Get Your Food On Issue 14
Tofu Pad See Ew + Chickpea Chaat Salad + Wholesome Carrot Muffins + Advanced 2-Day Meal Prep
Hello friends!
Today's newsletter is a WHOPPER! 3 New Recipes since the last week and more are on the way before Sunday. And they are all super exciting. Some like the Tofu Pad See Ew were amongst the most requested sneak peek recipes and I can't wait for you to make them. I have also taken into account all your requests for recipes and included a smashing wholesome Breakfast Carrot Muffin and a protein-filled Vegan Chickpea Chaat Salad. Today's meal prep is a departure from all the meal prep sessions until now and takes it up a notch into a slightly more advanced territory by prepping smartly across two days!
And finally, if my meal prep sessions are helping you, I would LOVE to hear your experiences! Please keep the feedback coming, it really helps me plan more content for you! Now let's begin ..
Sneh x
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NEW THIS WEEK
A good ol’ Thai Tofu Pad See Ew for your weeknight dinners. Easy, quick and authentic, this noodle stir-fry is made with a sauce that has been perfected dozens of times. Tastes just like takeaway Pad See Ew, you’ll want to make this every week!
Making Pad See Ew At Home
I can’t tell you how many batches of Pad See Ew I have stir-fried in the past two years. We don’t eat out much, even before Covid. on those rare occasions when we frequented our favourite Thai restaurant or ordered takeaway, two dishes were always ordered. Pad Kee Mao for the spice lovers in our family and Pad See Ew for the gentle diners. With its sweet and salty sauce coating silky flat wide noodles, luscious egg and tofu complimenting the vibrant just cooked gai-lan, Pad See Ew was a family favourite!
Then came Covid and I discovered online shopping and realized that I could order fresh flat wide rice noodles online. That was a game-changer! Read my notes (after the recipe) for fresh rice noodle substitutions. So, I started cooking Pad See Ew every week. It is a surprisingly easy stir-fry to make if you have all the ingredients. The first couple of weeks, there was something lacking in the sauce. Either the final noodles were too dry or the sauce wasn’t salty or sweet enough.
One of the things I acknowledged early on was that restaurant/takeaway Pad See Ew was dripping in oil. It was probably the reason why it was absolutely delicious. It was just the nature of the dish. Rice noodles literally soak up the sauce and if you don’t use enough oil, it gets gluggy and the strands stick to each other. I didn’t want to use too much oil. And ..... (read on to find out how I made this more wholesome and all the brands of sauces I use)
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CHICKPEA CHAAT SALAD
A beautiful tangy salad inspired by Chaat – the famous street food of India, this Chickpea Chaat Salad has all of the delicious sweet, sour, salty and spicy flavours along with the freshness and crunch of salad veggies. A colourful, healthy and fun salad you can make in minutes!
A Salad Inspired By Chaat – The Famous Indian Street Food
Chickpea Chaat hails from the streets of India and is a popular street snack in the country. It is made of boiled chickpeas and potatoes mixed with crunchy salad veggies like onion and tomato, sweet date chutney, spicy chilli chutney and an assortment of herbs and toppings. My Chickpea Chaat Salad is inspired by that delicious dish. It is made with (almost) everyday ingredients, lots of fresh veggies and heaps of flavour. An Indian salsa of sorts, this salad despite being savoury and complex has a very fresh, almost palate-cleansing flavour.
It is as simple as dumping a can of chickpeas and some chopped veggies in a bowl, adding the dressing and mixing it all up. As is a tradition at Gujarati meals (my regional cuisine from India), kathol (which means pulses) is a huge part of every meal. It could be in any form – either a dal/curry, stir-fry or salad. This Chickpea Chaat or a version of it used to be at many of my meals growing up. I have taken ....
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WHOLESOME CARROT MUFFINS
Wholesome delicious Breakfast Carrot Muffins baked with spelt flour and lots of spices. Topped with pepita and oats for that extra crunch. Golden, warming and great to snack on anytime of the day!
A Grown-Up Carrot Muffin
When my boys were little and I mean really little – barely knee high and graduating from preschool to kindy, I used to make these Petite Carrot Muffins for them. “Babay Muffins!”, my youngest used to call them and they were by far his most favourite thing to eat in his lunchbox. Over the years, I made them more wholesome, pushing the boundaries of carrot muffins and what they were supposed to look and taste like.
Now my boys are in high school and unbeknown to my youngest (who is now 13!), these muffins are a completely different story. They are more wholesome and rustic with spelt flour. They have very little unrefined sugar, they are packed with spices, they are dairy-free and brimming with double the amount of vibrant orange carrots. And they are topped with beautiful pepita seeds and oats for that extra crunch. A very grown-up carrot muffin that is not only beautiful to look at but perfect for snacking on any time of the day by young ones and grown-ups alike. The funniest part? He still thinks these are the same Babay Muffins he used to love.
Baking Muffins Without Paper Cups
If you grease your pans well, you don’t need paper cases for baking. In the past, I used to use them quite extensively, but I often found that if it was an especially sticky muffin then a quarter of it would be stuck to the paper case when you tried to peel it off. Ever since I discovered Williams Sonoma Bakeware, I have completely stopped using baking paper to line my pans.
The silver TraditionalTouch followed by .....
It has been FREEZING here in Sydney! I think it is Winter's last hurrah. And I am trying to squash as many hot soups, curries and comforting bowl food in my weekly sessions as I can. Because before we know it, we'll be having tacos and guac with margaritas in our hands!
To facilitate soaking and prepping, we start our food prep the day before and essentially prep over two days in one short and long session. And in doing so, we end up with some extra food than previous weeks which no doubt will free up lots of times in the evenings or during the middle of the day. A lot of the things we will be making today are like a wardrobe full of neutrals that can be mixed and matched with a pop of colour. And by that I mean, if you take rice or quinoa as a base, you can add 1,2 or 3 things to make a bowl full of deliciousness. This is what we will be making ....
MAINS
VEGAN DAL MAKHANI (For 8 - serve with rice) / essentially makes two batches, I freeze one.
MINESTRONE SOUP (For 4 - serve with sourdough)
CHICKEN CURRY (for 4) / FISH CURRY (For 2) ( Serve with steamed rice)
CHICKPEA CHAAT SALAD (for 2 as a main or 4 as a side)
AUTHENTIC SAMOSA MIX (can be stuffed in grilled sandwiches or used in wraps for a complete meal)
EXTRAS
Orange Cream Smoothie
Mocha Banana Smoothie
RAW PREPChopped Leek + Chopped Spring Onion + Chopped Cabbage (not pictured)
Cooked Quinoa
Cooked Rice
Things To Do This Week (Thursday & Friday)
1. Print out all the recipes you plan to cook
2. Make a shopping list of things you don't already have and buy them before the weekend.
SESSION 1 DAY 1 - PRE-WEEKEND MEAL PREP SESSION (30 minutes)
Part I
1. Wash, rinse and soak black urad dal overnight for the Vegan Dal Makhani (2 minutes)
2. Boil potatoes for the Samosa Mix (2 minutes)
3. Make a double batch of Vegan Makhani Sauce (10 minutes)
4. Prep chicken and fish for the curries (5 minutes)
5. Pop the chicken with three-quarters of the Makhani Sauce in the slow cooker to cook overnight. The prepped fish can be added to the remaining Makhani sauce and warmed up just before eating. (5 minutes)
Pack away boiled potatoes, remaining Makhani sauce and prepped fish in the fridge.
Active Time - 30 minutes
SESSION 2 DAY 2- WEEKEND MEAL PREP SESSION (2 hours)
>> Before you begin, get a large plastic/enamel tub to catch all your scraps and rubbish (multiples if you are saving scraps for chooks/compost). I cannot stress how much time you will save and keep the bench tidy if you are not going to the rubbish bin every few minutes.
>> For Part III of the meal prep, I make sure the kitchen sink is clean and empty. This allows me to quickly wash my Vitamix which is easiest to clean right after making the smoothies. I also have 10-12 300ml capacity lidded glass jars ready.
Part II
1. Pre-heat oven to 190°C
2. Pack away chicken curry that has finished cooking overnight. Wash the slow cooker and add all the ingredients for Vegan Dal Makhani to cook. (10 minutes)
3. Grate carrot for the Carrot Muffins and the Chickpea Chaat Salad(10 minutes)
4. Make the Carrot Muffin batter and pop the muffins in the oven to bake (10 minutes)
5. Cook a batch of rice in the rice cooker or cooktop (2 minutes)
6. Wash, rinse and drain quinoa. Pop on a batch to cook on the cooktop (5 minutes)
7. Mix and make Coconut Caramel Chia Pudding (5 minutes)
8. Gather and prep ingredients for Green Pineapple Smoothie, Mocha Banana Smoothie, Orange Cream Smoothie, Sun Juice (10 minutes)
Pack away chicken curry, rice, quinoa, chia pudding and carrot muffins.
Active Time - 52 minutes
Part III
9. Make Sun Juice (5 minutes)
10. Make Green Pineapple Smoothie (5 minutes)
11. Make Orange Cream Smoothie (5 minutes)
12. Make Mocha Banana Smoothie (5 minutes)
13. Chop leeks, spring onions and cabbage / OR Chop veggies for the Asian Stir Fry Mix from the week before (10 minutes)
14. Chop all the remaining veggies for the Chickpea Chaat Salad and Minestrone soup (5 minutes)
Pack away chopped leek, spring onion, cabbage, juice and smoothies. The actual juice and smoothies only take a couple of minutes to make but I am allowing time for clean-up and washing of the appliances. I use my Breville Juice Maker to extract the cold-pressed juice and my Vitamix to make the smoothies.
Active Time - 35 minutes
BREAK 10 minutes - Time for a break. Make yourself a cup of tea/coffee or pour a glass of wine. I like to load the dishwasher, put away ingredient jars and wipe down the counter at this point to reduce my work later.
Part IV
15. Make Salad Dressing (5 Minutes)
16. Gather all ingredients for Lemon Ricotta Cake. Mix the batter and pop the cake in the oven (10 Minutes)
17. Make Minestrone Soup (5 Minutes)
18. Get the potatoes from the fridge and make the Samosa Filling (10 Minutes)
Pack away Mixed Chickpea Chaat Salad veggies and dressing separately for the fridge. When the cake is bakes and the soup is done, pack both away.
Active Time - 30 minutes
FINAL CLEANUP - Refill your cuppa or glass. Wash and wipe the last bit of the prep. Make a list of all the RECIPES you have cooked and allocate days to when you will use them up. Today's Meal Prep Session will make
4 DINNERS (for 4 people)
6 Breakfasts OR Snacks OR Light Meals (for 4 people)
4 Desserts (for 4 people)
Well done guys!!
" You can't just eat good food. You've got to talk about it too. And you've got to talk about it to somebody who understands that kind of food.
~ Kurt Vonnegut
I have limited copies of my cookbook Tasty Express - a labour of love filled with over 100 of our family's most tried and tested and exciting 30-minute recipes inspired by street foods of the world. Mostly Vegetarian recipes that go from breakfast to quick dinners in a heartbeat. They make great gifts for you or a friend!
