Two Salads For Sunday Lunch

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LettuceIt’s 37 degrees again today! I thought it would cool down in March, but Autumn seems so far away yet. After successfully sprouting quinoa, I decided to make some cool salads with it. Something refreshing, crunchy and tasty! I wish I added some chopped parsley in this green salad, but oh well, I didn’t bother going down to the veggie shop today. Too hot for me >.< I also decided to make some pasta salad for Daniel, as well, with sweet potato, sage, green onions and sardines.Sweet potato pastaSprouted Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

1/2 cup of sprouted quinoa
2 cups of lettuce
1 cup of grated zucchini
1 cup of chopped cucumber
50g of feta cheese
1/2 cup of chopped green olives
1 tsp of dijon mustard
1 tsp of white wine vinegar
1 tsp of e.v.o.o
pepper to taste

Wash and tear the lettuce leaves into bite sizes. Mix them with sprouted quinoa, grated zucchini, chopped cucumber and olives, crumbled feta cheese. For a mustard vinaigrette, mix dijon mustard, vinegar and e.v.o.o in a small bowl and drizzle over salad before serve. I just used pepper to taste because olives and feta cheese are salty enough.

Pasta and SaladSweet Potato Pasta Salad

Ingredients

a cup of cooked pasta
1/2 cup of diced sweet potato
1 bunch of sage
a stalk of spring onion
a tin of sardines in spring water
a tsp of nutmeg
a tsp of coconut oil
a tsp of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta in a boiling water with a touch of salt for 9 minutes or follow the instructions on the packet. Cook diced sweet potato with coconut oil in a pan. Season. Add sage leaves and chopped spring onions into the pan. Once sweet potatoes are cooked and sage leaves crisp up, take them off the heat and place them in a mixing bowl. Then drain the sardines from tin and cook in the same pan to crisp up outside (you can lightly crumb the sardines). Drain cooked pasta and add into a mixing bowl. Gently combine pasta and sweet potatoes with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Put on the serving plate and top with crispy sardines. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pasta and Salad2

Posted in: Dinner, Lunch, My recipes, salads

Eggplant and Raspberry Salad

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EggplantGrilled eggplant and feta salad with toasted pine nuts – yum
Spinach, raspberry and feta salad – light and sweet
Then I thought what if I combine two?
Firstly, I love the colour. I eat with my eyes first! Then eggplant cooked in Deonjang and spices smells so exotic. Massaged raw kale and fragrant coriander adds freshness to it. This salad just looks and smells so inviting. It worked for me, but you be the judge 🙂

Eggplant2Ingredients

1 cup of diced eggplant
30g fetta cheese
1 cup of massaged kale leaves
a bunch of coriander leaves
1/2 cup of rasberries
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
1 teaspoon of all spice
1/2 teaspoon of Deonjang or miso paste
1 teaspoon of coconut oil
salt and pepper to taste

For pomegranate vinaigrette

1 teaspoon of pomegranate molasses or pomegranate juice
1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of maple syrup
1 teaspoon of olive oil
ground pepper

Cook diced eggplant in a hot pan with coconut oil. Combine Deonjang paste, spices and a bit of water in a small bowl. When the eggplants are browned outside, add the sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes until cooked. Let it cool on the side. Tear off kale and coriander leaves in a mixing bowl. Add cooked eggplant and raspberries in and gently toss with a half of the vinaigrette. Transfer to the plate, scatter the crumbled feta cheese and drizzle the rest of the vinaigrette. You can add lightly toasted pine nuts or pecans on top for crunch.

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

Tofu Scramble

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Tofu
Tips for cooking with firm tofu! When you scramble or stir-fry or grill your tofu, having it pressed before cooking prevents too much water coming out and brings out more texture and flavour. Place the slices of firm tofu on top of kitchen towel and another paper towel on top. Put a heavy object like a plate or book on top of that for about 30 minutes while you are preparing other ingredients. After that, you can marinade or add spices to it.

Ingredients

1 block of firm tofu
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 small onion sliced
1/2 cup chopped kale (any kind of vegetables)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste
a drizzle of sesame oil to finish

Press the tofu as above. Cook garlic and onion with coconut oil in a pan over medium heat. You can stir in any kind of vegetables here, mushrooms, capsicum, broccoli, tomato, etc. Add diced firm tofu and spices. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes until all ingredients are mixed together. You can smudge the tofu with the back of the wooden spoon to make more scramble, but I left them intact. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to the plate and top with fresh kale or herbs.

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

Forbidden Rice is New Black

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Forbidden rice salad
I’ve written about red rice before. Today it is black wild rice (forbidden rice). According to Chinese sources, the name “Forbidden Rice” came from the fact that it was eaten only by royalty likely comes from the term 御稻 (yù dào) or imperial rice.

First of all, here is nutrition information of the different rice colours.

Polished white rice – contains 6.8 protein, 1.2 iron, 0.5 zinc and 0.6 fiber.
Brown rice – contains 7.9 protein, 2.2 iron, 0.5 zinc and 2.8 fiber
Purple rice – 8.3 protein, 3.9 iron, 2.2 zinc and 1.4 fiber.
Red rice – 7.0 protein, 5.5 iron, 3.3 zinc and 2.0 fiber.
Black rice – 8.5 protein, 3.5 iron, zero zinc and 4.9 fiber.

It is well-known that brown rice is a healthier alternative to white. The difference between the two is that white rice is devoid of bran, which is full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Like brown rice, black rice has similar nutrient levels and higher amounts of antioxidants. It is also a source of fiber and minerals, including iron. A 100 gram serving of black rice has 8.5 grams of protein, 3.5 milligrams of iron and 4.9 grams of fiber. Compared to white, brown and red rices, black rice has the highest amount of protein and double the fiber of brown rice. Black rice turns a deep purple when cooked and is packed with anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are phytochemicals found in deep blue and purple foods, which are thought to fight chronic disease such as cancer and heart disease. Another kind of antioxidant found in black rice bran is thought to be responsible for lowering bad cholesterol levels, helping prevent heart disease.

My mum used to cook wild rice with white and brown rice since the coloured rice can be quite tough and hard to digest for kids or if you are not used to it. So I recommend doing the same if you are the first timer cooking wild rice. I cook it in the same way as other rice but with more water for a little longer. Bring one cup of wild rice and three cups of water to the boil and then simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. Stir occasionally making sure it doesn’t burn at the bottom. My tip is once the rice is cooked, turn off the heat and then leave it for 5-10 minutes with a lid on. I find this process makes the rice moist and fluffy. You can make nice rice salads, pilaf, paella, sushi rolls, rice pudding, soup, baked rice casserole, etc. Choice is yours!
wild rice salad

Ingredients

For the forbidden rice salad
1 cup of cooked wild rice
1 carrot grated
1 cup of raw green beans chopped
a teaspoon of cayenne pepper
a teaspoon of cumin
a handful of pepitas
a stick of feta cheese
Himalayan salt and pepper to taste

For tahini dressing
a teaspoon of tahini paste
a teaspoon of white rice vinegar
a squeeze of lemon
a teaspoon of e.v.o.o
a teaspoon of sesame seeds

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

GF Ravioli and Raw Zucchini Ribbon Salad

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GF ravioli
Believe or not, I’ve never ordered ravioli or any other pasta dishes at Italian restaurant. I remember when I went out with work people for Christmas party a few years ago. We all went to this very popular Italian restaurant in town. Well some people ordered pizza, pasta, lasagna, you know all the traditional Italian foods. I ordered a bowl of salad (a safe option for being gluten-sensitive) and Daniel ordered a steak. Everyone laughed at us not ordering any Italian foods at Italian restaurant. I still don’t order those although they offer a gluten-free option. It tastes quite heavy to me. When I was browsing some food blogs, I came across this blog called “Dolly and Oatmeal” based in NY. Her blog has beautiful photographs and simple recipes that I fell in love. This ravioli is inspired by her.

You should all have some leftover rice papers in your pantry. Well I do! If you don’t, you can get them from any Asian groceries or in the Asian food aisle at the local supermarket. Handling rice papers can be a little bit tricky because it gets sticky and messy when you dip it in water too long. So you might need to play with it and practice until you get the hang of it. I like making rice paper rolls using fresh crisp vegetables and now making this gluten free ravioli! You can put any kind of fillings such as pesto, cheese, tofu, etc. I had a jar of chilli-capsicum chutney made up in the fridge, so decided to try with it. The bright red colour actually went so well with the green zucchini salad.

GF Ravioli1
Ingredients

For the ravioli
Rice papers

Fillings
Dried chilli
Char grilled capsicum
a teaspoon of coconut oil
a teaspoon of smoked paprika
a teaspoon of cardamom powder
Himalayan salt

For the salad
1 zucchini
1 cup of arugula leaves
1 cup of sliced celery
a teaspoon of fennel seeds

Maple vinaigrette
a table spoon of coconut vinegar
a teaspoon of e.v.o.o
a teaspoon of maple syrup
a teaspoon of cayenne pepper
a squeeze of orange juice
salt and pepper to taste

Dip the rice paper in water until soft and set it on the plate. Put dollops of chutney fillings on the rice paper. Dip the second piece of rice paper in water and then put it over the bottom piece. Get rid of air bubbles using a knife to make little cuts and create a seal around the filling. You might want to use a bit of oil in your finger to handle the rice papers since it can be quite sticky. Use a cookie cutter or a sharp knife to cut the ravioli. For the salad, I simply mixed ribboned zucchini, sliced celery, arugula leaves and fennel seeds. Then tossed with the maple vinaigrette. A beautiful fresh summer salad! You can make this to impress your loved ones or it is a perfect entree on a special day.

Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, salads, Vegetarian