Vegan Pad Thai

This is another family favourite that I am excited to share with you. What I love about this recipe, is that aside from lightly sauteing the onions, I add my veggies into the mix raw, stir to warm them and serve. My family gets the benefits of raw food, bursting with the enzymes and nutrients without even realising they're eating raw.

There are no peanuts in the picture, simply because I forgot to add them before I took the picture. I usually put a bowl with spices, another with peanuts and yet another with extra cilantro and shallots for those who would like to add them to their plate.

So let's get on with the recipe! Oh, normally I would have used a red pepper, but my grocery guys were out and only had orange ones, so the colour is not as pretty as it could have been.

Ingredients:

1/2 package of rice noodles (not the vermicelli)

2 zucchinis
2 carrots
1 red pepper
1 large onion
4 shallots
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro
chopped peanuts
1 lime

Sauce:

1 mushroom broth cube (I use Go Bio)
1 veggie broth cube (or 2 Tbsp)
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp Tamari sauce (I use San-j -gluten free)
1/4 tsp sriracha powdered spice

Instructions:

Heat water in a pot until boiling. Remove from heat, place the rice noodles into the water and let sit.
When they have reached the desired tenderness, drain and rinse. Set aside.

While the noodles soak, thinly slice the onion into perfect slices (as though you wanted onion rings), and then cut a line from the centre of the onion out. This will give long, thin strips of onion. Set aside.

I use a mandoline to make 'noodles' out of my carrots and zucchinis. You could use a spiralizer too, but the mandoline makes vermicelli sized noodles. Put the 'noodles' in a separate bowl.
Thinly slice the pepper and add them to the carrot, zucchini bowl. The zucchini noodle will blend right into the rice noodles, you won't even know they're there. I do not peel my zucchini.

Chop the cilantro and the shallots, place in a small bowl.
Chop the peanuts and place in yet another small bowl.
Slice the lime into wedges.

To make the sauce, place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

Saute the onion until transparent. Pour the sauce mixture over the onions and heat until bubbles start to form. Add the noodles and toss to coat.

Add the carrot, zucchini and peppers. Mix well, remove from heat and cover the pot for a few minutes.

Sprinkle with cilantro, shallots, peanuts and more spice if you so desire.
Yields 4 large portions. (more than enough for us, 3 adults and 2 children.)

Enjoy!

Curried Red Lentil Veggie Soup

Late nights working at my computer are sadly something that happens too often. Every now and then, I feel like having a little snack to tide me over and tonight, this is what I chose. A thick soup with red lentils cauliflower, carrots and sweet potatoes. Add ginger, garlic and curry, and oh, what a treat.

Curried Red Lentil Veggie Soup

1 cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized pieces
4 carrots, thinly sliced
1 sweet potato, cubed
2 cups of red lentils
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
1-inch chunk of fresh ginger
curry powder (I use Simply Organic) but like to change once in a while to try different blends.
veggie broth, OR powder or vegetable broth cubes (enough to fit your pot size)
water

Preparation:

Dice the onion, crush the garlic and finely grate the ginger. (I have this old ginger peeler grater Yukie, a Japanese exchange student, gave me 20 years ago...hoping it lasts another 20 years).

Saute onion lightly until transparent.

Add salt and curry powder, then garlic and ginger.

Before the garlic and ginger start to stick to the bottom of the pot, add the other veggies and fill the pot with water and vegetable broth powder (cubes) or veggie broth.

Once the broth comes to a boil, add the lentils and lower the heat.

Let simmer until the vegetables are tender. The lentils will be done by then.

Add salt, pepper and curry powder to taste.
You can always use powdered garlic and ginger in a pinch, but I always have fresh on hand.

Until I had this soup, I was not a fan of curry. Now, I have several dishes that call for curry, and I am happy to say, bring it on. I love it. The blend of curry, garlic and ginger is heavenly.

Cauliflower Goji Berry Salad

Oh, my....what an awesome recipe. My daughter asked me if it was a raw 'potato' salad, and I realised that it could easily replace a picnic favourite. No cooking, not worries about keeping it cool when eating outdoors. So yummy you'll be swatting them away as they try to eat right out of the bowl.

This is so easy to throw together, and so yummy that you'll want to make it over and over.

Cauliflower Goji Berry Salad

1 cauliflower
1 medium red onion
1/3 cup goji berries
1/4 cup pine nuts

3/4 cup soaked cashews (soak 30 min -2 hrs. try not to soak more than 4 hours)
1-2 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 clove of garlic
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste


Coarsely chop up the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces and put in a bowl. Dice the onion and add to the cauliflower. Add the goji berries and pine nuts. Lighty salt and toss. Set aside.

In a high-speed blender, Nutribullet or Nutribullet Rx (I'll show you the ones I use at one point), blend the cashews, garlic, vinegar, salt, pepper, and a bit of water. You will want to add water very slowly because we are looking for a thick, creamy consistency.

Add the cream sauce to the cauliflower mixture and stir to coat. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. If you let it sit for a few minutes, the flavours will really come out.

You will not be disappointed and neither will those you share it with...if you do decide to share. I wanted to add another post, but now I think I'm gonna take a few minutes and go make this. My mouth is watering just writing about it.

If you do try this, let me know how it turned out and if you liked it!

Sun, Summer and Bugs...

If you are like me, and probably most people on the planet, you despise the little creepy-crawly, flying, stinging and biting critters that pop out half an hour after the onset of warm weather.
My friend went out to collect her laundry and had to run back inside to take cover from the swarm of black flies that immediately targeted her. Fortunately, I had just shared this recipe with her, and she applied this mixture of essential oils to her skin, went back out, and was able to fold the entire load outdoors without being harassed.
Interested?

You have 2 options, either a roller ball or a spray. I say this because although I had a spray recipe, I was fresh out of spray bottles, so she did the next best thing, and put them in a roller ball with fractionated coconut oil (liquid).

So, to make this beautiful, 'make the outdoors fun again', roll-on or spray, you only need a few ingredients.

Fractionated coconut oil, avocado oil or sweet almond oil are great carrier oils. (You can choose your favourite oil, these are just a few suggestions)

Just realised that I forgot to put the witch hazel and glycerin into the picture

Fill your bottle with the carrier oil, leaving a little space for the essential oils. This will reflect a 15 ml bottle. Adjust your essential oils accordingly, using 3-5 drops of each.

Basic oils:
Purification essential oil,
Lavender essential oil,
Peppermint essential oil,

Pop on a roller-top and voila!
If you hop on the internet you can find specific oils for specific lil buggers.

By the way, I spent a few days in the bush with my cadet unit. Bug infested bush -enough to drive you crazy bush. I am pleased to say, I made it through without a single bite. Now if you look closely at this picture, every single white speck is a black fly, gloriously lit up at sunset. Yes, I'm being sarcastic. What you don't see is that there are easily twice as many bugs on their clothing.

Save me from 'em spray:

Glass bottles are always the best, but in a pinch, even the dollar store can set you up with a travel sized plastic spray bottle.

Spray bottle
pinch of salt
3-5 drops of Purification, Lavender and Peppermint essential oils.
an inch of witch hazel (regardless of bottle size, I use an inch or 2,5 cm high)
1 tsp glycerin or liquid coconut oil
filtered water is best to not clog the spray nozzle, but not absolutely necessary.

Add a pinch of salt to the bottom of your bottle and add the essential oils to it. This will help you keep the oils blended into the liquid, rather than have them float on top.
Pour an inch of witch hazel into the bottle and swirl the mixture around.
You can add a teaspoon of glycerin or coconut oil (liquid) to the mix.
Fill the rest of the bottle with filtered or distilled water. Cap, shake and spray.

Keep in mind that wearing light coloured clothes helps. Black or dark colours attract those annoying little pests.

If anyone was wondering what was in Purification, I got the list for you:
Lemongrass, Rosemary, Melaleuca (M. Alternifolia), Myrtle, Citronella. Which is why it's an awesome choice in our mixture.