A bit of Yoga on a saturday morning...

I have been enjoying a lot practicing in my living room recently. Meghan Currie  has been a great inspiration as to letting go and have fun with your own practice. I sometimes like to take it a bit as a dance, following my breath and just letting my body move how it wants to. The creative aspect of it always feeds me deeply, in the same way as creating a wonderful recipe from ingredients you (seemingly) randomly put together...

Raw Lasagna

Sorry for the lack of blogs recently, I've been busy setting up my local Yoga classes, teaching, and living! I invite you to "like" my page on Facebook though as I often post quick ideas and pictures that don't appear on this blog. You'll get all the updates of the events coming up too, to see the page click HERE.


As promised, here is the recipe of the Raw Lasagna that was a big success in my last Raw Gourmet class in London. Don't be put off by the "Rawness" of the recipe, it's absolutely delicious, and will make you feel energised and nourished. Of course it is not the same as a cooked version, it does not intend to be, but just try it... and let me know what you think!


This recipe is packed full of nutrients, vitamins, and deliciousness... Serve it with a big green salad and it makes a great dish for warmer days. I can't wait for you to try it!


Bon Appétit!


Lasagna

serves 4

3 large courgettes

2 Avocados

Pine nut “cheese”

Pesto

Tomato sauce

Pumpkin seeds

Alfalfa or any other sprouts to decorate

Green leafy salad to serve with the lasagna

For the “Cheese”

2 cups pine nuts- soaked in water for at least 2h

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp Olive oil

Salt and Black pepper

(1 Tbsp nutritional yeast optional)

Drain the pine nuts. Place them in a food processor with all the other ingredients. Mix well until it forms a paste. Taste and adjust the seasoning. 

For the Pesto

2 bunches of basil

juice of 1 lemon

3/4 cup (70g) pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup (80g) olive oil

Salt and Black pepper

Put the basil leaves in a food processor, add the lemon juice and the pumpkin seeds. Pulse and then slowly add the olive oil while blending. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

For the tomato sauce

115g sun dried tomatoes (soaked or in oil- drained)

 4 fresh tomatoes

1/2 tsp dried sage

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 clove of garlic ( optional)

Make sure to drain the dried tomatoes well. Place them in the food processor with the garlic if using and blend. Once they form a sort of paste (it’s fine if there are still some chunks), add the fresh tomatoes roughly chopped, the herbs and some black pepper. Usually the sun dried tomatoes are very salty so you should not need to add any more salt but taste and adjust.

To Assemble:

Slice the courgettes lengthways with a mandoline, or a vegetable peeler. 

Take a rectangular dish and place some courgette slices at the bottom. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper, add a layer of tomato sauce, some “cheese”, some pesto and some sliced avocado. Top with another layer of courgettes and repeat until you don’t have any more ingredients, or until the lasagna becomes too high!! 

On the last layer of lasagna, you can spread some pesto and then sprinkle some pumpkin seeds on top, add some sprouts, or decorate however you like, have fun!

Reserve in the fridge, cut gently into squares, and serve with a nice green salad.

Easy Red Lentil Dahl

This recipe came from a need to eat more protein, and also something filling and grounding. In the winter, I often need to add some grounding cooked food to my salads to feel nourished and warm. This recipe works perfectly for me, and has become a classic at home!

It is quick, cheap, and very healthy. Red lentils are rich in protein and fibber.

Here i give you the basic recipe, feel free to replace carrots by butternut squash, or parsnips, or even courgettes. It's also lovely to add some baby spinach just when you've finished cooking it. The spinach will wilt and cook just with the heat of the lentils. 

Bon appétit!

Cette recette vient d'un besoin de manger plus de protéines, mais aussi quelque chose de consistant. En hiver, je ressent souvent le besoin d'ajouter des plats cuisines a mes salades habituelles, quelque chose très nourrissant et chaud. Cette recette marche très bien pour moi, et est devenu un classic a la maison!

C'est facile, rapide et économique. Les lentilles roses sont riches en protéines et en fibres, elles sont un grand allie santé! Voila la recette basique, a vous de vous amuser a remplacer les carottes par de la courge butternut, des courgettes, ou du panais. Il est aussi délicieux d'ajouter des pousses d'épinard a la fin de la cuisson. Bon appétit!

Easy Red Lentil Dahl

1 TBSP Cumin seeds

1 TBSP Fennel seeds

1 TBSP Black mustard seeds

1 TBSP ground Turmeric

2 TBSP olive oil

1 + 1/2 Cup (about 280g) Red lentils

2 Carrots, grated

3/4 L Water

Salt & Pepper

Fry all the spices except from the turmeric in a saucepan with the olive oil.

Add the lentils and the grated carrots. Mix well.

Add the water and turmeric.

Cook for about 15min on medium/low heat, stirring regularly.

Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Dahl de lentilles roses rapide

1 CS graines de cumin

1 CS graines de fenouil

1 CS graines de moutarde noires

1 CS turmeric en poudre

2 CS huile d'olive

280g lentilles roses

2 carottes, rapees

3/4 L d'eau

Sel et Poivre

Faites revenir toutes les épices sauf le turmeric dans l'huile d'olive dans une casserole.

Ajouter les lentilles et les carottes rapees. Bien mélanger.

Ajouter l'eau et le turmeric.

Faites cuire pendant environ 15min a feu doux, en mélangeant souvent.

Assaisonez a votre gout de sel et poivre.

Bon appétit!

Time for dates

Here is to all of you who like something sweet, easy to make, and deliciously healthy!
This dessert/ slice/ square/ tea treat/ after dinner sweet... is inspired by the cooked version I used to make at Divertimenti Cafe, it tastes even better, I dare to say!

You'll only need a food processor to make it (as my students know this is my most useful kitchen tool at the moment!!). NO COOKING required.

Dates are rich in fibber and can help sluggish digestive systems. They are also rich in iron, potassium, calcium. They are very sweet and are often used as a sweetener in raw food desserts.

So here it is:

Date slice


For about 14 portions


For the base and topping:
2 & 1/2   cups pecan nuts
1& 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
5 TBSP agave syrup
1 TBSP water - optional
1 pinch of salt

For the filling:
2 cups Medjol dates- chopped
3 TBSP water
Juice of 1 orange
Zest of 1 orange
1 tsp vanilla essence

First soak the dates in the orange juice, water, vanilla and add the orange zest.
Meanwhile, prepare the base and topping:
Grind the oats in the food processor (or if you have a coffee grinder it will work very well). Place in a bowl.
Grind the pecan nuts in the same way, it's nice to keep a bit of crunch so you can grind fairly coarsely.
Mix the pecan nuts with the oats, add the ginger and cinnamon, salt, agave and mix well. Only then add a bit of water if the mixture seems too dry (it should be crumbly and sticking together slightly).

Line a tin with cling film- I used a long rectangular tart tin but feel free to use a square brownie tin or anything you fancy!

Press 3/4 of the base mixture to create a crust at the bottom of the tin.
Now for the filling, you can either use it as it is or blend it in the food processor to make it a bit smoother, your choice!
Spread the filling on top of the base, sprinkle the filling with the leftovers of base mixture.
Refrigerate for about half an hour.
Lift out of the tin and cut in portions. Serve!
It will keep for 4 or 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

Bon Appetit!

I am back online!

My apologies for a longtime silence, the past couple of months have been busy with moving house, preparing and teaching classes, Yoga trainings and also taking some time to think about new projects.

The year has started really well, and I hope it has for you too!

I will be posting some new recipes soon and there are some surprises to come this year, bear with me!

So I have also finally invested in a new computer, which is going to make blogging very much easier!

My first experience with my new tool has been to make my first Video-photo- montage.... I let you have a look... 

I'll be back again soon!

Sybille

Merry Christmas to you All!

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas, a lovely time to reconnect with family, reflect on the past year, time to take time to set intentions for the New Year and start 2012 excited and inspired!

Love to you all,

See you in 2012!

Sybille

Quick Idea! / Idée Rapide!

Coming straight from the London kitchen, easy, quick and adaptable to your imagination, have fun!!

Tout droit d'une cuisine Londonienne, facile, rapide et à vous d'adapter les ingredients/quantités à votre imagination! amusez vous bien!

Stuffed Apples- Pommes farcies





Stuffed apples/ Pommes farcies





In a food processor, mix a handful of raisins, a handful of goji berries, a handful of pistachios. Add a bit of brandy if you like it, a pinch of ground ginger, a pinch of cinnamon, a tablespoon of honey. Half the apples and remove the center. Stuff the apples and either eat raw or bake in the oven at 180°c for about 20-30min (you may need to cover the apples with foil if the filling starts browning too much). Enjoy!

Dans le bol d'un robot ménager équipé de l'hélice, mélanger une poignée de raisins secs, une poignée de baies de goji (ou canneberges, ou autre fruit sec), une pincée de gingembre en poudre, une pincée de cannelle en poudre et une cuillere à soupe de miel. Couper les pommes en deux et les vider. Farcir les pommes et déguster soit cru, soit cuites au four à 180°c pendant environ 20 à 30min (il sera peut etre necessaire de couvrir le plat de papier aluminium si la garniture commence à brunir trop. Bon appétit!

Sybille