Strawberry Sorbet!

You must all prepare this, you will be shocked by the smooth consistency of this sorbet! And all without an ice-cream machine!

(Sorry about the photo...I was blinded by the sun - and yes, I take all my photos on the same table..haha!)


Ingredients:

- 2 ripe bananas
- a punnet of strawberries
- Agave: about half a small cup?
- either juice (apple or grape), or rice milk

Peel the bananas, wrap them up in glad wrap and place in the freezer. Wash the strawberries, take the green part off and freeze them as well (place them in a plastic tupplewear container).

After about 3 hours, the fruits will be frozen: cup up the banana into chunks and place in a food processor. Start off with a just a bit of banana and a bit of strawberries....they're frozen so you don't want to destroy your food processor or its blade. Add the juice/rice milk straight away, and start blending. As you see that it gains a smooth cremy consistency, slowly add the fruit that was left out, as well as the Agave.

Isn't it amazing? Mine has quite a fizzy flavor...I think it's the strawberries that did it. You can add or diminish Agave quantities depending on how sweet you like it....but don't ruin it with sugar!


Serving Suggestions: if you're preparing it for friends, try and prepare it almost on the spot - I've placed mine in the freezer, but I'm pretty sure it will turn into a frozen block of sorbet. So better to prepare and consume immediately! (or place it in the fridge if it's going to be consumed within a short time after preparation).

Frozen Avocado Cake

What a find! I was browsing through the net for some raw recipes, and this is what I tumbled on. It's really easy to make, and the taste is not bad either!

Ingredients:

- 1 ripe avocado
- 1/4 cup of coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon of lime juice
- 1 tablespoon of Agave

Crust: 1 part nuts, 1 part dates.

Firstly place the pitted dates and whatever nuts you like into the food-processor, to get them nicely chopped. Then place the lot into a plastic container (you're going to have to put it in the freezer, so avoid glass). Press it down evenly with a spoon.

Process the avocado with the rest of the ingredients until all the avocado has "creamyfied", and then put it on top of the "crust" part. Place a lid on the plastic tin (I used a plastic lunch-box, or tupplewear, as snobby people like to call it), and place in the freezer.

It will take a few hours to freeze: when it's ready you can pull it out and tip it over (like I've done in the photo above)....looks prettier with the crust on top - the eye plays it's part!

Stuffed Zucchini Planets with Polenta Chunks and Vegetarian Ragù

I found these funky round zucchini vegetables at the supermarket, and thought they'd be perfect for stuffing! Also because they're slighty "sturdier" then regular zucchini, so if you like the taste of crunchy vegetable, this is the option for you! I also had some left-over polenta in the fridge, which I cut up into cubes and lightly stir-fried with some fresh herbs and a little bit of fresh tomato. Aaand, something I haven't had since...gosh, so long ago I can't even remember. I think it was in Australia, so we're looking at 12 years ago: textured soya flakes in a spicy tomato sauce. Delicious!

Stuffed Round Zucchini:
(quantities obviously vary depending on how many you need to make: the stuffing ingredients were enough for 3).

- round zucchini/courgettes
- half a red capsicum/pepper
- half a medium-sized aubergine/eggplant
- why do all the ingredients have two names?
- fresh coriander
- a chunk of fresh ginger
- olive oil
- your favorite spices (I used salt, chilli powder, coriander powder, and turmeric)

Cut the "top" off of the zucchinis (you can keep them for decoration, like little hats). Use a spoon to scoop out the inside. You can either chop it all up, capsicum and aubergine included, or use the grating option thingy on your blender: it's faster.
Stir-fry the lot with your spices and herbs - the zucchini will let out a lot of water, so wait til it's absorbed, and then use a spoon to place the concoction back into the zucchini. Add some olive oil on top, and cook it in the oven! How long for? Well, it really depends on how cooked you like your zucchini. I think I had mine in for about 20-30 minutes, and they were still quite crunchy, which is fine for me because I like the taste of raw vegetables. If you cook them longer they will probably become softer (probably better for kids with aversion to anything that tastes healthy, as well as adults who have been conditioned by the bad culinary habits of modern-day society).

Polenta Chunks:
Prepare the polenta by following the instructions on the packet. Now, that was easy. If you're a first-timer in polenta preparing, be aware: there are two types: the sloooow type, which involves you standing there for an hour mixing uninterruptedly - reminds me of my childhood....don't mean it to sound like child labor...well, it was. But I remember it being sold to me as "Come on, help aunty in the kitchen!". Or the fast type, which magically only needs about 10 minutes cooking, and it's done. You decide how much of a martyr you want to be.
Once cooked, place in an oven dish, or something that has edges around it: the polenta will go hard, and you can then cut it into cubes (note: another delicious recipe involves grilling it! Yummy!).
Lightly stir-fry the cubes with some herbs: sage and rosemary (I also had a spoonful of left-over vegetables from the zucchini stuffing: left it in to give it some color). Add some salt and whatever spices you like.

Vegetarian Ragù
I woozed up three ripe tomatoes (sorry, "woozed" is the word I've always used...quite onomatopeic, but probably not a word) - so what I mean is: place three tomatoes in a food processor, and...woozz them up. Place in a pan, add the dry soya flakes (about a cup), and let it cook in the tomato sauce for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce has dried up a bit. Add salt and any other herbs or spices you like (I made mine quite spicy, which went quite well with the zucchini), as well as fresh ginger to give it the extra spicy edge.

Love the spicy edge.

Banana and Coconut "Ice-cream"

Wonderful results in the lab today! I bet this "ice-cream" would taste great with a nice slice of vegan chocolate cake!

I got the idea for this creation from another recipe that uses frozen bananas as a base - and you can pretty much add anything you like to that!

Ingredients:

- two bananas

- a small cup of coconut flakes or powder

- 10 almonds

- 1/2 cup of rice milk (soya or almond milk would be fine too - make the recipe gluten-free)

Peel the two bananas and wrap them in plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for about 3 hours. Place the coconut directly into the small food processor, with the almonds and the rice milk - the rice milk should just cover the almonds, if not add a little more. You will notice that after about 10 minutes, the coconut will have absorbed all of the milk, so you can add a little more just to keep the almonds soaking. Woozz it all up after about 3 hours (leave it in the fridge).

Once the bananas have frozen, cut them up and place them in a normal food processor, together with the rest of the ingredients....and wooooozzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Ready! I had a taste of mine just a few minutes ago, and was very impressed. I've placed it in a plastic box back in the freezer to see what sort of consistency it will gain. And now I can't wait to try it with a whole load of other fruits and nuts! I'm sure a cashew version (without the coconut) would taste great, as well a chocolate one, strawberry....it reminds me of these super-drinks they make in South America, especially Brasil. It could also work with avocado, as well as quinoa, which would make it a really nutritious cold dessert -- particularly good for fussy children and conservative men.

Quinoa on a bed of Mung Bean Cream and Asparagus in Pesto Sauce

This is a lovely summer dish, light and very nutritious! Remember that the mung beans need to soak a night before cooking them.

Cook the quinoa with a pinch of salt. Once it's absorbed all the water and you've turned the gas off, stir a bit of olive oil in with it.

Mung Bean Cream

Ingredients:

- mung beans: you'll have to decide the quantity yourselves because I didn't even look how much I poured in: cook them until they are soft and all the water has been absorbed (don't cook them in too much water, because it's a pity to have to throw out all the "good stuff").

- 6cm piece of leek

- olive oil

- salt

- chilli powder

- 1 tsp of ginger powder

- 1 tsp of turmeric powder

- 2 tsp of fennel powder

- 1 big sage leaf

- a handful of fresh coriander leaves

- a bit of water

Stir fry the leek in the olive oil until it's soft, and add the big sage leaf in as well (you can leave it whole). Add the mung beans and a bit of water - here's the thing: you don't want to add too much water because we're not making mung bean soup. If the consistency is too dense, you're always in time to add more water. I started off with too much water, and it then meant me standing there for ages waiting for it to absorb....Add the spices, and then woozz it up with a food processor (the hand-held ones...no harm if you don't have one...well, just use what you've got). Once it's cooled down a bit and you're close to serving time, add the handful of fresh coriander leaves and woozz the whole thing up again. Voilà! Add some fresh olive oil and you are done!

Asparagus in Pesto Sauce:

Cut the asparagus stems into rounds, and then steam: don't overcook! It's nice to keep them a little crunchy.

Prepare the Pesto Sauce using fresh basil, olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a few pine nuts: woozz up the ingredients in a little food processor.

Mix the asparagus and pesto together.

Display the dish beautifully, as though you were serving a king, and bon appetit!

Sesame and Gour Balls

Ingredients:

- sesame seeds (toast them a little)
- gour (Jaggery gour: unrefined cane sugar)

Mix the two together into balls...could I be any more concise?

No, I couldn't: an extra note: Jaggery gour can be found in Indian shops.

Pumpkin and Chocolate Cake (Vegan)

This cake is even more of a fluke than the apple one, and the result even better.

Ingredients:

- 300 g of pumpkin

- 1 cup of flour

- half a cup of Manitoba flour

- 3/4 cup of cane sugar

- pinch of salt

- 2 teaspoons of cremor tartaro (or yeast equivalent)

- a sprinkle of cinnamon

- a tablespoon of maize oil

- half a cup of rice milk (more or less....I may have added more: as we say in italian "ad occhio" - you will have to judge for yourself whether it needs a bit more milk if the mixture is too thick).

- dark chocolate

Boil the pumpkin and then mash it with a fork, and let it cool. Preheat oven to 180 C. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (passing them first through a sieve): flour, sugar, salt, cremor tartaro, cinnamon. Once the pumpkin has cooled, add the maize oil, and then add to the dry mixture. Also add the dark chocolate, which you will have cut up (the amount is up to you - depends how chocolaty you want it!) The pumpkin will mix with the flour - then start adding the rice milk and keep mixing with a wooden spoon. Add rice milk until the consistency is smooth (not too runny, but not stodgy either).

Place in an oiled tray and bake in oven for about 45 minutes (check with a knife or toothpick before pulling out). It will acquire a lovely toasty color on top...and the chocolate will melt inside...need I say more? Let it cool and then ENJOY!

Gums and Oils

An anonymous has left very helpful guidelines on gum health and hygiene, so here goes!

• Cinnamon oil is good for gums : it is an antiseptic that helps kill the bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease.
  
• Aloe Vera: Speeds healing of damaged gum tissues, counters infection, irritation and inflammation.
  
• Tea tree oil: helps kill infective microorganisms including those responsible for tooth decay and gum disease.


• Echinacea: tones gums and helps fight infection.


• Mint: helps tonify teeth and gums.


• Myrrh: fights infection of mouth and gums.


• Apple cider vinegar can be used for teeth whitening and gum infiammations.

Teeth and Tears

I have always loved going to the dentist...I know it may sound strange, but it's true.

And it is with great shame that I must confess the following: I went to the dentist today and cried. Why? Because he was manoeuvering in between two of my front teeth, and the one that I had broken (and then repaired) in a bycicle accident in Ecuador..well, it popped out! I think I was taken back to that moment, and started reliving the trauma, the nightmare of losing a front tooth! Childish, I know. To my defense, I wasn't weeping or anything, just a couple of shy tears rolled down, much to the amusement of the assistant dentist who said "Why are you crying? You'll be even more beautiful than before!". Yeah, like that's possible.

All of this drama to issue a word of warning: I have deleted the posts on home-made toothpaste and powder because bicarbonate soda is not good for your teeth. I was very enthusiastic about them because they really whitened my teeth -- but not everything that shines is a healthy tooth. Bicarb soda is highly abrasive and can ruin your tooth enamel...not to worry. I will try to find a solution that doesn't use the soda. Actually, does anyone know of what essential oil is good for your gums? I've apparently brushed my teeth with too much violence and my gums have suffered.

Back to dentists...and travelling: I went and fell on my face in a nasty bycicle accident in Ecuador (5 years ago), and had a lovely local dentist rebuild one of my teeth for the price of $20. (this little guy on the left is sort of what I looked like...except that I wasn't so happy). My friends, don't let the price fool you. I've had that tooth in for the past 5 years, and remained intact until 10:23 am today (more or less). So: may I advise you to take a trip to Ecuador to have any important tooth jobs done? My dentist was really lovely, very hygienic studio, and well...the price speaks for itself -- for what you're going to spend on dental care in your country, you may as well get a trip to Ecuador as part of the price).

Old beads...

I've been quietly producing these days....found a bag of old beads, a pass-me-down from my aunt. I've been meaning to thread them for quite a while, and I think the flower show of the other day reawoke my creative side. So here's the result...

Ingredients:

- old beads

- thin cord

- old anonymous-looking silver chains (if you have any, otherwise just do without)

- earring hooks (if you want to make matching earrings...quite the runaway princess!)

Obstacles and Dangers:

- a younger sister who suddenly appears and decides to claim some of your creations, saying that one of those beads was actually hers, hence giving her absolute rights over the whole necklace...hasn't happened yet, but want to bet? She'll hide in my new Stevia plants, and then pop out as soon as I leave everything unattended..-

Very Chocolate Vegan Cake

Cakes Cakes Cakes...does anyone out there understand the extent to which I am sacrificing myself to give you these recipes? I have already told you that the only other person in this house who could help me out in the consumption of these cakes is my mother...but she's intollerant to gluten!

Very Chocolate Vegan Cake (will post a photo of it next time I bake one, which will probably be soon...although some pumpkin has made its way into my fridge, so the Pumpkin and Chocolate cake may be next in line...). I found this simple recipe from the blog of Semplicemente Vera: here it is in English.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups of flour
- 1/2 cup of cocoa powder (Fairtrade is better)
- 2 teaspoons of yeast
- 1 cup of malt OR sugar
- 1 1/2 cups of rice/soya/almond milk (the almond milk goes quite well with the chocolate, but is more expensive than the other two types)
- 4 teaspoons of maize oil
- a pinch of salt
- AND (essential ingredient for me): dark chocolate: I like bitter dark chocolate (if you want to keep the cake vegan, that's the one you'll have to get. Check it doesn't have milk powder in it). Quantity? I use 3/4 of a bar of dark chocolate. You can either grate it or just cut it (cutting is easier and it comes out just as well, if not better, than if you grate it).

Mix all of the dry ingredients together: if you want to be fancy prancy, then sieve them first.
Mix all of the wet ingredients, and then guess! That's right! Mix the two mixtures together.
Preheat oven to 180 C, oil your baking tray, pour the mixture in....let the cake bake for about 40 minutes, but check it with a knife or tooth-pick before taking it out (to my bachelor friends: this means that if the knife is wet when you take it out of the cake, it's not ready...as if you'd bake a cake anyway!).

Enjoy! I think this recipe is also good if you want to make a sort of base cake to then cut in half horizontally and spread a nice home-made chocolate and hazelnut spread....I'm becoming more and more sinful by the day.

Stevia...and my new Herb Garden

I mentioned my new plants, so here's a picture of them! They look so sweet!

On the far left we have Rosemary, then Sage, black Basil, and Stevia (on the far right).

bottom row is a sad...a sad what...I think it may be of the Orchid Family. Mr A...any hints on how to save it? And then a teeny weeny basil plant (that will be getting a partner soon).

They've completely brought to life the kitchen balcony.

I finally found Stevia plants at a gorgeous plant fair I went to on friday, in Milano. Oh, it was so beautiful! I just felt like buying all the plants, and then buying a house to put them all in! Anyway, these hard-to-find Stevia plants have finally been found, and I just hope I manage to keep them alive. I tasted a leaf even before buying them, and they are soooo sweet. I had to stop myself from picking at them on my way home on the tube. I don't think people usually munch on leaves directly from pot-plants while sitting on a train. Italians are weird: you can get away with having criminals in government, but God forbid you should munch on fresh leaves while sitting in a train!

Anyway, a big prelude to get to the point:

STEVIA: Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni.

It's native of South America, Central America, and Mexico, and it is a natural sweetener. There is lots of controversy about it because it could (and does) substitute sugar, without the ill-effects that sugar has on the human body....read more about it on Wikipedia....

I quote:

"For centuries, the Guaraní tribes of Paraguay and Brazil used stevia, which they called ka'a he'ê ("sweet herb"), as a sweetener in yerba mate and medicinal teas for treating heartburn and other ailments. More recent medical research has shown promise in treating obesity, high blood pressure, and hypertension. Stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, even enhancing glucose tolerance; therefore, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to diabetics and others on carbohydrate-controlled diets."

Fluke Apple Cake (Vegan)

I have never been particuarly talented with desserts...especially bakery. I used to make a cake which involved no baking whatsoever....it was called the Heaven Cake. It got its name after its divine taste, as well as how fast it was going to lead you to death because of its ginormous fat content.

But yesterday I baked my first spicy vegan apple cake - and I've called it a fluke because

a) I couldn't find the flour anywhere...it popped up in a forgotten corner of the fridge, and it wasn't the best flour for baking cakes (Manitoba flour)

b) my mum had hidden the baking tray

c) I mistook the nutmeg as cinnamon...oops...

BUT - lo and behold: it turned out fantastically! (Unlike this photo)So I want to share the recipe with you. I timidly presented it to my uncle today, who is THE official taster of the family, and the fact that he not only ate the slice assigned to him, but also took away half a tray nicely packed up in a bag...well, I would call that major success.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup of wholemeal or plain flour

- 1/2 cup of manitoba flour (if you only have plain flour, then just use 1 cup of plain flour for the whole thing, and call it a day!)

- 1 cup of rice/soya/almond milk

- 1 cup of brown sugar

- 2 tablespoons of maize oil

- 1 tablespoon of rice malt (optional...I just wanted to finish off my jar)

- 2 teaspoons of "cremor tartaro" (this is what I use in Italy....equivalent to yeast)

- 3 apples: peeled and chopped up into small pieces

- sesame seeds: I love them so I just pour them in...up to you.

- pinch of salt

- cinnamon powder (how much? You decide)

- nutmeg powder: one teaspoon? Nutmeg has heating qualities...so easy on it....I poured mine in thinking it was cinnamon. In fact, I was looking at it thinking "gosh, this cinnamon looks really dark". Yeah, because it's nutmeg!

Mix together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, yeast, cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder, sesame seeds, salt. Add the other two ingredients: rice milk and apples. Mix it all together. If the mixture is very watery, add some flour. I left mine quite runny and once baked it had a nice soft consistency. Follow your instinct...what are the cake angels whispering into your ear?

May I suggest...nuts would go beautifully in this cake. A match made in heaven.

Preheat oven to 180 C, and pour mixture into an oiled baking tray....place in oven. It will take about 40 minutes to bake, if not a bit more...maybe an hour. Remember that the apples are very wet, so I'd leave it in a little longer rather than pulling it out too soon. When you see that it's turned a nice dark golden color on top, leave it in the oven for five minutes and then pull it out to cool.

Prepare some nice herbal infusion and have a tea party! I would love to have people over for cake...I had to drive 40 minutes to get the cake to my uncle (well, I wasn't going there just for that). My mum is intollerant to gluten, so that leaves me alone with one BIIIG cake to finish. Well, going up to talk to my new plants now....I'll post the Very Chocolate Vegan Cake recipe soon!