Jambalaya is a Louisiana origin dish of Spanish and French influence consisting mainly of meat and vegetables mixed with the rice. I decided to make a vegetarian version of this dish using whatever vegsetables I had on hand and kidney beans as a protein substitute for the meat.

This is a highly recommended dish to anyone who has only 30-45 mins to cook and is looking for a hearty meal to feed the family. And a big plus ? it requires only 1 pot!

Vegetarian Jambalaya (Serves 4)
Ingredients
3 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced or pounded
2 celery sticks, sliced thin
1/2 a large bell pepper, cut into big pieces
1 litre veg stock
1 can of tinned tomatoes
6-8 baby okras
6-8 baby corns
1 cup of Arboria rice
1 can of kidney beans
Parsley leaves
Salt & Pepper
Chilli Flakes or Paprika

Method
1) First, take a large heavy pot and fry the onion, garlic, celery and bell peper for 8-10 mins till cooked.

2) Pour in the veg stock.

3) Add in the diced canned tomatoes. If you don't have any canned tomatoes, just chop up two medium sized tomatoes and add them to the pot. At this point, add salt, pepper and some chilli flakes for heat.

4) Next, add in the washed Arborio rice. Arboria rice is recommended when your dish requires a creamy texture. If you don't have this specific rice, any shortgrained white or brown rice will do.  Keep stirring regularly to avoid the rice sticking to the base of the pot.

6) When the stock has reduced in quantity, add the okra pods and the baby corns. I don't add this too early as then the okra will overcook and turn mushy. 

7) Next add in the kidney beans. 

8) When the stock has been totally absorbed by the rice and vegetables, turn off the fire and let it cool slightly before serving warm, garnished with parsley leaves. 

9) Enjoy this wholesome guilt-free, gluten-free vegan Hearty Vegetarian Jambalaya.

As long as you have you have some vegetables and eggs at home, you can easily whip up a frittata. Frittata is an egg based Italian dish similar to an omelette or a crustless quiche with added ingredients like meats or vegetables. It is quite a wholesome meal with the protein from the eggs and the vitamins and minerals from the vegetables.

Broccoli in a Frittata? Why not? And frittata doesn't always have to have whole eggs. Why not just egg white only for a twist?

Ingredients (Serves 2)
A small piece of broccoli flower (roughly 100gm) broken into small florets
2 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 - 4 garlic gloves, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced into small strips
6 egg whites
Salt & Pepper
​4 cherry tomatoes halved
​2 tbsp crumbles feta cheese

Method
1) Boil the broccoli florets in salted water for 5 minutes.

2) Drain, then plunge into cold water to retain that beautiful green hue.

3) Take a frying pan and fry the the onion, garlic and bell pepper for 8-10mins till the vegetables are softened.

4) Beat the egge whites with pepper and salt.

5) Add the boiled broccoli into the pan and stir. 

6) Pour the egg white into the pan.

7) Add a few cherry tomato halves for colour.

8) Cover and cook for 10 mins on low heat till the top is cooked as well.

9) Serve warm for breakfast or as a side for any other meal. 

Has anyone missed my recipes? I apologise for my hiatus but I have not had time to blog my recipes for the last 3 months. I didn't have time to even try new recipes with my own twisted version of them. But I made time for this recipe as it simply had to be posted.

My older 16year old girl had just completed her mid-term exams and was bored with too much time in her hands. She decided to venture into the kitchen to try her hand at baking instead of her usual scrambled eggs or spinach banana smoothies. She came across this one bowl easy brownie recipe and turned out fabulous! Never mind my kitchen which looked like a tornado has just passed through. Never mind the cleaning I had to do after. I enjoyed it tremendously. This recipe is really worth sharing here on my blog. Of course, I replaced 1 cup of caster sugar with a mix of 1/2 cup caster and 1/2 cup brown sugar, to avoid that cloyingly sweet aftertaste.

The key to getting really choclatey ooey gooey fudgy brownies? A few points to note :

• Use a flat brownie pan so the brownie mix is evenly cooked in a thin layer
• Take them out at exactly 21 mins. This is important not a minute longer. I realised that when I help to make the brownies with my daughter.
• Bake at the top shelf as the middle shelf bakes the brownies a lot faster and dries them out.

Yields 18 squares
Ingredients
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tbsp canola/sunflower oil
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract/essence

1/2 cup plain/all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
A few crushed pieces of walnut/cocoa buttons (if you prefer nut-free brownies)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 175deg C. Spray cooking spray onto 10 x 6 inch flat brownie baking tin and line with baking paper. Set aside. Whisk the melted butter, oil and the sugar for 1-2 mins.

2) Add the eggs and vanilla essence and whisk further for another 1-2 mins.

3) Sieve the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Do it over the butter egg mix for a one bowl less clean up baking. 

4) Add the sieved flour and cocoa to the butter egg mix.  Mix well but do not over mix.  You can add walnuts at this point.

5) Pour the batter onto the prepared baking tin.

6) Top with cocoa buttons or more crushed walnuts. Bake at the top shelf for excatly 21 mins. Remove, let it cool for 10 mins and cut into squares. Enjoy for a sweet after dinner treat.