The best recipes are the ones you don't expect to discover, like this one for Sambal Tofu Quinoa Bowl in James Beard award-winning food writer Carolynn Carreno. The idea behind her book are recipes for healthy whole grain meals that you can serve in a bowl. There is this huge popularity for meals in a bowl, such as the ones you can find in chains, Chipotle or CoreLife Eatery.
I have a recipe that I regularly use for tofu, but it is always worth trying something new. Let's see if it is any good!
Yay or Nay: Yay
Like I gave away in the beginning of this post, this was a surprisingly delicious recipe for marinated tofu. The extra sauce leftover, used as a dressing, was definitely a winner as quinoa can taste quite bland, even when you pep up all the other elements of the dish. I would make this again in a heartbeat - a perfect summery dish.
A quick post as I've been battling jet lag/allergies/tiredness/getting back in a routine! I had a need to bake yesterday and had a flash of wanting to make brownies. I had seen a recipe for Black Bean Brownies a while back and had always wanted to make them to see how brownie-like they could be!
I had a reminder of brownies from Deliciously Ella's latest cookbook called...Deliciously Ella - highly inventive! The book was a bit of a dud as it didn't feature anything new or exciting so I returned it to the library. Although, I did see her recipe for Gooey Black Bean Brownies and her recipes are easy enough to follow so I went with it!
Yay or Nay: Yay
No every tells you whether these taste of beans or not - well I can attest that they don't! Yay! Pretty easy, whack everything in the blender and then bake. She does stress to let them cool and I forgot so poked my finger in (you can see the indent in the pic) and it was true to word soft. But seeing as it was late at night I let them set and woke up to solid brownies! I didn't have honey so I subbed brown sugar and didn't have any raisins either but I don't think that makes too much of a difference!
When the temperature drops, straight away I crave something warming and hearty. But when you know it'll get back up to the 90s you kind of want something in the middle. As I was flicking through the Pure Delicious cookbook, this recipe for Mulligatawny Soup caught my eye with it's bright yellow liquid and contrasting pop of colour from the pomegranate seeds.
Now, I have heard of mulligatawny soup before and was pretty sure I had had it before, but there's no harm in testing it out.
Yay or Nay: Yay
This soup has a similar flavour profile to a Vietnamese Curry my mum makes, or even Katsu curry so it was definitely a hit. The only issue was making this in advance meant that when we were ready to eat this (the day after) it was waaaay to thick, almost like a stew but it was still tasty. Then again, it could have been the fact that I didn't have enough chicken stock for 8 cups, so I tipped what was left of the box in and figured it would be enough!
TIP: Don't add the stock and rice until you're ready to eat otherwise you won't get the consistency of soup.
I made a different version of this pasta salad for Mother's Day but I pretty much made it the regular way, i.e. buying a jar of pesto and adding it to cooked pasta. This time I wanted to make my own as I have an over abundance of basil from my windowsill garden and why not?! If it doesn't work out then at least I can say I tried right?
I found this recipe (and there are countless on Pinterest) in Ruby Roth's book 'The Help Yourself Cookbook For Kids'. Judging by how easy her other recipes are (I mean, they're for kids - how hard can they be?) I knew this could be a winner.
Yay or Nay: Yay
I don't know if you've tried other vegan/veggie pesto recipes but this is AMAZING! It really does taste like real pesto - which kind of makes me question what is actually in those supermarket jars of pesto. Don't bother with them, make this NOW!
TIP: I used cashews instead of the traditional pine nuts (which are extortionately expensive - why exactly?!) and Ruth does give other options for nuts.
Browsing through the stacks of new Non-Fiction I found this gem of a cookbook. It is by Ruth Roth who has the blog We Don't Eat Animals
and has written a cookbook for children called 'The Help Yourself
Cookbook For Kids'. The recipes are easy, manageable and the
illustrations are super kitschy and fun! Even if you aren't a kid, there
are definitely recipes I will be trying out for this blog!
I love going to the Public Market on the weekends, especially in the summer as you see the abundance of seasonal fruit and veggies at their prime! Spurred by a friend's purchase of beets I decided to do the same. Back home I loved boiled beets, chopped into a salad but my love didn't quite make it over the pond. Mainly due to availability, but now I had my hands full, so I boiled half and quartered and ziplocked the rest. First things first, a beet dip I can put on crackers or dip veggies into!
Yay or Nay: Yay
It's kind of like a beet hummus but without the tangy finish, however this is just as good. I made a small batch to last me a few days and have been crunching veggies with this dip. FYI it doesn't last a full week even with cover (as it's as fresh as you can get - I do think this is a good sign) and in the heat it does get quite liquidy, but don't let that put you off! Just to backtrack it is delicious!
As summer is approaching it also brings the anxiety of bikini season and the stripping off of layers of clothing. I must admit the harsh winters here take their toll and eating is the only way to survive and keep warm. Therefore an adjustment is due especially with eating habits. I eat pretty healthy during the week, often cooking from scratch, eat a pretty veggie/vegan lunch so the weekends and sneaky snacking is the only place to cut back.
When that chocolate craving kicks in, rather than reaching for a choccy bar I found an alternative. I have been meaning to get my hands on Ella Woodward's (of Deliciously Ella fame) book (and yes, I'm late to the game) and when it was available at the library I immediately checked it out. Flicking through, the Energy Balls and many others caught my eye as they seemed good for transporting to work and having that extra kick before dinner.
Yay or Nay: Yay
Personally I preferred these way more to the cashew ones I made a few weeks back. Mainly because the consistency was right and rolling was a much easier job when there isn't that extra moisture!
I've been actively trying to cut refined sugar out of my diet for the last week, it has been a gradual thing and when things pop up e.g. birthdays (note: my own!) it's hard to say no. Or rude especially when someone has baked you a cake for the occasion! Side effects have been some headaches but that could be hayfever or just plain stress!
So protein bites or raw balls or whatever you call 'em are a great option especially if you work out or juggling two jobs and can't find the time to make/bring a healthy snack. I scoured the net for easy, no fuss and minimal ingredients to make mine and these Cacao Coconut Cashew Balls seem like a great place to start!
Yay or Nay: Yay
I must admit I made two versions of these and the bottom two pictures are from a prior batch I made with different ingredients. The first set are for this post; the only difference was the one prior had almond butter and almonds in them and the other (current batch) had soaked dates. Essentially the idea is the same, put all the dry ingredients together and whizz, then add the oil, water and dates. The cashew batch were definitely wetter for soaking the dates and harder to roll when the time came. The other recipe was actually better for rolling but both taste amazing!
Back home I loved Dorset Cereal's Mueslis however now I'm in Upstate New York it is definitely harder to find this brand. Dorset Cereal's were pretty much natural and sugar free so finding an alternative is a bit of a chore especially with all that ingredient list reading. Now I know granola is a completely different bowl entirely but every now and then I need that crunch without all the gunk!
At lunch I'll usually have plain Greek yoghurt with raw seeds, nut and unsweetened coconut flakes but to mix it up I figured sykr yoghurt with homemade granola would be an alternative. Deliciously Ella's recipe for Cinnamon and Pecan Granola looked enticing and most importantly healthy. As a plus I could control the amount of sugar if necessary.
Yay or Nay: 50/50
This one had me torn, I admit that I kind of doctored the recipe as I didn't want to make a ton (mostly because I didn't have the right quantity for some of the ingredients) in case it didn't turn out how I thought it would. In actual fact I think I was pretty close but I halved all the ingredients to try balance it out. I also substituted maple syrup for honey (plus put slightly less in) but I think that's why it didn't clump together that well. I also put less cinnamon in as I don't like a ton of it but the final result is a slight hint of sweetness and cinnamony-ness! However I do think 30 mins in the oven is a bit too long (I only put it in for 25 stirring at the 12 minute mark) as I ended up with slightly burnt pecan pieces which can taste horribly bitter! I would try this again though but I might stick with the recipe to see if there is a difference!
