This is what winter food is about to me, spicy flavourful deliciousness. Warming food that comforts you, makes you feel like you've been given a hug. Food like this also reminds me of my childhood, my mother used most of these spices daily and started showing me how to cook with them when I was still a child. It's a thrifty way to add flavour and life to dishes that otherwise might be a bit bland. Spice was gold in our family's kitchen and still reins supreme in mine.
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Who likes ice cream? I like ice cream! I'll be honest with you, if I hadn't promised a sample of this to a couple of the girls I work with... I probably would eat the entire thing... :/
The boy has been away for a week, so I've been able to indulge in my favourite plant based recipes and am feeling like a million bucks. Dairy and I have never been fantastic friends so after a serious midday craving for mint choc chip ice cream... I decided to do something about it. This is dairy free, egg free and only contains natural sugars... you know, in case you needed to justify dessert ;) Serves roughly 6 3 1/2 cups organic coconut milk or cream 3 heaped tablespoons raw cacao powder 3 tablespoons cacao nibs 1/2 cup of either rice malt syrup, agave, maple syrup or if you're not vegan - honey 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract 3 teaspoons organic peppermint extract Using electric beaters, mix the coconut cream, cacao powder, vanilla, peppermint and sugar of choice in a large bowl until completely mixed. Pour into your ice-cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Mix in your cacao nibs in the last couple of minutes. You can either eat straight away or store in the freezer. Remember to remove from the freezer around 10 minutes before serving to allow it to soften. DEVOUR! :) Til next time Loz xox Every once in a while a girl just needs a chocolate bar. However I find most commercial bars far too sweet and packed full of so much crap that it doesn't qualify as real food any more. These are all natural. Raw -depending on where you source your coconut milk from- and sweet enough to satisfy even the most savage sugar beast. Trust me on that one. I know...
Considering I am also obsessed with all things coconut, this hits the right spot all round. Chocolate, coconutty goodness. All of these ingredients are found easily -I had them all in my pantry already, if you tend to make raw chocolate at home, chances are you will too. You can substitute the agave in this for maple syrup if you like, just make sure you use the real stuff. No fancy machines necessary, just a blender and a freezer. Try them and let me know how you go. Makes 12 bars Ingredients: 1 cup coconut milk 2 cups shredded coconut 7 tbs light agave syrup 1 cup and 3tbs of Organic virgin cold pressed Coconut oil 1 cup cacao powder 2 tsp pure vanilla extract or 2 vanilla pods Line a medium baking tray with baking paper. Place your shredded coconut in a blender and pulse for a few seconds until it's coarsely chopped. Add the coconut milk, 3 tbs of agave and 3 tbs of coconut oil and blend until combined. Press the mixture into the baking tray and flatten until it is a couple of cm thick. Cover and freeze until just set. Once the mixture is set but soft enough to cut, slice into bars and place back on the baking tray. Freeze until solid. Once your coconut mixture is frozen solid it's time to make the chocolate coating. Place the cacao powder, remaining cup of coconut oil, 4 tbs of agave and the vanilla extract in your blender and mix until smooth. Pour unto a small bowl. Line a larger baking tray with baking paper. Dip your frozen coconut bars into the chocolate mixture one by one and place on the baking tray spaced out so they do not touch. By the time you have finished dipping all the bars the chocolate on the first ones should be set. Dip all the bars a second time and place in the freezer until they are set. This should take an hour to an hour and a half. Remove from freezer just before serving. Enjoy:) Baby it's hot outside!!! Brisbane is in the middle of a heat wave at the moment, we are currently sitting on... 39 degrees celsius (103 degrees fahrenheit) I'm melting! Cooking these little babies up didn't cool things down for me but they were certainly worth it in the end. The pineapple salsa is fresh and summery, the cakes themselves are delicious with just a little spice to keep things interesting.
I am day 4 into Veganuary (http://www.veganuary.com/) which means for the month of January I am eating no animal products or foods produced with animal products in them. I initially thought this would be quite a challenge with work and being busy, however I've been surprised at how simple it really has been. It's also made me be a lot more creative with my food than I normally am. I've been eating a much wider variety of food and am feeling fantastic for it. Preparation has been my friend, cooking extra for dinner to have the next day and always having suitable snacks on hand to stop those 3pm sugar demons... A book that has helped me so far is Chloe Coscarelli's cookbook (Chloe's Kitchen). This book was a firm favourite of mine before Veganuary and I highly recommend it to anyone. It has some seriously delicious recipes in it - including today's recipe. Her website is http://www.chefchloe.com/ Baby Black Bean Cakes Makes 16 bean patties Ingredients: 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil 1 brown onion, finely chopped 400g cooked black beans, rinsed (or 1 can low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed well) - it also helps if you premash them a little 1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced 1/2 cup polenta (aka cornmeal) 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 1 tbs chilli powder 1 tsp himalayan salt 1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped 1/4 cup water In a large frypan heat 2 tbs olive oil over medium heat and cook the onions until they are caramelised. Transfer the onions to a large bowl and set frypan aside for later. Add the beans, carrots, polenta, breadcrumbs, chilli powder, salt, coriander and water to the bowl of onions. Using your hands, mash the mixture together. If it is too dry to bind, add 1 tbs of water at a time to the mixture until it binds. Mould the mixture into patties about 5cm wide. Heat the remaining oil in the frypan over medium high heat and cook the patties for 3 minutes each side, until they are browned and crisp on the outside. Add more oil to the skillet to stop burning if required. Drain cooked patties on paper towels. Serve with a spoonful of pineapple salsa on top. Pineapple Salsa 1 cup diced pineapple 1/4 cup fresh coriander, finely chopped 2 tbs red onion, finely chopped 1 tbs agave syrup -if needed for sweetness Combine all ingredients together in a bowl. Who doesn't love a good green curry? I learnt to make curry pastes from scratch whilst in Thailand and was surprised as how simple it really is. You don't need a food processor, if you have a large mortar and pestle you can mix it in that.. just be prepared to put in a fair bit of elbow grease. If you do have a food processor this is done in about 5 minutes. So easy and so incredibly fresh, the flavour of the kaffir lime just jumps out at you and throws a party on your tongue. If you are vegetarian, simply replace the chicken with potato it's just as tasty:) This recipe makes 1 large jar and it will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 2 months.
Makes - 1 large jar Ingredients: 15 fresh green Chillies, chopped 3 tbs Shallots, chopped (for those in Australia, I mean the small brown onion here, not the green one) 3 tbs Garlic, chopped 1 tbs Galangal, finely sliced 1 tbs Lemongrass (white part only), chopped 1 tsp fresh Kaffir lime peel, finely chopped 1 tsp Coriander root, chopped 1 tsp Coriander seeds 1 tsp Cumin seeds 1 tsp Shrimp paste (use peanut or soy paste for veggo option) 1/2 tsp Salt 1 Bok choy leaf (any Asian leafy green will do here, you are using it for the colour only) Like I mentioned above, there are 2 ways to do this. If you are feeling energetic you can throw all this in a large mortar and pestle and pound the crap out of it until it is very very smooth. When I made it this way in Thailand, it took a good 10/15 min of constant pounding to get the desired smoothness. HOWEVER, if you are a little lazy like me, you can simply throw it in a food processor and let that do all the hard work for you. If you choose this option you may need to add a little oil to help it blend properly (I used extra virgin coconut oil), I found my processor wouldn't work without a bit of moisture, I guess you could use water as well? You will need to let it process for around 5 min, scraping the edges down frequently until it is smooth with no lumps. Once you have finished, all you need to do is put it in a sterilised jar and pop it in the fridge. Enjoy:) (If you don't like a hot curry, simply reduce the number of chillies). Thai Green Curry Serves 2 Ingredients: 300g Chicken, sliced into 1 inch pieces (or substitute for veggo option) 2 tbs Green curry paste 1 cup Coconut milk 100g mixture of Eggplant, Carrot and baby Corn (use any veg you like, green beans are also delicious), sliced into bite size pieces 5 Kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced 10 Sweet basil leaves, crushed and torn 7 green Chillies, cut diagonally 1 tbs Fish sauce 2 tsp Sugar Heat a pan over low heat and add the coconut milk and curry paste. Stir continuously for a couple of minutes or until the curry paste is fragrant. Add the chicken and stir vigorously until nearly cooked then add your vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and add the fish sauce and sugar to taste. Once the flavours are balanced add the chillies and kaffir lime leaves. Simmer until the vegetables and chicken are cooked then stir in your basil leaves and serve immediately. Yum yum yum! Chicken schnitzel is a classic dinner for many people. Unfortunately, more and more people are being diagnosed with celiac's disease or gluten intolerance every day. Other's choose to avoid gluten for other reasons. This is a healthy twist on a classic family meal that nearly everyone can enjoy. As this also uses quinoa flakes instead of breadcrumbs, it has a little extra kick of protein. I baked the schnitzel instead of frying it so it hasn't browned up quite as much but this is a great alternative. You can throw whatever spices you like into the mix.
Makes 2 schnitzels Ingredients: 1x 200g chicken breast, trimmed of fat. 1/2 cup quinoa flakes 1 tsp dried italian herbs 5 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed from stalks 1 egg If baking the schnitzel, preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper. Combine the quinoa flakes, italian herbs and thyme leaves in a bowl and mix well. Crack the egg into a second bowl and beat with a fork. Cut your chicken breast in half lengthways into 1 inch slices. Dip the chicken into the egg, then toss in the dry mixture, pressing down so that it is well crumbed. Set aside and prepare the other slice. If you are baking the schnitzel place on the baking tray and lightly spray the top with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes then turn over and bake for another 8 minutes (or until golden, we were hungry so we didn't necessarily wait much longer). Try not to cook any longer than 10 minutes on the second side or your chicken will be dry and horrible. If you are frying, cook as normal. Serve with your favourite side. OK, so vegan fried rice is not a particularly hard thing to do, but this is delicious, quick to make and literally ANYONE can cook this. Fried rice is a great way to use up cooked rice and to pack a whole lot of veg into your life. Let's be real - who doesn't love fried rice? This is a tasty plant based version which is so tasty, you'll wonder why you don't cook this more often. As I mentioned, cooking time on this is really quick, so make sure all of your ingredients are prepped and ready to go before you start to cook.
Serves 2 as a main Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups of cooked brown rice - make sure the rice isnt wet, it needs to be dry 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup of chopped brown onion 3/4 cup of diced carrot 2 medium size mushrooms, chopped 1 cup frozen peas 1 vegan burger pattie, chopped into bite sized pieces 3 tbs extra virgin coconut oil 1/2 tsp dried basil 1/2 tsp dried thyme 1/2 tsp tumeric powder 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper 1/2 tsp himalayan salt 4 tbs soy sauce 1/4 cup water Heat 2 tbs of coconut oil in a large saucepan or wok over medium heat. Add the garlic and salt and cook until the garlic softens. Add the carrots and onions and cook for 1 minute stirring frequently. Add the mushrooms, veggie burger and 2 tbs soy sauce. Cook until the vegetables and burger have softened. Push the vegetables to one side of the pan. Add 1 tbs coconut oil, the cooked rice and 1 tbs soy sauce onto the cleared half of the pan and mix well. Flatten out the rice the best you can and let fry for few minutes. Mix your spices and vegetables into the rice and cook for a minute. If your rice is still hard add a little water. Once the mixture has cooked together add the frozen peas and 1/4 cup of water. Mix together until the peas are cooked through and the water has absorbed. Serve! So after an incredibly busy period at uni, an amazing trip to Thailand and even more uni assignments later - I'M BACK! I spent the better part of last month lazing around Thailand with a coconut in my hand and this dish was one of my favorite things to eat over there. The balance of sweet, sour and spicy blows my mind every time. It's true what they say - street food is the way to go over there and there are plenty of stalls to try. The freshness of this recipe is what hooked me though, it's perfect for the hot weather. If you aren't a fan of spicy food, reduce the chilli in the recipe to one instead of 3.
Tip: this goes perfect with a fresh young coconut to drink:) Enjoy! Serves 1 Ingredients: 100g fresh shredded GREEN papaya 3 small hot chilli 1 snake bean aka chinese long bean, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 tomato, cut into wedges 1 tbs dried shrimp 1 garlic clove 2 tbs roasted peanuts 1 tbs fish sauce 1 tbs sugar or natural sweetener 2 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice In a large mortar and pestle crush the garlic and chilli until well mushed. Add the snake bean and tomato wedges and crush together until well combined. Leave it a little chunky. Add in your green papaya, dried shrimp, peanuts, sugar, lemon juice and fish sauce and mix well. Once combined, plate up and top with a little extra chilli and a few peanuts on top. Serve immediately. You wont believe they're vegan! These little delights are so light and so full of blueberries that you may find it hard to stop eating them! I made these as a bit of an experiment over the weekend and was really happy with the results. Everyone who's tried them, loves them. Maybe you will too?
Makes 12 muffins Ingredients: 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt zest from 2 lemons 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 cup unsweetened almond milk 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil 1 tsp organic lemon extract 1 tbs apple cider vinegar 1 1/2 cups blueberries (i used frozen) Preheat oven to 190 degrees celcius, and fill a muffin tray with liners. Spray with olive oil if you wish. In one bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest. In another large bowl combine the sugar, almond milk, oil, lemon extract and vinegar. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries, then fill your muffin liners til they are around 3/4 full and bake for 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Enjoy:) Chia seed puddings are an interesting thing to look at. One of the women I work with described them as looking like fish eggs... and she's pretty on the money. What they don't score in looks however they more than make up for in taste. There are a MILLION recipes for these on the web so I wasn't going to post this, except that I have made this about 4 times in the last week already. It's that tasty. It's also incredibly easy, who can't take 2 minutes to mix the ingredients together and place in the fridge overnight to soak? Yeah you can:) This is a sweet treat and texture wise, reminds me of the sago puddings my mother used to make when I was younger. Nutrition wise it's a winner too with Chia seeds being high in omega 3's, manganese, fiber and containing 18% of your daily calcium requirements. This makes them a great alternative for vegetarians and vegans. Try it:)
Serves 2 or 3 Ingredients: 6 ripe strawberries, sliced 1 cup unsweetened almond milk 1/4 cup chia seeds 1/8 cup pure maple syrup (you could also use agave or coconut nectar but adjust the sweetness to taste) 1 tsp organic vanilla extract (make sure its the real stuff not imitation), you could also use 1 vanilla pod, scraped dash of cinnamon Combine in a bowl, cover and leave in fridge overnight to soak. Stir well in morning and serve with a few extra strawberries on top. |
~Lauryn~Ramblings from my kitchen in Australia Categories
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