The joys of British veal!

I know I've spent time on this blog before extolling the virtues of British veal but I'm going to harp on about it one more time. If anyone shops through Ocado its often in the 3 for £10 meat offer so its great value. Not only does it taste wonderful but it is an industry we really want to keep alive in the UK as otherwise dairy calves won't get to live past day one and people will only have the option of continental veal if they want it.

I've shared my favourite mince recipe before but this was such a delicious meal I felt it warranted another one! The recipe came out of us running low on food (as often happens towards the end of the month). It means this contains lots of store cupboard staples and can be knocked up at fairly late notice.

British veal and free range pork mince

400g British veal mince (if you can't get British veal please use beef instead of any continental options)
400g free range pork mince
Large white or two red onions, diced
4 large cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
Coconut (or olive oil) for frying
2 x 400g tins of tomatoes
Good squirt of tomato puree
Roasted red peppers, sliced (as usual I use the jarred ones but feel free to make your own or use fresh if you have them in)
Dried chilli, oregano and basil
Bay leaf or two
Salt and pepper

Fry the onions and garlic in the oil until soft, add the mince and fry off (in batches if your pan isn't big enough to fit it all at once).
Add the herbs and spices followed by the tomatoes (swilling out the tins with a bit of water), tomato puree, and sliced peppers.
Allow to cook down until most of the liquid is absorbed and the meat is tender.
Taste and adjust for seasoning - feel free to add more chilli or herbs at this point too.

I served mine with a brown basmati, red camargue and wild rice mix topped with a dollop of goat's cheese and dried chilli. It would be equally good with a baked sweet or normal potato, quinoa or pasta.

Coeliac friendly pancakes

This actually evolved from my mad panic on pancake day when I realised my coeliac friend was staying the night so I better get inventive with my pancake recipe. It was such a success that I have made them several times since as a cheeky brunch with a glass of fizz. The only thing I would say is that this recipe works much better for savoury pancakes. The sweet were still tasty but the rice flour means this is definitely made for a lovely savoury filling.

Now I'm not going to pretend I've invented a pancake recipe because they are all some variation on the same thing. Last pancake day I used a BBC Food recipe - all I did was replace the 100g plain flour with 100g rice flour. I could patronise you with a copy and paste version with my one tweak but there is no point, you just need to know that rice flour works well in this particular recipe.

The other thing that's good to have up your sleeve is a great savoury filling to go in these. I know some people think savoury pancakes are a bit odd but if you haven't tried them I promise this filling will convert you.

Garlic mushroom and goat's cheese filling

Small white onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
Butter
Chestnut mushrooms, sliced
Oregano
Salt and Pepper
Goats cheese - I used a creamy one

Gently fry the onion and garlic in the butter until soft.
Add your mushrooms, oregano, salt and pepper then keep frying.
When the mushrooms are cooked stir in the goats cheese and allow to melt into the pan, taste and adjust for seasoning.
Stuff into your waiting pancakes!

Easy peasy chilli oil

I'm easing myself back into writing with a super simple, barely counts as a recipe post. Call me lazy but its well worth making your own chilli oil and I've started using it so much in cooking I thought I'd better post the recipe before I start referring back to it in other posts!

Now before you point out to me - yes I know you can buy some great chilli oils. I do still buy my favourite chilli oil from china town although may start making my own version of that before long too. I think its really worth making your own because it means you have much more control over how hot you want to go. Anyone reading my blog or scrolling through my Instagram feed can't miss the fact that I'm a bit of a chilli-fiend so often for me chilli oil really does miss the mark. Making my own enabled me to make something which actually has a proper kick to it and also I know will be good for me because the base oil I use is not heated.

Chilli Oil

Olive oil (I used a basic extra virgin as its all I had but any olive oil will do)
Variety of chillis (I used jalapeño, scotch bonnet, birds eye, homegrown dried chilli)
Garlic

Peel and finely slice your garlic.
Finely slice all your chilli including the dry if whole - if you don't have whole dried chillis then crushed dry chilli will do just fine.
Place in the oil and leave for a minimum of 24hrs before using (shaking the bottle whenever you remember to).

NB: While you don't have to use olive oil as your carrier oil there have been some studies that show olive oil to have a lot of heart benefits when included in a balanced diet - the same benefits haven't been shown at the moment for rapeseed or vegetable oil. Having said that what we're told is 'healthy' changes all the time so go for whatever you fancy!

Clearing the air...

First of all apologies for the huge gap since I last blogged. I've been taking some time thinking about what I want to focus my energy on. I started a new job in February and needed to take some time out to think about where I want to focus my time.

Now I need to admit straight away this is a non-food post - a first for me - but its been a big change in my life. I think that when you try to eat well you also need to treat yourself well and that means looking after your mental wellbeing too. I started meditating in January after being given three free months of Headspace by my mum and its made me think about things a little differently. I should admit I also tried headspace last summer and only managed to fall asleep every time I put it on but seem to be getting the hang of it this time round!

The other major change was back in January when I read 'Spark Joy' by Marie Kondo - I cannot recommend it enough and have been waxing lyrical to my friends and family since I read it. As I was off work at the time I had a complete overhaul, I got rid of four bin bags of recycling, a couple of rubbish, nine of charity donations, two boxes of DVDs to Music Magpie, a pile of eBay bits and countless little giveaways for friends and family. I've reorganised my surroundings and it really has made a difference to my mood.

I started off with clothes as recommended, I've done a few clear outs over the years but have been guilty of keeping loads of things 'just in case'. Just in case I lost weight, gained weight, got a job where I needed to wear suits again, went skiing again, took up climbing again etc etc. This time I was more strict, anything stained, ill-fitting or broken went first or went straight to the tailors to get fixed. Then I went through each item to see if it was worth keeping - sometimes it was as simple as holding the item and sometimes I needed to try it on. Once I'd sorted through everything I began the folding. This is very much a Marie Kondo technique and is quite time consuming initially but it has well over halved my getting ready time in the morning, because everything is laid out in front of you there is no rifling through overfilled drawers to find that certain top.

The other big thing for me was the kitchen, I had things stored all over the flat. Now I won't lie I still have loads of kitchen bits, not surprising for a food blogger! I did however manager to get rid of several boxes of kitchen things. I don't have a car and they were too heavy to take to a charity shop so I left them by the lift and stairs in our building with a note telling my neighbours to please help themselves - I was overjoyed by how much went, it was so fantastic to know other people were getting value from things I no longer needed.

Now if you've read any of Marie Kondo's books you'll know its not about getting rid of everything you own. It has a lot of parallels with minimalism - its even mentioned in a couple of podcasts I love The Mind Palace and The Minimalists, they have differing views on it but both agree its a useful tool. I don't think I would go as far as to call myself a minimalist but at the same time there are no rules - I think minimalism gets a bit of bad press because people imagine it has to mean an extreme lifestyle in stark surroundings (think Ab Fab minimalists with white walls and no furniture).

I'm working out what I want to keep, what 'sparks joy' or adds value to my life. A great example as I mentioned is that I still have vast amounts of cooking equipment, bowls, plates, serving spoons etc. Bit by bit I am letting go of other things but there is no rush, its about what will make me happy and adds value to my life not about fitting in with other people's ideals.

I still have a pile of things to add to eBay so watch this space! If anyone has any tips or ideas I would love to hear them :)