Go nitrite-free

Sodium nitrites make processed meats look fresh and pink and prolong their shelf life. But their effect on the human organism appears to be the opposite: the chemical is a known carcinogen. This “preservative” is so dangerous that the United State Department of Agriculture tried to ban it the 70s. But, as it happens in this just world, the mighty meat industry fought the ban and won.

So how do you go nitrite-free? One, quite radical I must say, option is to become vegetarian and eat organic root vegetables. If you think you were born a carnivore, the following options can help:

- Cut out most all commercial hot dogs, lunch meats, sausages, bacon, and processed meats (even that in canned soup).

- Look for nitrate/nitrite-free varieties, such as nitrite-free O’Doherty’s Black Bacon from Co. Fermanagh.

- Don’t be fooled by the word ‘organic’ on processed meat labels. Many organic farms still use nitrites in the curing process.

- Eat RAW fruit and veg rich in antioxidants, particularly vitamins C and E, which inhibit the conversion of sodium nitrate into those nasty nitrosamines. I say raw because vitamin C is easily destroyed during cooking. You can also use good strong vitamins C and E supplements.

Healthy make-over for brownies

So many times I’ve heard that a good brownie can make anyone happy. Not sure about that but, certainly, twisting a traditional brownie recipe to make it healthier makes me delirious!

Two days ago I found a brownie recipe that got 100% positive feedback and gave it a healthy make-over without compromising its naughty and heavenly taste. I didn’t use cooking chocolate as it is traditionally suggested, thus cutting back on fat and sugar contents. Instead I used organic cocoa powder with a bit of butter and little milk. In addition to that I used only half of the recommended amount of sugar and a third less of butter. So my brownies are lower in fat and sugar and wheat-free. But they are still, oooh, so sinfully yummy!

Chocolate brownies

250 g dark cocoa powder (at least 72%)
125 g butter, melted
½ cup low fat milk
150 g light brown sugar
3 medium eggs, beaten
150 g pecans, walnuts & almonds, chopped into chunks
1 tsp vanilla extract
125 g spelt flour


Preheat oven: 180°C, fan 160°C, 350°F, Gas 4
Line a 11" x 7" tin with baking paper.

Heat the milk in a microwave, pour it into a large mixing bowl and start adding the cocoa powder, mixing it into thoroughly to avoid any lumps. Stir in the melted butter and then the sugar and mix well.

Add the eggs to the mixture, about 1 egg at a time and mix well between adding each egg. The mixture will start to feel a bit elastic, but keep beating until all the eggs are fully incorporated.

Add the nuts and vanilla extract and mix well together.

Stir in the spelt flour and make sure that all the ingredients are well combined. Taste a tiny bit of the mix to see if it is sweet enough for you. If not, add a little (!) more. Pour into the prepared tin.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. To check whether the brownies are cooked insert a toothpick into the centre of the brownies, the toothpick needs to come out slightly sticky. It's better the brownies to slightly undercook than overcook.

Remove the brownies from the oven and allow them to cool while still in the tin. Remove from the tin and place on a cooling rack, cut into squares and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

These tasty brownies will keep in an airtight container for about a week. You can also freeze them.

Warm welcome for ugly fruit and veg

Let’s thank the EU for making our grocery shopping cheaper! Starting from last week misshapen fruit and vegetables can be bought in supermarkets and retailers say that they could be 40% cheaper than the standard produce.

For more than twenty years, the European Union standards has ensured that only the best looking (not always best tasting, though!) produce gets to the supermarket shelves. Garlic was not allowed to be sold with a bulb missing, cauliflower's diameter had to be over 11cm, and a string of onions had to have at least 16 bulbs.
The lifted ban will also mean less food waste and happier farmers, who will sell more products.

The classification system will still apply to 75 percent of the produce, such as apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes. These can be sold as irregular, but must be labelled “cooking”.

Fruit and vegetables that can now be sold as irregular are: apricots, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, avocados, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers, cherries, courgettes, cucumbers, mushrooms, garlic, hazelnuts, cabbage, leeks, melon, onions, peas, plums, celery, spinach, walnuts, watermelons, and chicory.

Get Creative

While doing some research online I stumbled across a blog on the Washington Post website about the Eating Down the Fridge challenge, Round 2. It runs from June 20 until June 26. During this time, the goal is to do zero food shopping. More info here

That is such a great idea! Challenging, yes, but it can, certainly, help to save money, get more creative with cooking and waste less food. Although, the challenge has been on for two days now, I decided to join in. After surveying my fridge and cupboards I came up with these quick and tasty dishes: a lazy vegetable quiche, energy boosting bean and carrot salad, delightful polenta in a tomato sauce and oh-so-good hummus. More than enough for a week! Frugal living rocks! Find two of my recipes below:

Lazy vegetable quiche
6 servings

Pastry: 1 cup of flour (I use corn flour), 2 oz of butter, 1 tbsp of yoghurt or old mayo, ¼ cup of water, salt and pepper to taste.
To make the pastry mix the yogurt with water and add to the flour. Mix thoroughly. Melt the butter in a microwave and add it to the flour. Mix with your hands to break any lumps and obtain smooth texture. Form a ball and leave in the fridge to cool for 10-15 mins.

Filling: broccoli, small courgette x 1, frozen spinach x 3 chunks, brie, 3 eggs, ½ cup of yoghurt or mayo.

Chop the vegetables into small pieces. Add the defrosted spinach to the mix. Preheat the oven to 190C. Heat up the quiche baking dish in the oven and grease it with a bit of butter or margarine. Take the cooled pastry out of the fridge and line the bottom of the quiche dish. Place the chopped vegetables over the pastry. Mix the eggs with the yoghurt thoroughly and pour over the vegetables. Slice the brie and place the slices on top of the quiche. Season to taste.
Bake the quiche for 30 mins. Let it set for 5-10 mins before serving.
Tip: add some finely chopped fresh thyme to the vegetable mix for a lovely Mediterranean flavour. You can add a can of sardines (mash them into smaller pieces first) or tuna for a more filling option.

Bean and carrot salad
Tin of butter beans (or chickpeas, or any other long-forgotten tinned pulses)
2 carrots, grated
Juice of ½ lemon
4-5 tbsp olive oil
Thyme, chopped
1 clove garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Drain the beans and mix them with the grated carrots in a bowl. To make the dressing mince the garlic and mix with the oil, lemon juice and thyme. Pour over the salad. Season to taste.
Tip: the best beans for this salad are borlotti, especially Lamon.

Grill Safely

As the summer sun shines (will it last?) the suburban air fills with lovely smells of outdoor grilling.

But before you get your BBQ going, repeat after me: heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Doesn’t sound tasty, does it?

HCAs are cancer-causing compounds produced by grilling "muscle meats" (red meat, poultry and fish). They have been shown to cause tumours in animals and said to possibly increase the risk of cancers of the breast, colon, stomach and prostate in humans. PAHs are formed when fat from meat, poultry or fish drips on the hot coals and via smoke goes back on the food that is being grilled.

The American Institute for Cancer Research advise to marinate meats (see a marinade recipe below) before grilling, which can significantly reduce the amounts of carcinogenic HCAs formed.

Also you can reduce your exposure to the carcinogens by:
- Choosing lean meats for grilling and trimming fat;
- Scrubbing the charred skin off the grilled fish;
- Removing the skin off the chicken before grilling;
- Avoiding high-fat ribs and sausages;
- Keeping meat portions small as they’ll need less time for grilling (think kebabs);
- Turn the meats frequently, which according to some research actually accelerates cooking;
- GRILL VEGETABLES, THEY ARE HEALTHIER!(corn on cob, asparagus, aubergine, tomatoes and mushrooms are all great BBQed)

Delicious Mediterranean marinade:

½ red wine (or vodka, as they do in Russia)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¼ onion or shallots, finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh thyme, rosemary, oregano, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a deep bowl. Coat well the meat in the marinade and leave it in the bowl for 40-60 minutes.
Grill safely!

Small but mighty

Sardine season is starting! Sardines make a great choice: they are safe to eat, produced in a sustainable way and, oh, so tasty grilled on a barbecue!

Sardines are at their best and juicy from the end of May to the end of October. I have to be realistic and admit that there is a very slim chance we can find sardines as good and fresh as they are in, say, Portugal. But even the catch sold in Ireland can be fine and certainly healthy.

This lovely small fish is mighty good and contains unsaturated fats, which reduce the level of cholesterol. It is also rich in vitamin B12 and D, calcium, phosphorus and selenium.

A recent report shows that sardines have only slightly less protein than beef or chicken, slightly more fat and nearly the same number of calories. Yet, statistics show that the cost of the protein from sardines is four or five times less than that of or beef and half the price of chicken.

I’ve bought good sardines at the fish stall in Leopardstown, A. Caviston in Greystones and the fish shop in Dun Laoghaire on the Coal Pier.

So next time when you glimpse a ray of sunshine get your BBQ going for some tasty sardines. They should sprinkled with coarse sea salt and placed on the grill about 6-7 inches above the coals. Leave the tails on the outside. Grill the fish for 3-4 minutes on each side until the fat begins to ooze. Serve the fish as they do in Portugal, with boiled baby potatoes and loads of green salad. Sardines have a strong distinctive flavour (the fresher the better!) and can be served with hearty red table wines.

Enjoy your Omega-3 feast!

Local, inexpensive, organic and tasty

The Happy Pear has the most delicious organic salad leaves mix from Marc Michel, who has an organic farm in Kilpedder, Co Wicklow. There is adorable baby pak choi, baby spinach, rocket and mustard leaves, which give the mix a piquant bite. At 20 euro per kilo it is certainly a better deal than you can get at any supermarket for organic baby salad leaves (that are always pre-packed and lack in flavour). It ticks off all my boxes: local produce, inexpensive, organic and tasty! But hurry, this mix is so good it flies out of the shop. The Happy Pear also sell a more traditional rocket and mustard leaf mix, which is great too.

Don’t be put off by the sign above the box with the salad mix which says that it is exported from Holland. As one of the owners told me they keep forgetting to change the sign. How laid-back they are!

The Happy Pear, Church Road, Greystones, Co. Wicklow. Ph: 01 2873655