pumpkin spice almond butter

Yep, here's the follow on recipe from my previous post.

As mentioned - I've recently come into a wealth of pumpkin.

I was so happy when I came in to work and saw a large jap pumpkin sitting under my desk.

To be honest, right then and there I was already looking forward to getting home and preparing this recipe - needless to say, it was a long day.

Smooth and creamy, this pumpkin butter won't last long in your household.

Spread over some homemade bread or use as a fruit dip, it's like you're eating a pumpkin pie - only healthier!

Ingredients

(makes 500mL)

1 c roast almond butter

1 c roast pumpkin puree

1 tblsp back strap molasses

1 tsp ginger, ground

1 tsp cinnamon, ground

2 clove heads, crushed

1 cardamon pod, crushed

1/2 tsp nutmeg, grated

1 tsp vanilla essence

pinch of vanilla salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until creamy and smooth.

Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Thank you dear pumpkin bringer - this one's for you! xo

mushroom and chestnut soup - drizzled with white truffle oil

Ahh.. Tartufo Bianco.

You make any meal a mind blowing experience.

I love you.

We love you.

We worship you.

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you.

The earthy tones of the mushrooms combined with the sweetness of the chestnuts make for the perfect winter warming soup.

Not to mention the truffle oil.

The first time we tried this tasty tasty artisans dream, was in a tiny little town called Motovun in Croatia.

Walking down the cobbled streets sampling all the free taste testers they had available was a treat.

No way could we afford to buy any of the produce, but we did.

It was really the beginning of the end for us.

Motovun, Croatia

We bought the White Truffle infused oil and kept it in our van for the nights our mediocre meals needed some spicing up.

Following on from this experience when we continued our travels into Italy, we were able to stock up on more oil and even attended a White Truffle (Tartufo Bianco) festival.

White Truffle oil is now a staple in our kitchen.

Ingredients

(serves 4-6)

500 g chestnuts

250 g button mushrooms, sliced

1 medium leek, roughly sliced

2 chokos, diced

2 large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

2 vegetable stock cubes

couple of pinches of salt to taste

water

white truffle oil

Turn oven to 200 degrees. Score each of the chestnuts with an 'x' and place on a baking tray in the oven to roast for 40-50 mins.

Remove from oven and cool.

Using a nut cracker, de-shell the chestnuts and put in a heavy based pot.

Add all other ingredients with enough water to cover the contents.

Boil for about 20-30 mins.

Remove from stove and cool.

Using a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth.

Return to stove and warm through.

Serve - drizzled with truffle oil, roasted chestnuts and chopped parsley.

Yummm. x

pumpkin spice oatmeal

It's been super drizzly lately and my morning breakfasts have progressed from being raw to cooked.

Even more so after this mornings refreshing swim in the local outdoor pool. It's raining, but so what - you're wet anyway!

Anyways, it's coming to that time of year when the markets start to stock mountains of fresh pumpkins.

Not only are they cheap but so deliciously healthy and flavoursome.

Roasted pumpkins are a bit of a favourite for me at the moment. And after a recent roasting batch, I kept some of the flesh aside for a recipe such as this one.

Ingredients

(serves 3-4)

1 c roast pumpkin flesh, mashed

1 c rolled oats

2 tblsp molasses

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 c homemade cashew milk

1 1/2 c water 

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized pot and cook for about 15 - 20 mins until nice and thick like cooked oats.

Serve warm with a drizzle of homemade brown rice milk, pumpkin seeds, sliced bananas and agave syrup.

mmmm..

cajun pinto beans with roasted capsicum dressing

This weeks weather has really turned around for the better - just in time for the weekend!

With the brighter skies I always find myself wanting big salads.

Today's was a bit of a winner.

But, before I get into this recipe, I just want to talk about pests.

Garden pests.

Seriously devastated when I woke up this morning to see that something had been into my lettuce.

How dare they.

Maybe I'm a bit precious when it comes to my garden, but when you've watched something grow from a seed and something other than you gets to enjoy it... it gets me a little fired up.

But on the flip side, it's survival of the fittest out there.

I think back to the many times Joel and I foraged for our food.

How many times have I taken figs, chestnuts, pine nuts, nettles etc.. out of the mouths of little animals.

It's simply karma.

Well, I was going to use my nice sweet cos lettuce with this recipe.

But instead had to result in using my abundant supply of rocket and mizuna.

So, really you could substitute any kind of green into this salad.

Something that hasn't been touched my pests are my marigolds. 

They look and taste great!

Yes, taste.. add marigolds to anything - I love them as a garnish on salads.

Out of the garden now and into the kitchen.

We love our legumes.

I keep a large stock of every kind of dried bean in the cupboard.

When rifling through my stash, these pinto beans were at the bottom of the basket, so dug them out and starting soaking.

With no real recipe in mind I started digging in the refrigerator and pulled out this capsicum.

Growing up we never really ate these peppers, so I'm still getting used to adding capsicum to recipes, but you can't go wrong with roasting.

Peppers plus beans lead me to cajun.

Dinner is sorted.

Ingredients

(serves 2-3)

Pinto Beans

1 c pinto beans, soaked for 6-8 hours

1 tblsp coconut oil

2 tsp cajun spice

couple of generous pinches of salt

Rinse and strain the beans after soaking and combine with enough water to cover in a heavy based pan. 

Simmer for 20-30 mins then drain.

Heat oil in a fry pan add spices, beans and salt and fry for 5 - 10 mins until fragrant and starting to brown.

Capsicum Dressing

1 medium red capsicum

1 tblsp tahini

1/4 medium lime juice

couple of pinches of salt to taste

Heat oven to 220 degrees and poke the capisum all over with a fork for even cooking.

Roast in hot oven for 50 mins - 1 hour.

Remove from oven and cool.

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender and process until well combined.

Pan Polenta

1/4 c polenta

1 c water

Combine water and polenta in a small jug.

Heat a not stick pan and pour the polenta mixture in.

Let it simmer down for about 5 - 10 mins.

When polenta becomes firm and starts to lift off the pan, flip and cook for a further 5 - 10 mins.

Compiling

Arrange some green lettuce leaves on a plate.

Scoop the pinto beans on top.

Top with some sliced red radish (the pests hadn't got into these either!).

Drizzle the capsicum dressing over the top and serve with the polenta.

Dressing on the side? No thank you! x

silver beet and chestnut dal with matcha roti

I'm just going to open with - weather. 

I love autumn. The colour of the trees start to change and the valley that we live in, has a gorgeous glow.

But seriously, what's with this cold snap? Did winter start without telling anyone?

We've even had to start the fire!

Luckily in preparation for winter, we had already started to collect fire wood. As we live on a large property in the bush, collecting fire wood isn't too much of an issue. I always feel better when there's an abundant supply of fire wood.

With this cooler weather comes desire for a more warming meal.

Indian based foods work perfectly in a vegetarian, dairy free diet. Not to mention that the spiciness and strong curry flavours make for a whole body warming experience.

Bare with me, the list of ingredients is long, but the process is pretty simple.

Ingredients

(serves 4-6)

Dal

1 bunch of silver beet, roughly chopped

1 sprig of garlic, peeled

5 cm of fresh ginger, roughly sliced

20 chestnuts (or so), de-shelled

water

1 c chickpeas (soaked for 12 hours)

1 large turnip, cubed

1 bunch snake beans, sliced into 2 cm lengths

pinch of hot hot ground chili

1 - 2 tblsp of roasted curry powder

1 tblsp garam masala

1 tblsp agave syrup

2 stock cubes

2 tblsp coconut oil

Process silver beet, garlic and ginger in a food processor until there are no chunks.

Empty into a heavy based pot (I use cast iron).

Next process the chestnuts until finely chopped.

Add to silver beet mixture along with approx 2 cups of water and simmer on a low heat for about 1 hour. Check every now and then and stir as required - you may need to add more water if it starts sticking.

Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for a further 20 minutes.

Roti

1 c gram (besan) flour

1 tblsp matcha (green tea powder)

1 tblsp wheat germ (omit for gluten free)

1 c water

coconut oil

Combine all ingredients in a small pouring jug.

Whisk together (it should be a batter-like consistency) adding more water if necessary.

Heat up a wok and drop in 1 tsp of oil. 

Next pour in a quarter of the mixture - guide the wok so that the batter runs down the sides. 

Cook until golden, flipping once or twice. 

Keep toasty xo