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The fine art of heatwave cookery

February 2, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, News

Hot. Cranky. And don't get me started on all the ants.

It was 33 degrees in my bedroom at 10pm last night and I do not have air-conditioning.

I am unimpressed about this.

With Cyclone Yasi bearing down up north, I wouldn’t dream of whinging about my relatively calm (just hot) situation. In private though, I will admit to a fair bit of cranky behaviour. Actually, very cranky behaviour. Cranky to the point that the kids are keeping well clear unless they are needing a bottom-wipe or are desperate enough to pester for an iceblock.

I’ve been speculating that this is what menopause feels like. Three years of a humid, sticky February. Perhaps one of my more mature readers can confirm or (hopefully) deny this scary theory.

So, while appetites are generally down, I do feel the need to feed my children something at the end of the day, but what? When the food becomes limp on the journey from fridge to bench and there’s no way you’re turning on the oven or hotplate, what are you going to eat?

Vegie-smuggling salads are a tricky area (one I’m working on), but luckily my kids are becoming much better with basic salad ingredients and I can feed them raw carrot, cucumber, grape tomatoes and iceberg lettuce. Tonight I’m planning a little salad & fruit platter. With a bowl of homous to dip into, some smoked salmon for the luxury-loving Miss Fruitarian and a bit of ham for Mr Meat & Potatoes. A couple of slices of bread and I’m done.

Last night I turned on the hotplate long enough to cook some store-bought tortellini (yes, I know, they’re not very healthy), and I tossed them into raw, finely diced tomatoes, capsicum and marinated artichokes. (You can also use my barely-cook, make-ahead tomato sauce.) I sprinkled over crumbled feta and ham for the kids and some olives and basil for my best-friend and me.

Later in the week I’ll tackle guacamole & salsa rolled up in wraps and tuna & corn mini-pizzas under the grill.

You can opt for chopped salad vegies mixed through cottage cheese and stuffed into pita breads, or if desperate, BBQ chicken (remove the skin) and coleslaw rolls.

That’s about all my addled, cranky brain can come up with. If we all pitch in, we’ll have enough ideas to get us through to March. Please feel free to share what’s on the heatwave menu at your place…

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Tackling the ‘L’ word

January 27, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, News · Tagged feeding the family, kids, lunchbox, parenting, recipe

Dig through the plastics drawer and find that lid.

This morning, Miss Fruitarian spent quite some time explaining her extensive knowledge of cussing. All Year Ones (which she insists on being called even though it isn’t official until Monday) know that the ‘f’ word is fart, the ‘b’ word is bum and the ‘g’ word is god.

For me, the word that makes me the most uncomfortable is the ‘L’ word…. Lunchbox.

Like a scary movie, the l-word is back, along with homework, morning deadlines and the need to get your washing schedule planned so that you have enough clean uniforms to make it through the week (yes, I should just buy the extra tunic and save myself the hassle).

Despite all the myths and expectations, I hate lunchboxes as much as every other mother in the country. They are a pain, particularly when you attend a teeny-tiny school with no canteen to fall back on. I’ve been paying keen attention to all the ideas in the media (particularly The Healthy Food Guide which also features a Vegie Smugglers excerpt this month) and it seems the same 10 ideas get shifted around and nuanced each January. Simple sandwiches (roll into pinwheels or use cookie cutters to make them cute), foods – apparently that start with ‘c’ – in sticks (cheese, carrot, capsicum, cucumber), the odd melon ball, dried fruit, savoury muffins and home-made muesli bars. Older kids can tackle a yoghurt. Avoid fruit juice. Freeze stuff in summer.

For mornings where you are motivated, you could try some of these combinations…

Beetroot dip/grated carrot/roast beef
Poached chicken/avocado/lemon
Canned tuna in springwater/corn kernels/cottage cheese
Ham/swiss cheese/pesto

So many ideas to make lunchtime fun. But so many ways to feel disappointed in yourself when for the 14th time in a row you pack a ham and cheese sandwich (crusts on, cut into two), a store-bought muesli bar and a bunch of grapes.

This is real-life, folks, nothing glossy. None of us have time so don’t sweat it. Particularly since the kids don’t care. They want the same boring whatever as what’s in their bestie’s box and they’re so busy talking they won’t eat most of it anyway. Then they’ll be off to run about like lunatics and play ‘dance school’ or (my favourite) ‘slap bottom’ and lunch won’t even be vaguely remembered.

The moral to my rant is to give them a good breakfast, healthy and varied dinners, lots of fruit for snacks and forget about the rest. Lunchbox stress is just another area where mothers are made to feel guilty. Do your best and then relax.

Comments (1) »

Berry pun headline goes here…

January 21, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Sweets & treats · Tagged feeding the family, fruit, recipe

Berry nice? Berry good? Berry yummy? The berry best? The food mags are full of good berry puns at the moment. Which means it’s berry season. You’ll have noticed the prices have plunged and since they grow best in cooler climates, they generally haven’t been flood affected.

And the best bit is that they’re so yum that you don’t have to do anything fancier than plonking them in a bowl and you have a delicious gourmet dessert.

Nice and simple for summer.

Berries & yoghurt

Dollop quality vanilla yoghurt in a bowl. Toss over any mix of berries. Top with mint leaves.

“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in”

January 18, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, News, Vegetarian, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged feeding the family, kids, parenting, vegies

Can you place the quote? That’s right! This week I am channelling Michael Corleone in the Godfather Part III. Why? A family blood-feud? No, just that these words were squealed (with an edge of small child hysteria) at my dinner table last week;

“Mummy, is this ONION?, you know I don’t like ONION!”.

What, little child!?! You don’t like onion? Since when??? Onion has been liberally used throughout most of our meals for the past few years, but suddenly this week, it is being identified and picked out of everything. Then with a face screwed up in disgust, the child is smearing half chewed chunks over the table and turning a peaceful family meal into a battle scene.

Just when I thought I was on the home straight of Vegie-Smuggling I realise that I still have many years of food fads to go.

What to do when these phases hit?
1. Keep calm. Don’t inflame the situation by arguing, particularly if you have one of those argumentative little lovelies who enjoy nothing more than a battle.
2. Stay in charge. Try to get your kids to eat it all up, assertively reminding them that they’ve eaten it before and loved it before.
3. Serve a similar dish again within a few days. See if the aversion was a once-off, or something you are going to have to deal with.

If it’s a definite new food problem, head back to your vegie-smuggling basics. If you’ve been cooking with nice big chunks of the culprit veg, go back to grating it for a while, or replace with a variation. For me, grating the onion or replacing it with spring onion has been enough to keep the last couple of nights calm (and the dinners still tasty).

Within a week or two, just go back to normal. Your lovely fickle offspring will (hopefully) have forgotten all about it. Kids are good like that. Unlike the Corleones.

This was my first vegie-smuggling recipe!

Cheesy Pots

This recipe is one I return to again and again as a fail-proof dinner that smuggles nearly anything.

2½ cups of any fresh vegetables, chopped super-fine or grated. I use peas, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, carrot and canned corn.
50g ham, diced (optional)

Cheese sauce
40g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
1½ cups milk, warmed
125g cheddar cheese, grated
Salt & black pepper

Preheat oven to 180C.
Microwave or steam each of the vegies separately until just starting to soften. Mix them together with ham, if using, and distribute evenly among overproof dishes.

For the cheese sauce, heat the butter in a non-stick saucepan over low-medium heat. Add the flour and use a wooden spoon to stir for 2 minutes. Gradually add the warm milk. It is important to do it gradually and stir constantly. The mixture will thicken into a paste before smoothing back out into a glossy sauce.

Bring sauce to the boil, remove from the heat and add the cheese. Stir until melted. Season to taste.

Divide sauce evenly among the ovenproof dishes. Place on an oven tray and bake for 25-30 minutes until bubbling and golden.

MAKES 5 CUPS (divide between ovenproof dishes to suit your family).

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January 4. Time to put the chocolate DOWN

January 4, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, News, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged chicken, Christmas, feeding the family, recipe, vegetables

How much chocolate, how many chips and how many glasses of wine have you had since mid-December? I’ve no idea either, but I do know that it’s been A LOT. Daily, in fact. Whilst I’ve still been getting good quantities of fruit into the kids, and some vegies, a large amount of sugar, salt and fat has been passing their lips too. And now, with the work year back underway, it’s time to stop.

The first few days back on track are difficult. I know at 4pm today, my fingers will be itching for chips and my thirst for wine will be difficult to ignore. After dinner I’ll be digging through the cupboards to see if maybe there’s just one piece of something a bit naughty left… (there’s not)

Best news is that within a few days I’ll be starting to feel much, much better. My energy will return, the kids will settle down, and the world will be a shinier, happier place. And I’ll remember why it is that I love eating well and why I bother trying to get so many vegetables into my children.

Start your detox gently, with this chicken & pasta soup. It’s satisfying enough to fill our overstretched tummies, but the flavours are clean and there’s a good hit of vegies. Best of all, it works well for the whole family. Blend it up for baby food, drain off most of the liquid for the smaller kids. Leave as is for the rest of the kids and the adults can add generous amounts of parsley, pepper and parmesan.

vegie smugglers chicken pasta and vegetable soup

My kind of detox – pasta, chicken and bacon amongst the vegies…

Chicken, vegie & pasta soup

1 tbsp olive oil
500g chicken thigh fillets, fat trimmed, sliced into thin pieces
100g bacon, diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 potato, peeled, finely diced
1 swede, peeled, finely diced
1 large carrot, peeled, finely diced
1 zucchini, finely diced
½ cup finely diced celery
3 tbsp chopped herbs of your choice (choose any combination of basil, parsley, oregano and chives)
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup frozen peas
¾ cup risoni
Salt & black pepper

Crusty bread, to serve

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same saucepan, cook the bacon and onion, stirring often, for 5 minutes until onion is soft.

Add the diced vegies and cook for another 7-8 minutes, stirring often to avoid sticking.
Mix through the herbs, then add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chicken, peas and pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes until pasta is cooked. Season to taste.

Serve in bowls with crusty bread. Try topping soup with chopped parsley and grated parmesan.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

Like this recipe? Check out my cookbooks to find a bunch more meals that your family will love.

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Bring a plate

December 15, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Vegetarian · Tagged celebrations, Christmas, feeding the family, pastry, recipe, vegetables

It’s night after night of celebrations this week. Picnics, carols, swimming parties. It seems never ending. So to avoid the kids eating 16 straight meals of chocolate, chips and candy canes, these little swirls provide a vague notion of health on these balmy evenings.

Have a great party season, I’ll see you all next year…

Stop, go, stop, go, stop go, slow down!!!!!

Traffic light swirls

3 sheets frozen puff pastry

Red
1/2 cup roasted capsicums
1/2 cup semi-dried tomatoes

Amber
125g creamed corn
1 small carrot
Handful grated cheese (mozzarella or pizza cheese is good)

Green
Store-bought pesto
1 small zucchini, grated

Egg, for glazing

Preheat the oven to 200C. Cover two baking trays with baking paper. Separate out the pastry sheets and leave to thaw.

For the red: blitz together the capsicums and tomatoes. Spread over the entire pastry sheet.

For the amber: blitz together the corn and carrot. Spread over the entire pastry sheet. Sprinkle cheese over the top.

For the green: Spread the pesto over the entire sheet. Scatter over the grated zucchini.

Use the plastic backing on the pastry sheets to help you roll them up into a swirl. Cut through the roll into 15-20mm slices. Place on the trays (so they look like little sushi rolls). Brush with egg. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden.

MAKES 30

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Easy yet indulgent Christmas ideas

December 6, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences · Tagged celebrations, Christmas, feeding the family, food, ideas, salmon

There's a tree! It's officially Christmas.

Let’s get the Christmas recipe ball rolling. I mentioned over on Facebook that last year I made this Orange and Marmalade Roast Turkey. It was really fiddly, but I was only cooking for 6 people so it was kind of do-able (especially after an afternoon of bubbles).

This year, I’m focusing on SIMPLE and EASY food that will spoil the loved ones with a minimum of fuss. I’m on the lookout for some yum side dishes that I can take across town to pop on the buffet table at a big Christmas dinner. Do you have any suggestions?

In return, here are a couple of my favourites – quick, yet impressive recipes that I’ve made a few times and guarantee are great…

My favourite from recent years is this dressing, from the Tetsuya Cookbook, which is perfect for drizzling over any seafood.

Tetsuya’s Vinaigrette

1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
6 tbsp grapeseed oil
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tbsp lemon juice

Mix it all together and drizzle it over fresh oysters. Top them with chives and a tiny spoonful of ocean trout roe. Delicious, sublime. You’ll be licking the shells, the plates, your fingers, the mixing bowl etc etc.

If you’re sticking to seafood, this decadent tart is unbeatable and can be made the day before…

Smoked salmon & swiss cheese tart

1-2 sheets shortcrust pastry
200g smoked salmon
Egg white (for brushing)
3 eggs, lightly whisked
200ml cream
100g swiss cheese
1-2 tsp fresh dill
Pepper

Grease a 22cm flan tin with melted butter. Line it with pastry. Cover with baking paper and pastry weights (or rice) and bake at 190C for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and weights, brush pastry with egg white and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove. Leave to cool.

Scatter salmon evenly around the tart. Mix together eggs, cream, cheese, dill and pepper. Pour over to fill the case. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until just set.

You can eat this cold or reheated. It’s rich, just a small slice will do.

If the whole pudding thing seems too hard, try a meringue & cherry parfait. The cherry sauce here is delicious. Pop it in tall glasses layered with thickened cream, brandy sauce and crushed meringue – very festive and looks fancy! You can make mini meringues easily, up to a week before Christmas (they taste HEAPS better than store-bought). I’ve made “Sue’s Meringues” from Stephanie Alexander’s Cook’s Companion a few times and they’ve always turned out well.

And I hear you shouting – what about the kids?? Mine do join in with Christmas dinner – they will generally eat all sorts of roast vegies so long as they’re smothered in gravy. But let’s face it, after a champers or two I couldn’t really give a stuff about their nutrition. It’s Christmas. They can just eat the entire contents of the Cadbury stocking that Santa brought for all I care.

Now about those side dishes you’re all going to suggest…..

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One chew per minute – the Friday night problem

November 25, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences · Tagged dinner, feeding the family, parenting, recipe

Have you noticed that the kids chew more slowly as the week progresses? On Monday, the mouth moves in a sprightly manner and you can confidently give cutlets and meals requiring complicated utensil work. You can serve them lasagna, soup or stir-frys.

By Wednesday, the gloss is wearing off. After ballet and a few days of heavy duty learning, the meals are needing to be simpler. Pasta with meatballs is a good choice. Quesadillas also work well.

But by Friday night? They’ve played after school, been to swimming, and carried library books, science homework and various notes and invitations. They’ve talked and played and laughed and skipped until their legs won’t work and I’ve had to practically carry them from the car to the house.

Before they totally run out of puff, I get them washed and into their pajamas. Then the TV comes on. Movie night and simple food. Really simple food. Preferably something that melts in the mouth as chewing is now a hugely tricky undertaking.

Parents are tired too, so meals need to be easy to cook as well as eat. All of these recipes are for simple things at the end of the week.

Here you go little ones, something simple to hold (and chew occasionally) before we pop you into bed. It’s been a big week.

Try the salmon pikelets (easy to hold and munch)

Sausage rolls can even be eaten whilst reclining!

Rissoles with yummy stuff smuggled inside!

Just a rissole with a bit of sauce will do on a Friday night.

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The best way to smuggle… fruit

November 23, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Sweets & treats, The best way to smuggle... · Tagged feeding the family, fruit, ideas, kids products, recipe

Yay! Summer on a stick.

We went swimming twice on the weekend, which means that Summer must be close. For the next few months I will constantly be picking up randomly dumped, sodden cossies and towels, I will struggle to get anyone into bed before 8.30pm and any half decent TV show will disappear for the ‘non-ratings’ period – which is a dinosaur concept that the networks should seriously rethink (note to ‘traditional’ media – Youtube has no such hiatus).

Apart from the crap TV, humidity, sticky sunscreen and mosquitos, Summer is so packed full of so many reasons to be happy. Christmas. Sitting on strange men’s knees. Beaches. Swimming. Holidays. Nectarines. Fireworks. Mangos. Peaches. Cherries. Apricots. Plums.

There are however, some strange little children who are not fond of fruit. Do you have one of them? You’re in luck over the next little while – you can hide virtually any fruit if you blitz it and freeze it into an iceblock. Choose whatever is in season and you won’t need any extra sweeteners. Try out a bunch of combinations until your kids are munching away happily.

And to make it irresistable, invest in fun iceblock moulds. Try this swirly one, or here’s a rocket inspired one.

And what’s in the iceblocks pictured above? The yellow one is mango and peach chunks with freshly squeezed orange juice. The white one is blitzed up rockmelon and vanilla yoghurt. For the other two combinations, you’ll have to buy the cookbook – I do have to make a living somehow!

Off to the pool…

‘tis the season…

November 15, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, News, Vegetarian · Tagged celebrations, feeding the family, kids, parenting, recipe, vegetables

…for tacky concerts tra la la la laaaaaa la la la la.

December fast approaches and around town the extracurricular schools are competing to convince the parents of their students that all the money forked out throughout the year was worthwhile (and therefore we’ll see you again next year). There are concerts, art exhibitions and martial arts displays bombarding thousands of poor parents who are already brain and schedule overloaded as the logistics of Christmas looms.

This is Miss Fruitarian’s first end of year concert. And I am in a state of shock. When I chose the local ballet school, it was on the grounds of proximity, parking and convenience. I had seen the snazzy-troupes-in-fluorescent-lycra pictures in the foyer, but was sure the whole escapade wouldn’t be too bad.

The notes started arriving mid-year. ‘Save the dates’ for concerts, rehearsals and photo days. Scary amounts for costume deposits were mentioned. I started to feel scared.

Reality hit in earnest two weeks ago with the arrival of a skimpy costume covered in metallic polka dots. With matching headband and bike pants that cost me a small fortune. Miss F is delighted with it all and I don’t want to taint her happiness with my own misgivings. But I am wondering what it is in our culture that has turned a simple dance concert into a Jon-Benet Ramsey tribute night? Why the curled hair, red lipstick and tacky costumes?

And why my passive acceptance of the situation? I did complain about the make-up requirements and was treated with disdain, told “they look too washed out on stage without red lipstick”. Other mothers seem fine with it all. Am I alone? My pathetic protest is to use lipgloss only and make plans for new activities next year. Which is a shame. Dancing has been good for Miss F’s coordination and confidence. And performing in front of an audience is good experience. But why all the pizzazz? What’s wrong with a bit of age-appropriate low-key pink tulle? My daughter is 6, and has so many years ahead of her to be a slut. I don’t need the sexploitation of women to be bombarding her just yet.

I look forward to gymnastics next year.

In an attempt to reclaim some innocence, here’s a healthy and cute pink dip to serve at your end of year celebrations.

Just a bit of innocent fun

Beetroot tzatziki

1 small cucumber
200ml plain Greek yoghurt
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed (to taste)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Salt & black pepper
225g can sliced beetroot, drained

Water crackers and carrot sticks, to serve

Grate the cucumber. Drain excess liquid and then press with paper towel (this will stop your dip being too runny) and place in a bowl. Mix in the yoghurt, garlic, olive oil and vinegar. Season to taste.

Blitz the beetroot in a stick blender. If needed, add some of the yoghurt mixture to the blender to give the beetroot a nice smooth consistency.

Mix the beets into the yoghurt mixture (little girls like this stage), and mix until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with water crackers, carrot sticks, green beans, breadsticks, falafels, grilled chicken strips for dipping – anything that takes your imagination. Also delicious on Turkish bread salad sandwiches.

MAKES 2 CUPS

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