What I'm cooking in my kitchen

Cooking to complement your yoga practice

We are what we eat

Plant based bolognese

Serves 5 portions (use the leftover to make lasagne too), cooking time 1 hour 20 minutes.

This is our family favourite! So rich, full of flavours and comforting.
Ingredients      

3 cloves of garlic         
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon five spices     
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon malden salt
2 onions
2 ripe tomatos
1/2 fennel
1 carrot
1/2 cauliflower
5 large chestnut mushrooms
1 cup of sunflower seeds
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 glass of wed wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon liquid smoke (optional)
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 vegetable or mushroom stock cube
Pasta of your choice
 

Preparation
Use a food processor to blitz sunflower seeds, cauliflower and mushroom into mince like texture. 

Fry thinly sliced onions, garlic with salt and pepper in a heavy saucepan at low heat until they turn completely soft and caramelised. Add chopped fresh tomatoes and tomato puree into the mix and cook slowly to form paste. Add cayenne pepper, cinnamon, smoked paprika and five spices and mix well. 
This process takes about 20 mins. 

Add mushroom, cauliflower and sunflower seeds mince into the
paste and add balsamic vinegar, wine, soy sauce and liquid smoke. Mix well for a few minutes. 

Add chopped carrot, fennel, bayleaves, tin tomatoes, stock cube and agave nectar and top up with water. Cook on the hob for a few minutes then put in a pre heated oven at 190 celsius/374 fahrenheit for 1 hour without a lid. 

Take it out and place a lid. Leave it on the hob resting.
Cook pasta of your choice.

Drizzle olive oil all over bolognese and add a pinch of black pepper. Serve with pasta and eat immediately! Soooo delicious. 

Spicy Soup Noodle 

Serves 2 people, cooking time 30 minute.     

Salty, spicy, tangy clear broth with home made udon noodle. See the ingredients and follow the pictures. 

Ingredients

2 carrots

1 white potato

1/2 leek

A handful of mature spinach

A handful of pak choi 

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

1 inch ginger

2 cloves of garlic

1 red chilli

2 dried shiitake mushrooms 

1 sheet of dried konbu

A handful of coriander 

1 table spoon of sesame oil (drizzle at the end)

1 table spoon of white miso paste

2 table spoon of mirin

1 table spoon of brown sugar

3 table spoon of soy sauce

2 tea spoon of salt

1/2 tea spoon of white pepper

Water

Egg optional

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Put all the dry and wet ingredients into a 

saucepan plus enough water, boil at medium

heat. Note: sesame oil, spinach, coriander

leaves and pak choi are to be added once

broth is cooked.

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For udon noodle, you need 1:1 ratio of white 

flour and rice flour. (use a cup to measure)

Water and a pinch of salt.

Knead it until smooth.

Add flour to avoid sticking.

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Cook udon for 1-2 mins in boiling salted 

water. Rinse under cold water to remove

starch. 

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Don't forget to taste the broth and adjust 

seasoning. It needs to tase

stronger than you would

have it on its own. This is

because you will be adding

noodle. Drizzle sesame oil 

before eating.

Seriously good!

Immunity Bowl 

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Serves 2 people, cooking time 25 minutes

Don’t be put off by the ingredients and process, it’s actually really easy and quick to cook.

It’s tasty, healthy and rewarding. You just feel so much better when you eat this, I promise! 

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Preparation (in advance)

*Soaking and Sprouting

This process is done once a week. Weekend is perfect for this preparation.

You can do it whilst making your morning coffee, attend again in the evening.

Sprouted seeds and soaked nuts will last for a week in fridge. Keep them in glass jars. 

Soak cashew nuts for approximately 4 hours in a glass jar in your kitchen,

rinse, drain, put a lid on and store in fridge.

Soak sun flower seeds for approximately 6 hours in a glass jar, drain,

place a muslin or net over the jar with a rubber band around it.

Tilt slightly to keep water draining into a bowl, leave in your kitchen for 1-2 days,

rinse seeds once or twice a day to keep moisture.

Once sprouted, put a lid on and store in fridge.

Ingredients and cooking method 

Steamed quinoa and rice

1 cup of quinoa

1 cup of basmati rice 

2 cup of water - use the same cup as above

3cm white main part of leek sliced

3cm thick butternut squash cut into small cubes

1/3 firm tofu cut into small cubes

1cm ginger sliced

2cm red chilli sliced

1 dried shiitake mushroom or porcini mushroom

1 small strip of konbu sheet - use scissors and cut a small piece 

1 teaspoon of salt 

10 turns of black pepper

1 tablespoon of mirin

1 teaspoon of miso paste

Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan.

Bring to boil and reduce heat to low,

cover the top with tin foil and the lid.

Cook on low heat for 10 mins.

Turn the heat off after 10mins,

keep the lid and foil on and let it stand to

steam for 10 more minutes.

Ingredients and preparation

Spirulina salsa 

1 teaspoon of spirulina powder

1/3 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of agave syrup or muscovado sugar

3 teaspoon of raw apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon of smooth peanut butter

1 teaspoon of soy sauce

2 teaspoon of sesame oil

3 teaspoon of olive oil

2mm thinly sliced ginger chopped up finely

5mm leek chopped up finely

2 table spoon sprouted sunflower seeds *please see how to soak and spout 

2 table spoon soaked cashew nuts chopped roughly *please see how to soak and spout

1 handful of coriander including stalks chopped finely

1 handful of fresh mint leaves chopped finely

3 younger leaves of cavolo nero or kale chopped finely

1/2 avocado

1/8 lime or lemon juice

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except avocado and lime, adjust seasoning according to your preferred taste.

Assembling

Pour olive oil into the steamed grains in the sauce pan and once mixed well, spoon into a bowl.

Slice a half of avocado, place on top of grains, squeeze a small wedge of lime or lemon juice.

Spoon in spirulina salsa onto the bowl.

Drizzle a bit more olive oil and sprinkle sea salt (optional).

Eat whilst fresh! 

Winter Miso broth 

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Serves 2 people, cooking time 25 minutes
Ingredients 
1 carrot
1/2 sweet potato or 1/3 butternut squash  
1 white potato
1/2 leek
1/2 celery
1 inch ginger
1 clove of garlic
1/2 inch red chilli - remove seeds
2 dried shiitake mushrooms 
1 sheet of dried konbu
1/2 tofu block
A handful of coriander stalks and some leaves for garnish
A handful of spinach
1 table spoon of vegetable oil
1 table spoon of sesame oil
1 table spoon of light miso paste
2 table spoon of mirin
1 table spoon of brown sugar
1 table spoon of soy sauce
2 tea spoon of salt
1/2 tea spoon of white pepper
2 litres of water (plus more if needs)
Udon noodles for 2 people (usually found in bundles in a packet and each bundle serves one person)

Cut leek in small slices and prepare potato, carrot, sweet potato and celery into small pieces. 
Grate ginger and garlic and chop chilli into small pieces. 
In a large saucepan, heat oil and add chopped vegetables, ginger, garlic and chilli and stir well to combine for 10 seconds without burning. 
Add water, shiitake mushrooms, konbu sheet, coriander stalks, salt and white pepper. Make sure water level is higher than vegetables. Bring to boil.
Simmer to medium heat, add mirin, soy sauce and sugar. Continue to cook for 15 minutes and in the mean time prepare tofu and noodle.

Cut tofu in slices (about 1cm thickness), pat dry with kitchen towels to remove excess moisture, lightly season with salt and white pepper. 
Use a non-stick frying pan, shallow fry tofu in 2 tea spoons of vegetable oil until crisp on each side. Place a kitchen paper on a rack and rest fried tofu slices until later.

Cook udon noodle following instructions on the packet. Once cooked, wash under cold water to remove starch and set to one side in a sieve. 

Remove konbu sheet and shiitake mushrooms. Place miso paste in a ladle. Lower the ladle to the surface of the broth touching the water level, using chopsticks or a folk, dilute miso slowly by breaking up the paste by adding hot broth into the ladle bit by bit. Once miso is dissolved, taste the broth, add more seasoning if necessary. If you are adding eggs, this is the time to do it - make pockets amongst the vegetables and drop eggs into them. Keep cooking on medium heat for 10-15 seconds and turn off the heat. 

Run udon under hot water for a few seconds to warm up, drain quickly, and place into a large deep soup bowl. 
Place tofu slices, spinach and coriander leaves on top of udon.
Pour hot broth into the bowl.
Add a few slices of red chilli if you prefer it spicy.
Drizzle a tea spoon of sesame oil before serving.
Eat it whilst piping hot.  Absolutely delicious. 

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Spicy Tofu with Spinach and Beansprouts

This moorish quick dish hits all the right notes - tanginess, savoury flavours of tofu with crunchy beansprouts and juicy spinach complementing each other on steaming hot rice. What more do you need for a quick fix. It's accidentally vegan!

Serves 2 people, cooking time 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 block of firm tofu 
1 table spoon of corn flour (or plain flour)
A pinch of salt
A pinch of turmeric
A pinch of white pepper
A table spoon of vegetable oil or coconut oil

2 cups of short grain white rice or Japanese rice

rinsed twice and drained

A large handful of mature spinach
A large handful of beansprouts

(For dressing)
2 table spoon of sesame oil
2 table spoon of soy sauce
1 table spoon of mirin
1 table spoon of agave syrup
1 tea spoon of lime juice
1 tea spoon of sea salt
A pinch of white pepper
A handful of coriander stalks chopped finely
A thumb nail size ginger peeled and chopped finely
1 inch leek (green bit) chopped finely
A pinch of chilli flakes or 1cm fresh red chilli chopped finely
3 table spoons of water

(Process) 
Soak 2 cups of rice in 2 cups of water (use the same cup) for 20-30 minutes in a saucepan.
After soaking rice, bring it to boil, put a sheet of tin foil or a cloth to make it air tight and place a lid over the top. Simmer for 10 mins at low heat - don't open the lid or steam will escape and change the rice consistency. After 10 mins, switch off the heat and keep the lid on for further 10 mins - this is when rice gets fluffy. 

Combine flour, salt, white pepper and turmeric on a plate, cut tofu in slices, coat each slice in the flour mix. 
Heat oil in a saucepan at high temperature. 
Fry tofu slices until crispy on each side.
Place tofu on kitchen towels.

Mix all the ingredients for dressing and taste to adjust flavours to your preference.
Wash spinach and beansprouts, leave in a sieve to drain. 
Place fried tofu slices in a saucepan, then pour in the dressing (save a table spoon of this dressing for drizzling directly later). Cook fried tofu in the dressing on a hob with a lid on at medium heat for 5 mins, avoid tofu from sticking to the bottom by stirring gently.
Take out tofu and place in a bowl and leave some liquid in the saucepan. 
Throw in spinach and bean sprouts in the same saucepan and cook in the liquid at high heat for 1 minute with no lid.

Dish out steamed rice in a bowl, place tofu, spinach and bean sprouts on the rice and spoon over some of the dressing saved earlier. Eat while hot, bon appetit!

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I hope you enjoy cooking and eating these lovely food. Feel free to ask any questions about the processes.

Cooking is my way to spread LOVE.