Tag: healthy food

Pearled Barley, Pea and Mushroom Cakes

Pearled Barley, Pea and Mushroom Cakes

by Food By Jill ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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Did anyone else in the Southern Hemisphere notice that its winter? This major onslaught of cold weather that came through overnight, especially here in Johannesburg! It went from Hero to Zero in a few moments!  As I have mentioned before, winter brings with it an entire amount of weird emotions and strange eating patterns. We tend to comfort eat, because its so cold, and the food we do flock to is normally the heavy, carb laden, thick stewy dishes. I AM NOT COMPLAINING! As always I try to figure out “alternates”. Ways to still eat “comfort” food without it being full of processed products and heavy on the stomach. One of my favorite products to work with is barley. I love the chewy texture, and it is Low-Gi, so it keeps you fuller for longer and cuts the cravings in half (lets be honest, we all still crave stuff). It is a versatile, cereal grain with an almost nutlike flavor, and once cooked, its almost like eating an al dente pasta. So besides soup, what else do I want to eat barley to, and also what are my favorite flavor combos to add to it? Because its generally a bland base, it can take on any flavor without it being over powering. I came across a recipe for sweet potato cakes with barley, and felt that I did not want the “sweet” characteristic to this dish, what I actually wanted was to use what i had in the fridge, and take it from there. So I found some peas, mushrooms, and potatoes. I also have loads of thyme (for some strange reason) and fresh oregano, parsley and Parmesan. Ok, mashup begins (excuse the pun).

Pearled Barley, Pea and Mushroom Cakes

  • Servings: 4 cakes
  • Difficulty: easy peasy
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Ingredients 

2 Small Potatoes – steamed, and cooled (leave the skins on them)

2 handfuls of Portabellini mushrooms – remove stalks and chopped (keep the stalks aside for later)

1 cup of Portabellini mushrooms – chopped 

1 garlic clove, minced 

1 teaspoon of fresh thyme, chopped and halved (I LOVE THYME WITH MUSHROOMS)

1 cup of cooked barley 

1/2 cup of peas 

1 tablespoon of chopped parsley 

2 kale leaves, stalks removed and chopped finely 

Parmesan 

Olive oil 

Himalayan Salt and black Pepper to season 

Method 

Soak barley for at least 1 hour in cold water Preheat oven to 180C Steam your potatoes, until soft and set aside to cool, once cooled, cut up into chunks. 

Cook the barley and peas in a small pot of water (don’t add any salt to it, the water cooks away and you might land up with really salty barley and peas)

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Drain the barley and peas, if needed, and return to the pot to start the “drying” process. You will notice that the barley will become sticky, remove from heat and add to the potatoes. 

In a pan, add a good glug of olive oil and start frying your mushrooms, once they are slightly soft, add the thyme and garlic and keep tossing the pan.

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Let the mushrooms cook until they are soft and spongy and have absorbed all the gorgeous flavors of thyme and garlic, and season them slightly (bear in mind you will season the entire dish before you start to shape the cakes). 

When the mushrooms are ready, give them a rough chop, and add them to the other ingredients.

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Add the parsley and kale. All the ingredients are cooked, give the mix a taste and add more seasoning if needed, shape into 4 big cakes or loads of smaller ones. 

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a shallow pan, and seal the cakes on either side before popping them into the oven to heat. When the cakes are in the oven, roughly chop the mushroom stalks, fry it off with the cup of chopped portabellinis, the same way as you did the mushrooms for the cakes, adding the extra thyme and season well.

To serve 

Plate each cake, topped with the warm mushrooms, sprinkle with loads of Parmesan and serve with fresh micro herbs. You can also use these as a burger night patty, topped with onion marmalade and melted provolone.

These are so good, the will become a staple and once you get the hang of all the prep work, it becomes a breeze to make!

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A modern way 

A modern way 

by Food By Jill ♥ 2 Comments

Without being consciously aware of it, my blog seems to have a lot of vegetarian recipes!! 

I cook a lot of vegetarian dishes, because, as mentioned before, MY vegetarian is my boss, and yes, I call her MY vegetarian. As a chef, it’s almost a preprogrammed notion to “hate” vegetarians, or anyone that needs to alter our menus, but I’ve come to love cooking and experimenting with vegetarian food. 

We demand so much when it comes to our food, and everyday the demand seems to get bigger. Free range, organic, farm fresh, healthy, local, cheap and good for the planet! Gone are the days of overindulgence, we hardly use cream or cheese, and processed products are a thing of the past. We are trying to be a bit more aware of what we put into our system, and maintain a low carbon footprint. The importance of starting at the home base is also something that I continuously preach to people. Cook, cook and cook. Yes, I know, time, life, work, gym….but just take the time to cook. 

In steps Anna Jones. 

www.instagram.com/we_are_food

Her cookbook “A modern way to eat” has over 200 recipes – all based on vegetarianism. It’s a modern day take on all things amazing. She incorporates fresh, seasonal produce, into SUPER quick and inexpensive recipes. She’s worked for Jamie Oliver and has extensive experience as a chef, she now works as a stylist and food writer for newspapers, magazines, chefs, and a host of food companies. 

“A simply brilliant book – modern, clever, beautiful, and full of delicious recipes” 
Jamie Oliver 

Her book, breaks it down and takes your back to the “root” of everything, it’s cleverly laid out and reads beautifully, with loads of tips and special hacks, and list upon list of varieties of her favorites.  

In South Africa, we might not have all the ingredients that are readily available in London, but a lot of what she uses can be found in good health stores and also at fruit and vegetable suppliers.

“These recipes not only work, they are mind-blowingly delicious. So if you need more from your food, meals that are good for you, tasty, beautiful, and unapologetically meat-free, Anna’s recipes are affirming win win win!” 
Tom Herbert 

It is really an amazing book, not just for vegetarians, but for any one trying to maintain a healthier and more balanced lifestyle. Also, it gives you loads of ideas for sides and interesting alternatives to what you might already be serving! 

  
❤️🍴

Pictured : Full of green fritters (made as a frittata), Charred corn, scrunched kale and sweet potato salad with a cashew, coriander and lime dressing. 


Spinach Wraps 

Spinach Wraps 

by Food By Jill ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Who doesn’t love a good wrap. Either filled, or toasted for a dip, or even topped with cheese in the oven? 

I’ve tried so many of these recipes, and this is by far the best one. I found others to have to much spinach, some didn’t have enough flour, others were really tacky and didn’t seem to actually want to hold their shapes….get what I mean. Annnnnnyyyyyyyyyyyway!!!!!!

This recipe takes some time, but it’s worth it, the wraps are light, so nutritious and so yummy!

Spinach Wraps

  • Servings: 8 wraps
  • Difficulty: Relatively easy
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Ingredients 

2 cups of gluten free flour

1 cup of whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 heaped teaspoon of salt

1 cup of blached baby spinach (that you have ringed out competely in a clean dish cloth, to get rid of all the excess water)

5 TBSP of coconut oil

2/3 cup of water

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spinach on a food processor. Pulse thoroughly to finely chop the spinach.

Add your coconut oil, and pulse the mixture until it’s resembles bread crumbs. With the processor running, add the water in a slow stream, until it starts to combine.
I picked up that you don’t need more water, the dough is stunningly moist, and if you take some into your hand, you will notice that it forms a ball easily.


Transfer onto a floured surface and knead for about 2 minutes.

Divide into eight equal pieces.


Cut and then shape into balls.

Cover with a clean dishcloth and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Heat your pan.

Working with one ball at a time, while keeping the others covered, roll them out into circles, about 30 centimeters in diameter,


Carefully transfer the rolled wrap to your heated skillet, and cook each side for about 10-20 seconds, do not over cook as the wraps will then become stiff.

Immediately transfer the cooked wraps to a plate and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Repeat with the remaining dough balls. Lowering the heat as to prevent burning.

Just stack each cooked wrap onto the previous one. This will help keep them soft.

You can store them in the fridge, wrapped in plastic, but they generally won’t last that long.

The best is to have all your ingredients toll them ready and serve as they come out of the skillet, let everyone fill their own wraps as the like. It becomes a fun filled dinner or lunch!

❤️🍴


Kelp me out? 

Kelp me out? 

by Food By Jill ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

 

I feel like I could forever be writing about how good hemp, kelp, Kale and cashews are for you. 

I’m not a doctor and don’t have any type of qualification to allow me to preach about health benefits, but I am a chef and I am a human being and I can “feel” the goodness that my internal organs jump up and down with when I eat, drink and generally digest these food items. 

When I see something I like or taste something that gives my mouth a slight “foodgasm” I always tend to say “This (fill in the blank) though!” – so wether it be a “man” an “ice cream” or a “spring roll”, those are generally the next words out of my mouth. 

Ok. So…This sauce though!!!!! 

Man oh man oh man! 

It’s rich, thick, decedent and sooooooooo good for you, that you will actually make it in bulk and keep it in the fridge. It’s like my Kale pesto that’s always around, this green sauce and I are destined to have a long and very eventful relationship.

Algae and green hemp dressing/sauce

Ingredients 

1 cup of warm water 

1/2 cup of hemp seeds 

1 cup of cashews 

3 whole garlic cloves 

Juice of 1 lemon 

2 TBSP hemp oil 

1 TBSP protein powder 

1 tbsp spirulina 

1 tbsp of kelp powder 

2 tbsp of rock salt 

Method 

BLEND! (How easy???) 

The best part of this finished product is that it can be drizzled over everything from chicken to fish, salads to roasted vegetables and it’s an even better accompaniment to chopped Kale that’s bound for the dehydrator for Kale chips! 

Heaven? This sauce though! 

❤️🍴