Welcome to my crazy world of real food cooking ...

Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants. -- Michael Pollan

I wish I could take credit for that because I think it sums up how we should eat. Simply -- eat stuff that really is food, instead of stuff that is food like substance. The supermarket is almost entirely food-like-substances, and, my friends, you should probably never ever eat them.

Fortunately, there is a world of deliciousness out there, and it can all be had in a way that not only doesn't harm your health, but in a way that benefits you hugely.

I think it's important to eat stuff that satisfies you, that keeps your blood sugar stable, and that gives you stuff your body really needs to run optimally.

But baby, it's gotta taste good.

I really like getting experimental in the kitchen. I love cooking, I love layering flavours, and I love coming up with really super yummy food. I have very strong opinions about what constitutes food, and there are a lot of things I won't touch in the kitchen. Bottom line? Pretty much everything I make is ridiculously good for you even if it tastes decadent. Although there are occasional big fat cheats ... but even those stick to real food, my friends.

For food that is usual gluten free, usually free of cane sugar, usually super low on the glycemic index, full of protein, fiber, flavour, and excellent energy, join me and Alice down the rabbit hole.

Every recipe on this blog is my own original effort and idea, so please pass 'em on, giving credit where credit is due.

Many thanks, and come back often. I'm really glad you are here!

:)

Friday, 16 September 2011

'Mosas! A reprisal of an old favourite -- our samosas.




My cute as a button son loves samosas, and fondly calls them 'mosas. Before going to work on a film, I filled our freezer with these homemade goodies, so that he and my husband could have nutritious and yummy home cooked meals in no more time than it took them to pop some in the toaster oven -- and wait 40 minutes.

After getting home late from the zoo today, I tossed some in the toaster oven (it fits 6 perfectly, which turned out to be a reasonable number for the three of us for dinner).

Because they were super yummy, I decided to share our latest filling with you, as well as re-tell my way of samosa making. Super yummy.

The beauty of samosas like this is you really could make any filling you pleased so long as it wasn't too wet, and they would work out fantastically. Go crazy and see whatever suits your fancy. Make a huge batch and throw a bunch of them in the freezer for a quick dinner when you come home late.




Part 1) dough

ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
2 cups kamut pastry flour (finely ground, whole grain)
1 cup blanched almond flour
1 1/2 tsp sea salt

3/4 cup filtered water + 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

directions:

1. put the flours, salt, and oil in a food processor. pulse a few times to thoroughly combine.
2. turning the machine on, slowly trickle in the water (and vinegar) until the ingredients clump together and form a dough. If it seems too dry, add more water whilst the processor is on, a teaspoonful at a time. You do not want to add too much water, because then the dough will be very hard to work with. Too little water and the dough will be too crumbly.
3. take the dough out of the food processor, wrap it in parchment and put it in a plastic bag, or wrap it in plastic wrap. Set the dough aside to rest. (you can also make it ahead of time and put it in the fridge. However, it will need to come to room temperature before you can use it.


Part 2) filling

ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup diced carrot
1 cup green peas
2 cups diced sweet potato
1 cup diced kohlrabi
2 cups cooked chickpeas
150 g spinach, chopped

1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin


directions:

1. saute  the carrots, peas, sweet potato, kohlrabi, and chickpeas with the coconut oil and the spices and seas salt until tender
2. add the spinach and stir until cooked
3. set the filling aside to use once the dough is ready


Part 3) samosas

directions:
1. take the fully rested dough, and divide into 20 g balls using a kitchen scale. Or if you are not as ocd as me, just make ping pong ball size dough balls. Try to make them even. Using the kitchen scale method, I got 35 balls this time. You could make 'em a touch bigger and get 24 balls, but I like this size best. Keep the balls covered by a piece of parchment topped by a damp towel to keep them from drying out. This is very very important!



2. one by one, roll the dough balls into circles, put some filling in the middle, and fold three sizes to make a triangular package. You should probably roll the dough on baking parchment or a mat of your choice. I find this dough easy to work with and somewhat forgiving.








3. place the samosas on a lined baking sheet. You don't need to leave a lot of space between, but you also don't want them to touch.



4. here, you have to make the decision to bake or to freeze. If you elect to freeze your bounty for later, put the baking sheet fully loaded into the freezer. Once the samosas have frozen solid, put them in airtight freezer bags. They can be baked right from frozen in about 40 minutes at 345.
5. If you choose to bake them now, put your baking sheet in the oven at 345 for about 25 or 30 minutes, until they seem adequately brown for your liking. If you want to bake them in a few hours, cover the samosas on the baking sheet with a piece of parchment topped by a damp towel.

I have served variations of these samosas to a lot of people, and pretty much they are well enjoyed by all.

I'd love to hear about your own filling variations!

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