Black bean stew

What you need

Black beans

1 turnip cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Gongylodes, Kohlrabi in German)

1-2 onions

3-5 cloves of garlic

2-3 carrots

Lemon

Cumin seeds

Black pepper

Turmeric powder

Cayenne pepper

Red curry powder

How to do it

Peel and chop the carrots, turnip, garlic, and onion. In very little water gently boil the chopped veggies with the black beans and cumin seeds for about 30-40 minutes.

Blend

Add spice

Serve with lemon, feta cubes, parsley, and tortilla chips

Tortilla chips in the oven

What you need

Tortilla chips

Black beans

1-2 red onions

1 red bell pepper

Cheese dip

Grated cheese (mozzarella or cheddar)

How to do it

Make a layer of the tortilla chips in an ovenproof dish, top up with beans, sliced red onion and bell pepper

Splash plenty of cheese dip on top and sprinkle a layer of the grated cheese on top.

Bake in a 200C preheated oven for about 5-8 minutes

Black Bean Salad with Bärlauch

What you need

Black beans, canned or dry

Ramson (Allium Ursinum, Bärlauch in German)

Mixed lettuce of your liking

Fresh spinach

1 red onion

Feta cheese

Parsley

How to do it

Pile the ingredients according to you liking

...and if you didn't find any black beans -canned or dry, then use red beans

Chopped vegetable fry

What you need

Carrots

Bell peppers

Mushrooms

Baby spinach

Aubergines

Pak choi

Ginger

Cherry tomatoes

Pea pods

Ramson (= wild garlic)

Fresh coriander

1-2 red chilies

1-2 garlic cloves

Cayenne pepper

Soybean sauce

Vegetable oil for cooking

How to do it

Chop

And chop

I had help from this one

(it was excellent for the carrots and ginger and OK

for the aubergine and bell peppers)

Rule of thumb: The stronger taste or the 

harder texture; the smaller pieces. Soft and mild 

veggies can be chopped in a more relaxed manner

Fry the cut veggies in oil (frying pan, casserole, or

wok pan)

Watch your hard chopping work shrink before your

eyes

Serve as is

Or serve with rice, pasta or noodles

I used mie noodles

The opportunities are endless, a vegetarian who wants to add protein will fry some tofu cubes and an omnivore can add fried slices of chicken breast or minced meat. 

PS. The carrots and mushrooms used today were tiny and not as plump and pretty as in most food blogs. I am in Wallis, Switzerland, and opted for local ingredients. 

Homemade Falafels

Maybe you have a juicer and you don’t know what to

do with the pulp.

Here are some ideas:

If you’re into baking, you can put the berry- or fruit 

pulp into your cake dough or the veggie pulp into

your bun dough. But I’m not into baking…

So I decided to try homemade falafels, using my

recent left-over pulp (carrots, kale, and broccoli).

What you need

Chickpeas

Vegetable leftovers from juicer (not a must)

1-2 red onions

1 lime

1-2 red chilies

Garlic

Fresh parsley

Fresh cilantro

Flour

Turmeric

White pepper

Ground cumin

Cumin seeds

Sesame seeds

Salt

Vegetable oil

How to do it

Bath the chickpeas overnight (10-16 hrs)

Drain

Blend, add spices and lime juice

Add finely chopped chili, red onion, parsley, cilantro,

garlic and veggie leftovers. Add just enough flour to

get a workable dough

You can make two variations: Naturale 

Keep on frying until golden

Or make a seedy variation


- roll the falafels in sesame seeds

 ..and fry until golden

For the final serving fry cumin and sesame seeds in

vegetable oil until sesame seeds are brown and

the cumin seeds start to pop

Drain

Serve with pita bread

Or...

add any vegetables, yogurt sauce or Baba Ganoush

Romano Ramiro avocado dish

This is the perfect starter as it can be prepared 1-2 days in advance and it is served cold. 

It's also a fantastic lunch-box meal; packed with fabulous flavonoids and vibrant vitamines.

What you need

1-2 Avocados

1 Lime

1-2 Ramiro peppers (or chili pepper for the brave)

3-4 Garlic cloves

Fresh basil and parsley

Himalayan salt

Black pepper

Turmeric powder

Rice noodles

2-3 table spoons of (extra virgin) olive oil

Romaine lettuce

Italian sheep milk cheese (such as "Pecorino Romano")

How to do it

Mash the avocado(s) and sprinkle generously with lime juice (this prevents the brown colouring of avocado exposed to the oxygen in the air). Cut the ramiro pepper, garlic, basil and parsley and mix. Add salt, pepper, turmeric and mix. 

Cook the rice noodles according to instructions, in salted water. Cool the noodles in cold water prior to adding the virgin olive oil, virgins don't like it hot.

Serve on Romaine lettuce leaves with grated pecorino cheese.