Winter is a great time for hitting the greens. Full of antioxidants and always versatile, these cold-weather foods are great to have on hand in your RV, writes Catherine Milford.
Love a leek
While you can get leeks year-round, they are in season in winter. They have a great story behind them too; although they are native to central Asia, they have been grown in Europe for thousands of years. Leeks have been the national emblem of Wales since 640AD when, according to legend, the Welsh defeated the Saxons by attaching leeks to their hats so they could recognise which ones were the enemy and not attack the wrong side.
Part of the onion family, leeks can be used in place of onions as a base for pretty much anything; they are particularly good as a base for soups if you’re not a fan of too much onion flavour. While many people only cook the white, don’t waste the green part; it’s often the best bit.
Low in calories (1 cup contains 54 calories), one cup of cooked leeks has more than 30% of your daily dose of Vitamins A and K; they also help strengthen your immune system. For an easy pasta meal, fry up leeks with chopped bacon, and cook spaghetti according to packet instructions. Toss the cooked leek and bacon through the pasta, add a knob of butter, and finish with a good sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
Kick off with a kiwi
Do yourself a favour: start and end your day with a couple of green kiwifruits. Although both green and gold varieties are great for you, green kiwifruit has more potassium and fibre and is lower in calories (two green kiwifruits have 90 calories; gold have 110 calories). Originally native to China, the main green kiwifruit grown here is the Hayward.
While most of us throw out the fuzzy exterior, it’s actually edible; give it a try! Kiwifruits may also improve your sleep – a study found that consuming kiwifruit for four weeks led to higher quality sleep for people with sleeping issues. Try a kiwifruit and green apple smoothie with a bit of coconut milk in the morning; I love making salsas with green kiwifruit, chopped green capsicum, a shallot, and a red chilli. They are also delicious in a salad with walnuts, mint, and cucumber.
Pantry staple: sriracha
I can’t remember a time sriracha wasn’t a staple in my house. This Thai sauce was originally intended for seafood, but it goes with most dishes – and it’s delicious with bacon and eggs. A now-infamous worldwide shortage of sriracha led to an uproar, but it seems to be back now. If you can’t find it in store though, try making your own: Jamie Oliver has a great one. Deseed and chop 100gm long red chillies and 75gm birds eye chilli, and roughly chop 12 cloves of garlic. Put the ingredients in a pan with about two tablespoons of palm sugar. Add 150ml water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes or until the chilli and garlic are soft. Blend the sauce until smooth, and add a bit more palm sugar if needed. Return to low heat and cook for another 10 minutes until the sauce is deep red and slightly reduced.
