A fabulous Christmas Recipe and Making the Online Cooking Course Available to You All
Another Christmas recipe everyone. I know so many people who just love Christmas and have a great time hanging out with loved ones and then I know equally as many people who actually have not such a great time at Christmas. This recipe is for all of you, to take to gatherings or to have at home on your own, really treating yourself to super delicious food whether you celebrate Christmas or not.
I loved Christmas growing up but always missed our extended family. I loved that we got to celebrate Christmas in the tropics where it was hot and the day often involved jumping in the pool or soaking in the spa or playing French cricket by the beach (it was torture not being able to swim in the ocean – too many box jellyfish and crocodiles). And then there was always cricket to watch on TV the next day. That was the best bit!
As I grew up Christmas became less attractive for me. It often involved being around lots of food that made me feel depressed even looking at it. Consequently, for the last 6 years or so, I have spent quite a few Christmas days alone with Makrand. Some years I love the quiet and I even once did my tax on Christmas day and then other years I was really sad that I wasn’t part of things and last year I can’t even recall how I felt. This year though I feel to be more social and will have a gathering. Maybe no one will come and maybe they will. What I do know regardless is that I will have really good vegan organic food to share. Mexican will be the theme. I’ll let you know what will be on the table in next week’s blog.
This week’s blog though is a delicious dish to put on your Christmas day menu, whether celebrating or not. You can use the filling to stuff any veggie you like. It’s really very good, like really very good!
I would pair it up with a super lush salad and also a pasta salad. And then finished off with the Vegan Trifle.
Quinoa, Mushroom, Corn and Red Capsicum Filled Zucchini
This recipe is versatile and you can fill whatever veg you like. Red capsicums, eggplant, sweet potato, tomatoes – all could be the go. If using sweet potato you will need to partially cook them first.
The recipe is full of niacin, B3, which is brilliant for assisting HDL cholesterol in getting rid of the LDL cholesterol in your body. Niacin also assists in breaking ethanol found in alcohol into acetaldehyde and then into acetate that makes alcohol less toxic in your body. However even though niacin is needed for alcohol breakdown, no amount of niacin rich food is going to help with a hangover. I just thought it was a good idea to add more niacin rich food into this recipe just for the fun of it, as I know there is often a lot more alcohol consumption at Christmas.
Ingredients
10 round zucchini or 4 regular zucchini
1 cup cooked quinoa (½ cup dry quinoa boiled in 5 cups of salted water for 10 minutes or until the white tails appear, then strained)
150g finely diced mushrooms
kernels of 1 corn cob
1 small red capsicum diced
3 green spring onions – white and green bit finely chopped
1 to 2 tbsp currants
2 cloves garlic minced (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Splash of olive oil
For tomato sauce
6 plump tomatoes cut in half
¼ cup water
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic (optional)
Big handful of Greek or regular basil
Salt and pepper to taste and even a chilli if you are a chilli fan
Method
1. For the sauce place everything in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn heat down and simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on. Then if it is a lot of liquid simmer for a further 30 minutes with the lid off. Blitz the tomatoes with a hand held blender.
2. Cut the top of the round zucchini or cut the other veg in half. Scoop out the flesh inside. Lightly salt the veg.
3. Fry the onions in a splash of oil for a minute. Next add the garlic and cook for a minute. Then add the capsicum and a sprinkling of salt and pepper and cook for 3 more minutes. Then add the corn and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked. Place them all in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and fill the zucchini.
4. Place the zucchini on a baking paper lined tray and pop in 190°C oven for 30 minutes or until the zucchinis are cooked.
5. Serve with tomato sauce.
# If you make this recipe please share on facebook or instagram to #veetsvegancookingschool
Cooking School News
As many of you know I launched my first online cooking course a couple of weeks ago. The people who have already purchased it and actually have some time at this crazy time of year to start the course are loving it.
If you are keen to do the online course or wanted to gift it to someone but don’t feel you can afford the full tuition fee please shoot me an email as I really want to make this course available to everyone who wants to participate in it.
And for anyone who would like to support me in my venture of getting this course to those who really would like to incorporate really wholesome and delicious vegan food in their diet, you can support me in 1 of 3 ways.
1. Join my Facebook groups
2. Let your friends know about the online course if you think they may like it.
3. Let your friends know that I am offering a 15 minute free Q & A session – via phone, Skype or Messenger if they are keen to find out more about vegan food. This offer is also available to you of course.
Four Spots Available in January’s Face to Face cooking classes
Just yesterday a spot became available in the January 28th to 30th three day Vegan Foundation Cooking Course and there are 3 spots left in the 21st to 23rd course.
The three day cooking course really offers you the opportunity to immerse yourself in nurturing your body with good quality organic vegan food. It does not stop with the three days, you will leave with a plan of how to incorporate this into your every day life forever so you can nourish your own body as well as nourishing your loved ones. You will gain an understanding of how to adapt non-vegan recipes into vegan recipes and regular recipes into vegan and gluten free recipes. In addition you will take home a comprehensive manual that includes the 60 plus recipes we cover in the three days.
Have a great week everyone and I will be back next week with another Christmas recipe.
With love Veet
