Tempeh sandwich with coriander pesto

 Hand made, unpasterised tempeh is the bomb! If you can find it locally made, you are dam lucky. Tempeh is such a great healthy food, adding nutrients and substance to your diet. Soybeans have equal amounts of protein, gram for gram as animal protein and it’s full of vitamins, minerals and fibre.

This has been my default lunch for many, many years.  In this quick lunch or dinner, the tempeh provides much of the nutrients, and with healthy fresh salad ingredients and coriander pesto, it’s tasty and good for you!

Try my hummus recipes, peanut satay recipe or babaganoush (eggplant dip) for other delicious flavours.

Makes = 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

1 pkt tempeh, cut into 4 flat slabs
a little coconut oil, tamari & balsamic vinegar for pan-frying

1 medium beetroot, grated

1 medium carrot, grated

1 large cucumber, peeled, thinly sliced

Lettuce leaves of your choice

Slices of your favourite bread
season with salt, pepper & lemon or lime juice, *optional

Coriander pesto

1 bunch large coriander

1 cup olive oil

1 small garlic

½ tsp good salt

½ cup cashews (or macadamia’s)

Coriander pesto
Place the coriander, olive oil, garlic & salt into a blender or food processor and blitz for 30 seconds or until combined.

Add the cashews and roughly blend, keeping a little texture in the nuts.

Place in a clean jar and keep the leftovers in the fridge for toast with avocado & sprouts, roasted vegetable quinoa salad with baby spinach, or stir through steamed veggies & rice or steamed veggies with noodles (add lime juice & toasted sesame oil too).

Pan-fry the tempeh
Pan-fry the tempeh in a little coconut oil, tamari and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Sear until golden and a little crispy on both sides. 

To assemble:
Toast your bread (unless you like it fresh), drizzle with olive oil and spread with the coriander pesto. I like to layer my salad ingredients first but do it however you like it. Sometimes, I season the salad part with salt & pepper and a twist of lemon or lime juice.
Then put the tempeh on the top of the salad and add the top layer of bread. EAT!

If you are trying to cut down on bread, have an open sandwich!

Coconut rough clusters with pepitas seeds

Looking down into the small palm of my hand, opening the golden foil with the ruby red writing with coconut roughs written across the shinny disk, was such a treat as a young child. My earliest memory was that they cost about 15c. It was one of those things I choose as a child when I was given 20c or 50c to spend in a milk bar. Even as a kid I loved the taste of toasted coconut with chocolate, I think it's another one of those perfect food marriages. 

For something different and to entertain my adult palate, I invented these about 15 years ago. I was making chocolates for Christmas gifts, using a few chocolate moulds I had. Once all my moulds were full of chocolate, I thought, what can I do with the remaining melted chocolate? I didn't want to waste this precious food. As is my way, I began to experiment. I added the ingredients below in the recipe (and maybe some black pepper?).

 I think pepita's are wonderful with chocolate. They have a great crunch. They like sunflower seeds are very good source of anti-oxidant vitamin E; Vitamin E is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant. It prevents tissue cells from the free radical mediated oxidant injury. Thus, it helps maintain the integrity of mucus membranes and skin by protecting from harmful oxygen free radicals. Also they are a great source of protein and help to reduce 'bad' cholesterol and increase 'good' cholesterol.

Pumpkin kernels are also excellent source of B-complex group of vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) and folates. 

Furthermore, its seeds contain very good levels of essential minerals like copper, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium. They are one of the richest sources of manganese. Manganese is an all-important co-factor for antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. It is therefore, consumption of pumpkin kernels helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen free radicals.

That all said eating them with a bit of chocolate can't be all that bad, can it?!

Makes =12 small

Chocolate Mix

100gm organic, fair-traded, dark chocolate, shaved

1 cup shredded coconut

¼ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

¼ cup sunflower seeds

1 tbs fennel seeds

tiny pinch of salt

Melt the shaved chocolate in a stainless steel bowl, over a saucepan of water, on a medium heat. Turn heat off once almost melted. 

Gather the rest of the ingredients and add when chocolate has melted. Combine well. Allow to cool slightly if chocolate is too thin and runny.

Spoon cluster onto a plate covered with baking paper, so chocolates are easy to remove once set.

Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours then store in an airtight container for ages or share with friends!

Rawsome chocolate crackles

 Divine, delightful, these sweet treats evoked memories of childhood birthday party but are totally good for you! Chocolate crackles were my favourite treat at a birthday party, I remember I would scan the birthday table for chocolate crackles and my eyes would light up if I spotted them!

These have the flavor and the crunchy rice bubble-like texture that ‘normal’ chocolate crackles have, so try them out on your kids. That is your ‘big’ kids or little ones both will love them!

So simple to make, just put all the dry ingredients in a bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix together! Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. Yep, it's that simple!

Makes = 18 small

1 cup dehydrated buckwheat*

½ cup cacao powder

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup desiccated coconut

1 tsp vanilla powder

¼ tsp good salt

½ cup cacao butter, shaved & melted

½ coconut oil, melted

½ cup agave syrup

Mix together all the dried ingredients.

Add the shaved cacao butter to a stainless steal bowl and place over a saucepan of boiling water. Reduce the heat to low (or turn off) to slowly melt the cacao butter but not destroy all the raw nutrients and goodness.

Once melted, add the coconut oil and allow the heat to melt it too. Then mix together the wet ingredients and add to the dry ingredients. Combine thoroughly and spoon into little patty pans and chill for 30 minutes or until set. Store in an airtight container for up to a week or more….if they last that long!

* You can buy dehydrated buckwheat through two fabulous companies either Loving Earth or 2Die4Nuts. So you don’t need a dehydrator to make this recipe!

Barley, kale & carrot soup

With the fire lit and the curtains drawn, I’m ready for a bowl of hot soup and some oily sourdough toast. It’s that time of year. Warming soup are so satisfying and fulfilling and very nutritious.

Check out this barley soup, it’s so cleansing & nourishing. Barley just feels great on your body. If it’s not something you tend to cook, I highly recommend giving it a go and experience the heart-i-ness that barley gives.

I discovered barley when I lived in Brighton, England about 16 years ago.  I lived on soups over there, warm, hearty soups. We had a soup on the menu every day

Gluten free banana & walnut muffins

The beginning of winter saw me craving cooked cakes. Maybe after having so many raw desserts for so long, I finally wanted the soft, spongy texture of fluffy cooked cake. I wanted a good vegan cake but they can be so hard to find.

Then I found myself in Lismore after a day at the Protestor/Protector’s camp at Bentley against Coal Seam gas-fields and went looking for vegan cake! In at Goanna Bakery (Lismore) I found some divine

Adzuki Bean Burger

One of my all time favourite lunches is a burger.  It combines all my favourite things, salad, bread & whatever tasty fried or baked treat going with it. You must have a good hummus, or chutney or pesto to go with it to make it complete.

This is my latest burger with the adzuki bean patties and boy are they good. They keep for 4-5 days easy, so they are great to make at the beginning of the week to enjoy for your lunches.

Chinese herbal medicine considers adzuki’s to be the most “yang” or warming, of all beans, and consequently, good for

Rawsome Caramel Salted Fudge

When I was a kid and was given some money to go and buy some lollies or had ‘earned’ 20c (wow!) for doing some chores, I would very often reach for anything caramel.

Caramel swirls, the golden yellowy buttons which cost 2c each were always my favorites as a little girl. I would often spend my whole 20c on those and would suck away on them, one at a time, making them last and smiling away contentedly to myself.

I also had a soft spot for Caramelo Bears in those days too. Those little koala’s filled with soft stringy caramel that dripped down onto your chin and were