Stew it up

Now that the weather is getting cooler, it’s been so much fun coming up with tasty and hearty dishes that keep me satisfied and feeling nurtured.

The following two recipes are stews, which I love making as they are super simple, fast and last well in the fridge for a couple of days so you can either freeze the left overs, or keep it for tomorrow’s lunch and/or dinner.

You’ll have to forgive me as I’m writing the recipes way after the fact so hopefully my memory serves me and I don’t leave out any ingredients!

Black Bean and Quinoa Stew
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves
1/2 brown onion, diced
1 cup chopped pumpkin
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 cups of chopped silverbeet
1 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup of chopped capsicum
1/2 cup of quinoa, soaked and rinsed
1 can of organic black beans, rinsed really well
1 vegan stock cube
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 cups of water

Method

In a large pot, add 1/4 cup of water, the garlic and spices and gently cook until they are fragrant.

Add the vegetables, except the silverbeet and beans, and give it a good stir so that they are covered with the spices and garlic.
Add the water, quinoa and stock cube.

You may need to crush the stock cube once it’s in the pan, and stir to combine.

Bring to the boil over medium heat, then, lower heat to simmer and cover with lid.

Check after about 15-20 minutes to see if the quinoa is cooked. Adjust seasoning at this stage and if you feel it’s too dry, add some more water.   If you feel there’s too much liquid, cook it for a bit longer with the lid off so some of the liquid evaporates.  Add the beans and silverbeet and cook for a further 5 minutes.  Basically you just want to warm the beans through and keep the silverbeet vibrant and green.

Serve into bowls and eat.

I eat this on it’s own or with some cauliflower mash.

Spiced red lentil and Root Vegetable Stew

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup red lentils, soaked overnight and rinsed

1 brown onion, diced

1 parsnip, diced

1 swede, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 sweet potato, diced

1 red capsicum (pepper), diced

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 Tbs of freshly grated ginger

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

5 fresh curry leaves

1/2 Tbs of turmeric

1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper

2 tsp of ground coriander

1/2 tsp of Himalayan pink salt

2 tsp of tamarind puree

1 cup of water*

1 can of organic canned tomatoes

1/4 cup coconut milk

fresh coriander and coconut kefir to garnish

some papadums for dipping and scooping**

Method

Add some water to a large saucepan and add the spices and ginger over a medium heat.   Once it becomes aromatic, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, a few minutes.

Add the veggies and stir to cover with the spices, cook for about 5 minutes, then add the lentils, canned tomatoes and water.

Stir to combine and bring it to the boil, then lower heat to low-med, cover with lid and leave to cook for about 25 – 30 minutes, until the vegetables and lentils are soft.

Once the vegetables and lentils are ready, stir in the coconut milk and tamarind puree, and stir gently to combine.  You don’t want to mash the vegetables!  You can adjust seasoning at this point if required.

Serve on it’s own, topped with a generous tablespoon of coconut kefir and some fresh coriander.

*You may need more water, but start with 1 cup.  You want it to be thick and saucy not soupy.

**I used store bought papadums which I just prepared in the microwave.

As you can see, I didn’t add any oil when I made the above recipes because you just don’t really need to.  However, I know some people love to fry up their spices so feel free to use some coconut oil if you so desire.

Hope you enjoy the above recipes and that they make you feel warm and toasty all over!

Please let me know if you have any problems with the recipes, like I said, I’m relying on my memory (gasp!), which if I believe what my husband tells me, is pretty unreliable!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

disruptions and goings on

Oh my, it's been way too long since my last post, my sincere apologies!
We have now moved, and we, as in me, are slowly settling in.  The family has somehow slid into a nice little routine, and my girls have just bounced into the swing of life at the new digs like it aint no thing.  
Oh to be young again, and so bloody adaptable.  
I should really be glad, and I am, don't get me wrong.   Just a little bit envious of their innocence and non-attachment to their old life.
As you can tell, I'm having a harder time adjusting to the new space, so my head space has not been the best of late.  Really unmotivated, and just generally feeling out of sorts.  I don't know if I've ever told you this, if you know me, you've probably guessed, but I'm a stickler for routine.  
Like a true Virgo, I love order and everything in it's place.  In my head that is, my house is another issue!  But, let's end the rant there, I don't want to bore you with my current emotional sensibilities, this is a food blog after all.
So, for the sake of my sanity, I will do just a few recipes, mainly the ones that people have been screaming at me for on IG. Thank you if you are following my journey on IG, you keep me motivated and definitely push me to pull my finger out and get to it.
So, without further delay, here are the recipes.

Spinach and Chickpea Pancakes
Makes 2


Ingredients 

2/3 cup garbanzo and fava bean flour*
2/3 cup water
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt or to taste
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup of spinach leaves

Method

Heat a medium-large non-stick frying pan on medium heat.
Place all ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth.
Pour enough mixture to cover base of frying pan once it's hot, turning pan to fully cover.
Flip pancake over when bubbles start to break the surface and the sides are cooked and can be handled without breaking.
Repeat with second pancake.
If you find the mixture too thick, just add a little bit more water.
These pancakes are a little dense so I found them to be quiet filling.
*I use Bob Red Mills

I served them with a tomato medley salad with coriander and lemon juice, and also some pan seared mushrooms with lemon thyme. 

I used the left overs the next night, toasted them and served them with a simple red lentil curry.  Here's the recipe for the curry.

Red Lentil and Kale Curry

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 tsp of grated ginger

1 clove of garlic crushed

1/4 cup brown onion chopped

1/2 TBS of curry powder (or to taste)

1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)

1/2 cup red lentils

5 very ripe tomatoes, blended (or 1 can of organic crushed tomatoes)

2 cups of pumpkin cubes

2 cups of chopped kale

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup chopped coriander

Himalayan pink salt to taste

Method

Add the ginger, garlic, onion, chilli flakes, pumpkin cubes and curry powder to a large non-stick frying pan that has a lid.

Pour about 1/2 cup of water and cook until onions are soft and translucent.  

Add the lentil and tomatoes, stir, and cover with lid.

Keep cooking and stirring, adding more water to prevent it from drying, until lentils and pumpkin are cooked.  Once they are ready, add the kale, stir until it wilts.

Remove from heat, pour in lemon juice and mix through.  Season with Himalayan pink salt to taste.

Serve with some of the toasted pancake on the side and top with fresh coriander.

Now here's an idea for when you get stuck for meal ideas, and you want something quick, filling and low-fat.

Make some delicious nori rolls!  Given, you do have to have nori sheets in your pantry but that should be on your staples list my friends.

The kids love it and you can get them to roll a few.  Yes it's messy, but they love it.

You don't have to make them raw of course, you can use lots of fillings, like left over brown rice, or quinoa.  You could also get super creative with other grains like millet or barley if you are not gluten sensitive.

I just love stuffing them with different veggies, it's like a salad wrapped up in some sea vegetable goodness.

I've got links to how to make these on the right hand side but here are some that I made using grated beetroot and grated carrot, and just adding whatever I had in the fridge, which happened to be some avocado, capsicum, zucchini and pickled ginger.

But seriously, the sky's the limit so let your taste buds guide you.

And here are some delicious treats I made last week.

The recipe is on the Facebook page but for my friends without Facebook (yes, they do exist), here it is.

Strawberry Cream Tarts

Serves 8

Ingredients

Filling

2 large strawberries, sliced thinly

1 cup raw cashews, soaked & rinsed (for at least 30 min or overnight)

1/4 cup liquid sweetener of choice

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or water or any other non-dairy milk)

Base

8 pitted medjool dates

1 cup raw almonds 

1/4 cup shredded coconut

2 Tbs raw cacao powder

1/4 cup liquid sweetener of choice

(I used coconut nectar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch Himalayan pink salt

Method

Base

Line an 8 capacity muffin tray with patty cases and set aside.

Process all base ingredients in a food processor until it holds together, like when you make bliss balls.

Press about 2 large tbs into bottom of patty cases. Set aside.

You will have some left over, use this to decorate the top of the tarts & to munch on 

Filling

Blend all ingredients except strawberries, in a powerful blender, until smooth & silky.

Set aside.

Slice your strawberries into thin slices and place 1 slice into the prepared patty cases. You will have some left over to decorate the top.

Fill each case with cashew cream mixture and top with some more sliced strawberry & crumbs from base.

Place in the freezer to set. When ready, about 2 hours, take out & let thaw a bit before slicing. 

These will melt so you need to eat them whilst they are still a bit chilled. They don't usually last that long when they are out.

The beauty is, you can make a large batch & keep them in the freezer, ready to have whenever.

Here are some snack ideas for everyone in the family!  They take next to no time to prepare and you'll be surprised, you probably have all these things in your pantry and fridge already.

raw cacao nibs + peanut butter + frozen bananas = the best ice cream ever!

thinly slice some apples, add some homemade vanilla almond butter and top with a salsa made with kiwifruit and strawberries.

1 banana, homemade vanilla almond butter and your favourite yummies as toppings

Homemade hummus with your favourite veggies and pickles

And one last one that got a lot of likes on IG so I thought I'd better post a recipe for it although you can find recipes for chocolate mousse and vanilla chia pudding if you use the search option.  Anywho, here it is.

Chocolate Mousse and Vanilla Chia Pudding Parfait
Serves 1

Ingredients

Chocolate Mousse

1 ripe avocado
2 TBS raw cacao powder
1 frozen banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple syrup or to taste
1 pitted medjool date

Vanilla Chia Pudding

1/4 cup chia seeds
1 cup unsweetened almond milk or non-dairy milk of choice
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 TBS maple syrup

Layers

4 TBS shredded coconut
4 TBS activated buckinis
4 TBS puffed millet
1 cup raspberries (I used frozen and thawed them first at room temp)

Method

Vanilla Chia Pudding

Place all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake the beejebus out of it repeatedly until all ingredients have mixed through.  Pop it in the fridge whilst you make the mousse.

Chocolate Mousse

Place all ingredients, except raw cacao powder, in a powerful blender and process until super smooth.   Add cacao powder and continue to blend.  Taste and adjust sweetness if needed.  You will probably need to scrape the sides as you go.
It should be fluffy and delicious.  It may also taste avlot like avocado.  If you don't like that, you may need to add more banana.
Place in the fridge.

When the chia is set, start layering.
Here's how I layered mine but feel free to do whatever your heart desires.

So there we have it, a rather late post but hope I've covered some recipes that people will enjoy. Will endeavour to be more contemporaneous with my future posts.
Thank you for your patience and on going support of the blog, IG and the FB page.  Deadset legends, the lotta ya!

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb