My heart is like a ripe red tomato

My heart is like a ripe red tomato

When it gets bruised, the vegetable scent rises up, fresh, too much fragrance

When it is crushed, the ruby red juices flow, like blood. Dripping everywhere.

Don't be alarmed, its a good thing

think of the abundance of a harvest,

soil and water mixed with sunshine

I am a child of the earth.

I love and I cry.

And once, maybe it happened already

One day, maybe its coming

My tomato heart will meet that one,

that chef with a knife

that does not bruise,

that does not crush.

Love is all you need

The willingness to give love, that is. 

When you reach a point where you are able to love everything and everyone, life becomes effortless.

You don’t need to worry about the results of your actions because all your actions come from a positive place.

 You don’t have to worry about your (lack of) control over circumstances, because you can be confident that you can respond to anything with equanimity.

So to be happy and reach a peaceful place, live with love.

Quinoa and Vegetables

Its Winter! Which means cold nights and colder mornings.  You body clock resets in winter, I am convinced that humans are meant to be hibernating in winter.

I noticed that recently I have been consuming too much refined carbs in the form of pizza and white breads, rotis and pies. So I decided its time to take out the steamer and start preparing healthy winter suppers.

I made quinoa and vegetables and it turned out to be a  really delicious meal. I ended up taking the leftovers to work for lunch. I combined it  with spinach and a tomato chutney which adds even more flavour.

Quinoa and Vegetables

1 cup of quinoa
1/2 cup of mixed lentils 
1 onion (sliced)
1 tomato (sliced)
1 small pepper (sliced)
2 large garlic
2 chillies (sliced)
a pinch of hing
salt to tase

Wash the quinoa and lentils thoroughly. Place quinoa and lentils in a bowl of water in the steamer and steam for 20 minutes.  Add the onions, tomato, pepper, garlic, chillies, hing and salt and steam for a further 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft.  You can serve this as a side with another dish or on its own.

Quinoa is  known as a "super food". It is a complete protein and very good for vegetarians.  Combined with lentils and vegetables, it is a perfect winter dinner.

Healthy and Delicious Supper

When I was a kid, we would have beans curry and white rice every Tuesday. I remember how delicious it was and today, I stumbled upon a healthier version of it: Beans Curry and Boiled Cauliflower and Brocolli. . Basically the cauliflower and brocolli  serves as a rice substitute. You have to make sure that the cauliflower and brocolli are boiled until they are fairly mushy and use 1 part brocolli to 4 parts cauliflower. Don't forget the hing!

Fasting Dhal

 As I mentioned in my last post, it is a fasting week. I cooked a delicious, salty dhal that was intended to- and did  bust meat cravings. It is rich with butter and salty and no-one can complain that they are craving meat after eating this.

1 cup yellow lentils

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tomato

1 large eggplant

1 small onion

1 teaspoon hing

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon jeera

½ teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon oil

1 tablespoon butter/ghee

Place washed lentils in a large pot of water and add turmeric powder. Allow to boil until lentils are softened and add diced tomato and eggplants. Add  a little more salt than you would usually use. I used a large handful. I always eyeball salt.  It comes to about a tablespoon. Cook  until soft. Thereafter, braise the dhal by heating oil in a pan, add the jeera and mustard seeds and cook for one minute and then add the onions and butter. Personally, I dont prefer the taste of ghee, but the butter gives it a rich texture and taste.  When the onions are brown add the garlic and cook for a minute and then combine this mixture into the lentils.

I served the dhal with curry and rice and salad. I ate it in a cup with a little curry added.  Yum.

Mushroom and Cabbages and Pepper on Sunday

Its fasting time – Ram Naumi, so I decided to make a feast.  I made cabbage and potato curry, mushrooms and roti.  There was also baked beans chutney with soya and some diced yellow pepper.

The picture is not so clear, but it was delicious.

Fried Mushrooms

1 teaspoon of oil

2 dried chillies

1 small onion

1 cup of mushrooms

Salt

Heat the oil in a large pan and then add the onions. I used  canola oil, there was no reason for that, it was just what I had. Both sunflower and olive oil will work for this recipe. Once the onions are heated through, add the dried chillies and cook until onions are golden brown.  Add the mushrooms, and a pinch of salt, cover the pan and allow to cook for 15 - 20 minutes. There is only a little oil in this dish but water from the mushrooms will prevent it from sticking or burning. You can cook for longer until the bottom layer of mushrooms are golden brown. This is very tasty but the healthier option is less cooking, of course.

 Cabbage and Potato Curry

1 tablespoon oil

1/4 teaspoon ginger and garlic, cruched.

small piece of cinnamon

1 clove

1 bay leaf

2 cups of cabbage (shredded) 

1 large potato (cut into 6 pieces)

1 medium onion

1 tablespoon of masala

1/2 green chillies

Fry onions, cinnamon, clove, bay leaf in oil until browned. Add garlic mix and fry for a minute, add masala and allow to cook for a minute. If the masala sticks of feels like it is burning, add water. If you want to avoid this, you could use more (much more) oil. Add the cabbage, potatoes, salt and green chillies. Allow to cook for 3 minutes or until potatoes are soft. This was a seriously hot curry, so you can leave out the cinnamon and clove and it will still taste good.

I just want to talk about masala for a bit. The success of your curry depends on the type of masala you are using. Some people prefer to mix their own, others buy pre-mixed masala. For now, I buy mine mixed but I am also experimenting to get my own unique blend that would work well with vegetarian dishes and meat dishes. I will share once I hit the right combination of spices.

For the roti, I used the recipe I already shared but added a small pinch of salt. I also toasted the roti on a higher heat, this allows the roti to puff up which makes it tastier.

I will post the baked beans recipe later.

Tea for Easing Sore Throat and Chest

2 cups water
1 teaspoon dried chilli seeds

1 piece cinnamon

2 cloves

2 teabags

1 ½ tablespoon ginger
Milk

Honey

Place water, chilli seeds, cinnamon and cloves in a pot and bring to boil.  Add teabags, ginger and milk and allow to brew for a few minutes. Sweeten with honey. This really works.

Brocolli

I didn't feel like getting out the steamer yesterday, so I made broccoli in a pot.  I heated a cast iron pot on the stove and boiled some water in the kettle.  I poured the boiled water into the hot pot and added salt. I nearly burned myself because the boiled water started bubbling as soon as it hit the pot.  I added the broccoli and let it cook for 5 minutes only. It was delicious. I ate it with brown rice and cauliflower, a mixture of fresh beans  and potato curry that I had made the day before.

I also made mutton mince curry and a whole pile of small rotis yesterday and was told that it was very tasty. Here is the roti recipe for what it’s worth. I feel that a person has to be taught how to make it because there are some complicated steps.

Roti

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons oil

Boiling water

Place 2 cups of flour in a dish. Add 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil.  Add boiling water and mix until it reaches a doughy consistency.  Then use your hands and need the dough while it is still hot. Break of a handful of dough and pat it into smooth round balls.  Dip it into flour and flatten using your fingers.  Place the pieces (chakwa) on a floured surface. Use up all the dough while it’s still hot.  Roll out the chakwa with a rolling pin  and toast in a non stick pan or iron griddle (thawa). You can use a little oil or ghee during the toasting process.

I made roti

Yes, I did it. My mum talked me through the process over the phone. Of course I had seen her do it hundreds of times and considering that I am a champion roti toaster (seko), I managed to turn out a few very tasty and soft rotis.

Don’t they look good?

I also tried fish curry. I was told that it was ok, but I was supposed to use a little less tamarind and a lot more chilies.

The movie 31 million reasons  turned out to be pretty good. Jack Devnarian and Neville Pillay did a great job. There is a nice quote from the movie but I have not been able to source it from google - along the lines of “Being from Chatsworth means never having been anywhere else”. The dialogue and the whole screenplay in general could have been a lot better. But overall, it was worth the movie ticket.

I have been playing with/learning tarot a lot lately. I do a card a day and now I am acquainted with the Strength; Tower; King of Swords; Knight of Wands; Wheel of Fortune; 8 of Cups; and Death cards. This stuff is fascinating.

The latest recipe I have concocted is called chickpeas and halloumi cheese. I decided to cook my own dinner but I had no particular dish in mind. I just went and scrounged around the (nearly bare) kitchen and found some mixed vegetables and boiled chickpeas in the freezer and some old halloumi in the fridge.

Chickpeas, Vegetables and Halloumi Cheese
1 cup of boiled chickpeas
½ an onion, sliced
Chilli Flakes
Mustard Seeds
1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables
2 slices of halloumi cheese cut into cubes
2 tablespoons
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Mix chickpeas, onions, chilli flakes, mustard seed and salt and place in a small oven proof dish. You can also add a hint of jeera (cumin) if you want. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place the frozen veg over the chickpeas and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and add the olive oil and mix everything together. I only did it this way because I only realized then that I had forgotten to use any oil but it turned out to be a happy accident. Cook for 10 more minutes and remove from oven. Place a portion (serving for one person) into a smaller oven proof bowl and sprinkle some of the cubed halloumi on top and grill for a few minutes. Serve and enjoy.

What I ate during my vacation

This is the first holiday I have had where I actually managed to lose weight. I didn't want my mum and sister to bother with cooking veg stuff for me so I mostly drank fresh vegetable juices from Kauai and ate fruit. Ashni's nanny cooked an awesome beans curry for me and on my last day in Durban my mother made:
• Eggplant and beans ( the beans were from my maternal aunt’s garden, thanks Saras Poowa)
• Methi herbs and potato
• Cashew balls and tomato
• Roti
I won’t share my mother’s recipe for the above but here is my version.
Eggplant and beans
1 small onion
2 teaspoons oil
Tablespoon masala
2 chillies (optional)
½ teaspoon garlic
Curry leaf
2 tomatoes
Salt
A handful Double beans
2 eggplants

Fry the onions in oil until brown. Add the garlic and fry slightly and then add masala. Stir in the beans and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the curry leaf, brinjal, chillies and salt last. Cook for 15 minutes. Serve with roti