Chicken and Butternut Tagine

We were watching some recorded episodes of 'Celebrity' Masterchef last night and contestant Shappi Khorsandi cooked an Iranian chicken leg recipe for the guest judges. 

She didn't get great reviews for it, but my phantom early pregnancy symptoms continue and I immediately wanted to eat chicken leg. 

Given the existence of something like couvade syndrome, I know it is entirely possible that the symptoms are solely in my head. Nevertheless, I am starving! So off we went to the butcher this morning.

By the way, after noting her cradling her bump at the beginning of the first episode, I was especially tickled by Shappi's freudian slip about cooking placenta.  I hear its good for you!

In this tagine recipe, I made sure not to make Shappi's mistake (commented on by the judges) of serving the chicken with rubbery skin...

Fertility Focus

Butternut Squash is rich in Vitamin A, zinc and selenium.
Chickpeas are a good plant source of protein and dietary fibre.

Ingredients

• Chicken legs
• Onion
• Finely chopped garlic
• Finely chopped hunk of fresh ginger
• Cumin seeds
• Ground coriander
• Cinnamon
• Tumeric
• Carrot
• Butternut squash
• Cooked chickpeas
• Dried apricots

Method

1.  Set the oven to 180 degrees C.  

2.  Place the chicken, skin side down, in an ovenproof casserole dish.  

3.  Turn on the heat and brown both sides (in batches if necessary, I did 2 batches of 3 chicken legs), allowing the fat to render, like when you cook duck breast.
4.  Chop the vegetables into large-ish chunks.  

5.  When all the chicken is browned remove to a plate.

6.  Drain the chicken fat from the pan then add the onion, garlic, ginger and spices.  7.  Cook until the onion is soft then add the root vegetables and mix well.  

8.  Pour over enough chicken stock to almost cover the root veg, then arrange the browned chicken, skin side up on top of the veggies.  

9.  Put the lid on and cook in the oven for about 40 minutes.

10.  Remove from the oven and carefully stir the chickpeas and apricot in to the liquid under the chicken without mushing up the root veg.  

11.  Return to oven with the lid off, turn up the heat to 200 and continue cooking another 10-15 minutes, until the chicken skin is brown and crispy.

Although moroccan tagine is typically served with flatbread, I served this with fluffy quinoa (having discovered we were out of millet) and garnished with toasted almonds.

Acceptably crispy skin

Spicy Mackerel Ceviche

I asked Mr Duncan to send me the picture of the salad I made last night and he sent me three pics... the one I requested and two meals I had forgotten I even made!

A few weeks back I went in to Mr Duncan's office to review a presentation being given by one of his colleagues in application for a design award.

She was keen to get feedback from someone who worked in the same industry, but not the same company, to make sure the presentation wasn't too full of jargon or missing the brief.

I turned up a few minutes early so wandered around the bookshop next door.  A book entitled Ceviche caught my eye.  

I LOVE marinated raw fish.  

The fish flesh 'cooks' in the acids in the marinade.  My mother used to make the South Pacific version with freshly caught fish swimming in rich coconut cream. I've since expanded my horizons into the coastal South American version known as ceviche but have only ever made it with white fish or prawns.

We bought some fresh mackerel with our box from Abel and Cole this week as it was on special and oily fish is on my list of nutrient-dense foods to focus on. 

Could you even make ceviche with oily fish?  I had a quick flip to the back of the book and found mackerel in the index.  

Woohoo!  Dinner planned.

Flicking through the book quickly, I also learned the name for the marinade is 'tiger milk' and it is so highly prized that people drink it on its own without the fish.  

I think tigers are native to Asia, so might just take that information with a pinch of salt.  Marinade-wise I went with a lemon and orange juice mix because I didn't have enough lemon and there was fresh oj in the fridge, but there are loads of different flavour combinations you can try so do some research and experiment.

Fertility Focus

Mackerel - Oily cold water fish are a dietary source of essential fatty acids which enhance egg and sperm health, increase the quality of your ewcm and regulate your hormones.   Mackerel is also rich in vitamin D.

Ingredients

• Fresh mackerel

For the marinade

• Finely chopped onion
• Lemon juice
• Orange juice
• Finely chopped fresh chilli to taste

Method

1.  Bone and fillet the mackerel.  

2.  Peel off the skin, but its okay to leave the silver colour.  

3.  Mix together the marinade ingredients in enough quantity to cover the mackerel.  

4.  Pour over the mackerel and leave to marinate for a few hours.  The fish is 'cooked' when it is no longer translucent.  Oily fish takes longer than white fish.

5.  Drain off the bulk of the marinade and serve.

As London still enjoying somewhat of a heatwave, I served the ceviche atop a tomato and cucumber salad, then we had the rest on toast for breakfast the following morning.

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Roast Butternut, Feta and Basil Salad

Herby carby goodness

I hate the two week wait. 

I am only 12 DPO and I simultaneously want to pee on a stick RIGHT NOW and wait until 18 DPO so as not to be disappointed if there is any chance of a 'chemical' pregnancy.

Why do I want to test?

I am craving dairy. 

I don't even like dairy very much except when I am pregnant when I could live on custard, raita and breadsticks if I let myself.

My aureole are enlarged, darker and covered in Montgomery's Tubercles. This would have been a sign in March 2012 as I never had any changes in my breasts post ovulation before I became pregnant with Poppy however now my body tricks me every other cycle with these signs.

I feel dizzy when I stand up, but have low blood pressure anyway. 

I might feel a little nauseous and gassy, but could that be the extra legumes I ate yesterday?

Gah!  I'm driving myself mental.

In a cursory nod to dairy, I went ahead and tried to re-create that butternut squash and feta salad I mentioned that time I got the hokkaido squash in my veggie box, throwing in some bonus sweet potato for good measure.

I still want custard though.

Fertility Focus:

Butternut Squash is rich in Vitamin A and also contains zinc and selenium which is important for ovarian and sperm health.
Sweet Potato is full of antioxidants, vitamin C and Vitamin A as well as being a source of potassium, calcium and iron.
Chickpeas are a good plant source of protein.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• Butternut Squash
• Sweet Potato
• Cumin Seeds
• Chickpeas
• Fresh basil
• Feta cheese

Method

1.  Set your oven to 180 degrees C.  

2.  Peel and chop the butternut squash and sweet potato into bite sized pieces.  

3.  Toss veg in a spoonful of olive oil and spread on an oven tray.  

4.  Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes (depending on the size of your bites).

5.  Remove and allow to cool.
6.  Mix cooled roast veg with fresh basil leaves, chopped feta, cooked chickpeas and a sprinkle of cumin seeds.

I don't dress this further, as the olive oil from the roast veg works to lubricate it all but you could add a squeeze of lemon.

I also sometimes make this with boiled butternut squash as a lighter option (needs the olive oil and lemon.

Chorizo and Chili Enchiladas

The tastiest leftovers in the world.

In the past couple of days I've been really craving hot food, as in spicy hot, in a way that reminds me of the pregnancy cravings I was having not long before I lost Poppy.  

I've also been super-tired and had some strong pains in my right nipple yesterday.  

These things all make me think optimistically I might be pregnant again.  

But realistically I'm only 7 DPO so the chances of such symptoms at such an early stage is pretty low.  Even if fertilised, the egg has probably not even implanted. 

I've become better at cooking for two, chopping maybe only half a vegetable instead of the whole thing.  But given I put half a dozen different veggies in one meal, I still often end up with more than I anticipated, like with the Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili the other day.  

Given my agreement with Mr Duncan is that we can have meat-based meals twice a week, I had planned on doing something with the chorizo he brought home from the local farmers market last weekend.

Spicy cravings + chorizo + tortilla bread in the freezer = Mexican Enchiladas.

I found a great recipe for enchilada sauce on gimmesomeoven.com.  Naturally I had to alter it a bit due to ingredient constraints.  I added a little finely chopped fresh chilli to make up for the fact I dont have garlic salt and the normal salt was omitted in deference to Mr Duncan's blood pressure requirements.  It turned out SO much better than I could have imagined.  I think the key was the home made chicken stock.  I will definitely be making it again.

For the enchiladas I simply browned the chorizo and mixed in the leftover chilli to reheat.  I rolled the chorizo and chili mix in halved tortillas with a bit of enchilada sauce and grated cheese, packed into an ovenproof dish and topped the enchiladas with the remaining enchilada sauce and grated cheese.  20 minutes in a 180 degree oven.  Served with a fresh tomato, onion and fennel salsa.

Spicy bliss which more than satisfied my cravings.

L.
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Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili Sin Carne

Hot and healthy!

I've written of my regard for healthy Mexican food in the past.  

When its cool, I often make a Chili Sin Carne - usually with a three bean mix, tomatoes and whatever veg is in the fridge.  Unfortunately, although we're only in the second week of August, it is noticeably cooler than the past month or so.  Definitely too cool for a summer salad so today I thought I'd try making a super-fertility chili with sweet potato.  I'd never put white potato in a chili - it is too starchy, but sweet potato seems to cook without leaching anything so I thought it would work out okay.  And it did.

I normally buy dried beans and prepare a big pot, which I freeze in portions for later use throughout the month.  Because we are hoping for an Australian Visa any day now, I'm clearing out the freezer and cupboards and buying canned beans as we need them, rather than stocking up.

Because canned beans usually include salt and whatever it is that causes wind if you don't prepare beans properly, I drain and rinse my canned beans and boil in a pot for a few minutes (until they release the scum) and drain and rinse again before I use them. 

Fertility Focus

Black beans are a good source of non-animal protein, rich in antioxidants and also provide folate, B6, iron, and zinc.

Sweet Potato is full of antioxidants, vitamin C and Vitamin A as well as being a source of potassium, calcium and iron.
Quinoa is a plant based form of protein, and contains all nine of the essential amino acids needed for cell renewal.
Kale is full of antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin K and is a good plant source of calcium.
Tomatoes are full of the antioxidant lycopene which boosts sperm health and also contain folate, B6, vitamin A and vitamin E. 
Avocado is high in Vitamin E which helps increase sperm mobility and keeps sperm from clumping together.

Ingredients

• Canned black beans
• Coconut oil
• Cumin seeds
• Onion
• Garlic
• Ground coriander
• Smoked paprika
• Fresh chilli to taste
• Sweet potato, chopped into 1cm cubes
• Canned tomatoes
• Quinoa
• Corn kernels
• Courgette, chopped
• Kale, finely chopped
• Fresh tomato and avocado, cubed and mixed into a salsa to garnish.

NOTE: For four servings, I used about a cup of each vegetable, except the corn and courgette, which made up a cup together and the quinoa, which was about 1/4 cup.

Method

1.  Heat the oil and cumin seeds in a large pot (I use my wok) until the cumin seeds are aromatic.  

2.  Add roughly chopped onion and garlic.  

3.  Saute until soft then add dried spices, finely chopped chilli and sweet potato cubes. 

4.  Saute for about 5 minutes.  

5.  Add tomato and enough water to ensure the sweet potato is just covered.  

6.  Cover pot and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
7.  Stir in the black beans and quinoa.  

8.  Re-cover pot and cook for another 10 minutes.
9.  Stir in corn kernels, courgette and kale and allow to cook, uncovered for about 5 more minutes, until the kale is bright green and the corn and courgette lightly cooked.
10.  Top with a generous helping of tomato and avocado salsa.

I also added a touch of grated cheese.  I would have included lots of fresh coriander in the salsa had we had any.

L.
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