Mixed Berry, Yogurt & Lemon Smoothie

Week 2 of Tosakanth's diet: Fruit and Soup week. I'm meant to have a fruit smoothie for breakfast. The initial one I made had Peaches, Oatmeal, Yogurt, Milk, Acai berry (grose!), Cranberry, Honey and Sugar. It was pretty bad. The oatmeal, although wholesome and filling made it taste pretty bad. I know Acai berries are meant to be good for you, yardi yardi yar,  but it tastes foul doood! not cool. It has this really grose oil taste to it which made the smoothie pretty inedible/indrinkable. I sucked it up and drank it because I was super focused on this diet. Since that was a very bad first smoothie experience, I was thinking of other smoothie flavours that I could whip up and actually enjoy drinking, and that's how I made this commonly awesome smoothie.

Ps: Tosakanth's diet plan is proving to work. 2kg's lost with just a change in diet. Yeehaaa! and then I went and ate chocolate! sigh. and I don't even like chocolate.

Your Challenge: A smooth Smoothie recipe to soothe thee!

 

 
                     

                           

Ready --- Steady --- Blend!


Mixed Berry, Yogurt  & Lemon Smoothie
(1 Serving)


INGREDIENTS:
10-15 pieces of mixed berries (25g)
1 tablespoon sugar
30ml milk
60ml yogurt
20ml water
1 tablespoon lemon juice

METHOD:
add all the ingredients into a blender, and blend for 30 seconds. Voilà!

Note: if you want a thicker smoothie, add more yogurt or fruit.

Challenge Accepted ???

Enjoy!

Tosakanth

Tomato, Basil & Cheese Soup

Last day of Week 2 (Soup and Fruit Week) and I stumbled across this recipe for a Tomato, Basil & Cheddar soup. It looked tempting and since I had most of the ingredients at home, decided to add my own Thai twist to it by adding coconut milk and chilli powder. I tastes great. A very nice vegetable soup for a quiet spring Sunday night. Wish I had some bread rolls and butter on the side. sigh.

Your Challenge: A Thai-ish soup to soothe your lazy Sunday moods.

Ready ---  Steady --- Cook

Tomato, Basil & Cheese Soup

(Makes 4 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tomatoes, diced
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp olive oil 

1.5 cups of vegetable broth
1/3 cup of plain Greek yogurt

1/3 coconut milk

1/2cup cheddar cheese or mozzarella, grated
1/2 cup basil, chopped, loosely packed
2 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon sugar 

2 teaspoons corn flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Boiled Chicken pieces (optional) 

METHOD: 

1. Over medium heat, add the olive oil to a large pot. Add the chopped onion and allow to cook until tender, about three to four minutes. 

2. Add in chopped garlic and cook for an additional two minutes.

3. Put the tomato, vegetable stock and Coconut milk.

4. Stir in the basil, oregano, sugar, corn flour, salt and pepper.

5. Place the lid back onto the pot and allow to simmer ten minutes. 

6. At the end, stir in the Greek yogurt and cheddar cheese until well blended. 

Note: Use either a blender or food processor to puree the soup if you prefer a smooth texture. Garnish with chopped basil and grated cheddar cheese if desired.

Challenge Accepted?

 
Enjoy!

Tosakanth

Chocolate Mousse Cake

It's DashGlowPrincess' birthday day and I had the honour of whipping up a cake for her. Wanted to do a Coffee Mud cake but then decided on this intoxicating-death-by-chocolate-better-than-sex-chocolate-mousse-cake instead. I halved the ingredients to make a small itsy bitsy little cake. We felt a little high and hysterical after eating it because twas too intensely rich. Everyone loved the cake, and the birthday girl seemed very surprised! Happy Birthday DashGlowPrincess!

Your Challenge: Try to amuse your bouche with this Chocolate Mousse.

A very surprised DashGlowPrincess

Ready --- Steady --- Cook

Chocolate Mousse Cake

INGREDIENTS:

500g dark chocolate
2 tbs golden syrup
125g unsalted butter
4 eggs
1 tbs caster sugar
3 tbs plain flour, sifted
Icing sugar to decorate
Fresh Cream or Whipped cream to serve

METHOD: 

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Grease and line the base of a 20cm round spring-form cake pan with non-stick baking paper. 

2. Melt the chocolate, golden syrup and butter in a bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.  

3. Place eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer or use an electric hand beater and beat on high for 10 minutes until very thick and pale.

4. Gently fold in the flour then fold in the chocolate mixture until combined.

5. Pour into the cake pan and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 12 minutes. 

6. Remove from oven and run a knife around the edge of the cake. Remove collar from cake pan and transfer the cake to the fridge for 1 hour to cool (this step is important as it sets the middle of the cake).  

 

Coffee Mascarpone

Ingredients:

200g mascarpone cheese  

2 tbs instant coffee  

2 tbs pure icing sugar 

Method: 

1. Dissolve coffee in 1 tablespoon of boiling water and set aside to cool.

2. Beat together the mascarpone, coffee and sugar in a bowl until stiff.

3. Serve a dollop with the cake.

Microwave the frozen cake for 5seconds and serve with Coffee Mascarpone, Fresh Cream, Whipped Cream or Ice Cream. The original recipe served it with a Chocolate Sorbet and Coffee Mascarpone.

Challenge Accepted?

Enjoy!

Tosakanth

Cheesy Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Bacon

As I mentioned in my French Onion Soup Post, I cooked a romantic 3 course meal for my friend who I'm going to name DashGlowPrincess for anonymity. So the main course was Cheesy Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Bacon with a side of Crispy Herbed Baked Potatoes. It was so super good. I seem to say that for all the stuff I cook and post on this. I'm just that awesome I guess. If that romantic dinner was actually for a potential lover/suitor, I would be married with a child or two by now. One would be a food baby and the other would be a love child. It was THAT good. You must agree that bacon makes anything taste awesome.

Your Challenge: get stuffed eating the good stuff.

Ready --- Steady --- Cook

Cheesy Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Bacon

INGREDIENTS:

4 chicken thigh fillets

8 slices middle bacon

50g softened butter

Half of a large brown onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/4 cup parsley leaves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons Oregano

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Toothpicks for assembly

1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese

Dash of lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven at 180 degrees.

2. Mix butter, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, oregano, cheese, lemon juice and breadcrumbs together to form a dough of stuffing.

3.Grab a generous handful of stuffing and press them onto the middle of a chicken thigh fillet.

4.Roll the chicken fillet over the stuffing and wrap the chicken roll with 2 slices of middle bacon.

5.Cook them in a pan until brown and chicken is cooked

6. put it in the oven for approx. 10minutes or until bacon is browning.

Serve with anything you like e.g. roasted balsamic/garlic potatoes, mashed potatoes with veggies, or salad and chips, or if you're like me, you can just eat them on its own and not feel guilty about it because of its deliciousness it's so worth it, 

Challenge Accepted ???

Enjoy

Tosakanth!