{"id":3819,"date":"2023-09-28T12:44:09","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T12:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/?p=3819"},"modified":"2023-09-28T12:44:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T12:44:09","slug":"making-the-most-of-your-veggies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/making-the-most-of-your-veggies\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the most of your veggies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We all know we need to eat our vegetables as they are good for our well-being. But for those who really don\u2019t like them, it can be hard to get in your daily serving.<\/p>\n<p>But how exactly are they good for us? Vegetables are excellent sources of various vitamins and\u00a0nutrients\u00a0that the body needs, with many being labelled as super foods. But that\u2019s not all that they\u2019re important for. Vegetables are a\u00a0rich source of fibre which is extremely\u00a0important for gut health\u00a0and the gastrointestinal tract as well as promoting the growth of good gut bacteria in our bodies.<\/p>\n<p>Making vegetables appetizing to those who are not naturally convinced of their goodness can be tricky.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than relying on butter, cheese, and sugar &#8211; which can make anything taste good but are not necessarily good for one\u2019s health \u2014 it\u2019s best to embrace the techniques that\u00a0maintain the nutritional integrity of vegetables. Some of the best tricks include using veggies in meat-centric dishes to replace the meat so that the overall dish is familiar and appetizing, as well as seasoning and preparing vegetables the same way you would meat.<\/p>\n<p>To help make sure that you hit your veggie intake, GM of Granny Mouse Country House &amp; Spa, Sean Granger, shares some of the tasty vegetarian recipes you will find at the hotel. Even if you profess to be a carnivore who hates \u201crabbit food\u201d, we are certain that you will be converted and, most certainly, come back for more. Dishes available at Granny Mouse include options for vegetarians, pescatarians, vegans, raw foodies and gluten intolerant diets.\u00a0Special requests are our chef\u2019s delight!<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a vegetarian meal created by the Granny Mouse Culinary Artists that you can try at home.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">SMOKED BRINJAL DISH<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Baba Ghanoush<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2\u00a0medium sized eggplants<\/li>\n<li>2\u00a0medium cloves of garlic, pressed or minced<\/li>\n<li>2 tablespoons\u00a0lemon juice, more if necessary<\/li>\n<li>\u00bc cup\u00a0tahini<\/li>\n<li>\u2153 cup\u00a0extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing the eggplant and garnish<\/li>\n<li>2 tablespoons\u00a0chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish<\/li>\n<li>\u00be teaspoon\u00a0salt, to taste<\/li>\n<li>\u00bc teaspoon\u00a0ground cumin<\/li>\n<li>Pinch of smoked paprika, for garnish<\/li>\n<li>Serving suggestions: warmed or toasted pita wedges, carrot sticks, bell pepper strips, cucumber slices, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Method:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Preheat the oven to 180\u00b0C with a rack in the upper third of the oven. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent the eggplant from sticking to the pan. Halve the eggplants lengthwise and brush the cut sides lightly with olive oil. Place them in the prepared pan with the halved sides down.<\/li>\n<li>Roast the eggplant until the interior is very tender throughout and the skin is collapsing, about 35 to 40 minutes (this might take longer if you are using 1 large eggplant). Set the eggplant aside to cool for a few minutes. Flip the eggplants over and scoop out the flesh with a large spoon, leaving the skin behind. Keep the skins as they will be stuffed again.<\/li>\n<li>Place a mesh strainer over a mixing bowl, then transfer the flesh to the strainer. You want to remove as much moisture from the eggplant here as possible, so let the eggplant rest for a few minutes and shake\/stir the eggplant to release some more moisture.<\/li>\n<li>Discard all of the eggplant drippings, drain and wipe out the bowl, and dump the eggplant into the bowl.\u00a0Add the garlic and lemon juice to the eggplant and stir vigorously with a fork until eggplant breaks down. Add the tahini to the bowl and stir until it\u2019s incorporated. While stirring, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Continue stirring until the mixture is pale and creamy. Use your fork to break up any particularly long strings of eggplant.<\/li>\n<li>Stir in the parsley, salt and cumin. Season to taste with more salt (I usually add another \u00bc teaspoon) and more lemon juice, if you\u2019d like the flavour to be more tart.<\/li>\n<li>The skin of the eggplant can be smoked with a cold smoker to be used later for the plating of the dish.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">SPINACH CREAM<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 bunch of spinach, stems removed<\/li>\n<li>200ml cream<\/li>\n<li>100ml of veg stock<\/li>\n<li>Salt and pepper to taste<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Method:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Add water to a pot and bring to the boil. Have a bowl of ice on the side. Clean spinach, removing all steam and rinse under cold water. Place the spinach into the hot water to blanch it for 2 minutes. Blanching the spinach helps remove any impurities but also brightens the colour of the spinach. After 2 minutes, remove from the boiling water and add to the ice to stop the cooking process and retain the bright green colour.<\/li>\n<li>Heat up the cream. Cream should be hot but not at a rapid boil.<\/li>\n<li>Add the spinach to a blender and add in the heated cream.<\/li>\n<li>Add your salt and pepper to taste.<\/li>\n<li>Lastly finish off with some veg stock. The mixture should not be runny but almost the texture of a puree.<\/li>\n<li>Strain mixture with a sieve and it is ready to use.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">CURRY OIL<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1\u00a0cup\u00a0olive oil<\/li>\n<li>1\u00a0tablespoon\u00a0<em>Indian Spice Mix<\/em><\/li>\n<li>1\u00a0garlic clove<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd\u00a0teaspoon\u00a0freshly ground turmeric<\/li>\n<li>\u215b\u00a0teaspoon\u00a0freshly ground cayenne pepper<\/li>\n<li>Pinch smoked sea salt or coarse sea salt<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Method:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>In a high-speed blender, combine all the ingredients. Process until the outside of the blender container is warm, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a glass jar or bowl, cover, and let stand overnight.<\/li>\n<li>The next day the solids will have settled to the bottom of the container. Pour the clear oil from the top. Discard the solids. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">RED PEPPER HUMMUS<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>400g chickpeas, drained with liquid reserved<\/li>\n<li>220g roasted red pepper, drained and extra liquid removed from peppers<\/li>\n<li>120g tahini<\/li>\n<li>70g aquafaba\/chickpea liquid<\/li>\n<li>54g olive oil<\/li>\n<li>2 lemons, juiced<\/li>\n<li>1 garlic clove<\/li>\n<li>1 tsp cumin powder<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd tsp salt<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Method:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Add all ingredients into a blender and blend at a medium speed.<\/li>\n<li>Serve chilled.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">SAUTE BRUNOISE VEGETABLES<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mixed robot Peppers, 1 of each<\/li>\n<li>50g Green beans<\/li>\n<li>1 Carrot<\/li>\n<li>1 medium Sweet Potato<\/li>\n<li>1 medium Butternut<\/li>\n<li>Olive oil to drizzle in pan<\/li>\n<li>Fresh chopped Rosemary and Thyme<\/li>\n<li>Salt and pepper to taste<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Method:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Cut all vegetables into 3mm x 3mm cubes.<\/li>\n<li>Saut\u00e9 all the vegetables together with a drizzle of olive oil.<\/li>\n<li>Season to taste with fresh chopped herbs and salt and ground black pepper<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Reservations are recommended and can be done on 033 234 4071 or\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:reservations@grannymouse.co.za\">contacting us via email.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For more visit: \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.grannymouse.co.za\/\">www.grannymouse.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We all know we need to eat our vegetables as they are good for our well-being. But for those who really don\u2019t like them, it can be hard to get in your daily serving. But how exactly are they good for us? Vegetables are excellent sources of various vitamins and\u00a0nutrients\u00a0that the body needs, with many [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3819"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3819"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3821,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3819\/revisions\/3821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldfishcommunications.co.za\/a\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}