Dairy Free Diaries: Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Comfort food is a big necessity in this cold, wet weather. This rich, creamy, dairy-free soup is spicy and perfect for a cold day - an it only has a few ingredients and is SO simple to make! Butternut squash is one of the weekly specials at Aldi this week, making this filling & nutritious dinner for 4 cost around £1.50. No joke. Talk about a win-win-win.

I'm not fully dairy-free anymore, but I was for several months when my daughter was born, because she had various digestive problems when I ate/drank dairy products. With dairy being one of the most inflammatory foods we can eat (second only to gluten), I often recommend eliminating dairy to health coaching clients with various issues related to inflammation (eczema, bloating, blemished skin, etc). It doesn't have to be a restriction - there are tons of ways to eat delicious foods without giving a cow a second thought - and this recipe is one of them!

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, halved and seeds scooped out
1 organic white onion, diced
1 heaped tsp madras curry powder
2 cups organic vegetable or chicken stock
1/2-1 cup non-dairy milk (I used soymilk)
Salt & pepper, to taste

Lightly rub the cut halves of squash with olive oil, and place cut-side down on a baking sheet. Roast at 180C/375F for 20-30 minutes or until squash is fork tender. Remove from oven, allow to cool, and then cut into 1" cubes.

In a large pot, saute onions in olive oil until lightly browned. Add curry powder and stir for 1-2 minutes before adding the stock. Then add the butternut squash, reduce heat, and cover with a lid. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes, then remove from heat and blitz with a hand blender (or, if you are using a conventional blender, allow to cool first!). Return to the pot, add non-dairy milk, and stir over medium low heat; add salt & pepper to taste. It's that simple! Voila!

Tuna Sashimi Bowl

I love sushi, and it used to be an almost weekly meal for me when I lived in NYC. I love it.  This sushi bowl combines the delicate flavors of sushi with the fresh, delicious, colorful concept of "bowls" that are oh-so-popular. Let's be honest - the stuff you get in the grocery store that is hours - even days old - just doesn't cut it. It defeats the whole purpose of having sushi - the textures, the simplicity, the freshness. But, for most of us, we don't have 10+ years to train as a real sushi chef.  But we can have the same types of flavors, textures, and freshness in the comfort of our own kitchens. Still with me? Let's talk tuna. Literally.

Get the best possible quality fish that you can. Go to your local fishmonger (if you have one) and ask what's good and sushi quality. You might end up with salmon, you might end up with yellowtail. Make sure it's the best quality, and make sure that it's sustainable. Take it home, and whip up this simple yummy marinade!

1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp rice vinegar OR white wine vinegar
1 tsp mirin OR 1/2 tsp honey

Now put it in a zipper bag with your fish, push all of the air out (but don't squish the fish!) and seal it. Store in the fridge for an hour or so while you prep your veggies and cook your rice! I recommend using a short grain sticky rice or sushi rice - it will hold together really well so that you can get a bit of everything in each bite.

Some of my favorite vegetables to prep are crunchy bean sprouts (marinated using the same recipe as above), lightly steamed spinach dressed with salt and sesame oil, and creamy avocado. The sky is the limit - use your favorites and make it sing with color and flavor! Then, take your fish out of the marinade and slice is against the grain delicately. I recommend 1/4" thick slices, using a sharp serrated knife and cutting in one smooth, slow motion. Don't saw back and forth - if you can't cut with one slice, get a sharper knife!

As a "dressing" or topping for your bowl, you can use good quality soy sauce,or mix up another little batch of the marinade recipe. Sriracha or gochugaru (spicy Korean chili powder) are a great additional of heat, and spring onions (scallions) add a fresh bite to the dish! Enjoy!

Meal in a Jar: Roasted Vegetable Panzanella!

Ok, I'm a total sucker for anything served in a jar. There, I said it. But jar lunches, besides being adorable, are also extremely practical for anyone who is meal prepping for a week ahead, or wants to transport a meal or salad without mixing everything together until it's time to serve.

Panzanella is basically a fancy Italian word for bread salad. Yup - bread salad. I took a leftover half of a baguette, made some quick and delicious croutons, and tossed them in with sweet roasted vegetables and a 30-second vinaigrette - tadaa! Lunch (or dinner), any day of the week. If you're entertaining, you could easily double or triple the recipe and serve up a big platter, topped with sprigs of fresh basil. Don't be afraid to improvise using whatever you have on hand - I had some fantastically sweet organic cherry tomatoes lying around, so I threw some of them in, and roasting only intensified their natural sweetness. Such a satisfying and unbelievably easy meal!

Smoked Mackerel Quiche

Summer is drawing to a close, but warm weather still finds its way up North every now and then, teasing us with sunshine and the ability to put the cardigans away for a few days. It's the one time when a filling, hearty, warm meal just won't do; enter the quiche.

We probably have quiche at least once a month in the spring and summer months. The produce in season right now lends itself really well to these toss-it-all-in meals, it's light yet filling, and can be eaten hot or cold (leftovers for breakfast are amaaaaazing). It's the all-purpose meal of champions, with an "anything goes" ease.

I know I'm a bit late posting this recipe but one thing leads to another and *poof* time to catch up on photo editing and recipe posting. Chloe's first tooth came in last week and it has been the most sleepless time in my life since she was a newborn. What a trooper, though. And thank God for those homeopathic chamomile teething crystals (when we finally found out about them and bought some) - worked a charm and I didn't have to resort to using some chemical/painkiller-filled gel in my baby's mouth. Win-win-win all day long.

They say our bodies tell us what they need by the food cravings we have; I was craving oily fish and wanted mackerel, so I must have needed vitamin D and Omega 3's. If you're not a mackerel fan, smoked trout or salmon would also be delicious! And since the fresh pea season has since ended, trust me, frozen will do just fine.

Huevos Rancheros

I am usually not a breakfast person, but this week the little one has had me up at the a**crack of dawn each day, so by breakfast time my body thinks it's time for lunch. Mexican food and I have a long history of breakfast dates, and this is my take on easy homemade huevos rancheros. If you're a bit hungover on the weekend, or just want to mix up your brunch game a bit, sink your teeth into this colorful dish. Just a little disclaimer: this is by no means an "authentic" dish. It's just one of my favorite Mexican-inspired breakfast concoctions - so if you're a diehard authentic Mexican fan, please forgive me! Wink wink :) 

To skip a few steps in the cooking process, you can opt for canned organic black beans. If you're using dried. you'll want to soak them overnight (or, if you make this for dinner, start soaking them in the morning). I soaked 1/2 cup dried beans with 1/2 tsp baking soda in 2 cups of boiled water. Then, before cooking them, I drained the water and rinsed the starchy black water off. The beans were then boiled until fully cooked, drained again, and then finally cooked according to the recipe below. A long process, I know, but if you love black beans (I certainly do), then you can make a bigger batch and use them for all sorts of things: quesadillas, nachos, burritos, etc. Or, like I mentioned, skip it and go for the can.

If you're a spice lover, like me, then a good splash of Cholula hot sauce on top is just what the doctor ordered - especially if you're nursing a hangover. Too spicy for ya? A dollop of natural yogurt can take the edge off. Or just pile it all on and hope for the best. Yum!

Grilled Summer Vegetable Parmigiana

I am a big junkie for the Italian classics, and my love for eggplant parm is no secret. In this summer heat though, those comfort foods I love seem sort of impossible to enjoy. I mean, we want to spend every sunny day grilling in the garden, not stirring a pot of red sauce. That being said, I figured out the perfect compromise of flavor between summer grilling and comfort food!

I would have grilled these outside to give the vegetables even more flavor, but I simply couldn't keep running in and out of the house that day because I had a particularly needy baby on my hands. You win some, you lose some.

Don't reach for store-bought red sauce - please! Red sauce is SO easy to make. All you need is a few cloves of garlic, some tomato paste, a jar (or carton) of good quality passata, and patience. Make a huge batch and freeze it - trust me, you'll never go back to the jarred stuff again! I did debate posting my own recipe for red sauce - I even took photos while making it this time - but I can't bear to part with the "secret family recipe". I mean, if I post my most guarded recipe on here, what is going to keep my family coming to visit me when I'm old? I need to keep something in my arsenal that I can take to my grave. Sorry, dear readers! You'll just have to come to my house for dinner sometime.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Avocado Mousse

I am not a baker. In fact, I don't make dessert much at all, save the occasional batch of ice cream when I actually have the patience and foresight to get the machine ready. I really wanted something cool, creamy, and chocolatey today, but someone ate all of the ice cream (and will consequently be sleeping on the sofa tonight. Humph!). I had a few avocados ripening on the windowsill and thought, hmmmm, let's give this avocado mousse thing a try. 

I sort of improvised and adapted the standard formula to suit my tastes: first, I added maca powder, because I really love the caramel-y flavor it adds, and I've been using it a lot lately in my smoothies. Maca powder is great for balancing hormones, and with all of the post-baby-body changes I've got going on, I can use all the hormonal balance I can get - plus it's rumored to help cope with stress, and what mom doesn't deal with that on a daily basis?

Then I added a big heaping teaspoon of this Pip & Nut Maple Peanut Butter - it's a great, simple no-nonsense natural peanut butter without palm oil or added sugar, and I'm a Reese's junkie so I'll take PB & chocolate any day of the week.

A teaspoon of organic honey and a splash of milk and a few minutes later I had this rich, velvety (with the occasional crunch of peanut, so use creamy if you want it totally smooth!) mousse. It is so rich that I only ate a few spoonfuls before popping it in the fridge to save for after dinner later. Definitely going to be making this one again!

Pink Pasta!

Pasta salad: often we think of a sad bowl of mayo-dressed macaroni, left out in the sun to die at a barbecue or picnic. But that need not be the case! This super yummy, veggie-laden pasta salad makes a great summer meal for the whole family, or an impressive side dish for your next potluck. Plus, it's pink from those yummy seasonal fresh beets, so it's pretty to boot. I'm all about mixing up salads for summer meals lately. I love a good pasta dinner for Meatless Monday (or any day of the week, really) but July isn't really spaghetti & red sauce weather, so I had to think outside the box a little. This dish is filling yet cool and refreshing, packed with flavor, and is a true 'eat the rainbow' type recipe.

In the warm(er) summer months I love to keep fresh pesto on hand. Whether I make it myself or buy good quality, it's so delicious to toss a spoonful into dishes to really liven up the taste. If you're buying it, go for fresh if you can, and make sure the ingredients don't list any nasties.

Green Machine Quinoa Salad

Have you ever had one of those days where your body was literally begging for you to eat a really big, really green salad? I have felt super sluggish lately, which I'll chalk up to having a few sleepless nights with a fussy (suspected teething) baby, and I know I've needed to up my green veg game. Leafy green salads don't tend to fill me up and leave me feeling really satisfied, though, so I turned to the nutritional powerhouse that is quinoa for this job.

Not only is quinoa a gluten-free grain, which is what it's most often marketed as, but it's a complete protein - meaning, it contains all of the essential amino acids that our bodies require but cannot make on their own. Because it's packed with protein, it will help to make you feel full and give you plenty of energy.  I've had an aversion to it's trademark nutty/earthy flavor in the past, but with the dressing on this salad, you don't need to worry about that at all! It's a great starter recipe if you're trying quinoa for the first time. Just cook it according to the package directions, and mix it all up. This salad is best refrigerated for a few hours or overnight, so that all of the flavors can mingle and do their thing, but I ate a bowl straight away and it tasted great too.

"Eggplant Parm" Spaghetti

I love eggplant parm, but my other half isn't so fond of the mushy texture it can tend to have, and I'm not a fan of the idea of breaded & fried food. This meal is the perfect compromise - all of the delicious flavors of the classic dish, paired with wholewheat (or gluten free!) pasta for a much healthier twist. And, if you ask me, it has more flavor than the original!

I really wanted to throw a bunch of spinach into this dish, too, to up the veggie factor, but the stuff at our local market didn't look very fresh that day so I gave it a swerve. By all means, if you have a bag in your fridge, add a big handful or two right at the very end.