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Do you cook with tubular herbs?

May 16, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, News, Vegetarian · Tagged chicken, dinner, ideas, mealtime, parenting, recipe, vegetables

I don’t often do PR-type posts. It’s not my thing to run a food/parenting blog then suddenly start posting about the awesomeness of a chainsaw – how easy it is to use, the sexy ear muffs etc etc. It makes for boring reading.

But I was sent a bunch of herbs in tubes from Garden Gourmet, on the proviso that I use them in some recipes and post about it. I’m happy to join in a ‘blog off’ if the products are relevant.

Now I’m sorry Garden Gourmet, but generally I like my herbs fresh – you’ll never convince me that anything from the supermarket is better than something freshly picked from my garden. HOWEVER, I can see two definite benefits to the tubular stuff… 1. when you want to use a herb that’s out of season and 2. convenience. So I’ve tested them out on two recipes that fit these categories.

1. OUT OF SEASON

Basil is the perfect example of a herb that really disappears during winter and seeing as the dried stuff is a waste of everyone’s time and money, I’m happy to have a go and see if I can get a bit of summer-loving into my cold nights.

All summery tasting, even though its winter…

I’ve tweaked my vegie lasagne recipe, using the tube garlic and tube basil. It worked out great…

The best-ever vegetarian lasagne

Tomato sauce
800g can chopped tomatoes
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp tube garlic paste
¼ cup sliced black olives (optional)
2 cups finely diced vegies (try broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms and carrot)
3 tbsp tube basil
Salt & black pepper

Spinach layer
250g grated mozzarella
300g cottage cheese
150g other cheese of your choice (crumbled feta, grated cheddar, grated parmesan)
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 egg, lightly whisked
1 bunch silverbeet, blanched and chopped or a frozen 200g box of spinach, thawed, with the excess liquid squeezed out

500g box instant lasagne sheets
Handful grated cheese, for topping

Preheat oven to 180C. Spray a 5-litre lasagne dish with cooking spray.
For the tomato sauce, place all the ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the initial crunch is taken out of the vegies and onion. Everything gets baked later, so avoid overcooking at this stage.

For the spinach layer, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands to get everything mixed through well.

Now you’re ready to begin layering. This is the order: enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom of the dish, then pasta (break sheets to cover entire layer), half the spinach, pasta, half the remaining tomato sauce, pasta, rest of the spinach, pasta, rest of the tomato sauce. Did you keep up?

Top with a little more grated cheese and bake for 45 minutes or until golden and YUM.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 4 KIDS
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2. CONVENIENCE

I was intrigued by the tube of Thai seasoning. With one squeeze I’ve got lemongrass, ginger, coriander & chilli. I can dig that. Here’s what I did with it…

Four herbs in one squeeze was pretty handy…

Asian chicken meatballs with udon noodles & vegies

2 slices wholemeal bread
1 zucchini
5 spring onions
1 egg
500g chicken mince
2-3 tbsp tube Thai seasoning (start with 2 if your kids are fussy)

Sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp tube garlic
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce

Serve with…
Udon noodles, beans & carrots. A sliced up spring onion for a garnish would be great.

For the sauce: Add all of the ingredients to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes until syrupy. Remove from heat and leave to cool.

For the meatballs: Use a mini food processor (or stick blender, whatever you want to call them), to make breadcrumbs with the bread. Add it to a large bowl. Use the gadget to also quickly blitz up your spring onions and zucchini. Add them to the bowl, then add in the rest of the meatball ingredients and mix well. I use kitchen gloves to finish mixing by hand then roll out the meatballs.

Heat 2 tbsp peanut oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook, turning until golden all over and cooked through (takes about 10 minutes). Do this in batches rather than overcrowding the pan.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to packet directions. Leave the carrots & beans raw, or steam or microwave them slightly.

Pop everything in a bowl and you’re done. Somehow a splurt of coriander from a tube just doesn’t make a good garnish – next time I’ll make sure I have an extra spring onion to slice and scatter over to make it look pretty.

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So yes, fresh herbs in plastic tubes are handy, and I’m looking forward to experimenting with them a bit more – at least until I can get my basil plant going again next summer.

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Romance is dead – long live romance

May 1, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, News · Tagged chicken, parenting, recipe, vegetables

My husband and I both forgot that today is our wedding anniversary. We’d spent last night discussing April-month-end issues without either of us tweaking to the fact that the next day would be May 1, the anniversary of our glorious wedded bliss. It wasn’t until this morning that it dawned on me that if yesterday was April 30, then that made today… THE MOST ROMANTIC DAY OF OUR MARITAL YEAR. Shame then, that I hadn’t had a shower or brushed my teeth and that Mr VS had just a minute to kiss me goodbye before heading out to hunt, gather, collect yams, kill oxen, run websites and do other manly things that support our family.

I yelled after his retreating back, “I LOVE YOU… AND I PROMISE TO HAVE A SHOWER BY THE TIME YOU GET HOME…”

I might even stop by the boozer to pick up a bottle of something fizzy. And I might even spend more than $10.

Older couples assure me that romance picks up again once the kids leave home. But considering how late we leave it to have babies these days, I’m not sure if I’ll have any working parts left by the time I hit 65 (apparently menopause will leave me shriveled and unwelcoming). So best to grab whatever romantic moments I can along the way, which means tonight I’m going all out. I’m going to put on my newest bonds undies, my best tracksuit pants and whisper really lovely things in my partner’s ear (but only during the ad breaks of The Voice).

Is romance dead when you’ve got children under 10? What do you think? How do you try to keep things a bit lovely at your place? I could use a few tips.

Now I know I promised either congee or rice paper rolls this week, but best if I post a recipe up that is one of Mr VS’s favourites – this chicken & udon soup from VS1 is always devoured with gusto and finished with proclamations of eternal love. But am I actually making this tonight for my beloved? Well… er… no. I don’t have any of the ingredients. But at least posting this, he’ll see my good intentions.

Happy Anniversary my love.

Not quite oysters & champagne - but chicken & udon soup instead.

Udon soup

2 chicken stock cubes
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin
1 tsp crushed ginger (fresh is best but bottled is OK)
2 tsp sugar
¼ tsp ground white pepper
1 star anise (optional, but highly recommended)
500g chicken thigh
fillets, fat trimmed
¾ cup frozen peas
1 small carrot, peeled, cut into long matchsticks (just for fun)
½ green capsicum, deseeded, finely diced
Corn kernels from 2 ears of corn, rusks removed, kernels sliced off
400g packet udon noodles

Pour 6 cups water into a large saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Add the stock cubes, soy, mirin, ginger, sugar, pepper and star anise (if using). Bring to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat, add the chicken and cover. Leave chicken to poach 10-15 minutes until just cooked through.

Remove the chicken and set aside to cool slightly. Once it is cool enough to handle, slice the chicken into thin pieces.

Return the pan to a low heat and bring to a simmer. Add all of the vegetables and chicken and simmer for 4-5 minutes until the vegetables are cooked to your liking.
Meanwhile, prepare the udon noodles according to packet directions. Usually soaking them in boiling water for a minute is enough to loosen them. Divide between the bowls and pour soup over.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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Um on Cake

March 17, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, News · Tagged chicken, feeding the family, parenting, recipe, vegetables

Even the papertoy monsters are needing a good lay down.

Each family seems to have its own charming vernacular ‘en famille’. A range of sayings based on cute toddler mispronunciations that become ingrained over the years and are known only in that household. For example, in our house, we all wipe our bums with “paper towels”, the second day of the working week is “tooosday” and “um on cake” is a cutsey, friendly way of asking the kids to HURRY THE FUCK UP.

The phrase originated from a friend’s 3-year old urging for action; “Come on Kate, come play”. Mispronounced it was cute and bossy enough, without being offensive. So it stuck.

I seem to have been saying it a lot lately. “Um on cake, get in the car… um on cake, put your shoes on… um on cake, get dressed”.

I realised, of course, that we’ve reached the dreaded WEEK 8 of term. In my household, it seems to be the tipping point, when tiredness catches up and everything starts to go pear-shaped.

True to form, Miss F started WEEK 8 by falling down the stairs. She was being a goose, attempting a risky maneuver that I’ve warned her off doing in the past. Usually kids have that fabulous innate aptitude that makes them bulletproof in all sorts of situations, don’t they? But by WEEK 8 of term, the reflexes have slowed and high-degree of difficulty activities just become disasters.

She fell badly, is quite bruised and I’m waiting for my phone call from DOCS.

So with basic movement proving tricky, the chances of them effortlessly eating challenging, nutritious meals just got that bit slimmer.

If your kids are at the same point, I don’t recommend trying out too much new stuff for the next few weeks. Stick to accepted basic meals, and familiar flavour profiles. Indulge them a little – you’ll just be making your own life easier, after all.

And I let my kids eat a bit more ‘junk’. Vegie Smugglers junk of course, like these oven-baked, egg-free chicken nuggets. Seeing as there’s no secret vegies in the nuggets I introduce the kids to the joys of a schnitty sandwich. The picture shows a lunchbox version with some pumpkin dip (recipe in the upcoming Term 2 planner) and spinach leaves. For dinner I add lots of grated cheese & carrot & iceberg lettuce (a current favourite). Secure the wrap with foil and you’re away.

Schnitzel sandwich heaven

BAKED CHICKEN NUGGETS

500g chicken breast
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 cups crumb mixture (I like to make of mix of regular bought breadcrumbs, posh panko crumbs and blitzed up pumpkin seeds – sesame seeds are also a yum addition)
Spray oil of your choice

Slice the chicken into even, bite-sized pieces. Mix with the lemon juice, soy sauce & paprika. Cover and marinade in the fridge for at least 1 hour, preferrably overnight.

Preheat oven to 200C, line a tray with baking paper.

Toss the nuggets in breadcrumb mix. Spray with oil spray and bake for 25 minutes, turning once, until cooked through.

Serve with tortillas and your choice of dip, leaves, cucumber, grated cheese and carrot.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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I give you permission to stop (why there’s a difference between being busy and having purpose)

March 13, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, News · Tagged chicken, dinner, family, freezer, parenting, recipe, vegetables

A deck worth stopping on.

There’s nothing but sunshine and autumn brilliance in Sydney this morning. It’s a heart lifting respite after a miserable summer and to celebrate I drank a cup of tea out on my glorious and rarely-used-during-the-week deck. Why rarely used? Because, of course, I am usually too busy to stop and enjoy it. Too busy packing lunches, filling book orders, ironing shirts, getting sucked into the internet, marketing my business, hanging washing, trialing recipes, filling in forms, listening to readers, finding new freelance design clients, worrying about finances, volunteering at reading groups, reading my emails, making cookbooks, texting, organizing play dates, being a taxi, doing hair, correcting manners, blogging, chasing bargains, checking my email, viewing blog stats, baking cakes, fixing toys, paying bills, removing stains, networking… STOP! STOP! STOP! STOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPP! And I complain that my children are fidgets.

I’m a big fan of social researcher Rebecca Huntley. She usually has interesting points to make and she expresses them in such blunt, accessible terms. On the radio talking with Richard Glover on International Women’s Day, she discussed recent qualitative research done with young mothers. Pervading all aspects of parenting was a self-imposed guilt (about everything) and our compulsive need to make ourselves busy. As if busy-ness equals purpose, we never give ourselves a moment’s rest.

I am a prime example of this, but with the recent departure of Mr M&P off to school, I am now confronted with the gap between being busy and having purpose. With a full 5 hours of totally self-directed time in my day I find myself at a bit of a loss. There’s too much thinking time in it. Too much time to contemplate my life, my (increasing) age, my foibles.

In typical modern-day style, I’ve been contemplating a return to the more structured workforce, so that life can return to the maniacal pace that seems more psychologically comfortable. So I can be like all of the other overstressed parents who are so important that they’re never in the playground but have more crucial places to be.

Yes, I know, overscheduling simply postpones the existential contemplation of life, but doesn’t solve it.

When’s the last time you had a true moment of reflection? What did you discover in the process? If you haven’t stopped for a while, today, I’m giving you permission to just sit and think. I’d like to hear how you go – is it easy or difficult is it for you to do?

I know of course, that you’ll struggle to do it when you have SO MUCH TO DO. Therefore, today’s recipe is one to make ahead and pop in the fridge; ready to reheat when you need it. With dinner done, you’ll have a moment to stop and look within and see what’s there.

Anyway, my thinking time is up. Just heard the washing machine beeping… life calls and continues on.

Turn off the TV, just sit and eat in silence tonight. Can you do it?

Vegie & chicken tagine

1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced
1 leek, finely chopped
500–600g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed
1 zucchini, finely chopped (peel if your kids won’t eat green)
½ eggplant, finely diced (peel if you prefer)
4 tomatoes, diced
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp turmeric (for colour)
1 tbsp honey
Large handful of sultanas

To serve:
Steamed couscous
Flaked almonds
Chopped parsley
Steamed peas

Heat the oil in a large saucepan (with a lid) over medium heat. Fry the onion and leek for 4–5 minutes until softening. Add the whole chicken pieces and cook on both sides until golden (it takes a few minutes each side).

Cook the zucchini, eggplant, tomato and spices. Stir well, cover, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes until everything is cooked through. Stir every 10 minutes or so to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom.

Add the honey and sultanas. Taste and season with salt and black pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve over couscous, topped with almonds and parsley and accompanied by peas.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

Don’t forget the daggy ingredients

February 28, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged chicken, cooking techniques, feeding the family, parenting, recipe, vegetables

Do you own some?

We’re all so terribly well educated when it comes to food these days, aren’t we? We’ve all sat on the couch and watched enough Masterchef to know that there are two different types of truffles (best not get them confused), we know that fois gras comes somewhere from inside some kind of poultry and a jus needs to be made with ‘exemplary’ stock.

Armed with this knowledge, we live our pre-kids lives throwing fabulous dinner parties and drinking way too much wine. But once the wee children arrive on the scene and tell us to shove our gourmet ingredients up our bums, we find ourselves ill equipped for the challenges of feeding a family on a daily basis.

Do you find your cooking style has changed considerably these days?

There are so many dishes that I’d never made before children – cheese sauce, muesli bars, pasta bake, sausage casserole (!) etc etc etc.

And there are so many ingredients that I wouldn’t have bothered with either. In the past, my curries would have been made with spice pastes and a million added extras, but these days they’re a milder affair to suit the very discriminating palate of Miss F. So I’ve gone back to curry powder. And so gorgeous it is in its cheery little tin. And so good at introducing a bit of flavour in a friendly way.

A good saucey serve of this curry on a fat bed of rice with a beguiling papadum and my kids are in heaven.

Some adults might secretly prefer this creamy mild flavor too, but those who crave a little more heat can add a big handful of fresh coriander and some chopped up fresh chilli on top of theirs.

Easy to make and delicious for everyone.

Mild (& creamy) chicken curry

1 tbsp olive oil
500g chicken thigh fillets, excess fat removed, cut into 4-5 pieces
1 onion, peeled, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled, diced
1 finger eggplant, diced (peeled if your kids hate the skin)
1-2 tsp curry powder (depending on your kids)
400ml lite coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups pumpkin, peeled, diced
1 cup peas

Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan over medium/high heat. Add the chicken pieces and brown all over (takes 4-5 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the onion and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes before adding the carrot and eggplant. Stir regularly for 3-4 minutes until everything is starting to soften. Sprinkle over the curry powder. Stir until fragrant and everything is well coated.

Pour in the milk and stock. Add in the pumpkin and return the chicken (plus any juices) to the pot. Mix well, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover, add the peas and simmer another 5 minutes until the pumpkin is tender and the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with rice and papadums.

Serves 2 adults & 2 kids.

PS: I cook my papadums by spraying them with canola oil spray (optional) then chucking them in the microwave on HIGH. Watch them CLOSELY, they suddenly sprout and are done in a matter of seconds. – They’re not as delicious as traditional ones, but they’re quick and easy and an essential lure for getting the kids to happily tackle this curry.

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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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All the way to the bottom of the jar

November 17, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, Food experiences, Sweets & treats · Tagged chicken, ideas, recipe, treats

My fridge is brimming with marmalade. I already had two open jars of the stuff and then I made the microwave batch earlier this week.

Miss Fruitarian and I like a bit on toast at the weekends, but it’s safe to say that Mr Meat & Potatoes would rather coat his bread in vomit than eat citrus jam and my best friend is more likely to be caught dolloping peanut butter & strawberry jam on his toast. So even after gifting some, I have an oversupply.

Never defeated by ingredient overload, I’ve cooked up a couple of good things with it this week…

Simple enough for kids, yum enough for adults

Marmalade-baked chicken salad

Marinade
¼ cup marmalade
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp soy sauce
1 clove crushed garlic

500g chicken breasts (or tenders)

Dressing
3 tbsp grapeseed oil
3 tbsp mirin
2 tsp soy sauce
¼ tsp freshly grated ginger
Dash sesame oil.

Mix together the marmalade, mustard, soy sauce and garlic. Cut the chicken into tenderloin-sized pieces. Marinade for as long as you have (15 minutes – overnight).

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with foil or baking paper and a place a rack on top. (This tray will get messy covered with burnt marinade, so make sure there aren’t any tears in your paper).

Place chicken on the rack and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through. It will turn a beautiful colour and the edges will just start to char.

Toss this in a salad of iceberg lettuce, orange segments, spring onions and a few fried noodles then coat with the combined dressing ingredients.

Just five ingredients between you and a biscuit. I'll go pop the kettle on...

Marmalade biscuits

These are a retro biscuit basic. Chewy and tangy, even Mr M&P is a fan. With only 5 ingredients, they’re great for the days when you feel like baking but are an ingredient short for every other recipe.

100g softened butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg
¾ cup marmalade
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and creamy (click here if you don’t know how to do that).

Add in the egg. Beat really well then also beat in the marmalade. Sift over the flour then carefully mix in. (I was lazy and used the beaters for this – works fine).

Dollop onto baking trays – allow for spreading. Bake 12 minutes or until slightly golden.

Makes 22 or so.
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But even after these, I have more than two jars of the stuff left in the fridge. Make sure you let me know of any other ways to use it up.

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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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Spice is nice (except on your tongue – apparently)

October 18, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged chicken, feeding the family, parenting, recipe, vegetables

After four years of vegie-smuggling, I think I now have a way to get almost any vegie into my kids. Obviously some dishes are more popular than others, but my kids also realize each night that what you get is what you get and if you’re hungry then you just have to eat, since having a whinge and complain isn’t going to get you anywhere.

So what I’m working on now is pushing the boundaries on the spice front. Mr Meat & Potatoes is no problem at all. I can already see him as a drunken young adult ordering a curry or kebab with chilli sauce. Miss Fruitarian, however, is another story. She just can’t handle anything too spicy on her tongue. This is a bummer, since you can’t really hide spice, can you? Something is either spicy or it isn’t.

Usually I just make dishes like the pho that I can just add heat or extra spice to after I’ve served out the kid’s portions, but I’m also on a mission to get her to suck it up and handle of bit more flavour and heat. My starting places are mild tandoori chicken dishes and coconut cream curries. But to be honest, I get to add such insipid amounts of curry paste that my best friend and I are never too awestruck by these culinary adventures.

I do like this chicken curry recipe though. It’s based on one in Bill Granger’s Everyday cookbook. I like his family cooking. Unlike the boring-as-hell Tania Ramsey books, which are full of smiling photos of… err…. Tania and the odd recipe that my kids would just NEVER eat, you get the feeling that Bill actually DOES cook for his kids and isn’t just cashing in on a safe market.

So it was a Bill’s recipe where I saw this slightly unexpected mix of Indian and Asian flavours that results in something mild enough for fussy kids but interesting enough for the grown ups (especially with some coriander over the top). And of course it doesn’t hurt to serve this with pappadums – another lure ingredient.

I’m on the lookout for recipes to move onto after this one – ones that push the boundaries just a little further. Make sure you let me know if you’ve got any you enjoy.

Passing on a love of curry comfort

Gentle chicken curry

1 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, finely diced
1–2 tsp cumin powder
1–2 tsp coriander powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ginger, minced
500g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, cubed
1 cup finely diced pumpkin (little 5mm cubes)
1 zucchini, finely diced (peeled first if you prefer)
400g can chopped tomatoes
¼ cup water
2 tsp brown sugar
Juice of ½ lime
Handful green beans, ends trimmed, sliced

To serve
Steamed rice
Cooked pappadums
Chopped coriander (optional)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Fry the onion for 4–5 minutes until soft. Use a quantity of spice that will suit your family. Add the spices, garlic and ginger for a minute before adding the chicken. Stir and brown for 2 minutes then add the pumpkin and zucchini and continue stirring for another 3 minutes until the chicken is brown and the vegies are starting to soften.

Add the tomatoes and water. Cover and bring to a simmer, lower the heat and simmer away for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the sugar, lime juice and beans and stir through for a minute or so (I like my beans nice and crunchy). Serve with rice and pappadums. Sprinkle with coriander (if using).

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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Suddenly ‘Better homes and gardens’ seems relevant

September 13, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, News · Tagged chicken, feeding the family, parenting, recipe, vegetables

Once upon a time, Friday nights were all about cool bars and cocktails.

Remember when Friday nights were spent getting drunk at after work drinks? Tequila shots, inappropriate pashing and queues to use stinky blocked toilets? Aaaahhhh, the good old days.

These days I generally find myself spending Friday nights at home and Facebooking about wine. Gosh what an alco I must seem like (truly, I’m not, it’s just that by the end of the week, I am often very THIRSTY). Happily for a few months I can fill my nights with a Masterchef Masterclass and watch George and Gary make pretty piles of edible flowers, but with that gone, and Collectors a bit tainted after the whole kiddie-porn allegations, I find myself watching Better Homes and Gardens.

I can, of course, watch food being cooked until the cows come home, but all the other happy, cheery segments about making boat shaped bunk beds and fixing gout in canaries have glided over my head which is slightly addled after two glasses of wine. Last Friday night, however, there was a segment that had me all at attention… lawncare, that most riveting of subjects. But you see, for the first time, I have a lawn, and I was suddenly obsessively paying attention to the finer details of aeration and top dressing. You’ll be pleased to know that on Sunday morning I spent a good 10 minutes raking vigilantly until I got bored and wandered off for a cup of tea.

And who said the suburbs were dull?

Anyway, back to cooking and Karen Martini whipped up some chicken skewers that only required 47 ingredients and took 24 hours to prepare. They looked delicious. Although I think I’ll stick to my yakitori skewers, which (of course) include vegies. Serve them over a nice rice salad (you can find the recipe for that in the new Vegie Smugglers 2 cookbook – which is now on sale here) and voila!

Anyway, must dash, off to make a sensational chandelier out of corks and long-forgotten kitchen utensils. Thanks Friday night TV.

Food on sticks is always a winner.

Yakitori skewers

500g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin
1 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp minced ginger
1 small red onion, halved, quartered
1 red capsicum, seeded, cut into 2–3cm squares
1 zucchini, halved lengthwise, cut into 1–2cm half-moons

Soak 10 bamboo skewers in cold water for at least 10 minutes. Cut the chicken into small, even pieces. Place in a bowl with the soy sauce, mirin, sugar and ginger. Mix well.

Add the onion, capsicum and zucchini to the chicken and mix (hands work best). Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour (if you have time).

Thread the chicken and vegies alternately onto the skewers. Break the onion up a little so that it will cook through.

Heat a large frying pan (or barbecue hot plate) over low–medium heat. Cook the skewers for 15–20 minutes, turning regularly to cook on all sides. The low heat allows the chicken to cook through without burning.