Recipe: Warming Coconut Noodle Soup

A quick update...

Over Christmas I went a little nuts, ate lots of sugar, too much meat, etc, and ended up with a nasty dose of my old 'friend', not to mention absolutely dreadful indigestion. Yuck. So, I'm going back to basics, at least until my system gets back on track. It's back to checking labels and not eating out for me. Boo.

This evening I really fancied something noodley and spicy and coconutty. The red chilli sauce I normally use as a base turned out to have corn syrup in it (I swear it didn't use to!), so I had to make do with other ingredients. This is what I came up with. It was surprisingly delicious and made enough for two generous servings.

Warming Coconut Noodle Soup


2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (or as much, or little as you like)
1 red chilli, finely chopped with seeds
About an inch of ginger peeled and shredded
Sesame oil
1 tin of coconut milk
1 yeast-free stock cube dissolved in a 1/4 pint boiling water
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp ground coriander (adjust to taste)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
half a tin of Marigold braised tofu (inc. the juices)
a sprinkle of Maldon salt
freshly ground black pepper
half a large onion, finely sliced
1 red pepper
a couple of handfuls of lettuce or something 'green'
1 nest of noodles

Add a splash of sesame oil to a hot wok. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir for a few moments. Add the onion. Fry for a couple of minutes, until the onion is starting to soften and turn golden. Add the red pepper. Fry for another couple of minutes until the pepper starts to soften. Add the basil, coriander and cinnamon. Stir well and fry for a few moments to release the flavours.

Add the coconut milk, stock and lemon juice. Stir well and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and add the 'chunked'  braised tofu and juices (the liquid aminos replace traditional fermented soy sauce in this recipe). Stir and allow to simmer for a few minutes. Add the noodles. Coat them well in the soup mixture. Allow to bubble away and thicken slightly.

When the noodles are just about cooked, add the seasoning (to taste) and the lettuce. Give the mixture a good stir. Once the lettuce has wilted, the soup is ready to eat. Yum!

Recipe: Sweet Chilli Lime Tofu with Steamed Spinach and Quinoa

This is a great vegan recipe originally posted by LindyLoo, and adapted par moi!

Sweet Chilli Lime Tofu with Steamed Spinach and Quinoa

Serves 2-4

1 block tofu sliced length-wise and cut into triangles

For the sauce:
3 tsp granulated xylitol
3 tsp soy sauce
1 3/4 tsp fresh lime juice
1/2 zest of the lime
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
4 mint leaves, chiffonaded

For the quinoa:
3/4 cup quinoa rinsed and drained
1/2 zest
2 bruised cardamon pods
1 small piece of cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups of water

For the spinach (the original recipe calls for collards , but I have no idea what those are!)
1 bag spinach leaves
2-3 tsps water
1 pinch salt
1 tsp lime juice

Combine all the ingredients for the quinoa in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and cover with a tight lid. Reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes. Then turn off the heat and steam for a further 10 minutes before serving.

Prepare the sauce by whisking together all the ingredients until the xylitol has dissolved.

Heat a pan and dry-fry the tofu triangles until golden on both sides.

Chop the spinach leaves (if necessary) and add to a deep frying pan/wok with the water, lime juice and salt. Cover and cook over a high heat for a couple of minutes until the spinach has wilted.

Re-heat the tofu and add the sauce to the pan. Stir to coat. Turn off the heat when the sauce starts to bubble and glaze the tofu.

Serve the spinach on top of a bed of quinoa. Add the tofu on top of that and drizzle over any left over sauce. Garnish with lime slices and the mint leaves.

Recipe: Massaman Curry

At last! The first of those recipes I promised...

Adapted from Healthy Dairy-Free Eating, by Mini C and Tanya Carr (p. 99).

Massaman Curry

Serves 4

1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp Thai red curry paste (I used Geo Organics Red Curry Paste - which apart from a spot of white wine vinegar and orange juice is Candida diet-friendly)
310g firm tofu, cut into chunks
200ml coconut milk
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 onion, coarsely sliced
1 tbsp cashew nuts (I added extra!)
4 cardamon seeds
1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
1 1/2 tbsps freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tbsps granulated xylitol
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 handful coriander leaves to garnish

Heat oil in a pan over a low heat. Add the curry paste and stir-fry or about 15 seconds - don't burn! Add the tofu chunks and stir-fry for 1 minute.

Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes, add the potatoes, onion, cashews, cardamon and cinnamon.

Season with lemon juice, xylitol and soy sauce. Leave curry to simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.

Garnish with the coriander leaves and serve with boiled brown rice. Delicious!

A weird, but tasty combination: Bacon-wrapped tofu

In the last few days both Maki @ Just Hungry and Profgrrl have mentioned the peculiar-sounding Japanese delicacy, bacon-wrapped tofu. It felt like someone was trying to tell me something. So, tonight, I gave it a go. And jolly tasty it was too. I used unsmoked back bacon (perhaps streaky would be even better?), a firm tofu ,and left the soy on the side as a dipping sauce. The overall 'package' was quite salty, but that was counteracted by the accompanying brown rice and steamed purple-sprouting broccoli.

All in all, a bit of a success!

Hokkaido-style corn, chicken and cabbage soup with miso

Have just made the most FANTASTIC soup for lunch, which is perfectly anti-Candida diet* compatible - courtesy of Maki at 'I was just really very hungry'. I substituted the chicken for firm tofu.

Highly recommended!

* just make sure that, if you're using tinned sweetcorn, it isn't sweetened.

Tempeh

Eugh! Once bitten, twice shy. Won't be trying that again! Shame, cos I'd managed to get it frozen from my local health food shop. Thought it would be like a firm tofu, but has a completely different texture. Basically it looks like what it is; fermented and crushed soya beans held together by a kind of fungal 'sponge' (all the anti-Candida advice I could find about tempeh was fairly ambivalent, so - as I'm maintaining - I'd thought I'd give it a go). Had it cubed in a stir-fry with miso paste. Not good, not good AT ALL! Perhaps it's one of those 'acquired tastes'?

Did have some fantastic organic Japanese green tea in a cafe at lunchtime 'though. Wish I could remember what it was called. Came in a little handsewn fabric pouch, rather than a tea bag. It was great.

Ideas for dinner - Part 2

With a bit of imagination you can come up with lots of ideas for main meals. But it's best not to get stuck in rut - anecdotal evidence suggests that you may become more susceptible to forming new allergies/food intolerances if you have a limited diet. At the moment I tend to eat fairly light suppers, with plenty of salad and vegetables (I'm loving beetroot at the moment - the Co-op sells it ready cooked and vacuum-packed without any added nasties). So, here's a few more ideas for the summer.

Oatmeal goujons

This is a really easy and quick way of cooking chicken or fish. The oatmeal is a great substitute for breadcrumbs and makes a lovely crunchy casing.

1 chicken breast or fillet of salmon (without skin) per person
Oatmeal
Seasoning (salt & pepper, or Schwartz Season-all, for example)
Sunflower oil

Place a little oatmeal on a plate or in a bowl. Add a little seasoning (just enough to liven the oatmeal up!) and mix well. Take strips of chicken or fairly chunky slices of salmon (cut 'with the grain'). Roll in the oatmeal mixture until well coated and shallow fry in sunflower oil, turning occasionally to ensure the goujon is evenly cooked and browned.

Serve with salad and new potatoes (or chips!).


Ginger and cashew stirfry

You could add chicken or tofu to the stirfry, if you fancy something a bit more substantial. Just chuck the ingredients in, according to how much of each you fancy (I'm really not a very accurate, 'measured' cook!). The green vegetables and cashew nuts are packed full of iron, and the brown rice and noodles contain B6 (which activates iron) - just what the doctor ordered if like me, you're slightly anaemic.

clove of garlic
piece of ginger
broccoli
bok choy
onion
chinese leaves
cashew nuts (unroasted/unsalted)
dark soy sauce (if you're allowed it) or miso paste
sesame oil

Grate the garlic and ginger and gently fry in the sesame oil. Quickly add the onion, cut in half and sliced and the broccoli (cut into florets) - try peeling the stalk, slicing it finely and adding that to the pan too! Stirfry for a few mins, until the vegetables start to soften. Add the bok choy leaves and the chinese leaves (sliced) (as much as you want - or fits in the pan - but remember, they'll cook down to nothing in no time at all!). Stir fry until the leaves start to wilt and add the cashew nuts. Fry until the nuts are starting to brown and add a splash of soy sauce or a good heaped teaspoon of miso paste (with a splash of hot water). Combine well and serve immediately with brown rice or brown rice noodles.

If you are adding chicken or tofu, slice or cube and cook until brown on all sides in a separate pan. Add to the vegetables just before the soy or miso.

Variation: Butterfly some king prawns (i.e. de-vein) and marinade in the grated garlic and ginger, with a splash of soy sauce or squeeze of fresh lemon juice, for at least an hour before cooking (remember to refridgerate!). Add to the vegetables (instead of the cashews) just before you add the soy sauce or miso paste.

Ideas for dinner

Finally, finally the bit of writing that has preoccupied me for the last few days is finished and my thoughts can return to food. Here's a few ideas for more substantial meals.

First up is a recipe I have adapted from one I found in a Cranks cookbook (I think!):

Beany Goulash

Enough for two (will keep in the fridge overnight)

1 tin of cannellini, butter or haricot beans
large clove of garlic
half a large onion, peeled and sliced
olive oil
1 large green pepper, de-seeded and sliced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (without citric acid)
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
2 teaspoons of paprika
a dash of cayenne pepper or half a de-seeded and finely sliced green chilli pepper (optional)
salt and pepper
natural/bio yoghurt to garnish

Fry the garlic and onions (and chilli) in the olive oil, add the green pepper and fry until onions are soft. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, the drained and rinsed beans and the paprika (and cayenne). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about fifteen minutes, without a lid on the pan, to reduce the liquid a little.

Serve with a swirl of yoghurt and accompany with a green salad or brown rice.


Indian style food is pretty easy to adapt to the anti-Candida diet. I make up a basic Korma-style sauce, using Coconut Milk or Cream, to which I add pieces of chicken, prawns or tofu. A quick and easy recipe follows:

Chicken (or prawn or tofu) Korma

Serves 1

chicken breast (cooked prawns or half a packet of tofu)
half an onion
half a green pepper
clove of garlic
piece of ginger
tablespoon of mild curry powder
2 teaspoons of garam masala
tin of coconut milk or half a block of coconut cream

Grate the garlic and ginger and fry in sunflower oil (do not allow to burn!). Add the onion (diced or sliced) and gently fry until softened. Cut the chicken into pieces (cube the tofu, if using instead) and add to the pan. Fry until browned. Dice the green pepper (fairly large pieces), add to the pan and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the curry powder to the pan. Give the ingredients a good mix and then add the coconut milk (if using creamed coconut dissolve in a little hot water first). Allow mixture to simmer until the chicken (or tofu) has cooked and the liquid has reduced a little. If using prawns, add them to the sauce and gently warm through. Add the garam masala and serve with brown rice, poppadums or wholewheat chappattis.

I have made a vegetarian option before, using cubes of potato, florets of cauliflower and green beans.

For an extra special version, substitute the curry powder for 2 teaspoons of freshly ground cumin seeds, 1 1/2 teaspoons of freshly ground coriander seeds, 1/2 teaspoon of ground turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Marinade the chicken in the cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt and pepper for at least an hour before cooking. Cook as per instructions above, but add a good dollop of yoghurt to the pan before the coconut milk/cream.

Check back soon for some more recipe ideas!