We've been eating more fish in our home in recent years, and moving away from red meat.  Poultry and fish is what we eat most of the time now, with the odd piece of red meat.  Not only is fish delicious but it is a lot better for you at the end of the day.

 

Fish is filled with omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins such as D and B2 (riboflavin). It is also rich in calcium and phosphorus and a great source of minerals, such as iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and potassium. The Heart Association recommends eating fish at least two times per week as part of a healthy diet.

 

A few weeks back I got some fish from Seafresh, the online fish monger.  I really like their products and their service. Not only is their fish of a really high quality and provenance, but the packaging and delivery service is impeccable.  Everything arrives in a timely manner, frozen, well wrapped and expertly packaged. All of their packaging is environmentally friendly.  Their fish and seafood is sustainably sourced and is frozen in as short a time possible after harvesting, at the source of the catch, which means that you are getting the freshest fish and seafood that you can possibly buy.  There really is a marked difference between their fish and others I have tasted. I also find that they have wonderful customer service, much better than a lot of other food product companies I have dealt with. They really DO want your experience with them to be the best and it shows in the care and attention given to every detail.

  

Included in my order was some Tilapia. I love trying new kinds of fish and this was one I had not eaten before.  I told my friends about it and immediately I got some negative feedback from a few people on Tilapia.  I was then a bit uncertain as what to do about it.

 

But you know, people say a lot of negative things about certain foods without really knowing what they are talking about and so I decided to research it a bit, and here is a bit about what I found out.

 

Its a farm-raised fish with a mild tasting and flaky, yet firm flesh. Loaded with nutrition, it is also very versatile. You can fry it for tacos, cook it in a soup or a stew,  or broil it and stick it in a bun.  Its happy and delicious any way you decided to cook it. Although it is a fish that is native to the Middle East it is now grown in fisheries in more than 80 different countries.  Truth be told, the fish that Jesus served to his followers was most probably, Tilapia, and this is according to Biblical Scholars.

 

Not only is it a very affordable fish, but Americans eat more than 1 pound of tilapia per person per year.  That's a lot of fish!  3 ounces of Tilapia only contains 111 calories but delivers 22.8g of protein, and only 2.3g of fat, with 0g of carbohydrates!  It may not contain as many heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids as Salmon would per se, but it still packs a lot more than beef, pork, chicken or turkey.

 

It is also high in Omega-6 fats largely due to its diet of corn. Omega-6 is a fatty acid your body can't make on its own and helps to keep your cholesterol down, also helping to prepare your muscle cells to respond to insulin, which is the hormone which is responsible for turning sugars into energy. This is great news for Diabetics. 

Some of the negativity was in relation to it being a ground feeder.  Well, Lobster is a ground feeder and people pay big bucks to eat that.  So are prawns, crab, etc.  All very popular.  Part of the reason it IS so great for your cholesterol is because it is a ground feeder.  

After all the research I did, I came to one conclusion and that was nothing really negative about it and I have to say I felt good about eating it, and I feel good at recommending it.  This is a healthy, delicious, nutritious and versatile fish.  End of.

   

Today I cooked it simply.  I ground some pistachios up to a fairly fine powder (in my coffee/spice grinder).  A few larger bits got through but hey all round they were pretty fine. You want it to stay fine and not grind into a butter if you know what I mean.  I mixed that with some lemon zest, seasoned the fish, coated it in the nut powder and simply fried it in a bit of olive oil, for a few minutes on each side.  The end result was fabulously delicious served with some lemon squeezed over top and sweet potato and new potato wedges.  Todd had to have his peas.  He loves peas with fish.  This was a winner of a fish dinner!

 

Just look at how moist and flaky that fish is.  A beautiful white colour and fabulous flavour. I highly recommend!! 

Seafresh source their Tilapia fillets from Asian waters, and highly sustainable sources. Its flavour is a cross between cod and plaice, with a slight sweetness in the flesh as well.  We thought it was simply fabulous. Delicious, affordable, sustainable, healthy. You just can't go wrong!  This is a new favourite in our house!

If you would like to know  more about other Seafresh products please click here.  You really can't go wrong! 

A few things about Seafresh:

  

 

I normally like to bake my husband something special at the weekend. Usually it is a cake, but we already had some cake in. (I bought a lemon loaf at Costco on Thursday.) 

 

I thought maybe some  muffins or squares.  Then I picked up this book and went looking through.  

Its a cookbook I picked up at Marks & Spencer a while back.  The recipes in it always turn out. So far not a dud in the bunch. 

 

I did have rather a lot of dessert apples so when I spied the recipe for Upside-down Toffee Apple Brownies, I thought  to myself *DING *DING * DING  this is it!  

My husband loves apple anything!  Dessert apples are sweet eating apples, that you might eat out of hand.  

Think Red Delicious, Pink Ladies, Gala, Fuji, Honey Crisp or Golden Delicious! All are great Dessert Apples.  I had Pink Ladies. 

 

The recipe starts out much as an upside down cake would, with you melting butter and brown sugar together.  In this case light muscovado sugar.

 

Muscovado has a higher molasses count than regular brown sugar, but if you can't find muscovado use brown sugar. Or you could add 1 TBS of molasses to the mix. 

The sugar and butter mixture gets poured over the bottom of the pan and then you lay sliced apples evenly over top.

 

The batter is a simple one. Again, butter and muscavado sugar are creamed together.  

Some eggs get beaten in, and then a mixture of flour, baking powder and baking soda are stirred in, along with some ground mixed spice.

 

Don't worry, I have actually attached my recipe for making your own mixed spice right to my recipe this time!

 

Once that is all mixed together you fold in some grated eating apples and chopped toasted hazelnuts!  That's it.

 

Spread that over the apples in the pan and bake!

  

The end result is an incredibly moist and chewy cake type of brownie.  So tasty warm with a hot cuppa, or if you wanted to turn it into dessert a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream would also go very nicely.

 

My husband  was very happy with this bake.  He scarfed down two of them right away.  I don't know how he stays so thin.  We are like Jack Sprat and his Wife!  Never mind . . . we are who we are.  I hope you will try these delicious apple brownies. I think you will be well pleased with them! 

PS - After one session with the Chiropractor my back feels at least 50% better.  I can't wait for my next few sessions.  I bet I will soon be feeling better than I have in years! I highly recommend!

 

One thing which I have always loved about the UK is all of the food traditions and superstitions they have surrounding the holidays and holy-days of the year.  

Halloween is also known as All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.

 

Soul Cakes are old English traditional cakes that are usually baked on Halloween. 

On this day of the year, in years gone past, Children would go 'souling', on this day, singing from house to house for some of these tasty cakes. 

This was in all likelihood a precursor today's custom of children going  Trick-or-Treating. 

 

In Christian countries, and in the Roman Catholic church, prayers for the souls of the departed are reflected in the 3 day celebration of the commemoration of the departed which begins on the 31st of October, or All Hallow's Eve.

 

November 1st is known as All Saint's day, a day on which the souls of those who have departed are venerated  . . . 

 

And on the 2nd of November, we have All Souls' Day when the souls of those who have departed are prayed for . . . and in particular those family members who are still in purgatory and awaiting their entry into Heaven.

 

The souls of these people were believed to be spending a period of time suffering in Purgatory to pay for sins committed during their earthly lives.

  

Prayers and vigils were thought to ease their suffering, hasten their release from Purgatory and entry into Heaven. 

 

In early times, when England was a Catholic country, poor people stood at the wayside begging for food or money as ecclesiastical processions passed by.

 

In exchange for food and alms, they prayed for the souls of the dead. Traditionally, on All Souls Day, they were given soul cakes. 

One cake eaten was thought to release one soul from Purgatory, opening its way to Heaven.

 

Whatever the background behind these traditions one thing remains . . .  these are very delicious cakes. 

 

So delicious that between my husband and myself, we have released a good half a dozen souls today alone  . . .

 

And who knows how many we are going to release before we are finished.  All for the greater good! 

  

Seriously these are some very tasty cakes!  I really hope you will try them!

 

In modern times I cannot imagine allowing your children to beg at the side of the road or even door to door things such as baked goods.  You never know who you can trust or who you can't trust. Even candy wise, I think I would be a lot more circumspect in these modern times than I would have been in days gone by.  They call it progress  . . . 

 

As a child I was not overly fond of the flavour of pumpkin or winter squash for that matter.  Thankfully as an adult my opinion of such things has changed!  Pumpkin and squash are two of my favourite things!

 

Especially in the autumn, but then again that makes sense as that is the time of year that these gorgeous vegetables are available.  Or are they a fruit?

 

I looked it up and Good Housekeeping says that they are fruits.  Fruits are the fleshy or dry ripened ovary of any plant containing seeds.  When you think about it, babies are considered to be the fruit of your womb, so I guess that pumpkins and squashes are indeed fruits.

 

Fruit, vegetable, whatever  . . .  I don't care.  I just love them both roasted, mashed or baked into sweet bakes such as muffins, cakes, pies, cookies, etc.  They also make fabulous autumn soups.

 

I think one of the reasons they work so well in baked goods is the naturally affinity they have for the flavours of warm baking spices. 

 

Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom . . . vanilla.  All go very well with pumpkin . . .

 

But then again, so do garlic, chillies, curry, etc.  I guess they are quite happy either as a savoury treat or a sweet treat!

 

You will love these muffins. They are simple to make and smell heavenly when they are baking.

 

Moist and delicious, they are one of those mysterious baked goods whose flavour improves upon standing.

 

I always think they are at their best the day after they have been baked, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to enjoy one soon after they've been baked.

  

On the day, the day after, whenever!  These are delicious muffins no matter when you choose to enjoy them!  They are also great luncheon additions.

  

Try enjoying them along with a chicken or vegetable salad or even a bowl of soup.  A bit unconventional maybe, but really don't knock it until you try it!

 

I think pumpkin season is one of my favourite seasons of the year.  I say bring it on.  I know people go crazy for Pumpkin Spice.  I am trying to understand that.  You see pumpkin spice all sorts this time of year. Latte's, etc. Isn't pumpkin spice just cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger?  That's what I thought.  Its funny how people's minds work.  Anyways, I hope you will bake these and enjoy them as much as we do.  I enjoyed mine with a hot cup of apple spiced tea! Yum!