Breakfast tacos

We are still ploughing through the freezer with the un-enviable aim of defrosting the poor thing very soon; well, as soon as we manage to eat it empty. It might also come as no surprise to you that I still have a packet of corn tortillas left from the score I made at Borough Market in November when catching up with old University chums.


Eating out the freezer proves to be quite the culinary challenge and as I picked up five avocados this Friday (again at Borough), inspiration struck for Sunday brunch. Corn tortillas, avocados and eggs equalled the perfect breakfast taco.


What you will need
3 eggs
50g cheddar
6 corn tortillas or tacos
2 spring onions
1 fresh green chilli
A splash of milk
1 ripe avocado
1 tomato
1/2 tea spoon chilli flakes 
1 lime
Fresh coriander


Firstly prepare the salsa (it's kind of a guacamole). Chop the tomatos and onion and add to the avocado (chop, crush or blend, whichever you prefer) with the chilli flakes. Top with the juice of the lime and some of the fresh coriander.

Next, mix together the eggs, milk, chopped green chilli and chopped onions, seasoning well with salt and pepper.

Next, prepare the corn tortillas as per packet instructions. Mine only need a minute warming through in a frying pan.

Meanwhile, heat a tea spoon of oil in a frying pan and add the egg mix to make scrambled eggs. This should only take 1-2 minutes in a hot pan.

When almost cooked, add the grated cheddar and mix together.

Finally, spoon into the tacos and top with the salsa to serve.

Of course, this flling could also go into the large flour tortillas to make a delicious breakfast quesadilla.

White asparagus with lemon and herb butter

The first week back at work has not been bad, I do however really enjoy my work. The worst bit of the week came today. I had stepped out at lunch time to pop to the Post Office as I'd bought my brother and his fiance an extra Christmas present which I wanted to post to them. I had to walk through Borough Market, which I do every morning and evening, however, Friday lunchtime is when it comes alive with the magical scents and smells of delicious hot foods and samples galore to be tasted. I though, was on a '2' day of my 5:2 diet, so experienced a massive 'fail'.


Whilst feeling despondent, I spotted some fabulous white asparagus for sale at one of the vegetable stalls and the only way to cheer myself up was to buy them. 'A-ha!' I thought. Tomorrow I will indulge, and indeed, that is what I did with this snowy vegetable, treated very simply with a fresh and fragrent buerre blanc to let its subtle flavour shine.


What you will need
2 bunches (500g) white asparagus
1 handful of fresh lemon thyme
40g butter
1/2 fresh lemon


Firstly, prepare the white asparagus by peeling off the outer woody layer of the asparagus spears, just 5cm below the tip down to the bottom.


Drizzle over a tea spoon of oil and toss the spears through.


Next, bring a griddle pan up to heat, before carefully placing the asparagus spears in the pan. Turn every 2-3 minutes for about 10 minutes until browned/lightly charred, smokey and cooked.

Next, gently melt 40g of butter with some salt and black pepper.

Once melted, remove from the pan and add most of the lemon thyme and the juice of 1/2 the lemon. 


To serve, pour the herb and lemon butter over the asparagus and sprinkle with a few extra thyme leaves.

I made a fabulously easy crusty soda bread to go along side it, served wonderfully fresh and warm. Gipsy Spread, of course had a steak and sweet potato wedges with his.

Za'atar spiced baked feta with roasted butternut squash

I'm still trying to create dishes that are maximum taste, but which can work on the '2' days of the 5:2 diet. I know that 40g feta cheese is 100 kcals, whilst 100g of cooked butternut squash is 40 kcals. The recipe below is hearty and robust in flavours to satisfy on any 500 calorie fast diet day. I used the jar of za'tar I got at Christmas from Sister in law Spread to add a Middle Eastern delight to the dish. Za'tar is a fragrent blend of herbs and spices which includes sesame seeds, thmye, oregano, marjoram and sumac. I estimate that a portion of this warm salad comes in at under 250 calories, but you would never guess it from the flavour.


What you will need
500g butternut squash
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
2 handfuls cherry tomatoes (c12)
160g feta cheese
2 tea spoons za'atar
1/2 tea spoon chilli flakes
1/2 fresh lemon
Little gem lettuce


Firstly peel and and chop the squash. Add it to a roasting tin with the thickly sliced onion and thinly sliced garlic cloves. Drizzle over a small table spoon of olive oil and toss the squash through and season with salt. Place the squash in a preheated oven at 220 degrees for 40-45 minutes, tossing once or twice, until cooked and caramelised.


Meanwhile, place the 160g block of feta in a seperate non stick roasting dish and top with the za'atar and chilli flakes, along with the juice of half the lemon.

After 25 minutes of the squash roasting, add the feta to the oven to bake.


After a further 10 minutes, top the squash with the cherry tomatoes and toss.


When the squash has cooked and the feta has browned, split between four protions and plate up a-top some crisp fresh little gem lettuce leaves. Gipsy Spread also had some chorizo sausage with his salad.


You won't believe you are fasting!

The fast (5:2) diet for January

Right, I am taking this 5:2 diet possibility seriously. At least for the ‘dry’ month of January, where quite feasibly I will not add calories to my day with a glass of wine in the evening, however the abolition of the morning skinny latte on the two 500-cal. days is going to prove a challenge. I have been thinking about what I could eat on these days, to plan in advance my 2/3 meals for each. It was then that I realised, I actually have quite a lot of recipes that I can use as part of this diet, some simply as they are and others slightly tweaked. I thought it might be useful to recap on some of them here.

 

I have mentioned before that we are eating out of the freezer in a mad attempt to defrost it. Fridge food will stay cold overnight in the kitchen in this weather and is therefore not as much of a worry. I had lots of tamarind and green chutney in the freezer, as I usually make it in larger batches than I use in one go. So, yesterday, I decided on the very easy chana chaat for lunch. Gipsy Spread had his with a venison steak. Whilst I was draining my tin of chickpeas, I took a look at the calorie content and was happily surprised to find that half a tin drained equated to just 100 calories. This topped simply with low fat yogurt and the dips and sev, should not come to more than 200 calories a portion – if I have calculated correctly. Fantastic – this is a great work lunch option!

 

This recipe would leave you with the option of a banana for breakfast and then possibly, the so simple carrot and lemongrass soup for dinner (or vice versa). One day down.

 

So, what about the next 500-cal. day of the week? I have not decided yet, but I do have all the ingredients in for a green bean, beetroot, and feta salad dressed with fresh lemon juice and plenty of black pepper (again, a work lunch), followed by asparagus with 2 poached eggs and only a tiny grating of parmesan with a mustard and lemon juice dressing. These should both come in at just 250 calories! Both these dishes can be dressed up with herbs and that is what I will be doing to add as much flavour as possible – also spices, such as chilli flakes with the beetroot and feta salad.

 

So, what about next week? Well, watch this space, but some other options might be my dahl (200 kcal), butterbean and mozzarella bake (350 kcal), Turkish eggs (250 kcal) or herby mushroom and green bean baked feta salad (200 kcal). Remember though, that portion size counts - 38g of feta cheese = 100 calories, and the above is my estimation based on the information provided on packets and is therefore not an exact calculation.

 

 
 

I think I have more than enough options for getting on with the 5:2 diet in January, especially with the extra advice provided in these Marie Claire articles on what you can eat on the 5:2 diet and tips on how to stick with it.

Butterbean and mozzarella bake (5:2 diet)

The vain January attempt at reserved eating after the excesses of the Christmas period has led me to consider the 5:2 diet. At this point it is still a consideration, and I am just eating lighter meals. It did however get me thinking that I most likely did eat less than 500 calories twice a week when I was a single gal, out on the Town, skipping meals in favour of fun. The concept also seems fairly sound to me. This is not complete starvation nor calorie counting at every meal. The idea is that the body goes into 'repair mode' on the two days you eat less than 500 calories forcing the body to restore damaged cells, which in turn burns more calories. The rest of the time, eat what you like (in moderation of course).


This all sounds good to me, especially when you throw in the apparant associated health benefits of longer life spans and prevention against mental disorders such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons. It was with this in mind, I went about 'calorie counting' my lunch to see if it would work on such a diet. Watch this space for more suggestions of how to make meals for '500-cal. days'.


What you will need (to serve 2)
1 tin of butterbeans
1 tin/packet of chopped tomatoes
75ml red wine
1 ball mozzarella
1 table spoon of seeds
1 tea spoon paprika
1 tea spoon ground cumin
1/2 tea spoon ground cinnamon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Fresh lemon thyme


Firstly, drain the tin of tomatoes and add to a non stick pan with the drained tin of butter beans and the glass of wine. Season well with salt and pepper and add in each of the spices, the seeds and the juice of the lemon. Reduce the sauce for 5-10 minutes to bring the flavours together.

Next, place the beans in either a single casserole dish or split between two individual dishes.

Slice the mozzarella ball into six slices and top the casserole.

Add the fresh sprigs of lemon thyme and bake in the oven at 200 degree for 20-25 minutes until bubbling and the mozzarella has melted and browned.

The dish can be served with some crusty bread, but is also a meal in itself and from my calculations based on the ingredients, comes in at approximately 350 calories. The seeds and wine can be ommited to bring it in at 300 calories if desired. 


As I say, I'm still considering whether I attempt to live off 500 calories two days a week, but whilst I'm deciding, it is good to know that I am still eating low calorie, low fat, delicious and nutricious meals in the come down from Christmas. I found the Marie Claire article on the diet really elicidating in terms of helping to identify easy foods to fit into the diet. You can, for example, work out what a meal of 10 asparagus stalks (in dinner) with a poached egg and slice of ham (in breakfast) might add up to yourself.

Spinach, feta, tomato and olive filo pie

Thankfully, Gipsy Spread and I are not back at work yet and riding out the British Storms, tucked up blissfully at home. So, again I found myself rummaging around in the freezer (which we are aiming to empty for a defrost), the fridge and store cupboard to make our lunches; which whilst at home, should be very much more interesting than a simple sandwich. I leave those for the working lunches! It was with this in mind, I defrosted the filo, wilted my spinach, roasted my tomatoes and crumbled my feta cheese and took inspiration from the fabulous Greek dish spanakopita.


What you will need
1 bag of spinach
A handful of cherry tomatoes
4 eggs
1 table spoon greek yoghurt or creme fraiche
4 sheets filo pastry
2 handfuls black olives
1 tea spoon chilli flakes
100g feta cheese
Fresh lemon thyme
Melted butter


Firstly, place the cherry tomatoes in a baking tray, season and drizzle with some oil (I used chilli infused rapeseed) and roast at 200 degree for 10-15 minutes until slightly browned and split.


Meanwhile wilt the spinach in a pan and remove all the water.


Next crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, season well with salt and pepper and mix with the yoghurt and chilli flakes. Add the crumbled feta cheese, sliced olives, fresh lemon thyme and wilted spinach and then set aside.


Have some melted butter ready and pile up the four filo sheets, leaving a long 'tail' in a greased round casserole dish, sticking in the centre using the melted butter. See the picture below.

Next, place the egg filling into the centre of the dish and top with the roasted tomatoes.

Cover with the filo 'tails' and bring together the ends by brushing the top with more melted butter.

Swiftly place the dish into the preheated oven to prevent a 'soggy bottom'. Bake in the pre-heated oven  for 25-30 minutes or until the filling is cooked. This will of course depend on how wet your filling is.

Serve either hot or cold, sliced with a fresh green salad and drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Afternoon tea at the Wolseley, London

You can't account for the English weather and this is exactly what we did when we arranged a nice day out together in London for my mum and Gipsy Spread's mum on the 23rd December. The plan was a trip to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park followed by a saunter arround Fortnum and Masons for their Christmas fare and concluding in afternoon tea at the Wolseley.


Well, it all started the day before with high winds and rain and warnings from the train companies about 'travel chaos'. I had bought Mother Toast's return tickets for specified trains from Lincolnshire to London, so we just waited to see what would happen. The morning of the 23rd, both Mother Toast and Mother in law Spread arrived on time and intact, however Winter Wonderland had been closed due to the weather. We adapted and went to the V&A instead. I am happy to say that the weather did not prevent us from attending our afternoon tea at the Wolseley - one of my favourite afternoon tea spots in the City (in fact this is where Mother Toast met Gipsy Spread for the first time).


I adore the plush art deco decor (v. Great Gatsby, fashionable now, but I've always been a fan) and the constant clink of china and teapots in the cavernous space.

We had had lunch so we did not opt for the full afternoon tea, a bargain at the price of £25, but went for the cream tea, which is just the scones, cream and jam without the sandwiches and any further patisserie. Gipsy Spread had spotted the blackforest cake on the menu that he went for instead.

Service, as is to be expected is excellent here. It is usually a good idea to book ahead, which I always do, however a few days before the visit Brother Toast asked if he could join us and this could not be accommodated as they were fully booked. At £25 for an afternoon tea and £10 for the cream tea, the Wolseley really is one of London's treasures for those in the know. I never tire of it and really enjoy bringing both our mums here for a treat. If you want a reasonably priced, but decadent afternoon tea experience in London, the Wolseley is the only choice.


So, I checked the return trains online whilst we were there and managed (with just minutes to spare) to place Mother Toast on a train home; the next three trains to her destination having been cancelled, one of them was the one she was originally booked on.


A nice Christmas day out, but there really is no accounting for the weather.

Garlic, chilli and hazelnut brussel sprouts

The poor brussel sprout is a much maligned vegetable. However, if treated kindly it can pack a punch of flavour. Again, this poor vegetable has received it's bad reputation through generations of British households overcooking the humble sprout until it turns to grey mulch and, of course this is not apetising. We treated our spouts on Christmas day to the joy of fresh garlic, crushed nuts and a soupcon of citris and chilli and they sung for us.


What you will need
Brussel sprouts (1 stalk or small bag)
Butter
2 cloves garlic
1 handful of lightly crushed hazelnuts
1 tea spoon of chilli flakes
1 lemon


Firstly pick the sprouts off the stalk and cook in a pan of boiling salted water until done. Drain and set aside.

Next, add a good sized knob of butter to a frying pan with the crushed garlic and hazelnets. Toast lightly for a couple of minutes before adding the cooked sprouts.

Toss the sprouts in the flavoured butter and to coat in the hazelnuts. Finally add the zest and juice of half the lemon and the chilli flakes, seasoning well. Toss all the flavours together for another minute or so until combined and serve.

These were fabulous on the side of my spiced cauliflowers and delicious roasted vegetables and potatoes. A real Christmas day treat, even for the carnivores who were having steak.

The Lygon Arms Hotel, Worcestershire

With all the travelling North and then South to spend time with both our families over christmas, and then in anticipation of New Year's Eve with friends, we decided to spend some time relaxing by ourselves in the interim period. This of course meant booking into a beautiful 16th Century Cotswolds spa hotel (I hear the water in the region is incredibly reguvenative). Our search, inevitebaly led us to the picturesque village of Broadway (where, incidentally I once sampled the best rhubarb crumble ice cream), the 'jewel of the Cotswolds' and of course the famous Lygon Arms hotel.


Suffice to say, we ensured we sampled all the amenities available to us. This of course included the three course meal with wine we had booked for the first night. The restaurant is in the grand Old Hall, with it's blazing real fires and candle light providing a perfect and romantic dining experience.


We arrived and were immediately offered still warm, freshly bake rolls. This was swiftly followed by the amous bouche which was a satsifying hot carrot and lentil soup, perfectly balanced in flavours and seasoning.

My starter was the twice baked Souffle, Westcomb cheddar and parsnip, parmesan cream and apple and vanilla sauce. The flavours were very unusual, but the pairing of mature salty cheddar worked with the sweetness of the parsnip and vanilla. It looked very impressive.

 

Gipsy Spread opted for the sea trout and prawn, tartare, pomegranite and cucumber salsa, saffron mayonnaise. Again, art on a plate, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Gipsy Spread opted for the supplementary rib eye of Baccleuch beef in a light pink peppercorn sauce, whilst I had the linguine, forest mushrooms, baby spinach and cashel blue, wild rocket and seeds - sans the cashel, I'm not a fan. My dish was incredibly creamy with a slight sweetness from the sauce. The mushrooms and spinach brought an earthy, woody element to the plate, with texture and nuttiness from the seeds. It was delicious, however far too large for me to finish after the previous courses.

We had  though come for the three course menu and I persevered and forged on to dessert! We were given both a dessert menu and the cheese menu, whilst the cheese offer looked delicious, we thought the sweet menu would be lighter.

 



I had the beautifully presented mandarin option which consisted of mandarin frangipan, satsuma sorbet and jelly with a creme anglais. This was the perfect harmony of tastes, textures and flavours.

 
Gipsy Spread had the coconut dessert. This combined coconut and pineapple delice with pina colada cream and chocolate ice cream. I had to have a taste of course, and found this dish to be realy tangy from the pinapple and light and fresh from the coconut in the cream.

All in all, our three course dinner was delicious, accompanied by red wine and finished with a wee dram of single malt Cardhu whiskey.


I woke up full after the meal, but cannot resist a good English breakfast, which is the meal that followed the above. Also served in the great hall, there was great selection of continental breakfast food and then a follow up of ordering a hot breakfast from the a la carte menu. I partook in all of it.

Suffice to say we had a fabulous stay and the food surpassed expectations, with the service second to none - exceptional. This Country spa hotel formula with a great kitchen is a winning combination and I have every hope to continue this Christmas time tradition annually.

Thai carrot and lemongrass soup

Dare I type the words 'January detox'.  Well, I just have. I truly don't know how long this will last and I suspect I may fall off the wagon relatively quickly. However, here is the first of my recommended detox type recipes. It is a delicious thai style suggestion, again from Olive magazine. You might have some carrots left over from Christmas and can use low fat coconut milk. This soup was just the ticket for me, having woken up on New Year's day with a bug, which Gipsy Spread blamed on my skimpy NYE outfit!


What you will need
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1 stick of lemongrass
A thumb size piece of ginger
500g carrots
165ml coconut milk
600ml vegetable stock
1 lime


Firstly, chop the onions, garlic, ginger and lemongrass (removing any of the hard woody outer stalk). Soften in some olive oil for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the carrots. Add these to the pan with the above ingredients and soften for a further five minutes.


Finally, add the coconut milk (reserving some for decoration if you wish) and stock to the pan with the juice and zest of the lime. Cook the mix until the carrots have softened, a further 5-10 minutes. Blend either with a stick blender or upright blender.

Serve garnished with fresh coriander and black pepper, plus a drizzle of any reserved coconut milk.

The Olive magazine does provide the nutritional content of this recipe, so I can tell you that a single portion is only 197 calories, which makes it great for anyone doing the 5:2 diet or just wanting to reduce your intake in January to make up for December!