Friday, April 11, 2014

Malaga ken Marungay, Samaral at Malungay


Malaga ken Marungay, Samaral at Malungay. I just love samaral they are good for fish soup dishes, this my third samara fish soup dish. I have already in the archives tinowa and sinigang versions, this time it is the dinengdeng version. Dinengdeng is an Ilocano vegetable soup dish made up of medley of Pinoy vegetables topped with fish or seafood. Making today’s fish and vegetables dish Malaga ken Marungay, Samaral at Malungay is basically the same with the cooking of the traditional dinengdeng. For this recipe I have intentionally omitted the bagoong na isda ingredients which most Ilocanos would prefer as seasoning, instead I used just salt to for seasoning this will keep the flavors simple not overpowering the flavors of the fist and the vegetables. I did added also some leeks or spring onions and some ginger to cut the fishiness, the resultant dish is now cross of dinengdeng and tinowa.






Here is the recipe of my fish and vegetables soup dish Malaga ken Marungay, Samaral at Malungay.





Ingredients:



1 bunch malunggay leaves, removed from stem

1 bunch camote tops/leaves, trimmed

2 medium samaral, cleaned, slit diagonally

1 small size onion, quartered

2 medium size tomato, quartered

1 small bundle leek or spring onion, cut into 2” length

1 thumb size ginger, skinned, cut into strips

2-3 pieces long green chili

salt





Cooking procedure:



Fill halfway a medium size pot with water, bring to boil and add in the ginger, onion and tomato, simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Add in all the vegetables and cook for about 1 minute then add in the fish and continue to cook for 4 to 6 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Season with salt to taste. Serve hot.











Thursday, April 10, 2014

Slimming World-style Apple Creme Brulee






This dessert was inspired by one from the Slimming World Love Desserts recipe book but adapted to fit the ingredients I had in the house. I made it for a food tasting at my Slimming World group and was meant to use sliced mango for the base. I thought I had a tin of mango in the cupboard but the night before found it was mango puree, and I didn't have time to go shopping again, so I decided to use apples instead! It worked fine and while it isn't my favourite dessert I have ever made, it is pretty healthy and is a nice light alternative. The recipe I used was for individual desserts but I made this in one large dish as it is easier to share at food tasting.



Serves 4

3 apples, peeled and sliced

300g fat free Greek-style yogurt

4 tbsp sweetener

a few drops of vanilla flavouring

4 tbsp caster sugar

Each serving is 3 syns on all choices



Slice the apples and layer in the bottom of a dessert serving bowl.








Mix the yogurt, sweetener and vanilla and spoon over the apple.






Sprinkle the caster sugar over the top, and caramelise using a cook's blowtorch or a hot grill.






And that's all you need to do! The caramelised sugar on top gives a lovely snap when you dig in with a spoon and it's nice to have a slightly naughty topping on what is otherwise a very virtuous dessert.









I'm sending this to Dead Easy Desserts, hosted this month by Utterly Scrummy and created by Maison Cupcake, as this dessert is very easy and probably takes no more than about ten minutes to make.





Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Restaurant Review - the Grapes, Sutton

Restaurant name: The Grapes

Location: High Street, Sutton

Description: Wetherspoons pub with a modern, brightly lit bar but the seating areas with the patterned carpets and heavy curtains looks a bit dark and old fashioned.

Reason for visit: Lunch with my parents while we were shopping in Sutton

I ate: Jacket potato with BBQ pulled pork which came with a small side salad








My companions ate: My mum had the cheese and tomato toastie as she only wanted a snack, whereas my dad had a hot dog will pulled pork, chips and onion rings

The food was: My jacket potato was quite disappointing as it was small and a bit dry, though the pulled pork filling was nice. My parents enjoyed their food; the hot dog looked particularly good though it was very calorific. That's one thing I like actually - Wetherspoons now puts calorie counts next to every item on the menu and there is also a section of the menu for meals of under 500 calories.

The atmosphere/service was: I felt like the pub had a bit of a dingy atmosphere which might be a bit unfair as I can't quite put my finger on why. The bar staff were perfectly polite and helpful.




Price range/value for money: Excellent - Wetherspoons is extremely good value, with lighter bites priced very cheaply and other deals like two meals for £6.99; my dad's hotdog was only about £7 if I recall and it was an absolutely huge meal with the chips and onion rings as well.

Would I recommend it? I am always happy to go to a Wetherspoons as I know there will be a huge choice on the menu with plenty of options for lower calorie meals and it's hard to find such good value for meals of this size. Having said that, I wouldn't especially recommend this particular pub as it just didn't strike me as particularly nice - it needs to be lighter and brighter somehow.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Meal Planning Monday 2014 week 15






Back to a more normal week but as we will be moving house at some point (just waiting for the completion date) I need to start using up the food in the freezer. I'm actually a bit in the dark about how far in advance you have to switch the freezer off before you move, and how long you wait before you turn it back in again. It doesn't help that I have a combined fridge freezer so could be without a fridge for several days as well! I've gone through the freezer and made a list of everything in there (and, ahem, threw away a couple of things I couldn't identify) so meals for the next few weeks will be built around using things up.



I haven't done very well at losing weight over the last month or so (i.e. I haven't) so this week I am trying to follow a Slimming World 7-day meal plan as much as I can bearing in mind I usually don't like half their suggestions and that I am trying to use up food in the freezer.


Monday

Breakfast mango puree, plain yogurt, museli

Lunch ryvita with soft cheese or leftovers from boyfriend's birthday buffet yesterday


Dinner fish pie for me, sausage and mash for him



Tuesday

Breakfast mango puree, plain yogurt, museli

Lunch baked potato with tuna


Dinner going to a work event in the evening and I think the plan is for the team to go for a curry afterwards



Wednesday

Breakfast yogurt


Lunch sandwich/bagel


Dinner burger and chips for him, vege burger (as fewer calories) for me




Thursday

Breakfast yogurt


Lunch sandwich/bagel


Dinner salmon and dill tray bake with new potatoes magazine p.67




Friday

Breakfast yogurt


Lunch sandwich


Dinner SW herby crumbed fish with homemade chips - new magazine p.28




Saturday

Breakfast yogurt


Lunch tuna melt bagel


Dinner SW steak bearnaise with potato bake, magazine p.56



Sunday

Breakfast yogurt


Lunch beans on toast


Dinner SW coq au vin with herby mash, magazine p.54











Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Psychedelic Swirls Birthday Card




This birthday card was made for a male friend who is very stylish and a snazzy dresser; I thought he would like the pattern and the colours. I simply used stickers from a pack I bought in Paperchase, which had circles of different sizes and different colours and a few swirls, and arranged them on the card in what I thought was a nice design. I then added a 'happy birthday' silver outline sticker at the bottom.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Baked Egg and Sausage Buns






This recipe was inspired by one in a Weightwatchers cookery book though now that they've changed the way the Points are calculated I couldn't tell you how many it works out as.... but it's not specifically intended as 'diet food'. Instead, this is a quick and filling brunch recipe that is easy to make but just a little bit different.



You need one crusty bread roll per person- you could make your own, but I bought these fresh from the local bakery. Using a knife, cut a circle in the top then use a teaspoon to scoop out a little of the middle. Preheat oven to 180C.















You can spread a little butter or onion chutney in the hole or leave it plain, then fill with ready-to-eat cooked cocktail sausages. You could also cook a couple of sausages and cut them into bite-sized pieces.










Crack an egg carefully into the top and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the white of the egg has cooked.






Serve and enjoy - the yolk of the egg is still runny and the egg softens the inside of the bread roll a little, and the sausages are a treat when you get to the bottom. These made a great brunch!





Monday, March 31, 2014

Meal Planning Monday 2014 - week 14






A busy week and one that I know is going to be terrible on the diet front! We have a double celebration for my boyfriend's birthday and I'm off to Paris for work for two days (I love my job!). As well as meals out the office is just a few doors down from Laduree, home of the most amazing macarons!



Monday

breakfast yogurt

lunch chicken sandwich

Dinner prawn linguine for me, chicken fajitas for the other half



Tuesday

Breakfast yogurt

Lunch baked potato with prawns

Dinner takeaway for my boyfriend's birthday followed by chocolate cake



Wednesday

Breakfast either toast at home or I will take a cereal bar with me as I'm off to Paris

Lunch probably a sandwich on the Eurostar

Dinner in a Parisian restaurant



Thursday

Breakfast at a breakfast briefing so whatever is provided

Lunch probably a sandwich or in a cafe on the way back to the gare du nord

Dinner back home but later than usual so I will want something quick for dinner and will probably have pasta if my boyfriend has already eaten or something from the freezer with chips if he hasn't eaten by the time I get home (he doesn't really like pasta in its own)


Friday

Breakfast yogurt

Lunch ryvita with cream cheese

Dinner spaghetti bolognese


Saturday

Breakfast yogurt

Lunch soup and fresh bread

Dinner out at the cinema for my boyfriend's birthday and he wants to eat at Nando's



Sunday

Brunch bacon sandwich for him, tuna melt bagel for me

Afternoon having my boyfriend's family over for his birthday so I'm making another chocolate cake and serving some snack food

Dinner will depend what we ate in the afternoon, we could just have something like beans on toast for dinner