Gujerati-style Cabbage with Carrots

A delicious, light, nutrient-packed side dish found here (replace the sugar with agave):

Gujerati-style Cabbage with Carrots

1/2 lb cabbage
1/2 lb carrots
fresh green chilli to taste
3 tbsp oil
1 pinch asafeotida (hing)
1 tbsp black mustard seed
1 dried red chilli
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp chopped coriander
1 tsp lemon juice

1. Core the cabbage and cut into long shreds; grate the carrots; thinly slice the green chilli.

2. Heat the oil in a heavy pan; when hot add the asafeotida (hing), a second later add the mustard seeds; when they begin to pop add the dried red chilli; stir once.

3. Add the cabbage, carrots and green chilli; turn the heat down; stir for a minute.

4. Add the salt, sugar and coriander; cook for approx 5minutes or until the veg are just done; add lemon juice, stir, serve.

You may wish to moderate the use of fresh and dried chilli!

Recipe: Potato Mamoosa

Made this recipe for dinner tonight.  Sounds a little odd, but is really very tasty.  And, as far as I can tell, perfectly anti-Candida diet A-OK (you could always leave out the chilli).

Recipe: Carrot and Potato Rosti

Rude veg by Silversprite

A delicious, quick and easy recipe:

Carrot & Potato Rosti

Makes one large rosti, which will serve two as a side dish, or one as a main course.

3 medium carrots, washed and peeled

3 medium potatoes, washed and peeled

butter or olive oil spread

salt and pepper

grated goats cheese (optional)

Grate the carrots and potatoes. Place in a bowl. Season to taste and mix well with hands.

Heat a knob of butter/olive oil spread in a small non-stick frying pan. Squeeze excess water out of potato/carrot mixture with hands, or in a clean tea-towel.

When the butter/spread is nice and bubbly, add the carrot/potato mixture, pressing it into the pan. Cook on a moderate heat, turning every five mins or so (it helps to turn the rosti out onto a dinner plate, before sliding it back into the pan), until golden-brown and crispy on both sides (around twenty mins).

For an extra treat, add grated cheese to the top of the rosti and allow to melt in the pan.

Recipe: Roasted Vine Tomato and Basil Soup

It's sweltering hot here at the moment (about time too!) and I really didn't feel like cooking (or writing) this evening. I fancied something light and fresh, and came up with this recipe, which made use of the lovely tomatoes and onions I received in my weekly veg box.

Photo by Zed.Cat

Roasted Vine Tomato and Basil Soup

Serves 1

4 medium vine tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 large clove garlic
half a handful of fresh basil leaves
1/4 pint stock (yeast-free)
olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Wash and quarter the tomatoes. Place in a dish, skin side up. Peel and quarter the onion, add to dish with clove of garlic (leave whole). Drizzle over a good slug of olive oil and season with pepper. Place in the oven for around thirty minutes until the tomato skins are wrinkly. Leave to cool for a few minutes.

When cool enough to handle, slip the skins from the tomatoes. Place tomato, onion and garlic, along with the juice collected in the bottom of the dish, into a blender. Whizz the mixture with half the stock until smooth. Add the basil and whizz until chopped.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan and stir in the remainder of the stock. Reheat gently over a low heat. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve with sourdough toast. Very tasty. :)

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!

Recipe: Channa Masala

Found a great recipe for Channa Masala (a kind of Indian chickpea 'stew') on the Wandsworth NHS website. Have inadvertently lost the URL, so I've reproduced it below (with a few minor adjustments). Not only is it Candida diet friendly, it is suitable for vegetarians/vegans and has no added fat. It's spicy, but fragrant (thanks to the coriander) and very, very tasty.

Tip: To easily peel tomatoes, simply grate them! The pulp and seeds are retained while the skin is left behind. I can't take the credit; I saw Tommi Miers on A Cook's Tour of Spain (Channel 4) do it the other evening!

Channa Masala

Serves 8-10

1/2 - 1tsp turmeric
1/2 - 1 tsp chilli powder
2 cm fresh ginger, crushed/grated
2-4 cloves garlic, crushed/grated
pinch of salt
4 cans tinned chickpeas, drained
5-6 green chillis, chopped
6 fresh tomatoes, peeled
1/2 - 1tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
1 bunch fresh coriander leaves
juice of 2 lemons

1. Put turmeric, chilli powder, ginger, garlic and salt in pan with 8 fl oz/240 ml water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.

2. Add the chickpeas, green chillis, half the tomato, the garam masala and cumin seeds to the water. Stir and cook for a few minutes.

3. Add 4-6 fl oz/100 - 170 ml water, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

4. In a separate container, mix the rest of the tomato, coriander leaves and lemon juice. Use this mixture as a garnish for the chickpea dish and serve either hot, with brown rice, or cold with a green salad.

Recipe: Dhal

Dhal is an economical and nutritious lentil-based 'stew'. I've adapted this recipe from the DK book Yoga: Mind and Body.

Dhal

Serves 4

Dried green lentils
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 medium tomatoes, quartered
1 piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, grated
1 or 2 green birdseye chillis, chopped
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
4 cloves
sunflower oil
salt

Boil the lentils in water for 25-30 mins, until tender. Meanwhile, fry the garlic, onions, ginger and chilli in a pan with a small amount of sunflower oil, until the onion is soft. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, cloves and salt (to taste) to the pan. Cook for a few minutes (the mustard seeds will start to pop). Add the tomatoes to the pan and stir well.

Meanwhile, drain the lentils. Add to the tomato, onion and spice mixture and mix well. Cook for a few minutes to combine the flavours. Add a spot of water to the pan if the mixture is too dry.

Serve with brown basmati rice.#

#N.B. The combination of rice and lentils makes for a nutritionally complete meal.

Soup!

I've discovered a new range of soups recently by Sierra Rica and available from Tescos (and quite possibly other retailers). They don't list the ingredients of their organic vegetable stock on the jars, but I'm trusting that they're yeast-free. I tried Chestnut and Carrot with Ginger and Tomato and Basil. Both very tasty.

Soup, luverly soup!

Just tried another of Marks & Spencer's candida diet friendly soups: Spicy Red Lentil and Tomato. Not bad - bit lumpy for my taste. My favourite remains their Butternut Squash with Roasted Red Pepper Harissa, which is smooth and thick, but not too gloopy. Oh, and they've still got their buy-one-get-another-half-price offer on.

Vegetable Tagine

***UPDATE: I had one of the portions of this I froze tonight, and it was really quite good. So, I think I was just not feeling particularly 100% the other day when I first made it, and thus, didn't enjoy it as much as I might. I think I will make it again. :)

I made that Vegetable and Apricot Tagine yesterday. Not bad, but it was one of those things that when you've made it, you really don't fancy eating it. If I make it again I'll cut the apricots up into small pieces to better distribute their sweetness through the mix - not sure I liked them in a savoury dish.

In the end the quantities described in the recipe made up about three large portions - two of which I've frozen, cos I'm not sure I fancy it tonight. I omitted the carrot (my pan was already full to capacity!) and managed to find Candida diet friendly passata at Sainsburys (in their Organic range).

Recipe: Brown Lentil Bolognese

Here's a recipe I tried out the other day. I adapted it from a Rose Elliott book on vegetarian cookery (again, I failed to make a note of the title). It wasn't bad. A good 'base' to work from in my opinion. I think in the future I may omit the celery (which I'm not especially keen on) and add chopped tomatoes or passata.

Brown lentil bolognese

225g brown or green lentils
2 onions, chopped
oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 celery sticks, chopped
2 carrots, finely diced
2 tbsp tomato puree
salt & pepper

Cook and drain the lentils according to the instructions on the packet. Keep the liquid. Brown the onions in the oil, add the garlic, celery, carrot. Cover and cook gently for fifteen minutes until tender. Add lentils, tomato puree, seasoning and reserved liquid to make a thick, soft consistency.

Serve with wholegrain spaghetti and shavings of hard goats cheese.

Recipe: Haricot Bean Soup

Just made this. Not bad. Kind of satisfied my strange craving for tinned tomato soup (weird - cos I never wanted it before I went on the diet). The recipe is adapted from one of those Australian Women's Weekly recipe books - Greek Cookery, I think.

Haricot bean soup

half a tin of haricot beans (in water)
olive oil
half an onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, sliced or crushed
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (no citric acid)
1 yeast-free, vegetable stock cube
2 tbsp tomato puree
500 ml hot water
handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and onions. Cook until soft. Add celery and cook over a low heat for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes, the stock cube and tomato puree. Add the beans and simmer with a lid on for about an hour. Stir in the parsley and season.

Suitable for freezing.

One thing this recipe has taught me is that I really need to work on my culinary skills - my 'finely chopped' is more like 'great big chunks'! My nutritional therapist has recommended that I have lots of soups and stews to cut through catarrh (nice :S), so expect some more soup recipes soon...

A quick round up...

...of candida diet friendly products and ready-meals to start the month of February.

As a quick aside, it's been wonderful and Spring-like here for the last couple of days - has done my prevailing mood no end of good. Though the weather man says we're set for frosty weather next week - hope the days stay lovely and crisp and bright. I feel like I can just do and cope with so much more when the sun shines. Got to get me one of those daylight lamps for gloomy days.

To start, my last couple of Waitrose finds:

• Aloo Gobi Saag ready-meal, chunks of potato, cauliflower florets and spinach in a tomato-y, spicy sauce. Lovely. :) It's a while since I ate this one (the packaging has been sitting on my desk waiting to be 'blogged'), and I can't remember how hot it was, but I do remember it was pretty good. Another great standby to have in the freezer.
  
• Another soup by the Really Interesting Food Company - this time, Sri Lankan Lentil and Coconut Soup. Now, this one was pretty powerful spicy-heat wise, as far as I can remember. In fact the rest of the tin is still languishing in the back of the fridge. Not because it wasn't good (it was!), but because I had friends to stay and never got round to eating the rest of it - shame (note to self: clean out fridge!).

And now for some new things from Sainsburys, my usual supermarket of choice:

• Taste the Difference Butternut Squash and Sunflower Seed Layered Dip - smooth, hummus-y chickpea dip topped with chunks of roasted squash and whole chickpeas. Makes a nice change from 'classic' hummus, and kind of looks home-made which is good. Has to be eaten within two days of opening though, and there's just too much there for little old me to eat on my own.
  
• Stamp Collection (as in Terence Stamp) Organic Wheat Free New York Deli Bread - sold in packets of six slices. Like a rye bread, but a little less dense and softer. More like 'normal' bread, though quite crumbly (doesn't make good sandwiches). Needs to be kept in fridge after opening. Advertised as containing no added yeast. Great!

Recipe: Beany shepherds pie

Here's a recipe for a vegetarian shepherds pie which has the same look and consistency of a 'normal' shepherds pie made with minced lamb. It was devised by my Mum over my Christmas break and went down very well with a meat-eating friend for whom I cooked it last week. It's packed full of fibre, is very frugal and can be made predominantly from store cupboard staples, providing you have an onion and a potato or two hanging around.

Beany Shepherds Pie

Serves 2

cooked lentils (consult the packet for quantities per person)
1 tin of Whole Earth baked beans
small onion
two large potatoes
yeast-free, vegetable stock cube
tomato puree
two cloves of garlic
freshly ground pepper
small amount of goats milk
small amount of olive oil spread
vegetable oil for frying

Cook the lentils and drain well. Meanwhile slice the garlic, dice the onions and lightly fry. Add the lentils. Cook for a few mins. Add a good squirt of tomato puree (about a tablespoon's worth). Stir in. Break up the stock cube and add to the mixture with freshly ground pepper to taste. Add the baked beans, mix well and check seasoning. Turn low and simmer.

Boil and mash the potatoes with a dash of goats milk and a couple of heaped teaspoons' worth of olive oil spread. Put the lentil/bean mix in a deep, oven safe dish. Use a fork to cover evenly with the mashed potato. Cook in the oven at a fairly high temperature (200 degrees C) for about 20 mins, or until the potato has browned.

Serve with peas and extra gravy if required.

New recipe: Palak Paneer

It's December! Hardly seems possible. Looking back over the archives for the last couple of months it's clear how slack I've been at posting new blog entries just recently. I've just finished writing a MAMMOTH chapter of my thesis and now I can relax a bit. I have loads of new recipes and ideas to try out, so expect the pace to pick up over the next few days.

First up, the best recipe (so far) I've found for paneer (which I'm quickly developing an addiction for). It's from the manufacturers, Long Clawson Dairies. They have a lot of recipes on their site but not, unfortunately, this one (which was printed on box):

Palak Paneer

I get my paneer from Sainsbury's, 'though I'm not sure how widely available it is around the rest of the country (I live in Leicester which has a very large South Asian population, so getting hold of ingredients for Indian cookery here isn't a big problem).

This recipe serves two.

227g paneer, cut into small cubes (I'd suggest one square inch)
butter or oil for frying
227g fresh spinach
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic*
small piece of ginger, chopped*
1 fresh green chilli, chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
seasoning to taste

* Try grating the garlic and ginger - much, MUCH easier than trying to slice/chop them!

Now, the recipe also suggests 1/2 tsp mixed spice - I'm assuming they mean garam masala and not the stuff you put in mince pies!

Heat the oil or butter in a large pan. Fry the paneer quickly until golden brown then put it to one side. Roughly chop the spinach leaves.

Using the same pan, fry the onion until golden brown then add the ginger, chilli and garlic. Cook for a further minute. Add the tomato, salt, pepper, turmeric and garam masala. Cook until the oil separates.

Add the spinach. Cover and cook on a low heat until the spinach is tender and the mixture is almost dry.

Add the paneer, stir and cook for five minutes on a low heat. Add a small amount of hot water if too dry.

The recipe suggests a tomato and onion ring garnish and to serve the dish with naan bread or rice. I had it with poppadoms, which was a filling enough combination for me.

Ready-meal: Sainsbury's

More good news! As part of Sainsbury's new 'Designed not just for Vegetarians' range, they have launched a new ready-meal, 'Bean and vegetable casserole' suitable for those following the anti-Candida diet. And it's not bad. A generous portion of kidney beans, chickpeas, red and yellow peppers, courgettes and BROWN (!!!) rice 'steeped' (I'm quoting from the packaging here) rich tomato sauce. You'll find it in the chilled food section.

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!

Book Review: 'Vegetarian Cooking Without' by Barbara Cousins

Have just got my grubby little mits on Vegetarian Cooking Without: Recipes free from added Gluten, Sugar, Yeast, Dairy Products, Meat, Fish, Saturated Fat, by Barbara Cousins. Looks like it's going to be really useful. Some great recipes, including puddings and cakes (Yes! Puddings and cakes on the anti-Candida diet!).

I tried out a couple of the recipes with varying degrees of success last night: Thai Tofu with Coriander, Chilli and Ginger (p. 154) was quick and easy to make and delicious (even though I wasn't able to get hold of several of the ingredients for flavouring, kaffir lime leaves anyone?!). I made (or attempted to make) Apricot and Walnut Clusters (p. 205) with one eye on the 'Big Brother' final. Not so successful - but for the most part due to me not following the recipe properly, rather than a problem with the recipe per se. I thought I'd be clever and stew the apple in the microwave instead of on the hob, but it didn't produce the necessary sticky mush required to stick all the dry ingredients together. Consequently, they were not so much clusters, than one big cake. I crumbled it up and used it as a crunchy yoghurt topping (and froze the rest). Not bad!

She's also got some useful information in there about Chinese medicine (apparently people with Candida problems are too 'damp'). Worth investigating further methinks.

Ideas for lunch, part two

Here's a couple more ideas for anti-candida suitable lunches, including a Claudia Roden recipe for home-made hummous. But first, let's start with one of my own creations!

Aubergine Pizza

Mozzarella is a 'young' cheese, which means it will contain fairly low levels of lactose, so it is suitable once in a while. Try to get buffalo milk mozzarella - avoid Danish 'pizza-style' mozzarella, it's revolting! - and make sure it isn't preserved in citric acid. Last time I looked, the Sainsbury's 'Be Good to Yourself' version was okay.

Serves 1

2 fairly thick slices of aubergine (medium-sized, sliced lengthways)
half a tin of Sainsburys bruschetta topping
packet of mozzarella
olive or sunflower oil

Lightly fry the aubergine slices in the oil until golden brown and soft (but not falling apart). Spoon some bruschetta topping on each slice. Top with generous slices of mozzarella and place under a hot grill until brown and bubbling.

Hummous

I have adapted this recipe from Claudia Roden's version published in 'Mediterranean Cooking'. Tahini (sesame seed paste) is available from health food shops, such as 'Holland & Barrett'. You'll need access to a liquidiser or, better still, a food processor, to make this recipe.

Makes a generous amount. Will keep in the fridge for up to three days.

1 tin of chickpeas (make sure they don't contain citric acid)
3 tablespoons of tahini
juice of 2 lemons
1 large clove of garlic (if you don't like the harshness of raw garlic, try lightly sauteing it first)
drop of water
salt to taste
paprika
olive oil

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Blend with the tahini, lemon juice, garlic (crushed) and salt, adding a drop of water if necessary, until smooth. Garnish with a sprinkling of paprika and a swirl of olive oil.