Spaghetti and "Meatballs"

Well, I came across a FB post the other day/week/month where someone had tested out a Vegan Meatballs recipe and really enjoyed it.  I kinda thought... really?? Because meatballs would never have been on my menu even during my meat-eating years, and I kinda didn't see the appeal... 

Well then a week or so later the same post popped up again, and this time I followed the link and had a quick flick over the recipe, just out of curiosity, and I guess that curiosity stuck!  So!  Today was the day to give it a try, and here's my interpretation of an old school classic :)

Meatballs:

Preheat oven to 220C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Gather together:

1 cup raw Almonds, ground to a meal

1 cup (ish, maybe slightly more) cooked Brown Rice

1 tin Red Kidney Beans, mashed

1 clove of Garlic, crushed

1 handfull each of Chives, Oregano and Thyme, fresh form the garden, finely chopped

1 tsp ground Cumin

1 tsp Sweet Paprika

1/2 tsp Turmeric

1 Carrot, grated

Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly.

Roll into approximately 1 inch balls and place on the baking tray, I got 23 balls.

(Optional: I gave mine a once over with a spray rice bran oil, to help them crisp up nicely.)

Bake balls in hot oven approximately 25 minutes.

Sauce:

I wanted to keep this meal fairly simple and classic, so avoided my usual temptation of "how many veges can I cram in here"...

In a saucepan saute:

3/4 cup Rose

4 cloves of Garlic

1 tsp Vege Stock Powder

1 tsp Sweet Paprika

1/2 tsp Turmeric

3 Bay Leaves

2 twists of the Pepper grinder (you could add more or add later to your tastes)

Afer a few minutes simmering, add:

1 bottle of Passatta

1kg fresh diced (or 800g tinned) Tomatoes

Another good handfull each of fresh herbs, Chives, Oregano and Thyme

Bring to the boil and then let simmer, stirring occasionally, while it reduces.

Cook up your spaghetti according to the packet instructions, preferably a wholemeal variety.

Optional garnish:  Cashew Parmesan

1 cup of raw Cashews

1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast

1 tsp Herbamere salt

Ground together into a fine powder (I use my Vitamix dry jug for this).

Served with a big green leafy salad, topped with lemon juice and balsamic glaze!!

Dahl Curry

This was a quickly improvised lentil curry, thrown together out of what was sitting in my pantry one night... but it was REALLY yummy and everyone in the family happily enjoyed their meal, so a win all round!!

1. Onion, garlic, ginger root into blender until a paste;

2. Transfered to deep frypan with small amount of rice bran oil, added 1 heaped Tablespoon of 'Clive of India' 3. Curry Powder, plus 2Teaspoons of Garam Masala;

4. Fryed together while stirring for a couple of minutes until cooked through;

5. Added about 1kg of freshly chopped tomato, stirring while brought to boil and cooked until quite sauce-like;

6. Added a bottle (700mL) of Passata, a tin of (100%) coconut cream, two tins of Brown Lentils and two tins of Red Kidney Beans;

7. Simmer uncovered for about half an hour stirring occasionally.

Served with brown rice and Pappadums :)

Chocolate Mousse Pie

CRUST:
1cup almonds & 1cup walnuts, ground to meal
1 tbsp dessicated coconut
3 pitted medjool dates, blended to paste
2tbsp coconut oil

Combine all ingredients, press into pie dish, put in freezer while preparing filling.

FILLING:
3 large Avocados
3 tbsp raw cacao powder
2/3 cup Agave Syrup (dark)
2tbsp coconut oil

Blend until smooth and well combined, pour and spread into crust & refrigerate!!

Dahl Soup

We love this recipe and tend to make it quite a lot, and I quite often get requests for it from people who have really loved it :) So here it is!!! xxx

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp Rice Bran Oil

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Onion, finely chopped

1/2 Tsp Turmeric

1 Tsp Garam Masala

1/4 Tsp Chili Powder

1 Tsp Ground Cumin

1kg Tomatoes, chopped

1 cup Red Lentils

2Tsp Lemon Juice

600mL Vege Stock

300mL Coconut Milk

METHOD:

Place oil, garlic and onion in a large saucepan and cook (stirring) until they start to soften through (2-3 mins).

Add Tumeric, Garam Masala, Chili and Cumin and stir for about 30 seconds.

Stir in Tomatoes, Lentils, Lemon Juice, Vege Stock and Coconut Milk and bring to the boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30mins (until lentils are cooked through), stirring occasionally to prevent any lentils from settling and burning on the bottom.

Enjoy!!

Sweet Chai Spiced Coconut Rice

This is my favourite desert at the moment... so easy to make, so tasty, and not *too* unhealthful either! (Well, as far as desserts go...)

3 cups of cooked brown rice

1 tin Ayam brand Coconut Cream (100% coconut extract)

3 Tbsp Coconut Palm Sugar

2 tsp ground Ginger

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1 tsp Cardamom pods

1/2 tsp ground Cloves

Place all ingredients into a small saucepan, stir to combine and bring slowly to simmer. Allow to simmer, stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes.

Serve warm and enjoy!!!