Gloriously Green Smoothie Bowl

I've realized there are few things I am more afraid of than time passing. I afraid of waking up one day only to know that life has passed me by. This may sound depressing, and it kind of is. But I've also found an easy way to amend that feeling. And that is to make sure that each day is a bit special, memorable in its own way. By doing something different every day you don't get stuck in habits that make you go through life with every day being just like the one before. Of course I'm now going to give you a food-related way to do this (because thoughts of food take up probably 80% of my mind): have something fun for breakfast! Mixing up your breakfast is one way to break habits and it also make starting your day so much more fun! Therefore I'm now officially naming this week breakfast week, and I'll try to share as many good breakfast recipes as possible.

The first recipe I have in store for you is a great green smoothie bowl. I've not really understood smoothie bowls until now, but this mix is a bit to thick to drink and is therefore perfect to enjoy in a bowl with some good toppings. It's super easy to make and contains oats to fill you up and loads of gloriously green stuffs to make it beautiful and stock you up on nutrients! Give it a go! Long live fun breakfasts!

For 1 lucky breakfast-eater

½ dl rolled oats
1 date
2 dl water
½ tbsp. chia seeds
½ apple, and the other half for serving
1 kiwi
¼ avocado (you can increase to ½ if you want to!)
1 tbsp. limejuice
4 mint leaves

For serving:
The second apple half
Goji berries
Coconut

Soak the oats, date and chia seeds in the water overnight. If you're smart, do it in the container of your smoothie mixer!

In the morning, add core the apple and cut it into smaller pieces. Peel the kiwi. Add all the remaining ingredients to your smoothie mixer and blitz until nice and smooth.

Pour the smoothie into a bowl and serve with the topping suggested or others that you prefer.

(You can also make a regular smoothie by adding more water!)

Put on 'em cowboy boots, it's chili time!

There is this one thing I am confused about. Is chili Mexican or Southern cooking? I guess the two are intertwined and inspired by each other so that there is no need to give one or the other the credit for this wonderful dish. Wherever it's from, chili is a wonderfully comforting dish! I have a handful of chefs and cookbook authors that shine a little extra bright in my food sky, and one of them is Jamie Oliver. A few years back he published his book Jamie's America, recalling his trips through this diverse and colorful country. In one chapter he had a recipe for a "Cowboy chili", full with the deep and heavy flavors of smoked paprika and coffee. Of course he'd cooked it in a cast-iron pot over a wood fire and served it to some hungry ranchers. I bet he wore a flannel shirt and cowboy boots while making it too, in order to make a bit of a show (it became a TV-series too). I do own a flannel shirt, but unfortunately I don't think a wood fire in my apartment would go well with the tenant and the only hungry person I had to feed was myself, but yesterday I cooked up a chili worthy of having Cowboy in it's name anyway. Wonderfully deep flavors and easy to make, this dish will hopefully speak to the cowboy I know you have living deep down inside you!

You may be skeptical about having coffee in food, but trust me that in the case of chili it lends a great roasted, robust and earthy flavor. I used a fairly weakly brewed coffee (I live in the US after all...) so if your coffee is very strong you might want to substitute some of it for water. Simply add a bit a time and taste as you go. When you're satisfied, add water if needed. When it comes to the smoked paprika, this can vary greatly in smokiness. I've realized that the bran I use has quite a mild smoke flavor and I therefore used the larger amount. So depending on your paprika and how smoky you like things, add a bit at a time of this too.

2 big servings (I may not be a rancher, but I eat as one)

1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp. cumin
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. coriander
1 cinnamon stick
1-2 tsp. smoked paprika
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. chili flakes (more or less to taste)
400 g crushed tomatoes
2 dl coffee (quite weak)
1 tbsp. dark syrup or molasses
1 dl sweet corn
2 dl cooked beans of your choice
1 bell pepper
Salt & pepper

Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Heat a skilled to medium heat and add a lug of oil. Add all the spices and fry for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the onion and garlic, lower the heat and sauté until the onion is soft, for about 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile cut the bell pepper in pieces, whichever shape and size you prefer. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for at least 20 minutes under a lid, so that the flavors can mingle. Taste for salt and pepper.

Serve the chili with some cornbread (recipe is on its way!) or rice or grains. Eat with your cowboy hat on.

A fragrant trip abroad – Coconut milk noodle soup

Back home in Sweden I have a close friend lives quite close to me. He participated in this last vegan challenge and shares my passion for cooking. Back when I still lived at home we used to meet about once a month in his little apartment and have dinner together. Every time we chose a different cuisine, and in his little kitchen that is barely big enough to turn around in we traveled from Asia, to Mexico and Morocco. This is a recipe inspired by one of those dinners. A wonderfully fragrant coconut milk soup that tickles your nose buds with smells of ginger, lime and garlic. Just as a happy bonus the soup is also simple stupid to make!

This is one of those dishes that you really can make your own, depending on the season and what you prefer. Firstly, choose the kind of noodles you prefer. I used soba this time, my good friend made it for me using thick, fresh Udon, which was delicious! Secondly, you can use any of your favorite veggies. I used carrots and cabbage simply because that was what was in season. Also, the cabbage is fun because you can slice it in thin long strips making it resemble noodles. You could go for sugar snaps, broccoli or even a frozen wok mix to make it even simpler (fresh veggies are tastier though). 

There is one critical aspect of serving this soup that I won't allow you to compromise. You have to serve it with fresh lime wedges. This is how you do it: squeeze the juice into your bowl and then pop the wedge in the bowl. This will infuse certain parts of the soup with more lime than others, making it oh so much more interesting to eat!

A fragrant meal for two

2 scallions

1 clove o garlic

½ jalapeno

10 g ginger

5 g fresh turmeric or 1 tsp. dried turmeric

2 tsp. finely minced lemongrass

1 carrot

150 g savoy or white cabbage

1 tbsp. light soy sauce

1 Poblano pepper or small green pepper

3 dl coconut milk

5 dl water

100 g dry noodles (or an equivalent amount of fresh noodles)

300 g extra-firm tofu

This is a really simple soup to make, and once you get cooking it goes fast. So start by getting all the ingredients prepared. Heat a pot of water for cooking the noodles. Slice the scallions, finely chop the garlic and jalapeno. Grate the ginger and turmeric if you're using fresh. Remove the zest from the lime. Finely mince the lemongrass. 

Cut the carrot into matchsticks and slice the cabbage into thin strips. Slice the pepper. Slice the tofu or cut it in cubes. 

When the water is boiling, add the noodles and cook until al dente. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and remove the starch to keep the noodles from sticking to each other. 

Heat a wok pan (or regular frying pan) to high heat. Add a splash of oil and the tofu. Season with salt and drizzle som chili sauce over it. Toss the pan often or flip the tofu over so that it doesn't stick to the pan. Fry until the tofu has a nice browned surface. Remove from the pan.

Scrape out any leftover tofu scraps from the pan and return it to the heat. Add another splash of oil. Add the ginger, garlic, scallions, jalapeno, turmeric and lime zest. Fry stirring often until very fragrant. Add the carrot and cabbage and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the pepper, soy sauce, coconut milk and water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 2 minutes. Add the noodles and heat only until the noodles are warm again. 

Serve in pretty bowls with the tofu. Top the soup with cilantro leaves. Squeeze a few lime wedges into the soup and then leave the wedges in the bowl. 

Back again, with fast comfort food

Finally I'm back from the blog vacation I took after the vegan month. I'm back on track after having a visit from home. Being on my own leaves more time for cooking and sharing the recipes with you. My new plan, now that the vegan month is over is to post something at least twice a week, if not 3 times. I was planning on getting started earlier, but to be honest I've not had that much time for cooking. Tonight actually wasn't that different. I got home late from work, tired and hungry. I bet you recognize the feeling. When you just want the food to magically appear in front of you. Even though it is possible for the atoms of the universe to spontaneously organize themselves into a scrumptious dinner in front of you, the laws of entropy make it highly unlikely. Usually it is faster just to get cooking yourself (if you've experienced the contrary, please let me know!), which was what I did tonight. I ended up with creamy polenta with roasted garlic and smoky fried tofu, all in less than 30 minutes. Better than hoping for entropy to make an exception just for you, I promise!

An easy dinner for 2

The tofu:
2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. coriander seeds
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. dried oregano
Chili flakes or paste to taste
½ onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
½ dl chopped sun-dried tomatoes
280 g firm tofu
2 tbsp. flour
A lug of oil
Salt
Pepper

The polenta:
1 ¼ dl polenta
6 ½ dl water
A lug of oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt to taste
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast

Start with the sauce for the tofu. Roast the fennel, coriander and mustard seeds in a dry pan until they're fragrant. Grind in a mortar and mix with the vinegar, syrup, Dijon mustard, smoked paprika, oregano and chili. Taste for salt and pepper.

Break the tofu into smaller pieces and mix with the flour in a bowl.

Heat a lug of oil in a frying pan. Fry the onion and garlic over medium heat until soft. Add the tomatoes and fry for a minute. Add the tofu and fry until it starts getting browned. Toss often. Once browned, add the sauce with a tablespoon or two of water and cook until the liquid is gone and it starts to fry again.

Time to get the polenta going. In a saucepan, heat a lug of oil. Add the minced garlic and fry over low heat until golden and wonderfully fragrant. Add the water and bring to a boil. Add the polenta and cook over low heat while whisking. It is done when it has reached a consistency you like. If you want it creamier, add more water as you go and cook for longer. Add the nutritional yeast and taste for salt.

Pour the polenta into bowls. Top with the tofu and if you wish some pickled red onions, black pepper and fresh cilantro leaves.