Sorry for the delay in posting, I am back in Boston and have just moved into a new flat/kitchen.
In the mean time, some Monday madness to brighten your day..
Q: Why did the colander retire?
A: It couldn’t take the strain!
Hehe 🙂
Watermelon salad
By Natasha Brunetti, September 18, 2015
This is a refreshing salad, nicely balanced to give a subtle umami taste
I have tried versions of this, at restaurants through the summer and served it myself at a number of BBQ’s
Its gluten, soy and nut free and takes less then 5 minutes to put together
Ingredients
- Half a watermelon, balled or chopped into 2cmx2cm cubes
- 200g goats cheese feta, cubed
- 2 jalapenos, chopped, minus the seeds
- A handful of mint leaves, c. 20, torn
(Additional options: add some red onion, salt, pepper and olive oil-Jamie Oliver or black olives Nigella Lawson style)
Method
- Prepare the above and mix together
- Enjoy!
Herb Salt
By Natasha Brunetti, September 14, 2015
Herb salt
I love adding fresh herbs to dishes; it gives them a beautiful smell and vibrancy, and always brightens up the dish. It is the smell of herbs for me that often brings back a memory of a meal, evoking a happy feeling and remembrance of that day with friends and family.
I usually end up with some left over herbs and so was excited to find this recipe for herb salt. Of course you can just dry the herbs and use them directly, but adding them to salt extends the shelf life and gives you something to cook or grill with. You can use them as a dry rub for chicken, beef or lamb or as a finisher for grilled vegetables.
I found this in Bon Appetite; foodie heaven.
Ingredients
- Salt
- Fresh herb(s); e.g. thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano
Method
- Gather herbs by the stems
- Tie together about halfway up the stem, making sure the herbs aren’t squished too tightly together (I used a rubber band to gather the herbs and a piece of string to tie the herbs to a window)
- Once dried (I left my apartment and came back a week later and they were dry, but in the sun they may take just a few days) take them off the string and remove the thick stems and place in a food processor until finally chopped
- Add two cups of sea salt (or more or less depending on the strength you want) and pulse again to blend
- Transfer to an airtight container and cover
- Generally the herb salt lasts for 6 months
- Store at room temperature and never use store bought Italian herb mixes again!
Raw chocolate pudding
By Natasha Brunetti, September 10, 2015
Gluten free, dairy free, wheat free and healthier than a bowl of porridge
Ingredients (multiply as needed)
– 2 avocados
– 20ml coconut oil
– 2 tbsp. raw cocoa
– 1 tsp. vanilla essence/powder
– 2 tbsp. honey
Optional extra’s for texture;
– Dates
– Almonds
Method
– Peal, de-stone and chop up the avocado’s and blend (this turns into a creamy consistency for the base of the pudding)
– Add the coconut oil and then the rest of the ingredients to taste
I have asked my friends to blind taste this and no one knew there was avocado in it! If you have a sweet tooth, this is a must for you, guilt free eating!
Aubergine/eggplant croquettes
By Natasha Brunetti, August 29, 2015
Now that we know how to burn an aubergine…lets make some burnt aubergine croquettes
This is a great little gluten free snack or canapé
I rarely fry anything, but these little morsels of love are worth it
Kids and adults will love them, they get pretty addictive
This is taken from Ottolenghi’s plenty
Ingredients
- 4 medium aubergines
- 280g cooked fluffy potatoes, peeled and broken roughly with a fork
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 140g feta, crumbled (I used goats cheese feta)
- 20g Parmesan, grated
- ½ tsp. salt
- 200g gluten free breadcrumbs, seasoned
- Sunflower oil for frying
- Salt and pepper
(Options: the recipe calls for feta, I used goat milk feta but you can use sheep milk. If you want to make it vegan omit both cheeses but add more seasoning to compensate)
Method
- First burn the aubergine (see below)
- Place the aubergine flesh in a large bowl. Add the potatoes, egg, feta, Parmesan, salt and some pepper
- Bring everything together gently with a fork; you want to keep the mixture quite rough
- Add about half the breadcrumbs, just enough so the mux is sufficiently solid to hold its shape but still a little sticky
- Remover the mix from the bowl and divide into four
- Roll each portion into a thick sausage about 2.5cm in diameter
- Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs on to your work surface and roll the sausages in them so they are completely coated
- Transfer to the fridge and leave to firm up in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, or overnight depending on when you are making them for
- To cook the croquettes, cut each sausage into 5cm long barrel-shaped pieces; you should end up with around 20 pieces
- Pour enough frying oil into a frying pan to come to about 1.5cm deep.
- Heat up the oil, then fry the croquettes in small batches for about 3 minutes, turning half way
- Transfer to kitchen paper to drain
- Best served hot, but pretty awesome cold too
How to burn an aubergine – recap
- I used a BBQ, turning the aubergine every 2/3 minutes for around 10-15 minutes until all sides where brown/burnt and the inside of the aubergine was soft
- The recipe recommends using a gas hob. Start by lining the hob heads with foil to protect them. Put the aubergine on a flame and roast for 12-15 minutes, turning frequently with metal tongs.
- Alternative if you don’t want to use a naked flame, put them on a foil lined tray and place directly under a hot grill, turning a few times.
Burnt aubergine/eggplant with tahini (Baba Ganoush)
By Natasha Brunetti, August 27, 2015
This is gluten free, dairy free, nut free, soy free recipe.
It can be used as a dip or condiment that you can serve with a main meat or fish dish. If you add cucumber and tomato it can also be turned into a gloriously refreshing summer salad that exudes Middle Eastern aromas.
It is taken from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty, my bible for cooking up vegetables and turning them into the star of the dish rather than the side.
I like to serve this at BBQ’s as it is a nice cooling element along side meat (ying yang).
Once you have learnt to ‘burn’ an aubergine, you will realise how much versatility this vegetable has. I took the opportunity to make aubergine fritters (later blog) and will blog a pasta sauce using it later in the year.
Ingredients
- 1 large aubergine
- 70g tahini paste
- 60 ml water
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tsp. honey
- 3 tbsp. chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A little olive oil to finish
(Options: the recipe calls for pomegranate molasses -2 tbsp. but I added just a little honey instead. There is also the optional cucumber and tomatoes to make a salad.)
Method
- First burn the aubergine (see below)
- When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh into a colander, avoiding the blackened skin. Leave to drain for at least 30 minutes
- Once drained, chop the aubergine flesh roughly and transfer to a medium mixing-bowl. Add the tahini, water, honey, lemon juice, garlic, parsley and some salt and pepper, mix well with a whisk or pulse gently in a blender.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning.
How to burn an aubergine
- I used a BBQ, turning the aubergine every 2/3 minutes for around 10-15 minutes until all sides where brown/burnt and the inside of the aubergine was soft
- The recipe recommends using a gas hob. Start by lining the hob heads with foil to protect them. Put the aubergine on a flame and roast for 12-15 minutes, turning frequently with metal tongs.
- Alternative if you don’t want to use a naked flame, put them on a foil lined tray and place directly under a hot grill, turning a few times-this method tends to take a little longer.
Roasted aubergine/eggplant and herbed goats cheese napoleon
By Natasha Brunetti, August 26, 2015
This is gluten free, all natural, low lactose recipe. It is really tasty and great as a main or starter.
It is a 7-minute meal.
I learnt this recipe in an evening working with Chef Abigail from the Camaje Bistro in New York. (camaje.com) It was part of a Christmas present, a private cooking class in a real kitchen with the chef. It included cooking and serving a three-course meal, including a gluten free, flourless, molten chocolate pudding, which I will be blogging soon.
I absolutely loved this experience, it was personalised to my tastes, taking allergies into consideration. Chef Abigail was easy going (no Ramsey type yelling in the kitchen), passionate and because of this is was fun and I was able to pick up tips and tricks of the trade. I’d truly recommend it and if you are interested, the courses are listed on the Camaje website.
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- Coconut oil
- 4oz soft goat cheese, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp. chives (finely chopped)
- 1 tbsp. thyme (stems removed)
- Small shallot (diced)
- Salt and pepper to taste
(Options: The original recipe had cream in to thin the mixture and red pepper, but I choose to omit those for preference).
Method
- Preheat your oven to 400f/200c
- Slice the eggplant into 6 even pieces width ways
- Brush each piece with oil and generously season with salt and pepper
- Place the eggplant on a baking tray and place in the oven for 7 minutes, turning once (or until golden and tender). Let cool.
- Whilst the eggplant is cooking, mix the goats cheese, chives, thyme and shallot and season with salt and pepper. The mixture should be thick enough to spread, so don’t over mix it.
- To assemble each napoleon, place a large slice of eggplant on a plate. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on top. Place a slightly smaller slice of eggplant on top then add more goat cheese mixture, and then the same with the third.
- This can be served immediately or assembled up to 2 hours in advance and refrigerated. If refrigerating, remove from the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving.
Bari Studio Workout (Class review)
By Natasha Brunetti, August 20, 2015
I found this in a list of the top 10 most fun and calorie burning workouts in NYC and had to try it out. Good news is that it was only an hour, and I figure you can do anything for an hour, right?
I roped my poor cousin Mel in for this one and she was just as terrified as me. When the day finally came round, we figured worst case if the going got too tough we would just get going.
The session is a 3-part class, with 20 minutes of dance/cardio; think step-touch, ball-change, grapevine and lots of star jumps. 20 minutes of working out on a trampoline; this is fun as long as you don’t think about the fact your on a trampoline, and once you do you loose your ability to bounce. 20 minutes of toning with weights, abs, press-ups and a resistance band work.
Each segment is challenging and this like most classes in NYC is not for someone who doesn’t work out already. As with most classes in NYC, there is very little cooling down/stretching at the end, so an hour workout can be considered an hour work out and one assumes you do your own stretching/yoga to counteract the inevitable tightness.
Would I do it again? Would Mel do it again? Yes and yes. It is clearly a great work out, you sweat, you laugh, you wonder why you do this to yourself and then like childbirth you have amnesia and want to do it all over again.
www.thebaristudio.com
Banana walnut muffins
By Natasha Brunetti, August 4, 2015
Banana Nut muffin
This is gluten and dairy free, you can leave the nuts out to make it nut free too, but I love the combination of banana’s and walnuts
These muffins are a little denser than normal muffins, due to the use of coconut flour. That is because it has almost double the amount of dietary fibre of wheat bran.
Since coconut flour is derived from coconut solids, it retains its health benefits, for example, being high in MCT’s which have antiviral, antimicrobial and antifungal properties and is now being added to coffee and re-labelled ‘smart coffee’. MCT’s have also been shown to boost the metabolism, making coconut flour suitable for weight loss diets.
Because of the high fibre yet relatively low digestible carbohydrates, compared to processed flours, coconut flour has a gentle impact on blood sugar levels. This makes it a great flour for diabetics and anyone who wants to avoid blood sugar spikes.
It is also high in protein, with 19.3grams per 100g.
Is there any benefit this flour does not have?? As the Yanks would say, it is ‘awesome’!
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas (c. 300g)
- 3 eggs
- 2 tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 40g coconut flour
(Options: You can change the maple syrup to another natural sugar, I like the maple syrup in this recipe however as I think it compliments the banana and walnut)
Method
- Preheat your oven to 350f/180c
- Prepare your muffin cups (I use silicon ones as they are re-useable)
- Mash the banana’s using a mixer or by hand, make sure the mixture is completely smooth
- Add the eggs, maple syrup and vanilla to the mashed bananas and blend well
- Add the baking soda, salt and coconut flour to the wet batter and blend well
- Let the batter sit for 5 minutes or so to give the coconut flour time to absorb the liquids
- Pour the batter into the muffin cases and bake for 30 minutes or until the top begins to brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the muffin comes out clean
- Let cool and leave for a day or so, the flavour seems to get sweeter the longer you leave them
From sumo to svelte
By Natasha Brunetti, July 27, 2015
A few people have asked me to write about some of the new experiences I am having now that I have relocated from the UK to the USA and so I have decided to add in some exercise class and restaurant reviews. Since this is a health food blog, I think this is within the scope and I hope you enjoy these as much as the recipes (which will still be the core of the blog). If not, feel free to reach out and let me know and I will find another forum for them.
Exhale Studios: Core Fusion Barre
How to go from this to this:
I used to do Barre in London, to be precise a Booty Barre and a Ballet Barre class once a week, so was excited to get to NYC and try some of the Barre classes out. In London not very many studios have classes and those dedicated to it are only in Chelsea and require a mortgage/selling of a kidney to afford it, depending on your credit rating. In NYC it is one of the core staples of the exercise world, which as I have come to find out is a big and prolific industry, ranging from doing aerobics on a trampoline (first class in a few weeks) to pulling a wheelbarrow of bricks (give me a few months for that one).
I decided to sign up for a week of classes at Exhale on the recommendation of my Barre teacher in London. A monthly membership is $275pm but a 7 day trial is $40, with Barre and Yoga included without restriction at any studio. I originally decided to do a Barre class in the morning and Yoga in the evening, until I realised that one class a day of Barre really is enough for any mortal soul.
In the UK, the class is 45 minutes, warms up with Pilates, warms down with yoga with 20-30 minutes of barre in-between. The exhale core fusion class is 60 minutes with 15 minutes of push ups, planks and weights before starting on the Barre and 5 minutes of stretching at the end, so that is 40 minutes of intense Barre, which you quickly realise is a mind over matter situation.
To start this is either an exercise class for models or this class makes you very lean and thin. It is no joke to say I was probably the largest (I am a size 4/6 in the US, a size 8/10 in the UK) in the class and by a few sizes.
The class uses balls, light weights, resistance bands and a ballet barre. The core fusion class works out your abs, calves, quads, butt, back, shoulders, arms (and some muscles I didn’t know existed), with a mix of sit-ups, push-ups, planks, squats (on your tiptoes) and a lot more using the barre.
The music is always fast paced and fun and different instructors like different styles of music. The instructor walks round with a headset microphone and adjusts your position, or just pops over to motivate you to keep going.
You do a lot of squats, so your legs tend to wobble walking home and hurt the next day, but that shows it is working, and the more classes you do, the less of a surprise it is.
These class is estimated to burn off 400-600 calories per hour and is anaerobic so you are expected to burn about 100 calories through the after burn effect (first time an after burn has been seen as a positive thing).
I would say Barre is definitely worth it for an hour of exercise, if it gets you looking anything like the instructors teaching the class (see above). You can also try out different studios around the country using introductory pricing and this should keep the average price point down.
