Chocolate & Cupboard Stuff Ice Nohm

Sometimes you've shopped & planned, sometimes you just want something and make do! I've got some gluten free cones from ocado and wanted some ice cream to go in them. Chocolate I had the ingredients for but I like my ice cream Ben & Jerry style with bits so I raided the cupboard. I made double quantities as I wanted a scoopable amount; this made a small ice cream tub full.

2 Tins of coconut milk
Carton of coconut cream
1/2 cup sugar (I prefer golden caster sugar) 
1/2 cup good cocoa powder
Big pinch of salt
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Tsp xanthan gum

Handful of chocolate chunks (more would have been better)
Glace Cherries (half a tub)
Couple of big tablespoons of fluff

I mixed the icecream then put it in the machine til it got to soft set stage. I stirred through the bits & swirled in the fluff before slopping it into a tub & putting it into the freezer to firm up (not for long enough - it was still a bit sloppy to scoop). Sometimes winging it really works. 

Smoked Duck, Apple, Sesame & Ginger Salad

Today's lunch is a small lesson in matching things. I wasn't impressed with the ginger & sesame salad dressing when I tried it on a side salad with chicken & chips - ginger & sesame salad with chicken & chips? Of course it didn't work! However on this salad (mixed leaves, cucumber, red pepper & apple) topped with smoked duck slices it totally rocked. It's one of those combos you know will work before you taste it! I made a bit of potato salad on the side; a girl's gotta have some carbs!

The ginger & sesame dressing and smoked duck were from ocado - the smoked duck you will no doubt see on bambis bentos - I'm thinking maybe smoked duck nigiri tomorrow.

Birds Eye Baked to Perfection

I post saying I'm gonna make space for more recipes then do a post about opening a box! These are very user friendly - fish & sauce in 1 portion bags that you put straight in the oven from the freezer - but difficult to serve in one piece as you can see from my pic!
There are a few in the range but only the cod in olive oil, tomato & rosemary sauce (yummy with a very subtle rosemary flavour) and the king prawns in chilli sauce (why would you want to bake that?) are BBD / paleo friendly.
Tasty & handy to have in the freezer for a quick dinner. Served here with new potatoes & cherry tomatoes roasted with garlic oil & rosemary.

For the non paleo my dad says the haddock in butter sauce one is nice!

Bambis Bentos

To make room for recipes I now have a seperate blog for the bento's so they will be there from now on. I'd better step up my game with them if they're gonna have their own blog - but I do have a trip planned to a near by oriental mini market tomorrow so hopefully I'll get some new ingredients!

Got up late bento

But I put rice in the rice cooker before my shower & had teriyaki chicken left.

L-R I have watermelon slices, chocolate pudding, the last bit of fennel salad, rice & dill pickles, Hawaiian chicken teriyaki with salad.

I have a new bento box & some accessories coming so bentos next week should have a new home!

Thank god the jubilee is over Bento

Yet again I forgot to post until I had eaten some of it! The pot with the closed lid had red pepper & cucumber crudites in. The tall thermos pots got (still warm) Hawaiian teriyaki (from a jar-ocado) chicken & sushi rice in. There is a pot of fennel salad next to it (recipe from just bento here; http://justbento.com/handbook/recipes-sides-and-fillers/bento-filler-fennel-salad-fennel-shiomomi) the chicken flavours are quite rich so the fresh crunch of the fennel alongside is nice.  I've also got some watermelon slices & a dairy free vanilla pudding. I've also got some dark chocolate with wasabi somewhere - I'm not completely sure I like it! A healthy bento today!

Passion Fruit Ice Nohm

We won't go into the minor mishap that saw me wearing half the mix - but I still got a decent amount!

It has a subtle flavour and is a good accompaniment to other fruit - strawberries in my pic. Pretty much my usual Ice Nohm mix but I doubled up - the standard mix doesn't make much (this would have made a lot more if a good third hadn't ended up on me and the floor).

2 tins of coconut milk
1/2 cup of golden caster sugar
Good pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 or 3 passion fruits (seeds & pulp scooped out)

Quite simply mix everything together then pop it in your ice cream maker.