health eating | beach house kitchen

Honey and cider vinegar combined with just boiled water is normally called ‘Honeygar’ and a mighty fine thing it is. This potion is not only a lovely brew (an acquired taste) it also has great health properties and may help to cure many ailments.

Both Hippocrates and the ancient Egyptians are said to have appreciated the healing properties of cider vinegar. It has also been used as an anti-aging elixir in history, which is always popular!

Good quality cider vinegar (with the mother) is a natural product, made by allowing crushed apples to ferment in oak barrels. It has cleansing properties which help to detoxify the body and is a powerful cleansing agent which naturally helps to fight germs and bacteria.

Cider Vinegar can also help to keep the body nicely alkaline. Vinegar is acid but when broken down in the stomach becomes alkaline. An alkaline body has been shown to better fight germs and disease.

Raw fruits, leafy green vegetables, tea and legumes are examples of alkaline foods. Interestingly a foods actual pH is not a good indicator of a food that has acidic effects on the body, for example, lemons and limes when processed by the body actually have an alkaline effect. The ideal ratio of alkaline to acid foods in a diet is around 70/30. High stress levels can also effect the amount of acid produced in the body.

Cider vinegar has been used to help treat arthritis. Many people are looking for alternative methods of treatment. There have been articles recently in the press verifying these healing effects.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the famous explorer and endurance chap, suffered with arthritis in his hand and hip and turned to drinking honeygar. He says “Without it I wouldn’t be able to have done all the things I have done…it has completely kept my arthritis at bay.”

Honeygar is best drank regularly and can take a while to kick in, so stick with it. It also must be combined with a low acid diet, that means no nasty foods high in sugar, nothing too processed (factory food) and alcohol.

I have a hip that clicks and a dodgy neck, which are probably old injures from when I was young and used to do terrible things to my body, all in the name of sports. I have started to drink honeygar and will keep you posted on the progress.

I think the message is, there is enough evidence out there to suggest that honeygar can work well.

When buying cider vinegar, check that it contains the ‘mother’ and is organic. This ensures that it is completely natural, the good stuff, and has not been distilled. The distillation process kills of enzymes and minerals.

‘Hagar’ Recipe

Add 2 tbs cider vinegar and top up with freshly boiled water, add honey to taste (1 tbs is normally good for us, we use maple syrup now which is delicious!)

You can tell this is an old article, the BHK is now 100% vegan!:)

Some of the info for this post came from the great benefits of honey site and an article in the Daily Telegraph

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Joyce and Keith and some dodgy looking waiter.

This was a staple in my family when I was a young ‘un, the mince and spud variety anyway. I was inspired by many a food blogger to have a play with this classic dish, I have forgotten where exactly, but I hope you know who you are!

I can eat alot of mash, it’s so more-ish, so I have included sweet potato to mix with the normal spuds. This makes for a slightly healthier mash and has vibrant colours with the rich, smooth texture of the sweet orange ones.

I’ve named this a shepherds pie, but it only resembles it in the technique of cooking. The colours and flavours are more vibrant in the veggie variety (I think!).

The occasion was a gardening visit by Jane’s Mum and Dad, Joyce and Keith. We had a full day of house sorting, managing to fix the fire and the strimmer and much more. We needed some rich and hearty grub and this hit the spot. I know that Jane’s Mum and Dad have slightly sweeter tooth, which meant the sweet pots and sweetcorn in this recipe were ideal. I would normally tone down the cheese, it is great without dairy, but I find a good lump of cheese sates those who normally have meat as a rule.

I would always used fresh tomatoes if available, but a good tin of organic toms will suit this dish fine. They are normally sweeter and give a nice red colour to the sauce. Just replace the toms here with one tin.

Most of these ingredients came from our local farm shop Hooton’s Homegrown. Until our garden starts producing some vegetables, we are lucky to have them so close. There carrots are amazing and really made this dish.

Save all stock here and cooking juice for soup making and the stew, you can mix them together to make a great base stock for later. Vegans, you know the drill, replace the butter and cheese with something like olive oil etc, maybe some tofu cream would be nice as a topping.

The Bits

2 sweet potatoes, 3 white potatoes (scrubbed and cut into chunks, gauge quantity of pots by the number of mouths to feed), 2 cups of dried butter beans, 3 cloves garlic (chopped), zest of 1 lemon (finely chopped), 1 teas paprika, 1 big onion (chopped), 4 fat carrots (scrubbed and roughly chopped), 150g (several large handfuls) spinach, 1 can sweetcorn (fresh if you can), several good knobs of butter, glug of cooking oil (you choose which), 3 handfuls of cherry tomatoes and 250g tomato passata (one good tin toms is acceptable), 4 teaspoons of fresh thyme (or dried mixed herb), 3 nice knobs of butter, 3 decent handfuls of mature cheddar cheese, 2 cups of good veg stock, 2 bay leaves.

The sauce in motion.

Do It

Soak butter beans overnight, covered with 1 inch of water. Bring to boil, skim of the white scum and simmer gently with lid on for 45 minutes, or until tender to the bite. Drain and set aside (keeping cooking water).

Get your chopped potatoes in a pan with some cold, slightly salted water and bring to the boil. Lower heat to a gentle boil and cook for 20 mins, or until tender. Drain (saving stock) and put back into warm pan, season and mix in a handful of the cheddar cheese and a knob of butter. Mash it up in the pan (saves on washing up) until creamy and smooth. Set aside.

Whilst all that is going on, you probably have time to start the stew base of the pie. Fry off the onions until soft on medium heat with a knob of butter and a glug of oil, then add the garlic and carrots, thyme/mixed herbs and bay leaves, stir well and cook for 5 minutes. Add paprika, lemon zest, corn and beans, stir in for a few minutes, then add the toms and passata, bring to the boil and add the stock. Stir in and leave on a steady simmer for 30 mins, until cooked down and approaching stickiness. I like to stir in a tablespoon of the mash to make the sauce nice and thick. Don’t overcook the carrots, remember they’ll be cooked further in the oven.

Pre-heat an oven to 200oC.

In a large baking dish, pour out your sauce into the base, sprinkle over a good thick covering of spinach leaves to form a thick layer (remember it’s a serious wilter) then scoop the mash into the centre and using a spatula or big spoon, gently smooth out to the corners, making sure that it meets all edges. Sprinkle on top as much cheddar as you deem necessary and a dusting of mixed herbs/ thyme.

Place on a tray and into the oven on a middle shelf. Cook until a gentle bubbling appears at the edges and cheese is golden brown, should take around 20-30 minutes.

Our Veggie Shepherd’s Pie (Fortunately, our cooking is better than our photography!)

Serve

Place in the middle of your table and spoon out carefully onto plates (unlike we did! See photo). Great served with a crunchy salad, we made a simple salad of sprouting mung beans (we just has a bumper crop, see more of our sprouting antics here) with a lemon vinegar dressing.