The Quince Connection

Three large quinces I picked up at Greyfriars' House & Garden in Worcester. (The apple and the orange are just there to indicate the size of the quinces)

In Britain, most people know the Edward Lear poem "The Owl and the Pussycat", with its lines,

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,

Which they ate with a runcible spoon 

- but not everyone has seen quinces in real life.
In Germany, everyone knows that they are yellow, because the term "quince yellow" has survived to denote a particularly bright yellow (quittengelb), even though the fruit weren't to be seen anywhere. Until, that is, around 2005, I'd say. Since then I have certainly noticed wide-spread interest in the food blogging community. I also saw my first one, 'in situ' so-to-speak, at another NT property,  Moseley Old Hall near Wolverhampton, around that time. 

Subsequently, I came across them at farmers' markets here, and this year even at a completely 'normal' market in Frankfurt. And on several stands at that. 

So, they're definitely making a come-back. And quite rightly so. Just having them in the house is uplifting because of their fragrant smell, which Nigel Slater described thus:

 “It's a soft perfume, rose-like, a little sickly but reminiscent of honey, too. 

A scent that marks the start of winter cooking like a tomcat marks his territory.”

I made quince & coriander jelly this time. 

My recipe was from: The Complete Book of Preserves & Pickles by Catherine Atkinson and Maggie Mayhew.

They are extremely versatile.Apart from jelly, you can add them to apple crumble, make compote to eat alone, with cream or ice-cream, or stir into yogurt. They can be baked as tarte tatin or as muffins, and even combined with meat in casserole or tagine dishes. Some people also make quince vodka. And let's not forget quince fruit paste - some of you may know this as membrillo.


There are loads of interesting quince entries on the net:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/quince/
http://cookalmostanything.blogspot.com/2009/05/whb182.html
http://forums.egullet.org/topic/32382-quinces/
http://gomad-ch.blogspot.co.uk/2006/10/day-of-quinces.html
http://culinaryart.wordpress.com/2006/11/03/quinces-in-syrup-with-clotted-cream/
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=3343535#post3343535
http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/quince-jelly-recipe-102/
http://www.goodfood.com.au/good-food/cook/recipe/ox-tongue-and-quince-tagine-20131031-2wkaa.html

I say Schaschlik, you say Shashlyk...

 Shashlyk/Shashlik (Poland vs Russia game)

Growing up in Germany, meat on a skewer, to me, was Schaschlik. It came from the common fast food outlet called Imbiss, was served in a white cardboard container and was smothered with a hot and spicy sauce.

Later on I learnt about Brochettes, Kebabs (Kebobs), Souvlaki,  Satay and Espetada. In German restaurants, meat on a skewer was called Spieß, the German word for skewer.

The best ones were served in Kärnten (Carinthia), the southernmost part of Austria, which borders the northern part of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia, now an independent country. Heavily influenced by Slovenian cuisine (not just due to its closeness, but also the Slovenian minority living in Carinthia), the enormous slabs of meat came highly spiced, on  metal skewers a yard long, and had Romantic names such as "Husarenspieß" (hussars' kebab).

http://www.berlinerfresse.de/2009/07/21/gemeskut-csarda-ein-ungar-in-mahlsdorf/gemeskutimg_0195/ (This skewer is supposed to look like a hussar's sabre, and it is clearly being served in Hungary or as Hungarian - see flag.)

But back to shashlik/shashlyk. Of the countries that were present in the Euro Championships, Poland, Russia and Ukraine call their meat-laden skewers thus. Before I cooked mine (first pic), I did my usual thorough (and thoroughly time-consuming) research, and (surprise, surprise) the search for 'proper', 'best' and 'most traditional' shashlik produces a plethora of contradictory advice. 

I made up my own mind from the information I found and matched it to my requirements.(Such as: I had chicken to use up, BBQing was out of the question due to the weather, and my grill doesn't work...)

This is what I did:

Shashlik

Chicken pieces (or beef, lamb, pork)
1 or 2 onions, minced (food processor, or hand held device)
hot tomato sauce
soured cream* (see below for recipe)

In a non-metal container, mix the meat with the onion pulp. Mix some of the hot sauce with the soured cream and add to the meat/onion mixture. PUT ASIDE FOR 24 HOURS.

Thread the meat on to skewers (wooden ones needs prior soaking) and grill the meat - best on a charcoal BBQ. I had to fry mine in a pan, eventually taking the pieces off the skewer... But the result was still so good that I wanted to share and recommend this.

Soured Cream

Of course you can buy soured cream but as you only need a tbsp or two, you then have to find further uses. I had double cream lite in the fridge, so I wanted to use that.

1 cup of cream
1 tbsp of lemon
1 tbsp of vinegar

Mix lemon and vinegar, then start whipping the cream, adding the mix 1 teaspoon at a time.

It isn't quite the same but it'll do as a substitute.

Next up will be my Iberian Casserole...

Nothing fishy, please...

...was what my men said when Germany played Denmark. - That was ages ago, of course. Before England succumbed to the penalty demon once again. As this usually renders all interest in the Euro Championships null and void, I'd better wind up my recipes.

For the aforementioned game, I suggested pork knuckle but the boys feared Sauerkraut would come into the equation and demanded the absolute staple of German cuisine: Potato Salad & Würstchen.

So here it is:

You need

salad potatoes          boiled in their skins, then peeled & cut into slices or cubes
mayonnaise
yoghurt (optional)*                  
mustard
vinegar
gherkins                   cut up fairly small
capers
salt
pepper
onions    (opt.)                  cut up fairly small

* I use double the amount of the mayonnaise; it's not very German (i.e. NO yoghurt added), but it saves on the calories.

Make enough dressing for the amount of potatoes you have. Add some gherkin or capers brine if it's not tasty enough. It's best to leave the salad to mature for a few hours before serving.

Serve with boiled sausages and some mustard. We like the "Frankfurter" packs of 10 they sell at Lidl. (Not that I'd call those Franfurters - but that's probably because my Mum's from Silesia, and maybe their sausages came from Frankfurt an der Oder!!!). At Sainsbury's, they sell a similar pack, an actual German brand, Hertha.

So, what else did I come up with? 

In no particular order:

Shashlik*   (Poland vs Russia)
Bruschetta topped with Cheddar (Italy vs England)
Piri Piri Chicken and Czech Potato Pancakes* (Portugal vs Czech Republic)
Mixed Meat Shish Kebabs with Chorizo (Spain vs Croatia)
Pork knuckle with Greek salad (Germany vs Greece)

I didn't see every match, and not every match I saw had a speciality meal, plus I can't remember all of them. I wish Russia hadn't gone out because I was looking forward to Spaghetti with Tomato and
Vodka sauce. Instead, we're going to have Schnitzel with Spaghetti for the second semi-final on Thursday, and for tomorrow, I've got a Portuguese-Spanish Casserole planned. And as the final is in Kiev, we're going to have Chicken Kiev, no matter which of the remaining teams get there.

* Recipes to follow.

Football Foodie

 

 Football Canapes - example from a World Cup (2006?) with all the remaining teams: France & Brazil represented by flags on corner positions (sandwich triangles with cream cheese and cress, footballs rolled from cream cheese and black olives), England, Italy, Germany and Portugal made from sandwich bread cut to size, and cream cheese, red pepper, mozzarella, cucumber, black olives, cheddar cheese. Red and yellow cards in the middle: crackers, cream cheese and red and yellow peppers respectively.

In the European Championships 2012, the first round has been played, and we're into round 2 now, with one of the 'Biggies' happening tonight - at least in my world view: GER - NED. So, tonight, the food will have to be Currywurst with friet speciaal.

We have paid culinary tribute to football games before. England got a Flag of St. George Pizza:



Germany got Currywurst  and Black Tagliatelle, Red Sauce and Yellow Peppers.

And during the World Cup in South Africa, I went wild over African dishes. Unfortunately, I never took any photographs or blogged about any of the recipes.

For this European Championship, we've done the following so far:

The other day, we enriched the chicken soup with spaghetti (Italy), chorizo (Spain), garlic and paprika (Croatia) and potatoes (Ireland).
Yesterday, I served Swedish meatballs in a creamy sauce, with gherkins and lingonberry sauce, plus spicy meatballs in a tomato based sauce, representing the Ukraine.(The cabbage element featured in the salad!)
And yesterday, we had a Russian-Polish Shashlik, with bought in chips and home-made coleslaw. (Recipe and photographs to follow!)
Kick off about to happen for the Denmark-Portugal match! Toodleloo!!!

Planet Football

TONIGHT!!!

I haven't even managed to write up everything about Essen, or put my thoughts about the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations into words (but thank God, there are enough sensible people out there who DID complain about the Celeb-Cult-Airhead-Gushing which seemed to be deemed commentary, as unworthy of the BBC), and no sooner are the buntings down (we didn't actually have any - biscuits with a red-white-and-blue theme was my only concession), and I have to deck the Moaning Room (lounge, living room, sitting room - call it what you will) in BLACK, RED & GOLD. 

Why? Because

THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS   

are on!

And because football is tribal, I'm afraid I will sit here, wrapped in the German flag. I'll also have a European flag up, but no red and white .... My earrings are just footballs - so that  I won't cause offence when I go shopping (at least no football related offence...), but I'm getting a bit concerned about the current colour of my toe-nails: they're the bright and cheerful colour associated with the team who son no.2 thinks will be crowned champions: Orange. Yep, Germany's football arch enemies, the Netherlands.  

 Clarence Seedorf and Jürgen Klinsmann

 will both be in the studio over here, so that should become interesting at some point.

Now, where's the Pilsener and the vodka for tonight? Poland and Greece will kick off, but then it's the Czech Republic vs Russia from my Mum's home town of Wroclaw (Breslau).

"Na zdrowie", "Nastrovje", "Na zdraví", "Stin iyia sas", "Prost" & "Cheers" !!!

To die for…

 

The theme for the “playing time” of the season 2012 at the Grillo-Theater, Essen, (as featured earlier) was RESISTANCE. With only about 10 days in my native city, I clearly couldn’t catch all the plays under this heading, but I managed three:

• Kabale und Liebe (Love & Intrigue) – Friedrich Schiller

• Ulrike Maria Stuart – Elfriede Jelinek

• Ästhetik des Widerstands (The Aesthetics of Resistance) – Peter Weiss

 

Schiller occupies, together with Goethe, the same sort of pedestal in Germany that Shakespeare inhabits in Britain.

 

Here they are in the major location of their creativity: Weimar. 

Goethe on the left, Schiller on the right

His play carries the sub-title ‘A bourgeois tragedy’ – where ‘bourgeois’ refers to the lower middle-class background of the female lead character, and is not – as one might assume – a pejorative judgement, as employed by the characters of Jelinek’s play, who were extreme left-wing terrorists. One of the connections made is Jelinek’s use of Schiller’s ‘Maria Stuart’, by casting Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Ensslin (the two major female forces behind the Red Army Faction of the First Generation) as the rival queens, Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart. The other is the theme of resistance, or more to the point, the attempt to tear down existing boundaries, social inequalities, and the armed response to oppressive regimes. At the same time, all three plays pose the question of individual versus collective responsibility, and – ultimately - confront the audience (entertained or not, stirred or not, applauding or not) with characters who were all prepared to die for their beliefs:

Luise and Ferdinand die of poison because their love has no future in a world governed by class.

Ulrike Meinhof, Gudrun Ensslin and Andreas Baader also commit suicide because their interpretation of ‘the end justifies the means’ is not shared by a sizeable proportion of the West German population.

And most of the resistance fighters against fascism in the epic Weiss novel(s) turned play are executed by the respective totalitarian regime they had fought.

Fitting plays for a time when ‘to die for’ refers to nothing more than a consumer commodity??!!

Summer in the City II

Pars pro toto - oder vielleicht geht ja auch Fotos pro toto:

Second time at the theatre - this time for Elfriede Jelinek's Ulrike Maria Stuart (more about that some other time). Successfully coerced a very dear friend  to come with me - which was extrtemely nice of her.

Second time at Bahnhof Süd - this time with an ex-boyfriend who entertained me with his usual outrageous anecdotes. Again in the beer garden:

And second time at the Gebrandenhof, where I had a Carpaccio with white and green asparagus (extremely nice) and a very long chat with a friend from the AKS (my 6th form school), also extremely nice. First time round, I was there with a friend from my middle school. Needless to say - also very long conversations, also extremely nice.

Now I have to step on it, as I want to see my Mum for the second time, too, and tonight, I've got tickets for Leonce und Lena....

Summer Time, And The Living is Easy...

Kabale und Liebe (Love and Intrigue) by Friedrich Schiller at Essen Grillo Theater

Summer indeed and indeed easy. All I did today, was read, write cards, and do crosswords, all in the ambience of my brother's yellow living room (made brighter still by glorious sunshine). Were it not for the street noises, I could well believe I were on holiday. If I took the local train to the south, I'd certainly be convinced, because Essen has an artificial lake, which looks like this:

But I've only taken the S-Bahn into town so far because I'm a culture vulture, and Kabale und Liebe is sort of the German Romeo & Juliet, AND we did it in middle school, AND I'd never seen it on stage. 

Well, what can I say? I suppose, for the lovely thespians back home who had their last night of the Cherry  Orchard tonight - for the record: a glass of white wine was € 4.50, the programme was € 1 (!), and there was no charge at the cloakroom. I also noticed (take note, marketing) that they run a 'full house' campaign on certain days when all seats are considerably cheaper.

As for the play, it was significantly modernised, which I suppose worked well in places, but also took away in others. The set was a 50s/retro jazz joint - certainly on the main part of what was a revolving stage. There were also revolving doors, revolving hearts, and a revolver. Ironically, the lovers' eventual death was by poison. Other indicated sets  were a church, a palace, a ship, a shopping mall. The latter had mannequins, clothes, and in particular, a rather central red bra and knickers combination. I thought it looked like a devil's face - which was probably the intention. There were at least 2 references to Satan. Now, to some people (me included), capitalism/materialism is devil worship, so, in that sense, it's perfect. And the play is, after all, about the ruling classes being above established morals and the law, whereas the lower classes are pure and law abiding. 

I don't think my German teacher would have enjoyed it - far too much colloquial language cheapening Schiller's poetry (why does anyone think it's necessary???), annoying feedback noises, and the ubiqutous nod to the despotic rule of the musical!. -- For crying out loud! Schiller doesn't need jazz, or the blues, and most certainly no third class pop songs!

(How did Eurovision go, by the way?)

These Foolish Things

As I had a very dear friend coming over last night, I thought it would be nice to welcome her with a cocktail - and I had just the thing: "Imbibe A Pop Of Spring Colour", an ad in the Guardian said, and the accompanying picture (above)  looked very tempting indeed.

But as nothing ever goes my way, and minor catastrophes and disasters will be thrown onto the path of  good intentions - my supermarket's strawberries had been reduced in price, hence sold out; I couldn't find where on earth (or rather: where in this obsessive-compulsive hoarding house) I had hidden the cocktail glasses; and upon plan B ('find 3 matching, suitable glasses'), I smashed one in the process of cleaning the dust off.  I also discovered that the bottle of Freixenet Rosada I had deemed to be in the cellar, must have been imbibed on an  earlier some such occasion. So, while I will record the recipe, as created by Shaken and Stirred (Oxford) for Freixenet, that is not what we actually had last night...

I had to use raspberries instead of strawberries, and a bottle of pink sparkling perry, instead of the real thing, and then my friend declared alcohol  a no-no, because she was driving...

Mind you, her raspberry puree with apple, raspberry and cranberry juice looked the better cocktail, as I served hers in a (single, lonely) Margarita glass!

But without further ado, here's the recipe, which is probably even better than the one we had, and that was GREAT!

Freixenet These Foolish Things

2 fresh strawberries chopped or 25ml strawberry puree
15 ml maple syrup
25 ml golden rum
2 squeezes fresh lime
Topped with Freixenet Cordon Rosado

Method
Combine the strawberry and maple syrup
Add golden rum and lime
Shake over ice and strain
Top up with Freixenet Rosado
Garnish Strawberry fan

Glass: Martini



I found the photo on Madhousefamilyreviews, where Cheryl reviewed several spring time recipes using Freixenet.

And if you want to learn more about Freixenet, you can here and here - on spittoon, a blog by AndrewBarrow who actually knows about wine!

According to my cut-out from the Guardian, Freixenet are sponsoring this year's Hay Festival (of Literature and the Arts), so I'll add that link, too. - Just in case... (Every year, I intend to go, and then LIFE happens, as usual...)  

31/5 - 10/6

PS: In case anyone is wondering how the diet is going -- not so well, as I can't keep away from the alcohol! But the men are very keen on Gino's recipes - apart from one, they've all been a great success. More about that some other time. Have to get myself organised, The Cherry Orchard starts on Friday, so I'm doing Box Office tonight, and at the weekend, I'll attend the Little Theatre Guild's annual conference. After that, I'm off to the Fatherland, where - austerity measures or not - dieting and/or staying away from the alcohol is usually quite impossible.

I need a bit of rough!

 

Well, actually, that should read: ruff. But how else does one get traffic to the site? (Hmm, even 'traffic', when translated into German, can have sexual undertones, if one is so inclined..., but I digress...).

On the last day of April, a Pagan festival known as Walpurgisnacht, is still traditionally celebrated all over Germany, as Tanz in den Mai, and with the month of May comes Maibowle. May Wine or May Punch contains a magic ingredient, a herb called woodruff,  or to give it its German name: Waldmeister - Master of the Woods.  

I  have woodruff flavoured jelly powder and even woodruff flavoured syrup, but the traditional mix for Maibowle would be 2 litres of dry white wine to 1 litre of sparkling wine (or mineral water), with the bunch of previously dried or frozen Waldmeister suspended into the liquid so that the  stems don't touch the wine. On Wikipedia, under the heading May Wine, it is said that the plant is slightly poisonous, so caution is advised - no more than 5 plants per litre of punch. Which is all very well, if only I had ANY, but alas woodruff doesn't seem to be native to Britain.

  

So I checked out the German recipes online, to find out whether anyone has tried using the syrup. And lo and behold, they have! What can I tell you? I saw the most curious recipes.

1.

750 ml lemonade (woodruff flavour)

1 bottle of sparkling wine

1 bottle of white wine

1/2 bottle of Schnaps (wheat)

2.

3 l of white wine

1/2 l of red wine

125 g honey

woodruff

3.

white wine

sparkling wine

woodruff

mint

lemon balm

2 slices of lemon

4.

1 bottle of sparkling wine

250ml of vodka

800ml mineral water

200ml woodruff syrup

600 g stawberries

And another one, admittedly called East Prussian May Punch, does not contain any woodruff, but red wine, sparkling wine, dark beer and arrak! Which reminded me of the Altbierbowle which was popular in Germany in the early 80s. Now that I've brought my parents' big punch bowl upstairs from the cellar, I think I'll do that for the next book party at my house... But I'm digressing again.

I ended up with a mixture of the above: 200 ml of the syrup, topped up to 800ml with mineral water, 1 bottle of white wine, 1 bottle of cava, a few strawberries, 2 slices of lemon, some mint, and then I made the fatal mistake of adding a bit of rum. I don't think it needs any spirit - but if one feels there should be some, then it is definitely advisable to use a clear one with little own flavour!

It certainly does work with the syrup - in fact, just the syrup and wine and mineral water would make it very similar to the one you can buy ready made in bottles, in Germany that is. So, no good at all here, and I haven't seen any syrup here either. Sometimes Lidl sell the jelly powder, and I must give it a go - I'll report back.

Ideally, I'd grow my own woodruff. I know that some people have done it, and use it in interesting recipes, such as woodruff flavoured panna cotta with a strawberry jus. Sounds and looks divine.

Apparently, strawberries marinated in woodruff until they turn into clear red juice make a  fantastic dessert soup - probably a strange concept on this green little island. Kaltschale is not that unusual as a pudding in Germany, nor would it be in Scandinavia or Holland, I daresay. I can't talk for the French, but I do know that they call  woodruff "aspérule odorante" or "reine des bois",  Queen of the Wood. Whereas the Dutch refer to the haybed of Maria: 'Onze Lieve Vrouwe Bedstro'.(I do not recall where I found these bits of information...sorry).

Keeping my Men Fruity

This week, I tried out two recipes from the current edition of ESSENTIALS, which received not so warm reviews. Not so much because the food wasn't nice - in my opinion it was - but because my men are prejudiced when it comes to vegetables.

So, what, the gratin contained squash and sweet potato! It also contained parmesan, didn't it? It was creamy, wasn't it? (Though I replaced the cream with full fat yoghurt and 1 avocado - probably didn't lower the calories but the avocado fat is healthier) I even served them a meat skewer, didn't I?

Squash & Parmesan Gratin, p.119 -- takes 1 hour 20 though
(squash, potatoes, red onion, parmesan, double cream, chicken stock, garlic, parsley; cook covered for 50, then uncovered for 20 at 180)

I thought it was yummy at only 394 calories.

The next recipe didn't work so well because my grill isn't working, and baking the lamb cutlets just didn't do the trick. And can I please remember now that neither man nor boy like lemony things??!!

Meat & Two Veg with a Twist, p.109 -- 30 mins marinating, ready in 30 after that
(2 lamb cutlets per person; marinade made from zest of 1 lemon, garlic, parsley and chili flakes; 'sauce' made from capers, black olives, tinned artichokes & lemon juice; 3 small waxy pre-boiled potatoes each, threaded on to a skewer with asparagus spears; first put the marinated cutlets under the grill for 3-4 minutes per side, then add the skewers - brushed with some of the remains of the artichoke oil - for another 5 minutes; drizzle the 'sauce' over everything; serve. USE YOUR FINGERS)

As I love lemony things, I thought this was great; especially at only 409 calories!

I served both mealsa with a mixed salad. Unless there are steamed vegetables to go with a meal, I always serve a salad, and the men have not only come to expect it, they make their own when they're cooking. So, that's an enormous step towards the 5 a day.

And what's my way of keeping my men fruity? Keep a fruit bowl right next to where they're "working" and replenish with small, easy peel (or no peel!!) fruit, like clementines, plums, grapes etc. The more frugal my main meals get, the fruitier my men become - it's that easy!

Szechuan Hot & Sour Soup

Chinatown Birmingham

Most bought soups, no matter which format (tinned, carton, bag), are not really up to much, I find. I'd much rather make my own, starting with a tsp of olive oil and a sizeable amount of chopped onions. Very finely chopped celery also adds flavour and health benefits. Then I add whatever vegetables are left/need using up, or otherwise, passata and spices for a tomato soup.

One of the only bought-in soups I really liked, was this one:  Asian Home Gourmet, Special Paste for Soup, Szechuan Hot & Sour Soup, Suan La Tang. Birmingham has a Chinatown (albeit small in comparison with London) with Chinese supermarkets, so this is easy enough to get hold of.

One word of warning though: it says use water or stock, and I did the latter the other day, and it turned out far too salty. So, note to self: only use water!

Homo Soupiens

The other day, I mentioned soups for lunch. I have always found, when on a diet, I turn to soups. In fact, I turn into a veritable Homo Soupiens! (Remember, you read it here first!).
Most soups, even in restaurants, are low cal (by comparison), but give you that warm, comfort food feeling that salad just can't deliver. (And salads, other than home assembled ones, are, as you will know, great deceivers in terms of calories/fat content...)

This recipe for a red pepper and lime soup came from a very dear friend of mine, and in her collection it comes under the heading "Recovery Recipes". It is my absolute favourite, and it really does make the spring return to your step!


RED PEPPER & LIME SOUP
(4 portions)

4 large red peppers, de-seeded and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
At least 1 clove of garlic, choped
1 teaspoon of oil
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1.5 pints of stock, hot
Chilli sauce to taste
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, fry onion, garlic, and peppers till soft
Add all other ingredients, with HALF the stock (this means yuou only have to use the food-processor/liquidiser once)
Simmer for for 15 min
Cool briefly and puree until smooth
Return to pan, add rest of stock, return to heat until just about to boil

Fantastico!

Another fantastic recipe from Gino - yesterday's spicy fish soup (p81; The Italian Diet, not the one above ). Admittedly, I added a few thin slices of Chorizo (cut into 4 pieces), an addition I saw in another recipe, and that might have made it so super yummy (and more calorific, of course). Definitely got the thumbs up from The Boy - who had seconds. So another three star recipe.

I don't just use Gino's book, of course. One of the problems with dieting (and cooking for the rest of the family at the same time), is that you also want to use up what is in the house, or you really need to use up frozen food to make space for all the soups you're cooking right now for your lunch time meal...

So, some of the time, you just have to make it up as you go along and hope that it's still low fat and low cal. I find that portion control in terms of the stodge (rice, potatoes, pasta) helps, and also my little rule of never using more than a TEASPOON of olive oil - whatever your recipe says!!! Most pan-fried things are most forgiving if you add a tad water if they are too much clinging to the pan. So, absolutely no need to add more oil!

At other times, you have to check your books/notes/the net for what to do with your glut of mangetout/chicken/beansprouts. One of my favourityes for diet recipes that work, are tasty and fast, is Ainsley Harriot's "low fat meals in minutes". This is where I found Wok-it Chicken Chow Mein on page 75, for my ingredients above. Unfortunately, this recipe wasn't as great as others I have cooked from his collection. I loved the way the mangetout are sliced lengthways (looks great and cooks them faster), but all in all, it could have been tastier and moister. Still a 2 stars meal as far as the men were concerned - though they did add salt!

Back to Square 1

I can hardly believe that more than a year has passed and I haven't blogged at all!! Certainly not about food. But even my 'From Brum to Berlin' contributions were rare.

What's much worse though is the fact that, not only have I not lost any weight, in fact, in 2012, the Battle of the Bulge is an even tougher one, as I'm actually back to the grossly overweight state I was in when I was approaching 50. Since then, I had been down somewhat twice, though never all the way to my ideal weight of however many years ago. One might well say that this is the weight my body wants to be but that's just one of the facets.

Now, if I could say that the diet(s) fell by the wayside because I finally addressed all the issues inside and outside this house, then at least SOME things would be all sunshine and roses. But no, the domestic battle front has also not moved one little bit, in fact, it can safely be said that we are well and truly entrenched!

But it's all going to change now, right?!! Right... The self-help books - of which I own too many for it to be healthy - all seem to say that step 1 is to state what you're going to do, and then do it. So, here goes:

1. I'm going to lose weight this year and keep it off
2. I'm going to get the house restored
3. I'm going to put my affairs in order

I've said it, now on to the far more demanding following through...

In terms of the diet, we started last week, and while the men DID have some chocolates over Easter, I managed to abstain. So far, so good.

I'm going to cook a lot from Gino D'Acampo's The Italian Diet. I bought it at a Charity shop and son Nr 2 has been through it, marking the recipes he would like me to try out, and I've got a few favourites of my own.

So far, we've had

• Light Spicy Meat Balls p75

• Baked Stuffed Onions With Sun-Dried Tomatoes p53

Both were delicious, and the meat balls were an absolute treat, my men said. So 3 stars there!

Next week, I'm intending to cook

• Spicy Fish Soup p81
• Fillet Of Cod With A Spicy Red Pesto p132
• Egg & Salami Salad With Toasted Pine Kernels p95

All diets work...

Tikka Mackerel on Salsa with Bombay Wedges

In this, my latest, attempt to lose weight, I am not following a particular diet plan. I am counting no points or calories, and I won't cut out any food groups. So, certainly no 'just eat xyz for a week'.
What am I going to do then? - you might well ask.

Well, I think: ALL DIETS WORK.

If you stick to them, that is. Some people claim that they did and still didn't lose weight. That's not my experience. I always did lose weight, although sometimes not as much as the diet promised.
I think what doesn't work is the maintenance. Once you've achieved your goal weight, the old bad habits creep back in, you lose the impetus to keep up the exercise, and before you know it, you're back to square one.
As I said before, one overweight person isn't like the next. I can only talk for myself, really. Even with the best intentions, there comes a point when I can't be bothered to count and weigh and add up. There comes a point when I just haven't got the time. There comes the point when I'm grateful when HE offers to cook...

After numerous attempts of losing it and putting it back on - I refuse to call it yo-yo - I have come to the conclusion that, basically, I need to stay on a diet for the rest of my life. That I have to see the whole thing as a handicap, as a dear friend of mine called it recently.

There are many, many reasons why this is difficult, one of them:

Healthy/Diet recipes are not suitable for the whole family

Of course, some of them claim to be - and maybe they are, somewhere in the universe - but they're usually not suitable for MY Family.

But if I want to keep this up indefinitely, and don't want to cook several meals, then they have to be not only suitable, but actually LIKED by my family. So, my very personal, tailor-made plan is:

• I will draw on all the recipes that I have liked from any of the diets I have been on in the past
• I will test out recipes that may fit in, i.e. suitable for all of us, and ideally, under 400 calories for the main meal
  

My men will give each main meal a rating of up to three stars.

no star = don't cook it again
1 star = we will eat it again
2 stars = we LIKE this one
3 stars = we LOVE this one

This is an adaptations from a recent Tesco magazine recipe:

(Serves 4)

4 mackerel, filleted (I bought just 3 fillets)
1 Tbsp Tikka curry paste (I used Pataks)
juice of 3 limes (I used half lime, half lemon)
1 red chilli, chopped
3 tbsp fresh coriander

For the Salsa:
1/4 cucumber, peeled and diced
4 plum tomatoes, diced
1/2 small red onion, very finely chopped
1/2 tsp toasted cumin seeds
1 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped

For the Bombay Wedges:
As many small new potatoes as you allow per person, scrubbed and cut into wedges
1 - 2 tsp Bombay spice
1 - 2 tsp olive oil

1. Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes
2. Skewer the mackerel and place into a shallow dish
3. Spread with the tikka paste
4. Add chopped coriander chilli to lime juice and drizzle over the fillets, leave to marinate for 10 minutes
5. Boil water and blanch wedges for 2-3 minutes, then pat dry
6. Pre-heat the oven for 10 minutes to 2oo C
7. In a small plastic bag, combine olive oil, Bombay Mix and wedges, mix well
8. Spread wedges out on a non-stick baking tray and season. Bake for ca 20 minutes
9. Mix all the ingredients for the salsa and arrange on the middle of your plates
10. Pre-heat the grill for the mackerel, grill for 3 - 4 minutes

I served ours with Bok Choi, but Savoy Cabbage would have been equally nice. My men gave it 2 stars, so this will become one of my staple oily fish dishes. The original Tesco recipe had no extra stodge or veg but salad leaves added to the salsa and came - at 2 fillets per person - to 255 calories.
As you can imagine, my men cannot start to comprehend the idea of 'no stodge', so I added the potato wedges. Not sure what the exact calorie count would be for my version. I didn't have the wedges, and I was perfectly full and satisfied.

Tesco's were selling mackerel fillets which were already marinated, and although I did go through the trouble of following the recipe, my verdict is that you could use them straight away without the bother, especially as all that good marinade is tipped away.

At £1.77 for the three fillets, it was also incredibly cheap.

Losing it Again...

Water after blanching red cabbage

The first kilo has gone, and I'm already feeling:

• lighter
• brighter
• more energetic
• less moody

I still don't sleep soundly, mainly because of lots of aches and pains, and I still wake up with pins and needles.

I have started on some light exercise, but I haven't managed to drink any more water, really. I usually try and do this with herbal teas, as straight cold water isn't very appealing in the winter, but I don't think I've managed the required minimum of 2 litres. Maybe keeping the 2 l bottle at room temperature will help.

Why is water so important? Apart from keeping our vital juices going (saliva, mucus, digestive), it regulates the body temperature, it "maintains blood-glucose levels by releasing sugar from the cells as needed" (Suzi Grant, 48 hours to a healthier life, penguin). Apparently, it even helps prevent allergic reactions, so really important for hay fever and asthma sufferers like me.

But fizzy water encourages cellulite, apparently!

Snowdrops Keep Falling On My Head

January's birth flower, according to Wikipedia, is the carnation or the snowdrop. The little snowdrop fairy above is an approximation of what I must have looked like for Carnival. In several areas of Germany, dressing up for Carnival on Rose Monday (the Monday preceding Shrove, i.e. Pancake, Tuesday) is very popular (more about that in due time). My Mum made that costume for me when I was eight maybe, and my legs were never that thin, even then. Nonetheless, everyone was always on about what "a bad eater" I was, and on paper at least, I was always underweight.

They needn't have worried. Now, some 40 odd years later, with a BMI of 30 or 31, I'm considered obese. The struggle to get down to at least 25 has been going on for a long time, and while I managed to get even further down at some point, it has always crept back up. Whatever anybody comes up with in terms of explanations why some of us face this life-long battle, I usually just want to scream.
Why can't they see what is blindingly obvious to me? The overweight, the obese, the clinically obese are not one big group, all with the same problem(s) and the same underlying factors!!! Of course there are people who have the most outrageous diets, who totally gorge themselves on an epic scale. Of course there are people with a fully fledged eating disorder.
But anyone who was perfectly within the norm as a child and teenager (or even below, like me) may simply be a victim of a cluster of factors from within the unhealthy Western life-style. And yes, a predisposition to put on weight is another factor. Some people live that same life-style without putting weight on. Maybe some, but not anywhere near 3 stone in a year. They are, of course, the 3 stone I had lost before - as the saying goes: I keep losing weight, but it keeps finding me - and it is a sad truth that 90 % of people who lose weight put it back on!!! (No, I cannot tell you where I've got that figure from, I didn't record that.)

What makes it so much worse is:

When you lose weight, you lose weight and muscle, when it goes back on, it usually goes on in fat!

So, I'm all blubber now, and the only way to change that is the dreaded E-Word: EXERCISE.
It is the only way to increase muscle, after all. The good thing about it is:

The more lean muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate!! For every pound of muscle, your body uses around 50 extra calories per day.

But, luckily, snowdrops keep falling, which gives me the excuse for not getting into the car and to the gym...

El Dia de los Tres Reyes

is what the Spanish speaking countries call Epiphany, and this is what we saw in Spain - the three kings entering the house, very much in the same fashion as Father Christmas/Santa (who could be seen alongside climbing the walls).

I have written about the feast of the three kings before when I made the French Kings' Cake. It was very nice but also very rich, so this time I'd like to make one which is more bread than cake. See here for an overview of kings' cakes from different countries.

The Spanish Rosca de Reyes and the Portuguese Bolo Rei both fall into this category, but it is the New Orleans version that takes my fancy. First of all because the King Cake has a complete season there - namely between Epiphany and Mardi Gras - and secondly because this connection is responsible for its Carnival colours, purple, gold and green.

See here and here for more information and recipes. I'm probably going to end up with a combination recipe.

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Happy Twenty Ten!

I got this in card form for my birthday. I believe it's a Banksy. So fitting. A lot of the time, I don't manage beyond the above - and sometimes, even getting dressed lies well beyond my capabilities... No, I kid you not. Today is the first day of the new year that I have achieved as much, and apart from a handful of e-mails it has been my only form of action No, hang on, I've done a little clearing up in the front room, and I've emptied the dishwasher. My only other contribution has been in a consultancy role with regard to a painting in the style of Klimt. I even provided just the right sort of golden paint. I knew where that was, you see, as opposed to far more important things such as passport photograsphs for Ben's term time bus pass...
So, it seems this year has begun as so many others before, with me out of action due to a cold, and other members of the family as disorganised as usual...
BUT, as I am out of bed and dressed, I shall call today a successful day! Maybe, if I keep my expectations low, I can actually try and attack one or the other thing on my plate!!!