Did you know?
The end of winter is the time for Seville oranges to come into season, and they make fabulous marmalade.
This variety of oranges is famously bitter, full of seeds, but absolutely packed with flavour. When combined with sugar to make a jam it makes a marmalade that has the perfect balance of bitter, acid, and sweet, with a real flavour punch. Truly ‘Joy on Toast’. They also have a thick rind, full of pectin (a natural gelling agent found in fruit) that allows a jam to set naturally.
Alfalfa House will stock Seville oranges when they are available. If you would like to order a box to make your very own marmalade batch, just contact the Store Team.
Stay warm over the remaining days of winter with a batch of delicious kale cauliflower soup. You can swap out the cauliflower for seasonal faves such as turnip or roasted parsnip. We have heaps of delicious root veggies in stock at Alfalfa House.
Try this soup with a slice of one of our delicious breads, toasted and smothered in our package-free butter.
Looking for some more winter recipe inspiration? Below are few more recipes using all the winter veg and warming spices that you may have missed on pour website
When it’s cold and rainy (as it is right now), make this wholesome nourishing porridge using steel cut oats, fresh apples and warming cinnamon. Add in a dash of homemade oat mylk (or your milk of choice) for added creaminess. This apple cinnamon steel cut oats porridge is refined sugar-free, dairy-free and good for your gut.
In this recipe, the steel cut oats are soaked overnight in plain water. Soaking grains, nuts and seeds is a good practice that aids in digestion as soaking breaks down the phytic acid in the grains. It also reduces the overall porridge cooking time the next morning.
Steel Cut vs Rolled Oats
If you are wondering the difference between steel cut oats and rolled oats, steel cut oats are made from the whole oat grain. The outer husk is removed, before the oat grain is cut into smaller pieces using a steel blade. Hence the name steel cut oats. Steel cut oats do have higher fiber content and are more nutritionally dense. They are a form of complex carbs that do keep you feeling fuller for longer.
Rolled Oats on the other hand are the oat grains steamed and then rolled in a press. They take less time to cook as compared to steel cut oats.
All Porridge Ingredients Available at Alfalfa House
We are stocking all these wholesome porridge ingredients including fresh apples and Oat Mylk at Alfalfa House. So load up on all these items in your next visit to the shop or you can utilise our personal shopper service if you are unable to come into the shop for a specific reason. (The personal shopper service is especially designed for people at risk of severe illness from COVID-19, people who are unable to wear a mask for medical reasons, and people who are sick and staying isolated.)
If you do make this porridge, please share your photos and tag us on Alfalfa House Instagram. We would love to see your creations 🙂
Steel Cut Oats Porridge with Cinnamon and Apples
Adity Kaushal
This porridge recipe is a quick and easy, healthy and vegetarian breakfast. It is dairy-free and refined-sugar free, filled with dietary fibre and complex carbs. Enjoy this nourishing warm breakfast porridge especially during Winter
1tbspmixed seeds of choiceSunflower, pumpkin, sesame seeds
1tspmaple syrup or sweetener of choiceoptional
1tspNut butter of choiceoptional
Instructions
The Night Before
Soak the steel cut oats in water for app. 8 hours
The Next Morning
Rinse the soaked steel cut oats under running water
In a deep sauce pan, combine the soaked steel cut oats, water, cinnamon powder and grated apple. Cook on a medium flame for 20 min and keep stirring occasionally.
Keep adding additional water in the sauce pan and keep stirring to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan and is thoroughly cooked. The steel cut oats should be chewy and soft once cooked.
Once cooked, add chia seeds and oat milk or almond milk (as per choice) in te sauce pan. Wait for a few minutes until the chia seeds start to soak up the additional liquid. Give it a good stir.
Once the chia seeds have soaked in the extra liquid, put toppings of choice i.e. mixed seeds, nut butter, slices of fresh apple and serve
Make the switch from packaged oat mylk to a more cost effective, plastic reducing natural alternative. This quick and simple recipe is just the thing!
Homemade oat mylk is not only inexpensive, but also requires no soaking and saves lots of time. Remember to always use certified organic rolled oats. Commercial oats contain high levels of glyphosate, a commonly used herbicide in farming. Glyphosate has been shown to disrupt healthy gut bacteria (an underlying factor in many chronic illnesses) is toxic to aquatic life, and may heighten cancer risks. At Alfalfa House, we stock certified organic locally grown rolled oats.
Enjoy this quick and easy homemade mylk recipe below. Use it in your coffee or porridge bowls this winter. During the warmer months, use this mylk as a base to make chia puddings or smoothies.
Homemade Oat Mylk Recipe
Alfalfa House
Quick and easy homemade oat mylk recipe. This creamy mylk is made with whole ingredients, and is vegan and vegetarian. Use in smoothies, coffee, porridge and bakes
Spatula or spoon for straining (if you're using a strainer)
Blender
Jug
Glass bottle
Ingredients
80gramsrolled oats
2cupsicy water(room temperature water will produce thick and slimy mylk)
1/2tspvanilla extractoptional
1pinchsaltoptional
Instructions
Add the oats, icy water, and any additional flavourings into the blender. Blend for 20-30 seconds (blending it for too long can warm up the mylk making it slightly thick(unless that's what you're going for).
Pour the blended mixture through a strainer or cheesecloth over a jug. If you're using a strainer, use your spatula or spoon to stir and flatten the mixture into the strainer to really juice it out. An optional step is double straining the mixture to ensure all the oat sediment is removed.
Transfer your delicious oat mylk into a glass bottle and store in the fridge.
Winter has arrived. Despite the cold weather and short days, there is a lot to look forward to in terms of cooking and winter recipes. It is the time for soups and stews, fragrant curries and pies, rich chutneys and cheeses. We could go on, but for now we will leave you with this easy spinach dal recipe. This dal is vegan-friendly, high on flavour and packed with fibre + proteins leaving you feeling full for longer. Serve it with some Basmati (or any long grain) rice and a dollop of yogurt for a complete meal.
There are a variety of lentils available to choose from. This spinach dal recipe uses “split” red or yellow lentils. Yellow Mung dal lentils are the best as they cook the fastest and are the easiest to digest. Because of their split nature these yellow/red lentils cook quickly and turn soft. These lentils are best for curries, stews and dal recipes like this one.
Further we found a cool infographic with quick tips on cooking lentils, nutrition facts and ways you can incorporate more lentils in your diet. Enjoy!
Sourcing Lentils & other Ingredients at Alfalfa House
Alfalfa House stocks all the ingredients for making this wholesome flavourful dal i.e. lentils, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and fresh spinach( Order our weekly veg box here).
Using dried lentils vs the canned variety makes a huge difference. We have access to a wide variety of dried lentils in our very own Alfalfa House. Buying a bag of red lentils won’t break the bank, will be good for your body and the planet. So whatever your reason for including lentils in your diet, we hope you enjoy cooking these as much as we do!
If you do make this spinach dal, please share your photos and tag us on Alfalfa House Instagram. We would love to see your creations 🙂
Featured above : Split Yellow Mung, Yellow Mung, Whole Green Mung
Spinach Dal (Lentil) Recipe
Adity Kaushal (Volunteer at Alfalfa House)
A recipe for a quick and easy vegetarian gluten-free spinach and lentil dal. This is great as a light meal or can be served as a side. Use coconut oil instead of ghee to make it vegan. The soup uses yellow mung/moong bean , but you can substitute any other lentils on hand like red lentils, green mung, split peas
1tbspgheeor virgin unrefined coconut oil for vegan version
1/2smallsmall lemonjuiced
Instructions
In a deep sauce pan, boil the mung bean lentils with water. Keep cooking for about 20 minutes until the lentils turn soft and mushy. Alternatively use a pressure cooker to quickly cook them in about 10 min.
Once lentils are cooked, begin the tempering process. In another sauce pan heat ghee and cumin seeds. Allow them to sizzle.
Next add in the chopped green chilli, garlic and onion in that order. Sauté until the onions turn translucent.
Add a pinch of salt and turmeric powder. Then add in the chopped tomatoes and chopped ginger. Sauté for a few minutes until the tomatoes are cooked through and turn mushy.
Next add the boiled lentils and baby spinach. Mix well.
Add boiling water to bring to the thickness of soup / stew you desire.
Bring to a boil for a few minutes. Then pour the soup in bowls and squeeze over the lemon juice.
Notes
Making it Vegan:Use coconut oil instead of ghee to make it vegan
Keyword dal, lentils, spinach, turmeric
Recipe Contributor : Adity Kaushal, (Volunteer and Member at Alfalfa House Co-op , Newtown)
She also writes all about vegetarian, healthy plant-based recipes over at the urbanfoodlover website
Or follow along her Foodie journey for more recipes and Inspo over on Instagram @urbanfoodlover
