Fridge Cleaning Day

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I do have a set menu plan for each day of the week and write down all ingredients to go with it. Yes, I do like making lists like all the other women. Me, I do not like wasting food. So I always keep my fridge neat and tidy so that I know what is where. I have a detailed inspection of fridge, freezer and pantry once a week and come up with a dish with leftovers. You can be creative and it is good for your budget and the environment, too. I hope you all do the same thing x

Weekend FeastSo this is our menu today…

Veal schnitzel with spicy tahini sauce
Spicy tamari edamame
Cumin roasted pumpkin with “cheesy” crumb
Watermelon, cucumber, basil and feta salad with balsamic dressing
Weekend feast1

Posted in: Dinner, Lunch, My recipes, salads

Easy Chicken Stir-fry

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Chicken Stir fryA bowl of chicken stir-fry on rice is quick, healthy, low-fat, gluten-free and well balanced meal with a full of flavour. Soy, garlic, ginger and chili creates a flavourful base of the dish. It is even better when you do a quick marinade of the chicken breast for 10-15 minutes. You might want to add a teaspoon of corn starch or rice flour if you want a thicker sauce. I like adding sesame seeds and sesame oil after cooking so that it doesn’t lose the fragrance and flavour over the heat. And use mixed grains for different texture and nuttiness, not just old boring white rice. Make a stir-fry and stay healthy x

you have time to meander down every isle

Ingredients

300g chicken breast
1 tsp of coconut oil
1 carrot
1 spring onion
2 tbsp of dark soy sauce
1 tsp of minced garlic
1 tsp of minced ginger
1 tsp of chili flakes
1 tbsp of honey
1 tsp of sesame seeds
1 tsp of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of cooked rice to serve

Combine soy, garlic, ginger, chili flakes, honey, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Heat coconut oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add sliced chicken breast, carrot and spring onion to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes until golden and half-cooked. Stir the sauce into the pan and continue cooking until cooked. Take it off the heat, serve on rice, sprinkle sesame seeds and drizzle sesame oil.

 

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

Vegetable Soup with Saffron and Turmeric

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Vegetable soupMy typical lunch in a bowl. It’s a vegetable soup today. Weather is finally cooling down now, perfect for making a nourishing soup! I like making salads too but my body is calling for a bowl of warm soup in this weather. I threw in chopped onion, pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower and peas into a pot. Bring it to boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until cooked. I also added a pinch of saffron and a teaspoon of turmeric and cardamom into my soup to make it more nutritious and beautiful. 

Saffron is well known for a very expensive and amazing medicinal spice. It is full of antioxidants protecting you from oxidant-induced stress, cancers and infections. It is a good source of minerals and vitamins. Saffron has been traditionally used as anti-depressant, antiseptic, digestive and anti-convulsant. For ladies, it also has beauty benefits for beautiful radiant skin. You can buy either threads or powdered form at the spice markets, but ground saffron has a shorter shelf life. You need to keep them in a closed box and in a dark cool place away from the light. I like its distinctive flavour, aroma and beautiful colour, great both in savoury and sweet dishes. Add a pinch when cooking rice, risotto, pilaf, quinoa, or paella, making a soup, baking a cake, making a warm drink. It is very versatile and a pinch is enough for the full flavour and colour. I paid about 7 dollars for a 1g box. It is a bit expensive, but remember you use only a pinch for the entire recipe and it is so worth it!

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

Mini Vegetable Rice Casserole

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I ask Daniel “what do you feel like for dinner?” His usual answer is “nothing off the top of my head” which really doesn’t help me come up with menu plans. But this time he actually told me “maybe vegetarian tonight?” He actually had naughty(?) foods for a couple of days in a row over the weekend. He and his mate watched footy at the pub on Friday, which means pizza and beer. We got invited to my friend’s barbeque next day, which means more meat for him. I also cooked some chicken for lunch today. Yep, time for veggies! I didn’t plan what to cook for dinner so I was glad he said “vegetarian!”. I pulled out little cute Le Creuset pots out of the drawer and filled up with lots of veggies and rice, topped with nutritional yeast and baked in the oven. Za’atar flat bread is so flavoursome even just by itself. If you can make fresh za’atar spice blend and top with a good quality of olive oil, it is so divine. Make this flat bread when you have a dinner party next time and serve with some humus, olives and cheese. Yum! heaps better than normal Turkish bread. Your guests will be impressed.

Veggie Rice CasserolMini Veggie Rice Casserole

Ingredients

1/2 cup of cooked glutenous wild rice
1 tsp of coconut oil
2 grated carrots
1/2 grated zucchini
1 sliced onion cooked
1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms
1 cup of chopped spinach
1 tsp of Dijon mustard
1 tsp of minced garlic
1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
2 tsp of nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse and cook the rice in a boiling water for 20-25 minutes until cooked al dente. Preheat a pan and cook all vegetables with coconut oil. Season with salt and pepper. Combine cooked rice and vegetables in a large bowl. Add garlic, mustard, paprika and nutritional yeast into the bowl and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into two ramekins, sprinkle more nutritional yeast on top and put in the preheated oven (180) for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Za’atar Flat Bread

Ingredients

200g flour
1 tsp of dried yeast
1/2 tsp of brown sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of za’atar spice blend (4tbsp toasted sesame seeds, 3tbsp dried thyme, 2 tbsp sumac, 1 tsp sea salt)
1 cup warm water

Place half of the flour, dry yeast and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add warm water in and stir with a wooden spoon. Let it stand for 10 minutes. Then add the rest of the flour and stir to get a sticky dough. Turn out the dough onto floured surface and knead gently until soft. Sprinkle more flour if too wet or add more water if too dry. Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and stand until doubled in size. Gently knock it down and roll out the dough to about 1/2-1 cm thick. Use your fingertips, make dimples onto the dough. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle a generous amount of za’atar all over. Bake on the middle shelf in the preheated oven (200) for 15-20 minutes until golden. Serve it warm right out of the oven.

 

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

Vegan Choc-Chili

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Vegan ChiliThere’s something completely satisfying about making a really good vegetarian dish that would win over the biggest meat eater. Especially a good amount of veggies and beans with a punch of bold spicy flavours! The combination of chocolate and chili is utterly delicious. I put a hind of cayenne pepper in my brownies, chocolate muffins, hot chocolate, everything with chocolate. So here we have a healthy, vegan, gluten-free, awesome choc-chili.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of  forbidden wild rice
1/2 cup of brown rice
1 tbsp of coconut oil
1 spring onion
1 stalk of celery
1/3 zucchini
1 tomato
1 carrot
100g button mushrooms

Sauce & Spices
1 dried birds eye chilli (seeds removed if you want mild flavour)
1 tsp of minced garlic
1 tsp of tomato paste
1/2 cup of water or vegetable stock
1 tsp of chilli flake
1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
1/2 tsp of ground aniseed
1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of thyme
1 tbsp of cacao powder or carob powder
1 tsp of Himalayan salt
1 tsp of olive oil
crumbled feta for garnish

Soak your rice overnight. Drain, rinse well and set aside. Heat coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and saute for a couple of minutes. Add chopped vegetables, rice and all spices in and stir to combine. Add water or stock and bring it up to boil. Simmer for 30-40 minutes until cooked. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with olive oil and crumbled feta. You can have it by itself or serve with pita chips.

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