Stolen Sleep

I love daylight saving. It’s fantastic being able to enjoy some sunshine after work and have enough light left to go for a walk in the evenings but right now I am a little grumpy about the time change because daylight saving stole and hour of my sleep. Being a bit more tired than usual today I opted for a quick and easy dinner – Shrimp with Broccoli from eatingwell.com served on quinoa.

This stir-fry fit what I had in mind for my tea: fast, healthy and light but I was a little disappointed by the flavour. The shrimp is stir-fried in a little oil, garlic, crushed red pepper and added to steamed broccoli and a sauce. The sauce has vegetable stock, lemon and basil and is thickened with a little cornflower. I wanted the sauce to have a little more flavour. I think I’d make this again but would add a little lemon zest to give it some zing.

During the weekend I whipped up a batch of Banana Blueberry Granola. I love home made granola. It smelt so delicious as I was baking it in the oven. The whole house was filled by its aroma and I couldn’t wait for it to cool enough for me to sprinkle it on top of my yoghurt. This recipe is adapted from Allie’s Quinoa Banana Bread Granola. I have cut down the sugar a little and added some dehydrated blueberries I got from Farro’s– yum! Having banana in a granola recipe may seem unusual but it adds a subtle sweetness and helps the oats and quinoa form tasty little clusters.

Banana Blueberry Granola Recipe (adapted from Allie’s Quinoa Banana Bread Granola)

(makes about 4.5 cups)

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1/8C honey
• 1TBSP canola oil
• 1t vanilla essence
• 3C old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
• 1/2C quinoa
• 1/4C ground flaxseed (also known as linseed)
• 1t cinnamon
• 1/4t salt
• 1/3C pecan pieces
• 1/3C dehydrated blueberries (you could substitute raisins, chopped dried dates, dried cranberries or dried banana chips)

Method

1. In a large bowl, mash the banana until smooth
2. Mix in honey, oil and vanilla essence and stir with a fork until a smooth paste has formed
3. Stir in the remaining ingredients apart from the blueberries (or whatever substitute you prefer)
3. Spread mixture out in a roasting dish lined with tin foil (you want to spread the mixture out as much as possible so it crisps but need a dish with sides so you can stir it easily)
4. Bake at 175C until golden, stirring every 10 minutes or so
5. Toss through the blueberries and allow to cool

Recipe Underdog Win

At the start of every week I make a list of recipes I want to cook and go and buy the ingredients so I’m not having to visit the supermarket every other day. I start off making the recipes I’m excited about and then get left with the ones that I wonder why I even chose. More often than not it’s the end of week reject recipes that are often the most delicious. Maybe it’s because they make me venture from my usual ‘safe’ eating choices.

Yesterday I tried my favourite recipe I’ve cooked so far since writing this blog. I hadn’t been looking forward to cooking it but my-oh-my it was delicious! I just wish I’d made more because I could happily live off the leftovers for days. The recipe was Thai Fried Quinoa by Mama Pea of PeasandThankyou. Check out her website, it’s hilarious and everything I have tried off it has been super tasty.

To cook this dish you toast quinoa in a saucepan, then simmer it in broth and coconut milk. Meanwhile, you fry up garlic, ginger, spring onion then peas, pineapple and coriander. You add the cooked quinoa to the fry pan, add some soy sauce and lime juice then top it with roasted peanuts, coriander and coconut. So simple but so good. I wanted to bulk mine out a bit so added some shrimp in at the start with the garlic and ginger. I am SO glad I did – it was the perfect protein accompaniment.

Grocery Mission Aborted

I REALLY need to go grocery shopping and I REALLY don’t want to. I still haven’t done a proper food shop since my Frugal Frittata post and I thought I’d cleaned out my cupboards pretty well then. After having a look at the few items in my pantry and freezer I decided that I could make one more dinner from what i had left and it turned out better than a planned meal – win.

Usually I like to make my recipes from scratch. I like to know what’s going into my body is good and nutritious and if i make my own food I know that for sure. However, I’d bought some Taste of India Moong Dahl because I was impressed by the ingredient list (or lack thereof). It has no added chemicals, preservatives or sugar – just real food (see picture below).

Cheat’s Moong Dahl Recipe

(serves 2)

Ingredients

1 tub Taste of India Moong Dahl
1/2C frozen peas
1 1/2C frozen shrimp
1 courgette, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped roughly

Method

1. Sautee onion and courgette over a medium heat until softened and transparent
2. Add frozen shrimp
3. Once shrimp is heated through, add Moong Dahl
4. When mixture is hot add frozen peas

I don’t think you can get a much faster, quicker and tastier dinner recipe than that! I served mine with unsweetened yogurt and mango chutney. If you like your food with a bit of kick you might want to add some chilli to the onion and courgette mix at step one.