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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!

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Bean Kofta

Black bean kofta – full of protein and flavour.

Before becoming fully plant based, I had been vegetarian on and off for 30 years. I had recreated recipes from all over the world in my kitchen in Devon. To say my husband was a little bit upset at the thought of never eating my Chinese BBQ pork or beef kofta is an understatement. So here we are 8 years later, fully plant based, recreating all our favourite recipes but using only plants.

For my videos I cut and blend most things by hand so there’s no excuses of ‘oh I don’t have a food processor’.  All appliances are different, so cooking times my differ.

Today I am using black beans – mainly for the colour, but you can use any beans you prefer.

For the flat bread

  • 1 cup flour
  • Half teaspoon salt
  • Half teaspoon turmeric
  • Half teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Coconut milk to bind into a dough.

I don’t give exact measurements for the coconut milk as it will depend on the flour you use and what your environment is like. Start with a quarter cup of coconut milk, mix and add little by little until you get a stiff dough.

Divide into 6, roll into balls and then into desired flatbread shape with a rolling pin. Heat a frying pan – NO OIL. Dry fry one side (about 1 minute) and then flip over.

Bean kofta

  • 1 cup black beans
  • Half stick celery
  • 1 scallion or chalotte or 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • Half a sweet pepper
  • Fresh herbs (I’m using lemon thyme and chives but recommend using cilantro/coriander)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder or chopped fresh garlic
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • Pinch of chilli powder
  • Half teaspoon cinnamon
  • Black pepper and sea salt

Finely chop the fresh herbs and veg. Add the beans in a bowl along with all other ingredients. Use something to squish the mixture into a paste – could be a glass, jar, rolling pin.

Shape into 4 sausages/koftas and drizzle with olive oil. I also threw on some sliced onions. Place in the airfryer or oven on a high heat for 10-15 minutes. I used an airfryer on 180° for 15 minutes, turning once.

For the parsnip chips

Finely slice 2 parsnips, sprinkle on 1 teaspoon paprika, good pinch of sea salt, drizzle over olive oil. Toss the parsnips to ensure they are coated before cooking. Cook in oven/airfryer on 175°C for 10 minutes and check. How long you cook them depends on how crunchy you like them.

To serve, squish the kofta onto the flatbread, add homemade tomato sauce, fried onions, fresh herbs like mint/coriander and some scallions/chives. Tahini is essential for me, although my husband prefers mayo. I mix 1 tablespoon tahini with the juice of one lemon and pinch of sea salt.

I make my recipes up as I go, depending on what fresh ingredients and spices I have on hand. Don’t be afraid to experiment, generally, the only way you can ruin a dish is by adding too much salt or hot spice.

Have a beautiful day!

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Ice spiced pumpkin latte and scones

I needed a spiced pumpkin latte today, and the only way I was going to get one, is if I made it myself! There’s an abundance of pumpkins at the local market, so today I thought I’d make some pumpkin purée to freeze in ice cube trays, for when I fancy a spiced pumpkin milkshake or latte.

I roasted half of a small pumpkin in the airfryer for 20 minutes on 170°C. I then covered it and let it cool, so I could easily remove the skin.

In a blender I added the skinned pumpkin, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, pinch of sea salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Off camera (pressed the wrong button with my sticky fingers) I added a tablespoon of peanut butter, quarter cup of plant milk and quarter cup of Veganbloc butter.

*You may wish to add more syrup. I don’t like mine too sweet.

For the scones I used;

  • 1 cup self raising flour
  • Quarter cup of Veganbloc butter
  • Half teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
  • Half teaspoon baking powder
  • Enough plant milk to make into soft dough.

Baked in airfryer for 13 minutes on 170°C turned them over for another 3 minutes.

Lots of noise going on in the background with the washing machine and airfryer whirring away next to me. I only have a tiny kitchen in this rental property. I look forward to having a proper kitchen again one day.

I hope you like this recipe – I’m so happy to have a supply of spiced pumpkin purée on standby.

Gail x

#pumpkinseason#pumpkinspice#pumpkinspice#wholefoodplantbased#veganeats#wholefoods#veggie#vegan#homecooking#homecooked#fastingfood#IntermittentFasting#midlifemakeover#menopausehealth#loseweightforgood#menopauseweightloss#loseweightfeelgreat#womenover50#healthyageing#veganrecipes

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Gnocchi (Italian potato dumplings) with walnut sauce

For lunch today, I made gnocchi with walnut sauce. I’m starting over with my food blog as I’ve been inundated with requests for recipes and meal ideas. I’ve been working on ways to encourage everyone to eat more plants and to consider trying intermittent fasting.

I post on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube in an effort to spread the word about the benefits of eating only plants.

My short videos will be linked to YouTube as it’s the best website friendly format for my blog, but you will also find my videos on the usual social media channels.

I’m playing around with video formats… what do you think of this style for vegan meal inspiration? I’ve used birdsong as a background sound, (rather than music) which I captured on one of my early morning walks in spring. I find it very calming.

For lunch today, I made gnocchi with walnut sauce. Tip: Use equal amounts flour to potato (doesn’t have to be exact).

Gnocchi:
2 potatoes boiled in their skins
(Remove skins after cooking)
2 cups wheat flour
Salt, black and white pepper.

Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 cup walnuts
Fresh lemon thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 veggie stock cube
Half cup of soya cream
Black and white pepper.

I didn’t add extra salt in the sauce as I used a vegetable stock cube (which contains salt).
I hope this inspires you to eat more veggies. This made enough to feed 4 – 5 people. Potatoes cost €1, soya cream 80cents, walnuts €1.50 I served with leeks sautéed in veganbloc, and a salad of sliced cherry tomatoes, pinch of sea salt, chopped parsley & mint plus a drizzle of olive oil.

Stay tuned for more detailed posts in the furture, I’m desperately trying to find a way of streamlining my content as it takes up lots of my time, and it’s only me doing everything.

I hope you enjoy my video. We both scored this meal 10/10.

Gail x

VeganFood #plantbased #plantbaseddiet #dairyfree #menopauseweightloss #wholefoodnutrition #fooddiary #whatiatetoday #veganmeals #healthylifestyle #eatyourveggies #eatyourgreens #weightlossjourney #weightlossfood #eatwell #veganeats #microbiome #microbiomehealth