Category: Food

Pumpkin, Cranberry, Red Onion Tagine
Mary Cadogan – Good Food Magazine
Perfect November dish when pumpkins are still plentiful but perhaps in need of a little exoticism. This is also served with a lemony, almond speckled couscous. Must make this on the weekend!
View recipe at BBC Good Food

Harira
This Moroccan soup is brimming with good ingredients such as chickpeas, lentils, lemon and spices like ground ginger and cayenne pepper. Taste also suggest adding pumpkin (for a little autumnal boost).
View recipe at Taste 

Cauliflower and Chickpea Stew with Couscous
Kate Merker, image by Lisa Hubbard
Cauliflower will be well loved when it’s coated in Moroccan spices and tumbled amongst raisins and spinach.
View recipe at Real Simple

Chickpea Tagine with Figs
Image by Ian Wallace
I love the idea of using sweet figs in your dinner. Perhaps you could tweak this recipe too, according to what seasonal vegetables are available near you.
View recipe at Taste

Recipe by Baija Lafrid, image by Martyn Thompson
Saffron, spices and an abundance of vegetables. Not to mention an introduction to the lesser known barley couscous. You can also make a honeyed red onion confit and fried almonds to go with this.

Roasted Beets with Cumin and Mint
Gourmet magazine, image by Martyn Thompson
What to do with beets? I’d never have thought of adding lemon juice, cumin seeds and fresh mint. Sounds wonderful. A side dish that could steal the spotlight.
View recipe at Epicurious

A big thank you to Jan from the site, Mixing Bowl Kids for sharing this delightful recipe and image. I’d never thought of couscous for breakfast but now I’ve seen the beauty of fresh fruits, nuts and spices tossed, chopped and sprinkled through a bowl of couscous, I can’t wait to try this myself!
View recipe at Mixing Bowl Kids

Spiced Vegetable Couscous
(Olive Magazine)
With carrots, red pepper, chickpeas and fresh coriander and harissa, this couscous is overflowing with healthy goodness.
View recipe at BBC Good Food

Couscous with Spiced Red Sauce, Chickpeas and Almonds
(Martha Stewart)
This tasty dish features a homemade tomato sauce with cumin, almonds and ground black pepper to kick it up a notch.
View recipe at Martha Stewart

Israeli Couscous with Butternut Squash & Preserved Lemon
(Gourmet, image: Melanie Acevedo)
This beautiful and flavorful couscous contains cinnamon, raisins and pine nuts along with the main ingredients. Definitely a dish to master as it will taste great and impress anyone you make it for.
View recipe at Epicurious

Sweet Couscous with Stewed Fruit
(Suzanne Gibbs, photo: Tanya Zouev)
Another sweet and unique twist on couscous. This recipe calls for the lushest of dried and fresh fruits, orange juice and cinnamon.

I’ve just made these small focaccia breads today and they’re officially my new favorite things to bake! They’re easy, pretty, tasty and fill you up with a little baker’s pride. These small yet plump packages look rather stunning when studded with purple grapes (which were picked from outside the vines on our verandah). The sweetness is combined with a savoriness from the sea salt and rosemary and makes for a stellar combination. These would be ideal for picnics, snacks or with salads and soups.

Bread
To make the bread, I based it on a recipe by Delia which used –
2 1/3 cups plain white flour (I used organic)
1/2 t salt (Maldon sea salt)
2 t yeast
1 1/2 T extra virgin olive oil

Topping
2 t rosemary, chopped finely
1 t sea salt
3 T olive oil

To make

• Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl and then add the yeast, approximately one cup of warm water and 1 1/2 T of olive oil
• Knead for 10 minutes and then let it rest for 1 1/2 hours (covered)
• Knead for 2-3 minutes and then shape into small circles
• Using your fingers, make indentations in the bread and then fill with seedless grapes and sprinkle with sea salt and olive oil
• Allow the bread to rest (covered) for 30 minutes
• Drizzle the bread with some water and then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 190°C.

t: teaspoon
T: tablespoon

Enjoy!

Barley Soup with Greens, Fennel, Lemon and Dill – Epicurious

This can be easily veganised by omitting the feta.

Wild Rice and Barley Salad – Whole Foods Market

This salad looks easy to whip together and I like the inclusion of dried apricots and tarragon.

Barley with Apricots, Hazelnuts, Chocolate and Honey – Whole Living

For a sweeter, vegan barley bite, switch milk to your favourite non-dairy kind and use a good quality dark chocolate (non-dairy).

Warm Barley Cereal with Dried Cherries – Whole Living

I’ve mentioned this one before but had to include it here. How could I not? There’s almond milk and ground flax meal. I’d just use a more natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup along with any seasonal fruit.

Ah, baking without eggs, butter, milk, refined sugars and baking powder. I can almost hear Nigella scoffing and saying, ‘why bother?’ But bother I do and bake on, I will!

I made these apple and blueberry vegan muffins last week and now they are all gone (even the ones I froze). Granted, I was the only one that ate them and my health food palate is used to the wholegrain spelt flour and apple juice that I used. Other palates may think these muffins taste toohealthy.

I still need to perfect the recipe but these worked out pretty well. Considering these little things were devoid of many, many things, I am proud that they rose at all and came out resembling muffins!

As soon as I master the muffin recipe, I will be sure to share it here. Until then, the baking and tasting continues…

This is an Indian dish we have been cooking a lot lately. It’s one of those star recipes you find and just have to share with people. It’s great served with dhal and brown basmati rice, sprinkled with lemon juice and coriander (cilantro). The recipe is by Bal Arneson and the only tweaks I’ve made are to cook with olive oil and add some hot water (1/2 cup or so) when cooking the sweet potatoes along with a dash of red chilli flakes. You can also use dried ginger if you don’t have fresh ginger. Enjoy!

Indian Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Recipe

I love it when a book seems to find you. Isn’t it always the way? When you’re not looking for something, that’s often when you make the best discoveries. This cookbook is one of them. The recipes and pictures in One More Slice (Leila Lindholm) make you want to dive into the pages and start snacking with the lovely looking people who are picnicking on beguiling delights such as wood-fired pizza, fresh pasta and fruit-filled pies.

I gravitated towards the alluring bread sections in the book. You can learn how to make your own sourdough starter or try brave new bread recipes such as a beetroot baguette or rye sourdough with apple and walnuts. I also can’t wait to make a tortano (an Italian bread that can be filled with luscious lashings of roasted vegetables or portobello mushrooms).

There is also an array of sweet recipes in the book and while the cheesecakes, waffles and pies aren’t vegan, they are of course, inspiring and may give you some ideas of how you could tweak them to suit your own tastes or dietary needs. Either way, if you love pretty cookbooks that are still practical and useful, then this is one to add to your collection. I’ve added it to my embarrassingly, expansive collection. If only I could pour over the classics as enthusiastically as I do with my cookbooks.

I know it’s wrong to be this excited about a Brazil nut but this discovery has really expanded my culinary, cheese-less world. My bowls of pasta never used to receive that final, Italian flourish of parmesan just before serving. My homemade Italian dishes always looked distinctly un-Italian.

Then, the other night, while watching the Food Channel here in New Zealand, a chef appeared and began shaving a Brazil nut over some gluten-free pasta creation. The Brazil nut obediently flecked off fine, feathered shavings that looked just like real parmesan. I ran to the kitchen and awkwardly grabbed a grater and Brazil nut to see if it was true. Could this selenium-packed nut be that talented? Yes. Yes, it could.

Once I grated one nut it was hard to stop. Pasta, pizza, risotto, salads, bruschette, even family members all received a ceremonious dusting. Every dish and everyone was drenched in a shower of Brazil nuts. I jest of course but I could have gone that far and I am still considering carrying a mini grater and bag of Brazil nuts on me at all times just so I can be ready to show someone this new discovery. It could be a great party trick. Sure to impress the lactose-free set.

Until then, these humble pictures will have to do. They were snapped hastily as there was a delightfully, dolled up bowl of pasta waiting to be eaten. I know the Italians will scoff at this parmesan dobbelganger but pasta night just got a whole lot prettier at my house.

N.B – Just remember to eat those Brazil nuts in moderation. I’ve read that they are super healthy but should be eaten in small doses as they have a very high selenium content.

Frozen Grape Popsicles (Raw Food Crafting Blog)
I found this eye-catching grape idea and image at the Raw Food Crafting Blog. Can you imagine what kids will say when they are handed one of these frozen fruity kebabs? They will be an instant hit! I know grapes don’t technically qualify as a fruit salad but they look so good (and would taste so good) that they just had to go first today.

Frozen Fruit Salad (Every Day Food)

This is such a simple but clever idea that kids and adults will both love. Frozen bananas and grapes make a great healthy sweet treat for summer.

Herby Fruit Salad (Antony Worrall Thompson)
Enjoy this unusual fruit salad with healthy creaminess courtesy of reduced fat coconut milk and sublime sweetness from honey, pineapples and bananas.

Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing (Whole Foods Market)

With an abundance of popular and tasty fruits, this salad is then drizzled with a wonderful dressing of honey, poppy seeds, fruits, cinnamon and ginger.

Thai Fruit Salad (Ed Baines)
Star fruits make this the prettiest of the pretty fruit salads. There is also chilli powder, limes and freshly grated ginger. A true taste bud delight!

Winter Fruit Salad with Sweet Tofu Cream (Delicious Magazine)

This salad would be delicious eaten warm or cold, any season. The dried fruits are accompanied by vanilla, cinnamon and a zesty tofu derived cream.

Where to View Fruit Salad Recipe Details

• Frozen Fruit Salad – Martha Stewart
• Herby Fruit Salad – Good Food, UK TV Food
• Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing – Whole Foods Market
• Thai Fruit Salad – Good Food, UK TV Food
• Winter Fruit Salad – Taste Australia