Feast and Famine on the 5:2

Posted in At home, Food by

Salad with sliced chicken

I’ve never been able to maintain my weight or more importantly my size by sticking to a diet.

About a couple of years ago, I stumbled upon a programme on telly which has made a significant impact on my lifestyle.

If anyone reading this post isn’t familiar with the 5:2 diet, visit the Fast Diet site which explains the health benefits of fasting two out of 5 days of the week.

So here’s the thing, I resent the notion of giving up indulgent treats such as cake or chocolate or a really great fry-up. Missing out on Peking Duck as part of a Chinese feast or a fully loaded Sunday roast, is my idea of hell, so I hated dieting and gave up easily when the smell of something lovely was being cooked by my husband for the rest of the family. I could never resist.

So re-training myself to fast for 2 days each week so that I could eat normally on the other 5 days (as long as they’re not consecutive days) seemed achievable, so I gave it a try and haven’t looked back.

On a fast day, I eat a couple of rice crackers with coffee and a glass of water with lemon juice for breakfast – just so that there’s a routine for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

At lunch, it’s usually a bowl of salad leaves, some cucumber, tomatoes, maybe some radishes or a carrot that’s been cut into thin ribbons,with a slice of chicken or ham torn or shredded into the salad. If I am home, a few leaves from the fresh basil on my kitchen window sill will get added to the salad to make it more fragrant with a dressing of just balsamic vinegar.

Dinner might be a bowl of soup, this can either be tinned soup or home made that I’ve watered down, along with some rice crackers or a light broth and a few noodles.

As long as the total amount comes to 500 calories. I keep things simple on fasting days when my brain and stomach is too hungry to work on cooking something complicated.

I’ve figured out that rice or corn crackers are about 30 calories each, a bowl of salad is around 50-100 calories depending on the sliced meat I’ve added (A boiled egg is about 90 calories) or noodles (I use half of a serving of dried noodles and cook with chicken stock, Miso or some soy sauce). Anything goes as long as the total is about 500 or less. Dinner might just be a banana for instance.

It works for me because it’s simple to remember to stick to a schedule of 2 days of fasting in a week, usually a Monday and Friday.

Yesterday, however, I had a big meeting to attend and I didn’t want to think about an empty stomach.

So today, I’m fasting and whilst my kids are indulging in their hot chocolates. I tell myself it’s only a day. Tomorrow I can feast.

So simple and effective. I’ve lost about three-quarters of a stone and kept it off.

Previously, I’ve lost weight then piled it back on when I’ve stopped dieting and feeling guilty when I’ve fallen off the wagon.

If I miss the 2 days fasting in a week, I don’t feel the guilt, I’ll simply restart the routine the following week.

This works because there are times when I want to be indulgent with food full-on, such as when we’re on holiday or at Christmas or Chinese New Year.

Just to be clear, fasting for consecutive days, for long periods of time is not healthy and It goes entirely against the approach and principles of the 5:2. The aim is to eat a healthy balanced diet with normal portion sizes on the 5 days when not fasting.

This approach is quite the opposite of being on a diet, and has become part of my lifestyle. When I think of it in this way, I don’t feel as if I’ve given up on all the pleasures that food has to offer.

Do let me know if any of you are using the 5:2 and maintaining a healthy and balanced approach to food. I’d love to know if you have any tips to share.

Sunday Spa Feature – Deep Exfoliating Facial Wash with Poppy Seeds

Posted in beauty, Health & Wellness, Skin Care, Skincare, Wellbeing by

Poppy Seed Exfoliating face wash

For this deep exfoliating facial wash, I have chosen to use Poppy Seeds as they are full of minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron.

In food they are commonly used to add flavour to cereal and salads. I like to include them in cakes to add texture and a bit of crunch.

In herbal remedies, the milk extract of poppy seeds mixed with some sugar is a great way to help you to sleep. Try crushing them with brown sugar and adding them into a warm milky drink before bedtime.

Poppy Seeds are known to be a natural skin remedy for skin infections like dry itch and skin rashes, as they contain anti-inflamatory compounds.

For this deep exfoliating facial wash, I have found an effective way to give my skin a powerful deep clean, polish away dead skin and improve the texture of my skin.

As I have a mild Castille Soap, I can use this as the base for the wash and add to this the exfoliating effect of the crushed poppy seeds.

Simply mix a teaspoon of Baby Castille Soap (I am Using Doctor Bonner’s fragrance free Baby Castille Soap) with half a teaspoon of crushed Poppy Seeds. You can of course use your normal face wash and simply add the crushed poppy seeds to your facewash to give your face wash the exfoliating properties of the poppy seeds.

By crushing the poppy seeds slightly,(I have used a pestle and mortar for this) this releases their healing properties (they are high in linolenic acid) which are known to help sooth skin irritations as well as benefitting from the exfoliating nature of the small tiny seeds.

I have added 1 drop of Lavender Essential Oil as well the oil is well-known for its effectiveness as a treatment for skin that is prone to breakouts.

Along with lavender I have added 1 drop of Lemon Essential Oil, a good remedy for treating skin pigmentation, to help even out my skin tone.  It is also astringent and detoxifying in nature.

I love the fragrance combination, which will add scent to the facial wash with the lovely aroma of lavender and lemons.

Once combined, I have dampened my face with warm water and gently rub the exfoliating mix onto my skin in small circular motion. This will also stimulate and massage the skin at the same time.

Rinse off with warm water and pat dry.

As this will give skin an extremely deep cleanse, I am using a gentle toner to complete the cleansing routine, using a blend of Rosewater and Glycerine.

This has left my skin glowing, hmmmm lovely.

Poppy Seeds
Crushed Poppy Seeds
Crushed Poppy Seeds with Castille Liquid Soap
Lemon and Lavender Essential Oil
Castille Soap with Crushed Poppy Seeds
Rosewater & Glycerine toner

Idiot proof Orange and Almond cupcakes

Posted in At home, baking, Food by

Orange and Poppy Seed Cupcake

For anyone that can’t follow baking instructions (me) these cupcakes turned out to be idiot proof.

I had the following ingredients in my cupboard and thought I’d make some tasty little cakes.

Some of the Ingredients for Orange Poppy Seed Cupcakes

Ingredients:

125g Butter (softened)

2/3 cup soft brown sugar (or Caster Sugar)

1 large Orange (grate the rind and juiced)

2 eggs at room temperature

1 cup self-raising flour

3/4 cup ground almonds

Some of the ingredients for Orange & Poppy Seed Cupcakes1 tablespoon of Poppy Seeds (optional)

1 tablespoon of Popping Candy (optional)

Icing Sugar (for dusting)

I thought I would make some simple cupcakes for an afternoon / tea time treat.

My daughter arrived home from school early today and I was just assembling the ingredients when she asked if she could help with the baking.

The instructions for cupcakes are so simple, as we have made these so many times, I didn’t pay too much attention to actually reading it properly.

I somehow managed to put the Self raising flour and sugar together in the bowl while I was measuring out the ingredients.

What I should have done was creamed the butter and sugar together along with the eggs and the grated orange.Orange and Poppy Cupcakes (8)

However, when I’m baking with my kids, I am distracted by their questions and excitement at the steps involved in cake baking. This time the distraction took the form of what additional ingredients we should add in the mix to make it our own (Popping Candy) and my personal favorite ingredient for cakes, Poppy Seeds, which gives a cake a bit of a crunchy texture.

Also, using brown sugar was a better alternative than caster sugar, if you have this instead, as it’s not so processed and will give the final cupcakes a softer caramel flavour.  As the sugar was lumpy, I asked my daughter to separate the sugar and we added this into the flour.Eggs and Butter with Grated Orange

So, instead of creaming the butter and sugar together, we mixed the butter with the eggs along with the grated orange zest which produced a very runny looking batter.

By this point I realised my mistake, it would be impossible to separate the sugar from the flour and combine this into the batter mixture, so I got my trusty electric hand-whisk and mixed the batter into the sugary flour instead.

The resulting mixture formed the cake mixture that looked about right. Into this we added the orange juice (1/4 cup) and the almond flour, this was gently folded into the mix, along with the poppy seeds and popping candy.

Batter for Orange and Poppy Seed CupcakesOnce these ingredients were combined, we put them into the little cupcake cases into the cake tins. This recipe makes about 12-14 generous sized cupcakes.

I love cupcake cases as they’re so easy, no greasing the tins and no worries or hassle of whether the cake will come out of the baking tin at the end of baking, so we use the paper cases a lot.

Added to the fact that the individual cakes are easy for packed lunches, they really are a mini cake perfect to take anywhere.

Poppy Seeds and Popping Candy in Cake BatterWe put the tray of cupcakes into a pre-heated oven on 180 c, and let them bake for 15-18 minutes (checking at about 14 mins, to see if they were cooked as we have a fan oven, things tend to cook faster) Use a skewer or knife to put into the cupcake and if it comes out clean, they’re cooked.

Cake Mix in cupcake casesReally you are supposed to wait until the cupcakes have cooled before dusting with icing sugar.

By this time, my youngest had arrived from school too and both kids were now not content with just licking the remaining mixture from the mixing bowl as the smell of the orangey almond cakes had filled the kitchen and dining room.

They wanted to eat them straight away, so we dusted the cupcakes in the tins straight from the oven. (You are supposed to let them cool before dusting the icing sugar)

Orange and Poppy Cupcakes (1)Pretty much fool proof as they turned out pretty good in spite of the fact that we forgot to cream the sugar and butter and added a few optional extras of popping candy and poppy seeds.

I had just enough time to put a few on a small plate and take the pictures for this post before they disappeared.

Sunday Spa Feature – Hot Oil hair treatment for dark hair and healthy scalp

Posted in beauty, hair treatment, inspiration, spa treatment, Wellbeing by

Hot Oil Treatment for healthy hair and scalp

Lately my hair feels like straw. I think it must be the combination of feeling under the weather and the chlorine in the swimming pool on holiday.

In my teenage years, I came across VO5 hot oil treatment and would use this on my hair every Sunday as I was convinced by the marketing that it was necessary for long hair.

With all the natural ingredients I have in my cupboard however, it would be simple to make up a batch of hot oil treatment for my hair, without the hassle of having to go shopping.

To condition and put moisture back into my hair, I have chosen to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, well-known for its health benefits, full of antioxidants. It is also a great hair restorer, it contains vitamins A and E and works to treat damaged hair and promotes a healthier scalp.

Since I also have fresh Rosemary growing in the garden, I have taken a sprig of this herb to use with the Olive Oil. Rosemary tea and Oil is widely used in hair treatments and is known as a traditional treatment to darken hair and slow the appearance of grey hair. Since I now have a sprinkling of white showing through my black Chinese hair, this will be great to slow down the rate at which my hair is going grey. The herb is also great at regulating and re-balancing dry itchy scalps.Rosemary and Sage (1)

One of the most used essential oils I have is Tea Tree, this essential oil has fended off the dreaded head lice that most school kids come home with. Whenever, I receive a note from our kids schools advising of Head Lice, I make sure to add tea tree oil when my kids are washing their hair. In fact they now don’t need reminding to add a few drops into their shampoo.

The oil helps unclog pores that may be blocked due to use of shampoos and hair products that contain fillers and polymers. It’s also great at getting rid of dead skin cells, to help healthy new hair to grow.

Fresh Rosemary and Sage herbs to use in hot oil treatmentFinally, as I have fresh Sage growing in the garden also, I will combine this along with the fresh Rosemary and use it as a herb infusion in the olive oil. It is also known as a herb that helps to darken hair.

Making the hot hair treatment is very simple.

In a pan, gently heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

Gently bruise the fresh rosemary and fresh sage with a pestle and mortar and add to the hot olive oil, leave to steep for as long as possible (overnight is preferable) but if you are stuck for time, you can use immediately.

I have simply heated the herbs through in the olive oil, then left to cool until it is comfortable to touch with my finger.

With the oil warmed through (be careful that it is not so hot that it will scald – you should be able to put your finger in the oil without it feeling uncomfortable to touch.)

Add 2-3 drops of tea tree essential oil.

If you also have Rosemary essential oil – 2-3 drops can also be added to the hot oil to give the properties of Rosemary an extra boost.

To apply the hot oil

In a bowl, using fingers massage the warm oil into your scalp in circular motion, until all your scalp has been massaged thoroughly, add the remaining oil and run through the entire length of your hair. (1 – 2 tablespoons should be plenty to cover shoulder length hair).

If you have a disposable shower cap, cover your hair and wrap in a towel so that the warm oil can penetrate your hair.

Leave for as long as possible.

Wash with your usual shampoo and condition as necessary.

Once dried, my hair, which felt dry and brittle, has regained some of its bounciness and shine.

Hmm definitely will need to do this on a regular basis.

If you have lighter coloured hair and want to try this hot oil treatment, try Calendula,  chamomile and lemon peel added to the olive oil, as I’ve read these herbs will help to lighten and add highlights to hair.

Soothing Hot Lemon & Honey drink remedy for colds and flu

Posted in At home, Drink, Family, Health & Wellness, lifestyle, Uncategorized by

Hot Lemon & Honey drink remedy for cold

I came down with a cold not long after returning from our holiday. I have a feeling that it was probably caught whilst on holiday, but the symptoms only started to show once we got home.

By last Monday, my head felt as if it was caught in a vice and a sore throat was making me feel as if it was on fire.

My first thoughts was to turn to the usual remedy in our medicine cupboard, which is a hot mug of Lemsip. After two days however, I didn’t feel much better, in fact I was counting down the hours to my next fix of Lemsip.

It was at this point that I decided to stop using Lemsip and try something more natural as my stomach wasn’t feeling too great with all the chemicals and my head was feeling fuzzy as if it was wrapped in cotton wool.

Lemon and Honey as a hot drink was easy to make and since when you look at the ingredients on a pack of Lemsip, it contains for the most part lemon and paracetamol, plus a decongestants.

I decided that all natural ingredients would be better and hopefully it would also act as a detox and help cleanse my digestive system.

For blocked nose, instead of the chemical decongestants in the Lemsip, I have been inhaling steam from boiling hot water and adding a few drops of Olbas Oil (If you don’t have this, eucalyptus or any type of oil that has menthol/mint essential will have a similar effect) in a large bowl with a towel over my head.

Adding a few drops of lemon essential oil to the water as well, means that the steam is also acting as a facial, opening pores and giving my skin a deep clean.

As a parent, I’ve never been keen on using over the counter medicines on my kids. In fact my youngest doesn’t like Calpol (a liquid suspension of paracetamol in syrup) that I used to give them when they were very young. She too prefers the hot drink of Lemon and Honey when ever she feels a sore throat beginning to take hold.

For coughs, on my last visit to the GP with my daughter when she had a bad cough, he advised that a simple linctus of honey and lemon or glycerine would be just as effective as an over the counter medicine to help soothe a cough.

In fact in the UK, the National Health Service has information about simple treatments for colds and coughs, which advises against over the counter medicines for coughs as there isn’t enough evidence that they are effective.

 

Escape to the 90’s

Posted in 90s music, inspiration, Perfume by

Escape to the 90s

By the 90’s, my career was in full swing and we had moved into our first house together. This was a time when we were enjoying life to the full.

The scents and perfumes I preferred during this period were fruity florals – Im not sure if anyone remembers these, Calvin Klein’s Escape, Clinique’s Happy, Ralph Lauren’s Polo Sport. Strong scents with fruity top notes.

You could say in the 90’s we were a typical couple of the time, which in marketing terms was called Dinkies – Dual income no Kids.

So I guess it was only appropriate that much of this time we spent thinking and planning our escape from the UK with holidays, long and short stays to as many destinations as our salaries would permit.

What defined this period was a sense of escape, from the power hungry 80’s sharp suits to a more relaxed feel. Fashion became less formal, suits of the 80s were ditched in favour of smart casual dress code for work.

I still like Escape as a perfume, it’s being discontinued so if you like this throw-back to the 90’s, better get your hands on it now as it won’t be around for much longer.

With top notes of peach, apricot and roses, at it’s heart was Ylang Ylang and base notes of vanilla and musk. It had staying power, lingering on my clothes well into the evening.

I didn’t wear it for long. During this decade, I tried lots of different perfumes, some enjoyed as a passing fashion trend of the time, with a growing taste for luxury cosmetics as well. Does anyone remember Prescriptives, a make-up designed to be fool-proof, colour coded so that you could pick out the colours that complimented your skin tone. This was before Mac and Nars came on the scene and had a comprehensive pallet of neutral eye and lip colours for every skin tone, sadly, no longer available.

The perfumes that I do remember, is Ralph Lauren’s Safari and Sport, though the latter has now been discontinued.

There was also a brief fling with Elsabeth Arden’s Sunflowers which gave way to Clinique’s Happy. It didn’t exactly make me feel happy, it was a very strong citrus scent that I am sad to say smelt a little to artificial for my taste.

Some of the music of the time, selected because they remind me of various vacations I’ve included here, if you’d like a moment of distraction.

There was an unspoken way of dressing at work and by the late 90’s everyone it seemed dressed in black jeans and slim fitting shirts, I’m not sure why, but perhaps it was just a period when it seemed the floaty florals were no longer appropriate as the century drew to a close.

By this time, I had swtiched to Ralph Lauren’s Romance and though I might not have openly admit to it, I was caught by it’s notion of love and it’s headiness.

I still have a bottle of this perfume, though I’ve not worn this for a very long time. It’s an easy scent to wear, fresh and summery full of roses with some lovely citrus undertones to give it a refreshing feel as if there’s a gentle summer breeze around you.

And ofcourse, this post wouldn’t be complete without some classical music of the Romantic era:


Hmmm – pure escape, I’m going to put Romance on now.

Sunday Spa Feature – Balancing Almond Face Mask

Posted in beauty, Health & Wellness, inspiration, Skin Care, Skincare, Wellbeing by

Home Made Balancing Face MaskWe’ve been away on holiday soaking up the last rays of the summer sun before we head into Autumn.

As my skin care routine usually goes out along with any thoughts of beauty and cosmetics when we are away, the most I do is to put a face moisturizer on and some protective sunscreen during the day.

I have returned home to find that the skin on my face is shiny and I feel as if I’ve returned to teenage days with blemishes about to erupt.

Looking in my cupboard, which has few fresh ingredients to hand, I can make this simple face mask recipe to help soothe and re-balance my skin.

Ground Almonds (a soft flour that we keep for baking purposes) is the perfect base.

As almonds are a highly nutritional, they are a rich source of vitamin E, calcium, phosphorous, iron and magnesium. In terms of diet, they  also contains zinc, selenium, copper and niacin and make a great healthy snack between meal-times.

In baking, we like to use Ground Almonds in certain cake recipes and always keep a bag in the cupboard to whip up an Orange and Almond cake.

Used in a face mask, the vitamin E part of the ground almonds can improve wrinkles. It also good way to brighten the complexion and reduce age spots and other blemishes on the skin.

As I also have some Sweet Almond oil, I have chosen to combine this with the ground almonds as it will act as a great moisturizer and will increase the potent effects of the Almonds.

Essential Oils of bergamot, Geranium and Sweet Almond OilGeranium Oil – is known to help balance skin, it has toning properties that will help tighten skin and prevent breakouts.

Orange Blossom Honey

Apparently, using honey in a face mask will help destroy bacteria and clear the pores.

With high concentrations of glucose, it kills bacteria and is the reason why honey does not need any preservatives and can be kept out of the fridge.

The antibacterial qualities can help prevent bacteria from re-forming in pores so that any skin that’s prone to acne will benefit from this ingredient. With all the glucose, it works like glycerine in that it acts by attracting moisture to the skin.

As I have Orange Blossom honey, this will work well combined with Orange Blossom Water, since this floral water acts as a mild astringent is also useful for oily and acne prone skin. It’s also great for mature skins as it works to promote healthy new skin cells.

Bergamot Essential Oil, is known for its stress relieving properties, it is a lovely natural sweet-smelling essential oil that works to help protect skin from infection and reduce hyper-pigmentation, fades scars, stretch marks and promotes even skin tone. Orange Blossom Honey and Ground Almonds

Ingredients

2 tablespoon of Almond Flour

1 teaspoon of Orange Blossom Honey

1 teaspoon Sweet Almond Oil

2 drops Geranium Essential Oil

2 drops Bergamot Essential Oil

1 tablespoon of Orange Blossom Water

How to make:

Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix together to form a paste. Add more orange flower water or honey to make the paste into your preferred consistency.

Smooth onto clean face with gentle circular motion to stimulate as you work the mask into your skin and leave for 15 minutes.

Relax in a bath soak with the scent of oranges, whilst the facemask gets to work, if you want to make the spa experience more indulgent – simply splash Orange Blossom Floral Water, along with oatmeal in a muslin bag tied to the taps for a moisturising batch soak.

Wash off the face mask with a towel with warm water after 15 minutes and use the Orange Flower water as a toner and apply your usual facial moisturizer.

Ahh I’m in orange heaven

Sunday Spa feature – A luscious lip remedy

Posted in beauty, Health & Wellness, inspiration, Skin Care, Skincare, Wellbeing by

LEMON BALM lip salve

Lipsalve mix starting to solidify
Lipsalve mix starting to solidify
Finished Lipsalve containing lemon balm oil, with sweet almond, coconut and honey

Luscious Lemon Balm and Honey Lip Salve

We recently brought home some lemon balm to plant in our garden. Since this is a herb that is new to me, I looked up all the things you can do with it for natural skin care as well as in food.

It works great as an alternative to mint added to Iced Tea, and as a herb to add into salads, it is a great herb with medicinal properties that include helping to calm down anxiety and sleeplessness and as an aid for digestive health.

I’ve also read that it is a great herbal remedy for cold sores, which gave me an idea to find a way to incorporate it into a lip salve.

To get the herb into the lip salve, I created an oil infusion, so that the goodness of the lemon balm can be transferred into the carrier oil. It is simple to make and the process of infusing oils with different herbs and flavours can be used for other purposes – such as creating a lovely lemon oil to use in salads. I picked a small amount of the leaves of the lemon balm, which I then bruised in a pestle and mortar so that all the goodness of the plant can be transferred into the carrier oil.

To keep things simple, I’ve used Sweet Almond Oil as it’s a good carrier oil for aromatherapy massage therapies.  As I have no patience (if you want you can use dried herbs and leave in the oil to infuse over 4-6 weeks, leaving the mixture in a dark place)  to speed up the process for the infusion, I have gently heated the oil with the lemon balm and transferred this into a clean jam jar and left it to sit on the windowsill for a few days.

Once the colour of the oil has taken the colour from the leaves, the oil is ready to be used.

For the lip salve recipe, I’ve used the following combination:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of beeswax

1 tablespoon Lemon Balm infused oil

1 tablespoon of Coconut Oil (organic cold pressed)

2 teaspoon of honey

4 drops lemon essential oil, 4 drop Peppermint essential Oil

The amounts above makes 60ml of lip salve mixture, which would fit into 2 x 30 ml pots shown in the picture.

Making the lip salve is very easy. In a simmering pan of water, put a glass jug into the water, add the beeswax and wait for this to melt. I use the beeswax pellets as this is much easier to use than the large blocks of beeswax.

Beeswax melting with sweet almond oil and coconut oil

Beeswax melting with sweet almond oil and coconut oil

Add the lemon balm infused oil along with the coconut oil and wait until this is all melted into the beeswax.

Add the honey and take the mixture off the heat.

Add the essential oils (I’ve chosen Lemon and Mitcham Peppermint essential oils to intensify the scent of the lip salve).

Pour into the pots of your choice and wait for the mixture to solidify before use.

As the lip salve is made with natural ingredients, I am keeping the quantities made up small so that it can be used straight away. It should keep for around 4-6 weeks, and is a great way to keep lips soft.

For a beauty ritual that helps to maintain the condition of your lips, gently exfoliate lips to remove any dry or flaky skin (I use a toothbrush with soft bristles to do this, but you can also try using a muslin cloth) before applying the lipsalve at night before bedtime.

Red colour pork Chinese style with braised vegetables

Posted in At home, Food, Home, inspiration, lifestyle by
Red Pork Chinese Style

Red Pork Chinese Style

This one is a favourite dish of ours. Whenever we cook this, it is with guilty pleasure as the belly pork isn’t something that is exactly good for those who are health conscious.

I think though a little indulgence sometimes is also good for the soul.

We tend to cook this dish when the kids are staying with their grandparents. (My eldest insists that she does not like Chinese food and so far nothing has worked to persuade her otherwise. It is one of my disappointment, so we don’t cook this one very often).

The dish is actually called Hung Shao Pork, and if you were to say this in Chinese, the translation would be equivalent to Red casseroled pork. The red being the colour that the pork takes on as it slowly cooks and releases its flavour in the glutenous streaky fat running through the meat.

Chinese red pork casserole

Chinese Red pork casserole

Once the onions, garlic and freshly sliced ginger have been gently fried in some oil (sunflower is best as this is odourless) small batons of the belly pork that have been cut into smallish pieces and lightly salted (the size is approximately your little finger) is added and gently fried with the onions, garlic and ginger.

At this point, whilst it is sizzling away, dark soy sauce is added so that the rich dark flavour of the sauce will infuse and work its way into the pork. Add a splash of water and a splash of Chinese wine (if you have this to hand, If not, then some sweet sherry will also work in this dish). Honey added to sweeten the dish along with the saltiness of the Soy Sauce and Star Anise will make this dish rock.

You can use a saucepan or a casserole dish that can be used directly on the cooker, so no need for a wok if you don’t have one.

When the pork has been fried, turn down the heat to the lowest setting and then leave to simmer away for about 30-40 minutes, with the lid on, turning 2-3 times during the cooking time. The goal is to get the lovely pieces of pork to be slightly crispy, but also tender and juicy with the luscious red sauce coating it and making it sticky and oh so yummy to taste.

To balance the richness of the pork, we tend to cook some simple chinese vegetables – Pak Choi with some sugar snap peas, the crunchy sweetness of the sugar snaps are a great compliment to the pork. In fact any Chinese greens if these are available or in season. If not, then fresh brocoli or spinach also works well with this dish. The greens are gently braised in some water, lightly seasoned with salt, with the water not covering the vegetables completely, but as if you are using the liquid to fry the vegetables in.

Braised Chinese Vegetables

Braised Chinese Vegetables

Once the vegetables are just cooked, they can be just on the verge of being cooked, take off the heat and add a very small splash of sesame oil and soy sauce to taste, if you like (seasme seeds sprinkled over the vegetable at this stage will also be a tasty addition.

All of which is simply served with some fragrant Jasmine and wild rice.

Enjoyed with some light sparkling white wine as a balance to the richness of the pork.

Ingredients: 

1 pound of lean belly pork, including skin (bought as a whole large piece, cut into small pieces)

Approx 4 tablespoons of dark soy sauce

Approx 1 tablespoon of water

Fresh Ginger (small amount – roughly equal amount to the onion)

1 small onion

1 Star Anise

1 spoonful of honey (sweetness to taste – add more if you prefer)

Approx 3 tablespoons of Chinese wine (sherry if not available – taste and add more if you need to)

Sunday Spa feature – Luxury Shea Butter St Clements Hand Cream

Posted in beauty, Health & Wellness, inspiration, lifestyle, Scent, Skin Care, Skincare by

ST CLEMENTS HAND CREAM (7)

Orange Blossom Water mixed together with Shea Butter, with Acetic Acid and Emlusifying wax
Jar of St Clements Hand Cream
Jar of St Clements Hand Cream
Jar of St Clements Hand Cream
Jar of St Clements Hand Cream

This is a simple way to enjoy the enriching benefits of Shea Butter in a hand cream, with a lovely light non-greasy mousse like texture.

Making this hand cream couldn’t be easier.

Shea Butter comes from the Shea Tree and is helpful for many skin conditions, especially dry skin. It contains vitamins A and E as well as fatty acids, plant sterols that are good for you. You can read more about it’s amazing qualities at the American Shea Butter institute.unrefined raw organic Shea Butter

I discovered the benefits of Shea Butter in a hand cream made by L’Occitane, it was given to me as a gift which I used every time I washed my hands after every nappy change, and because there were quite a few of these, my hands became very dry. The L’Occitane handcream was the only hand cream that helped. I love this cream and have the smaller sized version in my desk at work, and in my bag to use everywhere I go.

But since, I also like to make my own skincare, I’ve been experimenting to see if I can create one that has all natural ingredients without any commercial chemical preservatives that are necessary to extend the shelf life of the products.

I’ve chosen to use orange blossom water to use with the Shea Butter, as this too is great for skin, it is a mild astringent with antiseptic properties, it can be used as a toner for combination, oily and skin that’s prone to break-outs. (I’ve switched to using it as a facial toner during the summer) It’s also great because it helps regenerate skin and has relaxing and calming properties, mostly though I love the lovely floral citrus scent it leaves on the skin.

As I’ve added Lemon and Bergamot essential oils, to intensify the scent, I’ve called this mixture a St Clements Hand Cream.

The mixture is very light and is instantly absorbed into the skin and leaves a wonderfully fragrant orange and lemon scent (please note that since citrus can be photosensitive, it’s best not to use this if going out in direct sunlight. If you are trying this for the first time, do a patch test first).

Making the mixture, is very simple, it forms a creamy texture, so best to put it into a glass jar, than in a pump bottle as it turns into a lovely light mousse like texture.

To make the hand cream, simply put the shea butter, along with the emulsifying wax into a glass jug (it needs to be heat proof), in a pan of water that’s simmering, to melt the shea butter and wax together, once this has been melted, add the orange blossom water along with the acetic acid. Sift in Corn flour (I’ve added this to lighten the texture.

Don’t worry if it looks very runny at this stage, as it will solidify when it cools down to room temperature.

At this stage, whisk  (use an electric whisk for this part) to get air into the mix, you can carry on doing this until the mixture has cooled down, watch it turn into a white mouse like texture and then transfer into the glass jar of your choice.

Since this mixture is all natural, it contains no artificial preservatives, so I have kept the mix small and should last about 2-3 weeks.

Ingredients:

1/4 teaspoon stearic acid*

1 teaspoon of Emulsifying wax*

1 teaspoon of Beeswax*

7 tablespoons of Orange Blossom Water

2 heaped tablespoon of Shea butter*

10 drops Lemon Essential Oil

5 drops Bergamot Essential Oil

2 drops Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

1 teaspoon of corn flour

1x 100-150 ml glass Jar

Hmm I think I’m going to enjoy this as part of the Spa experience with the Indulgent Orange Blossom Hand Mask.

*I have included the product links here to where you can order the ingredients which you may find useful:

Stearic Acid for UK, Stearic Acid for the US

Emulsifying Wax for UK, Emulsifying Wax for the US

Beeswax Beads  for UK, Bees Wax Beads for the US

Organic Shea Butter Unrefined for UK

Organic Shea Butter Unrefined for US.

* Affliate links