A Bear in the Kitchen

H E A L T H Y + F R U G A L r e c i p e s

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B U C K W H E A T M I L K

I came up with this recipe accidently, after soaking a big batch of Buckwheat I didn’t know what to do with it, we had been making our own cashew milks and oat milks allot and experimenting with pumpkin and sesame so I thought, seeing as it’s a seed I’d try it out.

If you get it right buckwheat milk has this incredible texture, whip it up enough and it makes a beautiful foam that works to make an excellent, nutty cappuccino (which is a hard feat with most other nut milks).

The key is having a good blender, we’re lucky to have a Nutribullet at home and it takes seconds in that. Here in Greece we were working with something an awful lot slower, it can take a while, but even if you just have a hand blender I promise it’s worth it!  

I N G R E D I E N T S

1 cup of Buckwheat (Pre soaked and rinsed) 1 tsp Vanilla essence 1/4 tsp of Himalayan salt Agave, honey, Maple syrup or a couple of dates to sweeten 3 cups of water

M E T H O D

Add the buckwheat, salt and vanilla to the blender with 1 cup of water and blend well. (if you use dates add at this stage, two should be enough for this recipe)

Once you can see everything has turned to a fine mush add the other two cups and blend again.

Now taste and add sweetener, honey etc as you like.

Pour into a bottle or big jar through a milk bag, or fine mesh sieve,

and pop in the fridge.

(it should keep fine in the fridge for 4 days)

S E R V E

On cereal, in coffee or just drink straight out of the bottle!

* if you want to make more, just make sure you keep the three to one quantity of water to buckwheat, if you use less water it has more of a custard consistency.

* This recipe works just as well for almond, oats, cashew, brazil, hazelnut, sunflower seed etc

*Another good trick if you haven’t got a milk bag or piece of muslin lying around is to put the mixture in a French press, it might be a little bitty but its still good!

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B U C K W H E A T G R A N O L A

I started playing around with the recipe for my younger sister, she’s completely gluten and sugar free and ends up spending ridiculous money on organic goods with pretty packaging from health food shops. Im always making granola but there are a lot of granola recipes out there that call for sugar, maple syrup, or (pricey) medjool dates, It took me a good few batches to get it right without, but this one tastes so fresh and delicious you can’t help but eat it straight out of the jar!

Buckwheat is incredibly cheap, a secret super-food that hasn’t seen its price hiked yet, you can get a big bag for just a couple of quid in most super markets. And its so good for you, don’t let the name trick you, its not wheat, Buckwheats are actually small seed’s full of Iron and magnesium, you can sprout them, toast them, and they make excellent Granola!

I N G R E D I E N T S 

300g Raw Buckwheat

200g Oats (gluten free)

125g Ground Flaxseed

50g Goji berries

50g dried Cranberries

50g dried blueberries

75g Sunflower seeds

30g Sesame seeds

1 heaped tbsp. of cinnamon

1 pint of orange juice (or 500ml)

M E T H O D Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.

Soak buckwheats over night in big bowl with lots of water. The next day rinse thoroughly mix together with all the dry ingredients.  Pour orange juice all over, mix until everything is covered.

Spread evenly onto a lined baking tray and place in the oven for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and flip over, cook again for another 25 minutes or until golden, the best way to check is to taste!

S E R V E

With almond milk, on yogurt or with Kefir, add any fruit; orange, banana, apples  and enjoy! Store in a big jar, or airtight container. 

*Raw Buckwheat is green/white in colour (all we could find here in Greece were the pre toasted red ones, which are fine, but the green/white have a more subtle flavor and are much better for granola)

* You can add any nuts you like to this recipe, try walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, brazils and any other dried fruit you like, coconut strips go really crunchy and delicious, also great to try are figs, prunes or apricots.

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D A D D Y  B E A R   S A L A D When I was growing up in Greece there were all these famous traditional salads, but to me they always seemed so boring; it was a mission in those days for my mother to convince me to eat my portion. 

Then came a point when all that changed – I moved to London and was living alone for the first time in my life, in student halls. I hadn't cooked much for myself before, but the fridge was always full of leftovers and bits and bobs. So I started just chucking everything together in a bowl, adding greens and anything that looked interesting. The need for something to eat fast and without hassle was urgent and frequent!



And let me tell you, in less than a year of daily salad creations I lost my belly, which my mother's fridge had been hell-bent on preserving throughout my teenage years.


Even now, with many more recipes in my repertoire, a great salad is still my absolute favourite.

For the Bear's Salad you could follow the recipe but I encourage you to play around as much as you want. The secret alchemy of a great salad is just the limits of your imagination. The brilliant thing is that you can mix anything, from leafy greens to colourful flowers, fruit to raw mushrooms, raisins to nuts. The trick is to unify it all with a clever dressing; get that right and you have a feast to which little else compares!

The key to an E X C E L L E N T  S A L A D:

 Lots of leafy greens, like spinach, chard, kale, rocket, watercress, parsley and dill.

 Any veg can go into a salad, from the tough ones like beets, carrots and red cabbage to classic cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers – but you want it all finely sliced.

 I like to put in some cooked veg, too – like roasted sweet potatoes or fried onions and mushrooms.

Any dry nuts you have handy will work; my favourites are walnuts and pistachios but they are crazy expensive, so we often go for sunflower seeds or peanuts (lightly toasting them gives great flavour).

Fruits are a fresh necessity; I find that citrus and sour fruits work better in combination with savoury food. So oranges, grapes, grapefruit, pineapple, apples, melons; even kiwis and strawberries can be great.

Dry fruits are another must. Dry figs, in my opinion, are the best, but it's the same as with fresh fruit – you need to let your imagination unfold the possibilities.

I N G R E D I E N T S Serves 2 Four big handful’s of spinach One handful of rocket One handful of lettuce 4 radish thinly sliced 5 strawberries sliced 4 mushrooms thinly sliced 1 tomato cut into chunks 1 orange cut into chunks A small handful of toasted peanuts A small handful of dried cranberries and sliced prunes Chuck it all together and mix it up, now for...

T H E  D R E S S I N G:

(Getting the balance right leads to perfection)

100 ml extra virgin olive oil 10 ml balsamic vinegar or lemon juice 1 tsp honey 1 tbsp mustard 1 tbsp yogurt 1 tbsp tahini
 1 tsp oregano a pinch of salt a good dash of pepper

Blend it all up or pop in a Jar and shake to your heart’s content!  S E R V E  In a big bowl with hunks of crusty bread and devour. 

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H O T  C H O C O  L A T T E




Hot chocolate has become my absolute staple this winter, I almost can't go a day without it. I’m a chocolate monster usually, and really have to restrain myself, but this recipe is light enough to justify having it almost daily without the guilt.



The obsession with hot chocolate started in Mexico, the home of the Cacao bean. Chocolate was everywhere there, we were literally plucking cacao pods from the trees. But the majority of hot chocolate consumed in Mexico wasn’t the rich, bitter drink famous from cacao ceremonies; most of it was taken super sweet and milky – they called it Abuelita’s (Granny’s) Special, and you were expected to have it with a white bread roll for dipping.



Early on in our trip we were staying in a very eccentric commune in the Chiapan  Lacandon jungle and late one night, after a pretty intense sweat lodge, we met a couple who shared with us a midnight treat. It's super simple; oats blended to a fine powder and mixed with cacao added to hot water with a little honey, but so creamy and delicious. They had the mix prepared in a bag and confessed to us how they had been travelling for years and were never without it.


I N G R E D I E N T S



For 2 cups



2 heaped tbsp cacao


1 tbsp oats (blended to a fine powder
)

2 tbsp honey


1 tbsp orange zest


a pinch of cinnamon


a pinch of Cayenne pepper



M E T H O D



Heat 2 cups of water on the hob, add the oats and cacao, whisking thoroughly as it warms. Then pop in the rest, stirring until it's heated through and serve.




* The oats give the drink its creamy quality, once it's settled they will most likely drift to the bottom of the cup – an extra chocolate porridge treat…

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C H A I  C H A I  C H A I

The very best thing you could ask for on a cold and miserable London evening.
It’s hot and milky and warming and sweet. I really love it, can you tell?



In India it’s everywhere, the land of tea. Chai Wallas on every corner chanting from dawn until dusk. I remember climbing out of rackety old trains, after huge horrible journeys in silent towns at 4 am, light barley skimming the horizon, yet there was always a Chai Walla there to greet you with his sweet hot chai.



They serve chai in thimble-sized cups. It's indulgent and thick; paired with a classic Parle-G biscuit you’ve got breakfast sorted – or any other meal for that matter.



Here it's more of a special occasion, all the spices you need and that full fat milk. It’s an effort to put it all together but it's worth it, you’ll warm yourself thoroughly and anyone you offer a cup to is certain to love you for it.


I N G R E D I E N T S

For 5 mugs of chai



3 cups full fat milk (full fat is essential to get the flavour) 2 cups water 5 tsp brown sugar 10 tsp loose black tea leaves (I find any strong black tea will do, use the cheapest you have as the spices will mask it) 5 green cardamom pods 10 black peppercorns 2 tsp cinnamon or a couple of sticks 2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, sliced

M E T H O D

Heat the water and the milk in a saucepan, add the ginger and spices and bring to the boil, then turn down to simmer and add the tea and sugar. Give it 5 minutes on low heat, then turn off and steep for a little bit before pouring through a sieve straight into your mug and enjoying.

*I’ve put the recipe for traditional Indian chai here, but its also just as good with almond milk, or cashew milk… even better.


*Also, if you can afford it, maple syrup makes a wonderful alternative to brown sugar and honey works just as well.


*Other nice spices to play with are: fennel, star anise, coriander seeds, whole cloves and nutmeg.

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abearkitchen:

L E N T I L  S O U P This is a food I used to hate as a teenager; growing up vegetables just weren’t on the table – it was meat all the way for me.

But now lentils are my staple, malaka – they are amazing. They warm you up, they fill you up; with big chunks of garlic, a glug of balsamic and a hunk of crusty bread, nothing is better.

This soup costs hardly anything; we use simple brown lentils, you can get at any shop pretty cheap, an onion and a couple of carrots – the rest is history, enjoy…

I N G R E D I E N T S For 4 bowls


3 red onions 
2 carrots 
6 cloves of garlic (or less if you're not worried about vampires) 200g Brown Lentils 1 handful of oregano 1 handful of sage 1 tbsp of salt lots of black pepper & a load of olive oil, around 100ml for the authentic Greek

M E T H O D

Get a big soup pot on the hob and add the lentils with enough water to cover them. Bring to the boil (until they’ve given off all their foam) and rinse off in a colander. Put back on the hob with fresh hot water from the kettle and begin to cook over low heat. Slice the onions and dice the carrots (I like mine nice and chunky); do the same with the garlic and add to the pot.

 You can raise the heat a little bit now and throw in the herbs and seasoning, stirring occasionally.

 Once its cooked through (you want the lentils and carrots soft but not mushy) take off the hob and allow it to cool down a little.

S E R V E With fresh green leaves, the rest of the olive oil and an oat cake or two.