Chilli sin carne

Long time, no blog! Today I finished my last exam of the season, and I am now free. Free to sit in the sun, should I so desire. Free to watch tv without feeling quilty. Free to roam the streets of Copenhagen, and free to cook food; glorious, glorious food!

Tonight, I had a scrumptious vegetarian chili, served with a tomato salsa and guacamole. Rice would have been delicious, but alas, I can allow myself no such luxuries! Two months of time consuming exams have led me to buy slightly too many take away pizzas, and as of yesterday, I am officially cutting down on carbs. Now let's see how long it lasts...

The photo is terrible, but a chilli is surprisingly hard to photograph, and I was too hungry to mess about.

Chilli sin carne:

Makes enough for about 4 people.

1 tbsp vegetable oil, I used olive
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 tins of tomato
1 red and 1 green pepper, diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
1 tin of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 tin of borlotti beans (or another type of beans, whichever you prefer)
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp samba oelek
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper

Sauté the onion and garlic in a bit of oil until soft and translucent. Add the two tins of tomato and about a tin of cold water. Add the diced peppers, celery, beans and spices, and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, and leave to simmer for about 30 minutes, while you prepare whatever you want with it: Rice, bulgur, a salad, tortillas, guacamole, creme fraiche  - anything you like. Remember to fish out the bay leaf before serving :)

Rye bread crisps with tomato salsa, pesto and fromage frais

I had this in a café a week or so ago, and it was so damn delicious, I had to attempt to make it myself. My efforts were not in vain! This turned out great and was really easy to make. I'm pretty sure I'll be having this for lunch a few times a month from now on.

I feel I should mention that most of the pesto in the picture went back in the fridge afterwards, I just didn't have any smaller bowls. But everything else was just right.

Rye bread crisps:

This portion feeds one hungry person.

2 slices of rye bread*
1 tbsp rape seed oil
Coarse salt

Heat your oven to 200 degrees C.

Soak the rye bread in water for about ten minutes, then let it drain in a sieve or colander. Place the rye bread in a bowl and use a fork to mash it with the oil  to make a thick dough.

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Use the back of a spoon to make thin circles of dough. I use about a teaspoon of dough for each circle. You can place the circles as close to each other as you want, they don't change size or anything while baking. Sprinkle with salt and bake in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes, or until they go crisp and the edges are blackened slightly. When done, let them cool for just a few minutes before picking them of the baking tray.

*I'm sure there a many types of bread out there that go by the name rye bread, but when I say rye bread, I mean Danish style rye bread, similar to what I believe they call schwartzbrot in Germany. Check out this random picture I found on Google if you don't know what I mean.


Tomato salsa:

Tomato, diced (I used 8 of the plum and cherry variety)
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Combine everything in a bowl. Mix. Done.

Serve the rye bread crisps and tomato salsa with fromage frais or similar and a green pesto. Mine was a parsley pesto, but to be honest I can't remember what I put in it, so you'll have to live without that recipe for now :)

Green smoothie with kiwi, melon and spinach

Lately, I haven't had much time for blogging, and sadly not for cooking either.  When I'm revising for my exams, I pretty much barricade myself in my bedroom (also home to my desk). The boundaries between night and day are erased, I live in my pyjamas, and I only come out of the bedroom for the occasional bowl of yoghurt. Yesterday however, I found a gap in my busy schedule, giving me just enough time to produce one delicious and nutritious smoothie!

Whenever I have leftover, ripe fruit, I always freeze it before it goes bad, and then use it for smoothies. I cut it up into small chunks before freezing it - that way it can go straight from my freezer and into my blender. Yesterday my freezer offered frozen banana and kiwi, and they became the starting point from which my smoothie took form! If you don't have any frozen fruit, I'm sure throwing a few ice cubes in there would do the trick.

Green smoothie with kiwi, melon and spinach:

A small tin of coconut milk (160 ml)

Half a frozen banana, peeled and sliced

1 frozen kiwi, peeled and chopped

A quarter of a galia melon, peeled and chopped

2 handfuls of fresh spinach 

Place all the ingredients in a blender an blend until smooth. To change the consistency, add more coconut milk, any other type of milk or fruit juice.

Hummus

Today, my sister Marie and I started our day at the gym, kicking our own butts in the name of bikini season. Continuing on in the same spirit, we went home to make a quick, healthy and delicious lunch, before spending a few hours roasting in the sun in my garden. What a shame I had to spoil all my beach body efforts with a take-away pizza for dinner :)

Our aforementioned quick, healthy and delicious lunch consisted of sticks of carrot, red pepper and cucumber, fresh peas, wholemeal pitas and a big bowl of freshly made hummus. Contrary to when I make falafels, for which I would never use tinned chickpeas, simply because it just doesn't work, I normally use tinned chickpeas for hummus- that way I can have a portion ready in five minutes and don't have to plan my hummus-cravings ahead of time. 

Hummus:

1 tin of chickpeas (400 grams/240 grams drained)

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp tahini

1/2 - 1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Stick it all in a food processor and whiz until smooth. If you want to change the consistency, add a bit of cold water. Season with salt and pepper.