Cheesey Sprinkles (vegan Parmesan cheese substitute)

April 2, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 12 Comments

Cheese replacements are tricky for us. The 3 boys eat dairy cheese now, but I don’t eat much dairy and Ellie can’t tolerate any.

All of the delicious creamy nut based cheeses are out for us and we try not to eat much soy. Hm.

Little miss has adapted beautifully to eat Bio-Cheese …. but …. for those of us who have actually eaten cheese in the past, it is really not that palatable an option. So if we are all eating the same dinner, we don’t use bio-cheese, instead, often making a cheesey tasting sauce with nutritional yeast flakes.

Then I was on a recipe sharing FB page and I saw one of the ladies mention that she made a dairy free Parmesan with Cashews and nutritional yeast and salt. I was so intrigued and started tinkering with a version that was safe for us.

And here it is! Such a cheesey flavour and aroma, and SO simple!

1/4 cup pepitas
1/4 cup roasted almonds OR roasted sunflower seeds
2tbsp, heaped, nutritional yeast flakes
1tsp pink salt flakes
Few grinds black pepper
1/2 tsp Italian herbs

Place all ingredients into your processor/bullet/thermal cooker and pulse until you get a nice crumbly consistency.

Store in an airtight glass jar. Leave it in the fridge if you’ll use it up within a week or so. We don’t so I pop it in the freezer to avoid the oils from seeds or nuts going off.

Sprinkle it on to your Lasagne or your Bolognese. I found that its cheesey flavour together with the creaminess of my avocado dressing was a real winner on our pizza too!

I’ll be using it as a topping for some savoury crackers next!

Enjoy 🙂

Chocolate protein hotcakes

March 26, 2017April 6, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Hotcakes are a very popular weekend breakfast in our house. I love that they can be loaded with goodies to make them nutritious and filling. This version is a twist on my Vanilla Almond hotcakes.

They got absolutely demolished …. 4 very full little people at the end of breakfast!!

1 1/2 cups, wholemeal spelt flour OR 1 1/3 cups plain GF flour mix
1/2 cup of my chocolate protein drink mix*
2 tsp GF baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk of choice – I like unsweetened vanilla almond milk (add an extra splash if you use GF flour)
1 small overripe banana
1 heaped tbsp sunflower seed butter (or other nut butter that your diet allows)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 tbsp aquafaba (liquid drained from a can of chick peas) OR 1 whole egg
vegan butter/butter/nut butter to serve

*If you haven’t made the Choc Protein Drink – then you can roughly replicate it with 1 tbsp cocoa, 1 tbsp coconut sugar and 2 tbsp almond or seed meal.

For a nut free/lunchbox safe version make sure you follow the nut free version of the Protein Drink mix

For a more chocolately version, replace the sunflower seed butter with some of my chocolate seed spread or choc hazelnut paste!

In a large bowl whisk together all of your dry ingredients (Speed 4, 10 seconds). Then set aside.

In a blender/food processor/bullet/thermal cooker, place the banana, milk, sunflower seed butter, vanilla, aquafaba/egg and blend until well combined (Speed 6, 10 seconds)

Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and whisk well to combine. (Speed 4, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat).

Pour the batter into a hot, lightly greased frying pan, wait until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and cook until both sides are a deep golden brown.

Top with butter of choice and serve warm.

They freeze well too – I make double batches and freeze sandwich style with a filling in between for an easy, filling, low mess snack.

Enjoy 🙂

Roasted pumpkin pastry rolls

March 22, 2017April 19, 2018 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Years ago, many years ago(!), when I was a poor uni student, there were a few things that sucked me right in at the campus cafes – $1 student guild coffee, $2 Coke zero and the vegetarian sausage rolls.

The Coke Zero addiction is well and truly beaten, the coffee … well …. let’s not go there! And as for the vegetarian sausage rolls – I’ve never seen another one like it after Graduation. I have seen vegetarian ones around but they are usually loaded with dairy and nuts and, since pastry doesn’t feature very often in our diets, I just haven’t considered them.

Recently, with my desire to add variety to our diets, but decrease our meat consumption, I’ve been playing around with a vegan and nut free version and I think we have a winner!

Obviously you need to use a puff pastry that suits your dietary needs, but if you need a mutli-allergy suitable pastry and live in WA you really, REALLY have to check out Busy Bees Gluten Free pastry (I buy from Weigh n Pay in Woodvale)! It is amazing! It comes in a long roll and it handles just like wheat based pastry. It is soft and easy to work with and even non GF people have been happy to eat it!

3 sheets puff pastry of choice (GF if required)
1 medium butternut pumpkin, peeled and seeds removed
400g tin chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp garlic olive oil
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp pink salt flakes
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
Optional – 1 large handful chopped spinach (frozen is fine)
Optional – add in a fist sized piece of diced sweet potato too

Dice the pumpkin and toss it in the olive oil. Place it in a lined baking tray and sprinkle with the rosemary and salt.

Place in a preheated 200C oven for about 45 minutes.

Add the chick peas to the pumpkin and mix in well to coat in oil. Return to oven for further 15 minutes.

Place pumpkin mix into a bowl, add in the rice and spinach (if using) and use a fork or potato masher to crush all the ingredients together. If you want a smoother mix, use your processor or thermal cooker to combine all of the ingredients (Speed 5, in 6 seconds bursts).

Cut the pastry sheets in half and divide the mixture up between the sheets.

I find it is best to place it in a line down the middle of the pastry.

Roll the pastry over the top of the mix to form long cylinders.

Lay on a greased baking tray with the join side facing down (helps the join to hold together as it puffs).

Cook in a preheated 200C oven until pastry is puffed and golden brown. (You can use a short burst under the top grill to get them extra golden and flaky). Takes about 30-35 mins in my oven.

They freeze well – just reheat in an oven, not a microwave otherwise you get soggy pastry.

Enjoy

Veggie loaded sausage rolls

March 22, 2017April 8, 2021 ~ desertcook ~ 5 Comments

Sausage rolls are a massive favourite with my kids … and husband!

They are easy to make and they are perfect for hiding lots of veggies, so it is nice to know that they are a slightly healthier option for my family I have changed and modified my mix over time and this is the mix that I have found gives the best flavour and binds the best without egg.

I use Chevup sausages in my mix. They are a skinless, gluten free, Aussie beef sausage with about half the saturated fat of normal sausages – I feel much happier about using them than the sausage mince that is commercially available. You can find more details about them here.

The sausages I use also have a lovely flavour, so if you are using regular beef mince, there is a note below the main ingredients for a couple of extra things for you to add.

Gluten, egg, dairy, nut and soy free pastry is the next issue. There are many GF pastries out there but they are often really disappointing. Obviously use the one that suits your diet and that you enjoy.

I have used this pastry from the Gluten Free Bakery:

And it does a pretty good job. But ….

if you live in WA you really, REALLY have to check out Busy Bees Gluten Free pastry (I buy from Weigh n Pay in Woodvale)! It is amazing! It comes in a long roll and it handles just like wheat based pastry. It is soft and easy to work with and even non GF people have been happy to eat it!

8 Chevup sausages
250g beef mince
1/2 tsp onion flakes
1 medium zucchini
8-10 button mushrooms
Handful spinach
Fist sized piece pumpkin
200g tinned chick peas (drained)
1/2-1 cup GF bread crumbs (you can blitz rolled oats or quinoa to use here instead)
4 sheets of puff pastry (1 used 3 regular and 1 ‘everything free’)

If you are not using the Chevup sausages, use

700g beef mince, plus
1/4 tsp mild paprika
1/4 tsp garlic flakes
2 tbsp GF bbq sauce

Finely grate the zucchini and pumpkin. (Speed 6 for 8 seconds, scrape down and repeat). Then add in the mushrooms, spinach and chick peas and process until the mix is fine (Speed 6, 10 seconds, scrape and repeat).

Add the additional flavourings, if using and process again (Speed 5, 8 seconds)

Add the sausages and mince, to the processor and process until it is quite smooth (Speed 6, 15 seconds at a time, scrape down in between).

Add the breadcrumbs. Start with 1/4 a cup and gradually add more if the mix is too wet. (Speed 6 for 10 seconds at a time) I used about 2/3 cup last time. The mixture should stick together quite well.

Cut the pastry sheets in half and divide the mixture up between the sheets.

I find it is best to place it in a thin line down the middle of the pasty.

Roll the pastry over the top of the mix to form long cylinders.

Lay on a greased baking tray with the join side facing down (helps the join to hold together as it puffs).

Cook in a preheated 210C oven until meat is cooked and pastry is puffed and golden brown. (use a short burst under the grill to get them extra golden and flaky). Takes about 35-40 mins in my oven.

Makes quite a lot of sausages rolls (about 45 party sized ones) … so I did have to convince my kids that they couldn’t just keep eating them because they were there.

They freeze well – just reheat in an oven, not a microwave otherwise you get soggy pastry.

Enjoy 🙂

P.S. If you wish you could enjoy sausage rolls but are after a vegan version – have a go of my Roasted Pumpkin Pastry rolls

Popeye pancakes

March 8, 2017March 8, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

After the success of my Hulk muffins and with the continued abundance of spinach in my garden I thought I’d try my luck at making a super healthy green breakfast pancake.

Pancakes are a very regular breakfast in our house – I love that I can add in whole grains and great fats and protein to fill hungry tummies and power little brains for a busy day – my vanilla almond hotcakes are our standard so I thought I’d change those ones up a bit …. and cross my fingers 😉

These were incredibly well received …. to my surprise, Harry (my most avid green avoider!) ate 2 of then and then said “Hey! These are green! What did ya do to ’em?!”. I told him it was spinach and it’d make him strong like Popeye. He just shrugged and ate another 3!!!!!!! Ellie loved them so much that she has taken a couple of them to school for lunch, sandwiched together with a nice thick layer of Chocolate seed spread in the middle.

These are loaded with fibre, calcium, protein, iron, magnesium and more – What a win!!!!!

A few notes:

You’ll need a good blender/high powered processor/nutribullet/thermal cooking machine for this one.

This is a double sized batch – there’s just no point making single batches with my hungry hoards any more!!! I freeze the left overs in a zip lock bag and use them for morning tea. It makes about 45-50 pikelet sized – so go ahead and halve the recipe if you don’t need as many!

My kids are used to eating things with added spinach (even if they are not aware of it!!) so if this is a new idea for your kids, maybe start with 150-200g of spinach instead of the 250g I used.

250g fresh spinach
2 cup spelt flour (I did half wholemeal) OR 2 cups plain GF mix (I like half each Bob’s red mill all purpose and white wings)
1 cup rolled oats/rolled quinoa/desiccated coconut
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 very ripe banana
8 medjool dates, deseeded
1 cup boiling water
2 cups milk of choice
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp fat (coconut oil melted/vegan butter/light tasting oil etc)
4 tsp GF baking powder
Pinch pink flaked salt
1 rounded tsp mixed spice.

Place the dates in a small bowl and cover them with the boiling water, and the vanilla, then set aside.

Place the oats and seeds into your blender/processor etc and process until you have a fine flour (Speed 7, 8 seconds, scrape and repeat).

Add in the spices, salt, baking powder and flour, then process again until evenly combined. The set the dry mix aside.

Into your processor tip the spinach, the dates and their water, the milk, your fat and the banana. Blend very well until the mixture is smooth. You may need to pulse and scrape down the sides of your processor a few times. You want the mixture to be very smooth – not to have stringy bit of spinach left in it!! If you’re using a Thermal cooker, start on speed 4 for about 8 seconds, the gradually work up to speed 8 for about 20 seconds. Then scrape down and repeat.

Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and use a whisk to combine well. (I found this double batch to be too heavy for my thermal cooker, but if you are using a single batch, then add the dry mix into the wet that is in the bowl and process on speed 4 for about 10 seconds, the crape down and repeat for another 6-8 seconds).

Look at that colour!

Pour the batter into a hot, lightly greased frying pan, wait until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and cook until both sides are golden brown.

Enjoy them warm or cold with your choice of topping.

20170308_072607-1 — Crazy babies! Harry has butter and a drizzle of honey and Ellie has Chocolate Seed spread

Roasted Tomato Confit

February 9, 2017February 10, 2019 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

We have had such a lovely abundance of cherry tomatoes this year. But then we have had some crazily inconsistent weather – and tomatoes don’t like inconsistent watering …. so we picked a load that had split. Gr. What to do?

I remember my host family in France (from a loooong time ago) had all kids of amazing confit jars (confit is French for preserved) in their cool basement. Lots of meats and veggies to get them through a snowy, regional winter. Since I couldn’t bear to waste these little gems, I decided to have a go at my own confit with my little red gems.

You’ll need:

cherry tomatoes
fresh herbs (I use basil, rosemary and thyme)
garlic olive oil*
salt and pepper

*If you don’t have have garlic infused oil, use olive oil and scatter through a handful of crushed garlic cloves.

Wash and pat dry your tomatoes. Remove little stems.

Place in a lined baking dish.

Tear herbs and scatter around the tomatoes. Drizzle very generously with oil, and season in salt and pepper to taste.

Place in a preheated 200C oven for about 40 minutes.

Allow to cool for a few minutes in the tray and then scoop into a sterile glass jar, including all the juices. Top with a little extra oil before sealing.

Store in the fridge for up to a month.

Roasting the tomato really intensifies the flavour so this confit is a great addition to many things – Serve on crunchy toast as a bruschetta, spread it on a pizza base, or add a few good scoops into your tomato bases sauces for pasta, bolognese or lasagne.

FB_IMG_1549756779863 — We gave some away as a gift – and this is how my gorgeous SIL used hers! Yum!

Enjoy 🙂

Date Paste

January 28, 2017February 11, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 5 Comments

Medjool dates are my friend! I head to our local markets and buy 1kg at a time. They store really well in an airtight container in the fridge for about a month.

Now – yes, dates have a quite a high sugar content (roughly 80%) … BUT… and it is a big but, they are loaded with other beneficial nutrients and fibre that reduces the load on your body and mutes your insulin response when compared to regular sugar. So if you are after a small amount of sweetener in you food – dates are a great option.

I use 1 in a smoothie, or 4-6 in a whole batch of muffins or cookies, or even 12 in a batch of about 24 bliss balls. So you get the sweetness and the benefit of the whole food but the overall load is quite small.

I have been experimenting with date paste as my sweetener in cooking when I want a smoother option (or less obvious ‘bits’) and it is divine!

There are 2 ingredients (if you count water?!) and 2 steps – so very very easy!!!!

Pit 12 medjool dates, place them in a bowl and cover them with 1/2 cup boiling water.

Leave them sit for 1/2 an hour, then transfer the dates, with habout 1/2 of the water, to a high powered processor/blender/nutribullet/thermal cooker and blitz until smooth. If the mix is to chunky to blend, add 1 tsp of the remaining water at a time until you can form a smooth paste.

Store in a glass jar in the fridge for a couple of week, or freeze in ice cubes for later use.

1 heaped tsp = 3/4 of 1 date.

Enjoy 🙂

P.S. If you want a yummy ‘caramel’ – blitz equal parts of this paste together with my sunflower seed butter, a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of pink salt and a bit of vanilla bean pastes – heavenly!!!!

Apple, pumpkin and oat muffins

January 26, 2017January 24, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

Next week our little people to go back to school – cannot believe that our beloved holidays are already at an end! Of course with school comes lunchboxes …. and this year we have 3 at full time school. Eek!! That’s a lot of pre-made snacks every week!

I created these muffins to use the produce we had growing well in our garden – apples and pumpkins. I love that they are loaded with fibre and whole foods and that their sweetness comes from fruits. They are soft and fragrant and a massive hit with my kids – I know there will be smiles and satisfied tummies when they open their lunchboxes 🙂

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce*
1/2 cup mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup milk of choice (vanilla almond is fabulous here)
3 tbsp aquafaba OR 1 whole egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
70g vegan butter or tasteless coconut oil, melted
4 medjool dates, pitted (or 4 tsp of my date paste)
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup wholemeal spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
pinch salt

*To make my apple sauce I just core my apples and cut them into quarters (don’t peel – keep the benefit of the skin’s nutrients!) and steam them until soft with a little bit of water and a pinch of cinnamon and then blend or process until you reach the consistency you like. (Speed 2, Steam Temp for about 10-12 minutes, then turn off temperature and increase speed gradually up to 6). I make it in bulk and store it in reusable squeezy pouches in the freezer.

Blitz the oats until you have a rough flour (Speed 8, 6 seconds). Add to all other dry ingredients and whisk to combine (Speed 4, 6 seconds)

Place all wet ingredients, including dates into a blender/processor and process until smooth (Speed 4 whilst you drop the dates in then gradually up to speed 7 for about 20 seconds).

Pour the wet ingredients into the centre of the dry ingredients and gently fold through until all combined (Speed 4, 8 seconds, scrape down and repeat)

Put a spoonful of mixture into a lined muffin pan and place into a preheated oven for about 20 mins or until a inserted skewer comes out clean.

Makes about 15 …. or apparently fewer if you turn your back for too long and your little people can’t wait!!!

These freeze and defrost well.

Enjoy 🙂

P.S. I haven’t made a gluten free version of these ones yet, but try replacing the flour with equal quantities of a good GF flour mix and replacing the oats with 1/2 cup almond meal and 1/2 cup rolled quinoa.

Salmon and broccoli salad with avocado pesto

January 24, 2017January 8, 2018 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

I found myself singing Powderfinger’s ‘My Happiness’ while I was making this for dinner last night!! And I think, probably, if I was Julie Andrews I’d be singing ‘My favourite things’ about most of the ingredients in this dish – salmon, seeds, spinach, broccoli and avocado!!

Such a fabulous combination, loaded with fibre, great fats, calcium, iron, vitamin C, E, Magnesium …. and the list goes on!

It is a really lovely subtle flavour – and I’m very happy to be anticipating the left overs for lunch!

As much as I’d love to be making this with a large slab of fresh, wild caught salmon …. our food budget doesn’t often stretch to that, but the benefits of salmon are great and we try to eat it regularly – so tinned it is! Try to buy a wild caught and sustainable brand, and choose one that is tinned in water, rather than loaded with oils and other additions.

3 tbsp my basil and spinach nut free pesto
1 ripe avocado
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 large head broccoli, chopped and steamed
400g tin salmon, skin removed, flaked
pinch pink salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Mix together the pesto, lemon juice and avocado until well combined and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the skin from the tinned salmon and the large bones – but leave in the tiny bones as they mash up well and provide and extra boost of calcium (really important for our little miss who is deficient).

Stir the pesto mix through the chopped broccoli, while it is still hot, then stir through the salmon.

I am very happy to eat this as a meal on its own – but the kids …. not so much! So I stir theirs through some pasta. And tonight I added a handful of left over roasted veg to mine as well.

I also enjoy this salad with raw broccoli and I add in grated raw beetroot.

Enjoy 🙂

Real Protein Powder

January 12, 2017January 30, 2021 ~ desertcook ~ 7 Comments

I should preface this post by letting you know that I’m not much of a fan of commercial protein powders.

It’s actually really fairly easy for the average healthy person to meet their daily protein needs – even with an hour or so of exercise, special dietary needs or a totally plant based diet if you focus on eating real foods.

Our dietary guidelines suggest 0.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. If you have special dietary needs through malnourishment or illness, or are an elite athlete – please make sure you seek advice from your doctor.

But if you are looking for something to add to shakes, pancakes or sprinkle on your porridge or cereal to give it a boost, then why not stick with the good stuff available from nature?

Nuts and seeds are an amazing source of protein, iron, calcium, folate, magnesium, great fats …. And the list goes on! And by getting your protein boost from them you an avoid all of the fillers, flavours and additives etc that come in most commercial powders.

I blitz up this mix and leave it in a glass jar in my freezer for a scoop when needed.

3 tbsp each of sunflower, pumpkin, chia and flax seeds
1/2 cup roasted almonds
1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts (skin off)

Place nuts and seeds in high power processor and process until fine – be careful not to overdo it and wind up with a butter! (Speed 8, 8 seconds).

If you are using a smaller machine like a nutribullet, then you need to blitz one ingredient at a time and mix together at the end.

For a nut free version:

3 tbsp each of chia and flax seeds
3/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds
3/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

To dry roast the seeds, place them in a large baking tray under the grill, on the shelf furthest away in the oven. Watch them carefully … it only takes a few minutes! Flip seeds in tray a few times during cooking process to ensure even cooking coverage.

Allow seeds to cool before adding to processor with chia and flax.

If you want a chocolate flavour or sweetened version of this powder, you can check out my Chocolate Drinking Mix – which is especially awesome for kids milkshakes.

The protein powder goes great in our vanilla hotcakes too!