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We wish you a healthy Christmas…

December 5, 2011 · Filed under Food experiences, News · Tagged celebrations, feeding the family, parenting, vegetables

Apparently, it's Christmas...

OK, so the starting gun is about to go and your little lovelies are about to disappear into a haze of chips, lollies, chocolates, cakes and all the other sugar and fat laden rubbish that graces our tables at Christmas.

The Vegie Smugglers policy on food crap is that everything is good in moderation. I never actively deprive my children of party food, especially since they eat really well about 85% of the time. The Christmas festival, however, starts to get a bit out of hand as you attend event after event after event where party food is the standard fare.

So how to combat it? Well at other people’s houses, it’s REALLY hard. When the kids are toddlers, it’s totally acceptable to turn up at people’s places with a lunchbox packed for them. Surely your host will be silently commending your responsible parenting rather than thinking that you’re a bit uptight. If your kids are older, you can have a pep-talk in the car and remind them of all the healthy living conversations that you’ve (hopefully) been having throughout the year. Of course after much serious nodding and agreement, they will generally launch into the party and make a beeline for the buffet where a chip, marshmallow and tomato sauce sandwich will probably be the winner of the day. Breathe deeply. Remember, everything in moderation.

So elsewhere it may be a bit of a lost cause, but when you’re contributing or hosting a function there are HEAPS of healthy options that can lure the kids away from crap for a few hours….

FRUIT

Hallelujah, Australia in the summer time is a heavenly place to be. Load up fruit platters and let the kids start there. Cherries, watermelon, lychees, peaches. All delicious and ‘special’ enough to keep everyone satisfied.

Beetroot tzatziki

HEALTHY DIPS

Try this beetroot tzatziki from Vegie Smugglers 1. There’s a classic tzatziki recipe in the Term 4 planner. Here’s another great beetroot dip option. Or make homous. Or just a bit of cottage cheese and sun-dried tomato blitzed together. There are heaps of options for healthy dips. If you buy from the shops, take a moment to check the fat per 100g on the nutrition panel. You will be shocked to see how high most of them are. Of course, you can improve the situation by using raw vegies as dippers. Chopped carrot, beans, celery and cucumber are all perfect. You can cut a huge amount of these a couple of days before (store the celery in water) and it will be just as convenient as opening a packet of biscuits.

Vegetables hidden in these traffic light swirls.

Crowd pleaser, traffic light swirls

OTHER SNACK IDEAS

Try these traffic light swirls. Or these beef triangles. The pastry makes things fun and festive, but there are a few vegies to actually ingest here too. Simple rice paper rolls are easy and can be made ahead and do try out my sushi slice.

Older kids can eat unsalted nuts. Pistachios and peanuts in the shell are fun to crack open and the act of shelling slows down the eating. Much better than a bowl that they can just grab handfuls from.

Other easy to prepare things to munch on are cherry tomatoes, baby bocconcini and cubed cheese. Revert back to the 70s and pop everything on sticks. INSTANT FUN.

Make popcorn (the store-bought stuff is usually really high in fat) and if you are offering chips, give each kid one of the small packs, which lets them know when their share has finished. Again, they’ll eat much less than when there’s just a bowl that they can help themselves to.

DRINKS

Sometimes I will give Miss F one small glass of lemonade. Mr M&P doesn’t like anything fizzy and will stick to an apple juice popper. Leaving my ‘everything in moderation’ mantra for a moment, I just can’t see any good reason to let kids under 10 drink glasses of Coke, ever. The caffeine is terrible for them.

THE MAIN EVENT

While there’s little chance that they’ll want to sit down and eat anything much after a few hours of running around grazing, do make sure you set them a place and serve them a meal with a bit of everything to try. Give them a bon bon with a crazy hat. You never know, a festive occasion full of adults might just be the peer pressure they need to discover the joys of lettuce/roast pumpkin/turkey etc etc. Most things dolloped with gravy get the thumbs up from my kids, especially when eaten in the company of their extended family.

Yay! Summer on a stick.

PUDDING

And for sweets? Well, I’m not restricting myself and I won’t restrict the kids much either. Just keep the portion size reasonable and you’ll be sweet. If they don’t like any of the traditional Christmas treats, then revert back to fruit and some home-made ice blocks. Again, avoid having a bowl of self-serve chocolates. Maybe give each of them a chocolate coin or something similarly special.

And after all of that, I think everyone will be off for a good lie down.

So that’s my initial ideas list, but I’m sure my clever readers will have a bunch of fantastic suggestions too…

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Christmas tree craft – and prizes!

December 1, 2011 · Filed under Craft for non-crafty parents, News · Tagged celebrations, craft, family

o tannenbaum... o tannenbaum...

Is your tree up yet? We’re doing a fresh tree again this year, so I’m not buying it for another week. The kids are pestering me though (not being brats, just super-excited), so I’ve done up this little bit of Christmas tree craft to tide them over. It’s really simple. Just download the PDF, print, colour and tape or glue up. Wrap the star over a toothpick and pop it in the top of the cone.

It might make a cute addition to your Christmas table, or you could make little ones and stick name labels on for fun little place-tags. Whatever you do, make sure you snap a pic of it and upload it on Facebook or email me at vegiesmugglers@gmail.com and you could win a Vegie Smugglers prize pack, with both books, postage & all the e-books. ~~Entries close December 10.~~ ***I”M RUNNING THIS COMP AGAIN FOR 2013 – YOU’VE GOT UNTIL 8PM AEDT, DEC 20 TO UPLOAD YOUR ENTRIES!*** CONGRATULATIONS TO LEANNE QUINN! GORGEOUS FAMILY PIC, LEANNE!

Or if you can’t be bothered, just use the project to keep the kids busy for half an hour while you start your list for the (Christmas) Final Countdown. Bless.

Vegie Smugglers christmas tree craft idea

Click the pic to download the PDF printable

Mr Meat & Potatoes works on his competition entry.

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Foolproof roast chicken & cous cous salad

November 29, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, Food experiences, News, Vegetarian · Tagged celebrations, chicken, cooking techniques, feeding the family, mealtime, parenting, vegetables

On the fridge all year - Miss Fruitarian's 'to do' list for 2011

Each year I have a ‘to do’ list. You know, a list of things that I’d like to master in the coming year. Important stuff like “make choux pastry” and “be thankful every day”. Miss Fruitarian jumped on the bandwagon this year and has done well on her list, which included ‘get a kitten’ and ‘skip to 100’.

My list was blown out of the water by a house purchase, house sale, house move and job change (husband). I’m still catching my breath, and actually can’t even remember what was on my list for this year, let alone WHERE the piece of paper might actually be.

So with the year hurtling to a close, it’s lucky that my list in 2007 included ‘cook a perfect roast chicken’ – you know, where the vegies and meat are all cooked perfectly and AT THE SAME TIME. It’s a skill that comes in handy during the festive season.

Just in case you’ve got the chicken cooking thing on the list for next year, here’s a recipe that will cut you a bit of slack – a roast chook with a cous cous salad that is SO delicious and suited to hot Australian nights.

This cous cous salad is the best I’ve tried – it’s based on a recipe from Ainsley Harriott’s Barbeque Bible. It’s his spice combination and cooking method, which seems to produce perfectly fluffy cous cous. I’ve just added in a stack of vegies (of course).

Do my kids eat this salad with all the green flecks and pumpkin (their least favourite) bits? Surprisingly yes. The first time I made it, I thought they wouldn’t, which really vouches for how yummy it is. I do have to cut up Mr M&P’s chicken and mix it through as a lure, and Miss F does gag if she hits a chunk of coriander, but apart from that it disappears.

Now, if only I could get my kids to eat with their cutlery properly and have some vague semblance of table manners, I’d be feeling pretty accomplished. I guess I better put it on the ‘to do’ list for next year.

Fancy enough for the festive season, methinks.

Roast chicken with a delicious cous cous salad

1×1.8kg chicken
1 lemon, halved
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

¼ cup pinenuts

2 cups pumpkin (Jap is good), peeled and cut into a 1cm dice.
2 tsps honey
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp sweet paprika
¾ cup cous cous
¾ cup chicken stock
Pinch saffron (optional)
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, grated
½ red capsicum, finely diced
Handful fresh herbs (any combination of mint, parsley & coriander)
Juice ½ lemon (plus the zest if you can be bothered)

Preheat the oven to 170C fan-forced. Have a rack down low (for the chook) and one up high (for the pumpkin).

Don’t be squeamish and don’t think about how a wee chicken carcass feels vaguely like holding a baby… Wash the whole chook well. Use paper towel to dry it both inside and out. Place a rack in a roasting tray then pop the chicken on top (breast side down). Pour about ¼ cup of water and the juice of half a lemon in the tray. Shove the squeezed half and the full half of lemon inside the birdie. Close up the legs (a girl’s gotta have some dignity), drizzle over olive oil & salt & pepper.

Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile…

Pour your dry cous cous into a heat-proof bowl.

In a small non-stick pan, toast your pinenuts and set aside. Add about one tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, then fry off the garlic, coriander, cumin & paprika for a minute or so. Pour in the chicken stock. Add the saffron (if using) and the spring onions (this takes the onion tang out of them). Pour into the cous cous bowl. Use a fork to quickly combine, then cover with plastic wrap.

Spread the pumpkin out on an oven tray (lined with baking paper), drizzle over olive oil and honey. Toss lightly.

Pull out your chicken. Turn over (carefully), baste or drizzle a touch more oil. Season. Pop back into the oven & also put in the pumpkin (on the top tray).

Bake everything for about 40-45 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft and the juices of the chicken run clear. (There’s a demo of how about 1:40 into this video – or push a skewer in behind the drumstick then press to see the colour of the juice)

Cover the chicken with foil for a bit while you fork through the cous cous then toss in the rest of the ingredients in. Then carve the chicken (good ‘how to’ video about carving chickens, turkeys etc here), serve and EAT. Yum.

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Ho Ho Ho

November 22, 2011 · Filed under Craft for non-crafty parents, News · Tagged celebrations, ideas

a christmas fairy made from a toilet roll

She's back! Ready to top the tree and guide you through the festivities...

Yes, believe it or not, it’s THAT time of year again. Truly frightening. Where DID that year go? I was just commenting to my best friend, “isn’t it great that my book reprint arrived nice and early”, then looked up to see his bewildered face as he reminded me that they were DUE late November and have ARRIVED in late November. He was looking at me with that astonished and troubled face that vaguely reads, “HOLY SHIT, I actually MARRIED her”.

So I’ve upped my game and now realize that Christmas is just 5 weeks away, and therefore I’ve only got about 3 weeks left to sell books so that they arrive neatly in time for Christmas. To encourage nice early sales and not a last minute rush, I’m offering giftwrapped bundles of Vegie Smugglers 1 & 2 with free postage until December 16. So really, don’t put it off.

And by the way, should you be DYING to meet me and discuss the intricacies of your family’s food battles, I’ll be at the Sydney Northern Beaches Mumpreneur market THIS Sunday November 27 at the Parkway Hotel from 9-1. The market space isn’t especially flash, but I’ll be there with free biscuits and colouring in sheets and there’s a stack of other businesses that you can come and support too.

Then on Sunday December 4, I’ll be at the Dulwich Hill Fair, outside Gleebooks between 10.30-11. Now there’s nothing that makes me feel like more of a twit than being asked to sign a book, but apparently that’s what I’ll be doing should you want a pithy comment such as ‘happy smuggling’ in your lovely new bookstore copy of VS. More importantly I’m always keen to have a chat and hear about which recipes are working in YOUR household and what I can do to help you out more in the future (and you don’t have to buy anything – promise).

PHEW. And with public announcements over for the day, let’s revisit Christmas. Last year I thrilled you all with this paper snowflake pattern and AWESOME loo-roll Christmas fairy. I don’t know about you, but I’M reloading my printer paper cartridge in anticipation.

Now, how are you all going on gift buying? I need some advice please, I have a 12-year-old sports-mad niece, a 10-year-old creative nephew and a 10-year-old niece who likes dancing to buy gifts for and I have NO CLUE. Currently they seem to enjoy iPods, iPods and iPods. But surely some of you out there have kids of that demographic and can pass on some insider knowledge. Many thanks.

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Keeping it all in perspective

November 11, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, News, Sweets & treats · Tagged family, treats

Miss Fruitarian reads aloud to a captive audience

This morning I caught the cat up on the kitchen table licking at my bowl of cereal. Perhaps this wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t have seen the cat half an hour earlier up on my bed, legs askew, licking his bumhole. Are you laughing? Yes, the word bumhole does it every time. Just ask my four-year old boy. There’s no funnier word.

Anyway, the cat was licking his bumhole, then licking my breakfast. What did I do? With the actions of a seasoned parent, I prioritised and multitasked. I continued to the microwave to fetch the reheated coffee. This was the most important thing in that moment. But I yelled at the cat the whole time. Then, with coffee safely in hand, I shooed the cat away. Then sat down and proceeded to eat my muesli.

Seven years ago, this scenario would have been a CATASTROPHE, in much the same way that visiting other people’s houses and finding unflushed child wee in the toilet grossed me out for days. These days I am made of tougher stuff. I have cleaned poo off all sorts of surfaces, with everything from White King hospital grade disinfectant to my fingertips, depending on the circumstances. I’ve been vomited on, scratched and bitten. I’ve acquired stretchmarks and saggy boobs and still I’m sad that my little ones are nearly all grown up and off to school.

Thank you my children, for toughening me up and calming me down. I like it that my life is easily kept in perspective these days. Cat eating breakfast? No big deal. So long as there’s a big cuddle to be had with my kids each morning, my world is ok.

I’m feeling grateful and a surge of affection for my little lovelies today, I might just make them some of these little apricot and yoghurt biscuits. See the recipe here.

Yum enough to make again - apricot & yoghurt biscuits.

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Let the festive season begin

November 7, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Fish, Food experiences, News · Tagged celebrations, feeding the family, parenting, recipe, tuna, vegetables

Perhaps I’m allergic to my new house, because it seems that I’m waking up on most Sunday mornings with a headache. You see my new house is quite FESTIVE with a nice deck and views and I find myself entertaining a lot of FESTIVE FOLK. And we drink wine. And being a bit of a drinking lightweight who can only safely imbibe 2-3 glasses of chardonnay before I’m in the hangover zone, I’m finding myself spending most Sunday mornings with a slight haze of discomfort and a new appreciation of the clever R&D teams who masterminded Nurofen zavance.

Perhaps there is something in the water of this big dry land that does predispose the population to a love of getting drunk. There is something GREAT about the sense of fun that comes with a warm afternoon, good friends and a cold glass of something that makes you giggle.

Yet again on the weekend, I served up something yum for the adults, but left the kids to run amok with a sausage and sauce in a slice of bread. Not even any onions. I know it’s a top Aussie BBQ tradition but with a full two months of festivities ahead, I think I need to do better and lift my nutrition game. No more mumblings about ‘fridge space’, ‘easiest options’ blah blah blah.

So I’m rummaging through recipes and thinking about ways to keep the upcoming summer parties slightly more healthy for the kids. Or at least providing good options for them that are enticing for the adults too. Probably a chip or two fewer wouldn’t hurt any of us.

The first thing that sprang to mind was this sushi slice. Most kids will eat some kind of sushi – it’s easy to adapt the filling to suit your family’s tastebuds. This recipe is a classic avocado and tuna combination which seems like a good place to start. Do you think your kids will eat this? What fillings will you try out? I always like to hear your opinions on my recipes.

And why sushi slice? Well, it’s perfect for folks like me who adore Japanese food but never quite got the hang of the whole rolling a sushi roll thing. Just two lamington trays the same size and you’re done. And it’s great party food, as you can make it a few hours ahead and refridgerate it. The less I have to handle sharp knives after a wine the better.

Anyway, let’s clink glasses and ‘kampai’ to the upcoming (healthy) party season. And of course, if you do find that you’re waking up with a headache EVERY morning, you might want to look over at AA and have a think about whether it might be time to pass the mineral water instead.

No sausage? No bread? Heresy!

Flat-pack sushi squares

1½ cups sushi rice (short-grain rice, available at most supermarkets)
2¼ cups water
100ml sushi seasoning
(or make your own: 90ml rice vinegar, 3 tbsp caster sugar, 1 tsp salt)
4 sheets nori seaweed
½ cucumber, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds removed, grated
1 small carrot, peeled, grated
95g can tuna in brine, drained
125g can corn kernels, drained
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 avocado, very thinly sliced, covered with a drizzle of lemon juice

Pickled ginger (optional), to serve

Give the rice a really good wash under running water until the water is no longer milky. Drain. Pop the rice into a saucepan and add the water.

Place the (well-fitting) lid on the pan and bring the water to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer for 10–12 minutes or until the water is nearly all absorbed. Turn off the heat, leave the pan covered and let it sit and steam for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the vinegar, sugar and salt (if needed). Pour over the rice and use a wooden spoon to mix through.

Prepare a lamington tin by lining it with plastic wrap. Place a layer of the nori seaweed paper over the bottom (use scissors to cut them to fit).

Mix together the cucumber, carrot, tuna, corn, soy and mayonnaise. Pour off any excess liquid and discard.
Use wet hands to place half the rice over the seaweed. Evenly top with the vegie mix and the avocado, then carefully top with the rest of the rice and another layer of seaweed.

Put a second layer of plastic wrap over the top. If you have another pan of the same size, place it on top, weighted down with a couple of cans. Place in the fridge for 1–2 hours to firm.

When ready to serve, use a really sharp knife to cut the sushi into bite-sized squares. Serve with pickled ginger (if using).

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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A week of healthy dinners (is it possible?)

October 30, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, News · Tagged chicken, feeding the family, mealtime, recipe, vegetables

Back working again this week, so thought you might be interested to see what I do to get through a week of healthy eating when under time constraints and general exhaustion. Can I do it? Am I authentic? Or am I a vegie-smuggling fraud who espouses healthy eating but actually feeds my kids jam sandwiches all week once the going gets tough.

Here is this week’s plan…

Sunday night dinner: Fried rice

During the afternoon I’ll make tomorrow night’s pumpkin soup to put in the fridge and my best-friend will whip up a quick fried rice for tonight’s dinner.

Monday night dinner: Pumpkin soup

I’m not working on Monday so I’ll devote a couple of hours to cooking. I’ll make chicken pies – see the recipe below.

I’ll also make some beef cannelloni in a big dish that can sit for 48 hours in the fridge, ready to bake. Both these dinners are good serving sizes so that I’ll have enough to feed the kids, us and my parents who are doing a spot of emergency childcare for me.

Tuesday night dinner: Chicken pies

Wednesday night dinner: Beef cannelloni

Thursday night dinner: Quesadillas

I’ve got everything that I need for these in the pantry, fridge or the garden and they’re super quick to make.

Friday night dinner: Bolognaise
Same deal, my best friend made a double batch of this last week.

And there you have it. I have a big shop on the weekend, then two big cook-offs and I’m done for the week. I never usually feel like it, but stay motivated remembering how fantastic it is to walk in at the end of a work day and not have to spend any time pfaffing and thinking about what I can throw together for dinner – it’s already done, just waiting to be reheated.

So that’s mine, but what’s on your menu this week?

If minis look too fiddly, just buy a savoury flan case and make 1 big pie instead.

Chicken pies

1 tbsp olive oil
400g chicken breast fillets, trimmed, chopped into 1cm pieces
1 leek, finely chopped
4 bacon rashers,
finely chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
40g unsalted butter
¼ cup plain flour
2 cups chicken stock, warmed
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1 bunch asparagus (or green beans), trimmed, thinly sliced

Canola oil cooking spray
3 sheets frozen shortcrust pastry
1 egg, whisked, for
glazing
2 sheets frozen
puff pastry

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink on the outside (don’t overcook). Remove from the saucepan and set aside.

In the same saucepan, cook the leek and bacon for 2–3 minutes. Add the garlic for another 30 seconds then remove from the saucepan and set aside.

Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat. Add the flour and use a wooden spoon to stir for 1 minute until the floury smell fades and there are no lumps. Gradually add the stock and stir briskly until it is thick and combined. Return the chicken and leek mixture to the pan. Add the mushrooms, asparagus and black pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5–10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (test by picking out the largest piece you can see and chopping it in half).

Set aside to cool slightly and prepare the pastry cases.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 12-hole muffin tin with cooking spray.

Use a small saucer as a guide and cut out four circles from each thawed shortcrust pastry sheet. Ease the circles into the muffin holes and use your fingers to smooth out the folds. Leave some overhanging the top so that you can join the lids on. Brush the overhangs with the egg.

Divide your chicken mixture evenly between the pies.

Cut circle pie tops out of the puff pastry, place on top and press the edges to seal. Lift the edges slightly to keep the pies from touching (and to make it look pretty).

Brush with egg and bake for 25 minutes or until golden.

MAKES 12

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5 updates from the real world

October 27, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, News · Tagged feeding the family, freezer, recipe

I’ve been in a slight panic recently, realising that with each year away from the ‘real’ workforce, my skills are becoming increasingly redundant. Even though I work from home, it’s a cruel fact that employers like your CV to be up-to-date, so as a bit of workforce insurance I’ve been picking up a few days freelance work here and there.

With the phrase “you’re not getting any younger” ringing in my ears, I ventured back to a REAL OFFICE filled with child-free hipsters in a groovy part of town.

Confused? Me too... read on...

The world has changed in the last two years. So in the interest of keeping us all as modern-as-tomorrow, here’s 5 things I noticed about 2011.

1. UGLY SHOES
Everywhere there are women tottering around in sky high monstrosities that look bad and are obviously uncomfortable. Wide straps, clunky heels, garish colours. I can’t really see any design grace or aesthetic covetability – but there you have it, ALL the girls are in them. And sometimes with socks. Already I’m confused and feeling very old.

2. LONG HAIR
This has been the case for a while now, with every 16-26 year old girl in the Western world wearing their long hair in funny topknots hovering on top of their heads. This does look pretty cool, doesn’t it, so it’s a shame that I cut my hair all off years ago once a baby arrived and it was permanently drenched in vomit. I suspect many of you are in similar situations. Probably for the best, rather than being ‘cool’, I now need my hair to ‘flatter’ my face and hide as many wrinkles as possible. Another trend for the kids.

3. LEGGINGS WITH SHORT TOPS
Everywhere I walked I was confronted with jiggly bottoms of girls who’d forgotten to put their skirts on. I know black is supposed to be slimming, but this is a pretty high-risk trend, and not one to be attempted by anyone born in the 1970s. Maybe you young mamas from the 1980s might still get away with it, but the rest of us should just keep our leggings for comfy bedtimes. Chalk this one up to another trend that looks bad and makes no sense to me.

4. DEVICES
Two years ago, if you had a snazzy device, you hid it. I would keep my ipod under wraps on the train, in case someone mugged me. These days they are SO ubiquitous that you can type on your ipad and answer your iphone loudly and in total safety.

5. THE CUTE GUYS ARE GETTING OLDER
Have you noticed that phenomenon? I realised that the vaguely hot men I was checking out (sorry husband) were all the ones dappled with grey. They looked so much more SUBSTANTIAL than the foppish youth in tight saggy jeans and girlie haircuts. They all looked hard working and lovely, heading home to their young families. They looked a lot like my own lovely best friend. Let’s hope this trend works both ways and these men are also thinking about how SEXY us older ladies are too.

And of course a few days back in the workforce reminded me of how bloody exhausting it all is, trying to keep a career going and nurture your family and have a happy partnership and maybe have two seconds to yourself. Cooking just gets shoved right down to the bottom of the pile, doesn’t it? It takes so much planning to incorporate any healthy eating into a situation where you’re out of the house for 12 hours a day.

So I was back to the recipes that I developed a few years back, remembering why I spent so much time devising meals that were freezer perfect and easily made ahead. It does take a bit of effort on weekends, but all of these dishes can be made in big batches and then are simple to reheat whenever you stumble in the door – tired, with a head reeling from the complexities of the modern world.

Mash. Freeze or keeps in the fridge for several days. Serve with meatballs, sausages or a tin of tuna..

Bolognaise. The kids will happily eat this every week.

vegie smugglers chicken pasta and vegetable soup

Hearty soups. Filling and reheated in a jiffy.

And with that, I’m off to the burgeoning pile of dirty laundry and filthy house that was in good working order when I left it just a couple of days ago…

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Bring on summer (and my secret obsession with American mustard)

October 24, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, News, Red meat · Tagged feeding the family, mealtime, recipe, vegetables

Finally, a bit of heat over the weekend. Back to being covered in miscellaneous bug bites and sunscreen. The kids are loving the longer days, although trying to get them into bed while it’s still twilight is a challenge. Then they’re up at the crack of dawn (as is the new kitten). I always forget how sleep deprived and cranky they get at this time of year!

As the weather warms up I’m always trying out new recipes that are a bit lighter and use more salad ingredients. Rest assured, I can find a way to stuff some vegies into nearly anything and this burger is a great example. Once you’ve tried burgers with extra hidden ingredients, you won’t want to go back to the bland, supermarket ones. There’s just so much more flavour and texture to enjoy in these.

Melting cheese over the top of the pattie does a double job of hiding the bits that aren’t brown and luring the children to eat more… more… MORE!

While I don’t deliberately avoid McDonalds, it does seem as though I can usually find a lot of other places I like to eat at first, so it’s with real glee that my kids like to tuck into a burger ‘just like McDonalds’.

The bun in the picture below is all fancy looking, but I usually serve them in the regular supermarket ‘sugar bread’ buns to get that real authentic burger vibe going on. And my secret, guilty pleasure – American mustard – is a great addition. Even if you’re already using the relish and tomato sauce, there’ll still be a place for a bit of the iridescent yellow stuff.

Here’s the recipe for the burger pattie – the relish recipe can be found in the new Vegie Smugglers 2 cookbook. Did you see that I’ve discounted the postage on it for a bit? It’s my way of apologising for any inconvenience as I find myself out of stock on Vegie Smugglers 1 until late November.

Guilty pleasure... American mustard on this is trashy but tastes great.

Cheeseburgers

500g lean beef mince
250g chickpeas, rinsed, drained (about half a cup)
1 carrot, peeled, grated
½ red capsicum, seeded, roughly chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly whisked

Olive oil
4 cheese slices

To serve: Bread rolls or burger buns, tomato slices, lettuce, onion relish (recipe in the book), tomato sauce, American mustard.

Place the mince in a large bowl. Use a stick blender to blitz the chickpeas, carrot, capsicum and parsley. You can do this by hand, but the blender is good for lazy people like me.

Add the chickpea mixture, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg and black pepper to the bowl with the mince and use your hands to combine and make good-sized patties. Squeeze them firmly, then shape into thin patties.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium–high heat. Add the patties and squish down to 1-centimetre thick. This helps them cook through and makes them easier for small kids to eat.

Cook for 5 minutes, gently flip over and cook the other side for 4–5 minutes until cooked through. While the second side is cooking, place a cheese slice on top and let it melt over.

Serve the burgers on bread rolls or buns, topped with tomato, lettuce and onion relish.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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My pledge to you (and the business of cookbooks)

October 20, 2011 · Filed under News, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged feeding the family

The ‘oh, is that the time! I didn’t expect you so soon’ cover.

After bringing up the irritating topic of Tania Ramsay earlier this week, I’ve been dwelling on the formulaic cookbooks that get shoved onto the bookstore shelves each week. Be prepared for an onslaught – Christmas is coming.

And I’m caught up in it. I’ve got a long delay on my reprint of Vegie Smugglers 1 (sorry, folks, it’s almost sold out and there’s going to be a big gap in availability) since the Hong Kong printing presses are going crazy to produce title after title of celebrity/chef after interchangeable celebrity/chef in time for the December rush.

Does it bug you, the way they’re produced to such a regular standard? I’m starting to wonder if the large publishers don’t think we’re all a bit dim-witted and don’t notice that book after book is basically the same.

The covers are my most favourite part. Especially the ‘oh! I didn’t notice there was a photographer, lighting, make up person, stylist & art director in the room!’ shot. You know, like we’ve just walked in on them casually whipping up a feast for their fabulous friends or well behaved children. If they’re super famous, or someone we trust, then we’re allowed to make eye contact. The others will be smiling winningly whilst gazing just slightly over our shoulders. Apparently we like the men to be looking down or to our left, the women are all looking to our right, dreaming off towards a better future (true – design psychology). And of course, the teeth. Don’t get me started on the teeth. When a friend of ours was editing Delicious magazine, we’d dare her to find a shot of Jill Dupleix with her mouth shut. No teeth! Please! Just once! Never happened.

Anyway, I admit to being seduced by these covers myself, the relaxed kitchen settings, the soft focus, the food just moments away.

How many of them do you own? I own stacks of them. I remember reading that the average person makes about 3 recipes from each cookbook before they get bored and head back to the shops and get seduced by some other title. Do you think that’s right? I hope you make more than that from the fabulously different Vegie Smugglers cookbooks!

I really try to make my books about you and your families and not about me at all. Finally after much urging, I did put a tiny photo of myself into the second book. But I felt like a goose.

So here’s my pledge to you about my cookbooks (past, present and future)…
1. Every recipe has been given the seal of approval from my fussy children and I’m confident you’ll be able to cook it and serve it to yours, and
2. You will NEVER see a picture of my teeth or me on the cover of any of my books. Ever.

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