Graves' and Greatness

So, earlier on this year something new and interesting started happening to me.

And I don't JUST mean this blog - which I still love and think about.  All. The. Time.

I started shaking.  Not shivering every now-and-then, but shaking.  Just a little bit.  Mostly just my hands.  And my heart.  And within.

I was telling my dad about it one day, just matter-of-factly, of course - I didn't want to scare him.  And he recommended a blood test.

My dad, 'When was the last time you had a blood test, mi hijita?'

Me, 'Uhmmmm...not that long ago.  When I had the last baby.  About 11 years ago.  Oh.  Right.  Ok, ok...I'll go get a blood test.'

As it turns out, the doctor told me I have hyperthyroidism.

Bless you!

I had NO idea what he had just told me.  Something about the thyroid, blah, blah, blah.  Get this test, get that one, phone this specialist, don't worry it's not cancer, sign here.

Uhmmm...okaaaay.  Wait.

What?

Hyperthyroidism.  At the base of our neck, just above where your two horizontal clavicle bones meet is a butterfly-shaped organ called the thyroid.  It regulates just about every single cell, organ and tissue in your body.  Some of its main functions are to sort out your heart-rate, body temperature and metabolism.  Your pituitary gland produces a thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and activates the function of the thyroid.  In return, the TSH regulate the thyroid's production of two more hormones T4 and T3 - and THESE are the hormones that regulate your metabolism.

So, in my case, I have huge (more than 3 times the normal) T4 and T3 hormone levels.  And tiny (less than 3 times the normal) TSH.  

Now, you may be thinking by now, it's a problem with my thyroid.  That's what I thought.  But on further study, I found out I have a condition called Graves' Disease and THAT'S what caused my Hyperthyroidism.

This is important to understand because they thyroid is the victim in all of this.  Not the cause.

It would be like saying I have lung cancer, therefore I smoke.  Or I have a broken toe, therefore I kicked a ball.  Or I cracked a rib, therefore I played rugby.  Does that make any sense?

The Hyperthyroidism is one of the most recognisable of the many, many symptoms of Graves' Disease.


Interestingly, one in about 20 Australians will develop a thyroid condition at sometime of their life. 

A SHORT EXPLANATION OF GRAVES' DISEASE

Graves' Disease itself is an autoimmune disease.

Your IMMUNE system helps to fight-off foreign bacteria (like coughs, colds, flu, etc.)  that enter your body through outward sources.

An AUTOIMMUNE Disease is when your own body (your cells, tissue, etc) mistakes some of your own body's cells, tissues, organs, etc as a foreign substance and attacks it. Examples of Autoimmune Diseases include Type1 Diabetes, Coeliac Disease, Lupus, Addison's Disease, Hashimoto's Disease, rheumatoid arthritis etc.

The reason why I think this is important is because I think it would be wise to treat the autoimmune disease and not just the symptoms.  Which is what doctors have been doing with me for a few years, now.  I would go and see a doctor time and time again for the pain in my knees, for example.  I would jump through all their ridiculous rings just to be told that I need to realise that I'm getting older.

Which I have no problem with, by the way.  In fact, it's one of the reasons I'm in this mess - I thought I was just getting older.  Menopausal, in fact.  I don't care about how old I am (and I don't really care how old you are, either, by the way) so the thought of Menopause at 42 wasn't really a big deal for me.  I just wanted to be armed with as much knowledge as possible about what may happen.  

So, I would take myself to our local Medical Centre - where there's no point in having just one favourite doctor because they rotate the doctors around faster than you can say hypochondria - and have a few visits with a regular doctor where I would jump his ridiculous rings and he would misdiagnose over and over again.

I was wrongly diagnosed for years. 

SYMPTOMS

Here's a list of some of the possible symptoms:

• Trouble sleeping (I have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep and getting back to sleep)
• Irritability or nervousness (I've always been a nail biter, but it got worse.  I would be jittery all day, overreact to insignificant things, dwell on negative issues to the point of obsession, loose my concentration quickly and my memory became embarrassingly worse.  I couldn't walk in a straight line because my body would convulse wierdly.  My sister once told me it looked like I had been drinking too much.  I told her that the problem was that I hadn't been drinking enough...jijiji.)
• Heat sensitivity, increased sweating (not that we had a brilliant summer, but I would begin to shiver with cold during the middle of the day, pile on the blankets and then shake them off like they were oppressive heat-weights)
• Increased thirst
• Hand tremors and outward tremors (the hand tremors were dreadful.  As one who enjoys calligraphy and writing, this was terrible.  My son once told me that the letter I had written for him to stay home would be mistaken for a forgery.  It looked like a 3rd grader had written it...hehehe.)
• Rapid heartbeat and inward tremors (palpitations, all of a sudden.  I couldn't watch a scary movie because the sudden onset of heart thumping - big and fast - was more frightening.  Inwardly I felt like all my organs were constantly fluttering.  My voice began to shake as well.)
• Thinning of skin or fine, brittle hair
• Hair loss (Before being diagnosed, I was combing my hair in the bathroom, once, and my son walked in to brush his teeth.  He noticed the rather sizeable wad of hair on the vanity and asked me about it, 'Oh, that's just what happens when you get older - your hair falls out,' I said.  Then I thought about it a bit more and it really was an awful lot of hair.  I now know what the reason behind it was.  I've since then cut most of my hair off and now sport a short bob.)
• Frequent bowel movements
• Joint pain (The knee pain had been going on for several years and there wasn't really any injury I could pinpoint it to.  Later on, when the trembling started, my hips became very sore - which added to the drunken walk farse.  Then my shoulders ached like crazy - still do, actually - and my arms feel weighted down.  I couldn't drive our cute little manual that we had just bought because changing the gears was torturous.)
• Weight loss without dieting (Well, as my sister said, there has to be SOME benefit to all of this.)
• Fatigue or muscle weakness (One of the reasons I had to stop blogging.  Most mornings I would get out of bed, go to the bathroom and lie back down on the couch.  Just couldn't do any more.  Add to that that I wasn't sleeping very well at nights, the exhaustion was ever-present.  I lost my cooking and baking mojo and simple tasks - like picking my son up from school - became struggles.  I would revolve my day on succeeding on two things, ie:  cooking dinner and picking up Cris, or doing the laundry and unpacking the dishwasher.  My constant exhaustion and trembling left me unable to drive anywhere more than a couple of kilometres.)
• Lighter menstrual flow and less frequent periods (One of the reasons I thought I was pre-Menopausal)
• Depression (more about that later)
• Goiter (another word for an enlarged thyroid, or small, benign growths around the thyroid organ)

GRAVES' OPTHALMOPATHY or THYROID EYE DISEASE (TED)

One of the many side-effects of this disease, is a condition called Graves' Opthalmopathy or Thyroid Eye Disease.  This condition affects the eyes, but I have no idea why.

From what I can feel, I'm afraid I may have TED, but I'll look into that a little later (hehehe...see what I did there?)

CAUSES

There are several ways to contract this autoimmune disease, including:

• Too much iodine.  Iodine is vital for the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone.  Considering that Australia is, generally, iodine deficient, I do not think my condition came about from consuming too much iodine.  
  
  
  It's so difficult to say how much iodine is in food as that depends on where you live and where your food comes from.   In the USA, for example, the population tends to eat highly-processed foods which leads to a surplus of iodine in their diets (and, consequently, are more hypERthyroid).  Here in Australia, we don't tend to consume as many highly-processed foods and are, therefore, more prone to iodine deficiency (and, consequently, are more hypOthyroid).  I know the richest source of iodine is kelp and if you suffer from Hypothyroidism (and Hashimoto's Disease - the polar opposite of Graves') I've read that it may help to supplement your diet with kelp or krill oil, etc.  
  
  
  I'd love to know what my levels are, but - as yet - I have had no luck obtaining this information from my Endocrinologist (more about that later).
• Stress.  From what I've read, this disease presents itself during periods of great emotional stress in one's life, ie: divorce, death in the family, etc.  However, I think I lead a fairly chilled sort of life and, again, do not think this was a trigger for me. 
• Genetics.  That potluck of destinies is responsible for so much.  As it turns out, I'm pretty sure my mum has an autoimmune disease and I think this is what I may have inherited.  Personally, I would much rather have preferred a lump-sum payment in my bank account, but there you have it.

MY GLUTEN AND DAIRY FREE (GFDF) DIET

So, as mentioned earlier, I've been visiting doctors for a while now - with very little to no luck.  If I hadn't requested the blood test (thanks again, dad, for that priceless piece of advice! xxoo) I may never have found out what I've got.  

After waiting for weeks to see the Endocrinologist, she finally started me on a course of low dose anti-thyroid medication.  Two days later, I had a thyroid storm - a nasty and frightening experience if ever I've had one - which sent me to the hospital.  A thyroid storm is like feeling all the effects of a heart-attack -  my chest ached, the shaking worsened, my breathing labored, the pins-and-needles tingling all the way up and down my arms, the numbness of my fingers, temperature and sweating, my heart pounding enough for three people, hallucinating, disillusioned, couldn't focus, confused and frightened.  And that's that I was pretty calm during all of it.  Mostly because I couldn't understand what was happening and I needed to trust that my husband and the hospital staff would think for me at that point.

I had been to see my Endo a couple of times for more tests, etc etc and, at first, she seemed so eager to begin treatment.  However, by the second visit, I had read a lot more about this condition and, naturally, had a lot more questions - particularly about the autoimmune disease.  

I am still convinced that, as the hyperthyroidism is one of the many symptoms of Graves' Disease, we should be treating the autoimmune disease primarily.  

I had read often about the effects of gluten and dairy products on the immune system and on autoimmunity.  People - parents and patients - keep talking about the benefits of maintaining a gluten and dairy free diet when treating any of the many autoimmune diseases and allergies.

My Endo wouldn't hear of it.  In fact, she quite dismissed it.  This shouldn't have been such a surprise to me - it's not like the medical establishment has been very open-minded about complimentary therapies.


So, I'm going to try this for as long as I can.  Fingers crossed.

I've since learnt that I need to be a tougher patient and when I don't feel the love from my medical professionals, demand it.

TREATMENT

As far as I've read, I can think of only three treatments for this condition.


Three!


And, apparently, there is no cure for Graves'.  Or so I've been told.


1.  Anti-thyroid medication - daily medication that may gradually reduce the activity of the thyroid tissue and level-out the thyroid hormones.  If this is unsuccessful, after years of medication you may be offered RAI.
2.  Radioactive Iodine (RAI) - A one-off pill that damages the thyroid in the hope that it will balance-out the thyroid hormones.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  If unsuccessful, you may then be offered the next treatment.
3. Thyroid Ablation - A surgery to partially or completely remove the thyroid organ, rendering the patient with lifelong hypothyroidism.


Please remember that these treatments only-ever offer to treat the symptoms of an overactive thyroid and do not treat the autoimmune disease, itself.


And, as an added bonus, they may or may not lessen or increase the risk of Thyroid Eye Disease (TED).


Also, I find it interesting that in 60 years there have been no new medical breakthroughs in the treatment.


So.  Anyway.


I've started on the low dose anti-thyroid medication Neo Mercazole (Carbimazole, 5mg) and I take it religiously twice a day.  I started taking a beta-blocker for the heart palpitations, but they have currently relaxed (thank God!).  I'm starting to feel much better and the strength is returning to my limbs.  My memory is much better and I can walk a lot faster for longer.  I'm sleeping fairly regularly now and am much less tired than what I have been these past three months.  Generally, I feel much better.

Now, while my Endo doesn't recommend it, I'm also on a gluten and dairy free diet and hope to stay on it for as long as I can.  I'm still convinced that our diet affects our health and I hope being GFDF will complement the thyroid medication.  I highlight the word 'compliment' because I think both synthetic and natural therapies may be able to assist each other.  It's not a competition.

My Endo also recommended a low-iodine diet and I am trying that, as well.  

GREATNESS

So, that's it for the Graves', now for some Greatness.

From late January onward, I have been physically struggling to live each day with some sort of normality.  But I most certainly didn't do it alone.  While my husband thinks I've had no quality of life for the best part of four months, I think I've been blessed abundantly with outstanding family, friends and colleagues.

One of the worst symptoms or effects of this condition is depression.  My mum suffers from depression and she's succeeded in alienating most of her family and friends.  I did not want to become like that.

While I would become emotional every now-and-then, I councilled myself into remembering that I am not the centre of anybody's universe, that there are a vast majority of people who are far worse than my good self and that my children needed to see me as someone who will fall down but, more importantly, will pick herself up again.

I didn't do this alone.  My kids were amazing.  Being the very observant people that they are, they noticed how much more they needed to do, how little they needed to expect and how much more selflessly they'll have to give. 

And they never failed.

My husband - whose patience wavers every now and then - stepped up to the plate and took that whole 'In sickness and in health' vow seriously.  I haven't spoken to him often about this and, frankly, I don't want to, either - I like knowing that he can experience this with me but that we don't always have to talk about it, we don't have to over analyse it, we don't have to complicate it with what-ifs.  After a while, talking about myself and this condition is JUST SO BORING!  

Congratulations on staying with me this far, dear Reader :)

My family, friends and neighbours were incredible; patient, gentle and they made a many-a- fine casserole when my little family needed it most.


My work colleagues.  Actually, they are more like my friends than they realise.  I'm fortunate-enough to work in a job where I LOVE the job, LOVE the people and LOVE the location.  I'm a Pastoral Assistant for our local Catholic Church and there were many-a-time when I just couldn't take another step.  These wonderful people would clearly see that I was struggling and just step in to help out.  Nothing needed to be said.

And my faith.  I have no idea what the real reason is as to why I have this thing, but I have it and that's that.

(See how brave I'm pretending to be?  I know you can see right through me, but for now this is the best I can do.)

My faith is absolutely essential in my treatment.  Faith in my family, in my friends, in my community, in myself and in my God.

THAT'S GREATNESS.

I'm learning how to allow myself to trust people, to know when to just stop! and when to ask for help. It's given me an opportunity to view different aspects of my life with new eyes and, while  I'm not trying to say I have the insight of a Zen master, I've been able to focus inwardly and reflect on my priorities. 

 It's a work-in-progress.

Spinach, Ricotta & Sweet Potato Cannelloni

I. Love. Summer.

Those warm, dry breezes that waft through the house, airing-out the chill of winter.  The feel of sunshine on my pale, hidden skin.  Being able to dry the washing within a couple of hours while I sip a crisp white wine and eat juicy, sweet watermelon.  Watching the kids play in the pool for hours while I sit under a tree, wearing a cotton-thin t-shirt over my cozzies and idly enjoy chilled green grapes.

And the food??!!!  Oh!  Anything cool, simple and  fresh.  Salads are the main event for dinners, rather than being relinquished to a side dish.  Fresh fruit is preferred over oven-baked goodies and drinks are iced, long and plentiful.

I. Love. Summer!

Unfortunately, that was not this summer.

This summer, instead of enjoying an iced coffee at breakfast, my hot skim flat-white is what I wake up to, I still have my doona on my bed, the air conditioner is enjoying a nice, long holiday and I am still wearing my jeans throughout the day (although, they are a little snugger since starting this blog).

Aaaand, I'm still cooking hot, comforting meals.

Like this dish.

Long, slow, hot oven-baked spinach, ricotta and sweet potato cannelloni.  Toped and based with a thick, sweet pasatta and dotted with fresh, aromatic basil, this dish is the stuff dinner dreams are made of.

Maybe this isn't a summer dish, but it sure warms the cockles of this summer-lovin' heart of mine.

Enjoy! :)

Ingredients

Cannelloni tubes (I used 2 packets of the San Remo tubes)
1 large bunch of spinach (or, silverbeet), chopped finely
1 large sweet potato (you can use the equivalent of butternut pumpkin, but my kids prefer the sweet potato.  I know!), chopped
750g fresh ricotta
2 eggs
10 leaves of fresh basil, torn
1 litre pasatta (or similar tomato-based sauce)
1 cup of water
1 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
extra basil leaves to place on top for serving


Method


Use your preferred method to cook the sweet potato and spinach.  Drain properly - especially the spinach.  


Cool to room temperature and mix together, along with ricotta, basil, nutmeg, eggs and season to taste.


Pour the pasatta into a medium saucepan.  Add water and salt and heat until just boiling. 


In a large oven-proof dish, pour in a third of the hot pasatta.


Fill the cannelloni tubes with the spinach, ricotta and sweet potato mixture and place on the pasatta in an even pattern.  Don't feel that you need to squash the cannelloni together too tightly; they will swell a little as they cook and they will need the room to expand.  When the dish is full, pour in another third of the pasatta and continue filling the cannelloni tubes.  When all the tubes have been arranged, pour in the remainder of the pasatta.


Bake in a hot oven for approx 40 mins (or until a skewer can be inserted without any resistance).


Tear extra basil to serve.

Prep time: 1 hour

Cooking time:  40 mins

Cost: Approx $25

Would I cook it again?:  Yes.  My kids love it.

What would I do differently next time?:  Serve it with a salad.  Maybe a lemony lettuce salad.

xxoo

Shepherd's Pie

You just can't improve on a classic, can you?

That's why they call it a classic, isn't it?

It's like a thing.

Everyone know what a classic is.  That's what makes it 'A Classic'.

And you just can't improve on a classic, can you?

Unless you can.

Now, I never grew up with Shepherd's Pies.  We had the occasional Sara Lee version.  And it was nice, don't get me wrong.  But me being 'me', I just couldn't help myself and have come up with - what my family and I think - is an improvement on a classic dish.

Purists look away now.

As well as using a whole lotta lamb and beef (well, I am trying to feed half a soccer team), I also added spices - I just couldn't help myself.  And instead of having a nice, stiff mashed potato on top, I've gone the full-Nigella and added cream and Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients:

1kg minced lamb

½kg minced beef

1 red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 bay leaves

Small bunch of thyme

2 medium carrots, diced

2 cups frozen peas

1½ tbsp tomato paste

1tsp each of cumin, chilli powder and sweet, smoked paprika

2tbs gravy powder

1½ cups water

A good splosh of Worcestershire Sauce (ie:  about ½cup)

2kg potatoes, peeled and diced

300ml cream

1cup Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

Turn oven onto high heat (I usually just go full-heat, but use your own judgement with your oven)

Place potatoes in a pot of salted water to cook until tender.

Fry onion until tender.  Add garlic and allow to just cook.

Add both meats and cook until all the meat has been browned.

Add bay leaves and thyme.  Stir through.  

Mix gravy powder, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and water until all combined.  Add to meat and stir through.  Allow to cook on medium heat until sauce thickens.  Add carrots and peas.  Allow the carrots to just cook, but still remain crunchy.

Place meat mixture into an oven proof casserole dish.

When potatoes are ready, drain, mash and add cream.  Combine thoroughly.  You can mash the potatoes until they are smooth and creamy or you can leave them kinda lumpy - totally up to you.  It's all good.

Pile the mashed potatoes onto the meat mixture and top with Parmesan cheese.  Heat in oven until cheese has-melted-and-you-just-can't-stand-how-glorious-it-all-smells-that-you-have-to-eat-it-straight-away.

Prep time: 15 mins to peel and dice potatoes and carrots

Cooking time:  40 mins

Cost: Approx $30 (for the meat, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, onions and potatoes)

Would I cook it again?:  Yes

What would I do differently next time?:  More Worcestershire sauce - it adds a mild-sweet-vinegar taste that I really liked.  Lea and Perkins, you've done good!

So, go ahead and amp-up a 'Classic'.  


It could become your very own 'New Classic'


xxoo

Biscuits or Cookies?

What are these?

Do you call them biscuits or cookies?

I used 'cookie' cutters to create them; but, to me, they are biscuits.

I think of a biscuit as a delicate, sweet baked dough with a particular design.  A cookie is more of a free-form dough.  But that's inconsistent as well when I think of Anzac biscuits.

In Australia, we grew up with biscuits.  I think the term 'cookie' is more of a North American version of the same thing.  And a biscuit, in the US,  is the equivalent to our scone.  Which is funny, because we were both colonised by the British.

My daughter said that they are biscuits, but because they've been decorated as such, they are cookies - which is a great way of putting it.


We recently had this conversation with some very clever friends of mine, and we were discussing how, over the years, we had observed the we are becoming quite 'Americanised'.

No judgement.  Just saying.

We certainly are becoming far more global in our customs, concepts and thinking.

Which is a very, VERY good thing, in my humble opinion.

Perhaps, this is how change occurs.  Again, for better or worse, I'm not sure.

Personally, I really don't mind if you would like to call them 'biscuits' or 'cookies'.

Either way, one thing I know for sure is that they are most certainly 'yummy!'

Paola in the Pantry:  over-analysing the big issues.

For recipe and instructions, please click here.

Lemon & Lime Delight

Have you ever wanted something to succeed so much that you were too frightened to begin trying?

This has been a familiar feeling for me for far too long (yes, I know there were five 'f's in that sentence - I am nothing if not alliterate).

Anyway, the thing is, I've been eyeing out this amazing Lemon Divine Tart from the beautiful Megann of Megann's Kitchen for two weeks now; busting-out, waiting for Australia Day.

Go on, take a sneak-peek at how beautiful it is:  look at the lemony goodness - you can almost taste the tart-sweetness of the filling and the soft, buttery flakiness of the crust.  It's enough to just make you lick the screen, isn't it?  Only no one would do really that, would they?? 'Cause that would just be too weird, right?

Ahem.

Anyway, as always, I kept this recipe and (being 'me') I've over-analysed every single little component and am supremely confident I can almost do something just-about close to half-way as good as Megann's.

I've used both lemon and limes for this recipe (because the green and gold thing just works on this, our National Day).  Also, I used Megann's Sweet Shortcrust Pastry recipe, as well.

Can you believe it??  Me!! Making shortcrust pastry.

So, here goes:


Ingredients for Shortcrust Pastry:

250g plain flour

100g chilled unsalted butter, chopped

100g caster sugar

2 egg yolks

A pinch of salt

2-3 Tbs chilled water

Method:

Place the flour, butter, sugar & salt in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 

Add the two egg yolks and, whilst blending, add 2-3 Tbs of chilled water until the mixture comes together. 

When the mixture just combines into a ball (see picture), stop the processor and form a disc in your hands. 

Wrap in cling wrap & chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to180°C (350°F). 

On a lightly floured surface with cling wrap below, roll the pastry until it is 3-5mm thick. 

With the cling wrap still attached to the pastry, carefully lift and line a greased, 28 cm loose-bottomed tart pan with pastry, then trim with the heal of your hand. 

Place tart pan on your baking tray.  This will ensure that you don't accidentally break the pastry pulling the pan in and out of the freezer/oven by lifting the loose-bottom on the pan.  Chill for 10 minutes in the freezer or 20 minutes in the fridge. Do not skip this step - it's very important to keep the butter from melting.

Remove the cling wrap, prick the pastry with a fork then line with parchment paper and fill with pastry weights. 

Bake blind at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes. Remove pastry weights and parchment paper then bake for another 5 minutes, until just cooked through. 

Reset your oven to 160°C (320°F).

Ingredients for Lemon Divine Filling:

2 large lemons

1 lime

6 eggs

250g castor sugar

200 ml cream

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or seeds of 1 vanilla bean

pure icing (confectioner's) sugar

Method

Zest and juice the lemons and lime. 

Combine eggs & sugar until well combined, then add the zest and lemon & lime juice and stir.

Add cream and vanilla and mix well using a whisk. 

Pour into just-baked pastry case and bake for 35-45 minutes until almost set. Cool in tin for at least 30 minutes before serving. Don't be tempted to serve too soon - filling will continue to set during this time.

Serve dusted with icing sugar and with thick cream.

 Prep time: 20 mins for pastry and 5 mins for filling, plus cooling time of an hour
Cooking time:  40 mins
Cost: <$10, but I already had most of the ingredients in my pantry.
Would I cook it again?:  Yes I would...but I may not wait until the next Australia Day.
What would I do differently next time?:  Not stress-out so much.  Megann's instructions and advice were pretty-much spot on - right down to placing it on the rack so as not to accidentally lift the loose-bottom pan.

Happy Australia Day to us all!!  xxoo

Moroccan Lamb with Couscous

It's summer.  Did you know?

Now, don't let the cold breezes, showery mornings and chilly evenings fool you.  It's summer.  The tennis is on, the T20 is playing and there are even some cicadas who have braved the unseasonably cool times.  So, therefore, it's summer, right?

So, then, why is it that I'm dreaming of a Spicy Lentil Soup or a Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff?

Now, I love summer; but this just isn't hot-enough for me.  Not sure where you're reading this right now, but top-of-26° just isn’t hot-enough for me.

So, with that in mind, I’ve made a Moroccan Lamb and Couscous dish for tonight’s dinner.  It’s a dish I usually serve to large numbers of friends on a cold, Winter’s evening, but desperate times call for desperate measures. 

I love how you can put this dish together in one pot, leave it in the oven for 4 - 5 hours and warm up the home with tasty, home-cooked smells.

Ingredients for Moroccan Lamb (to serve 8 people)

1 leg of lamb*

1 large can of chopped tomatoes

12 dates

2 carrots, diced 

2 celery stalks, diced 

1 spanish onion, chopped 

3 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp sweet, smoked paprika**

1 tbsp cumin

2 tsps each of chilli powder, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric

2 bay leaves

¼ cup sesame seeds, dry roasted

Salt to taste

Boiling water.

Ingredients for couscous

2 cups couscous

2 cups boiling water/stock

1 tbsp butter

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 spanish onion, diced

1½ cups pine nuts, dry roasted

1 cup fresh flat-leaved parsley

The Holy Trinity of savory foods

Method

Turn on oven to 260°C.

Add all ingredients into a large pot and cook, covered, for 3 – 4 hours.

Check on it every hour-or-so and ensure that there is always plenty of glorious thick, red liquid in it.  If it looks like it's drying-out add boiling water/stock to it.

The lamb bone will pull away easily.

10 minutes before you're ready to plate-up, fry the chopped onion, carrot and celery stalk. When completely cooked, add it to the 2 cups of boiling water and add butter.  Stir to thoroughly combine.  Add this water mixture to the couscous and stir gently, making sure that all the couscous is drenched.  Cover the couscous for 5 mins.  Just before serving add the pine nuts, fluff the couscous with a fork and stir-in the parsley.

Don't be tempted to toast these on a high heat; unless you can...no, no.  Don't be tempted.

To plate-up, sprinkle the lamb with the toasted sesame seeds.

Beautiful, golden sesame seeds.

A great side dish is a simple salad of tomatoes and cucumber, along with a dollop of labneh.

*  Now, this is just my personal taste, but I don’t like lamb/beef/chicken/pork fat.  I know, I know; fat is flavour.  But it never tastes flavoursome to me.  It just tastes like fat.  So I’ve cut off as much of the fat as I can.  You can choose to keep or cut out the fat.  Totally up to you.  No judgement.

Oscar:  What are you gonna do with all that lamb-fat?  Hmm?  Hmm?  I can help!
Me:  You wish, Jellyfish!

**  I’ve made a point of photographing this particular paprika because it just so happens to be my favourite.  I’ve had plenty of paprika before, but it’s always seemed tasteless to me.  ‘Bolero’ paprika is, in my humble opinion, the best I’ve tasted.

Prep time: Lamb, 20 mins.  Couscous, 10 mins.
Cooking time:  Lamb, 4 - 5 hours.  Couscous, none.
Cost: Approx $50, but I already had most of the ingredients in my pantry.
Would I cook it again?:  And again, and again, and again...
What would I do differently next time?:  This is a tried and tested meal, so I probably wouldn't change it too much.

Leben Honey Mousse

You say Leben, I say Labneh, some even call it Greek Yoghurt.

This thick, snow-white yoghurt is an absolute MUST in my fridge.  If it's not there - in some form or another - we are, quite simply, lost.

One of my dearest friends and neighbours, Lanette, put me onto this stuff a couple of years ago, and I don't know how I survived before it.   It's very much like a Greek Yoghurt (which I Luh-huh-huv- especially with vanilla and blueberries, but that's a whole 'nother post), but thicker, whiter, creamier.  It goes well with sweet, savoury, salad, meaty...you name it.  You can plop it on your fruit salad or scoop it onto a warm piece of Lebanese bread along with your bbq'ed meat and some salad.  Dip your cucumber slices into it for a snack or have it with tortilla chips.  Versatile much?  Abso-labneh!

Now, this recipe called for Labneh (pronounced 'Lub-knee') which is, actually, my preferred kind.  But I was feeling kinda lazy when I went to the shops today and didn't want to go to my local Lebanese Deli - a mistake which I will try not to make again.

So I saw this little item sitting all forlorn and lonely in its chilled section the other day and wondered if it was the same thing.  So I Googled it (as you do) and it turns out that Lebne is the Egyptian word for its Lebanese sister.  Confident that Professor Google had armed me with enough knowledge to take the yoghurt section by storm (and lazy-enough to make-do), I bought the Leben.

It's not the same.

This was a watery version of the dense, creamy yoghurt that I've come to know and love.  So, where the recipe called for lite whipping cream, I just added the thickened cream.  I'll know for next time.

I found this recipe in one of the most delicious blogs I've ever come across.  Yasmeen is the very talented cook behind Wandering Spice.  Her dishes are comforting and exotic and I always spend waaay too much time reading over her recipes and oooohing at her photos.

Ingredients (for 8 people):

2 cups plain Labneh (strained at home or purchased)

2 cups thickened whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean, scraped)
1 tsp rose water

4 heaping tbsp good-quality honey, plus more for drizzling

2½ tsp plain gelatin (powdered)

1 cup water

1 punnet of raspberries

Crushed pistachios, for garnish

Method:

Whisk together the labneh, honey, vanilla bean paste and rose water in a bowl, and set aside. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the gelatin with the water, and set aside 5 minutes to thicken slightly. Microwave the gelatin for 10 seconds, then mix into the yoghurt.

Whip the cream into soft peaks, and fold into the labneh mixture until just combined. Spoon into serving glasses or moulds, and set in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours (best overnight for a silky mousse texture). Drizzle with extra honey and top with raspberry and crushed pistachios, if desired.

Prep time: <20 mins
Cooking time:  None
Cost: <10, but I already had most of the ingredients in my pantry.
Would I cook it again?:  In a heartbeat
What would I do differently next time?:  Get my lazy-self to drive the 3 minutes longer to the Lebanese Deli and buy the good Labneh.