15 Minute Creamy (& Yummy) Avocado Pasta

I am still thanking my lucky stars for finding Angela of Oh She Glows. I stumbled on her blog during my search for vegan recipes. My carnivore hubs decided to go on a semi plant based diet. I was thrilled. But the girls were worried especially Arianna. She groaned and reminded us of the tasted like plastic millet dumpling from an organic place in town.

Angela has an amazing collection of vegan recipes. They are very simple recipes, even by my standards. I have tried a couple of them and ALL of them tasted just like normal food, actually better, to be fair. They were good stuff. I was totally blown away. I never imagined that vegan meals can taste this good as the few that I had in the past either tasted weird (like rotten tofu), like plastic or were tasteless. I had no luck with vegan cafes/restaurants. Even the man and the girls agreed that Angela's recipes were good. Arianna was relieved. Thanks, Angela!

Her Creamy Avocado Pasta was the first few recipes that I tried. Quick and simple recipes always attract my attention. And if it is nutritious and healthy, then it will be a must cook it immediately for me. 15 minutes to prepare a nutritious meal with close to no cooking What not to like? Just two steps; 1) boil the pasta, 2) blitz the rest of the ingredients. And viola, you will have a delicious plate of pasta waiting for you.


15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta
(Recipe from Oh She Glows)

• 1 medium sized ripe Avocado, pitted
• 1/2 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish
• 2-3 garlic cloves, to taste
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• ~1/4 cup Fresh Basil, (probably optional)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 servings/6 oz of your choice of pasta
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.
3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately.

Note;
- Makes 2 servings.
- This dish does not reheat well due to the avocado in the sauce. Please serve immediately.

Detox Salad

I found another cut everything up and mix them together type of recipe online. The best part was it tasted awesome, it is a detox salad, the man loved it (though he was skeptical initially), the girls loved it whole-heartedly ...... and there is no cooking involved just blitzing in a food processor.

And the best-est part of it all is; broccoli and cauliflower are detoxifying because they provide support for our immune, inflammatory, hormonal, detoxification and antioxidant system. [Source from HERE]

We had a bowl of the salad and a cup of our favorite tea each for our Sunday brunch. We felt so re-energized after eating the salad - the good kind of full of energy feeling. We loved it!

I was shocked when my younger girl (who doesn't fancy salad) and my carnivore hubs requested for the salad two days later.


Detox Salad (vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and soy-free)
(Recipe from Oh She Glows)

• 2 heads broccoli (1 bunch), stems removed
• 1 head cauliflower, stems removed
• 2.5 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup currants
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 4-6 tbsp fresh lemon juice, to taste
• kosher salt, pepper (I used 1/2 tsp salt and lots of pepper)
• kelp granules or Herbamare (optional), to taste
• Pure maple syrup, to drizzle on before serving

Instructions
1. In a food processor blitz the broccoli (no stems) until fine. Add into large bowl.
2. Process the cauliflower (no stems) until fine and add into bowl. Do the same with the carrots.
3. Stir in the sunflower seeds, currants, raisins, and parsley. Add lemon juice and seasonings to taste.
4. Drizzle with maple syrup to taste.

The China Study

Two weeks ago, the man came back from work, sat me down and said, "I want to try to eat less meat .... can we go vegan on weekdays?". I was thrilled (been trying to get him to eat less meat for a while) but shocked at the time. "Are you sick?", "Did you fail your medical check-up?" He smiled and said, "No, I am just tired of feeling bloated and sluggish all the time. I want to try to eat better."

He told me that he was inspired by The China Study that I got for him for Valentines this year. My carnivore hubs wants to go on a plant based diet because of a book? He "listened" to a book instead of my many years of concerned-nagging? I was scratching my head in confusion and disbelief. Men .... they can be difficult to understand at times. 

I started researching online for interesting yet quick and simple vegan recipes. I did not mind the extra work as I disliked handling red meat and poultry. I whispered a silent thank you to the writers of the book. I am determined to whip up killer vegan meals to keep him and the girls interested so that I do not need to touch handle red meat and poultry anymore.

I made Pineapple Apple Salsa for dinner recently. This is the first time I made salsa at home. Never imagined that it is this simple to prepare. Super easy, actually. Chop up all the ingredients and mix everything together, that's all it requires. I found the recipe from Angie's Recipes, first time visiting her blog and was totally wowed by her food photography.

We loved the salsa a lot, very flavorful and refreshing. It is perfect as an appetizer or as a side dish for many meat-less dinners.


Pineapple Apple Salsa

• 300 g Fresh pineapple, chopped
• 2 Apples, diced
• 1-2 Tomatoes, diced
• 1 Small purple onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 Yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 Red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 handful Rocket leaves, chopped
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp Fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp Honey
• 1/2 tsp Chilli flakes

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavours to blend together.


I doubled the portion. The man and I had it for lunch the next day with couscous. The salsa was even more flavorful the next day and paired well with the couscous ..... one of those rare occasions we liked the same food.

Easter This Year Was Different

Can I be a Christian and yet not feel God's presence? Yes? No? Maybe?

I was baptized at birth, brought up in a Catholic family, attended an all girls Catholic school but never felt the presence of God. Is that possible? I kept asking myself over and over again as I was growing up. I used to be so envious of my friends and their special encounters with God. I yearn to hear God's voice, speak in tongues and experience a life changing encounter with him. I used to be depressed whenever I attended retreats during my teenage years. ALL my friends spoke in tongue. I tried and tried but never once felt the holy spirit's presence. There were a couple of times that I even faked it so that I would not be the odd one out. :(

I often asked, "Why not me, Lord?" I thought God was punishing me because I never paid attention during Sunday Service. As a kid I remember waking up bright and early every Sunday morning for service. I went reluctantly with my eyes half opened without understanding its significance. It was breakfast at my favorite noodles place after service that motivated me each time. I was shallow. I know.

Despite not feeling God's presence, I continued going about life as a faithful Catholic girl. Full credit to my mom as she ensured that I do not stray from my faith. Things changed when I left home for college. I stopped going to church .... for years (except during holiday visits back home). I never saw the need to as I started to doubt God's presence in church. I reasoned, "If God has forsaken me (cos I never felt his presence), why should I make the effort to visit him every Sunday morning?"

Looking back I realized that God had ALWAYS been at my side protecting me, keeping me safe and helping me to make sound decisions. He has never forsaken me. Without him I would never had survived my childhood and difficult teenage years. But ...... I am not sure why I never felt his presence then. Maybe God works with people differently?

When I left the country to further my studies, I met a lovely couple. They invited me to their church, a Methodist church. I went and was happy that I did. Even though I never felt God presence's there too, I experienced a newfound inner peace with myself. It was a good feeling and I loved it. I continued going to church and officially became a Christian. The lovely couple became my god parents. They showered me with unconditional love and concern. I will forever be grateful to them. It just clicked recently, that God was using them to show me that he loves me unconditionally and had never forsake me. [God-pa and God-ma;  I can never thank you guys enough for everything. Do visit again, soon!]

After settling down and having kids I stopped going to church again. But I continued reading my bible daily and "talked" to God like a friend all the time. I was in a religion is a private relationship with God and I do not want to do it in public mode. Maybe it was my own justification for not going to church. Even during Easter and Christmas I never went to church. I was more into the commercial aspect of the festivities. My focus was on gift exchanges and get togethers.

Things changed this year. Out of the blue I had a strong desire to look for a church to send my girls for Bible Study. I was surprised because I have never exposed them to the religion. Why? I thought it was better to do it when they are older. I met a very friendly lady who helped me settle the girls in. First my god-parents, now her. God has his ways to lead me back to church.:) I am so happy to see my girls enjoying their bible study sessions and Girls Brigade at church each week.

And ......... I celebrated Easter in the true sense this year. We ate hot cross buns on Good Friday and spoke about how Jesus died on the cross to save us. Then we went to church to celebrate Christ's resurrection. Arianna was so excited about distributing easter eggs to the elderly at church. No words can describe how happy I am about the developments in our spiritual life. God is Great and I am happy to be his Child!

I would like to dedicate this song to my God-parents. It is their all time favorite. "Happy Easter, God-pa and God-ma. Thank you for loving and supporting me all these years. I miss the two of you SO MUCH!!!!!"

Coming Out of the Dark

There has been so many changes for us this year that it is almost unbelievable. We knew the changes were required but they were so out of the box that it scare the shit out of us. I am someone ever ready for a challenge so I simply plunged headlong and stayed focussed. My more conservative other half had many sleepless nights and was totally stressed out. After 3 months of groping in the dark, I am happy to share that we have finally settled in our new and happier routine. The girls loved it too. I hope to blog about it, one day, once I figured out where and how to start. ;)

I baked a cake today. Actually two, one for tea and another for breakfast tomorrow. It has been ages since I warmed up my oven. It felt good and the home smelled heavenly.

I have not been able to make time for myself lately. I went through three months without visiting my friends' blogs, updating my own blog and playing with Photoshop. AND I have 800+ photographs not downloaded from my camera. Unimaginable! I did all of the above today. It was rejuvenating. I felt like a human again.

Here are my bakes;

I was clearing my google reader (which took hours due to my long absence from the virtual world) in the morning and this recipe from one of my favorite bloggers caught my attention. We loved it. It was moist and good. The addition of cranberries and apples to the good ole banana bread was refreshing!

Banana, Apple and Cranberry Bread

[recipe from My Kitchen Snippets]

Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour [i used one cup of cake flour and half cup of pastry whole wheat flour]
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup sugar [i used slightly less than half cup of sugar]
2 eggs
½ cup + 2 tbsp vegetable oil [i used olive oil]
4 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup dried cranberries
1 apple – grated [i cut one large washington apple into small cubes]
3 large bananas – mashed [i used 2 large mondel bananas]

1. Line and greased a loaf pan. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F. [i used 2 small loaf pans]

2. In a mixing bowl, combined flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Mix well and set it aside.

3. In another mixing bowl, combined eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, grated apple and mashed bananas. Mix it well with a big spoon. Add in the dry ingredients into the eggs mixture. Mix until combined

4. Lastly add in dried cranberries. Mix well and pour it into the baking pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown. [i baked for 35mins only -180C for 20mins and the final 15mins at 175C]