Simple Swaps

The Challenge to The Challenge

I must cook at least 300 times a year.  And yet, somehow, after more than 4 years (over 1,400 days), I have still not managed to complete my Challenge to cook from AND blog about every one of my 100+ cookbooks.  In fact, I have only managed to write about 19 of them.  Although I will certainly have cooked from more of them, that's not the Challenge!

The reason for my failure is due in part to circumstances: moving house; getting married; renovating our new home; moving house again; and other less exciting time pressures.  And of course I keep moving the target by acquiring more books!

However, another major contributory factor is the (ubiquitous) Diet, which, almost halfway through 2017, I will begin again in earnest and with gusto.  It is a challenge in itself to be faithful to the sumptuous recipes in my books and yet eat within the constraints of healthy living.

If I've learned anything from dieting, though, it's that the best way to keep your weight down is through sustainable lifestyle changes.  It is about making achievable adaptations to your approach to food that will then become habitual.

And in the spirit of both development and transformation, I have decided that the only way to be true to both my Challenge and The Diet is to allow revisions, where necessary, to minimise the unhealthier elements of the recipes.  Of course, flavour should not be sacrificed, so a balanced approach needs to be taken.  And, as successful diets are not about denial, a treat every now and then is allowed.

Weight Watchers

For a number of years, I have been a member of Weight Watchers - currently using their Smart Points system - and have been successful when I have followed it, failing when I get caught up in eating out and over-indulging.  But it always helps me get back on track after a blow out.

The concept of Smart Points is that each food has a points value calculated based not only on calories but other nutritional factors, such as sugar content, and further weighted to encourage healthier choices.  For example, almost all vegetables and fruits are 0 points.  In addition to making the right (healthy) choices for my Challenge, recipes can be adapted to cost fewer Smart Points, for example by reducing portion sizes, bulking up with vegetables, or swapping high point items (such as cream) for lower point items (such as light creme fraiche).

I have a daily Smart Points allowance of 30 points.  These points don't roll over - if I don't use them, I lose them.  In addition I have a weekly allowance of 28 points, which resets each week.  I can use these either to top up my day, or save them up for a day I know is going to be particularly pointerific.  And, finally, I can earn Fit Points through exercise, which can be used to bolster my allowance.

Simple Swaps

So, for my first adapted meal, I start with 'SIMPLE: effortless food, big flavours' by Diana Henry.  The principle of the book is "not...quick food, but a book of low-effort food".  Being a busy household, both Dave and I frequently working long hours, we have less time during the week to put a lot of prep time into our dinners.  But that doesn't mean that we need succumb to the ease of takeaways, ready meals or ill-conceived dishes thrown together from the remnants of whatever may be in the fridge.

We had such a glorious weekend, it felt fitting to chose the Warm Salad of Squid, Bacon, Beans & Tarragon.  Squid is an excellent base of a dish due to it being so lean.  The original recipe would have been 18 points.  However, with a few simple changes - cutting back on the olive oil, swapping double cream for half fat creme fraiche and lardons for bacon medallions - I was able to reduce this to 8 points, giving me a bit of space for a nice glass of white wine to go with my simple supper.  I also bulked the meal up with some tasty (and seasonal!) char-grilled baby gem lettuce.

When Life Gives You Mint...

...buy an ice cream maker

Dave and I lived for a number of years in a fantastic flat in Edinburgh, located in lively Leith, and, as it happens, also in the aspirationally-classified red light district. As such, our street sign could, on occasion, fall victim to some late night punnage, with our development being wittily renamed Salamander Escourt.

We were lucky to have a large balcony off the lounge of our flat. Big enough to host summer parties and to be a noticeable loss to our living space in the winter.  Unfortunately, the Scottish elements coupled with my truly questionable gardening skills meant nothing much grew on the patio.  Except one summer we discovered we had a glut of mint. I know now that this is not much of an achievement, but beaming with satisfaction I eagerly made plans for my bumper crop.

And what, indeed, should one do with a bumper crop of mint in the middle of Summer? Well, make mint-choc-chip ice cream, of course! But, what if you don't have an ice cream maker? Well, buy one! And then buy a book on ice cream to justify your purchase.

Bristol BBQing

Fast forward 6 years, and we're finally on the last phase of Operation First House. Having replaced the standard issue Council kitchen with a full set of cupboards, ample counter space, induction hob and double oven (with proving drawer); and then pinched some space from our spare room to create a smart new bathroom complete with bath; we have recently just finished fencing round the garden and installing a sunken patio, with a sleeper wall at the perfect height for perching.

And what should one do if one has a beautiful new patio? Why, buy a BBQ of course!

While the convenience and ease-of-use of a gas BBQ was appealing, we made the decision to go down the more challenging charcoal route. That said, I wasn't quite ready to pay over £1,000 for a Big Green Egg, even if it did look like there would be potential to become Mother of Dragons mid-grill. So we opted for a classic Webber Kettle with the "gourmet" add-on potential.

Since then, I have tentatively dipped my toe in the world of serious BBQing, learning about indirect and direct heat cooking as well as smoking with my new toy. In this, I have found the Pitt Cue cookbook (of Father's Day fame and which I subsequently bought for myself) really insightful. Once you've got over the fact that a charcoal BBQ is much more than meat + fire, the book is actually really encouraging and useful.

We had our first BBQ a few weeks ago, naming the event "Wetting the Patio's Head by Wetting the BBQ's Head". Of course, with such language, it being Britain, and the event being planned rather than spontaneous, we ensured an afternoon of rain. We may have been damp, but our spirits were not. Our friends heroically slipped away and purchased a gazebo, which was comically assembled to the Benny Hill theme tune.

I ambitiously opted to try both indirect and direct heat on the same day, slow cooking pork belly all morning and then finishing off the slices over direct heat when we were ready to eat (a Pitt Cue recipe).  I also had a vegan friend over and found some great recipes at Vegan Miam, including the BBQ Tofu Burger with Pickled Cucumber (Taiwanese style). 

Spontaneity Simplified

Essential to the BBQ set up was the Charcoal Starter Chimney that Mum & Dad had bought for us a few Christmases ago (another reason we opted for charcoal).  It is so simple to use and means you can have your coals ready to go in about 15 minutes. And, if you need a charcoal top up, you can have new hot coals ready to chuck in without the heat dropping.

With set up this quick, it means you can jump on every inch of good British weather. Like tonight, for example. With temperatures touching shorts-and-t-shirts-degrees, we picked up a few things from the shops and are sitting here in the sun, sipping Sauvignon Blanc, whole sea bass sitting over hot coals, potatoes baking in the oven, corn on the cob seasoned and prepped, and squid marinating.  All the latter ready to be chucked on the BBQ at the appropriate time.

With a week off coming up soon and no travel plans, I feel the BBQ and I will be spending some time getting to know each other and my charcoal starter and Pitt Cue may be getting more of an outing... weather permitting!

Rarely Good Beef

Thank you Heston: Conjurer of Cuisine; Alimentary Alchemist, Meat Magus!

Despite my international background, or perhaps because of it, I am a huge fan of the classically-British roast lunch.  Although, I do not conform to our restrictive French nick-name (les rosbif), being equally happy with most kinds of 2- or 4-legged beasts; be it succulent chicken with garlic and thyme; melt-in-the-mouth pork with salty crackling; or pink spring lamb with lovely fresh vegetables.

This weekend I had the best roast beef I've ever tasted in my life having followed a recipe from Heston Blumenthal's, 'At Home'.  And it was unexpectedly simple...

British Through and Through?

As an aside, my husband and I are debating the idea that the great British roast is somewhat of a misnomer.  Having moved from Edinburgh to Bristol a few years ago, we were surprised to discover that every self-respecting pub or restaurant here unilaterally sets aside their vibrant and interesting regular menus on a Sunday in favour of a not-so-humble selection of roast dishes.  This was not something we ever experienced in Edinburgh.

Is this passion for the Sunday roast perhaps an English thing (although this throws up all kinds of questions of national identity) or is that Brizzle is a particularly enthusiastic proponent of an under-stated British indulgence?

In any case, the devotion or city shows to the Sunday tradition is very often to its credit and our enjoyment.  Check out, for example, the Spotted Cow's menu, including Organic Chicken Breast Stuffed with Pork & Blue Cheese, or the Pump House's weekend offer, boasting Roast Leg of Mendip Lamb, Roast Onion Puree & Salsa Verde.

Rarely Perfect

I like my beef rare.  Unfortunately, so does the rest of my family.  A roast beef lunch is therefore an exercise in politeness, with each of us judging the fair quantity of juicy, rose-coloured meat we can fork onto our plates, all of us left slightly dissatisfied by its scarcity.

Heston's recipe has provided the much-needed solution.  And it is so easy.  It simply requires time.  Season and seal the meat and then roast for 5-6 hours at a low temperature.  The result is a rib of beef where every slice is a rare thing of beauty! Serve with the delicious bone marrow, shallot and mustard sauce Heston has included alongside the recipe.

Note: We were so eager to dive in to our lunch, that we did not have time to take a picture before devouring it.  This picture is from Heston's section on steaks within the same book.