Green Bean & Artichoke Salad

.....inspired by 4 Ingredients, Fast Fresh & Healthy

Photo credit

1 can of artichokes, drained

250g fresh green beans

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon chili flakes

dash of balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup pistachio nuts, chopped

handful of parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Place artichokes in a bowl and add olive oil, vinegar and chili flakes.  Set aside to marinate, at least 1 hour.  Chop beans into 2" pieces and place in boiling water about 3-4 minutes.  Drain and place in bowl with artichokes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Sweet Baked Buttercup

I love pumpkin, squash and buttercup, especially in dessert.  It's going out of season down under as spring is here but I still love using it in recipes, savory or sweet.

1 small Buttercup, halved

5 tablespoons of Splenda (or brown sugar)

2 tablespoons Cinnamon

1 teaspoon All Spice

30g Almonds, chopped

30g Butter, finely cubed

Scoop out seeds from buttercup and set in baking dish with water covering the bottom.  Mix Splenda/Sugar, Cinnamon, All Spice and Almonds in a seperate bowl then gently stir in butter.  Distribute mixture between the two halves and place in oven at 350 degrees Farhenheit for about 1 hour.  Remove from oven and let cool a little before serving.

I Love Apples: Part 2

Apples are probably the most commonly consumed fruit in the world. It was one of the first fruits to be cultivated and became more prized once grafted to make new, sweeter varieties.

I found this recipe the other day browsing different blogs; this one is from Oh She Glows. The muffin is sweet with a wonderful texture and crunchy sweet topping. I used macadamia nut oil and added the walnuts. If you can't find pumpkin pie spice in the store, you can make it by mixing 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp allspice & 1/8 tsp nutmeg.

Apple Walnut Streusel Muffins

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups finely chopped peeled apples
1 cup of walnuts, chopped

Topping
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Method

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Combine eggs, pumpkin and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apples. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. For topping, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle 1 teaspoon over each muffin. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Happy Guy Fawkes Day

Curried Lentil Soup

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

150g (5.3oz) red lentils

1 tablespoon red curry paste

Spinach (amount can vary, I used about 80g (3oz))

Salt to taste

Pour olive oil in large saucepan and heat. Lightly brown onions and garlic then add red lentils. Stir mixture in heat then add 2 cups of water. Simmer for several minutes until mixture thickens then add red curry paste (use more or less to taste). Add 3 more cups of water and simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes. Add spinach and about 1-2 more cups of water and salt to taste. Simmer on low heat for another 5-10 minutes. Let cool for a 5-10 minutes then serve. As with most soups, it tastes great the next day!

Had a great day at the gym today! I'm working on my bench/board pressing a lot lately as I have a goal to bench 200lbs/91kg by the end of the year.

Roast Rosemary Pumpkin

I love pumpkin and I tried something new today!

Roast Rosemary Pumpkin

Cut 1/2 a small pumpkin into thin-ish slices and place on tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and cracked pepper. Scatter sprigs of rosemary and halved garlic cloves on the pumpkin and bake in the oven until soft (about half an hour).

The result:














I had it with grilled chunks of lean lamb - yum!

Broccoli Soup and Training

Vegetable soups are one of my favourite foods. I'm making Broccoli Soup for dinner tonight so I thought I'd share the recipe here. The recipe only has a few ingredients but it tastes absolutely delicious! It also has a decent amount of protein which is surprising for a soup, but it does contain milk :-)

Broccoli Soup

1. 600g broccoli florets(prepared weight)

2. 1 onion, finely chopped

3. 450mlwater

4. 1 vegetable stock cube

5. 600ml low-fat milk

6. salt & pepper

1. Wash thoroughly the broccoli. You will need 600G so remove the stems and just use the heads.

2. Chop the onion.

3. In a saucepan cook the broccoli and onion together with the stock cube and the water for 15 minutes Keep the lid on while you do this. (you can get this cooking time down to 10 mins if you chop the broccoli quite small).

4. When the broccoli and onion are very tender add the low fat milk.

5. Blend the soup thoroughly using a blender.

Yum yum!!