A Simple Salad

Here is a simple spring/summer salad that is often lunch or supper all in itself. All of the green are from my window sill and the garden.
serves 1-2
10 minutes

The Salad

• A handful of lettuce, kale, spinach, chard, lovage and chives. Tear the leaves into smaller pieces and put into a bowl.
• Add half a red pepper, diced.
• Add 1 carrot, grated.
• Add a handful of chickpeas.
• Add a small handful of wakame seaweed.
• Add a small handful of pumpkin seeds.

The Dressing. Mix everything together and toss with the salad.

• 3 Tbsp of olive oil
• Juice from one lime/lemon
• 2 tsp of light Miso paste
• 2 tsp of real French mustard
• a few dashes of Soy sauce
• 3 anchovies, chopped into small pieces
  

Sesame Seaweed Chapatis

Kneading the chapati dough

One rolled out chapati, ready for the pan

One nicely puffed up chapati

An eager 1 year old reaching for a warm chapati

I've always enjoyed making bread but with kids it just seemed like I never had some when they actually wanted to eat some. So I've gradually switched over to chapatis as a quicker substitute. The kids took to them right away and now chapatis and flat breads are almost all they eat. They are quick to make, and can be filled with anything or just eaten on their own. Here is my favorite take on the basic chapati recipe.

Makes 10, 7 inch Chapatis

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 1 Tbsp Wakame seaweed, ground in a grinder
• 1 Tbsp seasme seeds, ground in a grinder
  
• 7/8 cup warm water

Part I - Preparing the dough - 10-15 minutes

1. Mix the first 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Add water and stir the mixture with your fingers.
3. Once the dough is thick enough, start kneading it in the bowl until everything is mixed.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for 5-8 minutes. Use Olive oil on your hands to stop the dough from sticking to your hands and the work area.
5. Put the dough in a plastic bag and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. I find the chapatis come out best when the dough is left in the fridge overnight. I'll make the dough when the kids are in bed, put it in the fridge, and then make them fresh the next day.

Part II - Making the Chapatis - 10 -15 minutes

1. Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into 10 equal pieces. Dust the pieces well with white flour.
2. On a flour dusted surface take one piece of dough and start to flatten with a rolling pin. Roll from the center out and rotate a quarter turn for every roll. This will make a for a more rounded chapati.
3. Pre-heat a large cast iron pan at medium for 5-7 minutes.
4. When your first chapati is ready put it on the pan and start rolling out the next one.
   
5. With a small dry cloth, press down on the chapati while it is cooking. This helps the air pockets to form. After 30-40 seconds flip over and cook for another 20-30 seconds, pressing down with the cloth on any areas that haven't puffed up. Don't worry if the whole thing does not puff up; most don't. If it does, you've made the perfect chapati; congratulations!
   
6. Remove the chapati and put it on tea towel. Fold half the towel over the chapati to keep it moist.
7. Repeat until all the chapatis are done.
8. Eat fresh or wait until the chapatis are cool and store in a plastic bag to keep them moist for a day or so.

It may look like a lot of work but the whole process actually goes fairly quick once you get the hang of it. I like to have a ball of dough in the fridge at all times so that I can quickly make a few fresh ones for the kids. Simple and extremely versatile.

Recipe - A Tangy Broth

I made this simple soup broth last night and it tasted amazing, so I figured that I might as well make it again while I exit my cleanse. Perhaps it tasted so good because I haven't eaten in 15 days.

Serves 2-3
40 minutes

• 1 cup diced yam
  
• 1 medium onion, sliced thin
  
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• pinch of cayenne
• 1 Tbsp dried Wakame seaweed
• 1 tsp Yellow (or Red or Green) Thai Curry paste
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  
• 1 tsp olive oil
• half a small lime
• 1 tsp Thai Fish Sauce (optional but recommended)
  

1. Sautee the first 3 ingredients at medium high in a heavy pot with the olive oil, curry paste and turmeric until onions turn slightly brown.
2. Add a bit of water, the cayenne, and seaweed. Turn to low, cover the pot and cook for a further 10-15 minutes.
3. Add 4 cups of water, bring to a boil, and then simmer on low for a further 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the stove and pour soup though a strainer.
5. Add 1 tsp fish sauce per serving. (optional)
   
6. Serve with a slice of lime to squeeze in
   

Eat this wonderful broth as is (very filling on it's own!) or use it as a base for any soup recipe calling for vegetable broth. Keep the vegetables to have a soup instead of a broth or mix them in with rice, pasta, scrambled eggs, or anything else you can think up.