 ROASTED COCONUT, LIME AND TAMARIND CURRY
This recipe, was not on the menu last week, but has crept into ‘favourites’ Easy to make and tastes delicious SERVES 4 300g short-grain brown rice/or basmati 1 red onion Coconut oil 2 cloves of garlic A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger 1 red chili 2 carrots a large bunch of fresh coriander 400g butternut squash 1 × 200g bag of spinach or other greens 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 1 tablespoon mustard seeds 1 × 400g tin of good chopped tomatoes 1 × 400g tin of coconut milk 2 tablespoons tamarind paste 50g unsweetened coconut flakes or desiccated coconut 2 un-waxed limes 2 tablespoons maple syrup Method Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Fill and boil a kettle and get all your ingredients together. Put a big saucepan on a medium heat. Get your rice on. Weigh out the rice in a mug or measuring jug, making a note of the level it comes up to, then rinse it in cold water and put it into the pan. Fill the mug to the same level with water and add to the pan, then repeat so you have double the volume of water to rice. Add a good pinch of salt, bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the red onion. Put a teaspoon of coconut oil into another large saucepan, add the onion and cook on a high heat for 5 minutes, until soft. Chop the garlic, ginger and chili and put to one side. Peel the carrots and chop into 0.5cm rounds. Chop the coriander stalks; put the leaves to one side. Once the onion is soft, add the garlic, ginger, carrots and coriander stalks to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes. Cut the squash in half lengthways (there is no need to peel) and then into quarters. Remove the seeds, and then cut into thin 0.5cm slices. Wash the spinach and remove any tough stalks. Add the fennel and mustard seeds to the pan and allow to cook until the mustard seeds start popping, then add the squash, chopped tomatoes, coconut milk and tamarind paste. Put a lid on the pan and simmer on a medium-high heat for 20 minutes, until you have a thick, flavorsome curry. Top up with a little hot water from the kettle if it gets too thick. Meanwhile, line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Put the coconut flakes on the tray and grate over the zest of 1 lime. Pour over the maple syrup and put into the oven for 5 minutes, until turning golden at the edges. When the rice is ready, drain it and keep it warm. Once the curry is cooked, stir in the spinach and the coriander leaves and squeeze in the juice of both the limes. Spoon some rice into your bowls and ladle the curry over the top. Scatter the roasted coconut on top and finish with more coriander, if you like.  If, like me you have not played much over winter months, you will be desperate to be on the course as soon as possible, but be patient! After a winter’s hibernation, your body will not be ready for the repetition and dynamics of your swing. So before you hit the range and the buckets of balls, prepare your body for the best golf season so far! Our golf fitness trainer and former Ladies European Tour Golfer Charlotte Ellis has compiled a set of Golf tips and preparation exercises, which if performed consistently (and properly) will increase your range of motion, your power and ultimately... help to reduce your handicap.
On Sunday 15th April we will be running a Ladies Only Golf specific exercise session to help you get you in the groove for the forthcoming golf season! We believe that the fitter you are, the better your golf game! This one off session with golf fitness expert Charlotte Ellis will show you exercises to help improve your postural strength, stability, mobility and power. She will teach you series of golf specific exercises to aid your warm up and help you perform your best swing consistently and powerfully. Spaces are limited, so please book early! Date - Sunday 15th April Time -10.30am Venue -Personal Best Studio Cost £15 per person We are delighted to welcome Charlotte Ellis to our studio team. Charlotte is a fully qualified PT and former Ladies European Tour golfer. Having retired through injury Charlotte understands the drawbacks of injury and the subsequent rehab and gym work required to get back to fitness. Throughout the 1000’s of hours of coaching, practice and training for golf over the last 15 years Charlotte has gained a good understanding of the mechanics of the golf swing and how to get the most out of one’s game. Her experiences on the Tour have enabled her to work with many a keen golfer from amateur to professional. Charlotte believes that training to reach your goals should always be fun and varied; incorporating different styles of training to make sure you will stay motivated and keep coming back. In conjunction with the mobility work, Charlotte uses a mixture of boxing, high intensity training, cardiovascular exercise, bodyweight and strength training and plyometric work. Finding the right blend and fitness style for you to help progress, reach and surpass your fitness goals. Charlotte loves all things sport. As well as golf, she enjoys tennis, hockey and skiing. She also has a passion for driving! In her spare time, Charlotte enjoys spending time with her 5 dogs, meeting up with friends, listening to music, cooking, baking and creating things. Charlotte is available on Monday 2- 6pm Tuesday 1.30 – 5pm Wednesday 1-6pm Thursday 11- 6.30pm   Exercising in a community can bring a whole host of intertwined benefits that include enhancing consistency, duration, motivation, conversation and inspiration.
Studies have shown that those who started a weight-loss program with friends are far more likely to complete the program, compared to those for those who try to tackle the program alone. Group workouts can also have huge mental advantages over working out alone. While the releases of endorphins from exercise is well known, exercising in a group setting can lead to the release of endorphins outside of just physical exertion! Having fun, laughing and smiling has been shown to increase endorphin levels in studies. So when you’re in a great class with a great group of people that kind of conviviality can really make you feel fantastic!  The Beast from the East, or what they call ‘Thursday’ in Norway took its toll last week, but hopefully your pipes are all in order and you are ready to put away your winter clothes and enjoy the spring!
Norway have been in the news a lot recently, not only did they achieve great success at the Pyeong Chang, Winter Olympics with a total of 39 medals, setting a new record for the most medals won by a country at a Winter Olympics. But they have been able to watch with great smugness, (in our house anyway!) as we British struggle with a ‘light dusting’ of snow! To top it all they have provided me with the title for this month’s newsletter! Dugnad is a Norwegian term for voluntary work done as a community or collective. Volunteer members come together to help build clubhouses, or with any necessary work for families or individuals in need of help. The tradition of the Dugnad can be traced back to the rural communities of the 14th and 15th centuries. Dugnad was definitely in the air last week as communities pulled together to help clear roads, check on neighbours, offer lifts or buy groceries. With a cynical eye on the large charities and their indiscretions it is great to hear of local communities pulling together to help raise funds for the local ‘community run’ shop. (Amberley Villagers held a quiz night recently, where 150 villagers took part to raise over £2k for the community shop!). Dugnad was also on the menu at our Pop Up Bistro in aid of Best4Ben, which we are delighted to announce raised over £1000 with no reports of food poisoning or nausea! We are all so pleased to have attempted such a night and delighted that all 42 diners appeared to have enjoyed the evening and the food! If we were not already aware, the Bistro night confirmed that, we are blessed with a fantastic team and a truly supportive client base in an amazing community! And for this we are truly grateful. There are many people we would like to thank for making the fundraiser such a huge success, they are: Lewis & Dav, for their excellent guitar playing https://www.facebook.com/lewisanddavguitar/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9wq-IbK_q-B4q6MlRuuwiA Vinotopia in Tetbury for supplying all the wine for the evening www.vinotopiawine.co.uk The exceptional salmon was supplied by Nick Dance @ Love Smoked in South Woodchester! He has a stall at the Shambles Market every Friday in Stroud [email protected] www.lovesmoked.com Our lovely chicken was supplied by County Quality Meats of Nailsworth. Emily Murray, Cupcake Queen of the Five Valleys @ Nom Nom for the loan of her kitchen and eggs! https://www.facebook.com/nomnomcupcakery/ Minchinhampton Golf Club and Graham and Michaela @ Shruti designs for their generous raffle prizes http://www.shrutidesigns.co.uk/ Woodchester Valley wines for their donation of wines for the Raffle www.woodchestervalleyvineyard.co.uk Plus thanks to everyone else who donated a raffle prize Finally a big thank you to Matt & Hannah @ Wild Garlic Restaurant & Rooms for agreeing to my idea and the loan of their kitchen and restaurant www.wild-garlic.co.uk I hope that we can support all of the above in the near future! If you missed out on the evening, but would like to make a donation, here is the link https://gogetfunding.com/best4ben/ |
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