Recipe catch up

WELCOME TO THE first post in my new recipe section. For those who didn’t see my post a couple of days ago, I have created sections on my substack homepage so that it is easier to navigate the archive. This means that I’m now posting stuff about Ayurveda for health, digestion and stress management on Sundays, Warm Words to support your positive neural networks and manage stress on Wednesdays, and Recipes on Fridays (that way I can assign the different categories to the relevant sections for easy access, instead of just having them all in one post, which makes them hard to find again.

This week I’m popping up my favourite recipes posted so far. I’ll do the same next week so that all my recipes are in one easy to find place. After that I will start adding new recipes that will become a cookery book to nourish your body, mind and heart.

I wanted to give a shout out to @drvickicannop of

The Therapy Room

who is also sharing posts to nourish body, mind and heart.

Hazelnut cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 180g hazelnuts

• 100g flour

• 20g corn starch

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon cardamom

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/8 tsp baking powder

• 150g soft butter

• 80g jaggery

• 1 egg

METHOD

Pop the oven at 180 C. Roast and grind the hazelnuts, but be careful not to grind into a paste, you’re aiming for a flour. Cream the butter and jaggery then add the egg and then the dry ingredients (if it looks like it’s going to curdle when beating in the egg add a little flour. Put dollops on baking parchment on a tray or use a biscuit mold.

These are really Moreish, if you know your Ayurvedic constitution, kapha types beware.

Pesto Polenta

I did a little tour of the internet and discovered there are lots of recipes and tips out there for creating the ‘best’ polenta. This is the approach that works for me. I’m enjoying the simplicity of polenta, and that it can be taken in different taste directions — taste for Ayurveda is a whole area of health potential which I will be chatting about on Friday.

INGREDIENTS (per person small plate)

• 1/4 cup fine cornmeal

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 cup milk

• Pinch of rock salt

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese or cheddar

• 2 tablespoons of pesto

METHOD

Put the salt, milk and water in a pan and bring to the boil. Slowly pour in the cornmeal whisking as you do this. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens then turn down low and leave for 30-40 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so. Then stir in the other ingredients and serve with spring vegetables.

I hope you enjoy this simple tasty dish.

Coconut, Almond & Lemon balls

I love these balls of deliciousness. If you know your Ayurvedic constitution these are great for pitta and vata types. kapha types have to be careful with sweet treats, I’ll explain more about this in the Ayurveda section.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups desiccated coconut.

• 1 cup ground almonds

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

• Juice 1 lemon and zest if unwaxed

• Enough maple syrup for your sweet taste needs

• Grated chocolate or cinnamon or coconut to roll them in

METHOD

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a food processor then roll into balls and cover with the last ingredients.

Fresh Tuna, Squash and a herby caper dressing

This is such a simple meal, and really satisfying. I’ve grown and tasted quite a lot of winter squash over the years, and this is one of my favourites – Crown Prince. It has a good dense texture, and tastes a little like sweet chestnuts. It’s long lasting as well. I remember the first one I grew, it had been an exhausting and stressful year but watching my squashes grow and harvesting that first one, well it brought instant happiness into my mind and heart.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tuna steak

• A few pieces of the squash

• 2 tablespoons of butter

• Olive oil

• 1 lime

• 1 tablespoon of capers

• 1/2 cup of freshly chopped herbs ( I used mint, coriander & parsley)

• Rock salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Cover the squash segments in olive oil, then pop them into the oven for about 15 minutes (my oven is very hot and I cook on high). While the squash is cooking chop up the fresh herbs and capers. A few minutes before the squash has finished cooking melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan, when hot and sizzling cook the tuna for one to two minutes on each side — depending on the thickness. Take the tuna out of the pan, then add the other tablespoon of butter to the pan with the capers, herbs and fresh lime juice, stirring for about a minute, then pour over the tuna and squash.

Simple but very fresh and tasty. If you know your Ayurvedic constitution this is a great dish for balancing vata and pitta types. Pitta types could add in a salad if bitter leaves while Vata types could add a bowl of roasted root vegetables. This dish is a little heavy and salty to balance Kapha types.

Rose Halva Balls

These are very very moreish. If you know you have a Kapha constitution just eat a little when in balance.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup light tahini

• 1 teaspoon raw honey

• 1 tablespoon cacao powder

• A few drops of rose water

METHOD

Mix together all the ingredients and roll into balls.

Roasted Fennel & Hummus

INGREDIENTS

For the fennel:

• 1/2 fennel bulb

• 1 clove chopped garlic

• 1/2 a teaspoon freshly grated ginger

• 1 tablespoon ghee

For the hummus:

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas

• 1/3 cup light tahini

• Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon

• 1 clove garlic chopped

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• Rock salt to season

METHOD

Sauté the fennel in the ghee with the garlic and ginger. Make the hummus by combining all the ingredients – begin with juice of half lemon and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then ad more if needed. You may need to add a little more olive oil or water, it depends on how much lemon you add, and how juicy the lemon was.

If you are a Kapha type add some cayenne pepper to the hummus.

I hope you enjoy these recipes.

The wood pigeons are cooing in the tree out front, on this deliciously sunny, blue-skied, very warm, with a cool breeze early evening in July. I’ve just made myself hungry so am off to the kitchen.

Till Sunday, warmest wishes,

Lucy x