Cucumber “sushi” rolls

Cucumber ‘sushi’ rolls

Ok so there’s nothing really sushi about this except it’s bits of stuff rolled up in more stuff. But hey. I’m not even really sharing a recipe today per se but more so an idea. You can make it in whatever way works best for you.

I made these little cucumber rolls for a dinner party as an appetiser. They were so lovely and I like the idea and how fresh and adaptable they are.

Get a long cucumber (in Australia, they are called Continental cucumbers) and finely slice it length ways (or use a peeler if that works for you). The idea then is to spread a filling along the length and then roll it up. Simple!

I used two fillings. You can see the cashew cheese which is an absolute favourite of mine, although it is orange because I have taken to adding 1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes into the mix as well. Divine!

The second filling was a simple caper guacamole. Capers are not something I am used to but I quite enjoyed it! A salty little zing in a creamy avocado with lemon. Our dinner party differed in favourites of the two. Although I liked the caper guacamole, I preferred the texture of the cashew cheese (less slimy!) but others preferred that. So go with what you love, I say.

I think it would be great to do a beetroot dip and get that beautiful pink colour. Maybe next time.

Enjoy, and let me know what great ideas you come up with for this!

Leek rice balls

Leek rice balls

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas everyone. These little balls  are remarkably delicious for something so easy and with relatively few ingredients. They make fantastic finger food (for anyone hosting NYE parties) and the kids love them! The leek is not really visible but gives a delicious, rich flavour.

Ingredients:

1 leek, diced

1 cup aborio rice

3-4 cups vegetable stock

1 garlic clove

dried thyme

salt, pepper

oil for frying

1 1/2 T Chia seeds in 1/4 cup water

2 T buckwheat flour (or other preferred flour)

Saute the leek and garlic, then add the rice and stir until it has been well tossed in the oil. Add in the thyme (as much as your tastes enjoy) and season with salt and pepper.

Then continue stirring whilst adding 3/4 cup stock at a time. Once the stock is absorbed, add another lot. Continue until the rice is cooked through (if you need more/less stock, don’t worry, you will know if it is cooked if you taste it).

Once cooled, toss the flour and chia seeds through.

Form into little balls (or flat patties) and lightly fry until crispy. Enjoy!

*I think this made about 1 doz balls? But don’t quote me on that. 😉

Cilantro tomato salsa

 

Cilantro tomato salsa

Some days just call for a light, fresh, zesty salsa. You can serve this on top of anything really or as a side. Or use it as a bruschetta – or as pictured, a salsa served with organic corn chips.

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped

1/2 spanish onion, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 small garlic clove, minced

small splash of balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

Mix together and enjoy. Chopped avocado adds a lovely softener if you prefer it a little less zingy. I don’t think oil is necessary but it is commonly used to splash olive oil through salsas so that’s an option too.

Garlic bread scrolls

Garlic bread scrolls

It sucks to make something that smells and looks so delicious and not be able to eat it. These are most definitely gluten…they look good, the kids like them, they have nutritional yeast in them (Vit B12), and they are a sneaky lunchbox alternative to the hotdogs that are being served at a kids party today.

Yes that’s right, I’m baking up a storm of alternative foods for the scary looming kids party. Hehe. Too many kids’ parties are missing the vitals: fruit and vegetables. Or plain crackers and hummus. You know. Healthy options. I wonder when we learnt to celebrate a child’s life with the absence of anything that promotes life?

The boys today are getting a veg/lentil/bean mix baked scrolls, garlic bread, fruit, and banana and zucchini cupcakes. (That is, instead of hotdogs and ice cream cake). Boo. We’re mean parents.

Anyhow…

These are from Veg Recipes of India which I only discovered through finding this recipe on pinterest. I will be checking out their site in full, yum! The recipe is only adapted a tiny bit and I have to say, I stuffed up the rising of my dough so I’m amazed these worked at all. I think it’s a very forgiving recipe! Next time will be even better, no doubt. (Oh, and I left out the celery but it sounds good so give it a go 🙂 )

Ingredients

for the dough:

• 11/2 cup whole wheat flour/atta
• 1 tsp dry active yeast
• 150-160 ml water – approx ⅔ cup water (check notes)
• 1/2 tbspn brown rice syrup
• 1 tbsp oil
• ½ tsp salt

for the garlic spread

• 2 tbsp vegan butter
• ½ to ⅔ tbsp minced or chopped garlic or finely crushed garlic
• 1 tsp chopped celery
• ¼ tsp dry oregano
• 1 or 2 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)
• ½ tbsp  olive oil
• salt and pepper as required

Instructions

1. mix the ½ tbsp rice syrup and yeast in warm water. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10-12 mins.
2. after the yeast solution bubbled and frothy, add the flours, salt and oil to the bowl of yeast mixture.
3. mix well and knead to a smooth and soft dough.
4. rub oil on the whole dough and keep covered for up to 1:30 to 2 hours until leavened.
5. beat the butter with a spoon till light and fluffy. Add the spices & herbs along with salt. Mix well.
6. check the seasoning in the garlic spread and add more of the herbs, spices or salt if required.
7. lightly punch the dough before making the rolls on a work surface.
8. divided the dough into two parts.
9. take one part of the dough and on a lightly dusted flour, roll to a round or rectangle till you get ½ inch width in the rolled dough
10. spread the garlic butter evenly on the dough.
11. roll the dough till the end.
12. make a similar roll with the other part of the dough.
13. now both the rolls are ready to be sliced.
14. first give a cut from the center and then equally cut the two parts. so you have now 4 equal slices of the rolled dough.
15. grease a pan in which all the 8 rolls will fit. place the rolls in the pan and brush their tops with remaining garlic butter. cover and let the rolls double up for 35-40 minutes.
16. you can also sprinkle some sesame seeds on top of the rolls.
17. bake in a pre heated oven for 30-35 minutes at 180 degrees C till the tops are golden.
18. serve the garlic bread rolls with tea or coffee.

Notes

here i have added ⅔ cup water. however depending on the quality of flour, you may have to add less or more. so add accordingly.

Aloo tikki (Indian potato patties)

Aloo tikki

 

Ok so for some reason they look a little squishy in this photo! But truly, these golden little nuggets are so tasty. We don’t eat potato really much these days but I so wanted to try these and they really lived up to – and exceeded – my craving expectations. It is so so simple. Really an Indian hash brown if you like.

 

3 large potatoes, peeled, boiled, and mashed

1/2 cup green peas

handful of coriander, chopped

1 spring onion, chopped finely

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper for seasoning

 

Mix all ingredients together and squish together to form little (or big) balls. They do cook better if squashed flat a little I find. Lightly fry for a couple of minutes on each side.

The outside is oh so crunchy and the inside is soft and rich in flavour.

Some recipes seem to add breadcrumbs. I could be wrong but I don’t think this is true of traditional Aloo tikki? I wanted to keep them gluten free – but you could add besan flour (chickpea) if you wish.

There are also many variations on the spices added i.e. coriander (ground), onion, chilli etc. (I personally would have added chilli but I know my 3 yo would complain so I’d rather him be able to eat them!)

Whatever you do, you can adapt this to suit your style as always, and enjoy, they are delicious!

 

Sweet potato, zucchini and cream cheese fritters

1 sweet potato

1 zucchini

1 leek, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup soy cream cheese

1 T nutritional yeast flakes (not essential, just for nutrition’s sake)

1/2 cup brown rice flour (or your preferred flour)

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

sprinkle of salt, pepper and chilli flakes

Mix the brown rice flour through the grated/chopped veggies and spices until spread evenly. Then mix the cream cheese through until evenly coated. Shallow fry little balls/patties for 4ish minutes on each side until sweet potato is cooked through.

Spiced coconut cauliflower

I used to love those cheesy creamy cauliflower bakes as a kid. Mine have never seen it so I didn’t anticipate they would be impressed by this but this is a really yummy, creamy way to do a plant based cauliflower bake. Actually, I threw in some broccoli too because I need to have green…but let’s face it…you can’t beat baked cauliflower!

Ingredients

1/2 cauliflower, cut into florets (plus broccoli if desired)

1 400gm tin coconut cream

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp cumin or garam masala

salt and pepper

cayenne pepper or paprika as per taste.

Whisk together the garlic, coconut cream, cumin/garam massala and salt/pepper. Pour the mixture over cauliflower florets in a casserole dish and sprinkle your choice of paprika or cayenne pepper on top. It gives a nice redish colour to the top – we used cayenne but it is super spicy like this so it’s best to use your judgement on what you like!

You could also top with flaked almonds and coriander.

Bake in an oven 180 degrees C for 45 minutes. Delicious!
Thanks to skinnyms for the idea.

Asian-slaw with peanut dressing

There are some things that just speak comfort and childhood to me, and coleslaw must be one of them! Having said that, I don’t do the mayo thing these days and this is a great way to do it Asian style with peanuts and corriander, yum!

I found it at Once Upon A Chef (whose photo puts mine to total shame 🙂 ) and I have only altered it a little re the dressing. Awesome recipe – and his looks even better with endamame (I have no idea what these are, but I want some!!)

Anyhow….

Finely chop some cabbage (I have used purple and wombok here) and carrots (best julienned but I was being lazy. They are thinly done via the food processor though so still are quite light).

Add in capsicum, spring onions (eschallots), peanuts and coriander. And the dressing, ohh the dressing 🙂

• 1 T Agave
• 1/4 cup rice bran oil
• 1 T rice wine vinegar
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 tsp Asian sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon nut spread (we use brazil, cashew and almond spread from the health shop. No additives, just nuts.).
• 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Mix away, and drizzle over the salad. Delish!

Of course if you have a peanut allergy, substitute the peanuts for cashews – or leave them out altogether. I used a healthy nut spread but you could use peanut butter for those who can and prefer.

Baked lemon thyme chips

I was thinking about how “back in the day” we used to eat roast potato baked with a lemon and thyme chicken. The thought makes me shudder these days because I have changed my diet so much in recent years, but I think the principles of basic flavours are the same, no matter what you are cooking with.

Lemon and thyme were born to go together when it comes to baking potatoes. It is a heavenly match.

You will need:

cleaned baby potatoes

2 lemons (rind only)

thyme

salt and pepper

onion powder

coconut oil

I didn’t bother peeling these little clean potatoes but simply sent them through the food processor blade that sliced them super finely. Mix all ingredients and toss the potatoes through.

Lay them out on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake them at 200 degrees C until browning and crispy.

They are a delicious alternative to fatty chips and the kids (and adults!) will love them!

Baked, spiced cauliflower

It really shouldn’t be hard to believe that this could be yummy but I was reserving judgement until I tried it. I love raw cauliflower, you see. Why mess it up with an oven? My kids, on the other hand, don’t love raw cauliflower – but this was a hit with my 5 yo! (Hence, his hand is in the photo 🙂 It’s proof!).

I cut the florets off half a cauliflower but it really shrinks – so I would suggest using a whole one.

1 cauliflower

salt and pepper

rice bran oil

and other seasoning if you wish. I used Jamie Oliver’s szechuan seasoning. S&P would be fine on it’s own or you could use garlic (fresh or powdered), chilli flakes, paprika, cumin, ground coriander – anything would be lovely.

Cut the florets off and toss in oil and seasoning.

Then bake for 1.5 hours at 175 degrees C. Bake until brown and crunchy! The crunchy bits were the best!

Sweet potato crunchy bites

Wow, these are tasty! A recipe was circulating a while back on these (found here) which look totally delicious. Not having all the ingredients (perhaps, American?) and not wanting to use refined sugar, I created another version.

I roasted these little morsels and when they softened, squashed them down a little. I remember Jamie Oliver used to say that for perfect roast potatoes he would parboil them, jiggle them around in a strainer to rough up the edges and then bake them. The roughed up edges give the potatoes an extra crispy crunchy edge to them. Squashing these worked quite well but next time I think I will do the strainer thing and see if I can rough them up even more 🙂

Anyhow… these are QUITE spicy! So despite my spice picture below the recipe will use less than what I did. My eldest liked them but they were a bit punchy for him.

1 tsp ginger

1 clove garlic, finely chopped/minced

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chilli (ground)

1/2 tsp salt

mix spices and stir in 2 T Agave nectar to form a paste. Put aside.

Peel and thickly slice 2 sweet potatoes and either roast or boil until softened but not totally cooked. Place on a baking tray and squash slightly – with the bottom of a plate or the like. Make the paste above and paste on the tops and bottoms of the sweet potato pieces, and bake them in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius until crispy around the edges. Enjoy!

Kale chips

Last night I came home from work to find my husband dishing up dinner for the kids. My youngest was jumping around saying he’s getting chips!

Chips – of course, depends on your definition. Seems like a kind of mean joke but the kids like them! Well, they both love the sweet potato crisps, and my youngest much less so on the kale – but my eldest liked them. I was shocked at how good they are!
They do look like leafy greens, but in fact, once you bake them – are just light, crunchy, crispy, salty green crisps!

Wash and dry the kale, chop it into bite size pieces, spray with oil and sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 15 minutes at 170 Degrees Celsius.

You want them brown and crunchy but not burnt: Let me know if you can eat one and no more!

Vege chips

One of the things that is tricky with young kids is getting veggies into them. Although the adults in this family have been vegetarian for a couple of years now, we have still fed the kids meat. Recently, we have read enough and come into enough awareness that we can see this makes little sense. Given that there is nothing humans gain from meat that can’t be gained from plants – and in fact, there is much to suggest that plant based diets give humans a whole lot LESS health issues – we have drawn a line and said we want this for our kids too. The trick, is training them into it 😉

What is hilarious is that our kids would normally baulk at zucchini and sweet potato. But here it is, 1 zuchini and 1 sweet potato whizzed through the food processor blade (took under 10 seconds to cut them all) – and this made 3 trays like this.

I coated them in some oil, salt, pepper, thyme and paprika…

and…

Vege chips here we come! The boys absolutely gutsed them down. One whole sweet potato and one whole zucchini -gone. And then they complained because they wanted more! I heard my youngest say “I don’t want that, it’s cucumber” and my eldest said “No, it’s chips”. So they ate them all 🙂 *sneaky mum laugh*