Chili pepper - Fruit of the Immortal.

 

This sometimes feared fruit (spice.) could be considered a medicine instead of a culinary spice, and often is considered both, and not without reason.
Vitamin A - Improves eyesight and helps fight viral infections.
Vitamin C - Lowers cancer risk, helps cells and improves iron absorption.
Potassium - Aids muscle and nerve functions, lowers risk of high blood pressure.
Iron - Helps your immune system, oxygen distribution and energy production.

A strong, relaxed heart, clean blood circulation, a powerful immune system, and weight loss by eating?
Sounds like something out of a top-of-the-line medicine Ad?
The truth here is much simpler, cheaper and better looking - Chili peppers! (dried, crushed, fresh, any form.)
Red chili peppers are a great natural remedy that helps lower blood cholesterol, prevent blood clots and relax your heart (lower resting heart rate, also more blood reaching the heart.)
The A and C vitamins in Chili pepper are vital for a healthy, strong immune system.
Feeling hot after having your chili?
Great - all that heat produced by your body is energy, burned calories.
Chili pepper also greatly boosts your metabolism!

Unfortunately some have the false idea  that chili pepper causes stomach ulcers, in fact, chili peppers help  prevent them by killing the unwanted bacteria and also aiding the protective "layer" in your stomach. (stimulates the cells lining your stomach to secrete protective juices.)
Capsaicin - A great natural pain reliever, stuff that chili pepper is full of. (quantity depending on the potency of the fruit - the more capsaicin, the hotter the burning sensation.) 
Also helps clear congestion from your lungs, throat and nose.


René's Chili Sauce.
A great universal sauce/additive.

- 3-4 Red chili peppers.
- 3-4 Cherry tomatoes.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice. (1 lemon.)
- 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil.
- A pinch of salt and crushed pepper.
- 1 teaspoon of brown sugar.
- 1 teaspoon of Oregano.




Wash the tomatoes. Cut the chili peppers open lengthwise with a small knife, wash under cold tap water. (If you want a milder sauce, take the seeds out.) Cut them into slightly smaller pieces (Not finely chopped.) Place everything into a food blender, and mix well.

This sauce can be a base or amplifier to many dishes, pasta sauces, soups, stews, salads and so on.
Try using some in Pasta Bolognese, Lasagne, Veggie soups or even as a pizza sauce.

                                                                        Enjoy! 

Lemon Sourface.

This amazing sunny fruit tends to be quite underrated in today's kitchen.
Perhaps because we let our tastebuds grow accustomed to the sweeter tastes instead?
This wondrous yellow fella is packed with so much goodness it's literally bursting. (Give it a little squeeze and the juice will seep from the pores.)
It's used in foods, medicine, aromatherapy and cleaning - favoured for its refreshing aroma and the citric acid (Roughly 5-6% in freshly squeezed lemon juice.)


Vitamin C - one of the most important antioxidants in nature and half a glass of lemon juice provides you with enough for a day.
The contents of freshly squeezed lemon juice are extremely useful for your body, blood vessels and helps regulate cholesterol in your body, also aiding your kidneys.
Last but not least, your immune system - Vitamin C is vital for your immune system to function properly.

Let's talk about it's culinary uses - it has a wide variety of them, too ; the juice itself can be used for waking up the flavours in almost any dish, also a great natural preservative (Try on cut bananas, apples, avocados - foods that oxidize.) 
Lemon peel is widely used in baking , porridges, puddings, marinades (Try marinating chicken with fresh lemon zests, drop of olive oil, pepper and a pinch of crushed chillies - rub all the ingredients nicely into the flesh and pack tightly with cling film. Let it marinate in the fridge for some hours.)
There are other uses for it in your kitchen, it serves as an excellent, natural cleaning agent.
Rub half a lemon over your kitchen surfaces and cutting board, gently squeezing the fruit.

Half a squeezed lemon juice and water makes a great refreshment, too. Also helps neutralise the tastes in your mouth. When having a glass with your meal, the juice makes the taste more flavoursome!

Hope this helped you to befriend that yellow fella - if already a fan, hooray to you!

Millet - Bird food or Culinary delight?

Millet - Another stranger in our culinary world, perhaps due to the widespread rumour of millet being used as bird and animal food.
It's much more than that, in fact, millet is another less known grain(actually seed but considered grain in the kitchen.) that does not contain gluten thus making it a great choice for celiacs.


Millet is also very easily digestible and highly nutritious; A great source of phosphorus(Vital for your cells.), magnesium, manganese and tryptophan. Also contains Copper (19-20% Daily value in 1 cup.) and Iron. (8-9% Daily value in 1 cup.) 
Good for neutralising the acid levels in your body, too.

As food, it can be enjoyed as either salty or sweet dish in sides, salads, main courses or consumed on its own as porridge. Has a very similar consistency to polenta and Couscous.
Like preparing any kind of grains, you must wash the millet seeds before cooking, rinse well with warm water in a sieve, recommend doing so several times in order to wash out all the dirt.
Try roasting the seeds on a dry skillet before cooking, allowing them to turn slightly golden, giving your porridge a nutty hint.
There are several methods when it comes to preparing millet, you can boil it in a pot with a lid.
Use a 1: 3 ratio (1 Cup of millet, 3 cups of water or as instructed on the package.) with a drop of salt, the cooked millet will become grainy like rice.
You can also give it a nice creamy consistency by adding cream or milk.
When cooking with cream/milk, be sure to stir it often.

Sweet millet porridge with Vanilla & Cinnamon apples.
Serves 2


- One cup of millet.
- Two cups of water.
- Cup of milk/lighter cream ( when using thicker cream, use less of it and balance with water.)
- Pinch of salt
- One teaspoon of brown(Demerara.) sugar.

Thoroughly wash the millet, put them into a little saucepan, add water and a pinch of salt.
Turn the heat to medium and let it cook under a lid for 10-15 mins.
Add milk/cream and sugar, stir to prevent the porridge from sticking to the bottom.
Turn the heat lower, let it cook slowly for about 10 more minutes, stirring often.
Taste - if you feel the seeds are undercooked, add a drop more water.
The porridge is ready when the whole thing has a thick, creamy consistency and the seeds are almost soft.

Serve with : Simple Vanilla & Cinnamon apples.


Dice an apple into 1cm cubes, grab a frying pan, drop in a little chunk of butter or use a drop of olive oil, add apples, spoonful of brown sugar, half a teaspoon of cinnamon and a spoonful of vanilla sugar.
Let it all heat for a few moments, letting the butter / oil mix with the ingredients, then add a splash of water (Roughly 3-4 spoonfuls.) 
Heat it under a lid, stir once in a while. Ready when the water has mixed with the ingredients, turning the apple soft and leaving a thick cinnamon & vanilla sauce.

                                                                                     Enjoy!

A stranger - Buckwheat.

This hearty plant is actually not a grain nor grass, buckwheat is not related to wheat, instead it's a fruit related to rhubarb and sorrel - thus it's great for wheat(protein gluten) sensitive people.
Buckwheat is also helpful for keeping your cholesterol levels normal and helps prevent high blood pressure and helps lower your blood sugar.
The grain-like fruit has various commercial uses - Beer, Flour (Also providing many flour products.), Honey. There are even buckwheat pillows!



As whole buckwheat, this food is crammed with nutrients, you've got your fiber, magnesium, manganese and tryptophan. It's also has one of the highest hunger satisfication levels - Amazing plant, isn't it?

The most common way of preparing Buckwheat would be porridge, either cooked in a large pot or in a frying pan with a lid on. You can use water for boiling buckwheat, or broth (Either self-made or using a stock cube.). When preparing buckwheat in a frying pan, it's easy to chuck in some cut vegetables or meat if you prefer and let it simmer together, allowing the flavours to combine under the lid.

Simple Buckwheat. (20-35mins.)
Either pot or a frying pan. 
Serves 2
- A cup of whole Buckwheat
- Two cups of water or broth
- A drop of butter

Prepare your buckwheat in a pot if you prefer to have the porridge on its own or as a side dish.

Turn the heat to medium, drop in your butter and add the buckwheat, heat for a few moments, add water. (Use a kettle to bring the water to boil.)
Add a dash of salt, and let it simmer under the lid, stirring once in a while. The porridge is ready when all the water has been absorbed.

Buckwheat porridge on it's own can be served with milk, a drop of butter, or sour cream. (Try flavouring the sour cream with a drop of either green or black pepper, dried dill, pinch of salt and some freshly squeezed lemon.)


                                                                                     Enjoy!

Let's talk porridge.

To most, porridge reminds of a filling, hearty breakfast since childhood. 

Often rivaled by the sugar-packed cereals, many kids have taken a slight dislike to this very nutritious day-starter.(Remember the mornings where a nice steaming plate of porridge was placed before you, your mother asking you to eat with a strict tone? Yet you'd rather have a bowl of Froot Loops?) 

Modern life, hectic as it is, provides many with the idea (aka excuse), that we don't have the time to whip up a bowl of goody-filled porridge.

In fact, one of the very nutritious, tasty porridges (More than half your daily need of omega-3 fatty acids is in that bowl of porridge and enough manganese to quench your daily requirement.) - Oatmeal, takes just 10-15 minutes.

It's so simple, and perfect for either a salty or sweet meal. (Just add by taste, a drop of butter; lightly grated cheese, or go for something sweet instead, dried fruits, a hint of vanilla, dash of sugar, cinnamon, jam, honey.. endless. )  - And most of all, takes so little effort to prepare a healthy, delish bowl of Oatmeal. 

Oatmeal! 

Serves 2

-  Two thirds of a cup of Oat flakes

-  One - two cup(s) of water 

-  Half a cup of cream - (Or use one and a half cups of milk and one cup of water*)

-  Dash of salt & sugar. (Always go for brown Demerara sugar instead of refined if possible.)

Grab a little saucepan, turn the heat to medium, and add the water (Save yourself time and bring the water to boil in a kettle.) Add a drop of salt, oats and stir on medium heat, give a little dash of sugar. 

Stir until the water is nearly absorbed. (3-5min.) - Add your cream (or Milk.*). Keep stirring and turn the heat on low, letting the porridge simmer for a minute or two. Stir enough so the porridge doesn't burn to the bottom. A fresh pot of delicious, healthy goodness is ready! 

Serve with stuff  to your liking (Try with a little sugar, cinnamon and diced apple - or go for the more traditional approach! - jams, honey, butter, fruits...)

     

                                                                                        Enjoy! 

* The reason why I use cream instead of milk - Cream and thicker products like yoghurt are much easier to  

    handle for lacto-intolerants.

    Even if you're not lactose-intolerant, cream gives your porridge a much nicer consistency and richer taste.

Healthy, Affordable stuff - Grains!

Something that really fits the bill when talking about low-priced, nutritious and tasty.
Grains - Oats, Rye, Wholewheat, Brown Rice, Buckwheat, Millet and so on.

Their nutritional values are often different combinations of various vitamins and nutrients, more common being;
Dietary fiber - Stuff that helps maintain normal blood and cholesterol levels and helps your tummy digest all the noms you eat.
Magnesium -  Stuff that keeps you relaxed(nerves, muscles) and helps the blood circulation.
Manganese - Stuff that helps your body synthesize fatty acids and cholesterol, also maintain strong, healthy bones!
Tryptophan - Stuff that helps you sleep better and keep your appetite in order, also helps elevate your mood!
Selenium - Stuff that helps protect your cells and joints.

Grain has many shapes and forms as a final product when it gets on our table. Grain can be used for making many types of flour, providing one of the most commonly known grain product - Bread.
Today our bread is much more than just a simple combination of flour, water and a leavening agent. As the culinary cultures collide, we share recipes and techniques - forming new recipes with ideas borrowed from traditional ones and adding our own, giving unique tweaks here and there. It can be made in so many different ways! Bake it, steam it or even fry your bread.
Bread, especially with  loads of grains and seeds is a very powerful food, packed with tons of hearty stuff



Another very well known way of preparing and consuming grains is porridge, what better way to start a day!
Porridge, mostly savory and neutral salty/sweet-wise that can be served with a variety of additives  ( Butter, Jam, Fruits, Berries, Sugar, Cinnamon etc. )
And all that nutritious, tasty goodness doesn't kill your budget!
Instead helps build a healthy body & mind.
Also, incredibeasily made!


And Muesli, something so simple, delicious and affordable! Muesli has been a favourite breakfast along with porridge since childhood for me.
If you're not satisfied with the commercial, factory-combined muesli, you can always grab a bag of oats or rye flakes, some dried, or even fresh fruits and berries, perhaps add in some nutty goodness? Oats, dried fruit and nuts naturally have a friendly expiration period, so if you're a fan of powerful, hearty breakfast, don't be afraid to mix and match on your own by picking muesli ingredients separately - you can always use the leftover ingredients to make porridge!

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the very first post on my very first blog!

The whole idea behind limonchili is to introduce ways and ideas how to create nutritious foods that leave the consumer, the cook and the purse happy.

We all know that students often make sacrifices when it comes to food - influenced by either the budget,

 confidence or attitude.

 I want to share ideas that would help any student at any level to create meals for less and provide the confidence by sharing simple, tested and loved recipes. 

Cooking can also be great "therapy".
The ways of how one can express creativity and ideas when it comes to cooking are endless - one of the reasons why it's so much fun!

A delicious, self-made meal always gives a sense of accomplishment - and a happy tummy!