Parsnip and ginger soup

I have recently had the chance to spend a whole weekend practicing Yoga and eating delicious food at Florence House in Sussex. Jean and Mimi's creativity and embodiment were very inspiring and their classes left me totally relaxed, and as if my whole body had been rinsed of fatigue and toxins. 

It was a bit like pressing the "reset" button.

It was such a treat to be served food everyday, right after yoga when you're starving, so great to have nothing to plan, think about, yet eat well! 

On the last day, we were served a delicious parsnip and ginger soup for lunch, so of course, I thought I would replicate it at home soon, which I did only just the day after! 

A perfect soup for a cold wintery day of February... 

Here it is for you to try, inspired by Jamie Oliver's version:

Parsnip and Ginger soup

1 onion, peeled

1 clove of garlic (optional)

400g Parsnips, roughly chopped (no need to peel, just scrub well!)

1 carrot, roughly chopped

A piece of fresh ginger (about 2cm)

500ml Vegetable stock 

1 TBSP Olive oil

Chop the onion and sauté in a saucepan. Add the ginger, garlic if using. Then add the carrot and parsnips, stock and let it simmer for about 20-25min, or until the vegetables are tender. 

Blend, Season wit salt an pepper and serve hot with a lovely slice f rye bread!

Bon appétit!

And for those of you who are tempted in coming to a Yoga retreat, I will be hosting a lovely weekend with Yoga (taught by me), drawing (with my friend Chloe) and loads of delicious nutritious and healthy food cooked by me... Click HERE for more details!

Brownies- Gluten and dairy free

These brownies are inspired by the delicious gluten free, dairy free, "happy kitchen" brownies I bought in London fields a few weeks ago. You can buy them directly from the factory and say hello, it's worth a trip there! 

Anyway, I wanted to create something a bit like their brownie, but of course it turned out quite differently. 

I have to say I am quite pleased with the result and using chestnut flour gives them a rather lovely nutty taste and lovely texture. 

Sweet freedom is a sweetener you can find in the UK that is made out of Carob and fruit juices. Feel free to replace it with agave, maple syrup or honey. 

Be careful, these are slightly addictive...!

Brownies (dairy and gluten free)

for 12 little bars

- 1 cup cacao powder

- 1 cup chestnut flour

- 1 cup coconut butter, melted

- 2/3 cup Sweet freedom/ or honey/ or maple syrup/ or agave

- 1 Tsp vanilla extract

- a pinch of sea salt

Mix the cacao and chestnut flower together in a bowl. Add the coconut butter slowly while stirring. Add sweetener, vanilla and salt. 

Pour into little rectangular moulds (I use silicon moulds) or into a brownie tin.

Bake for about 12min. 

Let it rest and cool down before removing from moulds. Yummmm.... 

Yoga workshop- Spring into Spring!

Caz and I are organising a lovely workshop in Shoreditch, London on Saturday 16th March.
I am very excited about it as it will be about mixing 2 ingredients I love: Yoga and food.

Here is a description of what's happening: 

Saturday 16th March- 2- 5pm 

Spring into Spring- Entering Spring with Grace, Strengh and VitalityWith Sybille and Caz

A delicious flowing yoga practice and heathy treats to build fire, clear our body and mind's "clutter" and energise our whole being!

Begin the afternoon with a 'welcome green smoothie' to nourish and prepare your body while you settle in. The practice will start with breathing techniques to clear your pathways, continuing onto a deep slow flow yoga, before we cool down and integrate it all into our bodies. Caz will lead a short guided meditation to finish, before we share tea and healthy snacks (all gluten free and vegan, made by me) that will replenish your energy without loading up your system before you spring into Spring! 

This slow yet strong flow will allow you to rebalance your body, wring out any physical and mental toxins and have fun doing it! Incorporating exciting and challenging poses for those who are up for it, as well as more restful and restorative ones for those who need it. Open to all levels -- you will always be given the possibility to adapt the practice to your own needs.

 Limited space available so book early to avoid disappointment!

At Caz's house in Shoreditch (nearest tube old street, Liverpool st, or Shoreditch High st Overground)Address given when you book.£25 with tea and treats! Book HERE or email me: sybille@sybillepouzet.com if you have any questions!

Breakfast/ Snack bars

We were on a long day walk the other day when I came up with the idea of making a breakfast/snack bar I could take along with me whenever, wherever. I had made the mistake that morning to not eat any breakfast thinking I wasn't hungry so why should I eat if I am not hungry... I was reminded why a few hours later!
The good thing is that it gave me the idea to make up a recipe for those bars and here they are for you now!
They are ultra easy to make and you can keep them for at least a week in a closed container.

Et voila, the recipe, pour vous:

Breakfast bars

- 1/4 Cup brown linseed
- 1/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup oats
- 1 cup dried figs
- 2 Tbsp Hemp protein powder
- 1/4 Cup coconut sugar

Put the linseeds in a bowl with the water and let it sit for about 15min.

Grind the oats in a food processor. Add the almonds, pumpkin seeds and figs and process until roughly ground. Place in a bowl.
Add the linseed and water mixture, mix well and add the hemp protein and sugar. Mix well.
Shape your bars and place them on a baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for about 15min. Let them cool down. Eat! or store...

French celeriac "remoulade"- the healthier way

I was testing a celeriac soup recipe for one of my next classes at Divertimenti in London when I was left with half a celeriac unused. This is the sort of thing that gets my creative juices going as I just feel so free to do anything I want, and only if I want. No pressure to create something for a class or for guests, this is completely up to me to make anything or not, and I feel totally free to make something that I want, and no one else needs to want or like it! This is often how the best ideas come and the most satisfactory creations appear in my kitchen! So in the end I thought I would share it with you...

Celeriac is very much used in France and the "remoulade" is a dish that is as old as the oldest stones if the country probably (although I have not verified that fact...). It is a very simple salad made of grated celeriac, a very mustardy mayonnaise. This is THE tip, as all the teachers at cookery school repeat "il faut mettre beaucoup de moutarde!", in other words put a lot of mustard. 

The only thing is I don't like mayonnaise, I don't like that there is egg and so much oil in it. 

So I came up with this option: using yogurt.

This not only healthier (in that case it means not as fat) but a lot quicker and easier! 

As I don't eat much dairy, I used soy yogurt but feel free to use normal yogurt. 

Enjoy this lovely wintery salad, let me know how it goes and I'll be back with more creations soon... 

Celeriac Remoulade

- 1/2 Celeriac (about 400g)

- 1/2 Lemon juice

- 2 tsp Dijon mustard

- 5 Tbsp Soy yogurt

- 1 Tbsp olive oil

- Sea salt

- Black pepper

Peel and grate the celeriac. Put it in a salad bowl and pour the lemon juice over, some sea salt and mix well. The lemon juice will prevent the celeriac to go brown so don't miss that step!

To make the dressing simply mix the yogurt with the mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper. 

Pour the dressing over the celeriac and mix well.

Et voila, c'est prêt!

Bon appétit!

Happy new year! A hearty nutritious stew to start the year.

Happy New Year to all of you my dear readers!

May this year be filled with new experiences, excitement, love, creations and hearty healthy food!


In this beginning of the new year, I feel more than ever the need to create.
Infact I have taken up drawing lessons again and it is such a joy to make marks on paper, I can't believe I did not do it for so many years!
Like yoga, cooking, or anything really, i find it sometimes hard and daunting to start making the first mark, but once the process is started, it feels amazing and liberating!

For this New Year's stew, I started putting onions in the pan, then added ingredients I had I thought would go well together and little by little this stew came together beautifully.

So here is a hearty stew recipe for you, I hope you like it as much as me and my guests have liked it. So Happy New Year again and bon appetit!

Sweet potato, beetroot and kale stew

Serves 4-6

1 red onion, peeled and diced small

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh or dried thyme

5 small carrots, peeled and cut in chunks

5 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks

4 small potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks

1 raw beetroot, peeled and cut in chunks

1 Tbsp yellow (or red) lentils

200g curly kale, stalk removed and ripped in small pieces

(200g Tempeh, optional)

1 tsp vegetable stock powder ( I use the Marigold brand)

Water to cover 

Salt and pepper

In a big saucepan, sauté the onions with a drizzle of olive oil. Let the onions cook under medium heat for 5 min. or until soft and slightly caramelised. 

Add the thyme and all the vegetables apart from the kale. 

Add the stock powder, and enough water to cover the vegetables half way. 

Cover the pan with a lid and cook under medium heat for about 15-20min, or until the vegetables are soft. 

Now add the kale and mix well, cook for another few minutes, until the kale is soft but still bright green. Season with salt and pepper. 

If using Tempeh, cut it in chunks and pan fry it in olive oil until crispy. Serve on top of the stew. 

Bon appetit!!

Fruity-nutty granola-Homemade christmas present-

EN FRANÇAIS AU BAS DE LA PAGE!

Now that we have moved south east London, we have the immense privilege to have a big kitchen! And who says "big kitchen" says "more recipe testings and fun, inventing (or not) new (or old) healthy- delicious- beautiful- simple dishes". 

I don't think I realised how having a big kitchen would inspire me again so much, and I feel excited to play and share. 

Because I feel like healthy tasty food that makes you feel good and looks beautiful should be everywhere...

So on this sunday just before christmas I thought I would make something that I can give as an edible present. This granola came as an idea when I stumbled upon this a-ma-zing blog Green kitchen stories, which I love and if you like my blog, you are gonna LOVE this blog even more! 

Anyway, I thought this would be a great alternative to my usual raw chocolates. 

It's pretty easy to make and will be a delicious breakfast with some yogurt or nut milk.

Granola

The base:

4 Cups of rolled oats

5 Tbsp Coconut butter, melted

5 Tbsp agave syrup (or honey)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

a Pinch of sea salt

The nutty stuff:

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, roughly cut

The fruity stuff:

1/2 cup currants

1/2 cup dried  figs, chopped in small chunks

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat your oven to 180c. Line a baking sheet with some baking parchment.

In a bowl, mix the oats with the melted coconut butter, agave, cinnamon, ginger and salt. "Massage" the oats well to coat them. Spread the oats on the baking sheet and put in the oven for about 10min. 

Stir from time to time to avoid burning the oats. After 10 min, add the nuts and seeds and bake for another 10min. 

Once out of the oven, add the dried fruit, mix well and let it cool down before storing it in glass jars or wrapping it in little bags. 

EN FRANÇAIS:

Depuis que nous avons déménagé au sud est Londonien, nous avons l'immense privilège d'avoir une grande cuisine! Et qui dit grande cuisine dit essais de recettes, nouvelles ou anciennes, et créations de petits plats sains-delicieux-beaux et simples.

Je n'avais pas réalise a quel point avoir une grande cuisine me redonnerai tant d'inspiration et l'envie de créer et partager.