Spicy Roasted Broccoli with Almonds

This is loosely based on something from Ottolenghi's in London-unfortunately it is not in his cookbooks.  
All my favourite ingredients-veg, nuts,  chili, ginger, tamari...all I need in there is some avocado and I'd be set! It reminds me of a marinated broccoli and carrot salad that I used to love.  

serves 2
Ingredients:
1 large head broccoli (organic if you can get it)
¼ cup whole almonds

Dressing:
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. fresh, hot chili, sliced (more or less, to suit your taste)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. tamari 
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 180-200°C. Wash broccoli well, then remove the very end of the stem. Slice the entire head of broccoli and remaining stem in half down the center lengthwise, then cut each half in half again. Repeat until you have relatively small slices of broccoli tops with long stems. Place in a large bowl.
2. Prepare dressing and pour over broccoli. Using your hands, massage the dressing into the broccoli making sure it is well coated. Place broccoli on a baking sheet and set in the oven.
3. On a separate baking sheet, place almonds and set in the oven below the broccoli. 
4. Roast broccoli and almonds for 15-20 minutes (the almonds will need less time), until the broccoli is just turning golden brown on the edges. 
5. Remove everything from oven. Roughly chop almonds on a cutting board. Plate broccoli, season to taste. Sprinkle with chopped almonds. Serve. 

Spinach and Coconut soup

This is heavenly, simple, nutritous and filling.  I have a glut of spinach and chard at the moment and so this was the perfect soup for a cold and misty kifufu lunch!

2 onions-finely chopped
olive oil/or coconut oil
2 garlic cloves-crushed
1 dried chilli-seeds removed if prefered-chopped
pinch of ground cummin
roughlt 400 gms spinach, washed and roughly chopped
1 ltr veg stock-hot
75 grms creamed coconut-grated
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Cook the onions in the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat for 10 minutes, until soft but not browned.  Add the garlic, chilli, and cummin and cook for a few more minutes.

Add the spinach, stock and coconut, cover and cook for about 10 minutes.

Blend and check the seasoning.  Simple! 

techni-colour quinoa salad

I made this for lunch and it was heavenly.

1 cup quinoa-boil until soft and fluffy
thinly sliced firm tofu-marinated in soy sauce, thai chili sauce and a dash of Bragg liquid amino's-fry until dark.

Vegetables-any others can be substituted in:
Avocado-diced
Baby sweet corn-sliced, raw
Sugar snaps-raw
Baby broad beans-steamed
French beans-sliced and steamed
broccoli florets-steamed

Herbs: (you could use whatever you have available)
Basil
Spearmint
Oregano
Lemon Thyme

Mix in all the vegetables and herbs with the cooked quinoa and lightly dress with the below dressing.
Dressing:
olive oil, lemon juice, 1 tsp honey, 1 tbs soy sauce.  Put in a screw top jar an shake-adjust according to taste.  Serve with the tofu, and a simple raw spinach and pecan nut salad.

Composting

I have to admit when I first started composting I would give up easily, it was a bit of a grubby past time!  I had to get my great friend, Annie in to help me.  Compost is the best all round treatment you can give your soil-it boosts nutrient status, improves soil structure and helps maintain moisture. 

The amazing thing is that most of what your household throws out can go into the compost.

I have to admit I don’t use a compost bin, however they are easily constructable-a simple design is a square enclosure with a front that can be opened to easily add new material.  The cheapest way to construct one is with wooden pallets or mabati (corrugated iron) securely fixed in place to form three of the sides-in the front another pallet, tied loosely for access.

In an ideal world one has three compost bins next to each other-mine are three heaps! 

With three bins or heaps-use the first one to add to, when it is full put it into the second bin, and begin filling the first with new material.  Keep turning the compost in bin two from time to time, watering as you do so to aid decomposition.  When bin one is full, turn bin two into bin three etc, and use when bin three is ready.

The bins should be on a level well drained sunny spot on top of soil-allowing excess water to get out and worms to get in!

Suitable material for your compost bin/heap-greens and browns:

Greens:

These are rich in nitrogen and help the slower rotting browns break down.

-Diluted urine-a great compost activator

-Grass cuttings

-Nettles

-Raw veggie peelings

-Tea bags and coffee grinds

-unwoody pruning’s

-Animal manure-from herbivors-such as horses and cows

Browns:

These are carbon rich and slower to rot than the greens

-Waste paper-torn up or shredded

-Cardboard

-Bedding from vegetarian pets-eg rabbits

-Tough hedge clippings and woody pruning’s-chopped is best

-used tissue paper and cotton wool

-Sawdust and wood shavings

-Fallen leaves

No-go’s:

Meat, fish, dairy and cooked food-including bread, cat litter and dog poop-bring parasites.  Diseased plants should be burnt rather than added to the compost.

Just remember AIR and WATER-keep turning and watering your compost until it is sweet and earthy smelling. 

Roast pumpkin soup with chickpeas and leeks

This is a yummy, warming soup, the texture coming from the roast squash that is added as a course mash and then breaks up bringing body to the soup.  I like mine spicy but the chili can be toned down according to personal preference.  This soup gets better for hanging around for a day or two.

1 small pumpkin or butternut squash
4 tbsp olive oil, plus a bit extra for brushing
800 ml vegetable stock
4 small shallots (or two onions)-finely dices,
1/2 a medium fennel bulb, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 small birds eye or scotch bonnet chili-finely sliced and seeds discarded
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp fennel seeds-finely ground
3 leeks well washed and thinly sliced
1 can of chickpeas-drained and rinsed
100ml dry white wine
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C/gas mark 5
Cut the pumpkin or squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Brush the flesh with olive oil and place the halves, cut side down in an oven dish.  Pour in 200 ml of the stock and place in the oven to roast for 30-40 minutes.
In a saucepan heat the 4 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat, add the shallots and fennel and saute for 2 minutes, stirring.  Add the garlic, ginger, leeks, chili and spices.  Saute for 5 minutes more.  Add the chickpeas and white wine, then cover with baking parchment, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
When the pumpkin is tender, scoop out the flesh and chop it to get a coarse, lumpy mash.  Add this to the soup pan with the remaining stock.  Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Vegetable Paella

My mother-in-law made this for us recently when we were visiting her in the UK-it was delicious!  It is loosely based on one from Ottolenghi's book "Plenty".
3 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion-finely chopped
1/2 a fennel bulb-cut into thin strips
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp gound tumeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
150g Calasparra rice-or another paella rice.  It works well with out local tanzanian short grain white rice as well!
100 ml good quaity medium sherry
1 tsp saffron threads
450 ml boiling veg stock
200 gms shelled broad beans-or sliced french beans
12 plum or cherry tomatoes-halved
5 small grilled artichokes in oil from a jar-drained and quartered
15 pitted Kalamata olives-halved
2 tbsp roughly chopped parsley
4 lemon wedges
salt

Heat the olive oil in a large shallow frying pan (or a paella pan if you have one!), and gently fry the onion for 5 mins.  Add the fennel and and continue to fry on a medium heat until soft and golden-about 6 mins.  Add the garlic and continue to cook for a further minute.
Add the bay leaves, paprika, tumeric and cayenne to the onions and fennel and stir well.  Then add the rice and stir thoroughly before adding the sherry and saffron.  Boil down for a minute and then add the stock and 1/3 tsp of salt.  Reduce to the heat to the minimum and simmer very gently for about 20 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice.  Do not cover the pan or stir the rice during the cooking.
Meanwhile pour plently of boiling water over the broad beans in a bowl and leave for a minute, then drain well and leave to cool.  Now squeeze each broad bean gently to remove the skin and discard it.
Remove the paella pan from the heat.  Taste and add more salt if needed but without stirring the rice and vegetables much.  Scatter the tomatoes, artichokes and broad beans over the rice and cover the pan tightly with foil for 10 minutes to rest.
Take off the foil.  Scatter the olives on top of the paella an sprinkle with parsley.  Serve with wedges of lemon.  

Lime & Peanut Coleslaw Recipe

This sort of reminds me of something I ate in Borneo-in Pagan at the "Be kind to animals" restaurant! Leave out the jalapeno if you like it milder

1 1/2 cups unsalted raw peanuts
1/2 of a medium-large cabbage
1 basket of tiny cherry tomatoes, washed and quartered
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and diced
3/4 cup cilantro, chopped1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon + fine-grain sea salt

In a frying pan or oven (350F) roast the peanuts for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice along the way, until golden and toasted.

Cut the cabbage into two quarters and cut out the core. Using a knife shred each quarter into whisper thin slices. The key here is bite-sized and thin. If any pieces look like they might be awkwardly long, cut those in half. Combine the cabbage, tomatoes, jalapeno (opt), and cilantro in a bowl.

In a separate bowl combine the lime juice, olive oil, salt. Add to the cabbage mixture and gently stir to combine. Just before serving fold in the peanuts (add them too earl and they lose some of their crunch). Taste and adjust the flavor with more salt if needed.  It is also good with sweetcorn added in.