Bo's Kitchen

Plant based recipes made with love

bos.kitchen

Beet houmous and golden curry dip

by 4 Comments

IMG_2900-1-2

I have a problem. I don’t have a table big enough for my friends to fit around. Normally I end up making curry or something you can have in a bowl so that people can find a space to sit and eat, even if it isn’t at the table. I haven’t been up to cooking much lately, so when I planned to have friends round for a little birthday celebration yesterday I needed something that required minimal effort. Dips and homemade crackers was the answer! I love food you can nibble at throughout the evening. There’s a lot less washing up too. I’ve been making the beet humous for a while, it’s earthiness blends so well with the smoked paprika. The golden curry dip was a revelation, everything I wanted, thick and daal like, yet spicy-sweet and moreish enough to make you want to slather it over everything. There’s no end to creativity with dips, if you haven’t made your own before, give it a go- you won’t regret it. Dips are one of those things where it’s kind of hard to go wrong. Just add a little of what you fancy, taste, then adjust accordingly.

Beet humous

  • 3 smallish peeled beets, raw
  • 1 can organic chickpeas, drained
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika (I usually add a bit more than this but I love smoked paprika)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • Juice of one lemon
  1. Blend all ingredients together until well combined.
  2. Add a little water at a time until smooth and creamy.
  3. Taste and adjust as needed. Keeps well for 2-3 days in the fridge.

IMG_2904-1.jpg

Golden curry dip

  • 2 cups red lentils, washed
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 thumb fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup – 1/2 cup water
  1. Cook lentils in the two cups of water for around 15-20 minutes over a medium heat, until all the water is absorbed. Allow to cool.
  2. Add cooled lentils and all other ingredients to a blender, apart from the half cup of water. Now add the water a little at a time, until desired consistency is reached. I like mine thick, so I just added a little water.
  3. Taste and adjust as needed. Keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days.

IMG_2903-1.jpg

Berry beet smoothie bowl

by 1 Comment

IMG_2822-1.jpg

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ll already know about my obsession with beetroot. Although it’s crazy good for you, I think I’m just drawn to the beautiful rich pink it gives anything it touches. Plus it’s much cheaper and far easier to get hold of than pitaya! Don’t fear though, with the right balance of ingredients you can’t even taste the beetroot. I couldn’t taste it at all in this bowl. Of course if you’re new to beets in your smoothie, just add a little at a time to make sure you like it.

Beetroot has been proven to increase athletic performance, lower blood pressure, increase blood flow and slow down the progression of dementia. Beetroot also contains choline. Choline maintains the structure of cellular membranes, assists the transmission of nerve impulses, assists in the absorption of fat and reduces chronic inflammation.

Recipe

  • 4 frozen bananas
  • 2 raw peeled beetroot (mine were small, use less if you want to)
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
  • 1 small apple
  • 1 kiwi (don’t worry about peeling)
  • 1 tbsp acai powder (I used Organic Burst)
  • 1 cup almond mylk
  1. Blend all ingredients together with half the almond mylk. Add more almond mylk until thick and pourable, but not too runny. Add a little water if it’s still too thick.
  2. Pour into bowl and top with fruit, buckinis, dairy free chocolate, coconut and rose petals.

Kiwi vanilla power matcha smoothie

by 1 Comment

IMG_2807-1

Kiwi, vanilla, bananas and a delicious power matcha blend from Your Superfoods are packed into this energising smoothie. I like my smoothies super thick and very cold so I added some ice to keep these babies creamy cool to the last slurp.

I layered a little vanilla chia pud at the bottom too for an extra burst of energy, which makes this the perfect breakfast smoothie. Have I mentioned how much I love matcha? Well, I do love it…a lot. I never thought it would be possible to find something to compete with my morning Americano but matcha always hits the spot. This blend is a mix of matcha, maca, moringa, wheatgrass and barley grass and actually has a really delicate flavour. A nice surprise for a green powder.

Sorry for the delay with getting my blog on the go. It’s been an unpredictable rollercoaster of a year so far and I’ve needed time to process the changes in my world. One thing I can be sure of is making food makes me feel happy so I’m going to keep creating and eating!

Recipe (makes two big smoothies) –

  • 4 frozen bananas
  • Handful of frozen ice cubes
  • Seeds from one vanilla powder
  • 2 tbsp hemp seeds
  • 2 tsp peanut butter
  • 3 kiwis (cut off a few thin slices if you want to stick some to your jar)
  • 2-3 pears
  • 2 cups almond mylk
  • 1 cup broccoli florets
  • 2 tsp matcha
  1. Blend all ingredients apart from the broccoli and power matcha until smooth and creamy. Set aside half the mix into your glasses (or a jug if you want to make pretty layers) and blend the remaining mix with the broccoli and matcha.
  2. Add a layer of chia pudding to the bottom of your jar and stick some kiwi slices to the inside of your jar. Layer the smoothies with dollops of each smoothie for a swirly effect or layer with the light colour underneath and green on top for the ombre effect.
  3. Sprinkle with hemp seeds and enjoy!

 

 

 

Caramel buckwheat banana smoothie

by Leave a Comment

IMG_2324-1

A basic buckwheat smoothie recipe that I use pretty much every day. If you don’t have buckwheat, feel free to sub with oats, but buckwheat is pretty special. It’s a great source of plant based protein as it contains twelve amino acids that support energy and growth. Buckwheat has more protein that any rice, millet or corn;  100g of it contains almost 14g of protein. I can definitely say I feel fuller for longer when I add buckwheat to my smoothies.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup of soaked buckwheat (soak overnight in water with a little ACV)
  • 2 frozen bananas
  • 1/2 cup of almond or other non dairy mylk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 dates
  • 1 tbsp maca (I use Organic Burst)
  • 1 tbsp nut butter
  • 1 tbsp cacao (optional)
  • Fruit, coconut and mint for toppings

Recipe

  1. Rinse your soaked buckwheat well to remove the sticky residue. Add to blender with all the other ingredients apart from the cacao.
  2. If you want to make the caramel smoothie to swirl on top, empty half of your basic buckwheat smoothie into a bowl or jar. Now add the cacao the remaining smoothie and blend well.
  3. Put dollops of the cacao smoothie on top of your basic smoothie and blend in swirly patterns with a chopstick or knife.
  4. Top with fruit, coconut and mint.

 

Easy Pho

by 3 Comments

 

IMG_2396-1

This has to be one of my favourite meals. Light and nourishing yet still tasty and comforting enough to feel like a real treat. The recipe is really flexible too, so feel free to chop and change ingredients as you go if you want to. The only essentials really are the noodles, some stock and the chili, coriander and lime. I don’t think I’ve ever made the same bowl of pho once and that’s part of its beauty. If you’d like to recreate this exact bowl, read on for the recipe.

Prep time – 5 mins

Cooking time – 20 mins

You’ll need –

  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 cup of shredded cabbage
  • Half a fennel bulb, finely chopped
  • 1 cup of kale (stems chopped up finely and leaves shredded)
  • 6-8 white mushrooms, sliced
  • Thumb size piece of ginger, chopped into matchsticks
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 pack of noodles (I used brown rice noodles)
  • 1/4  cup of enoki mushrooms
  • 1 sachet or tbsp of miso paste
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 bunch of coriander
  • 1 lime
  • 1 chili pepper, sliced thinly (remove the seeds if you don’t want it too hot)
  1. Heat your coconut oil in a medium sized saucepan. Lightly fry your onion, cabbage, fennel, kale stems (save the kale leaves for adding at the end) and mushrooms. Fry for 5-7 minutes until soft. Set aside in a bowl.
  2. To the empty pan, add your ginger, garlic, cinnamon, star anise, miso, rice wine vinegar and maple syrup. Add about four cups of water and bring to a gentle simmer for 15-20 minutes.
  3. While all those delicious flavours are developing in your stock, make your noodles.
  4. After 15-20 minutes, strain your stock using a sieve. Add the stock back to the pan with the fried veggies and noodles. Add in kale leaves and cook briefly until wilted.
  5. Garnish with fresh chili, lots of a coriander and a big ol’ squeeze of lime.

 

 

 

 

Acai Almond Breakfast Bomb

by Leave a Comment

IMG_2302-1-3

A breakfast bomb is a thing, trust me. Just freeze some bananas and soak some buckwheat the night before, rinse the buckwheat in the morning, throw it in the blender with your frozen bananas and you’re good to go.

Once you got the basics of this parfait down, you’ll be making it all the time. I love the fact that it’s always slightly different, depending on what I have in my kitchen.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup of soaked buckwheat (soak in a jar of water overnight with a little apple cider vinegar)
  • 3 frozen bananas
  • 1/4 cup almond mylk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp acai powder (I use Organic Burst)
  • Handful of blueberries
  • 1 tbsp of almond butter
  • Fruit, buckinis and coconut for decoration

Recipe

  1. Rinse buckwheat well and add to blender with frozen banana, almond mylk and vanilla. Blend well. Now empty half the mix into a bowl.
  2. To the remaining  mix, add your blueberries and 2 tsp organic burst acai. Blend again.
  3. To assemble, smear almond butter round the outside of your jar or glass. Mix it with a little hot water if it’s too thick. Now layer in your two different coloured buckwheat smoothies and garnish with fruit, coconut, buckinis and an edible flower if you have one! Ta da!

 

 

 

 

Chickpea sunshine pizza

by 1 Comment

Want a tasty pizza that’s bursting with flavours and actually good for you? Fancy eating it in the next 30 minutes?  Then read on for the ultimate quick fix.

For the crust you’ll need –

  • 1 cup of chickpea (gram) flour
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup water

For the topping –

  • 1 tin of chickpeas, drained
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced
  • 1 leaf of kale, shredded
  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 5 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Recipe –

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Put drained chickpeas into a roasting tin and sprinkle with the smoked paprika, chili powder and olive oil. Put in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
  2. While the chickpeas are roasting, chop your veggies and make your turmeric chickpea crust. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl with a fork to break up any lumps. Now add the water and stir until a thick paste forms. It will be thick and sticky, but spreadable. Line a baking tray and spread the paste out into a disc around 1cm thick. Pop in the oven with the chickpeas and bake for ten minutes, until firm to the touch.
  3. While the crust is cooking, reduce the balsamic vinegar to a glossy sauce by heating over a medium to high heat in a small saucepan for 4 or 5 minutes.
  4. When everything has finished cooking, mix your tahini with a little boiling water until it becomes a smooth, spreadable sauce. Cover the crust with the tahini sauce, shredded kale, sliced onion, roasted chickpeas and balsamic drizzle.
IMG_2119-2

Vegan, gluten free and delicious