Recipe–Menu For June

In the boxes below, please find your weekly recipe-menus in a restaurant-style layout. If you have any questions or concerns about the meals, please reach out to me! I upload the recipe-menu's on a Friday to help with meal prep for the week and the upcoming weekend.

Week One:

The Kitchen Vortex

Utensil and Size Comparisons

These are the sizes and measurements I will use in my recipes. I have tried to keep them as close to the standards in the United States and European Union but you might find different sizes based on your location. If in doubt, you could ask a store clerk for help regarding sizes and measurements to ensure your cooking experience is as fun and easy as possible!

Where possible, I have used cups as a measurement to avoid confusion. For example, one measuring cup filled with liquid will be of 8.5 fluid ounces (fl. oz.)/250 milliliters (ml.) regardless of where you are, and 1 cup filled with dry ingredients (see note below) of 4.5 dry ounces (oz.)/127.5 grams (g.) will be the same regardless of where you are.

Baking/Cake Pans:

Small (square) baking pan: 8 x 8 x 2 inches/ 20 x 20 x 5 cm.
Medium (square) baking pan: 9 x 9 x 2 in./23 x 23 x 5 cm.
Large (square) baking pan: 10 x 10 x 2 in./25 x 25 x 5 cm.
Medium (rectangular) baking pan: 11 x 7 x 2 in./28 x 18 x 5 cm.
Large (rectangular) baking pan: 13 x 9 x 2 in./33 x 23 x 5 cm.

Cake Tins:

Small (round) cake tin: 6 x 2 in./15 x 5 cm.
Medium (round) cake tin: 8 x 2 in./20 x 5 cm.
Large (round) cake tin: 9 x 2 in./23 x 5 cm.

Casserole dishes:

Small casserole dish: 5 (dry) cups
Medium casserole dish: 11 (dry) cups
Large casserole dish: 18 (dry) cups

Cups (wet):

1/8 cup: 1 fl. oz./30 ml.
1/4 cup: 2 fl. oz./60 ml.
1/3 cup: 2.8 fl. oz./ 83 ml.
1/2 cup: 4.2 fl. oz./125 ml.
2/3 cup: 5.5 fl. oz./165 ml.
3/4 cup: 6.3 fl. oz./188 ml.
1 cup: 8.5 fl. oz./250 ml.

Measuring dry ingredients can be tricky because they have different densities: Brown sugar is coarser than flour, so it will take up less space in a cup compared to flour, which settles and packs naturally. Chocolate chips are larger than brown sugar granules so they will take up more space in the cup, etc., which could throw the measurements off. The average measurement per cup is 4.5 ounces/127.5 grams per cup. Unless otherwise specified in the recipe itself, I will use this average for the cup measurements below.

Cups (dry):

1⁄8 cup: 0.7 oz./19 g.
1⁄4 cup: 1.3 oz./35.5 g.
1⁄3 cup: 1.7 oz./50 g.
½ cup: 2.6 oz./75 g.
2⁄3 cup: 3.5 oz/100 g.
¾ cup: 4 oz./115 g.
1 cup: 4.5 oz./127.5 g.

Mixing Bowls:

Small mixing bowl: 4.2 (wet) cups
Medium mixing bowl: 6,3 (wet) cups
Large mixing bowl: 16 (wet) cups
Extra large mixing bowl: 30 (wet) cups

Pots:

Small pot: 6,3 (wet) cups
Medium pot: 12 (wet) cups
Large pot: 18 (wet) cups
Stockpot: 23 (wet) cups

Skillets:

Small skillet: 6 inches/15 centimetres
Medium skillet: 8 in./20 cm.
Large skillet: 10 in./25 cm.
Extra-large skillet: 12 in./30 cm.

Spoons:

¼ teaspoon (tsp): 0,01 oz./1,2 grams
½ teaspoon (tsp): 0,07 oz./2,5 g.
¾ teaspoon (tsp): 0,12 oz/3.6 g.
1 teaspoon (tsp): 0.17 oz./5 g.
¼ tablespoon (tbsp): 0,11 oz./3 g.
½ tablespoon (tbsp): 0,22 oz./6 g.
¾ tablespoon (tbsp): 0,33 oz./9 g.
1 tablespoon (tbsp): 0,44 oz./15 g.

There are a few handy conversions that could make it easier if you only have a few measuring instruments:

3 teaspoons (1,2 oz./15 g.) adds up to 1 tablespoon.
1 tablespoon is ¹⁄₁₆th of a cup, which means there are 16 tablespoons in a cup.

If a recipe calls for ¹⁄₁₆th of a cup, (I'll try not to do this to make it easier to read but you may come across this in other recipe books), you can read that as "add 1 tablespoon" and if a recipe calls for 3 teaspoons, you can also read that as "add 1 tablespoon."

Convection Stove Plate Temperatures:

Low heat: 1-2 on a 6 point stove/1-4 on a 10-point stove
Medium heat: 3-4 on a 6 point stove/5-7 on a 10-point stove
High heat: 5-6 on a 6 point stove/7-10 on a 10-point stove

Gas Stove Plate Temperatures:

Gas stoves don't work the same way convection stove tops work because you can't easily control the temperature of the flames. It's more important to focus on how rapidly you want/need the food to cook. It's also important to look at the flame (from a safe distance). A high flame would lead to a rapid boil or sear of the contents of a pot, a low flame would lead to slower cook (but still faster than a convection oven so be careful), and a medium flame is somewhere in the middle where you might need to boil something but not in one minute.

Low heat: Low flame, used for simmering.
Medium heat: Medium flame, used for simmering quickly, boiling slowly, or heating pot contents up.
High heat: High flame, used for rapid boils and searing meat.

Week Two:

The Kitchen Vortex

The First Meal

There aren't many dishes I can't make but, unfortunately, I can't bake to save my life. I've tried many times, I just improvise too much in my own cooking and this doesn't translate into oven times or ingredient lists. My level of baking is a box cake or cupcakes with icing but it's okay, my stews, soups, and roasts make up the difference!

I don't have any fancy equipment. I cook using basic utensils and cookware and in a way, that makes it more special. Using my utensils and my imagination when cooking adds to the experience of cooking from scratch, which I usually do (for my partner and me and our parrot).

I know the feeling of countless recipe books stacked in neat piles at the top of the spice cupboard or stashed somewhere "just in case I need to learn how to make souffle" all too well: There are about four recipe books in the top shelf of my spice cupboard, of which I use one recipe from one book, and I also know the sigh of "When will the recipe start? Do I really need to learn about how you made pasta with your gran 15 years ago? I need a recipe for a quick meal!" Personally, I enjoy reading about the history behind a recipe, but not when I have thirty minutes to make a twenty-five-minute recipe that's going to take an hour because, you know, the time vortex.

It's called a recipe-menu because each recipe-menu comes with a:

Breakfast meal
A lunch plate
One snack option
Appetizers
A main meal
A dessert
A beverage option that will complement the main meal or help fight the heat on a warm day, and
A pet-safe meal of the main meal if dinner time is shared with your feathery or furry friend.

The pet-safe recipe is designed with safety and dietary needs in mind. For example, ingredients like chocolate, onions, salt, and a range of human-safe spices should be avoided for pets and the pet-safe option will keep your pet safe and satiated.

All these dishes will focus on the recipes themselves without giving you a run-down of why I chose red bell peppers instead of green bell peppers, wasting precious time in the time vortex called the kitchen. If you are interested in the stories behind the recipe-menus I upload, there is a button on the writing side of the blog page.

There isn't much else I can say about my cooking and recipes, I'd rather show you what I can do and if my recipe blog is worth it by creating and testing recipes.

I will follow a general theme of cooking specific meals and courses over specific holidays and festivals but online recipes often don't do these timeless meals justice. If there is an iconic or special meal or a particular festival food that you or your family can't go without, please email me using this link and I will do my best to recreate your meal. If you want your name or a personal story to go with the recipe or meal plan, please feel free to send it along (and permission to use your real or nic name) and I'll add it to the page!

Mail

I'd love to know what you thought of the recipe–menu's in the upcoming weeks/months. Did you make any of them? Did you take photos? Please share your thoughts and photos (if any) on the optional forum with this [ link ].

For the pet recipes, you can use this [ link ]. Not everyone will use the pet recipes so I thought a separate discussion for these recipes would be better.

Alternatively, you can use any of the email links from the contact [ page ].

Week Three:

Breakfast

Plain and Simple Start

(Soft Boiled Eggs with Toast)

Serves: 1
Preparation Time: 4–5 minutes
Cooking Time: 6 minutes
Total time: 10–11 minutes

What you’ll need:

1 –medium– pot
Toaster/toasting oven
2 Egg cups
1 –medium– bowl

Dry ingredients:

Two slices of wholewheat bread

Wet ingredients:

Two –large– eggs

Spices:

½ teaspoon (tsp.) salt (any type)
½ ground black pepper

Method:

Start by placing the bread slices in a toaster/toasting oven and select the desired doneness.
Fill a –medium– pot ¾ with cold water and bring to a boil.
Set a timer for six minutes (but don’t start it yet).
Gently place the eggs into the pot once boiling and set the timer as the second egg is placed in the water.
In the meantime, butter or margarine the toast and get egg cups ready.
If you want to dip your toast in the soft boiled eggs, you could cut the toast into small ¼ inch strips to make it easier.
When the timer goes off, strain the eggs into the bowl and fill the bowl with ice water or as cold as you can get it.
Remove the eggs from the water and place them in egg cups, opening the top for the toast slivers (if using).
Dip the toast into the soft yolk and enjoy!
If you prefer hard boiled eggs:
You can place the eggs into cold water before bringing them to a boil.
Boil the eggs for 8 minutes but leave the ice bath.

Helpful Hints:

By getting the timer ready before you start preparing the eggs, you could avoid overdone soft boiled eggs because you won’t be fiddling with a timer while you have to place the eggs in the water.
By adding a tablespoon (tbsp.) of white vinegar to the water, any cracks in the shell won’t result in the egg leaking out.

Lunch

Yellow or Green, What is to be Seen?

(Small squash salad)

Serves: 2 (or 1 if you’re hungry!)
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: No cooking required.
Total time: 15 minutes

What you’ll need:

Mandolin or sharp unserrated knife
Food processor or sharp unserrated knife
1 –small– bowl
1 –large– serving bowl
1 mixing spoon

Dry ingredients:

1 cup –thinly sliced– red cabbage
1 cup –finely diced– green baby marrow
1 cup –finely diced– yellow patty pans

Wet ingredients:

2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil

Spices:

Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. yellow mustard powder

Method:

Start by using a food processor set to ‘Dice’ or dice the baby marrow and patty pans before adding them to a –medium– bowl.
Slice the red cabbage and add them to the previous bowl.
In a –small– bowl or cup, add the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper (if using) and mix well with a fork.
Lightly toss the baby marrow, patty pans, and red cabbage, in the bowl and transfer to a serving bowl or plate.
Pour the balsamic dressing over the salad and enjoy with a refreshing tea.

Helpful Hint:

The three ingredients from this recipe won’t spoil in the fridge if you prepare this in advance, so you can prep the ingredients (without adding the dressing) a day or two in advance if you need a quick meal in a hurry.

Snacks

Smooth Oats in the Oven

(Oat and peanut butter slivers)

Serves: 2 (makes about 12 oat strips)
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25–30 minutes

What you'll need:

2 –large, square– baking pans
1 –medium– bowl
1 –medium– strainer
1 dough cutter or 1 butter knife

Dry ingredients:

Cooking spray or 2 tbsp. –melted– butter
½ cup oats
½ cup –self raising– flour
2 tsp. brown sugar

Wet ingredients:

1 –medium– egg
½ cup water
½ cup –smooth– peanut butter
2 tsp. honey/maple syrup

Spices:

¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. of vanilla essence/extract

Method:

Start by preheating the oven to 250ºF/120ºC/gas mark 1 and grease a –large, square– baking pan.
On a separate –large, square– baking pan, add enough flour to the base to ensure the base is covered and your dough won’t stick to the bottom. Set aside.
Combine peanut butter, egg, one tbsp. of the melted butter/margarine, spices, and flour in a –medium– bowl.
On the stovetop, make the oats according to package directions and/or personal taste.
Strain excess water from the oats and add the oats to the bowl with peanut butter, etc.
Add the honey/syrup and stir well.
Blend until the dough starts to thicken and set aside.
Add the dough to the flour–prepared baking pan from earlier and roll it into a thin sheet, approximately 1⁄3 of an inch in height.
Using a dough cutter or a butter knife, cut the dough into 2-in./5 cm. x 1–in./2.5 cm. strips and place them onto the greased baking pan from earlier.
Sprinkle brown sugar over the top and place in the oven for 15 minutes, but check on them every five minutes or so in case your oven is too warm to avoid burning them.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving/eating them, or allow to cool completely before placing them in the fridge to be enjoyed later.

Helpful Hints:

If the dough gets too thick, you can add a tsp. of milk at a time—any milk is fine— but if you only have soy milk, you could skip the salt for the dough.
If you grease the first baking pan and place it in the oven while the oven pre–heats, the oat slivers will have an evenly cooked underside from the heat of the oven when they are ready.

Appetizers/Starters

The Red Rush

(Tomato Soup)

Serves: 2
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

What you'll need:

1 –large– bowl
1 –medium strainer–
1 –large– pot
Measuring cups
2 soup bowls
2 side plates

Dry ingredients:

1 cup –roughly diced– carrot
1 cup –peeled and roughly diced– eggplant

Wet ingredients:

2 cups tinned –whole– tomatoes (keep the juice)
1 cup sour cream
2 cups –vegetable– stock
3 cups water

Spices:

Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. mint

Method:

Start by soaking the (prepared) eggplant in 2 cups of water. Set aside.
Drain the tomatoes over a –large– atriner and add them to a –large– pot.
Add 1 cup of the stock and the spices to the tomato pot and put the pot on medium heat.
Strain the eggplant and add to the carrot bowl.
Add the (prepared) carrots and eggplant to the tomato pot, followed by 1 cup of water.
Increase the heat to ‘high’ and stir thoroughly, ensuring the bottom of the pot is scraped, and allow to boil for about ten minutes with the lid on, stirring once or twice.
Remove the lid after ten minutes, and reduce heat to ‘medium.’
Allow the contents to simmer for five minutes before removing from the heat (and turn the burner off).
Using a potato masher, mash the tomatoes, carrots, and eggplant, and add the final cup of stock.
Allow to simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes, before adding ½ a cup of the sour cream.
Transfer to soup bowls and ladle the remaining sour cream before serving with crusty bread.

Helpful Hint:

By toasting the bread before serving, the extra crunch will help with the enjoyment of flavors and the soup will soak into the bread more easily.

Mains

A Taste of Childhood

(Spaghetti Bolognese)

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40–60 minutes
Total time: 45–55 minutes

What you'll need:

1 sharp knife or mandolin
1 –large– pot
Optional 1 –medium— saucepan
1 –small– bowl
1 –medium– bowl
Measuring cups
Serving bowls (deep bowls are better)

Dry ingredients:

½ cup –grated– cheese
2 cups ground beef
1 cup –finely diced– carrot
1 cup –finely diced– red cabbage
1 cup –finely diced– onion
1 packet of spaghetti/shells

Wet ingredients:

2 cups beef stock
2 cups –diced– tinned tomatoes
2 cups tomato puree
2 tbls. tomato paste
(Optional) 1 cup of dry red wine
1 tbsp. of oil

Spices:

21 tbs. –crushed– garlic
2 tsp. –dried– oregano
2 tsp. paprika powder
1 tsp. –powdered– cloves
1 tsp. –powdered– nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Start by dicing the onions and set them aside.
Add the oil to a –large– pot and allow to heat up.
Dice the carrot and cabbage and place in a –medium– bowl for later.
Once the oil is hot, add the onions and reduce the heat to –medium–.
In a –medium– bowl, combine the tinned tomatoes and puree, half of the stock (1 cup), and stir to combine.
Add the tomato mixture to a –large–pot and to simmer on low with the lid on while you brown the mince (optional).
If choosing to brown the mince, add the mince, carrot, and cabbage, followed by garlic and (if using) red wine to a –medium—saucepan.
Stir the mince and onion pot.
Add the spices to the tomato pot, stir, and set aside.
Stir the mince and onion pot again and once the mince has browned (this depends on your pot and your stove), add the remaining cup of stock and add to the tomato pot.
Remove the lid of the tomato and mince pot and allow to simmer on –medium— heat until about a quarter of the stock has evaporated.
Once the stock in the mince pot has been reduced a quarter, stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot.
At this time, you can start cooking the pasta according to package instructions in a separate pot on the stove.
If you have the time, you could reduce the for the tomato and mince pot heat to –low– and allow it to simmer for an additional 30 minutes but it’s up to you. Stir every five minutes or so.
Strain the pasta but keep ¼ a cup of the pasta water.
Add the ¼ cup of pasta water to the tomato and mince pot before removing from the heat.
Grate the cheese and set aside.
Landle pasta portions into deep bowls, followed by the mince and tomato mix, and then the cheese.
Serve with a side salad for the extra hungry or just eat it as-is.

Helpful Hints:

If you cut the onion under water (in a –large– bowl) with a small knife, you can save your eyes and nose from experiencing nature’s tear gas.
Because of the (if using) wine, this dish is great (almost better, in my opinion) the following day. You could make enough for four bowls and eat two bowls the following evening as leftovers, or you could make this meal the day before you plan to eat (make it on a Friday to eat on Saturday and Sunday so you don’t have to spend time in the kitchen over the weekend, for example).

Dessert

The New Fruit Stew

(Fruit cups)

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

What you'll need:

12–hole muffin tray
1 –small– bowl
1 –small– pot
1 rolling pin
Tooth picks
1 –medium– strainer
1 coffee cup
Serving plates

Dry ingredients:

½ cup –peeled and diced– apple (any type except Granny Smith)
½ cup –peeled and diced– pear
1 cup –peeled and diced– banana
1 roll/2 sheets puff pastry

Wet ingredients:

¼ cup –unsweetened– apple or orange juice
1 –beaten– egg

Spices:

1 tsp –powdered– cinnamon
1/2 tsp –powdered– sugar
1 tsp –coarse– brown sugar

Method:

Start by preheating the oven to 266ºF/130ºC/gas mark 2 and greasing a 12–hole muffin tray. Place the muffin tray in the oven while it pre-heats.
Dice the apple and pear, combine them in a –small– bowl and add to a –small– pot.
Add the juice to the pot and set the heat to high.
Add the spices to the fruit and stir well to combine. Allow this to simmer for about 10 minutes while you prepare the dough, stirring every few minutes to prevent the fruit from sticking to the bottom.
Dice the banana and set aside.
Sprinkle a generous amount of flour onto a large cutting board or counter-top if able,
Using a rolling pin, roll out the puff pastry into thin sheets, about 0.1 inch/0.5 centimeter, on the cutting board.
Using a dough cutter or a butter knife, separate the dough into two large (10 x 10 x 2 in./25 x 25 x 5 cm.) sheets for the top and bottom of the pastries.
Using the cup, make holes in the dough and set the round pieces of dough aside until you have used both sheets of the dough (but keep the round pieces from each sheet separate).
Once complete, take one stack of dough rounds and use a rolling pin to increase their size.
Remove the muffin tray from the oven and place the newly-rolled dough rounds at the bottom.
Using the increased size of these dough rounds, use your fingers to lead the dough along the sides of the holes, forming a small ‘cup’ in each compartment.
Using a toothpick, prick the bottom of each dough round and place the muffin tray back in the oven for the bottom to cook.
Remove the pot from the stove and strain any excess liquid into a bowl.
After five minutes, remove the tray and ladle the prepared and drained fruit stew into each dough cup, ensuring the fruit stays inside the cups. Each dough cup should be filled three-quarters of the way (or just until the dough on the sides end).
Use a butter knife to separate the dough from the sides as much as possible—you will need to place the edges of the remaining dough rounds in this gap. Once there is enough space (about 0.1 in./0.5 cm.) between the sides and the dough, take a basting brush dipped in water and brush the outsides of the dough rounds (closest to the muffin tray).
Place the remaining dough rounds over the fruit stew and using the butter knife again, push the edges of the top dough rounds into the gaps you made earlier. This doesn’t have to be perfect, I know mine wasn’t the first time I did this! The idea is that the two pieces of dough will combine using the water placed on the sides of the bottom dough round.
Using a toothpick, prick the tops of each fruit pie to let air escape. No one wants a fruit pastry explosion in their oven!
Place the muffin tray in the oven and bake at 266ºF/130ºC for 20 minutes.
After the first ten minutes have passed, spoon the retained liquid over the fruit cups. If there isn’t a lot of ‘fruit juice,’ you can add 1 tbsp. of warm water to the juice and stir before ladling over the fruit cups.
You will know they are cooked when the sides turn golden brown and the tops are light brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a drying wrack for at least 10 minutes adding the banana. The fruit gets really hot during the cooking process!
Add the banana to the top of the fruit cups and serve.

Helpful Hints:

The preparation time for this can take a while, particularly in the beginning. To save on time, you could prepare the fruit (including cooking it) the day before you bake the pies and keep the contents in the fridge.
You can also prepare the dough the day before: You could roll and separate the sheets/dough rounds and place them in the fridge overnight for less preparation time the following day. Puff pastry can usually be stored in the fridge for two–three days if necessary.

A Taste of Childhood for The Pets

Serves: Dogs 2
Cats 4
Bird/s 6
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

What you'll need:

Food processor or sharp knife
1 –medium– pot
1 –large– pot (if using pet mince)
1 –small– bowl
1 –medium– bowl
Strainer
Measuring cups
Pet's dinner bowls

Dry ingredients:

2 cups pet mince (only for dogs and cats. If this is for a bird, leave the pet mince out)
½ cup brown or wild rice
1 cup –diced– carrot
1 cup –diced– butternut squash (with skin)
1 cup –diced– sweet potato (with skin)

Wet ingredients:

4 cups water

Spices:

2 tsp –dried– oregano
2 tsp paprika powder

Method:

Start by boiling the rice.
Dice the carrot, butternut squash, and sweet potato and set them aside.
In a –medium– pot, add the vegetables, spices, and half of the water.
Allow to simmer on low with the lid on.
In a separate –large– pot, cook the pet mince according to package instructions (if using).
After about 15 minutes, the sweet potato should be cooked and you can remove that pot from the stove.
Strain the liquid into a container and add the vegetables to the cooked pet mince in the –large– pot.
Stir to combine.
Strain the rice (once cooked) and add that to the vegetable/pet mince (if using) pot and stir.
Allow to cool to room temperature (place in the fridge if necessary) and serve your pet their dinner!

NB: Pet mince is unsafe for pets other than cats and dogs. Please only use pet mince if you have a cat or dog. All other pets can have the vegetarian option only.

Drinks

The Tea is Calling

(Tea (Hot/Ice))

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 minutes or 2 minutes 1 day
Total time: 17 minutes/17 minutes and 1 day

What you'll need:

Pototao peeler
Food processor/hand blender
1 –medium— strainer
1 –large– pot
Ice tray (for iced tea)
1 tea pot

Dry ingredients:

1 cup –fresh– oranges (with the skin)
1 cup –tinned and diced– peaches
6 tbsp. black tea leaves or
4 tbsp. green tea leaves

Wet ingredients:

4 cups water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange essence

Spices:

1 cinnamon stick (for garnish)
¼ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. –fresh– mint

Method:

Start by peeling the oranges and set the peels aside for later.
With a food processor or a hand blender, blend the peeled oranges and peach pieces, strain the fruit from the juice, and set the fruit pulp and juice aside.
Add the spices, tea leaves, and fruit pulp to a –large– pot.
Set the heat to medium and gently stir the spices, etc. as the pot heats up.
Once you start smelling the tea leaves and fruit pulp from the pot, add 34 fluid ounces/1 liter of cold water to the pot.
Bring to a boil while stirring often, scraping the bottom of the pot.
Allow to boil rapidly for about two minutes then remove from heat.

For hot tea:

Before serving, add the prepared orange peels and cinnamon stick to the teapot before adding the hot tea.
Strain the tea and add the fruit juice from earlier before pouring the clear tea into a teapot.
Stir the pot and pour the tea into cups or mugs of your choice.
If necessary, you could add a tsp. of honey to add additional sweetness.

For iced tea:

Strain the tea add the fruit juice from earlier and pour into a fridge–safe glass bottle.
Shake the bottle to mix and place in the fridge overnight.
Before serving, place in a teapot and add ice cubes if preferred, add the prepared orange peels and cinnamon stick before adding the cold tea.
Stir the pot and pour the tea into cups or mugs of your choice.
If necessary, you could add a tsp. of honey to add additional sweetness.

Helpful Hints:

If you need more tea for a bigger crowd, you can double the recipe but don’t double the mint, unless you want mint tea.

There are spaces without written content on either side of the page. This is by design and to avoid adding overly complicated recipes and difficult–to–find ingredients.

These spaces can also be used to rest your eyes between blocks of text and give you, the reader, time to think about the recipes on the page and how you can add them to your kitchen.

Not everything needs to be jam–packed with writing and an opportunity to respond. Sometimes we need the quiet moments and empty spaces to reflect and prepare ourselves for what comes next, and in the kitchen, this time for reflection will contribute to a type of confidence you might not know you had.

Week Four:

Breakfast

A Smoothie of Color

(Fruit and yoghurt smoothie)

Serves: 2–4 (depending on the serving glass).
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

What you’ll need:

A smoothie maker or blender (NutriBullet could be too small for the amount of ingredients)
1 sharp knife
2 x –large– mixing bowl
Apple corer if possible
Parfait spoons
Milkshake glasses

Dry ingredients:

1 cup –roughly chopped and cored– apple (any type/color)
1 cup –roughly chopped and cored– pear
1 cup –roughly chopped- strawberries
1 cup –roughly chopped– green melon
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup –shelled– sunflower seeds

Wet ingredients:

1 cup plain Greek yoghurt
¼ cup –unsweetened– fruit juice

Spices:

¼ tsp. Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Hazelnut extract

Method

Prepare the fruit in the mixing bowl and stir well.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine the oats, sunflower seeds, and spices. Mix well.
Pour the fruit mix into a blender or food processor and add the wet ingredients on top.
Close the lid of the blender/food processor and blend on medium for about 10 seconds, or until everything is mixed.
Add the rolled oats and sunflower seeds, close the lid, and blend on high until everything is combined. This should take about two minutes.
Once the smoothie looks like a blend of colors, serve in parfait glasses and add a dollop of honey to the top.

Helpful Hints:

If you like cold smoothies, add 1 or two ¼ inch blocks of ice before adding the fruit.

Lunch

The Red-Green Answer

(Cranberry and kale salad)

Serves: 2
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: No cooking required
Total time: 20 minutes

What you’ll need:

1 –large– mixing bowl
1 wooden spatula
1 salad bowl
1 sharp knife
Salad tongs and mixers

Dry ingredients:

Optional: ¼ cup sultanas or raisins (or a mix)

Wet ingredients:

2 cups –pitted and halved– cranberries
1 cup –finely diced– kale
½ cup –thinly sliced and peeled– oranges
½ cup plain cottage cheese

Spices:

½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. mint leaves

Method:

Start by preparing the cranberries and kale and place them in a salad bowl.
Prepare the oranges and keep the juice.
Add the oranges to the salad bowl and toss lightly.
Drain the cottage cheese and keep the whey before adding the cottage cheese to the salad bowl and toss again.
In the bowl with the cottage cheese whey, add any remaining orange juice and the spices and stir well.
Serve the salad in deep bowls and add a drizzle of the ‘dressing’ to each bowl.
Optional: For garnish, add the sultanas or raisins (or mix).

Helpful Hints:

These ingredients all need to be prepared on the day of serving.