Happy Christmas!

With the 25th only a matter of days away now, all that's left to say is to wish my readers a happy Christmas…and enjoy plenty of the green stuff amongst the festive treats.

H is for honeydew melon, which many people will be enjoying for a starter on Christmas Day.

A is for apples; bake stuffed with mincemeat, as a good way to use up leftovers.

P is for parsnips, without which a roast turkey isn't complete.

P is for pears; lovely poached in mulled wine then served with a scoop of vanilla pod ice cream or a dollop of natural yoghurt.

Y is for yam, a good alternative to roast potatoes.


C is for cranberries; make your own sauce using orange juice.

H is for haricot beans; forget baked beans, use haricot beans and leftover turkey to make a stew with other veg.

R is for raspberries; add frozen raspberries to a red jelly when making a trifle.

I is for iceberg lettuce; don't forgo the salad during the festive period, add to turkey sandwiches or serve with prawns.

S is for Satsumas, which make a good alternative to chocolate or nuts as a snack over Christmas.

T is for tomatoes; roast with red onions, peppers and courgettes as a side dish.

A is for avocado; serve with mozzarella or prawns and mixed leaves as a light meal.

S is for swede; lovely mashed with carrot and potato if you wish to leave the roasting tin in the cupboard.

 Photo by Accuruss via Wikimedia Commons

In the spotlight - Dates

We looked at sprouts and cranberries last Christmas, so the festive food I've plumped for this year is dates. Hailing from the Middle East these sweet fruits are available fresh or dried and it's usually their dried form that's associated with Christmas. They take a more prominent position in the supermarket at this time of year rather than being hidden away in the baking aisle as they are for the other months; it's popular to stuff them with marzipan for a festive treat.

Dates are packed with fibre; a single date provides 2g and we should be aiming for at least 18g daily to maintain bowel health. They have a high glycaemic index, which means they raise our blood sugar quickly, so aren't the best option for someone with diabetes, but can be eaten in moderation - 3 dates whether fresh or dried counts as a serving. Dates are full of polyphenols, which are a type of antioxidant; their role is to mop up free radicals, which damage body cells and are linked to heart disease and cancer. A number of minerals - calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese and copper - are present in dates in small, but useful amounts. Magnesium plays an important role in maintaining bone strength, muscle and nerve function, while copper and manganese form part of enzymes involved in increasing the rate of reactions within the body.

If you did get tired of popping dates like sweets, you can add chopped dates to cereal, yoghurt or baking such as scones, flapjacks and bread. However, dates also work well in savoury dishes - think tagines, salads, pasta dishes or as a stuffing for chicken and pork.

Take a look at the following websites if you want to get creative with dates:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/date
http://www.cooksunited.co.uk/rs/s0/date/recipes.html
http://www.tarladalal.com/recipes-using-chopped-dates-801

Attribution:
Photo of a date by J.P.Lon via Wikimedia Commons

Lancrigg - a review

Whether you're vegetarian, vegan or just like a break from meat and fish from time to time, when you eat out you have probably noticed that the selection of vegetarian options on a pub or restaurant menu is usually limited; typically you'll get a veggie curry, veggie lasagne, mushroom stroganoff and a vegetable stir-fry. They also seem to think that because you don't eat meat, you don't want any protein, so often dishes will come without any pulses, nuts, soya or Quorn; usually the only veggie protein served will be dairy produce or eggs, which is obviously out of the question if you're vegan. However, Lancrigg Country House Hotel offers those dining in its Green Valley Restaurant a completely different experience and is a real breath of fresh air.

At Lancrigg you can look forward to dishes inspired by all corners of the globe, which use fresh - and where possible local ingredients - and are well balanced; they truly understand the needs of vegetarian diners and can cater well for anyone who is vegan or who has a particular food allergy.

While our table was being prepared we waited in their homely lounge and perused the wine menu. All their wines and beers are organically produced and we chose a bottle of their house white - a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc. There was certainly a good choice on their food menu, but I opted for bruschetta to start. Now these bruschetta weren't like the disappointing ones that many Italian restaurants serve with a thin scraping of topping; they were loaded with fresh chopped tomato, peppers, basil and dressing, and were bursting with flavour. To follow I chose falafel, which were served with roast new potatoes, a piquant tomato sauce and steamed green vegetables. Unlike the typical chickpea falafel - though this option was available as a starter - they were based on cashews, apple and lemon, which was a winning combination. The sauce complemented the falafel well and the veg was cooked to perfection. Although the new potatoes were salted, which isn't to my taste, I appreciate that this helps them to crisp up during roasting. Unfortunately we were too full for dessert, though the chocolate and toffee nut sundae or the espresso chocolate mousse did both sound tempting, so when we visit again I'll know to forgo the starter to save room for something sweet.

A must for anyone who likes vegetarian food and definitely somewhere we'll return.

Attribution:
Photo of Lancrigg Hotel by Elfrieda Waren via Wikimedia Commons

In the spotlight - Parsnips

I always think parsnips are a bit like Marmite; people either like them or they don't. That said parsnips have grown on me over the years. I remember as a child always being bitterly disappointed when I bit into what I thought was a roast potato, only to find there was parsnip lurking under the crispy exterior. However, I now enjoy parsnips mashed with other root veg or in a soup - they combine well with ginger and apple.

Although parsnips are often thought of a starchy vegetable, a lot of the starch they once contained has already been converted to sugars by the time they reach our plate, which is why they taste sweet. Sometimes people choose to replace potatoes with parsnips, thinking they are a lower calorie option, though there is very little difference in their calorie content; parsnips are however higher in fibre. Parsnips have a very high glycaemic index - a measure of how quickly they raise blood sugars - so tend to be given a wide berth by anyone following a low glycaemic diet - usually to aid weight loss or to control blood sugar levels in diabetes. Regarding their vitamin and mineral content, parsnips are a good source of Vitamin C, folate and manganese - the latter forms part of enzymes which speed up reactions within the body and it also plays a role in maintaining bone health.

Besides roasting, mashing and turning them into a soup, how else can parsnips be used? Parsnips soak up flavours very well, so make a good addition to a curry. Equally they can be added to stews and casseroles; you might decide to slice them to top a hot pot or as an alternative topping for a cottage pie. Root veg crisps are becoming popular, so you could try to make your own from parsnips, carrots and beetroot. Apparently they can also be used to make bread and in baking.

Check out these ideas for using parsnips:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search.do?keywords=Parsnip&searchType=recipes
http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/popular-ingredients/parsnip
http://www.abelandcole.co.uk/recipes/parsnips
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/tag-3145/parsnip-recipes.aspx


Attribution:
Photo by AlbertCahalan

In the spotlight - Passion fruit

You need 5 or 6 of them to count as one of your 5 A Day. What are we talking about? No, it’s not strawberries, but passion fruit.  Not sure I'd fancy eating that much passion fruit in one go though, so I'm doubtful whether anyone ever eats them in this way for their nutritional value - in these quantities they are rich in Vitamin A and C and fibre, while providing smaller, but still useful amounts of B vitamins and surprisingly iron. 

Remove their unwelcoming purple skin and the inside reveals an orange flesh and as many as 250 seeds. They have quite a tart taste, so not a fruit to eat on their own. If I was to buy passion fruit I would add the flesh to a fruit salad, though I can't take credit for this, as it was a recipe from second year Home Economics at school. The only other time I've come across them is either drizzled in the form of a coulis on the side of a plate with a sweet dish or in a cheesecake. However, looking at the recipes available online it seems that passion fruit have their place in savoury dishes too; salsa and sauces to accompany fish seem a popular use. If you like a zombie cocktail, they involve passion fruit syrup, though how much fruit this actually contains is another matter!

Photo by Manuel Anastacio via Wikimedia Commons