Apple Pie Smoothie

There aren't many food related things I'm scared of. My recent warthog adventure springs to mind... So when I was faced with a jar of coconut oil, I took it in my stride (even though I'd never even seen it before, never mind used it) and immediately set out to find out how I could use it. I'd heard lots about the health benefits of the oil and was quite curious to try it out to see what all the fuss was about.

That initial fervour gradually died down though. I tried baking with it, but something must've gone horribly wrong (user error?) for my lemon coconut bars did not quite live up to expectations. Edible, yes. In fact, it was pretty darn tasty, but it had some...um... structural problems if you know what I mean. I also found recipes online that advocated frying with the oil, but that didn't really grab my interest. I needed something that would let the oil shine in it's unadulterated form. And that would preferably yield something that would both taste awesome and look great.

Enter my trusty old blender. And a need for a quick grab-'n-go breakfast. Don't we all need those? Blame it on my autumn mojo, but the idea of apple pie in a glass really appealed to me. Not really having a plan except for apples and some vague notion of also wanting to incorporate coconut oil, I set out by peeling some Granny Smiths and allowing them to stew in apple juice until soft. It ended with me taking a lick of the finished product and declaring it "Heavenly". The coconut oil added that extra touch of "mmmm this is good". Not sure about the health benefits in the end, but it definitely tasted like apple pie in a glass. Just what the doctor ordered.

Apple Pie Smoothie

Serves 2

This really is apple pie in a glass (or as close as you're going to get anyway!). The coconut oil, strangely, seemed to really enhance the flavour profile too.

3 apples, peeled and pips removed

1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt

3/4 cup apple juice + 2 tbsp

1/2 cup low fat milk

1/4 cup oats

1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, melted (allow to cool slightly before using)

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp honey

1. Cook apples in a half cup apple juice until tender and liquid cooked away. 

2. Add apples along with the rest of the ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth. 

Serve immediately.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 383.6 , Total fat 13.8 g, Saturated fat 10.6 g, Polyunsaturated fat 1.0 g, Monounsaturated fat 1.7 g, Cholesterol 8.6 mg, Sodium 227.5 mg, Potassium 682.5 mg, Total carbohydrate 68.6 g, Dietary fiber 10.3 g, Sugars 18.9 g, Protein 7.8 g

Good source of: Manganese 82.3 %, Vitamin C 67.6 %, Calcium 26.7 %, Phosphorus 20.8 %, Vitamin A 20.3 %

Full disclosure: I received Kapruka organic virgin coconut oil in my goodie bag at the South African Food Blogger's Conference. However I was neither asked to nor paid to endorse the product on my blog.

Crab Salad Stuffed Pita Pockets

The relaxation is really starting to hit me now and let me tell you, it is awesome! Day 2 of officially being on holiday and I already feel recharged. We've been waking up without an alarm clock, going for leisurely morning strolls around the neighborhood, picniking in the afternoons and catching up with family or a good book in the evenings.



With that said, holidays are clearly not meant for slaving away in the kitchen (it tends to interfere with all that lazing about time) but of course it's still nice to whip up something tasty. I bring you pita stuffed with crab salad. It's similar to good old tuna salad, but with the added luxury factor of using crabmeat instead of tuna. Even if it is still tinned. Because we all need a little bit of luxury around the end of the year...

Crab Salad Stuffed Pita Pockets

Serves 2

2 x 150g tins white crabmeat

1/2 small apple, finely chopped

1/4 medium yellow bellpepper, finely chopped

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup finely chopped coriander leaves

2 tbsp light mayonaisse

2 wholewheat pitabreads

2 handfuls watercress

1. Mix crabmeat, apple and bellpepper together in a bowl. Season to taste, add coriander and fold mayonaisse through until evenly coated.

2. Toast pitabreads until puffed up, then cut open on one side. Stuff with some watercress, then the crab mixture. Serve immediately.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 253.8, Total fat 4.9 g, Saturated fat g, Polyunsaturated fat g, Monounsaturated fat g, Cholesterol 62.5 mg, Sodium 639.0 mg, Potassium 107.8 mg, Total carbohydrate 37.6 g, Dietary fiber 4.0 g, Sugars 1.0 g, Protein 16.5 g

Good source of: Vitamin C 79.7 %, Iron 13.5 %, Vitamin A 9.2 %, Calcium 8.0 %

Ropa Vieja (Shredded Beef)

Mojito's, sunshine and sexy latin dancing. At least, that's what I think about when I hear the word "Cuban". Havana nights and such. It makes me want to shake my hair and shimmy my hips. Put on some music and I'll be there, cha-cha-ing away.




Ropa Vieja is just a fancy name for Shredded Beef, one of Cuba's most well known national dishes. Which is just another way of saying it won first prize in the Taste Idols. I'd heard of the dish before (what did we do before the Internet?), but honestly it never really sounded very glamorous to me. Stewed beef? Yaaaaaaaaawn. Moving on. But I was determined to give this a go, as surely there was a reason that this was the go-to Cuban dish for people all over.

And you know what? This fits right in there with those sultry latin dancers. Spicy? Check. Full of complex twists & turns? You got that right. Leaves you panting for more? Well... I don't think you'll wonder about that after you've tasted it - you'll be too busy licking your plate clean and fighting off your dining companions for seconds.

I'm submitting this to the Regional Recipe Round-up for November (Cuba), created by Darlene from Blazing Hot Wok and hosted by her this month as well.

Ropa Vieja (Shredded Beef)

Adapted from Island Flave

Serves 7 - 8

1 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 medium onions, finely diced

1.4 kg flank steak

1 tsp salt

1 large green pepper, seeded and cut into large chunks

4 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped

3/4 cup dry white wine

200g green olives

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1. Heat oil in a medium-sized frying pan. Add onions and garlic, saute for about 3 - 5 minutes over medium heat until soft. Remove and set aside. Meanwhile, brown meat on both sides over high heat.

2. Layer half of the onions with the meat in a slowcooker (crockpot). Season with salt, add 3/4 cup water and cook on highest setting for approx 2 - 2 1/2 hours until meat is fully cooked and softened.

3. Remove meat from slowcooker, trim the fat off (toss or reserve for another use), shred the meat and set aside. Meanwhile, pour of the liquid remaining in the slowcooker, reserving the onions. Transfer meat back to slowcooker.

4. Blitz all the reserved onions together with the greenpepper to a puree in a food processor. Spoon over the meat. Repeat with tomatoes, adding them to the slowcooker as well.

5. Add olives, wine, paprika and chilli powder to the slowcooker, mix everything together to ensure an even distribution, then cook for a further 6 hours (or overnight) on lowest setting in slowcooker.

6. Taste, adjusting seasonings if necessary, then serve over rice and beans. Oh, and don't forget the cha-cha beats...

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 382.4 , Total fat 19.0 g, Saturated fat 6.7 g, Polyunsaturated fat 1.1 g, Monounsaturated fat 9.1 g, Cholesterol 93.3 mg, Sodium 871.8 mg, Potassium 970.4 mg, Total carbohydrate 9.0 g, Dietary fiber 2.5 g, Sugars 0.2 g, Protein 39.5 g

Good source of: Vitamin B12 94.9 %, Vitamin C 91.0 %, Selenium 49.9 %, Vitamin B6 48.7 %, Niacin 48.2 %, Zinc 46.2 %, Phosphorus 40.7 %

Tuna Spring Salad

Can you feel it? The lightness in the air, the chirping of the birds, the sun raising it's head much earlier? Yes ladies and gentleman - spring most certainly is on it's way! 



I had planned on making Hungry Desi's Palak Channa for lunch, but I soon vetoed that idea. Curries were definitely not meant for a day like today. No, days like today call out for crunch and flavour and crispness. And so I whipped up this light salad for two. But don't you worry my dear chickpea, I will soon put you to good use in that curry!

Tuna Spring Salad

Serves 2

5 button mushrooms, halved and sliced

5 radishes, sliced thinly with a vegetable peeler

1/2 medium apple

15 cherry tomatoes, halved

60g (2 oz) baby spinach leaves

1 tin (150g/5oz) tuna in brine, drained

salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame seeds

1. Combine mushrooms, radishes, tomatoes and apple pieces in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Arrange spinach leaves on two plates. Spoon salad onto the leaves and top with the tuna.

3. Make a salad dressing by whisking together the olive oil, lemon juice and sugar. Drizzle over the salad and finish with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

4. Serve with warm pita bread on the side.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 320.8, Total Fat 21.5 g , Saturated Fat 3.0 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 2.2 g, Monounsaturated Fat 15.1 g, Cholesterol 17.9 mg, Sodium 820.9 mg, Potassium 774.1 mg, Total Carbohydrate 16.8 g, Dietary Fiber 3.8 g, Sugars 1.3 g, Protein 17.9 g

Good source of:  Selenium 90.8 %, Vitamin A 73.4 %, Niacin 60.3 %, Vitamin C 58.4 %, Vitamin B12 37.5 %, Vitamin B6 24.4 %, Manganese 24.0 %, Folate 22.2 %, Vitamin E 20.6 %, Phosphorus 20.2 %

Bockwurst with roasted apples and onions

I made this a while ago, but never got around to posting the recipe, so playing a bit of catch-up.

Made a few tweaks to the original recipe and I think it turned out quite well, although perhaps a little bit sweet. I think this was exaserbated by me serving it with sweet potato mash. Not a good idea. Next time I'll leave out the sugar and serve with plain mash (as the recipe suggests), or even polenta.

Bockwurst with roasted apples and onions

Adapted from food24.com

4 Granny Smith apples, cored and quartered
3 onions, peeled and quartered
2 tsps sugar
1 tsp caraway seeds
3 oranges, juice of
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
freshly milled black pepper
4 bockwurst or frankfurters

1. Preheat oven to 180 ºC. Arrange apples and onions in a roasting pan and sprinkle with sugar and caraway seeds. Pour orange juice over and sprinkle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, or until onion have softened.
2. Add the sausage to the oven dish, spoon juices over and return to oven to heat through. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Moorish Crunch Salad

Tried out one of Jamie Oliver's salads for Sunday lunch, with the fried halloumi he suggests as one of the variations. I can really recommend this - it's light, crunchy and very more-ish (pun not intended...). 

Didn't have raisins on hand, so substituted with grapes - a very good choice, it turned out. Also couldn't find any tahini, so replaced with a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce. Because of this I also replaced the vinegar with a squirt of lemon juice as I felt it would be a better match. 

Moorish Crunch Salad

Serves 4

300g carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
150g radishes, thinly sliced
2 crunchy eating apples, quartered and sliced
1 small handful of raisins
1 handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1 handful of fresh mint, chopped
4 tablespoons of sherry or red wine vinegar
8 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon tahini
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted in the oven

Toss together all the ingredients, except for the sesame seeds, until well mixed. Adjust the seasoning if necessary & serve with the sesame seeds sprinkled over. Serve immediately.

Variations:

a) Add pan-seared chicken, prawns or scallops which have been dusted with a little paprika
b) Fry some halloumi cheese until golden and add to the salad along with some chopped fresh chilli
c) Grill some pita bread and serve stuffed with the salad. Crumble in some feta cheese too.

Roasted Brusselsprouts with Potatoes & Bacon

 Another instalment in my 101in1001 challenge - this time it was to give Brussels sprouts another try. To say that I am not fond of Brussels sprouts is putting it lightly. I don't like the taste, I don't like the texture; in short - I could comfortably do without ever eating Brussels sprouts again. But, seeing as TheHusband has quite a fondness for these little buggers, I decided to give them another go. 

I set about finding a recipe that promised to maximise the taste, adapted it a wee bit (by adding apples and leaving out the onion, as I had none), and this is what ensued.

I can't say it was the best dish I've ever had, but they certainly weren't as bad as I've had them before. The roasting do seem to bring out the best in the Brussels sprouts. Whether I would make it again? Maybe, but it will mostly be for TheHusband's benefit!

(On a side-note - the warmed up left-overs the next day seemed to benefit from a spoonful of wholegrain mustard stirred through)

Roasted Brusselsprouts with Potatoes & Bacon

Serves 4 - 6 (as a side-dish)

300g brusselsprouts
750g baby potatoes, cubed
1 onion, cubed
1 big golden delicious apple, cubed
6 slices shoulder bacon, cut into 1cm strips
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Heat oven to 220C.
2. Cut a cross into the bottom of each Brussels sprout.
3. Combine the potatoes, Brussels sprouts, onions, apples and bacon in large bowl; toss with the oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and toss again.
4. Transfer to a oven dish and roast, stirring every 15 minutes until the veggies are tender and well browned (35 to 40 min.)
5. While still warm, toss the butter and lemon juice over, until the butter has melted and all the veggies are well coated. Serve immediately.