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| Recipe of the week ... Deliciously Ella veggie lasagne! |
Ingredients: 1 large butternut squash, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 dozen cherry tomatoes, 2 red peppers, 300g mushrooms, 4 lasagne sheets, ¼ of a 400ml tin of coconut milk, oil, salt & pepper.
Time taken:
1 hour and 45 minutes.
Serves: 2
generous portions.
Good
evening readers,
Happy New
Year!!
As I write,
huddled in my armchair on a rainy Sunday evening in January, we’re officially one
week into 2017. We’ve survived a whole week of the New Year, everyone! And
there are 51 more to go with, no doubt, many great adventures lying ahead. It’s
exciting. Are you doing okay, readers? Feeling upbeat and getting into the
spirit of a fresh start?? I hope so!
This last week
has been the week that many people have made it back in to work, decided on
their resolutions, and started out with new diets and crazed exercise plans. The
slate has been wiped clean. It’s been go go go! The phrase ‘New Year, new me’
is rife. And ‘summer bodies are made in winter’. People are launching better
versions of themselves.
And, you
know what, I am fully on the bandwagon, readers. Are you? What do you think?? Cut
to a scene of me in December (before Christmas had even got going) at cheese
and wine night, merry with a glass of white in my hand. Dipping a cheese and onion
roll in the melted camembert and asking everyone… ‘Is this okay?’
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| Face palm |
No. No it is not, Hayley. OBVIOUSLY it isn’t you fool, not if you’re wanting to feel remotely body confident in January. But – alas – I dipped away and here I am! Munching on carrot sticks and swapping wine for water like a trooper. I’m one of the hordes of dieters binning carbs. A furied attempt to shift some of my Christmas weight in January.
A cliché but
hey! There’s so much support around at this time of year, and hopefully I will
battle on and achieve wonderful results. It feels like everyone at this time of
year is either on the weight loss brigade, or having a go at Veganuary, or
giving up drink for a dry month. People are motivated and inspiring. Encouraging
of each other’s efforts. It’s a great vibe.
And,
generally, there’s a real sense of hope and potential when people talk about
2017! There are holidays and romances and surprises ahead. Suntans to be had and
spontaneous decisions await us. Big moves in the making. Anything could happen,
anything in the world. And I have the feeling that this will be a good year.
For now,
readers, I hope that you’re feeling good about the new beginning and taking on 2017
with gusto. Batteries all topped up after Christmas break, and energy levels restored.
You can do this! You really can. You can do so many great things (whether or
not you’ve resolved what they might be yet). It will all be fine.
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| It's exciting not knowing what it will be |
Today,
readers, I made the great decision to fish out the Deliciously Ella recipe
book that I got last January. It’s been hidden away for a whole year. I’m
pretty sure, last January, I had a go at some sweet potato brownies and then
resolved to buy all of the superfood ingredients you might need for the savoury
recipes.
But I was
broke (and WEAK) and so I never got that far. Shelved the book and forgot about
it… until today. If my diet is going to last long, I know I need to mix up the
foods I eat and try out new tastes and give fresh recipes a go. Stop it getting
boring. Stop it slipping back to normal.
And what
better to help me that my stealth health weapon – a Deliciously Ella recipe
book?? For those of you living in a bunker – or under a Wi-Fi blocking rock – who
somehow don’t know who Ella is, get on Instagram now. She’s a lovely,
inspiring, beautiful lady with an arsenal of healthy recipes up her sleeve! Seriously.
Go look her up.
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| Lots of great, healthy recipes to try! |
Readers, I
sense you shaking your heads here. But don’t doubt this! You get to eat REAL
PASTA. And Ella’s squash puree, I’m telling you, isn’t bad at all. Better than
I’d expected, for sure. It’s one of your 5-a-day (high five!) and it’s a rich
and creamy orange sauce. If you didn’t know what it was made of, I don’t know
if you’d be able to guess.
Just give
it a go. If you can source a butternut squash and you have the time to spare to
attempt a proper recipe, then roll up your sleeves and take a chance on this lasagne.
I promise you real pasta in a generous portion size. And – just maybe – a newfound
appreciation for squash puree.
SO want to
try your hand at this lasagne-with-a-difference and cook up a storm in the
kitchen?? ‘Course you do! Here’s how to make your own Deliciously Ella veggie
lasagne in just 14 easy steps…
1. Chop up your squash into bite-sized
cubes.
ChefBeHere Top Tip: If you dare, I’d recommend using a
big knife as your chopping up quite a big vegetable here. Careful, though, watch your fingers!
2. Steam your squash for 20 minutes
until it’s soft and tender.
3. While your squash is steaming – you can
prep your other ingredients. You want to cut up your cloves of garlic into tiny
pieces, chop your cherry tomatoes in half, slice up your mushrooms, and cut
your red peppers into small pieces. And open your tin of coconut milk!
4. Take your tender squash off the heat
and then tip into a blender, along with a quarter of a tin of coconut milk.
Season with salt and pepper, then blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside for
later.
ChefBeHere Top Tip: If – like me – you don’t have a
proper blender (you just have a smaller smoothie maker instead) … do not fear!
Just blend your squash in 2 batches, each with a few spoons of coconut milk and
light seasoning, then combine them in a bowl afterwards and stir together to form
one sauce.
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| S'all gravy baby |
5. Turn on your oven and heat to 200C.
6. Heat a little oil in a large frying
pan, and then add your garlic, tomato and pepper.
7. Cook on a low heat for a few minutes
and, meanwhile, put the kettle on to boil.
8. Break four lasagne sheets in half
and pop them in a saucepan.
ChefBeHere
Top Tip: To stop your lasagne sheets sticking together as they cook, add them
to the pan one by one and brush a little oil on top of each before you add the
next one.
9. Add your hot water to the pan and
leave the lasagne sheets to boil for ten minutes.
10. Add your mushrooms to the frying pan
and then sauté your vegetables for ten minutes, making sure to keep everything
moving around the pan so that nothing can burn and it’s all cooked through.
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| Here's the ChefBeHere kitchen in action! |
11. Finally, it’s time to assemble your
lasagne! Spoon a layer of veg into the bottom of a baking dish, then add a
layer of the squash puree, a layer of pasta, a second layer of vegetables, a
second layer of squash puree, a second layer of pasta, and then pour the
remaining squash puree over the top of your lasagne.
12. Place the lid on your baking dish or
(if it doesn’t come with one) cover with tin foil, and carefully transport into
the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
13. This gives your plenty of time to
sort out your mess! Sort your washing up and then, once the dishes are cleared,
pour yourself a well-earned drink.
14. Time to plate up! After 20 minutes,
gingerly lift that lasagne dish out of the oven and then turn it off. Admire
your bubbling beauty of a lasagne, and scoop out two hot steaming portions
of healthy, Italian greatness! Tuck in.
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| Fresh from the oven! |
And that’s all there is to it! Readers… what do you think?? Honestly – do you like it?? Because I really do like it! It’s a bit of a slog in the kitchen and tastes, of course, quite different to regular lasagne. But I’d say it tastes good! Would you?
I’d really
love to hear your thoughts, readers. Shout them aloud and bounce them around.
Let me know what you think – please do. And keep up the good work with your
fresh starts! I hope you’re all embarking on magical adventures and enjoying wonderful
food.
Squash safely,
Hayley
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| A good plateful of actual PASTA - do it! |
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