Plant Based Christmas - #Foodie

Vegan/Vegetarian Christmas Foodie

Whether you are a vegan/vegetarian yourself or are hosting the Christmas dinner this year we’ve got 3 dishes to help make your Christmas dinner perfect for everyone.

Below we’ve chosen two savoury dishes – a main and a side dish – as well as a sweet chocolate mousse to impress your guests this Christmas.

Vegetarian Butternut Squash Salad with Roasted Brussels sprouts, Pecans, and Cranberries.

We love this recipe from Julia’s Album – click here to read her original post.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups/300g Brussel Sprouts
• 600-700g Butternut Squash
• 2 cups/250g Pecan Halves
• 1 cup/120g Dried Cranberries
• Olive Oil
• Maple Syrup
• Ground Cinnamon
• Salt

To Roast the Sprouts:

Preheat the oven to 200°C & grease your roasting tray with some olive oil.

Cut all the sprouts in half, trim the ends and peel the outer leaves off.

In a bowl, combine the sprouts with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt.

Spread evenly on the roasting tray (flat/cut side down) and roast for 20 – 25 minutes.

For the final 10 minutes turn the sprouts over so that they brown evenly.

To Roast the Butternut Squash:

Preheat the oven to200°C & grease your roasting tray with some olive oil.

Cut all the squash into small cubes –peeled and seeded.

In a bowl, combine the squash with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and flavour with maple syrup and ground cinnamon to taste.

Spread evenly on the roasting tray and roast for 20 – 25 minutes, turn them half way through the cooking time to ensure even cooking.

To toast the Pecans:

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a tray with parchment paper.

Place them flat on the tray in the oven for about 5 minutes or until they darken in colour.

To Assemble:

In a large serving bowl, combine the roasted sprouts and roasted butternut squash.

Add in the toasted pecans and dried cranberries and mix together.

For extra sweetness you can add 2 or 4 tablespoons of maple syrup or add any other seasonings you wish.

Giant Vegan Wellington.

We love this vegan recipe from Olive Magazine – To read the original article and recipe click here.

This show stopping main course is sure to impress all of your guests.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 250g kale, tough stalks removed
• 250g cooked beetroot , thinly sliced
• 3 roasted red peppers from a jar, drained and halved

For the stuffing:

• 2 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 150g swede, coarsely grated
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• a few sprigs of thyme , leaves stripped
• nutmeg
• 200g ready-cooked Puy lentils
• 1 apple, coarsely grated
• 30g hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped
• 50g breadcrumbs
• 1 lemon, zested

For this you can either make your own pastry or use a vegan shop-bought pastry – it’s completely up to you!

To make the stuffing:

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onion and swede for 5-10 minutes or until soft. 

Add the herbs and spices (garlic, thyme and nutmeg), and cook for another minute.

Add in the cooked lentils, apple and hazelnuts, and cook for 1 minute before stirring through the breadcrumbs and lemon zest.

Leave it to one side to cool.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan and cook the chopped garlic for 2 minutes.

Add the kale and a splash of boiling water, and cook until it has wilted and the water has evaporated.

Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble:

On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll out one third of the pastry to a 25cm x 15cm rectangle.

Leaving a 1cm gap around the edges, spoon on half of the stuffing mixture, half of the kale and half of the beetroot slices.

Repeat the layers until you have used all of the mixture.

Roll out the remaining pastry to a 35cm x 30cm rectangle.

Carefully place it on top of the wellington and use your hands to mould the pastry round so it is tight to the filling.

Use your finger and thumb to crimp the edges of the pastry so it’s completely encased, then trim any excess.

Chill for 30 minutes.

To Cook:

Place in the oven at 180-200°C for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crispy.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse.

We found this mouth-watering dessert recipe on mindbodygreen.com – click here to see the original post.

Ingredients:

• 1 large ripe avocado
• 1/4 cup raw cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup coconut milk or almond milk
• 2 teaspoon stevia (or other natural sweetener)
• 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

Purée the avocado until smooth.

Mix together the cocoa powder and milk until combined and add to the avocado.

Stir in the stevia, vanilla extract, and any extra ingredients you want and mix well.

Transfer the mousse to individual glasses and store in the fridge until ready to eat.

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

#Foodie - Sushi Making Ideas

Homemade Vegan Sushi Rolls are a healthy and economical way to enjoy sushi, using vegetables instead of seafood. These amazing recipes produce the an incredible taste, and at a fraction of the cost of seafood sushi. Give it a go, we dare you!

Basic Sushi Recipe

You will need:

Nori sheets (made from dried seaweed)

2 cups white rice (medium grain)

120ml water

3 Tbsp rice vinegar

3 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp mirin

2 tsp salt

1 cucumber, cut into strips

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 carrot, shredded

1 avocado, cut into strips

Soy Sauce for dipping

Thai Sweet Chile Sauce for dipping

Toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

Method

• Thoroughly rinse rice until water runs clear
• Cook rice according to packet instructions
• Let rice cool completely, and transfer to a non-metallic bowl
• Mix vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved and pour into rice
• Gently mix rice to incorporate seasoning
• Prepare veggies by cutting them into strips
• De-seed cucumber
• With rough side of the nori sheet facing up, spread the rice to a thickness of about 1/2 an inch. Leave the top 1" off the Nori sheet bare
• Layer veggies on the bottom of the Nori sheet. Then, with a mat or towel, carefully roll up the sheet so all the veggies are rolled up firmly inside
• Slice with a wet knife
• Season with sesame seeds, if you desire
• Use soy sauce or sweet chilli for dipping

Makes approximately 24 rolls

Avocado & Mango Brown Rice Sushi

Serves 4

You will need:

for the rice:

• 1 cup short grain brown rice, rinsed well
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

for the rolls:

• 1 cucumber, sliced into long strips
• 1 ripe mango, sliced into vertical strips
• 1 avocado, sliced
• ⅓ cup micro greens, optional
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, optional
• 4 nori sheets

serve with:

• tamari or ponzu sauce

Instructions

1. Combine the rice and water in a rice cooker and cook on the brown rice setting. If you don’t have a rice cooker, combine the rice, water and 1 teaspoon of olive oil and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove the rice from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 more minutes. Fluff with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Heat it in the microwave for a few seconds to allow the sugar to dissolve.
3. Prep the filling ingredients for the rolls and set aside.
4. Transfer the rice to a large bowl and pour in the vinegar mixture. Use a spatula to gently fold in the rice until the mixture is fully incorporated. The rice will start to look glossy. (Traditionally, you fan it to cool it while doing this)
5. Place a small bowl of water and a kitchen towel near your work area as your hands will get sticky. Place one nori sheet, glossy side down, onto a bamboo mat and press a handful of rice onto the lower two-thirds of the sheet. At the bottom of the rice place your toppings (see picture). Don’t overfill or it will be more difficult to roll. Use the bamboo mat to tuck and roll the nori. Once rolled, use the bamboo mat to gently press and shape the roll. Place the roll to the side, cut side down. Repeat with remaining rolls.
6. Use a sharp chef’s knife to cut the sushi. Wipe the knife clean with a damp towel between cuts.
7. Serve immediately with tamari or ponzu sauce and coconut peanut sauce, if using.

This recipe is from a lovely blog called Love and Lemons: https://www.loveandlemons.com/

Sincerely, Madia & Matilda

#Foodie - Veggie Noodles With Tomato-basil sauce

We all love a home cooked pasta dish, therefore with our new inspired meal ideas Madia & Matilda have prepared a dish we can all enjoy. 

Ingredients

1/2 tbsp (7 ml) olive oil

4   garlic cloves, pressed 
1 onion chopped up 

2 pkg (10.5 oz/595 g each) grape or cherry tomatoes

1 cup (250 ml) unsalted vegetable stock, chicken stock or chicken broth

1   large aubergine (eggplant for our American friends) , unpeeled

2 medium courgette

2 medium yellow squash

3/4 oz (20 g) fresh basil leaves, snipped

1/2 tsp (2 ml) each salt and black pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat for 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add pressed garlic and chopped onion; cook for about 30 seconds. 

Add tomatoes and chicken stock. Cover; bring to a boil over a high heat.  

Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 6-8 minutes or until tomatoes burst. Gently squeeze any whole tomatoes with Tongs. Using grater or veggitable stripper grate vegetables into long strips, avoiding seeds. Stir vegetables into tomato mixture. Cook, uncovered, 3-6 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften, stirring occasionally. Finally stir in basil, salt and pepper. 

You will make enough, for 6 servings, enjoy.

Tips:

For variety, stir in any of the following in Step 4. 
• Fresh baby spinach • Cannellini beans or for our non vegan friends - Diced cooked chicken, Italian sausage.


                     Sincerely Madia & Matilda