How to Roast Hazelnuts

Have you ever accidentally bought raw hazelnuts when actually, you wanted roast hazelnuts that remind you of the taste of chocolate? I did today.. very annoying!! So I decided to have a go at roasting them myself and it was actually very easy.

Step One: Preheat your oven to 200ºC

Step Two: Spread your raw hazelnuts over a baking tray

Step Three: Roast the nuts for around 5 minutes in the preheated oven and then remove. The skins should be browned and starting to flake off

Step Four: Place a handful of nuts at a time on a clean tea towel and rub them in the fabric to remove the skins

Step Five: Remove the nuts from the tea towel and discard of the little bits of nut skin. Leave to cool before eating. 

Epcot Food and Wine Festival Review - China

I was at an absolute loss as to what to try when we reached the China Pavilion  On previous visits I have tried egg rolls in the Lotus Blossom Café and I was tempted to buy those again.

Like Mexico, however, China also had a specific Food and Wine Festival kiosk and I wanted just about everything on the menu!

They had Mongolian Beef in a Steamed Bun, Pork Pot-stickers and Chicken Satay with Spiced Peanut Sauce and Pickled Vegetables on offer (along with mango tapioca pudding).

As I had just had some beef and I often find steamed buns a little sweet for my taste, I was able to rule that one out. In the end the pickled vegetables won me over and I went for the Chicken Satay.

I thought this dish was disappointing. It was a nice idea and a good sized portion of meat compared to some of the other dishes and the flavour itself was pleasing. The meat was just a little on the dry side. Now, I have to say, given the quality of all the other food I ate at the Festival I think this was probably just unlucky on my part - perhaps as the result of mass catering it was overcooked or left under a heat lamp for too long.

At $4.25 it was good value and I would try it again.

Review: The peanut sauce was perfect (I would have preferred either a little more, or for the sauce to be poured over the chicken itself as it was quite hard to scrape up), the pickled vegetables gave the dish some nice bite and freshness but the chicken would have been better if it had just been a little more moist.

Thank You Cards

Well, I'm VERY late in making and sending my thank you cards following our wedding. So late in fact that I'm probably going to send them in the same envelopes as my Christmas cards this year (it will save on stamps if nothing else!!).

I have agonised over a design for ages.. I tried making origami peacocks (see the picture below) which I was going to glue to the card, but they looked a bit naff once they were stuck down. Actually, they look a bit naff even not stuck down!! My wedding theme was peacock colours (green and blue rather than turquoise though) and peacock feathers. The only actual peacock was on the cake.

This morning, I was looking through my stamp bag to find letter stamps and came across an old set of clear rubber stamps that I've never really used only to realise that one of the stamps was a peacock!! And all of a sudden I had a design. Sometimes I think simple really works best, and these really are simple - a peacock stamped in green, teal and blue along with "Thank You" lettering in teal.

I'm very happy with the result and now I just need to finish my Christmas Cards so I can post everything!!

Chinese Beef and Sticky Rice (12pp - Weight Watchers Friendly Recipe)

I am *so* in love with this recipe. I literally want to eat it again and again and it will be on my meal plan next week. Inspiration came from a BBC food recipe (the original recipe can be found here) and I adapted it to make sure it was weight watchers friendly (reduced the oil and beef and increased the 0pp vegeables!!) as well as making it a recipe to serve 2 and to change the method to suit my cooking style (I'm not one for part cooking something, removing it from the pan and then adding it again later - it only creates more washing up). At 12pp this is an easy to fit in evening meal - I even had points left over for chocolate!!

I left the seeds in my chilli and it was very hot - I'd recommend deseeding your chilli if this isn't to your taste, or even just using half a deseeded chilli.

I think this is really what weight watchers is all about - finding a recipe or taking a meal that you used to make and making it healthier - whether by reducing the fat involved, changing the quantities or adding things that will keep you full (like increasing your veg). 

Ingredients (Serves 2) 

260g lean stewing steak cut into chunks (make sure any visible fat is removed)

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 red chilli, finely chopped (or less to taste - with or without seeds to taste)

half a bunch of spring onions, sliced

3 tablespoons dry sherry

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 beef stock cube

splash Worcestershire sauce (you will notice I use this in everything!)

1 teaspoon chinese five spice

1 teaspoon brown sugar

120g rice (I used short grain rice to get that 'sticky rice' feel)

1 pack mange tout and baby corn

2 pak choi

6 inches cucumber

boiling water

Preheat oven to 170ºC

Weight Watchers notes:- points per serving are as follows: Beef - 4pp, rice - 6pp, flour - 1pp, oil, sugar, soy sauce and sherry combined - 1pp. The recipe builder points the whole recipe at 25, but each portion at 12, if I was pointing individually though, I'd have counted it at 13/14pp - 1 for sherry and 1/2 for sugar, oil and soy combined. But I'm not going to argue with the recipe builder!!

Method

1. Heat the teaspoon of oil (measure it out) in a heavy bottomed pan (preferably one you can transfer to the oven later) and add the ginger and garlic to soften. 

2. Coat the beef in the flour (I only used about half a tablespoon for this and kept the rest back for step 4) and add to the pan to brown. 

3. Add the chopped chilli (deseeded if you're not into heat, with seeds if you are) and spring onion to the pan and stir. Keep a small handful of spring onion aside to garnish. 

4. Add the sherry and soy sauce. I added the rest of my flour here into the liquid - this will thicken the sauce later, but if you added it all at step 2, it should be fine. 

5. Add the five spice, sugar and crumbled stock cube and then add water so that it almost covers the beef. The amount will probably depend on your pan size - you don't want a thin watery sauce though, so don't go overboard. 

6. Add the baby corn and mange tout and transfer to a preheated oven for about 1 hour and 40 minutes
(or until your beef is tender). I stirred mine a few times throughout the cooking process. I would also say, don't be put off by the smell at this stage - mine smelled sweet and strongly of cinnamon which is not what I want from a main meal - it didn't taste like this at all!

7. Meanwhile cook your rice (for sticky rice 170ml water over 120g rice works - bring to the boil the reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes before turning off the heat and leaving it covered for 20 minutes or so) and chop the cucumber into small chunks. The cucumber was a last minute addition to my dinner - i used a whole chilli complete with seeds and the cucumber helped to cool it! It added a nice freshness and crunch though, so I'd recommend it as an accompaniment. 

8. Lightly steam the pak choi (or dry fry to wilt) just before serving. Sprinkle the dish with fresh spring onion and serve!

My husband commented that it tasted like real chinese food. I said that if I was having a NYE party, this would be my main - there's no need to be away from your guests as you just prepare it and leave it in the oven and it was just sooooo tasty!! YUM!

Chicken, Bean and Chorizo One Pot (12pp)

I was so super hungry today (after another bike ride - go me!) so I made a big, hearty warming and filling meal. It pointed up at 12pp so I was more than happy and thought I'd share.

Ingredients (Serves 2 generously)
1 tin Butter Beans (240g)
2 chicken breasts
80g chorizo
200g new potatoes
1 onion
1 carrot
1 large clove of garlic
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1.5 teaspoons paprika
Dash Worcestershire Sauce
Salt and Pepper
Water

Pre Heat Oven - 200ºC

NB Ignore my photo - I removed half the potatoes, extra onion and carrot when I realised what a big portion it was going to be!

Weight Watchers notes - the points per serving are as follows: chicken breast - 4pp, half tin butter beans - 3pp, 40g chorizo sausage - 3pp, 100g new potatoes - 2pp.

If you have more points available to you, use as much chorizo as you can - it's where the best flavour comes from.

Method

1. Peel the chorizo (I made the mistake of not doing this once and had little chewy leathery bits every other mouthful!) Just score down the sausage lengthways and you should be able to peel it back easily. Slice lengthways in half, then slice into pound coin thicknesses.

2. Warm a heavy bottomed pan (preferably one you can transfer to the oven later) and add the chorizo. The aim here is to warm the chorizo so the flavourful oil is released, but not to burn it.

3. Finely chop the garlic and add this to the chorizo, stirring every now and again. Turn the heat down low.

4. Whilst the chorizo and garlic are simmering away, chop your onion into a small dice and add this to the pan and stir so that all of the onion goes orange in chorizo oil goodness. Add a little salt at this stage to release the liquid from the onions and turn the heat up to medium.

5. Peel and finely dice the carrot and finely dice the new potatoes. Add these to the pan and stir again, to coat in the flavours.

6. Chop your chicken into small pieces. I cut each breast into 4 strips lengthways and then each strip into about 8 small pieces. Add these to the vegetables and bring the heat up to high. Stir to cook the meat through.

7. Add the paprika, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce along with a tin of chopped tomatoes and tomato puree.

8. Drain and rinse the butterbeans and add to the pan, followed by half a tin of water (sorry, I didn't measure it but it was half the tomato tin to get the remanants of tomato out!).

9. Give it all a good stir and transfer to the preheated oven. Cook for around 50 minutes (or until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through) and serve.

If I had a few pp to spare, I would add a tablespoon of philadelphia light to the top just before serving and then I'd stir this through for extra creaminess!

Pretty in Pink Cereal (4pp - WW Friendly Recipe)

My breakfast this morning was the prettiest breakfast I've ever had and whilst it's probably technically not a recipe, more like an idea (there is no cooking involved.. just putting things together in a bowl), I thought I'd share it nonetheless. It's got some oats for slower release energy but it doesn't have as many points as my Energy Breakfast so it's fine for a day where you're not planning a lot of exercise. The meal works out at 4pp.

Ingredients (Serves 1)

20g Porridge Oats (2pp)
10g Rice Krispies (I do love these...!) (1pp)
100ml semi-skimmed milk (1pp)
1 small banana
Half a pomegranate

Method
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Slice the banana and remove all of the pomegranate pods from the skin (the skin is very bitter), sprinkle the fruit over the cereal, add the milk and enjoy.

Tabouleh (11pp - Weight Watchers Friendly)

This is one of my easiest recipes going and it's packed full of flavour. Based on an Arab salad, I have adapted this so that it doesn't have as many calories as your traditional recipe which is full of olive oil. Coming out at only 11pp it's a very easy meal to fit into any plan. I often take a half portion at 4pp for lunch in an air tight lunch box.

Ingredients (Serves 2 Generously)

120g (dried weight) bulgar wheat
Half a cucumber
1 small pack cherry tomatoes
200g reduced fat feta/salad cheese
1 small tin olives in brine (mine were stuffed with garlic)
Half a red onion
Small bunch fresh mint leaves
Small bunch fresh parsley leaves
Dash of lemon juice
Black Pepper

Weight watchers notes - 60g bulgar what is 5pp, my cheese pointed at 5pp per 100g and the small tin contained 24 olives - 12 are only 1pp.

Method

1. Make up your bulgar what according to the packet instructions. (Mine said to rinse then cover in boiling water and leave for 30 minutes before draining). Make sure you drain it well - too much wetness will make for a watery meal.

2. Quarter the cherry tomatoes, dice the cucumber into small cubes and dice the onion as finely as you possibly can. Add these to the drained bulgar wheat.

3. Add the olives (I cut these in half so that they are more evenly spread out in the meal) and cut the feta into small cubes. Add these to the bulgar/vegetables.

4. Next up is the herbs. Now, these need to be chopped as finely as possible.. think dried herb style. Basically, you want them so small they'll get stuck in between your teeth and make you look silly for the rest of the night!! Add these, along with some black pepper and a dash of lemon juice to the other ingredients.

5. Combine all of the ingredients together and leave for at least 20 minutes before serving so that the flavours all mingle.

This can be made in advance and refrigerated (it's eaten cold) and, as set out above, smaller portions make great 'take out' lunches.