mystery lekker lunch

What did I have for lunch today? Or, as the case actually is, what am I eating for lunch right now at the ripe old time of 2:57 PM?

Any guesses? It's mighty tasty, I can tell you that much. Mm-mm good, in fact.

...Alright, alright, I'm lousy with suspense. 

This massive feast, my friends, is what happens when I don't eat anything until the late afternoon. It wasn't intentional, honestly, but once you're in the habit of skipping breakfast, time seems to run away on you and when I finally stopped to wonder why I was so dizzy, I realized how late it was. Oops!

Thankfully there was a crockpot of Indo Red Pepper soup on. We've been to Indonesia many a time (it's a hot surf spot) and this is one of the dishes I look forward to most when we go. It's very simple - olive oil, roasted red peppers, carrots, onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, tomato, coconut milk, curry, a bit of water, salt and pepper and let it simmer away. Once it's nice and cooked you can either use an immersion blender or, like I do, blend it in batches with a food processor to make it nice and creamy before returning it to the crockpot to keep warm. 

Along with that there was an olive bialy from the little gluten-free bakery down the street (I try not to eat carbs after twelve but if I've not had anything or haven't had any that day, s'all good), topped with hummus and tomato slices. Is there anything better than hummus? I'd be hard-pressed to find a substitute. 

That pretty glass of red is iced passionfruit-rooibos tea. We don't drink a lot of juice in our house (excluding the stuff we squeeze in the morning) so I try to make sure to brew a couple of pitchers of different teas to have on hand in the fridge. It's just like Starbucks, only cheaper and better tasting!

I'm eating as I type this and boy oh boy, is it ever filling the hollow spot in my tummy. I should probably stop scarfing so I can tell when I get full and actually look like a lady while I nosh. ;)

Last but not least, yesterday marked the farewell of a very sweet friend. Today is the kickoff of my no-sugar month, something I try to do once a year. Sugar is so incredibly addicting, and it's in practically everything; it's nice to detox from it once in a while. Of course, I'm not a Nazi about it. I still eat fruit and other natural sugars, but until March there won't be any cakes or sweets or anything of that ilk passing by my lips. 

Of course, today is today and yesterday was yesterday, which meant: 

That's right. On the left we have a chocolate macaroon, and on the right we have a chocolate-dipped guava macaroon. These things are so easy to make - flaked coconut, condensed milk, and the extracts of your choice. I use unsweetened coconut and instead of vanilla and almond extract, use a bit of agave nectar. Then I add in whatever extra flavours I want - in this case, some cocoa, and some guava pulp. Bake 'em at 350 degrees until they're done (about ten minutes, I guess) and you've got a delicious treat. Seriously, I made a dozen of each, and today there were only six left. 

I'm off to enjoy the rest of my lunch now. May you have a very tasty day!

Ciao,

Diz