Barley & veggies stew, made up of mainly starchy ingredients, so it’s a thick & filling stew. Sometimes we’d have barley porridge for dinner, and this is one great way to eat up those leftovers.
You’ll need:
half cup cooked barley l 1 medium sized potato, cubed l 1 asparagus, sliced l 2 baby corns l half an onion, chopped l 1 tbsp soy sauce l white pepper to taste l
Add the onion + potato into a medium sized pot one third filled with water. Bring to a boil, add soy sauce and barley. Simmer for 10 - 15 mins, then add asparagus + baby corn. Simmer till both are cooked. Add pepper to taste, and serve while it’s hot.
Spicy corn soup made with fermented chilli! You can make your own chilli by blending chilli, garlic, leek and salt. Let it sit in airtight jar in a cool and dry place, it should be ready to eat in a couple of weeks.
You’ll need:
Corn from 1 cob l 1 cup vegetable broth l half cup water l 1 tbsp fermented chilli l half cup of frozen corn, carrot & peas l half finely chopped onion l 1 slice of your fav vegan protein, finely chopped l olive oil l sea salt l
Blend the corn with water. Sautee the onion + vegan protein + chilli with about 1 tbsp olive oil, add the corn and veg broth mixture. Bring to a boil, add the frozen vegs, simmer for 15 - 20 min. Season to taste with sea salt. Serve with a slice of crusty bread, perhaps with homemade peanut spread? :)
Veggie spiral pasta in chickpea and onion stew. I’ve only discovered the powers of chickpeas this week, perhaps the need to pre-soak and cook them for a long time put me a little off. But turns out that half an hour in the pressure cooker (some salt and soy sauce added) turns it soft and melts-in-your-mouth! What have I been missing out?!
makes 2:
To make the chickpeas, soak overnight. Cook it in a pressure cooker/pot with soy sauce and sea salt till soft.
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, with 1 cup of it’s broth l 1/3 cup veggie spirals l half a chopped onion l 1 chopped tomato l 1 slice textured soy protein, chopped (i used a type with smoky flavour, and it soaks up the stew pretty well) l 1 tbsp soy sauce l sea salt & black pepper l dried herbs (basil, parsely, anything you fancy)
Add the chickpeas with broth, onion and protein into a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 - 20 mins. Add the veggie spirals and tomatoes, cook till pasta is soft. Turn off the heat, season with dried herbs, salt and pepper to taste.
Serve and dig in!
Baking spree today! Balsamic fudge cookies and olive bread kept me busy the whole morning till afternoon :)
Recipe for fudge cookies is from Nicole of A Dash of Compassion, which is by far, the first cookie recipe that really works for me! 12 chocolaty and crumbly pieces of heaven, melts in your mouth too! Balsalmic vinegar does wonders. I didn’t have maple syrup so I dissolved 1 tbsp molasses into 1/4 cup of water, used coconut sugar instead of muscavado, and left out arrowroot. (Seriously, where in Singapore can I get all these awesome ingredients?)
Olive bread is made in my Zojirushi Mini Home Bakery, enough for the family to have a week’s of lunch bread. I’d highly recommend you to invest in a bread maker, they come with a recipe book specific to the model. You get to enjoy homemade bread without mystery ingredients like monocalciumphosphate and whatnot.
(This is not a sponsored message ^_^)
A humble spinach soup - ain’t she a beauty?
You’ll need:
3 bunches of spinach, washed and cut into thirds l 1 cup almond milk l half cup vegetable broth l 2 slices textured vegan protein, cut into fine cubes l 1 tsp sea salt & black pepper each l 2 cloves garlic, crushed l half an onion, finely cut l olive oil l
Mix sea salt & black pepper, olive oil with the vegan protein, and massage the spices in well. Blend the spinach with almond milk.
Sautee the garlic, onion and spiced veg protein with olive oil. When just fragrant, add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. While simmering over low heat, add the creamy spinach in slowly while stirring.
Simmer for 10 min or so. Add salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle a little cream of your choice. Serve with spongy bread and dig in!
I swear, spinach-green is the most beautiful colour ever.
Light mushroom soup - not a big fan of creamy ones, maybe ‘cause I haven’t come across one that isn’t too heavy. But you can’t deny that mushrooms are awesome! So I made a very simple soup with coconut milk as a base, because coconuts are awesome too (and tastes more refreshing) :3
There’s a common misconception that coconut milk is unhealthy, but anything is way better than cruelty and hormone laced cows’ milk.
You’ll need:
6 - 7 white portobello mushrooms, cleaned and broken to smaller pcs l 2 pcs textured veg protein (choose the softer type) l 2 cloves garlic, chopped l half tsp of white and black pepper each l Sea Salt l half cup coconut milk l vegetable broth or water to thin l 1 tbsp Olive oil l
1) Blend mushrooms with coconut milk and a pinch of sea salt. Crush the garlic and peppers in a mortar and pestle with a pinch of salt too. Cut the vegan protein into fine cubes, sprinkle some spices (like rosemary/thyme) and mix well.
2) Pour olive oil into a pot and sautee the garlic & pepper with minced vegan protein till slightly fragrant. Pour in the mushroom mixture and veg broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 - 15 min over low heat.
3) Serve with a drizzle of coconut milk and chives to garnish. Of course, a crusty piece of bread :)
Definitely making this again! What are your favourite mushroom soup recipes?
When making vermicelli, it’s all about the sauce! I used the peanut sauce I made, and Mom’s fermented chilli, with a little red rice yeast.
You’ll need:
1 bunch vermicelli l 1 tsp Fermented ground chilli l 2 tbsp peanut or tahini sauce l 1 tbsp malt vinegar l Water to thin
Boil vermicelli until soft, then drain and place in a bowl. Mix the sauces together, adding water to thin to desired consistency. Top with your favourite veggies and proteins ( I used edamame, cherry tomatoes, smoked vegan tofu, seaweed tofu, a mushroomy ball and some greens :)
Go ahead and dig in!
It’s those days when you open the fridge and realise there’s everything..so use everything and make a bowl of noodles in soup!
A simple broth of soy sauce and ginger won’t overpower with the many ingredients (wheat noodles, tomato, nai bai, shiitake mushroom, mushroom soy protein, 1 veggie tofu ball, topped with bunch of seaweed), and makes a very filling meal (5 hours after this I’m still full!)
Edamame boiled with sea salt, star anise and cinnamon! A snack packed with protein, omega fatty acids and fiber.
You’ll need:
As many pods as you like! l half tsp Sea Salt l 5 pcs star anise (break into small pieces) l 1 stick of cinnamon l
Dissolve sea salt into water. Put the beans and spices in a pot and fill with enough water to cover it completely. Bring everything to a boil, and let simmer for 10 - 15 mins over low heat. Finally, scoop, drain, and serve!
Have fun popping them out~
And that’s Singapore, summer forever, and at the hottest time of the year now :)
The clouds today are like an artist’s brush, our mini garden is happy too!
I hope you don’t mind a non-food post?
