Froz Ice Ball Maker – Novelty Food-Grade Silicone Ice Mold Tray With 4 X 4.5cm Ball Capacity Review

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Friday FAQs: High-protein recipes, sunflower seed butter troubleshooting, freezing aquafaba, and more!

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This week was a bit of a grab bag and I’m pretty anxious to unwind this weekend. We had two random basement leaks (thanks to a water softener and laundry machine both bursting within days of one another), lots of work deadlines, and some setbacks with our renovation plans. There’s promise of a gorgeous weekend though, and I can’t wait to soak it up. I’ve made some fun Father’s Day plans, and we’re hitting up the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto too. I can’t recall the last time I went to the St. Lawrence Market—probably years and years!—so I’m anxious to check it out (let me know if there are any “must-see” vendors to visit). With any luck I’ll be able to find some plant-based foods to satisfy my non-stop hunger of late. I hope you all have a great weekend. Happy Father’s Day!

ps- My 25 weeks pregnancy update is now up on the Baby blog.

Q1. Angela—this mayo recipe looks really great! Have you (or any of your readers) had any luck freezing the chickpea liquid and then thawing and using it in your recipes? It seems I always open a can of chickpeas when I don’t need the brine, or need the brine when I have no cans of chickpeas. I’m hoping storing the brine (possibly as ice cubes?) for can-less days might be the solution. Any thoughts, anyone??

A. Hi Tia, I haven’t tried it personally yet, but I’ve read that you can in fact freeze aquafaba! Using an ice cube tray (I like using silicone ice cube trays because they’re so easy to pop out) is a great idea for storing, because then you’ll have easy-to-grab, ready-measured amounts available for use in recipes. (My advice is to measure how many tablespoons one cube holds so you know.)

Q2. Hi Angela, Can you recommend the best substitute for hemp in your Crowd-Pleasing Vegan Caesar Salad (specifically, the Nut and Seed Parmesan Cheese)? It’s actually illegal to ingest hemp in Australia (crazy I know…)!!!!!! thanks

A. Hi Alecia, Since the parmesan only calls for a couple tablespoons of hulled hemp seeds, I’d probably just swap it with a couple more tablespoons of cashews! Easy that way. :)

Q3. Angela, Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I just made your Golden Red Lentil Dal tonight and the flavors were unbelievable! I have also tried your Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Avocado Garlic Aioli and loved those too! May I ask something though? The dal dish had a slightly grainy texture when it was finished. I’m unsure if it was from the spices or something else. I prepared it exactly as the recipe stated and measured precisely. Any advice on how to fix that would be lovely! Again, wonderful blog and site! I look forward to trying many more of your recipes!

A. Hi Mandy, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these recipes! With respect to the dal, it sounds like you did everything right with the recipe! I think the texture you’re experiencing may just be the natural texture of the red lentils. Red lentils break down a lot when they cook. If you’re a fan of the dal’s flavouring but not so much its texture, you could try black or French green lentils, which hold up a bit better and don’t break down as much. I hope this helps, and thank you so much for the kind words!

Q4. Hi everyone, I’m not sure where my sunflower seed butter went wrong? Mine didn’t turn out anything like the pictures at all. I didn’t have coconut sugar so I used stevia. Please help!

A. Hey Jessica, Oh I’m so sorry that happened to you! I’m wondering what kind of food processor you use? I find some machines just can’t "butterize" nuts and seeds as they aren’t powerful enough. I absolutely love this machine. Also, I haven’t tested this recipe with stevia before so that could’ve been the culprit. It’s also very important that the sunflower seeds are roasted beforehand (I’ve had zero luck using raw sunflower seeds in this recipe). Lastly, did you use the coconut oil? That’s really important to help thin it out. I hope this helps, and let me know if you try it out again! It’s such a tasty alternative to nut butter.

Q5. Hi Angela! Big congrats to you and your growing family! My girls are 20 months apart (now 8 mos. and 2 1/2) and it is wonderful and chaos and all the things that make for a happy family. :) I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind listing your favorite protein-packed recipes? I am getting back in the gym and trying to get some muscle definition back in my life and some extra protein is in order! Thanks so much!

A.  Hi Abbey, Thank you for the warm congrats! Getting back to the gym after time away can be such a challenge—but delicious, protein-packed foods can help make that transition so much easier. For a super quick post-workout option, an apple spread with 2 tablespoons of almond or peanut butter will pack in about 7 to 9 grams of protein. If you’re a green smoothie lover like me, I recommend checking out my Green Warrior Protein Smoothie. My Protein Power Goddess Bowl, Energizing Broccoli Dal, Spiced Red Lentil, Tomato, and Kale Soup, Chickpea Salad, and Glowing Spiced Lentil Soup are also filled to the brim with high-protein goodness, as are my Super-Power Chia Bread (page 229 of The Oh She Glows Cookbook) and roasted chickpeas (try the ones on page 220 of the cookbook and on the blog here, or Salt & Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas on page 221) for a “snackier” option. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a sweet snack to grab on the go heading to or from the gym, there’s my Super Seed Chocolate Protein Bites or Two-Layer Raw Chocolate Brownies (which have about 4 grams of protein per square…not bad for a dessert). Who doesn’t love a sweet treat after killing a workout? All the best to you and your family!

Comments of the week:

“Hi Angela! I started the shift toward a vegan diet almost a year ago and have been loving your blog for meal inspirations and recipes! I have your app and also your cookbook and have to say that I have never made one of your recipes that did not turn out fantastic. The rest of my family is not vegan at all and they also love every recipe of yours that I have made. I love making your dishes and sharing them with other people to show that a vegan diet can be delicious and satisfying. I have made this avocado pudding bowl three or four times now and absolutely love it! My most recent time making this recipe I whipped up some coconut whipped cream and mixed it with the pudding and it turned out as a chocolate mousse. I would definitely recommend this method as it worked very well. Thanks for doing what you do, I really look up to you!”

Hi Alexis, I’m so happy to hear that your shift to a vegan diet is going so well, and that you’re inspiring others with the recipes too! Your chocolate mousse spin-off sounds fantastic. I’m working on a mousse recipe that involves aquafaba (of all things, I know!) and hopefully I can share it on the blog if I can get it just right. Thanks for taking the time to write me such a lovely note.

“I’m enjoying all of your recipes so much, thank you! I was never one for working from a cookbook before, but you’ve got me inspired, and I’ve gifted your book several times over, all to very grateful recipients. I used to dance around the edges of a health food store, eager but mostly unsure about how to mix what with what… This weekend I’m headed to an enormous VegFest (a celebration of all things vegan, natural, joyful and healthy!) And Oh She Glows was my introduction. So, thank you. Your enthusiasm and work is appreciated – big time!”

Hi Janey, I’m so happy for you, and also super thankful for your support. It sounds like you’re having so much fun with this new lifestyle which is so, so important. Have fun at the Vegfest this weekend!!

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Sensational Sweet and Spicy Sambols

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Being someone who loves a meal with many elements, Sri Lankan food was pretty much my dream come true. Every meal is served with plenty of sides: sauces, chutneys, relishes, and pickles, to make each bite unique and surprising. Sambol is the word for this seemingly endless collection of condiments, and I lost count trying to sample them all in a week.

I believe I mentioned in my previous post about Sri Lanka, how spicy the food is there. Like, blow-your-head-off spicy. And as if the curries themselves weren’t hot enough, the chili-based sambols on the side will certainly commit your taste buds to perplexing levels of pain.

Pol sambol is the ubiquitous, fiery condiment served at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is probably one of the simplest dishes to make, consisting mainly of chili, shredded coconut, chili, lime, and chili – did I mention the chili? Yea. This mix ranges from very spicy to volcanically hot depending on whose table you’re sitting at.

On the second day of the trip, my tongue seeking refuge in something, dare I say it, borderline bland, I discovered one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted – and it wasn’t bland to say the least, just not sweat-inducing. Seeni sambol, a fragrant, Sri Lankan caramelized onion jam, turned out to be incredible on everything from hoppers to curries, and could turn a pretty plain bowl of red rice into something remarkably special. I became totally obsessed with this sambol and it was the very first thing I attempted to make when I came home. I really cannot tell you enough how awesome this stuff is. Do yourself a favour and make a batch soon!

The most memorable experience I had in Sri Lanka was learning to cook traditional recipes with two women in the local village. It was likely one of the most eye-opening culinary experiences I’ve ever had – not only learning from such passionate and experienced cooks, but seeing their traditional kitchen, tools, and techniques really inspired me.

Take their stove, for example. A large clay bench with large mounds molded into it held the earthenware pots in place, and the heat underneath was adjusted by adding more sticks to the fire, or taking them away. Genius. Above the stove was a large wooden wrack to hang beans, seeds, and herbs for fast drying, which I thought was a brilliant way to take advantage of the residual heat. Ingredients were prepped on the floor, since it’s cooler down there, and also nice to sit while you’re working. The knife to cut veggies was actually attached to a stool, and instead of holding the blade, you hold the vegetables and basically drop them on top, slicing them in the air to fall onto a grass mat. The sambol was made by grinding all the ingredients together on a huge flat stone designed specifically for this task, and as such took all of ten seconds to prepare. Spoons were made from dried coconut shells. The plates were made of woven grass, topped with fresh lotus leaves from the nearby creek. The leaves protected the plates from the saucy curries, and when you were finished your meal, you’d discard the leaf into the compost, so that there was literally nothing to wash! I mean.

This day made me take a long hard look at how much stuff I use in the kitchen. Water, electricity, appliances – these women were literally using nothing but things from the earth around them and it made me wonder how we’ve come so far from that connection. Cooking has become so overblown, and it was this experience that reminded me to cook simpler and eat simpler. Get closer to the earth. I don’t have some grand solution, but it’s food for thought.

I’ll share a few notes on the recipes…
You will likely think I’ve lost my mind when you begin the task of slicing two pounds of onions (#worthit), but I promise you it is the correct amount, and you’ll see that it cooks down to nearly nothing. I tried half this amount my first time and it just simply wasn’t enough. If you’re going to go for this, you may as well make a batch that will last you at least a few meals, right? Fresh curry leaves are a definite preference for this recipe, but I’ve never been able to find them here in Copenhagen so I used dried. They’re not great, but better than nothing. If you don’t want to gnaw on whole spices or curry leaves you can remove them after the seeni sambol is cooked, but it can be a bit of a treasure hunt situation, just sayin’. Once I’ve smashed the cardamom pods, I like to remove the outer skin and just add the inner seeds to the spics mix. I tend to leaves the cloves and curry leaves in since I like those bursts of flavour.

The pol sambol recipe I’ve written here is admittedly, a wimp’s version. I’ll admit that I can only tolerate spice until it begins to overwhelm the other flavours in the food, so mine is strong but still edible on its own. I invite you to go with your instincts on this one and dial up the heat to suit your tastes. If you can find freshly grated coconut (or a fresh coconut that you can grate yourself) by all means use that instead of the desiccated variety! Some versions of pol sambol include curry leaves, but because I only had dried I left them out. If you can find fresh ones, add about a sprig for this recipe, and crush them well before incorporating.

As far as serving these two sensational sambols go, they are pretty much great with All. The. Things. Rice dishes, curries, stews, soups, wraps, sandwiches, salads…I mean it! Once you taste them I’m confident you’ll find infinite uses for them. The first photo is of steamed brown rice and the Kale Mallung recipe that I wrote from the last Sri Lankan post – still a major fav around here. I love this meal for breakfast with a poached egg, lots of seeni sambol and, ahem, lightly sprinkled with the pol sambol.

Seeni Sambol
Makes 1 heaping cup / 300ml

Ingredients:
2 lb. / 900g red onions
¼ cup / 60ml coconut oil
10 green cardamom pods
8 cloves
3 Tbsp. dried curry leaves (or 2 sprigs fresh curry leaves if you can find them!)
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp. fine sea salt
2 tsp. coconut sugar

Directions:
1. Peel and slice the onions.

2. Pound the cardamom pods in a mortar and pestle until they have split open. You can remove the outer skin and just save the seeds inside, but it’s only if you don’t like eating the exterior.

3. Place a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and melt the coconut oil. Add the cardamom pods, cloves, curry leaves, and cinnamon stick. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Add the onions, salt and sugar, stir very well to coat and cook uncovered, stirring every couple minutes until the onions have completely melted down – this can take anywhere from 30-45 minutes. Be patient and enjoy the process!

4. Transfer seeni sambol to a glass jar and store in the fridge for up to one month. Remove from fridge at least half an hour before serving, as the coconut oil will cause the sambol to solidify in the fridge.

 

Pol Sambol
Makes 4 cups / 1 liter

Ingredients:
2 cups / 180g desiccated coconut
½ cup / 125 ml warm water or coconut water
1 clove garlic
2 shallots or small red onions
1-3 red chilies (or as many as you think you can handle!) I used fresh Thai chilies
1 tsp. fine grain sea salt
½ – 1 tsp. chili powder (or as much as you think you can handle!)
juice of 1 lime

Directions:
1. Combine the desiccated coconut with the water and stir thoroughly to combine. Let sit for 15-30 minutes until softened.

2. Place the garlic in a food processor and blend to finely mince. Roughly slice shallots and chili, and place them in the food processor with the garlic and blend to mince.  Add the softened coconut, salt, chili powder and lime juice. Blend on high to fully incorporate. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.

 

A huge thanks to Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts  and Sri Lankan Airlines for making this incredible trip possible!

Show me your sambols on Instagram: #MNRsambol

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Spinex Milk Frother 2 Speed Latte Maker Electric Drink Mixers Stainless Steel Foam Maker Perfect Creamy Milk In Seconds Package with 2 AAA Batteries Review

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Olive Pizza with Red Onions

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No game night is complete without pizza. It is one of the perfect grab and sit foods. It’s still good when it’s cooled, you can satisfy any flavor craving, and it’s the perfect late-night, end of game snack. This particular olive pizza combination has been my favorite for a couple years. We typically always have a jar of kalamata olives stashed in our pantry, so this pizza is in heavy rotation. Don’t like olives? See below for a few other of my favorite pizza combinations. Read more and see the recipe.

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Zojirushi NS-LAC05XT Micom 3-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer, Black and Stainless Steel Review

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Chocolate Teff Porridge

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I’m rather surprised I haven’t shared a similar teff porridge recipe on the site as it’s a staple in our house. Teff’s unique nutty flavor and ability to cook up creamy makes it the perfect porridge grain. If you’re unfamiliar with teff, it’s akin to quinoa in that it’s actually a seed but typically consumed as a grain. Teff has a natural undertone akin to chocolate which makes it the perfect partner. This porridge feels a bit on the indulgent side but a quick look at the ingredients will show that it’s a wonderful way to start your day. Read more and see the recipe.

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