8 below zero

I have been planning a trip to Sweden to do some work and at the same time catch up with my family.

As I am writing this blog entry I am sitting in my family kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee. The ground outside is covered in a thin layer of snow and the thermometer is showing 2 degrees below zero.

Even though I am a summer kind of guy who likes the beaches of Sydney and getting toasty in the sun there is something special about a cold spring day in Sweden.

Yesterday the temperature fell to 8 degrees below zero and I decided to do a trip to the local smokery to grab some freshly smoked eel, mackerel and salmon. Seafood at it's best.

Growing up by the sea, smoking have always been my preferred way of cooking seafood. Even though you can get both cold and hot smoked salmon in Sydney I find that smoking seafood is underestimated as a cooking method. I will make some research and see if I can bring some new found smoking skills to bring back to Sydney.

Labels: cooking, Travel

Swedish Cheese Cake

Today Sascha came over for morning tea. Both of us are currently trying to be healthy so cakes and biscuits wasn't really on the menu. I decided to bake a swedish cheesecake. This is a receipt that I have recommended a lot of my clients as it is a perfect snack to make over the weekend for the following week.

The trick with the cheesecake is to put some effort in to the preparations of the mixture as this decides if you are going to get a nice fluffy cake... or a dense pancake kind of snack. So read the instructions and try to stick to them as much as possible.

Swedish Peach Cheesecake 4 Portions

(Per serving: 247 Cal, 10g Fat (2.5 Saturated), 15g Carbs, 25g Protein)

400g Low Fat Cottage Cheese

2 Eggs

75 ml Non Fat Milk

100 ml Raw Almond Kernels

2 Tbsp Splenda

2 Tbsp Wheat Flour

1 Pinch Xanhtan gum

4 Half Peaches in Juice

(Almond essence and Cinnamon)

Margarine and Breadcrumbs for lining the tin.

Put the owen on 225 degrees.

Use an almond grinder to grind the almonds to a flour then mix together with the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix well before grinding the mixture once more to get a smoother mixture. Put to the side. Put the cottage cheese, milk, egg yolks and (almond essence) in a blender and mix until smooth.

Rub the inside of the tin used (1 large or 4 small) with margarine. Then cover the sides in breadcrumbs before gently shake the excess off. Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Start by mixing the dry flour mixture with the cottage cheese mixture. Blend well before gentle fold down the beaten egg whites. Spoon a thin layer of mixture into the tin(s) then place a half a peach on top. Cover the peaches with the rest of the mixture and sprinkle some cinnamon on top.

Put into the middle of the owen for about 30 min for small shapes and 60 min for a large one. If the cake gets enough color cover with tin foil and continue bake until done. The aim is to get the peach to hover in the mixture. This way you keep at the moisture of from the peaches.

Once done, take the cake out and let cool before removing the tin. If you trying to remove the tin right away the cake will collapse. Sprinkle some splenda on top. Serve lukewarm.

Tip: Make sure to use Splenda or any other sucralose sweetener as Aspartame (Equal) breaks down during prolonged heat and taste bitter.

Labels: cooking, Diet, nutrition, recipe

Swedish Meatballs

Since I got back from my vacation in New Zealand I have been trying to be good with my diet as I put on a bit of weight during the silly season. As they say "shit happens".

The other day I decided that I would cook something I used to cook for my family in Sweden. Here is a slightly modified version of the very first meatballs I learnt to cook. My mother used to use a mix between pork and beef mince as this gives more "flavor" but as it also increase the fat content a lot I have used a heart tick approved beef mince to allow myself to use more olive oil to make the linguini really smooth.

Garlic Linguini w Swedish Meatballs - 4 Port

(Per Serving: 472Cal - 15g Fat, 42g Carbs, 40g Protein)

600 g Lean Beef Mince

500 g Linguini Cooked

1 pc Medium Egg

2 tbsp Skim milk

30 g Bread Crumbs

4 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4-6 tbsp Finely Chopped Parsley

250 g Cocktail Tomatoes

200 ml Chopped Garlic Shoots

2 pc Garlic Cloves

Salt/Pepper

Mix the egg, breadcrumbs, milk and some salt and pepper in a big bowl. Put this to the side meanwhile you boil up a large pot of water together with 1-2 tsp of salt. Mix the beef mince together with the breadcrumb mixture and shape the meatballs. When the water is boiling, add the pasta. Fry the meatballs in 1 tsp of the olive oil. Once they are almost done, add 50ml of water and braise them until the water has evaporated. Keep the meatballs warm meanwhile you drain the pasta. Use the pasta pot and add the rest of the olive oil, parsley, pressed garlic, salt and pepper. Once this mixture has a golden color add the pasta and re-heat. As you serve the pasta and the meatballs give the garlic shoots and cocktail tomatoes a quick turn in the same pot to heat up as well take up some of the garlic flavor.

Pasta got a bad reputation in media lately. In my opinion this is due to the distorted portion sizing we have and most people doesn't know how big a serving of pasta should be. Also choose as dense pasta as possible as this means a lower GI. Enjoy the pasta but if you have a "Lady & The Tramp" night, make sure to ease off on the garlic...

Labels: cooking, nutrition, recipe

Pan Fried Barramundi

After the great seafood I had a the aussieBum Christmas party I decided to give you a taste of a classical meal that with some modifications can fit into a healthy, nutritious and tasty eating plan. Pan fried fish battered in bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

After the 90's low fat hype many people stayed away from fat all together which is equally as bad as eating too much. A general guideline is to eat as many grams fat as body weight in kilos. Make sure that the fat you eat comes from good sources such as nuts, seeds, avocado, fatty fish and most vegetable oils. Avocado oil which I use in this recipe is not only healthy but also add some lime flavor to the fish.

Parmesan Battered Barramundi With Taste of Lime (3 Port)

Per Serve: 469 Cal, 18g Fat (3g saturated), 36g Carbohydrate, 40g Protein

430g Barramundi fillets

120g Large Prawns (Tails on)

30g Bread crumbs

15g Finely grated Parmesan cheese

Salt/Pepper

4 Tsp Avocado oil with lime infusion

300g Cocktail potatos

450g Baby Carrots

Lemon and Fresh Dill

Boil the potato until tender. Use a steamer to steam the carrots on top of the potatoes for the last 10 minutes. Pour of the water and spray lightly with olive oil spray, then add some salt. Meanwhile the potato and carrot are cooking prepare the fish.

Clean the fillets and pat them dry with paper towels. Grate the parmesan cheese with a microplane and mix with bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Turn the fish into the mixture and let rest on a dry plate. Butterfly the prawns (Cut lengthwise over the back, halfway through) and turn these in the mixture as well.

Add half the avocado oil in a good teflon coated frying pan and fry the barramundi on medium heat until golden. As you flip the fish add the second half of the avocado oil and fry equally golden. Turn up the heat and fry the prawns until they curl up nicely and turn golden. Make sure not to over cook the prawns.

Place the boiled cocktail potatoes and the carrots onto the plate, top with the barramundi and fried prawns. Finish of the meal with a slice of lemon and fresh dill.

Simple, nutritious and divine...

Labels: cooking, nutrition

Sunday roast

Sunday, a day that for the last couple of years been my “day off”. The day when I spend most of my day doing very little. Breakfast in bed, coffee with friends and dining out.

This weekend I decided to do something I haven’t done for a long time. A traditional sunday roast. Four spatchcocks in the oven, pumpkin and asparagus in the steamer and of a good bottle of red wine. I was ready to relax. I had forgotten how much I actually enjoyed cooking. The smell of roast dinner spread through the apartment building. I felt good making the effort of cooking up a nice, nutritious dinner.

I wasn’t trying to make this dinner “healthy” as there was full cream in the gravy and a good amount parmesan in the stuffing but I think that real home cooked dinners are underestimated both from a culinary and nutritional point of view.

If more people learnt to cook basic foods from scratch rather than using all those processed foods that most of us eat today, if people sat down to eat rather than throwing down a pre made lunch in the matter of minutes I am sure that we would have a healthier and less over weight Australia. Sound nutrition is not about cutting out any foods but to understand and balance the foods you eat. Everything in moderation is what nutrition is all about. Sure I wouldn’t eat creamy sauces and drink wine everyday but now and then they still have a part in my diet.

Labels: cooking, Diet, nutrition

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8 below zero

Swedish Cheese Cake

Swedish Meatballs

Pan Fried Barramundi

Sunday roast