Vegetable Casserole with Celery, Mushroom and Lentils

I have made this dish already a few times and it takes a lot of work but it really pays off! It has a very rich day and even for a meatlover it is an excellent dish.

1 large Celery root

500g brown Champignons

2 small onions

1 large Zucchini

1 large Paprika

2 big tomatoes

125 g dried Lentils

700ml Water

50g Tomatoe paste

2 TBSp dried Oregano

1 TBSp Paprika powder

Rosemary

1 TBSp Soy Sauce

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Optional:

1 tsp liquid smoke

For the sauce*:

400ml Cream ( I used almond based)

1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast (optional but really good)

1-2 TBSp starch (depending on how thick you like the sauce)

1-2 cloves garlic

salt & pepper to taste

* I also used once this Alfredo Sauce recipe from ohsheglows, which is really good too!

Method:

1.Place Lentils and water in a pot and bring to boil, let it cook until lentils are soft ( you  might need to add more water). It takes about 45min.

2. Remove the outer skin from the celery root and cut it into thin big round slices. Place it in a small pot. Let them simmer for about 10-15min or until they start to soften.

2. Chop Onions and Mushrooms. Put some olive oil in a big pan and add the Onions and Mushrooms. Sear some until they are browned.

3. While the onions and Mushrooms are cooking chop Zucchini and Paprika and add them to the pan.

4. When Lentils are cooked add them to the Vegetable Mixture and let them brown as well. Fry for a few more minutes until everything cooked then add the oregano, paprika powder, tomato paste, soy sauce and adjust the taste with salt and pepper. If you are using liquid smoke add it now too. Set the pan aside.

5. Now the sauce: Put all the ingredients into a blender and mix them together. Pour the mixture into a small pot and heat it up constantly stirring until your desired thickness is reached. You can add more starch if it is not thick enough for you.

6. Preheat oven to 180 degree celsius.

7. Cut tomatoes into thin slices.

8. Now in a Casserole dish ( I used a size of 25*25cm) assemble the layers:

1. layer: 1/2 Lentils/Mushroom Mixture (about 1cm high)

2. thin layer sauce

3. layer: 1/2 celery

4. layer: rest Lentils/Mushroom Mixture

5. layer: again sauce

6. layer: rest celery

7. layer: cover with tomatoes

8. layer: rest of the sauce

Sprinkle rosemary, salt and pepper over the top

9. Place the dish into the oven and let it cook for 45min-1 hour until it starts to bubble up the sides and the top is browned.

The dish tastes even better when you are preparing it the day before and reheat it on the next day.

I hope you enjoy it!

Merry Christmas!

your

horz yogi

On the plate & on the mind

1. A new Recipe I found and tried already twice 😉 One of the few where I did not change a thing!

Banana- Blueberry Loaf

2. In love with Blueberries. Pair this great pancake recipe  with a topping of blueberries, Vanilla Sauce ,Maple Syrup, Cinnamon–Sugar or powdered sugar and you have a perfect Christmas morning breakfast!

Recipe for a simple Vanilla Sauce:

1/2 packet Vanille-Pudding powder ( Can be subbed with 20g starch (any kind) and 1tsp Vanille aroma)

500ml Almond Milk (or any you like)

pinch of salt

optional:

1/2 – 1 tsp Vanilla aroma (or powder)

Method:

In a small pot heat the milk until it starts to boil.

While milk is heating up mix in a small bowl the starch (or Vanilla- Pudding powder) with 2-3 Tablespoons of the 500ml milk.

When milk is boiling add the starch/ milk mixture and whisk it in for 1 minute. Then add rest of ingredients and let it cook for 5min or until desired consistency is reached.

3. Update on my Vanille- Kipferl! I tried them with Gluten-free flour (my mom is allergic) and it worked beautifully!

Click here to jump to the recipe!

4. Apple-Horseraddish Spread:

3 small apples grated

1/4 cup grated horse-raddish

30ml cream ( I used almond based cream ;))

1/8 tsp Kala Namak (optional)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix everything together and mash a little bit with a fork, adjust the taste with salt and pepper to your liking 🙂

Enjoy!

5. I developed a new recipe of my own, which you can find on the link below:

Vegetable Casserole with Celery, Lentils and Mushrooms

Now less on food, more on the mind:

6. Still looking for a gift? This meditative music is very relaxing, peaceful and highly recommended!

#

7. New Sun Salutations to greet the morning and clear the mind for the day!

8. An inspiring read for the holidays:

The Dalai Lama’s Little Book of inner Peace

9. The Winning Feeling! by Jane Savoie. My first book about Mental training in dressage and I am still using it for reference 🙂

10. A quote on the mind..

Happy Holidays!

your horzyogi

Recipe: Vanille Kipferl (Vanilla Crescents)

My all time favourite Christmas recipe! Just gotta have them every year!

Ingredients

300g flour (all-purpose)

250g margarine (Alsan, earth balance or any other with a butter like consistency )

80g sugar

100g powdered Hazelnuts (you can also use almonds or a mixture of the 2)

1 package (~1 TBSp) Vanilla Sugar

250-500g powdered Sugar for dusting after baking

Method

1. From flour, margarine, nuts, sugar and Vanilla Sugar knead a smooth dough into a round ball, pack in foil and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Divide dough into small portions and form long thumb-thick rolls.

3. Cut into 1- 1.5 cm pieces and form into crescents. leave it a little thick in the middle becoming thinner towards the end.

5. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 min at 175-190 degree celsius.

6. Dust a wood board with powdered sugar and place the crescents in the sugar while they are still warm, then dust them on the top. (you can also mix some vainilla sugar into the powdered sugar if you want) Be careful the crescents break apart very easily when they are warm.

Finally enjoy them with a nice coffee, tea or hot chocolate 😉

Recipe: Christmassy Fig Spread!

So one day at my dads I tried this really delicious fig marmalade for the first time and I just loved it. It still is my favorite type, but when I was back in hungary I  tried to find an alternative, when I came up with the Idea to use dried figs! This fruit spread is so easy to make and during this season dried figs are everywhere to be found! It has become one of my staples at home and here I made a Christmassy version out of it.

Igredients:

200g dried figs

1 tsp Vanilla extract ( you can also use powdered Vanilla, I did not have any , otherwise I would have used it)

1/2 – 1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp

pinch of salt

Water

optional:

a dash of port wine or calvados

other spices ( next time I will try cloves!)

Method:

1. Cut the little pointy stems at the to of the figs off.

2. Place figs in a small sauce pan and add water until they are completely covered and heat the on medium heat.

3. When the figs soaked up a lot of water and became very soft(15-30min cooking time), add the other ingredients (if adding an alcohol, add it first and let it cook for 5 min more) and blend it all together with a hand blender.

4. If you like to have bigger bits of fig inside the marmalade, take out a few you figs before blending. Cut them into small pieces and then put them back in after blending.

5. Depending on how thin or thick you like your marmalade (paste), add more water until you reached the desired consistency ( it will thicken up only a tiny bit more in the fridge)

6. Let it cool a little and then put it in a glass jar to refrigerate. This will keep for a long time, the longest I have had it in the fridge is 3 Weeks, but I am sure it will keep longer!

This fig marmalade is great on bread or I like to put it into my breakfast cereal or mix it into my overnight oats. It is a great Christmas gift too!

Enjoy!

your

horzyogi

Recipe: Comforting Mushroom soup!

During the winter time I always become a Soup freak, I just love the warmth and comfort it gives when coming home from a cold winter day! So last weekend I came up with a new soup! As a child I actually never liked mushrooms but since I have started cooking myself I learned to incorporate them in a way in my dishes that I have now fallen in love with this great vegetable. It is just so much more versatile then I thought!  So now for the first time I have made a mushroom soup and I want to share my method with you!

Ingredients:

500g fresh brown Champignons

2 glasses (each 280g brutto) mini Mushrooms

1 medium-large Onion

500ml Vegetable Broth

1 clove garlic

1 TBSp Tamari (Soy sauce)

50ml cream ( I used almond based)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Parsley for garnish!

optional:

1/2 tsp smoked salt or liquid smoke

dash of white wine

Method:

1. Chop onion & quarter Champignons. Put some olive oil in a medium sauce pan and add the chopped onion. Sauté onion until it is starting to brown then add champignons and let them and the onions brown.

2. When onions and champignons get a nie golden- brownish color add the Vegetable Broth and other ingredients except mini mushrooms and blend it all together.

3. After blending add mini mushrooms and let it cook for another 10 min. and adjust seasoning to taste.

4. Lastly add the parsley or use fresh parsley for garnish on the plate and most importantly enjoy!

My Favorite Lentil Stew

As promised the recipe for my favorite lentil stew!

Ingredients

150g Lentils (whichever you like: Beluga, Brown, Green or red lentils)**

500ml Vegetable Broth

600ml Water*

1 Onion

1-2 garlic cloves

1 Medium- Large Celery root ( Depending on how strong you want the Celery to come out.)

400 grams small champignons ( I used 2x 300ml glasses of mini champignons in saltwater)

3 TBSp Tomato paste *

2 Paprika*

2 TBSp Majoran

1 TBSp Soy sauce (or tamari or if you don’t like soy ,coconut amino’s can be subbed)

1tsp coffee powder

1 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

3 TBSp Cream ( I used almond based)

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil

* If you live in hungary and you can buy a glass of “lecso” and omit the paprika, tomato paste and water.

** If using smaller lentils like red lentils it might be worth it to use 200g instead of 150g so that they won’t disappear in all the vegetables. And remember that the cooking time will be much shorter!

Method:

1. Chop onions and garlic and cut Celery into 1-2cm cubes. Half the paprika, take seeds out and slice it lengthwise.

2. In a large pot heat up some olive oil and put Celery, Onions and garlic in to brown.

3. Once Onions are translucent and Celery a little browned ( also depends on how roasted tasting you like your dish, I let my onions brown a little too, to make it very rustic) put in all the other ingredients and let it cook until lentils are tender( depending on which lentils you use, I used brown lentils and it takes about 45min-1 hour)

4. Enjoy with some rustic bread!

Unfortunately I don’t have pictures yet. But the next time I make it, I’ll make some photos for you!

1st December & Christmas Apple Bread! (Updated with pictures)

Today is the 1st December and I am looking forward to this time of Advent and waiting for Christmas! In the last few weeks I have been very busy with studying for Midterm tests and upcoming exams so that I did not have time for my daily meditation and Yoga practices which I regret very much , so this time of the year I want to start again practicing meditation every day to strengthen my self-awareness during this month even though I will have a lot of final exams during this time too, but I have come to realize that the meditation helps me keep on track with my studying.

In Addition I want to start to post something every day for this last month of the year, may it be christmas recipes, new Ideas for training with your horse during this time when it gets colder or Yoga practices…

Therefore the post for today is a wonderful Apple-bread which is great for you and your horse (when it gets dry) ;)! Enjoy it with a nice cup tea or hot chocolate to get warmed up for the winter season (this recipe is vegan by the way):

Ingredients:

500g Apples ( You need 500g of apples already peeled and cored)

3 TBSp Lemonjuice

100g brown sugar

250g Flour

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp cinnamon

6g baking powder (1/2 a packet)

1 packet Vanille-Sugar

Method:

1. Peel, Quarter and then slice Apples. Put them in a big bowl and mix with Lemon-juice and Sugar. Cover it and let it rest for 1 hour.

2.Preheat oven to 190 Degree celsius.

3.Mix dry ingredients together and then fold them under the Apple mixture.

4. Grease a loaf tin with oil or line it with a baking sheet. Fill in the Apple-mixture and put it in the oven for 1 hour to  1 hour and 15min. (Depending on your oven). Mine was ready after 1 hour.

5. After you took it out of the oven, wait at least 1/2 hour before you take it out of the tin and ENJOY!

your Horzyogi!

Ten favorite busy girl recipes!

If you are like me, traveling alot during the week and no time to cook, because of coming home late but love that feeling to have a nice homey meal waiting for you just to be reheated, you will love these recipes.
Especially when you train in the evening in the cold weather, you will want to have a nice and warming meal that does not need alot of cooking because really who wants to stand in the kitchen for 1/2 hour or more after a long day??
And isn’t it much more motivating to train in the evening when coming home from work/school/uni if you know there is a great meal waiting for you afterwards?

For me the most important for a busy girl meal is:
1. don’t need too many ingredients
2. can be prepared in advance on the weekend
3. freezer-friendly
4. variable according to the fridge 😉
5. delicious! ,delicious!, delicious!!!

So here I listed my current favourite meals/ snacks as well as my staple spreads I keep in my fridge the most to be prepared for a tight schedule:

1. Zucchini Hummus:
My first go to spread that have to have in my fridge at all time. adapted from kriscarr: 

Ingredients:
2 small-medium Zucchini diced(I peeled them but you don’t have to)
1-2 TBS toasted Sesame oil (depending on how Sesame you like it)
1 heaping TBS Sesameseeds (I used unpeeled)
2 cloves garlic minced (you can also use 1tsp garlic powder)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp salt
2 TBS dried cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

mix everything but cilantro in a blender and then mix in the cilantro with a spoon.
It will last for at least a week in the fridge. This taste almost like the hummus with chickpeas, but I like this version better because the Sesame taste comes out much stronger 😉 Also great with roasted pumpkin or butternut squash instead of Zucchini!!!
want more inspiration? click here

2. Apple Cookies! I know this is not really a meal but a great desert that can be made in 5-10 minutes! I found this recipe just yesterday and had to try it immediately because I love apples and peanut butter 😉 and it didn’t disappoint me. They had this great combination of crunch and creaminess and they are just so easy and fast to make. I used crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth because that was the only one I had. Try it yourself! Here is the link to the original recipe:
http://rachelschultz.com/2014/04/09/apple-cookies/

3. easy lentil vegetable soup, this soup is so versatile, so be creative you can really make it with any kind of vegetables and the great thing is you can prepare it on the weekend and then reheat it during the week!! I love these hearty and rich soups during autumn and winter time!

Ingredients:
250g green lentils
2 carrots
1TBS olive oil
1 onion
3 fennel bulbs ( you can also substitute with any kind of cabbage or celery)
2tsp vegetable broth
800ml Water
2 TBS cilantro
1-2 tsp coffee powder (you can use decaf if cooking in the evening 😉 )
1-2 TBS red wine vinegar (can also use balsamic)
1 tsp garlic powder or 2 garlic gloves
1/2 tsp muscat powder
salt and pepper to taste

OPTIONAL:
1/2 tsp Marmite ( you can also experiment with soy or worcester sauce)
1 tsp liquid smoke
1-2 TBS nutritional Yeast

How to:
Chop onions into cubes. Heat olive oil in a big pot, put in the onions and let them caramelize.
Chop carrots and fennel into piece sizes you like. Add everything to the caramelized onions in the pot and let it cook for about 30min or until vegetables ad lentils reached desired consistency. I like to put this soup on in the evening when I come home before I go to ride my horse and put it on low heat so it cooks while I am riding. The amount I make is quite a lot for two people, it can last for 2-3 meals, it is also freezable so it is a great soup to be prepared and then heated as needed.

4. smoked Cashew „cheese“: (adapted vinthea)
1/4 cashews soaked over night
1 cup water
1-2 garlic clove (depending how garlicy you like it)
1 inch cube ginger
2 heaping TBS corn starch (later I added 1 teaspoon because it did not get firm enough for my taste)
juice of 1 lemon or 1 TBS spoon apple cider vinegar (in the future I will use a little bit less lemon juice, it was quite lemony)
salt to taste
Optional:
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 TBS olive (any vegetable) oil ( this makes the cheese more stretchy)
if you don’t have liquid smoke you can also use smoked salt or leave it out entirely but then you won’t have the smokiness but still a very delicious „cheese“.

Mix everything(apart from liquid smoke) until smooth then put in a sauce pan and cook at medium heat , constantly stirring until the mixture becomes stretchy then add liquid smoke, mix it in and put mixture in a small pot to let it cool down for 3 hours in the fridge. You can eat it just like that or if you take it out of the form and leave it in the fridge uncovered for a week it will dry out a bit and will be more like aged cheese. I am experimenting also with letting it age for a day outside of the fridge after cooling.

This cheese is so delicious on pumpernickel or any kind rustic bread, and the best is you can also melt it. It keeps in the fridge for a very long time. But I don’t know how long ,since I can not keep myself from eating it to find out 😉

5. My second very easy spread „Tomato basil“ :

2 medium onions chopped into cubes
140g tomato paste
1 clove garlic
2tsp vegetable broth powder
1 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP dried basil (or chopped fresh basil)
1/2 tsp hot paprika paste (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
heat olive oil in pan. sauté the onion and garlics in it for 5-10min then add the rest of the ingredients into the pan and mix everything together. This spread can be stored in the fridge in a glass jar for 1-2 weeks.

6. Easy-peasy creamy soup:
1 packet(500g) yellow peeled and split peas (can also use green peas)
1l vegetable broth
1l water
3-4 carrots cut into pieces (size as you like, I make about 1,5 cm cubes)
1 celery (optional)
1 tsp muscat powder
salt and pepper to taste
parsley for garnish
put everything in a big pot and let it cook until peas are completely broken down. Serve with fresh parsley. Just like the lentil soup you can have this cook on low-medium heat while doing other things. Leftovers can also be stored in the freezer, as this is quite a big batch)

7. favourite cauli-cream sauce: (adapted from ohsheglows)
I did everything like it is in the recipe. I just added 1/2 cup vegetable broth because the sauce was too thick for me. This sauce is also freezerfriendly so I like to make a big batch so I can keep some for another time.

8. Easy Celery Casserole: (adapted from vegcharlottenc)

1 batch cauli-cream sauce (or 2-3 cups of any creamy sauce you like)
3 celery roots cut into 1-2 cm cubes
1 onion chopped
1/2 -1 cup panko* (or regular breadcrumbs)
1-2 TBS nutritional Yeast flakes (optional but very desirable!!)
Olive Oil to grease the oven dish
parsley for garnish

* depending how thick you want to have the crust on top.

mix everything but panko and nutritional yeast. put it in an oven save dish then distribute evenly panko nutritional yeast on top. preheat oven to 180 degree celsius and put in the casserole for approx. 40 min or until celery is tender. I sometimes precook the celery in vegetable broth before mixing it with the other ingredients to make sure it will be soft enough.
this is also great using the recipe of vegcharlottenc and just subbing the celery for the squash!!

9. Oh she glows Veggie burgers

Love these Veggie Burgers, since you can make a big batch and then freeze them and reheat by baking in the oven or searing in a pan! A couple of these with a nice Rucola, Beetroot salad topped with the Zucchini- Hummus mixed with some Red Wine Vinegar and served with homemade bread!

10. Wraps on the Run by Attila Hildmann

(Unfortunately the original recipe is in german but since he is becoming popular in the US, there should be an english version) In this recipe he makes a wonderful white bean paste and parsley pesto and the wraps are made of buckwheat flour ( I usually use storebought tortilla wraps to save time but the originals are very delicious!) He fills them with raw spinach, red bell pepper and avocado as well as the white bean paste and the pesto (I sometimes also use store-bought if I don’t have homemade, this is really great with any kind of pesto). You can prepare the pesto and white bean paste on the weekend so you can whip up this dish during the week in just 5 min. ! It is also a great meal to take to work/school for lunch.
Here is the recipe for the white bean paste:

Ingredients:
240g cooked white beans
1 clove garlic
zest of 1/4 lemon
2 TBS fresh Lemon juice
1 TBS Oil ( I used olive oil, the original says linseed oil)
1 tsp Sea salt

Mix everything with a mixer until you get a creamy paste. This makes a very big batch and guess what!? it is freezer friendly!! 😉

I hope you enjoy these recipes! Have a great week!
your
horzyogi