Red Cabbage Braised with Olive Oil

Red cabbage is a superfood, and this has to be one of the simplest, yet tastiest ways to eat lots of it. I love cabbage, maybe it’s the Irish in me, but I can make a meal of this. Properly cooked cabbage has a slightly sweet taste which is complemented by the garlic. If you don’t like cabbage, you’ve probably never had it cooked properly. I’ve met many a person who thought they didn’t like cabbage until they tried one of my cabbage dishes. They’ve always asked for more. So if you imagine over-cooked, mushy cabbage with rotten-egg smell permeating the house give this recipe a try and see if cabbage doesn’t become one of your favorite vegetables too.

Cabbage contains phytochemicals called indoles which are thought to be responsible for reducing the risk of cancer. It’s also high in fiber, and contains a good amount of vitamins C, K, beta-carotene and the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin which promote good eye health as well as calcium, magnesium, and potassium. And it’s one of the lowest calorie foods in existence.

Red cabbage (also called purple cabbage) gets it color from a substance known as anthocyanins, the same thing that makes blueberries blue, and gives them their super-antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Anthocyanins’ powerful antioxidant properties allow them to fight damaging free radicals, protect us from the damage of toxins, and fight cardiovascular disease.

Ingredients:

red cabbage
olive oil
garlic, minced
Himalayan sea salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180C (350F).

Pull of any tough outer leaves on the cabbage and discard. Rinse and shake the cabbage to get off most of the water. Cut cabbage into quarters, then trim off the core and discard it. Cut the quarters into wedges or slices about 2.5 cm (1 inch) thick. If you want it to cook faster, cut it into thinner slices.

Place the red cabbage wedges into a glass casserole dish with a lid, layering them on top of each other until you fill the dish. After each layer of cabbage, drizzle enough olive oil to coat the cabbage wedges, sprinkle on some sea salt to taste, and sprinkle a little of the minced garlic (saving most of it for the top layer). Lay down the next layer of cabbage slices on top and do the same until you fill the dish. Add the remaining minced garlic, a final drizzle of olive oil and sea salt.

Layer the cabbage slices in the casserole dish

Put the lid on and place in the oven. Cooking time is usually about 45 minutes, but check occasionally to see if it’s ready and turn the dish so all sides cook evenly. The cabbage is done when it’s tender (no longer crunchy), but not mushy. The color will change, and lighten, but it should still be quite vibrant. At the point where it becomes tender, it loses the characteristic pungent taste of raw cabbage and takes on a nice sweet taste and that’s exactly when it’s ready to eat. Serve immediately.

Enjoy your Anthocyanins!

Variations:

• Pour a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar over the top for a richer, sweeter flavor.
• Add some chopped apple as you’re packing the layers. The taste of baked apple and cabbage compliment each other nicely.
• Pour a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil over the top to add an earthy, nutty flavor.

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Raw Vegan Marinated Portobello Mushrooms

I absolutely love mushrooms cooked, but can’t stand them raw. So when I decided to start eating more raw food, I was missing my mushrooms! Or having to eat them cooked. I’ve tried a few different raw vegan recipes featuring mushrooms, like stuffed mushrooms, and while it was better than eating them plain (yuck), I still didn’t really love them. I figured my best chance for creating a raw mushroom dish that I loved was to use my dehydrator.

If you want to eat a raw vegan diet, but you still love the taste of cooked food, a dehydrator will save you. Keep the temperature setting at 115 degrees F or below, and you won’t destroy any of the important enzymes in raw food, but the warmth is enough to change the texture and taste of the food, similar to cooking at higher temperatures. In the case of mushrooms, these are every bit as delicious as sauteed mushrooms.

Ingredients:

200g portobello mushrooms
5 tbsp (100ml) virgin cold-pressed olive oil
1 small clove garlic
1 small lemon
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp rosemary (fresh if possible)
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt (more or less to taste)

Instructions:

Brush any debris off the mushrooms and cut into slices about 1 cm (1/4 inch) thick. If you have a Pyrex baking dish that will fit in the tray slots of your dehydrator that works best, otherwise the teflex sheets will be fine, you just may need to add a bit more olive oil. Put the mushroom slices in the baking dish if you have one, otherwise put them into a bowl.

Crush or mince the garlic as fine as possible. Add to the bowl with mushrooms. Strip the rosemary leaves off if using fresh rosemary and chop as fine as possible. Add to the bowl with mushrooms, along with all the olive oil and other spices.

Using your fingers toss the mushroom slices in the oil and spices until the mushroom slices are  evenly coated. The portobello will absorb the olive oil, you may need to add more if you still have any ‘dry’ patches.

If you are using a baking dish, spread the mushrooms evenly over the bottom of the dish and insert it into the tray slots of your dehydrator. Otherwise, spread the mushrooms evenly over a teflex sheet and insert the tray into the dehydrator.

Mushrooms tossed in olive oil and spices before dehydrating

Turn on the dehydrator and set the temperature at 115 F (45C). Check on them occasionally, to mix and add more olive oil if they are getting too dried out.  In about 2-4 hours your mushrooms will be done and ready to eat. You’ll have to do some taste testing to see when they are right for you. When they are getting close to done, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over them.

Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.

Serves 2-3

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Sunflower Walnut Pate (TuNo) on a bed of sprouts

I love this pate, it’s so tasty, nutritious and versatile. It can be used in sandwiches and wraps, as a spread or dip or simply drop a scoop on top of a green salad. It’s also called TuNo because it tastes and looks very similar to tuna salad, but it’s vegan, in fact it’s a super-healthy raw vegan dish. Now if you’re one of those vegetarians or vegans who hates the taste and smell of tuna, you’ll still love this no fishy taste or smell. I suspect what most people really love about tuna salad is more to do with the added ingredients than with the tuna itself. But the tuna provides a vehicle and texture that holds it all together and gives you that high-protein full feeling. Well, the walnuts and sunflower seeds do the same in this case, and the taste really comes from the spices and other added ingredients.

Great dish to serve to your non-vegan friends – see how many of them can guess that it’s not actually tuna.

Ingredients:

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked
1 cup walnuts, broken into pieces, soaked
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup sauerkraut, finely chopped and juice to taste (can substitute pickles instead)
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teas kelp or wakame flakes
2 tbsp tamari
1 teas apple cider vinegar (ACV) or kombucha vinegar
2 teas ground cumin
1 teas paprika

Instructions:

Soak the sunflower seeds and walnuts for 4-8 hours. Drain and throw away the soak water. The soaking neutralizes the natural enzyme inhibitors in nuts and seeds making them more nutritious and easily digestible.

Add the sunflower seeds, walnuts, lemon juice, garlic, kelp, tamari, cumin, paprika and apple cider vinegar to the blender. Blend until smooth. If you have trouble blending it, add some of the sauerkraut or pickle juice. You don’t want it too runny, aim for the consistency of tuna salad.

Transfer to a bowl and mix in the chopped celery, parsley and sauerkraut (or pickle) by hand.

This will keep for several days in the fridge stored in an airtight container.

Sunflower Walnut Pate on flax crackers with sprouts and arugula

Serving suggestions:

• Eat by the spoonful
• Add a scoop to top off a salad
• Use as a dip with crudites
• Eat with flax crackers and sprouts
• Use in place of the rice, and add other raw vegetables for raw sushi
• Serve a as a spread on bread, in a pita pocket, or wrap with lots of salad vegetables

Let me know how you like it, and what other creative ways you invent to serve it.

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Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Brown Rice
3 T oil
1/2 cup each of any of the following: chopped onion, capsicum, parsley, courgette/zucchini, mushroom
2x cloves garlic (finely chopped or pressed)
1/2 teas. each of salt, paprika
3 cups boiling water

Instructions:
Wash the brown rice well and drain through a sieve. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chopped vegetables and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the herbs and rice. At a very high heat get the rice sizzling. Pour everything into a casserole dish with a lid, add the 3 cups boiling water.

Cover and place in oven at 180C / 350F for 35 minutes. You’ll get a nice potful of tasty, fluffy rice.

Eat on it’s own with a side salad, or serve with enchiladas or burritos.

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Fried Cabbage & Garlic with Pistachio

Ingredients:
3 cups red & green cabbage, finely sliced
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
4 T olive oil
1 T water
1 T soy sauce
2 teas parsley, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
garnish with pistachio nuts

Put all the ingredients into a large saucepan on a medium heat and cover. Once you hear the cabbage start to fry, shake the pan while holding the lid on.

Continue to cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes giving the saucepan a good shake every minute or so.

When done the cabbage should be wilted but glistening.

This dish should take less than 30 minutes to prepare and will serve 4.

Variations:

• use Savoy cabbage, or a combination of red and green cabbage
• after cooking and before serving sprinkle with roasted cashew nuts or pine nuts
• add thinly sliced strips of fried tofu

Wheat free & Gluten Free
Soy sauce is the one item in this recipe that might contain wheat. So if your soy sauce is wheat or gluten free – the recipe will be too.

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