I was in Berlin for Easter and had the most amazing sweet potato smoothie. I hadn’t even thought about adding sweet potato to a smoothie , what a genius idea! It took some time to get the flavour right, but I think I got there… Read more
All posts filed under “All Seasons”
Chia cherry & almond crumble
I hope you had a lovely Easter break ! I was so happy when the clocks jumped forward last weekend, being a day light addict it just changed my world. Spring also seems to have truly arrived with all its beauty, warmth, scents and sounds… Read more
Chia cherry & almond crumble ( per serving)
1/2 cup of nut milk ( almond, cashew, coconut, etc)
3 tbsp of chia seeds
1cm vanilla pod (scored lengthways to retrieve seeds ) or a couple of drops of extract
1/2 tsp of honey or maple syrup ( optional)
Cherry compote ( enough for 4 servings )
2 cups of frozen cherries ( or fresh when in season)
2 cups of fresh filtered water
1/2 stick or 1 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 vanilla pod -scored lengthways to retrieve seeds
1 tbsp of honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar
Almond crumble ( enough for 4 servings)
1/2 cup of finely chopped dates
1/2 cup of finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup of coconut oil
2 tbsp of organic barley malt extract or maple syrup
2 cups of ground almonds
Method:
For the chia pudding combine nut milk, honey, vanilla pod & seeds, stir until all the honey have dissolved completely. I usually use a little bottle with a lid to mix the milk , it’s very easy and saves time. Next place chia seeds in desert bowls, pour the milk on top, stir well, cover and leave to set in the fridge. Stir well a couple of times more over the next two hours, so all the seeds are distributed well to soak up the milk. Repeat the process for each desert bowl.
For the cherry compote, place cherries , water, cinnamon, honey, vanilla pod and seeds into a sauce pan , bring to the boil and simmer until liquid is reduced to half. This will take about 20-30 minutes. Once reduced taste for sweetness and leave to cool down a little.
Whilst the cherry compote is simmering away, start preparing the almond crumble. Pre-heat the oven at 135C, line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, best to use your hands. It will be sticky to start with but keep kneading until you get a nice dough like texture and all coconut oil has been completely combined with the rest of the ingredients.
Now crumble out on the baking paper getting a nice and even layer, approx 1/2 inch thick. Place in the oven and bake until golden brown. This process can go rather fast , so keep an eye as to not to burn the crumble.
Leave to cool before cutting out the crumble top for each bowl. I used a round cookie cutter- super easy- you can also go free style and use a knife or just crumble the crumble quite literally on top later on.
To serve: get the chia bowls out of the fridge, scoop a few table spoons of cherry compote on top and finish off with placing the crumble on top-it’s best when cherry compote and crumble are still slightly warm but you can prepare everything and warm it up before serving – the perfect desert. The cherry compote and crumble also work a treat on yogurt or ice cream.
Bon Appetit!
Making milk without cows and cashew&coconut pulp macaroons
It was meat free last week, I hope you got on well with all those fabulous vegetarian recipes that were published everywhere. Still riding that wave I thought I would share with you how to make milk without cows. Now you wonder how is that… Read more
Cashew & Coconut nut milk- makes 500ml x2
Cashew Milk
1 cup of soaked cashew nuts ( soaking over night is best, but 4hours should be fine too)
3 cups of filtered water
2cm of vanilla pod or a few drops of extract if you like to flavour your milk ( optional)
Coconut milk
1 cup of fresh coconut meat
3 cups of filtered water
2cm of vanilla pod or a few drops of extract if you like to flavour your milk ( optional)
If you want to make almond milk, please soak the almonds over night and peel them as the skin would make the milk quite bitter. You can also get already peeled almonds if you want to save time peeling them but they will be more expensive and you would still need to soak them over night.
You will always need a cheese cloth or bag to strain the milk.
And here is how it works : just put the soaked nuts or fresh coconut, water and optional the content of 2 cm of vanilla pod into a blender and blend until you have a smoothie like liquid.
Leftover tip : keep the piece vanilla pod and use it to flavour salt or sugar. Just add it to the jar and after a couple of days you have lovely flavoured vanilla salt or sugar, leave it in to keep the flavour- it works a treat.
Next get a jug and a cheese cloth ready and start poring the liquid.
Once all is pored in, pick up the cloth and carefully squeeze it to get all the remaining liquid through, it does actually look quite authentic, doesn’t it ?
You can either use the milk straight away or fill into a bottle and keep in the fridge, consume within 4-5 days and always shake well before use as the milk will separate. Enjoy!
Coconut & cashew pulp macaroons– makes 12-16
Nut milk pulp of one cup of coconut and one cup of cashew nuts
1/2 cup of desiccated coconut
1 tbsp of chia seeds & 1 tbsp of ground almonds
2 egg whites
3-4 tbsp of honey
content of half a vanilla pod or some extract (add the empty pod to your salt or sugar jar)
A pinch of sea salt
3/4 of bar of dark chocolate for the coating- ideally organic and 85% ( optional)
Pre-heat the oven at 160C. Next place all ingredients except the cocolate into a food processor and blend until you get a nice gloopy and sticky texture. A handheld mixer or whisk should work fine too.
Now line a baking tray with baking paper and start making egg shaped macaroons using two tea spoons. You can also make balls if that is easier, although the mix is quite sticky so using spoons is probably going to be easiest.
Bake for 15-20 minutes ( I always try one after 15 minutes to see if they are done). Leave to cool before coating the macaroons with chocolate.
For the coating, melt chocolate over a hot water bath, adding a small pinch of sea salt gives the chocolate coating an extra twist. For the water bath boil water in a pot, take off the hob and put a glass bowl on top, then break chocolate into smaller pieces into the bowl and keep stirring with a wooden spoon until completely melted. Now dunk the macaroons into the chocolate-coating the bottom part- best to use your hands and leave to set on a sheet of baking paper- done-delicious ! Happy Easter !!
Simple Crimini button mushroom soup
Inspired by some very pretty looking mushrooms at my local green grocers, I thought I would make a nice and easy mushroom soup . I love quick & delicious dishes as they really make a big difference to a busy day. And of course no… Read more
Crimini button mushroom soup– Serves 3-4
400 g crimini mushrooms – sliced
1 medium sized onion or a couple of shallots – sliced
2-4 tbsp of olive oil
25 g of ghee ( or butter)
1-2 springs of fresh thyme
750 ml of vegetable or chicken stock
Fresh flat leaf parsley ( optional -another one for the window sill)
1 tbsp of dried mushrooms -soaked in the vegetable stock
Pepper, sea salt, (Parmesan to garnish – optional)
Method:
Peel and finely slice the onion and set a side. Prepare the stock in a jug or separate pan, boiling 750ml of filtered water (quickest way to do it is to use a kettle), add the chicken or vegetable stock cube or homemade stock, stir until dissolved and add table spoon of dried mushrooms to enhance the flavour of the stock. Carefully wash the mushrooms, cut off the dry end of the stem, then finely slice and set a side.
Take another handful to keep aside for the topping (optional). For the soup: heat the olive oil and sweat the shallots for 2-3 minutes, then add thyme and mushrooms and cook for another 3-4 minutes, before adding the stock. Leave to simmer for about 5-7 minutes.
Set pot aside and leave to cool down for 5 minutes, then blend until smooth, towards the end of the blending process add the 1 tbsp of ghee . As for what to use for blending the soup, I usually use a handheld blender as it is very quick to clean, but the most smooth results you will get in using a food processor or blender. Once blended well, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serving options: just on its own or topped with a tbsp of sauteed mushrooms, freshly chopped flat parsley, some Parmesan shavings, finely chopped roasted chestnuts when in season, serve with freshly baked sourdough or multi-seed bread.
Bon Appétit !!
Bircher muesli with carrot cake granola
Bircher muesli rocks and somewhat seems to be in fashion. I am sure its creator the Swiss nutritionist and doctor Maximilian Bircher-Benner would be very happy having found that many fans, if he was still with us. He could be calling himself a bit of… Read more
Bircher Muesli– serves 2-3
2 cups of organic rolled jumbo oats
1-2 tbsp of soaked almonds ( roughly chopped)
1 organic apple ( British if possible- I love breaburn)
300 ml of cashew milk ( or plant based milk of your choice e.g. rice, oat, almond, coconut etc)
1 tbsp of raisins & 1 tbsp roughly chopped dates
1-2 tbsp of walnuts ( roughly chopped)
1-2 tbsp of pecans ( roughly chopped)
1 tbsp of chia seeds
2 inch of vanilla pod or a dash of vanilla extract (optional)
1 tbsp maple sirup to sweeten if desired
Topping: a hand full of prunes soaked over night with a dash of cinnamon (optional) , kefir or natural yoghurt also works nicely as a topping.
Carrot cake granola
300g of organic rolled jumbo oats
50g-100g of carrot pulp ( left over from juicing) or 1/2 cup of finely grated carrot
2 tbsp of cashew pulp (left over from making cashew milk) or finely chopped cashew nuts
25g of coconut sugar or 2-3 tbsp of maple syrup or honey
2 tbsp of coconut oil
1/2 cup of walnuts – chopped
1/4 cup of pecan nuts- chopped
1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds -chopped
1/3 cup of raisins
2-3 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
2 inches of vanilla pod (scraped out , you can add the left over pod to the muesli) -optional
Pinch of salt
Method:
For the muesli: I usually prepare this in the evening: grate the apple including the skin and put together with all other dry ingredients into a mason jar, then add the milk, make sure it soaks through well and add some milk in excess as the chia seeds will soak up some extra liquid. Stir well, close tight and give it a good shake before putting it in the fridge.
That’s it-done- breakfast ready prepared for the next morning/day. You can already eat it after a 2-3 hours but its just nicer soaked over night. Shake/stir well again before serving, that way you ensure a delicious flavour throughout.
For the granola: preheat the over at 170c and line two baking trays with baking parchment and set aside. Put the oil, sugar or maple syrup, vanilla (if using), cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl and whisk together. It helps to place the bowl in the heated oven for a few minutes so the oil binds better with the other ingredients. Next add all other ingredients and mix together well, this is best done with your hands, as it makes it easier to combine everything . The mixture is quite sticky but delicious if you want to try some raw.
Evenly spread out the mixture on the baking trays and bake until nicely golden brown and crunchy. During the baking process give the granola a stir now and again, that way everything bakes through well.
Leave to cool down completely before putting the granola into jars. It will keep for up to a 3-4 weeks.
I love dried prunes soaked with a dash of cinnamon, also easily prepared together with the Bircher and soaked over night. You can add some of the prune juice to the bircher muesli its deliciously sweet. If you do not have time to make the granola or don’t like prunes, Kefir or plain natural yoghurt works a treat with this breakfast or just with granola and soaked prunes. 🙂 Enjoy !
Sardine & green salad with tahini, ginger & tamari dressing
It’s March and snowdrops and crocuses are appearing everywhere. The best time to introduce salads back on the menu. It’s still a bit early for getting a huge variety of colours going , so we will have to stick to 50 shades of green which… Read more
Sardine & green salad with tahini-tamari & ginger dressing– serves 2-3
300g of flower sprouts or kale
2 heads of little gem lettuce
1/2 leek ( spring onions work very well too, if in season)
1-2 ripe avocados
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 cans of sardines in oil or brine
1 cup of red quinoa
To garnish
2 tbsp of walnuts ( ideally soaked in filtered water for 2 hours)
2 tbsp of cashew nuts ( ideally soaked in filtered water for 4 hours)
1 tbsp of pumpkin seeds ( ideally soaked in filtered water for 2 hours)
1 bunch of fresh coriander
For the dressing
1 tbsp of tahini
2 tbsp of sesame seed oil & 1 tbsp of hemp oil
1/2-1 tbsp tamari sauce
1-2 tbsp of rice or white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp of miso paste (optional)
small piece of ginger & 1/2 a clove of garlic ( grated or crushed with garlic press)
Method:
I usually start with preparing the dressing, using a small jar with a lid, so I can give the dressing a good shake and keep any left over in the fridge. It’s very simple just add all ingredients to the jar, stir well , so the tahini mixes completely with the rest of the ingredients, then put the lid on, shake well and set aside.
Next rinse the quinoa and cook as per cooking instructions. The cooking process should take around 10-15 minutes and should give you enough time to prepare the rest of the salad.
Wash the flour sprouts, dry off slightly, tear off the tiny leaves and place in a salad bowl. Please don’t throw the hard stems away, you can use them for your next juice ( keep in a damp towel in the fridge, use within two days). Pour the lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt over the leaves and massage in well. This helps breaking down the fiber, making the greens more tender and easier to digest. This step is only necessary if you are using flour sprouts or kale as their leaves are tougher than regular salad leaves.
Next wash the gem lettuce and cut into stripes; wash, dry off and slice the leeks and add to the bowl together with the gem lettuce and gently mix all together.
Prepare the avocado, cut through the middle, open, remove the pip and skin, then cut through the length in the middle and then slice, that way you get nice similar sized pieces, add to the bowl together with the dressing and give it a good but careful mix.
Next prepare the fish, drain the oil or brine, remove any fish bones from the center and tear into pieces on top of the salad.
Finally fold the fish under the salad mix with two wooden spoons (I usually like using my hands but this one is a bit messy).
Serve with or without a boiled egg, a hand full of chopped soaked nuts and fresh coriander leaves. The salad is a great sandwich filling too, perfect for work lunches. Bon appetite !!