Amy's Peanut Soup Recipe

Monday's vegan dinner hit the spot. It's adapted from a recipe my friend Amy sent me. Most of the adaptations are marked with *s, but I might have missed marking some of the changes I made between her original and my bastardized version. We followed it with starfruit bread from Mango Hill farm that was packed full of butter and eggs and yogurt and decidedly not vegan. 

Amy's Peanut Soup Recipe

45 minutes plus prep

INGREDIENTS

• 1 red bell pepper (capsicum) chopped (125 grams)
• 2 yellow onions, finely chopped
• pinch of salt
• neutral oil
• 2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
• 1 Tablespoon crushed garlic
• 1 Tablespoon cumin/jeera
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• *250 g mushrooms, roughly diced
• *Eggplant, roughly diced
• 1/2 pumpkin peeled & cubed
• 1 can diced tomatoes 
• 4 cups hot water
• 4 tsp stock powder
• 3/4 cup peanut butter, any variety (180g) 
• 500 g greens (seijan, bhaji, moringa, malabar)
• Chilies, jalapenos, sambal or sriracha sauce to your heat preference
• *1/3 cup Cilantro
• *2 Tbsp lemon juice
• * Cooked rice or quinoa for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in the bottom of a soup pot and sauté the red bell pepper (capsicum) and onions with a pinch of salt until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. 
2. Add ginger, garlic and cumin/jeera, eggplant and mushrooms and sauté for another 2 minutes or until fragrant. 
3. Add pumpkin cubes and stir to combine, then add the tomatoes with their juices and the stock powder + water. Simmer gently until the pumpkin pieces are tender, about 15 minutes. 
4. Place peanut butter in a medium bowl, add one or two ladles of hot soup and stir until emulsified, then pour the mixture back into the soup. Reduce heat to low and stir gently to combine.
5. Toss in the greens and the chilies. Cook on low to wilt the greens, maybe 5 minutes, stir frequently to prevent scorching. 
6. Turn off heat and stir in the lemon juice, garnish with cilantro and chopped peanuts. Serve over rice or quinoa. 

Serves 4 to 6.

Serving suggestions - over rice, with sourdough bread

Eggy Risotto

My mushroom needs are usually well met between Majestic Mushrooms in Pacific Harbor and Mama's Mushrooms in Ba, but I hit a dry spot for a long while. Thankfully I got topped up in June, was able to use those amazing mushrooms in this dish a little while back

Eggy Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

• 4 cups hot stock (I use boiling water from the kettle and bouillon powder)
• *I'm able to cook in nonstick pans, so I use way less oil/butter than this, but I'm not sure how much I use
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely fixed
• *1 cup chopped bell pepper 
• *2 cups mushrooms, roughly chopped
• Red pepper flakes (I used chili peppers instead)
• Leaves from 5 to 6 sprigs of thyme (didn't use)
• *chopped basil, parsley
• salt
• 1 cup risotto rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (or nutritional yeast if you've got it)
• 3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten (I used 4, shh!)

add in ideas for risottos in general: beans, mushrooms, herbs, bacon, sliced meats, cook an egg on top at the end, add egg yolks at end, cheese, tomato, corn, basil, bell peppers, spinach, cooked pumpkin, eggplant

Directions

1. Heat the stock in a large pot with an 8-ounce ladle. (Turn the kettle on)
2. In a 4-quart pot, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter (I didn't use anywhere near this much oil) over medium heat. Add the capsicum and onion and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about a minute.  Add garlic, chilis to taste, mushrooms, and a pinch of salt, turn the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is very tender, about 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat if the garlic starts to brown. Remove veggies to a bowl and keep warm. 
3. Add the rice and 1 tablespoon of the oil to the pot, stirring for about 3 minutes to toast the rice lightly. Increase the heat to medium, add the wine and cook until most of the wine is gone but the bottom of the pot is not dry. Add the cooked veggies back to the pot. Add sufficient bouillon powder for four cups of liquid, then add 1 cup of the hot water from the kettle and cook, stirring, until the liquid has been absorbed and evaporated. Add another cup water and increase the heat so that there is a fair amount of bubbles on the surface and cook until the liquid is once again absorbed (this agitation helps release the starch as the rice cooks). Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and another cup or so of water and continue to cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed into the rice, adding more water as needed and stirring. To see if it's time to add more liquid, drag the spoon through the rice; if the liquid doesn't immediately fill in the space, it's time to add more. Continue to cook, adding liquid as necessary, until the risotto looks creamy but the rice is still al dente, about 18 minutes. If using fresh chopped spinach, add at this point and stir in just until wilted.
4. Take the risotto off the heat. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and the cheese and stir well. At this point, you can add the egg yolks and stir them in until well combined. Serve immediately.

adapted from https://www.foodnetwork.com/fnk/recipes/risotto-with-egg-and-parmigiano-8041871

Basic Gluten Free Quickbread recipe

I'm going to do something different for a little while. We're eating a lot more eggs these days, I'm also cooking more gluten free meals. Instead of a run down of my day I'm going to post some of the new to me recipes.

Ever since I met Dr. Pate my kitchen mantra for meals has been a grain, a green, a bean (or protein), so some of these will skew plant based other than the eggs.

So here's what we had today, it's based off a recipe my friend Crystal gave me.

Basic Gluten Free Quickbread recipe

350F/175C Cook for one hour 2 - 9" loaf pan

INGREDIENTS

1 cup fruit/vegetables (ripe bananas, cooked pumpkin, shredded carrot, etc) measure by volume

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup neutral oil

1/3 cup yogurt

2/3 cup besan flour

2/3 cup finely ground corn meal

2/3 cup cassava starch

2/3 cup sugar

2.5 tsp baking powder

1.5 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup add ins (nuts, cranberries, chocolate chips, seeds, raisins, etc)

Spice mixes - choose one, about 1/4 cup total

Pumpkin pie - 2 tsp vanilla, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ginger

Chai spice - cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger

Apple pie spice - vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice

DIRECTIONS

1) Preheat oven to 350F/175C

2) combine dry ingredients

3) separately mix wet ingredients well, add the combined dry ingredients, gently fold together just until moist, turn into oiled and floured (or paper lined) loaf pans. Cook for 60 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

A Month of Groceries, 7 Days of Water

 It's Cyclone Season again! I've already followed everything on my cyclone prep list so now I'm trying to settle the anxiety moths in my stomach by writing. Tropical Cyclone Yasa is headed straight to Fiji with landfall expected in about 36 hours. 

So, the basics. This is mostly a recap of my tried and tested Cyclone Prep List  with a few additional items and explanations

Things to do: 

• Establish a communication plan with family and friends. For example, if you are conserving power, you may want to post updates once a day at 10 AM, or twice a day on the 8s, and so on. Have an agreed on platform and identify alternate contacts in case you can't be reached. Make sure your emergency contact list is up to date and in the hands of those who may need it. 
• Charge everything, phones, computers, ereaders, power banks, portable radios. 
• Fill the fridge and freezer with as many filled and burped water bottles as you have space for. This helps keep food cold in case of a power outtage and is an emergency water supply. These are good to always keep in the freezer/fridge as they help your appliances run more efficiently; if you always have frozen water bottles in the freezer they're easy to throw in a cooler bag if you're heading out for the day.  
• Check drains/gutters to make sure they're clear
• Cut back any trees, branches that could be a danger in high winds 
• Have cash on hand in case of emergency expenses

Water

• Bottled water – 4 litres per person per day 
• Fill up bathtubs, bottles, buckets and other available items with tap water for use bathing and flushing
• Have a way to boil water before use 

Food

• 7 day supply of non-perishable food items

Non-Food Items

• First aid kit and medications and copies of medication prescriptions
• Gas, cooking utensils, can opener, stovetop teakettle, coffee maker, paper napkins and disposable utensils 
• Matches or lighters. candles, torch and spare batteries
• Soap and personal hygiene supplies (toilet paper, sanitary products, tissues etc)
• Garbage bags and cleaning supplies (including bleach), cleaning brushes, buckets
• Blankets or sleeping bags
• Card games, board games, and other activities 

Communications Equipment

• Cellphone
• Radio (preferably wind up)
• Spare batteries for all communications equipment, fully charged at all times (wherever possible)

But what do you do if you're going to be in a situation for a longer than a week? Here's what I've got for food and other supplies for a month. Water and electricity are out of my capacity right now, but they're first on the list as soon as I can buy land. All of this is for one person, and assume that you have a mostly plant based diet. 

• grains - 30 lbs, some items in this category are pasta, rice, barley, quinoa, flour, oatmeal, ramen noodles, popcorn, crackers, bread (frozen) 
• beans and legumes - 7.5 lbs including chickpeas, kidney, pinto, lentils, peanut butter, tahini
• milk/dairy - 6.25 lbs powdered milk, UHT milk, cheeses 
• meat - 2 lbs including eggs canned tuna, mutton, bacon 
• fats/oils - 2 lbs, we use mostly olive oil, vegetable oil, and butter, but there's also ghee, peanut oil 
• sugars - 5 lbs, your list might include sugar, honey, hard candy. I also use dried fruits in place of sugar, like adding soaked dates and raisins to my oatmeal.  
• fruits/veggies - 7.5 lbs, including potatoes, onions, canned tomatoes, canned fruits, pasta sauce, raisins, cranberries, dried pineapple, dried mango, dried apricots 
• seasonings absolutely essential! This is your garlic, ginger, dried herbs and spices, bouillon cubes, salt, pepper, spice mixes, white vinegar, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, cinnamon, vanilla, nutritional yeast 
• beverages - these make it so much easier to start and end the day. Definitely have some nice beverages on your emergency packing list, like coffee, tea, cocoa powder, and other beverage mixes
• leavening agents turn your ingredients into food. These are baking powder, yeast, baking soda  
• hygiene - lay in extra soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper, tampons/pads 
• medications - a partial list might include panadol, soov, nurofen, topical antibioitic ointment, topical antifungal 
• household - laundry detergent, bleach, fabuloso, portable radio, lighter, mosquito coils, can opener, paper towels or cleaning rags, candle holders
• junk food - these days are stressful. A bag of chips can be just the thing at lunchtime. Definitely have the non-perishable things you crave on your list. 

I started writing this before the storm got here, after many interruptions I'm finally posting it. Tropical Cyclone Yasa is here, we'll see how this list does.

Moringa Pod/Drumstick Curry

Moringa Pod Eggplant Curry

I ran across these in a market and brought a heap home with no idea how to cook them, the washing machine repairman and his wife showed us their favorite recipe, they're delicious! 

Ingredients

• 1 heap Moringa Pods "drumsticks", cut into 3" pieces and stripped of fiber (technique at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-buO5rfp7M) 
• 2 eggplants, roughly chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• pinch Jeera/cumin
• pinch methi/fenugreek seed
• pinch sarson/mustard seed
• 2 clove garlic
• 1 small chili pepper
• 1 tsp haldi masala (turmeric spice mix) 
• 1 tsp hot masala (chile spice mix) 
• pinch tamarind paste
• oil for frying
• water for the pan 

Method

1. Cut the moringa pods into 3" pieces and strip them of their fiber. Roughly chop two eggplants and the onion. 
2. Fry the onion, jeera (cumin) methi (fenugreek seed), and sarso. While this is cooking use a mortar and pestle to make a paste with two cloves of garlic and one chile pepper, add as needed to make the paste.  
3. When the onion is translucent, add in the garlic chile paste along with the haldi masala and hot masala. Stir. 
4. Add the chopped moringa pods and eggplant, cover with water and bring to a boil then lower to a steady simmer. 
5. Let cook until the eggplant breaks down, about 15 minutes. 
6. Add in turmeric paste to taste, stir to combine.
7. Serve hot with rice or fresh roti.  

The story! 

I was helping out with a charity booth at the Rakiraki market, at the end of the day I wanted to buy some vegetables for dinner that night. As I walked through the market I came across this interesting looking vegetable and asked what they were, a customer at the stall was so excited to tell me about them and convinced me to buy them. My Canadian friend and I had no idea what to do with them, so they sat on the counter until her washing repairman came by. While the washing machine ran through its cycles he and his wife showed us how to prepare the moringa pods and fix their favorite drumstick recipe. At the end of the night we had clean clothes and full bellies, it was so much fun! 

What to take when you're visiting a friend in the hospital

A while back a friend of mine was telling me about visiting a hospitalized friend and what she'd learned from going every day for weeks. Here are some of the tips she shared with me and a few I've added:

• Ask before visiting. While you're there stay tuned in to your friend, leave if asked or if you see that your visit is tiring your friend.
• Bring bottled water. It can take time for the staff to bring a pitcher, it's so much easier to have water bottles right there by the bed. 
• Tissues and Toilet Paper, especially the extra soft brands, are appreciated
• Bring home cooked food. Either plan to take the dishes away with you or leave the food there with disposable utensils and disposable containers. 
• Bring Single serve snacks and sweets
• Teabags, instant coffee packets, and drink mixes - if allowed by the physician - are nice to tuck into care packages.  
• Baby Wipes help for those really hot and sticky days and for anyone who's completely bedridden. 
• Toiletries like soap, hand lotion, lip balm, and dry shampoo are soothing (recipe and instructions below)
• A change of clothes
• Sponge or bath pouf, hand towel & bath towel. If you bring these items, try to return the next day to replace them with a fresh set as it’s no fun to have wet towels taking up your personal storage space next to your hospital bed.  
• Soft throw and pillows
• Comfy and fun slippers
• Sleep mask & earplugs
• Nail clippers
• Distractions like books, magazines, puzzles, a phone topup, adult coloring books + colored pencils
• Flowers or potted plants. Hospitals can be dreary, it's nice to have something to brighten the space
• Financial gifts – money is always the right color and size. In addition to lost income and the medical bills, when a family member is in the hospital there are extra costs that add up like taxi fares and childcare

Can’t make it to the hospital? Can you support their family with errands, meals, or childcare?

Pro-Tips

• Only visit if you’re well. You don't want someone who's already ill at risk of getting something else
• Go alone or with only one other person. Numbers can be overwhelming. Rather than everyone visit at once, try spacing the visits over the course of your friend’s stay
• Keep it quiet. Your friend might welcome numbers and noise, but what about the patient in the next bed?
• Avoid sitting on the patient's bed. So many things are out of the patient’s control, let them have some personal space. 

Of course, as with everything, take your cues from the patient. If they’re craving a caring touch and companionship, by all means sit on the edge of the bed and give them that hug.

Dry Shampoo Recipe for Dark Hair

• 2 tbsp arrowroot powder <- Super absorbent, you can replace this with corn flour aka corn starch if you can’t find arrowroot powder
• 2-3 tbsp cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder

1. In a small bowl thoroughly combine the arrowroot powder and cocoa powder. For best results, store in an airtight container. 
2. When you're ready to shampoo, section hair and apply the dry shampoo to your roots with a makeup brush. 
3. Let powder sit for 2-3 minutes to absorb oil, then brush hair from roots to tips. This helps to distribute the dry shampoo throughout your hair as well as remove any excess. 
4. If you’ve missed any spots, repeat the process.

You could also use a clean shaker to apply the dry shampoo to your roots.

Vegan Pizza

Vegan Pizza 

INGREDIENTS

Socca pizza crust

• 1 cup chickpea flour (chana besan) 
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup olive oil, divided
• 1 to 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• ¼ teaspoon salt, I’m partial to large grained salts with some flavor to them, but any salt will do

Pizza toppings

• 1 avocado, mashed (your mouth won’t know this isn’t cheese, it’s magic)
• 1 cup spaghetti sauce (I told you it was what was in my fridge)

(whatever is in the fridge that looks like a pizza topping. I used these today, tomorrow it will probably be something different)

• handful of fresh basil
• 1 thinly sliced eggplant
• 1 thinly sliced red onion
• handful of sliced black olives

INSTRUCTIONS

• Mix the chickpea flour (chana besan), water, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and minced garlic together. Dough will be very wet. Resist the urge to add more flour. Cover the bowl and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour to let the chickpea flour soak up the water.
• Turn on the broiler with a rack positioned 8 inches from heat. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet (or something ovenproof anyway) in the oven to preheat.
• Once the cast iron skillet is hot, using oven mitts carefully remove it from the oven. Pour in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and swirl the pan around so the oil is evenly distributed. Pour in the chickpea batter and place the skillet under the broiler. Cook for 8 minutes or so until the socca is set and the edges are browning and pulling away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven, turn off broiler and turn oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
• With a large spatula, raise the socca and add the last of the olive oil to the skillet. Flip the socca over and top with spaghetti sauce, the smushed up avocado, and then whatever toppings you decided to use.
• Return the skillet to the oven and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the veggies are browned and the socca is crisp. Remove from oven and let cool, slice into 4-6 pieces and serve.

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There's a story here (there's always a story) but it's going to have to wait for another day. In the meantime, enjoy plant based whole foods and tell the people you care about that you love them.

More info on socca flatbreads at https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-socca-a-naturally-gluten-free-chickpea-flatbread-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-169513