Quinoa Soup

Quinoa Soup

A vegetarian version of a traditional split pea soup with the added protein of quinoa

You will need:

1 cup yellow or green split peas
1/4 cup white quinoa grain

1 cup cooked channa or 1 can
1 onion
4 stalks chive/leeks
2 pimento peppers
1/2 thumb ginger (or ground)
1 thumb turmeric (or ground)
1 sweet potato (optional)
1 cup pumpkin or a medium piece
piece cabbage
¼ Eggplant
¼ head of broccoli
6-8 green beans
Ground turmeric and cumin
Dried Italian seasoning leaves
Pink/Sea Salt for taste
Coconut milk powder or ¼ cup liquid

Medium pot/soup pot

Method:

Soak peas for a half hour.

Cook chickpeas from before or use 1 can.

Finely dice onion, chive/leeks and pimento. Grate garlic, turmeric and ginger.

Grate or cube pumpkin as you wish.

Chop into chunks the vegetables and potato.

Fill the pot three quarters way with water and allow to boil, add split peas and a pinch of salt and allow it to cook and swell.

When the peas are cooked, uncovered, then mash a little with a masher - but you want to keep the thick consistency of the peas instead of making it watery (if you are sick, let it become more liquid first).

Add more water again, making the pot three quarters full again. Add the freshly chopped seasonings (onion, pimento/pepper, garlic, chive, leeks), grated ginger and ground seasonings. Add the quinoa at this point. Also add four healthy dashes of coconut milk flour or add liquid. Cover and ensure the heat is low, but not too low – a slow bubble. If it bubbles over, leave a crack in the cover.


When the split peas and quinoa have cooked for another 10-15 minutes add the vegetables which have also been diced: eggplant, beans, broccoli, cabbage, and/or whatever else you desire in your soup.
Allow the vegetables to cook further for another 10 minutes.


Turn off, remove from burner and have the lid half off. Allow to cool considerably before tasting and adjusting the flavor, with more dashes of salt and ground seasonings, covered on low heat.


Allowing the soup to cool at least 45 minutes will thicken it also, which is necessary for the best consistency and flavour.

Vegetable Fried Rice

One of our favourite dishes is vegetable fried rice. It is a quick and easy meal that the whole family will fulljoy!

You will need:

1 cup brown basmatic rice or black rice or wild rice
1 head of greens like bokchoy, pakchoi, kale or swiss chard
1 onion
½ sweet pepper
4 pimento peppers
2 cloves garlic

small piece ginger
A bunch of chives
1 stalk celery

A big bunch of parsley
¼ cup corn (optional)

piece of broccoli
½ large carrot or 1 small one
Sea or pink salt to taste
Ground/dried seasonings: ginger, turmeric, cumin, Italian seasonings
A few dashes of Liquid aminos/soy sauce
Optional seasonings to sprinkle: Kelp seasoning, 1 tbs nutritional yeast

Note that you can add any type of vegetable to your rice. It is a dish for whatever you have in the fridge. I use:

1/2 cubed cho-cho or christophene, 

1 piece of pumpkin cubed

1/4 finely diced eggplant

3 sliced okra 

Wide flat frying pan.
Wooden spoon


Method:


Prepare the rice. Cook 1 cup of rice in 2 cups of water with a little salt and turmeric.

Chop finely the onion,celery, chives, parsley, sweet pepper. For best flavour grate both garlic and ginger.

Chop the greens as well.

Grate carrot and break broccoli into smaller pieces.

Lightly sautee the seasonings and vegetables for 3 minutes and add the ground/dried seasonings, salt etc. for flavor.

Combine with the cooked rice and stir for another minute. Remove from flame and allow to cool for flavor to seal in.

Quick, Simple and Delicious!

Ila

Sweet Plantain Eggless Quiche Cups

I love making protein and carb-based patties and muffins to go with meals or to eat on the go or as a snack. The base is always sweet potato and quinoa with a variety of peas and veggies to change up the flavour.

This variety of my specialty has a sweet plantain flavour that goes amazing with dinner.
I call it a quiche because I see it as a substitute for such. It makes a great appetizer for your Ital dinner party.

You will need:

1 ripe but not gooey- soft plantain
1 cup cooked quinoa (1.2 cup uncooked grain)
2 small sweet potatoes
½ sweet pepper
½ onion
2 cloves garlic
Small piece ginger
1 tomato
3 pimento peppers
½ carrot
1 slice pumpkin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp flax meal
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp Italian seasoning
5 tsp any type of flour
Coconut oil



Method:

Cook quinoa and sweet potato and cool.

Using a fine grater, grate carrot, garlic, ginger and pumpkin.

With large hole grater, grate ¼ of plantain and place into same bowl as above ingredients.

Finely chop onion, pimento, tomato and sweet pepper and combine with above ingredients.

Add the salt, turmeric, Italian seasoning, flax meal and flour.

Blend up the rest of the plantain with some coconut oil until it is mushy but not whipped perfectly into a liquid.

Mash the sweet potato and along with quinoa add to the bowl of fresh ingredients.

Mix everything well.

Oil two muffin trays with coconut oil and scoop the mixture into each one, flattening nicely in.

Allow to bake for half hour or until well browned.

Allow to fully cool before removing from trays using a spoon to disengage.

Serve warm.

grated plantain and veggies

 total mixture

Full joy!
And please do tag us @italpeople on Instagram!

Ila

Sour Sop Smoothie

A simple Smoothie that is quite delicious!
I am fortunate to have a bredren whose sour sop tree is only now bearing so that I can fulljoy some after summer.

I made this quick Smoothie the last two mornings:

1/2 cup sour sop flesh
1 apple peeled
3 bananas (also from his tree)
1 handful frozen pineapple cubes
3/4 cup water
1/2 thumb ginger

Blend it all together!
Mmmmmm good!

Ila

Veggie Pasta Soup

Today I made this thick tummy-filling vegetable soup and decided to share the recipe immediately as I finished eating :)

This one is for all my Rastafari family in the US or Europe enduring the winter or across the Caribbean enduring these chilly nights and rainy days we've been having.

Of course you can add whatever vegetables you wish, but this is just what I had in the kitchen.

You will Need:


1/8 cup basmati brown rice (optional if you will use pasta, mine boiled out in the base)
1 cup penne or other pasta
3 big potatoes, diced
1 sweet potato, diced
1 small christophene/chayote, diced
1/4 cabbage, chopped
i handful broccoli, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup diced pumpkin
1 onion, chopped
2 pimentos, chopped
1 handful of chive stalks, chopped
2 shadon beni leaves, chopped
4 cloves garlic, grated
1 thumb ginger, grated
1.5 cup red lentils
1 cup chickpeas precooked! or 1 can

(you can also add green beans or zucchini or squash)

to season:
ground turmeric and cumin, pink salt, 1 spoonful tomato paste.

Method:

Prepare and chop all ingredients as mentioned in list.

Wash red lentils and rice and place in your soup pot with boiling water.

Add prepared onion, chive, shadon beni, garlic, ginger to that.

When red lentils become soft add potatoes.

(Add more water as necessary throughout.)

When the potatoes are cooked in another 10 minutes, add all your vegetables: celery, broccoli, pumpkin, cabbage, christophene/chayote and cooked chick peas.

Allow all these vegetables to cook for another ten minutes.

Add the turmeric, cumin, pink salt and tomato paste. I usually add about 1.5 tsp of each. And then add more salt as needed.

Allow soup to cool considerably before adding more seasonings to taste. Then serve with a nice hot sauce and some sprouts if you wish.

And there you have it!
I hope you try it and full joy

Ila Addis