Red Thai Coconut Curry

Looking for a quick, healthy and protein packed meal for one? Look no further than my Red Thai Coconut Curry - super quick, easy and delicious!

You will need: 
- Chunks of Chicken (as many as you fancy eating but I recommend 200g)
- Red Thai Curry Paste
- 1/2 tbsp Coconut Oil or alternative cooking oil
- 1/2 tin Coconut Milk
- Vegetables of your choice

Get your super awesome coconut oil (if you haven't heard about how brilliant it is - check out Lauren Conrad's roundup here), put half a tablespoon in a pan and heat until melted.

Add your chicken chunks and fry until lightly brown.

Take your Thai Red Curry Paste - I used one that was brought back for me from Thailand by my Aunt. But any supermarket red curry paste will do - you can even swap it for green curry paste! 

Add your curry paste and a splash of water to help break the paste down. Fry for a couple of minutes to release the flavours.

Add half a can of coconut milk (don't forget to shake the can first) and your chosen vegetables - I used green beans and tenderstem brocolli to add crunch. Let it simmer until you have a rich and thick sauce (around 15 minutes).

Serve and enjoy!

Chilli Chicken Ramen

Every once in a while I get a massive craving for Wagamamas. There's something about their chilli beef ramen that I go mad for. But the prices are something I'm not so keen on. I'd been feeling a little run down, so I decided that a home version of Wagamama's Chilli Chicken Ramen was the answer. I loved it so much that I ate it for three meals in a row. This is a really quick and easy version to do at home but probably not the most authentic.

Chilli Chicken Ramen

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Chicken Thighs

Chicken Marinade: 2 tbsp Five Spice, 2 tbsp soy sauce and a pinch of salt

Ramen Noodles (or Soba if you want a healthy alternative)

1 packet of mixed vegetable stirfry (must include beansprouts!)

Broth: 1 tsp Five Spice, 1 tsp Oregano, 1 tsp crushed black peppercorns, 2tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, 2 fresh red chillis that have been ground into a paste, chicken stock, 500ml water.

Garnishes: Fresh coriander, 4 fresh red chillis, 4 spring onions, 1 red onion, half a fresh lime.

Method

Mix together your marinade ingredients and smother over the chicken thighs. Cover and leave in the fridge for a minimum of one hour.

Chop your fresh garnishes so that they are ready for distribution!

In a small ramekin, mix the dry ingredients for the broth.

Put the chicken thighs in the oven at 180C for 30 minutes.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove the bones and place them in a large pot.

Add the dry ingredients of the broth to the pot, along with the stock and the water. Bring to the boil and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Slice the chicken into pieces, removing any skin that remains. 

Remove the chicken bones from the broth and discard.

Add the noodles, the stir fry veggies and the chicken to the pot and simmer for another 15 minutes.

Dish up into big bowls and garnish with coriander, fresh chili, spring onion, red onion and a squeeze of lime juice.

Halloween at the Wishart-Whites

Halloween is a weird one. I enjoy fancy dress, I enjoy holidays in general... But there is a very British part of me that think it is ridiculous and commercialized. This year we are living in a big family neighborhood,  so the prospect of trick or treaters was high. Rob and I unfortunately disagreed on how to deal with trick or treaters. Rob would rather scare the living daylights out of any approaching customers, whereas I would love to pander to little kids in cute costumes. I would never let my own children go trick or treating as I would ask myself 'Why should strangers be required to provide sweets for my children?!'. In any case, a holiday is a holiday and that means an excuse for including food in some way. So I cooked a menagerie of halloween treats, we turned out the lights and partook in a blu-ray viewing of Cabin in the Woods.

Firstly, I baked a batch of devil's food cake cupcakes. The recipe for which can be found here. To make them halloweeny, I scooped out a hole in the middle of the cake and filled it with chocolate buttercream. I then covered the cake in buttercream for frosting. I then crushed a packet of bourbon biscuits (or you could use oreos) and dipped the cakes into the mix. This created an earth like texture. Finally I stuck a gruesome but tasty worm in the top! 

Continuing the theme, I created a spooky halloween cocktail consisting of red grape juice, apple juice, ginger beer and black food colouring.

For the main course, we enjoyed a 'Cauldron Curry'! A scarily healthy take on the thai green curry with chicken and loads of green veggies. This was a Martha Stewart recipe that can be found here! 

Little Pick Me Ups

I thought that I would share a few of the food related things that have made me smile this week. 

This is the first one. It's a cookie sandwich. I spotted these whilst wandering around Camden Market and I couldn't leave until I'd nabbed one. It's from 'Cookies and Scream', a vegan and gluten free baketastic stall. I was extremely happy that I'd bought this. Two incredibly delicious and meaty cookies and a smooth, rich buttercream gluing them together. I could barely get my mouth around it, but it was so good.

Thursday morning I was having a quick bit of breakfast and 4 cups of tea in 'Caravan', when I spotted Thomasina Miers, the restaurateur, chef and host of 'Mexican Food Made Easy'. I am severely coveting her Mexican book and spotting her just a few tables across from me made my whole day a lot brighter, and I was a whole lot giddier. Alongside this, Caravan's crumpets were so incredibly buttery that I felt very naughty indeed.

Rob's Chilli Chicken Stir Fry. I am so chuffed that I bagged myself a man that can cook. I was having a bit of a poorly, yucky day and Rob's cure is to sweat it out. With lots of chilli, ginger and garlic. This dish will always hold a special place in my heart, as it features in one of our 'falling in love' events. I demanded cheekily that he cook me dinner, and this is what I got. Om nom.

There's nothing like a special afternoon tea. Especially with your best friend. Last week, my best girlie friend Celine came to visit... so we did what girls do best, browsed through Selfridges wishing we were rich and indulged in a delicate tea time. We ventured to 'Drink, Shop, Do', somewhere I had been anxious to try for a while. For just over a tenner each, we had a pot of tea (or a milkshake in Celine's case), a selection of cute little sarnies (salmon and cream cheese, cheese and pickle, ham and mustard and cucumber), a selection of decadent looking cakes (brownies, lemon slices and macaroons) and topped off with pick and mix. We didn't finish most of the sweets, but foraged them away into one of our bags for later nibbling. We then went on to a fun fair... a warning to others - do not eat a delicious, rich afternoon tea and then go on 7 extreme fairground rides. It will not end well.

Smokehouse Rock

Here's a little back story for you:

 

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far far away, I was a vegetarian for a year. It started due to my unhealthy weight obsession and the purchase of the book 'Skinny Bitch'. A NY Times bestseller, this book's blurb reads "A no-nonsense tough love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous'. Being at a vulnerable age in my personal development, I absorbed it's horror stories about anything other than completely organic vegetables. I immediately stopped eating meat - it's main victim. Before this I could have told anyone that my favourite food was beef (I especially loved steak), so it was a shock to the system but I was completely dedicated to my cause. At the time, I was goaded that I would never do it, that I loved meat too much, that I would fail. Word of advice: Never challenge me. If something is made into a competition, I become a very different, serious person. And thus, Vegetarian Georgie was born. Now I look back on this part of my life with disbelief. 

This Sunday, Rob and I went for dinner at the Soho branch of Bodean's - a barbecue smoke house that boasts the best ribs this side of the Atlantic. We'd been itching to try them out since our move last summer, but hadn't found the time or the money. 

The Soho branch is set into two floors - the top floor is a bar/deli with communal tables, a fridge full of take home products and (at our time of arrival) ESPN on their screens. People sit around drinking beer, eating barbeque and laughing. It is a good atmosphere. The lower floor is the restaurant, where we ventured down to. Sunday was a horrible windy and wet day and so the warmth and cosyness of the Bodean's restaurant floor was exactly what we needed. The first thing I was impressed by here (despite the rain shelter it was providing) was their playlist. It was an eclectic mix of everything I love: Rainbow, Metallic, Simple Minds... I don't believe I've been to restaurant before that played this sort of music and over the course of the evening, it was impossible not to be biased towards the other aspects of the place, purely based on their playlist choices. 

Bodean's cocktail menu was a treat in itself, a mix of classic and innovative at reasonable prices. Alongside this, I could choose from a huge variety of soft drinks, wines or even a root beer float (I was extremely tempted). We both settled for Pepsi, which was ultimately shown to be a good choice after our food had arrived. We opted for a Nachos Supreme to start us off, which we dug into with pleasure. They got the salsa/guacamole/sour cream/cheese balance down to a T. The menu at Bodean's is a menagerie of US classics. They've got all bases covered. Burgers, Hotdogs, Ribs, Meatloaf, Shrimp, Deli Sandwiches, Burritos, Enchiladas, Mac and Cheese and Steaks. We, of course, wanted a bit of everything and ordered the Meat Platter for two - "A selection of our finest meats from the smoke pit served with fries and coleslaw". On ordered, we inquired as to what was included with the platter... our server told us "all the meats". Everything I've ever wanted to hear.

A true test of a restaurant is whether or not they can do good fries. Bodean's thankfully passed this test. I breathed a sigh of relief. And so to the meat platter... Short and Long Pork Ribs, Pulled Pork, BBQ Chicken, Burnt Ends and Beef Rib. It was like I was tasting every episode of Man V. Food at once. It was on tucking into this that I reflected on my prior vegetarianism. What was I thinking? 

This meal was the closest thing I have ever had to a religious experience. The meat... the sauce... the creamy and crunchy coleslaw that cuts through the richness of the meat perfectly... It was heavenly. When the bill arrived, it was the first time in a very long time where I didn't die inside on reading the figure. I was happy to pay for this food and I will happily return to Bodean's whenever I can.  

Everyone need's to put down whatever they are doing and run to Bodean's. NOW.

Keeping the Marriage Alive.

Good evening blog readers. It's raining in London, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying a good date. Yes, this evening I was accosted and taken out by my dashing other half (we are not married by the way, he won't even take the hint. HINT HINT.) We decided to pop on the tube to Westfield as it is on our line and has a large amount of tasty food places in a small area... although this can often be bad, as both of us are extremely indecisive. Especially when so much deliciousness is involved.

So tonight, as the boy was paying (*sigh* should have dug my feminist heels in VS. *teehee* girly giddyness), he decided on 'Mandaloun', a Lebanese restaurant that, from the outside, looked buzzing with young, fashionable people smoking shisha pipes and enjoying delicious mezze. 

Now, I'd like to point out that I absolutely love mezze cuisine, and the ability to eat lots of different, small dishes. It's the ultimate 'try a bit of everything' menu, which is great for me because I ALWAYS want everything on the menu.
There was a member of the front of house staff stood right by the entrance, however she barely acknowledged us. We stood there politely for about 5 more minutes until she looked again and we tried to signal that we'd like a table for two. She asked in a mumbled voice 'Shisha?', to which we replied that No, we were here to eat. She gestured for us to go inside, where the host took notice of us and lead us to a nice table for two at the back.

There were lots of lovely, comfy looking booths in the main part of the restaurant, along with beautiful hanging lanterns, but it felt wrong to ask for one of those lovely, big, comfortable and cushy booths for just the two of us, despite that fact that I love to eat in booths. It's great for couples who are still in love and actually appreciate being close to each other and sharing food. But we settled for the small wooden 'for two' table.

There was a huge selection of food and wines to choose from, which is always great, but we thought it easier to order the 'Grand Mezze' selection for 2 people. This came to £44.00 for the two of us, as well as this I ordered a large house Lebanese Red and my other half ordered a Mango Juice. The food came pretty quickly, despite having to wait a while to place our order. But where was my wine? I enjoyed those few strong sips before a meal that inevitably always make my meal more enjoyable. We tucked in regardless. We were presented with a selection of hummus  falafel, stuffed vine leaves, pitta breads, salad, minced lamb parcels and filo pastry parcels. The vine leaves were beautiful - they were moist and flavoursome, and I very much enjoyed them. The hummus (it seemed there were two different varieties - a smooth and a chunky one) were also nice. There was also a sort of moussaka sauce with onions and peppers which was very tasty, despite the fact that neither of us like aubergines. But the rest was a little disappointing unfortunately. The falafel and parcels were very dry... OH! My wine has showed up - great! I really could of done with that about twenty minutes ago. At least now it will help with the dryness of my mezze items... oh? Oh. It is extremely rough. Plus it's also a small glass when I asked for a large. Always disappointing.


We were then presented with the second part of our mezze.


I'd like to point out that the waitresses that cleared our table and brought our food were very lovely and smiley.

The main part was a mixed grill of lamb and chicken shish and donor meat.
The lamb shish was INCREDIBLE. Perfectly cooked with a tender and succulent pink middle. The chicken shish was passable, but the donor meat was all too greasy for me. My date had turned from beautiful restaurant wine and dine to glorified kebab shop outing. Shouldn't I have at least done a few tequilas prior?

This all came to about £65.00... including a 12.5% service charge, which I think was downright cheeky seeing as we didn't have one permanent waiter/waitress to give it to and our drinks were incredibly late. I don't think that Mandaloun is somewhere I would be returning to... My boyfriend did enjoy it though, which is good at least :)

We then journeyed to 'The Bull', and I ordered a LARGE Cabernet Savignion, cuddled up in a cosy chair and relished in the warm, smooth taste of my wine. A good ending to the evening.


I would also like to point out that my boyfriend, fantastic and handsome as he is (*vomit* I Know, Right?), returned home today with not only the intention to take me out for dinner, but a chocolate tart. Not any chocolate tart, but a 'River Cottage Deli' chocolate tart. YES! It was so delicious. The pastry was a deep, dark and rich chocolate, and the filling was so smooth and perfect that I could have died... or orgasmed... or both. I thoroughly suggest that everyone has a chocolate tart for breakfast.

Mole

Today I cooked a mexican tradition - Mole. I decided to use chicken, following a recipe from 'Jamie's America' - a really fantastic book by Jamie Oliver, full of incredible and delicious dishes from his journeys from across the pond. Mole is a sauce that comes in many different varieties (black, red, green and so on), and is a great representative dish of Mexico. It's often used for big celebrations such as weddings and can often be eaten as early as 9am, despite its rich and spicy flavour.
This recipe gets it's richness from the large amount of dark chocolate that the recipe involves, along with cocoa powder. Mole is a dish that takes many years to perfect, and so the best way to create it is to follow the recipe of someone else who has already perfected it and then make changes for yourself.
The sauce is great for dipping in juicy meats (everyone loves a bit of juicy meat) or crusty bread. I served my Chicken Mole with a big chunk of crusty bread (for the boys) and a big side garden salad. The salad was made up of gem lettuce, tomato and sweet baby peppers. I doused it in a vinaigrette of my own creation.

This consisted of:
3 tsp garlic olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Fresh thyme
Salt and Pepper
A splash of lime juice
A drizzle of honey

Very quick and easy.

The Mole dish takes a fair while to cook depending on how many you're serving as you have to boil your chicken thoroughly, and the sauce requires blending (yes, I did get sauce all over the kitchen counter... and myself). The waiting pays off however, and I was left feeling a bit tingly afterwards - not sure whether that was the heat from the chillies or something altogether more erotic.