Vegetarian Fritatta and rye bread
In the spirit of "eating down the larder" I have cooked
this delish fritatta and rye bread. I dont know how long I've had that rye
flour, but I had lovely rye bread in a resturant last night and it has motivated
me to cook it up!
This fritatta basically the recipe on the back of the
Sanitarium Nutolene product that is a great source of protein should you be a
flesh free type
I was going to just add the link to the Sanitarium
website - knowing that copyright is an issue when you pop up recipes that are
not your own, but the site didn't have the recipe, but the back of the can did.
It's a fairly generic recipe anyway - and you can change the vegies added to
grated carrot, zucchini, tomato, mushies, what ever you like, but heres the
recipe I used
500 gm sweet potato and 300 gram potato - sliced, chopped
and steamed
add to 6 eggs, beaten
cup of spinach (I used asian
greens)
1/4 cup grated cheese
small red onion chopped
1/2 can on
nutolene chopped
cook in pie dish or cake tin for about 30
mins
This is enough to feed a family or do you for lunches for a
week.
Here is the link to the rye bread recipe I am making
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/22375/rye+bread
Its
the second time I've made rye bread and last time it turned out really heavy -
this dough seems lovely and light, so I am optomistic it will be delish!
This fritatta basically the recipe on the back of the Sanitarium Nutolene product that is a great source of protein should you be a flesh free type
I was going to just add the link to the Sanitarium website - knowing that copyright is an issue when you pop up recipes that are not your own, but the site didn't have the recipe, but the back of the can did. It's a fairly generic recipe anyway - and you can change the vegies added to grated carrot, zucchini, tomato, mushies, what ever you like, but heres the recipe I used
500 gm sweet potato and 300 gram potato - sliced, chopped and steamed
add to 6 eggs, beaten
cup of spinach (I used asian greens)
1/4 cup grated cheese
small red onion chopped
1/2 can on nutolene chopped
cook in pie dish or cake tin for about 30 mins
This is enough to feed a family or do you for lunches for a week.
Here is the link to the rye bread recipe I am making
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/22375/rye+bread
Its the second time I've made rye bread and last time it turned out really heavy - this dough seems lovely and light, so I am optomistic it will be delish!
Using up the spuds - potato pie
This week is use up the spuds week - they were dug up in
Feb and despite proper storage in a dark dry space they are starting to shoot
and wrinkle. So this week instead of spag bol, its potato pie
You need
1 onion
1/2 kilo mince
a few vegies suitable for a pie (I used mushroos, silver beet and tomato)
enough spuds to cover the pie - once mashed
1 beef stock cube
gravey
relish
garlic - if you like garlic
Lightly fry onion, add the garlic (about 1 tabs), add mince and fry until brown. Add vegies as you go, choped nice and small. Add gravey (I used 4 tabs and about 1 1/2 cups water mixed first, then added. At this point to me it didnt really taste yum, so I added 1 stock cube and empied some older relish jars (about 1/2 cup or relish all up) and now its very tastey.
Cook spuds, drain and mash, add some milk and cheese. (dont let the pot boil dry :))
Pop the meat in a pie dish that has been lightly basted with oil. Spread the spud mix on top and lightly grill so it browns off. Eat with vegies!
You need
1 onion
1/2 kilo mince
a few vegies suitable for a pie (I used mushroos, silver beet and tomato)
enough spuds to cover the pie - once mashed
1 beef stock cube
gravey
relish
garlic - if you like garlic
Lightly fry onion, add the garlic (about 1 tabs), add mince and fry until brown. Add vegies as you go, choped nice and small. Add gravey (I used 4 tabs and about 1 1/2 cups water mixed first, then added. At this point to me it didnt really taste yum, so I added 1 stock cube and empied some older relish jars (about 1/2 cup or relish all up) and now its very tastey.
Cook spuds, drain and mash, add some milk and cheese. (dont let the pot boil dry :))
Pop the meat in a pie dish that has been lightly basted with oil. Spread the spud mix on top and lightly grill so it browns off. Eat with vegies!
a pot of vegetable curry - for a week of lunches
I dont know too many people who got fat eating too many
vegies - this way, atleast!
1 cup cubed potato and pumkin (or sweet
potato)
1 cup cauli, 2 big leaves of silver beet
green beans
1 can
diced tomatoes
1-2 onion
2 tabs curry paste (i used red curry paste
today)
1 cup beef stock
yogurt - 1/3 cup
1/3 cup sultanas if you like
them in your curry
1: peel and cube potato and pumpkin, boil 4 mins, add
cauli, silver beet, beans - cook a further 2 mins - drain.
2: gently fry
chooped onion 1 min, add curry paste, stri and cook a min or 2. Add tomatoes
and stock. Cook 1 or 2 mins, add the other vegies.
3: Pop the lid on and
cook a few more mins. Add yogurt and sultanas and it is ready to eat!!
1 cup cubed potato and pumkin (or sweet potato)
1 cup cauli, 2 big leaves of silver beet
green beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 onion
2 tabs curry paste (i used red curry paste today)
1 cup beef stock
yogurt - 1/3 cup
1/3 cup sultanas if you like them in your curry
1: peel and cube potato and pumpkin, boil 4 mins, add cauli, silver beet, beans - cook a further 2 mins - drain.
2: gently fry chooped onion 1 min, add curry paste, stri and cook a min or 2. Add tomatoes and stock. Cook 1 or 2 mins, add the other vegies.
3: Pop the lid on and cook a few more mins. Add yogurt and sultanas and it is ready to eat!!
My lovely sweet potato soup - with magic secret ingredient
It took me a week of eating every day to get through the minestrone, so now I am on to my lovely sweet potato soup (with magic secret ingrediant)
1 fresh leek from the gardem (he he the leeks are magnificent right now)
about a half kilo of sweet potato
3 or 4 little spuds - or 1 biggie & about the same amount of pumpkin
2 teas garlic
2 teas vegie or chicken stock
a little red chilli - like a teas (pref rescued from the hothouse in the vacant house next door)
and the secret magic ingrediant . . . .
lightly fry leek and garlic in a little oil, add the spuds, pumpkin and sweet potato, 3/4 cover with water, add stock and chilli - and cook til soft - 20-30 mins. Now the house smells awesome!
turn off heat and leave to sit / infuse
Later, wiz it (I usually mash but the leek and chilli need wizzing) in a blender or food processor. Back to the pot - add the magic ingredient - 100-200 mls of low fat (or regular if you dont give a rat's . . . )coconut milk or coconut cream. Greek yogurt is an excellent option, or sour cream. Try the coconut milk/cream though - it really is delish! Season (salt and pepper). Add a little parmeson if it needs more soul.
Then, take all the vegie scraps and peelings, clean out the fridge and add food scraps that ought to have been eaten by now - old biscuits, cooked rice, wednesdays pikelets (its friday as I write this), crusts that wont be eaten, vegies left over when Brooke fell asleep before eating her tea. Put it all in a big pot and gently boil and then leave it on the stove top with the lid on. Feed it to the chooks tomorrow morning.
Jo's hearty minestrone- and the hero of the dish is . . . . .
You need
a few carrots
2 onions
2 cloves / teas
garlic
3 sticks celery
3 med spuds
2 small zucchini
a handful of
green beans
1/8 cabbage
a little oil
2 tabs butter
5 cups water
3
beef stock cubes
canned tomatoes (2 x 400gr)
310 g can cannellini
beans
salt and pepper to season
fresh shaved parmeson cheese (the hero of
the dish)
chop all vegies
lightly fry in this order, onions and
garlic, carrots, celery, zucchin, spuds (diced), beans, shredded cabbage. Add
at 1-2 min intervals. Add water and stock and canned tomatoes (undrained).
Boil, then reduce by covering and simmering 1+1/2 - 2 hours - it should now be a
bit thick. 15 mins before serving add the cannellini beans. Add shaved
parmeson on serving.
This will make heaps!! - like serves 6
a few carrots
2 onions
2 cloves / teas garlic
3 sticks celery
3 med spuds
2 small zucchini
a handful of green beans
1/8 cabbage
a little oil
2 tabs butter
5 cups water
3 beef stock cubes
canned tomatoes (2 x 400gr)
310 g can cannellini beans
salt and pepper to season
fresh shaved parmeson cheese (the hero of the dish)
chop all vegies
lightly fry in this order, onions and garlic, carrots, celery, zucchin, spuds (diced), beans, shredded cabbage. Add at 1-2 min intervals. Add water and stock and canned tomatoes (undrained). Boil, then reduce by covering and simmering 1+1/2 - 2 hours - it should now be a bit thick. 15 mins before serving add the cannellini beans. Add shaved parmeson on serving.
This will make heaps!! - like serves 6
(Later in the day I cooked this - I halved the recipe which made a lovely 25cm diameter pie that fed all 5 of us, plus some) Here's a photo
Kids sick of sandwiches? Here's 5 alternatives
My kids are sick of sandwiches and I am not paying out for expensive alternatives - here's 5 cheap favorites of kids aged 3-11
1: Pizza bread - make an amount of pizza dough, stretch it out and add all the usual things - cut it up and it usually does 2-3 days x 3 kids. My kids particularly love it simple - ham, pineapple and cheese
2: cheese and bacon rolls - either using bread or pizza dough - makes between 9-12 little rolls - sprinkle with cheese and bacon or ham - this rarely lasts longer than 2 days as the kids gobble them up!
3: pikelets - here's my recipe 2 eggs, 1 cup of milk mixed together, add 1/2 cup plain flour and 1/2 cup wholemeal flour - mix up and cook - max 2 days - the sooner they ar eaten the better otherwise they tend to get a bit hard - perhaps a little baking powder might lighten them up - I will try and get back to you on that
4: scrolls - again - stretch out the trusty pizza dough - lather it with whatever, roll it up like one big sausage, let it rise again, and cut it into 2.5 cm scrolls, lay them flat and let them rise and cook. Inside I have used:
- vegemite or promote and cheese,
- nutella,
- garlic with tomato paste and cheese and you can also add a little ham
5: wraps - fill with what ever they like, roll it up and cut like sushi, or dont cut it - its up to you . Will it fall to pieces if you cut it up too much?? That's all there is to it. Things that are good as wraps are mountain bread, burrito wraps, anything flat really, but my personal favorite is rolling out a piece of bread and filling it with cheese, ham, mayo, lettuce and cutting it up like sushi - and that is probably a better sandwhich than they would usully eat!
Happy lunch time :)
1: Pizza bread - make an amount of pizza dough, stretch it out and add all the usual things - cut it up and it usually does 2-3 days x 3 kids. My kids particularly love it simple - ham, pineapple and cheese
2: cheese and bacon rolls - either using bread or pizza dough - makes between 9-12 little rolls - sprinkle with cheese and bacon or ham - this rarely lasts longer than 2 days as the kids gobble them up!
3: pikelets - here's my recipe 2 eggs, 1 cup of milk mixed together, add 1/2 cup plain flour and 1/2 cup wholemeal flour - mix up and cook - max 2 days - the sooner they ar eaten the better otherwise they tend to get a bit hard - perhaps a little baking powder might lighten them up - I will try and get back to you on that
4: scrolls - again - stretch out the trusty pizza dough - lather it with whatever, roll it up like one big sausage, let it rise again, and cut it into 2.5 cm scrolls, lay them flat and let them rise and cook. Inside I have used:
- vegemite or promote and cheese,
- nutella,
- garlic with tomato paste and cheese and you can also add a little ham
5: wraps - fill with what ever they like, roll it up and cut like sushi, or dont cut it - its up to you . Will it fall to pieces if you cut it up too much?? That's all there is to it. Things that are good as wraps are mountain bread, burrito wraps, anything flat really, but my personal favorite is rolling out a piece of bread and filling it with cheese, ham, mayo, lettuce and cutting it up like sushi - and that is probably a better sandwhich than they would usully eat!
Happy lunch time :)
potato and egg frittata
Plenty of spuds and eggs at our place, so lets combine the two
mix up eggs, and grated cheese, and a little full cream milk
peel a large spud, and layer the pie dish
add the egg mix, layer by layer and cook in a moderate oven 30 mins or so
I added a tablespoon of SR flour to get a little rise in the dish
eat with tomatoes and broccoli fresh from the garden. My sons favorite broccoli dish has a little pan fried bacon added, and some parmeson cheese
enjoy!!
mix up eggs, and grated cheese, and a little full cream milk
peel a large spud, and layer the pie dish
add the egg mix, layer by layer and cook in a moderate oven 30 mins or so
I added a tablespoon of SR flour to get a little rise in the dish
eat with tomatoes and broccoli fresh from the garden. My sons favorite broccoli dish has a little pan fried bacon added, and some parmeson cheese
enjoy!!
Jo's quinoa & tomato salad (kind of like tabouli)
I just created this salad after promising to bring tabouli to a family BBQ. I didnt have any cracked wheat, but I did have some quinoa (pronounced quin way). I went to a conference recently and quinoa featured there in a salad and it was yum.
Quinoa is gluten free, and full of fibre and packs a whopping 15g of protein / 100g. I decided to add a few things like radishes, as they were begging to be used up in the garden. It provides a nice zing too (so perhaps miss if you've got kids). I think this salad will be yummy with any meat, but particularly with falafel balls and in a wrap!
So here we go
1 part quinoa + 2 parts water, micro wave 10 mins and leave to stand for 2-3 mins and absorb any other water - I used 3/4 cup quinoa then refridgerate it until its cold
2 large tomatoes
half a cucumber (a long burpless one)
6 radishes
equal amounts of parsley and mint - like about half a cup squashed each
spring onions - 4 big ones
dice all the vegies, fine chop herbs, add to cooked quinoa with 1/4 cup lemon juice (to taste) and any other herbs you might enjoy . . . . I've seen cummin mentioned in other recipes but I'll leave it out
Quinoa is gluten free, and full of fibre and packs a whopping 15g of protein / 100g. I decided to add a few things like radishes, as they were begging to be used up in the garden. It provides a nice zing too (so perhaps miss if you've got kids). I think this salad will be yummy with any meat, but particularly with falafel balls and in a wrap!
So here we go
1 part quinoa + 2 parts water, micro wave 10 mins and leave to stand for 2-3 mins and absorb any other water - I used 3/4 cup quinoa then refridgerate it until its cold
2 large tomatoes
half a cucumber (a long burpless one)
6 radishes
equal amounts of parsley and mint - like about half a cup squashed each
spring onions - 4 big ones
dice all the vegies, fine chop herbs, add to cooked quinoa with 1/4 cup lemon juice (to taste) and any other herbs you might enjoy . . . . I've seen cummin mentioned in other recipes but I'll leave it out
Aunty Joans Apple Cake
Aunty Joan is 80 something, and a wizard in the kitchen. After scoring some apples left over from a conference I decided to have a go at it myself. After looking at the ingrediants I thought this is never going to work - it's too dry, but the apple makes up for it, you will see!
125 grams of melted butter (actually the recipe said 1/4 pound)
1/4 cup caster sugar
now cream the two
add 1 egg, 1 cup sr flour.
You need about 3/4 cup of cooked apple that is cold
Place 1/2 mixture in bottom of 7 inch tin (18 cm - small!!)
spread the apple
top with the rest of the mixture (I flattened it out a bit because it is quite dry and to spread in over cooked apple is like trying to rake dirt over a mud puddle)
Cook in a mod oven for 30 mins
ice with lemon icing
This is so yummy, you COULD eat the lot in 1 go.
Enjoying flesh free Feb!
Vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism can co-exist! Forward planning is essential though! This weeks menu is:
Sunday - roast for the family, roast vegies for me with vegie burgers
Monday - sausages and vegies for the family, vegies and vegetarian lasange for me
Tuesday - stir fry chicken and vegies with rice for the family, stir fry vegies and baken beans for me
Wed - spag bol and sald for the family, left over veg lasagne and salad for me
Thurs - squid rings and fish fingers with cous cous and salad for the family, soy sausage, cous cous and salad for me
Fri - takeaway - souvlaki for the family, falafel wrap for me
Sat - salad and ravioli, veg ravioli for me
Sun - carbonara for the family with salad, omlette for me
Snacks - fruit, nuts, cake, biscuits
breakfast - 6 seed mix, bubbles and yoghurt and fruit
lunch - eggs, sandwhiches, baked beans
Flesh free lifestyle - to date
I'm really enjoying this! Last night I prepared burgers from 'nutmeat' which is something you can buy from the the supermarket for about $4in a can and makes 12 or so burgers. You add brown rice, a few herbs, eggs, and little flour to the nutmeat (to hold it all together) and then crumb them. They are really delicious and even my carnivorous husband had to admit they were pretty yum. My advice is, when preparing them to take a hands on approach - mush all ingrediants together with your hands. They cook in a few minutes which is great for a busy lifestyle. Serve with a salad and a yoghurt, mint, garlic and cucumber dip.
Vegetarianism - within a carnivoric family unit
Originally I blogged how easy I was finding it to eat flesh free, within the context of a meat eating family. I've continued to find it easy to supplement meat with vegetarian meals, but I have not found it easy to be a vegetarian. I'm out of balance, despite my knowledge of nutrition and respect of the bodies needs, I'm not getting enough protein or iron. The only days I've got enough protein have been when I used protein powder. I've been craving sugar, I've never experienced this before. Although I have been completing workouts, I generally feel pretty tired before and after. I've spoken with a few permanent vegearians and here are the tips they have given me:
- eat a source of protein at each and every meal and snack
- nuts, eggs, dairy, sprouts (particularly lentil sprouts) are examples
- legumes should be eaten daily
- qunioa is a great grain to try with heaps of protein
- dont just cut meat, you need an alternative protein source
I havent finished my flesh free Feb, and I'll see it through and hopefully get closer to my usual balance of energy in, energy out. I've learnt heaps about what happens in the body and the mind when we make changes. It must be awefully hard to change years of bad eating habits, like for someone who suddenly finds themself with diabetes, or wanting to lose weight. I am very sorry I tried it while coming off caffeine too. Although the addiction to caffeine is long gone, the need for a quick energy fix is very strong, and I've exchanged it for a lot more sugar than I'd usually consume.
Interesting findings :)
- eat a source of protein at each and every meal and snack
- nuts, eggs, dairy, sprouts (particularly lentil sprouts) are examples
- legumes should be eaten daily
- qunioa is a great grain to try with heaps of protein
- dont just cut meat, you need an alternative protein source
Interesting findings :)
Vegetarianism within the context of a carnivoric family unit
Well I've made it to the end of my 29 days of being flesh free, in my diet that is. If you read through my other 2 blogs at first I found the juggle of being vegetarian within the context of a meat eating family not that much of a juggle. But despite my best efforts I wasnt getting enough iron or protein and I was starting to feel weary. I lacked sustained energy that quite frankly, I take for granted. I started craving sugar. I've never had that before.Over the last week I made a few more changes to my diet, it'd be too easy just to give up. I must confess 2 servings of fish over the 29 days, 1 as a takeaway purchase - it was either chips or fish and chips, and I'm not that into chips. The other was when a friend came for tea, we were running late, kids were hungry, we wanted to talk . . . .
Changes I've made over the 29 days include:
- eating protein at each and every meal and snack (this was a big help)
- plenty of dairy
- a few quick and easy meals, like baked beans, eggs, cheese on toast
- finding protein high snacks like spicy broad beans and Mrs Mays Pumpkin Seed bites quickly added 10 grams of protein to the tally
- eating sprouts
- trying tofu - particularly the flavoured ones
I'm feeling much more stable energy wise and a week ago this wasnt the case, so I'm pleased I perseverered!
Open fire cooking
We've just returned from an awesome camping trip at Fortescue Bay, near Port Arthur. Apart from being a beautiful bush spot, right by snow white sands and crystal clear water (not as freezing as previous), lovely walks, great people and a terrific family atmosphere, what set this camping spot apart was the open fire cooking. Here's some things we tried:
- toasting marshmallow (nothing new here)
- toasting toast
- spuds in foil (with sour cream, parmeson cheese, onion and capsicum)
- corn in foil (still in the cob, add butter)
- hot cross buns (in foil, spread with butter)
- sausages on a stick (first, apologise to the sausage, then stick a stick from one end to the other)
- bananas - leave in their skins - slice from 1 end to other add chocolate - hazelnute choc was particularly YUM
- and the grand finalie - 2 shortbread biscuits choc on one side, toast a marshmallow and pop inside - eat
- and the grand, grand finale - 2 short bread biscuits, choc on one side, pop 3 marshmallows and 1 square of chocolate in between, roll on foil and put on the coals for a few minutes
ENJOY
Skanky cauli and zucchini soup
Over a cuppa with a friend, and discussing a future soup i was making with zucchin and cauli, I mentioned I was using skanky cauli. I grew it - heavens knows how, it appeared in the garden and I think some seeds were packaged wrongly and I ended up with cauli seeds instead of broccoli. As has happened before the cauli was not great - lots of bugs growing in it but I hate throwing food out so I froze it so it could be included in stews and soups - not steamed where the kids investigate it and inevitably find it full of 'protein'. So here is the soup I came up with
lightly fry and onion, chopped broccoli and skanky cauli. Add about a litre of chicken stock (litre of water and 4 stock cubes) boil for about 10 mins and then leave to cool. Wiz. reheat and add cream to the bowl, season if you think it needs it - I used ginseng salt which is just gorgeous.
Sorry I dont do quantities - but it makes just over a litre so I guess it serves 4.
Why dont I get capitals when I double space?
Oh yes, and the best bit, scoop up any floating 'protein' before serving. And any black protein - well thats just pepper.
February ambitions
Ok, saying it out loud. No caffeine for the month of Feb, and just because after day 2 that will be easy, no animal flesh. I always feel I eat too much meat, so I am going to go without for 28 days, and see how I'm feeling there after.
A few menu items I know I'll be using
eggs galore!
pesto with pasta
minestrone soup
vegie delight - nutmeat (never had that before)
vegie sausages (from supermarket)
lentil patties
I'm really looking forward to it. I think the hardest thing will be double preparing food - as my family are not doing this with me (although Fraser will give it a go)
Ok, saying it out loud. No caffeine for the month of Feb, and just because after day 2 that will be easy, no animal flesh. I always feel I eat too much meat, so I am going to go without for 28 days, and see how I'm feeling there after.
A few menu items I know I'll be using
eggs galore!
pesto with pasta
minestrone soup
vegie delight - nutmeat (never had that before)
vegie sausages (from supermarket)
lentil patties
I'm really looking forward to it. I think the hardest thing will be double preparing food - as my family are not doing this with me (although Fraser will give it a go)
A few menu items I know I'll be using
eggs galore!
pesto with pasta
minestrone soup
vegie delight - nutmeat (never had that before)
vegie sausages (from supermarket)
lentil patties
I'm really looking forward to it. I think the hardest thing will be double preparing food - as my family are not doing this with me (although Fraser will give it a go)
zucchini fritters
Modifying recipes from the net here's what I did with 2 zuchini's
- grate 2 zuchini
add half corn cob - the corn that is cut of
fry gently in butter and garlic and 1 chopped spring onion, esp the green tails
allow to cool
for the batter
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
1/2 cup milk - mix up
add zuchini + 1 cup grated cheese
add some chopped ham if you are that way inclined
shallow fry, eat.
add some yogurt when serving, or sauce . . .
yum
Peaches galore!
Its the only fruit that we have in abundance this year. The peaches are small, and I am having to pick them before they are really ready due to a resident possum. Peach pie was tonights dessert
grease a pie dish, fill with pipped peaches, cover with 1/4 cup suger and 3 tabs water (mixed together)
roll short crust pastry over the top, piece the top so heat can escape
cook 30-40 mins in a mod oven
It's so yummy!
Beetroot chutney
Today I turned 1.5 kg of home grown organic beetroot into 9 bottles of beetroot chutney, using Tasmanian Chef and relish/chutney guru Sally Wise's recipe. Its such a lovely sweet chutney, yummy with a salad, with eggs or meat, or simply on a cruskit or some other plain biscuit. It did this in 2 steps, last night I boiled up the beetroot and left it over night, later today I did the final chop of onion and apple, and added the spices. The house smells awesome!!
right - the finished product
http://www.abc.net.au/tasmania/stories/s2073633.htm
