The Elysium Eatery

Chicken Burgers

2010-02-24T20:39:00.021Z

If you buy organic chicken from the supermarket and find as I do, that it is extremely tough, then this is a great recipe.

Ingredients;

4 (tough as old boots) chicken breasts
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons dried parsley
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Method;

Chop up the chicken roughly and blend in the food processor for about 2 minutes
Add all the other ingredients and blend for a further 1 minute
Scoop out handfuls of the resulting gloop and shape in to patties on a greased baking sheet (you may want to keep putting your hands under a running tap as the water stops the chicken from sticking to you)
Bake in a preheated oven for 20-30 minutes at 180 degrees turning once

(Frozen) Cauliflower and Courgette Soup

2009-09-11T12:52:00.000+01:00

If you are avoiding potatoes and despair at how you might thicken up a soup then this one is for you. Frozen cauliflower works very well as a potato substitute, just remember not to add too much additional liquid to the pot. I've experimented with different variations of this and it does not work with fresh cauliflower - if you want the thickening effect the cauliflower must be frozen.

You will need a 5 litre pot or larger. Freezes well.

Ingredients;

4 or 5 medium onions, chopped
Oil for frying
1kg bag of frozen cauliflower florets
6 courgettes, roughly chopped
1.5 litres of chicken stock
3 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of turmeric
Generous sprinkling of dried parsley

Method;

Fry the onions in the pot with a little oil and water until translucent
Add all the other ingredients, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through
Blend thoroughly - I use a hand blender in the pot for convenience

Turkey Loaf

2009-09-08T11:07:00.007+01:00

I ended up in hospital a couple of weeks ago with a kidney infection, thus the lack of posts. I am feeling a lot better now so I thought I would share my recipe for home made turkey loaf.

I've been fiddling about with this recipe for a while now and am finally happy with it. It is great hot, out of the oven (lovely and moist) or next day chilled (still moist!). Great for an Autumn meal - substantial but not too rich and it's quite economical too as it seems to go a long way. It's great to slice and take with you for a picnic or for a quick SCD friendly snack. I hope you like it!

The quantities below will make 1 2lb loaf. I usually make more than one at a time because they freeze well.

Ingredients;

650g minced turkey (I mince my own so I know exactly what's in it)
2 small onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large cooking apple, peeled and grated
25g fresh sage, stalks removed and finely chopped
80g ground walnuts
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

Method;

Fry the onion and garlic until nearly cooked
Add the sage to the onion and garlic and until the sage is wilted and the onions translucent
Put the minced turkey in a large bowl and add the cooked onions, garlic and sage
Add all the other ingredients to the bowl and mix well
Line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper, put the mixture in the tin and pack down well with the back of a wooden spoon
Put in a preheated oven at 180 degrees and cook for an hour and a quarter to an hour an a half

Banana Bread

2009-06-19T13:10:00.007+01:00

If you are expecting a sweet, cakey type of bread this is not the recipe for you! Having said that, the bananas do give it some sweetness. Great for a snack.

Ingredients;

2 large really, really ripe bananas
4 eggs
6oz ground almonds
1/4 cup (approx 50ml) of oil (I use coconut as the sweetness is good with the bread)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2oz chopped nuts for topping

Method;

Put the oven on at 170 degrees (non fan assist - if you have fan assisted oven then reduce temperature by 10 degrees)
Line a baking tin (or tins) with oiled baking paper. I used 2 loaf tins but you could easily use a square or round tin instead
Put the bananas, eggs, oil, honey and vanilla extract in the food processor and blend until it looks like a frothy milkshake
Add the bicarbonate of soda and blend again
Add the almonds and blend again to mix
Pour the mixture in to the tin(s) and sprinkle the nuts on top
Bake in the oven for 30 to 40 mins. The bread is ready when a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Blueberry Muffins

2009-06-13T17:09:00.007+01:00

Wow! I just made muffins that look like the real thing and taste great too. The basic muffin recipe is from the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet by Elaine Gloria Gottschall. I made a dozen and they are all gone already!

Ingredients;

2 1/2 cup of ground nuts
1/4cup melted butter (or home made yoghurt)
1/2 cup runny honey (place honey jar in bowl of hot water to make runny)
1/2 tea spoon of baking soda
1/8 teaspoon of salt
3 eggs (if you can't eat eggs then pureed fruit can be substituted)

Method;

Put the everything except the butter in a food processor and blend
Add the melted butter to get a batter like consistency
Optional - add some fruit (I used a few blueberries)
Spoon the mixture in to tin lined with paper cases (or non-stick muffin tin)
Bake at 190 degrees for 15 to 20 mins

You need to keep a close eye on these while they are cooking as they can burn very quickly.

Pea and Mint Soup

2009-06-09T15:29:00.005+01:00

Ingredients;

Oil for cooking onions (coconut is good)
3 or 4 medium onions
500ml ready made Chicken or Vegetable stock
1.5 litres Boiling water
1.2 kg Frozen or Fresh Peas
3-4 table spoons Dried Mint
Very large bunch (about 80-100g) of fresh mint (stalks removed)
2-3 tsp salt

Method;

Use a large 9"/5l pot for this recipe

Heat the oil in the pot
Chop up the onions (I use the MagiMix to save time)
Put the onions in the pot and add a little liquid (50 -100 ml) to help them steam cook (put the lid on the pot)
Fill the kettle and put on to boil
When the onions are cooked put the peas, stock, dried mint, salt and boiling water to the pot and bring to the boil - boil until tender (a few mins)
A minute before turning off the heat, add the fresh mint
Blend using Bamix (hand blender)

The very best thing about this recipe is that this soup only takes me about half an hour to prepare and cook (it will take longer though if the peas are straight from the freezer). It will keep in the fridge for two to three days and freezes well.
This was submitted for June's Go ahead honey, it's gluten-free! event.

Spinach and Nutmeg Soup

2009-06-09T12:39:00.002+01:00

This soup is light and not something to "stick to your ribs" which is perfect for the hotter weather and above all it is SO quick to make.

Ingredients;

600g spinach
4-5 medium onions
4-5 garlic cloves
1/3 of a nutmeg
500g pre made chicken stock
Salt to taste (I use about 3-4 tsp for a pot this size)
Pepper to taste
1.5 l boiling water
Olive oil

Method;
You will need to use a 5l soup pot like the one on the right for this quantity of ingredients

Fill the kettle and put on to boil
Heat a little olive oil in the pot
Chop the onions
Crush the garlic
Add garlic, onions and 100ml of water to the olive oil in the pot. Put the lid on and steam fry
Wash the spinach thoroughly
When the onions and garlic are cooked add all the spinach to the pot. (It may look like it will not fit but it does!)
Add the chicken stock
Add the boiling water
Add the salt and pepper to your liking
Grate about 1/3 of a nutmeg in to the pot (or however much you like)
Bring to boil
Boil for a minute or so
Blend thoroughly

This takes about 20 mins to make from start to finish. It will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.