artichokes with a tahini – sesame dipping sauce

17th April 2016

A particular favourite with my daughter.

This is another recipe which was created for the Holmes Place magazine as an ongoing concept of seasonal ‘superfoods’ throughout the year.

Globe artichokes, with their sharp, sometimes prickly edged ‘petals’ are actually the plant’s flower buds and will open up into showy mauve thistle heads. When picked young as in this recipe, their heads are small and tight, they can be eaten in their entirety. The real treasure – lies hidden. This is found by removing all the petals and ‘furry ‘choke within, revealing the grey-green tender heart.

When buying artichokes, choose those which the petals are still rather closed, not open. They will be more fresh and tender. Buying in season and buying fresh you will benefit more times over from their amazing health benefits. Not only being full of fibre, they also have the highest level of antioxidants out of all vegetables, a good source of Vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, folate, and iron. They are also very good for the liver and were used for centuries as a traditional liver tonic.

artichokes with a tahini – sesame dipping sauce

Serves 4

ingredients

8 medium artichokes (Depending on how big your artichokes are, I offer two artichoke globes per person.)

to cook

1. In a large pot on medium heat, add enough water to cover the artichokes, add a bay leaf and a slice of lemon. (This adds a nice flavour to the artichokes.) Leave to heat while you prepare the artichokes.

2. If using large globes, cut the thorn tips off all the leaves using a pair of scissors – not necessary when using smaller globes. Pull off any smaller leaves towards the base and on the stem. Trim off the bottom, leaving about an inch of the artichoke stem. The stem is more bitter than the rest of the artichoke, edible if you remove the tough outer layer using a vegetable peeler. Cut off 1-centimetre off the tip of each artichoke, then rinse the artichokes in cold water. Open up the petals a little so that the water does get inside more easily.

3. Add the artichokes to the boiling water. Cover, and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes, (depending on the size of the artichokes) or until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off and a knife tip goes easily into the base of the artichoke.

to serve

Artichokes can be eaten cold or hot. Serve them with your favourite sauces, melted ghee, mayonnaise, a simple mix of olive oil, salt and lemon or a sesame dipping sauce – like the one below. I usually choose a few to satisfy each member of my family.

tahini – sesame dipping sauce

2 Tbsp sesame seeds – I used an even amount of white & black

¼ cup tahini

1 Tbsp rice vinegar or umeboshi plum vinegar

1 Tbsp tamari

1 Tbsp honey

⅓ cup water

1. In a high-speed blender, add the sesame seeds and grind until they are roughly ground.

2. Add the tahini, vinegar, tamari, oil and water, and blend until well mixed.

Depending on the preferred thickness of the tahini, you may need to add more water. I like the consistency quite thick. I tend to double the recipe and use leftovers as a salad dressing or served with brown rice and sautéed vegetables.

to eat

1. Pull off the outer petals, one at a time, starting at the base and dip in the sauce, then bite off the soft part found at the base of each leaf. Discard and compost the tough leaves in a pile as you go.

2. When all the leaves have been enjoyed, you will come to the choke, with a spoon scrape out and discard the fuzzy part covering the artichoke heart, the remaining is the heart. The treasure! Savour, dip and enjoy the journey.

Reference: ‘Tender’-Nigel Slater

Goodness shared from Stacey

0

apple almond oat slice (vegan)

8th October 2015

The clouds opened up and gave us an offering, and now, this moment we are soaking up the rain, sun and light…

and feeling truly blessed in seeing all this sweet unknown…

apple almond oat slice

Makes one 9-inch square slice.

Another recipe from Amy Chaplin’s – At Home in the Wholefood Kitchen.

Leave the skins on the apples as they give a beautiful red blush to the slice. I have tried this with many fruits – my favourite being the apple and freshly picked small plums. If using small plums or cherries there is no need to saute them, just toss them in the maple syrup and vanilla before placing them on the oat slice.

ingredients

1 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

4 small red-skinned apples, core & cut into ½ inch slices

4 tsp vanilla extract, divided

⅔ cup plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup, divided

1½ cups regular rolled oats

1 cup dried shredded coconut

1½ cups almond meal

½ cup barley/whole wheat spelt flour

1½ tsp aluminium-free baking powder

½ cup extra virgin coconut oil

2 Tbsp unsweetened apricot or jam of choice

preparation

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a 9 x 9-inch square cake pan and line with parchment paper, covering the bottom and about an inch up sides; set aside.

2. Warm coconut oil in a wide skillet over medium heat, add apples and saute for 5 minutes or until golden in parts.

3. Stir in 1 tablespoon maple syrup and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and continue cooking for another 6 – 8 minutes, lowering heat if apples begin to brown. Cook until apples are soft but not falling apart. If they’re still firm, reduce heat to low, cover skillet, and continue cooking for a few more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Add oats to a food processor and blend until finely ground, then transfer to a medium bowl and mix in the almond meal, flour, coconut and baking powder.

6. In another bowl, whisk remaining ⅔ maple syrup, remaining vanilla and oil, then pour into dry ingredients – stir to combine.

7. Lightly press the batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 12 – 15 minutes.

8. Remove from oven (leave the oven on), and arrange apples 4 in a row over the surface of the slice, leaving a ½-inch border around the edge. (I only had 3 big apples so I improvised and ended up with 3 rows, the smaller apples work better in slicing and the overall look). Lightly press apples into the cake and return to oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow the cake to cool.

9. To make the glaze, place jam in a small pot over medium heat and stir until melted, about 1 minute.

10. Remove from heat and use a pastry brush to lightly brush glaze over the surface of the apples. Cut into squares and serve with vanilla ice-cream or thick yoghurt and a sprinkling of toasted almonds.

Goodness shared by Stacey

4

turmeric flavoured millet, amaranth & seasonal vegetables

1st June 2014

I thought I would share this simple, but extremely quick and easy nutritious meal I have most mornings. You will appreciate the ease which the body digest it. It is actually my first meal of the day at around 10 or 11 o’clock, depending on when I feel the first signs of hunger.

I love these one-pot meals that use a number of different foods cooked in a single pot with ample water.

The importance of this bowl is finding the right millet to use. I use a very small grain (foxtail millet) as opposed to the bigger commonly found millet, which can become quite dry when cooked. The foxtail millet is much finer and softly moist, and when combined with amaranth, the two together create a very soothing, playful texture.

Amaranth is high in protein, fibre, rich in vitamins, and exceptionally rich in the amino acid, lysine, which is absent in most other cereal grains. It is also high in calcium and has an iron content four times higher than brown rice.

I change the vegetables to what is in season and depending on what can be picked from the garden. Sometimes I use celery when there is no fennel or broccoli, spinach opposed to kale, sweet peas instead of beans etc. To serve, I keep it as simple as possible, just adding a little Indian pickle (something spicy), half of an avocado or scoop of yoghurt and lavishly drizzle with ghee.

turmeric flavoured millet,amaranth & vegetables

Serves 2

The dish can be made with quinoa, rice or any grain of your choice – the cooking times may vary though.

ingredients

¼ cup/50g millet

¼ cup/50g amaranth

2 cups water

1 tsp ghee

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 cup fresh seasonal vegetables – carrot, cherry tomatoes, green beans, cabbage, a handful of small broccoli florets, finely chopped

½ medium fennel bulb, finely chopped

for the voggarane

1 Tbsp ghee

1 tsp cumin seeds

6 fresh curry leaves, roughly torn

pinch asafoetida (optional)

½ tsp fine rock salt

1 tsp jaggery/brown sugar

few rounds of freshly ground pepper

a handful of green leaves (kale, small broccoli leaves, chard, etc)

¼ cup coriander leaves, chopped

preparation

1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, wash the millet and amaranth, drain, pour in 2 cups water and 1 heaped spoon ghee and turmeric, bring to boil, reduce heat to maintain a rapid simmer, simmer uncovered for 2 mins.

2. Add the vegetables which require more cooking time and set aside the broccoli and fresh greens leaves, which will be added just before it has finished cooking – allow to simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.

3. Turn off the heat, add the broccoli florets greens, cover and set aside.

prepare the voggarane

4. Heat ghee in a small saucepan, add cumin seeds, asafoetida (if using) and curry leaves – allow to sizzle for a few seconds, swishing the pan for the spices to fry evenly. Add to the millet and vegetables.

5. Stir in the salt, pepper and jaggery, recover and allow to sit undisturbed for a 10 minutes before serving.

6. When serving, drizzle with ghee. If not serving with pickle, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Updated: Enjoyed this, this morning sitting in the sun. I added okra and red pepper which I sautéed together in a very hot skillet, charring the edges a bit. It was a delicious combination.

Goodness shared from Stacey

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turmeric flavoured millet, amaranth & seasonal vegetables

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turmeric flavoured millet,amaranth & vegetables