Recipes

Merry Christmas + English Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe

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Hello friends – happy Monday and happy (almost) Christmas.  Before I head out to spend some down-time with my family, I want to take a moment to tell you how much I LOVE YOU!  Writing this blog brings so much joy into my life.  What makes the effort most meaningful is knowing that people actually read what I write and even like it (for the most part).  Thank you for your emails and messages of kind words over the past 2 and half years.  I hope that you have a Merry Christmas filled with good times, great friend and family and yummy food!

On the last note, last night my friend Caroline hosted a FABULOUS holiday dinner.  We devoured a delicious, decadent sticky toffee pudding for the dessert.  I can still feel it melting in my mouth and have been craving more all morning.  So, I searched around for promising British Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe that I could share.  I’m going to attempt to make a batch today and bring it to my family’s Christmas Eve gathering.  It takes only 40 minutes to prepare and serves about 6.  We won’t talk about the calories 🙂

Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe

by: Elaine Lemm, British and Irish Food Expert

INGREDIENTS
  • 8 oz/225g cooking dates, stoned and chopped small
  • 6 fl oz/175ml boiling water
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 6 oz/ 175g self-raising
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 large, fresh eggs, lightly beaten
  • 3 oz/85g butter , softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 5 oz/140g demerara sugar
  • 2 tbsp black treacle 
  • 3 ½ fl oz/100ml milk
  • SAUCE
  • 6 oz /175g light muscovado sugar
  • 2 oz/55g butter , cut into pieces
  • 8 oz/ 225ml heavy/double cream
  • 1 tbsp black treacle 

INSTRUCTIONS – to make the cake

  • Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C/Gas 3
  • Butter 6, 7fl/oz/200ml individual pudding tins or use an 8″ x 8″ x 2 ½” deep (20cm x 20cm x 6.5cm deep) square baking dish and dust lightly with flour.
  • Put the chopped dates into a large glass bowl, cover with boiling water, leave for 20 minutes to swell and soften. Once soft, add the vanilla extract.
  • Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large baking bowl.
  • In another baking bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy, don’t worry about grains of sugar, they will melt during cooking.
  • Little by little, add the beaten eggs, mixing really well between additions. Add the treacle and beat well.
  • Using a large metal spoon carefully fold in one third of the flour, then carefully stir in one third of the milk. Repeat until all the flour and milk is used up.
  • Add the chopped dates (including any liquid in the bowl) and stir gently. The pudding mixture will resemble a thick batter.
  • Divide the mixture between the six pudding tins, place on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20 – 25 mins for individual puddings or 45 – 50 mins for the large square. The cake should be raised and firm to the touch, if not cook a little longer but take care not to burn. Once ready, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out.

INSTRUCTIONS – to make the sauce (meanwhile)

  • Over a medium heat, melt the butter, sugar and half the cream in a saucepan. Raise the heat slightly and bring to the boil stirring constantly until all the sugar has dissolved. Add the treacle and allow the sauce to bubble for 2 mins. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 1 minute then stir in the remaining cream.
  • Place a portion of the cake onto warm individual serving dishes, and drizzle generous amounts of sauce over.
  • Serve with custard or ice cream.
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Just for Fun

Super Scrumptious Southern-Style Fall Veggie Recipes

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Happy Fall everyone!  Historically, I haven’t been a Fall-lover, but as I’m “maturing” I’m starting to love the season more and more.  As a former vegetarian, I still have a special affinity for vegetarian recipes and the best of the best arrive in the Fall!  So, since I’m a Southern Girl slash veggie lover, I wanted to share with you my top 3 favorite Fall recipes, all of which are southern-style.  I hope you love these recipes as much as I love them.  Enjoy.! Lots of luv, Brit

Butternut Squash with Pecans and Blue Cheese

butternut squash

Ingredients

  • 1 2lb butternut squash
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1-2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
  • 1/3 cup Danish Blue cheese, crumbled

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Cut ends off squash, then cut in half lengthwise. Scrape out seeds with a sharp spoon, peel squash with a vegetable peeler, then cut into 1 inch cubes.
  2. Toss the squash cubes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, herbs, salt, and pepper.
  3. Arrange the squash in a single layer and roast for 20 minutes without opening oven.
  4. Remove the pan and turn squash cubes over. (They should be lightly browned on the bottom.) Roast the squash 15 minutes more.
  5. Turn the squash one more time and sprinkle pecans over the top. Roast 10-15 minutes more, until the nuts are fragrant and the squash cubes are soft and caramelized.
  6. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper if it needs more.
  7. Serve the crumbled blue cheese at the table, so you and your guests can choose how much cheese to add (if any).

 

(Source: Stephfood.com)

Apple Pecan Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

apple pecan stuffed sweet potatoes 4

Ingredients

  •  4 medium-size sweet potatoes (3 1/2 lb.)
  •  3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
  • 1/4 cup butter
  •  1 large Rome Beauty apple, chopped
  • 1/4 cup golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

  1. Place potatoes on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until tender.
  2. Heat nuts in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, 5 to 7 minutes or until toasted. Remove from skillet.
  3. Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add apple and raisins; sautĂŠ 2 to 3 minutes or until apple is tender. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Remove from heat.
  4. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; scoop pulp into a large bowl, leaving shells intact. Add apple mixture to pulp in bowl; stir until blended. Spoon mixture into shells. Place on baking sheet.
  5. Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with nuts.

 

(Source: Southern Living)

Maple Collard Greens

collard-greens

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch collard greens (chopped)
  • 1  onion (chopped)
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup (real)
  • 1 tsp barbecue sauce
  • 2 tbsps oil (butter margarine)
  • salt
  • pepper

Directions

Heat butter or oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add onions. While onions are cooking wash collards leaving them damp. After about 5 minutes when onions are lightly browned  add collards and cover pan with a lid. After about 5 minutes add maple syrup, BBW sauce, a pinch of salt and a few dashes of pepper. Mix together and cook covered over medium for about 10-15 minutes or until greens are tender.

 

(Source: food.com)

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Just for Fun

Packing the (nutrition) PUNCH

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Lindsey KrasnaGuest Post by Linsdsay Krasna, GRIT by Brit Registered Dietician

So I was en route to Brit’s weekly NYC Turbo Kickboxing class Sunday morning… adrenaline pumping (burpeeees here I come!)… when I realized, mid-subway ride, that class was cancelled for Spring Break! Ahh man… what’s gal to do? I decided to take this incident as a sign that perhaps instead of kicking butt today, I should savor the opportunity to “rest butt”…… and put my energy into a long overdue nutrition blog post!

I’ve been taking Brit’s Turbo Kickboxing class for a little over a month now, and if I had to pick one thing that keeps me coming back (besides the exceptionally awesome instructor, of course), it would be the efficiency of this workout. Her class is a high-energy hour-long conglomerate of heart-pumping cardio, leg/arm/core-work, and plyometrics… all choreographed to a kick-a** beat. And the best part is, it’s so fun, you don’t even realize how hard you’re working! (That is, until the next day, when you attempt to get out of bed and your aching shoulders and thighs are cursing you). Seriously though, Brit’s class packs the punch (no pun intended… well, maybe it was intended a little bit).

This got me thinking: how could I encourage readers pack their punch, nutritionally?

And Walla! See below for a few strategies and examples of my favorite food combos that will help you get most bang for your “nutritional buck.” Enjoy!

1. FAT + FRUIT effect

apple and peanut butterCombining mono- & poly-unsaturated fats with fruit (and veggies!) actually helps to boost the absorption of fat soluble vitamins found within in the produce, such as Vitamins A, D, E, and K. Not only that, but the addition of the dietary fat gives a thrill to your taste buds that plain fruit or veggies just can’t do for you alone.

Ideas:

1) apple and peanut butter

2) salad with avocado

3) steamed or baked veggies drizzled with olive oil

4) carrots and hummus dip

2. Two halves DO equal a whole

Brown-Rice-and-BeansShout out to my vegetarians! Getting adequate quality protein can be a challenge for non-meat eaters… but not to worry! Herbivores can still easily meet their protein needs by consuming a combination of two complementary proteins.

Ideas:

1) rice and beans

2) pita and hummus

3) cereal and milk. Additionally, for those down with dairy, low-fat Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are A+ sources of high quality protein.

3. Upping the ante w/ IRON

tomato baked chickenWhen iron-rich foods are eaten with acidic/citrus foods, a synergistic effect occurs in which the body more readily absorbs the iron. Just ask Popeye!

Ideas:

1) spinach salad with strawberries

2) OJ with iron-fortified cereal

3) chicken cooked in tomato sauce

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Just for Fun

Get LEAN & GREEN on St. Patty’s Day

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st patty's day slime down

Hey gang!  I hope your week is going well.  Any fun plans for St. Patrick’s day?  I plan to kick start my day by teaching Turbo Kick.  If you’re in NYC, come join us this Sunday at Stepping Out Studios in Flatiron at 11:00am.  You can register at www.turbonyc.com.

Also, here’s a “Green Juice” recipe that I LOVE, from A House in the Hills.  Try it out on St. Patty’s day to offset the green beer 😉

a_house_in_the_hills_green_juice_recipe

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Just for Fun

Brit’s 5 Favorite Fit Snacks

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The past couple of weeks I’ve gotten pretty sloppy with my diet :/  I’ve done a good job keeping up with my workouts, but my food choices could be much healthier.  This weekend I took mental note of my favorite “fit snacks” and am going to try to have them handy so that it’s easier for me to make healthy choices .  Keep in mind that I’m a new vegetarian (officially 2 months strong) so everything I picked is “veggie friendly.”  Here’s my list – enjoy!

1. All Natural Peanut Butter & Banana.  Either “straight up” or in frozen sandwiches like below.

pb & banana

2. Carrots & Hummus – not very exciting, but always tasty and gets me my daily dose of Vitamin A!

carrots & humms

3. Kale Chips – be careful about getting flavored ones though.  While they are tasty, they sneak in extra calories that can pile up…

kale chips

4. Apples dipped in Greek Yogurt – I like to sprinkle a little cinnamon on top or maybe drizzle some honey if I really have a sweet tooth.

apples & greek yogurt

5. Almonds and prunes – This combo is high in fiber and will clean you out real good 😉

almonds & prunes

What’s in your top 5 favorite fit snacks?

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