VEGAN SPELT PASTA WITH MUSHROOMS, PEAS & CHIVE OIL, opt for common wheat

Peas, mushrooms & chive oil turn this healthy pasta into a star...

Something a little different but lively for pasta lovers!

67 has never been a great fan of conventional pasta due to issues with common wheat and spikes in blood sugar.  But this pasta dish is a winner!

To start with, it's made with spelt pasta - lower gluten, higher protein.  It's nutty, very tasty and surprisingly filling - but doesn't leave you feeling slightly drugged.  If you haven't any spelt pasta, any common wheat pasta, wholemeal or plain, will also work in this recipe.

Spelt Mushroom & Pea Pasta, created by 67, partners beautifully with Chive Oil posted elsewhere on the blog.  

Each mouthful was a delight.  Sadly 67 was out of parmesan (and this was a vegan recipe anyway) but if you're not vegan, parmesan would have been the icing on the cake.    

If you're a vegan with deep pockets, try truffles for an added kick of intensity.  Dried porcini mushrooms are also recommended. (Neither has been tested by 67.) 

Cost: £2.50 max, much less depending on what ingred are on hand
Feeds: 1, but multiples easily

Ingreds:

    80gm/2.8oz dried spelt or common wheat pasta
    
    75-100gm/3.5-2.6oz mushrooms, quartered
    juice of half a lemon
    olive oil
    pinch of thyme
    
    1/3 cup frozen peas
    
    3 tbsp Chive Oil
    pepper & salt, to taste
    
   Garnish: 
   Parmesan (opt)

Method:

1. Cook pasta in salted boiling water according to packet instructions or until al dente; reserve some pasta water
2. Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan over high heat, add olive oil and toss in mushrooms; stir till juice is  released & 'shrooms are half cooked.  Add lemon juice & thyme; reduce heat to med high; cook until all liquid is gone.  
3. Add frozen peas; stir quickly, reduce heat to med high
4. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pasta to the frying pan; toss until pasta and veg are well mixed. 
5. Add chive oil and a couple of tablespoons of pasta water until the pasta is glossy 
6. Turn into a warmed bowl
7. Add plant or dairy parmesan

Tip for spelt products:
More and more well-priced spelt products are appearing in health food and other shops.  You can buy spelt flakes for granola, puffed spelt - sweetened and unsweetened - for breakfast cereal and all manner and shapes of pasta*.  Even M&S is selling Spelt rigatoni from its Italian pasta producers, at a mere £2.29/500gms. 

*puffed & flaked spelt Planet Organic
 Biona spelt pastas  at Pomona, Belsize Park

More easy-peasy dishes: NavBar/Recipes I;

More spelt/non-common wheat: NavBar/Recipes II

Please leave a comment in the box below 

This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

BLUEBERRY SPELT WAFFLES, dairy-free option, free from Common Wheat, lower sugar, higher fibre

Blueberries are as lovely in spelt waffles as they are in pancakes... 

first posted 2018; updated 7/24

Waffles stuffed with blueberries, free from Common Wheat 
(though common wheat is fine)

It's lovely to welcome back the super-food blueberries.  The little blue beauties berries are full of anti-oxidants and are credited with lowering the risk of heart disease, cancer and inflammation.  But the best thing is the wonderful accents they provide to baking: hidden in muffins or cakes or as a juicy compote on the side. 

The sweetness of the blueberries varies depending on their source.  Inexpensive ones are wonderful hidden inside waffles, providing a wonderful pop of sweetness and encouraging the family to raise fruit intake.  

Spelt waffles needed an extra minute or so to reach optimum crispness but were soft and lovely inside.  The blueberries didn't bleed and the heat of the waffle iron gave them a soft chewiness.  

Replacing spelt flour with common wheat is no problem but can be pricy.  Doves sells beautifully silky spent flour in white & wholemeal ( kosher) at Waitrose; M&S offers white spelt; most health food shops offer wholemeal spelt.  

Cost: £3.00'ish (July 24)

Feeds: 8-10 single waffles  (recipe doubles easily)

Ingreds:

   100gm/3 1/2oz plain white spelt flour
     50gm/1.7oz wholemeal spelt flour

OR 150gm/5.2oz plain spelt flour
        2 tsp baking powder
        pinch salt
        1 tbsp sugar (opt)

     1 egg, separated
     300 ml plant or dairy additive free plant milk (67 likes Plenish almond milk)

     2 tbsp light veg oil (or melted butter)
     1/2 tsp vanilla extract  

     generous half cup of rinsed blueberries that have been picked over for bruised or squashed specimens
       

Method:

1. Separate egg yolk and egg white; set white aside in a clean bowl; place yolk in a jug
2. Sift dry ingred into large bowl - the bran will be left behind but just toss it in on top of the flours; mix; make a depression in the centre
3. Add milk to the yolk, then oil or butter & vanilla; mix well; pour into dry ingred
4. Beat until smooth and thick  
5. Whisk egg white until soft peaks form - 

   

   Soft Peak
   Courtesy of Fine Cooking and licensed for 
   reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
   
   

   
   

     when you lift the beaters the whites form a peak that folds back on itself
6. Fold the egg whites into the batter using a spatula.  Start with a third of the white first, push it down to the bottom of the bowl and back up again, turning the bowl as you go, until the whites are incorporated.  (A few streaks are ok.) Then fold in the rest.
7. Heat waffle iron until 'ready' light goes on
8. Using a silicone brush dipped in oil or butter, lightly brush the waffle wells 
9. Fill each waffle well 2/3 full, gently pushing the batter into the corners (usually about 1/4-1/3 cup)
10. Scatter a few blueberries over the top
11. Close waffle iron
12. Bake 5-10 mins or until (a) the machine stops steaming or (b) the thermostat turns off (After 6 mins, check the colour of the waffle)
13. Release waffles with tongs or a blunt knife slipped under a corner; the waffles should should come away easily
14. Serve with bacon, more fruit and: plant or dairy single or double cream OR whipping cream mixed with strained unsweetened 0-fat dairy/plant yoghurt mixed with vanilla or lemon zest (a 'skinnier' treat) OR strained unsweetened 0-fat yoghurt mixed with vanilla or lemon zest ('I just want something sweet & creamy without breaking my diet!')
15. OR if serving for afternoon tea, cook a couple of minutes less and pop in the toaster or oven to warm before serving

Tips:

• 67 hesitated to use spelt, instead of common flour, in the waffles because spelt flour is slightly more dense.  Would the batter become too heavy and dough-y?  Would fresh fruit make the waffle soggy?  The fears were unfounded  
• Common wheat can replace spelt flour
• if you liked this, you will also like Healthier Waffles
• For information on freezing & reheating waffles, plus cleaning the waffle maker,  see How to...Waffles: everything you wanted to know

Please leave a comment in the box below

This recipe has  been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

ALL-PURPOSE CHIVE OIL, almost-instant, triple duty

Quick and easy hit of flavour for hot or cold foods... 

Lovely shimmering pot of flavour, subtle yet un-subdued 

This subtle savoury green oil*  is so quick and easy, it'll be a godsend for busy professionals who stagger home from work, barely able to face searing some fish or meat for supper.  Dollop on some of this and taste buds will be tantalised and soothed. 

It will raise the game for any fish or meat, tofu, pasta and even popcorn.

67 recommends it for Poached Chicken which can be easily cooked on the weekend and portioned out for portable lunches or the freezer.

If you like a stronger hit of flavour, additions such as grated ginger, a shot of hot sauce, or fresh chillis/chilli flakes or will be needed.  67 brushed this mix on to raw chicken and roasted it; the flavour was very subtle but somehow elevated the essence of good chicken.

The oil lasts 4 days in the fridge; small households could halve the recipe.

Cost: £1
Makes: 1/2 cup

Ingred:
   2 generous tablespoons chives
   2 garlic cloves
   1/2 cup olive/peanut oil
   1 tsp sea salt

Method:

VEGAN CHEESE & WINE - ONE FLEXITARIAN'S EXPERIENCE

 Vegan 'Cheese': hope for cholesterol-phobes?

'Cheese' Table at Vegan 'Cheese' &
Vegan Wine Tasting 

Not long ago, the Blogger attended a ticketed Vegan 'Cheese' and Wine Tasting Event* in London.  

It was the blogger's first experience of such an event.  And it turned out to be a lovely occasion.

The tables, though crowded, were beautifully laid out.  The blogger's table  companions, some strangers to one another, were normal professional people, friendly and non-judgemental.   

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night.  And a good and enjoyable way to explore various vegan cheeses currently on the market.  


The event was part of 67goingon50's research into alternatives to dairy cheeses, which are often off-limits or recommended in small quantities only for people with cholesterol or other health issues.  The vegan wines were a bonus. (wine report follows cheese comments)  

The vegan cheeses for tasting were nut-based, using mainly cashews but also almonds, and fermented in ways similar to dairy cheese. 

Vegan 'Cheeses' from four producers were included: three English and one Swiss.  Their names reflect the insouciance and idealism of the young entrepreneurs.  

• I am Nut, OK
• Kinda Co
• Mouse's Favourite
• New Roots

Here are 67's first impressions, obviously coloured by a flexitarian palate.