Michelle Koen » low-carb

Holy Broccaumoli

Michelle — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:26:59 +0000

Holy broccaumole, I've been busy. Between powerlifting training, freelance design clients, helping out with the new local chapter of ANB and organising the reprint of Healthy Helpings (nearly sold out!); I haven't had time to scratch myself. Dishes have been piling up around my computer and creative moments in the kitchen have been way too few and far between. This little gem of a dish emerged late one Friday evening, when I was faced with the last remaining items from the previous Saturday's farmers market. A slightly too ripe avocado and some tired looking broccoli. My friend Jude had told me how she likes to make broccoli mash with avocado stirred through and I'd been meaning to try it for while. As I blended the avocado into the puréed broccoli my mind started to wander 'south of the border, down Mexico way'. I rescued the last few sprinkles of some spring onions and red capsicum from a container in the fridge and a teensy squeeze of a once loved lemon. Darn, that was a nice way to end a week! That was 3 weeks ago. Since then I've left avocados to ripen too long by the time I've remembered to buy broccoli, or been out of broccoli when I've had a nice new avocado. Good things come to those who wait, and finally I've had time to get back in the kitchen. A few planned tweaks for a bit more colour, and some creamy, zingy result.

Broccaumole

200g of broccoli florets (about 1 large bunch, stalk removed) cut into bite-sized pieces
1 clove (½ tsp) garlic, finely chopped
½ avocado
½ lime, juice only (2-3 tsp)
¼ red onion, finely diced
¼ red capsicum, finely diced
½ long red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
salt to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
Add the broccoli and once the water returns to a boil cook for 4 minutes, or until soft but still bright green.
Drain and rinse briefly under cold water. Place in a food processor along with the garlic and purée until mostly smooth.
Add the avocado and lime. Purée for until combined.
Stir through the onion, capsicum and chilli. Season with salt to taste.

Substitutes & Alternatives:

If you don't have food processor, a stick blender or potato masher could be used.

Preparation time: 11 minute(s) Cooking time: 4 minute(s)

Diet tags: Reduced carbohydrate, Gluten free

Number of servings (yield): 2

Calories: 124

Fat: 8.9

Carbs: 2.3g

Fibre: 5.5g

Protein: 5.8

Asparagus and Scallops- Quick Eats

Michelle — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:44:20 +0000

This time of year it's hot, I've eaten more rich food than usual and the shops are open sporadically. All this leads to a general feeling of not wanting to be in the kitchen too long. If I can get a meal on the table in under ten minutes it's a winner in my eyes. I think the Thai's must suffer this heat lethargy all year round, other than their laborious spice paste, most of their cuisine is so quick to prepare. This beautifully simple stir fry is inspired by a recipe in David Thompson's 'Thai Street Food'. The list of ingredients are glaringly simple, yet the combination of flavours are much more than their individual parts. I'm not one to include a lot of pepper in my food, but this is the secret to the success of this dish. In David's book, he suggests switching different greens and different seafood or poultry in this recipe. I had some frozen scallops in my freezer, which I quickly defrosted in the microwave, and a few bunches of asparagus to get through and that was all I needed.

Asparagus and Scallops

Serves 1 large or 2 small

2 tsp coconut oil
2 bunches asparagus, woody bases trimmed and cut into 4cm length
350g scallops, thawed if frozen
2 cloves garlic, sliced/chopped (not crushed- it will burn!)
1 Tbsp light soy sauce (tamari for gluten free)
2 Tbsp chicken stock or water
½ tsp freshly ground pepper

Heat a wok until very hot. Add the coconut oil and heat until shimmering.
Add the asparagus and scallops and stir-fry for 3 or 4 minutes, until the scallops begin to loose their translucent quality.
Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 2 minutes.
Taste and add more pepper if desired

A lighter Tiramisu

Michelle — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:00:41 +0000

Every December 23rd I make a tiramisu for my husband Stephen's birthday. It's dead easy, but we don't make many desserts, so it only comes out once a year. Traditionally mascarpone, a super thick Italian cream cheese is used, making this dish sugar and fat personified. However, with a few simple switches the calories, fat and sugar can sliced without missing a beat. As an extra special bonus, for all you protein junkies and/or gluten free folk, I've included a recipe to make your own sponge fingers. If you don't have time, just use the store bought variety.

3 eggs, separated
¾ cup sweetener (I used ½ cup native, ¼ cup raw castor sugar)
¼ cup arrowroot powder or vanilla casein protein powder
250g light soft ricotta (I used perfect italiano light)
100g low-fat quark or cream cheese
90ml (3 shots) espresso coffee
60ml (¼ cup) marsala or brandy
3 fresh egg whites
40g 85% dark chocolate
24 italian sponge finger biscuits OR

2 whole eggs, separated
6 egg whites
2 tsp sweetener
¾ cup coconut flour
¾ cup vanilla casein protein powder OR ¾ cup almond meal

To make the sponge finger biscuits: Preheat an oven to 180ºC/350ºF Beat the egg yolks until they change colour, add the sweetener. Set aside. In a clean bowl with a clean, dry whisk, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold in the egg yolk mixture and the remaining flours/protein powders. Switch to a wooden spoon and form into a dough. Divide the dough into 24 pieces and form into fingers using your hand (clean hands or gloves for hygiene, please!). Line a flat baking tray with baking paper, and place the fingers on the tray. Bake the fingers for 15–20 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool and preferably rest for at least a few hours before using. To make the tiramisu: Beat the egg yolks with the sweetener in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add in the ricotta and quark and stir until combined. Place the arrowroot or casein in a small bowl. Add a quarter of the cheese mixture and blend until free of lumps. Return the thickened mixture to the larger bowl of cheese mix and stir until combined and evenly distributed. Set aside. Prepare the coffee and combine with the marsala in a wide bottomed dish. Dunk the sponge finger biscuits in the coffee and and pack in a layer across the bottom of a large (about 30cm) square dish. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold through the cheese mixture until evenly combined. Pour over the coffee soaked sponge fingers. Grate the chocolate over the top. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours, preferably overnight, to allow the flavours to fully spread.

Hazelnut and Choc-Hazelnut Macaroons (sugar-free/gluten-free/dairy-free)

Michelle — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:32:24 +0000

By making these biscuits I could bring the downfall of Christmas in my family. Chocolate, the downfall of Christmas? I know…. It's a risk I'm willing to take.

Introducing anything new to our family's Christmas is risky. I got weird looks with these stuffed eggs last year; but everyone loved them. This year, I mentioned to my mum I'd seen Viv's Gianduiotti, and that I wanted to try a making chocolate Haselnussmakronen. There were serious murmurs about ruining Christmas! Chocolate, ruin christmas? Bah! Plain hazelnut macaroons are steeped in family history. Originally Haselnussmakronen, traditional German macaroons from my grandmother's recipe. These have always been my favourite Christmas biscuit ever since I was young. When the Christmas baking was handed down to me, I saw how easy it would be to lower the carbohydrates in these. No one even noticed. We now have several diabetics in our Christmas party and the low-carb approach is really appreciated. To placate everyone, and satisfy my curiosity, I prepared both. If the family don't get into them, the woman I bought the hazelnuts from will happily take them off my hands. I hope that these make your Christmas extra special. xo

Gianduja and Haselnuss Macaroons for Christmas

To make 15 of each

300g (18oz) hazelnuts, plus 30 extra
150g 85% dark chocolate or cocoa farm sugar free chocolate
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch
salt
a pinches cinnamon
1 cup granular sweetener, or 200g castor sugar
4 fresh egg whites, at room temperature

Place your oven racks near the centre of the oven, allowing for a little room for the air to flow. Preheat an oven to 120ºC/250ºF. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Place the hazelnuts, reserving the 30 extra, in a food processor and grind until they are a fine powder. Set aside in a large mixing bowl. Break the chocolate into squares and place in the food processor, process until fine crumbs are formed. Place in a second mixing bowl.
Add the vanilla, salt and cinnamon to the ground nuts, and mix until combined. Place a third of the nut mixture (about 100g) in the chocolate bowl. Divide the sweetener equally amongst each bowl, half a cup in each. Stir both bowls to combine the mixtures.
In a large clean, dry mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold half the egg whites through the non-chocolate mixture until evenly blended through to form a sticky, slightly crumbly dough. Repeat with the chocolate hazelnut mixture.
Using your clean hands (for extra hygiene wear gloves), form each mixture into balls the size of walnuts and place on the prepared trays. Gently press a hazelnut into the top of each one.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the door ajar for a further 20 minutes before cooling on a wire rack or elevating the trays on bowls to allow air to flow under them.

Substitutes and Alterations:

If you don't have a food processor, purchase ready ground hazelnut meal from the supermarket and grate the chocolate with a cheese grater.
Raw castor sugar, natvia or spenda would all make suitable sweeteners in this recipe

This time last year I shared with your my family's Christmas Cinnamon Stars

Tis the season… Layered Cherry-Yoghurt Pana Cotta

Michelle — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:57:04 +0000

...to be jelly…. or a whole raft of other deserts. That's why I thought I'd come to the rescue with yet another sweet dish. Back to savoury soon, I promise. Cherries are the perfect Christmas fruit. Here, in McLaren Vale, they've just come into season, I can buy organic 'seconds' from the fruit farm up the road for nearly nothing, and they're that beautiful Christmas colour. When I imagined this desert for the first time, I knew I wanted to create the layered red and white stripes. The only downside with the layering is having to wait for each layer to set. So pop on your favourite daggy christmas movie while you cook and you'll soon have a great desert to share with the family.

Layered Cherry-Yoghurt Pana Cotta

½ lemon, juiced about ½ cup water 10g (about 2 tsp) powdered gelatine ½ cup skim milk 4 Tbsp sugar substitute- I used natvia, you could use raw castor sugar or honey 375g (1 ½ cups) low-fat plain yoghurt- I used Paris Creek Swiss style 1 tsp vanilla extract Dark Cherry flavoured diet jelly boiling and cool water 250g (about 1 cup) cherries In a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice with enough water to make ½ a cup. Sprinkle the gelatine powder over the lemon-water mixture and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the cherry jelly as per the packet instructions. Place in the fridge to chill. Heat the milk until almost boiling. This can be done in 1 minute on high, in the microwave, or by stirring for several over the stove. Pour the milk over the gelatine mixture and stir until dissolved and lump free. Stir in the sugar substitute until it dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined. Using a funnel, or a measuring jug with a spout, pour ¼ cup of the mixture into the bottom of each glass. Place the glasses in the fridge to chill for 45 minutes– 1 hour. Place the remaining mixture in the fridge until it is cool, but not set. This is a bit of a balancing act between keeping the mixture at a healthy temperature and not wanting it to set. You may need to juggle it in and out of the fridge every 20 minutes. If either jelly becomes to set before you want it too, a short stint in the microwave on medium-low setting and a lot of stirring will help soften the mixture to pouring consistency. Pit and quarter the cherries, leaving aside a few pretty ones for garnish. After the first yoghurt layer has set, use a funnel or a jug with a spout to pour ¼–½ cup of cherry mixture into the glasses. Sprinkle the cherries into the glasses and return to them to the fridge to chill for a further 30 minutes. Finally, pour ¼ cup of the yoghurt mixture into each of the glasses. Return to the fridge to chill for at least 40 minutes before serving, garnished with the reserved cherries.

Substitutes and Alternatives:

Dairy-free: replace the yoghurt and milk with almond or rice milk
Higher Protein: Mix 4 scoops of protein powder with 1 ½ cup water. Use in place of the yoghurt.
'Fake food' free: raw castor sugar or honey may be used instead of sweetener. To make real cherry jelly- Sprinkle gelatine powder over ½ cup of cool water and rest for 10 minutes. Cook extra pitted cherries in ½ cups of water, puree and add sugar to taste and return to heat. Add to the gelatine to the cherry sauce and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat and add a further 1 cup of cool water.

Kangaroo, fennel and caraway burgers

Michelle — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:31:36 +0000

Kangaroo is lean, good for the environment, dirt cheap and one of the richest natural sources of CLA. All very good reasons to get it into you. Kangaroo burgers are my regular afternoon snack along with different coloured peppers, they're something I can eat sitting at my desk, one handed. The addition of the fennel and caraway means that the strong gamy flavour some people don't like is made a bit more like the sweetness of good lamb

: Kangaroo, fennel and carraway burger

1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2kg kangaroo steak mince*
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoons natural sea salt
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

Place the onion and garlic in a food processor or finely chop.
If using a food processor switch to the plastic blade and add remaining ingredients. Process until the mixture is fully combined and the meat becomes a bit more sticky. This kneading is the trick to getting your burgers to bind without extra fillers.
If you are working by hand mix the mixture thoroughly. Divide the mixture into quarters and place one quarter in a smaller mixing bowl. Form into a ball and repeatedly 'slap' the mixture against the edge of the bowl. This slapping is the trick to getting your burgers to bind without extra fillers.
Form into 110g patties and grill on the barbecue or spread evenly across trays and bake for about 20 minutes at 180ºC

Serves: 20

*If you're like me and can't stand the gristly bits in the supermarket kangaroo mince, ask your butcher to mince some kangaroo steak. It's slightly more expensive but much tastier. Alternatively make your own steak mince from kangaroo steak. Simply dice it then pulse it in a food processor using the metal blade.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s) Cooking time: 10-20 minute(s)

Diet tags: Low calorie, Reduced fat, Reduced carbohydrate, High protein, Gluten free

Calories: 107

Fat: 1.4

Protein: 22

Chicken and Vegetable Korma

Michelle — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 08:17:08 +0000

Has the thought of a chicken salad, mid-winter, got you totally loosing it? Me too! Even with beautiful cos lettuces growing in the veggie patch I just can't face the idea. What to do instead, I wondered. Then Emma posted about her less than clean weekend and it all became obvious. A big pot of chicken curry. To make sure that it was as clean as possible and so I could pack in all my favourite spices and nutrients, I started from scratch with spices. If you don't have the time for that sort of thing grab a jar of vindaloo paste from the supermarket.

Recipe: Chicken and Vegetable Korma

Ingredients

2 large onion, roughly chopped
1 head (about 10 cloves) of garlic, peeled
25g of ginger
1 teaspoon (5ml) coconut oil
2 dried chillis
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoon fennel seeds
5 cloves
½ teaspoon salt
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
30g (about ⅓ cup) almond meal
1x 400g can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock or water
80ml (about ⅓ cup) light coconut milk
800g chicken breast fillet, cubed
1 head (800g) of cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces
1 head (300g) of broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces (including stalks)
2-3 green capsicum, cut into bite sized pieces
250g brown mushrooms, quartered
1 teaspoon turmeric or 2cm grated turmeric root
3 teaspoons garam masala
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Instructions

Place the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor and process to a paste.
Heat a wok to a medium heat and add the oil. Once warm add the onion paste. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the raw onion smell/taste is gone.
Meanwhile, heat a second heavy based frying pan. Add dried spices and chilli and toast until they begin to pop. Transfer to a spice grinder, food processor or pestle and mortar and grind to a powder. Briefly toast the almond meal to freshen the taste.
Add the ground spices, almond meal, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and tomatoes to the wok and simmer for 5 minutes, to remove the raw tomato taste. Add the stock, chicken and vegetables. Cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the veggies start to soften. Add the mushrooms and cook covered for a further 5 minutes.
Remove the lid and stir in the turmeric and garam marsala. SImmer for 5 minutes more.
To serve remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom and garnished with fresh coriander. .

Nutrition:

Calories: 255 Fat: 7.7g Saturated: 1.6g Carbs: 10.8g Fibre: 7.1g Protein: 30.5g

Variations

Low-carbers could halve the amount of tomato used. Slow-carbers might like to add a can of butter beans instead of the broccoli

Cooking time (duration): 45

Diet (other): Low calorie, Reduced fat, Reduced carbohydrate, High protein

Number of servings (yield): 8

Baked Mousse Cakes

Michelle — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 05:02:58 +0000

Just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been cooking. I've been cooking up a storm lately, testing recipes for my upcoming recipe book. There's over 100 recipe in that thing. That's a helluva lot of testing but unfortunately not much sharing with you guy and gals. So, today I thought I'd make up it with two recipes. Technically one-and-a-half recipes as they both come from the same idea. Baked pureed cauliflower. If you don't already know my obsession with all things cauliflower puree, you'd better start at the beginning with the original cauliflower pancake recipe. About to run off to the Get the Edge Workshops, a few weeks ago in Melbourne, I needed something I could eat with my fingers. Something sweet would be bonus. With not much in my house I become my most inventive and was curious to find out what would happen if I took the original cauliflower pancake recipe and made it into bars. Due to the extra volume of cauliflower, instead of firm chewy protein bars I wound up with a light, fluffy, sweet baked custard texture. This had turned out MUCH better than I'd expected. So good, I've eaten it every day since for the last 2 weeks. Today I was about to whip up another batch with the plan of making it in bulk, when it occurred to me that maybe a I could make a chocolate mousse cake. Yum! Fluffy, soft, chocolatey. The only improvement I would make is to use a double chocolate protein powder. However, if you're like me and only have vanilla, you'll get a perfectly acceptable result.

Recipe: Baked Vanilla Custard

Ingredients

1x 500g bag frozen cauliflower
1 scoop (30g) vanilla whey
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 whole egg, beaten
90g (3) egg whites
¼ cup sugar free maple syrup

Instructions

Heat an oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
Cook the cauliflower as directed on the packet. For me, that was 4 minutes, covered, on high (100% power) in the microwave.
Puree the cauliflower. I've found my stick blender attachment on my Sunbeam Stickmaster Pro gives me the smoothest result. My food processor leaves everything a bit too chunky.
Blend in the remaining ingredients. Taste and add more sweetener if needed. Lightly grease 2 ramekins or jumbo sized (1 ½ cup) muffin cases.Pour the mixture in and smooth off the top.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch.

Cooking time (duration): 45

Diet (other): Low calorie, Reduced fat, Reduced carbohydrate, High protein, Gluten free

Number of servings (yield): 2

Nutrition 187 Calories 26.8g Protein 11.3g Carbohydrates, 6.8g Fibre 3.3g Fat

Recipe: Chocolate Mousse Cake

Ingredients

3x 500g bag frozen cauliflower
3 whole egg, beaten
300g (10) egg whites
3 scoop (30g) chocolate or vanilla whey
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted OR 2 sachets of Jarra chocolate fudge drinking chocolate powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup sweetener (I used xylitol, splenda would work too)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

Heat an oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Grease and line a 20cm square baking tin with baking paper.
Cook the cauliflower in batches, as directed on the packet. For me, that was 4 minutes, covered, on high (100% power) in the microwave.
Puree the cauliflower in batches using a stick blender for maximum smoothness.
Thoroughly combine the eggs and egg whites with the cauliflower. Add in the remaining ingredients and beat until no lumps remain.
Scrape the mixture into the baking tin and spread evenly, smoothing over the top.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 40–45 minutes or until the centre is springy to the touch.
Remove the tin to a wire rack, or elevate on several cans to allow air to circulate underneath. This will allowing even cooling. Wait at least 5 minutes before cutting.

Cooking time (duration): 50

Diet (other): Low calorie, Reduced fat, Reduced carbohydrate, High protein, Gluten free

Number of servings (yield): 6

Nutrition: 195 Calories 28.3g Protein 8.1g Carbohydrates, 6.8g Fibre 3.7g Fat

Squeaky-clean Bubble and Squeak

Michelle — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:38:39 +0000

Some recipes I come up with are things that have been simmering in the proverbial pot that is my mind for ages. Others, just take an aside from someone to get the ball rolling. Take for example my cauliflower pancakes inspired by Steph's cauliflower oatmeal or today's recipe inspired by Jude saying she was into mushy vegetables at the moment. This made me think of sprouts. Then when I was in the supermarket buying my frozen spinach the final piece to the puzzle clicked into place. Frozen Brussel sprouts. Horribly mushy when cooked on their own but the perfect base for low-carb bubble and squeak. These may have just been a twinkle in my minds eye if Beki hadn't probed me so hard.

2 onions, diced
1 500g bag frozen brussel sprouts
1 500g bag cauliflower
100g frozen peas (important for binding)
1/2 teaspoon smokey Spanish paprika
lots of salt and pepper
1 egg white

Preheat an oven to 200ºC
Place the onions, sprouts, cauliflower and peas in a microwave safe dish and cook using the frozen vegetable sensor mode (or about 8 minutes on med-high).
Thoroughly drain the vegetables and place in a food processor. Blend until almost smooth. A few chunky bits of pea and onion add texture.
Add the paprika and seasoning and taste. It should taste a little over-seasoned. Add the egg white and mix thoroughly.
Form into patties or quenelle with 2 dessertspoons and place on a flat baking tray lined with baking-paper. Bake for 20 minutes then remove from the oven and give a light spray with cooking spray and bake for a further 20 minutes.
These reheat beautifully in the oven or under the grill.

Stephen's notes: I like them. They'd be better if they were deep-fried though.

Thai Fish Cakes with Cucumber Relish

Michelle — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:29:33 +0000

Faced with a bargain on Australian grown fish at my local supermarket I bought up big. The only problem is that it was frozen and had already been thawed. I had to think quick. Simple. When faced with mountains of cheap (and pretty average tasting) fish, make fishcakes. With my trusty David Thompson cookbook in hand I set about to recreate this Thai specialty in a slightly more healthy manner. David suggests green beans or snake beans, but as the texture of asparagus isn't dissimilar to snake beans and I had none on hand I thought asparagus would be perfect.

500g ling or other white firm fish
2 tablespoons red curry paste
5 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons splenda or equiv.
2 teaspoons fish sauce
150g asparagus or snake beans, finely sliced
1.5 tablespoons white vinegar
1.5 tablespoons splenda
½ Thai chili minced
1 red shallot, finely sliced
1 small cucumber

Preheat your oven/deep fryer to 180ºC To make the fish cakes place the fish in a food processor with the curry paste, lime leaves, fish sauce, egg and splenda. Blend until a fluffy mouse forms. Stir in the asparagus or snake beans. Place half the mixture in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, form the mixture into a ball and 'slap' it against the edge of the mixing bowl to allow the mixture to bind and incorporate air. Divide the mixture into 4 patties and place the patties on a flat, lightly greased tray. Repeat the slapping and patty making with the remaining mixture. Bake the patties in the oven for 20 minutes, turning them over half way through cooking. or deep fry until golden. To make the cucumber relish. Combine the vinegar, splenda, chilli and shallot in a bowl. Set aside. Peel the cucumber and divide into quarters lengthways. Remove the seeds and then, using a vegetable peeler, peel strips of cucumber to make 'noodles'. Combine the cucumber with the relish ingredients and toss. Drain any excess liquid from the relish. This could be used as a dipping sauce.