Category: FOOD

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Asian style breakfast. Italian style lunch. What I eat in a day.

asian style breakfast, Italian style lunch

Asian style breakfast? Italian style lunch? yes please! Here’s what I eat in a day. Lots of you enjoyed seeing what I eat in a day. I really prefer savoury food rather than sweet. Today I made some crispy tofu with Thai rice, veggies and sauce for breakfast and an Italian inspired pasta and bean dish with lots of fresh tomatoes.

Thank you for the lovely feedback on my videos. I like to keep trying different styles, so today there’s no talking, just the sounds of my small kitchen, in my cottage, in the middle of an orange grove in Algarve, Portugal. Listen out for Mr Blackbird singing along outside my window.

Asian style breakfast.

Breakfast was; Steamed Thai rice, crispy tofu (see my previous recipe for KCF style tofu) cucumber, raw carrot, fried spring onions/scallions, sesame seeds, fresh chopped coriander and a sauce made with;1 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar, 1 or 2 teaspoons of maple syrup.

asian style breakfast, Italian style lunch
asian style breakfast, Italian style lunch

Italian style lunch.

For lunch I fried red onion and garlic, added 4 large chopped red tomatoes and simmered until tender, and liquid reduced. I added 1 tablespoon oregano, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon Moscatel (it’s a sweet wine). I added 1 cup large butter beans and 1 cup small pasta. Cook until pasta is al dente. In a separate pan fry mushrooms with crushed whole garlic as much as you like) and vegan butter. I am using Veganbloc. When cooked, remove the mushrooms and use the leftover butter and garlic to wilt the spinach in the hot pan.

Drizzle over pesto (I’m using homemade vegan – without cheese) and sprinkle over sunflower seeds and a few fresh herbs. Serve with baked sliced bread.

Let me know what you think about this style of video. It’s good for when I don’t want to be on camera and can really enjoy cooking rather than talking. I lost 32lbs eating this way. I eat between 8am and 2pm, then fast until 8am the next day. It really suits my body and lifestyle.

Thanks for stopping by, have a beautiful day.

#intermittentfasting #menopauseweightloss #menopausehealth #plantbased #healthyaging

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Nutella made the vegan way

nutella

My home made dairy free, gluten free, vegan friendly version of Nutella couldn’t be easier! You will be shocked how much sugar is contained in the store bought original Nutella and similar products. I will show you how much sugar the store bought contains, versus my simple home made version using a high grade dark chocolate.

Join me in my tiny kitchen, in a little rented cottage in the middle of an orange grove, close to Tavira, Algarve, Portugal. I really enjoy making all my food from scratch, based on what I find at the market each day. Sometimes I fancy something sweet, rich and chocolatey. This spread is great to use in baking to make vegan delicious French Pain au chocolate. Or straight out of the jar, by the spoonful!

Here’s my simple vegan nutella recipe:

  • 410g hazelnuts (3 cups)
  • 100g dark chocolate (half to 3 quarters of a cup)
  • 1 pinch of sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Bake the hazelnuts in the air fryer (highest setting) for 3-4 minutes. They burn very quickly so be careful. You could toast them in a fry frying pan instead. Melt the chocolate and add the salt and vanilla extract. Add all the ingredients to the blender and run at full power until smooth. Pour into a container and allow to set.

Enjoy! Let me know if you like this vegan Nutella recipe, I’m happy to answer any questions.

Thanks for stopping by, have a beautiful day. #veganeats #vegannutella #dairyfree #wholefood #plantbased

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Fakeaway time! KFT – Kentucky Fried Tofu in the airfryer.

You love KFC but you’ve decided to eat more plants? Let’s talk about KFT – Kentucky (style) air fried tofu. My husband was a big fan of KFC until I switched us to a 100% plant based diet 10 years ago. He was reluctant to try my KFT at first, but now he asks me to make it every week, the man is completely obsessed, especially when it’s drizzled in my hasty sweet and sour pineapple sauce.

You will see that KFT does involve using a lot of ingredients, but that’s how KFC get their delicious crispy flavour packed coating. The only ingredient missing from the original recipe, which would give it extra pizazz is MSG. I don’t cook with it, but it doe’s take it to the next level.

KFT – Airfried tofu ingredients

  • 1 cup extra firm tofu
  • 1 cup all purpose white flour
  • 1 cup unsweetened plant milk
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp vegetable stock powder
  • 1 large pinch ground sea salt
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp sage
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tbsp mixed herbs
  • 0.5 tsp celery salt
  • 1 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper
  • 0.5 tsp dry mustard powder
  • 0.5 tsp white pepper
  • 0.5 Tsp ground ginger
  • 0.5 tsp Chinese 5 spice
  • Handful of cornflakes
  • 1 cup of pineapple juice
  • 1 tsp cornflour + dash of ACV
  • 0.5 tsp nigella seeds – optional
  • Spray oil.

Method for crispy Tofu

Get your hands on some extra firm tofu. Drain away the water from the tofu and crumble it into bite size pieces. Put the plant milk and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar into a bowl and mix. You have just made vegan buttermilk. Mix all the four and all the spices in a separate bowl. Pick up a piece of tofu, let it have a swim in the buttermilk, scoop out and douse in the flour/spice mixture. Do all of them, and get ready to repeat.

Now you’re going to need to smash up the cornflakes and add them to the flour mix. Repeat the dip and roll process, making sure lots of cornflake mix is stuck to your tofu. Place the pieces in the airfryer (I use baking paper to avoid too much mess and washing the air fryer pan) and spray with a little bit of oil.

Cook for 8 minutes on high before turning and cooking for a further 5-7 minutes. The cooking time will depend on your airfryer. The important thing to note is that you don’t need to worry about the tofu being undercooked, like you would chicken.

Sweet and sour sauce.

Your KFT is ready! Now for the sauce. Mix cornflour with the pineapple juice and heat until thickened. Add a dash of apple cider vinegar. Sprinkle in some nigella seeds too if you’re feeling fancy.

Video coming soon, stay tuned!

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Butternut squash & yellow split pea dahl

A rainy day in Algarve, so lets make a dahl. You can hear the rain in the background, my feet were soaked as I filmed next to the open door for optimum natural light.

For my dahl, I like to cook the veggies separately in the airfryer because they require less oil and they can be roasting on a high heat (check regularly) whilst I get on with the rest of the dish.

I also cook the split yellow peas separately, as I cook extra to use in other recipes. Once cooked, I keep surplus peas in the freezer in a bag.

Slice onion and butternut squash, drizzle over mustard oil, and roast on baking paper in airfryer for 20minutes on 200°C

Dahl ingredients

  • 1 large red onion – sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves – crushed
  • 1 thumb ginger – grated
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon black onion seeds
  • 2 tablespoons garam masala
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 small butternut squash – cubed
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon veg stock powder or stock cube
  • 1 tablespoon mustard or coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree.
  • 2 cups cooked yellow split peas
  • 4 plum tomatoes chopped
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • Pinch sea salt
  • To decorate
  • 1 diced mango
  • Coriander or chives

In a pan, put black onion seeds, grated ginger, crushed garlic, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, garam masala with a teaspoon of oil. Warm gently to release the flavours, it’s important not to burn the spices or the garlic. Add the tomatoes, turmeric, tomato paste, garlic powder, veg stock and salt. Cook for a few minutes before adding a cup of water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the cooked yellow peas, roasted veg and the can of coconut milk. Gently heat again to simmer then its ready!

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Leek and pear soup

Leek and pear soup is simple, quick and exceptionally tasty. I’ve used asian flavours, which go perfectly for this sweet and sour soup.

The only way you can ruin this leek and pear soup is by adding too much salt or soy, or by burning the veg so avoid adding too much extra salt, and ensure veg is gently fried on a medium heat. It needs to be soft so that the pear is very soft and coating the veg. The sweetness from the pear balances the salt from the soy, stock cube and salt. . Note that you should add the sesame oil at the end when serving, as this oil is best for flavour, not for cooking. Add the vinegar at the end too, because we don’t want it to evaporate.  

Leek and pear soup ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon Hatcho miso (any miso will do)
  • 1 veg stock cube
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 or 2 star anise
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1 grated or crushed garlic clove
  • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • Black & white pepper – at least a pinch
  • 1 small leek
  • 1 pear
  • 1 stick celery
  • 4 scallions/spring onions
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil
  • Pinch of Piri Piri salt – or standard sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • Chives or coriander/cilantro

Soup base – stock

Grate the ginger (I keep the root in my freezer) and the garlic. Put the garlic, ginger, veg stock cube, bay leaf, miso, soy sauce, black & white pepper, star anise in a saucepan with roughly 3 cups of boiling water. Leave to simmer whilst prepping the veg.

Leek and pear prep

Chop the leek, pear, celery & spring onions/scallions. Gently fry with 1 teaspoon coconut oil and a pinch of chilli or normal sea salt flakes. Cook until soft. Pour the stock onto the softened (not browned) veg & pear mixture. Add rice vinegar and sesame oil. Serve with fresh herbs or your choice.

Saucepans – 1 or 2 it’s up to you.

You could cook this is one pan, however, I like the stock to have a head start for the flavours to develop whilst I am prepping the veg.

Fussy eaters

If you have fussy eaters in the house, remove the star anise and bay leaf then liquidise the soup. Works for my husband every time – he thinks he doesn’t like leeks!