Gnocchi with Cherry Tomatoes and Cream

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Lately, my cherry tomato bush has been inundated with beautifully sweet, juicy red bubbles. I think Veggie Dad overdosed on them at one point, and I've been taking a punnet with me wherever I go. There is nothing better than tiny tomatoes you've grown yourself... I know it's cliche, but there will never be a tomato in the supermarket that will taste anywhere near as good.

Usually I like to roast tomatoes until they caramelise and burst open a little, letting their delicious insides spill out everywhere... and there's the times when I like to put them in a frying pan with a little butter and a lot of garlic... and cook them slowly... and add cream... and try not to eat it like a soup instead of having it with pasta. This was one of those times.

Ingredients:
1-2 tbs butter
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
300ml cream
salt
grated parmesan
cooked gnocchi

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat.

2. Add tomatoes and garlic and saute gently until the tomatoes start to pop, 5 minutes or so.

3. Add cream and bring to the boil briefly.

4. Turn down the heat and add parmesan, as much as you like. Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary.

5. Simmer until sauce reduces and thickens slightly. Feel free to squash your tomatoes to release extra juicy goodness.

6. Stir in gnocchi and serve with extra parmesan on top and a twist of black pepper.

Lentil and balsamic tomato pappardelle

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Spaghetti Bolognese is one of those ubiquitous dishes. Everybody eats it, everybody cooks it, everybody likes it.

Except me.

Maybe because we had it upwards of three times a week (may be an exaggeration... but not much!), maybe because I don't like the way spaghetti feels in my mouth, maybe because I just don't like tomato pasta sauce. I don't know. I rarely never cook it and pretty much never want to eat it.

AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, QUIT CALLING IT SPAG BOG.

It makes me think of a toilet.

Mr Veggie Dad finds my bolognese aversion tough going, as he really likes it. And he makes a mean version too, just quietly. Sometimes I make similar sorts of things, like this lentil dish, and it seems to suffice. Want to cut down on meat? (And since when did mince get so expensive? I thought it was just snouts and tendons...) throw in some lentils. Add something, anything, for the love of god other than spaghetti and hey... even I might eat it.

Cover it in parmesan and I'm your man.

You could make this even better (and I have), by roasting halved tomatoes until soft. Then squashing them with salt and balsamic and adding to the lentils. YUM.

It's easy, quick and good for you. A delicious dish on a cold night with a sneaky red. You know you want to.

Oh and don't forget the garlic bread. Tell 'em Veggie Mama sent ya.

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can green lentils

1 can chopped tomatoes

A good splash of balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon mixed herbs
a pinch of sugar
salt and cracked black pepper
Fresh pappardelle pasta, or cut your own from fresh lasagna sheets.


Directions:

1. Heat some oil or butter in a saucepan and fry onion over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and fry 1 minute.

2. Add everything else and bring to the boil. Let simmer for at least 10 minutes. The longer you do, the richer and better it will taste.

3. Cook pappardelle according to package directions.

4. Test your sauce for seasoning, add to pasta, cover the lot with parmesan.

5. Never eat spaghetti bolognese again.


Seriously... am I the only one that doesn't like it?

1.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

From: Rebecca Marshall
Sent: Monday, 14 June 2010 12:16 PM
To: Stacey Roberts
Subject: RE:


Honey there are some things broccoli should never be and soup is one of them. There is something vomity about it in liquid form anyway and you go and add cheese? What are you? On crack?
 
 
 
From: Stacey Roberts 
Sent: Monday, 14 June 2010 12:18 PM
To: Rebecca Marshall
Subject: RE:
Seriously. After all these years and all this Veggie Mama-ing, you still don’t trust me? Why would I bring to you a disgusting soup? It’s one of the most amazing things I have ever tasted. Rich and velvety, the thing is like nectar from the gods. Sure I was apprehensive the first time I made it, but I can’t imagine what life would be like without this soup in it. Ye of little faith.

Pah.

Meanwhile you had such a bad week with replacements last week. Wield the power and cut his darn copy.


Kind Regards,
Stacey Roberts
***** News Editor
 
 
From: Rebecca Marshall

Sent: Monday, 14 June 2010 12:21 PM
To: Stacey Roberts
Subject: RE: Well I expect a thermos of said soup at your earliest convenience. Until then you are safe from elimination and still in the MasterChef competition.




Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large head broccoli
2 potatoes, diced
1 litre vegetable stock
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

Directions:
1. Saute the onion garlic in 1 teaspoon each butter and oil over medium heat until translucent.

2. Add the broccoli, potatoes and stock and turn up the heat. Boil 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked.

3. Meanwhile, melt the 1 tablespoon butter in a small pan over low heat. Add the flour and cook 1 minute. Add the milk and whisk vigorously until smooth. Cook slowly until the sauce is thick and creamy. Add the cheese.

4. Blend the soup to a puree and add the cheese sauce. Serve with lots of delicious, hot bread.

Audrey Gordon and the Roast Vegetable Salad

I love comedy. I love books. It is my personal belief that there's nothing better than when the two are combined.

I was made aware recently that the hilarious team from Working Dog Productions had taken a potshot at the foodie culture by creating their own celebrity chef, and in turn had her create a cookbook. Now I like my wit drier than a desert, and when a satirical publication is passed off as legitimate, (hello The Onion), I am especially impressed. Particularly if it leaves people a little unsure if they're being had or not.

Working Dog have amused me over the years with The Castle, The Panel, and Thank God You're Here, and are made up of members of the D-Generation and The Late Show (seriously funny Australian comedy that I still watch today), and their creation of Audrey Gordon does not disappoint. As she moves to Tuscany to immerse herself in the culture, customs and cuisine, Audrey's impertinent attitude (she was voted Britain's Sternest Chef for three consecutive years) makes for compelling reading. There was a joke on just about every page that I found genuinely funny ("The Piazza Pallazzio has genuine period charm. Each of its 66 rooms boasts antiques such as Etruscan rugs, four-poster beds, vases and dial-up internet"), and I am an exacting comedy consumer. I'm a tough nut to crack.

Complete with recipes I want to try marked...

All the recipes included in the book are real, and actually quite delicious. I'm told the book is "a practical guide that will help you carry off everything from a lazy Sunday brunch with friends to a formal sit-down banquet for 300 lactose-intolerant, diabetic vegans with severe peanut allergies". You can't get more helpful than that.

I decided to put the roast vegetable salad to the test - something easy I could throw together, but still be delicious. Given that it is getting into cooler weather too, a salad sort of needs to be a bit hotter and heartier to go with your meals This will do the trick!

Ingredients:
10 new potatoes, halved
2 white onions, sliced
2 large carrots, cut large chunks
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 zucchini, thickly sliced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
olive oil
salt
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
50g pine nuts
150g flat-leaf parsley, washed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C.

2. Place the potatoes in a saucepan of water and bring to the boil for 5 minutes until they're just turning soft, but not cooked.

3. Put the potatoes in a large bowl along with the sliced onion, carrot, garlic cloves and zucchini. Sprinkle with rosemary, thyme and a good slug of olive oil. Toss to coat the vegetables with the olive oil then season with salt to taste.

3. Spread the vegetables on an oiled baking tray and bake about 35 minutes until they begin to brown around the edges.

4. Stir in the cherry tomatoes, and continue cooking for a further 15 minutes.

6. Toss the roast vegetables in a large bowl with the pine nuts, parsley and balsamic vinegar.


Audrey's Tip:
Heat is the very essence of cooking. It's what causes individual ingredients to lower their barriers and intermingle with each other, eventually yielding to the moment, rather like vodka at a dinner party. That said, it's imperative that you use no more and no less heat than is needed. The last thing one wants is to startle the garlic or flummox your onion.

Caramelised Onion and Feta Frittata

Ok so I lied... it's not so much frittata as it is omelet with stuff on top and not folded.... lazy frittata, if you will!

Very good for quick suppers with a salad and bread or potato of some type. Doesn't take long, you can put whatever you've got hanging around in the fridge on it, and it doesn't require turning on the oven. Win!!

As always, can be doubled, tripled, whatever... even cooked in the oven if you're so inclined! Just add 2 eggs per person.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 tbs each olive oil and butter

1 onion, sliced fairly thin

1 teaspoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 cup sliced mushrooms or any other veggie you want to sneak in. I also used 1/4 cup semi-dried tomatoes

5 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup shredded tasty cheese

1/4 cup feta, crumbled

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tbsp each the oil and butter over medium-low heat.

2. Add onion and saute gently 10-15 minutes. Add sugar and balsamic vinegar about halfway through.

3. Remove from pan and heat the remaining oil and butter.

4. Turn heat to high and add mushrooms. Cook until caramelised and soft, about 5 minutes.

5. Add semi-dried tomatoes or any other veggie if using. Pour over eggs and tasty cheese. Season.

6. Turn heat down to medium and cook until mostly set - 6-7 minutes. You can pop under the grill/broiler here if you like. It isn't necessary.

7. Top with warm caramelised onion and scatter feta over the top. Some fresh herbs wouldn't go astray.

Spinach Feta and Sundried Tomato Strudel

These days, as I waddle around my kitchen in the ever-increasing heat, I am always grateful for dinners that don't take too long and can be paired with a salad. And possibly a potato of some description. The only real requirement is that they have to taste amazing, or I'm not interested. Pretty much standard for the Veggie Mama kitchen where bland food is banned!

But seriously, who doesn't love a dinner that's put together quickly and left in the oven to do its thang without stirring or watching or hovering?

Being that frozen spinach is really quite ... spinach-y ... it's not to everybody's fancy. But it's so convenient and it's packed full of nutrients that both veggies and non-veggies alike can benefit from. The best part is you can pair it with other strongly-flavoured ingredients and the result is like a party in your mouth. I particularly enjoy this soft spinach-feta-tomato combo wrapped in a flaky, parmesan-topped pastry - its so much nicer than anything you get at the shops.

This can be doubled or tripled or whatever you like, just stick your pieces of pastry together at the ends to make an extra-long roll, or bake them in little individual parcels*.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

250g frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed of all liquid

1 cup feta

1/2 cup sundried tomato

1 egg

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Milk or melted butter to brush over, and grated parmesan to sprinkle

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C.

2. Mix spinach, feta, sundried tomato, egg and cheddar cheese in a bowl.

3. Spoon on to the middle of your pastry, making a long fat lump that has a narrow gap of pastry at each end, and a wider gap at the top and bottom.

4. Starting with the narrow bits, fold the pastry in. Then fold top and bottom over.

5. Place upside down on a baking tray, brush over milk or melted butter and add parmesan.

6. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and heated through.

Now there's absolutely no reason why you need to stick entirely to these ingredients, except for the fact that they're delicious. You could use fresh spinach, a different cheese, add pine nuts... anything you like. What ar your thoughts? What would you use?

*yeah, right...

Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables

 I don't know about you, but in summer it is super-hot where I live. I'm always on the lookout for recipes that don't take too long on a steamy night, and one that I can eat outdoors with a nice cold wine* and good company. Preferably only with a fork. And that doesn't require too much washing up. I still haven't found a recipe that will make itself, sadly.

Thanks to Martha Stewart here is a very easy, quick dish that won't have you slaving over a hot stove or oven for too long, but is a little more substantial than a salad. You could really throw anything you like in, asparagus would be nice, some different colour squash... but it's hot, and I'm heavily pregnant and I just couldn't. be. bothered. That's why I love this recipe!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 zucchini
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Two handfuls grape tomatoes
1 package gnocchi
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1 tablespoon butter
Juice of half a lemon

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and saute until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the garlic and grape tomatoes and saute five or so minutes more. You can squash the tomatoes a little as they collapse, which adds to the sauce.
3. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi according to package instructions.

4. When they float to the surface, spoon them out with a little water and into the frying pan. Toss and add basil, cheese, butter, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add a little more pasta water if it's looking too dry.

Serve with a generous helping of cracked black pepper and some extra parmesan.

Serves 4.



*Wine! Wherefore art thou, wine? A crisp white, a velvety red... a glass of port. I miss you. It's been too long. Have you waited for me? I told you I'd come back... not long now....
Original recipe here

Baked Cheese Ravioli with Broccoli and Spinach

It shouldn't be news to anybody that reads my blog regularly that I love baked anything with cheese. Sometimes I feel sorry for those on a diet or who are looking for low fat dishes ... I often don't have those! However, if some kind of pasta bake with veggies in it is what you're looking for, I have the answer.

Ingredients:
1 packet  frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 -3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
450g broccoli
salt and pepper to taste
1 package cheese ravioli (or whatever you desire)

Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon margarine
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup grated cheese

Directions:

1. Bring large stockpot of water to a boil.
2. Steam broccoli for about 5 minutes until bright green and slightly tender.
3. As water heats up to a boil, heat a large frying pan over medium heat.
4. Add olive oil and chopped garlic, and saute for about 1 minute.
5. Next, add drained spinach to the pan, along with the steamed broccoli.
6. Toss vegetable well with garlic oil to coat evenly.
7. Sauté for about 5 minutes.
8. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat into a bowl, and set aside.
9. For the sauce: In the same pan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour into the butter and cook for about 1-2 minutes.
10. Add stock, raise heat and bring mixture to a boil, whisking the entire time.
11. Slowly whisk in milk and parmesan, and let mixture bubble for about 2 more minutes until thickened.
12. Season sauce with nutmeg (if desired) and salt and pepper.
13. For the pasta: When pasta water is boiling add salt, stir, and add ravioli.
14. Cook according to package directions until slightly underdone.
15. Place a thin layer of the white sauce in an oven proof casserole dish.
16. Drain ravioli.
17. Layer ½ of the ravioli in the baking dish.
18. Next add ½ of the broccoli/spinach mixture Add a couple ladles of the sauce to cover this first layer, a little more than half of it.
19. Add the rest of the vegetable mixture, then the remaining half of the ravioli.
20. Spoon the remaining sauce over the top (a little less than half of it) and top with grated cheese of your choice.
21. Place casserole dish under the broiler or in oven about 8 or so inches from the element.
22. Broil about 5 minutes until cheese melts and is bubbly and starting to brown.

Original recipe here

Lazy Satay Curry

Confession: Sometimes I just don't have fresh coriander in the house.

I know, its such a foodie fail. But, like most people, I just don't. Therefore, sometimes I have to come up with things that taste delicious from stuff I find in the house and no fancy ingredients. This here satay is one of them. Sure it's not like the legitimate stuff from your local Thai takeout, but it'll do in a pinch, and as a bonus, it's vegan.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
A few handfuls of whatever vegetables you have (I used capsicum,carrot, mushrooms and beans)
1 tablespoon whatever curry paste you have on hand
1 400g can coconut milk
1/2 cup veggie stock
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon sambal oelek or any other chili you might have
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
juice of 1 lime

Directions:

1. Saute the onion in the oil for a few minutes, then add the curry paste. Cook 1 minute.

2. Add everything else and simmer 15-20 minutes.


And there you have it. A pantry dish for lazy nights.

Ministry of Food: Rogan Josh

Recently, I blogged about my new cookbook, Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food and the hope that he has to change the fundamentals of home cooking.

In it, Mr Oliver has asked to learn a recipe from each section and pass it on to at least four other people. Here is my offering from the "Easy Curries" section... and oh my goodness, it's amazing. Usually I steer far clear of making actual Indian or Thai recipes, as it never seems to taste as good as the take-out dishes. I knew Jamie wouldn't let me down.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
2 medium onions
1 fresh red chilli
Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger
Small bunch of fresh coriander
Vegetable oil
A knob of butter
4 bay leaves
sea salt and pepper
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
800ml stock or water
1/2 a jar of Patak's Rogan Josh curry paste or Jamie's recipe
2 handfuls red lentils
A bunch of your favourite veggies - I used carrot, broccoli (including stems), snow peas, potato and capsicum
200g natural yoghurt

Directions:

1. Peel, halve and finely chop the onions. Finely slice the chilli, peel and finely chop the ginger, pick the coriander leaves from half the bunch and leave aside for sprinkling. Chop the remaining coriander, including stalks.

2. Put large casserole dish on medium high heat, add a couple of tablespoons oil and the butter.

3. Add onions, chilli, ginger, coriander stalks and bay leaves and cook 10 minutes until onions are soft and golden. Add carrot and any root vegetables, cook 5-7 minutes.

4. Add balsamic vinegar and cook 2 minutes, add tomatoes, stock/water and curry paste.

5. Stir in the lentils, bring to boil, then turn heat down and simmer with the lid on for about 50 minutes.

6. Add softer vegetables: capsicum, broccoli etc and simmer 10 minutes.

7. Serve with rice, poppadoms, chutney, pickle, anything you like!


Jamie's Rogan Josh Paste:

2 cloves garlic
Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger
75g roasted peppers, from a jar
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons groundnut oil
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 fresh red chilli
1 small bunch fresh coriander
Spices for toasting: 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns.

First peel garlic and ginger. Put a frying pan on medium heat and add spices for toasting to the dry pan. Lightly toast them a fewminutes until golden brown and smelling delicious, then remove pan from heat. Add the toasted spices to a pestle and mortar and grind until fine, or put in food processor and whiz to fine powder. Whiz toasted spices and mix with rest of ingredients until a smooth paste.

Ministry of Food: Classic Mince and Onion Pie

It was about 3.30am and I was en route from Los Angeles to Brisbane. It was a 12-hour flight, connecting from Washington DC with a six-hour layover at LAX. I was three hours from home, dog tired and unable to sleep. To the television I turned, going straight to the cooking channels, as usual. It was there I made the decision to watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

BIG mistake.

What I thought would pleasantly entertain me in the wee hours of the morning and hopefully help me to drift off to sleep, instead enraged me, upset me, inspired me and completely broke my heart. Hello increased heart rate, and hello one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever watched on TV.

I thought teaching people to cook healthy meals was a great idea, and eagerly watched as Jamie spread the word about over-processed, artery-clogging, fat-filled food and his attempts to replace it with good, fresh produce with great flavour. My eagerness turned to despair, and then real anger as I saw his efforts met with resistance, stubbornness, ignorance and even hatred. Everywhere he turned, from school cafeteria to radio DJs and regular people, he was hated, ridiculed, despised and even lied about. I couldn't stand it. When the first episode finished, I was desperate to know if he'd cracked the uncrackable exterior of the scared and offended people... but I couldn't bring myself to watch any more. Eventually I relented and watched the second episode. There I stopped, when the headway he was making was so unbelievably incremental.

When I was given the Ministry of Food cookbook recently by Veggie Dad, I was excited. What I liked even more was that these recipes were made to be shared, with as many people as possible. As a food blogger, I'm always careful to use recipes that are in the public domain, but some of the best are in the cookbooks I own. Here is my chance to get these delicious morsels to you!

The idea of the first Ministry of Food was to ensure there was enough food to go round during war time, and to educate the public about food and proper nutrition. Thousands of women who could cook were sent out across the UK to help others. Jamie has asked the readers of his cookbook to pledge to learn just one recipe from each chapter of this book, then pass it on. To at least two people, preferably four. Then they, in turn, can pass it on, creating change with a modern ministry.

Well Jamie, I accept your challenge, and forthwith offer my veg version of a comfort food staple - the classic mince and onion pie.


Ingredients:
3 medium onions
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
olive oil
2 bay leaves
1 packet veggie mince (I use either Quorn or Sanitarium brand)
1 teaspoon English mustard
1 teaspoon Marmite (I used Vegemite - cos I'm a Happy Little Vegemite!!)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (I used one with no anchovies)
2 teaspoons flour, plus extra for dusting
Enough beef stock cubes to make one litre of stock (I used four Massell beef stock cubes, which are vegetarian and gluten-free)
1 sheet frozen shortcrust pastry
1 large egg or a splash of milk

To make your mince filling: 
Peel and roughly chop onions, carrots and celery - don't be fussy, just get them small!

Remove rosemary leaves from woody stalks and chop finely.

Place a large pan on high heat, add 2 lugs of olive oil, the veggies, rosemary and bay leaves.

Stir every minute for around 10 minutes until veggies have softened and lightly coloured. Stir in the mince and break up chunks.

Add mustard, Marmite/Vegemite, Worcestershire sauce and 2 teaspoons flour.

Dissolve the stock in a litre of boiling water and add to the pan, bring to the boil.

Turn heat down and simmer with a lid slightly askew for about an hour, stirring every now and then.

To make your pie: 
Fill a large baking dish with the mince filling and allow to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

Place your thawed pastry on top of the dish, running a knife around the edge to remove excess. Using a fork, press down around the pastry to crimp it and help it to seal.

Make a hole in the middle of your pie with the tip of your knife. Brush the top with beaten egg or milk.

Bake at the bottom of the oven for 40 minutes or until pastry is golden and crisp.


For anyone curious about how veggie mince looks, behold:

Pretty normal.

At the end of your hour, your mince mixture should look like this. If it's too runny, add a little flour to get a nice, thick consistency:

Egg helps the top of the pastry to be a beautiful, shiny, crisp brown. Feel free to use milk or even soy milk.

*drool

So there you have it - learn, enjoy and pass it on!

Thai basil vegetables

Food.com (formerly Recipezaar) has become a goldmine of amazing recipes for me - the fussiest home cook on the planet. Even if everyone at the table is raving about a dish I'm still all "well it could do with some more garlic", "it's nice, but it's not great" and "wow. what was I thinking?"... in other words, Captain Critical.

But that's because I love food, and I love food that has amazing flavour. I'm not about mediocre or "delicate". I want something that punches me in the face and pops up cheerily saying "HA! weren't expecting that now, were you?"

And that's what I find on Food.com. I've never (repeat, never) been let down by any recipe I've ever tried. And that is precisely where I found this little darling.

It is full of flavour, and full of veggies - two of my favourite things. Oh and coriander. Which I adore, but if you hate it (it seems to be quite polarising) you can very well do without. In fact, I forgot it last night, along with the basil, but remembered after a few bites, and it was just as delicious without. Baby brain... my go-to excuse for everything.

Ingredients: 

• 2 medium zucchini, sliced
• 2 cups chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 cup slivered carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 lime, juiced (if using lemon, add another spoonful of sugar... brown is nice)
• 1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek chili paste (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon cornflour 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 
  

Method: 

1. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, garlic, sugar, sambal and cornflour.

2. Heat oil in large pan over high heat. Add veggies (feel free to add whatever you like, broccoli and capsicum are good choices. Mine changes every time I make it.) Stir fry for 3 minutes.

3. Turn heat way, way down. The lowest of the low. Add your sauce and a splash of water if it's looking to be too thick.

4. Cook until veggies are crisp-tender (I find broccoli takes longer, so add accordingly).

5. Stir in herbs and serve with rice or noodles.

Recipe vegetarianised and adapted from here.

Spaghetti with tomato and wine cream

Er... yum.

Inspired by a recipe from The Pioneer Woman (when aren't I?) that contained chicken, I decided to see if I could make a pasta sauce with wine and cream, something I *gasp!* have never done before.

What happened next was a miracle. Well it sure tasted like one, anyway.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon each olive oil and butter
2 cloves garlic
1 onion, diced finely
handful of button mushrooms, sliced
1 can crushed tomatoes, drained
1 cup good white wine (don't ever cook with something you wouldn't drink!)
150ml cream
2 tablespoons green olives
1 teaspoon cornflour mixed with one teaspoon water
spaghetti, cooked according to packet instructions.

Method

1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a reasonably deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.

2. Add the mushrooms and cook two more minutes.

3. Add the drained tomatoes and wine and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes before adding the cream and olives.

4. You have two choices here - boil until the sauce reduces and becomes slightly thick, or boil 10 minutes and then turn down the heat and add the cornflour mix. I was hungry, so option B it was.

5. Serve with the spaghetti, some parmesan, black pepper and good bread.

Easy fried rice

And when I say easy, I mean easy. There is literally nothing to this dish, but some big flavours.

Ingredients

1 onion, diced

1/4 red capsicum, diced

1/2 carrot, diced or grated

1/2 cup each of peas and corn

2 eggs

garlic

1 1/2 cups cold cooked rice (I use leftover takeaway rice)

2-3 tablespoons soy sauce


Method:

1. Beat the eggs and pour into a frying pan on medium-high heat. When it looks almost cooked, flip and seal the other side. Remove to a chopping board and cut into small pieces.

2. In the frying pan, saute the onion, capsicum, carrot, peas and corn for a few minutes until almost soft. Add the garlic and saute one minute.

3. Add the rice and mix. Cook for about five minutes until warmed through.

4. Turn the heat down and add soy sauce to taste. I know it seems like there won't be much flavour except soy, but you'd be WRONG! You really don't need to add anything else. Except for a few sliced green onions on top at the end.

Creamy sundried tomato and roasted pumpkin pasta

If you're watching your weight, I'm sorry.

If you don't like rich, flavourful food, well, I'm sorry for that too.

If you don't like easy pasta dinners, then you're nuts.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes

200g pumpkin, cut into small cubes

1 cup stock

200ml cream (I used light.. )

pepper

fresh basil leaves

penne pasta

Method:

1. Put the pumpkin in a tray and spray with oil. Bake in preheated, fairly hot oven (200-210C) for 15-12 minutes until cooked. I was in a hurry and threw them under the grill/broiler for a few minutes each side.

2. Prepare pasta according to packet directions.

3. Meanwhile, simmer chopped sundried tomatoes in the stock about 10 minutes until plump. After 5 minutes, add the cream and pepper.

3. Add pumpkin to cream mixture, and tear basil leaves over. Stir to mix.

4. Pour over the pasta.