Recovery, One Meal at a Time

[recoverykitchen]

Recipe: Grill’s Fucked? Oven-Cook Kebabs (& Rainbow Side Salad)

Hi, I’m back with another recipe. Now we’re getting into summer, it's the perfect time for getting some friends together and enjoying some BBQ outside. Unfortunately for me I don’t have a BBQ, and the grill in the Recovery Kitchen hasn’t worked since we moved in. So I’ve had to improvise and put together a recipe that you can still enjoy outside on a summer night but also cooks in the oven for those without a working grill. I’ve used ras el hanout which is one of my favourite spice mixes - if you can’t find any or can’t be arsed with it, garam masala or curry powder will work in a pinch, but if you can get hold of ras el hanout it’s definitely worth it.

The side salad is a great low-effort way to add a splash of colour to your meal, and it tastes great served over flatbread and hummus. But if any of the ingredients aren’t to your taste, feel free to switch them out for ones you do enjoy. If you’re just starting out on your way to enjoying food again, I’ve found it helps to use recipes as jumping off points to fuck around and find out what works for me rather than following them to the letter. The more you do, the more confident and in control you’ll feel in the kitchen, which really helps with a lot of the ED control urges.

(Note: if you’re using wooden skewers it’s recommended to soak them in cold water for at least 10 minutes before cooking to prevent the wood from burning.)

Serves: 4 || Prep time: 30 minutes plus marinating || Cook time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast fillets (about 600g)

1 heaped tbsp ras el hanout

3tbsp olive oil

1tbsp garlic paste

1tsp ginger paste

1tsp salt

1 lemon

hot sauce, to serve (optional - I use Cholula hot sauce)

For the salad:

100g spinach

100g cherry tomatoes

100g tinned sweetcorn

1 carrot

1 beetroot

½ cucumber

Method:

To make the marinade combine the ras el hanout, oil, garlic, ginger and salt in a bowl and add the juice of the lemon. Whisk with a fork until well mixed.

Cut the chicken into cubes and add to the marinade and mix well. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. (The longer you can leave it the better - ideally you want to do this the night before but if you forget or can’t be arsed I won’t tell anyone.)

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (or 180ºC if you’re using a fan oven). Divide the chicken between 4 skewers and place on a baking tray. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through to make sure they cook evenly.

While the kebabs are cooking, prepare the salad. Halve the cherry tomatoes, cut the cucumber into thin slices and combine with the spinach in a large bowl or serving dish. Grate the carrot and beetroot and sprinkle over the top of the salad, then finish with the sweetcorn. Serve with the hot sauce (if using).

[recoverykitchen]

Recipe: Vegan Fuck Off Curry

Hi, and welcome back. For my first recipe I wanted to share something that’s helped me out of a brain hole many a time. When you’re tired and feel like shit there’s nothing like knowing dinner’s taken care of for the next few days because you’ve made a massive fuck off curry. It’s also a great way of using up whatever leftover veg you have - I’ve included some of my favourites but you can replace them with pretty much anything.

The spice amounts are more of a guide than anything - my advice would be to vibe it, taste as you go and add more if need be. I’m not really a big spice guy, so if you like a hotter curry you might find it a bit on the mild side. But if you like a bit of heat that’s not too overpowering, you shouldn’t need to tweak the recipe too much. It’s great with rice or naan bread (or both if you want to live deliciously), but works on its own as a side dish too.

Serves: 4-6 || Prep time: 15 minutes || Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 onions

2 sweet potatoes

1tbsp olive oil

3tbsp curry paste (I use Sainsbury’s tikka masala spice paste)

1tbsp garlic paste

1tsp ginger paste

1tsp turmeric

1tsp garam masala

1/2tsp chilli flakes

1x400g tin chopped tomatoes

1x400g tin chickpeas

1tbsp mango chutney

5g coriander (optional)

1 lemon

100g spinach

Method:

Roughly chop the onions. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into bite sized chunks. Fry the onion and sweet potato in the oil over a medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, or until it starts to soften. (You’ll want to use a large saucepan for this because you’re going to end up with an absolute shit ton of curry.)

Add the curry paste, garlic, ginger and spices, and cook for a further 2 minutes, adding a splash of water to prevent the curry paste from burning.

Add the tomatoes and mango chutney to the pan, then drain the chickpeas and add them too. (The liquid can be used as an egg substitute in a lot of recipes, so do save it if you can be arsed.) Top up with about a tin’s worth of water and season to taste. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the coriander (if using) and juice the lemon, saving a couple of wedges for serving. When the curry is ready, add the lemon juice and spinach, and stir until the spinach is just wilted. Serve with your choice of sides and top with the coriander and a lemon wedge.

[recoverykitchen]

CWs: talk of disordered eating, societal bullshit surrounding food

Hi, and welcome to the Recovery Kitchen. I’m starting this blog because - in a nutshell - I love cooking. My relationship with eating is more complicated. But I love cooking.

I’ve struggled with anorexia on and off for over a decade now. I can’t remember what my life was like before I planned every waking moment of around food and when and what and how much I was allowed to eat. I know I look to food when other things in my life feel out of control, and I know it’s not healthy, but that doesn’t stop the disordered thinking from pulling me back in when I least expect it.

And the only thing that’s been consistently able to pull me out of it is cooking. It lets me control what I eat in a way that’s healthy for my body and my mind. It’s me putting the time and effort into taking care of myself because I deserve to, even if I don’t always feel like I do. 

But it’s not always easy. Looking for recipes can be a minefield of triggers - the language we use to talk about food can reinforce disordered thinking in ways we don’t even realise. And everything has fucking calorie information on it these days. Sometimes it makes me wonder why I bother cooking at all.

So I wanted to start Recovery Kitchen as a safe place for people like me. I may talk about my experiences with anorexia from time to time, but on the whole I want to keep this blog as trigger-free as possible. I’ll be sharing recipes, but I will never tell you how many calories are in anything. 

Recovery Kitchen isn’t just for people with eating disorders, either - it’s for anyone who wants to cultivate a healthier relationship with food. I’m chronically ill and disabled, and I often struggle with executive dysfunction, so I know it’s not always easy to cook, which is why I’ll also be sharing tips I’ve picked up along the way to make cooking that bit easier. I want to try and keep the recipes I share as simple and wank-free as possible, so that even if cooking gives you The Fear there’s still something here for you.

If you’ve read this far then thank you. If you’re reading this and you have an eating disorder too, you can get through this. We can kick this in the dick together. I believe in you.

Bye for now,

S