Lentils are one of the easiest legumes to digest (especially if soaked overnight), cook quickly, and are a good source of protein. As with all legumes, the protein in lentils is easier to digest if combined with a whole grain, such as spelt noodles or brown rice. This is a hearty, satisfying vegetarian meal... lighten it up a bit with a nice, big, green salad on the side. It's nicest with fresh herbs and vine ripened tomatoes, and I like to add semi-dried tomatoes and tomato paste to make it richer.
1. Chop in Thermomix bowl for 5 seconds on speed 6: - 1 onion, quartered - 2 garlic cloves - 1 carrot, quartered - 1 celery stalk, quartered
2. Add oil and cook for 3 minutes, 100 degrees, speed 1: - 30g extra virgin olive oil
3. Add tomatoes and chop for 5 seconds, speed 5: - 400g fresh tomatoes, quartered (or can use tinned - if already crushed, don't chop again)
4. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 15 mins, 100 degrees, reverse speed 1: - 250g red lentils - 100g semi-dried tomato strips (opt.) - 550g water - 2 Tbspns vege stock concentrate or 2 tsp vege stock powder - 2 Tbspns tomato paste (opt.) - 1 tsp balsamic vinegar - 1 tsp Rapadura - 1/2 to 1 tsp dried oregano, or fresh to taste - 1/2 to 1 tsp dried basil, or fresh to taste - herb or sea salt - freshly ground pepper
5. Serve over spelt or rice pasta, or brown rice, with a green salad.
If you're new to eating wheat free, or gluten free, here's a versatile cake recipe that you're sure to love . . . everyone I serve it to loves it, and can't believe there's no flour in it! (Or white sugar!) I adapted these from one on Debra Lynn Dadd's site, http://www.sweetsavvy.com/. I sometimes make it a Maple Pecan cake, sometimes a Hazelnut Chocolate cake or a Hazelnut Coffee cake - whatever I feel like. Experiment with different nuts and flavourings until you find your favourite! If you buy nuts bulk like I do, these cakes don't have to be overly expensive.
Maple Pecan Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C (325 degrees F) and grease or line a 9-inch round cake pan.
2. Grind in Thermomix on speed 9 for 10 seconds: - 100g Rapadura
3. Add all other ingredients and mix for 30 seconds, speed 8: - 90g butter/ghee/coconut oil - 4 large eggs - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract - 1 Tblspn arrowroot flour (or cornflour) - 170g pecan halves - 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4. Pour into tin and cook 30 - 40 mins, or until skewer inserted in centre of cake comes out clean.
5. Drizzle with a little pure maple syrup.
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
This one's a bit heavier - almost like brownies.
All you do is add 40g of good quality cocoa, change the pecans to raw hazelnuts, and instead of drizzling with maple syrup just dust with cocoa or sprinkle over some grated chocolate.
Hazelnut Coffee Cake
Add a couple of tablespoons of instant coffee instead of cocoa, use hazelnuts instead of pecans, and eat as is or sprinkle with some powdered Rapadura.
Let me know if you think of any other great combinations!
My good friend Vera tweaked a carrot and raisin salad the other day when I was over for lunch, and made it with green grapes instead of raisins - it was soooo yummy and fresh, and EASY I just had to share it!
Just grate a few fresh, yummy carrots into a nice salad bowl, add a couple of handfuls of fresh, sliced celery, a couple of handfuls of green seedless grapes, and moisten it with a couple of blobs of mayonaise (preferably homemade!). Stir it up and enjoy! Too easy. Even the kids will love it.
Well, this week my 'system' of meal planning is a little messed up because my freezer door accidently was left open a little, and a package of T-bone steak got thawed out, and now must be eaten! So sad! :) (I love steak!) So there's a little more red meat than usual on the menu this time...
Also, we're off to the beach for a little holiday on Saturday, so there are some easy, take-with-us meals for our trip, with both lunch and dinner planned.
Monday: (leftovers night) Leftover roast lamb, veges and gravy (thickened and added to) on mashed sweet potato with choko from my garden.
Thursday: (meat) Crockpot sweet and sour beef stew over quinoa with salad.
Friday: (seafood) Fish (coated in cornmeal and shallow fried), lots of veges (my organic veges come today!)
Saturday: (holiday!) Lunch out (on the way to the beach); Tacos for dinner.
Sunday: (holiday!) Lunch: Tuna patties with spelt bread and salad; Dinner: Apricot chicken risotto (a quick Thermomix meal) & salad.
Monday: (holiday - won't be home to post menu plan!) Lunch: Homemade spelt tortillas (made ahead and frozen) with refried beans & salad; Dinner: Sausage & vege hotpot on rice.
Quinoa is so yummy, quick to cook, and light and fluffy if cooked properly. It is a very high protein grain which originated in the Andes mountains of Bolivia and Peru as a staple food of the Incas. It's gluten-free and rich in L-lysine, phosphorus, calcium, iron, B vitamins, and vitamin E. Make sure you soak it for a few hours or overnight, or at least rinse it really, really well, to get rid of the bitter coating that is it's natural protection from bugs.
- 1 cup quinoa - 1 1/2 cups chicken broth - 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes, or tomato chunks - 100g (3 oz) mozzarella cheese, chunks or grated - 1 cup torn fresh basil leaves - 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice - 1 tablespoon olive oil - 1 clove minced garlic (opt.) - salt & freshly ground black pepper
Soak quinoa overnight, or at least rinse really well.
Bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add quinoa, reduce heat to low, and simmer until tender and liquid has been absorbed, about 12-15 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork and transfer to a large bowl to cool.
Stir in cherry tomato halves (or tomato pieces), mozzarella and basil.
Combine lemon juice and oil; stir to blend. Pour over quinoa mix and toss well. Season with salt and pepper.
Well, we had more sick kids last week, (as well as sick Mummy!), so I still didn't get Orange Chicken done - try again! For a couple of days we mostly ate chicken broth (made week before last and frozen), homemade spelt bread (made before we got sick), scrambled eggs and leftovers! My meal 'schedule' is a bit changed this week because of visitors... this is the plan...
I'm always looking for ideas for healthy snacks for the kids (and me!), and this is one of our favourites. They're usually called 'cheese sticks,' but if you can't have cheese, just leave it out and call them snack sticks! They're still yummy. 1. Preheat oven to moderate heat (180 degrees C).
2. Mix together in Thermomix, speed 5 for 20 seconds: - 1 cup of grated tasty cheese(if using - can be grated first in Thermomix) - 230g spelt flour (w/meal, white, or mixture) - 1/2 t salt - 1/2 tsp mustard powder (opt.) - cayenne pepper to taste(opt.) - 1/3 cup butter/ghee/olive oil 3. Barely mix in on speed 3: - 3 T rice milk(or enough to form dough into a ball)
4. Roll out thinly on floured board or bread mat, sprinkle with: - sesame seeds or poppy seeds, then roll a little more to press seeds in.
5. Cut into strips (or whatever shapes you like) and place on ungreased oven trays.
6. Cook for 10-15 mins, or until lightly browned. Cool and eat!
This is the most delicious pasta sauce - I like it better than cooked sauces! And it's so quick and easy. If you like your 'comfort food' and are scared to try eating 'raw,' why not start with this recipe - it's satisfying and not so different that the family will complain! I've adapted this from one of Serene Allison's recipes from her wonderful raw 'cookbook,' Rejuvenate Your Life. Try to use organic ingredients if at all possible.
The sunflower seeds make this sauce taste 'cheesey' - you honestly don't need cheese on it! You can also add some fresh chilli if you like it hot, and you can use dry herbs if you don't have fresh (but use less!).
Place all ingredients in Thermomix mixing bowl (or food processor) and blend for 1 min/speed 8.
- 3 very large (or 6 small) tomatoes, quartered(preferably organic & vine ripened) - 100g sun dried tomatoes - 1 capsicum, quartered and deseeded (opt.) - 2 spring onions, trimmed and halved (opt.) - a large handful of fresh basil leaves - 1 small sprig fresh rosemary leaves - 80g extra virgin olive oil - 2 cloves garlic - ground black pepper - 1 tsp sea salt - 1 tsp onion powder - 4 pitted dates - 1 Tbsp tamari sauce - 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar - a handful of sunflower seeds (for creaminess)
Serve the sauce over raw zucchini peeled into extra thin strips, instead of pasta. Or if you think your family won't eat that, cook up some spelt fettucine, and have it with that instead. Don't warm up the pasta sauce - it's supposed to be room temperature.
Is there anything more wonderful than hot, homemade bread, fresh out of the oven? This wholemeal spelt challah recipe is an old favourite of mine - it looks beautiful and tastes even better . . . crusty on the outside, soft on the inside. Challah is a traditional Jewish braided bread, but you can make the dough into loaves or bread rolls if you like. I use this basic recipe for all sorts of breads. Sometimes I leave out the egg and increase the water a little, but I do find the texture is softer with the egg, especially when using wholemeal flour.
I use my Thermomix for making bread, as you can grind the grain, add all the other ingredients, mix for a few seconds, knead for 2 mins, and the hard work's done! If you don't have a Thermomix, use wholemeal flour that's as fresh as possible, and mix the dough in a powerful food processor or a bread machine. (Or you can mix by hand, but you'll have to knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes.)
If you want to make a double batch - two loaves - grind 250g of grain then set it aside and make two batches of dough using the recipe below, but use approx. 120g ground grain + 380g plain unbleached white spelt flour per batch.
You can of course change the grain to flour ratio depending on how heavy you like your bread.
I made a little YouTube clip to show you how to shape bread rolls and braid bread - it's easier to see it done than just read it and try and figure it out! (Please excuse odd camera angle - had no one to film it so had to use the iPad!) Here you go...
Poppy rolls made with this recipe - see how to make them in the above video.
1. Weigh into Thermomix bowl and grind on speed 9 for 1 minute: - 150g spelt grain
2. Add to Thermomix bowl: - 350g unbleached plain spelt flour - 2 teaspoons dry yeast - 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt - 1 Tablespoon honey(optional) - 40g melted butter/gheeor macadamia oil or olive oil - 1 large (50g) egg (optional - makes a softer loaf) - 210g lukewarm water *
* (Note: if leaving out egg, add 50g more water. If using a smaller or larger egg, adjust water accordingly, so that there is 260g of liquid altogether, with egg & water combined. )
3. Mix on speed 6 (medium speed) for 6 seconds, or until combined. Check dough - it should be soft and a little sticky. If your dough isn't a little bit sticky when making wholemeal bread, you'll end up with dry, crumbly bread. If necessary, add a little more flour and re-mix. Knead for 2 to 3 minutes in Thermomix on interval speed, until soft and stretchy.
[Note: If you are going to braid this bread, the dough will need a bit more flour - it won't keep it's shape if it's sticky.]
4. Wrap dough in silicon bread mat (or lightly oil large bowl, roll dough in oil, cover bowl with plastic bag) and leave to rise until doubled in size. (I place it in a cold oven, with a pan of hot water on the bottom shelf, and the warm, moist environment helps it rise. This way it only takes 15-20 minutes to rise.)
5. Punch down and shape dough. Dough will be quite sticky - add a handful or two of flour if you need to, but only add enough to be able to handle it - don't dry it out with too much flour.
For a braid: divide dough in three, and roll into equal length ropes, 2 to 3 cms thick. Pinch one end together, braid tightly, pinch other end together, tuck ends under and place on greased or papered tray. Repeat with other ball of dough. Once risen, brush with a mixture of: - 1 egg & 1 Tablespoon water, beaten. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
For a regular loaf or rolls: Roll dough into a neat log and place in a bread tin, or shape into bread rolls. Brush bread (or rolls) with water, sprinkle with sesame seeds (opt).
6. Rise bread or rolls in a cold oven with the pan of hot water on the shelf underneath, for about 10 minutes for loaves, or 5 minutes for rolls. (Bread will finish rising during cooking time.)
7. After bread has risen a little, turn on oven to 200º C (180º fan-forced) and bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until browned on top and slightly browned underneath. Bread should sound hollow when you turn it upside down and knock on it with your knuckles. If the top is brown but the bottom isn't, you can put it back in the oven upside down (on the oven rack) and give it 5 more minutes.
Note: Homemade bread is best eaten on the day it is made - the second day it is best toasted.
Well, last week's menu didn't happen exactly as planned - with a sick child to cook for, the orange chicken was changed to a slow-cooked chicken broth, but that's okay, because now I have lots of yummy stock in the freezer! And the chicken was chopped up and used in a couple of meals, including a Thai green curry & coconut soup (one of my favourite leftover chicken recipes!) - recipe will be posted this week. It's amazing how far a chicken can be stretched - I can usually get 3 meals out of one.
I still have plenty of bok choy and silverbeet - they're getting put into lots of meals - quiches, soups, creamed chicken & rice, fried rice, stir fry veges - you name it! So far no one's complained.
These bread rolls may look 'fancy,' but they're so easy to make. Of course, you can just make balls of dough for a plain bread roll, but it's fun to make them pretty, and doesn't take a minute. This shape of roll is called 'Poppy rolls.' In this recipe, half the dough ingredients are mixed, then let to rest for 10 mins, before adding the rest. It works really well. I've adapted it from a Thermomix recipe for milk rolls.
First dough
Place in food processor/Thermomix/bowl: - 250g white Spelt flour - 1/2 cup lukewarm rice milk - 1 T (or sachet) dried yeast - 1 T olive oil
Mix dough on medium speed (6) for 10 seconds (or by hand), until a ball of dough is formed. Leave to rest for 10 mins.
Second dough
Add to dough in bowl: - 200g wholemeal Spelt flour (or less, plus white Spelt) - 1/2 cup lukewarm rice milk - 1 tsp sea salt - 2 T butter - pinch vitamin C powder (opt. helps rising) - 1 T olive oil - 1 T raw honey
Mix in ingredients of second dough to first dough, on medium speed for 10 seconds (or until dough ball is formed). Add more flour if too sticky, but it should be nice and soft, not too firm.
Knead for two minutes with machine, or by hand for about 10 mins, or until dough is stretchy and warm.
Tip into greased bowl, roll over to coat with oil, cover with plastic bag, and leave to rise until doubled in size (about 1/2 an hour).
Knock back, and form into evenly sized balls. Snip around balls 5 times to make poppy flower shape (see picture), or shape however you like. If you make poppy rolls, place them about 5 cms apart on greased/papered tray so they have room to spread. If just making regular rolls, place them close together.
Leave covered with a plastic bag or tea towel in warm spot to rise, for about 30 mins or until doubled in size. If you like, glaze with 1 egg blended with 1 tsp water. Place in preheated oven (200 degrees C, 400 F) and bake for 15 mins or until nicely browned.
A friend of a friend sent me this recipe - it sounds absolutely delicious! I think I'll have to stick it into my menu somewhere this week - it will make a great lunch when I have a friend or two over. I still have plenty of eggplants and pumpkin to use up, as well as potatoes, capsicum, garlic and sweet potato from my vege box, so it's perfect. The lady who sent it said she also added whole garlic cloves and small onions, and red and yellow capsicum and parsnip... you can double the veges, and the dressing will still be plenty. Yum!
Vegetables... 2 tablespoons Olive Oil 2 med Eggplant (480gm) cut into quarters 2 med Potatoes (480gm) halved 1 large red Capsicum quartered 400 gm pumpkin into 4 Sweet Potato into 4
- Salt liberally and roast the above with oil for about 1 hour turning occasionally until golden brown. Add the dressing while veges are warm, so the flavours soak in.
Dressing 1 Tblsp Chopped basil 1 Tblsp chopped flat leaf parsley 1/4 cup chopped chives 1/4 cup Olive Oil 2 Tblsp white wine vinegar 1 teasp Rapadura/honey/raw sugar Pepper to taste
This is an egg pizza with tomato paste, herbs, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, fetta, onion & capsicum.
Who doesn't love pizza?!! It's such an easy meal, and the options for toppings are endless. When there's lots of kids here (which is quite often!), pizza is a popular meal - the kids all like to help make them, and I save dishes and mess by serving slices on paper towels and sending the kids outside!
Pizza Dough
1. Preheat oven to 200° C (400° F).
2. Place in food processor/Thermomix: • 1 tablespoon dry instant yeast • 500g (approx. 18 oz) spelt flour (half w/meal half white is nice) • 1 t salt • 65 ml (2 fl oz) olive oil • 3 teaspoons sugar or 2 t honey • 265 ml (9 fl. oz) warmish water
3. Process on medium speed for 10 seconds, or until mixed in, then on kneading setting for 2 or 3 mins, adding more flour if needed, until dough is soft and springy, but not sticky. (Or knead by hand, approx. 10 mins.)
4. Leave in processor to rest while preparing toppings.
5. Divide dough in two, and roll out to fit two large pizza trays. If you like thick, bready bases, add toppings, leave for 20 mins, then cook. If you like thin bases, add toppings and cook straight away. Takes about 15 mins to cook, or until ready.
Topping Ideas (pick a spread and try different variations of toppings - the more the merrier, except when it comes to a great mushroom, garlic, olive oil & mozzarella topping - my favouite!)
• Spread base with: tomato paste / pizza sauce / olive oil & fresh minced garlic / baba ghanoush (roasted eggplant & garlic dip) • Sprinkle with mixed herbs / garlic powder / fresh chopped garlic / chopped onion, capsicum, olives, fetta cheese, fresh bocconcini, parmesan, ham, pineapple, sun-dried tomatoes, chargrilled eggplant or capsicum, anchovies, whisked raw eggs, etc... • Top with shredded mozzarella or a little fresh parmesan if you can have it.
Dairy free toppings
• pesto; grilled eggplant, zucchini, mushroom and onion slices (brush w/ olive oil & crushed garlic, bake 5 mins in hot oven); roasted red pepper / sun-dried tomatoes; fresh tomato slices; chopped olives; fresh or dried basil & oregano.
Salad Pizza Bread
• Spray pizza bases with olive oil spray & prebake. • Chop up 2 cups mixed lettuce leaves, 2 cups fresh tomatoes, 1 cup chopped avocado & 1/2 cup chopped red onions, and mix together in large bowl. • Mix together in small bowl: 3 T red wine vinegar, 2 T fesh lemon juice, 1 t raw honey, 1 t sea salt, 2 T water, 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 t each of dried oregano, dried basil, freshly ground black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes (opt); add 1/4 cup olive oil and whisk thoroughly. Pour over veges, mix in, spread on base, slice and enjoy!
I have another dairy free topping that's my favourite, and you don't even notice the cheese missing - I've lent out the recipe book, so I'll post that one next week.
Menu plan for this week - I’ve still got lots of eggplants, silverbeet, bok choy & beetroot, plus some leftovers to use up. I didn’t get the Moussaka and Ratatouille made last week - now I have more eggplants, so got to do it!
I try to alternate meat main meals, with vegetarian main meals and fish/seafood main meals. I also have to consider my husband’s schedule (he shift works) as we have our main meal in the middle of the day when he works nights, then just eat leftovers, soup, or whatever for dinner. So for those days, the main meal is pretty simple, as my mornings are busy and I don’t have heaps of time to prepare the meal.
Monday: (Use up leftovers) Chicken Chop Suey using chopped leftover chicken, stir fry veges & leftover rice.
Tuesday: (Seafood) Calamari (floured with spelt flour & shallow fried) with homemade aioli, potato wedges & salad with lots of veges, sundried tomato, olives & toasted pumpkin seeds.
Wednesday: (Vege) Raw pasta sauce with raw zucchini strips or spelt noodles (lunch). Also, bake Moussaka in the afternoon and put in freezer for another day.
Thursday: (Meat) Ground beef patties with raw beetroot & carrot salad & spelt bread rolls.
Friday: (Fish) Fish fillets (coated in cornmeal & shallow fried) with leafy green salad & homemade mayo/aioli, & brown rice salad.
Saturday: (Vege) Ratatouille on quinoa with leafy green salad.
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Knock back, and form into evenly sized balls. Snip around balls 5 times to make poppy flower shape (see picture), or shape however you like. If you make poppy rolls, place them about 5 cms apart on greased/papered tray so they have room to spread. If just making regular rolls, place them close together.
