Author Archives: The Cooking spoon

Norwegian Health Bread

This amazing bread was originally invented by a Norwegian Pastor named Marksett, and is nothing short of a miracle. Jam packed with nutrients and no flour, no yeast and no leavening whatsoever. Pure natural ingredients for a real bread.
Oats, seeds, olive oil, salt and water, that’s it. The Chia seeds and Psyllium act as binding agents.
A nutrition BOM, so to speak. Full of fibre and healthy fats. I eat two slices a day and I can assure you, it’s plenty and very delicious. Toasted it’s pure heaven.
The beauty of this loaf is that it has to be made with lots of love, almost like therapy. You need to mix the ingredients and leave it overnight in the fridge so that all the seeds and fibre can do their “thing” and expand. Bake the next day. A slow bread if you will, worth every bit of effort.

Freezes well too!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Waiting time: overnight
Cooking time : 70 minutes
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups rolled oats (if making gluten-free, make sure to get certified gluten-free oats)
• ½ cup Pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup Sunflower seeds
• ½ cup flax seeds whole
• 3 tbsp. flax seeds cracked or roughly ground
• 2 tbsp. Chia seeds
• 2 tbsp. Psyllium seed husks
• 2 tbsp. sesame seeds
• 1 tsp fine grain sea salt
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 3/4 – 2 cups water

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine all the dry ingredients, stirring well. Whisk oil and water together in a measuring jug. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick , first add the 1 ¾ water and then the remaining ¼ up if necessary. See how it goes. It will however become a big ball. See picture.
2. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge overnight.
3. The next morning, remove the bowl from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for about an hour before baking.
4. Grease a loaf tin, ( 8”/ 20 cm.)
5. Do not preheat oven.
6. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake at 350° F / 175° C for 70-75 minutes.
7. If the loaf gets to dark, make a tent cover of aluminum foil and cover loosely. Test with a wooden skewer to see if the bread is done. The wooden skewer may be moist but not sticky.
8. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. It should also have shrunk away from the edges of the tin. Let cool about twenty minutes and remove from tin. Then cool completely before slicing.
9. Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to four days, or freeze.

Enjoy!

Myra Xo

Smokey Black Bean and Sweet potato Tacos with Onion Garlic Lime Crema.

5 Replies

To make the Monday less of a drag I’ve decided to make it Taco Monday!
I think we can all agree that Tacos can turn any dreary day into a fun day in a split second.
It will most certainly ease us into the week gently and give us something great to look forward to when we come home from work. You could actually do all the prep work the day before on Sunday and make dinner time a breeze. Soaking the beans is what takes the longest, because the actual recipe is pretty simple, we want simple on Mondays, am I right? If it’s to much hassle for you to soak the beans and cook, just use two cans instead.
Either way, this is some seriously good food to start off the very first day of the week.
And who am I kidding really, we love Taco’s around here and we’ll have them more than once a week without a problem, different flavours and textures of course, and now that I think about it, it’s probably (one of ) our favourite foods.
So these are different, I have added Sweet Potato. and I can only tell you that I kept on asking myself why I hadn’t thought of this before. The sweet potato is just sooooo good with the smokey beans, I mean KA-POOOW!!

Prep time: 15 min.
Cooking time: 15 min. plus cooking beans
Serves : 4

INGREDIENTS:

SMOKEY BLACK SWEET POTATO TACOS
• 1 lb. dried black beans or adzuki beans
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 2-3 cloves garlic minced or grated
• 2 onions
• 2 tbsp. Taco seasoning
• 2 tsp. liquid smoke
• 2 tsp. cocoa
• 1 tsp. hot sauce (optional for heat lovers)
• 1 12 oz. can passata
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro chopped
• 3 green onions chopped
• Himalayan salt and pepper to taste

ONION GARLIC LIME CREMA
• 1/2 cup (vegan) cream cheese
• 1/2 cup (vegan) sour cream
• 2 tsp garlic powder*
• 1 tbsp. onion powder*
• 1 lime juiced
• salt and pepper taste
• maybe 1-2 tablespoons of milk or water
To serve:
• 12 corn tacos warmed
• Shredded Iceberg lettuce,
• avocado slices
• Grated cheese
• salsa of choice or check out this one.
• more chopped cilantro
* I’m using dried onion and garlic powder on purpose, do not sub for fresh garlic because it will not get the right consistency and flavour. The dried powder will thicken the crema in a way that cannot be achieved with the fresh counterparts.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare the beans. Rinse and check beans for any dirt etc. Soak your beans over night.discard the soaking liquid after soaking.
2. Add beans to a large pot with about 5 cups of water. Bring the beans to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the beans are soft, but not quite done. About 45 to 60 minutes. Keep checking, not all beans cook the same. Drain.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Add onion and sweet potatoes and stir. Fry for a couple of minutes and add the garlic, stir.
4. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, until sweet potatoes are just beginning to softened.
5. While the sweet potatoes are cooking make the crema.
6. Place all the ingredients for the Onion Garlic Lime Crema in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add a little water or milk to thin if you like. It will get thicker and thicker as you let it stand.
7. Now add the remaining ingredients to the sweet potatoes except the cilantro and spring onions.
8. Cover and cook another 10 minutes. Add a little water if it becomes to dry.
9. Just before serving add the cilantro and spring onions
10. To assemble, place generous spoonfuls of the sweet potato + bean mixture on top of a bed of Iceberg lettuce in a warm taco. Top with the onion garlic lime crema and avocado, and some cheese or any other topping of choice.

Enjoy!
Myra Xo

Chocolate Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large eggs or 3 medium at room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup yoghurt
• ¼ cup milk
• ¾ Cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• A good pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pre heat the oven to 375° F / 175° C
2. Line a muffin tin (12 hole ) with liners
3. Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
4. In another bowl beat the eggs and sugar together until well mixed, add the melted butter and vanilla.
5. Mix the yoghurt with the milk.
6. Pour half of the egg mixture into the flour mixture and some of the yoghurt mix, stir to combine. Repeat. Gently mix everything together without over beating.
7. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, only halfway!
8. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
9. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a rack before frosting.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING:
• ½ cup cream cheese at room temperature
• ½ cup butter at room temperature
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ½ cup powder sugar, sifted
• 2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals until completely melted, set aside so it can cool a bit.
Beat the cream cheese and butter together until completely smooth, add the cocoa and powdered sugar, whisk until fully incorporated.
Add the vanilla.
When the melted chocolate is no longer warm add to the butter mix. Beat until well mixed.
Using a piping bag and a star tip, frost the cupcakes. I keep mine in the fridge on warm days and also if you don’t eat them all at once, best to keep them refrigerated.
Let them sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before eating, to bring out the best chocolaty flavor.

Enjoy!
Myra XO

Strawberry Grilled Halloumi Salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing

2 Replies

Halloumi or Challoumi or hellim is a semi-hard, unripened, slightly springy brined cheese traditionally made from a mixture of goat’s and sheep’s milk, and sometimes also cow’s milk. It has a high melting point and so can easily be fried or grilled. Originally from Cyprus, Halloumi is generally served during the warmer months with watermelon, due to its refreshing qualities. But pairs beautifully with any kind of fruit. Personally I love it best when grilled. The trick is to grill on high for a very short time, to keep it soft on the inside.
It balances perfectly with anything sweet because of the slight saltyness. Perfect for over a salad.

Prep time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 2 minutes
Serves : 2-4

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large bags of prepared salad mix, about 10-14 oz. / 300-400 gr.
• 1 block Halloumi, drained and patted dry
• 1 cup Strawberries, washed, de-crowned and sliced in half
• 1 or two Avocados
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup sliced Spring onions
• 1/4 cup whole Basil leafs
• 1 cucumber, peeled
• 1/2 cup radishes, sliced
• 1 passion fruit, pulp only (optional)

HONEY BALSAMIC DRESSING:

• 4 tablespoons thick balsamic vinegar.
• 2 tablespoons honey.
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard.
• pinch of salt.
• freshly ground black pepper.
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Get out a large serving platter, plate or salad dish and place all the lettuce leafs in the bowl.
2. Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a jar and shake well to combine. Set aside until ready to use.
3. Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and again each half in half. Then cut into thick slices, so you end up with thick quarters. Arrange on top of the lettuce leafs.
4. Next divide all the radishes on top of the salad.
5. Scoop out the Avocado using a small spoon and place avocado on the salad.
6. Place the Strawberries on top and arrange all the basil leafs, tucking them in here and there so some are still visible.
7. Heat a griddle pan until hot. Slice the Halloumi into 1/4″ slices (1/2 cm).
8. Put the slices in the griddle pan and grill each side for one minute.
9. Place on top of the salad as soon as them come out of the pan.
10. Scoop the passion fruit pulp over the Halloumi.
11. Sprinkle with pine nuts and spring onion slices and serve straight away with plenty of the Honey Balsamic Dressing.

Enjoy!!
Myra XO