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13th January 2017 p>Evening meal this evening - Baked Spud & Roasted Veggies.

The veggies roasted in the oven, skins on, were, a couple of parsnips, couple of carrots, couple of beetroot, all diced. Half leek, half courgette sliced, grated ginger, grated turmeric, two garlic cloves chopped fine. Later I added some of the baked cauliflower left over from yesterday, which tasted better today, of course.

Flavoured with black pepper and dulse too.

Beetroot roasted skins on is great as the skins go crispy and taste good.

Potato I did peel skin off as it was dark green, a bit risky, but inside baked was excellent.

Sauce for potato was the leftover asparagus and nut sauce. To make fresh purée cooked asparagus, I used the lower stems and saved spears to serve as they are. To this any cooked veg, crush some favourite nuts, blend it all together into a paste to heat up as sauce. If it is runny, thicken with potato flour.

So stuff the potato with that asparagus nut sauce, and I topped with crumpled goats cheese. You could use butter on the potato, of course, but I did not.

Prep and serving time about 35 mins, some of that waiting for the potato which could be speeded up by partially pre-boiling first.

Calories not bad at around 470

Cost about €2.75, which is handy too.

#sustainable diet #easy meals #healthy meals

12th January 2017 This evening’s meal - Salmon & Baked Cauliflower

Base is a heated and crisped tortilla wrap

Asparagus and hazelnut paste made from yesterday’s leftovers spread thinly over the flat bread

Rocket and ruby chard over that

Baked cauliflower mixed with chopped red pepper, chopped red onion and garlic cloves, grated ginger and grated turmeric, sprinkled with thyme and black pepper, a little good oil, and small cup of good cloudy apple juice. Mix together and bake covered for about 30 mins. When done serve spread over the flat bread.

Sweet potato cut into wedges, boiled a little, then baked seasoned with dulse and black pepper. When out of the oven wedged between the cauliflower florets.

Salmon marinated with lime juice and yellow mustard, is cooked in griddle skin down with teaspoon of good oil. Skin removed after cooking if desired, placed in middle of the plate.

Cook and prep time 45 mins, a lot of that waiting for the cauliflower.

Calories about 675

Cost under €4.00

#sustainable diet #healthy meals #easy meals

11th January 2017 Tonight’s evening meal - back to vegan

Stuffed Peppers, Parsnip Hash, with Asparagus Sauce

This is a little tricky, I went a bit chefy with this one

Sliced leeks, chopped mushrooms, chopped fennel bulb, teaspoon of quality oil, then baked together in the oven awhile.

Grate two medium sized parsnips. Take leek, mushroom and fennel mix out of the oven and mix with grated parsnip, and add a sprinkling of potato flour.

Put the whole mixture in the bottom of a well oiled sponge cake tin, one of those with the side fastener, but only enough for a thin layer, then bake.

While that is baking hollow out some small peppers.

Make a stuffing mix with about 20g of your favourite nuts crushed, 30g of dry oatmeal, I used Macroom stoneground, grated onion, grated carrot, add favourite herbs, I used thyme, fennel, black pepper. I added dulse seaweed too.

Stuff the hollow peppers, put on oiled baking tray standing up, put in oven too, but only needs a few minutes, until the stuffing top goes brown. Stuffing the peppers without making a mess is tricky.

For sauce I had leftover steamed root veggies and their water plus the lower cut off stems of asparagus. Used a blender to smooth them all together then added a teaspoon of honey, some horseradish, wakame seaweed, black pepper, a little potato flour and heated it all together until thickish.

I steamed the sliced courgette, no oil, but also with wakame seaweed.

I put a few potato wedges into the oven too.

Took the parsnip etc. hash out of the oven when browned, removed the cake tin side, put a plate over the round base of the parsnip hash, turn it over for the parsnip hash to fall onto the plate. This is a tricky bit. Be patient, it does work.

Then on that parsnip hash base, build up the meal like in the photograph.

Prep and cooking time about 35 mins.

Calories about 750, due to high calories of nuts, so I suggest keep the nuts to 20g per serving.

Cost about €4.75

#sustainable diet #healthy meals #easy meals

10th January 2017 Tonight’s evening meal - Fish Cakes & Asparagus

Bed of steamed big carrot and kohl rabi, save the water for tomorrow’s soup.

Steamed asparagus fanned over this

Baked mix of half leek, 4 mushrooms, some grated ginger, 2 garlic cloves, then make a bed in middle of the plate.

On top of all this home made fish cakes from left over mashed potato, cod or any white fish, some salmon, thyme, sage, black pepper, parsley, bound with a little potato flour, I baked with half teaspoon oil.

Prep and cooking time 40 mins

About 500 calories at most

Cost a little luxury at €4.50

#sustainable diet #easy meals #healthy meals

from 9th January 2017 This evening’s meal - another luxury one but surprisingly low calories.

Sea Bass and veg

Sweet potato peeled, cubed, baked, first in water, which evaporated then teaspoon of oil, and grated ginger and black pepper

Steamed broccoli

Steamed mini sweet corn, very optional with this, but they needed to be used up here.

A chopped leek and some mushrooms baked together.

Sea bass filet, marinated in a little Worcester sauce, in hot griddle with teaspoon of oil, cooked each side about 2.5 mins until browning, served with skin off.

Preparation and cooking about 25 mins

Calories about 400, so surprisingly low

Cost, a bit luxury at around €4.50

#sustainable diet #easy meals #healthy meals

from 8th January 2017 Evening meal tonight - a quick and luxury one.

Base of warmed kale, rocket, and red cabbage

A small potato, small white onion and a few chopped mushrooms baked in a small amount of oil, less than 15 mins.

3 large scallops chopped and fried in half teaspoon of oil with parsley, put into pre heated skillet, just 30 seconds in the pan, should seer brown

Topped with a cut up tuna steak, griddles 3 mins each side, marinated with a little Worcester sauce.

Topped with a chopped tomato.

Prep and cooking time under 30 mins

Calories, about 650

Cost quite high, about €8, really an occasional treat.

#sustainable diet #easy meals #healthy meals

from 6th January 2017 Tonight’s evening meal - as promised, Hippie Rice n’ Veg This one is vegan.

Steamed brown rice, but mine went quite white.

Carrot, parsnip, kohl rabi, all diced, lightly boiled with minimal water, only boil to still crunchy, then drain and keep the veggie water.

Leek chopped finely, some korma masala and garam masala added, two teaspoons of super organic oil, fry lightly to glaze. I did not have mushrooms to add to this.

Make a sauce, crushed chick peas, 2 teaspoons of tahini, apple chopped small, a couple of crushed dates, half lime squeezed, though tamarind should have been used instead of lime but I was lazy, a couple of cloves of garlic, grated coconut, grated ginger, grated turmeric.

Some hippies add miso paste, soy sauce, marmite or vegemite at this point, but I did not. There’s also another ingredient I did not add to this either :-) .

Oh, also add the veggie water from your veggie boiling

Simmer the sauce and mash it more. To reduce lumps and mix in the coconut more. If it is runny, like mine was, a pinch of rice flour to thicken, or potato flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour etc.

Put the spiced leeks in with the veggies, then stir in the sauce.

Mix it all together, warm some more, pour over your warmed boiled brown rice.

I put some small broccoli florets and beetroot cubes on the top to give more colour for the photograph

No chapati with this. I was too full from the meal anyway

You’ll end up making enough for a day or two’s leftovers :-)

Prep and cooking time about 30 mins

About 500 calories, so it’s safe to add the 500 calorie brownie after too.

Cost about €2.20 with heat cost, unless you add the other ingredient, then it costs a lot more.

#sustainable diet #easy meals #healthy meals

from 5th January 2017 Tonight’s evening meal … Warm Wedgie Salad

Gone vegan this time, gluten free, but not nuts free

Base of ruby chard, spinach and rocket

Mix of roasted maris piper potato and sweet potato wedges, home made, fanned out over the salad

Pine nuts roasted with local dulse and wakame seaweeds, sprinkled over the wedges and salad

Boiled, diced, and warmed organic beetroot

Topped with a spicy apple sauce made with large cooking apple, grated ginger, mashed dates, grated fennel bulb and crushed garlic clove, then scooped on top.

Prep and cooking time about 30 mins.

About 600 calories, with the pine nuts being more calories than both potatoes.

Meal cost about €2.20c including heat cost.

#sustainable diet #easy meals #healthy meals

from 4th January 2017 Evening meal tonight, leftovers …

Quick light stir fry of half courgette, a few peas, a grated carrot, two garlic cloves crushed, grated ginger, grated turmeric, then added some leftover boiled basmati and wild rice mix from yesterday. Turmeric sends the rice into a nice yellow.

Dished up, topped with some left over poached salmon.

Prep and cooking time, and writing it up on Facebook, less than 10 mins

Cost including heating, probably under €2

Calories, about 550, 600 tops. Could knock off 50 to 80 calories if steamed instead of stir fry, I used teaspoon of virgin oil, but taste would not be so great.

Tasted better than yesterday’s, and that was good, but leftovers are always better :-)

#sustainable diet #easy meals

from 3rd January 2017 This evening’s meal. People often ask me for recipes for the strange meals I prepare so this year, when I have something interesting, will share. This evening’s I will call ‘Chick Sea and Rice’

Boiled my mix of basmati and wild rice, 2.5 parts water to 1 part rice. Cooked too much, so some left over for tomorrow.

Steamed broccoli, nothing added, though often I add garlic.

Made a sauce, table spoon peanut butter, some grated ginger, a little grated onion, teaspoon of honey, diluted with organic cloudy fresh pressed apple juice, and heated a little

Poured sauce over cooked chick peas and stirred in, then baked in small earthenware pot as I had the oven on. Heating in a saucepan instead is just fine, but I love food baked better

Poached salmon in fry pan for a few minutes with lid on, lime juice and black pepper on salmon.

Then serve in layers, rice, broccoli, chick pea and sauce, then salmon in small chunks.

Prep and cooking time about 20 mins.

This serving was too big. Over a third went into the fridge for later or tomorrow.

Salmon not essential. You could sub with chicken, ham, bacon, cheese cubes, or keep it all off to keep it vegan and very low fat, gluten free and all that.

Cost, less than €3 total.

#sustainable diet #healthy meals #easy meals

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