feeding the family | Vegie Smugglers

Posts tagged feeding the family

I’ve gone all food PC with these gluten-free, vegetarian fritters

June 25, 2014 · Filed under All recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged brunch, cooking techniques, feeding the family, recipe, vegetables, vegetarian

As you may or may not know, I have a very strict food regime here at VSHQ. This is it…

Yep, that’s right. It’s pretty complicated. I buy good stuff and I cook yummy things. I guess COOKING is the important word though, to me it seems like the logical key to good health. Dieters in different food camps get caught up in ingredient wars and fighting to prove that their system of eating is best, but for me that’s all a personal choice. What’s really important is that you’re taking responsibility for your ingredients and creating nourishing meals at home. And it doesn’t have to be hard – here’s a great recipe for the whole family that uses one mixing bowl and one frying pan.

Included on the ingredient list is besan flour. Also known as chickpea flour, you can find it in the larger supermarkets and health food stores. I don’t often make you seek out an ingredient, but I think this one is worth while since it’s tasty and nutritious and it just so happens that it’s also gluten-free. This recipe also happens to be vegetarian, since a bit of meat-free eating is good for the environment and it gives the little cutie creatures a night off from worry.

Toddlers might like to have a bit of mango chutney spread over their fritters, adults might like some fresh herbs and a chutney with a bit of punch, along with some salad.

Great finger food for toddlers.

Corn & carrot fritters

1 cup besan (chickpea) flour – available in larger supermarkets and health food stores
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 carrot, grated
1 small red onion, really finely sliced (or grated, but if you do this, drain it a little)
400g can corn kernels
2-3 tbsp fresh herbs (optional) – try parsley, chives or coriander, depending on the tastebuds of your family
Oil of your choice for frying. Use as much as you’re comfortable with – I like quite a lot for this recipe!

Tip the flour and garam masala into a mixing bowl.

Whisk together the eggs and milk then tip into the flour, whisking as you go to avoid lumps. Add in the carrot, onion, corn and herbs. Combine well.

Heat a large frying pan over medium/low heat. Add the oil and when hot, use a 1/4 cup measure to dollop in some fritter mix. Once the edges set, you can gently spread the chunkier filling out so that it’s an even thickness. Cook for 3 minutes or so on each side until the onion is cooked through.

Serve with chutney of your choice and some salad.

Feeds 2 adults & 2 smaller kids, with a side of salad & pappodums.

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Sneaky goodness at breakfast time

June 17, 2014 · Filed under All recipes, Vegetarian, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged breakfast, feeding the family, recipe

Year 4 has arrived and with it the joy of times tables.

Like the daggiest of mums singing along to top 40 songs I’ve no clue about, my rendition of the times tables is pretty patchy.

I’m good for the 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s. Even my 6s aren’t too bad, but once I hit the 7s I’m in trouble. Regardless, I sing along with Miss F with conviction… “seven times five is 35, seven times six is foooorrrrrrrrrrtttyyyyy… (I stretch it out so I can do some silent addition onto the previous answer) TWO! Seven times seven is 49, seven times eight isssssssssssssssssssss (pausing until she answers first and I just join in)sssssssssssss… 56!

Even more proof that my kids are smarter than me. Must be all the morning goodness that I’m shoving onto their porridge at the moment. Last year we enjoyed our magic morning powder throughout the winter. This year I’ve stepped it up a notch, cramming in even more nutrients via walnuts and cutting out the sugar. Adding in a few sultanas and currants sweetens it to acceptable levels. Although dad’s version tends to have a bit of brown sugar added in, too.

Blitz the mix until it’s a texture that suits your household.

Sugar-free porridge topping

1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pecans
1 tsp cinnamon

Pop everything into a blender and blitz until a texture you find appealing. I like mine quite gritty, but others might prefer a finer powder.

Comments (10) »

5 vegie-smuggling tips for parents (and a new cookbook has arrived!)

June 12, 2014 · Filed under News · Tagged cookbooks, feeding the family, vegetables

Wow! My first magazine cover!

Since I live in Vegie Smugglers-land all the time, I forget that some folks are new to me and my blog. The ambiguous name of this website seems to cause a bit of confusion amongst visitors, so with a surge of new readers stopping by it seems like a good time to explain myself a little.

In the interest of unbiased journalism, I’ll interview myself, in the third person. That won’t be weird, will it?…

[Fake journalist] Hi Wendy, I’ve been a big fan for a while now, but I’m keen to chat and find out more about this website. And by the way, your hair is looking GREAT today.

[Me… slight uncomfortable titter] Oh well thanks FJ! Where shall we start?

[FJ] Why did you start Vegie Smugglers?

[Me] Back in the late 2000s I was in all sorts of hell, trying to get my fussy kids to eat fresh vegies. Each night was a tense standoff and usually I was the loser who finished dinner by scraping thrown food off the floor and into the bin. One night I stopped and decided, ‘THIS IS ENOUGH.’ I was determined to find the right recipes that could help me reclaim dinnertime as a happy family time. And as a massive lover of food and cooking, I wasn’t going to let two toddlers dictate the menu.

[FJ] So you created a range of recipes that contained hidden vegetables?

[Me] My major concern at the time was to get some nutrition into my kids. Both were irritable and constantly sick. I was sure that their limited diets were not helping matters. Since neither would eat reliably, I was determined that each spoonful of a meal should be packed full of nutrients so that the few bites they would eat were beneficial. It took a while, but I came up with a range of recipes that did the trick.

[FJ] Then you have no ethical problems with hiding vegies and lying to your children about their dinner?

[Me] No. None. Their health was more important to me than the truth. To break the cycle I was happy to be as sneaky as need be. All cooking is manipulating ingredients to get a delicious result. When I eat in a restaurant I’m not bothered if I don’t know all the ingredients so long as the meal tastes good.

As soon as I had my kids eating a wider range of foods, I relaxed. It triggered a whole domino effect of positivity. They ate better. Their health was better. Their behaviour and sleep patterns were better. My sanity returned and once the immediate food issues subsided I was able to move them onto phase 2, which was teaching them about the joys of healthy eating.

[FJ] And how do you do that?

[Me] Well, obviously hiding vegies is a short term solution. The aim is to transition kids from baby to adult food and this is a long and exciting journey that is totally guided by the parents.

[FJ] In what way?

[Me] Parents are the food leaders in the household so it’s up to them to continue challenging their kids try new foods and accept new flavours. They can do this by learning to cook new recipes, including the kids when buying vegies, getting them to help cook, teaching them basic nutrition and growing food in the garden. It all creates a positive and fun food environment.

[FJ] So what makes a perfect Vegie Smugglers recipe?

[Me] Firstly it must be something that everyone can eat. Possibly you can make alterations for the militant toddler, or add extra ingredients to make it more ‘adult’ once the kids are served. But everyone needs to be eating the same dish. For two reasons really, firstly, in this busy world, no one has the time to cook multiple meals and secondly, there’s no better example for kids than seeing their parents tucking into the same dinner.

Generally a Vegie Smugglers recipe needs to have easily available ingredients and be simple to make. Not all parents are keen cooks, but that’s no impediment to eating well. Rarely does a VS recipe have two stages. Some are quicker to make than others, many can be prepared ahead on a less busy day. Many freeze well and all are full of healthy ingredients.

[FJ] I’ve heard criticism that you don’t actually hide vegies in many dishes.

[Me] This is true. As I said, once the immediate nutrition concerns are being taken care of, it’s time to progress the kids onto the next stage. So you might start grating every carrot, or blitzing it up, but slowly over time you need to move to dicing things finely, then in larger chunks, until they’re accepting adult-style meals. This can take ages, and some vegies might need to be hidden for years longer – at our house we still smuggle zucchini and mushrooms – each household can prepare ingredients to suit their situation. The recipes on the blog and in the cookbooks reflect this journey and are as flexible as possible. All contain vegies, but the amount they’re ‘smuggled’ ranges from totally, to not at all.

[FJ] What are five quick vegie smuggling tips for parents?

[Me] 1. Start by chopping ingredients finely and combine them into dinners that smell and taste great. When kids can’t see and identify ingredients, they’re less likely to pick them out and complain.

2. Use lure ingredients. Like croutons submerged in a soup or pasta smothered in vegetable sauce. The kids will go for the thing they like and taste the meal on the way. Hopefully to discover that it’s worth tucking into.

3. Be realistic about your child’s current stage of development and how it may be affecting their appetite. Toddlers eat less because they’re busy doing other things and food just isn’t interesting every day at set times.

4. Give yourself the best chance for success. If your kids hate green stuff, don’t serve them pesto pasta. Start with a red capsicum sauce or creamy chicken. If they like bread, serve them pancakes, or if they like meat, pack meatballs full of good stuff.

5. Relax. I know it’s incredibly hard to do this, but remember that this is another phase, that if handled well, will pass. Keep a variety of healthy foods on offer, don’t succumb to their demands. Stay in charge of the menu and cook meals that you’ll enjoy even if they reject them.

[FJ] So your kids eat well now?

[Me] Miss F is almost 10 and is still naturally fussy. She dislikes most spice but has come to trust that I always cook things she should enjoy. She will eat every meal on the blog. Some she loves, some she’d rather do without, but she understands that our family food culture doesn’t revolve around her whims. Nutrition-packed dinners are still a priority since she is a light eater. If it was up to her, she would still exist on cheese, fruit and pasta. Luckily I didn’t give in, or I’d be dealing with a fussy 9 year old with malnutrition issues.

Mr M&P was more regular and has grown out of his fussy eating stage beautifully. He is now 7 and tackles everything.

Both have a full understanding of food, where it comes from, how it’s cooked and the role it plays in our family traditions. Neither currently have food, weight or nutrition issues. Both are thriving and I’m not talking myself up too much when I say that my determination has played a major role. When I see them tucking into sophisticated meals, I’m so thrilled and am totally convinced that vegie smuggling has been worth every single bit of effort. For me, food is the crucial building block that contributes to all other aspects of child development.

[FJ] And finally, do you avoid sugar or gluten or use organic produce only? And why is this blog called ‘Vegie Smugglers’ when you cook with meat?

[Me] I use vegies in everything, but am not vegetarian. This site is about encouraging a love of fresh produce in kids (and adults). Variety is my main mantra, so some recipes are vegetarian and some use meat. Many might rely on a touch of sweetness to make them kid-friendly since toddlers’ taste-buds strongly prefer this. If a teaspoon of sugar helps a whole heap of vegies get gobbled, then I’m all for it. You can ween them off it as they get older. Some recipes are gluten-free, some are dairy-free. On a blog this size, I can’t cater for everyone, all the time. I encourage people to join in on the recipes that suit their dietary regime. Organic produce is always a great idea, but I understand that not everyone can manage this.

[FJ – stretching out his long, muscular legs] Well thanks Wendy, I’ve enjoyed our chat and have enjoyed getting to know more about the ideas behind your blog. Are you free for a drink? I believe you don’t mind a wine or two?

[Me – shyly smiling, whilst flicking my super long and lustrous Swedish-blonde hair] I’ll have to say no FJ, but I’m flattered, you’re a very attractive man. Luckily I’ve got a lovely husband who’s asked me to sit and watch ‘Escape to the Country’ tonight. So I best dash off to meet him.

[FJ] No problem. And gosh, you’re obviously a great parent. Your kids haven’t interrupted our conversation even once!

[Me – smiling graciously] Well thanks! And after you leave, I’ll even let them out from under the stairs…. now… where did I leave that key?

The new cookbook is in the shop now!

Vegie Smugglers’ Kitchen Collection has arrived! Packed full of 125 recipes that cover…

– basics like poaching chicken and stewing fruit
– lunchbox bakes & ideas
– everyday dinners
– meals suitable for slow cookers, pressure cookers or conventional ovens
– easy ways to feed a crowd and how to cater for entire families
– special celebration recipes for birthdays, Easter, Christmas and school fetes
– four weeks of visual meal plans

Many of the recipes are freezer friendly, many are allergy friendly. I’ve deliberately kept a wide mix of ingredients and methods so that there’s something for everyone. Download samples and a full recipe index here. Check it out in the shop.

Thanks for stopping by today. I’m proud to be an Australian independent publisher. As with most ‘mumpreneur’ businesses, I survive on tiny budgets and rely heavily on word of mouth to promote my products. I hugely appreciate all of your kind words and social media mentions.

To say thanks for reading through this whole post, I am offering you a special ‘catch up’ deal on my new book and a few other products! Click here to check it out….

Comments (8) »

BBQ chicken to the rescue

May 27, 2014 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken · Tagged chicken, cooking techniques, feeding the family, parenting, recipe

No one wants to cook every day. Even when I was working on Vegie Smugglers full time, I would still find myself out of time and searching the supermarket for easy last-minute dinners.

Now I’m back in the workforce part-time, with the added issue of kid’s commitments right on dinnertime. When I’ve got hungry kids and no dinner plans, I find a trusty ol’ BBQ chook can come to the rescue.

And really, it’s one of the better take away options. But just don’t just eat it as is – the greasy mass that stews away in those creepy bags isn’t so enticing, anyway.

Chuck away any stuffing (I think the supermarket ones are nearly inedible). Toss most of the skin – although if you’re end-of-the-day starving, I DARE you to resist it entirely. Shred up the meat and do something creative with it.

When the kids were younger it was meat and salad with mayo in wraps. Then for a while I’d knock up a quick Portuguese-style chicken & rice soup. But these days we make this Asian-style salad. It’s full of the crunchy vegies that my kids enjoy and I put them to work on it, so they learn how to make something and it’s on the table within 15 minutes. Plus, Mr VS & I can pop on a tonne of coriander and chilli and have something adult-tasty.

And before you know it, there’s something almost gourmet on the table.

BBQ chicken asian salad

1 BBQ chicken
Handful green beans
Handful snow peas
125g can corn kernels
Bean sprouts
1 carrot, finely shredded or grated

Dressing:
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp oil (grapeseed or avocado)

To serve (all optional): peanuts, coriander, mint & sweet chilli sauce

While you shred the chicken, put the kids to work, washing then top and tailing the beans and snow peas. They can practise their chopping skills – cutting each into 3-4 pieces and tossing them into a salad bowl. They can also tip in the drained corn and ~~play with~~ add in the bean sprouts.

You might want to shred the carrot yourself. Add it and the chicken into a large bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients together well then tip over and mix through.

Serves 2 adults & 2 kids

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Your kids love milk & cheese? This dinner is for them!

May 19, 2014 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken · Tagged chicken, dinner, feeding the family, recipe, vegetables

Considering Miss F’s love of dairy food, it seems likely that my family must be able to trace our heritage back to Egyptian times, when Cleopatra is said to have bathed in milk. Given the choice, I’m sure my daughter would do the same. Milk, cheese, yoghurt, ice-cream. It’s all good to her and any meal that uses it liberally is down the hatch in a jiffy. Like this cheesy chicken pie, that languishes in white sauce all soaked up by a cheesy bread topping that makes those lactose intolerant amongst us shudder.

Although, on closer inspection the whole Cleopatra story is less glamorous when you realise that she actually bathed in sour donkey’s milk (supplied by 700 asses). Apparently the fermented lactose is great for skin, if not for your personal smell. Wikipedia quotes well-known Ancient Roman beauty editor, Pliny, “It is generally believed that ass milk effaces wrinkles in the face, renders the skin more delicate, and preserves its whiteness.”

Botox suddenly isn’t looking so bad.

Relax in this cheesy chicken bake.

Cheesy chicken pie

And yes, you can substitute lactose free dairy products in here, but I wouldn’t recommend soy, rice or almond substitutes.

4 slices of bread (to make 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs)
1 cup grated cheese (about 125g)

1 tbsp olive oil
500g chicken breast, diced
1 leek, white part only, diced
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 cup very finely chopped cauliflower
4 medium mushrooms, very finely chopped
Large handful green beans, ends removed, finely sliced
2 tbsp fresh herbs (parsley, chives, rosemary, thyme) optional
Salt & pepper

50g butter
3 tbsp plain flour
2 cups milk

You will need a small-medium sized oven dish for this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Use a small or large food processor to chop up your bread into breadcrumbs. Tip them into a mixing bowl and combine in the cheese. Set aside.

Add olive oil to a large saucepan over medium/high heat. When hot, add in the chicken and stir for several minutes until there are no more pink sides and the chicken is mostly cooked through (it does cook more later in the oven). Remove and set aside.

Reheat the pan, add a bit more oil if need be and tip in the leek, onion and cauliflower. Cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring often until everything is softening down. Add in the mushrooms, beans & herbs (if using). Season and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring just enough that nothing burns. Remove and set this mixture aside also.

Tip your milk into a jug. The milk needs to be quite warm, so I microwave the milk in my glass jug for about 1 1/2 minutes on high. Pop it next to the stove.

Return the pan to the heat. Melt the butter. Scatter in the flour and use a wooden spoon to stir for a minute until the flour has cooked off and smells nice. Patience is worthwhile now – take a minute or so to slowly drizzle in the whole amount of milk, stirring constantly. The mix with thicken up into a paste, then loosen back up into a luscious sauce. Stir briskly the entire time (it’s good exercise for your tuck shop lady arms.)

Tip your chicken and vegies back into the pot and mix everything through. Cook for another minute or so. Pour the entire lot into your oven proof dish. Evenly scatter over your breadcrumb/cheese mix and pop into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or so until it is bubbling and golden.

Serves 2 adults and 2-3 small kids.

Adults might like this served with a crisp garden salad and some sourdough bread.

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I’m giving away an advance copy of my new cookbook!

May 14, 2014 · Filed under News · Tagged cookbooks, feeding the family

Over the past few months you may have thought I’ve slacked off, what with my posts appearing less frequently. Don’t be fooled though, no! I’ve been busy, first putting together my Thermomix e-book (you can link to it here) and in my spare time I’ve whipped up another hardcopy, hold-it-in-your-hands cookbook.

The amount of work that goes into my books is quite overwhelming. Initially I planned on launching it for last Christmas, then it was the new school year, then it was Easter… you get the idea. But the delays were all me taking my time and ensuring that I was producing something AMAZING. So many cookbooks in the shops are a bit… well… dull, and I was keen to give you something gorgeous AND hugely helpful. Finally after months of design, edits, production (blah!) and more production (blah! blah!), these pretty as punch advance copies arrived on my doorstep.

I was so happy that possibly I squealed (very not me) and hand-clapped a little. If I don’t say so myself, I’ve done a bloody good job!

Ohh! It’s called “Kitchen Collection”

There’s a section on basics, then a chapter for snacks and lunchbox items…

Then it’s the serious business of DINNER, since that happens tediously often…

I’ve converted a bunch of recipes so that there’s oven, slow cooker or pressure cooker instructions…

Next chapter is full of ways to feed friends and family….

And I finish off with celebrations with recipes for all kinds of dietary needs.

And there you have it – a nice little sneak peak of my new 160page, 125 recipe tome. I’ll have the bulk of the books in another month or so – at this stage I have just THREE COPIES and one of them could be yours.

To win, you must be a Vegie Smugglers subscriber (PS, I do check- last comp a few people missed out on prizes because they weren’t) and you must have a postal address in Australia.

I’d love for it to go to someone who will really enjoy it as much as me. So to enter, please comment below on which Vegie Smugglers recipes are currently a hit in your house, or tell me about your fussy kids and how my recipes have helped you. There’s no need to crawl or kiss my butt – just honest truths about the success you’ve had with my recipes. So often I feel that I work in a vacuum – it’ll be nice to get the warm and fuzzies and feel that the effort I put in is making a difference somewhere.

~~Entries close Friday May 16 at 8pm, AEST, which also happens to be Food Revolution Day. Nice timing!~~ THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED – IT WAS FANTASTIC TO HEAR ALL OF YOUR FEEDBACK. THE LUCKY WINNER IS AMANDA SULLIVAN!

And of course, you can buy my other books here.

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Adorable orange-mega-seed muffins

May 7, 2014 · Filed under All recipes, Sweets & treats · Tagged feeding the family, lunchbox, recipe, treats

I guess it’s time to accept that Miss F is officially a ‘tween’. Somehow in a brief flash of light my baby girl has turned from a pink-clad muppet dancing to the Hooley Dooleys to a fully fledged Ke$Ha wannabee, leading with the hips and a vocab that both irks and blows my mind.

The word of the moment is ‘adorable’. Said with the emphasis of a much-older girl. EG. “Did you see her little sister? She is ADORABLE. Especially in her winter uniform, that is just, like, too, you know, ADORABLE. [Squeal] PUPPIES! ADORABLE! Check out my new boots….like, adooorrrrrraaaabbbble”

Sigh.

Thankfully she also thinks that these orange poppy(+)seed cakes are also adorable. (Do you like the added punctuation? It’s Ke$Ha and P!nk inspired.)

Anyway, these cakes are ADORABLY AWESOME, since they’re nut free and school-friendly. But they pack in poppy, chia and pumpkin seeds (sesame seed allergy is on the rise, so I’ve left them out). So there’s nutrition here – pumpkin seeds in particular are high in protein. They make a perfect protein punch (nice alliteration) for the daily tween (and younger kid) lunchbox.

Orange seed muffins

1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
1/2 cup unrefined golden caster sugar (or whatever sugar/sweetener you like to use)
2 tsp baking powder
Zest of 1 orange
3 tbsp pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
2 tbsp poppyseeds
2 tbsp chia seeds
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
Juice 1 orange
1 overripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup grapeseed oil

Grease a 12-hole muffin tray or line with paper cases. Preheat the oven to 180C.
Tip the flour, sugar, baking powder, zest and seeds into a large mixing bowl and combine well.

In a jug or bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, juice, banana and oil.

Tip the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Divide evenly between your muffin cases.

Cook for 20-25 minutes until golden and springy when touched.

Makes 12

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Enjoy dinner-time thrills and empty plates

May 4, 2014 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Vegetarian · Tagged cooking techniques, feeding the family, ideas, vegetarian

Mealtime stress often causes us to lose our perspective, doesn’t it? Caught up in the angst of kids rejecting food we’ve slaved over, the misery of power plays over whether or not they are going to EAT THAT PEA or worried sick over whether our child is getting their nutritional needs met from one mouthful of meatloaf last Tuesday, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that food should be nourishing, happy and FUN.

I was reminded of this last week when I had a super-poshy dinner out at Sepia Restaurant. It was one of those Masterchef-y type places with foams and odd concoctions and food bordering on art and theatre. The dish that stands out was the mid-course sorbet, which arrived as a little perfect white globe on a huge dark blue dish scattered with icing sugar. It was the galaxy on a plate. Unsure how to approach it, or even what it was, I pushed my spoon into the sphere and it, like, EXPLODED. Sherbet-like substance in a range of colours sprinkled over the plate in a food event so fun and gorgeous that apparently I squealed. By that stage I was onto wine number 4, so possibly I can’t really tell you what it tasted like (it was citrus, I do recall), but the event was so memorable and damn fun that it was worth every extravagant penny.

And it reminded me, that sometimes it’s good to step back from nutrition and focus instead on food being fun. Make dinner enjoyable and you’ll have a much better chance of success when feeding your kids, too.

Sometimes it’s as simple of giving a slightly ugly dish a fun name, like this witches stew – a green split pea soup that my kids adore. Serve it in a black dish like a cauldron. Or place three of these traffic light swirls on a plate in a row and let them decide which colour they’re going to scoff first.

Simple presentation ideas can help your cause.

With the last of the basil (yes, gorgeously perfect out of my vegepod), I whipped up a pesto. My kids love it and it was even more fun when served through some squid’s ink pasta. Adults might baulk of the look, but the kids thought this was awesome and spent the meal scoffing it while trying to decide if it was monster’s intestines, mermaid hair or giant snot.

Food from Atlantis? Or deep space? Your kids can decide.

Possibly not the most flattering appraisal of my cooking, but a success, nonetheless.

The original pesto recipe is here. I also blitzed in a cup of cooked broccoli florets. It’s a super fantastic addition, an idea I stole from Collette at Cut out the Crap. Works brilliantly.

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Searching for food joy (for the whole family)

April 29, 2014 · Filed under All recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged cooking techniques, feeding the family, ideas, recipe, vegetables, vegetarian

Do you think the internet is good for humanity? Big question, I know, especially this early in the week, but it’s something my husband and I have been debating a bit lately.

Generally I think the internet is awesome. All that accessible knowledge. So many ways to open your mind, connect with people and experience worlds that were beyond us just 15 years ago. What a shame then, that so much of the internet tends to be a place of pointless extremes, dominated by violence, pictures of Kardashians, cats and people hating on one another. The intolerance and abuse from people hiding behind screens can be mind-boggling.

I cop a bit of hate myself. My website and my food philosophy aren’t extreme enough for many folks online. Breaking some of the current healthy eating taboos, I admit to eating all kinds of ‘poison’. A bit of sugar. A bit of gluten. Often I eat just for fun, rather than taking a strict nutritarian stance and quite often, I eat meat.

Usually I suck it up and take the abuse with a grain of salt – admiring the vehemence with which my various e-pen-pals argue their causes. Their devotion and commitment to a single philosophy does impress me and sometimes I worry that my laissez-faire attitude needs to be tightened up a little. But last week I was reading, “14 Habits of People with a healthy relationship to food“. Turns out I have nearly all of these habits. The one that particularly jumped out was, “swear by everything in moderation.”

Hallelujah.

And that’s me. I swear by everything in moderation and I keep food in perspective. No amount of kale can replace a glass of wine (and laughs) shared with good friends. And how lucky we are to live in such an affluent society that this whole food debate is even possible.

So here’s the thing. I’m not a gluten free site, although often my recipes happen to be gluten-free. If I have GF suggestions, I’ll list it in the recipe. And if I don’t, possibly you’ll have to come up with your own substitution, or skip the recipe and find something else to make.

I’m not a dairy-free site. Although I am personally lactose-intolerant. Many of my recipes ARE dairy-free and dairy-free substitutes are pretty easy to manage.

I do cook with eggs and nuts. If you’re dealing with a nut allergy, you’ll have to skip those recipes rather than emailing me demanding a nut-free version. If you’re wanting to swap out eggs, here’s a good article here to give you a range of options.

I do cook with meat.

As a 41-year-old educated woman, I’ve made that choice. I understand the ethical, environmental and health implications of my choice. There’s no need to try to convert me. The irony is not lost on me that the most abusive messages I receive are from people trying to protect animals from violence. Perhaps the animal-advocates should quit using that tactic – save the abuse and instead just seduce me with links to vegetarian fare that I can’t resist. Because, actually, I eat vegetarian food all the time. I love the creativity and diversity of it. Lots of recipes on this site ARE vegetarian, including these falafel burgers, which just happen to be egg-free and suitable for vegans, too. There’s no dairy and I’m offering some GF suggestions (although I’ve not tested them). They’re high fibre and easy to make.

Despite all that, I eat these burgers because my whole family thinks they’re delicious and they fit in perfectly with my extreme food philosophy of moderationarianism.

Something for everyone.

Falafel burgers

1 piece sliced bread (or about 1 cup of GF breadcrumbs)
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
handful of parsley (optional)
2 x 400g cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained
1 small red onion
1 carrot, roughly chopped
juice of ½ lemon
¼ cup plain flour (I’ve not tried, but I strongly suspect that besan flour would be perfect here)
oil spray
bread rolls (obviously optional – use a GF wrap if you prefer), salad and barbecue sauce (also optional – a bit of plain yoghurt would also do), to serve

Use a food processor or mini-processor for this recipe.

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

Blitz the bread, garlic, spices and parsley together to make flavoured breadcrumbs. Place in a large bowl.

Pulse the chickpeas to a paste and add to the bowl. Repeat, using the pulse function to chop the onion then the carrot. Drizzle the lemon juice over and mix in well. Sprinkle over the flour and use your hands to combine.

Shape the mixture into eight equal patties. Place on the baking tray, spray with oil and bake for 25 minutes, carefully turning once during cooking.

Serve on rolls with salad and barbecue sauce.
MAKES 8 PATTIES

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An apple cake to impress your kids with

April 23, 2014 · Filed under All recipes, Sweets & treats · Tagged cooking techniques, feeding the family, fruit, recipe, treats

Apples are tippety-top at the moment, especially if you can grab some from a farmers market or grocer. Lucky, isn’t it, that their peak coincides with the time of year where there’s nothing better than a warm fruit dessert. Somehow a mouthful of them magically reaches right down to my toes and spreads a happy glow right back up to my heart.

Seeing as it’s also still school holidays here, it seemed right to make a good ol’fashioned cake recipe. Miss F and I made this one together the other day. There’s a bunch of traditional baking skills to pass on while you whip this up. There’s lining the tin, creaming butter and sugar and all the little baking tips, like making sure everything is at room temperature and if the mix starts to curdle when you add the eggs, chuck in a spoonful of flour to pull it all back together.

Even if you’re not a proficient cake maker, this recipe is easy enough that you can fake your way through it and earn some serious kudos from your kids who will be delighted by the smells and textures and very pleased with the end result of your handiwork. Particularly if you drizzle over a dollop of cream.

Apple heaven, and easy, too.

Traditional apple cake

3 eating apples (I used royal gala)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
Juice 1/2 lemon
150g butter – cubed, at room temperature
Just over 3/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs – at room temperature
Just over 1 cup plain flour
2 tsp baking powder

Glaze:
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp boiling water

Preheat the oven to 190C. Line the base of a 23cm springform tin with baking paper and grease the edges with oil spray or butter.

Core and slice the apples (about 4-5mm slices). Toss them into a bowl with the combined cinnamon, vanilla & lemon juice. Combine well.

Add the butter to a bowl and cream using hand held beaters (or do this in your mixmaster if you have one). Add in the sugar, a large spoonful at a time until combined well and your mix is creamy and pale brown (it’s worth taking your time with this step).

Beat in the eggs, one at a time. (If the mix starts to curdle at this stage, adding a spoonful of flour will pull the mix back together.) After the eggs are well combined, mix through the flour (mix the baking powder into the flour). Drain off the juice from the apples and stir that through gently.

Transfer the mix into your cake tin. Use a spatula to spread it our evenly. Tip your apples on top – make them look a bit pretty if you like, but don’t go crazy, the cake mix rises up to engulf them quite a bit.

Bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes until a skewer pushed down into the cake part comes out clean. (Check the cake at 40 minutes and if the edges of apple are starting to burn, cover it with foil).

Mix together the sugar and boiling water. Use a pastry brush to dab it over the whole cake while it is still hot, straight out of the oven. Leave to cool slightly before undoing the pan.

Serve warm or cold, delicious on it’s own, but a bit of cream will make it even more indulgent.

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Like apple desserts? Try this recipe for stewed apples.
Or try these apple, pear & prune pastry squares.

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