Meatless Monday - corn, leek and ricotta fritters

One of my goals for this year is to eat less meat and many more veggies. I do struggle with this, because I do love meat, but I am determined! Often to the frustration of the mega-meat eaters in this household!

Consequently it's quite rare that we actually have Meatless Monday. It's usually Meatless-any-night-but-Monday. Harder to predict that way [insert evil cackle].

This dish was inspired by JJ, my friend and fellow food blogger [over at 84th & 3rd]. JJ frequently posts beautiful photos of corn fritters, and every time she does I tell her I will be making them. So finally I am!

What I love about this dish is its flexibility. I've added leek [because they were languishing in the veggie crisper], but you could easily add mushrooms, capsicums, red onion or zucchini [which I had intended to add until I realised there were none in the fridge!] instead. I'm fairly sure hubby wishes I'd added some bacon as he isn't a huge fan of meatless meals. But he is getting used to them. Or he will do...

What you need:
2-3 leeks, washed and sliced
splash of olive oil
420g can of corn, drained
250g ricotta
30-40g parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg
1 tbs flour
bit of basil, shredded
pepper to taste
splash of tabasco [optional, but I add it to most things]

What you do:
Gently fry the leeks in the olive oil on a low-ish heat until softened. This only took about 2-3 minutes.
In a large-ish bowl add the corn, ricotta, cooked leeks, parmesan, egg, flour, basil, pepper and tabasco if using. I deliberately didn't add salt as I find parmesan quite salty, but you might want a bit. Mix well.

Heat a non-stick frypan [or a bit of oil in a sticky-pan] to medium hot. I use a non-stick teppanyaki plate that is part of my stove. THE best thing ever!

When hot, blob on spoonfuls of fritter. I was quite generous and this made 9 fritters [but one was quite small].  Cook until it's brown [4-5 minutes], then carefully flip over [I used two spatulas for this] to cook the other side. You might need to turn the heat down if they are thick, so they cook through without burning.

I served this with my favourite Mexican bean and corn salad as I had leftovers from the weekend [it's basically black beans, corn, tomato, red onion, red capsucim, coriander, lime juice, tabasco]. You could serve it with any salad or with steamed veg.

I'll be having a leftover fritter or two for breakfast tomorrow with an egg. And maybe a bit of bacon. YUM!

This serves 4, unless you are hungry [or a bit greedy], then it serves 3.  

I'm always seeking meatless meal inspiration - please, please share your favourites.

Salad days... with haloumi

Haloumi and mixed bean salad

Before lunch I wrote a few hundred words on the transtheoretical model of health behaviour change and how it can be used to reduce childhood obesity. Please don't ask me to elaborate - I'm not actually sure I could!

Anyway, before launching into my assignment that is due Friday, I thought I'd whip up a healthy and tasty lunch. Healthy because I've written a lot lately about the causes of cardiovascular disease and obesity is a biggie. Tasty, because, well let's face it, what's the point of eating food that isn't?

So, back to lunch.

With uni two or three nights a week most weeks this year, I have needed to be a bit more organised with food. Otherwise I end up grabbing a kebab before class every time, or shovelling masses of cheese on toast [accompanied by a large-ish glass of red] down my gob after class when I get home, usually around 9pm.

This is also very helpful now I've reached the pointy end of the semester. Four huge assignments and 2 small assignments all due before 2 November. And an exam. Ugh.

To make things easier, I've been cooking up one or two meals most Sunday afternoons, which will keep well in the fridge for a few days, or can be popped into the freezer. Sunday just past I made a very scrummy pot of spag bol sauce [loads of veggies], and roasted a heap of pumpkin, sweet potato and made a big batch of semi-dried tomatoes. Perfect for adding to salads. Which I did today.

Haloumi and mixed bean salad
[serves 2] 

What you need:

• 40g baby spinach
• 300g tin of 4 bean mix [you could use any legumes - white beans, chickpeas etc. I just had a MASSIVE tin of 4 bean mix languishing in the back of the pantry...]
• 200g roast pumpkin 
• 100g semi-dried tomato
• few slivers of red onion
• 150g haloumi, sliced into 4 
• 1tbs balsamic vinegar [I use the beautiful Star Anis apple balsamic which is gorgeous on its own]
• 1tsp olive oil
• pepper

What you do:
Pop the spinach, 4 bean mix, roast pumpkin, semi-dried tomatoes and onion into a bowl. Mix the oil and vinegar into a dressing and pour over the salad. Mix together gently. Add pepper to taste.

Salad sans haloumi

Cook the haloumi [I use a non-stick teppanyaki grill on my cooktop] for about 1-2 minutes on each side until golden.

Serve the salad and place the haloumi on top.

ENJOY! [a squeeze of lemon is good too!]

What are you tips for quick meals when you are busy?

A winter warmer - Spicy stuffed red capsicum

I've been a bit shocked by how cold it has been in Brisbane these last few days so I've been looking for meals to cook that require the oven to be turned on. Mainly so I can stand in front of it for a while to defrost!

I've been reading a few cookbooks for inspiration and came across a few that suggested stuffing vegetables. At the same time, I read in the July 2012 issue of Healthy Food Guide that red capsicum has more vitamin C per 100g than an orange - 170mg for red capsicum vs 52mg for an orange. Perfect for helping ward off those pesky winter sniffles.

I know this (and the other) photos are dreadful, but this was just sensational! A new favourite 

This was easy to make, but took a bit longer to cook than I expected. However the filling can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for a couple of days.

What you need:

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 500g mince (I used pork & veal mince from my supermarket)
• 2 zucchini, quartered longways and chopped into little cube-like shapes
• 3-4 x tomatoes, chopped (or use a tin - I just had loads of fresh ones to use up)
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 2 chipotle chillies and 1 tsp adobo sauce (use some tabasco to taste is you can't get these)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 6 very large tbs ricotta (I used the light ricotta in a tub)
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (I used Pizza plus as I had it in the fridge, but you could use cheddar or parmesan)
• 6 large red capsicum
• green veg or salad to serve with

What you do:
Heat the oil in a large fry pan, saute the garlic and onion. Add the mince and cook until it's crumbly.

Add the zucchini, tomatoes, tomato paste, chillies and cumin. Mix to combine.

Pop on a lid and let it simmer for about 30 minutes until the veggies have softened and released juices. Give it a stir about every 10 minutes.

Turn the oven on to pre-heat to 180c.

Meanwhile, carefully cut the top off the red capsicums and pull out the core and the seeds. Give it all a rinse to make sure the seeds are all out and there is no grime on the outside of the capsicum.

Once the filling is cooked, carefully spoon it into the capsicums, leaving about 1cm at the top to add the ricotta.

Place all on a baking tray and sprinkle with the grated cheese - I found I needed to lean them all next to each other to get them to stand upright - but this isn't foolproof!

Carefully pop it all in the oven to bake for about 45 minutes.

Serve with green veg or a salad.

NOTE: I had leftover filling which I froze to have on pasta at a later date. You can also add whatever veggies you like - such as grated carrot, mushrooms etc.

What are your favourite ways to keep warm in winter?

Summer BBQ days - with mushrooms

As much as I would love to say I have always loved mushrooms, that would be a big fat lie. Because I haven’t. In fact, they used to be right up there with the dreaded Brussels sprouts - I had to be bribed to eat them. Even to try them. Then one day, not tooooo many years ago, I did. And WOW! What a revelation! What had I been missing all those years! 

Now I just can’t get enough of them! I happily eat a few mushrooms nearly every day - for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. Yes, that’s right. For breakfast. One of my favourite mushroom breakfast dishes is my “scrambled-omelette” - quick to make, gorgeous to eat. 

The most amazing array of mushrooms I have ever seen was when I went to the Fisherman's Wharf Farmer's Markets in San Francisco a few years ago. The variety was just incredible: lobster, hedgehog, oyster, wood ear and so many more! 

Amazing array of mushrooms - all colors, shapes and sizes...

As one of my food goals for 2012 is to eat less meat and more vegetarian meals, I suspect mushrooms will be making a lot of appearances on my menu! 

Lucky for me, mushrooms are also one of those foods that are really good for you! A 100g serving of mushies has more dietary fibre (2.5g) than 100g of celery (1.8g) or a slice of wholemeal bread (2.0g). And also more protein than most other veggies. And let's face it. Mushrooms are soooo much yummier than celery sticks! 

But the real kicker for me is that 100g of raw mushrooms only has 100kj. Yes, you read that correctly! Only 100kj! Or less than 24 calories. Which, when you love cheese and butter (two foods that go brilliantly with mushrooms by the way...) as much as me, is a REAL bonus! 

I made this for a quick and simple lunch the other day - despite it being a MISERABLE day, I fired up the BBQ, but you could just as easily cook it on the stove. 

Mushrooms on toast with haloumi. Boring name, mouthwatering flavours!

All you need for 1 person is:

• 1 slice of sourdough or other gorgeous bread
• 1 clove of garlic cut in half
• 1 slice of haloumi (yes, yes I know my pictures have 2 pieces. And yes, I ate them both...)
• about 100-125g mushrooms, cut into halves or quarters (I used Swiss brown but you could use flat, button or whatever else you fancy)
• 1 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 
• 1 tbs olive oil
• squeeze of half a lemon
• sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Pop the mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, lemon juice, s&p into a small bowl, mix together and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. 

Rub the slice of sourdough with the piece of cut garlic (I then chopped this up too and added it to the mushroom mix - according to my beloved, I REEKED of garlic that night. And the next morning. Oh well. It tasted AMAZING!)

Heat the BBQ - you need the flat plate. I use a silicone mat on our BBQ flat plate as it is easier than constantly cleaning the plate! Plus, ours is a bit rusty and manky. It's also non-stick, so you don't need to add extra oil.

Once the plate is hot, add the mushroom mix, the haloumi, and pop the bread on the grill (the grill section doesn't need to be turned on as there should be enough residual heat). TURN THE BBQ HEAT DOWN so nothing burns (learnt this the hard way the first time I cooked haloumi!). 

On the BBQ

It all takes about 5-8 minutes to cook - I normally take it off when the haloumi is cooked - you want it to look a beautiful golden colour.

Cooked haloumi

Once cooked, serve it up! This is gorgeous for a quick breakfast too, especially when entertaining. 

Instead of haloumi you could add a fried egg - the beauty of the silicone mat I used is that you don't need to use oil, so your fried egg is actually healthy. 

A few variations to this:

• use thyme or basil instead of rosemary
• add some chopped red onion 
• add some bacon or proscuitto
• pop some butter on the BBQ to cook the mushrooms (I don't think it needs it, but many disagree!)

What’s your favourite way to eat mushrooms?

Big thanks to the Australian Mushroom Growers Association for sponsoring this post and recipe as part of their Summer Mushrooms campaign. Check out these sites for many more gorgeous summer mushroom ideas.

Veggies for breakfast - my scrambled-omlette

I have a few friends who will recoil in horror from this post {no need to name names - you know who you are!} as they believe veggies are disgusting. Well, I don't. But like many, I certainly used to! When I was a kid. And yes, there are still a few that make my stomach churn. But that's a topic for another day.

Back to veggies for breakfast. I'm really lucky to work from home, which means I have the luxury of taking a bit of extra time to make breakfast. As I don't have to bolt to the train while scoffing that second piece of Vegemite on toast. Because I'm late. Again.

One of my favourite breakfast foods would have to be eggs. These little protein pellets fill my belly in a way toast or cereal never could! Especially when cooked with a few veggies. AND this helps my eat my 2+5 every day.

One of my favourite breakfasts is what I like to call a scrambled-omlette. I'll never be a chef as the perfect looking omelette has ALWAYS eluded me. Hence my scrambled-omlette.

This was todays version. And yes the photos are terrible, but I was STARVING. And it was cold this morning and I wanted to eat my breakfast while it was hot!

Feeds 1.

What you need:

• small blob of butter (I love Lurpak*!) or spray of olive oil
• half a zucchini, sliced thinly 
• 3-4 mushrooms, sliced (depends a bit on size - I used button mushies today)
• 1 egg
• splash of milk 
• 3 teaspoons of cottage cheese
• parmesan cheese for grating
• salt and pepper

What you do:

Turn the stove onto a medium heat. Spray your small skillet with olive oil or melt the butter and saute the zucchini and mushrooms until soft, stirring often.

While they are cooking, mix the egg with a splash of milk {about the amount that would fill 1/2 an eggshell at the MOST}, mix in a taste of salt and pepper. Once the veggie mix is cooked {this normally takes 3-4 minutes}, turn the stove down to low, add the egg mix, plop about 3 generous teaspoons of cottage cheese on top and cover until cooked {this takes 1-2 minutes, depending on how hot the stove is and how runny you like your egg}.

Once it's cooked, serve it up and grate a bit of parmesan on top! Add extra cracked pepper and/or salt {although I find the cheese gives it enough of a salty taste}. You could have it with some toast, but I normally just have it on it's own.

Scrambled-omlette with zucchini and mushroom. Yumbo!

A few variations - I often add red capsicum instead of zucchini, or a bit of bacon, or whatever veg I have in the fridge. If I'm extra hungry I'll use two eggs {but I'm trying to limit my eggs to only 1 most days as my cholesterol doesn't like me to eat more than about 6 eggs a week ...}.

What's your favourite way to incorporate a few veggies into your breakfast?


* DISCLAIMER: I'm a Friend of Lurpak, but I've loved their butter for a long time. Especially on toast with Vegemite. Check out The Lurpak Challenge - entries close soon!

Comforting lasagne

If you follow me on twitter you will see that today I'm wanted to have a VERY BIG RANT about a few things that seriously annoyed me. 

I didn't.

Instead I jumped on my mac to blog about one of my favourite comfort foods - lasagne. Just saying the word makes me feel like I've been enveloped in a great big hug with a snuggly woolly blanket and the arms of a loved one.

Fortunately I've made lasagne twice in the last 5 days so I have had plenty of practice! I've also taken plenty of photos - in fact I've taken 70 photos just of the 2nd lasagne! And to those of you who have asked, YES, I'm POSITIVE I have taken more than 70 photos of my hubby in the last year. Just not in the last 5 days. :)

I love both meat and vegetarian lasagnes and have made a lot of both this year (it's been a difficult year). This recipe has meat, but you could easily substitute the meat for extra veggies or for lentils.


What you need:
Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, peeled and chopped

250g pork mince

250g veal mince (you can buy veal and pork mince in one packet from some supermarkets)

1 x 750ml jar of tomato passata

1 x tin chopped tomatoes

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

2 tsp Italian seasoning

4-5 shakes of Tabasco

1/2 cup red wine (or water)

200g mushrooms, sliced

1 packet lasagne noodles (fresh or dry, I used dry this time)

250g ricotta cheese

250g mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes or grated

50g parmesan or pecorino, grated

1 packet frozen spinach, defrosted and with as much liquid squeezed out as possible

cubed mozarella

• In a large frypan heat 2-3 tsp olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 3-4 minutes. 

Sauteeing garlic and onion - hear the sizzle! 

• Add the mince and cook until browned (about 4-5 minutes). 
• Add the tomato passata, tin of tomatoes, wine, sugar, salt, pepper to taste, Italian seasoning, Tabasco, stir to combine and bring to a simmmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes. 
• Heat the oven to 180c
• While meat and tomato mix is simmering, mix the ricotta and the spinach in a medium sized bowl

mmm spinach. Popeye would be proud!

To assemble:

• Put about 2 tsp olive oil on the lasagne dish, mix with your fingers so the bottom of the dish is lightly coated (this prevents the lasagne sheets from sticking). 
• Put the first layer of lasagne noodles in the dish

I used a packet of Barilla lasagne sheets this time, but usually I use fresh

• Spread half the meat mix over the lasagne noodles, add half the mozarella 

If you want to make it a bit healthier you could always leave out the mozzarella, but I love cheese!

• Add another layer of lasagne noodles and gently press down
• Spread the ricotta/spinach mix, put the mushrooms on top

This is the first time I've added the spinach to the ricotta and it added an extra dimension of flavour that  really enhanced the dish

• Add another layer of lasagne noodles and gently press down
• Add the remainder of the meat, then the remainder of the mozzarella. Finally evenly sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the top. 

My favourite bit is when all the mozzarella melts when it's cooked. I could just eat the top!

Cook at about 180c for about 30 minutes or until golden on the top and the cheese has all melted.

It looks so pretty with the layers! But not so pretty that it won't be eaten!

Serve with salad, garlic bread and a big glass of red wine (for the over 18s. Or the over 21s in America). 

So OK, there's no salad or garlic bread in this pic, but there IS wine. 

This is simple and a real crowd pleaser! 

How do you like your lasagne? The traditional way or with a bit of variation?

Welcome to Chocolate, Cheese and Chips

After many months of talking about starting a food blog, I finally have! I must say the biggest challenge was finding a name for it - as many of my friends are aware! I was out for a walk the other day and had a bit of a lightbulb moment - why not name it after 3 of my favourite foods! So, here we are:

Chocolate - goes without saying really. I'm definitely a quality over quantity girl, and 1-2 squares of great tasting - and great quality - chocolate is enough to satisfy even the biggest of chocolate cravings. For many years my favourite has been dark Lindt chocolate (especially the Orange Intense) and the peppermint Lindor balls. Mmmm. However, after visiting San Francisco and Ghiradelli again in 2008, Lindt face stiff competition - especially from the Ghiradelli raspberry and the Ghiradelli peanut butter. I'll be stocking up the next time I go!

Cheese - a few years ago cheese took over from chocolate as my #1 favourite food. Family legend has it that one of the first solid foods I ate was blue cheese - and it's been a bit of a staple ever since! The stinkier the better. My whole family are into cheese and there were (and still are) at least 3-4 varieties in the fridge at any one time. Sadly, cheese is not great for the waistline, so my consumption has been radically reduced in recent years! Family get togethers always, always include a cheese platter. With a bottle of red or 3.

Chips - yep, I'm a chip lover. From hot and salty chips eaten at the beach to the packet of potato chips (Kettle of course - but no relation!) eaten in front of the telly. For years I have been threatening to write a book on the best hot chips in the world - not sure how I'd get funding, but I do believe it would be a public service.

Rest assured however, dear reader, this blog will not only contain posts about Chocolate, Cheese and Chips. It will include recipes I try (and experiement with), new ingredients (well, new to me - not necessarily new to you), reviews of books, gadgets, foods and the odd eating establishment, and all my other adventures in food.

I'd love to hear what you think - feel free to comment or email.