'5 minute' miso stew

Today I am off on a little holiday... to a cottage in the Derbyshire Dales with friends, and it's due to be very chilly and potentially snowy so I've packed all my thermals and waterproofs just in case!  Food was of course on my mind over the last few days- prepping lots of snacks and quick meals to take along with me.....so quick soups and granola bars it is then! Such that this post seemed quite appropriately timed.

A few days ago I needed a really quick fix lunch. I had no soup to hand (other than in the freezer) and I didn’t fancy a cold platter of salad or hummus and veg sticks. Hmmm?

What hot dish could I conjure up in a mere five minutes, that was full of veggies and wouldn’t weigh me down?

Then I remembered that I’d bought some instant miso soup sachets to try. I know what you’re thinking...instant miso soup? That’s not particularly healthy- you should make it yourself!  To a large extent I would agree with you, however I had not tried miso soup before (I know that might sound crazy) and so I wanted to get a feel for the flavours before attempting it on my own, plus this pack was organic and the ingredients list was not particularly bad, it was very similar to a vegetable stock really. I felt this would be a great base for some more substantial additions.

To that was the ‘soup base’ sorted, now to make a 5 minutes lunch!  So I grated up some veg to enable a quick cook and then added some brown rice noodles and some soy beans.  It was ready in 5 minutes flat....or there abouts...but who’s counting?

You can find more of my soup and stew recipes here.

P.S It's Chinese New Year this Friday and although this may be a Japanese inspired dish, it's still noodley and therefore I think it fits the bill. You could infuse Chinese spices will a sweet and sour style broth if you really wanted to play the part. :-)

P.P.S If I'm not able to respond to comments etc over the next few days it will be because I have no internet access. I will be back on Sunday... in the mean time I have a couple more posts lined up for you! :)

Recipe: '5 minute' miso stew

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 sachet miso soup mix

1 cup boiling water

1 tsp sesame oil

1 small onion or shallot thinly sliced

1 small carrot grated

½ cup cabbage thinly sliced (use Chinese cabbage if possible, or a white cabbage)

Handful of frozen soy beans

¼- ½ cup brown rice vermicelli (very thin) noodles

Sesame seeds to garnish

Method:

Add the onion, carrot and cabbage to a frying pan with the oil (you could use any veg that could be chopped finely). Fry for 5 minutes, using extra water to steam fry as necessary.

Meanwhile boil the kettle and add the miso soup mix to the cup of boiling water- stir to combine and set aside. Add the rice noodles to another cup of boiling water and add the frozen soy beans to another cup of boiling water. Let stand for a few minutes whilst the vegetables cook.

Drain the soy beans and noodles. And add to a serving bowl. Pour the miso soup into the bowl and then add the vegetables. Finish with a sprinkle of sesame if desired.

 

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

5 minute choc orange puddle cake

This dessert came totally on a whim!

I had a sudden chocolate craving and usually when such an attack strikes I have some choc-orange smoosh bars or healthy chocolate fudge to hand. However at this particular moment in time I had neither!

Since a taste for a chocolate orange combo had been planted in my mind, I set about using my silicone egg poacher trick to create a super speedy (I wanted that fix pretty quick!) healthy chocolate puddle cake using the dome shape to encapsulate a melty chocolate centre.

Oh my… 5 minutes later and one awesomely indulgent but healthy chocolate cake was all mine! Ok, so I would suggest reigning in a little self-control and not eating the entire thing in one sitting- it is quite large. (but I won’t tell if you don’t). 

I used buckwheat as my GF flour of choice but other flours of wholemeal spelt if GF is not a requirements are likely to work fine also. I also added in grated courgette for moistness, it works really well and you really can’t tell it’s there. Finely grated carrot or pureed cauliflower would also work well.

This puddle cake could be made into all sorts of flavours…how about substituting almond extract for the orange and adding flaked almonds on top of the cake (or in the silicone mould or bowl before pouring in the batter). Mix through some berries and sugar free jam for a fruity kick.  Or why not go all out and leave out the orange and spread this crazy healthy banana frosting over the top.

Recipe: Choc orange puddle cake

Serves 2-4 (depending on how hungry you are!)

Ingredients

¼ cup buckwheat flour (or whole meal spelt)

¼ cup finely grated courgette (carrot could also work)

2 tbs tapioca flour or arrowroot

Slightly heaped ½ tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

2 tbs cocoa powder or raw cacao

1 tsp ground chia/flax

1 tbs agave and a tiny pinch stevia

1/2 tsp orange extra

3 tbs orange juice

Grated orange zest- optional (I didn’t have any)

1 tsp mild flavoured oil

Approx. 1 tbs worth dark choc chunks (I broke off a chunk from  a dark choc bar)

Chocolate drizzle: 1 tbs agave mixed with 1 tsp cocoa powder.

Method

Add everything (except choc chunks) to a mini blender and blend until well mix and there are no visible courgette strands. You could mix by hand if the courgette strands are very fine.

Using a silicone egg poach or other lightly greased domed microwavable bowl (approx. 12cm diameter) spoon in half the mixture, place the choc chunks in the centre and then top with the remaining mixture.

Cook in the microwave on full power for 90 seconds. Allow to cool for 1 minute before loosening and tipping out into a serving plate.

Serve hot whilst the chocolate centre is still oozing. Serve with a chocolate drizzle if desired.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Celebrations all round……easiest ever fat-free vanilla sponge!

Today it is the official day of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Street parties and bunting have dominated the country this (cold and rainy) weekend. All the packaging in the shops has also gone mad for the jubilee…take this for example:

image source

Well, it made me smile!

Myself, well I have another small reason to celebrate, well two in fact!

On Saturday I won a prize with a photo I’d submitted to a competition for nature photography, the image I submitted was this one. It meant a lot to me as I’m hoping to push my photography to the next level over the coming months and not just in the area of food photography, so this small element of recognition inspired my confidence!

Secondly, drum roll please…..

…..This post is my 200^th post on this blog! Wow, that seems crazy to me and to think less than nine months ago none of this existed.   

To celebrate all of these things I wanted to make a jubilee inspired cake. For this occasion I have created my easiest ever fat free GF vanilla sponge.  It takes the form of a mug cake in its simplicity but here I have dolloped the sponge in the same way I did with this birthday cake to create a pretty stack! 

You could use other GF or spelt flours in place of the buckwheat as I have used.  Then let your imagination run wild with layering combinations…. Berries and cashew cream (or yoghurt for a lighter version) make the perfect summer pudding centrepiece with minimal effort!

 

If you have no celebration coming up…simply celebrate being alive, that in itself it pretty amazing after all!

Recipe: fat free vanilla sponge

Serves one as 3 dollops or 1 mug cake

Ingredients

3tbs buckwheat flour (or other mild flavoured GF flour)

1 tbs ground almonds

1 tsp agave

½ tsp vanilla extract

Scant ½ tsp baking powder

3tbs plain soy yoghurt (or regular yoghurt for non-vegan)

Method

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl and then add wet ingredients and mix together well.

Either spoon into a microwavable bowl/mug for a mug cake or spoon in little round dollops on a microwavable plate to serve as flat sponges that can be layered up with fruit and cream in between.

Cook in the microwave  on full powder for 1 minute for flat dollops or slightly longer for a mug cake. Alternatively cook in the oven for approx.. 10-15 mins depending on size until ever so lightly golden.

Add-ins: substitute 1tbs flour for cocoa powder. Add a tablespoon of nuts/dried fruits /fresh fruit/choc chunks…..

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.