Vegan Recipes

This time I also added some Vietnamese mint (one of the few herbs still alive in my garden) and the result was a fragrant pumpkin soup.

Another thing that I have to say about pumpkin is that I hate cutting it! So this time I roasted the whole pumpkin first, in the oven, for well over an hour... can't remember really, but I was baking other stuff and I thought of putting in the pumpkin too, and after a while I added an onion, peeled.

In the end the pumpkin was so soft that I could cut it with a spoon! I removed the skin and seeds and placed it in a pot with the onion. I added vegetable stock and then I blended everything. Finally I added one can of coconut cream and simmered it for 15 minutes. I turned the stove off, then I added some fresh chopped coriander and a couple of stalks (with leaves!) of fresh Vietnamese mint (to be removed before eating).

This is my number one pumpkin soup, definitely!

A little bit of fun in this post: how I made a fondant frog on a lily pad, with natural colours (spirulina powder for green and berries for red).

No words, just images, but feel free to ask questions :-)

Fin

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

My Aunt Alice is growing green zucchini and round zucchini (which is a sort of 'zuccotto' and can grow quite big). I like the round zucchini!

Here how the round zucchini look like sliced.

Slice the zucchini and cut the bigger slices into quarters. Sauté two peeled garlic cloves with a little olive oil, then add the zucchini, lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often. The round zucchini are softer and will mush a little, but they have a great taste. The round zucchini will 'almost' mush, but keep their shape and colour better (the round one turn yellow!). Add salt halfway through cooking. At the end add a tsp of fresh chopped Italian parsley and a few lemon slices (or the juice of half a lemon). It can also be used to to cous cous, pasta and rice.

More from my Italian Travels' Diary: I got these capsicums from my aunt Alice's veggie garden in the North East of Veneto, Italy, and they were huge! Here a photo when green...

.... And after a week of sun!

Chop an onion, a carrot, a stalk of celery and 4 (huge) capsicums. Place in a pot with a little olive oil and sauté for a few minutes. Simmer on low, keeping the pot covered and stirring from time to time for about 40 minutes to one hour. The vegetables should have enough water and as long as you keep the heat very low you probably won't need to add water. I add the salt only halfway through the cooking. They can be used as a side vegetable but also to dress pasta or polenta. They can also be blended into a sauce, dip, or a soup.

This is something my father used to make often, when the tomatoes were a little too red to be used in salad, but not as mushy yet to be made into a sauce. Cut the tomatoes in two halves. In a frying pan place some olive oil and then a clove or two of garlic. When the oil is hot add the tomatoes, cut side down. Add salt and dried oregano. Slowly fry the tomatoes (about 10 minutes) until they start to brown. During this time do not turn them over, but move them delicately around the pan so that they won't stick. Do not add water. Then turn them and cook them on the other side for a few more minutes, until they start to break. Now they are ready and caramelized and you won't believe the taste!!! In fact I suggest that you clean the pan with a slice of bread!!!

This post comes from the diary of my trip to Austria, where I stayed with Imogen and Günther, who grow walnuts. Walnuts are one of the best nuts I know, and I was surprised to see that Imogen and Günther also have a tree (not commercial) of red walnuts. I have never seen red walnuts before, the shells are normal brown, but the kernels really red! Our hosts gave us some red walnuts, but also some walnut oil. In the photo above you can see the walnut plantation (only one tree produces the red walnuts).

For an easy salad mix the walnuts with rocket, walnut oil, salt, and lemon juice. Quick, healthy and good looking!

I decided to also make a walnut pesto for pasta. Using a mortar and pestle (or food processor if you don't have a mortar and pestle) mush the walnuts (I used the red ones, but you can use normal walnuts) with a peeled garlic clove, then slowly add some walnut oil (or olive oil), and a little salt and pepper to taste.