Today’s prompt is “Focus on a nutrient”. I decided to loosley translate that into, my favourite food that has wonderful nutritional content. Enter, the King/Queen of the the nutrient world, the amazing coconut.
Coconut oil
I love all things coconut. I love the smell, body washes, shampoo’s, perfumes, bubble baths.
I love the taste, Lamingtons (if you are not Australian, you will probably not be familiar with these, but just know they are delicious and covered in coconut), young coconut meat, coconut milk, CocoLatte (see my day one post).
I love the amazing end results of using coconut oil, soft skin, silky hair. Is there nothing this wonderful product cannot do?
Coconut water
I have added below some links to interesting sites I found regarding the use of coconut oil. I hope you enjoy browsing and learning some new ways to use Coconuts and Coconut oil.
Make and/or eat some thing inspired by a book or film.
Day seven of Vegan MoFo and it is the delightful Bridget Jones Diary inspired, Blue Leek and Potato Soup.
The Diary of Bridget Jones is one of my favourite books and movies. I love how imperfect she is. If you want a good laugh, then this is the movie for you.
Bridget Jones Blue Leek and Potato Soup
Now, of course you do not have to turn the soup blue……I did , just for fun with a couple of drops of blue food colouring. Poor Bridget had the misfortune of using blue string to tie up the leek in her soup which gave her the blue version.
blue-soup
This soup is delicious in either colour.
Enjoy,
(Blue) Leek and Potato Soup
Serves 4 – 6
2 Tblspns olive oil
5 medium potato’s peeled and roughly chopped
3 leeks, trimmed, thoroughly washed and sliced
4 cloves garlic chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup coconut milk
1 Tblspn lemon juice
salt to taste
finely chopped green onions for garnish if wanted.
Sauté the potato’s, leeks and garlic in the olive oil until vegetables start to soften a little and brown. Add the vegetable stock and simmer covered for 30 mins until the vegetables are soft.
Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. (or you can wait until the soup cools a little then place in small batches in a blender and process. Be Very Careful that the soup is not too hot or it could explode out of the top of the blender and cause serious burns).
Add coconut milk, lemon juice and stir to combine.,
With the new format this year of daily topic prompts we get to have an even better sense of community and connection. So, I am excited to see what my fellow Vegan MoFo’ers are having for breakfast.
For me, breakfast is not usually a daily occurence, I am more the “coffee till noon” type of gal. However, on special occasions (the start of MoFo for instance) or lazy weekend mornings I do like to have all the goodies.
For today, I have a fresh juice guaranteed to wake up your taste buds and energize your cells.
Cucumber Citrus Ginger Juice
Next, it is time for protein packed pancakes with fresh berries, a dollop of aquafaba (a relatively new phenomenon sweeping the vegan cooking scene) and a drizzle of local home-made maple syrup.
Banana White Bean Pancakes with Berries and AquaFaba Cream
Finally, the pièce de résistance rich hot coffee blended with coconut oil and whipped into a frothy latte like heavenly beverage. I love strong rich coffee and I take it black, no cream or sugar so I can enjoy the full flavour.
CocoLatte
Then you add a little high quality, organic coconut oil and blend it all together, the flavour of the coffee seems to intensify and become richer and the texture is wonderful. I couldn’t resist adding a dollop of the AquaFaba Cream and it magically transformed into a latte/cappuccino.
CocoLatte
Thanks for sharing breakfast with me.
Enjoy,
Cucumber Citrus Ginger Juice
Makes 2 servings
1 english cucumber
1 apple cored
1 orange peeled
2 carrots peeled if not organic
handful baby spinach
1 inch nob of fresh ginger
Process all ingredients through a juicer. Drink immediately.
Banana White Bean Pancakes with Berries and AquaFava Cream
Banana White Bean Pancakes
8-10 servings
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white beans
1 banana
1 tspn psyllium husk
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn baking powder
1/3 cup soy or almond milk
1/2 tspn vanilla
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
Mix chia seeds with water and let sit overnight (or at least 1 hour)
Combine all ingredients together in bowl and mix or blend to pancake consistency.
Cook over medium heat until lightly browned on both sides.
Serve with fresh berries AquaFaba Cream and maple syrup.
AquaFaba Cream
Makes approx 2 cups
Liquid from a large can of chickpeas
1 tspn cream of tartar
1 tspn vanilla
1 Tblspn (or more depending on taste) fine sugar
Beat the chickpea liquid and cream of tartar on high for at least 15 minutes. The liquid will turn into a stiff “egg white” merengue type texture. Add vanilla and then the sugar gradually while continuing to beat until totally combined. You may need to adjust the amount of vanilla and sugar depending on your preference.
Use as a topping for your pancakes and also to add the foam top to your CocoLatte.
CocoLatte
CocoLatte
Makes 1 cup
1 cup strong back freshly brewed coffee (I use an espresso bend)
1 teaspoon organic coconut oil
Add the coffee and coconut oil to a blender. Blend on highest speed for 30 seconds till frothy.
Pour into coffee cup and enjoy as is or top with AquaFaba cream.
I cannot believee it has been almost a year since my last post. Time sure has a way of slipping by. I could say that I was so busy with work and famiy (both very true), but the reality is, I took some time off to recharge after last years MoFo, and I never really got back into the swing of posting.
2014 MoFo was great fun, but I definately over-extended myself when I chose to do the theme of soup and bread. The concept was very exciting, but the reality was like doing double duty, with each post requiring not one but two recipes. As bad as that was, the other result was me eating all my creations, which was wonderful, but also way too much food. Needless to say, by October, none of my fitted clothes fit 😦 which was another good reason to stop posting (and then eating) for a while.
Well, that is all behind us now and MoFo 2015 is about to start, and me with it.
MoFo 2015
I just love the new concept this year of having a prompt each day for us all to use. I have already starting preparing some of the foods I will be sharing with you. I need to get organized ahead of time as September is one of the busiest times in my work (Financial Planning) and I am attending our annual conference (this year it is in Vanouver so I will be taking advantage of visiting the other side of Canada and extend my stay by a week) right in the middle of MoFo.
With all that said, I will be up and posting regularly as of September 1st, in the meantime, I am enjoying the wonderful last days of summer, sitting on my deck and savouring a fantastic cup of coffee that looks and tastes like a dairy laden latte, but in fact has no dairy and is good for you. I will be sharing this with you on September 1st as part of my “breakfast” post.
Another cool day today, there is a real feeling of Fall in the air. The geese are gathering and that is never a good sign….oh well, at least soup is a nice warm dish.
For today’s recipe I have made a Thai Coconut Curry soup with noodles. You can use whatever type of noodle you like, the one I found is made out of bean flour. This turned out more noodle than soup, but I love lots of noodles. You can adjust the amounts for your own preference.
The Roti was a big success and very easy to make.
The calorie count for this is quite high and the nutrition table shows that it is high in saturated fat, however both of these issues are from the coconut milk. While coconut milk is high in saturated fat, it is considered a health fat.
1 bunch cilantro , rinsed well, separate the leaves from the stems
2 cups tofu , thinly sliced
2 cups vegan chicken or vegetable broth
1 carrot, shredded
2 limes juiced
1 lemon, juiced
a small knob fresh ginger
a handful baby spinach
8 ounce package rice noodles
2 or 3 green onions, thinly sliced
sea salt to taste
Instructions
Scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of just one of the cans into a large stockpot set over a medium-high heat. Melt the cream, add the curry paste and stir for a few minutes until they begin to sizzle.
Add the cilantro stems and tofu and sauté until the tofu is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Add the coconut juice from the first can and all the contents of the second can along with the chicken broth, carrot, lime juice and lemon juice. Grate the ginger into the broth with a Microplane grater or standard box grater. Simmer gently for 20 minutes.
Add the rice noodles, gently pushing them beneath the surface of the broth. Turn off the heat and let stand until the noodles soften, about 5 minutes. Rice noodles don’t need to simmer like pasta to cook; they simply need to re-hydrate in the hot liquid.
Stir in most of the cilantro leaves and spinach.. Taste and season with sea salt (or soy sauce) as needed. Ladle into large bowls and garnish with the green onions and remaining cilantro leaves
Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup with Roti
Roti
Serves 6
Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups white flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp soy milk
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup cooking oil (safflower, palm or peanut)
1/4 cup vegan butter, melted
Preparation:
Sift flour into a bowl. Mix in sugar and salt. Form a well in the center and stir in flax mixture and milk. Add water, stir to mix.
Turn out onto a table and knead until elastic, about 5 minutes. Form into a ball and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes, covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap.
Roll the dough into a long log shape. Divide into 18 portions and shape into small balls. Brush each with oil, return to the bowl (stacking is ok) and cover. Rest for another 30 minutes (or longer).
Take one portion, spread a little oil on top with fingertips and flatten with your hands or a rolling pin.
Pick up the flattened dough and using your hands stretch and shape into thin rounds.
Heat a griddle pan well covered in oil over high heat. Fry the rounds, lowering the heat to medium. Turn to brown both sides, brushing with butter.
Remove from the griddle and serve hot.
To start a fresh new healthy year, you need a fresh healthy breakfast. Part of my New Years plans are to improve my diet (it is amazingly easy to find vegan junk food) and eat more raw food, so the first thing I needed was a healthy raw vegan granola.
This granola was born out of a walk through the bulk food store. A quick trip down the nuts and seeds aisle, followed by dried fruit, a grain and some cinnamon and here it is.
Raw Seed Granola
This granola is made in the dehydrator, allowing it to remain raw, however, you could also cook it in a very low oven.
The nuts and seeds I used required a short soaking time ( 3 hours), but if you decide to use harder nuts like almonds, you will need to let them soak for 12 hours. The soaking softens the nuts and seeds which in turn makes them easier to digest.
This granola is delicious served with almond milk, but is also great eaten dry as a snack, it is crunchy and sweet and satisfies my munchie attacks.
Enjoy,
Raw Seed Granola
Raw Seed Granola
Serves 20
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup dates
1/2 cup water
juice of 1 orange
zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 cup spelt flakes
2 tspns cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1 apple cored (I leave the skin on)
1 banana peeled
Combine cashews, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds in a large bowl. Cover with water and let sit for 3 hours to soften.
Place dates, water and orange juice in blender and process until smooth, scraping down the sides and adding a little more water if necessary. Set aside.
Mix orange zest, coconut, spelt flakes, cinnamon and raisins in large bowl.
Place drained nuts and seeds into food processor and using pulse button mix until roughly chopped. Remove and add to bowl with coconut and spelt.
Add apple and banana to empty food processor and again using the pulse button, pulse until roughly chopped.
Add this mix to other ingredients in the large bowl. Mix together well. Add date mix and continue mixing until totally incorporated.
Place on dehydrator trays directly onto mesh liners or parchment paper. Dehydrate at 118 F for 8 – 12 hours until completely dry.
Remove from trays, crumble if necessary and store in airtight glass jar in cool dry place.
Technically this is not a dessert, but it is sweet, so I will count it towards my “few” sweet recipes.
With the cold crisp mornings we are having now, a nice warm bowl of porridge is a perfect start to the day and this porridge, topped with fresh berries, is “just right”
Rich creamy and sweet. This porridge is comfort food at its best. And your kitchen will be filled with the delicious aroma of cinnamon and vanilla.
Enjoy,
Goldilocks and the Three Grains Porridge
Goldilocks and the Three Grains Porridge
Serves 4
2/3 cup quinoa, soaked for 2 hours
2/3 cup brown rice, soaked for 2 hours
2/3 cup oats
½ cup dates chopped
1/3 tspn salt
2 cups water
1 ½ cups coconut milk
1 tspn cinnamon
1 tspn vanilla
Seasonal berries for garnish – or any other fresh fruit of choice
Place drained quinoa, brown rice, oats and dates in large pot. Add salt, water, coconut milk, and cinnamon, bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 30 mins.
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Serve topped with fresh berries, or fruit.
Personally, I do not have a sweet tooth. I rarely eat desserts, I would rather a double helping of the main course (especially if pasta or potato’s are involved), so, I have to remind myself that other people might like something sweet for a change.
Growing up in Australia we had “Chocolate Crackles”. These crunchy, chocolate, coconut treats were always immediately gobbled up as soon as they appeared. You could always tell when they were around, as all the children had huge smiles on their chocolate covered faces. It is impossible to eat one of these without getting chocolate all over you.
Since I moved here in 1991, I have not made these treats due to the fact that one, vitally important ingredient is not available in North America. Copha, as I have now found out, is a hydrogenated coconut oil that is solid at room temperature. It looks similar to its North American cousin, Crisco. Same type of packaging and general texture, but the two cannot be substituted for each other.
During my journey into the vegan world, and specifically the raw vegan world, coconut oil keeps cropping up. At first, I just assumed, it would be like any other oil, liquid at room temperature, but now I find that it is solid…..just like Copha, but without the processing. So I have made these Chocolate Crackles with coconut oil, and they turned out great.
I think I may do a theme of Australian goodies. Maybe Pavlova (meringue with whipped cream and fruit) and Lamingtons (Chocolate and coconut coated vanilla cake with a middle of cream and jam). I will have to adapt them to vegan ingredients, but I do like a challenge.
In the meantime, here are my childhood treats, Chocolate Crackles.
Decadent Chocolate Crackles
Enjoy,
Decadent Chocolate Crackles
makes 24
24 cup cake paper liners
1 cup medium shredded coconut (plus a little extra to sprinkle on top)
1 cup icing sugar
3 Tblspns Cocoa (make sure it does not contain dairy, to be vegan)
4 cups Rice Crispies
250 g solid coconut oil
Place paper liners in muffin tin to hold shape.
Heat coconut oil over low heat until melted. Allow to cool slightly.
In separate bowl, mix together shredded coconut, icing sugar, cocoa and Rice Crispies.
Pour melted coconut oil into dry mixture and combine completely.
Spoon mixture into paper liners, sprinkle extra coconut on top. Place in refrigerator to set for one hour.
Keep refrigerated until ready to eat.
Decadent Chocolate Crackles
Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving (one Chocolate Crackle)
Calories 152
Calories from Fat 106
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11.8g 18%
Saturated Fat 9.9g 49%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 34mg 1%
Total Carbohydrates 14.8g 5%
Dietary Fiber 3.1g 12%
Sugars 5.8g
Protein 2.1g
Vitamin A 0%•
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 1%
Iron 15%
stairway to vegan 