Tuesday, December 15, 2015

BEST EVER PUMPKIN SOUP (NO LIE)


Now if you're looking for a fair dinkum, truly nourishing and absolutely delicious beyond belief pumpkin soup, then HEY! You are in luck my friend! You have reached the Holy Grail of Pumpkin Greatness... You need not look any further than this post... But here's the secret... You've got to work for it. I'm talking home grown organic herbs, slow cooked organic chicken broth, and roasted organic pumpkin, onion and garlic. It's the only way (I believe) to make a pumpkin soup that stands out from the rest in aroma, taste and healthy eating (and you need to start the day before you plan on slurping down the goods!).




BEST EVER PUMPKIN SOUP (NO LIE)

Dairy-free, nut-free, sugar-free and gluten-free. 

Makes: 6 very generous serves
Slow Cooking Time: 24-28 hours
Preparation Time: 2 hours
Fat & Calories: Who cares when you’re eating fantastically healthy… Come on!


Ingredients:

Roasted Veggies:
1 medium Pumpkin of choice, cut up unto chunks.
2 tablespoons Virgin, Cold Pressed, Organic Coconut Oil
4 heads of Garlic, chopped straight through the middles into halves.
2 onions cut into quarters.
Freshly cracked Peruvian Pink Salt & Black Pepper to taste.



Chicken Broth:
3 organic chicken carcases (use carcases left over from previous roasts - you can store these in the freezer until required)
3 Bay Leaves
1 tablespoon of whole Peppercorns
1/4 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
4 frozen ice cubes of processed herbs in olive oil.



Iced Cubed Herbs:
Pick a large bunch of every type of herb you have in your veggie patch. Collect the leaves from the woody stalks and place them into the processor with a good long drizzle of olive oil. Process and add oil until a relatively smooth texture is reached. Add the mixture to ice trays and freeze over night. The next day, pop out the cubes from the trays and place them in a snap lock bag to keep in the freezer until required.




Method:

  1. Waaaay before: Make up your mixed herb ice cubes. (See above).
  2. Day before: Place all ingredients for the Chicken Broth into the slow cooker. Cover everything with filtered water. Cook on High for 3 hours, then on Low for the next 24-48 hours (the longer the better). You may need to add more water to the broth over time.
  3. Day of eating: Coat Pumpkin chunks, garlic and onions in coconut oil and cracked Pepper & Pink Salt. Roast at 180 Degrees Celsius for about an hour. Let them develop that nice brown crust.
  4. Let the vegetables cool before placing them into the processor, and blitz until smooth. Add a cup of chicken broth to the mix to help reach that desired creamy texture.
  5. Strain the Chicken Broth so you are left with just the fluid. Add this to a large saucepan.
  6. Add the pumpkin puree to the broth and use a whisk to combine the two. You will see your beautiful soup forming before your eyes!
  7. Add furhter cracked pepper and pink salt to taste.
  8. Serve with a dollop of cashew cheese and chives. JUST DIVINE! 





You'll be happy those serves were generous in size!



Much Love,


Candice. Xx



WHERE TO FIND THE INGREDIENTS:
*You’ll find some of these wonderful ORGANIC ingredients right here at the Nourish Me Whole Heartedly online shop. YAY!



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Sunday, May 17, 2015

SHEPHERD'S MEATLOAF


This would have to be the BEST homemade meat loaf I’ve ever eaten... And I created it myself! Honestly, how can you beat the addition of a tender, slow-cooked lamb shank?

YOU JUST CAN’T!

The taste is amazing, the texture is REAL and it's packed full of the good stuff. The depth of flavour contributed by the succulent, fall-off-the-bone shank meat, really does raise the bar for an otherwise standard, old-style meat loaf.

“Traditional Meatloaf” commonly contains bread and processed sauces. With my recipe, you know what you are eating because the contents are listed as single ingredients. Nutrition is maximised by replacing wheat and dairy with additional vegetables, and the healthy fats of coconut.

But wait! There's more!

Not only will you have a masterpiece of a meatloaf sitting right in front of you, by the end of 'Preparation Time', you will also have the benefit of consuming lovely slow-cooked lamb shank BROTH! See? There's another fantastic reason to slow cook that delicious shank... Over a litre of flavoursome, wholesome BONE BROTH! You can freeze it for future soups and stir-fries, or simply drink it as it is! The gelatin in shank broth is generous, so consuming this health promoting concoction is a great way to sooth joints, improve digestion, up your dietary collagen intake, and encourage skin, nail and hair health!

My very own Shepherd’s Meatloaf just keeps on giving!

Don’t wait any longer - let’s get started!


SHEPHERD’S MEATLOAF

Dairy Free, Grain Free, Gluten Free, Sugar Free.

Makes: One loaf.
Slow Cooking Time: 8 hours (at least)
Loaf Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Baking Time: 50 minutes
Fat & Calories: Who cares when you’re eating fantastically healthy! Come on!






Ingredients:

For Slow Cooking the Lamb Shanks:

3 lamb shanks (organic free-range is ideal if possible)
1 head of garlic cut in half through the middle
2 onions cut in quarters
4 rosemary twigs and half a bunch of fresh parsley 
2 bay leaves


For the Meat Loaf Mixture:

3 organic free-range eggs
½ cup of coconut milk
1 carrot grated
1 onion finely diced
2 celery sticks finely chopped
1 cup of fresh parsley finely chopped
Half a head of garlic from the slowcooker – you can just squeeze the slow cooked cloves from the garlic’s exterior straight into the mixing bowl.
2 tablespoons of tomato puree 
1 teaspoon of Peruvian Pink Salt* (or more to taste)
Pinch of freshly cracked organic whole peppercorns*
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
Half a cup of “My Worcestershire Sauce” (see below)
Coconut oil* for greasing loaf tin
Whole grain mustard for meatloaf ‘crust’ during baking time.


For the Worcestershire Sauce:

4 tablespoons of organic Australian apple cider vinegar*
4 tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar
2 heaped tablespoons of whole grain mustard


Method:

The night before or early morning – slow cook the lamb shanks:

1.     Place the lamb shanks in the slow cooker. To this, add the garlic head halves, the quartered onions, the fresh rosemary and parsley, bay leaves, peppercorns, apple cider vinegar, salt, and enough filtered water to cover everything (try to aim for at least 1 litre of water).
2.     Set the slow cooker to medium for at least 8 hours (longer is better).


Making the meatloaf mixture:

1.     Preheat the oven to 180 Degrees Celsius and grease the loaf tin with coconut oil.
2.     Whisk eggs and coconut milk together in a large bowl.
3.     Remove shanks from the slow cooker and separate meat from bone and sinew. Add meat to the egg and coconut. Mix together well and shred the meat a little at the same time.
4.     Add the carrot, onion, celery, parsley, slow cooked garlic, tomato puree, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder to the bowl and mix together really well. Aim to break up the meat every time you run the spoon through the mixture.
5.     In a separate smaller bowl, make my homemade Worcestershire Sauce. Combine the apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar and mustard seeds. Pour this sauce in with the other ingredients. Mix through until all ingredients are evenly combined.
6.     Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and level out the mixture’s surface – we want a nice neatly shaped meat-loaf!
7.     Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Meatloaf after 30 minutes of baking
(before application of the mustard seed crust)


8.     After 30 minutes, take the meat loaf out of the oven and spread a layer of whole seed mustard over the top of the loaf.
9.    Keeping the loaf in the tin, cover with foil, then place it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.


Saving the Broth:

1.     Strain the broth so that you end up with a beautiful amber liquid stock.
2.     Cool in the fridge over night to allow any residue/fat to settle.
3.     The next day (it takes two nights in my fridge for the residue to settle), skim the solidified fat and residue from the top of the broth. If your broth is a jelly-like consistency, you know you have created a beautifully rich source of gelatin... Feel proud!
4.     Consume within the next 2 days or freeze the remaining stock for future use.
5.     Drink straight from the mug or add to any savoury dish for added flavour.



Serve with a homemade tomato relish, steamed peas and mashed cauliflower.



Enjoy my lovelies!

Much Love,

Candice.



WHERE TO FIND THE INGREDIENTS:
*You’ll find some of these wonderful ORGANIC ingredients right here at the Nourish Me Whole Heartedly online shop. YAY!



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Sources on the health benefits of Gelatin:
http://www.ancestralizeme.com/5-reasons-why-even-vegetarians-should-eat-gelatin/