Archives for February 2014

Food Mood Diary

February 24, 2014

This morning I was reading a very interesting article on the link between good diet and good mental health. It is sometimes hard for us to know how to get clarity about how what we eat might impact on how we feel, so why is that? Well it strikes me that its a question which can easily fall between areas of expertise so that visiting one professional might help you find part of the picture but you’ll need to visit another one to get the whole thing clear. For example, you might visit your GP if you’re feeling depressed but the likelihood that the doctor will refer you for some sort of counselling is far from certain, although it is quite likely that you’ll end up with a pill. If you visit a counsellor you’ll have plenty of opportunity to concentrate on how you’re feeling but it isn’t likely that there will be any conversation about what you are eating. If you see a nutritionist you’ll talk about the impact that your diet is having on your health but there is unlikely to be any professional knowledge of cognitive issues and dysfunctional thinking. So all in all its hard to find a way to join the dots.

One thing that you can do which puts you in total control is to keep a Food Mood diary. The idea is that each day you note down a little about how you are feeling along with details of what you have eaten and drunk. There are so many potential contributors to poor mental health in the things that we eat and you might well find that laying it down on paper enables you to see some patterns which might then be meaningfully adjusted. Consider some examples.

If you are sleeping poorly it might be that you are taking caffeine on board too late in the evening (it has a half life of around 6 hours)

If you are struggling to stay awake during the day it might be because you aren’t drinking enough water (caffeine rich fizzy drinks are no substitute)

If you feel a bit wobbly and possibly even nauseous during the morning it could be that you need to stop skipping breakfast or eat a bit more of it.

There is a plethora of information available on the connection between cognitive problems and poor diet. Our unshakable addiction to sugar and trans fats and our tendency to “comfort eat” when under stress are ticking time bombs in terms of our general health. The connection between mind and body is irrefutable.

I love food and I don’t even pretend that I never eat anything which is “bad” for me. The challenge is not to deprive but to survive. If we can see what a poor diet does to us physically and we still carry on what hope is there for the damage it does to our mental health when it is so easily ignored and deemed invisible.

In the middle of last summer I was away on a training course in London. Each lunchtime I was drawn to the local Planet Organic to eat a huge bowl of some sort of salad. Chick peas, pea shoots, rice, sweet baby beetroots, mint, lemon and olive oil drizzled over baby spinach and juicy tomatoes, wonderful mushroom soups and hunks of wholemeal bread. This was not food for rabbits it was food for people who love their food but also love their bodies. Each afternoon when I would usually find myself struggling with a post lunch lull in energy levels I found I was completely transformed. If anything I felt more full of zing and vigour than I had in the morning. I know without doubt it was to do with my diet and the best thing was that I had no feeling of it being a chore, that I was missing out or selling myself short. The sensation of feeling full of energy and knowing that I was taking care of myself at the same time was heady and intoxicating. Noticing how what I put into my body has a dramatic impact on the way my body and brain behaves is always a joy because it is only with clarity that change can be made.

If you are struggling with low mood or low energy it might be that external issues are having an impact but look too at what you are eating because its just possible that making changes there could have a much bigger impact than you had imagined.

Lamb Kebabs

February 16, 2014

Its Saturday night and in a few hours the kebab shop will be full of wonky eyed revellers unaware of and disinterested in what on earth actually constitutes the hulking lump of elephant leg shaped meat that spins gently on the spit. Having discarded much of the salad and left the remnants of the pitta on the roof of a Vauxhall Corsa whilst staggering home they’ll fall into bed where the room might well start to spin too.

Kebabs have a bad reputation because we immediately think of the image described above (or maybe its just me). The best kebab I ever ate was in Turkey where, ironically, they allowed the sheep to wander about amongst the tables. I also enjoyed some quite magnificent Souvlaki in Greece many years ago whilst on holiday with my chums. The soft pittas were filled with gently spiced chargrilled meat and topped with a yogurt and mint dressing. They cost about a pound each and there were some nights I must have eaten a tenner’s worth because they were that good. Ever since I have tried to recreate them sometimes with great success.

Wandering the aisles of Waitrose in the late afternoon can be a lucrative business as there are often dramatic price reductions. I found a pack of lovely lamb cutlets but you could use any lamb chop and leg steaks too. As long as it doesn’t need long cooking you’ll be fine.

I ground a dessert spoon of cumin seeds in the mortar and pestle (use ground cumin if thats all you have but remember that whole spices are much better because they keep their pungency for longer) and add a teaspoon of salt and a dessert spoon of plain flour. I mix the seasoning together and then rub it onto the meat making sure there is a good coating all over.

I heat a little olive oil in a pan and when it is very hot I put the meat in and leave them for a few minutes to make sure they get a good crust on them. If you are tempted to keep fiddling around they will cook but you wont get those sublime crispy bits. Then turn the meat over and cook the other side until the lamb is how you like it.

Shred some lettuce and spoon some plain yoghurt into a dish to which you then add a handful of mint chopped very finely and a sprinkling of salt. When the meat is cooked squeeze some lemon juice over it and a scattering of salt. Squeeze lemon juice over the lettuce too and treat that to a bit of salt as well.

Warm some pittas in the toaster, put the whole lot in the middle of the table and tuck in.

Personally I like to cut the meat from the bone and stuff it into a pitta with some lettuce and yoghurt dressing but you do what you like. In the end the provenance of your supper is assured, it is vastly superior to anything you can secure on the high street and you’re probably not too pissed to enjoy it either.

Villetta Pie

February 15, 2014

More rain. It gets to the point where I begin to wonder if there can actually be more water in the sky. The ground is so sodden that it feels as if it’s wet everywhere, that there is no escape out from beneath the gun metal blanket which seems to have been draped across us all for much of the winter.

The weather never gets me down unless it stops me from doing something eagerly anticipated. Rain on a day planned for the beach or snowfall that is enough to be disruptive but not quite enough to be magical are disappointing but I love our weather. Genuinely.

Nothing which happens outside can be so powerful that it cannot be made better by something created in the kitchen and at this time of year I want comfort.The sound of the rain battering the kitchen window has no impact greater than making me want to create food which holds you in its arms, wraps a scarf around your neck and ensures that you have put your vest on.

Two things I can eat in quantities that border on the obscene. Ragu and well made mashed potatoes. Maybe it has been done before but I am claiming it as my own creation. The combining of the sauce from a great spaghetti bolognese and a good helping of creamy, savoury mashed potato. I give you “Villetta Pie” (Villetta is Italian for cottage…can you see where we’re going with this?)

I have Italian heritage so perhaps it is genetic imperative that I believe that a good ragu sauce can only be made with time. It’s not unusual for me to leave mine bubbling away on the stove for three hours. I see this as a great example of simple cooking because leaving something alone to simmer gently can never be described as anything but ‘low maintenance’. The mistake it’s easy to make with something as simple as what is effectively a pan of savoury mince is that it can be rushed and needs little care. No. It can’t be rushed and, when it needs your attention, it needs it like a demanding child with a box of matches.

This isn’t a quick midweek supper unless you have a bit of spare time in the afternoon or cook the sauce the day before (this is a GOOD idea because the sauce improves after being cooked and left) but neither is it complicated. Very little of what I cook is but it is no less tasty for that.

First fry off the onion in the butter until it is coloured (not blackened!) and soft. Set it aside on a plate or in a bowl and then brown the meat in the oil in the same pan. When it is browned all over add the tomato puree and the herbs and cook through for a few more minutes until the whole pan of meat has taken on a rich brown hue. Add back the onions and the tomatoes, wine and stock. Sprinkle a little salt, but not too much because as the sauce reduces it will become more salty, and a few good grinds of pepper. I like to use white pepper but thats just the way I roll and you can add black or white as you choose. Now put the ragu on the lowest possible heat and preferably with a heat defuser underneath the pan and leave it to bubble and gurgle away gently for a couple of hours. Leave the lid off and it will reduce to a thick and unctuous sauce moist but without much liquid.

Mashed potatoes. I am pretty lazy if I think I can get away with it and I am not averse to any shortcut in the kitchen if the results are still top quality. I have taken to making mash by baking the potatoes in their jackets just as you would if you were to be eating them with butter and cheese. When they are done scoop out the soft fluffy potato insides, add a generous knob of butter and a handful of parmesan cheese. Mash it all together and loosen it a little with a splash of milk so that it is easier to spread over the top of the ragu. By virtue of your lazy cleverness you will now have a pile of baked potato skins with which you can make “loaded skins” by adding grated cheese, pickled chillies, gherkins, bacon or whatever else takes your fancy and then popping them in the top of the oven whilst the Villetta Pie cooks underneath. A word of warning here though. Don’t leave the skins in for too long so they get unbelievably crispy. Whilst this might be attractive you might break a tooth which could make for a somewhat painful evening and require an emergency visit to the dentist the following morning which messes up your morning appointments and necessitate the rearranging of your clients. You will feel a twit if this happens. I did.

Put your now beautifully cooked ragu into an ovenproof dish and stir in a few torn up basil leaves if you have them. Top with the mashed potatoes and use a fork to make a fancy pattern finally sprinkling over some more parmesan. Put it into a pre-heated oven at Gas 6/200C/400F for around 30 minutes or until the top is browned and crisping. The sauce might well have peeped through the top but this just adds to the magic.

Serve with some peas, a crisp winter salad or eat it with a fork from the dish when nobody is looking.

Ingredients

800g minced beef (if you can buy good braising steak and mince it yourself so much the better)

2 onions

a thick slice of butter (around 25g)

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp chopped oregano, thyme or marjoram

400g chopped tomatoes

a glass of white wine (or red)

200ml beef stock

2 tbsp olive oil

a few basil leaves

For the potato topping

4 or 5 large potatoes for baking (you can do more than you need and save some mash for tomorrow)

a handful of parmesan

20g butter

a splash of milk

Not Emma’s Grandmother’s Cheese Scones

February 6, 2014

This rain is relentless. Winter seems never to have arrived this year and, in its place, we have endured week after week of endless dark dank autumn. Not once have I felt the bright crisp chill and the crunch of the frost on the grass.

At the weekend we were treated to a couple of days where the sun was in full swing. It was as if we were being rewarded after a long and heavy penance. On Sunday I can remember venturing outside, standing in the sunlight and almost feeling that forgotten warmth which can seem to far away at this time of the year. Realising that we were only hours away from the next storm my thoughts turned to the kitchen and something comforting. Nothing hits that spot for me quite like a homemade scone. I like the plain variety with jam (blackcurrant) and cream but that feels much more suited to the summer. In the dampness I want something savoury.

Emma tells me that her grandmother is the architect of the very best cheese scones and immediately I am warmed by the realisation that cooking and baking particularly is something that connects us with one another and through the generations. Just yesterday I was talking to a friend about baking and she was reminiscing about her mother making cakes and she being allowed to lick the bowl. My children still do that now and I am always far from convinced that this isn’t preferable to the finished cake itself for them. Emma wasn’t telling me about her grandmothers cheese scones by way of a challenge (at least I don’t think so) rather that these recipes, these experiences we share with our families are not just food, they are memories, they are lifetime moments that we pass onto those that we love. We might make adjustments but it is the sharing, the sense of unity and congregation that is so important. You can buy a decent cheese scone at Marks & Spencer but tell me, where is the joy and the connection in that?

In a bowl I put 150g of plain flour and 100g or spelt flour (you could use wholemeal if you like, but do try it this way if you can) along with a little chopped thyme, three teaspoons of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Adding 50g of butter cut into cubes I rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. You could do this in the food processor but I can’t be bothered with the washing up and I find the gentle rubbing in process rather soothing. When thats done I add 100g of strong cheese. Now listen, if you are going to make these scones with “Mild Cheddar” you may as well not bother because that, quite frankly, is cheese for people who don’t like cheese. Sorry about that…ahem..

Now pour in 200ml of Buttermilk. By the way, did you know that 200ml is the same as 200g? I only realised that about a year ago and what a revelation it was. Anyway, now mix the buttermilk into the dry ingredients (I use a palette knife in a cutting and folding movement) until you have a rough dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface and roll it out. If you ever suffer from scones which turn out like biscuits its possibly because you are rolling the dough too thinly. You know you have done this when the recipe says you will make 8 and you have 24. So, no thinner than 3cm please, then cut out your scones with a cutter (I used a glass) and put them on a lined baking tray.

Now brush them with beaten egg and if you so wish sprinkle a few flecks of cheese on the top. Then put them in the oven preheated to Gas 7 or 220c/425f for between 10 and 15 minutes.

You might want butter on them but I just want them as they are.

Come on then rain, do your worst.

Ingredients

150g Plain Flour

100g Spelt Flour

100g Strong Cheddar (or similar)

3 tsps Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

50g Butter

200ml Buttermilk

1 tsp Chopped Thyme

Blueberry Breakfast Muffins

February 1, 2014

It’s Sunday tomorrow. What will you be having for your breakfast? Will it be a late morning affair after a lie in? Maybe its the one day of the week when you and the rest of your household all sit down together. Sunday is special.

Bacon and eggs, pancakes, toast and marmalade, maybe a croissant or two. They will all make for a fine Sunday breakfast but I have something different in mind this week, something which takes little effort but really sets the day apart.

In the supermarket there were blueberries at a very reasonable price and a muffin packed with little bursts of fruit is perfect for a different but luxurious breakfast. If it is accompanied by some yoghurt sweetened with a spoonful of honey its a happy day indeed.

The idea of making cakes at breakfast time might not fill you with glee but the simplicity of these little bundles of joy means that you can knock up a batch in less time than it takes you to make a decent bacon sandwich and then all you have to do is pop them in the oven and have a cup of coffee whilst the kitchen fill up with the alluring aroma of cake.

First you add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl

Then in a jug mix together the oil, eggs, melted butter and vanilla essence. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix in as few strokes of the spoon as you can so that the mixture is just combined with no visible slicks of flour. It will be lumpy but thats exactly what we want. Add the blueberries and the mixture is done.

Ideally you’ll have some little paper muffin cases. I didn’t so I improvised and tore bits of baking parchment and pushed them into the muffin tin. It works well, looks fancy and saved me a trip to the shop. Spoon the mixture into the lined tin and pop into a pre-heated oven at 180/Gas mark 4 for around 15 minutes or until a skewer pushed into the middle of one of the muffins comes out clean.

There’s another reason that I like these muffins aside from the fact that they taste delicious which is that making something, or more precisely, baking something for the people you love is special. When you were a child and your mother made a cake it was a good day indeed, right? If she ever made cakes at breakfast time you were a very lucky soul. I imagine that those that are special to you deserve to feel that lucky don’t they?

Ingredients

220g Plain Flour

110ml Vegetable Oil

110ml Melted Butter

130g Caster Sugar

3 Eggs

2 tsps Baking Powder

200g Blueberries