Category Archives: Recipes

Our Journey, Recipes

Vegan Kula Cookies

Leave a comment

At the beautiful Kula Yogafestival, where I was teaching a few sessions the other weekend, it was all about community. As part of the community kitchen and sharing attitude we pulled out these vegan treats I had trialled out just before we were leaving – and they were gone within seconds. Several people asked for the recipe, so here it is. Rather quick and easy and delicious with either iced kombucha if you are on this side of the planet, or a spiced hot chocolate for all my Northern Hemisphere friends.

Do not fear extreme cold winters or melting hot summers – Trump says climate change doesn’t exist, so not a thing to worry about! Unless you’d rather believe Leonardo Di Caprio together with 99% of the world’s scientists that action is required… If you chose the latter – and totally acknowledging that not everyone is ready to switch 100% to tofu & co – just reducing your weekly meat intake, especially beef, by however much you can, will already make a difference. #LivingInPeaceWithThePlanet

Anyway, happy silly season, yummy cookies. Enjoy!

The science is clear. The future not.

from Before the Flood

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup nut butter of your choice
  • 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
  • 1/4 cup coconut (or other) sugar
  • 4 tsp lukuma powder (optional but gives it an extra soft-sweetness)
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1 tbsp bicarb soda
  • pinch of salt (bit more if you like salty-caramel-kind of flavours)
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp cardamon
  • handful of cocoa nibs

Recipe

Preheat oven to 180C * Mix all ingredients * Fold in cocoa nibs at last * Spread out to about 1.5 cm height in a baking tin * bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown on top * Let cool slightly * Cut up in finger-sized pieces * Enjoy!

Parenthood, Recipes, sailing with kids

Creamy Blackberry Ice-cream in chocolate coat and coconut snow

1 Comment

Belief it or not – despite the decadent name there is not one nasty in these delicious summer treats. We’ve been going through quite a lot of heat-waves and there’s nothing that brings a quicker smile to my kids’ faces after their after-noon chill-out (no more naps, boo!) than a chocolate covered ice-cream. Likewise, there’s not many things that make health-conscious mummies happier than seeing their kids devour a treat with only wholesome nutrients in it.

111.jpg

INGREDIENTS ICE-CREAM

  • 1.5 cups frozen blackberries (try other berries if you don’t have those)
  • ½ coconut cream
  • ¼ cup coconut milk
  • ¼ cup maple syrup (more or less depending on your sweet tooth)

INGREDIENTS CHOCOLATE LAYER

  • ½ cup coconut oil
  • ¼ cup nut butter (cashew is the most neutral in taste, but use any you fancy or have)
  • 1/4 maple syrup (maybe a tad less)
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¼ cup raw cocoa powder (or a tad more)

SNOW

  • Desiccated coconut to sprinkle on top

TO MAKE THE ICE-CREAMS mix all ice-cream ingredients together in a blender and pour them into your ice-cream forms. Let set in the freezer. Meanwhile mix coconut oil and nut butter together just until one smooth consistency. Add the rest of the CHOCOLATE LAYER ingredients and mix. If you are not experiencing the current Sydney heat wave, you might need to heat it up just a tad so that the chocolate cream is rather liquid. Once the ice-cream is set after a few hours in the freezer (Boat-freezers might take a bit longer…) dip their heads into the chocolate cream and IMMEDIATELY sprinkle with desiccated coconut. It will solidify straight away. If you don’t eat them immediately, put back in the freezer. Enjoy and let me know how you go, including any yummy variations you might experiment with on the way!

Buen provecho – Namaste, Dini

Berry Ice-cream_35

Recipes

Chocolate-Cherry Muffins

1 Comment

One of the things I definitely have been doing more of than back on the boat is creating new healthy wholesome recipes. Although I had almost everything I needed (except space), a heeling, hot galley is just not as inspiring as a spacious open-plan kitchen with a lower working surface so the kids can help and learn and have fun on the way. Here’s our newest creation which emerged out of a week of all-sorts-of muffin cravings:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 cup quinoa flour

1 cup of coconut sugar or xylithol (latter makes it even sweeter)

1/3 cup raw cocoa powder

1/2 tbsp bi-carb soda

2 eggs

1/2 cup soft butter

1/4 cup sunflower oil

3/4 cup coconut (or other) milk

1 tsp vanilla extract (omitable if not available)

3/4 frozen cherries

1/2 cup chocolate chips (chose proper, raw, delicious nasty-free one to make your body a favour!)

RECIPE

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease your muffin cups. Mix first dry, then wet ingredients, then all together. At the end gently fold in cherries and chocolate chips. Fill each muffin cup 3/4. Bake for 20-25 minutes – until a skewer inserted comes out just clean. Enjoy best warm with a spoon of coconut cream!

Chocolate Muffin1.jpg

Our 10 muffins from the amounts above only lasted a day:)

 

Our Journey, Recipes

Gluten-free PECAN CAKE

Leave a comment

 

Given the ludicrous success of my latest dessert discovery during recent BBQs, it is time to share another recipe. While I have been crying many tears lately as we are going through the last steps of Happy Dancer’s selling process and without further reasons I simply miss my boat, my only female company amongst all my boys, my lady who helped me protect my family during long and starry nights, bright Mediterranean sunny days and some uncomfortable storms – I have also enjoyed the easiness which land-life brings. One of them being, a properly sized kitchen with all its gadgets and conveniences.

As such my paleo, whole-some, vegetarian, Ayurveda and sometimes raw food influenced cooking have been mixing with my creative juices. One of the outcomes was this simple yet delicious and easy Jamie Oliver-inspired recipe which is both great in cake or muffin form, with or without the glazing, for a private dinner party, beach picnic or cut into small sizes for a big backyard BBQ.

CAKE INGREDIENTS

350 soft butter

1/3 tsp bi-carb soda

125 g coconut flour

125 g buckwheat flour

300 g ground pecans (plus a few extra ones for decoration if you fancy)

150 g maple syrup

300 g coconut sugar

6 organic eggs

30 ml milk of your choice

 

GLAZING INGREDIENTS

200 coconut sugar (use xylitol if it’s getting too much coconut for your likes)

350 double cream

50 g maple syrup

 

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat your oven to 160 C/ gas 2-3. Mix all cake ingredients and put onto baking paper in your tin. Put cake in the oven for just under an hour – a third of that for muffins. Check regularly and turn off when golden brown and not gewy on the inside.

If you chose to add the glazing, put all glazing ingredients into a pan at lowest heat. Stir until a uniform toffee-like sauce materialises. Pour over cake or muffins. Add extra roasted pecans for decoration if you fancy. Share with your friends, enjoy and let us know what you think!

Recipes

Barley Risotto and a few other recipe ideas

1 Comment

Homemade Pizza_404

When things get touch or feel a bit too full on, one of the best recipes to find my grounding again is cooking wholesome food. Vegetarian needless to say, no need to create bad karma to nourish our body, minds and souls;) As such, our weeks in Crete saw me dig deeper into the Galley than for most of the summer. Here’s a few shots and some of the related recipes. Hope you enjoy that too and please share if you’ve got boat-handy (read easy, simple) recipes on the go!

Vegtrn Cooking_414
Homemade Crackers for kids to pick

SIMPLE BARLEY RISOTTO

For the barley risotto, soak the barley over night, rinse, bring it to boil in some vegie broth, then leave to stand with the lid on. It will cook through by itself without needing more gas/heating. In a frying pan, gently stir fry your favourite vegetables in olive oil. I like to keep them a bit crunchy which not only tastes good but also keep more of the delicious vitamin and minerals alive. Season with Himalayan rock salt and pepper, plus fresh basil, dill, parsley and/or oregano if you have. Mix in the barley and enjoy. For a slightly fancier version, grill some mushrooms and scooped out round zuchini’s (could try peppers and tomatoes too!) with a lid sliced of, then fill these veggies with the barley risotto and serve with a fresh salad. For the fancy salad version, peel a cucumber length wise and wrap it around a salad, holding it together with a tooth pick to create a little salad loop or mandala. Eyes eat too, right? And whilst on a boat, practical and simple are the main mantras, sometimes it’s necessary to check whether some fancy tools still work.

Vegtrn Cooking_418 Vegtrn Cooking_417 Vegtrn Cooking_416 Vegtrn Cooking_415 green lunch_198 green lunch_199

Ayurveda, Recipes

Rawesome Berry Cake

3 Comments

It’s not that I’m obsessed with raw. Not anymore since better understanding the workings of Ayurveda, including at times the need for more warm and nourishing foods. However, when the Doshas are balanced and the circumstances rights (eg a hot summer day as is the norm here in Greece and Turkey), the Prana (lifeforce) and joy in a slice of this creamy wholesome treat are unbeatable. Even more so if the alternative to satisfy your creamy sweet cravings were some processed old dairy version of a Cheesecake or other.


What’s in it for you?
Cashews – This native Brazilian is full of antioxidants, a good source of phytochemical and rich in iron, phosphorus, selenium, magnesium and zinc are only one way to start. What does all that help? Prevents cancer, reduces the risk of heart disease, improves bone health, makes hair colour fuller, prevents gallstones and keeps our nerves relaxed (thanks Magnesium!) and cramp free. And all this is just an intro!
Berries – is almost an equivalent to antioxidants these days, which boosts your immune system, protects your skin and gives your eyes and hair this extra special lustre. Ayurvedically speaking, sweet berries are pitta soothing, thus good to reduce inflammation, too much anger and heat in the body. Both raspberries and strawberries are made up of at least 85% water, plus quite a bit of fibre which makes them a great candidate for weight loss. Their high Vitamin C content potentially reduces arthritis age-related memory loss and eyesight problems, and aids healthy skin and hair.
Coconut Oil – Many people ask me about the saturated fat content of coconuts which they seem to be terrified of. The short explanation to sooth fat-fears is that the triglycerides in coconut oil are much shorter than this fat content in animal fats. This makes it easier to digest, absorb and utilize in the body. Moreover, it stimulates your metabolism and is an excellent nourishment for weak or sick people who struggle to digest the more complex animal fats.
Ingredients for base
1/2 cup of almonds
1/2 cup of dates
2 tbsp of coconut oil
Pinch of Himalayan salt
What do do?
Blend it all up – some like it creamer (blend more), other crunchier (blend less to leave chunks of the nuts in tact). Press into the base of a cake form and put in the fridge.
Ingredients for the creamy layers
3 cups of cashews soaked over at least six hours, then rinsed thoroughly
1/3 cup of honey (more if you like it sweeter) – Vegans use Agave or Maple Syrup (which may make your cake a little less firm)
1 cup of raspberries, strawberries or a mix thereof (I have used fresh and frozen (thawed completely before using!) – both work)
Seeds of 1 vanilla bean (optional)
1/3 cup + ¼ cup of coconut oil melted
Juice of one big lemon (absolute must to give it the tangy cheesecake flavour!)
What to do?
Blend the cashews with honey, lemon juice and ½ cup coconut oil until its really creamy. Adjust the sweetness to your liking, bearing in mind that once refrigerated it tends to taste a little less sweet than when in making. Place 2/3 of the blend on top of your base and put back into the fridge. Mix the remaining 1/3 of the creamy layer with your berries and ¼ cup of coconut oil. Blend until super creamy. Again adjust the sweetness to your liking with more honey if the berries aren’t too sweet. Place on top of the second layer once this ones hardened a little. You’ll have to wait close to an hour or so, unless you use a freezer to speed the whole process up a bit. Once all three layers are in the cake form, place it in the fridge for at least 12 hours before delving into your first slice.
Enjoy, let me know how it turned out and check out some more of our wholesome recipes inspired by vegetarians around the world and all the wonderful places we sail by and practice yoga in.

Recipes

Aubergine rolls with pesto and fetta

2 Comments

You’ve rolled smoothly into Day 2 of the year of the Green Wooden Cheep (according to Chinese astrology). Congratulations. Let’s keep rolling in the vegetarian wholesome galley with these delicious, quick and wholesome Aubergine rolls, usable as snacks, nibbles, entrees or side dish.

aubergine rolls_196

What you need

for a plate (aprx 12 rolls)

1 large aubergine cut into very thin slices

A bowl of soaked cashews

2 handfuls of fresh basil

Half a lemon

Bit of salt & pepper (& tamari & spirulina powder – optional)

Fetta cheese (can be omitted for vegans)

What to do

Bake the aubergine slices in a preheated oven at around 150C for 10min – until soft

Blend all other ingredients but the fetta cheese to a smooth pesto consistency

Fill the aubergine slices with a spoon of pesto and a few fetta crumbles. Roll. Enjoy straight away or keep in fridge.  Keep rolling – 2015 has just commenced;)