Fish cakes :-)

 

The Hairy Bikers’ fish cakes are made with potatoes, a mixture of cod and smoked haddock, spring onions, breadcrumbs and paprika.

Ingredients

• 275 g potatoes, preferably maris pipers, peeled and cut into rough 3cm chunks
• 300 g cod, unskinned
• 100 g smoked haddock, unskinned
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ lemons, finely zested
• 4 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
• oil, for spraying
• 1 large egg
• 50 g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp paprika
• lemon wedges, to serve         

Method

1. Put the potatoes in a pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft but not falling apart.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, put the fish fillets in a large saucepan, placing the thicker fillets on the bottom of the pan. Cover with cold water and add the bay leaf. Put a tight-fitting lid on the pan and gently bring to a simmer, then immediately take the pan off the heat. Leave the fish to stand for 5 minutes.

3. Drain the potatoes well in a colander, tip them back into the pan and mash them until smooth or pass them through a potato ricer. Put the mash in a large bowl and season with salt and black pepper.

4. Drain the fish really well in a colander and break it into large chunks, discarding the skin and any bones as you go. Put the fish in the same bowl as the mashed potato and stir in the lemon zest and spring onions with a large wooden spoon – try not to break up the fish too much.

5. Divide the mixture into 4 balls and flatten each ball to about 3cm thick. If the mixture is too soft to shape into balls, cover and leave it to cool for a while. The potato will stiffen up as it cools. Lightly mist a baking tray with oil.

6. Beat the egg in a shallow bowl. Mix the breadcrumbs with the paprika in a large bowl. Dip a fishcake into the egg, coating it on all sides. Allow any excess egg to drip off the fishcake and then place it in the breadcrumbs, turning it and pressing firmly to get an even coating of crumbs on all sides. Place the fishcake on the greased tray and prepare the rest in the same way. Leave them to chill in the fridge until you’re ready to cook, but use them within 24 hours.

7. To cook the fishcakes, preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Mist the fishcakes with the oil and bake them for 15–20 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Serve with vegetables or a lightly dressed salad and some lemon wedges for squeezing.

Tips and suggestions

These fishcakes are 187 calories per portion. A little tartare sauce goes down a treat, but don’t forget to add 15 calories per teaspoon. If you don’t like the flavour of smoked fish, just use an extra 100g of cod or haddock.

Tempeh Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans :-)

                          Tempeh absorbs the rich spices and coconut milk in this simple curry. Cook the rice and steam the tempeh while prepping your other ingredients and it will come together quickly.

                                                               

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup long-grain brown rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 (8-ounce) package tempeh
• 1 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground curry powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt  
•  
  Method: 

  Bring rice and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer until liquid is completely absorbed and rice is just tender, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, arrange steamer basket in a pot. Add enough water just to reach bottom of basket. Bring to a boil. Cut tempeh in half and place in the steamer basket. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and steam about 15 minutes or until tender. Remove tempeh and set aside until cool enough to handle. Cut tempeh into 1/2-inch cubes.
  
  Bring 1/2 cup broth to a simmer in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger and cook 5 minutes or until onion is translucent and tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in curry and cumin and cook for 1 minute. Add coconut milk, potatoes, tempeh and remaining 1 cup broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook 10 minutes. Stir in green beans and return to a simmer, uncovered. Cook about 5 minutes longer or until potatoes and green beans are tender. Stir in 3 tablespoons cilantro and salt. To serve, spoon curry over rice and garnish with remaining 1 tablespoon cilantro.
  
  
  

  Nutritional Info: 

  Per Serving:510 calories (110 from fat), 12g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 90mg sodium, 80g carbohydrate (13g dietary fiber, 8g sugar), 24g protein

  Special Diets: 

  • Dairy Free
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • High Fiber
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  •  I love tempeh and curry and thought it would be a wonderful mix. I used regular soy tempeh and VERY lightly browned it first. I chopped the sweet potato very small to help it cook easier. Also added some shredded carrots per a recommendation above, and added probably a whole tsp of salt to help the flavor, and a little bit of olive oil. The ginger is wonderful! If I had peas I would have added those also. I actually did not need to reduce the broth amount given the creaminess of full-flavored coconut milk and the amount of veggies/tempeh I had. I added it at the very end, so use at your discretion.
    
    I think it would be a great family recipe but I cooked it for just myself and it is a lot of food so yummy nam nam nam :-)
  •  

Quick Chicken Cacciatore :-)

This version of the classic Italian recipe, chicken cacciatore, is done in half the time of most traditional versions, but is still full of rich flavor thanks to plenty of mushrooms, tomatoes and herbs.

Makes: 4 servings
Active Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 8 ounces mushrooms, quartered
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 3/4 teaspoon dried, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 14-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup sliced jarred roasted red peppers, rinsed
• 1/4 cup quartered Kalamata olives

Preparation

1. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Cut each chicken breast in half on the diagonal to make 4 roughly equal portions; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour and transfer to a plate. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the flour.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add mushrooms, onion, rosemary and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the vegetables with the reserved flour and cook, stirring, until coated. Add wine to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add drained tomatoes, broth, roasted red peppers and olives; bring to a lively simmer over medium-low heat.
4. Return the chicken to the pan and continue cooking, stirring once or twice, until the liquid has thickened slightly and the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Serve the chicken with the sauce, garnished with rosemary, if desired.

Nutrition

Per serving: 341 calories; 12 g fat (2 g sat, 8 g mono); 63 mg cholesterol; 21 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 28 g protein; 2 g fiber; 720 mg sodium; 479 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (27% daily value), Vitamin A (21% dv)
Carbohydrate Servings: 1 1/2
Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 1 1/2 vegetable, 3 lean meat, 2 fat

Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns, courtesy of your crock pot :-)

Here's the thing about making cinnamon rolls in your slow cooker.

It's basically the best idea anyone had. 

Ever.

It only takes about an hour and a half in your crock pot and they come out super duper perfect. 

Like, gooey, sweet and deliciously fluffy perfect.

You might be wondering why you'd want to spend 90 minutes making something you can bake in 20, but I really encourage you to give this recipe a whirl. Unlike the 20-minute, pop-in-the-oven method, it's really, really hard to overcook (aka dry out and make brick like) these cinnamon buns in the crock pot.

And in the spirit of all things fall, august and wonderful (not to mention a half a can of pumpkin sitting in my fridge begging to be used), I've decided to put a fun spin on this breakfast and make it pumpkin spice cinnamon buns with cream cheese frosting. You won't be sorry.

 

 

 

Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Buns

(Makes 12-14 rolls)

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 cup vanilla almond milk

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup pureed pumpkin

1/2 cup canola oil

1 Flaxseed egg (1 TBS flaxseed to 1 1/2 TBS warm water, let it sit for 5 minutes)

 

  

 

Filling Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp ground gloves

Icing Ingredients:
4 oz vegan cream cheese, soft
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 stick vegan butter, soft
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and yeast. Fold in almond milk, water, pumpkin, flax seed egg and oil into try ingredients. Form into a ball and let it sit in bowl, covered with a towel, for 30-45 minutes.

Once dough has settled, roll into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface. 

Mix together filling ingredients and baste rolled rectangle dough with sugary, pumpkin spice mixture. Roll long side to long side, pinch ends and then cut into 12-14 slices. 

Place in greased crock pot and cook on high for 60-90 minutes (perform the toothpick test to determine doneness. If it comes out clean, you're good to go!)

Mix up icing/glaze and pour over hot rolls to create an hooey, gooey, perfectly moist cinnamon bun. Top with pecan pieces if you're feeling wild.

 

These were surprisingly MUCH easier than your traditional cinnamon rolls! :)

The Life Changing Crackers :-)

 

 

 

The funny thing about writing a blog, is that I never know how popular my recipes will be. Often, I think I have a real zinger and no one really seems to appreciate it on the same level as I do. Then I post something rather simple and everyone goes nuts about it. Curious.
You can imagine then, that when I posted The Life Changing Loaf of Bread, how incredibly shocked I was at the response. Although I was pretty confident that I had a winning recipe, I never expected the explosive reaction that it got. After checking up on it today, the post has over 1,200 comments. WHAT?! That is insane. And thank you. I’m so glad it changed your life too.
In the spirit of recipes that shake up our routine, I thought I would introduce you to the very same one all over again. That’s right. The same recipe with a new method to make the most life-changing crackers you have ever tasted.

The story goes like this: it was the night before a long trip, and I knew that I needed to make some food to take with me on the journey. I didn’t have a lot on hand, nor did I have a lot of time. Searching through the cupboards I realized I had almost everything to make The Life Changing Loaf of Bread, but because I was traveling with it, I wanted it to be a little more transportation-friendly (nothing like biting into an entire loaf of bread on an airplane to make you look like a total kook). A light bulb moment: what if I made the dough and just flattened it out like a cracker? It was just crazy enough to work! Crispy, crunchy, flaky, seedy, and so tasty, this crispbread that is my new go-to for every meal of the day, and snacking in between.
The wonderful thing about the Life Changing Cracker recipe is that you can customize the flavours by adding different gourmet ingredients. You can take them to sweet or savoury town. You can throw in some superfoods if you like, or just stick to the plain, yet delicious base recipe.

I love dividing up the dough and creating multiple kinds of crackers all in the same batch. I made two different versions last time: Rosemary, Garlic & Smoked Sea Salt, and Fig, Anise & Black Pepper. Both were totally delicious and worked well with dips, spreads, and cheese. I also really enjoyed them on their own, totally unadorned. Because I loved these combos so much, I’ll give you the recipes for them below – just remember that they are for half a batch of dough respectively.
The Life Changing Crackers can be made into any shape you like too, so get creative. Use cookie cutters, biscuit cutters, pasta or pastry cutters if you have them. A simple knife works too. And if you like things rustic bake the whole tray until crisp, then break them up in free form pieces before storing them.

The Life-Changing Crackers
Makes 2 baking sheets of crispbread
Ingredients:
1 cup / 135g sunflower seeds
½ cup / 90g flax seeds
1/3 cup / 50g pumpkin seeds
¼ cup /40g sesame seeds
1 ½ cups / 150g rolled oats
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
4 Tbsp. psyllium seed husks (3 Tbsp. if using psyllium husk powder)
1 ½ tsp. fine grain sea salt
1 Tbsp. maple syrup (for sugar-free diets, use a pinch of stevia)
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil or ghee
1 ½ cups / 350ml water
Rosemary, Garlic and Smoked Salt
Half batch:
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
¼ – ½ tsp. garlic powder (depending on how strong you like it)
smoked sea salt, to taste
Fig, Anise and Black Pepper
Half batch:
3 large dried figs (approx. 70g)
1 tsp. anise seed
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
Directions:
1. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients, stirring well. Whisk maple syrup, oil and water together in a measuring cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick (if the dough is too thick to stir, add one or two teaspoons of water until the dough is manageable). Divide the dough roughly in half, and set aside one half.
2. Place one half of the dough back into the bowl and add any flavouring you like. Gather into a ball and place it between two sheets of baking paper. Using a rolling pin, firmly roll out into a thin sheet. Remove top layer of baking paper and using the tip of a knife, score the dough into shapes you like (I chose large rectangles but it’s up to you). Repeat with remaining half of dough. Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or all day or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Using the baking paper, slide the dough onto a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove cookie sheet from oven, flip the whole cracker over (if it breaks a bit, don’t worry!) and peel the baking paper off of the back. Return to oven to bake for another 10 minutes, until fully dry, crisp, and golden around the edges.
4. Let cool completely, then break crackers along their scored lines and store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Healthy Fried Rice with Edamame, Veggies, and Tofu :-)

Fried rice has always been one of mine and the father  favorite Asian dishes. I usually avoid it at restaurants because it’s just full of fat, made with white rice (empty calories!) and is so easy to eat a ton of without even realizing it. I was convinced that I could make a healthier version of fried rice that still tasted as sinful as the original recipe..

But with a few secret swaps: tofu and edamame for the egg/meat traditionally used, and brown rice instead of white rice — this recipe turned out great! Thanks to the veggies, lean protein and healthy grains, this dish is also a one-pot meal. Hope you like it as much as we did!

Nutritional Info Per Serving: 240 Calories, 5.8g Fat (1g Saturated), 320.2mg Sodium, 38.3g Carbs, 4g Fiber, 2.7g Sugar, 9.5g Protein

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup diced red onion
• 4 cups leftover cooked brown rice (or freshly cooked minute brown rice)
• 3/4 cup finely diced red pepper (Equals about 1 red pepper)
• 1/8 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• 3/4 cup cooked, shelled edamame 
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen, thawed, corn
• 6 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 
• 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2-3 tbsp Thai Red Curry Sauce 
• 1/8 cup sliced green onion (for topping)

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large skillet until very hot (over medium high heat)
2. Add the garlic, red pepper, onion, and ginger and cook, stirring, until softened and aromatic, about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the rice, edamame, corn, carrots, peas and tofu and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the soy sauce and incorporate thoroughly
5. When cooking is almost complete, add the Thai Red Curry Sauce and top with green onion.