roast pumpkin, tofu & soba salad

January 26, 2012

It’s been a huge couple of weeks. Lots to think about, lots of decisions and changes to be made and life has taken a big turn (to say the least). I’ll try to race through this as quickly as possible.

So, I got accepted into university. When I think about the last 12 years and all that has gone on, I could hardly believe that I got an offer to the uni of my choice. I am still a little shocked about it all. I’m proud and overjoyed but I’m also very scared about what this means for me financially. Coming from full time work with a loan strapped tightly to me, and supporting myself, I’m worried about whether I could handle it all for the next 4 years. I’m not the best to deal with stress and having no regular/firm income is going to be tough for me. Making sure I can put in the effort of doing 4 subjects full time, while having enough money to pay everything by the month is going to be a challenge. I really want to give it a go because I have worked so hard for it. So, I did enrol. However, I’m still thinking about deferring right now because it all seems too hard/expensive right now. I’m really happy I made it to this point though. Just having a choice is a wonderful feeling in itself. So I guess I have to do a lot of soul searching and thinking and then just roll with it and hope for the best. Fingers crossed I can take the plunge. It will be worth it. I wouldn’t have to drag myself to jobs I hate anymore for one. That would be quite nice.

While I have managed to turn my life around significantly (really only over the last few years), I still have a lot of work to do. Happiness is an ongoing journey after all, isn’t it? One thing I’ve been trying very hard to achieve is staying positive. Really challenging when you’ve had such a negative mindset for such a long time. I always strive to uplift others but I don’t put enough effort into my own happiness. I have decided it’s time to put some real effort in. I’ve been completing exercises and reading books centred towards improving my ability to think rationally and remain happy and flexible in the face of challenges. I’m going with the idea of ‘what you think, is what you feel.’

I’ve also been trying especially hard to eat well and exercise. I’ve been doing a lot of cooking and walking a lot. I’ve managed to stick out drinking a lot of water too, which has been great. I certainly feel more energised when I’ve had enough water!

Not really too much else is happening but I’ve been kept busy and I have a lot of organising to do. I created this warm salad the other night and ate it at a park with some strawberries for dessert. It turned out really well and it was very easy to make. Budget friendly, as well.

Serves 2 hungry people.

INGREDIENTS

extra virgin olive oil

100g of 100% buckwheat soba noodles (use whichever type of soba you like)

quarter of a small pumpkin, cut into small cubes

250g tofu, cut into small cubes

2 tbs tamari

2 tbs grated fresh ginger

1 tbs chopped fresh rosemary

large handful rocket and baby spinach

METHOD

Cook soba noodles according to packet directions and set aside.

Preheat oven to 200. Pop your pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, place your ginger, tamari, some olive oil then your tofu. Mix ingredients together. Place under the grill on low-medium heat for 5 minutes.

When everything is ready, place together with the rocket and baby spinach in a large bowl and toss. Serve warm.

miso noodle & vegetable soup

January 17, 2012

light meals, lunch, mains, soup

4 Comments

I was in need of something nourishing and found a great noodle soup to play with on Green Kitchen Stories. If you’ve not yet stumbled across this beautiful blog, please head over and say hello. I have tried many recipes from there at this point and I am always impressed with how great I feel after I eat the end result!

This particular soup is packed full of vegetables and all sorts of goodness – I added some tofu and it was perfect. I’ve posted the original recipe below, with some slight editing to accommodate for my ingredients.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 fresh chilli

2 cloves garlic

2-inches (5 cm) fresh ginger

1 stalk fresh lemongrass

1/2 leek

4 small carrots

1/2 cup broccoli

6 shiitake mushrooms

1/2 cup fennel bulb

1/2 cup green beans

8 cups water, boiled

6 tbsp miso paste

1 tbsp tamari

100g tofu

270g soba noodles

1 handful coriander

mixed sesame seeds

1 lime

METHOD

Preparing the vegetables: Finely slice the chili, mince garlic and ginger, cut the lemongrass in half and “bruise” it with the bottom of your chef’s knife. Finely slice leek, carrots (use a peeler) and divide the Romanesco into small pieces. Cut the brown mushroom into quarters, slice the fennel bulb and chop the fennel greens. Trim the green beans by removing the top stems.

Preparing the miso: Pour 4 cups boiling water in a pot, add miso paste and whisk. Add soy sauce, chili, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and set a side for a couple of minutes.

Preparing the noodles: Meantime, pour the remaining water (4 cups) in a new pot. Place it on the stow on medium heat, add a pinch of salt and the noodles, cook them according to the package.

Assembling the soup: When the noodles are done, place them and all the vegetables in the miso soup and reheat it with the tofu, making sure it doesn’t boil. Pour in 4 bowls and top with freshly chopped cilantro, lime juice and sesame seeds.

wholemeal spelt & seed bread

January 16, 2012

baking

2 Comments

I have been craving the bread I usually get from the organic grocer near my home but they haven’t had it in stock for a while, so I thought I’d bake my own. This recipe is yeast free and is oh so simple to make. It took around 5 minutes to throw together!

This makes one medium sized loaf.

INGREDIENTS

280 g wholemeal spelt flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs flaxseed meal

4 tbs mixed sunflower and pumpkin seeds

250ml filtered water

1 tbs natural yoghurt

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200°C and line a tray with baking paper.

Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Stir.

Add olive oil, seeds and mineral water. Mix gently.

Add yoghurt and mix again. The dough should be fairly sticky and wet but not too wet.

Move onto a baking tray and form into a loaf. Sprinkle with seeds.

Bake for 40-50 minutes and place on a wire rack to cool.

(Adapted from Cinnamon & Thyme)

‘lively up yourself’ lentil soup

January 15, 2012

light meals, lunch, mains, soup

1 Comment

I had a big week at work and I was glad to see the end of the Friday working day. I spent my evening with family, helping look after one special little girl with some others, while her baby brother was being welcomed into the world and settling in with his parents at hospital. On Saturday I got to meet the new little family member and it was just about one of the most exciting things I’ve experienced in my life.

I have never held a one day old baby before and I was a little nervous. It was a lovely experience either way though. I felt a little teary for some reason and it was a lovely moment – everyone in the room sharing such an important occasion. I came home and had a big sleep, as I was knackered out.

Today we went back for another little visit and this gorgeous little boy fell asleep on me for some time. I could feel his chest rising ever so quickly with each of his precious breaths. His facial expression changed almost constantly for a while, then he fell into a deep sleep with his hands and face scrunched against my chest, occasionally making small noises. I felt so calm around this little guy. It made me think of the importance of being there for others – helping them grow, being there for a cuddle and all the rest. I also had a bit of a think this afternoon about what it means to be a good person and decided that I’d create an ongoing life time goal for myself: being the best person I can be. I want to be consistently kind to people and make others happy. To not judge people and to have a better understanding of where people are coming from. I feel as though I can be such a socially awkward person sometimes and I want to put in a bit more effort to change this. So I have a bit to think through!

Anyhow, to the food. I needed something nourishing and remembered this gorgeous recipe from Heidi’s wonderful blog, that I tried last year. It is oh so tasty and so very nourishing. Also very easy. This recipe serves 6 people. I have added/changed a few things according to what I had but it’s essentially the same as the original.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups French lentils, picked over and rinsed

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 large brown onion, chopped

1 700g jar crushed tomatoes (100% with no additives)

1 large roma tomato, chopped into large chunks

2 cups water

3 cups of a big leafy silverbeet/chard, rinsed well, deveined, finely chopped

Saffron Yogurt

a pinch of saffron (30-40 threads)

1 tablespoon boiling water

1/2 cup low fat Greek Yogurt

METHOD

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the lentils, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.

While the lentils are cooking, make the saffron yogurt by combining the saffron threads and boiling water in a tiny cup. Let the saffron steep for a few minutes. Now stir the saffron along with the liquid into the yogurt. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion and saute for a couple of minutes. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, lentils, and water and continue cooking for a few more minutes, letting the soup come back up to a simmer. Stir in the chopped greens, and wait another minute. Taste and adjust the seasoning if need be. Ladle into bowls, and serve with a dollop of the saffron yogurt.

(Source)

spelt pasta with tomato, mushroom & tuna sauce

January 14, 2012

mains, pasta, seafood

world’s greatest chicken and vegetable pie

January 9, 2012

lunch, mains, pies

4 Comments

I know I overdid it with the headline but I am pretty excited about tonight’s cooking effort. I’ve made this pie around ten times now and tonight was definitely my most successful attempt. The mix of vegetables was perfect, as was the top of the pie. I doubled up on the pastry sheets and it came out perfectly – crusty and thick, just as pie pastry should be. My taste tester gave the pie a 9.5/10 rating, which I’m pretty chuffed about and I have to say I agree. Maybe it’s wrong to praise your own cooking but tonight I am going to let myself get away with it.

Anyhow, please make this. It is everything a pie should be and I wish I could eat it every day. I want to make my own spelt pastry next time and see how that goes.

Makes1 big pie, which serves 4 hungry people. I served it with sweet potato mash on the side.

INGREDIENTS

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs butter

500g free-range chicken breast fillet, cut into 3cm pieces

1 large leek, white part only, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbs wholemeal flour

1/3 cup water

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup low fat cooking cream

1 tbs dried tarragon

1 large carrot, diced

2 medium sized parsnips, diced

kernels off one corn cob

250g mushrooms, quartered

1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets

1/2 cauliflower, cut into florets

1 large zucchini, diced

pepper, to season

2 sheets shortcrust pastry, thawed

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

1 organic free-range egg, lightly beaten

METHOD

Steam all of your chopped vegetables, drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil and butter in a large fry pan and cook the chicken pieces until lightly browned. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside for a moment. Add the leek and garlic to the pan and cook until softened slightly. Add flour and cook for a minute. Add water and bring to the boil, then pour in the stock and cream and cook stirring for 5 minutes. Add tarragon.

Pop your chicken back into the pan with the vegetables and mix thoroughly. Season well and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius

Lightly butter a medium sized baking pan (make sure it’s deep enough to fit all of the filling in).

Line the bottom and sides with shortcrust pastry.

Pour filling in.

Place a double layer of puff pastry on the top. Place small cuts throughout the top with a fork.

Brush with a beaten egg and bake for 35 minutes, or until it’s a gorgeous golden colour

flourless almond, chocolate and banana cakes

January 8, 2012

baking, breakfast, cake, cakes & sweet things, desserts

6 Comments

Happy Sunday, all! I had a big week, so I swore that I would have a lengthy sleep in this morning. Turns out my body felt differently, so when I got up at 9am, I decided I’d try my hand at some muffins that I stumbled upon. I changed the recipe to suit me and I tried layering the muffins: one part normal batter, one part batter with cocoa added and last part normal batter. As I was getting ready to put them into the oven, I thought, “I wonder how these muffins are going to go without any baking powder?” – at that point I realised I had forgotten all about it. With reluctance (they just looked so nice), I tipped all of the contents back into the bowl to add the missing powder. I guess it’s good I’m starting to recognise sorts of things though, even if I am a little late to do so.

So, instead of having lovely layered muffins, I came out with some lovely dark brown cakes. They taste great though and that’s all I really care about. I will be trying them again with layers. The boys at home gave them the tick, as did I.

The best bit – no sugar, butter, oil or flour! How about that?! Guilt free snacking!

Makes 9 cakes

INGREDIENTS

260g almond meal

1/ tsp baking powder

2 organic free-range eggs

4 tsps raw honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 slightly ripe bananas

1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

extra sliced banana for garnish

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a muffin tray with cases.

Place the almond meal in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, mash the bananas. Add the eggs, honey, cinnamon, and baking powder and whip until creamy and well mixed (if you’re not layering the muffins, put your cocoa powder in at this point).

Pour into the almond meal and mix well.

Place large tbs of batter into the cases until filled. Top with banana slices.

Bake for between 30-45 minutes (I baked mine for 45 mins because I used pretty ripe bananas).

If you want to layer the muffins to create a chocolate centre: Put 3/4 cup of batter out into a separate bowl and mix 1 tsp cocoa powder through it. When filling the cases with normal batter, stop filling half way to add cocoa batter into the middle of it, then cover with normal batter.

(Source)

salmon with black bean & roasted tomato salad

January 3, 2012

mains, seafood

8 Comments

So, today I discovered just how hideously unfit I have become. I went for a bike ride and lasted all of 15 minutes before I felt as though I was about to die. I spent the last 15 minutes walking – I was just too tired. I have constructed a goal list on Day Zero Project and one of my goals is to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, for a minimum of 6 months. Sounds easy, right? Well, not so much for me. I do very little exercise and I barely even go on walks at the moment. It’s something I’m not happy with, so I am going to make some big lifestyle changes. I have periods where I’ll get heavily into exercise but they never last long so this time I’m going to try and make it a life time thing. I have bought a diary so I can measure how I’m doing with it all. The other thing I added to my goals list was drinking more water. I’m terrible with that too.

Anyhow, I love to-do lists and I love the feeling of ticking them off. Day Zero came recommended by a friend. Basically, you construct a list of 101 things you’d like to achieve and you have 1001 days to do it. A huge thing but I like the idea of it. It’s fun and will likely motivate me, if only because I am like a kid in some respects. “Look ma, I completed all of my homework”.

Tonight I cooked something simple and tasty. I had a bad experience making chutney this morning (which I have considered a failed experiment), so I decided to take it easy with dinner. The result was pretty awesome. I love anything with a touch of lime. I presoaked and cooked my own dried beans but you could easily use a 400g can of black beans for this, if you’re time deprived.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

2 tbs olive oil

400g can sweet corn, rinsed and drained

400g cooked black beans, rinsed and drained

250g truss cherry tomatoes

handful chopped coriander

juice of 1/2 lime

juice of 1/2 lemon

large pinch of cumin

1 small glove garlic, crushed

1 small avocado

2 pieces of skinless/boneless salmon

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place truss tomatoes in oven for 10 minutes, or until they split open. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients through, including roasted tomatoes.

Place some slits in your salmon and place it under the grill for 3 minutes, each side.

Serve salad with salmon on top. Season well.

roast lemon & oregano chicken breast wraps with baked mushroom & potatoes

December 26, 2011

lunch, mains

2 Comments

I’m far too full and sleepy to tell you too much about my day. Fairly straight forward through : family, friends and a whole lot of good food and laughter. Maybe a little too much food.

We put these wraps together the another night. Pretty straight forward and super tasty. Marinate your chicken however you wish, if you prefer another flavour.

Serves 4 people.

INGREDIENTS

4 x chicken breasts (we breasts which had a lemon, oregano, olive oil and pepper marinade)

200g mushrooms

6 medium sized potatoes, quartered

4 pieces wholemeal wraps

2 tomatoes

150g mixed salad leaves

1 avocado, mashed

1 small cucumber

balsamic vinegar

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Arrange tomato, cucumber and lettuce and avocado into serving dishes.

Slice large X cuts into the mushrooms. Brush with balsamic vinegar.

Heat water and steam potatoes for 10 minutes. Shake in the pan to mash the edges slightly. Season well.

Place chicken in a large oven dish, placing mushrooms into the spare spaces.

Arrange potatoes on a tray.

Bake both trays for 45 minutes, swapping halfway through.

Allow chicken to cool and slice into large pieces.

Serve at once, making wraps with ingredients and serving with sides of the mushroom and potato. Alternatively you can mash the potato and put those into the wraps with the mushrooms.

Christmas pudding

December 23, 2011

desserts, Uncategorized

10 Comments

A few years back, I decided I’d like to make a pudding, to contribute to our annual family Christmas feast. I acquired a pudding steamer and gave it a go, expecting a big mushy pile of mess on the day. Thankfully, it came out beautifully. One of our family members poured some brandy over it, lit and up and it was ready to go. It was a hit and this year, I’m making my third pudding with this very recipe. The above picture was last year’s pudding. I have only put my 2011 pudding together tonight and it’s not ready for show!

The big ingredient list can be a little daunting at first but although there is a bit of chopping and steaming, it’s well worth it. The end result is sensational and it’s relatively easy to put together. Just make sure you start it 2 days before you want to serve it up. The best bit for me is watching the people I love enjoy it.

I hope you all have an amazing Christmas, full of love, joy and laughter. I’m not much into Hallmark events in general but I’ll take any excuse to create beautiful memories with special people.

Makes 12 serves.

INGREDIENTS

50g plain wholemeal flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp ground mixed spice

50g brown sugar

50g dark brown sugar

100g fresh breadcrumbs (whatever bread you like is fine)

1 green apple, peeled and grated

1 carrot, peeled, finely grated

175g currants

225g sultanas

250g seedless raisins

100g candied peel, cut into 1/2 cm cubes

75g dried apricots, cut into 1/2 cm cubes

75g pitted prunes, cut in 1/2 cm cubes

75g glace cherries, roughly chopped

100g blanched almonds, finely chopped

2 tsp finely grated orange rind

2 tsp finely grated lemon rind

20ml (1 tbs) treacle

20ml (1 tbs) orange juice

20ml (1 tbs) lemon juice

20ml (1 tbs) brandy

85ml Guinness or stout

2 eggs

100g (5 tbs) unsalted butter

METHOD

Sift the flour and spices into a large bowl. Add the sugars, breadcrumbs, apple, carrot, dried and candied fruits, nuts, grated orange and lemon rind. Stir together until well mixed.

Place the remaining ingredients, except butter, in another bowl. Melt the butter, add to liquid ingredients and beat together. Pour onto dry ingredients and stir thoroughly.

Cover and set aside overnight.

The next day, stir again, then place in the well-buttered pudding basin. Cover with baking paper, make a pleat in the centre, tie with string and cover with foil. Place in a large saucepan with water halfway up the sides. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and steam for four hours. (Top up water when necessary.) Set aside to cool, then refrigerate overnight.

Re-steam pudding for two hours, and rest for 10 minutes before turning out on a plate.

Serve with warm custard.

(Source)

—Scrambled Megs

roast pumpkin, tofu & soba salad

miso noodle & vegetable soup

wholemeal spelt & seed bread

‘lively up yourself’ lentil soup

spelt pasta with tomato, mushroom & tuna sauce

world’s greatest chicken and vegetable pie

flourless almond, chocolate and banana cakes

salmon with black bean & roasted tomato salad

roast lemon & oregano chicken breast wraps with baked mushroom & potatoes

Christmas pudding

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