Strawberry, avocado and tomato salsa

"It's just another manic Monday, I wish it were Sunday"... or even better summer holidays. I am sooo tired of school. School mornings are a grim affair. Eddie gets up with an "I hate school" motto, though by the time he actually arrives to school, he is usually cheerful and eager to meet his friends.
I have just had another espresso to keep me going. After the weekend there is usually so much to do. The house looks like Genghis Khan and his army went through and stayed overnight, horses and all.
Instead of clearing the mess I am procrastinating, catching up on yesterday's episode of Poldark.
On Saturday Eddie and I went to see Despicable Me 3. Eddie liked it a lot, I wasn't so enthusiastic.

Our latest Degustabox delivery was over a week ago, and I still haven't used any of the recipe mixes in sachets. On Sunday I bought a whole chicken, partly for making soup, partly for roasting with a Pulled Chicken spice mix for pulled chicken sandwiches.
To complement the meal, I made a quick and easy salsa, with whatever ingredients I found in the kitchen. I had fresh tomatoes and a piece of cucumber, tinned sweetcorn, an avocado and a handful of strawberries.

1 medium avocado
2 medium tomatoes
3 big strawberries
1/3 cucumber
4 heaped tbsp sweetcorn
1/2tsp onion granules
1tbsp chilli-flavoured oil
1tbsp lime juice
1tbsp chopped fresh mint

The recipe couldn't be easier. Just chop all the ingredients, season with sea salt, chilli oil, lime juice, add onion granules (or fresh thinly sliced onion) and mix well. Make it just before you are going to eat.

For the roast chicken I used a sachet of Schwartz BBQ Pulled Chicken mix, which promises an authentic American flavour. It adds a rich smokey flavour to meat. Ingredients include caster sugar, salt, onion powder, smoked paprika, molasses powder, garlic powder, flavourings such as barley and mustard, malt extract and more. You just need to add 2tbsp of tomato ketchup and water to mix a paste, which you then rub into chicken before roasting. I have added juice of 1/2 lime to the paste.

Prawn salad with sweet beetroot

Let's just say my guys are not keen on beetroot. A real shame, as in a true Russian fashion, I love it. The beet soup borscht was (and is) my Mum's speciality, and when I grew up, I have eaten it regularly. Plus the Russians have a variety of salads which include a delicious beetroot as one of their ingredients. When I moved to the UK, I discovered that the Brits have a love-hate relationship with this root vegetable. They also pickle it to death until it tastes of nothing but vinegar. It's not easy to find a decent beet pickle.That's why I was a bit uneasy when the latest Degustabox arrived with a jar of pickled beets.

Bourne & Wallis British Sweet Sliced Beetroot is cooked and packed in Cambridgeshire. This was a brand I wasn't familiar with before. That's what I like about Degustabox, you receive foods and drinks you wouldn't usually buy or even know of.

Bourne & Wallis produces "a range of contemporary tasting pickles rooted in the Victorian pursuit of preserving, using only naturally grown vegetables, herbs, spices and fine traditional vinegars"

Their sweet sliced beetroot is lovely. You get a combination of flavours - sweet and sour. You can actually taste the sweet vegetable itself, which is great. 

I'm going to look out to try any other products from the range, as I love a good pickle.

I have been munching this pickle straight from the jar, but also used it in a simple salad.

It's not exactly a recipe, more of a suggestion. I am not doing a Nigella and claiming that I've created a recipe, when I only just assembled a few ingredients together as a quick meal. 

I used 1 pack of Whitby Seafoods Prawns in Garlic & Ginger, one big tomato per person, an avocado, a handful of caperberries and a  few tablespoons on pickled beetroot, all drizzled with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I cooked the breaded prawns in the oven for 10 minutes, and assembled the salad while the prawns were still piping hot. A quick and easy meal. And very tasty too.

Gourmet Spirulina

I have seen some foodie bloggers mention Spirulina and also read some glowing reviews online. I read with great interest that a brand new range of Gourmet Spirulina has been launched recently. This has elevated the status of Spirulina from a dietary supplement to a tasty superfood.

What exactly is Spirulina?
It used to be a traditional food of the Aztecs and the Kanem. The Conquistadors kept records of the foods eaten by the Aztecs and mentioned an exotic food called Tecuitlatl. They described the blue-green algae which the locals collected and dried in the sun, shaping it as cakes. For hundreds of years, spirulina has been the main source of protein for the Aztecs. They also mixed it with cocoa.
These days Spirulina is known as a dietary supplement.
I'm always happy to try and test new foods, and was very curious to discover this nutrient rich superfood for myself. I received three samples of Gourmet Spirulina for testing.

The Gourmet Spirulina range comes in 3 varieties: Crunchies, Nibs and Petals. All of them are equally rich in vitamins, iron and antioxidants. The difference between the three is in taste and texture, which depends on the drying method as well as the region where they are grown.

The first variety I have tried was Spirulina Crunchies. I followed the suggestion from an enclosed information leaflet and added it to some homemade guacamole.

Gourmet Spirulina Crunchies

Like the name suggests, spirulina crunchies are exactly that, crunchy and crisp. I mixed a teaspoon into a guacamole made from one ripe avocado, lemon juice, avocado oil, salt, a dash of Tabasco and a clove of garlic. It was a nice range of textures from smooth guacamole to crispy spirulina pieces.

A few days later I tried Spirulina Petals in a beet dip. This variety of spirulina is more delicate. It resembles crushed green flower petals.

Gourmet Spirulina Petals

For a beet dip, either roast a couple of beets in foil or cook in a steamer. Once cooked and cool, cut into chunks and blitz with a hand blender with 2tbsp of Greek style yogurt, sea salt and pepper, 1tbsp of lemon juice, 1tbsp of Tahnini paste and a crushed clove of garlic. Mix in 1tsp of spirulina or scatter over the top.

The third variety - Spirulina Nibs - was used in a kefir smoothie. This is the mildest tasting spirulina with a slightly nutty flavour. They reminded me of the dried pine needles.

Gourmet Spirulina Nibs

Whizz together half a banana, a handful of blueberries, 1/2tsp of spirulina nibs and 2/3 of a standard sized glass of kefir.

As you can see, since there are three varieties, you might want to try them all to find out which one suits you better texture- and flavour-wise.
I cannot say that its taste is very exciting on its own, but mixed into the other foods, it just adds a subtle flavour. I think my favourite way was to have it in a smoothie.

Gourmet Spirulina Nibs, Petals and Crunchies all retail at £13 for 90g and are available online from Pulpastore and health food stores.

You might add it to almost any food you want - porridge, salad, granola, even on toast.
I don't have an iron deficiency so cannot say for sure if it made a big difference.
My only problem was that the Spirulina did make my tummy rumble quite a bit, so perhaps don't take it on a day when you have to be in a genteel society, as that might be awkward.

Have you tried Spirulina? What is your favourite way of eating it?


Disclosure: I received three samples of Spirulina for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Easy Mexican stir-fry

As a foodie blogger, I enjoy taking part in cooking challenges. It is always great fun. To celebrate winning the first prize in Sauce & Cooking category for this year's Product of the year awards, Knorr Flavour Pots have invited food bloggers to take part in Knorr Flavour Pot - Product of the Year challenge. The whole range features nine different tasty flavours including Mixed Herbs, Three Peppercorn, Curry, Garlic, Mixed Chillies, Garden Herbs, Ginger & Lemongrass, Paprika and Mexican. I have tried quite a few flavours from the range, and was glad to have an opportunity to expand my knowledge of the range.

I received a hamper of food ingredients including the whole range of Knorr Flavour Pots and a gift voucher to buy extras.
With the varied range of flavour pots, I cooked a whole plethora of meals from butternut squash risotto to soup, from pasta bake to Mexican chicken stir fry.

Mexican chicken stir fry

2 chicken breasts, cubed
2tbsp avocado oil
1 sweet red pepper
1 Knorr garlic flavour pot
1 Mexican flavour pot
a hanfdul of sweetcorn, frozen
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
1 avocado, cubed
sea salt
lettuce leaves, to serve in

Cube two chicken breasts and fry them with the avocado oil, together with the sliced sweet pepper and two Knorr Flavour pots - Garlic and Mexican. Add the lemon juice and zest and a handful of frozen sweetcorn. Once the chicken is cooked through, mix it with the cubed raw avocado and serve in lettuce leave boats.

This is a very easy recipe, yet full of flavours and textures. It will make a light lunch or dinner.
Knorr Flavour Pots save you time (no need to chop the garlic or mix the spices for the Mexican flavour). The chicken was succulent and tasty.

I used an avocado oil in this recipe, but you can substitute it for the olive or vegetable oil.

Disclosure: as mentioned above, I received a hamper of products to play with. All opinions are mine.

Ninja Prawns with avocado oil

- Mummy, did you say you are cooking Ninja Prawns for dinner?
- Not Ninja. Ginger...

I couldn't disappoint my little man, how could I? Ninja prawns sound much more fun than simply ginger prawns. I was planning to cook a quick vegetable stir-fry with noodles to serve with the steamed prawns. A Vietnamese friend taught me many years ago how to cook the prawns, marinated in ginger, garlic and lemon juice. She never added salt to this dish, saying that the salt should be offered in a small dish mixed with ground pepper to dip the prawns in.

Last week I received three bottles of Mokhado oils. Mokhado is a new brand of oils from Limpopo region of South Africa. I will be testing all oils and writing posts as I use them in cooking.

The first oil I tried was Avocado oil.
"This super versatile oil has a smooth yet grassy flavour, making it brilliant for high heat stir frie and general frying, as well as making delicious raw vinaigrettes or finishing dishes with a drizzle. And there's health benefits too- studies have shown that regular consumption of Avocado oil improves the ratio of good to bad cholesterol. It also contains Vitamin E, a natural anti-oxidant".

It has a lovely fresh aroma and tastes just like a blitzed avocado. I used it in the vegetable stir-fry, and also as an ingredient for marinade for prawns.

Ninja prawns
Ingredients:
150g fresh prawns
1 heaped tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2tbsp avocado oil
2tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1tbsp soy sauce

In a medium-sized bowl mix the grated ginger with the avocado oil, lemon juice, soy sauce and crushed garlic. Add the prawns and stir well. Marinade for at least an hour before cooking.
I used a deep ceramic pudding bowl but a smaller size Pyrex will do as well.
Place the bowl with prawns in a big pan filled with the hot boiling water that would reach about half-length of the pudding bowl. Cover the big pan with lid and cook for about 7+ minutes, the prawns will turn pink.
Serve with slices of lemon if you wish, or with noodles and vegetable stir fry.

Avocado oil was a perfect ingredient in this dish. It added the depth of flavour and worked well with the other ingredients.

To learn more about Mokhado oils and get delicious recipe ideas visit Mokhado.

Disclosure: I received three bottles of oil for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup 50% Less Sugars

Prawn cocktail

Like many parents nowadays, I am looking for lower sugar and salt choices, when doing grocery shopping for my family. Thankfully, many brands have started introducing lower sugar and salt versions of the classic food products. To go with the times and healthy trends, Heinz has launched a new Heinz Tomato Ketchup 50% Less Sugars, which has 50% less sugar and 25% less salt than  regular Heinz Tomato Ketchup.
Heinz has been producing its famous ketchup for over 130 years. Heinz Tomato Ketchup has reached the iconic status and even got immortalised in the artwork by Warhol.
I always have a bottle of Heinz ketchup in the kitchen, and we enjoy it with a variety of foods, from French fries to Russian borscht.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup 50% Less Sugars replaces the current reduced sugar and salt ketchup and also meets 2017 Government salt targets.
It contains sweeteners from natural sources, with some of the sugar being replaced by stevia, a plant from South America.
New ketchup has appeared on the shelves of the major supermarkets in September (priced £2.05 for 555g top down bottle).

I confess I am quite partial to a good old retro-style prawn cocktail with a sauce made from mayo and ketchup. You will need half an avocado and a handful of cooked prawns per person. Mix them with chopped chicory leaves and pour a sauce over it, made of mayo, ketchup and a god squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Sometimes, when I am on my own, and don't want a sandwich for lunch, I do a quick dish of sauerkraut, fried in the olive oil with chopped frankfurters and mushrooms and good dollop of tomato ketchup.

My son Eddie enjoys his fish fingers, fries and peas with a bit of ketchup. This is a treat for him, as I don't often offer him French fries (I usually bake the fries in the oven rather than fry to cut down on fat). He didn't guess that I offered him a new variety of ketchup, as it has the same unmistakable taste of the original Heinz ketchup.

At the moment this is Eddie's favourite meal, he even got a sticker at school from a lunchtime assistant for polishing off his plate (and he often leaves the other foods untouched). When we got out together as a family, that's what he asks for lunch.

This new variety of Heinz tomato ketchup would appealing to parents as it has a much lower sugar intake without compromising in the taste.
Have you tried Heinz Tomato Ketchup 50% Less Sugars?

Disclosure: I received a bottle of new Heinz tomato ketchup for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

One chicken: three meals

In them good old days when I was a child, my grandma used to keep chickens. She also kept the geese and cows and pigs. As we usually visited her during the summer holidays, all the meals at that time were cooked in the so called summer kitchen, i.e. in the oven just under a roof on four stilts, without any walls, not far from the wooden well and the big kitchen garden bordering on the woods. The hedges were rather neglected, and you could occasionally glimpse the deer. Or step on the snake while walking among the watermelons. Why am I suddenly reminiscing about those days? It crossed my mind that I rarely buy a whole chicken, preferring to buy just a pack of chicken breasts or thighs for cooking a meal. However, if you get a whole chicken, you can easily stretch it into several meals.

Meal no.1: Roast Chicken with bacon
The first chicken meal served on Thursday was the roast chicken, stuffed with the sausagemeat (mixed with the breadcrumbs and chopped fresh herbs) and semi-wrapped with the streaky bacon rashers to add the extra smoky flavour to the dish. It was a terrific roast, which I served with the roast wedges of squash and red cabbage with apples.
Roasted chicken will become a base for several meals.

Meal no.2: Chicken, avocado and feta salad
The next day I fancied some cold salad. The cubed chicken breast was mixed with the chopped avocado, red pepper, 100g cubed feta cheese, a handful of black pitted olives, a handful of pine nuts, a sliced tomato and the dressing made of 1 tsp of Dijon mustard, 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt, pepper, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp honey.

Meal no.3: Chicken noodle soup
The carcass and leftovers were used to make a lovely chicken noodle soup.
Put the carcass and shredded leftovers in the pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Add 1 chopped garlic clove, a piece of fresh ginger (grated), 2 finely chopped stalks of celery, salt and pepper and a dash of the soy sauce. Cook for about 20 minutes for the broth to get infused with all the added flavours. Slice a sweet red pepper, several mushrooms. Take the carcass out of the pan and discard, having removed all bits of meat. Add the mushrooms and pepper to the broth and cook for about 5 minutes. Put some noodles in the broth and cook for a couple of minutes until soft. Serve with the chopped spring onions. You can make it more noodley if you want by adding more noodles, or keep it more soupy, it's up to you.

Be creative, change the salad ingredients, depending on what you have in the fridge. Feta can easily be substituted with a chunk of cheddar or hard goat's cheese. Add a sliced apple, chopped gherkins, walnuts. Salads are a great dish, where almost anything can go in for a satisfying meal.
Noodles in the soup can be swapped for rice or baby pasta.

What do you do with the leftover chicken?

Grilled sea bass with an avocado salsa

Sea bass is perfect on a grill. It is also a quick and healthy way of cooking fish.
For this dish you will need one sea bass fillet per person. You can marinate your sea bass in the white wine before cooking. Add some chopped fresh herbs (parsley) to the marinade.
Start with cutting a sweet pepper in two halves and placing in the oven for 25 mins in a little creamic dish with a drizzle of the olive oil, until soft.

In the meantime prepare your salsa: skin the avocado, cut into cubes, place the cubed avocado into a bowl, add a good squeeze of the lemon juice, half a teaspoon of the hot chilli paste, finely chopped spring onions, a tbsp of the olive oil, salt, sliced cucumber (about 1/4 of the big cucumber), and chopped roasted pepper.

Add a bit of the olive oil to the griddle pan and cook the fish on the very hot griddle pan for about 3 minutes skin down, turn over and cook for another 3 minutes.

While the fish is cooking, reduce the wine & herbs marinade in a small pan to a thicker sauce.
To serve, place a fillet of fish on a plate, drizzle some wine sauce, add a helping of salsa on a side.

Serve with a good chunk of bread. You can also serve it with the vegetables of your choice, baby new potatoes are lovely with the sea bass. Enjoy!

Avocado and cashew nuts salad

Do you love avocados? I do. I remember the first time I tried it, it was about 16 years ago, when I was a student at KIAD and was renting a room in a house where we had students from several countries. A friend of mine Cloe taught me how to make an avocado salad with cashew nuts and cheese.

It is a very easy and healthy salad. All you need is a good ripe avocado, iceberg lettuce, cashew nuts (unsalted), a hard cheese (like Leerdammer or Jarlsberg) and a dressing made of the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Just cube the cheese and avocado (half an avocado per person), add a sprinkling of cashew nuts, skatter these ingredients on top of the iceberg lettuce, drizzle with a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and it is ready.

Brilliant for a quick lunch, when you don't want to be stuffed.

 I enjoy the combination and variety of tastes and textures of the smooth avocado, firm cheese, crispy lettuce and cruchy nuts in this salad.