eat healthy, live happy

this is the first of many posts that will be featured on maysmorsels under the name "eat healthy, live happy". this regular post will be aimed at tips for living a more healthy, happy and positive life through eating better food.

after weeks of family disaster relating to health, i've decided to dedicate time and energy to living a more healthy life! we have no idea how the quality of food we eat affects our moods and general positivity. it's so important to make a concerted effort into staying on the positive path because we all know "misery loves company" and it is SO easy to get sucked into negative energy that affects not just your life but the ones around you too.

a way i decided to live healthier was to grow my own herbs and soon vegetables too. not only will it save my family money, but it is incredibly therapeutic and a sure way to make sure what you;re eating is organic. when i was younger i used to watch my mum in the garden all the time, planting and preening and relaxing. i never for one second thought that i would one day want to get into the garden and get my hands dirty. i have always been so particular about getting my hands dirty, but it was such an amazing experience!

i bought a coriander (dhania) plant and a basil plant, as well as a parsely plant. it was my first time planting anything so i was a bit nervous but i took to it immediately!

that's me planting my very first plant! so fun!

my dhania plant all done:)

basil (above) and parsely (below)

just an easy and simple way to make sure what you're eating is beautifully healthy and good for your mind, body and soul :)

delicious middle-eastern/mediterranean fusion style pizza (v)

this amazingly healthy and tasty take on the pizza is so easy and simple to make - and THE most delicious alternative to the greasy pizza that we all can't seem to get enough of. yes it's not the same, but instead of that, just once try this delicious recipe that will be so good for your heart and soul :)

INGREDIENTS:

• one large naan (i bought mine at woolies and put it in the oven to crisp up)
• hummus
• falafal
• fresh coriander (roughly chopped)
• half a shallot (diced)
• half a small tomato (diced)
• one carrot (julienned)
• feta cheese
• good extra virgin olive oil

i literally got my naan, hummus and falafal pre-packed from woolworths (my favourite store in the world) but it's really very simple to make all of the above. literally after popping the naan in the oven to crisp, i covered it generously with hummus and the piled on the diced tomato and onion and carrot, coriander and feta cheese to my liking. after drizzling generously with some extra virgin olive oil you are ready to tuck in and oh.my.word you won't be sorry :)

try it out guys - once u start this, it will be a regular on your menu!

another blog update!

yes i am back! i haven't blogged in about two weeks - but it's felt like forever! my posts were getting more and more sparce and it's just unacceptable!

so as a consolation i am going to give you the line up for the next few weeks! :)

• a weekly update on the up and coming food and wine show - a count down if you will! because i am absolutely over my head in excitement! it's my favourite event of the year!
• a new regular post called "eat healthy, live happy" - good, healthy food tips and recipes
• loads of new vegetarian recipes!

peace and love friends!

sunday brunch steak stack

one thing i've loved with every inch of me is a good breakfast or brunch on a sunday morning. as a little girl, it was my dad's "thing" on a sunday to make us a nice yummy breakfast! it always included fried eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans curry, toast and possibly a tin fish curry or a mince curry. my dad loves his breakfast and because of this, i love myself a good breakfast.

as we all got older, sunday brunch was more suited due to late saturday nights and sleep-ins on a sunday morning, and in my opinion - sunday brunch is so much cooler! what's better than a bit of lunch and breakfast mixed together?

so today as usual, my dad woke me up and i helped him out with a bit of brunch. my mum made the tin fish curry and fried up some lamb sausages, and my dad and i made a delicious steak stack!

it was stir-fried steak and mushrooms with caramerlised onion on toast with a fried egg on top! cannot explain the deliciousness! literally stir fried the steak in a wok with a bit of salt and lemon pepper, lime, coriander and steak spice. stir fried the mushrooms separately and then added in the onions with a bit of sugar and worstershire sauce. added everything back in and gave it a toss and that was it :)
fried up an egg and slapped in on top and there you have a deliciously simple and yummy brunch idea!

crumbed chicken

nothing beats a bite of crispy fried crumbed chicken and all its unhealthiness! even if you are super against greasy food everyone knows the smell and taste is unexplainable and sort of hits a spot. truth? indeed!

so my grandmother made us some crumbed chicken on thursday for our spring day celebration and how yummo that was!

my gran literally steams the chicken with salt and pepper and dried thyme, but when i do it i always steam it with a bit of lemon and peri peri spice as well. thereafter it's egged, floured and crumbed to be fried in hot oil for comforting deliciousness...

tip: i like to add lemon pepper to the crumbs and it gives it a really distinct flavour.

unfortunately all the crumbed chicken was gone before i could take any pictures but you know how that turned out :)

cupcakes and more cupcakes :)

so the last two days have been spent making cupcakes. over the last two days i have made 6 dozen cupcakes - i kid you not! the family have literally been eating them as they came out of the oven, i hadn't even finished icing some of them!

i have to admit, my mum's cupcake recipe has been in our family for a while and it is to die for! now i can't tell you all the secret, but i can give you the simple recipe because i'm not stingy like that:)

here it is!

INGREDIENTS:

• 100ml butter
• 225ml sugar
• 500ml flour
• 15ml baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 5ml vanilla essence
• 2 eggs
• 200ml milk (add more of the consistency is not right for you)

METHOD:

• cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy
• add in the eggs one by one and vanilla essence and beat until smooth.
• then sift in the dry ingredients alternatively with the milk
• spoon into cupcake holders and bake at 180 degrees for approximately 20 minutes

for the icing, i am really one for easiness and simplicity. in other words, i am lazy and like to do things quickly :)

for some i used nestle's caramel treat with chocolate bobbles and candy hearts and for the others i used melted apricot jam topped with double thick cream and candy hearts! please try the latter icing as i actually cannot tell you how unexpectedly delicious it tastes a top the cupcakes. it's like a scone topping but better because technically you have a mini sponge cake in your hand!

so hope my cupcake recipe and pictures made all of you happy and hungry! now get into your kitchen and bake friends!!

x

hugest egg i have ever seen!

ok before all of you think that i have gone and lost my mind posting a picture of a bunch of eggs, let me explain the story to you.

i was hungry. why does it seem all my blog stories start with this line? well anyway, yeah, i was hungry. keen for breakfast, so i opened up the fridge to find the godzilla of eggs waiting for me. me, being the fascinated person i am, could not wait to crack it open and see how big that yolk was! but first i made pancakes to go with the scrambled eggs i was planning on making.

so after the process of making the pancake batter and frying up all the pancakes, with little restraint i cracked open the godzilla egg and look what i found:

twin yolks!

i couldn't believe it! now we have a history of twins in my family - my maternal grandmother had THREE sets of twins! yes, my mum was a twin, but her twin died at birth. now people say that the twin gene skips a generation and i swear to God ever since i could remember i have been seeing double things and everyone tells me it's because i'm going to have twins one day. well i certainly hope so! that would be a certain kind of wonderful!

well, that was my random post for tonight. i am super tired and tomorrow i promise i will post some recipes!

peace and love :)
x

mekarl's birthday

so last thursday (26 august) was mekarl's birthday :) and it was super chilled with his family at his home. his mum did the cooking and boy was it comfort food for a chilly night in! what some people would consider soul food to an extent! even though i had a big test to write the next morning, i spent a fair amount of time with the family and really took some time to unwind.

she made crumbed chops (which is one of mekarl's absolute favourites), parisienne carrots, creamed spinach, roasted vegetables (literally red onion, peppers, butternut and baby potatoes with garlic and butter and i presume some secret spices) gravy, and fresh portuguese rolls. it was delish and a great way to spend the evening celebrating mekarl's birthday.

for his birthday cake mekarl had a tiramissu cake which he loves. all in all it was a lovely evening :)