Cold Weather Comfort

I was first introduced to this soup over 20 years ago by my friend Terri, when we began to experiment more with beans and pulses. I was pretty excited about the flavour even then and put it in my 'favourites' bag. I hadn't visited that bag for a long time but returning to a wintery Adelaide from Europe last week gave me a very good reason to check it out. Besides, I spent so much money that it is time to be a little more budget conscious. (The chick peas cost me $4.20, so this is very economical to make).

Chick peas are very good value in terms of nutrition and price. They have a lovely nutty flavour, high in fibre, protein and the trace mineral Manganese. And of course they are the low GI. Chick peas are used in many middle eastern dishes, Tajines, stews, hummus, falafel and a variety of curries. You can buy chick peas dried or tinned and I often used tinned when I am in a hurry to cook something, but I do prefer, when possible to used dried ones. If you are cooking for a large crowd then buying dried chick peas is much more economical, even though you need to add the extra soaking time.

For this recipe, use dried chick peas.

CHICKPEA AND ROSEMARY SOUP

Ingredients

800g dried chick peas soaked in water overnight
1 brown onion chopped
2 large cloves garlic
3 tbls olive oil
1 or 2 large sprigs of fresh rosemary chopped
pinch rock salt
freshly ground black pepper

• Soak the chick peas in cold water, enough to cover by about 5cms, and soak overnight. Wash the chick peas and discard the water.
• Take a large saucepan, add chick peas a good pinch rock salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cover with cold water.
• Bring chick peas to the boil and simmer until cooked. Around 30  mins.
• In a fry pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, roughly chopped onion, rosemary and chopped garlic and cook until the onion is beginning to brown.
• Drain chick peas, retaining the liquid for stock. Add chick peas to frypan and cook stirring occasionally, for approximately 15 minutes. This will get that nice rosemary flavour to the chickpeas. Slowly add a little stock, and get all those nice crunchy bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Put the chick pea mixture into a large bowl and blitz with a hand blender or put into a blender, adding the retained liquid a little at a time until you reach the consistency that you like. I prefer it to be thick,chunky and hot! Check seasoning, add extra salt and some black pepper to taste.
• If you prefer a thinner soup, just add extra stock. 

Reheat and serve with some yummy bread!

Serves 6 

A Traveller's Tale

Traveller returns home from six weeks holiday in sunny Europe.  Eaten interesting and wonderful things, seen amazing buildings and encountered some outstandingly motivating people, including family members. Ticked things off my bucket list.

Home coming is sad, the weather is cold, rainy and wintry. Our beautiful foster cat is very, very sick. Emotionally drained and jet lagged and unable to make food to share with you and since I have been back for only two days, have not yet had time to deal with my photographs.

Over the next couple of weeks, as I delve into cold weather food, I will also bring you some rays of sunshine from Europe. Stay with me, I promise you it will be worth the wait.

I am tempting you now with beautiful, peaceful landscapes and food to die for!

Haltwhistle, UK

Honister Pass, Cumbria, UK

Top of Hadrian's Wall, Cumbria

Wast Water, Cumbria, UK

St Paul's Cathedral from Tate Modern, London

Tomato and Pepper Soup, Warsaw , Poland

Milk Dessert, Dubai

Cheese Cake Dubai 

Asian Tofu Noodles

I feel really lucky! The sun is shining, I have plenty of food in the pantry/fridge and after a few weeks of no exercise due to injury I can put my boots on and get walking again, in moderation. So I am heading out to the National Park for a walk! 

Today feels a little different, because today, is the first day of my 12 month plan. Drop a few kilos, tone up, work on getting stronger legs and ankles so I can do some real walking. I want to see some of the most spectacular panoramas that this country has to offer and that means I will have to work hard to be able to do it.

As part of getting into shape I need to make an effort to ensure my food is low calorie, smaller portions, but still vegetarian and still delicious! I will continue with 5:2 Intermittant Fasting, but I do need to watch my calorie intake more strictly. I will wave goodbye to the chocolate bars - for a while anyway and increase my protein intake.

So here is my starting point! A 5 Km walk and a delicious Asian Tofu Noodle Dish only 390 calories and 44 grams of carbohydrates.


If you usually turn your nose up at tofu, then stop that now! This dish will change your mind because it is truly deliciously tasty and it will make you love tofu.

One of my favourite recipe books is 'Low GI Vegetarian Cook Book' Jenny Brand-Miller and Kay Foster-Powell. I have had the book for a fair time and the recipes are just mouthwatering. If you are interested in learning about low GI food then check out this website. This is a variation of one of the recipes from the book.

Shitake Mushroom, Ginger and Tofu Noodles

Ingredients

150g shitake mushrooms, sliced thickly

1 bunch bok choy

4 spring onions

150g sugar snap peas, ends nipped off

1 long red chilli or medium hot chilli

3cm piece of fresh ginger, cut into lengths plus

2 teaspoons of ginger grated
2 cloves garlic crushed

450 g hokkien noodles

250g firm tofu, cubed

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tbls rice wine

2 tbls soy sauce - I prefer Tamari

2 tbls olive oil or coconut oil
Few sprigs coriander
1/2 bunch asparagus

1. Slice up the tofu and marinate it in a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, grated ginger and rice wine. Marinate for at least 3 hrs to get some flavour into the tofu.
2. Heat the oil in a wok and fry up the drained tofu (keep the marinade) until it is brown on both sides. Place in a dish and put aside.
3. Take Hokkien noodles, place in a deep bowl and pour boiling water over them and leave for 10 minutes, then drain.
4. In the same wok add fresh ginger cut in lengths, spring onions and chilli, fry up for 2 minutes.
5. Add sugar snap peas, baby corn, sliced shitake mushrooms and fry up until the mushrooms are a golden colour.
6. Add the sliced asparagus, bok choy, the remaining marinade, the drained hokkien noodles and the tofu and stir for a couple of minutes until everything is hot.
7. Serve with a few sprigs of coriander and some extra soy sauce.

I added my last few home grown seed sprouts too!