Green Pasta

I was so surprised at how tasty this dish was when I made it up!  I didn't quite know what to expect as I have never tried avocado & lime juice together before.

This recipe came about from our "Green Day" and thinking of as many green foods as I could to put into our dinner!

I wasn't planning to put it on my blog but it has ended up here, because I need to share how tasty it is!

You'll need:
Enough spinach fettuccine to serve 2
1/2 cup frozen peas
4 cubes frozen chopped spinach
1/2 zucchini, cut into long thin slices

Bring a pot of water to the boil & add all the above ingredients. Cook for approx 15 minutes until the pasta in al dente.

While the pasta is cooking prepare the sauce.
In a mini food processor or blender combine:
flesh of 1 fresh avocado
1/2 cup soymilk (I used unsweetened)
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Whisk until very smooth and runny.

Drain the pasta but don't shake it out heaps as you need a little bit of moisture on the pasta to help the sauce spread.
Put the pasta back into the pot and pour the sauce over the top. Add 1/4 cup nutritional yeast & mix well until all strains of the fettuccine have been lightly coated with the sauce.

Enjoy :-)

Cream Green Smoothie

Another variation of a green smoothie.

The cashews & banana in this give it a creamy taste & the ricemilk make it quite sweet :-)

To serve 2:

1 cup frozen spinach leaves

1 head baby cos lettuce (can be frozen or fresh)

1 orange, whole peeled

1 frozen banana

1/4 cup cashews

1 cup ricemilk

Blend til smooth.

Bread No-butter Breakfast Pudding

Is there any rule against having pudding for breakfast I wonder????

I did leave out the butter after all.
You could have this for dessert of course if you would rather, but I can't wait til the end of the day to have pudding! ;-)

8 slices old wholemeal bread

1 1/2 cups almond milk

3 tablespoons custard powder

1/2 cup sultanas

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Optional: 1 teaspoon demerara sugar to sprinkle on top for 'crunch'

Cut bread into quarter triangle slices & layer into a lightly sprayed pie dish. 

Gently press down into the pie dish.

Sprinkle the sultanas around the bread & in between the slices. The more you can push them down between the bread slices the better, as they can get overcooked very easily.

Whisk the custard powder into the milk until well combined.

Pour over the bread & press down on the bread lightly to make sure that all the bread pieces have absorbed the milk.

Sprinkle the top with cinnamon & demarara sugar if desired.

Bake at 180C for 25-30 minutes or until all the moisture is absorbed.

NB: You can use fresh bread if you want to - this is just a great way to use up old bread that would otherwise be tossed out.

Indian Spiced Lentils

Although this meal is called "Indian Spiced Lentils", it is not hot like some Indian meals. The spices used are traditional Indian ones but it doesn't have enough to give it any real heat - it just provides a lovely deep flavour.

Chop 1 onion into pieces and put into a warm frying pan. 
Add:
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cardamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
and stir until well combined. 

When onion is lightly browned add in 1 cup green lentils and again stir until all the lentils are coated with the spice mixture.

Add 1 can tomatoes and 100g frozen spinach pieces.
Stir well.  

Add 2 cups of water and allow to simmer for 30 minutes until all the moisture has been absorbed.

Serve & top with freshly cracked black pepper.
Accompany with basmati rice if desired.


Serves 4

 
 

 

Pasta with Spicy 'Cheeze' Sauce

I love getting new kitchen items :-)
This was my latest shopping adventure for the kitchen.

So of course after obtaining new pasta bowls, I had to make a new recipe to accompany my lovely new bowls!

This meal ticks all the boxes for what I want in an evening meal.

  -  Easy    
  -  Tasty
  -  Nutritious


To serve 2 you'll need:
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1 1/2 cups wholemeal spiral pasta
1 can butter beans
3/4 cup soymilk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 Tablespoons tahini
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chilli
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

black pepper, to serve

Bring a pot of water to the boil & add the pasta. Simmer for approx 10 mins, then drain the beans & add to the pasta. Simmer for another 5 minutes until beans are warmed through.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce.

Combine the soymilk, nutritional yeast, tahini, lemon juice, paprika, chilli, mustard & garlic powder in a small saucepan & whisk until well combined. Put on medium heat & stir continuously for approx 5 mins until the mixture is warm & has begun to thicken.

Drain the pasta & serve over a bed of baby spinach leaves.

Top with a big spoonful of the sauce & a sprinkle of black pepper.

"Weird" Quinoa Meal

Do you eat similar to the way you were brought up or very different?

I'm sure my parents have never even heard of "Quinoa" or "Kale" or "Nutritional Yeast".
If I told them I had this meal for dinner recently they would definitely say it was "weird".

And they definitely wouldn't believe me if I told them that there was such thing as purple carrots!

 

Sometimes its fun to get experimental in the kitchen and try new flavours.

My recent taste experiment has been purple carrots.

So of course I had to include them in my "weird" meal!!!

I hope you enjoy this.

I found the combination of these un-common tastes rather exotically delicious!!!!

I used pre-cooked quinoa. I find having pre-cooked grains on hand in the fridge very handy. I will often make a large batch & use it several times through-out the week. 

1 cup pre-cooked quinoa (warmed up)
3 button mushrooms
1 purple carrot
2 large kale leaves
1 small brown onion

Chop the mushrooms, carrot and onion into bite size pieces. Water saute these vegetables in a frying pan until they are soft & lightly browned.
Stem the kale and roughly chop the leaves. Microwave with water in a bowl on high for 3 minutes, then drain & add to the other vegetables. Stir to combine.

To make the sauce:
1 Tablespoon almond butter
1/2 cup soymilk
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon dried sage

Stir all these ingredients together until well combined. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds, or over a stove (if you want to make extra washing up!).

Serve the quinoa in a bowl & top with the vegetables. Spoon the sauce over the top.

Serves one.

Enjoy.

Borlotti Bean Bites

Here's another quick & easy meal that is very satisfying.

Also great for lunch accompanying a fresh salad.

Enjoy :-)

1 cup borlotti beans

1/4 red capsicum

1/2 red onion

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

Chop the onion & capsicum into little pieces. 

If using canned beans, drain them before putting into a bowl to mash well. Combine mashed beans with chopped vegetables & the tomato paste.

Mix til well combined.

Shape into little patties

Baked at 180C for 1/2 hour.

Makes approx 5-6 medium size patties - enough to serve 2 people.

Mixture nearly all used up!
Just wanted to show that it holds together well without anything added other than the tomato paste.

Ready for baking

As part of a meal with steamed veggies, brown rice, salsa & crumbed mushrooms.