Lebanese Salad Recipe

Lebanese Salad Recipe

If you really want to know and appreciate London, besides visiting the usual tourist attractions and having enjoyed its multiculturalism, you should stop into the richest part of the city: the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Here you can admire very beautiful homes, the prestigious Victorian architecture, restaurants and luxury shops: places that many of us should only admire, but that are undoubtedly part of the beauty and peculiarity of this city.

Today I reached Holland Park by bus, which is an area and park in this exclusive district: here there are hectares of greenery, lakes, trees, animals and a Zen Garden (Kyoto Gardens), where it is pleasant to take a lunch break and enjoy some relax.

For this occasion, I prepared a delicious Lebanese salad, full of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, lettuce and radishes that I really love. These incredible vegetables give a feeling of fullness, are rich in depurative properties, contain few calories and are full of vitamins.

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Crispy Courgette With Curry

Crispy Courgette

Cooking is like art. It is an union of colors, tastes and different smells. Cooking is like painting: you have to select carefully all the ingredients, textures and tones appearance, as in a portrait. If the choices are appropriate, the dish will be fixed in everybody’s mind and in the taste buds of those who try it.

During these days in London one perceives little summer. There are clouds, rain, thunder and lightning. On days like these I love cookin and listening to the sound of the rain hitting on the window of my kitchen.

Today, after have been working for hours on my computer, I went out for a walk to enjoy the typical smell of London (i.e. that of rain, dear me! ) and going missing myself among the shelves of “Whole Foods”, in Stoke Newington. Whole Foods is a supermarket chain, which you can find in different parts of London. It is specialized in selling organic and monitored products. Today I purchased courgettes, turmeric and curry for tonight’s dinner.

Curry is a mixed spice that I love and that can easily be prepared at home. It has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and is mainly composed of turmeric. Turmeric has depurative and antioxidants properties, an intense color and it is unique in flavor. They are both well known spices in Eastern and Asiatic kitchen, they can be used in the preparation of many dishes but also for beauty care.

I’m going to prepare a batter based on curry and turmeric as breading for courgettes: a mix that you should definitely try

 Ingredients for 5-6 people:

  • 6 Courgettes
  • 150 g Rice flour
  • 1 Teaspoon curry powder
  • 1 Teaspoon turmeric powder (as I said it is contained in curry, but I add it to get a stronger flavor)
  • 200ml Beer or sparkling water
  • A pinch of salt
  • Vegetable oil

Method:

  1. Wash and cut the courgettes in sticks;
  2. In a bowl, mix some flour with curry and turmeric powder;
  3. Add some beer or sparkling water (it must be very cold) and quickly mix until it forms a smooth mixture;
  4. Dip the courgette sticks into the batter and wrap them totally;
  5. Heat in a pot some seeds oil; when it is quite hot, fry the courgette little by litte until they become golden brown;
  6. Leave them for few minutes on a tray covered with absorbing paper towels and then serve them hot.

My advices:

  • If you want you can combine these sticks with a sweet and sour sauce. Enjoy them!

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Vegan Nutella

Vegan Nutella

During last years the issue of palm oil has become quite popular. However, we may ask why is it so demonized among consumers around the world.

Palm oil is obtained by squeezing the pulp of oil palm fruit. It has a low cost and it is very versatile. Furthermore, it is tasteless, it can withstand high temperatures without turning rancid and slowly reaches the point of smoke: this oil is used in the production of food and it is contained in a huge number of cosmetics as a preservative and softener.

To be fully used, however, palm oil is refined and deprived of all healing properties: after different industrial processes it becomes a substance without benefits, enriched with carcinogens and toxic substances, and with an excess of saturated fats that might cause serious health problems.

Our Planet Earth is in danger!!

In addition, the industrial production of palm oil leads the planet Earth in serious danger. In tropical areas, for instance, deforestation is wide spreading. This involves the reduction of the oxygen and the destruction of the natural habitat of many endangered species. It would always be suitable, when you go to supermarkets, to check the labels and only buy “palm oil free” products, to safeguard our health and that of our Planet. Even more appropriate would be the self-made home production of daily and in long term food and products.

Today I am going to prepare one of my favorite guilty pleasures: home-made palm oil free vegan chocolate hazelnut spread!

Ingredients:

  • 430g hazelnuts,
  • 3 table spoons powder chocolate;
  • 2-3 table spoons agave syrup;
  • A pinch of salt;
  • 1 tea spoon vanilla extract;

 Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 180° and roast hazelnuts to approximately 10-15 minutes. (Until they become golden brown);
  2. Remove the skin of hazelnuts with the help of a kitchen cloth;
  3. Grind the nuts up to reduce them to powder;
  4. Continue to whisk until hazelnuts release their natural oils and the mixture becomes more creamy;
  5. Add cocoa, agave syrup, a pinch of salt salt and vanilla extract, then mix until you get a smooth, dense and homogeneous cream;
  6. Store in a cool dry place.

 My advices:

  • Add agave syrup with moderation, until the mixture reaches the consistency you prefer;
  • You can store it for about a week, because it does not contain preservatives;
  • To obtain a more intense flavor you can vary the recipe and replace the dark chocolate with cocoa;
  • Use it to prepare desserts, or spread it on a slice of bread covered with coconut flour!

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