Summer Simplicity

Well, Christmas has come and gone yet again….hectic, relaxing, busy, overindulgent, exciting, lots of pressies, and overall gone in a flash! I was away in Melbourne for Christmas week, but didn’t have to do much cooking, just some nibbles to take to my brother’s (cashew & lentil balls, which we discovered are brilliant dipped in guacomole!).

Leading up to Christmas I went to a masquerade ball, then spent 4 days in the Margaret River wine region down South, eating lots, tasting wines and generally chilling out. Then NYE was HUGE – a “bling” themed party at a pub – and so was NY Day, with a trip to the Perth Cup annual horse race for frocking up and yet more champagne drinking, in a very relaxed atmosphere with friends. My feet are still sore from all of the dancing in high heels that I’ve done over the last few weeks!

Now we’re sort of back to normal, although a lot of people are still on holidays as are the school kids, so Summer holiday mode is definitely the thing of the hour. It is very hard to be motivated to go to work I can tell you.

With a maximum temperature of 39C today, food that is suitable for hot weather and not a lot of hot appliances is the go, and this throw together vegetarian fajita dish fits the bill perfectly. I just made this up and it worked really well!

Quorn Fajitas

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large brown onion, cut into wedges

8 button mushrooms, cut into thirds

400 gm pkt Quorn frozen meatballs

1 pkt fajita seasoning mix

¼ cup water

splash white wine

splash soy sauce

125 gms fresh bean shoots

tortillas and Greek yoghurt to serve

Heat olive oil in wok or frypan; add meatballs and toss for 2 minutes.

Add onion and mushrooms, and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Add seasoning, water, wine and soy sauce, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add bean shoots and simmer for a further 1 minute.

Serve wrapped in tortillas, with yoghurt as desired.

Serves 2

Happy Summer Fooding!

 

Quorn Pad Thai Noodles

This easy Quorn based Pad Thai dish was not quite as flavoursome as it could be, and the egg made it look a bit gluggy – not like the perfect bowl of rice noodles featured on the website! It is also not of the same WOW Factor quality as the yummy Salmon Pad Thai recipe that I absolutely adore making. It was satisfactory enough however. With the addition of some extra chilli or other sauces, maybe some chopped bok choy, and perhaps 1 egg instead of 2 next time, it is a great dish for after work when you just want to collapse in a chair with a bowl of something and a glass of wine.

Actually, the glass of wine goes without saying, no matter what the meal…..

I used cashews instead of peanuts, as I don’t like peanuts much. My local Coles supermarket has this great new thing called Scoop & Weigh, where you measure out your own nuts, fruits, seeds etc and weigh the little bag on a self-serve scales, then print out your own barcode sticker, just like the girls behind the deli! I’m having fun buying lots of bits & pieces, just cos’ I can! It’s so cool, just like playing shops when I was 6…..

Source: http://westender.com.au/coles-gets-a-market-style-facelift/

I added extra spring onion to the dish, and lots of coriander, for which a quantity wasn’t specified. I also added some lime zest, mainly because I paid $2 for one lime so I was determined to use every bit of it. Why do I not have any friends with a lime tree in their garden….

Happy Fooding!

Shhhhh….The Kids Will Never Know It’s Not Rice

At the risk of totally boring you…..yes it’s cauliflower again! But does it look like it?? Not a bit.

I like to think I’m pretty much up there with the latest food trends, products and “in things”, but it was made clear to me last week (thanks Jane!) that I have missed the cauliflower rice phenomenon, completely and utterly.

I picked up a large cauli for $1.37 on Friday, so after scouring the e-world for many variations, this is my version of “fried rice” without rice. You can really use this in any way that you would use rice, and add anything you like. I really wanted the zing of fresh lemon juice/zest, plus a bit of pizzazz from chilli (not much, just a hint), and it worked beautifully, in fact I scoffed a bowl of this and thought omg how moreish is this.

Super healthy, versatile and soooooo easy if you have a food processor. As long as cauliflower stays cheap this will be a new staple food in my cooking. Plus you can freeze it in sandwich bags for future use, when cauli is in season.

There are many step-by-step photos around, of how to make cauliflower rice – just google and you’ll find plenty of recipe ideas. If you don’t have a food processor, use a cheese grater – works just as well but is more labour intensive and slower.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

1 large head of cauliflower

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp chilli paste (I like Masterfoods)

juice of 1 lemon

zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp vegetable stock

1/2 cup frozen peas

(and next time I’ll add some chopped coriander – just didn’t have any to hand this time)

Cut the cauliflower into florets (make sure it is completely dry)  and place in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped – should be rice sized grains.

Heat olive oil in a pan or wok. Add the onion and garlic, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Serves 6 as a side dish, or if you are having it on its own as a bowl of deliciousness, serves 3.

This is a perfect dish to serve fussy kids who like rice but won’t eat vegies – they’ll never know it’s not rice! You can make it plain without adding the onion etc too – just saute for 7-8 mins until “al dente”.

Happy Fooding!

 

Moroccan Quorn Tagine

I’ve been eating a lot of quorn lately – trying all the different forms of it, both refrigerated and frozen. So far I’ve liked everything except the “sweet chilli stir fry strips“, which were very dreary tasting and in texture were more like tofu than anything else. Meh, won’t be going for those again. Everything else, however has been quite delightful, and this Moroccan Quorn Tagine recipe from the quorn Australian website, using frozen quorn pieces, was very good.

Mine even looks pretty much like theirs, too! I didn’t bother serving with couscous or rice, as for just me it was enough to scoff into a bowl of it without any accompaniments. Very nice indeed.

I broke my vegetarian phase the other night, with a Crust mediterranean lamb pizza (loads of garlic!) – it tasted great but afterwards I felt really bloated and yuck, almost like I was being punished for eating meat! I didn’t feel at all well for the rest of the evening, a bit like when you have an MSG overload at a Chinese restaurant, which thankfully doesn’t happen often these days. I for one won’t go back to a place that does the too-much-MSG thing. The pleasure is just not worth the gesplurgledness (my word) – headache/nausea/palpitations/breathing trouble and “dry horrors” all night afterwards. Don’t get me wrong –  if you like MSG in your food then go ahead, it’s just not my thing, especially after living in Suriname where the shops sold big bags of “aji-no-moto” and didn’t understand why I didn’t add heaped tablespoons of it to every dish I cooked!

So, I think I’ll skip the meat for a while again….red meat at least. I do have a bit of a pang for chicken occasionally, and this Winter weather does makes me feel like a nice comforting roast sometimes.

Terrible weather here still…..cold, wet, windy…..roll on Spring.

Happy Fooding!

Cold Curing Cauli Consommé!

Well, not consommé exactly, but “soup” doesn’t start with a C!

I really hate Winter. With a passion. A big passion. My flat is freezing, and even with the heating on I have to sit with 2 pairs of socks on, a quilt on my lap and a hot water bottle under my feet, in order to feel warm enough to work on my embroidery. Thank goodness Winters here are very short. This 3 month period is a nightmare for me every year and I just can’t wait for Spring and shorts/bare feet weather to be here again!

I’ve got a cold at the moment, my second this Winter which is very annoying. This time it isn’t as bad as back in April (that was a real shocker, I even went to the doctor’s which is just not like me!), but still I’ve been needing to nurture myself a bit. I picked up a whole cauliflower very cheap so decided to make cauliflower soup – but in the past I’ve never been able to make one with decent flavour. I’ve made many variations and it’s always a bit bland and boring, so this time I just made it up as I went along and in order to cleanse my nostrils haha, I chucked in a teaspoon of chilli paste. Well, that did the trick. Spicy and flavoursome, and really good for clearing my head!

Cauliflower & Leek Soup

1/2 head of a large cauliflower, cut into big chunks

1 carrot, peeled & cut into chunks

1 leek, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp chilli paste

1/4 cup white wine

4 cups chicken stock (use a vegetarian stock if you prefer)

2 tbsp soy sauce

cracked pepper, to taste

1/3 cup milk

chopped fresh parsley, to taste

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the cauliflower, carrot & leek until leek is softened – about 5 minutes.

Add thyme and chilli paste, stir to coat and saute for 1 minute.

Add wine, chicken stock, soy sauce and pepper. Bring to boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until vegies are cooked.

Remove saucepan from heat and blend the soup using a stick blender (or put in a food processor in batches, then return to saucepan).

Place back on low heat, add milk and parsley and slowly bring JUST to a simmer then turn heat off.

Serve with fresh bread and a glass of something bubbly (for medicinal purposes, of course….).

Serves 4.

Happy Winter Fooding!

Barley Risotto

I’ve been quiet….I’ve been away in Brisbane at the Koala Convention embroidery conference…..I’ve been busy working a lot……and life just takes over sometimes.

I also haven’t been cooking much, or at least not cooking things I haven’t already shared with you. I did make this yummy barley risotto in my crockpot last week – the recipe is from a magazine and was not stipulated for slow cooking, but I wanted to throw it in before I went to work and see how it turned out. It was pretty good actually, and certainly very easy. The only downside was, the leftovers weren’t that satisfactory – I had a serving cold for lunch, and a serving heated up for dinner, and in both cases it was kind of gelatinous. I have no idea what’s in barley that makes this happen but anyway it wasn’t the best from a texture/presentation point of view. Tasted okay though and certainly the original cooking was great.

Barley Risotto

1 leek, thinly sliced

1 cup pearl barley

4 cups chicken stock (I use Massell brand which is vegetarian, gluten-free etc)

2 small or 1 large zucchini, chopped

1 bunch asparagus, chopped

100 gms green beans, cut into 3cm pieces

cracked pepper, to taste

grated parmesan cheese, to serve

Add all ingredients to crockpot except parmesan.

Cook on LOW for 8 hours. Serve in individual bowls topped with parmesan to taste.

Happy Fooding!

Vegetarian Variation

As you know, I wasn’t super happy with the fish taste in a dish I made last week – too bland – so I decided to try it again with something else. Instead of fish, I bought a packet of 5 Pepper & Herb Quorn sausages, and cut them into chunks. I often eat vegetarian sausages, because I do not like the oily taste and high fat content of meat ones, and I’m being vegetarian this week anyway. I usually eat the Sanitarium vegie snags (I don’t even need to cook those, I can just eat them cold straight out of the packet!) or the Woolworths Macro ones, but I saw the Quorn ones on special so went for that….and omg they were awesome! I’ve eaten other Quorn products but never the sausages before – I’m a definite convert now. They actually tasted chicken-y and had a proper meaty texture, which some of the others around, don’t.

I made the mash for the topping, with mostly celeriac and a bit of potato, instead of just potato. I love celeriac and it isn’t something I see often here, so I grab one when I can – and I love it mashed.

The result was fabulous. I am really impressed with these sausages, and the whole thing had a much better flavour than the fish version last week. I’ve got leftovers in the freezer now, so it will be interesting to see how it reheats later on.

Happy 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!

Zucchini Slice

I know there are a LOT of versions of this yummy quiche dish. It’s such a great standby recipe to whip up when zucchinis are plentiful – lovely cold or hot, cut into squares as an appetizer or in larger serves as a main course. I’ve made versions with carrot or pumpkin in as well, coriander instead of parsley, and I’ved used polenta instead of flour, for a gluten-free version.

This is my “basic” recipe, which comes from my aunt and is the one I’ve been making since Zucchini Slice became trendy about 20 years ago (or longer – don’t know where all those years went).

Zucchini Slice

2 cups grated zucchini

3 spring onions, finely chopped

1 cup grated tasty cheese

1 cup SR flour

1/3 cup olive oil

4 eggs

cracked pepper, to taste

3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Spoon into a 20 x 30cm dish lined with baking paper, and level the top. Bake in 200C (190C for fan forced) for 20-25 minutes, until a light golden colour on top and just firm to touch. Cool in the tin and cut into squares.

Makes 24 appetizer-sized squares.

Happy Fooding!

Balls That Once Were Burgers

I love to cook, but sometimes I am also pretty lazy. I also don’t eat “fried” food much – never deep-fried, and minimal oil in any other kind of frying. So when I saw this great looking Cashew & Lentil Patties recipe at Weekend Notes, I really wanted to make it. Loved the simplicity of it, ease of preparation, vegetarian-ness (I can’t quite do it fully, but I can’t cope with lots of meat either), health benefits (nuts! lentils!) and combination of flavours. But then I thought hmmm maybe I could bake this instead, then thought hmmmmmmmmm if I make it as a “burger” then I have to have a side, or make it into a proper burger…..so because I’m feeling lazy, what if I just roll it into balls instead and bake them?

So that’s what I did. I just scoffed myself stupid on these, for dinner, dipping them in sweet chilli sauce. So it was like a main course and I didn’t feel I needed to make any silly old side dishes to go with it!

It worked brilliantly – very impressed with this recipe. Chuck it all in the food processor and roll it into balls – what could be easier than that? And a lot of scope for experimentation – you could add grated zucchini, carrot, feta, haloumi, tahini…..the list goes on.

Makes 28-30 balls.

The only thing I changed was that I thought the mixture looked a bit dry so I added a splash of milk – which in fact made it very sticky – so I probabably didn’t need to do that.

Although I ate this as my dinner, of course it would be perfect finger food for an appetizer. Win-win all the way really.

Happy Fooding!