Coffee

I usually take my tea and coffee without milk or sugar, but the other night I  had a strong craving for sweet,  milky coffee.  I added some spices to it and it was amazingly good.

Spiced Coffee

2 teaspoons coffee
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon coffee creamer
milk (according to your taste)
dash of nutmeg
1 small stick of Cinnamon
water

Place coffee and a piece of Cinnamon into a cup and pour in boiling water.  Add the nutmeg, honey, coffee creamer and milk, and allow to steep for a minute or two.
Remove the Cinnamon stick and enjoy! 
For more  increased decadence, I will add a tot of brandy next time.

Roasted Vegetables, lentil and vegetable soup and Yoga

After my success with the patty pans, I decided to try roasting other vegetables.  I have also been too busy to mess about with the steamer  - cleaning it is a bit of a hassle.  

Assortment of Roasted Vegetables

250 g brussel sprouts
250 g butternut pieces
1 large red onion, sliced
3 small cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
splash of lemon juice
fine salt
pepper

Coat the brussel sprouts in some olive oil and splash with vinegar, coat the other vegetables in oil, (I used my hand) and place in a roasting dish, making sure that the onions are at the bottom of the dish. Season generously with fine salt and pepper.  Roast for 45 minutes at 180 degrees.
They were delicious and the brussel sprouts were especially nice.

Lentil and Vegetable Soup

1/4 cup soup mix (peas, barley lentils and groats)
1/4 cup red, yellow, brown and green lentils
250g baby marrows, slice
250g eggplants, sliced
250g green beans, quartered
1 medium red onion
1 medium white onion
2 large cloves of garlic
6 medium tomatoes
2 hot jalepeno peppers
1 tablespoon oil (I used olive)
2 tablespoons hot sauce (I used bandito's habenero sauce)
Aesfoetida powder.
1 tsp oreganum

In a large pot, boil the soup mix and lentils once and add 200 g baby marrows, 100g eggplants and all the green beans. The green beans I used was quite tough and that is the reason why added it at the beginning. Boil for 30 minutes.

In a seperate non stick  pan, cook the onions, garlic, remaining baby marrows, eggplants, tomatoes and jalepeno peppers in water  until the tomatoes have cooked down, about 20 minutes. Add the oil and oreganum from the top and allow to cook for 5 more minutes. 

Add this mix into the soup mix, add salt according to taste, hing, hot sauce and simmer for 30 minutes. 

This soup can be refridgerated for up to a week. I found the soup mix in the store and it seems to be popular because it is always available. I have posted a variation of this recipe before, but that was the winter version.This soup is high in iron and light enough for summer. I love it.

I have been attending yoga classes regularly, not sure if I am more flexible or if my chakra's are being balanced.  But it certainly relaxes me.

Patty Pans and Rainbow Plates and Tarot Update

This week I decided to have rainbow plates,  veggies of all colours in one plate.  I used the usual purple cabbage, butternut etc. 
In the past, one ingredient I stayed away from is Patty Pans.  I have always found them to be bitter and nasty. 

However, yellow veggies are not that easy to find so I confronted my fear and triumphed:)

Oven Roasted Patty Pans
Olive Oil
Powdered Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper

Wash the patty pans thoroughly and coat with olive oil, sprinkle with nutmeg, salt and pepper.   Place in a roasting pan and roast for 20 minutes at 180 degrees.

Roasting the patty pans decreases the bitterness and it has a lovely caramelised flavour. I just added nutmeg on a whim and it was not a bad choice at all.

I also found a diluted version of tahini sauce and harrisa sauce at the store and they go great on sandwiches.

So I have been making good progress with tarot and have been reading tarot for people. I  am now getting referrals.  So fun!