Delicious Oat Soup

Savoury oats... Now, I have tried to make it once before when I got highly into making different varieties of oat porridge. Although my egg and sausage porridge didn't quite make it, I found this recipe here and thought I would give it another go, making a savoury version of it.
I mean, the last time I was simply improvising, but this recipe, it was made by someone who knew their stuff - admittedly! As well as being a savoury version of oat porridge, it is said to be good for the nervous system.

As I was cooking it, it smelt like noodles - I kid you not! And it tasted like it too, mmmm....

Delicious Oat Soup
(Serves 1)

1 tbsp (extra virgin) olive oil
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped or minced
25g oats
10g ground hazelnuts (I only had almonds, so I used that!)
300-400ml vegetable stock (non-veggies can use chicken stock instead if they want)
Salt to taste

Garnish: I didn't have hazelnuts at hand, so I topped it with some dried parsley and walnuts, don't say I'm not good to you nervous system!

- Start by heating up oil in a pan, add the garlic and oats and brown lightly, before adding the ground nuts. Stir for a minute of two before adding the stock.

- Simmer on low for about 5-10 minutes and stir occasionally. Pour in a little more water if necessary, mine dried up a little, so I added a good splash more, it all depends on the type of oat you are using!

- Add some salt to taste, and...that's it really! I can't believe it came out that tasty!

Original Source:
Friske Vegetariske Oppskrifter, p. 84

- Jules

Sweet or Savoury Autumn Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Make the most of your pumpkin seeds!

OK, so pan-roasted pumpkin seeds are amazing, but baked, fragrant crispy seeds straight from the oven?

When I saw Rose's two takes on roasted pumpkin seeds, I knew I had to make it. This was a few weeks ago, but I finally got around to doing it! Please check out her blog for more amazing clean recipes that are really good for you, not to mention defriggin'licious!

I made both batches in one go, saves time and there's plenty of space in the oven, just remember to roast them on two separate foil-squares, although I am slightly intrigued at what a combination of the two would be like, hmmmmm! *Goes to try* It works, mmmm *crunches away happily*

Sweet or Savoury Autumn Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Coconut- Maple- Cinnamon-Seeds:
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp maple syrup
1/3 tsp cinnamon

Crunchy, Salty Pumpkin Seeds:
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

The how-to is the same for both versions:

- Start by pre-heating your oven to 220°C.

- In a bowl, mix the seeds with either the salty or the sweet ingredients.

- Take two pieces of tin foil or baking paper and fold up the sides you you have two small, shallow tin/paper trays. Spread the seeds evenly with as much space between them as possible so they roast evenly. Pop them into the middle of the oven for 4-7 minutes, and pay close attention to them so they don't burn (mine took about 7 minutes).

- Take them out of the oven and leave to cool slightly before serving, you might find some of the seeds popping or crackling, and they are the ones that taste the best!

Seriously though, they both almost taste like popcorn, and I had some of the sweet ones straight from the oven and topped my porridge with it, SO delicious! These are perfect just for snacking on on their own as well though!

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to eat plain pumpkin seeds again after this.... Too good!

Oh by the way, this 500th post, can you believe it? After two years and then some ^ ^

And on another note - I got a job, hurrah! It is in a cafê in city centre, and I'll be doing so many different things there and am really excited about it!

I hope you have had a good week so far, been up to much?



Original source:
http://www.thecleandish.com/how-to-roast-pumpkin-seeds-2-ways-sweet-savory-grain-free-gluten-free-refined-sugar-free/

- Jules

Coconut Vanilla Pudding with a Twist

It is tricky when you have a bit of a sweet tooth in the weekdays - what to do?!

Whether it's a school night, or the weekend, this vanilla pudding will fit the bill quite well, you can have it for breakfast just as well as dessert. Garnish it with some coconut and chopped bananas, berries or homemade granola or chopped nuts, and you'll have a sweet-looking pud! These holds some of the same flavours as the "skoleboller" I made last month, and I also have a porridge version of the flavour combination - what can I say, I have a little bit of an obsession. The best of all about this one though? It's vegan!

Coconut Vanilla Pudding with a Twist
(Serves 1-2)

400ml Alpro coconut milk (or light coconut milk from a tin)
1-2 tbsp maple or agave syrup
A good pinch of cinnamon
Three drops of rum essence
1 tsp vanilla sugar, or a few drops of vanilla essence
1 heaped tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)

Garnish: Dessicated coconut, chopped fruits, berries, granola, chopped nuts, whipped cream - whatever you think would go!

- Heat 300ml of the coconut milk in a small pot along with the syrup, cinnamon, rum essence and vanilla. Stir well to combine.

- Mix the cornflour in a bowl or cup along with the remaining 100ml coconut milk and whisk it until you have a smooth mixture. Pour into the casserole with the rest of the mixture, and stir until it thickens. This should take too long! Take it off of the heat and swirl through the chia seeds, if using.

- Now, pour it into the serving bowls and set in the fridge overnight to set. You can also make it in the morning and have it ready for an evening dessert!

Recipe by yours truly,

- Jules

Savoury Polenta Cake

Polenta, or coarse cornflour/cornmeal isn't anything I had worked with before until I saw this easy recipe for polenta cake! I made it vegan by using nutritional yeast instead of parmesan, and I reckon it worked quite well! Parmesan does have quite a bit of a stronger and cheesier flavour of course, so if you're not vegan, then go wild! I might try it with parmesan next time I make this.

It works well with dinners should you be out of potatoes for example, and the polenta also mops up gravy rather well too! I tried it first with some venison, carrots and red onion gravy, which worked a treat. But you could also use this and make sandwich wedges, filling it with hummous, cheese, ham, anything you want really! Oh and it's gluten-free too!

Savoury Polenta Cake
(Makes one 18-20cm cake tin's worth)

1 litre vegetable stock
200g polenta/coarse cornmeal/cornflour1 handful rocket, torn (optional)
85g parmesan OR 50g nutritional yeast
2 tsp parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp chervil, finely chopped
2 tsp chives, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

- Start by pouring the vegetable stock into a large casserole, then add the polenta little by little to prevent it from going lumpy, and stir well and frequently for 25-30 minutes. Make sure it doesn't catch the bottom. The mixture should come away from the pan, take it off the heat.

- Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC. Add all the remaining ingredients to the polenta ans stir really well to combine.

- Pour the polenta mixture into a cake tin or mould and bake for about 20 minutes, cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving it with whatever you want!

PS. I also imagine adding grated cheese to the top before baking it would be a winner too!

Polenta Pacman before the feast...!


Have you ever cooked with polenta before?

Yesterday, I was at a Rocky Horror Picture Show party and it was amazing! So many fantastic costumes, and despite coming a little unprepared the girls made sure I got make-upped to the max and wearing a top hat, haha, so much fun! What have you been up to so far this weekend? Any plans for today?


Original source:
Good Mood Food, p. 18

- Jules

Salsiki

Hello and happy Thursday!

I hope so far today has been good to you *smiles* As for me, I have taken today to relax, and perhaps whip up some goodies later on in the day. I can't help myself!

I am really enjoying making all these dressing/sauce types of sides these days, and today - I have another winner for you, salsiki! It is almost like tzatziki, except here, you blitz all the ingredients together for a smooth sauce that you can use for dressings, top meat cutlets with, or swirls through rice or dip savoury snacks like pakora or samosas in.

I upped the ratio of filling to the amount of yogurt, and I also used Alpro soy yogurt, so this was vegan in my case. Despite soy yogurts sometimes being a little sweet, the seasoning and flavours in this dressing disguises it well. It's just really good! I'm glad I stumbled upon this recipe ^ ^

Salsiki
(Serves 2-4)

Before I whizzed it all up - aint it purrrdy?

200ml soy/low-fat natural yogurt
50-70 g cucumber, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped, or minced
A few mint, parsley or coriander leaves (I used mint)
1 tsp olive oil
A good pinch of salt (I used Himalayan salt)

- Simply have the yogurt, followed by the other ingredients in a bowl, and use a processor or stick blender to whizz until smooth, and serve with your food of choice! I can imagine this would go really well with falafels alongside some spicy tomato sauce as well, yum!

As for me, I used them in an fragrant Amaranth salad along with some carrot and broccoli, it was delicious. I still have a little leftover that I will use either today or tomorrow. Maybe for some vegetable cruditês, who knows?

What is your favourite yogurt based dressing, and have you ever tried amaranth before?


Original source:
Friske Vegetariske Oppskrifter, p. 27

- Jules

Choc-a-Lot Smoothie

After having tried making a healthy tamarind drink, only to realise once it was done that I had used the salted preserved tamarind instead of sweet tamarind chutney and finding to my horror that it was...dreadful - I knew I had to redeem myself and make up for the funny faces that I caused my face to pull. I'm sorry face, let's try again...

And so it was that I made the "Good Mood Food"'s smoothie, and it made up for everything wrong and took me beyond - so simple, and so good - for both mind and soul ^ ^ You might wanna double of tripple this recipe, just sayin'!

Choc-a-Lot Smoothie
(Serves 1)

1 cold (or frozen) banana, broken into bits
300ml low-fat natural yogurt (or Alpro!)
1 heaped tbsp cocoa

For sprinkling: I used cinnamon and a little bit of nutmeg, but you can use chocolate powder too of course!

- Simply whizz everything smooth either in a smoothie maker or with a stick blender. Pour, sprinkle and enjoy - it doesn't have to be more difficult than that *smiles*

Have you ever had a bit of a funny fail in the kitchen, mixing up ingredients or whatnot? I think most people have been there done that, that's what I tell myself to make me feel less of a fool anyway *starts playing Fool on the Hill by the Beatles*

PS. The evil tamarind drink in question, it looks like the one in the picture alas - tasted nothing like it would have using sweet tamarind!

I hope you have had a great start to your week!


Original source:
Good Mood Food, p. 32

- Jules

Minty Potato Soup

Soup-a-soup-ah Tasty soup-a-soup-ah *Goes into Mighty Boosh trance*

Although October has been deceivingly warm this year, the sun is going down earlier and earlier each day, and we gotta get our comfort on. And how are we gonna do that? Whooly jumpers and slippers, jammie bottoms, and....a bowl of soup perhaps? It's a great start anyway, and I have a super simple recipe for you today that only requires a handful of ingredients, and about half an hour all-in on the clock.

Don't be scared of the amount of celery in this recipe. Because you know how it's sometimes pretty strong in flavour? Well - the stock and the mint manages to "shut it up" or at least quieten it a little, and the result if refreshing, warming and I found it in the "brain food" section in the recipe book it's from, so it's perfect if you're studying, or have got work ahead of you... But really I didn't have work or studies on this day, I just enjoyed this with some lovely toasted bread.

Minty Potato Soup
(Serves 3-4)

1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tbsp (extra-virgin) olive oil
A whole bunch of celery, with leaves, chopped
1 large baking potato, cut into small dice
850ml vegetable stock
A handful of mint leaves (extra for garnish)
Pepper, to taste

- Start by heating up oil in a big casserole and soften the onion and garlic for about five minutes.

- Now, tip in the celery and potato and stir so it's all coated with oil. Cover and cook a little on low heat - allowing the vegetables to steam and soften a little, for about 5 minutes.

- Add the stock and a little dash of pepper and cover and simmer for an additional 15 minutes until the potato and celery are tender. Now, add the mint leaves and use a stick blender or food processor and whizz until smooth. It doesn't matter if there are a few pieces left though, it tastes delicious!

- Serve topped with either small minty leaves or finely chopped mint, with some toasted bread for mopping.

I am so glad I have found a recipe that calls for celery that I like! Usually the only times I used celery before, was when I was making Sloppy Joe's (One of my favourites!), but I am glad I have something else to use it in now as well.
Do you have a favourite recipe that features celery?

Today, I have been dog-sitting Charlie the Cavalier King Cocker Charles Spaniel aaaaall day for a couple of my friends. It was the first time I had the pleasure to meet the wee chap, and we became good friends in no time at all. An hour after his arrival, he was nicely snuggled up to me, and two walks and ten hours later, he was conked out, happy and fed. He's been on his best behaviour all day, and I have to say it was great getting to hang out with a four-legged friend again!

Subtly wagging his tail, he couldn't help it, too much happiness to contain ^ ^


Original source:
Good Mood Food, p. 33

- Jules