Gemma Collins Drastic Weight Loss

                            At Eduardo's restaurant with Elliott Wright of TOWIE fame.

I don't know how you feel about reality TV. For my part reality TV gives us the same soap opera drama that's been around for decades. Ok, it's a bit more voyeuristic but society has come to believe that fame and celebrity is the ultimate achievement, look no further than: X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and The Voice, contenders want to accomplish a feat which will transform their lives into the magnificent lifestyles we see lived by celebrities.

As a society we are distractible, novelty seeking, numb, over stimulated, high tech individuals. Reality TV fulfills our fantasies and takes us away from the drudgery of everyday life.

The Only Way Is Essex, known as TOWIE, is a BAFTA award winning scripted reality show, based in Essex it shows real people in modified situations. Along with thousands of other viewers I'm hooked!

However, I do have a vested interest. The Wright family are amongst the main characters in the show, Elliott is the newest member from the Wright family to join the TOWIE cast. Elliott's parents own Eduardo's restaurant in the Villa Martin plaza in Spain which is renowned as the premier restaurant on the Orihuela costa. Over the years we have spent many an evening in Eduardo's enjoying a first class fine dining experience and have come to know Eddie the proprietor (Elliott's father) and would often see Elliott and other members of the Wright family in the restaurant.

Another great character in the show is Gemma Collins. Gemma has long battled with her weight and was tipping the scales at 19 stone, however, this week she appeared on Good Morning Britain having shed 1st 8lbs in six weeks!

Gemma said of her drastic weight loss: 'All my life I've tried every diet, from the maple syrup diet, diet pills, shakes, the cabbage soup diet, the egg diet and the grapefruit diet. The only thing that works is cutting out all processed foods! There is so much food out there laden with sugar and fats, it's about taking it back to basics and preparing your food from scratch. '

Gemma's message will reach hundreds of young girls and women who are struggling with their weight due to her reality TV fame, the message I am so passionate about, taking it back to basics, cutting down on processed food and ready meals and eschewing all those faddy diets which will only work on a temporary basis.

It's often tempting to eat fast food, I came home from a day out without having given any thought to our evening meal. At a loss I looked in my vegetable rack and found a few potatoes and carrots that were past their best, I didn't want to faff about, it was getting late and I was tired so I made this very simple dish and it was delicious.

Quick and easy vegetable hotchpotch

Recipe
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions
6 potatoes, par boiled and cut into chunks
4 carrots, par boiled and cut into chunks
4 tomatoes, cores removed and flesh diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
1 knob fresh ginger, peeled and grated
Salt and pepper

Heat oil and gently fry onions until they start to colour

In a food processor blend 2 tomatoes with spices and ginger, top up with water to loosen paste, add to onions

Add potatoes, carrots and remaining tomatoes and coat in spice mixture
Simmer gently for 15 minutes

This dish was extremely tasty, you can play around with spice combinations, this wasn't particularly spicy although I did add chilli. So, a healthy and nutritious meal that took me as long to make as cooking a frozen pizza and oven chips, and a good way of using up my tired old vegetables!

'In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.'
-Andy Warhol

Love Donna xxxxxx

#Keeping It Real

                                                My friend's scrumptious little boy Todd

Instinctively as parents we want to protect our children, however, children have now stepped into a new world of fast food and the dangers that lie therein.

The American author, journalist and activist Michael Pollan has been writing books and articles about the places where nature and culture intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens and in the built environment, for the past twenty five years.

Pollan says: 'the best marker of a healthy diet is whether food is cooked at home or by a food corporation. Poor people who 'cook' have healthier diets than rich people who don't.'

'If you cook, you're not going to have homemade fries/chips every day as they are such a pain to make (oven chips however are a 'convenient' albeit unhealthy option)
When cooking from raw ingredients we tend to gravitate toward simple things.'

'Cooking is a social act-cooking gave us the meal and the meal gave us civilisation which we are now blithely giving up. Convenience food, fast food and microwave dinners are mostly eaten alone. We have this centrifugal force driving us away from the table and food marketing encourages this as they make more money if we eat individually.'

One of my favourite chef's, Gennaro Contaldo, reminisces: 'As soon as I could talk, my family and community of neighbours taught me to love and understand the food we ate. Cooking and eating were pleasures entwined in every thread of life. The excitement I felt as a child, the sheer pleasure of mealtimes, has never faded.' Children today quite often sit down alone to a processed meal, food is no longer classed as central to family or community occasion.

Aside from the detriment to our children's health, it's a sad indictment of our society that we are not giving our children quality table time so that they can discover taste and texture and a sheer pleasure of mealtimes.

Pollan has famously quoted that we should eat only things our grandmother's generation would recognise as food, eg not turkey twizzlers or lucky charms!

My friend Clarrie takes great care with Todd's diet, as most of us do with babies, it's a shame that so many of us don't continue in this vein as children progress through childhood.

                                          Fresh vegetables prepared for Todd

Peppers are a lovely vegetable, children love the bright colours and this next recipe adds a sweet and sour flavour. This is one of my favourite Gennaro recipes, it's tasty, nutritious and extremely easy to make.

Sweet and sour peppers

Recipe
6 tablespoons olive oil
6 peppers, mixed colours, deseeded and cut into thick strips
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon of sugar
4 tablespoons white vinegar
Salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, add the peppers and cook until the skins are golden

Add chopped tomatoes and garlic, stir in the sugar and the vinegar and allow to evaporate
Cook on a medium heat for 5-10 minutes until peppers are tender
Season to taste and serve hot with lots of bread to mop up the delicious juices

'The shared meal elevates eating from a mechanical process of fueling the body to a ritual of family and community, from the mere animal biology to an act of culture.'
-Michael Pollan

Love Donna xxxx

Pie Making

                                     Steak and mushroom pie with a puff pastry lid

I ate the above pie whilst in Spain recently, not a particularly common dish but whenever it appears on a menu del dia I can't resist. You see a good quality pie is the ultimate in comfort food, the delicious contrast between crisp, buttery, golden pastry and succulent, savoury filling is unbeatable.

Apart from the comfort aspect, pies are versatile, simple to make and can make for a very economical meal. Angela Boggiano an esteemed cook and food writer says: 'who could not love someone who pulls a steaming, golden, bubbling homemade pie out of the oven.'

Shop bought pies cannot compare with a homemade labour of love. Not since Sweeny Todd has there been such uncertainty about what goes into processed meat, at the cheap end of the market we know that horse meat has been switched for beef and that's probably the least of our worries!

As Boggiano says: 'I think its a whole lot cheaper to make your own pie, great for using up leftover meat from the roast which gives an extra meal from one joint.'

Well, I went one further, I always have leftover ingredients when I make a roast, as well you know from my hotchpotch pies, so I made a Sunday roast dinner pie.

Sunday roast dinner pie

Recipe for shortcrust pastry
200g plain flour
100g butter, cubed
2-3 tablespoons very cold water
Pinch of salt
(Makes approx 300g pastry)

Place the flour, butter and salt in bowl
Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
Add the water and using a knife stir until dough binds together
Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes

When you are ready to prepare your pie, ensure all your precooked ingredients are cold otherwise they will melt the pastry

Layer a pie dish with sliced chicken or meat and vegetables

Add gravy and fresh stock (made from carcass of chicken)
Roll out pastry on a clean, floured surface

Place pastry on top of pie ingredients

Brush pastry with egg wash
Place in a preheated oven 200c/gas 6 for 25 minutes or until golden

The obvious accompaniment for pie is soft buttery mashed potatoes and lashings of gravy or liquor, the ultimate comfort food. Jersey royals are currently in season, doused in butter, salt and pepper, these too make a perfect match, although my family like pie served with homemade chunky chips.

'It could be argued that there is an element of entertainment in every pie, as every pie is inherently a surprise by virtue of its crust.'
-Janet Clarkson

It's as easy as pie!
Love Donna xxxxxxx

Tapas

For the true tapas experience, you must go to Spain. Spanish culture is all about socialising and the serving of tapas is designed to encourage conversation as people are not focused upon eating an entire meal.

In Spain dinner is usually served between 9pm and midnight leaving significant time between work and dinner. This time of the evening is usually spent taking a 'paseo', a stroll, which includes bar hopping, a social time to have a drink and some tapas with friends.

Spanish bars defy our rigid 'elf and safety' constrictions, a good bar will be littered with food debris on the floor. The atmosphere will be rumbustious, Spaniards cherish their free time, family and friends make up an extremely important aspect of everyday life and living without constant interaction would seem unnatural to them.

Tapas are served in small portions of seafood, salads, pastries and a very traditional dish of Albondigas (Spanish meatballs).

Much like meatloaf (see previous post) or any interpretation of using cheap cuts of meat ground down and 'filled', albondigas is an economical dish made tasty by the added use of herbs and spices. Therefore this recipe doesn't require much of a preamble, add chilli if you want a spicy meatball, variate your herbs to taste, do your own thing! I am providing a basic recipe with a sauce that just begs to be mopped up with fresh crusty bread.

Albondigas

Recipe
500g minced beef or pork
3 cloves garlic, peeled
Handful of chopped parsley
1 egg, beaten
2 slices stale bread
Milk
White wine
Salt and pepper (I add paprika for a spicy kick)

In a blender pulse garlic and parsley with a dash of white wine
Place in a bowl, add mince and mix well
Place bread in a dish and cover with milk
Add bread and egg to mince, season and knead until all the ingredients are combined
Roll mixture into small balls
Heat oil in a shallow pan and cook meatballs until golden
Drain meatballs and place in a casserole dish
To make the sauce: place some oil from the meatballs into a pan
Sauté 1 chopped onion for 3 minutes
Add 4 chopped tomatoes and a glass of white wine
Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes
Pour sauce over meatballs, place in a moderate oven for 25 minutes

'The gentle art of gastronomy is a friendly one. It hurdles the language barrier, makes friends among civilised people, and warms the heart.'
-Samuel V. Chamberlain

Love Donna xxxx

Meatloaf

To the despair of my parents I never really took to secondary school, I was recently thumbing through some of my old school reports and the running theme was that I had the potential but didn't apply myself, that I was easily distracted and showed disinterest in most subjects other than English or art.

My most dreaded subject was maths and a double lesson of maths was pure purgatory for me. Then along came Mrs Healy, a large American lady who wore 'slacks' and asked you to put rubbish in the 'garbage'. The wonderful thing about Mrs Healy was that she could easily be coerced into telling stories about her homeland, sometimes a whole double maths lesson could pass without a logarithm or fraction in sight.

Mostly Mrs Healy talked about food, she spoke at great length about New York cheesecake which she missed terribly. Cheescake wasn't readily available in England back then. I was desperate to try cheesecake and one day after the school holidays my wish came true. Mrs Healy having returned from a trip home brought me in a slice. It bore no resemblance to the cheesecakes we have come to know and love, this was a dense, rich chunk of cake made from cheese, eggs and sugar with no fancy ingredients added or placed on top, it was delicious.

Another American culinary classic which Mrs Healy loved was meatloaf. We spent a whole maths lesson being taught about the origins of 'the all American meal: meatloaf'. Meatloaf became popular after the invention of the mechanical meat grinder, cheap cuts of meat were tenderised by way of grinding and by combining the ground meat with lots of fillers, stale bread or oatmeal and pureed vegetables, meatloaf provided cheap, nourishing sustenance to people who had fallen on hard times.

At that time I was a vegetarian so meatloaf didn't really appeal to me although I was fascinated by any story that steered us away from maths!

There is no one way to create meatloaf and it's precisely this capacity for reinvention that's allowed this iconic melange to remain so popular over the last century. Ground meat is primary, then the ingredients can be variable, breadcrumbs, crackers, oatmeal, finely diced or pureed vegetables can stretch the loaf further, eggs are essential to bind and moisten.

Ever the economist, I make meatloaf on a regular basis, it's a tasty, nourishing meal and very simple to make, you can prepare it a day or two in advance, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Meatloaf

Recipe
2 1bs minced beef
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 carrot, peeled
1 rib celery
1 onion, peeled
4 mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
Pinch of dried herbs
Salt and pepper

Cut vegetables into 1-inch pieces, add to food processor and pulse until vegetables are finely minced
In a pan, heat butter and oil, add vegetable mixture and sauté for 5 minutes
Preheat oven190c/gas 5
Once the vegetables have cooled place in a large bowl with all other ingredients
Mix gently with your hands until everything is combined
Wet your hands and form the meatloaf mixture into a loaf shape

Lightly grease a loaf tin, place meatloaf in tin and cook for 30 minutes
Meanwhile make your glaze
Combine 2 tablespoons of ketchup with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
After 30 minutes, remove loaf and paint with the glaze, return loaf to oven for 35 minutes
Remove loaf and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing

In a separate baking tray I cooked some roughly chopped vegetables, drizzled with olive oil

Well, needless to say I miserably failed my maths GCE, however, I am indebted to the colourful Mrs Healy for brightening up my maths lessons with her wonderful tales.

'Meatloaf is meatloaf is not a true statement. You can have gravy on top, ketchup on top, and don't forget you can also have love on top-however, you must understand that I would do anything, but I won't do that.'
- Jarod Kintz

Love Donna xxxxxxx

Andes Cruise Ship

                                My father and Lady Wall aboard the Andes cruise ship

Food, music and scent can evoke memories. Whenever barbecue season is upon us I recall my father's one and only experience of a typical English back garden barbecue which was hosted by his friend who had the rather unusual nickname 'boy boy'.

Boy boy was of course by that time a man so his name always puzzled me, but I'm digressing! Anyhow, my father tucked into a chicken leg which underneath the charred skin was decidedly raw, he was ill for a couple of days and never ate at another barbecue in his life.

My father came from very humble beginnings, he lived with his parents and siblings in a small council house and was put to work at the age of fourteen. His first job was working in the co op where he delivered groceries to wealthy customers, he would cycle for several miles with boxes of groceries perched on the back of his bike. One customer saw the potential in my father and before he was twenty years old he was employed as a chauffeur to a certain Sir Roland Wall.

A whole new world was opened up to my father, he saw how the other half lived. My father's strong work ethic coupled with his personable demeanour were greatly appreciated by Sir Roland, before long my father had rooms in Sir Roland's country residence and would accompany him there, sometimes for several days at a time.

When I was about three years old my father accompanied Sir Roland and Lady Wall on a cruise. They sailed on the Andes which was regarded as one of the finest passenger ships of her time. The Andes had carved a niche for herself as a floating club for the very rich, being Britain's only premier, first class only cruise liner.

My father took it all in his stride, in fact he barely spoke of his trip to the west Indies, but I imagine sailing on that deluxe ship, eating in the exquisite restaurant and hobnobbing with extremely rich people was very exciting for a young man from a South London working class background.

From those humble beginnings my father did what was deemed quite unusual at that time for a working class man, he bought a house, our family home, named 'Dalmellington'. My father was a well read, artistic man with an acerbic wit, and although we often clashed due to our similar personalities, I loved him dearly.

I often outwardly ignored or rebelled against my father's advice, (although secretly I took it all on board) after the chicken incident I was warned umpteen times by by father never to eat chicken from a barbecue. Well, unbeknownst to him I always heeded his advice. If you are barbecuing chicken I would advise you pre cook it in the oven for 20 minutes beforehand.



BBQ chicken

Recipe
12 pieces of chicken, I combine drumsticks and thighs
2 tablespoons clear honey
Small piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 teaspoons Chinese five spice
2 teaspoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons orange marmalade
Zest of 1 orange, grated
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Place chicken in a large bowl
Mix all of the marinade ingredients and pour over the chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight
Preheat oven 200c/gas 6
Transfer to a roasting tray (I line mine with greaseproof paper)
Cook for 50 minutes, turning occasionally and basting with the marinade and juices
Eat while hot, sticky and golden, also nice cold for picnics

While your chicken is cooking throw in a tray of potatoes

When the potatoes are cooked cut them open and top with fried onions and butter
Season well, I like to add cayenne pepper for an extra kick

'I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.'
-Umberto Eco

Love Donna xxxxx

Beating The Blues

                           Field grown rhubarb is in season and it gladdens my heart!

For those of you who followed my previous blog: Two Mad Cows, my brush with depression was well documented. Let me make one thing clear, depression has become a throw away word, clinical depression is a neurobiological disease and a severely debilitating one at that. We undermine the severity of this disease when upon feeling a bit low we glibly claim to be depressed.

Non clinical depression is a reaction to painful life events and is often an extreme case of sadness.

I lost my parents in quick succession, they were both in their early sixties and I was quite unprepared to be an orphan. I began to work in special needs education and with hindsight I buried my grief under the surface. A couple of years later I lost my darling dog, my loyal little companion who had made many journeys by train back and forth to London with me during my parents illnesses and who during those awful weeks and months of hospital visits would be sitting by my mum's front door waiting for me to come home.

My mum used to say: 'I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a boy with no feet.' I was stoic after Tilly's death as I was after losing my parents, ever mindful of mum's proverb that there is always someone worse off.

Bereavement is a term used for any event that includes loss, be it the death of a loved one, divorcing a partner, losing a friendship, job or pet. We all need strong affectionate bonds with other people for our emotional well being. Apart from my loving family I had surrounded myself with a network of friends at work,  an unpleasant situation arose, a storm in a teacup really, but the fallout was devastating to me and I subsequently left my job.

The initial stage of my depression was shock, then the grief which I had buried started to overwhelm me, I was in a state of anguish, quilty for abandoning the children, for not buying my mum a cake a few days before she died, one of the last things she asked for.............

We all tread that very fine line and sometimes one instance will push us over the edge. Luckily I started co writing two mad cows which proved to be very therapeutic, not only from a writing point of view but because it took me back into the kitchen, a place that reminds me of mum. Now I'm the one baking pies, cooking stews and poaching rhubarb in my pink kitchen and the constant uneasiness has been replaced with peace.

Fortunately my life has taken on new meaning, even quite recently. I potter in my garden, I cook and write, I don't do people pleasing or social climbing, I avoid mean spirited individuals, I try to be kind but I wont be taken for a fool! And I grow rhubarb!!!!!!!



Rhubarb compote

Recipe
200g rhubarb, washed and cut into chunks
1 piece of stem ginger, chopped
Zest of 1 orange
40g caster sugar

Put all of the ingredients into a pan, simmer gently for 15 minutes or until rhubarb is soft

Strain off excess syrup, cool then chill, I put rhubarb into sterilised jars

This compote is delicious served on lightly toasted brioche bread, however, I decided to make scones

Lavender scones

Recipe
100g cold butter, cubed
240g plain flour
30g icing sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
180ml whole milk
1 dessert spoon dried lavender (optional)

Preheat oven 190c/gas 5
Combine butter, flour, icing sugar and baking powder

Rub between your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
If using lavender add at this stage

In a mixing bowl add milk to mix to make a wettish dough
Shape dough into a disc, loosely wrap in clingfilm and chill for 20 minutes

On a floured surface gently roll dough to 1.5cm thick and cut into rounds

Line a tray with greaseproof paper, place scones on tray and lightly brush with milk
Bake for ten minutes until risen and golden
Cool on a wire rack
When cool, tear scones open, top the base with a dollop of natural yoghurt, or cream if you prefer
Spoon on some rhubarb compote
Replace scone lid and serve

'I couldn't be with people and I didn't want to be alone. Suddenly my perspective whoosed and I was far out in space, watching the world. I could see millions of people, all slotted into their lives; then I could see me-I'd lost my place in the universe.'
-Marian Keyes

Love Donna xxxxxx

National Vegetarian Week

                                                     Delicious yasai gyoza

I became a vegetarian at around fourteen years old, fortunately for me my mother was an imaginative cook, back then there was nowhere near the variety for vegetarians as there is today. I didn't miss meat at all because of my mother's ingenuity and some of the tastiest food out there is vegetarian. Asian food consists of many vegetarian dishes, the use of vegetables, spices and herbs more than compensates for the lack of meat.

Due to experimenting at a young age with flavours and textures beyond meat and two veg I am fortunately the proud owner of a palette which enjoys and relishes many combinations of ingredients. I returned to eating meat and fish some years back although still in moderation, and my repertoire still includes many vegetarian dishes.

More and more people are moving towards a meat free diet and there is now plenty of variety and availability of meat free alternatives: quorn, soya-based products, vegetarian versions of most dishes, exotic vegetables..............

This week is national vegetarian week 19-25 May, for more information visit www.nationalvegetarianweek.org

Wagamama restaurants have become very popular here in the UK, they are modelled on the ramen bars which have been popular in Japan for many years, although they serve several meat and fish dishes you can also enjoy a very tasty vegetarian experience. Yasai gyoza dumplings, as photographed above, are tasty little morsels filled with vegetables and accompanied by a dipping sauce, just looking at them makes my mouth water! My other favourite is their signature dish: Wagamama ramen, simple ingredients simply prepared yet delivering oodles of flavour in a nutritious way.

Miso is a magical food. Made from soya beans and grain, it is similar to yoghurt in having living enzymes and has an almost mystical status in Japanese cuisine. Miso paste can now be found in most major supermarkets from Genmai miso, which is made with brown rice and is chunky and rich, to sweet white miso which is light and delicate, personal preference should be the deciding factor, experiment until you find a miso you like.

Easy ramen for beginners

Recipe
2 servings

4 cups vegetable stock
250g noodles (I like udon noodles as they hold their texture better in soupy liquid, Wagamama use ramen noodles, the choice of noodles is a matter of preference)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4oz miso paste
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Large handful of beansprouts
1 chilli, finely chopped, optional
Dash of chilli oil, optional
Small bunch of spring onions, finely chopped to garnish
1 tablespoon corn flour (mix with a little cold water)
Fresh coriander

Combine vegetable stock and noodles in a large pan, cover and bring to the boil
Stir and break up the noodles
With a fork whisk in the miso paste until free of lumps
Reduce heat to low, add all other ingredients except spring onion and coriander
Simmer gently for 10 minutes
Serve into warm bowls and garnish with spring onions and chopped coriander

Once you've tried the basic ramen you can add various ingredients, the photo is of a ramen which included boneless, skinless chicken, you could add honeyed or barbecued pork, fish and seafood or tofu, the possibilities are endless.

'Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.'
- Albert Schweitzer

I think that's a very good quote and we should all heed it! The vast majority of people in society will and do eat animals, myself included, however, we have become blasé and indifferent, there's an adage that says: until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace. Give vegetarianism a go this week and let me know in the comments section how you get on.

Love Donna xxxxx