SPICY GLASS NOODLES & MINCE SUMMER SALAD, Triple Duty, low cholesterol, high in complex carbs-

A light, beautifully spiced summer salad with an exotic twist...for vegans and carnivores

Dieter's Delight Salad of 'Glass' Noodles with Spicy plant or meat Mince.
Triple Duty: vegan or carnivore

This gorgeous spicy, sweet and refreshing salad - a cold version of the wonderful Thai Larb - is a real delight.  It's free of high-sugar simple carbs (see simple vs  complex carbs below), is full of crunchy vitamin-loaded veg and is incredibly versatile.  It's also, despite being light, satisfying.

The post features firm tofu (making it vegan) but chicken, pork or beef mince can also be used.  The green bean starch glass noodles can be replaced by egg noodles but will raise calorie levels. 

67 has given minimum and maximum amounts for those who are wary of/adore heat and also offers suggestions for alternates if your kitchen isn't stocked with some ingredients

Whatever your choice, the dish has minimal cooking; life will be easier if some steps are prepared the night before.

The salad is still fabulous the day after it's made or even the day after that so it could be worth your while to double the recipe.  It packs and travels well.  

Cost: £5'ish (6/25)
Feeds: 2-3 as a main, double that for a side

Ingredients

Green Bean Vermicelli/glass noodles
 (Dieter's Delight)

   110-150gm/3.8-5.2 firm tofu, frozen & defrosted OR chicken, pork or beef mince

   1 medium packet green bean vermicelli (glass noodles) (see how to use your noodle/s)
   
   2 dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted in 3 tbsp boiling water (OR 5 good-sized regular mushrooms)
   1/2 red onion, in small dice
   1.5 spring onions, white & green

   1/4-1/2 tsp chilli flakes or small fresh chilli, membranes & seeds removed, chopped finely
   1/4-1/2 tsp siracha sauce or tabasco
   1-2 tbsp soft brown sugar
   1/3 tsp fish sauce OR the zest and juice of a lemon Or 3/4 tsp hoisin sauce
   clove garlic, grated
   1/2 tablespoon grated, peeled fresh ginger
   zest and juice of one lime (this is essential)
   1-2 lemongrass (optional)
   1-3tablespoon reduced salt soy sauce

   7 mint leaves (opt) 
   2 tbsp cilantro or parsley (opt)
   
   If not using above herbs, garnish with chopped parsley

  Handful: green beans or mange tout (strings removed)
               small cauliflower florets
               finely shredded red bell pepper
               grated raw carrot

Garnish: 
       generous handful roasted peanuts, oil and salt rubbed off, coarsely chopped 
       1 lime in 8 wedges

 Method:

1. If using tofu: squeeze excess liquid out of the tofu (it's easier if the tofu has been frozen & defrosted) with both hands  
2. Throw 3/4 of the squeezed tofu in a blender;  process roughly until tofu looks like mince (or rub tofu between hands). Tear the rest of the tofu into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. 
3. Prepare lemongrass if using: remove the bottom couple of fibrous inches (the bulb), peel off brown leaves, bash with a rolling pin until the fragrance is unmistakeable, slice thinly.
4. Fill med pan with water; bring to a boil; add green beans/mange tout and cauliflower.  Return to the boil; cook 2-3 mins or until al dente; using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer to a bowl of ice water.  Cool & drain. Set aside. 
5. The above steps can be prepared in advance
6. Place noodles in a med bowl, pour boiling water over; leave 5 mins. Drain, blanche in cold water; drain again.  Snip here and there with with scissors; this will make the noodles easier to eat
7. Retrieve dried mushrooms from soaking liquid; squeeze out most of liquid; remove stems.  Pour mushroom juice through a tea strainer lined with a bit of clean j-cloth; save.  (If using fresh mushrooms, measure out 1/3 cup stock or water) 
8. In a small bowl, mix chilli, hot sauce, sugar, fish sauce Or lemon juice & zest OR Hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, lime zest & juice, reduced salt soy sauce and mushroom juice; set aside
9. Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat
10. Coarsely chop onions & mushrooms; add with lemongrass to blender; pulse or roughly process 
11. When pan is smoking, add 1 tbsp peanut or other light veg oil; add onion, lemongrass & mushrooms to pan
12. Stir fry briskly 1-2 mins; scrape contents into the bowl with chilli & other seasoning; stir 
13. Return pan to heat; reduce to med high; add rest of oil, tip to coat surface
14. Add tofu or meat mince; leave for a min to brown (raw chicken or beef will need a few more minutes) then briskly move round to prevent sticking 
15. Add bowl of aromatics plus mint & cilantro leaves if using; stir fry 1 min until cooked or heated through
16. Stir veg and spicy mince into the noodles. 
17. Dust with chopped peanuts and herbs.
18. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving, alongside small bowls of reduced salt soy sauce, oyster sauce and hoisin sauce, plus a platter of washed and drained lettuce leaves.

Note:

Simple vs Complex Carbs

Simple carbs are sugars; they appear in fizzy drinks, baked goods and fruit juices and should be avoided.  Complex carbs are high in fibre and starch; they have more food value, are digested more slowly and include: fruit, vegetables, nuts, wholegrains and beans.

 Non-meat dishes on NavBar: Recipes II/Vegan...

Please leave a comment

This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.    

STRAWBERRY-RIPPLE YOGHURT ICE-CREAM, 0-fat, no cream

0-fat Yoghurt Ice Cream stridently - but beguilingly - rippled with low-sugar strawberry compote: sweet, refreshing but low-cal...

photo 5.8.18

Low-fat Strawberry Ripple Yoghurt Ice with Chocolate Madeira fingers
'As good as any shop ice cream; doesn't taste low-fat' ; 'Amazing & creamy; great substitute for cream & custard' 'the strawberry blobs & ripples are absolutely glorious.'

67 has so far avoided making ice cream from scratch.  There's no ice-cream maker in the kitchen; custard doesn't work well on the aged electric cooker and anyway, double cream isn't exactly a health food. 

But a home-made 'ice cream' made from 0-fat yoghurt is an entirely different proposition.  Incredibly easy to make, the yoghurt ice - if your fruit is very sweet and little sugar is needed - could even be classed as wholesome food!  

67's Strawberry Ripple Yoghurt Ice is adapted from the beautiful and talented Lorraine Pascal. The recipe  is so easy your kids can make it.  67 added thick low-sugar almost-instant strawberry compote for a bit of pizazz but kids will need supervising if they're making that.

Yoghurt ices aren't creamy in the way that custard and cream based ices are; the texture is more like a rich intensely flavoured sorbet.  But it is zero-fat and the low-sugar compote adds an exciting layer of fruity sweetness without loading on the calories. 

Cost: £4'ish
Feeds: 4-5

Ingred:

Yoghurt Ice Cream 
    450gm/15.8oz plain 0-fat Greek-style yoghurt (67 uses Fahy)
    1/4-1/2 cup icing sugar (67 used 4 tablespoons)
    1 tsp vanilla

Rich, intense strawberry compote

Strawberry Compote
    350gm/12.3oz hulled strawberries, quartered if large
    1/4 cup water
    1-3 tbsp sugar, depending on berries
    1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Method:

Compote (see photos in Instant Jam/Fruit Compote)

1. In a wide frying pan, add strawberries, water and 1 tbsp sugar
2. Cook over med-high heat until the mix is boiling and the strawberries are collapsing; add finely grated lemon zest
3. Turn heat down to low; taste; add a little more sugar if necessary (67's berries were not sweet and added a total 4 tablespoons sugar) 
4. Cook until almost all juice has evaporated and the mix is thick and syrupy
5. Take off heat, cool completely

Ice Cream

1. Whisk icing sugar gradually into the yoghurt until it is sweet enough for your taste
2. Stir in vanilla

Strawberry Ripple Yoghurt ice cream

1. Pour half the yoghurt ice cream base into a container lined with a double layer of cling film; drop teaspoons of compote over the surface, including on the edges 
2. Using a chopstick or skewer, drag it through the ice cream, creating ripples and pockets of strawberries
3. Cover with the rest of the yoghurt base; add smaller, fewer teaspoons of compote on top 
4. Lightly swirl 
5. Cover; freeze 4 hours or ideally overnight

Comments:

'Amazing. Wow. It's so good, really creamy; lovely and cold on a hot day.' Campaign Manager

'It doesn't taste low-fat; it's as good as any shop-bought.' Political Agent

'I wasn't sure about the concept but really liked this; it was unexpectedly creamy but not in a cloying way and the bits of strawberry were utterly delightful.' Retired writer

Tips: 

• Serve in slices or using an ice cream scoop
• Defrost at least 20 mins before serving

More fruit desserts in Recipes II on NavBar

Please leave a comment in the Box below

This recipes has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and  may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

CHOCOLATE MADEIRA CAKE a la Mary Berry, an Indulgence, 1-bowl wonder

Rich crumbly loaf cake: elegant in its simplicity, tantalising and delectable...

first posted 2018; updated 5/23

Chocolate Madeira Cake - a Mary Berry one-bowl wonder

Chocolate Madeira Cake is a perfect partner to 67's yoghurt ice cream.  Contrary to expectations, Madeira (or 'pound') cake is English in origin, not Portuguese.  Traditionally served with a glass of 'sweet' wine, it gradually morphed into an afternoon tea treat.  

The high ratio of butter to sugar is not exactly wholesome in our health-conscious times.  But if served in fat fingers instead of slices, the cake becomes a manageable treat, just the right size for picnics and buffets.  67 also added wholemeal flour for fibre.

The Chocolate Madeira was adapted from Mary Berry.  It's one of her one-bowl wonders and is ready for baking after just a few minutes of mixing. 

Cost: £4.00'ish (5/23)
Makes: one large 2 lb/one kilo cake

Ingred:
   175gm/6oz softened butter (it must be soft)
   175gm/6oz caster sugar
   125gm/4.5oz self-raising flour
     50gm/1.75oz wholemeal flour
     50gm/1.75oz good cocoa (not hot chocolate powder)
     50gm/1.75 ground almonds
      4 large eggs

Method:

THE ART OF FREEZING BERRIES

 Stock up on berries now for a taste of summer in winter...

updated 7/23; first posted 2015

Strawberries Prepped for freezing using pizza tray ridges to keep separate 

There's a glut of wonderful soft fruit in the shops, a riot of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries and plums -- all marvellously perfumed and vividly coloured.  Fresh and by the handful, baked or poached, buried in puddings, turned into instant jam/fruit compote -- there are as many ways of eating them as there are ways of combining them. 

(See:  Skinny Cherry Pie, Orange & Berry Plate,  Raspberry Streusel Coffee Cake, Reducing Food Bills: Fruit, )

When prices drop in times of glut, it will  be time to stock up, freeze and store berries.  When  fresh fruit and the wonderful weather are just a memory - a few short months -  you'll have the means to add a jewelled sparkle to autumn fruit crumbles and stewed fruits.  

Freezing berries is the easiest thing in the world.  Place them on a flat surface, with a bit of distance between them so they don't freeze in clumps.  A ridged pizza pan keeps the berries separated in rows; a griddle pan or a plastic microwave bacon tray will do a similar job. Otherwise, a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper is fine, so long as the berries aren't squashed together.   

Blueberries on a cheap 'n cheerful microwave bacon tray 

Most of the fruit can be frozen whole but strawberries planned for smoothies are better frozen halved or quartered.  The fruit will take a couple of hours to freeze solid.  Then bag them up and label the berries but don't fasten the bags tightly. That way, you can reach in at any time and grab a handful for smoothies or to sprinkle over muffins or hot porridge.  They'll keep up to six months.

It's best to freeze unblemished fruit.  If the fruit is soft or going bad in places, cut them out and use them for instant low-no sugar compote/jam.  The resulting compotes/jam can be frozen in individual jars or air tight freezer bags. 

Some other ideas for frozen berries.  

• Sugar-free Apple and Blackberry pie 
• Pear and Blueberry Crumble
• Strawberry Crumble
• Fruit Compote and Pancakes 

Please leave a comment in the box below

DISCLAIMER: The author accepts no liability for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.  Any information not sourced to a second party is the copyright of the blogger.