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What the kids eat in… Mexico (part 2)

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

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

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

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

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

Margaritas, sombreros and a bit of goodness on the side

Guacamole

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

Combine everything in a small bowl. Season to taste.

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Love is… having someone to check you for nits

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coriander Tuna with mango salsa

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

2 tuna steaks

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

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

Combine all of the salsa ingredients together in a bowl.

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

Serve with the salsa, fresh salad and wine.

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My domestic sham EXPOSED!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(The best) banana bread

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

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

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

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

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

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Tackling the ‘L’ word

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

Dig through the plastics drawer and find that lid.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Berry pun headline goes here…

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

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

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

Nice and simple for summer.

Berries & yoghurt

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

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January 4. Time to put the chocolate DOWN

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

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

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

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

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

vegie smugglers chicken pasta and vegetable soup

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

Chicken, vegie & pasta soup

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

Crusty bread, to serve

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

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

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

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

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

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

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Bring a plate

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

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

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

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

Traffic light swirls

3 sheets frozen puff pastry

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

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

Green
Store-bought pesto
1 small zucchini, grated

Egg, for glazing

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

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

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

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

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

MAKES 30

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One chew per minute – the Friday night problem

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Try the salmon pikelets (easy to hold and munch)

Sausage rolls can even be eaten whilst reclining!

Rissoles with yummy stuff smuggled inside!

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

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The best way to smuggle… fruit

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

Yay! Summer on a stick.

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

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

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

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

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

Off to the pool…

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‘tis the season…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I look forward to gymnastics next year.

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

Just a bit of innocent fun

Beetroot tzatziki

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

Water crackers and carrot sticks, to serve

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

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

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

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

MAKES 2 CUPS

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Vegie Smugglers

Posts tagged recipe

What the kids eat in… Mexico (part 2)

Love is… having someone to check you for nits

My domestic sham EXPOSED!

Tackling the ‘L’ word

Berry pun headline goes here…

January 4. Time to put the chocolate DOWN

Bring a plate

One chew per minute – the Friday night problem

The best way to smuggle… fruit

‘tis the season…

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