Banana raisin muffins

By on | 2 Comments

img_1260

Yes, I did it again.

I left some bananas in the fruit bowl too long.

Meaning they were waaaay too overripe to eat, yes, but perfect for a batch of banana muffins.

This time I went with a simple version. No coconut, no berries, just the addition of raisins for some extra sweetness.

img_1264

What I love about recipes like these is the yield. Some for now, some for later, and some packaged up and frozen for school lunchbox treats.

And suddenly leaving a few bananas in the fruit bowl too long doesn’t seem like such a bad idea after all!

img_1263 Banana raisin muffins (makes 12)

  • 2 cups self raising flour – sifted
  • 1/3 cup caster sugar
  • 1tsp cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup natural yoghurt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  1. Preheat oven to 180C and line a muffin pan with cases.
  2. Combine dry ingredients, and make a well in the centre.
  3. Combine eggs, bananas, oil, yoghurt and milk – and pour into the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined, then fold through the raisins.
  4. Spoon into the muffin cases, and bake for 20 minutes – or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

 

Mushroom quinoa “risotto” with roasted tomatoes

By on

img_1133

While I love risotto, sometimes it feels a little heavy for dinner (particularly if I am eating close to bedtime). A solution? Use another of my favourite ingredients in place of rice..

Quinoa!

The added bonus being that it is quicker to prepare and packed with protein (especially if you are opting to otherwise keep the dish vegetarian).

On this occasion, I packed out the ‘risotto’ with mushrooms, zucchini and a good helping of spinach. The overall result was full of flavour, but not too heavy, and it turned out to be quite the tasty midweek meal.

img_1130 Finished with some cherry tomatoes that I had roasted in the oven until soft and starting to caramelise – which added nice little sweet bursts to the dish.
img_1132

I’ll have to remember this dish for next time I have vegetarian friends in town!

Mushroom quinoa “risotto” with roasted tomatoes (serves 2)

  • 100g cherry tomatoes
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 0.5 cups water
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 200g mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 brown onion, diced
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 zucchini, sliced
  • 1/2 cup tri-colour quinoa
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan
  • 2 cups baby spinach
  1. Preheat oven to 180C. Place tomatoes on a lined backing tray and spray lightly with oil. Roast for 10 minutes or until starting to soften.
  2. Bring stock and water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Lower heat.
  3. Heat oil in a separate fry-pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onion and cook for a few minutes, or until starting to colour.
  4. Add the garlic and zucchini, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
  5. Add the quinoa and stir for 1 minute, coating the grains in oil.
  6. Add the warm stock mixture, one ladle at a time. Stir until the liquid has been absorbed before adding the next. Repeat until all the stock is used and the quinoa is cooked.
  7. Stir through the parmesan and spinach, and stir until the spinach has wilted.
  8. Divide the risotto amongst two serving bowls, and top with the roasted tomatoes.

 

 

Spicy peanut sauce

By on | 2 Comments

IMG_8735

I’m not sure how I was introduced to spicy food. Growing up I didn’t eat a lot of spicy food, nor was my family that adventurous when it came time to eat out.  Sure we visited the local Chinese restaurant from time to time, but I recall only ordering mild dishes – such as omelettes or sweet and sour chicken.

But over the years I’ve really come to love spicy food. Perhaps it was the time we spent in Thailand, or having a partner who is definitely adventurous when eating out? Needless to say, aside from a rather random aversion during my pregnancy with Charlotte, I now tend to lean in favour of ‘hotter’ rather than milder, so much so that I will sprinkle chilli flakes on just about anything.

So when I had a hankering for peanut sauce the other day, I couldn’t resist adding a good amount of chilli to the mixture.  Resulting in a rather spicy peanut sauce, that was hot and flavoursome but still a little sweet.  And not to mention being super easy to make and void of lots of the nasties that you tend to find in jarred sauces.

IMG_8737

On this particular occasion we used the sauce to jazz up a tofu / vegetable stir-fry – but you could use it in so many other ways. A dipping sauce for chicken skewers comes to mind…

And you could easily tweak the recipe to make it milder, if that’s your preference, or add more chilli If you wanted it even hotter! IMG_8743

Spicy Peanut Sauce

  • 3/4 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts
  • 2 tbs kejap manis
  • 2 tbs hot chilli sauce
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • zest and juice of half a lime
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • Water
  1. Process all ingredients (except for the water) until almost smooth.
  2. Add water, a little at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.

 

 

 

Warm Chicken and Quinoa Salad

By on

If I needed any reassurance that we are a long way from Summer, the fact it was minus 4 on my morning walk was proof enough. Crunchy white grass met me as I stepped outside, and the neighbourhood cars were covered with a thick layer of frost.

I was pretty warm with my 4 layers of clothing on (plus gloves and beanie), admittedly, although my nose wouldn’t stop running and I returned home with a nice ‘red cheek’ glow.  And my cravings throughout the day were a long way from the salads I normally have for lunch. Instead I opted for a big plate of comforting pasta, without a moment’s hesitation.

Although salads do tend to lose their appeal in Winter, this one was still a winner. The fact it was warm probably helped, and the quinoa added a nice feeling of ‘bulk’ to what was, in all reality, a rather light dinner.

IMG_8145

I opted to oven-bake the chicken (free house heating!), although you could quite easily pan-fry the chicken too – if that is your preference.  And feel free to play around with the ingredients – depending what you have on hand!

IMG_8147 Warm Chicken and Quinoa Salad (serves 2)

  • 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked per packet directions
  • 2 x small chicken breasts (or one large)
  • Juice and zest of half a lemon + extra
  • 1 tbs olive oil  + extra
  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 1tsp minced lemon grass
  • chopped sundried tomatoes and pitted kalamata olives (as many as you like)
  • A few handfuls of baby spinach
  • 1/2 cucumber, diced
  • The kernels from one corn-cob
  • 1/2 avocado (or more if you like), sliced
  • a handful of chopped parsley and coriander + extra to serve
  1. Preheat oven to 200C.
  2. Combine the lemon juice, zest, oil, ginger and lemon grass in a small bowl.
  3. Place chicken and  in a baking dish, and pour over the oil mixture. Turn to coat well. Bake for 40 minutes or until cooked through.
  4. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients, and divide among serving bowls. Top with the sliced chicken and remaining herbs. Drizzle with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.

What about you? Do you crave salads in Winter?

Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl

By on

IMG_6683

What a wet and wild weekend that just was!

We stayed mostly in the warmth and comfort of home, with some baking and lots of games being the name of the weekend. We did, however, sneak out for a little parents-only dinner which was rather lovely too – and we are officially converted to the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of Uber!

And while I finished the weekend with a belly-warming balsamic roast beef, with all the Sunday roast sides, I made a promise to myself that I would clear the archives first before posting “live”.

And this spectacular sweet potato buddha bowl has been lying dormant in the archives for too long, despite being quite the tasty mid-week meal.

And not to mention healthy.

IMG_6678

Inspired by a Taste Magazine recipe (you can find the recipe online here), it took less than half an hour to make. I used quinoa in place of freekeh, and built the salad with roasted sweet potato, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, kale (that had been ‘massaged with olive oil), and some crunchy salad seeds.

Made all the more special with a spicy roasted capsicum sauce on the side (simply roasted capsicum, blanched almonds, chilli flakes, olive oil and balsamic vinegar – processed until smooth).
IMG_6678 Yes, friends, this is now one of my favourite ‘go to’ salads. Great for lunch, and substantial enough for dinner too.

Roasted pumpkin, quinoa and feta salad

By on

IMG_7965

It’s safe to say, I’m a salad girl.

Perhaps it was ingrained in me when I was young – when a big bowl of salad would make an appearance on the family dinner table every other night. Although, on reflection, those salads were pretty standard and definitely reflective of the time. No mesculin or interesting tomato varieties – just plain ol’ icerberg lettuce, white onion, carrot and cucumber, topped with sliced cheddar cheese and drizzled with, most probably,  French dressing. Out of a bottle.

Then came high school, when I would usually spend my lunch money on a freshly made salad roll (being sure to ask for ‘no beetroot’ as it made the roll soggy by lunchtime).

Flash-forward to uni, where my love of salad continued. In fact, with a ‘poor’ uni student budget meaning a lot of my meals consisted of hot chips and beer from the uni pub after class, I really looked forward to the treat of a warm chicken salad a few times a week from a  favourite local cafe.

Over the years, my salads have become a little fancier. The local greengrocer stocks a good range of interesting salad leaves, tomato varieties and I should probably take out shares in avocados given the amount I consume!  And while cheddar cheese doesn’t normally feature in my salads any more, other cheeses, such as feta, sure do!

I’ve heard that famous catch-cry  “you don’t win friends with salad”,  but l I beg to differ. For a salad that graced our dinner table over the weekend, when we had some dear friends around for a BBQ, did not disappoint. And I’m pretty sure that our friendship remains intact. Despite salad, a roasted pumpkin and feta salad in fact, being served.

IMG_7960

I could give you the recipe – but there really is not a lot to it. Simply slices of jap pumpkin and red onion, drizzled with olive oil and baked for 30 minutes at 180C. Then drizzled again – this time with balsamic vinegar – and roasted for a further 20 minutes until golden.

IMG_7962

Combined with a cup of cooked quinoa (I used white as that was what I had), a pile of mesculin and a cup of various mini tomatoes which I had halved. Finished with a liberal amount of crumbled feta and a squeeze of lemon juice.

IMG_7961 Yes I think this love affair will be a long one!

What about you? Are you a salad fan?

Chilli lime turkey salad bowl

By on | 3 Comments

Do you ever find yourself grabbing the same thing off the shelves when it comes to grocery shopping?

I certainly tend to head to  ‘regular’ sections and throw staple items into the trolley without much thought. This is particularly so now that the ability to linger in the aisles and casually consider any new additions is generally thwarted by the kids demanding blueberries or yoghurt (or sneaking treats into the trolley while my eyes are looking elsewhere…)

But on a recent shopping trip,  I skipped our regular pack of chicken, and replaced it with turkey. A protein that I really do enjoy – although often forget about outside the Christmas period.

And with the addition of a few other ingredients, I was quite pleased with the end result.

A chilli lime turkey salad bowl.

IMG_7598

The dressing – made with chilli sauce, oil, cumin, garlic, lime juice and brown sugar – had just the right balance of spice and sour.

IMG_7594

Half was used as a marinade for the turkey, the other half used as a dressing over the salad.

And, as for the rest of the salad bowl, well this saw us using up whatever we had on hand. There was some leftover brown rice from a previous meal, salad leaves, cherry tomatoes, capsicum and avocado. Finished with a sprinkling of feta and chia seeds.

IMG_7596 A lovely (non Christmas) use for the turkey!

Chilli lime turkey salad bowl (serves 2)

  • 300g turkey steaks
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 2 tbs lime juice
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tbs chilli sauce
  • 1/2 tsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • Salad ingredients – we used salad leaves, brown rice, sliced avocado, sliced capsicum, cherry tomatoes, feta and chia seeds
  1. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
  2. Place the turkey in a glass dish, and spread with half the dressing. Cover and place in the fridge for a few hours to marinate.
  3. Heat a little olive oil in a frypan over a medium heat. Cook the turkey steaks for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through. Cover with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile – build a salad with your chosen ingredients in 2 bowls. Slice the turkey and divide among the bowls. Top with the feta cheese, chia seeds and the remainder of the dressing.

What about you? Are you a fan of turkey?

 

Coco-banana muffins

By on | 2 Comments

My weekly routine inevitably changed when Miss C started pre-school and I increased my work hours, and I feel as if I’ve been trying to find the “new normal” ever since. The days are quite frantic, as I work out who needs to be where, with what, and when (all while desperately hoping that I don’t  mess things up and forget a school pick-up!).

To try and streamline things, I’ve changed from little grocery shops throughout the week to (hopefully) a big shop once per week. This is working quite well, although the rate at which my girls consume yoghurt has meant there have been a few emergency yoghurt dashes.

And, on occasion, the bananas that I bought at the start of the week do not look so fantastic at the end of the week.  But we all know that overripe bananas can be perfect for baking – with the added bonus that a healthy baked treat makes a perfect school lunch-box addition.

On this occasion, I had two quite sad looking bananas taking up my fruit bowl. A quick rustle through the pantry revealed that we also had coconut and honey.

IMG_7600

And so these little banana-coconut beauties came to be.

IMG_7603

I used smaller patty cases, which yielded around 20 – and the whole batch took only 20 minutes or so to make – from start to finish.

IMG_7610

I kept some out for the next few days, and froze the others in bags of two for future lunch-box additions.
IMG_7608 Miss C wolfed down a few as soon as the came out of the oven, without noticing that I’d reduced the sugar content – so I’m calling it a kid snack win!

Coco-Banana Muffins – makes 20 small muffins

  • 2 cups self raising flour
  • 1/2 tsp bicarb soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup caster sugar
  • 1/2 cup coconut
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tbs honey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 bananas, mashed
  1. Preheat oven to 180C, and line a couple muffin pans with paper cases.
  2. Sift the flour, bicarb soda and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir through the salt, sugar and coconut.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, milk, honey, eggs, vanilla extract and banana until well combined.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.
  5. Divide between paper cases and bake for 12-15 minutes.

(As I mentioned, I made 20 smaller muffins. If you wanted to make bigger muffins, just allow a little longer cooking time).

What about you? What’s your favourite way to use up  leftover bananas?

Mocha Brownie Cake

By on | 2 Comments

IMG_6714 When you have a one year old who is yet to sleep through the night, and someone offers to send you free coffee, well you are most certainly NOT going to say no.

Throw in an invitation to create a coffee-inspired recipe, and well it is pretty much a sure-fire thing.

The caffeine hero on this occasion was Di Bella Coffee, who treated me with some coffee beans and aromatic coffee capsules (that I was super pleased to find out fit into our trusty Nespresso machine just perfectly.

IMG_6693

Starting as a small coffee roasting business in Brisbane in 2002, Di Bella now has an international reach (although they still source 100% of their coffee beans “directly from the farmer”). I tested their Ari blend – touted to be “rich and strong with hints of raw cacao and a bright citrus finish” – and it did not disappoint. It was definitely smooth, and had a wonderful aroma.

IMG_6721

But I also wanted to test out its flavour in a recipe. And given that coffee + chocolate seem to be an appropriate combination when one has a little case of the sleepies, a mocha brownie cake seemed to be a logical solution.

IMG_6718

Rich fudgey chocolate cake, that was a little more “brownie” than your traditional chocolate cake. Completed with a little caffeine kick owing to the coffee contained within. On this occasion, we served slices of the cake as an after-dinner treat, although it would also work served warm with a scoop of vanilla icecream.

IMG_6709

Mocha brownie cake 

  • 200g dark chocolate
  • 125g butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 pods espresso (extracted / short poured)
  • 1 cup plain flour, sifted
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a square baking tin (18  x 18cm).
  2. Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir until smooth.
  3. Add the sugar, oil, eggs and coffee, and whisk until well combined.
  4. Sift over the flour and baking powder, and fold in with a metal spoon until just combined.
  5. Pour into the prepared pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan.

A big thankyou to Di Bella Coffee for the opportunity to work with a new (to me) Aussie product (and for the caffeine kick!)

What about you? Are you a coffee fan?

 

Spicy tofu bean burgers

By on

IMG_4549I do feel a little sorry for tofu.

For all too often it is thrown into the “boring basket”.

The “bland bucket”.

Or simply overlooked by those seeking a flavoursome and hearty meal.

But it really doesn’t have to be that way. No, I think this versatile ingredient – whilst a tad ‘neutral’ on the flavour side when served plain, can be rather wonderful when combined with other ingredients. And it is certainly a wonderful base when looking to create a vegetarian meal.

In this instance a simple block of tofu was turned into a batch of tasty burgers, when combined with beans,  herbs, garlic and hot sauce.

My food processor did all the hard work to mix the ingredients, and all I had to do was shape them into patties and pan-fry (although I suspect you could save some washing up and quite easily bake them too!)

IMG_4540IMG_4541

The tofu added a great texture, and soaked up the garlic / spicy flavours just beautifully.  Not to mention keeping a crunch on the outside too.

IMG_4543

IMG_4552

On this particular occasion I served the patties with a little cucumber salad on the side. However I think they would also work well  as burgers on the BBQ, or perhaps served atop a big garden salad with a dollop of natural yoghurt.

IMG_4551

The choice is yours really.

Just perhaps don’t forget that you added a fair bit of chilli sauce if you freeze some for later and then try to feed them to your kids*

Spicy tofu bean burgers (makes 8)

  • 400 g can cannellini beans drained, rinsed
  • 200 g firm tofu drained
  • 2 slices wholegrain bread, chopped
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  •  1/4 cup parsley
  •  2 tbs hot sauce (or more or less to taste)
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • 1 garlic clove crushed
  • 2 tbsp self-raising flour
  1. Process all ingredients in a food processor until well combined and smooth.
  2. Either shape into 8 patties, or divide into 8 portions and use egg-rings to shape the mixture in the frypan.
  3. Cook the patties in two batches in a little olive oil in a frypan over a medium heat Allow 2 to 3 each side, or cook until golden brown. Drain on paper towel before serving.

What about you? Are you a fan of tofu?

*This may, or may not have happened. Sorry Charlotte. #Parentingfail