Simplicity on a Sunday!

I love Sundays especially when a delicous meal is oh so simple!

Above I bring you Bacon and Cabbage.

My other half is Irish and when we visited his cousin for the first time in Ireland she had this on the boil and as you walked in the house the smell was amazing. I know most people as soon as they hear "Cabbage" go urgh gross, its digusting..........and to be honest I was like that! having been brought up with cabbage being boiled for hours and hours, until all life had drained from it and a slop was left (sorry mum) :) But after tasting Bacon and Cabbage for the first time I loved it. After cooking it many times ive added my own twist which just adds some texture. Hope you enjoy!

What you need:

Bacon Joint

Green Leafy Cabbage

Potatoes

(yes thats it!!)

1 - Put the Bacon in a large stock pan/saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and leave to simmer until cooked, the size will determine the length of cooking.

2 - After 1 hour add the Potatoes ( amount depends on the amount of eaters)

3 - After about 20 mins the potatoes should be cooked, remove them and pop them on a baking tray and put in a preheated oven at 200 degrees (They will crisp up nicely and dry out, ready to soak up the amazing juices when served)

4 - Now Slice the cabbage and pop in with the bacon. Until softened. This should take only 10 mins at boiling point. And then serve.......Slice the Bacon ( I couldnt slice to efficiently as the bacon did just fall apart, it was so juicy!) pop the crisped potatoes on the plate and then spoon on the cabbage and then the juices that are left in the pan just poor into a jug and let people pour it on like gravy.

It is so simple and tastes so good! I hope you have a go and rediscover cabbage :)

Go Green! oh you smoothy....

If you’re looking for a way to get your greens in daily without having to eat broccoli and asparagus everyday with dinner, then you try green smoothies.

Green smoothies are a great morning pick me up, because they are a quick and easy way to get your daily dose of greens in and they are super tasty. Green smoothies are also a low carbohydrate high fiber concoction that will fill you up and keep you glowing all day. From a nutritious standpoint, green smoothies are great, because most recipes call for raw greens and fruits which are rich in enzymes, which help to promote digestion and elimination, helping those of you are constipated go more regularly. They’re also a great food to include in your diet if you’re trying to slim down and lose weight. It’s been shown that when your body receives the proper nutrients, you lose weight because it’s not craving more food.

Here is 2 of my favourites!

One>

1 handful of fresh organic spinach
1 stalk celery (Optional)
1 mango
enough water to blend into a smooth smoothy! Yummy!

Two>
1 handful of raw watercress
Apple juice,
Banana and flax seed oil

Try adding some herbs, too! I LOVE parsley–it’s so healthy and cleansing. So yesterday’s smoothie had spinach, kale, parsley, and basil. I added three very small peaches, the juice of half a lime, and a banana. It was really yummy!

Must be Sunday!

What is your meat of choice?

The Art of Garnishing! - My Top 3 - So Simple

Cherry Flowers

Place a cherry on cutting board. Cut it into six wedges with a sharp paring knife, being careful not to cut through bottom third of cherry.
Use the tip of the knife to gently separate and spread the cherry segments to resemble flower petals.

If desired, place a tiny piece of candied fruit or peel in center of flower and accent with leaves of fresh mint.

Lemon & Lime Butterflies

Wash citrus fruit; dry thoroughly. Starting at one end of lemon, cut a thin strip of peel around fruit with vegetable peeler or citrus stripper

Repeat, starting at the other end.

Place both strips on cutting board. Using paring knife, cut peel into very thin strips, each about 1 inch long.

Place the partially peeled lemon on cutting board. Cut off ends at place where peel has been stripped; discard ends

Thinly slice remaining lemon crosswise. Cut each slice into thirds.

To make a butterfly, arrange two lemon wedges on desired food or plate, with points of wedges touching at center.

To make antennae, carefully place two strips of peel where pieces touch.

Garnish as desired

Radish Rose

Cut off top and bottom tip of radish with paring knife; discard.
Set radish upright on cutting board. Cut a thin vertical slice down one side of radish with knife, cutting about three-fourths of the way into radish.

Make three or four additional slices down sides of radish, spacing slices evenly around radish.

If desired, make a second series of cuts about 1/8 inch inside the first set.

Place radish in ice water until it opens slightly. Remove; drain well. Trim with celery leaves, if desired.

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These are the 3 that I use the most, the Cherry Flower and Citrus Butterflies are perfect to finish off desserts and the Radish Rose definitely brightens up any salad!

Fall in Love - It's Autumn!

I adore Autumn, digging out your winter coat and wrapping a cosy scarf around you whilst you walk through the auburn coloured park, leaves floating from the trees. You know winters on its way but you still get those crisp blue sky cold mornings.

Ive been looking for Autum themed table decorations and look what I have found, they just have that warm and cosy feel about them! hope you like :)

How do you start yours?

Breakfast literally means "breaking the fast"—of the night, as it is the first meal after sleeping.

Breakfast - The most important meal of the day. Its the time of day when we should eat something that will kick start our metabolism and give us a boost for the day.....and hopefully fill us up until lunch!

So what do you have?

Italy - Prima colazione (which means first lunch)Breakfast is not a big deal in Italy! Traditionally it would include coffee & biscuits, croissants and other pastries or bread. Variations may include fette biscottate (biscuit slices served with jam) – a sugar fix. They are big on coffee in the morning – espresso and cappuccino. If breakfast is eaten in a coffee shop it would probably be cappuccino e brioche (frothed hot milk coffee served with a pastry).

Mexico - El desayuno means breakfast

Breakfast in Mexico can only be described as spicy and colourful.
Fruit and vegetables feature highly in breakfast like red and green peppers, yellow and green bananas, yellow and red tomatoes, forest green cilantro, oranges and golden pineapples. Other fruits you might enjoy in Mexico include: mangos, papaya, watermelon, guava, limes and strawberries.

The Chile pepper is one of the commonest ingredients in Mexican cookery and is found in breakfast just the same as any other meal. They are used in many regional and national dishes like chorizo, the spicy sausage so commonly found in Spain and the ubiquitous huevos rancheros and breakfast burritos. If this isn’t enough you will always be offered additional hot, spicy sauces in restaurants.

Refried beans are a breakfast staple and can be cooked in a sort of spicy soup or with copious amounts of onions and garlic. In the north you will more often find white beans and pinto beans whereas in the south black beans are the favourite.

I do like these ideas, as I love Mexican cuisine I can think of no better way to start the day than with some refried beans.....think I will give this one a go :)

Japan - Asagohan or asameshiIn Japan, breakfasts don't differ from other meals a great deal. Most Japanese breakfasts include a bowl of steamed white rice, a small piece of salmon, salmon trout or other fish, a bowl of miso soup with tofu, vegetables, green tea and sometimes tiny pickled plums called umeboshi. Also common are hot bowls of noodles in broth topped with thin slices of pork, chopped scallions and bamboo shoots.
A few dishes are unique to breakfast like rice porridge, often mixed with a little salty fish sauce which adds flavour. Tofu whey is prepared at breakfast, which has the consistency similar to scrambled eggs.
Eggs are a breakfast food in Japan just as they are elsewhere in the world, however they are often presented raw at breakfast time and added to steamed rice together with a little soy sauce, perhaps a little salmon and a strip of nori seaweed to create your own sushi type roll.

I think we could learn alot from the Japanese, Breakfast Miso Soup is definitely a favourite of mine (Remind me to share my recipe later) and does give you a boost for the day. I might just give fish and raw eggs a miss though for now! :)

Pakistan - Halva Puri Cholay or Halva Puri for short.

The traditional breakfast in Pakistan tends to be a fairly heavy affair called. It consists of two separate dishes, one of halva (a sweet made from semolina) and the other Aloo Cholay ( a spicy chick pea and potato curry eaten with puri - a small round deep fried flat bread. This would usually be accompanied by lassi, which is made from yoghurt and can be salty or sweet. The sweet option is often topped with malai, a thick fresh cream.
Breakfast is generally followed by Chai - a black tea with milk. In urban areas and cities the Western influence means that eggs and toast with butter and jam are becoming ever more popular.

*********

My Breakfast preference at the moment is Smoothies and here is one I prepared earlier>

Contains - 1 x Banana, Hand Full of Raspberries, About 6 Strawberries and a Actimel Yogurt Drink.

Pop the Raspberries in the freezer so when added to your smoothie they make it lovely and chilled! YUM!

What did you have this morning?

Beet it!

I will be honest I have never eaten much Beetroot only small amounts grated into a salad. But after reading these tasty ideas my tastebuds are a tingling! (NOTE: must add Beetroot to the shopping list)

A memory of Pickled Beetroot is of my mum who would eat it with salads and the running joke was whenever she ate it she would be wearing a white top and as you can imagine Beetroot is a lively veg to eat so her top would always end up with splodges of pink Beet juice all over, no matter how many napkins she tucked in her top! Sorry mum for sharing ;)

I just need to decide which idea I will road test first>

Roasted Beet Salad (pictured above). Simply roasted, dotted with savory capers and drizzled with Worcestershire and hot sauces, these fiber-rich veggies are ideal as a light lunch or simple side.

Put a sweet spin on these traditionally savory veggies by making Beet Carrot Cake. Baked with crunchy walnuts, crushed pineapple and, of course, shredded beets and carrots.

Would be great served with.........

Spiced Beet Ice Cream! (is there nothing that can not be made with Beet?)