Homemade Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup - Paleo

When I went to the East with my friends, (Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore) there was a restaurant in Beijing that our tour guide took us to, which served the best Peking duck in the whole of China (at least that was her opinion) beside the Peking duck, (with fried scorpions on the side) we had THE most amazing cauliflower and potato soup that I have ever tasted, or attempted to make. That beautiful taste still lingers in my memory :-)

Many attempts by myself to recreate that gorgeous velvety taste, but none came close! This attempt was the closest I have come.  It was about 80% there :-)

Ingredients
1 Large Onion chopped in chunks
1 small to medium sized cauliflower head - chopped (small florets)
2 small or 1 medium sweet potato(s) - Peeled and chopped
1 heaped teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1.5 liters of water
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Fresh parsley or coriander

Optional
1/2 can coconut cream or coconut milk

Method

1. Heat coconut oil in a saucepan, and brown chunks of onion on medium to high heat
2. Add garlic and spices and stir and then add chopped cauliflower and sweet potato
3. Stir well until the spices are mixed well with the veg
4. Lower the heat and add salt to taste and then either cover the pot and allow to simmer on the stove or transfer to a slow cooker. 
5. After 15 minutes add the water and bring to a boil. 
6. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes to an hour, 
7. Turn of heat and allow to cool - if you have a blender like mine that pops its lid when hot substances are liquidised. Once cooled, then liquidise.

Alternatively, use your stick blender and blend in the pot.

Taste and if it needs more salt and/or pepper  add accordingly. If it is too thick, add more water.

Optional
You can add if you like, half a can of coconut cream or coconut milk (Jemz or homemade) to the pot of soup, for additional creaminess, alternatively, just serve as is, with a dollop of coconut cream and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley or coriander for each serving.

Try this Seed Bread in a Mug to accompany your delicious soup :-)

Cauliflower and Sweet potato soup cooking

Cauliflower and Sweet potato soup - served

 

My friends and I at the Great Wall of China
Holly from Alaska, Haarsha and Lee from SA 

Food, friends, travel and great memories turns life into a great "movie" - Especially with all our sincere hearts and souls that was in it - One great adventure indeed :-) 

Homemade Butternut Soup - Paleo

Second to my favorite creamy chicken and mushroom soup, is butternut soup! 

I remember a time when my boss took me out for a quick lunch and he laughed because he thought I knew nothing about butternut soup, and that I ate nothing but curry all the time. Ha! needless to say, this was in the early 1990's and my boss being Afrikaans, was just starting to learn about Indian culture :-) First step out of Apartheid. 

Enough of the history lesson :-)

There are may ways in which I have attempted to make butternut soup, but I have finally settled with this version and I love it when it leans on the spicy side :-)


What you will need....

Ingredients
1 Large Onion chopped in chunks
600g diced butternut
2 small or 1 medium sweet potato(s)
2 small carrots or 1 large carrot
1 heaped teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon mixed curry powder
1 teaspoon Italian herbs (Robertsons)
1.5 liters of water
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Fresh parsley or coriander

Optional
1/2 can coconut cream or coconut milk

Method

1. Heat coconut oil in a saucepan, and brown chunks of onion on medium to high heat
2. Add garlic and spices and stir and then add butternut, carrots and sweet potato
3. Stir well until the spices are mixed well with the veg
4. Lower the heat and add salt to taste and then either cover the pot and allow to simmer on the stove or transfer to a slow cooker. 
5. After 15 minutes add the water and bring to a boil. 
6. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes to an hour, 
7. Turn of heat and allow to cool - (if you have a blender like mine that pops its lid when hot substances are liquidised) - Once cooled then liquidise.

Alternatively, use your stick blender and blend in the pot.

Taste and if it needs more salt, pepper or cinnamon, add accordingly. If it is too thick, add more water.

Optional
You can add if you like, half a can of coconut cream or coconut milk (Jemz or homemade) to the pot of soup, for additional creaminess, alternatively, just serve as is, with a dollop of coconut cream and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley or coriander for each serving.

Try this Seed Bread in a Mug to accompany your delicious soup :-) 

Spicy butternut soup cooking

Liquidised soup, served with a dollop of coconut cream

Less spicy version - 1 teaspoon curry powder instead of 1 tablespoon
and no paprika

For these chilly, cold winter days and evenings, nothing is more comforting than homemade soup!

Bon Appetite :-)

Seed Bread in a Mug - Paleo / Reboot

For most of my soup days, I often think about a nice, soft bread that I could use to mop up the little bits that is usually hard to get with a spoon.  You know? Especially when the soup is really, really good? Not a drop should remain in the bowl :-) 

However being on an eating plan that is Paleo, the word "Bread" causes a major upheaval. Luckily, our friends who are Banting, have these great ideas and I happened to glean and make clean :-)

I was inspired by a recipe from Daleen's Banting Kitchen and tweaked it a bit to suit the eating plan I am on, also I don't have Flax seeds in my grocery cupboard at the moment, but what I do have, is a seed mix called Miracles Plus Plus, by Natures Source, which I substituted for flax seeds. 

Miracle Plus Plus contains Flax seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds.  

It turned out beautifully - almost a nutty texture.

Here is what I did:

Ingredients

• 1 extra-large egg
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons freshly ground mixed seeds (Miracles Plus Plus) (Grind the seeds in a coffee grinder)
• 2 tablespoons fine or medium desiccated coconut
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• a pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil

Method

1. Add the egg and water to a bowl and mix well
2. Add the ground mixed seeds, coconut, bicarb and cream of tartar and salt to a small bowl. Mix the dry ingredients well.
3. Place the coconut oil in a mug, preferably with straight sides. 
4. Melt the coconut oil in the microwave oven on High (100% power) – for 40 − 45 seconds. 
5. Swirl the melted coconut oil to grease the inside of the mug and pour the coconut oil into the wet ingredients. Mix well with the fork.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well
7. Immediately pour the batter into the greased mug. 
8. Microwave on High (100% power) for 1:30 minutes. 
9. Turn the bread out onto a plate. Leave to cool for a minute or two
10. Use a serrated knife to slice the bread. Serve warm with topping of your choice. 
11. Store any leftover bread in an airtight container in the fridge. 
12. My left over seed bread, turned green in the fridge, due to the sunflower seeds, but it was perfectly good to eat, still soft and moist for lunch the next day.

Fresh out of the microwave - Mixed seed bread

Mixed seed bread as an accompaniment to my Chicken chili soup

Tonight's dinner: Boiled egg open sandwich - made with Mixed Seed bread

and Sweet Potato crisps

Enjoy :-)

Homemade Sweet Potato Mash - Paleo / Reboot

Moving from regular mashed potatoes to sweet potato mash was a gradual transition. It wasn't that mashed potatoes was a regular dish in my home, and that is why it was difficult. It was because the thought of mashing up sweet potatoes and expecting it to satisfy as normal mashed potatoes did, was not aligning well in my mind.

One was savory and the other, naturally sweet.

I tried this on my second Reboot Challenge and I have since been a huge fan of sweet potato mash!

When I am feeling experimental someday, I will make sweet potato mash as my Mom used to make normal mashed potatoes - with a bit of crushed garlic, finely chopped green chili, spring onions and coriander and dollops of butter. But ofcourse, I will swap out the butter with coconut oil. :-)

This is how I made my sweet potato mash

Ingredients
A steamer or any microwavable dish with a lid
3 - 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Himalayan Pink Salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 Tablespoon cashew nut butter or Macadamia Nut butter

Method
Place sweet potato pieces in a steamer and steam for 20 minutes. If the potatoes are still hard, allow it to steam for another 10 - 15 minutes until a knife or skewer pierces a sweet potato easily.
Transfer steamed sweet potato into a glass bowl and then add the coconut oil, salt, black pepper and nut butter of choice and mash together well.

You will notice that because the sweet potatoes were not in direct contact with the water, they are much more creamier when mashed up. The texture is velvety and rich in taste. Not at all watered down.

Taste and if more salt is required, top up accordingly.

Sweet potato mash preparation  - made with
orange flesh sweet potato

 

Sweet potatoes in the steamer - normal white flesh sweet poatoes

My 25 yr old Nutri Stahl pot/steamer set

Simply delicious :-)

Homemade Burger Patties and Meatballs - Reboot/Paleo

Growing up, it was a treat to have a "Mince Kebab" meal with roti. It just seemed like a dish that Mom made when she had more time in the kitchen than usual, and so that meant me spending more time with her in the kitchen. It was an extra special moment for me.

There were times when she would say, "The kebabs are a little too dry" or "The kebabs have come out really well this time" and it all depended on what she threw into the mix on any given day.

"Kebabs" is a common word we Durbanites use to say "Meatballs", yet the correct Indian word is "Kofta" 

My first try to make these was over 20 years ago - and I made a huge pot full of them for a family of over 25 people! I was too young and nervous to even know if it tasted good :-)

Over the years I adopted my mother's basic recipe but I also tweaked it a little and especially now with omitting wheat from my diet and following Reboot - any binders such as breadcrumbs or corn flour have fallen away in this recipe. I have found that omitting egg isn't a train smash either.

This is how I made my latest recipe of Mince kebabs

Ingredients

• 1 Kg lean mince - I used half beef and half pork.  You could only use beef.
• 1 large onion chopped finely
• 1 Teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs - I used the Robertsons brand
• Salt to taste - I used about a Teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt
• 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed ginger
• 1 tablespoon of garam masala
• 2 tablespoon of my mixed curry powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander

Method
In a non stick frying pan, heat the coconut oil and fry the onions. In a large dish add all ingredients and once the onions are slightly browned, add them in to the meatball mixture with the oil. This is what creates your sticking magic. Mix well, but not too much, as this will result in tough meat balls. Ensure that the spices are well mixed evenly in the mince.

Roll up into balls - size depending on your choice. Or flatten the meatballs into rounds as burger patties.

If you are using the mixture to make burger patties - use more meat to form the ball and flatten them to form a large circle - once you cook them, (pan fry) they shrink - they become thicker in width and smaller in diameter.

You can either:

• pack them in containers to freeze, or 
• place in an oven tray to grill for 20 - 30 minutes at 200 Deg Celsius.
• set aside for dropping into a tomato based curry or marinara sauce (meatballs)
• pan fry to serve up (burger patties)

Meatballs ready to go in the oven

Grilled Meatballs

 Let's look at the various ways to make a curry sauce and my version of my marinara sauce.


Marinara Sauce
To cook about 15- 16 meatballs you will need:

6 - 8 medium tomatoes grated or 1 bottle Passata
1 large onion chopped
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Salt to taste
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoon date paste - to cut the acidity
Handful of oregano or fresh basil


Method

In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil and gradually brown the onion. Add the garlic, and other spices and then the tomato/ passata. Stir until all the spices have mixed well with the tomato.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Then add the date paste and herbs with 1/2 cup of boiling water and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.

Add the meat balls in gently, one by one and cover the saucepan and allow to simmer for anther 15 minutes. Sprinkle with either more oregano or freshly chopped coriander.

Meatballs in Marinara sauce

Meatballs in Marinara sauce over a sweet potato mash

Variation
To make a curry sauce using the above ingredients, add:
1 tablespoon mixed curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger
A few curry leaves
Fresh coriander

Omit the following
Fresh oregano and basil

To make a creamy curry sauce
2 medium tomatoes grated or 1/2 cup Passata
1 large onion chopped
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon mixed curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger
A few curry leaves
Fresh coriander

1 can coconut milk or 1 1/2 cups homemade coconut milk

Method
In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil and gradually brown the onion. Add the curry leaves, ginger and garlic, and other spices and then the tomato/ passata. Stir until all the spices have mixed well with the tomato.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Then add the coconut milk with 1/4 cup of boiling water and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.

Add the meat balls in gently, one by one and cover the saucepan and allow to simmer for anther 15 minutes. Sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander.

For Reboot /Paleo, you can serve up the mealballs with a sweet potato mash or zucchini noodles or Zoodles as it is known.

Alternatively, you could serve it up with a Paleo Friendly Naan Bread inspired by Ashley Thomas. Much of my inspiration lately on healthy living comes from her as well as Prava Singh

Enjoy and live a healthy nutritious, yet tasty life :-)

Homemade Huldee "Doodh" or Tumeric "Milk" - Reboot / Paleo

It is amazing how the "medicine" of the old days that I once hated having, has now become a luxury indulgence.  Interestingly, the mindset change comes from KNOWING your food and being educated in the benefits it carries, rather than just how it tastes.

Whilst blogging about Ginger "Tea", the thought of Huldee Doodh kept knocking on my brain. It wanted me to allow it back into my life. I answered. :-)

I am very happy to announce that Huldee Doodh - the way my mother and grandmother made it, can be incorporated into my new way of eating. :-)

Read about the benefits of Tumeric

Read about the benefits of Ginger

This is how my mother and grandmother made this health elixir - which I have tweaked to make it Reboot / Paleo friendly - by removing the cows milk and adding coconut or almond milk.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or butter ghee
3 whole cloves
2 small sticks cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon or less of freshly grated nutmeg
3 pods cardamom or 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 teaspoon freshly grated/ground tumeric root or tumeric powder
1 teaspoon freshly crushed ginger root
2 cups (500ml) of either coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk

Optional
A few strands of saffron

Tip
When adding cardamom pods to any dish, it is recommended to slightly pop it "open" - peel it half open but yet, still keep it in the pod so that the seeds, which carry all the flavors are released in the dish being prepared.

Method
In a saucepan heat the coconut oil, add the whole spices, ginger and the tumeric. Mix well and immediately add the coconut milk or almond milk in the pan.  Bring it to a boil while stirring gently over a medium - high heat.

Once boiled, remove from heat and set aside, strain and pour into mugs.

Note
Sweetening is optional and it can be done using raw honey to keep it Paleo friendly. For Reboot, no sweetener allowed.

Picture courtesy Nutrition Stipped

Picture courtesy Nutrition Stipped

For any winter's day or evening this is divine! Cheers to good health! :-)

Homemade Ginger "Tea"

For many years now, since a little girl, the remedy for cold and flu was always Ginger - with tumeric cooked in milk, known as "Huldee Doodh"

Read about the benefits of Ginger

Since recognising that dairy is the cause of an inflamed gut, I started making ginger tea with just plain water. It has been as effective as the version with milk.

When I look at the Ginger Root, it reminds me of Ogre feet :-) Yes, the little girl inside of me is always alive and kicking :-)

So, when explaining this recipe to fellow Sleek Geek Members who needed to boost their immune system for a big workout or just to keep well on a daily basis, I described it like this:

You will need one toe of an Ogre's foot (A root of ginger about the size of your thumb)
1 litre of boiling water 
A 1.5 litre saucepan

Wash and chop up the ginger root into little pieces, place it in the saucepan and add the boiling water. Allow this to simmer on the stove top on low-medium heat for about 30 minutes.

And viola! Ginger tea.

You can have this with a drop of raw honey or as is. Alternatively you can squeeze half a lemon in the ginger tea and enjoy it either with or without raw honey.

Drink a mug of this three times a day when you feel an onset of flu or cold symptoms. Otherwise, a cup a day first thing in the morning or after your biggest meal.

Lamb Curry - "Reboot" Friendly / Paleo

I have previously blogged the lamb curry / chicken curry recipe which was not necessarily "reboot" friendly. It was the traditional way that my mother and grandmother used to cook it.

Since beginning my Reboot journey, in March 2015, I have tweaked the recipe to suit the eating plan.  It's not that different at all, it's just swapping out the seed oil for coconut oil and the normal potatoes for sweet potatoes.  You must know that for a Durbanite Indian, a meat or chicken curry is always incomplete without potatoes! :-)

At least once in two weeks I enjoy a good curry - either chicken or lamb. We had load shedding this morning, so the curry was cooked over a gas cooker :-)

So here is what you need to gather and prepare for the curry:

Ingredients list

• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 3 sweet potatoes - peeled and chopped
• 1 kg lamb pieces
• 1/2 tomato grated
• 1 Teaspoon (heaped) crushed garlic
• 1/2 Teaspoon crushed ginger
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (not melted - if melted then make it 2 tablespoons) 
• Fresh chopped coriander

Whole spices

• 3 whole cloves
• 3 small sticks cinnamon
• 3 pods Cardamom (Elaichi)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)

Masala

• 1 1/2 heaped tablespoon curry powder  (I buy blends which are clean i.e no cereal and thickeners and I further blend them. 100g Taj mixed with 150g Bombay delight)
• 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala (can be bought, but you can also make your own)

Preparation

Top left to bottom right: whole spices, chopped onion, mixed curry powder
with garam masala, Garlic, coconut oil, pink salt and whole cumin seeds
Chopped sweet potato, lamb pieces, 1/2 grated tomato

This is how you put it all together....

Method

Heat pan and then add the coconut oil, throw in the whole spices and toss around till it sizzles. Add the onion and cook until it reaches a golden brown tinge. Add the ginger and garlic paste and the curry powder and stir until all is mixed well with the onion. Add 1/4 cup or less boiling water to cook the spices and immediately add the meat and stir well, so that the meat is coated well with the spices.

Add salt to taste and sprinkle the cumin seeds over the meat. Cover and allow to cook on medium to high heat. After 15 minutes, add the sweet potatoes and stir in to blend with the spices. At this point you will notice that the juices from the meat has been released and the curry has some gravy already. 

If the curry seems dry, add 1/2 cup boiling water and then cover the pot and allow the curry to continue cooking. After 15 minutes, add the grated tomato and stir well - be careful to not stir too heavily, as this will break the potatoes.

Add another 1/2 cup boiling water and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat but leave the pot on the stove. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and allow to rest.

Serve up with Cauliflower rice and a fresh tomato samble accompaniment to keep it strictly Reboot friendly. I had a stir fry veg as my meal accompaniment.

Brilliant for cold days! 

Healthy and wholesome :-)

Steamed Cauliflower Rice - Reboot / Paleo

The craze that turned Cauliflower into "rice" had me puzzled for a while. I ended up making my first batch like my mother made cauliflower curry! There was not much distinction between the cauli rice and the curry on my plate. I then found an easier way to prepare it.

I buy a head of cauliflower and grate it to make the "rice".

I then put it in a microwave glass bowl with a lid, sprinkle some salt and pepper over it, and add a few cumin seeds and fennel seeds.  I cover the bowl and microwave for 4 minutes and then I sprinkle some chopped coriander over it and stir it in. Very simple and very easy.

Preparation

Ingredients

• 1/2 a head grated cauliflower - alternatively you can purchase the ready made Cauli Rice from Woolworths and use half a bag.
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped fresh coriander 

Method
Place cauli rice into a microwavable dish with a lid and add the salt, pepper and seeds. Microwave for 4 minutes on high and then sprinkle with coriander. Fluff with a fork and it's ready to serve.

Enjoy! :-) 

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup - Paleo

Eating healthily has never been more important in my life as it is now. Growing up in an Indian home, with curries and rotis and traditional ways of cooking vegetables, it never occurred to me that there could be other ways of cooking.

I guess this is what happens when you are culturally and racially segregated from others. The good news is that I took a subject called Home Economics when I started high school, and I found out that there were hundreds and if not thousands of delicious ways to prepare food. Still, at that time, the concept of "healthy" hadn't hit home. It was all about "diet" never about "healthy". I dropped Home Economics for Music, when the time came to pick our exam subjects. So, all education on food turned into a different kind - food for the soul.

Mushrooms, I discovered in 2011, is toxic to my body. It is something that my body doesn't like. After a great deal of detoxing and eventually seeking the path to healing with God, I can safely eat almost anything :-) Even real, filter coffee with caffeine in it! God is Good!

So recently in March 2015, I started a health journey which called for eating mainly the Paleo way. But whilst Paleo does allow for honey and maple syrup and other sweeteners, This way of eating is mostly a detox and it doesn't allow for any sugar or sugar substitutes. If you would like to follow my health journey, you can on this blog called "A Journey Called "Reboot""

Longing for that once creamy mushroom soup which was my favorite as an adult, I planned this recipe in my mind several times over with a substitute for cream and dairy, and imagined tasting it until I could no longer imagine it. I had to turn it into a reality!

This is what I did...

For the Ingredients:

• I had an incredibly large Portabello Mushroom, which I chopped up into tiny pieces. 
• I chopped up 1 Large Onion, finely
• I used 250g of chicken breast and chopped it up finely
• I took 2 cans of coconut milk (use brands that do not contain preservatives or bleaching agents. I used Jemz. Staffords is another brand that is clean - alternatively, make your own)
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to tase
• 1 teaspoon of finely crushed garlic
• 1 level tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 Tablespoon Tapioca Flour
• 3 Tablespoons cold water
• 3 Tablespoons finely chopped parsley or corriander

The Method was the easiest

In a saucepan, I heated up the coconut oil, then added the onion and cooked them until they had a golden brown tinge. I then added the chopped up chicken breast, mushrooms and garlic and I continued stirring until the onion, chicken and mushrooms were all mixed well.

Now, because chicken breasts cook very quickly, it only makes sense that this dish will be the quickest you will ever make.

I added the salt and black pepper in small quantities and then poured in the coconut milk. I brought this to a boil, and then lowered the heat to simmer.  I tasted the soup and felt that more salt and pepper was required, so I topped it up accordingly.

You will notice that the coconut milk does not thicken on its own. In order to have a soup with some body, mix 1 tablespoon of Tapioca Flour with 3 tablespoons of water and then pour it into the simmering soup. This will thicken but will not make it heavy in texture. At this point I added the coriander and turned off the heat.

When I served this dish, I garnished it with a little more coriander.

It brought back the taste of the good old days of enjoying this as my starter at most dinner evenings out. Absolutely delicious!

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup

Let's recap

Ingredients

• 1 large Portabello Mushroom
• 1 Large Onion, finely chopped
• 250g of chicken breast chopped finely
• 2 cans of coconut milk (use brands that do not contain preservatives or bleaching agents. I used Jemz. Staffords is another brand that is clean - alternatively, make your own)
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon of finely crushed garlic
• 1 level tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 Tablespoon Tapioca Flour
• 3 Tablespoons cold water
• 3 Tablespoons finely chopped parsley or coriander

Method
In a saucepan, heat up the coconut oil, then add the onion and cook them until they have a golden brown tinge. Add the chopped up chicken breasts, mushrooms and garlic and continue stirring until the onion, chicken and mushrooms were all mixed well.

Add the salt and black pepper in small quantities and then poured in the coconut milk. Bring this to a boil, and then lower the heat to simmer. Taste the soup and if more salt or pepper is required, top it up accordingly.

Mix 1 tablespoon of Tapioca Flour with 3 tablespoons of water and then pour it into the simmering soup. This will thicken but will not make it heavy in texture. At this point add the parsley / coriander and turn off the heat.

When serving, garnish with a little more parsley or coriander.

This quantity yields 4 servings.

A very healthy Bon Appetite to you!

Chocolate Coconut Pancakes - Paleo

During my new healthy eating lifestyle, (Reboot - based on Paleo) I found out that there are wonderful things that can be made without flour, sugar and dairy. There are a plethora of websites on Paleo recipes but some clash with my way of eating, which is zero butter, sugar or natural and artificial sweeteners.

I found a coconut flour pancake recipe which I was eager to try out - especially for those times of the month when you become The Hulk and want to eat like one! :-)

I tweaked it a little and turned them into a decadence.

Here's what I did:

I put a non stick frying pan (a small one - side plate sized or smaller) on meduim - high heat to sort of "preheat" itself, and then...

I took the following ingredients:
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (Baking Soda)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons of natural cocoa powder - unsweetened

I mixed these dry ingredients well in a bowl

In a separate bowl I mixed the following ingredients:
3 large eggs
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - you can also use the pod and scrape the vanilla from the inside.

How I cooked them:
I mixed the liquid ingredients really well and then poured it into the dry ingredients bowl and lightly mixed it until dry ingredients were mixed well. Once the batter was made - almost running consistency, I dropped a few drops of coconut oil into the preheated frying pan, and poured two heaped tablespoons of batter into it.  I let it cook for 1 minute until I saw bubbles on the top of the pancake.  I then flipped it over and let it cook for another minute.

They came out light and fluffy and smelled great! - It made four pancakes (slightly smaller than a side plate) which could easily serve two people, or save two in the fridge for breakfast the next day :-)

I then became really creative, driven by the Hulk inside of me :-) haha!

I took a tablespoon of Date Paste (which I made by enhancing the recipe I had - just cooked the dates for 30 minutes before cooling and liquidising) and spread it over one side of the pancake, and then covered it with another pancake. I chopped up bananas, strawberries, raspberries and pecan nuts and topped the pancake with the fruit first, and the used a large dollop of Coconut Cream and some more date paste, before sprinkling the pecan nuts on top.

It looked like a princess of all pancakes!

What do you think?

Toppings can be modified as well, like this one I made last night. I used Macadamia Nut Butter and sliced bananas. You can use Cashew or Almond Nut Butter as well - as long as it is in the Reboot Allowed Foods list.

Enjoy :-)

Homemade Coconut Milk and Coconut Flour

Have you ever calculated the cost of purchasing coconut milk, coconut cream, and coconut flour, especially if you are dairy and gluten intolerant, or following a Paleo lifestyle? In today's economic times, it does help to make the most out of your purchase.

In South Africa, we pay around R12.00 - R16.00 for a 500g pack of desiccated coconut (Dry shredded), and anything between R19.99 to R32.00 for a 410g can of coconut milk and between R42.00 - R50.00 for 500g of coconut flour.

As the saying goes, if you are Indian, Scottish or Jewish, it's an instinct to look for value for money. I am Indian! 

So, how do we get more for R16.00? 

First, do you own a blender? 

Second, do you own a coffee grinder? 

Or if you are a pro chef, you probably have all the gadgets needed to make magic! :-)

Coconut Milk

Ingredients

500g pack of desiccated coconut

3 cups water

A blender

A large bowl

Sieve

A clean dish towel

A large glass jar with a lid

Method

Add half the bag of desiccated coconut into your liquidizer, add 1 and a half cups of warm water. Let it stand for about 10 minutes and then blend for 3 minutes. Place a sieve over the large bowl, rinse the clean dish towel with warm water and thoroughly squeeze dry, then place the dish towel over the sieve and pour out the contents of the blender into the wet dish towel.

Wrap the contents from the blender with the dish towel - almost like squeezing a piping bag, but with more strength, so that all the coconut milk is emptied out in to the bowl.

When there is no more liquid running out of the dish towel, empty it out in a baking tray and set it aside. Pour the coconut milk into a clean sterilised glass jar. Repeat the process with the other half of the desiccated coconut. 

Seal the jar with a lid and keep in the fridge and use as desired for breakfasts (ground mixed seeds, fruit nuts and warm coconut milk), for use in pancake batter and for cooking with meat and veggies.

Coconut Flour

Ingredients

The liquid drained coconut shreds that you set aside in a baking tray

Method

Turn oven on to 190 deg cel.

distribute coconut shreds evenly on the baking tray and place in the oven. Keep an eye out on it as it toasts. Remove from the oven every 20 minutes and stir and distribute coconut evenly again - the coconut on the edges will normally brown quicker than in the middle.

Once the coconut shreds are evenly golden brown, remove it from the oven and allow to cool. 

Using a coffee grinder or any food processor that can grind finely, grind the toasted coconut until it is fine enough to use as coconut flour.

Store in an air tight container for future use.

There you have it! :-) Depending on your usage of coconut milk, you can easily make this once a week or every two weeks. 

Coconut Cream

When the homemade coconut milk sits in the fridge for a few hours or even overnight, the cream rises to the top. So you can also get coconut cream for use as toppings over pancakes and to eat with fruit. 

When coconut milk stands for a few hours, the cream rises to the top
You can scoop this out and then mix the rest to form a
thinner coconut milk

Left: Freshly made coconut milk
Right: Refrigerated overnight coconut milk - resulted in coconut cream rising to the top

Indian Food - The Paleo way

3 Ingredient Paleo Naan (Indian bread)

Author: Ashley Thomas


Ingredients
½ cup Almond Flour
½ cup Tapioca Flour
1 cup Organic Coconut Milk, canned and full fat
optional: salt, Grassfed Organic Ghee (slather that bread!)

Instructions
Mix all the ingredients together.
Heat a 9.5 inch Nonstick Pan over medium heat and pour batter to desired thickness (see notes below).
Once the batter fluffs up and looks firm/mostly cooked, flip it over to cook the other side (be patient, this takes a little time!).
Enjoy this and make it often.

Notes
Options for Size:

• You can pour half the batter onto a 9.5 inch pan and cook - then repeat for a total of 2 large naans.
• You can pour ¼ cup of the batter onto your pan to make 6 small naans. These will cook faster than the large naans. 
• If you want to make a dessert crepe, pour the batter and spread it out as thin as you can. 
• If you are not using a non-stick pan, you will need to use some sort of oil/ghee/fat to keep the batter from sticking.
• If the cream has solidified in your canned coconut milk, then mix well before using.

Direct link to this recipe : http://myheartbeets.com/paleo-naan-indian-bread/

For more recipes The Paleo way, visit www.myheartbeets.com 

Sharing a Blog of Healthy Treats

A Range of Paleo type Recipes.

When we have to watch our figure as we continue on our journey of life, we have to be careful of what we put in our mouths.

Homemade has not yet looked into healthy versions of the recipes previously shared, but someone else has, in order to maintain a healthy eating plan for her own journey.

It's a great blog filled with various recipes that focus on Gluten/wheat free, Dairy and sugar free recipes. Healthy choices of fats and salad dressing etc...

Knock yourselves out :-)


www.naturallynutritiousliving.co.za

Death by Chocolate Fudge Cake

Step 1

In a saucepan, heat up the following:

1 Cup hot water

1 ½ cups butter

½ cup cooking oil

4 Tablespoons Cocoa

Step 2

In a large bowl, sift

2 cups of flour

2 cups of sugar

Step 3

In a separate bowl add and mix well:

2 eggs

½ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda mixed with ¼ cup fresh milk

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Essence

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180 deg. Celsius

Grease a large, deep, square baking tray or oval baking tray (use discretion for size of baking tray judging from the final cake mixture amount)

When ingredients in step 1, is melted, pour into step 2. Mix until smooth with a whisk (no electric mixer).  When the mixture is smooth, fold in the ingredients of step 3. Mix until smooth. Pour into greased baking tray and bake for 30 minutes.  At 25 minutes test cake with a skewer.  If the skewer comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven.  Cake must not bake too brown or dry. Pour homemade chocolate sauce over the hot cake in the baking tray and allow to cool. You may gently poke holes in the cake at various points to allow the sauce to sink in. Once cooled, cover with either cling wrap or tin foil to keep the moisture in.  Cake can be decorated at own discretion.

Homemade chocolate sauce:

6 Tablespoons butter,

3 tablespoons buttermilk,

4 tablespoon cocoa,

1 tablespoon vanilla essence,

¾ cups icing sugar

Add all ingredients in a saucepan and let it cook on very low heat (2 on the hob) whilst stirring continuously. This sauce can be prepared whilst the cake is baking. Sauce must be smooth and shiny.  You can double the ingredients if you wish to serve the sauce with other desserts.

Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken / Lamb Curry Recipe

Chicken / Lamb Curry

1Kg Chicken pieces – washed (skinned and deboned if preferred) or lamb off the bone or on - depending on preference
1 large onion chopped finely
4 potatoes peeled and cut in quarters
Spices:
1 ½ tsp Cumin seeds
*1 Bay leave
*1 small stick cinnamon
* 3 pods cardamom
* 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
* 2 cloves
* Alternatively, use Homemade garam masala (1 teaspoon) but still use the whole cumin seeds.
1 full heaped teaspoon crushed garlic
½ tsp crushed ginger
String of curry leaves
Salt to season
1 Teaspoon Sugar
Fresh washed and finely chopped coriander
Oil to braise onion

Masala
It is wise to buy in bulk 400g Osman's Taj Extra Special Medium Curry Powder and 100G Osman's Taj Extra Special Ginger Garlic Masala and mix them in a container and keep refrigerated.
For this recipe use 3 tablespoons mixed curry powder of the above mixture (which will give it a hot flavor - for milder version, use 2 Tablespoons)

Optional
3 - 4 tablespoons freshly chopped tomato or tinned tomato and onion mix (for extra curry sauce and add an additional teaspoon of mixed masala)

Method
In a large base pot, heat up oil on medium to high heat and throw in the following:
½ of the chopped onion, Curry leaves and Bay leaf.

When the onion is golden brown add the following:
Ginger, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds. Stir these ingredients for 30 seconds, then add the masala. Cook the spices for another 10 seconds, and then add the washed chicken and potatoes, with a little water - say 1/4 cup of boiling water.

Coat the meat and potatoes well with the spices. Lower the heat (medium to low) to simmer. Add salt, remainder of the ½ chopped onion and cumin seeds (sprinkle evenly over the top of the spiced coated meat and potatoes.) Cover and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir the curry to ensure there is no burning, if there is water in the pot, raise the heat to medium high and allow the “water to dry”, stirring every 10 minutes for the next 20 minutes. When the water is dry, and the chicken is “fried” with the spices, add ½ - 1 cup of boiling water to continue cooking.

Check the consistency, if more water is required, add according to your preference to build the sauce amount. If it is just right, lower heat and add tomatoes and sugar and simmer for another 5 – 10 minutes. Turn off heat and sprinkle freshly chopped coriander over the top evenly. Cover the pot and leave on the stove as the heated stove plate cools down. Serve with Basmati rice and a Homemade samble salad.

Bunny Chow option:
Either buy or bake your own loaf/ves of bread
Cut them into halves and then cut the halves into further halves i.e cut one loaf in 4 pieces
Carve out the soft flesh of the bread (create a hole in the bread) - keep the soft flesh in a square
Top up the space of the bread with the curry, sambles and place the square flesh of the bread on top, and serve.







After braising - add salt, half chopped onion and cumin seeds and cover and simmer








Once cooked - sprinkle with fresh chopped coriander







Cooked lamb curry garnished with coriander







Fresh coriander

Homemade Fresh Tomato Samble

An accompaniment to any curry dish

Ingredients
2 Fresh tomatoes or Italian Rosa Tomatoes (1 punnet)
1/2 Red onion or normal onion
1/4 English Cucumber
1/2 Green pepper
Fresh Chilli according to taste
1 Fresh Lemon (juice squeezed)
Salt to taste
Fresh chopped coriander


Method 
Finely chop tomatoes, cucumber, green peppers, onion, chilli and coriander. Place in a large serving bowl. Drizzle with freshly squeezed lemon juice and sprinkle with chopped coriander.

Chill before serving.