Lemon date energy bonbons (GF-DF-V-SF)

Always in search of an easy-to-make and easy-to-take snack, I created these yummy lemon date energy bonbons. Packed with dates and almonds for nutrition, flavor and natural sweetness, these bonbons stay good for weeks. Wrap them in a piece of baking paper or in a small bento box  and you have a healthy energizer with you at all times. A good start of the New Year, dear readers!! Wishing Love, Peace and Health!!

Even after 6 years on a gluten-free diet, I come into circumstances that I forget to take with me something to eat and, especially in colder times like right now, I cannot fill my empty stomach with some cold salad or an apple, as this is the only thing I can eat in Holland when I am on the road. I do need energy from time to time!

So take your food processor and pulse these babies in a few minutes:

1 cup pitted dates

1 cup raw almonds

½ cup raw cashew nuts

5 unsulphured apricots

Zest of 1 organic lemon

1-3 tbsp of lemon juice

Pulse everthing together till it forms into a ball. Add lemon juice to your own taste, start with 1 tablespoon and add more if you like it.

Take the ball out of the bowl and roll into truffle size ball or form into a rectangle log or press into a glass Pyrex mould.

Anyway, let the mixture in the fridge to rest for at least 1 hour and then cut into bars or squares or whatever form you prefer.

Also very good with a cup of tea.

And……you can add any other nut or seed or dried fruit. Be creative!!

mungbean noodles with bok choy and tofu - mungbean noedels met paksoi en tofu (GF-DF-SF)

Light and colourful, just like today!
This quick and easy dish is full of flavour and very versatile, you can put in any vegetable you have in store. I use the bok choy as my main ingredient. Also you can use any noodle you like, this dish is very good with buckwheat noodles, but I forgot to buy them. And I always have some of these in my cupboard.

Still it’s not the right temperature for me, the wind is a bit chilly, but my head thinks it’s spring. I cleaned my balcony and started to seed some basil and rucola.
My dearest is building an outdoor kitchenette, yes!!

My balcony is very small, like my kitchen, but very soon I'll have the opportunity to also cook something outside on my new gas burner, which he brought from Bangkok. I have plans to start smoking, ha, ha, no not myself, but fish and vegetables. I have this wonderful book full of ideas of home made goodies. Cooking books are always an inspiration. You cannot have enough of them!

Mung bean noodles with bok choy and tofu(2 pers)
printable version
2 stalks of bok choy, washed and chopped roughly
1 piece of winter carrot, halved and in thin slices
1 quarter of cucumber, in sticks

1 red onion, (not to) finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 3 cm piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 packet of tofu

2 handfuls of raw cashew nuts
2 handfuls of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

150-200 g mung bean vermicelli

Sauce:
1 tbs gluten free tamari
1 tbs sweet chili sauce
1 tbs fish sauce
½ tbs palm sugar or gula djawa
1 tbs gluten free oyster sauce
3-4 tbs water

Wrap the tofu in a clean tea towel and put a weight on it. After ½ an hour unwrap and cut the tofu in cubes.
Meanwhile you cut all the vegetables and put them aside. And the coriander.
You make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients together and put it also aside
Heat a wok and fry the cashew nuts in some coconut oil or any other neutral vegetable oil, till they are golden. Keep on stirring, so they don’t burn on one side. Not too hot!! Put them too aside and the heat low.


Now cook the noodles as is written on the packet in plenty of water. Rinse in cold water. You can also keep the water boiling and cook the noodles at the last minutes, so you don’t have to heat them up.

Preparing the dish:

Heat up the wok, there is still oil in it or add some more.
First we bake the tofu cubes on all sides till they’re golden and a bit crispy. Scoop them out and leave them on a plate with some paper towel, to drain the excess fat.

Now we start with the onion, then the garlic and ginger. Wokking is stirring!!
Then you add one by one the vegetables, the harder vegetables first. So start with the carrot, stir-fry 3 minutes then add the cucumber and the bok choy, stir-fry another 2 minutes.
Add the tofu cubes and the sauce and reduce the heat. Stir for another minute so everything is well coated. In case it sticks too much to the wok, add some more water, it must stay moist.
Before serving you add the cashews and the coriander.
You can stir in the noodles or serve the vegetables on top of it.
I hope you’ll enjoy it, we do!!

Mung bean noodles met paksoi en tofu (2 pers)
printversie
2 stronken paksoi, gewassen en grof gehakt
1 stuk winterwortel, gehalveerd en in dunne schijfjes
1 kwart komkommer, in reepjes

1 rode ui, gesnipperd
1 teen knoflook, geperst
1 3cm stuk verse gember, fijngesneden

1 blok tofu naturel

2 handjes rauwe cashewnoten
2 handjes verse koriander, grofgehakt

150 -200 g mungbean vermicelli

Saus:
1 el glutenvrije tamari
1 el zoete chilisaus
1 el vissaus
½ el palmsuiker of gula djawa
1 el oestersaus
3-4 el water

Wikkel de tofu in een schone theedoek en zet ere en gewicht op. Na een half uur pak je de tofu uit en snijdt hem in blokjes. Zet apart.

Ondertussen snijd je de groentes en zet deze apart. Ook de koriander.
Je maakt de saus door alle ingrediënten samen te voegen, zet ook apart.

Verhit de wok en bak de cashewnoten in wat kokosolie of een andere neutrale olie. Blijf roeren zodat ze rondom goudbruin worden. Niet te heet! Schep ze eruit en laat uitlekken op een bordje met wat keukenpapier. Het gas weer laag.

Je kunt nu de noodles koken zoals op het pak staat en ze naspoelen onder koud water of je zet een pan water op en laat het water zachtjes koken en kookt de noodles op het laatste moment, zodat je ze niet hoeft op te warmen.

Nu is alles klaar om het gerecht te maken:

Zet de wok weer wat hoger, voeg eventueel wat extra olie toe en bak eerst de tofublokjes rondom bruin. Haal ze er uit en laat ze uitlekken op een bord met keukenpapier.

Dan bak je de ui en even later de knoflook en gember. Wokken is roeren, dus blijf erbij!!
Dan eerst de harde groente, de wortel. Roerbak deze 3 minuten en voeg dan de komkommer en de paksoi toe, roerbak nog eens 2 minuten. Voeg de tofublokjes toe en de saus en zet het vuur laag. Roer alles goed door elkaar zodat de saus een soort laagje vormt. Als het te droog wordt, voeg dan steeds een beetje water toe. Voeg voor het serveren de cashewnoten en de koriander toe.
Je kunt de noodles er door roeren (ook als je koude noodles opwarmt) of je serveert de groente op de warme noodles.
Ik hoop dat je het lekker vindt, wij wel!!