CRISPY CORN CROQUETTES

whilst on my epic shopping trip this weekend just gone (epic in the sense that it was epically far away and epically difficult at one point to find anything i was looking for!) i picked up a bag of maiz (maize flour) as i have become so intrigued by latin american and mexican cooking.

when i got home from work today i started straight off googling some fab maize flour recipes - but was only given the options of tortillas or corn chips... and without an oven or a griddle this left me a bit stuck. so when i thought about the ingredient itself - it texture, cooking potential etc i thought of corn jacks (those crispy, hugely unhealthy, deep-fried 'battons' that tast so good!) 

inspired by the idea of the corn jack i hit the kitchen and whipped up a polenta-like batter which i seasoned with some spicy chilli powder, salt, pepper and a bit of sugar. the result...

'HOW TO' HUMMUS

i heart hummus... but this is the first time i am trying this from scratch! i have soaked my chickpeas overnight and pre-cooked them for roughly an hour and a half. 

how? 

400g chickpeas

3 tablespoons of tahini

3 tablespoons of lemon juice 

2 garlic cloves

1/4 teaspoon of cumin

1/4 teaspoon of paprika

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of warm water

combine all ingredients (except the water) and put into a food processor. blitz until smooth. if required add the water tablespoon by tablespoon to thin out the mix. taste and season further if required. serve sprinkled with a dash of paprika and some crusty bread - yum! 

POPCORN PLEASE!

hello healthy snack alternative! popcorn gets a thumbs up from me for its high fibre content, which promotes a feeling for fullness and keeps your blood sugar levels stable; its high levels of antioxidants (polyphenols), which have been shown to lower the risk of some cancers, heart disease and diabetes; and (without any added fats, sugar or salt) is low-energy and contains zero dietary cholesterol. 

VEGAN MICROWAVE FLAPJACKS

i have to admit that living without an oven is becoming a bit of a drag! in order to get around this little inconvenience, i have started to explore the possibilities of microwave ‘baking’. following my first success – being the vegan mug brownie – i have gained a little more confidence and thought to myself: “why not give microwave biscuits a go?!” – so here are some tasty vegan flapjacks that are easy-peasy to prepare and taste great!

how?

75g vegan margarine

5 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 tablespoons of golden syrup

150g quick-cooking oats

50g sultanas

50g dried cranberries, chopped

50g dried apricots, chopped

combine the marg, brown sugar and golden syrup in a microwave safe bowl. cook on high for 1-2 minutes, or until the margarine has melted. add in the oats, sultanas, cranberries + apricots, mix thoroughly to combine.

2.

press the mix into a small greased (microwave safe) baking dish. cook on high for roughly 5 minutes, or until the center is bubbling. allow the flapjacks to cool, cut them into squares, and get stuck in! healthy, vegan, oven-free and delicious!

makes 12 squares

note: you may want to cut up your dried fruit quite finely so the final product is not so crumbly! 

MILLET + CHICKPEA 'VEGGIE' BURGERS

i needed to find a use for the millet that i excitedly bought in manor foods last weekend - and burgers sounded like a great idea... here is the recipe i used to whip up some tasty, heathy, vegan millet burgers that will leave you wanting more!

how?

3/4 cup of uncooked millet

1 cup of chickpeas (soaked overnight and precooked), mashed

1 cup of finely grated carrot

1/4 cup of finely diced onion

1/2 sunflower seeds, roughly chopped

2-3 tablespoons of corn flour (dissolved in a tiny bit of warm water)

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/4 fresh coriander, finely chopped

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

salt and pepper to season

to cook the millet add it to a dry pot over high heat and stir constantly for 3-4 minutes until fragrant and the millet is 'popping' (being careful not to burn it!). once toasted, add 1/2 cup of boiling water. bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover. cook until all liquid has absorbed (roughly 20-25 minutes). remove from the heat and leave to stand, keeping it covered, for 5 minutes. uncover and ‘fluff’ the millet with a fork.

combine the cooked chickpeas, garlic, coriander and chilli powder. add to the cooled millet. add the finely grated carrot, onion and sunflower seeds. season and add the corn flour mix 1 tablespoon at a time until the mix holds together. form the burgers using 1/4 cup of the mixture and fry in a little oiled frying pan over medium-high heat until golden/slightly charred on both sides. serve with some red pepper relish and a side salad or in a burger bun with the lot!

Makes 11 medium burgers

SALTY SEASONED CHICKPEAS

if you are craving something savoury and don't have the enthusiasm for any full on prep then these little babies are super easy, super tasty... and an excellent alternative to grabbing a bag of super unhealthy potato chips!

how?

1 cup of chickpeas
1 teaspoon of salt (course grind is nice with these)
1 teaspoon of paprika (sweet or smoky - depending on your preference)
1/4 teaspoon of vegetable oil

heat the oil in a frying pan. add the chickpeas and lightly 'toast'/fry these in the oil. add the salt + paprika and toss through. fry until fragrant - allow to cool slightly (so you dont burn your fingers) and serve!

you may also like to sub the paprika for some cumin, or add some chilli powder if you like a bit of a kick!

KIWI FRUIT FTW!

what's so good about kiwi fruit? well... for one they contain more vitamin c than oranges, as much potassium as bananas and a good whack of beta-carotene! but also contain a significant amount of vitamins E + A and are a great source of dietary fibre - which can guard against diabetes and some cancers

that's not all! kiwi fruits have also been shown to reduce the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration by 36%, protect our DNA from mutation, and help prevent asthma - particularly in children. 

for more information about these little green powerhouses check out kiwi-fruit.info and whfoods.com.

FROZEN TOFU - CHAPTER 2

wow! so excited... i am going to use some of the tofu that i froze last week (check it out at 'freezin' ma tofu') before i can add my flash fried tofu to a fab vegan dish i need to do a tiny bit of prep!

how?

to thaw out the tofu i cheated a little and used the microwave... but if you'd prefer you can be more organised that i am and take it out of the freezer the night before and leave it in the fridge to defrost.

i popped 1 portion (1/3 of a block of tofu) into a microwave safe bowl and whacked it on for 5 minutes on defrost/low... this wasn't quite long enough (it all depends on your mircowave's wattage - so adjust accordingly) i zapped mine for a further 5 minutes and it was perfectly defrosted and ready to drain.

i then placed the defrosted block between some paper towel and gave it a good squeeze into the sink. once it was nice and 'dry' i sliced it up and gave it a quick fry-off in a hot pan with a tiny little bit of vegetable oil.

done! and ready to enjoy... (p.s. it tastes so good right out of the pan that you will need to exercise some will power not to eat it all if you are using it in another recipe!)

i added these fried tofu pieces to a wikid vegan vegetable pilaf, but it would also be great in a vegan vegetable curry, stirfry, eaten as a snack (yum!) or crumbled over a saucy vegan pasta dish!

VEGAN MUG BROWNIE

still feeling a bit homesick i decided the obvious cure was clearly a gooey, delicious, warm and satisfying vegan mug brownie - made in a minute, this microwave mug cake is the bomb!

how?

dry:

4 tablespoons of plain flour

4 tablespoons of sugar (or 3 of brown sugar for a bit more darkness)

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon of instant coffee

pinch of salt

wet:

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (i used sunflower)

2-3 tablespoons of water

mix the dry then add the wet and stir to combine in your mug of choice (choosing one big enough of course)

place into your microwave for 1 1/2 - 2 mins on high - allow to cool ever so slightly (so you don't burn your mouth) and dive in! this would be even better with some yummy vegan whipped cream or melty vegan ice-cream - but this gooey mug brownie is delish on it own!

thank you soychick for veganizing this one! (note: i didn't add any vanilla extract as i didn't have any on hand but this would give it an extra kick so add it in if you wish)

VEGAN FINGER FOOD

throwing an intimate cocktail soiree, or perhaps a pre-drinks get-together and find out that there is a vegan on the guest list?! dont panic... a few cheap and easy winners to add to the shopping list:

- nuts (almonds and cashews are generally a good bet)

- vegan-friendly potato chips (generally your plain crisps as manufacturers tend to add milk powder, animal-based flavourings and the like to the others)

- guacamole or homemade bean dip with some fresh and crunchy vegetable dippers

- seasoned popcorn (add a dash of nutritional yeast flakes and a tad of chili powder to a bag of microwave poppers

- a mix of olives, semi-dried tomatoes or even dolmades (you may want to double check the ingredient list on the side of the tin just to be sure!)

- and last but certainly not least... some crusty bread, good quality evoo and perhaps (if you want to be a little more alternative) some dukkah for dipping

GREEN JUICE

a vibrant, revitalising glass of green juice was exactly what i needed after a rather unproductive day at work! returning back to work after lazing around in the sunshine the day before is always a hard task... and today i was really feeling it.

using a banana, a pear and a big handful of fresh spinach leaves (oh! and about a 1/4 cup of cold water) i blitzed up this glowing green juice in a matter of seconds!

it was fresh and perhaps a little too sweet from the pear that got added (but it was begging to be used... so i threw it in!)

i love green juice... and instantly feel healthier after the first mouthful!

EXTRAS

pumpkin seeds and muscatel raisin

i really like to add a few extras to jazz up a salad - and these two are a couple of my favorites! a few pumpkin seeds, nuts, or even chopped up dried fruits can make a big difference to that plain old salad mix. they do of course add extra kilojoules/calories too so don't get carried away... which i know is hard!!

think:
- dried apricots
- walnuts
- hazelnuts

SMASHED CHICKPEA FLATBREAD

these smashed chickpea flat-breads (from jamie oliver's jamie's kitchen cookbook) are one of the best ways to make your own bread at home - they are super easy and go great with salads, pasta dishes (rubbed with a bit of oil and finely chopped garlic), as a pita-pocket, or just on their own as a snack

alas, i am in madrid and don't have the jamie book handy - but if you do these are a definte must!!

they demand you usual bread-making ingredients... so flour, yeast, water, some oil. then to make them special you throw in a can (400g) of chickpeas that you have rinsed and roughly smooshed with a fork along with a couple of teaspoons of roughly ground cumin seeds

i make the dough in the kitchenaid with the dough hook and then leave the mixer bowl covered with some cling film and a tea towel over the top near the window in our lounge room (which is super sunny) until it doubles in size... knock it back and then divide, shape and throw them in the oven in batches straight on the rungs - they puff up and bake in around 8 mins (if i recall correctly) and then can be put on a cake rack until they are cool enough to pack away

serving suggestion

THANKS LUCAS!

one of the best gifts i have ever received! a bag full of garbanzos (chickpeas) from my housemate's farm. i had never soaked and boiled my own beans from dry before so i was pretty nervous to give it a go... but success! no longer will i stare longingly at those dried beans in kakulas sisters (when i am back home that is) and walk away thinking its too hard or not worth the effort - it so is!

all you need to do is place about a cup (this will swell up to about 2 cups) of beans in a large enough bowl to consider swelling overnight and cover with about 3 times as much water as beans - cold is probably best if you are bunging these straight into the fridge before heading off to bed

in the morning you'll find nice little swollen chickpeas. at this point i drain of the water, give the beans a rinse and return them back to the fridge in their bowl covered with the same amount of water before heading off for work

a day and night of soaking in the fridge seems perfect for cooking that evening for about an hour to an hour and a half (depending how soft you like your beans)

i have used these so far in salad (rinsing again after cooking to cool them down before transferring into my salad mix) and in a soup - but they'd also be perfect for making your own hummus or frying in a little seasoned oil with some spices for some tasty spiced chickpea nibblies - yum!!

FRUIT MIX-UP

a real lunch box winner! to be organised and out the door first thing i made a quick fruit salad for a healthy 'morning-tea' snack. this one is a mix-up of the amazing produce i bought from frutalia this week including 2 kiwi fruit, 5-6 strawberries, an orange, 1/2 a pink grapefruit, an red apple and 2 thick slices of juicy pineapple all roughly diced and thrown together (gently of course!)

EXPLORATION SUPPLIES

much needed sustenance for paris on foot

3:30-ITIS

 

nothing like some fresh fruit for an afternoon energy boost!

AFTERNOON TEA

wholemeal + raspberry conserve

ok... not the healthiest of snacks but a good sugar hit to cure the 3:30-itis

ENERGY PLUS+

strawberries, orange and a handful of toasted hazelnuts

hazelnuts - the rap:

• no cholesterol, low in SFAs (saturated fatty acids) and high in mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids means hazelnuts are good for lowering blood pressure and decreasing heart disease risk
• arginine (an amino acid) content helps to relax the blood vessels
• good source of folate which reduces risk factors for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, depression, and neural tube defects 
• good source of vitamins b1, b2 + b6 which are good for mental health
• high fat content helps in the absorption and digestion of vitamins a, d, e + k (the fat soluble vitamins) which are important for healthy skin and hair
• they also contain calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, magnesium, protein and dietary fibre