Cheesey popcorn

February 2, 2018 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

My baby started school yesterday. It just feels unbelievable to me, but he loved it!

I missed him so much, so today we had a special day doing his favourite things. We did blocks, trampoline tricks and cars and I surprised him with tickets to a kids movie. Of course he immediately requested that we make popcorn together …. How could I refuse?!

He is not such a sweet tooth, so he asked for ‘the cheesey ones’. As you wish my precious dude!

50g popcorn kernels
2 tsp vegan butter/coconut oil
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp pink salt
1/2 tsp onion flakes
1/4 tsp garlic flakes
1/4 tsp paprika

Air pop the popcorn then lay in a baking dish.

Melt the butter/oil and drizzle all over the popcorn. Mix well for an even coating.

Place all the dry ingredients together in a blender/bullet/mortar and pestle and blitz until fine. You can also do it in your thermal cooker if you make bulk batches.

Sprinkle the dry mix over the popcorn then mix well to give an even cover.

Place in a preheated 200 C oven for about 10 minutes.

Allow to cool … Or not 😉

Enjoy!

Sweet potato, quinoa and cranberry salad

January 19, 2018 ~ desertcook ~ 4 Comments

Being that it is the school holidays, it must be time for our traditional family ladies lunch! I am so thankful for wonderful women in my family and being able to meet with them still 🙂

This was the delicious salad we shared …. Just quietly, I may have made extras so there would be dinner leftovers 😉

1 medium gold sweet potato
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup pepitas
1 packed cups spinach
1 cup quinoa (which ever colour you prefer)
2L hot water plus 1 tsp stock powder
1/2 large ripe avocado
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pink salt flakes
Ground black pepper
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp aquafaba (liquid drained from a can of chick peas)*

*replace the aquafaba with water for legume free, the dressing will just not be quite as ‘fluffy’.

Soak the quinoa in a pot of water for 1 hour then drain and rinse it really well.

While the quinoa is soaking, heat the oven to 200C.

Peel the potato and dice it in to roughly 3-4cm cubes. Place them in a baking tray and drizzle with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in pre heated oven and roast for about 45 minutes or until golden.

Remove the potato from the oven, add in the seeds, and toss to coat them, then return to oven for a further 10 minutes.

Cook the quinoa in the weak stock by bringing it to the boil and simmering gently for about 15 mins, the drain and set aside.

20180119_081621 — All prepared in advance to take out with me

To make the avocado lime dressing, place the remaining tbsp of olive oil, the lime juice, pinch of salt, maple syrup, aquafaba (or water) into a blender/bullet/thermal cooker together the the avocado and blend until smooth and light (speed 4, 8 secs, scrape down, speed 5, 10 secs)

Chop the spinach, and fold it through the warm quinoa.

Top with the potato and seeds.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and then sprinkle the cranberries over the top.

Serve immediately and enjoy 🙂

For a delicious variation on this dish we use pumpkin in place of potato, pomegranate seeds in place of cranberries and slivered almonds in place of pepitas.

Troll Scrolls

January 17, 2018February 24, 2019 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

It really is all about the marketing with kids 😉 how to get them to eat something green and with bits that are all bumpy? Call it something gross!

Continuing on with my need to use up what we’ve got in the fridge, pantry and garden because I can’t get to the shops, today’s lunch was a favourite – Troll Scrolls!!

I use the base of my yoghurt dough then add lots of goodies to make these ones, green and bumpy (and extra nutritious).

470g Spelt flour (or 420g GF flour together with 1tbsp psyllium husk)
2.5 tsp GF baking powder
1/2 tsp pink salt
3 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
3 heaped tbsp seeds (I use pumpkin, hemp and flax)
300g natural yoghurt or soy/coconut yoghurt
1 packed cup of spinach
Shredded Cheese of choice (we do both a dairy batch and a Bio Cheese Batch)

In your processor pulse the seeds until they are finely chopped.

Add in the other dry ingredients and process to combine (Speed 4, 8 secs). Then set the dry mix aside.

In your blender/processor/bullet/thermal cooker place the spinach and just 150g of the yoghurt. Blitz until very well combined (Speed 8, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat) – it’ll look like a very unappealing milkshake at this point!

Add in the remaining yoghurt and process to combine (Speed 4, 6 secs)

Add the dry ingredients back to the wet and process until it forms a dough (Speed 5, 15 seconds), knead together, dust with flour and roll out into a rectangle.

If the dough is too sticky, add in 1 tsp of extra flour at a time and process to combine.

Top the dough rectangle with grated cheese, then roll into a cylinder.

Cut into rounds and lay on a lined baking tray and place into a preheated 200C oven for 18-20 minutes until well risen and golden.

Freeze in an airtight container if you have any leftovers.

Enjoy 🙂

Butter Bean Curry

December 22, 2017June 15, 2021 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

For a number of years I have been making a version of my Vegan Sister in-laws “butter chicken” – I know …. butter chicken without the butter and without the chicken!!

Butter chicken would have to be one of my favourite curries, so I was delighted to try out her recipe.

You can check out her version here

I have adapted her recipe to avoid the things we are are unable use – sometimes I also add in the meat that my husband and daughter so love (you can find that addition below the main recipe). I love being able to use lots of our garden produce in this – home grown onion, garlic, chillies and broad beans! It makes a large batch – enough for 2 meals for all 6 of us. It freezes and thaws well so we have an easy ‘take away’ meal on hand for crazy nights!

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp coconut oil
1 medium brown onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 heaped tsp paprika
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/3 tsp ground cloves
2 cloves crushed garlic
3 tsp finely grated ginger
1 1/2 tsp very finely diced red chilli
500g tomato pasata
150g sliced button mushrooms
2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed
270ml coconut cream (plus the tin filled up again with hot water)
150g sunflower seed butter

In a large, heavy based frying pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and add in the onion. Fry until the onion beings to turn translucent.

Add in all of the dry spices and fry for a further minute.

Add in the garlic, ginger and chilli and fry, stirring well, until all combined and fragrant.

Add in the pasatta, deglaze the pan and stir well to combine.

Add in the mushroom and beans, stir well.

Add in the coconut cream, water and seed butter and stir until the mixture is well combined and smooth.

Bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over rice.

If you would like a meatier version of this meal you will need:

1 tbsp garlic infused oil
4 skinless chicken thighs, diced
1/2 tsp paprika
pinch of salt and pepper.

Before the above steps, heat the oil in the pan and add in the chicken. Season and fry until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.

Return the chicken to the pan in the last minute or 2 of the simmering time.

Enjoy 🙂

Roasted Pumpkin Cannelloni

November 29, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

Each month when I sit down to write out our menu I ask the kids for input.

Invariably Ellie says ‘Calamari’, George yells ‘Pizza’, Harry yells ‘Everything Mexican’ and Will suggests Fried Rice and lots of veggies.

But this time Will surprised me.

He asked for ‘those long, fat, hollow noddles that you put stuff in and have sauce on top’ 🙂 So here … with the more fancy name of Cannelloni…. was my interpretation of his request!!

800g butternut pumpkin
400g tin chick peas, drained and rinsed
cannelloni tubes (we used the San Remo GF ones)
2 tbsp garlic olive oil
2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp pink salt flakes
1/3tsp ground nutmeg
400ml tomato passata
1/2 cup warm veggie stock
2 large handfuls spinach
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp coconut cream
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Peel and dice the pumpkin and place in a large baking pan. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the salt, nutmeg and rosemary.

Bake in a pre-heated 200C oven for about 40 minutes.

Remove tray from oven and add in the chick peas, toss them with the pumpkin and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and turn oven down to 180C. Mash the pumpkin and chick peas and then place into a piping bag.

Fill the cannelloni tubes with the pumpkin mix an then lay in a baking dish.

In a blender/processor/bullet/thermal cooker, place the passata, spinach, nutritional yeast, stock and coconut cream and process until smooth.

Pour the tomato sauce over the top of the filled cannelloni and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and return to the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

Slice and serve hot.

Enjoy 🙂

Pumpkin Pie

November 23, 2017November 23, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

So … what’s an Aussie girl doing making a pumpkin pie in November?

Well, my biggest boy is in Year 3 at school. A big focus for them in their curriculum is ‘Celebrations’ and being November, they have been learning all about Thanksgiving.

Will has been delighted to come home and share everything he’s learning, so when he asked me if we could have a Thanksgiving Celebration at our house, it was pretty hard to resist – actually, I didn’t even try 😉

From all of the North American pop culture I have absorbed over the years, even I know that Sweet pumpkin pie is an essential part of the Thanksgiving meal!

So this is my take on a pumpkin pie – from what I can gather, it is in no way a traditional version, but it fits the way we need to eat … and it is really yum!!

We don’t have canned pumpkin in Australia, and our pumpkin can be a little watery when mashed, so the addition of a little sweet potato helps to give it a thicker consistency.

For the Crust:

1 cup plain flour (GF mix or spelt – add 1/2 tsp of psyllium if using GF)
pinch pink salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
40g coconut sugar
50g Vegan butter, very cold
2 tbsp icy cold water

Mix flour, salt, cinnamon and sugar until well combined (Speed 5, 8 seconds)

Add in the butter and pulse until the mix resembles bread crumbs.

Add in the water, 1 tbsp initially and pulse to form a dough, add in the 2nd spoon if the mix is too dry.

Tip the mix out and bring together to form a smooth disc. Cover in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 mins – but up to overnight.

Roll the dough out to the shape of your pie dish – between 2 sheets of baking paper works best.

Grease your pie dish, the place the pastry into the pie dish. Use your fingers to fix up any little cracks and trim off any excess.

No need to blind bake the pastry for this pie.

For the Filling

850g butternut pumpkin, diced
70g Gold sweet potato, diced
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup date paste
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp each of ground ginger and cinnamon
1/4 tsp each of ground nutmeg and cloves
pinch pink flaked salt
2 tbsp pure corn flour

Place the pumpkin and potato in a baking dish, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt, the roast at 200C for about 45 minutes, or until golden and very soft.

Transfer the pumpkin and potato to the processor, add in the date paste and sugar and process well, until smooth. (Speed 4, 20 seconds, scrape down then up to speed 6 for 10 seconds – repeat)

Add in the remaining ingredients and process again until very well combined and smooth (Speed 5, 12 seconds).

Pour the filling into the pie crust and place into a preheated 170C oven for about 50 minutes.

When you remove it, the crust will be golden, and there will be cracks in the top of the pie, but it will still be a little wobbly – that’s ok!

Allow the pie to cool on the bench for about half an hour and then transfer to the fridge to allow it to cool completely and set.

Serve cold or warm (I am told that there is much debate about this – but it’s really hot here so we are going cold!) with whipped cream, or even spiced ice cream. You can even drizzle with a little dark melted chocolate if there’s no cream to be served!

This one won’t freeze so well, but it lasts several days, covered, in the fridge.

Enjoy – and be thankful!

Nachos – veggie style

November 18, 2017January 2, 2018 ~ desertcook ~ 3 Comments

You already know how much we enjoy Mexican inspired food here …. And now, as we seek to reduce the meat in our diets, we have added these Nachos to our favourites.

These are totally plant based … And yet, the biggest carnivore says they are better than the ones we had out the other night …. Winner!

They are easy to make, inexpensive and pack a serious veggie punch!

400g tin kidney beans
400g tin black beans
400g tin butter beans
400g tin lentils
400g tin refried beans
2 medium carrots
1 medium zucchini
Fist sized piece butternut pumpkin
2 tbsp garlic olive oil
1 heaped tsp Mexican seasoning
Salsa*
Corn chips
2 large ripe avocados
2 tsp lime juice
Pinch pink salt
12 cherry tomatoes
Optional: cheese of choice

*the recipe for the salsa makes the equivalent of 3 jars. I use 1 jar in this recipe. The other 2 go in the freezer.

Grate the carrot, pumpkin and zucchini (I used my food processor)

Heat oil in a large pan, then add in the veggies.

Sprinkle the seasoning over the veggies then add in the salsa. Mix well.

Drain the lentils then add them into the veggie mix together with the refried beans.

Drain the remaining beans and place them in the food processor, pulse them several times until the beans are all roughly chopped.

Add these beans to the rest of the veggie mix.

Sir well to combine, then place lid on pan and cook, at a simmer, over a medium heat for approximately 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mash the avocado, then stir in the juice, salt and chopped tomatoes.

Place corn chips in the bottom of a bowl, spoon the nacho mix on to the chips and then top with the guacamole.

Add grated cheese if desired (Miss Ellie had Bio Cheese, but I enjoyed it without cheese!).

This makes enough nacho mix for 2 dinners for us. The leftover portion freezes and defrosts well.

Enjoy 🙂

Slow Cooked Moroccan Chicken

November 13, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

At the moment our lives are so very busy and although I hate to admit it, I am really stretched beyond my capacity … so there is not a lot of room in my head for thinking about complicated food.

Today I am thankful indeed for meals like this – it is one of those filling and satisfying meals that comes with very little actual effort! Everything dumped in the slow cooker and dinner is pretty well ready at 5.30am. Phew! It’s not fancy, but it is nutritious, yummy, filling, allergy friendly and budget friendly …. everything we need it to be!

4 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless
1kg pumpkin
1 400g tin chick peas, drained
500g tomato passata*
1/2 cup hot chicken stock
1 tsp minced garlic
1 heaped tbsp Moroccan Seasoning (I make this one)
Juice from 1 small lemon
2 cups green beans, chopped
Optional: 4 medjool dates, diced
rice or corn cous cous to serve.

*If you don’t have passata, you can replace it here with a 425g tin diced tomatoes and 2 tbsp tomato paste.

Dice the pumpkin and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker, then drain and rinse the chick peas and place them on top of the pumpkin.

Place the chicken on top of the veggies and sprinkle over the seasoning.

Cover with the passata, hot stock and garlic and place on the lid.

Cook on high for 4 hours.

Remove lid and use forks to shred the chicken. Stir through the dates, if using, and beans, the return the lid and look on low for a further 45mins.

Stir through the lemon juice and serve with rice or cous cous.

Makes about 8 adult serves and the left overs freeze and defrost well.

Enjoy 🙂

Carrot Cake Bliss Balls

October 28, 2017October 27, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Bliss balls are usually the go to in our house … but it never hurts to try new things …. especially new things that add veggies to your diet!

These were very well received in our house …. even though there was much giggling from my children who decided that they looked like wombat poop. Ha! Oh well … if that’s what they need, we’ll run with it 😀

1 cup pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbsp flax seeds
1/2 cup rolled quinoa or oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch pink flaked salt
2 medium carrots (roughly 150g)
8 medjool dates, pitted

Place the pumpkin and sunflower seeds together in a baking tray. Place them under a hot grill for a few minutes to dry roast them. This gives them a nuttier flavour. Watch them carefully and shake the tray part way through to ensure an even roasting.

Place the roasted seeds together with the flax, coconut, quinoa and spices in your processor. Blitz until they are fine (Speed 9, 8 seconds).

Chop the carrots into chunks and add them through the top chute of the processor whilst it is on, alternate adding carrot and date. Continue to process until the carrot and date are very finely chopped and evenly distributed through the mixture. (Use Speed 4 whilst you are adding the dates and carrot, then work up to speed 7 for 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat).

Form teaspoons of the mixture into balls.

Place into the fridge for at least an hour to harden.

Makes about 20. These do best when they can stay cool – so don’t leave them out of the fridge for hours.

Enjoy 🙂

Date and Oat Hotcakes

September 30, 2017September 30, 2017 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

Hotcakes are a regular feature on our breakfast menu – especially on the weekend when we have a little more time together.

I have made lots of different versions over time, Vanilla Almond hotcakes have been our standard, but these one are free of any oil or butter and the mild sweetness comes only from fruit. A great source of fibre and they’ll fill you up and keep you fuelled for ages!

The kids love them and they freeze really well, so they are great to pop into lunchboxes.

This recipe makes a large batch …. I have given up on making batches that are any smaller since they are so quickly demolished here and I never wind up with any left overs to freeze. This makes 45-50 hotcakes. But go ahead and halve the recipe if you don’t have quite as large a hungry hoard to feed!!

3 cups, wholemeal spelt flour OR 2 1/2 cups plain GF flour mix
1/2 cup seeds or nuts of choice
1/2 cup rolled oats OR quinoa
4 tsp GF baking powder
8 medjool dates, pitted
1 overripe medium banana
1 tbsp sunflower seed butter
2 3/4 – 3 cups milk of choice (we like unsweetened vanilla almond)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
butter of choice to serve

Place the dates in a small container, cover with the boiling water and add the vanilla. Set aside.

In your processor/blender/bullet/thermal cooker, place the seeds and oats and blitz until fine (Speed 9, 10 seconds).

Add in the baking powder and flour and mix again until well combined (Speed 5, 12 seconds).

Pour out dry mixture into a large bowl and set aside.

In your processor/blender/bullet/thermal cooker, place the dates and water, banana, seed butter, milk and blend, blend, blend until very smooth (Speed 7, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat). Start by using the smaller amount of milk.

Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and whisk together until smooth*, if the mixture is too thick, add in the remaining amount of milk and whisk in.

*This whole mixture is too much for the bowl of a thermal cooker. But if you are making a half batch, at this point just add the dry mixture back into the wet mixture that is still in the bowl and mix on speed 4, scraping down every 10 seconds until it is well mixed and smooth.

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.