Gazpacho

When summer's here, it's time to break out the gazpacho. Serve it cold with some crusty bread. 

3 lbs tomatoes

Medium cucumber

Red bell pepper

Small yellow onion

2 slices white bread

1/2 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic

3 tbsp sherry vinegar

2 tsp salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Basil leaves
(Tabasco sauce)

Core and stem the tomatoes, then finely chop them along with the onion, bell pepper and cucumber. Separate one quarter of the chopped vegetables and set them aside. Put the rest of the chopped vegetables in the food processor with the garlic, salt, vinegar, and bread. Blend thoroughly until the soup is smooth, then add the olive oil. Pouring the olive oil into the blender slowly and allowing it to get fully incorporated will give the gazpacho a creamier texture. Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Take the chopped vegetables that were set aside and stir them into the soup to give it a chunkier texture.  If you fancy it, add a couple of splashes of hot sauce to taste. Refrigerate overnight. Top with ground black pepper before serving and use basil to garnish.  

Quinoa Tabbouleh

This recipe makes an enormous amount of tabbouleh, probably 6 large servings. If you want to make a more modest quantity, you will have to adjust the quantities accordingly.

1 cup dried quinoa

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cups parsley

1 cup mint

1 lemon

5 scallions (green parts only)

12oz cherry tomatoes

Lots of salt

Place one cup of rinsed quinoa, two cups of water, one tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt into your rice cooker (or following the cooking instructions on the box). Cook on the "white rice" setting while you prep the other ingredients. 

Slice the cherry tomatoes, juice the lemon and finely chop the herbs and scallions. If you are following a low-FODMAP diet, discard the white parts of the scallions. If not, you can use the whole thing. Once the quinoa has thoroughly cooled, add it to a large mixing bowl and stir in the other ingredients, adding the salt slowly as you go.  

This will keep well in the fridge for 4 days. It's also a great dish to take to a potluck or picnic and contains way more protein than regular tabbouleh. 

Flavored Water

As part of getting healthy for the new year, I'm trying to stay well-hydrated. These flavored waters are definitely going to help. Keep 'em in the fridge so there's always something cool, calorie-free, caffeine-free and alcohol-free to enjoy. 

Today I made cucumber/parsley, strawberry, lemon/mint.

Zero calories. 

BBQ Tempeh Soft Tacos

1/2 cup tempeh

2 tbsp garlic-free BBQ sauce

1 cup raw kale

6 slices red bell pepper

1 tsp mustard

Corn tortillas (wheat free)

1 tbsp olive oil

A splash of red wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar

Slice the tempeh and mix with the BBQ sauce and half of the olive oil, bake for 30 mins at 400 degrees. While it's cooking, prepare the kale by massaging it with the remainder of the olive oil, vinegar and salt, then set aside to let it marinate. You can add grated carrot to your kale, too, if you have some on hand. Slice your bell pepper. When your tempeh is ready, take your corn tortillas and fill them with the kale, a few slices of bell pepper, mustard and tempeh. 

485 calories for 2 tacos