The Marvel of Mother Nature......

It never ceases to amaze me how incredible nature is! Now, I can't take the credit for this idea as I have seen a lot of posts/articles about doing this already online - but I thought I'd share it - plus photographic evidence!
I use a lot of celery and Pak Choi, lettuce etc and I read about getting more greens from your stumps! I think at some point (probably in infant school!) we have all had a go at growing a pineapple top? Ring any bells?
Well, did you know you can do it with Romaine lettuce, celery and Pak Choi too? (There are also others including lemon grass).
All you need to do, is keep the base of your celery (or whatever you're using), pop it in a small amount of water for a few days (do change the water daily!) When you see signs of roots forming, pot it up in good quality compost (don't put it in full sun - you'll fry it!) and 'Voila'! Free celery, lettuce, lemon grass or Pak Choi!

And here is the evidence.............

Scrumptious Nibbles!

I am constantly trying to come up with some quick but healthy snacks that I can just grab and go. (I'm a bit fed up of chomping celery sticks and carrot batons!) I made these this morning.....(and I will be keeping a stash of them in the fridge!)

                       

250g mixed seeds (I used sunflower, pumpkin and a good handful of hemp)
50g of finely chopped cashew nuts (you can use your favourite or vary it each time)
6 sundried tomatoes very finely chopped (I used the ones in oil but do dab most the oil off them)
3-4 tbps finely chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley and chives because they're both still growing in the garden!)
A handful of fenugreek sprouts again, finely chopped (don't panic if you have no sprouts - just get your jars out for next time)
1-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped (to taste)
3 tbsp of oil (I used one of hemp and the rest, extra virgin olive oil)
Seasoning; you can use whatever you fancy. If you want a Mediterranean slant, add chopped olives and dried oregano and/or basil. If you fancy them spicy add a little cayenne pepper and garam masala (1tsp of GM - NOT cayenne - you'll only need a pinch of that!) See below for more suggestions....
A dash of lemon or lime juice
1 tsp of veggie bouillon powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (I actually use my homemade herb salt which I will share in a while when fresh herbs are abundant again)
A drop of cold water IF necessary


Finely grind the seeds in your mixer/blender. (Be careful you don't over do it - you'll end up with seed tahini instead!). Place in a bowl with the finely chopped herbs, cashews, and tomatoes. Mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and shape into small balls. If the mixture crumbles you need that drop of cold water.

What I do then is chill them in the fridge as it helps them keep their shape. Serve with drinks, or flatbreads and fresh salad.

Variations on the theme; Don't you just love it when you come up with something that can be changed so much you don't ever need to eat it the same way twice? These can even be made into sweets (healthy ones!)
Instead of herbs, garlic, tomatoes and salt/pepper etc add chopped dried fruit (dates and apricots would be nice) grated coconut, cacao or even dip them in dark chocolate for a really indulgent treat :-) if they're not quite sweet enough (taste as you go along) you could add a little honey or agave nectar. I will use coconut oil instead of olive but you could use a nut oil (walnut) or a bland oil such as sunflower or grapeseed for the sweet version. If you still want to add herbs use one like sweet cicely (when available - mine's still snoozing!)

Above all, have fun - experiment and do please share what you come up with here...........I'd love to hear what you do!

I am sure there are many recipes online similar to this - if anyone has come up with the very same thing - apologies! I'm not stealing your thunder - I'm just sharing what I have made myself.