Here I am with another weird one, this time from Sudan. This dish sounds bizarre, but is actually quite tasty and filling. I ended up eating half for lunch one day as pictured, and spread the other half over some thinly sliced deli roast beef in a sandwich with mayo the second day. Ah-may-zing. I will have to make this again!
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan
Peanut Butter Onion Salad Toast
1 small red onion, sliced wafer thin
2 Tbsp no sugar added peanut butter – crunchy is great here
1-2 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Add your thinly sliced onion to a bowl and cover with cold water. Massage with a generous pinch salt and let soak 20 minutes.
Drain well and add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well to combine.
This is a good one. One of my girlfriends shared the recipe, and she was right – this is a breakfast to look forward to.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan
Overnight Protein Cheesecake Breakfast
1.5 medium bananas (about 120g)
60g quick oats
1 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp ground cinnamon
Big pinch salt
145g package vegan cream cheese (if your cream cheese will soften, soften it – I did not and I had lumps)
120g Skyr or Greek style vegan yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon – about 1 – 3 Tbsp, depending on your dairy and how tart you want your cheesecake
4 servings your favorite plain protein powder
125g package blueberries
1 tsp vanilla
Mash your banana with the oats, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt.
Mush into the bottom of 4 containers (or 1 big one and cut into 1/4 to serve).
Mix the cream cheese, yogurt, lemon juice, protein powder and vanilla together until smooth (or as smooth as you can get it – see above). Fold in the blueberries.
Distribute evenly to the containers and spread in a thick layer.
I was super shocked when this side was a huge hit with an International audience this Thanksgiving. I warned everyone that came that I had gotten carried away and spiced things to my taste – but … they still liked it. Aussies, French and Brits alike. 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
This side wasn’t the star my husband’s bourbon ham was (to be expected) … oooor the Chipotle sweet potatoes I 100% forgot to write any kind of recipe down for – but they were loved. I’ll take the win!
Boooooooooo – this picture sucks, but I forgot in the serving rush to take a better and didn’t end up with leftovers to shoot.
Chinese Mustard Brussels
1.5 lbs brussels sprouts, washed, de-stemmed and quartered
2 Tbsp mustard oil
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
2 Tbsp Chinese mustard
4 Tbsp sesame seeds
4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp red chili flakes
Salt & white pepper
First, prep your Brussels by washing them, cutting off the stem ends and quartering.
Preheat your air fryer on 400 for 3 minutes.
Toss the prepped Brussels with the oils, vinegar, paprika, and generous sprinkles salt & white pepper.
Air fry, tossing a few times, until nicely browned – about 15 mins.
When nice and roasted, toss with the mustard, sesame seeds, nutritional yeast and chili flakes to serve.
This deeply-spiced potato hash is great for a quick weeknight dinner – or as the centerpiece of a nice brunch. Serve with eggs, chicken, sausages, or leftover shawarma meat for a nice protein boost.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan
Mediterranean Spiced Hash
3 small yellow potatoes, chopped fine
2 big hand fulls okra (or asparagus, or green beans – whichever you can find), sliced into rounds
Big hand full cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small cucumber, chopped fine
Big hand parsley, chopped fine
1 red onion, diced (about 1/3 c)
Neutral oil
Stock or water + chicken flavoring (I used Magic Sarap)
4 Tbsp zaatar
2 tsp sumac or lemon powder
2 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp smoked or sweet paprika
1 Tbsp garlic powder
Salt & pepper
Squeeze lemon juice
In a large pan over medium/medium-high, heat a couple turns oil. Add the potatoes and onion once chopped and sauté until beginning to soften, cutting the heat down if things start to get too brown.
Add the okra (or other veg) and stir a minute or so.
Add 1/4 c of the stock or seasoned water. Stir.
Add all the spices + generous lashes of salt and pepper.
Stir frequently, adding more water if your mix dries out and starts to burn, until the potatoes are cooked through and your okra de-slimes. Your potatoes will look super spiced and a sort of gravy will form. This is what you want.
To finish, toss with the cucumber, parsley and tomato. Taste and hit with a little lemon juice, salt or pepper if needed.
Serves 3 – 4, depending upon what you pair it with
This is a fantastically versatile couscous dish popular at Eid (fortuitous since I made it on what turned out to be the first day of the holiday celebration).
My version is vegetarian and much simpler than the original – a version of which can be found here. I served mine topped with last week’s tfaya dressing as written the first night and added a splash of lemon zest the next for an even brighter taste.
vegetarian, vegan
A Riff On Moroccan Bidaoui Couscous
The Cous
1 cup couscous
2 cups good broth (I used a nice veggie broth)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp ghee or butter
Generous sprinkle salt & pepper
2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 cup chopped parsley
The Veggies
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
4 Roma tomatoes, quartered
2 large carrots, chopped
1/2 small butternut squash
4 small zucchini, chopped
Spice Mix
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cayenne
Topper
Tfaya dressing
Slivered almonds
Preheat your oven to 400C/345F and prepare a baking sheet.
Chop your veggies into large pieces and set on the sheet. For the butternut, scoop the seeds and slice into thick half moons.
Sprinkle the spice mix over all, hit with generous salt & pepper and drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil.
Bake 25 – 35 minutes or until your desired brownness is reached.
Scoop the butternut out of the peels and chop. Set all aside while you make the couscous.
Put the couscous in a large bowl, add the turmeric and butter and pour the boiling stock over top. Let sit, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and toss with salt, pepper, olive oil, and parsley.
To serve, top the couscous with the roasted veggies and sprinkle all with slivered almonds & last week’s Tfaya dressing.
Although it is not, regrettably, high mango season where I live – I just couldn’t resist some particularly tantalizing ruby red beauties in the grocery last week. Here, we are starting to dread the summer heat – while hanging on to every last shred of cool weather (and the winds they bring). I thought a nice, refreshing salad was just the thing to combat those spring ‘I’m not ready for surface of the sun temps’ blues.
gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan
Mango Chive Salad
1 large mango (if you’ve got a big boy, or 2 smaller), skinned and chopped
3 small Persian cucumbers or 1 large English variety
1/4 c chives, snipped
1 jalapeño, seeded
1/4 c pepitas
2 Tbsp lemon juice (or more to taste)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp your favorite mustard (I used Dijon, but my love – grainy Maille – would also be great here)
2 tsp honey, agave or date molasses
2 Tbsp your favorite neutral oil (or neutral-ish; I used olive)
2 tsp any fruit vinegar (I used ume plum)
1 red bell pepper
Optional add-ins for bulk: Hand full simply stir-fried snow peas, 1/4 – 1/2 avocado per serving
Optional add-ins for protein: rotisserie chicken, shrimp or sesame tofu
Chop the cucumber into bite-sized pieces and add to a large bowl.
Chop and add the red pepper & half the jalapeño and add to the bowl.
Snip the chives into small bits and add.
Add half the mango (I had a big boy so I added about a cup and a half, reserving about half a cup of mango for the dressing).
Toss all and set aside.
In the carafe of your blender, add: the other 1/2 cup or so of mango, the second half of the jalapeño, garlic, pepitas, lemon juice, mustard, sweetener, oil, and vinegar. Whiz to combine. Salt to taste.
Toss the salad with the dressing and any add-ins. Whack with a sprinkle flaky salt & black pepper to finish.
Serves 2 as a big meal-sized salad; 4 if you’re adding in the proteins & bulk items
Gastography 