Basic Beef Burgers

April 26, 2020April 26, 2020 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Burgers aren’t a very frequent meal in our house. I’m not sure why. Peter and the kids adore them and serving themselves makes for a very happy family meal.

It’s been several weeks in isolation now, and our local supermarket is still very low on many things (totally empty shelves in many aisles) so our grocery shopping and planning has looked a little different. We’ve needed to be a little more creative and adaptive with what we can access – that’s ok by me!!

When my biggest boys asked for Cheeseburgers, we went back to the style of burger patties that we haven’t made in a long time. Very simple, quick to make and not many ingredients. Devoured by everyone. Winning.

500g beef mince
1 large carrot
1 medium brown onion
1 tsp fresh chopped thyme (or dried Italian Style herbs)
4 tbsp Nutritional Yeast*
1 clove garlic, finely grated (or 1/2 tsp dried garlic flakes)
ground salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
Optional: 2 tbsp hemp seeds

*You can add in 2 tbsp of suitable breadcrumbs here if you’d prefer.

Grate the onion and carrot and mix together with all other ingredients, except the beef.

Break up the beef mince and add to the carrot mix.

Smoosh (yes, that’s the technical term!) the mince in until well combined. You can do this with a spoon, your hands, or even a short burst in the food processor.

Using your hands, for the mix into patties and lay on a lined baking tray.

Place into a preheated 180 oven for about 30 minutes, turning them over after 20 minutes. You can also fry them in a pan with a little olive oil if you’d prefer.

Makes 6-8 burger patties (depending on their size)

We like to have this as a ‘serve yourself meal’. Some add only cheese and cucumber, others add EVERYTHING!

They are delicious in a bunless burger ….

Or with your favourite bun – We particularly enjoy them with fresh spelt/hemp buns!!!

Enjoy 🙂

Sweet Potato Rolls

April 5, 2020 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

As are you all, we are spending a LOT more time at home at the moment.

Which, I guess, in good news – means more time for baking!

Although getting all the ingredients we normally use has been a little tricky….

But sweet potatoes are plentiful in our garden right now, so they are featuring quite a bit on our plates!

I was thinking about making rolls to go with our soup, when I remembered that I had seen these yummy looking rolls on ‘Super Healthy kids. The original (see the link) is a sweet version that they eat in the states for Thanksgiving.

I didn’t want a sweet roll (although I’m sure I will another time!) and I needed to adapt it to our dietary requirement (no egg, or dairy). So I got experimenting.

Our family adores these rolls. Even the sworn sweet potato hater inhaled 3 before I stopped him!

Hope you enjoy them too 🙂

3 1/2 cup flour (2 cup plain & 1.5 cups wholemeal) – we use spelt
1 flat tablespoon yeast, active dry
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup, mashed Sweet potato, cooked (about 1 medium potato)
1 cup milk of choice (oat milk works well here)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp each of rosemary and thyme, finely diced (or 1 tsp dried Italian Style herbs)
spray olive oil
extra flour for rolling

Start by peeling and dicing your sweet potato. Then steam it until it is soft (approx 4-5 mins in a microwave)

While the potato is steaming, place into your bowl/machine (see instructions below for multiple machine methods), the flour, salt, herbs, oil and yeast.

As soon as the sweet potato is cooked, drain it and mash it. Measure out your 1 cup and add it to the cup of milk. The milk doesn’t need to be warmed – by adding the potato to the milk, you’ll bring both the milk and the potato to the right temperature to make sure you don’t kill off the yeast.

Whisk the milk and potato together until they are roughly combined and then pour into the flour mix.

Give a rough mix of the dough for a few seconds and allow it to sit for 5 minutes (it won’t be all combined at this stage). Use a wooden spoon in the bowl if you’re doing it by hand, or speed 3 for 5 seconds in a thermal cooker, or about 5 seconds with a dough hook in a stand mixer.

Now get kneading –

For a bread machine: Use the dough only function. Set and walk away.

For a stand mixer with a dough hook: you’ll need to mix for 6-7 minutes

For a thermo cooker: set your knead function (for a less powerful machine, like a Bellini, you might need an extra minute or two)

By hand: flour the bench and get your muscles ready! Knead until your dough is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm area until doubled in size – about an hour, or until your machine has finished it’s rise function.

Remove from the bowl and knock down the dough.

Cut it into two and roll each one into a circle – like you’re making a pizza base.

Cut each circle in to 8 wedges (again, like a pizza).

Then start at the outside edge (where the the pizza crust would be) and roll toward the point to make your crescent shape.

20200404_165524 — Little rolls, ready to start the second rise

Place on a lined baking dish, spray lightly with olive oil and then allow to rest in a warm place until the have doubled in size again (roughly another hour)

20200404_175936 — 2nd rise complete – into the oven they go

While the dough is doing it’s second rise, preheat your oven to 180C degrees.

When the second rise is complete, place into the preheated oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. The bottom will sound hollow when you tap it.

Remove from the oven and cool for just a couple of minutes before you dig in!

Makes 16 rolls.

Enjoy 🙂

Baked Cauliflower, Broccoli, Miso ‘Bread’

February 27, 2020 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

I think will be a recipe that divides you!

I adore it and my husband is totally won over (despite the way he looked at me when I first told him about it!). But I think it might be the worst thing he’s ever heard of, according to my dad!

Where will you sit I wonder? Are you game to give it a try?!

Lots of people choose not to eat traditional bread, because they are wary of carbohydrate levels, or their bodies don’t respond well through either allergies or intolerances.

Me? I love bread. I don’t eat it often, but when I do, I relish it! Seeded sourdough rye is my favourite!!! Especially with avo ….yuum!

So why this recipe then? Well I have seen recipes around for wraps or bread sticks or pizza bases using cauliflower (like this one … but too much dairy for us) and you know that I LOVE anything that involves cauliflower!

I love to include a variety of veggies in our meals and since there is more and more information around about the potential benefits of fermented food, I’ve been playing more with Miso paste.

I think it’s quite possible that the outrageous health and healing claims that abound about the miracle properties of fermented food could be over-stretching it! But it does seem likely that there is certainly some health benefit to these foods. Since, due to allergies, cabbage is right out for us (no kimchi or sauerkraut here!), yoghurt and miso are our go-to ferments.

The recipe isn’t going to replace your morning toast but it is a great option if you need a naan bread type option for curries or if you want to change up your lunches a bit.

350g cauliflower
150g broccoli
1/2 cup (20g) Nutritional yeast
40g white miso paste
2 medium eggs

Wash the cauliflower and broccoli and let it drain before patting it dry – you don’t want any extra moisture in this recipe.

Put it in to the food processor/blender/thermo machine and process until fine (Speed 4, 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat)

Add in the nutritional yeast and miso and process again until the miso is well combined (Speed, 4, 6 seconds)

While the machine is still processing add in the 2 eggs through the top chute and continue to process.

It won’t initially look like enough egg … but keep processing (on Speed 4 or 5) for a little longer – it will come together!

Spread the mixture out onto a large, lined baking tray. It needs to be even and fairly thin spread – about 3 to 4mm thick. Then place in to a preheated 180C oven

Cook for about 20 minutes before removing from the oven and gently scoring into 8 pieces – this make it much easier to flip and helps with even cooking.

Flip the pieces over and return to oven for a further 10 minutes. Until golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on tray for 10 minutes.

Serve warm or cold.

Our favourite way to eat it is slightly warm, and layered with a bit of tinned salmon or topped with some avocado and tomato. Yum!

If you aren’t using this all straight away, it does not freeze well, but it does keep well in the fridge for a couple of days – place some kitchen paper in the air tight container to help absorb any moisture and then reheat gently.

**If you don’t have a food processor, or similar: Grate the veg as finely as you can, mix the yeast and miso well, then whisk the eggs well before adding in and keep stirring until you bring it all together

If Macros are important to you, here are the details for 1 slice, that is 1/8th of the recipe:

Enjoy …. and let me know if you were brave enough to try!!

Egg Wraps

February 13, 2020January 20, 2024 ~ desertcook ~ 1 Comment

A couple of months ago I saw Michael Mosely’s idea of using what is essentially a very thin spread omelette base to use as a substitute for a grain based wrap.

Pretty cool if you need to avoid gluten (several of us). Or if you need to keep an eye on your carbohydrate intake (eg managing diabetes).

Except 1 single egg wasn’t really enough for a meal for my husband or I so, to make a more filling option that gives a decent vegetarian source of protein with your meal … this is how we make ours:

2 medium eggs
1 tsp hemp seeds
2 tsp nutritional yeast
pinch flaked salt
1/2 tsp Italian style herbs, or 1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
optional: small spray of olive oil

Whisk the eggs together, then add in all the other ingredients and whisk again until well combined and frothy.

If you’re not sure about how non-stick your frying pan is, then give it a little spray of olive oil and set to a medium heat.

Pour in the egg mix and swirl around the pan until it is evenly distributed over the whole base.

Allow to cook gently for about a minute, then test that the side of the egg are well cooked, slide a spatula underneath to the centre and then flip it over to briefly cook the other side.

Remove from heat and lay on plate. Eat warm or cold.

Treat it like a normal wheat based wrap – We fill ours with a variety of salad and it keeps us full of ages – plus … it’s really delicious! And as a bonus – it is WAY more flexible than your average gluten free wrap!

You can make several in advance and store them in the fridge for a couple of days – lay a paper towel between each one for storage.

Enjoy!

If Macros are important to you … are are the details for just the wrap – you will need to account for your own fillings:

Enoki Miso Soup … Cheating style!

February 8, 2020 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

So … I’m clearly not of Asian descent and I certainly did not grow up eating Miso in any form!

As such, I make absolutely NO claim to this being an even vaguely authentic (or even correct?!) way to make Miso soup 😆

However, it was delicious, easy, comforting and nutritious so I’m running with it!

Actually, if I’m honest, the first time it wasn’t quite as delicious … I waaaay overdid the chilli and I couldn’t feel my lips 😬 that is fixed now!

If you haven’t used Miso before, it is a rich, fermented soy bean paste with a deep savoury or umami flavour. It is also thought to be a great gut health food, being rich in fibre and high in protein and antioxidants. You can find it in big supermarkets, Asian grocery stores and health food shops.

To make the soup you’ll need:

1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
70g white miso paste
1 heaped tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 tbsp coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
1/4 tsp dehydrated chilli flakes (check their heat!)
250g Enoki mushrooms (cut their gritty ends off before you weigh them)
4 cups hot veggie stock
6 cups hot water
A good handful of diced sugar snap peas, snow peas or green beans per serve

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil, then add in the miso paste, ginger, aminos and chilli.

Cook, stirring for a few minutes until well combined and fragrant.

Add in the mushrooms and stir them through the miso mix so they are well coated. Cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add in the stock and water then stir well and bring to a gentle simmer.

Place your fresh, chopped peas or beans in a bowl and top with the very hot soup.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

I freeze the leftovers of the soup for lunches, but I don’t add the peas or beans to the freezer – they keep their crunch best when you add them in fresh.

Enjoy 🙂

Moroccan Black Bean Chicken on Seared Eggplant

February 6, 2020 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

This is such a simple meal – quick to throw into the slow cooker in the morning and then a few extra minutes to finish in the evening when you get home from work. But it is delicious and filling – I guess ‘hearty’ is a good way to describe it!!

It makes a large batch too which is great for big families and for the freezer 🙂

5 out of 6 thumbs up at my place (number 6 is waaay over tired and went to bed so I’m not sure that I’m counting his vote this time 😉 )

8 chicken thighs, skinless & boneless (approx 1.2kg)
2 tbsp Moroccan spice blend (I make this one)
2 x 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
800g tin diced tomatoes
1/2 cup hot chicken stock (Massel for store bought)
1 rounded tbsp tomato paste
Eggplant (aubergine) slices, Approx 200g per person
Olive oil
Pink salt flakes
Grated cheese of choice to top

Place chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker, sprinkle the seasoning over the top.

Add in the black beans and tomatoes.

Stir together the tomato paste and stock before pouring it over the contents of the slow cooker.

Place lid on slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Lift lid and use a couple of forks to shred the chicken.

Slice eggplants long ways (I cut a medium one into 4 slices) then pat dry of any water.

Spray with a little olive oil and place into a hot frying pan. Cook each side for a couple of minutes until soft and golden.

Sprinkle eggplant with a little salt, then transfer to a lined baking tray.

Top the eggplant with the slow cooked chicken mix and a little grated cheese (dairy or plant based). Put under a hot grill for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.

Serve immediately.

20200205_194517 — SO very full after dinner!

This quantity of chicken mix makes about 12 adult serves. If you’re not serving 6 like me, a half batch cooks exactly the same.

We portion out and freeze the left-overs ready for another easy family meal – just need to cook the fresh eggplant each time.

Full disclosure ….. 3 of my 4 kids cried on being told that they were having eggplant – they had theirs on a little GF pasta instead!!!

P.S. I have been asked about the macros of this recipe – so if you need them: The serve as pictured above is 1/12 of the mix, roughly 1 ladle, with 2 x 100g slices of eggplant and 15g total of Tasty cheese. It is 282 calories, 10g fat, 30g protein and 20g carbs.

P.P.S I haven’t made a vegan version yet, but next time I intend to give it a go and I’ll update. I think I’ll use 2 cans of cannellini beans to replace the chicken and use stock paste or powder for the flavour, but not use the water.

Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff

January 14, 2020January 12, 2020 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

Beef Stroganoff was my one of my husband’s favourite childhood meals. And I used to make a slow cooked version for him (it is yummy – and you can find it here), but as we’ve been reducing our meat consumption, it has fallen off the menu in the last year or so.

I decided to give a completely non-meat version a go and was very happy with the results! Peter thoroughly enjoyed it – and even took the left overs for lunch the next day … although he still wants the beef version to make an occasional appearance!

2tbsp olive oil
1 small brown onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped and crushed
400g button mushrooms – add in different types for a variety in texture if you like
1 tbsp fresh chopped thyme and rosemary
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pink salt flakes
1/4 cup flour (spelt or GF)
1 tbsp Nutritional yeast (optional but add for depth of flavour)
2/3 cup plant based milk (I used a high protein soy milk for a really creamy sauce)
1 cup veggie stock (the beef style Masssel stock gives a more authentic Stroganoff flavour, but any veggie stock is fine)
Vegetables or noodles to serve

Heat the olive oil in a heavy based pan on the stove.

Add in the olive oil and cook for a few minutes until it starts to become translucent, add in the garlic and allow to cook for another minutes.

Add in the chopped mushrooms, stir will to coat in oil and onion mix then allow to cook for about 5 minutes, until the mushroom soften.

Mix together the flour, nutritional yeast, herbs, paprika and salt. Then sprinkle this dry mix over the top of the mushrooms and stir well until the mix is well combined.

Add in the hot stock and plant milk, then stir well. Bring the mix to a gentle simmer.

Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the liquid is thick and creamy.

If you love noodles (I don’t – sorry!), stir through your cooked and drained pasta here, to coat it with the stroganoff before serving.

I add in some green beans at this point and simmer for a minutes or 2 so that they still have a bit of crunch, and serve them on a bed of carrot noodles – SO good!

Serves 3-4

This one isn’t suitable for freezing but it does well as leftovers for lunch the next day!

Enjoy!

Cauliflower fritters

January 7, 2020 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

I love having a few different breakfast options, especially ones that help me to get in my veggies! These gorgeous fritters are gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, a good source of fibre and protein and just 2 of them contains over 90% of the RDI calcium intake for woman 😲 and just quietly … They’re really yummy too 🤤 Mr 11 stole 2 before I even had them all on the plate!

430g cauliflower
2 packed cups spinach
2 medium sticks celery
3 medium eggs
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/3 cup almond meal OR any flour of choice
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 tbsp fresh chopped herbs – thyme and rosemary
1/2 tsp dried garlic flakes
1 tsp pink salt flakes
a few grinds of pepper
olive oil to fry

Finely chop and steam the cauliflower until it is soft. Drain any water, transfer to a large bowl and mash – don’t go so far as to puree it!

Finely chop your spinach and celery, add to the cauliflower mix and fold together until combined.

Mix together all dry ingredients, including herbs and add to the veggie mix. Fold together until combined.

Whisk the eggs together and then add to the veggie mix. Fold though until well combined.

This bit gets a little messy …. use a good handful of the mixture to form a patty and then place in to a lightly oiled, medium heat frying pan.

Cook for about 3 minutes until golden brown and then turn to cook the other side for another 3 minutes.

Makes 8-10 depending on the size of your patty. Today I made 9.

They are delicious warm, or cold and they keep for a couple for days in the fridge so you can gently reheat them in the microwave for breakfast on the go or even a filling lunch at work.

Eat them on their own, dip them in some natural yoghurt …. or my personal preference is to stack them and top them with some creamy avocado and cherry tomatoes! Yum!

I haven’t tried making these ones egg free yet – but next time I’ll have a go at binding them with tofu and then I’ll update! In the mean time if you need an egg free veggie patty –these are delicious!

Enjoy 🙂

Mushroom Meatballs

August 14, 2019August 14, 2019 ~ desertcook ~ 2 Comments

People are choosing to decrease meat consumption for many reasons; ethical, environmental, health and budgetary.

Whatever your reason, one of the ways you can decrease your consumption is by not always focusing on meat as the centre of your meal. Thinking about it as the side instead.

For me, it’s a juggle between my preference for a largely plant based diet and my husband’s preference to live as a carnivore!

These meatballs were a pretty good compromise and they were very well received.

a dozen medium button mushrooms, roughly chopped
half a brown onion, diced
1.5 tbsp garlic olive oil
1 large carrot
1 tsp thyme
500g beef mince
200g cooked chick peas (about 1/2 a tin)
Pinch of salt and pepper
1 tbsp coconut aminos
olive oil to cook

Place the garlic oil in a hot frying pan, fry the onion until it begins to soften, then add in the mushrooms.

Fry the mushrooms until they begin to soften and then add the grated carrot.

Mix well, add in salt and pepper to taste, thyme and the coconut aminos.

Fry, stirring regularly, until the carrot is soft.

Into your food processors, place the beef mince, the mix from the frying pan and the chick peas.

Process until well combined and fairly smooth. (Speed 4, 8 seconds, scrape down and repeat)

Place mix into the fridge for at least half an hour but up to a full day – this will help the mix tighten and hold together better when you cook it later on.

Form teaspoons of the mix into small balls and then place into a frying pan with a couple of tablespoons of oil – don’t have the frying pan searing hot or you’ll burn them before they cook properly. Cook on each side until golden brown and cooked through.

Next time I make them, I will bake them after spraying with olive oil instead of frying – I’ll update when I do.

Makes about 24. Serve with your favourite sides – pasta, veggies, salads, or even in a sandwich!

These don’t freeze particularly well (the tend to fall apart a little bit) but they are delicious for lunches over the next couple of days. I had mine with salad and avocado – yum!

Enjoy

Pumpkin pastry parcels

August 5, 2019 ~ desertcook ~ Leave a comment

I guess this one isn’t so much as recipe as an idea or a suggestion!

We do our very best to reduce waste from our kitchen.

So many ways to make some little changes that help –

We menu plan,
Cook in bulk,
Freeze leftover for work lunches,
Make soup to use up veggies that are past their best
All veggie peelings and scraps go to our worms and so back to the garden,
Do a swap – we give out overload of veggie scraps to friends with chooks (and sometimes get eggs in return!)

One of the other ways to reduce waste is to get a bit creative when you’re down to the last few bits of veg before shopping day!

I had about 1/4 of a butternut pumpkin, a couple of handfuls of spinach, a small handful of left over roast chicken and the dregs of my walnut container left. Together with a few basic pantry staples – that sounds like weekend lunch!

My husband reckons they are better than a bought pie (and his body feels better afterwards) and he says they’re much nicer than the ones he can buy at a cafe in the city – for an obscene price!

We used: Pumpkin, spinach, walnuts, cooked chicken, puff pastry, Italian herbs, salt pepper, olive oil (garlic infused) and coconut aminos.

But use whatever left overs you have and enjoy and get creative!

*If you don’t eat meat – we often us about half a tin of butter beans or cannellini beans instead – just pop them in the oven together with the pumpkin in the last 10 minutes of roasting time.

*If you don’t eat nuts – pumpkin seeds or hemp seeds work really well here too – use them in exactly the same way as the walnuts.

Dice the pumpkin into small pieces.

Then roast the pumpkin with some garlic olive oil, salt, pepper and Italian herbs (about 200C for 35-40 mins).

Place pumpkin in a bowl together with the chopped chicken, walnuts and spinach and then add about 2 tsp of coconut aminos. Mix well so that the pumpkin gets a bit mashed up.

20190802_132017

Place mixture into the centre of pastry squares (obviously – use whichever pastry suits your diet)

Fold the pastry over the mix to form a parcel and then use the fork to press the edges of the pastry together.

Bake in a 200C fan forced oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden, puffed and flaky.

20190804_121328

Enjoy 🙂

Itchin' Kitchen

Come join me in the kitchen

Dinner

Basic Beef Burgers

Sweet Potato Rolls

Baked Cauliflower, Broccoli, Miso ‘Bread’

Egg Wraps

Enoki Miso Soup … Cheating style!

Moroccan Black Bean Chicken on Seared Eggplant

Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff

Cauliflower fritters

Mushroom Meatballs

Pumpkin pastry parcels