Mind Block = Time for alcohol!

Ok that makes me sound like an alcoholic, WHICH ISNT TRUE, but I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of another weird and interesting super food to give you guys the three that I promised. So far I keep just coming up with blueberries and salmon and turkey… all stuff that people have heard of and know what to do with, so it’s a bit boring. One fruit I found which was interesting and apparently has diabetes reducing properties, called the Mangosteen, would have been ideal to do a piece on, but I couldn’t find it to buy anywhere, which means that I couldn’t test anything out with it and give you guys a recipe… total fail :(



So instead… whilst I figure out where I can get it from, I decided to look at the respectable collection of alcohol that has been accumulated in the family home. Now, funnily enough, no one in my family drinks asides from my brother, and me but out of respect neither of us drink at home or within eyesight of my parents. However, people always seem to give us alcohol as last minute Christmas or birthday or new year’s presents…. Lol we collected so much over the years that eventually mum and dad bought a small drinks bar, which is now well stocked enough to satisfy a student social! This is awesome for me as you can imagine, as alcohol (the good stuff) is expensive, but if its there then its really cool to experiment with. Conveniently I am not only a trained chef, but also a trained cocktail waiter (needed to make some money whilst at uni)

There were also some lychee kicking around the fruit bowls so set to work.



Lychees have a weird flavour and I would argue that along with pomegranates are the most filddly and awkward of all the fruits.

A hard, rough and spikey shell that covers a very watery white flesh…. Which is again hiding a giant seed lol… very annoying, however, the taste is unique enough to make all this effort worth it!



I have a terrible sweet tooth so I wanted something to match, but not be overtly sugary, and after 3 attempts I came up with this deliscious recipe for what I have aptly dubbed;

“The Charm”

Ingredients:

5 Lychee flesh (without seeds, also fresh will taste better than tinned)
3 drops of Angostura bitters
12.5ml Midori (Melon Liqueur. From Japan I think)
25ml Vodka
25ml Mango juice
100ml Lychee Juice
¼ Lime

Method:

Take the Lychee and the ¼ Lime and add them to a strong glass(If you are lucky enough to have a professional cocktail set then add these to your boston glass) and then using a muddler (or the end of a rolling pin if you don’t have a muddler) crush the ingredients to release as much juice from them as possible.

Once you have done this, you will need to add the alcohol (excluding the Angostura bitters and some ice.

Place about half way up the glass full of ice, and then add the alcohol (excluding the Angostura bitters), add a secure lid to the glass, and Shake it like a combination of Shakira and Beyonce in a tumble dryer lol!

After shaking with the ice (this releases more juice from the fruits, as well as cooling down the alcohol, which smoothens the taste of vodka and sharpens the sweet midori) add the mango and the lychee juice and stir about 30 times.

Pour the contents through a sieve into whichever glass you will serve the drink in, and decorate as you see fit. Then put 3 drops of Angostura bitters ontop of the finnished drink. I did not decorate mine because I was on my own…. With alcohol…. Late at night… maybe I am becoming an alcoholic… haha bad times.



Enjoy!

Super food 2.... the smallest of the bunch!

In Keeping the with “super food” theme, I want to introduce you guys (if u don’t already know about them) to an awesome little powerhouse capsule! Flaxseeds!



These tiny little seeds are native to hot countries like those in the Mediterranean and India. Although they look incredibly boring these small seeds have the highest content of omega 3 for any plant in the world (so far anyways… they are always finding something new! Lol). If you don’t know, omega 3 is a fatty acid commonly found in the oils in many fish. Although the composition of omega 3 in fish is slightly different than that in flax seeds (because there is an extra boost from the algae that the fish eat which the flax seed plant obviously isn’t eating) this seed is the single biggest culinary support against a number of blood related problems!



Omega 3 is beneficial in so many areas of the body that its hard to start at any single point. It has the ability to ward against cancerous cells. It can thin blood to reduce clotting which would lead to cardiovascular problems as well as high blood pressure. It has also been found to bolster and maintain a healthy immune system…. LESS FLU!



From a culinary point of view Flax seeds aren’t actually that great haha….. They are physically non distinct and pretty flavourless (aside from a slightly nutty taste, but nothing strong enough to overpower even the mildest of flavours). Whilst this sounds terrible its actually a pretty good trait. The benefits of them not tasting of anything in particular means that they can pretty much be added to any meal or drink without affecting the flavour. You can use them to top cakes, mix them into curries, sprinkle them into sandwiches or even have them ground and dust them over smoothies!



My favourite use for them personally is using them to top off delicious muffins!


Honey, Walnut and Flaxseed muffins (12 approx):

Ingredients:

49.5g whole wheat flour
49.5g oat bran
40.5g oatmeal
30g chopped walnuts
1.5 Tsp baking powder
1/4 Tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp milled flax seeds
1 Tsp cinnamon
½ Tsp salt
30g caster sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
25g honey
1 Tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup milk
2Tbsp oil

Method:


Combine the dry ingredients first, sieving the baking powder, baking soda, flour, salt and sugar into a large mixing bowl.

Then in a separate bowl beat together the egg, vanilla essence, honey, milk and oil.

Mix the wet into the dry slowly a small amount at a time and combine thoroughly.

After combining completely dispense evenly into 12 muffin tins.

Bake at 200 degrees (C) for 15-20 minutes.

When complete and baked all the way through, remove from oven and let cool.

Drizzly with honey and sprinkle with any remaining flax seeds or chopped walnuts.



Enjoy!

Super Foodology!!..... wait... is that even a word?

The word “Superfood” seems to be bounced around fairly often nowadays in the media. I find it slightly worrying that there is no actual scientific definition of this popular term… Nethertheless, it is a useful term for describing ingredients that have a particularly high level of good nutritional traits in them. Proteins, Pectin, Anti oxidants etc… Amongst these billions of ingredients that are now making their way out of the woodwork of awesome foods there are some particularly interesting ones, which I have found to not only be particularly good for you, but also have tastes, which will truly liven up any meal or beverage you guys decide to make!

To kick it off we have Matcha!



This is one of the oldest forms of instant tea that the world has ever known. The leaves that make up this tea are though to of originally been cultivated in china and then slowly made their way across to Japan where the tea leaves were eventually refined and crushed into a powder like form which all you needed to do was add hot water too.

Tea itself has long been known for its high concentration of anti-oxidants, cancer-fighting nutrients. However, of all of the teas Matcha is by far the most potent when it comes to health. This is due to the tea being powdered and not just brewed. You ingest all of the leaves nutrients when you drink it and therefore get all of the nutrients.



To put the benefits of this “super food” into perspective for you, one cup of matcha contains 70 times the antioxidants of a cup of orange juice and nine times the beta carotene of a serving of spinach.

It has a slightly bitter but fragrant taste and is very versatile. You can find it flavouring Lattes, Ice creams, savoury dishes and in some cases, I have seen it accompanied with truffles in order to obtain a fragrant but earth taste atop sweet dishes.



I am addicted to Matcha lattes personally… They are awesome, and if you ever get the chance then you should definitely make your own.

Matcha Latte:

3 Level tablespoons of Matcha Powder

350ml of semi skimmed milk (I wouldn’t suggest full fat milk, if you’re trying to be healthy with matcha, you do not need to ruin it lol)

25ml of vanilla syrup (this is just my personal addition, i've got an incurable sweet tooth)



Enjoy!

TBQFWTFBBQ

What the hell is going on with all these ridiculous abbreviations.... Seriously, who is coming up with them. Are we as humans so lazy that we are shortening an already efficient means of communication??

This occured to me as i was sitting at my desk at work. The boy behind me, in a nonthreatening and mildly amusing way, keeps saying "Lol" instead of actually laughing....

This is just bizarre.. at first its quirky little bit of his character.. and slowly but surely its become the worst thing about work. He doesnt just stop at "lol" he has an entire arsenal.... "TBQF" "WTF" "ROFL...... seriously, what the hell is "TBQF" i had to google it. Lol... whilst googling it to try and find out what it was i came across a website about mushrooms which seemed very random, but being the incurable foodie that i am i decided to have a peek.

From this i got to thinking about mushroom recipes, using the inherant nuttiness of some mushrooms to really bring a dish to life.

I settled on going for a mixture of shitake mushrooms for thier nuttiness and strength, mixed with oyster mushrooms for thier silky texture. The result was a deliscious Creamy mushrooms on toasted brioche. Very simple and very effective!



Ingredients:

This will be enough for about 8-10 servings



30 medium to large shitaake mushrooms
20 varying size oyster mushrooms
250ml single cream (can be changed for creme fraiche but its not NEARLY as tasty)
Cracked black pepper to taste
Salt to taste (use low salt for the health conscious)

8-10 Small semi sweetened Brioche rolls



Method

Before anything be sure to have your Brioche ready for when the mushrooms are done, so its probaably best to toast them first. Personally i cheated and didnt make the Brioche myself... so i bought some finger shaped brioche rolls instaed and cut them through the middle horizontally for the mushrooms to sit on when they were done.

Toast the Brioche on a low grill heat, it needs to be rady when the mushrooms are ready as it will be served almost immediatly.

Slice the Shitaake mushrooms into 1/2cm (roughly) thick slices and then set aside.
Then cut the Oyster mushrooms in half vertically and set aside with the Shitaake mushrooms.

Take a large, high rimmed, frying pan on a Medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to heat it up.

Add the Mushrooms to the pan and allow to cook until they begin to soften. (about a minute with constant slow stiring)

Then add the cream to the pan, all the while stiring so that the cream does not begin to burn, if this is becoming difficult then reduce the heat and continue at a steady pace.

After about a minute or 2 the mushrooms should begin to turn the cream a greyish colour. at this point turn the heat down as much as possible and begin to add your salt and pepper to taste.

Once the seasoning is done, it is time to dish the meal up!

I arrnaged mine on a bed of baby mixed leaves and dressed it with chopped parsley for colour.

Im sure you guys can think of a better way lol!



Enjoy!

TBQF!!!