Chocolate, Avocado & Banana Smoothie

 

This post will be short and sweet.

 

Avocado smoothie - sounds weird but I'm telling you it's awesome. The avocado makes it the texture of chocolate mousse.

 

Tips: Chill the banana & avocado beforehand and add ice for a nice, cold smoothie

 

Chocolate, Avocado & Banana Smoothie (serves 2 or one for a giant breakfast)

 

1 tbl cacao powder

2 tbl honey

1/2 cup yogurt

1 cup frozen banana

1 avocado 

1 cup water/ice

Substitute water with milk if you like and potentially less yogurt if you want a less sour smoothie.

 

I add lots of cacao because I like a strong, slightly bitter chocolate flavour. So again I suggest adjust this to your taste.

 

 

Put it all in your blender/mixer

 

 

Blitz and enjoy!

Tempeh Sambal

I love tempeh! A fermented soy product traditional in Indonesian cuisine, similar to tofu, except on steroids. It's easier to digest, higher in fiber and basically so good for you it's ridiculous. I has a meaty texture and when it's good it tastes great.

 

Unfortunately, despite our proximity to Indonesia, good fresh tempeh is hard to find; leading many people think they don't like it.

Imagine my excitement on moving to the Sunshine Coast to find a locally produced fresh tempeh by -the mighty bean- that would rival any Indonesian Warung.

Due to it's high nutrition content, tempeh is often served in small amounts as a  sambal/condiment with vegetables, curry and rice. This recipe is for a spicy fried sambal and given this was my first attempt I was really happy with the result.

 

Before I dive into the recipe, I have a couple of notes on some of the less common ingredients.

 

*Ketchup Manis - is a syrupy, sweet Indonesian soy sauce. I grew up with a bottle of Conimex brand ketcup manis in the fridge and loved it, it's dutch, which makes sense considering the historical links between Indonesia and the Netherlands. I've tried ABC brand, which is more readily available, however I think it tastes awful!

 

*Tamarind Paste - is a sour fruit commonly used in many Southeast Asian dishes. It is available as a ready made paste in a jar or as a solid block of concentrate. The jar version can be good, but you need to find the right brand because sometimes they contain added sugar and/or salt (even when it isn't listed on the jar) and vary considerably in taste. It should be very sour and a little sweet.

Alternatively you can buy a block of concentrate, which you need to soften up with some hot water then strain it to remove seeds. The block form is far more pure and true to the taste of the fruit. It does however take more of an effort. Many claim to be seedless, but they never are 100% seed free so you always need to soften and strain them.

For this recipe cut about a 2.5cm square block off and chop it up a little and then cover with 1/4 cup of boiling water and let it sit for 20 minutes. Then using a metal spoon press it through a sieve and scrape the under side of the sieve to grab the paste.

How sour it is can vary heaps, so I'm hesitant to suggest any absolute quantities.

 

After a quick look on the web, I found the majority of recipes for Sambal Tempeh were almost identical. I used this one with minimal modification.

 

Tempeh Sambal

 

400 gm fresh tempeh

 

aromatics

5 cm piece galangal
5 cm piece ginger
3-6 cloves garlic 

1 red onion (or 2-4 shallots)

 

2 tsp shrimp paste/belacan/trasi

fresh curry leaves

2 fresh chillis

 

liquids

1 tbl/50gm tamarind concentrate or 2-3 tbl liquid from a jar

3 tbl hot water

3 tbl ketcup manis

2-3 tbl palm sugar

Mix up the liquids and taste it.

It should be strong, and balanced for salty, sour and sweet.

Adjust to your taste.

Pound the galangal, ginger and garlic in a mortar and pestle or blitz in a food processor.

 

Make it as fine as possible

 

 

Slice the tempeh into thin slices and pan fry in batches until golden brown

Traditionally it is deep fried, but I did it the slower, slightly lower fat option.

Slice it up, the finer the better (I was a little lazy with my slicing here)

Fry diced onion for 2-3 minutes

  

 

Add the galangal, garlic ginger paste with a handful of curry leaves, fry for about 3 minutes.

 

Add shrimp paste and diced chilli fry another 1-2 minute until fragrant
 

 

Make sure the shrimp paste has broken up and has been heated through

 

Add the liquid mixture of tamarind, ketchup manis and palm sugar

 

Simmer for 2-4 minutes

Add the tempeh, warm through and you're done!

This is really strong in flavour and best eaten as a side/garnish. I had some with some sautéed  spinach, mushrooms, brown rice and some chickpeas.

 

It was awesome!

Classic Bliss Balls with Activated Almonds

Bliss balls, vegan truffles, protein balls... call them what you like, these popular sweets are easy to make and super yummy. I've used a recipe from Bliss Organic Café's website, but there are hundreds of recipes online. You could certainly experiment heaps with this recipe, but I'm going to stick to the original to begin with.

 

I thought I'd experiment with "activating" my almonds. Which basically means soaking them for 12 hours then drying them out in a low oven or dehydrator. It is said to make them easier to digest. There is currently no scientific evidence to support this, however I think nutrition science has a long way to go and don't think it can hurt. Pete Evans from MKR got into quite the controversy about them late last year.

 

I soaked a cup of almonds for 12 hours, put them in the oven on low (~60-80 degrees) for 2 hours, turned off the oven and left them in there for another 2 hours until they were dry to touch. I have no idea if they are dry enough and storing them in the fridge to be safe.

 

 

I'm being very "super foodie" with this recipe, raw cacao powder, activated almonds and coconut. Except I don't like the "super foods" label. I think it's misleading and unbalanced. I'm sure science is discovering new and exciting things about specific foods, but I can't help but wonder whose paying for it? Natural sultanas, organic apples and good old white cabbage are also good for you and a whole lot cheaper than goji berries and kale.

 

It's just food people. Variety and moderation is the key.

Bliss Balls

 

 

1 cup activated Almonds

1 cup dates pitted

1 cup prunes pitted

1/4 cup Sunflower seeds

1/4 cup Pumpkin seeds

2 tbl Sesame seeds

2 tbl Shredded Coconut - extra for decorating

2-3 tbl raw Cacao powder

 

In a food processor putting the ingredients in the order above one by one.

 

 

first almonds, give a few pulses

 

 

then dates, pulse

 

 

then prunes pulse...

 

It was at this stage that my tiny food processor started struggling and I had to do the mixture in 1/4 batches to get an even consistency. A bit of a pain but worth it.

 

Add the sunflower and pumpkin seeds and pulse again. If you don't want to recognise them in the final product add them earlier. If you like your balls chunky, add them later. 

 

If you have a super powerful food processor add the sesame seeds, coconut and cacao powder and blend into a dark, sticky ball.

 

If your food processor challenged like me, put the sticky date, almond, prune & sunflower/pumpkin seed mixture in a bowl and mix in the sesame seeds, coconut and cacao.

 

  I used a metal spoon to press it through

 

Then roughly brake the entire mixture into tsp sized pieces

 

With damp hands roll them into balls and then coat them in coconut

 

Try really hard to not the eat the entire batch

 

 Chill in the fridge to firm.

 

It's that easy!

 

Happy Easter!

Grilled Pineapple, Cashew and Quinoa Stir-Fry/Salad

A friend of mine recently made this for me and I was blown away. It can be eaten warm, at room temperature or cold.

 

I googled "grilled pineapple and quinoa" and found this 3 down. It's written like it was their original invention, which is totally awesome because I think it's genius. Fried rice, without the rice! I modified the vegetables, purely because of what I had in the fridge. Also in the original recipe they fry the onion in sesame oil, which I think is a mistake because it loses its sesame aroma quickly at high heat.

Grilled Pineapple, Cashew and Quinoa Stir-Fry/Salad

 

1 cup quinoa

1 zucchini

1 carrot

3 spring onions

1/2 cup unsalted roasted cashews

1 onion finely diced

5 cm knob ginger finely diced

3-5 cloves garlic finely diced

1 pineapple

3 eggs

1 lime

1/2 cup peas

sesame oil

soy sauce

 

Place 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water, bring to boil and simmer 12 minutes, drain and set aside.

 

 

While the quinoa is cooking, finely dice up the vegetables and get started on your pineapple. Cut into 1.5cm thick discs and remove skin.

 

This one was super sweet, hello Sunshine Coast!

 

The Pineapple grilled really well on the baby Q weber, 3-4 minutes on each side on a low heat.

 

It also works well in a flat sandwich press.

 

Dice up your grilled pineapple, I wish I'd cut mine up finer because I wanted pineapple in every bite.

 

Add the onion to a pan or wok with 1 tbl vegetable oil.

 

 

Cook for 3-5 minutes until it starts to caramelise.

 

 

Add the carrot, fry for 2-3 minutes 

 

Add frozen peas, cook another minute or so

 

Add finely diced zucchini, fry another minute

 

Add white and some of the green parts of the spring onion (keep a little if the green tips for a garnish). Fry another minute.

 

And the cooked quinoa, a generous splash of sesame oil and soy sauce

 

 

Add cashews and grilled pineapple pieces, warm through

 

 

Quickly cook your omelette, with 3 eggs beaten well with 1-2 tbl water

 

 Roughly chop and stir through.

 

 

Add the green of the spring onion and a squeeze of lime to garnish. 

 

 

 The cashew, egg and grilled pineapple combo is so yummy. More cashews I say!

 

Enjoy!

 

Where Did Your Corn Grow?

It's no secret that Woolworths and Coles together hold a duopoly over the Australian Grocery market. Whether you are discussing the wine market, the devastating effect it is currently having on our dairy farmers, or the consequences of their sheer market power due to their ~80% share, it's all bad news.

Except of course for you the consumer, you get a great deal, in fact it's a steal. Because your savings are coming straight out of the pockets of our local farmers and if we don't start taking care of them, pretty soon we won't have any. Not to mention the true cost to the environment doing crazy things like transporting oranges from California to Australia aren't even considered in the monetary equation.

What's the solution? Farmers markets are becoming more and more popular, which is great, but they are typically only on once a week, with a 3-6 hour window.

On my recent 6500 km drive across Australia, I stayed a few days with my sister in Canberra. Her local shops contained one of the coolest shops I've ever visited! Choku Bai Jo sells produce from local farmers. The goal for the shop was to give farmers another outlet for their fresh produce making it easier for the public to access it.

What a great idea!

 

 

The farmers name, growing region and distance from Canberra are listed whenever possible.

 

 

In case you can't read the blue sign in this photo it says

 

 EVERYTHING WITH A COLOURED LABEL

IS FROM A LOCAL GROWER WE KNOW AND TRUST.

 

I don't expect supermarkets to do this, they operate with such big volumes. These days woolies have maps with little green dots of growing regions, but you don't know WHERE exactly your particular cucumber came from in this wide land of ours.

 

 

My sister grabbing some grapes.

The corn in this photo was from Mona Park in Queensland, some 2215 km from Canberra. I don't think even Australians appreciate the true expanse of our country. It makes the argument for buying locally grown tricky. But shouldn't we be making an informed choice regardless?

Its a complicated problem, with no simple solution, but I know every carrot you buy at a farmers market is a win for local growers. Support them!

 

Buy local honey!

 

 

.... blue signs all round, would you care for some local cabbage?

 

www.chokubaijo.com.au