Tag Archives: yummy

Lime Panna Cotta

November 15, 2018 The Captain & the Cook 1 Comment

OMG! I love this dessert. Zesty and fresh, creamy and delectable! AND so easy to make. It really is a decadent indulgence which has been a hit at my dinner parties. On a boat? Believe me this is so easy to make as long as you can refrigerate the panna cotta. Another tip is make one large panna cotta instead of individual ones if it is easier for you to store in your fridge.

Ingredients

600ml cream
200ml milk
3/4 cup caster sugar
4 kaffir lime leaves, torn up*
1 teaspoon finely grated lime rind
1/4 cup lime juice
3 gelatine leaves or 10g powdered gelatine
Lime zest and lime slices, to serve

Method

I use small 85ml metal moulds and the mix fills six of them.

Place cream, milk, sugar, lime leaves and lime rind in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for seven to eight minutes. Do not allow it to boil or even simmer (just bring it close to a simmer). Keep a good eye on it and stir continually. Remove from heat. Add lime juice and gelatine (if using the leaf gelatine squeeze out excess water before adding it to the cream mix). Stir to combine. Set aside for ten minutes to help flavours to develop.

After ten minutes strain mixture through a sieve into a pouring jug and discard the solids. From the jug pour the mixture into prepared moulds and refrigerate overnight.

Run a knife around the edge of each metal mould and dip base of each mould briefly in hot water. Turn each panna cotta out onto a serving plate. Top with a slice of lime and a sprinkle of lime zest and serve.

*I think of one kaffir lime leaf as the entire leaf i.e. the double. I separate the two leaves from the stem, so in the end I have eight leaves. I wash the leaves then bunch them up and twist them to tear them, leaving them mostly intact.

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chicken

Poached Chicken Breast with Ham, Herbs & Dijon Dressing

November 8, 2018 The Captain & the Cook Leave a comment

This scrumptious low fat poached chicken looks and tastes so good, you can easily use this recipe for a special occasion! Experiment with different ways of plating it up and match it with tasty vegetables.

Ingredients

4 x 170g single chicken breast fillets.
¼ cup finely chopped fresh chives
¼ cup finely chopped basil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon olive oil
200g thinly sliced leg ham
4 spring onions, thinly sliced.

Zesty Dijon Dressing
3 teaspoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Method

Pound chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap (Glad, Saran, Cling wrap etc) until they are 1 cm thick. Combine herbs, garlic, rind and oil in a small bowl (or process in a food processor for a few seconds). Spread a quarter of the herb mixture on each chicken fillet and top with ham. Starting from one long side, roll chicken pieces tightly, enclose in plastic wrap and twist ends to seal. Wrap each layer in one more layer of plastic wrap to secure them.

Bring a saucepan, or large fry pan, of water to the boil. Add the prepared rolls, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove rolls and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Discard poaching liquid.

Meanwhile make the dressing by combining ingredients in a jar, securing top and shaking well.

Remove plastic wrap and slice rolls to about 1cm thick. Divide slices among serving plates. Sprinkle with spring onion, drizzle with dressing and serve with steamed veg.

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From the pantry, No-Cook Bliss Balls and Slices, sweets

Fruit and Nut Rum Balls

August 14, 2018 The Captain & the Cook 7 Comments

How these balls came about… I use prune a lot in my bliss balls because it is high in fibre. Dwayne’s favourite bliss balls (that I have made so far) are the rum and raisin. Since the rum and raisin balls are not as high in fibre as the prune balls, I decided to add rum to a prune-based bliss ball to see if Dwayne would like it a little better, thereby making a ball we both enjoy!

These are decadent, tasty little treats with lots of superfood goodness and a hint of the naughty rum!

So this is what I came up with…

Ingredients

3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup psyllium
1/2 cocoa
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup goji
340g pitted prunes
1/2 cup rum
1/4 cup mixed dried fruit (blueberries, cranberries, cherries, raisin)

Method

Grind the oats in a food processor until fine. Add the oats to a large mixing bowl with the psyllium, cocoa, walnuts, hazelnuts and goji berries. Mix well and set aside.

Put the prunes and the rum in the food processor and blend until it is mushy.

Add the prune mix and the 1/4 cup mixed dried fruit to the bowl with the dry ingredients, and mix well using a large spoon. Once you have it well blended, roll the mix into small balls (25 – 30).

Will store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

About the Ingredients

Oats – High in fibre, helps lower cholesterol and is high in antioxidants.

Prunes – excellent source of fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Psyllium Husk – fibre! and can help manage cholesterol levels.

Cocoa – rich in minerals such as iron, magnesium and calcium. Has anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic, anti-carcinogenic and antioxidant qualities. Can also aid in lowering blood pressure.

Goji Berries – a good source of protein, calcium, dietary fibre, vitamins A & C as well as iron, and high in antioxidants.

Walnuts – omega-3 fats and high amounts of copper, manganese, molybdenum, and biotin.

Hazelnuts – high in nutrients and antioxidants.

Rum – flavour… yum yum!

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Want more delicious recipes like this?

HIGH FIBRE BLISS BALLS

TRIPPIN’ BLISS BALLS

CHRISTMAS PUDDING BLISS BALLS

APRICOT AND COCONUT BLISS BALLS

CHOCO HIGH FIBRE SLICE

POWERSTART FRUIT & NUT BARS

FRUIT AND NUT RUM BALLS

RUM AND RAISIN BLISS BALLS

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Cooking with Local Ingredients, Duck, From the galley

Tea Smoked Duck with Asian Style Salad

March 31, 2018 The Captain & the Cook Leave a comment

I love duck! Love it! Whenever I want to make something special I will often think of duck. This was my first attempt at smoking duck and it turned out delicious… if I do say so myself!

Smoking mix

1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 clove
1 cup of uncooked rice
1/2 cup of tea
1/4 cup sugar

And this is how I made it….

In a mortar, with pestle, I crushed the cinnamon stick, star anise and clove (crushed but not powdered) and then I combined this spice mix with the rice, tea and sugar.

I lined a wok with a couple of layers of foil and added the tea mix. I heated this over high heat until it was smoking hot. On a trivet, over the smoking tea, I placed the duck breast, skin side up.

I covered the top of the wok with foil, put the lid on and turned the heat down to low. Then I let it smoke for 20-25 minutes.

If you want crispy skin duck (as we did), take the duck out of the wok a little earlier. Heat a frying pan (no oil needed), add duck skin down and cook for a few minutes until crispy.

My Salad

Shredded cabbage, thinly sliced large red chilli, thinly sliced beans, bean sprouts, finely chopped small red chilli, chopped coriander, mint and basil, grated carrot and grated green apple (apple tossed with the juice of 1/2 lime).

For the dressing – I used the same dressing I made for my green mango salad.

I served the duck with salad and lontong which is a compressed rice cake.

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From the pantry, No-Cook Bliss Balls and Slices, sweets

Rum and Raisin Bliss Balls

March 23, 2018 The Captain & the Cook 7 Comments

These bliss balls are rich, moist, decadent and very, very tasty. Full of nutritional goodness, they are nonetheless a high energy treat. Just perfect for when you have a long day of sailing ahead of you! (Did you know we live on a boat?)

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup psyllium
1/4 cup chia seeds (I used mixed black and white)
1 3/4 cups firmly packed raisins
1/2 cup gold rum

Method

Place the almond meal, cocoa, psyllium and the chia seeds in a bowl and mix well. Add 1/4 cup of raisins and mix again.

Put the remaining 1 1/2 cups of the raisins in a blender, add the rum and blend well.

Add the raisin and rum mix to the bowl. Using a large spoon mix the wet and dry ingredients until well blended.

With damp hands roll raisin mix into balls and refrigerate.

They will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

About the Ingredients

Psyllium Husk – fibre! and can help manage cholesterol levels.

Chia Seeds – massive amounts of nutrients with very few calories! Excellent source of fibre and antioxidants. High in protein and omega-3 fatty acids and helps lower the risk of heart disease.

Cocoa – rich in minerals such as iron, magnesium and calcium. Has anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic, anti-carcinogenic and antioxidant qualities. Can also aid in lowering blood pressure.

Almond Meal – high in protein, monounsaturated fatty acids, dietary fibre, antioxidants, vitamins like riboflavin. Lowers cholesterol and help prevent heart disease. Supports healthy brain function and maintains healthy skin.

Raisins – loaded with fibre, potassium, iron and other essential nutrients (polyphenols, antioxidants, flavonoids) etc

Rum – flavour… yum yum!