With temperatures rising I also seem to be getting into the mood for soups. As weird as that may seem. They are such an easy dish to make, perfect for an evening where not much time is at hand to cook dinner.

Do you cook dinner every night? I’m putting a real effort into having regular home-cooked meals. Combined with a bowl of fresh salad from the garden. It just feels so good to nourish my body and soul with fresh vegetables. Even though sometimes it’s a bit of a burden, having to prepare yet another meal. But once I sit there and enjoy the delicious and nutritious flavours, I am glad that I made the effort.

This soup is one of those recipes that can be easily and quickly made. And you can view it as a base for other vegetables. Once you get into the habit, it’s easy as to cook it up. I love how it is vegan and gluten-free but also nut-free, which makes it light and not too filling

Print

Creamy Broccoli Soup with Roasted Pumpkin (Vegan, Gluten-free, Nut-free)

This vegan broccoli soup is one of those recipes that can be easily and quickly made. And you can view it as a base for other vegetables.

Course Soup

Cuisine German

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword Creamy, nut-free, Pumpkin, Soup, soy-free

Servings 2 large portions

Equipment

• stick-blender

Ingredients

• 400 g pumpkin
• 1 small onion finely diced
• 1 to 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoon rice flour
• 400 ml coconut cream
• 1/2 cup water
• 300 g broccoli or more if you like
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder or more if you like
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 190° (top-/bottom heat). Chop pumpkin into little cubes.
• Place pumpkin cubes on lined baking tray. Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt. Bake until soft and slightly browning (approx. 30 minutes).
• In the meantime, saute the onion in a medium sized pot, either using cooking oil or a small amount of water.
• When the onion has softened and turns slightly golden, add minced garlic and let cook for another minute.
• Sprinkle with rice flour and quickly stir to combine. Pour in the coconut cream and 1/2 cup water. Add ground nutmeg, salt and chili. Bring to the boil.
• Once it simmers, add the broccoli and let cook on low heat until it softens a little (I prefer not to overcook it). Blend it with a stick blender. Serve with the roasted pumpkin.

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

This burger recipe is as always vegan and gluten-free but can also be made without using any oil. The secret is the super quality non-stick frying pan. And patience. Because you need to cook these burgers slowly on low-heat from both sides. And if you let them cool down and heat them up the next day or so, they will be even better. Because they will hardly squish or fall apart

This recipes makes a good batch of about 10 burger patties, ideal to be frozen and whipped out when needed. And as I said above, they will then have an even better texture, eg not falling apart or squishing out of your burger bun

The burgers taste amazing with this raw radish dip. You gotta try it

Makes approx. 10 burger patties:

1 broccoli
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can kidney beans (or other beans)
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoon tahini or nut-butter
1 tablespoon mushroom powder (alternatively any flour)
1 tablespoon psyllium fiber husk
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground chilli (optional)
approx. 10 drops liquid smoke (alternatively 1 teaspoon smoked paprika)

1 tablespoon water, only if needed

Preparation:

1. Chop the broccoli very, very fine. Transfer to a bowl, sprinkle with salt and let sit for at least one hour (or in the fridge overnight).

2. Add the beans and mash them with a potato masher. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

3. It should become a thick mixture that is easily shaped into patties. If it should be too dry, add a tiny bit of water.

4. Preheat the frying pan. Form and place patties into the frying pan, pressing them lightly. Cook on low heat for approx. 30 minutes before flipping them over. Press them lightly into the frying pan again and cook for another 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Please note: To do this without any oil you will need a very good non-stick frying pan.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Soups are amazing, winter or summer! They are super easy to make, offer a whole bunch of variation and allow to pack them with lots of healthy stuff.

Dark leafy greens are one of my favourite ‘superfoods’, they are loaded with important nutrients and should be part in a healthy diet. I love them in my breakfast smoothie, but they are also amazing in soups. And lets face it, it isn’t that easy to have a good daily amount in our meals. But with this green power soup you can quickly add dark leafy greens to your lunch or dinner

For 4 portions you’ll need:

400g kumara (sweet potato, alternatively normal potato)
1 broccoli
1 onion
1 big bunch leafy greens of your choice (kale, chard etc.)
1-2 cups green peas

1 tablespoon coconut oil  (for low-fat option use water instead)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
salt & pepper to taste
4 cups water

Preparation:

1. Peel sweet potato and cut into even sized chunks. Peel and chop onion into small cubes.

2. Heat  coconut oil (or water) in pot and cook onion until golden brown. Add cumin seeds, 4 cups water and sweet potato and bring to the boil. Let simmer until softish (approx. 5 minutes).

3. In the meantime cut the broccoli in smaller chunks. Add to the pot when the sweet potato is softish. Let simmer for a few minutes until slightly tender. Don’t overcook.

4. When broccoli is tender, take off stove and add the dark leafy greens. Stir them into the soup until wilted. Then use a stick blender to blend until smooth.

5. Add green peas and salt & pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Here in New Zealand it is getting really cold at the moment. Another good reason to cook up something spicy that warms you up!

I have used only green veges in this recipe but you can use it as a base for any kind of seasonal produce. You can also try different spices. Enjoy!

For 2 big portions you’ll need:

1 small broccoli
2 courgettes
1-2 green capsicums
1/2 onion
1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon whole coriander
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
some fresh (or dry) chilli
2 teaspoon ground turmeric
salt to taste

1 can coconut milk

Preparation:

1. Cut the broccoli into bite sized pieces. You can use the trunk also, after peeling off the thick skin. Chop the courgettes into slices. Halve the capsicums and remove the seeds and stalk. Cut them into strips or chunks.

2. Peel and chop the onion into small cubes. Peel and mince the garlic into a small container to add it later.

3. In a large frying pan, heat up the coconut oil and cook the onions until they start to turn golden. Then add the coriander and cumin seeds and let cook for a few more minutes. Stir occasionally.

4. Add broccoli and capsicum and let cook for 5-10 minutes. Then add courgettes and chilli and cook for another 5 minutes.

5. Pour in the coconut milk. Bring to boil. Then turn off the heat and add turmeric as well as garlic. Salt to taste. And there you go!

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

So I had to bring these colors onto the crunchy crust of a pizza! This pizza crust is made without yeast, using lots of sun flower seeds. It has the perfect crunchy but still slightly moist and chewy texture that I love. If you are a fan of thick and doughy pizza crusts, you can stop reading here

There are so many options for toppings. Feel free to created your own combinations and flavours…and don’t hesitate to share them if you like

Print

Capsicum Broccoli Pizza, with yeast-free crust (Vegan, Gluten-free)

This pizza crust is made without yeast, using lots of sun flower seeds. It has the perfect crunchy but still slightly moist and chewy texture that I love.

Course Baking Savoury, Pizza

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword Broccoli, Capsicum, Crust, Pizza, yeast-free

Servings 2 medium sized pizzas

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 200 g sunflower seeds (soaked in filtered water for a few hours then drained)
• 70 g buckwheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• some extra flour for dusting I prefer rice flour

For the topping:

• 1 1/2 cup passata
• 1-2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• salt to taste
• 1/2 capsicum
• 1/2 broccoli

For the cheesy cashew cream:

• 1/2 cup cashews soaked in filtered water for at least 6 hours then drained
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2-3 heaped tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/3 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• I like to blanch the broccoli before putting it onto the pizza. I fill a medium sized pot with enough water and bring it to boil. Then I chuck in the roughly cut broccoli pieces and wait until they almost start boiling again. At that point I turn off the heat and let the broccoli rest in the water for a few more minutes before I rinse it in a sieve and let it rest until needed.
• In the meantime blend the cashew nuts with 1/3 cup water and 1/3 teaspoon nutmeg to a fine cream (if it is too thick, add a little more water). Then add 2-3 heaped tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes and blend again for a short time. Add salt to taste.
• For the pizza sauce, add passata, thyme, garlic, pepper and salt to a small bowl, stirring it to mix. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Rinse and wash the sunflower seeds in a fine colander, let drain properly. In a medium sized bowl, mix the dry ingredients for the crust (buckwheat flour, baking powder, salt) I like to sift it into the bowl through a sieve to have it extra fine without crumbles.
• Take approx. half of the sunflower seeds and blend them with 1/4 cup water to a relatively fine paste. Add to the bowl with the remaining whole sunflower seeds and mix well.
• Spread a baking tray with some parchment paper and place half of the dough on it. Sprinkle with some of the extra flour and spread it evenly across the tray with your clean hands.
• Then scoop half of the pizza sauce on the dough, spreading it evenly. Add the toppings. Top with the cashew cream.
• Bake in the oven for approx. 10 minutes or until golden brown. Depends on oven type!

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

I always loved to make some kind of creamy cheesy sauce, using soy cream. But I’m not too convinced about the ingredients anymore. One day I’ve tried cashew nuts blended with water. And I was amazed! They are a very good substitute for processed soy cream!

So here is my new recipe for a creamy broccoli sauce, perfect with gluten-free pasta!

Print

Creamy Broccoli Sauce (Vegan, Gluten-free)

They are a very good substitute for processed soy cream! So here is my new recipe for a creamy broccoli sauce, perfect with gluten-free pasta!

Course Sauce

Cuisine German

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan

Keyword Broccoli, Cashew, Creamy, Sauce, soy-free

Servings 2 Person

Equipment

• Blender
• large sized frying pan

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized broccoli
• 1 small onion
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 70 g cashew nuts (soaked in filtered water for at least 4 hours the drained)
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoon coconut-oil
• 1 tablespoon heaped fine white rice flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoon yeast flakes
• 1/2 small lemon’s juice

Instructions

• Place the cashew nuts with the water into a blender or food processor and blend to a smooth cream.
• Cut the broccoli into little pieces, remember that you can use the trunk as well, after you’ve cut off the hard ‘peel’. Chop the onions into little cubes. Cut the garlic into fine slices.
• Heat the coconut-oil in a large sized frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook them until they are almost translucent. Add the garlic now and after stirring it in, turn down the heat and quickly drizzle the rice flour over it. Stir well so that the rice flour soaks up the fluids.
• Now add 2 cups of water and cook over medium heat until the fluid starts to thicken. Add the broccoli, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Now you can pour in the cashew nut cream, flushing it with a little water. Stir well and let heat up one more time. Just before you switch off the heat, add the yeast flakes, make sure they are stirred in well. After you switched off the heat and waited for a few minutes, you can add the lemon juice. This does not only enhance the flavor but also helps your body to absorb the iron better.

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.