NITRATE-FREE LOW-FAT SAUSAGE, low-fat Indulgence gluten free

Almost Guilt-free sausage...

includes Christmas Pigs in Bacon Blankets (below)

Nitrate-free, low-fat homemade sausage 
'Wonderful herby smell; absolutely delicious' 'Very clean; moist but not greasy'
  'slightly sweet but the herbs kick in' Tasters

Worries about nitrates and high fat content in sausages has made many a shopper hesitate at the butcher's counter.  High-meat sausages including poultry have done well, though, as have wild meats like venison and wild boar.

The festive season, however, is a special occasion and Christmas din-dins without sausages in blankets, whether pastry or bacon, meat or plant based, is not Christmas.  

One can fantasise about making one's own sausages but the thought of all that expensive equipment puts most people off.

Here, though, courtesy of the twitter feed Cooking Light, are easy, healthy  home-made sausages.  They contain no nitrates and are lower in fat. They do contain maple syrup but, as one taster said - 'you've got to have a little bit of stuff that's bad for you!'  

The sausage is not exactly frugal but high-meat sausages free from nitrates tend to be top of the line.  And the recipe is not skimpy - it produces 16 not ungenerous 50gm/2oz patties, or double the amount of mini sausages.

The recipe is pretty simple but care is needed to evenly blend the two meats and  seasonings without producing dense hockey pucks of meat instead of light, moist mini-bangers. 

Designed as a breakfast sausage, they'll do for dinner or even in freeze-ahead sandwiches for an office lunch.  And they make great Christmas sausages in bacon blankets scattered around the turkey.  

 
Cost: max £6.50, depending on pork purchased 
Makes: 16 x 3.5inch patties or mini sausages

Ingreds:
    450gm/16oz turkey or chicken mince
    450gm/16oz minced fillet of pork or wild boar    

Flavouring:
     scant 1/4 cup maple syrup (opt)
    1 tbsp fresh or 3/4 tsp dried thyme
    1 tbsp fresh or 1 1/4 tsp dried sage
      Note: 67 did not have sage and substituted 1/3 tsp dried mace & 
                1/8 tsp dried rosemary 
    1.5 tsp salt
    3/4 tsp pepper
    2 grated garlic cloves

    oil
   
Method:

1. Lightly combine the meats in a large bowl; two forks will help - it'll take a few mins until the separate meats are evenly combined.  Spread out over a  baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.
2. Mix all flavouring ingred in a small bowl till completely blended (otherwise you'll end up with unpleasant pockets of garlic or herbs); pour evenly over the meat, lightly blending in with two forks.  You may have to work a bit to get the flavourings evenly distributed.
3. The mix can be refrigerated at this stage
4. When ready to cook, break off a bit of the mince;  fry to check seasoning.  Adjust as necessary.
5. Shape into 16 patties - 8cm/3inches/56gm/2oz - use a scone cutter as guide.  Again, keep a light hand; don't squash the meat down, lightly pat it into shape.
   
   OR form into mini-bangers: a generous 1inch/2cm in diameter up to 4 inches/10cm long OR mini-meatballs made with 1 generous tablespoon sausage meat (See Christmas pigs in bacon blankets, below)
   
   
6. Cooking:  

Method 1: 

• Preheat oven to 180c/350f
• Arrange patties/sausages on a wire rack in a baking tray; generously spray with oil 
• Bake 15 mins

Method 2:

• Heat a large skillet over med heat
• Generously spray with veg oil
• Cook 4 at a time, 2.5mins each side

Home-made sausage patties: left, oven baked; right, fried 

Christmas pigs in blankets:

• roll sausage meat into cylinders 1inch/2cm in diameter about 4 inches/5cm long or sausage balls made of a generous tablespoon sausage meat
• wrap securely with half a rasher of nitrate-free streaky bacon (M&S) stretched with the back of a knife (for crispness); secure with cocktail pick with the join on the bottom
• bake in oven preheated to 180c/350f 15 mins
• cut in desired lengths

Comments:
'Nice & meaty yet clean tasting; they are not greasy at all.  The baked ones were more moist than the fried.  Nice mix of herbs.' Political agent
'Heavenly smell; absolutely delicious. So unlike the usual fatty versions.' Campaign Manager
'Slightly sweet but the flavouring quickly kicks in.' Political intern from Boston University

Tips:

• nitrate free sausages are available at many open-air markets but are expensive
• the frugal can replace pork fillet with pork shoulder but fat & cholesterol content will rise
• 67 cooked half these in the oven to avoid standing over a hot stove.  The oven-baked sausage were more moist and tastier but the pan-cooked had  a nicer colour

*Cooking Light
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This recipe has been adapted by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission

TRIPLE DUTY CORN SLAW WITH PLUMS, for vegans & carnivores

Outrageously satisfying slaw with a fashionable, exotic MidEast twist...

Sweetcorn & Plum Slaw, here with poached chicken
'A perfect salad, light in texture but very satisfying' - Taster

Lovely dark plums are back in supermarkets, still at just over a pound a punnet (9/23) in some places.  Use them for cakes and crumbles or to add wonderful accents to salads and even meats.

This gorgeous slaw combines sweetcorn and plums and is delicious in every way, with wonderful textures and spring-like colours.  It was adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi, the London chef famous for vegetable-heavy Middle Eastern dishes.

67's version is made from everyday ingredients so shouldn't break the bank.  It's not one of your throw-it-all-together-and-see-how-things-play-out salads.  Though the method is simple, there are one or two steps not normally associated with slaw, and a little planning is required.  

However, the steps add immeasureably to the pleasure of eating the dish.  And, the work repays - the slaw on the second day was as good as on the first, and would probably been as good on the third day if the full, instead of half, recipe had been made.  

You won't go wrong doubling the recipe; it will be wonderful in a packed lunch.

For something more substantial, the slaw was teamed with succulent poached chicken -- and the two complemented each other beautifully.

Vegans can add Roasted Spiced Chick Peas and some good wholemeal bread to ensure the full range of essential amino acids. 

Vegetarians can add soft goats cheese to the chick peas.    

The recipe's mint and parsley are best fresh if budget allows; dried will provide a subtler herbal kick.  



Cost: £3.00'ish (9/23)
Feeds: 6-8, more if serving as a side

Ingred:
     100ml white wine vinegar or 50-50 grape juice and malt vinegar
     200 ml water
     1 tsp salt

     175 gm/5 oz carrots, finely sliced into matchsticks or grated
     200 gm/7 oz  cabbage, shredded (not too finely)
     1 med red onion thinly sliced (opt) (67 didn't bother)
     240-500 gm/8.5-17.6 oz fresh corn niblets sliced from cobs OR drained sweetcorn (67 uses M&S)  
     1/2 yellow pepper, in dice the size of the corn (opt)
     olive oil
     1-2 med-large plums, in small dice

Dressing
  50 gm/1.75 oz yoghurt-mayo
   2 tsp Dijon mustard
   1.5 tsp sunflower (or vegetable) oil
   1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or bottled for the frugal)
   1 garlic clove, grated
   2-3 tbsp fresh (OR 2-3 tsp dried) mint, med chopped
   2-3 tsp fresh (or 1 tsp dried) parsley, med chopped
   1/2-1 tsp dried coriander

Method:

SPECIAL OCCASION LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE: Vegan, fat-& egg-free; indulgence, icing has dairy-free option

Easily the best of the vegan cake recipes 67 investigated & tested... 

updated Jan 25; originql 2019

'Delicious! Moist and melt-in-the-mouth. Wouldn't have known it was vegan.' 

This vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake, adapted from an American blogger*, was a lovely surprise.  It tastes like a well-baked conventional cake - very, very more-ish with a moist crumbly texture.  No one will know or care that it's vegan.  

The best thing about it is that it scores highly on the healthy meter: it's fat & oil-free, high in fibre and and fruit, and has no eggs or dairy. 

But a little care is required.  Though simple to prepare with the classic wet- ingredients-into-dry method, what makes the cake rise is the chemical reaction between the fresh lemon juice and the baking soda.  Getting the batter into the pan and the oven as soon as it is mixed will give best results or you could end up with a sunken - but still fabulous tasting - cake.

The cake contains a lot of sweetener in the form of maple syrup.  And that is definitely a financial indulgence.  Most of the maple syrup in the UK is top quality, grade A (the better the quality, the stronger the flavour).   Cheaper grades do exist but it's not easy finding them.  

With pure maple syrups selling at £5-6/200ml in supermarkets, you need to be committed to this cake.  Unless household pockets are deep or the family has shares in a maple syrup producer, 67 recommends the cake - fabulous though it is - is saved for special occasions.  

This is one of those recipes that you can't play around with.

Cost: £7.00 (most of that in maple syrup) (jan 25)
Makes: 1 8x8inch/21x21cm cake, or equiv

Ingredients:
    100gm/3.5oz plain white flour + 3 tbsp baking powder 
       92gm/3.25oz wholemeal flour
      6 tbsp rice flour, white or brown OR ground almonds   
      2 tbsp cornstarch (not polenta, available in supermarkets)
      1.5 tsp baking soda
      1/2 tsp salt

     1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (200ml) maple syrup
     1/2 cup fresh lemon juice + 1 tbsp zest
     120gm/4.25oz applesauce (recipe for fresh below but tinned & drained is ok)
                2 eating apples
                    (if organic, washed; if not, peeled, cored & cut into coarse chunks)
                1/4 cup water
                1/2 tsp cinnamon
                1/8 tsp nutmeg
            Cook together in a saucepan over med heat until broken down; then mash with a potato basher or puree with a stick blender

Icing:
   100gm sifted icing sugar   
   2 tsp lemon juice              
   1-2 tsp milk or water          

Method:

RARELY REPORTED NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF MEAT by Dr Michal Mosley

Apart from Vitamin B12, what other benefits does meat offer?

Courtesy of Cartoon Stock  and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

We hear a lot about the adverse effects of eating meat but rarely about the health benefits.  

To redress the balance, 67 reprints part of an article by Dr Michael Mosley on Meat Eating. 

Though a little light hearted, the report in the Sunday Mail (27 Jan 2019) contains valuable information on important micronutrients in meat:  

"Not only is meat a good source of protein that is easily absorbed by the body, but it is abundant in important micronutrients too. 

Vitamin B12, found exclusively in animal products, is important for brain development.  Studies show deficiencies can lead to fatigue, memory loss and, in severe cases, permanent brain damage.  Oxford University researchers recently compared blood levels of meat-eating and vegan men. Half of the vegans were Vitamin B12 deficient, compared to just one meat-eater. 

There’s also the issue of zinc, important for maintaining a healthy immune system. A recent analysis of scientific literature in The American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition noted that vegetarians and vegans are at a significant risk of zinc deficiency. 

Although grains, seeds and legumes contain [zinc], they also have a compound called phytates, which stops the body absorbing [it]. 

There’s plenty of easily absorbable zinc in meat, eggs and shellfish, which means those who avoid these foods are missing out. 

While we should limit artery-clogging saturated fat – found in pork chops, lamb kebabs and steak – to 30g daily, we ought not to banish fat altogether. 

The unsaturated fatty acids in oily fish, eggs, lean meat and chicken are shown in studies to protect against dementia and heart disease, and lower cholesterol levels. However, it is possible to get an adequate supply of this fat with a regular handful of nuts.

Blogger's Note: None of the above means that unlimited quantities of meat - whether organic or factory farmed - is good for you! 

The entire Dr Mosley article is available here.

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.