Showing posts with label FOOD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FOOD. Show all posts

Sunday, 27 January 2019

ULTIMATE PRAWN AND AVOCADO CEVICHE


So, my random Sunday craving led me to the Tesco fish counter ordering raw prawns and then going on to buy a whole load of limes to then creating this delicious, tangy and refreshing prawn ceviche.
 For those that may not know, Ceviche is a raw seafood dish that I believe originates from Peru. The fish - in this case the prawns - is marinated/cured in a citrus juice making it well, “cooked” I guess. It can be served on its own, as a starter or a main with tacos or I think some people even have it with rice. 



I love to have it with tortilla chips! You could serve it like I've done when you’re hosting a party, it’s super easy but looks very impressive. Just be sure to use the freshest fish possible! Its light, refreshing, healthy...not really a winter dish but hey, give the body what it wants! The best thing is that you can play around with the ingredients and what you add in, I used avocado and mango for a sweet and creamy texture but some people like to add tomato or bells peppers. So its totally up to you ;)


Hope you enjoy the recipe below. I'm no expert but it came out pretty damn good if I do say so myself ;) If you do make it be sure to tag me in your photos! Xx

  
This is about half of the amount I made, the recipe below serves 4 people. 


Ingredients
- 400g raw peeled king prawns, roughly chopped
- 4 limes (juiced) 
- 1 lemon (juiced)
- 1 to 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 to 2  birds eye chilli (depends on your taste buds)
- 1 spring onion, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 to 2 tsp salt
- Half a large firmish mango, diced
- Half a large firm (but ripe) avocado, diced
- Handful of chopped fresh coriander
- A quarter of a red onion, finely sliced

Method

1.  In a bowl, add the lemon and lime juices, the salt (start with 1 tsp and see how it goes), the chilli, some of the coriander and half of the red onion. You can taste this now before if goes on the prawns. 

2.  Add the prawns to a sealable container, or a bowl that you can cover, pour the lemon juice mixture over the prawns, cover and leave in the fridge for about 10 minutes to "cook", give it a shake/stir and replace in fridge for 5 minutes until fully pink and/or opaque. (If after the 15 minutes the prawns are still not quite opaque then leave for a further 2 minutes until you think they're alright - I'd say, no longer than 20 minutes or the texture won't be quite right.)

3.  Add in the mango, avocado, the remaining coriander, spring onions, red onion and olive. Stir and taste, add more salt if necessary.

4.  Serve alone or with your choice of side, I recommend tortilla chips, and enjoy!

Thursday, 24 March 2016

Aubergine Parmigiana


Hey Glams,



For some reason, for about the past week, I've been craving aubergines- isn't that the most random craving?? I finally decided to give my body what it wanted and purchased 3 aubergines. Normally I slice em up, dunk them in egg and flour then fry them, a bit like a fritter but I didn't want that this time so after flipping through many recipes I decided to make this classic Italian dish with my own spin on it! And why not document it, its been a while since Glam Chowder has seen a food recipe!

Surprise surprise, even a screen shot quality is bad on blogger!!
Not happy!


Clearly I'm no Gordon Ramsey, I don't use measurements (If I had a food channel it would be called 'cooking with no limits', thats trademarked, no stealing it!) 'cos who wants to be restricted on what you can and can't put into your food!?


I was just doing my own thing not following any recipe (this one looks goo
d if you want the classic) and made it my own, adding in courgettes and other random stuff. Don't worry though, everything I used is listed on the left (scroll down for photos) so if you feel inspired and have a strange unexplainable aubergine craving then try out this recipe! 


Its perfect for vegetarians, or vegans-just swap the parmesan for dairy free cheese- and for a quick easy dinner dish that still looks like you put in so much work! I served mine with couscous but typically, as with all Italian dishes, it is served with pasta!


Happy eating xox



After I slice up my aubergines I like to set them out on kitchen towel like this, and shake a bit of salt on them and let it sit for a few few minutes then dab of the liquid before grilling. 



Fry the onions and garlic until a soft 

Then add in the chopped peppers









While the peppers are softening, grill the veggies on both sides in a very hot griddle with a little oil, repeat batch by batch.





Add in the herbs, and optional fresh chilli


Pour in your canned toms, and/or 

the SACLA Sauce.




Once the sauce has been simmering about 15 mins and heated all through, transfer some to an oven proof dish and begin layering, sauce, parmesan, aubergine & courgettes, repeat until the last layer (I had 2 layers).







This was my last layer of veg,

 I added more sauce,

 then the last toppings:

 parmesan, mozzarella and toasted pine nuts.






Bake in the oven at about 180 for 30 mins! Yes, its THAT easy!


Waiitt....Waiiiittttt....waiiitt.....Aaannnndddd VOILA! You're final product! Aubergine Parmigiana! 
































Wednesday, 25 November 2015

Thanksgiving x Black Friday


Its Wednesday Glams, and less than 24 hours to the last Thursday in November - for my fellow Americans, you know what that means!!! THANKSGIVING!! Ahh so excited!! 


Thanksgiving is one of my favourite days, everrr!! Food, food and more food! I so look forward to Thanksgiving every year, its such a special day with so much meaning behind it. Especially these days with everything thats going wrong in the world its important to reflect on what you have and be thankful for it all! 


Sadly I’ll be in Brighton tomorrow so I won't actually be celebrating on the day with my family, however I will be going home on Friday to prepare for our massive annual Thanksgiving dinner which will be on Saturday! Family, friends, food and laughter, I can’t think of anything better!


On a more materialistic note, this week also brings us BLACK FRIDAY! For us fashionistas Black Friday is a  dream land…discount after discount in your favourite stores, its definitely the time to stock up! I especially love that England is now starting to adopt this delightful tradition! I wish I was better prepared for it this year but I think my buy from Balmain x HM took away my Black Friday budget this year...oh well! 


In honour of Thanksgiving,I thought I'd  share the very limited amount of pics I took at last years TG dinner :) Can't believe I don't have any of the desserts, my fave being pumpkin pie of course!


Happy eating and happy shopping!!! xx



















Monday, 16 November 2015

Almond Cinnamon and Apple Cupcake


Hello Glams,


I just want to take a moment to extend my sorrow to Paris, my heart really does go out to them. The attacks that took place really broke my heart, it just shocks me to see that kind of hatred by our own kind be placed on to our own kind. Its disgusting and I hope that we are able to get justice and move on from these events peacefully. 





On a brighter note,

I am definitely getting a little prematurely festive this year! The original plan was to make a Christmas cake but with a lack of time, I changed my mind and instead spent the weekend testing out this recipe for light,cinnamony Christmas deliciousness in a cupcake! (Look out for that Christmas cake soon though!).  I guess I could use the excuse for Thanksgiving (which I'm super excited for too!), the cakes work for both occasions, but who's to say there needs to be an event as an excuse to bake!?



I'm really happy with the way the cakes came out as it was my first time using almond 'flour' (I just ground up some almonds in the blender), they were moist, light and not too sweet. I have to admit I used butter in these (I told you I'm not quite fully there with the dairy free life yet) I did search high and low in my cupboards for coconut oil but typically only found the jar after they were baked! So I'll just have to test out the coconut oil recipe later and let you know how that turns out. 


Normally I'm not a fan of chunks of fruit in cake, but the apples actually pushed these cakes further to perfection! 


The almond flour made them somewhat healthier (which I ruined with the butter and by adding sugar) but again it wouldn't be a Christmassy treat without a little naughtiness! 


I hope you try this recipe out, it really is something!

Below is the recipe and list of ingredients followed by the images of the process. 

INGREDIENTS:
(alternatives for healthier ingredients provided in brackets)

200g Almond ‘Flour’
1 Tbsp Self Raising Flour ( 2tbsp coconut flour)
50g caster sugar  (50g coconut palm sugar)
1/2 tsp baking powder
2tsp cinnamon 
2 tsp Vanilla extract
50g butter,melted (50g coconut oil,melted)
4 medium eggs
1 apple (1/3 thinly grated or mashed and the rest of it cut into chunks) 

INSTRUCTIONS
    -Preheat oven at 180 degrees or gas mark 4.
      -Line a muffin tin with some cases and set aside.
        -Add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl.
          -Add all the wet ingredients (eggs, butter and vanilla) to another bowl and whisk together.
            -Gently stir the eggs mixture into the dry mixture until completely mixed together, then add in the grated and chopped apple, stir one last time. 
              -Scoop the  batter into the tray,( I managed to make 9 cakes with this mixture but for bigger cakes/muffins just use bigger cases and add more mix.)
                -Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly golden, check if they're ready by inserting a tooth pick, it should come out clean if not bake for a further a few minutes and re-check.
                  -Once done, remove from oven and set aside for 5 minutes and then enjoy them while they're still warm! 



                  Be careful not to blend these for too long, the longer you blend the less crumbly they become as it releases their natural oils.
























                  I'm fully aware it's not the best looking cake mix but it is pretty damn tasty! 







































































                  Thursday, 17 September 2015

                  Moist Chocolate Olive Oil Cake



                  Who doesn't love to indulge in a cheeky bit of chocolate cake every now and again? Don't even try and deny that one! 


                  I found this cake on Instagram and was intrigued by the thought of olive oil in it because normally olive oil goes a bit bitter when you cook it and who wants a bitter cake?! But I gave it a go and bitter was definitely not the case!


                  Normally I don't eat/make chocolate cake because it tends to come out quite dry, but not this one! The olive oil keeps it super moist, I couldn't stop eating it! Its not too rich so you don't feel as guilty going back for a second (or third)slice! It was probably gone within the same hour of baking! (I didn't eat it all by myself, I promise!) I also had help baking it which is always nice, to me baking is a good way to bond, when the end product comes out the oven theres always a sense of pride/achievement and sharing that with the people you love is always great! 


                  Nigella has done me proud with this recipe, you all NEED to try it (and et it while its still warm). Its dairy free, can be gluten free (I used normal flour instead of almond) and is vegetarian! Click the link for the recipe: 

                  http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/CHOCOLATE-OLIVE-OIL-CAKE-5551

                  Don't panic like I did, the batter is meant to be liquid so make sure you line your tin especially if it has a removable bottom! 




                  I've always thought thinner cakes look more sophisticated at a dinner party table so this cake not rising makes it perfect for a lighter, slightly guilt- free after dinner desert! 









                  I can't even express how much i love this dairy free Ice cream, its way better than normal ice cream!! Definitely a must try!