vegan risotto with truffle oil

You may not realise it, but I love any excuse to add truffle to a meal. I usually add it to a mushroom based dish and this one was not going to get away without a drizzle or two.

It’s such a whole sensory experience that compares to none other. When you sit down to a meal and smell the truffle, it’s like your first kiss, every time. Your heart skips a beat and you can’t wait to dig in, but you want to take it slow and savour every moment. What an analogy huh!

Risotto is an awesome one pot meal to spare you that laborious task of washing up too much. Adding to that beautiful experience.

I don’t know about you, but usually I find myself using heaps of pots and baking dishes when preparing dinner. It’s not so bad because I wash as I go – we’ve got a pretty tight kitchen so bench space is hard to come by. Actually, if I think about it, every night the dishes (bar the ones we eat on) are all washed up and stacked before we sit down to eat. Joel likes that because he is always on washing up duty but there is rarely much to do.

Ingredients

(serves 4)

1 tblsp olive oil

1 brown onion, finely sliced

200g button mushrooms, finely sliced

1 c arborio rice (risotto rice)

2 ½ c water

1 bunch asparagus, sliced into 1cm rounds

1 c peas, frozen or fresh

salt and pepper to taste

Optional: Tartufo Bianco (white truffle oil)

Heat oil in a heavy based saucepan, add onion and stir until softened.

Next add mushrooms and stir fry for approximately 5 minutes.

Add rice and mix for a further 2 minutes.

Then add 1 c of water to the pan and simmer until water has been absorbed, stirring minimally.

Next mix in the asparagus and add the remaining water.

Cover saucepan to cook through, approximately 15 minutes.

Finally add the peas stirring the risotto until the peas are cooked.

Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with truffle oil and serve.

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.

cabbage wraps with smoked trout and avocado cream

What a beautful weekend this was.

The days were so clear and the sun was out.

We went for a hike to recharge our batteries and took the pug dog as usual - I have no idea how our little fellow can keep up with the giant leaps and rock climbing.

He amazes us every time.

It was truly beautiful and felt amazing to be able to shed down to one layer again.

But, after a big hike, we needed to replenish our bodies with good wholesome foods.

We were pretty hungry by the time we got home, that's where I made up these healthy wraps.

I had to snap up a few pictures pretty quickly as we were both ready to devour these super wraps.

Joel kept hovering saying, "can we eat them yet.."

Full of healthy fats from the avocado, trout and cabbage - we felt so satisfied and wholesome again.

I reckon cabbage is a bit of an underrated vegetable. It's an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of vitamin A. The uniqueness of cabbage in cancer prevention is due to the three different nutrient types: antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and glucosinolates*.

*Glucosinolates: organic active compounds believed to have anticancer properties. These anticancer compounds operate in a couple of ways: acting as a natural pesticide triggering the body’s own detoxification systems, slowing cancer cell growth and supporting DNA repair.

Ingredients

(makes 10)

10 outer cabbage leaves, washed with thick vein removed

1 medium smoked trout

toothpicks

Avocado Cream

4 avocados

1 large lemon

pinch or two of Himalayan rock salt

Combine ingredients for avocado cream in a food processor/blender and whiz until smooth and 'whipped' - about 1 minute.

Spread a tablespoon of avocado and trout on the top of the cabbage leaf (horizontally). 

Then, gently roll from the bottom up.

Thread a toothpick through the top to secure the wrap shut.

Repeat and eat!

You could fill these wraps with what ever you feel like, they are super versatile.

roast pumpkin, zucchini and spelt pan quiche - vegan

What to do when a friend gives you a giant pumpkin.

Roast the heck out of it, of course!

Then it's a matter of finding recipes to incorporate the roast pumpkin in to.

I've been playing around with some pan breads lately using my cast iron pan as it's own oven.

It's been working pretty good so I thought I would share one of my recipes with you.

Not really coming out as a bread, but more of a quiche - this was a tasty winner.

Joel came up with the name pan-quiche. He thinks he's a genius - I gave him a high five.

Ingredients

(makes 8+ slices)

3 c fresh roast pumpkin, puree

2 medium zucchini, grated

1 tsp salt

1 tblsp olive oil

1 tblsp chia seeds

1 tsp bi carb soda

2 c wholemeal spelt flour

1-2 tblsp pinenuts

1-2 tblsp pumpkin seeds

Place all ingredients (omitting the pumpkin seeds) in a large bowl and combine thoroughly.

Next, line a heavy based saucepan with baking paper, and spread mixture into the pan - evenly.

Sprinkle over the pumpkin seeds.

Place lid on top and put on stove.

Cook over low heat for 15-20 mins.

Remove from heat and flip the pan quiche over*.

Cover and cook for a further 15-20mins.

Cool, slice and serve.

*To Flip:

Cut a piece of baking paper, the roughly the same size as the one in the pan.

Spread it on a wooden chopping board.

Place board over the pan and flip.

The pan quiche should now be face down on the new sheet of baking paper.

You then simply slide the baking paper with the quiche on it, back into the pan.

there's another pumpkin post coming - stay tuned.. xo

sour orange and fresh coconut sauce

The other day when coming home, we pulled into our street to see two of our little neighbours holding up "oranges, lemons, mandarines - for sale".

They were so cute! I think that was their main marketing strategy.

The two girls had a little table set up at the start of the road, trying to catch customers.

I HAD to stop.

They'd gone out earlier that day and picked some fresh citrus fruit from their orchard.

I ended up with $4 worth of goods (2 kg oranges, 5 lemons, 5 sour oranges). As a tip I gave each of the a $2 coin for being so adorable, they were so happy.

This sauce is super versatile - you could use it as a sweet, kind of like a lemon curd, or you can add it to some grilled tempeh/tofu steaks. We ended up eating it with some steamed blue-eye cod.

Ingredients

(makes 400mL)

2 sour oranges, peeled and de-pitted

1 c young coconut flesh

a pinch of vanilla salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender/food processor and whiz until thick and creamy.

Serve.

sprouting: how to

It's just earth shattering when you go to pick a few leaves off your kale plant and you see this!

More like, you see nothing..

All munched up.

Meanwhile...

On the other side of the garden... it's a little bit sad... the possums have walked all over my purple carrots and eaten my brussel sprouts, kohl rabi and broccoli.

The carrots are still growing, luckily.

Between the kangaroos, possums, wombats, potoroos, birds, bush turkeys; I guess I should be grateful if anything makes it.

So, now the dilemma - how to keep my plants alive.

For now, I'll put that on hold and work on my indoor sprouting.

I love sprouts and growing your own is not only cost effective but so easy to do.

How To:

Line a tray with organic cotton balls.

Sprinkle 1 tblsp of desired sprout, over the cotton.

Then, water until the seeds so that the cotton absorbs all the moisture.

Cover for the first day or two until the seeds have started growing.

Ensure that there is enough water by gently pressing your finger on the cotton and if moisture gathers around your fingertip - then that's sufficient.

Sit the seeds by a well ventilated and sunny window for some photosynthesis.

Allow to grow for about a week or so - depending on what you are sprouting.

Snip the sprouts at the base and add to a salad or to garnish a meal.

Example to follow...

x