Bread and Betroot Chips

Fresh Bread

Last night I decided that I wanted my home to smell of freshly baked bread. I made brown whole wheat bread and  not only did my house smell great,  but I  also have some healthy bread in my cupboard.

500g brown bread flower
about 300 ml warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons barley/poppy sees/sesame seeds

Mix the dry ingredients together and then add water until the dough has a craggy consistency.  Add the oil and knead the dough until smooth.  Cover the dough and leave to rise for an hour in a draught free area.   Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Once the dough has expanded to about twice its size, shape the dough, and place in a loaf tin.  Firmly place the seeds of your choice on the bread and allow to rest for a further 25 minutes in a warm place.
Bake for 30- 40 minutes.

Beetroot Chips

During the week, I had an awesome  version of burger and chips using a soya patty and betroot chips.

3 medium beetroots
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees. Slice the betroot as thin as possible and coat in olive oil. Add salt to tase.  Place on a baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes and turn over to bake  for another 10 minutes.  Be warned that they burn easily so keep a close eye on the chips. The betroot chips tasted wonderful but I didn't slice it as thin as I would have like to achieve a very crispy texture.  I am now convinced that I need a mandoline slicer.  Any  combination of winter vegetables can be used. I will try butternut and carrots next.

Cabbage, low iron, LOTR and bonus: poem

Recent events in my life have served as a sharp reminder of why I started this blog.

I got really sick, super - can’t stand up, my life is ending sick.  At first, I thought it was a serious case of the sads.

 

 due to an emotional and unexpected break up and other stuff.  

After some time I decided to see a doctor who prescribed happy pills.

 

I reluctantly tried them but they were no help at all and I got to a point where it was an undertaking just to get out of bed and shower. 

 

 

So I went to a second doctor who in one go  - did a blood test and saved my life.  Turned out my redblood cells count was really low. I got sick because I wasn't paying attention to my food and that, for a person who doesn't eat meat, is apparently life threatening! After getting injections and taking the iron tablets I immediately felt better.

In fact I feel so much stronger that the awful feeling of depression and  fatigue seems like a distant memory. It was only two months ago.   I feel so fine that somebody asked me if I am on Prozac.

I guess this means that I will be updating more often now that I have been (rudely) reminded about the importance of a balanced diet. Right now I take an iron supplement every three days and I add a teaspoon of boiled methi seeds, which is supposed to be very high in iron,  to all my meals. 

Cabbage and Potato

1 small cabbage, sliced

1 potato, quartered

1 small onion, diced

1 teaspoon oil

2 dried chillies

half a teaspoon of methi seeds

1 small tomato, diced

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

Salt to taste

Fry the onions, mustard seeds, methi seeds, dried chillies in oil until the onions are quite brown. Add the cabbage and the potatoes, allow to cook for 5 minutes then add the tomato. Allow to cook for 20 minutes you may add some water if you need to. Cook until potaotes are softened and all the water has dried out .

During my illness, all I would do is watch movies and I have become a huge fan of anything Lord of the Rings. It all started after I watched the Hobbit and fell in love with Gollum who reminds me that we all have a piece of him inside us. I then watched the trilogy attentively, loved it and I even ended up reading the books. More on that in another post.
 

Here's a little poem:

 

You said, then I said, then you said.

You got the final word though.

I fell down,

then I got up.

I grew my garden

The peppers were good that year.

I looked around,

I don't know where you went.

 

Chicken Curry with Saffron

I made chicken curry recently but got a little bored of using the same old recipe. At the Indian spice shop (to which I went for kajal) I found a small bottle of saffron and fresh chillies. 

 

1 small chicken, cut and skinned

1 medium potato, peeled

1 medium onion, diced

I bay leaf

1 piece of cinnamon

1 piece of star anise

1 clove

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon garlic, crushed

2 tablespoon masala

1 tablespoon oil

Pinch of thyme

Pinch of mixed herbs

3 chillies (depending on taste)

3 strands of saffron

 

Place the onions, bay leaf, cinnamon, clove, and star anise into a pot and turn on the heat. Once the onions have heated up add the oil until the onions are golden brown. Add the garlic and fry for a minute then add the masala.  Allow everything to fry and then add the chicken and potatoes.   Let it cook for a few minutes and then add the salt,  thyme, mixed herbs and chillies. By this time the curry would have dried out a bit. Place the saffron strands into some boiling water for 3 minutes and add to the curry. Allow to cook for 40 minutes. The curry is ready once the potatoes are soft. I served it with a pepper, cucumber and onion salad and fresh rotis. 

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!