Chocolate beetroot brownie smoothie bowl

A little while back, I bought a bag of frozen beetroot with the view to adding it to smoothies. Several months later, just as the weather is turning cold, I finally gave it a go. The result was this chocolate beetroot brownie smoothie bowl - a thick, creamy, chocolatey mix that you can feel good about eating at any time of day.

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Harissa-spiced tofu, beetroot and sweet potato salad

I had trouble titling this recipe because I felt like all of the ingredients were stars. However, harissa-spiced tofu, beetroot, sweet potato, carrot, broccoli and kale salad with lemon and mint was too much of a mouthful. Rest assured, though, that you'll appreciate all of the ingredients in this dish should you choose to make it.

I don't mind confessing that the harissa in this came from a jar. I bought it on the same shopping trip that gave me preserved lemon paste. Both were impulse buys, but useful ones that have given rise to some new recipe ideas. For this salad, the harissa was key in flavouring the tofu and I balanced the spice out with lemon juice and mint.  I am still quite new to cooking with harissa but really enjoy the depth of flavour in the spicy paste.

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Beetroot and chickpea curry, in besan flour flatbreads

I am not the biggest fan of beetroot. I will happily embrace it in chocolate beetroot brownies, or in spiralised form for raw Thai noodles, but eaten plain it is not generally my thing.

For whatever reason, I made an exception last week. The lovely thing about local market stalls is they inspire me to buy different products: in season vegetables have great appeal even if the vegetable in question is not usually my favourite. Beetroot caught my eye recently, and then I needed to decide what to do with it.

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Red velvet smoothie

I didn't understand the appeal of red velvet cake until I saw a recipe that used beetroot to provide the crimson colour. Cake plus food colouring isn't really my thing, but cake plus a vegetable ingredient that turns everything a vibrant hue? I am very much in favour of that.

I am also very much in favour of this red velvet smoothie. As you may guess, beetroot also provides the colour here. However - don't panic! You would have to work very hard to detect any beetroot flavours. Instead, the drinking experience is akin to that of a chocolate thickshake. The thick texture comes from the use of both banana and sweet potato, whilst cocoa and dates provide the chocolate experience. The result is surprisingly decadent.

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Thai-style beetroot noodles

Last week, Emma shared a gorgeous recipe for beetroot ribbon salad on her site Coconut and Berries. She paired the beetroot strands with mint and cashew cheese for a fresh, whole foods summer meal. I loved the look of her salad, but it was the idea of beetroot noodles that really stuck with me. Given how much I love my spiralizer (to the extent that it came to the UK in my suitcase rather than by ship!), it seems amazing that I hadn't thought of beetroot noodles before. They are a perfect, vibrant alternative to the zucchini noodles I already love.

In truth, beetroot and I only became friends in recent years. As may be the case for others, my childhood beetroot experiences were limited to the tinned variety. My Australian grandmother used to serve it alongside other salad options, and in addition to disliking the taste, I wasn't confident of my ability to eat it without shooting red stains onto my grandparents' carpeted floors or cloth-covered table.

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Beetroot and cacao pancakes, inspired by Solomon's Cafe

A few months ago, I discovered Solomon's Cafe on Beaufort Street in Perth. It is a wonderful place and they do a great job of catering to just about every food need or desire you can imagine. As their website proclaims, the restaurant suits the "common carnivore, vegan, vegetarian, raw foodist, paleo, allergics, food sensitives, GAPS follower and the overall health conscious" (Solomon's Cafe). This is somewhere for everyone.

Much as I love vegan-focused cafes, it is almost more exciting to discover somewhere that caters whole-heartedly to vegan eaters as well as other people. My Dad could enjoy breakfast here. I could invite any friend I can think of and trust they'd find something on the menu just as easily as I could. That's a rather delightful scenario.

My first visit to Solomon's was with my Mum, for breakfast. I knew ahead of time what I would be ordering: the vegan beetroot and cacao crepes topped with in house seasonal jam. The crepes also came with a generous scattering of dehydrated raspberry pieces, coconut, and slivered almonds.

Vegan beetroot and cacao crepes; $18

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Apple, beetroot and carrot salad with walnuts

You may remember me raving about The Raw Kitchen's Thai Papaya Salad and Tarragon Salad this time last year. I subsequently created a variation of the Thai Papaya Salad at home. Today, I bring you a spin off of the Tarragon Salad. There are a few differences to the original, but this version won me over in its own right.

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