Meat free week - need your recipe inspiration!

I've been trying to eat a lot less meat lately, with varying degrees of success. Late last year someone alerted me to Meat Free Week, on from 18-24 March 2013. I was intrigued and thought what a great idea.

We'll be eating lots of these during meat free week!  

And these...

Well, it's almost that time. 

Eek!

I'm not at all organised, and need some serious help in getting together a tasty repertoire of meat-free meals to feed myself, my mega-carnivore hubby [who, unless he reads this blog post, won't actually know what's happening until it does... mwah ha ha...], and my ultra-mega-carnivore and super picky 12yo stepson.

Our week of meat-free awesomeness is going to run from Friday 15 March - Thursday 21 March.

This is a meat-free fave 

And so is lentil-bol

Needless to say, I'm quite pleased wine is meat-free. Particularly as we have Mr12 here for half of that time.

I'm really curious to see how we all go.

If you have any meat-free favourites, please let me know. The more "meaty" the better. And if it has tofu or tempeh please don't bother sending it. Absolutely can't stand either of them.

THANK YOU! And stay tuned to see how we fare...

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.

Holidays with friends, family and food

I had an absolutely sensational week in Sydney and Canberra last month, filled with beautiful friends, family and of course, food. Oh, ok, there was a bit of drink too.

I went down because late last year one of mum's friends, Diane, who I am fortunate to also call my friend [after all, she has known me since I was 5!], was in town from Canada for her nephew's wedding. I booked flights immediately! It was a fabulous few days.

The first day was catching up with a few other friends in Sydney, including fellow food blogger JJ from 84th and 3rd who I talk to often on twitter, and who I met in Adelaide in November at Eat.Drink.Blog3.

One of my cousins, and fellow foodie, had suggested I eat at Kitchen by Mike and the Grounds of Alexandria if I made it to Sydney. As I was staying with a girlfriend who conveniently lives in Alexandria, we had a couple of breakfasts there. YUMMO!

I'm not a butter on toast girl [unless there is vegemite involved, then you can bring it on!], but when I read on the menu at Kitchen by Mike that the butter was Pepe Saya I couldn't resist. I didn't actually have quite enough!

The breakfast board at The Grounds of Alexandria. Poached egg, avocado, leg ham, tomato basil salsa, pesto, persian fetta, sourdough. Doesn't look like a lot but it was an effort to eat it all.

Breakfast at Kitchen by Mike. Two huge field mushrooms, the most flavoursome tomatoes almost ever, bacon, egg, sourdough from Iggy's and Pepe Saya butter. No effort to eat all this! 

It wasn't just the food I loved at these two cafes, it was the whole package. Both had kitchen gardens with chickens! I assume that at least a few of the eggs on the menu came from their girls, as well as some of the food. Both were also built in converted warehouses and had shops attached. Next door to the Grounds is a fabulous providore, Salt Meats Cheese [where I could have gone berserk. I restrained myself admirably]. 

Some of the salts at Salt, Meats Cheese. Varieties included espresso, merlot, garlic, smoked, taragon, tomato, truffle, and about another 10-12 varieties

I cannot believe this was the first time I had done the stunning Bondi to Bronte walk. 

Actually, the three cafes I ate at in Sydney all had chickens - the third being Three Blue Ducks at Bronte. Diane and I did the Bondi to Bronte walk and near the end I asked twitter where we should have lunch. Within seconds three people told us we HAD to go to Three Blue Ducks. There are no food pics because we were too hungry to wait [and yes, I just forgot...]. 

These all made me feel at home :) 

After Sydney was a couple of days in Canberra. Visiting relatives and catching up with friends, old and new. And a visit to the sensational Capital Region Farmer's Markets. Such gorgeous produce. I will be back!

Haloumi and pomegranate salad - recipe from blogger and friend Shirley of Rhubarb Whine

Part of dinner with goodies from a few local delis and the Capital Region Farmers Markets

A highlight was spending a few hours with blogger and twitter friend Liz, from Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things. She had made a stunning blueberry and banana cake for morning tea - normally I baulk at anything banana but I didn't want to be rude, so I ate a piece, and nearly went back for seconds. SO GOOD!  However the highlight of this visit [apart from spending time with Lizzy and meeting her hubby of course...] was the freakin' awesome watermelon and vodka crush with pomegranate. I just helped myself to seconds of this. And maybe thirds. It's on the menu for the next dinner party.

Watermelon and vodka crush with pomegranate

The other Canberra highlight was a visit to the National Portrait Gallery. I have visited every gallery and museum in Canberra on many occasions [and was even a tour guide at Old Parliament House many years ago...], and my absolute favourite is the National Portrait Gallery. It's only been open a short time [prior to having its own building it was temporarily housed at Old Parliament House - yes, when I worked there]. Its permanent collection is stunning, and its current exhibition Glorious: A Diamond Jubilee portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is well worth a visit. The centrepiece, a jaw-droppingly beautiful portrait of the Queen is worth the visit alone, and painted by Australian artist Ralph Heimans. As Molly would say, do yourself a favour! 

Have you had any great food experiences when travelling? And when you didn't really expect it? 

Marinated mushrooms with lemon and thyme

I think I've said before that I was a latecomer to the wonders of mushrooms. Now I just can't get enough of them, and eat them at least once every day. Usually for breakfast, sliced or chopped into chunks, sautéed with a bit of butter, sometimes with rosemary or thyme, and served with an egg, or some haloumi, or bacon, or a combo of.

They are insanely healthy for you [maybe a bit less so with the addition of butter - never margarine] which as far as I'm concerned is just a huge bonus!

Marinated mushies, with lemon and thyme

This very simple marinated mushroom dish is always a winner. Great to serve with anti-pasto platters, or just with a couple of cheeses. Mum introduced me to these many years ago, but for reasons I can't work out, I don't make them all that often. Silly me.

What you need:
400g teeny tiny baby button mushrooms [the smaller the better]
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice [or white wine vinegar - I love LiraH vinegars, but had run out]
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and chopped finely
1/2 tsp salt [I like the Maldon seasalt or the pink Murray salt flakes for this]
freshly ground black pepper
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
4-5 stalks of Italian parsley, leaves only
zest of 1 lemon
whole chilli [cut into big chunks, seeded if you don't like it too hot, optional]

All squashed into one of mum's beautiful old preserving jars. 

What you do:

• Give the mushrooms a good wipe or a quick wash to get rid of any dirt and grit. 
• Pop the mushrooms into a glass jar with a lid - squash them all in if you need to!
• In a measuring cup [or a small bowl with a lip], mix together all the other ingredients. Taste and add extra lemon, salt, pepper if needed. 
• Pour over the mushrooms in the jar. Pop the lid on and swirl the jar around until the mushrooms are all coated in the mix. 

Tipping these upside down wasn't my smartest move as the lid wasn't sealed!

• Leave on the bench to marinate for at least 24 hours. Give the jar a good swirl every few hours or when you walk past. 
• After 24 hours the liquid will start to come out of the mushrooms, adding to the marinade. After about 36 hours your mushrooms will have shrunk. Pop it all in the fridge and eat as desired! 

This is after about 36 hours - see how much the liquid has increased?

The mushrooms are best if brought to room temperature before serving.

Have you made marinated mushrooms? What flavours do you add?

Chocolate decadence - Valentine's Day

I’ve never really been the hearts and flowers type, and I'm not all that into Valentine's Day [due mainly to that ghastly boyfriend who dumped me on 13 February many years ago, but then expected to get back together on the 15th! Um, NO!] 

However, I do love the occasional excuse to have a decadent dessert - and what better excuse than Valentine’s Day. 

This is really easy to make and the cake part of the recipe can be made a few days - or even weeks - earlier and kept in the fridge or freezer. I actually think it tastes even better 2-3 days after it’s been made. The best bit about the cake is it’s versatility - it’s perfect for morning tea, a quick after-school treat, or as a dessert for a dinner party. Oh, and it’s also gluten free.

And if it looks familiar, it's virtually the same recipe as the one for my gluten free chocolate cherry cake [nothing like recycling!], but tarted up for Valentines Day. If you're into that sort of thing.

What you need:
250g dark chocolate,broken into pieces (I prefer dark chocolate that has 70% cocoa solids)
250g almond meal
200g caster sugar
150g butter, softened
6 eggs (ideally 59g - if they are smaller use 7 eggs)
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tbsp boiling water
Cream to serve
Raspberries (fresh or frozen) to serve
Icing sugar* (to serve)

What you do:

1. Turn the oven on to 180c.
2. Line the baking tray with baking paper
3. Place the chocolate pieces in the food processor and whizz until they resemble big crumbs of chocolate (if you don’t have a food processor, place the chocolate in a freezer or zip lock bag and seal, place the bag between 2 tea-towels and bash with a rolling pin or a meat mallet until its crushed). Set aside.
4. Place the sugar, butter, eggs, cocoa and baking powder into the mixing bowl and mix with the electric beaters or a wooden spoon until smooth. Mix in the coffee mixture.
5. Add the chocolate and almond meal and mix well - it might be easier to mix this with the wooden spoon.
6. Pour the cake mix into the baking tray, smooth it over with a knife.
7. Bake on the middle tray of the oven for 30-45 minutes (check it at 30 minutes - you want the centre to be soft to touch but not too gooey).

Leave to cool in the baking tray for 15 minutes then move it to cook on the wire rack.

To assemble dessert
Once the cake is cool, remove it from the wire rack and place it on a flat surface. Cut out heart shaped pieces with the cookie cutter and carefully transfer 1 heart to each plate. You should get 6 hearts out of a cake this size. 

This cake is best served at room temperature or slightly warmed. Serve with raspberries and cream. Dust with icing sugar.

WARNING! This cake is very rich and is easily enough to share. It IS Valentine’s Day after all!
* if you are serving this to someone who requires gluten free, make sure you get pure icing sugar, NOT icing mixture

What to do with leftover cake
All those leftover bits of cake (around the heart cut-outs) are great for dessert or snacks. Serve warmed with ice-cream or cream or thick yogurt. Or just eat them on their own! The cake should keep for 3 months in an airtight container in the freezer or a week in the fridge.

Detoxing - such a January cliche!

Yes I succumbed to the dreaded January detox this year. I've always been a major skeptic of the detox, but after the last 5 days I am prepared to eat my words. Or at least drink my green smoothie and lemon water.

My friend Green Dean launched a 7 day belly detox challenge via facebook and I was intrigued. I met Dean late last year though a mutual friend when I did an urban gardening workshop with him. And I was inspired to re-invigorate my veggie patch. A few weeks later I dragged hubby and Mr12 along to do a chicken workshop - we are now the proud owner of four beautiful chickens who each give us an egg most days. I really like his philosophy to food and life in general so I thought I'd give his detox a go.

Our gorgeous girls scoffing down a bowl of yogurt

But I digress...

I slowly and steadily lost about 7kg over the last six months, but the excesses of Christmas and a week in Sydney and Canberra last week resulted in a couple of those returning, along with a feeling of general malaise. Not to mention the little podgy bloat-belly that resurfaced. Yuk.

Dean's challenge didn't look all that hard. And I loved it was only 7 days. Even though I knew that would be a massive struggle, especially as I had many social engagements during the week! [Note to self, don't book in eight coffee meetings and lunches in detox week...]

There were ten simple rules:

1. No dairy - this would be my toughest challenge, despite not eating a wide variety of dairy I do love my cheese. Far more than it loves me. Luckily a bit of plain yogurt was allowed
2. No wheat products - I love bread too. It also doesn't love me. Oh well... 
3. No meat or animal products including eggs. This was a toughie as I have an egg for breakfast nearly every day. 
4. No sugar - surprisingly this was the easiest. I did sneak in a few medjool dates
5. No salt - again, not too difficult given there were no eggs, one of the few things I do add salt too. 
6. No caffeine - I am sick of drinking peppermint tea! 
7. No alcohol - again, surprised by how easy this was. No, I was shocked. 
8. No white or refined foods - including pasta, white rice, pastry, bread
9. Drink at least 2L of water a day - something I already did
10. Make and drink the two green smoothies Dean recommended every day. 

Dean's belly fruit smoothie - banana, blueberries, green leaves, yogurt, mango, prunes, linseed, sunflower seed, aloe vera juice

This was my favourite. Dean's belly green smoothie - banana, avocado, cucumber, green leaves, mint, honey, sunflower seeds, almonds

So. There you have it. Not too difficult.

So how did I go? Well, I lasted five days, with one meal including haloumi and a tiny bit of seafood on a couple of occasions. I was very impressed with myself.

My almost-detox lunch - stunning salad with a few different tomatoes, basil, red onion, olive tapenade, avocado, haloumi. From Kitchen Sanitarium cafe on Eagle Street. One of the best lunches I've had in town for ages. A vegetarian cafe that I will definitely return to.

Over that five days I lost 2.7kg of gunk and bloat and I feel great.

I'll definitely incorporate a lot of what I did over the last five days into my regular diet. Including:

• starting the day with a mug of warm-hot water with the juice of half a squeezed lemon
• eating a bit more fruit - aiming for 1 piece a day
• eating lots of veggies, especially raw. I'm a big veggie eater anyway, but usually cooked. Aiming for more raw
• limiting how much cheese I eat - I probably don't need it every day. Sigh. 
• we had cut down our meat consumption significantly in 2012 but I'm aiming for 2 vegetarian days a week in 2013 - a great excuse to use all my vegetarian cookbooks
• I don't eat a lot of sugar anyway, but I love baking. I've discovered rapadura sugar and am using maple syrup a lot more as a sweetener - the real stuff, not that fake nastiness
• less alcohol - aim for 4-5 alcohol free days a week
• a few green smoothies every week 
• much less wheat - I've just bought 10kg of organic spelt flour so am going to do more baking and bread making with that so I'm not tempted to eat wheat based products. Spelt flour makes great muffins and pizza bases AND my tummy loves it!
• I don't drink a lot of caffeine - 1-2 cups of tea a day and usually only 3-4 coffees a week, so I doubt I'll change that
• I also don't eat a lot of salt as I don't buy or eat many packaged foods. A blood test a few months ago actually showed my sodium levels were on the too-low level so I add a bit of salt to foods to get it into the healthy range. And yes, the odd pack of chips. 

Celebrating the premature end of my detox with scrambled egg, sauteed mushroom, smoked salmon and a much loved cup of tea [Twinings English Breakfast of course!]

So that's me. What are your detoxing experiences? Have you ever done one? Would you consider one? This one was very gentle, and apart from a headache on the second afternoon I felt great for most of it. I also didn't feel too hungry, other than 2-3 occasions when I snacked on a few nuts and dates. Unsalted of course! 

In my Thermomix - my favourite new summer drink

Like so many, I'm starting 2013 with a list of new food goals. I refuse to call them resolutions, as that is a sure fire way for them to fail [no alcohol in January for example...]. But moving right along...

Minty lime lemon cordial

One of my food goals for 2013 is to use my Thermomix more. And to blog my experiences with it. And share a few recipes. I've had this wonder-toy for nearly three years, and while I use it more than any other appliance, I definitely don't use it every day, or even close to its potential.

Luckily I now have many friends who also have a wonder-toy and who are happy to share recipes. Such as this one that my friends Brad and Cathie made me when I popped over for afternoon tea a few weeks back.

My wonder-toy. AKA Thermomix 

 It comes from the [I think] 2011 Thermomix calendar. This is my version:

Minty lime lemon cordial
by Mel Kettle [with thanks to Thermomix]

What you need:
80-100g sugar [I like it quite tart - makes the gin taste better]
generous handful of mint leaves
250g ice cubes
3 limes with skin, scrubbed, cut in half
2-3 lemons [2 if big and juicy, 3 if smaller] with skin, scrubbed, ends trimmed, cut into quarters
300-350g fizzy water [preferably sparkling mineral water]

What you do:
Place sugar and mint into Thermomix and blitz for 10 seconds on speed 10.

Add the ice and blitz for 6 seconds on speed 8.

Add lime, lemon and water. Set the dial to closed lid position and push the turbo button 2-3 times.

Strain through the Thermomix basket into a bowl. Once the bulk of the liquid is out, use a nut milk or a curd and jelly bag (or some muslin or a clean chux) to strain and squeeze out the remainder of the liquid.

A curd and jelly bag - just a very fine polyester bag. Great for squeezing out excess liquids

Pour the cordial into a clean bottle and keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. Discard the solids [if you have a good recipe for these I would love to hear it!].

To serve, pour equal amounts of cordial and fizzy mineral water over ice, garnish with a slice of lime and fresh mint.

Or, even better, add a generous [very generous...] splash of gin or vodka in place of some or all of the fizzy mineral water. Or replace mineral water with a bit of tonic for a posh G&T. SO GOOD!

This bottle doesn't last long in our house!

What is your favourite summer drink? With or without the generous splash?