Tag Archives: vegan

Kind-of-Ratatouille-a-la-Karo

14 Oct

with Spinach Couscous!Tonight’s dinner may not be much to look at but it sure was delicious! And it was an intersection of different food thoughts that have been running through my head in the last few weeks. Inspired by so many things – my friend Karo’s post about the grated courgettes (zucchini), the Medjool dates at Per Se, and Karo’s link to Ottolenghi’s website.

Dinner needed to be fast and yet different tonight. Suddenly, autumn is upon us. I think we had our last 80 degree day a few days back, and now the crisp chill of cold is in the air around us. So dinner needed to be a response to that – warm and hearty, yet with echoes of sunshiney places. I didnt really think I wanted to do a ratatouille (though that often speaks of sunshine and warmth), mainly because I didnt have enough tomatoes. And I wanted to do the zucchini grated, and see what happened.

I started cooking with the thought that I was going to grate everything – but it didnt work out that way. Im pretty glad about that because I think I would have had a dark brown looking sludge by the end of it! Some stuff was grated, some stayed basically intact. You could serve this kind-of-ratatouille with french bread, rice, pasta – or as I did, with spinach couscous for a lush hint of colour and raw spinach flavour.

This is an example of my favourite free-form cooking – starting with a few ideas, and some beautiful ingredients, and seeing what happens. The end result was pretty damn tasty, completely vegan, rich and complex. The spice choices leant a hint of sunshine to the dark cold night, and we all went to bed happy and satisfied. All is right with the world 🙂

Serves 4

  • 1 tbsp plus more as needed olive oil
  • 1 small onion grated (mostly liquid)
  • 2 cloves garlic (or more as is your preference), grated
  • 1 small eggplant (aubergine) – diced
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • Pinch (or more) cinnamon
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 portobello mushrooms, peeled and minced
  • 1 zucchini (courgette) grated
  • 1 Medjool date, pitted and chopped very small
  • 1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
  • 1/2 orange sweet pepper
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped tomatoes (I used baby heirloom)
  • 1/2 cup or so water
  • 1/2 cup cashew nuts (toasted)
  • Spinach couscous

First off, toast your cashew nuts if they are raw. Use a non stick frying pan, dont add any oil, and toast over a medium fire until lightly browned. Pour off into a small bowl and set aside.

Add about 1 tablespoon olive oil to the frying pan. You might need to add more oil as you go through the various ingredients, but try to be miserly with the oil – you dont want an overly greasy end dish. Instead, use more or less heat (and eventually water) to control the cooking process.

Grate a small onion directly into the pan. The onion I grated ended up being quite watery – this is fine. If you have lovely little grated shards of onion, this is good too. Saute for a few minutes until the onion is glossy and soft. Grate in the garlic and stir to combine. Lower the heat and let the onion and garlic get acquainted.

While the onion and garlic are bubbling together gently, dice the eggplant into small cubes, keeping the skin intact. Bring the heat up a little (and add a touch of olive oil if you think it needs it), and add all the eggplant, mixing well.

Season the eggplant and onion mixture with the paprika, oregano, pepper, cinnamon and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust if needed.

Cook for about 5 minutes on high-ish heat. You want to burn the eggplant a little bit, and allow the onions to melt into the mix. When you start smelling that wonderful eggplant roasted burnt scent (its unmistakable) add the next part.

Add the mushrooms and mix extremely well. The mushrooms will let go of their liquid – encourage this by mixing thoroughly.

Lower the heat to medium, and let everything simmer together while you grate the zucchini. Squeeze most of the liquid out of the grated zucchini, and add to the pan. Sautee together, and mix very well. The zucchini will act as a paste and start to incorporate everything together. Taste and adjust for seasoning. add the minced date, and mix together. Allow everything to saute on medium heat for a few minutes.

Add carrots, sweet pepper and tomatoes to the pan, bring the heat to high, and stir to combine. As soon as everything starts to pop and sizzle, add the water, and allow the mixture to bubble. Taste for seasoning and adjust.

Add the cashews, and taste everything to make sure its a singular whole. Serve over spinach couscous or a grain of your choice!

 

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Braised Brussels Sprouts

9 Oct

sprouts!If you dont like brussels sprouts, try this recipe. It is so phenomenally good, I dare anyone to taste it and not like it. Brussels sprouts are a much maligned vegetable, but thats mainly because they tend to be over or under cooked. They can be pungent, but treating them with respect, and cooking them in a time tested French manner (braising in cream – or coconut cream for vegans) brings out their nutty tenderness to perfection.

Tonight was a big meal night – polenta with a tomato spinach sauce, roasted kale, and brussels sprouts. My sister had purchased a branch of brussels sprouts. How gorgeous is that? Cooking in this way – literally picking the sprouts off the plant they had grown on – is so satisfying. Preparing brussels sprouts is easy. Trim the bottoms well, and take off two or three leaves – you want what looks like a tightly packed miniature lettuce.

These sprouts are wonderful as a side dish, or could even be given centre stage (Jules said she could just eat the sprouts and be happy). If I was serving the sprouts as a main course, I might gratinee them in the oven for a few minutes. Any which way, theyre surprisingly good. This preparation would also be great pureed as a soup.

Brussels sprouts are so good for you – they are anti-inflamatory, anti-oxidant, and detoxing. There are many studies which link regular consumption of brussels sprouts with a lower incidence of cancer. Related to kale, broccoli and cabbage, this tiny superfood is wonderfully healthy for you, and cooked well, sensationally tasty.

This recipe serves 6 – 8 people as a side dish, fewer as a main

  • About 2 lbs brussels sprouts
  • 1 cup cream (or coconut milk cream for vegans)
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp salt
  • Fresh (if you have it) grated nutmeg (or if you are using the coconut milk, you could also use garam masala for a slightly spicier mix) – just a pinch
  • Black pepper

The most time consuming part of this dish is preparing the brussels sprouts. You need to check out each one, trim the ends and trim the loose leaves. Check to make sure that the leaves are tight. Once youre happy with a sprout, toss it into a large bowl of salted water. Keep prepping all your sprouts until you are done. You should have 4 – 6 cups worth.

Slice the sprouts in half and transfer to a large saucepan, which has a lid. Pour over the cream (or coconut milk cream) and sprinkle with salt. I usually use only about 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and then taste and adjust when I am done. I prefer to let the sweetness of the brussels sprouts shine through.

Bring the cream and sprouts to the boil over high heat. As soon as it all starts to bubble and roil, cover with lid, and lower heat to medium low. Braise the sprouts, covered, for about 12 – 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the root end of the sprout goes through softly. I usually check about half way through the cooking time, adjust the heat if I think its needed, and give the sprouts a good mix to make sure they all get heat time.

Take off heat, and grate or sprinkle over nutmeg and lashings of black pepper. Combine, taste and adjust. Add more salt if needed.

YummmmmThe sprouts will have soaked up most of the cream, and become voluptuously plump, bright green and delightful. They will shine, and beckon hungry appetites.

The sprouts can be prepared ahead of time and reheated gently.

Get ready to accept applause, and garner converts!

 

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Malaysian Dinner

5 Oct

Last night, after a long journey back home from NYC, I was confronted by a quiet empty kitchen. M had gone upstairs to put Z to bed, J had gone to have her shower, and I realised that we would all be hungry in about half an hour. I wanted to make a REALLY fast, but really delicious meal that would be warm, and full of the flavours of home.

We didnt have much in the fridge, but we did have some tempeh, a half bag of frozen spinach, some milk (for vegans, you can replace with a bit of coconut milk), some salsa with chopped tomatoes and garlic, an onion and jasmine rice. Chili and soy sauces provided heat and flavour, along with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil. This was such a good meal, and took only a few minutes to put together.

Serves four hungry people on a cold rainy day, with the remembrance of sunshine and heat.

Prepare some jasmine rice.

While the rice is cooking, chop an onion, and saute, with a bit of olive oil and a bit of toasted sesame oil, in a medium sized non stick pan until translucent. Sprinkle over some soy sauce and some chili sauce until the onion is very dark and sticky looking. Slice up the tempeh, bring the heat up high, and quick fry the tempeh, ensuring it is covered in the onion sticky mix. You should fry the tempeh in an even layer, and then flip it over. Add more soy or chili sauce if you want it stickier, saltier or hotter. Once the tempeh has been cooked on both sides (it will get a bit brownish and will start to burn on the edges), stir fry it a bit, and transfer to a bowl. Set aside to serve. This should take you about ten minutes total.

Clean out the frying pan, and put half a bag of frozen spinach (or 2 – 3 cups fresh, chopped) and a few tablespoons of salsa into the pan. Put the heat on to low, and let the mixture melt and come to room temperature. Add the milk or coconut milk (I used about half a cup), and about a teaspoon of soy sauce. Let the mixture come to a boil, and let it bubble down a bit. Taste for saltiness and adjust. If you have it, sprinkle over a half a teaspoon or more of garam masala for a soft hint of spice.

Serve the spinach and tempeh with rice for a simple, easy Malaysian meal.

PS – We were so hungry, and it smelled so good, I forgot to take a picture! But trust me, its easy, delicious, and it looks beautiful, with the deep creamy green of the spinach, the sticky golden chili tempeh and the pure white rice.

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Vegan Dinner + Asparagus with Couscous

5 Oct

Just back from New York – what an amazing trip! Had lunch at Per Se on Saturday, and will review it soon. Friday was great fun too. I had my very curly hair cut at Ouidad – she is the Goddess of Curly Hair, and an incredible inspiration. And because this was New York, and I was having a wonderful time, I stopped in at Dean and Deluca on my way home and browsed.

Dinner!Oh that place is just a total culinary paradise. I wandered around for an hour, just inhaling the aromas, and browsing everything. If I had more room in my suitcase, I would have bought the store! It was as if I was in a curated foodie dream … the olive oils, the truffles, the ice creams, the cheeses… and the fruits and vegetables! Of course it was terrifically expensive, but so beautiful. I found such fresh fruits and vegetables – everything perfect, and at its peak. When I got home, I decided to study what I had bought and treat it with great simplicity and respect.

My hostess, and dear friend T, is a vegan. I wanted to make her dinner, and it was a cold and stormy night, so I was inspired by the end of summer wealth of fruit and vegetables available at Dean and Deluca. I wanted to make a meal full of strong sensuous flavours that would not overwhelm us, and yet would nourish the senses. It was such a pleasure to cook with this produce, at its height of freshenss. It was easy to make something bright and beautiful. We had:

  • Eggplant (aubergine) dip made from roasted eggplant, tomatoes and virgin olive oil
  • Beautiful fresh bread
  • Fresh figs (I was going to poach them in white wine, but I tasted them, and they were so perfect, I decided to leave them in their glory)
  • Roasted baby heirloom tomatoes and garlic, with fresh basil. Very easy and very quick – 200C (400F) oven – pop in a tray of sliced tomatoes, garlic and basil, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Roast until the entire house is scented and everything is soft and slightly burnt, and luscious.
  • Hand rolled couscous with asparagus, mint, basil and meyer lemon
  • Reisling poached pear sorbet by Jeni’s Ice Creams (I had a Salty Caramel for non-vegan me which was mind blowing) – you can order for delivery!

For the asparagus with couscous, which will serve four, or two, with leftovers for the weekend, you will need:

  • 1 bunch fresh organic asparagus (about 1 – 2 cups)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • 1 cup couscous (I used this amazing hand rolled couscous but garden variety is just fine!)
  • 1 bunch fresh organic mint (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 bunch fresh organic basil (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 Meyer lemon

Prepare the asparagus first. For each stalk, snap the bottom off with your hands. The asparagus will snap naturally, and you will be left with shortened stalks, but the best part. Discard the bottom bits.

Chop the asparagus into 2 inch or so sections. Boil about 1 cup of water in a medium saucepan on high heat. Add a bit of salt. Dunk the asparagus into the boiling water. Watch carefully. The asparagus will turn bright green. You want to remove it from the water almost as soon as it cooks – taste and see but I usually only leave it in for a minute or two. This ensures its very fresh, slightly crisp and yet cooked. The asparagus we had was sweet and very pure tasting without any adornment.

Use a sieve if you have it and take the asparagus out of its hot water bath and immediately dunk it in ice water or put it in a bowl and run cold water over – this will stop the cooking process. If you can, save the water the asparagus was cooked in for the couscous. Once the asparagus has been well cooled, set aside in a little bowl.

Using the same saucepan (and the same water if youre lucky), prepare the couscous. You will usually need about 1 1/2 cups of water to 1 cup of couscous, but follow directions on the package. I usually add a dollop of extra virgin olive oil to the boiling water for flavour and a sprinkle of salt. Once the water is boiling, add the couscous, stir, and take off heat. Cover, and let stand, steaming quietly to itself, for about 5 – 10 minutes. Once the couscous has absorbed all the water, take the lid off, and fluff. It will then be ready to serve.

While the couscous is absorbing all its water, chop the mint and basil fine and set aside. Grate the skin of the lemon, and set aside. Squeeze at least 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and set aside.

I thought I would spice this up with some Moroccan spices, dark and dusky, but the flavours were so clean and beautiful, I left them out completely!

Couscous!Once the couscous is ready, stir in the mint, basil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Taste for salt, and if you want, add a teaspoon of olive oil for depth of flavour. Let stand for a few minutes to come to room temperature, and then stir in the asparagus. Serve at room temperature.

This is the perfect last hurrah of summer!

Please forgive the iPod photos! I forgot my camera!

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Inspiration from Karo

2 Oct

I am in New York at the moment… having a wonderful time, visiting old haunts and trying out new ones. Today we eat at Per Se! Cant wait and will write fully about it when I get home… but for now, some inspiration from my dear friend Karo who sent me this email. When I get home to Bethesda, I will definitely be trying some courgettes (zucchini) grated…

Dear P

This summer was about courgettes. They are just coming to the end of their season and I shall miss them.

The epiphany came with Julia Child’s recommendation to try them grated. She said that anybody tasting grated courgettes for the first time was likely to think they were trying a completely new vegetable. She is quite right.

Grate them, salt them, leave them in a colander for ten to twenty minutes and squeeze the courgette water out. (This has plenty of flavour and can be used.)

Then try them the first time sauted in good butter with salt and some fresh herbs. They cook quickly. They are delicious. And they are very forgiving about being left in a warm pan while you cook something else.

You will love them. You will try olive oil and garlic the next time, perhaps. Pesto. Cream. Some roasted tomatoes. You might mix them with spinach.

They make a wonderfully forgiving pie filling. Baked for 30 minutes in a casserole with some translucent onions, and a roux made of a tablespoon of flour, the courgette juice and milk made up to a scant pint and topped with Parmesan and breadcrumbs they make Child’s “Tian de Courgettes” which I love as a humble main meal.

Next time you espy them in the vegetable shop, I urge you to take them home and grate them.

Love, Karo

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Carrot Soup

29 Sep

SoupAfter the party and the cakes and cupcakes and cookies … and the traumas of today (Z had her 1 year checkup and injections at the doctor) … it was time for something soothing. It has also been quite rainy these last few days, so I decided to make carrot soup. Well, that, and we had plenty of carrots left over from the party! The preponderant taste of this soup is carrot, but it has the addition of just a bit of butternut for silkiness, and some tomatoes for heartiness.

I do love soups. When youre ill, and you just dont want to eat, soup can tempt you with its scent, its warmth, its comfort factor. When its rainy outside, soup makes everyone feel good. And on hot days, a cold soup is a refreshing option for a quick meal. Speaking of which, this carrot soup is just as good cold as it is hot – and its amazing orange glow immediately raises the spirits!

I served the soup with toast, spread with the last of the artichoke spinach dip. It was such a great contrast – the sweetness of the carrots juxtaposed with the salty creaminess of the dip. Warm garlic bread would also be a nice option here … just think about how to make the sweetness pop by adding a salty element.

This soup serves 4 people, with leftovers. Enjoy, hot or cold 😉

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for flavour as well as for sauteing the onions)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder or 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 cups carrots, washed and chopped (skin on is fine)
  • 1/2 – 1 cup butternut
  • 1 cup chopped tomatoes (you can use canned if you have to but fresh is better)
  • 2 cups water
  • A few tablespoons cream, sour cream, almond or soy milk or coconut milk

In a large pot, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. I specify extra virgin here because it adds a depth of flavour to the soup. If you dont have it, use regular olive oil or vegetable oil.

Saute the onion until it becomes glossy and soft. Add the garlic, and stir well. Season with paprika, oregano and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Add the carrots, butternut and tomatoes in batches. Stir after each addition, and allow the vegetables to soften a bit.

Add the water, and bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or so, or until all the vegetables have softened. You may find you need to add more water, but do this judiciously. You want quite a thick soup.

Once all the vegetables have softened, puree the soup using an immersion blender, or a stand blender or food processor. Be careful as the soup will be quite hot!

CarrotTaste and adjust seasonings. I often find I need to add a touch more salt.

Just before serving stir in the cream or milk. Do not bring to the boil, but heat until simmering.

Serve with toast on the side for a comforting bright meal.

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Butternut Couscous

23 Sep

With Walnuts + Goats Cheese + Red Wine SauceToday we started getting in gear for Queen Z’s 1st Birthday Party. Did most of the shopping and I prepared the butter cookies for baking tomorrow morning. So tonight, we wanted a good and simple meal that would nourish us and keep us going! I decided to cook the butternut that has been sitting on the table looking at me friendly like for the last couple of days. My friend, Floating Lemons, posted a recipe on my Facebook page that inspired me.

I decided to make roasted butternut and combine it with toasted spiced walnuts and some gorgeous blue goat’s cheese I found at the market. I wanted to serve it with spinach couscous, which I have made before. As the recipe was coming together, I decided that the butternut and couscous together would be a bit dry – so I made a red wine orange sauce on the fly! I combined the butternut with the walnuts and cheese, placed them on the green flecked couscous, and drizzled the wine sauce over. It was delicious! And a great example of how a recipe can expand as you make it.

This may seem a little complex, but to be honest, I made the whole thing in one small saucepan (with a tight fitting lid!), and a roasting dish. We all have too much on our plates for me to start cooking with a thousand pots, so the recipe will reflect the step by step process I went through. It feels and sounds quite complicated, but if you read the recipe a few times, you will see that its really easy peasy!

I started the butternut roasting and then got on with the rest – toasted the walnuts, chopped the cheese (which you can omit easily if you are vegan), made the sauce and the couscous. By the time the butternut was ready, the other ingredients were just waiting to be combined!

This meal will serve 4 hungry greedy people or 6 refined ones. You can easily cut it in half as well, or double it if needed. Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut

  • 1 medium butternut, peeled, seeded and chopped
  • 9 – 12 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F).

In a large bowl, using your hands, combine the butternut, garlic and olive oil. The oil should lightly coat the butternut, not overwhelm it. Salt and pepper lightly and mix again with your hands to combine.

Line a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the butternut and garlic in a single layer on the pan, and roast for at least 30 minutes (it can go up to about 45) or until the butternut are soft, and slightly caramelised around the edges.

Once the butternut has roasted to your preference, take out of the oven and set aside to cool a little.

Toasted Walnuts

  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 1 tsp (or more) paprika
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • A few drops (literally) of olive oil

Chop the walnuts into small chunks, and put them into a non stick saucepan.

Place saucepan over medium heat, and start to toast the walnuts. You need to watch quite carefully so they dont burn, and stir often with a wooden spoon. If you are worried, lower the heat a bit. The oils in the walnuts will release and you will smell the wonderful, unmatchable scent of toasted nuts. Gorgeous.

Once the walnuts have just started to toast, sprinkle the paprika, red pepper and salt over the walnuts and stir to combine. Wait for the spicy scent to hit you and then drop a few drops of olive oil over all, and stir. The olive oil will help the spices adhere to the walnuts.

Toast for about a minute or so more – and taste to see if its to your liking. If so, take off the heat, and set the walnuts aside. I put them in a teacup!

Red Wine Orange Sauce

  • 1/2 cup good red wine
  • 1/4 cup orange juice – fresh squeezed is best but if you only have orange juice from a carton thats fine too – it will be a bit sweet, and you might have to adjust accordingly.
  • 1 tbsp butter (or Earth Balance margarine if you are vegan)
  • Salt to taste (I only used a tiny pinch)
  • 2 tbsp sour cream (or heavy cream – or if youre vegan, use coconut cream or soy creamer/milk – oat milk would be good here too) – optional

This is not tons of sauce, its just a lick to give moisture and flavour.

Clean out the saucepan, and combine the red wine and orange juice together. Over high heat, bring the mixture to the boil, and boil quite rapidly until reduced by at least a third, and up to half.

Whisk in the butter or margarine, and add salt to taste. You should have quite a thick winey sauce – almost a glaze – with a strong orange flavour. Orange goes beautifully with butternut, so this will only brighten its amazing taste.

Whisk in the sour cream, if using, until the sauce is smooth. Taste and adjust salt. You could add some pepper as well, though I chose not to.

Pour into a teacup or mug (or small bowl, if youre fancy!) and set aside.

Spinach Couscous

  • 10 oz (about 280 g) box of couscous
  • 1 3/4 cup water
  • 1 tbsp butter or olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
  • 1 cup raw baby spinach, minced

Clean out your saucepan again, and  heat water, butter or olive oil and salt until the water comes to a full boil. Stir in the couscous, and take the saucepan off the heat. Cover with lid, and allow to sit for five minutes.

Mince the spinach very fine.

Remove the lid from the saucepan, and using a fork, fluff the couscous. Add the spinach all at once and mix thoroughly to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Assembly

  • Roasted Butternut and Garlic
  • Toasted Walnuts
  • 1/2 cup blue goat’s cheese or chevre (optional)
  • Red Wine Orange Sauce
  • Spinach Couscous

The roasted butternut should have cooled a bit to room temperature.

In the roasting tin, combine the butternut, walnuts and cheese (if youre using). Mix well. Drizzle about half of your red wine sauce over and toss gently to combine.

Arrange the spinach couscous on a serving platter or in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, and place the butternut mixture into the well. Drizzle the rest of the red wine sauce over, and serve. Enjoy with loved ones.

PS – the leftovers are divine for lunch the next day, tossed together as a salad – or you could bring the whole thing on a picnic as a salad – its good cold too!

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Vegetarian Baby Birthday Party!

22 Sep

So Queen Z turned 1 year old today (Happy Birthday darling girl!) and since its the middle of the week, we are having her birthday party this coming Saturday. Or rather, her high tea. M + I remember from our own childhoods a simpler time, when birthdays were about bright colours, pretty yet basic food, lots of laughter and running about. Neither of us are too into having a theme for the birthday, though we did tease M’s husband by suggesting fairies, Barbies and glitter pink!

When M and I thought about the menu for the upcoming birthday party, we decided to keep it simple, and bring our own memory into play. I think this is a very important part of birthday ritual. Memories that have resonance for our generation can be passed down to the next through parties like this one. We have a photograph of M’s 1st birthday, a long table set up outside, dogs playing under her high chair, M with her hand smack in the middle of the cake, grinning and wearing a party hat. The table is set with a variety of goodies – cucumber and sardine sandwiches, mee, pretzels, crisps, tiny cupcakes with sugar flowers, carrots and dip, little cocktail sausages. Many people growing up 30+ years ago had birthday parties like this, with games like musical chairs and pin the tail on the donkey.

When we thought about Z’s birthday party, we decided on a vegetarian menu that would be rich with our own memories, and yet updated enough to create new ones.

Since I will be posting several recipes over the next few days which relate to this momentous birthday party, I thought it would be a nice idea to give you the work-in-progress-menu. Any suggestions are most welcome … We still havent decided on the flavour of the cake… but for the rest, a vegetarian celebration for the Queen of our world, Z.

  • Fruit punch + Fresh Juices + Iced Tea
  • Vanilla cupcakes with pink icing
  • Cupcake decorating station for the kids
  • Hummus + Artichoke Spinach Dips with Baked Pita Chips + Carrot Sticks
  • Vegan Cocktail Sausages with Pink Dip
  • Sandwich Fingers – Cheese, Cucumber and Peanut Butter Strawberry + Honey
  • Birthday Cake
  • M+M’s
  • Crisps with Sour Cream Onion Dip

I would also love to make scones with fresh strawberries – tiny pink meringues – biscuits with tomato jam – mini spinach pies… But I have to convince my sister to let me cook! 😉

Food Colouring!By the way, I have done a lot of research about using food dyes (all that pink!) for children’s food. Red#2 is apparently particularly bad for young ones, and so I set about looking for alternatives. I found it in an amazing company called India Tree which creates the most stunningly beautiful products using vegetable dyes. So, for example, in place of the dreaded Red#2, they use concentrated beet dye. Because the dyes come from natural sources, the colours seem to me to be softer, sweeter, more honest. They dont look neon, which I find a bit scary in food these days. And they make every kind of sparkly decoration and sugar, as well as their food dyes. I have ordered a crateload, and will be using them for most of the cooking I will be doing. I will do a review of the products when I am done!

For now though, I will go to bed, dreaming of sweet treats for my beloved niece’s birthday party, and remembering my shared history with my sister. If any of you have suggestions for us, we would love to hear them — before Friday! 😉

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Vegetable Soup with Matzoh Balls

19 Sep

With Matzoh Balls!My sister and I caught the Baby Queen Z’s cold, so we are all a tad miserable. Even though its a gorgeous day outside, colds and flus almost demand a good, homemade vegetable soup. When we were little, it used to be a chicken soup with matzoh balls, so I decided to make them and add them to the vegetable soup. Matzoh balls are a supremely comforting Jewish tradition – matzoh cracker meal, combined with salt, egg and a bit of soup stock to make dumplings. Eating them feels like being enveloped in a pure cashmere blanket. And when youre ill, they are very nourishing.

I went vegetarian with the matzoh balls, though I did find good vegan recipes here and here. To be honest, I just wasnt up to trying the vegan version … not feeling focused or well enough to pay attention to multiple ingredients. But the soup is vegan – and I made it creamy and thick by whizzing it up with my immersion blender. Literally less than a minute and all those amazing veggies were pureed in a silken mass. I made the matzoh balls and boiled them in the soup pot (with the soup safely stored in a heatproof bowl) and then when they were done, introduced them to the soup.

Good, healthy, nourishing and full of vegetable love. Sure to make us all better in a jiffy!

Vegetable Soup

This makes 1 big potful. Adjust the vegetables to what you have in the fridge, but note that I almost always use onion or leek or both, carrot, and a can of plum tomatoes. Everything else comes and goes, but those are the constants 😉

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 leek, chopped
  • 3 small carrots, topped and tailed, and roughly chopped (leave the skin on)
  • 1 zucchini, roughly chopped (skin on)
  • 1 can plum tomatoes in their juice
  • 1 cup potatoes, chopped (skin on)
  • 1/2 head of rapini or broccoli, chopped
  • 1 cup chopped spinach
  • Salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onion and leek until they go soft and slightly melty, and a little browned along the edges. This is quite important as they form the basis of the soup, so you want to cook them long enough to caramelise a bit. This can take up to ten minutes depending on heat source.

Add the carrots, stir to combine, and let them soften, about three to four minutes.

Add the zucchini, stir to combine and let it soften, about two to three minutes.

Open a can of plum tomatoes in their juice, and pour over the soup base. I usually use one hand to hold and pour the tomatoes, and the other hand to catch the tomatoes as they fall into the soup and lightly crush them.

Fill the can with water twice, and add to the soup pot. Stir everything to combine.

Taste and lightly salt and pepper.

Add the potatoes, rapini and spinach, and lower the heat to a soft simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for about 20 minutes, checking every ten minutes or so to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot. If there isnt, top it up.

Adjust salt and pepper.

You can eat the soup just as it is – broth and wonderful chunks of vegetables. But when I am ill, I like a smooth soup, so I take it off the heat, and use my immersion blender to make a really thick silky soup. The choice is up to you.

Matzoh balls

To be honest, you could use just about any cracker in this soup – saltines or oyster or water biscuits would all do. But if you have matzoh, use it – there is something very particular about this delicious taste that owes itself to the matzoh meal. Also, if you use salted crackers, adjust salt accordingly.

This will make for quite a salty unboiled mixture. Dont worry. A lot of the salt will boil out in the pot.

  • 1 cup matzoh meal
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 2 tbsp soup stock

To make the matzoh meal, take a matzoh cracker or two, break it up into smallish pieces, and place in a sturdy ziploc plastic bag. Using a wine bottle, rolling pin or other hard, heavy implement, smash the matzoh cracker until it is dust! Very therapeutic 😉

In a small bowl, combine the matzoh meal and the salt. In a separate small cup or bowl, beat together the eggs, oil and soup stock until combined well. Pour the egg mixture over the matzoh meal, and stir lightly to combine. It will be quite sticky and soft.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

To boil the matzoh balls, transfer the soup into a large heatproof bowl. Its okay if a bit of soup remains – this will enrich the boiling liquid for the matzoh balls.

Fill the pot with water, and bring to the boil.

Take the matzoh mixture out of the fridge, and using your hands, make small balls (about 1 inch in diametre) and drop them in the boiling water. Remember that matzoh balls expand to more than twice their size, so dont make huge balls!

Boil for 20 – 30 minutes, or until cooked through. You will know when they are completely cooked when you cut through one and it is light and fluffy all the way through, having absorbed enough water to cook the insides.

Transfer the cooked matzoh balls to the soup, drain and rinse the pot, and transfer soup and matzoh balls back. Reheat gently. Eat and feel better!

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Spinach Croquettes with Tomato Garlic Mushroom Sauce

18 Sep

With Tomato Garlic Mushroom SauceThe Tiny Queen Z (M’s baby) was having a tough day today. She is teething AND has a cold! Poor thing! But it also meant that my sister was completely exhausted, having been up every hour on the hour with the baby last night, and having to be with her all day today. I wanted to make dinner that would really feel like an indulgence, but be easy to eat, quick and extremely tasty. First I thought of a simple tomato and garlic pasta, but pasta can sometimes be too heavy. We have huge amounts of spinach in the fridge (and its so good for energy and strength) – so I thought spinach croquettes!

These arent the “traditional” croquette, made with mashed potato and rolled in breadcrumbs. To be honest, thats quite an involved recipe, and I wanted to get dinner on the table in under an hour. This actually took about 30 minutes all told, and it was really good. Simple, bold flavours, hot and comforting, the indulgence of fried foods, and yet the healthiness of spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes – simply cooked, without too much fuss.

This is easily convertible to a vegan dish. In the croquettes, substitute almond meal or ground almonds for the parmesan (they give the same wonderfully nutty hit) and a few tablespoons of soy milk to bring it all together instead of the eggs. In the sauce, you could either leave the vegetables clean, or you could substitute wine or soy or coconut milk for the sour cream. Any which way, this is a wonderful meal — it makes people feel comforted and happy. We needed that today!

Serves 4 people. Makes approximately 10 croquettes / patties.

Spinach Croquettes

  • 2 tbsp olive oil (plus a drizzle of truffle oil or roasted sesame oil if you have it for depth of flavour – but not neccessary) plus more for the frying
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar or red wine or vegetable stock
  • 4 – 6 cups raw baby spinach, rinsed, and then chopped fine
  • 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (I used Panko crumbs, but you can really use anything – whole wheat would be lovely, as would sour dough)
  • 2 eggs (vegan substitution: 2 – 4 tbsp soy milk or coconut milk)
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan (vegan substitution: ground almonds)

In a medium saucepan, over medium high heat, saute the onion until it is soft and glossy, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and dried basil, and mix to combine. Add the balsamic or wine to the onions, and mix well. This will just soften the onions a little bit more, and add even more flavour to the dish.

Add the baby spinach in 2 batches, stirring until the spinach is just wilted, a few minutes. There will be some liquid in the bottom of the pan – this is great! You want it 🙂

Once all the spinach has been added, and lightly cooked, transfer the entire contents of the pan to a heatproof bowl.

Tip in the breadcrumbs and eggs and stir very gently just to combine. The mixture should come together easily. If not, add water, a tablespoon at a time. You want the mixture to bind together, but lightly – you dont want it mushy and wet.

Add the parmesan or ground almonds and mix lightly.

Put in the fridge to firm up while you make the sauce.

Once you are ready to eat (about 10 – 15 minutes before hand), preheat your oven to 100C (200F), and place a pan in the oven. Sprinkle a medium to large non stick frying pan with a touch of olive oil and place on medium heat. Make palm sized patties of the spinach mixture, and saute for about 4 – 5 minutes on the first side. You should be able to get 3 – 4 croquettes in a frying pan.

Flip the croquettes and saute for about 3 – 4 minutes on the second side. As you make the croquettes in batches, transfer the cooked croquettes to the pan in the oven to keep warm. Otherwise, place on serving platter, and cover with a dishtowel or paper napkin.

Tomato Garlic Mushroom Sauce

This is wonderful with the spinach croquettes. It is wonderfully tomato-ey, sweet and slightly gooey. The mushrooms give it depth of flavour too … I use this sauce on everything – on toasted bread for bruschetta, with pasta, as a filling for a decadent omelette. Its a great sauce to have on hand and it gets put together in a matter of minutes.

  • 1 1/2  tbsp olive oil
  • 5 – 7 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 cup mushrooms (I used portabello), peeled and sliced thinly
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 – 2 cups baby tomatoes (I used a mix of baby heirloom tomatoes which were amazing!), chopped
  • 2 tbsp sour cream or soy milk (optional)
  • Pinch of sugar (optional)

In a small frying pan, over medium low heat, saute the sliced garlic cloves in the olive oil. Let the garlic saute for about 5 minutes or so. You want it to get soft and slightly sticky, and lose its bitterness. This extended cooking time really allows the garlic flavours to bloom and soften. Its critical. Be patient. Everything else goes quite quickly.

Bring up the heat, and add the mushrooms in two batches. You want to encourage the mushrooms to lose their liquid, and just start to brown a little on the edges. They will go slightly caramel and sticky in the pan. They wont do this if you put too many in at the same time, which is why you are doing this in two batches. This should be the work of minutes, and watch carefully – you dont want the mushrooms to burn, but rather to brown.

Once the mushrooms have browned, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the baby tomatoes all at once. They will immediately start to melt in the high heat, and their liquid will bubble and start forming a lovely sauce. Mix everything together well and taste. Add sour cream or soy milk if you want a creamier sauce, and add a tiny pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are not very sweet, to bring out their tomato essence.

Serve the sauce over the spinach croquettes. YUMMY.

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