Wellbeing, Walking, Weight, and Worship

Well, I must admit that I'd almost forgotten about this blog. I'm not the greatest at keeping up with these things - there are so many things to write, and do, in life that blogs tend to go on the back burner. That, and my current blog is all about my creative writing and the National Trust so this poor little foodie blog hasn't had a look in.

But it has been on my mind to write something on my thoughts about my 2017 walking challenge and that has led to me considering what that has to do with my Christian life, my general wellbeing, and of course, food. So let's see if I can keep this up...

At this precise moment I am about to take very low-sugar flapjacks out of the oven. I went for a 9 mile walk this morning to consolidate the 600 miles I've achieved so far this year. Yes, that's right: 600. And we're not talking about steps. These are "I'm going out for a walk" miles (and occasionally leaving the car on the other side of Tesco's car park and tracking my walk to the store, around the store, and back to the car). I'm doing the #walk1000miles challenge this year and I love it. I have to walk 3-4 miles every day now to feel good. It's a good time to think, pray, worship, problem solve... Walking is amazing for my wellbeing.

I was struck by a verse in my Psalm this morning: Psalm 35:17, "The Lord be exalted, who delights in the wellbeing of His servant." Now, this Psalm is by David and is all about asking the Lord to deliver him from his enemies who are accusing him falsely and making his life a misery. My life isn't in that context but nevertheless the verse rings true for all Christians: the Lord delights in our wellbeing. And if the Lord considers our wellbeing a priority then I have to ask myself whether I consider it a priority for my life.

With the caveat that I depend on the Lord for life and breath and everything else, there are steps I can take to delight in my own wellbeing. Walking is one of those steps (no pun intended!). Cutting out chocolate and caffeinated coffee is another. And now I am attempting to cut down and cut out processed sugar - hence the flapjacks. I've been overweight all of my life and diets simply don't work for me. But I am concerned about my wellbeing so I'm taking these simple steps.

It's a matter of honouring the Lord and obeying Him. If He delights in my wellbeing then I should make His delight my privilege. It's also a matter of honouring others. Sugar is addictive. It makes me greedy and so I eat more. I eat far more calories in a week than some families in countries like Malawi eat in a month. So by cutting down on the amount of sugar I eat I will hopefully also cut down on the amount of calories I consume. And that is honouring the poor and the hungry especially if I have a little extra cash to give to charities which support the poor and the hungry as a result of not buying snacks.

If I'm honest I'm a little embarrassed by this post because it sounds like one of those typical female Christian blogs...but hey, maybe that's ok. Wellbeing isn't just for girls, and it isn't just for Christians either. I'm hoping my wellbeing will improve and maybe as a result of reading this yours will too.

Brownies, Hairy Bikers, and laughing in the sun

Every time I bake a batch of brownies I pretty much change the recipe. It's still Brenda's Fudge Brownie recipe given to me by my good friend and fellow-foodie Rachel Adamson, but I always reflect on what I did last time and try something new. The other day I threw in some glace cherries that needed using up and some big chunks of 70% cocoa solids chocolate that melted gloriously in the cooking process. I also added milk again to create a bit of a batter consistency. I think they turned out to be the best brownies I've made so far. But there's always room for improvement...

Reflection is a necessary part of character development, just as it is for my brownie evolution. In our science-dominated age where anything that cannot be proved or reached by rational enquiry is treated with suspicion or ignored, it is easy to pass through life without ever taking stock and reflecting upon who we are, how we got where we are, and where we are heading. If we want any kind of integrity as human beings we need to just stop and reflect. We need to take a break from the norm and play around with things - the experiment might just work but we need to courage to change, and then to recognise and stick with development when it comes.

Talking of playing, I went to see the Hairy Bikers live last night. Now I've read some online reviews today and I cannot believe how depressed the British public have become. It was good old British humour - a little bit naughty and thoroughly liberating. I can only imagine this is what it must be like to go to a naturist party. It did me so much good to let go and laugh, laugh, laugh. Most of the time I confine my life to rational movements - like following a recipe without deviation. Last night I threw in a good dose of salted caramel and my surface crackled and popped with delight. Playing, laughing, dancing - these are all good ways of reflecting and changing.

Life is way too short to blindly take up residence on the conveyor belt of monotony. What treasures might we find if we step out of our comfort zone, out of the shadows, and into the sun? And once we find those treasures let's not hold on to them and settle back into our miserly life - let's go looking for even more, for there is always more to behold in this rich tapestry of existence bequeathed to us by our generous Creator; very few of us have eyes open enough to see it.

The Foodie's Psalm

Praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD, O my tastebuds;
   all my digestive juices, praise His holy name!

Praise the LORD in the kitchen;
   praise him from the oven.
Praise him for his acts of edible creation,
  praise him for his surpassing variety of proteins and carbohydrates.

Praise him with the casserole dish,
   praise him with the saute pan.
Praise him with the santoku knife,
  praise him with the twelve-hour marinade.

Praise him with fresh coriander and grated lemon rind,
  praise him with hot roast chicken and crackling pork.
Praise him with parmesan shavings over creamy risotto,
  praise him with maple syrup dripping from hot waffles.

Praise him with frangipane and creme patisserie,
  praise him with tempered chocolate.
Praise him with coulis, sorbet and praline,
  praise him with grenache, soave and cabernet shiraz.

Let everything that has TASTE praise the LORD!

Asian Style Baked Salmon

This uses very obvious ingredients but I didn't use anyone else's recipe - just my own initiative! And it's gorgeous!

Ingredients to serve 2 people:
2 garlic cloves, grated
1/2 fresh chilli pepper, finely chopped
15g fresh ginger, grated
juice from 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 salmon fillets, approx 125g each

Place the fillets in a non-metallic bowl.
Mix all the marinade ingredients together and pour over the salmon fillets. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 150/180C, depending on your oven.
Create a large foil parcel, securing the ends. Scrape off the bits of chili, ginger and garlic, then place the fillets inside the parcel and close it up. Place the parcel on a baking tray and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
You can serve this with new potatoes, or use the leftover marinade as a base for pilau rice, and steamed pak choi or other vegetables.

The Best Crusty White Bread Loaf Recipe

Taken from Farmhouse Cookery...
I've followed a few different white bread recipes and I have to say that this is the best I've found so far. It takes a while - but all the best bakers say that the longer you leave the dough to prove the better your bread will be. This has three proving stages and you'll need to set aside an entire morning for it. The great thing about baking your own bread is that you can go off and do something else while it's growing! And don't use a breadmaker! Feel the gluten change under your own hands - the transformation is unmissable!

Ingredients for Two Loaves:
800g strong white flour
2 level teaspoons salt
15g lard (or butter/margarine)
7g fresh yeast (I use roughly half a 7g sachet of dried yeast)
450ml warm water (see my hot cross bun recipe for how I get the water to the right temperature)

Sieve the flour and salt on to a working surface or into a large mixing bowl, rub in the lard and make a well in the centre. Mix the yeasst to a smooth paste with 1 tablespoon of the water, stir into the rest of the water and pour into the well. Draw in the flour gradually, mixing vigorously to blend well.
Knead for 5 minutes or more (I knead for between 6-10 minutes. See below for a link to a good kneading method from the BBC website.) to make a stiff dough of an even, springy texture.
Shape into a ball, place in a warm, greased bowl, cover with greased polythene and stand in a warm place to rise for 2 hours. (I warm the oven to 50C and then switch it off before placing the dough inside.)
Turn out the dough on to a working surface and knock out the air bubbles. Knead again until smooth and springy, reshape into a ball, put back in the bowl, cover and put to rise again for 1 hour.
Divide the dough in half and mould each piece to fit a warmed and greased 2lb/900g loaf tin. Cover the tins with greased polythene and put in a warm place to rise for 40 minutes. (This time I put the tins back in the still-warm oven for about 20 minutes, then remove them and place them on the side while I preheat the oven to 225C.)
Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes. (I never bake it for this long in my fan oven. You're looking for a crusty top and a hollow sounding bottom. I usually check after about 20 minutes.)
Instead of using tins, try shaping the dough yourself into two rustic loaves and baking them on baking sheets.

Caribbean Chicken

I am at a loss to remember exactly where I got this from. I have a feeling it was from a magazine recipe card in something like 1993. Anyway, it's a fabulous recipe and tastes great hot or cold.

Ingredients for 4-6:
6 chicken portions e.g. boneless thighs
1 tablespoon plain flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons curry powder
1oz butter or oil

Sauce
2 onions, chopped
6oz streaky bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 apples, peeled and diced
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons tomato puree
12fl oz chicken stock
8oz can pineapple pieces

Preheat oven. (That's all it says in my handwritten recipe book. Either it didn't have a temperature or for some reason I didn't write it down! I'd probably preheat it to 180/200C.)
For the sauce: heat the oil in a large pan. Add the bacon and onion and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the apple and curry powder and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Stir in the tomato puree and flour. Gradually blend in the stock and bring to the boil, stirring continuously.
Add most of the pineapple pieces, leaving some for garnish. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together the flour, salt and curry powder. Add the chicken and toss to coat.
Heat the butter or oil in an ovenproof casserole dish. Add the coated chicken and fry on both sides to brown.
Pour the sauce over the chicken, cover, and cook in the oven for 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
Serve garnished with pineapple pieces, on a bed of rice.

Celery, Mushroom, Red Wine, Redcurrant and Herb Sauce

Wow! I had a quick look at a few recipes for sauces that would go with sausages and then decided to experiment with what I had in the fridge/cupboard. And this is what I came up with... It was deeply delicious with organic pork cumberland sausages...

Ingredients for 2-3 people:
2 sticks of celery, finely diced
a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme and sage, finely chopped
small glass of red wine
about 6 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
about 2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Spray a non-stick pan with one-cal sunflower oil and fry off the celery and herbs until softened.
Add a little of the wine and allow the the celery herb mixture to absorb the liquid.
Stir in the mushrooms and cook until soft then add the rest of the wine. Cook for a few minutes before stirring in the redcurrant jelly and simmer until it has melted. Do not let it boil.
Add salt and pepper to taste and mix it all thoroughly before spooning over hot cumberland sausages. Yum!