Healthier cooking enjoyment

Cooking for an Allergy-free Lifestyle

Concerned about Martie’s reflux, my cooking and what I serve, the Cooking for an Allergy-free Lifestyle book-cover on p. 19 of the November 2011 FOOD & HOME Entertaining magazine most certainly caught my eye.

 

The RANDOM HOUSE STRUIK description states it is a recipe book with a difference. Tammi Forman wrote it as a person with allergies, for people with allergies sharing her family secrets and recipes. The recipes are coded for egg-, wheat-, gluten-, dairy-, nut-, yeast- and sugar-free options for quick reference. The description further states it is a highly practical book, for a balanced lifestyle of affordable allergy-free just as delicious recipes as those laden with dairy, wheat or egg, with the  emphasis on convenience. The book is said to feature 146 recipes ranging from breakfasts, breads, salads and dressings, to soups, main meals, cakes and bakes. At R180-00 I am most certainly going to order a copy. Loot has it for R151-00.

Cauliflower and broccoli florets tomato-soup

Had a duet pack of cauliflower and broccoli in the fridge, it was cold for Johannesburg standards and I had a packet with two nice fleshy shin on marrow-bone, with no visible fat in the freezer.

Took a medium sized pot; placed the frozen shin in it; chopped a medium-sized onion; added a cup of water and placed on the stove to start cooking.

Take a packet of sundried tomato; cut them in smaller pieces and add to the mix in the pot. Cut the cauliflower and broccoli florets off the centre stem and the stem into small pieces. Add the cauliflower and broccoli as well as the content of a sachet of Ina Paarman's Real Beef Stock and a second cup of hot water to the pot.

Once the meat is tender stir in a tin of tomato paste; and water if necessary and serve hot.

Martie loved teh tomato flavour.

Butternut+sweet potato soup with lentils

Do you love creamy butternut soup? Here is a low-fat alternative.

I started by washing a young butternut clean, where after I cut it in 10 mm thick slices (leaving the peals on but removing the seed) and placing them in a pot. Scrubbed 2-3 young sweet potatoes  ander running water, slice similarly and add to the pot. Rinse about 150 grams of leaks, slice and add. Remove the outer skin of four garlic pods, slice in 1 mm slices and add. Add 4 ml of coarse sea salt, about 200 ml water and cook untel tender. Then left to cool down, where after I used my hand-blender to pulp the contents (making sure there are no butternut or sweet potato peel chunks).

I cooked a bag of lentils until tender to use in various dishes.

When time for dinner I took soup bowls; spoon about a third full with the butternut-pulp; added a number of spoons of lentels and finally about a third of fat-free yogurt; mixed the content well and heat in the microwave for 2 minutes. Stirred vigourously and served.

Martie's lekkerbek seal of approval: Interesting! Especially with the lentils (which means yogurt can be an appropriate substitute for cream). However, do not let the final mix stand as the yogurt may curdle.

For brunch I made fishcakes with tinned pilchards, egg, fresh parsley finely chopped, krakley wholeweat flour and a pinch of sea salt. Mixed the ingrediants well and scooped into a non-stick frying pan with just some spray & cook (no oil). I served the fish cakes with toast, lightly buttered.

Four basic STOCK recipes

Increased awareness about how to improve our own and our family’s health is resulting in increased popularity of low-fat cooking. However, this does not mean ‘diet’ food which is boring, bland and unappetising (The best ever low fat 2003: 4).

Concentrated fat-free stock is a very important aspect of low-fat cooking. Herewith four essential stock recipes that are easy to make: vegetable, chicken, beef and fish stock

Ingredients	Vegetable	Chicken	Beef	Fish
	2x Tbsp Sunflower oil	1.3kg wings, neck	1kg marrow bone	650g fish bones
		—	650g stewing	—
Water	2.25 litres	4 litres	2.8 litres	1.3 litres
Dry wine	—	—	—	125ml
Onions	115g chop finely	2x cut wedges	2x halved	1x sliced
Celery	4x sticks chopped	2x chopped	2x sticks chopped	2x sticks chopped
Carrots	115g chop finely	2x chopped	—	1x sliced
Black pepper	—	10x corns	8x corns	4x corns
Parsley	—	10x fresh sprigs	—	4x fresh sprigs
Bay leafs	—	2x	—	1x
Bouquet garni	1x	—	1x	—
Leeks	115g chop finely	—	—	—
Fennel	85g chop finely	—	—	—
Tomatoes	85g chop finely	—	—	—
Lemon	—	—	—	½ sliced
Thyme	—	4x fresh sprigs	—	—
Cloves	—	—	4x	—
Method	Cook onions and leeks in oil for 5 minutes. Stir. Add remaining vegetables and cook for 10 minutes. Stir. Add water and bouquet garni and simmer for 20 minutes.	Cook chicken and onions at low heat, stir frequently, until brown. Add water and while boil skim off foam. Add remaining ingredients, partially cover and simmer gently for 3 hours	Boil bones and beef, skim off the foam that rises. Press a clove into each onion half. Add celery, peppercorns and bouquet garni. Partially cover and simmer gently for 3 hours. Remove beef and simmer for further 1 hour	Boil ingredients and skim off the foam that rises. Partially cover and simmer gently for 25 minutes.
Storage	Sieve, cool and use, store in refrigerator or freeze up to 3 months.	Sieve and when cool discard layer of fat n surface.reeze up to 6 months.	Sieve and when cool discard layer of fat n surface. Freeze up to 6 months.	Sieve, cool and use, store in refrigerator or freeze up to 3 months.

Bouquet garni: tie 4 fresh parsley stems, 1 clove, 1 bay leaf and 4 peppercorns in a piece of clean muslin.

Download 4x _STOCK_recipes

The best ever low fat. 2003. Parragon.