Chicken Chasseur and lovely veg!

I haven't made a Chicken Chasseur for a very long time ... but it seems I haven't forgotten how, as this was truly scrumptious (cue the Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang song!!).  Although I would normally have included mushrooms, we didn't have any so I just sauteed half a large onion in a heavy-bottomed casserole dish, sealed the (boneless) chicken thighs, added white wine and tarragon, then tipped in a tin of chopped tomatoes.  I stirred it all together, added a splash of soy sauce and a "jellified" beef stock cube (it needs the depth of flavour; chicken stock wouldn't do it as well), then popped it in the oven for about half an hour.  (After 15 mins I added a few shakes of Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce and more tarragon, to give it a little extra "punch".)

I served this with sweet, mixed roast veg (onion, parsnips and fennel), some steamed French beans, plus the leftover root mash and spring greens from the night before ... just gorgeous!

Curly-wurly Cumberland sausage!

I was using "curly-wurly" as a description, here ... not as an ingredient!  (For non-UK readers,  a "Curly-Wurly" is a chocolate and chewy toffee bar, shaped into a long curly plait!)

We bought this Cumberland sausage ring from Morrison's - it came in a foil dish with sliced red onions and a sachet of ready-made gravy, so was exceptionally easy to cook.  It also tasted great!  We served it with fairly simple veg - mashed swede/carrot/parsnip, steamed broccoli/sugar snap peas,  and butter-steamed spring greens.  The fairly plain veg was a perfect foil for the slightly peppery sausage and tangy sauce ... a gorgeous meal that we will definitely be repeating!

Roasted lamb shoulder fillet

No photo today, as the meal was not exactly "picture perfect"!!  It was, however, very tasty ... so I'm just jotting this down as a reminder to myself that roasting a piece of lamb shoulder fillet is a good idea!

I had been looking for some neck fillet - which is melt-in-the-mouth tender - but there wasn't any; instead, I purchased a small piece of shoulder fillet and sealed it on the hob first, then "roasted" it in the oven with shallots, wine gravy and rosemary.  It was almost as tender as shoulder (actually, it had more texture, so was better in that way) and equally as flavoursome.  Definitely something to do again!

Steak and salad ... and then some!

Not just your basic steak and salad, but something a little bit special.  A huge and delicious salad (topped with a few chunks of Feta cheese and a spoonful of coleslaw), with an exquisitely tender and tasty griddled rump steak (simply seasoned with salt and black pepper), fried chunky onion rings (fresh, not battered) and tiny "button" garlic and herb mushrooms, topped with a dollop of soured cream ... heavenly!

Sticky pork ribs and stir-fried veg

THURSDAY NIGHT'S MEAL (23rd June)

We've done this before, with pork steaks, but Morrison's had long racks of pork ribs at around £2.50 each, so we bought one of them to try making Chinese-style "barbecued" ribs ... it worked brilliantly!  I marinated the ribs for an hour or two in a mixture of tomato ketchup/puree, HP sauce (reduced sugar & salt), balsamic vinegar and a touch of Levi Roots Reggae Reggae sauce; we then simply baked the whole thing in a roasting tin with plenty of water in the bottom (you may need to top this up once or twice during cooking).  About 40 minutes later, we had beautifully tender and tasty ribs - two generous portions at around half the cost of ONE portion from a takeaway.

We served this with a lovely big stir-fry of onions, carrots, pak choi, courgettes, mushrooms, peppers, sugar snap peas and beansprouts ... all flavoured with soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce and Lea & Perrin's.  It was lush!  Having a big plate of vegetables like this, I can honestly say that I don't miss the addition of carbs to the meal - and I feel satisfied at the end of it, without any bloating or discomfort.


Top Tip:  The one down side to this scrumptious dish is the roasting pan ... if you're not really careful, the sticky sauce can burn on to the pan and set like black concrete!!!  Make sure you use a (seriously) non-stick tin, or a good, solid enamel/stainless steel one that will take a lot of vigorous scrubbing with a scourer!

Vegetable risotto and Greek salad

V   We decided to have a "starch meal" (carbohydrate) last night, so plumped for a nice vegetable risotto.  The "Hay Diet" that we are sort-of following recommends only using whole grains, but I don't know if it's possible to get brown risotto rice; we used standard Arborio rice, on this occasion, but I will check that out.

First, I fried some small lengths of asparagus and thickly-sliced chestnut mushrooms in oil, with some black pepper and the lid on.  When they were beginning to soften, I added the rice (far too much, actually!!) and stirred that into the oil and vegetable juices, before replacing the lid.  After a few minutes, I stirred it all again and added about 3/4 pint of vegetable stock.  I left this cooking for around 15 minutes, adding more stock/water as necessary and some frozen peas and tinned sweetcorn when it was nearly finished.  The only other flavouring I added was a couple of shakes of Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce.

We had this with a big Greek salad (sans olives, as we didn't have any!) and some buttered olive bread ... which made up for the missing olives from the salad!

Roast chicken and salad

The most important things about "food combining" (which is the eating style I am currently following ... broadly!) is to not mix concentrated proteins and concentrated carbohydrates in the same meal, and to make salads and vegetables the main components to any meal.  This huge chicken salad almost met that criteria, then ... except hubby forgot that sweetcorn came under "carbs" and opened a tin to add to our salad.  We're both still in the learning process with "food combining", but we're getting there.  Anyway, it was a gorgeous meal, accompanied by some leftover roasted butternut squash from the day before!

Griddled pork fillet

This meal was in place of a "traditional" Sunday roast ... and it was more than up to the job, thank you very much!!  A long pork fillet (or tenderloin, as it's also known) was sliced into "medallions" and griddled, served with roasted butternut squash (heavenly!), cauliflower cheese (some frozen stuff we're using up), plus the leftover kale and casserole vegetables from the night before.  Quick, wholesome, cheap and utterly scrumptious!

Saucy sausage casserole!

It wasn't quite fiery enough to be called "spicy" ... I could have called it "piquant", I suppose ... but I like alliteration (and the hint of naughtiness), so I plumped for "saucy"!  Whatever you call it, though, it was extremely tasty and satisfying.

I placed some good quality pork sausages in a stainless steel tin and baked them in the oven (this is my preferred method of cooking sausages - they don't split like they do when grilled, but they still give off a lot of their fat while keeping a good flavour).  While they were cooking, I put a little oil in a heavy-bottomed casserole and began cooking the vegetables in the following order: sliced leek, courgettes, red pepper, mushrooms (sprinkled with plenty of black pepper).  Each time, I stirred the veg to coat it with the oil, then placed the lid on the pot and let it partially steam.

When the veg was just cooked (worked out about the same time as the sausages - about 20-30 minutes after I put them in the oven) I added a tin of chopped tomatoes, a "jellified" beef stock "cube", some Herbes du Provence (mixed herbs would do), a generous shake of paprika, a good slug of Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce ... and a squeeze of HP brown sauce (reduced salt and sugar variety).  This was all allowed to heat up and blend together, then I transferred the cooked sausages and let the whole thing simmer for a few minutes while I steamed some curly kale.  Oh ... I almost forgot, I also roasted a couple of parsnips, which was a lovely accompaniment to the dish.

V  Simply replace the sausages with your own favourite meat-free ones, or get your protein from throwing in a tin or two of delicious beans.

Breaking the rules ... just a little!

Although this meal breaks a few "rules" of the Hay Diet, it fits in with it in principle!  Here's why ...

1  As a protein-based meal (with the griddled pork chop) it has no large amounts of concentrated carbohydrate (such as potatoes or rice), but we did use a sprinkle of gravy granules to thicken the mushroom/cream sauce - this contains flour, which is a carbohydrate.

2  Eating as much raw food as possible (as in the Greek salad) is advised, but mixing two types of protein in one meal (ie. pork chop and feta cheese on the salad) is not.

3  Making vegetables and/or salad the main part of every meal is encouraged (they now always take up 2/3 of our plates), but so is serving smaller portions ... which is something we still haven't quite embraced!!

However ...

We are both thoroughly enjoying the food, feeling very healthy ... and I am beginning to lose a few pounds.  Without "dieting".  Because "diets" don't work ... healthy eating does!

Creamy vegetables with jacket potato

V  I thought it was time we had a carbohydrate-based main meal last night, as we've had protein-based evening meals for several days in a row ... so this is what I came up with!  Basically, I put a little oil in the bottom of a heavy-bottomed casserole dish (Le Creuset, actually - brilliant stuff!) and just threw in the chopped vegetables in order of cooking time.

I started with carrots, parsnips and celery (do use parsnips, if you can, as they give a lovely sweet flavour to the finished dish) and covered it tightly with the lid, so the veg would "steam" and make its own juices; next I put in some whole shallots and courgette chunks and gave everything a good stir; finally, I added in some mixed peppers and a couple of huge mushrooms.  The only flavourings I added were some black pepper and (just before the end) some smoked paprika.  I sprinkled in a little plain flour, stirred it in, then finished off with a tablespoon or two of cream.  It was all brought to the boil to thicken, then served on a lovely buttery jacket potato!  Deeee-lish!

Rainbow trout fillet & stir-fry

Another delectable fish dish ... baked rainbow trout, served with plenty of stir-fried vegetables and a little watercress & creme fraiche sauce (from The Saucy Fish Co., came with the salmon fillets we had last week).  Lovely subtle, sweet flavour to the trout and a delicious combination of vegetables, enhanced by vegetable stock, soy sauce and oyster sauce.

Roast beef and ... just veg!

This was our first Sunday roast since starting the Hay diet last Monday.  What is missing from our usual roast beef dinner is both potatoes and Yorkshire pudding; we did, however, have roasted parsnips and these took the place of potatoes very nicely indeed!  With a plateful of beautifully cooked beef and gorgeous veg (red cabbage, curly kale, mashed swede & carrot), none of us noticed the "lack" of potatoes at all.

V  A nutroast would be lush here, as a "protein meal" ... or make it a "carb meal" and fill your plate with roast spuds!

Barbecue-style pork with Chinese stir-fry

OMG! ... This was so, so delicious!  Another "protein meal" on the Hay diet, there was no starch involved (bread, potatoes, noodles, etc), but with plenty of fresh veg in the stir-fry it was filling enough without.  (Actually, we also had a sausage or two each, but didn't want them spoiling the photo, LOL!)

We marinated the pork (and sausages!) in a mix of tomato ketchup, brown sauce, Levi Roots' Reggae-Reggae sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce and a little Lea & Perrin's Worcester sauce.  This was then baked in a hot/med oven for about half an hour.  The veg was stir-fried in stages (beansprouts last!) and flavoured with grated ginger, black pepper, crushed garlic, soy sauce and oyster sauce.

Vegetable pasta bake

V  This was not really what I usually call a "pasta bake", as there was no binding sauce to speak of and no cheesy breadcrumb topping!  It was, however, very tasty and filling, quick and easy to prepare, relatively cheap and extremely wholesome.  It also fitted into the criteria for a "carbohydrate meal" on the Hay diet.

I started off by doing my regular roast vegetable thing - chopped up veg in a roasting tin with oil, herbs & black pepper, covered it with foil and into a hot oven for half an hour, stirred in a few shakes of Lea & Perrin's, then left off the foil for another half hour.  On this occasion, I used aubergine, courgettes, mushrooms, mixed peppers, carrots and onion.

Meanwhile, I cooked some pasta shapes and added them when the veg had finished cooking, along with some tinned sweetcorn and a few small chunks of Feta cheese. (I sprinkled the Feta with some dried mint for an authentic Greek flavour.)  This all went back in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the Feta was browned and beginning to melt a bit.

I didn't serve anything else with this; we simply enjoyed eating it from a bowl with a fork - it was gorgeous!

We also indulged in a little dessert last night ... I'm still not completely sure of what the Hay diet says about desserts, but I am sure that, although I'm choosing to eat this way the majority of the time, I will still have the occasional sweet treat!  Anyway, this was a light concoction of chopped fresh peach in sugar-free jelly (hubby is diabetic), topped with a little ready-made custard and whipped cream ... with a sprinkle of Kenco's new Millicano coffee.  Very nice, refreshing pud!

Salmon/chicken "protein meal"

Another successful meal within the Hay diet guidelines; I realised as I was preparing this, last night, that I'm finding this new way of eating quite exciting.  All it takes is a little more thought about what we are going to have - and what can go with it! - but trying to come up with new combinations, plus an element of raw food, is a really enjoyable challenge!

So, yesterday's dinner was oven-baked salmon (for Warren and me) or pan-fried chicken (our son Pete's not a huge fish fan), accompanied by asparagus, creamed spinach and a red cabbage slaw dressed with orange juice, crushed mustard seeds and toasted pine nuts.  It was a really tasty meal and, because of the raw salad, very filling ... so again, no-one missed the carb element of our old-style meals.

Roast butternut squash & mixed vegetable korma

V  Phwooaaarrr!!!  This was a lush meal!  Still trying to follow the principles of "food combining", we went for a carbohydrate meal last night, so no protein.  Instead we had roast butternut squash and mixed vegetable korma, basmati rice, aloo sag (spiced potato & spinach), naan bread and minted cucumber.  It was probably too large a portion, actually (I couldn't finish all my rice), and we perhaps shouldn't have had three types of carb in one meal (rice, potatoes and bread) ... but we are still very much in the trial stages of this eating style and finding out what we can, and can't, eat together in one meal.

First I peeled, de-seeded and chopped the squash, then roasted it in oil; meanwhile, I put various other chopped veg into a large, heavy-bottomed casserole dish with some oil and cooked them with the lid on, stirring occasionally.  (I used onion, peppers, courgettes, mushrooms and carrot, but any combination would do.)  When the veg was nearly cooked, I added some vegetable stock (Knorr "jellified"), some curry powder, a little water and a sachet of creamed coconut.  When the squash had roasted and browned nicely, I added that to the curry along with some cream.  Gorgeous!

For the aloo sag, I peeled and cubes some potatoes, boiled them until just tender, then drained them and let them steam dry for a few minutes.  Then I fried some spices in oil (cumin, mustard seeds, chilli flakes, garam masala, etc - use your own favourites) before adding the potatoes and stir-frying them for a while, then (at the last minute) stirring in some washed, fresh spinach (or drained, frozen) to wilt.

I chopped up some cucumber very finely and added a couple of teaspoons of mint sauce (can't have yogurt with a "starch meal", so no raita), then served it alongside the curry and aloo sag, with a little rice and a mini naan bread.  Scrumptious!

Pork steak - Hay style!

So, another meal in the style of the Hay diet that I'm trying at the moment.  This one was a "protein meal" and consisted of a griddled pork steak with sauteed mushrooms, a large salad and some steamed/griddled vegetables (carrots, sugar snap peas, asparagus).  It was totally delicious and filling, with none of us "missing" any form of carbohydrate (potato, pasta, rice, bread, etc).

I'm finding this new way of eating (well, new to me, anyway - the Hay diet has been around for a century!) quite exciting and interesting ... the more I read about it and try it out, the more comfortable I feel with it.  The principles make a lot of sense to me, and the symptoms it claims to help are already less severe for me, so I'm hoping for good things to come.  We'll see!

V  Leave out steak, add nut rissole ... still works for the food combining programme, if you're interested!

Beefburgers and salad

We were going to have a barbecue last night, as it had been such a beautiful day, but the weather turned cloudy, windy and quite cool in the late afternoon, so we griddled some good-quality burgers and served them with a Greek salad indoors instead.

We also had some crudités and houmous, griddled courgettes (from a jar), gigantes (tinned Greek butter beans in tomato sauce) and homemade peppadew and yogurt dip.  (My husband and son also had a pitta bread each, but I didn't - reason given below.*)

V  This was a lovely, light meal and would work equally well with vegeburgers!

* The reason I decided not to have a pitta bread (which I love!) with this meal, is that I have decided to try food combining, as in the "Hay diet", although I am doing it for health reasons, not weight loss ... any weight loss that occurs (and by all accounts it will) will be a very welcome bonus, but my main aim is to ease the digestive problems that I have been suffering for much of the last 6-12 months.

It looks very simple to me and, actually, not a million miles away from the Slimming World concept of "Original Days" and "Green Days" dieting, on which I once lost 5 stone, felt incredibly healthy and had loads of energy.  (In fact, the only reason I don't return to Slimming World is that I have sworn never to follow another slimming diet, for the rest of my life!  In the long term, they don't work - whereas changing your attitude to food and to yourself, does!  I want to make my health and valuing myself my prime motives ... not losing weight, although obviously there is some crossover there.)

Anyway ...

I found this meal (protein and salad, plus pulses) extremely easy to digest, not to mention delicious!  I look forward to plenty of other tasty, nutritious meals ... that won't give me heartburn, flatulence or excess stomach acid!

Sweet potato tortilla

V  This was a recipe I found on the BBC Good Food website.  Basically a sweet potato omelette, it is incredibly easy to make, cheap, filling, tasty and wholesome ... it's also vegetarian, so what's not love about it?

It would be a treat served with a lovely big salad, but we chose to have some steamed green beans and a few sauteed mushrooms with it.  The pepper sauce (also in the recipe) had a bit more of a kick than it should have, because I used a jar of (hot & sweet) peppadews that I had in the fridge, rather than buy a jar of roasted peppers as suggested ... nevertheless, it was a gorgeous accompaniment to this dish and I would definitely make the whole thing again.  (Incidentally, we added some natural yogurt to the leftover sauce and used it as a delicious dip for crudites tonight!)