garlic, lime and chili mussels with spelt pasta

It's like a ghost town on this blog a the moment.. and not for any other reason than the fact that I am down and out with the flu.

I am truly miserable right now, coughing, sneezing, moaning and carrying around roll of toilet paper to blown my nose. I feel like I'm suffering the 'man-flu'.

Joel has been great, bringing me cups of peppermint tea first thing in the morning and offering to get me anything I need. I am so glad my husband works from home.

Enough of my misery. I haven't been adventurous in the kitchen recently, as you can imagine. However, as they say on the cooking shows - here is something I prepared earlier.

Ingredients

(serves 2)

70g wholemeal spelt pasta

1kg organic live mussels (in shell)

1 tblsp olive oil

1/2 garlic sprig, minced

1 lime, finely grated rind and juiced

1/2 small red hot chili, finely sliced

1/4 c dry sherry

2 handfuls of green peas, roughly chopped

1/4 c finely chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Bring a medium sized pot of water to the boil and add pasta, cook until al-dente then drain and set aside.

As the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a saucepan/wok and add garlic, chili, sherry and lime rind - cook until fragrant and sherry has mostly evaporated.

Turn off heat and stir through the peas.

Bring a large pot/saucepan of salted water to the boil and add the mussels.

Boil for about 5-7 minutes until the mussels have opened.

With two-thirds of the mussels, remove the flesh out of the shell and add to the garlic mix - keeping the remaining mussels in the shell for decoration.

Re-heat the saucepan/wok and add in the pasta, parsley and lime juice tossing and heating through for a minute or two.

Serve and decorate with the mussels in shell.

grilled snapper with daikon sesame salad

It's so great to grow your own veggies especially when you have not been able to made it to the markets. 

But, nothing else in my garden seems to last like the radishes. 

I guess the kangaroos and possums have not acquired a taste for this peppery vegetable.

I've been eyeing off my daikon radish for a while now. Watching it slowly grow higher and higher!

Finally it was ready for harvest and I knew exactly what I was going to build with it.

It's so rewarding growing your own veges. I love being able to wander outside and pick a few leafy greens for dinner, or a couple of herbs to garnish a meal.

I look forward to the day the Joel and I settle on our own acreage with a HUGE vege patch. I will grow everything.. including my own olives for pressing and a small vineyard for wine.

But for now, I'm content with the few things that I am able to grow.

Ingredients

(side serves 4-6)

1 large daikon radish

2 tblsp sesame oil

1 tblsp mirin sauce

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tblsp nigella seeds

pinch of Himalayan rock salt

4-6 portions fresh snapper 

oil

Shred or grate the daikon and toss with all other ingredients, leave in refrigerator for flavours to infuse.

Heat a grill pan, lightly oil and sear the snapper fillets for 4-5 mins on each side.

Serve.

P.S. Our weekend was well spent.

cabbage wraps with smoked trout and avocado cream

What a beautful weekend this was.

The days were so clear and the sun was out.

We went for a hike to recharge our batteries and took the pug dog as usual - I have no idea how our little fellow can keep up with the giant leaps and rock climbing.

He amazes us every time.

It was truly beautiful and felt amazing to be able to shed down to one layer again.

But, after a big hike, we needed to replenish our bodies with good wholesome foods.

We were pretty hungry by the time we got home, that's where I made up these healthy wraps.

I had to snap up a few pictures pretty quickly as we were both ready to devour these super wraps.

Joel kept hovering saying, "can we eat them yet.."

Full of healthy fats from the avocado, trout and cabbage - we felt so satisfied and wholesome again.

I reckon cabbage is a bit of an underrated vegetable. It's an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of vitamin A. The uniqueness of cabbage in cancer prevention is due to the three different nutrient types: antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and glucosinolates*.

*Glucosinolates: organic active compounds believed to have anticancer properties. These anticancer compounds operate in a couple of ways: acting as a natural pesticide triggering the body’s own detoxification systems, slowing cancer cell growth and supporting DNA repair.

Ingredients

(makes 10)

10 outer cabbage leaves, washed with thick vein removed

1 medium smoked trout

toothpicks

Avocado Cream

4 avocados

1 large lemon

pinch or two of Himalayan rock salt

Combine ingredients for avocado cream in a food processor/blender and whiz until smooth and 'whipped' - about 1 minute.

Spread a tablespoon of avocado and trout on the top of the cabbage leaf (horizontally). 

Then, gently roll from the bottom up.

Thread a toothpick through the top to secure the wrap shut.

Repeat and eat!

You could fill these wraps with what ever you feel like, they are super versatile.

sashimi with pickled ginger

We love our seafood. 

Seriously can't get enough of it.

And at least once a week, I make a dinner of sashimi.

I remember when we got into Japanese food, and thought it would be so dangerous to prepare sashimi at home.

But really, it's so easy!

You just need a nice sharp knife and a bit of bravery.

A visit to my local fish monger and I came away with some fresh tuna, blue eye cod and seaweed salad.

Sashimi

Method

fish of your desire (tuna, salmon, swordfish, blue-eye cod, marlin etc)

On a clean wooden chopping board, place the fillet*.

With a sharp knife, slice as finely as desired - against the grain.

Return to the refridgerator until required.

Serve with pickled ginger (recipe below), wasabi paste and soy sauce.

*Tip: you may find it useful to place the fillets in the freezer for 10 mins for ease of slicing.

Pickled Ginger

Ingredients

fresh ginger

mirrin

japanese vinegar

water

Finely slice the desired amount of ginger.

Fill a jar with the sliced ginger.

Then mix a third of each mirrin, vinegar and water.

Pour over the ginger until all covered.

Screw on lid and shake vigourously.

Leave to pickle the refrigerator for 4 weeks.

Then it's ready to serve.

As mentioned on my previous post, here is an example of what I used my sprouts for.

The spicy mustard sprouts go perfectly with the metallic taste of the tuna while the cress sprouts go so well with the butteriness of the blue eye cod.