Tropical Chia & Almond Smoothie

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Tropical Chia and Almond smoothieIMG_5199WM

YOU NEED

1 teaspoon chia seeds

½ a ripe banana (roughly half a cup)

¼ cup paw paw

1 generous cup ripe pineapple

1 cup almond milk

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Fresh ginger to taste

2 tablespoons coconut milk

 
YOU DO

Soak the chia seeds in water for 10 minutes. Drain and discard the water.

Place the chia seeds, along with the rest of  the ingredients into a blender (I used my Nutri Bullet). Blend everything till smooth

 

Yields: 1 large serve

Time: 5-10 minutes for preparation and blending. Plus the soaking time for the chia.

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Sesame, Almond and Potato Koftas

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Sesame Almond and Potato Koftas

YOU NEED

3 small to medium potatoes (approximately 450 grams), any type that is good for mashing

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

¼ cup of fresh coriander, washed, drained and finely chopped

½  teaspoon of salt

2-3 tablespoons of quinoa flour

3- 4 tablespoons of Bonsoy soy milk

½ -¾ cup of crushed almonds

1 – 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds

 

YOU DO

Wash the potatoes, spike them with a fork and microwave them till they are tender. Once they are cooked, cut them in half and carefully scoop the flesh out. Place the flesh into a bowl and discard the skins.

Add the cumin, cardamom, coriander and salt to the potato and roughly mash everything together with a fork.  Check the seasoning and form the mash into koftas.

Put the flour on a small plate and the milk into a small dish. Mix the crushed almonds with the sesame seeds. Very gently roll one of the balls through the flour. Then sit it on a fork and dip it in the milk.  Carefully roll it in the nuts, until it is well covered and place onto a small oven tray. # I tend to use one hand for the flour and milk and one for rolling them in the nuts, so that the nuts don’t get too wet. Repeat until all the koftas are coated.

Place them in a preheated oven (180c). Bake for 20-30 minutes or until they are browned.

Serve them hot, accompanied with relish, coconut yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon juice.

 

Yields: 12 koftas. Will vary slightly depending on the size of the potatoes you used.

Time: 15-20 minutes of preparation.  30 – 35 minutes cooking time. This will vary depending on the strength/type of your microwave and oven.

Notes: Don’t worry if they weigh a little more or less than 450 grams. This will not make a huge difference.

If you don’t wish to microwave the potatoes, you can bake them. This will take about 40 minutes though.

The smaller the crushed nuts are, the easier they will stick to the koftas. You want them to have some crunch once cooked though, so leave them with a bit of texture still. I crush the almonds in a mortar and pestle, a few at a time.

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Fattoush Salad

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Fattoush1

Fattoush Salad

Crisp, crunchy, fragrant, packed with herbs and fresh vegetables. Fattoush Salad is the perfect accompaniment to any Middle Eastern inspired meal.

 

What you need (For the salad)

1 large wholemeal Lebanese bread

1 small green capsicum, cored and diced

2 tomatoes, cored and diced

1 Lebanese cucumber, diced

4 radishes, finely sliced

2 cups of torn iceberg lettuce leaves

Handful of finely sliced spring onions

½ cup parsley leaves, washed and roughly chopped

½ cup sweet mint leaves, washed and roughly chopped

 

For the dressing

¼ cup olive oil

1 teaspoon sumac spice

Fresh lemon juice to taste

Salt/pepper to taste

 

What you do

Preheat your oven to 180c. Place the Lebanese bread in the oven and bake it until it is crispy.

Break the dried bread into pieces and place it in a bowl along with all the salad ingredients.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and add them to the salad. Stir everything well to combine and serve.

 

Yields: 4 side serves

Time:  10 – 15 minutes of preparation, plus the cooking time. I preheat my oven and cook my bread while I am preparing all the other ingredients.

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Pumpkin Seed Pesto

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pumpkinseed pesto4wm

YOU NEED

2 cups of firmly packed fresh basil leaves, washed

1 cup of pumpkin seeds

1 large clove of fresh garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

¾ teaspoon of salt

½ cup of olive oil

 

YOU DO

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until everything is well combined. I like to leave it a little chunky in texture.

Check the seasoning and serve.

 

Yields :  Approximately 1.5 cups of pesto.

Time:  10 minutes.

Freeze: Is suitable to freeze.

Note:  Don’t over blend the ingredients as the pesto can take on a gluggy texture.

If you cook the garlic in a little water for a few minutes, it takes away that astringent taste raw garlic has.

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Coconut Mango Ice Treats

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Coconut Mango Ice Treatwm

Ingredients

1 cup of mango

1 cup of coconut yoghurt

½ cup of orange juice

 

Method

Blend all ingredients until they are smooth.

Pour into icy pole moulds.

Freeze until firm.

 

Yields: 6 ice creams. This will vary with the size of your moulds.

Time: 10 minutes

Notes: When foods are frozen, it can “dull” their sweetness. You can combat this by using really ripe sweet fruits when making ice treats, or by adding a tablespoon of pure maple syrup to your mixture before you blend it.

I love these with a little minced ginger to taste too.

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Beetroot Mash

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Purple Mashww

YOU NEED

4 large potatoes

4 cooked baby beetroots

4 tablespoons of Bonsoy

Extra Bonsoy as required

1.5 teaspoons of salt

Pepper to taste

 

YOU DO

Bring a medium pot of water to the boil. Peel the potatoes, cut them into small chunks and add them to the boiled water. Bring the water back to the boil, reduce it to a simmer and cook the potato until its tender.

While the potato is cooking, blend the cooked baby beetroots with the 2 tablespoons of oat milk until everything is well combined and smooth.

Drain the cooked potato and mash it well. Stir the beetroot mixture through.  Add extra Bonsoy if you want the mash to be more creamy. Add the salt, pepper to taste. Check the seasoning and serve.

Yields:  A generous side serve for 4-6 people.

Time: 10-15 minutes of preparation. 15-20 minutes of cooking time.

Notes: Use any potatoes that are in season and suitable for mashing, such as Sebago, Pontiac or Dutch Creams

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Roasted Beetroot and Cauliflower Soup

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Roasted Beetroot and Cauliflower Soupwm

YOU NEED

1 medium brown onion, peeled and roughly chopped

4 large cloves of garlic, peeled

2 medium beetroots, peeled, roughly chopped into small pieces

1 small head of cauliflower, leaves removed and roughly chopped

1.5 litres of water

6 teaspoons of Massel vegetable stock powder

#optional dairy free sour cream to serve

 

YOU DO

Preheat your oven to 180c.

Place the onion, garlic, cauliflower and beetroot into an oven pan and dry roast them until the beetroot is cooked and the cauliflower has started to brown.

Place the water and vegetable stock into a large pot. Add the roasted vegetables to the pot and bring it all to the boil.

Blend until all the ingredients are smooth and serve with a swirl of dairy free sour cream.

 

Yields: 4 serves.

Time: 15-20 minutes of preparation, blending etc. Approximately 45 minutes of cooking time. Cooking time will differ depending on the strength of your oven.

Notes: When the beetroot is almost cooked bring the water and vegetable stock to the boil on your stove top to save time.

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I was privileged to be invited to this extraordinary red carpet event at Melbourne’s Rialto Intercontinental Hotel. The event “Animal Matters”…..the brain child of Clare Mann from Communicate31,  toured Australia, finishing in Melbourne. And what a finish it was.

To see a video on the event and some of the many people whom have been involved in it, simply visit the link below:
You can also visit:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=253509831439617&set=a.114291332028135.1827.113986345391967&type=1&theater
animalmatters (1)

Bandung (Rose Water Milk)

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bandungIMG_9352

Bandung is a popular drink found at the street stalls in Malaysia and served at weddings with dishes like rending. It’s extremely refreshing on a hot day and is a gorgeous, fragrant accompaniment for a hot, spicy meal.

YOU NEED

½ cup of fresh pitted dates, roughly chopped

¼ cup of water

Plus 200ml of cold water

400ml of Bonsoy organic soy milk

½ – ¾ teaspoon of rosewater essence

Natural pink food colouring

 

YOU DO

Put the dates and the 1/4 cup of water into a small bowl for an hour to soak. Once the dates have softened, blend them with the soaking water, then strain the liquid so that it is smooth. Put aside any date mixture that is too thick to strain and use it in another recipe, (eg: a smoothie)

Put the remaining ingredients, the date sweetened water and a few drops of natural food colouring together into a jug and whisk to combine. Place the jug in the freezer until the milk is chilled.

Serve in chilled glasses with lots of ice.

 

Yields: 2 large or 4 small serves

Time: 5 minutes preparation. 1 hour soaking time. 2 hours for chilling.

Notes:  Bandung is traditionally made using sugar syrup. But by sweetening it with dates instead of castor sugar, you gain vital vitamins, minerals and fibre and still end up with a very sweet, refreshing Bandung style beverage.

I use a brand of food colour called Hopper which contains fruits and vegetables. It is available in select health food stores.

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