Wednesday 2 April 2014

Rocket & Roses Healing Vegetable Breakfast Oats (vegan & gluten free)

Rocket & Roses HQ Play List:

Blackberry Smoke ~ The Whippoorwill (Deluxe) Album

Firstly...thank you to those of you who have emailed with messages of well wishes. It's very kind of you and I appreciate every word but please don't worry so. I'm still here and still kicking albeit a little more gently then normal this week. I had to have some tests done on Monday which I wasn't expecting and were a little painful but I'm rocking the dressings and ML is enjoying the silence. lol. 

Secondly...just wanted to clear up a couple of things that some folks have assumed about me and my blog. I am not a red head..lol..sorry if that shocks those of you that have assumed that over the years. I am a blonde but have all the temperaments that the stereotype of a being a natural red head has...firey for sure. lol. Red is my nickname for many reasons over the years but it started with my deep love of the colour blood red...and then morphed over the years. Not very exciting after all, eh? lol. And the name of my beloved blog comes from the joining of two of my favourite things....favourite salad leafy Rocket/Arugula and my passion for white roses. And had nothing to do with the fact that I am a rock chick and happen to be a fan of Guns N' Roses...that was purely a coincidence. Honestly...never even occurred to me until I received my first email about it. lol. OK...well that's that sorted out... now for today's recipe....lol

The meds I'm on often leave my tum sore and makes eating tricky. I gave up sugar refined and unrefined in the New Year and its really helping. I have completely kicked all of it and only have sugars that naturally occur in fresh foods...and the only fruit I have is the rare piece of citrus. It's working for me and I can now say I have lost the small sweet tooth I used to have and even have recently admitted that sweet potato and butternut squash are a little too sweet for my palate now. Who know that would happen? Sweet potatoes were one of my favourite veggies before. I can still eat them in small amounts in a dish but can't have them steamed as a side veggie anymore. Anyway...when my tum is raw I need to cook dishes that will have a soothing affect and I have been kicking the idea of a savoury breakfast porridge around for quite some time. I haven't had porridge in such a long time although I do use GF oats in cooking often. I never enjoyed loaded sweet porridge anyway...oats/water/1/2 tsp brown sugar/1 tsp cinnamon was my old recipe. Never liked it with milks or creams...yuck. lol. So today I decided to put my thoughts to the test and give a savoury oats breakfast a go...

I wanted it to be intensely savoury but wanted to use just fresh vegetables. The only seasonings used were heaps of freshly cracked black pepper and the ingredients in my preferred veggie stock (zero sodium, yeast free, gluten free) and a tsp of my lemon infused olive oil. I chose veggies that I knew I can enjoy even when my tum is sore and got chopping. Now to blow my own trumpet...this rocked. lol. The hard work came in skinning the broad beans which I admit is one of my loathed kitchen chores. But the rest is simply tossing veggies into the pot and stirring frequently. I found this breakfast intensely comforting which is what I needed badly. The fresh flavours from the veggies blended with the wholesome oats giving it a serious savoury edge and if I had to choose from here on in..it will be savoury oats over sweet for the rest of my days. I purposely cooked my veggies to still be a little crispy because I wanted the texture but it's entirely your call on how long you cook yours. You don't need to use the oil at the beginning or maybe a little coconut oil...that's the only change I would make next time so I can get a little extra healing from the potent coconut oil. (And if you haven't tried it yet...get a move on...lol. Thanks to Helen & Vas for heading me in that direction..) I sat with my bowl of porridge and slowly savoured every mouthful and found myself satisfied and disappointed both at the same time that I had finished my breakfast. And it has been incredibly gently on my tum so I am mentally doing my happy wiggle. lol. Yum! Looking forward to my breakfast tomorrow..

Rocket & Roses Healing Vegetable Breakfasts Oats (V & GF)
 
Rocket & Roses Healing Vegetable Breakfast Oats     Serves 2-4
(Original recipe from the Rocket & Roses Vegan Kitchen)

1 tsp lemon infused olive oil or coconut oil
2 spring onions, trimmed and sliced 
1 very small garlic clove, micro-grated
1" piece of fresh ginger, micro-grated
8 green beans, trimmed, cut into 1" pieces
1 med carrot, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
5 Brussels sprouts, trimmed, thinly sliced 
3/4 cup broccoli, cut into small florets 
2/3 cup broad beans, skins removed 
very generous amounts of freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup of GF oats 
3 cups of veggie stock 

Gently the heat the oil in a pan and add the spring onion, garlic and ginger and gently heat through. When fragrant add the green beans, carrots and sprouts and saute for 3 minutes. Add in the broad beans and generous amounts of black pepper and stir and cook for 3 minutes more. Toss the oats into the veggie mix and stir well to coat the oats in the veggies. Add in the broccoli florets and stir well whilst adding in 2 cups of the veggie stock. Bring it to a gentle boil and then reduce the heat and leave to simmer and absorb the stock, stirring occasionally to ensure no sticky moments. Then add the final cup of stock and stir constantly until its absorbed. Leave to simmer and allow the oats to finish cooking. Remove from heat and serve...

Enjoy! 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Wednesday is a good one...

~Red~