quick meal: baked beans with quinoa and veggies

This isn’t a fancy recipe but rather a meal inspiration when you’re pressed for time but still want to eat a satisfying and healthy lunch (or dinner). I used organic bakes beans from a jar (keep an eye on the sugar conent, some brands add a ton of sugar to their baked beans!) and I had some leftover quinoa so this meal came together very quickly.

for 1 person:

1 small eggplant
1 handful of cherry tomatoes
1 shallot
1 big clove of garlic
a jar of baked beans (about 300g)
3-4 tablespoons of cooked quinoa
salt, pepper, a sprinkle of dried thyme
a bit of oil

directions:

Dice the eggplant, shallot and clove of garlic. Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan, add the cut veggies and stir. I like adding sips of water while sauteeing to reduce the amount of oil needed. If you haven’t got any quinoa (or millet ot rice…) left, cook it according to instructions.

Half the tomatoes, you may add them to the pan or eat them uncooked (as little side salad if you will), I added half of the tomatoes to the pan once the eggplant was almost done.

Add herbs, salt and pepper to the veggies, while heating up the baked beans (and leftover quinoa if using some) in a  seperate pot.

Assemble everything in a bowl. I like adding a bit of nutritional yeast on top. Enjoy!

 

 

Everyday breakfast oatmeal

This is the breakfast I have been enjoying for over two years without ever getting tired of it and which keeps me full until lunch. It is fairly versatile, I change up the fruit regularly and if I have some unseasoned cooked quinoa or millet left I toss it in there as well. There are no added sugars but you could of course top it off with maple syrup if you like your oatmeal a little sweeter. I find that a warm breakfast keeps me full for much longer than a cold one.

for 1 person:

80g of oats or a mixture of different grains
(I use a store bought version with oats, wheat, spelt and popped amaranth that comes without any added sugar or dried fruit)

about 1/2 tablespoon each of:
buckwheat, sesame seeds, flax seeds (and/or chia seeds) and oat bran
1/2-3/4 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa or cacao
about 300ml of milk (I like oat milk and soy milk best)
Optional: 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

fruit of choice such as an apple and a handful of frozen cherries

directions:

Mix all the ingredients for the oatmeal and the milk together the night before and put it in the fridge to soak. Let the cherries defrost in a seperate bowl. In the morning, heat the oatmeal in a small pan – you might have to add a bit more water or milk if the mixture is too dry (how much liquid you need depends on how mushy you like your oatmeal as well as the absorbing qualities of your ingredients – oat bran and chia seeds absorb more than say nuts). As it has been soaking all night, you don’t have to cook it, just bring it to a comfortable temperature to eat. Cut the apple into chunks. Scoop the oatmeal back into the bowl and arrange the fruit on top – you could also cook it together with the oatmeal, but I quite like the combination of hot and cold and I guess that it keeps the vitamins intact.

variations:

If I have the extra time in the morning, I finely grate a very small carrot (or half of a normal sized one) and mix it with the oatmeal before cooking. This is my „carrot cake oatmeal“, which also calls for cinnamon of course!

Sometimes I add about 1/2 teaspoon of psyllium husks to the oatmeal as they are great for the digestive system. You might want to add a little bit more water or milk as they soak up quite a bit of liquid.

Nuts, pumpkin seeds, cocoa nibs, coconut flakes also taste great in the mix!

Soba noodles with beans and vegetables

Hey there! I hope you all had a wonderful start of the new year! One of the first meals that I cooked in 2017 was this soba bowl with beans and vegetables. You might be familiar with the wonderful sprouted kitchen recipe „soba bowls with tea-poached salmon“ from Sara Fortes first cookbook. The combination of soba noodles with the tahini sauce is heavenly! I changed her recipe of the sauce a bit, omitting the agave nectar and swapping the lime for a lemon.

serves 2

150g of soba noodles
1 small broccoli
1 can of  kidney beans
a handful of mushrooms
1 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste
sesame seeds for garnish
a bit of coconut oil for the pan

for the sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of tahini
1/2 thumb sized piece of ginger, finely grated
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
juice of half a lemon plus grated zest of it
(you may add more of the juice, if you like the tangy flavour like I do)

directions:

Heat water in a pot and cook the soba noodles according to instructions. Dice the onion and garlic,then cut up the broccoli and mushroms into bitesized pieces. Heat coconut oil in a pan and sautée the onion, garlic and broccoli. I use small sips of water later on to reduce the amount of oil needed in the first place. When the vegetables are almost ready, add the mushrooms. Stir frequently, add the beans to heat them up and add salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients for the sauce, drain the soba noodles and swirl them in the sauce directly.

Assemble  everything in two bowls and sprinkle sesame seeds on top (roasting them lightly  enhances the flavour further).

spicy coconut macaroons with lemon zest

Well, hello there! It’s been a while, unfortunately. Between finishing my Master’s thesis, moving from one city to another and, well, life in general, this little blog of mine fell behind for a while. But with the season of cooking and baking ahead, I pledge to make an effort to change that! So without further ado, here comes a simple recipe for coconut macoroons with a spicy twist. Due to adding yogurt, they are quite moist and not as dry and crumbly as more traditional coconut macaroons. As always, adjust the sweetness to your liking.

Yields about 18 macaroons

100g of desiccated coconut
60g of wholemeal (spelt) semolina
40g erythritol or other sweetener of choice
1 egg
150g  of yogurt
1/2 teaspoon of Ceylon cinnamon
1 point of a knife of both cardamom and vanilla
3 allspice corns, finely ground in a morsel
zest of 3/4 of a smallish lemon

Mix all the dry ingredients first, then add the yogurt and egg to the batter. Heat the oven to 180°C (360° Fahrenheit) for about 18 minutes, keep a close watch on them during the last few minutes. They are finished when the edges start turning brown.

mung dahl

This is my version of „Hemsley and Hemsley’s“ mung dahl. Before, I had eaten mung beans only as sprouts and was very pleasantly suprised by their taste. The dish not terribly pretty, but it tasted wonderful, very spicy and full of flavour. This makes one very big portion, you might have a little bit left, depending on your appetite.

125g of mung beans
400ml of water
1 leek
1 carrot
1 splash of apple cider vinegar
about a 1 cm piece of ginger
3 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of cardamom
zest of half a lemon
pepper, salt and chili to taste

directions:

Soak the mung beans over night covered in water. Heat the 400ml of water and cook the mung beans for about 20 minutes. In a pan, roast the spices together with the diced shallots, garlic and ginger. Add them to the mung beans as well as the vegetables. Once the mung beans are soft and the vegetables are cooked tender, add salt, pepper, chili and a splash of rice vinegar.

 

 

ginger carrots and peas with spelt

This recipe was inspired by Naturally Ella’s ginger brown rice with carrots, but because I had some peas and coconut milk left, I adjusted the recipe. You may use any (pseudo)grain you like, for example brown rice as in the original recipe, quinoa or spelt. The carrots and coconut milk give the dish a subtle sweetness and the ginger, rice vinegar and soy sauce add an asian inspired twist.

for 2:
4 big carrots
2 handfuls of frozen peas
2 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons of coconut milk
1 tablespoon of desiccated coconut
about a 1 cm piece of ginger
a splash of rice vinegar
a splash of soy sauce
pepper
a bit of sesame oil

100gf of spelt grains
optional: two hard boiled eggs with a bit of hot sauce

directions:

Dice the shallots and garlic, findely grate the ginger. Heat water for your prefered grain and cook according to instructions. Grate the carrots. Heat a bit of oil in a pan and sweat the garlic, shallots, ginger and desiccated coconut, then add in the peas. Add a bit water to prevent burning and cook until the peas are almost done, then add the carrots, stirring frequently. Season with rice vinegar, soy sauce, coconut milk and pepper.
Serve with eggs and your favourite hot sauce.

Creamy goat cheese quinoa with tomatoes and mushrooms

I seem to go through phases with specific ingredients – a few months ago it was pumpkin, now we have the fourth recipe in a row including quinoa. This one is inspired by an Ottolenghi recipe, I added the mushrooms and decided to switch the feta for goat cheese.

125g of quinoa
about 500ml of water
1/2 vegetable stock cube
50g of soft goat cheese
a handful of basil
250g of mushrooms
250g of cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
2 big cloves of garlic
a bit of olive oil

directions:

Thoroughly rinse the quinoa. Bring 500ml of water to a boil. Add the quinoa with the vegetable stock cube and cook on low heat for about 20-25 minutes until it forms a porridge like consistency. You might want to add a bit of water to prevent sticking . Meanwhile, slice the  garlic cloves and cut the mushrooms. Heat a bit of oil in a pan and sauté the tomatoes for about a minute, then add the mushrooms and garlic. Stir frequently and use some salt and pepper. When the vegetables have become soft, sprinkle some chopped up basil on top. Once the quinoa is ready, mix in the crumbled goat cheese and stir. Also add pepper, salt and bit of basil to the quinoa.

filling salad with rice and quinoa

I love salads but oftentimes I find them not filling enough to satisfy me for lunch. Adding (pseudo)grains to the fresh leaves gives a wonderful crunch and keeps you full. I only had precooked beetroot, which saves a lot of time, I do suppose that using freshly cooked beetroot would taste even better though (one could also try out using raw grated beetroots). This makes quite a big portion, I had a bit left for dinner.

a big handful of spinach
500g of beetroot (precooked)
60g of black rice
30g of quinoa
1 shallot
2 cloves of garlic
a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar as dressing
salt and pepper to taste
a sprinkle of slivered almonds and sesame seeds

directions:

Rinse the rice and cook in salted water on small heat until tender, this may take up to 40 minutes.The quinoa takes about 15 minutes to cook. Dice the shallot and cloves of garlic and sweat them in some olive oil. Cut the beetroot into bite-sized pieces. Once the rice and quinoa are ready, add everything but the spinach leaves to a salad bowl and let cool until lukewarm. Wash the spinach leaves and toss everything together, add a dash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar as well as salt and pepper. Sprinkle the alomonds and sesame seeds on top.

lemon and basil ratatouille with quinoa

This meal comes together quite quickly and the fragrant and fresh lemon and basil flavour makes me dream of summer (despite the weather outside). The vegetables aren’t cooked for too long so that they retain some of their crispness.

for 2 portions:
2 big bell peppers
1 big zucchini
1 eggplant
2 tomatoes
1 big shallot
2 cloves of garlic
1 lemon
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
a bit of olive oil
a big handful of basil
1 teaspoon of dried italian herbs
a few sprinkles of chili (if you like a bit of spice)
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
100 g of quinoa

directions:

Thoroughly rinse the quinoa and cook according to instructions. Meanwhile, dice the onions and garlic and cut up the zucchini, bell peppers, eggplant and tomatoes into bite sized pieces. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a pan and add onions, garlic, eggplant and bell peppers. Stir frequently. I like adding a bit of water to prevent sticking and burning without needing a lot of oil. As the zuchhini takes a little bit less time to cook, add it in a bit later. Stir in the tomato paste and the spices. Grate the zest of one lemon. Add 3/4th of it to the pan, alongside with the chopped basil. Add a squeeze of lemon juice. If you like a stronger lemon flavour, add the rest of the lemon zest. About 2 minutes before the vegetables are done, add the tomatoes. Once they have become soft, the ratatouille is finished. Serve with the quinoa.

peanut and vegetable stew

Yes, I know, there are cashews on my peanut stew… That what happens when you underestimate the power of a shopping list, because you think you know the ingredients off the top of your head. Well, the cashews actually also tasted really nice, but for a stronger peanut flavour, I would advise going for the traditional combination of mixing peanut butter with … peanuts! 🙂

The original recipe was published on Küchenchaotin’s blog, I adapted it a bit to my liking, especially in regard to using peanut flour instead of some of the peanut butter to make it less heavy and rich. Also, the original recipe calls for brown rice, which probably tastes really nice, I just run out oft that, too. So choose whatever you like, rice, quinoa or any other (pseudo)grain.

for 2 portions
1 big  zucchini
2 carrots
2 small or 1 big shallot
3 cloves of garlic
1 handful of unsalted peanuts
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
3 heaping teaspoons of peanut flour
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
500ml vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
chili flakes (as much as you like)
1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
salt & pepper to taste
a bit of oil

enough quinoa or rice, depending on your appetite (we had 50g per person)

directions:

Cook the grains according to instruction. Meanwhile, cut up the shallots, garlic cloves, carrots and zucchini. Heat a bit of oil and add shallots, garlic, carrots and the peanuts and sweat them. Once the carrots start becoming a bit tender, add zucchini. When the vegetables are still a bit undercooked, pour in hot vegetable broth. Stir in peanut butter, tomato paste, peanut flour and the spices (cumin, ginger, salt, pepper, chili flakes). The sauce should have a creamy constency. Let simmer on low heat for just a little bit more time until the vegetables are done (don’t overcock them, though). Adjust to your liking by adding more water (if the sauce is too thick) or more peanut flour (if it is too runny or doesn’t taste peanut-y enough). Sprinkle some more peanuts on top.