Coconut macaroons are probably one of my very favourite sweet treats, but to make them you really need shredded rather than dessicated coconut, which I’ve never been able to get hold of in Kilkenny.

These are a sort of first cousin of macaroons, in which mozzarella is the key ingredient. They don’t taste cheesy at all, it just gives them something of the moist chewiness that macaroons have. Although they may not be the real thing, they are very quick and easy to make and delicious in their own right.

I made them today as a treat for my son who is coming home from a week away at camp tomorrow, he loves them, as do most kids.

Here’s what you need.

120g dessicated coconut
30g ground almonds
30g butter
30g sugar (or 2 dessert spoons Splenda)
1/2 ball mozzarella (I use the Lidl full fat one)
2 eggs

Put half the coconut into a blender and whizz until it is very fine, which will take a couple of minutes. Add the almond, butter, sugar, roughly torn up mozzarella and the eggs and blend well.

At this point the mixture will be a bit sloppy and loose. Turn it into a bowl and mix through the rest of the coconut, which will make it a lot firmer and dryer.

Make small balls of the mix - about the size of extra large marbles - and place on a baking try lined with parchment or greaseproof paper. Flatten each ball slightly before cooking.

You should get 18-20 balls.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until nicely browned. Cool before eating.

The little bites come out lovely and crisp on the outside, soft, moist and slightly chewy on the inside. You can replace half the butter with some coconut oil if you have it for extra flavour, but do use some butter.

They don’t freeze well but they’ll stay crisp for a day or two if kept in a tin - they rarely last that long though!

Tags: Coconut, Low carb, Recipes
Posted in Recipes | 4 Comments »

One of the downsides of eating low carb is that it’s quite difficult to satisfy the occasional longing for something crunchy.

Crisps, tortilla chips and the like are out, cheese crisps are a great option, but my favourite low carb crispy treat has to be Chorizo Crisps.

They have just the right amount of satisfying crunchiness, are quick and easy to make and everyone, not just low carb eaters, seems to enjoy them.

Although I’ve tagged this as a recipe, it’s really too simple to qualify as one. All you have to do is slice up the chorizo, zap it in the microwave and leave it to cool. That’s it!

This plate holds a little less than 6 inches of chorizo sliced up. The whole chorizo, which costs €2.99 in Lidl is a bit more than 24 inches long, so you’ll get more that 4 times this many crisps from one.

They may not be the cheapest snack in the world but when you want something crunchy you really want something crunchy!

They took exactly 2 minutes to cook, on high in an 800W microwave. Your’s may vary - they look sort of dry in the centre when they are done, though are not crisp till they cool.

The crisps are very good scattered over salad, as a garnish for sandwiches or in pretty much any situation where you’d use crispy bacon. Exactly the same thing works perfectly with all kinds of salami, so there are lots of different flavours of crisp to try.

I made these ones for the wine tasting this evening, where we are having tapas, primarily using the various goodies from the current Iberian promotion at Lidl. I’ll be reporting on what people thought of them as well as the wine.

One of the things from that range that I picked up yesterday was salted roasted almonds, which cost €3.99 for 250g. I opened the bag to taste a couple. Big mistake. They are totally addictive and I’ll have to go back later today to get more!

Tags: Chorizo, Crisps, Low carb
Posted in Best Buys, Recipes | 14 Comments »

Saturday morning, early, is quite a good time to shop in Lidl. Apart from the fact that it isn’t very busy it’s a time when the sneaky Lidl shoppers tend to go, so it’s fun.

A couple of weeks ago I saw a woman I know spot me, then turn and hurry away in the other direction. Naturally I made it my business to bump into her later and her embarrassment was as palpable as it was hilarious. She blushed, she giggled, she muttered something about “Great cheese”, then finally pulled herself together and told me that at least she shops there herself - a friend wouldn’t be seen dead in the place and sends her husband.

What is it with these people?

My purpose in being there this morning was to spend my last €3.05 on bread and some cheddar, if I could find it cheap enough, which are two things that are pretty much gone. I ended up changing the plan.

I did buy cheese, but mozzarella for 74c. Mushrooms are reduced from €1.19 a carton to 49c, so I had to get some of those. But my best buy was peaches. A punnet of seven of them for €1.49. We have fruit, yippee!! Then I threw caution to the wind and overspent my budget to buy cream, 250mls for €1.19. It’s the weekend, we need treats!

So that was a total of €3.91 and brings my total spend for the week to €50.86. I’m done spending.

We started the day with a fry up which, in the absense of bread, included fried potato. We’ve really eaten quite a lot more carbs than usual this week, but these are new potatoes, so somewhat less carby than old.

It was a good breakfast, though a rasher or two wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Breakfast cost: eggs 41c (he had two); potato 15c; mushrooms: 25c. Total: 81c

Lunch was something of an on the hoof affair and I didn’t take a picture, but I just defrosted three cups of tomato soup, resulting in good sized mugs of soup which we had with crisp bread, followed by a peach.

Lunch cost: tomato soup: 78c; crisp bread 16c; peaches 43c. Total: €1.35

Although I am well tired of mince, there was a pack of it left so I made Adapted Shepard’s Pie for dinner. I make this a lot and the adaptation is that it uses no potato, instead being topped with cheesy cauliflower. It works well as a replacement and is much lower in carbs.

To make the topping, boil half a head of cauliflower until just soft, drain well and leave aside for a few minutes to let any excess moisture steam off. Then mash gently with a fork, not a potato masher as it tends to make it go glutinous. You don’t want it completely smooth, a lumpy mash is fine. Mix grated cheese into the cauliflower and season with salt, black pepper and a good shake of nutmeg. I used just under 2 oz of cheese, as it’s all that’s left, though I’d sometimes use a little bit more.

This is spread over the thawed mince base, then baked at 180 C for about 30 mins. About half way though sprinkle half a ball of mozzarella, roughly chopped up, over the top. I’d usually use grated cheddar or emmental but needs must and it worked fine.

We had this with broccoli.

Dinner Cost: Mince base €1.26; cauliflower 50c; cheddar 43c; mozzarella 37c; broccoli 25c;
Total: €2.81

And we had dessert!

Cinnamon Peach Kebabs

These are easy to make and delicious. Normally I’d use a mixture of fruit - peach, pineapple and mango work well - and perhaps add some fresh orange juice to the syrup. When there is mixed fruit they look more like kebabs, but a single fruit is lovely too.

Put a half an ounce of butter, a teaspoon of sugar (or Splenda), half a teaspoon of cinnamon, half a teaspoon of vanilla essence and a few drops of rum essence (or some real rum) into a small bowl. Zap in the microwave for about 20 seconds and then mix well.

Thread slices of peach (one peach per person) onto skewers, brush with the butter and grill for about 10 minutes, basting with any excess syrup half way though. Serve hot with whipped cream. Mmmm.

Cost for dessert: peaches 44c; cream 50c. Total: 94c.

If you count the store cupboard stuff, I suppose it would add another 10c or so, but this is a great value and very good dessert either way.

Remarkably today’s total spend was only €5.91. I expected it to be a lot more since my perception is that we ate very well indeed.

Tags: Cauliflower, Fruit kebab, Low carb, Peaches, Recipes, Shepherd's Pie, €50 Challenge
Posted in Recipes, €50 Challenge | 4 Comments »