Spicy red lentil dhal with pumpkin

This recipe was inspired by my friend Christine from body business. Her partner Rennel is originally from Mumbai and learnt cooking from his mum and hospitality college, he is inspired by using spices in cooking for medicinal purposes like me and Christine says they have a pot of dhal going on the stove top every week.

This is my adaptation of Rennel's recipe and this week I made it for my clients and they all loved it. I hope you give it a go its very easy and delicious, I eat it with brown rice and steamed cauliflower. Red lentils are a great source of protein and are rich in two amino acids that are essential for a vegetarian diet. Because lentils are cheap they are also a great source of iron.


2 cups red lentils
1 cup organic pumpkin, skinned and diced into small cubes
1/2 brown onion, diced small
2 tablespoons ghee
1 small red chilli
1 teaspoon garam masala (spice)
1 teaspoon cumin. ground
1 cup organic coconut milk
1 teaspoon grated fresh turmeric
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 cups filtered water

In a medium saucepan gently heat the ghee and fry the onion, chilli, turmeric and ginger
Add the spices and stir around, put in the red lentils and pour in the water so the lentils are covered, add in the pumpkin and cook for 25 minutes on a low temperature. If the water starts to absorb the lentils add a little more and lastly add the coconut milk and stir around tasting and adding a little sea salt if needed.

Roasted purple sweet potatoes

Gary from Alway Organics excitedly showed me these beautiful purple sweet potato last week, and I became addicted to styling and photographing them just because they command attention. I love how you can see the white lines running throw the flesh.

These ones were quiet small around 10cm and I simply cut them in half and rubbed extra virgin olive oil and celtic sea salt and pepper all over, popping in the oven for fifteen minutes. They are so sweet and starchy I ate them for dessert.

The nutritional content is high and they have been named the next big Superfood, big call, anyhow the nutrient roll up is something like this ; rich in beta carotene, vitamin A and b vitamins, a complex carbohydrate (low gi) and it's great for stabilising blood sugar levels. I can imagine making this into a puree with cinnamon would be super delicious too!

Biodynamic brown rice, broccoli, steamed tempeh and tamari

The simplest meals are often the most nourishing and nutritious and I really enjoyed creating this dish for a quick lunch.
When I was vegan I ate tempeh by the truckloads now I eat animal products I don't feature it much in my culinary tool box. I have found the most delicious way to prepare it is steaming.

You can steam it for 15 minutes in a steamer basket, it becomes very moist and has a strong flavour. Tempeh originates in Indonesia and is a fermented soy product, it is more preferable than tofu because it is fermented it digests better and is rich in b12 and protein for plant based eaters.

First I cooked the rice, then steamed the tempeh, adding the broccoli right at the end so it is bright and crunch, I made a little sauce with tamari, grated ginger and a little of spiral cold pressed sesame seed oil, pouring it over at the end.

Salad for Ariana

My Catalan friend Ariana came by for lunch and luckily I had some tempeh in the fridge because she is a vegetarian, I put together this simple and delicious salad in 10 minutes( seriously) and she loved it.......

1/3 block tempeh (fermented soybean originates in Indonesia)
1 tablespoon coconut oil ( i finally found one that doesn't go rancid and I'm going nuts over it! Oil4life
1/4 avocado
Salad Greens (whatever you have)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to season
Baby tomatoes
mung beans or sprouts

Cut the tempeh into think strips, in a skillet or fry pan (not teflon of course) heat the coconut oil and put in the tempeh turning over when crispy. Take out and put on a paper towel, assemble the other ingredients in a salad bowl and layer with the temepeh and avocado, dress with the vinegar and oil.

Baked root vegetables with rosemary and sea salt

When one chilly day bestowed upon us here in Sydney going into Autumn my body craved some baked vegetables with chunks of sea salt and coriander, rosemary from my garden and baby tomatoes for a touch of sweetness.
Easy and delicious with some baked fish and fresh pesto or garlic mushroom and brown rice which is what I did.


1 medium size sweet potato
1 tablespoon celtic sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
coriander seeds cracked in a mortar and pestle with the salt and pepper
3 sprigs rosemary
a spanish onion
250g pumpkin
baby tomatoes
parsnip


Cut all the above vegetables into good size chunks throw in large bowl and season with the spice mix good quality olive oil and the baby tomatoes. Bake in a medium oven for 25 minutes

Roasted pumpkin, cannelleni beans with buttery garlic brown rice and broccoli

This is one of those meals that is created on the fly, you scrounge around your cupboard and fridge for whatever is left inside and you create something exciting and also totally delicious.

First I roasted the pumpkin to start the process.....


300g japanese pumpkin, skin off and cut into squares
1 can cannelleni beans
1 clove garlic, diced
2 tablespoons organic butter or ghee
left over brown rice or some kind of grain
small bunch broccoli or some greens to serve on the side


Roast the pumpkin for 25 minutes and make sure you season with good quality celtic sea salt and pepper.
Once the pumpkin is cooled a little mash it with the organic butter or ghee and add the cannelloni beans and garlic
Serve with vegetables and grain or eat as a spread with some top quality sourdough.

Don't underestimate the flavour of this, the beans and roasted pumpkin work really well together.

Raw almond and coconut butter with a dash of himalayan sea salt

Nut butters are so delicious and an extra dollop of protein as a snack or added to dishes.
My friend Bec makes a killer salad dressing with brown rice vinegar, raw almond butter and a little raw honey and dijon mustard.

All you need is a food processor to make this recipe and it takes ten minutes max.

2 cups raw almonds
1 teaspoon himalayan sea salt
1/2 coconut oil (add more if mixture to dry)
1 teaspoon cinnamon and cardamon (if you like a little spice in your life)

Place all the above ingredients into a food processor and pulse for ten minutes, the almonds will break gradually over this time and the oil will disperse.
Enjoy on a little brown rice cracker as I have done or in a salad dressing.

Red kidney beans, pumpkin, kale and polenta crust

This recipe is inspired by the cold weather and I have also been reading this fantastic cookbook called 'The enchanted broccoli forest' it has been around since 1982 all the recipes are handwritten and Mollie Katzen is the author who helped set up the famous Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca upstate NY the restaurant has been running for 33 years and is a very well know vegetarian establishment. Anyway the recipes are yummy and the little drawings are also cool.
But this is my own original recipe inspired by thee Moosewood!

3 can's red kidney beans (organic of course)
1/2 brown onion, diced small
2 tablespoons organic ghee or extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon organic sweet curry power or ayurvedic blended curry powder (bioveda brand)
250g Japanese pumpkin, peeled and chopped into small squares
5 kale leaves, chopped very small
1 cup polenta (cornmeal)
2 cups water
sea salt and pepper to season and olive oil

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees
Heat the saucepan with ghee or oil very gently and add the onion and brown, add the curry spice and stir, add the kidney beans an tamari and pumpkin, cook for ten minutes and if the mixture is drying up just add some water so that the pumpkin can steam. Lastly add the kale and stir around. Put into a deep baking dish (square of round)
Put the polenta and water plus a little drizzle of olive oil and seasonings into a saucepan bring to the boil and stir very vigorously until polenta thickens, Pour the polenta on top of the bean mixture and flatten like a lid.
Bake for 20 minutes
Cool down so that the polenta is firm and crunchy before eating.