♫Trick or treat, trick or treat,
give me something nice to eat,
give my friend something, too…
or we’ll play a trick on you! ♫

In those years, all I was able to think about was… chocolate! Now, I grew enough to know that chocolate is good only in small amounts. Moreover, exaggerating with chocolate can bring some disadvantages: sickness, a few extra pounds… and worst of all: the reduction of the iron in our blood. Learn more: http://www.oipainternational.org/iron-veg-the-iron-in-the-vegan-diet/

Anyway, there is an important food, typical of the season, linked to Halloween… PUMPKIN.  
It is usually used to cut an evil face from it, replacing its interior with a candle, in order to make the famous Jack ‘o Lantern. But, c’mon! Pumpkins are so delicious. Let’s use them in a smart and tasty way!

First of all, pumpkins are really an amazing food: 100 grams of it contains only 20 calories, making it perfect for diabetics who do not want to give up on flavour!, absolutely no cholesterol, but lot of potassium, calcium, magnesium and vitamin A and E.              
(To know more about vitamins: http://www.oipainternational.org/veganism-and-vitamin-deficiencies/).
In addition to a good amount of fibres, the vegetable is also rich in different amino acids, such as arginine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid and tryptophan. The therapeutic properties of the pumpkin are due to the beta-carotene, which can prevent the onset of various diseases. It protects the circulatory system, is an anti-inflammatory and has antioxidant properties: it counteracts the action of free radicals and slows down the aging of cells. This marvellous vegetable is also able to have diuretic, laxative and sedative effects.

Now… ready to cook!

Even if pumpkins are great to add taste to a homemade vegetable soup, we will see something different! For example… You know you can substitute potatoes with pumpkins?!

BAKED PUMPKIN

 Ingredients:

• s. pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• s. rosemary
• s. sagebrush
• s. thyme
• black pepper grains

Preparation:
Cut the pumpkin into cubes, drizzle them with olive oil and the herbs. Let marinate for 15 minutes, in order to make the pumpkin absorb their taste. Bake at 200 ° C for 20-25 minutes. A useful hint is to check the formation of the crust on top of the cubes.            
If necessary, add raw oil and serve. Remember that the pumpkin must be baked and eaten immediately, otherwise it will dry.

PUMPKIN CHIPS

Ingredients:

• 500 grams pumpkin
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt

Preparation:
Cut the pumpkin into thin, circular slices and salt them. Heat the oven to 160°C and bake for 50/60 minutes. Then, turn the oven off and let the pumpkins chips to cool completely in it.
These are a great and healthy snack that can be served also as crackers, with accompanied by hummus or other sauces.

Have fun and… BON APETIT!

L'articolo Halloween is here… Trick or treat? proviene da OIPA.

• 120 g of couscous
• 150 ml of vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp of turmeric
• 200 g of mushrooms
• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 nuts
• White wine
• 1 small carrot
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 1 eggplant
• 1 celery
• ½ shallot
• chili powder
• parsley
• mint
• ½ bunch of spinach
• extra virgin olive oil

Wash all the vegetables, peel the carrots and then cut into small pieces. Do the same for the celery.

Cleanse the mushrooms, cut them into slices if they are small or reduce their size, if bigger.

In a pot, put a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil; chop the shallot and put it, along with the garlic, in the pot. Fades with white wine.

Add the carrot, the celery, mushrooms and a pinch of red pepper. Cook for 10 minutes or so. If necessary add some water; and, in the end of the cooking, the spinach (after washing them carefully!). The cooking will be completed in two minutes.

Add the turmeric to the broth and bring it to boil.

Put the broth in a bowl, and spill the cous cous gradually, like the rain: the right proportion is 80 : 100, so for every 80 grams of cous cous you need 100 millilitres of broth. I usually use 320:400, in order to have leftovers for the following day!

Wait until all the broth has been absorbed by the cous cous… and then shell. Use the hands to make this passage easier: it is fundamental that all the grains of the cous cous are divided, or it will not be that good once in the dish.

Mix the divided grains of cous cous with mushrooms and vegetable, heat them for a minute (but in summer, without mushroom, this recipe can be eaten even cold). Add the coarsely chopped nuts; sprinkle with parsley and add a few mint leaves.

Bon appetite!

Ingredients may vary according to personal taste and seasonality, so… Hone creativity and try different options.

Author

Paola Colombo

L'articolo RECIPE: COUS COUS WITH MUSHROOMS AND VEGETABLES proviene da OIPA.