tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43349593331212242632024-02-20T00:30:11.628+00:00Free Your FoodI am a Finnish girl living in Portugal writing about my adventures in the World of Food. I have dedicated my blog to gluten- and sugar-free recipes. Many of my recipes are also dairy-free, lactose-free, egg-free, grain-free, vegan and/or vegetarian. I use organic or locally sourced seasonal ingredients whenever possible.
All my recipes are tagged with the appropriate -free labels (e.g. dairy-free), so that you can quickly and easily find the recipes that suit your individual needs.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-56863067594402350452013-11-24T22:12:00.000+00:002013-11-24T22:12:01.705+00:00Coriander Parsley PestoI bought a lot of fresh herbs at the market the other day and had to find a way to use it all before it goes bad. I wasn't convinced that the coriander+parsley combo would work as a pesto but I loved it. I used quite a lot of cheese in the recipe, which made the pesto a bit milder/creamier than traditional Italian pestos. Will make this one again for sure!<br />
<br />
3 dl loosely packed coriander (chopped)<br />
1 dl loosely packed parsley (chopped)<br />
1 dl extra virgin olive oil<br />
2 large cloves of garlic<br />
1 dl grated vegetarian cheese (I used a mixture of gouda and maasdammer)<br />
2 tablespoons of pine nuts<br />
6 whole hazelnuts<br />
sea salt<br />
freshly ground pepper<br />
<br />
1. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and blend with a hand blender.<br />
2. Put the pesto in the fridge overnight for the flavours to mix properly.<br />
3. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
AnnikaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-65761287528668288462013-11-24T17:56:00.003+00:002013-11-24T20:16:17.444+00:00Coconut Cashew CreamThis lovely coconut cashew cream is an adaptation of Amy Crawford's recipe (<a href="http://theholisticingredient.com/2013/09/16/coconut-cashew-chia-cream/">http://theholisticingredient.com/2013/09/16/coconut-cashew-chia-cream/</a>), and went really well both with a chocolate cake and with a walnut-banana-chocolate chip cake made with gluten-free flour. There's such little flax seed meal in it that it does not really affect the colour of the cream; it's still nice and white.<br />
<br />
150 grams of cashews<br />
4 dl refrigerated coconut milk<br />
2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds<br />
3 tablespoons of honey<br />
the seeds of one vanilla bean<br />
a pinch of ground sea salt<br />
<br />
1. Let the cashews soak in water for two hours, rinse and drain.<br />
2. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and blend with a hand blender until smooth.<br />
3. Place the mixture in the fridge for the night for it to get thick and creamy.<br />
4. Serve cold with a cake of your choice.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-56723531373238984032013-11-22T20:16:00.001+00:002013-11-24T18:40:53.414+00:00Minty Chocolate Icing/MousseI made this minty, creamy chocolate icing for a chocolate cake but it would also work well on its own as a chocolate mousse. I went a bit crazy with the mint because you couldn't really taste it very well until the ingredients had had some time to set in the fridge. Oh, and I've got to say that the vanilla flavour was overpowered by the mint flavour, so you might want to omit the vanilla altogether - at least if you use as many as 4 sprigs of mint.<br />
<br />
2 smallish avocados<br />
2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil<br />
6 tablespoons of raw cocoa powder<br />
5 tablespoons of honey (or to taste)<br />
the leaves of 4 sprigs of mint (maybe half of that if you want a less intense flavour)<br />
(the seeds of one vanilla bean)<br />
<br />
1. Chop the mint leaves.<br />
2. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and blend until smooth and creamy.<br />
3. Place in the fridge for a couple of hours; this will allow the flavour of the mint to really seep into the icing.<br />
4. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
Annika<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-8941544570488221642013-08-17T15:22:00.006+01:002013-08-17T17:43:06.751+01:00Sweet Temptation - Casserole with Sweet Potatoes and Anchovies<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dear Readers,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This post marks a couple of important changes in the direction of this blog. First, my friend Michael, who used to coauthor this blog, has gone on to set up his own, all-vegan blog (<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.363636016845703px;">http://hififood.blogspot.co.uk/ - check it out!</span>), where you will also find his old recipes. Second, this blog will no longer only contain all-vegan and all-vegetarian recipes. What it will contain is gluten- and sugar-free recipes made of organic or locally sourced seasonal ingredients - whenever those options are available. Many of the recipes will also continue to be vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, lactose-free, egg-free and grain-free. As before, all the recipes will be tagged with the appropriate labels, so that you can quickly and easily find the recipes that suit your individual needs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To start off the new era, I am posting a recipe inspired by a traditional Swedish dish called <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/janssons_frestelse_24036" target="_blank">Janssons frestelse</a> (Jansson's temptation). I decided to name it "Sweet Temptation" because, instead of potatoes, I am using sweet potatoes and carrots to make it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">SWEET TEMPTATION</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">a large orange sweet potato</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">two small carrots</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">a smallish onion (or 1/2 of a large onion)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2-3 cloves of garlic</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">about 40 grams of anchovy fillets in olive oil (with the oil, the total weight should be about 80 grams)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">a small bunch of fresh parsley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">freshly ground pepper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. Cut the sweet potato in half. Slice the sweet potato and the carrots thinly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. Cut the onion into rings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. Finely chop the garlic and the parsley.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5. Place the ingredients in layers in an all-metal pot, starting from a layer of sweet potato slices.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6. Add a little bit of water (about a fourth or a third of the dish's height) into the pot. You might also want to add in a little bit of the olive oil from the anchovy package. Beware, though - it is very salty! Oh, and please do not add any salt to this dish; the salt in the anchovies will be enough. In fact, you might even want to rinse some of the anchovies in water to make them less salty.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">7. Place the pot on the stove, and bring the water to a boil. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8. When the water starts boiling, place the dish into the oven.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">9. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are cooked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10. Enjoy!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Annika</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">P.S. Step 7 is optional. I only do it to speed up the cooking process a bit. If you skip Step 7, you can use a glass or a ceramic oven dish instead of an all-metal pot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-16887877428025169762012-08-25T19:01:00.000+01:002012-08-25T20:56:26.035+01:00Applying the A FormulaFor the past six months or so, I have been cooking a lot using the so-called "A Formula" ("A" obviously stands for "Annika"). It's a fast way of cooking that I use, for instance, to prepare something for lunch at work. The dishes are either based on brown rice or quinoa and, for two reasons, the cooking time is basically the same as the cooking time of those grains: 1) the rest of the ingredients are washed, chopped etc. while the grains are already cooking and 2) the rest of the ingredients are either left uncooked or steamed in the same pot with the grains (towards the end of the cooking time of the grains). The A Formula can be used to prepare an amazing variety of vegan/vegetarian dishes, and most of those dishes are delicious either warm or cold. <br />
<br />
Most of the time I just improvise and apply the A Formula to whatever I have in my fridge and my spice cupboard. The below dish is a delightful example of one of those improvised dishes cooked using the A Formula. It was delicious (although I had feared that it would turn out horrible because of the radishes) and I'm going to try to recreate it one of these days to double-check that the amounts of the ingredients in the below recipe are OK.<br />
<br />
APPLYING THE A FORMULA<br />
<br />
0.5 dl white quinoa<br />
1 dl water<br />
a clove of garlic<br />
a large carrot<br />
5-6 radishes<br />
1-2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander<br />
leek<br />
about 1 teaspoon of curcuma powder<br />
a pinch of chili powder<br />
1.5 tablespoons of extra virgin coconut oil<br />
the juice of a quarter of a lemon<br />
sea salt<br />
<br />
1. Rinse the quinoa well. <br />
2. Add the water and the salt in the pot and bring to a boil under a lid.<br />
3. Add the quinoa, the curcuma powder and the chili powder.<br />
4. Peel the garlic and chop it finely.<br />
5. Peel and wash the carrot and cut it into very thin, round slices.<br />
6. Wash the radishes and cut them into very thin slices.<br />
7. Wash the coriander and chop it finely.<br />
8. Wash the leek and cut about 1 cm of it finely.<br />
9. When 5-10 minutes of the cooking time of the quinoa remain, add the garlic into the pot (5 minutes if you want a stronger garlic taste).<br />
10. When 2-3 minutes of the cooking time remain, add the chopped coriander and the carrot slices.<br />
11. When the quinoa is ready, switch the heat off, add the radishes, the leek, the coconut oil and the lemon juice, and mix the ingredients well.<br />
12. Serve straight away, or let the dish cool down (like I did), and enjoy!<br />
<br />
Annika<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Lisbon, Portugal38.7252993 -9.150036438.6261973 -9.3079649 38.824401300000005 -8.9921078999999988tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-22314564329993809392012-07-22T14:51:00.002+01:002012-07-22T15:51:50.403+01:00Ssssh! - Chewy Chocolate BiscuitsIf your sweet tooth is aching and you need to do something about it fast, you might want to try these Super Sweet, Super Sticky gluten-free biscuits that are going to quiet your cravings right down (Ssssh!). They are a sugar-free adaptation of this recipe: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/flourless-fudge-cookies-recipe, and the sweetness comes from a generous amount of honey... I won't make any claims about that being much better for you than white sugar, though.
<br />
<br />
SSSSH!<br />
<br />
1 1/3 dl of unsweetened gluten-free cocoa powder (e.g. Van Houten)
<br />
250 g of honey
<br />
2 egg whites
<br />
3 tablespoons of pine nuts (other kinds of nuts should work just as well)
<br />
a pinch of salt
<br />
<br />
1. Heat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
<br />
2. Line the baking tray with baking paper.
<br />
3. Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. The resulting batter is pretty liquidy.
<br />
4. Form the biscuits by pouring heaped tablespoons of the batter on the baking tray. If you do that slowly and carefully enough, the batter will spread into nice, round biscuits (or pools of batter, rather). On my baking tray, there was enough space for 12 biscuits, and the remaining batter would probably have been enough for 3 more.
I used it to quiet an upset family member down.<br />
5. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes.
<br />
6. Let the biscuits cool down for a bit on the baking tray, and use a sharp knife (e.g. a vegetable knife with a thin blade) to get the biscuits off the baking paper in one piece.
<br />
7. Enjoy the gooey sweetness!
<br />
<br />
AnnikaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com096100 Rovaniemi, Finland66.4970216 25.72499966.4906891 25.705258 66.5033541 25.74474tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-50540535815643769892012-06-24T23:48:00.002+01:002012-06-25T16:28:16.923+01:00Cung-Fe Rolls - Cumin and Fennel Rolls<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-TcPScqQ6YaQTO27Il_ZnScQQ2kSa8Zlbn3KM8HxpKU8SQG1OZrDomCQlQKXlPJyMl5Ql1YkEqbSHSQu0ee2kqZVV0dZPO2KiiCw4zTVObVasCq6S2GS0oVIUXR_iBxWWnJ5SzK1qZ4/s1600/img054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-TcPScqQ6YaQTO27Il_ZnScQQ2kSa8Zlbn3KM8HxpKU8SQG1OZrDomCQlQKXlPJyMl5Ql1YkEqbSHSQu0ee2kqZVV0dZPO2KiiCw4zTVObVasCq6S2GS0oVIUXR_iBxWWnJ5SzK1qZ4/s200/img054.jpg" /></a>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm on a roll! After more and more successful experiments with bean-based biscuits (more recipes and updates on the current recipes will be online soon), I thought it's time to expand to bean-based savoury baking. This was my first experiment with bean-based rolls, and I was quite happy with the results the first time round. The rolls stay a bit moist inside but I don't think that you can really expect anything else with these ingredients. Sorry for the afwul picture; I still haven't replaced my broken camera.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you're not a big fan of cumin and/or fennel, just try leaving it out or replacing it with some other spice.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">CUNG-FE ROLLS</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">3 dl cooked white beans (about 1.5 dl unsoaked beans)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">1 dl soaked millet grains (about 0.5 dl unsoaked millet grains)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">1.5 dl blended steamed courgette</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">5 tablespoons ground flax seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">0.5 tablespoon cumin seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">0.5 tablespoon fennel seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">1 teaspoon salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">0. Soak the beans and the millet grains overnight.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1. Drain the millet grains well. Do not cook them.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2. Cook the beans until soft and drain them well.</span></div>
<span style=font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and line a baking tray with baking paper.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4. Wash a largish courgette, cut it in small pieces, steam until soft and blend until smooth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">5. Mix 1.5 dl of blended courgette, the ground flax seeds, the cumin seeds, the fennel seeds, the salt and the lemon juice, and let the mixture stand for a while.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">6. Blend the beans, the millet grains and the wet mixture until smooth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">7. Add the baking powder and fold.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">8. Use a tablespoon and a teaspoon to form eight round rolls: both spoons to get the batter onto the lined baking tray, and the teaspoon dipped in water to shape the rolls.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">9. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the rolls start browning. Turn the baking tray around halfway through. If you don't bake the rolls long enough, they will stay sticky inside. This also means that the rolls will and should get nice and crusty on the outside. You can use two different ways to test if the rolls are ready (it's best to use both, just to be sure): 1) stick a toothpick in the middle of a roll; if it comes out clean, the roll is ready 2) knock the bottom of a roll with your finger; if the sound is hollow, the roll is ready. If you keep the rolls under a tea towel after they have cooled down, the crusty outside will get softer.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">10. Place the rolls on a cooling rack, and let them cool down.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">11. Enjoy.</span></div>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Lisbon, Portugal38.706932 -9.135632138.607805 -9.2935606000000011 38.806059000000005 -8.9777036tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-41679993048225588022012-06-20T21:12:00.000+01:002012-06-25T00:24:27.932+01:00Nuts for Ginger - Gluten-Free Ginger NutsI never had a major sweet tooth in my glutenous past. The only two types of biscuits that I've ever really, really liked are ginger nuts and oat biscuits. This is my attempt at recreating ginger nuts without gluten. My ginger nuts are not brittle like glutenous ginger nuts but soft and more bread-like. I love their taste but I do miss the crispiness of glutenous ginger nuts. I am currently trying to develop a second ginger nut recipe that would result in a similar taste but a crispier texture. I reckon you could also make these biscuits a bit crispier by forming smaller/thinner biscuits, and by lowering the temperature to 170-180 degrees and keeping the biscuits in the oven a bit longer. I will try that next time I make this dough.<br />
<br />
<div>
NUTS FOR GINGER<br />
<br />
2 dl cooked white beans</div>
<div>
3 tablespoons coconut oil<br />
0.5. dl honey</div>
<div>
0.5 dl boiled and blended sweet potatoes</div>
<div>
5 tablespoons ground flax seeds</div>
<div>
1.5 tablespoons ground ginger<br />
1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon<br />
0.5-1 teaspoon ground cloves (or 10-20 crushed clove buds)</div>
<div>
a couple of pinches of sea salt<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
0. Soak the beans overnight, then cook and drain them.</div>
<div>
</div>
1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.<br />
2. Peel a sweet potato, cut it in small pieces, steam until soft and blend until smooth.<br />
3. Mix the honey, 0.5 dl of blended sweet potato, 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, the ground flax seeds, the ginger, the cinnamon, the cloves and the sea salt, and let the mixture stand.<br />
4. Line a baking tray with baking paper.<br />
<div>
5. Blend the beans and two tablespoons of coconut oil until smooth.<br />
6. Add the spice mixture and blend. The dough will be quite solid.<br />
7. Use two teaspoons to form seven biscuits: both spoons to get the batter onto the lined baking tray, and one teaspoon dipped in water to shape and flatten the biscuits.</div>
<div>
8. Bake for about 15 minutes until the biscuits start browning.</div>
<div>
9. Place the biscuits on a cooling rack, and let them cool down.</div>
<div>
10. Enjoy.<br />
<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Lisbon, Portugal38.706932 -9.135632138.607805 -9.2935606000000011 38.806059000000005 -8.9777036tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-46512688468474093492012-05-20T17:46:00.001+01:002012-06-25T00:22:19.838+01:00Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory - Spicy Chocolate Biscuits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilo_q9S74UZF4jhHew3droReIhGUdAawqTBq3DL-4ioFHzNUGOdNkBB427bsMX5V51HruN7V3vrH48wxOYC_ae-tGb_ZAZXVp00VQA8iu_F_p2kQzlre0SXUoYwDBsLFs0aop9ksVV0yc/s1600/ready2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilo_q9S74UZF4jhHew3droReIhGUdAawqTBq3DL-4ioFHzNUGOdNkBB427bsMX5V51HruN7V3vrH48wxOYC_ae-tGb_ZAZXVp00VQA8iu_F_p2kQzlre0SXUoYwDBsLFs0aop9ksVV0yc/s200/ready2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I've been carrying out so many chocolate biscuit experiments recently that I'm starting to feel like I'm working at a chocolate biscuit factory! Why this sudden obsession with chocolate biscuits and cakes? I should be filling out my tax forms, that's why.<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
Anyway, my starting point for these chocolate biscuits was this recipe:</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="http://mynewroots.blogspot.pt/2011/11/black-bean-chocolate-chili-cherry.html">http://mynewroots.blogspot.pt/2011/11/black-bean-chocolate-chili-cherry.html</a>. The original recipe is nice but I wanted to make my biscuits a bit sweeter (when trying out the original recipe, I didn't add the dried cherries, which would have probably made the biscuits a lot sweeter). To add that little bit of extra sweetness, I've been experimenting with pureed vegetables. So far, I've tried beetroots and sweet potatoes - sweet potatoes definitely being the winner. Apart from sweet potatoes, I think that carrots and pumpkin might work well in these biscuits. Don't worry, by the way, because there isn't a hint of bean or sweet potato taste in the end product!<br />
<br />
I'm really quite happy with the texture of these biscuits, by the way. I've been having some problems making my gluten-free biscuits stick together well enough but these are just perfect (they are definitely softer than glutenous biscuits, though). To compensate for the pureed vegetables being liquid, my recipe contains a lot more ground flax seeds than the original recipe (ground flax seeds can be used as an egg replacement).</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<br />
As a side remark, you should be able to make these biscuits vegan by using agave instead of honey. If you're not big into spicy stuff, you could also try replacing the spices in this recipe with vanilla, cinnamon, or something else.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
2 dl cooked beans (the ones in the picture were made using white beans; black beans will result in a darker brown colour)</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
1 tablespoon coconut oil</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
0.5 dl honey</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
0.5 dl boiled and blended sweet potatoes</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
4 tablespoons ground flax seeds</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
1 1/3 tablespoons ground ginger</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
a couple of pinches of sea salt</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
a couple of pinches of chilli powder</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
OPTIONAL: 0.4 dl chopped walnuts (about 6 large walnuts; the ones in the picture were made without but the ones with walnuts are prettier)</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
0. Soak the beans overnight, then cook and drain them.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
</div>
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.<br />
2. Peel a sweet potato, cut it in small pieces, steam until soft and blend until smooth.<br />
3. Mix the honey, 0.5 dl of blended sweet potato, the coconut oil, the ground flax seeds, the ground ginger, the sea salt, the chilli and the cocoa powder, and let the mixture stand.<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
(4. Crack the walnuts open and cut them into small pieces.)</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
5. To prevent yourself from wolfing all the biscuits down as soon as they are ready, think of something to do for a couple of hours after you have taken them out of the oven.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
6. Line a baking tray with baking paper.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
7. Blend the beans and the wet mixture until smooth.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
(8. Add the chopped walnuts and fold to incorporate.)</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
9. Use a tablespoon and a teaspoon to form the biscuits: both spoons to get the batter onto the lined baking tray, and the teaspoon to shape and flatten the biscuits. The batter is enough to make nine thinner biscuits without the walnuts, and six thicker biscuits with the walnuts.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
10. Bake for 20 minutes until the edges of the biscuits are browning (a bit longer in case you choose to make thicker biscuits with walnuts). I turned the baking tray around after the first 10 minutes.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
11. Place the biscuits on a cooling rack.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
12. Do what you planned to do in Step 5.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
13. Enjoy.</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
Annika</div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
P.S. Please notice that the taste improves when you keep the biscuits in the fridge and the tastes have more time to meld with each other.<br />
P.P.S. Please stay tuned for recipes for gluten-free gingernuts and gluten-free muffins, which I am working on at the moment.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-14489288338878521972012-05-05T19:44:00.000+01:002012-06-25T00:21:52.507+01:00Strawfenny - Strawberry Fennel Salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC4MPlL-fy78IovA6peqA4FNof8reL4Txmlj5R5blFQosBHw515M3_RLy8spCT38ADQd9EuaXPModfFabvMIxJDJJtnOegKeLrUKr-MXKMSG3xEA4B9zdZGgwYkzA1niwbvq3P9VFUths/s1600/strawberry-heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC4MPlL-fy78IovA6peqA4FNof8reL4Txmlj5R5blFQosBHw515M3_RLy8spCT38ADQd9EuaXPModfFabvMIxJDJJtnOegKeLrUKr-MXKMSG3xEA4B9zdZGgwYkzA1niwbvq3P9VFUths/s200/strawberry-heart.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I love combining fennel with fruit. This time, I combined it with strawberries and apple for this fruity, refreshing salad. Do buy the strawberries and apple organic if you can; both strawberries and apples always make it to dirty dozen list of foods with the highest amounts of pesticide residue (</span><a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/dirty-dozen-foods#fbIndex1"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/dirty-dozen-foods#fbIndex1</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">STRAWFENNY</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 small fennel bulb OR half of a large bulb </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">15 strawberries </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 small, sweet apple</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">large handful of unshelled hazelnuts </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">extra virgin olive oil </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">freshly squeezed lemon juice </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">sea salt </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">chilli powder </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1. Mix some freshly squeezed lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and a pinch of chilli powder, and let the salad sauce stand while you are preparing the salad. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2. Wash and trim the fennel bulb, cut it in half and slice it as thinly as you can. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3. Wash the apple and cut it into small pieces. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4. Wash and trim the strawberries, and cut them in half. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">5. Shell the hazelnuts and cut them in half (unless they are very small). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">6. Mix the fennel, the strawberries, the apple and the hazelnuts well, and serve with the salad sauce. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Annika</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-31708924256131030572012-05-01T12:31:00.000+01:002012-05-12T18:36:11.814+01:00Strawberry Swing - Asparagus Strawberry Salad<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7EC8EMapvTmSqkP5D0gpVOwJDp_wyHs5VuUVSe7Bp0BlFs5GB81II2GJz_fZvH8ksAtoKn3iYCjx1XT5NXqBBKrGUlw_Sde0k10MadBjpzT0srifjfHniljq39YbBkikl8f9WRmhahjk/s1600/Strawberry_Asparagus_Salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7EC8EMapvTmSqkP5D0gpVOwJDp_wyHs5VuUVSe7Bp0BlFs5GB81II2GJz_fZvH8ksAtoKn3iYCjx1XT5NXqBBKrGUlw_Sde0k10MadBjpzT0srifjfHniljq39YbBkikl8f9WRmhahjk/s1600/Strawberry_Asparagus_Salad.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I felt like cooking something a bit different today, and got the idea of making a salad using asparagus and strawberries. It looks like lots of other people beat me to it, though; the internet seems to be full of asparagus strawberry salad recipes. Anyway, this is my version of the salad. The idea of the spicy strawberry sauce, which gives the salad a great punch, is mine. </span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /><br />STRAWBERRY SWING</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Salad:<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">160 grams strawberries (~2/3 of a 250-gram
package)<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">300 grams asparagus<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">12 large walnuts<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">leek<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">sea salt<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sauce:<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">90 grams strawberries (~1/3 of a 250-gram
package)<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">half of a large, juicy lemon<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/4 teaspoons chilli powder<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">sea salt<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Preparing the salad:<o:p></o:p></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1. Wash the asparagus spears, cut off the
woody bits, and cut the rest of the spears into 3-cm-long pieces. Divide the
pieces into three groups: the ones that come from the bottom (the hardest),
middle and top (the softest) of the spears.<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2. Put a tiny bit of water and some sea salt
on the bottom of a pot, and bring to the boil.<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3. Add the asparagus pieces into the pot in
three stages, starting from the harder bottom bits. Let them steam under a lid until
tender. Mix the asparagus pieces a few times so that all of them will get salted.<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">4. Pour the water out of the pot, and let the asparagus cool down completely.<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">5. Shell the walnuts and break them into
smaller pieces.<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">6. Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add the
walnuts into the hot pan and stir frequently, until the walnuts start to brown
and smell toasted (~5 min).<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">7. Let the walnuts cool down completely.<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">8. Wash and trim the strawberries, and cut
them in half (or in more pieces in case they are quite big).<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">9. Wash the leek, cut very thin slices of the
white part, and cut those in half. The leek I had was really thin, and I used
about 4 cm of it for the recipe.<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">10. Mix all the ingredients in a salad bowl
and put the bowl in the fridge.<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Preparing the sauce:<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1. Squeeze the juice of the lemon (about 3
tablespoons) into a small bowl.<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2. Add the olive oil.<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3. Add the chilli powder and a pinch of sea
salt.<br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">4. Add the strawberries and blend until
smooth.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">5. Let the sauce stand for about 10 minutes before serving it with the salad.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Annika</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Lisbon, Portugal38.706932 -9.135632138.607805 -9.2935606000000011 38.806059000000005 -8.9777036tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-47163028227622284552012-04-29T20:09:00.003+01:002012-05-01T18:19:03.940+01:00Cocoa Loco - Fudgey Chocolate-Ginger Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVXtaqjM_X7yxucAYgAFu8I04DOiKC2DgGsFIxYN6UaJSgNBkHyVGkahtHz-39v6ox7kVtXpaLtA___fdY7T0TB4c3u4NKn8tPD8ceGSOQPB_e2-tglb-OZ8h5c7y2CoJ9KVm30fkSW8/s1600/Cocoa_powder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVXtaqjM_X7yxucAYgAFu8I04DOiKC2DgGsFIxYN6UaJSgNBkHyVGkahtHz-39v6ox7kVtXpaLtA___fdY7T0TB4c3u4NKn8tPD8ceGSOQPB_e2-tglb-OZ8h5c7y2CoJ9KVm30fkSW8/s200/Cocoa_powder.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I've recently been looking for gluten-free cake/muffin/biscuit recipes. The impression that I have is that, to bake gluten-free, you need to buy lots of exotic flours and ingredients (or a gluten-free baking mix but that would be cheating, wouldn't it?). Considering how rarely I bake (this was my second ever gluten-free baking experiment), I don't really feel like buying all that stuff, and none of the recipes I came across really took my fancy... until I happened to find this exciting cake recipe that uses beans instead of flour: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.healthyindulgences.net/2009/05/healthy-chocolate-cake-with-secret.html">http://www.healthyindulgences.net/2009/05/healthy-chocolate-cake-with-secret.html</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I guess that the word "bean" is enough to turn a lot of people off but I can guarantee that there really isn't a hint of bean taste in the end product.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Anyway, instead of using the original recipe, I decided to try to replace the eggs with something else... but what?! I did some research on vegan egg replacements, and decided to try to replace some of the eggs with banana and some of them with agar agar, which I had never used before. I spread the batter between two cake pans, one of which I took out of the oven after 45 minutes, after I had come to the conclusion that the batter wouldn't really solidify (or rise). At that point, the texture was similar to that of Finnish chocolate kissel, and I happily ate it all(!) while it was still hot. I left the other cake pan in the oven for 25 minutes more but the batter still hadn't solidified properly after an hour and ten minutes, and the cake was still as flat as a pancake. I left the cake pan to cool down in room temperature for 20 minutes and, encouraged by the fact that the batter had started solidifying (thanks to the agar agar?!), put it in the fridge for another 20 minutes. After that, the texture was sort of fudgey, and the cake was easy to cut. My camera is broken at the moment so, if you want to get an idea of the texture, please check out the pictures of this cake, whose texture looks very, very similar to mine:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.egglesscooking.com/2012/02/22/gluten-free-flourless-vegan-chocolate-cake-recipe/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.egglesscooking.com/2012/02/22/gluten-free-flourless-vegan-chocolate-cake-recipe/</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The recipe in this post is the recipe for the fudgey cake, which I will definitely make again. I'm now thinking, though, that it might be easier to try to bake gluten- and egg-free biscuits than cakes </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">to get a more "conventional" end result</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. So, please stay tuned for my upcoming biscuit experiments!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">If anyone has any ideas for egg replacements that would result in a crumbly cake rather than a fudgey one, do leave me a comment with your advice :-)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">COCOA LOCO</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1.8 dl cooked white beans (I soaked 1 dl of white beans, and was left over with some after using 1.8 dl for the recipe)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">5 tablespoons agar agar flakes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 1/2 small ripe bananas</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 1/3 tablespoons ground ginger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/4 teaspoon sea salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">0.6 dl honey</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3/4 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/4 teaspoon baking soda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">0. Soak the beans overnight, then cook and drain them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2. Grease two 15-cm round cake pans (or one cake pan with the same total area) with coconut oil, and dust cocoa over the inside of the pans.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3. Mash the bananas using a spoon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">4. Place the beans, the mashed bananas, the ginger and the salt into a blender, and blend until smooth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">5. Whish together the cocoa powder, the baking soda and the baking powder.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">6. Beat the coconut oil with the honey until light and fluffy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">7. Pour the bean batter into the coconut oil/honey mixture and mix well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">8. Mix the agar agar flakes with a little bit of water (I started with just 8 tablespoons) and boil for about five minutes, stirring constantly (keep adding water until there is enough for the agar agar flakes to melt).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">9. Add the agar agar mix in the batter and mix well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">10. Stir in the cocoa powder/baking soda/baking powder mixture, and beat until smooth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">11. Pour the batter into the cake pans and smooth the tops.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">12. Bake for 1 h 10 min.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">13. Allow to cool down in room temperature for 20 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">14. Put in the fridge for 20 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">15. Enjoy!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Annika</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Lisbon, Portugal38.706932 -9.135632138.607805 -9.2935606000000011 38.806059000000005 -8.9777036tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-60560524281157444472012-03-07T22:42:00.003+00:002012-06-25T00:21:29.864+01:00Spicy Spinato - Spicy Spinach Stew (or Pasta Sauce)SPICY SPINATO<br />
<br />
6-7 desilitres of washed, chopped fresh spinach<br />
1 tomato<br />
1 clove of garlic<br />
0.75-1 teaspoon of curcuma<br />
pinch of chilli powder<br />
sea salt<br />
<br />
1. Wash and chop the fresh spinach.<br />
2. Wash the tomato and cut it into small pieces.<br />
3. Chop the garlic finely.<br />
4. Put a tiny bit of water on the bottom of a pot. Mix the curcuma, a little bit of sea salt, and a pinch of chilli powder with the water. Add the garlic, the tomatoes and the spinach on top - in that order.<br />
5. Heat the ingredients under a lid, until the spinach has wilted.<br />
6. Occasionally stirring, let the dish simmer under the lid for about ten minutes.<br />
7. Serve as a stew/soup with 20-25 almonds (enough for one person), or as a pasta sauce with gluten-free pasta (enough for two people).<br />
<br />
AnnikaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-1004607972251213882012-02-17T19:07:00.000+00:002012-02-17T19:07:12.564+00:00Fluey Lewis and the News - Warming Ginger-Eucalyptus DrinkI have been down with a nasty cold for the past few days, and I wanted to come up with something nice to drink - something that would keep me warm and... well... help me get rid of the mucus. This is what I came up with.<br />
<br />
FLUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS<br />
<br />
0.5 liter of water<br />
1-1.5 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh ginger<br />
2-3 dried eucalyptus leaves<br />
the juice of half a (small) lemon<br />
<br />
1. Bring the water to the boil in a pan.<br />
2. While the water is heating, peel the ginger and chop it finely.<br />
3. When the water starts boiling, turn off the heat.<br />
4. Add the ginger, the eucalyptus leaves and the lemon juice into the water.<br />
5. Cover the pan and allow to steep for about 10 minutes.<br />
6. Pour the drink through a sieve, removing all the solids.<br />
6. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
AnnikaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-28277982491759717052012-02-09T21:31:00.001+00:002012-02-09T21:33:29.004+00:00Work Your Mojo - Sweet Potatoes with Garlic SauceA year or so ago, I went to a Caribbean restaurant in Seville, Spain. I randomly selected a few tapas-sized dishes that had been marked both vegetarian and gluten-free on the menu. One of the dishes that I ended up being served was a gorgeous Yuca Con Mojo, boiled cassava with garlic sauce. This very quick and extremely simple dish was inspired by that Yuca Con Mojo.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>WORK YOUR MOJO (for 1 person)</div><div><br />
</div><div>1 small sweet potato</div><div>extra virgin olive oil</div><div>2 medium-sized cloves of garlic</div><div>chili powder</div><div>sea salt</div><div><br />
</div><div>1. Wash the sweet potato well and cut it in thick (about 1 cm) slices.</div><div><br />
</div><div>2. Pour a little bit of water on the bottom of a pot, add a little bit of sea salt, cover the pot with a lid and bring to the boil. The idea is to steam the sweet potato slices rather than boil them, so it really has to be very little water.</div><div><br />
</div><div>3. Add the sweet potato slices into the boiling water an cover the pot with a lid.</div><div><br />
</div><div>4. Chop the garlic cloves finely. </div><div><br />
</div><div>5. Peel the sweet potato slices when they are ready. Keep them under a lid so that they will stay hot.</div><div><br />
</div><div>6. Pour some olive oil into a small saucepan and mix in the finely chopped garlic and a touch of chili powder. Heat the oil until it starts bubbling. While waiting for the oil to start bubbling, move the sweet potato slices on a plate. When the oil starts bubbling, pour it over the sweet potato slices.</div><div><br />
</div><div>7. Enjoy.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Annika</div><div><br />
P.S. The same sauce goes well, for instance, with steamed cauliflower, as well.</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-32818580233831299162011-12-23T09:28:00.001+00:002011-12-23T10:07:12.257+00:00Lingoist Ice Cream - Lingonberry-Banana Ice Cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcOWlfuOYMlkGpQlZvFRbbLuGxu8W2jSll99UNFGfZ6T_ml-xN8BlMsELNuNSMV6ZSoBB9aU9wbj9-PfVIX3b9TDVbRI_S9yuzBf9qfaL7tAxRi8zLPzqgPRc8Zfjjf2PExuGTCf-_eH0/s1600/lingonberries2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcOWlfuOYMlkGpQlZvFRbbLuGxu8W2jSll99UNFGfZ6T_ml-xN8BlMsELNuNSMV6ZSoBB9aU9wbj9-PfVIX3b9TDVbRI_S9yuzBf9qfaL7tAxRi8zLPzqgPRc8Zfjjf2PExuGTCf-_eH0/s200/lingonberries2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I'm back in the homeland, and eating loads of local berries. Here's a new ice cream recipe that I came up with the other day. To be honest, I don't know how widely available lingonberries are. I think I saw them in the Alps in Italy but, when I asked about them, was told, "Oh no! We don't eat THOSE!" Well, we do!<br />
<br />
LINGOIST ICE CREAM<br />
<br />
200 grams of frozen lingonberries<br />
1 ripe banana, sliced<br />
2-3 tablespoons of coconut milk<br />
<br />
1. Take the lingonberries out of the freezer and leave them in room temperature for a few minutes.<br />
<br />
2. Put the ingredients in a bowl and mix them with a blender until you have a smooth paste.<br />
<br />
3. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
AnnikaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-76235571505666878852011-10-29T19:20:00.002+01:002011-10-29T19:39:51.246+01:00Polenta Lenta - Polenta with Radicchio and Sheep Cheese<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkgw3ScwWIV7p3xAFA3Q0z35Ih7qqMqAlc8y0hfQAcnwrXU8nD9EhZImCw3T__wFPINrSKURU2NSXQYvT3PQVCyAtz3N0RgCS-zFy9m4zbNBIJg1cPX5VJj8PPfWXcwexJe0H9xYuOQxg/s1600/radicchio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkgw3ScwWIV7p3xAFA3Q0z35Ih7qqMqAlc8y0hfQAcnwrXU8nD9EhZImCw3T__wFPINrSKURU2NSXQYvT3PQVCyAtz3N0RgCS-zFy9m4zbNBIJg1cPX5VJj8PPfWXcwexJe0H9xYuOQxg/s200/radicchio.jpg" width="170" /></a></div>Did you know that the Slow Food movement started from a Piedmontese town called Bra, and did you know that polenta is one of the traditional dishes here in Piedmont? And did you know that "lenta" means "slow" in Italian? Well, now you do.<br />
<br />
Anyway, a while ago, I went to a mountain refuge where I had gorgeous polenta with radicchio and cheese. This recipe is inspired by that polenta that I had at Rifugio Levi (which is also a great place to go bouldering, by the way).<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
POLENTA LENTA (FOR ONE PERSON)<br />
<br />
3 dl water<br />
slow-cooking polenta flour<br />
140 grams of semi-soft sheep cheese (I used a local "Toma di Pecora")<br />
about 8 medium-sized leaves of red radicchio (Italian chicory)<br />
1 large clove of garlic<br />
sea salt<br />
<br />
1. Pour the water in a pan and heat it until it's about to reach boiling point. Turn the heat low.<br />
<br />
2. Mix polenta flour with the water, little by little, using a whisk - to make sure that the polenta does not become lumpy. Add polenta flour until you feel like the the mixture is starting to get thicker - not so thick that it becomes heavy to mix but enough to make sure that it is not fluid.<br />
<br />
3. Add salt, and let the polenta cook under a lid for about 20 minutes.<br />
<br />
4. In the meantime, chop the garlic finely, cut the radicchio into fine strips, and cut the sheep cheese into small cubes. <br />
<br />
5. When the 20 minutes have passed, mix the garlic and the radicchio with the polenta, and let the polenta cook under the lid for about five more minutes.<br />
<br />
6. Add the cheese cubes, and let the polenta cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the sheep cheese has melted and the radicchio is not too crisp anymore.<br />
<br />
7. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
AnnikaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-66122792569508246672011-06-05T20:35:00.004+01:002011-06-05T20:44:18.419+01:00Garlic Punch – Broad Bean Salad with Fresh Garlic and Spring Onions<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Sr6BvzNnuh-tQ6ABEr2MEKPFMJFDNpe4TqnNTuFTlSc-NLh9HD6-pPS7wbNhtwa_tYjTEEFCo_sBqBWxYSkwR-j1zoroPaaW9A0XC8bRZ3FkXlhrJqsp_zYDWf0-NipMhyhfvYp9hg0/s1600/800px-Broad-beans-after-cooking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Sr6BvzNnuh-tQ6ABEr2MEKPFMJFDNpe4TqnNTuFTlSc-NLh9HD6-pPS7wbNhtwa_tYjTEEFCo_sBqBWxYSkwR-j1zoroPaaW9A0XC8bRZ3FkXlhrJqsp_zYDWf0-NipMhyhfvYp9hg0/s200/800px-Broad-beans-after-cooking.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>It’s fresh onion season! This quick and easy salad is a celebration of fresh garlic and spring onions, and also features my latest veggie discovery/favourite: broad beans. For garlic lovers only.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
GARLIC PUNCH</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">4-5 large leaves of Romaine lettuce (or similar)</div><div class="MsoNormal">0.5-0.75 kg of broad beans in their pods</div><div class="MsoNormal">2 small spring onions</div><div class="MsoNormal">fresh garlic</div><div class="MsoNormal">extra virgin olive oil</div><div class="MsoNormal">freshly squeezed lemon juice</div><div class="MsoNormal">freshly ground black pepper</div><div class="MsoNormal">(freshgly ground coriander)</div><div class="MsoNormal">sea salt</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
1. Chop the garlic finely. I used a small cloveless bulb of fresh garlic, which corresponds to about two cloves of fresh garlic.<br />
<br />
2. Wash the spring onions and slice them finely. If the green part of the spring onions is still nice and crisp, you can use that, too.<br />
<br />
3. Take the broad beans out of their pods, rinse them and steam them until they are ready (for 8-15 minutes, depending on their size).<br />
<br />
4. While the broad beans are still cooking, wash the lettuce and tear it into small pieces.<br />
<br />
5. Mix all the ingredients (it doesn’t matter if the broad beans are still hot), and add extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. I’ve added some coriander seeds into my pepper mill, and the touch of coriander was quite nice, too.<br />
<br />
6. Enjoy.</div><ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"></ol><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Annika</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-72790708747764306602011-04-02T17:51:00.000+01:002011-04-02T17:51:28.596+01:00Soak Your Nuts<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">I’ve often come across advice to soak nuts and seeds before eating them. I soaked almonds for a short while (and noticed how much nicer they tasted after soaking!) but then got lazy and stopped soaking them again. I guess I never really took the advice to soak nuts and seeds so seriously as it was never given with any convincing enough facts about the benefits of soaking. If any reason was given, it was the greater ease of digesting soaked nuts. Great! But kind of vague... </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Today, I finally came across something that was convincing enough for me. Apparently, raw nuts and seeds contain phytic acid (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytic_acid">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytic_acid</a>), which actually makes iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium unabsorbable. That’s no good for vegetarians, who might already be struggling to get enough iron from their diet! I personally do not use milk products, either, and had sort of assumed that I would be getting a fair bit of magnesium and calsium from all the almonds I eat but I guess that all that magnesium and calsium is not absorbing as well as it could...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Anyway, I’ve decided to start soaking nuts again. This is how I do it at the moment. Please say tuned for updates as I’m looking into methods of drying the soaked nuts, as well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">SOAK YOUR NUTS</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Daily portion of nuts of your choice</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Water</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">1. </span>Rinse your nuts well.</div><div class="MsoNormal">2. Put your nuts in a glass, bowl or the like, cover them with water, and let them soak overnight.</div><div class="MsoNormal">3. Rinse your soaked nuts well.</div><div class="MsoNormal">4. Enjoy.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Annika</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-46087269409847876992011-04-02T17:44:00.003+01:002011-04-02T17:46:29.144+01:00Bed of Lettuce – Egg and Mushroom Salad<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">In just a few of weeks, the temperatures here in the North of Italy have risen from winter coat to T-shirt temperatures. The chance of seasons can be seen at the farmers’ market, as well; the range of vegetables is widening every week! The past couple of weeks, for instance, more and more different types of lettuce have become available again. Today, I got some Romaine lettuce, and made this quick salad with eggs and mushrooms.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">BED OF LETTUCE</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">2 eggs</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">3-5 mushrooms</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">2-3 tablespoons of fresh parsley</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">3 cloves of garlic</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">0.5-1 tablespoon of tumeric</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">freshly ground pepper</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">sea salt</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">sunflower seed or peanut oil</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">4 large leaves of Romaine lettuce</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
1. Beat the eggs together with the spices.<br />
2. Peel the garlic, and chop it finely.<br />
3. Wash the parsley and chop it finely.<br />
4. Wash and slice the mushrooms.<br />
5. Heat the oil in a frying pan.<br />
6. Add the egg mixture, and let it solidify for a few seconds.<br />
7. Add the mushrooms, parsley and garlic, and use a spatula to break the egg mixture and mix it with the rest of the ingredients. Stir for a couple of minutes, then turn the heat off and leave the mixture under a lid.<br />
8. Wash the lettuce leaves, and tear them into small pieces.<br />
9. Make a bed of lettuce on a plate, and add the egg/vegetable mixture on top.<br />
10. Enjoy.</div><ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"></ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Annika</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-78309790379529403662011-01-29T17:59:00.002+00:002011-01-29T18:08:24.430+00:00Foeniculum Orangulum - Italian Fennel Salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQiZa98NPSsy-oIT9zEa03qaZXK_GP7GzQAfm8UXfycB9XyNghjefse1d9OVId87o34y1gFZx2fQY14gcKBQj8-AECxzZDa9VW1a8Hzq2Wxnts-oWtm8yIeTGrmHuVJyRsYzRz0aOH0RE/s1600/fennel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQiZa98NPSsy-oIT9zEa03qaZXK_GP7GzQAfm8UXfycB9XyNghjefse1d9OVId87o34y1gFZx2fQY14gcKBQj8-AECxzZDa9VW1a8Hzq2Wxnts-oWtm8yIeTGrmHuVJyRsYzRz0aOH0RE/s200/fennel.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I found some organic Sicilian oranges and walnuts at the market today, so decided to make this classic Italian salad (Yeah, I know... Yet another salad with oranges... I just can't get enough of them at the moment!).<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
FOENICULUM ORANGULUM <br />
<br />
1 large fennel<br />
1.5 oranges<br />
10 whole walnuts (or 20 halves)<br />
extra virgin olive oil <br />
freshly squeezed lemon juice<br />
sea salt<br />
freshly ground pepper<br />
<br />
1. Wash the fennel and slice it (from bottom up, until you reach the green part) as thinly as you possibly can.<br />
<br />
2. Peel the oranges and cut them in small pieces.<br />
<br />
3. Crack the walnut shells open, take out the walnuts and cut them in small pieces.<br />
<br />
4. Put the fennel, the oranges and the walnuts in a salad bowl, add some olive oil, lemon juice (optional), sea salt and pepper, and mix. (If you care about how your salad looks, check out the serving suggestions on this site: http://www.lacucinadimarble.it/rec.php?id=442)<br />
<br />
5. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
Annika<br />
<br />
P.S. In Italy, they often serve very thinly sliced fennels with extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt and pepper only. Also very nice.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-4913491750430058732011-01-11T20:52:00.003+00:002011-01-29T18:00:44.933+00:00Cichorium Orangium - Fruity Chicory Salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Xjd_SFxToLoOnpK527UEgmK6a1DajWYG8Kxjofb-_eNOVQzclw6vUPhc-Zc2dlN6EuI2SLIbHY2CeRTDD9BD393-Epa5N9hIK-UAG5t3YkUEAUxy_VpKiD8kAKAO9906lOwd-pJstVM/s1600/wit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Xjd_SFxToLoOnpK527UEgmK6a1DajWYG8Kxjofb-_eNOVQzclw6vUPhc-Zc2dlN6EuI2SLIbHY2CeRTDD9BD393-Epa5N9hIK-UAG5t3YkUEAUxy_VpKiD8kAKAO9906lOwd-pJstVM/s200/wit.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>This gorgeous salad is an amended version of a salad recipe that my aunt recommended me to try. I've basically just added the pears and the walnuts to the original recipe.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
CICHORIUM ORANGIUM<br />
<br />
4 chicories<br />
2 navel oranges<br />
2 pears<br />
1 leek<br />
80-100 grams of walnuts<br />
extra virgin olive oil<br />
freshly squeezed lemon juice<br />
sea salt<br />
freshly ground pepper<br />
<br />
1. Wash the chicories, cut of their ends, and slice the rest of them sideways.<br />
<br />
2. Peel the oranges and the pears, and cut them into small pieces.<br />
<br />
3. Wash the leek, and cut it into thin slices.<br />
<br />
4. Cut the walnuts into small pieces.<br />
<br />
5. Mix all the ingredients together, adding olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper to taste.<br />
<br />
6. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
AnnikaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-9518793418259739652010-12-19T18:41:00.007+00:002011-01-29T18:26:49.324+00:00Prunus Orangus - Prune-Orange Salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKS7U_Iv8gEiA1W8dL0KljlO8v5wcqIWJFeyB2oj6eTntqMW5JLUOjwiTyBHBAiOjB02q39a977r4InyO2Cpko2zRTBhC14bMvsnhjC8xGSQNBla3dyRayoliwxRtUpIaxty9LZM286mk/s1600/fieldsalad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKS7U_Iv8gEiA1W8dL0KljlO8v5wcqIWJFeyB2oj6eTntqMW5JLUOjwiTyBHBAiOjB02q39a977r4InyO2Cpko2zRTBhC14bMvsnhjC8xGSQNBla3dyRayoliwxRtUpIaxty9LZM286mk/s1600/fieldsalad.jpg" /></a>I didn't have enough time to go to the farmers' market this weekend and instead ended up going to a regular market where you can also buy the more exotic winter produce from the south of Italy. One of the things I got were these huge, juicy organic navel oranges, which I've already used in a couple of very simple, light salads. Here's one of them.</div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
PRUNUS ORANGUS<br />
<br />
about 100 grams of field salad<br />
0.5-1 navel orange<br />
2 plums<br />
extra virgin olive oil<br />
sea salt<br />
freshly ground pepper<br />
<br />
1. Wash the field salad.<br />
<br />
2. Peel the orange and tear it into small pieces.<br />
<br />
3. Wash the plums and cut them into small pieces.<br />
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4. Mix the field salad, the orange and the plums with some extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.<br />
<br />
5. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
AnnikaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-84322953505862958172010-11-21T16:47:00.003+00:002011-01-29T18:35:39.426+00:00Che Cavolo! – Cabbage-Turnip-Leek Soup<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstgT6fSYOUupfkK6nTf0Btz7e7YxNyWzqWcU6Eqe-ce95I-7qQibdhfzwX0DOo0bh_5AmQ6UxTKiOCDRp0wVhpefYv6Je0eBKhmJEjAdQOVsatE6Mz5seT7g8D30eGBHLWcYufgXonnY/s1600/green-cabbage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstgT6fSYOUupfkK6nTf0Btz7e7YxNyWzqWcU6Eqe-ce95I-7qQibdhfzwX0DOo0bh_5AmQ6UxTKiOCDRp0wVhpefYv6Je0eBKhmJEjAdQOVsatE6Mz5seT7g8D30eGBHLWcYufgXonnY/s200/green-cabbage.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">The idea for this lovely soup came from one of my workmates who told me that he had made a tasty soup combining leeks, turnips and green cabbage. This is what I came up using those ingredients, and some more.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #2a2a2a;"> </span><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #2a2a2a;">CHE CAVOLO!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">half a small, green cabbage</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">2 medium-sized leeks</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">2 medium-sized turnips</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">small red pepper</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">3 cloves of garlic</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">fresh ginger</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">gluten-free bouillon powder</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">½-¾ teaspoons of cardamom</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">freshly ground pepper</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">sea salt</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">extra virgin olive oil</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">1. Peel the garlic and the fresh ginger, and chop them in small pieces.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">2. Peel the turnips and cut them in smaller chunks.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">3. Wash the leeks, the red pepper and the green cabbage and cut them in smaller chunks.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">4. Put the bouillon powder, the salt, the cardamom, the garlic and the ginger into a medium-sized pot together with some water and bring to a boil.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">5. Add the turnips, the leeks and the red pepper, turn down the heat and leave the soup simmering under a lid for about five minutes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">6. Add the cabbage, and leave the soup simmering until all the ingredients are soft enough to blend.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">7. Blend until the soup has become a creamy puree.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">8. Serve with extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground pepper.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Annika</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334959333121224263.post-29991804999774978782010-11-08T22:06:00.000+00:002010-11-08T22:06:47.440+00:00Sweet Cabbage of Mine - Cabbage Casserole with RaisinsAnother cabbage dish that I make several different variants of. Its roots can be found in what once used to be my favourite dish: "kaalilaatikko" ("cabbage casserole") - a traditional Finnish oven dish with cabbage, rice, minced meat and syrup.<br />
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SWEET CABBAGE OF MINE<br />
<br />
5 dl of water<br />
2 dl of green lentils<br />
3/4 dl of red quinoa<br />
a small green cabbage<br />
5 dl of thinly sliced leek<br />
1 small fennel<br />
3 cloves of garlic<br />
1-2 handfuls of raisins, depending on the size of your hands<br />
gluten-free bouillon powder<br />
1.5 tablespoons of fresh thyme<br />
2 tablespoons of parsley<br />
0.5 tablespoon of oregano<br />
freshly ground black pepper<br />
sea salt<br />
2 tablespoons of sunflower seed oil<br />
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0. Rinse the lentils and soak them overnight.<br />
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1. Chop the garlic finely.<br />
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2. Pour the water into a large pot and bring it to a boil.<br />
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3. Add the lentils, the garlic and the bouillon powder into the pot, adjust the heat to low, and let it simmer under a lid.<br />
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4. Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage, cut the rest of the cabbage into short stripes and add the stripes into the pot together with the thyme, the parsley, the oregano, the pepper and the raisins. Mix well.<br />
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5. Wash the leeks and the fennel, slice the leek thinly and cut the fennel into small pieces. <br />
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6. Wash the quinoa well. <br />
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7. After the other ingredients have been cooked for a minimum of 20 min, add the leek, the fennel, the quinoa and the sunflower seed oil, mix the ingredients well and let the mixture simmer until the quinoa is ready (about 15 minutes).<br />
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8. Serve either hot or cold.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0