Slow Cooker Lentil Curry December 13, 2008

Ingredients:
Handful of red lentils
1 onion (chopped)
1/2 butternut pumpkin (diced)
Small sweet potato (diced)
Red capsicum (diced)
Fresh tomato (chopped)
Green beans (sliced)
Spices – cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, tumeric and chilli

 
Method:
Add all ingredients to the slow cooker (Add water – but not sure how much), mix well, put the lid on and allow to cook for several hours.

 
(From http://www.joyousbirth.info)

Vegetable and chickpea curry December 13, 2008

Ingredients:
1 lge brown onion
2 garlic cloves
2 tbl sp curry powder
3 tsp cumin
800g can diced tomatoes
1/2 lemon juiced
300g chickpeas drained
1lge sweet potato
1lge carrot
4 squash
250g broccoli
250g cauliflower

 
Jasmine rice and natural yoghurt to serve

 
Method:
1. You can fry the onion and garlic in a frying pan first, or just put it in the crockpot with all but the last 2 ingredients.
2. cook on high for 4 hours, or slow for 6 hours.
3. Serve with rice and yoghurt.

 
(From http://www.joyousbirth.info)

Vegetarian Curry December 13, 2008

Ingredients:
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Clove Garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp Chilli
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Coriander
1/2 tsp Cummin
1c Lentils
1 litre vegetable Stock
1 tsp Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Carrots, diced
1c pumpkin, diced
1c potato, diced

 
Method:
Lightly fry the onion and garlic, then add the spices. Add the lemon juice, lentil and stock. Bring to the boil and boil for 5 minutes. Pour this into to the slow cooker and add the vegetables. (You may need to add more water/stock) Cook on high for 3-4 hours (or low 7-10 hours).

 
Slightly altered from the recipe posted by Debbie Lee:
http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=17924

Lamb Shanks with Lentils December 13, 2008

Ingredients:
1 cup washed lentils
2 lamb shanks
2 cups beef stock
1 tin whole tomatoes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Herbs & spices to taste

 
Method:
Place all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook on low for about 9 hours or on high for about 4 hours.

 
Recipe from Donna Hay’s “Off The Shelf” Cookbook, adapted and posted by Annabel:
http://members.essentialbaby.com.au/index.php?showtopic=91279&st=40#

Colourful Coleslaw December 13, 2008

Ingredients:
1/4 Red/Purple Cabbage, finely shredded
1/4 Green Cabbage, finely shredded
4 large Carrots, grated
4 Spring Onions, finely sliced
Celery, finely sliced
Mayonnaise

Method:
Mix together (about equal parts cabbages and carrot) with as much mayo as you like.

The purple cabbage makes a really nice looking touch.

Vegetarian curry December 13, 2008

Ingredients:
1 packet of marinated tofu or vegie sausages.
onion
red capsicum
sweet potato
green beans
broccoli
cauliflower
carrot
curry
sweet chilli sauce
soy sauce
peanut oil
Light coconut milk
Basmati/brown rice

 
Method:
1). Cook rice as normal (or steam/use a rice cooker)
2). Chop/slice vegetables and tofu/sausage into bit sized pieces.
3). In a hot wok, fry the vegetables and sausages in a tablespoon of peanut oil for 2 mins.
4). Add 2-3 tb curry powder and continue to fry until the ingredients are coated.
5). Add the coconut milk, 1 tb soy sauce, 2tb chilli sauce and reduce the heat to simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Serve with the rice.

Potato and Leek Soup December 13, 2008

This is a recipe for a soup that doesn’t use a cream base. The potato thickens this soup nicely. The Cumin gives this soup a nice flavour, but you can leave it out if you prefer.

Ingredients:
4 large Potatoes
1 large Leek
2 Cloves Garlic
2 teaspoon ground cumin Seeds
1 cup frozen/fresh/tinned Corn kernels
2 teaspoons of cracked black pepper
Salt to taste

Method:
1). Finely chop the Garlic, Thinly slice the Leek and chop the potatoes into quarters. Add these to a soup pot with a little bit of oil. Fry a little, but don’t let the garlic burn.
2). Add approx 4 cups of water (enough to cover the ingredients), the cumin, pepper, salt and Corn and simmer this for around 2 hours.
3). Allow to cool slightly, then mash this with a potato masher to remove any large lumps. You could puree with a hand held blender or food processor – but I like a little bit of substance to the soup, and I like the corn to be whole.

When done pour the soup into containers to freeze or leave in the fridge.

This makes a great soup to have on a cold day. The cumin and pepper adds some warmth. A nice soup to put in a thermos and have on a picnic in colder weather.

Pumpkin Soup December 13, 2008

Ingredients:
Pumpkin
Sweet Potato
Pepper
nutmeg
Onion
Brown Sugar
vegetable Stock

Method:
Chop up pumpkin & sweet potato. Mix up some olive oil, ground pepper & nutmeg, toss pumpkin pieces in the oil to coat thoroughly. Bake pumpkin in a moderate oven for about 40-60 minutes (until really soft).

Roughly chop an onion or 2, coat it in the olive oil (but this time add a little brown sugar to the coating mix as well as the nutmeg). Add it to the oven tray about 15 minutes into cooking the pumpkin.

Heat up some stock in a large pot till it’s simmering. Add the roasted vegetables. Use a hand blender to completely mash down the vegetables & mix until the consistency is right (I start with a little stock & add more if needed). Adjust seasoning if necessary

Slow Cooker Lentil Curry December 13, 2008

Ingredients:
Handful of red lentils
1 onion (chopped)
1/2 butternut pumpkin (diced)
Small sweet potato (diced)
Red capsicum (diced)
Fresh tomato (chopped)
Green beans (sliced)
Spices – cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, tumeric and chilli

 
Method:
Add all ingredients to the slow cooker (Add water – but not sure how much), mix well, put the lid on and allow to cook for several hours.

 
(From Susan on http://www.joyousbirth.info)

Tuscan Chickpea Soup with Pasta December 13, 2008

Ingredients:
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained.
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
750 ml vegetable stock
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon tomato puree
Freshly ground black pepper
50g soup pasta

 
Method:
1). Puree the chickpeas and tomatoes, add stock and mix well.
2). Fry the garlic in a little olive oil until soft, then add the remaining ingredients except the pasta, and bring to the boil.
3). Simmer for 5 minutes then add the pasta and continue to cook another 10 mins or until the pasta has cooked, stirring often.

From – http://www.phpbber.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=205&mforum=yummystuff

Creamy Chicken & Pumpkin Risotto December 12, 2008

Ingredients:
2-4 Chicken Thigh fillets (skin off)
1/4 cup (approx) spring onions (chopped)
2 large Mushrooms
1 cup raw Arborio Rice
2 cups of hot water
2 Bacon stock cubes
2 cups (approx) milk
2 low fat cheese slices
1 cup (approx) steamed pumpkin and broccoli (mostly pumpkin)

Method:
1). Chop and fry the chicken until browned.
2). Add the Spring onions and mushrooms (thinly sliced) and fry until the chicken is browning/mushrooms are soft.
3). Add the raw rice and stir until the rice is warmed. Add the bacon stock cubes to the water, and pour half of this into the frying pan. Bring to the boil.
4). Add the remaining water-stock as needed and simmer while stirring. As the mixture starts to get drier (the rice absorbs the liquid) keep adding up the milk.
5). When the rice is softening, add the vegetables and cheese.
6). Keep stirring and adding more milk until the rice is cooked (soft). Then serve.

(I usually get itto the point when it’s just slightly undercooked, then cover it with a lid, turn the heat off and get the plates out and stuff and its ready by the time I serve about 2-3 mins later)

Chicken & Mushroom Risotto December 12, 2008

Ingredients:
2-4 Chicken Thigh fillets (skin off)
1/4 cup (approx) spring onions (chopped)
4-6 Mushrooms
1 cup raw Arborio Rice
2 cups of boiling water
2 Bacon stock cubes
2 cups (approx) milk (I use milk powder in boiling water)
2 low fat cheese slices
Some spinach – about 1/4-1/2 cup (I use the frozen spinach cubes)
1 sachet of cream of mushroom cup-a-soup (optional)

Method:
1). Chop and fry the chicken until browned.
2). Add the Spring onions and mushrooms (thinly sliced) and fry until the chicken is browning/mushrooms are soft.
3). Add the raw rice and stir until the rice is really well warmed. Add the bacon stock cubes to boiling water, and pour half of this into the frying pan. Let the mixture boil/bubble while stirring.
4). When the water has mostly evaporated off, add the remaining water-stock and simmer while stirring. As the mixture starts to get drier (the rice absorbs the liquid) keep adding the 2 cups milk a little at a time.
5). I add a mushroom cup-a-soup, but you can leave that out
6). Keep stirring and adding more milk or water until the rice is cooked (soft). Then serve.

Tuna Rice Salad December 12, 2008

Ingredients:
1cup rice (cooked)
2 carrots (grated)
1/2 cup sweet corn
4 heaped tablespoons whole egg mayonaise

 
Method:
Mix ingredients together, chill and serve.

Baked chicken and rice December 12, 2008

Ingredients:
1cup rice
2-3 large mushrooms
1/2 a leek
1-2 chicken breasts
4 pieces “eye” bacon
2 bacon stock cubes, crumbled (optional)

Method:
1. Chop chicken and bacon into bite sized pieces. Finely slice leek and mushrooms.
2. Put rice and all ingredients into a ceramic baking/casserole dish (with a lid)
3. Pour about 1.5-2 cups water over the ingredients and bake in the oven (about 180C) for about an hour or until rice is cooked. Stir and test at half an hour, then at an hour, then every 15 mins after that.

Baked Apples November 16, 2008

Ingredients:
4 Apples (any kind)
1/2 cup (approx) Raisins or Sultanas
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
3 teaspoons Sugar
Dash of Red Wine or Dash of Water
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves

 
Method:
1). Core the apples and peel a strip around the hole. This seems to stop the skins from wrinkling for some reason.
2). In a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients together. Just use enough liquid to make a syrupy mixture. You can leave this mix sitting over night if you want the raisins to go lovely and mushy.
3). Use a baking dish that is just big enough to fit the apples in – hole facing upwards.
4). Spoon the mixture into the holes and pack it in well.
5). Put this in the oven and bake at a low temperature until the apples feel soft. I baste the apples ever few minutes with any remaining juice and the juice that comes from the mix you packed the apples with. This keeps them from drying out.
6). When soft, remove from the oven and allow to cool. I like to cut these in halves to make it easier to eat, and you can serve them with the cut side up and the fruity mix in the channel where you cored it.

Turkish Delight November 16, 2008

A recipe for traditional Turkish Delight! Quite a lot of work goes into this, but it is well worth it!!!!! I think it was from a CSR sugar cookbook, back in about 1980…

 
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups of water
2 tablespoons Gelatine
2 tablespoons Icing Sugar
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon of Rosewater (You NEED this, you can get it in most supermarkets now days)
1 tablespoon Corn flour
Few drops red food colouring
(I didn’t include it in my copy of the recipe, but I recall that you could put almond slivers into it…)

 
Method:
1). In a small saucepan dissolve the gelatine in half of the water over a moderate heat.
2). In another saucepan (a heavy one), dissolve the sugar in the rest of the water, stirring with a wooden spoon until dissolved.
3). Bring this (Sugar water) to the boil, then remove from the heat and add the gelatine mix.
4). Return this mix to the heat and simmer gently over a low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring all the time.
5). Remove from the heat, stir in the Rosewater, colouring (and optional nuts if you want the nutty type).
6). Cover the pan and leave for 15 minutes.
7). Skim off any skin, and pour into a 15cm square tray which has been rinsed with water (and left wet). Leave this to set (overnight)
Cool. Sift together the icing sugar and Corn flour. Rub a little over the surface of the set Turkish delight in the tin. Use a sharp knife (that is dipped in the icing sugar mixture) to cut the Delight into squares.
9). Toss these into the remaining Icing mixture to coat them.

 
These don’t last very long, as the icing sugar tends to get absorbed and they go sticky, then they go hard… but in my experience they don’t last long because people eat them!

Cardamon & Rosewater Icecream November 16, 2008

Ingredients:
1 tb whole green cardamons
300ml milk
300ml double cream
1 cinnamon stick
85g caster sugar
100ml rose water
1 tsp gum mastic crystals, crushed with 1 teaspoon caster sugar (optional)
200ml evaporated milk
dried rose petals (optional)

 
Method:
1). Crush the whole cardamon pods in a mortar and pestle, take out the pods leaving the seeds, then grind the seeds to a fine powder. (Or just buy the ground cardamon – but it’s not as aromatic)
 
2). Pour the milk, cream, cardamon and cinnamon into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced by about a quarter.
 
3). In another saucepan, combine the sugar and rose water, over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
 
4). Remove the milk mixture from the heat once it is ready, and stir in the crushed gum mastic (if using this), then allow to and cool for about 15 minutes.
 
5). Strain the milk mixture to remove the solids. Add the evaporated milk and rose water syrup. Mix well and pour into a freezer safe container and place in the freezer
 
6). Every 30 mins or so, Remove the mixture and blend it/mix it well to prevent it forming ice crystals. Once it has frozen, it is ready to eat.

 
From http://www.nordljus.co.uk/en/rosewater-cardamom-and-gum-mastic-ice-cream

Chocolate Pudding November 15, 2008

Ingredients:
40g Cocoa
120g Sugar
40g Cornflour
700mls Milk

 
Method:
1). Sift Cocoa, Sugar and Cornflour together, and stir in 300mls of milk.
2). Heat 500mls milk in a saucepan, and when hot, pour the chocolate mix mixture into this, stirring until it thickens.
3). Remove from heat and pour into bowls. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface to avoid skin forming.

Egg Custard November 15, 2008

Ingredients:
1c Milk
1c Cream
1 Vanilla bean, split
5 Egg yolks
1/2c cup Castor Sugar

 
Method:
In a heavy saucepan, bring the milk, cream and vanilla bean (or a few drops vanilla essence) to simmer. In a bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks until light, then whisk in the heated milk. Rinse out the saucepan and return the mixture to the heat for around 10 mins, until the mixture thickens. Strain into a cold bowl to remove lumps. Serve warm or allow to cool (placing plastic wrap on the surface of the custard prevents it forming a skin.)

Bliss Balls November 15, 2008

(Makes about 30 balls)
 
Ingredients:
1c puffed millet or rice
1/2c coconut
1/2c sesame seeds
1/2c sunflower seeds
1/2c honey (or rice malt)
1/2c tahini paste
1c combined linseed, sunflower seed & almond meal
1c chopped nuts (almonds, cashews, brazil, hazelnuts etc)
1c chopped dried fruit

 
Method:
1). Combine the dry ingredients and gradually add in the honey and tahini, mixing well.
2). Shape the mixture into balls, and coat with coconut or sesame seeds
3). To make this mixture into muesli bars, spread out in a greased tray, slice into bars and bake until browned in a moderate oven.

 
 
(Credit for this recipe to Chrissy from Natural Parenting Forum)

Homemade Toffees November 15, 2008

Toffee Recipe #1
Mix 3 parts sugar to one part cold water in a saucepan. Using a metal spoon, stir well over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. The mixture should be clear. Once dissolved, bring to the boil, boiling for 12-15 mins until it is a light golden colour. Use a pastry brush to remove crystals that form around the edge of the mixture through this boiling period. Pour into patty pans, or over roasted peanuts

 
 
Toffee Recipe #2
Use butter to coat a saucepan, then combine 2 cups white sugar, 1 cup water, 2 tsp vinegar, a few drops vanilla or flavoured essence. Mixture is ready when a little dropped into a glass of water cracks. Pour into patty cases and chill.

 
 
Toffee Recipe #3
 
Mix 2c sugar, ½ cup Liquid glucose and ½ cup Water. Bring to the boil, and when temp reaches 150 ºC add 2 – 4 drops colouring and 1-2 teaspoons flavouring. Mixture should crack when at the right temp. Pour onto greased tray and as edges begin to harden, cut with scissors into pieces (or pour into blobs and insert stick to make lollypops). Store dusted with icing sugar to prevent sticking

Rose water Marshmallows November 14, 2008

Ingredients:
500g sugar
200ml cold water
200mls boiling water
1 tb glucose syrup
2 tb gelatine powder
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp. rose water (substitute vanilla essence for vanilla ones)
1 drop food colouring (optional)
 
To cover:
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup cornflour

 
Method:
1). Line a lammington tin with baking paper.
2). Into a large saucepan pour the cold water, glucose and sugar. Heat this over a low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
3). Bring this to the boil, and then boil until the temperature reaches 121C (use a confectioner’s thermometer) – do not stir, but brush down the sides of the saucepan with a wet pastry brush when sugar crystals form.
If you don’t have a thermometer, test the temperature by dropping a little of the syrup into a bowl of iced water. It is ready if the cooled syrup forms a glob that you can stretch into strands.
4). In a small heatproof bowl, pour in the hot (the original recipe says to use water and heat it up over a saucepan of boiling water, or in the microwave to dissolve it, but I can’t see why you can’t just use hot water….)
5). In a large bowl, beat the eggwhites with an electric beater until they are fluffy and stiff peaks form.
6). Mix the gelatine mixture in with the sugar mixture in the large saucepan. (this will bubble and increase in size)
7). Add this still boiling sugar-gelatine mixture in a thin stream to the beaten egg whites, while continuing to beat with the electric beater. Beat for around 7-8 mins until the mixture becomes thick and holds it’s shape. Add the food colouring and rose water, beat until combined.
8 ). Pour this mixture into the prepared lamington tin. Smooth the top with a knife. leave this to set in the refrigerator overnight.

 
To coat the marshmallows:
1). Sft together the cornflour and icing sugar.
2). Cut the set marshmallow into squares using a wet knife, and toss them in the sifted mixture to coat them.

 
Store these with any excess icing sugar mixture between them, in an airtight container.

 
from http://www.aussieslivingsimply.com.au/forum/viewthread.php?forum_id=19&thread_id=5619

Omelette Wraps November 14, 2008

These are served cold, like a pita bread wrap… but use an omelette instead of flat bread. Makes 4

Ingredients:
6 eggs
2 spring onions, finely chopped
Snow pea shoots
Coriander leaves
1 carrot sliced into very fine sticks
ham, cooked BBQ chicken etc.

Or other fillings…

Method:
In a large jug, crack eggs, then add onion, pinch of salt and 2tb cold water. beat well.

Make this egg mixture into an omelette by lightly spraying a frying pan with olive oil spray, pour out 1/4 of the mixture out, moving the pan to cover the base. Cook until the egg has set, then flip and lightly cook the other side. Allow to cool slightly before using.

To make the wraps, take one omelette, place the filling onto it and roll up. Use baking paper and some ribbon to keep it tied together. You can spread a mixture of mayonnaise and sweet chilli sauce, or other condiments on the omelette to season it if you like.

Orange & Almond Cake November 14, 2008

Store for up to 2 days at room temperature. Make this gluten free by using gluten free baking powder.

Ingredients:
2 oranges, quartered
6 eggs (at room temp)
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
250g (2 1/2 cups) almond or hazelnut meal
1 tsp baking powder

Method:
1). Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced), prepare a 23cm springform pan.
2). Microwave the oranges, covered, for 8 mins, or until soft. Allow to cool then remove the seeds, and puree.
3). Beat the eggs and sugar until thick. Then mix in the almond meal, baking powder and orange puree.
4). Spread mixture out into the prepared pan and bake for 60-65 mins, until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool for 20 mins in the pan, then turn out onto a rack.

Note – I found this a little bit too orangy… and a little bit too sweet. I think you could use 1 cup sugar, and perhaps about half the orange puree (might have to adjust the liquid level though – although this makes a very moist cake).