Tomato Garlic Roasted Eggplant with Bolognese

I love a richly cooked, ripe eggplant that’s absorbed all the fertility friendly polyunsaturated fatty acids of the olive oil it was baked in. This is a recipe inspired by Imam Biyildi, a turkish dish where eggplants are stuffed whole and simmered in tomatoes. Roasted or sautéed eggplants go perfectly with bolognaise sauce and are a great gluten and grain-free alternative to zucchini noodles or pasta. 

Tomato Garlic Roasted Eggplant

2 tbsp olive oil

1 brown onion

4-5 baby eggplants

4 garlic cloves

 6 ripe tomatoes diced or 2 x 400g tins of tomatoes

1 cup of vegetable stock

parsley, basil or other garden herbs of choice to serve 

Cut Eggplants in half lengthwise and sprinkle the cut surfaces with salt, leave for 20 minutes and then rinse in water. This drawers out bitterness. 

Preheat oven to 190C

Meanwhile, Add the oil to a casserole dish that is suitable for both stove top and oven. Slice the onion and sauté in olive oil for 10 minutes until soft and golden. Add the eggplants to the onions with the tomatoes, stock and the garlic and simmer for 10 minutes. Season the vegetables. Turn the eggplants over and place the casserole dish in the oven for 40 minutes. 

Top with herbs, bolognese (see below) and a little cheese of your choosing if you like. Mozzarella would work well, as would parmesan, and even feta. 

Simple Bolognese

Olive oil

1 onion

1 garlic clove

4-500g of beef mince

tin of tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato paste

2/3 cup of stock 

Add olive oil to a skillet and sauté the onion until brown and golden - about 5 - 7 minutes. Add a pinch of salt to the onion and then the mince, stirring until browned. Add in the tomato paste, tomatoes, garlic and stock. Simmer for at least 10 minutes but up to 40. The longer you simmer the sauce the sweeter and more robust the flavour. If simmering for longer be sure to add extra liquid so it doesn’t dry out. 

Variations: Add vegetables of choice. Grated carrot, zucchini and cauliflower work well. 

Lentil Moussaka

The spices in this, nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon are so feminine and fragrant and kinda sweet balancing the rich eggplant, tomato and onion flavours coming through. The spices are stimulating for your circulatory system and are great for metabolism too. Lot’s of folate and minerals in the lentils and eggplant skin is an excellent source of vitamin K. So good with Parmesan cheese on top.

This is a recipe of many steps. Just for an overview you’re going to get the tomato/lentil sauce on the stove, then prep the eggplant and béchamel sauce while the tomatoes cook. 

Ingredients

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 brown onion

1 leek

3 garlic cloves

1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

¾ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground allspice

2 400g tins of tomatoes

2 cups of vegetable stock 

2 large eggplants, cut into rounds about 1 cm thick. 

Béchamel

1L milk of your choosing

80g butter 

1.2 medium onion

1 bay leaf

6 parsley stalks

60g arrowroot

1/2 tsp sea salt 

Method

1.    Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and cook the onion, leek and garlic until soft. Add the spices and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

2.    Add the tomatoes and vegetable stock, stir to combine. Cook for 25 – 30, add in the tinned lentils, cook for another 10 minutes until sauce is reduced. You can shorten this step if you like by adding less water and cooking for a shorter time, but the flavour won’t be as developed. Season with salt and pepper. 

3.    Preheat the oven to 180°C

4.    Meanwhile grill the eggplant. Brush the slices of eggplant with olive oil on either side and grill over high heat for a couple of minutes each side until browned. 

5.    Cook the Bechamel. Heat the milk, onion, baby leaf and parsley stalks. Set aside for 10 minutes so the flavours can infuse, then strain the milk, discarding the solids. In a separate saucepan melt the butter and then stir in the arrowroot, cook for about two minutes until foamy. Gradually pour in the milk and whisk until the béchamel becomes a smooth sauce. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. Add in the salt and nutmeg and remove from heat once thickened. 

6.    Assemble the Moussaka. Choose your baking dish and cover the bottom with a layer of eggplant rounds. Spread half the lentil mixture on top, and then half the bechemel. Repeat these layers and then sprinkle some nutmeg on top. Bake for 15 minutes and then take out of the oven, sprinkle grated parmesan over the top and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown and the sauce bubbles up over the sides.   

Lamb Shank Harira Soup

Lamb Shank Harira with lentils, pumpkin and Silverbeet. Deliciously warming and made in under an hour in the pressure cooker, though you could also let it stew all day in a slow cooker if you prefer. When bones are simmered in liquid all the nutritive minerals are leached into the water - such as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc. All essential for healthy bodies and healthy babies.

Ingredients

3 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1kg lamb shanks

1 large onion

2 celery stalks

1 medium carrot

3cm knob of ginger

5 garlic cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1.5 tsp turmeric

2 tsp cumin

half a tsp of nutmeg

1.5L of chicken bone broth

400g tin of diced tomatoes

1.5 tbs Worcestershire Sauce

1.5 cups diced pumpkin

Half a bunch of silverbeet, washed and torn into pieces

2 handfuls of green herbs, like coriander, and parsley, chopped

Extra virgin olive oil to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan (I used my pressure cooker on the browning setting). Add the lamb shakes and sizzle them, turning occasionally for 5 - 7 minutes until browned all over. Remove and set aside.

2. Add the onions into the saucepan perhaps with a dash more olive oil. Brown for five minutes and then add the ginger, garlic, celery and carrot. Give a little stir.

3. Add the spices and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

4. Return the shanks to the pan. Add in the bone broth and tinned tomatoes. bring to the boil. It was at this point I set my pressure cooker for 20 minutes, but you could set your slow cooker to go for all day. If using a slow cooker add the pumpkin and lentils at this stage. If using a stove top simmer for two hours. After the simmering is finished, add in the pumpkin and tinned lentils. Splash in the Worcestershire sauce and simmer another 25 to 30 minutes.

5. Remove the lamb shanks and set aside until cool enough to handle, perhaps 15 minutes. Shred the meat from the bones and add back into the soup. Add the silverbeet and heat until wilted.

Tomato Kale Soup with Sausage and Mozzarella

I love it when the whole family savours their dinner because it’s so damn delicious and satisfying. With a couple of picky eaters in the house nothing quite beats the sound of kids quietly slurping their dinner.

This one’s a winner with kids, husbands and wives alike. I used regular sausages to appease the toddlers but feel free to experiment with chorizo or other kinds if your household is less fussy.

Note: I did NOT let my kids eat off my new fancy plates

Ingredients

4 - 6 fresh sausages

1 brown onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 large carrot, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 bay leaves

1 sprig rosemary

2 x 400g cans tomatos

2 cups beef bone broth or 2 cups regular stock with 1 tbs powdered beef broth (I like nutraorganics)

4 - 6 big leaves of kale

Buffalo mozzarella and basil to serve

Method

1. Place a dash of olive oil in a skillet on medium to high heat and cook sausages, turning frequently until brown and cooked through. Remove from heat.

2. Meanwhile, pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into your soup pot, also on medium to high heat and slice the onion and add to the soup pot. Once browned, add the sliced, garlic, carrot and celery. Sautés for a few more minutes until the vegetables have softened.

3. Pour in the bone broth/or stock and bone broth powder. Season with a good pinch of salt. Add in the tomatoes, rosemary and bay leaves and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Wash the kale leaves, tear into pieces a couple of cm across and add to the soup pot. Slice the sausages into bite size rounds and add to the soup also. Simmer until the kale wilts and the sausages are heated through. Turn off heat.

5. Serve into bowls and top with torn mozzarella, basil and parsley if desired. Season to taste.

Note: I served this up with melted cheese on toast for my kids which worked really well. If you like you could place some day old sourdough in the bottom of your serving bowls before ladling soup on top for a traditional style ribollita.

Flu shot healer ginger turmeric smoothie

I went to get the flu shot while I was still sniffling slightly at the end of a cold. I’d been feeling better for days. I wouldn’t usually get such a thing while still experiencing symptoms of illness, but my gorgeous husband Andy bought into all the fear in the media and begged me to get it done sooner rather then later. If I didn't have small children to care for I wouldn’t have been so hasty.

Twenty four hours after my flu vaccination I woke up completely wiped out (energy levels about a 1 in 10) and and my cold was back with a vengeance. Over the week it’s worsened into laryngitis and now a cough.

This smoothie is exactly what my body has been craving. I got to the stage where I only want to drink this and eat other fresh foods, such as cooked and raw vegetables and fruits, with a bit of protein - like tofu or fish. It feels like denser foods such as dairy and grains are interfering with my body’s immune process. I only want to eat foods that add something to my nutritional profile, not take away from it.

Except for coffee, because this woman’s gotta mother still.

Ingredients - add straight to your blender

2 stalks celery

4cm round of pineapple, peeled

1 whole orange, peeled

1 whole lemon, peeled

1 green apple

3 red radishes, washed

1 clove garlic

3- 4 cm knob of ginger, grated

2-3 cm knob of fresh turmeric, grated or 1 heaped tsp dried

half to one whole avocado

30ml of Elderflower Syrup

A really good grind of black pepper - this helps the absorption of the medicinal properties of turmeric

Enough filtered water for volume of ingredients and size of blender, - perhaps 1 - 2 cups

Blend it all together and enjoy

Ginger Cacao Hot Chocolate

Over Easter we were all struck down with colds. I couldn’t get enough ginger at the time. Swallowing ginger tea, or slurping gingery soup feels like a direct assault on the virus as it travels to your stomach. Being Easter Sunday I thought I might try and mix my ginger with some chocolate and here’s the result.

Grate a 3cm piece of ginger and place the ginger in a tea pot. Add very hot water, but not quite boiling, and let steep for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile Place 1 tsp of cacao in a mug. Pour the hot ginger tea over the top and stir the cacao until dissolved. Top off with some milk of choice and sweeten to taste with maple syrup or honey. Delicious.

Shiitake, Ginger and Kale Soup with Tempeh

YUM! The immune boosting wholesome deliciousness of this soup lifted my spirits when we were all down and out with a cold over the Easter break.

Ginger and Shiitake are immune boosting power foods. Your immune system will work better with this in your belly. The soup uses both fresh and dried Shiitakes. Dried Shiitake mushrooms are available in the asian section of most supermarkets these days, and sometimes fresh. The dried version scares my kids, but they’re easy to prepare and give a deep, and satisfying flavour.

When fighting a virus, get some rest, make as many plant based brews as possible and let the herbs (and your body) do their healing .

1 tbsp Sesame Oil

A 5cm piece of ginger

3 cloves of garlic

4 spring onions

2 sticks celery

1 tbsp of dehydrated organic chicken bone broth powder*

150g of prepared Tempeh

1 carrot

1 tsp tamari

4 dried Shitake mushrooms, rinsed well

200g fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, thinly sliced

8 large leaves of kale, washed and shredded

1 lemon

a pinch of himalayan pink salt

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add in the garlic, ginger and white parts of the spring onion. Sauté for a minute.

2. Add in the celery and carrot

3. Add the vegetable stock, salt, chicken bone broth powder, tamarind and dried shiitake mushrooms, and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add the tempeh, fresh mushrooms and kale, pop the lid on and simmer for 5 minutes

5. Remove the dried Shiitake mushrooms. Add the lemon juice and season to taste.

6. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the green parts of the spring onions.

* I love using Nutra Organics Dehydrated bone broth. It’s packed with minerals and vitamins that are easily absorbed and necessary when you’re sick. I add a spoonful to most dishes.

Curried Cauliflower Ginger Soup

I made this one stormy morning with the chilliest chill in the air so far for the year. I used cows milk as that’s what I had at the time but coconut milk would also be delicious.

1 tbsn Olive oil

1 onion

1 large carrot finely chopped

2 sticks celery diced

2 cm knob of ginger, grated

1 clove garlic

1 head of cauliflower cut into florets

pinch of salt

1 litre vegetable stock

2 cups (or one can) of milk of your choice (coconut, cow, almond)

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 lime

Your fave hot sauce or sample oeelek

fresh coriander leaves

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot over a medium to high heat. Add the onion and sauce for a few minutes until slightly browned. Then add the celery, carrot, ginger and garlic. Stir for a few more minutes.

2. Add the cauliflower and vegetable stock and the salt. Reduce heat to a medium low. and cover. Cook for about 10 minutes until cauliflower is cooked through

3. Stir in the milk, curry powder and Sambel Oeelek if using.

4. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice.

5. Blend until smooth using a stick blender. Serve sprinkled with fresh coriander, pepper and season to taste. Add hot sauce to taste.

The Best Basil Pesto

I’ve tried all kinds of pesto recipes over the years, kale pestos, walnut pestos, coriander pestos, almond pestos, but by far the best is the deliciousness of the traditional recipe of good old basil, pine nuts, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Garlic and parmesan are optional extras.

The strong flavour and fragrance of basil tells of the herbs powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The olive oil and pine nuts provide healthy fats. Only use fresh pine nuts and store them in the fridge, as they go rancid quickly.

Ingredients

2 - 3 handfuls of fresh basil leaves

1.5 - 2 tbs pine nuts

2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive OIl

a pinch of salt

1 - 2 tbs parmesan (optional)

1 clove garlic crushed (optional)

Method

Blend all the ingredients together into a paste. I like to put all the ingredients in a glass measuring jug and use a stick blender to combine as I find it easier to clean. A food processor or even a morter and pestle are other options.

Your pesto is ready to serve.

Womb-Calming Berry Cacao Smoothie with Granola (for that time of the month)

The second day of my cycle and my womb was angry this morning. Usually my period greets me with a hardly bothersome twinge in my womb space that lasts about an hour and then is gone.  

BUT with christmas, two plane trips alone with two kids under 3.5. And then ALL the dysfunction of my family in between. The past cycle has been particularly stressful. My health habits were wanting, a side effect of being back amongst my bloodline amidst the festive season.  More grog, more crappy foods, less exercise.

Experience has told me that ALL OF THIS leads to a crampy sad uterus come the  dark moon.

The craving for chocolate, or Cacao in its raw form, is more than just pleasurable desire at this time of the month. Cacao is a good source of magnesium, a mineral that helps muscles relax as well as about 160 other actions in your body. Therefore it’s wonderful for helping your uterus calm the fuck down. I love the berries for boosting my energy and my insides as well.

Anyway

1 cup of raspberries

1 cup of mixed berries

2 cups of water

1 banana

2 tsp of cacao

1 tablespoon of hazelnut cacao butter

2 tsp of maple syrup/honey or to taste

Blend Blend Blend, sprinkle granola on top. Those granola carbs at bleeding time are delicious.

Other tricks that helped tame the angry womb this morning: Laying in a hip opening yoga pose while I listened to a guided meditation by Dannielle Laporte that placed me deep, deep, deep in a green rainforest of creation. I nodded off towards the end and woke cured.

Eggplant and Lentil Casserole

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 brown onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• a generous pinch of mixed dried herbs
• 1 large or 2 small eggplants, chopped
• 1 zucchini
• 1 bunch silverbeet
• 1 tin lentils
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tin tomatoes
• dash of red wine (optional)
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 350g of Ricotta
• 2 eggs
• 1 ball of mozzerella
• Salt and Pepper to taste, fresh basil or parsley to garnish

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Chop the onion and garlic. Chop the eggplant in 1 - 2 cm pieces. Pour a glug of olive oil in  large casserole dish on the stove top and turn heat to medium,.
3.  Pop in 2 of the garlic cloves and saute for 30 seconds. Add the eggplant and stir to coat in oil. Add 2/3 cup of stock. Cover with lid and let simmer, stirring occasionally.
4. When the eggplant has reduced by 2/3 scrape off the bottom of the pan and remove. Add the onion and brown, adding a pinch of salt and the herbs after a few minutes with a little bit of the the stock. Add in the other garlic clove, tomato paste, the tin of tomatoes, the wine. Let it simmer a little, add in the zucchini, and silverbeet. Simmer and stir for about 7 minutes until the silverbeet has completely wilted and cooked, add in the lentils and return the eggplant back to the pot. Mix up and cook through.
5. Meanwhile beat the eggs into the ricotta cheese, and tear up the mozzarella. You can start adding bits of the mozzarella to the casserole dish and stir through. When the whole mixture is bubbly, take off heat and sprinkle some mozzarella over the top, covered by a thick layer of the Ricotta mixture, add remaining mozzarella to the top.
6. Pop in the oven for 30 minutes.  Season to taste and garnish with fresh herbs. Your casserole is ready to serve.

Cabbage, cheese and buckwheat pasta casserole

This mysterious slice of deliciousness is a casserole created from layering buckwheat pasta twists with cabbage, carrot and silverbeet with butter and sage. The pasta is 100% buckwheat, so gluten free, high in protein and low GI. Most gluten free pasta is highly refined, and therefore high GI meaning it spikes your insulin faster ultimately leading to inflammation and even weight gain. So buckwheat pasta is definitely a good option, and completely delicious too.Top the whole thing with a heap of cheese, and then bake in the oven.

Ingredients

• himalayan pink salt
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 1 sprig of fresh sage
• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 large garlic clove
• pinch of red chilli flakes
• 1/4 head of green cabbage
• 1 cup sliced carrot
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 big bunch of silverbeet, or use kale
• 3 cups of grated cheese, such as cheddar or gruyere

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
2. cut up the sage and strip the thyme from the sprigs. Heat the olive oil and butter in a heavy pot over a medium to high heat. Add the onions and herbs and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent.
3. Add the garlic and red chilli flakes, cook for about a minute and then add the cabbage and carrots and cook until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the vegetable stock and simmer until reduced by half.
4. Meanwhile cook the buckwheat pasta noodles according to packet directions.
5. Ladle out three cups of pasta water and add to the vegetables. Drain the pasta and set aside.
6. Bring the pot of vegetables to the boil, then remove from heat and stir in the pasta. Toss to combine.
7. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake in the oven uncovered for 30 minutes until the cheese is bubbling.
8. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Ginger Pear & Pumpkin Soup with Coriander Pesto

 This recipe is a velvety celebration of autumn. Ginger is highly revered as a 'universal medicine' in ayuveda, according to Rosalie de la Foret in her book gorgeous book 'Alchemy of Herbs.'  The immune boosting and anti-inflammatory properties inspired this recipe but ginger is quite good in pregnancy nausea and motion sickness, and helps remedy a fever by dilating the blood vessels. The Ras el hanout offers quite a bit of anti-inflammatory and circulatory stimulant properties as well. This is truly a soup to warm, nourish, and revitalise. The coriander has an affinity for toxic heavy metals and will bond to them and carry them right out of your body.  

• a good chunk of Pumpkin, diced
• 1 Brown Onion
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 4 cm knob of ginger
• 1 Pear, peeled, cored, chopped
• 1 litre bone broth/vegie stock
• 1 ras el hanout
• 2 bunches Coriander
• a couple of glugs of olive oil
• 1 lime
• ½ handful almonds

Preheat the oven to about 190℃. Spread the pumpkin out on a baking tray. Add 1 - 2 tbsp olive oil. Stir to smother the pumpkin in oil completely and season with some pink sea salt. Roast for 30 minutes.

Once the pumpkin is in the oven chop your garlic and onion and add some more olive oil to a pot on the stove. Heat to medium and add the onion. The longer you let the onion simmer the more delicious it will be, so brown for a minimum of 5 minutes but for as long as 25. Once you're satisfied with your simmered onions add the ginger, garlic and Ras el hanout and stir until fragrant.

Add the stock and the pear and bring to a strong simmer. Add in the pumpkin hot from the oven, remove your pot from the heat and blend until smooth. I like to use a stick blender because the process of transferring hot liquids into a blender makes me nervous.

Serve with a dollop of Coriander pesto

Coriander Pesto

Add Coriander, almonds, olive oil and a good pinch of salt to a food processor.  A mini one will be fine if you have one of those and blend. You could also use a mortar and pestle. Grind or blend into a chunky paste.

Healing Constipation in Children + Bliss Ball recipe

Constipation is quite common in children. Up to 28% of children experience constipation at some stage.

If the staining and difficulty with passing bowel movements continues past two weeks and causes considerable stress to the child please seek help from a medical professional.

In the meantime try these simple remedies to see if you can get things moving along.

Bulk laxatives are ideal for treating childhood constipation. Linseeds, slippery elm, psyllium and chia seeds attract and hold onto water, moistening and adding bulk to the stool for easy elimination.

Linseeds and slippery elm are gentler and are better suited for younger children

Slippery Elm dosages

Slippery elm is to be stirred into water or you can use juice to make the remedy more appetising for the child

In children

infants: 1/4 tsp in breastmilk or formula up to three times per day

10 - 20kg 1/2 tsp three times per day with meals

20 - 40kg 3/4 tsp three times per day with meals

40 kg + 1 tsp three times per day with meals

Psyllium is more abrasive and not recommend for smaller children. in older children it an be dosed similarly to slippery elm above.

Chia or flaxseed can be added sprinkled on breakfast cereal, stirred into yoghurt or added to smoothies.

Prunes and Figs are wonderful natural laxatives. Be sure to include them in the diet.

Eat: lots of high fibre food such as fresh fruits, raw green leafy vegetables, whole grain oatmeal and brown rice. Asparagus, mussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, garlic, kale, okra, peas sweet potatoes and whole grains.

Include foods that contain high levels of soluble fibre such as adzuki beans, barley, dried beans, oats, and some fruits especially apples, apricots, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, figs.

Eat Insoluble fibre: Fruit and vegetable peel is a excellent source of insoluble fibre as are grapes,peaches and prunes. Other insoluble fibre foods include cereals, seeds, wheatbran, and wholegrains.

Drink more water: Children ages 1- 3 need 1.3 litres - about 5 glasses of water a day. Older children should be drinking more.

Consume foods high in pectin: apples, carrots, beets, bananas, cabbage, citrus fruits, dried peas.

Minimise soft drinks,meat, white flour, highly processed foods, salt and sugar These things typically have little fibre and stagnate. + Nutritional healing Phyllis A Balch

Lets Get Moving Bliss Balls.

There is no easy or appealing way to use the words ‘constipation’ or ‘balls’ in the same sentence. However these energy snacks are intended to appeal to your child and help their bowel motions along. They also packed with minerals have some extra goodness for brain health with the hemp and walnuts.

Of course they work for adults too.

To make a nut free version swap out the walnuts for pepitas or more sunflower seeds and swap out the almonds for another 1/2 cup of hemp seeds.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup walnuts, chopped

2/3 cup sunflower seeds, chopped

1/2 cup almonds, chopped

1/2 cup hemp seeds

1/2 cup porridge oats

2/3 cup chopped dried apricots or try other dried fruit*

2/3 cup of figs

1/3 cup dates

2/3 cup chopped pitted prunes

2 tablespoons chia seeds

2 tablespoons cacao powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons honey

1 cup (90g) desiccated coconut for rolling the balls at the end

Add all ingredients except the coconut to a food processor and process until there are no large pieces and the mixture is sticking together nicely.

Scoop the mixture out with a teaspoon and roll into balls. Coat in the desiccated coconut by tipping the coconut onto a plate and rolling the balls in it.

these should ideally be consumed with a big glass of water.

*Ideally you would use sulphite free/and organic dried fruit with no added vegetable oils. The sulphites are a preservative also found in wine. They stop the dried fruit from going brown. Dark raisins or prunes don’t usually have sulphites, nor do dates. Sulphites commonly irritate little bellies. The vegetable oils are added to stop the fruit from sticking together, however they can become rancid and are an unnecessary and inflammatory addition to your child’s diet. Check your local health food store to see what’s available.

If the best you can do is the regular supermarket variety of dried fruit, and your child doesn’t seem to react to dried fruit usually then please go ahead with what you have available.

Spiced Root Vegetable Shepherds Pie

Aka Ignite Your Earthly Passions Shepherds Pie  

The beetroot in this pie blends through the carrot and complimets the lamb wonderfully. It’s just the colour you want to see when you sink the serving spoon into the white golden crust of this crowd pleaser.  It’s also a fabulous way to get vegetables into children and husbands (or wives).

I had guests over for dinner this last full moon on Saturday night just gone. It was a full moon in Taurus was a moon for passion, so say the astrologers.

I thought it would be fun to make this pie with the intention of heightening our earthly passions in following the energy of the moon. I served this with kale sautéed in garlic with avocado and pumpkin seeds. The leafy greens, the root vegetables and the wonderful lamb has a wonderful earthy energy, keeping us grounded. Adding in the circulatory stimulant and anti-inflammatory spices, coupled with the mineral rich lamb and antioxident packed root vegetables we have both a physically and spiritually nourishing dinner.

Spiced Root Vegetable Shepherds Pie

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 500 grams lamb mince
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 teaspoons ginger, grated
• half teaspoon cumin
• half teaspoon coriander
• half teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ras el hanout
• 4 carrots, grated
• 2 beetroot, grated
• handful dried cranberries
• one third cup pistacio nuts , toasted
• 1 tablespoon honey
• one half a lemon, juiced
• 25 grams unsalted butter, melted, cooled
• 1 - 2whole cauliflower

Heat the oil in skillet over medium heat. Add the lamb and cook, breaking with a wooden spoon until browned, about 5 - 6 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and spices. Season with salt and pepper. After a minute add the grated carrot and beetroot, cranberries, pistachios, honey and lemon juice. Cook, stirring for a few more minutes. When the carrot and beetroot has softened turn off the heat. Preheat oven to 190 deg C.

Steam the chopped cauliflower for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, places into a bowl with the butter. Mash or puree, whatever you prefer. Spread the cauliflower mash over the lamb mixture, covering completely. Steam the chopped cauliflower for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, place into a bowl with the butter. Mash or puree, whatever you prefer. Spread the cauliflower mash over the lamb mixture, covering completely.

Place in oven for 35 minutes, until the top is golden. Serve.

We ate this yummy pie all up and I wasn't quite quick enough to capture an image of the finished product in all of her magnificence. Instead I'll leave you with an image of my kitchen altar, see on the circular marble platter below. Here the altar is hanging out on my back deck while I meditated on Saturday afternoon. She came inside for the meal preparation though, and there she stays.

Greens, Beans, and Artichokes with a Poached egg

Coming home late in the dribbly, grizzly rain and bitter cold that has me shrugging up my shoulders and going “Brrrrrr…” . I need some quick, easy and delicious food can I whip up and eat…pronto! Garlic greens and white beans go well in a pan, combine with a jar of marinated artichokes and a wee bit of delicious goats cheese……or chedder or any cheese for that matter top with a poached egg, and I have myself a bowl of wintertime wellbeing.

Greens, Beans, and Artichokes with a Poached egg

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 – 2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 big bunch of Silverbeet/kale/spinach or a combination, 1 big clove of garlic, chopped 1 tin of cannellini or butter beans 1 240g jar of marinated artichokes 2 – 4 eggs 2 tsp of white vinegar Cheese of choice ..goats cheese, chedder, Parmesan or use chopped nuts for a dairy free version

You can also substitute the egg for tofu, or even chicken and turkey.

Method

1. Prepare your greens first. I like to fill my sink with warm water and wash the leaves one by one, and then tear the leaves up with my hands, placing them in a colander to drain.

2. Heat olive oil in large fry-pan, once heated add the garlic and let it sizzle for about 40 seconds. Add the greens and toss through the oil. Let them reduce somewhat, it will probably take about 3 minutes. If you’re using spinach it will reduce much quicker, like 40 seconds.

3. Drain the artichokes, chop them a little smaller, and add to the pan. Drain and rinse the beans, add those to the pan also. Stir the beans and artichokes through the greens. Season with salt and pepper as desired and reduce heat a little.

4. Meanwhile prepare you eggs. Fill a saucepan with about 2 inches of boiling water from the kettle and place over medium heat. Add 2 tsps of vinegar to the water. This helps the eggs stay together. Gently break an egg into the water. I usually don’t try to poach more then two eggs in a saucepan at any given time. Try an keep the water on a simmer, but don’t let it boil. The eggs should be ready within 2 minutes, depending on how well done you like them.

5. Scoop the greens/beans mixture into a bowl, sprinkle with your cheese of choice and then gently remove a poached egg from the water and place on top. Viola! Dinner is served.

Okay so my poached egg wasn't that pretty. Can't get it perfect every time. This baby is getting into my belly!

Turn him on! Fertility Slow Cooked Beef Ras el hanout.

I made the sexiest, most fertility enhancing slow cooked beef ras el hanout last night. Sure to start a fire in any mans heart (or pants). If your man comes home to find this in the oven (or slow cooker), he’ll be more then willing to settle down and start a family. And if he’s already committed, this certainly confirms he’s made the right decision.

What makes it a fertility masterpiece you ask?

The ‘meat’ is extremely high in fertility essentials, zinc, iron, B vitamins and plentiful in protein. Nutients so so important for powering healthy sperm and supporting the growth of new cells.

But the real magic, I believe, lies in the spice mix. North African ‘Ras el hanout’ translates into “head of the shop” meaning it’s a mixture of the best spices there is to offer. As I put this together last night, I found the spices remarkably stimulating and sensuous. So when I did a bit of research I was pleased to find that Ras el hanout traditionally contained a powerful aphrodisiac called Catharides, made out of the Spanish fly (yes you read that right, an insect) an ingredient banned in the 90s. In fact, according to my friend Wikipedia, Henry IV was said to consume spanish fly to aid erection, at risk of his own good health, like insect Viagra. Caesers wife once stirred Catherides powder into the dinner of her politically powerful guests in the hope of encouraging them into behavior she could later black-mail them with. What a bitch.

History aside, even without crushed Spanish fly, the ingredients of Ras El Hanout are a circulatory stimulating, blood flow enhancing, anti-inflammatory, feel good shebang of love you long time.

You can buy ready made preparations of Ras el hanout from gourmet supermarkets and possibly your local farmers market, but I made my mix with the spices in my cupboard.

If you make your Ras el Hanout at home, and I recommend you do, read through the properties below as you add the spices. Focusing intention on your spices as you add them and mix them together makes a much more effective and romantically spicy mix, don’t ask me why, it just does.

Ras el hanout

Ingredients ½ tsp each of ground cloves and cayenne pepper.

Cloves are warming and grounding, with phenomenal levels of fertility essential nutrient manganese, cayenne pepper is a circulatory stimulant and has an excitatory energy about it, spice it up and get things moving! 2 tsp each allspice, ground cumin, ground ginger, ground turmeric, freshly ground black pepper (I used an Australia Bush Pepper blend) and ground cardamom.

Allspice aka pimento is traditionally associated with prosperity, ground cumin contains coumarone, an anti-inflammatory, likewise, Turmeric is the best source of coumarone available, a potent healer. Ginger is a great energy and circulatory stimulant, as well as a digestive tonic and an overall wellness warrior. Black pepper is anti-cancer and has an overall spicy energy while cardamom is antioxidant and very much a love and success herb.

  3 tsp each of ground cinnamon and ground coriander.

Cinnamon is a blood sugar balancer but is also quite sweet and dare I say it feminine in energy, sure to make you sparkle in your mans eye. It’s anti-inflammatory and is soothing on the digestive system, great for digestive conditions. Ground coriander is a great source of minerals as well as being delicious and fragrant.

1 ½ tbsp. of freshly grated nutmeg.

Nutmeg has long been associated with good health, and in Elizabethan times was believed to ward off the plague. Today we know nutmeg has a high essential oil content, with anti microbial, antioxidant and immune protective effects.

Add all spices together and mix. Store in a jar, preferably with a beautiful label you have created yourself.

Slow-Cooked Beef with Ras el hanout

Inspired by a recipe by the Sydney Monday Morning Cooking Club featured in their recent book “A Feast Goes On” and published in the May 2014 issue of Delicious magazine

Serves 2 – 4 (my husband ate enough for two easily, and perhaps 3)

500g organic grass fed steak, like chuck or rump, diced into 2.5cm pieces with gratefulness to the cow for providing nourishment (or for a vegan version, you could use tempeh, but I can’t promise the man catching properties will be the same…of course there’s always exceptions, you know your man better then I do)

1 onion 2 garlic cloves 2 tsp ras el hanout spice mix 2 small red chillies sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste 1 tin of tomatoes + 1 big tomato OR use 4 – 5 big tomatoes ½ a preserved lemon rind, chopped finely, discard pith and pulp (optional) 2 tsp honey coriander parsley

1. For the slow version preheat oven to 140°C. For the quick preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Get out your favourite, most home-cookin casserole dish

3. Place the beef in the casserole dish, and add all the rest of the ingredients, bar the fresh herbs.

4. Mix it up, visualising happy husbands and happy tummies, love and connection

5. Place in the oven for 3 hours for slow cooked version. I’d run out of time for slow cooking, and so I turned up the heat and popped this in the oven at 180, set my timer for 2 hours, and went down my garden path to give a Shiatsu massage. Meanwhile, my husband Andy came home and following his nose to the oven, found the dish, which he described as ‘nourishing goodness,’ and decided it was ready to eat after an hour and a half cooking time, as I found him with a giant bowl and rye toast when I walked in the door.

I served it up with the fresh herbs on top, steamed sweet potato, a tahini, tamari sauce and some lightly stir fried broccoli with red capsicum. The vegetables complimented the fertility powers of the Ras el hanout perfectly, but that’s another blog post.

Andy then showered me with affection for the remainder of the night, grateful for such a wonderful meal. I lapped it up like a princess, charmed by his positive reaction and delicious results.

I’d love to hear about your sexy cooking efforts. If you have a story to share please tell me about it below.

Take care my lovelies,

In wellness, Lib.

Sexy fertility enhancing beef ras el hanout sure to make a man fall in love with you

Healing Chicken Soup

Yesterday only hours after boasting about my ‘immune system of steel' my husband Andrew, I fell ill with headache and fever. I was straight home to bed were I stayed for hours, I downed immune boosting herbs, anti-viral essential oils, vitamin c and zinc, I was making myself ginger lemon tea and swallowing garlic cloves whole. I managed to muster up the strength to cook myself a healing whole chicken soup, and today after plenty of rest, I feel like I’m in convalescence, I managed to stop this monster in it’s tracks.  

A soup made with the whole chicken, provides proteins essential for the production of immune cells, and all the wonderful minerals from the bones are leached into the broth providing zinc, magnesium, calcium, and Vit D just to mention a few. Only recently have a started eating meat after 13 years as a vegetarian, and sometimes vegan. I ate my soup yesterday with gratitude reverence for the chicken, and all of the life giving and healing vitality it bestowed. I beleive yy intention of healing while I prepared and ate this dish played just an important role in my quick recovery as the nourishing ingredients themselves.

Here is my recipe adapted from Perth author Jude Bleureu's “Healing Chicken Soup in her amazing book Wholefood.

Healing Chicken Noodle Soup

Okay first of all this works best if you have a really big soup pot, like a proper stock pot. I don’t have one of these and tried making my soup with a le crusset casserole dish. It worked but it was a tight squeeze, and I made a bit of a mess.

I whole organic free range chicken 2 medium sized brwn onions or a large brown onion 3 stalks of celery 3 carrots a few sprigs of fresh thyme 6-8 sage leaves 2 sprigs fresh oregano 1 corn cob, kernals removed and reserved 3-4 garlic cloves 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 2 bay leaves sea salt black pepper 2 handfuls of flat leaf Italian parsley 8 dried shitake mushrooms two handfuls of noodles, soba noodles, vermicelli egg noodles, or whatever noodles you acquire

1. Place your large soup pot over a low heat and place the whole chicken inside. IF therese is skin on the chicken the fat will serve to cook the vegetables, but you can add some olive oil to help the cooking process along.

2. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and gently sizzle. Add the thyme, sage and oregano, and then the corn and the corn cob, garlic, ginger and half the parsley. Add the stock, the shitake mushrooms and the bay leaves. Cook for one hour.

3. Lift the chicken out of the liquid and remove the flesh. I used a pair of tongs, and a fork to get this job done. Also take out the shitake mushrooms and slice them up nice and small. Add the bones and mushrooms back into the broth and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

4. Remove the bones and the corn cob, and check soup for consistency and flavour. Add the noodles. Add more herbs if you like, some extra salt as required or some tamari. When the noodles are cooked through the soup is ready.

Happy Wellness