Winter Salad: Red Cabbage, Carrot, Orange and Date

 

 

I was inspired by a recipe from River Cottage Veg Every Day to make this salad .Well, to be honest  I copied it almost exactly, except for the parsnip.  It's a healthy vegetable, but its colour is so insipid and it's slightly bitter.  
I exchanged it for toasted sunflower seeds before I photographed it. Seduced by the vibrant colours I couldn't wait to have some of this salad for lunch.

Later  we had the leftovers for dinner I had to stretch them out to feed two of us so added some blanched carrot batons. I'll do that again next time.

Ingredients:

• ¼ red cabbage, finely shredded
• 2 large oranges, peeled with a knife and segmented, avoiding the membrane and reserving the juice
• 3 medjool dates, stoned and cut into 3-4 pieces across ways
• A few tablespoons of toasted sunflower seeds
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• carrot batons made from 2 carrots (optional)

Method

1. Spread the red cabbage evenly over a plate, top with a scattering of carrot batons (blanched)  slices of orange, the dates and several tablespoons of toasted sunflower seeds)
2. Pour over the reserved orange juice, drizzle over the olive oil, sprinkle over the thyme, finish with salt and pepper.
 

Recipe adapted from River Cottage Veg Every Day

Root Vegetable Soup

 

This basic soup is cheap and sustaining winter comfort food. I made it at the end of the week to use up a piece of pumpkin,  two small kumara and couple of carrots that didn't quite make it to the dinner table.
Personally I think leek gives a more mellow flavour than onion here, but an onion will do at a pinch.
This, and some crackers and cheese/ a toasted cheese sandwich and a piece of fruit is my  "I'm over cooking a proper Sunday dinner" meal. Best eaten with family /friends by a warm fire in front of TV,

Ingredients:

1 leek (white part only)
1 clove of garlic ( smashed)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
200 grams of pumpkin
200 grams of orange kumara
200 grams of  carrots
1 litre of vegetable or chicken stock
1 tablespoon of coriander seeds, roasted and ground
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds toasted and ground
Salt and pepper to taste
Coriander or Parsley leaves to garnish

Method:

Slice the white part of the leek
Peel and cube all the vegetables
Over a moderate heat, in a large frypan melt the butter and olive oil and fry the leek for a few minutes until soft
Add the garlic and coriander and continue frying for another minute or so
Add all the root vegetables and fry gently for 4-5 minutes until they are heated through.
Sprinkle a generous tablespoon of flour over the top and toss this through the vegetable mixture with a large spoon . Then fry for another minute.
Add the stock and bring to the boil
Simmer for 20-30 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
Leave the soup to cool for a few minutes before using a stick mixer to make it smooth.
Adjust the seasoning.
Reheat to piping hot.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley or coriander.












 

Broccoli Salad

For this winter salad I tossed some broccoli florets, cubes of Puhoi peppered Havarti, roasted and salted cashew nuts and seedless green grapes together. I dressed it with white balsamic vinegar and virgin olive oil and tasted  before seasoning. As the cashews were salted, and the Puhoi Havarti was peppered it didn't need much. It was crunchy, salty and sweet and just right for lunch.

 

Although the broccoli can be left raw I prefer to blanch it, or microwave it in a lidded container with a couple of tablespoons of water for 3 minutes to soften both the texture and the flavour. Left raw, it can be a little too assertive for our taste.

 



 

 

 

Easy mix Yoghurt and Lemon Curd Cake

 

 

This is one of those easy cakes you can just mix in a bowl with a fork.

When Rachel brought me a jar of Aunty Von's lemon curd I played with it and added some to this easy yoghurt and lemon cake .

I dropped blobs of it onto the cake batter and hoped that this would rise up around them, and it did.
 

Served warm with thick Greek yoghurt it makes a tangy comforting winter dessert, or you could leave it to cool and have some with a coffee later.

 



 

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 cup of whole milk yoghurt
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
3/4 cup of castor sugar
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
a good pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
the grated rind of a lemon
the juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 -1/ 2 cup of lemon curd (I used Aunty Von's)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C
In a large mixing bowl gently combine the yoghurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla and rum
In another bowl , sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt
Add the flour mixture into the yoghurt mixture, and whisk together with a fork until just mixed.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin ( I used a silicone one and very lightly oiled it)
Put blobs of lemon curd all around (about 10 teaspoonfuls)
Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean
Let stand for 10 minutes before transferring onto a cake rack to cool
Dust with icing sugar before serving with thick Greek yoghurt

 

Cinnamon Sugar Snails

 

"Baking can be a bit like a painting, if you  make a mistake you can often cover it up with icing or rename it,"  I said to  Becky when her cinnamon sugar swirls unfurled in the oven. Just call them snails.

She had  booked in a baking session with me to make something nice to take for a shared lunch at school. These crisp and sweet little morsels are so esay that a 10 year old can make them herself.

We used all the 5 sheets in an "Edmond's Sure to Rise Flaky," pastry packet. This made several dozen. More than enough for kids to snack on for afternoon tea as well as having plenty to take to school the next day. You can make less of course.

For the filling start with 3 tablespoons of melted butter, and a mixture of 2/3 cup of castor sugar and 3 tablespoons of cinnamon. If these run out just mix up more but keep the same sugar-cinnamon proportions.

The glaze makes them shiny.

Ingredients:

A packet of Edmond's Sure to Rise Flaky pastry (5 sheets)
2/3 cup of castor sugar mixed with 3 tablespoons of cinnamon
3 tablespoons of melted butter (melted in the microwave)

The Filling ( for 2 sheets)

2/3 cup of castor sugar
3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

For the glaze:

1 egg lightly beaten with a fork, mixed with 2 tablespoon of water

Method:

Preheat the  oven to 180 degrees
Peel off each sheet but leave it on its plastic backing.
Brush it all over with melted butter, using a pastry brush
Sprinkle a layer of cinnamon sugar over , leaving a 2 cm border at one end.
Press the sugar and cinnamon mixture on with your hand.
Brush the border with water.
Roll the pastry into a cylinder  and press the edge to seal the seam
Cut into slices (3/4 cm thick) with a sharp knife
Line oven trays with baking paper.
Arange the snails on them a little distance apart
Use a pastry brush to brush with the glaze.
Bake at 180 degrees C 12-14 minutes until they are golden brown.
Lift with a spatula and cool on a rack.
Serve while hot, or store in a tin for a day or two when cool.





 

Sultana ,Walnut and Quinoa Cookies

The best way to describe these cookies is that they taste like a cross between anzac cookies and muesli. One of the ingredients is quinoa. This gluten free grain was a staple food of the Incas and has the highest protein content of all the grains.

These scrummy cookies were inspired by a recipe from  "Ripe recipes, a Fresh Batch" the new recipe book from the popular Grey Lynn Deli in Auckland. This cookbook is inspirational and I have been cooking up a storm out of it. They love tucking healthy ingredients like quinoa and goji berries into their recipes.

I wanted to make some nourishing gluten free cookies for my daughter who has been diagnosed recently as having a high intolerance to gluten. I substituted Bakel's gluten free baking mix for the wholemeal flour and  replaced the apricots and dates with chopped walnuts .Some grated orange rind added a fruity flavour. However when she arrived she explained that she couldn't eat the cookies because although the Harraway's rolled oats which I used are indeed wheat free, celiacs, and a significant percentage of gluten intolerant and gluten free people can react adversely to them. Here is link which explains it in detail:

http://www.harraways.co.nz/healthy-living/hf-gluten.html

Another interesting link referred to how easily oats can become contaminated

http://www.thekitchn.com/the-oat-conundrum-are-oats-glu-137074

To be on the safe side I'm going to avoid rolled oats when baking baking for them, or if  do use them use ones which are labelled gluten free and ask beforehand if my gluten free or intolerant relation or friend can tolerate them or not. They should know.

These cookies do need to be watched carefully towards the end as at that stage they can easily burn. And once they are out of the oven leave them to cool on the oven tray for a few minutes before removing them to a wire rack as they are delicate and can break easily .

I made them quite small , a heaped teaspoon rather than a heaped tablespoon, so they were just little treats,


Ingredients:

1 cup of rolled oats
1 cup of Bakel's gluten free baking mix
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1/4 cup of uncooked quinoa
1/2 cup of desicated coconut
1 cup of sultanas
3/4 cup of chopped walnuts
Finely grated rind of an orange
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 tablespoons of hot water
180 grams of melted butter
3 tablespoons of golden syrup
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
Grease and line 2 baking trays with baking paper
In a large bowl combine the rolled oats, baking mix, sugar, cinnamom, sultanas, orange rind and coconut.
In a medium-sized bowl , dissolve the baking soda with the hot water. Whisk in the melted butter and golden syrup and vanilla.
Pour the golden syrup mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
Place heaped teaspoons of the biscuit mixture onto the prepared baking trays. Allow plenty of room for the biscuits to spread. Flatten lightly with the back of a fork.

Place in the oven for about 10-12 minutes , or until they are golden.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little before transferring the biscuits onto a wire rack.

 

An easy Apple Cake

Apple and Walnut Cake

On a cold winter’s day chocolate cake just doesn’t do it for us. We’d rather have something warm and spicy. My apple and walnut cake recipe, redolent with spices and served warm with lashings of cream or a dollop of thick Greek yoghurt is just what we feel like. It generously serves 8-10.

Peel the apples while sitting by the fire and then you will only need to escape to the kitchen briefly to stir them into the batter and put the cake into the oven.

I used sweet Braeburn apples but if you use Granny Smiths you may want to increase the sugar to 1 cup.

Ingredients

4 cups of apples, peeled and chopped

3/4 cup of castor sugar

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1 cup of chopped walnuts

2 eggs

1 teaspoons of vanilla essence

The grated rind of 1/2 lemon

2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of baking powder

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of mixed spice

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method

Mix the chopped apples with the sugar

Whisk the vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla essence together

Stir in the sugared apples, walnuts and lemon rind.

In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, mixed spice and salt

Add the dry ingredients to the apple mixture and stir to mix.

Pour the batter into a greased 22 1/2 cm cake tin

Bake at 180 degrees C for 1 hour until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean


Serve with Greek yoghurt or whipped cream

I created this recipe for my regular spot on The Breeze radio Station in Auckland:

http://www.thebreeze.co.nz/Apple-and-Walnut-Cake/tabid/366/articleID/5984/Default.aspx

Weetbix Kids

 

Who would have thought that humble bowls of weetbix and milk could cause such a huge political storm and backlash?

If kids at low decile schools are not getting breakfast at home ( for whatever resaon, poverty and yes sometimes neglect) it's  surely not a big deal to provide it.

Two weetbix and a bowl of milk at the start of the day will help children to focus on their learning which is impossible on an empty stomach, And it's very affordable. It's a miniscule part of the national budget.

It takes more than a village to raise a child, it takes a whole nation to ensure that young kiwis grow healthy and strong. They don't just need breakfast, they need three square meals a day and a balanced diet which includes plenty of protein, fruit and vegetables.

That will only be possible if their parents can find jobs and earn a decent wage. That's the real challenge!

It also needs the government to put a Food Technology teacher back in every Intermediate school so kids will learn to cook basic healthy meals, and  which foods are nutritious. They're the next generation of parents , Let's give them a head start.

And to reintroduce legislation that will ensure that junk food is not available at school tuck shops.

Let's put behind us the racist cartoon by Al Nisbett  which was published in the Marlborough Express on May 29  this week which was deplorabe,  divisive and an insult to the  many families who are struggling to  put food on the table and don't waste money on booze, smoke and pokies.  Better to put some Aroha back into the debate, stop complaining about weetbix and focus on growing healthy kids.

 

Homemade Balsamic Apple Glaze.

Last week I posted my recipe for a pear, gorgonzola and sticky walnut salad. In this recipe balsamic apple glaze was a crucial ingredient.

Then I discovered that my local supermarket no longer stocks it. I put my culinary thinking cap on and made my own version.

 http://focussedonfood.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/pear-gorgonzola-and-sticky-walnut-salad.html

Ingredients

1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons of honey
1/4 cup of unsweetened apple Juice ( I used Charlie's Freshly pressed)

Bring these to the boil in a saucepan and simmer until the liquid is  reduced by half . It should coat the back of a spoon.

Be careful not to let it reduce too much. I did the first time and although it looked syrupy when I poured it into a small ceramic bowl it became too thick and glue like as it cooled. However it was easily rescued by dribbling a little water over the top, putting it in the microwave for a few seconds and giving it a stir. This brought it back to a syrupy consistency.

It was good as it was, but I'm going to play with it a little more, Next time I might reduce the honey a little, or substitute brown sugar.

For dinner I made a marinade of 1/2 balsamic apple glaze and half vegetable oil and brushed it over some pork chops before baking which kept them moist and added flavour.

 

 

Pear, gorgonzola and sticky walnut salad

Roasted pears, walnuts and gorgonzola are made for each other. Usually I'd just toast the walnuts and toss this salad with a french dressing. But there was a small bottle of Balsamic apple glaze in my pantry which had lingered there for ages and begged to be used.

This Balsamic Apple glaze was made by infusing Modena Balsamic vinegar  with apple.

The walnuts became sticky and lusciously sweet when they were stirred into a mixture of this and warmed olive oil.Their intense fruity flavour added more depth to this salad

Kate and I created this salad together. We decided to use only a small quantity of cheese as otherwise this salad would have been overly rich. We served it as a vegetarian meal alongside potatoes which had been cut in half, scored, brushed with olive oil and baked in the oven.

Ingredients:

3 pears (cored and cut into 8 's)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
100 grams of walnuts (I used freshly cracked spray free "Wild" brand)
1/4 cup of olive oil
50-75 grams of gorgonzola (I used Puhoi Valley)
2 tablespoons of  Apple Balsamic glaze (Signature Range)
3 cups of mesclun salad leaves

Method:

Toss the pears in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and roast in a moderate oven (180 degrees C) for 20 minutes.
Warm  1/4 cup of olive oil over a moderate heat.
Add the walnut pieces. Cook for 3 minutes. Take off the stove and leave to cool for a few minutes before stirring in  two tablespoons of balsamic apple glaze.
Arrange the mesclun on a platter. Scatter over the pears. Lift the walnuts out of the oil and scatter around the pears.
Crumble the gorgonzola over the top.
Dribble the remainder of the flavoured oil over the salad.