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Nutty Vegetable Curry (cauliflower-free Gobi)

*see the photo below :)

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 cups spring onion sliced (green section only)

1 carrot, thickly sliced

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 red chilli (go for a bird’s-eye if you like it hot, some do), finely chopped

2 thumb-sized pieces of root ginger, finely chopped

1 heaped teaspoon Keens curry powder*

1 heaped teaspoon turmeric

1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander

3 cups sweet potato, cut into 2.5 cm dice

4 heaped tablespoons ground walnuts (or other nut meal)

½ a small broccoli, broken into florets

1 tin (400 ml) of coconut milk

1 cup frozen peas

juice of ½ a lemon

a large handful of coriander, roughly chopped

salt

Rice to serve

Extra vegetables (optional). I added: ½ bunch kale torn into pieces, handful of halved beans, 1 cup cubed eggplant.

Method:

Cook the spring onion and carrot with the coconut oil in a large saucepan (lid on) for 15-20 mins over a medium to low heat. Stir occasionally.

Add the chilli, ginger and spices. Season with salt.

After 5 mins, add the sweet potato, eggplant (optional) and nut meal. Mix thoroughly.

Add 500ml water. Bring to a simmer and leave to bubble away for 10-15 mins with the lid off. Stir occasionally.

Add the broccoli florets, kale (optional), beans (optional) and coconut milk. Simmer for a further 10-15 mins with the lid on until the sweet potato and cauliflower are cooked.

Turn off the heat and stir in the peas.

Season with salt and squeeze over the lemon juice.

Serve with rice and chopped coriander.

*Keens curry powder contains tumeric, coriander, salt, fenugreek, black pepper, chili, rice flour, allspice and celery. Celery is high FODMAP in large quantities. I assume that the amount in this curry powder shouldn't be troublesome :) Keens curry powder should be available in your local (Australian) supermarket.

#low FODMAP #fodmapfriendly #curry #vegetables #nuts #coconut #vegan #vegetarian

This curry is based on a Gobi recipe. Gobi is a cauliflower curry. Given cauliflower is high FODMAP I replaced the cauliflower with broccoli… so now, it’s not really a Gobi at all. I also added some extra vegetables that needed to be eaten such as kale and eggplant. Instead of using a typical thickener, such as arrowroot or wheat flour, nut meal is used. I chose walnut meal, but feel free to experiment with other nuts provided they are low FODMAP.

Remember:

Pistachio and Cashews are high FODMAP. Almonds and Hazelnuts are high FODMAP in larger quantities (approx. 20 nuts).

To make nut meal simply grind up the nuts in your food processor. Almond meal is generally available in your local supermarket.

*Recipe is in my next post.

#low FODMAP #fodmapfriendly #vegan #vegetarian #nuts #coconut #curry #vegetables #gobi #health

Leon is a fast food chain (http://leonrestaurants.co.uk). It’s not your typical burger joint though. Quinoa, kale, chickpeas, halloumi and chorizo grace its menu. In 2008, the same year that Leon won Best New Restaurant in Great Britain, M & I stumbled across this wonderful place. Since then I have been making the salad that we chowed down on that fateful day. The Leon Original Superfood Salad.

Leon Original Superfood Salad (serves 2) – Low FODMAP version

1/3 cup quinoa

2/3 head of broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets

½ cup frozen peas

¼ cucumber, cut into slim batons

100g feta cheese, crumbled

a handful of alfalfa sprouts

½ avocado, cut into pieces

a handful of parsley, roughly chopped

a handful of mint, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons of toasted seeds (eg. pumpkin, sesame & sunflower)

juice of ½ lemon (add the zest too for extra zing)

4 dessertspoons EVOO (optional)

salt and pepper

1. Cook the quinoa. Leave to cool.

2. Steam the broccoli and boil the peas. Cool them with cold water.

3. Build your salad in layers: broccoli, peas, cucumber, feta, alfalfa sprouts, avocado, quinoa and then the herbs! Roughly mix.

4. Finish with a sprinkle of seeds and drizzle of lemon and EVOO.

YUM.

*EVOO = extra virgin olive oil

#low FODMAP #FODMAPfriendly #leonrestaurant #lunch #dinner #quinoa

For a good couple of years I loved poached eggs. Don't get me wrong - I still do. But at that time I would only eat poached eggs. Scrambled eggs, baked eggs, coddled eggs and omlettes lacked the same appeal. The runny yolk seeping into the crunchy bread, smothering the avocado and smoked salmon.. mmm. I could not go past that.

Recently though I had to re-discover my love for eggs in other forms. As my stove was out of operation, my electric fry pan became the only cooking device in the house. Omlettes and scrambled eggs were back on my breaky plate.

OMLETTE THYME (serves 1)

2 eggs

2-3 slurps of almond milk

cracked pepper

lots of thyme leaves (i use about 6 sprigs)

cherry tomatoes halved

baby spinach leaves

roast pumpkin (good way to enjoy leftovers!)

3 kalamata olives

1. Whisk together the eggs, almond milk, pepper and thyme with a fork.

2. In a small fry pan heat the tomatoes, spinach leaves, pumpkin and olives. When the spinach wilts, remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

3. Pour the egg mixture into a clean small pre-heated fry pan.

4. When the eggs start to cook, place the pumpkin mixture onto one half and fold the other side over.

5. Cook for another minute or so.

6. Plate up and devour!

* Butternut pumpkin in quantities up to 1/4 cup is low FODMAP. Jap Pumpkin is a safer choice (1/2 cup is fine!).

#fodmapfriendly #low fodmap #breakfast #eggs #omlette

Breakfast. Who would've thought it could be so troublesome? This is the meal time that has caused me the most angst in the kitchen. Yes. I love eggs. But I love eggs with loads of avocado. Yep. I love muesli... oooh dried fruit, bran, puffed wheat, oats, milk, yoghurt. Sheesh good ol' muesli is now a tummy time bomb.

Thank goodness I've discovered some yummy nutritious options to kick start my day.

Quinoa flake porridge is quick, easy and delish. Add toppings as you wish and use the milk that best suits you! I go for either Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almond Milk (my scouring of grocery aisles has found this to be the only almond milk free of all sweeteners) or homemade almond milk.

QUINOA FLAKE PORRIDGE (serves 1)

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup quinoa flakes

1/2 large banana mashed

1/3 cup almond milk

Toppings as you like (eg. berries, extra almond milk, cinnamon)

Optional: maple syrup (honey is a no go for low FODMAP)

Place water and quinoa flakes in a small saucepan over a low heat. Stir continuously.

When the mixture begins to thicken add the mashed banana and almond milk. Stir until thick.

Serve your porridge with your favourite toppings. I prefer berries, cinnamon and a little extra almond milk. Add maple syrup if you'd like a touch more sweetness.

Enjoy!

#quinoa #quinoa flakes #fodmapfriendly #breakfast #low fodmap

My mum is proud of her garden. I would be too if I had tomato, cucumber, lettuce, rocket, capsicum, eggplant, asparagus, beans, chillis, limes, kaffir limes, lemons.. and a whole stack of KALE. As you can no doubt imagine, a trip to my parents' house is incomplete without a stroll through the vegie patch. Looks like I'll be munching on a swag of kale this week.

p.s. Kale gets the low FODMAP thumbs up.

#kale #fodmapfriendly #homegrown

This is not an ordinary cake. It contains no egg, flour or butter nor is it baked in the oven. The primary ingredient is a nut and it ‘cooks’ in the freezer. Its name is Raw Dreamcake. Its original (and best) recipe was conjured up by Sarah Britton and posted on her blog ‘My New Roots’. Unfortunately it’s not low FODMAP, the primary ingredient being cashews. It also contains honey and Medjool dates. By substituting the cashews with walnuts, and the honey with maple syrup this cake can be enjoyed with FODMAP peace of mind, and with little detraction from the gloriousness of this dessert. Perhaps the nut cream made on walnuts is not quite as smooth as the cashew version, but it’s pretty darn silky nonetheless. Not being a huge fan of honey, the maple syrup was a welcome twist on the original. The Medjool dates work so perfectly in the base that I couldn’t bare to omit them! They do only compose a thin layer so should be tolerable to most.

As my mum celebrates her birthday today and has long requested a serve of Sarah’s infamous cake... I thought it was about time she got one for her own. And, frankly, I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to whip it up. One bite and you’ll know what I mean.

Given my raves and thus the potential devastation that would ensue if I presented a poor experimental version of Sarah’s cake, I decided to make two Dreamcakes. One that closely followed Sarah’s guaranteed ‘mouth of bliss’ recipe and another (created by yours truly) that replaced the FODMAP offensive ingredients.

Sarah’s Raw Cashew Dreamcake recipe can be found here: http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2011/01/raw-cashew-dreamcake-2/

To create a FODMAP friendly Raw Walnut Dreamcake simply follow the above recipe replacing the:

Cashews for walnuts; and

Honey for maple syrup.

Final shout out to my mum and my two friends for their birthdays! Happy Birthday! Enjoy this sunny winter's day xx

#fodmapfriendly #glutenfree #nuts #berries #birthday #mynewroots

Unfortunately this raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake is out of bounds for low FODMAPers. I have been waiting for the perfect moment to post the recipe (which is GF) for quite some time.. Given that tomorrow my mum and two of my closest friends celebrate their birthdays one would think the time was ripe! Alas.. My first post after my commitment to live low FODMAP cannot be a recipe that is edible neither by me nor (most of) you. So, this is simply a taster. Tomorrow a cheesecake that is completely raw and tummy friendly will be on the menu! Birthdays = cake (no matter what).

I found it difficult to take a decent photo in this dreary weather! Lausanne est froide, grise et un peu déprimante en ce moment (ie. it's cold, grey and depressing!).. as such there is no decent light to take a photo without flash. These photos do not do this meal justice. It's good.

Quinoa Pizza (serves 2)

1/2 to 3/4 cup of dry quinoa (depending on hungry you are)

1/4 cup of water at least! (more water = thinner base)

2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

Your favourite pizza toppings!

Soak the quinoa for at least 8 hours

Combine soaked quinoa and at least 1/4 cup of water in a blender and blitz until smooth with the garlic and thyme

Pour the batter onto a tray lined with baking paper (you may wish to oil this to avoid the base sticking)

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes until brown

Flip the base and brown the other side for approx 10 minutes

Add your toppings and return to oven until everything is golden brown!

#quinoa #pizza

Dear Sushi,

You have been distracting me all week. Pictures of you have been taunting me à l'arrêt de métro and you keep coming up in conversation!

Tonight I made you and you were delicious. All cravings have been satisfied.

With love,

SUSHI (serves 2)

1/2 cup brown rice uncooked

1/4 cup quinoa uncooked

300g (approx) fillet of salmon

rice vinegar

1/2 avocado sliced into strips

approx 8 stalks of asparagus blanched

4 x nori sheets

tamari (or soy sauce if GF is not an issue)

wasabi

pickled ginger

1. Cook your rice and quinoa according to instructions on packet

2. Place cooked rice and quinoa in a bowl and sprinkle over some rice vinegar (according to your taste) and combine

3. Pan fry the salmon

4. Place a nori sheet on a board and spread it with 1/4 of the rice/quinoa mixture. Leave 1-2 cm at the top of the sheet free.

5. Put 1/4 of the avocado, salmon and asparagus in the centre of your sheet and then roll!

6. Moisten the top part of the sheet to seal your sushi

7. Cut it into 5-6 pieces

8. Repeat steps 4-7 for the other sheets of nori

9. Enjoy with plenty of tamari (or soy sauce), wasabi and pickled ginger

NOTE: Sashimi salmon is even better than pan fried salmon. However, it is a more expensive option and you really must buy the best. Tuna mixed with finely chopped chill is also a great choice (cheaper too).

#sushi #salmon #avocado #brownrice #quinoa #glutenfree #fodmapfriendly

I celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time last week, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Not only was it fun coming up with a recipe suitable for a Thanksgiving feast but the dinner itself was incredible. Everyone was in such great spirits and there was food & wine in plenty! I decided to cook up a pumpkin… a stuffed pumpkin. There was a bit of experimenting going on but I based my recipe on http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/holiday-stuffed-pumpkin/. What I presented at the dinner was definitely miam miam ("yum" en français) however if I were to make this recipe again I would probably omit the cheese and not bother to mix the cooked pumpkin through the rice. In fact, I'd just eat the rice straight from the pan. I did quite a lot of that whilst I was cooking.

CRANBERRY & SPINACH STUFFED PUMPKIN

1 whole pumpkin

3/4 cup of brown rice uncooked

200g brown mushrooms sliced

3 cloves garlic crushed

2 small onions sliced

1/4 eggplant cubed

4-5 spinach cubes (frozen)

Plenty of dried thyme

100g cranberries dried

Salt & pepper

100g gruyère cheese cubed

NOTE: depending on the size of your pumpkin you may have leftovers of the rice mixture. It's really good by itself though!

1. Pre-heat your oven to a moderate heat

2. Cut the stalk out of your pumpkin and clean out the seeds

3. Cook your brown rice (be careful not to overcook it… perhaps even take it off a little early)

4. Sautée your mushrooms, garlic, onions,thyme and eggplant in a pan

5. Add the spinach cubes, cranberries and a little water

6. Stir and cook until all ingredients are tender and fragrant

7. Season with salt and pepper

8. Spoon the rice mixture into your pumpkin, interspersing spoonfuls with cubes of gruyère

9. Roast the whole pumpkin (with the stalk lid popped on top) for 40-60 mins. Check if it's ready by poking a knife through the pumpkin.

10. Remove from the oven and careful scrape the inside of the pumpkin and mix the flesh through the rice mixture.

11. Pop the pumpkin back in the oven for 5 mins and then serve to a crowd of hungry 'Thanksgiving-goers'.

#thanksgiving #pumpkin #brownrice

Délicieux. I cannot think of a better word to describe this dish. The element that turns this rather simple dish into something exquisite is the 'tartufi e fungi champignons' produced by Zigante Tartufi (www.zigantetartufi.com). M bought me a 130g jar of this wondrous stuff at the Borough Markets in London. I have been dying to use it but haven't been sure how to go about it. I've also been struggling to come up with a super yummy dish that incorporates spaghetti pumpkin (i'll post on this ingredient soon!). Violà! I did it. This meal was seriously scrumptious and honestly, transported me far from my sterile apartment kitchen to someplace far more élégant.

TRUFFLE & RICOTTA SPAGHETTI PUMPKIN (serves 2)

1 leek sliced

8 regular sized brown button mushrooms sliced

125g ricotta

approx. ¼ cup of liquid (water, milk or cream) – comme tu veux (as you like!)

1/2 spaghetti pumpkin (cooked)

100g 'tartufi e fungi champignons' produced by Zigante Tartufi (or similarly prepared truffle)

salt

NOTE: I chose not to use garlic or pepper in this recipe as I wanted the truffle flavour to be the focus of the dish, however, add them if you wish!

Sauté the leek and mushrooms in a pan for 5 mins or until cooked to your liking

Add the ricotta and the liquid a little at a time (you may need less/more liquid – it depends how hot your pan is!).

Scrape the flesh of the spaghetti pumpkin into the pan and mix it through the other ingredients.

Stir through the truffle and season with salt.

Remove the pan from the heat and serve up on two elegant plates.

#truffles #spaghetti pumpkin #glutenfree #switzerland

This is what I shall be waking up to tomorrow morning! It’s delicious. I don’t know how I haven’t come across it before?! As a gluten free girl I have tried numerous different breakfasts… everything from baked eggs and smoked salmon with poachies to chia pudding and quinoa porridge. This buckwheat breakfast is not only gluten free and healthy BUT super filling & tasty. If you haven’t tried buckwheat before… be warned: it might not be your thing. The flavour is strong and distinct (whatever that means!) and is considered ‘an acquired taste’. I love it though.

BUCKWHEAT BREAKY (2 generous serves)

1 cup dry buckwheat groats

½ cup + a slurp of milk (regular, soy, almond, your preference!)

1 ripe banana

1 pomegranate (or your choice of fruit)

Soak the buckwheat groats in at least 2 cups of water overnight

In the morning: drain the groats

Add the milk and banana

Blend with an immersion blender

Pour into 2 bowls or leave half for tomorrow morning

Pile on the pomegranate et prendre plaisir… enjoy!

#buckwheat #breakfast #glutenfree #switzerland #fodmapfriendly

Switzerland

It’s nearly been 3 months since I arrived in this gorgeous old city that rests on the banks of Lac Léman in picturesque Switzerland… Lausanne. I can’t quite believe it! Soon I will be packing my bags and heading off to Germany for a magical Christmas, to Paris with a beautiful friend and then off for an adventure “tout seul” around France visiting friends, and then off to New York with my parents! I feel like I’m living a dream… un vraiment beau rêve….

So – La Suisse and Food. The restaurants here are ridiculously priced. I have eaten out twice. Seriously, it’s ridiculous. Fortunately this doesn’t really bother me as I love to cook! I have however had to deal with the lack of spices in my short term pantry and the truly expensive meat that fills the supermarket fridges… Despite this I do have some yummy recipes to share :)

#update #switzerland

PORTUGAL. Bacalhau is a Portuguese culinary staple. Generally, M and I are pretty good with tasting the gastronomic specialties of a country within the first few days of our stay there, but not in this case. There was just something slightly unappetising about ‘dried and salted cod’. Regrettably, it wasn’t until two days before we flew out of Lisbon that we tried this preserved fish… At Cais de Belém we both ordered the house specialty – ‘Bacalhau à “Cais de Belém”’. The salted cod was grilled and topped with onion, garlic, green capsicum and bacon. After one bite we could only ask eachother how we could have been so foolish to leave ourselves only one more day to have another meal of Bacalhau! We proceeded to eat as much Bacalhau as we could over the subsequent 36 hours.

#bacalhau #portugal

PORTUGAL. After a morning of walking along the coastal cliffs above picturesque beaches from Lagos to Porto do Mos beach, M and I were in need of food. Little did we know that we weren’t just going to get something to fill our tummies with…Restaurante O Antonio is nestled right in the middle of Porto do Mos beach. We whipped out some big smiles and managed to get a table for two at the front of the deck, only metres from the sea! The menu was extensive. In fact, so much so that we were stumped at what to order. After a few chats with our waiter (and the three middle-aged Portuguese men at the neighbouring table) we settled on the monkfish kebab and the baby squid. The squid was tender and super garlicky (yumm!). The monkfish kebab was… AMAZING. It’s difficult to express how delicious this selection of goodies on a wooden stick was. It doesn't look like much and the ingredients don’t seem like anything special: onion, green capsicum, tomato, thick cut bacon, garlic, prawns and monkfish chunks. BUT, combined, these flavours make for one hell of a dish.

MOROCCO. Tajines and olives. These two foods made their way into our mouths nearly everyday during our stay in Morocco. We were in Morocco for 15 days. That’s a lot of tajines… and a lot of olives. Not necessarily a lot of different types of tajines or olives though! While we did come across some more adventures cooks, we quickly found that menus were pretty predictable and an attempt to vary a tajine in any manner (even to request some green beans) would be met with a concerned look from the waiter, and, after a quick trip to check with the chef, an apology accompanied with, “the cook says it will taste bad”. We soon learned not to mess with the cook (after a rather odd meal of goat, lemon, beans, prunes and almonds) and instead opt for one of the classics. The tajine of beef, prunes and almonds, and the chicken, olives and preserved lemon tajine always featured on the menu. The secret seems to be simplicity. Most often this meant three different flavours, generally a type of meat, nut and dried fruit, such as lamb, walnut and fig. We struggled with this at first – both wishing there were some vegetables thrown into the mix – but grew to embrace it and love it.

#morocco

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