Butter Bean Curry

December 22, 2017June 15, 2021 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

For a number of years I have been making a version of my Vegan Sister in-laws “butter chicken” – I know …. butter chicken without the butter and without the chicken!!

Butter chicken would have to be one of my favourite curries, so I was delighted to try out her recipe.

You can check out her version here

I have adapted her recipe to avoid the things we are are unable use – sometimes I also add in the meat that my husband and daughter so love (you can find that addition below the main recipe). I love being able to use lots of our garden produce in this – home grown onion, garlic, chillies and broad beans! It makes a large batch – enough for 2 meals for all 6 of us. It freezes and thaws well so we have an easy ‘take away’ meal on hand for crazy nights!

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp coconut oil
1 medium brown onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 heaped tsp paprika
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/3 tsp ground cloves
2 cloves crushed garlic
3 tsp finely grated ginger
1 1/2 tsp very finely diced red chilli
500g tomato pasata
150g sliced button mushrooms
2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed
270ml coconut cream (plus the tin filled up again with hot water)
150g sunflower seed butter

In a large, heavy based frying pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and add in the onion. Fry until the onion beings to turn translucent.

Add in all of the dry spices and fry for a further minute.

Add in the garlic, ginger and chilli and fry, stirring well, until all combined and fragrant.

Add in the pasatta, deglaze the pan and stir well to combine.

Add in the mushroom and beans, stir well.

Add in the coconut cream, water and seed butter and stir until the mixture is well combined and smooth.

Bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over rice.

If you would like a meatier version of this meal you will need:

1 tbsp garlic infused oil
4 skinless chicken thighs, diced
1/2 tsp paprika
pinch of salt and pepper.

Before the above steps, heat the oil in the pan and add in the chicken. Season and fry until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.

Return the chicken to the pan in the last minute or 2 of the simmering time.

Enjoy 🙂

Roasted Pumpkin Cannelloni

November 29, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

Each month when I sit down to write out our menu I ask the kids for input.

Invariably Ellie says ‘Calamari’, George yells ‘Pizza’, Harry yells ‘Everything Mexican’ and Will suggests Fried Rice and lots of veggies.

But this time Will surprised me.

He asked for ‘those long, fat, hollow noddles that you put stuff in and have sauce on top’ 🙂 So here … with the more fancy name of Cannelloni…. was my interpretation of his request!!

800g butternut pumpkin
400g tin chick peas, drained and rinsed
cannelloni tubes (we used the San Remo GF ones)
2 tbsp garlic olive oil
2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp pink salt flakes
1/3tsp ground nutmeg
400ml tomato passata
1/2 cup warm veggie stock
2 large handfuls spinach
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp coconut cream
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Peel and dice the pumpkin and place in a large baking pan. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the salt, nutmeg and rosemary.

Bake in a pre-heated 200C oven for about 40 minutes.

Remove tray from oven and add in the chick peas, toss them with the pumpkin and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and turn oven down to 180C. Mash the pumpkin and chick peas and then place into a piping bag.

Fill the cannelloni tubes with the pumpkin mix an then lay in a baking dish.

In a blender/processor/bullet/thermal cooker, place the passata, spinach, nutritional yeast, stock and coconut cream and process until smooth.

Pour the tomato sauce over the top of the filled cannelloni and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and return to the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

Slice and serve hot.

Enjoy 🙂

Pumpkin Pie

November 23, 2017November 23, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

So … what’s an Aussie girl doing making a pumpkin pie in November?

Well, my biggest boy is in Year 3 at school. A big focus for them in their curriculum is ‘Celebrations’ and being November, they have been learning all about Thanksgiving.

Will has been delighted to come home and share everything he’s learning, so when he asked me if we could have a Thanksgiving Celebration at our house, it was pretty hard to resist – actually, I didn’t even try 😉

From all of the North American pop culture I have absorbed over the years, even I know that Sweet pumpkin pie is an essential part of the Thanksgiving meal!

So this is my take on a pumpkin pie – from what I can gather, it is in no way a traditional version, but it fits the way we need to eat … and it is really yum!!

We don’t have canned pumpkin in Australia, and our pumpkin can be a little watery when mashed, so the addition of a little sweet potato helps to give it a thicker consistency.

For the Crust:

1 cup plain flour (GF mix or spelt – add 1/2 tsp of psyllium if using GF)
pinch pink salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
40g coconut sugar
50g Vegan butter, very cold
2 tbsp icy cold water

Mix flour, salt, cinnamon and sugar until well combined (Speed 5, 8 seconds)

Add in the butter and pulse until the mix resembles bread crumbs.

Add in the water, 1 tbsp initially and pulse to form a dough, add in the 2nd spoon if the mix is too dry.

Tip the mix out and bring together to form a smooth disc. Cover in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 mins – but up to overnight.

Roll the dough out to the shape of your pie dish – between 2 sheets of baking paper works best.

Grease your pie dish, the place the pastry into the pie dish. Use your fingers to fix up any little cracks and trim off any excess.

No need to blind bake the pastry for this pie.

For the Filling

850g butternut pumpkin, diced
70g Gold sweet potato, diced
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup date paste
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp each of ground ginger and cinnamon
1/4 tsp each of ground nutmeg and cloves
pinch pink flaked salt
2 tbsp pure corn flour

Place the pumpkin and potato in a baking dish, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt, the roast at 200C for about 45 minutes, or until golden and very soft.

Transfer the pumpkin and potato to the processor, add in the date paste and sugar and process well, until smooth. (Speed 4, 20 seconds, scrape down then up to speed 6 for 10 seconds – repeat)

Add in the remaining ingredients and process again until very well combined and smooth (Speed 5, 12 seconds).

Pour the filling into the pie crust and place into a preheated 170C oven for about 50 minutes.

When you remove it, the crust will be golden, and there will be cracks in the top of the pie, but it will still be a little wobbly – that’s ok!

Allow the pie to cool on the bench for about half an hour and then transfer to the fridge to allow it to cool completely and set.

Serve cold or warm (I am told that there is much debate about this – but it’s really hot here so we are going cold!) with whipped cream, or even spiced ice cream. You can even drizzle with a little dark melted chocolate if there’s no cream to be served!

This one won’t freeze so well, but it lasts several days, covered, in the fridge.

Enjoy – and be thankful!

Nachos – veggie style

November 18, 2017January 2, 2018 ~ desertcook ~ 3 Comments

You already know how much we enjoy Mexican inspired food here …. And now, as we seek to reduce the meat in our diets, we have added these Nachos to our favourites.

These are totally plant based … And yet, the biggest carnivore says they are better than the ones we had out the other night …. Winner!

They are easy to make, inexpensive and pack a serious veggie punch!

400g tin kidney beans
400g tin black beans
400g tin butter beans
400g tin lentils
400g tin refried beans
2 medium carrots
1 medium zucchini
Fist sized piece butternut pumpkin
2 tbsp garlic olive oil
1 heaped tsp Mexican seasoning
Salsa*
Corn chips
2 large ripe avocados
2 tsp lime juice
Pinch pink salt
12 cherry tomatoes
Optional: cheese of choice

*the recipe for the salsa makes the equivalent of 3 jars. I use 1 jar in this recipe. The other 2 go in the freezer.

Grate the carrot, pumpkin and zucchini (I used my food processor)

Heat oil in a large pan, then add in the veggies.

Sprinkle the seasoning over the veggies then add in the salsa. Mix well.

Drain the lentils then add them into the veggie mix together with the refried beans.

Drain the remaining beans and place them in the food processor, pulse them several times until the beans are all roughly chopped.

Add these beans to the rest of the veggie mix.

Sir well to combine, then place lid on pan and cook, at a simmer, over a medium heat for approximately 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mash the avocado, then stir in the juice, salt and chopped tomatoes.

Place corn chips in the bottom of a bowl, spoon the nacho mix on to the chips and then top with the guacamole.

Add grated cheese if desired (Miss Ellie had Bio Cheese, but I enjoyed it without cheese!).

This makes enough nacho mix for 2 dinners for us. The leftover portion freezes and defrosts well.

Enjoy 🙂

Carrot Cake Bliss Balls

October 28, 2017October 27, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Bliss balls are usually the go to in our house … but it never hurts to try new things …. especially new things that add veggies to your diet!

These were very well received in our house …. even though there was much giggling from my children who decided that they looked like wombat poop. Ha! Oh well … if that’s what they need, we’ll run with it 😀

1 cup pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbsp flax seeds
1/2 cup rolled quinoa or oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch pink flaked salt
2 medium carrots (roughly 150g)
8 medjool dates, pitted

Place the pumpkin and sunflower seeds together in a baking tray. Place them under a hot grill for a few minutes to dry roast them. This gives them a nuttier flavour. Watch them carefully and shake the tray part way through to ensure an even roasting.

Place the roasted seeds together with the flax, coconut, quinoa and spices in your processor. Blitz until they are fine (Speed 9, 8 seconds).

Chop the carrots into chunks and add them through the top chute of the processor whilst it is on, alternate adding carrot and date. Continue to process until the carrot and date are very finely chopped and evenly distributed through the mixture. (Use Speed 4 whilst you are adding the dates and carrot, then work up to speed 7 for 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat).

Form teaspoons of the mixture into balls.

Place into the fridge for at least an hour to harden.

Makes about 20. These do best when they can stay cool – so don’t leave them out of the fridge for hours.

Enjoy 🙂

Date and Oat Hotcakes

September 30, 2017September 30, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

Hotcakes are a regular feature on our breakfast menu – especially on the weekend when we have a little more time together.

I have made lots of different versions over time, Vanilla Almond hotcakes have been our standard, but these one are free of any oil or butter and the mild sweetness comes only from fruit. A great source of fibre and they’ll fill you up and keep you fuelled for ages!

The kids love them and they freeze really well, so they are great to pop into lunchboxes.

This recipe makes a large batch …. I have given up on making batches that are any smaller since they are so quickly demolished here and I never wind up with any left overs to freeze. This makes 45-50 hotcakes. But go ahead and halve the recipe if you don’t have quite as large a hungry hoard to feed!!

3 cups, wholemeal spelt flour OR 2 1/2 cups plain GF flour mix
1/2 cup seeds or nuts of choice
1/2 cup rolled oats OR quinoa
4 tsp GF baking powder
8 medjool dates, pitted
1 overripe medium banana
1 tbsp sunflower seed butter
2 3/4 – 3 cups milk of choice (we like unsweetened vanilla almond)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
butter of choice to serve

Place the dates in a small container, cover with the boiling water and add the vanilla. Set aside.

In your processor/blender/bullet/thermal cooker, place the seeds and oats and blitz until fine (Speed 9, 10 seconds).

Add in the baking powder and flour and mix again until well combined (Speed 5, 12 seconds).

Pour out dry mixture into a large bowl and set aside.

In your processor/blender/bullet/thermal cooker, place the dates and water, banana, seed butter, milk and blend, blend, blend until very smooth (Speed 7, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat). Start by using the smaller amount of milk.

Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and whisk together until smooth*, if the mixture is too thick, add in the remaining amount of milk and whisk in.

*This whole mixture is too much for the bowl of a thermal cooker. But if you are making a half batch, at this point just add the dry mixture back into the wet mixture that is still in the bowl and mix on speed 4, scraping down every 10 seconds until it is well mixed and smooth.

Pour the batter into a hot, lightly greased frying pan, wait until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and cook until both sides are golden brown.

Top with butter of choice and serve.

20170930_084814-1 — That’s a biiig stack!!

Enjoy 🙂

Chocolate Bliss Balls

September 3, 2017February 28, 2023 ~ desertcook ~ 3 Comments

These are the go to chocolate fix in our house. They are miss Ellie’s absolutely favourite and she usually pinches a couple of balls worth of mix from the machine before I even get to roll them! And mister George has learned how to find them in the fridge very quickly when mummy goes out to the washing line 😉

Quick and easy to whip up and they are actually a satisfying choc fix that won’t lead to a sugar crash later down the track!

See below the main recipe for my Christmas variation too!

200g natural almonds OR roasted sunflower seeds
50g pepitas
30g hemp seeds*
30g cocoa powder (or 20g cacao)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
12 medjool dates, pitted (roughly 300g)
Mixed spice coconut sugar for dusting (optional).

*If you aren’t using hemp seeds, just use 80g pumpkin seeds.

If you are using sunflower seeds in place of the almonds, toast them first, either in a dry frying pan or under the grill in the oven until they are golden. Watch them carefully – they don’t take long!

Place almonds, seeds, cocoa and cinnamon in the food processor and process until fine and crumbly. (Speed 10, 10 secs)

Add dates and vanilla beans through chute at the top whilst processing and continue until well combined. (Use speed 4 whilst adding the dates then increase slowly up to speed 6 for 15 sec on bursts)

The ‘wetness’ of the mixture hugely depends on the moisture content and size of the dates you use, so test the mixture – when squeezed together it should easily form into a ball. Mine was slightly too dry so I needed an addition of 1 tsp water and another quick blitz.

Tip – if your dates are really cold from the fridge they won’t be as sticky. Either allow them to come to room temperature, or pop them in the microwave for just a few seconds until they are at room temperature – they’ll bind much more effectively!

Form the mixture into small balls and then roll in a covering if you desire. We mostly leave these plain, but occasionally we make up a mix of coconut sugar and mixed spice (about a 5:1 ratio) and sprinkle it over.

Makes about 20. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. They can keep for 2 weeks … not likely in my house 😀

If you’re in a hurry and don’t have the time to roll balls, press the mix firmly into a baking dish and pop in the freezer for half an hour begged cutting into squares.

For a Christmassy flavoured bliss ball: Remove 1 date and replace it with a small handful of dried cranberries. Replace the vanilla with the finely grated zest of half an orange and replace the cinnamon with 1/3 tsp of ground cloves.

Enjoy 🙂

Spiced Caramel Popcorn

August 27, 2017August 28, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

I love popcorn for its simplicity. So easy to pop it and such an inexpensive snack! My kiddos love it in their lunchboxes too.

We already make Sweet and Salty Puffed Corn for a change but this one is a new addition.

Fair warning. If you start, you’ll probably not be able to walk away! I made a batch of this for my dad for Father’s Day …. and then had to promptly make another batch after it sat on the bench and my 4 little people discovered it!!

1/3 cup popcorn kernels
35g tasteless coconut oil
25g maple syrup
25g sunflower seed butter
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp mixed spice

Air pop the kernels. Place in a large baking tray.

Preheat the oven to 215C.

Mix the remaining ingredients together in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the mix is completely melted and smooth (speed 2, 100C, approx 90 secs)

Pour mix over the popcorn and mix well to coat.

Optional: if you like sweet and salty together, you can sprinkle over 1/2 tsp of pink salt flakes here.

Place into oven. For about 4 minutes.

Remove from oven and stir again, then return to oven for a further 4-5 minutes.

Allow to cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

Enjoy 🙂

Veggie Burgers

June 19, 2017July 22, 2021 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

I have mentioned before that I am really not a fan of minced meat. I have managed to teach myself to eat it in some family meals but, eating a beef patty in a burger is something I’d prefer to skip if I can!!

So, especially as we seek to eat less meat and increase our plant based options wherever we can, these delicious patties have become our go-to option!

1 medium, peeled and diced Sweet potato, about 500g
1/2 a medium butternut pumpkin, peeled and diced, about 500g
400g tin Chick peas, drained – Butter beans also work well.
1 tbsp Garlic olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp finely diced fresh herbs (think Italian Style herbs – I mostly use rosemary and thyme)
1/2 cup Nutritional yeast
1/3 cup hemp seeds
3 tbsp flax meal

Place the sweet potato and pumpkin in a lined baking dish and drizzle with garlic olive oil.

Bake in a preheated 200C oven for about 60 minutes.

Place the chick peas or beans in a bowl and cover them with boiling water to soften for about 10 minutes.

Remove veggies from oven and transfer to a bowl appropriate for mashing.

Drain the chick peas and add to the veggies before mashing all together.

Once mashed, sprinkle over the flax meal, nutritional yeast and hemp seeds and stir in well and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Form into balls (roughly the size of a tennis ball), then squash into patties and place into the fridge for at an hour (but overnight is fine too).

Heat some olive oil in a heavy based pan, or on the BBQ and place patties in the oil.

Cook over a medium heat (so that the outside doesn’t burn before the inside is cooked!) about 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

We like to have them in burgers together with salad and my Creamy Avocado Dressing. Or even just with lots of avocado.

The kids like their to have a slice of cheese melted onto the top of them under the grill before going into their burgers …. and Peter prefers his with a little bacon!

Makes 6 large patties.

These patties work well cold the next day too – in another another bun or with a plate of salad or steamed green veg.

Enjoy 🙂

Quick Cheesey Garlic Bread Sticks

June 15, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

Soup for dinner here tonight. Yum.

I love soup (for taste, health, ease and budgetary reasons!!), Peter loves soup and the kids mostly like soup, so it features pretty regularly in the cooler weather …. however I’m pretty sure the main reason they like it, is for the bread that we let them ‘dunk’ in it.

Check freezer tonight. Oops. No bread.

Harry, my little carbivore, looks up at me like he’s actually going to cry.

Never mind my boy …. yoghurt dough to the rescue! We loaded it up with my delicious Cheesey Sprinkles (Vegan Parmesan) for a fabulous flavour and nutrition boost.

470g Spelt flour (or 420g GF flour together with 1tbsp psyllium husk)
2.5 tsp GF baking powder
360g natural yoghurt or soy/coconut yoghurt
3 tbsp Cheesey Sprinkles* (vegan Parmesan)
1 tbsp Garlic olive oil
1 tsp pink flaked salt

*If you haven’t made these, you can roughly replace this quantity with 2 tbsp Nutritional yeast, 1 tbsp milled nuts/seeds plus a pinch of salt, pepper and Italian type herbs.

Place all ingredients, except oil and salt, into processor and mix until it forms a dough and gently bring it together. (Speed 5, 15 seconds).

If the dough is too sticky, add in 1 tsp of extra flour at a time and process to combine …. I have found that I often need to add more flour when I work with homemade soy yoghurt.

Split the dough into 4 pieces and, using wet hands, form into 4 bread stick shapes, laying them on a lined baking tray.

Brush the tops of the bread with garlic olive oil and sprinkle with flaked salt.

Place into a preheated 200C oven for about 20 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Finish with a short time under the grill to give an extra crunchy top crust.

Allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing and eating.