Pumpkin Baby Cakes with Sage

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Pumpkin cake

Looking for a light lunch or healthy snack or finger foods in your party? Easy to prepare and make? Freezer friendly food? Delicious? Yes to all! These little pumpkin baby cakes are awesome.

It is definitely a budget meal. You already have a piece of pumpkin and eggs in your fridge, and other ingredients in your pantry. Quick and easy! Mix all up, shape into patties and cook in a pan. It takes no time. Leftovers can be kept in freezer for months. Just take them out and heat them in the oven before serve. Pumpkin and sage are a match made in heaven. You can put sage leaves on patties while cooking in a pan like me or fry sage leaves separate for more crispy intense flavour. Yum!

Ingredients

1 cup of grated pumpkin
1 cup of buckwheat flour
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon of nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 bunch of sage
a teaspoon of coconut oil
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and fold to combine until they come together as a dough. Take a small amount and roll into a patty shape. Heat a pan over medium heat and add a drizzle of coconut oil. Cook patties with sage leaves for 4-5 minutes each side until golden. Serve with salads.

 

Posted in: Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes, Snack, Vegetarian

Raw Rainbow Salad and Irish Soda Bread

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Bread-making classDaniel and I went to “Less is More” festival in Peppermint Grove yesterday to attend a bread-making class. I was pretty excited about that because I make my own bread at home, but never really learned how to do properly. The lady explained about types of yeast, other ingredients for bread-making, history of the bread, how to make a loaf of bread using a bread maker and a recipe for Irish soda bread. Surprisingly class was so full although it was early Saturday morning. Beautiful smell of the bread from the oven made us so hungry. We went down to Kakulas Sister’s in Fremantle after the class to get some flour, beans, nuts and grains since I was running low on those in my pantry. I love that little place, full of exotic stuff that you cannot find at the supermarkets. I had to try out the printed recipe I got from her. So here it is. Irish soda bread!

Rainbow SaladIrish Soda Bread

100g country grain flour
100g plain flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of baking soda
half cup of milk
half cup of olive oil

Mix all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir well making sure there is no lumps. Then add wet ingredients into the bowl. Baking soda and vinegar will do their thing and bubbles will appear. Then pour the mixture into a baking tin and put it in the preheated oven (200) for 20-30 minutes until all cooked through.

Rainbow Salad2Rainbow Salad

1 carrot
1/2 zucchini
1 cup of green beans
1 cup of shredded green cabbage
1/2 beetroot
a bunch of coriander
a teaspoon of sesame seeds

For dressing
a teaspoon of Dijon mustard
a teaspoon of tahini paste
a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
a teaspoon of maple syrup
a teaspoon of basil oil
salt and pepper to taste

Wash all veggies and cut into strips. I used a peeler for a carrot and zucchini. For the dressing, mix tahini, mustard, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, basil oil, salt and pepper. Combine with the salads just before serve.

Posted in: Baking, Lunch, My recipes, salads, Vegetarian

Cinnamon-Vanilla Roasted Nuts

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Vanilla Cinnamon Nut

1.Why soaking nuts before roasting?

  • Remove phytic acid, toxins and tannins
  • neutralise the enzyme inhibitors and encourage the production of beneficial enzymes
  • increase the amounts of vitamins, especially vitamin B
  • break down gluten and make digestion easier
  • make the proteins more readily available for absorption

2. Soaking time is different depending on what nuts you use.

  • Almonds 8-12 hours
  • Cashews 2-3 hours
  • Flax seeds 6 hours
  • Hazelnuts 7 hours
  • Macadamia 7 hours
  • Peanuts 7 hours
  • Pecans 4 hours
  • Pepitas 2-4 hours
  • Pine nuts 7 hours
  • Walnuts 4 hours

3. How to soak your nuts?

Soak the nuts in a filtered water with a pinch of sea salt in a bowl. After the specified period of time, drain them in a sieve and wash in a cold running water. Spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. You can add seasoning and flavours here. Roast in the preheated oven until they are crunchy. Keep stirring occasionally making sure they don’t get burned. Cool down and keep in an air-tight glass container.

Some people use egg whites before spices so that they stick to the nuts. I use coconut oil instead which works fine for me. Have fun roasting! 🙂

4. Examples of flavour combination

  • Savoury: Tamari, Sea Salt
  • Sweet: Cinnamon, Vanilla and Maple syrup
  • Salt and Vinegar: Apple Cider Vinegar and Sea Salt
  • Indian: Curry Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Garlic
  • Italian: Basil Rosemary, Thyme and Oregano
  • Cajun: Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Oregano and Thyme

 

Posted in: Baking, Gluten Free, My recipes, Snack, Vegetarian

Watermelon and Feta Salad

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platter

It has been so hot in Perth over 35 degrees almost every day and until next week. I used to love watermelon in Summer. We used to go camping up on the mountains with my family in humid and hot days. Nothing beats the cool rainforest to avoid the heat. Bringing a whole watermelon was a must. Sometimes you don’t even need a knife. Just hit it against a rock and break like that. A big wedge each. We smile like a wedge of the watermelon. So refreshing and rehydrating snack! Then after a quick bite we go back to playing in water and hunter games. That’s my memory of this summer fruit.

Simple dressing made of lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt brings up the full flavour and sweetness of the watermelon. Don’t forget salty and earthy feta cheese and bitter arugula leaves compliment each other as well. I am in lust! We had a platter and this salad for lunch today.

Ingredients

1 cup of watermelon
1 stick of feta cheese
1 cup of arugula leaves
1 teaspoon of e.v.o.o
a splash of balsamic vinegar
a squeeze of lemon juice
sea salt

Posted in: Gluten Free, My recipes, salads, Vegetarian

Chia Pudding

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Chia puddingI love making puddings for a healthy snack or dessert. Milk tea pudding, panna cotta, sago…but since I started making this chia pudding. Oh my god, it is so simple to make, delicious and packed with nutrients (protein and fibre, yeah!). It is gluten-free and vegan, of course when you use a non-dairy milk. It is so awesome how these little guys turn into sticky pudding texture. You can absolutely play with flavours here. Fabulous flavours? chocolate, banana, cinnamon, mango, berry, Macha green tea, vanilla, pumpkin, chai.. Toppings? crunchy nuts, dried or fresh fruits, shaved chocolate, coconut chips, honey or maple syrup… what ever you fancy!

Ingredients (For one serving)

250ml coconut milk (you can use almond milk or soy milk too, but coconut has lots of flavour and healthy fats)
20g chia seeds
1 teaspoon of vanilla powder
1 table-spoon of maple syrup
1 cup of mixed berries (frozen or fresh)toppings (goji berries, cacao nibs, buckwheat)

Combine all ingredients in a glass or a jar except topping and refrigerate overnight. Stir occasionally making sure chia seeds are not all stuck together. Sprinkle toppings and serve chilled in the morning. It doesn’t get easier than this. Remember. Enjoy every mouthful, stay healthy, be grateful, enjoy your life x

Posted in: Breakfast, Dessert, Gluten Free, My recipes, Snack, Vegetarian