Pumpkin-Chickpea Blissful Soup

The happiness inducing meal! This incredibly healthy soup is full of L-tryptophan from the pumpkin, a chemical which absorbs your body with a sense of well-being and tranquility!

ingredients:
2 cups of pumpkin
2 Tbsp cumin seeds
sprinkle of salt and pepper
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup water + 1 veggie stock cube
juice of one clementine (or an orange will do!)
1 can of chickpeas

directions:
1. cut pumpkin into cubes
2. coat with cumin, salt & pepper, and oil
3. put these pieces in a pot & add stock
4. after pumpkin has softened (should take 5-10 minutes), add chickpeas & clementine juice, then with a blender, puree all ingredients until a heavenly consistency is reached
5. cook for a further 5-10 minutes then serve!

garnish with salt, pepper, and basil!
happiness with every spoonful!

Get Well Tea

we're fast approaching winter & that means you may be feeling under the weather! this tea is a cold-fighter, so drink up!!!

ingredients (per cup):
1-inch piece ginger
1/2 clove garlic
1 cup water
juice of one lemon
2-3 leaves mint
1-2 tsp honey
1 green tea bag

directions:
1. finely chop ginger & garlic
2. combine all ingredients in a cup & let steep for 5 minutes!

made with love by our wonderful brother hazzie!

Matildas spicy chickpea stew of champions

       

take 8-10 good-sized roma or truss tomatoes, de-core and de-seed, chop roughly and slow-cook in a sizeable pot (usually one would immerse in boiling water first so as to remove skins, but in this we like the tang and the texture!) until broken down, then take the potato masher to it to create a paste. add salt, cumin, smoky paprika, a good amount of cayenne pepper, perhaps some cinnamon and brown sugar to taste.

in another pan, sweat one red onion and a clove of garlic, chopped, until soft and sweet. add to pot with chopped leeks and soaked, cooked chickpeas, about a cup. cook on a low heat for a little while, perhaps twenty minutes, adding water if it is needed to create desired texture.
add baby spinach and continue to simmer until it is wilted.

serve on a bed of couscous with warm pita!

Chunky Tomato + Basil Soup

slurp up a bowl of vitamin enriched tomato & basil soup on a chilly day! this italian-inspired meal will provide you with vitamin A for your eyes, lycopene for glowing skin, plus calcium and vitamin K for strong bones! perfetto!

serves 4

ingredients:
8 tomatoes (we used roma)
2 handfuls fresh basil
1 large brown onion
salt & pepper, to taste
3 cloves of garlic
3 Tbsp cold-pressed olive oil (+ another Tbsp spoon, optional!)
juice of half a lemon

directions:
1. heat up 3 Tbsp olive oil in a pot
2. once bubbles are forming, add in roughly chopped garlic and onion. let soften for 5 or so minutes
3. now add tomatoes, chopped into chunks
4. using a spatula or spoon, crush the tomatoes. keep crushing until much of the juices have been extracted, though make sure chunks remain!
5. add your salt and pepper. we added maybe 4 pinches of salt and equal amounts of pepper, but this is completely up to your palette!
6. add finely chopped basil & lemon juice
7. at this point you can add another Tbsp of olive oil to enhance the flavour, but again this is optional

enjoy!
serve with crusty bread (maybe ciabatta!)

wake n' bake autumnal casserole

baked kumara & lentil casserole

with borlotti & basil dip

casserole:

ingredients:

* 2-3 large kumaras 

* one can of brown lentils

* four or more cloves of garlic

* one can of chopped tomatoes

* a nice amount of tomato paste

* one large red onion

* one cube of vegetable bullion 

* a slash of olive oil

* a pinch of hymalayan sea salt (or any salt you like)

* pepper!

* a bit of soy sauce

* a sprinkling of curry powder

* a generous amount of agave nectar (or any sweetener you like)

* basil!

* bread crumbs 

slice up the kumaras and red onion and garlic and scatter in a baking dish, layer it up!

pour a little olive oil over the delicious vegetables then put in the oven for about twenty minutes.

Meanwhile in a sauce pan mix the can of tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable bullion and soy sauce until all heated together, gradually stirring in the agave nectar, curry powder and salt-n-pepa

soon it will be delicious!  then.....take the baked goods out of the oven for a moment and pour the red sauce all over it and through it. put it back in the oven for another twenty minutes or so.  Then, take it out and put the breadcrumbs and basil on top, add a dash more of salt then return to the oven chamber!

cook for another ten or fifteen minutes.

its really nice with rocket fuel sauce (can be purchased at most supermarkets in wellington)

and.......

basil and borlotti bean dip:

ingredients:

* one can of borlotti beans

* lots and lots of fresh basil

* three-five garlic cloves

* salt-n-pepa

* agave nectar

* apple cider vinegar

* the juice of one lemon

blend all ingredients together in a food processor, or with a slender blender, or if you dont have access to such things, just mash it together with a fork, but be sure to mince the garlic up really fine and shred the basil up. and presto!     

p.s this meal would not have been complete without the generosity of our friend Jono who brought us round a very bountiful bag of fresh basil. thanks Jono! for the gift of delicious greens.