TICOW* : The Food Edition

Do you ever get overwhelmed by a craving for a particular food or ingredient? When the desire, the need, for that particular thing is so strong that you have no choice but to go out and procure it, and possibly waste a day googling related recipes? This happens to me on a fairly regular basis. So here's some *Things I'm Currently Obsessed With, the food edition.

Silver beet and fennel. I don't think I've eaten silver beet (aka chard) since I was living at my Mum's house (and that was quite some years ago!). But lately I can't get enough of the stuff, especially when it's paired with fennel. I love chopping them both up and sautéing them in some olive oil and butter until the silver beet starts to wilt and the fennel starts to soften. It's become my go to home alone meal when served with brown rice and quinoa, a fried egg, tomato relish and a bit of feta crumbled over the top. So freaking yum! 

Soup. The colder weather just screams for soup doesn't it? And they are so quick and easy to throw together (unless you're tackling one of those two day recipes involving oxtail...). I usually make a giant batch and freeze several portions so they're on hand when I'm home alone and a bit over the idea of cooking (a frequent occurrence).

The current favourite - which is actually a contender for my most favourite soup ever - combines silver beet and fennel (hurrah!) with chicken and chickpeas, and a squeeze of lemon juice. It is very, very good. The recipe is from Bi-Rite Market's Eat Good Food, and you can find it here if you want to make it yourself. Note: I poach chicken breasts in the soup and then shred them. Also, I've tried adding some torn fresh basil just before serving and that was super tasty too! 

The second soup I'm currently obsessed with is a spicy and sour 'detox' soup bought from a local deli. It's a simple broth with fresh herbs, cherry tomatoes, noodles, tofu, chilli and lemon.

Fruit salad. Especially with loads of watermelon; I could eat all the watermelon right now. Which is a bit weird because it's winter. I should be craving slow roasted veggies and mash, and citrus fruits... But, we are blessed to live in a country that can accommodate my non-seasonal cravings, so fruit salad it is. Made all the better when you add Yalla's stewed rhubarb and ginger to the mix.

Chocolate. Nutritionists and health freaks cover your ears please because I'm about to make a confession: I eat chocolate every, single day. Often with my breakfast. I'm partial to a mini Milky Way, and lately I've also been loving a bit of Old Gold rum and raisin (so retro!), but this Koko Black macadamia and cranberry bar had me swooning. So creamy! And I've just discovered you can buy them on line. Dear lord. Help. 

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What are you currently eating? Do you have any odd cravings? Care to share a favourite soup recipe? 

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ps. I started drafting this post a few weeks ago, which was quite fortuitous as if I had of written it all today it would just be twenty photos of bread, pasta, rice and more bread. You see, I'm currently at the tail end of a grain free week (part of a challenge from a Facebook based nutrition course I've joined for some ridiculous reason). I've spent the week feeling very hungry and faintly nauseous, and weeping whenever I've seen a sandwich or a noodle. It's been an interesting experiment, and has made me rethink my severe grain dependency, but grain free won't become a habit for me. Whatever the opposite of coeliac disease is, I'm pretty sure I've got it.