Magenta Magic!

rejuvenate your mind and body with this powerful juice! every ingredient to give you that healthy glow

the beautiful painting in the background was created by justin brown, georgette's father!

serves 1-2
ingredients:
1/2 beetroot, tops removed - full of iron, vitamin B & C, liver cleansing properties
1 carrot, top removed - rich in vitamins across the spectrum: B, C, D, E, K, & fantastic for eyes & skin
4 leaves of spinach - high in vitamin B, C, K, as well as iron & calcium, wonderful for kidneys & liver
1 brussel sprout, top removed - contains high amounts of vitamins B & C, liver cleanser
1 clove garlic (optional!), skin removed - cancer & general sickness fighter
1-inch piece of ginger, skin removed - immunity booster, full of minerals such as zinc & magnesium
2 stalks of celery - calms the nervous system, helps insomnia, full of calcium, iron, phosphorous
2 pears or apples- vitamins B & C, tonnes of fibre
1 orange, skin removed though maintaining the pith (the white stuff, full of nutrients!) - full of vitamin C!

directions:
juice all ingredients in a juicer!
if the juice is too strong, or you want it to go a little further, add water to your taste!
feel the power of this wonderful juice!!!

x

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.

dining with kittens in thailand (lonnggggg post)

Sooo while Charlotte was busy creating delicious dishes in wellington, i went to Thailand and spent some time investigating the mouth sensations there.  In the beginning it was a little difficult to figure out what was what and what was in what, but after breaking through some language barriers and finding a few really special places to dine, i was eating like a king! an animal loving king!

Thailand apparently ranks second in the world of countries that are tainted by immense animal cruelty.

but there are some great people doing some great things, like Sangduen Chailert (lek) who founded the wonderful elephant nature park in Chiang Mai, a place where people help and heal elephants rather than abuse and disempower them.  http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/

I found this website very useful: http://thaiwildorchids.com/environmental_concerns.htm

in other news there are so many cats and dogs everywhere! some look very sick and feral but the locals seem to love them anyway and feed them when they can

but now...onto the food! 

in bangkok i mostly ate the 35 baht pad thai and spring roll

what a bargain, and very delicious and simple too

im not too convinced its very healthy but it was good fuel for the adventure fire

they make it right there in front of you and as long as you specify no eggs, tofu instead of chicken, and the rice noodles they are totally vegan.  This was our favourite lady:

in Chiang Mai the food was splendid, i must admit not all of it was actually thai food, but outrageously great and brimming with health benefits none the less.  I am now planning to move there next year for a couple of months and concentrate solely on being the healthiest being i can possibly be, including studying massage, yoga all the time, and consuming only health and life affirming infused things

here are the highlights:

JUICY4U

5 Ratchamanka, Chiang Mai, Thailand

the best veggie burgers around! the first place we found avocados, after over a week of craving them.  And as the name implies they also craft magical freshly squeezed juices, my favourite was the beetroot, carrot, celery and wheatgrass.  With prayer flags, wall hangings, om symbols galore and a really friendly staff, this place quickly became my morning ritual.

DADA KAFE 

across the road from juicy4u we discovered kombucha tea at the dada kafe

(which i plan to have a go at making in the coming weeks, so stay posted for that!)

(...this site looks rather useful on doing so: http://kombuchanz.blogspot.co.nz/)

and the most delicious thing i have actually every put in my mouth: homemade peanut butter, almond milk, and cinnamon shakes. Also i must add that the mango and avocado shake was also a delight.

 AUM

 65 Th Moon Muang

on our main walking route between our lovely guest house (http://www.giantguesthouse.com/index.html) and our favourite bar we found AUM, an absolute treat. the best we had was the eggplant pizza and the avocado maki (sushi)

CHA TEA HOUSE

Moon Muang Rd., Soi 6

 and last but definetly not least, as this was my favorite place to eat of the whole trip:

the cha tea house. With an abundance of playful and well loved kittens hanging out, two genuinely warm ladies running the operation and the healthiest looking and tasting food i had the whole time, it was hard not to love this place. upstairs there is also a stomach detox massage centre and a nice low to the ground table with cushions to sit on on an elevated deck sort of thing out the front, with indoor plants and trees galore.  the most impressive of all was the summer rolls with a ginger and peanut sauce, truly delectable and only 45 baht! the two soups we tried were some of the best soups ive ever eaten, especially the simple pumpkin and coconut creme one sprinkled with black and white sesame seeds.The ginger tea tickled all my senses and gave me an immunity boost.

so that was Chaing Mai....what a special and for the most part, positive place!

here are some other random food moments from Thailand, i dont know what the places were called that we found them at, but i do know they tasted exquisite. there was pinepple and sticky coconut rice wrapped in a leaf accompanied by noodles in a simple fragrant broth swimming with perfectly cooked vegetables. there was DRAGON FRUIT..the most visually stunning fruit i have ever laid eyes on and then the yummiest samosa i have ever tried by far (with maybe only the exception of our mothers homemade miracle samosas), and believe me i have tried many a samosa.  we found these at an awesome indian restaurant in bangkok and dined here on my last night, or i should say feasted. 

so all in all i managed to remain pretty dutiful to my preferred ways of eating. but you never know, and i did eat a few veggie green curries which i found out later almost always have shrimp paste in them.

here are some websites i found useful:

http://www.enjoythaifood.com/learnthai/vegetarian.php

http://www.eatingthaifood.com/vegetarian-thai-food/

i think before i go next time i am going to do a lot more research and learn to speak and understand as much Thai as i possibly can.  Thailand is amazing, everyone should visit! i just hope that it and every other country makes some vast changes in regards to the treatment of animals. And that people traveling will think carefully and ethically about the things they partake in