Barbecued Sweetcorn with Burnt Lime & Sea Salt

I hate to say it but there is distinctly a hint of Autumn creeping into the my Riverford vegbox so I am desperate to give you some recipes this week which really soak up the last of the summer sun. Use the BBQ as much as possible until it is too late! This is a fabulous way of cooking corn on the cob. The husks protect the kernels as they steam, whilst being infused with a fabulous smoky flavour.

The burnt lime adds a delicious sweet and sour twist. Definitely a taste of summer, no matter what the weather!

Barbecued Sweetcorn with Burnt Lime & Sea Salt

If the weather isn’t good enough, or you don’t have a barbecue, use a cast-iron griddle or heavy-bottomed frying pan and fry the corn in their husks, with no oil. Leave them until the husks cook to a dark brown/black colour, then turn every few minutes so the whole husk is coloured, about 15 minutes in total.

4 sweetcorn cobs with the husk still on

2 limes

pinch of brown sugar

butter

flaky or coarse sea salt

Fire up the barbecue (or see above). Soak the sweetcorn cobs in cold water for 20 minutes. Throw the cobs on the barbecue and cook for about 15 minutes, turning frequently. The husks will burn but you should be left with perfect smoky corn underneath.

Cut the limes in half, sprinkle the cut side with a little sugar and rub it in with your thumb until dissolved. Press the lime on to the bars of the barbecue until lightly caramelised. Strip the corn from the husk, slather over some butter, squeeze and rub the lime over the corn and sprinkle with salt.

Under the Weather

As I said, I have been really ill. I had a serious bronchial, chesty cough and felt really under the weather. I really do believe that you crave what is good for you. Along with my desperate craving for chocolate, I had a yearning for Thai Spicy Sweet Potato Soup.

I know that it is fairly obvious to long for something hot and warming when are ill and we all know that chillies are great for colds. They are known to act as a decongestant, expectorant and pain reliever all at once. But I think it was the Galangal or Ginger, in my homemade red curry paste, along with the mix of fresh and vibrant other herbs and spices, that I was really craving. I could not believe it when I looked up its health benefits, and along with many other great things, Galangal and Ginger are proven to reduce respiratory problems. They are a natural expectorant, are effective in removing mucus from the throat and lungs and combating various respiratory problems such as colds, coughs, flu, bronchitis, asthma, and shortness of breath.



As for sweet potatoes – super high in vitamins C and A as well as B6, magnesium and potassium they also are packed with anti-oxidants and act as a powerful anti-inflammatory.
So once again, I have effectively self-medicated myself,  with nothing more than a delicious bowl of soup.



Spicy Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup This red curry paste is really delicious and you will probably have quite a bit left over. If you love fresh coriander like I do, it may not be so much red, as green. The paste will keep in the fridge for about a week, or freeze it in an ice cube tray and use it as you need.
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
750g (2 medium sized) sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

Red Curry paste
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
4 red birds eye chillies, roughly chopped
2 sticks lemon grass, roughly chopped
6 fresh Kaffir lime leaves, roughly chopped
Large chunk of galangal (or ginger), peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic clove, peeled
1 tsp. salt
Small bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. Naam Pla (fish sauce)
1 small can 400ml coconut cream
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1 lime

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook gently for 5-10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile put all the ingredients for the red curry paste in a beaker and blend with a hand blender until smooth. Add a little coconut water from the tin of coconut milk to help achieve a smooth paste consistency. Add a large tablespoon of the curry paste to your saucepan and fry for a few minutes. Just cover the sweet potatoes with water and add a large teaspoon of salt. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the sweet potato is completely soft. Remove from the heat and whiz up the soup with the hand-blender. Check seasoning and add more curry paste if required and cook for a minute more.  Add the coconut milk and re-heat. Do not re-boil as it will kill the taste of the coconut milk. Add a squeeze of lime if you like.

Just What the Doctor Ordered!

Not feeling at all well this week. I had a serious bronchial, chesty cough and felt really under the weather. All of my great new year resolutions about healthy eating have gone out the window. I need energy fast and that means chocolate. I am a strong believer that we crave what we need, so I simply must be deficient in chocolate. I even found this article on Net Doctor, although it may be a bit far fetched.

“A study published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal has shown that eating chocolate could have a positive effect in reducing cough symptoms. The study showed that an ingredient in chocolate, called theobromine, was more effective at stopping persistent coughs than common cough treatments. There’s one study that’s shown some links. But the benefit may well only be due to the sweetness of the chocolate rather than anything else,’ says Professor Eccles. This stimulates salivation and mucus secretion that helps relieve cough symptoms.'”

Rather than eat large mouthfuls of the cooking chocolate straight out of the fridge, I decided to make a chocolate brownie, and so as not to give up on all my good resolutions quite yet, I decided to add some healthy beetroot from my veg box.



There is absolutely no doubt, beetroot is super good for you –

1. Lower Your Blood Pressure
Drinking beet juice may help to lower blood pressure in a matter of hours. One study found that drinking one glass of beet juice lowered systolic blood pressure by an average of 4-5 points. The benefit likely comes from the naturally occurring nitrates in beets, which are converted into nitric oxide in your body. Nitric oxide, in turn, helps to relax and dilate your blood vessels, improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure.
2. Boost Your Stamina
If you need a boost to make it through your next workout, beet juice may again prove valuable. Those who drank beet juice prior to exercise were able to exercise for up to 16 percent longer. The benefit is thought to also be related to nitrates turning into nitric oxide, which may reduce the oxygen cost of low-intensity exercise as well as enhance tolerance to high-intensity exercise.
3. Fight Inflammation
Beets are a unique source of betaine, a nutrient that helps protects cells, proteins, and enzymes from environmental stress. It’s also known to help fight inflammation, protect internal organs, improve vascular risk factors, enhance performance, and likely help prevent numerous chronic diseases.
4. Anti-Cancer Properties
The powerful phytonutrients that give beets their deep crimson colour may help to ward off cancer. Research has shown that beetroot extract reduced multi-organ tumour formations in various animal models when administered in drinking water, for instance, while beetroot extract is also being studied for use in treating human pancreatic, breast, and prostate cancers.
5. Rich in Valuable Nutrients and Fibre
Beets are high in immune-boosting vitamin C, fibre, and essential minerals like potassium (essential for healthy nerve and muscle function) and manganese (which is good for your bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas). Beets also contain the B vitamin folate, which helps reduce the risk of birth defects.
6. Detoxification Support
The betalin pigments in beets support your body’s Phase 2 detoxification process, which is when broken down toxins are bound to other molecules so they can be excreted from your body. Traditionally, beets are valued for their support in detoxification and helping to purify your blood and your liver.

So as you see, it is just what the doctor ordered!



Chocolate and Beetroot Brownie This is particularly delicious with a dollop of clotted cream. Riverford do a very good one.
 
250g dark chocolate, chopped
200g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
350g beetroot, about 2 medium sized
3 eggs
vanilla extract
200g golden caster sugar
50g cocoa powder,
50g rice flour (ground rice)
1 teaspoon baking powder
100g ground almonds

Preheat the oven to 180C. Wrap the beetroot in tin foil and put in the oven for about 45 minutes. They are cooked when a skewer inserts and removes very easily. Remove the tin foil and allow to cool for 10 minutes or so. Slip the skins off, whilst still warm. (Wear surgical gloves if you have some.) Meanwhile put the chocolate and butter in a large bowl and place it over a pan of simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the base of the bowl. Leave to melt. Alternatively, heat in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Purée the cooked beetroot in a food processor. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and sugar, and mix until smooth. Add the cocoa powder, rice flour, baking powder and ground almonds. Whiz up and then mix in the melted chocolate and butter.
Turn the oven down to 170C. Butter and then line with baking parchment a preferably rectangular tin, roughly 28 x 18cm. (I used a round one.) Pour in the mixture and place in the and bake for 30–35 minutes, until just firm to the touch. It’s important not to overcook brownies; a skewer inserted in the centre should come out only just clean. Leave to cool in the tin and then cut into squares.

New Year's Resolutions

What are my New Year's resolutions? Write my blog more often. It is already the 17th January and this is my first post of the year. Brilliant start! 

The others were drink less and eat more healthily. I managed to go six days without any alcohol which is probably the longest stretch I have managed since I was last pregnant, 9 years ago. 

As for the healthy eating; I have been scouring the newspapers and magazines for the latest ideas. Deliciously Ella is very last year now but Amelia Freer’s second book Cook. Nourish. Glow. seems to be very “of the minute”.  She is a Nutritional therapist and wants to completely re-educate the way you eat. She explains that we eat too much sugar, dairy, processed food and gluten. To summarise, somewhat briefly, she believes in buying good, seasonal, preferably organic produce and taking a little time to cook them at home. Good news for all my readers because that is exactly what you have been already doing for years. Not exactly rocket science!

But my personal diet message to myself as I get older, is all about re-hydration. There is no doubt as we age everything: our hair and nails and skin gets drier and moisturising from the inside as well as the outside can really help.  We are used to rubbing fatty moisturisers into our skin, but this is constantly at attack from the environment, so it would seem that it might be more effective to put the fats inside you, so that your body can do the job of lubricating you itself. Of course, by this I mean good fats rather than bad fats, namely Omega 3 fats, essential fatty acids. I think we all panic at this word, imagining that we have to consume bucket loads of sardines and mackerel to achieve our daily quota, but whilst fatty fish are clearly good for you, all sorts of vegetables, seeds and nuts are also excellent sources.

Here are a few to try and include in your diet
Flaxseeds
Walnuts
Beef
Brussel Sprouts
Cauliflower
Winter Squash
Broccoli
Kale
Spinach
Green Beans
Parsley

It is not only Omega 3 which provides good fats. Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats are also good. A moderation of saturated fats are also acceptable from whole milk, coconut oil and grass-fed meat but tran-fats should be avoided at all costs in commercially baked goods, packaged snack foods, margarine and commercially prepared fried foods.

To make sure you are getting enough good fats (Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated) stock up on avocados, olives, nuts (almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews and walnuts), seeds (sunflower, sesame and pumpkin seeds), flaxseed and fatty fish.

Luckily I had a couple of Avocados in my Riverford box this week, so I set about making up a new salad. I am particularly pleased with the salad dressing which turned out really creamy and fresh. I just used tarragon, which always goes well with chicken and some basil for added zing. 

I also like chicken cooked in this butterflied method as it cooks in minutes, as it is so thin, and stays really juicy and tender. Finally, of course you can add any other vegetables you have to hand and your salad leaves are up to you too. I used a mixture of rocket, watercress and a few sprigs of mint. So get hydrating!

Grilled Chicken with Almond Dressing, Avocado and Vegetable Salad

Dressing
50g almonds, soaked
A few sprigs of what herbs you fancy – coriander, basil, parsley or
tarragon, leaves picked

100ml extra virgin olive oil
2 x 150g chicken breasts
Zest of a lemon

Dried oregano
Extra virgin olive oil
Mixed salad leaves and maybe a few sprigs of herbs
1 bulb fennel
1 carrot
1 small courgette
1 ripe avocado
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
lemon wedges, to serve

For the dressing drain the almonds, add the olive oil, the herbs, a good pinch of salt and pepper and some water and puree with a hand blender until smooth and creamy. Add more water to get a good consistency and check for seasoning.

Take each chicken breast and cut it through the from one side to the other, stopping just short of the edge. This is difficult to explain so please follow link. Unfold the chicken breast and lay flat. Season with salt and pepper, dried oregano and lemon zest on both sides. Drizzle with olive oil.
Shave the fennel, courgette and carrot with a mandolin. Peel and thinly slice the avocado. Dress the salad and shaved vegetables with a little olive oil and a small pinch of salt. Arrange on plates. Heat a griddle pan of just a large frying pan. Arrange the avocado on the plates with the salad. Grill the chicken on both sides until just cooked. Place on top of the salad. Drizzle with almond dressing and serve with a wedge of lemon.