As we all know, the countdown has started; the number of weeks and days left until Christmas. I am not counting and prefer to keep my head buried in the sand like the ostrich! Hmmm, that doesn’t last for long because there is the gift buying and the baking that does need to be done. For my family, in the gift department, I keep it simple. Books are a passion of mine (and there are so many out there) so everyone gets a novel and then each family gets a cookbook. Novels are easy, I usually find ones that are used because if the book is dud its not like wasting $32 on a new book they couldn’t read. Cookbooks on the other hand are always new because of the “newest food trend” and too me cooking and fueling your body with goodness is one of the most important jobs that you should do. So here are the four cookbooks that I will be giving away this season as presents:
1. ‘Real Food, Real Good, Eat Well with Over 100 of My Simple, Wholesome Recipes’ by Michael Smith
2. ‘Oh She Glows Every Day’ by Angela Liddon
3. ‘Life in Balance a Fresher Approach to Eating’ by Donna Hay
4. ‘My Pizza: The Easy No-Knead Way to Make Spectacular Pizza at Home’ by Jim Lahey
Kale and Cashew Dip
I still have eight kale plants out in my garden that the deer haven’t discovered. Kale seems to taste better after it has been touched with heavy frost—guess you can say now, it’s snow. If you don’t have cashews use almonds and no tahini use natural peanut, almond, sunflower or cashew butter.
1 cup raw cashews
3 cups warm water
2 cups shredded kale leaves
4 cups boiling water
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra to serve
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp tahini
1/3 cup cold water
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
a dash of hot sauce (optional)
Chopped parsley leaves, to serve
Crackers to serve
Place the cashews in a large bowl, cover with the warm water and allow to soak for 1 hour. Drain and set aside.
Place the kale in a bowl, cover with the boiling water and allow to stand for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towel.
Place the cashews and kale in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the oil, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, cold water, salt and pepper and process until smooth. Refrigerate until chilled.
Drizzle the dip with extra oil, top with parsley and serve with crackers.
Coconut Curry Sweet Potato Soup
Sweet potatoes add flavour and smoothness to any soup. They also cook up really quick and because they become so soft puree easily. I didn’t grate the sweet potatoes, just cut them up in small pieces. This soup takes minutes to cook and the extra bonus-it’s healthy. Double the recipe and freeze the extra.
2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds peeled and grated)
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cans (14 ounces) of coconut milk
2 cups of water
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
A 1-inch knob of frozen ginger, finely grated
2 Tbsp of curry powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp of your favourite hot sauce
Place everything into a large pot and turn your heat on high. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a slow steady simmer. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and puree with an immersion blender. Serve. An extra touch is sprinkling some freshly chopped cilantro.
