Beetroot- Mango-Mint Salad

Hey there :)

So, how was your summer so far? Here in Germany it was so lala. We had some warm and sunny days, but overall it did not feel like a real summer. Except for all those mosquitos hanging around. Meh. But I still find it hard to accept that the days are getting shorter and I had only one day out at a lake. That doesn’t seem right to me… Anyway.. can’t be changed I guess…

Well, apart from that I at least had some summer-y food. Light and easily whipped up stuff. Like this salad. It again has some beets in it, giving it a vibrant color. The earthy tone of the beets pair quite well with the tropical mango and on top of that it looks colorful ;) The avocado adds a bit of creaminess and Vitamin E which is good for your skin and the mint brings in some freshness. All in all I think it is a nice summer-y salad, due to the mango a bit on the sweet side of course. As a light snack it is optimal though. and tossed together in a hinch :)

 

Recipe Beetroot-Mango-Mint Salad

serves: 2 +++ prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 medium red beets, roasted or cooked
• ½ mango
• ½ avocado
• 10 leafs mint
• 3-5 leafs romaine lettuce
• ½ lime, juice
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Instructions

Cut the beets, mango and avocado into small cubes. Chop the lettuce. Wash and julienne the mint leafs. Mix everything together in a medium bowl, press the juice of half a lime and one tablespoon of lime, a bit of cinnamon and some salt and pepper and toss everything around and together until well mixed.

Red Beet Hummus

Hey there :)

So the other time I placed Barbie in a Mixer and pulsed. And this more or less the outcome.

Except it wasn’t Barbie of course but red beets. While I am not the biggest fan of pink as a color in general in food I find it super fascinating. And not even raspberries and strawberries get the same screaming pink as red beet does. It doesn’t even look like natural food. Anyway I like playing with beets in food and add it to all different types of dishes at the moment ;)

And beets are really great for various reasons. It’s good for your heart and liver thanks to the phytonutrient Betain which is found in valid amounts in beets. Betain provides antioxidants, has an anti-inflammatory effect and is said to provide detoxification support. It’s also a mood elevator, so next time you’re heartbroken dig into some beets ;) (Well, I don’t think it would work that good but why not give it a try. If it doesn’t make you happy at least it is likely it will make you all messy ;))

Beets also have quite some folate which is good for the nervous system and helps tissues grow and cells work. Also helpful for your muscle regeneration when you do a lot of sports. Yeah.

Together with some chickpeas and tahini you will also get some protein from this hummus, which makes it a perfect after sport snack.

And well, I guess I don’t have to tell you how to use hummus, but I will just share my favorite combination. Which was a savory corn muffin with this hummus, some avocado, beluga lentils, cucumber and romaine lettuce and just a tiny squeeze of lemon :)

 

 

Recipe Red Beet Hummus

prep time: 25 minutes +++ yields: abou 2 ½ Cups

 

Ingredients

• 1 can / 270g cooked chickpeas
• 2 roasted or steamed red beets  (or if you like the taste, raw works also)
• 3 Tbsp. tahini
• ¼ Cup olive oil
• ½ lemon, juice (and a bit grated zest if you like it tangy)
• 2 gloves garlic
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• ½ tsp. cumin
• generous amount of salt and pepper, to taste
• splash of water as needed to thin out

 

Instructions

Quarter the beets and place all the ingredients except for the water in a blender and food processor (or use a handheld mixer for a little more work). Blend until smooth. If needed add a splash of water to get your mixer going and to achieve the texture you like.

Adjust spices to taste. Don’t go easy on the salt and pepper :) I also grated some lemon zest and adder it for a little freshness.

Fast and Easy Spinach-Blue Cheese Noodles

 

 

Hey there :)

So lately I am a bit more busy than usual. Which is sort of fun and sort of exhausting. And I definitely have less time for cooking and baking. Which is a bit sad but normal. I guess I just have to get used to this new pace and find a way to integrate my time in the kitchen in it.

Fast and easy recipes are always one chance to still get a self-made meal. And this is one of them. Nothing crazy or mindblowing. But also with no fuss and with only few dishes to wash afterwards. And thanks to the blue cheese creamy and with a strong taste. If you want the dish more saucy, you can of course also add some more milk or cream cheese to thin out. Whatever works :)

 

Well, anyway. I will get back to doing things now ;)

 

 

 

Ingredients

• about 80g cooked noodles of your choice
• 200g fresh baby spinach
• 1 small red onion
• 80g blue cheese
• a bit parmesan, grated
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• knob of butter
• optional: some crushed walnuts

 

 

Instructions

Wash the spinach thoroughly. Cut the onion into small pieces

Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add a knob of butter. Add the onions and sugar and sauté until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Then add the spinach and cook until it starts falling together, about another 3-5 minutes.

Add the noodles, cook another minute. Then add the blue cheese in pieces and cook until it has melted.

Serve on a plate with a bit grated parmesan on top and if you want some crushed walnuts

Salmon-Fennel-Asparagus Tarte

Hey there :)

So this is the first time I post something that isn’t vegetarian. But I can say ahead, if you don’t eat salmon you can also leave it out at eat this tarte as a simple veggie tarte. But I personally really like the salmon in it, it pairs well with the fennel and asparagus.

 

This is also my first time working with fennel, I have actually never used it before and also have only eaten it as a bonbon or drunk it as some tea. So I was actually a little concerned it may taste like some medicine. But it didn’t at all. I actually liked it so much that I made the tarte next time I got to buy some more salmon :)

It is perfect for a light spring lunch, or fits well in a brunch as it has nicely fresh touch to it thanks to the fennel. It’s not too heavy on the stomach but still filling. And it’s kind of colorful plus it features the all-star asparagus that is finally ins season again  so in my book it fits the spring perfectly :)

 

Recipe Salmon-Asparagus-Fennel Tarte

prep time: 15 minutes + 45 minutes baking time +++ yields: one tart

Ingredients

• 1 package puff pastry (or make your own if you are really motivated)
• 200g smoked salmon
• 5 spears green asparagus
• 1 fennel
• 1 medium red onion
• 200g herbed crème fraiche (make your own my adding 2 tablespoons of herbs to plain crème fraiche)
• 2 Tbsp. cream cheese
•  3 eggs
• 4 Tbsp .parmesan , grated + a bit more
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. sugar
• salt and pepper, to taste

 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Prepare the filling: Cut the salmon into fine strips.

Wash the fennel and asparagus. Cut off any hard ends of the asparagus.

Finely slice the red onion and the fennel (remove the stem!) into thin strips.  Cut the asparagus into about 3cm thick pieces, or however thick you prefer them.

In a pan, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft, about 2 minutes. Then add the fennel strips and continue to cook for about 3 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook for another 3 minutes until slightly tender. You can add a bit of salt, sugar and pepper if you want. But there will be some in the crème filling as well so don’t go overboard.

In the meantime prepare the cream filling: Mix together the herbed crème fraiche, cream cheese, 3 eggs, lemon juice, 4 Tbsp. parmesan, sugar and some salt and pepper. As the salmon is already salty, go easy on the salt.

Place the puff pastry in a tart pan (I used a rectangular one). Cut off the ends that are overhanging.

First layer the cut salmon evenly on the bottom of the puff pastry. Then add the veggies and also evenly distribute them.

Pour over the cream filling. If you want, you can add a bit more parmesan on top.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the center is set and the puff pastry is nicely golden brown.

Eggplant-Falafel with Tahini-Lime Sauce

Hey there :)

A while back I was at my parents’ house. They have a real awesome big one and even better they have a nice large garden. And my dad also plants some veggies and herbs himself so I always get something out of it when I am coming home :) This time it was some eggplant. I actually “harvested” it myself. Did you know they have thornes? I was totally unaware of that. I mean, not like really big ones, but they do – naturally – hurt a bit if you unintentionally touch them. Just where the joint between the plant and the vegetable is. Well anyway, I still got the eggplant , no thorns may stop me ;)

I also got some parsley from the garden and have been wanting to make something with beans so I decided to make so falafels. With eggplant. Yummi :) Eggplant are always a nice veggie to add to dishes because they adapt to any flavor I think. And the texture fits falafel perfectly. Also because I knew my sister was coming over and she somewhat likes those I think. Oooh, I am such a lovely sister :P

Anyway I didn’t want to fry them. Not that I have a problem with frying things in general I like to keep it to a minimum. And falafel taste really great baked. Plus they won’t make you feel that heavy afterwards, which sometimes fried falafel make me feel. So here they are with some easy-peasy tahini-lime sauce.

Recipe

prep time: about 40 minutes + baking time +++ yields about 15 falafel

Ingredients

for the falafel:

• 2/3 Cups / about 180g cooked chickpeas
• 1 medium eggplant
• 1 medium onion
• 1 big clove garlic
• ¼ Cup / 25g ragi flour (flour made from millet, but normal flour would work, too)
• ½ lime, juice
• ¼ Cup / 60ml water + more as needed
• about 4 Tbsp. chopped parsley
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• about a tablespoon olive oil

for the sauce

• 3 Tbsp. tahini
• 4 Tbsp. water
• ½ lime, juice
• 1 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup for a vegan version
• salt and pepper
• some chopped parsley

Instructions

For the falafel:

Wash the eggplant. Dice the eggplant and the onions into about 1cm thick cubes. In a pan over medium heat sauté the onions and the eggplant with some coconut oil or oil of choice for about 10 minutes until softened. Season with salt and pepper and stir occasionally. Let cool slightly

In a food processor put all the ingredients except for the olive oil. Pulse until all ingredients are well combined and you have a sticky paste. I like to still have some chunks in my paste, but it’s your choice how smooth you like it.

Adjust the spices and if needed add some more liquid if the paste seems to dry. Mine was good with just ¼ a Cup of water.

Line a baking try with a baking sheet and drizzle some olive oil over it.

With your hands shape small balls (about 1-2 tablespoons worth of paste) and place on the baking sheet.

Put in the oven at 175°C for about 25 minutes. Flip the falafel halfway through.

For the sauce

Simply mix all the ingredients together with a spoon and adjust spices to taste.

Zucchini Fritters

Hey there :)

Today I have some crazy shit for you. Real mind blowing stuff. Stuff you wouldn’t imagine in your boldest dreams. Ready? Here it comes: Zucchini Fritters. BAM!

Okay, I was just kidding. I guess the last few weeks everyone has had or seen some zucchini fritters somewhere. Just with zucchini or mixed with some other veggies and stuff. With all those zucchini being everywhere I guess it’s just natural. Anyway, so why yet another zucchini fritter recipe? Well, why not? I have already taken the photos and zucchini still rock. And it would be very rude of you to get bored by them. It’s not their fault that they are everywhere now.

Okay, I will stop losing any more words over another zucchini recipe. Here it is anyway. Because I liked it :)

Recipe

prep time: 30 minutes +++ yields: about 12 fritters

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini (about 500g)
• 1 medium potato (about 200g), cooked
• 1 small to medium onion
• 1 egg
• ½ Cup / 45g parmesan, grated
• ¼ Cup / 30g corn meal
• 1 glove garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Start by washing and grating the zucchini. Place in a sieve with a teaspoon of salt and let some of the liquid drop for about 15 minutes

Meanwhile grate the potato and cut the onion into small pieces. Grate the parmesan as well and smash the garlic.

Mix all the ingredients, except for the zucchini in a bowl.

In a cheesecloth or with your hands drain the zucchini so they will lose their excess water. This will be a lot. Then add the zucchini to the rest of the ingredients and mix well. If your batter is too runny, add a bit more corn meal. I did not need to add more.

In a pan over medium high heat put a knob of butter or coconut oil (or preferred oil). When heated thoroughly, add about 2 tablespoons of the batter into the pan and flatten out. Repeat with the rest of the batter, working in batches. Bake for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy.

Enjoy with a bit of sour cream or favorite sauce.

Warm Zucchini Salad with tomato pesto

Hey there :)

Sometimes I just need something light and quick. Something that doesn’t require a lot of preparation work. I tend to have my bigger meals in the morning and the evening and I do snack quite a bit so I barely eat anything big for lunch. It also makes me too tired afterwards, so I prefer something easy and not overly filling. I’d rather be hungry at noon so I have my justification for something sweet ;)

So this meal is one of those lighter meals I tend to eat for lunch. It is low on carbs, but still has some fiber to it and some vitamins and minerals. It’s really nothing big or spectacular, but like I said, I keep this for the evenings :)

The pesto I used here I made myself and I will include the recipe for it. It will leave you with much more than you need though. But pesto is great for everything so I’m guessing you don’t mind ;) However you can of course use any pesto you prefer.

I also like to add some goat’s cheese to it, but if you want the meal so stay vegan you can just omit it obviously.

Recipe

prep time: 15-20 minutes +++ yields: one serving

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini
• ½ onion
• 2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• ½ glove garlic
• 1 Tbsp. pesto
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• optional topping: goats cheese, lemon zest

Instructions

Wash the zucchini. Then use a potato peeler to cut the zucchini into long small pieces.

Put them in a sieve and sprinkle some salt over them. Set aside, so they can lose some water during that time.

Meanwhile in a pan on medium heat roast the sunflower seeds for about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Cut the onions into fine rings. In the same pan where you roasted the sunflower seeds, heat about 1 tbsp. of coconut oil and sauté the onions in it for about 3 minutes. If you like your onions sweet, add a teaspoon of sugar.

Now back to the zucchini. Wash the salt of them and squeeze as much liquid as you can out of them. Then add the zucchini and the crushed garlic to the onions and stir fry everything for about 2 minutes.

Add 2 tbsp. of lemon juice and toss everything around. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then add the roasted sunflower seeds and the pesto and toss everything around a bit more so it gets more or less distributed.

Put on a plate and add some more pesto and sunflower seeds if desired.

If you want to, you can crumble some goat’s cheese and some lemon zest on top, but it’s totally optional.

Dried tomato pesto

Recipe

Ingredients

• ¼ Cup / 20g walnuts
• ¼ Cup / 20g cashews
• ¼ Cup / 30g pistachios
• 3 Tbsp. shelled hempseeds
• 1 Cup tightly packed / 45g basil leaves
• 1/3 Cup tightly packed / 90g dried tomatoes
• 1 glove garlic
• ¼ Cup / 60 ml olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. oil from the dried tomatoes if you have used them from a glass. if not, use more olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. coconut sugar (optional)

Instructions

Heat a pan without oil over medium heat and roast the walnuts, cashews and pistachios for about 4 minutes. Toss around a bit so they won’t burn.

Place all the ingredients in a high vessel and blend with an immersion blender. Add more oil if needed.

Cauliflower Nuggets

Hey there :)

Do you also sometimes hear all those phrases of people stating they don’t eat a lot of veggies because they find them boring? I sometimes do but I don’t really get it. Sure, broccoli on its own with no spices or sauce or whatever might become a bit boring or struck one as plain. But that’s just the same with almost every other food. Usually one would also flavor their meat to make it tasty. It’s basically all about mixing the ingredient with other ingredients and flavors in order to make something delicious and fun to eat.

Apple by itself – sure that works, but turned into an applecake? Scrumptious!

plain chia seeds? – meeh. but as chia pudding? Yummi :)

Nothing but quinoa – very plain and unexciting, but made into a nice patty or as a part of a nice big comfort bowl, so satisfying!

I mean come on, if you are being creative and experiment a bit, almost everything can add up to a nice overall dish. That’s why it sometimes makes me a bit sad if someone tells me, some sort of food (and in particular vegetables) would be too boring. Blah! They’re gorgeous :P

Just take a look at cauliflower. Just like that I’d agree.. plain cauliflower isn’t my favorite. But if you take a look around, you see people turning it into some sort of rice replacement, a pizzadough even. Look what an allrounder we have here :) Veggies are multi-talents :)

I personally decided to turn the cauliflower into nuggets which also worked really nice :) And with some sauces it’s a nice and light fingerfood. Not boring at all :) So, to all the people telling me vegetables are boring. Cut the crap :P

Recipe

prep time: about 50 minutes +++ yields about 20 nuggets

Ingredients

• about ½ head cauliflower (I had a rather big one, about 700g / 6 Cups chopped. But no need to be super exact here)
• 1 big red onion
• 2 gloves garlic
• 1 Cup / 100g rolled oats (+ some more if needed)
• 2 Tbsp. chopped rosemary
• 2 Tbsp. chia seeds + 6 Tbsp. water
• ½ Cup / 60g nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika powder
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• some coarse corn meal
• some oil

Instructions

Mix the chia-seeds with the water and set aside.

Chop the cauliflower so you can easily wash it and wash it.

Then grate the cauliflower until it resembles rice. You could also blend it in a mixer, just make sure you don’t blend too long. If you use a blender I’d work in batches and just pulse several times. But I find the grating, although it takes more time yields in better results. But both ways work. You choose your favorite :)

Chop the onion finely.

Sauté the chopped onion in a tbsp. of oil for about 3 minutes. Then add the grated cauliflower and two gloves of crushed garlic and stir-fry together with the onions for another 5 minutes. Let cool.

In the meantime chop the rosemary, pulse the rolled oats in a blender until you have coarse meal and start some washing-up ;)

When cooled a bit place in a bowl and add the chia-water-gel (chia-egg), the nutritional yeast, rolled oats, the spices and some salt and pepper to taste. Mix with your hands until you have a dough that holds together. If it is too wet, add some more ground rolled oats or some corn meal. Adjust spices to taste.

On a flat plate put some coarse corn meal. Form the cauliflower dough into small nuggets and roll into cornmeal until evenly coated.

In a pan over medium-high heat with a bit of oil fry the nuggets, each side for about 3-5 minutes.

Serve with some Ketchup or other sauces :)

Risotto with Herbs

Hey there :)

Last time I went to have some dinner I had a nice creamy risotto with herbs in it. It had a nice green color and a tasted like early summer. I totally loved it. That’s why I wanted to make it myself and I wanted to try a vegan version of it. But well, turns out the restaurant had a special fancy tool to turn the herbs into some very fine herb-powder. I clearly don’t have anything alike but I still wanted to make something alike. So my brother gave me the tip to use pesto instead. And this idea was worth gold – or should I say green? I worked perfectly fine and even added some more creaminess to the risotto. So hooray for my brother :) Sometimes he can be such a genius with those small things :)

As the pesto is the main ingredient her (next to the rise obviously), choosing a good one with pleasant taste is key here. You can basically use very pesto you like. Just make sure it isn’t a too dry one. I went for a parsley pesto and this was really nice. But if you prefer basil or arugula or nettle go for them. Or even some dried tomato pesto for a red risotto. Just make sure to use a vegan risotto if you want to keep the recipe vegan.

Recipe

prep time: 30 mintues +++ servings: about 3

Ingredients

• 1 big red onion
• ¾ Cups / 190g Arborio Rice
• ½ Cup / 125ml white wine (can be replaced by vegetable broth)
• 2-3 Cups / 500-750ml vegetable broth
• ¼ Cup / 50g pesto + 1-2 tbsp. to taste (I have used parsley pesto)
• 3 Tbsp. freshly chopped herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary etc.)
• 1 Avocado
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 8 Tbsp. nutritional yeast (if you eat it you can also use parmesan)
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Instructions

Cut the red onions into small pieces.

In a pot heat about 3 Tbsp. of olive oil. Add the chopped onions and sauté for about 2-3 minutes. Then add the rice and sauté together with the onions for another 2 minutes. Keep stirring while doing so.

Then add ½ Cup of the white wine. Stir until the liquid is absorbed by the rice. Then add another ½ Cup of the vegetable broth and let the rice absorb it. Continue to add vegetable broth ¼ Cup to ½ Cup at time and let the rice absorb it. Continue to do so for about 15-18 minutes. After minute 14 only add a bit of broth to insure the rice can absorb everything and the risotto won’t get to liquid-y.

You may not need all the vegetable broth. Just add as much as is needed for desired consistence. I used about 2 ½ Cup. Keep stirring the risotto time by time.

During this time smash the flesh of the avocado and chop the herbs.

When the rice is as soft as you want it to be, add the smashed avocado and stir into the risotto. This will give the risotto an extra creaminess.

Then add the herbs and the nutritional yeast and stir.

Serve with some more herbs.