Spicy Red Lentil, Capsicum & Tomato Soup

I used to make this soup in winter very often. But since swapping over to a seasonal diet this soup has been restricted to a few months of the year when it's summer / early autumn. I know it's not exactly conventional but we still eat a lot of soup in summer, one there is so much great produce to make soup from in summer, two it's a light meal and three it takes roughly 25 minutes to cook and you can make up a big batch that will last for a few days which means very little cooking on a hot day.
I've recently become obsessed with this cold smoked garlic that I've been buying of this lovely couple at the slow food farmers market at the Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne. They're called Bellellen Grampians Organics. If your in Melbourne it's well worth the trip to the market just for this garlic. If you do happen to get some of this garlic or you find any smoked garlic I highly recommend using it in this dish, it adds another layer. If not regular garlic will do just fine.

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp of expeller pressed coconut butter/oil or ghee

2 Onions cut into thin rings

2 Red capsicums cut into thin strips

4 Cloves of garlic thinly sliced

1/2 Jar of pasata
500g of red split lentils

2 Ripe tomatoes peeled and diced

1/2 Tsp of cayenne pepper

1 Tsp of smoked paprika

1 Tsp of ground coriander

3 Tsp of good quality sea salt
1900ml of water

DIRECTIONS

Saute the onions in the coconut oil on medium to high heat until translucent. Add the capsicum and garlic and saute for another few minutes. Add the tomatoes and spices cook for a further few minutes then add the water, the lentils and the tomato pasata and salt. Bring to the boil then simmer with the lid on for around 15 minutes until the lentils are cooked and you have a good consistency. Have a quick taste to see if needs any more seasoning.

Enjoy!

Vegan Polenta Crusted Tofu Po' boy

We got rid of our Television last year in a bid to save our minds. We're not completely unscathed though, we do own a computer. A friend gave us a show to watch called Treme and we have managed to watch nearly three seasons in a month! I'm pretty sure someone eats a Po' boy in nearly every episode of this show so naturally, being obsessed with food I felt compelled to make one.

In this I use the vegan mayonnaise from my last post. If your not vegan you could just use a whole egg mayonnaise. And for coating the tofu i use white chia seeds again if your not vegan and you don't have any chia seeds just use an egg. And finally If you can't find any chipotle chile for the chipotle mayonnaise my mother in law came up wth the genius of useing a chile thats chared over an open flame on your burner and some smoked paprika. And you get very close to the real deal.

INGREDIENTS

makes 2

A french baguette I used a sourdough cut 2 lengths of approximately 23cm 

Crusted tofu

180g Tofu

2 Tbsp of white chia seeds

6 Tbsp water

1/4 Tsp of cayenne pepper

1/2 Tsp of smoked paprika

1/4 cup of polenta

pinch of salt
Coconut butter/oil to fry

Coleslaw

1 Carrot grated or julienned using a julienne peeler if you have one

1/8 Of a cabbage thinly sliced, a bread knife works well

1/2 A small fennel bulb thinly sliced
A handfull of flat leaf parsley roughly chopped

3 Tbsp of vegan mayonnaise

1 Tsp of dijon mustard

pinch of salt
1 Tbsp of poppy seeds

Chipotle Mayonnaise

4 Tbsp of vegan mayonnaise
Chipotle to taste
or
1 chilli
1/4 Tsp of smoked paprika

DIRECTIONS

Put all of the ingredients for the coleslaw together. Season to taste and set aside.
For the chipotle mayonnaise add chipotle to taste and set aside. Alternatively char a red chilli, holding it with tongs over a naked flame. Once the skin is blackened roughly chop and add to taste to the mayonnaise along with the smoked paprika and set aside.
Cut the tofu into slices that are roughly 1cm thick x 3.5cm wide x 10cm long Pat dry with a clean tea-towel. Mix together on a plate the polenta, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika and a pinch of salt. Blend the water and chia seeds for 30 seconds and place in a shallow bowl. Dip your tofu first into the chia seed mixture then into the polenta mixture and pan fry on medium heat in coconut butter/oil until golden on both sides. Assemble it all in your french bread and........

Enjoy!

Vegan Mayonnaise with Almond Milk and White Chia Seeds

I love condiments, ESPECIALLY mayonnaise. So you'll have to forgive me for being completely up my self for this one. I wanted a mayonnaise that tasted like a whole egg mayonnaise that everyone could enjoy including raw foodies. It's hard to tell the difference between this and the the whole egg mayonnaise that I make. It's delicious! It contains homemade almond milk but you could use the commercial kind although it's cheap, relatively quick and 100 percent tastier when you make your own. I'm not yet entirely sure of it's fridge life as we ate ours within 3 days but I'm guessing 5 days.

INGREDIENTS

makes about 400ml

2 Tbsp of white chia seeds

Approximately 250ml of grape seed oil

Juice of one lemon

1 Garlic clove

1/2 Tbsp of dijon mustard

1/2 Tbsp of Raw honey

1 Tsp salt

1/2 Cup of almond milk recipe here

DIRECTIONS

Put all your ingredients except the oil in the blender. Blend for 20 seconds then feed through the hole in the lid of the blender a slow, thin and steady stream of oil. The whole in the middle of the mayonnaise will get smaller and smaller as you do this. When it closes up it's ready. You'll know what i mean when you make it. Pour it into a very clean jar and store it in the fridge. It will thicken up a little more in the fridge.

Enjoy!