Chicken stir fry

Stir fry. Quick to make. Tasty. Healthy.

Chicken stir fry is really nice but requires minimum cooking skills, & lets you indulge afterwards without feeling guilty.

Stir fry’s easy to change according to your ingredients too: the marinade, meat, and veg can all be shifted around according to what’s available and your personal tastes, but the basic process remains the same.

Time: Under 40 minutes.

Health note: This is pretty much the healthiest dish I make regularly in terms of balancing speed to make, taste, and leaving lots of space for guilt free drink/dessert.

Weight Watchers note: This portion is only 8 Weight Watchers Pro Points but very tasty and will fill you up after a long day at work.

Kit list.

• Chopping board
• Knife
• Measuring jug
• Spatula.

Ingredients.

• Low-fat cooking spray
• Chicken breast
• 2 mushrooms
• 1 broccoli stem
• 1 pepper
• Coriander (you can use dried coriander if that’s easier)
• Pinch of black pepper.

Marinade:

• ½ teaspoon mustard
• Juice ½ lime
• 1 garlic clove
• Ginger (around 1cm)
• (A pinch of Chinese Five Spice works well if you can get it)
• 2 teaspoons of runny-honey
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon corn flour.

Preparation.

First, make the marinade.

1. Add the mustard, lime juice, Chinese Five Spice, honey, soy sauce & corn flour to the measuring jug.

2. Chop the garlic and ginger and add them to the measuring jug.

3. Mix the contents of the measuring jug to form the marinade and put to one side.

Then:

4. Thinly slice the chicken

5. Slice the mushrooms

6. Slice the broccoli stem in to strips

7. Chop the coriander

Method.

1. Spray the wok with cooking spray

2. Fry the chicken strips until cooked (but not browned) and then put to one side

3. Stir the marinade then pour in to the wok – stir over the heat until it’s bubbling and thickened

4. Stir in the veg and season with black pepper, cooking for a few minutes

5. Return the chicken to the stir fry and mix in the coriander (ideally the veg will still have a little crunch)

Serve and eat.

Have a go yourself, let me know how you get on, and please share your own recipes. Take photos of your masterpiece and either send me a link or post them on Twitter and Tweet @scottcolfer. Happy cooking!

This recipe combines my own take on the stir fry with Sara Buenfeld’s ‘Easy beef stir fry’ recipe in the ‘One Pot Meals’ book of Weight Watchers recipes.

Banana Loaf

Breakfast. Cereal and milk. Repeat until fade.

 Bored with the same old breakfast? Try banana loaf instead.

You can cut it into slices and freeze them – take them out in the morning and defrost in the toaster, you’re walking out the door eating a slice of hot banana loaf with spread on it a couple of minutes later.

It works equally well as a snack or dessert too.

Time: 30-40 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.

Health note: A thick slice of banana loaf is pretty similar to a bowl of cereal with skimmed-milk.

Weight Watchers note: The entire loaf is 42 pro points. You’ll easily get 10 good-sized slices, so you’re looking at about 4 pro points per slice.

Kit list.

• Sharp knife
• Chopping board
• Grater
• Weighing scales
• 900g (2lb) loaf tin
• Baking parchment
• Low fat cooking spray
• Sieve
• Mixing bowl
• Wooden spoon.

Ingredients.

• 400g ripe bananas
• a lime
• 200g wholemeal self raising flour
• ½ teaspoon mixed spice
• 75g low fat spread
• 110g light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon runny honey.

Preparation.

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees (or 160 degrees if the oven is fan assisted)

2. Line the base of the loaf tin with baking parchment and spray with the cooking spray

3. Grate the zest of the lime

4. Collect the juice of the lime

5. Beat the eggs.

Method.

1. Mash the bananas with the lime zest and juice

2. Sieve the flour and spice in to the mixing bowl (adding any bran left in the sieve) and rub in the low fat spread with your fingers until well combined

3. Stir in the sugar

4. Stir in the banana mixture and the beaten eggs into the flour until smooth

5. Spoon the mixture in to the loaf tin

6. Bake for 1 hour (or until an inserted knife comes out clean)

7. Drizzle over the honey & leave to cool in the tin.

Your banana loaf will keep in an airtight container for about 3 days, or you can cut in to slices and freeze.

Sliced banana loaf

Have a go yourself, let me know how you get on, and please share your own recipes. Take photos of your masterpiece and either send me a link or post them on Twitter and Tweet @scottcolfer. Happy cooking!

I’ve adapted this recipe from one in ‘Seriously Satisfying‘ by Penny Stephens, a book of Weight Watchers recipes.

Broccoli and chickpea broth

Eating vegetables is a great way to feel full when you’re hungry.

Trouble is, they’re often not the most exciting things to eat.

This recipe uses some spices and chick peas to bulk them out and increase their flavour by making a warming broth.

Time: around 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.

Health note: this is a great way to feel full whilst still leaving room for a guilt-free dessert. Ideal as a dinner after a large lunch or before going out for drinks in the evening.

Weight Watchers note: The entire batch we’re making in this recipe is around 16 pro points and will easily provide 2-3 servings. So even a large portion is only around 8 pro points.

Kit list.

Kit list

• Sharp knife
• Chopping board
• Medium sized saucepan
• Large saucepan
• Measuring jug
• Stick blender.

Ingredients.

Ingredients

• Low-fat cooking spray
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 litre water
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 teaspoon curry paste
• 1 tin (400g) chickpeas
• 1 portion broccoli
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander
• 100g fat-free yoghurt.

Preparation.

Preparation

1. Chop onion and coriander
2. Crush garlic
3. Break broccoli in to florets
4. Drain and rinse the chickpeas
5. Make the stock.

Method.

1. Spray the large saucepan with low fat cooking spray and fry the onion and garlic on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes (until softened)

2. Add the cumin seeds and cook for another minute (keep stirring to avoid burning)

3. Add vegetable stock and curry paste and bring to the boil

4. Add the broccoli and chickpeas

5. Simmer for 8-10 minutes (until the broccoli is tender)

6. Transfer half of the broth to the medium saucepan and blend with the stick blender until smooth

7. Return it to the large saucepan and add the coriander

8. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the soup is hot

9. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt and garnish with any remaining coriander.

Broccoli and chickpea broth

Have a go yourself, let me know how you get on, and please share your own recipes. Take photos of your masterpiece and either send me a link or post them on Twitter and Tweet @scottcolfer. Happy cooking!

Strawberry trifle loaf

Trifle’s one of life’s little pleasures.

It’s also ridiculously unhealthy, meaning that it has to be a rare treat if you’re trying to eat well.

Here’s a recipe for a relatively healthy strawberry trifle loaf that can be enjoyed much more frequently without feeling guilty. It looks pretty cool too.

 Time: around 20-30 minutes to prepare, 2 hours to set.

Health note: This is a good way to enjoy a dessert without having to worry about being indulgent – a serving of this is similar to (or less than) your average yoghurt.

 Weight Watchers note: The entire loaf is 10 Pro Points – and you get a lot of it. You’ll probably get at least 4-6 (decently sized) servings, so we’re talking almost negligible points per serving.

 Kit list.

• Sharp knife
• Chopping board
• Cling film
• Loaf tin (2lbs or 900g in size)
• Low fat cooking spray
• Measuring jug
• Food processor or stick blender.

 Ingredients.

• 100g (approx.) sponge fingers – that’s around 15 of them (long and flat works best, if you can get them)
• 350-400g strawberries
• 10g (approx.) sachet of sugar free jelly
• 150g 0% fat Greek yoghurt
• 100ml boiling water, 400ml cold water.

 Preparation.

1. Spray the loaf tin with the cooking spray

2. Line the tin with cling film (pressing and smoothing it in to the corners)

3. Wash the strawberries

4. Save 3-4 of the strawberries for decoration

5. Remove the green, leafy part of the strawberries (along with the hard part underneath) using the sharp knife – this is known as hulling them

6. Roughly chop half of the strawberries

7. Chop the remaining strawberries in to slices (thickness is up to you).

 Method.

1. Liquidise the roughly chopped strawberries

2. Boil some water

3. Arrange half of the sponge fingers along the bottom of the tin (this should be neat, as they’ll be the top of your loaf)

4. Pour 100ml of the boiled water in to your measuring jug

5. Add the jelly powder, stirring to dissolve it

6. Add the strawberry puree and the yoghurt, mixing well

7. Top up the mixture with cold water (until you have 500ml of jelly mix)

8. Pour just enough of the jelly mixture in to the tin to cover the sponge fingers

9. Chill for 5 minutes, until the mixture has set

10. Arrange the neatly sliced strawberries on top of the set mixture

11. Pour over the remaining jelly mixture

12. Top the loaf with the remaining trifle fingers

13. Chill for two hours until firm.

When it’s set, cover the tin with the chopping board and turn it over to tip out the trifle – here’s your strawberry trifle loaf. Carefully remove the cling film and decorate with the reserved strawberries. Serve in slices. Enjoy!

Strawberry trifle loaf, sliced

Have a go yourself, let me know how you get on, and please share your own dessert recipes. Take photos of your masterpiece and either send me a link or post them on Twitter and Tweet @scottcolfer.

I’ve adapted this recipe from one in ‘Seriously Satisfying‘ by Penny Stephens, a book of Weight Watchers recipes.

Drink wine whilst losing weight.

Sounds too good to be true? Not at all.

It’s possible to drink alcohol whilst you’re on a diet – healthy, sustainable weight-loss is about everything in moderation rather than cutting anything out. Having said that though, it’s easier said than done . . . so diet-friendly wine is very welcome.

Weight Watchers have just introduced their own rosé to help people watching their weight when drinking alcohol. Their ‘refreshing rosé wine’ is nicely drinkable, and perked me up after a long cycle on a Summer’s day: served chilled it’s very pleasant, with raspberry and cherry flavours.

Most interestingly though, it’s only 75 calories per 125ml glass (the lowest I’ve seen before is 80 calories per glass for wine). To put this in context, a ‘typical’ 125ml glass of rosé contains around 0.13 g of protein & 3.13 g carbohydrates (which equates to approx. 3 Weight Watchers Pro Points): by comparison, the Weight Watchers rosé contains 0 g protein and 2.25 g carbohydrates (which equates to approx. 2 Pro Points). In plain English, a large glass of the WW rosé is roughly the same as a medium glass of a typical rosé.

If you’re particular about your wine or aren’t particularly watching what you eat and drink then you’ll probably wonder what all the fuss is about . . . but if you’re trying hard to lose weight & finding it a challenge, then low-fat alternatives like this can help to get the ball-rolling in the short term whilst you’re developing healthy eating habits.

Disclosure:

Weight Watchers kindly gave me samples of their new low-fat options range to try because I’ve been saying nice things about them following sucessfully losing a couple of stones on their Pro Points programme. I thought the wine was the most interesting option that I’d not come across before so have blogged about it, as it’s something I’d have been genuinely interested in whilst I was on my diet.

Processed foods aren’t something I’d recommend as a long-term diet option, but to aid short-term weight loss they’re something I personally used: low-fat options are a way of reducing your calorie intake before you’re developed new, healthier eating habits. If you’ve struggled with your weight for a long time then some early, quick-wins can be really motivating.

Let me know if you’ve got your own alcohol tactics and either send me a link or post them on Twitter and Tweet @scottcolfer.

Healthy hummus (or houmous).

Hummus is ‘healthy,’ everyone knows that: which is why we always eat the whole pot and then sit there wondering where it all went.

The problem is, if you eat an entire pot along with crisps then it can easily become less healthy than eating a burger and chips. So, you can eat less hummus. Or you can eat healthier hummus. I prefer the latter option

Time: less than 10 minutes.

Health note: This hummus can be a great way to snack after work or exercise (without resorting to crisps and biscuits) and can be made in large batches that’ll last you for a few days. If you’re feeling indulgent, I’ve got a more full-bodied hummus alternative

Weight Watchers note: This entire batch of hummus is about 18 pro points. You’ll get 4-8 servings (depending on appetite), so it will vary from 2/3 – 4/5 points per serving.

Ingredients.

Hummus ingredients

• 2 medium spring onions
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 medium lemon
• 1 can of chick peas
• 1 tub (200g) Philadelphia Extra Light
• 3 sprigs mint
• Pinch of salt & pepper.

Kit list.

Hummus kit

• Chopping board
• Sharp knife
• Grater
• Food processor.

Preparation.

Hummus prep

1. Trim and roughly chop the spring onions
2. Roughly chop the garlic
3. Grate the rind of the lemon
4. Squeeze the juice of the lemons in to the blender and throw away the lemons
5. Drain & rinse the chickpeas
6. Roughly chop the mint.

Method.

1. Add all ingredients to blender

Hummus blend

2. Blend until smooth

Nearly there . . .

3. Serve.

Healthy hummus (or houmous).

Some of you might be surprised that the recipe doesn’t use Tahini, but honestly it works without it. This Hummus is light and zingy and great with veg/salad sticks. Have a go yourself, let me know how you get on, and please share your own hummus recipes. Take photos of your masterpiece and either send me a link or post them on Twitter and Tweet @scottcolfer.

Healthy fish burger

Fish cooked at home doesn’t have to be dried out and tasteless.

Equally, burgers don’t need to be full of red meat and smeared with cheese. Fish burgers are just as filling and delicious but can be a hell of a lot healthier (and with the high price of beef they can be cheaper too). Most importantly, they can be light, juicy and zesty and leave you with room to enjoy a guilt-free drink or cake at the end of the day.

Here’s an original The Boy Can Cook recipe:

Time: Less that 30 minutes.

Health note: Depending on how you serve the burger, this is either a light or a medium dinner. If you’ve had a fairly standard breakfast and lunch then you can probably have a drink or a desert without feeling guilty.

Weight Watchers note: The burger is 6 pro points (if you have it with a dollop of extra-light mayonnaise, a wholemeal roll and a salad then it’s around 10 pro points).

Ingredients.

Healthy fish burger ingredients

• 200g of fish (I’m using Pollock which is relatively cheap) – you can use less if you’re smaller/less hungry than me
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 1/4 onion
• Squeeze of lime juice
• Teaspoon size piece of ginger
• Ground coriander
• Splash of fish sauce
• Oil (for frying) – you can use the healthier spray, but the burgers tend to burn and stick.

Kit List.

Kit List

Preparation.

Preparation

1. Chop fish in to chunks (approx. 1cm square)
2. Peel and finely chop ginger
3. Finely chop onion.

Method.

1. Add all ingredients to the food processor (whilst it’s still unplugged).

Ingredients about to be blitzed.

2. Plug in the food processor, switch on and mix ingredients until they are finely chopped and well mixed.

3. Turn off the food processor, unplug, and then empty the contents – if mixed correctly you can easily mould and shape the mixture.

4. Squeeze the excess liquid from the mixture and then shape to form a burger patty.

Fish burger patty.

5. Add the oil to the frying pan and heat.

6. When very hot, fry one side just enough to seal it and then flip to seal the other side.

7. Now cook for 2-3 minutes each side (depending on how thick your burger is).

Frying tonight.

8. Check that the burger is cooked all the way through and serve.

Dinner is served.

Next: make your own healthy humus.

“I swear by the kitchen gods . . .

. . . that the recipes on this website shall be suitable to be made on a Tuesday evening after working late.

From this day forth, all recipes on The Boy Can Cook will:

1. Clearly list all kit required, up-front
2. Use affordable ingredients, available from mainstream supermarkets
3. Assume no knowledge on the part of the cook
4. Be written in plain English
5. Explain technical terms when they are required
6. Present the recipe as a series of small steps
7. Illustrate tricky steps with pictures if at all possible
8. Be honest about preparation time.

Since I’ve personally found Weight Watchers to be useful, I’ll also aim to provide Pro Points for recipes wherever possible, to help people who’re trying to lose weight.”

Why this pledge? 

Since starting this blog a couple of years ago, I’ve noticed a gap for a site that provides recipes suitable to be made ‘on a Tuesday after working late’, when you’re not trying to impress anyone and just want a decent meal that can be made quick-ish with ingredients from the Sainsbury’s Local on the way home.

Lots of cookery books, programmes, & websites are food porn & cater for beautiful, indulgent meals where budget is of limited concern . . . and they’re great, I freakin’ love them: they’re the reason I became (& continue to be) fascinated by food.

The reality of eating day-to-day, however, is less grand. It’s squeezing a meal in to 30 minutes for lunch break, or an hour in between getting home and meeting your friends for a drink in the evening. This is the space where this blog is looking to nestle. If just a couple of people find a quick, healthy recipe that swerves them away from a greasy, expensive take away then I’ll be happy

A Martini is a personal thing, so this is actually my perfect Martini.

I got the recipe at a decadent and very enjoyable evening at The Mount Street Deli which was hosted by Sam Galsworthy of Sipsmith (with one of the head mixologists from Annabel’s on martini making duties).

What you’re getting here is a light, zesty, Gin Martini.

Annabel’s Cocktail Bar – but you can make your Martini yourself

What’s a dry Martini?

Wetness (or dryness) is the amount of Vermouth in your Martini and is very subjective. It has changed over time, varies according to country (and seems to vary from bar to bar). In very broad terms, anything less that 1 part Gin to 1 part Vermouth could be considered ‘dry’. More important than requesting a ‘dry’ Martini is requesting the exact ratio that you want.

In this case, I’ll be making a Martini with 6 parts Gin to 1 part Vermouth.

Ingredients.

A Martini is a very simple cocktail, so the two key elements to creating the taste are Gin and Vermouth.

Gin.

A good London Dry Gin is essential, and I’m using the excellent Sipsmith London Dry Gin (in honour of my host). To avoid having to chill it on the day of making your cocktail, I’d suggest that you keep it in your freezer.

Sipsmith Gin

Vermouth.

I prefer a white, zingy Vermouth so will be using Noilly Prat.

Noilly Prat

Ice.

You’ll need ice to chill your glass and for mixing your Martini. Ideally this will be ‘fresh’ ice, frozen on the day that it’s used. If you’re feeling particularly decadent you can used bottled spring water (but tap water will also do fine).

Lemon.

We won’t be adding the lemon to the drink, but we will be using it as an aromatic.

Equipment.

Glass.

Don’t feel as though you have to go for the now ubiquitous Vino Martini Glass, use whatever you’d like. You could always try something classic like a crystal Port Glass instead.

Port Glass

Cocktail Maker.

This is where you’ll mix the Gin, Vermouth and ice.

Cocktail Maker

Cocktail Strainer.

You’ll use this to pour the Martini from the Cocktail Maker in to your glass.

Cocktail Strainer

Cocktail Stirrer.

I prefer to stir the cocktail, so this is used to mix the Vermouth and the Gin.

Stirrer

Sharp Knife.

This is to cut peel from your lemon.

Knife

Method.

1. Cool your glass ready for your drink using some of your ice
2. Cut a strip of lemon peel approx. 1 inch thick and a couple of inches long. Remove the white pith from the strip so that you are left with just the yellow skin.
3. Once your glass is cool remove the ice.
4. You don’t want to add the lemon peel itself to the drink as it will change the flavour and overpower the taste of the other ingredients. However, the aroma of the lemon will add a very pleasant layer to your Martini, so fold your peel in half over your glass until you see a little spray enter the glass. You’ll be surprised by how sweet and pleasant this smell is (without actuall altering the taste of your Martini).
5. Add 6 parts Gin and 1 part Vermouth to your cocktail maker.
6. Add ice and stir gently to mix and chill the ingredients. I stir rather than shake: if you shake ice then you chip bits of it into your Martini which then dilute and change the ratio, altering the taste.
7. You can tell when the Martini is suitably mixed and cooled because condensation will appear on the cocktail maker.
8. Pour your Martini through the strainer and serve immediately.

The Perfect Martini

There you have it – my perfect Martini, and maybe yours – it’s certainly fun to try it in any case. Experiment with different Gins, Vermouths, and ratios and let me know how you like yours . . .

. . . and we did all this without mentioning James Bond.

“Hot town, summer in the city”

It’s been amazing, amazing weather here in the Big Smoke for the last few days, so The Girl and I visited The Icecreamists in Covent Garden to chill-out and cool down; and we got cool in spades (or maybe scoops?).

This ice cream joint has been in the news for ticking-off Lady Ga Ga, and pretty much every Daily Mail reader in the country, with their human breast-milk concoction. However, with the impending royal nuptials, we were there for their delicious looking God Save The Cream rock ‘n’ royal tasting menu. We wanted to see what lay behind the hype . . .

The store itself is a mix of a traditional retail outlet and a camp, decadent boudoir. The Icecreamists have just opened a new, two-story flagship store in the heart of Covent Garden; but (since hoards of tourists give me the fear), we went to the much calmer store round the corner on Maiden Lane.

The ‘God Save the Cream’ ice cream taster looked to be a great way to share & try lots of ice cream in one go (and at £12.95 for this choice you may be disinclined to try lots of dishes in one sitting!). Our taster consisted of:

• The Vanilla Monologues
• Choc & Awe
• Carameltdown
• Glastonberry
• (plus 2 sauces).

It was really good. They were all intensely rich and creamy, and I could feel the sauces actually bringing on diabetes as I enjoyed them. The stand-out for me was the choc & awe, a mixture of velvet chocolate ice cream and melt-in-the-mouth chocolate shavings. The Carameltdown was a close second, hitting the high-notes of sweetness without becoming sickly. All of which was enjoyed in a fun, camp, black & pink den of indulgence. What more do you want?

  At £12.95 this isn’t cheap, but that’s kind of the point – it’s an indulgence; possibly even a one-off. It is some of the best ice cream I’ve eaten, and I’m shallow enough that all of the Ga Ga publicity adds to the experience. And of course, if you’re really feeling adventurous, you could always try the breast-milk ice cream.