Something a little different : )

Today has been a lovely day of time spent with my sister, niece and nephew, shopping and domesticity! Shopping today centred around the home, I purchased some 'needed' items (muffin baking trays x2, new dishcloths and a micro-fibre cleaning mitt!) and some 'wanted' items (a little 'home' sign to hang in my hallway and a little votive for my bookshelf). I love being on school holiday because I have so much more time to browse, completely at ease, no rushing around and dashing from one place to the next! Even food shopping becomes more of a pleasure! On our way home, my sister and I stopped off at a lovely local farm shop called Perry Court Farm where I finished my shopping by buying over a weeks worth of fruit and veg (and all under £9!)

Back at home, I decided to try my hand at a couple of new recipes from one of my favourite cook books: Sally Bee: The Recipe for Life. I also have Sally's previous book The Secret Ingredient, and I love them both in equal measure. If you have not heard of Sally Bee, in a nutshell, she is a survivor of an almost fatal heart attack which she suffered in her 3os - with the help of a nutritionist, she has gone on to devise heart healthy recipes for all the family, and she shares these recipes in her books. I love to make these recipes and have adapted many of my old favourites to the 'Sally' way, with extra healthy ingredients added in. Nutrition and exercise are extremely important to me, and I get a huge sense of achievement out of feeding myself and hubby such healthy, home-cooked food. My latest fad is for home-grown veg, which I am receiving a steady flow of, courtesy of my sister's neighbour and his allotment - this organic produce makes me feel even healthier and quite saintly! I really hope to pass this healthy attitude towards food on to my children one day. I always loved vegetables and still do: I really hope I don't end up with children who turn their nose up at broccoli and refuse to eat it!

Anyway, back to dinner! I decided to make a tomato and red lentil soup as a starter, with enough left over for both our lunches tomorrow. The soup was pretty simple and had a nice kick thanks to the addition of a couple of teaspoons of curry powder. For our main meal, I made Sally's chicken korma with rice.

1) Finely chop a red pepper, courgette and a good handful of green beans. Put these to one side for now.

2) Chop up 2 medium sized onions and set to one side. Peel and dice a medium sized apple (any type will do, I used a golden delicious). On the stove, add a splash of olive oil to a large heavy based pan, and saute the onion and apple for 3 minutes, until the onion starts to soften. Add 2 crushed cloves of garlic and let cook for another minute or so.

3) Add the vegetables from earlier to the pan, and cook over a medium heat for another 5 minutes.

4) Add 2 teaspoons of medium curry powder to the pan and stir in. (If you like things spicy, add another teaspoon). Stir in 2 diced chicken breasts, and stir quickly, allowing the chicken to pick up and seal in the curry powder. Let the chicken cook thoroughly ensuring there is no pink left (about 5 minutes)

5) Make up a chicken stock with 3 chicken stock cubes and 350ml of boiling water. Pour this into the pan and add 2 tablespoons of tomato puree and one teaspoon of garam masala. Bring to the boil and then turn back down to a low heat, allowing to simmer for 25-30 minutes.

6) Stir in 4 tablespoons of low-fat creme fraiche. This will make the sauce creamy but will not add too many calories or fat. Cook for another 2 minutes but do not allow to boil. Lastly, add a good shake of black pepper and stir.

7) Serve with basmati rice, and add another tablespoon on creme fraiche on top of the curry if desired.

Just thought I would share as this turned out very yummy indeed, and hubby loved it! The apple keeps everything nice and sweet and you can rest assured knowing that this is a wonderfully healthy recipe too : ) Hope you are all having fun weeks xoxo