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I have a warped sense of hummus…

Hummus is such an easy dip to make, I rarely buy it these days. It never tastes quite the same when I make it, and as you may know if you’ve read other recipes of mine, I like to experiment with flavours a bit.

Today I decided to get fancy and make two different types of hummus. ‘Hummus two ways’ if you want to get wanky about it.

First, 1 combined 2 cans of chickpeas (rinsed and drained) with 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped) and – here’s the key – 6 tablespoons of natural peanut butter (crunchy. It always has to be crunchy. If you don’t like your PB crunchy, I’m certain we can’t be friends.) 

(NB these quantities make A Crapload. If you just want a regular amount, halve these quantities.)

Straight into the food processor with that lot and blended it for a bit. Every now and then I stopped the motor and drizzled in a little extra virgin olive oil. Maybe about a tablespoon in total? Enough to make it not a massive lump of dough. (You could always use ‘aquafaba’, aka chickpea brine, yes, the stuff you pour down the drain, in lieu of olive oil, if you want to cut down on fat. It actually works really well. And is not as icky as you might think! You can even make delicious meringues out of it!)

I divided this base mixture in half.

Into the first lot went 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 grilled capsicum/red pepper, and a bit of salt.

Version 2 was with 1 large avocado, 3 tablespoons lime juice, and some salt.

I was pretty happy with both, although the capsicum one was a bit thicker than I would have liked. The avocado one was just right, probably due to the creaminess of avocado.

I toasted some pine nuts to serve with the capsicum one, and chopped some coriander to serve with the avocado one.

And wouldn’t you know it, I managed to find 2 round containers, perfect size and shape for dips!

Really, there is no limit to what you can do with a basic hummus recipe – have you got any awesome flavour combinations?

GRILLED CAPSICUM OR AVOCADO HUMMUS

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped finely
  • Extra virgin olive oil 
  • 3 tablespoons peanut butter
  • Salt

For capsicum version:

  • 1 red capsicum, grilled, skin removed, cut into 4 pieces 
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Toasted pinenuts, to serve (optional)

For avocado version:

  • 1 large avocado, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice
  • Chopped coriander, to serve (optional)

METHOD

1) Blend chickpeas, garlic and peanut butter in a food processor, stopping the motor regularly to scrape down the sides and add a bit of olive oil until mixture is less dough-like.

2) Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.

3) Serve with garnish, if desired, and raw vegetable sticks/crackers.

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Having a ball!

A week or so ago I shared my new recipe for lime and coriander balls. You can find it here.

I decided to try something a little different today. Still sticking with the same basic formula but changing up the flavours a bit.

This time I used orange zest, a mixture of orange juice and rosewater, and a mixture of cashews and pistachios.

These balls:

  • are VEGAN
  • can be GLUTEN-FREE (use GF oats)
  • contain NO REFINED SUGAR
  • are a PIECE OF CAKE to make!

ORANGE, PISTACHIO AND ROSEWATER BALLS 

(makes 16 balls)

 INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup rolled oats (use gluten-free if needed)
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 1/2 cup plus about 3 tablespoons pistachios
  • 10 Medjool dates, pitted
  • 1 teaspoon orange juice
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest
  • 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
  • 2 teaspoons rosewater

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Soak the dates in hot water for about 10 minutes, and drain.
  • Place pistachios in food processor and grind to a coarse powder. Take out about 3 tablespoons worth and set aside.

  • Add dates, zest, juice, rosewater and oil, and process until they form a dough-like paste (mixture will clump into a big ball – this will take less than a minute)

  • Divide the mixture into balls – the number of balls will depend on how big you like them. I usually make 16 because it’s easy to make them roughly the same size – I divide the mixture in half, then half again, then again, then again.

  • Roll the balls in reserved ground pistachios and refrigerate until firm. 
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I like balls!

Before I go any further and you get COMPLETELY the wrong idea of what this post is about, this is a recipe post!

Energy balls are a fantastic easy on-the-go snack. They can be expensive to buy, but why buy when they are so easy to make? The beauty of making your own is that you can tweak the recipe to suit your taste, or if you happen to be missing one ingredient, you can often substitute another for equally good (and sometimes even better) results.

I have an old favourite recipe which I might tell you about in a future post, which is a raw cacao ball. I tweaked it by soaking the dates in fresh espresso coffee instead of hot water, to make mocha balls.

Anyway, today I am going to share my new take on an old favourite.

Here is a link to the original recipe – I’ve made these balls so many times that I can now make them without even consulting the recipe for the ingredients or quantities.

I am a little obsessed with coriander (some of you may know it as cilantro). I get that from my Mum, who famously once said “If I could dry it and smoke it, I would.” Well, I’m sure she COULD, but I’m not sure it would have the desired effect…

I am determined to come up with a recipe that incorporates coriander into a dessert. I know coriander is probably THE most polarising herb there is, so if you’re a hater, just leave it out. (Also, we can’t be friends.)


So, what I’ve done is swap out lemon for lime, and vanilla essence for chopped fresh coriander. Simples!

These balls are vegan, can be gluten-free if required, contain no refined sugar (the dates are the only sweetener) and are EASY AS to make!

LIME AND CORIANDER BALLS

(makes approximately 16 balls)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup rolled oats (use gluten-free if needed)
  • 1 cup raw cashews 
  • 10 Medjool dates, pitted
  • 2 teaspoons lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons lime zest (one lime gave me enough juice and zest)
  • 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander/cilantro (optional if you’re a weirdo who doesn’t like it)
  • Unsweetened shredded coconut (to roll the balls in)

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Soak the dates in hot water for about 10 minutes, and drain.
  • Place the oats and cashews in a food processor and process until they become a powder.

  • Add dates, zest, juice, oil and coriander, and process until they form a dough-like paste (mixture will clump into a big ball – this will take less than a minute)


  • Divide the mixture into balls – the number of balls will depend on how big you like them. I usually make 16 because it’s easy to make them roughly the same size – I divide the mixture in half, then half again, then again, then again.

  • Roll the balls in coconut and place in fridge to get firm. Because you want your balls to be firm.
  • Don’t eat them all at once (I challenge you!)
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Winter = soup time!

A good hearty soup is one of my absolute favourite winter meals. Easy to make, versatile, and freezes well. For a busy person, it ticks all the boxes!

I have experimented with soup to some extent – I have a recipe that was given to me by a work colleague (I believe it was a Donna Hay recipe) for a spiced pumpkin soup. I’ve tried it with different veggies, and different curry pastes, and tried adding chickpeas as a thickener and for extra protein, and I’ve always been happy with the results.

The inspiration for today’s recipe is two-fold. Firstly, I saw a recipe in a magazine at work today for a carrot and cumin soup as part of a soup fast. The soup fast didn’t interest me in the slightest but that recipe looked pretty good. It contained cumin seeds, and that got me thinking.

I have cumin seeds at home. I also have black mustard seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds. The five of those together, in equal quantities, make a flavour sensation called panch phoron, or Bengali five spice. I first encountered this blend in a recipe from one of my absolute favourite vegan recipe sites, One Green Planet (link to the recipe below)

Cauliflower With Purple Sweet Potatoes – Ranga Alu Diye Phulkopi [Vegan]

I couldn’t find panch phoron in the Indian grocery store so I bought the five spices and mixed them myself. The seeds are used whole, so literally all you have to do is put equal amounts of each seed in a container and mix them together!


That curry itself is another of my favourites and a winter staple. You know those recipes you make so often you don’t need to look at the recipe? This is one of those recipes. Seriously, you should try it. DO IT! 

Anyway, the seed (pun intended) was planted and this recipe began to take shape!

Panch phoron in a soup! GENIUS!

I went to the local fruit and veg shop for inspiration. I was thinking of carrot but then I saw sweet potato. I can’t go past sweet potato! Plus, the aforementioned curry is made with sweet potato, so I know that spice/veg combination works. So sweet potato it was!

First, heat up a bit of oil in a large pot over medium heat (I used rice bran, but I think coconut oil would work really well too). Then add 2 teaspoons of panch phoron and wait for the magic to happen!

Once the seeds start popping, add one chopped onion and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until soft.


Next, throw in about 1kg of peeled, chopped sweet potato and 1 litre of veg stock. Stir well, cover and cook for around 30 minutes (stirring occasionally) or until sweet potato is nice and soft.


Remove from the heat and blend until smooth. I used a stick blender which is the easiest and if you make a lot of soup I highly recommend getting one! A normal blender would work too, although a bit more fiddly and messy.

You will find the soup is quite thick at this point. Next, throw in a can of coconut milk (I used light but I presume full fat would also work!) and stir well!


And there you have it! I served mine with fresh coriander (because I can’t go past fresh coriander!) and some toast.

SPICY SWEET POTATO SOUP

INGREDIENTS (5-6 serves)

– 1 Tbsp rice bran or coconut oil

– 2 tsp panch phoron (see above for details)

– 1 onion, chopped

– 1kg sweet potato, peeled and chopped

– 1 litre vegetable stock

– 1 can light coconut milk 

INSTRUCTIONS 

1) Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add panch phoron and heat until it starts popping.

2) Add onion and cook 1-2 minutes until soft.

3) Add sweet potato and stock, cover and cook over medium heat for around 30 minutes until sweet potato is soft.

4) Remove from heat and blend until smooth.

5) Stir in coconut milk and serve!