691/1038 -Silverbeet gratin

Silverbeet is a wonderful vegetable but I don't buy it often - a good sized bunch takes up almost an entire shelf in my fridge and it can be a pain to prepare. But today I received my first "mystery box" of produce from Funky Food and I was secretly thrilled to find the most enormous bunch of silverbeet staring up at me when I took off the lid. Sometimes we need a push to change things up a little!

The concept behind Funky Food is brilliant - it saves the oddballs of the fruit and veg department from landfill and delivers it at a discounted cost to people who are unafraid of the undersized or the funky shaped. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the quality of the produce and receiving 18 kilograms of the fresh stuff every week will ensure we don't take our eye off the fruit and vegie eating ball. 

Having grown up without smartphones, I may never lose my fascination for tracking delivery vans as they make their way to my home. I found it difficult to hide my excitement today as I watched the tiny little car on my phone-screen turn into my street. The Funky Food driver may or may not have been surprised to find me standing on our front porch, arms outstretched, anticipating his arrival. But perhaps everybody is this excited when their first order arrives! 

My kitchen looks as if a bomb has been dropped on it, but the resulting gratin was absolutely worth it. The silverbeet was trimmed, washed, separated, chopped and boiled. It was then pan-fried with garlic and so much oil and butter that I am already mentally calculating how much extra weight I will need to strap to my body when I head out for my run tomorrow. A simple white sauce was added the mix which was then baked in individual portions, sprinkled generously with breadcrumbs and a dash of olive oil. Every bite was creamy, crunchy and absolutely humming with garlic - yes, more Funky Food fabulousness! 

The diners at my table tonight had the choice of pairing their mini gratin with either a barbequed chicken thigh or spicy beef sausage. Not one person left the table unhappy. 

690/1038 - Christmas mince pies

Although I technically missed the Christmas cut off when baking these, I am yet to hear any complaints. As well as feeding my Mum and my two fruit loving boys, these pies made a lovely gift for a friend who looked after our pets while we were away at the beach. I am very, very good at avoiding food that will hurt me but the smell of these amazing little morsels was very difficult to take! 

I couldn't find any mixed peel in the house, and so used chopped up brandied cumquats instead. Apparently the citrus taste was wonderful and quite strong which is precisely the outcome I was hoping for. I also cheated a little and only soaked the fruit for two weeks. I imagine the taste would be further enhanced if it was soaked for a longer period but it is definitely good to know that two weeks is sufficient if expediency is a factor. The only thing I would change if I were to make these again would be to use Stephanie's regular shortcrust pastry rather than the sweet variety. It is unbelievably tricky to handle and according to my husband, doesn't have the same wonderful, melt-in-your mouth feel as the regular version. 

So far, the lucky recipients have eaten them straight up and also smashed into vanilla ice-cream. Reports are that both versions are fabulous. Highly recommended.

689/1038 - Stephanie's Christmas mincemeat

Happy New Year! 

It is so lovely to be getting back into this cooking challenge, albeit very slowly. I was looking at my challenge stats this morning (as you do when you are a spreadsheet geek) and noticed that the numbers reflected my path back to wellness. There was a year of zero recipes, followed by a year in which I managed to cook and post four times. This year, which is only halfway over (challenge anniversary is July) I am already posting my third recipe with another to come in a few weeks. Given my slightly improved energy levels, I am hoping that this number will continue to improve year on year because there is no way I am stopping after having cooked almost seven hundred recipes!

As I prepared the mincemeat, complete with the most gorgeous smelling brandy, I reflected on the evolution of my adjustment to a strict low histamine diet. When it comes to food, willpower has never been a strength of mine. In the past, any eating regime I have adopted has generally lasted somewhere between an hour and a few days. The difference now is that guilt is the least of my worries if I cheat. The potential ramifications of eating the wrong thing is a very good motivator and the reason I am now able to resist the foods that used to be favourites of mine. And I had a lot of favourites! 

Take Christmas mince pies, which I have adored since I was very young. The satisfying combination of melt-in-the-mouth pastry and deliciously rehydrated dried fruit was like a drug for me. When I was at my most restrained, I used to help myself to at least three pies and feel no guilt for indulging in what was, at the time, a most innocent pleasure.

Nowadays, just staring too long at a mince pie can be detrimental to my health. Of course I exaggerate, but the ingredients are definitely very high on my no-go list. But with my newfound willpower, I have been happily planning this gorgeous sweet treat for my family for weeks now, with only moments of longing. The desire to be well and to participate in life has finally become significantly stronger than my desire to eat food that will hurt me. The moments of pleasure are simply not worth the repercussions, which can be terrifying and can cause my general health to take several steps backward. Even so, it can be a lonely endeavour. 

I had to laugh last night when my husband, warmed by the glow of several ales, expressed the most gorgeous show of solidarity, professing that he will be eating the same diet as me for two months so that he can better understand how it feels. Within an hour, two months had become two days and today, he meekly confessed that it may or may not happen at all. I am absolutely fine with that of course, very much appreciating the sentiment, regardless of follow through. 

So, it will be mince pie time in a few weeks, and perhaps some mincemeat ice-cream if I am feeling particularly industrious. Watch this space!