How to relax into the silly season with a vegan risotto.
The silly season is right on us now…. yep… in case you missed it!
This time of year represents a lot going on for a lot of people and I’m not going to write about that because its everywhere. Instead I’m going to tell you about my personal experiment for the last month or more. Ok, I am half french, not Italian, so this experiment needed some bending and twisting to come up with what I had envisioned…. i wanted to refine the art of making Risotto properly. None of this broken rice pieces, no swimming vegetables, no meat stocks, no mushiness and no blandness in taste. So, my aim has been to develop a totally delicious plant based version of risotto that tastes like it comes out of a michelin three star restaurant…. if your into that kind of thing… and I am. Scroll for my recipe here in this blog. I call it Fusion Vegan risotto . Sounds plain and simple, and it is… yum. I have given you the vegan recipe here and then added on in brackets, so you can see the myriad of ways you can do this dish!
The next item I want to share in my newsletter for the festive season with you is that I am presenting for the first time in many years at The Woodford Folk Festival. There are two festival Kitchen demonstrations from my writings and I am also heading up three forums. Come and say hello at The Blue Lotus venue and we also have our medicineroom naturopathic clinics there. We are located next to The Blue Lotus Venue and Govindas foods are next door to us on the other side. We are open from 7am till 9pm daily in the festival for free naturopathic clinics and also our beautiful herbal skin products. Come and see us! Our herbal skin care range is also available in The Festival shop for $30 each balm or $35 for the nectars. You can try them and enjoy!
The medicineroom is operating as usual over summer season except we are not at Eumundi Markets for the last market of 2017. We will be at Eumundi on the 23rd December this coming week and then again on the 6th January. If you want to chat with us about herbal medicines on the phone or via email we will be posting out this Thursday the 21st December and then we will be at Woodford Folk Festival and unable to post out or answer your queries as quickly. So medicines and mail orders may be delayed for post until after the 9th January. We will try to get orders out if we can but traditionally we are closed across tis time frame. This year I don;t want to say that. I want this service to stay open as much as possible, so we will do our best. We are posting on the 21st December. Maybe let us know asap.
High Vibes on the mountain is an event that I have conceptualised and we are doing it for two days on 20th and 21st January. I want to let you know that we have full passes available at $188 ( use our promo code LOVEYOU to get 20% off full pass till January 19th if any tickets left) Day passes are currently $80 for 8am till 6pm Sat and Sunday. ( They will go on door for $100 each if any left ) and Sat Day and night pass is currently $100 ( it will go on for $130 at door if any left). Sat night only pass is currently $30 online. ( will be $40 on door if any left ) We have got limited tickets. It is our first time running for two days. We have 25 acts, 39 presentations of 90 minutes each. 1 presentation of 15 minutes. four venues, two days, one town and its our after Woodford party here on the mountain where we celebrate, wellness, yoga, dance and music.
Theres loads of accomodation on the Blackall Range and the Maleny Showgrounds have casual camping available. So, make use of the facilities in our region and come and refresh, revitalise and get ready for an awesome year 2018 of radiant wellness! Make your booking now
Our line up includes Kevin James Carroll, Dubarray, OKA, Si Mullumby, Gwyn Williams, Chris Lane, Melissa Borich, Katja Hofman, Two old ducks, Takkesh, New Earth Metta… so much joy and wellness here!
Recipe for Fusion Vegan Risotto.
serves 4.
This recipe is super versatile and can be made ahead of time, eaten hot or cold. Next day you can roll into little balls and coat in bread crumbs to fry into arancini balls. I am putting in brackets some replacement flavours and ideas! ( ) as this recipe is so diverse.! I made a chilli, lemon paneer version one night, and then I made a delicious prawn version. Not to mention my love of Parmesan cheese. My favourite was the pea and parmesan version. This is a true fusion.
What you need
Olive oil or good monosaturated local oil.
1.5 cups Basmati brown rice raw. ( I use this rice because it takes flavours really well, takes a long time to cook and the rice does not break, does not go mushy and it looks amazing)
1 cup white wine ( replace with lemon ginger tea if you want)
400ml liquid pre made vegetable stock ( you can use extra liquids in other areas and use a vegetable stock powder as good cheat here, if you can’t get coconut powder use liquid)
3 tablespoons pure coconut cream powder ( add in turmeric, ginger, chilli, curry powder, whatever spices you love)
2 brown onions peeled and sliced ( add as many vegetables as you want here, Just make it equal to two large brown onions. )
3 cloves garlic ( or more)
fresh chilli sliced to taste , salt, pepper and spices to taste.
1 big handful of fresh greens from garden include mint, parsley, basil, chives, anything really that you love and is green in your garden now, diced and fresh to add at end and stir through.
1 capsicum or pepper per plate to put along bottom of risotto and serve risotto over for that raw crunch factor.
How to make it!
Get a heavy pan that you use for stocks and sauces and add in 1/3 cup olive oil mixed and allow to sizzle. Add in the garlic and onion and stir. Then add rice. Stir it and allow to simmer in oil for a few minutes. Now you slowly add all the liquids. Keep stirring and you need to do this for about ten minutes or so, maybe longer. ( Keep it simmering all the time and don’t add too much liquid at once) Once all the liquid is added and the pot is simmering, then turn it to low heat, add lid and let simmer for an hour.
Next once its all cooked and soft, taste, add in anything else you want for taste and stir through the delicious fresh greens. Serve over the capsicum or peppers and this adds a yummy crunch.
Alternate way to serve is to seperate the rice from all vegetables and serve the rice with fresh greens and capsicum. This is not a traditional risotto. Its a vegan fusion from me. And, it took me a few months to get down pat. I love the wine and coconut flavours, tastes so french and nourishing! enjoy.
Here we have split the green raw pepper in half and served the risotto over it. The pepper can then be used as a dipping stick to scoop up the risotto.
The reason I love this recipe is because the rice is so full of flavour and really really diverse in results of the final risotto depending on your choices. We start with vegan plant based and add on according to the menu and the preferences of our guests!
Thanks for the texts and emails about the last blogs, I’m always happy to answer your questions and help you as much as possible. The written blog is different to the video blog. I have made it so they work together. Please watch the video and read this info. Please like us on facebook, instagram and subscribe to our newsletters and you tube channel.
My book The Wellness Zone is out of print now. We sold 10,000 copies and now offer it to you as a download, $5 each download. This is 368 pages of wellness information and your guide to optimal health. We also have THE MAGIC OF FOOD AS MEDICINE as an e book for you now too. $5 each.
Wishing all of you a beautiful festive season however you celebrate this time. We look forward to connecting with you at Woodford Folk Festival, Eumundi Markets or at High Vibes on the mountain in January.
May you walk in your light each day , developing your life in a beautiful way that enhances your wellness and joy.
Blessings and have a great day
We have our online shop too. http://www.medicicineroom.net
Herbal Skin Balms, nectars, perfumes and books available online. We hold our free clinics weekly at Eumundi Markets, we also attend some really lovely events where we offer our free services. Make a phone call to chat with me about herbal medicines and your needs with naturopathic services. We are open Tuesday to Saturday weekly
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Best wishes and with Love
Dominique LivKamal
FNHAA
Master Health Promotion
Award winning herbalist , naturopath and health advocate.
phone me 0409765033
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