Pumpkin and Apple Soup

Before you go eugh, listen up! This recipe is from a very good book (only in Estonian) called "Looduslik toit. Täisväärtuslik elu" by Marika Blossfeldt who also runs Polli talu. Over the time I have tried several recipes from this book and today you will learn more about this soup that I was a bit sceptical about at first, took some trouble to make it, but was absolutely worth the time and effort.

This book is not just about healthy recipes it talks about healthy lifestyle, how to be mentally and physically healthy. Marika talks about food and moods, what causes different cravings, the art of eating as well as how to approach our professional life and relationships. I liked her thought that it is important to develop relationships in life that nurture and leave aside the ones that tire us out.

The recipe in English as follows:

0,5 kg pumpkin, remove seeds, cut into big pieces

1 liter of water

3 leeks (I had just one and it was fine), chop into small pieces

3 celery stalks, chop into pieces

2 tbls olive oil

3 apples, remove seeds and core, chop into pieces

240 ml apple juice (was too lazy to make fresh juice, so I didn't use it at all, just plain water)

1 tsp fresh ginger

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp cround nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Put the pumpkin pieces in steamer with about 500 ml water and steam around 20 minutes. Keep the water from steaming. Remove pumpkin flesh from pumpkin peel with spoon and set aside.

Fry the leeks and celery in olive oil around 5 minutes, then add apples, liquid (juice or water), spices, ginger and bring it to boil. Lessen heat to minimum and give it around 10 minutes of cooking.

Then mix everything together and puree the vegetables. Add some of the pumpkin water if it is too thick. Do not forget salt and pepper.

It really tastes a lot better than it may look and great if you want to finish your day with something fresh and light.

Good food requires music with good vibe like Omar "Something Real" (the sound quality in this video is average, but you will get the point)

Detox Special: Marinated Chicken with Rice

For the marinade:

I grinded about 3 cm piece of fresh ginger root and 2 garlic cloves, then added 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, tablespoon of honey and some olive oil. I cut 2 chicken breasts into small strips and mixed with the marinade and left it in the fridge for about an hour.

The rest of the deal:

While the chicken is marinating I cut some vegetables that I had in my fridge, namely yellow paprika, celery and carrots.

Once the chicken was ready to go I heated up the wok pan with some olive oil and added the chicken which I cooked until it was ready, but not yet starting to get darker colour. Then I tossed in the vegetables along with the mix of water, soya and sesame seed oil and cooked for a few more minutes. I personally prefer my vegetables crunchy, so the vegerables were cooked very mildly. Before removing I sprinkled some sesame seeds.

What makes this dish special in  my opinion is the big amount of ginger root in marinade which made the chicken very juicy. I was surprised myself with the result to be honest, since it was one of those random experiments where you use whatever you have got in your fridge! :))

Last but not least, the chicken was served with brown rice.

 

P.S. the chopsticks are for decoration in the photo, I am too lazy to eat with them. :P

Detox Special: Salmon and Vegetables with a Japanese sauce

This is another quicky that I made during the week. I steamed salmon without any salt nor other spices. Took about 15-20 minutes. Then made a sauce from soya, water, sesame oil, mirin sauce and rice vinegar, which gives the dish a Japanese feel to it. Additionally I boiled cauliflower, which is one of the detox power foods (yet I rarely eat it even though it is delicious) and made a salad from cucumber, basil and goat milk yoghurt. As you see this dish is very basic, the only thing giving it a kick is the sauce, but despite of the minimalism it is very yummy. Sometimes going back to the roots is a good thing! ;)

The Detox Special: Fish and Quinoa salad

 

To give you a better idea of what my detox project looks and tastes like I'd like to share my today's dinner with you in pictures and words. :)

I think this way of making fish is one of my classics. It's an absolute winner every time!

Quinoa Salad:

First make the quinoa as said in the instructions, usually takes about 20 minutes to cook it. Meanwhile chop tomato, goat cheese, avocado, basil. Mix everything together and add olive oil. Done! :)

Fish:

I use fish fillet and today I made bass/perch, but any kind of fish goes really, salmon included. Naturally whole fish can be made too.

First I chopped some garlic and fresh ginger. Meanwhile I heated up some olive oil in a frying pan and added the garlic and ginger, sauted it a bit until garlic was golden then added the fish and covered for 2 minutes. Poured a little bit of water so that the bottom of the pan is covered, added heat so it started to boil, then reduced and covered. Some minutes later I flipped the fish to the other side and let it simmer there another couple of minutes, covered. Then removed from heat. Notice that I am not adding any salt nor any other spices, there's really no need to kill the natural taste of this divine fish. ;)

When I started eating I added a bit of low salt soy sauce and there we have the Merle's version of Chinese steamed fish!

I have to say it's a real quick health-freak fix, because it doesn't take more than 30 minutes to cook (quinoa is the longest to make). Detox in mind I should have of course steamed the fish, but the frying part is really minimum here as well.

Detox

I apologise for the lack of posts, but I am on detox this month (to clean my body and perhaps my mind as well?!) and writing about chocolate macarons is TOO MUCH! Because I might give in to temptation, run to Bonaparte Cafe and gobble up with their yummy macarons or other pastry, the selection there is sickening. When I am in a stronger state of mind I will write about delicious sinful recipes and how to indulge like there's no tomorrow, but now it is not an option.

Perhaps you wish to find out about my detox period food menu and recipes?

Assuming the answer is yes :) I am proud to share that right now I am drinking vegetable juice that consist of beet, carrots, celery and something like horseradish, which gives quite a kick to this juice, I must add! Do try this at home. :))

Fresh juices several times a day are a regular. So I cannot really say detox is a battle and suffering. The only thing that my mind misses (I am pretty sure my boday doesn't!) are the pastry and chocolate and occasionally the dairy products, like yoghurt and cheese (from cow milk). But I have been finding out completely new products like quinoa, goat milk and other dairy products from goat as well as rice milk with added calcium from seaweed. Sickeningly healthy, but its been a headache to make food on daily basis, because it requires a completely different approach to what I am used to. Frying is not allowed, so basically everything I eat either needs to be fresh or steamed.

In short the following food types are off  the menu:

- salt, but some sea salt is ok;

- sugar and any products including sugar, like candies

- wheat, rye, oat products

- anything ready-made

- red meat

- alcohol

- fizzy drinks, incl. sparkling water

- peanuts (maapähkel)

- baking oil

- anything with caffeine, incl. coffee and tea

- chocolate

- eggs

- ketchup and other ready made sauces

- duck and goose, because of the fat

It is also not advisable to eat:

- tomato

- spinach

- mushrooms

- dried fruit

No worries, there's a lot still on the menu.. literally everything that is not on that list and if you cannot think of anything then you need to have a very critical look at your eating habits! ;)