Dinner Daily

This week's meals

2007-11-25T18:50:00.000-08:00

The meals for this week are:

Monday - Roasted Tomato and Goat's Cheese Pasta
Tuesday - Zucchini and Feta Fritters with Corn Salsa
Wednesday - Beany Enchiladas
Thursday - Zucchini, Broad Bean, Chilli and Feta Pizza
Friday - Cheesy scrambled eggs with roasted asparagus on sourdough

Ingredients:

Fresh Produce
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
1 red onion
3 zucchini
2 ripe tomatoes
1 lime
Coriander
1 carrot
3 large handfuls salad leaves
1 lebanese cucumber
1 red capsicum
300 grams broad beans
1 long red chilli
2 bunches asparagus

1 roasted red capsicum

100 grams marinated goat's cheese
250 grams feta cheese
300 grams tasty cheese

50 grams butter
225 ml milk

8 eggs

Sourdough bread

Dry Goods
1 packet small pasta shapes of your choice
1 cup self raising flour
400 gram tin corn kernals
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
6 herbed flour tortillas
7 grams dried yeast (1 sachet)
2 tablespoons honey
1 kilo flour

Cupboard Staples
Olive oil
Dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
Cumin
Coriander
Red wine vinegar
Dijon mustard

Roasted Tomato and Goat's Cheese Pasta

2007-11-25T18:34:00.000-08:00

I'll admit, it's taken me a while to come around, but his persistance has finally come to fruition. At first I was put off by his earthiness, and musky smell. It reminded me of the unwashed, and I had no desire for that to take up residence on my dinner plate. But then, with a little convincing, I encountered his sweeter side, the side you can only experience when you let him roll around your tongue. And with that I was hooked - my love affair with goat's cheese had begun!

Roasted Tomato and Goat's Cheese pasta

1 packet small pasta of your choice
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 red onion, cut into wedges and separated
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 good pinch dried oregano
1 roasted red capsicum, cut into strips

100 grams marinated goat's cheese

1 - Preheat oven to 200 C. Place the cherry tomatoes, olive oil, red onion and oregano in a lined baking dish, and roast for 25 - 30 minutes.

2 - Meanwhile, cook pasta according to packet instructions, or until al dente. Drain well.

3 - Combine the pasta, roasted veg, capsicum strips and mix well. Serve onto plates, then top with goat's cheese. Serve with a crunchy green salad.

Zucchini and Feta Fritters with Corn Salsa

2007-11-25T18:28:00.000-08:00

I love this corn salsa - it's such a healthy, fresh taste, and the lime really gives it a nice Creole kinda kick!

Zucchini and Feta Fritters with Corn Salsa

Fritters

1 zucchini, grated
1 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
100 grams feta cheese, crumbled

1 - Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl with a fork, so that no flour lumps remain.

2 - Heat a fry pan over a medium high heat. Drop a soup spoon's worth of batter into the pan, then spread them out a bit to flattened them. Cook for 2ish minutes, or until you see the bubbles begin to form, then flip them over and cook for another couple of minutes. Remover, then cover to keep warm until all the batter is gone.

Corn Salsa

2 ripe tomatoes, core removed and roughly diced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 can corn kernals, drained well
juice of one lime
1 teaspooon of the best olive oil you possess
coriander leaves, to serve

1 - Add all the ingredients together, and mix well, so the juice intermingle. Just before serving, top with coriander leaves.

Beany enchiladas

2007-11-25T18:20:00.000-08:00

This is very similar to the enchilada recipe found here, except this time I used herby tortillas, and no enchilada sauce. Still good - just not with the saucy kick!

Beany Enchiladas

800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
400 gram tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 zucchini, grated
6 herbed flour tortillas
100 grams grated tasty cheese
3 large handfuls salad leaves
1 Lebanese cucumber, roughly diced
50 grams feta cheese, crumbled
1 red capsicum, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 - Heat a large pan over a medium hot heat. Add the tomatoes, beans, chilli flakes, carrot, zucchini and 1/2 a cup of water to the pan, and bring to the boil.

2 - Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes or so, until the mixture is nice and thick.

3 - Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 C. Lay each tortilla on a flat surface, and spread with some of the filling. Roll up the tortilla, and place snugly in a baking dish. Repeat with other 5 tortillas.

4 - Top the enchiladas with the tasty cheese. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbling. Set aside for a couple of mintues to cool before serving.

5 - Put the lettuce and cucumber in a bowl together. Mix together the oil, vinegar and mustard in a small bowl, then pour over the salad. Serve with the enchiladas.

Zucchini, Broad Bean, Chilli and Feta pizza

2007-11-25T18:07:00.000-08:00

I was sitting on the kitchen bench the other day (a habit I've since childhood), pondering exactly what to do with my freshly podded broad beans. I was getting a little sick of having them with pasta, but still wanted a bit of a broad bean-feta mix thing going on. "Aha!", I suddenly thought. "I'll spike them with a bit of chilli. Genius!" And with that thought I gave the kitchen cupboards a little kick with my feet in celebration of my own superior brain power.

Except... you can't really just eat a whole bowlful of broadbeans with chilli and feta. Well, I could, but I'm sure Grumbles and Galumph would be asking where the rest of the meal was. So then I came up with the sterling idea of putting them on top of a pizza, with super thin strips of zucchini. Scathingly brilliant, oui?! Four out of five kicked up kitchen cupboards can't be wrong!

Zucchini, Broad Bean, Chilli and Feta pizza

Pizza Base: (makes enough for four bases)

Please note that this recipe only has enough topping for two pizzas, so put the other two spare bases in the freezer, and save them for a rainy day!

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 for it's topping.

Topping

300 grams broad beans, podded and blanched with skins removed.
1 zucchini, thinly sliced (I used a wide plane grater)
1 long red chilli, finely diced
100 grams feta, crumbled
100 grams tasty cheese or mozzarella

1 - Preheat the oven to 220 C.

2 - Place half the tasty cheese on each of the pizza bases. Top with the chilli, feta and broad beans, scattering them evenly.

3 - Top with the zucchini, layering over the pizza in a lattice pattern. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until the base is cooked through.

Cheesy Scrambled Eggs with Roasted Aspragus on Sourdough

2007-11-25T17:57:00.000-08:00

Who says scrambled eggs can only be a breakfast dish? It's actually quite perfect as an end of week supper dish. And let's face it - who has the time in the morning for these sorts of shenanigans? Certainly not moi! So supper it is, and a very good supper it makes, too.

Cheesy scrambled eggs with Roasted Aspragus on sourdough

2 bunches asparagus, woody ends trimmed
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and pepper
6 eggs
50 grams butter
100 ml milk
100 grams tasty cheese, grated
sourdough bread, to serve

1 - Preheat oven to 200 C. Lay the aspargus in a baking dish, and toss with the olive oil. Top with freshly ground pepper and salt, then roast for 25 - 30 minutes, or until tender. (If you have really big fat stalks, it may take a wee bit longer).

2 - Once aspargus is done, melt the butter in a large non-stick pan. Beat the eggs in a bowl, then add the milk, mixing in well. Pour into pan, then cook gently, stirring continually, until the eggs are well scrambled and cooked. Add the cheese, take off the heat, and mix in well.

3 - Whilst eggs are cooking, toast the bread. Cut in half and place on plate. Top with aspragus spears, then a good heaping of the eggs. Serve immediately.

This week's meals

2007-11-11T18:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the break last week, folks. We had my dad down from the country for a visit, and there was lots of being out and about!

However, to make it up to you, this week has a theme - Italian week! I hope you enjoy my take on some Italian classics. We did, bwahahahah!

Monday - Penne with Snow Peas, Broccoli and Feta
Tuesday - Roasted Vegetable Risotto
Wednesday - Olive and Tomato Pizza
Thursday - Ravioli with Butter Tomato Sauce
Friday - Sorry, you're left to fend for your own. Check out the archives!

Ingredients:

Fresh Produce
1 head broccoli
100 grams snow peas
1/2 small pumpkin
3 Roma tomatoes
1 zucchini
3 onions
2 cloves garlic

Dry Goods
1 packet penne
Garlic infused olive oil
2 cups aborio rice
7 grams dried yeast
2 tablespoons honey
1 kilo flour
2 x 800 gram tin crushed tomatoes

100 grams feta
Parmesan cheese
200 grams tasty cheese or mozarella
100 grams butter
100 grams pitted kalamata olives
1 packet filled ravioli (or pasta of your choice)

1.5 litres vegetable stock

Cupboard Staples
Olive oil
Dried oregano

Penne with Snow Peas, Broccoli and Feta

2007-11-11T18:34:00.001-08:00

For this recipe I dressed the pasta in garlic olive oil. If you can't find that, it's really easy to make your own - just finely chop a clove or two of garlic and let marinate in the olive oil whilst the pasta is cooking. Too easy!

Penne with Snow Peas, Broccoli and Feta

1 packet penne
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
100 grams snow peas, destringed and sliced
100 grams feta, crumbled
3 tablespoons garlic infused olive oil

1 - Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add the pasta, and cook according to packet directions. Two minutes before the pasta is done, add the broccoli and snow peas. Cook until al dente, then drain.

2 - Put the pasta and veggies back in the pan, and combine with olive oil and feta. Serve immediately, seasoning with freshly ground black pepper if desired.

Roasted Vegetable Risotto

2007-11-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

Comfort food at it's best, this one. And with four vegetables, you've almost hit your '5 a day' quota in one go - huzzah!

Roasted vegetable risotto

1/2 small pumpkin, cut into smallish squares
3 Roma tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 zucchini, grated
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1.5 litres vegetable stock or water
2 cups arborio rice
Parmesan cheese, to serve

1 - Heat oven to 200 C. Place the pumpkin and tomatoes in a roasted pan, toss with a little olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30ish minutes, or until tender. Set aside.

2 - Meanwhile, heat the stock until it is simmering. In another saucepan (a large one), heat the olive oil. When hot, add the onion and cook until golden and tender. Add the rice and let it cook for a couple of minutes, or until the rice becomes translucent.

3 - Add the stock one ladleful at a time, letting the rice absorb it before adding more. Continue in this way until almost all of the stock is used up, and the rice is almost al dente. Add the zucchini alongside the rest of the stock, and finish the cooking.

4 - Stir in the pumpkin and tomato carefully (you don't want to squish the veggies too much), then serve topped with parmesan if desired.

Olive and tomato pizza

2007-11-11T18:17:00.001-08:00

This pizza is so good, and so easy. I love the saltiness that the olives bring to the party. Goes down very, very well with a nice cold beer!

Olive and tomato pizza

Pizza Base: (makes enough for four bases)

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 for the toppings.

Pizza Sauce: (for two pizzas)

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.

Topping: (for two pizzas)

Pizza dough, as above
Pizza sauce, as above
200 grams tasty cheese or mozzarella, grated
100 grams pitted kalamata olives

1 - Heat the oven to 220 C. Place the rolled out dough on a well oiled tray. Set aside.

2 - Spread some sauce onto each pizza piece. Scatter over the cheese and olives, then bake 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.

Ravioli with Butter Tomato Sauce

2007-11-11T18:11:00.000-08:00

This is what's known around our place as the 'end of week cheat'. You're kinda cooking (as in your make the sauce) but you're also making your own life easy by using some pre-prepared filled pasta. And at the end of a long week, there's no shame in that!

Ravioli with Butter Tomato Sauce

1 packet ravioli of choice (we used pumpkin and almond, and it was gooooooood!)
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
100 grams butter
1 onion, peeled and cut into quarters
Parmesan cheese, to serve

1 - Put the tomato, butter and onion into a saucepan, and cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes or so, mixing well.

2 - Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to packet directions. Drain well, then serve with sauce on top. Sprinkle of parmesan, if desired.

This week's meals

2007-10-28T20:21:00.001-07:00

The meals for this week are:

Monday - Asparagus and Broad Bean Pasta Bake
Tuesday - Corn Fritters with Salad and Lime Mayonnaise
Wednesday - Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta
Thursday - Asparagus, Corn and Cheese Lasagne
Friday - Tofu Burgers

Ingredients:

Fresh Produce
3 bunches asparagus
300 grams broad bean pods
1 lemon
2 handfuls baby spinach leaves
1 avocado
1 lime
1 sweet potato
1 tomato
1 carrot
Loose lettuce leaves

1 bread bun per person

2 eggs

300 ml sour cream
1/2 cup milk + 500 ml milk
200 grams tasty cheese
200 grams parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
50 grams butter
1 packet flavoured tofu

Dry Goods
500 grams orecchiette
2 x 400 gram tin corn kernels
1 packet fettucine
1 small jar Sundried Tomato Pesto
1 packet lasagne sheets

Cupboard Staples
1 cup self raising flour
dried chili flakes
olive oil

Asparagus and Broad Bean pasta bake

2007-10-28T20:14:00.001-07:00

1 bunch asparagus, woody ends removed, and stalks cut into thirds
300 grams broad beans, podded
500 grams orecchiette
juice of one lemon
300 ml sour cream
salt and pepper, to taste
100 grams tasty cheese, grated

1 - Bring a smallish saucepan of water to the boil. Cook the broad beans for 2 - 3 minutes, then drain.

2 - When cooled, removed the grey skin from the broad beans. Set the beans aside.

3 - Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Cook the pasta according to packet directions, add the asparagus 2 minutes before the pasta is cooked. Drain well.

4 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. In a large baking dish, combine the pasta, asparagus and broad beans. Add the lemon juice and sour cream, and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then top with the grated cheese.

5 - Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling. Serve with a nice green salad.

Corn fritters with salad and lime mayonnaise

2007-10-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

This meal also makes a nice weekend breakfast, if you don't mind sacrificing your lie-in. Otherwise, keep it for dinner and enjoy. Oh, and do try to make the lime mayo - it really gives the dish a real kick!

Corn Fritters

400 gram tin corn kernals, drained
1 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes (or more to taste)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 - Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl with a fork, so that no flour lumps remain.

2 - Heat a fry pan over a medium high heat. Drop a soup spoon's worth of batter into the pan, then spread them out a bit to flattened them. Cook for 2ish minutes, or until you see the bubbles begin to form, then flip them over and cook for another couple of minutes. Remover, then cover to keep warm until all the batter is gone.

Salad

2 handfuls baby spinach leaves, washed well and dried
1 avocado, cut into little chunks

Lime Mayonnaise

1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise
Juice of one lime

Assemblage

1 - Place some of the spinach leaves and avocado on each plate.

2 - Mix the mayo and lime juice together. Drizzle over the salad on each plate.

3 - Top the salad with 2 or 3 fritters each, then serve.

Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta

2007-10-28T19:59:00.001-07:00

You really, really cannot beat the old pasta-and-pesto combo. It's quick, flavoursome and perfect for a mid-week meal. And if you chuck some roasted veggies into the mix, then it becomes healthy with a minimum of fuss. Bwahahahah!

Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta with Roasted Sweet Potatoes

1 largish sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm dice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 quantity of fettucine
1 small jar of Sundried Tomato Pesto

1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Place the sweet potato in a roasting dish, and toss with the olive oil. Roast for 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender.

2 - Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet directions, or until al dente. Drain, then place back in the pan.

3 - Toss as much pesto as you fancy in with the pasta, alongside the sweet potatoes. Mix thoroughly, then serve with a nice green salad.

Asparagus, corn and cheese lasagne

2007-10-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Spring has arrived, which means asparagus. Hooray!

Asparagus, Corn and Cheese Lasagne

2 bunches asparagus, woody ends removed, and stalks cut in half
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 packet lasagne sheets
400 gram tin corn kernals, drained
50 grams butter
2 tablespoons flour
500 ml milk
1 cup grated tasty cheese
100 grams parmesan cheese, grated

1 - Preheat oven to 200 C. Place the asparagus in a roasting pan, and toss with the olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes, or until tender. Set aside.

2 - Meanwhile, soak the lasagne sheets in some water while the asparagus is roasting. This will make them lovely and tender once cooked.

3 - Make the cheese sauce: Melt the butter over a medium heat, then stir in the flour so a paste forms. Slowly add the milk, stirring hard so that no lumps appear. Add only a little milk at a time, keeping the sauce thick. Once all the milk is gone, and the sauce is nice and gloopy, add the cheese. Let the cheese melt, then take off the heat.

4 - Dry the lasagne sheets on a clean towel (dur, as if you'd use a grubby one!), then place a layer in a large baking dish. Spread over 1/3 of the cheese sauce, then top with half the asparagus and half the corn. Top with another layer of lasagne, then with another third of the cheese sauce, and the rest of the asparagus and corn. Top with another lasagne sheet layer, the rest of the sauce, then sprinkle the top with the parmesan cheese. Bake for 36 - 40 minutes, or until the lasagne sheets are tender, and the top is golden and bubbling. Serve with a crunchy green salad.

Tofu burgers

2007-10-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

Tells ya what, these are just the thing for a lazy Friday night dinner. Easy to make, easy to eat.

Tofu Burgers

1 bun per person
1 tomato, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
2 - 3 lettuce leaves per person
1 packet of flavoured tofu, cut into four pieces
grated tasty cheese
mayonnaise

1 - Cut open each bun, and spread with mayonnaise. Top with the carrot, lettuce leaves and tomato.

2 - Meanwhile, heat a frypan over a medium heat. Cook the tofu for 2ish minutes, or until heated through.

3 - Put tofu on bun, then serve.

This week's meals

2007-10-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

The meals for this week are:

Monday - No-Cook Tacos
Tuesday - Pumpkiny Vegetable and Chickpea Curry
Wednesday - Corn Chowder withe Veggie Roll Ups
Thursday - Vegetarian Enchiladas
Friday - Chilli Beetroot Dip with Marinated Goat's Cheese followed by Broad Bean and Lemon Risotto

Ingredients:

Fresh Produce
1 avocado
2 Lebanese cucumbers
100 grams cherry tomatoes
1 lime
3 onions
1/4 small pumpkin
1 eggplant
2 red capsicums
1 head broccoli
3 potatoes
3 carrots
1 iceberg lettuce
2 lemons
1 zucchini
3 large handfuls salad leaves
6 beetroot
300 grams broad beans in pods

Dry Goods
2 taco shells per person
1 packet (10 pieces) wholemeal Sorj bread
4 flour tortillas
400 gram tin red kidney beans
400 gram tin coconut milk
400 gram tin chickpeas (garbanzos)
800 gram tin corn kernals
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
1 small jar enchilada sauce
2 cups arborio rice

2.5 litres vegetable stock

1 small tub sour cream
1 small tub hommus dip
50 grams butter
200 grams tasty cheese
100 grams feta cheese
100 grams marinated goat's cheese
100 grams parmesan cheese

Cupboard Staples
Olive oil
Red curry paste
Brown rice
Chilli flakes
Red wine vinegar
Dijon mustard

No-cook tacos

2007-10-21T20:29:00.001-07:00

I was so tired the other night. Truly, the last thing I wanted to do was cook. Where was Jeeves when you needed him? But, alas, wishing on an imaginary Jeeves won't put dinner on the table. I gave a sigh of resignation, and took stock of my fridge and cupboards. I found a crisp cucumber, an avocado that really needed to be used, some new season cherry tomates and a pack of taco shells. A half smile began to play on my face. "Whoa-ho-ho!", I thought. "I may not cook tonight, but I can certainly come up with the goods for dinner!"

And thus the no-cook taco was born.

No-Cook Tacos

2 taco shells per person
400 gram tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 avocado, diced
1 Lebanese cucumber, diced
100 grams cherry tomatoes, quartered
Juice of one lime
100 grams tasty cheese, grated
1 small tub sour cream

1 - In a bowl, mix together the beans, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes and lime juice. Set aside for 15 minutes or so, to allow the flavours to mingle.

2 - When ready, quickly heat the tacos in a hot oven as per the packet directions. Stuff each taco with the bean mix, then top with cheese and sour cream and dig in!

Pumpkiny Vegetable and Chickpea Curry

2007-10-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

The secret to making this taste pumpkin rich is to cut the pumpkin into little squares, and add it right at the very beginning. It breaks down and mixes with the coconut milk, creating a rich pumpkiny sauce for the other vegetables - delish!

Pumpkiny Vegetable and Chickpea Curry

1 onion, finely diced
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons red curry paste
1/4 small pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1 cm squares
400 gram tin coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water (375ml)
1 eggplant, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
400 gram tin chickpeas (garbanzos), rinsed and drained
Steamed brown rice, to serve

1 - Heat the oil over a medium high heat in a large pan. Add the onion, and cook until the onion is golden and tender.

2 - Add the curry paste, and cook for another minute more.

3 - Add the coconut milk, water, eggplant and pumpkin, and bring to the boil. Lower heat, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring regularly.

4 - Add the capsicum and simmer for 5 minutes more.

5 - Add the chickpeas and broccoli, and cook for another few minutes, or until the broccoli is tender. Serve over the brown rice.

Corn Chowder with Veggie Roll Ups

2007-10-21T20:09:00.001-07:00

This slightly spicy soup is just the thing to take the edge off a chilly spring evening, with the corn being a welcome reminder of the balmy days to come.

Corn Chowder

1 onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chilli flakes
800 gram tin corn kernals, drained and rinsed
3 potatoes, peeled and diced into 2 cm pieces
1 red capsicum, diced
1 litre vegetable stock
50 grams feta cheese, crumbled

1 - Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, and cook until golden and tender. Add the chilli flakes, and cook a minute more.

2 - Add the corn, potato, capsicum and stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the potato is tender. Set aside to cool.

3 - Remove half the soup and puree it. Return to the pan, reheat, then serve. Garnish with feta, and coriander if you like. Serve with the veggie roll ups.

Veggie Roll Ups

3 pieces wholemeal Sorj bread
1 small tub hommus dip
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 iceberg lettuce, washed well and sliced thinly
Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 - Place each piece of Sorj bread out onto a flat surface. Spread with the hommus dip.

2 - Layer the carrot and lettuce on top then sprinkly with some of the lemon juice. Roll up each piece of bread, then cut into threes. Repeat with remaining bread. Serve with chowder.

Vegetarian Enchiladas

2007-10-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

I was poking around in my cupboard the other day, and found a jar of enchilada sauce. Although I had absolutely no recollection of buying it, I wasn't about to let that stop me using it! Usually I like to make everything from scratch, but I wasn't about to look a Mexican gift horse in the mouth. So I kept poking around and discovered some tortillas, some beans and a few rubbery carrots in the frige. Perfect! So here we have enchiladas, Leisl-style: completely off the cuff, but damn good nonetheless.

Vegetarian Enchiladas

800 gram tin crushed tomatoes

400 gram tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 zucchini, grated
4 flour tortillas
1 small jar hot enchilada sauce
100 grams grated tasty cheese
3 large handfuls salad leaves
1 Lebanese cucumber, roughly diced
50 grams feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 - Heat a large pan over a medium hot heat. Add the tomatoes, beans, chilli flakes, carrot, zucchini and 1/2 a cup of water to the pan, and bring to the boil.

2 - Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes or so, until the mixture is nice and thick.

3 - Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 C. Lay each tortilla on a flat surface, and spread with some of the filling. Roll up the tortilla, and place snugly in a baking dish. Repeat with other 3 tortillas.

4 - Pour the enchilada sauce over the top of the rolled tortillas, then top with the tasty cheese. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbling. Set aside for a couple of mintues to cool before serving.

5 - Put the lettuce and cucumber in a bowl together. Mix together the oil, vinegar and mustard in a small bowl, then pour over the salad. Serve with the enchiladas.

Chilli Beetroot Dip with Marinated Goat's Cheese followed by Broad Bean and Lemon Risotto

2007-10-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

We had friends over for dinner on Friday night, so I decided that elegant yet modern Italian would be just the thing. Enjoy!

Chilli and Beetroot Dip with Marinated Goat's Cheese

6 beetroot, peeled and diced into largish chunks

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

100 grams marinated goat's cheese

3 pieces wholemeal Sorj bread, cut into 8cm squares

1 - Preheat the oven to 200C. Place the beetroot in a large roasting dish, and toss with the olive oil. Roast for 30 - 40 minutes, or until tender. Set aside to cool.

2 - Puree the beetroot and chilli flakes together, adding a teaspoon of water if it becomes too thick.

3 - Meanwhile, toast the Sorj bread in a hot oven for 2 minutes, or until crispy.

4 - Arrange the dip, the goat's cheese and Sorj bread nicely on a platter, and serve. The dip tastes awesome with some goat's cheese slathered in top!

Note: The dip will keep in the fridge for 4 days, and is great on toast, as a spread on burgers, or even as a vegetable side dish.

Broad Bean and Lemon Risotto

300 grams broad bean pods

50 grams butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

1.5 litres vegetable stock or water

2 cups arborio rice

Grated rind of one lemon

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 - Shell the broad beans. Bring a small pot of water to the boil, and add the beans, and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Drain, then set aside to cool.

2 - Once the beans are cool enough to handle, slip each one from it's little grey case. Set aside.

3 - Meanwhile, heat the stock until it is simmering. In another saucepan (a large one), heat the olive oil and butter together. When hot, add the onion and cook until golden and tender. Add the rice and lemon rind, and let it cook for a couple of minutes, or until the rice becomes translucent.

4 - Add the stock one ladleful at a time, letting the rice absorb it before adding more. Continue in this way until all the stock is used up, and the rice is al dente. Add the broad beans and parmesan cheese, and stir through gently, taking care not to squish the beans. Take off the heat, then serve, seasoning to taste, and with extra parmesan for those who like it cheesy. Accompany with a simple lettuce and cucumber salad.

Break in our normal broadcasting schedule

2007-10-08T01:49:00.000-07:00

What a week - and I don't mean that in a good way. Between dealing with a dead rat that is currently stinking out our entire house from it's final (and unfortunate) resting place somewhere beneath the floor and one very sick little girl suffering from a ghastly bout of gastro, cooking and taking food pics hasn't really been very high on my list. In fact, we've been living off whatever poor old Grumbles can keep down (dry biscuits and pasta, mostly) in between fleeing the stench.

So many apologies to you all. Hopefully next week broadcasting of Dinner Daily will resume it's normal schedule. And in the meantime, here's to a much healthier and less stinky life!

xo Leisl

This week's meals

2007-09-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-30T20:23:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-23T21:12:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-23T20:53:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-16T20:44:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-16T20:32:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-09T21:15:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-09T20:44:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-09T20:28:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-02T21:51:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

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!

This week's meals

2007-08-26T01:57:00.000-07:00

The meals for this week are:
Monday - Sweet potato and split pea soup with feta bread
Tuesday - Greek pastries with roasted root vegetable and maple syrup salad
Wednesday - Shepherd's pie with minted mushy peas
Thursday - Cauliflower, broccoli and gruyere bakes with broad bean toasties
Friday - Chilli polenta chips with green salad

Ingredients required:

Fresh Produce
2 onions
10 cloves garlic
small piece of ginger
2 large sweet potatoes
5 carrots
1/2 bunch silverbeet
1/2 small pumpkin (Jap is good)
1 kilo potatoes
1 cauliflower
1 large head broccoli
1 lemon
Lettuce leaves

1 bunch parsley leaves
1 bunch mint

200 grams firm feta
250 grams ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
150 grams gruyere
1 1/2 cups milk
100 grams butter

1 egg

1 loaf bread (for toasties and to make breadcrumbs)

Dry Goods
1.75 litres vegetable stock
1 cup yellow split peas
1 x 7 gram sachet dried yeast
3 1/2 cups plain flour
Pepita seeds
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
400 gram tin brown lentils
4 tablespoons sun dried tomato strips
1 cup instant polenta
1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise

4 sheets puff pastry
250 grams frozen spinach
500 grams frozen peas
200 grams frozen broad beans

Cupboard Staples
Olive oil
Coriander powder
Dried chilli flakes
Cummin powder
Honey
Sea salt
Dijon mustard
Maple syrup
Dried oregano

Sweet potato and split pea soup with feta bread

2007-08-26T01:36:00.000-07:00

These pull apart loaves, a firm favourite around here, are the easiest thing in the world to make, and you could put any sort of filling in them that you wanted, like pestos or tapenades. And this soup is fabulous if you're coming down with a cold - it really gives you a good zing!

Sweet potato and split pea soup

1 onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon cummin powder
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 litre vegetable stock or water
1 cup yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed well

1 - Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, and cook the onion until tender and golden. Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, chilli flakes and cummin, and cook for a minute or two.

2 - Add the vegetables and stir to coat with the spice mixture. Add the yellow split peas and stock, and bring to the boil, stirring often to stop the peas from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

3 - Once it comes to the boil, simmer covered for 30 - 40 minutes, or until the split peas are tender. Cool, then blend the soup until smooth. Reheat and serve.

Feta bread

1 1/2 cups warmish water
2 teaspoons (one 7 gram sachet) dried yeast
2 tablespoons honey
3 1/2 cups plain flour
100 grams firm feta, crumbled
1 handful parsley leaves, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Sea salt

1 - Combine the water and yeast in a jug. Let it sit for a few minutes, then stir in the honey until dissolved.

2 - Put the flour in a large bowl, and make a well in the centre. Pour in the yeast mixture, and use a fork to combine. Turn out onto a well floured bench, and start to knead the dough, for a good five minutes, or however long it takes to sing along to a couple of songs on the radio. The dough should be smooth and elastic. Don't be afraid to put your back into it!

3 - Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and cover with cling wrap or a damp tea towel. Let rise in a nice warm place for a couple of hours, or until doubled in size. Alternatively, you could skip all this, and just nip to the local bakery for one of their finest.

4 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Turn your dough out onto the bench, then punch down on the loaf, letting some air escape. Give it another quick knead, then divide into three sections.

5 - Grease a loaf tin really well. Divide each section into six balls (you shoud have 18 all up). Put the first six balls into the tin, spreading them out evenly. Brush the tops of the balls with olive oil, then scatter over the feta, parsley and garlic.

6 - Place another six balls on top of the others, and repeat. Top with the final six balls, brush the tops with olive oil, and top with some sea salt. Cover the loaf with the damp tea towel, and let the dough rise again in a nice warm spot (should take about 45 minutes).

7 - Bake the load for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden, and the base sounds hollow then tapped. Serve with the soup by pulling the sections apart.

Greek pastries with roasted root vegetable and maple syrup salad

2007-08-26T00:12:00.000-07:00

I love these pastries! I always make a few, so there's plenty to chow down for lunch the next day. And you don't even need to reheat them - they're just as good cold as hot!

Greek pastries

4 sheets puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
250 g frozen spinach, thawed
1/2 bunch silverbeet leaves, roughly chopped
100 g firm feta, crumbled
250 g ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to season

1 - Place the spinach and silverbeet in a pan with a little water. Cook gently over a mild heat, until the silverbeet has witled. Let cool, then squeeze out the moisture.

2 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Place the silverbeet mixture in a bowl, then add the cheeses. Combine well, then season to taste with the s and p.

3 - Cut each piece of filo in half. Place a couple of tablespoons of spinach mixture in the lower half of each pastry piece. Brush the edges with the egg, then fold the pastry over. Seal the edges using the prongs of a fork. Repeat until you have 8 pastries.

4 - Place four pastries on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Brush the egg over the top of each pastry, then bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the pastries are puffed up and golden.

Roasted root vegetable and maple syrup salad

2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 3 cm pieces
1/2 small pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 4 cm pieces
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 4 cm pieces
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
small handful pepita seeds

1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Line a roasting pan with baking paper, and place the vegetables in.

2 - Mix together the oil, maple syrup and mustard, then pour over the vegetables. Toss to combine, then roast for 1 hour, or until the vegetables are beginning to caramelise.

3 - Place on a serving dish, then sprinkle over the pepitas. Serve hot.

Shepherd's pie with minted mushy peas

2007-08-25T23:57:00.000-07:00

This is comfort food at it's very best. In fact, it was so comforting that I had two helpings, and then scarfed the leftovers for breakfast. Buuuuurrrrrp!

Shepherd's Pie

1 kilo potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
800 g tin crushed tomatoes
400 g tin brown lentils
4 tablespoons sundried tomato strips
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C.

2 - Place the potatoes in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer until the potatoes are tender. Drain, then mash, adding the milk until the mash is light and fluffy. Season with pepper, and stir in the cheese.

3 - Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan. Cook the onion until tender and golden, then add the garlic. Cook for a minutes, then add the tomatoes, lentils and carrots. Bring to the boil, then simmer away until the mixture becomes nice and thick. Add the oregano.

3 - Place the tomato mixture into a large baking dish. Gently spread the mashed potato over the top, and cook for 40 minutes, or until the top is a lovely golden brown. Serve with the mushy peas.

Minted mushy peas

500g frozen peas
50 grams butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves

1 - Cook the peas in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 3 - 4 minutes, or until tender.

2 - Drain the peas, then blitz with the butter and mint in a food processor (Don't over blitz - you want them to be kinda lumpy, not a pea puree). Serve.

Cauli, broccoli and gruyere bakes with broad bean toasties

2007-08-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

I'm really sorry about the lack of toasties photo. While the bake was, well, baking, I set up my toasties nicely on a platter, and plonked it on the table. Next thing I know I can hear the sound of two mouths munching away. In horror I turn to find that the Galumph and Grumbles have already started in.

"NOOOOOOO!", I cried. "I need to take a photo of them!"

"Oh!", said the Galumph. "I thought these were just the entree!".

Grumbles didn't say a word. She just kept eating.

I slunk back to the kitchen, mourning the loss of the photo (trust me, the platter was now a disaster zone), and muttered to myself that I sure bet that Martha Stewart didn't have to put up with these sorts of shenanigans. Sigh.

Cauliflower, Broccoli and Gruyere Bakes

1 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
150g gruyere, grated
1 tablespoon plain flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup (250ml) milk
1 cup or there abouts (I just used the heel of our loaf of bread) fresh bread crumbs
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 - Steam the cauliflower and broccoli until tender. Preheat the oven to 180 C.

2 - Meanwhile, melt the butter in a smallish saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, and stir to combine. Slowly add the milk, turning up the heat a bit, and stir until thickened. Add the gruyere, and stir until melted in. Season with salt and pepper. (If you've never done it before, then congratulations - you've just made cheese sauce!)

3 - Arrange the broccoli and cauli in a large baking dish, then pour the cheese sauce over the top. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs, then cook for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Serve.

Broad bean toasties

200 g frozen broad beans (or fresh if you're lucky enough to find them)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Slices of good quality bread, to serve

1 - Cook the broad beans in a pan of boiling water for 3 - 5 minutes. Drain, then blanch under cold water.

2 - When cooled, slip them out of their sad little grey skins.

3 - Place the beans in a bowl with the garlic and olive oil, and roughly mash them with a fork.

4 - Toast the bread, cut into halves or quarters, then smoosh over some of the broad bean mixture. Eat!

Chilli Polenta Chips

2007-08-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

This is a really quick and easy dinner. The longest part of it is waiting for the polenta mixture to cool down. If you were really organised you could make the polenta before you headed out the door in the morning (trust me, if you use instant polenta it takes all of about 2 minutes), and then you just have to bake the chips and make the salad when you come home. Too easy!

Chilli Polenta Chips with garlicky aioli

1 cup instant polenta
3 cups vegetable stock or water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon chilli flakes (or two spoons if you like some zing!)
1 cup grated tasty cheese
1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
sea salt, to taste

1 - Put the stock and butter into a saucepan and bring to the boil.

2 - Add the polenta in a slow stream, stirring vigorously the whole time so no lumps form. Let simmer for two minutes, or until the polenta mixture is very thick (Word from the wise: watch out for polenta spits. They really hurt).

3 - Take the pan off the heat, and add the chilli and cheese. Stir until the cheese is completely melted in.

4 - Pour the polenta mixture into a very well greased baking dish. Smooth out the top, then let cool.

5 - Cut the polenta mixture into chips, then put the chips on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper. You can sprinkle some extra polenta on top of the chips here if you like, I but always forget. It just makes them a bit crunchier. Bake in a 200C oven for 30 minutes, or until crunchy on top. Sprinkle with sea salt, and serve with aioli and a simple green salad (I just threw together some cos lettuce leaves and sun dried tomatoes that I had in the fridge. Easy and tasty!)

Aioli

1 - Mix the mayo, garlic and lemon juice together. Add salt to taste. That's it!

This week's meals

2007-08-18T23:43:00.000-07:00

The meals for this week are:
Monday - Eggplant and Green Bean Noodle soup
Tuesday - Curried Pea and Lettuce Soup
Wednesday - Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry
Thursday - Spanakopita with Green Salad
Friday - Beany Quesadillas

Ingredients required:

Fresh Produce
1 large eggplant
2 large sweet potato
200 grams green beans
1 large head broccoli
1 cos lettuce
3 onions
7 cloves garlic
2 red capsicum
2 handfuls spinach leaves
1 bunch silverbeet or rainbow chard
4 spring onions
1 long red chilli
3 handfuls lettuce mix
1 carrot
1 lime

Coriander
Parsley

5 eggs

250 grams ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
300 grams firm feta cheese
100 grams butter
1 cup grated cheddar
300 grams sour cream

500 grams frozen peas
250 grams frozen spinach
1 packet frozen filo pastry

Dry Goods
Red curry paste
410g tin coconut milk
150 grams flat rice noodles
Hot curry powder
1 litre vegetable stock
2 x 800g tin crushed tomatoes
400g tin chickpeas
Sesame seeds
410g tin red kidney beans
Flour tortillas

Cupboard Staples
Olive oil
Brown rice
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Red wine vinegar
Dijon mustard
Dried chilli flakes

Eggplant and green bean noodle soup

2007-08-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

This soup is what I like to refer to as "The Clayton's Laksa", or the laksa you have when you're not really having a laksa. Anyhoo, it doesn't really matter what it's called - it's damn fine!

2 tablespoons red curry paste (or more if you want to blow funny steam clouds out of your ears)
1 1/4 cups of water
1 large eggplant, cubed
1 large sweet potato, cubed
410g tin coconut milk
200 grams green beans, trimmed
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
150 grams dried flat rice noodles
coriander, to serve

1 - Combine the curry paste, water, eggplant and sweet potato in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer, covered for 5 minutes.

2 - Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to the boil, and cook the rice noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain.

3 - Add the beans and broccoli to the pan, plus the coconut milk. Rebring to the boil, then simmer for another 5 - 7 minutes, or until the veggies are tender. Add the noodles then serve, topping with the coriander.

Curried Pea and Lettuce Soup

2007-08-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks, no photo for this one because I am a big ol' duffer who completely forgot! Both my husband and daughter have that awful leurgy that seems to be taking Melbourne out, so my mind was more on making a soup to make them feel better, or at the very least a little bit less congested, and the whole photo thing simply went out the window.

So you'll have to take my word for it that this soup is very, very green. And very, very good for people with horrible snuffly colds. It's also good for alarming dinner guests (trust me, it's that green!), but that's a story for another day.

Curried Pea and Lettuce Soup

1 cos lettuce, leaves washed well and roughly shredded
1 onion, diced
50 grams butter (or olive oil for vegans)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons hot curry powder
1 litre vegetable stock or water
500g frozen peas

1 - Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then saute the onion until tender and golden. Add the garlic and curry powder, and mix until combined. If you happen to have a cold, take this opportunity to stick you head right in the pan, and breath in deeply. We'll shake off that cold in no time - you, me and the peas!

2 - Add the lettuce, and stir so it is coated with the onion mixture. Wait until it wilts, then add the peas and stock.

3 - Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Let the soup cool, then blend until smooth. Reheat to serve, ideally with some yummy crusty bread.

Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry

2007-08-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

This was one of those: Hmm, what the heck shall we have for dinner tonight. Better open up the cupboard and see what's hiding in there. Oh great - sweet mother of nothing. Hang on - I spy a sweet potato! And there's an old capsicum in the fridge, right next to that handful of spinach that I forgot to put into my sandwhich yesterday. I'm pretty sure I've got a can of chickpeas in the pantry. That's it - dinner is served!"

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm squares
1 red capsicum, roughly chopped
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 or 2 handfuls of spinach leaves, washed well
1 800g tin crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons hot curry powder
400g chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
coriander, to serve
cooked brown rice, to serve

1 - Steam the sweet potato in a steamer until just tender. Remove.

2 - Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Saute the onion until golden, then add the red capsicum, garlic and curry powder. Stir and cook for a minute or two.

3 - Add the tomatoes and chickpeas, bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and spinach, and carefully simmer until the spinach has wilted. Be careful not to moosh the sweet potatoes too much! Add coriander to taste, then serve over the brown rice.

Spanakopita with green salad

2007-08-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

I have a theory. Stay with me, it's a good one. Say you have a child. Or a pain in the elbow Uncle, who inconveniently pops around for dinner all the bloody time, but never is happy with what he is served. Do they like eating their greens? Nah, I didn't think so. I mean, when was the last time you saw a child sit down at the dinner table and declare "Oh, hip hip hooray - tonight we're having greens. Full of nutrients and so good for me! Thank you, kind parents!"

However, and this is the ever so slightly evil bit - if you hide the greens amongst all different sorts of cheese, then encase the whole thing in pastry, then the little suckers will be chomping it down with the best of them. Just don't let them know it's healthy! Or expect them to eat the side salad.

Spanakopita

250g frozen spinach, thawed out and squeezed of moisture
1 bunch silverbeet or rainbow chard (same thing, yeah, just one has prettier stems)
4 spring onions, washed well and thinly sliced

handful chopped parsley
5 eggs, beaten well
250g ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
300g firm feta cheese, crumbled
1 long red chilli, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
20 sheets filo pastry, only just taken out from the freezer
100g butter, melted
Sesame seeds

1 - Preheat the oven to 190 C. Remove the stems from the silverbeet/chard, then roughly slice the leaves. Put into a bowl, cover with boiling water, then remove once they have wilted. Let the leaves cool, then mix with the spinach.

2 - Meanwhile, combine the beaten eggs, parmesan cheese, feta cheese, ricotta cheese, nutmeg, chilli, spring onions, parsley, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the silverbeet/spinach mixture, and mix until combined. Set aside.

3 - This is the bit where you have to work carefully and quickly. Oil a large baking dish with a little of the butter. 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 butter, then place a new one on top of it. Brush it with butter, and repeat until you have layered 10 sheets.

4 - Gently pour in the silverbeet mixture. Spread it over the filo so it is even, then place a sheet of filo on top of it. Brush with butter and so on and so on until the remaining 10 sheets are placed on top.

5 - Tuck the overhanging bits into the dish, or trim, then score the pastry in a diamond pattern. Brush with butter, 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.

Green salad

3 handfuls lettuce mix, washed well and dried
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced into batons
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 - Mix the veggies into a bowl.

2 - Right before serving, combine the oil, vinegar and musard in a small bowl then pour over the salad. Toss, then serve.

Beany Quesadillas

2007-08-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

This is perfect Friday night fare. It's relatively quick, full of goodness and is so delish, what with the squirt of lime juice and the dip of sour cream, that I was practically licking the plate afterwards! And if you decide to pair it with a Corona or four (hey, sometimes those work weeks can be absolute slogs), then so much the better. Loosen the tie or kick off the heels, crack open the beer and enjoy!

Beany Quesadillas

800g tin of crushed tomatoes

1 onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

410g tin of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

1 cup grated cheddar

2 flour tortillas per person

300g sour cream

1 lime, quartered

coriander, to taste

1 - Heat the oil in a large fry pan. Saute the onion until golden, then add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for another minute or so more, or until everything smells yummy and spicy.

2 - Add the kidney beans and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes, bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is a lovely thick goop. Leave to cool a smidge.

3 - Heat up a sandwhich press, dropping and smearing some olive oil on the surface. Place a tortilla on the press, spreading a good dollop of the bean mix onto the torilla, then top with cheese and coriander. Place the other tortilla on top of the first, then grill in the press for a minute or so, or until nice and crisp.

4 - Transfer the tortilla to a plate using a spatula, then cut into quarters. To serve, squirt over some lime juice and dip into the sour cream as you take each bite. Good, huh?!

This week's meals

2007-08-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

The meals for this week are:
Monday - Chilli and Tomato Risotto
Tuesday - Baked Potatoes with coleslaw, smoked cheese and sour cream
Wednesday - Zucchini, Pea and Ricotta Fettucine
Thursday - Potato and Leek Soup with Caramelised Onion Bruschetta
Friday - Cheat's Cannelloni with Sesame Broccoli

Ingredients required:

Fresh Produce
1 onion
2 large baking potatoes (Bintjes) per person
6 large potatoes (Dutch creams)
1/2 small red cabbage
4 red onions
4 medium carrots
2 zucchini
1 bunch spring onions
3 leeks
Broccoli
Mint
Thyme

2 cups frozen peas
250 gram frozen spinach

100 grams mild Taleggio cheese
100 grams smoked cheddar cheese
250 grams firm ricotta
200 grams cheddar cheese
Parmesan cheese
250 gram tub ricotta
1 small tub sour cream
Butter
300 ml low fat cream
300 ml cream

One loaf Italian style bread

Dry Goods
2 cups arborio rice
2 litres vegetable stock
800 gram tin crushed tomatoes
350 gram wide egg fettucine
Cannelloni tubes
750 ml passata

Cupboard Staples
Olive oil
Dried chilli flakes
Whole egg mayonnaise
Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
Brown sugar
Sesame oil
Sesame seeds

Chilli and tomato risotto

2007-08-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

Eek! No picture today, so please accept my deepest apologies. I had a sick friend over for dinner, and was so busy ministering to her needs by making this fabulously comforting risotto (I tells ya, all that chilli is great for clearing out the sinuses!) that I completely forgot the whole 'take a pic of my dinner' thing. Oops.

Chilli and tomato risotto

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1 litre vegetable stock or water
800 gram tin of crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes (or less if you don't like a big whopping chilli hit)
100 grams mild Taleggio cheese (or something similar)

1 - Heat the stock or water in a saucepan until boiling. Turn down to a simmer.

2 - Meanwhile, heat the oil and then gently saute the onion until golden. Add the arborio rice and chilli flakes and cook in the oil and onion mixture for a minute or two.

3 - Begin adding a ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir well, until all the stock is absorbed.

4 - Next, add a ladleful of the crushed tomatoes. Stir well, until all the tomato juice is absorbed. Alternate between the stock and the tomatoes, stirring continually, until both are finished or the rice is al dente.

5 - Serve in nice deep bowls, and top with some chunks of taleggio cheese, which will melt beautifully into the risotto. Blow nose at regular intervals.

Baked potatoes with coleslaw, smoked cheese and sour cream

2007-08-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about these as I was scarfing them down, and came to this valuble conclusion: Baked potatoes are the Irishman's taco - you can stuff them with pretty much anything at all, and as long are they are hot and topped with cheese they'll taste great!

As you can see, I obviously need to get out more.

Baked Potatoes

1 large baking potato per person (I used Bintjes)
100 grams smoked cheddar cheese, grated
1 small tub sour cream
Coleslaw (recipe below)

1 - Preheat oven to 200 C.

2 - Wrap each potato in foil, then place on a baking tray. Bake in oven for 1 - 1 1/4 hours, or until tender.

3 - Unwrap the potatoes, and score with a deep cross. Fill the cross with the coleslaw, sour cream and cheese, then chow on down.

Coleslaw

1/2 small red cabbage
1 red onion, peeled
2 medium carrots, peeled
3 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1 - Place all the vegetables in a food processor with a grate attachement, and grate until fine.

2 - Place grated vegetables in a bowl, and mix with the mayonnaise and mustard. Serve.

Zucchini, Pea and Ricotta Fettucine

2007-08-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

Low fat and full of vegetables. And carbs - I love me some carbs (blowing a raspberry to Atkins diets - bleuuuuurrrrrgh!). What more could a girl want? (Besides rubies and picnics with Champagne and cute new red shoes and yes, ok, alrighty, I'll shut up now!)

Zucchini, Pea and Ricotta Fettucine

350 g wide egg fettucine ribbons
20 grams of butter
2 zucchini, julienned
2 cups of frozen peas
2 spring onions, washed and finely sliced
300 ml low fat cream
250 firm ricotta (from the deli, not the runny stuff from the tub)
Parmesan cheese and mint leaves, to serve

1 - Cook the fettucine in a large saucepan of salted water according to the time on the packet. With 3 minutes to go before the end of cooking, add the zucchini. Add the peas with one minute to go. Once done, drain, and add to the big pan cream mixture, which should be finished at about the same time.

2 - Once you've added the fettucine to the saucepan, get cracking on the sauce: Melt the butter, and gently fry the onions for 2 minutes in a large pan. Add the cream, and simmer for 5 minutes. The stir through the pasta, peas and zucchini, adding the ricotta. Stir to combine.

3 - Top with mint leaves, if you desire a fresh, springy taste, or parmesan cheese, if you're a bit of a cheese addict like me. Serve immediately!

Potato and leek soup with caramelised onion bruschetta

2007-08-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

I love this combination! The sweetness of the onions works really well with the velvety, peppery soup. And the best bit is that the onions can be easily done whilst the soup is simmering away, and is well worth the effort.

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.

Caramelised onion bruschetta

3 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
50 grams butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
1 thick slice of Italian-style bread per person

1 - Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan. Once melted, add the onion, and cover the pan.

2 - Let the onions cook for 10 minutes with the lid on the pan, stirring reguarly.

3 - Remove lid, add the brown sugar then continue cooking over a medium heat, stirring often, until the onions are dark brown and tender. Add the thyme leaves.

4 - Toast the bread, then spread with onion mixture. Serve.

Cheat's cannelloni with sesame broccoli

2007-08-11T17:14:00.000-07:00

This would have to be the world's easiest cannelloni recipe. It's perfect for those Friday nights when you're tired, and you want something that's comforting and tasty, but won't take hours to prepare. And if you don't tell anybody that you cheated with a preprepared sauce, then who will ever know?

Cannelloni

1 packet cannelloni tubes
250 gram tub of ricotta
250 gram frozen spinach, defrosted
3 spring onions, chopped finely
100 gram parmesan cheese, grated
750 ml jar of passata (or any preprepared tomato based pasta sauce)
300 ml cream
200 grams cheddar cheese, grated

1 - Preheat oven to 180 C.

2 - Mix in a bowl the spinach, ricotta, spring onion and parmesan cheese until well combined.

3 - Pour half the passata over the base of a long casserole dish.

4 - Stuff each cannelloni tube with the spinach mixture. Lay in a line along the casserole dish, on top of the passata.

5 - Once all tubes are in the dish, cover with the remaining passata. Pour the cream over evenly, then cover with the grated cheddar cheese.

6 - Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, or until the tubes are al dente, and the cheese is bubbling and golden. Serve with sesame broccoli or a green salad.

Sesame broccoli

1 head broccoli, cut into flowers
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 - Steam the broccoli flowers until tender.

2 - Place in a bowl, and toss with the oil and seeds. Serve immediately.

This week's meals

2007-08-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

The meals for this week are:
Silverbeet, pumpkin and feta risotto with brie toasties
Risotto balls with green salad
Burritos with chocolate milkshakes
Silverbeet and zucchini frittata, with potato salad and coleslaw
Tofu sandwiches

Ingredients required:

Fresh Produce
1/2 small Jap pumpkin
1 onion
2 bunches silverbeet
3 cups salad leaves
1/2 avocado
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
garlic
2 tomatoes
2 zucchini
10 baby potatoes
parsley
1/2 small red cabbage
1 red onion
2 medium carrots

10 eggs

200 grams feta
100 grams ripe brie
100 grams parmesan cheese
100 grams cheddar cheese
750ml milk

Sourdough bread
Large pita bread

Dry Goods
Arborio rice
Dried breadcrumbs
200 grams black turtle beans
800g tin crushed tomatoes

Cupboard staples
Olive oil
Vegetable stock
Vegetable oil
Red wine vinegar
Dijon mustard
Dried chilli flakes
Dutch dark cocoa powder
Caster sugar
Whole egg mayonnaise

Silverbeet, pumpkin and feta risotto with brie toasties

2007-08-05T03:59:00.000-07:00

There's nothing better on a cold winter's evening, when the wind is rattling the windows and the rain is pattering on the roof, to find yourself sitting snugly inside, tucking into a big bowl of risotto goodness. Unless, of course, it's finding a nice bottle of red to open just prior to sitting down and tucking in.

Risotto
1/2 small Jap pumpkin, peeled and cut into smallish pieces
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch of silverbeet, washed well, leaves removed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups of arborio rice
1 litre of vegetable stock or water
100 grams of firm feta, crumbled

1 - Put the pumpkin into a medium sized saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer pumpkin until tender. Drain the pumpkin, and mash. Set aside.

2 - Heat the stock or water until boiling. Turn down to a simmer.

3 - Meanwhile, heat the oil and then gently saute the onion until golden. Add the arborio rice and cook in the oil and onion for a minute or two.

4 - Begin adding a ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir well, until all the stock is absorbed. Keep adding the stock, a ladle at a time, until the rice is al dente, stirring frequently.

5 - At the stage add another ladle of the stock, plus the mashed pumpkin. Stir until the stock is absorbed.

6 - Add the silverbeet, and stir in until wilted. Take the risotto off the heat, then add in the feta. Divide into bowls and serve with the brie toasties.

Brie toasties
Now this isn't really what you'd call a necessary accompaniement to the risotto, but when you have some beautiful sourdough bread at home, and you've just popped into the cheese shop and come out with some super-ripe brie, what else can you do?

1 slice of sourdough bread per person
1 or two slices of brie per person, enough to cover the bread.

1 - Put the brie on the bread, and put under a grill. Grill until the brie is slightly bubbling, then serve.

Risotto Balls with green salad

2007-08-05T03:57:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I find Tuesdays to be killers. It's no longer the absolute beginning of the week, so you're not full of enthusiam. But it's nowhere near the end of the week, and the weekend feels sooooo long away. It's just... Tuesday. Thank goodness most of dinner was made last night, hey!

Risotto Balls

Leftover risotto mixture
2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups dried breadcrumbs

1 - Divide the risotto into balls, using wet hands.

2 - Roll each ball in the breadcrumbs so they are fully coated.

3 - Heat the oil in a saucepan until hot. It should be hot enough that a cube of bread will sizzle on contact.

4 - Free 3 or 4 balls at a time, for 3ish minutes, until the balls are golden. Drain on kitchen towel and serve with the green salad.

Green salad

2 cups of lettuce leaves, washed and dried well
1/2 an avocado, sliced
1/2 a punnet of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard

1 - Add the vegetables to a bowl.

2 - In a small cup, add the vinegar, mustard and oil, and mix well. Pour over salad and serve immediately.

Burritos with chocolate milkshakes

2007-08-05T03:55:00.000-07:00

Burritos. So easy. So filling. So messy. So finger-licking, down-my-arm-it's-dripping good! Who needs takeaway when you can whip up this kind of stuff?

Burritos
200 grams of black turtle beans, picked over and soaked overnight
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
800 gram tin of crushed tomatoes
salad leaves, washed well and dried
2 tomatoes, sliced
100 grams feta, crumbles
1 large piece of pita bread per person

1 - Drain the beans from their soaking liquid, and rinse well. Put them into a heavy saucepan, cover with 1 litre of water, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 45 minutes or until tender, then drain well.

2 - Put half the beans in a bowl, add a little water, and blitz with a blender stick until pureed. Set aside.

3 - Heat the oil in a non-stick fry pan, and saute the onion until golden. Add the garlic and chilli flakes, and cook for a minute or two more.

4 - Add the beans, bean puree and crushed tomatoes, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until thick.

5 - Take each piece of bread, and spread the middle of bean mixture. Add the salad leaves, tomatoes and feta, then roll up and eat.

Chocolate milkshake
2 tablespoons of Dutch dark cocoa powder
500ml of milk
Caster sugar, to taste.

Put the cocoa and milk in a blender and whizz. Add caster suger, one spoon at a time, and whizz again until the desired sweetness. Pour into glasses and serve.

Silverbeet and zucchini frittata with potato salad and coleslaw

2007-08-05T03:53:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is with silverbeet this week, but I just can't get enough of it! And the salads are awesome, particularly for breakfast the next morning on toast. Yum!

Silverbeet and zucchini frittata

1 bunch silverbeet, leaves washed and thinly sliced
2 zucchini, grated
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk

1 - Preheat oven to 180 C.

2 - Break the eggs, and place in a large bowl. Add the milk, and beat together.

3 - Add the parmesan, grated zucchini and silverbeet, then pour into an oiled dish. Season to taste.

4 - Bake in oven for 40 minutes, or until set. Slice and then serve with salads.

Potato salad

10 baby potatoes, washed well and cut into quarters
2 eggs
handful of parsley, chopped roughly
2 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise

1 - Put eggs in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Cook until hard boiled, about 7 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool.

2 - Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a saucepan and cover well with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer until the potatoes are just tender (don't over cook, as they'll start to disintegrate).

3 - When the eggs are cool enough, shell them then slice roughly. Place in a bowl with potatoes, mayo and parley, and mix until combined.

Coleslaw

1/2 small red cabbage
1 red onion, peeled
2 medium carrots, peeled
3 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1 - Place all the vegetables in a food processor with a grate attachement, and grate until fine.

2 - Place grated vegetables in a bowl, and mix with the mayonnaise and mustard. Serve.

Tofu Sandwhiches

2007-08-05T03:51:00.000-07:00

It's Friday, and man are you beat! It'd be so tempting to just dial the local pizza shop, but you're already kind of watching your waist line, not to mention your budget. What's in the fridge - hmm, last night's coleslaw, some cheese and marinated tofu. Just cut up some bread, and voila - dinner is served!

2 slices of bread per person
1 piece of pre-marinated tofu per person
Coleslaw
Cheese

1 - Heat the tofu in a pan until warmed through.
2 - Place on bread, top with coleslaw and grated cheese to your liking, squish the other piece of bread on top, then serve. Feel free to crack open a beer - it is the weekend, after all!

Come on in!

2007-07-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Dinner Daily - your solution for week night dinners! Before we start, I thought I might just run through the scheme of things:

- First things first - each weekend (hopefully Saturday morning) I'll post a list of meals that we'll be having from Mon to Fri. This menu will be accompanied by a list of ingredients which shall be sorted into Fresh Produce (i.e. fruit, vegies, dairy and meat), Dry Goods (i.e. tinned tomatoes, tins of beans etc) and Cupboard Staples (which will be things you'd have on hand normally, but might need to stock up on i.e. flour, rice, olive oil etc)

Reading through this list will give you the chance to make any alterations to the menus as you see fit before you hit the supermarket. For example, if Tuesday's meal is listed as Roast Pumpkin Risotto, which you don't fancy making, then you can substitute your own meal there. Then, each recipe will be posted, hopefully with a pic (I always like to see what I'm eating before I cook it!)

- Just so you know, Dinner Daily is a vegetarian site. It's all part of my evil plan to have vegetarians take over the world. Bwahahahahahahahah! (manically rubbing hands together in glee)

- Most of the meals that are featured will feed four people. For my family, this generally means left-overs for lunch - always a good thing! However, occasionally I might post a recipe that seems able to feed eight. Don't think I'm going mad - just put the left overs in the freezer as I instruct you and sit tight. I'll generally ask you in the next week or so to pull it out and use in another dish. Economical, oui?

- Friday's menu usually won't generate any leftovers, just so you know.

- Comments and feedback are always welcome (please keep abuse to a minimum, though... I don't want to be crying into my stockpot).

- Generally, each month I will feature a mostly new dishes, but some old favourites might make the occaisonal cameo appearance.

- Most of the recipes will be on the table within 30ish minutes, however some might require some initial prep i.e. roasting of vegies etc. Don't kill youself over it - if the recipe calls for roasted caps and you just don't think you'll find the time for it, then buy them from the deli. This is meant to be fun and easy - not a competition!

- Always take the time to read through the recipes at your leisure before you begin cooking them, so no nasty surprises pop up at you (like salting eggplant for 1/2 hour etc). Organisation is the key!

- The recipes are seasonally based - that is, using the fruit and vegies that are in season for the current times. Not only is this a better way to eat, but it's generally much cheaper, too.

- For a treat, I might occasionally pop in an easy dessert recipe. I know, you're about to fall over with excitement.

I think that's about it. Above all, have fun, enjoy the new meals and keep the suggestions coming. And if you want to contribute recipes of your own, be my guest!