Food mirrors the culture of a country and in the Western world the health of its people. "Eat as your life depends on it."
When I first travelled, I wasn't obsessed with food, it just happened. I soon started to realise I had been missing out on all these new exotic foods, that were fresh and full of flavour. I wanted to try everything and some of the best foods were found at street stalls. Learning the names of different foods soon interested me so much that I started taking photos...
The reason I'm so drawn to food as a subject is because of its ability to connect each and every one of us. It forces us to gather at least once a day and share a moment together around a table, over a drink or at a counter.
An added bonus is when I stay with a family and they cook a traditional meal and the whole family joins in.
No matter where I've been in the world, street food has given me the opportunity to see food being cooked and to try what I like the look of. I always make a point of stopping at random food stalls and markets in any city or village I'm in and this is where the everyday people gather.
It's the food and the connections with it, the farmers who grow the food, the market stalls, the street stalls, and mothers/wives who cook with love for their families. (Bygone scene's you don't see very often, in the Western world.)
It's not just about food on a plate, for me, it's also about everything around...
Recipes that are simple, healthy & tasty.
Cooking for yourself is one of the simplest steps to improving your health. It was only after I started travelling that I got a real interest in cooking, especially the food's I had eaten from around the world, I wanted to recreate them.
Below are some of my favourite meals, you can modify them to your own liking or what is available at the time, it's also a great way to share with friends and family.
I have used fresh ingredients and grass fed meats. Paleo Compliant, from when I changed to a Paleo diet...
I started this post to share what I have learnt when it comes to health... Like most people in England who grew up with a diet high in sugar and processed foods, that was taking the place of traditional home cooked meals at a fast pace.
This meant as a kid growing up, I was in the dentist twice a year having feelings and was suffering from bleeding gums, and in my late 20's I had arthritis. Now all in remission, from removing the ultra processed foods to eating what's on this blog post to what I
am now eating to a
Weston A Price lifestyle.
It's time to be creative, to not only be healthy and save on waste, but to put the love back into food.
Some Paleo alternatives to cut down on
carbohydrates:
- For rice, grate a cauliflower, fry with butter and coconut oil - cauliflower rice
- For pasta, fry a plantain to make a Lasagna or bake a Spaghetti squash to make Spaghetti.
- For coffee, make a bulletproof coffee, by adding butter, coconut oil, turmeric and a pinch of black pepper and blended with a pot of Colombian organic coffee. Add grated cacao for a turbo coffee.
Sopa de Pollo
One of my favorite's and very easy to cook. Very popular in Latin America
Ingredients:
Whole chicken chopped (Bones used to make the stock)
Sweet Potato, Squash, Carrots, Leek, Broccoli, Coriander, Spring onion, Onion, Garlic, Scotch bonnet, Ginger, Black pepper.
Directions:
Fry the onion, garlic and ginger in ghee till soft, add the stock, bring to boil and simmer. Add the chopped vegetables and chicken. Add the coriander and spices.
Shakshuka
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil 1/2 medium white onion, peeled and diced 2 clove garlic, minced 4 ripe diced tomatoes 2 tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp chilli powder (mild) 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp paprika Salt and black pepper to taste 5-6 eggs 1/2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (for garnish)
Also try with a good quality chorizo
Directions:
Heat a deep, large skillet or saute pan on medium. Slowly warm olive oil in the pan. Add chopped onion & garlic, saute for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add tomatoes and tomato paste to pan, stir till blended. Add spices, stir well, and allow mixture to simmer over medium heat for 5-7 minutes till it starts to reduce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Crack the eggs, one at a time, directly over the tomato mixture, making sure to space them evenly over the sauce. Place 4-5 eggs around the outer edge and 1 in the centre. Cover the pan. Allow mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked and the sauce has slightly reduced. Keep an eye on the skillet to make sure that the sauce doesn't reduce too much, which can lead to burning. Garnish with the chopped parsley.
Puerto Rican Plantain Lasagna (Pastelon)Sevres 4
Ingredients:
800g Farmed mince beef, 4 Ripe plantains, 1 large Onion
3 Eggs, 5 Tomatoes, Italian mixed herbs, Ginger, Garlic, Chili 1 yellow Scotch bonnet.
Directions:
Fry onion, garlic and ginger in coconut oil or ghee till soft, add the minced beef and until braised. Add the chopped tomatoes, chili and mixed herbs continue cooking at low heat.
Plantains: fry till cooked.
Add the meat to a oven bowl and level, add the plantains across the top of the meat. (This replaces pasta sheets)
beat the eggs and pour over the top and place in the oven for 15 minutes, let cool, slice and serve.
Spaghetti squash a la bolognese
Spaghetti squash is a great substitute for pasta
To cook the squash:
Cut in half (longways) Scrape out the seeds and pulp Prick the outside with a folk Place in the middle of a pre-heated oven faced down in a tray at Gas mark 5 or 190 deg c for 30 - 40 minutes.
Directions to cook the mince:
Fry onion, garlic and ginger in coconut oil or ghee till soft, add the minced beef and until braised. Add the chopped tomatoes, chili and mixed herbs continue cooking at low heat. Garnish with basil
Chicken Marsala
Ingredients: 3 Farm chicken breasts 1/2 A sweet potato 1 Large onion finely chopped, 3 Tomatoes chopped Broccoli, Spinach, 3 Garlic Cloves, Nob of ginger, Olive oil Black pepper, ground Garam masala, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, Chili finely chopped.
Directions:
Cut chicken into strips and season with black pepper. Heat oil, add onions and fry till soft, add chilies, garlic & ginger, cook for a further 2 minutes, then add the spices (excluding garam masala) and cook for a further minute. Add the chicken, stirring until it begins to go golden brown all over, then add a little water if necessary & chopped tomatoes, bring to boil, reduce to simmer, cover pan and stirring often. Simmer for 10 minutes, add sweet potatoes, simmer for a further 20 minutes then add garam masala, stir and add broccoli and simmer for 10 minutes. In the meantime, spoon some of the juices to a small saucepan, heat on low, add the spinach and stir till reduced. Garnished with chopped coriander, spring onion, and tomatoes
Serves 4
Chicken soup with chili salsa
Ingredients:
Chicken soup. 4 fresh farm Chicken thighs Spinach 2 large spring onions 1/2 a large Broccoli 2 Large carrots Coriander 3 Garlic cloves chopped Slice of ginger chopped Olive oil Cumin
Directions:
Blend the spinach with water. In a large saucepan fry garlic, ginger in olive oil, add the chicken until sealed. Add the spinach mix, bring to boil and simmer. Add chopped spring onions, coriander, cumin and continue simmering for 20 minutes, then add the chopped carrots, broccoli and simmer for 10 minutes more. Remove the chicken from the pot and remove the bones and add chicken back to the pot before putting in the blender, mix, top with salsa and serve.
Ingredients: The Salsa:
Tomatoes, Coriander, 1 Large spring onion, Scotch bonnet
1/2 Lime, Olive oil.
Directions:
Finally chop tomatoes, coriander, spring onion, and chili. Cover with olive oil, lime and mix together.
Sevres 4
Paleo, gluten, and grain free Arepas
Originally Colombian corn cakes, topped or filled with cheese or fried egg.
Ingredients:
2 Cups of almond flour (Or mix coconut flour, with no sugar)
1 Tablespoon of almond butter (Alternatively use hazelnut butter) 1 Tablespoon almond milk Honey to taste is required
Directions:
Mix flour and butter in a mixing bowl. Add milk a little at a time, until it forms a soft dough. Roll into a dough and knead.
Leave to rest and in the meantime, preheat a frying pan. Low to medium heat.
Then take a piece of the dough, make a very well rounded ball.
And then with your hands, press the small dough ball until is flatten and rounded.
Fry until there is a slight rise or cook until there is a crust on both sides. Let cool before serving.
Banana bread slices
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of coconut flour 3 Ripe bananas 3 Large eggs 2 Tablespoons of honey 1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract 3/4 Teaspoon of baking soda You could even add finely sliced carrot and or ginger
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Prepare a baking pan with grease "generously". Mash the bananas by hand in a large bowl. Mix until completely mashed and smooth. Add the eggs, honey, and vanilla to the mashed bananas and blend well. Add the baking soda and coconut flour to the wet batter and blend well. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes or so to give the coconut flour time to absorb the liquids. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 45 minutes or until the top begins to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
Paleo & gluten-free energy bar
Experiment to figure out what works best for you and feel free to play with the ratios
Ingredients:
Buy organic without any additives where possible 150 grams almonds (flakes or whole) Also add a few Macadamia Nuts 100 grams dried unsweetened cranberries. And/or add dried Apricots, Mango and/or Pineapple 200 grams pitted dates 2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil 2 tablespoons grated 100% cacao (Chocolate) 1 tablespoon chia seeds (I buy already milled)
Directions:
1. Add the almonds into a blender or food processor and mix at low speed for 1 minute
2. Chop the dates into 3rd's
3. Then combine the rest of the ingredients in a blender or food processor, pulse a few times to break everything up. Then blend continuously until the ingredients have broken down and start to clump together into a ball.
4. Turn out the mixture onto a piece of grease-proof paper, press into an even square. Wrap in the paper and for at least an hour.
5. Cut into the desired size of bars, wrapping each bar in plastic wrap to store in the fridge
Making Butter and Ghee
Making butter
With springtime being the very best time to make butter as the grass is growing strong and full of nutrition.
- Use raw or double cream only from grass feed Guernsey cows.
- Pour 500 ml of double cream. (To make per block of butter) Into a food processor.
- Mix until the buttermilk separates.
- Poor buttermilk away.
- Repeat 2-3 times until buttermilk runs clean.
- Add 200ml of water. Remix and rinse out excess buttermilk. Repeat 2-3 times.
- And then put the butter into a bowl of water and knead until all buttermilk runs clean, repeat 2-3 times with clean water.
- Then form butter in to a block. Now is ready. Place into a butter dish.
Making Ghee
Precious creamy golden fat from heaven
- You can cut the butter into small squares to help melt Melt butter over low heat, stirring it gently from time to time.
- Once butter has melted and thick, white foam starts to form at the surface then simmer for 15 minutes stirring a little at a time.
- Don't let it over boil, the fat will separate and the unwanted will turn black.
- Turn off and let cool down for about 1 hour. Then pour through cheesecloth into a jar.
- Keep in the fridge, will last for 1 week.
The health benefits are anti inflammation from Vitamin D linked to Vitamin K2 and using Omega-3 essential fats. That only works if you remove the sugar and seed oils from your diet - The Paleo diet.
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Great English breakfast - fried in ghee -Bacon, sausages, eggs and plantain
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Grate the cauliflower, chop spring onions and red chilli's
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