editor, Author at The Kind Cook

Roast Potato, Leek & Garlic Soup

on June 29, 2012

This is sooooooooooo creamy, filling and FULL of flavour.

YOU NEED

5 leeks, green woody ends cut of, the white part sliced lengthways and washed

3 large cloves of garlic, peeled

6 small potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks

6 cups of “chicken” stock (I use Massel brand which contains no animal products)

1 cup of plant based milk (anything really creamy and not too sweet. I used Bonsoy)

1 x 400 gram can of butter beans, washed WELL and drained

YOU DO

While you are slicing and washing preheat your oven to 200c.

Place the potatoes on an oven tray with a little oil and pop in the oven and leave to roast, while you do everything else.

Place the halved leeks and the garlic onto another oven tray, with a little oil and a little salt and also pop in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Once the leeks have been in the oven for 30 minutes remove them and put the leeks, garlic and the stock into a large pot and slowly bring to the boil.

Once the potatoes and lovely and browned from roasting, add them to the pot along with the beans and milk and blend.

DONE!

Serves: Makes enough for 4-6 or more serves

Time: I haven’t times this one yet. It’s not my quickest dish (probably about 45mins to an hour), BUT this doesn’t get easier and it makes a lot so can be used for work lunches and left over’s for a couple of days

Freezing: May be suitable.

Coconut Curry Corn Soup

on June 22, 2012

Simple. Sweet. Fast. Creamy.

YOU NEED

1 large brown onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1-2 tablespoons of curry powder

1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1 x 400ml can of coconut milk

2 cups of vegetable stock

4 cups of corn kernels

YOU DO

Heat a little rice bran oil in a medium pot, add the onion and cook on a gentle heat until the onion has browned.

While the onion is cooking, place the curry powder in a small non stick pan and dry roast it on a low to medium heat for a few minutes to bring the flavour out. Stir regularly.

Add the garlic to the pot with the onions and cook for a minute or so. Then add the curry powder, coconut milk, stock and corn to the pot. Bring everything to the boil, then turn it down to a very gentle simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.

Blend, check the seasoning and serve.

Too easy!

Yields: 4 small serves

Time: 20-30 minutes

Notes: I have also made this with Bonsoy instead of coconut cream. If you are avoiding soy then try using oat milk.

I prefer to use fresh organic corn kernels, but on occasion I have used frozen corn kernels instead.

I also often add 1 loose washed cup of fresh basil leaves into the soup when I blend everything.

Mayan Hot Chocolate

on June 22, 2012

Cocoa was a sacred thing to the Mayan people. They created a savoury drink with it where the added spices were dominant and it was used in religious ceremonies. Over time this tradition was exported to Europe where it was altered and sweetened. This sweetened version is the one we now mostly see. Ingredients such as cayenne, chilli and ground almonds are also used

Recipes I have seen from more recent times contain cream, dairy and honey as is so often the case. But with very simple changes I have created my plant based version of a modern day Mayan hot chocolate.

YOU NEED

2 red chilli bullets, sliced lengthways and seeds removed

2 cups of water

4 cups of plant based milk. (I usee Bonsoy soy milk for this because it’s so creamy)

2 vanilla beans, sliced lengthways

4 cloves

½ cup of pure maple syrup

2 cinnamon quills

½ cup sugar free cocoa (I use Dutch cocoa)

grated nutmeg to taste

YOU DO

Place the chillies and 2 cups of water into a small pot. Bring them to the boil then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer until the water reduces to one cup in volume.

While your chilli water is reducing, place the milk into a large pot, scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the milk and add the rest of the vanilla beans. Add the cloves, maple syrup, cinnamon, cocoa and nutmeg and very slowly bring it to the boil. Once it comes to the boil turn the heat down and gently simmer the ingredients for a few minutes to give the flavours all time to infuse. Then set aside.

Once the chilli water has reduced down to one cup, discard the chillies and add the chilli water to your milk mixture. I like to add all of it but add it slowly and to your own taste.

Bring the hot chocolate back to the boil now and turn off the heat. Strain the milk now if you wish and discard the cloves, vanilla bean and cinnamon but I prefer to serve mine with them still a part of the hot chocolate.

Garnish with some nutmeg and serve.

I haven’t timed this one but it serves 4, will make you happy and will fill your home with warm aromatic scents 🙂

Spinach Fettuccini w/ Chickpeas, Tomato & Basil

on June 21, 2012

YOU NEED

200 grams of spinach fettuccini
rice bran oil for cooking
2 very large cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
½ cup of dry white wine
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon of balsamic
1 can of chickpeas, washed WELL and drained
½ – 1 teaspoons of dried chilli
2 teaspoons of pure maple syrup
1/3 cup of semi dried tomatoes
1 loose cup of basil leaves, gently washed as they bruise easily
#optional 2 heaped tablespoons of nutritional yeast (I add this for the “cheesy” flavour it adds and the B12 if offers)

YOU DO

Cook the fettuccini as per packet of instructions.

While the fettuccini is cooking, heat a small amount of oil in a large pan and sauté the garlic on a gentle heat.

Then turn the heat right up and quickly add the wine and boil for a few minutes.

Turn the heat back down and add the crushed tomatoes, balsamic, chickpeas, chilli and maple syrup. Simmer very gently till the flavours combine and the tomato “cooks out” (that raw tomato flavour is gone).

Add the semi dried tomatoes, cooked fettuccini and the basil to the pan and combine.

Serve with lots of fresh salad.

Servings: 2 large or 4 small.

Tandoori Risotto

on June 18, 2012

Monday nights are hectic in our household. Everyone has been at work and childcare all day. We are often home late and we want something easy and fast. So I started making my “Cheesy Lemon and Pea Baked Risotto. While the onions were cooking tonight though, I was rummaging around in the fridge and notice a large red capsicum, some coriander and some tandoori paste. This was the result and it’s become one of our favourites.

YOU NEED

1 large brown onion, peeled, halved and finely diced

¼ of a cup of water

1 x 250 gram block of firm tofu, cut into slices

2 tablespoons of tandoori paste

1 cup Aborio rice

#optional ¼ cup of nutritional yeast

3 ½ cups of vegetable stock

1 large red capsicum, washed, quartered, cored and cut into long thin strips

1 ½ cups of frozen peas

1 cup of fresh coriander, washed, drained and roughly chopped

YOU DO

Preheat your oven to 200c.

Place the onion and water in an oven tray. Place the tray onto your stove top and cook gently on a medium heat, until the onion starts to soften. Then turn off the heat.

Add the rice, nutritional yeast and stock and bring to the boil. Cover tightly (and carefully) with foil and place the tray in the oven for 15 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, combine the tofu with the tandoori. Heat a small amount of oil in a medium pan and gently cook the tofu until it has browned and starts to crispen and set aside

After the rice has been cooking for 15 minutes, remove the tray from the oven. Carefully remove the foil and stir through the capsicum, pea, tofu and coriander. Cover the pan with foil again and place it back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

Once the rice is cooked, I like to garnish it with a little extra coriander or mint and a dollop of coconut yoghurt. I also serve it with loads of fresh salad.

Yields: 2 large serves.

Time: 45 minutes.

Notes: I have tried a few brands of tofu to date and the one I find I keep going back to is the Blue Lotus brand as it has a much less earthy flavour than other brands.

The Nutritional yeast adds a cheesy flavour to the risotto. It is also a source of B12.

Fresh Mint Hot Chocolate

on June 17, 2012

17^th june 2012

Seriously you don’t need to buy hot chocolate mixes that are expensive, full of dairy and more highly processed sugars than you need. By using a small amount of fresh herbs or fruit skins, some pure cocoa and your favourite plant based milk you can achieve the most incredible and fragrant results.

So next time friends drop over instead of just boiling the kettle and grabbing a can from the pantry go old school and heat some milk on the stove loaded with fresh mint and pour your work into a beautiful tea cup or mug. There is way more soul in that my friends.

YOU NEED

1 cup of plant based milk (I used Australian’s Own Organic rice milk because I wanted quite a sweet flavour which rice milk offers)

½ – ¾ cup of fresh mint, well washed so you don’t suffer gritty bits

½ tablespoon of pure maple syrup (or agave)

1 tablespoon of cocoa (I use Dutch cocoa which is super rich so I didn’t need any more than this)

YOU DO

Place all the ingredients into a small pot and very slowly and gently bring the milk to the boil. You want to allow the mint time to infuse into the milk.

Remove the mint. Whisk to ensure there are no cocoa lumps and that the maple syrup is mixed through well

Serve.

I plonked a load more fresh mint into my cup when I served mine up today. 🙂

Serves: 1

Time: Took me less than 10 minutes

Freeze: N/A

Caramelised Onion & Parsnip Soup

on June 15, 2012

Parsnip is one of those foods I rarely eat. It’s great in soup though as it thickens like potato. The key to this dish is getting the onions to caramelise. When you do though you will achieve a smooth sweet caramel earthy flavour.

YOU NEED

2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into small cubes

2 large onions, peeled and finely sliced

2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup

1 cup of dry white wine

1.25 litres of vegetable stock

½ cup plant based milk (I used rice milk. No particular reason. It’s just what I had in the fridge)

salt and pepper to taste

fresh thyme leaves for garnish

YOU DO

Place the onions, pure maple syrup and a little rice bran oil into a medium pot. Cook gently on a low to medium heat until the onions are caramelised. This takes a good 10-15 minutes. Stir as you cook them.

Turn the heat up full and add the wine. Add the parsnip and vegetable stock. Then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer, cover and cook until the parsnip is tender and blend.

Add the rice milk. Check the seasoning and serve garnished with fresh thyme leaves.

Servings: Serves 4.

Time: Takes about 30-40 minutes.

Freeze: Suitable.

Chocolate Honeycomb Bark

on June 11, 2012

Making a meal or a treat doesn’t have to take a lifetime and can be so easy!

YOU NEED

1 x 250gram block of Whittaker’s “Dark Ghana chocolate (broken into pieces and melted in the microwave 30 seconds at a time. Stirring at each interval)

1 cup of something you love for the topping….dried fruit, nuts, candy etc ( I usually use nuts I have crushed but this time I had some left over honeycomb that I had made recently that I just threw into the blender to crush) #Note that most honeycomb contains gelatine if you are avoiding animal products.

YOU DO

Lay a large piece of greaseproof paper onto a tray and place on your bench.

Pour the melted chocolate onto the paper and using the flat side of a spatula gently and quickly spread the chocolate into a thin rectangle. Not too thin or it will be too rich… but you don’t want it paper thin either.

Quickly sprinkle your cup of nuts etc evenly over the top and pop in the fridge to set,

Once set gently break into sections.

Great to serve with coffee at a dinner party 🙂

Servings: I haven’t measured this one.

Time: I don’t have a time on this one but it’s so easy and so quick.

Freezing: Not suitable.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

on June 9, 2012

I have despised brussel sprouts my entire life, then a few months ago when they came up in conversation with a friend she told me that if I simply put them in the oven with a little oil and some salt and roasted them that they are beautiful.

I was far from convinced but am a lot more adventurous these days so gave it a shot and they were pretty good. I did them again a few weeks later but pushed them a little further till they started to caramelise and I really liked the result and found myself eating one after the other. These days they are often seen sitting freshly roasted on a tray on our stove top for a snack as I cook.

If you hate brussel sprouts just give this a go. If you still hate them you have lost nothing but you may just discover they aren’t as disgusting as you thought 🙂

YOU DO

Preheat your oven to approx 200%,

Cut the ends off a ton of brussel sprouts and discard the ends.

Slice the brussel sprouts in half.

Place on a tray, drizzle with some oil. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt over them.

Place them in the oven and cook them until they caramelise.

🙂

Smokey Mushroom Wontons w/ an Asian Broth

on June 7, 2012

YOU NEED

1 tablespoon of rice bran oil

1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 large clove of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

100 grams of button mushrooms, roughly chopped

1.5 litres of vegan chicken stock

1/4 cup of soy sauce

1.5 tablespoon of Chinese rice wine (got mine at the supermarket from memory)

1 teaspoon of minced ginger

¼ cup of smoked almonds

¼ cup of spring onions (also known as scallions)

¼ teaspoon of salt

16 wonton wrappers another ½ cup of spring onions, washed and sliced on a long angle

extra spring onion for granish

sesame oil for garnish

YOU DO

Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onions until they soften and caramelise. Add the garlic and cook on a gentle heat for a couple more minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes until they are also softened and browned, then turn the heat off.

While the mushrooms are cooking place the “chicken stock”, Chinese rice wine, soy sauce and ginger into a large pot. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a gentle simmer while you make the wontons.

When the mushrooms mixture is ready scrape it into a blender, add the ¼ cup spring onions, the salt and the smoked almonds and blend until smooth.

Lay the wonton wrappers in rows along your bench top. Dip your fingers into some clean water and run them around the edge of the wonton wrapper Place about a teaspoon of mushroom mixture into the centre of each wrapper. Bring the sides of the wonton wrapper up till they meet and press them together firmly with your fingers into whatever shape you prefer. Continue until all the wontons are complete.

Carefully place the wontons into the broth and cook very gently for a few minutes until the wrappers are cooked through. This takes about 5 minutes.

Once the wontons are cooked, serve the soup immediately. Garnish with the rest of the spring onion and a few drops of sesame oil.

To make it more of a meal, simply add generous amounts of steamed Asian greens.

Servings: Serves 2 large or 4 small.

Time: 30 minutes

Notes: It’s crucial that the wontons are sealed at the edges or they will break up when you cook them. Absolutely make sure that you don’t boil the broth when you are cooking the wontons too.

I found smoked almonds at Safeway. The Home Brand ones are vegan. These are what give this dish that “meaty” flavour.

You can get wonton wrappers at Asian grocers. You can get them in most supermarkets too. Just check that they don’t contain egg.