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EASY CHICKEN SOUP

14 Tuesday Mar 2023

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I think it is fair to say that one of the things my husband Dan most enjoys eating is a big bowlful of my homemade chicken soup – “Jewish Penicillin”, as I often call it – especially during the colder months or if he’s feeling under the weather. Dan suffers from sinusitis so I often pep the soup up with warm spices and/or a hint of chilli, especially when his sinuses are blocked. He likes to take a flask of this soup with him to work, along with a protein-packed salad.

Chicken soup is made from chicken – traditionally a boiling fowl – simmered in water or stock with other ingredients such as vegetables and noodles, rice or barley, and perhaps some dumplings, and can take as long as two or three hours to prepare from scratch if you’re going for a crystal clear consomme. Chicken soup is extremely versatile and can be made with chicken wings or the carcass leftover from a roast chicken. It may be blended smoothly with a little cream or milk as a Cream of Chicken Soup; a thick broth with diced vegetables and barley or lentils; cooked with leeks and potatoes as the traditional Scottish favourite, Cock-a-Leekie soup; a warmly spiced Moroccan chicken soup rich with tomatoes, chickpeas, coriander and a little finely-sliced preserved lemon; in fact, there is a whole raft of chicken soup recipes from all over the world so the choice is yours. Be as adventurous as you dare!

The quick recipe I am sharing with you I have adapted from a Women’s Institute recipe from the post-war era. The WI recipe blends a little butter, plain (all purpose) flour, 600 ml water to which a stock cube has been added, together with 300 ml milk (if liked), an egg yolk and salt and pepper. My method is a little different as I prefer to use cornstarch, never add the egg yolk and whenever I make the soup I just go with the flow, so it usually has different flavours each time I make it. I often prepare the soup with poaching or steaming liquid from chicken or vegetables but if I do not have enough of it then I top it up with water and perhaps crumble in half a stock cube. The real beauty about this soup is that it takes only 15-20 minutes to prepare from start to finish.

This recipe can be easily modified for vegetarians and vegans. Simply swap the chicken stock with vegetable stock and use sunflower spread instead of butter – or neither (see recipe alternative below) – and in fact I often make a quick vegetable soup this way using water with either a Kallo yeast-free low-salt vegetable stock cube or a heaped teaspoon of Swiss Bouillon stock powde. Finish with a dash of plant-based ‘cream’ or a little coconut milk if you wish. If you need to feed a larger number of people, simply double the quantities and it will turn out fine. This basic soup recipe will provide 2 generous servings without the milk or 4 with it.

INGREDIENTS (serves 2 or 4)

  • 25 g (1 oz) butter or sunflower spread, if liked
  • 25 g (1 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour or cornflour (cornstarch)
  • 600 ml (1 pint) chicken stock
  • 300 ml (1/2 pint) milk or coconut milk, if liked
  • one bay leaf
  • finely chopped herbs of your choice – e.g. parsley, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, coriander
  • diced cooked chicken or vegetables of your choice (optional)

1. If you are using butter or sunflower spread, melt it in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until the flour has ‘cooked out’. Gradually stir in the stock and milk or coconut milk if using, and the bay leaf, bringing it to the boil and then simmer, still stirring, until thickened.

2. If you do not wish to use butter or sunflower spread, in a large jug mix 25 g cornflour with a little of the stock until smooth, add the rest of the liquid and bay leaf, stirring well and pour into a large saucepan over a medium heat, stirring until smooth and thickened.

3. When the soup has thickened, take off the heat and cool slightly and strain through a fine sieve, returning it to the cleaned pan along with the chopped herbs and the chicken or vegetable dice, if using, and cook very gently over a low heat, stirring, until it is piping hot.

4. Serve immediately in bowls with herbs, crispy bacon or croutons to garnish and some good bread.

COOK’S NOTES

For a vegan or vegetarian version substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock and use coconut milk or plant’-based cream, if you wish, for a richer and creamier finish.

If you do not wish to add milk or coconut to the soup recipe, why not serve a dash of coconut milk or cream for a luxurious finish, upon serving.

If you do wish to add an egg yolk, do so at Step 3 once the soup has been strained and returned to the pan. Add the seasoning, herbs and diced chicken or vegetables if you wish and cook very gently, stirring, until the soup thickens.

Bon appetit!

Catherine

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The Jaden Show

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Recently I was invited on to The Jaden Show on YouTube hosted by Jaden Cornelious to discuss my music and other creativity and it was so much fun. The interview was pre-recorded over Zoom and we had much to catch up on as we hadn’t seen one another for 7 years – isn’t that crazy?!

In the late 1990s Jaden was Lead Singer/Songwriter in the UK group B-YOND who were best known for their song, “The Key”. They also performed the song “Lighten Up” on an episode of the TV programme Blue Peter in 1997. These days, Jaden is a Classical crossover artist now based in Mexico. One of his ambitions is to sing in every state of the United States and he’s performed in three so far. He is also renowned for his work with animals and community projects including the non-profit organizations JC Fundraising and Power2Endure. He is Global Ambassador at Discover the Gift, owner of Selva Singing and Director at the London Room – Recording Facility. In 2009 Jaden and friends put together an evening of celebration of songs made famous by Olivia Newton-John with the aim of raising £10,000 within 6 months for the ‘Only Olivia’ Breast Cancer Charity.

Please visit Jaden’s Facebook page to find out more about him and his work:-

https://www.facebook.com/Jaden.Cornelious.II

Every Sunday evening the Jaden Show features a special guest and showcases some of their work. Recent shows have featured US opera singer and ballet dancer Rachel Nash; the Indian Singer, Composer and Lyricist Shoolbhrit Darshan who, from a very young age, developed a mystical thought process which is reflected in his music; and the legendary Singer/Songwriter Thereza Bazar who was one half of the 1980s Stock Aitken and Waterman pop sensation, Dollar. A warm and approachable character, Jaden seems to have the knack of making you feel comfortable and putting you at ease which encourages you to stand in your best light, and the shows are always interesting and inspiring and delivered in a friendly, down-to-earth manner.

My turn was on Sunday 19 February 2023 and you can tune in here:-

I do hope you enjoy watching it and will consider subscribing to Jaden’s channel so you are notified of new uploads and stay in the loop. Again, I would like to thank Jaden for inviting me on to the show and for all his support, which means a lot to me.

Please feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts.

Blessed Be,

Catherine

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A New Year: Goals or Resolutions?

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First of all, I would like to wish all my subscribers (and other readers of my blog) a very healthy, happy and empowering 2023. If you are new to my blog, welcome, and I do hope you enjoy reading my content.

I guess it’s true to say I’ve been gone a while; there’s been a lot happening the last few months; most notably juggling balls and spinning plates in the air (metaphorically-speaking), the whole festive thing with its gift-buying-and-wrapping, tree-buying and decorating and taking down again, cooking, washing and tidying up, making and editing videos for my various platforms, wading through mountains of admin and paperwork and accounts, doing my music, making and pricing up and photographing of items for my two pitches at the Petticoat Lane Emporium in Ramsgate plus my Etsy shop and my Ebay site (basically, doing what I can to earn some money whilst also running a household and helping my piano tuner husband to be a success in his trade), visiting nearest and dearest and those further away up and down the motorway . . . and looking after our two young cats and one diabetic, arthritic and incontinent senior tabby cat, our lovely loyal boy Merlin who follows me around or sits on his favourite chairs watching me with love hearts in his eyes. Merlin was diagnosed with diabetes in October of last year, following the suspicions I had carried around for a while, watching and observing his habits and demeanor. Several months had passed before Dan would believe me and when he did, he admitted he had been in denial. We have put a lot of work in with Merlin as it takes him time to adjust to change. We have had to change his mealtime regime to twice only daily – to which he was not at all receptive for several weeks – source wet food and biscuits for him that are diabetic friendly and made of the most natural ingredients (which of course are far more expensive than regular cat foods, but anything for our boy), inject him twice a day 30 minutes’ after he has finished eating, change his pee pad in his special tray sometimes multiple times a day and mop the floor, as he often dribbles urine when he’s finished his business. I sometimes cook him fresh chicken or turkey and he might get a little of this if he’s very hungry during the day and needs a small snack; the vet said it was better than giving him more biscuit. I also groom him regularly and massage extra virgin olive oil into his fur as he is prone to flaky skin. This he enjoys very much and likes to lick the oil on his fur. Twice we also give him a fish oil powder capsule which we break into his food and mix in well. This also helps to ease his skin condition though it seems to have made only slight improvement to his mobility.

He sees the vet once a month for a checkup, to get weighed, examined and bloods taken to monitor his insulin levels. This time we discussed his mobility problems which suddenly came on more recently and seem to affect his pelvis and back legs from what we can make out when we watch him move around awkwardly. The vet was very gentle with him when she examined him thoroughly and agreed that his hip joints appear to be arthritic and at one point we heard a ‘click’. She also said that the muscles in his back legs are weak, which of course is probably due to the fact that he is no longer to move about comfortably so the muscle is wasting. At home, he is no longer able to jump on to the side of the bathtub to drink from the cold running water from the washbasin tap, something he has enjoyed for most of his life; nor is he able any longer to run up the stairs when I call to him and instead he makes a slow hop up one stair at a time, which breaks my heart. One day last week he tried to jump up on to the kitchen chair beside me and was unable to do it, his claws caught in the fabric seating, so I picked him up gently and lifted him on to the seat though mostly he can still manage without help. It is, though, heartbreaking to see him in discomfort and unable to do some of the things he used to enjoy. The vet recommended a full panel of bloodwork this time to check that Merlin doesn’t have any underlying medical conditions other than the diabetes and to rule out anything else such as side effects from his insulin. If the results come back clear, we can perhaps start him on Metacam medication and see where we go from there, though she understands I prefer the natural way and she definitely thinks animal healing is a good idea and told me she used to work at a practice that encouraged it for their furry clients.

Anyway, I digress, since this is intended to be an article about goals and New Year’s resolutions. As we journey the days in the life of January, it is perhaps opportune to think about what we might all wish to achieve during the Chinese New Year of the Water Rabbit (ironically, in which I was born almost six decades ago, in 1963) when celebrations start on 22 January.

It is customary, as one year ends, to formulate our intentions for the coming year and this is often done at New Year’s Eve or it’s equivalent, for example the Pagan festival (Sabbat) of Samhain (Halloween) or, yes, at Chinese New Year. Whether we be adult or child, deciding to set ourselves a few tasks or objectives can be both life-affirming and empowering, however resolutions often fail because they are too vague and lack real focus. For example, a desire to “eat more healthily” or “take more exercise” is not specific enough, as neither address how you are going to eat healthier or how or what exercise you intend to do. However, if for example, you say: “I am going to grow and harvest my own salad greens” or “I am going to eat a salad at least five days a week and enjoy one glass of wine a week” or “I am going to go for a swim three times a week”, then those are specific goals. This is how New Year’s resolutions are more likely to be successful.

If living a more healthy lifestyle is on of your goals, perhaps you felt guided to give Veganuary and/or Dry January a try in order to kick-start the process and shift a few pounds after the excesses of the festive season. If, at the end of it you begin to feel the benefits of the initiative and find you are enjoying trying different foods and the creative aspect of preparing a healthy, balanced meal with fresh ingredients or can see the benefit of limiting an alcoholic drink to once a week then perhaps you might decide to make it part of your everyday life. On the other hand, if you tried it as an experiment and decided you missed some foods too much but you don’t mind cutting back on them a little in future and you did lose some weight and you learned more about yourself in the process then that’s good too. Everything in life is a learning process and one size does not fit all. Do not think either that you have failed if you despised most or every aspect of Veganuary/Dry January, you didn’t lose any weight or you just couldn’t ride it out right to the end; at least you gave it a try and know beyond doubt that what is right for one person is not necessarily right for another. We only fail if we think about doing something but don’t try it out at all.

I take on board that vague resolutions may work for some people, but personally I never found they worked well for me and I need the structure and clear intention that a solid goal gives me, something to aim for at which I can monitor my progress and at the same time stay positive and focused. It needs to be something that challenges my capabilities and mindset but at the same time is realistic and achievable. Here are a few of my goals:-

  • To grow my social media:-
    • Do at least one video per week for either my Rumble channel catevansartist or one of my three YouTube channels – @catevansartist, @catevanscuisine or @electrickwytchofficial.
    • To do at least one video a week for either my Facebook or Instagram on whatever topic feels appropriate
    • To do two Facebook or Instagram live streams per month
    • To upload a new blog at least twice per month
  • To drop one dress size this year by continuing my healthy regime. This includes going out for a walk or disco-dancing at home both at least three times a week. Also my newfound interest in sprouting seeds and fermenting, as well as continuing to eat a salad every day and by growing a wider range of organic salad greens in my back garden which I can pick what I need each day and when they are at their freshest. I have already made a start on this by purchasing four “growing tables” which are wide, wooden planters at table height with shelves below for storing compost – or even more planters containing healthful goodies, especially useful for tender plants which do not fare so well in full sunlight. I have called it “My Garden Project” and will be discussing more about this in a future blog post.
  • To focus more on my music by:-
    • Piano practice 5 times a week (often I manage four).
    • Composition/songwriting one half-day per week
    • Record the 4th movement of my sonata in preparation for the studio.

“How will you achieve all of this when you already lead such a busy life?” you may ask. As a self-confessed workaholic I take this on board and one of my tasks this year is to slow down a little and make more time by cutting back on activities that have the least importance. Non-negotiable are some household chores, seeing to the cats and meal preparation. Also, paperwork and general administration is vitally important; I do my husband’s as well as my own and failure to do paperwork will land us in a mess. Plus, at some stage it would need catching up on, resulting in a potentially stressful situation. However, I am able to free up a bit more time by the way I do it, for example spending an hour a day on paperwork and admin rather than, say, two or three hours twice a week. I am also able to fix crafting activity to maybe one morning or afternoon a week. I still have outlets and online to produce items for but I have fewer of them now and no longer need to hold larger quantities of stock and can therefore produce just as much or little as I need, which also increases efficiency and turnaround. I am also an avid maker of ‘to-do’ lists and have been using these more as an exercise to see exactly what I can achieve without filling up every second of my day, as being kind to ourselves and having sufficient rest and recreation time does help with focus and productivity. I can comfortably complete four or five tasks a day but if I complete any quickly or if I choose to push myself I can manage half a dozen. I am no longer minded to tackle more than that.

Neither do I need to concentrate on all goals at once. Some goals may be ongoing, others may be achieved quickly or may not work out as planned or may need to be ‘tweaked’, or put on hold, and new ones may present themselves instead. We should remember that personal and business circumstances may change either suddenly or over time and these circumstances may have a knock-on effect on what we are able to achieve. The point is, sometimes goals take longer to achieve even if we have put in some good work, but as long as the foundations and groundwork are there they can be picked up again in the future, by which time we may have more wisdom of experience and learning that will help bring our goals to fruition in a more effective way. As long as we enjoy doing what we are doing and gradually see some results or learn more about ourselves and our aspirations in the process it’s all good. If we don’t enjoy doing what we are doing, then perhaps we might find something else to try that might work better. We are all a work in progress and there is no need to beat ourselves up about it if something isn’t quite working out. Even taking a little time out might revive and refresh our vigour.

What are your goals in 2023? Is there anything that is going particularly well for you? Is there something you are struggling with or does not inspire you? I would be interested to know, as sometimes by sharing our experiences we might learn from one another.

Happy NEW Year!

Please tip me a herbal tea!

Catherine.

A Healthy Winter Salad

29 Tuesday Nov 2022

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Salad vegetables at any time of year are a good source of insoluble fibre, which helps you to maintain a healthy digestive tract and reduce LDL, or bad, cholesterol. By adding nuts, seeds or beans (maybe even some pea shoots or alfafa sprouts) to your salads you will also get a boost of soluble fibre which helps to lower cholesterol and keep blood sugar well-balanced, which is particularly important for diabetics and more generally to control mood swings, irritability, depression and cravings for sugary things. Other symptoms of blood sugar imbalance include fatigue, difficulty concentrating, feeling hungry after only a few hours of eating, blurred vision and fat storage around the midriff. These are also symptoms of clinical hypoglycaemia which is when blood sugar falls below below 55 mg/dL. Salad vegetables contain high levels of water providing our bodies with hydration necessary for youthful skin tone and various basic bodily functions such as urination and bowel movement.

Salads are so easy to prepare at home and a salad a day provides multiple health benefits at any time of the year. The main difference of course is that the various salad vegetables have their seasons, which is when they will be at their most nutritious especially if they are organic or homegrown and free from chemicals and pesticides rather than flown in from hundreds or even thousands of miles away, although even these will have some nutritional value and not everyone is able to afford to buy organic or grow their own produce, Please remember to rinse all your vegetables thoroughly in clean, cold running water before preparing in order to get rid of any grit, soil and pests or residue of chemicals and pesticides.

One of the best things to include in your salad is leafy greens rich in Vitamin K such as baby spinach, Romaine lettuce or watercress in the summer and shredded kale in the winter. Low levels of Vitamin K have been linked to low bone density in women and just one cup of leafy greens per day will promote bone growth and improve the performance of the mitochondria which are the tiny cell structures that help us produce energy and effective muscle maintenance and growth. Romaine lettuce in particular contains significant levels of folate which helps to prevent stroke and cardiovascular disease. Grated or fine julienne strips of carrot, beetroot and celeriac and some finely shredded red cabbage also pep up your winter salad and help to make it super nutritious. Aim to make your salads as colourful as possible to maximise your intake of vitamins and minerals and to increase the level of powerful antioxidants in your blood. “Red” fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, red and orange peppers, carrots, stone fruits like peaches and apricots and berries such as blueberries, pomegranates and cranberries are of particular nutritional benefit as they contain carotenoids such as Vitamin A, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin as well as providing the body with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory attributes. Carotenoids – which are also found in the green leafy salad vegetables – also help the eyes to adjust between light and dark and to filter out high intensity light levels and thus protecting the eyes from the formation of damaging free radicals.

A fibre-rich salad will help you feel full faster so you will consume less calories than you might otherwise and including as many raw vegetables as possible will maximise their positive effects. If you can, try incorporating a handful of chopped nuts or seeds in your salad and a homemade salad dressing provide a good source of healthy oils, as does adding some sliced avocado which enables the body to absorb all the protective compounds, lutein and phytochemicals it needs for optimal health and wellbeing and a strong immune system. Nuts and seeds are also a good source of zinc and selenium, which help to prevent heart disease and develop antibodies in the immunocompromised, improve metabolism and thyroid function. Selenium also contains antioxidants that help to boost male fertility by increasing the sperm’s mobility to help it to swim and fertilise the ova. Zinc helps to keep white blood cells healthy to fight disease and infection, enable wound healing and encourage cell production in the body. A paper published in 2003 in the Folia Microbiologica noted that zinc and selenium are both important in modulating immune function and selenium in particular is necessary for the functioning of three different types of immune cells – neutrophils (they comprise 40% of white blood cells and 60% of the immune cells in the blood), macrophages (they help to eliminate foreign substances and microorganisms and other harmful organisms by overwhelming them and triggering an immune response) and ‘natural killer’ (NK) cells (lymphocites, which belong to the ‘B’ and ‘T’ cell family but respond quickly to a whole host of pathological challenges such as killing virally infected cells and detecting and controlling early signs of cancer).

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TIP: Try making your own salad dressing. To a small jar add 6 tsp extra virgin olive oil, 3 teaspoons of raw apple cider vinegar, 3 tsp honey, 3 tsp Dijon or wholegrain mustard, season with salt or pepper, screw the lid on and shake thoroughly to combine. Depending on what salad you are making you might also like to add a squeeze of fresh lemon, lime or orange juice and this kind of salad dressing also stops fruits such as chopped avocado and apple from browning. Also try adding antioxidant-rich chopped herbs to your dressings and salads such as coriander, thyme, dill, garlic, chives, rosemary and mint (which pairs particularly well with apple) to bring a further dimension to your plate.

Below is a basic winter salad using some of the fresh raw seasonal fruit and vegetables that Dan and I had bought from our local farm shop at the weekend or had delivered from Riverford Organic. I dressed the salad with my basic homemade salad dressing (as detailed in the above paragraph), adding a dollop or two of home-fermented cabbage with its health-giving probiotics and a handful each of walnuts and mixed seeds for a bit of crunch. Quantities are random – it is entirely up to you how large you want your salad to be or for how many people you are catering – but this one will feed two.

Ingredients

  • A wedge of red cabbage, thinly shredded
  • A good handful of organic curly kale, thinly shredded
  • Organic carrot, sliced into thin julienne strips
  • Large stick of celery, chopped
  • 2 small local apples, cored and chopped
  • handful of organic black grapes, halved
  • Handful of walnuts, roughly chopped
  • Handful of mixed seeds
  • Two tablespoons of fermented cabbage (optional) – my homemade one is fermented with grated carrot and cumin seeds.
  • Salad dressing

1. Wash and prepare the fruits and salad vegetables and place in a large bowl.

2. Add the roughly chopped walnuts, drizzle in the salad dressing and mix into the salad to combine thoroughly.

3. Pile the salad into the middle of one platter or two large plates.

4. Spoon the fermented cabbage (if using) on to the bed of salad and sprinkle with mixed seeds.

COOK’S TIPS:-

This salad is vegan if served on its own or with sliced avocado or some falafels.

This main course salad can also be served with shaved parmesan or vegetarian substitute, some hot smoked mackerel or salmon or even charcuterie. However you choose to present your salad, it is very versatile!

Dan had Italian charcuterie with his salad!

Buon appetito!

Catherine

Homemade Live Yoghurt

27 Sunday Nov 2022

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Live, or bio, yoghurt is a very healthy food source containing “friendly bacteria”.

Live yoghurt is fermented with live cultures, also known as probiotics, and can be beneficial to the digestive system and contribute to the balance of natural bacteria in your body, specifically the stomach and intestines when they have been aggravated by illness or medical treatment, for example. Live yoghurt may also be useful for treating irritable bowel syndrome or diarrhoea and it has always been one of my go-to’s if I’m feeling under the weather although I should point out that this happens only rarely; I often have a couple of tablespoons of live natural yoghurt at breakfast time with orange or apple or with berries if I have any and I also enjoy it with homemade fruit compote which I poach gently in a pan on the stove and then take it off the heat to cool in its own juices which enables the natural sugars to be released, although if the fruit is quite sharp I might add a tablespoon of honey as it starts to cool down.

Live yoghurts are a valuable source of lactic acid and contain species of bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families of bacteria. According to the National Yoghurt Association, pasteurised milk is converted to yoghurt during the fermentation process. Live yoghurt is usually safe for most people to eat unless their immune system is weak or compromised and if you have a good immune system it may help to strengthen it even further. If you don’t consume probiotics at the moment but are interested in doing so and are unsure whether they are right for you, perhaps discuss it with your GP or other health professional.

Whilst you can find a wide range of yoghurts and other probiotics, such as kefir, in the supermarket it is easy and fun to make your own live yoghurt at home. There are a number of ways of adding probiotics to yoghurt to make live yoghurt, some requiring more investment than others. One method might be to buy an Easi-Yo kit consisting of a large wide insulated flask and a yoghurt pot with a screw on lid and some sachets of probiotic powder. These all contain instructions and are super-easy to use although they can work out quite expensive, especially if like Dan and I you get through a lot of live yoghurt but the method is simple and fuss-free and the yoghurt is delicious every time with a lovely, creamy texture and flavour. The Easi-Yo range is stocked in the Lakeland Ltd and The Range stores and the powders are available in many flavours including natural, vanilla and even fruity ones such as strawberry.

Another way is my new favourite way which is to add a few spoons of premade live yoghurt such as Yeo Valley, Onken or Helen’s Farm (if you prefer goat milk products) to a yoghurt recipe, and this is your ‘starter’ – a principle similar to making sourdough bread, for example – and well, I felt it was necessary to research other methods of yoghurt making and perhaps save a few pennies in the cost of living crisis we are experiencing on a worldwide scale. Traditionally, the starter uses a well-balanced blend of bacteria that ‘eats’ the sugars that occur naturally in milk and then turn the milk into lactic acid, which then changes the taste and texture and will give your starter a thicker, creamier and tangier taste.

Very little equipment is needed to make your own live yoghurt. All you need are things most of us have around the kitchen: a large saucepan, a measuring cup or jug, a food thermometer, a wide-necked Thermos flask or insulated cup with a tight-fitting lid, a large sterilised jam jar, a balloon whisk (a cheap one is fine if you are short of money), a carton of full-fat or semi-skimmed cow’s milk or goat milk or UHT milk and a small pot of store-bought live yoghurt. If you like your yoghurt thicker, creamier and a bit more tangy then you might also add a little skimmed milk powder. Simply add 25 g (1 oz) of skimmed milk powder to every 500 ml of milk. If you prefer flavoured live yoghurt just buy a small pot of store-bought live yoghurt in any flavour you like to use as your starter. You will need 3 tbsp of the starter to every 500 ml of milk.

My recipe below is for 500 ml of live natural yoghurt because I only had a 500 ml capacity insulated cup that I could find right away! We had a new kitchen recently which we are still re-populating and I cannot remember where I put my Easi-Yo flask!

Ingredients

  • 500 ml fresh full-fat cow’s milk
  • 25 g skimmed milk powder
  • Small pot Yeo Valley bio yoghurt

Equipment

  • Large heavy-based saucepan
  • Food thermometer
  • Measuring jug
  • Digital scales or measuring jug/cup and measuring spoons
  • Balloon whisk

1. Remove the small pot of store-bought Live Yoghurt and leave on the counter in order to bring it to room temperature. Warm up your flask or insulated cup ready to use and according to manufacturer’s instructions (for ease of reference, you can usually fill it with hot, not boiling water, and put the lid on to stay warm and then tip out the water when you are ready to use the flask/cup).

2. Measure 500 ml milk in a jug or measuring cup and pour into the saucepan.

3. Weigh out 25 g skimmed milk powder (the cheaper ones work perfectly well – I use Tesco’s own brand) and add it to the pan of milk and whisk it in well to fully combine.

4. Clip the thermometer to the side of the saucepan so the metal probe has contact with the milk and place the pan on the stove over a low heat stirring with the balloon whisk occasionally. The liquid needs to reach 86oC on the thermometer and this may take up to 10 minutes. NOTE: if you are using UHT milk just heat it to 46oC and immediately follow step 5.

5. When the milk reaches the required temperature take it off the heat and set aside until it cools down to 46oC and quickly add 3 tablespoons of live yoghurt and whisk it in thoroughly before pouring it into the warmed flask or cup and then screw the lid on tightly.

6. Leave to stand on the counter for at least 8 hours or overnight. The longer you leave it there the thicker and creamier it will be.

7. The following morning, check to see how your yoghurt has set and then spoon it into your sterilised jam jar. If you prefer Greek Yoghurt to the set variety strain through a piece of muslin cloth over a bowl and then decant into the jam jar. Screw the lid on tightly if you have one, otherwise cover the top with cling film and an elastic band and store in the fridge. Consume within a few days.

COOK’S TIP: you can produce your next batch of Live Yoghurt with your own starter by reserving 3 tablespoons of your homemade yoghurt!

BON APPETIT!

Basil Gnocchi with Mediterranean Vegetables

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During the Lockdown period I have seen a few TV programmes featuring celebrity chefs preparing gnocchi.

Now, I have tried pre-packaged gnocchi from the supermarket several times in the past but it was never to my liking. It often has a strange, slimy texture and is under seasoned, tasting of very little at all; an underwhelming dining experience, it must be said.

For me, texture is a very important consideration when preparing meals. If something looks and tastes ‘wrong’ to my palate I am unable to eat it and I am sure many people share my sentiments. Gnocchi has usually had this effect upon me, thus I tend to avoid it.

However, recently having watched TV programmes showcasing tempting plates and inventive recipe ideas with gnocchi, and then discovering that gnocchi is a slightly healthier alternative to traditional white pasta, I did wonder whether I might be missing out on a taste sensation and might perhaps have more luck making my own gnocchi and, at the same time, make it gluten- and egg-free, so I decided to give it a go.

Gnocchi are little Italian soft dough dumplings often made with a blend of semolina or wheat flour, mashed potato, egg and seasoning and can be fried, baked or boiled. Other ingredients might include cornmeal or breadcrumbs, cheese or egg, and flavourings such as vegetables, herbs, cocoa or prunes.

I used Doves Farm plain (all purpose) gluten-free flour which is a blend of rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat and is also suitable for a Kosher diet. Recipes online suggest baking rather than boiling gluten-free gnocchi but I saw no reason why the little dumplings could not be boiled as long as handled with the love and respect any handcrafted product deserves.

One of the most important things is to use floury potatoes and make sure they steam dry before mashing and that it is well-seasoned with salt and pepper. The potato can be boiled first or baked in its jacket in a microwave oven before mashing A potato ricer, if you have one, makes it easier to get a nice smooth texture with no lumps, otherwise use a conventional potato masher and some elbow grease, but for my recipe do not add milk or butter or any beaten egg. Simply combine the potato with the plain flour, add chopped sage or any chopped herbs of your choice, and season well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Form the gnocchi dough into little balls or lozenge shapes and use the back of a fork to create a crinkle effect, before boiling in a pan of salted water for a couple of minutes. When they are ready, the gnocchi will rise to the surface. Remove them with a slotted spoon on to kitchen paper to drain and then serve with any sauce of your choice – or even a simple drizzle of garlic infused olive oil and torn basil leaves, or a little pesto or sun dried tomato tapenade.

For a heartier plate and to keep this recipe vegan, any tomato-based sauce goes well with gnocchi, whether you roast whole cherry tomatoes in an oven with garlic and balsamic vinegar or use tinned chopped tomatoes. For a vegetarian, gnocchi can be enjoyed with roasted butternut squash and goat’s cheese or perhaps some spinach and ricotta. I decided to serve the gnocchi simply with a side of roasted Mediterranean vegetables – diced aubergine (eggplant), roughly chopped onions, tomatoes, courgette, tomatoes and bell peppers and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

I found the gnocchi cheap to make and easy to prepare, and the time taken was worth the effort as the result was delicious. I have discovered a liking for freshly-prepared gnocchi, they are tasty, filling and versatile and I will enjoy experimenting with different flavour and texture combinations.

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the gnocchi

  • 400g   Potatoes, mashed
  • 50g     Gluten-free Plain flour
  • Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
  • Finely chopped fresh or dried basil

For the vegetables

  • 1 Aubergine diced into 2cm chunks
  • 2 courgettes diced into 2cm chunks
  • Whole cherry tomatoes or quartered vine-ripened tomatoes
  • 2 red onions, roughly chopped into chunks
  • Red and Yellow Bell Pepper, deseeded and sliced into strips
  • Crushed garlic cloves (optional)
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Torn basil leaves (to serve)
  1. Boil floury potatoes in their skins in salt water, drain thoroughly and return to the pan to steam dry. Alternatively, microwave potatoes in their skins until cooked through.
  2. Wash and prepare the vegetables, drain well on kitchen paper and place in a roasting tin with some crushed garlic cloves if liked and a good glug of olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place in a medium oven and roast for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
  3. On the hob, heat a large pan of salted water and bring to the boil.
  4. Meanwhile, as soon as the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skins away with clean hands and either push the potatoes through a potato ricer or mash to remove any lumps. Turn potatoes out on to a large board.
  5. Measure out 50g plain flour on to the board and gently mix into the potatoes, along with chopped fresh or dried basil to your liking and season well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a little more flour if you think it is necessary, but only add one tablespoon at a time to avoid the dough becoming too dry.
  6. Carefully knead the dough for a few minutes until pliable and then roll into four thin sausage shapes 2-3 cm thick and cut each sausage into 3cm slices. Then either roll into balls or carefully mould into lozenges, using the back of a fork to create grooves which will help the sauce to stick to the dumplings.
  7. Carefully place the gnocchi in the pan of salted water and boil for about 2 minutes. They are ready when they rise to the surface and they will have puffed up a bit. Cook the gnocchi in two batches of two servings to ensure they do not stick together.
  8. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, toss with a little garlic-infused extra virgin olive oil and serve with the Mediterranean vegetables and torn basil leaves.


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Daily Prompt: Transformation

25 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by in Uncategorized, Wordplay

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via Daily Prompt: Transformation Transformation . . . the larva becomes a caterpillar and finally emerges as a butterfly – the metamorphosis of nature.

The Tower card in the Tarot deck, one of the major arcana speaks of a rapid, life-changing moment. The event will come swiftly, when one least expects it, and it will be a major happening, not merely a change. A house or job move (perhaps, even, to another country); a marriage or a divorce; a separation; a new beginning.

Change is only temporary; transformation is permanent and one’s life and even one’s attitudes, have the ability to adapt and blossom beyond all recognition. Change is ‘mending’ or ‘fixing’, and suggests that one is righting a wrong or something that is imperfect. Transformation goes way beyond this. It speaks of energy shifts, reawakening and reinvigorating of the chakra centres, allowing oneself to go with the flow, see where the road takes you. Maximising one’s potential, making the most of every opportunity. Reinventing oneself just because it feels right, not because something is not quite right.

Transformation. The bud of the lotus flower gently unfurling and then overnight – whoosh! Sudden and shocking and exhilarating.

Transformation. It lies within us all.

 

Catherine.

 

 

 

 

BODY TALK

29 Thursday Sep 2016

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Today I had my second consultation with Dave Thompson, Physiotherapist and Body Talk Practitioner extraordinaire.

Firstly, we discussed the effects of my first session, which was roughly about 6 weeks ago. Although some fibro pain had returned in some of joints and areas of the body, the pain was lower level and had not returned to all the points it had previously affected. However, I had experienced some sensitivity of the teeth and gums, particularly on the left side of my mouth – although this had improved over the last couple of weeks or so – and I thought it might have been caused by some kind of lurgy; my mother-in-law had experienced a similar lurgy herself recently which had, thankfully, completely subsided.

We discussed my impending move to Kent and I shared my feelings of uncertainty for the future and my bitter disappointment at the lack of opportunity and thwarted ambitions in London and that, despite my best efforts over the last 11 years, my endeavours had either fallen on stony ground or had been met with resistance and/or lack of interest; I felt that I had failed to make my mark in the arena of industry and commerce and that people’s indifference towards my work had left me unhappy and demoralised.

I feel that I have a lot to offer but it seems that what I do has left little impact in the marketplace. I have been thinking about the future, excited about the opportunities a new start might give me and yet unsure about how my talents and endeavours will be received. I am, however, prepared to try out different things and step out of my comfort zone to make my mark. The ability to earn my own livelihood has always been important to me; it is part of who I am. Perhaps I will go back to school and learn a new skill that will enable me to set myself up with steady earnings, if I work hard enough at it. I do have a few concrete ideas but am not yet ready to share them with you yet; I need to get there, get unpacked and literally get my house in order, time to pause, time to breathe . . . and then explore. I know the right answer will come when the time is right and I am a strong believer in destiny. It will happen if and when it is meant to be: wisdom and experience has taught me that.

So I lay on the couch and the main consultation began. Dave picked up a chemical imbalance in the body, specifically connected to the thymus gland.

The thymus gland is located behind the sternum and between the lungs and is only active until puberty. After puberty, the thymus begins to shrink over one’s lifetime and is gradually replaced by fat. By the age of 75, the thymus is practically all fatty tissue. The hormone of the thymus is thymosin and stimulates the development of T cells (a specific type of white blood cell) which fight disease, viruses and infections. Whilst the thymus gland will not function throughout one’s whole lifetime, during its activity it plays a big responsibility in helping the body protect itself against autoimmunity, whereby the immune system turns against itself, and thus the thymus plays a vital part in the lymphatic system (the body’s defence network) and the endocrine system.

Dave also picked up feelings of sorrow and anger, associated with my concerns about money and earning a livelihood but, more specifically, regarding what is going on in the world. I quipped that perhaps it would serve me well to avoid reading and posting all the negative news stories on Facebook that seems to have become a frequent pastime in recent months! I think I shall be taking my own advice on board more in the future.

Dave picked up a fear of harming myself with knives (cutting myself) whilst preparing food for other people (true) and an intolerance to adrenaline-based injections which was connected to a memory of an unpleasant experience concerning anaesthetic injections in the dentist’s chair some time ago (also true).

I recalled the incident – two or three years ago now – which happened after I had broken a molar on a crostini at a family wedding; I had been booked in quickly for a crown but in the short time between appointments the tooth had deteriorated and, although my wonderful dentist tried to save what he could, there wasn’t enough good of the tooth to make crowning possible and I had to endure an extraction. The tooth refused to come away cleanly and pieces kept breaking away. It took several injections (me being a wimp), half an hour and a variety of instruments before my unflappable dentist (who is, by the way, qualified in advanced and reconstructive dentistry and one of the most client-centred, patient and calm dentists one could ever meet) had removed every fragment and left it nice and clean and dressed to heal, and there am I, sweating and shaking with palpitations in the chair (and fearing I am going to die in the surgery) and then helped out of the chair, deathly-pale and nearly collapsing on the floor. My concerned dentist made sure I had somewhere to sit down and recover before leaving the surgery and wrote across my notes in large capitals: “NO ADRENALINE”.

Dave determined that a cellular repair was necessary. He passed me a cotton wool bud and asked me to swab round my mouth and teeth and tongue and place it in my belly button. Dave used a tapping technique, as I was asked to place my hands on various points of the face and head, take deep inhales and exhales when asked to and at times raise my head slightly off the pillow and back again. Dave asked me to look out for sensations of the body, such as heat, tingling or cold and not be afraid to mention them.

Dave said that my ability to earn a livelihood were connected to a feeling of listlessness and the storage of fatty tissue in the body. He said this feeling was more like a computer programme running in the background but the disk needed to be wiped clean and it would also help to boost the immune system. He wrote a symbol on a piece of paper and placed it on my abdomen to begin the scanning process. This involved the same tapping routine as before, and I was asked to imagine a cartoon of the right and left sides of the brain, along with the thymus and a healing light or symbol, talking to one another. I could see and hear it in my head, the left and right sides of the brain with mouths talking reluctantly to one another at first, then building up towards a babble, and then quietening down into a friendly and amicable banter. My whole body began to tingle, slowly at first, going down the arm through the fingers and then through the whole body, leaving through the feet, to be followed by positive, tingling energy coming in through the feet and spreading through the body in the same way, bringing with it sheer happiness and bliss.

The final task then was to reconnect and balance all the chakras, particularly the connection between the Crown Chakra (spirituality – something that to me is an important part of my identity) and the Root Chakra (survival, making money and prosperity) as well as the Heart Chakra (harmony and self-worth). I was asked to get up off the coach and stand up for this. To begin with I felt really light-headed but I was soon back in my body (with soul maybe lighter and m0re positive) and we finished with grounding meditation that I can call upon when I need to, when I feel I need a boost over the very busy weeks to come as Dan and I set up our new home in an unfamiliar environment with all its successes, stresses and challenges, and provide a boost to my security, energy levels and general wellbeing.

Yes, I do meditate from time to time and I intend to make time for myself more often, to mediate and to just ‘be’, and I shall certainly be looking forward to what my body has to say at my next consultation.

To book your Body Talk Consultation, fill out the contact form at: http://www.dtphysiotherapy.co.uk/contact.html

Or, alternatively, call or text Dave Thompson on 07792 886214

See how your body talks to you.

Catherine.