battenburgbelle.com

A few healthy items I’ve rustled up lately (and some other dishes)

It’s almost time for me to embark on the Moonwalk with my lovely friend Becky, the Super Stylist. Just a few days to go before we walk through the night on Saturday with lots of other, possibly foolhardy, people wearing decorated bras and crazy outfits. This year’s theme is Saturday Night at the Movies and I’m thrilled to be walking with a stylist – we have a few ideas and will be putting the finishing touches to our bras on Friday. All in the interests of raising money for Walk the Walk, a great charity that grants funds to projects and campaigns involved with breast cancer. It seemed like a good year to get involved, as both Becky and I have recently had friends affected by breast cancer.

If you can sponsor me that would be much appreciated – you can go to my fund raising page at Everyday Hero. If you can’t do that, you can perhaps sympathise with my efforts to eat healthily and get myself in shape for the big event. I was thwarted at almost every turn this weekend, but I have to report that this celeriac soup was divine and fairly healthy (well, apart from the lashings of creme fraiche).

It’s a simple recipe from Homemade by Yvette Van Boven.

1 onion, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 celeriac, peeled and cubed
few strands of saffron
75ml white wine
1 litre chicken stock
200g crème fraiche
hazelnut or walnut oil

Sauté the onion in the olive oil till soft.

Add the celeriac and saffron, stirring from time to time.

Add the wine and stock and allow the mixture to simmer for about 25 minutes, until the celeriac is cooked.

Purée the soup until smooth.

Fold in the crème fraiche and season with salt and pepper.

Serve with a drizzle of hazelnut or walnut oil.

This one was great too – a roasted tomato soup, garnished with some kick ass pesto that Missy B made for herself and some friends. It was slightly too garlicky when served with pasta, but it was perfect with the soup.

One of the dishes that de-railed me from my good intentions was this burger combo when Jenny came round. I can never remember from one time to the next exactly what I put in the burgers. Which is annoying as this time Missy B said they were “good, but not quite as yummy as last time”… The caramelised shallots were a magnificent addition to the meal. I can also report that they are very nice for breakfast in between a slice of toast and a poached egg. In a nod towards sensible eating, Jenny and I didn’t have buns with the burgers, but we did have an unseemly amount of wine, plus mayonnaise, chips and other delicious trimmings.

Also not part of the healthy regime – another fine cake from Roger Pizey’s World’s Best Cakes – raspberry genoise. Uncle Patrick and family came for the weekend, coinciding with the 8th birthday of one of the nephews. There were lots of raspberries, so that’s good.

It was very lovely indeed – thank you Roger, that book just keeps on giving!