Nasi goreng/ fried rice recipe Ⓥ

This recipe is great for any day, breakfast, lunch & dinner! Tip from my Asian friends, it works best with COLD rice. In this case I had even frozen leftover jasmine rice and thawed it during the day before using it in the fried rice recipe. The same for the tofu scramble, I had had it for lunch and the leftovers are perfect for the evening menu.

Ingredients (3/4 portions)

• 2 cups* jasmine rice (*cups measured of uncooked rice), cold
• 1 big carrot, diced
• 1 leek, sliced & halved
• 200g mushrooms, sliced & halved
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tbsp tamari sauce
• 2 tbsp black bean & garlic sauce (from Asian supermarket)
• 1 tbsp chili paste (from Asian supermarket)
• Salt & pepper
• Peanut, sesame or olive oil (or any other vegetable oil you like)
• Optional: spring onions.

Preparation

• Stir fry the mushrooms until well done, add garlic, stir fry until the garlic is well done.
• Add carrots & stir fry, after a few minutes add a dash or 2 of (hot) water to quickly cook the carrots.
• Add the leek.
• Add the chili paste & black bean paste, mix well. Add a bit more water if it’s too sticky.
• Add the rice, mix well.
• Add the tamari, mix well.
• Add the tofu scramble, mix well.
• Season with salt & pepper.
• Optional: add spring onions.
• Serve as is, or with a cucumber salad.

Any leftovers are great the next day, just fry it up in your wok.

Bon appétit!

Brussels sprouts, potatoes & bacon recipe Ⓥ

This recipe is great for this season, it’s warming & filling and simply delicious in my opinion.

For the first time I used my InstantPot to steam the potatoes & it worked super well! I can even reduce the steam time from 3 to 2 minutes to make them a bit more crunchy.

Ingredients (3/4 portions)

• 500g Brussels sprouts (the smaller the better)
• 500g potatoes (the ones you prefer)
• 150g vegan bacon
• 2 onions
• 3 garlic cloves
• Chimichurri (optional)
• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil (or any vegetable oil you like)

Preparation

• Clean the Brussels sprouts (take of the bottom part) & cut in half & rinse.
• Peal (if not using organic) the potatoes, cut out ugly spots or sprouts, cut in equal parts & rinse.
• Peal & cut the onions (small pieces).
• Peal & cut the garlic (small).
• InstantPot: I used the steamer basket, 1 cup of water, some salt & the potatoes spread out in the basket. Close the lid, select steam & 2 minutes (if you use small potatoes or small parts). After the program is done, allow natural release for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, boil water (I used my kettle to save time), poor over the Brussels sprouts in your wok frying pan, add some salt to your liking, boil for about 5-8 minutes until tender (but not overcooked), al dente. Throw out the boiling water and set aside the Brussels sprouts in a strainer, you can rinse with some cold water to stop the cooking process.
• Warm the olive oil in your wok, stir fry the bacon, set aside.
• Use any remaining oil or add some fresh, then stir fry the onion until golden, add the chopped garlic, stir fry for 1 or 2 minutes more. Add the steamed potatoes and stir fry for a few minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts and mix for a few minutes. Lastly add the bacon, season with salt & pepper to your taste.

I served it with (store bought) chimichurri salsa & some vegan mayo.

Any leftovers are great the next day, just fry it up in your wok with some olive oil and let it get crunchy.

Bon appétit!

Instant Pot discovery and recipes Ⓥ

I gave myself the gift of the Instant Pot. Initially I wanted to get a rice/ quinoa cooker but was advised to get an Instant Pot as it’s not much more expensive and very versatile and useful.

My first experiences have been very positive. Obviously I’ve made rice (1 cup of rice, 1 cup of water & some salt if wished), done in 3 minutes on high pressure manual mode (with 10 extra minutes to release the steam naturally) ! Incredible.

Furthermore, I’ve made this spicy eggplant dish (one of my all time favourite veggies), I ate it with pasta. It turned out super soft and perfect to season, stir fry or roast with very little to no oil after.

Then I prepared kale. All done in 3 minutes on high manual pressure mode (need time to release naturally or quick release).

Last week I’ve been making soup using the soup program on the cooker. It’s super simple. Just use the sauté mode to fry onion, garlic, garlic (if used) and then cancel, add the vegetable stock (most of the times I use 5 cups boiled water with stock powder), add the cut & washed vegetables of choice (ideally stick to 1 color: all green or all orange/ red to avoid a disgustingly colored soup), mix & close the pot. Choose the soup mode & come back 30 minutes later, let the steam release naturally or with quick release, mix with your immersion blender and voilà. My discoveries: broccoli, fennel & potato soup; leek, rocket salad & potato soup; endives & potato soup. All my soups include 1 or 2 onions, 1 or 2 cloves of garlic and 2 medium sized potatoes. I often add a dash of tamari & salt & black pepper when serving the soup. It’s nice to add nutritional yeast when you drink your soup.

Next up: making a stew. So I looked up lots of Instant Pot recipes, there is so much out there, it’s amazing. I make this lentil stew with kale & sweet potato, again delicious & so simpel! It was utterly delicious.

Some great sources of inspiration: Vegan Richa, Edgy Veg, there’s a Facebook group, Stingy Vegan.

Mushroom risotto Ⓥ

I love risotto, but only the ones I make myself (or those made by my Italian friend, chef & fellow yogini Lucia). Tonight I was inspired by this recipe, which I tweaked a bit.

I added some cherry tomatoes & 2 garlic cloves (with their skin), pepper & salt in the oven, as well as 2 of the big mushrooms, sliced, tossed with pepper, salt & olive oil. I put the vegetables in 2 different oven dishes for about 20-25 minutes at 190 degrees.

Ingredients

• 1,5 cups of arborio rice, rinsed
• 5 cups of vegan stock
• 1 cup white wine
• 5 to 6 big mushrooms (about 500g)
• 1 red onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• Unsweetened soy cream
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Nutritional yeast (optional)
• 2 tbsp vegan margarine (optional)

Preparation

1. Prepare the 5 cups vegetable stock/ broth and set aside.
2. Rinse the rice and set aside.
3. Add the olive oil to a pot, add the onion and sauté on medium high for a couple of minutes.
4. Then add in the sliced mushrooms, stir fry for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms are golden.
5. Add the garlic and stir fry for a few minutes.
6. Add the rice and sauté for a minute or so.
7. Add the white wine and allow to be absorbed.
8. Add 3 cups of vegetable stock/broth, stir well and simmer until the broth is mostly absorbed.
9. Then add 1 cup vegetable stock/broth, stir well again and cover and simmer until the broth is mostly absorbed.
10. Then add the last 1 cup of vegetable stock/broth, stir well again and simmer for a final few minutes.
11. Once all the stock/broth has been mostly absorbed by the rice, add a few tablespoons of soy cream and mix well.
12. Turn off the heat and stir in the 2 Tbsp of vegan butter.
13. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.
14. Serve with some nutritional yeast.
15. Serve with the roasted cherry tomatoes and mushrooms.
16. Enjoy.

 

Om shanti -ॐ शान्ति

Kale stoemp, mushrooms & mince Ⓥ

Kale stoemp is a typical Dutch winter dish. In The Netherlands people eat it with a sausage and gravy (non-vegan style). I made a vegan version and on day 1 I ate this simply stoemp made of mashed potatoes, kale and soy cream with a vegan sausage, mustard and small pickled onions.

On day 2 I made with the leftover stoemp an oven dish pimped with mushrooms and mince ‘meat’. It was delicious.

 

Ingredients

Stoemp

• 1 KG of potatoes
• 450 (or more) kale (I used organic, frozen)
• Unsweetened soy cream to taste (or use oat or rice, but they often are too sweet for me)
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Topping/ filling

• 250g mushrooms
• 400g mince (I used the Naturli brand)
• 2 garlic cloves
• Soy sauce
• 1 tsp of Cayenne pepper
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil

Preparation

1. Make the stoemp: peel the potatoes, cut in quarters and boil for about 15 minutes in some lightly salted water.
2. Prepare the kale according to the package instructions (about 12 minutes in this case).
3. Once the potatoes & kale are properly cooked, save some of the water from the kale, throw out the water of the potatoes and mix well to obtain a nice consistency. Mix everything well with a fork or mixer for very smooth consistency. Add pepper & salt to taste. Add some soy cream & olive oil for creaminess. Set aside.
4. Clean (with paper towel, not water) the mushrooms and slice them.
5. Finely cut the garlic cloves.
6. Preheat the oven to about 180°.
7. Fry up the mushrooms until nicely golden brown, add the garlic for a few minutes, set aside.
8. Fry the mince in a skillet, add some soy sauce, Cayenne and black pepper.
9. Add some olive oil in the oven dish, spread half of the stoemp in an equal layer, add some mushrooms, then the mince, finish with the rest of the stoemp and some mushrooms on top.
10. Put the dish for about 15-20 minutes in the oven.
11. Enjoy.

Om shanti -ॐ शान्ति

Leek and bacon quiche with olive oil crust Ⓥ

Quiches are great food to make ahead when organizing a dinner party, you can freeze them or prepare the day before and warm them up before your guest arrive. Serve with a simple rocket salad and a olive oil/ mustard/ lemon juice dressing. Yesterday I made a simple leek & bacon quiche, using a tofu mixture for the filling.

Ingredients

Crust

• 200g wholegrain flour & 50g quinoa flour (or 250g wholegrain flour)
• 3 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 125 ml water
• 125 ml extra-virgin olive oil

Vegetable filling

• 4 leeks, chopped
• cup of vegan bacon (i.e. De Vegetarische Slager)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• freshly ground black pepper
• pinch of salt
• olive oil

Tofu filling

• 1 package of firm tofu
• soy milk (quantity = dependent on desired consistency)
• 1 tbsp of chickpea flour
• 1/4 cup heaped tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp curcuma
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• freshly ground black pepper
• pinch of salt
• olive oil

Preparation

1. Prepare the crust: sieve the dry ingredients in one bowl, mix the wet ingredients in a separate smaller bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, use a fork to mix. Knead lightly, then roll into a circular shape, big enough to reach across the bottom and the sides of a 26cm pie dish. Add non-stick paper to your pie dish, put the dough in the dish & refrigerate while making the filling.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C (I use gas oven 6).
3. Slice the leek in half lengthwise. Place both halves cut side down, then use a circular motion to cut the leek into thin half moons. Rinse out any dirt from between the leaves.
4. Stir fry the leek for a couple of minutes in some olive oil. Add the chopped garlic and stir fry for 2 more minutes.
5. Add the vegan bacon and fry until crispy
6. Add 1 tsp of curcuma, a pinch of salt and fresh pepper. Set aside.
7. Put the crust in the oven, blind bake it for about 15 minutes.
8. Make the filling mixture in a food processor or blender: blend the tofu with the rest of the spices, nutritional yeast and enough soy milk to make it into a creamy mixture, add some chickpea flour to thicken the mixture.
9. Add the tofu mixture to the vegetables.
10. Take your crust out of the oven, lower the heat to 180°C (gas oven 5). Add the vegetable/ tofu mixture and put in the oven for about 30-35 minutes.
11. Take your quiche out of the oven, and leave it to cool off for about 10 minutes before serving it with the salad.

Quick & delicious noodle soup Ⓥ

Noodle soup

This is an easy and quick recipe for either lunch or dinner.

The tofu is seasoned and crispy, the noodles cooked al dente, the miso gives the soup an umami flavour and the roasted sesame seeds add a crispy & nutty taste.

Main ingredients (4 servings)

• Noodles of your choice (I used gluten free brown rice/ pumpkin & ginger noodles) for 4 people (about 250g)
• 1 pack of firm tofu (250g)
• 2 to 3 carrots, sliced julienne style
• 1 large leek or 2 small leeks, sliced
• 1 large chunk of ginger
• A handful of sesame seeds
• Optional: some leafy greens such a bok choy or fresh (baby) spinach, washed and shredded.

Seasoning ingredients

• Vegetable stock powder
• 3 tbsp black bean & garlic sauce (from a Chinese or oriental store)
• 5 tbsp of olive or coconut (or other neutral vegetable) oil
• 4 tbsp tamari or shoyu sauce
• 4 tbsp miso paste (rice, soy or another type)
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 1/2 tsp of chili flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Optional: salt to taste (it’s already salty due to stock powder, miso & soy sauce)
• Optional: 2 tbsp no fish sauce (vegan shop or Jumbo in The Netherlands)
• Optional: 1 tsp sambal (very spicy sauce) or sriracha 

Preparation

1. Lightly press the tofu with both hands (careful not to break it) to drain the water from the tofu (use your hands or this method) & cut in cubes (of about 1-2 cm each).
2. Prepare the marinade for the tofu: mix the black bean and garlic sauce, tamari, no fish sauce, sambal/ sriracha & spices together and stir in the tofu cubes. Set aside.
3. Wash the veggies and cut the carrots in julienne strips; peel the ginger and slice thinly; cut the leek in slices.
4. In a frying pan, heat some oil, add the tofu cubes and fry for about 5 minutes on all sides until crispy. Turn heat off.
5. Heat a small frying pan, add the sesame seeds and roast until crispy, not black. Turn heat off.
6. Bring about 1l water to boil, add the vegetable stock powder (see packaging for directions, put half of suggested quantity), as well as the veggies and the noodles bring to boil and let simmer for about 4 minutes (depending on the instructions on the noodle package)*.
7. Serve: add a tablespoon of miso paste to 4 bowls; take a few spoons of the hot stock from the soup and add to each bowl to mix with the miso paste. Once the noodles are al dente, add the noodles with vegetables and stock. Top with tofu & toasted sesame seeds. Add soy sauce to your liking.
   1. Optional: add some shredded leafy greens to the bowl and let it wilt for a minute or so (no need to boil).
   2. *Tip: cook the noodles in a separate pot, drain & rinse with cold water to ensure they’re al dente and especially if you won’t eat all the soup in one go.

Om shanti -ॐ शान्ति

Noodle soup in the making

Vegan tofu paté Ⓥ

This is a fabulous recipe if you need to make something for a potluck or a brunch. The paté is wonderful on toast with veganaise, but also as a main dish with rice or quinoa and a salad or green vegetables on the side. It’s delicious both warm & cold.

Ingredients

• 1 pack of firm tofu (350g)
• 2 to 3 carrots
• 100g pumpkin of sunflower seeds
• 5 tbsp sunflower (or other neutral vegetable) oil
• 4 tbsp tamari or shoyu sauce
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 to 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, to taste
• 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp asafetida powder
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 1/2 tsp of chili flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. In a large bowl, grate the tofu & carrots.
3. Add the seeds, spices, oil, tamari/ shoyu, flour, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, parsley & mix everything well together.
4. Oil a baking dish & add the mixture.
5. Place the dish in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes until golden.

This is a tweaked recipe, the original recipe in Dutch.

Om shanti -ॐ शान्ति

Leek & sweet pea soup Ⓥ

Making soup is so gratifying, it’s relatively little work, especially if you buy organic produce: no need to peel the veggies!

I was inspired by a soup in a restaurant I’d recently been too & I wanted to recreate the flavours, however, I didn’t find the lemongrass needed for the recipe, hence I made a different version. The lemongrass recipe will follow.

Ingredients (3-4 portions)

• 3 leeks
• 1 cup of cashew nuts (preferably soaked overnight, but for at least a few hours in cold water, or for 30 minutes in hot water)
• 100-200 grams of frozen sweet peas
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1,5 l of vegetable stock (more or less depends on your taste for more liquid or dense soup)
• 1 tbsp dry coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp (or more to taste) fresh or frozen parsley or coriander
• 2-3 tbsp brown rice or other miso
• 4-5 tbsp tamari or shoyu sauce, or to taste
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Herbamare or Himalaya salt, to taste
• Olive oil

Preparation

1. Cut and wash leek. Put aside one green stalk for garnish.
   
2. Peel the garlic & cut in small pieces.
3. Heat the pan, add the coriander seeds & dry fry them until they ‘pop’.
4. Add the olive oil & stir fry the leek until slightly golden, add the garlic & stir for about 1 minute more.
5. Add the water & once it boils, add the stock powder.
6. Lower to medium heat.
7. Add the cashew nuts.
8. Cook for about 8 minutes, then add the frozen sweet peas.
9. Cook for about 5 minutes longer.
10. Turn of heat, add miso, shoyu or tamari sauce, parsley, black pepper & some Herbamare if needed.
11. Use an immersion blender & mix the soup until it’s nicely creamy.
12. Heat a small pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil, add the thinly chopped green leek & fry until golden.
13. Serve the soup in bowls, add the fried green of the leek.

It’s delicious with homemade croutons .

Om shanti -ॐ शान्ति

Home made granola Ⓥ

Raw granola, before going into the oven

Buying granola is such a chore, as when I start reading the ingredients’ list, I’m put off. So much crap they put in there, even in organic granola. Obviously, it comes in plastic or whatever packaging, hence I’ve started making my own. It’s super simple! It demands quality ingredients, that I buy from organic shops that are packaging free, or mostly. Basically, you buy in bulk, and can bring your own jars & reusable bags.

 

Baked granola, cooling on tray

 

My inspiration for today’s recipe is a mix of two of my favourite recipe websites & cookbook authors: Angela Liddon, Oh She Glows Every day & Minimalist Baker.

 

 

Ingredients

Dry

• 1 1/3 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/3 cups raw nuts/ seeds (I used almonds, cashews, sunflower & pumpkin seeds)
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp flax seeds (preferably ground)
• 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Wet

• 1 tbsp (15 ml) coconut or another neutral vegetable oil (suitable for baking)
• 1/3 cup agave syrup (sub with brown rice or maple syrup )
• optional: 1 tsp vanilla extract
• optional: 3 tbsp peanut or almond butter

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
   
2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
   
3. In a small pan over medium low heat, melt the (coconut) oil. Once melted, take the pan from the heat source & whip in agave syrup and vanilla extract. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon.
   
4. Spread the mixture evenly onto a a large baking sheet or tray and bake for 10 minutes, stir, then turn the cooking tray to ensure even cooking. Bake for another 8-12 minutes. The coconut oil will help this granola to become crispy, check carefully as it browns quickly (my first time making granola: the granola baked too long & had a slight burnt taste, I ate it anyway…).
   
5. Once the granola is visibly golden (about 18 minutes in this case), remove from the oven and let cool completely on the tray before storing in glass jars.

It’s delicious with some coconut flakes, dried raisins or cranberries & maca powder with your favourite type of plant based milk or yoghurt, but also wonderfully eaten just like that as a snack.

Om shanti -ॐ शान्ति

Water kefir Ⓥ

My yogini friend once gave me all these water kefir grains. And initially I’d make kefir regularly. But then I moved house, the kefir grains moved with me, and just hadn’t gotten around to it. Until last Friday. It’s been so hot and drinking kefir was just what I needed. So I thoroughly cleaned a glass bottle (but you can also use glass jars, mason jars for example) and got to work. Again I was surprised at how easy & fast it is too make !

Ingredients

• Filtered water
• A few organic lemon slices
• 3 tbsp of (brown) sugar
• 3 tbsp kefir grains
• A few dried raisins (sub with dried apricot or fig)
• Optional: add a few slices of ginger

Preparation

1. Drain the cultures from the kefir and rinse in tap water. Set the cultures aside.
2. Mix the sugar with a bit of hot water in the bottle or jar you’ll use until dissolved.
3. Fill the bottle (jar) with the filtered water (not all the way to the rim).
4. Add the lemon slices, raisins & kefir grains, stir with a wooden spoon.
5. Cover the bottle (jar) with a cheese cloth and set aside (not in the fridge). Leave on the counter in a not-sunny place for as long as you want.
6. After a few days you should see some bubbles coming from the cultures and at the top of the water. Three days seemed to create a good amount of fizz. You can drink this Kefir as is, or do a secondary fermentation for more flavour and more bubbles.

Om shanti -ॐ शान्ति

Incredible egg free chickpea salad Ⓥ

This is a fabulous recipe if you have lots of chickpeas because you basically need the aquafaba to make chocolate mousse… Angela Liddon from Oh She Glows has delicious and relatively easy recipes and I used this recipe from her cookbook and then tweaked it. The salad is wonderful on toast, but also with raw vegetables as an aperitif.

I used kala namak (black salt or Indian volcanic rock salt) which give the salad its distinct egg smell and taste. It’s really crazy how it resembles egg salad without the cruelty. Use just a little bit as it can quickly be overpowering.

Ingredients

• 1 jar of of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (save the liquid aka aquafaba in the jar)
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pickles
• 3 tbsp store-bought or homemade veganaise
• 2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp turmeric curry powder
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp of chili flakes
• 1 1/2 to 3 tsp fresh lemon juice, to taste
• 1/4 tsp kala namak or sea salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas with a potato masher until flaked in texture.
2. Stir in the green onions, pickles, fresh herbs, mayonnaise, and spices until combined.
3. Season with the lemon juice, salt, nutritional yeast and pepper, adjusting the quantities to taste.

Om shanti -ॐ शान्ति

Fast noodle soup Ⓥ

Some nights, you just don’t have time to prepare an elaborate meal. Welcome this relatively quick home made noodle soup! This soup can be made with real (soba) noodles, gluten free noodles or spaghetti or linguini, whatever you have in your pantry or suits your taste.

You can substitute the textured vegetable protein (also known as TVP) with tofu as well (I like to season it and stir fry, not just boil). Enjoy !

Ingredients (2P)

• Brown rice noodles (or other vegan noodles of your choice) for 2
• 1 cup of TVP (dry)
• Vegetable stock (enough to boil the noodles)
• 1 broccoli head
• 2 tbsp miso (I used chick pea miso)
• 2 tbsp tamari or shoyu sauce
• 1 tbsp of tahin
• Optional: 1 cm of fresh ginger
• Black pepper

Preparation

1. Clean & wash the broccoli. Cut the broccoli in small florets; the stem in small pieces; peel the ginger and slice thinly.
2. Make the vegetable stock according to the package instructions, add the TVP, let simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. In 2 soup bowls, mix the miso & tahin with a bit of the vegetable stock to a liquid paste.
4. Take out the TVP with a slotted spoon and put aside.
5. Add the ginger and the noodles in the stock and set the timer for them to cook al dente.
6. Stir fry the TVP with some tamari or shoyu sauce and some spices of your choice for a few minutes, until crispy.
7. When there are 3 minutes left on the timer, add the broccoli to the stock.
8. When the timer is ready, take the noodles, ginger & broccoli out of the stock with a slotted spoon & divide over the 2 bowls.
9. Add some of the stock & mix well.
10. Add the fried TVP to the soup.
11. Season with black pepper & some more tamari to your taste.

Option: you can add some (toasted) sesame seeds or gomashio to your soup.

Om shanti -ॐ शान्ति

Winter casserole Ⓥ

If you are in need of some comfort food this season, then this recipe is ideal! Please share your variations of the recipe dish.

Wild garlic – Ail des ours – Daslook

Ingredients (4p):

• 1-1,5kg medium sized potatoes
• Big bunch of collard greens (‘bettes’ in French or ‘warmoes’ in Dutch)
• 2 leeks
• 6 medium/ large sized mushrooms
• 400g vegan bacon
• 1 (or more) garlic cloves
• 200 ml of soy cream or more if you use more potatoes
• 1 tsp of wild garlic
• 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast
• Olive or coconut oil
• 1 tsp asafetida powder
• 0,5 tsp chili flakes
• Salt (Himalayan or sea) & black pepper

Preparation

1. 

   on the plate

   Peel the potatoes and boil them in slightly salted water in about 12-15′ or until tender (put a fork in them to check).

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3. Slice the leeks & collard greens wash and set aside.
4. Clean the mushrooms with tissue paper (no water!), slice and set aside.
5. Prepare the garlic (sliced or use a garlic press).
6. Heat up some oil in a non sticky wok; stir fry the leek for a a few minutes until slightly brown; add the mushrooms, stir fry for another few minutes; add the collard greens, stir fry for a few minutes; add the  vegan bacon and mix in all the dry spices (not the nutritional yeast!), stir fry for another few minutes; lower the heat.
7. Once the potatoes are done, pour out the water, rinse with a bit of cold water and slice the potatoes in equal quarters.
8. Add the potatoes to the vegetables/ bacon mixture; add the garlic; add the wild garlic; add the soy cream and the nutritional yeast. Mix well. Then turn of the heat.
9. Grease a medium sized oven dish with some oil.
10. Fill the oven dish with the content of your wok, make sure the soy cream covers the mixture of vegetables, bacon & potatoes.
11. Put the baking dish in the oven and back for about 30 minutes.

Serve like that or with a green salad.

Om shanti -ॐ शान्ति

Lentil salad with rainbow veggies Ⓥ

Some say lentils are the world’s healthiest food! They are an excellent source of folate, as well as a very good source of dietary fiber, copper, phosphorus and manganese. Additionally they are a good source of iron, protein, vitamin B1, pantothenic acid, zinc, potassium and vitamin B6. In short, lentils should be considered a super food! And they are cheap, even if you buy organic. I buy my lentils and beans in bulk, dry, as that’s the cheapest, and without any unnecessary packaging.  If you have trouble digesting lentils, then try adding some savory while cooking your lentils or beans. This salad is excellent for a hot summer day or as a side dish to your vegan BBQ.

Ingredients (about 4 servings)

• 1,5 cup of brown and blond lentils, 300g (or green or Du Puy, or Beluga,  ..)
• 1 cucumber
• 1 red Bell pepper
• 1 yellow Bell pepper
• 4 carrots
• Greens (lettuce, purslane, rocket, …)
• Fresh herbs (basil, parsley, coriander, …)
• Capers (optional)
• Olive oil (at least 3 tbsp)
• Lemon or lime juice (1 lemon)
• 0.5 tsp pomegranate molasses (optional)
• Some sunflower and / or pumpkin seeds (optional)
• 1 tsp mustard (Dijon)
• 1 tsp savory
• Cayenne pepper
• Salt & pepper

Preparation

1. Rinse the lentils.
2. Put the lentils in a cooking pot with plenty of cold water, bring to boil and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until perfectly cooked (taste). Add some savory if you have trouble digesting lentils.
   Don’t add salt while cooking (this prolongs the cooking time).
3. Wash (scrub) the veggies. Cut in small same size bits (except the carrots) & grate the carrots.
4. Make the salad dressing: mix the tablespoons olive oil with mustard, lemon juice, some black pepper and Cayenne pepper (optional: add the pomegranate molasses).
5. When cooked: directly rinse the lentils with cold water in a sieve.
6. Put the lentils in a large bowl, add the veggies and the salad dressing. Mix well.
7. Optional: add capers and roasted sunflower and/ or pumpkin seeds.
8. Add salt & pepper to taste.

This salad is delicious warm, lukewarm & cold. Enjoy!

TIP: you can add some lettuce,  purslane or rocket as well as fresh herbs (parsley, coriander, basil, …).

Sources: WH Food, Healthalicousness, Lentils.org