The Brunch Bunch

Monday again - where on earth did the weekend go!? Only one thing for it, get planning next weekend and what better place to start than breakfasts to be gobbled up in a duvet cocoon...

So here's three scrum recipes to give you a little brekspiration!

Baked Eggs in Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients

2 Portobello Mushrooms

2 Eggs

Couple of Cherry Tomatoes 

Feta 

Parmesan grated

This is the perfect breakfast in bed meal. Hop up and grab your dressing gown. Preheat your oven to 180 C. Take two mushrooms and scoop out a little of the inside if you need to make some extra room. Put the mushrooms in a baking tray. Chop up your cherry tomatoes and scatter inside the mushrooms. Crack an egg into each mushroom. Crumble the feta and scatter it over the eggs and then top with a sprinkle of parmesan. Bake in the oven until the eggs are set. Climb back into bed and devour with a cup of strong coffee and a good book. 

Shakshuka

Ingredients
1 onion finely chopped
1 red pepper thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic crushed
4 Eggs
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Paprika
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 jar of Pasata
2 tsp of Tomato Paste
Feta 
Handful of Coriander
Handful of Mint

This was inspired by sun soaked brunches in Sydney - the most scrumptious brunch best eaten straight out of the pan. Preheat the oven to 180 C. While you're waiting for it to warm up, take a frying pan and gently fry the onion and pepper until its soft. Add the garlic and fry for another couple of minutes. Now add the cumin, paprika and cayenne and cook for a minute. Pour in the pasata and add the tomato paste, season and let the sauce simmer away for ten minutes. Stir in half the crumbled feta. Use a spoon to make four little dips in the sauce and crack an egg into each. Scatter the rest of the crumbled feta across the top of the pan. Put the pan in the oven and bake until the eggs have set. Pull out and top with the chopped fresh herbs. Serve with big hunks of bread for dipping.

Overnight Protein Oats

Ingredients

50g Greek Yoghurt

100ml Almond Milk

1 Apple Grated

1 scoop of Vanilla Protein Powder

pinch of Ground Cinnamon

50g Rolled Oats

Handful of Blueberries

Scattering of Grated Orange Zest

This delicious and super easy breakfast is borrowed from the Body Coach and is our new post-training meal. The night before you want to have this for breakfast put all the ingredients except the blueberries and orange zest in a big bowl. Mix it all up and then pop it in the fridge overnight. In the morning pop it in a bowl and top with blueberries and a scattering of orange zest.

3BM Kitchen: Chickpea Curry

With the bitter wintry London weather finally setting in, all Mini Mouse and I feel like doing at the minute is hibernating. Hiding away from Jack Frost, wrapped up in cosy cashmere with a big hearty dinner ... well that's exactly what we did yesterday night! As Mondays are notoriously THE worst day of the week, as soon as 5.30pm struck we skidaddled out of work, zipped in and out of dawdling tourists on Carnaby Street, hopped on the central line and we were home in a jiffy!

 

So what culinary delight did we whip up I hear you ask! Well fellow Mice let me tell you it went down a treat, some would say a rip-roaring success! A divine, light and healthy chickpea and tomato curry with a kick. Designed to be of the veggie variety but we threw in some extra chicken for good measure - why not! Seriously delicious and so quick and easy to make...

Ingredients - serves 2:

 

1 tsp of cumin
2 tsp of chopped coriander
1 tbsp of coconut oil
1 white onion
2 inches of grated ginger
2 cloves of garlic

1 chicken breast
400g of tomatoes
400g can of chickpeas
Half a fresh red chilli
1 tsp of garam masala
salt and pepper

1. Kick the recipe off by getting your prepping arse in gear! Get your chickpeas ready to go and your ingredients sliced and diced...

2. Next dry fry the cumin and coriander in a pan...

3. Finely dice your onion and add to the pan with your coconut oil - sauté for five minutes

4. Throw your crushed garlic into the pan with your ginger and add a good few twists of cracker pepper, stir for a minute

5. Next add your tomatoes, chickpeas, chilli and garam masala - allow to bubble away and cook for 30 minutes

6. Serve up! Done & done...

3BM Kitchen : Salmon in Chraimeh Sauce...

There's been so much going on lately that we've barely managed to eat a good home-cooked meal let alone blog about one! So we thought it was time to take some down time this weekend and dig out our trusty Ottolenghi Jerusalem cookbook! 

Now, this one sounds simple and nothing too crazy, which is all true, however it's oh so delicious and will have you your dinner guests licking every scrap from their plates! The perfect solution if you've got friends round and don't want to spend hours holed-up in the kitchen alone. From start to finish, it'll take you about 30 minutes. The flavours from the spices, garlic and chilli create a deep intense sauce and, if you get your cooking times bang on, the fish is so tender it melts in your mouth!

Here's how this little winner is done!!

You Need...

55ml sunflower oil
2 tbsp plain flour
2 salmon steaks, on the bone (we used fillets and it was super tasty!)
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tbsp caraway seeds, dry-toasted and freshly ground
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 green chilli, roughly chopped
75ml water
11/2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp caster sugar
1 lemon (to serve & 1 tbsp juice)
1 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
Salt and black pepper

How To...

1. Heat two tablespoons of oil in your pan over high heat.

2. Add the flour to a bowl, season with salt and pepper and add the fish. Turn to coat well. 

3. Shake off any excess flour and sear the fish for a few minutes until golden. Remove and put the fish to the side.

4. Add the garlic, spices, chilli, and 2 tablespoons of the oil into your food processor and whizz together to form a thick paste.

5. Pour the rest of the oil into your pan, heat well, and add your paste. Cook for 30 seconds stirring at all times so the spices don't burn.

  

6. Add the water and tomato puree to your pan, bring to a simmer and then add the sugar, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

7. Add the golden fish to the sauce, bring to a gentle simmer and cover the pan for 7-11 minutes.

8. Serve atop a bed of rice, sprinkled with chopped coriander with a wedge of lemon and enjoy!! 

This Week The Mice Have Mostly Been...

OMG it's only the....

And we're freaking EXCITED!! In a mere matter of hours you can click 'shut down', exhale, grab a cocktail and bask in the blissful feeling of 48 hours of pure relaxation and FUN!! 

This weekend we're heading home to Daddy Mouse's for a couple of days filled with delicious food, an endless supply of wine (parents never seem to run out?!) and a few peaceful nights sleep in our childhood bedrooms...there seriously is nothing like it!

When we haven't been counting down the days, hours and minutes until the weekend...The Mice Have Mostly Been...

Battling on with our clean eating approach...the getting lean is still to be seen...I'm such a poet! Believe it or not our daily green juices are flowing, gym sessions and morning runs are being squeezed in and our brains are continually whirring coming up with healthy yet tasty dinners! 

It's no easy feat but we seem to be hating the early morning alarms a little less, resisting the slabs of banana loaf in Whole Foods and are teaching our tummies to love a juice breakfast and not rumble from 10am onwards! These days the hardest part is constantly trying to think of new and inventive dinner options...ones we can still look forward to all day but aren't so calorific that they negate all your other good work! 

So I think it's only fair to share those good ones we do find to give you all some inspiration! This one is very easy, open to lots of adaption of whatever is left in the fridge and bursting full of delicious flavour. It's not the most photogenic one for a post but I enjoyed it so much I thought what the hell!! 

Brown Rice Noodle Soup with Spicy Pork and Greens

Below makes 2 large servings - if you're going to eat soup for dinner I believe it should be a large serving!!

You need...

250g pork mince
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes / fresh chili
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon sesame oil
950ml chicken stock
1-2 handfuls of kale, center ribs removed and leaves roughly chopped
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
Sea saly
Fresh ground pepper
120g noodles (wholemeal if you're being healthy!)

How to...

1. Place the pork, garlic, ginger, crushed chilies and cumin in a bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients.

2. Heat the sesame oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, when hot add the pork mixture. Cook for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned, stir gently so not to break up too much.

3. Add the chicken stock, bring it to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for 10 mins.

4. Add the kale, spring onions, soy sauce and fish sauce, and cook for 6-8 mins until the greens are wilted. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

5. Meanwhile cook the noodles...

6. Serve the noodles directly into your bowls and ladle the warm soup over them...ENJOY!!

Flying like billyo over to Selfridges to get our mitts on some much desired cinema tickets! Yup you heard it right...Selfridges have opened the first ever department store cinema and they've only gone and paired up with the fabulous Everyman group! 

We're loving that the opening bill of films have been picked by iconic fashion designers...what could be better after a stressful day in the office than settling down in chic surroundings to Marc Jacob's and Oscar De La Renta's favourite movies?!

As it's not just a pop up, the listing will be updated with a mix of all time favourites, new releases and even a preview screening of the new woody Allen film later this month!

Rumour has it you can also order nibbles and a sneaky tipple...PERFECTION!!!

 

Chilling to the amazing new album from Banks, Goddess. Now I know we've sung her praises numerous times before, but she really is something pretty special. With her hauntingly beautiful vocals, raw emotion and distinctive edge, she's the perfect mix of cool.

Listen to a couple of our new obsessions...

Right I think it's about time that you...

3BM Cooks : Sizzling Saganaki...

As promised last week, Mini mouse and I enjoyed many a rip-roaring foodie feasts in France a few weeks back. Our number one favourite has to be prawn saganaki, which we spied on The Londoner's blog before we headed off for sunshine, relaxation and overindulgence! We banked the recipe and whipped it up for our first meal of the trip. In summary - one to remember! Tasty, filling and monstrously moreish! So...

...here we are sharing the food love...

Ingredients for two:

300g king prawns (raw ones and the bigger the better)
2 cloves of garlic
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
2 handfuls cherry tomatoes
A glass of white wine
A handful of feta
Chili flakes, dried oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Warm your frying pan up add the oil and get that garlic gently cooking. Keep stirring it and keep the pace up, there's nothing worse than burnt garlic! Once cooked, throw the prawns in and add your chilli flakes, oregano, salt & pepper

2. Once the prawns have turned, remove them and place them to the side. Then add your white wine and tommy toms to the sizzling pan and simmer away

3. Leave to reduce for five minutes and then add your tinned toms and leave to cook 

4. Once the cherry tomatoes are tender, your dish is ready to serve! YAY! This is the point at which you throw your prawns back into the mix and stir, stir, stir 

5. Lastly crumble your feta on top and serve up with fresh, hot, crusty bread - best sourced from France!!