Free food recipes

E 14 0 4 3 0

TH E POW O F PL A NE R T

e

FOODS

BOOK

Powerfully healthy foods to spike your day

A

e

BOOK

CONTENTS Introduction 3 Pantry Basics

4

Equipment

7

Chef Talk Meanings

7

Burger with the lot

8

For the Raw Pasta

9

Get on the Anti Sausage Roll

10

Miso Soup

11

Mushroom Salad

12

Pasta - Tomato Sauce

13

FOODS

2

Welcome!

How do I respond to people who say, “I don’t have time to cook?” My immediate response is, “Do YOU have time for hospital?” The fees, the fear, the pain, the regret; the whole rigmarole of being given a diagnosis, when really underneath their big recipe for disaster... the prevention was really very simple?

You Are What You Think. YES! There are many food-isms out there. Macro-ism, vegan-ism, paleo-ism, vegetarian-ism and the list goes on and on. I don’t play a part in any food trends and fads, as I find this too stressful and over-the-top dogmatic. In these recipes I make PLANTS taste YUM. There is only one ‘ism’ I follow and that is NOW-ism. It’s not a diet or a plan, it is living in the NOW with food. It is not things you do some of the time that matter, it’s what you do most of the time that creates the habits of your life. Life is a bunch of NOWs and we eat food, every day. Sure, sometimes on the run, in between moments, appointments and other ‘important’ arrangements; often we just ‘fit eating in’. But it is the time to stop and smell the NOW and look at our priorities. I am going to show you how to bring quality and celebration to your food practice. And that’s what it is at first, a practice.

Praxis. As our brother Tyler Tolman teaches so eloquently the philosophy of Aristotle: Gnosis, Praxis, Entelechis; Knowledge. Practice. Immersion. Cooking consciously will become your way of life.

Here I have shown you how to make family dishes whole foods style. This is what nature requires from you, and as I have such a passion for what it actually is, I bring you into a newness; a newness with my participation in food. That’s what cooking really is, conscious participation in what you are consuming. Thinking about what nature requires from you. Considering what your organs need as you cook, as well as stimulating your taste buds and your mind into an orgasmic celebration. Over the top? Maybe, but that’s how we roll in this kitchen.

As a Chef and a mum, I know this type of cooking is next level. Not only do I personally chase the lettuce back to the field to check the chemical-free conditions from where it grew, but the care I have about the farmers, the truck drivers, the seeds, the bugs, the sunshine and the rain. So in order to have these values, I suggest you as much as possible “shake the hand that feeds you”. Farmers markets are the simplest and easiest way to start that food journey.

But what really throws me into a romance with the art of cooking is how I prepare the food. I know the content of my thoughts and feelings, these are a big part of the recipe.

You are what you eat, but more importantly, to me as a Chef, You Are What You Think. The true seasoning is in your hands. Yes, touching and eating food with your hands is important, and what you are thinking in that process is the most important ingredient of all.

These books are a gift, a gift you are giving yourself. From three minute recipes to 30 minute recipes and a buffet of glory in between. User friendly. Raw. Real. Thanks for choosing to wake up and feed your body, mind and soul.

And on behalf of the present moment, thank you for allowing your body to be invited to what it already knows.

It’s just over time that we have forgotten.

FOODS

3

Chef Cynthia

chefcynthialouise.com

PA N T R Y B A S I C S Biodynamic or Organic is what I choose to use, without a thought. I have been in a position in the past years, that when shopping, I always bought chemical, herbicides, fungicides and pesticides free edibleplants. Make sure you buy good quality. Low-human interference whole real food.

Sweeteners

Spices and Salts

Maple syrup Raw honey Medjool dates Apricots Currants Sultanas Prunes

All spices are in their whole form (even salt and pepper).

Himalayan Salt ( pink) Celtic sea salt Black peppercorns Cumin seeds Caraway seeds Coriander seeds Mustard seeds (all colors) Celery seeds Curry Powder (ground) Nutmeg Cinnamon Cardamom Star anise Paprika Cayenne pepper Garam masala Vanilla beans or a good quality paste

Maple and Honey Both are used throughout the recipes, and sometimes used in the same recipe. Both are beautiful and really wonderful in flavour. And don’t forget to get that which is as close to nature, with low human interference, as possible.

Cacao There is so much info on Google about the benefits of cacao, so I will keep this simple. Not all cacao is roasted, but it is all fermented to reduce its bitterness. It’s full flavoured and full of natural goodness. It is the beans on the inside of the pod that we ferment and use in confections, potions and brews.

As a kid who grew up around cacao trees, I had experience of sitting under a chocolate tree and sucking on the pods of white goodness. Cacao comes in whole beans, nibs, powder, cacao butter, and cacao liquor- (the extracted fat solids). It’s all raw!

Herbs & Spices

Extra-virgin olive oil - Braggs is the brand to use.

These are a very important part of whole-food cooking, as these are the building blocks for flavour. So buying biodynamic or organic whole spices seeds and growing your own herbs is important. Grinding the spices yourself is as easy as putting them into your blender and pushing “blend” till you get a grounded mix. It’s that easy! Put peppercorns into a blender, push play, and there you have freshly-ground pepper on tap! Keep some fresh ground pepper in a small bowl next to your stove ready to add the final flavour to your dishes.

Sesame oil - Cold pressed oil is the best. Toasted oil is great to add (approximately 2tbs) a little Asian flavour.

Salt

Oils

Coconut oil - There are many types of coconut oil on the market. I always use Niugini coconut oil as it comes from my old stomping grounds, Lae, Papua New Guinea. The coconuts come from one plantation and the oil is produced there on the same plantation — unrefined and unscented and full of goodness. It has a high heat point meaning you can cook with this oil to 200° and it won’t muck up the goodness that it contains.

Himalayan Crystal Salt (both pink and black) and celtic sea salt is what I love to use. Celtic sea salt is mined from one of the oldest salt deposits on the earth. It has an amazing flavour and is far superior in its health properties. It has an unbelievable 84 trace-essential minerals. You can buy it in crystal form and grind it yourself in a blender and store it next to your pepper in a bowl ready to use.

FOODS

4

PA N T R Y B A S I C S Biodynamic or Organic is what I choose to use, without a thought. I have been in a position in the past years, that when shopping, I always bought chemical, herbicides, fungicides and pesticides free edibleplants. Make sure you buy good quality. Low-human interference whole real food.

Thai Young Coconuts

Nuts & Seeds

Young coconuts are genius, and even more so these days since they are readily available just about everywhere when you know what you are looking for. What you are looking for are white coconuts cut into a semi-conical shape. To do that the green husks are removed. There are normally nine in a case. They store well in the fridge, and removing the flesh for another time, freezes well.

Almond butter Cashews Almonds Brazil nuts Macadamias Pistachio nuts Walnuts Coconut, dry (unbleached) shredded or desiccated Young green coconuts, for the water and the flesh Cacao nibs Sunflower seeds Sesame seeds (black and white) Black pepitas Green pepites Flaxseed (golden and brown) Hemp seeds Chia seeds (white and black)

Miso Always use a miso that is raw and unpasteurized, organic and, most of all, GMO free. Miso makes a great replacement for that CRAP called Vegemite. Truly, it does. Try it on toast and let me know.

Nama Shoyu This is soy sauce. “Nama” means raw, unpasteurized, in Japanese. This is full of flavour and goodness for your body as well. Tamari is the wheat-free version. They are truly the best on the market.

Nut Butters Almond butter Macadamia nut butter Brazil nut butter Cashew butter Tahini Cacao butter There are many types of nut butters and they are very easy to buy and very easy to make. All you do is add your nuts to a food processor or a blender and push play. The blending process creates friction and heat. When there is heat, the oils form from the nuts. That’s what you are after when making nut butters, so no added oil is needed to make nut butter.

NOTE: Australian chia seeds are grown using natural pest and insect management, mechanical (not chemical) weed control, sustainable soil conservation, and are grown from highquality seeds with consistent nutritional profiles.

Get biodynamic or organic. Store all your nuts in the freezer, sealed well. Store your seeds in the fridge. In my recipes, I have added the soaking process when using nuts, There are two reasons: First of all, you have bring them to life by adding water and allowing the nut to begin to grow. That’s so very cool I reckon and they are packed full of living goodness. Secondly, the flavour is mostly gone after a good soaking. I don’t particularly want to taste nut flavour throughout, so soaking is a great way to cut that extra flavour out when making some of my dressings and creams.

FOODS

5

PA N T R Y B A S I C S Biodynamic or Organic is what I choose to use, without a thought. I have been in a position in the past years, that when shopping, I always bought chemical, herbicides, fungicides and pesticides free edibleplants. Make sure you buy good quality. Low-human interference whole real food.

Grains and Lentils

Flours

Quinoa (black, red and white) Brown rice (long and short) Red rice Purple rice White rice Whole buckwheat groats Red lentils Brown lentils Pie lentils Orange lentils Yellow lentils Black lentils Turtle beans or black beans Mung beans Chickpeas Whole oat groats

Spelt flour (whole meal) Spelt (white) Amaranth flour Quinoa flour Kamut Buckwheat flour Baking powder Bicarb Soda Cacao powder

Mustards

NONE

Vinegars Balsamic Apple cider vinegar

Canned Goods

Dijon mustard Hot mustard

FOODS

6

EQUIPMENT

Nut Milk Bags

Blender

These are an amazing invention. Nut bags are useful little nylon bags, used to separate nut milk from is pulp. They can be easily washed. Make sure they are dried well before you put it away in storage for next time. You can use nut bags over and over again. Be gentle though — don’t be too rough when squeezing out nut milk or coconut cream/milk. Gentle squeezing is the key, as the bag could bust at the seams.

This is the major tool. I use a Vitamix, and it never lets me down. It’s a one-stop shop for cooking and making some of these dishes.

Knife Buy a good knife. I only own one knife. It’s a 10-inch Japanese knife made from Damascus steel. I don’t have a case of knives as most of my chef friends do, just the one.

That’s enough. Buy one knife, a chef’s knife if possible, and always keep it well sharpened. (There are knife shops you can take your knife to, to get that blade nice and sharp.)

Pots and Pans Get a small variety of high-quality, non-stick pans that are either stainless steel or cast iron. They will serve you well in the kitchen.

Micro Plane A wonderful tool. A Kitchen grater used for the grating of various food items, such as nutmeg, ginger, garlic and also as zesters for citrus fruit.

Juicer A slow pressed juicer is most definitely different and a hell of a lot better than a normal juicer. Why? A slow pressed juicer yields a higher amount of juice with little to no oxidation, and a higher mineral content. Yes, the price is higher, but you can’t really put a value on optimal health. (Slow pressed juicers can also juice wheatgrass — YAY!!)

C H E F TA L K M E A N I N G S

Julienne

Mincing

A julienne cut is a long cut that is about 1/4–1/4 inch wide. As a chef, yes we follow the measurement rules, but as a mum I also get that we do the best we can. So for hard veggies like say a carrot, first cut on some slices around the 1/4 inch thick, then stack the slices up and cut long ways. There you have thick match stick julienne cuts.

I mention mincing garlic in the recipes. To mince garlic, ginger or turmeric cut into thin disks (across the grain), stack the disks then julienne. Once that is done turn your julienne, cut garlic and cross cut the sticks (they will look like tiny little squares) and you will get minced garlic.

FOODS

7

Burger with the Lot 2 onions, sliced thinly coconut oil salt and pepper 2 tomatoes 1 carrot, grated 1 beetroot, grated 1 avocado, cut into slices 1 baby cos lettuce 1 packet of alfalfa sprouts 1 cucumber, sliced thinly 3 eggs, fried Heat a pan on medium heat and cook your onions in a little coconut oil, adding salt and pepper. Cook until they become soft and brown.

Once the onions are cooked, move them to one side of your pan and add your eggs, and a little more oil if needed. Fry the eggs until they are crispy around the edges.

Now assemble your burger by laying all of the above onto your bread. This makes three burgers.

Remember to season your salad with salt and pepper (the building blocks of flavour!).

FOODS

8

Raw Pasta This is a cool dish - yes, it is cool, not hot. The sauce is divine - full flavour, and can be used for a salad at a BBQ.

Raw Pasta 2 zucchinis, julienned (or if you have a spiralizer, then spiral away!)

2 carrots (same as above) 1 bunch of fresh basil leaves Add all of the above into a bowl and mix well. Set aside and make your sauce.

Spicy Creamy Sauce 1 cup of soaked cashews (soaked in 2 cups of water overnight, then rinsed well and drained) 2 red capsicums, roughly chopped 1/2 cup of water 2 garlic cloves 1 tbsp of tamari 1 tbsp of olive oil 1/2 cup of water salt and pepper to taste Add all of the above sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until creamy and well combined leaving no chunky bits — the smoother the better.

Pour over your “raw pasta” and enjoy!

Store any leftover sauce in a very clean glass bottle with a lid in the fridge. Use for dressing on salads.

FOODS

9

Get On The Anti-Sausage Roll There is the ice age, the new age and then there is saus age. All kids love a sausage roll. Shh! Don’t tell them there’s no sausage!

1 onion, chopped roughly 1/2 a capsicum, chopped roughly 4 garlic cloves, chopped roughly 500 grams of button mushrooms 1 tbsp of rosemary 1 bunch of parsley, roughly chopped 2 tbls of miso paste 1/2 cup of cashews 2/3 cup of flaxseed meal 1 1/2 tbsp of salt 1/4 tsp of pepper 1 tbsp of thyme leaves 5 spelt frozen puff pastry sheets Preheat your oven to 200°.

In a food processor, combine all your ingredients (except the pastry sheets) and process until wellcombined, making sure you leave some texture (this is not a smoothie). Allow this to rest for 5 minutes.

Place a 1/2 cup of the mixture onto one pastry sheet and then roll the pastry to make a sausage roll, brushing with water and sprinkling with seeds, if you like. Do this with all the sheets.

Place the rolls on a tray and bake in the oven for 1520 minutes or until golden brown.

FOODS

10

Miso Soup This is fast food gourmet at it’s finest.

1/4 cup unpasteurized brown rice miso 1 tbsp of ginger, finely grated 1/4 cup of spring onion, finely sliced 3 cups of filtered water 1/2 tsp of tamari 1/4 cup of carrot, grated 1/4 cup of zucchini, grated 6 button mushrooms, chopped finely 1/2 cup of raw pumpkin, grated 1/2 cup of mung bean sprouts 2 sheets of nori Combine all the ingredients into a pot and cook on low-medium until just hot (do not boil).

FOODS

11

Mushroom Salad An easy, raw, and very quick mushroom salad, packed full of flavour. You can use black tahini, if you feel like it.

The flavour is still there, but the dish will be black - this just creates a different look.

1/2 kg of button mushrooms, cut into quarters 1/4 red onion, diced finely 1 red capsucim, diced finely 2 tbsp of tahini 1 tbls of olive oil 1 tsp of honey 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup of water salt and pepper to taste In a mixing bowl mix all of the above together and serve. EASY!

FOODS

12

Pasta & Tomato Sauce 1.5 kg of roma tomatoes, chopped roughly 3 big handful of basil 1 bunch of fresh parsley, chopped roughly 10 cm sprig of rosemary 10 cm sprig of thyme 10 cm sprig oregano 5 garlic cloves, chopped roughly 1 onion, chopped roughly 3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar 3 tbsp of maple syrup 2 red capscuims, chopped roughly 1/3 cup of olive oil salt and pepper to taste 1 packet of kurmat pasta, cooked according to the instructions on the packet olive oil to taste In a large pan, add all then ingredients except for the cooked pasta. Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring and tasting as you go. Add more seasoning if you like. After 30 minutes, turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.

FOODS

13

Enjoy!

And please share photos of YOUR creations on Facebook

A

e

BOOK