Simple meatballs

I have been a little lazy on the blog lately, running around organising work for Minnd and creating new recipes in my head. (not paper!)

Here is a lovely simple recipe I made last night luckily I had some steamed broccoli and quinoa to finish this dish for my vegetarian friend who dropped by just as cooking was wrapping up (great timing anita)


Simple beef meatballs with spicy tomato Sauce

500g organic or pasture fed beef mince
1 t cinnamon
1 t cumin
1 t coriander
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs or packed (I like to use organic rice breadcrumbs or demeter farms sourdough breadcrumbs available at always organics in brookvale)
1 Jar tomato puree
1 can diced tomatoes
1 t harissa paste
sea salt and pepper to season
1 sprig rosemary

Make the tomato sauce first putting tomato ingredients into a small saucepan with harissa, rosemary and simmer for 15 minutes.

Use your hands and work through spices with beef and breadcrumbs
Roll the beef mince into small balls about the size of a 50 cent coin
Bake in oven on a baking tray for 15 minutes on 170 degrees.

Spoon tomato mixture over meatballs and serve in a bowl, steam some broccoli and if you feel like add some cooked quinoa for more protein.

Harissa Paste

Harissa Paste

10 red chillies
1 bulb garlic
1 T cumin seeds
1 bunch coriander
olive oil
1 t ginger

Put all ingredients into a mortar and pestle and pound with a strong arm.

Or

Use a food processor.

Corn and coconut quinoa chowder

Greetings Bunnies,
I hope there is room left in your tummies for a delicious quinoa chowder
Quinoa is a very nutritional gluten free grain that is readily avail in health food shops and I have even seen it recently in the supermarket.
Quinoa packs a protein punch as it is a complete protein and with an amino acid profile similar to milk, therefore it is very high in calcium and lysine (great for cold sore breakouts)

Roasted Pumpkin Garlic, Corn and Coconut Quinoa Chowder (Vegan G/F)
500g pumpkin, diced and peeled skin off
3 cloves garlic
2 corn cobs
2 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)
1 cup quinoa
1 can coconut milk (spiral brand)

bake pumpkin and garlic for 20-25 minutes
heat stock in a saucepan and add quinoa and corn
gently simmering for 20 minutes
add coconut milk, roasted pumpkin and garlic
blend until smooth
season with sea salt and pepper
let sit for 10 minutes and it will thicken

Good Fats

Good fats is favourite topic of mine, it massively contributes to our health.
Why good fats you might ask?
Good fats nourish our insides, make our skin and eyes clear and healthy and don't convert to cholesterol or go awry in our systems to later cause cancer and immunity issues.
It is as simple as this, if you are frying you need oils that will not burn for eg coconut oil, peanut oil and sunflower, (vegetable oils)
Cold pressed Oils are meant to be used exactly as that states 'cold pressed' after you have finished the cooking process.
For more info refer to 'Nourishing Traditions' by Sally Fallon.



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Lentil shepards pie with ghee

Lentil, Shitake Mushroom and Pumpkin Sheppard's Pie (Vegetarian/G/F)
1 cup brown lentils
2 cups filtered water
1 leek
1 cinnamon stick
1 clove garlic
1t cumin
1 t grated ginger
1 T tamari
1 cup soaked shitake mushroom (avail from asian grocers)
400g pumpkin, skin off and cut into small pieces
2 T pumpkin seeds
Ghee or clarified butter
extra virgin olive oil
love
joy
happiness

Cook lentils in saucepan with cinnamon stick until soft (25 minutes)
Fry up leek, garlic, ginger and shitakes in ghee adding tamari at the end.
Mix the above ingredients together and press down into a casserole dish
Steam the pumpkin until soft and mash with ghee, smooth down onto lentil base and drizzle with olive oil and pumpkin seeds bake for 20 minutes in moderate oven.

Just a note on ghee/clarified butter, make sure you make your own and use organic butter
it is wonderfully nutritional doesn't burn at high temperatures and has a delicious nutty flavour.

Ethiopian Ghee Recipe
1 stick butter
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
1 t grated ginger
1 t cumin
2 chillies

Melt butter in saucepan, throw in remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes (keep an eye on temperature)
The end result should be separation in the butter, milk proteins/solids will be floating on the bottom, on the top will be a beautiful golden clear liquid, this is what you want.

Cool, strain and put into a clean jar will keep for 5 weeks
Use liberally on steamed vegetables, cooking, baking etc...

Almond pear tart

It's being raining all week, I've been cooking up a storm at home and catching up on reading and research. Tonight I baked an almond and pear tart with luscious coconut oil.

Pear and Almond Tart (Vegan/GF)
4 brown pears ( in season and ripe ready to go!)
2 cups raw almonds
1 cup extra virgin coconut oil (avail at health food shop must be organic and extra virgin)
1 T rapadura sugar (avail at health food shops)

process almonds and coconut oil and press into a spring form tin
slice pears and fan on top of almond base, sprinkle rapadura sugar on top and bake for 25 minutes.

Note on rapadura sugar (unrefined, evaporated cane juice)
a natural pure sweetener that contains many minerals and vitamins, harvested in brazil, harvested quite simply, juice is pressed from sugarcane and cooked to reduce water content.
It does not pass quickly into the bloodstream like white sugar does and is a healthy option for cooking. But go easy it's still sugar!