Easy What's-in-the-fridge Quesadilla

I was hungry on the weekend and scanned an odd selection of ingredients in my fridge in the hope of inspiration. I had a party recently where I intended to make Mexican food, changed my mind at the last minute and ended up with a whole lot of tortilla. And so, my first attempt at a quesadilla (which doesn't really resemble a traditional quesadilla) was born. It was delicious so I blog it.

Ingredients:

• 2 wholemeal tortilla per person
• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• teaspoon chopped fresh dill
• sliced red capsicum
• a few chopped green olives
• handful baby spinach
• grated mozarella
• some goats cheese or Danish feta (Meredith Goats cheese is cheese of the Gods and worth the cash. Just sayin')

1. Fry the onions and garlic til soft and a little browned if you like 'em that way

2. Meanwhile, slice the other veges and grate the cheese

3. Take the onions and garlic out of the pan and place the tortilla in, on a low heat

4. Place all toppings on the tortilla, like you would a pizza. Start with half the cheese, then add veges, then add the rest of the cheese. NB: I recommend placing some mozarella around the rim of the tortilla as, when it melts, you can use it to stick the top tortilla to the bottom

5. Once your toppings are on, place another tortilla on top and press down with spatula or hands til the melting cheese sticks them together

6. Carefully flip the quesadilla with a large spatula (or in whatever way you can without all the ingredients spilling out)

7. Toast on both sides til toppings are warm and tortilla crispy

8. Remove. Cut into quarters. Eat.

The toppings I used really were delicious, but you could of course use anything you liked.

Tofu, Black Bean and Spinach Stew with Tortilla

I made this on a whim, so didn't really use specific quantities... It was super hearty and delicious.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

• tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 block of firm tofu, cut into little cubes (about 1cm square)
• approx. 1 cub dry black beans, which you have soaked overnight in water
• 3 large cloves garlic
• 1 large onion
• 1 heaped teaspoon of powdered chipotle chilli
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried coriander seed powder
• half a teaspoon of cumin
• vege stock (fresh or cubes added to water)
• generous handful of spinach

To serve:

• wholemeal tortilla wraps (or lebanese bread or mountain bread)
• cumin
• olive oil
• goats cheese (or sour cream)
• parsley

1. In case you missed it above, black beans must be soaked overnight.

2. Chop garlic and onion and fry in olive oil til softened but not browned

3. Add spices and tofu cubes and fry a little longer

4. Rinse black beans in a sieve and add to pot. Cover with vege stock and bring to the boil.

5. Slow boil for several hours. I cooked mine about 3 hours on a slow boil. If you have a slow cooker you could use that. I don't so I just used a little pan. You will need to check it regularly and add water as it evaporates so it doesn't burn.

6. Just before eating, add spinach leaves and stir to wilt.

7. Rub olive oil into tortilla and dust with cumin, salt and pepper. Place under a hot grill and toast til browning. When you first pull them out they will be soft - you can fold or shape them and then they will harden in the pretty shape as they cool a little.

8. Serve soup with a dollop of goats cheese (or feta, or sour cream or nothing if you are vegan), chopped parsley and the tortilla.

Note: This would be delicious with mushrooms I think. Just a thought!

birthday brunch baked eggs

So, it was the girlfriend's birthday recently and I wanted to impress with brunch.*

*may or may not translate as, wanted to try out a new recipe on someone.

I did what I often do when I want to try something new - in this case, baked eggs. I googled and I looked at all my recipe books. Then I closed the books and the computer and thought about what I like I make something up based on what I've read.

The result was the "best birthday breakfast" she'd ever had.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
teaspoon paprika
splash tabasco
splash balsamic
1 red capsicum
bunch english spinach
handful kalamata olives, seeded and chopped
handful mushrooms, chopped
75 grams danish feta, crumbled
2 tablespoons canned tomatoes (or chopped fresh)
2 eggs
grated parmesan
pine nuts
chopped chives
chopped jalapenos (to serve)

lebanese bread
za'atar

1. fry onion and garlic in olive oil til soft but not brown
2. add mushrooms and saute
3. add slice capsicum, spinach, tomatoes and spices
4. add tabasco and balsamix
5. allow to cool a little then spoon into ramekins, adding crumbled feta
6. make a little well in the vege mix and crack in 1 egg per ramekin
7. sprinkle over grated parmesan, pine nuts and chopped chives
8. bake on high for about half an hour or until egg whites have firmed, cheese has melted and yolk is still a bit runny
9. meanwhile rub olive oil into lebanese bread and sprinkle generously with za'atar then grill until crispy
10. serve eggs sprinkled with extra chives and chopped pickled jalapenos, with za'atar bread to dip

sweet potato and blue cheese muffins

so these delicious muffins have been adapted from a recipe Annabelle gave me...though I have, as is my habit, changed them substantially and added a bunch of extra ingredients...The original recipe had pumpkin, blue cheese, flour and egg...mine has -

Ingredients (makes 12):
400g chopped sweet potato
160g self raising flour
juice of a lemon
4 eggs
2 cloves garlic
half an onion
splash balsamic vinegar
splash tabasco
80g blue cheese
a handle of spinach leaves chopped
handful chopped parsley
tablespoon chopped rosemary
handful crushed walnuts
handful toasted pinenuts (fry in a dry pan or pop under the grill til browning)
olive oil for frying
salt & pepper

preheat oven to 200 celcius

1. boil the chopped sweet potato

2. meanwhile, fry the finely chopped onion and garlic in olive oil til softened then splash in tabasco and balsamic

3. when sweet potato is soft, mash it and mix it with the onion and garlic and lemon juice

4. leave the potato mixure to cool - it's important it isn't hot or it will cook the eggs when you add them!

5. once the mixture is cool, stir in the eggs (beaten before you add them) and the flour

6. add the nuts and herbs and spinach and stir to combine

7. season with salt & pepper

8. spoon half the mixture into muffin trays, place a nob of blue cheese in the centre of each muffin and then spoon mixture over the top to cover the cheese

9. bake in oven til starting to brown a little (took me about 25 minutes!)

these are great warm or cold. the blue cheese is pretty rich. if you don't like blue try a goat or feta. omnomnomnom!!!

...

Alanta's Stuffed Eggplants

My lovely housemate Alanta left so we thought we'd throw her a dinner party. One of her favourite things is eggplant and thus, these stuffed eggplants were born.

Though, as with any recipe, acknowledgements are never so simple a one person's favourite veg. The stuffing stems from a rice bake my friend Amy used to make in high school...combined with a jaffle I had at a queer porn film fest a few weeks back.

YUM.

serves 8

Ingredients:
4 large eggplants
2 cups (uncooked quantity) brown rice
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic (depending how much you like garlic...)
button mushrooms
big bunch english spinach
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 blocks danish feta (sorry i don't know grams, a block should be about the size of your palm, and about an inch thick...)
a handful chopped parsley
good splash tabasco
seasoning (i use salt, pepper, cumin and paprika)
sesame seeds and parmesan to garnish

1. Halve each eggplant lengthways. Rest it on its side first to see where it will comfortably sit then slice lengthways accordingly.

2. You need to scoop out the flesh of the eggplant leaving about 1cm in. Use a small sharp knife and carve out the majority, setting it aside (you will use it). I then smoothed and got the leftovers with a spoon.

3. Salt the eggplant (innards and shells) and set aside. After 10 mins or so wash and press dry.

4. Chop garlic and onion and fry in olive til soft but not browned.

5. Add chopped mushrooms and eggplant and fry for a while to soften and mingle the flavours.

6. Meanwhile, cook the brown rice. I am lazy and use a rice cooker!

7. Stir together the rice, eggplant, mushrooms, spinach, feta* and flavours (tahini, salt & pepper etc)

8. When the filling is cold, add crumbled feta and parsley

9. Stuff eggplant halves with the mixture and place on oiled baking trays. Splash oil over the eggplants (this will speed up cooking, give a nice crispy skin and flavour).

10. Sprinkle the tops with parmesan and sesame seeds.

11. Bake til cases have softened and the top is browned and crispy.