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| Recipe of the week... ... Tomato Risotto, with Mozzarella & Basil Oil |
Ingredients: 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, 160g Arborio rice, 1
vegetable stock cube, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1 red onion, 3 garlic
cloves, 10g fresh basil leaves, 125g ball of mozzarella, 1 teaspoon sugar, a
few glugs of cooking oil, salt and pepper.
Time taken: Half an hour or so.
Serves: 2 super filing, super healthy, super tasty portions
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Fabulous foreword
Before I get going and can’t stop, I’d just like to note
that this post will be the first of a series I’m going to run over the Autumn. Excitingly,
I’ve signed up for Gousto – a food delivery company who send recipes and
ingredients in the post – and I’ve begun a health & wellness program, with
Rachel of re:Wellbeing. In this blog post, and others like it, I’m going to
share a Gousto recipe that I’ve taken on (hopefully, with great success!) and
an idea that I’m exploring as part of my bid to transform my food habits and
start afresh with food. I’m excited about it all, readers, and hope my posts
will inspire you all to be well and eat well.
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Hi readers,
How are you all today? Are you well on this rainy Wednesday
in August? Is it a good day you’re having or are you a little bluesy to be back
to work after the lovely, sunny Bank Holiday weekend? The last Bank Holiday weekend
until Christmas now… can you believe it? That’s gone quickly! We’re still
tanned and we’ve ice creams in the freezer – how can it be?
But all good things come to an end and, with Autumn, we do have
fiery leaves on the trees and investment scarf purchases to look forward to. They
might bring back pumpkin spice Baileys! There’ll be wonderful fireworks, readers,
and the clocks will change to keep us all on our toes. We’ll be pouring bubble
baths and enjoying a little hygge
time.
 |
| @psi.dp.ua |
Things aren’t so bad. But, readers, I’ve been thinking this
week about how easy it is to take a wrong turn with food. This has been on my
mind. While it can be wonderful to enjoy food, and fill your days with great
tasting foods, sometimes I find it can be difficult to maintain such a healthy
attitude. We live in a world filled with many people who under- or over-eat,
and amid all that it isn’t always easy to keep on track with eating well
yourself.
I’d reckon most people will have, at one time or another, used
food to try and help them feel better. Found food has become a crutch ‘getting
them through’ the day. Been frustrated that they can't seem to control what
they eat. Felt guilty and upset after eating. Promised
themselves they’ll eat well today, and then started snacking after tea.
 |
| @mateus62 |
It’s not a fun headspace to be in! You’ve let food become
your tool for controlling how you feel and cheering yourself up. But, of
course, it’s a useless tool as you end up feeling rubbish about yourself! A bad
workman always blames his tools – so you get all down about food. But, really,
it’s you that’s at fault for not facing the real issues causing you to eat.
Comprende? In the heat of the moment – when you’re feeling
down or stressed or you’re lonely maybe – you reach for food and you’re so
convinced you need it. It’s become your go to in times like these, eating’s
just ‘what you do’. You feel hopeless things will ever change.
But… you can shake it off, readers! If ever you find
yourself in a bad way with food, and you realise you’ve started to eat for the
wrong reasons and you’re not enjoying food as much as you could do, then I say
you can definitely do something about it. Explore how you’re feeling,
understand the root of the problem, and improve your relationship with food.
 |
| @inkemma |
I got into a bit of a muddle with food recently, readers.
Life got busy all of a sudden with commuting, working and buying a car, keeping
up with friends and with family, keeping fit and matching pace with my To Do
list… Time to prepare healthy, varied meals? Nada! I started to be a bit boring
and a bit samey with food. Then threw in a load of peanut M&Ms to cheer my
diet up.
Not good! So, I drew a line under it and I’m starting again,
readers. We can all make a fresh start with anything we like, at any time we
choose. And I’ve chosen now to begin
again with food and find more fun in what I eat – and I’m having a great time!
I’m giving loads of new recipes a go and I’ve signed up to a health &
wellness program for a few weeks of support.
 |
| @thebabyanimals |
There will be pitfalls and M&Ms on the road ahead – no
doubt about it – I don’t know how anyone finds the time and energy to
consistently eat well, day to day, week in week out. But I’m feeling good for
trying. There’s something powerful about breaking old habits and ways of
thinking that were holding you back. You realise you’re bigger and better than
they were.
Am I inspiring you, readers? Or do I sound like an American infomercial??
Nothing new but – simply – if things get bad, you can make them good again. Develop
new habits that make you happier, and get back on track with a healthy
lifestyle. Say yes to new ideas and new foods, try out some different
approaches until you find one that works. Learn more about yourself. Don’t be
disheartened, don’t give up. Be the best version of yourself once more.
 |
| @croyable |
And on that somewhat uplifting note… I have a wicked recipe
to share with you, readers. This is the first dish I’ve tried with Gousto, a
food delivery company who send you the ingredients and a recipe card in the post,
to set you up to cook a wonderful tea. And a wonderful tea this was!
I kicked off my love affair with Gousto recently by cooking
up a storm in the kitchen, and preparing a Tomato Risotto, with Mozzarella & Basil Oil. This tastes incredibly
good, readers. It tastes like you’re dining in a restaurant, not in your own
home. Because you never eat foods this nice at home, right? Well, now you do. Here’s
the recipe in just ten simple steps…
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Recipe: Tomato Risotto, with Mozzarella & Basil Oil
1.
Set a little music playing – something to soothe
the soul – and fill your glass with a little vino or a soft drink of your
choosing. Crack open a window and get all your ingredients ready to go on the
side. Now you’re ready to cook!
2.
Set the kettle boiling, and dissolve the
vegetable stock cube in 600ml boiled water.
3.
Peel and dice the red onion finely. Peel and
chop (or grate) the garlic finely.
4.
Heat a couple of splashes of cooking oil in a frying
pan or a wok (preferably non-stick) over a medium heat. Once hot, add the diced
onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 3 minutes until soft but not yet
browning.
5.
Add the Arborio rice and chopped garlic to the
pan, and mix well to make sure the rice is evenly coated in the onion and oil.
Then, add the chopped tomatoes and stir continuously until the rice has
absorbed most of the tomato juice.
6.
Add the stock to the pan a glug at a time,
stirring more or less all the time for 20-25 minutes until all the stock is
absorbed and the rice is cooked.
ChefBeHere Top
Tip: Pay attention to your pan and keep its contents moving. I used to think I
could never make risotto at home as it’s too difficult – you look away for one
minute and it’s all stuck to the pan! This isn’t the case, a homemade risotto
is super achievable, but you do have to keep an eye on the pan and stir
regularly.
7.
Meanwhile, chop the basil finely (including the
stalks). Grind the chopped basil with a pinch of salt in a pestle & mortar
to form a paste. Add 3-4 tablespoons cooking oil (or enough to loosen) and mix
well – this is your basil oil.
ChefBeHere Top Tip:
If – like me – you don’t have a pestle & mortar, just chop the basil leaves
very finely and mix them in a bowl with the salt and olive oil. This works all
the same.
8.
Once your risotto is nearly cooked, stir in the
red wine vinegar and half a teaspoon of sugar. Season with salt and pepper, and
cook for a further couple of minutes.
9.
Drain the mozzarella and pat it dry using a
square of kitchen roll, then cut in half.
10. Serve
your risotto in bowls and nestle the mozzarella into the risotto so that it
starts to melt from the heat. Drizzle with basil oil over the top. Tuck in!
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| My beauuuutiful risotto! |
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In the words of Gousto…
“Tomato risotto is the answer to all your risotto prayers. It feels
indulgent, despite not having any extra cream or butter. The creaminess comes
from stirring the starch out of the rice, making it naturally creamy. Served
with a soft chunk of milky mozzarella and a slick of basil oil. We like to
refer to this old Gousto favourite as Tom Moz Riz!”
What do you think, readers? Are you tempted to give this
recipe a go? With only two special ingredients required – Arborio rice and red
wine vinegar – and everything else otherwise cheap, cheerful and easy to locate
at Asda, this recipe would quite simple to shop for. And you only need to give
half an hour of your time in the kitchen – which is do-able even on a weekday
evening.
And I cannot do enough to stress how good this risotto
tastes, readers. It’s a treat. This dish tastes like something far better than
something you’d normally cook. I don’t know what you cook normally, but this
beats it by far. Care to put this to the test?? Knock me off my perch or set
yourself up for a wonder bowl of food? Either way – you win.
 |
| @norbert_the_therapy_dog |
And, if you give this recipe a try, please let me know how
you get on in the kitchen, readers! Do share your stories and successes. Any
mishaps? Any recipe hacks to shortcut the time taken, or improve a step along
the way? Maybe you have an idea to make this risotto even better tasting? Whatever
your thoughts are, readers, please fire them over.
It would be great time find out whether everything went well
and you enjoyed your meal… or maybe not! Wishing you a wonderful rest-of
your-week, with good food and even better company. Be kind to yourself.
And risotto safely,
Hayley
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An informative footer
I’d like to note, the above is part of a series of posts
that I’m currently having fun writing, while undertaking a fresh start with
food. Food bloggers can’t admit they got bored with food, you say? Well, I beg
to differ! In August 2017, I made two wonderful decisions; I signed up for
Gousto – a food delivery company who send recipes and ingredients in the post –
and I began a health & wellness program to transform my food habits, with
Rachel of re:Wellbeing. In this blog post, and others like it, I share one of
the wonderful recipe that I’m taking on, and an idea that I’m exploring as part
of this fresh start.
If you would like to find out more about Gousto, please
visit https://www.gousto.co.uk/
(I have a sneaky
discount code! If you’re new to Gousto, then click HERE for 50% off your first
2 boxes and I’ll get a discount too for referring you… so errrrybody wins)
And, if you would like to learn more about re:Wellbeing,
then visit https://www.rewellbeing.com/
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