Cauli Continues…

Cauliflower is so cheap here right now! It has a very short “cheap” season here in WA, and for most of the year is expensive, so I’ve made the most of the current availability.

I had a recipe from somewhere online, can’t remember where, for really easy cauliflower fritter things, and intended to make those tonight for dinner. I haven’t been cooking much lately, just working and coming home tired and really just haven’t been bothered, a lot of the time – but this morning I was super organised and had the cauliflower all cut up ready to go, before I left home.

So…..I arrived home, cooked the cauli ’til tender, and added the other ingredients. The instructions then said to form the mixture into patties and sauté….WELL, this mixture was boiling hot, and too “wet” to form into anything resembling a firm patty. So I had to rethink…..I also didn’t feel like standing over a stove doing fritters in batches, which takes a while let’s face it.

So…..instead, I placed the mixture in a baking dish and topped with a few slices of tomato and some parmesan cheese, and baked for 20 minutes. It was absolutely delicious – actually quite spicy from the cayenne pepper, which had much more of a peppery kick than I expected it to.

I guess this is more of a side dish, the way I ended up making it – but I just piled a heap in a bowl and ate it with a spoon for my dinner lol. Good stuff.

Cauliflower Gratin

1 head cauliflower, cut into large florets

2 eggs

1/3 cup tasty/cheddar cheese, grated

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

60 gms parmesan cheese, grated

1 tomato, sliced

Cook the cauliflower in boiling water until tender – about 10 mins. Drain, mash and add the eggs, cheese, breadcrumbs and cayenne pepper.

Place mixture in a lightly greased baking dish (I used a square ceramic dish 20 cm x 20 cm approx).

Top with tomato slices and parmesan cheese.

Bake at 180C for 25 minutes until top is golden and bubbling.

Serves 6 as a side dish.

Happy Winter Fooding!

 

Need to Get Healthy Again….

Salsa

I had a severe meat overdose last week.

Firstly, I made a beef stir-fry which lasted me for two evening meals – no particular recipe, just chucked in some marinated beef strips plus whatever veggies I had and a few sauces. It was good.

Secondly, I tried the Indian cafe at the end of my street, for the first time (even though it’s been there for over 2 years….) on Friday night – I bought takeaway lamb saagwala, rice, naan bread and vegetable pakoras. Apart from the pakoras, which were delicious, the rest was awful – undercooked, tough lamb with no flavour, and too-chewy naan bread. The service was also very poor – 25 minutes to get a takeaway order when there was only one order before me and one table of 6 in the actual restaurant. Plus, the girl taking the orders stopped halfway through an order to take an obviously personal phone call, which she then proceeded to take outside to carry on in private! I won’t be going back there again. Shame, as it is so close to home and they home-deliver for free if I really can’t be bothered walking 100 metres haha.

Thirdly, on Saturday, I decided to cook lamb shanks in a cook-in-the-bag thingy, with roasted veg. This was quite lovely – I don’t use a lot of pre-prepared foodstuffs, but I like the convenience of these flavour sachet/bag things for an easy, family-style meal occasionally. I had, however, eaten the leftover lamb saagwala, on a roll at lunchtime (because despite its lack of flavour excitement, I do hate to waste food, especially when an animal has died to provide it), plus I had a slice of roast beef on my crumpet for breakfast, so the whole day was very meat-intense, which is not like me.

And finally, on Sunday I went to “high tea” at a posh hotel in the afternoon. I deliberately ate nothing but a crumpet early in the morning, to build up a good appetite. I will write about my total pig-out separately, but suffice it to say, I did not need dinner that night and in fact felt quite disgustingly bloated and huge afterwards. Not only that, but the skirt I wore to the high tea was tight and it is usually quite a loose fitting one, so that means I still haven’t physically gotten over my excess of cheese and pastry whilst in the UK!

Time has come for some detoxifying……for me that means not eating meat for a while – not that I will ever completely be a vegetarian, as I do love a good curry, roast or  meat stir-fry. But I know my body, and I do just feel a lot healthier when I stick to veg & fish/seafood. I’d like to say I would give up alcohol to detox, but hmmmmm that will never happen. I have to have something to keep me sane….

I’m really big on mushrooms at the moment, so this is what I had last night – I simply placed 200 gms (9) cup mushrooms (stalks cut off then finely chopped) in a baking dish and topped with 100 gms crumbled feta, the chopped mushroom stalks, 50 gms pitted kalamata olives, cracked pepper and some fresh basil leaves. Baked it for 30 minutes at 160C and served with a freshly made salsa – in this case I used the kernels from 1 corn cob (I don’t bother blanching it, just slice it off raw – yummo), 1 red onion (finely chopped), 1 tomato (finely chopped), 1 avocado (chopped), a pinch of salt, cracked pepper and a splash of lime juice.

Mushrooms, Feta, Olives

This was a delicious and healthy comfort food – filling and “meaty” tasting thanks to the mushrooms, but without the blurrrrggggghhh feeling of eating too much meat in one hit.

This mushroom idea actually works well as a side dish, rather than the main meal that I made of it. I made this quantity just for me – it was too much of course, but bearing in mind that mushrooms shrivel a lot when they cook, you would need to increase the quantities if you wanted this to be a main dish for a few people or a side dish for a large group.

Mushrooms + Salsa = Yum

Happy Fooding!

Annette’s Salad

At an OIDFA gathering last weekend, we had a yummy salad of chicken, salad and rolls, including a delicious bowl of salad made by one of the members, Annette.

We all asked how this was made and were told it was just avocado, feta cheese, red onion, tomato and basil – topped with bought Italian dressing! How simple. So I made some for my dinner one night this week – I added fresh bean shoots as well, for some extra crunch and nutrition, and it was very good but not QUITE as good as Annette’s. Maybe it was the brand of Italian dressing I bought, or probably it’s a case of something never being as good as the original – who knows, but for sure it was edible and very healthy.

I don’t think you need specific quantities for this, but here is how I did it:

Annette’s Salad

1 ripe avocado, chopped

100 gms feta cheese, chopped (I used low-fat)

1 red onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

a handful of fresh bean shoots

1/3 cup Italian dressing (I used fat-free)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Toss, refrigerate until ready to serve, and toss again.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

Happy Summer Fooding!

Smashing Summer Salad!

Bright, vibrant and fresh, this salad was made by my daughter on Christmas Day – it is in fact a recipe her friend made up. There aren’t proper quantities for the salad part – just toss it in until it looks good!

I’ve listed the dressing ingredients as it was made; however, I found this amount of sesame oil to be too overpowering. Next time I will only use a few drops.

AJs Salad

cucumbers (we used the small Lebanese ones – sliced thinly)
cherry tomatoes (chopped in half)
fresh coriander (chopped)
snow peas (blanched in microwave for 1 minute first)
sweet potato (we used 2 – peeled, diced, and roasted with olive oil for about 15-20 minutes – be careful they don’t burn)
pine nuts

Dressing

1 part balsamic vinegar
1 part sesame oil
1 part extra-virgin olive oil
pinch of sugar
sesame seeds, to taste

Mix all ingredients together, toss well and refrigerate until serving. Toss again just before serving.

Happy Summer Fooding!

Jamie Oliver’s Lemon Herb Chicken

Chicken fillets pounded & herbs/lemon added

I watch a lot of cooking shows and often go and find the recipes online, but don’t actually end up make too many of them. I like Jamie Oliver’s cooking more than some other celeb chefs, but there are so many out there these days that there isn’t enough time to try them all.

This dish – Herb & Lemon Chicken With Sweetcorn Mash – is from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals app (I think – actually saw it on a friend’s phone so not quite sure which app it was) and was a beautiful blending of 3 different things – the actual chicken fillets, pounded and then rubbed with lemon zest and herbs…..the salsa topping, a delightful mix of tomato, spring onions and balsamic dressing….and underneath, a creamy mash with corn kernels. The mixing of these three things really brought a wonderful flavour to the mouth – a perfect blending really.

I used fresh corn kernels, sliced directly from a cob – if you can be bothered it is much yummier than the tinned/frozen variety.

This served 2 but with a bit of the salsa topping left over, which I added to my sandwiches for lunch the next day. I’m a firm believer in adding leftovers of all kinds, to sandwiches!

I’ve just borrowed “The Chef” Simon Bryant’s brand new Vegies cookbook from the library – can’t wait to have a drool over it on the weekend.

Happy Fooding!

Easy Peasy Pasta Bake!

Sometimes I experiment with disastrous results – you don’t get to read about those attempts usually, as I’m ashamed of my efforts haha. You DO get to hear, when I have a success. This ravioli bake is something I actually thought would be a complete disaster – I got home from work and had a packet of fresh chicken & mushroom ravioli in the fridge that absolutely needed to be used or chucked out. I was super tired, having just completed my 4th day of work out of 6 in a row, with the next day being an 11.5 hour shift – so was in no mood for cooking at all really. It was only that I had this pasta needing to be used up, that I thought omg what can I do with this that involves things I already have in the fridge/pantry and no effort on my part????

I literally did the following:

Place a 375 gm packet of fresh stuffed pasta (ie ravioli, tortellini, agnolotti) in a casserole dish.

Spoon 200 gms low-fat cottage cheese over the pasta.

Add a few fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped with a pair of scissors.

Pour over a 550 gm jar of pasta sauce (I used a basil flavoured one).

Add 1/4 cup of white wine to the empty pasta sauce jar and swill around to collect the residue stuck to the jar sides, and then pour this over the pasta as well.

Place a lid on the dish and bake at 180C for 45 minutes. And that’s it!

Serve in a bowl, topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Serves 2-3 depending on how hungry you are and whether you have it with other things ie salad, garlic bread. Choose a vegetarian pasta if you like – I personally think that the filling is so tiny they all taste the same!

WELL I have to say, this tasted amazing! I have read many recipes for “baked” pastas of various kinds, where the pasta is actually cooked in a saucepan of boiling water first, but after doing this I say why the heck would you bother when it can just as easily cook in the oven with a sauce over it, while you are free to do your own thing while it cooks? (in my case this involved having a shower and pouring a glass of wine!)

Uber-easy, and uber-tasty. A no brainer really.

Sometimes, chucking it all in and hoping for the best does work.

Happy Fooding!

Rat-a-Tat-Touille

Layered in a saucepan

With the salmon burgers I shared with you this week, I made a simple ratatouille to complement the fish – no recipe for this, I just layered 1 red onion (thinly sliced), 1 zucchini (thinly sliced) and 3 roma tomatoes (thinly sliced) in a saucepan, with a drizzle of olive oil and some dried basil and cracked pepper.

Saute for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until it is all cooked and mushy!

Yum!

Happy Fooding!

Fish Parcels, Asian Style

Stacked and ready.

Here is a lovely baked fish parcel dish with a slight oriental twist. I served this with a simple toss-together of vegies, stir-fried in the wok with a splash of soy, black bean and oyster sauces and a few drops of sesame oil. The fish I prepared earlier in the day and then popped in the oven when ready. Isn’t it amazing how some ingredients break down into almost nothing after cooking – the big pile of baby bok choy underneath each piece of fish, had reduced to a small blob by the end!

These sauce quantities serve 2, so increase as needed – the basic rule of thumb for the sauce is equal portions of the 3 components. The other ingredients don’t have actual quantities, just slice and add as much as you can comfortably fit on top/under the fish.

Thai Baked Fish Parcels

2 firm white fish fillets (I used snapper in this instance)

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

baby bok choy, trimmed, washed and cut into large pieces

red onion, sliced

tomatoes, sliced

fresh basil leaves

cracked pepper, to taste

Combine hoisin sauce, sweet chilli sauce and lime juice; whisk in a bowl.

Taking a square of foil for each serve, layer ingredients as follows: bok choy, small amount of sauce mixture, fish fillet, more sauce, onion, tomato, basil, cracked pepper and the remaining sauce. Fold up foil to fully enclose.

Place parcels on a tray and bake at 180C for 40 minutes.

Serves 2

Happy Fish Fooding!

Simple vibrant veg.

Fabulous Foccacia

Here is how I make a great foccacia bread, to serve as a warm nibble before a bbq.

I use regular white bread ingredients and the dough setting on my bread machine. When the dough is ready, I place it on a floured board, cut it into two pieces and roll each out to a pizza tray sized circle.

I place one circle on to a greased pizza tray (line with baking paper works even better), then top this with a heap of grated tasty cheese (or use mozzarella) and some dried or fresh basil. I place the other circle of dough evenly over the top, and set it aside in a warm place for about 45 minutes until it has puffed up again.

I sprinkle the top with a bit of water and a dusting of polenta, and press semi-dried tomatoes and olives into the dough at random intervals.

Bake for about 25 minutes at 190C, covered with foil for the first 15 minutes, and there you have it – delicious, hot yummy pieces of bread to pass around and eat with your friends before dinner.

Happy Fooding!

Tabbouleh

Summer’s almost finished (well I know calendar-wise it has been for ages, but I mean temperature-wise) and our nights are getting decidedly chilly. Still shorts and t-shirt weather during the day, but not for much longer I suspect. I made this easy salad for a housewarming bbq at a friend’s on Good Friday…..if salt-consumption is a problem for you then just leave the salt out – it will still be tasty, just a little less vibrant as the salt really brings out the flavour in the tomatoes and lemon.

Tabbouleh

2/3 cup burghul (cracked wheat)

4 medium or 6 small tomatoes, chopped

6 spring onions, chopped

2 bunches flat parsley (about 2 cups), chopped

cracked pepper, to taste

juice of 2 large lemons (about 1/3 cup)

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Place the burghul in a large bowl; cover with water and let soak for 1.5 hours; drain any remaining liquid out and return burghul to bowl.

Add tomatoes, spring onions, parsley and pepper to burghul; mix well.

Whisk together remaining ingredients and mix through the salad. Keep in fridge and give it a stir when ready to serve.

Happy Fooding!