Fiery Sunshine Soup

Tags

clean eating, coconut milk, compassionate, delicious, depression, garlic, gluten free vegan, gluten- free, healing, healthy, holistic, nourishing, nutritious, pumpkin, roasted, scotch bonnet, soup, squash, turmeric, vegan, vegetarian

Sometimes, life is hard,
Sometimes, the days are dark,
Sometimes, it feels as though the world is spinning right on past us,

And what are we to do?
How do we get through these times?
What pulls us forward?

One very simple thought-

“This too shall pass”

Know that each hour is a new one,
Each day is a fresh start,
Every second we are passing through-
We are heading in the right direction.

The universe has your back,
Even when you don’t,
Even when you hate your back,
Even when you can do nothing but listen to the ticking of that clock.

The universe has your back.

There are forces you cannot see,
They’re working real damn hard
Even when you can’t get out of bed,
They are there for you,
They’re fighting your corner.

Sometimes, life is hard.
Sometimes, the days are dark.
But time moves on,
And so do you.

And if you can, get up.
If you can, go outside.
If you can, make this Sunshine soup.

Because, if nothing else,
Its awesome,
And so are you,
And don’t you ever go forgetting that.

(Serves 4+)

• ½ large Butternut Squash/ Pumpkin, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 2 Red Onions, thickly sliced
• 1 head Garlic,
• 1 yellow Scotch Bonnet Chilli
• 1 tin Coconut Milk
• 1 litre vegetable Stock (more or less)
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
• 1 cup Chickpeas, cooked (optional)
• Sea Salt, to taste

 

1. Heat your oven to 200c, pop the oil in a large roasting pan and put into the oven until the oil is melted
2. Skin the garlic and keeping it whole, chop the very top off, pull the stem off the chilli and pop both in a foil parcel with a drop of oil and a sprinkle of salt
3. Place the squash and onions in the pan, coat with the oil and sprinkle with salt
4. Pop the foil parcel in the middle of the pan and roast everything for 40 minutes, turning the veg occasionally
5. Once the 40 minutes is up, carefully open the parcel and allow to cool (20/30 mins), squeeze the garlic out of their skins and then chuck everything (except the chickpeas if using)in a large pot on the hob
6. Blend until smooth and creamy, adjusting the water until its your desired consistency
7. Finally add the chickpeas

Thai Aubergine & Rice Noodle Curry

Tags

aubergine, basil, chilli, coconut, coriander, curry, ginger, gluten free vegan, gluten- free, healthy, homemade, lemongrass, nutritious, rice noodles, thai, thai green curry, vegan, vegetarian

This dish could possibly be the epitome of what good, fun, cooking is to me- a cauldron of beguiling, heady scents, a symphony of textures. Cooking where you have a recipe but chance to throw caution to the wind; not focusing on chopping that ingredient just so, nor adhering to exact quantities.

This is a hearty feast of a curry. Spiked with the classic Thai flavours and coddled in the majesty that is rich coconut milk. The aubergine cooks down into fleshy perfection, and the noodles add that irreplaceable joy that comes from slurping perfectly spiced broth.

I’ll give you my take on Green Thai Curry paste but totally take the invitation to tweak to your own tastes, ditch the coriander, no problem, tone the heat down, go ahead. This is just a canvas on which you can personalise to your hearts content. The paste itself has a great shelf life of 2+ weeks once in the fridge, though you can always portion up and freeze the remainder to have to hand for a quicker but still outrageously delicious green curry.

(Serves 2)
Green Thai Curry Paste:

• 4 cloves Garlic
• 1 thumb fresh Ginger, peeled
• 4 small green Chillis, deseeded or not
• 1 small Onion
• 1 stalk Lemongrass, roughly chopped
• 1 generous handful of both fresh Coriander and Basil (Thai Basil if available)
• 1 tbsp Tamari
• zest and juice 1 Lime (or 2 Kaffir Lime leaves)
• 1/2 tsp ground White Pepper
• 1 tsp both Coriander and Cumin Seeds
• 1 tbsp Coconut Milk
• 1/2 tsp Chorella/ Spirulina Powder (optional and mostly for colour)

1. Blend all ingredients until fairly smooth

Aubergine & Rice Noodle Curry:

• 1/2 Aubergine, cut into 1inch cubes
• 1/4 cup Green Thai Curry Paste
• 1 Onion, sliced
• 3 cloves Garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 thumb Ginger, cut into matchsticks
• 6 small dried Red Chillis (or to taste)
• 1/4 head Broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1/2 cup Broad Beans
• 1 Carrot, peeled
• 1/4 cup Cashews, toasted
• 2 Radish, finely sliced
• 400ml Coconut Milk
• 200ml Water
• 1/2 Organic Stock Cube
• generous handful of Flat Rice Noodles
• 1/8 cup both of fresh Coriander and Basil
• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil

1. Marinate the aubergine in the paste and leave for 1 hour (or overnight if you have time)
2. Use a mandolin or a peeler to finely slice the carrot, set aside with the radish and cashews
3. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion, cook until softened then add the aubergine and cook for 5 minutes
4. Add the garlic, lemongrass, ginger and chilli and cook for a further 5 minutes
5. Add the remaining ingredients, except the noodles and bring to boil, lower the heat and cook for 20- 20 minutes
6. Add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes
7. Serve the curry and adorn with the carrots, radish and cashews

Celeriac Fettucine Alfredo

Tags

avocado, celeriac, clean eating, compassionate, fettucine alfredo, gluten free vegan, gluten- free, healthy, holistic, nutritious, raw, raw food, rawvegan, tahini, vegan, vegetarian

So, i’ve been eating 90% raw for the last three weeks and despite the ridiculously, beautifully cold weather, i am feeling great. But thats enough about me. I’m jumping straight into this recipe. Why? Because its so utterly delicious that i can’t really focus on anything else right now.

So good in fact, that i’ve eaten this dish at least 4 times in two weeks and for someone who likes to mix things up a lot this is a huge indication that this dish is a total winner. Of course i’ve varied the constituents of the alfredo sauce a few times which is why i’m going to share two versions below.

Alfredo is traditionally an extremely rich sauce and in absolutely no way do my versions not live up to that expectation- unctuous, creamy and completely heavenly. The tahini one is nutty and earthy which perfectly compliments the gentle rooty goodness of the celeriac. The avocado one is fresher, with whispers of basil which zing your tastebuds into culinary bliss.

I could only detect the tiniest accents of the celeriac itself but thats probably because i love the stuff. I know a lot of people aren’t too keen on it, so you could fully use other vegetables in it’s place- carrot, courgette, daikon radish? Or stick with regular pasta if thats your thang. I think what i love about this recipe however is the lightness i feel after i’ve eaten it. No pasta coma, no bloated belly. Just totally sated and full of life.

I feel happy during and after eating this dish, alive with all the high frequency goodness that nature provides. So whilst i completely recommend serving it however you desire, if you’re just a little curious about trying the raw awesomeness that is celeriac fettucine- then i cannot urge to do so more.

(Serves 1, very hungry little person)

• 1/4 Celeriac, peeled and cut lengthways 1″ thick

1. Using a mandolin on its thinnest setting (or a very sharp knife) slice each chunk of celeriac until you have all your fettucine
2. I like to then pop the “pasta” into a bowl of warm water to stop its browning, but if you’re not keen on any browning then squeeze over some fresh lemon juice.

Tahini Alfredo:

• 2 tbsp Tahini
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Peppercorns, ground
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds, ground
• 1/4- 1/2 tsp Smoked Sea Salt
• 2tbsp- 1/4 cup Water (depending on both your tahini and desired consistency of the sauce)

1. Throw everything into a clean jar, seal and shake vigorously to combine all the ingredients, slowly adding water until your reach the thickness you’re after

Avocado Alfredo:

• 1 small Avocado, peeled, stoned and roughly chopped
• 1 good handful fresh Basil, torn
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
• 2tbsp- 1/4 cup Water (depending on desired consistency)

1. Pop everything into a blender and blitz until very smooth, carefully adding the water

To assemble:

• 1/3 head Butter Lettuce (or any salad you like) roughly torn
• 1/2 cup Peas
• handful Spinach
• 3 Brussel Sprouts, shaved

1. Drain the celeriac and pop into a medium bowl along with the peas, spinach and sprouts
2. Pour over the sauce and stir full to coat everything (you can let this marinate for a while if you like but i’ve not been able to resist its charms)
3. Arrange the lettuce on a plate/ large bowl
4. Pour over the sauce/ vegetables
5. Sprinkle extra ground peppercorns on top.