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Jerk Chicken

February 5, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken · Tagged chicken, feeding the family, recipe

Funny how you phase through ingredients. Often it comes with wider food fashions. A few years back there was the balsamic/basil/bocconcini thing. And then the Moroccan thing, with lots of cumin/coriander combos. And of course sumac – I still pour that all over so many things.

My latest thing is Allspice. I managed without it nicely for years, but it’s made an appearance lately. Possibly since it adds some tang without heat, which is perfect for kids. If you pick up a jar soon, you can make this delicious jerk chicken, which is the ideal protein to go with last week’s Caribbean rice. I’ll do my best to post some other recipes using it soon, too, so that the jar doesn’t sit unloved in the back of your cupboard.

‘Jerk’ chicken. Which seems harsh, especially when it’s so delicious.

Jerk Chicken

1 small onion, peeled, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp chilli powder (I use a mild Mexican one)
1/4 tsp Allspice
Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 bunch thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
600-700g chicken wing nibbles (they’re wings, but with the pointy ends chopped off – my kids find them easier to negotiate) OR chicken drumsticks

Blitz all the ingredients, except the chicken, together in a mini-food processor or blender. Pop the chicken into a deep ceramic or glass bowl and pour over the sauce. Mix well and leave to marinade (in the fridge) anywhere from 1-12 hours. Obviously, the longer you leave it, the better the flavour.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line an oven tray with foil and spray with oil. Place the chicken pieces in a single layer on the tray, pouring over the excess marinade.

Bake until cooked through and the skin is starting to blacken. Nibbles take about 30-35 minutes, drumsticks need about 45 minutes.

Serves 2 adults & 2 kids

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YOUR FAMILY LIKES CHICKEN? Try these…

Oven-baked chicken nuggets
Chicken & cashew stirfry
Chicken meatballs
Chicken & tarragon one-pot

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Carry on holidays

February 1, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, News, Vegetarian · Tagged feeding the family, parenting, recipe, rice, vegetables

Waking up on holidays the other morning, I had my eyes still closed, but I could tell that I was surrounded by a lot of skin. I was smashed up against a deliciously broad back and I sighed contentedly. I love sun-kissed, hedonistic holidays. Then I realised that there was another hand poking through into my tummy. Oooo-errr! And another arm was around my middle and a leg pushed in between mine. Saucy!

Wriggling over in the limited space I was accosted by surprisingly bad breath and then a wee hand smacking me on the boob, bringing me back to my senses. This was no scene of wild holiday abandon. This was an early-morning wake up on our very-family-oriented getaway. And the double bed was crammed full of a snoring Mr VS and two children seeking refuge – one from the scary cockroach on the wall of our van-park cabin and the other from a tangled and smelly old quilt cover which was discarded on the floor.

Note to self. Must arrange a mid-year getaway with husband. Alone.

In the meantime, this mild Caribbean rice side-dish will keep the holiday vibe going. Just a hint of coconut and a stack of vegies. As always, everything is optional. Use whatever will work with your family. I’m including instructions for this in either a rice cooker or in a regular saucepan.

Why not garnish with an umbrella. Cute.

Caribbean ‘I’m still on holidays’ rice

2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 spring onions, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 litre water (boil the jug and use that to make cooking quicker)
160g coconut milk
1 cinnamon stick
Several stalks of fresh thyme (use half a bunch if you have it)
1/4 red capsicum
1 carrot, peeled, grated
1 zucchini, grated (peeled if your kids hate green)
400g can borlotti beans, rinsed, drained
125g can corn kernels

Heat your rice cooker on the saute function or heat a saucepan over medium/high heat. Add your oil and saute the spring onion and garlic for a minute, stirring frequently.

Pour in the rice and stir really well to make sure it is thoroughly coated and the edges are just starting to turn translucent. (This takes a minute or two).

Carefully tip in the coconut milk and stir. Then add the water, cinnamon and thyme. Stir well. Turn the rice cooker to the cook function and cover OR reduce the heat on the stovetop to low and cover with a tight-fitting lid (a glass lid so you can peak in, is perfect).

Once little vertical tunnels appear in the rice, it is practically cooked (about 15 minutes), so really quickly remove the lid and chuck in the vegies and beans. Stir briefly, recover, and leave for another 5 minutes or so (I actually tend to switch my cooker to ‘warm’ for this stage – the residual heat is enough to warm everything through).

Serve with salad and some meat from the BBQ – something tasty like jerk chicken is perfect (I’ll post a recipe for that next week.)

Serves 4 adults & 4 kids as a side dish.

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A salad to serve warm or cold

January 27, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Vegetarian, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged feeding the family, recipe, salad, vegetables

Here’s one last BBQ side dish for the summer – my version of a pumpkin, haloumi and spinach salad. You can serve it cold in summer or warm in the winter, so all you Northern Hemisphere smugglers can enjoy it right now as well.

It’s back to the idea I talked about when I made Panzanella – just serve good healthy stuff and enjoy it and hopefully the kids will join in a bit. Miss F likes the squeaky cheese and spinach (with the yummy sweet dressing). Mr M&P doesn’t find much to his satisfaction here yet, with the exception of the cashews and pine nuts. Sometimes these things take time.

Cashews and pinenuts are the big lures.

Roast pumpkin & haloumi salad

600g butternut pumpkin, peeled, cut into 1.5cm cubes
Olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup roasted, unsalted cashews
1 block haloumi cheese
Baby spinach leaves
Baby cos leaves
3 spring onions, finely sliced
½ red capsicum, finely diced

1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp grapeseed oil (olive oil will do and if you have it, a bit of hazelnut oil mixed in is DELICIOUS!)

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

Toss the pumpkin cubes in the olive oil, salt and pepper and place in a single layer on the tray. Bake for 25-30 minutes until just tender but not totally squishy.

Place a frying pan over medium heat and add the pinenuts. Dry roast, stirring often to avoid burning. Remove and set aside.

Return the pan to the heat and add some olive oil. Slice the haloumi into 1cm thick slices and fry on each side until golden.

In a large salad bowl, mix together the leaves, onions and capsicum. Toss through the nuts and tear up the haloumi into bite-sized pieces. Pop in the pumpkin.

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together and pour over. Give everything a good mix and either serve warm, or leave in the fridge and serve cold.

Serves 4 adults and 4 kids as a side dish.

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Dig out the lunchboxes… again

January 22, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Sweets & treats · Tagged feeding the family, lunchbox, parenting, treats

How are you feeling about the upcoming return to school? I’ve enjoyed spending time with my kids and I’ve had a house full of them and their friends throughout January (I actually did a tally and I’ve had a total of 34 different kids pass through my doors!) – it’s been nice to listen to them all play and get to know the personalities of my children’s friends.

But the prospect of the return to routines and of empty lunchboxes staring at me every morning does fill me with a bit of dread. As always, I’ll turn to my Lunchbox planner, which has 40 weeks of plans which takes some of the thinking out of it! I keep everything pretty simple, but throw in a weekly recipe and use lots of seasonal fruit and veg to keep things interesting. You can buy a copy of the e-book here.

There’s been a bunch of great posts around lately full of back to school ideas and advice. I liked this post from Natural New Age Mum with biscuit ideas – they all look great! At the moment I’m working on a new quick-bake e-book and here’s a little preview. It’s another biscuit suggestion that pops a bit of fibre into the lunchbox and gives them some energy for the afternoon session.

Best wishes to all of those sending off your kids for the first time. I did that last year, and it was extremely bittersweet. This year is much more relaxed, there are no nerves, just excitement about which class we’ll be in with which friends. What a difference 12 months makes!

Biscuits. They make me happy.

Oat, sultana and sesame biscuits

½ cup self-raising flour
1½ cups oats
¼ cup Allbran cereal
3 tbsp sesame seeds (optional, but recommended)
¼ tsp cinnamon
Pinch salt
½ cup sultanas or currants
60g butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line two oven trays with baking paper.

Sift the flour into a medium sized bowl. Mix in the oats, bran, seeds, cinnamon, salt and sultanas.

In a separate, larger bowl, use hand-held beaters to combine the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg and mix well.

Use a spoon to fold in the dry ingredients. Pop on kitchen gloves to avoid mess and roll out ping-pong sized balls of mixture. Place on the trays and bake for 12-15 minutes until just brown.

MAKES ABOUT 24.

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What’s your food intolerance?

January 15, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Sweets & treats, Vegetarian · Tagged fruit, recipe, treats

A lot of people I know have an allergy or intolerance to some kind of food. Maybe they can’t eat gluten or eggs or meat or nuts.

For me, it’s dairy. And it’s getting worse as I get older. I manage it with a combination of substitution, abstinence and patience. I understand and accept that I’ll always feel sick after eating in most (non-asian) restaurants, where it is apparently incomprehensible that you can cook without oodles of butter. And I accept that I’ll never be able to eat dessert at most restaurants since ‘dessert’ is apparently a code word for ‘cream’ with the only other option being cheese.

It does frustrate me when I have to pay extra for soy milk in my coffee. With food sensitivities being so widespread, surely a café should allow for all of the soy/skim/rice milk variants when they set their basic prices. 50c extra seems like highway robbery – it’s not like us soy latte wankers are particularly rare.

And while I’m ranting, I went to a restaurant recently that didn’t have a single vegetarian main meal on the menu. And no, waitress, fish is actually meat. As is bacon. And chicken – that’s meat too. I was horrified that a pretty ritzy place wouldn’t even whip up a ‘off the menu’ option. My strict vegetarian friend had just two entrée options to choose from. Lucky she likes raw beetroot and dairy-laden artichokes.

Surely these days, all cafes and restaurants should be creative enough to offer up one allergy free option. Maybe something like this is tapioca dessert. It’s vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and delicious.

Proof that dairy-free, gluten-free desserts are possible!

Coconut & mango tapioca (from Vegie Smugglers 2)

7-8 cups water
2/3 cup tapioca pearls
400ml coconut milk
2–3 tbsp caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

To serve:
Sliced mango and banana

Add the water to a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.

Add the tapioca pearls to the water and simmer until they are mostly cooked and translucent (this can take up to an hour for large pearls). Check often during cooking; stir to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan (if this is happening, add another cup of water). Err on the side of undercooking – a small opaque centre is fine, they will finish cooking in the coconut milk (overcooked tapioca just dissolves into sludge).

Drain and rinse.

Return the tapioca to the pan with the coconut milk, sugar and vanilla. Simmer gently over low heat until warm and thick.
Serve in bowls with the fruit.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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The toys look as tired as I feel

January 7, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, News, Vegetarian · Tagged parenting, pasta, recipe, vegetables, vegetarian

Looking around at the constant mess that is my house during the school holidays, I keep seeing signs that the toys are feeling my pain. I suspect that ‘Toy Story’ is real after all.

Frazzled (with my body on backwards).

Askew (and just slightly stabby).

Confused (don’t know up from down).

Queasy (although the holiday hangover is passing).

In need of a good lay down (when does school go back?).

Funny how I was looking forward to these school holidays so much. Now after almost three weeks of it, I can’t actually discern any difference between the school and non-school parts of the year in terms of my workload. Actually during the holidays I have more interruptions and there isn’t a half hour where the house stays in order.

So the exhaustion levels are the same but the tasks have changed. Instead of packing lunchboxes and endlessly turning socks inside out and matching them, I’m now constantly washing the sand out of beach towels and applying sunscreen (my most hated job, but I can’t trust them to do a good job on their own).

The calendar tells me that the New Year is underway and many people’s holidays are over. Once more I’m reminded that mums don’t ever really get a holiday, do we? Yesterday, I did sneak an hour and a half on the deck with my kindle and a gin & tonic. I guess that’ll have to do.

Am I the only one feeling a little ripped off? What are your best ways to find some relaxation amongst the holiday chaos? Let me know QUICK! The kids don’t have to get off the PS3 for another 45 minutes – that’s my downtime slot for today!

In return, I’m offering you an easy dinner to ease your workload. It’ll use up all that basil which is probably going to seed in this heat. It’s from the Complete Lunchboxes Planner e-book.

Easy to make and yum either warm for dinner or cold on picnics.

Pesto Pasta Salad

1 large clove garlic
¼ cup pine nuts
1 bunch basil leaves
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup grated parmesan (please don’t use the powdered stuff)
250g pasta spirals
½ punnet cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

In a food processor (mini one is best), blitz together the garlic and pine nuts. Add the basil and blitz well. Combine in the oil (a little at a time). Stir in the cheese. Set aside (all day if you like).

Cook the pasta according to packet directions. Scoop out 1⁄2 cup of the water and set aside, then drain pasta and return to saucepan. Pour over pesto and mix through. Use more oil or reserved cooking water if too dry. Stir through the tomatoes.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS.

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Mystic mum predicts the future

January 2, 2013 · Filed under All recipes, News, Red meat · Tagged beef, family, feeding the family, vegetables

I predict this wise-looking guy will NEVER ACCURATELY time anything.

Unlike my entirely credible astrologer sister, my basis for claiming psychic status is more a result of consistent proof, that when it comes to my family, I WILL ALWAYS KNOW how things are going to turn out BEFORE they happen.

Like when, on New Year’s Eve, I let my kids stay up until 2am. I predicted that the next day they would both have silly accidents, end up crying and need to be carried to bed by 7.30pm. AND I WAS RIGHT. And when, on that same night, I drank an innocent enough looking thimble full of Jagermeister, I predicted that I would start 2013 with a hangover. AND I WAS RIGHT.

Since I’m so consistently right and all-knowing, I’m thinking of changing my name from ‘mum’ to ‘oracle’. Life would then sound like this….

Child [yelling from other room] “ORACLE. WHERE ARE MY SLIP ON SHOES?”
Mum [calmly] “One is behind your bedroom door and the other under the dining table.”

Child [yelling from other room] “ORACLE. MR M&P IS USING MY YELLOW TEXTA WITHOUT ASKING.”
Mum [calmly] “Let it be so, and avoid feckless squabbles.”

Child [standing by bedside, whispering to oracle as if oracle is awake, even though oracle is asleep] “Oracle…”
Oracle [on waking] “IF YOU ARE GOING TO ASK ME ANYTHING ABOUT WHEN YOU CAN PLAY SKYLANDERS, I SUGGEST YOU GET OUT OF HERE NOW”.

And child exits room immediately without another word; such is the wisdom and ~~grumpiness~~ foresight of oracle.

It goes along with my ability to see my child pick their nose and eat it BEHIND ME. My knowledge that I’ll need a packet of wipes in my bag if we’re going to eat choc tops at the cinema, and that each and every time I reveal that THIS IS THE NIGHT FOR A HAIRWASH, my kids will cry and scream as though I am releasing a plague of locusts upon them.

I can also predict that this week I won’t have any time to whip up anything new, so this recipe is from Vegie Smugglers 2, a fabulous book that you all should buy. I can predict, that this is the link you will need to do just that.

I predict the adults may want to add in fresh chilli.

Beef & peanut rice paper rolls

1 tbsp peanut oil
1 onion, finely chopped
500g lean beef mince
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp minced ginger
1 yellow capsicum, seeded, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, grated
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp fish sauce
White (or black) pepper

To serve:
10 rice paper rounds
Crushed roasted peanuts
Bean sprouts
Spring onions, cut into sticks
Cucumber, cut into sticks
Dried rice vermicelli (prepared according to packet directions, rinsed under cold water, drained)
Mint and coriander leaves, to taste (I like lots)
Sweet chilli sauce
Lime juice

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. (Cooking over a higher heat cooks off the liquid, keeping the mixture quite dry.)

Cook the onion for a couple of minutes, then add the mince, garlic and ginger. Toss through until the mince is brown, breaking up lumps as you go. Add the capsicum and carrot and stir for another couple of minutes.

Add the soy sauce, sugar, fish sauce and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the mince is thoroughly cooked.

Prepare the rice papers according to packet directions. Start by adding a few tablespoons of the meat mixture to the paper then add whichever ingredients you like, roll up and enjoy!

MAKES 10

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Getting back on track

December 27, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, News · Tagged celebrations, recipe, vegetables

Every year at this time I feel entirely gross and slightly cranky at myself for my inability to say ‘no!’ to that last piece of chocolate or that last potato baked in duck fat (mmmmmm, thanks bro, great spuds as per usual).

But as good as the indulgence all was, it’s time now to get back on track. So here are the recipes that I turn to whenever I need to reset my stomach (and my entire sense of well being)…

I started today with home-made muesli.

Fish congee is total comfort food.

The slight acidity of this tomato salad feels as though it’s cutting through the days of fatty eating.

More japanese-inspired comfort.

Fish burritos are tasty but light.

My personal favourite soothing dinner (and the dish I’m cooking tonight) chicken noodle soup.

I like all of these dishes since they’re filling and tasty, but far more gentler on my system than the food I’ve eaten over the last couple of weeks. And I promise, if you tackle these recipes, you’ll be back on track and ready to indulge all over again by New Years Eve!

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Hostess with the most-ess

December 19, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Sweets & treats · Tagged celebrations, Christmas, family, ideas, parenting, recipe

Hello 1970, it’s great to see you.

I am the proud new owner of a punch bowl. I’ve never felt the urge to have one before, but something overcame me this year and I couldn’t rest without one.

Since moving to the suburbs, we entertain much more and have greater numbers of people around at once. Primarily the adults are drinking alcoholic stuff, but it is nice to have something else on offer, particularly for the kids, who are all old enough now to be pestering for fizzy drinks.

Like everything else, my policy on soft drink is that ‘everything is ok in moderation’. But at this time of year, with fun parties nearly every night, I’m looking for a bit of an alternative.

So I’m compromising with punch. There’s still sugar and fizz, but it’s slightly diluted and packed full of fruit. Use Christmas cookie cutters to make cute shapes from watermelon and rock melon and you’ve got something pretty appealing. Serve it in small plastic cups and the kids will tend to drink much less than a standard size softdrink can.

This is my current recipe, but I’m sure it will change. My mum favors tea-based recipes, but I like the colour of the cranberry. What about you? Have you got a favourite version? I’m keen to try a few out.

I won't tell if the adults decide to pop a bit of vodka in.

Shhhhhhh. Adults might like to pop a shot of vodka in their glass too.

Cranberry punch

2 parts cranberry juice
1 part ginger beer
1 part lemonade
1 part mineral water
Heaps of berries, rock melon, watermelon & mint (although kids tend to stress about green leaves in their drinks).
______________________

And with that, I’m off for a bit of a blogging break. Thanks so much for supporting my business and blog throughout 2012. It’s been another great year and I wish you and your family all the best for Christmas and the New Year.

Comments (6) »

What my children and twitter have in common

December 13, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Sweets & treats · Tagged celebrations, Christmas, family, ideas, lunchbox, parenting

I’ve been trying to teach my kids the finer art of conversation.

Talking isn’t a problem for them but actually having a two-way discussion around a topic is. Most of the time, they are like a twitter feed brought to life. Short-sentence comments unrelated to anything else (eg. “my brain is itchy”). Often they don’t make any sense at all (eg. “you blew big underpants”). Private jokes and brains farts that I have neither the understanding nor patience to reply to.

Despite my public urgings for families to eat together (it’s great for kids to see adults eating healthily and provides a positive and happy opportunity for family bonding), during the week the VS household rarely manages it. We make sure we have both breakfast and dinner together on the weekends, but I suspect more regular family dinners would improve the quality of their chatter quite a lot.

Like many families, we have little choice – Mr VS is off working long hours at Temple & Webster, providing Turkish towels and cushions for the needy, so the kids and I are left to our own devices. Half the time I let them eat alone (sometimes even with the TV on), the rest of the time I eat with them and that’s when I drill them on the finer points of using cutlery and how to have a good and rewarding discussion.

It seems to be working, gradually. Last night Mr VS did make it home and as he sat down, Mr M&P piped up with “and how was your day, daddy?” It was cute.

Apparently the other kids in infant’s school are unbothered by the Tourette’s-style conversation from my children. Somehow they have made a bunch of friends and we’ve reached that time of year where they all start loading each other up with Christmas cards and candy canes. Poor teachers.

Perhaps unluckily for my kids, I still had half a batch of gingerbread dough in the freezer. So I made the biscuits (little tiny ones) and then they spent an hour decorating them. We handed them out yesterday and they were a big hit. Of course, they’re no good if your friends have allergies, but luckily we’ve only got one BFF affected and we’ve bought her a little notepad instead.

It was raining, so I had a Martha Stewart moment.

They were concentrating so hard they even stayed quiet for a bit.

Just add a sprinkle of icing sugar and they’re good gifts for adults too.

Vegie Smugglers