Red lentil and coconut dhal

I like to spoil myself for lunch and cook yummy stuff just for me. Some days I need to be kind to myself, to treat myself well. Be comforted with something warming and healthy. It's also a perfect accompaniment to these bitey winter days.  

The bonus is it tastes satisfyingly good. The kids wouldn't touch this with a barge pole though. No one in this house appreciates my cooking finesse! That's OK, more for me, they can eat boring nuggets or sausages (which they would have no complaints about)!

I appreciate the days Summer and Izzy are at school and kindy. I need those days to catch up. To calm the overwhelm. I am in a state of tenseness (mainly in my shoulders) most of the time. 

In the last six years I haven't had a break away on my own. A break from being a mum, a wife and housekeeper. It's taking a toll on me. I need a weekend away by myself. No kids, no husband. Just me. 

Finding that weekend seems near impossible any time soon. I just have to keep plugging away and savouring the breaks where I get them. I need to nourish myself well, mind and body. I have too many people to care for and no one to look after me. Except me. So I need to do a bloody good job!

A recent course I undertook, to do with food and health, encouraged you to eat as many different ingredients in a day as you could. About 25 - 30 different foods was the recommendation for obtaining as many nutrients as possible from natural sources. 

This recipe has more than ten, so it's a good start to reaching that goal, along with a great breakfast and evening meal filled with healthy natural foods.

Red lentil and coconut dhal

1 medium onion, chopped finely
1 stick celery, sliced
2 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
1 star anise
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 fresh green chilli
3 cups water
375 gram packet of dried red lentils
1 can coconut milk
500 grams diced pumpkin

Fry onion and celery in oil over a medium heat until onion is transparent.

Add garlic, ginger, cumin, star anise, coriander, turmeric and chilli, stir for one minute.

Stir in lentils and coconut milk, bring to boil.

Reduce heat, stir in pumpkin and simmer covered until lentils and pumpkin are tender, about 25 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper.

I like to serve it with a dollop of natural yogurt, fresh coriander and mint scattered on top.

• Remember not to eat the star anise, it's not that palatable, however I don't mind chewing on it to get the flavour out of it and then spitting it out. It's not for everybody.
• Instead of pumpkin, try other veggies like eggplant, zucchini or sweet potato. Even carrots, broccoli and peas!
• Keep peeled ginger in the freezer. It won't perish in the bottom of the fridge and is easy to grate when frozen and pop the rest back in the freezer for another time.
• I also freeze any herbs that are threatening to turn feral in the fridge, like coriander. The stalks give so much flavour to soups and casseroles. You'll be saving money too by keeping it for later.

An InLinkz Link-up

Persian spiced veggies with lentils

I like to share my food on instagram. I just like to share my food! 

I am one of those weird people who sit down, take a photo, then proceed to eat, whilst instafaceytweeting what's on my plate.

Some people don't get it and sometimes I let that sway me. But in the end, I like to do it, so I keep posting.  I thought I would push it further and overshare here with how I make it. 

This spice mix is in my pantry. I use it to sprinkle on my veggies before I bake them for lunch some days.

Persian spice
2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoon ground rose petals*
2 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander

Mix all together and store in an airtight jar or plastic container in the pantry.

*I find the smelliest roses I have, take a couple of handfuls of the petals and place them on a baking tray. Dry them in a slow oven until they are dry, then crush them up. If you're not into eating your garden,  you can buy edible rose petals online or in specialty food delis, or just leave it out.

Baharat spice mix is good to use if you want instead of the persian spice.

Vegetables of choice, such as - pumpkin, sweet potato, eggplant, onion, garlic, beetroot, zucchini, capsicum. 
1 tin lentils, drained and rinsed**
half a tablespoon of persian spice
Olive oil

Chops veggies into 2cm cubes. Coat with olive oil and persian spice in a baking tray. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake in the oven at 200 for 15 - 20 minutes.

Tip and mix in a can of lentils, put back in the oven for another five minutes to warm through.

Serve as a warm salad with feta cheese and fresh herbs. I've used greek yogurt and mint in the photo above. 

**Instead of lentils, you could go in with whatever you like, brown rice, couscous, chick peas or quinoa. 

I've also made this with squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, onion and garlic. Instead of the spice blend, just used mixed dried herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil. Baked for 15 minutes, add the lentils for 5 minutes and served with greek yogurt and basil pesto. So yum!

An InLinkz Link-up

Baharat Chick pea tagine

The last time Brett and I went out for tea(without kids, which was way too long ago), we went to an Egyptian restaurant.  It was here I first learnt about Baharat spice mix. The food was delish and it began a fire in me to explore more about spices, and cooking with them. 

Baharat Spice blend
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cardamom

Stir to combine. Keep in a sealed jar or plastic container in the pantry.

I use it in casseroles, sprinkled on veggies for roasting, and in this tagine. I enjoy this for lunch every now and then. It's so tasty.

Chickpea tagine
2 tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons Baharat spice blend
1/2 roasted chilli*
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon coriander stems, chopped

Add oil to pan on a low heat.
Add onion and simmer until transparent.
Add chilli and baharat, and cook for a minute to release flavours.
Add chickpeas, tomatoes and coriander stems to the pan.
Add enough water(about 2 cups) to cover ingredients.
Bring to the boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid and continue to cook until juices are reduced to a gravy consistency.
Garnish with some natural yogurt and fresh coriander. 
Serve.

*I used half a roasted green chilli. I am still using the ones I preserved in olive oil from last year. You could use a pinch of cayenne pepper, or a small fresh chilli, or a half a teaspoon of harissa paste.

This recipe has been adapted from the Maza gourmet foods cook book. 

   

Chermoula spice mix

I've never before had so many spices in my pantry. I am loving learning how to use them and all the different spice blends there are from all over the world. Not to mention all the delicious food I've been cooking up, and inevitably enjoying the heck out of tasting. 

One spice mix I love is Chermoula. There are plenty of different versions around, but with basically the same spices, in varying amounts.

This is one that I have used to bake fish. It works. It's awesome, it's delicious, and will totally have you wanting to lick the plate. It would also be great with just about any other meat you want to whack it on, with or without the yogurt.

You will need:

500 grams to 1 kilo of fish fillets(I used hoki, also known as blue grenadier)
1/2 cup greek or natural yogurt

Chermoula paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 brown onion, finely chopped
60 mls of lemon juice
4 tablespoons finely chopped coriander or parsley, or a mix of both
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
pinch cayenne pepper, optional
salt and pepper

Process all together to a paste, or near enough.

Using half a cup of paste, mix with half a cup of greek yogurt.

Spread all over fish in a baking dish and marinate for 15 minutes.

Cover with foil and bake at 190C for 20 - 30 minutes depending on how thick your fish fillets are. 

Serve it up and enjoy!

You can refrigerate or freeze the leftover paste and rub it on steak or chicken on another night.
I have used the leftover paste in a red lentil soup before too, which worked out very well.

This is the first time I tried cauliflower rice. I didn't mind it. I grated half a cauliflower, you could use a food processor, then spread the cauli in a single layer on a tray and baked for 15 minutes at 200C, stirring and turning once halfway through.


Do you have spices in your pantry?

Are you a coriander fan? I love the stuff!

An InLinkz Link-up

Eggplant and chickpea curry

I am loving my veggie curry right now.  I'm really enjoying learning about and using more spices.

This recipe is very similar to the curry I took to an indian potluck recently.

I've been making a point of buying and trying out new vegetables. Eggplant has been one of those, and I always, always have a can of chickpeas in the pantry.

Eggplant and chickpea curry

1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon butter/marg
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamon
1 1/2 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground ginger(or 1 tsp fresh finely grated)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper(or 1/4 tsp if you don't want it too hot)

2 onions sliced
4 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 a cauli, cut into florets
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 eggplant, cut into 2cm cubes
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup water

Heat oil and butter. Add garlic and spices, cook on low for 1 minute.
Add onions and saute for 3 minutes.
Add rest of ingredients, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• replace cauli with 1 sliced carrot
• use 1 cup of beans or peas instead of chick peas
• replace eggplant with two cubed potatoes 
• if you don't want the heat, use paprika instead of cayenne pepper.

Orange, coconut and cardamom biscuits

Occasionally, well often, the biscuit barrel is bare. If it happens before our next big shopping day, we bake.

The last time it happened we made chocolate biscuits, and used up the cocoa. I must buy more.

I looked for what we had, and that was three oranges in the fruit bowl. I could use the zest. I looked for an easy recipe, I always look for the easiest recipe. I found one and decided to add some extras I had in the pantry.

I like these biscuits. I like that Izzy can help by rolling the dough in balls herself, even though at least three or four biscuits worth of dough go missing in her mouth. But isn't that the best bit for kids in the biscuit making process? She would have eaten the lot if I let her.

3/4 cup Self Raising Flour
100 gr butter or marg
1/4 cup caster sugar
zest of an orange
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom 

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place all ingredients in a bowl.
Rub together with your fingers and form into a soft dough.
Roll into small balls, you should have about 24.
Place on a greased baking tray and lightly press with a fork.

Bake at 180C for 10 minutes.

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