Pumpkin and Pine Nut Brown Rice Risotto

Coming into winter it is lovely to have a hearty warm meal. My sister and I used to make this dish for an organic cafe in our local town. We always made a fresh vegetable stock with herbs from Mum's garden, Celtic sea salt and fresh organic vegetables, however if you don't have time to make fresh stock you can always use a purchased one or do as I did the other day and simply add herb salt or stock cubes to the water. 

Even though you are only using 1 1/2 cups rice this dish will easily serve a family of 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 large leek, sliced

1 medium brown onion, sliced

1-2 Tbs olive oil

1 1/2 Cups medium grain brown rice

3-3 1/2 cups vegetable stock (or water with 2 tsp herb salt or 2 vegetable stock cubes added)

1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt

1/2 gray pumpkin, cut into 1cm cubes

drizzle of oil and sprinkle of Celtic sea salt for roast pumpkin

1/2 bunch fresh coriander, chopped

2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted

METHOD:

1. Oil and salt pumpkin and place in oven to roast at 200+ degrees Celsius
2. Fry leek and onion in olive oil until softened and slightly browned
3. Add rice and stir through for about 2 minutes
4. Add stock and salt and leave to simmer until all water is absorbed. (about 40 minutes)
5. Let stand for a further 10 minutes then stir through pine nuts and fresh coriander and serve.  

  

"With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation." Psalms 91:16 

Posted By: Natasha Mansour

Muesli

In my mad rush to make and freeze some food before our new baby arrived I made about 6 batches of this delicious muesli. This is my favourite way of making Muesli as I prefer it with no dried fruit. You can easily add the dried fruit at the end of the baking process if you prefer.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup honey
4 cups rolled grain (I use '5 grain mix' which has a variety of different rolled grains, but you can use rolled oats or anything else that you may like)
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped ABC (almonds, brazil nut, cashews) mix
1 cup sunflower seeds/pepitas/sesame (you choose the mix you like - I added all sunflower seeds)
2 vanilla pods, seeds scraped out
1 cup dried fruit (optional)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a large tray with baking paper.
• Heat the honey on the stove until it becomes liquid but not boiling. Add the vanilla seeds and mix well. Let the honey slightly cool.
• In a large bowl mix the rolled grain, nuts and seeds. Pour the honey over the mixture and stir through . Place evenly over the baking tray and put into the oven.
• Let it bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes as the honey can easily burn. If you have an old oven like mine, you may leave it in for a little longer. Just remember that the muesli does harden as it cools so do not over cook.
• Take the muesli out of the oven and let it cool completely
• Add the dried fruit (optional)

ENJOY!!

"Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!"

Juice Paradise

 

This is one of my favorite times of the year because we are able to enjoy the different varieties of citrus that are in season. We are blessed in Hervey Bay to have weekly markets that provide the community with an abundance of fresh local produce. Check out where you live and see what is available in your area. 


Adding citrus fruit and their juices to your diet can provide you with many health benefits. 

Orange And Tangelo Juice

Plan daily to make yourself a citrus juice and provide your body with enough vitamin C to help fight infection and maintain a healthy immune system. Oranges have the highest amount of vitamin C.

These colorful juices are loaded with potassium to help reduce high blood pressure and stroke.

Blood Orange Juice

Adding citrus fruit to your diet is one way to increase your dietary fiber. Fiber helps keep the digestive system regular, it provides a sense of fullness without adding calories.

Mandarin And Grapefruit Juice

Blood Orange Juice

Pineapple Juice

Red varieties of grapefruits are especially rich in a powerful flavonoid antioxidant, lycopene. Studies have shown that lycopene protects skin damage from UV rays, and offers protection against prostate cancer.

Limes are low in calories, a good source of fiber, and high in vitamin C. They also contain phytochemicals, which may help protect against cancer and other diseases.

Enjoy your juice today and have better health tomorrow

Posted by Yiannoulla Burness

Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Savoury Lentils and Rice

This meal was inspired by a very popular traditional Egyptian dish which I shall hopefully post once I figure out how to make it properly :)...I wanted something filling, easy and nutritious for lunch and we all enjoyed this so much that I thought that I would share it. It is made up of four components (rice and lentil base, tomato sauce, garlic dressing and crispy fried onion). Don't be daunted by the seperate parts as it is really quite quick and easy to prepare. I served it with a fresh cabbage salad and it went perfectly. Put the tomatoes in first as the longer they roast for the better the taste!

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

For the roasted tomatos

10 medium fresh tomatoes cut into half wedges

1 1/2  tsp salt 

4tbs oil 

1 onion, sliced 

place tomatoes and onion in a tray. Sprinkle with salt and drizle with olive oil. Roast in oven at 250 degrees celcius, stiring occasionally until tomatoes are soft and juicy and edges are browned

For the rice and lentils

1 cup brown rice 

1 1/2 cup green lentils 

2 tsp salt 

4 1/2  cups water 

Rinse rice and lentils and then place in a saucepan with water and salt and cook until water is absorbed and lentils and rice are soft.

For the dressing

4 T lemon juice

4 T olive oil 

4 cloves garlic. crushed

1 t salt 

Mix all ingredients together.

For the crispy onion

2 large onions, sliced thick

oil for frying 

Fry onions on high until crisp and brown.

To Serve...Place rice and lentils on plate and top with tomato sauce, dressing and crispy fried onions.

O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.  (Psalms 90:14)
 

Posted By: Natahsa Mansour

Chokos, Chokos and more Delicious Chokos!

Well we moved to a new home and lo and behold there was a huge, heavy laden choko vine in the backyard. None of us had ever liked choko (or even tried it), but we were not going to waste good food so we had to come up with some delicious ways to eat it. So here are some ideas apart from the traditional use in apple pie and soups.

Firstly we should mention that chokos are very easy to grow, yield a good size crop and are very nutritious. They are a good source of vitamin C and are high in dietary fiber.

 

The young tender chokos are easiest to use as there is no need to peel them. They also seem to have more flavour.  They have a darker more vibrant green skin and you can pierce it with your finger nail. If the choko is a bit older and tougher, you will need to peel it. Be careful as the chokos are very slippery as you take off the peel. I did read that you can chop off both ends and soak them in warm water for a few minutes to take away the slipperiness but have not tried it as yet.

Here is how we came to love chokos and we hope that you do too.

GARLIC FRIED CHOKO

Some Brazilian friends had told us how they LOVE choko fried in garlic and onion so that was the first dish on the menu. However we made it just with garlic and it was scrumptious. We sceptically prepared this dish using only a couple of chokos at first,  in case we didn’t like it. Well, it was a favourite at the table and we regretted making so little. Danny and Marco loved it so much that promptly after breakfast they ran out to the backyard and harvested as many chokos as their little hands could reach. Presenting them to us in the kitchen with big grins they exclaimed “Look Mummy and  Aunty Tashy, we picked the chokos for you.” We both knew that they were hoping for another meal of “garlic fried choko” and sure enough they requested it again the next day!

Ingredients

2 Tbs olive oil

2 large or 4 small chokos (about 500g)

4-8 cloves fresh garlic

1 tsp Celtic Sea salt

Chop the chokos so that you have pieces about 4mm thick (I usually cut the choko in half, then into strips and then cut into three but you can do it as you please).

Fry choko in the oil and salt for a few minutes

Add crushed garlic and continue to stir occasionally until tender.

CHOKO CHIPS

A gentleman at the markets told us that choko chips is the favourite at his barbeques so we decided to try those too. This quickly became Naders favourite, and well to be honest, we were all pleasantly surprised at how good they really were! We have made them several times since.

BATTERED CHOKO FRITTERS - GLUTEN FREE

Finally at a luncheon we were introduced to battered chokos. I have no idea what was in them but decided to make a gluten free version.

Ingredients

1 large choko, sliced to about 4mm thick

1 cup besan (chickpea) flour

2 ½ tsp herb salt (such as herbamere)

1 cup water

½-1 cup rice crumbs

Olive oil and water for frying

Whisk together the besan flour, water, 1 Tbs olive oil and 2 tsp salt to form a batter
 
Use the method below for frying using minimal oil
1. Heat a large non stick fry pan to a medium heat. (the fry pan must have a lid)
2. Dip the slices of choko in the batter and then rice crumbs and place in slightly oiled pan.  

3. Cover with the lid and leave for a couple of minutes, until the underside is browned. 

4. Lift lid and pour 1/8-1/4 of a cup of water in spaces between choko and cover immediately. 

5. Leave until all water absorbed, then drizzle a very small amount of oil on the top of the choko slices and flip them. 

6. Repeat  steps 5 to 7 for the other side of the choko slices. 

7. Finally turn the slices over to crisp up the top side as it may be slightly softened by the steam.

The choko inside the batter should be tender and cooked and the batter surrounding it browned.

Of course, you could simply fry them using more oil but we use the minimal method for the healthier option.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:19)

Posted By: Melissa and Natasha

Pumpkin Curry

 Curries are all about flavor, usually made with a combination of different spices. This dish is packed with flavor and nutritional goodness. There are many different kinds of pumpkin.  I like to use butternut or jap pumpkin for this dish. The flesh remains dry and does not release too much water when cooking which is what you want. Choose pumpkin that has dark orange flesh this ensures a rich sweet flavor. Pumpkin is full of fiber and a wonderful source of vitamins A, C, K, E Also rich in minerals such as iron, potassium and magnesium.

Serves 4-6 people makes a colorful accompaniment to a main dish

Ingredients

625g pumpkin, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
5 medium size garlic cloves, peeled and crushed (If you have a mortar and pestle use to prepare garlic and ginger add a little salt then use pestle)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
1 large onion, finely chopped
8 - 10 curry leaves (optional)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon of salt or to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
2-4 tablespoon light tasting oil, (vegetable, or sunflower)

Method

_  Heat the oil in a heavy based pan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cover and allow to pop briefly. 
_  Add cumin seed and curry leaves allow to saute 1 minute then add onion and cook 2 minutes.
_ Add crushed garlic and ginger cook further 2 minutes
_  Add turmeric stir briefly then add pumpkin pieces and salt, stir until well combined. Cook for a few minutes on med heat then add water, place lid on pan and turn down to low. Cook until done check often it dose not take long.

Note the amount of water may not seem enough but once the pumpkin starts to cook it will release water. The idea is to keep it as dry as possible unless you want a soupy curry. 

ENJOY

Posted by Yiannoulla Burness

Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,