I'm not sure I could do salmon with just vegetables I'd need a side like rice or something else.

Also those look like tiny portions don't they? When I come back from a long session of sports I feel like destroying everything in the fridge and usually don't count too much on quantity (i'm 6'2 190ish )

Looks delicious tho

ye I'm similar and therefore oftentimes add a tiny side of carbs(50g rice/couscous or 300g potatoes) even on the lowish carb day



ha yes I'm the same and even used to eat out of salad bowls lol
However I enjoy it more if it also looks good so I usually part post sport meals into 2(or even 3) so I can fit it on normal sized plates

That's how you cook salmon. Baffled at how many overcook it.

This.

Also, looking forward to finally making an attempt at the teriyaki shrimp pasta tomorrow.

Overcooking fish.makes.me sad. So so good when its soft and juicy.


Most.of my meal are a protein and just some veggies. I usually use a dry spice rub on most proteins. Rub I use has brown sugar which is something I should probably cut out but sweet/spicy rubs taste.so good esp when you get a nice crust.

Got recipe for this? Sounds nice and like it might be simple enough for me to actually go and make on a regular basis

Yeah this is my rather dull diet. Muesli for breakfast, with some extra chopped nuts; two egg omlette, usually with spring onion, tomato, ham/chicken, salami/chorizo, etc for lunch after a work out.

Afternoon snack is either sourdough with cold meat or roast chicken drumsticks/thighs, and dinner salad with meat; and supper is usually a fruit salad.

Cashy - do you snack on sweets at all? i find it near impossible not to have some kind of cookie/chocolate to have with a cup of tea.

I find it hard to cut this out - could you or anyone else suggest tasty/healthy snack alternatives??

i eat a lot of candy actually(AT LEAST 1000kcal worth a week) as it's very easy for a very active person to fit in candy into a balanced diet due to the increased energy demands.
downed around 150g of chocolate just yesterday alone for example lol(after match day)
Hell even when I was cutting body-fat (therefore looking for about 500kcal deficit/day) I was able to fit in some candy(a lot less though obviously)

very simple actually

make a blend of spices first(so you don't have to add the spices one by one each time)

2 tablespoons turmeric
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon peperoncino

cut chicken(250-300g) into small cubes(important they are all the same size)
fry in a wok or pan on highish heat with some peanut oil (other like olive oil work too), when about halfway done (you still see raw pieces on the outside) salt and move chicken to the outside of the wok/pan

add a little butter to the pan and fry a chopped glove of garlic and around a teaspoon of chopped ginger for a few seconds, then add 1/2 - 1 tablespoon of the spice blend and fry for around 10 secs, deglaze with 4-5 tablespoons of pasta water, mix the chicken in again and let it simmer on very low temperature until the chicken is done(2-3 min).
right at the end increase heat a little and mix in some butter and some parmesan to thicken the sauce(possibly add a few more tablespoons of pasta water beforehand if there isn't enough liquid)

serve with parmesan and freshly chopped coriander or parsley

Thanks! I'll try that this week.

But do you maybe mean teaspoons or do you just throw a ****load of spices in there? 1 tablespoon of cinnamon wtf

edit oh or you just mix it once to use a bunch of times? About how often? And where do you keep it in?

ah ye I expressed myself badly(edited it now)
I mix it once and use it a bunch of times(only 1/2 - 1 tablespoon of the blend required for the dish), I keep the blend in a storage jar

Have some time this weekend, will try the pie.

Ta.

great chinese dish ill include regularly into my diet now
gong bao chicken


I usually vary the veggies, green onion and peanuts are a must though
__________________________________________________ _______
really got into bread baking lately(the whole-grain bread from the bakery is fairly dry and nutritional value is meh)
and I am really excited as it tastes amazing and the nutritional value is extremely good(I use a mixture of whole-grain flour of wheat/rye/spelt and also add oats + a huge amount of sunflower-/pumpkin-seeds and hazelnuts)

currently in the experimenting phase with spices and the main ones are
caraway and aniseed with smaller amounts of coriander, cardamom and a tiny bit of turmeric and cumin.
leaving out a "classic" bread spice in fennel right now but may try to fit it in cautiously in the future.



coming back to the nutritional value, mind-blowing how long I feel satisfied/full with it(combination of complex carbs and healthy fat from the seeds/nuts) best carb source ever

The bread looks delicious. Can you post the recipe?

sure
for a small loaf pan:

flour
100g whole grain wheat flour
70g whole grain rye flour
30g rye flour
100g whole grain spelt
70g oats
30g oat bran

15g fresh yeast
teaspoon salt
230ml lukewarm water

100g seeds(sunflower/pumpkin)
30-50g hazelnuts halved

spices, all freshly ground as it tastes way better, (most) measurement is after grinding
1 1/2 teaspoon caraway
3/4 teaspoon aniseed
1/2 teaspoon coriander
3 green cardamom capsules
2 black peppercorns
1/6 teaspoon of cumin
1/6 teaspoon of turmeric
_______________________________
-dissolve yeast in the lukewarm water
-mix all the flour and add the salt, add the yeast water
-knead the dough in a kitchen machine for like 10 mins
-put baking oven on lowest heat(50°C) and allow the dough to rise in a covered bowl(alternatively let it rise near a radiator or similar warm place) for about an hour

-put dough back into the cooking machine, add spices and seeds/nuts and knead it trough like 3 mins.
-butter your loaf pan, put the dough in it and let it rise for another 45 mins
-bake at 230°C top and bottom heat in pre-heated oven for 37mins (keep in mind that the backing time is adjusted perfectly for the quantities used above so if you change the quantities you have to change the backing time too)

also I played around with multiple backing methods

in the picture i posted I started with 250°C for 10 mins and cut down to around 180°C for the remaining baking time, that method results in a harder/crunchier crust.
I prefer the slightly softer method I posted above though

not a fan of dried whole grain pasta but fresh it's actually very good(fairly easy/quick to make too)

whole-grain rye fettuccine with chicken and my own fresh ground curry mix(more cinnamon and aniseed heavy than most conventional curry mixes)


we all love peanut butter+nutella sandwiches, right?
of course, problem is that with white bread(I usually use brioche or tramezzini) it's basically candy.
solution? a healthy bread with a sweet touch

whole-grain/oat banana-bread!


with a few tricks(apple purée w/ rum and greek yogurt) this bread becomes extremely juicy and an amazing fit for pb+nutella.
with lots of nutrients, complex carbs and healthy fats(oats/pb) this sweet threat will become a regular pre-training snack/meal

I'm not normally a fan of fusion pasta dishes but I made your tortiglioni with chicken and it was AAA. Great thread!

dish also tastes good with rice or couscous btw

one of the few positives of autumn: pumpkin season!
here a variation of a the very popular dish pesto genovese

whole grain spaghetti with pumpkin seed basil pesto and salmon


very, very good combination
also had a bell pepper + pumpkin seed vegetable side which was a good complement

Great blog, great ideas, thx and subbed.

Cool blog mate, couple of questions for you:

1. What's your spag bol recipe? I'm pretty confident I've got it nailed down but I always like to experiment.

2. Do you have a vegetable garden? Vegies fresh from the garden are awesome, and I never care if I have excess cause I either give it to family/friends, or dump it in the compost heap.

3. Do you have a compost heap? Also a great feeling similar to a vegie garden: food waste gets recycled, and compost is brown gold when it comes to your garden. I've got a 1.5m square heap, I've got no more room in the garden for new garden beds, however my wife and I are buying our own house in roughy a year so I've started bagging up compost so it's ready to go when we get our house. I estimate I'll have about 4 trailer loads of compost by then.

4. Do you cook in bulk? I bought a 15 litre pot recently and have done a few massive spag bol/minestrone batches, it's a nice feeling to know I've got the equivalent of ~30 serves of whatever in the freezer for when I cbf cooking. And given I'm the chef here with two young kids, that's a pretty awesome feeling!

Brag: I live in Tas/Australia, maybe the back end of nowhere to some but I love it. I also love the constant supply of some the best fresh salmon in the world!

hey thanks, I don't have a garden but a small advice if you have leftover veggies: make your own vegetable stock! very easy and so much better in taste

I cook some dishes on bulk, the ones that don't lose taste a/o even get better the more often you warm it up(like spaghetti bolognese)

speaking of that dish:
I'm using a traditional method and key is the so called soffritto(veggies get steamed in butter & olive oil on lowest heat)

soffritto:
3 carrots
3 celery
2 onions
(all chopped)
50g butter
3 tablespoons olive oil

other:
1kg ground beef
3 garlic gloves
3 Peperoncini
300ml milk
100ml white whine
600g mature san marzano tomatoes(canned is ok too)
self-made vegetable stock if you have it(if not just leave it out)
salt & pepper to taste

start with the soffritto, steam the veggies in butter and olive oil on lowest heat for around 30 mins

in the meantime sear ground meat in a big pot on very high heat until it caramelizes.
with that amount of meat you have to be very vary and sear the meat in multiple rounds because if you put too much meat into the pot it can't sear properly and will steam instead so the meat won't caramelize properly.
also don't stir too often for the same reason.

deglaze w/ white whine and then with milk immediately after(milk gives the meat a very fine flavor)

when the milk starts to boil add tomatoes, once it starts to boil again add the soffritto then add sliced garlic and mashed peperoncino and cook for at least 3 hours on low heat but preferably 9 hours.
if it gets too "thick" liquidize with some self-made vegetable stock or alternatively water
taste with salt and pepper

fingerling with whole-grain rice and butter sauce


good combination, will make again

PUMPKIN TIME
i'm a HUGE pesto fan and pumpkin pesto is one of my favs

whole-grain penne with pumpkin pesto and chicken



stumbled upon this today

hulled spelt and very similar rice in preparation(but much better nutritional value than whole-grain rice)
so I immediately went to (creative)work, end-result a top-class dish which would be unaffordable in a restaurant

rack of lamb with pumpkin-pesto spelt-risotto and mixed vegetables

(forget to picture the self-made lamb jus i added later)


soso good
lamb <3, spelt risotto was a huge success and a great healthy alternative

Howd you get into and learn the basics of cooking?

Also what do you think the most Important skills / techniques to learn are?

uff i started to get into cooking like 15 years ago and it became a hobby/passion of mine like 7 years ago(and i'm cooking fresh daily ever since).
no entirely sure how a beginner should start out, you definitely need A LOT of basic knowledge so buying a few books and read up seems like a must.
after that a lot is experience and you have to sharpen your skills by trial and error, at the start there will be failure especially when you first start to get creative.
the ability to understand what taste combination work and which don't takes a lot of time and I remember a lot of mishaps when creating my own dishes in the first few years.

first few years there were always 3 possible outcomes when trying out my own creation:
- uneatable, eatable, good

nowadays the 3 outcomes changed to:
-good, very good, orgasm


cliffs:
-read up a lot on basics
-getting good at cooking will take a lot of time

continuing with pumpkin theme

pasta with pumpkin pesto(not pictured) with a side of my favorite salad creation, pumpkin salad with chorizo, jack beans, feta and parsley dressing(there is some baby spinach under there too)

great fit for the pasta dish

meat was on sale today so I got some prime quality beef
big fan of ribeye(marbled with fat and therefore always very juicy) and I either get dry-aged or this heifer beef which is of such high quality that dry aging isn't even necessary


like you can see the whole meat is marbled with fat, top-class quality


was a "rare" guy for a long time but recently switched to medium-rare, quality meat tastes slightly better that way imo