Pancetta, Tomato and Kale Courgetti

Ingredients

2 large courgettes
1 tbsp olive oil
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes
1 large bunch of kale
100g pancetta cubes
2 garlic cloves
Chilli flakes
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Spiralize the courgettes and set aside
2. Crush the garlic
3. Chop the kale, removing the woody stems
4. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan
5. Add pancetta and fry until crispy
6. Remove pancetta from the pan and add the cherry tomatoes
7. Fry until softened
8. Add the garlic, chilli flakes and chopped kale to the pan
9. Cook until the kale is wilted
10. Add the courgetti and pancetta to the pan
11. Cook until courgetti has softened slightly
12. Season with salt and pepper and serve

Broccoli and Stilton Quiche

I made this yesterday for Ronan's Aunty Breda. My brother and his wife were convinced that the crust would taste of marzipan but there is absolutely no almond taste at all!

Ingredients

Crust:
4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
180g ground almonds
75g gluten-free oat flour (if you can't find oat flour, grind gluten-free porridge oats in a food processor)
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp cold water

Filling:
7 eggs
150g blue cheese (I used Aldi's Tipperary Blue), cubed
Small head of broccoli

60g grated cheddar cheese, grated
200ml milk
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Lightly grease 27cm quiche dish with some coconut oil
3. Combine dry crust ingredients in a large bowl
4. Add melted coconut oil and mix well
5. Slowly add water until you are able to form a ball out of the mixture with your hands
6. Place the dough ball into your quiche dish and gently press out towards the sides (and up the sides) until evenly covered
7. Bake the crust for 15 minutes
8. Chop the broccoli into small florets and parboil the 5 minutes
9. Remove the crust from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes
10. Beat the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper
11. Distribute the broccoli, blue cheese and half the cheddar evenly around the crust
12. Pour the egg mixture over the top and sprinkle with the rest of the cheddar
13. Bake for 30 minutes or until top has turned golden and eggs have set
14. Serve with a green salad

Aubergine Lasagne

Ingredients

400g lean minced beef
500g passata
2 aubergines
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped/minced
12 mushrooms, chopped
2 tbsp dried or fresh basil
2 tbsp dried or fresh tarragon
2 tbsp dried or fresh oregano
3 tbsp tomato purée
200g cream cheese
100g parmesan, grated


Method

1. Fry onion until soft
2. Add garlic and fry for another minute
3. Add mince and fry until brown
4. Add passata, mushrooms, herbs and tomato purée
5. Simmer for 20 minutes
6. Thinly slice aubergine length ways and griddle each slice on both sides for approximately 2 minutes until tender
7. Melt cream cheese in a small pan
8. Place 1/3 of the mince sauce into a square oven dish
9. Cover with sliced aubergine
10. Sprinkle 1/3 parmesan over the aubergine
11. Repeat until all sauce and aubergine has been used
12. Cover last layer of aubergine with the melted cream cheese and sprinkle top with last of the parmesan
13. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 200°C

Cottage Pie with Caulicannon Topping

As it's very close to Halloween now, and I had a dental implant inserted today, which means I need mushy food, I have made cottage pie but with a caulicannon topping.

You'll find my caulicannon recipe here:
http://fibrofood.blogspot.ie/2015/09/colcannon.html

and my cottage pie recipe here:
http://fibrofood.blogspot.ie/2015/06/cottage-pie.html

Caulicannon

Hallowe'en is coming and there is nothing more traditional in Ireland at this time of year than Colcannon. Usually made with potatoes, I have of course used cauliflower instead! Here's my recipe:

Ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower
4 large handfuls of curly kale
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
Butter
salt and pepper

Method

1. Chop and boil the cauliflower for approximately 5 minutes
2. Purée
3. Steam curly kale until tender
4. Add to cauliflower along with the scallions, butter and salt and pepper to taste

We tried this for the first time last night and it was delicious! I served it with another traditional Irish food, corned beef (not to be confused with the mushy tinned or deli sliced variety!) which I cooked in the slow cooker for 5 hours.

Spiralized Courgette with Pancetta and Cream Cheese Sauce

Spiralzing is the new big craze in low carb eating. My spiralizer

arrived last week and I absolutely love it! You can get the same one here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spiralite-Vegetable-Spiralizer-by-Spiralz/dp/B003NXR086 although I got one slightly cheaper on eBay. 

We all buy kitchen gadgets, use them a few times and then leave them to rot in their boxes but I really think this one will continue to get used as myself and Ronan love spaghetti dishes but had cut them from our menu completely until now! Also, very importantly, this machine is easy to clean which means I won't dread the wash-up!

Ingredients:

3 courgettes

1 onion, finely sliced

1 clove garlic, finely sliced

1 tsp coconut or rapeseed oil

200g cream cheese

150g pancetta cubes

black pepper

Method:

1. Spiralize all 3 courgettes and set aside
2. Sauté onion and garlic in the coconut/rapeseed oil until soft
3. Add pancetta and fry until cooked thoroughly
4. Add cream cheese and plenty of ground black pepper. Stir until melted
5. Add courgettes and stir continuously until heated through
6. Serve

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space

I've been quiet for awhile because we were on holidays in gorgeous Tuscany. We're back now and settling into normality again. Ronan proposed to me on a surprise trip to Venice so yippeeeeeee! We're getting married!

I've been spending today getting Eliza's nursery bag packed because I go back to work next Thursday and she is starting nursery bit by bit over next few days. I am obviously absolutely dreading it. I feel so sad when I look at Eliza and think she doesn't realise that next week, her comfy, familiar routine is going to change and she will be left with strangers for four days a week. And I don't know how I am going to cope without her by my side all day.

And then there's the issue of my fibromyalgia. It has been behaving itself beautifully for the last few weeks. Even though I was eating bread and pasta in Italy, and it was almost unbearably hot at 38°C, I had no flare-ups. I am concerned about how I am going to manage sitting in an office chair all day and then there's the actual work of course!

We've no date set for the wedding but I am starting my preparation now with trying to lose weight. I am introducing a lot more raw veg into my diet and reducing my portion sizes. I will share my raw veg ideas/recipes as soon as I create them. For now, when Ronan has broccoli with cheese sauce, I have grated carrot and shredded white and red cabbage or grated cauliflower mixed with kalamata olives with mine. I've made my own dressing consisting of: olive oil, organic apple cider vinegar, garlic, wholegrain mustard and a tiny bit of honey. I use a little of this on the raw veg and it is honestly delicious! Plus, it takes much longer to eat the veg so you end up eating less.

And, the icing on the cake is that I have found several studies that link following a raw vegan diet with improving fibromalgia. I'm not ready to give up my meat but am hoping that increasing my intake of raw vegetables can only be a good thing!