couscous salad with lime dressing

This simple and easy to make salad has been quite often on the menu this summer, or since we got back from a short trip to London in June. I bought a couscous salad in the Whole Foods Market on Kensington High Street to eat on the way back home and it tasted so delicious that I decided to use it as an idea for my own summer salad. This is one of my experiments and, in fact, I'm enjoying it while creating this post. The salad I bought was quite different and it had chickpeas in it but my experiments started with kidney beans and pinto beans. Actually, the only time we found it dull was when I used chickpeas. Maybe it needed to sit longer before serving, I don't know. It just didn't taste the same. As I said, it's easy to make so I like having it for lunch and then I use the rest as a side dish with dinner that same day. It goes really well with chicken and all kinds of grilled meat. There are many types of couscous available on the market, I use organic one from Rapunzel.

COUSCOUS SALAD WITH LIME DRESSING

INGREDIENTS

SALAD

• 200 g organic couscous (1 cup)
• 300 ml water (250 ml = 1 cup)
• 1 can kidney beans (400 g)
• 100 g sweetcorn (½ cup)
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 orange, diced
• optional: ½ red onion, finely chopped

DRESSING

• 3-3½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (you will need two limes)
• 1½-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Himalaya or sea salt
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric

METHOD

SALAD

1. Start with preparing the couscous which is very simple: Put couscous and water into a small saucepan, bring to boil (happens fast), remove immediately from heat, cover with lid and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes
2. Rinse and drain the beans and sweetcorn and keep them in a colander until ready to use (I use organic sweetcorn that I buy in glass jars)
3. Remove the seeds and dice the red pepper
4. Peel the orange with a sharp knife and try to remove all the pith. Cut the orange in half and dice it (make sure you are using a good and tasty orange)
5. If using the half red onion, peel it and chop finely (I recommend it for the salad as it adds a good taste)
6. Put all the ingredients into a big salad bowl and mix together

DRESSING

1. Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt and spices
2. Drizzle some of the dressing over the salad and mix together, repeat two or three times until you have used up all the dressing
3. Leave the salad to stand for about 10 to 20 minutes while the flavours are developing
4. Serve as a main course with bread or as a side dish with, for example, grilled meat

Please note, do not keep the orange or limes in the fridge before preparing the salad. In an airtight container you can keep the salad in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Rhubarb and strawberry crumble

© Lisa Stefan | Books & Latte

Please find the rhubarb and strawberry crumble recipe on my blog Books & Latte (follow the link).

mixed seed bread with thyme and rosemary

I using yeast?!! This is what happened. I haven't used yeast for about three years or so, not because I have anything against it, I simply find it more convenient to bake bread with gluten-free baking powder that is ready for the oven as soon as the dough has been mixed. Last week my husband went grocery shopping and on the list was baking powder. In the health food section it is next to the yeast so he simply grabbed the wrong thing. He bought a few packages and instead of returning it I decided to experiment a little with bread recipes. This is one of my results and it looks like I'll be buying more yeast in the future. If you buy dry yeast in the health food section it will contain nothing but fresh yeast that has been dried. The package I use contains 9 grams and is intended for 500 grams of flour. It's a quick yeast which means that you don't have to mix it with water or anything like that, you simply blend it with the ingredients and let the dough rise before moulding a loaf that goes straight into the oven. Most yeast bread recipes will tell you to knead the dough for several minutes but I find it best to knead it as little as possible (maybe it's because I use spelt flour). I make two medium sized loafs from the dough.

MIXED SEED BREAD WITH THYME AND ROSEMARY

INGREDIENTS

• 500 g spelt flour (4 cups*)
• 1 package dry yeast (9 g) - see description above
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ tablespoon raw cane sugar, organic
• ½ tablespoon flaxseeds/linseeds
• ½ tablespoon pumpkin seeds
• ½ tablespoon sesame seeds
• ½ tablespoon sunflower seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
• 150 ml hot water
• 125 ml soya milk or regular (½ cup)
• 1 tablespoon virgin olive oil or other quality vegetable oil

* American readers please note: 500 grams of spelt flour is about 4 cups minus 3 tablespoons. 1 cup = 250 ml

METHOD

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl using a large wooden spoon or a spatula
2. Boil some water and then blend the water, milk, and oil in a measuring cup. Slowly pour it into the bowl while mixing the dough gently with the spoon
3. Use one hand to gently knead the dough while it is still in the bowl. If there is still some dry flour on the bottom of the bowl that doesn't mix then add 1-2 tablespoons of water and knead the dough a little more. Make sure the dough is not sticky (at this stage I keep the dough in the bowl while kneading it)
4. Put a lid on the bowl or cover it with a tea towel and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes in a draught-free spot
5. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Divide the dough in half and gently knead each half on a lightly (spelt)floured working surface. I start with making a ball and then I slowly begin spreading it a little and rolling it back and forth. The size of the loafs I mould is about 10 x 22 cm (4 x 8.7 inches)
6. Bake at 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 for 20-22 minutes