Mini Dukan Lemon Cheesecakes and a Sneak Preview of The Foodie Corner

Tags

baking, cheesecake, dessert, diet, dukan, Dukan diet friendly, egg, Greek yogurt, lemon, low fat, oat bran

Like it? The Foodie Corner is soon to become a reality. From wire frames and sample pages to a real live blog. Just a few weeks (or even days) away now! I know most of you won’t be able to follow me there as it’s going to be in Greek (unless you’ve been taking lessons?) but I really wanted to share this image here so you guys have a small sneak preview of what is to come. I have no intention of dropping On Top Of Spaghetti, and after the first few months of ups and downs I aim to be back blogging here as often as possible. In the meantime, what do you think? Cool isn’t it? I have been working with a fabulous team of designers and developers, whom I will introduce in a later post (when you have more than just the one image to see!). They have done such a great job. So I’m adding this little gem of a picture to my side bar!

At first I thought I would just post this without a recipe. But you know me. Can’t write anything on here without sharing something delicious. And today I have an extra special treat; a Dukan dessert. I’m not on this diet anymore, but once in a while I will have a Pure Protein day (or two) because it makes me feel better. Just to remind you, the diet is based on protein and vegetables, cutting out fat and carbs. I know the human body needs fat and carbs, but this human also needs to fit into certain jeans. So a little Dukan Attack here and there won’t kill me. Also, I enjoy thinking up recipes that will help those who are on the diet. Like this one!

These mini Dukan lemon cheesecakes are based on two recipes. The first is for Dukan cookies, which I thought could be my base if made in mini form (digestives and graham crackers are sadly not allowed!). The second is a lightened up version of lemon and blueberry cheesecake using lemon flavoured yogurt, on the blog “Whatever Gets You Through The Day”. Iris took part in a challenge and used a lemony yogurt to create this lovely looking dessert. It’s pretty light as it is but not quite suitable for the Dukan Diet, so I got to thinking of ways to adapt it. There is a dairy company here in Greece called Mevgal, which produces this amazing 1% lemon yogurt. It’s like no other I’ve ever tried. (And I’m not getting paid or compensated in any way for saying that! I just love it.) For a while now I’ve been thinking of making some sort of cheesecake with it, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. So, with a bit of mixing and matching, I came up with these babies! I still can’t believe how close they are to real cheesecake! Ok, the base is not like a biscuit base, it’s much softer and -let’s be honest- not as tasty, but it does provide a nice contrast to the lemony filling. When I offered one to The Mister he didn’t believe they were Dukan approved, he was worried that at 23:50 I had finally given in and spoiled the Pure Protein day. Now that was a good sign. I had quite a bit of leftover filling because my mini muffin pan is very mini. So I just poured it into ramekins and baked it alongside the little guys, without a base. This too was very nice, I’ve just finished one now. Just sweet enough and very cheesecakey! This morning I had one with a teaspoon of raspberry jam on. Mmm! But that’s only for non-Dukaners. Right, I’ve gone on about this too much. Here is the recipe!

Mini Dukan Lemon Cheesecakes

Ingredients

For the base
1 egg
3 Tbs oat bran
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs Splenda or equivalent sweetener
2 Tbs plain yogurt (mine was 1.5% fat)

For the cheesecake filling
1 x 200g pot lemon flavoured Greek yogurt (mine was 1% fat)
100g low fat cream cheese (mine was 5% fat – a tiny cheat as it should be below 2%)
1 Tbs oat bran
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs Splenda or equivalent
2 egg whites (mine were pretty large)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan)
2. For the base: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Pour mixture into a non-stick 12-hole mini muffin tin (a regular muffin tin would work too, you’d probably get 6 or 8). You only want a little bit of mixture in the bottom of each mould, remember this is the base. Pour any leftover mixture into individual muffin moulds, you can make more cheesecakes or leave them plain – they would be lovely with scrambled egg!
3. Bake for 10-15 minutes till lightly browned (see note at end).
4. In the meantime mix all the filling ingredients together (you can use the same bowl for less washing up! yay!).
5. Take the muffin tin out of the oven and pour filling over each little oat bran base. Fill to the top, these will rise a little then fall back down. Pour any leftover mixture into some ramekins or over the stray muffins from above. Pop them back in the oven for about 20-25 minutes till set and lightly browned (see note).
6. Take out of the oven. You will be excited at how nice and fluffy and risen these will look while baking; be prepared to see them sink back down! But that’s ok because they taste good.

Note: I think with these times mine turned out a little overbaked as they were sliiiightly dry. This might just be due to the ingredients, especially the oat bran, but I think it was the time in the oven. Iris made a whole cheesecake and baked hers for 25 minutes so I think my tiny muffins really didn’t need that long! I liked the fact that they were browning (goodness knows why) and left them, but next time I will check at 15′ by touching the surface. If it’s set I’ll take them out. Don’t forget the base has already been cooking quite a while.
Also noteworthy is the fact that these are much better the day after! Sounding all the more like proper cheesecake!

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Protein Packed Chicken & Egg Salad – Dukan Perfect

Tags

buttermilk, chicken, dressing, dukan, egg, low fat, protein, salad, tarragon, yogurt

Antique Russian silver spoon dating to 1845 – on kind loan by The Collector

I really should be packing right now. And I’m expecting 3 different repair people today, electrician, solar water heater fixer and handyman who will be taking over the evening ritual of watering my tomato plants. I haven’t even rummaged through our store room to find a suitcase. Where am I off to? The 5th Food Blogger Connect conference in London! I can’t believe it was November when I booked my place; where has the time gone?

I’m so looking forward to this gathering. I am hoping to experience, learn, taste, enjoy and make loads of foodie friends! And above all, fill my head with ideas for my blog! Do you know that amongst the speakers are David Lebovitz, Penny De Los Santos and Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen? Wow. Any food blogger reading will know that these are seriously interesting people! There are many more of course, like David Loftus (a photographer who works with Jamie Oliver), a team from the Food Network and a group of well known UK bloggers.

Right, on with the recipe so I can get on with the packing! I have been back on the Dukan for a couple of weeks now, trying to get into shape. This is so I can stuff my face without a second thought during the conference. Then it will probably be back to square one, but it will have been worth it!

I noticed this salad on The Perfect Pantry, a site which has inspired me more than once to adapt recipes for this particular diet. Lydia makes many lovely light dishes which, with minor alterations, are perfectly suitable and make a great change to the same old grilled chicken breasts.

Here we have a chicken and egg salad, with a gorgeous vinaigrette dressing which I have lightened up even more by using runny natural yogurt instead of olive oil. You could also use buttermilk. Make sure it’s under 2% fat though for the diet! Dukaners can also eat this on Protein Only days, limiting the parsley quantity (use as an aromatic herb rather than a vegetable). If you are on a Protein and Vegetable day, let your imagination run wild and add whatever you fancy! The original recipe includes celery leaves which sound lovely.

This is a great way to eat up leftover chicken. I usually make a whole one in the slow cooker, with just a few herbs rubbed onto to the skin (ok, I help them stick with a tsp or two of oil, but what’s that for a whole chicken, right?). I pop it in for 8 hours on low, no liquids or anything else added, and hey presto – rotisserie style chicken. Which leaves me with loads of lean protein to enjoy in my lunch for a couple of days.

Serves 1 hungry Dukaner

Ingredients

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped or torn into bite size pieces
2 hard boiled eggs, cut into bite size pieces
2 Tbs chopped parsley
3 Tbs runny natural yogurt or buttermilk (under 2%)
1 tsp mustard (I used Dijon)
¼ tsp dried tarragon
2 tsp white wine vinegar (it’s quite tart, use less if you don’t want that)
salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Add chicken, eggs and parsley to a bowl.
2. Add the dressing ingredients to a clean jam jar, cover and shake well.
3. Pour over salad, toss and dig in!

Notes: You can make more dressing and leave it in the jar for later or the next day. It is also lovely with smoked salmon.

Due to limited time today I’m not sharing the blog love. Click on the box “Food Blog Search” located on my side bar to search through loads of great recipes. See ya!

Dukan Moussaka – Fabulously Healthy Protein and Vegetable Dish

Tags

aubergine, beef, cauliflower, crockpot, Dukan diet friendly, eggplant, Greek, low fat, meat sauce, protein, red pepper, slow cooker, vegetables

This is a complicated recipe. It’s not at all difficult, but there are many steps to it. It’s not a throw-together-right-after-work meal, but you can make it in stages over a couple of days; and that makes life a lot easier. The seed for this idea was planted when I made the Healthier Mac & Cheese using a cauliflower béchamel. I started wondering if I could use this sauce in a lasagna, but then it occurred to me that it’s actually Dukan friendly. So my thoughts turned towards adapting a classic dish to suit this protein and veg based diet. Lasagna was out due to the pasta, so what else could I make? Moussaka of course! Sadly the potato had to be replaced, but layers of red peppers compensated by lending their sweetness and bright colour to the dish.

On my first go at this experiment I tried to dry fry slices of aubergine (no oil is allowed in the diet) so as to keep with the traditional layering of meat and veg. That didn’t really go too well; aubergines like their olive oil. Also, I made the cauliflower sauce based on the mac & cheese recipe, which turned out a bit too watery and meant the top layer was very thin. So the second time round, I cooked the aubergine (eggplant) together with the meat in order to overcome the dryness issue, and made a thicker cauli sauce without the addition of water. There were less layers than traditional moussaka, but everything held together much better, and the result was tastier and much prettier!

I used the slow cooker to make the meat part, since this is by far the best method for cooking without oil or any other kind of fat. It’s also a great way to make minced meat sauces in general, as they always benefit from long simmering on low heat. I always leave my Bolognese on for a good 10 hours. If you don’t have a slow cooker I’m sure it would work just fine on the stovetop. Use water to gently cook the onion, then add the meat, and don’t forget to drain the fat before adding the rest of the ingredients. You want the result to be quite thick so watch the amount of liquid you add.

Before it’s cooked , the aubergine needs a bit of alone time with a good sprinkling of salt (don’t worry, it’s rinsed off!). This helps get rid of the bitterness that sometimes comes with this vegetable. I recently heard an interesting tip for those who grow their own aubergines; apparently if you plant them next to basil they’ll be less bitter to begin with!

As regards the preparation of this dish, what I did was make the meat sauce the first day. Then in the evening I made the cauliflower puree. Both went in the fridge overnight. The next day I made the peppers, mixed the puree with the rest of the topping ingredients, layered it all up in the baking dish and baked it. Broken up like that it’s not that big a deal really. And it’s well worth it! Oh, you could also use store bought roasted red peppers, but since they are usually preserved in oil it would be cheating a bit.

If you are not on the Dukan Diet, this is still a recommended recipe. It’s super healthy, low in fat, and very tasty. I suggest you sprinkle some grated cheese on top before baking! (Also allowed in the Consolidation phase of the diet)

Step 1

Slow Cooker Meat Sauce with Aubergines (Eggplant)

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
3 Tbs water
500g minced lean beef
2 Tbs water
2 Tbs white wine vinegar
400g chopped tomatoes with juice + 2 Tbs water to rinse tin
1/2 cup tomato passata
2 medium aubergines, cut into chunks
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper
1 bay leaf
Salt

Instructions

1. Prepare aubergines by putting the chunks into a colander and sprinkling with salt. Give them a shake and sprinkle again, so that all the pieces have salt on them. Leave for 20-30 minutes (on a plate, as the veg will release a bit of water).
2. Sautee the onion in the 3 tablespoons of water on medium low heat till softened. Add to the slow cooker. Or just put the raw onion in the slow cooker and save yourself a step – to be honest I doubt it makes much difference to the end result.
3. Put the pan back on the heat, turn it up to high, and add the 2 tablespoons of water followed by the minced meat. Stir continuously breaking up any clumps. The meat will release fat and juices and start bubbling. When it’s brown all over with no pink showing, add the vinegar. Stir well and let it all bubble till the liquid in the pan has reduced. Transfer meat to the slow cooker with a slotted spoon and discard the remaining fatty juices (this is a diet dish!).
4. Add the tomatoes, passata, cinnamon, bay leaf and pepper to the slow cooker. Stir well.
5. Rinse and strain the aubergine well. Add to the slow cooker and stir into the mixture.
6. Cook on low for 10 hours (I imagine it would be fine after 8, but I was out so I don’t know for sure!). If you are around give it a stir halfway through.

Step 2

Red Pepper Layer

Ingredients

2 red peppers (I used the long Greek ones, but bell peppers would be fine)

Instructions

1. Cut one side of a pepper from the stalk down to the bottom, then do the same on the opposite side. You want to end up with two big pieces, as wide and flat as possible. These will make up the layer that separates the meat from the topping. Don’t worry about the bottom or sides curling in, they will flatten a bit after they are softened. If necessary, measure the pepper pieces against the baking pan or dish that you will use. If needed, use another pepper.
2. Take a large frying pan with a lid, cover the bottom of the pan with water, lay the pepper pieces in it and turn the heat to medium. Cook covered till the peppers are well softened, turning once. Mine took about 30 minutes. My mum suggested that I try doing this in the microwave next time. I wish she’d said it earlier… Anyway, make sure they don’t catch on the bottom of the pan. If necessary turn the heat down a bit or add more water. Set aside.

Step 3

Cauliflower and Yogurt Topping – The Fake Béchamel

Ingredients

1 smallish head of cauliflower (I forgot to weigh it – I think it was probably about 600-700g). You want it to produce 2 cups of puree.
1 Tbs vinegar
1 tub (200g) Greek yogurt (2% fat)
2 eggs
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Cut the cauliflower into florets and put in a pan with a fitted strainer. Add water to the bottom of the pan (don’t let it touch the bottom of the strainer), together with the vinegar. Cover with a tight fitting lid and steam the cauliflower till very soft. (Vinegar helps with the smell!)
2. Remove the cooked cauliflower and blend it well, till it’s very smooth. Let cool a little. You want two cups. If you have some leftover, use it as a healthy sauce for meat or fish (you can thin it out with milk if necessary).
3. Add the yogurt to the cooled cauliflower puree while stirring continuously, followed by the eggs, pepper, nutmeg and salt. Make sure it’s all well incorporated.

Step 4

The Dukan Moussaka – General Assembly!

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. In a baking tin or dish, evenly spread the meat and aubergine sauce.
2. Lay the peppers on top, creating a layer and trying to cover the meat as well as possible.
3. Spoon the cauliflower mixture on top of the peppers and level it out. The dish I used is 16x25cm and everything fit perfectly.
4. Bake in the hot oven for 50-60 minutes, till it’s bubbling at the sides and firm on top. It will probably start to brown on the top, but mostly around the sides. I couldn’t get mine to brown all over. It didn’t matter!

Other Moussaka recipes – but none of them Dukan!
Moussaka by Brown Eyed Baker
Vegetable Moussaka by The Shiksa in the Kitchen
Leek Moussaka by The Perfect Pantry
And something a little different… Mussaka by FatFree Vegan Kitchen

Thanksgiving in Greece – My Dinner Party Menu

Tags

Dukan diet friendly, gravy, main, potatoes, side, starters, stuffing, sweet potatoes, Thanksgiving, turkey

Let me start by saying that I’m not really happy with the photos in this post. But I’ve decided to go ahead with it, because it was my biggest dinner party yet and the dishes were actually very tasty and therefore blogworthy.

Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Greece. However, since my main reading material is food blogs from the US, I got caught up in the excitement and all round frenzy that leads up to this big holiday across the pond. So I thought it would be fun to throw a dinner party and invite friends over for some traditional American Thanksgiving yumminess. I started planning the menu the previous Saturday, and spent quite a few hours in the kitchen that week preparing my feast. Thursday was a regular working day for all of us, so Friday was going to be our Greek Thanksgiving.

Many of my dishes were made following recipes from various blogs. I’m not going to share all of them here, as it would take about a week to write them up, and since I didn’t really make any changes I’ll just link to each accordingly.

Starters

So here goes! My starters were really just nibbles, laid out when the first guests arrived.
*Little squares of cheddar and another smoked cheese which I don’t know the English name of (sorry!) with two chutneys, my homemade Quince Chutney and a gorgeous store bought Tamarind Chutney. Cheese and chutney, I could have eaten just that…
*Cherry tomato and mozzarella ball kebabs with homemade oregano pesto with feta (pictured).
*Alton Brown’s Spinach and Artichoke Dip served with nachos and crackers (pictured). I used tinned artichoke and it worked fine.

As I was adding the finishing touches to all the main course dishes and feeling quite smug at how perfect my timing had been for everything, my friend was exploring my well stocked fridge for a drink. Suddenly she exclaimed “Ooh what are these?” My reply was also an exclamation which I will not repeat here in case children are reading… “These” were my stuffing patties which I had forgotten to put in the oven with the potatoes. Thankfully the roasties were only half-done, so in went the stuffing to join them and the crisis was averted. Anyway, let me tell you more about the mains.

Turkey

Of course. But, as I’m not that confident yet, I decided against roasting a whole bird. The perfect solution was to make a turkey breast in the slow cooker. Have you ever tried that? If not you have to. It is the perfect way to make turkey breast as it stays moist. It’s also fantastic to be able to stick it in the Crock-Pot in the morning and forget about it till it’s time to go on the table. Oh and the gravy it produces? Mm.
My turkey breast recipe is based on Stephanie O’Dea’s and goes something like this:

Ingredients

1 turkey breast (I could only find boneless skinless, but use bone-in if you can get it, it will stay even more succulent), mine was about 1.5 kg (approx. 3 lbs)
2 cups chicken stock
50g butter
1 leek
1 onion
2 tsp dried tarragon
Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Peel the onion and halve it. Wash the leek well (greens bits too) and cut into three or four pieces. Arrange onion and leek in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Rinse the turkey breast and pat dry with kitchen paper. Rub it with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of tarragon and place it on top of the veg in the slow cooker.
3. Pour the chicken stock over it, watch the tarragon get washed away, and then sprinkle the 2nd teaspoon of tarragon on top of the meat.
4. Plonk the butter on top (no need to melt it).
5. Pop the lid on and cook on low for 8 hours.
Note: Omit the butter and you’ve got yourself a Dukan Diet friendly turkey recipe.

Gravy

To make the gravy, when the 8 hours are up lift the meat out of the slow cooker and transfer the drippings to a small saucepan. Discard the veg. Put the turkey back in the slow cooker to stay warm. Boil the liquid till it reduces and becomes more saucy. Add some gravy granules (if you like) and continue to boil till it reaches the consistency you want. It might take a while to thicken so if you want, use some cornflower to speed things up (you know the drill, mix cornflower with cold water first to make a slurry, then add to the hot liquid while off the hob. Return to the heat and stir till it thickens).

Sage and Onion Stuffing

My favourite part of the meal. This is my mum’s recipe. She makes this stuffing for Christmas Dinner, which is my favourite dinner in the whole wide world. I think it would be my choice for the “If you could have one last meal…” question. This was the first time I tried making it myself, and I’m happy to say it was great. A bit salty, and it could have done with more time in the oven (ahem) but still great. Recipe goes:

Ingredients

3 large onions, chopped (not minced)
125g margarine
360g breadcrumbs (not too fine)
5 ½ heaped tsp dried sage
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook onions gently over medium heat in a frying pan with some water. The water is just so the onion doesn’t stick, you only need about 2-3 tablespoons. Cook, stirring frequently, till onion starts to soften.
2. Add the margarine to the pan and continue cooking till onion is translucent.
3. In the meantime, in a large bowl, mix breadcrumbs with sage and salt and pepper.
4. Transfer onion (with pan liquids) to the bowl and mix well. It should come together into a fairly pliable mixture (like minced meat when you make burgers). At this point you can taste a bit to see if it needs seasoning. You might want to add a bit more sage, but keep in mind the flavour strengthens slightly while cooking.
5. Take about 2 tablespoons of mixture and form into a patty (a slightly flattened meatball, not as flat as a burger). Continue with the rest of the bread mixture.
6. Bake in the oven with the potatoes. Keep them on one side so you can cover them with tin foil if they brown too quickly.

Side Dishes

These were a bit of a strange mix. We had:
Roast potatoes. I boil them first, for about 8-10 minutes, then put them on a baking tray with a few tablespoons of olive oil, mix them so they’re all coated in oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and a bit of paprika, and roast in a 200C oven for about 50’ to an hour. This makes them crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Sweet Potato Casserole. Yum. I used this recipe by CBSOP and of course baked the potatoes in the slow cooker the night before so they were ready to go in the casserole the next morning.
Green Beans with Tahini-Lemon Dressing. A wonderful side dish with a very light dressing, great to accompany “heavier” flavours such as stuffing and sweet potatoes. Recipe by Kalyn’s Kitchen.
Lentil Salad with Roast Beets and Almonds. Not quite traditional but very tasty! I love roast beetroot and it keeps well. Recipe by The Stone Soup. This would also be great with some crumbled feta on top.
Beer Bread with Cheddar and Rosemary. I based this on the recipe by Bake at 350, but used Newcastle Brown Ale instead of lager and cheddar instead of gruyere. I also skipped the melted butter to keep things lighter, but will definitely try it next time!

Dessert

For dessert I made these pumpkin-y brownies by Picky Palate, but because I thought they would be a flop, I also threw together an apple crisp (in record time may I add) just in case. The brownies weren’t a complete flop, but they weren’t as good as I’d hoped. I should have listened to my instinct while making them, because I had a feeling the chocolate I used was way too much for the one cup of flour. I don’t use chocolate chips as they cost twice as much, I just chop my own chocolate, and this might have been the reason the recipe didn’t work. There was definitely too much chocolate in there (yes, that is possible!).

For the Apple Crisp I put two apples (peeled, cored and chopped) into a pie dish, and topped it with the mixture of oats, flour, butter and brown sugar that Jessica from How Sweet It Is uses in this recipe. It’s really good! Especially with cream. But then everything is good with cream.

Phew. I think that’s everything! For those of you who are still with me after this looong post, thank you, I didn’t think you’d make it to the end 😉

Simple Salmon Frittata – For Dukan Protein Thursdays or Any Thursdays

Tags

dukan, egg, frittata, salmon, smoked salmon

You may recall that during the summer I went on the Dukan Diet. This diet consists of four stages, the last one of which is “the rest of your life”. Scary sounding or what? It’s not that bad really. Dr. Dukan makes you promise that after you’ve lost the pounds and stabilized your new weight, you’ll stick to three rules. For ever. These are:

• Eat 3 tablespoons of oat bran per day (it’s got magical powers!). Not oats mind you, oat bran. It’s different. Oat bran is the outer layer of the oat grain and contains loads of good stuff. See this and this for more info.
• Walk at least 20 minutes per day and never use lifts or escalators again. Gulp.
• Once a week on a day you’ve set, go back to the Attack phase (1^st stage). That means eating only protein. Lean meats, fish, seafood and fat free dairy. Dr. Dukan calls this Protein Thursday.

Another thing you’re supposed to stick to although not actually mentioned in the rules, is drinking 2 litres of water a day.

To be honest I’ve broken 2 out of the above 4 rules. I can’t keep up with the water and I can’t deal with the metro station stairs at 8:00am. I know I know, water is vital, I’ve read all the same magazine articles as you. But I just don’t get thirsty enough to guzzle that much, plus the loos at work are on a different floor (sorry, too much info). Anyway. I try. As regards the walking, I figure since I ride twice a week I can get away with not walking that often. Or, ahem, not walking at all. Moving on.

Oat bran and Protein Thursdays are a different story. These I have stuck to religiously. My Thursdays are actually Mondays, but you’re allowed to switch. Mondays are crap anyway, so how much worse can they get? To be fair, eating pure protein (even back in the diet days) wasn’t as hard as I had expected. I’m lucky because I like all the allowed foods – and really love cottage cheese, yogurt and eggs, which are stars in this particular show. The only really hard part was, still is, thinking up creative and exciting meals for those times when a plain chicken breast just doesn’t cut it.

Last Monday I decided my dinner was going to be smoked salmon and eggs. Now normally I would scramble the eggs and have them on the side, but I was in the mood for something different. And I’d already had one scrambled egg for lunch! So I went with a frittata, which I think is one of the most versatile dishes you can bake up. The proper way to make it is start it off like an omelet in a skillet, and finish cooking it under the grill. But you can also just bake it (less washing up).

It’s a great “clean out the fridge” dish, as you can throw in a number of veggies or leftover meats. This one is of course pretty basic, as veg is not allowed on Pure Protein (PP) days, but if you’re on the Cruise Phase (or not on a diet at all) some chopped red pepper, or cooked broccoli florets, or spinach would work well. Cooked chicken, bacon, sausage or deli ham and turkey are also great in frittatas. Since PP days allow a little greenery as flavouring, chopped chives and dill were what completed my version. I could have also added some capers but I, um, just thought of that now. Just so you know, I ate the whole thing all on my own which upped my intake to a total of 5 eggs that day. I’m on the side of those who say the egg/cholesterol thing is a myth.

Another cool idea is to put the mixture into silicone muffin cups (don’t use your muffin tin. Egg sticks. Trust me.) and make egg muffins. Perfect to keep on hand for snacking as the protein will keep you going for much longer than a carb-loaded regular muffin, or sandwich, or bag of crisps. Unless it’s one of those days when only crisps will make you feel better!

Simple Salmon Egg Frittata – For Protein Thursdays or Any Thursdays

Ingredients

4 eggs
2 Tbs milk (0% fat for Dukan)
200g smoked salmon, cut into small pieces
2 Tbs chopped fresh dill
2 tsp chopped chives (or some chopped spring onion, according to you taste)
pepper to taste (don’t add salt as the salmon is salty enough)
Sprinkle of chili pepper flakes or paprika
Low fat cooking spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a small baking pan with the cooking spray. Don’t skip this step!
2. In a bowl, lightly whisk the eggs and milk.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir.
4. Pour mixture into the pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until the egg is set and cooked through.

Note: Stabilisation (4^th) phase Protein Thursdays are stricter than Attack and Cruise phase PP days, so by rights I shouldn’t have eaten 200g of smoked salmon – max is 125g for oily fish I think. Just FYI.

Other eggy bakes from around the web Kalyn’s Kitchen (I didn’t need to look further, check out this fab collection of egg recipes)
Breakfast Casserole with Spinach, Leeks, Cottage Cheese and Goat Cheese by Kalyn’s Kitchen (easily adaptable to Dukan Diet Cruise Phase by omitting oil and goat’s cheese. Sautee leeks in a non-stick frying pan with a tiny bit of water and use more low fat cottage instead of goat’s cheese)
Roasted Green Bell Pepper and Roasted Tomato Breakfast Casserole with Feta and Oregano by Kalyn’s Kitchen (easily adaptable to Dukan Diet Cruise Phase by omitting oil and substituting feta with rinsed low fat cottage cheese)
Egg Muffins with Ham, Cheese, and Green Bell Pepper by Kalyn’s Kitchen (easily adaptable by omitting cheese (try rinsed low fat cottage cheese if you want) and using low fat ham. I’ve also made them with leftover cooked chicken chunks and they were great)

Baked Fish in Lemon Mustard Sauce – Healthy, Easy, Quick and Tasty!

Tags

dukan, fish, lemon, perch

Wow, two posts in two days! I’m proud of myself.

For a while now, and especially during the Dukan Diet I was on during the summer, I’ve been conscious that I don’t eat enough fish. The Mediterranean diet calls for fish twice a week and I really want to start keeping up with that. Fish is a fantastic food. It’s full of protein and any fat it has is the good kind, it’s quick to cook and it’s tasty. The only down side is that is a bit costly, but it’s worth every penny when you consider the benefits.

At some point I will start experimenting with the more demanding types of fish, the ones that still have heads and tails and backbones even after arriving in one’s kitchen. Here in Greece it would be inconceivable to serve fish without the head, unless of course you’re having a fillet or “slice” as it’s called, of a large one such as swordfish. For many people (I’m not one of them) the head is the tastiest part and they’ll take their time dismantling it to get to the little bits of meat and juice inside. For now, I stick to cooking filleted fish and enjoy the whole ones when they’re cooked by someone else (and in someone else’s kitchen).

In seafood restaurants, more often than not you go and choose the fish you want from the “catch of the day” which lies on a bed of ice. Making the right choice, in a restaurant or at the fishmonger’s, is important and you need to know what to look for in order to get the freshest and most delicious of the catch. Here are some tips:

At the Market:

Check the eyes; they should be shiny and bulging (never buy a fish that’s had its eyes removed – some fishmongers do that so you can’t tell whether it’s fresh – which means it’s not!).
The gills should be deep red or pink, and moist not dry. If they are brown and dull move on.
The skin should be shiny and should spring back when pressed with a finger without leaving a mark.
The body should be firm and slightly arched and should stay like that when held on an open palm (head and tail pointing upwards). However, the ice the fish lies on helps keep it firm, and apparently some clever fishmongers put salt on the ice which helps with firmness even more.
Fresh fish doesn’t smell at all. Don’t expect to smell the sea, if you do, it’s about a day old. If it smells fishy it’s about 2-3 days old.

In the Kitchen:

The scales should be shiny and should come off easily without the skin becoming damaged.
The insides should also come out easily and in one piece. If things disintegrate during cleaning you should be wary.

At the Table:

When grilled, fresh fish “opens” and comes off the bone.
The bones should be white (except for garfish which has a green backbone) not dark.

I found this recipe on the website of a major frozen fish company in Greece called Kallimanis. It’s very lemony, but that’s more than ok with me. I didn’t use wine because I didn’t want to open a bottle for ½ a cup, so I used a little bit of white wine vinegar instead. It made the sauce really tangy and yummy. If your palates are sensitive use a little less vinegar and lemon juice.

Baked Perch in Lemon Mustard Sauce

Serves 2
What you need:
500g perch fillet (fresh or frozen and defrosted according to package directions)
Salt & black pepper
3 Tbs olive oil
4 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 ½ Tbs white wine vinegar (or 5 Tbs white wine)
1 Tbs parsley, chopped
4 tsp Dijon mustard
6 Tbs water
Pinch of chili flakes

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Rinse the fish and pat dry with kitchen paper. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.
3. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake to mix well.
4. Place the fillet in a smallish, lightly greased baking tin. Don’t use a big one so that the fish is at least partly submerged in the sauce.
5. Pour the contents of the jar over the fish.
6. Bake at 200C for 15 to 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet.

Notes: You’ll get quite a bit of sauce but it will be runny. You could thicken it if you want and pour it over the fish when served. I’d transfer the sauce to a small pan, heat it to boiling point, take it off the heat, add a slurry of 1 tsp corn flour/3 tsp water, mix well and return to the heat for a few minutes till it thickens. Now that I’m thinking about it a teaspoon of capers might work quite well in the sauce.
You can of course use any firm white fish you like.
To make it Dukan Diet friendly omit the olive oil.

Other tasty looking recipes for baked fish:
Baked Fish with Spring Onion and Orange, by Inspired Taste
Baked White Fish with Pine Nut, Parmesan, and Basil Pesto Crust, by Kalyn’s Kitchen
Algerian Baked Fish by 64 Sq. Ft Kitchen
Baked Fish Sticks by A Recipe A Day

5RWDB7U8GKUM (ignore this, it’s code – ooh does that sound exciting?!)

Artichokes A La Polita – Slow and Not So Slow

Tags

artichokes, avgolemono, crockpot, Dukan diet friendly, egg lemon sauce, Greek, slow cooker, vegan, vegetarian

Recently I’ve found myself adapting more and more traditional Greek recipes for the slow cooker. I’m pleasantly surprised by the many options and how easily adaptable they are. However, I realize there are many people out there who don’t own slow cookers, especially here in Greece, so I’ve decided where possible to include some brief instructions for a stove top method.
A La Polita means Of The City; however in Greece when you hear “The City” it means Constantinople (Istanbul). The original version of this recipe comes from Turkey, and was made with artichokes, whole small onions (shallots) and lots of oil. Over the years it has changed a bit and now usually includes spring onions instead of shallots, potatoes, carrots and sometimes peas. It can be made plain with a bit of lemon juice, or swimming in my favourite (yes you guessed it) egg lemon sauce!
I use frozen artichokes. You can use fresh if you want to, but for me they are a MAJOR pain. Once when we were visiting the village The Mister’s dad and I went for a walk and picked loads of lovely fresh ones, so I did the whole cleaning and rubbing with lemon thing and picking/spitting out tough bits all through dinner thing. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I can now enjoy the convenience of modern life and buy them all clean and white and ready to cook.
Usually the veggies are cooked in water, but in this case I used chicken stock to give it some extra flavour. I threw all the ingredients in the CrockPot together, but keep in mind this will give you very soft artichokes after the many hours of cooking. If you prefer them to hold a bit, you could try adding them a couple of hours after you’ve started the potatoes and carrots. I’ve not done this, so if you do please come back and let us know how it worked out!

Slow Cooker Artichokes A La Polita

Serves 2-3
What you need:
400g frozen artichokes
3 small potatoes, cut into smallish pieces
1 medium carrot, sliced
1 spring onion (or more if you like), thinly sliced (I used only the white bit)
1 cup chicken stock
½ cup water (I added this because my stock was homemade and quite thick and jellied. It may not be necessary if your stock is watery)
½ lemon (juice of)
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 sprigs of fresh dill weed, finely chopped (I forgot to buy some so I didn’t use it, but it’s nice)
For the egg lemon sauce
1 egg
3 Tbs lemon juice (or more if you like it quite lemony)

What you do:

1. Add potatoes, carrots and onions to the slow cooker. Mine is a 4quart.
2. Add artichokes on top.
3. Pour the rest of the ingredients over the top.
4. Cook on low for 8 hours or until potatoes are cooked through. Stir occasionally so they cook evenly, but be careful not to crush the artichokes.
5. An hour or so before the end of cooking time, take the egg out of the fridge so it comes to room temperature.
6. When the veggies are ready, take a clean bowl and crack the egg in it. Add the lemon juice and whisk.
7. Without turning the slow cooker off, take the insert out and place it on a heat proof surface. Carefully temper the egg mixture by taking a spoonful of sauce at a time from the slow cooker and adding it to the bowl while whisking continuously. Do this slowly and patiently so your egg doesn’t scramble. You want the mixture in the bowl to slowly warm up enough so that you can pour it into the slow cooker. When you have a good amount of sauce in the bowl and it feels nice and warm, pour it into the artichoke stew. Hold the insert with both hands and swirl it in a circling motion so that the egg mixture goes everywhere and mixes into the stew.
8. Put the insert back in the slow cooker and let it warm through again (on low). I test the sauce with a food thermometer just to make sure the egg is cooked. Temp should read at least 160F.
9. Enjoy with feta cheese and crusty bread.

Stove top method:

What you need (extra to above ingredients):
1/3 cup olive oil
Water (enough to almost cover veggies)

What you do:

1. In a saucepan warm the oil over a medium heat and add onions. Cook gently till soft and fragrant.
2. Add the carrot and potatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring frequently.
3. Turn the heat up to medium high and add the artichokes. Sauté for a couple more minutes.
4. Add dill, lemon juice, salt & pepper, chicken stock and water until just covering the veggies. Bring to a boil.
5. Turn heat down to low so that the stew is slowly simmering. Cook for about an hour, or until veggies have the desired tenderness and the sauce has reduced.
6. Prepare your egg mixture and temper as above, before returning it to the heat for a few minutes.

Notes: You can omit the egg lemon sauce and use only water or veg stock instead of chicken, in order to make a vegan version. Thicken the sauce at the end of cooking (if necessary) using a corn flour slurry.
The slow cooker version is also Dukan Diet friendly (Consolidation Phase).

Other recipes using artichokes:
Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes by The Pioneer Woman
Artichoke Soup by Simply Recipes
Chicken and Artichokes in Wine Sauce by The Kitchn
Slow Cooker Shrimp and Artichoke Barley Risotto by Cara’s Cravings via Slow Cooker From Scratch recipe collection

Other traditional Greek recipes adapted for the slow cooker:
Slow Cooker Village Rooster “Kokkinisto”
Stuffed Courgettes (Zucchini) with Egg Lemon Sauce (as featured on Slow Cooker From Scratch)
Revithia from Sifnos (Traditional Chickpea Soup)
Pork Lemonato (as featured on Slow Cooker From Scratch)

Apple Frozen Yogurt – A Sweet Moment on a Bitter Day

Tags

apple, diet, dukan, froyo, frozen yogurt, Greek yogurt, low fat, no sugar, peach

A few days ago I went to a funeral. Someone I used to work with for over 10 years died in a senseless, stupid motorbike accident. He was a sweet guy who always wore a cheerful grin, even under extreme stress. I used to work in tourism, and M and I started out as newbies around about the same time. I still remember us trying to get a busload of tourists from the port to the airport, me shaking at the prospect of having to use the mic and make an announcement, him getting us lost while trying to join the motorway. Two not-even-twenty year olds playing at coach driver and transfer staff! Since then he had taken over his family’s business, learned to manage a fleet of coaches and found the correct route to the airport. Tourism is a tough, relentless industry, with long days, short (or non-existent) holidays and 7 day working weeks all through the summer. Watching all my former colleagues and associates at the funeral, one thought struck me more than any other. Is it really worth it? Yes, of course we have to make a living, but should we let work take over our whole life? All those years, while his friends were at the beach, M spent his summer weekends at the port, making sure cruise passengers got to their hotels, or arranging for 50 coaches to be available for an Acropolis tour, or answering my frantic 4 am phone calls and having me yell hysterically because the driver hadn’t shown up to pick up my group (not an infrequent occurrence). Yeah, I sure have some stories… he did too, until last week. We’ve all got stories “we can laugh about now”. Well, next time don’t wait “till you can laugh”. Laugh today. Do things that make you happy today. Eat whatever you feel like today. Go ride a horse today, or swim, or sing, or shop. Do something you love doing. Tomorrow you will have forgotten this and you’ll be back in your routine. So will I. But once in a while we have to take a step back and remember to live – today. Cliché? Maybe. But it really can all get snatched away so quickly.

Ideally, on that bitter day I would have liked to celebrate life with a decadent brownie, or a heavily frosted cupcake. But for a number of reasons baking was not an option. Instead I finished making the frozen yogurt I started the day before, because it was an experiment I was enjoying. Then I proceeded to eat the whole batch. All of it.

Rest in peace M.

Apple Frozen Yogurt
Serves 1 (just do it)

What you need:
2 apples, peeled, cored, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup water
300g Greek yogurt (2%)
4 Tbs sugar or sweetener (I use Canderel)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cinnamon

What you do:

1. Put the chopped apple and ¼ cup water into a microwave safe bowl. Sprinkle with one tablespoon of sugar or sweetener and mix well. Microwave for a few minutes, with breaks in between to check softness. When the apple is mashably soft (it took mine about 3 min), remove it from microwave and let cool for a few minutes.
2. With a hand held blender, blend the apples till smooth.
3. Add the vanilla and cinnamon to the apples.
4. Add the yogurt and mix well. Taste and adjust as needed (e.g. more cinnamon or sugar). Place in the fridge to cool completely.
5. When cooled, freeze as per ice-cream maker instructions.

Note: I first made this with peaches (based on a recipe from the Bartolini kitchens). This too is absolutely gorgeous. Just substitute the apples with 2 ripe peaches and keep everything else the same.

Other lovely looking recipes for frozen yogurt:
Fat-Free Low-Sugar Strawberry Frozen Yogurt by Kalyn’s Kitchen
Sugar-free, low-fat lemon frozen Greek yogurt by The Perfect Pantry
Pistachio Nut Ice Cream from the Bartolini kitchens
A Frozen Yogurt Recipe to Rival Pinkberry’s Recipe by 101 Cookbooks
Lemon Curd Frozen Yogurt by Kitchen Confidante

Greek Green Bean & Tomato Stew – Shark is Optional!

Tags

dukan, Fasolakia, Greek, green beans, stew, tomato, tomato sauce, vegetables

One of the traditional Greek dishes my mum learnt and used to make often when we were kids, is Fasolakia. The word translates to “little beans” and refers to the long green ones. The way they are cooked here in Greece is in a tomato sauce, often with potatoes and carrots. It can also be made with beef but we never had it that way in our house. This was a great kid-friendly meatless dish, always eaten with loads of feta cheese and bread to mop up the sauce! It’s very good.

The other day I thought I’d make us some Fasolakia as it’s so easy and healthy, and Dukan friendly too (if made without potatoes). Following a recent success, when I decided to serve fish alongside a tomato based dish, I thought I’d try this out paired with the leftover shark in my freezer. My intention was to make the Fasolakia and then fry the fish lightly and serve them together. When I got the packet out of the freezer I glanced at the recipe on the back and saw that it was for something quite similar cooked in a saucepan. So I decided I would experiment some, and lay the fish on top of the beans half way through cooking. Since fish cooks so quickly and easily I thought the steam and heat from the veg would do the trick. Sure enough, the fish cooked beautifully and gave lots of flavour to the beans beneath it.

The resulting dish was definitely not traditional, but it was tasty nonetheless. Next time however I’ll be sticking to the original green bean stew, but that’s purely because of objections from a certain Mister, whose favourite food was apparently vandalized by this foreign concept of experimenting. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, that’s his motto!

Greek Green Bean & Tomato Stew (Fasolakia) – The Original
Serves 3

What you need:
3-4 Tbs olive oil (if you’re on the Dukan Diet use a tiny bit of low calorie non-stick spray)
1 small onion, finely chopped
500g frozen green beans (you can use fresh if you can face prepping them!)
1 carrot, sliced
1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
1 Tbs tomato paste diluted in 3-4 Tbs of water
1 tsp sweet paprika
Salt & pepper to taste (I use about a tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper)
½ tsp sugar (or sweetener of choice)

What you do:

1. Add the oil to a medium-large size saucepan (that has a good fitting lid), and warm it over medium heat (or just heat the pan and then add the spray if you’re using that). Cook the onion gently, until translucent. If you want you can sprinkle some salt on it to prevent it from browning.
2. Add the carrots and stir until coated with oil. Cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the frozen beans (no need to defrost), turn the heat up to medium high, and stir well so they all get coated in oil. Cook until the beans have become shiny and wet looking, about 4-5 minutes. They should now have started to soften.
4. Add the tomatoes (with juices from the tin) and tomato paste mixture. Don’t worry if the beans aren’t completely covered by the liquid.
5. Add paprika, salt & pepper and sugar. Give it a good stir and wait for it to come to the boil.
6. When it boils, turn the heat down low, cover the pan, and simmer for about half an hour, stirring a few times. You might find that it’s simmering pretty wildly (mine does even on the lowest setting), in which case after the first 20 minutes tilt the lid to the side leaving a small gap, this helps.
7. From now on you want to be checking the liquids fairly frequently. If it’s looking very soupy, leave the lid off. If it’s more saucy looking and thick, leave the lid on with the gap and add a little water if and when necessary (no more than a ¼ cup at a time). Cook for approximately another half hour, stirring well once in a while.

Note: Here in Greece most people like the beans very soft, almost falling apart. If you prefer they have a bit of bite, start taste testing them after about 45 minutes of total cooking time.

Shark Infested Variation

What you’ll need:
All the above plus 3 pieces of white fish. Choose a sturdy one that won’t disintegrate in the pan, Blue Shark is what I used, Cod and Swordfish fillets might also be good options. Or any other type of fish fillet you feel would hold well.

What you do:

1. If you want to try this variation, start with steps 1 to 5 as above.
2. While the beans are simmering, rinse and pat dry your fish pieces, using paper towels. Sprinkle them with some salt, and pepper if you like it.
3. At step 6 open the pan, take some beans and tomato sauce out and pop them on a plate. Make sure the bottom of the pan is still completely covered with veg and sauce. Gently place your fish on top of the beans, and cover with the rest of the beans from the plate. Stick the lid back on the pan (no gaps).
4. Let the fish cook like that (with the lid closed) for about half an hour. Check once in a while to see what’s going on under there. If it’s looking short of juice add some hot water carefully, trying to miss the fish. It shouldn’t need it since the lid will be on and the steam will stay in.

Whichever variation you choose, make sure you eat this with lots of crusty bread. Unless you’re on the D word diet. Then just be patient because the day will come again…

Other recipes using green beans:
Green Bean, Tomato, and Feta Salad Oreganato {by Kalyn’s Kitchen}
Roasted Parmesan Green Beans {by Skinnytaste}
French Onion Green Bean Casserole – It’s Soupy! {by Food Wishes}
Green Beans with Almonds and Thyme {by Simply Recipes}

Slow Cooker Turkey Sausages and Veg in the Red

Tags

aubergine, crockpot, dukan, eggplant, red pepper, slow cooker, tomato, tomato sauce, turkey sausages

The other day I was really stuck for ideas on what to make for dinner. I had some lovely aubergines (eggplant) in the fridge, from a friend’s garden, and really wanted to use them up. Then I remembered I also had red peppers, definitely on their last legs, so I wanted to combine the two. And then I had a light-bulb moment. I’m saying this because I rarely have light-bulb moments. Most of the time I have great ideas on what I should have made, after I’ve made something else. This results in an overflowing fridge and freezer, since the great ingredients I keep in there usually present themselves to me when it’s too late. This time, it was a genuine case of Eureka when I thought of the turkey sausages I’d just brought back from my mum’s where they were on holiday. Yes, all the contents of my fridge/freezer (well, the lucky ones anyway) took a recent vacation to my mum’s due to freezer problems I’ve mentioned in the past (too many times).

So, yes, happy days. I had sausages, I had lovely veg, and I had tinned tomatoes. Into the slow cooker they all went. The sausages were frozen but by the time I’d prepped the rest of the ingredients they were just thawed enough to slice into thick chunks (it’s summer in Greece, nothing stays frozen for long on the counter top). And to give credit where credit is due, I used this recipe for Mediterranean Eggplant Salad by Apron Strings as my base. Yum! Threw it all in with seasonings etc and voila! Heavenly smells served to create a huge appetite for a very tasty dinner. I was on a carbs-allowed-for-one-meal day of the Dukan Diet, and I was very good and made quinoa instead of pasta.

As there was a lot left over, The Mister got to try some the next day. (That sounded weird didn’t it? No he doesn’t only eat leftovers! He was away the first day. Glad we cleared that up before he reads this). This meal was quite interesting, because I combined it with white fish cooked in the frying pan with some low cal spray. Yes, it sounds weird eating turkey sausage with fish, but hey, you do what you gotta do when you’re eating the Dukan way. And it was actually very nice. Don’t ask what type of fish Ok I just looked it up on Google, and it seems that this fish (Glafkos in Greek) is in fact Blue Shark!! Wow, we had shark for dinner. Cool.

UPDATE ON 12TH FEBRUARY 2013
I’m updating this post today so I can enter it into the Recipes for Life blogger challenge over on Bangers & Mash. Vanesther is hosting this challenge for a charity organisation called SWALLOW, which supports adults with learning disabilities to lead more independent lives. I’m so happy to be posting something for such a good cause! SWALLOW organises cookery classes helping members learn to prepare simple, inexpensive and nutritious meals. I chose this recipe for two reasons. One, the ingredients are right, and two, when it comes to simple, inexpensive and nutritious you can’t go wrong with a slow cooker. For extra simplicity and lower cost, serve with rice or pasta. Also, ignore the onion flakes and use a proper onion – that was either me being very lazy or me being out of onions. Chop it up and add with everything else. Enjoy!

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

4 turkey sausages, thickly sliced (in Greece they’re called country style not sure if that’s the same in UK & US)
2 red bell peppers, cut into chunks
2 small aubergines (eggplants), cut into chunks
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
1 Tbs onion flakes
1 Tbs sweet paprika
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp (ahem, Dukaners close your eyes) brown sugar
1 ½ tsp dried oregano
1 tsp coarse salt
Few grinds of pepper

Instructions

1. Chuck it all in the slow cooker. Stir as best you can.
2. Cook on high for about 5 hours, or on low for I imagine about 8 hours. I took the high option as I started late! It might be less on high if your sausages are fully thawed.
3. Enjoy with quinoa, cous cous, rice, or SHARK!