Sesame Street

Sometimes I get lost; I loose my bearings, even with a map. And then, I decide to put the map away and follow my nose, my gut, my instincts, whatever you want to call them, and hey presto, more often than not, I find a way.

Me sitting outside a cafe, enjoying afternoon tea in autumn!

Names and associations, people and faces, food and taste buds, all share one thing in common - you. How we see the world, our experience of it, and perception of pretty much everything, is determined by our feelings and how we respond to them. Feeling good about food improves our quality of life; we have to eat, so why not enjoy it? Why not embrace meal moments with love?

From day dot we began an amazing journey, gorgeous meals along the way keep us floating and flowing smoothly. I love watching and listening to waves, an almost perfect sound, Salvador Dali said, “Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it”, I agree, well not in this world anyway. Perfection carries with it a knot of inadequacy, the very concept creates disharmony. Perfection is not my cup of tea. When I need some calm I look to the sea, so smooth yet tempestuous, so deeply splendid yet dangerous, so invitingly wondrous! Alternatively I look at a beautiful picture, not a perfect one mind you.

Sometimes I meditate, whilst looking at a rose!

Some of my favourite meals start in the sea. I love tuna and this combo is bombastic and delicious! I think you’ll love it to. Simply delicious, it’s very easy to make and makes midweek suppers a total delight. Tuna is a healing fish if ever there was, among its magical qualities to embrace, lowers blood pressure, may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and is an excellent source of protein, packed with omega-3, so your glossy mane will be even shinier;-) And your memory will receive a happy boost too!

 Special Tip – Listen to your intuition in the kitchen. If something feels too thick, it probably is, if the recipe says one thing and you’re sure its wrong, trust yourself and remember cooking is an expression of your taste, you’re the best person to decide what that means to you.

Though Mummies, pregnant women, and young children, please go easy on tuna. Like all things balance is the key. Especially avoid blue fin tuna, it’s facing extinction – Look for the blue msc tick, this applies to buying fish in general.

The recipe I’m sharing has a coat from antiquity,” Open sesame!” Yep, this nutty tasting delight bursts open when it reaches maturity – the seed contains two unique substances, sesamin and sesamolin, which protects the liver from oxidative damage, so after a few servings each week you’ll be feeling great, they also reduce pain and swelling for those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

I love to serve these with a raw courgette salad and brown rice. They’d go well with whole-wheat noodles too.

Tuna Cakes

Serves 4 as a main – 6 as a starter

Tuna steaks, 450g

Egg yolk, 1

Sesame seeds 150g, in a small bowl

Dried chilli, ½ crushed

Olive 0il 1 tbsp

Red onion 1 finely chopped

Garlic clove, 1 finely chopped

Egg, 1 whisked in a small bowl

WHIZZ tuna in a blender.

STIR in egg yolk and season well, leave to one side.

HEAT oil in pan and lightly fry onion and garlic for a few minutes.

MIX onion and garlic with tuna and sprinkle in chilli, stir well.

MOULD pattie like cakes, roughly the size of a golf ball, flatten slightly.

DIP tuna cakes in whisked egg and then into sesame seeds.

PLACE on a sheet of baking parchment and chill until ready to serve.

These are great to make in advance and take minutes to cook.

FRY on a medium heat for a couple of minutes either side.

DELIGHT in these deliciously savoury cakes!

YUM