Friday, August 28, 2015

Comfort and joy!

Anyone else noticed the mornings are feeling cooler as we begin our shift into Autumn? The evenings are also darker. But, before you despair, think about all the lovely, warming, comfort food that awaits you....

Comfort


I have started having porridge for breakfast again. Obviously I tart it up though. There is something so evocative about a big bowl of steaming oats. There wasn't a snowy day that escaped my mother demanding my siblings and I ate a bowl before being bundled up and allowed outside to make snowmen. I can still taste it. Oats made with full fat milk and dark muscodavo sugar that made brown swirls through the creamy porridge. Heaven.


Blackberries, plums, apples, pears are all coming into season and make excellent hot or cold toppings for porridge. Add any combination of banana, chopped dates, cacao nibs, coconut chips, berries (dried or fresh), seeds, nuts, nut butter (I use home-made almond butter in mine as it makes everything taste amazing), honey, maple syrup, molasses and cinnamon and you will have a nutritious and delicious start to the day. If I'm working out lots (very rare) I'll also add a scoop of protein powder to the pan just before I switch it off.





I usually soak my oats for about 20mins in hot water with a spoon of chia seeds (extra protein) whilst I'm in the shower. This means they cook in no time, I add a non-dairy milk, like brown rice or almond, whilst it's cooking. 


Sometimes, you need some extra comfort. I have had a head cold this week and made a very piggy bowl of porridge this morning, which included medjool dates and a home-made chocolate nut cookie. Instant gratification!


My indulgent porridge:


Soak a cup of jumbo porridge oats in warm water for 20mins
Grate an apple and add to the oats
Add a handful of raisins 
1 tsp cinnamon
Add a splash of your choice of milk for a creamier porridge

Gently heat until the mixture thickens

To top:
1 sliced plum 
6 walnut halves

2 chopped medjool dates
A blob of almond butter (obvs)
Molasses, drizzled 
A nutty choco cookie (recipe below) if you desire it! 




Walnuts are a great source of omega 3, melatonin and vitamin E. They look like tiny brains which is what they are good for! 

Molasses is a great source of B-vits and iron. Great for all you veggies and vegans. It's ironic that it's a by-product of the sugar refining process when it's what contains all the minerals and nutrients. But, there you go. It's a mad world we live in. 
Molasses also contains a nutrient called PABA, which is a member of the B vitamins. It is useful for protecting the skin against damaging UV rays from the inside. Therefore protecting skin from sunburn and the development of skin cancer. I also read it can protect from the effects of breathing second hand smoke. I don't know if this has been proven though so don't quote me! 


Something else that instantly takes me back to my school days is semolina. We used to have it as a pudding with raspberry jam. I can still smell it, sweet and earthy. I bought a bag of semolina last week when I was feeling nostalgic. It warrants a home-made, Scandinavian style fresh jam to accompany it so maybe that's what I'll have a bash at this weekend. Ultimate comfort. Like a hug in a bowl!

Joy


There are occasions when no matter how many times I open the fridge or cupboard doors, no chocolate materialises. Neither does any cake, or biscuits. This is what is known as an EMERGENCY. 


I have two recipes on stand by for such emergencies that are quick and easy to make and only require a few ingredients. Take note:


Chocolate nut fudge cookies (these were inspired by a recipe in Deliciously Ella. I improved them though. Obviously.)


Ingredients:


150g ground almonds

150g walnuts
100g coconut flour
50g milled flax seeds
6 medjool dates or 10 smaller dates (I personally like the Iranian dates. They are small and very gooey!)
3 tablespoons chia seeds
3 tablespoons cacao powder
2 tablespoons coconut oil

Method:


Blend eveything in a blender and add about 75-100ml water to make a sticky dough. If too wet, simple add a bit more ground flax seed.


Spoon out blobs of the mixture and make it into as much of a ball as possible. Place on a baking tray and squash it with a spatula. Bake in the oven for about 15mins, on about 180 degrees Celsius, checking them halfway through. Feel free to squash them with a spatula if you want them flatter! When you deem them done, carefully slide each cookie onto a cooling tray. Try not to eat them all at once. Unless you really really need to.


NOW! The party ain't over! If you have a powerful blender this is where you can REALLY have some fun! Make ice-cream sandwiches by blending 2 frozen bananas, a few dates and some peanut butter (optional). Whiz it all up and scoop a blob between two cookies (make sure they have cooled first!). Shove in your gob. Close your eyes. Enjoy the moment. 





No Bake Vegan Brownies


These babies take about 10 mins prep time. They do need to set in the freezer for about an hour though. Sorry!


Ingredients:


110g coconut flour

150g coconut oil
50g raw cacao powder
50g medium oatmeal (omit if you want them gluten-free)
1tsp vanilla extract
2 tablespoons agave nectar
50g chopped nuts (optional)

Method:


Mix all ingredients together (gently melt coconut oil in a bowl above simmering water if it is too solid)

Grease a square brownie tin and line with cling-film. pour mixture in and set in freezer for about 1hr. 




These are great on their own, with a mug of coffee for breakfast, or broken up on ice-cream. 


Coming soon....my raw, vegan salted caramel slice recipe. It's worth waiting for.....


Eat well. Xx















Friday, August 14, 2015

Simple Mutha Supper!

For this post I want to keep it real. I'm talking about quick, healthy, easy meals with a few simple ingredients that taste like a hug feels. Or something.

Here are three...and a half recipes for you to try this weekend. Perfect for something super fast and healthy to set you up for a night out, or to rustle up before a night in front of the telly.

Please let me know what you think or how they worked out for you.

I'm not one for measuring and weighing every little thing so just go with it. Experiment. Live life on the edge. I like the sense of danger. It makes me feel alive.

Celery cashew soup
Don't judge it till you've tried it.

Glug of olive oil or similar
1 cup cashew nuts
2 heads of celery, chopped
1 potato, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 spoon Bouillon powder or other veg stock
1 mug of soya milk or alternative
flat leaf parsley, chopped (if in doubt, just chop it)
Nutmeg, salt and black pepper to taste.

Method:

Heat the oil in a large pan and with the lid on, on a low heat, sweat the potato, celery, onion and garlic for about 10 minutes. Give the pan a shake every few minutes so nothing sticks and burns.

Throw in the cashew nuts and sweat for a further 2 mins. Then add enough boiling water to cover the veg and stir in the veg stock.

Simmer for about 1/2hr until everything is nice and soft. Blitz the soup in a food processor until smooth. Then add the milk and season with the nutmeg (freshly grated is best), salt (taste the soup first as some veg stocks can be very salty!) and pepper.

Stir in the chopped parsley and serve! Ta daa!

I like this with toasted spelt bread. But that's just how I roll.

Variation:

To make a deliciously creamy, vegan spinach soup, swap the celery for spinach. Omit the parsley though! Also, adding a fennel bulb to this recipe is delicious. You can also use the fennel tops in the soup and on top as a garnish.

Courgetti with avocado pesto and stir fried tofu

This meal is insanely tasty and so simple you'll be asking yourself why you didn't think it up. But you didn't and I did. You're just going to have to live with that.

I bought my Spiralizer from Amazon. I've managed to add bits of my fingers to the ingredients a few times so just be careful!

Serves 2.

Coconut oil or other fryng oil
1 slab of tofu cut into squares. keep it chunky

For the marinade:
Teryaki sauce
juice of 1 lime
1 green chilli, sliced

For the pesto:
1 ripe avo, mashed
Juice of 1/2 lemon or 1 lime
Handful fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

2 courgettes, spiralized!
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 inch chunk of ginger, sliced into matchstick kinda size

To serve:
Pine nuts gently toasted in a dry frying pan
1/2 a lime



Method:

Melt enough coconut oil in a frying pan to cover the base generously.
Gently fry the tofu chunks with the chilli, sliced garlic and ginger, turning frequently, until golden brown.

In a wok gently stir fry the courgetti in coconut oil for a few minutes until they soften.

Meanwhile, mash up all the pesto ingredients together and mix it with the courgetti in the wok.

Drain the tofu on kitchen toil and discard the garlic and ginger. It will most likely be burnt.

Plate up, scatter with pine nuts and squeeze that lime!

Shove it in yer gob! Yummy.

Spaghetti alla Olivia

I made it, so I named it. Plus my name is basically Olive in Italian.

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

Spaghetti. obviously.
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup black olives
1 tablespoon capers
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bag of rocket

Avocado pesto from previous recipe. I would use the juice of 1 lemon rather than lime though.

Grated vegan cheese to top. I like the almond one with this recipe. Available in Planet Organic or another well stocked health food store.

Method:
Cook pasta. Bung everything together. Done,

I drizzle the spaghetti with olive oil before adding anything else as I like it extra lubricated!



Hope you enjoy these meals as much as I do. If in doubt, add lemon or lime juice to EVERYTHING as it makes food taste AWESOME!

If you enjoyed this post please follow me on Instagram for more food porn and bite sized ideas!

Eat well. Xx