Summer Minestrone

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Minestrone soup, meaning “big soup” in Italian, is great both in summer and winter. There is no standard recipe here. It changes from season to season using the best ingredients you can get your hands on. You can also clean up the fridge and throw in all your vegetable odds and ends. It is simply delicious and nourishing! I made a vegetarian version today but feel free to add beans or meat for additional fibre and protein.

The word minestrone means “big soup” in Italian
The word minestrone means “big soup” in Italian
The word minestrone means “big soup” in Italis great both in summer and winter. There is no standard minestrone recipe. It changes from season to season, using the best produce you can get your hands on. You can also clean out the crisper drawer of the refrigerator and throw in all your vegetable odds and ends, delicious and nourishing!

Summer Minestrone
Ingredients

1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of coconut oil
2 cups of chopped tomatoes or canned
1 carrot
1 potato
1 cup of cauliflower
1 cup of broccoli
1 tsp of harissa
1 bay leaf
2 cups of vegetable stock or water
salt and pepper to taste

Cook chopped onion and garlic with coconut oil in a pan until softened. Add other ingredients and stock to the pan. Bring it to boil and then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Taste for seasoning in the last minute. Ladle the minestrone into the bowl. Drizzle olive oil and squeeze a lemon on top. Serve with bread if you like.

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

Carrot Muffins, Mediterranean Pasta Salad, Summer Green Salad

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LunchI had one of my friends over for lunch today. I was cooking like a storm, multitasking in the kitchen, which thankfully worked out okay today. She works at the bakery, from 3am to 10am, a bit odd shift. She says she is used to it now though it must be hard getting up that early to go to work when everyone else is still sound asleep. Well I sometimes get up that time and enjoy that hours of quietness, but not for work. She came quite hungry because she had a piece of bread since she got up this morning. Yes, I need to cook some nice food and feed her. I made carrot muffins, Mediterranean pasta salad and Summer green salad for her. We had chit-chats over lunch and coffee for about 4-5 hours. You just lose a track of time when you are with girl friends 🙂

Tiny little seeds are loads of energy-packed nutrition. Flaxseeds among them are one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids and lignans. To get the full health benefits, it must be grounded before eating. You can either buy a bag of flaxseed meal which is what I do or you can grind yourself at home.

Flaxseed meal has a rich nutty flavour and numerous health benefits including fighting against inflammation, protecting against heart disease, cancer and diabetes, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol and providing more dietary fibre.

It is also a great egg replacement in vegan baking, called flax “eggs“. A flax seed egg has half the calories of a large chicken egg and much less fat. It is not going to be exactly same as using eggs, but combining flax seeds and water (or non-dairy milk or juice) 1:2 ration will form into a gel, which helps to combine other ingredients together. Use in baking as you would one egg. You can also make a big batch and store in the fridge for up to a week. I made carrot muffins today using flaxseed meal. Recipes follow…
Lunch2Healthy Carrot Muffins

Ingredients

2 grated carrots
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
100g milk
150g self-raising flour
1/2 cup of oats
50g brown sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon powder
1 tsp of baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp of molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all wet ingredients in a bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes to all flax “eggs” to set. Then add grated carrots and dry ingredients and stir. Spoon the batter into the muffin tray and bake in the preheated oven (180) for 20-30 minutes.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Ingredients

100g cooked pasta
1/2 cup of chopped spinach
1/2 cup of chopped sun-dried tomato
1/2 cup of chopped green olives
1 tsp of rinsed capers
1/2 cup of lettuce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp e.v.o.o
salt and pepper to taste

Summer Green Salad

Ingredients

1 cup of cooked lentils
1/2 cup of peas
1 bunch of broccolini
1 bok-choy
strawberries
1 tsp of tahini paste
1 tsp of apple cider vinegar
1 tsp of maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste

Cook French lentils in hot boiling water for 20-30 minutes. Rinse and drain once it’s cooked. Steam peas, broccolini and bok-choy until they are cooked al dente. Place lentils and vegetables on the plate. Arrange halved strawberries on top. Drizzle a tahini dressing over the salad.

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

Eggplant In Two Ways

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Stuffed eggplantStuffed Eggplant

Ingredients

Halved eggplant
250g ground beef
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup cooked quinoa
1 tsp of coconut oil
1 tsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of cumin
50g feta cheese
1 tsp of pepitas
tahini sauce (1tsp of tahini paste, 1tsp of honey, 1 tsp of water, 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook finely chopped onion and garlic with coconut oil in a skillet. Add ground beef, soy sauce, cumin and pepper and cook over medium heat until cooked. Take off the heat and combine with cooked quinoa.  Cut eggplants in half lengthways. Using a spoon, scoop flesh from the eggplant halves. Spoon the beef mixture into eggplant and place in the preheated oven (180) for 20 minutes or until eggplant is cooked. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese, tahini sauce and pepitas before serve.

Eggplant soupEggplant Soup

Ingredients

1 cup of eggplant flesh
1/4 cup of quinoa flakes
water or stock
1 mall onion1 clove of garlic
1 tsp of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp of thick yogurt and coriander for garnish

Cook chopped onion, garlic and the flesh of eggplant with coconut oil in a skillet until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add water or stock and 1/4 cup of quinoa flakes. Keep stirring and cook over low heat until you get a porridge consistency (you might need to keep adding water or stock little by little). Take off the heat and cook it down slightly. Then blend until smooth using a stick blender. Add a dollop of thick yogurt and coriander before serve.

 

 

Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes

Bulgogi and Wild Rice Pudding

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Bulgogi Our dinner tonight is Bulgogi with bok-choy and rice noodles, and wild rice pudding for dessert. Bulgogi is a popular Korean dish, grilled marinated thin beef. I normally marinade the meat overnight in soy sauce, cooking wine, garlic, ginger, onions, chili and sesame oil. When you cook the meat, make sure the pan is nice and hot and don’t crowd the pan otherwise you are stewing, not stir-frying. Add salt and pepper at the end. It is thinly sliced rib-eye or sirloin steak so you don’t need to cook for too long. It is yummy on rice or noodles with veggies on the side. Then we had wild rice pudding with tropical fruits for desserts, which I liked more than the main. I don’t normally like rice pudding as a dessert, but this one is different. Wild rice or forbidden rice has a beautiful purple colour when cooked, releases a nutty perfume and gives a nice bite when you chew. It is so divine and delicious! You can add any kind of fruits on top. Bananas, caramelised pear, blueberries, passion fruit, you name it. You can also serve this for breakfast, yum! You wouldn’t be able to skip this kind of breakfast, would you? If you are not into coconut milk, use non-dairy milk such as oat milk, almond milk or soy milk. Feel free to change the recipe depending on your taste.

Black Rice PuddingIngredients

100g wild rice
200g coconut milk
1 tsp of vanilla powder
1 tsp of cacao powder
1 tsp of maple syrup
a pinch of Himalayan salt
slices of mango, strawberry, pomegranate and coconut for topping

Rinse and soak the rice for overnight or a few hours to shorten the cooking time. Add coconut milk, vanilla powder, cacao powder and a pinch of salt into the pot and bring it up to boil. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the rice is tender. Stir frequently and add more coconut milk if needed. Add maple syrup at the end. Take it off the heat and pour into the bowl. Top with your favorite fruits and serve either hot or cold.

Posted in: Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Gluten Free, My recipes

Green Fish Curry

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Fish Green CurryA friend of mine from Korea traveled Thailand for a couple of months and sent me a couple of postcards, which is so lovely of her. I’ve never been to Thailand myself, but all the photos and stories she posted on the mobile app looked like a relaxing place to visit. She even took a cooking class one day and made a pad Thai and green curry. Yum! I should definitely ask her to make one for me when we catch up next time and get some recipes to see how real locals make their curry.

I made this green curry with chicken breast last time, but tried with fish fillets today, which was as delicious! Thai green curry paste is made of turmeric, chilli, kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic and galangal (similar to ginger root), which all have wonderful medicinal properties. Turmeric aids digestion and detoxifies your system. Chilli is an excellent antioxidant, rich in vitamin A and C. Kaffir lime stimulates digestion and prevents cancer and high blood pressure. Lemongrass helps to fight against cold, congestion, fever, cough and sore throat. Garlic, without a doubt, a powerful detoxifying agent. Galangal is also a stimulant for digestion. So overall curry is tasty as well as nutritious, but it is high in saturated fat and calories because of the coconut oil and milk in coconut-based curry. So eat in moderation. Opt for low-fat coconut milk if you are concerned.

Ingredients

2 basa fillets
1/2 cup of chopped basil
1/2 cup of chopped coriander
1 tsp of grated ginger
1 tsp of minced garlic
1/2 cup of chopped spring onion
1/2 cup of chopped zucchini
1 onion
1 potato
1 tsp green curry paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coconut oil
1 cup of coconut milk
1/4 cup of water
salt and pepper to taste

Pat dry the fish fillets, season with salt and pepper, cook in a pan with coconut oil 2-3 minutes each side. Take it off the heat and set aside. Add another teaspoon of coconut oil in a pan and cook all chopped veggies and curry paste. When the veggies are cooked al dente, add coconut milk and water and simmer for 10 minutes. Put the fish back to the pan and combine with the curry. Serve over the rice. Garnish with fresh coriander and a squeeze of lemon/lime.

Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes