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Simmered Fresh Tomato Sauce

Tuesday, 16 October 2007 By 6 Comments

Simmered Fresh Tomato Sauce

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how easily tomatoes grow here in the UK. For four years in a row we’ve had bumper crops of tomatoes. With Gabriel’s arrival this year our vegetable plot got grossly neglected and our poor tomatoes missed out on the tender loving care they needed. Yet we harvested kilos of them ever week. There was a slight problem though, I didn’t know what to do with them! I needed a solution quick. It would have been an awful shame to let premium quality organic tomatoes go to waste.
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Filed Under: c) 1 - 2 hrs, Gluten Free, Italian, Lactose Free, Main Course, Pasta, Sauces, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free Tagged With: , , , ,

Pan-fried Butter & Garlic Prawns

Friday, 12 October 2007 By 12 Comments

Pan fried Butter & Garlic Prawns

We live in a tiny, sleepy village called Canewdon. When two cars have driven through the high street it has been a very busy day. The closest city, Southend-on-Sea, is twenty minutes’ drive away. More correctly, it is a seaside town that has been described as “interesting” by a fellow South African. Others, including me, are less polite. Once you’ve seen the beauty of South African coastal towns like Knysna, it is very difficult to find a place that can compete.
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Filed Under: a) 30 mins or less, Gluten Free, Main Course, Stir-Fries, Wheat Free Tagged With: , , ,

New Potato, Feta and Pecan Salad

Tuesday, 2 October 2007 By Leave a Comment

New Potato, Feta and Pecan Salad

The beauty of salads is that they are so easy and (usually) quick to prepare. It is very difficult to go wrong, since most of the time there is nothing to cook. What’s more you don’t need a lot of ingredients to put a salad together and if you don’t have the components to make your own salad dressing, you can simply reach out for a jar of mayonnaise or ready-made salad dressing. Yet again this is a more substantial salad that can also be served as a main course.
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Filed Under: a) 30 mins or less, Gluten Free, Main Course, Salad, Starters, Vegetarian, Wheat Free Tagged With: , , , , ,

Chicken with Apples in a Creamy Calvados Sauce

Tuesday, 25 September 2007 By 1 Comment

Chicken with Apples in a Creamy Calvados Sauce

Poulet Vallée d’Auge is the French name for this classic dish from Normandy and Brittany, which are the dairy and apple-growing regions of France. Chicken and apple is a match made in heaven. Paired with a light creamy sauce enhanced with some brandy is simply divine. This fricassée is seriously more-ish. Once you start you can’t stop until every morsel has been devoured and the very last globule of sauce licked off your plate, not to mention the frying pan!!
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Filed Under: b) 30 - 60 mins, French, Gluten Free, Main Course, Stews, Wheat Free Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Egg, Bacon & New Potato Salad

Wednesday, 19 September 2007 By 1 Comment

Egg, Bacon & New Potato Salad

Like most men Neil regards salads as fluffy, bunny food and I can’t say I disagree. Our main issue with most of them are that you are starving half an hour later after getting up from the table. This problem has been solved by adding protein and starch to the leaves. Breakfast Salad is my other name for this dish. It’s got eggs, bacon and potatoes without all the grease and some greens with vitamin goodies. On a warm summer’s day this is perfect for al-fresco dining.
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Filed Under: a) 30 mins or less, Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Main Course, Salad, Starters, Wheat Free Tagged With: , , , ,

Sweet Potato, Spinach & Mushroom Stew

Thursday, 13 September 2007 By 3 Comments

Sweet Potato, Spinach & Mushroom Stew

Yams, cassava, rice, peanuts, spinach, plantains and peppers are just a few ingredients that are regularly used in the rich West African cuisine. What surprised me most was the peanut butter in this dish. Curry and peanut butter sure sounds like a strange combination, but in reality it works beautifully. The peanut butter adds depth and nuttiness to the vegetables, but also tempers the cayenne pepper and curry. Who needs meat if a meal can be so filling?
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Filed Under: b) 30 - 60 mins, Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Main Course, Nigerian, Stews, Vegan, Wheat Free Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Butter Bean, Bacon & Thyme Soup

Friday, 31 August 2007 By 12 Comments

Butter Bean, Bacon & Thyme Soup

The butter bean didn’t get its name for no reason. When you taste this creamy soup you would have never guessed there is no dairy in it. Pulses are wonderful because they contain both starch and protein that make you feel satisfied for longer and they’re cheap. The bacon is just a little luxury in this recipe but can easily be omitted and the soup suddenly becomes suitable for vegans.
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Filed Under: American, b) 30 - 60 mins, Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Main Course, Snacks, Soups Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Broccoli, Pea & Leek Soup

Wednesday, 15 August 2007 By Leave a Comment

Broccoli, Pea & Leek Soup

A very green soup indeed. Sometimes it is difficult to get your 5-a-day, but this soup really helps in this regard, not to mention all the fibre it contains. It seems like an unlikely combination but once you try it you’ll appreciate the verdant and robust taste of the broccoli, the sweetness of the peas and the “leeky” flavour. The potato helps to give the soup a bit more “weight”, in other words more substance so that it can easily be served as a main meal. What’s more this soup can be enjoyed year round.
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Filed Under: a) 30 mins or less, Gluten Free, High Fibre, Lactose Free, Low Fat, Main Course, Soups, Starters, Vegan, Wheat Free Tagged With: , , , , ,

Oxtail braised in Red Wine

Friday, 13 July 2007 By 15 Comments

Oxtail braised in Red Wine

This is where my cooking journey started. Miserable, bored and stuck in a rut with the food I was eating I missed home dearly and asked my mother for the family oxtail recipe. South African comfort food I call it, especially on those subzero evenings in winter. Yes, it does get cold there…
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Filed Under: e) More than 3 hrs, Lactose Free, Main Course, South African, Stews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,