Beetroot leaves and other greens Pesto

This pesto is must try especially if you have any leftover green leaves, carrot tops, celery leaves, broccoli leaves or herbs 🌿🌿 

you will need:

3 cups  mixture of kale (stalks removed), leaves, herbs

half a cup of nuts, almonds in my pesto ( use parmesan if you wish )

3 small cloves garlic

100 ml olive oil

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt or less

Blanch the kale together with the leaves for 3 minutes.

Ground the nuts using a hand-grinder.

Combine all ingredients and blend.

If you have a tall blender that's perfect.

If you have one of those powerful blender then you don't have to ground the nuts separate.

Alternatively chop the greens by hand and add the rest of the ingredients.

Keep the pesto in a clean jar in the fridge.

Also the pesto can be stored in an ice cube tray and defrosted when needed for sandwich spread, pasta bakes topping or used on home-made pizza 🍕

I am sharing this post with veghog  blog EAT YOUR GREENS 

Pumpkin three ways ( part 1 )

October is already here and I have been busy baking and cooking with my favorite veg Pumpkin !!

I've got some lovely velvety soup that is protein rich, I've also got a pumpkin wholemeal bread full of goodness and I've got pumpkin granola. Yes, I am so excited about the granola, the taste is phenomenal and everyone adds a handful or two as a topping on their cereal …..  

Pumpkin and red lentil soup with zaatar croutons 

1 diced onion

1 diced carrot

2 cloves garlic

1 celery stick

400 gr pumpkin, butternut squash or any squash you can get, peeled and chopped into big chunks

2/3 cup red lentils 

6 cups of water

1 veggie stock cube 

for the zaatar croutons I used rye bread, cubed and seasoned with zaatar, splash of olive oil before oven bake for 10 min on high temp. 

In a large cooking pot splash some olive oil begore adding the veggies. Stir in the pumpkin, lentils as well as the water. 

Cook until the pumpkin is soft then add the stock cube.

Cool is down a bit before you blend it.

Add some black pepper and salt if needed.

Serve 6 or more.

Pumpkin wholemeal seeded bread

500 gr pumpkin 

100 gr pumpkin seeds

200 gr wholemeal flour

200 gr white flour

150 gr porridge oats

4 Tbsp oil

1 Tbsp ginger powder

1 Tbsp sugar

7 gr salt

7 gr active dry yeast

Cut the pumpkin into big wedges no need to peel and roast it in the oven for 40 - 60 min or until soft.

Spoon out the pumpkin flash and make a pure.

Set a side.

In a large mixing bowl place all dry ingredients ( reserve about 30 gr seeds for topping ) add 400 ml of lukewarm water . Mix it all up adding more water if needed. Knead the dough on floured surface adding the oil here and there.

Cover the dough and let it rest for 1 hour or so.

After that place the dough back on floured surface, fold it a few times and place it into a baking tin ( covered with baking paper ) of your choice, mine is 900 ml loaf tin.

Brush the dough with warm water and sprinkle the seeds.

Let it rest for 1 hour.

Bake for 50 - 55 min on 200 C .

Pumpkin granola

6 cups rolled oats

1 cup almonds

1/2 cup mixed seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin 

1 cup pumpkin pure

1/2 cup maple syrup 

2/3 cup coconut oil

2 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl pour in the maple syrup, add the pumpkin pure and the soften coconut oil.

Stir all together and add the oats, nuts, seeds as well as the cinnamon and salt.

Mix it all making sure all the dry ingredients are covered with the pumpkin mixture.

Spread the mixture onto two baking trays and bake for 30 minutes on 180 C stir it half way through the baking.

The granola should be slightly colored and crisp.

Cool it down before you store in some glass jars.

Add some dry fruit if you like, I add some raisins !!

Delicious !! 

Protein rich loaf quick and easy version

December is one of the busiest month of the year but we love if. I personally love preparing everything homemade for the festive season and when the time is tight I always look for a quick and easy recipes but still tasty and healthy. This bread is everything what I need when I am in a hurry ! 

Ingredients:

300 gr wholemeal flour ( I used spelt )

100 gr white flour ( again I used spelt )

50 - 70 gr nuts and seeds ( I used pumpkin, sunflower, flax and sesame seeds as well as almonds) 

all toasted 

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

450 ml water

1 Tbsp rolled oats for topping 

In a large mixing bowl, place all the dry ingredients.

Add the liquid little by little until you get a soft dough. 

Spoon the mixture into a loaf tin size 22 x 10 cm, greased.

Sprinkle the oats evenly over and bake in the oven for 40 min on 190 C and 15 more minutes on 170 C. 

Once baked remove from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Slice it and eat it on the day that it's baked. 

Freeze the sliced bread , you will thank yourself when you want a something nice and warm like toast, simply toasted straight from the freezer and enjoy it! 

Леб со смокви и лешници / Bread with figs and hazelnuts

The bread I made this week is adapted from the basic recipe called  "no knead bread". I used to love this method of baking bread until I discovered the sour bread made with home made starter. As everything in life, I got bored so I started baking my bread with "biga" and I am still happy with it. Back to this bread - I absolutely love this taste, it's luxurious but simple at the same time, it's a real treat !!! Follow the recipe and have a look at the photos, it's easy peasy, everyone can make this bread !

Потребни состојки: 

350 гр бело брашно
100 гр интегрално
пола мала лажичка сув квасец
1 мала лажичка сол
350 мл млака вода
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една рака приготвени лешници
една рака сецкани суви смокви

Ставете ги сите состојки во поголема стаклена здела и измешајте ги со дрвена или силиконска лажица.
Покријте ја зделата со најлонска фолија и оставете ја смесата да стои 12 - 16 часа на собна температура.
Во меѓувреме искшите ги лешниците и ставете ги во рерна да се печат на 160 степени околу 20 минути или додека не потемнат.
Оладете ги и грубо растресете ги за да им отпадне лушпата.
Ставете ги лешниците и смоквите во тестото и измешајте со лашица. 
Тестото истресете го на побрашнета крпа а потоа кренете го тестото подигнувајки ги краевите на крпата.
Ставете го тестото со крпа во подлабок сад ( може истиот сад ) да стои уште 1 до 2 часа.
Загрејте пекач со капак во рерна на 220 степени.
Кога пекачот е добро загреан, ставете го тестото внатре ( истресете го од крпата ) и печете со капак 20 минути на 220 а потоа намалете ја температурата на 180 и печете уште 20 минути.


Ingredients: 

350 gr white bread flour
100 gr wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp dry yeast 
1 tsp salt
350 ml water
************************
1 handful roasted hazelnuts
1 handful dry and chopped figs

In a mixing bowl place all the ingredients for the bread and mix it all up using a wooden spoon or a silicon one.
Cover the bowl with plastic foil and leave it on room temperature for 12 - 16 hours.
Crush the shells of the nuts and roast the nuts for 20 min on 160 C or until they are slightly golden in colour.
Cool the nuts down, rub them gently until the peel come off.
Now, place the nuts and the figs into the dough and mix it up with a spoon.
Prepare a tea towel: sprinkle some flour onto it and tip out the dough on it.
Take the four ends of the tea towel, lift up the dough and place it back into the previous mixing bowl.
Leave the dough to rest for 1 to 2 hours.
Place a roaster with its lid in the oven and heat the oven to 220 C.
Get the hot roaster out and tip in the dough.
Place the lid back and bake the bread for 20 min on 220 C. Turn the oven down on 180 C and bake for 20 more min.