Wholegrain Cheese & Ham Rolls August 9, 2009

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water
2 tb dried yeast
2 tb sugar
2 tb olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
3 cups bread flour (or plain flour)
1 cup wholegrain mix (see note)
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped ham
2 tb chives

Method:
Pour the water into a large bowl. I actually boil the kettle while I get everything organised and use 1 cup boiling water and 1 cup cold tap water to make water that is warm. The bread recipe I use suggests using hot tap water but you should never consume water from the hot tap!). Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into this, give it a stir and leave it for 10 mins.

Then stir in the wholemeal flour, the oil and salt. Add the chives and wholegrain mix. Add the remaining flour, a cup at a time, mixing well. Turn this out onto a floured bench and knead for 10 mins.  You will need to add more flour as it gets sticky.  Then lightly oil the bowl you mixed it in, and the surface of the bread, cover the bowl with plastic wrap (I use one of those shower-cap looking things), and put it somewhere warm to rise for an hour. After an hour, knead it again. Then spread it out and sprinkle the cheese and ham over it, fold and knead it to mix this through. Form into golf-ball sized balls and place them on a baking tray about 1cm apart if you would like a “pull-apart” type loaf, where the buns are connected but you can pull them off… or about 3cm apart for separate ones. You can sprinkle some more ham over the top if you like. Bake at 180ºC for about 15-20 mins, until the bread is browned and sounds hollow.

Goes nicely with soup or for a picnic. If taking on a picnic, try to time it so they come out of the oven just before you leave, then wrap them in a clean teatowel and put them in an insulated container to keep warm.

note: I buy a wholegrain mixture for adding to bread, that has rye, barley, corn, linseed and oats in it – and I often use a little over half a cup of this and the rest of the cup of crushed linseeds, or I use a full cup of the wholegrain mix.

Chicken Sausage Rolls August 9, 2009

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
1 carrot
1 zucchini
1 tin (drained and rinsed) lentils
1 clove garlic
1 tb dried basil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp curry powder
Bread (about 3 crust slices – the crust is better because it is less soft/moist, you don’t want the mixture too moist or your sausage rolls can ooze)

Method:
Chuck that all in a food processor and blend until it makes a sausage mince consistency. Cut a sheet of pastry in half, a spoon the mixture out to make a line down the side of one half of the pastry sheet (about as thick as a thin sausage), roll the pastry over, and cut it into sections to make sausage rolls. Bake at around 200ºC for about 15 mins or until pastry has browned.

Pastry Pizzas June 14, 2009

These are simple and make great party food.  Just take sheets of frozen puff pastry, spread with tomato paste or pesto, add toppings and bake!

Simple toppings work best,  because the pastry is thin you can’t have too much topping.  Try:

• Ham, cheese & tomato paste (with olives or pineapple on top)
• Basil or olive pesto with cheese
• basil pesto with ham, cheese, mushrooms & olives

You can cut the pastry into shapes before adding toppings if you like.

Toddler/Preschool Bentos May 16, 2009

Bento is a great way to encourage your child to eat lots of vegetables and healthy things, and it can look fun!

It doesn’t even have to take a long time, and you can make them up the night before.

Herb & Corn Yorkshire Puddings May 16, 2009

Ingredients:
1 cup Self Raising Flour
1 egg 1 cup milk
pinch salt
Pinch mixed herbs (or use spring onions, basil etc.)
1/2 cup corn

 
Method:
1). Mix the ingredients together and beat well to remove any lumps.
2). Spray/grease the insides of a muffin tray.
3). Place the muffin tray in the oven for about a minute, then bring it out and pour the pudding batter into the muffin spaces (makes 12).
4). Bake at 180ºC for about 15 mins, until the tops are golden.

 
Personally I think these are best served hot with gravy and mint sauce (either as part of a roast meal, or on their own) But they can be eaten cold if you’re packing them as a lunchbox filling.

Potato Pancakes January 16, 2009

Ingredients:
2 large potatoes
3 eggs
1/2 cup wholemeal SR flour
salt, garlic and chives to taste

Method:
Peel, dice and then cook the potatoes to cook them a little (eg microwave for 2 mins). Blend everything together until smooth. Cook like you would a pancake.

Bento January 8, 2009

Bento is a Japanese term for (basically) a meal that is designed to include small portions of different things, and is generally arranged into interesting designs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bento

It can be a way to get kids to eat vegetables, and makes for an exciting lunchbox. Here are some ideas for making Bento lunches, particularly for kids.

Traditionally it’s supposed to contain 4 parts carbohydrates (rice/noodles for example), 2 parts protein (eg meats/egg) and 1 part other stuff (vegetables and fruit for example). However you can make them with any combination of foods. For those wanting to limit carbs and encourage healthy eating, it’s probably best to focus on the vegetables and leave protein and carbs to about 1-2 parts.

Chicken Sausage Rolls December 13, 2008

Ingredients:
1 cup (70g) fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
500g chicken mince
2 eggs
1 zucchini, finely grated
1 carrot, finely grated
1/2 small onion, grated
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
4 sheets frozen puff pastry, just thawed
1 tbs sesame seeds

 
Method:

 
1). Use a food processor to blend the chicken and 1 egg together.
2). Tip into a bowl and add the vegetables, seasonings and herbs.
3). Cut a pastry sheet in half, and spoon a line of mixture down the centre of each pastry half. Fold one edge over the filling, then fold the other side over to make a roll. Press to seal
4). Cut each long roll into smaller pieces, and cut a slice in the top pastry to let steam escape. Brush with remaining beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds
5). Place on a lightly oiled or lined baking tray, and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 25-30 minutes until the pastry has lightly browned and cooked through.

 
From – http://www.taste.com.au

Sausage Rolls December 13, 2008

A way to hide a bit of extra veg in to trick the kiddies into eating it.

 
Ingredients:
1 large package sausage mince
pastry sheets
1 egg to glaze
1 small zucchini, grated
1 large carrot, grated
1 small onion grated (optional)

 
1). Mix the meat and vegetables together
2). Cut a pastry sheet into 3rds or halves, and lay a strip of mixture up the sheet close to one edge, then roll over to make a long sausage roll
3). cut into smaller sausage rolls, brush with egg and bake at about 200C for around 15 mins.

Spicy Bean Burgers December 13, 2008

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped or grated
½ green capsicum, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed or 1 teaspoon minced garlic
¼ to ½ teaspoon chilli powder, to taste (optional)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 x 425 g cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
Ground sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dried breadcrumbs, for coating

 
Method:
1). Lightly fry the onion in a little oilive oil for 5 minutes.
2). Add the capsicum and carrot and fry for another 5 minutes
3). Add the spices and garlic, and heat for 1-3 minutes, stirring well, then remove from heat.
4). Puree half of the beans, and combine with the remaining half of the beans, the fresh breadcrumbs, onion mixture and add any seasonings.
5). Divide the mixture into 8 portions, and form into burger shapes.
6). coat the burgers with dried breadcrumbs, and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet on an oven try and bake at 180°C for 15-20 mins on one side, then flip and cook the other side for a further 15-20 mins.

 
The burgers can be frozen (separated with pieces of baking paper). Cook for an additional 10 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the other if cooking the frozen burgers.

Sushi December 12, 2008

Ingredients:
Roasted Seaweed Sheets (called “Nori” and found in Asian grocery stores)
1 cup Rice (plain white is fine, but you could use Sticky rice, jasmine rice or basmati)
1/2 – 1 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/8 cup white vinegar
water

 
Bamboo rolling mat – looks like a bunch of bamboo skewers tied together – you NEED this. Found in Asian grocery stores and some supermarkets.

 
Fillings:
Your choice, some options include:
Tinned tuna
Teriaki Chicken
Crab meat
Celery
Carrot
Cucumber
Sesame seeds
Mayonaise
Avacado
Prawns
Smoked salmon
Wasabi
Pickled ginger

 
Method:
1). Rinse the rice to remove the excess starch. Put the rice into a saucepan, and fill the pan with water up to about 2 cm above the level of the rice. (They say to put your index finger on top of the rice and fill to the first joint). Bring this to the boil, then cover and simmer gently for 15 mins without stirring it much. Take off the heat and leave for a further 15 minutes with the lid on. In another saucepan mix the sugar, vinegar and salt together and bring to the boil. Pour this over the rice and mix through to coat it all. (this gives the interesting taste to the rice). Allow the rice to cool before using. They say you should fan it to cool it, which apparently makes the rice shiny…I can never be bothered… Or you can cook the rice in a rice cooker.

 
2). When rice is ready, and cooled, you can assemble the Sushi. Take the bamboo mat and lay it on a board/bench. You can cover this with cling wrap to stop rice falling into the grooves if you wish (I don’t bother).

 
3). Take your sheet of Seaweed and lay it on the mat, shiny side down. Since it’s not usually square, make the long end face you.

 
4). Lay a bed of rice along the entire sheet of Seaweed, leaving about 2 cm uncovered at the edge closest to you. You want the rice to be about 1 cm thick. It’s hard to do when the rice is really sticky so I use my hands, and I always end up with gooey fingers.

 
5). About 1/4 of the way up the sheet, lay a strip of your chosen fillings (see below). Remember that you only need a small strip of filling, because the roll isn’t large.

 
6). Starting at the top, roll the bamboo mat towards you, so that the seaweed sheet (plus toppings) rolls over and touches the rice. I usually find I have to poke my fingers into the filling when I roll the first bit. You will then need to lift the mat slightly to be able to continue rolling (without rolling the mat up into the roll). Press quite firmly on the mat to make it stick together nicely. That is probably clear as mud, but once you have it all infront of you, it should make sense.

 
7). You will probably find that the pushing has moved the rice to cover that strip I said not to cover, that’s fine (that’s why I don’t cover it), when you reach the end, press the roll firmly (you can mould it into a rectangle shape or leave it round). Use a bit of water on the overlapping nori to make the roll stick together.

 
Fillings:
You could put anything in them really… some ideas are as follows…

 
Toasted sesame seeds:
Makes a yummy sprinkle to put in the filling…. take a frying pan (no oil) and dry-fry the sesame seeds until they go golden brown. Gives a nutty flavour

 
Cooked tuna:
Tinned tuna (this is already cooked), mixed with a little mayonaise (I actually find Kraft’s Salad Cream gives a nice taste), Avocado, a sprinkle of Sesame seeds.
You could add lettuce, carrot, celery or cucumber too if you wish.

 
Teriaki Chicken:
Marinated cooked chicken pieces. (Just cut some very small pieces of chicen (a bit bigger than you want as they shrink when cooked, and either soak them in a teriaki marinade for a few hours, or fry them in a little of the marinade/sauce)
You could add sesame seeds and vegetables if you wish

 
“California rolls”:
Crab meat (“Seafood cocktail”), mayonaise, Avocado.
You could add carrot and cucumber if you wish.

 
Vegetable:
Avocado, a sprinkle of Sesame seeds, Celery, Cucumber, Carrot.
You could add some Tofu if you like.

 
Tips:
It’s nice to remove the skin from the cucumber, and slice the celery or carrot very finely so that it is not hard to eat.

 
You can add a thin bead of wasabi for a nice hot burst (or as my friend puts it a “wasabigasm”)

 
Avocado gives a lovely cheesy/creamy taste and is a great alternative to mayonaise.

Mini Quiche November 18, 2008

Make Mini quiches in muffin tins.

 
Mix eggs, grated carrot and zucchini, corn, some chicken or bacon, grated cheese, seasonings and a splash of milk. Cut pastry sheets into small squares and line each hole in a muffin tin with a square leave the ends poking out), pour in some quiche mix and cook at around 180C for 15 mins or until egg has set.

 
Alternative crust – Flatten wholegrain bread with a rolling pin, press into the muffin tins and spray lightly with oil.

Veg & Lentil Sausage Rolls November 18, 2008

Ingredients:
Puff pastry sheets
1 medium carrot, peeled
500g premium mince
1 clove garlic (optional)
½c Onion (optional)
1 medium zucchini
1/3 cup (dried) breadcrumbs
1 can lentils (about 2 cups)
Seasoning as desired (I use approx 1 tsp curry powder, 1 tb mixed herbs and salt and pepper)

Method:
In a food processor, blend the carrot, onion, garlic, zucchini, breadcrumbs  and seasoning until very finely chopped (almost pureed), then remove from processor and add lentils and mince. Process to sausage mince consistency. Add the veg mix and the meat mix (if it will all fit in your food processor) and  mix until combined.  (If it doesn’t all fit, divide the mixtures into 2 parts and mix it in 2 lots.)

Lay out the pastry sheets and cut them in half. Spoon the mince mixture down one side of each half and roll up in the pastry to form one long sausage roll. Cut into smaller sections, brush with egg. Bake at 200°C until golden brown.

Spinach & Ricotta Triangles November 18, 2008

Ingredients:
Puff pastry
Beaten egg (optional)
¼ cup Spinach
1 tub ricotta cheese
¼ cup Cheddar/Tasty cheese
Peas & corn

 
Method:
Mix all but the egg together (if using fresh spinach – cook or wilt it in boiling water first).

 
Cut pastry sheets into 9 squares. Place a heaped teaspoon of mixture onto the pastry and fold the corners over to make a triangle. Let the kids help by using a fork to press around the 2 open edges to seal them. Prick airholes and “paint” with beaten egg if you wish. Bake at around 200°C for around 15 mins or until golden brown.

Vegetable Puffs November 18, 2008

Jam packed with vegies! Can be made in larger batches and frozen.

Ingredients:
Puff pastry
Beaten egg (optional)
Vegies
Seasonings (optional)
Sweet chilli sauce and sour cream for dipping

Method:
Steam the vegies, then mash in a colander/sieve to allow excess moisture to drain away. Add any seasonings you want (curry powder etc.) and mix well. Allow to cool

Cut pastry sheets into 9 squares. Place a heaped teaspoon of mixture onto the pastry and fold the corners over to make a triangle. Let the kids help by using a fork to press around the 2 open edges to seal them. Prick airholes and “paint” with beaten egg if you wish. Bake at around 200°C for around 15 mins or until golden brown.

Tuna & Olive Bread November 18, 2008

Ingredients:
½ cup skim milk
1/4 cup black olives, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
3 eggs
1 X 425g can tuna
1 cup grated low fat cheese
2 tb chopped chives
1/3 cup SR flour

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Method:
Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Spoon into lightly oiled loaf tin Cook at 180°C for 40 mins or until bread is brown

Broccoli & Ricotta Logs November 18, 2008

Ingredients:
500g Broccoli
2 small potatoes
3 eggs
1 ½ c ricotta cheese
1c wholemeal breadcrumbs

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Method:
Steam the broccoli until tender then chop finely. Steam the potato until soft then mash well. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Shape into 4cm logs and place on a lightly greased baking tray. Bake at 160°C for 15 mins, then turn and cook another 5-10 mins. For added flavour, roll in breadcrumbs with parmesan cheese before cooking.

Ham & Zucchini Muffins November 18, 2008

Ingredients:
2c wholemeal SR flour
100g ham, finely chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
90g margarine
2 small zucchini, grated
1 cup cooked rice
¾ c grated cheese
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon mustard

 
Method:
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Spoon into lightly greased muffin tins. Cook at 180°C for 25 minutes or until the muffins are browned. Cool on wire rack.

Lunchbox ideas – lunches November 16, 2008

Some ideas for school lunches

• Freeze tubs of yoghurt and put them in the lunchbox. They will keep other food cool, and by lunchtime they will have defrosted into a yummy semi frozen yoghurt.
• Sandwiches – cut into shapes with cookie cutters, and use white and dark rye bread for checkerboard effect etc. to make it interesting. Use pocket bread or flat bread as alternatives to bread.
• Sandwich fillings – try things like: tinned tuna or salmon, avocado, grated carrot, sprouts, sliced meats, mashed boiled egg, tomato, cucumber slices, lettuce, beetroot (pat dry with paper towels to limit ooze), cream cheese spread, sliced cheese, sliced olives etc.
• Omelette roll – Make an omelette and use that as you would a flat bread to make a salad wrap.  Like this
• Fried rice or pasta dishes that can be eaten cold, or take in an insulated container (thermos)
• Slices of quiche, frittata or pies, savoury muffins, cold homemade pizza.
• Thermos of soup or stew with bread rolls
• Vegetable Puffs (cold) with dipping sauce)
• Bento
• Salads – Green salads (lettuce, tomato, celery, cucumber, carrot sticks etc.) and things like Potato salad, coleslaw, rice salad.
• Cold sliced meats (ham, roast beef, chicken etc.)
• Homemade Sushi
• Healthy muffins – use zucchini, apples, carrot etc. in muffin mixture
• Rice cakes or Corn thins with toppings (cream cheese, vegemite, nut spreads if allowed)

Ideas for school Snacks

• Dried fruit
• Fresh fruit (whole pieces of fruit, or offer pieces of several fruits)
• Carrot/Celery/Cucumber sticks. Can have a dip to go with them
• Fruit jelly cups – make jelly from the juice from a in of fruit, then mix fruit pieces into this as it is almost set. Pout into small containers for lunches.
• Fruit Sticks – Put fruit slices (banana, whole strawberries and grapes, kiwifruit, melon etc.) onto skewers
• Muesli bars (beware of nuts if not allowed)
• Pancakes/Pikelets – either savoury or sweet (try adding fruit like berries or banana)
• Cornchips or crackers with salsa or dip (such as hummus)
• Celery with filling (nut spread/cream cheese/hummus)

Make lunch box foods when you have time, and put them into individual portions in the fridge/freezer. Some foods can be put frozen into the lunchbox and they will defrost by lunchtime.

Please feel free to suggest more

Parmesan Toast November 16, 2008

Lightly spread bread with butter or margarine, then sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top and grill (so only one side is toasted) Works best on thicker toast style bread.

Vegetable Pikelets November 16, 2008

Ingredients:
1 small zucchini, grated
1 carrot, grated (or pumpkin)
1tb Orange Juice
1/2 cup Self Raising Flour
1/2 Cup Wholemeal SR Flour
1/2 tsp butter/margarine/oil
1 Egg
3/4 cup milk

 
Method:
Cook the zucchini and carrot in the orange juice until tender. Mix the flours, egg and milk together in a bowl. Add the zucchini/carrot mix and combine well. Heat a saucepan and grease with the butter/marg/oil. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the pan, and flip when bubbles form.

Patties November 16, 2008

Mashed potato, corn, fish of choice (tinned tuna or salmon), egg, all mashed up and formed into patties, roll in breadcrumbs (can add spices to this for extra flavour). Leave in the fridge for 20 mins, then bake in the oven (spray with cooking oil) or shallow fried.

 
Non-fish version
Use a tin of lentils instead of the fish, and/or vegies

Pita Bread Pizza November 16, 2008

A quick and simple pizza. Strangely I really like these. A friend introduced me to the idea… now normally I’m the sort of person who likes my pizza base thick, and my toppings plentiful, but I actually like this much lighter version as a bit of a change … and it’s a quick snack thing I often make when I can’t think of anything else, because I keep bags of pita breads in my freezer (buy up big when they go on sale!). If you buy the little pita breads they can make great individual pizzas for kids, or buy the larger ones to make a more normal size pizza.

 
Ingredients:
Pita bread
Tomato paste (or pasta sauce)
Cheese
Ham
Optional: Mushrooms, Kabana/Salami, Olives, Garlic, Chopped fresh Sage & Basil

 
Method:
Tomato paste goes on first, then a very light scattering of the remaining ingredients. The pita bread makes a very thin pizza base, so you don’t want to put too much topping on. If your pita bread is quite moist, bake on a wire rack, or tray with holes for a crispy base…

Homemade Pizza November 16, 2008

OK, I have strange taste in a Pizza… Heaps of meat and cheese, and corn.
 
Corn? Yes corn.. sounds weird I know, but give it a shot. A kinda sweet burst in the pizza, but better than pineapple. I was vegetarian once (hehe yes I was, strange as it may seem), and liked vegetable pizzas. Mum used to make pizza dough and we’d each take a crockery plate, spread out our pizza dough and then the whole kitchen bench would be filled with ingredients, so we’d just use whatever we wanted to make our own unique pizzas. It was great…*happy memories* anyway, I got sidetracked…. I don’t like vegetables on my pizza anymore, except the corn has stayed.

 
Ingredients:
Pizza base (I just buy them.. it’s tons easier. They go on special markdown often, so when they do I buy some to freeze)
Cheese (mozzarella)
Olives (Black, preferably Kalamata)
Bacon
Sweet Corn (well drained)
Salami
Kabana (a thinner less spicy salami-like thing)
Mushrooms (optional – thinly sliced, and not those weird canned jobbies… nice fresh ones please)
Ham (that shredded pizza stuff if you like… or else normal smoked ham, you chop into fine bits)
Tomato paste or spaghetti sauce (I actually prefer spaghetti sauce)
Oregano and other herbs
Cracked pepper
 
optional: garlic

 
You may have noticed but onion and capsicum have no place on my pizza… feel free to add them to your own though…..

 
Method:
1). Spread a really thin amount of tomato paste on the bottom. Sprinkle herbs over it…. and garlic if you like.
 
Ok… you know how I mentioned vegetables on pizza….. well sometimes I actually puree some steamed vegies and mix that with some tomato paste and spread that on my daughter’s pizza… and mine if I’m feeling adventurous (for some extra nutritional content that pizza is rather devoid of..), and you know what…. it actually isn’t bad! You should try it (potato, pumpkin and a but of broccoli is good) but I understand how that can be considered a crime against pizza….
 
2). I put down the ingredients in this order:
 
Corn – I like a fair amount, but must be on the bottom so it doesn’t dry out (or you get popping corn on your pizza, which is not the effect we’re after)
Ham – cover the entire base with this
Salami – just a scattering of chopped up shredded (thinly sliced) salami (hot or mild – whatever your taste is)
Mushrooms – a little or a lot, depending on taste
Bacon – I like a reasonable amount…
Kabana – a reasonable amount
Cheese – heaps! make sure the other ingredients are covered
Olives – halved olives to decorate the top
A generous amount of cracked pepper.

 
3). Bake in the oven until cheese has melted and is golden brown

Bean Burrito November 16, 2008

Ingredients:
Burrito tortillas
Grated Cheese
Tin of refried beans
Jar of tomato salsa
(I like sweetcorn in it too, call me mad…)

 
Method:
In a saucepan mix the refried beans, about a cup of cheese and the salsa until bubbling (and the corn if you like it too). Microwave a tortilla with a for about 20 seconds. Slop some of the bean mix onto it and wrap it up.