….. that tickle in the throat you get, when you know a cold might be coming on…..

….. I’m sorry, but that is NOT happening….. I need some chili and garlic NOW!

What do you do when you want to nip a cold in the bud.

67,5 kg

Here is a tip for a quick but fantastic Gazpacho (2 servings) that will kill any cold.

You need:

1 dl tomato juice
1 slice of white bread
1 red pepper
½ cucumber
1 box cherry tomatoes
1 red chili
1 clove garlic
juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and
pepper from the mill
a few drops of Tabasco

watercress for garnish.

And it is so easy:

Let the bread soak in tomato juice. 
Mix bread, vegetables, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in a blender.

Taste the soup with salt, pepper and Tabasco.

Garnish with watercress and serve.

Gazpacho is a typical dish from Andalusia. The photo is from this summer, when I had lunch at restaurant Riche in Stockholm.

My definition of a good restaurant is:

A pleasant little place with hearted-warm - simple, honest dishes on the menu….. and reasonable prices…..

I love authentic food experiences and joy of the moment - where senses and moods are stimulated…… my taste is quite simple….. but I am always satisfied with the best ….. and this soup where one of the best Gazpachos I’ve ever tasted.

Enjoy!

Photo: private, woman-hood

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I’m up early….. because I’ve gotta exercise a little before I go to work (I have no time after work, as I’m of to a lecture with Monica Ritterband).

You’re probably still curled up in your warm bed…..lucky!

Me and my other health plans for the week: beside todays lecture, I have decided to take a little break from coffee this week (ush)…… so I don’t have that convenient morning pick-me-up - although I guess there’s still tea - and that would be perfect right about now.

Anyway, you properly heard that eating an apple in the morning wakes you up better (and it is obviously healthier) than a cup of coffee? Interesting…… maybe I should go buy a bag of those…..

Well, time to work. Have a great day!

♥ Lizzy

[Photo: Liza Prins]

….. the saladsisters Tina Scheftelowitz and Sonja Bock and their recipes based on all good and fresh - do you remember the days when a salad was simply a pile of lettuce leaves and a few tomatoes?

Well, we move towards times of healthy eating, and the salad is taking centre stage on the dinner table, and it is hardly surprising with the wealth of fresh ingredients available from our own gardens, farmers markets, delis and supermarkets….. there is every reason to serve bright, beautiful, healthy and varied salads…… as this lovely:

Prawn-salad (serves 4)

It’s a great salad to toss together when you get in the mood for some sunshine food.

You need:

About 24 raw tiger prawns, shell on
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp mild curry powder
3 tbsp olive oil
200g mixed salad leaves of your choice
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:

1 fresh lemon grass, outer leaves peeled off then chopped finely
½ plump red chilli, seeded and thinly sliced
2 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp rice wine or white wine vinegar
Juice 1 lime

And it is so easy:
Peel the prawns, leaving the tails if liked. De-vein them down the back, hooking out the thin black intestine. Crush the coriander in a pestle and mortar or with a rolling pin. Mix with the prawns, curry powder and oil. Leave for half an hour.

Meanwhile, mix all of the dressing ingredients together and set aside. When ready to serve, stir-fry the prawns in a nonstick wok, about 3-5 minutes. Season lightly.

Mix in the dressing and toss until heated and well coated. Place the salad leaves on a platter and spoon over the prawns and their pan juices. Scatter over the coriander and serve.

Tip: Use fresh raw prawns if you can, because to be honest precooked ones tend to be totally overcooked to prolong their shelf-life, which does nothing for their flavor.

Enjoy ♥ Lizzy

….. trying to live better and healthier….. that topic made me think of cookbooks.

I think I have 500 cookbooks at home…… or it feels so anyway….. and it’s becoming more and more….. it’s like they proliferate….. overflowing my kitchen…..

What about you? Do you have any favorite cookbooks?

The ones I use most is written by Sonja Block and Tina Scheftelowitz….. but I also love the golden oldies “Anna’s food”, and I must admit, that I have a soft spot for Leila Lindholm…… and her fat yummy pastries (nice that someone dares to enjoy!) - I can recommend her book “Leila’s dining tips”, and her recipe for ”Chili grilled salmon with mango salad”….. it’s exquisite - I’ve done it several time and it’s very easy (and healthy).

Chili Grilled Salmon with mango salad

You need:
4 pieces salmon of 150 g

Chili Marinade:
4 tablespoons sweet chilli
4 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 tablespoons olive oil

Mango Salad:
2 mangoes
1 cucumber
2 avocados
2 scallions
2 limes, juice
2 oranges, juice
salt
black pepper
tabasco
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large lettuce leaves
4 tbsp yoghurt
basil for garnish

And it is so easy:
Mix marinade ingredients in a bowl. Place the salmon fillets in the marinade and ensure that it becomes marinade all over.

Dice the mango, cucumber and avocado in centimeter-sized pieces, and place the pieces in a bowl. Slice down the green part of the spring onions finely. Squeeze lemon juice and season with salt, black pepper and Tabasco. Finally pour in the oil and mix. Serve the mongo salad in lettuce leaves. Top with yogurt and basil.

Grill the salmon skin side down. Grilling time, under lid: approx 10 minutes.

Enjoy ♥ Lizzy

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Lately, I’ve been feeling like I need to re-center myself, and get back in the habit of eating better and exercising more.

I have this yoga DVD that I was thinking of breaking out again - and it got me wondering: what are your favorite yoga poses?…..and what are they doing for your body/mind?

♥ Lizzy

68 kg 

(Photo: ivan amezcua)

….. and I’m keeping to the soup and salad theme, woo hoo!

But this doesn’t mean I’m only eating green salads….. having forced gently persuaded my love to resolve to widen his repertoire of fruit and vegetables (while narrowing the one for roast pork and ham), I decided it’s only fair I should conquer some food fears myself.

There are very few things I don’t eat….. as avocado (I just can’t eat them!)….. otherwise, on the top of that No list is: beetroot (unless they are served as soup - strangely enough - I love beetroot soup).

Here are the virtues of beetroot: They’re full of Vit A, a series of Bs, and C, and iron. There’s also sodium, potassium, Vit K, calcium, magnesium and protein….. and miraculously, boiling boosts the content of some minerals in this root…… So tonight I am giving it a go with a:

Beetroot, Goats Cheese, Pine Nut and Rocket Salad

This is a really tasty dish which is perfect for preparing the ingredients ahead of time and simply assembling them at the last minute to create a pretty impressive salad. If you don’t want to roast the beetroot yourself, you can by precooked vac packed ones in the supermarket.

Salad (Serves 6)
6 medium sized beetroot
75g pine nuts
250g goats cheese, cut into bitesize pieces
60g rocket leaves
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
Half a clove of garlic, minced
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper

Do this:
You can cook the beetroot ahead of time if you wish, simply wrap them in tinfoil, place on an oven tray and bake for about an hour at 190C or until you can insert a fork smoothly.

Remove from the oven, allow to cool, then peel with knife and slice into quarters.

On a large frying pan, over a medium heat, toast the pine nuts, until golden brown, make sure to keep an eye on them as they can burn quite easily.

In a large bowl whisk together the Dijon mustard, oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and set aside.

When you are ready to serve the salad, arrange the beetroot quarters and goats cheese pieces on each plate.

Toss the rocket leaves in the dressing and place a little on each plate.

Finally scatter each plate with the toasted pine nuts and serve straight away!

Enjoy

Lizzy

via: Thegoodmoodfoodblog

The beetroot is back….. did you notice that beetroot is enjoying something of a revival?

….. you can buy beetroot in so many different ways - raw, cooked, marinated - today, there’s so much more to that little root, than the pickled one most of us remember from our childhood.

Beetroot soup
1kg beetroot
450g carrots
8 shallots
2 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
1 stick of celery, chopped roughly
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp caraway seeds
enough stock to cover the vegetables with about half a pint left over
salt and freshly ground black pepper

garnish: parsley

Do this:
Peel and roughly chop the vegetables. Place in a large pan with the bay leaf and caraway seeds.

Cover with the stock. Bring to a rapid boil. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 1 hour or until the vegetables are tender.

Remove the bay leaf and place the soup in a food processor, liquidize the soup until smooth. Adjust the seasoning.

Reheat gently (do not allow to boil). Serve the soup with parsley and soured cream.

Photo: private, woman-hood

….. with the food over the summer….. and it has resulted in a weight gain of almost 2 kg…..

Now it’s time to take the spoon in the other hand….. to jump on the horse again….. it’s on with the mittens….. as from today I am back on carrots and cold water….. and maybe a simple tea bag now and then!

68,5 kg

dear tea….. i’ve missed you.

although i strayed briefly, i’ve realized that

coffee can’t calm or soothe me the way you can.

shh, dont worry….. mamma’s home.

photo: svimmel

….. spending some time with a dear friend. We leaped over rain puddles, drank wine and were catching up.

….. Today I am tired….. and when I looked in the closet this morning, I couldn’t find anything to wear….. so, maybe I’ll just wear yoga pants and pretend like I’m coming from or going to a class at all times….. or maybe I’ll just go shopping and buy myself something fabulous….. yep, that sounds better.

….. and this reminds me of one of those things I wish I’d known:

Anything you think is wrong with your body at the age of thirty-four you will be nostalgic for at the age of forty-four.

At the age of forty-four you will get a saggy roll just about your waist, even if you are painfully thin….. (by the way 66,5 kg….. 1,5 kg from reaching my goal)

This saggy roll just about your waist will be especially visible from the back, and will force you to reevaluate half the clothes in your closet….. especially the white shirts.

Have a lovely monday

Lizzy

Photo: The Dream Closet by littlecassalina