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Marrow Or Courgette / Zucchini Soup Recipe

Courgette Soup

I’m quite fond of courgette (zucchini), lightly fried with anchovy and pine nut, or steamed, or frittered, but it took getting a 3.5kg (7lb7oz) courgette from a friend of mine recently to get me to try courgette soup, and it is without doubt my favourite soup ever, hands down.

Courgette Soup

It is so simple to make too, that it can actually be whizzed up in no time. If you need a quick and delicious dinner, and don’t know what to do with that end of season marrow, zucchini or courgette surplus, look no further. If you don’t love it, I’ll … well, I’ll eat it!

Personally, I adore this with some cream, but if you’re trying to keep the calories down, I find it quite fresh and thoroughly enjoyable with some salt and pepper.

This also freezes very well,

Courgette Soup/ Zucchini Soup
Recipe Type: Soup, Main, Side, Starter
Cuisine: Autumn Food
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 5
I can not stop talking about this soup. I’m not a huge soup fan, and eat it largely out of ease or need, but this soup? Well, it can move in, quite frankly! I love it. Serve with fresh home made bread (or not) and top with dehydrated courgette strips, or perhaps crispy bacon.
Ingredients
  • 700g courgette / zucchini /marrow
  • 1 onion
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tsp stock or a stock cube and 2 cups water (or 2 cups liquid stock, I prefer chicken but veggie works too)
  • 1 cup cream (250ml or a 240ml pot will be fine) = 240g (optional)
Instructions
Regular Instructions
  1. Roughly chop the marrow and onion, and pop in a food processor. If you like chunky chewy soups, lightly blend leaving chunks, if you like a smooth drinkable soup, keep it going for a while.
  2. Add the stock and water, and bring to the boil.
  3. Simmer for 15 minutes
  4. Stir in cream, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and either dehydrated courgette, crispy bacon or croutons, or eat as is, with our without thick chunks of bread and butter.
Thermomix Instructions
  1. Add the onion and garlic and mix speed 10, 10 seconds
  2. Slice the courgette and place in the Thermomix.
  3. Add the stock and water and cook speed 2/Varoma/15 mins
  4. Check the texture. If you like chunky chewy soups, lightly blend leaving chunks, if you like a smooth drinkable soup, keep it going 60 seconds, speed 5.
  5. Stir in cream, if using, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and either dehydrated courgette, crispy bacon or croutons, or eat as is, with or without thick chunks of bread and butter.

 

 

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Blackberry Jam ( Blackberry Jelly)

Blackberry Jam Blackberry JellyIt’s been a beautiful summer, and I’ve focused largely on my children, and very little on anything else, including these pages. I’ve often taken a photo of things, thinking I’d publish them when I have a moment, and that moment has just never come, and here we are, just in time for autumn.

Nature is a beautiful thing though, and knowing full well that the barren months of winter are coming, Autumn blesses us with a bountiful harvest of apples, blackberries, rosehips, damsons and more. My children and I have spent time foraging in our local area, trying to take advantage of the free fruit as much as we can. Over the next few days, I’ll share some of the results of our foraged free food with you.

Today’s recipe is a bit of a cheat: Blackberry Jam. It’s a cheat because I used Jam Sugar with added pectin rather than making my own. We were lucky, I think and got the berries at just the right time, as they were sweet, full of juice and just delicious.

I use a jam strainer to catch all the seeds and skins, leaving me with a beautiful clear jam.

Blackberry Jam
Recipe Type: Condiments
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 250ml
The flavour of this jam depends a lot on the blackberries you use. We picked plump, juicy, ripe blackberries to make a sweet, delicious jam for toast, home made doughnuts and more.
Ingredients
  • 250g (9oz)fresh blackberries
  • 250g (9oz) jam sugar
  • 2tbs lemon juice (if from a bottle)/ juice from 1/2 lemon if using fresh lemon
Instructions
  1. (If you’re using a stove to make jam, you’ll need a sugar thermometer to check when your mixture is at 100C/212F. If you’re using a breadmachine with a jam function, follow manufacturer instructions. For a Thermomix, cook at 100 degrees at speed 2. )
  2. Place all ingredients in bowl and cook for 40 minutes at 100C or 212F.
  3. To check whether your jam has set, tilt the bowl slightly, being careful not to spill boiled sugar! Check to see whether a slight gel forms on top. If not, return to heat for five minute intervals. Your external temperature will affect how long your jam has to boil.
  4. It shouldn’t take over 50 minutes, but if it does, turn the heat up as high as possible (watching it doesn’t burn) for 3 minutes.
  5. Pour jam into sterilised jars and leave overnight to cool.

 

 

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{Book Review} and Grilled Vegetable Quinoa

Apart from my two pregnancies, I’ve always been a meat eater, but after almost ten years of supermarket meat in the UK my husband and I decided that we would rather reduce the number of times a week that we eat meat, and buy organic meat to eat less often. This has worked exceptionally well and the meat we’ve been eating in the last two months has been amazing. In the balance, however, has been more vegetarian meals.

Vegetarian Step-by-Step Grilled Veggie Quinoa

Once upon a time I assumed a veggie meal meant salad with a side of cucumber. Not my favourite. But while it’s taken a few years, I’ve finally grown to understand how good vegetarian food can be.

I was recently invited to be part of the Parragon Books book club, and one of the first books I’ve received to review was the Love Food Vegetarian Step-By-Step cookbook*.

I am loving this book.

It really is ideal for beginner cooks, whether they’re five or 35, as each recipe uses basic, relatively simple ingredients, and a really good step by step guide to the directions.

The book is beautifully illustrated, with all the ingredients laid out in the first picture, what it all looks like in the preparation, and finally, the end result.

Another thing that is absolutely fabulous about this book is the fact that bits and pieces of recipes can be used together or apart. For example I used only the Cheese Pastry sticks bit of the Celeriac Soup With Cheese Pastry Sticks recipe. It’s nicely set out that you can, even as a beginner, choose the bits you want.

I own many cook books, most of which I know I’ll only ever make four or five recipes out of, but in this book, there are no recipes that I can say no, I’ll definitely never make that. It’s set to become a favourite, for sure.

Below is the first recipe I made from the Love Food Vegetarian Step-By-Step cookbook*, and I’m sure there’ll be more!

{Book Review} and Grilled Vegetable Quinoa
Recipe Type: Main Course
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3
A lovely vegetarian dish, ideal on it’s own or served as a side to something else. Easily adaptable too, if you don’t have the same vegetables feel free to use others. Don’t skip the pine nuts though – they totally make the dish. The instructions differ a little from the original, but work out perfectly.
Ingredients
  • 2 peppers, deseeded and cut into chunky pieces
  • 1 large courgette, cut into chunks
  • 1 small fennel bulb, cut into slim wedges
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
  • 100g/3.5 oz quinoa
  • 350ml/12 fl oz vegetable stock
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 3 tbsp flat leaf parsley
  • 40g 1.5 oz pine nuts, toasted
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
  2. Lightly toast the pine nuts in a hot pan and set aside to cool.
  3. Chop vegetables and put in a bowl.
  4. Drizzle over olive oil and mix so that it covers all the vegetables.
  5. Arrange the chopped vegetables in a single layer in a roasting tin.
  6. Roast for 25 – 30 minutes.
  7. Place the quinoa, stock and garlic in a saucepan (or in the Thermomix), bring to the boil and cover to simmer for 12 – 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender and most of the stock has been absorbed.
  8. Mix the quinoa in with the vegetables and top with the toasted pine nuts and flat leaf parsley, and serve immediately.

nutrition

*affiliate link. It won’t cost you any extra to buy through this link, but Amazon will give me 5% of the sale price, which goes towards helping paying for this blog. Thanks for supporting us!

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Honey Rosemary Twist Bread

Honey Rosemary Twist BreadI was watching a show on TV where the chef made a bread very similar to my usual bread recipe, but instead of olive oil, she added seed oil, and then added a lot of nuts. and seeds. I have a very good seedbread recipe, so I wasn’t overly desperate to try a new one, but when she added honey I remembered the honey and rosemary bread that a Thermomix demonstrator in Australia had made for us, and I suddenly thought I had to try something similar combining the two ideas into one bread. Here is the very delicious result of that experiment.

Honey Rosemary Twist Bread
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 650g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 7g sachet or two teaspoons of fast action dried yeast
  • 4 teaspoons of honey
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 3 – 4 tbsp chopped rosemary
  • 350g (1.5 cups) warm water
Instructions
  1. Add everything to your bowl in the order mentioned.
  2. In the Thermomix, mix for 20 seconds, then knead for 3 minutes.
  3. If you’re using a different processor or kneading by hand, you need to knead it until it is firm and springy, about 10 minutes (i.e. if you dent it with your finger, it should spring back to cover the dent)
  4. Divide the dough into three, and roll out each ball into a long strip.
  5. Twist each strip into a twisty rope, then put all three together and twist again into one big twist.
  6. Place on your baking tray – I use a gorgeous Pampered Chef stone bake tray which is perfect for breads – in a circle.
  7. Cover for 30 minutes to let it rise.
  8. Switch on the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 now and place the bread inside, letting it cook for 20 minutes as the oven heats up and reaches temperature.
  9. The loaf is cooked when it sounds hollow when tapped underneath. If not, then give it another five minutes or so in the oven.
  10. Once ready remove from the oven and serve with salad. It also goes really well with red meat or roasted butternut soup, or anything that goes well with rosemary.
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{Festival Of Food} Kale & Parmesan Summer Salad

I’ve put loads of effort into my garden this year, and to be honest, thus far, it hasn’t really paid off! I’m hoping now that summer’s finally arrived, we may have better luck. It certainly can’t get much worse. kale and parmesan salad

That said, the one thing in my garden that’s been glorious, and a steady producer, has been the Kale plant.

I do like Kale, but planted this specially for Kale chips, and maybe some smoothies. I find Kale generally rubbery and tough, and eat it because it’s good for me. Unfortunately I don’t know what variety of Kale I planted, but the leaves are smaller than the ones in the shop, and much more tender, making a delicious raw salad.

{Festival Of Food} Kale & Parmesan Summer Salad
Recipe Type: Side Dish, Salad
Cuisine: Healthy, Salad, Summer
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 3
A lovely, light, spring time salad, perfect with baby kale, soft, tender and juicy. There’s no science to the quantities here – just use what you have. Three cups of kale pretty much loosely fills the TM31 bowl.
Ingredients
  • (60g) 5 Tablespoons Olive Oil, Divided
  • (15g) 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
  • 3 cups (750ml) Stemmed And Sliced Kale
  • (60g) ⅓ cup (80ml) Grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
  1. Whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil until well blended.
  2. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  3. In a large bowl, toss together the kale, dressing, and Parmesan cheese.
  4. Enjoy!

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Please take a moment to visit the blogs of our other Festival of Food participants. The links in this list will be live by the end of the day, as participants are all in different time zones.

Stay connected! Be sure to “Like” the Festival of Food Carnival Facebook page.

 


A Very Thermie Christmas This recipe features in A Very Thermie Christmas, where you can find it and 50 other recipes perfect for a Thermomix assisted Christmas. Read more about it here.

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Raw Nutty Chocolate Mousse

I’ve been teasing people with this recipe for two days now, not because I’m mean, but because I simply haven’t had the time to write it up, but here it is. We’ll call it version one, because I have some changes I want to make to it, but my husband taster said that’ll make it a different desert, so maybe I can justify having two chocolatey puddings close to each other. No one minds, right?

Raw Nutty Chocolate Mousse

First thing to remember with this desert is that despite it’s sugar free, dairy free, wheat free appearance, it’s still really high in calories, so pace yourself. On the up side, it’s so incredibly rich a few tablespoons each should do you just fine. My friend Emily wanted to top it with lemon shavings for decoration. I hadn’t thought of that, but good point, Emily! Next time.

Despite the high calorie count – see the nutritional information at the end of the post – they are at least good calories, and good for you, filled with healthy stuff.

Either way, it is utterly delicious. It absolutely ends any sugar cravings, and fulfills the sweet tooth, completely. I left this a little bit nutty, but you can make it entirely smooth by blending it longer.

Let me know what you think!

Raw Nutty Chocolate Mousse
Recipe Type: Raw, Desert
Cuisine: Raw
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3
A gorgeous summery, delicious, healthy desert that blows your sweet tooth and chocolate cravings out the water.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups cashews (500ml)
  • 4 dates – more if you prefer a sweeter desert
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil (80ml)
  • 1/4 cup cacao powder(80ml)
  • 1/4 cup (80ml) + 2 tablespoons syrup of choice
  • 1/2 cup water (125ml)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • Pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients in the order listed, and blend until smooth.
  2. In the Thermomix, that’s speed 10 for about 90 seconds. If you want a smoother texture, blend longer.
  3. Scoop into serving dishes and refrigerate for at least fifteen minutes to cool it down and allow the coconut oil to set a little.
  4. Enjoy!

nutrition

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Raw Pecan Pie

raw pecan pie

Raw Pecan Pie
Recipe Type: Dessert or Snack
Cuisine: Raw
Author: Charlotte
Serves: 8-10
Mmmmmm Pecan Pie! I was in a cooking mood (Well, technically ‘Uncooking’ hehe) but my cupboards were looking rather bare. Pecans! I had loads of pecans. So naturally the first thought to pop into my head was PECAN PIE. Yum. But not any old fatty, creamy pie, this pie is raw, sugar free, vegan, gluten free, made with a couple of wholesome, healthy ingredients. You can make them as big or small as you want. You could double the recipe and make one big pie or lots of mini ones. I put mine into silicon cupcake cases and it’s a great size and made them easy to take out, Perfect!
Ingredients
  • For the base:
  • 1 Cup Nuts – I used half cashew, half almond and that worked well
  • 3 Medjool Dates – Or if not medjool, use a few more and soak in water for 30mins before using
  • Pinch of salt
  • For the Filling:
  • 1/2 Cup Pecans
  • 1/2 Cup Medjool Dates (about 6) same as above if not using medjool
  • 1/2 Vanilla bean pod, scrape the seeds out – or a couple of drops of vanilla extract
  • 1-2 Tbsp Water – enough to make the paste soft and smooth
  • Also don’t forget some extra Pecans for the top – amount varies on how big or small you make your pies
Instructions
  1. For the base : In a Thermomix or food processor combine all of the ingredients and blend until the pieces are broken down and stick together when pressed. Spoon evenly into your desired pan or cupcake cases. I used silicon to help with removal.
  2. Press down gently to create a thin, even crust on the bottom and sides.
  3. Put them in the freezer while making the filling.
  4. For the filling: Place the dates, vanilla & pecans in a Thermomix or food processor.
  5. Add about 1-2 tbsp fresh water and blend until smooth and gooey, scraping down the sides often.
  6. Spoon into the chilled crusts and top with extra pecans.
  7. Place in refrigerator and allow pies to set for at least 1 hour.
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Apple Strudel Smoothie with Maca Powder

Apple Strudel Maca SmoothieFor ages I kept hearing about the benefits of Maca powder and its superfood powers. I finally got around to getting some and was full of excitement and dumped a good heaped tablespoon of it into my smoothie…YUK! Lets just say Maca has a strong flavour. So when first starting out with it, less is more! I then cut down the amount I used and it still seemed to overpower most things. It does have a slight caramel taste to it so I paired it up with these ingredients and it makes for a really yummy, comforting, but super healthy smoothie. Enjoy!

Apple Strudel Smoothie with Maca Powder
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Charlotte
Serves: 1-2
For ages I kept hearing about the benefits of Maca powder and its superfood powers. I finally got around to getting some and was full of excitement and dumped a good heaped tablespoon of it into my smoothie…YUK! Lets just say Maca has a strong flavour. So when first starting out with it, less is more! I then cut down the amount I used and it still seemed to overpower most things. It does have a slight caramel taste to it so paired it up with these ingredients and it makes for a really yummy, comforting, but super healthy smoothie. Enjoy!
Ingredients
  • 1 Granny smith apple, cored and quartered
  • 3 Dates
  • 1/4 Cup Walnuts
  • 1/2 tsp -1tsp Raw, Organic Maca powder
  • 1/2 tsp Organic Mesquite powder
  • 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Small banana
  • 1-2 Cups of Milk, I usually use almond milk.
Instructions
  1. Put everything into the Thermomix or blender and blend until smooth.
  2. I start with one cup of milk and add more if it’s too thick for my liking.
  3. Or add 2 cups and share.

 

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Quick And Easy Healthier Carrot Cake

A few years ago I made the perfect carrot cake. I don’t know what recipe I used and have never found it again, but I suspect if I did I wouldn’t use it anymore anyway – it probably had too much sugar and white flour in it anyway.

Carrot CakeI’m still in search of the new ‘perfect’ carrot cake, but these come up a really good alternative, in the meantime.

They last two or so days in a lunch box, and make a great school snack, largely because they’re ‘cake’ without being ‘cake’. We also make them without frosting to make them that little bit healthier, but really, I don’t think it needs anything more anyway.

If you don’t have Rapadura*, you can substitute for brown sugar, but Rapadura is a healthier alternative. I have linked you to the brand we use. Same for the coconut oil.

Possibly one of my favourite things about this carrot cake is that it is so quick and easy to make – no faffing required, and it is really tasty.

Recipe Type: Cake, Snack
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 18
I make these in a brownie pan, and don’t add any frosting to them at all. You could mix cream cheese and icing sugar to frost, but we like them just like this. They make lovely lunch box snacks. You can add nuts if you wish – just adjust the amount of raisins.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups carrots (roughly four or five medium sized carrots)
  • 140g raisins
  • 125ml [url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biona-Organic-Virgin-Coconut-Pack/dp/B0062Y7RTU/” target=”_blank”]coconut oil[/url]
  • 115g plain wholemeal flour
  • 115g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 rounded tsp ground cinnamon
  • 100g [u][url href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biona-Organic-Rapadura-Sugar-Pack/dp/B006MW27UG” target=”_blank” title=”rapadura”]rapadura [/url][/u](or brown sugar)
  • 2 eggs
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 160C/320F
  2. Grate carrots finely
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed
  4. Mix together till it’s all incorporated, but work quickly before the baking powder and bicarb go ‘flat’
  5. Scoop into muffin or brownie trays/cake tins
  6. Cook for 20 minutes in cake tin/brownie pan but about 12 – 15 in muffin tins.
  7. Check by sticking a skewer in the middle. If It comes out clean, they are ready.
  8. If you’re using a Thermomix:
  9. Chop the carrots on Turbo for 3-4 seconds
  10. Add ingredients in order listed
  11. Mix on reverse speed for 30 seconds,
  12. Knead for 1 min on closed lid setting
  13. Scoop into muffin or brownie trays/cake tins
  14. Cook for 20 minutes in cake tin/brownie pan but about 12 – 15 in muffin tins.
  15. Check by sticking a skewer in the middle. If It comes out clean, they are ready.

 

 

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Goji Almond And Sprouted Buckwheat *mostly* Raw Balls

Goji BallsThese Goji, Almond and Sprouted Buckwheat balls are mostly raw, other than the choc chips. You can make your own coconut oil chocolate and then it’s completely raw! They can also be made nut free by swapping the almond meal for seeds like sunflower or pepitas. Other wise they are Vegan, Gluten free, Dairy free, Refined sugar free, Yeast free & Corn free. Can’t get much better than that!

They do call for some organization as the buckwheat needs to start the sprouting process a day or 2 before they are ready. But it’s totally worth it! These are so lovely, sweet and the buckwheat makes a nice change than just regular old nuts in the usual bliss balls (ed: the Australian version of these date balls) I make. It’s cheaper too 🙂

Goji Almond & Sprouted Buckwheat *almost* Raw Balls
Recipe Type: Snack
Cuisine: Raw
Author: Charlotte
Serves: 16-20
These balls are mostly raw, other than the choc chips. You can make your own coconut oil chocolate and then it’s completely raw! They can also be made nut free by swapping the almond meal for seeds like sunflower or pepitas. Other wise they are Vegan, Gluten free, Dairy free, Refined sugar free, Yeast free & Corn free. Can’t get much better than that! They do call for some organization as the buckwheat needs to start the sprouting process a day or 2 before they are ready. But it’s totally worth it! These are so lovely, sweet and the buckwheat makes a nice change than just regular old nuts in the usual bliss balls I make. It’s cheaper too 🙂
Ingredients
  • 1 cup medjool dates, pitted [about 14]
  • 1/3 cup almond meal
  • 1/2 cup raw buckwheat grouts, sprouted [yield: 1 cup sprouted]
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup goji berries
  • 1/4 cup carob/chocolate chips, cacao nibs or home made chocolate or even some dried fruit like sultanas
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch Himalayan rock salt
Instructions
  1. To sprout buckwheat: place the raw buckwheat grouts in a glass container and fill with water. Place a lid on it and store it in the fridge overnight to soak. In the morning, drain and rinse.
  2. Drain thoroughly and leave on the counter for 24 hours.
  3. At the 12 hour [or so] mark, fill with water and drain again and follow the steps Goji Ballsabove.
  4. Your buckwheat should be ready at around 24 hours.
  5. Spread out onto a kitchen towel to make sure most of the moisture is removed.
  6. To make balls: place dates, almond meal, buckwheat, coconut, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor.
  7. Process until desired consistency is met.
  8. Drop mixture into a large bowl and mix in goji berries and choc chips.
  9. Wet hands and roll the mixture into balls.
  10. If the mixture is too sticky, out it in the freezer for a few mins to harden up
  11. Store in a container in the fridge or freezer
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