Confession and fish cakes!

Okay, so I haven’t been blogging. I have however still been eating (duh, obviously), cooking and teaching some exciting things; and I have so many things I would still love to share which I think would make a great blog post, or a thousand. But I haven’t been blogging.

So here’s the scoop. I suffer from depression. I feel pretty lame writing that down. Especially in a food blog; in a public forum. But a few people close to me have urged me to allow my blog to get more personal. That is ultimately what blogging is about. Personal testimonies.

Well just coming out and saying to the world ‘I suffer from depression’ is pretty darned personal for me, since many people in my life don’t even know this. You see, I am known to be a party girl. Full of fun. Dirty sense of humour. Calm and serene in my work. And many other things. Depressed, morbid, moody. Not so much. That’s because I keep it pretty well tucked away behind closed doors.  Well, today I am throwing open the doors and letting in the air.

What makes me feel even worse about this state of affairs is that my life is peachy. Nothing to complain about at all. Just feel crap, very crap, a lot of the time. So there it is.

I am doing what needs to be done to keep my condition in check and also trying various things systematically to see if I can get over it too. Naturally I am trying various dietary things. At the moment I have been sugar free for three weeks (more or less – okay, I cheated with a Lindt bunny over Easter). I’m still depressed but various other conditions have settled down, so am sticking to it for now. Perhaps it’s time to kick in to the next phase and remove all starchy foods now too. Bleh. Sounds awful. But I guess one needs to knock on every door before ones gives up.

I did a lesson for a new client yesterday which included a Thai fish cake. I haven’t made these for years and I removed all starch for her and I think they taste even better now! You’ve got to try them. Diet or no they rock!

I have been eating all kinds of great superfoods too – I’m munching on an organic superfood trail mix right now... so good! Click here to see.

Okay – so enough with the confessions. Suffice it to say, when I’m especially blue, I’m not that inspired to write. But I guess I need to get over myself too and just do it. No matter how down I am, I still love to cook, eat and share – and do yoga. That’s got to be something to feel good about. 

Aromatic Thai inspired fish cakes

Makes about 20 small cakes

750g raw boneless fish

2 large eggs

1 Tbsp of tahini paste

3 Tbsp of cashew nuts

1 tsp of thai green curry paste

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of lemon zest

2 Tbsp of lemon juice

1 clove of garlic

1 tsp of fresh ginger

¼ cup of fresh coriander and dill

1 cup of sesame seeds for coating

Combine all the ingredients, except for the sesame seeds, in a blender until smooth. Don’t over blend as a little texture is nice, but all ingredients should be well combined.

Form balls with the paste in your hand (wetting your hands a little helps) and roll them in the sesame seeds, then flatten them a little to form cakes. Allow these to rest in the fridge for an hour to set before frying them in a non stick pan over medium heat until cooked through and crispy on the outside. Use as little oil as you are able to and drain the fish cakes on kitchen roll before serving.

To reheat the fish cakes, bake them in a preheated oven at 200°C until warm and crispy.

For a dipping sauce, season some low fat yogurt with fresh chopped coriander, chilli, salt and pepper.