Healing Our Earth – Nourishing body and soul – Vegetarian pure cooking
In today’s information age, we are continually bombarded with details about the physical aspects of what we eat and the effects that different ingredients may or may not have, and naturally this is important. But in this welter of information, we tend to overlook one crucial factor: the consciousness of the person cooking and the effect that this will have upon the food, and thus also on those who eat it. A cook prepares food in a physical place, but also in a spiritual or inner space. And just as the physical surroundings are best kept clean and in order, so should be the state of mind of those in the kitchen. When this subtle, spiritual aspect is taken into consideration, the role of the cook extends from simply creating tasty, nourishing meals with fresh ingredients, to including a spiritual connection with those who will be eating that food. The aim will be to touch and fill the heart as well as the palate and stomach. The love of the cook, and his or her motivation to offer sustenance, will nourish as much as the chemical components of each dish.
Even in today’s demanding society, when there sometimes seems to be hardly enough time to cook, let alone do so peacefully and caringly, it is therefore definitely beneficial to develop a positive attitude towards cooking. Before undertaking any food preparation, remind yourself that the project at hand can and should be an enjoyable, creative activity, rather than an unpleasant, time-consuming chore. So look, cook and enjoy!
Here are some fun recipes demonstrated on Healing Our Earth Online Event
Celery Rolls
- DOUGH
- 500 g (1 lb) strong plain flour 1 tsp salt
1 tbs instant dried yeast
2 tbs oil - lukewarm water
- FILLING
- 185 g (6 oz) tomato purée 2 tbs oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika - 125 g (4 oz) Cheddar cheese, grated 250 g (8 oz) celery, finely chopped
- TOPPING
2 tbs oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2-3 tbs sesame seeds
30 g (1 oz) fresh coriander OR parsley
Mix together all the dry dough ingredients and the oil. Add the water a little at a time to form a soft dough. Knead the dough for 5 minutes or until elastic. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours.
Heat the oil in a pan, add the tomato purée, salt and paprika and cook until the oil has blended into the purée. Leave aside.
Roll out the dough into rectangle 5 mm (1⁄4 in) thick and spread the tomato paste evenly all over the dough. Sprinkle cheese and celery evenly over the dough and roll the dough into a Swiss roll. With a knife, cut the rolled dough into 1 cm (1⁄2 in) thick slices and place them on a greased baking tray, with enough space around them to rise to twice the size. Bake in pre-heated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 for 20 minutes until brown.
To prepare the topping, heat more oil in a small saucepan, add the mustard seeds until they pop, then add the sesame seeds and remove from the heat. Spread this over each roll with a teaspoon and sprinkle coriander or parsley on top.
Makes 8-10 Rolls.
Vegan Lemon Cake
- 2 lemons (juice and zest)
- 1.5 cups plain flour
- 1 cups sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 6 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence/flavouring
- Small quantity of soya/oat/other vegan milk
- Icing
- 2 tbsp icing or granulated sugar
- 1 lemon – juice and rindMethod
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees/Gas 4
- Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl. Mix together well.
- Grate all the lemon rind into a large measuring cup.
- Add the juice of the lemons to the measuring cup.
- Add milk/soya milk/water to the rind and lemon juice until you have filled 3 cups.
- Pour the lemon juice mixture into your bowl of dry ingredients.
- Add oil, then vanilla, then vinegar and mix well. The mixture will foam.
- Pour into a lined or ungreased 30in/8in cake tin
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until the cake bounces back a bit, when you touch it in the middle. A knife should be almost clean when you bring it out.
- Ice with a thin layer of icing made from granulated or icing sugar, lemon rind and lemon juice. NB Add lemon juice to sugar gradually – you may not need so much. Use a brush or spatula to ‘paint’ on the icing.
- MAKES Enough for 10 People
Vegan, Gluten-free Nut Roast
- 1-2 cup mixed nuts (roasted- e.g. peanuts, walnuts, almonds etc.) – grind coarsely2-3 stalks of celery – finely chop
2-3 carrots – grated
2 peppers (colourful) – small diced cubes (optional)
2 cups white rice – well cooked (you can replace with brown rice or lentils)
2 cups oats – grind
Fresh parsley – chopped or mixed herbs, sage, rosemary
Salt/Pepper
Hing (Asafoetida)
Tamari
Olive/Sunflower oil for sautéing the veges
Some water
1 tbsp. mustard
Take a big bowl
– Sauté veggies & flavour with tamari, hing, salt/pepper etc.
– Add in ground nuts, rice, and fresh parsley and herbs
– Add required amount of oats as needed to bind the mixture
– Add additional flavouring if necessary or ingredients of your choice
Spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes etc. cheese
BAKING
– prepare bread loaf tins, lined with oil
– bake for 45 mins on moderate heat
SERVE WARM OR COLD. Do not cut loaves when hot.
- 2 lbs fresh noodles
- 10 Chinese leaves
- 4 pak choi
- 2 medium carrots
- 6 pieces of smoked tofu
- 2 tablespoon chilli bean paste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon tamari sauce [ or light sauce soy]
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon shredded or grounded fresh ginger
- 4 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
- 1/2 bowl water
- Vegetables:
- Tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, Capsicum (any colour), aubergine, courgettes, broccoli, mushrooms – all these vegetables are optional. (chop all vegetables into cubes of medium size – not too big, not too small)
- Tofu – (small cubes and baked before putting into the dish.)
- Salt, lime leaves (8-10), lemon grass (can get either slices or long stick)
- Curry Powder – 2-3 tablespoons
- Coconut milk – 2 tins
- Water Chestnut – 1 small tin
- Oil – 2-3 tablespoons
- Chilli – optional
