How to Make Popcorn at Home

Popcorn is a wonderful snack and can be as healthy or unhealthy as you want it. Given that popcorn kernels have virtually no calories until you add ingredients, they are a wonderful snack, especially for a night in movie.

What you need:

for 1/4 cup kernels
2 1/2 tbsp oil - groundnut or canola is best due to high smoke point
at least 1 1/2 tbsp butter
fairly deep pan with a lid or with foil to act as a lid

Heat oil in pan on a medium heat. add a few kernels to the pan to check when hot enough - which is when they pop.
Add rest of kernels - spreading evenly over pan and remove from heat immediately. This way they cook evenly. Count for 30 seconds, then return to heat.
Popcorn should starting popping now. Gently shake pan, lid partially off so it doesn't go soggy. Once you think all have popped, place into bowl.
If using butter, add to pan, melt and pour over popcorn.

You can use so many other variety toppings. Sprinkle a hint of sugar or salt over them, or add golden syrup to the butter when melting it, add cayenne pepper or cumin, whatever floats your boat.
Enjoy!!

For anyone with a kindle and £2.05 or $3.05 to spare, I've written a children's book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stone-Sword-ebook/dp/B006ZQIEPG/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327056598&sr=1-6

Easy and cheap foods this month

Many of us are feeling the pinch at the moment. Anyone working on a monthly salary will be counting their pennies at the moment. We’re all hoping wages come closer to the start of next week, rather than at the end of the week, so that we can buy more groceries.

If you are struggling, look to your cupboards for hearty staples and use pasta and rice to their fullest potential.

It may not be glamorous, it may be student-type food, but it will keep you going in these long winter nights.

Making a basic tomato sauce couldn’t be easier. Tinned tomatoes, an onion, a couple of garlic cloves, ½ stock cube (or 1 if you’re using 2 tins of tomatoes), small glug water and a squirt of puree. If you’re feeling adventurous, bung in a few dried herbs. Remember, with dried herbs, less is more. Most pack a punch. Oregano and basil work very well with tomato dishes. Fry off onions and cloves before adding rest of ingredients, simmer for as long as you can.

From this basis, you can add whatever you like. Carrots, peas, baby corn, meats, fish, pine nuts, you name it. Whatever you have, go for it. A cheap meal is a tin of tuna with this. Or you can have it as is, serve with pasta and grate some cheese over it. If you’re not a fan of tomato sauces, go for a basic white sauce, garlic or wine it up and add what you like!

Cook some rice and leave to side. In a pan, fry off some onion and garlic, and add whatever you have or like – bacon, fish, chicken, leeks, quorn, whatever. Add stock, with a very small amount liquid. Cook down – you want a bit of gravy but not a lot. Add rice to this and combine.

These aren’t champion meals but they’ll fill you when money is low. They’re not the healthiest but nor are they unhealthy and they taste pretty good.

Remember when buying, cheap cuts of meat, when cooked long enough, taste amazing. If you’re buying quorn, it’s cheaper from the frozen section that the chilled.
Roll on pay day!

Written a children's book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stone-Sword-ebook/dp/B006ZQIEPG/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327056598&sr=1-6

Vegetarian Christmas by Rose Elliot for the whole year

Today is slightly different because I would like to bring your attention to a wonderful book - Vegetarian Christmas by Rose Elliot. While the title suggests it is only for Christmas, this is not the case. The recipes, many of which are very inexpensive, are wonderful at any time of the year, as part of a basic meal or a dinner party.

In fact, if you are throwing a dinner party, this is a great book to use, as many recipes are set out as part of a menu.

This book is one of Rose Elliot's great range of vegetarian cook books and in this one she has a complete selection of aperitifs, cakes and sauces, as well as starters, mains and desserts.

A must for an vegetarian and I recommend it for any meat eater as well.

Also want to bring this lovely recipe to everyone's attention. Vegetarians could simply use the lovely dahl recipe on its own, or with something else, such as a nutloaf.
Curried Lobster with Coconut & Coriander Dahl

Dash Diet tops US List of top diets of 2012

Normally I don’t talk about diet fads, I think eating sensibly and taking exercise are the key changes you need to make in order to lose and then maintain a healthy weight, but I happened to glance at an online article on this new diet, the DASH Diet and I rolled my eyes. Yet another way to lose weight quickly for New Year!
When will we learn that there are no lasting, healthy ‘quick diets’ that work? Almost without exception, when you lose weight quickly, you put it back on within weeks to a couple of months after stopping it.

The DASH Diet is slightly different. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension and approaches food intake based on nutrients. It promotes calcium, potassium and sodium, as well as proteins and fibre in the hope that this will reduce elevated Blood Pressure, which they feel will lead to a reduction in weight although it is actually the other way around – in losing weight, your BP is likely to come down.

This diet appears to be a well balanced, healthy plan. It encourages eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, fibre and proteins, low fat dairy, whole-grains and nuts/seeds.

There are a few setbacks that those already on the diet reported, the main ones being that this has no pre-prepared foods, there is no point system and buying a large amount of fresh fruits/vegetables can be very expensive.

One more issue was that there were no sweet foods involved but this can actually be bonus. Once you omit sugars from your diet, within a few days, the cravings stop and within a week, you don’t feel like a slave to them.
Here is one of the current publications on this diet:

For once, this seems like sensible advice and a great eating plan for long-term health!

On another note, I have written 3 books. 2 are part of a series set in Scoltand about the Sidhe, fairy folk. Available on kindle and in paperback:

The Island of the Mist is book 2

The Stone in the Sword is book 1

The 3rd book is an adult, sexy witchy werewolf/vampire story set in New York and featuring a strong female lead character, again available in kindle and paperback formats:

The Wolf, the Witch and the Coffin

What’s in season in January

January is slightly less abundant than December food-wise but still packing a citric punch, so there’s no excuses when it comes to not eating healthily!

While it is a bit like setting yourself up for a fall by setting New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and eat like a model, adding a few locally produced, seasonal ingredients in your diet is a good start, as is cooking your own food rather than replying on processed foods. Rather than repeating a list here, this article lists all the foods coming into season, as well as the ones heading out, so make sure you get a chance to have some before they’re no longer around.

Seasonal foods in January

And finely, Happy New Year everyone 