A supper of Courgettes, tomatoes and basil

This is from Nigel Slater's amazing book "Tender Volume 1", and has been a life saver for us as I have a glut of courgettes and a forest of basil in my garden.  For years I have been trying to grow courgettes and have always lost to powdery mildew-despite granny's potions-but since I have had drip irrigation in the garden I have an incredible selection of yellow, and green courgettes.
Squashes of every variety love a tomato, some people feel the need to skin and seed the tomato, but I dont think that its necessary for this dish.  It is a bit of a rough-edged supper but it tastes like late summer!
Courgettes-5 medium
olive oil-3 tbsp
tomatoes-4 medium to large
basil leaves-a handful
lemon

Cut the courgettes into thick fingers-about the size of a homemade chip.  Warm the oil in a deep pan and let the courgettes cook over a moderate heat for 6-8 minutes or so until they start to soften.
Chop the tomatoes roughly and add to the courgettes with the torn up basil leaves, salt, pepper and a good squeeze of lemon.  Stir, cover with  loose fitting lid and leave to simmer for 10 mins, until the courgettes are totally tender and the tomatoes have cooked down to a basil scented saucy slush.  The colours should be bright, the courgettes softly yielding but not browned.
If you are like my husband you can sponge up the sunny-tasting juices with fresh bread. 

Beans with marrow and corn

A very simple dish, based on a latin american one.  You can use any white beans; I use black eyed beans.  We have so many courgettes in the garden at the moment so a few have turned into marrows, but pumpkin would work just as well for those in colder climes!  To me this is a great comfort food.
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion peeled and chopped
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
1 can of tomatoes
fresh basil
fresh oregano
225g black eyed beans-soaled and cooked until very tender
1 marrow cut into largish dice
1 sweetcorn-cooked and kernals cut off
sea salt and black pepper

Heat the oil in a good sized saucepan and fry the onion for 5 mins, or until beginning to soften, then add the garlic, tomatoes (if using dried herbs add now) and cook fairly fast for about 10 minutes, without a lid on the saucepan, to make a thickish sauce.  Stir in the dried drained beans and marrow and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, until the marrow is nearly cooked, then mix in the sweetcorn and continue to cook until everything is tender and the mixture piping hot.  Season with salt, pepper and the fresh herbs and serve!

Nut and Seed Crackers

My lovely new cookbook, 'The Sprouted Kitchen' arrived last week and I have become addicted to these crackers.  They are the first ever gluten free and vegan biscuits I have ever been able to successfully make.  I tried them out on my friend SP and they passed the test!  They are really unusual and healthy.

1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup raw cashews
2 tbsp ground flaxseed-or whole flax
1/3 cup sesame seeds
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
1 to 2 tbsp water, as needed

Combine the almond, cashews and flax in a food processor and pulse until evenly ground.  Add the sesame seeds, thyme, 1/2 tsp salt, the maple syrup and coconut oil and pulse a few times more. Add the water a tbsp at a time until the mixture just begins to stick together.  Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 325 F and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Remove the dough from the fridge, put it between two sheets of greaseproof paper, and roll it out as thin as you can (1/8th inch), you want them to be thin but if it's too thin you wont be able to pick up the crackers without them breaking.   Either with a sharp knife or a cookie cutter cut them into the shape you want .  Using a sharp edged spatula to get under the crackers, gently place the crackers onto the baking sheet with a bit of space between them.
Bake the crackers, rotating the baking sheet half way through the coking time, until the edges look toasted, 11 to 13 minutes!

Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt on top and leave to cool before serving.

Sweet Potato Falafel

This is a "Leon" Restaurant Classic!  I love falafel but have never been able to make them at home-they were a staple for me when I was travelling in Sudan, I became so reliant on them as a vegan food source that I was eating them hot off the street with Granny's marmalde for breakfast.  Thankfully I have come a long way since then!  These are heavenly with hummus and chopped tomatoes.  They are also vegan and gluten free.

2 medium sweet potato-orange inside.
1 1/2 tsp ground cummin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 small cloves of garlic-chopped
2 big handfuls of coriander-chopped
juice of half a lemon
120g gram flour
a splash of olive oil
a sprinkling of sesame seeds
salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees C or gas mark 7 and roast the sweet potatoes whole until just tender (about 45 mins-1 hour).  Turn off the oven and leave the sweet potatoes to cool, then peel.  Put the sweet potatoes, cummin, garlic, ground and fresh coriander, lemon juice and gram flour into a large bowl.  Season well and mash with your hands - or a potato masher-until you have a smooth mix with no large lumps.  Stick in the fridge to firm up for an hour.  When you take it out your mix should be sticky rather than really wet and you can add more gram flour if necessary.
Heat the oven back up to 200 degrees C/gas mark 6.
Using a couple of soup spoons (put a well-heaped spoonful of mix in one spoon and use the concave side of the other to shape the sides), make the mixture into falafelly-looking things and put them on an oiled tray.  Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and bake in the oven for 15 or so mins until the bases are golden brown.

Caramelised Cauliflower soup

CARAMELIZED CAULIFLOWER SOUP // Serves 4

I thought I would share a recipe from The Sprouted Kitchen blog.  I have been really into purees recently, and this makes a nice comforting change.

1 Head Cauliflower (about 3 lbs.)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. Fresh Grated Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper

Broth//
2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large Shallot, chopped
1 Clove Garlic, chopped
3 Cups Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
1 tsp. Dried Thyme
1 Tbsp. Ideally White Balsamic Vinegar

Toppings//
1 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup Fresh Torn Bread, roughly 1'' pieces-optional
Ground Pepper
1/2 Cup Toasted Hazelnuts, Chopped
Fresh Thyme Leaves
Shaved Parmesan, optional

Preheat the oven to 450'.
Cut the cauliflower into florets and spread them on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle the fresh nutmeg and a hefty pinch of salt and pepper and toss everything to coat. Bake on the middle rack for about 35-45 minutes, tossing the cauliflower halfway through, until they are fully roasted and you see a good amount of brown edges. There is a pretty wide grace period here. Remove to cool.
While the cauliflower roasts, start the broth. Heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the shallots and garlic for about 5 minutes to soften. Add the vegetable broth, dried thyme and vinegar and warm through.
When the cauliflower is cool to touch, add it and the broth mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Taste for salt and pepper. If you want more contrast, add a bit more vinegar. Add it back to the saucepan to keep warm.
To make the croutons, heat the remaining oil in a small pan, add the torn bread and a pinch of ground pepper and stir it around for 5-8 minutes until crisp and the edges are browned.
Serve each portion with a few croutons, chopped hazelnuts and a pinch of fresh thyme leaves and shaved parmesan, if using.

The Sprouted Kitchen

I have been hopeless at writing my blog recently.  Today I ordered a new cookbook on amazon based on 'The Sprouted Kitchen' blog.  I love this blog, its a new find, but the photos are stunning, and I am really excited to get the new cook book!
http://www.sproutedkitchen.com/

"Eat & Run"

At the end of June, I ran the Lewa Safaricom half marathon-I must admit I found it difficult!  The altitude and the heat got to me in the end, but I was thrilled I did it.  I got to meet the amazing ultramarathon runner, Scott Jurek, who is also a vegan.  It was lovely to meet another vegan-I dont come across too many in East Africa!
Through my friends at "The Nature Conservancy" Scott very kindly gave me a signed copy of his book "Eat & Run:  My unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness" which has recipies in.

  I never really thought too much about it but after both half marathons I did this year people commented on my amazing recovery time.  I dont hurt.  Scott talks about how becoming a vegan hugely changed his recovery time after an epic run.  So that is my little vegan shout out!
I loved the book, the recipies are all simple, things he can eat on his runs but I thought I would share one:
Rice Balls (Onigiri):
2 cups sushi rice
4 cups of water
2 teaspoons of miso (or umeboshi paste)
3-4 sheets of nori seaweed

Cook the rice in the water.  Set aside to cool.  Fill a small bowl with water, and wet both handsso the rice does not stick.  Using your hands, form 1/4 cup rice into a triangle.  Spread half a tsp of miso on one side of the triangle.  Cover with another 1/4 cup rice.  Shape into one triangle, making sure the miso is covered with rice.  Fold the nori sheets in half and then tear them apart.  Using half of one sheet, wrap the rice triangle in nori, making sure to completely cover the rice.  Repeat using the remaining rice, miso and nori.

White rice is a great food for cooling your body, especially in hot places, and easy to digest.