Vegetable "Lasagna"

This very simple dish manifested on the evening of my mother's birthday: I made another more elaborate "lasagna" for the rest of us, but since my mother is intollerant to almost everything I had to think of something "mummy-friendly".

Ingredients:

- aubergine (eggplant)

- potatoes

- rocket

- salt (I used herb salt)

- paprika

- origano

- olive oil

Quantities obviously depend on how many people you are preparing it for. I have made this dish twice, the first time was very thin, the second I added an extra layer of potatoes, and I must say it's better in the thinner version (more delicate). If you do want to add extra layers, I would suggest using the aubergine....or cutting the potato very very finely!

Preparation:

Prepare the aubergine and potatoes into thin slices, and chop up the rocket leaves (if you don't have rocket, red lettuce will do the trick wonderfully! I can't think of the name now...in italian it's "radicchio"). Turn the oven on: 180C.

Before starting the layering, grease the oven dish with some olive oil. Place the layer of potatoes, then sprinkle some herbal salt, paprika, and origano leaves (dried or fresh), and another drizzle of olive oil. Place the rocket leaves (put loads on! Don't worry, even if they look a lot, they will lose all their water and shrivel down to almost nothing!), and then the layer of aubergine (you can overlap the aubergines as they cook quickly...I put a couple of layers as the last layer), and sprinkle some olive oil, paprika and salt.

Place in the oven until cooked....mmm....30 minutes? 40 minutes? You can tell.....check that the potatoes are cooked.

The photo I put is of the second time I prepared it, when it was a bit thicker. The first time round I actually turned the whole dish over, so that the potatoes were on top....looked good.

It's a really simple dish to prepare and the good thing is that you don't need to cook the vegetables before-hand. An extra note: I used the light colored aubergine in this dish, the round type. They're much better as they seem to remain more intact and more delicate than the darker longer type. You could also try adding zucchini (courgettes) to the dish....they would go really well! They'd be extra delicious if you grilled them first, which would make the whole preparation a bit longer....but if you have the time and heart to do it, then why not!

I will put the recipe for the other more elaborate version shortly....it's delicious!!!

Teeth and No Tears

I was sitting in a park yesterday elegantly enjoying my ice-cream, when I bit upon an especially crunchy piece of....piece of what? Was it a cone? Was it a hazelnut? NO! It was my tooth! Shiver quiver....I get chills down my spine at the mere thought of it! It wasn't my real tooth, but that famous piece of resin that acted as a replacement tooth after my fall in Ecuador (see the Teeth and Tears post for the full story).
This time I didn't shed a tear, nor did I experience any sort of emotion. I was actually on my way to the cinema and just thought I'd go to the movies and think about my half-tooth later on. I even took a photo of myself, mainly for the thrill I will get in seing my sister's look of horror when I show it to her.
My aunt had the good sense to tell me to call the dentist, who only had a free appointment next week OR within 15 minutes....so we jump into a taxi and rush off to the dentist! (missed out on the movie). One hour later I walked out with a "new" tooth, much better than the last job he'd done at sticking on my Ecuadorian piece of tooth (because I threw that one in the bin...I hope! I have a slight doubt I may have swallowed it). Point is I didn't bother looking for it...it's time was most definitely up.

Anyway, various things happened at the dentist, mainly regarding realisations about today's society: the main conclusion is that we have to become "everything-ologists". Let me explain: it's as though people do the bear minimum, minimum effort for (let's be truthful) extremely mediocre results. If, for example, you happen to break a tooth (and this is just an example), and your dentists works away at it for an hour and then asks you to look at it, do not think you're wrong in seing that he has done a very mediocre job, and DO direct him in his craft.
If, for example, you happen to break a tooth (and this is just an example), and you notice a little porosity where he (or she) has just been working, don't hesitate to ask him what (on earth!) it is....he may just fix it!...and in the end feel really happy about the job he's done. Well, good for him.

I hope you've managed to read between the lines.

As my philosophy teacher in India used to say, modern-day society produces INSTRUMENTS: a million knives, a million forks, a million torches, a million lawyers, etcetera, etcetera....A lawyer is no grander in scope than a knife is at doing its job. So if and when we choose to put ourselves in the hands of instruments, I wouldn't do it with the blind faith and surrender that our grandparents may have had. An instrument must be put to good use. We must somehow become "everything-ologists", and develop at least a questioning power - not to become doubtful and overquestioning cynical meanies, but to have the awareness that instruments will, if allowed, do the bear minimum.

Chocolate-chip Muffins!

Today is the first day of a new era: no more amateur baking, no more guessing amounts - this time I followed the recipe, for real. And I finally got a good result! I even went out and bought scales: past baking nightmares have taught me that "more or less" doesn't quite work.

I got this recipe for Chocolate-Chip Muffins from Vera's blog, they're really easy to make and if you follow the recipe you will get nice soft muffins. If I got them, then you will too because I am far from having the baking finger.

I picked out the best ones for the picture up above...ha ha! But this is what the rest of them looked like! Lesson learnt. Do not overfill the muffin cups. I used paper muffin cups because I refuse to use alluminium in my kitchen. The alluminium ones are sturdier, but since we're on our way to a generally healthier life, let's steer well away from using it! The paper ones work fine but, as I just mentioned, be careful not to overfill them, or your muffins will look more like...run-away muffins. Or overly-affectionate muffins, trying to get close to the other muffins and coming together in some bakery version of holy matrimony.
If they do turn out like this, we may then adopt the philosophy of not judging a book by its cover, and that should have you covered.

Ingredients:

- 300 g flour "00"

- 50 g potato starch

- 1/2 packet of cremor tartar

- 100 g cane sugar

- 300 ml of rice/soya milk

- 5 teaspoons maize oil

- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

- 1 tablespoon of apple vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

- chocolate drops (as many as you like!)

Turn on oven to 170 degrees. Sieve the dry ingredients and mix them together: flour, potato starch, cremor tartar, sugar, bicarbonate soda. Pour in the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon, and then add the vinegar and chocolate drops. Fill your muffin cups to 3/4....or a little less. I thought I'd filled mine up 3/4 - I should maybe reconsider my understanding of "three quarters".

Place in oven for 30 minutes, then check with a knife/stick: if they're dry, turn the oven off and let them rest for a few minutes, and then pull them out to cool.

And since you've gone to all this effort, you may as well taste one! Mmmmm....I've already eaten two. Insatiable....I'm going back for more!

Nutty-Choco "Ice-Cream"

I'll blame the summer mood for this excessive production of cold desserts - I don't know if anyone's been experimenting with the frozen banana-base, but I certainly have! And here's today's result. Scrumcious! Quite moossey as well.

Ingredients:

- 2 frozen bananas

- handful of almonds

- handful of walnuts

- handful of hazelnuts

- 3 pitted dates

- Agave syrup

- bitter cocoa powder

- for extra naughtiness: dark chocolate (without milk powder to maintain the dessert vegan)

- a liquid base: can be grape juice if you want to keep it gluten-free, or rice/almond/soya milk.

The procedure is always the same: peel the bananas and place them in plastic wrap in the freezer for about three hours or until frozen. In the mean time, soak the nuts in the juice or milk for the same amount of time.

Once the bananas are frozen, cut them up and place them in a food processor with the rest of the ingredients. I didn't really measure: I guess a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder, plus a little more for good luck. Agave syrup....mmm....I just put it in. You don't need much: the bananas and dates are already sweet, but a little syrup is good to contrast the bitter cocoa powder. Add the rest of the ingredients and start woozzing...oh! Also MUST add (before woozzing) about half a cup of juice/"milk" - this is always to save your blender, and to give the ice-cream a smooth consistency.

Don't forget the extra touch! Dark chocolate: cut it up a bit before hand and then give it a last woozz once the whole thing has already reached a smooth consistency.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the result! Might be nice to sprinkle some coconut flakes on top at the end...or not. May as well be 100% decadent while you're at it!

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.