my body is a temple: fried brown rice with greens

at this time of year, kitchen slavery and the excess of rich foods assault the palate and brain: this is your incredibly delicious saviour. 

per person:

1tsp olive or other oil 

50g firm tofu, in 1cm cubes

1c cooked brown rice (preferably refrigerated overnight)

1 bok choy, sliced in 1cm sections (separate white and green)

6-8 snowpeas

1 small clove garlic, finely minced

1cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated

soy sauce and sesame oil to taste

gently fry tofu on medium-high heat for 2 minutes before adding the rice. fry for a further 2 minutes, sautéing gently then adding garlic, bok choy white stem parts. cook for two minutes before adding bok choy greens and snowpeas. reduce to medium-low heat, cover with a lid for one minute, then add ginger, soy sauce and a  touch of sesame oil before removing from heat and serving. 

ahhhhhhhh :)

all you need is cinnamon granola

someone made this on tv last night. my mouth was half full of dinner, yet i NEEDED to make this RIGHT NOW. and since the person who told me about date syrup isn't forthcoming in reminding me what the hell i was supposed to be using it for, this is date syrup's first outing chez loulou. looks like i'll be making more later in the week- half of it's gone already! enjoy :)

2c rolled oats 

1.5c seeds and roughly chopped nuts (eg almonds, walnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds)

1c unsweetened coconut flakes (or coarsely shredded)

2Tbs ground cinnamon 

0.25tsp sea salt 

1c raisins or other dried fruit (cherries, chopped apple or apricots)

0.75c date syrup (buy this from a Middle Eastern grocer, or substitute 0.5c maple syrup or agave and 0.3c pitted dates blended til smooth with 3Tbs warm water)

3Tbs coconut oil, melted (or grapeseed, macadamia oil)

preheat oven to 150C.

mix all the dry ingredients except for the fruit together in a large bowl. add the date syrup or maple/date mix and stir til the dry ingredients are well coated.

line a baking tray with a silicone baking mat, or lightly greased baking paper or foil. spread the mix evenly and bake for 15 minutes; carefully stir the fruit in and bake a further 15 minutes. allow to cool (not completely, just til warm) and break into clusters; cool completely and store in airtight containers.

serve with grated apple and coconut yoghurt!

\

summer tacos

 

everybody needs tacos. much like vietnamese rice paper rolls, these are a party-in-your-mouth, nutritious, joy of a meal, and are pretty flexible as long as you have the outside wrapping and a couple of other bits. coming into summer, i'm not really into the idea of standing over the stove, and with the exception of heating the taco shells in the oven for 10-12 minutes (don't waste time and add heat to your kitchen by preheating- just whack them in and turn it on), this is a no heat recipe! i'm going to try to post a few more of these- as much as salad rocks, i will want more variety over the next few months without resorting to eating frozen mango cubes out of desperation (mmm, frozen mango...)

anyhoo, the tacos: the secret to this recipe is to not cook the beans. just mix in a medium-large bowl

a 400g tin of beans (black, kidney, or even canellini)

juice of a lime (or lemon)

good dash of olive oil

 

what will really kick this over the edge is a teaspoon of a spice mix which can be made ahead- either blend pre-ground spices, but if you can, grind them up fresh (with a mortar and pestle if you've got some issues to work out, or an electric spice/coffee grinder- best investment of $30, i promise!).

1Tbs coriander seeds

1Tbs cumin seeds

1tsp anise seeds

1tsp celery seeds

half a cinnamon stick (1tsp ground)

1Tbs marjoram

1tsp black peppercorns

 

grind to a fine powder, and store in an airtight container.

 

if nothing else, add just a teaspoon of ground cumin to the salad. then it's up to you and your cupboards- add any or all of these:

chopped jalapeños

fresh chopped coriander 

grated carrot 

sliced red onion 

roasted garlic, mashed 

finely chopped semi dried tomato 

toasted pepitas

baby spinach leaves

serve this bowl of salad with your taco shells, plus shredded lettuce, sliced tomato and cucumber, avocado, vegan cheese or sour cream, and salsa (or the cheat's combo- sriracha chilli sauce and tomato sauce).

spa ritual workshop!

very excited about my upcoming spa ritual workshop- guiding people on how to create their own facial products and enjoy a spa ritual!

more info and booking here: https://weteachme.com/ceres/natural-cosmetics-spa-experience-with-louise-fischer

black forest cake for my bday

so it was my birthday recently YIPPEE! i love birthdays- mine, and anyone else's. they are the best reason to make a cake that could possibly exist. my most singular cake love is the black forest cake (or schwarzwalder-kirschtorte) and i've now got a tasty way to make it vegan :)

using my chocolate cake recipe here, add 100g of melted dark chocolate to wet ingredients and combine gently before cooking.

you will also need:

200g sour cherries, drained well, reserving at least 2Tbs of the juice

6-8Tbs cherry jam

1-2Tbs brandy or kirsch, or 1tsp rum or brandy essence- this can be increased to taste (but the cake may not be able to hold more than 3Tbs- experiment!)

300ml carton soytatoo soy whip or other cream substitute

2tsp icing sugar

dark chocolate shavings (optional)

once the cake is completely cooled, carefully cut in half horizontally. in a small bowl, warm the jam, juice and kirsch/essence for 20 seconds in the microwave (just to make it spread more easily). carefully open the two cake halves (this may require the use of a large spatula and a plate- whatever works for you), and spread the jam mixture on the bottom half.

in a medium bowl with high sides, whip the cream and icing sugar with electric beaters or manual beaters (if you're a real gun with a whisk, go for it- i wouldn't chance it. the soyatoo seemed like it wanted to work itself into soft peaks for me, so that's a plus). spread the cream over the jam layer as thick as you'd like it, reserving enough for the top of the cake. you may want to cover the whole cake in cream, or just give it a little hat- up to you.

sit a layer of drained sour cherries on the cream; i set them 1cm apart but would have preferred more cherries, so would recommend a complete layer- cherries all touching their fellows.

carefully place the top layer of cake onto the rest, and top with cream, more cherries, a dot of jam, and dark chocolate shavings.

myaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh yum.........

the cake looks a little flat, but with care can be sliced once cooled completely. maybe if you wanted to go totally OTT you could make two, slice them both in half and stack them on top of each other. ohhhhhhhh let's go there...

i used gluten free flour, which has less backbone than gluteny flours, but i managed to slice and assemble to cake without it falling apart too much.

loulou: first time caller, long time listener

oh yeah; i called dr karl* last week (i've got his home number, see? no- i just called triple j during science hour :D ) and asked, live on national radio, for his thoughts on the safety of using essential oils during pregnancy. he didn't want to touch it with a 10 metre pole, but if you'd like to hear me trying to squeeze an answer out of him, here 'tis (at 25m30s) 

*if you don't know him, YOU SHOULD! he's australia's premier pop scientist :)

knock off vietnamese noodle salad

i miss working in footscray. the waves of alternating smells in each street- mouth watering one second, quickly followed by some unspeakably and overwhelmingly revolting stench; feuding derelicts; the insane drivers; the banh mi (vietnamese baguettes. the only place to go is nhu lan bakery, at 116 hopkins st footscray - behind the market. it's always packed, but the rolls are to die for). *sigh*  

so i make do at home. you can even prep all the ingredients into a really big salad bowl, and make the dressing in a small jar: mix the salad ingredients without dressing, put half the salad undressed in a container and refrigerate for later- then dress what you'll eat in the salad bowl immediately. this helps the salad keep longer (great when it's hot and you can't be bothered making any more delicious food :)

asian grocers have the best, freshest and cheapest ingredients, but most supermarkets will have enough of these ingredients to approximate the flavours if that's easier for you.

the quantity below feeds at least 4, if not 6, for a substantial lunch or dinner (or breakfast, if you're as keen as i am :D ).

you will need:

a large salad or mixing bowl 

a small jar or bowl

500g firm tofu

pinch each of salt and ground pepper

1tsp garlic powder (optional, but makes the tofu yummier!)

500g packet of dry rice or bean thread vermicelli and boiling water to soak

2 large carrots, grated

3c green or savoy cabbage, finely shredded or sliced

2c bean shoots

1 bunch mint, remove coarse stems, chopped

1 bunch coriander, chopped

0.3c roasted unsalted peanuts or cashews

optional: 1-2 sliced tomatoes; 1 finely sliced cucumber; 1c lightly steamed (ie still crunchy) green beans; 1c raw snow peas, cut into 2cm lengths 

for the dressing

4Tbs sesame oil

1Tbs rice vinegar (or white vinegar if not available)

6Tbs lime juice (or lemon)

zest of 2 limes (or lemons)

3Tbs palm or brown sugar

4Tbs soy sauce

1 small fresh chilli, finely chopped or 1 tsp hot chilli sauce (or sweet, if you prefer)

2Tbs fresh ginger, finely grated

1Tbs fresh garlic, finely grated or crushed

toasted sesame seeds and/or fried shallots for garnish (optional)

slice tofu into 1cm cubes and gently pan fry on medium heat with a little oil for 2 minutes before adding the salt, pepper and garlic powder. continue cooking for another 5 minutes until lightly golden- turn the heat off.

in the large bowl, soak the noodles in boiling water for about 5 minutes. stir once gently then drain; rinse with cold water to stop the cooking, drain well and place noodles in bowl. 

add carrot, cabbage, bean shoots, and any other veggies on top of the noodles; top with nuts, herbs, and tofu.

mix all dressing ingredients in small jar or bowl. adjust to taste. if you're saving some salad for later, separate some out now and dress the rest. serve with tongs, and garnish.

suggested beverage: thai young coconut juice

experiments in colour: alkanet infusion #1

in my never-ending quest for safe, natural, vegan colours for lip balms and cosmetics, i have found alkanet (alkanna tinctoria)! very interesting. gives a great, ruby colour that seems to actually stay, and not just give the appearance of colour to a product before it goes on your face in a disappointing way. i'm trying to find solid safety info, but have only found the usual, general stuff - and as always, the non-specific info for pregnant and lactating women. boooo.

http://www.aussiesoapsupplies.com.au/alkanet-root-powder.html (this is where i bought the powder)

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/alkanet.php

http://www.wellnesstimes.com/health-resources/articles/alkanet

check out my (totally not creepy) pics below; i emptied 4 tea bags, filled each with 2-4 teaspoons of alkanet powder (they infuse better if you don't over fill them), and put them in a small, heat proof pyrex bowl with about 100ml sunflower oil. then i put this bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water on the lowest stovetop heat possible (use a diffuser if you can, and keep an eye that the water in the saucepan doesn't totally evaporate). they've been infusing for about 2 hours at this point: i will take the bags out, make new ones and infuse the new bags in the existing oil for another couple of hours for maximum concentration. when i'm happy with the process, i might scale it up and not pack tea bags- just put the oil and powder in the pyrex bowl over the saucepan with water, and strain the lot through a small funnel lined with coffee filter paper when i'm done.

excitement!

the next workshop at CERES is this sunday 15 september- click to book, as there are 3 places left if you're keen to try out this new ingredient!

later that day...:

tried the direct powder in oil infusion, same quantities and time, then filtered through a paper coffee filter. 

the colour ends up pretty much the same- 3-4 hours seems to max the colour out regardless of method. 

the top smear is from the tea bag infusion; the bottom, from the direct infusion. there is more powder matter left in the tea bag infusion (might be because i squished the bags too hard and they exploded a bit), but the coffee filter method is a bit slow when you're waiting for the oil to seep through. will cover it and give it a gentle press in the morning. 

it's tom kha tofu!

this has got to be one of my top ten meals of all time: hot, sweet, sour, salty and umami galore, fresh and quick and comforting. magic.

i think the proportions are very flexible, based on taste and what you have available. a litre of coconut milk makes a great soup, but less can be used without problems.

1L coconut milk

200ml water 

3cm knob of galangal or ginger (preferably young)

1 stalk lemongrass (cut and keep the top half for tea; chop the bottom half into 3cm lengths for the soup)

4 kaffir lime leaves

2-3 red chillis

3-4 tsp black/fried chilli paste

1 large piece kombu seaweed

300g firm tofu

1c mushrooms, quartered (tinned straw mushrooms are nice, too)

4-5tbs soy sauce

2tbs sugar (palm or brown sugar is best)

1 bunch bok choy or other asian greens

1 lime, juice and zest

bunch of coriander

jasmine rice to serve

put rice on to cook.

on low-medium heat, gently simmer coconut milk and water in a large saucepan. add galangal, lemongrass, lime leaves, half the chillis (you can always add more later!), kombu and chilli paste. stir and heat for 5-10 minutes. remove kombu and discard.

add tofu, mushrooms, soy sauce and sugar. cook for a further 10 minutes on medium heat without boiling. after the first 5 minutes, add the greens in to cook. finely grate lime zest into the saucepan. adjust seasoning, then remove from heat. 

serve in bowls: add a teaspoon of lime juice to each, and top with a few stalks of lightly chopped coriander.

More workshop fun!

Workshop coming up at CERES Community Environment Park in Brunswick on:

- Sunday 15 September (learn to make your own natural cosmetics)

- Sunday 20 October (natural cosmetics spa afternoon)

- Sunday 17 November (natural cosmetics gift workshop)

Click the dates to book! Learn how to make your own products (including face masque and lotion), create a spa facial ritual, or make gorgeous gifts for everyone for the end of the year!

the prune and almond friand

meet my tasty little friend, le friand. it may not be known as such in la france, perhaps bearing more of a resemblance to a cake called un financier. all these italics are making me feel slanty, as in, slanting towards another friand. these are an excellent prune delivery system.

0.5c (75g) plain gluten free flour
0.75c (100g) icing sugar, sifted (i wonder if brown sugar or panela would work?)
1.5c almond meal
4tsp (heaped) no-egg, mixed with 2tbs water in a small bowl
150g melted nuttelex
200g pitted prunes, roughly chopped
3 drops each of almond essence and brandy essence (optional)


preheat oven to 140C

sift the flour and icing sugar into large mixing bowl. stir in almond meal, no-egg and melted nuttelex. fold in prunes and essences (if using). spoon mixture into mini muffin pans (silicone is the best, paper may stick) and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown (when a skewer is inserted into centre, it should come out clean). bake for longer if using regular-sized muffin or friand pans.

Natural cosmetics workshop this Sunday!

It's here! Come to CERES Brunswick this Sunday to learn how to make your own natural lotions and other potions! https://weteachme.com/ceres/natural-cosmetics-with-louise-fischer

Mamasita's Mexican quinoa salad

oh mamasita, you are a doll. a treasure, a pleasure! your quinoa salad makes me go kaboom in my mouth. so i cracked open your secret and made a facsimile.

cook 2 cobs of corn in 2.5c water with 1tsp salt for 3 minutes: remove corn with tongs and proceed with cooking quinoa in the remaining water:

1c white quinoa

1Tbs olive oil

pinch of salt

simmer quinoa in water in small pan on low for about 20-30 minutes with lid ajar or until all the water is absorbed. stir gently once or twice to ensure even cooking. once cooked, stir through oil and salt, and leave lid off for quinoa to cool.

in a large serving bowl, add:

2c baby spinach leaves, maybe a bit of rocket

1 flame grilled and sliced red capsicum (or 1c from a jar)

10 halved cherry tomatoes or 2 large tomatoes in quarters

2-3Tbs each coarsely chopped fresh dill and coriander

0.25c pepitas (toasted is even nicer)

zest of 1 lime

1 finely sliced medium-hot chilli

1 finely sliced spring onion

using flameproof tongs, grill the corn over the gas flame until lightly charred (about 30 seconds on each side). slice kernels off with a sharp knife. add the corn and cooled quinoa to the serving bowl, toss everything with a little extra olive oil and a small squeeze of lime juice. savour.

all you need is... tiny carrot cake

0.25c plain gluten free flour

1tsp ground cinnamon

0.25tsp baking powder

0.125tsp bicarb soda

0.125tsp salt

1/2 egg substitute (i use 0.5tsp orgran no egg powder + 1Tbs water)

2Tbs sugar

0.3c grated carrot (about 1 medium carrot)

1Tbs raisins

1Tbs milk of choice

1Tbs oil (macadamia or other lightly flavoured oil is best)

1Tbs ground flax seeds

mix dry ingredients in a small bowl; mix in egg/water, then carrot and wet ingredients. lightly grease a microwave safe ramekin or coffee mug, and use a silicone spatula to fill the container. microwave on high for 1.5 minutes and allow to cool before eating. seriously, that’s it! or you could whip up some frosting in a food processor with

50g silken tofu

50g tofutti better than cream cheese

2tsp icing sugar

zest of 1 lemon

dash of vanilla essence

my gratitude to CCK for this one! http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/04/03/five-minute-carrot-cake-for-one/  

massaman curry

this curry is AMAZING; another one i can strike off the list of must haves at a thai restaurant-cos  i can DIM (that’s right- do it myself)!

this part could be made up in bulk and stored in an airtight container for another time (if you do this, use about 2 heaped teaspoons of powder in your recipe). buy the following ingredients pre-ground, or use a coffee grinder to grind to a powder:

3 bay leaves

2tsp turmeric powder

1tsp coriander seeds

1tsp cumin seeds

0.5tsp pepper

0.25tsp cardamom seeds
half a cinnamon stick

set aside and gather all other ingredients.

2Tbs coconut oil or other vegetable oil

1 small onion, finely sliced

1Tbs fresh ginger, finely grated

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small red chilli, finely sliced, or 0.5tsp hot chilli powder

0.5c vegetable stock or water

0.5 stalk lemongrass, finely minced, or 2-3 Tbs frozen/dried lemongrass

0.25c unsalted dry-roasted peanuts (+ handful more to serve)

1tbs tamarind paste (lime or lemon juice can be used instead)

1tsp soy sauce

1Tbs palm sugar or brown sugar
400ml can coconut cream

200g tofu puffs, firm tofu or tvp chunks (i used frozen vegetarian beef chunks from an asian grocer- great! this place is awesome- lots of vegan and asian grocers stock their products if you can't get to footscrazy)

1-2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm thick chunks

1 small red capsicum, in 1cm slices

green veggies cut into 2cm pieces, eg bok choy, broccoli

heat a large saucepan (8L) over medium-high heat. heat oil and add onion, ginger, garlic, and chili, cook for 1 minute. add the stock/water plus the lemongrass, ground spices, peanuts, tamarind (or lemon/lime juice), soy sauce, and sugar. bring to a gentle boil.

add tofu, coconut cream and potatoes; add more water/stock if too thick. stir and bring back up to a boil. reduce heat to low. cook for 10 minutes, then add capsicum and green veggies (add bok choy 2 minutes before end). adjust seasoning (more soy sauce, sugar, tamarind, chilli or coconut cream to taste). top with coarsely chopped coriander and extra peanuts, or fried shallots, and serve with steamed jasmine rice and/or pan fried roti bread.

weeknight simple: something with roasted veggies

when it's not too hot and you want an easy but classy meal, preheat your oven to 250C and get

a baking tray
1 big zucchini
1 small aubergine
1 large red capsicum
2 medium tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper
oregano, thyme and/or rosemary

slice the veggies into 2cm thick chunks; cover with a drizzle of oil and seasoning. bake for 15 minutes, then jiggle the tray to turn the veg around, and bump the heat up to 280C for another 10 minutes or just til you start to get small spots of charring. when the veg is tender, splash a little balsamic vinegar over, and serve hot on pasta, brown rice or at room temperature on a bed of rocket or mesclun. great as a wrap filling for a quick but snazzy work lunch, too!

happy 30th birdsday, d!