vegan curried 'egg' salad cups

I love a good curried egg salad. It reminds me of staying at my Grandma’s house when we were younger ‘kidlets’ . My Grandparents are/were mad water skiers and we would spend hours on end out on their ski boat in the summertime. My attempts of water skiing were never a great success. You see, I wouldn't let go of the rope when I fell and would be dragged under the water to the point of nearly drowning. This made me develop a bit of a phobia. So, I spent most of the time clinging for my life on the donut and cruising on the kneeboard.

Grandma would always make up a massive eski full of sandwiches and come lunchtime we were always famished. With my brother and sister we would sit with our feet in the water enjoying a super satisfying lunch of curried egg sandwiches.

As well as the lunches on the boat, during the school term when we would stay with our Grandparents, Grandma would always be up first thing in the morning making our lunches. Adding lots of homemade goodies like biscuits, fruit cake, Grandad’s dehydrated bananas and of course homemade bread with fresh curried egg and lettuce. There’s nothing better than meals full of nostalgia so that’s what this one is.

Although veganised and totally adapted from the original, it still takes me back to the summer days on the ski boat as the texture and flavours are still all there.

Ingredients

(serves 2)

300g organic firm tofu (homemade or otherwise)

2-3 tsp mild/stong curry powder

1 tsp hemp seed oil (or oil of choosing – olive also works great)

1 tblsp nutritional yeast flakes

pinch of salt and pepper

iceberg lettuce leaves

snow pea sprouts (optional)

Crumble the tofu into a small bowl, using fingers.

Stir in all other ingredients until well combined.

Lay out a lettuce cup and fill with curried ‘egg’ and sprouts (as much or as little as you like).

Roll and munch down straight away.

If you want to make it a take-away option, pack the lettuce cups and curried egg in a separate containers and make the rolls later - perfect for a picnic.

orange soup

I am calling this one my 'orange' soup because of the intense rich colour of the ingredients I've used.

Orange foods are high in carotenoids, which have been shown to decrease the risk of cancers, such as; lung, colon, bladder, cervical, breast and skin. Carotenoid consumption also protects against the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts - which is where the old wives tale comes in, that eating carrots will make you see in the dark.

Orange coloured foods help cleanse the body of toxins and stresses. Vitamin C and zinc work together to provide an excellent detoxifying combination helping the body rid itself of heavy metals and other pollutants.

Also high in Vitamins A, C and minerals such as calcium, copper, selenium, zinc - orange foods are a 'must' in your diet.

I made such a large amount of this soup so that I could freeze individual portions to take for lunch at work.

It has been delightfully satisfying and warming over the past week, as we've had a bitter cold snap - I really don't mind, because it means more snow!

Ingredients

(makes 6-8 serves)

2 kg carrots, roughly chopped (skin on)

2 leeks, roughly sliced

2 brown onions, peeled and roughly chopped

2 c pumpkin, cubed (skin off)

1 kumera, roughly chopped (skin on)

1 tsp turmeric, ground

1 tsp cinnamon, ground

1 tsp curry powder

2 tblsp creamed coconut

coconut oil and salt to taste

Place all ingredients except for the creamed coconut, in a large heavy based pot.

Add enough water to cover the vegetables by an inch - bring to the boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 30 mins until vegetables are soft (ie. you can poke a knife easily through).

Turn off heat and stir through creamed coconut.

When cool enough, transfer contents to a blender and process until smooth (you may need to do this in batches).

Return to pot and reheat, adding salt to taste.

Serve and drizzle with a small amount of coconut oil.

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