Simple spring soup

Sometimes a quick an easy 10 minute soup is exactly what you need! This one is fresh and green, light and creamy and perfect to welcome spring…we’ve had a few days of sunshine these last few days so though I hesitate to say it…I think spring may have arrived!!

This soup topping was inspired by this photo that I’d posted on Instagram a week or so ago. It was a simple root vegetable soup my mum cooked up and then because there was some cauliflower to use up and because I wanted to jazz things up a bit I roasted some cauliflower florets to throw on top along with some kale chips (I had the last few crumbs of tub of Inspiral Kale chips left over).

Obviously this spring soup has a totally different base, but I needed a quick snack…and this soup was a 10 minute option, faster than the original root veg version and also much more seasonal! Chop the cauli florets nice and small and they will be lightly roasted in the time it takes your soup to cook.

I had a go at making my own kale chips this time round. I used my new Sedona dehydrator (still getting the hang of it) and they turned out pretty good, but not yet worthy of a recipe in their own right. If you fancy adding some crispy kale there are loads of recipes out there in blog world, but the generally concept is to massage a little oil into a bowl of chopped kale, mix through a few spices (I also added some nutritional yeast) and then lay evenly on a baking sheet and bake on low until crispy (or dehydrate for 2-3 hours).

Recipe: spring soup

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup each: frozen peas, grated courgette and spinach (packed)

1 onion

2 tsp almond/cashew butter to make creamier (optional)

500ml vegetable stock

Topping:

1 cup roasted cauliflower (or broccoli) chopped into small florets

1 tsp coconut/olive oil

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

Crispy kale chips (optional)

Method:

Saute the onion for approx. 5 minutes until softening.

Meanwhile prepare the cauliflower/broccoli and mix through with the oil and herbs. Spread in an even layer of a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until golden.

Once the onion has softened, add the peas and courgette with the stock and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the spinach and simmer for a further two minutes. Add the nut butter if using before blending with a hand blender until smooth.

Serve the soup with the roasted cauliflower on top and sprinkle over crispy kale chips 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.

Crispy cauliflower bites

Cauliflower is pretty special. It has so many uses.

So of course there is the more regular cauliflower soup or cauliflower ‘cheese’ recipes.

But then you have the more quirky recipes...the chance to get a little creative with this mild flavoured white vegetable...the perfect canvas for experimentation?

Cauliflower rice risotto?...ok not quite crazy enough. How about baked banana oatmeal (remember when I snuck it is there?) I’m sure I’ve also used it in muffins to replace the apple puree (which in turn replaces part of the fat content) but I can’t seem to find it on the blog...maybe it hasn’t yet been written up (perfect excuse for a retest!)

Anyway back to the point of this recipe. I love cauliflower as a great way to make a really substantial meal without loading up on calories, calories I can make use of elsewhere in the day. It’s also perfect as a light snack, so here we have these crispy little cauli bites. Serve them as a side or as a snack on their own.... nibbly and moreish!  Mix up the flavours to your own preference. Don’t worry about the banana, this was simply to get the sticky consistency to coat the cauliflower, I found that the power of the spices more then cover any bananary flavours tones.

Recipe: Crispy cauliflower bites

Serves 2 as a side or snack

Ingredients

2 cups loose packed cauliflower florets (chopped in approx 1” size)

¼ cup banana- mashed

1 tsp ground flax

2 tbs water

1 tsp smoky chipotle sauce (or other hot spice)

½ tsp cumin

1 tbs nutritional yeast (optional but recommended)

1/3 cup polenta meal

Method

Prepare the cauliflower florets and set aside. Blend the banana, water, flax, and spice to make a smooth sticky paste. Coat the cauliflower in the mixture and then roll in the polenta meal to coat as evenly as possible. You can add extra spice to the polenta meal if you desire.

Spread the coated florets in a single layer on a line baking sheet and bake at 150C for approx 30 mins until golden and crispy. 

Note: I lowered the temperature to prevent premature burning and to help dry the coating as it cooked and crisped up.

Eat very soon after baking to ensure a crisp bite.

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.

Cauliflower and white bean soup

Souping it up! The perfect way to get a light but protein rich meal.

This one is a little different to my normal tomato based soups and is a beautiful creamy white which a beautiful creamy texture to match.  This a beany based soup that I made earlier this week, but for those who read the update to my challenge...you should be seeing a lot more lentil and tofu based recipes in the coming days.

Don't ask why there are mushrooms on the side...I just fancied them and they looked nice! (they are not in the soup itself)

My soups often tell a lot about the contents of my fridge and on this occasion I had a surplus of cauliflower. Throw in some beans, a little onion and some herbs and you are good to go.

When it comes to soups I do love my Thermomix as it literally does everything for me! It chops and sautes the onion and then I set it to 100C cook/stir as I prep the remaining ingredients, then I throw those in too and increase the speed to chop them up a little before reducing back down to 'stir' mode and adding the veg stock to simmer for as long as necessary, then with one final blend you have a silky smooth soup. It totally frees me up to get on with washing up and photo shoot prepping. It's also particularly good for recipes that need to be stirred more constantly, like risotto or polenta.

That said, soup making is not difficult in any situation...a big pot and hand blender is usually all you really need, and since I know most of you don’t have a Thermomix, I tend to write up my recipes accordingly, just thought I’d share that little explanation with you.

I recently had a reader request to share some videos on my blog...in particular the ‘legendary’ TM in action. Videos are something  I’ve never considered before- a whole new world to me. I will see what I can set up in the next few weeks once I transition my blog to it’s new platform...that’s taking a lot longer than I originally anticipated (isn’t that always the way!)  but hopefully it won’t be too much longer!

Recipe: Cauliflower and white bean soup

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 ½ cups cauliflower

1 400g can cooked white beans (i.e cannellini or butter beans)

1 small white onion- sliced

1 tsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic- crushed

2 ½ cups vegetable stock

1tsp mixed dried herbs

Fresh parsley to garnish- optional

Method

Chop the cauliflower into small pieces and cook for approx. 5-6 minutes until beginning to soften.

Meanwhile saute the onion and garlic in the oil for 4-5 minutes until soft.

Add the onion, dried herbs and can of beans and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and blend the soup until smooth.

Serve immediately garnished with parsley or other herbs as 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.

Roasted cauliflower salad

This was my lunch yesterday...it was delicious, so much so I might make it again today as I have the remainder of the cauliflower that needs using up.

I love roasted cauliflower. It's one of those vegetables you often don't think to roast, I'm more used to roasting root vegetables, but in recent months i've recently taken a liking to all things cauliflower...

...Even in more unusual ways, like my baked banana bread oatmeal and this risotto.

The original recipe came from the BBC Food website, as it popped up when I was having a browse for salad recipes of a little more unusual variety. I changes a few of the flavours up a bit and i found it didn't take as long to cook as they'd suggested...so it is a pretty speedy dish. The perfect light lunch or side dish. I made a single serving but I have doubled the quantities below to serve two since that may be more likely. You can use herbs of your choice although I loved the rosemary in this dish, it had a real strength of flavour that was a great compliment.

Recipe: Roasted cauliflower salad

Ingredients:

2 cups cauliflower- chopped into small florets
a little olive oil- to coat cauliflower
1 small red onion- sliced thinly
2 tbs balsamic vinegar and 2 tsp agave-mixed together
small handful raisins
2 tbs flakes almonds (toasted or natural)
handful of fresh rosemary
2 handfuls spinach or salad leaves (I used a salad mix)

Method:

Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil in a medium bowl, seasons with salt and pepper.

Lay in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake at 180C for approx. 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the onion and toss with the oil remnants n the same bowl that the cauliflower was in. After 10 minutes the onion to the cauliflower tray and continue to bake for approx. 10 minutes until golden.

Meanwhile prepare the balsamic/agave mix and add the raisins to soak.

Pile a handful of spinach/salad on each serving plate, and pile the cauliflower mix on top. Finish with the raisin dressing and a sprinkle of almonds and fresh rosemary.

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.

Crazy cauliflower risotto

A hugely satisfying bowl of comfort that’s packed with veg, low in carbs and only take 15 mins from start to finish…crazy!

I’ve really been enjoying using cauliflower in various quirky ways recently. This breakfast bake was a huge success, and I have also made some great choc-cauli muffins but need to get a good set of photos before I post that recipe (it was getting too dark when I tried before).

I have read lots of recipes in the past that use cauliflower as the ‘rice’ component of a meal but until now I hadn’t got round to trying it for myself. This recipe by Alisa Cooks caught my attention a few weeks ago and with a few modifications of my own I was ready to rock. I was really impressed how well it worked out! I think another time I may try using a dollop of cashew or almond butter instead of the ground nuts so that it becomes  even more creamy when mixed through, a little bit like this super creamy risotto.

This recipe really does fool you in that you have a massive bowl of veg but it actually feels like you are eating rice and it really fills you up! The nuts add a little fat in there too but this is a really low carb meal so I’d suggest you balance it with some good carbs at other points during the day. I ate this bowl as a late lunch after a big bowl of oats for breakfast.

Recipe: Crazy cauliflower risotto

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 tbs ground almonds/cashews/pinenuts

1 heaped tbs nutritional yeast

¼ tsp salt (or to taste)

1 tbs cococnut oil/olive oil

½ sliced leek

2 cups grated cauliflower

1 crushed garlic clove

½ cup vegetable stock

½ cup peas (I used frozen)

Small handful fresh rosemary

Method

 

Process the nuts, nutritional yeast and salt together until very fine and on the verge of beginning to paste. Set aside.

Sauté the leek for 5 mins, add the grated cauliflower and sauté for a further 3 minutes. Add the garlic and rosemary and sauté for a further minute.

Add the stock and the peas and simmer whilst stirring for 5 minutes (reduce by 1 minute if not using frozen peas).

Remove from the heat and stir through the nutritional yeast mixture until creamy. Serve immediately.

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.

DAY THIRTY: Banana bread 'secret ingredient' baked oatmeal

We're now coming up to the end of Vegan Mofo...its gone so fast! Scarily fast how fast a month flies by.

I've really enjoyed a whole month of oaty indulgence!

Last weekend I figured a few more breakfast experiments were in order... a late weekend brekky is the perfect time for a little experimentation.  I really enjoyed my recent carrot cake baked oatmeal so thought I would create a banana bread variation.

Banana bread baked oatmeal is a pretty simple idea....it's been done hundreds of times before.  Oh, but not this way it hasn't!  I'd be surprised if anyone has put this spin on things (feel free to prove me wrong!)

Banana and cauliflower...yep you heard me.  No, no, no, don't look away i'm serious...this actually works.  Grated cauli mixed through with the oats give the perfect texture once baked, just be careful to get the balance right so that the taste of cauliflower doesn't come through and you are on to a winner! I would suggest that real cauliflower 'haters' may pick up a slight earthy taste, but for me, when mixed with a ripe banana and a generous dose of cinnamon I would't know it was there.  I admit it doesn't taste quite as bananary as regular banana bread (that's to be expected) but if i didn't know better I would never have guessed cauliflower was the reason.

The recipe above was my first trial, I then had another go with double the amount of cauliflower (to see how much I could push it!) and also a small carrot grated too...I still really enjoyed it but I do admit the banana taste was more masked using these veggie proportions and it did have more of a 'healthy' taste.

choc chip topping (these mini chips are so cute!)

banana raisin nut topping...check out that amazing texture!

Recipe: Banana bread baked oatmeal

Serves 1-2 (1 smallish oven dish)

Ingredients

1 large ripe banana (divided into ¾ and 1/4)

1 tbs ground chia/flax

1 cup soy milk (or other)

½ heaped tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg (or to taste)

¼ cup cauliflower grated

½ cup oats

2 tbs chopped walnuts

2 tbs raisins (optional)

1 tbs coconut sugar/rapadura

Topping: 1 tbs choc chunks or nuts, remaining banana slices, sprinkle of sugar)

Method

Divide the banana and mash the largest portion in a  medium bowl along with all other wet ingredients. Add remaining ingredients (other than topping) and mix through well.

Spoon into a greased oven dish min. 20x10cm.

Slice the last part of the banana and lay on the top of the mix along with choc chunks and nuts (if using) and a little extra unrefined sugar.

Bake at 180C for approx. 20 mins until the topping is golden. Serve immediately.  This also tastes good cold the next day!

I love the glazed sugar-cinnamon finish to the banana with the soft creamy oatmeal mix below!

These last two pictures are of the 'double cauliflower and carrot' version- still looked and tasted good with that much veg, but maybe not for those who want a full on indulgent tasting breakfast!

What Vegan MOFO means to me.

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.