Vegan Mofo Day 23 - Autumn Equinox Eats - Quinoa Pilaf with Chickpeas and Almonds from Detox for Life - The 28 Day Detox Diet and Beyond


Back to my original theme today which was Carol Vorderman -  Accidental Vegan Hero, blogging about recipes from a series of Detox Recipe books that the television presenter and maths whizz put out with nutritionist Anita Bean in the noughties.


Autumn to me always feel like a time of big changes when it's important to look after energy levels and not burn out in the run up to Christmas. This pilaf is from the Detox for Life - The 28 Day Detox Diet and Beyond book and is a staple in our house. It comes together quickly and easily and is nice and filling with lots of protein from the inclusion of chickpeas, quinoa, flaked almonds and pumpkin seeds.


Although the photo looks a bit beige there's plenty of flavour in there. As well as onion and garlic there's red pepper and courgette, a cinnamon stick, cardomon pods, stock and fresh coriander. I love toasted almonds and pumpkin seeds as a topping. They add a lovely crunch and smell fantastic whilst you're dry toasting them in the frying pan. I often use them to top risotto too along with some nooch. This is a great after work dish when you're tired and in need of an energy boost with the bonus of only taking 20 minutes to cook and only needing one pan. This is served in one of my favourite Fiesta bowls. I am jealous of all you Americans and your easy access to Fiesta ware! I love it but it is very rare to see it in England so when I found 3 big pasta bowls in a charity shop for a bargain price I actually screamed out load, grabbed them off the shelf and clutched them to my chest. My friend I was with thought I'd gone nuts!

Comments

  1. Shaheen23 September 2015 at 08:39

    I like the sound of this, but its the almonds that make me hesitate a little, but still I won't say no to this if you presented it to me . Your making me smile in a good way by showing how much you utilise your accidental vegan hero - Carol Vorderman. I admire that. And I agree with you about the Fiesta bowls, love your and we should have more in the UK.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous23 September 2015 at 12:58

    I love that your able to work in your original theme still, this looks like a terrific bowl especially with the almonds and pumpkin seeds, I'm that way with sunflower seeds they go on everything! Never heard of fiesta bowls, I'll look out for them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. J23 September 2015 at 13:30

    One-pan meals are the best! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hillary23 September 2015 at 15:16

    That looks great! I'm a big fan of lots of different tastes and textures. Looks like a great energizing meal! I want some fiesta ware now!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rose23 September 2015 at 18:41

    This sounds so healthy and satisfying...I can see how it would keep your energy levels up!

    Great find with the Fiesta ware! I love it when that happens.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jennifer24 September 2015 at 18:54

    Great bowl!!!!! And contents! YUM!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Joey25 September 2015 at 07:42

    I do love the Carol Vorderman theme - who knew she made all this cool vegan stuff? I could definitely see this being one of those good weekday meals for when you're a bit knackered by you still want something healthy and tasty too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jennifer29 September 2015 at 16:35

    Looks like QUITE a bowl!!!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cola de Mono

Image
Colo de Mono (Tail of the Monkey) is a Chilean concoction traditionally drunk ice cold at Christmastime. Obviously their winters are a lot warmer than ours so in the UK it's more suited to this time of year. The Chileans use aguadiente an overproof cane spirit. I use Cachaca 51 which I have in for Mojitos and Caipirinhas. Traditionally made with cows milk, here is my vegan version. Colo De Mono Makes 1 pint Serves 4 2 cups of vanilla soy milk 1/3 cup of caster sugar 1/3 teaspoon of cinammon 3 teaspoons of instant coffee 1/2 cup of spirit* Bring the milk, sugar and cinnamon to a low boil in a pan stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and stir in the coffee. Leave to cool. Once cool add the spirit and chill in the fridge. It will keep for 2 weeks. Serve over ice or straight up but make it cold. * Spirit - I use Cachaca but have heard that people use tequila too.
Read more

Interview With Lisa Goddard of Lily and Dilly

Image
If you've eaten vegan cake in Manchester City Centre in the last few years then chances are you'll have eaten cake baked by Lisa Goddard of bakery Lily and Dilly . We caught up with Lisa to find out what set her on the vegan baking path! So, Lily and Dilly? What made you set up as an independent bakery and where does the name come from? Having worked as a stop frame animator for 12 years, I was getting rather fed up with short term contracts, so the last time I was made redundant, I decided not to chase work round the country, and if that meant a career change, then so be it. A friend of mine had just set up The Cocoa Emporium as an independent Chocolatier, so I gave her a hand whilst navigating through the benefits system, mostly to get me out of bed on a morning! Doing baking for her farmers market was fun, as it was one of my main hobbies, so when she asked if I fancied getting a little shop  with her, it seemed a nice chance to start something new. We got the shop
Read more

Growing your own, bargains and a breakfast recipe

Image
I've started sprouting again! In my old flat I used to do sprouting all the time. The flat was in an old 1930's building and had radiators run from a central boiler room and it was always nice and warm. The constant warm temp made sprouting pretty fail safe. Now I'm in a Derbyshire stone house where it's not as warm the results haven't been as great and I gave up trying  but with this very hot summer we are having I thought I would give it another go and I'm glad I have done. As I already have the seeds it kind of feels like free food too! I'm using these sprouts  from A Vogel. This week I've grown alfalfa but pictured is my first attempt from the week before which was a mix of radish, lentil and rocket which grew into lovely peppery tasting sprouts that we used to garnish our bowl meals for the week. These took 4 days to grow and I nearly gave up on day 2 because I could see mold. Luckily I googled and found out that it wasn't mold at all but r
Read more