A Fishy Tale of Two Authors

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is dedicated to the memory of two of the United Kingdom’s most famous authors who’s birthdays and death are commemorated this week J M Barrie and Douglas Adams. The recipes this week are Crispy Cod Nuggets with Sweet Potato Wedges, Lemon & Basil Roasted Sea Bass and Fish Curry.

James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM J M Barrie (9 May 1860 – 19 June 1937) was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright. There he met the Llewelyn Davies boys who inspired him in writing about a baby boy who has magical adventures in Kensington Gardens (included in The Little White Bird), then to write Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, a "fairy play" about this ageless boy and an ordinary girl named Wendy who have adventures in the fantasy setting of Neverland. This play quickly overshadowed his previous work and although he continued to write successfully, it became his best-known work, credited with popularising the name Wendy, which was very uncommon previously. Barrie unofficially adopted the Davies boys following the deaths of their parents. Before his death, he gave the rights to the Peter Pan works to Great Ormond Street Hospital, which continues to benefit from them.

Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television series, several stage plays, comics, a computer game, and in 2005 a feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.

Adams also wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988), and co-wrote The Meaning of Liff (1983), Last Chance to See (1990), and three stories for the television series Doctor Who. A posthumous collection of his work, including an unfinished novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002. Adams became known as an advocate for environmental and conservation causes, and also as a lover of fast cars, cameras, and the Apple Macintosh. He was a staunch atheist, famously imagining a sentient puddle who wakes up one morning and thinks, "This is an interesting world I find myself in—an interesting hole I find myself in—fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!" Biologist Richard Dawkins dedicated his book, The God Delusion (2006), to Adams, writing on his death that, "Science has lost a friend, literature has lost a luminary, the mountain gorilla and the black rhino have lost a gallant defender."

The full version of this article can be found at www.garfysplaceinfo.blog.co.uk

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My first recipe is Crispy Cod Nuggets with Sweet Potato Wedges Courtesy of www.goodtoknow.co.uk

Serves: 4, Prep time: 20 mins, plus chilling Cook: 30 mins

4 x Skinned Cod (or Pollack)Fillet, cut into chunks (from a sustainable source)
2tbsp x Plain Flour
1 x Large Egg, beaten
100g x Fresh Breadcrumbs
2tbsp x olive oil
2 x Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
1tbsp x Honey
Sunflower oil, for shallow-frying
Soured Cream and chive dip and lemon wedges, to serve

Coat each piece of cod/pollack in flour then dip in beaten egg and coat in breadcrumbs. Cover and chill in the fridge for 20 mins. Preheat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF, gas mark 6).Heat the olive oil in a roasting tin for 3-4 mins then add the sweet potato. Roast for 20 mins, turning once. Brush with honey and return to the oven for 10 mins until tender and golden. Heat the sunflower oil in a heavy-based frying pan and fry the fish nuggets for 2-3 mins on each side until golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Serve with the potato wedges, dip and lemon.

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My next recipe is Lemon & Basil Roasted Sea Bass Courtesy of www.goodtoknow.co.uk

Serves: 2, Prep time: 15 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

2 x Sea Bass Fillets
100g x Cherry Tomatoes
1 x Red Pepper, sliced
1 x Yellow Pepper, sliced
1 x Lemon, zest and juice
10g x Fresh Basil, coarsely chopped
Olive oil

Heat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC/Gas Mark 6. Lay the tomatoes and peppers in a roasting dish and drizzle with olive oil. Mix the lemon juice, zest, basil and a tablespoon of olive oil and smother over the sea bass fillets (save some basil to sprinkle over when serving). Lay the marinated sea bass on the roasted veg and return to the oven for 15 minutes. The bass will be white and flaky when cooked. Sprinkle with basil and serve immediately.

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My final recipe is Fish Curry Courtesy of Oliver Magazine first published September 2006.

Serves 4, Ready in 30 mins

1 x Onion, finely sliced
Olive Oil for frying
2 tbsp x Curry Paste, Madras is good for this
2 x 400g tins of Chopped Tomatoes
450g x White Fish Fillets, cut into large chunks
a small handful of coriander leaves

Fry the onion in a large pan with a little oil until softened then add the curry paste and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes then simmer for 10 minutes until reduced and thickened. Add the fish and gently simmer for 3-4 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Scatter with coriander and serve with naan bread or steamed basmati rice.

So long, and thanks for the fish. – Douglas Adams

Tune into my shows on 6townsradio "The Thursday Morning Show with TheRealTonyc" every Thursday from 10-12 & my Sunday show “UndertheCovers with TheRealTonyc” at http://6towns.co.uk/ It's what your Sunday's were made for.

If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D

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Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Menu

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week it is dedicated to a literary genius who’s plays, sonnets and poems have stood the test of time William Shakespeare, who’s birth and death are celebrated and commemorated this week. The recipes this week are Red Lentil and Butternut Squash Curry, Spicy Chorizo Potatoes with Fried Eggs and Quick Soy-Glazed Chicken with Carrot & Cucumber Pickle.

William Shakespeare (est. 23 April 1564 - 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613 at age 49, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.

Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. In 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's.

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the 19th century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry". In the 20th century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed, and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

The full version of this article can be found at www.garfysplaceinfo.blog.co.uk

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My first recipe is Red Lentil and Butternut Squash Curry Recipe courtesy of www.slimmingworld.com

Serves 4, Prep time 10 mins, Cook time 45-50 mins

Fry Light
1 x Large Onion, peeled and chopped
1 x Medium Butternut Squash peeled, deseeded and chopped
2 tbsp x Medium Curry Paste or Powder
1 x 300ml Passata 
300ml x Hot Vegetable Stock
100g x Dried Red Lentils
Baby Spinach

Heat the oven to 170°C/Gas 3. Spray a heavy, ovenproof pan with Fry Light and cook the onion with the lid on for 5 minutes until softened. Add the butternut squash, tossing with the onion then cook for a few minutes again with the lid on. Stir in the curry paste/powder and passata.

Add the vegetable stock to the pan along with the lentils. Stir well and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and place in the oven for 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of your butternut squash chunks.

The curry is cooked when the sauce has thickened and the lentils are tender but still whole and a knife slides into the butternut squash easily. Remove from the oven and stir in a handful spinach. Replace the lid and leave to stand for a few minutes until the spinach wilts. Serve with the rice and a swirl of yogurt.

Tip: If you prefer a less spicy curry, you can either reduce the curry paste slightly or serve it with extra very low fat natural yogurt.

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My next recipe is Spicy Chorizo Potatoes with Fried Eggs Recipe courtesy of www.bbcgoodfood.co.uk

Serves 2, Prep 10 mins, Cook 30 mins

2 x Large Potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
olive oil
1 x Small Red Onion, halved and sliced
1 x Green Chilli, sliced
100g x Chorizo, cut into chunks
½ tsp x Smoked Paprika
2 x Eggs

Cook the potatoes in boiling water until tender. Drain really well then fry in 1-2 tbsp olive oil until golden. Scoop out the pan, then add the onion and chilli and keep frying until softened. Add the chorizo and paprika and cook for a minute then add the potatoes back and cook, tossing everything together. In a separate pan, fry the eggs. Serve on top of the potatoes.

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My final recipe is Quick Soy-Glazed Chicken with Carrot & Cucumber Pickle Courtesy of Olive Magazine November 2010.

Serves 2, Prep 30 mins, Cook 15 mins

½ tbsp x Chinese Five-spice powder
3cm x Piece of Ginger, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp x Brown Sugar
3 tbsp x Soy Sauce
2 tbsp x Rice Wine Vinegar
4 x Large Skinless Chicken Thigh Fillets, or 6 Small
½ x Small Cucumber
1 x Carrot, peeled
1 tsp x Golden Caster Sugar
½ x Red Chilli, finely chopped
oil, for frying
100g x Basmati Rice, cooked to serve

Put the five-spice, ginger, brown sugar, soy and 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar in a bowl or freezer bag. Add the chicken and leave to marinate for 30 minutes. While it's marinating, cut the cucumber and carrot into ribbons using a potato peeler then put in a bowl. Heat another tbsp rice wine vinegar with a tsp sugar until dissolved, then toss with the veg and chilli.

Heat a tbsp oil in a wok or large frying pan. Take out the chicken pieces, shaking off the marinade as you do and add to the wok. Fry for 3-4 minutes each side until golden and crisping up, flattening them with a spatula so they cook evenly. Add the marinade to the wok, turn down the heat and continue cooking for 5 minutes, turning a few times until the chicken is glazed with the sauce and cooked through. Slice the chicken and serve with the veg and rice.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players:
they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts..."
—As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7, 139–42

Tune into my shows on 6townsradio "The Thursday Morning Show with TheRealTonyc" every Thursday from 10-12 & my Sunday show “UndertheCovers with TheRealTonyc” at http://6towns.co.uk/ It's what your Sunday's were made for.

If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D

Follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/therealtonyc
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Comedy Kings Full of Eastern Promise

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is dedicated to two true British comedy legends, both born in Asia, who births and deaths are remembered this week.Spike Milligan KBE and Harry H Corbett OBE.This week’s recipes are continuing the Asia theme with three curry recipes. They are A Healthy Chicken Curry, Chana Masala andOne-pot Mushroom & Potato Curry.

Spike Milligan KBE (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the British government declared him stateless. He was the co-creator, main writer and a principal cast member of The Goon Show, performing a range of roles including the popular Eccles.

Milligan wrote and edited many books, including Puckoon and his seven-volume autobiographical account of his time serving during the Second World War, beginning with Adolf Hitler: My part in his downfall. He is also noted as a popular writer of comical verse; much of his poetry was written for children, including Silly Verse for Kids (1959). After success with the ground-breaking British radio programme, The Goon Show, Milligan translated this success to television with Q5, a surreal sketch show which is credited as a major influence on the members of Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Harry H. Corbett OBE (28 February 1925 – 21 March 1982) was an English actor best known for his starring role in the popular and long-running BBC Television sitcom Steptoe and Son in the 1960s and 70s. He was a serious Method actor and early in his career he was dubbed "the English Marlon Brando" by some sections of the British press.

The full version of this article can be found at www.garfysplaceinfo.blog.co.uk

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My first recipe is Healthy Chicken Curry courtesy of Slimming World

Serves: 4 Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 45 minutes

2 x large onions, sliced
568ml x chicken stock 
2 tsp x turmeric
3 x cardamom pods
1 x 2.5cm/1in piece cinnamon stick
4 x black peppercorns
4 x cloves
1 tsp x ground coriander
1 tbsp x peeled and grated root ginger
1 tsp x ground cumin
½ tsp x mild chilli powder
3 x garlic cloves, crushed
4 x skinless and boneless chicken breasts, sliced 
283g x fat free natural yogurt, bought to room temperature
salt
2 tbsp x chopped coriander leaves, to garnish

Put the onion and 426ml of the chicken stock in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Cover the pan, bring to the boil and then boil for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat, uncover the pan and cook gently for 20 minutes, until the onion is tender, golden and syrupy.

Add all the spices and garlic to the pan, and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add the chicken and cook for a few minutes to coat in the spices, then stir in the remaining chicken stock. Cover the pan and simmer very gently over a medium heat for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked.

Transfer the curry to a large serving bowl. Add 4 tbsp of the cooking sauce to the yogurt and stir well. Gradually add the yogurt into the curry, stirring continuously. Season to taste with salt, serve immediately with boiled rice and garnish with the chopped coriander.

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My next recipe is Chana Masala Courtesy of Slimming World

Serves: 4 Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 25 minutes

Fry Light
1 x cinnamon stick
3cm (1¼”) x Fresh Ginger, peeled and cut into thin shreds
6 x garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 x fresh green chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 x small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp x medium curry powder
110g x passata
1 x large potato, peeled and cut into cubes
400g x can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
A squeeze of lemon juice
¼ tsp x garam masala
Salt
2 tbsp x chopped mint leaves
2 tbsp x chopped coriander leaves

Spray a large frying pan with Fry Light and place over a medium heat. Add the cinnamon, ginger, garlic and most of the chilli and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the onion and cook for 6-7 minutes or until softened.

Add the curry powder and stir-fry for 1 minute and then add the passata, 150ml of hot water and the potatoes. Stir and bring to the boil, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook gently for 10-12 minutes and then add the chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Remove from the heat, sprinkle over the lemon juice and garam masala, season well and stir in the chopped herbs. Serve garnished with the remaining chilli.
Tip: This recipe is suitable for freezing.

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My final recipe is One-Pot Mushroom & Potato Curry, BBC GoodFood website

Serves 4 Prep 10 mins Cook 20 mins

1 tbsp x oil
1 x onion , roughly chopped
1 x large potato , chopped into small chunks
1 x aubergine , trimmed and chopped into chunks
250g x button mushrooms
2-4 tbsp x curry paste (depending on how hot you like it)
150ml x vegetable stock
400ml x reduced-fat coconut milk
chopped coriander , to serve

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and potato. Cover, then cook over a low heat for 5 mins until the potatoes start to soften. Throw in the aubergine and mushrooms, then cook for a few more mins.

Stir in the curry paste, pour over the stock and coconut milk. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 mins or until the potato is tender. Stir through the coriander and serve with rice or naan bread.

Tune into my show on 6townsradio "Under The Covers with TheRealTonyc" every Sunday from 8-10am athttp://6towns.co.uk/ It's what your Sunday's were made for.

"Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite" – I told you I was ill… Engraved on Spike Milligan’s headstone

If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D

Follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/therealtonyc
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What You See, Is What You Get

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is entitled What You See is What You Get and is dedicated to the 20th Century’s most inspirational men who’s birthdays are celebrated and remembered this week Bob Geldof andMahatma Gadhi . The featured recipes this week are Guiness and Honey Glazed Pork Loin, and Vegetable Curry.

I’ve decided to have a little change in direction with a feature of this blog. Instead of a featured herb or spice, I’m going to feature a much maligned and/or forgotten about ingredient. And this week’s much maligned ingredient is Lentils.

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE (born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his compositions "Rat Trap" and "I Don't Like Mondays". He co-wrote "Do They Know It's Christmas?", one of the best-selling singles of all time. He starred as Pink in Pink Floyd's 1982 film Pink Floyd The Wall.

Geldof is widely recognised for his activism, especially anti-poverty efforts concerning Africa. In 1984, he and Midge Ure founded the charity supergroup Band Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. They went on to organise the charity super-concert Live Aid the following year and the Live 8 concerts in 2005. Geldof currently serves as an adviser to the ONE Campaign, founded by fellow Irish humanitarian Bono. A single father, Geldof has also been outspoken for the fathers' rights movement. Geldof has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was granted an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II, and is a recipient of the Man of Peace title which recognises individuals who have made "an outstanding contribution to international social justice and peace", among numerous other awards and nominations.

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement. A pioneer of satyagraha, or resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience — a philosophy firmly founded upon ahimsa, or total nonviolence — Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is often referred to as Mahatma or "Great Soul." In India, he is also called Bapu and officially honoured as the Father of the Nation. His birthday, 2 October, is commemorated in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence.

Gandhi first employed non-violent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, in the resident Indian community's struggle for civil rights. After his return to India in 1915, he set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers in protesting excessive land-tax and discrimination. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, increasing economic self-reliance, but above all for achieving Swaraj — the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi famously led Indians in protesting the British-imposed salt tax with the 400km (250mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years, on many occasions, in both South Africa and India.

Gandhi strove to practice non-violence and truth in all situations, and advocated that others do the same. He lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he had hand spun on a charkha. He ate simple vegetarian food, and also undertook long fasts as means of both self-purification and social protest.

The full version of this article can be found at www.chefgarfyinfo.blog.co.uk

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My first recipe is Guinness & honey glazed pork loin courtesy of Good Food Website.

Makes 6, and takes 2hrs to cook.

300ml x Guinness
100ml x Clear Honey
250g x Light Muscovado Sugar
2kg x Skinless, Boneless Loin of Pork , ask your butcher for the thick end
A Splash of White Wine, Champagne or water
A Few Sprigs of Flat Leaf Parsley

To make the glaze, put the Guinness, honey and sugar into a pan. Reduce by almost half to form a sweet syrupy glaze, then allow to cool.

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Season the pork with pepper and salt, if you want, place on a baking tray and roast for 20 mins. Then turn the heat down to 160C/fan 140C/gas3. Remove the pork from the oven and brush all over with most of the glaze (reserving a few tbsp) cook for a further 40-50 mins, brushing and basting the pork as it cooks until it's beautifully caramelised and glazed.

Remove the pork from the roasting tray and leave to rest. Pour the remaining glaze into the roasting tray, then add the wine, Champagne or water. Place the pan on the heat and bring everything to the boil, simmer for a few mins until you have thick gravy. Carve pork into thin slices and place on top of the colcannon (see separate recipe). Glaze with the Guinness syrup, drizzle a little on the plates and finish with a sprig of parsley.

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Much Maligned ingredient of the week – Lentils
The lentil (Lens culinaris) is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about 40 centimetres (16 in) tall and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each.
The plant likely originated in India, and lentils have been part of the human diet since the aceramic (pottery nonproducing) Neolithic times, being one of the first crops domesticated in the Near East. Archeological evidence shows they were eaten 13,000 to 9,500 years ago. Lentil colours range from yellow to red-orange to green, brown and black. Lentils also vary in size (e.g., Masoor lentils, shown in photos here), and are sold in many forms, with or without the skins, whole or split. Other pulses are sometimes called lentils, but are actually beans or peas, e.g. "black lentils" (urad beans).

The seeds require a cooking time of 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the variety–shorter for small varieties with the husk removed, such as the common red lentil–and have a distinctive, earthy flavour. Lentils are used throughout South Asia, the Mediterranean regions and West Asia. They are frequently combined with rice, which has a similar cooking time. A lentil and rice dish is referred to in west Asia as mujaddara or mejadra. Rice and lentils are also cooked together in khichdi, a popular dish in the Indian subcontinent; a similar dish, kushari, made in Egypt, is considered one of two national dishes. Lentils are used to prepare an inexpensive and nutritious soup all over Europe and North and South America, sometimes combined with some form of chicken or pork. Dried lentils can also be sprouted by leaving in water for several days, which changes their nutrition profile. Lentils with husk remain whole with moderate cooking; lentils without husk tend to disintegrate into a thick purée, which leads to quite different dishes.

With about 26% of their calories from protein, lentils, like other legumes, have the third-highest level of protein, by weight, of any plant-based food, after soybeans and hemp. Proteins include the essential amino acids isoleucine and lysine, and are an essential source of inexpensive protein in many parts of the world, especially in the West Asia and the Indian subcontinent, which have large vegetarian populations. Lentils are deficient in two essential amino acids, methionine and cysteine. However, sprouted lentils contain sufficient levels of all essential amino acids, including methionine and cysteine.

Lentils also contain dietary fibre, folate, vitamin B1, and minerals. Red (or pink) lentils contain a lower concentration of fibre than green lentils (11% rather than 31%). Health magazine has selected lentils as one of the five healthiest foods. Lentils are often mixed with grains, such as rice, which results in a complete protein dish. Lentils also have antinutritional factors, such as trypsin inhibitors and relatively high phytate content. Trypsin is an enzyme involved in digestion, and phytates reduce the bioavailability of dietary minerals. The phytates can be reduced by soaking the lentils in warm water overnight. Lentils are a good source of iron.

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My final recipe is Vegetable Curry. Courtesy of Good To Know Recipes website.

Serves 4, and takes 30mins to cook.

Spray oil, a few bursts
1 x Onion, peeled and chopped
1tbsp x Curry powder
1tsp x Paprika
2tsp x Tomato Purée
2tsp x Lemon Juice
1tbsp x Apricot Jam or Redcurrant Jelly
300ml x Semi-Skimmed Milk
50g x Raisins or Sultanas
400g x Carrots, peeled and sliced
400g x Cauliflower, broken into florets
400g x Potatoes, peeled and cubed

Spray a large pan with oil and add the onion. Fry gently for a few mins, without browning. Add the curry powder and paprika and cook for a further 2-3 mins. Add the tomato purée, lemon juice, jam or jelly, milk and raisins or sultanas. Bring to the boil and then simmer, uncovered, for 10 mins.

Meanwhile, cook the vegetables in a pan of boiling water for 5-10 mins, until tender, adding shredded green cauliflower leaves, if any, for the last 2 mins. Drain the vegetables and stir them into the curry sauce. Simmer until all vegetables are tender, topping up with extra milk if sauce boils dry. Serve the curry with basmati or brown rice.

If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D

Follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/therealtonyc
www.intimately-yours.org
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