To Market

I had all the best intentions of eating healthy at the start of the New Year but I just never quiet got around to it. There was a plethora of excuses but this weekend was the real start of healthy eating for me. It all started with a trip to The Orange Grove food growers Market with my friends Heidi and Sharon. Now when I say it all stated what I actually mean is after we had the compulsory fried egg and maple smoked bacon roll with a latte. We meet at the market very early and to be honest don't start chatting until after the roll and coffee have been ordered. It's all about priorities.

I am a morning person and J, quiet simply, is not. The most I could hope for was an answer to the question - "Do you want something sweet or savoury?". The answer was savoury. I have bought delicious meat pies here in the past which went down very well so I was on the lookout for the Pie Man. But to no avail unfortunately so I decided to go with the Blue cheese and muscatels. I love Blue Cheese with a nice bottle of Muscat after dinner - which we had on Sunday.



But where is the healthy eating in all this? Well between bacon & egg rolls and blue cheese purchases I picked up some excellent organic fruit and veg. I have been consulting the cook books recently for some nice soup recipes and wanted to make a few batches that I could keep in the freezer. I was very industrious and made Pumpkin & Coriander soup and Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup. Of course I had to have a little taste before storing it away in the freezer.

Serves 4
2 Red Peppers
2 tblsp Olive oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 tblsp Tomato paste
750g ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cups veg stock
1 handful basil, torn

1. Preheat oven to 180oC (360oF)
2. Place peppers in a shallow baking dish skin side up and drizzle with half the olive oil. Roast for 25 mins or until softened.
3. Remove from the oven, then cover with foil and allow to cool slightly. Peel off and discard skin and roughly chop flesh.
4. Heat remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft.
5. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook for 2 mins, stirring constantly. Add pepper, tomato and stock, then cover and simmer for 15 mins.
6. Allow to cool slightly, then puree using a blender or hand-held processor. Season to taste.
7. Reheat soup and serve sprinkled with basil.
[from the CSIRO total wellbeing diet]

To use up all those lovely summer fruits I made a very virtuous fruit salad and yoghurt. Nothing tastes better than fruits when they are in season. I was once again in Berry heaven.

I'm not sure how long this healthy eating will last so I am making the most of it for now.