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Beautiful school holiday baking boredom busters…

June 30, 2014 · Filed under All recipes, Sweets & treats · Tagged baking, kids, recipe, treats

What do you think, enough alliteration for one headline? After an intense term of school, my brain has started to dissolve now we’ve hit the school holidays! Mainly I can’t believe that half the year has gone already.

With the wind being chilly I’m keen to stay indoors a bit, but I’m keen to keep the kids off screens too, so the textas are out, the old toy boxes are down from the top of the cupboards and my cooking-shy kids are even venturing into the warm kitchen. You’re not going to see my kids on Junior Masterchef anytime soon, so to pique their interest, we resort to baking treats. At least when they’re made at home we know the ingredients are quality AND they do learn a few kitchen skills along the way.

Here’s some suggestions of things you might like to whip up with your little lovelies (click to link to the recipe)…

Traditional American-style pancakes.

…awwwwww, transported straight to Queensland with these pineapple cakes.

Chocolate and butter… it must be school holidays!

Delicious bliss balls, with a bit of power-nutrition packed in.

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.

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Do your kids love each other?

June 3, 2014 · Filed under All recipes, Fish · Tagged kids, parenting, pastry, recipe, tuna, vegetables

Love is all around, just not easily spoken about.

Possibly suffering from an overactive fourth (heart) chakra the other night, I decided it was time for the kids to express their love for each other.

Earlier in the day it had occurred to me that while I am effusive in my gushing love for them both, they never tell each other any of their feelings other than “you’re hurting me,” or even the odd “I hate you.”

Cosied up on my bed after bathtime, we snuggled away and I listed through my usual love chatter. It goes like this….
“Do you know how much I love you?”
“No” they say in unison.
“I love you more than all the trees in the world.”
“Aaawwww” they say.
“No! Wait! I love you more than all the leaves on all the trees in the world.”
“Awwwww” they say.
“No! Wait! I love you more than all the trees and leaves and bugs on those leaves and bits of dirt that those trees grow in.”
“Awwwww” they say. And it doesn’t matter the area we’re covering (we’ve quantity surveyed most areas of matter over the years), their answer is always the same… “I love you all that PLUS infinity.”
And I say, “I love you all that PLUS infinity PLUS one.”

And then we skew off into a discussion of theoretical mathematics and things descend into general confusion.

But the other night I finished up by saying, “Miss Fruitarian. Do you love Mr Meat & Potatoes?”
Pause.
“Yes” she said.
“Well then, you should tell him.”
Groan.
“I love you sometimes… Mr M&P”.

Mr M&P smirked his way through that exchange, but then it was his turn.

“Mr Meat & Potatoes, do you love Miss Fruitarian?”
“Yes”.
“So you should tell her. It’s important to tell people that you love them.”
He actually giggled before spitting out, “I love you Miss F, when you’re not being annoying.”

Being a MASSIVE tell-people-you-love-them type (don’t come too close after I’ve had a few wines), I was slightly appalled at how difficult they found this simple task.

I’m vowing to enforce more of a love-in so that they can share positive feelings naturally and without me around.

So now I’m curious. Do you tell your siblings that you love them? And do your kids comfortably express love for each other?

Here’s something else they do both love…

Full of love (and tuna, egg & vegies)

Tuna, egg & vegie pastry pockets

180g can tuna in springwater, drained, flaked
2 boiled eggs, peeled, mashed
1 small carrot, grated
Handful green beans, ends removed and finely sliced
1/2 cup spinach leaves (english spinach or silverbeet), very finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh herbs, finely chopped (dill, chives, parsley are all good), optional
1 cup firmly packed grated cheese
5 sheets store-bought puff pastry
1 egg, whisked, for sticking and glazing

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line two oven trays with baking paper.

Separate out your sheets of frozen pastry and leave to thaw.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the tuna, eggs, carrot, beans, spinach, herbs and cheese.

Either cut each of your pastry sheets into four squares, or go all fancy and use a small saucer to help you cut out four circles. Divide the tuna mix between each of the 20 bits of pastry (ends up being about 2 tbsp per piece).

Use a pastry brush to spread some egg mix over half the circle edge. Ease over the pastry. Seal with your fingers then press down on the edges with a fork to secure them. Pop onto your baking trays. Brush with extra egg.

Bake for 25 minutes until golden.

Makes 20

Toddler Recipes: What (and how) to feed fussy eaters

Advice on how to get your toddler eating a wide variety of vegetables with 26 clever recipes that smuggle the healthy ingredients in.

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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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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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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.

_____________________________

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

_____________________________

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The best recipes for busy parents

April 8, 2014 · Filed under All recipes · Tagged recipe

This is my cookbook collection. I'll be doing well to cook 3 recipes from each.

Here’s all my cookbooks. I haven’t even cooked once from each one.

Should you ever find yourself in the midst of a toilet-paper emergency (ie, there isn’t any), solve the deficit by grabbing your nearest cookbooks, tear the pages into strips and wipe your be-hind with those.

Why? Research has shown that people only cook an average of three recipes from each cookbook they own, meaning that there’s a good chance that the pages randomly ripped out won’t be crucial to your future.

Most certainly, my cookbooks are the exception, right? I’ll consider myself a success if you’ve whipped up 5 or 6 recipes from each of mine. However considering that most of my books are now ebooks, maybe reconsider using them for bog roll – your ipad might never be the same again afterwards. Although I’ve heard immersion in a bag of rice fixes most device misadventures.

Sadly there’s no research on recipe usage on websites. Possibly it’s the same, but a website is so much harder to flick through. To save you time, here are the three recipes that I cook from Vegie Smugglers the most often. And if you like these, you might want to check out all of my products, here.