Simple For Recipe: May 2018

Wednesday, 30 May 2018

White Asparagus with Saffron Silky Tofu Dressing - Vegan, Gluten-Free

White asparagus must be peeled, as the outside is fibrous and bitter. They have an earthier, nuttier and sweeter flavour than the usual green variety, and can be enjoyed raw or cooked. Though white asparagus is traditionally served very simply, just with parsley potatoes and a generous helping of melted butter or a velvety Hollandaise sauce, this vegan saffron flavoured silken tofu dressing is just as amazing.

600 g White asparagus, peeled and trimmed
150 g Silky tofu
1 large pinch Saffron powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp Apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp Chives, chopped
2 tbsp Almond slices, toasted

Peel and trim the white asparagus. Bring a pot of water to a boil and season with salt lightly. Cook prepared asparagus, covered, for 10 minutes.
Add tofu, saffron, salt, pepper and apple cider vinegar in an immersion blender. Blender until smooth and creamy. Stir in half of the chopped chives.
Place asparagus on serving plates. Spoon the dressing over and sprinkle with the remaining chives and toasted almond slices.

Labels: Gluten Free, Nuts and Seeds, Soya Tofu and Okara, Vegetables

Wednesday, 23 May 2018

Tri-colour Quinoa with Pineapple and Miso Salmon

Miso-glazed salmon and quinoa combined with fresh pineapple, pine nuts and salad greens to make a delicious, light but satisfying weeknight meal. I use red miso, which is typically made from soya beans fermented with barley or other grains, in the marinade for the salmon. Replace it with rice or soya based white miso instead if you need to go gluten free. You could use rice, kaniwa, or farro instead of quinoa.

Miso Salmon	Salad
2 tbsp Red miso paste 1 tbsp Light soya sauce 2 tbsp Sherry vinegar 1 tbsp Coconut sugar 1 tbsp Olive oil 300 g Salmon steak	100 g Tri-colour quinoa, rinsed, drained 1/2 Fresh pineapple, peeled and chopped 3 Scallions, chopped Salad greens Handful of roasted pine nuts

Combine miso paste, soya sauce, vinegar, coconut sugar, and olive oil in bowl. Use 1 tablespoon of the sauce to brush the salmon steak.
Meanwhile well rinse quinoa and drain. Place them in a saucepan filled with 250 ml of water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low and cook for 12 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Set aside to cool.
Cook the salmon in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 3 minutes each side for medium or until cooked to your liking.
Place quinoa, chopped pineapples, and scallions in a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of miso sauce and gently toss to combine.
Place salad greens on platters. Top with quinoa and salmon. Sprinkle the roasted pine nuts over. Serve with extra miso sauce.

Labels: Fruit, Nuts and Seeds, Quinoa, Salads, Seafood

Sunday, 20 May 2018

Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 176).

My father's favorite cake was Carrot Cake and my mother made it often and always on his birthday. I could not find my mother's recipe. While searching, I kept coming across recipes that had pineapple and hers did not have that. Maida to the rescue! She actually has several different Carrot Cake recipes but this is the one that I remember.

I decided to make this as a loaf cake so that it would be easy to share. I don't believe it made any difference in taste and it made two loaves. I also used pecans instead of walnuts. The cake is very, very moist and delicious. Of course, the icing is arguably the best thing about the cake!

The recipe calls for corn oil but you can use vegetable or saffron oil.

Cake

1 cup dark raisins
4 cups shredded carrots, firmly packed
2 cups minus 2 TBS. sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/4 cups corn oil
1 1/2 cups walnuts, cut into medium-sized pieces

Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare three 9 inch cake pans (or you can use 2 loaf pans like I did) by buttering them and lining them with parchment paper. Dust with fine bread crumbs.

Steam the raisins (or you can let them soak in warm water for 5-10 minutes). Dry them on a paper towel.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cocoa powder. Set aside.

Place the eggs in a mixing bowl and mix or whisk just enough to mix. Beat in the vanilla, both sugars and the oil. On low speed, add the dry ingredients. Stir in the carrots and the nuts.

Divide the batter among the pans and bake for 35-40 minutes until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from the oven and let it stand for about 2-3 minutes before turning them out. Allow the cake to cool completely. Freeze the cake for at least one hour or overnight before frosting it.

Cream Cheese Icing

16 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese (at room temperature)
4 ounces unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

Beat the cream cheese and the butter until soft and smooth. Beat in the vanilla and sugar until smooth.

If you making a layer cake, apply the frosting between the layers as well as around the sides.

This frosting is one of the best things on earth!

(She also recommends decorating the cake with marzipan carrots and provides a recipe for them but I have not done this.)

Labels: cakes

Wednesday, 16 May 2018

Turmeric Hemp Seed Shortbreads

Delicate, buttery, rich shortbread cookies made with spelt and hulled hemp seeds and infused with variety of warm spices. They are a great afternoon snack and particularly good when paired with a pot of freshly brewed tea. The cooled shortbread cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month.

150 g Unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp Raw sugar
120 g Refined spelt flour
1 tsp Sea salt
1 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 tsp Chilli flakes
40 g Hulled hemp seeds

In a medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Sift the flour with the salt, spices and hulled hemp seeds. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter and beat until blended.
Scrape the shortbread dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper and pat it into a log, about 1-inch in diameter. Wrap it up and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Slice the dough 5mm thick and arrange, at least 2cm apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake in batches on middle rack until set but not brown, about 12 minutes. Slide the parchment onto a wire rack and let the shortbreads cool.

Labels: Cookies and Bars, Nuts and Seeds, Spelt

Wednesday, 9 May 2018

Broccoli Mung Bean Falafel

There is nothing better than homemade falafel and these baked broccoli falafels with mung beans are super easy, healthy, and flavourful. Enjoy them for a meat free lunch or dinner with avocado sauce or garlicky-yoghurt dressing.

Falafel	Roasted Sweet Potato	Avocado Sauce
100 g Mung beans, cooked 150 g Broccoli florets 1 Large garlic clove 2 tbsp Parsley, chopped 1 Egg 30 g Pumpkin seeds, ground 60 g Whole einkorn flour 1/4 tsp Baking powder 1/2 tsp Coriander powder 1/2 tsp Smoked paprika powder 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Olive oil	700 g Sweet potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces 1 large clove Garlic, sliced 1/2 tsp Coriander powder 1/2 tsp Cumin powder 1 1/2 tbsp Olive oil Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste	150 g Greek Yoghurt 1 Ripe avocado 2 Pickled green chillies 1 tbsp Freshly squeezed lime juice 1 handful Flat parsley Sea salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Brush the baking paper with 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil.
Drain the mung beans and place them in a processor together with broccoli florets, garlic, parsley and egg. Process all the ingredients until smooth. Add in ground almonds, einkorn flour, baking powder, chilli flakes, cumin powder, and salt. Process again until well combined.
Using 2 tablespoons to form 10 falafels and place them on the prepared baking tray. Brush the falafels with the remaining olive oil. Bake in the middle of hot oven for 30 minutes until lightly golden brown.
Place sweet potato cubes, garlic, cumin, coriander and oil in a large roasting pan. Toss to combine. Season and roast at 200C/400F for 30 minutes until tender.
Place yoghurt, avocado, pickled chillies, lime juice, and parsley for the sauce into a blender and whiz until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve falafels with roasted sweet potato and avocado sauce.

Labels: Dimsum and Snacks, Einkorn, Fruit, Legumes, Nuts and Seeds, Vegetables

Sunday, 6 May 2018

Frozen Strawberry Watermelon Lemonade

I originally posted this recipe back in 2012 and I've been making it for the past 6 years.

Time to re-share it with all of you.

Here is my original post:

THIS IS SO SO GOOD!

It definitely quenched my thirst. I even got a few brain-freezes a long the way.

I threw everything in the food processor and pulsed away. Then, I stopped it to taste and see what adjustments needed to be made. It needed nothing - it was PERFECT! I should have made a bigger batch. Who knew homemade lemonade could taste so good. I'm 100% sure I will be making this a lot in the next few months.

I love the flavor the fresh strawberries added. It ended up thick and smooth and creamy - not icy at all. Some people might find this overly sweet, since the fruit is fairly sweet on its own, but I love sweet things, so I thought it had the perfect sweet/tart balance. If you don't care for super sweet things, I would start out with less sugar and add more if needed.

This would be the perfect beverage to serve at your next barbeque. Or even just to go with Sunday dinner. If you are worried about serving it at a barbeque and having it melt. Don't worry, it tastes really really good regular too. I whipped up a batch and put some extra in my fridge. A few hours later, I went to drink the rest and even though it was no longer frozen, it was still AMAZING.

Between this lemonade and this Watermelon Frosty, you have no excuses to not use up every last bit of that watermelon in your fridge.

Frozen Strawberry Watermelon Lemonade

adapted from: Frosted Bake Shop
(Printable Recipe)

8 c. watermelon, cubed and seeded, frozen

1 c. strawberries, halved (I used way more)

1/2 c. fresh lemon juice

1 c. granulated sugar

2 c. water or Sprite (I used Sprite)

Combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth (you may have to do it in two batches). You can also skip freezing the watermelon cubes and make regular Strawberry Watermelon Lemonade.

Jenn's Notes: I cut this recipe in fourth and made it in my food processor. I added quite a bit more strawberries than the recipe called for, because I wanted a strong strawberry flavor. I also used the juice of an entire lemon. Fourth of a batch made enough for two medium-sized glasses. It is pretty sweet (which I like), but I think you could cut back on the sugar and it would still be yummy. It tasted great frozen and it tastes great not-frozen too.

Labels: Drinks

Wednesday, 2 May 2018

Heart-shaped Purple Cabbage Salad with Chickpea Tofu

Add a burst of colour to your plate with this crunchy, healthful, and delicious Heart-shaped Purple Cabbage Salad with Chickpea Tofu.

Heart-shaped cabbage, also called conehead cabbage, or Filderkraut, is an ancient cabbage variety native to Filder, Germany. It offers a mild, sweet flavour and tender texture. It can be used to make coleslaw, added to fish tacos and lend texture to mixed green salads.

Balsamic Dressing	Salad
100 ml Olive oil 3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar 1 clove Garlic, minced Salt and pepper to taste	1/2 head Heart-shaped purple cabbage, thinly sliced 1 Red onion, peeled and sliced 3 Scallions, chopped 2 Pickled chilli peppers, thinly sliced A handful of salad greens Turmeric chickpea tofu, diced 50 g Honey roasted almonds, chopped

Combine together olive oil, balsamic vinegar and minced garlic. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Place thinly sliced heart-shaped cabbage, red onion, scallions and sliced pickled chilli peppers in a salad bowl. Add in balsamic dressing and toss.
Arrange some salad greens on a serving platter and top with cabbage well tossed cabbage salad. Garnish with the turmeric chickpea tofu and honey roasted almonds.

Labels: Legumes, Nuts and Seeds, Salads

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