pint of good veg stock (as needed).

Do It

Drain soaked lentils (a quick wash for them) and cover with your veg stock (approx 1 inch above lentils) in a saucepan. Add a little sea salt and bring gently to the boil, then cover and simmer. Cook as per packet guidelines (30 minutes should do), try one for ‘bite’.

Once lentils are 10 minutes from being cooked, stir them and add your potatoes (it should be looking quite stew-like by now) and cook for 5 minutes, then add your garlic, chilli, carrots and tomatoes, cook for a further 5 minutes. Then stir in the olive oil, lemon juice and coriander and place a lid on the stew, turning the heat off. Let the flavours marinade for a few minutes and then serve.

Serve

We normally have it topped with a little olive oil and toasted sunflower seeds, with brown rice and yoghurt. Just by itself with a fresh green salad is also great.

We Love It!

This is perfect for when you only have a small window of time to work your kitchen magic!

Foodie Fact

These wonder legumes are filled with cholesterol lowering fibre, they also help to maintain your blood sugar levels. They contain high levels of six important minerals, two vitamin B’s and protein, with hardly any calories.

Categories: Budget, Dinner, Healthy Eating, Low G.I. (glycemic index), Recipes, Side Dish, Vegan | Tags: clove garlic, cooking, dinner, food, green lentil, puy lentil, quick, recipes, simple, stews, vegan, vegetarian | 9 Comments

Rainbow ‘Slaw and Rosehip Tea

Posted on April 18, 2012 by leroy watson

Beets and 'Rots

Today the sky is the deepest of greys, the washing nearly blew away and Jane poured a pint of water all over her computer. We both held the stricken machine in our hands, then noticed the water pouring out of the side with the plug still in the wall…the penny dropped…we placed it in-front of the fire and thanked our lucky stars for not getting frazzled.

We put on some Vashti Bunyan and started to make lunch……….

Out of this peaceful state came this wonderful combination of vibrant colours and flavours. The salad is an old friend from past summer days, the beetroot, carrot and orange is a tantalising combination and packed full of good things. Preparation could not be easier, this is a real raw food delight. The tea is fairly straightforward also!

From a potential near-death experience, to a rainbow lunch and ‘Rosehip November’ (in April). Happy days at the Beach House.

The ‘Slaw

The Bits

1 large beetroot, 1 large carrot, 1 large chunk of butternut squash (optional, just increase the carrot by one), juice of half an orange, handful of chopped coriander.

Do It

Grate all veggies, we used a hand grater, or plug-in your food processor. I appreciated the exercise actually. I peeled the beetroot and the squash. Squeeze in the OJ and throw in the greenery. Add the finely chopped pith of the orange for even more of a citrus POW! Mix up and leave at room temp for a while, let the flavours mingle a little.

Serve

We made a lunch out of it with some toasted leek oatbread (recipe soon to appear on the blog) and cucumber raita. This is a versatile ‘slaw that will brighten up any plate.

We spiced it up with a couple of pinches of Ras El- Hanout spice and a splash of olive oil. Our raw life starts in June, why not live dangerously for a while!

The Tea

Clipper Rose hip (and Hibiscus)

It’s a Clipper Tea. An organically grown infusion, fruity, with a deep colour and plenty of vitamin C. The good people of Clipper are in all of our supermarkets in the UK and always good value.

They use unbleached bags and have an awesome range. Their black tea is a winner with a splash of soya milk (and lashings of honey, B.H.K style). We have also tried the tasty Dandelion and Burdock Tea, which took us back to our childhood days, drinking the fizzy sweet version out of glass bottles in bracken, near streams.

Buy the Rose hip tea here:

http://shop.clipper-teas.com/teas/fruit/organic-rosehip-infusion

And check out the new Clipper Green Room, for offers on the range of teas and loads of top giveaways:

http://www.clippergreenroom.com/

Foodie Fact

Rose hip has been used for years for its health properties, the fruit of the Rose is especially good for the joints. The Vikings used it on long sea voyages to ward off scurvy, its packed with Vitamin C. It also contains most of the B vitamins and the mighty vitamin K, with antioxidants and rich fatty acids surely making this a real superfood.

Rosehip November/ April

Categories: B.H.K Reviews, Infusions, Low G.I. (glycemic index), Lunch, Organic, Raw Food, Recipes, Salads, Side Dish, Snacks and Inbetweens, Superfoods, Tea, Vegan | Tags: B.H.K Review, clipper, clipper teas, dairy free, food, gluten-free, good fats, health, hibiscus, high nutrients, music, organic, product review, raw, raw food, recipes, rose, rosehip, rosehip tea, salads, snacks, steamers, superfoods, vashti bunyan, vegan, vegetarian, vikings, Vitamin C, vitamin K | 1 Comment

Spiced Pear and Flax Seed Scones

Posted on April 11, 2012 by leroy watson

Indian Scones

It’s fair to say, I’m not a traditionalist. I like to keep things interesting. I reckon the ‘good old days’ can always be bettered, especially when baking.

This is another fusion/experiment from the Beach House Kitchen. Which worked quite nicely. You need to try these things, the first guy to make carrot cake probably raised a few stuffy eyebrows.

The scones is a British classic, my favourite Mum recipe was Walnut and Date, but I’ve decided to take it to India. The inspiration to have a mess with the humble scone came after a day of scone making at work, I found it all quite therapeutic. Combining the butter with the flour is a very earthy activity.

White flour, sugar and butter is not my kind of nutritional mix, so I’ve changed it to be gentler and better to the body and I think it adds flavour also. I have added ghee instead of butter, mainly because I have some delicious Pukka ghee at the minute, that graces all it touches. Ghee also has many health attributes. There are also soaked flax seeds here, that are super for our digestive system. Then the spices, conjuring up an Indian chai stall, star anise and cinnamon….. All in all, not your average scone experience.

All that's missing is a scone

Scones are super easy to make and as with most cakes, gentle handling is a must. The less hands, the lighter the cake. I made one large scone, then cut it up into slightly abstract shapes. This saves on waste dough and a bit of messing around. It also keeps the scones lighter (although with brown flour, they are heavier than their white cousins).

The weights don’t have to be exact, but do your best. This recipe will make one large scones, approx. 8 when cut up.

Because we have used ghee here, this recipe is suitable for lactose intolerant munchers also.

These are a robust scone, with lovely spiced fruit and the rich flavour of ghee.

The Bits

250g Wholemeal flour, 75g good Ghee, 2 big tbs of honey (more if you are a sweet heart), 2 teas baking powder, 3 teas flax seeds (soaked overnight in water and well-drained), 2 pears chopped into small cubes, 2 tbs of water, 1 star anise, 1/2 teas cinnamon, 1/2 teas all spice, 1 clove, 1 teas finely chopped ginger, 1 teas good vanilla extract (worth spending here!), 2 organic beaten eggs, heavy pinch of salt.

Do It

Preheat oven to 200oC

Heat a pan, medium heat, add a little ghee, fry your pears gently for a few minutes, then add all spices to the pan and the splash of water, stir in. Cover and cook pears on low until tender, letting the spices infuse. The cooking time will depend of the ripeness and type of pear. They should nicely soft when ready. Turn off heat and stir in your honey, it should melt and form a sticky sauce. Remove the star anise and clove. Leave to cool.

In a large bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt and drop small lumps of ghee in, coat the lumps in the flour and work in rubbing ghee between thumb and finger tips. This will take a few minutes to combine and form a breadcrumb-like texture.

Add vanilla extract to the flour, mix your flax seeds into the pears and add, then your eggs, fold into mix (gently). Using a table knife to mix is advised here. It should be soft and sticky, if it’s too dry add a touch of milk (we used soya). Form the mix into a large ball and turn out onto a floured, cool surface. Dust your hands with flour and get involved, with tenderness. Gently massage the mix into a large flat round, approx 1 inch tall. This should rise a little. Dust the top with a little flour and transfer (easiest to move with two flat spatulas) onto a grease baking tray (greased with Ghee that is).

Flax seeds after a good soaking.

(I have tried brushing on melted honey and ghee with a pinch of cinnamon at this stage, which worked a treat.)

Bake, without opening the door, for around 15 minutes, until the top is nice and golden. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool.

One big scone, a giant leap forward for all scone makers.

Serve

We had ours hot (hot is best) with Greek yoghurt, some homemade rhubarb compote and hazelnuts. Rather nice. They will compliment a nice Indian chai or like any good scone, your cuppa of choice.

Smothered in good things.

We Love It!

This is another, almost guilt free desert. It is healthier and I think tastes better for it! What you lose in lightness of the scone, you gain in a sense of well-being in the belly.

Foodie Fact

Honey is quite incredible. Especially when you think of the process involved in acquiring it from our friends, the bees. Honey is my preferred sweetener, not only due to its wonderful flavour, but there are many health benefits to honey. Caster sugar is a little limp in comparison.

Honey is full of good sugars, mainly fructose. It’s fat-free and cholesterol free. It also contains many amino acids and minerals. The higher the mineral content, the better quality honey. This can be measured through conductivity. Manuka Honey is the best (yet another reasons to go to New Zealand) with the best conductivity.

Honey also has antiseptic qualities, meaning that in many ancient civilizations, honey was used on wounds and to treat many ailments. This makes a mockery of the ‘consume by’ dates on jars bought from supermarkets. As we know, most of these dates are ridiculous and lead to a large amount of needless food wastage.

If you have a little spare cash, try to buy good quality honey. Gales and other large honey producers actually feed their bees processed sugars and burn them when they have produced! It is quite a startling image, the bee equivalent of battery farm hens.

Here are 11 interesting facts about Honey:

http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/honey-benefits.html

Categories: Baking, Cakes, Desserts, Healthy Eating, Low G.I. (glycemic index), Recipes, Snacks and Inbetweens, Treats | Tags: amino acids, baking, brown flour, digestive system, experiment, flax seed, food, gales, ghee, greek yoghurt, guilt free, healthy cake, honey, honey bees, india, indian chai, manuka honey, pear, pukka organic ghee, scones, spices, star anise, treats | Leave a comment

The Buzz Smoothie

Posted on March 30, 2012 by leroy watson

The Morning Zing!

It’s called ‘The Buzz’ for a reason. It’s a real lipsmacker!

This beats a double espresso buzz any day. One glass and you’re de-fuzzed. After drinking this concoction, the fruit sugars (fructose) and vitamins get to work and the morning coffee jolt seems a little beige in comparison.

It’s a vibrant looking number and bursting with citrus, sweet apple and carrot flavours. Packed full of all the good stuff that you need in the morning to get you fired up for another day of life. It’s a wake up call for the body and mind.

We don’t have a juicer (yet) so we blitz it all up in a food processor. I imagine these ingredients will make an amazing juice, maybe you’ll need to throw in another carrot or so.

Organic fruit and veg will make all the difference in your juices and smoothies with bags more flavour and juice, even if they cost a few pennies more. They will definitely have more nutrients in them, keeping your insides and outside in better condition. After visiting a few shops in Spain, I feel fortunate that we have the choice of organic in Britain. The carrots in this were particularly special, from Hootons Homegrown, Farm Shop on Anglesey (thats in Wales for global readers). We are blessed with some amazing producers in these parts.

Enjoy responsibly, this is full-on juice!

This recipe will make enough for 4 glasses of what is more a chunky juice than a smoothie. We keep some in the fridge for later, it’s so full of good things that it takes care of any mid-morning hunger pangs.

The Bits

All chopped into chunks – 1 apple (unpeeled), 1 carrot (unpeeled), 2 oranges, 1 grapefruit (a squeeze of lemon if you really want a hit!), 2 cups of filtered water (or 1 cup of water, 1 1/2 cups of ice)

Do It

Put it all in a blender and whizz it up. Taste and add more water if needed.

We Love It!

The colour alone helps get my juices going. We like the balance of sweet and acidic in this one.

Foodie Fact

Grapefruit (Citrus Paradisi or Paradise Citrus in Latin) is full of vitamin C. On average, half a grapefruit contains 75% of your required Vitamin C for the day. It also contains the super antioxidant lycopene.

Without getting to grim and technical, eating more grapefruit (and Organic fruit and vegetables) lessens your chances of catching things and dying in general. Hooray!

The usual suspects

Categories: Breakfast, gluten-free, Juices, Low G.I. (glycemic index), Organic, Raw Food, Recipes, Smoothies, Snacks and Inbetweens, Vegan | Tags: breakfast, dairy free, espresso, fructose, fruit, gluten-free, good sugars, grapefruit, healthy living, high energy, high nutrients, hootons homegrown farm shop, juice, juicer, juices, Low carbs, lycopene, morning buzz, nutrition, organic, organic fruit and vegetables, raw, recipes, smoothie, snacks, vegetarian, Vitamin C | 2 Comments

5 Minute Fig and Prune Compote

Posted on February 28, 2012 by leroy watson

The 5 minute compote with figs, prunes and a bit more. Prunes have always been so unfashionable, well not anymore. At least in the Beach House, they are very cool.

This is really quick and easy, perfect for a busy lifestyle. No stewing required and only dried fruit from the cupboards needed. Just chop the fruit, boil the kettle, leave in a fridge overnight. Thats it! Naturally sweet and zesty compote. Our kind of fast food!

I love the flavour of the rich figs and prunes with the lemon and tea balancing the flavours and sweetness nicely. Figs always remind me of Morocco, where I ate them by the ropes length (you buy them thread whole onto a rough length of rope). I normally opted for a foot-long! I was doing a lot of walking at the time.

We use this compote mainly on muesli, but it goes great with yoghurt and seeds as a healthy dessert or even in a smoothie that needs a sweetness kick.

This compote is designed to be kept in the fridge, not jarred. But you could experiment, like most things, it will get better with age!

This recipe will make enough for a decent bowl full of sweet fruity goodness. I added fresh plums here also, we managed to get some amazingly sweet local ones. When chopping the fruit, we like to keep them nice and chunky.

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5 Minute Fig and Prune Compote

The Bits

3 fresh plums (pitted and chopped, you may like to take the skins off)

4 dried figs (chopped)

6 dried apricots (unsulphured are best, chopped)

6 big fat prunes (chopped)

zest of 1 lemon (ribbons is best)

1 cup of hot black tea.

Do It
Make two cups of black tea (no milk!), one for you, one for the compote. Then leave to cool slightly while you chop the fruit and peel the zest off the lemon (use a good French peeler, so much easier, you could waste years of your life peeling spuds and zest!).

I now put it all into a tupperware dish, pour in the slightly cooled tea (removing the tea bag), allow to cool, then pop lid on and into the fridges.

That’s it!

Serve

Yoghurt, cereals, seeds, on top of cake, in a smoothie…………………………..

We Love It!

A good dose of natural sweetness and plenty of fibre from the prunes and apricots, leave the belly sweet and full.

Foodie Fact

Prunes are historically good for getting things moving down under. ‘Regularity’ I believe is a commonly used term. That will be the high soluble fibre content.

Back in the olden days (that’s the ’80’s by the way) prunes seemed to be almost medicinal, something you ate with a degree of suffrage. But they are delicious and contain rare phytonutrients and beta carotene (in the form of vitamin A) which have a huge benefit on your inner workings, cells, brain and all.

Categories: Breakfast, gluten-free, Healthy Eating, Low G.I. (glycemic index), Recipes, Salads, Snacks and Inbetweens, Vegan | Tags: breakfast, compote, fruit, gluten-free, good sugars, high energy, high nutrients, recipes, salads, snacks, vegan, vegetarian | 4 Comments

Abigail’s Apple and Pumpkin Vegan Loaf

Posted on February 6, 2012 by leroy watson

The heavyweight cake

This is cake in loaf shape.

If you’re looking for something that goes well with a cup of tea, tastes amazing and does your body some good, this fruity loaf’s for you.

I took this recipe from Abigail’s blog http://tofuandflowers.blogspot.com/ which has a lot better pictures than mine and importantly, the loaf seemed to have turned out well. Although I did change and add to the original. As you can see, my didn’t rise particularly well, I put it down to not having baking powder! Otherwise, this is a very simple cake recipe and very tasty.

This loaf really packs a punch! It’s a heavyweight and really feels like ‘food’, not just a dessert. Its packed full of fruit and nutrition, no dairy and only has a little added sweetness.

I used honey instead of agave, which I prefer.

With this amount of mixture, I made one big loaf and six small muffins, although Abigail seemed to have fed the five thousand!!!

The Bits

Dry Ingredients: 1 c. oatmeal (plus more to sprinkle on top), 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour, 1/2 c. white flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. allspice, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 c. chopped apple (about 1/3 of a large apple; use the rest with the wet ingredients), 1 c. chopped walnuts (or hazelnuts)
Wet Ingredients: 1 1/2 c. roasted pumpkin, 1 banana, 1 1/2 tsp. fresh grated ginger, 1 c. chopped apple (about 2/3 of a large apple, what you have left over from the wet ingredients), 1/2 c. agave (or 2 tbs honey), 3/4 c. coconut milk (half of a can), 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.

Do It

Get your pumpkin nicely soft and coloured in a pan and set aside, then:

1. Preheat oven to 200oC. Oil and flour a large loaf tin and muffin tray.
2. In a large bowl, stir together all dry ingredients except the nuts and 1/2 c. chopped apple.
3. In a blender, blend together all wet ingredients (including the 1 c. chopped apple).
4. Mix the pumpkin into the dry ingredients. Once almost completely combined, add the chopped walnuts and apples. Mix up with a nice wooden spoon.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the loaf pan and muffin tray. Sprinkle oatmeal on top of the batter and press the oats into the batter a little.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The loaf will take longer than the muffins.
7. Remove from oven, and cover loaves (still inside their pans) tightly with foil. Allow to steam for 10 minutes. Remove foil, and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely.

Serve

With a dollop of creamy yoghurt.

We Love It

This is a lovely moist spiced nibble at this time of year. Its pretty much guilt free (if you get guilty about eating food) and is almost a meal in itself.

Foodie Fact

Cinnamon, originally from Sri Lanka, is a wonder bark. It has the highest levels of anti-oxidant strength of all foods. Cinnamon is also anti-inflammatory, anti-septic, rich in minerals and is proven to be soothing. In Ayurveda, Cinnamon is used to treat diabetes, colds and indigestion.