I scream for icecream!

I know I have already done "I" in my posts, but I read an article once about the top ten foods you should not eat, along with soft drinks and potato chips, and other junk was ice cream - sad but true! BUT here is a recipe that one of my longest time friends Kate introduced me to that I love that is not only healthy but actually tastes awesome too.

Some tips - if its too healthy for you, add a handful of dark choc drops for extra yum. Peel, quarter and freeze your bananas the night before to make life easier. If your dinner guests are not in to healthy, see if they can guess what its made of...

"Chocolate Ice Cream"

3 medium bananas – frozen, peeled, chopped
1 ripe avocado
1 pinch sea salt
1/4 cup cacao powder

Add all ingredients to Thermomix, blender or food processor and blend (TMX Sp 9 approx 1 min) until thick and smooth. Stir through choc drops if you are adding. Serve instantly. Sharing optional.

K is for Kale

Kale is the latest buzz with all those crazy hipsters out there who seem to think they invented eating clean and raw foods, but if you are not the sort that wants your smoothie green there are plenty of other ways to get the benefits of kale. Research shows it contains all the goodness you need for things such as lowering cholesterol, lowering cancer risks, detoxing, and many more.

If you dont mind a kale smoothie, my favorite is
1 banana
3 large kale leaves (no stalk)
1 cup peppermint tea (cooled)
2 tbsps plain yogurt
1/2 cup ice

If you are just trying kale for the first time, or prefer it mixed with other flavors then this recipe is delicious

Kale salad with roast cauliflower and chickpeas

• Olive oil spray 
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 small head cauliflower
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 tbsps olive oil
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Salt and pepper
• 1 bunch roughly chopped kale
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 can chickpeas, drained

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Lightly spray a frypan with olive oil and toss pinenuts until golden. Set aside. On a baking sheet, toss the cauliflower with the cayenne pepper, 2 tbsp of olive oil, salt and black pepper. Roast 20-25 minutes until golden around edges. Meanwhile, blend (TMX, 1 min/Sp 7) tahini, lemon juice, 2 tbsp of oil, 3/4 cup water, salt and black pepper, until thick and creamy. On a baking sheet place the kale, chickpeas and red onion and bake for 10 mins. Top with cauliflower, sprinkle with pinenuts, and pour over tahini dressing. Serve warm with roast chicken, steak or just by itself even is delicious!

J is for Jerusalem Artichoke

Well overdue blog post! So much has happened since my last post in November, I have just got back from a trip to New Zealand for Rippon (Fat Freddy's was definitely a highlight), Wellington 7's (dressed as Amy Winehouse - how appropriate), and many merry catch ups with family and friends. I got to visit some of my favorite food spots again including Kai Whaka Pai in Wanaka, Fidel's in Wellington and good old Fergburger in Queenstown. Huge thanks to Maria for putting PVC and I up in Wanaka - though I am pretty sure she wasn't complaining about the number of platters made without even having to ask!

Back here in Melbourne - the puppy is growing (and teething - I found a tooth on the bedroom floor today), work is hectic, and most importantly our touch rugby team "Can't Touch This" just took out the C grade grand final for Royal Park Touch, WOOHOO GO TEAM! I have also been thermomixing up a storm, with a variation on my Grainy Awesome Bread (check the comments section), a delicious white bean dip, and cookies that were supposed to be gluten and dairy free until I added white choc chips... ooops!


For J I have picked a Jerusalem Artichoke - these root veg are high in minerals including iron, magnesium, and potassium, and B vitamins, and they are tasty too. They look kind of like ginger or a white yam. We used them in a Spanish cooking class at Raw Materials, which I have now done twice and would highly recommend if you have a day to fill in Melbourne - great fun and value, you get an awesome feed and learn to make a paella too.

Honey Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes, Pear and Ricotta salad

(Note this recipe serves a big crowd, you may want to halve)

1kg Jerusalem artichokes
3 brown pears
2tbs Honey
300g Fresh ricotta cheese
100g Pistachio nuts (roasted)
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley
Sea salt and cracked pepper
Olive oil


Pre-heat oven to 180 C. Wash artichokes and trim off any dark bits. Cut into wedges. Place into a bowl and drizzle a little oil, salt and pepper. Add honey and mix well. Place on an oven tray and into the oven for 35 minutes. Wash the pears and cut into wedges, removing core, leaving the skin on. Coat in olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a second oven tray and into the oven for 25 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Mix pears with artichokes. Crush pistachios and sprinkle over with roughly chopped parsley. Gently break up ricotta cheese over the mixture, add salt, pepper and a dash of honey. Drizzle with some olive oil and serve.

I is for Improvisation!

I was having trouble coming up with ingredients that start with 'I' so instead I thought I would have a go at trying to improvise with what I could find in my pantry and see if I could come up with something tasty... I had just been on the phone to my awesome Nana who asked me what I had been baking lately - the answer to which is not much lately! Between my new job, moving house, and getting a puppy I barely get a chance to sleep. We have had the puppy, Tyrone, for a week now, he has settled in ok but he is one crazy little dude!

Needless to say he needs lots of my time, but he naps for a couple of hours at a time too so I got the chance to raid my cupboards and see what I could do! I haven't given up on the whole 12WBT philosophy, even that says we can have treats every now and then - and this fudge is definitely a sometimes and less is better kind of food ;)

I fudge

200g condensed milk

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp golden syrup

100g dark choc

1 tbsp cacao powder (optional)

1/2 cup oats

1 handful crushed walnuts

Combine condensed milk, coconut oil, golden syrup and dark choc over a low heat in a saucepan. Once melted and combined, stir through oats and cacao powder. Pour into small lined tin (I used a loaf tin) and sprinkle with crushed walnuts. 

Refrigerate. Score after about an hour if you want to make it easier to cut. Serve when set.

H is for Harissa, Halloumi, and HOMETIME

The last couple of months have been super busy, with lots of trips away, including two weeks at home in New Zealand for fun times in the snow and visiting friends. We were lucky enough to house sit for a good friend in Wanaka for the first week, which included their beautiful cat and dog Coco and Harlow, then a couple of nights staying with some more friends in Dunedin, then five nights in Queenstown with more snow and good times. We ate our way through way too much good food, platters and drank wine and cc CC and dry to wash it down. Highlights included Florence's cafe and Red Star Burgers (hands down better than Fergburger) in Wanaka, Mexican in Dunedin at Del Sol, and breakfast at Vudu in Queenstown (even if the food did take ages, it tasted pretty good). The whole trip made us think seriously about whether it might be worth investing in a holiday house back home in NZ, as the snow in particular is definitely somewhere we will keep going back to, but we will just have to wait and see how many pennies we manage to save now we are lucky enough to no longer be paying much rent (a whole other story). 

Anyway, I got back to Melbourne from New Zealand and realised I am well overdue for the letter H - this is one I had saved up for awhile, and it was well worth it - Halloumi aubergine burgers with homemade Harissa relish.

Harissa Paste
(adapted from taste.com.au)
 
6 fresh chillies
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbs olive oil

Halve the chillies, remove the seeds and discard. Chop chilli and garlic cloves. Using a mortar and pestle, crush all the ingredients together to make a smooth paste.

Halloumi Aubergine Burgers

(adapted from BBC good food)

Serves 2

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion finely sliced

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

4 round slices of fresh aubergine

4 slices halloumi cheese
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 roasted red pepper chopped
2 tsp harissa paste
2 rolls with the bread in teh middle pulled out (it's just a filler!)

4 tbsp hummus (you can use the basic TMX recipe or buy some)

Add half of the oil to a pan and cook onions until soft. Set aside. Heat remaining oil and add aubergine. Pour over soy sauce. Fry for a few mins on each side until tender. Set aside. Fry halloumi until golden. Set aside. Add the onions, pepper and harissa into the hot pan. Cook until the sugar has melted. While the relish is cooking, spread the rolls with hummus, laying halloumi and aubergine slices on top. Spread relish and serve. You should have some extra relish left over to put in your lunch the next day :)

G is for GINGER

Wow! What is happening?! The year has flown, its already August... Since my last post I have had heaps on, including a trip to tropical Samoa with my three sisters and my mum, which was super relaxing and a perfect winter break - I would highly recommend one. We stayed in a couple of cute little beach fales and did a whole lot of reading, sleeping, eating and drinking - I want to go back! But unfortunately I had to come back to reality at some point...

For this (well overdue) post I am up to 'G' - and I have chosen Ginger. Ginger is a root, and can be eaten fresh, dried, powdered, juiced or as an oil. It is packed with flavor and goodness, and has been shown and known to be an effective cancer fighting anti bacterial cancer fighting digestive balancing pain reliever (I could keep going - its pretty amazing). You can add it to your stir fry, fresh juices, or as I have chosen below to your baking. 

 

I asked my mum for her recipe for Ginger Crunch - it was a favorite of mine growing up, it reminds me of trips to my grandparents house where my nana always had her arnotts tins of baked goodness including this super yummy treat. J has also tried it and loves it! Mum and nana use powdered ginger in their but I used fresh grate ginger and in my professional opinion its just as tasty!

Ginger Crunch

(adapted from Mums recipe) 

250g butter (room temp)

3/4 cup caster sugar 

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon grated ginger (if you don't have fresh ginger then ground is fine)

 

Icing

80g butter

4 teaspoons grated ginger 

1/4 cup golden syrup  

2 1/2 cups icing sugar

 

Preheat oven to 180. Cream butter and sugar (TMX 30 sec/Sp 5-7). Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined (TMX 1 min/Sp 5). Cook for 25 minutes or until slightly golden. Set aside to cool before icing. To make the icing, heat all ingredients, stirring until melted and combined (TMX 80 degs/4 mins/Sp 5-7 increasing), then pour over base and leave to set before slicing into squares.

 

 

 WARNING - EASY TO OVER CONSUME!!!

F is for Feijoa

I love this time of year - the beginning of winter! I am the sort of person who can't stand the heat, I much prefer the colder months, plus there are so many cute scarves and jackets around to keep you cozy, and it's not quite too cold to stop biking to work yet... and its also FEIJOA season! These are one of my favorite fruit, originally from South America and also known as a pineapple guava, they are a very unique flavor. They used to be easy to get your hands on in New Zealand, but over here in Melbourne its a little more difficult, but I have managed to track down a tree on my block which i raid on a regular basis once the fruit is ready (I swear the guy who owns the tree doesn't even know it exists, I have been swiping them for the last 3 years), I have also come across them at a few fruit and vege markets a couple of times for ridiculous prices, although St Andrews market had them for $4 a kilo, and you could buy your own tree for $10.

My favorite ways of eating feijoas include smoothies with banana, on porridge with a dash of plain yogurt, or straight up. Award winning New Zealand company 42 Below vodka also has a feijoa flavored version which is delicious with Chi and apple juice. And of course, for dessert in a crumble with some apple - YUMMM! The one I made today turned out perfect, it is sitting on the bench looking at me telling me to eat more as I am writing this but I cannot fit another bite!

Feijoa and Apple Crumble

1kg feijoas
3 red apples
250ml water
50g caster sugar
25g brown sugar
25g dessicated coconut
75g rolled oats
120g flour
150g butter (room temperature)

Preheat oven to 180degs. Scoop out feijoa pulp, and peel and slice apples. Add with water to a saucepan and bring to the boil, then simmer uncovered until the fruit softens. While this is happening, add the remaining ingredients to the Thermomix and set dial to closed lid, the set on the kneading function for 1 minute. Don't overmix the topping. Pour fruit into oven dish and top with crumble. Bake for 30 mins at 180degs. Serve with vanilla ice cream or yogurt or cream on a cold winters day or night - surely its an acceptable breakfast, its oats and fruit right?!