Malyasian cooking

I promised a recipe from our time away. While in Penang we did a cooking class with a local home cook called Pearly. During the class we went on a tour of a amazing local market and then went to Pearly's home to learn how to cook three dishes and then share for lunch. Although none of the dishes on the menu were vegetarian Pearly happily adapted them for me so I could still be a part of the class. If you go to Penang you must find time to go to one of Pearly's classes (see here for details). I asked Pearly if I could share one of the dishes here with you all. This is the vegetarian version of the Sambal Goreng which traditionally uses prawns instead of the eggplant. This was my favorite dish we made, I love the cashew coconut sauce and the fried chillies. So good! Although there is a bit of cutting involved it comes together really quickly. Serve with rice and some greens for a lovely meal. 

Sambal Goreng
In Pearly's book she writes that she doesn't know why this dish is called Sambal Goreng as it doesn't contain any sambal!

1/4 cup coconut cream
1/4 cup of water
4-5 tbsp of vegetable oil
4-6 shallots sliced
4-6 gloves of garlic sliced
4 large fresh chillies (2 red and 2 green) seeds removed and sliced
4 small purple eggplants
20 cashews toasted and chopped to garnish

Spice paste
15g tamarind
1/3 cup of water
2 stalks of lemongrass finely sliced
20-24 cashews
1/4 tsp of salt
** if you don't mind shrimp paste add 1 flat tsp of shrimp paste but works fine without it.

Squeeze the tamarind repeatedly in water. Rest for 15 minutes and then squeeze again. Strain the water off using your fingers (not a sieve) and place in a blender. Put all the other spice paste ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth and set aside.

In a small bowl mix the coconut cream and water. Heat wok with the vegetable oil. Fry the shallots until crisp and set aside. Keeping the same oil, fry the garlic until crisp and set aside. Remove all the oil (and set to one side) except 1 tsp and fry the chillies for about 10 seconds and set aside.

Add the oil back to the wok and fry the eggplants until soft and golden. Remove from the wok and set aide. Fry the spice paste and coconut milk over a low heat. Bring to a gentle simmer for about 5 minutes.

Pour the white sauce into a serving dish. Place the eggplant and chillies on top of the sauce. Add the toasted cashews and garnish with the fried shallots and garlic. Serve immediately.

We are back!

After having an amazing time, we are home and getting back into things. I will be back shortly with a delicious Malaysian recipe we picked up while we were away but in the mean time here are a few pictures to get you started. The photos are all taken in and around Penang. We ate some of the most incredible food in this city. If you have ever been to Penang you would know that the people there take their food VERY seriously. I will be back to share more soon and a recipe or two. Until then enjoy a few sneak peeks from around George Town, Penang. 

Weekday breakfast: Steel cut oats with roasted rhubard and apple

As the weather gets cooler my mornings change from fruity smoothies to something warming. Like most people I have to be up and out the door fairly early five days a week. To be able to do this (with out skipping other parts of the morning routine like showering) I need breakfast options that are fast. I also need my breakfasts to be filling. The last few winters I have taken to making big batches of oats that I can warm and top with fruit to make a fast, filling and nutritious breakfast porridge without an instant sachet in sight. 

I love steel cut oats. But one thing that always puts people off them is the cooking time. I tend to cook a big batch on a Sunday night and then keep them in the fridge for week day breakfasts. I have tried multiple methods of cooking steel cut oats including baking them in the oven, slow cookers and soaking. This recipe is by far the more simple but I think produces the best result.

The Vegan bowl

When I first started eating vegan food I had no idea what I would eat when I wanted a quick throw together meal. Sure you can have salad or a stir fry or something like that but what can you make that is 100% wholefoods, super fast and covers all the major food groups? and then I heard about the bowl concept. It gets called lots of different things a "macrobiotic bowl" or just "a bowl" and it is pretty much what is sounds like but tastes a million times better. This is what we eat at least a couple of times a week but that doesn't mean it is boring because every time it is a little bit different. Confused yet? or just interested?

So this isn't really a recipe it is more of a concept. A concept which with a little bit of preparation means you can have a wholesome, filling and delicious dinner on the table within 20 minutes of coming home from work without having to run around like a crazy person.

Holidays

 

We are off! We are heading off on a much needed holiday for the next four weeks. I have planned a couple of recipes for while we are away but things will be a little quieter around here. I will be back in May with regular recipes inspired by our travels.

Take care,

Clare x

Sugar headache cure: green juice

Happy Easter weekend! Hope you are all having an amazing long weekend. It the madness of Easter egg hunts and hot cross buns I thought I would give you something quick and easy. Maybe something to provide a little balance in an otherwise sugar heavy weekend. If you are like me after an afternoon of too much chocolate (we have all been there) you will be feeling fairly crappy. I have had a splitting headache all afternoon purely due to my sugar consumption. But the body has an amazing way of directing us to what it needs. With a few quick ingredients you can be back on the way up and not in the form of another sugar high.
When I have overloaded on sugar or other not so good for you foods my body sends me a very clear and strong message. Greens. Water. Now! Today, while crashing off a chocolate induced sugar high I reached for a green juice and a tall glass of water and it hit the spot. 

So in case you have found yourself in my position (it happens to the best of us) here is my go to pick-me-up to help you come back to balance.

Sugar headache cure: Green juice (serves 1)

2 stalks celery 

1/2 green apple

1/2 lemon (peeled)

1 cucumber

handful of kale 

1/2 tsp spirualina (optional)

Serve with a BIG glass of water. Try and find somewhere quiet to sit until you feel better.

Have a great long weekend!

sweet potato and apple bruschetta

We are heading towards cooler days here in Australia. When I wake in the morning to is still dark and today it was cold and wet. I'm not really a fan of cold weather but I do get excited about the change of season and the change in food at the farmers markets. As the weather cools down my mind goes to crisp apples, warm soups and homemade bread. I'm loving apples at the moment. I have been having apple slices with almond butter for breakfast, apple and kale salads for lunch and drinking warm spicy apple juice in the evenings. One morning I made this bruschetta for breakfast, it was fast, tasty and like Autumn on a plate.

The key to this is really good apples and good quality bread. Other than that you really can't go wrong. So if you give this a go make sure you get fresh new season apples not the kind that have sat in a fridge for nearly a year.