This week's meals

Sorry folks, but there are only four meals this week, as we had a visitor come and stay with us, which meant the Friday was spent out at a very yummy Vietnamese restaurant. Feel free to poke around in the archives - plenty of good ideas in there!

Monday - Lemony green pilaf
Tuesday - Thai lentil curry pies with corn on the cob
Wednesday - Pasta Primavera
Thursday - Vegetable Quesadillas
Friday - um, nothing. Sorry!

Ingredients required:

Fresh Produce
6 spring onions (scallions)
4 cloves garlic
4 big handfuls baby spinach leaves
2 lemons
1 onion
1/2 cauliflower
3 red capsicums
1 large sweet potato
1 head broccoli
100 grams green beans
1 corn cobb per person
2 bunches asparagus
3 zucchini
1/4 pumpkin
2 tomatoes

Coriander (cilantro)

1 egg per person

300 ml light cream
Parmesan cheese, to serve on top of pasta
200 grams grated tasty cheese

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 cup frozen peas

Dry Goods
1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/3 cup roasted cashew nuts
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 cup red lentils
400 ml tin coconut milk
500 grams spiral pasta
2 flour tortillas per person

Cupboard Staples
Olive oil
Sesame seeds
Dijon mustard

Lemony green pilaf

This is a most excellent way to start the week - full of leafy green goodness, and the nuts and eggs are a good way to get a protein boost. The brown rice, in particular, always has the effect of making me feel particularly virtuous.

If only I hadn't scoffed the chocolate pudding afterwards. Yikes!

Lemony green pilaf

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 spring onions (scallions), sliced roughly
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice, rinsed well
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water
2 big handfuls baby spinach leaves
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 hard boiled egg per person, cut in half
1/3 cup cashew nuts, lightly roasted
Coriander (cilantro) to serve

1 - Heat the oil in a large pan, then add the spring onions. Cook for a minute or two, then add the lemon zest and garlic. Cook for a minute more.

2 - Add the rice and stock, then bring to the boil. Cover, and simmer over a low heat for 35 - 40 minutes, or until the rice is cooked. Remove lid, then stir through the lemon juice and spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted, then serve, topped with the eggs, cashews and coriander to taste.

Thai lentil curry pies with corn on the cob

I love making these ramekin pies. It's basically just a really easy way of jazzing up a casserole - put it in the bowl, whack some pastry on top, then call it a pie. Brilliant! And if you serve it up to dinner guests, everybody does the big "Oooooh!" and "Ahhhhh!" thing, because it looks like you spent hours fiddling around in the kitchen. Big points for impressing people, all thanks to a little bit of pasty. Love it!

Thai lentil curry pies

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (or to taste)
1 onion, diced
1/2 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 red capsicum, diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
100 grams green beans, top and tailed, and cut into 3 cm lengths
1 cup red lentils
400 ml tin coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 sheet puff pastry
Sesame seeds

1 - Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat, then add the onion and cook until golden and tender. Add the red curry paste, and cook for a minute or two more.

2 - Add the coconut milk, water and lentils, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until lentils are beginning to tenderise, add the sweet potato half way through.

3 - Add the remaining vegetables, and simmer, covered for 5 minutes, stirring often. The mixture should be nice and thick, with the lentils mushy.

4 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Spoon the mixture into ramekins, then cover each ramekin with a piece of puff pastry. Lightly oil the pastry, and scatter with sesame seeds. Place the ramekins on a baking tray, then bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed up and golden. Remove from oven, let sit for 5 minutes, then serve with the corn.

Corn on the cob

1 corn cob per person

1 - Fill a medium sized saucepan with salted water, and bring to the boil.

2 - Add the corn cobs, and cook for 5ish minutes. Remove from the water, then serve.

Pasta Primavera

Spring has finally arrived in old Melbourne town, which means asparagus. Hooray! You'll probably see a bit of it around here in the next few weeks, as the season is so short you simply have to make the most of it. So bring on the asparagus, and bring on the smelly wee!

Ahem. Onto the recipe :-)

Pasta Primavera

500 grams dried spiral pasta (I went for the giant spirals, just because I thought they looked cool)
2 bunches asparagus, woody ends trimmed, cut into shortish lengths
2 zucchini, ends removed, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen peas
300 ml light cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, crushed
grated rind of one lemon
freshly ground black pepper, to serve
Parmesan cheese, to serve


1 - Bring a large pot the the boil. Add the pasta, and cook until al dente, adding the asparagus, zucchini and peas about 4 minutes before the pasta is fully cooked. Drain.

2 - Meanwhile, put the cream, mustard, garlic and lemon rind in a large pan, and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, then add the pasta and vegetables. Toss well to combine, then serve immediately, with pepper and parmesan to taste.

Vegetable Quesadillas

I have no idea how authentic these babies are, but man, do they taste good!

Vegetable Quesadillas

2 red capsicums
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
2 handfuls baby spinach leaves, washed well
1/4 pumpkin, peeled and sliced thinly
2 tomatoes, sliced
200 grams grated tasty cheese
2 flour tortillas per person
Olive oil, to grease

1 - Preheat the oven to 220 C. Cut each capsicum into quarters, and remove the inner core and seeds. Place the capsicum pieces on a baking tray lined with baking paper, and lightly grease each with a smidge of olive oil. Roast in the oven for 20ish minutes, or until the skin is bubbling and starting to blacken, then remove and place in a plastic bag.

2 - Once the capsicums have cooled down, remove them from the bag, and remove the skin (putting them in the bag whilst hot lets the steam work it's magic on the skin, making it far easier to remove). Slice up roughly.

3 - Meanwhile, turn the oven down to 200 C. Place the pumpkin slices on a baking tray lined with paper, and roast for 15 - 20 minutes, until tender.

4 - Heat a chargrill pan over a medium high heat, and grill the zucchini slices for 3 minutes on each side, or until the pan leaves grill marks.

5 - Heat either a flat non-stick pan or a sandwhich maker, and brush with oil. Place each tortilla on a flat surface. Place some spinach leaves on the tortilla, then top with the capsicum, pumpkin, zucchini, tomatoes and cheese. Place the other tortilla on top, then cook on the sandwhich maker/pan for 2 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Cut into quarters, then serve.

This week's meals

The meals for this week are:

Monday - Spinach, tomato and potato dhal with roasted honey pumpkin
Tuesday - Falafels
Wednesday - Bean and Vegetable Curry
Thursday - Pesto Pasta with Feta and Pumpkin
Friday - Gnocchi with sweet potato puree

Ingredients required:

Fresh Produce
2 brown onions
6 salad potatoes
6 tomatoes
2 large handfuls spinach leaves
800 grams pumpkin
1/2 Jap pumpkin
2 handfuls salad leaves
1 kilo of sweet potatoes
3 handfuls rocket leaves
1 lemon
4 cloves garlic

1 piece large pita bread, per person

100 grams tasty cheese
100 grams feta
200 grams parmesan cheese
tzaztiki
100 ml cream
1 packet potato gnocchi (enough to feed four)

Dry Goods
1/2 cup Persian red lentils
1/3 cup pepitas
Falafel mix
Sweet chilli sauce
Red curry paste
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
400 gram tin red kidney beans
500 grams rigatoni
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

Cupboard Staples
Olive oil
Cumin
Tumeric
Coriander
Honey
Vegetable oil, for frying
Plain rice

Spinach, tomato and potato dhal with honey roasted pumpkin

I love this dhal - it's so satisfying, and warm, with just a hint of heat. The tomatoes give it a lovely fresh flavour, stopping it from becoming too heavy, a common dhal problem. And you really can't go wrong with honey roasted pumpkin.

Spinach, tomato and potato dhal

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion, diced
6 salad potatoes, washed well and quartered
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 cup Persian red lentils (I used the Mount Zero brand, which are magnificent, and hold their shape when cooked. If you can't find these, used Puy lentils)
2 1/2 cups water
3 tomatoes, skinned and deseeded, and diced
2 large handfuls spinach leaves, washed well and stems removed

1 - Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large saucepan, and add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes, or until tender and golden. Add the spices, and cook for a minute more.

2 - Add the potatoes, lentils and water, and bring to the boil. Turn heat down and simmer, covered, for 35 - 40 minutes, or until the potatoes and lentils are just tender, stirring frequently.

3 - Add the tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes more.

4 - Add the spinach, and stir in until wilted. Serve.

Honey roasted pumpkin

500 grams pumpkin, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/3 cup pepitas, toasted
2 tablespoons honey


1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Place the pumpkin in a baking dish, and toss with the oil. Roast for 30 - 35 minutes, or until tender and just beginning to caramelise.

2 - Remove from oven and drizzle with the honey. Roast in oven for 5 minutes more.

3 - Place the pumpkin on serving dish, and scatter with pepitas. Serve.

Falafels

I really enjoyed tonight's dinner - it was such a no-brainer to cook, which was a relief to discover, as I'd never attempted falafels before. Having now made them, I have no idea why not - they were as simple as can be, and all the chopping of the wrap filling can be done as the falafels are cooking.

The only thing you should be aware of: make sure your non-stick fry pan truly is non-stick. I have no idea why I've done to one of mine, but it seems to have lost it's magic non-stickability, and there may have been a tantrum or two a few weekends ago when I tried to make fritters and it wouldn't play ball. I imagine having falafels stuck to the pan would have really set me going, so I used my trusty mini-saucepan that has never let me down. It did the trick nicely, too: cooking 6 at a time, and ensuring that I used much less oil.

Falafels with the works!

1 packet falafel mix
vegetable oil, to fry in
2 or 3 tomatoes, sliced
100 grams tasty cheese, grated
2 handfuls salad leaves, washed and dried well
1 piece large pita bread per person
tzaztiki, to serve
sweet chilli sauce, to serve

1 - Mix up the falafels according to the packet instructions.

2 - Fill a pan with a couple of centimetres of oil. Heat well, then fry the falafels, several at a time, for a minute or two on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on absorbant paper towel (or recycle brown paper bags like me!)

3 - Pile the falafel balls onto a platter, and serve with the bread, tomatoes, cheese, salad leaves, tzaztiki and chilli sauce, letting everyone build their own.

Bean and vegetable curry

This is just the thing for those chilly nights - it's hearty and spicy. My favourite combination!

Bean and vegetable curry

500 grams sweet potato, peeled and diced into 2 cm cubes
300 grams pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced into 2 cm cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1/2 onion, finely diced (save the other half for the gnocchi on Friday)
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
400 gram tin red kidney beans, rinsed well
plain rice, to serve
tzatziki, to serve

1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Place the pumpkin and sweet potato in a baking dish, toss with a smidge of oil, and roast for 20ish minutes, or until tender. Set aside.

2 - Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes or so, or until tender and golden. Add the curry paste, and cook for a minute more.

3 - Add the beans and tomatoes, and bring to the boil. Turn heat down and simmer, until the mixture is nice and thick. Add the roasted vegetables, then stir carefully to combine (you don't want to squish the roasted cubes of sweet potato and pumpkin).

4 - Place some rice in a bowl, then top with a good dollop of the curry. Serve with tzatziki, if desired.

Pesto Pasta with Pumpkin and Feta

It took me ages to like pesto - primarily, I suspect, because I'd only tasted commercially prepared ones that were far too oily. I'd have a wee taste, and then screw up my face in disappointment, thinking "What is it with this green goop that makes people swoon in delight? I cannot understand it at all!"

Then a friend put me onto home made rocket pesto, and bang! The illuminations, and major appreciation, began! Most pesto recipes call for a bit more oil, but I like to keep mine lighter, with more of an emphasis on the lemon. However, feel free to muck about with it and make it your own.


Pesto Pasta with Pumpkin and Feta

500 grams rigatoni
1/2 Jap pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced into two cm cubes
100 grams feta, crumbled
3 handfuls rocket, washed well
1/3 cup pine nuts
100 grams parmesan cheese, grated
juice of one large lemon (or two small ones - the more juice the better, I think)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
50 ml olive oil (use the best one you can get)


1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Place the pumpkin in a baking tray, tossed with a smidge of olive oil, and roast for 20ish minutes, or until tender. Set aside

2 - Cook the rigatoni as per the packet instructions, until al dente. Keeping warm, set aside.

3 - In a food processor, place the rocket, pine nuts and parmesan. Whizz for a minute, or until combined. With the motor running, add the lemon juice and olive oil.

4 - Combine the pesto with the pumpkin, feta and pasta in a large pan, and then serve immediately.

Gnocchi with sweet potato puree

This is really, really, really comforting comfort food. I've never had any luck making gnocchi from scratch - instead of being light and fluffy clouds, mine always turn out to be dumpy balls of chockiness. So, if you don't have the magic touch, I whole heartedly recommend buying some pre-prepared, like moi. Life's too short to spend copious amounts of time on something that is just as good, if not better, from the supermarket!

Gnocchi with sweet potato puree

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water
100 ml cream
100 grams parmesan cheese, grated
1 packet potato gnocchi (enough to serve 4 people)
freshly ground black pepper

1 - Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes or so, or until golden and tender. Add the garlic, and cook for a minute more.

2 - Add the sweet potato and the stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the sweet potato is tender.

3 - Puree the sweet potato mixtue until smooth (if you want you can stop here, and just have sweet potato soup for dinner!), then put back on a medium low heat, adding the cream and half the parmesan. Stir until combined, adding freshly ground pepper to taste.

4 - Meanwhile, fill a large pan with water and bring to the boil. Cook for gnocchi for 2 - 3 minutes - they'll be done when they all float to the top and merrily bob away. Drain, then add the gnocchi to the puree. Mix well, then serve, with extra parmesan for anybody who wants it.

This week's meals

The meals for this week are:

Monday - Lemon Pepper Pilaf
Tuesday - Potato and Leek Soup with Parmesan and Olive Pinwheels
Wednesday - Macaroni and Cheese
Thursday - Red Thai Curry
Friday - Nachos

Ingredients required:

Fresh Produce
1 onion
Choice of broccoli/capsicum/carrots/mushrooms/cauliflower/zucchini for the pilaf
1 lemon
8 large potatoes
3 leeks
4 carrots
1/2 sweet potato
1 head broccoli

2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (preferably from wholegrain bread)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
50 grams butter
2 3/4 cups milk
3/4 cup cream
3 cups grated tasty cheddar cheese +
100 grams grated tasty cheese

1 sheet puff pastry
2 cups frozen peas

Dry Goods
3 tablespoons hot curry powder
2 cups long grain rice
400 gram tin corn kernels
1 litre vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive tapenade
500 grams elbow macaroni
1 tablespoon red curry paste
400 gram tin coconut milk
1 packet unflavoured corn chips
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
400 gram tin red kidney beans

Cupboard Staples
Olive oil
Vegetable oil
Freshly ground pepper
Plain flour
Dried chilli flakes
Dijon mustard

Lemon Pepper Pilaf

Ah, my old friend Lemon Pepper Pilaf. When I was pregnant we ate this all the time. I'm not really sure why - I think it was becauce it was one of the few things my husband knew how to reliably cook (I threw up constantly until 26 weeks, all hours of the day, so wasn't really into food per se), and also because I didn't have the ginormous cook book collection that I have today (glancing over at my bookshelf, I'm mildly horrified at how many cookbooks I have amassed over the last few years).

So, predictably, when I got back into cooking again, LPP was the last thing I wanted to eat (in fact, when the Galumph requested it, I would just moan "No. NO! Not Lemon Pepper Pilaf! No moooooooore!" It almost became a catch cry). However, it's a been a while - time to invite that dear old reliable friend back into the kitchen once more. And when I did, I was very glad - I found that I'd missed them more than I thought.

Lemon Pepper Pilaf

1 onion, roughly cut into wedges
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons hot curry powder
2 cups long grain rice
4 cups water
Vegetables of your choosing: pick from broccoli, carrots, capsicums, mushrooms, cauliflower, zucchini, etc
1 400 gram tin corn kernels, drained
juice of one plump lemon
freshly ground pepper

1 - Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large saucepan, and cook the onion for 3 minutes or so, or until tender and golden. Add the curry powder, and cook for a minute more, until the curry is fragrant.

2 - Add the rice and vegetables, and stir until covered with the onion mixture. Add the water, and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.

3 - Once boiled, cover and simmer for 8 - 10 minutes or so, or until the rice and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Add the corn, lemon juice and pepper, mix well, then serve.

Potato and leek soup with parmesan and olive pinwheels

Oops - I've already repeated a recipe. Oh well, it's so good I'm sure you'll want to have it again. Besides, I'd been to the farmer's market and came home with a 5 kilo bag of potatoes and a large bundle of leeks - what's a girl supposed to do!

Warning - although these pinwheels are a highly useful way of using up that last sheet of pastry languishing in the freezer, they come at a cost. A cost to your waistline. They are the most addictive little devils you'll ever whisk out of the oven. Don't say I didn't warn you. My husband was late home from work the night I made them, and it took all of my reserves of will power not to chow down his. Grumbles, I'm sure, was eyeing them off, too! So that's my new definition of love - saving your special one some pinwheels. It doesn't come any more self-sacrificing that that.

Potato and Leek Soup

6 large potatoes (I used Dutch creams), peeled and chopped roughly
3 leeks, washed well and the white part of the stems finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
20 grams butter (or olive oil for vegans)
1 litre vegetable stock or water
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 - Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Fry the leeks for 3 minutes, or until soft and golden.

2 - Add the potatoes and carrots, and toss in the leed mixture.

3 - Add the stock, and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.

4 - Puree the soup, then season with plenty of pepper. Reheat to serve.


Parmesan and Olive Pinwheels

Makes 12

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
2 tablespoons olive tapenade
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2 - Spread the tapenade evenly over the puff pastry, and top with the parmesan cheese. Carefully roll up the pastry into a log, then cut into twelve pieces.

3 - Lay each piece side down on the tray, then bake for 15 minutes, or until the pinwheels are puffed and golden. Set aside for a few minutes, then munch away!

Macaroni and Cheese

This is based on a recipe in The Gourmet Cookbook, edited by Ruth Reichl (who is one of my food heroes). I'd never really been a mac and cheese kinda girl - the reason being that every one I tasted prior to this was bland and insipid. But I did like the idea of it - pasta + cheesey sauce = heaven in my book. When I made this, it completely and utterly knocked my socks off!

I've cut down a bit on the cheese in my version - they ask for 4 cups, which I thought made it a bit too cheesy (if there is such a thing), although I do use pretty darn tasty 'tasty' cheese, so maybe keep that in mind. I've also added peas, just because I think all that cheesyness needs to balanced by something from the vegetable kingdom!

Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups fresh breadcrumbs, preferable made from wholegrain bread
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
2 3/4 cups milk
3/4 cup cream
3 cups grated tasty cheddar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 cups frozen peas
500 grams elbow macaroni

1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C.

2 - Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. With 5 minutes to go, add the peas. Cook until al dente, then drain and set aside.

3 - Meanwhile, made the cheese sauce: Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the flour and chilli flakes, and whisk to combine. Cook for a minute or two, then slowly add the milk, stirring furiously the entire time so that no lumps form (if they do, just squish them on the side of the pan). Simmer, whisking for 3 minutes, then add the cream, cheese and mustard. Let simmer for a minute or so more, or until the mixture thickens. Take off the heat.

4 - Put the macaroni and peas in a very large baking dish, then pour the cheese sauce evenly over the top. Spread the breadcrumbs over the top, then bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden. Take out from oven, and let sit for 5 minutes before serving with a green salad.

Red Thai Vegetable Curry

This is another one of those dishes that are marvellous at vaccumming up the sad vegetables left in the crisper drawer, and turning them into something delish. I've specified you use one tablespoon of red curry paste, but check the heat as you go - some brands are much hotter than others.

Red Thai Vegetable Curry

2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 sweet potato (or one small one), peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 tablespoon cooking oil
400 gram tin coconut milk
1/2 cups (125ml) water
Rice, to serve

1 - Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium high heat, and add the red curry paste. Let cook for a minute or two, or until the paste smells fragrant, then add the potatoes, sweet potato and carrots. Stir the vegetables around until they are coated in the paste.

2 - Add the coconut milk and water, and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, and cook for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are just tender.

3 - Add the broccoli, and cook for 5 minutes more, or until the broccoli is tender. Serve in large bowls over the rice.

Nachos

Sometimes, at the end of a very, very, very long week, it would be so easy to dial a pizza. But you know what it's like on a Friday - every other person in the world has done the same thing, so your quick meal becomes a grumpy two hour wait at the front door, cursing their inefficiency loudly the whole time, resulting in other family members hiding in the bedroom so they too don't incur your wrath (What do you mean that never happens at your place? Geez, I must get grumpier than I suspected!).

So save yourself the trouble, and bang this together. It's even got beans in it - that makes it healthy, right?!

Nachos

1 pack unflavoured corn chips
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
400 gram tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
100 grams tasty cheese, grated

1 - Preheat oven to 200 C.

2 - In a large non-stick pan, combine the tomatoes, beans and chilli, and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is nice and thick.

3 - Scatter the chips into a large baking dish, then pile the bean mixture evenly on top. Top with cheese, then bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling. Serve, with a smug smile!

This week's meals

The meals for this week are:

Monday - Kolokithopita (Greek pumpkin pie) with garlicky vegetables
Tuesday - Pumpkin lasagne
Wednesday - Indian style fritters with coconut rice and raita
Thursday - Penne with pea pesto and roasted cherry tomato salad
Friday - Pumpkin and feta pizza

Ingredients required:

Fresh Produce
1.5 kilos pumpkin plus 1/2 small pumpkin
Cherry tomatoes
Broccoli
2 handfuls butter beans
7 cloves garlic
1/2 cauliflower
1 lebanese cucumber
1 lemon
1 onion

Fresh coriander (cilantro)
Fresh mint

Filo pastry
500 grams frozen spinach
400 grams frozen peas

400 grams feta cheese
500 grams ricotta cheese
1/2 cup cream
200 grams grated parmesan cheese
300 grams grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup natural yoghurt

4 eggs

Dry Goods
1/2 cup pepitas
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 packet dried lasagne sheets
3 cups jasmine rice
400 ml tin coconut milk
1/2 cup pine nuts
500 grams penne
7 gram sachet dried yeast
2 tablespoons honey
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes

Cupboard Staples
Olive oil
Sesame seeds
Nutmeg
3/4 cup plain flour plus 1 kilo plain flour
Tumeric
Chilli powder
Cumin
Dried oregano
Vegetable oil

Kolokithopita (Greek pumpkin pie) with garlicky vegetables

This is just the ticket for those days when the sun is warm, and you're convinced that spring is properly here (and go a bit nuts hiding winter jumpers and bringing out summer dresses to air), only to be laughed at by the weather gods when they bestow a chilly old night. Who has the last laugh when you're sitting in a nice warm house, tucking into this?

Kolokithopita

20 sheets filo pastry

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 kilo pumpkin, peeled and grated

1/2 cup pepitas, toasted

2 eggs, lightly beaten

200 grams feta cheese, crumbled roughly

sesame seeds

Cherry tomatoes, halved, to serve

1 - Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large, non-stick pan over a medium high heat. Cook the grated pumpkin for 8 - 10 minutes, until soft and tender. Set aside to cool.

2 - Once cooled, mix the pumpkin with the eggs, pepitas and feta. Season to taste.

3 - Oil a large baking dish with a little of the oil. Spread out the filo on a work bench, covering with a damp tea towel between bits. Carefully pick up a single piece of the filo, and place into the dish, gently molding it into place. Don't worry if bits are hanging off the side, we'll fix that up later. Brush the sheet of filo with oil, then place a new one on top of it. Brush it with oil, and repeat until you have layered 10 sheets.

4 - Spread over the pumpkin mixture, then layer the remaining filo over, as above. Tuck the overhanging bits into the dish, or trim, then score the pastry in a diamond pattern. Brush with oil, sprinkle over some sesame seeds, and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crinkly. Rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then slice up and serve.

Garlicky vegetables

1 head broccoli, cut into florets

2 handfuls butter beans, tops and tails trimmed

1 cup fresh breadcrums

1 garlic cloves, diced finely

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 - Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Add the broccoli and beans, and cook for 3 - 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Drain, and keep warm.

2 - Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large non-stick pan. Add the garlic and breadcrumbs, and cook until the garlic smells fragrant, and the breadcrumbs are golden. Toss with the vegetables in a bowl, and serve immediately.

Pumpkin Lasagne

Just in case you haven't noticed, I've been on a bit of a pumpkin kick this week. But seriously, what's not to like? It's the most versatile vegetable around, lending it's flavour gracefully from anything to soup to pasta bakes to curries, all without being dominating or bossy. The only thing saving it from perfection is the nagdamn skin that is such a pain to peel. Grrr!

Pumpkin lasagne

500 grams frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of moisture
500 grams pumpkin, peeled and thinly sliced
1 packet dried lasagne sheets, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes prior to use
500 grams ricotta cheese
1/2 cup cream
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
200 grams grated mozzarella cheese

1 - Preheat oven to 180 C.

2 - Grease a large baking dish, and place a layer of lasagne sheets down, cutting to fit if need be. Layer half the pumpkin over, top with half the spinach, then smoosh over a third of the ricotta mixture.

3 - Repeat, ending with another layer of lasagne sheets. Top with the remaining ricotta mixture, then sprinkle with mozzarella.

4 - Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is bubbling and golden. Sit for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Indian style fritters with coconut rice and raita

I love spicy fritters - they are such a great way to hoover up whatever is looking a little on the sad side in the vegetable drawer. So, if you don't have peas or cauli, then use whatever is on hand. Got carrot - grate it up and chuck it in! Zucchini is good when grated, too. Oh, and if you make them as spicy as I have, trust me - the raita is a MUST.

Indian style fritters

1/2 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 cups frozen peas
3/4 cup plain flour
2 eggs, lighly beaten
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons fresh coriander
vegetable oil, to fry

1 - Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the cauliflower and cook for 3 - 4 minutes. Add the peas, and cook for another 3 minutes. When cauliflower is tender, drain. Put the vegies in a bowl and roughly mash them.

2 - Add the flour, eggs, tumeric, chilli, cumin and coriander to the bowl, and mix to combine.

3 - Heat a couple of drops of oil in a non-stick pan over a medium-high heat. Place tablespoons of the mixture down, and cook for 2 minutes. Flip the fritter over and cook for 2 minutes more, or until cooked through. Keep warm in the oven until all the mixture is used, then serve with coconut rice and raita.

Coconut rice

3 cups jasmine rice, rinsed until water runs clear
400 ml tin coconut milk

Place all ingredients in a saucepan over a high heat. Bring to the boil, then turn heat down and simmer, covered, for 8 - 10 minutes, or until rice is al dente. Leave for 5 minutes, then fluff rice with a fork. Serve.

Raita

1 cup natural yoghurt
1 small Lebanese cucumber, peeled and seeded, and finely chopped
1/3 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped

Mix all ingredients together in bowl, and then serve. Season if desired.

Penne with Pea Pesto and Roasted Cherry Tomato Salad

Such a crap photo! Sorry - we had guests over for dinner, and I was too busy gasbagging and slurping wine to fuss around with the photo, bwahahah!

My mum used to say, as she handed out our dinner, "Plate's hot, but the din-din's gorgeous!" So, to paraphrase very badly, "Photo's ghastly, but the food's delish!"

Penne with Pea Pesto

300 grams frozen peas
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
100 grams parmesan cheese, grated
Finely grated rind of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
5oo grams penne

1 - Cook pasta in a large pot of lighly salted water according to packet instructions, or until pasta is al dente. Drain.

2 - Meanwhile, cook the peas in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain, then let cool (as you don't want to crack your food processor by processing hot stuff. Trust me, I've learnt from bitter experience).

3 - Put the peas, garlic, parmesan, pine nuts and lemon rind in the food processor. Blitz until smoothish, then add the combined olive oil and lemon juice whilst the motor is running. Blitz for 20 seconds, then turn motor off.

4 - Add the pesto mixture to the warm penne and serve immediately!

Roasted Cherry Tomato Salad

15 ripe cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 clove garlic, finely diced
1 pinch dried oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
100 grams feta, roughly crumbled

1 - Preheat oven to 180 C. Place cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and oregano in a smallish roasting pan, and toss to combine.

2 - Roast for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes are puffy and oozing. Arrange on a platter, sprinkly with the feta, and serve.

Pumpkin and Feta Pizza

Although it does take a little bit of time to make this pizza (do the dough, make the sauce), it's the sort of meal that can be whipped up in a jiffy if you've planned ahead. The bread recipe makes enough for four bases, which freeze really well, covered in cling wrap. The sauce is my generic pasta sauce, so if you make some for a pasta dinner one night, put the rest aside in the freezer and then bring it out for this. Too easy!

Pumpkin and Feta Pizza

Bread (for four pizzas):
7 grams dried yeast (1 sachet)
2 tablespoons honey
600 ml warmish water
1 kilo flour

1 - Mix the yeast and warm water together, then stir in the honey until it is dissolved. Let rest for a couple of minutes.

2 - Put the flour in a bowl, then make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture slowly, mixing the dough together with a fork. Turn out onto a well floured bench top, then knead the dough for five minutes, or until elastic and smooth.

3 - Put the dough back into the bowl, and cover with cling wrap. Let sit for an hour or so in a warm, draft-free place, until the dough has doubled in size.

4 - Grab the dough, and divide into four balls. Roll out each ball of dough to fit your very lightly oiled pizza tray. It's now ready to go!


Tomato Sauce:
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
1 pinch dried oregano

1 - Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the onion. Cook until golden and tender, then add the garlic. Cook for another minute more.

2 - Add the tomatoes and oregano. Bring to the boil, then let simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the sauce is lovely and thick. Set aside to cool.

Pizza Topping (for two pizzas):
Pizza dough, as above
Tomato sauce, as above
1/2 small pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 2 cm pieces
100 grams feta, roughly chopped
100 grams mozzarella, grated
Freshly ground black pepper

1 - Place the rolled out dough on a well oiled tray. Set aside.

2 - Meanwhile, in a 200 C oven, roast the pumpkin pieces, tossed with a little olive oil, for 15 - 20 minutes, or until tender.

3 - Spread some sauce onto each pizza piece. Scatter over the roasted pumpkin and feta, season with black pepper, then spread over a little of the mozzarella. Back at 220 C for 10 minutes (give or take depending upon your oven), or until cheese is golden and bubbling, and base is cooked through. Cut each pizza into six slices, and serve.

This week's meals

The meals for this week are:

Monday - Soba Noodles with Winter Vegetables
Tuesday - Pumpkin and Sesame Dip followed by Savoury Bread Puddings
Wednesday - Mushroom Quesedillas
Thursday - Moroccan Style Potato Stew
Friday - Rosemary and Chickpea Pasta with Green Salad

Ingredients required:

Fresh Produce
1 bunch broccolini
2 large carrots
1/2 head cauliflower
2 small bok choy
1/2 Jap pumpkin
1/2 bunch silverbeet (chard)
1 small sweet potato
8 cloves garlic
1 cup chopped button mushrooms
1 small red chilli
1 lemon
1 onion
2 Roma tomatoes
500 grams salad style potatoes (I used Red Desiree)
2 handfuls mixed lettuce leaves
1 avocado

coriander (cilantro)
rosemary

1 loaf wholemeal bread

100 grams hard feta
100 grams parmesan cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

250 ml (1 cup) cream
250 ml (1 cup) milk

6 eggs

Dry Goods
150 grams soba noodles
Sesame seeds
100 grams sun-dried tomato strips
1/4 cup pepitas
Flour tortillas
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
400 gram tin chickpeas
500 grams penne

Cupboard Staples
Olive Oil
Sesame oil
Soy sauce
Sweet Chilli sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
Tumeric
Cumin
Smoked Paprika
Chilli flakes
Red wine vinegar
Dijon mustard

Soba Noodles with Winter Vegetables

Talk about a healthy start to the week! All those vegetables - you can practically go polish your halo after making this, bwahahahah!

Soba Noodles with Winter Vegetables

150 grams soba noodles
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 bunch broccolini, trimmed
1 large carrot, peeled and but into thin batons
1/2 cauliflower, cut into floret
2 small bok choy, trimmed and washed
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sweet chilli sauce

1 - Cook the noodles in a large pan of salted water according to instructions. Drain, then set aside.

2 - Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil over a high heat in a large non-stick wok/pan. Add the vegetables, and stir fry until just tender. Add the soy and chilli sauces, and cook for a minute more.

3 - Place a serving of noodles onto a plate, top with some vegetables, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Pumpkin and Sesame Dip followed by Savoury Bread Puddings

Bit of a double-whammy tonight, as it was our 8 year anniversary (hooray for us!), so I thought I'd go a bit all out! We had Pumpkin and Sesame Dip to start, followed by the Savoury Bread Puddings with a green salad. For dessert we had Blood Orange Jelly and Vanilla Panna Cotta trifles. If anybody would like the recipe for that, just leave a comment, although be warmed - although it's easy enough to make, it does take a few hours.


Pumpkin and Sesame Dip
1/2 Jap pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 4 cm pieces
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Bread of choice, to serve

1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Place the pumpkin, tossed in the olive oil, in a roasting pan, then bake in oven for 1/2 hour, or until the pumpkin is cooked through.

2 - Wait for pumpkin to cook, then puree with the sesame oil and 1/2 the seeds. Place in a bowl and top with remaining seeds, and serve with bread.

Savoury Bread Puddings


This is a pretty nifty way of using up that sad loaf of bread that is just about starting to think about moving into mouldy territory. Potential penicillin sources aside, it's also a nice dinner party dish - who doesn't like getting their own individual dish to eat out of? Yeah, yeah, so it's not quite as impressive as a souffle, but it sure is a heck of a lot easier, and you can pretty much pile in any vegetable you like - although for harder vegetables, like carrots, I would recommend steaming them until tender first, like I've done with the sweet potato here. It's also quite handy as you can prepare it ahead of time - just refrigerate after covering with plastic wrap. Bring back to room temperature before baking in oven, though, so your cooking ware doesn't crack.

2 tablespoons olive oil, to grease
9 slices wholemeal bread, crusts removed, and each slice cut into quarters
1/2 bunch silverbeet, stems trimmed and leaves well washed and roughly chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced, and steamed until tender
100 grams sun-dried tomatoes strips, drained of oil
100 grams hard feta, chopped roughly
6 eggs
250 ml (1 cup) cream
250 ml (1 cup) milk
100 grams parmesan cheese, grated
Freshly ground pepper

1 - Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line a large baking tray with non-stick paper, and grease 6 1 cup ramekins with the olive oil.

2 - Over a low heat, saute the silverbeet leaves in a large pan with a little saucepan until the leaves have wilted. Let cool, then squeeze the liquid from the leaves.

3 - Place two triangles of bread at the bottom of each ramekin, then 4 triangles around the sides. Divide the feta, silverbeet, sun-dried tomatoes and sweet potatoes among the ramekins.

4 - Beat together the eggs, cream, milk and pepper to taste in a large jug. Add the parmesan, then pour this mixture among the ramekins. Set aside for 20 minutes so the bread can absorb the mixture.

5 - Arrange the ramekins on the baking tray, then cook for 35 minutes, or until the puddings are puffed, golden and set. Let sit for a few minutes before serving with a green salad.

Mushroom Quesedillas

If you take a peek through the archives, you'll probably figure out that I love my Mexican food. What I don't love, however, are mushrooms. I place the blame squarely on my mother for that one - when I was a child she used to serve a fricassee of chicken and mushrooms, which to my mind looked exactly like vomit on a plate. Really! I used to spend the meal pretending I had to cough, and then race out of the room to spit into a tissue. Truly, it was that bad.

So, as an adult, I've rather tended to shy away from anything containing mushrooms, which is actually a silly thing to do, as mushrooms are full of vitamins and minerals, including that elusive (for vegetarians) B12. This is a recipe I found in an old copy of Vegetarian Times. Theirs calls for 8 oz. of mushrooms. Being a metric girl, I have no idea how much an oz. is, let along 8 of them but it sure sounded like a lot, so I reduced mine to one cup of chopped mushrooms. Try as I might, I just can't handle too many at once! Besides, it means that you don't end up with too much filling, which I have learnt from past experience can make for a messy quesedilla.

Mushroom Quesedillas

1/4 cup pepitas
4 tablespoons olive oil
8 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup chopped button mushrooms
1 smalled red chilli, finely chopped
1 small handful coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
2 flour tortillas per person
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1 lemon, quartered

1 - Warm a non-stick fry pan over a medium high heat, and cook the pepitas for 5 minutes, or until they have turned brown and begun to pop. Set aside.

2 - Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil over a low heat, and cook the garlic for 8 - 10 minutes, until it is tender and golden. Add the garlic and onion to the pepitas.

3 - Heat the rest of the oil in the pan, then add the mushrooms and chilli. Cook gently for 5 or so minutes, or until the mushrooms are dark and tender. Add the coriander, and pepita mix, and heat through.

4 - Heat either a flat non-stick pan or a sandwhich maker, and brush with oil. Place a tortilla on the press, spreading a good dollop of the mushroom mix onto the torilla, then top with the mozzarella. Place the other tortilla on top of the first, then grill for a minute or so, or until nice and crisp.

5 - Using a spatula, transfer the tortilla to the plate, and quarter. Serve with a quarter lemon to squeeze.

Moroccan style potato stew

This is my take on Madhur Jaffrey's Moroccan Potato Stew, featured in her book World Vegetarian. Her's is a nice gentle stew, but if you've been reading this blog for a while, you've probably realised that I just simply cannot help myself: I must add a fiery chilli kick to pretty much everything! I also added some more tomatoes than the original recipe called for, just to give the dish a bit more depth.

As a side note, if you only buy one vegetarian recipe book in your entire life, you really wouldn't go too far wrong with this one. With over 600 recipes to choose from, covering almost every cuisine you can think of (and quite a few you probably couldn't), it really is a fabulous resource when it comes to cooking authentic, interesting and tasty ethnic vegetarian meals.

Right, enough babbling. The recipe:

Moroccan style Potato Stew

2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced (save the rest for tomorrow night's meal)
2 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced roughly (see here for an easy way to peel a tomato)
500 grams salad style potatoes (I used the waxy Red Desiree variety), washed well and diced
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teeaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
500 mls (2 cups) water

1 - Heat the olive oil over a medium low heat, and cook the onion for five minutes, or until tender and golden. Add the chilli flakes and cook for another minute (this allows the chilli to release it's heat).

2 - Add the remaining ingredients, and combine well. Bring the stew to the boil, then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the pototatoes are tender (but not falling apart).

3 - Mush up a couple of the potatoes to thicken up the sauce, and then serve.

Rosemary and Chickpea Pasta

This is a meal for Friday nights, when you head is aching, your feet are tired, and your belly has been rumbling since four in the afternoon. So settle down with a large serving of this, and a favourite magazine and enjoy the weekend!

Rosemary and Chickpea Pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
400 gram tin chickpeas
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
500 grams penne
freshly ground pepper

1 - Cook the penne in a large saucepan of salted water according to the time on the packet, or until the pasta is al dente. Drain.

2 - Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium low heat. Saute the onion gently until golden and tender.

3 - Add the tomatoes, grated carrot and rosemary, and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until the sauce is nice and thick.

4 - Add the chickpea and lots of freshly ground pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove half the sauce and puree it. Add the puree back into the pan with the rest of the sauce, heat through and then serve over the penne.

Green salad

2 handfuls mixed lettuce leaves
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

Put the lettuce and avocado into a bowl. Mix the oil, vinegar and mustard together in a small cup, then pour over the salad. Toss to combine, then serve immediately.

Tagged!

I've been tagged by the lovely girls over at Simply Olive to reveal 8 facts about myself. Since this is a food blog I thought I'd better make them food related, but then began to draw a complete blank, so what you see below is what you get!

1 - I really enjoy savoury breakfasts. At the moment, coleslaw and grated cheese on toast is the favourite, even though it pretty much guarantees onion breath for the rest of the day.

2 - I once had to run a race down the main thoroughfare of the Melbourne CBD, tossing a pancake against members of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). Needless to say, I didn't win.

3 - I only paint my toenails in summer, when I'm always wearing open-toed shoes. I never, ever paint my fingernails - with ones as ugly as mine, why draw attention to them?

4 - I have never heard a song by Amy Winehouse. I have nothing against Miss Winehouse - in fact, I'm rather a fan of her hairstyle; more it is an indication of how far out of the loop I've become in regard to popular entertainment since having a child. However, when it comes to The Wiggles, I know more than is probably decent to know!

5 - I do not own a television, and have lived without one for the past 12 years. I don't miss it at all (except for documentaries).

6 - I'm quite a bookworm. My groaning bookcases (five of them!) can attest to this.

7 - I prefer to make clothes rather than go through the ordeal of shopping for them.

8 - I'm a big nerd who brings my own bags and containers to shops. No plastic for this little black duck!