The kids are finally asleep and I am sitting in my dinning room on my laptop putting off the housework that needs to be done.
I had a spare hour today and I tried to follow a recipe for a chicken pie (I wanted to use up yesterday's leftovers from a roast I'd cooked). There were so many ingredients and steps to complete the dish I lost interest half way and just made it the way I've done it before. It got me thinking about the recipes I write and I wanted to share with you the reason behind the three key words I use to describe them: healthy, easy and tasty. I also thought the more ingredients in a recipe there are, doesn't necessarily make it better or tastier.
By healthy I mean home cooked food using as many fresh ingredients as possible. The odd biscuit, scoop of ice-cream, packet of crisps does not count, it's all about a balance. The key is that you are cooking at home more often than not and that you and your family are eating a variety of carbohydrates (potatoes/pasta/rice) fruit, vegetables, meat/fish (pulses and other foods high in protein for vegetarians) over a the course of a week.
By easy I mean that the recipes contain only a handful of ingredients that are readily available and with only a couple of steps to complete the dish, so that children of all ages can follow it with you.
By tasty I mean just because the recipes are healthy and easy it does not impact on the taste. I look to Italy, France and Spain for inspiration as I love the flavours of the Mediterranean. The food in Italy is especially full of flavour using only a couple of ingredients. A little pinch of salt or sugar added to a sauce is not classed as unhealthy, as many foods need them to bring out their full flavours. For example, our tomatoes in England are not the same as those from Italy as Italian tomatoes are sun drenched making them sweeter in flavour. In addition, eating seasonal produce is key to tasty meals as is adding a squeeze of lemon and certain herbs and spices. Finally, it is important that food is cooked properly and overcooking something can ruin it's flavour & texture.
I had a spare hour today and I tried to follow a recipe for a chicken pie (I wanted to use up yesterday's leftovers from a roast I'd cooked). There were so many ingredients and steps to complete the dish I lost interest half way and just made it the way I've done it before. It got me thinking about the recipes I write and I wanted to share with you the reason behind the three key words I use to describe them: healthy, easy and tasty. I also thought the more ingredients in a recipe there are, doesn't necessarily make it better or tastier.
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| Sweetcorn fritters with cucumber salad |
By easy I mean that the recipes contain only a handful of ingredients that are readily available and with only a couple of steps to complete the dish, so that children of all ages can follow it with you.
By tasty I mean just because the recipes are healthy and easy it does not impact on the taste. I look to Italy, France and Spain for inspiration as I love the flavours of the Mediterranean. The food in Italy is especially full of flavour using only a couple of ingredients. A little pinch of salt or sugar added to a sauce is not classed as unhealthy, as many foods need them to bring out their full flavours. For example, our tomatoes in England are not the same as those from Italy as Italian tomatoes are sun drenched making them sweeter in flavour. In addition, eating seasonal produce is key to tasty meals as is adding a squeeze of lemon and certain herbs and spices. Finally, it is important that food is cooked properly and overcooking something can ruin it's flavour & texture.
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