Hearty family pie

I have been a bit quiet lately. Things have been going down at home- child number 3, Henry, has proven to be intolerant to many preservatives, and nasty additives (such as msg). So, our house has had a big haul out of the pantry, and everything has been replaced with "safe" foods. 

These things are pretty nasty, for anyone, and so, when we experimented with H (who has had issues for a while now, but we couldn't figure out why/what) we also decided to experiment with the other kids. Who knew that my daughter, 5, Rosie, would immediately stop her daily oppositional, monstrous, defiant tantrums, and turn into a beautiful, caring, polite and compliant angel? Who knew that Georg, 4, who only seemed to know the language of whinging, and was always tired, to the point where he would beg (yes, beg) to go to bed at 5pm, suddenly become ummm, 'normal'? 

So, the benefits are amazing, and now friends are also experimenting with their kids, and noticing similar changes, they are more polite, they can play for longer periods, houses are quieter, families are happier... And so on. 

Our kitchen has been turned upside down, and so now I have had to change how I cook (no more fake meats), and what I cook with. Slowly I am figuring it out, and luckily tonight I cooked something that was a hit with the family. The ingredients that I list are all "additive free", which is really just a term for nasty additive free. There are about 60 or so to avoid, if you want some more information, please feel free to email me at Leesa@Cosentino.com.au.

Ingredients:

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 small/ medium onions, diced

Dash of olive oil

A cup of mushroom, diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1 smallish eggplant diced 

About 3 tablespoons of Kikkoman naturally brewed soy sauce

About 1 tablespoon of homemade veg stock paste (if you don't have this, then just add a little more of the other sauces/flavours)

About 1 cup of Cambell's liquid vegetable stock

About 1 tablespoon of Masterfood's traditional BBQ sauce

2 cans of kidney beans, drained and mashed

2 sheets of Pampas Puff Pastry

Method:

Heat oven to 180'c.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan ( I use my Dutch oven), and sautée the onion and garlic until just soft, then add the mushrooms, continuing to sautée, and the add the eggplant, carrot, and soy sauce until eggplant becomes mushy. When the mixture becomes dry add the BBQ sauce, and homemade veg stock, and a couple of dashes of the liquid stock. Stir until the mixture dries out again, and then add some more stock. Repeat this process until the veges are soft and cooked. The amount of liquid stock you use is up to you, I used about a cup. 

Turn off the heat, and add the mashed kidney beans, and stir to combine. 

Line a pie dish with the pastry, pop in the mixture and add another sheet of party to make a pie. Using a knife cut a big V (for vegan if course!) into the centre of the pie to allow any steam to escape, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the pastry is crispy and golden. 

This pie should be hearty, and very tasty, with a meaty flavour. 

Enjoy.

Whoops Soup

Last night I accidentally made one of the best soups I have ever tasted. It was just divine.

I was doing that thing you do when you really need to go grocery shopping, but can't find the time, so you clean out everything in your fridge, and try to make something edible with it.

I had some celery and a can of tomatoes.

Hmm.

The beginnings of Minestrone maybe? Ok, lets give this a go. Whats the worst that could happen?

Well, it turned out delicious! Please try this next time you want something warm and nourishing.

Whoops soup.

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 litre of veg stock (I like Cambell's liquid stock)
About a cup full of celery, sliced
A dash of soy sauce (Kikkoman Naturally Brewed)
1 can of crushed tomatoes
about a handful of soup pasta

Sautee the onion and garlic in a heavy pot until soft. Add the stock, and when it starts to boil add the celery, soy sauce, tomatoes and pasta. Continue to simmer until the pasta is cooked.

Croutons.

Ingredients:
Sliced wholemeal bread (not fresh if possible)
olive oil
Italian herbs
Garlic powder

Put the oven onto 180 Degrees. Dice the bread, and place into a salad bowl, drizzle oil, and sprinkle herbs and garlic powder on top. Cover the bowl with cling wrap, and shake the croutons. If you want, repeat the process. Place onto an oven tray and bake until golden brown - about ten minutes.

Crispy BBQ Chicken Pizza

Yep, that's right- Crispy BBQ Chicken pizza...

Crispy BBQ Chicken pizza...

Crispy BBQ Chicken pizza...

Crispy BBQ Chicken pizza...

Crispy BBQ Chicken pizza...

Crispy BBQ Chicken pizza...

It was even more delicious than it looks... Even better heated up the next day!

To make:

Pizza bases,

Tomato paste,

BBQ sauce,

Pineapple pieces,

Bio life cheese,

And mushroom (optional- not pictured)

For the chicken pieces:

You will find these in your local Asian grocer, you can get any vegan crispy chicken.

To prepare for the pizza, just fry it until crispy, cutting the pieces in half if they are too big.

Slap it all together, chuck it in the oven and ENJOY!!!

Mexican Bolognese

As I write this I am sitting on the couch at my In-laws' beach house, with my sick 2 year old cuddling me. It really doesn't get much better than this! 

And here is my view

It has been a long while since my last post- I had baby number four in February, a girl called Minnie, and things have been a little bit busy since then! 

As things get easier I will be able to post more- and have I got some good recipes to post! 

Today's recipe is a super easy bolognese, with Mexican flavours- not a sprinkle of oregano in sight!

I get my burrito seasoning from the burrito kits in Aldi. I use the salsa for burgers, the tortillas for Mexican wraps, and the seasoning on anything, really. I use barely any, so one packet lasts me a couple of recipes.

Ingredients;

1 pack Linda McCartney's mince

1  large onion, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 large carrot, grated

2 cans crushed tomatoes

8 button mushrooms diced

2 cups (roughly) of veg stock

Burrito seasoning to taste (I used about 1 tbsp)

Sea salt to taste 

1-2 packs of your favourite pasta, depending on how many people you are feeding. The bolognese will feed about 6 people, possibly with leftovers. 

Method:

Boil a large pot of water for the pasta, meanwhile-

Pour a small amount of stock in a large pan, add onion and garlic, and sauté until onion is soft, and mushrooms and carrot and a splash more of the stock and sauté  for about 5 minutes. 

Add pasta to the pot of boiling water and cook until al dente.

Add the mince, tomatoes, seasoning, and remaining stock to the pan and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly, and adding more stock if the mixture dries out. 

Pour bolognese over cooked pasta and serve immediately. 

Perfectly Cooked Quinoa

A huge shout out to my good friend Gwyneth Paltrow for this recipe...

Here is a photo of her on one of our coffee mornings (decaf, soy, of course) in Venice.

1 cup of quinoa

1 3/4 cups of water

Coarse sea salt

Rinse the quinoa thou roughly in a fine mesh strainer (although this may sound like an unnecessary step, it really makes a huge difference in flavour, since quinoa's natural coating tastes like soap).

Place it in a pot set over high heat with the water and a pinch of salt. Bring the quinoa to the boil, lower the heat, cover the pot, and cook until all the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa's germs look like lots of little spirals, 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the heat off, place a dry paper towel between the pot and the lid and let the quinoa sit for at least 5 minutes before giving it a fluff with a fork.

Shallow fried vegetable fritters

This week I have learnt a valuable lesson in feeding my family, particularly my husband, vegetables; SHALLOW FRYING!!!! 

Anything, rolled into a ball and shallow fried WILL BE EATEN!!! 

Quinoa and veg fritters.

These ones have mushroom and asparagus, but you could substitute any vegetables. 

Ingredients:

3 cups of cooked quinoa - you can refer to my perfectly cooked quinoa post 

1 onion, finely chopped (the smaller the better) 

Almost one cup of chopped veges (again, the smaller, the better)

3/4 cup spelt flour

Some sea salt (how much you put in is up to you, I put about 5 shakes of my grinder. You can add more if you are cooking for adults, less if cooking for kids)

About 1/4 cup of almond milk- this amount may vary, depending on your mixture

The juice of half a lemon

Oil for frying

Method:

Mix the quinoa, onion, veges, flour and salt in a large bowl until the mixture is consistent.

Add the lemon juice and milk, a small amount at a time, and mix with your hands, until the consistency is thick and moist when you squeeze it in your hand. If the mixture is too runny, add some more flour.

Roll into balls, footballs, patties, fritters, or shape you like, cover, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Heat up some oil in a pan, and add your fritters. Turn over after a few minutes, the cooked side should be quite solid, and golden brown.

When both sides are cooked, (it should take about 8 minutes, depending on the size) place on some paper towel and allow to cool slightly. This is the hard part! 

Enjoy by themselves, or with a sauce, we love it with soy sauce, or tomato sauce (ok, it wasn't my most creative moment- I was hungry ok?) you could experiment with any sauce though.

These can be kept in the fridge for a few days, in a container wrapped loosely in paper towel, but I can assure you, that unless you make a double batch, there won't be any left overs! 

People are actually reading my blog!

Wow, I never actually thought it would happen to me, I am almost treating this blog as my own favourites recipe book- do you remember the one your grandma had, with magazine cut outs, handwritten recipes, notes, and looked about a million years old? Well, this is the modern version! 

Being 6 weeks off having a baby, I don't have much energy for much really, but I think I had better give you my latest favourite meal.

Sun-dried tomato Alfredo fettuccine, or as my son calls it:

The Best Pasta in Town! 

This is not my recipe, I wish it was, though! 

I put a cup of vegetable broth, as I found it was too thick, and I don't put the basil leaves in - kids don't generally like whole basil leaves. 

My tip for making a great meal in only half an hour for the whole family- start soaking the cashews, boil the water for the pasta, and whilst waiting for the pasta to cook and cashews to soak, add all of the ingredients into your blender (or if you are lucky, thermomix). Your cashews and pasta will be ready at the same time. Blend, and add to the pasta- and you are ready to go! 

My husband loves this, as well as my mum, brother and mother in law. So far, 100% of people that have tried it love it! 

Let me know what you think!