Culinary Experiments

I can get very stuck in a rut when it comes to our main meal of the day, come to think of it I'm pretty predictable when it comes to lunchtime too, but these last couple of days I've been trying out some new-to-me recipes.  Having to stick to a low-fat diet does somewhat limit what I cook - no more sausage casseroles or anything in a cheese sauce for example - so it's not always easy to think of different meals that won't aggravate my gall bladder.

I've been enjoying Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's new Channel 4 programme about vegetarian food, although a lot of his recipes are firmly verboten for me as there is quite prolific use of butter, cream and cheese - though many of those veggie treats do look tres delicious.   On Sunday he had a recipe for Chachouka with duck eggs which I thought sounded rather tasty and which had minimal amounts of saturated fat in it.  I made it yesterday evening - sans duck eggs of course which would be impossible to buy here in Wickford but using ordinary organic hens eggs instead, and also sans saffron as that would be totally beyond my budget.  There was A LOT of chopping and preparation involved and I don't think I've ever used quite so many peppers in one dish before but it all came together most satisfactorily, though I would have to say that I don't think there are too many calories in it as we were both rather peckish a bit later on.  And that was despite the fact that I made a small loaf of bread to go with it and we ate most of that with the Chachouka too.  I may make it again I may not - the jury's still out at the moment.

One recipe I've already made  more than once is Roast Sweet Potatoes with Chilli and Onions that I came across on Robin Ellis's blog (and yes, that is THE Robin Ellis who played Poldark so dashingly in the 1970s.)  His blog is very much a food blog with particular emphasis on recipes suitable for people with type 2 diabetes (which he himself has been diagnosed with) but many of them are low in fat too which makes them ideal for me to try as well.  He has some fabulous mediterranean-inspired recipes on his blog and if they're all as tasty and easy to prepare as the roast sweet potatoes then I definitely think I'll be buying his new recipe book.  P and I have the sweet potatoes with veggie burgers in a bun and a nice green salad - makes a very quick and tasty evening meal.

Tonight I tried out yet another new-to-me dish, Sticky Lemon Chicken, which I got from a BBC Low-Fat Cookbook that Mum let me have a while ago.  Again a nice easy tasty meal with pretty much no saturated fats in the recipe at all - just chicken pieces, thinly sliced carrots, green beans and a red pepper cooked in a marinade of honey, lemon, soy sauce and chicken stock.  We had it all atop a pile of noodles - tres delicious but I do fear the 'munchies' may strike a bit later if I'm not careful!!  I think tomorrow it may be time to go back to one of my more regular recipes and give the experimentation a bit of a rest.

 

Comments

[lovelygrey]

It was probably much nicer without the saffron - I don't like the stuff and can't understand what the fuss is about with it. And living in Wickford couldn't you have just scooted out to East Hanningford reservoirs to find an obliging duck?! x

[Vix]

The roast sweet potatoes with chili and onions sound like heaven for veggie me. x

[Maureen]

The recipes sound great
And Robin Ellis in Poldark, also tasty

[Wendy]

Thanks ever so much for sharing the blog by Rob Ellis. I am really enjoying looking through it. He's also got some interesting recipes for cauliflower which I love.
Wendy (Wales) x