Quinoa Tabouli

Quinoa is not a grass, but its seeds have been eaten for 6000 years. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tabbouleh   (تبولة; tabouleh or tab(b)ouli)

Tabbouleh is a North East African dish, traditionally made of bulgur, tomatoes, cucumbers, finely chopped parsley, mint, onion and garlic, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Any grain can be used to create the same delicious dish so this version is made with quinoa.

Quinoa (pronounced keen’wa) is a staple grain of South America. It has the highest protein and fat content of any grain. It is especially high in calcium and is a good source of B vitamins, vitamin E, iron and phosphorus. It must be washed very well to rinse off the bitterness from its surface.

Tabbouleh (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It makes a great alternative to cracked wheat (bulghur) and couscous which are wheat based products. Buckwheat may also be used to create this.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Quinoa, rinsed
• 1 3/4 cup Water
• Sea Salt, to taste
• 1 cup Minced Parsley, mint or Cilantro
• 1 tomato, finely diced

Dressing:

• 1/3 Cup/1 juice whole Lemon Juice
• 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
• Sea Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Place quinoa and salt in water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to low, and cook until all water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Cool. Fluff with a fork.
2. Combine dressing ingredients together
3. In a large bowl, combine quinoa with the rest of the ingredients and add the dressing. Adjust to taste.
4. Set aside 30 minutes before serving.

Alternative

Cut and scoop out red bell peppers. Stuff half a pepper with a portion of the tabouli for a colourful, refreshing experience.  Yum!

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Baba Ganoush

Aubergines  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m inspired to add a few dishes from North-East Africa (some call it Middle East) as I am visiting there for an extensive summer break. We went to a lovely restaurant in Jericho that served us traditional vegan delights from the region and so I just had to share some of the recipes with you. I only thought about taking pictures after we left but what a spread was laid out before us that afternoon!  I will be sure to add the picture when i next make this tasty dish or please send me your creation and i can post that.

The weather was soooo hot too, I cooled some on freshly squeezed orange juice that was so refreshing it felt like the first drink I’d ever had!

There was falafel, baba ganoush, tahini sauce, hummous, pickled veggies, pickled peppers, hot pepper sauce… and more i can’t even recall but just to give you some insight  lets start with a traditional eggplant dish.

Baba Ganoush has a delicious smoky flavour, imparted by “smoking” the skins for 5-10 minutes over a flame, until the skin chars.

My first experience of this delightful dish created in the was a raw nutrition room of Life Everlasting Holistic Centre, Be’er Sheva, Israel, by unquestionably healing hands of Adrienne Williams. I never thought i even liked eggplant cooked much less uncooked before I ate her creation, but i got well and truly hooked!

I’ve come to enjoy both the cooked and raw versions since which is equally as smokin’ if a dash of some smoked paprika is added! I will post that version another time. Stay posted!

Ingredients:

• 3 medium-sized eggplants
• 1/2 cup (130g) tahini (sesame paste)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse sea salt
• 3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• a half bunch  flat-leaf parsley or cilantro leaves

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 375F (190C).
2. Prick each eggplant a few times, then char the outside of the eggplants by placing them directly on the flame of a gas burner and as the skin chars, turn them until the eggplants are uniformly-charred on the outside. (If you don’t have a gas stove, you can char them under the broiler. If not, skip to the next step.)
3. Place the eggplants on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until they’re completely soft; you should be able to easily poke a paring knife into them and meet no resistance.
4. Remove from oven and let cool.
5. Split the eggplant and scrape out the pulp. Puree the pulp in a blender or food processor with the other ingredients until smooth.
6. Taste, and season with additional salt and lemon juice, if necessary.
7. Serve Baba Ganoush with Falafel, tabouli salad, hummus, chilli peppers, black olives, pickles and whole wheat pitta bread.

More recipes to follow…

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Sautéed Plantain: Good & Sweet

Sliced Plantain sautéed in Coconut oil

Traditionally, the naturally vegan plantain dish I share with you today is called Fried Plantain, but since we are sooooo health conscious, doing the right thing for health, wellness and life eternal, I must remind you that fried food is bad for you! So? What do we do? We use less oil and it’s called Sauteed Plantain!

Plantain makes a delicious addition to any good meal; good meaning good for you. This is especially true for those of us that have a sweet tooth that often needs to be satisfied. Sometimes the spicier dishes trigger this need and the savoury sweetness found in plantain often does the trick tastefully.  It’s good and sweet!

In the tropics there are a few species of the world’s favourite fruit, and plantains, which is one of them, looks very similar to bananas but they are not quite the same. For this delectable side dish or snack, select a ripe plantain for this dish.The skins of ripe plantain often look black and are not the obvious choice when you are new to buying plantain but they are the sweetest. Not too ripe though. Do a squeeze test because you don’t want mush either. Be sure not to get green plantains for this dish unless you will be leaving them to ripen for a week!Green ones are very starchy and best for boiling in hearty soups and stews. Yellow plantains are sweet and can be used for this dish too but for perfect results used plantains that are turning from yellow to black in ripeness. You may just see which ones you prefer.

Plantain: Cousin to Bananas – The World’s Favourite Fruit

Plantain is a very versatile food and can be made into porridge, boiled, fried, grilled, baked, stuffed, mashed or used raw in salads! Green plantains are used to make the tropical snack plantain chips; the less ripe they are the less sweet they are.

I often use mashed, ripe plantain to sweeten coleslaw to avoid using brown sugar! This is a great alternative sweetener for live food preparation that many would not consider. This works well for those of you who enjoy sugar-less weeks as part of your lifestyle too.  Who knew?

For today’s Antiguan and naturally Vegan offering, you’ll need: 1 – 2 tbsp        coconut oil    2 large        ripe plantain

Sounds good right? The possibilities are endless…

No worry! More vegan versions of Antiguan traditional dishes and more will be added regularly.