A Raw Food Day – an entire day with pure raw organic food. Fresh fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, nuts and seeds – and all prepared in flavourful ways .
It’s a luxury for your body, mind, heart and soul.
And, … it’s super easy to prepare and even easier to clean up afterwards – imagine no greasy pots and pans!
I have been amazed, astounded really, by the power of green food!
Lifestyle diseases can be cured by lifestyle changes!
One of the things I love most about winter is slow food! Food that takes love and compassion to prepare and slowly cooks on the stove while the delicious smells of the dish spread throughout the kitchen.
That is for me, the coziest time! Woolen socks, candle lights, some good music, a big pot of tea and I am ready to cook. Today I prepared one of my favorite dishes of all. Tagine – a Maroccan classic. So intense with flavours it is pure joy and well worth the time it takes to prepare. I made two versions, a vegetable Tagine and because it is my husband’s birthday, a lamb Tagine – with Homemade Harrisa Sauce.
Harrisa Sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
1-3 garlic cloves
3 baked red peppers
1/2 – 1 red chili
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Bake the peppers in 350F for approx. 45min -1 hr. Let them cool and peel of the skin.
Add the de-skinned cooled peppers into the blender – add the garlic, the cumin, the coriander, the salt, the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Blend into a smooth delicious sauce.
This sauce is so good you might just want to make a double portion 🙂
Harissa Sauce
Vegetable Tagine
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 shallots finely chopped
1 bunch of fresh cilantro washed and freshly chopped
4 tomatoes cubed
3 spoonful olive oil 
In a tagine dish fry the garlic, the shallots and the cilantro till it is golden – add to the blender and blend it with the tomatoes ( If you are also making the lamb tagine make a double portion of this)
Set aside till later………
Then,
take your favorite veggies and cut them into chunks. I used:
one bunch of carrots,
one parsnip,
1/2 head of cauliflower,
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
chop the veggies and set them aside
1 can of chick peas – drained and rinsed
Then
Chop 1 shallot
finely chop some fresh ginger so you have 2 spoonful.
3 tablespoons of olive oil.
Heat the tagine dish again, add the olive oil, the shallot and the freshly chopped ginger – saute. Then add the veggies, saute them all and add 1 stick of cinnamon and 1 spoonful of ground cumin.
Add the tomato/ cilantro/ garlic/ shallot mixture and 1 cup of vegetable broth. Add the lid and cook gently over slow heat for 30-45 min. Half way through, add the chick peas.
Serve with the Harrisa Sauce and perhaps with a bit of yoghurt that has been stirred with some freshly squeezed lemon juice, some sea salt and some freshly ground pepper – like this
Vegetable Tagine
Lamb Tagine
1 kg of lamb shoulder
3 garlic
3 shallots
1 bunch of fresh cilantro
3 spoons of olive oil
4 tomatoes or a can of chopped tomatoes
In a hot tagine dish or Dutch oven – saute the shallots, the garlic, tomatoes and the cilantro – add into the blender and blend into a smooth sauce – set aside
Fresh Tomato Base
spice mix
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cumin
Delicious mix of spices
Mix well together to be used as the spice on the lamb – when it has been browned.
Now cut the lamb shoulder into cubes – brown well in a hot tagine/Dutch oven, add sea salt, freshly ground pepper and the spice mix – I used 3/4 of the spice mix – you may want to use it all.
Now add the tomato mix along with 1 cup of broth – cook for about 1 — 1 1/2 hr or until the meat is tender.
Serve with cilantro, lime, yoghurt stirred with freshly squeezed lemon juice and some of that delicious Harissa sauce.
Lamb Tagine
Enjoy!
Have a great weekend!!
I’m well into this adventure and feeling amazing, vibrant and full of energy – it does make a difference, whether I fill myself or nourish myself. I run better on plants than on spareribs and ice cream!
Another thing I think is really cool, is that it is so easy to go shopping, I just head for the vegetable section of the grocery store, stock up on veggies and fruits, and away I go.
Okay, so last night’s dinner had some bread dough left over – which I had covered with a very wet cloth and left on the kitchen counter for the night. This morning I turned on the oven to 415 F, and before having my shower I scooped out the dough onto a baking sheet and put it in the oven. When I finished the shower, the bread was ready – about 20-25 min later – hot yummy bread.
Today’s breakfast- slices of bread served with coconut butter, honey, walnuts and fresh blueberries – and a glass of smoothie made from fresh blueberries, raspberries, a good chunk of fresh juicy pineapple, some frozen summer berries and a handful of almonds. The almonds make the smoothie creamy and filling, the berries makes it irresistibly delicious.
Snack
Green juice and fresh peach
One bunch of collard greens
5 sweet apples
a slice of fresh ginger
1 lemon
Run it through the juicer and serve on ice with slices of fresh peach.
Lunch
Warm kale Salad with tahini, lemon/garlic dressing, pine nuts and red pepper
Ingredients
2 big bunches of kale
one red pepper
2 spoons of pine nuts
For the dressing:
2 small tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons of tahini
1 clove of garlic
2 teaspoons of agave sirup/maple sirup
2 teaspoons tamari
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1/3 cup water
a good squeeze of lemon
sea salt
Put everything into the blender and blend it into a creamy tasty dressing.
Wash the kale and take the leaves off of the stem. Roll up a couple of leaves at a time and cut thinly. Slice the red pepper into strips. In a frying pan, add some olive oil and saute the red pepper, add the kale – saute for a couple of minutes and add sea salt. Serve warm with the tahini dressing, pine nuts on top and some extra lemon for those who like.
Dinner
Summer Paella with vegetable served with baked cherry tomatoes on the wine
One favorite recipe in our family is paella with seafood, chicken and with intense flavors of fresh herbs, saffron,tomatoes, garlic and wine. Today I have left out the seafood and the chicken and made a delicious version with only vegetables. I was anticipating that there would be some complaints, about the missing seafood and chicken, but no, everyone ate and enjoyed.
I served it with a simple green salad with a oil/vinaigrette dressing
I used:
4 shallots
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of tomato pure
200g of fresh ripe tomatoes
200g of sweet cherry tomatoes on the vine
300g of green beans
1 bunch of green asparagus
1 red pepper
lemon
1 teaspoon of paprika
fresh oregano
fresh thyme
1 1/2 cup of long grained rice
1 l. of vegetable stock
a dash of white wine
Prepare the vegetable so that they are ready to go in the paella. Wash and cut the red pepper into bite size, wash the asparagus and green beans and cut into smaller pieces,
Finely chop the shallots – (Shallots have a more intense flavor than regular onions, the limo of onions), garlic, fresh thyme and oregano. In a saute pan add some olive oil and gently saute the shallots, garlic, fresh herbs, add a spoon full of tomato paste and the paprika, add the rice and mix it with all the ingredients, add a good pinch of saffron, stir, add a dash of wine – let it reduce, while stirring.
Now add the vegetable stock and cook gently with a lid, stir the dish every now and them. Depending on how you like your vegetables done you can start adding them in at this time. I like my vegetables just crunchy so I put in the green beans already when the rice has cooked about 3/4 of it time and then wait a couple of minutes before putting in the red pepper. In the meantime, put the cherry tomatoes in the oven – see below. Stir the rice dish again and again to prevent it from sticking and burning on the bottom, and now add the red peppers, wait a couple of minutes and finally add the asparagus, put the lid back on and cook another 3-4 min.
Cherry tomatoes – Turn the oven on at 350F. Place the sweet cherry tomatoes on a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and sea salt, bake and keep and eye on them – for about 15 min keep them warm.
When the dish is ready and the vegetables are done to your liking – season with sea-salt, fresh pepper and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Serve the dish with the baked cherry tomatoes on top!
I must admit I was dreaming of seafood while I was making this dish – but it tasted so good I completely forgot all about the seafood and thouroughly enjoyed every bite!
Friday again – hard to believe!
This weekend will be a relaxed one. The kids are reviewing for up and coming exams and I have two brand new high-beds in my garden that I am going to fill with my organic “baby” leafy greens and herbs.
Before the weekend starts I’m going to give you the recipe for a great dinner we had this week. It is healthy but also full of taste – just love that combination!!
Scrumptious Stir Fried Vegetables with Jasmin rice
I used:
1 big bunch of asparagus
1 red onion
2 bunches of green onion
350 g of brown mushrooms
250 g snap peas
10 baby Bok choy
Chop all the vegetables.
Make the marinade
4tbs olive oil
4tbs hoisin
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs white wine
4 small tsp cane sugar
4 tbs green onion
2 tbs finely chopped fresh garlic
2 tbs finely chopped fresh ginger
Freshly squeezed juice of one lime fruit
Mix all the marinade ingredients together to make a delicious sauce.
Add a bit of oil to the wok/frying pan – stir fry one vegetable at a time and add some of the sauce to the pan just before it is ready. Put the stir fried vegetable into a big bowl. Continue until all the different vegetables have all been stir fried. Add the rest of the sauce to the stir fried vegetables – mix it all together.
I stir fry each type of vegetable separately to make sure they are done to perfection – just right, still crisp, full of color and flavor.
Serve with your favorite rice. I used Jasmin rice for this recipe, but it could be brown rice, wild rice or……………
Have a wonderful weekend!!
Anne Sture Tucker 