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Showing posts from June, 2013

My new bread bin and a review

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Recently I broke the bread bin that I had been given as a wedding present over 30 years ago. I won't tell you how many years over 30 it is because I can't believe it myself. The bread bin had served me well, but it was one of those fold top ones that will eventually break and once that happens there is nothing to do but, gulp, throw it away. So I was bread bin less until this fabulous replacement arrived. Well, I must say that I am impressed. It is a solid piece of kit. Some of those bins that look like this one are really lightweight, but this is just heavy enough to make it feel like a good German car. It is quality and because it looks so good it has taken pride of place on my kitchen worktop.   There are only three colours to chose from, flint, shutter blue and clay but strangely enough these three colours are really all that you need. They blend in with the kitchen rather than dominating it, so I am really happy with the colour choices. So while it take pride of place it c

Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

I love soups. As far as I am concerned, they warm the sould as well as the belly so this is why I am particularly pleased with this broccoli and cauliflower soup as it does both of those things and then some. Now there is an added bonus to this soup and that is .... it is very low calorie. This is wonderful for those days, and we all have them, when you need to cut back and take a little fat off the belly. This soup is a way of filling your belly but not adding inches to it. Let me tell you that you will love this enough to make it any time not just on the days when you want to reduce. Serve with hot buttered toast for a wonderful not skinny treat. I worked out that this soup in total has only about 300 calories so that's just 75 calories per serving. You will need? 400g of broccoli and cauliflower florettes. I tend to buy the ready prepared packs in the supermarket, 1 onion (about 100g) 1 medium carrot 1 stalk of celery 1 knorr stock cube 100ml milk water salt and pepper to taste

Mexican Recipes: Chicken Taquitos

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Chicken Taquitos Mexican food dish  most often consisting of a small rolled-up  tortilla  and some type of  filling ,  including beef, cheese or chicken.  The filled tortilla is  crisp-fried . The dish is often topped with condiments such as sour cream and guacamole.   Corn (maize) tortillas are generally used to make taquitos; when flour tortillas are used, the dish is more commonly known as flautas.  In some areas,  taquito  refers not to the rolled-up tortilla dish, but rather a smaller version of the taco. Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil, more for brushing tortillas 1 cup chopped onion 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 2 cups shredded cooked chicken meat 2 cups low-sodium, gluten-free chicken broth 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas 1 cup crumbled queso fresco or shredded Monterey jack or cheddar Step 1: Preheat oven to 220°C and oil a baking sheet. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add onion a

Chocolate Haupia Cream Pie, an ode to Ted's Bakery in Hawaii

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So I used to live in Hawaii while I was going to college on the North Shore of Oahu.  There is a little gem of a place there called Ted's Bakery where they make the most amazing Chocolate Haupia Cream Pie.  If you ever go, you must partake.  If you don't know what Haupia is, it's a Hawaiian coconut pudding.  Last night my friend Ali, over at Lemon Poppy Inc had a "Pie Party" where everyone made a pie and brought it to be photographed and tasted by everyone there.  It's for her up and coming cookbook called Humble Pie.  Keep a look out for it, it's going to be amazing. So for the party I made a Chocolate Haupia Cream Pie and I must say... it came out REALLY good.  Here's the recipe that I used. Ingredients: 9" unbaked pie crust 1 c milk 14 oz can coconut milk 1 c sugar 2 tsp coconut extract 1 c water 1/2 c corn starch 1 1/4 c semi sweet chocolate chips 1 c heavy whipping cream 2 Tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla 2-3 Tbsp chocolate shavings Directions: T

Yam Tuna with Herbs

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Yam Tuna with Herbs or Tuna Salad with Herbs is a healthy dish. Nowadays more and more people think about healthy diet – less process, less oil, less sodium and or no chemical but contains with all nutrition.  In Thai food, there are many different Thai dishes that are considered in the category of healthy food.                                                     For me I am always careful what to make for my family and I to eat, the food that I make have enough nutrition or is healthy enough or not. Some people say coconut milk is not good for your health but people in many tropical countries who consume coconuts (original they used coconut oil for cooking) for hundreds of years but they don’t have cardiovascular disease or obesity problem more than others, actually coconuts have some good nutrition. Over all I think beside what we eat we should think how much quantity to have for our body base on the input and output energy of each person. In general we don’t have an obesity problem

Pla Scallop

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“Pla”, “Yam”, Tam”, “Laab” are kinds of processing food in Thai cuisine, all these processes are similar to the process of salad in Western cuisine, the dishes from these processes usually combine the balancing of 4 tastes – sourness, sweetness, spiciness and saltiness. We consider the food from these processes is healthy food as it is less processed, less oil and always combined with fresh herbs. Not only “Pla”, “Yam”, Tam” and “Laab” dishes are healthy food but more over than that it doesn’t consume a lot of time to make which is an ideal for people who have a busy life and aim to live healthy. All Thai people love “Pla”, “Yam”, Tam” and “Laab” dishes, sometimes we feel we have no appetite because of the weather as the weather is warm all round year in Thailand or other reasons, but as soon as we see “Pla”, “Yam”, Tam” and “Laab” dishes our mouth is watering. Ingredients 300 g.                   Scallop 1 ⁄ 3 cup                  Lemongrass, slice very thin 3