Summer Lentil Salad

Ingredients:
1 can brown lentils (or brown lentils you have soaked and stuff)
half a bulb of fennel, finely sliced
handful or two of sugar snap peas, blanched in boiling water then quickly run under a cold tap
half a red capsicum, roughly chopped
a cucumber, chopped into chunks
a handful or two of tiny cheery tomatoes or grape tomatoes
4 radishes, finely sliced
small handful of parsley, chopped
tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
small handful mint, chopped

half a lemon, squeezed
half a lime, squeezed
a good splash of olive oil
1 small chilli, desseded and chopped
1 small garlic clove, very finely chopped

slices of fried haloumi (optional. is still delicious without it for vegany joy! avocado slices would work too. or a dollop of humous)
or feta

You could also add baby spinach to bulk it up! or chick peas if that's your thing.

Chuck everything in a bowl and mix!
Serve topped with fried haloumi slices or feta or avocado or humous.

...

lemony veges with feta salsa

I made this delicious fresh dinner tonight when the people I sent to the shops for pepper forgot to take their phones and so I couldn't call them and tell them to get butter for the lemon / butter / pepper sauce I was hoping to make. I wanted dairy in the dinner so came up with this:

Ingredients (serves 2):
3 cloves garlic
1 small white onion
1 large fennel bulb
1 bunch asparagus
a handful of mushrooms (swiss brown best or field)
handful spinach leaves
juice of 1 lemon
lots of cracked black pepper

for the salsa:
crumbled bulgarian sheep's milk feta*
a tomato, diced
a handful of mint leaves chopped

1. Dice the onion very small and fry gently in olive oil to soften

2. Add sliced mushrooms, fennel & garlic and fry til vegetabled soften and the mushrooms start to brown a little

3. Pour in lemon juice and add spinach and asparagus

4. Stir Fry for a while, but ensure vegetables are al dente - have a bit of crunch

5. Stir together salsa ingredients and serve salsa on top of the veges.

* A Note on Feta:
The kind of feta you use is important and if a recipe just calls for feta, it is stupid (unless I have done that in previous recipes...I am not stupid...) Seriously though there is such a difference in flavour and texture and fetas respond differently to heat. I like danish feta for cooking (especially sauces) as it melts well, bulgarian feta is beautiful as it is crumbly AND creamy, whereas Greek feta is great in salads as it is firm and salty.

...

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!!!

...

tvp and noodle stir fry

So I've never cooked this tvp business before but a workmate bought some and didn't like it so she gave it to me. It's never a good sign when someone dislikes something so much they give it away, but I was willing to give the stuff a go even if it does look like dog food.

So! I made tvp stir fry and while the texture is a bit strange it's nice to have tofu in a different way and I'll probably use it again, though perhaps not often.

I haven't put very exact quantities (as if I ever do), because stir fries are so haphazard for me.

Ingredients:
1 cup tvp (you need to soak it in 1 cup boiling water for 5mins, I put a quarter of a vege stock cube in too)
rice noodles
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
small nob ginger, grated
small stick lemongrass, chopped finely
half an onion, chopped
1 red chilli
broccoli broken into florets
red capsicum, chopped
mushrooms, sliced
soy sauce
kecap manis
juice of half a lemon
sesame oil (or vege oil)

1. soak the tvp
2. meanwhile, fry onion, garlic, chilli, ginger and lemongrass in sesame til softened but not browned
3. add mushrooms
4. when mushies are starting to brown, add tvp
5. add soy, kecap manis, lemon
6. fry for a while
7. add broccoli and capsicum (and, well, any other veges you like)
8. add noodles, toss and fry

*this one isn't rocket science but it was my first go with tvp so i wanted to give it a post*
...

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.

omelettemuffins!

I saw a recipe in a magazine somewhere for omelettemuffins (my title not theirs). The premise is simple. Omelettes in muffin trays. BEST EVER. I made some this evening based on ingredients used by Annabelle in a lovely tarte she made me when in Sydney. But possibilities are endless and I can't wait to try all kinds of omelettemuffins. these were dinner ones.

what i put in (made 6 muffins):
4 eggs
teaspoon tahini
half teaspoon honey
splash milk
broccoli and cauliflower broken into little florets
slice of pre-marinated / cooked package tofu cubed small
sprinkling of cumin
splash of tabasco
pepper and salt
a little grated cheddar and parmesan
a little dried rosemary

mix everything together in large bowl, stir well, spoon into oiled muffin tray, sprinkle with parmesan, bake at 200 degrees.

happy eating!

Moonbooty Marsden’s Marvellous Marmalade

I quit my law degree a couple of weeks ago. I sum it up with the stolen phrase “capacity does not equal desire.” My fellow law-school-drop-out Hill said, rather wittily might I add, “I would rather spend the next 6 years making marmalade than building up a HECS debt.

So we made marmalade.

Got a recipe of the net. The times were wrong and we changed it to suit our taste. We made a shitload and have been handing it around town, but it was tres popular so we’ll need to make more.

I WILL UPDATE THIS WHEN I TRY SOME MORE CHANGES AND MAKE IT BETTER.

Ingredients:
• 2kg Onions (we used brown)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 chillis (ours weren’t strong so we added a few pinches of dried flakes, depends on your taste and the strength of your chillis)
• 1 tables spoon fresh thyme
• 200ml Port
• 750ml red wine (we used shiraz)
• 350ml red wine vinegar (you could use a bit less than this as ours was acidic)
• 4 tables spoons olive oil (you'll need an extra 100ml or so to make up for the butter)
• 140g caster sugar (next time I am using brown as I think it’ll give a richer flavour)
• pepper and salt

they said 140g butter though next time I am just using olive oil = vegan, plus the butter is visible in the jars so not pretty. so yeah. don't use butter.


1. Chop the onions. Cry (unless you are the sensibly snorkelled Hill!) Cut them in half and then finely slice into semi circles.
2. Finely chop the garlic, chilli and thyme.
3. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan with the oil, and then add the onions, garlic and chilli.
4. Stir all still covered in oil and starting to soften.
5. Sprinkle over sugar, thyme, salt, pepper and splash Tabasco.
6. Now you slow cook the onions. The recipe called for 40-50mins. We needed closer to an hour and a half. The recipe said the juices needed to evaporate. Butter doesn’t really evaporate. Flawed!
7. But this is true: “The onions are ready when they're really soft and sticky. They should be so soft that they break when pressed against the side of the pan with a wooden spoon. Slow cooking is the secret of really soft and sticky onions, so don't rush this part.”
8. Pour in the wine, vinegar and port and simmer everything, still uncovered, over a high heat, stirring every so often until the onions are a deep mahogany colour and the liquid has reduced by about two-thirds. The idiots at some internet site said 30mins. Pah! Closer to an hour! Or more!9. It's done when drawing a spoon across the bottom of the pan clears a path that fills rapidly with syrupy juice. Leave the onions to cool in the pan, then scoop into sterilised jars and seal.

Can be eaten straight away, but keeps in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Yum! Really good with vintage cheddar and crackers, or dolloped onto an omelette or on salad or tart or on a vege pie bought late at night with friends. Or by the spoonful if you’re my friend Lisa.

roast beetroot, sweet potato and haloumi salad

This is the love child of a donna hay recipe I read last year (oh how I miss living with Liz and her subscription) and a nadine abensur one I tested out on friends a couple of weeks ago. Both originals are divine, but the donnay hay is very filling and fatty and the nadine abensur was a bit oily and work intensive (who has time to make dukka when they get home at 6pm?)

Anyway, this is a combo of the two, but with my own touches (e.g. the sweet potato, which goes so well and looks so pretty...)

feeds 4

Ingredients:
4 Beetroot
2 Sweet potato (equal amount to beetroot)
Greens (not lettuce!): Baby Spinach, Rocket, Green Beans and/or Asparagus
3 cloves Garlic
dessert spoon of brown sugar
large handful of fresh sage leaves (must be fresh)
400-500g of haloumi (depending on whether it's a main or not, you can add / subtract haloumi)
good splash tabasco
olive oil
salt & pepper
juice of 1 lemon
half handful chopped parsley

1. Roughly chop sweet potato and beetroot and place in a baking dish (if you are serving at a dinner party and want it pretty use two baking dish, dividing the ingredients that follow so that the beetroot doesn't dye the potato pink)
2. Crush garlic and add to dish
3. Sprinkle over brown sugar, salt & pepper
4. Spread whole sage leaves through mixture
5. Splash with tabasco
6. Then splash with olive oil so that the veges are shiny and coated but not swimming in the stuff!
7. Use your hands to rub the flavourings into the veges making sure that garlic, sage etc are evenly spread around the dish
8. Bake at 180 degrees (celsius) for about half an hour-40 mins or until veges are cooked, but not mushy at all! It's nice when there is a firmness to the beetroot (though the potato can be super soft...mmmmm)

Just before they're cooked...

9. Arrange greens on plate
10. Fry sliced haloumi (in chunky chip sized pieces or larger if you prefer)
11. Pile roasted veges on the greens, place haloumi on top, sprinkle with parsley, squeeze on lemon juice and serve!

Notes re originals:
The Donna Hay was the above vege roasting process, but only with beetroot and cooked slower. Then the beetroot was placed on top of fettucine that had parmesan, marscapone and goats cheese melted through it. This is DIVINE.

The Nadine Abensur was with beetroot and fennel roasted with oil (too much oil), garlic, tabasco, salt, pepper. Then you stirred through dukkah and parsley and served on a bed of rocket with haloumi pieces and lemon squeezed over the top.

what to do with a fuckload of tomatoes

Tish and I went dumpster diving on Friday. I shall elect NOT to rant and rave about how depressing it was to see an abundance of wasted food chucked into dumpsters, nor shall I mention that it is a travesty that some shops lock their dumpsters so the food cannot be taken, that they would rather it wasted than consumed by those who cannot afford their produce.*

* I am aware that I can afford their produce and am considering taking the majority of what I find next time to charity. This was my first dumpster dive so more of an information seeking mission, a site visit if you will.

I shall instead tell you what I did with the wealth of fresh (fridge fresh!) roma tomatoes we found in Petersham. Four boxes we filled, FOUR BOXES.

I made:

SLOW ROASTED TOMATOES

Ingredients:
Roma Tomatoes
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Flavourings: I did 'Paprika and Tabasco' and 'Caramelised Balsamic' but world really is your oyster (or rather your tomato)

Preheat oven to 120 degrees celcius

1. Halve the tomatoes lengthways, as in the knife should slice through the little green core bit at the top where the tomato was attached to the plant - what's that called anyway?
(obviously WASH them first if they've been in a dumpster)
2. Cut out the 'core' - basically the middle bit and the seeds. You don't need to be to careful, just get the main middle section out!
3. Lay them on a tray on baking paper, skin side down.
4. Splash with a little olive oil (not too much) and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Now you could cook them now (as per instructions below) or you could add flavourful fun. Up to you.

5. For the brown sugar and balsamic, I just splashed and sprinkled the two on - not too much. Likewise with the paprika and tabasco. You could try herbs (used dried though - more flavour) or chilli or curry or anything. But nothing that will burn if cooked for a long time, like cheese or garlic.

6. Put tomatoes in the oven and cook very slowly, at 120 or even lower if you have a fan forced oven - 100 celcius perhaps.

7. Cook for about 3-4 hours, but watch them to make sure they don't burn and turn them over if the skin starts to char. I often then turn off the oven and leave them in it overnight, drying out til morning.

Eat!


OVEN ROASTED TOMATO SAUCE

Ingredients:
Roma Tomatoes
Garlic (about 1 garlic clove to every 5 tomatoes)
Olive Oil
Salt

1. Slice just the tops off the roma tomatoes (don't chop too much!) - by tops i mean just the bit where the tomato was joined to the vine.
2. Cut the garlic cloves into slivers lenthways (each clove into 4-5 pieces) and wedge the slivers into the top of the tomatoes til they are embedded (into the soft, seedy part in the centre)
3. Places the tomatoes in a casserole dish and splash liberally with olive oil (quite a lot, but not so they are swimming in the stuff!)
4. Sprinkle on salt
5. Slow roast at 120 degrees for 3 hours, do not let them char at all!
6. Blend til smooth, and then use as pasta sauce, pizza sauce, dipping sauce or on vegetables, in lasagne, on poached eggs etc etc. Change the flavour by adding herbs, balsamic vinegar, or whatever you like in sauce!

RANDOM FACT:
I played a tomato in a musical in second year uni. My first line was 'And I am a tomato.'

Basic Vege Pasta Formula 1

I'm often disappointed by vegetarian cookbooks and restaurants when they are packed with dishes I could've come up with myself, dishes that involve really obvious combinations of flavours (you mean spinach and feta go well together??? No! what a surprise!)

A recently purchased exception to this is 'enjoy' by Nadine Abensur - just reading it makes my mouth water and nearly every recipe is something new to me in flavour, form, process or presentation (Saturday night's attempt - Roast Beetroot & Fennel with dukkah, croutons and griddled haloumi was a bit oily but I think I can improve it on second try).

But I forget in my whingeing that not everyone grew up vegetarian and not everyone was throwing dinner parties at age 12. So here's one of my basic pasta formulae. It's not really original - it incorporates recipes read, experiments done and the Viv Butter Secret* (and it always changes according to what is in the fridge). But it's good and a great place to start for beginners wanting to add more veges to their diet. It's also great if you have small amounts of a variety of vegetables in the fridge.

* the Viv Butter Secret: for months I tried to recreate my friend Viv's version of this pasta, but mine never really lived up to hers and her kitchen was too small for me to sneakily watch over her shoulder while she made it for me. Finally I squashed my pride and asked her secret. Butter, she said. A shitload of butter. Now some people may not like the pasta so rich but if you are indulging, then fry the vegetables in a big knob of butter rather than a little bit of olive oil, which I use normally.


BASIC PASTA FORMULA
to make vegan, omit cheese or use soy cheese - it'll still be great!

Ingredients:

1. pasta (any kind you like)
2. Garlic
3. Onion (optional)
4. Vegetables, which hold their colour and shape well. I recommend: broccoli, asparagus, green beans, peas, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, roasted pumpkin or sweet potato, baby spinach, rocket, sweet corn...the list goes on...
5. Cheese. I recommend: Danish feta (it melts better than greek or australian) / goats cheese, blue cheese (gorgonzola, stilton, roquefort etc) or mozarella and parmesan (grated parmesan or romano should always be included, as well as one of the above if you like)
6. Herbs. Parsley, chives, oregano and rosemary work well. If using feta cheese, I really recommend, thyme and mint (and add some lemon juice!!! and even a little chilli!)
7. Salt & Pepper

Process:
1. Fry 1-2 cloves garlic, a little diced onion and chopped mushrooms (if using) in olive oil (or butter! see above) in a deep pan on a low heat
2. Chuck in whatever vegetables you are using, chopped into bite size pieces.
3. Stir fry fro about 10 minutes - the vegetables must not be overcooked and should still have a little crunch. Don't be afraid to taste test to check this!
4. Turn off the heat and then sprinkle /crumble your cheese (grate if it is in a block) over the vegetables. Don't stir through yet, just let the cheese sit melting on top of the hot vegetables.
5. Boil water for pasta and cook according to packet instructions. I test pasta along to way to check for when it is cooked, as instructions aren't always right. You want it al dente (which means NOT overcooked)
6. Turn heat back on vegetables. If they have run out of liquid add butter, oil or a little pasta water to help the cheese melt to a sauce.
7. Add chopped herbs.
8. Drain pasta and add to veges/cheese stirring til combined.
9. Eat with freshly grated parmesan.

Most of all, experiment. Try different herbs. Try lemon juice. A splash of balsamic vinegar or white balsamic vinegar. Chilli. Sour cream. Whatever else you think of!

Peanut Sauce

(vegan)

I've been making variations of this sauce for years and love it on salad or steamed veges or as a dipping sauces for summer rolls or even vege sticks. It's based on the ubiquitous peanut sauce of Sydney Thai restaurants. Innocently ignorant I rocked up in Thailand in 2004, with visions of bathing in the stuff...only to find that it is NOT Thai at all. More Indonesian really. Or an invention of Westernised 'Asian' food.

Who cares? It's fucking good -

Ingredients:
a splash of sesame oil
1 chilli, finely chopped (more or less according to taste)
2 cm cubed nob of fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 onion (optional)
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 heaped tablespoons of peanut butter*
a splash of kecap manis (if you like it sweet)
200ml coconut milk (optional, according to taste and waistline...can use water to thin the sauce)

* I like crunchy peanut butter and would even go so far as to add extra crushed nut. It's up to you really, whether you use crunchy or not, but I think the nuts add texture. Smooth is better for a dipping sauce. Or if you want something lighter, just use crushed nuts.

1. Chop garlic, chilli and onions very finely and grate the ginger.
2. Fry these in sesame oil til softened but not brown.
3. Add the peanut butter and stir until combined
4. Gradually add the soy sauce, combining it with the peanut mixture
5. Add in the coconut milk (the first time you make it, put a little then test and repeat this til you get it to the richness that YOU like)

Stand aside while you cook rice, steam veges etc. Or make a salad with boiled eggs and pour over that for Gado Gado salad. Or make summer rolls.

Tip: I like to squeeze lemon juice over my steamed veges or salad as the acid contrasts really well with the sweetness / heat of the sauce.

Warm Herby Potato and Haloumi Salad

To make vegan, lose the haloumi.

Serves 4

Ingredients (my measurements aren’t exact. If you need stricter instructions…sorry):
• 20 baby new potatoes
• 1 large red capsicum
• About 200g of green beans or peas or both
• A punnet of Cherry Tomatoes
• A big bunch Baby or English Spinach
• Haloumi (1-2 packets, depending on your guests’ hunger and love of cheese)

For the sauce:
• Big splash of olive oil
• 2 lemons (or 1 large, really juicy one)
• 2 cloves garlic (or 3 if they are small)
• Half a white onion
• A handful of mint
• A child’s handful of thyme
• A handful of Italian / flat leaf parsley
• Pepper and Salt

1. Chop the potatoes in half or quarts (large bite size chunks) and boil in saucepan of salted water til cooked, but not mushy! When cooked, drain and place in a bowl to cool a little, but not completely – they should be warm on serving, not hot or cold.

2. Meanwhile chop the onion and garlic very finely.
3. Fry onion and garlic slowly in a generous amount of olive oil til softened but not brown.
4. Squeeze lemons and pour in lemon juice, add salt & pepper
5. Remove sauce from heat and add chopped herbs, stirring and leaving to stand in the frypan.

6. Chop capsicum into large slices – just the four sides, thus removing the core but leaving the pieces big. Grill capsicum on a high heat til charred.
7. Leave til sufficiently cool to peel off charred skin.
8. Slice into thin strips then add to bowl with potatoes.

9. Chop green beans into 3-5cm lengths. If you like them crunchy, chuck them straight into the bowl. If not, steam them for a minute or two then add. Add peas too if you are using peas. Add baby spinach leaves.

10. Stir sauce through potato salad mix, leaving a little to drizzle on top.

11. Place portions on plates before or during frying haloumi as the cheese is best just after it has been cooked. Scatter potato salad with chopped cheery tomatoes.

12. To fry the haloumi, bring a non-stick pan to a reasonably high heat, chop the cheese into slices (about 7mm thick) and fry until brown.
13. Place haloumi slices on top of salad, drizzle a bit more sauce on and garnish with sprigs of fresh mint and parsley.