Infused Water

So the big thing at the moment is infused water, and in Australia it is summer. Summer means bloody hot days where lots of water is required for hydration. We Aussies love beer...and wine...but water is essential in the day to day life of an Aussie.

Plain water can get boring. We can buy mineral water, soda water, tonic water, flavoured water or energy water. But who wants to waste money on those when you can make your own flavoured water?

There are numerous fruits and vegetables you can add to your water, this is my first one and I love it. It tastes so good that I'm drinking more water...and this is good, yeah?!

Ingredients:

• tap water
• ice
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 apple, quartered and core removed
• ½ lemon, peeled and quartered

Method:

Place all ingredients into a jug and keep in the fridge. I covered my jug with plastic wrap in case the leftover meat smell infuses it - which I don't want. Drink from it during the day. Once the jug is empty, fill it again - these fruits and vegetables will last a second time. Some won't though, i.e. berries. I will eat the fruit and veg at the end of the day after dinner for dessert.

D-E-L-icious  XD

Potato, Spinach & Tomato Salad - low FODMAP

Here's another low FODMAP recipe for those who suffer from IBS like myself. This was absolutely beautiful. I served it at a party on the weekend, then finished it off the next day. I must admit - I'm not a huge spinach fan (or Silverbeet as some people call it) but this will now be a regular salad for us - as will buying spinach!

Ingredients:

• 1kg new chat potatoes, halved and unpeeled
• 250g tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 15 black olives, pitted, halved lengthways 
• 100g spinach, washed and stalks removed, torn into large pieces
• 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
• Juice of half a lemon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Freshly ground pepper

Method:

1. Boil the chat potatoes until you can stick a knife in them and they are just soft
2. Place the spinach ontop of the potatoes for only one minute just to wilt
3. Remove potatoes and spinach from the stove, drain the water, and let cool
4. While the potatoes and spinach are cooling, add the lemon juice, olive oil and pepper to a large serving bowl and whisk
5. Add the tomatoes, olives and capers to the serving bowl
6. Once the potatoes and spinach have cooled, gently add them to the serving bowl, being careful not the break the potatoes
7. Stir gently so the dressing coats the potatoes
8. Serve warm or cool...D-E-L-icious  XD

Baked Chicken with Lemon, Rosemary and Garlic - lowFODMAP

Now I'm following a low FODMAP diet for Irritable Bowel Syndrome - I will blog some meals which are suitable for IBS sufferers. The low FODMAP diet is not a cure for IBS, but if followed - can alleviate the pain associated with an inflamed and irritated bowel. See my blog post about IBS and the low FODMAP diet.

I came up with this meal idea myself, so I wasn't sure about cooking times, temps or how it would actually turn out in the end, but it turned out beautifully so I was super excited. This serves 4 and is lovely served with steamed vegetables and brown rice.

Ingredients:

• 500g chicken breast (bone-in pieces will require less cooking time)
• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
• 1 and 1/2 lemons - juice half of one and slice the other one
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven at 190 degrees celsius
2. Cut your chicken breast into largish pieces - about 2cm x 6cm and place into a casserole dish
3. Place peeled, whole garlic cloves into the casserole dish and sprinkle the rosemary over the top
4. Pour over the juice of half a lemon and place the sliced lemon pieces from the other lemon over the top of the chicken
5. Drizzle the olive oil over the top
6. Bake at 190 degrees celsius for about 25 mins, check to see if chicken is cooked though as some pieces may be thicker than others and bone-in pieces may already be done
7. If a little longer is required, cook for a further 10mins and check again
8. Serve with rice or couscous as there will be quite a bit of lemon juice which is flavoured with garlic and rosemary to pour over it...D-E-L-icious  XD

*Note: Even though garlic is not a low FODMAP food, you can cook with garlic as long as you remove it and not eat it. Read more about this here.

Easy Iced Tea

I've never been a big fan of Iced Tea because those that I find on the run at a service station are always too sweet. I like my tea strong and all I can taste in the bottled ones is sugar and flavouring. This Iced Tea will knock your socks off. It's very flavoursome and great on a hot summer's day.

Ingredients:

• One pot of leaf tea (I NEVER use tea-bags so don't have any in the house)
• Extra litre or so of cold water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• Juice from 1 lemon

Method:

1. Make a pot of tea and let it cool to room temperature
2. Pour into a jug, add the extra water, sugar and lemon juice and stir well
3. Refrigerate overnight preferably. If you can't wait that long, place ice cubes in the jug and wait until it's very cold
4. This Iced Tea is best served really cold.

Note: Everyone has different taste in tea, but the recipe is very versatile...if it's too bitter, reduce the lemon juice. If it's too sweet, reduce the sugar. If it's too strong, reduce the amount of leaf tea. See...so easy!!!  It may take a few times to get it perfect to your liking, but when you do it is...D-E-L-icious  XD

Lemon Soy Chicken with tangy rice

This recipe is simple, takes little preparation and is very tasty. It is a hit with the kids and serves 4.

Ingredients for Lemon Soy Chicken:

• 4 skinless chicken breast fillets
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons salt reduced soy sauce
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 4 teaspoons water
• Coriander for garnishing

Ingredients for tangy rice:

• 2 cups uncooked rice
• 1 tablespoons wild rice
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped
• 1 red capsicum, chopped
• 1/2 cup corn kernels
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Method for Lemon Soy Chicken:

1. Place the chicken breasts in a marinating bowl
2. Combine wine, lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic and ginger and pour all except 1/4 cup over chicken
3. Reserve the 1/4 cup of marinade for later for the sauce
4. Marinate the chicken for minimum 30 minutes
5. Spray a large pan with cooking spray
6. Add chicken breasts and discard the marinade from the bowl
7. Cook over a medium heat until the chicken is brown on the outside, turning once during cooking
8. Add the reserved 1/4 cup of marinade to the pan and bring to the boil
9. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 13 minutes covered until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle
10. Cut chicken into slices and arrange on plates. Keep hot.
11. In a bowl mix the cornflour and water. Add to the marinade in the pan and bring to the boil, stirring continuously until thick enough for a sauce
12. Spoon over the chicken and garnish with coriander.

Method for the tangy rice:

1. In the rice cooker add the white rice, wild rice and water and cook per rice cooker instructions
2. When cooked, turn off the rice cooker, add the chopped celery, capsicum and corn to the rice and stir through
3. Combine the oil, lemon juice and curry powder and then add to the rice and vegetables. Stir well. Let cool.
4. Serve along side any meat dish.

D-E-L-icious  XD