Vegetarian family recipe : Quorn stuffed giant Courgette/ Zucchini plus marrow vs courgettes debate!

Hi ravenous readers! I have a summer harvest special filled by fresh produce! Enjoy. 

This is a summer family favorite! I think I've mentioned this before but we have a close family friend who has had a thriving allotment for years. He often kindly gives us the surplus of his harvest which includes courgettes ranging from small to the humongous ones I have no choice but to stuff, make fritters and often grill as a side dish. We get shallots, beets, runner beans, carrots and some times plums for a good upside down cake or a jam! (Pictured below) 

BEETROOT TIP: I foil wrap each one individually and bake in the oven on gas mark 6 for an hour. After that they slide out of their skin and smell sublime!  I quarter them and serve them with a vinegarette of (Lemon, extra Virginia olive oil, coarse salt and fresh cracked black pepper, mint, parsley and rosemary.) I also crumble goats cheese over them. Forgot to take a picture before devouring last time, a case of getting hight off my own supply! I will do better next time! 

Marrow vs Giant courgette

We've been racking our brains in my household to try and decipher between giant courgettes and marrows every time we recieve a harvest. Honestly we don't know but we know that courgettes can get as big as marrows but the difference lies in the thickness of their skin. A marrow has thicker skin. Marrows also almost always have white or yellow lines running up and down the their skin. So I'm sure we've been stuffing humongous courgettes for four years! 

Here goes the recipe! 

It's not a looker but a source of cheese melting porn and just mouthwatering gooeyness. I tried to encompass all the steps in one picstitch so here goes the recipes! 

After hollowing out a marrow/ courgettes,  bake in a preheated oven for 30-35 minutes and whilst it's cooking get to making the filling!!! 

1) Make and sautée a mirepoix (with cabbage instead of celery)

Shred one large white onion

Three garlic bulbs and start sautéing on a low heat in three tablespoons of olive oil

On the side shred quarter of a cabbage and wo carrots and add to onions and garlic after 10 minutes of simmering. 

2) On the side boil a cup of rice with a dash of salt and a bay leaf. 

3) Add fresh chives and rosemary to the sautéing mirepoix 

4) Add a cup of frozen quorn mince and a cup of peas to the sautéing mix 

5) Add a cup of boiled rice and mix well

6) Mix 3 tablespoons each of single cream, plain Philadelphia cheese and chive flavoured Philly cheese into the filling. 

By now the courgette should be done done so add the filling to each side and top with 2 cups of cheddar cheese, with fresh chives and rosemary. 

Cover with loose foil and bake for a further 25 minutes and then a further 15-20 minutes without the foil or until golden. 

This went down well with a mixed leaf salad and a chilled Riesling. 

Same recipe through the years: 

Three years ago 

It was my second year of getting the courgettes I was just getting to grips with the recipe. I'd already established that there had to be melting gooey cheese involved at this point! This was also pre chef school thus the lack of refinement in the presentation! I just knew I loved cooking and could think on my feet in the kitchen! 

Last summer

This one was more sinful with three cheeses, a bechamel sauce enriched with mustard and freshly made herby breadcrumbs to give some crunch to the cheese topping. 

Happy cooking! 

Love Kymmiisha 

XO

Happy food happy people: pick me ups, brain food and dessert wonder

If you are what you eat then I wanna be happy and eat happy darn it! I mean, isn't it everyone's ultimate goal just to be happy? So if food is the answer in just going by a formulae! If you're still reading thanks for indulging my gluttony fuelled babbling....it makes no sense but I hope you can relate to some degree! 

Whilst you still have a high tolerance for my senseless ranting can I just bring up the unfairness as it pertains to food having calories. It hurts my feelings when I think about it! Why must food have calories especially when it tastes good?! Says the girl who expertly piled on 30 pounds upon a doctor ordered exercise on account of costochondritis and Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome. 

Again I digress mightily! I came on here to talk about food that ranges from healthy to treats and cheats which can make for a happy existence.....at least they have done so for this foodie! 

Comfort food 

Night cap idea: 

Above is a picture of my chocolate chip cookies I had with milk and dipped in butterscotch because I felt especially invincible to the fattening tendencies of such food. Sugar is a key factor in this pick me up, short if being rocket fuel in this magnitude, it sufficed in cheering me and my friends up as we did milk shots, ate cookies and dipped them in butterscoth sauce! 

This wasn't my most aesthetically pleasing batch of cookies but it's all in the taste and moorishness which it had! The recipe is widely found for the cookies and the sauce though I used family favourites that I can't share! No big secret, I just haven't measured and exacted quanties as it's all by eye. So I present to you an idea! 

Momma's pick me up butternut squash soup! This goes down a treat during winter but if I happen to be unwell or under the weather during all the other seasons, it's top on my list of comfort foods! 

Here I served it hot with a spring onion and some fried brown batton croutons. This is also a family recipe but you can sure find variations online to be served the same way for the same purpose. This is a recipe passed down in the family and it cures everything! We should really bottle it and sell it to cure ailments....that's where the money's at! For now it stays in the family, giving out ailed a warm internal hug and a content stomach! 

Chinwag fuel 

A girlfriend paid me a surprise visit recently on a very low day which was the anniversary of a tragic day in my life. It was also intensified by the sudden death if a close family friend. No word of a lie, we hadn't spoken in a long time not is it her nature to show up and decide to treat me to a Thai lunch and a day out! If that's not a Godsend then I don't know what is! We lunched at Thai Square and I have mixed review for the place. 

I had tempura fried vegetables with a sweet chilli sauce and a salad. It was all good until I got a mouth full of paper like onion skin and it all went downhill! We obviously made a complaint which made for recieving evil looks from the staff as they nattered on in ther native language.

We eventually got the replacement and it tasted even better! 

The main dish went down swimmingly! I had red prawn curry with a coconut sauce and it was nothing short of the nectar from a Thai goddess' teet....sublime! My friend also enjoyed her beef stirfry. 

Despite the Thai whispers, evil looks and a mouth full of onion peel...it was one of the best lunch FOOD experiences I've had in a while. It also made for funny conversations during the lunch and we nattered away catching up and chuckling at the novelty ensuing before us. Needless to say I was happy! 

Brain food 

I need food to think, I need to think to write so writing snack are a must if not a basic human right. Ok maybe that's an exaggeration but a true grazer would give me resounding amend per syllable as I stress the importance of food as you wrote.  Pardon the bedding but I tend to write in bed so here goes a couple of pictures of the times I had brain food and remembered to take a picture before devouring it amid first paragraph. 

On this was day I was hungry but in a snacking mood so I assembled a mini buffet for my writing troubles. Pictures is a blueberry muffin (muffin top fuel,) grapes, an apple, a banana and the nectar of tropical gods....ginger beer. Hand on heart I believed I was so productive in this session because I enjoyed my writing food spread so much! 

This was on a rainy day and I had a ton of writing to do, both song and blogging. Being an early start I needed to work and have breakfast all the while in bed....because....well, I'm lazy.

I had vanilla yoghurt, redbush tea, a banana and homemade granola clusters. 

RECIPE ALERT!!!!!!!!

Homemade granola (better than store bought because you know what's in it!) 

50g butter 

50g brown sugar 

25g golden syrup 

100g muesli (add extra nuts and raisins)

Melt butter, sugar and syrup until it's dissolved and bubbling. Add muesli adding more till you get desired consistency where it's not too wet. Bake in a preheated oven on gas mark 6 for 20 minutes. Turn and scramble once during cooking process. 

20 minute masterpiece

This was the most fun, interactive, quick all the while big and beautiful desserts I've ever presented! 

I served this to my family when we had extended family over and there was a few of us here. My dad who is anti dessert even gave it a go and akin to squeezing water out of a rock...a complement ensued after seeing the spread and trying the pancakes. From left to right we have fanned strawberries, chocolate bar squares (great for texture,) warm toffee sauce, sliced banana, chantilly cream all to go with mini fluffy pancakes. 

TIME SAVING TIP: I made big fluffy pancakes and then cut them into smaller shapes with a cookie cutter. It proved quicker and gave me a more uniformed look when presenting the pancakes.  

FLUFFINESS TIP: let pancake batter sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, covered for it to settle and accumulate bubbles withing the batter. Some people even leave them overnight! 

Recipe: 

300g  self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

500ml milk

2 eggs

60g butter, melted

20g sugar

Mix everything together except for butter and whisk batter. Let it rest for 30 minutes covered, in the fridge. 

Melt butter and add to batter. Heat up a no stick pan on medium heat. Whisk batter some more and pour batter for each pancake on to pan. Cook on one side for 2 minutes till bubbles start on top. Flip over and cook for another two minutes. 

This is a non greasy way because the only oil you need is melted in the batter and no more than that. 

Enjoy whilst warm with condiments and fruits pictured above or any fun toppings! 

Please upload your pictures on Instagram  under #theravenousreport so I can see them! 

I love you more than cake

Kymmiisha

Xo

Wholesome and awesome: Tasty and colourful alternatives to fast food.

Hi ravenous readers! I hope you're all well and in good spirits. I thought this post would be a good idea since I'm getting ready to get back on the healthy eating wagon. There's no other time I feel better than when I eat healthily and the stress of the last couple of weeks with being ill and study pressure is a testament to how I only eat junk when I'm sad! So as we get ready for spring and then a glorious summer and my birthday, I'm going to practise what I preach and start eating better because I know better! 

The following pictures are all my own but one stolen recipe and I'm taking a leaf out of my own book and hope you guys can join me as I slenderise, get it right and get it tight! 

People often say that eating healthy is too expensive. I find that fruit and veg is always on offer in supermarkets and most markets will sell fresh and sometimes local produce for next to nothing. The picture below is from last summer when I was doing a vinegar wash on the fruit after a market run. Most of the food in this pic came up to five pounds which let's be honest could be a fast food lunch but this lasted for a week or so and it's healthy. 

Remember: less colourful packaging, more colourful skins! The more colourful your food naturally is, the tastier and more interesting! 

The fresher the better! Grow your own veg or befriend a gardener!  

After leaving chef school and restaurant work I'm more fixated on manicured fingers than green! Gardening is out of the question, more so because of a lack of time, space and sheer lack of gardening ability (all my plants die.) Luckily however, we have a friend with an allotment and always get seasonal fruit and veg for free or in exchange for a bottle of wine! 

I've also got a few healthy options that taste great and are easy to make. 

Light dinner: lettuce, avocado, cherry tomatoes, hummus and antipasti (including olives, sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts) salad

On this night I was so tired and not so much starving but could use something to eat and this was a manna from heaven moment as I put it together because there was no cooking required and it was so light and yet filling. To sweeten the deal, it was completely vegan and colourful and knowing that no animals were hurt in the process of my food getting from the farmer to my plate makes every meal taste divine! 

Vegan alternative to a cheese board: Baked ryvita crisp bread with avocado and tomato 

This is a simple and tasty animal free substitute to a cheeseboard and I love it! It came about when doing my vegan cleanse and I was hosting and serving a cheese platter and felt so left out of my own party! That's how I came up with this wholesome and moorish ideas. The avocado is rich and creamy, at that point I didn't even miss cheese! I drizzled the ryvita with olive oil and put it in the oven for about 10 minutes on gas mark 6. This brought out a deep, nutty flavour and the tomato was a good sharp contrast to cut into the creamy, nutty flavours. At that moment in time I didn't miss cheese! 

Brain food: study lunch idea: mixed leaf, carrot and cucumber salad with hummus. Fruits include: banana, clementine, persimmon also rice cakes and lemon infused water!! 

I'm a grazer by nature and will demolish whatever is put in front of me without looking or blinking, add a movie or an engrossing task in front of me.......we have trouble! It's bad when there is junk food around but as a true grazer I can get stuck into anything so when the good food is around it's as much gum excercise as the bad food but obviously with a better outcome. This is my favourite spread for studying and writing and it's a bonus that it's healthy. 

Facebook gem: whole, sugar free, vegan cookies

I found this on my newsfeed and had to share it with you all! It's the best guilt free treat! Enjoy! 

Snack idea- clementine, sliced persimmon, whole banana and tablespoon of peanut butter 

I was watching tv with my mother and my friend and we found ourselves peckish and as we were doing the Daniel fast, there was a limit to what we could indulge in. Peanut butter and banana just go  together for me especially in a sandwich but at a time where leavened bread was not an option, the fillers had to suffice, with yummy results if I do say so myself!  I live for persimmons (sharon fruit.) They're the only things that make winter bearable as that's when they're widely available. I literally always demolish a packet in one sitting, it's bad but they're so good, low in calories and high in beta-carotene, lycopene and vitamin A. That's my mantra as I demolish three at a time and judge me as you may, myself and my taste buds are happy and my waist is yet to say otherwise so I win! (Momentarily that is.) the orange and the persimmon are just as yum and bring texture and a variety of flavours to a simple snack. 

I hope I've gone some way in showing you that it's possible to eat healthy and for the food to taste good. I will be following my own advice, please let me know how you get on, my twitter is @kymmiisha.

Lots of love and wholesome hugs

Kymmiisha 

Xo

Take the confusion out of infusions! A fun guide to water infusions aspart of a healthy diet

Hi ravenous readers!!! Great to have you back here. As we speak I'm reporting to you from the comfort of my bed after a challenging week in medical incarceration  and now technically on medical house arrest by way of morphine! I can however promise you that none of my research on this topic was done under the influence of pain medication so you can trust my findings! However I take no responsibility for the delivery thereof or any typos, I've never had an excuse before so please indulge me as I relish in this rare opportunity to take no responsibility for any of my actions! 

All jokes aside, I have some pretty cool ideas for how you can keep your taste buds alive whilst on your quest to slenderise! I have tried each and every one of these ideas  most of them being original and have taken all but three of the pictures, using the methods before I can recommend them. 

I'm required to keep a very healthy diet that has more water than the average person due to dysautonomia and low blood pressure all related to my heart. And more protein and vitamins having anemia and not eating meat. As a full time vegetarian and occasional vegan I've found it easy besides the three to four litres of water I'm expected to drink daily. Naturally I had to find a way to make water more interesting. 

My mother has taught me not to drink tap water and opts for boiling and filtering water before drinking it and health professionals advice especially women not to keep water in plastic bottles (in heat, cars etc.) With my favourite water brand Voss not being the cheapest albeit the best I had to take all of this into consideration and actually recycle the glass bottle and start infusing my own water at home. It's been a stylish conversation starter for many curious people whilst being healthy and making water exciting! 

Here are some infusions I enjoy on a regular basis. Feel free to try them and sometimes I use carbonated water. I've also included some liquids that I use in place of medicine to cleanse and nourish my body.

Lime, rosemary, persimmon and ginger 

Lemon and rosemary or orange and rosemary

Lemon and prune juice to detox and clear my system 

Nature's flu jab: honey, lemon and ginger infusion with green tea

With green tea being high in antioxidants, lemon and honey being known as the traditional combination to fight the flu and ginger being an antihistamine/ decongestant this infusion is true miracle worker! I prefer rather than commercially sold mixtures/ powders and it tastes amazing!

Here are more water infusion ideas I found online, enjoy! 

Lime, orange and blueberry, lemon and raspberry and strawberry; all with ice. 

Here are more complex and tasty combinations including blackberry and mint. Watermelon and rosemary, pineapple and lime and mint and raspberry. The possibilities are endless and let's face it, everything looks good in a kilner/mason jar! 

These will keep water interesting during  the winter months and be a healthy alternative to sugary cold drinks over summer. Enjoy and please tweet me pictures of your combinations @kymmiisha on twitter! I would love to see them!

Recipe Alert: Fluffy Roast Rosemary Potatoes

This was so good I had to do a quick write up for my own sake next time and to share the best potatoes I'd ever made without a recipe!

They don't look like much but the delivered on taste and texture! 

WARNING: not for the weight watchers, fat is essential in this recipe. As a vegetarian I stayed away from the goose fat which people usually recommend. Here's how I made it 

Ingredients: 500g floury potatoes

75g butter

4 tbsp olive oil

Four sprigs of fresh rosemary

Coarse salt and pepper 

1 tsp all purpose seasoning 

1 crushed clove garlic

Peel and boil potatoes for 15 minutes 

Drain potatoes and remove all of the water

Return to saucepan and fluff potatoes with a fork till they're rough and rugged 

In a small saucepan melt butter with olive oil, rosemary and seasoning till it bubbles 

Place potatoes in a roasting pan and pour oil and herb mixture over the potatoes

Toss potatoes till all of them are coated in oil

Bake on gas mark 6 for 45 minutes to 1hr or until cooked through, crispy and golden. 

I served it with roast chicken for the meat eaters: recipe coming soon. I had salad and tofu with mine. 

Dining Disaster: All Star Lanes Westfield Stratfod restaurant

'Twas a Wednesday evening when I dashed through Westfield Shopping Center, level by level to the top floor where I found All Star Lanes tucked away in a corner. With the promise of an excellent bowling experience and exceptional food though I gave the bowling part a miss, (long story- I hate germs) I was just in time for the food. And as a foodie and at that time undergoing a vegan detox, I was surprised to find that they had a dish which I could enjoy on the menu. It is always hard to find food that tastes good when dining out at places that aren't specifically established to cater for the vegan lifestyle.

I ordered the quinoa and avocado salad. It was presented as well as you can expect from a place where you can bowl with damask wallpaper and a bar. Everything about the place was a lukewarm interpretation of elegance and 5* service. The salad comprised of tepid quinoa served with avocado, some skinned orange pepper and salad cress for good measure a la 2010. I guess the most shocking part of the experience was the flavour or the lack there of in everyone's meals. Mine was on par with porridge oats, bland and only eaten for the fuel it would provide and my sheer hunger at that point. It was so bland that I added enough pepper to send myself into a sneezing frenzy and even had to fish out the lemon wedge in my water to make the salad slightly more palatable. 

As a chubstar, it's seldom that there are any remnants of any given meal left on the plate when I'm done with it so this was a first. What's even more telling of the extent to which the dish lacked flavour is that it was a salad and I still couldn't finish it!! 

It was my best friend's birthday that day and she had put so much thought into the evening which she had invited eight friends which made it a party of nine. She ordered a chicken burger with bacon and a side of fries (pictured above) 

Out of the nine people, only two enjoyed their food. They had ordered a small portion of Mac and cheese and the other a basket of fried chicken with sweet potato fries. They looked like they were premade and the restaurant's only hand in the preparation was to fry, bake and present the food. Having worked in a top French restaurant which prides itself in cooking fresh food I got to see some of the short cuts which included buying ready cut French fries, ready prepared snails and such. I understand that in catering some shortcuts  are needed for time, aestheticity's sake and such but everything on some people's plates looked like it was from a packet. Suprisingly that was the most enjoyed food. 

Needless to say, the birthday girl didn't finish her meal with complaints to the tune of the burger being too dry and she didn't feel too good afterwards. So my plate wasn't the only one going back with food on it. 

With the guilt of my bestfriend not enjoying a big birthday and with the complaints from the rest of the party I sought out to speak to the manager.  First in line was a nervous server who spoke to us and then referred us to a very perky and wide eyed manager who even crouched down at the end of the table to speak to us. We went on a fierce rant which detailed our grievances but her first response was that we should have told them earlier so that they'd swap our meals. At first we were infuriated and very vocal about our grievances but she was very polite and didn't express the expletives probably running rampant through her mind, managing to keep a smile on her face and the high tone in her voice. 

After sometime of complaining she asked us what we wanted to be done about it to which we had no answer because it's her job to rectify any problems the customers have. This however gave us grounds to demand a discount which we were quick to oblige. She informed us that we could only get the "Westfield" discount which is 40% which we accepted and she set off to finalise the payment details. When the payments were all totalled we had received up 45% off the final bill and my friend had received a free bowling and food pass if she emailed ahead of coming next time with some friends.

All in all this place was saved by the gracious manager's attempt to appease our disgruntled party and if the food matched up to the customer service it would have completed the experience. However the fact remains, the food was insipid and unpalatable. I was very suprised to hear that A-lister Rihanna was rumoured to have visited the place but I'm sure they would have rolled out the red carpet and presented the best of their microwaved and deep fried fodder. 

We are still yet to use that coupon for the free experience as we are hesitant of another bad experience after narrowly evading food poisoning from last time.  However with the manager being so gracious and professional we could give the place another try sometime in the future. Let's hope it'll be a good review then!!!

Tantalising tidbit from kymmiishadaily.blogspot.co.uk

Here's a canapé idea that works all year round! Enjoy. Xx

Canapés: 

Above pictured is an example of how you can wow your party guests with a range of canapés. Instead of a plate I opted for a slate which can now be widely sourced. In the picture we have mushroom galettes (puff party topped with a duxelle of mushrooms. Satay chicken, avocado and prawn sushi and a red pepper and goat's cheese crostini. 

Not to overwhelm  you with a list  of recipes for things in a language foreign to us both I've included a a fun and simple recipe which requires minimal prep and can be served hot or cold.  This recipe has served me well and works well to get the kids involved in the cooking and hosting process and it's something they will enjoy eating. 

Mini posh pizzas! On a toasted baguette  with a simple Italian tomato sauce and can be served with a mild cheddar cheese for kids or goat's cheese for the adults.  Here goes the process! 

Baguette cut on a bias into little disks- drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt n coarse black pepper and put in a preheated oven (gas mark 6- 200C) for 10 minutes

Tomato sauce 1 medium onion I can of chopped tomatoes  Bunch of fresh basil + more to garnish 3 cloves of garlic  Extra virgin olive oil Salt+ pepper Fine dice+ sweat onions in olive oil with the garlic crushed until translucent. Add tomatoes and half the basil and simmer on a low heat till it reduces to half and season with salt n pepper. And stir in the rest of the basil. Assembling - spoon a teaspoon on to bread disks and spinkle grated cheese (cheddar cheese for kids and richer goats cheese for adults) place under grill for a minute to melt cheese and serve!