Tali's Tomatoes

As you may know from my previous Carrot Cake post, I am not much of a baker. Keeping this in mind, when I was invited to a friends place for a catchup I quickly scoured the internet looking for something that I didn't have to bake for dessert that would be tasty, healthy and a little bit different.

To my delight I happened across avocado key lime pies made using avocados! I was absolutely thrilled to discover that avocados can be used to make a creamy rich raw dessert.

This recipe has a yoghurt topping which provides some tanginess, however it can be omitted if you are lactose intolerant or sticking to a paleo diet. Cocoyo (coconut yoghurt) and perhaps soy yoghurt (don't quote me on that one -  yet to be tested) would be great substitutions. Or you can make less of a base and only use the avocado filling, at which point it will be an avocado lime pie.

Avocados, which are actually a fruit (my boyfriend didn't believe me), contain a range of vital  nutrients and healthy fats while being low in sugar and sodium. High in vitamin C, fibre, folate, vitamin K, vitamin E, antioxidants and potassium, it really is a super food.

You can keep the recipe as a cake, or alternatively you can layer it into a round glass placing some base, followed by avocado and yoghurt. Repeat so that you have three layers. Place in the freezer to chill and set slightly for about 20 minutes and serve.




What you need to make one cake (or 4 parfaits)

Total shopping list (see below for breakdown):

• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup other nuts of choice
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• up to 1 cup rice syrup, honey or agave nectar (use honey or agave if you like sweet desserts, rice syrup has half the sugar)
• up to 3/4 tsp stevia
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• up to 6 limes (juice and zest)
• 2 ripe avocados
• 1 cup Greek yoghurt
• 2 tbsp chia seeds

Breakdown of ingredients:

Base:

• 1 cup sunflower seeds (soaked for at least 2 hours then drained)
• 1 cup of nuts, I used a combination of pecans and almonds (soaked for at least 2 hours then drained)
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 1/3 cup rice syrup, honey or agave,
• dry or liquid stevia to taste (up to 1/2 teaspoon)
• pinch of salt

Avocado filling:

• 2 ripe avocados, flesh removed
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 coconut cream
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• lime zest of 2-3 small limes
• 1/3 cup rice syrup or 1/4 cup honey or agave
• liquid stevia to taste (up to 1/2 teaspoon)

Yoghurt topping:

• 1 cup Greek yoghurt (or Cocoyo or soy yoghurt)
• 1/3 rice syrup or 1/4 cup honey or agave
• 1/4 cup coconut cream
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• lime zest of 2-3 small limes
• liquid stevia to taste (up to 1/2 teaspoon)

My partner doesn't cook me dinner very regularly, but when I showed him a recipe for zucchini spaghetti and meatballs I couldn't hold him back.

You can make zucchini spaghetti (or zucchinighetti) using a spirooli or a mandolin on the thinest setting or a vegetable peeler. Basically you are turning your regular vegetables like zucchini, beetroot, potatoes etc into noodles. I like to use them in salads or as a replacement for regular spaghetti.

Vegetable noodles would be a great trick to get your kids to eat more vegies! It is also makes your meals wheat free and paleo friendly.

Feel free to replace the meatballs with some lentil balls or falafel if you don't want to eat any meat. Alternatively you could just add a mixture of beans like cannellini and butter beans to the sauce to make it more like a bolognaise.

This recipe has some red chilli in it, but feel free to leave it out if you can't tolerate it. This pasta sauce can also be used on pizza bases etc so make a double batch if you can.



What you need to serve four lucky people:

• 400g beef mince
• 1 egg
• 1 onion, grated (I used my processor)
• 1/2 bundle of parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• ½ tsp hot chilli powder
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, finely chopped, or 1/2 bulb fresh fennel
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper

Zucchinighetti

• 4 zucchinis
• Herbs to serve such as parsley or basil

Optional extra: freshly grated or shaved parmesan cheese

How to make it:

To make the sauce, in a pot add some olive oil, onions, garlic and chilli and simmer over low-medium heat until the onions are soft - around 5 minutes. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer for as long as possible while making the rest of the meal, stirring occasionally.

To make the meatballs combine all ingredients and mix well. Let the mixture set in the fridge for half an hour.

Using your spirooli or other device, make the zucchinighetti. Don't grate the middle of the zucchini where the seeds are because it is too soft to make noodles. Arrange one zucchini turned into noodles onto each plate.

Heat some oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Shape one tablespoon of meatball mixture into a ball by rolling it in your hands and placing it onto the pan, repeat with the rest of the meatballs. Cook them on each side for around 5 minutes or until they have browned and are cooked through.

As promised, here is my coconut and almond pancake recipe, which has absolutely zero bananas in it unlike my 3 Ingredient Paleo Pancakes. They are still wheat free, dairy free, gluten free and refined sugar free (it can be completely sugar free and Paleo by omitting the maple syrup).

The addition of blueberries as a replacement for bananas adds the desired sweetness. These pancakes are also much thicker than the 3 Ingredient Paleo Pancakes. Feel free to make them thinner using more coconut cream, however be extra careful when flipping them as they will be more likely to fall apart.



What you need to make 8 pancakes:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1-2 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
• 1/2 punnet fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen defrost and discard liquid)
• 5 organic eggs
• 1/3 cup coconut cream (or other milk such as almond milk or oat milk)
• coconut oil for frying

Optional additions: stevia, vanilla essence, cacao nibs or powder, flavoured protein powder

Topping suggestions:

• butter
• maple syrup
• strawberries and stevia - see 3 Ingredient Paleo Pancakes for recipe and photo
• fresh banana
• chopped nuts such as walnuts
• almond butter
• coconut cream
• ice cream

How to make them:

Mix the eggs, maple syrup and coconut cream together in one bowl. Mix the flour, almond meal and baking powder in a separate bowl. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together and then fold in the blueberries.

Heat a non-stick frying pan or skillet over low heat and add some coconut oil to coat the pan. Add 1/4 cup of the pancake mixture to the pan. I find the easiest way to do this is to measure 1/4 cup and then roll it into a ball in my hand and then flatten in the pan with my hand. After a few minutes carefully flip the pancake over and cook the other side.

If you are making a big batch I suggest having a couple of pans going at the same time. Cook about 3 - 4 pancakes per pan and keep warm while under some aluminium foil while cooking the others.

Substitutions: almond meal can be substituted with any other nut flour. Blueberries can be substituted with other fruit. Coconut cream can be substituted with any other kind of milk.

Make it naughty: cover with almond butter and the strawberry topping, it tastes just like peanut butter and jelly

There has been a lot of buzz lately surrounding the Paleo (short for Paleolithic) diet. Essentially it it is a caveman diet consisting of meat and other hunter/gatherer type foods:


On the Paleo diet you only eat grass-fed pasture raised meats, fish, fruit and veg (including root vegetables like potatoes) and nuts. You are not allowed to eat any grains, legumes, dairy products, refined salt, refined sugar or processed oils.

I am mainly a veggie eater so could never follow a strict Paleo diet but I do like the idea of trying to reduce the amount of grains, dairy products and refined/processed foods/oil that I consumes so I have been looking at Paleo recipes for the last couple of weeks. My Thai Chicken Burgers could easily be made Paleo by replacing the breadcrumbs with almond meal.

One of the recipes I came across is Paleo Pancakes using only three ingredients - egg, banana and almond butter. I love eggs, banana and of course my precious nut butter (on how to make it - see my Nut Butter post), so this seemed like a winning combo.

After reading lots of comments where people had problems making their pancakes (they would crumble and fall apart), I gave it a go being very careful to cook it on a low temperature and turn carefully after around 3-4 minutes. The results were wonderful!

I have a warning for people who don't like cooked banana i.e. banana bread - you won't like these pancakes. My friend who came over to help me make them didn't like the banana so I made an big batch using more eggs, coconut flour and almond meal to mask the flavour of the banana and they eventually also turned out well after a bit of experimenting.

My partner and I ended up eating the leftovers during the week as a high protein snack topped with blended strawberries and stevia and more nut butter - it was like eating peanut butter and jelly pikelets!

What you need to make 2 pancakes:

• one ripe banana
• one organic egg
• one tbsp almond butter
• coconut oil for cooking

Optional extras include: cinnamon, baking powder to make them fluffy, stevia, almond meal, coconut milk, nuts, vanilla extract, chia seeds, flax seeds and/or coconut flour (note: if you are adding coconut milk, almond meal or coconut flour you will have to experiment a bit)

For the topping:

• strawberries
• a few drops of liquid stevia
• 1tsp lemon juice
• blueberries (optional)
• maple syrup (optional)
• coconut cream (optional)

How to cook them them:

Add all of your ingredients for the pancakes to a blender and blend until smooth. Let the pancake batter sit until it is no longer bubbling. Add a small amount of coconut oil to a non-stick frying pan over low heat. Give the batter a quick stir then add a small amount of batter to the pan. You need to make these pancakes small or you can't flip them - they are more like a pikelet size. Wait 3-4 minutes and then carefully flip them over and quickly cook the other side. I find I can do three in the pan at once if I am making a big batch.

While your pancakes are cooking blend some strawberries and stevia until you have a sauce.

Serve the pancakes with the strawberry sauce and coconut cream (optional), or some maple syrup. YUM!




If anyone is interested in the not-so-bananery version of these pancakes please let me know and I will do a follow up post x

For the toppings:

• 1 carrot, grated
• 6 tbsp natural plain yoghurt (I used Greek)
• 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• 2 sliced tomatoes
• handful torn lettuce leaves (or lettuce mix)
• other options - chopped roasted peanuts, bean sprouts

• 6 wholemeal bread buns OR 6 large lettuce leaves OR 6 large cabbage leaves quickly blanched until they are just soft and bend easily (I used savoy cabbage)

• process the bread into breadcrumbs
• process the spring onions, green chilli and coriander together until finely chopped
• process the chicken into mince

Following our trip to Scotland we headed over to Greece for a week of sun - specifically Santorini and Mykonos. In my attempt to stay healthy while on holidays I ordered baked or grilled eggplant on a number of occasions. Each bite was a slice of heaven as I indulged in the flavours of the earthy eggplant and rich tomato sauce, swiftly followed by a sip of rose wine.

Sometimes the eggplants would come covered in cheese, whether it was parmesan or fetta (or both) and sometimes they would be topped with some fresh tomatoes, raw red onion and lettuce (you add vinegar and oil yourself).

The eggplants, tomatoes and absolutely EVERYTHING else grown in Greece (particularly from the volcanic soils of Santorini) were absolutely out of this world. Unfortunately I only had Aussie eggplants to contend with for my re-creation, none-the-less I think the result is still delicious.

Serve the eggplant with a basic Greek salad consisting of wedges of tomato, peeled and sliced cucumber, thinly sliced green capsicum, a few black olives, capers, small amount of cos lettuce, fetta, dried or fresh oregano and a splash of vinegar and olive oil.

What you need to serve 4 lucky people:

• 2 large eggplants
• 1 red or white onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup basil, finely chopped (optional)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup dry white wine or a dash or white wine vinegar
• 2 x 400 ml tins of organic chopped tomatoes (or around 8 very ripe fresh tomatoes)
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• Large handful of fetta, crumbled (goats or ordinary Greek fetta)
• 1 tsp all spice (optional)
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, cut into 4 wedges for serving
• Handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped to serve
• Salt and pepper to taste

How you make it:

• Preheat the oven to 200 °C (or 180°C fan forced). Slice the eggplants in half length ways. Score the flesh on a 45 degree angle about 5 mm apart, then repeat going the other way making a diamond pattern on the eggplants. Brush the eggplants with olive oil on both sides, sprinkle with salt and bake in the oven for around 30 minutes or until the flesh is soft and golden in colour and the eggplant has started to collapse. 
• Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over a low-medium temperature, add onion and garlic cloves and cook until soft. Add the white wine and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half. Once the wine has reduced add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, all spice and basil and simmer with the lid on the pot for around 20-30 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste once the sauce has thickened.
• Once the eggplants are ready, spoon 1/4 of the tomato mixture onto each piece and put back into the oven for 10 minutes. 
• If you are having fetta, sprinkle some on the eggplant at the end and put under a grill for a couple of minutes or until the fetta is soft and heated through. Drizzle the eggplants with olive oil and scatter some parsley once you have plated it up. Serve with a Greek salad or other salad of your choice.

Make it naughty: add some freshly grated parmesan and/or mozzarella cheese and quickly place under the grill during the last step of the recipe. Serve with some fresh bread to mop up the sauce and a glass of red wine like the Greeks do.

Notes: This dish is fantastic heated up the next day. Putting the sauce and cheese in the oven for 10 minutes at the end is optional - it still tastes amazing if you don't. Feel free to add some grated or finely chopped vegetables to the sauce towards the end of cooking e.g. zucchini or carrots

During my time in Scotland with my partner's friends and family I was fortunate to eat a few local delicacies that I wouldn't normally eat at home such as local smoked salmon pate, black pudding, haggis, cheese and oatcakes from the Isle of Arran (a wee island off the west coast).

I wanted to post a recipe that is traditionally Scottish but instead came up with this healthier, modern twist on a Scottish breakfast which can be eaten without the black pudding if preferred. Black pudding is normally part of a full Scottish breakfast (as well as beans, square sausage, a white roll, mushrooms, broon sauce and scrambled eggs) but the combination with sweet potato is by no means traditional. The sweet potato tower was inspired by the Veggie & Egg Tower of Power at My New Roots.



What you need to serve 4 lucky people:

• 500g sweet potato
• 4 slices of black pudding (optional)
• 4 organic free range eggs
• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• 200g cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 2 cups baby spinach (optional)
• Coconut oil or grapeseed oil
• Salt and pepper

I stumbled upon these Vietnamese pancakes, called Banh Xeo which literally means 'sizzling cake', when going through my Yotam Ottolenghi vegetarian book  which I bought on a whim about a year ago. Some of his recipes are a little too cheesy (as in too much cheese in the recipe!) for my liking but these pancakes resonated with me with all of the fresh flavours in the sauce and herbs plus a tonne of crunchy vegies (I added a lot more than the original and authentic recipes).


 
What you need to serve four lucky people:

Pancakes:

Dressing:
40 ml lime juice
1 1/2 tbsp seasame oil
1 tbsp brown sugar (optional - I used organic molasses sugar)
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) or fish sauce
2tsp freshly grated ginger
1 frsh red chilli, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp salt

Vegetables:
Bok choy stems and leaves thinly sliced
1 large green chilli, sliced (optional)
2 carrots thinly sliced
Tips from my friend Y-Linh: add some chopped spring onions to pancake mixture and cook some sliced brown onions in the pan before adding the pancake mixture.

How to cook them:

Prepare all of the vegetables (and meat if you are using meat) and set aside.

Variations - add meat, wrap the pancake in a crispy lettuce leaf or rice paper.

Make it naughty - add some poached pork belly