Bone Broth, Slow Cooked 24 Hours

Ever since I have adopted intermittent fasting, bone broth has been recommended by experts, albeit not the store bought.
Acquisition of slow cooker Crock.Pot makes it possible for the required 24 hours cooking for quality broth.
And, I have no holds barred, in adding healthy herbs to the mix. Here I have rosemary, thyme, basil, mixed herbs, lemongrass, cardamom, cloves, pepper, bay leaves as herbs.
And, carrots, celery, onions, ginger, garlic, cilantro as vegetables.
Most important ingredient, though is the apple cider vinegar.
The lamb vendor was kind enough to keep some good bones for me.
Here’s the result! Totally organic, thoroughly extracted bone broth. It would have taken 22 of these small mason jars and I have only 12, the rest going into Pyrex dishes

Cooking During Fasting Window!

AN INTERMITTENT FASTER & A FOODIE.
It sounds like a paradox! But that’s exactly what I enjoy.
My fasting lifestyle is 20 hours of water only fast with just 4 hours for eating. And I have taken up cooking with a passionate Instagram account.
Call it willpower, penance or sacrifice, and perhaps it’s an attempt to make some enjoyable quality food to savour during the limited eating window.
It’s definitely highly satisfying.

Seasonal Delight

AN END OF SEASON DELIGHT
I have done this type of preparation a couple of times before. But there are some reasons for doing it again.

1. Mango season is all but over.
2. The brief season for mangosteen and rambuttan are on.
   Here I have healthy chia seeds soaked in coconut milk. The layers are mango, mangosteen and rambuttan.
   Crunchy layers are muesli and roasted pumpkin seeds.
   Remember, the exotic fruits have seeds which are to be discarded when eating.
   Mangosteen and rambuttan make this exclusive, isn’t it?

Delish Tropical Fruits

Pulasan

PULASAN and RAMBUTTAN, MANGOSTEEN TOO.
We had a full load of the choicest tropical fruits of Mangosteen, Rambuttan and some Pulasan when my sister and brother came home visiting.
Often confused with Rambuttan, Pulasan (locally pronounced as philosan) is different with sturdier outer skin, harder but shorter spikes and sweeter inside flesh which is easier to come off the seeds.
The uniqueness, however is that the seeds are edible, unlike Rambuttan and Mangosteen and tastes almost like Almonds.
Don’t ever miss a chance to enjoy these special tropical fruits, they are so delish.

A LAMB DISH, TENDER AND SUCCULENT.

LAMB COOKED, TENDER AND JUICY.
Slow cooking in Crockpot is now a routine for the quality of food and the ease of doing it.
Here I have Mutton Masala slow cooked for 7 hours to perfection.
Of course, I made some deviation by using store bought mutton masala powder and ginger garlic paste.
Marinate a kg of meat in curd, ginger and garlic paste. Heat coconut oil in a vessel and add a few cardamom, cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon and two whole green chilies. Add slices of two onions and make it turn brown.
And the marinated meat and the masala (about 60g) and mix with some salt.
Boil three tomatoes, peel off the skin and make into a purée in Nutribullet. Add the purée to the mix along with some coriander and mint leaves.
Once the meat is lightly cooked, transfer to Crock.Pot and slow cook for 7 hours.
Produced yet another successful dish, thanks to Crock.Pot.

Homemade Bone Broth And Storage

BONE BROTH
When it comes to healthy food, bone broth is priceless. Best broths are homemade and cooked for 24 hours.
The acquisition of Crock.Pot, resolved the 24 hour slow cooking requirement. But storing in the freezer was a challenge.
That’s when I found these freezer friendly mason jars. Just move the frozen broth to the refrigerator’s general area, the previous day of enjoying it hot.

Mangosteen And Rambuttan

MANGOSTEEN AND RAMBUTTAN
These exotic tropical fruits are embraced wholeheartedly by people in my State, Kerala. That they are almost local seasonal fruits like jackfruit and mango, and all season’s fruits like papaya and pineapple.
Both are covered with unique outer shells which protects them from birds and squirrels. Well almost. But then, nature feeds all.
The delicious flesh covers the seeds. The seeds are sticky when chewed in the mouth, though the cloned varieties of Rambuttan easily peels off and mangosteen leaves four out of the five pods inside, seedless (sometimes).
Both are opened by slightly crushing the outer skin with the thumb side of the palm.
I like eating them just like that, some 20 of them at a time.
Adventurous people have started making ice creams and payasam with them.

SUCCULENT SPARE RIBS. SLOW COOKED.

SPARE RIBS, SLOW COOKED TO TENDERNESS. MY BEST.
Yes, it’s my best so far. Slow cooked for 9 hours and grilled for 10 minutes, these ribs just melt in the mouth.
Absolutely delicious, says my wife, the connoisseur. And served with mashed potatoes, flavoured with herbs like Rosemary and Thyme.
The ribs are braised with a mix of plenty of barbecue sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, garlic, pepper, coconut sugar, red pepper powder and some salt.
After 9 hours in Crock.Pot, the ribs are transferred to the dish and braised again with the rest of the sauce mixture and oven grilled for 10 minutes on 220 heat.
Succulent!

A SNEAK PEEK

That’s the mighty sun, overpowered by the monsoon rain clouds, making a sneak peek, at sunset.
Everything is fine, the fisherman’s there with his boat, the backwaters serene and I am there in the balcony, ready for the click.

Masters Swimming

STRENGTHEN THE SWIMMING ARM
Land swimming without the benefit of water buoyancy has resulted in a minor (luckily) tear in the shoulder structure.
Amazon extended this help in the recovery and strengthening process.
Hoping to hit the water, trained on these devices, for gaining a second or so.