Linden's Turkey Meatballs

The last six months have been a bit splurgey for me, foodwise. After the time of darkness last winter (when I acquired a taste for lentils, brown rice, and cauliflower) while I was trying to identify my new allergy (methinks it's soy, but further tests to come this fall), I was in need of a little weight gain. Hence the abundance of cakes, chocolate, cheeesy lasagnas and deep dish pizzi, and savory tarts in my history.

However, this summer my fastwalks through Oxford (to lectures, seminars, and choir) have been replaced by sitting in a chair writing my thesis and moaning to everyone who will listen, which only exercises my hands and mouth (alas, not the bits that keep your tummy trim). So I am slowly trying to edge out the delicious-by-means-of-butter-and-cheese and edge in the not-as-delicious-but-makes-me-feel-virtuous.

So, because quitting cold turkey (hah!) would be too much to endure in the weeks before my thesis is due, I am taking the middle road. Last night, I made delicious spaghetti and meatballs, but instead of the traditional beef and veal and pork, I went for healthy turkey.

In my way, I combined two recipes from the internets, and opted for baking the meatballs rather than frying them (see? look at that healthy alternativing!) For the last five minutes of pasta cooking, I moved the meatballs into the sauce to absorb some delicious sauciness. Then, a bowlfull of pasta and zucchini (it may not look like much, but that is because this is Chris' plate, which is always slightly less green than mine, which we will put down to my jealous vegatative nature.).

 

The recipes:
http://thekitchensinkrecipes.com/2008/05/08/try-it-youll-like-it/
http://www.dinneralovestory.com/great-grandma-turano%E2%80%99s-meatballs/

Linden's Parmesan and Basil encrusted haddock

So due to circumstances somewhat out of my control (an academic lunch I sort of have to go to), my food investigation is coming to an abrupt end for now. So yesterday I introduced cheese (and let me tell you, it was exciting).

Now the last few weeks, I have been hunting the internets for ways to prepare food within my limitations, and in the process found a lot of ways to prepare food without my limitations, which means I accumulated a long list of things to try once I dropped my diet. One of them was something like this recipe, although still edited since I am not currently at this moment consuming oil.

This is haddock, which is a very cheap fish - four times this amount costs something like $4-5 here. I chopped together fresh basil and grated parmesan, and then put it on top of the fish, on a tray with asparagus. Popped it in the oven at ~350 for half an hour, then broiled it at the end to get the top extra-crunchy. In the meantime, boiled some cauliflower and broccoli and melted some cheddar mixed with rosemary and parsley on top. Served it all on a bed of baby spinach, and you have a very green and white meal. Delicious!

Today I am going to start eating wheat again, and possibly potatoes. How exciting!

Linden's healthy dinner made of cod and goodness

So for those of you who haven't heard, I am having some food allergies right now. This isn't anything new for me, but I think there's something new that's shown up since I came to England so I'm trying to figure it out. Unfortunately, this means two weeks on a very restricted diet. I'm not allowed wheat, potatoes, dairy, soy, and meats that are likely to have additives (so beef, chicken, pork, and farm-raised fish).

Which basically means I'm on a veggie, brown-rice, lamb-and-fish diet. I have some exciting things from before I went on the diet, but for now, it's going to be pictures of the surprisingly delicious foodstuffs I am making while I can't eat cheese (weep weep weep) or bake delicious things.

Tonight I had some zucchini, sweet potatoes, and broiled cod on a bed of basil. (This was because I had some basil I was planning to make pesto with, but since I can't eat cheese, nuts, or pasta, that wasn't really going to work. So I needed to use it up in something else.)


You may note that deepest darkest is eating toast, which makes me jealous.

Yum! Although if I were to do this again, I would use a fish other than cod, because it was a bit too firm for this method of cooking. Suggestions are welcome - it cannot be farmed fish, so it has to be from the deep sea, which is admittedly not so great for the environment. But I am balancing it by not eating chicken or beef, so I feel slightly less bad about that.

I'm planning to finish off my other piece of cod tomorrow by frying it. Sadly, I can't bread it beforehand (no flour allowed!) but I'm sure it will still be delicious. And hopefully a little fatty, I am struggling to eat enough calories, it is tragic. Six months from now when I am a roly-poly I will think back on this time and be bitter.