Garden Vegetables on Polenta

When I was a little girl, you would often find me sitting in a fruit tree or in the midst of the cucumber patch having a feast. When we had another family come we would take great delight in visiting with other children and leading them through the garden sharing with them as we went. I have many a memory of the look of utter shock when we arrived back to the adults and parents saw their children chewing on a leaf of kale or parsley! “They would never eat that at home!” they would exclaim. Wow, they had really been missing out. I had the pleasure of eating it every day! So now although our garden is much smaller than the one my dear Mother kept, I still just LOVE eating from our garden! At present, we still have eggplant and loads of basil and the choko vine is going wild! So here is our breakfast from this morning…

THE VEGETABLES

1 large onion, diced

1 medium eggplant, or 4-6 finger eggplants, chopped

1 large choko/zucchini, cut into small pieces (I normally use Zucchini but I have a surplus of choko at the moment and it worked really well)

1 red capsicum (bell pepper), diced

1 large bunch fresh basil, chopped

2 tsp celtic sea salt

4-6 cloves fresh garlic, crushed

1, 400g tin diced tomatoes (I use fresh ones when I have excess)

Olive oil for frying

Fry onion and vegetables in olive oil until soft, then add tinned tomato and leave to simmer while polenta cooks or for about 5-10 minutes.

Finally, add salt, fresh basil and crushed garlic and stir through and simmer for a further 2 minutes

FOR THE POLENTA

2 cups polenta

8 cups water

3 tsp herb salt

1 Tbs onion powder

Dash of olive oil

Bring water to the boil. Add olive oil and seasonings. Slowly pour in polenta, while stirring. Lower heat, cover and leave to simmer, stirring occasionally until cooked. The polenta should be thick and feel soft when squashed between your fingers. Once cooked add about 2Tbs olive oil and stir through for a nicer flavour.

Serve and Enjoy!

 

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

(Genesis 2:15)

 Posted By: Natasha Mansour

RAW Fudge Brownie

Ahhhh-mazing!! To think that this is raw?! I was first introduced to this type of slice at a friends baby shower, and to say the least, you couldn't remove me from the food table after my first taste! 

Serves 12 (or 1)

Base:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup almonds
1 cup soaked dates, pitted (make sure that the dates are very soft after sitting in the water for about an hour)
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼  cup carob powder
sea salt

• Process walnuts and almonds in a food processor until roughly chopped.
• Add the dates, vanilla, carob powder and sea salt.  Process again until combined. If the mix is a little dry, add a little water or orange juice (1-2 tablespoons) then process again.  The mix should come together when pressed with your fingers
• Line a small rectangle tray with baking paper and press the brownie mix into it evenly. It should be between 1 - 1.5 cm thick.

Frosting:
½ cup macadamia nut butter / whizzed up macadamias and water to make up 1/2 a cup of paste
½ cup soaked dates
1 tsp vanilla extract 
Pinch of sea salt

• Combine macadamia nut butter, dates, vanilla and sea salt. Process until combined. 
• Spread the frosting evenly over the brownie.
• Place in a fridge for at least 1 hour before serving as it's delish if cold.

ENJOY!!

Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.  

1 Peter 4:9, 10
 

Posted by Melissa Awde

RAW Creamy Caulflower Salad

 

I have fond memories of this salad from my raw days, so I thought I would experiment a little for dinner and 'WULLAH', out came this delicious dish. Well it must of been kind of yummy because Imad my dear husband went out and bought 6 cauliflowers!!! If the garlic and lemon is too much for your liking, use a little less.

Serves 4

 

Ingredients:

1 Small Cauliflower, cut into small florets (roughly between 4-5 cups)

1 cup raw cashews

1 tsp celtic salt

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup + 1 Tbs lemon juice

1/2 red capsicum, sliced thinly

1/2 cup mint leaves, sliced thinly

• In a high speed blender, blend the cashews until broken up into crumbs.
• Add the salt, garlic and water. Blend well until smooth.
• While the blender is still on, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.
• Continue to slowly drizzle in the lemon juice with the blender still on
• In a bowl, combine the cauliflower, red capsicum, mint and cashew sauce. Stir together carefully and enjoy!

"For His merciful kindness is great toward us."    Psalm 117:2 

Posted by Melissa Awde

RAW Chia and Coconut Pudding

A couple of years ago I had a few small health issues so I decided to take the plunge and go RAW. I thought I would only do it for a month, but that month became almost 12!! Besides feeling great, my skin was glowing and I had a heap of energy.

So after baby number 3 (feeling tired, no comments of my skin glowing, and a few kgs to lose), I have decided it's time for us all to do a little more RAW. This was our first raw breakfast into our journey - it was DELISH!! Super easy and quick too :o)


Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
1 young coconut (the ones which are white and look like a type of pyramid)
1/3 cup raw cashews
1/2 mango
1 ripe pear
1/3 cup raw agave
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or paste from bean
3 Tbs chia seeds

• Crack open the coconut and pour the coconut juice into a blender. Scoop out the flesh and place that in the blender too. Whiz on high until smooth.
• Add the cashews to the coconut and blend on high until smooth.
• Add the mango, pear, agave and vanilla and blend together.
• Lastly, add the chia seeds and blend for a about 10 seconds until well blended through. Let the pudding sit for about 10 minutes and serve with fresh fruit and Cashew Cream.

Enjoy eating a LIVING breakfast - yummy!!

"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised."     Psalm 48:1

Posted by Melissa Awde

Quinoa Summer Salad with Sundried tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Corn and Rocket.

This has been a favourite salad in the warm summer months. With all the fresh summer produce available, this summer salad is a real treat to make at the moment. How I wish summer would continue a little longer. Oh, by the way, did I mention that quinoa has the highest amount of protein of all the grains; so eat up!

Ingredients:

2c                    Quinoa, uncooked

4c                    Boiling Water

2t                     Salt

1/3 cup            Olive Oil

1/3 cup            Lemon juice

1 Tbs              Tamari / soy sauce

2/3 cup            Sundried tomatoes, diced

2/3 cup            Kalamata olives, diced

1 x 400g tin    Corn Kernels

1 cup               Red Capsicum, diced

1 cup               Mint leaves, chopped finely

Bunch of Rocket leaves, chopped

  

•  Add the water and salt to the quinoa in a saucepan and bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and let cook for 15 minutes. Take off the stove and let cool for a few minutes.
• Add the olive oil, lemon juice and tamari to the quinoa and fold through gently.
• Add the sundried tomatoes, olives, corn and capsicum and fold through gently.
• Finally add the mint leaves and rocket! Mmmmmm…

Note: I often like to put other greens such as chard, spinach, kale, etc, through the salad with a little cayenne pepper. Substitute ingredients to your taste.

Posted by Melissa Awde

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers:"         Psalm 1:1

Pesto Beans

Basil - mmmmmm! Summer cooking is my favourite as the things I enjoy to cook with the most are plentiful. This dish is so satisfying especially when served with a delish green salad and home-baked chips.

Serves 4-6 as a main.

Ingredients:

2 Onions, diced
2 Carrots, thinly sliced
2 tsp stock powder
4 cups Cannellini Beans, cooked

Pesto:
3/4 cup Cashews
1/4 cup Sunflower seeds
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oi
2 tsp celtic salt
2 cups fresh basil, packed tightly

1. Fry the onion in a little olive oil until soft then add the carrots to soften as well. Once cooked add the stock powder and the canellini beans so that the beans are warmed through.
2. Add all the pesto ingredients into a blender and blend well for a minute until well mixed through.
3. Pour the pesto over the bean mixture and mix through.
4. Warm up the pesto beans but do not let it bubble or get to hot; keep all the nutrients for yourself.
5. Serve over rice and enjoy!

PS) Yes this seems to easy to be true, but give it a go, it's delish!

 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!    Psalms 133:1

Posted by Melissa Awde