Spring and Whiff of Elnette

Market day is Wednesdays. Today I was rather late going into town as I had to wait in for a delivery that never arrived. Nevertheless, waiting had its advantages, the morning was full of foreboding clouds and a heavy shower I was glad to miss. Just before the market closed up, the sun came out and so did that feeling of Spring. The sun felt warm and the man at the veggie stall was chatty.

On my way home I popped into the charity shop, as you do, to have a quick nose about, enjoying the freedom from my desk. As luck would have it, I found the perfect thing to fit the day, a silk scarf, all for the bargain price of £1. The brightly coloured flowered print was astonishingly cool for my local charity shop, which never usually has anything other than grey misshapen cardies.

I walked home, waved to my 90 year old neighbour sitting in her sunny window and unpacked my purchases in the kitchen. I got out my new scarf to admire it and got a faint whiff of hairspray, which always reminds me of my Nan. That's the only part I don't like about charity shops, they are tinged with loss.

Courgette Cupcakes

I have a man in the house who loathes courgettes. Zucchinis, whatever you call them, it is all the same to him, (picture a pained, screwed up face) "ewwwww, NO thanks!". I do try and understand this dislike for the vegetable; everyone is different, each has their own favourite foods and I'm not even keen on marrow, the courgette's bigger cousin, so why shouldn't someone be allowed to not like, even loathe something? Well, to me, it is somewhat indulgent - I can't override this feeling that not liking vegetables is something of the preserve of children, am I right? I guess not, so I'm going to have to work on this one.

Anyway, there have been a couple of courgettes languishing in the bottom of the veggie drawer in the fridge, left over from last week's veggie box. There are only so many fritatas you can make with courgettes, especially if you're the only one eating them. So, I've also been inspired by my recent success with bread, and with the idea of finding something else to snack on that isn't an oatcake or a carrot stick (much as I love them!).

So after making the most delish curry (the subject of another post soon), I decided that I should deal with the remaining courgettes. I searched for recipes for courgette bread, but all seemed to need yeast and/or sugar, both of which are no goes for me. Not having found anything satisfactory, or a recipe that I had the right ingredients for, I decided to wing it. I have to say that the result was most pleasing - they even got the approval from Mr. Courgette-hater!

The most amazing thing about the finished result is the flecks of green from the courgette, so vivid! The finished article had a wonderful crumb on the outside but a wonderful cakey texture on the inside. The use of the wholemeal flour really gave it an extra depth to the taste, and I found that I wasn't missing the sugar at all! Perfect!

I imagine that this recipe would also work well if the courgette was substituted for carrot - you then open yourself up to adding cinnamon and marching down the carrot cake route, but that is probably no bad thing!


Courgette Cup Cakes



Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 175°C

400g Wholemeal Flour
2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 handful of chopped nuts (optional)
2 Free range eggs
150 ml Vegetable oil
300 ml Natural live yoghurt
2 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 Courgette, large, grated

Beat together all the wet ingredients, starting with whisking the eggs up and slowly adding the yoghurt, vanilla and finally fold in the courgette. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until combined, but do not over mix.

Spoon into cupcake cases or this works well in a greased loaf tin and bake for 30 minutes - if you make it as a loaf, you will need to bake it for longer, about 45 minutes to an hour. Allow to cool in the tin for ten mins and then turn out on to a rack to cool further, if you have the will power.

Eating for Three

Woo! I'm over the moon! The news of parasites inhabiting your small intestine and colon are probably never greeted with such joy and jubilation, but it answers so many questions! Such as, 'why would I be loosing weight whilst eating like a pig?' Answer: You've been eating for 3! Yes, greedy things have been eating my food!

So, I'm still on no sugar and no yeast (wouldn't want to encourage them to take up permanent residence now would I? It is not like they can't claim squatters' rights already!), but I should be eating more 'normally' soon. I've decided to take the alternative route to killing off the blighters, after all I've got to walk the walk...

So let the massacre begin!

Fritataaa

Homework this week was to come up with a recipe for a portable snack or lunch and to try to encourage more vegetable eating throughout the day. The recipes and ideas have to be simple enough for someone with a busy life (aren't we all busy?) to be able to manage, as well as someone who wouldn't describe themselves as a cook.

My mind started to go wild with the endless possibilities. It really isn't that hard to spice up lunch from a sarnie to something a little bit more exciting, not to mention nutritionally superior... Veggie soup (mmm, I made a delish spicy parsnip and carrot one over the weekend, but it could be too difficult to transport), bean salad (variations are endless), humous with crudite (not very original - but what about roasted red pepper humous, or aduki bean or broad bean humous?!).

Then it struck me! Fritata! Easy peasy lemon squeezy, and you can use whatever veggies you like or have left over. Or even turn it Spanish by using potatoes!

Mmmm!

Mine was a courgette and onion fritata. I like the onions caramelised, and the courgettes thinly sliced and gently cooked until they get golden speckles on them. Whisk up an egg with some freshly ground black pepper and sea salt, and Bob really will be your proverbial mother's brother!

bread and blogging

Today is an experiment with Erica White's Yoghurt Soda Bread as well as blogging, all very exciting. The recipe couldn't be easier, flour, yoghurt, water and sodium bicarbonate, the blog is proving tougher, no recipe to follow, just a blank page.

So the reason for my blog? A new year, a new start for me to get well, fit and healthy! I'm motivated, but I think this blog will help me commit, a bit like paying to run on a treadmill at the gym when you know it would be cheaper and just as easy to go around the park. So, I'm determined to be well on my way to killing off these bugs by Summer. Hold me to it!

Yoghurt Soda Bread




The recipe is quite simple and is open to adaptation. I decided to throw in some pumpkin and flax seeds to make the bread a bit more exciting, I think I might try sesame or sunflower seeds next time, but that was all that I had to hand at the time. I'd also add another handful, as although the bread is does have flecks of green and an extra crunch, I think it could do with a bit more for the eyes to feast on!