Apple, banana and peanut butter Muffins

It is just a few weeks until I do my 70.3 Ironman race, we have been training for a year now and I am excited to have the big day arrive. For the last few months we have been testing training fuels to take along on our 4 hour long rides. This weekend I made these muffins, apples add a bit of carbohydrate, egg for protein, banana for potassium, almonds for fat and energy, coconut for energy and electrolytes and finally peanut butter for protein, they definitely kept me going on this long training session.
This recipe may be made dairy free if you omit the butter in the topping and replace with coconut oil.

Apple, banana and peanut butter Muffins
makes 18

Topping:
2 tbsp butter or coconut oil if you are dairy intolerant
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup crushed almonds
125ml peanut butter

Mix together.

Muffin:
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 orange zested, just keep the zest
1 egg
1 cup coconut milk or buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 3/4 cups fruit, I used a grated green apple and a mashed banana

Put the oven on 200 degrees Celsius.
Line a muffin tray with cupcake cups.
Mix the dry ingredients, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda.
In another bowl mix the wet ingredients, oil, brown sugar, zest, egg, coconut milk, fruit.
Mix the two together, wet and dry.
Spoon into the muffin cups, place a dollop of the topping on each muffin and bake for 15 minutes on 200 then turn it down to 170 degrees Celsius for 8 minutes. They ready when spongy and bounce back on top.
They freeze well.

Recipe and picture copyright by Tamsyn Wells

Italian Meatballs and Polenta

Meatballs was a peasant dish created using all the offcuts of meat the Italians could find, normally pork and beef, adding bread to make it go further and rolling it into its classic meatball shape, when they immigrated to America, meatballs went with and this is where the Americans added spaghetti, which the Italians then adopted too, eaten like this all over the world now.
I made it with polenta today also a corn meal based peasant dish which is now seen in all restaurants enhanced with tons of butter and Parmesan, I make mine very plain and light, only adding a little olive oil and seasoning.

Italian food always seems to bring back memories and makes me thoughtful of events passed, this particular occasion I used my basil out the garden and remembered Sergio Pavan's beautiful garden of fresh vegetables and herbs, freshly picked for lunch on a daily basis.

These recipes are dairy free and wheat free, paleo friendly without the polenta, it is enhanced with tons of grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Italian Meatballs 
Makes 20

500g pork mince (or use beef)
1/4 onion grated
1/2 carrot grated
1 garlic clove grated
1tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper
5ml lemon juice
5ml Worcestershire
15ml tomato sauce
optional: add 1 egg and 30ml breadcrumbs

Mix together, fry a small piece off and check the seasoning then roll into balls.
I fry the balls off on the outside for colour in the pan I am going to use for the sauce as it gives flavour.
Just fry the outside of the balls then remove and set aside, start the sauce below in this pan.

Napolitana Sauce

1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 celery stalk peeled and chopped
20ml sunflower oil
1 by 400g tin whole peeled tomatoes, chop the tomatoes by hand
1/2 carrot grated (I added 2 grated baby marrow too)
1tbsp tomato paste
10ml Worcestershire sauce
5ml lemon juice
5ml balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
pinch of sugar optional

Fry the onion, garlic and celery until softened in the oil, add the tinned tomatoes, chopped, grated vegetables,  tomato paste and simmer for 40 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients to taste, then add the meatballs and cook for a further 15 minutes.
Thicken with cornflour if necessary and adjust seasoning.

Polenta
You pretty much need to follow the packet instructions as there are different kinds, the one I have is grainy so it needs to cook for at least 30 - 40 minutes and I keep adding water so its hard to say how much, here is a rough guide to follow.

Bring 700ml water to the boil with 5ml salt
turn the temperature down low otherwise you will have a polenta volcano.
add about 200ml of polenta while whisking.
Place the lid on and in 5 minutes stir it and see if you need more water, it need to be a thick paste consistency but able to bubble lightly.
Allow to cook on low, stir every 5 minutes and add water as you see fit.
When it is cooked add salt,  if you like butter and Parmesan but I just left it plain with a dash of olive oil. I greased a Pyrex dish with olive oil, pour the polenta in and allow to set.
Cut into squares, you can now steam it, fry it, bake it and serve it with anything really. Sometimes I cut it into blocks and treat it like gnocchi, topped with sauce.

Recipe and pictures copyright by Tamsyn Wells

Beef and Vegetable Bobotie with Almond and Coconut Topping

I have decided to cut down on wheat in my meals since summer has begun and my drink of choice is mostly Artisan beers loaded with wheat and also following the Paleo diet again which I have posted about before which is not really a diet as much as a way of eating inspired by my friend David Grier and his recently released book, The Real Meal Revolution made with Professor Tim Noakes from the Sports Science Institute. When I receive my copy I will post a few recipes.

I have not made curry in ages and tonight I decided to make this Bobotie, a Classic South African dish with a twist mainly because I like vegetables and I prefer the coconut almond taste to the topping (dairy free), Bobotie is basically a spiced mince with an egg custard topping found in recipe books in the early 1600's already.

Beef and Vegetable Bobotie with Almond and Coconut Topping
Serves 4

30ml Sunflower oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 dried chilli, halved
300g lean beef mince
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
2 baby marrow, rinsed and cubed
1 tbsp tomato paste
5ml curry powder
2ml garam masala
2ml cumin ground
2ml coriander ground
3 ml Turmeric
10ml white vinegar
20ml chutney
Squeeze of lemon
10 fine beans cut into 1cm long pieces
2 potatoes cooked and cubed (optional)
5ml cornflour
salt and pepper

Topping
2tbsp coconut powder
2 eggs
350ml almond milk
10ml chutney
pinch of salt
few toasted almonds

Heat the oil in a medium sized pot, fry off the onions, garlic and ginger.
Add the mince and fry until the liquid has evaporated and it starts to fry again.
Add the tomato paste and spices and fry off for a few minutes.
add the vinegar, lemon and chutney, cook for 20 minutes.
Add the beans, cooked potato cubes if using and season.
Cook for another 5 minutes then thicken with cornflour slaked in water.
Place in a 25cm casserole dish which has been sprayed with spray and cook.
Mix all the ingredients for the topping except the almonds.
Put the mince mixture in the casserole dish and smooth the top.
Gently pour the topping over and Bake at 180 - 200°c for 20 minutes.
Serve with chopped tomato and onion flavoured with vinegar, salt and pepper, banana's and chutney.

This Recipe is wheat and dairy free.
Picture and recipe copyright by Tamsyn Wells