Thai Style Beef Salad

On my travels around Thailand the highlight for me was the daily menu.  So many new taste sensations.  I so enjoy the fragrant and spicy notes that Thai food has to offer.  My particular favourites include thai fishcakes, tom yum soup, green papaya salad, pad thai and those beautiful banana pancakes the street vendors whip up in a flash.  I had a real penchant for crunchy salads in the sweltering heat and curries also seemed to hit the right spot.  Here is an easy Thai style salad that is so versatile.  You can eat it with chicken or thinly sliced beef.  As far as vegetables go, anything from carrot to mung sprouts, cabbage to spinach leaves.  And finishing off with finely chopped coriander, basil or mint would do the trick.  Here is the version I made this evening.

Crunchy Thai Beef Salad

Marinade Ingredients
1 teaspoon chiu chow chilli oil (with chilli bits) or minced chilli
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1.5 tablespoons lime juice (I use it out of a bottle)
3 teaspoons fish sauce
1.5 tablespoons oil

Salad Ingredients
1/2 red onion very finely sliced
salt and pepper
250g shaved roast beef
1/2 bag mung sprouts
1/2 bag baby spinach leaves
chopped coriander

Mix the marinade ingredients.  Add the thinly sliced onion and salt and pepper.  Leave in the fridge for a couple of hours to let onion absorb the marinade.

In a bowl mix sliced shave roast beef, sprouts and spinach leaves.  Add the onions and gently mix together until all ingredients coated with the onion and marinade.  Sprinkle over chopped coriander.  Allow a couple of minutes for all the flavours to combine before you grab a fork and get stuck in.

And two days later I used the rest of the sprouts, spinach and onion to make the same with cold roast chicken

Mushy Peas and Prawns ... Thai Style

Thought I might try something different for dinner tonight to go with my celebratory glass of wine. (Haven't decided what I am celebrating yet, but definately celebrating)  This is so easy to make and is very fragrantly tasty

Peas and Prawns

For the Peas
Boil 500g of peas until they are cooked.  Drain. 

Add 2 tablespoons of thai green paste, 4 tablespoons of lite sour cream and a squirt of lime juice.  Use a blender or kitchen whixx to puree it into a pile of pale green deliciousness.

For the Prawns
Thaw 300g of raw frozen prawns.  Saute in garlic and a little butter until cooked.  Remove the prawns and deglaze the pan with some lime juice.

Serve up on a plate with the sauce out of the prawn pan poured over the top.

Monday night stir-fry

Monday nights are always a bit frantic.  First day of the week, back at work, tired, grumpy children ...  needing a quick easy tasty dinner and here it is...

Ingredients
1 red onion chopped
4 teaspoons crushed garlic
4 teaspoons crushed ginger
handful chopped beans (blanched in boiling water 1 minute)
1 chopped red pepper
handful bean sprouts
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 roast chicken breast shredded

1 packet cooked udon noodles
chilli oil

coriander

Method
Stir fry onions, garlic, ginger in a litte oil for 4 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir fry for another 4 minutes.  Serve up steaming in your favourite noodle bar with some chilli oil and coriander.

Home-made Hummus

Supermarket hummus is great as there are so many varieties these days.  It's instant,  perfect for picnics, parties or to keep in the fridge at work to eat with rice cakes for lunch.  My only problem is the fat content.  Certainly the popular brands of hummus at my local supermarket are quite high in fat.  Don't get me wrong, supermarket hummus is often spotted on my shopping list, but I try and make my own when I can, as it costs less, is low in fat and my son just loves it.  He's not into the flavoured varieties, he likes plain old hummus.

My home-made Hummus Recipe

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas
1 roasted garlic (see below) squeezed out of it's skin
juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 heaped tablespoon lite greek yoghurt
salt and pepper

I use my kitchen whizz to make hummus and it literally takes 5 minute if the garlic was roasted the night before(or when I last cooked in my oven).

Place all ingredients in a bowl and blend until you get the right consistency. 

My son's favourite accompaniment to hummus is brown rice crackers.

How to Roast a Garlic

How to roast a garlic

 

Cut the top off a garlic.  Drizzle olive oil over the top.  Wrap in foil.

Roast in oven for about an hour or until soft.

The Bolognese that just keeps on giving...

Bolognese with Garlic Chickpeas and Spinach

Every week I try and make a vat of Bolognese as it's one sure fire way of getting vegetables into my fussy children.  I freeze if off into portions to make a multitude of meals from spag bol, mince and cheese pies, mincy rice, cottage pie, mince on toast etc.  Today I made a batch and fed the kids spaghetti bolognese.  I then fried up some chick peas in garlic, added some baby spinach leaves, and then some bolognaise to create a tasty gluten free dinner.   Served with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and a green salad, all that was missing was a fat glass of wine.  I have decided to avoid alcohol until I can't stand it anymore to kick start the weight shift.


Bolognese Recipe

Ingredients
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
2 courgettes
2 carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 kg lean beef mince
100g fat free chopped bacon bits
1 fat glass of red wine
2 400g cans chopped tomato
Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Method

Put the onions, garlic, carrots and courgettes  into a food processor and whizz into a mush.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the vegetables and bacon, sauteeing for 10 minutes on a low heat.  Turn up the heat and add the mince, stirring until browned.  Add a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce during this browning process.  Add the wine, chopped tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for 2-3 hours until rich.  Sometimes I add a cup of milk to the bolognaise along with the wine just to make it even richer and luxurious, but it's not necessary.

And the next day...

This afternoon my children requested mince and cheese pies made in the little pie maker my son gave me for mothers day.  Honesly with left-over bolognese it takes all of 5 minutes to make these pies.  Firstly you need an electric pie maker.  These make nice little pies, a good size for children. 

You also need some reduced fat pre-rolled pastry, leftover bolognese and some low-fat cheese.

Cut the pastry with the rings that come with the pie maker, one large ring for the base, one small for the lid.

Place the pastry base in the pie maker, one for each pie.  Add a spoon of Bolognese to each pie, and top with some grated cheese.  Finally top with a pastry lid.  Close the lid of the pie maker, and leave for 5 minutes to cook.

And finally you have two tasty, but healthier than the pie shop pies enough to please the most fussy little and big eaters.  BTW The reduced fat pastry has 4 weight watchers pro points which is roughly the same as 2 slices of regular bread)  But not for me today, as I'm not eating wheat.

Simply Sushi Salad

This was such an obvious combination to put into a salad, I don't know why I never though of it before especially considering that I eat sushi as often as possible. Tastes like sushi but without all the fuss of rolling it (although that is something I really enjoy but only when I'm in the mood). My 5 year old won't usually eat salads, but has now changed his mind. I will have him eating greek salads by the end of the summer.

Sushi Salad

2 cups basmati rice

3 tablespoons sesame oil

3 cloves garlic finely chopped

2.5cm piece ginger finely chopped

1/2 cup soy sauce (tamari, kikomen)

3-5 chillis finely chopped(optional)

3/4 cup rice wine vinegar

8 nori sheets cut into small strips

150g smoked salmon

1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds

1/2 bag baby spinach leaves

1 avocado (optional)

Cook rice according to packet instructions. Heat sesame oil in pan and fry garlic, ginger and a dash of soy sauce for a couple of minutes. Put rice in bowl, and pour over the aromatics, left over soy sauce and vinegar. Add remaining ingredients and mix together garnishing with chopped avocado. Would also be lovely with garlic prawns, roast peppers or cucumber.