Cannelloni

I'm quite proud to say that I've found my passion for creating delicious healthy food again. I enjoy a challenge so reinventing traditionally dairy laden recipes is very satisfying. I felt like it was a risk and it certainly paid off as my cannelloni was more delicious than I could've imagined. I will warn you there are a few components to the process it's not one of these 15 minute meals so you need to have some time.

Tomato sauce:

1/2 finely chopped onion

3-4 cloves fresh garlic

2 tsp Basil

Salt and pepper

1 tsp Smoky paprika

2 tins chopped tomatoes

Cheese sauce:

1/2 onion

3-4 cloves fresh garlic

2 medium potatoes

1 carrot

1/2 cup raw cashews

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Pinch smoky paprika

Pinch cayenne pepper

1/2 cup coconut milk

Cannelloni filling:

1 butternut pumpkin

1 bag spinach

1/2 tin coconut milk

1 box cannelloni tubes

You will need a blender/food processor I used the ninja bullet

1. Heat oven to 180 degrees

2. Cut the pumpkin into small cubes and steam for 15-20 minutes or until soft. While steaming cut the potatoe and carrots and onions and garlic. Once pumpkins cooked set aside to cool down.

3. Set half of the onion and garlic aside for the tomato sauce. Add the other half to a pot with some oil and sauté. Add the potato and carrot and some boiling water and steam (or boil) until soft.

(Side note- steaming retains a lot more nutrients than boiling so I always prefer this method or roasting)

4. Mix the spinach into the pot with the butternut pumpkin and then add the coconut milk and blend until smooth. I did this in a few batches as the ninja only holds up to 450mls. It should be a lovely vibrant green colour. The idea of using the pumpkin is that it tastes great but is also a nice alternative to the tradition ricotta cheese.

5. Sauté the other half of the onion and garlic in a pan and then add the tinned tomatoes basil and paprika and reduce the heat and let it simmer till the sauce reduces to a nice and thick consistency. You can add tomato paste to speed up the process but I didn't find it necessary.

6. While the tomato sauce is simmering start stuffing the tubes with the spinach and pumpkin mixture. The easiest way I have found is to use two tea spoons one for pouring and one for poking to reduce the air bubbles and fill the tube properly so it cooks nicely. If you know of an easier way I'd love to hear it!!! I would probably cook this every second day if it didn't take so long to fill the tubes.

7. Add the remaining cheese sauce ingredient to the blender and mix in the potato and carrot mix. Blend until nice and creamy ensuring all of the lumps are out. Feel free to add less or more coconut milk as you desire, you can replace it with water or the juice from the pot. I'm not bothered about calories from coconut milk it's delicious and has plenty of benefits!

8. Once the tomato sauce has reduced cover the bottom of the baking dish with the sauce. Then place all of the stuffed cannelloni tubes on top of the tomato sauce. Lastly pour your "cheesy" sauce over the top and bake in the over for 45 minutes to an hour. I found the first time I made this the sauce formed an ugly brown crust so it's a good idea to cover it in tin foil and then remove the foul 15 minutes or so before its finished cook to get a slightly gold top.

Enjoy!!!

Breakfast Smoothie

I just love having smoothies for breakfast, i think breakfast is one of my favourite meals in the day actually! Anyway, having just replaced my blender after a few months without (my beautiful dog broke the old one), I have started making smoothies for breakfast again. This is a wonderfully filling smoothie with lots of fibre to keep you going throughout the day. I did find after getting used to drinking these for breakfast, if i had a busy day i often wouldn't notice feeling hungry until mid to late afternoon. Here is what i made today....

Ingredients:

1/2 cup wholegrain rolled oats

1 Tbsp chia seeds

4 almonds

3 brazil nuts

1 Tbsp date puree

3 dates

1 banana

1tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups almond milk

I soaked all ingredients overnight in the fridge (except the banana), then added the banana in the morning and blended all ingredients until smooth. Enjoy!

Zucchini Pasta with Avocado Pesto and Roast tomatoes

I experimented to zucchini pasta last year, however I never had a tool to julienne properly so my pasta wasn't very consistent in the shape or size.... Yesterday i found a fantastic cheap tool it has a billion pieces one being the julienne slicer and it worked superbly. The inspiration from this recipe came from Ella Woodwards beautiful cookbook "Deliciously Ella", which i can highly recommend to everyone.

Ingredients:
4 Zucchini julienned
smoky kelp flakes
garlic salt
olive oil
2 Avocados
juice of 2 limes
3 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup brazil nuts
few sprigs of fresh coriander
few leaves of fresh basil
Punnet of cherry tomatoes

Using a julienne tool or hand cutting if you don't have one, slice the zucchini and place on a roasting tray. Sprinkle with a little kelp, garlic salt and olive oil. Roast in the oven for 15-20minutes until warmed but not over cooked.

Live your cherry tomatoes in half and place on a roasting duh in the oven, above the zucchinis and roast for about 15 minutes until they soften and the skin starts to blister.

I used my amazing new ninja blender for the pesto. Place nuts, avocado flesh, olive oil, lime juice and fresh herbs in the blender and process until smooth.

You could also have this raw, with fresh tomatoes and raw zucchini if you like. Enjoy!!

Apricot, date and chia muffins

I can't get enough of chia seeds lately, they have so much fibre, rich in anti oxidants, omega 3 fatty acids and they're a complete protein which is perfect for those who follow a vegetarian diet. It's a shame they seem to have become so expensive though, I've noticed since i first bought a 500gm bag at my favourite organic shop the quantity has now halved and the price stayed the same!! Cheeky huh.

I've also fallen in love with dates, i had a strong aversion to them growing up. After a little Moroccan adventure a few years ago, i was lucky enough to have them reintroduced and it was love at first taste. Though its hard to get them as fresh and juicy here but alas they are wonderful and play a big part in my latest creation.

Ingredients:

1 cup wholemeal flour

1 cup rolled oats (preferably blended into a flour like consistency)

1 1/2tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbsp chia seeds + 1/4cup water

1 400gm tin apricots chopped

1/2 cup chopped dates

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 freshly squeezed oranges

1 tsp vanilla

1. First put chia seeds and water in a bowl and set aside for 10 - 15 minutes until it becomes a gel like consistency, stir regularly.

2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside. Chop dates and then mix into the flour as this will separate them evenly throughout the mixture.

3. Add the freshly squeezed organge juice, maple syrup, olive oil and vanilla to the chia seed mixture. Mix if you need to separate the chia seeds as they sometimes form an almost solid.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry and also the chopped tinned apricots. Mix together and if it seems a bit dry add a little more water until you achieve a batter that's not too thick.

5. Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until brown on top and a pick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Coconut Berry Muffins

Ingredients:

2 Flax eggs (2 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 5 Tbsp water)

1/2 cup oat milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup mashed banana

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup coconut oil melted

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup raw sugar

1 cup wholemeal flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/3 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 cup blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and lightly grease 6 jumbo or 12 normal sized muffin tins
2. Prepare flax eggs in a large bowl by mixing water and ground flaxseed and let rest for a few minutes to "gel"
3. Measure out milk and vinegar and set aside. After 3 minutes add baking soda and stir.
4. Add mashed banana, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and sugar to the flax seed mix and which for 45 seconds.
5. Add milk mixture and whisk again
6. Add flour, chia seeds, shredded coconut and oats and mix again until combined
7. Add berries and mix in
8. Divide mixture evenly amongst muffin tins and bake for around 20 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean, let cool for 15 minutes in tins then remove and completely cool on rack

9. Enjoy!!!

Banana Chia and Maple muffins

My wonderful dog broke my cuisine art blender, you see he gets a bit excited sometimes and likes to leap onto the kitchen bench and look out the window waiting for us to come home... Said blender was drying on the bench and sadly fell to its demise. So I've had to come up with some creative ways of getting the nutrition from smoothies in solid form... My latest favourite breakfast is rolled oats and chia seeds soaked overnight in water with sultanas for a sweetener and also freshly ground cinnamon and vanilla pods. I wanted to put this into muffin form as i do love a good muffin... So here we go!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup ground rolled oats
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup rice bran oil
1/2 cup pure canadian maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sultanas
3 TBsp chia seeds
3 Tbsp poppy seeds
3 mashed bananas
2 tsp ground flaxseed + 6 tsp water mixed

Combine the oil and ground flax seeds with water mixing well in a small bowl. Add the maple syrup (or liquid sugar or your choice) and vanilla essence.

In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients (oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sultanas, chia seeds, poppy seeds). Once combined add wet mixture and also the mashed bananas.

This should make 12 small muffins, bake at 180 degrees celsius for 12-15 minutes, enjoy!

Pumpkin, chick pea and spinnach curry

Ingredients:

1 large chopped onion
3 Tbsp ginger puree
5 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp ground turmeric
1 Tbsp ground coriander seeds
2 x tins chopped tomatoes
200 ml coconut cream
2 tsp salt
3 cups roasted butternut pumpkin cubes
1 big bunch chopped spinnach (or frozen)
1 x tin chick peas

1. Cut pumpkin into cubes and roast in the oven until just cooked
2. Saute onion, garlic, oil, ginger until cooked.
3. Add spices and salt mix well
4. Add tomatoes and then coconut cream
5. Mix in chick peas and cooked pumpkin
6. Serve on quinoa or brown rice and enjoy!

Lemon chia poppy seed muffins - Gluten free

I've recently been working with some lovely people with interesting food allergies. It really is great because it's been a long time since I've experimented with recipes and its inspired me to start creating and baking again because I really love doing it.

I'm always one to try and come up with the healthiest alternatives, and lately I've really been enjoying good old fashioned whole grain rolled oats. I soak them overnight and put them in smoothies, I blend them into "flour", make oat milk with water and ground oats...

The possibilities are endless but the best bit is they are soooo good for you check out what the worlds healthiest food site has to say about oats

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=54

Also these are not very sweet so feel free to add extra honey/maple syrup/whatever sugar you like:

2 large lemons

1/2 cup liquid honey or maple syrup 

3 cups oat flour (blend any rolled oats, i use whole grain)

4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 Tbsp ground flaxseeds + 6 Tbsp water (egg replacement)

3 Tbsp oil

1/2 cup coconut cream

3 Tbsp chia seeds

2 Tbsp poppy seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Combine the lemon zest and honey in a medium      mixing bowl. Add the flour, baking soda and salt, stir to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, whish the lemon juice, vanilla, flaxseeds and water, oil, coconut cream, chia seeds and poppy seeds. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stir until just combined.
3. Pour batter into greased muffin tins, you should be able to get 8 large muffins. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched.

My favourite Vegetable chilli served in a variety of ways

I was recently on holiday in Canada and Alaska. I found Canada to have fantastic healthy vegan food options and plenty to choose from as well. Alaska however was a different story. We did an incredible tour for about seven days around wilderness lodges near by some of the famous national parks. The scenery was fantastic however the food not so.

I'm no longer vegan however i still largely enjoy a vegan diet but I am back to enjoying cheese from time to time. So even as a vegetarian I did find it really difficult to get nutritious healthy food with fresh vegetables. In fact I did become sick with what i thought was a routine flu however after two weeks I was frustrated as I felt like my body would've fought it off rather quickly. I put this down to a lack of vitamins and minerals i normally enjoy from eating a lot of fresh healthy ingredients. It was not to be though not in Alaska anyway.

There was a silver lining, at the end of the trip we stopped for lunch in a lovely small town on the outskirts of Anchorage and they have a Friday market day with lovely food stalls, arts and crafts etc and much to my delight and the one other vegan on the tour we discovered a lovely food stall with a big vegetable chilli. There were actually quite a few people from the tour that ended up buying it so we were;t the only ones feeling the effects of a lack of good food.

This chilli was devine, and use like what we would eat at home quite regularly, its so easy, so cheap but full of goodness. You can also add pretty much anything you want and take anything out you don't like, here's my favourite vegetarian chilli.

Ingredients:
1 large onion
6 garlic cloves
1 -2 red capsicums
2 courgettes
1 head of broccoli
1 tin corn kernels
1 tin red kidney beans
1 tin chick peas (or other beans)
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 tsp smoked paprika
3 tsps italian herbs
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsps freshly crushed cumin seeds

1. You'll need one large frying pan or big pot. Saute the onions till clear then add garlic and brown slightly. I normally like to use rice bran or macadamia oil. Then add the herbs and spices, you may need to add a little more oil. Fry and story constantly mixing the herbs and spices into the onion and garlic.

2. Add chopped capsicums and zucchinis and continue to story fry with the onion mix. Once they soften slightly add a small amount of the tinned tomatoes. Then add your broccoli and continue to stir fry a few minutes.

3. Slowly add more tomatoes and simmer until your vegetables soften but are still semi crispy. (I don't like mine too soft i still enjoy a bit of crunch you never want mushy vegetables. You add the corn last it doesn't really need cooking just mix it in.

4. Serve however you like some of my favourites are on quinoa, or mashed potatoes, or you could use brown rice or i even like to serve in a mexican wrap with quinoa, avocado, cheese (or not for dairy free).

Enjoy!!

Roast Pumpkin Salad

When i first started dating my amazing husband, he tried to fool me into believing he barely ate any meat, in fact he didn't really at that time. He's also a fantastic cook, so one night he had me over for dinner and made this delicious, simple but great salad.

This was about three years ago now and it's still a favourite of mine infact we even use it as a pizza topping as well from time to time. It does have feta but you can easily leave it out and replace it with some extra nuts or not at all.

Ingredients:
Butternut pumpkin
Fresh baby spinach
Danish feta
Pinenuts (or other nuts)

1. Chop your pumpkin into small cubes and lightly oil then roast in the over for about 15 mins, then turn and continue until cooked through.

2. Mix in a bowl with fresh baby spinach leaves, chunks of feta cheese and sprinkle with pine nuts.

3. Enjoy!!

Mushroom Goulash for my soul sister

My Dad and Stepmum Sally gave my husband and I the "Revive Cafe cookbook" (www.revive.co.nz) for our engagement last year. It is my favourite book, they have beautiful pictures and fabulous healthful recipes with wonderful ingredients.

This Mushroom goulash is from their book with one very small adaptation. I cooked it for my beautiful friend Leigh when she came to stay with us in Canberra and she remembers it nearly a year on… So this is for you my soul sister, happy cooking and adventuring i miss you like crazy xxx

Ingredients:
1 onion finely diced
2 cloves garlic crushed or chopped
2 tablespoons rice bran oil
1 teaspoon thyme dried
400g mushroom sliced (i love portobello)
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons honey or date puree
200ml coconut cream

1. Saute onions, garlic, mushrooms, thyme, oil in a pot for 5 minutes until onion is clear. Lid on is best so mushrooms can sweat.

2. Add tomatoes, salt, cayenne pepper and honey. Stir until heated through and just bubbling.

3. Add coconut cream and stir in gently.

4. Taste and adjust cayenne pepper and salt as required.

(I LOVE to serve this on mashed potatoes or for a healthier option revive recommend quinoa. You can add any other seasonal vegetables you wish).

Athens: history, culture, love and moussaka!

Arriving into the Athens bus station after only 3 hours sleep was quite a challenging experience. Once again, I had no idea where I was in the expansive and sprawling city, where I was going and where I would be sleeping, but this was my plan and it was also my challenge which i conquered.

The local bus ride was nothing short of uneventful, I took number 51 to Ommonia. It was peak hour so the bus was packed, i fell into a tiny greek woman with my 20kg plus pack on my back and a very staunch Syrian man named Dimitri grabbed me and helped me up. He then lead me off the bus and walking me into an internet cafe filled with middle age Greek men smoking ciggarettes and playing world of warcraft (withut headphones), and walked out, I was pretty flustered!

I had a quick look at my emails confirming I had no couch surfing host, so i found a hostel, google mapped it, interupted world of war craft to try and find out where on the Athens map I was exactly. There was a lot of communication in Greek, pointing at the map, some exasperated looks and a return to world of war craft.

I was prepared to leave and find my way when a younger Greek guy protruded a map, I have no idea where from (this was not a tourists internet cafe), he drew an X, various arrows and then another X marking my hostel! Alas a good 40 minutes later I arrived at the steps of my haven for the next two days. I showered and wandered down to the metro and managed to negotiate my way to Monastariki square to meet a group of travellers and Greeks from the couch surfing website.

After some snacking on olives and cherries (ok I'm a convert, I actually do like them now) a few more stragglers turned up for our evening meet up, we had a good group half Greeks and half travellers, a lovely french canadian girl, a few charming mexican men a delightful irish man named Mike who i struggled to understand (the Irish always get me).

The greeks lead the way, down a multittude of alley ways, where people eat and drink in the streets on cute tables and there are no cars. We accidentally wandered into a rather dodgy alley, I didnt see exactly what was going on, but we were promptly turned back by the Greeks, muttering about heroin, needles and knives. We walked for a while past various ruins, street cafes, tourists and greeks alike…...

Now that was a flashback to a piece of writing i forgotten i had started almost 4 years ago to the day. To accompany it I have one of my favourite vegetarian recipes of all time……….

GREEK MOUSSAKA (not vegan - can be adapted though)

 I made a friend on Samos island when i was backpacking alone, I met an old greek man down by the harbour with a very handsome nephew. My lovely old friend had many interesting stories and was once upon a time a chef on the ferries, anyway he cooked for me, so its a combination of what he cooked for me and another recipe a friends mum made….

Ingredients:
Papertowels
Eggplants (1 large or two small)
Salt
Breadcrumbs (gluten free crumbs work superbly)
Egg (or replacement for crumbing the eggplant)
Tomato sauce base:
Tomatoes (fresh or tinned)
Herbs (oregano basil anything like that)
onion
garlic
Cheese sauce:
Flour
Cheese (or an alternative perhaps nutritional yeast cheese replacement)
Olivani (or butter/alternative)
Water (i never use milk anymore you can though)

1. Its not a fast process so you may want to pour a glass of red win. First slice the eggplants into rounds about 1cm thick give or take. Lay them all out on a chopping board or whatever you have and sprinkle salt on top. Leave for half an hour or so come back and use some paper towels to lightly absorb the excess fluid. Then turn them all over and salt the other side. The purpose is to remove all the liquid for crumbing. I sometimes repeat the process depending on how much liquid comes out and the ripeness of the eggplant.

2. Cut onion, garlic (fresh) and throw in a pan to make a lovely thick tomato sauce. Saute your onions as you normally would till they're clear. Then add your garlic, once it starts to brown add your freshly chopped or tinned tomatoes. Then you'll need to reduce the frying heat to a simmer add in your herbs and mix then let it slowly simmer till it thickens.

Now you can put anything really you like in the sauce, sometimes ill add red capsicums if i have them or finely chopped zucchinis but a simple sauce is just as good. (The lazy option is to use a good quality pre made jar of rich tomato sauce), however i always love to know whats going into my food and enjoy making it from scratch.

3. Back to the Eggplant it should be sufficiently liquid free now and has probably browned slightly in colour this is fine. Now you need to get them ready for crumbing. Mix two eggs in a bowl and get your crumbs in a separate bowl. You need to dip into the egg then crumbs ensuring both sides are well covered. Once you've finished crumbing all your eggplant slices, you can fry them till they're just brown don't overcook though. So only 1 minute or so on either side.

4. Prepare the cheese sauce (or alternative). I always melt the butter (margarine) first about a tablespoon then add two tablespoons of flour and then your water. You just need to whisk constantly to get a smooth texture, keep whisking and adding more water till you reach a desired consistency. Lastly add your cheese or alternative, you can even just use nutritional yeast and some extra flavours like garlic and have a lovely vegan white sauce instead.

5. Putting it altogether, so you'll need a deep dish, spread a thin layer of your tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish then your fried and breaded eggplant slices. Then add another layer of tomato sauce and then cheese sauce. I normally have about three eggplant layers but again i'd say two minimum and you could definitely do more if you have a deep enough dish. I always finish with my cheese sauce on top.

6. Bake in the oven for about 45minutes till eggplant is soft and its cooked through. It's always best if you let it sit so the sauces can settle at least an hour before serving.