food relationships

Hi eKa Circle,

It sure does feel like it has been quite a while since I have posted here! Time feel strange to anyone else these days? It is literally whizzing by…I will post two blogs in toe of each other playing catch ups so stay tuned.

Some updates on The Healing Room in the Herbadashery and building community meditations are now weekly due to popular demand- woohoo! Kristen from Nurtured Space and I have started house & business clearings. We are opening The Healing Room space to share with other like minded wellness practitioners.  AND…. I am upping the game on importing sound healing instruments – especially the crystal singing bowls. Please message me should you be interested in a set or a single bowl these items make a beautiful intentional gift.

Here are a few other highlights that I have recently participated in. It was such fun leading out a meditation for the ndis network for a birthday event recently there is another one happening in September hosted by Whole Warrior Solutions. 

 

I always love to drop some recipes to inspire you. I have fond memories of how my gran used to hand write recipes in her well worn recipe book- she was a great cook! This feels somewhat similar. Parking the memory for whoever may care to look at a later date. Today’s batch has a few cheeky additions, some fried Tempura style veg and some cake. For what is life without a little celebratory sustenance. I have learnt to not fear food, oh what a journey!

Here’s a quote that really sang out to me; apologies for not crediting it is one I saw on social media.

“The fastest way to lose weight and keep it off is by healing your relationship with food.”

How to heal your relationship with food tips:

1. Intuitive eating, no diets
2. Eliminating food you know doesn’t make you feel good
3. Mindfully eating, slow without distraction
4. Avoiding food that induces guilt
5. Enjoying the food you eat without obsession
6. Become aware of the triggers behind emotional eating

What are you eating this week? Here are a few recipes from my place to yours.

love & light

M + E

 

Veg Tempura

I know seed oils aren’t so great for us when we heat them (hence my prayed over oil) but I do love a little fried veg sometimes especially when it is colder. You can use any type of firm veg for this. For this recipe it is important to buy a quality flour, I prefer to buy at a deli or continental store as it produces a much crisper batter when fried.

1 cup good quality plain flour

salt & pepper

1/2 cup ice cubes

water

oil for frying, I used “prayed over rice bran oil”

1/2 cauliflower, cut into florets

1/2 bunch broccolini, cut into pieces

4 snake beans, cut into short lengths

1 small kumera, sliced

Whisk the flour, salt and pepper, ice and enough water to make a sticky fairly thick batter. The ice will thin it down as it sits. If the batter becomes too thin just add a little more flour.

Heat the oil in a large heavy based pan. Drop a few pieces of the vegetable into the batter to coat and fry for a minute or two until crisp and golden. Drain and continue cooking the rest of the vegetables in batches. Serve with brown rice, tamari, wasabi and a squeeze of lemon.

My Lazy Dinner 

Sometimes I just hustle some simple nutrition onto a plate. Recipes don’t always need to be complicated -I love eating clean most of the time. Nutritional yeast is a great source of vitamins and minerals, it also contains 9 essential amino acids which makes it a complete protein. Vegan friendly.

seasonal vegetables, potatoes, pumpkin, beans and cauliflower

A sprinkle of nutritional yeast

fried shallots for crunch

a dollop of grated horseradish

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Boil the firm vegetables first. The potatoes, then add the others in stages. My one pot way of cooking it all. Potatoes will take about 20 mins and the beans only need a minute.

Plate, sprinkle, enjoy.

Potato, Walnut & Garlic Soup

I don’t bother peeling potatoes for soup as there is a lot of great nutrition within the skins, wash and scrub them well. I love using nuts as a protein source. Vegan if you omit the sour cream- it is still delicious.

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 leek, trimmed and sliced

5 cloves garlic, chopped

6 large potatoes, diced

1 1/2 litres vegetable stock

pinch of dried thyme

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

2 Tbsp chopped toasted walnuts

sprinkle of fried shallots

sour cream to serve

pinch of cayenne pepper

extra olive oil

Heat the oil in a heavy based  large saucepan saute the leek and garlic until softened. Add the potato and cover with the stock. Bring to the boil and add the thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add the walnuts and blend using a stick blender. Serve the warm soup garnished with fried shallots, sour cream, a sprinkle of cayenne and a drizzle of olive oil.

Lentil Curry

As a vegetarian or a vegan the concept of combining incomplete proteins to make a complete protein can seem very confusing. It isn’t really…just make sure you eat a wide variety. Be intuitive to what your body is saying and try to add in nuts, seeds, legumes & greens to almost every meal. Your body is remarkably resilient. This recipe tastes even better the day after it is made.

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic

10 curry leaves

2 potatoes, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 Tbsp curry powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

salt to taste

3/4 cup dry orange lentils, rinsed

5 cups vegetable stock to cover

Heat the coconut oil in a heavy based saucepan and saute the onion and garlic until they have softened. Add the curry leaves, curry powder and other spices. Stir over the heat for a minutes. Add the vegetables, lentils and pour in the vegetable stock.Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 mins or until the lentils and vegetables are cooked through. Add a little extra stock should you need to. Taste for the seasoning.

Serve with steamed brown basmati rice, some sauerkraut, baby spinach leaves, baby cucumbers, a dollop of plain yoghurt and some relish or pickles. There are some recipes on the links for these.

Sultana Nut Balls with Chamomile Turmeric Tea

This was my small offering at this weeks meditation. For the protein I blend up what I have in the pantry usually.

2 cups raw muesli this one had blueberries, goji, coconut, chia, cashews & lots of seeds (look for the sugar free ones)

1 cup organic rolled oats

3/4 cup nut butter

1/2 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup sun dried sultanas (I found some gorgy blue ones at my middle eastern store)

a dollop of raw honey

boiling water

1/4 cup black sesame seeds

1/4 cup chia seeds

Pulse the muesli, oats, nut butter, sultanas with a dollop of raw honey and enough boiling water to make a sticky mixture. Roll heaped teaspoons full into the sesame and chia mix.

To make the tea brew dried chamomile flowers with a sliced lemon and a sliced finger of fresh turmeric. Sweeten with a little honey if you like.

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChVlG9GlLLG/

Ma’s Walnut & Plum Jam Birthday Torte

So ma just celebrated a BIG bday and this recipe was a delicious hit so I thought I had better record it. ( I am notorious for winging a recipe and then completely forgetting how I did it.) Vegans look away for this one…the flavours were by design in loving memory of my croatian step father. As far as cakes go this one is amazing. You can freeze the cakes separately until required and ice them on the day. AND nuts + eggs are protein! We all need times to create happy memories.

12 X 70g eggs

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 cup very finely chopped raw walnuts (you can blitz them in a food processor)

1/4 cup ground almonds

1/4 cup good quality cake flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

large jar of plum povidl (hungarian dark plum jam- there is no substitute for this -look for it in the delicatessen)

500 mls whipped cream

extra roughly chopped toasted walnuts, to garnish

dried edible rose petals to garnish

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Grease and line 2 x 23cm springform pans with butter and greaseproof paper.

Separate the egg yolks from the white and beat the egg whites using an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add the sugar a few Tbsp at a time and beat until it dissolves. Continue until all of the sugar is added. Add the egg yolks to the mixture a few at a time and beat to combine. Using a large metal spoon gently fold in the walnuts and almonds. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold very gently just until combined.Divide the mixture between the two prepared cake tins. Bake for 35-40 mins or until the cake springs back when touched. Allow to cool before turning the cakes out.

Split each cake in half horizontally and layer with the plum jam. You can add a little whipped cream into the middle layer if you like. Place the cake onto a serving plate or stand and cover the whole cake with the whipped cream, smooth with a spatula. Swirl a little extra plum jam into the top and garnish with extra chopped toasted walnuts and dried rose petals.