Vegan Recipes

1 can coconut cream

1 l oragnic soy milk (I use Vitasoy, either Original, Milky or Calci Plus)

4 tbsp raw sugar

2 heap tbsp cocoa (the better the cocoa the better the flavour, so don't go for cheap baking cocoa, but for 'hot chocolate' quality)

2 tbsp cornflour

Natural Vanilla essence 

1 tbsp icing sugar

Edible flowers to decorate

For 4 puddings:

500 ml oragnic soy milk (I use Vitasoy, either Original, Milky or Calci Plus)

2 tbsp raw sugar

1 heap tbsp cocoa (the better the cocoa the better the flavour, so don't go for cheap baking cocoa, but for 'hot chocolate' quality)

1 tbsp cornflour

Natural Vanilla essence (or a little cinnamon if you prefer)

Strawberries and edible flowers to finish (I have lots of strawberries and edible flowers in the garden now!)

This is so easy to make, but looks impressive and tastes delicious.

Ingredients

1 big agria potato

1 bunch asparagus

3-4 onion weeds with flowers

1 l vegetable stock

nasturtium flowers and baby leaves

sage flowers

violet flowers

Peel the potato and cube. Clean the asparagus, remove the woody stalk ends and cut into small pieces keeping the tips aside. Clean the onion weed, set the flowers aside and cut the stalks. Place potato, asparagus spares and onion weed stalks in a pot with the vegetable stock and simmer until all the veggies are soft. Add the asparagus tips and blanch. Remove the asparagus tips and blend the rest of the soup. Serve and top with the whole asparagus tips, decorate with nasturtium flowers and baby leaves, sage flowers, violet flowers and onion weed flowers. Eat everything!

Photos and recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Quinoa with flowers

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 small carrot

1 small cucumber

1 bunch onion weed (or spring onions)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

juice from half a lemon

salt and pepper to taste

edible flowers

Cook one cup of quinoa with two cups of water for 20 minutes. In the meantime chop very finely a small carrot, a small cucumber and a bunch of onion weeds (or spring onions). Put the still hot quinoa into a serving bowl, add two tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, the chopped vegetables, the juice of half a lemon and salt and pepper to taste. This dish can be served warm or cold (yes, even if it has cucumber it can be served warm!). Just before serving add edible flowers: I used onion weed flowers, marigold, violets and bok choy flowers.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Lots of people know by now that I eat flowers, but still, some think of it as a bit of a freak thing to do. But if you have a few edible flowers in your garden (absolutely organic, no sprays allowed) they just make your dishes look so pretty, and they are not merely a decoration, they can have flavour and fragrance too! I used onion weed flowers, which have a mild garlic/oniony taste, and nasturtiums, which are probably the only flowers that the general public in New Zealand seem to consder edible (some claim to use them in salads, but in all these years here I have seen more trendy talk than action, and still far too much coleslaw). My first borage flowers and a few little violets added perhaps little taste, but they are eye catching with their blue hues, and welcome on my plate anytime.

On a large plate I prepared a bed of baby spinach leaves and then I steamed some asparagus. To save time and gas I steamed the asparagus over the vegetable soup that I was cooking for dinner (so that I could make lunch and dinner at the same time). I meant to photograph the finished soup too, since all the veggies come from my garden, but I forgot. Anyway, it had my last cabbage, carrots, celery (mostly leaves), cavolo nero, broad beans (they are here, finally!) and onion weed (of course). It was a lovely soup, and I just had to add pasta and seasoning, all the rest was from my garden. Anyway, back to the asparagus salad: after steaming the asparagus I rinsed them under cold water and placed them over the spinach leaves. And then I added the flowers. For dressing I just added salt, extra virgin olive oil and Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena. I also think that a simple Japanese miso and sesame seed dressing like this one could go well. This was a light but satisfying lunch for two.