Things I love.....

My kitty, Max!

FoodConnect and Clean Eating

A bit about clean eating....

One of my goals this year, and for about the last three years, has been to eat 'clean', whole foods. What started out as an experiment has well and truly become a lifestyle change for the better. There are no rules with this kind of eating except that the aim is for the produce I buy and eat to have undergone as little processing as possible. This means I rarely buy stuff in packets, when I eat meat it's always free-range, I make my own sauces, grow my own herbs and only buy artisan chemical-free bread. Yes it sounds wanky, it's generally more expensive but the benefits for me far outweigh any of those factors. When you think about the environmental impacts of large-scale food production coupled with the health implications of too many chemicals and saturated fats and our ever-growing culture of getting our vitamins out of bottles it makes sense to me to spend my hard-earned dollars on eating fresh healthy food. I have to say that since I've been eating like this I've been thinner, healthier and just generally more on the ball; my genetically gifted high cholesterol has also returned to 'normal' levels - no drugs required!

The magic of FoodConnect

For the past few months I have subscribed to a fantastic new venture known as FoodConnect. FoodConnect is a small, community based enterprise focussed on providing sustainable, locally grown, organic produce that is in season and has been bought at a fair price.

To begin I selected the size of my food box and how regularly I would receive it. There is a handy guide to help with this decision over at the website; at the moment I am getting a medium box every two weeks which is enough to feed myself and my partner for about a fortnight. Anything I don't get in my box such as eggs, milk, bread and cheese, I pick up from my local farmers markets or the Independent Grocers.

Unlike the weekly excursion to the supermarket, FoodConnect select the contents of the box for me and it generally only contains produce that is in season and organic. Every Wednesday (or Thursday depending on your location) I pop over to visit my 'city cousin' to collect my food box. Inside the box is a range of wonderfully fresh and organic produce that has all been locally sourced within a 5 hour radius of the city. This is, what I think to be, the most rewarding aspect of the FoodConnect program; encouraging local, organic farming and paying farmers a decent price for their produce. You can read more about why these types of ventures are so important over at the FoodConnect website, it is certainly an eye-opener and, mind the pun, definitely food for thought.

So what am I eating this fortnight?

Contents of the food box this week included:

• Kale - I've never used this before, have read lots about it and am looking forward to giving it a try


• Fat Goose Oranges - an old fave. I love these oranges so much I buy a bag almost every week at the farmers market to supplement my box order. Nothing beats freshly squeezed OJ.


• Pomegranate - I have a couple of cool recipes up my sleeve for this unusual fruit, one of which I will aim to share on here


• Cauliflower - Another winter staple, stay tuned for Turkey Meatballs!


• Bok Choi


• Carrots


• Apples - Pink Ladies!


• Mandarins - so many that I think I will have enough to make some fantastic mandarin polenta cakes


• Beetroot


• and much more! For the full detail on what's in the boxes each week check out the website.
  

Thanks and happy fooding!

:)

Curried Pumpkin and Lentil soup - Vegan

Curried Pumpkin and Lentil soup - Vegan

A sure fire hit in the cooler months, this deliciously healthy soup has all the creamy warmth you want from a lentil curry, while still being kind to your waistline.

As with the Bolognese I use a slow cooker for this recipe, but you could easily make this on the stove with a large soup or stock pot. The preparation at the beginning of this recipe is what gives this soup such a delicious blend of flavours. When frying spices be sure that they don't burn and you want to cook them for long enough that it starts to smell warm and aromati. This process awakens the true flavours that would be lost if thrown in with the water at the end.

I use red organic lentils that come dried. I don't bother to soak them first because the slow cooker takes care of that, but if I were going to cook on the stove I would probably soak them for a few hours (or even overnight) before using. It is possible to use brown lentils or even what you can get in a can. Just be sure to rinse them thoroughly before using.

I like to eat my soup with a nice thick slice of bread. I purchased a lovely Artisan loaf at the markets on Saturday that was flavoured with potato and rosemary which worked tremendously well with this dish. For maximum yum butter the bread and place under the grill (broiler) for 5 minutes to give it that crunch that works so well with a hearty soup.

Enjoy!

Serves - about 6

1/2 Large Pumpkin*
1 cup red lentils
3 teaspoons of Marsala
garlic to taste
1/2 white onion
1 cup coconut milk
6 cups of water (approx)
1 tblspn oil (I used coconut oil for this recipe)

In a small bowl, combine Marsala with a teaspoon or two of water to create a paste.

Dice onion and garlic.

Chop Pumpkin into small-medium sized chunks.

Heat oil and add garlic. Cook for 2 minutes and then add Marsala.

Fry lightly until aromatic (about 3 minutes).

Add onion and cook until translucent.

Add 1/2 cup water and bring to boil.

Add pumpkin coat with onion mix. Put lid on fry pan and allow to steam for 5 minutes.

Add lentils and pumpkin mix to a slow cooker (I used a 5.5l slow cooker for this recipe).

Add coconut milk and stir through.

Pour 3 cups of water into the pan used to cook the pumpkin. Bring this to the boil, scraping around the pan to ensure any 'flavour bits' stuck to the sides of the pan come off in the water, creating a light stock. Bring to a boil.

Add stock and top up with more water until all ingredients are covered.

Stir through and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Put lid on slow cooker and cook for 2-3 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low.

Serve with crusty bread, a teaspoon of Parmesan**, salt and pepper and a smile.

* I used a mix of Jap and Butternut for this recipe

** Other than the garnish this dish is 100% vegan friendly. A nice vegan alternative would be to use recipe such as this which is a satisfying and relatively easy to construct alternative.