Weekly Wellbeing- Soul Food Recipe Exchange!

I love making overnight oats! Such a simple breakfast you can pretty much put anything in to change it around, and it's always great making breakfast the night before so you don't have to worry in the morning!

All you need is a mason jar, one cup of rolled-oats, one cup of milk (I use coconut milk and it works well) and some mix-ins of your choice (peanut butter? Chocolate? Fruit? anything!). You mix it all up, then leave it in your fridge overnight so the oats absorb the milk. You can eat it cold or warm it up (transfer to a microwave-safe container, though!). So easy!

Has anyone else tried the viral 'whipped coffee' trend yet? I tried it for the first time today with both coffee (I don't really drink coffee anymore, but it was okay!) and chai. I don't have an electric hand-mixer though so mixing it manually took a while.  All you need is a tablespoon of instant coffee or any powdered drink mix, a tablespoon of sugar, and a tablespoon of hot water. Whip all this together until it's nice and frothy, then scoop it onto a glass of cold milk. Easy, yet so fancy!


In high school I used to always make chocolate-chip cookies in a mug, but I haven't in a while because I keep forgetting to buy chocolate chips. 

Copying a recipe from here:

INGREDIENTS:

Ooohh @Hozzles  those mug cakes look amazing ! 

I hadn't heard about that 'whipped coffee' trend, but weirdly after I saw this yesterday, I saw an article on social media about someone making an alcoholic version of them. I'm pretty devoted to my normal flat white but it looks like it would be fun to try. 

Overnight oats are such a good idea - a friend makes the most delicious bircher muesli ever, but I always forget to get organised the night before. These look so good, do you have any favourite flavour combos? 

Oo one recipe I've recently gotten into making is hummus! It's truly a great breakfast and snack food that I usually put on toast! When I was much younger I used to eat nutella on toast every day and by university I switched to using peanut butter as a healthier alternative. Now I've decided to try an even healthier alternative and putting hummus has definitely made my breakfast meals more enjoyable! 

Hummus is quite healthy and so so simple to make, requiring absolutely no skill if you have a blender !

My simple recipe:
- 2 cans of chickpeas (drain the juice from one can)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice (I like putting a lot of lemon juice because I like the sourness)

- 1/4 cup tahini

- 1 clove of garlic (you can of course add more but I don't prefer a strong garlic taste)

- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- pinch of salt

- (optional) 100g sundried tomatoes (gives the hummus more sweetness)

- (optional) 1/2 can of sliced beetroot (makes it pink! and beetroot is super healthy)

Essentially you can just chuck them all into a blender together and be done with it if you don't have too much time to make it ! Otherwise, add the tahini + garlic + lemon juice first and blend, and then add the olive oil + cumin + chick peas and continue blending until you think it's smooth enough. You can add sundried tomatoes and sliced canned beetroot afterwards for a more tasty hummus, but it's totally optional!

Finally, serve with sprinkles of paprika and drizzles of olive oil to your discretion!

@drpenguin woooo this looks so good, I am addicted to hummus! Would it work if I add everything to a nutribullet, do you think?

I am loving all of these recipe ideas so much! 

@WheresMySquishy  all of those stews sound delicious, do you have a favourite one? I might try and give one of them a go this week, I managed to stock up on herbs and spices at last over the weekend, and I'm pretty sure we have the rest of the staples on hand. Sounds so good, and I love recipes that have been passed down through families. 

@Anonymous  I am so jealous of your avocado tree, I love avocadoes so much - I have never tried making mousse with them but have a friend who swears by the avocado and chocolate combination, so I might have to give it a try, I'll let you know how we go!

@drpenguin I am mildly obsessed with beetroot humus, but I'm embarrassed to say that I've never actually tried to make it myself. I usually get the Aldi one, but I really need to try to make it at home these days. @Tay100  I reckon a nutribullet would be fine for humus - have you tried it yet? 

My latest cooking on the weekend was in no way healthy whatsoever but was so much fun - a chocolate mudcake, with chocolate buttercream icing, for our little boy's birthday. Really tasty and lots of fun to make! 

@Janine-RO  heyya, I really want to but I'm wondering if a nutribullet would be strong enough? Like will it burn out the motor? I have a small one that's really designed for smoothies and not heavy duty blending. I shall investigate!

Hmmm @Tay100 , how about trying with a small quantity first, and doing it in batches? I would imagine if a nutribullet can handle a juice or smoothie it should be okay with chickpeas, but maybe just be careful of not doing too much at ones (NB I am in no way a super experienced cook with this stuff lol!)

@WheresMySquishy  these all look really tasty! I'm a bit sad that our local grower's markets aren't on any more because I could  have got some okra from there, my husband used to eat it in the USA but I have never cooked it. I might try the white bean stew (but with slightly different beans)

I made a version of this recipe the other weekend - it's a sweet potato, leek and feta tart

 I cheated and used frozen filo pastry instead, and sweated down the leeks first/ caramelised them with a bit of balsamic vinegar and butter. It was so tasty - I love some autumn comfort food! 

@Janine-RO  I think I used to like fassoulia beda the best.
They have some unusual ingredients so good luck with making them!
I asked my mum if she knew some other dishes and she told me about these ones:
Bazella 
Koshary (this recipe is different to how my grandma makes it though) 
Macaroni (we call it something different) 
Tabbouleh
Baba Ganoush
Labneh (one of the nursing home residents taught me how to make this too) 
Kibbeh (neither of us know how to make this like my grandma does though) 
Kofta 

This thread has given me some serious inspiration for dinner tonight! 

Also, @WheresMySquishy I'm sooo happy you linked the recipe for Koshary - I ate it every day when I went to Egypt a few years ago and I'm really keen to try and replicate it. 

@Janine-RO  Coles and Woolworths used to have okra, but I don't think they have them any more. 😞 We used to get some from Arabic grocery stores.
I hope you like the dish!

@Bre-RO  That's so cool that you've been to Egypt! I went to Egypt for about a month when I was five. I got to sit on the bricks of the pyramids (this is probably banned now, which I support) and we also went on a cruise down the Nile. Funny story about that - I hid behind a curtain because I was secretly playing with my mum's makeup and everyone thought I had fallen overboard because no one could find me for ages.
My family wants to go again, but I think once is enough.
According to my mum, the macaroni in koshary is optional. My grandma doesn't include it. Some people also put fried onions on top.

It's so cool that you went too @WheresMySquishy that such a cool memory to have about the pyramids. My dream was to see them since I was little, I couldn't believe it when I was actually there. One of my fondest memories! I love the fried onions on top and the garlic sauce...yummm! Also, I bet your family were so relived then they realised you were just hiding and not somewhere lost in the nile 😮 

My soul food would have to be a dish my Baba (grandmother) used to make every time she came to visit. When I got older she taught me how to make it too! Baked stuffed peppers are so simple to make and it's great for meal prepping. There's a good recipe here that can also be adapted for vegans/vegetarians. 

These recipes look so good, I am almost droooooling

One of my fave dishes is a burrito bowl:

Here: https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/quick-vegetarian-mexican-bowl-recipe/vzx16jgh

Ingredients:

1 tbs olive oil

1 brown onion, finely chopped

1 red capsicum, seeded, sliced

I use 500g beef mince

40g pkt Mexican seasoning (found with the burrito/taco mixes in Coles!)

1/2 cup mild tomato salsa

Rice - I cook my rice & I have no idea of amounts, I honestly just guestimate

400g black beans, rinsed, drained

1 avocado, stoned, peeled, sliced

250g cherry tomatoes, halved

Tortilla chips

Sour cream

Coriander sprigs

Method:

1. Head oil in large frying pan over high heat. Add beef mince, season with salt & pepper and, until browned. Add Mexican seasoning and combine. Add onion and capsicum and cook until softened. Add salsa and 1/4 cup water, reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring, until mixture thickens

2. While cooking meat, boil water in a saucepan for rice. Salt water. Add rice. Keep an eye on rice, and drain when ready. Add the beans and stir to combine.

3. Divide rice mixture and mince mixture among serving bowls. Top with avocado, tomato, tortilla chips, sour cream and extra salsa. Sprinkle with coriander.

Very delicious!!!

@Hozzles  I wanna perfect whipped coffee so bad but the manual whisking always gets to me, even when I use a whisk. Any tips? It looks so good!

@Jess1-RO  thanks for the tag and great idea @Janine-RO ! I'll try think of a recipe sometime soon 🙂

OK - my first one is pretty simple, it's a Moroccan Sweet Potato Soup. I base it off this recipe here but make a few tweaks 

Cheap, tasty, super simple especially if you have a slow cooker or pressure cooker and really good on cold nights.... soup always reminds me of my Nana, who passed away 18 months ago at the ripe old age of 95. She would always make us soup with heaps of buttered toast fingers when we had sleepovers at her place in winter, and I feel instantly comforted when I make this soup!

Ingredients 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
•  
  1 large brown onion, roughly chopped (I also add 2 spanish onions. I really like onion)
•  
  2 garlic cloves, crushed (use the stuff in jars if you are feeling lazy)
•  
  1 teaspoon ground coriander (I double this)
•  
  2 teaspoons ground cumin (I double this too)

Also usually add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

•  
  1/4 teaspoon chilli powder (I also add some fresh chopped chillis at the end)
•  
  600g orange sweet potato, peeled, diced
•  
  500g carrots, peeled, sliced
•  
  6 cups Massel chicken style liquid stock
•  
  300g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed
•  
  1/2 small lemon, juiced

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Stir in coriander, cumin and chilli powder. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add sweet potato and carrot. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add stock. Cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. You can use a pressure cooker or slow cooker on low heat too -will make for a very tasty soup. 

Add chickpeas to soup and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until chickpeas are tender.

Blend soup, in batches, until smooth. Return to saucepan over medium-low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Heat, stirring, until hot (do not boil). Ladle into bowls. Top with croutons. Sprinkle with pepper. Serve.

Gasp!

[Insert very French-sounding words]

Wee wee! We must get to work, my duty calls once more! A food, a dish, a moment of desire! I shall make you feel like a world-class chef!

First! We grab 2 delicious pieces of pre-cut bread and gently slide it into a toaster. Inside, this device will warm our bread with all its love until its golden brown or accidentally burnt. At the moment it pops up with joy, pray it doesn't go flying and land into the bin. The chances of it happening are low, but it is never zero!

And then, we grab our beautifully toasted bread, hold it in the air like an angel and rest it upon a plate.

After, we grab a knife and spread waves and waves of Nutella, ready for our taste buds to explore! A chef must taste their food. Take a bite, indulge in your creation. Perhaps more chocolate might dive us further.

And now we add the islands ready to be explored. Banana. Peel. Chop chop chop and place it along our chocolate ocean.

And for the finale! Milk. Milo. Marshmallows. And let the microwave warm our chocolate and melt the marshmallows like a fallen snowman.

It is ready now and our soul shall dine like a goddess.

--

All we did was make toast with nuttella and bananna with a choc marshmallow drink. But I bet you I made it sound world-class!