Turkish Style Leek Stew

One of the questions you’re asked regularly when you’re expecting is whether you have any cravings. All I seem to be craving is food 24 hours a day 7 days a week! But recently I've been craving my mum’s food... that is Turkish food. I think this is because its usually really comforting and good for you because its heavily based on vegetables. I don’t normally cook Turkish food since mum is in the country at the moment and I could never cook like she does. I've started to cook more recently but no matter what you do, it never quite tastes like mums! 

Recently I tried ‘prasa’, which is leeks, stewed. Mum explained how to do it and I found a few versions online here and here. This is mum’s version;

2 large leeks cut into rings

4 carrots cut into half rings

3 tablespoons of uncooked rice

400ml chicken stock

1 tbsp tomato paste

Salt

Olive oil

Dash of vinegar

Saute the carrots and leeks in olive oil until almost soft, add rice stirring occasionally for a few minutes. Add salt, stock and tomato paste and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, adding more water if necessary. Add vinegar just before the end. Afiyet olsun! (bon appetit in Turkish)

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Baked Aubergine

I love it when you have all of the ingredients to make the one thing you crave at that exact moment. In my case it was stuffed baked aubergine inspired by this recipe I found on Eat Drink Paleo;

I changed the recipe up a bit;

1 large aubergine
Tinned Tomatoes
Garlic Clove
Fresh Mint
Cheese (I used cheddar but would have used parmesan if I had some)
Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 220 C. I cut the aubergine in half and fried it over a high heat in some olive olive oil. I read somewhere that frying aubergine in really hot oil stops it soaking too much oil. Put the two aubergine halves in the oven while you make the sauce. Fry chopped garlic, making sure they don't brown too much. Add tinned tomatoes and simmer until reduced. Take off heat and add mint. Make a hole in the aubergine to add the sauce, I did this by mushing up the flesh of the aubergine a bit. Add the sauce and put back into the oven. Reduce heat to 190 and bake for around 20 minutes. Add cheese, its ready when the cheese is melted and golden. I had this with tzatziki. My version is no way near as pretty but it tasted really good!

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And baby makes three....!

Source

Yep, Mr A and I are expecting our first baby!! I don't want to say too much as I want to keep it private but I'm sure the progress of my bump will come up in future blog posts. I will say this baby is very much wanted and has made us both very, very happy!!!

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Sundried Tomato and Herb Chicken Burgers

This tasty mama was dinner tonight. I found the recipe at 'Multiply Delicious' and have been meaning to try it out for a while. We had them with whole wheat burger buns, mayo, salad and tomato. You're welcome.

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I Love London

I love London right now, its people, the tourists, the Olympics, its multiculturalism, hearing people cheer, roaming its streets with Mr A, going to food festivals, eating amazing food, drinking lovely wine..... I love London!

I had to drag Mr A away from Olympic TV today to take in some real Olympic atmosphere in London. We’d heard about the Olympic ‘houses’ that have been set up around London so wanted to visit a few. We started off with Casa Brasilia in Somerset House. We were hoping for some Brazilian food while we were there but no such thing in sight. We had some drinks in the sun then headed off to Casa Italia in Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre but again no food or drink! Even though we didn’t get to taste any Italian or Brazilian food, it was nice to roam around London, seeing the sights, soaking in the Olympic atmosphere.


We headed off to the Real Food Market set up at the Southbank Centre. Now, here we got to taste some amazing food!! There were so many stalls set up whose food I wanted to try, I didn’t know where to start. We had chicken wraps, lamb and chickpea falafels, chicken and pistachio falafels, olives and sangria. I can’t think of a better way to spend my day and even though he missed watching Andy Murray's gold, Mr A love it too! Hope you like the pics!

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Chorizo and Asparagus Frittata

I'm not very good at putting together my own recipes. I'm much better at trawling the internet and finding amazing recipes that other, more talented people have put together. My friend said that I've got a special talent for finding the really good ones. However, I am good at putting together some recipe's of my own, the ones where you just throw everything in a bowl and hope for the best like this Chorizo and Asparagus Frittata.

To serve 4;

225g chopped chorizo

150g asparagus

250ml milk (I used full fat)

12 eggs whisked  (or use enough eggs to fill half the depth of your dish, mine were very small)

Bunch of parsley chopped

Fresh or dried basil

1 medium tomato sliced

Half red onion

Salt and pepper

Mix all of the ingredients and pour in to oven proof dish. Layer slices of tomato on top. You could add grated cheese at this point, I would have but didn't have any. I cooked this for about 20 minutes at 225 degrees and it was perfect!

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Whole 30 Progress

It's not going very well at all, I lasted about 3 days. The minute I restricted my diet so much it stopped being fun. It turned in to eating just to fuel rather than enjoying the process of cooking and finding new recipes. It was the grilled halloumi that did it. You try telling a hormonal women she can't have grilled halloumi when that is exactly what she wants at that exact moment.

Now, I know these are just excuses because if I had planned and organised myself properly I would be cooking new recipes that easily fit in with the Whole 30 Challenge. I am still off the sugar (although cravings are still there)  and coffee. Although coffee is allowed on the challenge I quit that too as it was what I was relying on to give me a kick throughout the day. I'm still keeping dairy, grains, legumes and alcohol to a minimum, so I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Maybe I'll try the challenge again soon when I've accumulated enough exciting recipes and food ideas to last me 30 days!

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Foodie Photos

I don't know what it is about taking pictures of my food that makes me feel so self satisfied!? These are some of my favorites from the last couple for months, some of which were before I started the Whole 30 Challenge. I'll post about my (not so impressive) progress soon!

From Top Left: Cherries and Grilled Halloumi (my late night snack, so good!!), Left over BBQ Chicken, Spinach and Tomato Salad, Sweet Potato Falafels, Puy Lentil and Mozzarella Salad, Tortilla Pizza with Anchovies, Mozzarella, Tomato and Rocket, Cauliflower, Broccoli and Halloumi Fritters, Butternut Squash, Feta and Caramelized Onion Wellington, Salmon Burgers, Cauliflower Pizza

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