Rich Tomato and Basil Soup (Raw)

Posted on July 20, 2012 by leroy watson

Tomato and Basil

Here’s one for when you are in a little bit of a hurry and you need something quick and tasty. Cold soup is a funny one for most people, it can be difficult to get your head around. Cold soups are served all over the world and I can think of many delicious recipes from Spain. It is very much a cultural thing, in Britain we have diabolical weather, which means we normally need a little warmth in our bellies. Soup is so sustaining and comforting, I don’t see why cold soup cannot have the same effect.

We managed to get our hands on a decent amount of lovely tomatoes, rare in these parts and this soup really did them justice.  The tomatoes really make this dish and without gorgeous tomatoes, you will struggle to get much flavour.  It’s all about tomato here!

Raw food is nutrient dense, which means alot of ingredients.  It is not your average soup, which normally relies heavily on a decent stock, its really just one big savoury smoothie!

This is a recipe that has the added richness of an avocado. I love the way that raw food uses things like avocado to add creaminess to dishes, surely better than a blob of clotted cream (no!?). But I must admit, clotted cream is definitely better on a scone.

We added on green chilli here, to add a little mexican style zing to proceedings.   It is optional of course.  If you’d like it richer, add more avocado, you can never get enough!

So dust off the blender and give this one a whirl. The perfect summer soup, refreshing and filling.  You can heat  this if you like, it will be nearly as nice!

Makes two big bowlfuls:

The Bits

8 tomatoes (medium size, chopped into 1/4’s), 1/2 sweet red pepper, 8 sun dried tomatoes (finely chopped/ mashed), 2 cloves garlic (minced, crushed etc), 1/2 medium sweet onion (Spanish are good, finely chopped), 1 big handful of chopped basil leaves, 1 avocado, pinch of good quality sea salt, 1 green chilli (very optional), olive oil for a drizzle

Tomato and Basil Soup (Raw)

Do It

All in a blender and pulse until a nice chunky texture is formed, add water if needed to thin out slightly.

Serve

We topped ours with sprouts (no surprises there then!) and a couple of basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil maybe?

We Love It!

Nice and rich and refreshing, a great way to use glorious toms!

Foodie Fact

Basil is regarded as the ‘king of herbs’ and is a holy plant in many cultures.  Basil originated in Iran and India.  Basil has many anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties, it contains exceptionally high levels of beta carotene, vitamin A, iron and a whole host of other good stuff.

Categories: Raw Food, Recipes, Soups, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

A Wonderful Movie – ‘The Green Beautiful’

Posted on July 19, 2012 by leroy watson

This is the best movie we have watched in ages and its free on youtube. Hooray!  We felt like sharing it with all you lovely people.

Its about a lady who lives on an idyllic planet, where all people live in harmony with nature and their world.  She is beamed down to earth to help and the adventure begins.  It is a French movie and rather funny.

Grab some nibbles and a loved one and get lost in the Green Beautiful.


Categories: Inspiration | Tags: , , , , | 8 Comments

The Beach House Kitchen voted for a ‘Thought Provoking’ Blog Award

Posted on July 19, 2012 by leroy watson

Lovely Ivelinax

Our dear Ivelina at ‘Mother Nature Loves You’ has kindly bestowed the B.H.K. with another little blog award, the ‘Thought Provoking’ Blog Award.  We love to receive these awards, especially from a wonderful lady like Ivelina.

Ivelina has created a very special space, where she conveys her wisdom and gifts on a daily basis.  Ivelina’s insight into living and her shining energy is a constant source of inspiration for us and we are blessed to have such a friend supporting the Beach House Kitchen.  Ivelina is also very knowledgeable about all things vibrant food and holistic living.  Thank you ‘Mother Nature’X

This award actually started off at my other blog ‘Riding Effortlessly On A Large Green Turtle’ a blog for travel, poetry, philosophy and whatever else I encounter along the way; but eventually found its way to the Beach House.  I have found so many great new blogs and like minded folk through such an award, I love to pass them on and spread the good word.  We hope you find the same!

At the Beach House Kitchen we aim to create a home for folk who love healthy vegetarian food, a place for vibrant ingredients and energies to mingle and create; a little hillside retreat from the grey modern world where we can add a little colour and spice to living, a place that nurtures body and mind.  We also have a very good laugh at the same time.

Here are a few foodie blogs that inspire us and get out thoughts flowing in the right direction (just a handful and in no particular order):

   the bear and the blackberry – Beautiful vegan blog.

freeflowfoodie – Wonderful energy to be found here (and veggie bites)

the veggie nook –  Gabby is a real sweetie!

sacred strawberry – Emily writes from the heart and heat of Madrid

veganchopnchat –  Inspirational words and food abounds.

mumtopia – Many Mum’s join us in the BHK, it seems a great time in life for healthy food!  The is lovely Ali (Jane’s sisters) brilliant blog about all things motherhood.

travelbutterfly – Because we love travel and Savannah gives us wings!

lucysfriendlyfoods – Lucy has the luckiest family around.  Cordon Bleu treats and balancing a busy, busy lifestyle.  A real inspiration.

postpunkkitchen –  The PPK is a constant stream of amazing recipes and huge library of gorgeous dishes.

Peace the consciousness, the transitoriness, your existence – What is cooking without a little poetry?!  Beautiful words that light up our days.

  Thank you to the whole blogging community for being so kind and supportive and enriching out lives.

Lee and JaneX

Categories: Awards/ Recognition, Blogs, Healthy Living, Inspiration | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Coconut Pad Thai Salad with Almond Dressing

Posted on July 18, 2012 by leroy watson

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‘Tis a grey day in Wales and the streets of Bangkok seem a million miles away. There’s a man we know, who moonlights as a pole dancer (it is Bangkok) who makes the best Pad Thai, just off the chaotic Kaosan Road. He whips it up in seconds, with his vivid painted blue nails and long fake eyelashes.  It normally contains little dried shrimps and eggs, which we don’t add, but the rest of the ingredients are so simple and classically Thai.

This type of Pad Thai recipe has been in my mind for a while and Jane just kick started me into getting it done.  I knew I wanted coconut in there somewhere, to make up for the flavours of shrimp, fish sauce and egg, but it needed something else.  I sought inspiration on the interweb and found a great recipe at the taste space food blog.  Just add almonds!

This is a taste sensation, as you would imagine from anything faintly Thai.  Thai’s food knows no mediocrity, over cooked veggies or insipid stews.  Its all fresh and POW! over there.

Pad Thai Vendor

For the salad itself, you will need a sharp knife and a French peeler.  Really, no cooks drawers are complete without one, so it’s a wise purchase.  You will save years of your life peeling things, they are so easy to use and in this recipe, double as an ace veg noodle maker.  Yes, no noodles here, just veggies.  Making it super healthy and crunchy.

KELP NOODLES?

You can use some kelp noodles as a base if you are in a rush, this salad does take while to get together.  Kelp noodles are really interesting and taste fantastic, not disimilar to a noodle.  They are also completely raw (aka good for the belly and body).  They are widely available and well worth an experiment.

The salad base will be good with other things like carrots, cauliflower and apples for instance. We have gone for something a little closer to home i.e. whats in the fridge.

The kitchen is still full of the aroma of this intense dressing and the salad not only tastes wonderful, but is a rather sexy little number to boot!  It’s a looker.

This is the perfect summer salad to impress your friends (if they need any further impressing) and to treat your nearest and dearest to a taste of Thailand with a twist.  It is ideal served as a main course, but could also make a super side dish or starter.  Basically, you need to try this, however its served!

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p1170194

Coconut Pad Thai Salad with Almond and Orange Dressing

Coconut Pad Thai Salad with Almond & Orange Dressing

The Bits – One Big Bowlful

I know this looks like a hefty amount of ingredients, but don’t fret, its easy peasy really….

Salad/ Noodles

1 large courgette (ribboned)

1 head chicory (very thinly sliced whole)

1 red pepper (very thinly sliced)

2 spring onions (finely chopped)

1 stick celery (ribboned)

2 handfuls finely grated white cabbage

1 big handful sprouted mung beans (we used sprouting aduki beans also)

1 orange (peeled and chopped small)

1/2 small coconut (chopped into small chunks)

1/2 cup peanuts – roasted is nice if you’re not a raw one (crushed)

1 tbs sesame seeeds

1 lime (wedges for serving)

 

Dressing

3 tbs tamari (or g.f. soya sauce)

2 teas sweetener (agave, brown rice syrup etc)

2 cloves garlic (minced/ crushed)

1 inch ginger (finely chopped)

1 chilli (finely diced)

1 big lime (juice)

4 dates (soaked until soft)

1/2 cup of almond butter (we make our own using soaked almonds and a lot of blending, plus a little water.  You may use peanut butter here)

Sea salt (if you like)

2016-08-01 12.32.53

We love Thailand! Would be the perfect backdrop for this Pad Thai

Do It

Ribbon and chop all your salad bits and get them into a lovely big bowl.  To ribbon easily, keep your fingers out of the way and bring the peeler down in smooth, firm motions.  Flip the veg regularly to ensure it is evenly peeled and by the end, you should be left with only a little slither, which can be sliced and tossed in also.  Reserve a few of the peanuts, sesame seeds and coconut for serving later.

In a blender, add all of your dressing ingredients and whizz up for a few minutes until a smooth texture has formed.  Taste it and adjust accordingly, normally the decision will be, sweeter or not?  It may need a little more lime, use the lime reserved for serving.

Mix the dressing into the salad, gently does it, some of those ribbons are quite fragile and look great when served whole.

Dish up with a big smile and be prepared for some yummmmmssss!

 

Serve

Sprinkle a few peanuts, coconuts and sesame seeds and finish with a little twist of lime juice.

 

We Love It!

WOW.  A really stunning salad.  Jane said it was “more than lovely,  INCREDIBLE!  This salad is genius…..”

 

Foodie Fact 

Pad Thai is one of Thailand’s national dishes.  It has been served in Siam (Thailand’s old name) for thousands of years, but was made popular by president Luang Phibunsongkhram in the 1930’s.   He wanted to lower the consumption of rice in Thailand, which was making good money being exported, and therefore promoted Pad Thai as being proudly Thai and virtuous.  He set about educating the nation in making rice noodles, especially the under privileged, training them to sell Pad Thai dishes, selling them in small cafes or from street carts.  This may have something to do with the amazing array of Thai street food in modern day Thailand.

Now for a blast of Thai blues from my favourite bar in Bangkok, the legendary ‘Adhere Blues’ bar.  They don’t serve Pad Thai, but they do serve up some serious blues chops…

 

 

Categories: Healthy Eating, Raw Food, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

“If you don’t take care of your body, where are you gonna live? “

Posted on July 18, 2012 by leroy watson

This is a wonderful post that I felt compelled to share, as it is exactly how we feel in the B.H.K about a balanced approach to good living.  It doesn’t take much, just a greater degree of sensitivity with the body and mind.  The lifetstyles we choose have a profound effect on who we are and how we act.

Thanks to the beautiful Ivelina at ‘Mother Nature Loves You’ for the constant inspiration, love and light.

You are given a body -this most wonderful perfect system. it is impossible to think the amount of processes , that are happening every second , regardless if you are awake or asleep.

It is my opinion , that there are 3 approaches in which people like to treat their body-there are those , that live only in the body and strive for perfection, there are those, that have forgotten they have a body and treat it like something, that they have to carry about with them , and there are also those that believe that to have a fulfilled life one has to find the mind , body and soul balance.When those 3 are in balance life is a pure bliss. According to the Ayurveda medicine when this harmony is disturb in any way your being is in dis-balance which is the root cause of all diseases. Long before any illness appear you body is giving you different signals, that you can sense with your heart and understand with your body. The main thing is not to ignore them , but listen to your body . When you are tired rest, when you are feeling unwell make yourself better, your wee has a colour-drink more water, your tongue has a white coating -fast for a few days,….the list is endless.

 

There is a reaction behind every action and prevention is priceless, but you can’t buy it when it’s too late. It is never too late, unless you re dead. So start now listen to your body, sense it with your heart and understand it with your mind.

The magic of living is to optimize you body-soul-mind trinity. I would like to share a few tips form the Ayurveda medicine for optimal health and I would love to hear from you -what is your best tip for being healthy.

1.Rest before you are tired – a regular 20 minute break will benefit not, just your body but will also refresh your mind and make you more present . Always make time for it. it is really worth the effort.

2. Eat when you are hungry -this is an universal advice . Educate yourself about the differences between emotional and physical hunger and learn to respond to them accordingly . If it a real physical hunger it will come on stages and you can easily identify and satisfy it with natural foods. Emotional hunger is sudden and it craves certain foods- when you know it is happening ask yourself why and let the answer come to you. Awareness is a powerful tool.

3. Ayurveda describes massage as one of the best way to remain healthy – a nice foot, head or back massage can be very beneficial at any time and it can cure many discomforts and tensions in your body, it also calms your mind and sooths your soul.

4. Accept what is and learn to love what is .One of the biggest causes of any disese is the fact , that we sometimes try to change what we can not control. Long term stress brings your immune system down so do your best to reduce and eliminate bad stress. Focus on what matter and do your best to use your energy on things , that you can actually change .

5. Move your body – you have been given legs to walk with, hand to lift with and body to dance with . Find your best way to move every day. Ayurveda recommend yoga as the ultimate mind-body -soul movement and I couldn’t agree more, but i also love to dance, love to cycle and love to walk and swim. Getting physical reduces stress, clears your head and makes you feel good.

6. Cultivate and nourish your relationships- nothing gives your soul more meaning , than sharing it with others. Communications, connections and Love. This is pure medicine .Love, be loved and loving . It is the only truth.

7. Forgive . Forgiveness is the greatest gift known to man. Start with yourself and gradually extend that forgiveness to all. Do not be picky, take your time and explore the beauty of forgiving . This is a gift, that you owe to yourself .

8. Be grateful . Always , even for the stuff you did not want . There is a silver lining in every cloud and every disaster could be a blessing. The only attitude worth the effort is the attitude of gratitude . At the end all makes sense and you would be grateful for the lessons you’ve learned .

So over all another good Irish saying comes to mind-”a good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything”.I love going to bed in the evening . Since I cycle every day I feel this sweet tiredness , that I have missed for years

Sending blessings and love

Original post here:

http://www.mothernaturelovesyou.com/if-you-dont-take-care-of-your-body-where-are-you-gonna-live/#comment-570

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Categories: Ayurveda, Healthy Living, Inspiration, Relax | Tags: , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Summer Chili (Raw)

Posted on July 17, 2012 by leroy watson
Summer Chilli

“The aroma of good chili should generate rapture akin to a lover’s kiss.”
Motto of the Chili Appreciation Society International

It is chilly here!  But not in the good way, we thought we’d flip that and add a spicy chili to get some heat back into our sleepy Welsh village.  I know I keep on going on about the weather, but it is a bit of an issue.  We need the sun!

Chili is the epitome of soul food and I love the heated variety in all its forms, it was probably one of the first things I became passionate about cooking.

Chili is a dish that originated in the south of America, probably Texas and they are mighty proud of their dish down there.  I wonder what they would think of this, beef-less/chilled version.  I think I’d probably have to leave the state.

Chili originated, like most good soul food, in poorer homes and was made by scraping together ingredients that were available.  This raw chili was made with a similar sentiment, but we just happen to have loads of veggies and raw food bits.  The principal is the same.  Make do and make very tasty.

There are so many options to play with here if you are not raw.  I would definitely like to see some sweetcorn in here somewhere, but it needs cooking.

This raw food is addictive, in the sense that when you eat cooked food, you feel quite rubbish.  Your belly complains (swollen and windy) and your energy levels are low.  You become very sensitive to foods and this isn’t a bad thing, but it can be a challenge when travelling and socialising.  You can come across as some kind of nutter!  It has certainly made us more aware about what we are putting into our bodies and who our real friends are!

This sauce can be warmed up and poured over roasted veggies, which sounds delicious!  The beauty of these raw things, are their simplicity.  Whack it all in a blender and you’re off, leave it in the fridge and heat it later.  A very easy dinner and something a little different.  If you heat it to just over warm (seems to be a decent enough gauge) you will not kill all the good stuff either.

The inspiration for this recipe comes from the raw cookbook, ‘Live Raw by Mimi Kirk’ and a mighty vibrant read it is.

The Bits

Sauce – 1 cup of sun dried tomatoes (soaked for two hours to make tender), 2 cups of tomatoes (chopped and organic), 1/2 cup of carrots (chopped), 1 sweet yellow pepper, 1 small chilli (check the heat  there), 2 cloves garlic (crushed), 2 tbs tamari (or g.f. soya sauce for non-rawers), 1 tbs of each evoo (e.v. olive oil), apple cider vinegar (white wine vinegar will do), agave syrup (or sugar) and chilli powder, then 1 teas cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, fresh cracked pepper, 1 handful of chopped coriander leaves.

Chunky Bits – 1 cup sprouts (mung beans, aduki beans, or green lentils something nice and fat, we mixed them up a little), 1/2 cup celery, 1/2 sweet potato, 1 courgette, 1 sweet red pepper, handful of chopped mushrooms

Do It

Chop all of your chunky bits into funky shapes, set aside in a big bowl.

Add all sauce ingredients to a blender and whizz away until smooth.

Pour sauce over base (we were a little stingy with ours, it should look more like a stew really) and mix together.  Ideally, leave in the fridge for a while to let the flavours get together.

Rare blue skies –  salvaging some of our plants after another summer storm

Serve 

We would normally have an avocado on this, but had none.  Next time.  This would be great with some corn bread or tortillas (if you have a dehydrator handy) and would also be amazing with sour cream (raw cashew cream is very good indeed) and of course, loads of cheese and coriander.

We Love It!

Just the spice and fuel we needed in our lives this windy, wet summer.

Foodie Fact

It’s a fruit!   A gift from the Mayans and Aztecs, native to Central America and then shipped around the world by those dodgy conquistador types.  Tomatoes are low in fat and cholesterol and are full of good things.  They contain lycopene, that is a super antioxidant that protects your cells and also your skin (from the sun).   They are also rich in vitamin A and C and have great levels of potassium.  When picking tomatoes to eat, the redder the better.

Categories: Dinner, Raw Food, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Cashew Hummus (Raw)

Posted on July 17, 2012 by leroy watson

Raw Cashew Hummus

Here’s a quick little pot of goodness, so rich and so healthy. I love making hummus, mainly because it is so easy and tastes so much better homemade than out of a plastic tubs from a plastic shops.  You can get to play around with the flavours and really tailor your hummus to your taste.  And as we all know, hummus is important!

This hummus requires a little preparation, you do need to soak the chickpeas and cashews overnight, but its well worth it.  It’s healthy hummus.  Most hummus has alot of fat, due to the large amounts of oil used, this hummus uses a little oil (possibly none) and loads of raw cashews and chickpeas that are jam packed full of good things.

The chickpeas just need to be plump (and well rinsed) to use.  They don’t need to sprout, if they do, that’s a bonus!

You can make this with just cashew nuts (just double the quantity of nuts) but I like it with the chickpeas.  It’s slightly more traditional and after a night in the fridge, it takes on a lovely ‘cheesy’ quality.  ‘Cheesy’ is the best way I can describe it, basically, it matures nicely and gets more flavoursome.

Cashew are a real gift from nature, one nut grows on the end of a fruit (called a cashew apple, see below) and they’re really difficult to harvest.  The tree gives off toxins, it doesn’t want to let go of its precious nuts!

Cashew apples growing in Wat Suan Mok Monastery, Thailand

This will make a decent tubful:

The Bits 

1 cup cashews (soaked in filtered water, they will swell a little overnight, rinsed), 1 cup chickpeas (soaked overnight in filtered water, rinsed), juice of 1 lemon, 3 nice tablespoons of tahini (unroasted is milder, roasted is full on), 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 teas cumin, 1/2 teas paprika, pinch of rock salt, a little water/  oil to form a nice paste.

Do It

Place all ingredients in a sturdy blender, blend until smooth, adding water/ oil if needed.  You may need to stop a couple of times and scrape the mixture back into the centre.

Serve

As you like your hummus, we had ours on chicory leaves, which make a great little ‘boat’ for dips and the like.  They also look cool.  In a warm wrap is something quite special!  We suggest topping it with a little more oil, especially if it’s been in the fridge for a while.

We Love It!

This hummus has added lovely richness to our raw salad meals.  Always a brilliant addition to add a different texture to the plate.

Foodie Fact

Although high in fat, cashews boast mono-unsaturated fats, meaning in moderation they’re good for you.  Cashews are packed with soluble dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and numerous health-promoting phyto-chemicals that help protect from diseases and the big ‘C’.

 

Categories: Raw Food, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Purple Joy Juice

Posted on July 16, 2012 by leroy watson

Lovely farm produce

This is the ultimate juice for us at the minute. Beetroots don’t come anymore vivid and radiant than the ones we are getting from the farm. We are buying them by the bunch, with their long tasty leaves still on. It is a real treat to be able to use such amazing produce.

You cannot mess around with juicing. There are no textures to confuse the palate, there is nowhere for poor produce to hide. If you juice something grown in mass barns by machines (possibly) you won’t get any flavour and little colour. There will be no joy in your juice. You can see by the photos, this juice was brimming with purple joy.

Juiced beetroot is quite potent and a powerful elixir for the body.  They have discovered that its boosts athletes performance, according to the Independent newspaper.  So much so, that beetroot juice is being called the new super fuel for athletes.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see some ‘purple joy’ being cracked open at the Olympics this summer.

Beauty beets

There is a new brand in the UK shops called ‘Beet It’, an organic beetroot juice that is really getting this message across.  Its good to see this type of juice alongside the sugary, from concentrate brigade that you normally find.  So much rubbish can be hidden in most fresh fruit juice cartons.

There is no getting around this, to juice, you need a juicer.  Sorry….. (get a red Magimix like ours, they’re ace!)

The purple joy juice is so sweet and is really revitalising, after a few minutes you are buzzing in the nicest possible way.  Full of energy, like a bee.  If you need a pick me up, hit the beets…..

The Bits

3 vibrant beetroots, 4 carrots, 1 big juicy apple, small piece of celery.

Do It

Juice the beetroots first, we don’t peel anything, just scrub it a little and trim off tops and bottoms when necessary.  Then the carrots, celery and apple.  Leave the juicer on for a while to catch all the precious dribbles.

Purple Joy Juice

Serve

We like ours out of jars, but glasses will do just fine.

We Love It!

We are drinking this everyday at the moment and a friend warned that too much beetroot juice actually turns you purple!

Foodie Fact

Beetroots contains lots of Nitrogen Oxide and scientists have only recently discovered how wonderful this stuff is for the body.  It is a regulator of blood pressure, controls blood flow to certain organs, is a stamina enhancer via oxygen usage efficiency and is a weapon against infection.

Categories: Juices, Local food, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Kiwi ‘Slaw with Orange and Mint Dressing

Posted on July 16, 2012 by leroy watson

Kiwi ‘Slaw Base

We realise that we may be at risk of becoming a salad blog.  Not so much a kitchen as a place for leaf munching.  We are happy enough with this.

Eating salads up here, in the cold hills, is a little like eating a roast turkey dinner on a tropical beach; slightly incongrous, considering the rain is lashing down outside and we’ve been living in a cloud for the summer (what summer?!).  Still, these colourful bowls of goodness bring the sunshine to our table and some much needed colour and vitality to our lives.

The flavours here work wonderfully.  ‘Slaw is so underrated, just because its grated, doesn’t mean it can’t actually be an amazing salad that takes centre stage for a while.  I love the way that slaw absorbs all of the dressing and marinades so well.  It is also the idea stuffer and stacker, due to the grated part. It is easy to handle and won’t topple a sandwich, or stick out all over the place.

The thinking behind this recipe was maximum POW! flavours and colours. It’s a crunchy slaw with a tangy, creamy dress and if you can’t locate a kiwi, stick some pineapple in instead.  Swede is a revelation in salads and must be liberated from it’s ‘granny’ vegetable bracket.  It has a lovely, mellow and sweet flavour when eaten raw and goes great in salads.  It’s also cheap, which is never a bad thing.

The dressing here is quite special and is actually more of a sauce.  The lovely flavours of orange and mint really come through.  It has a rich texture and flavour and coats the slaw beautifully.

This is all put together using the magic of a food processor (they really are magic!  Even if they have a terrible name….process….food….it’s a bit robotic!?)  If you don’t have one, you will have to chop all the dressing bits up very finely and mix together and hand grate the salad.  A little bit more effort, but wow, how you will enjoy the spoils of your toils!

This is enough for one big bowl, you may have some dressing left over, it goes well on most things, even as a dip.

Kiwi ‘Slaw with Orange and Mint Dressing

The Bits

The dressing/sauce – 1/2 cucumber, 1 plump clove of garlic, 1/3 cup evoo (extra virgin olive oil), 1 kiwi (peel and chopped), juice 1/2 lemon, 2 oranges (peeled and chopped, minimal bitter white bits), handful of mint leaves, handful of parsley, 1 teas caraway seeds, 2 teas smoked paprika

Salad – 1/2 swede, 3 carrots, 1 courgette, 1/2 cucumber, 1 kiwi (peeled and chopped into little chunks), 1 big handful sunflower seeds (roasted taste better, but of course aren’t raw), smaller handful of flax seeds

Do It

Make dressing.  Add all ingredients to a food processor and whizz up for a minute of so.  Remove any stringy orange pieces, if we were being very restauranty, you could even strain the dressing.  But we like chunks.

Give the FP a rinse out and put your grating blade on.  Grate the swede, carrot and courgette and then chop up your kiwi and cucumber finely.

Mix all nicely together in a big salad bowl and that’s it!

Serve

Top with a few thin slices of whole kiwi as a nice touch and maybe a sprinkle of seeds and ‘erbs.

We Love It!

It’s the kind of salad that your makes your taste buds and body sing.  The kind of food we like to eat, real ‘soul’ food.  You can feel it doing you some good and its a real looker too.

Foodie Fact 

Kiwis are your vitamin C friend.  Just one of these emerald delights has 120% of your daily ‘C’ requirement.  Scientist cannot figure it out, but kiwis protect our DNA, making us less likely to develop illness.  If that wasn’t enough goodness, these little beauties are also full of dietary fibre.  They also look very cool.

Categories: Raw Food, Recipes, Salads, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Willie’s Cacao Chocolate Tasting Challenge

Posted on July 13, 2012 by leroy watson

Our stash of Willie’s Chocolates

Ladies and Gentleman, we have arrived in chocolate heaven………

Willie’s World Class Cacao chocolate is the best we have ever tasted.  No mincing our words here, its the best.  Hands down.  The champagne of the chocosphere, you know it’s the best by its ‘bite’.  One crisp, crack and you instinctively know that good things are going to happen in your mouth.

No cheese, ho booze, no coffee, no sweat.  No chocolate, well that’s an existence you can count me out on.  As Willie says “Coffee is a poor mans cacao” and I tend to agree.

Yes, we are eating chocolate again, with great relish and delight.  We have thrown ourselves back into the world of those fabulous brown chunks with gusto and started right at the top with a Willie’s chocolate tasting session.  We lined up some lumps of quite amazing cacao and gave our taste buds a real treat.  For moments, we had died and gone to chocolate heaven.

Passion is infectious and Willie has it in giant spades.  I remember seeing him in Selfridges (big posh shop in London) being animated and charming about all things chocolate and the very finest cacao.  Willie has a mission in this life and its very chocolaty.  I liked him straight away, its rare to see anybody so consumed and charged by something, the fact that this something was chocolate, only made me warm to him more.

I then watched the documentary style TV programme that followed him to his hacienda and cacao farm in Venezuela where he seemed to be a one man army, defending us all against the abomination of substandard cacao.  Willie was so driven to succeed against all odds and many wild and wonderful set backs.  The story of this chocolate is to follow your dreams, no matter what gets in your way or what they may be.  Don’t waver and have faith.  In chocolate!  This definitely adds to the flavour!

Willie has scoured Latin America looking for the finest cacao trees to re-plant and discovered a small plantation, surrounded by coffee trees, that had not cross pollinated with the newer types of cacao trees (some of those high yield, low quality varieties that modern farming is dominated by).  He took them back to his hacienda and ended up planting 10,000 of them (told you he is driven!).

Cacao is great for us and Willie uses only the finest cacao and a little sugar and thats it.  No hidden nasties in there or chemicals at all.  He also sells the cacao pure, 100%, that is best used in cooking or hot chocolate (it is a little on the bitter side).

Willie

He brings all of these beans back to this little grey island and feeds them into his collection of old chocolate making machinery (slower than the modern machines, but better for taste).

Willie’s chocolate is not the cheapest, you wouldn’t expect it to be, but if you are looking for the best, I think its probably worth splashing out the extra .50p on something truly amazing!

If you don’t believe any of these claims, check out Willie’s brilliant website.  You’ll find a real feast for the eyes, it a stunner, you’ll also find many recipes for cooking with chocolate and not just desserts either.  Savoury dishes with the 100% cacao.  We’ll be giving some a go soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

My first taste of chocolate in a savoury dish was in Mexico, up a mountain somewhere south, lost and hungry.  It was actually raining as well.  A kind hearted lady opened her front room for us and begin to whip up something that looked like a chocolate and banana sauce, mixed with a casserole.  My first Mole Poblano and I will never forget it.  Dark and rich, with the bitterness of the chocolate, sweetness of banana and the potent chilli punch, it was a rare taste explosion.  A combination and sensation that cannot be repeated in any dish.

One of Willies farmers

Back to chocolate as we know and love it, here are Jane and I’s tasting notes for the chocolate frenzy/tasting:

Indonesian (Javan Light Breaking)

Lee – Love that crack and crunch, gorgeous (this was repeated many times during this tasting), light flavour, lighter than most chocolates with a lovely caramel-ness to it.  

Jane – Tastes like caramelised treacle, so, so smooootthhh.

YYYYYYYYuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….

Venezuelan Gold (Hacienda las Trincheras)

Lee – Rich, really rich, wow,  a real full flavour that goes on and on…..more intense than the Indonesian and super velvety.  Gorgeous (again!)

Jane – More chocolaty, more flavour and complexity, super luxury chocolate, super rich.  

MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm  (eyes closed and slightly erotic noise).

Madagascar (Sambriano Superior)

Lee – Really, wow, very, very nice.  Thats amazing.  Very nice.  Fruity, a little blackcurranty and was that a raspberry!

Jane – Fruit, yes fruit, delicate flavour, no words (just noise of delight)

DELECTABLE……moving on….

Ginger Lime (Sierra Leone)

Lee – Reminds me of Christmas, I prefer the other, unadulterated stuff.  Still very, very fine and zesty.

Jane – A bit like ginger nuts!  Heavenly.

Peruvian (San Martin)

Both –  AMAZING CHOCOLATE!!!! (dumbstruck looks and lost for words……)   

(Due to intense chocolate overload, at this stage the tasting turned into a giant scoff/ farce and we lost track of which was chocolate went with which wrapper.  Meaning the other bars tasted all get a 9.96 out of 10 and a big thumbs up from us.)

Best Overall

Lee  – Has to be the Indonesian, maybe because it was first to be tasted.  I loved the sweet caramel flavours and the general lightness of the chocolate, something really different and not achieved completely naturally.  I would also like to visit Indonesia one day soon.

Jane – Venezuelan.  The richness, so, so dark and packed full of flavour.  The loveliest and purest flavour.  REAL chocolate.

This was only a small taster of the full range which you’ll find a doorway to here.

Enjoying Willie’s chocolate makes you part of a very special adventure; one mans dream, now boxed up by old clanking machines and available on supermarket shelves.  This is our kind of food success story.  Chocolate is important and Willie’s is chocolate at its most inspiring and delicious best.

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Posted on July 9, 2012 by leroy watson

Desi chick is one of my favourite bloggers. Kolpona cuisine is a home for real Indian food and with plenty of innovation. This is one such dish that we will be trying in the Beach House very soon. Thanks Desi Chick for sharing your gift and beauty food!

Desi Chick's avatarKolpona Cuisine

I need (and want) to lose 15 pounds by the end of June.  These 15 pounds have crept up on me like evil terrorists bent on a sneak attack.  My new policy is not to negotiate with terrorists!  I’m currently on my third round of P90X and my daughter Onjoli and her friend Katie are doing Insanity, both intense beachbody workouts.  I have promised to cook more innovative, high protein, low fat and tasty foods throughout the summer.  It’s a mother-daughter epic bonding extravaganza.  My husband, frightened by the prospect of eating salads and yogurt mentioned that he’d like to vote for food that is hearty and not “chick food”.  I have a lot of people to please, including myself.  I came up with this salad in my quest for “buffness” to go with my 10 minute Tilapia curry.  It was a wonderful dinner full of flavors, textures and…

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Roast Corn and Avocado Salad

Posted on July 9, 2012 by leroy watson

Roast Corn and Avocado Salad

Roast!  You did read this correctly, I cooked something.  Hooray!  I think roasting a corn on the cob is a pretty decent way to announce your re-entry to the cooked world, especially when its incorporated in a beautiful salad like this.

This salad has the richness of the avocado with plenty of crunch, the citrus dressing lifts the whole dish.  The smoky corn is the real star though, such a different range of flavour’s when you begin heating food again.

It’s great to have corn back in our diet, raw corn is inedible due to the cellulose that our bodies cannot break down.  Cooked corn looses alot of its minerals and vitamin C, but frozen cooked corn retains most of them.  No idea why!?

I’ve a quite important meal to cook next week and I thought I needed to get my dusty pots and pans out again and give the heated world another bash. Get my roasted eye in!

It’s Sunday and we felt like trying something different, using the ingredients we have strooned around the kitchen.  This Roast Corn and Avocado Salad went perfectly with the fruity Kiwi and Orange Slaw that I rustled up.  Sweet and creamy meeting zesty and crunchy in a mouthful of pure happiness.

I’ve eaten roasted corn on the streets of most countries I’ve visited around the world, it is a ubiquitous source of sweetness and satisfaction to most of the globe.  The smell of roasting corn wafting off a little charcoal brazier is such an evocative smell for me.

Corn is such a versatile plant, I am particularly fond of maize tortillas and polenta in all forms is always a wonder to feast on.  It is such an interesting veg to eat, all those little rows of sweet kernels attached to a funny looking stick.  Like natures answer to a lollipop in bright yellow.

Beauty Basil – What a gift!

We’ve been eating a little muesli and yesterday I scoffed a macaroon (which was amazing).  We’re getting back into a little baked/ cooked foods, but still want to keep the majority raw.  I should also mention that a couple of dark chocolate bars have gone missing from the cupboard, chief suspect, Miss Jane.

We have tried out some raw chocolate and it is absolutely delicious, it does lack the ‘bite’ of a good dark chocolate, but has bags and bags of cacoa goodness.  Very deep flavours and would be perfectly acceptable as a substitute, if it wasn’t so darn expensive.  One truffle is the equivalent to one bar of decent dark chocolate.

Here’s a step back into the cooked world for us, fair enough only a baby step.  But as my Dad says “life is a compromise….”

The Bits

Salad – 2 corns on the cob, 1 avocado, 2 stalks of celery (finely chopped), 4 big handfuls of spinach, 2 handfuls of fresh broad beans (de-podded), 1/2 handful of freshly roasted pumpkin seeds, 1/2 handful of ripped basil leaves.

Dressing – Juice of half a lemon, 1/3 cup of amazing olive oil (we actually used good quality Welsh rapeseed oil), 1 tbs white wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Do It

Add all dressing ingredients to a bowl and whisk until combined.  That’s it!

In a frying pan, heat some oil to just smoking and add your corn on the cobs, roast for five minutes, turning regularly, giving them an even colouring.  A little charring is definitely not a bad thing.  Place a lid on and continue to turn regularly until well coloured (5 minutes more should do), add your pumpkin seeds at this stage to get a little roast.  Take pan off heat and leave to cool with lid on.

Line your finest salad bowl with spinach leaves, the chopped celery and broad beans.

Get your cobs out, stand them upright on a chopping board and with a sharp knife, cut down the cob (starting at the base of the first row of kernels).  You’ll need to keep it slow and steady to ensure your running the knife along the base of each kernel.  If your knife is not super sharp, use a gentle sawing action as you go (watch your fingers!)  Move the cob around and start on the next few rows.  It will take a few cuts to get all the kernels off.  If you like, cut onto a tray or shallow bowl to ensure the kernels don’t go flying off.

Cut avocados in half, take out the seed and spoon out the lovely green flesh.  Try and get the avocado to look like fat shavings, or anyway that you think looks good.  A teaspoon is the best implement for this.

Arrange the avocado and corn on top of the salad and finish off with the basil and spoon on your dressing.

Roast Corn and Avocado Salad

Serve

This is good enough as a main course, it’s a very flavourful and satisfying salad.  The ideal summer lunch.  I don’t know why, but I think this would go nicely with a quiche.

We Love It!

Those roasted pumpkins seeds enhance anything they touch.

Foodie Fact

Corn (or maize) has been grown for thousands of years by the people of the Americas.  Corn is low in saturated fats and cholesterol, it contains good levels of thaimin and folate and plenty of dietary fibre (for your old friend the colon).

Categories: Healthy Eating, Raw Food, Recipes, Salads, Side Dish, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Beetroot & Sprouts Salad with Strawberry Dressing

Posted on July 8, 2012 by leroy watson

Hello Beauty Strawbs….we are going to eat you…..

This is a vibrant looking thing.  Beetroots, Radish and Strawberry coming together for a colour-fest!

The beetroots we are getting at the moment are amazing, we are buying them from the farm by the bunch; quite small roots, but huge leaves. They are proving excellent value as the leaves are lasting for a few days salad-wise.  The leaves are actually more nutritious than the roots.  Its great to be able to eat the whole thing, no waste at all.

Beetroot, as we all know, is a vivid customer. Mainly due to the lasting impression it makes on your hands and nails when handling it. My advice, rubber gloves. I have no problems donning the marigolds in the kitchen, you do lose the ‘feel’ of cooking, but you gain a fantastic stain proof layer!

We are also getting a good supply of strawberries with actual flavour, always a challenge at this time of year.  It seems that most people just want to cash in on this highly prized crop and do naughty things to grow them. Whatever they are up to, it completely saps their flavour.   Anyway, our strawbs are ace!

I liked the sound of strawberry and beetroot, I liked the way it looked in my mind and it soon ended up in a bowl.   I’ve used beetroot for desserts in the past (stuck some in a chocolate cake to great effect) and thought I’d give the strawberries a similar reverse treatment.  They make for a really tart dressing and something I would highly recommend with any sweet-ish salad base.

Food processors are a choppers best friend.  They do the hard work, while you stand there holding the button, wondering how much longer you can handle such a mental noise!  Ours rattles like a badly oil cement mixer on overdrive.  We used the contraption for the beetroots here and for the radish, it saved valuable minutes of our precious lives.

Radishes are funny little things, my Grandad loved to grow them in his allotment, but never seemed to know how to eat them.  I think this was a general trend.  This salad does them justice and I’m sure Bobby would have been proud, if a little confused by the pink dressing.  I love a radish for its crunch and it just so happens that the colour goes very well with beetroot.

This is quite a sweet salad and very pretty, but we had to give it a dose of sprouts.  They are so tasty and chock-ful of good things.  Ideally served with some cashew cream cheese.

Beetroot and Radish Salad with Strawberry Dressing

The Bits

Salad

3 whole beetroots (leaves and all)

Around 8 radishes (thinly sliced)

1 big handful of sprouting green lentils (or a sprout of your choice)

2 handfuls of spinach

 

Dressing (makes 1 small tub full)

2 handfuls of strawberries (washed and stemmed)

1/3 cup great olive oil

Sprinkle of good sea salt

Good few turns of cracked black pepper

2 tbs white wine vinegar

1 tbs purified water

1 teas of sweetener i.e. agave syrup (if needed).

 

Do It

Make your dressing, add all bits to a food processor and blitz for a minute.  Taste and add sweetener if your strawberries are a little tart.  Set aside, will keep nicely overnight, so you can make in advance if your that organised.

Take your beetroots of the stems and scrub them well.  Cut off an unsightlies.  Take the stems and cut into cubes, then cut up a few leaves, finely shred, to be used as a base.  Mix with the spinach and place in a nice big salad bowl.  Place a few of the whole beetroot leaves over the edge of the bowl, covering the whole circumference to make a nice looking bowl.

Add the slicing blade to your FP and slice your radishes, then take your shredding tool-thing and shred all of your beetroots.  Put them in a bowl and mix in a few tbs of the dressing, until well coated.  Then take that mixture and place it in the salad bowl.  Finish with a good sprinkling of sprouts (not essential).

Serve

Non rawers, sprinkle a roasted pumpkin seeds, rawers (you brave and wonderful few!) tuck in from your favourite bowl and let the flavours dance in your mouth!

Beetroot and Radish Salad with Strawberry Dressing

We Love It!

This turned out a treat, a little unusual, and we’ll be making strawberry dressing again.

Foodie Fact

Radish is one of the most nutritious root vegetables.  Apparently you can get a black Spanish radish, but I’ve never encountered such a thing.  You can also buy watermelon radishes that have a sweet flavour and look like watermelons when you cut into them.  What amazing things you learn writing a blog!

The Chinese have a saying:

“Eating pungent radish and drinking hot tea, let the starved doctors beg on their knees”.  Poor doctors.

As with most veggies, they are packed full of only good things for the body.  They are a very good source of anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins and dietary fiber.  High in vitamin C especially.

Categories: Raw Food, Recipes, Salads, Vegan, Welsh produce | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Mug of Miso Soup

Posted on July 8, 2012 by leroy watson

 

Mug of Miso

A really quick one here, one for a busy body that needs a happy mind.  I have just indulged in a steaming mug of miso and I thought it worth sharing, mainly due to the ease of making that is far out balanced by the enjoyment and sustenance you get from this mug.

I love miso in all its many forms, colours and prep styles.  This however is my favourite, plain and simple.  I was raised in the Philippines and we used to go to a Japanese restaurant called ‘Takayama’s’.  My Dad has always been a very cool chap and he used to let me order.  I was 10ish.  I used to love this responsibility and normally order a decent concoction of bits and pieces.  I still remember the fist time I had a bowl of miso, the thing I thought for many years was egg (tofu), the thinly sliced spring onions and of course, the intensely flavoured stock.  I love stock and miso makes the worlds finest stock.

This is a little something you can rustle up in less that a minute, it is very nourishing and makes the perfect snack for the fleet footed modern lifestyle.

If you’re lucky, you have a bag of dried seaweed in your cupboards.  If not, no worries, its great without it.

Fills one of our big mugs, about a pint.

The Bits

Per mug- 1 tbs of your favourite miso (we used brown rice miso, it has a lovely earthiness), 2 finely chopped mushrooms, 1 finely chopped spring onion, 1 teas chopped ginger, 2 teas dried seaweed, dash of soya sauce, boiling water.

Do It

Add the miso to you mug, add a little just boiled water, stir in.  Then add the rest, add a dash of soya sauce, taste, add more if it needs a little more a salty tang.  Cover with a saucer and leave for a minute to get itself together, and cook the mushrooms a little.

Serve

You could even add some thin rice noodles here, just make sure they’re cooked!

We Love It!

A revitalising and nourishing cup of happiness.

Foodie Fact

Miso is a Japanese condiment, a paste normally made soybeans or barley, rice or wheat.  It has magical properties, that it gains from the fermentation process.  The colour and flavour depends on the ingredients and techniques used.

Miso contains high levels of sodium, so bear that in mind before you start ladling it in!  Miso is low in saturated fat but rich in vitamin K, amino acids, antioxidants, vitamin-B complexes, protein, copper, manganese and zinc.

Miso can help to detoxify the body, the microbes present line the intestines and it also contains many enzymes (which we are always going on about!).

Categories: Healthy Eating, Recipes, Soups, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Raw Vegetable & Coconut Curry

Posted on July 5, 2012 by leroy watson

One bright day in June (the bright day in June), our picnic spot, above Beddgelert

So the raw food lifestyle is continuing in the Beach House, this is a good sign.  We have been feeling good and loving experimenting with raw foods, so we are rolling on raw well into July.

Our aim is to eat a lot of raw food, but soon start cooking again.  I cook alot at work, but its not the food that excites me, it seems a strange idea getting the pots and pans out again at home.  The oven, instead of the food processor.  I’m sure it will happen gradually and at the right time.  I still haven’t drank a coffee or any wine, again, it just seems like a strange thing to get back into now.  Those of you who have been on a raw diet will know how I feel.

It has been an atrocious June for weather, we’ve had a fire on most nights and the rain and wind has lashed down on our poor little seedlings.  Even with this wintery weather,  Jane and I have been perfectly happy with salads and cold food.  I think a full raw food diet (ps – when I say diet here, its not like a weight loss diet, just what we are eating) in winter is a possibility, whereas before I would have not considered it.  No hot soups!

One spoonful of this curry and we both exclaimed “This is the best yet!” Which is always a nice thing to hear about something.  This coconut curry has a lovely sweetness, the smooth richness of the creamed coconut and the gentle warming hint of garam masala.

We have not been eating a great deal of spice of late, the raw diet it not overtly anything really (bar amazingly healthy food). This dish added so much needed spice back to our lives.

I think this curry is a real winner this summertime. Raw food is, of course, perfect for a sunny day (which are rare in these parts, but hopefully on their way).  Summer is the ideal time to dabble with raw food and this Coco Curry would make an interesting salad to serve as a side dish at a barbecue or take for a picnic to a beauty spot.  It keeps well and is nice and quick to get together.

If you’re not a raw one, this will go very nicely with something like a cold rice salad.  You can even heat it up!  The flavours will still be amazing.  It can be thinned down for a lovely soup (just add a little stock or water)  and used as it is for a dipping and spreading.

The original inspiration comes from the brilliant British raw food book “Eat Smart, Eat Raw’ by Kate Hill, but I have dabbled with the recipe to bring it more into line with our taste.  That means more spice, more garlic, more ginger……..we like a big and bold flavour in the BHK.

Cauliflower can be used as a substitute for rice in the raw food world.  You just need to chop it up very finely, or stick it in a food processor, and it resembles rice but without the stodge factor.

The serving here is enough for four strapping individuals.  Jane and I saved some for lunch the next day.

The salad base, as you can see, we like ours chunky!

The Bits

Sauce

1/2 tin of organic coconut milk

1 avocado

4 dates (pitted)

4 tomatoes

1 carrot

1 medium onion

2 tbsp tamari (or soya sauce)

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tbsp turmeric

1/2 red chilli

1 inch cube ginger

2 cloves garlic

150ml water

 

Salad/ Filling

3 tbsp raisins

2 handfuls green lentil/ mung bean sprouts

1/2 handful of chopped coriander (with a little saved for topping)

2 handfuls of spinach

2 sticks celery (finely chopped)

1 carrots (finely chopped)

1/2 cauliflower (finely chopped)

1 handful of mangetout

1/2 butternut squash (chopped into little cubes)

The Coco curry pre-mix

Do It

Salad – We use a food processor, because it is so easy.  You lose the individuality of hand chopping, but it saves alot of time, especially when you’re eating raw foods and most of your days could be spent peeling and chopping veggies.  Most of these contraptions have a chopping and grating blade as standard that can come in very handy.  However on this occasion we hand chopped, just to be awkward!

So, put carrots, celery and cauliflower in food processor.  Chop up your butternut squash and avocado into small chunks and mix all of these with the other ingredients in nice big bowl.

Sauce – Chop all vegetables into manageable chunks for your food processor.  Ginger, garlic and chilli should be finely chopped.  Put it all into the food processor and give it a whirl.  Make sure you hold the lid down firmly to begin with, if its a small one like ours, it tends to jump around a little.

Indo Coco Curry (Raw)

Serve

Sprinkle on left over coriander, raisins and grated coconut (dessicated coconut is fine).  We ran out of coriander and forgot the coconut!  It would look grand though, you’ll just have to use your imagination.

We rarely have time for presentation touches as we are such scoffers!  In the bowl, quick pic then get stuck in!  Tends to be the order of eating affairs in the Beach House.

You could try it with some cauliflower rice (see above), it makes for an interesting change.

Foodie Fact

You may have heard that coconut is full of fat, well it is, but they are great fats!  Avocado, nuts, seeds etc do contain a high proportion of fats, but they do not harm your body like the fats in processed foods or donuts!

The fat in coconut does not raise your cholesterol levels like saturated fats in animal products.   It is actually the most health-giving oil available, you can buy coconut oil for cooking.  The make up of the fats is similar to mothers milk, the lauric acid (a fatty acid in mother’s milk) has antibacterial qualities.

Categories: Dinner, gluten-free, Healthy Eating, Raw Food, Recipes, Salads, Side Dish, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Beach House Kitchen voted for ‘One Lovely Blog Award’

Posted on July 4, 2012 by leroy watson

One lovely blog award

This is the best title for a blog award yet!  I love these awards, not only do you get a nice warm feeling inside, you also get to meet a whole bunch of shining individuals who can inspire you.  What a wonderful world this blog-sphere is.

Thank you so much to the wonderful veganmonologue for deeming us ‘lovely’ enough for this award. We do try our best!  The veganmonologue achieves something we can aspire to (I can get carried away with ingredients when I’m in the kitchen) gorgeous vegan food on a budget.  The pictures on this blog have the professional look that makes me actually feel like learning something about photography!  Having said that, we do live in a cloud up a hill.   Not the best light for a photo shoot.

7 facts about us

–  We share our garden with a cat named Buster who is one of the coolest creatures on the planet (tied with bees).  We have no idea where he came from, or where he’s going.

–  We plan on buying another little orange Honda motorbike and taking them to India, via Iran and Italy.  One day…when we are young.

–  The Beach House is actually nowhere near the beach!  But you can see it from the kitchen window (on a good day). You can also see Lover Peninsula and a lighthouse.  It is a magical land for sure.

–  We have a stone circle in our garden, we thought druids built it, but it was actually a lady at our local garden centre.  We still like it.

–  We would like to get rid of more things than we buy.  The Beach House is small and besides, our lives are too cluttered with ‘stuff’ as it is.

–  We believe in the power of positive thinking………….

–  We believe in the power of positive food…………

We have nominated these ‘Lovely’ Blogs, we haven’t trawled the internet for new sites, these are simply a selection of our favourites (who have no doubt received this award many times over).  They bring much sun and wonder food in equal measure (in no order at all):

emmycooks – emmy’s blog is so appetising, it makes me feel like eating my laptop.  Emmy’s blog inspires me to always be better cook and think more about flavours and presentation.  A real inspiration and sweetheart.

byzantine flowers – a blog about all things vibrant existence.  Full of important info that is not well reported and could be vital to our health.  A doorway to an ‘alternative’/ more natural lifestyle

almostrawvegan – surely the healthiest blog in the world!  wonderful smoothies and raw food ideas.  If you are thinking about eating more raw food, this site is a must read.

kolponacuisine – wonderful bright energy here and mouthwatering India food.  I can almost smell the spices and ghee floating all over the Atlantic from Seattle.

a little saffron – lleana is from Nicaragua, one of my favourite countries and her food is simply delicious to look at.

allotment2kitchen – or A2K, it’s a wonderful blog.  Now based in Wales, you will find seasonal dishes cooked beautifully, with photography to match.

veghotpot – One of my favourite blog folk, veghotpot is always lovely and here food is pretty damn fine too.  This is a place for real food and some great writing also.

vegetarian venture  – an absolutely gorgeous looking blog with veg food with beautiful recipes.  It really is a work of art!

The list ends here, as that’s all I have time for at the moment.   There many, many more lovely blogs I can think of, but its late and my eyes are going square.

The Rules of One Lovely Blog:

• Link back to the blogger who nominated you

• Paste the award image on your blog, anywhere

• Share 7 facts about yourself

• Nominate 5-15 other blogs you like for this award (last time it was 5, this time it’s 15…so do what you can.)

• Contact the bloggers that you have chosen to let them know that they have been nominated

What a wonderful blog world we are in!   Spread the love……
Happy days,
Lee and JaneX
PS – 8/7/12  We’ve just been voted for this lovely award again, by the fabulous
turningveganese  A vegan blog written by Filipinos, full of tasty recipes and a dreamy sense of happiness.  Have a look!
Categories: Awards/ Recognition, Blogs | Tags: , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

B.H.K recipe featured on the ‘Clipper Tea Green Room’

Posted on July 2, 2012 by leroy watson

Clipper Green Room

Hello Lovely Folk,

We are very happy to have one of our recipes featured this month on the Clipper Tea Green Room (see the link here), especially as it’s in the ‘eat gorgeous’ section.  We love gorgeous!

The ‘Spiced Fig and Green Tea‘ Compote was one of our favourites in those wintery months, served atop mounds of porridge or homemade muesli (with hot almond milk…yum!).

The Clipper Green Room is a place to hang out and learn more about the Clipper Green Tea range, which is ever growing.  We like the way that Clipper go about things being fairtrade, always recyclable etcetc.  Their green tea range is so diverse and the ‘green tea with manuka honey’ sounds delicious.

We are chuffed to have people like Clipper stopping by the Beach House Kitchen and taking an interest.

Happy days indeed,

Lee and JaneX

Clipper Teas

Categories: Blogs, Recipes, Tea | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sweet Pepper and Pomegranate Antipasto (Raw)

Posted on July 2, 2012 by leroy watson

Raw Sweet Pepper and Pomegranate Antipasto

We felt like a little starter, something to nibble on.  Nibbles seem to be the new thing, judging by the snack section in our local supermarket.  We seem to becoming a nation of rampant nibblers (dipped in hummus of course).

Italians are the kings of the nibble, tied with the Spanish, but they tend to make it more of main meal, a la tapas.  Antipasto (translated as ‘before the meal’) is always the perfect accompaniment to nice glass of chilled something and good conversation as the sun is beginning to settle down.

This raw June (just passed) we have been mainly having large salads for dinner.  We didn’t manage to arrange a dehydrator for the month, which would have meant many dried, crisp goodies.  Instead we have normally opted for large bowls of salad, normally a green leaf based salad, a dip/ hummus/ raw cheese (something with a creamy texture), olives/nuts/pomegranate etc and one salad that is made of primarily harder fruit and veg (like this antipasto).  All this served with a lovely dressing.  The combination of these salads is tantalising!  We cannot get enough of them and have decided to extend raw June in the future……………our rawness may never cease!?

This is a clean and citrus antipasto dish that boasts fresh, fresh flavours.  The ideal pre-dinner plate to get the palate zinging.  The combination of sweet pepper, tomato and pomegranate is a taste explosion that is difficult to match.  If this little plate doesn’t liven up a dinner party, your friends may be comatosed!

The asparagus here was the last of the season from our local farm shop and very much relished.  It is not essential to the dish, but a real treat non-the-less.  The subtle flavour and crunch of raw asparagus will be missed until it re-emerges next year.

You can serve this with other antipasto favourites to make a platter, olives, artichoke hearts, chunks of cheese, marinated mushrooms etcetc.

Organic peppers and tomatoes will make all of the difference to this dish and your salads in general.  The organic veg flavour is infinitely better.

Thanks to Mimi Kirk and the brilliant ‘Live Raw‘ book for inspiration here.  If you live on a drab island like ours (where June resembles November) it is wonderful to leaf through the pages of this book and see the Holywood lifestyle and sunshine!  How I miss the sun.

Sweet, sweet tomatoes

The Bits

Antipasto 1 red pepper (sliced thinly), 1 yellow pepper (sliced thinly), 1 bunch of asparagus (cut into batons), 1 small pomegranate (seeds (or arils as they are called) only, no pith), 1 big handful of the sweetest plum tomatoes (we used red and yellow ones here)

Marinade – 4 tbs good olive oil, handful of fresh basil leaves, 1-2 cloves of garlic (crushed), a pinch of marjoram, oregano, thyme, basil, juice of 1 small lemon, 2 teas capers, pinch of sea salt and cracked pepper.

Do It

Whisk your marinade then combine all ingredients in a tupperware and mix together gently, don’t break up the asparagus and tomatoes.  Make sure all is coated with the marinade.  Leave in a fridge overnight or for at least a couple of hours to infuse.

Sweet Pepper and Asparagus Antipasto – So colourful, its worth a second look

Serve

On a nice big serving platter with whatever accompaniments you prefer.  You may like to add a little torn basil leaf as a topping and of course, some nice toasted ciabatta drizzled with olive oil if it takes your fancy.

We Love It!

It is so full of crunchy flavour and pomegranate in a salad is a revelation.  I’m not sure if my Italian friend would agree with such an addition, not proper antipasto they would say, but they only know what mama taught them!!!!  (Sorry guys)

Foodie fact

Most of us are aware that pomegranate is good for us.  You can buy it in juice form all over Britain, it is most definitely a super fruit of note, packed full of the antioxidant punicalagin which scavenges free radicals from our bodies.  Hooray!  One of my favourite pomegranate products is the pomegranate concentrate, it adds an incredibly intense flavour to anything it touches.

The worlds finest pomegranates are grown in southern Afghanistan, although I heard that Iraq had some tasty arils also!

Categories: gluten-free, Healthy Eating, Local food, Lunch, Organic, Raw Food, Recipes, Salads, Side Dish, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Posted on July 1, 2012 by leroy watson

The beautiful poetry of food! Thank you always Silver PoetX

The Silver Poet's avatarSilver Poetry

 

Next time you stand with an egg in your hand,

stop time and look.

Run your fingers over cool skin,

take in shape of the immaculate.

Hold it to your cheek, close your eyes, let it rest on your lips, taste it

Feel love clearly now.

When it comes time to crack the shell

tap with your ears,

and let the soft tapping in.

Let the sound of the shell cracking, resonate in your heart and in your soul.

Hear love’s words, do not miss a thing.

The message is for you.

Watch the contents fall,

into bowl or cup,

oh love,

the nourishing life source.

Do not sway from the moment,

this is your yellow and your soft white spilling.

Take time to revel in perfection.

See Love’s offering,

in pliable receptivity,

no regret,

in unbridled innocence.

With fingers or fork,

swirl through the centre of of…

View original post 153 more words

Categories: Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Nourishing Banana Smoothie

Posted on June 28, 2012 by leroy watson

Banana Smoothie

Eat your greens.  Now they are real words of wisdom.

A clean and fresh smoothie that feels so good on the way down.  A green smoothie a day is a huge step in the right direction for a zinging, healthy approach to living, especially in the morning time when our body needs some real t.l.c.

This was a part of my little detox spell which went incredibly well.  It always amazed me, when we inhibit or restrict our diet in anyway the cravings or desire for that food just slips away.  That’s me anyway, I think I’m a lucky one!   When I make a clear decision to give up something that is blatantly not doing me any good (we all know what they are……booze, coffee, lots of fatty, processed foods) my body respects that decision and responds in a very positive way.  It is such a reassuring step in the right direction.

Smoothies do most of the breaking down that our bodies would normally do, making nutrients readily accessible to be snapped up by our bodies and make us shine.  This is why they’re such a wonderful thing early in the day.

This smoothie is so simple and effective for a morning super boost.  You can play around with the fruit and veg, just keep the quantities the same and don’t add and citrus fruit (remember the Raw No No’s!).

I always try and pack as much spinach into the blender as possible, I normally add the spinach last as it does not blend well.  As a rule, add your juicy bits first to the blender.

This smoothie recipe is taken from the raw food book ‘Live Raw’ by Mimi Kirk which I can recommend highly.  Mimi is a real foodie and some of the dishes would grace any fine dining restaurant (not that  they have anything to do with real food).

GOOD MORNING to you all……….

The Bits

2 bananas, 4 stalks of celery, 1 apple (quartered), 3 handfuls of spinach, 1/2 cucumber (cut in half), 1 1/2 cups of filtered water (add to your liking, ice will be nice in hot places)

Do It

Add all to a blender and blitz until nicely smooth.

Serve

In your finest glassware, add a slice of fruit of vegetable to give it that special finish, you can use it to scrape out the leftovers in the glass.

Foodie Fact

A good tip with fruits is, freeze them.  If you have a glut of something, get it in the freezer and use it whenever you like.  Great in smoothies as it gives them that lovely chilled touch.

Categories: Breakfast, Detox, Healthy Eating, Raw Food, Recipes, Smoothies, Vegan | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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