easy chili

 

I served this with grated soy cheese, tortilla chips, and salad. (Would be great with cornbread too!) Normally I do a chili with kabocha squash, cinnamon, and cocoa powder, but it was nice to have a more traditional one for a change.

You'll need:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 piman (small Japanese green peppers, chopped (or 1 chopped regular green pepper)
• 6-7 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 kg ground beef
• 2 450ml cans kidney beans, drained
• 2 450ml cans chopped tomatoes (add water to the empty cans to swish out the tomato remains into the chili pot, for a total of about 1 can of water)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Do this: 

Saute the onions, green pepper, and garlic in oil in a soup pot, then add the rest of the ingredients and stir till the ground beef is in small pieces. Simmer about 20 minutes or more if you have time.

Options: 

Substitute half the ground beef with cooked lentils.

Add a teaspoon of cumin if you like it. 

dairy-free turmeric latte + dairy-free gluten-free turmeric latte pancakes

I've been making turmeric lattes (or golden milk) for a long time, but then completely forgot about them until my friend reminded me again the other day. Now I'm making these delicious healthy drinks about every other day! I originally got the recipe from BBC Good Food. 

Well then I brainstormed and thought why not make some turmeric latte pancakes! They were easy and spicy and delicious, and I topped them with soy cream that I whipped with a little vanilla and powdered sugar, then a drizzle of honey. 

First, the latte.

You'll need (for two lattes):

• 350 ml or so of dairy-free milk (I use soy)
• 1/4 t. ginger powder
• 1/4 t. cinnamon
• 1/4 t. turmeric
• 1/2 t. vanilla
• 1 t. honey
• black pepper to taste

Do this:

Throw it all in a pot on the stove on medium flame/heat and whisk till hot and frothy.

Now for the pancakes! 

You'll need:

• 150 g gluten-free and dairy-free pancake or baking mix
• 1 egg
• 1 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup milk 
• 1/2 t. turmeric
• 1/8 t. black pepper
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ginger powder
• 1 T. honey
• 1/2 t. vanilla

(For the whipped cream I whipped 200 ml soy cream with 1/4 t. vanilla and 1 t. powdered sugar.)

Do this: 

Whisk the pancake ingredients together and cook on a griddle or frying pan in a little oil on both sides. Top with whipped cream and a drizzle of honey.

This made about 12 small pancakes. 

Joy joy enjoy! 

sweet and spicy nuts

 

A lovely friend shared some of these sweet and spicy nuts with us on her boat on the Thames last summer, and when I asked for the recipe, she wrote it up in her beautiful handwriting and mailed it to me. It came originally from Gordon Ramsay.

You'll need:

• 300 g mixed nuts (whole, blanched, unsalted)
• 2.5 tablespoons icing/powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• black pepper

Do this:

Mix nuts, powdered sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper in a big bowl, then grind over some black pepper. Tip the nuts into a hot wok/frying pan, then sprinkle over about 1 tablespoon of water to help it all caramelize. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring or shaking constantly till browned. Dump it all onto a baking tray lined with baking paper in a single layer. Put in 140 C oven for 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally. 

Serve with love in a glass jar on a boat on the Thames or in a bowl in your living room in Japan. Give as gifts in jars for birthdays or just as a love-note of crunchy joy.