Tangy Carrot Sauce

This carrot sauce goes really well on salads if you want a little extra zing in each mouthful, but don't limit yourself to just using it on salads, you could use it as a dip, as an accompaniment to salmon patties as I have done, it really is versatile. 

Ingredients:

• 4 carrots roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup first cold pressed olive oil
• 2 tablespoons organic honey
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt fine
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of water

Method:

If you have a good strong blender, you can literally just throw everything and blend on high for about 2 minutes or until well combined. This recipe makes about 1/5 cups of sauce which will keep in the fridge for a few days. 

Hummus Dip

Ingredients:

- 450g Cooked chickpeas
- 1.5 tablespoons tahini
- 1 small to medium clove of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin first cold pressed olive oil
- 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice (to taste, you can also leave this out)
- Pinch of celtic sea salt (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin or Thai seasoning (optional)
- 1/4 cup of water (to adjust consistency)

Method:

- Add all ingredients to your blender (except water) and blend until smooth. Add little bits of water as necessary to facilitate the blending and to adjust the consistency. 

#Your done, it really is as easy as that. Why buy your hummus when you can whip up a bowl of your own in about 5 minutes for roughly $1.50. This will last in the fridge for a week if it doesn't all get eaten beforehand. Great to use as a spread, dip, or sauce.

Gaucamole

Ingredients:

- 2 Ripe Avocado

- generous pinch of Celtic sea salt

- 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon or lime juice

- 1 tablespoon of fresh coriander

- 1 small glove of garlic

- 1 shallot stalk

Method:

- This one is tricky - ok no it's not just joking. All you do is place all the ingredients into a blender and blend away until all combined. You may need to stop half way through and give it a bit of a mix up before continuing. 

- Once combined simply transfer to a container with a lid and refrigerate. Consume within 4 days.

No-Mato Sauce - Catherine Style

Ingredients:
-3 tablespoons Olive Oil -1 large red onion chopped
-5 cloves of garlic finely minced
-1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or dried)
-1 teaspoon fresh oregano (or dried)
-1.5 cups of carrot sliced into coins
-3 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
-1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
-generous pinch of sea salt
-a few grinds of black pepper
-2 cups of chopped pumpkin (or golden sweet potato)
-1 cup chopped fresh beetroot



Method:
1. Steam the beetroot until tender
2. Coat the pumpkin in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and place in a moderate oven. cook until tender and caramelised.
3. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan. Saute the onion, thyme and oregano gently for 7-10min, stirring often. When the onion starts to caramelise, add the garlic and saute for another minute.
4. Add to your saucepan the carrots, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, then add just enough water to cover the carrots.
5. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
6. When the carrots are done, add the carrot mixture (including liquid), the roasted pumpkin, and the steamed beetroot to a blender. Blend until smooth and fully combined.

Voila! Your sauce/ dip/ soup is ready to go. I like to freeze this up in batches to have on hand as needed. Yum Yum Yum!