Olympic Flames

It's finally here- day one of the Olympics- home turf, big up, much love- this is epic!

After all the crazy building, lane closures and inconvenient construction, we Brits finally get to see the fruits of our labour- a glorious Olympic Stadium and a country of united fans all proudly awaiting the starter pistol's shot at 20:12 this evening. Now, I'm not even a big sports fan (as my best friend, Karen, will attest- I was the very chubby kid picked last on sports day and thinking up any excuse to get out of sponsored walks), however years later, the thought of watching someone else in the prime of their sporting life, in my home town, battling it out for a gold medal- well, I salute you, sir.

So, today's menu has got to be EPIC. As usual I asked my hubbie what he felt liked eating today, and unflinching, he replied "Meat and Burger". Should have known, eh? Men, and bravado only ever mean Meat! So dedicated to the one I love, for the country I love, here they are, my Olympic Flames.

Makes 4 burgers.

Ingredients 

1. 2 tsp coriander powder

2. 2 tbsp soya sauce

3. 1 tbsp tomato paste

4. 3 tsp all seasoning powder

5. 2 tsp ground cinnamon

6. 1 tsp chilli powder

7. Minced lamb

Steps


1. Add ingredients 1-6 to to the minced lamb.

2. Fork the mixture together

3. Make into balls, flatten and drizzle with olive oil on both sides

5. Flame grill or barbecue for approx 10mins

I've done some 'Olympic' onion rings to have on the side- anything circular, really. Slice them up and show your support London!

Oh, Soup's you Sir!

OK, so day 4 of Ramadan- as sod's law would have it, the weather has picked up and the sun is in full beam. Bright and sunny, but also this means sticky tubes and sweaty journey's home- lovely.

So, by the time it comes to break your fast, water and replenishment of the day's nutrients is essential. A big tip I'd give anyone who is fasting, is to pace the amount that is eaten for Iftar (evening meal to break the fast). And the best way of doing that is by having a light starter before your main meal. Tempting as it might be to delve into a tasty fried treat, the truth is, after a long day of being without any food or drink, your body needs to be eased into eating again. This poached egg and chicken broth is perfect for this. I've snuck in a few vegs for my meat loving hubbie, and as a result, I know there is a good balance of flavour and sustenance.

Poached egg and chicken broth 

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1. 1 chicken breast

2. 1 inch ginger

3. 1 table spoon sesame oil

4. 1 table spoon fish sauce

5. 1 table spoon oyster sauce

6. 2 table spoons soya sauce

7. 1.5litres water

8. 1 finely chopped carrot

9. Handful of sweetcorn

10. 4 eggs

11. 1 spring onion

Steps

1. Simply add ingredients 1-7 in a deep pan and leave to boil for 20mins

2. Once the stock has thickened slightly, add the carrots and sweetcorn and boil for a further 10mins

3. Add salt and pepper

4. Now, crack the eggs in the pan. Bring to boil for 6 mins (If you do not feel confident about poaching the egg in the broth, then you can do this step separately and add the eggs later) 

5. Garnish with spring onions and serve

Serve hot and, I rarely say this, take your time and eat! Remember, this may be a main event recipe, but is still a first course serve- so pace yourself!

Happy Ramadan!

I know I've been a bit remiss with my blogging for a while- and hand on heart, I'm very sorry about that. I was in two minds about starting to post again today with it being the first day of Ramadan, but I thought as long as I keep the pictures non-drooly, we'd be OK, and thought it would be a great time to write some great recipes for those who have been fasting.

So what is Ramadan? Ramadan is a religious period of time where Muslims practice self-restraint and abstain from the act of eating and drinking throughout the hours of sunrise and sun-set to focus on faith and purification.

But no, Ramadan is not fasting all day and gorging at night. The vast majority of Muslims understand how important the balance of food is, and therefore ironically eat better in this month as they need to fuel their body appropriately.

Hopefully this month, I will be preparing meals that will ease fasting and break fasting, and hopefully along the way, I'll be able to share some recipes that might be enjoyed be others as well!

OK, here's a very basic one, Fruit smoothie:

You can really make any combination, but I've gone for high berry content smoothie- Berry smoothies are very nutritional, as they contain vitamin C, vitamin E, antioxidants, and a lot of other nutrients as well. I've chucked in a handful of blueberry, raspberry, strawberry and cherry. You can also add in apples, bananas and whatever flavour you fancy as there really is no hard and fast rule. However, if you can get your hands on a nice big watermelon- the high level of water content will make the smoothie thinner in consistency. After a long day of fasting, you don't want a chunky monkey type of smoothie- but rather one that's got a good level of nutrients in it, and will be easy to drink.

This is ideal for morning Sehri (mealtime before fasting) or Iftar (mealtime after fasting). If you're having for Sehri- team up with some porridge or dates, and other slow releasing foods- the high water content of the smoothie is important as this also works to give you storage for the day. 

Ok, so here it is, the most basic of all Ramadan recipes. Simple and effective, and frankly a shot of what I drink on a day to day basis anyway! Enjoy! 

Nest 'n' Easy

Well, I must say yesterday was a fantastic day! After about a million days of not seeing her, my good friend Tasha came over and we indulged ourselves in painting our nails, eating too much food and getting sunburnt in the garden- plans were to do it again today, but in true Brit spirit, yesterday's sun calls for today's rain.

So, missing the summer sun? Get to the kitchen and make yourself some summer mess- meringues, fresh strawberries and cream! Yuuu-um!

Serves 3

Ingredients for the meringues

1. 1 egg white

2. 2oz caster sugar

Steps

1. Whisk the egg whites, until they soft peaks

2. Add in the sugar, one table spoon at a time, and whisk until smooth

3. I've piped them into mini meringues, but make them whatever shape you fancy.

4. Bake slowly for 30-35mins at 150 degrees, middle shelf.

Assemble

Tasha brought some juicy red strawberries, but you can use any fruits. Just cut these up, sprinkle with a bit of icing sugar, add some cream and mix in your meringues. If you have a little bit of jam and mint, now's a good time to garnish, and for the more healthier punters, you can opt for greek yoghurt instead of cream. Head to the garden and enjoy, or, on a day like today, whack on the TV and get to munching. Here's to the sun, British summer and all! 

Arts in the Park Loves My Grub!

What an amazing day! If you missed us today in the Sydenham Arts in the Park- you really did miss out on a great event- face painting, fun fairs, famous faces and food food food!

Thank you to all of the supporters and helpers who came today- I think we'll all agree that it was a fabulous day in the park and want another event as soon as possible!

Here's some of the many pictures of the day. Enjoy x

The Grub:
Spinach & Carrot leaf Bhajis,
Potato & Onion Bhajis and
Sweet Pepper & Scotch Bonnet Bhajis

The Park

Our first grub sale

The lovily grubily Charlene Soraia Charlene's website

And, the grub loving Charlene Soraia

Another one 'bites' the dust! Rock Choir's website

Our Grubbily public