A Little Bit fishy…

Let me start this post with a word of caution. If you happen to make Jamaican Lentil Stew with Coconut and realise at the step where it says to add curry paste, that you have no curry paste, DO NOT be tempted to substitute laksa paste. The dried shrimp in the laksa paste WILL be noticeable and make your whole stew take on a slightly fishy, not-quite-right taste. NO amount of curry powder or any other seasoning will take this away….

On a slightly more successful note I thought I would share with you one of my lunch time favourites. Sardine Spread. Sounds gross (and looks terrible) but it is really nice! I promise! This spread is good on crackers, in a sandwich or wrap or to eat with carrots or celery sticks. Sardines are super good for you – they are rich in omega-3, calcium, protein and vitamin D, so eat up.

I made this yesterday for lunch and put it in a wrap along with some lettuce, snow peas, tomato and cucumber – was good!

Sardine Spread Recipe

(makes enough for 2 sandwiches)

Ingredients

• 1 tin sardines in spring water
• 2 TBSP reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 squirt lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• gherkin, chopped finely (optional)

Method

1. Drain sardines and put in a small bowl
2. Add remaining ingredients and mash with a fork until the mixture forms a smooth paste
3. Eat

A Tasty Food Explosion

I enjoyed the Cannellini Feta Hummus I made at lunch so much, I had to incorporate it into my dinner last night too. It was another sunny Spring day and my legs were sore from hill intervals on the stationary bike this afternoon so I felt like something pretty light and fast to throw together. The picture looks like it was literally thrown together but it really did taste far more appetising than it looks, I swear!

15-Minute Greek Beef Salad Recipe

(serves 2)

Ingredients

Meat

• 250g beef schnitzel
• 1t ground coriander
• 1/4t chilli powder
• 1t ground cumin
• 2t garlic, finely chopped

Salad

• 4 large handfuls mixed greens
• 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2TBSP coriander, chopped finely
• 1 spring onion, chopped finely
• (I also used alfalfa sprouts I needed to use up)
• 1/2 medium cucumber (I didn’t have any but it would’ve worked really well)

Dressing

• 3TBSP Cannellini Feta Hummus
• 1TBSP plain unsweetened yoghurt
• 1tsp lemon juice
• water to dilute to a pourable consistency if needed

• 2TBSP sweet chilli sauce
• freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Slice beef into strips
2. Massage ground coriander, cumin, chilli & garlic into beef and set aside (I just put the meat back into the meat tray)
3. Place mixed greens on two plates and prepare tomatoes, coriander and chilli
4. Mix hummus dressing ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth, set aside
5. Heat a lug of olive oil over a medium-high heat in a fry pan
6. Fry meat until cooked then add remaining salad ingredients (tomato, coriander and spring onion), toss to combine
7. Place meat mixture on top of mixed greens and top with hummus dressing and sweet chilli sauce
8. Grind over black pepper

Mim vs Kitchen: 1 All

Do you know that is? Sunshine on my legs (please excuse the pasty whiteness)! Today it felt like Spring has arrived and warm days always make me feel like seafood. I’m not sure why – maybe it’s childhood memories of fish and chips on the beach. So, for dinner tonight I set to work converting a recipe for Salmon Jerky and Citrus Tahini into marinated Salmon and Citrus Tahini Coleslaw.

It looked and smelt awesome while it was cooking. The coleslaw dressing tasted pretty good with its lemon juice, orange, tahini, and honey flavours but when it came to tasting the salmon – bleh! I only used 2TBSP of tamari but it was WAY to strong. Oops. So sorry, no salmon recipe today but maybe I’ll come back to that idea.

Fortunately I have a kitchen success to share from my breakfast: Simple Berry Sauce. Simple Berry Sauce has been part of my morning for a long time. When I have time, my go to breakfast is a big bowl of oats topped with Simple Berry Sauce and yoghurt. This sauce is quick enough to zap in the microwave while the oats are cooking on the stove.

Simple Berry Sauce Recipe

(serves 1)

Ingredients

• 1/3C frozen mixed berries
• 1/2t arrowroot powder (you could substitute cornflour but arrowroot powder has less taste)
• drop of vanilla essence
• drop of lemon juice

Method

1. Microwave berries for 1 or 2 minutes. They should be fully defrosted and steaming hot.
2. Mush with a fork and mix in arrowroot powder
3. Microwave for a further 1 or 2 minutes. The mixture should now have a ‘jam-like’ consistency.
4. Mix in vanilla essence and lemon juice.

This sauce is not overly sweet but works well with the sweetness of the banana I put in my oats. It also works well on pancakes. If you have a sweet-tooth add some maple syrup, honey, sugar or agave nectar to taste.