15 LichField Road556835 Singapore
So I am French ! And considering living a life without eating any bread seems impossible to me ! I am attending nutrition courses and we had recently a lecture about grains. Some diets recommend not to eat any and it seems some people are really reactive to the proteins they contain (not only the wheat gluten). This scared me a little and I turned grain free for a few days… But actually as rightly explained in my course, food is bio individual and we all react differently to what we eat. In my case, I have figured that eating less gluten definitely helps me digest better and feel better, but I can not imagine skipping bread for the rest of my life, or at least at this stage of my life 🙂 However I try to enjoy only the best, eating sourdough organic bread when I chose to eat real bread. And of course I have banned white loaves or baguettes and any industrial baked stuffed. And when I decide to go gluten and / or flour free I bake myself some loaves like this one, which are super yum and so nutritionally good ! Of course it doesn’t taste like bread (no yeast or levain, and no flour) but it’s got a crust, a dense moist inside with some chunky seeds bites so it definitely recalls some nordic bread loaves and works really well with savory or sweet toppings. Don’t mention to your kids it’s made with lentils, they won’t taste them 🙂 and play with the different grains ratio if you want to have more / less buckwheat or quinoa, or millet flavor. You can also add a little spices like cinnamon, and some nuts or raisins if you want to twist it a little. Recipe below, super basic, just remember to prepare it the day before to soak your legumes, grains and seeds. This is actually super beneficial from a nutrition standpoint as it activates them by removing their physic acid external coating. Phytic acid prevents them from germinating and has been proven to diminish nutrients assimilation ! So don’t skip this part !
Ingredients for one loaf
- 100 g coral lentils
- 140 g buckwheat or millet or quinoa (or combination of all those, which I prefer)
- 70 g Sunflower seeds
- 70 g Pumpkin seeds
- 10 g chia seeds
- 10 g Hemp seeds
- 4 tbsp Psyllium powder
- 250 ml water
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Soak all your seeds and grains the day before in filtered water.
- In the morning, rinse them well and drain them
- Preheat your oven to 160°C fan forced
- Mix your psyllium with 125 ml water and let it rest for a few minutes
- Transfer your seeds and grains to your high speed blender and add your psyllium and all the other ingredients.
- Mix to blend well and break some of your seeds but ensure you keep some bits and texture. Once done add additional spices / raisins / nuts if using any.
- Transfer to your prepared tin layered with baking paper and top with additional seeds
- Put in your oven for min 1h and 20 / 25 min. Check, it should be gently golden on the top and your toothpick will come clean when checking doneness.
- Let it cool down in the tin before transferring out and wait it’s totally cool to slice.
- Enjoy!
Green Muffins today ! Cause it’s the week end, it’s Brunch mode at home and I feel like having something easy to bake a little sweet and savory, and it’s a good way to stuff some leafy greens in my kids food :).
I am sure you have a similar recipe at home, but if not, don’t hesitate to try it ! Spinach are super rich in Calcium and antioxydants polyphenols, real feta cheese rich in protein and Calcium, and we use Extra Virgin Olive Oil instead of butter in the dough, a great source of healthy omega 3 fatty acids.
Nb: if you don’t have feta use soft goat cheese instead, it works too. I have also tried them with GF flour blend from Bob’s Redmill and they also turned out well, so it can be made GF very easily.
If you have them as a meal, complete with nutrient dense food like a green salad combined with healthy avocado fats and some roasted nuts or seeds..You can add some proteins on the side like smoked salmon or eggs if you are not vegetarian, and to make it a completely balanced meal, add some low GI fruits for dessert like a berry salad with lemon zest and mint.
Enjoy !
Ingredients (Makes 12 small muffins)
- 2 cups self-raising flour (for GF substitute by GF blend and add 2 tsp GF baking powder and 1 tsp salt)
- 125 g baby spinach roughly shredded
- 3 chopped spring onions
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme
- 135 g crumbled real feta (extra yum with soft marinated one)
- 2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
- 1 cup butter milk (replace with milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice if you don’t have any)
- 80 g EVOO
- 1 free range egg
- 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
- Cracked pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan and poppy seeds to top your muffins before going to the oven
Directions
- Preheat oven at 190°C fan, forced
- Grease with EVOO or lay with cooking paper your muffin tinSift your flour into a bowl, add your nutmeg, cracked pepper, parmesan, spring onions and shredded spinach.
- Stir. Add the feta and combine gently. In another bowl whisk your liquid ingredients until well combined. Add the wet to the flour mixture and use a metal spoon to stir until just combined (do not over mix to keep big feta chunks).
- Transfer to your baking tin, top with reserved parmesan and poppy seeds and put in the oven for 25 min, checking after 20 min and reducing to 180 if it turns golden to quickly (adjust / muffin sizes and oven)
- Once done, left to cool down for 5/10 min and enjoy warm with a nice salad !
I could live only eating fruits and veggies (don’t do it though it’s not balanced 🙂 ! And we are spoilt here, especially when it is the mango season ! My kids love fruits too, but sometimes find it a bit boring when I tell them their afternoon snack will always feature a fruit. Smoothies are a great way to shake it up and make it much more fun for them to have their dose of real natural sugar, vitamins and fibers ! And yes smoothies are much better in my opinion than juices. I have a cold pressed juicer at home and do use it, especially to make veggies juices. But compared to a smoothie you lose all fibers when you juice. And for that reason too, smoothies are much more filling and Leo will always be satisfied with a smoothie whereas he ll ask for more after a big cold pressed juice 🙂
Adjust the recipe below to get the consistency you like and either drink or eat it. In case you make a smoothie bowl, top with goji berries, extra banana or mango slices, hemp seeds, pomegranate, raw cacao nibs, quinoa flakes or coconut flakes.
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 1 +1/4 cup frozen mangoes
- 1 cup frozen bananas
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 5/6 ice cubes (adjust to consistency you like)
- Optional 1/4 tsp real vanilla extract
Instruction
Put everything in your high speed blender, blend until smooth.
Being in Lockdown and far away from home, I guess some days I just crave for the food I grew up with. As a kid, I loved quiches, which were my Mum go to dish when she was running out of time and ideas 🙂 Being already a vegetarian I loved those days ! It’s also one of the first savory dish I learnt to cook by myself. At first using pre made dough my Mum would buy at the supermarket (to save time again 🙂 but then when I started to learn how to read food labels (scary :)) I decided to make my own dough. Except for “pate feuilletée” which requires some skills, you have no excuse not to make your pie pastry ! In the recipe below I have twisted a little the dough adding a few tsp of thyme, you can also add some spices or even seeds… when you make your own, combinations are infinite !!
If asparagus are not in season, switch for brocoli, broccolini, spinach… and you can also replace the feta with soft goat cheese. Whatever the combo, I promise it will turn out super yummy !
Recipe just below. Happy Baking and eating.
Serves 6
Ingredients
Quiche
- A Bunch of green asparagus, washed and trimmed
- 100 g crumbled soft real feta cheese
- 3 large pastured eggs
- 250 ml full fat fresh milk
- 1 medium red onion thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp grated organic lemon zest
- 4 tbsp chopped herbs (chives and parsley)
- A pinch of grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste
Dough
- 200 g T55 flour, 100 g butter, 75 ml water, 5 g sugar, 3 g sea salt (optional: 2 tsp dried thyme or 1/2 tsp turmeric or 1 tbsp poppy seeds…)
Instructions
Start making the dough:
- Mix all dry ingredients. Add the butter cut in small pieces and mix using your hands to get a sandy texture. Don’t overdo it ! Make a well in your “sand” and add the water gradually. Using your hands incorporate the water to the dough until you get something homogenous and smooth. Cling wrap it and put it in your fridge for 30 min. It is then ready to be used 🙂
- Preheat your oven at 190°C fan forced
- Mix your liquids: eggs, add the milk, mix well, add the lemon, chopped herbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
- Roll your dough and transfer it to a pan layered with baking paper. Top with your liquids, then add the red onions and finish with the crumbled feta and the asparagus (I chose to keep them in full as I find it nicer 🙂 but you can cut them if you prefer)
- Put in the oven for 30 min, until it is nicely golden brown.
- Enjoy with a nice salad as a main meal.
Another salad ! And again Brocoli ! You are going to think we love brocoli at our place ! And you’ll be right 🙂 My kids used to be a little reluctant, I guess when I was busy working in corporate and asking my au pair to cook them brocoli, it was probably not the yummiest meal of the week for them 🙂 And I do remember eating some watery green little trees at my grandma’s place (I love my grandman don’t get me wrong) as a teenager, which I really found tasteless and would only force myself to eat as I was told to be polite and because they were good for me !
And yes Brocoli is good for you : this super veggie is loaded with fiber, antioxidants to reduce inflammation, and vitamin C to aid iron absorption ! And yes it is also super tasty and versatile when you cook it well. Think, roasted coated with a little evoo and spices, boiled and blended with cashews for a creamy soup, shredded as an alternative to grains in tabouleh, and even better mixed with fruits for a creamy smoothie… The list is endless and this time it is a very simple yet very tasty salad I propose you to make. 20 min max, only a few ingredients, and you’ll thank me after tasting it for sure !
INGREDIENTS (Serves 4 as a side)
- 1 large brocoli ( or brocolini, or cauliflower)
- 1 red onion
- 100 gr haloumi cut in small bites ( or smoked tofu for vegan alternative)
- 45 grs roasted walnuts chopped ( or any nuts)
- 3tbsp goji berries ( or cranberries, raisins,…)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro ( or parsley if you prefer)
- 2 tbsp evoo
- Zest and juice of 1 organic lemon
- 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- Optional chili flakes
DIRECTIONS
- Separate the brocoli florets from the stem. Don’t throw it away, you ll use it later.
- Coat the florets with 1 tbsp evoo, cumin powder, salt and pepper and optional chili flakes. Add the onion cut in quarters to the same bowl and mix well. Transfer to roast in preheated oven at 190 deg C fan forced for 20 min ( until you get a nice roasted colour)
- At the same time, grill your halloumi as per package instructions.
- Once done, take it out and leave to cool down
- Cut the stem of the brocoli to get some crispy brocoli match sticks you ll add to the salad later.
- Once your brocoli and onions are at room temperature, transfer in your salad bowl the roasted broccoli and onions, the raw brocoli, the walnuts, herbs, goji, grated lemon and toss.
- Drizzle with your lemon juice and 1 tbsp evoo. Toss well again. Finish adding the chargrilled haloumi, add more herbs, cracked pepper, chia seeds sprinkle and serve immediately 🙂
Hello ! So today posting a recipe my kids would love me to do everyday. But like all the really good stuff I have told them they can’t have it everyday, otherwise they wouldn’t appreciate it any longer 🙂 And also, in this recipe I do use quite a fair amount of sugar, which is really unusual for me… and honestly, once in a while I am totally fine with my kids enjoying it, but like always they need balance ! Having said that, those blondies are really terribly yummy and addictive… And apart from the sugar, the rest of the ingredients is pretty good. There is even White Miso, which I tend to use a lot for it’s umami flavor, which works so well with chocolate. Also it’s rich in probiotics ! So for a GF vegan Bondie so delicious, I would say they perform quite well ! Anyway, I let you decide by yourself. Recipe is just below and you can get started right away as you probably carry everything you need.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 8
- 200 g GF flour ( I use Bobs Kitchen 1 for 1)
- 180 g vegan chocolate droplets
- 100 g roasted walnut halves (replace with any other nuts, but walnuts tend to be my fav for this recipe)
- 270 g brown sugar ( yes it is a lot but no choice to get the blondie chewiness and cracked top. I have tried with less and it did not work so well )
- 170 g cold pressed coconut oil liquid form (unrefined, it won’t taste like coconut, trust me:)
- 3 tbsp white miso
- 2 tbsp flaxseed meal + 5 tbsp water = 2 vegan 🥚
- 2 tsp real vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
DIRECTIONS
- Wisk coconut oil, miso and vanilla, and add the flaxseed egg.
- Add the bwrown sugar and whisk well until well combined
- Do the same for the flour and baking powder and then add to the liquid ingredients.
- Add chocolate and walnuts, and stir to combine.
- The dough is thick and sticky, it’s normal:)
- Transfer to a lined tin with baking paper and put in preheated oven at 180 deg C fan forced for 30 min.
- Take out when cracks start to appear on the surface and let cool down completely before cuting
- Enjoy or keep in fridge for a few days if you can 😉
I guess many of my readers are currently working from home, and craving for their morning coffee ritual on their way to work ! I personally am more of a morning tea person, but then when lunch time approaches I do need my caffeine fix (usually, right now on a detox !) In any case, if you like coffee, then try this smoothie recipe. It is nutritionally balanced and will keep you fueled up for your whole morning ! Banana and nuts bring creaminess, and the coffee taste works super well with the nuts and seeds added for extra goodness. So just head over to your high speed blender, grab the ingredients listed below and make yourself a nice cuppa 🙂
INGREDIENTS
1 cup coffee (use whatever coffee you like)
1 small banana frozen and cut into chunks
1/3 cup almond milk unsweetened
2 soft dates (or more if you have a sweet tooth)
2 tbsp GF oats
2 tbsp hemp seeds
1,5 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbs flax seeds
1 tbsp pecan + 1 tbsp cashewss (ideally soaked in warm water for 30 min to help make them more tender, but not need if you have a thermomix or vitamix)
A few ice cubes (adjust to consistency you like)
Optionnal: a pinch of cinnamon or vanilla
DIRECTIONS
Put everything in your high speed blender and blend until super smooth adding more ice cubes if needed. If you want to make it thicker and eat it as a smoothie bowl, put less ice cubes and top with a few toppings (raw cacao nibs, crushed roasted nuts, granola, ..)
Hey there ! So if you know me a little, you know we live in Singapore and are surrounded by a mix of Asian cuisines, which I looooove ! Noodles and vermicelli are a main staple in every kitchen here, and I always carry brown rice vermicelli for a quick and easy stir fry or salad in this case. I prefer to use brown rice ones, as they are more interesting from a nutritional standpoint and tastewise, you can really not tell the difference once blended with the rest. In the salas below, I use a mix of veggies I like, but feel free to change / skip / replace (cauliflower or brocollini can also work very well, change for red cabbage for more polyphenols and a burst of colour, and play with the herbs: dill or asian thai basil are really nice alternatives). If you don’t like goji berries, use raisins, dried cranberries or blueberries or omit (though I like having that little natural sweet note). Finally, peanuts work very well in Asian flavored dish, but omit if allergic, or replace by toasted crushed cashews or sunflower or pine nuts. If you are not GF you can use soba noodles (some are 100 GF, but not all, so check the label). As always, this is a ridiculously easy recipe, you can do quickly and twist with your current mood ! ENJOY 🙂
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4 large portions as a main
250g brown rice vermicelli cooked as per package instructions
Half a brocoli, cut into small florets, blanched and sliced
1 large carrot julienned
100 g blanched snow peas sliced
Half a yellow raw capsicum sliced
25 g shredded mixed herbs (mint, coriander, chives, thai basil, ..)
2 tbsp crushed grilled peanuts
1 tbsp black sasimi seeds
1 tbsp goji berries
Optional chili flakes
Dressing: Juice and zest of 1 small lime, 3 tbsp rice vinegar, 3 tbsp sesame oil + 2 tbsp avocado oil (or grapeseed), 1 tbsp tamari sauce, 3 tbsp maple syrup (honey is also ok if not vegan)
INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare your dressing.
Transfer all your salad ingredients (except the nuts, seeds and keep 1 tbsp herbs) in your nicest large salad bowl. Using your clean 🙂 hands, mix all dry ingredients well, add the dressing and combine everything well again together. Top your salad with remaining ingredients and serve immediately (or keep in fridge for a few days, but then better not to pour the dressing)
Hi there ! So if you follow me, you probably know that I work in a tiny artisanal super yummy bakery in Singapore (Microbakery&Kitchen) owned by a Singaporean friend. Being French I was born with bread, raised with baguettes and pain de campagne, and developed over the years a strong tastebud for sourdough loaves. At Micro the team bakes the best sourdough in the whole Singapore I believe, and each time I part time there I end up increasing too strongly my Gluten intake 🙂 So normally at home I tend not to bake too much bread, especially as I don’t bake sourdough (not enough time commitment for that unfortunately) and tend to avoid yeast. But once in a while I am tempted to make my own bread, probably some kind of maternal manifestation of my love for my family (yes my kids and buddy are Bread lovers !). I had made a few previous attempts at no knead breads but they were not so successful (crust to soft, or dough not airy enough…) so when I found out about the Sullivan Street bakery no Knead Bread recipe on NY Times cooking website I was again tempted to give it another trial !
Made a few adjustments to the original recipe, twisting the flour and adding some seeds/ nuts. If you are stuck at home at the moment and are in the mood for baking, go for it, you won’t need to go out to buy bread tomorrow morning 🙂 confinement recipe validated ! and you will enjoy really good tartines for brekkie with your family. This recipe is really easy and you can make it with your kids ! Just need to plan resting time of min 14 hours (ideally around 16 🙂
As always, don’t hesitate to contact me if you make this recipe and have any question or feed back. ENJOY !
INGREDIENTS
3 cups flour : 1,5 cups spelt + 1,5 cup wholewheat* (can substitute with GF flour but bread density will be different, I have tried with Bob’s redmill 1 to 1 successfully )
1,5 cup water at 25 deg C
1 medium carrot grated (for extra fibers 🙂
1/2 cup seeds or nuts (choose whatever you like, I like hazelnuts or walnuts and pumpkin seeds also work very well 🙂
2 tbsp chia seeds
Optional 1/4 cup dried apricots / raisins / cranberries and if you choose them optional spices (0,5 tsp cinnamon or 0,25 tsp cardamon)
1,5 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp dry instant yeast
INSTRUCTIONS
The day before (afternoon if you are planning to bake next morning), whisk all dry ingredients together i a large bowl, and add the water gradually. Stir well to combine everything well.
Cover the bowl tightly and leave it to rest on your countertop at room temperature.
16 hours later minimum:
Preheat your oven at 230 deg Celsius Fan forced.
Put your pan in the oven to preheat as well. You need to use a pan that has a lid and can go in the oven. Ideally a Staub / Le Creuset / Dutch oven kind of pan. It will help getting a nice crust and moist interior.
After 30 min preheating, scrape your bread dough out of the bowl. It should have well risen and be airy. it will be sticky so use some more flour to work on your dough and shape it in a ball form. You might need quite a fairly amount of flour depending on the flour you used. It’s normal ! Add flour and shape your dough until it gets the shape of a ball and is not sticky any more.
Transfer your dough on a baking paper sheet, scar it, and top with a little nuts/seeds if you want to.
Take out your Pan out of the oven, transfer the dough with the baking paper into it, drop some water on your lid (using a spray bottle works well 🙂 and close immediately the lid, then put back your pan in the oven for 35 min.
After 35 min, open the oven, remove the lid and let the bread crust get a nice colour for approx 10/15 min (check regularly).
Once you have a nice bread loaf with a nice golden or slightly darker crust (depending on your taste), take it out and leave on a grid to rest and cool down for min 1 hour before slicing (otherwise it will get mushy).
Enjoy immediately, or keep in a bread bag for a few days, or slice and freeze to eat on demand if you leave in SG 🙂
Hello Guys !
Looking for new meal options ? I have a very simple one for you today that everyone should love even if they are not vegan ! so don’t tell them 🙂 (kidding :)) As a teenager I discovered cucumber egg mayo sandwiches in London as they were most of my lunch meals while on a student exchange. At that time I was already a vegetarian, not a vegan, and even if I was never fond of mayonnaise on its own, I found the chives / egg / cucumbers / cracked pepper and mayo combo very addictive at that time (maybe also because my other lunch box options were not really exciting :). Anyway since then I sometimes go for egg mayo sandwiches options when I know it comes from a good production place ! But as it gets more and more difficult for me to eat animal products I tried to find the right vegan alternative and believe I have found it !
Recipe is just below for a very simple vegan mayo you can use in this egg sandwich base but also for any other recipe asking for mayo.
Have fun cooking and let me know how it turned out !
SUPER EASY YUMMY VEGAN MAYONNAISE
INGREDIENTS
160 grs blanched almonds soaked in water for min 4 hours and then rinsed and drained
125 ml purified filtered water
125 ml cold pressed light extra virgin olive oil
2,5 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
kalak nemak to taste (will bring some salt and eggy flavor)
INSTRUCTIONS
Blend all your ingredients except black salt and olive oil in your high speed blender until you get a super smooth texture. In my termomix I did it for 10 min roughly.
Add gradually the olive oil while continuing blending, to get a smooth well combined texture.
Taste, add a little more lemon or cider vinegar for tanginess or kalak nemak to increase egg flavor. Transfer to your mason jar glass container, close tightly and keep in the fridge for up to a month.
To make your egg mayo mixture, simply chop drained firm tofu (ideally organic and ensuring non GMO), add a few tbsp of your vegan mayo, some cracked black pepper, chopped chives a bit more kalak nemak, a little apple cider vinegar a tsp of dijon mustard. And stir well.
Choose nice sourdough bread or focaccia, GF toasts or wraps, … try to avoid white and refined flours option breads if possible … drop a few tbsp egg mayo mixture, top with sliced cucumber (use mandoline to get thin ones), some baby spinach, cilantro or additional spring onions, and have a nice meal 🙂