Irish Oat Soda Bread

I know that St. Patrick's Day has come and gone but, for some reason, I was just really really REALLY craving for a slice of freshly baked Irish Soda bread and some hot soup. The whole day yesterday I couldn't stop thinking about it. To add to my craving's anguish, I watched countless videos on Irish Soda bread and read far too many recipe blogs on it. This definitely did not help to subdue my cravings. In fact, I might have even had a dream about eating this bread.

Unfortunately, in The Netherlands, finding baking soda is not easy. For some reason it is just not sold in the main shopping centers. But my cravings were strong and my resolve to find baking soda became even stronger. So I woke up this morning with the intention to look high and low all over my town to find baking soda.

By some luck, I found this "glorious" powder in a small Turkish store not too far from my house. I was so happy to find it, I almost hugged the shop stewardess in joy. haha! I couldn't wait to get home and start baking. Lunch was going to be a nice hot vegetable soup with a slice... or two, of fresh warm Irish Soda Bread... mmmh!!

On my way home I stopped by the store to get some of the baking supplies I needed, then I took a short walk around my neighborhood to enjoy the beautiful warm spring weather and catch a bit of sun. By the time I got home it was way past noon and I was feeling really hungry and ready to start baking.

I had long decided I wanted a non-traditional Oatmeal Soda Bread with raisins and orange zest. I knew I wanted to use orange zest and raisins because they give the bread a wonderfully light and interesting flavor. The bread also has a subtle sweetness that allows it to be versatile to be used with tea, soup or just for the simple pleasure of eating fresh bread with butter and jam.

This recipe is a combination of inspirations mostly gathered from Laura Vitale's rendition of Irish Soda Bread  as well as Elise Bauer's Oatmeal Soda Bread on Simply Recipes.

Yields 9-10 slices
What you will need:

• 1 cup Rolled Oats 
• 1.5 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tspn Salt
• 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
• 1/2 cup Raisins
• 1 Egg
• 2 tbsp Honey (or Sugar)
• 1 tbsp Orange Zest
• 3/4 cup buttermilk*

*If you do not have buttermilk you can make it by mixing 1 cup of milk at room temperature with 1 tbsp of lemon. Leave it for at least 5 minutes. Your buttermilk is ready to use ;)

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven at 230°C/450°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Grind your rolled oats finely using a food processor or blender.
3. Mix the the ground oats, whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
4. Using your hands or a mixer, mix the butter with the dry ingredients.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk, egg, honey and orange zest.
6. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix together. You may need to add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky. (NOTE: Soda bread is supposed to have somewhat a sticky consistency so do not add too much flour).
7. Fold the raisins into the mixture.
8. On a floured surface very lightly knead the dough together into a round ball.
9. Cut an inch deep cross on the bread
10. Place the on the baking tray and bake at 230°C/450°F for 15 minutes.
11. Reduce the heat to 205°C/400°F and bake for a further 25-30 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when you tap it.
12. Let it cool on a rack and then dig in.

MMmmhh! Do you smell that yummy goodness! This bread has an amazing aroma and it tastes so good on its own. Or with some butter. Or jam. It is also perfect with soup.(That's how I had it). 

Fresh bread is the best! AND the whole process can be done in an approximately an hour.

I absolutely loved the orange zest addition. My Irish Soda Bread cravings were definitely satisfied :D!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Leave some comments below and let me know what you think.

What have you found yourself craving for lately?

Xx

Rati

Chickpea Veggie Burger

Lately I've been craving a BIG, TASTY and YUMMY burger! But I do not like eating fast food burgers. Or fast food in general. I remember about two years ago I ate a McDonald's chicken burger. The burger, I must admit, tasted pretty amazing. Then after I was done eating, I flipped over the food tray sheet to see the calorie information and I saw that the one burger I had eaten was over 800 calories!!! AAAHH! I was kind of disgusted. So you can imagine my excitement when I discovered the veggie burger. Firstly because I really do love beans and vegetables, its filled with lots of healthy nutrients and secondly because it really just TASTES. SO. GOOD!* 

I have shared the recipe of the Black Bean Veggie Burger Patty on a previous post. You can find the recipe by clicking here. The changes I made were that I used Chickpeas instead of Black Beans and I also baked the burger patty instead of frying it. 

Here is the recipe for the rest of the burger:

Spicy Zucchini "Pasta"

This is such yummy goodness, I cannot even fully describe or explain how good it is. The best part is... it is so EASY and QUICK to make. I had it last night for dinner and my taste-buds and tummy were thanking me.  

Zucchini is usually one of my vegetable staples, so I thought, "Why not make some Zucchini pasta!".
And I did.
And it was epic.

The thing that really makes this recipe so great is the sauce that you mix it with. I was feeling creative so I just experimented with the ingredients and spices that I had at home and it turned out quite fantastic.

So without any further delay, here is the recipe:

Equipment:

• Blender
• Vegetable Spiralizer (I got mine quite cheap on ebay. The one I use is a small hand held tool. You can buy it here.)
•  Knife and Cutting Board

Ingredients for "Pasta":

• 2-3 medium zucchinis
• 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 can of garbanzo beans (or 1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans)
• 3 chopped long stalks of celery

Ingredients in the Sauce:

• 1 small red beet
• 1/2 large persimmon (or 1 medium peach)
•  Chili peppers (put as much as you want for the spiciness you desire) 
• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (or curry)
• 250 grams of ripe cherry tomatoes (or 1 medium ripe tomato)
• 4 juicy dates (optional. Also note that if the dates you have are a bit dry, soak them in water for some time to soften them)
• 1/4 cup of water. (Eye the amount of water according to the blender contents. Add or decrease the amount of water to ensure a good thick saucy consistency)
• 1/2 red onion (or normal onion)
• 1 - 2 garlic cloves

Recipe for "Pasta:

1. Spiralize the zucchinis
2. Mix in the chopped vegetables and set the plate/bowl aside

Recipe for Sauce:

1. Chop the red beet and persimmon.
2. Place all the sauce ingredients into the blender.
3. Blend all the ingredients together. remember to start out with a bit of water and keep adding until you reach the desired thick, saucy consistency.
4. Pour the sauce all over your pasta.
5. Mix it all together and leave it for about 10-15 minutes for all the flavors to mix and the zucchini to soften a bit.
6. Eat it all up

Serves: 1 person

Trust me, this pasta is really so yummy. It is a great way to replace actual pasta. The ingredients are almost all raw. Due to the fact that we use mostly natural foods, you will find that you can eat a whole big bowl of "pasta" and feel full and satisfied without the guilt of eating actual pasta. 

This meal is great for both dinner and lunch.

I will definitely be experimenting with different kinds of sauces for the Zucchini Pasta and I will share with you the yummy concoctions I come up with.

I hope the new year has started up great for all of you.

Enjoy.

Xx

Rati :)

Sandwich on the Go!

Dear Avocados, I love you! :D

They are a creamy ,wonderful and healthy goodness. A gift to our taste buds. Hahaha! So yes you can see how much I love them. :D

I partly grew up in Zimbabwe, Africa. In our backyard there is an avocado tree. When they were ripe and in season, my brothers and I would always make sure the house was filled with avocados. It was wonderful to just be able to pick avocados out of the tree! Africa is such a gift in that way.

So having avocados around, I found many ways to use them. This is a really quick and very easy recipe. I know for a fact we all just don't always have time to make an extravagant meal and I don't enjoy spending numerous hours in the kitchen making a meal. But just because a meal is quick it doesn't mean it cant be absolutely delicious.

So here's a recipe to a quick  and easy lunch on the go.

Ingredients:

• 2 Slices of whole grain bread (or 1 slice, if you want to make an open sandwich)
• 1/3 of a medium sized avocado
• 1 handful spinach
• Thin Cucumber slices
• 2 tablespoons cottage cheese
• 2 slices lunch meat (It can be turkey, beef or chicken. Even meat leftover from dinner last night. Whichever makes your taste buds happy)
• Black pepper to sprinkle (optional)
• Parsley to sprinkle (optional)
• Sriracha Hot Sauce (optional)

Recipe:

1. Toast bread until tender and crispy
2. Spread cottage cheese
3. sprinkle black pepper and parsley
4. Add cucumber slices and spinach
5. Slice the avocado and place on bread
6. Sprinkle Sriracha on top if desired
7. Close the sandwich up and ENJOY!

So simple. So good. So healthy. So filling.

I hope you enjoy this simple yummy sandwich.

Xx

Rati