Quorn Samosas

 

 

♬ 'Covered' by Macy Gray

 

 

Let me tell you something about Quorn, it's pretty amazing as a meat alternative and incredibly low in fat.

 

What’s the big deal?

 

Imagine you're thinking of preparing a dish that requires red meat for dinner. Without taking into account the sauces, sides and carbohydrates that accompany the dish let me fill you in with a few facts from reliable nutritional sources.

 

100g of Quorn mince contains:

2g of fat

100g of lamb mince without cooking it in oil:

19.9g of fat.

 

100g of beef mince:

 

19.8g of fat.

If like me you are hoping to look good in a bikini or just in general then make the healthy choice!

 

 I was on a creative streak and wanted to impress Quorn with something different, so I combined a snack from my Indian heritage with their vegetarian mince product, and I created these delicious spicy samosas.

 My grandma is renowned for making the best samosas at all family functions, and my mum learnt from her how to continue this tradition. As a child I remember watching my grandma in awe at how these addictive spicy triangles were made by her hands. I would grab one samosa that had just been cooked and run out into her garden, watch the hot air fly out the top of the triangle and take large bites. Boom! Three bites and on to the next one! It was like eating the top of a golden pyramid and the taste inside was unreal. Hopefully my sister and I can also continue making amazing samosas in the future. My mum normally fills her samosas with chicken or lamb mince, and I thought it was about time to mix things up a bit!

 

I've always been a Quorn lover, maybe it’s because I'm always looking for healthy alternatives to most ingredients. Lamb is the only red meat I eat and don’t tend to eat it regularly, so having Quorn at the ready in the freezer is always handy. As a teenager I found my love for Quorn one afternoon when rummaging through the freezer and finding a pack of their sausages. To this day I make sure I'm stocked up and value its fat and protein content alongside my active lifestyle. 

THE BIG Q...

 

Does Quorn taste like meat?

Honestly, if you cook it with similar sauces as you would with normal meat or chicken then it’s not far off.

 

Big up Quorn! Don’t be a hater, be a lover of what’s good for you (and think of the holiday photos!)

 

Thank you:

 

Quorn

 

and

 

Tesco

 

 

 Song on at the moment:

 

'Creep'

 

 

 xx

Mita Coco Lollies

 

 ♬ 'Magna Carta...Holy Grail' by Jay Z

Saw Jay Z last week in Stratford and he was on top form as per usual. The guy is always musically evolving and looking very healthy these days. Maybe coconut water might be a favourite drink of his!

 

 

I've gone completely COCO and now blogging about an ICE LOLLY.

 

It all started off last Thursday morning after a gruelling Bikram yoga session, as per usual I wanted to jump into a big pool of ice instead of facing the heat outside. I eyed up the coconut water in the fridge before I left the studio and knew I needed something colder to cool me down. When I got home, I found some ice lolly moulds and filled them with coconut water and fresh watermelon chunks. A few hours of freezing and BOOM I have refreshing Mita coco lollies!

 

Think about it...

Coconut water is expensive, freeze them as lollies and they will last longer. Perfect for post workouts and for children.

 

Here's a short video persuading you to make your own, sorry about the close up!

 

Next time in the lolly mix:

 

Bananas

Strawberries

Blackberries

Pineapple

 

 

 

Favourite Song:

 

'Tom Ford'

 

Enjoy.x

Two Toned Cupcakes - Orange and Vanilla

♬ 'Random Access Memories' by Daft Punk

 

You know what I love about barbecues?

Food and music.

 

I mean great company is also important! But the food is always comforting and special. Occasionally I've been treating my housemates to cupcakes after our late night barbecues just as a sweet end to the night.  

 

Barbecues are not just about burgers and hot dogs, start baking interesting cakes to sweeten everyone up...

 

Ingredients:

 

125g soft unsalted butter

125g soft brown sugar

2 medium eggs

125g self raising flour

Half a teaspoon of baking powder

3 tbsp Soy milk

 

20g cocoa powder

Zest of half an orange

1 tsp vanilla essence

 

Embellish:

 

125g soft unsalted butter

250g icing sugar

1 tbsp Soy milk
 

Orange colouring

20g cocoa powder
Lola's edible glitter

 

 

▶ Method

 

Preheat oven 180° c, line cupcake tin with 12 cases.

Beat butter and sugar until combined and fluffy, then add the eggs.

Stir in flour, baking powder and milk.

 Divide mixture into two bowls. In one add the vanilla essence and in the other add cocoa powder and zest.
Use a teaspoon to scoop small amounts from each mixture in random order in each case.

 Bake for 20 minutes.
 Once risen and a butter knife comes out clean from the middle cake, take out of tin to cool.

Make standard butter cream with butter, icing sugar and milk. Divide this into two bowls (sorry for who ever is washing up!) Add a drop of orange colouring to one and cocoa powder to the other mixture. Spoon both mixtures into opposite sides of a piping bag and get piping!
Dip and swirl in glitter.

Eat! Eat! Eat!

Yes I'm still loving Daft Punk. Any suggestions about another album to play when baking up a storm?

M.x

Cola Cupcakes

♬ 'Random Access Memories' by Daft Punk

Yesterdays baking session consisted of flour whitening the floor, Daft Punk blaring out the kitchen and icing sugar all over my dress. The reason for cake havoc? Cola flavouring. Ever since I found it in Sainsbury's I've been tempted to bake a batch of these cakes, then suddenly I get a last minute order and I can show these beauties off!

 One small tip:
With the suns rays beaming over London, butter cream really doesn't stand a chance outdoors. These have to be eaten straight away at a barbecue or kept in the fridge, then left out for five minutes for the sponge to reach room temperature.

The best part I find when making cupcakes is the smell of the magic working in the oven and decorating them. I think it's really important for cupcakes to be embellished in a creative way to reflect their flavour.

Get yourself a large rose tip nozzle for piping, fancy muffin cases, Dr Oetker edible gold decorating spray and few fizzy cola bottles.

Ingredients:

60g unsalted soft butter
150g soft brown sugar
1 large egg
20g cocoa powder
150g plain wholemeal flour
130ml milk mixed with 1 tbsp white wine vinegar (buttermilk)
Half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp white wine vinegar

Embellish:

60g unsalted soft butter
125g icing sugar
50g cocoa powder
2 tsp cola flavouring
2tbsp milk
Dr Oetker gold spray
Fizzy cola bottles

▶ Method:
 

Preheat oven 180°c

Beat butter and sugar until combined and fluffy, then add the egg.

Stir in cocoa, flour and buttermilk mixture.

Lastly add bicarbonate of soda and vinegar.

Divide mixture into 12 cases and bake for 20 minutes.

Once risen and a butter knife comes out clean from middle cake, take out of tin to cool.

 

Make frosting by softening butter first (otherwise icing sugar will go everywhere) and stirring in icing sugar slowly then whisking with cocoa, milk and flavouring.

Pipe on completely cold cakes, spray gold from a short distance and top with cola bottles.

 

Favourite song this month:

'Doin' It Right' by Daft Punk and Panda Bear.

 

Enjoy.x

Cherry Chocolate and Strawberry Cupcakes

 

♬ 'Random Access Memories' by Daft Punk

 

There's something about the British strawberry that's enticed me. From using it as a cereal topper then in salads and definitely smothered in Greek yoghurt for pudding. This red jewel is a British staple during summer and I love it.

 

Yesterday morning I decided to mix it cook it with cupcakes and Daft Punk. Next time you feel like baking, try these. Trust me they will please anyone with a sweet tooth.

 

Ingredients:

 

60g unsalted butter

150g brown sugar

200ml milk with 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar which will make buttermilk.

30g cocoa

1 large egg

150g self raising flour

50g French glace cherries

Orange zest

4 medium strawberries hulled and crushed.

 

Quark cream cheese or another low fat option.

Oatmeal

Small strawberries to add on top.

 

Method:

 

Preheat oven 180°c, line muffin tin with cases.

  Mix butter and sugar until fluffy, this might take more than 5 minutes without a hand held whisk.

Add egg and once combined pour in buttermilk.

 Next in the mix is flour, cherries and orange zest.

 Divide the mixture into 12 cases and spoon a tiny bit of crushed strawberries on top.

. For accurate sizes use an ice cream scoop or two dessertspoons, I find it's best to start off small in each case then top up if there's any mixture left in the bowl.

Bake for 25 minutes until springy and well risen.

 Leave to cool out of the tin and on a cooling rack.

 

Once completely cold, add a teaspoon of cream cheese on each cake, sprinkle oatmeal and top with strawberry.

 

Favourite Song:

 

"Touch" by Daft Punk and Paul Williams

 

 

.