All recipes | Vegie Smugglers

Archive for All recipes

What a lovely pear

April 5, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, News, Sweets & treats

A lovely pair?

Yes, I know, it’s the worst fruit joke in the world but I just couldn’t resist.

And you’ll have to forgive me – I’m looking for jokes and a bit of cheering up at the moment. Each year around this time, I start to get the seasonal blues. They increase with the cold and dark, turn a slight corner after the winter solstice, but don’t evaporate entirely until mid-August.

I have strategies in place to deal with it – regular yoga practice helps. Getting enough sunlight too. And just trying to enjoy the passing seasons and the particular pleasures they reveal.

Which is why I’m preoccupied with pears this week. Especially these cute mini ones from a market in the Southern Highlands. Apples are good at the moment too. My favourite type is Gala, and they’re freshly picked and filling the shelves right now. They are a happy part of Autumn.

Combine them together and (of course) wrap them in pastry to create a delicious wee snack that warms the toes. This recipe includes prunes, with a hit of fibre that does us all good. Although you’re welcome to omit them and be really naughty and add a dollop of Nutella to your mix instead.

I know they smell great, but try not to burn your tongue!

Apple, pear & prune squares

3 sheets frozen
puff pastry
1 apple (Granny Smith or Gala), thinly sliced
1 pear, thinly sliced
½ cup pitted prunes, finely chopped
½ tsp vanilla essence
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp almond meal
1 tsp caster sugar
1 egg, whisked, for sticking and glazing
Caster sugar, for sprinkling

Icing sugar, for dusting, to serve

Preheat oven to 180C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

Before the pastry thaws too much, use a sharp knife to score each square into two rectangles. Snap apart. Then score each rectangle into 4 pieces (so each sheet yields 8 rectangles). Break apart and leave to thaw.

In a large bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients except the egg and caster sugar. Dollop 1 tsp of mixture at one end of each piece of pastry, leaving a 1cm border. Brush the edges with egg, fold over and press the edges together. Brush the tops with egg and sprinkle with a little caster sugar.

Transfer to the oven tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. These will be HOT when they come out of the oven. Dust with icing sugar. Serve plain or with ice-cream.

MAKES 24

———————
And check out these other Vegie-Smuggling pastry recipes…
Chicken sausage rolls
Beef Triangles
Traffic light swirls
———————

Comments (2) »

End of term fatigue (and the rot sets in)

March 29, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Fish, News · Tagged feeding the family, parenting, recipe, rice, tuna, vegetables

As we saw in NSW over the weekend, all good things must end. And before they end, they will usually become corrupt, festering things, self-interested and spoilt. And so endeth the first school term of Miss Fruitarian. Without checking the calendar, I knew when week 8 had dawned.

The mornings have been getting progressively tougher. Teeth brushing is taking a good 15 minutes, even with me keeping a watchful eye over proceedings. Uniforms are being put on back-to-front, school hats left in the car and the reading folder is never ready for return on time.

The exhaustion comes like a wave and finally crashes down to shore. Today, Miss F has collapsed and is in need of a day at home. Luckily, being a WAHM, I can accommodate it. In the olden days it would have been tears all around as I forced her into a uniform and off to early morning care. These days, it’s just tears on my part as I try to get work done around a complaining patient who has perked up considerably since I announced she didn’t have to go to school.

Dinner tonight needs to be something comforting yet healthy, that I can make whilst being constantly interrupted. This baked rice dish fits the bill – and it uses up the last of the eggplant and basil from the garden.

A more-ish, pick-me-up dinner for tired kiddlies

Baked tuna & tomato rice

Butter, for greasing
4 cups chicken stock
1½ cups arborio rice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 finger eggplant, very finely diced
1 medium zucchini, grated
500ml passata (bottled tomato puree found in the supermarket near the Italian pasta sauces)
½ cup boiling water
150g cheddar cheese, grated
125g can corn kernels, drained
185g can tuna in oil, drained
Handful of basil leaves, torn
Black pepper

Parsley sprigs, to serve

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a lasagne or casserole dish.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the stock to the boil, then add the rice and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times until par-boiled. Drain.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and eggplant and cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly to avoid sticking.

Add the drained rice and zucchini and cook for a minute or so, stirring. Add the passata and water. Stir until well combined. Add the cheese, corn, tuna and basil and mix thoroughly. Season to taste and remove from heat.

Spoon into lasagne dish and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes until the top is golden. Top with parsley sprigs and serve with green salad.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 3 KIDS

Comments (17) »

The best way to smuggle… beetroot

March 23, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, News, Red meat, The best way to smuggle... · Tagged dinner, feeding the family, recipe, vegetables

So, since we can’t have the beetroot brownie too regularly for dinner, I guess I’ll move onto recommending this delightful pink meatloaf as a way of getting beetroot into your kiddies. Using fresh grated beetroot gives it a definite pink tinge, which is perfect for little girls with a meat aversion (like Miss Fruitarian). A 225g can of beetroot can be substituted, but boring brown will prevail.

Apparently (so you’ve told me on Facebook), meatloaf is a bit popular. It IS a perfect easy-cook, that can sit in the fridge all week and be easily reheated or put on toasties or spuds. And an egg-free meatloaf recipe was requested, which is why you’re getting this snippet recipe from the second Vegie Smugglers cookbook (buy the digital cookbook here).

All hail the photographers and stylists who can make meatloaf look good.

Pink meatloaf

500g beef mince
1-cup fresh breadcrumbs (about 1 slice of bread)
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 zucchini, chopped
1 beetroot, peeled, quartered
1 carrot, peeled, chopped
3 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tbsp Worcester sauce
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 180C. Spray a 10x18cm loaf tin with canola spray and line with baking paper.

Add the mince to a large mixing bowl.

If you have a hand-held food processor, use it to make the breadcrumbs from a slice of bread. Add to the mince. Pulse the onion and garlic, add to the mince. Pulse to chop the zucchini, then carrot, then beetroot (use gloves to avoid staining your hands), adding to the mince mixture each time. (NOTE – A grater will work perfectly for those of you without small kitchen contraptions).

Pour over the sauces and season really well. Use your (gloved) hand to mix everything together really well, then press into the loaf tin.

Bake 45-50 minutes until cooked through.

SERVES 2 ADULTS AND 4 KIDS

Comments (10) »

Because wrapping stuff in pastry makes it yum

March 15, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Red meat, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged cooking techniques, dinner, feeding the family, kids, parenting, pastry, recipe, vegetables

vegie smugglers beef triangles with vegetables and puff pastry

Yum.

There are several universal truths when it comes to raising Australian children.

1. Getting them into and out of cars is going to be a painful and long-winded exercise. Shoes will be missing; toys lost and drink bottles astonishingly empty (and car seats wet).

2. The more disgusting the public toilet that you find yourself in, the longer your contented child will wish to languish (“the poo is almost here mummy”). And the bigger the incident, the fewer tissues you will have handy.

3. If they are to be struck down with a sudden and violent episode of projectile vomiting, it will be between 3-6am, usually just before you are due to do some incredibly crucial work thing.

On a brighter note, it is also true that things covered in pastry are yummier and much more likely to be eaten by your delightful youngsters.

Which is why the Vegie Smugglers cookbook features quite a few recipes making the most of the adored, yet not exactly healthy stuff. Being a mum, not a dietitian, I have the advantage of not freaking out at the idea of utilising some less healthy ingredients for the greater nutritional good.

Puff pastry though, is very high in fat – even the 25% reduced fat stuff. Use it occasionally and make sure that you make the most of it by cramming in all sorts of good ingredients – like my sausage rolls, which are full of mushrooms and lentils. (In the book I’ve got salmon pots full of broccoli and a fruit treat jammed full of apples, pear and prunes – which may help speed up your public toilet visits considerably).

Today’s recipe is a glorious Indian-inspired dish. Just a hint of spice gets the kid’s palettes keen for more exotic flavour and opens the door to a whole new cuisine (unless you’re Indian, in which case you might prefer a bolognaise or lasagne for a bit of cross cultural goodness). This mince filling is also good on baked potatoes and freezes perfectly for a couple of months.

Beef triangles

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
500g beef mince
1 tsp curry powder
1 carrot, peeled, grated
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
½ red or yellow capsicum, deseeded, finely diced
½ cup beef stock
1 tbsp soy sauce
Black pepper
5 sheets frozen puff pastry
1 egg, whisked, for glazing

Fruit chutney, to serve

Preheat oven to 190C.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft. Add mince and brown, breaking up lumps as you go. Add curry powder and all the vegies and mix well.

Add the stock and soy sauce and simmer vigorously over medium-high heat until most of the liquid is evaporated and the vegies are soft. Season with pepper.

Cut each pastry sheet into four squares. Place 2 tbsp of mixture in the centre of each square. Fold diagonally to create triangles, pressing firmly on the edges to seal well.

Brush with egg and bake on oven trays lined with baking paper for 10-15 minutes until golden. Serve beef triangles with chutney.

MAKES 20

Leave a comment »

Fuss-free kids parties and macho fairy bread

March 7, 2011 · Filed under Food experiences, Sweets & treats · Tagged celebrations, ideas, parenting

Mr Meat & Potatoes has turned 4.

The festival of him was at the end of a long week and celebrations needed to be simple.

Luckily 4 year old boys are awesome party guests, since they think everything is AWESOME. ‘Cooooooooooolllllll, buzz lightyear’. ‘wwwoooooooooowwwwwwwww smarties’. ‘aaaawwwwwwwhhhhhhh, cake’. Generally they just jump around talking gibberish to each other and playing ‘Ben 10’ (slapping your wrist, making noises and charging off to fight aliens).

I kept the food simple. A massive fruit platter, sausage rolls, cheezels (essential), a bowl of smarties, and a machismo fairy bread. Being that I couldn’t be bothered making chocolate crackles, I just added nutella to the fairy bread, renamed it ‘mud bread’ and the boys were happy.

Strictly adhering to my one-colour cake policy

Rarely do I bother making a cake from scratch for kids parties. Why would I? Nope, a packet cake was the main attraction, with my foolproof, one-icing, one-colour decorating policy. This year (as you can see) it was red, with the fudge-icing-pen drawn web and a spiderman candle. Done in 15 minutes. AWESOME. Last year it was black, which was drab until we popped Lightening McQueen on top and then we had an AWESOME edible tyre.

For the girls, make it a pretty pastel green, sprinkle over flower shaped sprinkles and pop some cute plastic kittens on top. Done. Fancy cakes are well and good for the first couple of birthdays, but geez they come around often and while we all own a copy of The Women’s Weekly Kid’s Birthday Cakes cookbook, I’ve yet to find one you can knock off in less than 2 hours.

Just add Blu-tack...

And games? Well, of course we had pass the parcel. Gotta have that. And I was keen for pin the tail on the donkey, but not organised enough to buy one. But I did have some AWESOME oversized life-like bugs. A bit of Blu-tack, a pen and A3 piece of paper and we had instant pin-the-bug-on-the-boy. And then the AWESOME little dudes got to take bugs home to terrorise their parents with.

...for instant 'pin the bug on the boy' fun

Awesome time, everyone, thanks for coming. Happy Birthday to my little man.

Comments (2) »

A ‘one-of-those-weeks’ survival guide

March 2, 2011 · Filed under All recipes · Tagged feeding the family, parenting, recipe, vegetables

It turns out that this week is ‘one of those weeks’.

You’re probably pretty familiar with them yourself. All of the regular commitments dot the calendar with the addition of quite a few extra curricular thingys too. And then to get really razzed up, I’ll throw in a school hours classroom visit, extra graphic design jobs, a burglar alarm that mysterious and randomly is going off throughout the night, a child’s birthday and all of the ensuing extravaganza (two parties + one in-laws-for-the-weekend visit) and a car that is mysteriously ‘clunking’ every time I turn left. Did I mention that I’m having root canal this morning? Yep, 10.30.

Still, I had it all vaguely under control and scheduled. My mind was spinning but mostly clear when I kissed the top of Miss F’s head after school on Monday. But then I looked down and saw the hellish sight that triggers fear in the hearts of even the bravest parent….. a nit.

Schedules toppled as my mum-brain went into overtime trying to find the extra time and access to water needed to smoothly slot nit treatments into the mix before bell time the next day.

We work hard, don’t we, us life administrators.

Food is so totally NOT high on the priority list this week. The main requirement for this week’s dinners is anything easy and quick. With no time to devise something new, lets find the quickest of quick vegie smugglers fixes…

10 minutes mixing, 25 mins cooking (just enough to bathe everyone)

15 minutes prep. 30 minutes cooking (while you help with homework)

Grill capsicum & boil water while you do washing; then ready in 10.

Hope your week is going better than mine. Will report back once things calm down.

Leave a comment »

Hippie food for hi-tech kids

February 24, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Vegetarian · Tagged cooking techniques, feeding the family, parenting, recipe, vegetables, vegetarian

It’s time to brush off the cookbooks from the 70s and revisit the health food section of the supermarket. Don’t be scared, everything is going to be OK.

Remember that kids have no inborn aversion to cliched hippie food like lentils and tofu. They will take their cues from YOU, so challenge your own food aversions and experiment a little. You might even find, that ‘health food’ meals like these lentil burgers are actually delicious and quickly become family favourites. They’re nutritious, quick and easy to make and individual patties can be frozen (find full freezing and defrosting instructions in the book).

Lentils made delicious.

Lentil burgers

400g can brown lentils, rinsed, drained
1 cup mashed sweet potato (or plain potato)
1 carrot, peeled, grated
3 spring onions,
finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
Grated rind from
1 lemon
1 egg, lightly whisked
2 tbsp tomato chutney
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
Salt & black pepper

Canola oil cooking spray

Avocado and tomato slices, lettuce, burger buns and plain yoghurt, to serve

Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to really combine everything well. Form patties (whatever size suits your family) and place on baking paper on a plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-20 minutes.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Spray pan with cooking spray. Cook the patties for 5-6 minutes on each side.

Serve with avocado, tomato, lettuce and a dollop of yoghurt on a burger bun. These are also delicious in wraps dolloped with tzatziki.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

Comments (5) »

What the kids eat in… Mexico (part 2)

February 17, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Vegetarian, Vegie smuggling techniques, What the kids eat in... · Tagged cooking techniques, dinner, feeding the family, ideas, recipe, vegetables

Recently we were having all sorts of discussions about quick summer dinners and the challenges of vegie smuggling in salads. Hiding vegies in salads is much harder and these dishes are best for kids further along on the smuggling scale (ie, they’ll tackle vaguely identifiable stuff).

If you’re lucky enough to have herbivorous kids like that, then you’ve got a great range of tasty dishes awaiting you. Including these Mexican-inspired side dishes. They’re perfect in tortillas (jumbled together, with or without some grilled chicken or fish) or dollop small amounts on crackers for pre-dinner snacks. They’re even good on burgers and on top of hotdogs.

Adults can top theirs with some pickled jalapenos or fresh chilli and before you know it, dinner is served. Quickly, freshly and packed full of nutrition.

I’m giving you my guacamole recipe here. For the salsa and mexi-beans recipes…. well you’ll find them on page 121 of the cookbook.

Margaritas, sombreros and a bit of goodness on the side

Guacamole

1 avocado, peeled, diced
2 spring onions, finely diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 garlic clove, crushed (optional, but recommended)
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (optional)
Salt & pepper

Combine everything in a small bowl. Season to taste.

Leave a comment »

Love is… having someone to check you for nits

February 14, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, News · Tagged celebrations, dinner, parenting, recipe, tuna

Adult-only ingredients and wine? Check. Kids in bed early? Fingers crossed

It’s safe to say that my better half and I have never been overt romantics. We have our special moments, of course, but rarely the prearranged kind. So Valentines Day flowers and gifts has never really been our thing.

However, one night last year, my best-friend arrived home with a romantic brown paper bag full of presents that touched my heart and got me all teary – chocolates and a Tiffany’s box? No, it was nit treatments and a matching pair of his ‘n’ hers nit combs.

Even for us it was a pretty unromantic moment, but looking at him, home after hours out in the big bad world, earning all our money and then running our errands, I had never loved him more. Perhaps it was his commitment to our family through good times and bad that got me all ‘awwwww’ over it. Or maybe I was just pre-menstrual. I can’t remember. But I do know that I look at single parents and wonder just how they cope during the dreaded nit infestations, night terrors or emergency dashes to hospital.

I’m hugely grateful that I have a lovely partner. And to say thanks, this Valentine’s Day he’s getting something special. A little special romantic dinner pour deux.

Our relationship history is littered with memorable meals both in restaurants and at home. Possibly no dish means more to us than this Tuna & Mango Salsa recipe. I made it for him on our first proper dinner together after we moved into our first apartment (almost exactly 11 years ago). Apparently this dish smoothed over any apprehensions and made him think that maybe he’d made the right decision, after all.

So try it on your man (or woman). It’s easy, but special, and with the chilli and coriander, definitely an adult’s dinner. For this night of the year, feed the kids fish fingers and pop them into bed early. Hopefully they won’t re-emerge too many times, you’ve got some serious romancing to do…

Adapted from the Family Circle 1997, ‘Tex mex’ cookbook.

Coriander Tuna with mango salsa

1/2 cup coriander leaves
1 small red chilli, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 tbsp olive oil

2 tuna steaks

Mango Salsa
1 mango, peeled, diced
½ small red onion, finely sliced
½ cup coriander, chopped
2 tbsp lime juice

Crush up the first five ingredients in a mortar and pestle until you have a paste (you can also do this in a blender). Smear it over the tuna steaks, cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Combine all of the salsa ingredients together in a bowl.

Heat a char-grill pan, bbq or frying pan until really hot. Sear either side of the tuna for 3 minutes or so, until cooked to your liking (I like mine still raw in the middle).

Serve with the salsa, fresh salad and wine.

Leave a comment »

My domestic sham EXPOSED!

February 8, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, News, Sweets & treats · Tagged cooking techniques, feeding the family, recipe, treats

A boon for modern housewifery, a recipe that relies on rotting ingredients.

Each year, Australians throw away $516 billion worth of food. That averages out to $616 per household. Usually I’m conscientious about this, but lately I’ve had to contend with THE ANTS.

In the last week THE ANTS have invaded and forced me to throw away brown sugar, 5 packets of pineapple/sultanas, flaked almonds, an olive loaf and 3 peaches (they were INSIDE!) They’re even into the peanut butter (we’re now just picking out the dead ones and plowing on regardless). No amount of vacumming, tidying, spraying, drowning or baits is getting rid of them.

They are making me feel like a slovenly housewife. They trail past, mocking my cleaning and trying to steal my ingredients.

And you see, it took a bit of coercing to convince my best-friend that I’d be better off working from home (for less money) and looking after everyone. We’d always been a strictly 50/50 feminist arrangement and shifting to more traditional roles was always going to be tricky for everyone. The new arrangement has been going well for a year now but these ANTS are giving me bad press. It’s depressing.

So let’s cheer ourselves up with cake. And let’s call it ‘bread’ to make ourselves feel less weak-willed. I know that none of us are under any delusions that banana ‘bread’ is healthy. It’s full of butter. But sometimes you just need sweets and if you do, then ease your conscience with a tonne of bananas, dates and walnuts (which are apparently, one of the best plant sources of protein).

Even better, this recipe is actually a congratulations to all of you fellow slovenly housewives who have allowed your bananas to droop and brown. A friend (and master baker) confided recently that the secret to her ‘bread’ was to wait until the bananas are practically liquid. There are not many ingredients and recipes that require you to be quite so domestically impeded. Enjoy.

(The best) banana bread

1½ cups self-raising flour
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup dates, chopped
½ cup walnuts, chopped
100g butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
4 over-ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 14x20cm loaf tin and line the bottom with baking paper.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Stir through the sugar, dates and walnuts.

Pour over the butter and mix through. Add the eggs and mashed banana. Mix until combined (don’t overmix).

Spoon into the loaf tin. Bake for about 50-55 minutes until a skewer comes out clean (cover with foil if it starts to brown too much around the 40 minute mark).

Comments (15) »