Autumnal salad with blackberry dressing
WorkJoy
Welcome to my monthly blog and what I have been up to!
I went along to a trade exhibition at Olympia on new food ideas, so lots of sampling was going on! There were lots of new vegan ideas such as convenience food and ready meals. Tricky to ascertain how healthy these foods are so don't let the 'vegan' label fool you! Alcoholic sparkling water was very popular with lots of companies picking up on this trend. I had sampled some when we visited The Hamptons on our last holiday before lockdown (how I miss holidays!). The advantage of these seltzers is they are low in calories though still pack the punch of alcohol - if that's what you're after.
It seems Good Mood Food classes are very popular at the moment and don't we all need a mood boost given the last 18 months. I recently facilitated a corporate event for a lovely group of ladies from KCWC who attended for a lunchtime session and when they arrived I pre made some rye, hazelnut and pumpkin bread with x2 homemade butters. I added rosemary, garlic and smoked paprika and the other butter, chives, garlic and za’atar. This was followed by the participants making cauliflower tabbouleh and broccoli falafal’s and lots of tahini chocolate chip cookies to take home!
The course How to break unhealthy eating habits is launched now for 27th October and also an online version on 2nd November. Please email me to reserve a place and as per details below:
“Replacing a bad food habit with a good food habit takes time and patience. It requires several steps, from setting your goals to get support. One of the important steps is figuring out what your barriers are.
What has stopped you from changing your eating habits in the past? What do you think might stop you in the future? Identifying these barriers now, and having a plan to help you get past them, will help you change bad food habits into good food habits”
Audrey will be discussing this topic in detail as above and I will cook a savoury dish which will be an energising brain food and matcha green tea energy balls.
I won a deal with Danz, a sports streaming platform for good mood foods which will be up to a 1,000 participants online!
KitchenJoy
This month has kicked off with many in person classes back at the cookery school, so very exciting to see clients again and be up and running 100%. I have been facilitating courses such as gluten free, gut health, vegan, chocolate, a few full day classes on general health and FODMAP.
Please contact me for more details if you are interested in any other types of medicinal cookery classes or 121 tuition. This also applies to online private cookery classes and team work building sessions.
SocialJoy
I hope we are all still enjoying the Indian summer, and making the most of it! I made the most of it, on a day trip to West Witterings beach with the doggy to get our last beach days in!
Have tried out some new restaurants in the area, with Betty’s opening in Chiswick which offers lots of small plates, such as braised octopus, soft shell crab, pork belly and the best wings ever with a blue cheese dressing. Highly recommend this restaurant and the brunches are good too. https://www.bettychiswick.com/
Pub in the Park was this month too with lots of interesting food and drink stalls, so we could try lots of different cuisines such as Indian naan bread with lamb keema and my favourite was KFP (Kentucky fried partridge!!) and watermelon & lime mojito’s.
I attended the the Chiswick book festival over one weekend where authors are promoting their new books and I just loved Rowan Hooper’s - “How to spend a trillion dollars” on saving the world and solving the biggest mysteries in science. Fascinating!
For my birthday I was lucky to receive a voucher for Chapel Down vineyard and decided to make a 2 overnighter trip in Rye. https://www.chapeldown.com/ It was fun tasting all the wines and we did lovely long walks at Camber beach.
I made a blackberry salad as blackberries are abundant this time of year and thought a blackberry dressing on a salad would be fresh and easy to make. As per photo above and recipe below.
Autumnal salad with blackberry dressing
Serves 3
Ingredients
350g butternut squash, cut into 0.5cm slices
2 raw beetroot, peeled and cut into 0.5cm rounds
250g pack ready-cooked quinoa
3 tbsp toasted flaked almonds
Large handful wild rocket
Handful of tomato’s
Dressing Ingredients
250g blackberries
32g lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp coconut sugar (optional)
Roast the butternut squash in the oven on 200c for approx. 40 mins, or until golden brown. Cook the quinoa as per packet instructions. Allow to cool.
Rinse the berries thoroughly and mash them with a potato masher or fork.
Heat the blackberries over low-medium heat for around 5 minutes to begin reducing the berries. This will help with texture and intensify the flavour of the berries.
Cool slightly and then (optionally) press through a sieve to remove the seeds and excess pulp.
Mix the berries with the remainder of the ingredients and stir well. Taste and adjust the seasonings and add some coconut sugar if desired.
Decant into a glass jar and shake well. For additional flavor, allow the dressing to infuse for an hour or two in the fridge (or even overnight) for best flavor. However, you can also use it immediately.
. 🙂
Enjoy ……..
