Live For Food

A quick and easy weeknight recipe for boneless pork.

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
3 eating apples
500g pork fillet sliced into medallions
200ml chicken stock
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp chopped sage leaves
2 tbsp half fat creme fraiche

Method

1 Heat half the oil in a large frying pan. Core and cut the apples into wedges, then cook for about 5 minutes, until caramelised and softened. Remove from the pan and set aside. Heat the remaining oil.

2 Fry the pork on each side for 2 minutes. Add the stock and mustard to the pan, then bubble for 5 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through. Return the apples to the pan with the sage and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and stir in the creme fraiche and some seasoning to taste.

Serve with mashed potatoes.

Notes
Serves 4
246 kcals per portion
Ready in 20 minutes
Not suitable for freezing.

Copyright BBC Easy Cook Magazine, Immediate Media Limited
Reproduced with permission

Comments
I used pork steaks instead of fillet, full fat creme fraiche, and I scaled the recipe down for 2 people.

Verdict
This was a good recipe.  The pork and the apple go well together and the creme fraiche added a nice creamy texture and taste. The apple could have done with a few more minutes cooking time in my opinion as it ended up al dente rather than soft, which I prefer.

I remember making pastry at school in home economics lessons. We were taught about four different types of pastry: shortcrust, puff, choux pastry and something else I can’t remember. We then made a recipe with each of them. I remember I made some reasonable profiteroles with choux pastry but I can’t recall how the rest turned out.

Since school I have made shortcrust pastry a few times, and I made puff pastry once, years ago. It turned into a greasy mess and put me off ever trying again. Then when found out how easy it is to buy ready made pastry my innate laziness kicked in…

I had been aware of the terms puff and rough puff, but I had always assumed they were two terms for the same thing, and that rough puff was just the full name of the pastry.

I only realised this was not the case recently when I had Great British Bake Off on telly or whatever its called. I was only half watching because I was making dinner at the time but I happened to see Mary Berry comment that one of the men was making proper puff pastry and would he have the time.

A little research reveals that proper puff pastry involves taking a flat slab of butter and placing it on your pastry dough. The dough is then folded with the butter inside, and then rolled and folded again in a different direction. The dough is chilled and then the process is repeated several times.

This distributes the butter in layers evenly throughout the pastry, which causes the pastry to expand into light crispy layers on cooking.

Rough puff pastry is the cheats version. Its designed to produce a similar effect to puff pastry, for a lot less effort.

The butter is cut into chunks and mixed into the dough, still in chunks. Then you do the same folding and rolling thing and the butter is distributed in small layers throughout the pastry.

On cooking it will rise in layers, just not quite as effectively as the real thing.

I’m pretty sure rough puff was the one I did at school as I vaguely remember having chunks of butter.

You live and learn hey!

I went to a local flower show over the bank holiday weekend. My church had a stand there and I volunteered to take a turn.

It was the traditional kind of show where people compete to grow the biggest vegetables, display the best flowers and make the tastiest cake.

There were also separate show categories for children, one of which was to make an animal out of fruit and vegetables. Lots of them were very good so I took a few snaps to share.

Butternut squash beasts:

Fruity butterfly:

Pumpkin and carrot crab:

Perhaps this would be a way to get your kids to eat vegetables – after you’ve made an animal you get to eat him!

I buy lamb steaks once in a while. My supermarket often includes them as part of a 3 packs of meat for £10 deal. This recipe is something to liven them up a bit instead of eating them plain. It serves 2 people.

Ingredients
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 lamb leg steaks
Olive oil for drizzling
4 medium mushrooms
1 red pepper
2 crushed garlic cloves
4 tbspns lime juice
2 tsps dried chives
Salt and pepper

Method

1 Mix the spices together and roll the lamb steaks in the spices and drizzle with the olive oil.

2 Heat a frying pan, add the lamb and cook for 3 minutes on each side. Remove the lamb and keep warm.

3 Add to the pan the mushrooms, red pepper and garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4 Add the lime juice and chives and cook for another two minutes. Add the lamb and warm through. Season to taste.

The above recipe is slightly adapted from the original which you can see here at BBC Food.

Verdict

This was a nice recipe, I enjoy lamb steaks for a change, although overall I prefer beef. The lamb steaks have more of a tendency to be fatty or chewy.

The spice rub was tasty although I was surprised how mild the flavour was given the quantities used. The vegetables tasted very limey.

Personally I prefer my lamb steaks cooked a little less than this – next time I would probably reduce the initial frying to 2 minutes a side.

I would definitely cook this recipe again!

 Photo: Paul Preacher

I think that one of the reasons so many people fail to stick to a weight loss diet or fail to achieve their desired result is that their expectations are too high. On the other hand it’s possible to believe that its just too difficult to lose weight and that you are destined to remain unhealthy and obese. How can you get a balance between these two extremes?

Don’t do too much too soon. If you decide to live off lettuce leaves and apples to lose weight I can almost  guarantee that you will give up before the second day is over.

Instead, why not choose one meal to focus on, say breakfast, and spend the first whole week making healthy breakfast choices.

Don’t expect immediate and sustained weight-loss. You wont lose half a stone a week every week. Remember that on programmes like The Biggest Loser, firstly most people have an awful lot of weight to lose, and secondly they are devoting 24/7 to their weight problem with professional help on tap.

Initial high weight loss is usual in the first week or two of a diet as you may lose fluid and become less bloated. After this a loss of 1-2lbs per week is completely normal, and sustainable in the long term.

Don’t assume you can go on a diet for a few weeks and then resume your previous eating habits.

A successful diet is not really about losing weight short term, it’s about building new habits that change your way of thinking about food.

Don’t assume that you will look great naked once you’ve lost weight. And don’t be disappointed if you don’t either.

Losing weight simply makes the body smaller. You may have to contend with loose skin and stretch marks. Exercise can help tone your muscles, and exercise habits should always be part of your ongoing maintenance plan. You are a work in progress.

Don’t assume its going to be easy. You may find weight loss difficult, you may dislike exercise, or you may do really well and then hit a plateau.

Consider joining a support group, enlisting family members to help, or joining an online forum. Other people can give you encouragement and new ideas.

Don’t have a celebrity role model. You will probably never look like Jennifer Aniston, or similar. Celebrities have a lot more time and money to work on their appearance compared to us normal folk.

Aim to lose 10% of your bodyweight, rather than an unrealistic high figure. A 10% bodyweight reduction is shown to be beneficial in terms of reducing risk factors for certain illnesses, such as cancer and heart disease.

Don’t expect your bodyshape to change. If your top half is bigger than your bottom half, or vice versa, this probably won’t change. There is no such thing as spot reduction of fat, unfortunately.

Your measurements will probably come closer together however as you lose weight. If you are smaller there will be less disparity between the various parts of your body. Then all you need to do is learn to dress to suit your bodyshape.

So, if you are about to start a diet, try to look on it as a way of learning to change your unhealthy habits for the better in the long term. Remember that whatever size you are, you will still be the same person after you have lost weight. It won’t solve all your problems, but it could be a stepping stone towards being a new and improved “you”, and a healthy foundation for the rest of your life.