Vegetation

More with the lazy persons blogging :P

This week I've been busy. I found celeriac at the supermarket the other day and snatched it up. I had seen some last season but when I decided what to do with it it wasn't there anymore and they never got anymore (seems to be the thing to do around here!). So I did some googling, because of course after 6 months of not being able to find it again, I threw out the recipe).

It seems that celeriac is mostly used cold and somewhat raw (although generally blanched) in salads. I didn't particularly fancy salad, partly because I'm not a big salad fan and partly because with autumn kicking in in the evening I didn't feel like something cold.

Anyway, I came across this and decided it was the way to go. I used my mandoline to cut the potatoes and celeriac really thin and the rest I followed the recipe (subbing marg for butter, I would like to try this with cashew cream next time too). I thought it was really yummy. The celeriac became soft and was really melty and mild tasting. Mr Unveg however stated he would rather it just be potato next time. Me? I liked the different texture and slightly different taste of the celeriac and would have it again in a heartbeat.
This gratin was nice too in that it didn't contain massive amounts of fat. A lot of these types of dishes require you to pour half a tub of margarine or butter over each individual layer of vegetable and half a tub of cream.

Yesterday I read on the PPK forums about Peanut Milk (not that I believe the hype, it just sounded yummy). I had seen the website before but not really thought about it again, but then I got thinking after seeing the post on the forum that chocolate peanut milk could very well feed my peanut butter and chocolate addiction! So I just had to give it a try. I couldn't find any raw peanuts so I bought unsalted, roasted ones. I used 3/4 of a cup and threw in 2 Tbsp of Almond Meal with 3 1/2 cups of water and blended away, then strained through cheesecloth. Just like almond milk really but without the soaking. Once I had strained it I set aside 1 cup to try plain (because I like my almond milk plain and my cashew milk as well and it's always good to try some plain) and mixed the other 2 and a 1/2 cups with a heaped teaspoon of Rice Syrup and half a teaspoon of Vanilla Extract. I haven't tried it yet, I'll share the verdict tomorrow, hopefully along with a lower fat choc chip cookie recipe (just have to try them once they cool down! We ate them all hot, nom, nom, nom).
Dinner tonight was more Indian food. I am really loving Indian Food these days! I seem to crave it! Anyway, I wanted something that would be yummy but still gentle on the tummy and something potato based and I came across Bombay Potatoes Masala. I got the recipe off the internets but I can't seem to find it right now! Ugh.

Bombay Potatoes Masala

450-500g New Potatoes
20g Margarine
1 large Onion, sliced
3 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 tsp Yellow Mustard Seeds
2 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tsp Ground Cumin
½ tsp Chilli Powder
¼ tsp Ground Turmeric
400g can chopped/crushed Tomatoes

Boil the potatoes (or microwave them) until just tender.

Heat the butter in a deep pan and cook the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent and soft.

Stir in the mustard seeds, garam masala, coriander, cumin, chilli powder, and turmeric.

Once the spices have blended nicely add the tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.

Add the potatoes and continue cooking until they are heated through and coated with the sauce.

Serve with Naan and some plain rice.