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Recipe Blog

LET FOOD BE THY MEDICINE AND MEDICINE BE THY FOOD

My wish for you is to Live Better, Strive Harder, Be Bolder, Dream Bigger, Climb Higher and Seek Greater.
My vision is to help people create food that is delicious, easy to make and high in nutrition,
so that food once more becomes a vehicle to fuel your body, mind and soul.

Stuffed Poblano Chiles with tempeh, vegetables and quinoa

By , October 11, 2020


‘The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice’

This is another recipe that I made at culinary school. I bring it to you because it was the tastiest dish of the day. It also happens to be incredibly well balanced from a nutritional perspective, packed with veggies and protein.

Tempeh has 30g protein per cup. Quinoa has 8 grams per cooked cup and is a complete protein. I also added Tofu cream cheese (see previous recipe) as a cooling topping. Tofu gives you 20g protein per cup. Tempeh is also a pre and probiotic, as are the veggies.

Mr B loves the stuffed poblano’s and I tend to just eat the filling. You can substitute the veggies out for anything you have in the fridge, making it the perfect sustainability dish, using up all the odds and ends to make the filling.

From an Ayurvedic perspective Tempeh is grounding, making it a great ingredient to add in during the Autumn months.

If you’d like to know more about how to adjust your diet for the Autumn, please join me over zoom, on 18th October, when I will be co-hosting an Autumn Retreat. I’ll be doing a live demo and talking you through how to eat to enhance your immunity and digestion (see below and feel free to contact me for further details).

Yield- 8 stuffed poblanos (with 1⁄4 cup filling each)

Ingredients:

Chilies:

  • 8 poblano chilies
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil


Tempeh:

  • 1⁄2 cup apple juice
  • 2 tablespoons tamari
  • 2 teaspoons mustard
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ pack tempeh (4oz)

Filling:

  • Tempeh (as above)
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1⁄2 bunch scallions, minced (2-3 tablespoons) 
  • 1⁄2 medium carrot cut into small dice (1⁄2 cup) 
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 large cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)
  • 1⁄2 cup cooked quinoa

Method:
– Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Rub poblanos with olive oil. Transfer chilies to a baking tray
and roast until skins blister and pucker, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
– Remove chilies from oven and transfer to bowl. Cover bowl to steam poblanos for 10 minutes.
– Remove poblanos from bowl. Slit one side of chilies vertically from stem to tip, making opening large enough for stuffing. Remove seeds. Set aside.
– Cut tempeh in half horizontally. Transfer tempeh to small sauté pan with marinade ingredients. Simmer uncovered on low heat for 20 minutes.
– Transfer tempeh from pan to paper towel-lined baking sheet to cool. Crumble with hands and set aside.
– Heat 1 tablespoon of oil, add scallions and carrots to pan, lower heat and add salt, paprika, and cumin. Cook on a low heat until the vegetables begin to soften; add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more. Transfer mixture from pan to medium bowl.
– In same pan, add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. When oil is hot, add crumbled tempeh. Cook on medium heat until tempeh is browned. Transfer tempeh to bowl with sweated vegetables. Add cooked grain; mix to combine. Season to taste and set aside.
– Place about 1⁄4 cup filling in each poblano. 

Millet Cakes (Vegan, Gluten Free)

By , October 3, 2020

‘One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well’ 

– Virginia Wolf

This is a new grain and recipe to me. I learnt it in the health supportive program at the institute of culinary education. I hadn’t used Millet before, but this ancient grain has many health benefits and the highest calcium content of all the grains. It is high in minerals like copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and selenium as well as essential vitamins like folate, pantothenic acid, niacin, riboflavin and vitamins B6, C, E and K. 

It is rich in antioxidants, helping to protect your body from oxidative stress. It is low GI and rich in fibre, and so helps control blood sugar levels.

One cup of millet contains around 200 calories, over 6 grams of protein, 2 grams of fibre and less than 2 grams of fat. 

I use these as a lunch box bite or as Mr B put it, a vegan alternative to crab cakes.

They are good with a dipping sauce or three as they take well to strong flavors.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup millet, washed and drained
  • 2 cups stock or water
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds, toasted and ground in a blender
  • ½ bunch scallions, minced
  • ½ bunch parsley, minced
  • 1 small carrot, grated
  • 2-4 tbsp. tamari

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 350F
  • After you have washed and drained the millet, dry roast it in a pan to get rid of any excess moisture. It will start to smell like popcorn as it starts to toast. This will add a nutty taste to your millet cakes. If you are pinched for time, you can skip this step
  • Add the water and salt to the millet. Bring to a boil then down to a simmer
  • Simmer for 30-40 minutes or until all the water is absorbed
  • Transfer the millet to a bowl, add all the filling and mix together
  • The mixture should be sticky, from the starchiness of the millet
  • Mold into balls with your hands, using an ice-cream scoop for portioning. Make sure to flatten down a little
  • Line a baking tray with parchment paper and bake the cakes till golden brown, c. 30 minutes
  • You can paint with coconut oil for a deeper golden brown (optional)

Zesty Za’atar

By , September 26, 2020

‘Herbs deserve to be used much more liberally’ – Yotam Ottolenghi

I made this Za’atar in class recently and fell in love with the fresh herb mix all over again. 

The mix of ingredients plays with your taste buds, with zest from the sumac, depth from the sesame seeds and herbaciousness from the thyme. 

I served this on its own with pitta chips, as a topping to elevate hummus and on a cauliflower steak. Mr B is honestly happy to eat it on its own!

Thyme is great for the Autumn. It is a grounding herb in taste and aroma, which is beneficial as the weather becomes more erratic. It is also a lung tonic as it contains Thymol (the synthetic version of which is used in cough mixture) and has Carvacrol a powerful compound found to increase levels of Dopamine and Serotonin, the neurotransmitters that regulate motivation and mood. 

See specific Ayurvedic properties included below.

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup fresh thyme leaves (taken off stems)
  • 2 tsp. Sumac
  • ½ Sea salt
  • 2 tbsp un-hulled sesame seeds
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Method

  • Add to a mortar and pestle and grind or blend in a small blender
  • Serve with pitta chips, on hummus as an herbal compliment to your main 
Za’atar – YouTube Video

Baked Apples (Vegan, GF)

By , September 20, 2020

This is a great dish that Mr. B and I like to eat for breakfast, although they were originally introduced to me as a dessert.

We bake them with the skin on, which acts like a jacket to keep the moisture in, in addition to giving you your much-needed fiber. Eating them with the skin on makes this a low GI dish, without it, it is high GI. So, taking a cue from mother nature here, makes sense!

I filled them with sesame seeds, nuts and raisins, bound with a little maple syrup and finished with a sprinkle of salt. You can change the filling to what you’d like it to be.

They take 5 mins prep and 20 in the oven, making this a no fuss dish.

Recipe:

  • 3 sweet apples
  • 2 tbsp. Sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp. Chopped walnuts
  • 2 tbsp. Raisins
  • 2 tbsp. Maple syrup
  • 1/8 tsp. Salt
  • 1/2 cup apple juice

Method:

  • Score the apples (make a line round the middle with your knife)
  • From the top use a knife to hollow them out keeping the bottom intact. You want them to act as a cup for your filling.
  • Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl and scoop in to fill.
  • Add then to a baking tray with the apple juice at the bottom, just enough to cover the bottom of the tray.
  • Pop in a pre-heated 350F oven for 20 mins or until they are soft
  • Since they expand, once cooled you can quarter then, and the filling will stay intact.
  • Eat on their own or serve with vegan vanilla ice cream

Vine Stuffed Tomatoes (Vegan, Gluten Free)

By , September 13, 2020

This is a beautiful dish, bringing out all the flavors of your summer tomatoes. 

It is a traditional Roman dish. In Italy it is simply called, Pomodori al riso. 

A similar version is made in Greece using peppers instead of tomatoes. 

The trick is to allow the tomatoes to cook slowly so that the rice within them cooks in the juices, whilst the outside starts to caramelize and give a little umami. You can nestle whatever veggies you want next to them; potatoes are traditional and are Mr. B’s favorite as he gets to have double carbs!

Recipe:

  • 8 large tomatoes
  • 1 cup rice, soaked 
  • 1/4 cup parsley, minced 
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups potato, chopped into 2-inch pieces
  • Salt, pepper
  • Olive oil 

Method:

  • Wash the tomatoes, slice off the top, hollow out the tomato carefully using a melon baller or paring knife, leaving a 1/2 inch on the inside. This becomes your tomato cup. 
  • Reserve the insides and blend for next part. Sprinkle the inside of the tomatoes with salt and leave upside down on a chopping board. 
  • Drain the rice and mix in the parsley, garlic, the blended insides of the tomatoes. Add 4 tbsp. Olive oil and 1 tbsp. Salt and pepper. 
  • Clean the inside of the tomatoes (the salt will have brought some of the moisture out), fill them with the rice mixture, till they get 3/4 full. Spoon some of the extra liquid on top. 
  • Place in a baking dish, using the chopped potatoes to nestle in around them and keep them upright.
  • Bake in an oven preheated to 375F for 30 minutes covered and 30 minutes uncovered. You want to see the tops go a little caramelized, so if you have the patience then cook a little longer. 
  • Let sit before serving to let the juices settle.

Oat Breakfast Bar (Vegan)

By , September 5, 2020

‘’I love sleep. It’s like a time machine to breakfast’. 

This is a great breakfast bar. It keeps you full the whole morning as it is packed with Oats, which are a slow releasing carbohydrate. I also added cinnamon and nutmeg, which are warming spices and get your digestion and metabolism moving. Mr B noted that to him, the spices made it taste like Christmas. 

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups rolled oats
  • ¾ cup flour
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. nutmeg
  • I cup dried apricots, diced
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • ½ cup oat butter, melted

Method

  • Add the oats and flour to a bowl. Add the spices and baking powder. Mix.
  • Add the maple syrup and melted butter and mix. 
  • Add to a lined baking tin.
  • Place in a pre-heated oven at 350F for 30 minutes or until the top starts to brown
  • Let cool and slice. 

Turmeric Vegetable Rice (Vegan, GF)

By , August 29, 2020

‘Good food is very often, even most often, simple food’. Anthony Bourdain

This is an easy, one pot dish. It was made by my grandma on fasting days, as it does not contain onions or garlic. Onions and garlic are seen to excite the mind and so are often omitted when fasting. If you have ever had the honour of eating at a monastery in the east or an ashram, you may have noticed this.

To add depth of flavour many spices are used in this dish. Turmeric gives an earthy tone. The cloves, dried chilli and pepper corns are left whole and add the taste of the spice without making it spicy. The lemon juice adds a pop of acid. 

I love using Turmeric for its earthy tone and health benefits. Mr B always knows when I have been using the fresh root, as I inevitably end up with yellow hands! 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups basmati rice, rinsed and soaked
  • 4.5 cups of water
  • 3 dried chilis 
  • ½ tsp. peppercorns
  • ½ tsp. cloves
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. turmeric powder
  • 2 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 cup frozen/fresh vegetables

Method

  • Rinse the rice until the water goes clear (4-6 times). Leave to soak for 30 minutes, then drain
  • Add the rice to a pot, along with the water and all the other ingredients. Bring to a rolling boil and then down to a simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the rice is cooked through. 
  • Taste and adjust for seasoning 
  • Basmati rice is tri-doshic. In excess it can aggravate Kapha, so switch out for brown rice from time to time

Chocolate and Cherries (Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free)

By , August 22, 2020

‘Chocolate comes from cocoa, which is a tree, that makes it a plant…chocolate is salad’ 

Mr B has a sweet tooth and I love finding him dishes that will satisfy his cravings whilst promoting his health. This recipe does that in multiple ways, using pure, high quality cocoa and cocoa butter in the vegan chocolate, tofu as a substitute to cream, cherries and maple syrup. All of these ingredients have high nutritive content and promote and nourish the bodies tissues in different ways. 

Ingredients

For the cherries

  • 1 cup cherries, frozen
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp brandy (optional)

For the chocolate mousse

  • 1 packed silken tofu, c. 14oz
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 50g maple syrup
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 bar of vegan chocolate, 70g

Method

  • Add the cherries, brandy and maple syrup to a deep pot and gently simmer until the mixture thickens slightly.
  • In the meantime, squeeze the water out of the tofu block with your hands, then place in a towel and squeeze the remaining water out. Place tofu in a blender and blend.
  • Add the vanilla essence, maple syrup and salt and blend again
  • Melt the chocolate, I did this using a glass bowl over the pan of cherries. You could use a microwave
  • Add to the blender and pulse until well combined
  • Add the cherries to the bottom of your cup or ramekin, add the mousse to the top and leave to set in the fridge for at least 15 minutes
  • Add a cherry on top before serving

Millionaire Shortbread (Vegan, Gluten Free)

By , August 15, 2020

‘The one thing you can change is how you treat yourself, and that one thing, can change everything.’

For me eating well is part of self-care and self-care is self-love.

My relationship with food wasn’t always great. At one point I used to restrict my calorie intake to 500 calories a day, at another I bought all my meals from external vendors and ate all my meals in the office at my desk. It wasn’t until my health started to break down that I started to introspect and realized that I was denying myself access to the most easily available healthcare, my food.

People often think that eating healthy is time consuming, restrictive and frankly not fun. This millionaire shortbread should change all of those perceptions. Mr B in fact kept sneaking into the kitchen like a naughty child to steal a piece until I offered it up for breakfast. It is 75% nuts and dates, which have immense health benefits, minerals, vitamins, fibre and protein, as does the vegan chocolate. It takes 20 minutes from start to finish, including the time it takes to set in the fridge. It’s is seen as a dessert but is healthier than most conventional store bought breakfasts.

I loved all of my grandma’s food, everything she made was tasty, nourishing and full of love. She believed in eating pure food to fuel herself and her life and doing the same for others. I now choose to follow in her footsteps, to respect my body and my mind by supplying it with healthy, life giving food and doing the same for others. I hope this recipe and blog inspire you to do the same. 

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups of nuts (your choice)
  • 12 pitted dates, soaked for 5 minutes
  • 1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Method

  • Roast your nuts for 5-7 minutes until you they start to release oils (they will smell toasty at this point). I used pecans, walnuts and almonds in equal quantities
  • Let them cool. Once they are cool, put them in a blender and pulse to a crumb. Make sure not to over blend, or they will turn to nut butter
  • Drain and add the dates, blend until the mixture comes together
  • Line your baking tin with parchment paper, add in the mixture and push down, try and make it an even-ish layer
  • Melt the vegan chocolate chips. I put them in a glass bowl above a half-filled pot of boiling water
  • Pour over the top of the first layer
  • Pop in the freezer for 10 minutes
  • Don’t forget to enjoy the crack of the chocolate as you cut into it 

Methi (Fenugreek) Potatoes (Vegan, Gluten Free)

By , August 8, 2020

‘No one who cooks, ever cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past…’

This is a collaboration between granny and me. She used to make this dish when I was a child. The only switch I made was to sub in sweet potatoes for regular to boost the antioxidant and nutritional benefits.

Potatoes and fenugreek are a great combination as the fenugreek helps break down the carbohydrates and releases them slower into the bloodstream, make this a great potato dish for anyone with blood sugar issues. I did a series on Instagram this week, on the medicinal benefits of Fenugreek (see below). If you are interested in more fenugreek recipes, feel free to pop over or email me.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • ¼ tsp hing/asafoetida (optional)
  • ¼ tsp. crushed fenugreek seeds (slightly crushed)
  • 1 tsp. mustard seeds
  • 1 cup frozen methi/fenugreek leaves
  • 1 sweet potato, cut into 1×1 inch pieces 

Method

  • Add the oil to the pan on a medium heat, add the mustard seeds, hing and fenugreek seeds. When they start to sizzle, add the sweet potatoes and cover with the oil and spices. Cover and let cook till semi soft, c. 5-7 minutes, add a little water if it’s starting to stick to the pan. Add the chili powder and salt, stir. Add the fenugreek, stir and allow to cook all together until the potatoes are cooked through.