Polenta

G'day, polenta (corn meal) is cheap, quoick and easy to prepare andcan be used in many different ways.

Boil some water, add the polenta and stir over a low heat till thick (five to ten minutes). Pour out into a dish and let cool and set. I use a shallow dish. Serve plain with a drizzle of olive oil and s&p or herb salt, add tomato and basil or anything you like. Cut into strips or chunks and add to curries or other dishes.

You can add chilli while it is cooking for chilli polenta. You can add nuts and berries... I have been experimenting with it...I made this one last night (thanks to IAAIA for a couple of tips):

FRUIT, NUT, COCONUT CREAM POLENTA DISH

Cook the polenta with crushed walnuts, pour into a pie dish and raise the edges to make a crust wall. Over this base add a layer of sliced banana, sprinkle in some sunflower seeds and cinnamon and add sultanas. Blend some banana and coconut cream and honey and pour over the top. Sprinkle on some cinnamon (nutmeg or pimento may be even better), drop in some walnut pieces and raisins. Place in fridge for a few hours till it has set.

Mmmm, mmm, mmm... it was awesome

I will be trying other combos and flavours with thIs dish.[align=center]

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OLIVE SPREAD

1 clove garlic
2 TBS olive oil
half cup/60 gms of seeded black olives
2 tsp of fresh parsley

Blend into a paste. Yum

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you can grind up cauliflower in a food processor after steaming. tip from the top:

-steam or nuke with a bit of milk so the cauliflower doesn't turn gray.
-fold in a quarter cup of cream cheese per head of c'flower to get the consistency.

you can't tell the difference!

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"at least i have chicken" -- leroy jenkins

I know how to make a great lentil curry:

Ingerdients
1 cup of red lentils
A large onion
6 tomatoes (8 vine ones would taste better)
5 or 6 cloves of garlic
1 or 2 fresh chillis
a teaspoon of turmeric
a teaspoon of cumin
teaspoon of garam masala(optional)
an inch of ginger
1 or 2 cardomens
1 or 2 cloves
fresh coriander
salt and pepper
a teaspoon of mustard seeds
and olive oil

First heat a pan with oil. After its warm add the mustard seeds till they start to pop, not too hot though.
Then add your cloves and cardomens and your preferely blended chilli garlic and ginger to the pan.
(its better to blend the garlic chillis and ginger together then add)
cook slowly for 5 minutes then add your chopped onion and saute for about 10-12 mins
Then add your cup of lentils, you can add water if you prefer.
Then add your powder spices, your turmeric, cumin and garam masala. also add the salt and pepper just a picnh of each
Mix and cook for 2 mins

simmer for 8-10 minutes then add your chopped tomatoes.
simmer for 45-60 minutes with pot covered then 5 minutes before your ready to serve add a handful of coriander.

I also make cauliflower and potatoe curries and chickpea and potatoe ones this way, you couold actually put what veg you like in it replacing the lentils.

ps. if its too spicy you can add lemon juice or sugar or tomatoe sauce to balance it but be careful with amounts

Enjoy

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Thanks for that Infinite I!!

I shall be trying that out soon!

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Yes there great and really cheap to make and the lentils are full of nutrition, a great accompinament is either garlic mushrooms, just garlic in oil then frying mushrooms obviously, another great accompinament with your curry is fried okra. All you do with them is chop each end of then and throw away chop to bite size bits and add to a pan of oil with garlic and powderd spices and salt heated in the oil, whatever powderd spices you prefer

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LOVE & GRATITUDE

SOURDOUGH BREAD

G'day, here is a link for making your own sourdough bread: http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm

So far I have made a few wholemeal loaves, a herb loaf (oregano, parsley, thyme and rosemary), an apple and cinnamon loaf (thanks IAAIA for the suggestion ) and harmony5 has made a fruit loaf with sultanas and all spice as well as a rye loaf.

We have plans for other flavours and it is a lot of fun to make. You begin by making a culture out of flour and water and then 'proofing' a sponge before baking. It is a great hands on experience and smells awesome.

The bread is awesome and a lot cheaper than buying it. It has been costing about a dollar to a dollar twenty a loaf compared to four to five dollars to buy an organic loaf. Health food shops and co ops stock a range of organic flours and supermarkets stock plain organic flour.

It is easy and tastes great.

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LOVE & GRATITUDE

I have been making a lot of bread lately, we haven't bought any bread for a few weeks. This recipe is very, very easy to use and is really versatile. Any flour can be used... I have been loving the spelt/rye/barley & barley/soya/wholewheat combos with handfulls of linseeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds mixed through them. I have also made wholemeal loaves and rye loaves. Organic flour is cheap, flavours are many and fresh bread rocks!

Flours have different absorbency rates; simply vary the amount of water used to create the desired texture of the dough. I have found it best when just enough water is added so that it is kneadable but not sticky. Tho original recipe called for 3 cups of water, but I found this to be way too much. http://www.naturarx.com/ar_yeastfree_bread.html

I would love to hear from anyone that bakes their own bread.

INGREDIENTS
Flour 3 Cups
Water 1 & ½ Cups
Baking powder 1 TBS
Olive oil 1 TBS
Sea salt 1 tsp


METHOD
• Sieve flour and baking powder into large bowl. Add salt, water and olive oil. Knead gently.
• Place in greased and floured loaf pan or shape dough as desired and place on greased and floured baking tray.
• Bake at 190 C (380 F) in preheated oven on middle rack for 50 – 55 minutes.

AVOCADO & HERB DAMPER

I cooked this once and the flavour was fuckin' awesome. It was a little doughy in the centre when it came out of the oven. This has happened before when I've baked bread, particularly with the sourdough.. if anyone bakes their own bread and has any bread baking tips that they would like to share I would love to hear them. I reckon this would also be good as a TOMATO & HERB DAMPER.

INGREDIENTS
• Self-raising plain or wholemeal flour. (If using wholemeal add 1 tsp of baking powder.) - 4 Cups
• Avocado - 1 Large – mashed.
• Rice or oat milk - 1 Cup
• Water - ½ Cup
• Fresh or dried herbs. (eg; parsley, thyme, chives & oregano) - ½ Cup fresh or ¼ Cup dried, chopped.
• Salt (optional) - 1 tsp
• Sweet paprika - ½ tsp


METHOD
• Sift flour (and baking powder if used) into a large bowl. Add salt if desired.
• Add mashed avo and use fingertips to rub into the mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Make a well in centre of mixture, pour in water and milk and add chopped herbs. Mix in til it forms a soft dough and knead.
• Form into any desired shape and place on greased and floured baking tray. Brush top with milk and sprinkle on paprika. Slit top with a floured sharp knife.
• Bake at 200 C (400 F) for aprox. 25 minutes then lower heat to 180 C (350 F) for another ten minutes. Indications that a loaf is ready is a hollow sound when the bottom is tapped or when a skewer comes out clean.

POLENTA PIE

Polenta (corn meal) is easy to prepare. This dish is delicious, nutritious and easy to create. Corn is often genetically modified so it is definitely worth sourcing only organic corn products. This dish is really easy and tastes awesome. I found it at this link and simply made it into a vegan recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/21794

Dried mushrooms - About 2/3 of a cup
Broccoli - 1 medium sized head
Polenta - 1 cup
Rice or oat milk - 2 cups
Water - 2 cups
Olive oil - 1 TBS
Tomato - 1
Lemon thyme - 1 – 2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp


METHOD
• Put ‘shrooms and ½ cup of boiling water in bowl to re-hydrate. Set aside.
• Grease 10 inch, deep-dish, pie pan.
• In a large pot, combine remaining 1 1/2 cups hot water, milk and salt; bring to boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and slowly drizzle in polenta, whisking constantly.
• Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until polenta is as thick as mashed potatoes, about 6 to 8 minutes.
• Stir in broccoli, mushrooms and their liquid.
• Spread polenta mixture evenly in prepared pan.
• Dice tomato and sprinkle the pieces on top.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
• Cool at least 30 minutes, or serve at room temperature.


Variation:
Try various vegies like cauliflower, onion and carrot. Add spices.

FUDGELICIOUS

A healthy carob and peanut butter fudge that is utterly delicious.
The amounts I have listed are aproximates and I had a lot of dry mix leftover after adding them to the peanut butter and honey. I used what was left to make the mousse - see next recipe - that can be spread on the fudge to make an amazing combo. (I found this recipe on the net but I don't have the link anymore.)

INGREDIENTS
Honey - 12 dessert spoons.
Peanut butter - 6 - 10 dessert spoons, depending on how sweet you llke it.
Sesame seeds - One third of a cup.
Sunflower seeds - One third of a cup.
Carob powder - 1/2 to Two thirds of a cup, depending on how rich you like it. You can use cocoa instead (half the amount).
Desiccated coconut - One quarter of a cup
Sultanas - One quarter of a cup


METHOD
Combine honey and peanut butter in a saucepan, heat gently, stir occasionally.

MIx the other ingredients together in a bowl (except for the sultanas).

When the peanut butter and honey is combined, remove from heat and immediately add other ingredients, except the sultanas, and mix well.

Grease a pan/tin of desired shape and depth and press the mixture into it, smoothing the top. Press in the sultanas and fridge until firm.

Variation:
Replace honey with maple syrup or other sweetener.
Replace carob with cocoa. Only need half as much as cocoa is a lot sweeter.

MOUSSE

This recipe uses coconut cream that has set in the fridge and is then whipped in a blender to create the mousse texture. Or you could use a can straight out of the cupboard and place the finished mousse in the fridgte to set. Coconut cream is an awesome replacement for dairy products in recipes. It sets really well and goes with so many different fruit and nut flavours. I AM ALL I AM and Harmony 5 have come up with some great dessert recipes that use it. It is handy to keep a tin of it in the fridge.

Tahini - 1 – 2 dessert spoons
Carob powder - Quarter to one third of a cup
Coconut cream - Small tin, 270 ml – fridged.
Banana - 1
Sesame seeds - Little under one sixth of a cup.
Sunflower seeds - Little under one sixth of a cup.
Desiccated coconut - One eighth of a cup
Honey - 1 tea spoon.


METHOD
Combine everything in blender.... easy peasy.

This is awesome with fudgelicious and avocado. Or on toast with banana and peanut butter or with crushed nuts. It is also good on rice cakes with avo or peanut butter. You could easily make a nutella flavoured one with hazelnuts. I reckon avo's and nanas go great with heaps of sweets and they are both in season here and we have found a local organic grower who sells them cheaply at the market each week.

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[size=14:87eb93c431][color=green:87eb93c431][b:87eb93c431]The past is gone and the future is not here. Right now I am free of both. [/b:87eb93c431][/color:87eb93c431][/size:87eb93c431][/align:87eb93c431]

Greetings All
Thankyou for these great recipes . Youve all given me alot of food for thought , and me thinks, YUMMO !
Bon Appetete

Luvnhugs Omni

"to keep the body in good health is a duty .... Otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear" BUDDHA .......and of course food is yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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LOVE & GRATITUDE

G'day Omnimemoo

here's another recipe. Macadamia nuts are expensive but other nuts could just as easily be used instead. The amounts for the base are aproximate's, I used another recipe as a starter that used weighted measures and there aren't any scales here. I also used honey instead of sugar and olive oil instead of butter.

AVODAMIA PIE

BASE
Macadamia nuts -1 & 1/4 Cups cups worth when whole.
Flour - 1/2 - 3/4 of a cup. I used spelt flour. I may have used as much as a cup of flour, the idea is to make a dough that can be baked.
Honey - 3 dessert spoons
Olive oil - 2 dessert spoons
Water

Grind the nuts, add the flour, honey & oil and blend. Add enough water to form a dough. Press the dough into the bottom and sides of a 20 cm pie dish and bake at 180 C for aprox 25 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and let cool.

FILLING
2 avocados and 2 * 270 ml cans of coconut cream (the Ayam brand of regular coconut cream doesn't contain any numbers) and honey to sweeten. Blend. Pour onto the base in the pie dish and place in fridge to set. If you put the cans of coconut cream in the fridge a day or two before you make it, the dish will set almost immediately. You could garnish the dish with crushed nuts or sesame seeds.

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