Tag: salt

Quick & Easy: Veggie Butter w/ Lemon Zest & Chives

On By SarahIn Recipes2 Comments

The past week andVegan-Butter_Lemon-Sage a half have been somewhat crazy. I had a ton of prep work to do for a major presentation that I held last Friday and afterwards was rewarded with a mild cold. I rarely get sick nowadays and I credit my lifestyle for that. I maintain a balanced, plant-based diet; try to stay physically fit through Pilates, tennis and long walks with my dogs; and try to enjoy life to the fullest. It is easier said than done. I try not to be too hard on myself and occasionally give myself breaks. Honestly, life is too short to be stressed out all the time. Just breath!

I did not get to much cooking and baking this week, so my post probably won’t ignite any fireworks, but the recipe is still kind of nifty. My sister and I recently attended our annual family fondue, the ultimate meat fest. The hosts had brought a ton of veggies for us. I mean like 6 huge platters full of veggies. I think that they were worried that we wouldn’t have enough to eat. In the end, we were the only ones eating the veggies and barely managed to finish one platter. I felt like I myself had morphed into a broccoli floret, once tea and coffee was passed around.

Well, at the event, a relative of mine served homemade butter with lemon zest and sage. Although it was regular butter, I tried it anyway because I was curious how it tasted. It tasted really good, so I decided to make a vegan version for the blog. If you are invited to a potluck dinner and have little time to prepare something, I suggest bringing this butter and some baguettes. This butter is yet again an absolute crowd pleaser and only takes a minute to make. This butter takes any sandwich up a notch. Try it and be pleasantly surprised!

Instructions

Ingredients

  • 250 g of vegetable butter
  • Zest of 2 organic lemons
  • batch of fresh, washed chives, to taste
  • sea salt, to taste
  • ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Add butter to a medium-sized bowl.
  2. Chop some chives into little pieces.
  3. Add the sage, together with the lemon zest, to the butter.
  4. Mix all ingredients with a fork.
  5. Season with salt and pepper. If desired, add more sage and/or some lemon juice.
  6. Done!

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Delectable Red Pepper Hummus

On By SarahIn RecipesLeave a comment

Vegan_Red-Pepper-HummusDeliciously Ella first introduced me to the plant-based diet. For many years, I thought that the plant-based diet was practically void of any essential nutrients, especially unsaturated fatty acids. Back then, I was ignorant on the subject and couldn’t imagine a life without eating salmon. Gosh, was I wrong!

The first recipe that I made from Ella Woodward’s blog was the roasted red pepper and paprika hummus. Her recipe is great, but I like to tweak it a bit to give it my own flavor. I actually made it for a party that I recently catered and it was a total success. I hope that you will like it as much as the party guests did. Enjoy!

Instructions

Ingredients

  • 1/2 red bell pepper
  • 400g canned chickpeas
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1-1 1/2 tablespoon tahini
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 lemon
  • red chili flakes, to taste
  • sea salt, to taste
  • ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Remove ribs and seeds from pepper and cut into squares.
  2. Heat vegetable oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat.
  3. Add pepper and toss frequently.
  4. Cook for roughly 6-8 minutes until veggies are crisp and tender.
  5. Remove from stove and let veggies cool off.
  6. Squeeze the lemon and then add its juice and all other ingredients, except the veggies to your food processor.
  7. Blend until smooth and creamy.
  8. Once the veggies have cooled off, add them to the food processor with the hummus and blend until desired consistency is reached.
  9. Add salt, black pepper and red chili flakes for extra seasoning.
  10. Finito!

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Super Easy Focaccia Bread

On By SarahIn RecipesLeave a comment

Focaccia with tomatoes, red onion and rosemaryAbout a week ago, I catered an event organized by a friend’s student consulting agency. This was a great opportunity for me to try new recipes for belle and wild. My friend wanted finger food that didn’t require any cutlery, so I decided to make three focaccia breads and four spreads and dips. Obviously, each focaccia bread had different toppings; and the spreads and dips also each varied. What is the fun in simplicity, right? Hehe…

Until recently, I was a complete focaccia-making novice. After trying and tweaking various recipes, I have found the ultimate one, which results in ultra delicious focaccia bread. This bread not only tastes outlandishly good, but is also very simple to make and can be easily jazzed up with various toppings. Feel free to experiment with different toppings. Have fun with it!

BTW, this bread is made with spelt flour, which is loaded with nutrients. Spelt is rich in protein and dietary fiber (21% and 30% of your daily recommended intake respectively). Plus, it is a good source of iron, copper, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, selenium, niacin, thiamin, vitamin B6, and folic acid. Spelt flour is my ultimate go-to flour. It not only tastes great and supports your health, but can also, more often than not, act as a substitute for white flour. There is really no reason not to use this super flour.

Instructions

One Large Focaccia Bread with Cherry Tomatoes, Red Onion & Rosemary

Ingredients

  • 1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
  • 1 3/4 cups warm water
  • 3 1/2 cups spelt flour (Type 630)
  • 1/2 cup whole-grain spelt flour (Type 1050)
  • 2 tsps sea salt
  • 1-2 tsps sugar (optional)
  • 4 1/2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil – go for the better kind, if possible!
  • 300g cherry tomatoes
  • 1 medium-sized red onion
  • 1-2 tbsps chopped fresh rosemary (to taste)

Instructions

  1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a medium-sized bowl. After about 5 minutes, the mixture should start to form and tiny bubbles should be visible.
  2. Whisk flours, salt and sugar together in a large bowl, before adding the dry ingredients to your mixer with a hook attachment.
  3. Add the yeast mixture and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
  4. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic – not sticky!, i.e. for roughly 5-8 minutes.
  5. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to a large bowl.
  6. Put in the dough and coat it on all sides.
  7. Cover bowl with a tea towel and keep it in a warm area until the dough is about double its original size, i.e. let it rest for approximately 2 hours.
  8. Coat the bottom and sides of your baking pan with vegetable butter or oil. Punch down the dough  and place it in the pan. Using your fingertips, stretch the dough until it covers the bottom of the pan.
  9. While the dough takes another break, preheat your oven to 220°C and start prepping your toppings.
  10. Cut tomatoes into rounds; julienne or dice the red onion; and chop the rosemary.
  11. Place the tomato rounds and onion slices on top of the focaccia. Sprinkle with some course salt and rosemary. Coat everything with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.
  12. Bake bread in the middle rack, for roughly 20-25 minutes, until it has a nice golden tan.
  13. Remove bread from the oven. Using a spatula, left bread off the baking pan and place it on a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
  14. The focaccia bread tastes ultra delicious when warm, but tastes just as well at room temperature or completely cooled off.
  15. Enjoy!

Advice: Other great topping-combos include:

  • Apple & Onion
  • Cherry Tomatoes, Black Olives & Basil
  • Pistachios, Green Olives & Rosemary

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