Tag Archives: healthy

Cowboy-tastic Healthy Cherry Ripe Muffins

14 Aug

I am a self-confessed cowboy boot-a-holic. If I’m really honest about it, I have way more boots than I have places to wear them, but I can’t bring myself to enter a 12 step program for it as I fear it would actually be boot scooting. Get it? 12 steps – boot scoot?? Dear Lord, did I just make a boot-scooting joke? Are there no depths I won’t stoop to????
I need to get out more.

As a completely uncoordinated gal, sky-scraping Manolos or Jimmy Choos were never going to moisten my knicks, but I do get my kicks over a hot pair of cowboy boots…..I’m also quite partial to a cowboy, but that’s an entirely different blog. One my Nana doesn’t read, perhaps?
I have 4 pairs (of boots, not cowboys), one brown fairly straight forward pair, one maroon with white stitching- my first love, one cream with an ostrich leather toe and one gold Xanadu style with studs.
I really love my cowboy boots. The only person I’ve ever heard of that loves cowboy boots more than me is BootMan. He was quite the fetishist. My love does not run sexual. Strictly above board.

Bootman was a customer in a bar where a dude I know worked. This dude was a bit of a Rock Dog and he has a collection of boots that kicked my ass. Anyhoo, BootMan gave Rock God an indecent proposal he could not refuse and once a month BootMan came to his house, and while my buddy read the paper and drank cup of tea, BootMan licked his boots while he wore them.
It was an easy $200, but still, how fricken’ weird is that?
I would totally have drunk coffee.

If one was to say I was a cowboy in the kitchen , one would be fairly bang on the money. I love reading food magazines and recipe books but then when it comes to making recipes, I have trouble not going all renegade. I think it’s because I’m such a know-it-all. I always think that I can make it better.
I do love to create in the kitchen but as with all inventors, sometimes I make a dog of a dish. Not often, but sometimes.

I recently made Turkish Delight muffins. Chocolate and rosewater muffin with dark chocolate chips and chunks of Turkish Delight in the middle. I made them with half almond meal and they were amazing in my head……..in reality, hmmmm, not so much.
They were dry, and kinda strange and even my darling D Man, with his two year old’s love of cake, wouldn’t eat it. I think when a kid won’t eat the chocolate muffin, you’ve truly stuffed it.

I ate them. Of course I did!

Waste not, want not, but they were not my finest.
However, like a scientist I let the concept evolve and from those dry, powdery nuggets something beautiful was born.
Chocolate, coconut and cherry muffins. Just like a Cherry Ripe, but almost healthy. They’re moist and yummy and not too chocolatey……..mmmmmmmm.
Boo ya.

Yield – 12 muffins

You will need -

3/4 cup self raising flour
3/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup cocoa powder
40g dark chocolate, chopped into little bits
1 cup frozen or tinned cherries, halved (better than fresh as they’re more moist)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vanilla yoghurt (low fat if you want – I didn’t because I don’t believe in it!)
2/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg

Pre-heat oven to 180C.
Throw all of your dry ingredients into a bowl and combine.
Make a well in the middle and remaining ingredients, stir until all combined and place into your muffin cases.
Pop into the oven for 35-40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
Grate a little left-over chocolate over the cooled muffins to make them all sexy like.

I accidentally ate three straight up. I will endeavour to give some away tomorrow or I may eat the rest!

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Boot Camp and DateCocoBana Loaf

21 Jun dcb fg

So, I’ve mentioned that Mister H is all, like, triathlon-tabulous and stuff, and I’ve noticed that there has been some rather positive changes in his physique over the last few months, i.e. he looks quite good, like va-va-va-voom quite good.
He’s lean, he’s ripped and he’s really, ridonkulously, fit, you know, if you like that kind of thing. As I sat on the couch eating my ice-cream the other night, I thought perhaps it was time I got back into some form of exercise regime. Although I was a keen workerer outerer before my pregnancy, hip issues prevented much athleticism during my second and third trimester, not even much walking was allowed, so I think we could safely say I’m a little on the pleasantly soft side. My belly is rivalling my cat’s dangly pouch, however, I did just make a person, so pouchy tummies are totally a go-go. It lies beside me when I lie on my side and I’m considering giving it a name. Perhaps, something cute like Waldo.

Yesterday morning was the morning. After a 5 month hiatus, I fished my trainers from the back of the cupboard, donned an appropriate ensemble (think ‘Flo Jo goes ghetto’) and I went to boot camp. For anyone considering doing the same, let me advise you – don’t……or at least if you do, heed your trainer’s advice when she suggests (multiple times) that you take it easy first day back after creating a human being. Someone we know, who shall remain nameless (but is currently typing this with voice command, like Stephen Hawkings, as she is too sore to support her laptop) disregarded said advice. That same someone may today be having extreme difficulty bending, sitting, lifting, walking or indeed, laughing. Which she would do, at herself, if it wasn’t so painful.


It’s such a double edged sword, isn’t it? I know it’s good for me, and, hell, it even feels great at the time – Blood’s pumping, heart is in gear, face is turning beetroot, and pits are springing a leak. You feel alive! This is how humans felt before we became sedentary, ice-cream-on-couch-loving, non hunters. My once strong arms are decidedly T Rex like in their pathetic-ness, and in the aftermath of boot cramp I’m scarcely able to lift my t-shirt over my head. Luckily, I don’t have to go back until friday, when I get to do it all again.

I was feeling most abstemious (and ravenous) after my workout and decided I deserved a teeny, little reward……what I really wanted was a big, fat gooey something naughty, but I opted for something that would satisfy my craving and not undo my good work. Hence the DateCocoBana loaf was born. I used barely any sugar as the dates and banana provide sweetness, and I used half wholemeal so, really, it’s practically a piece of lettuce and perfect for the regime.
Now I just need to get in there and eat it before the boys finish it off. 

Yield : 1 loaf

You will need :

  • 2 over ripe bananas, smooshed with a fork
  • 1 cup self raising flour
  • 1 cup wholemeal flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup skim milk (or whatever you have)
  • 2 eggs, lightly whisked
  • 50g butter, melted and cooled
  • 125 g dates, chopped
  • juice of 1/2 an orange
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut

Pre-heat over to 180C. Line your loaf tin.

In a small bowl, add orange juice to your dates and leave to soak for 20 mins. Throw your flours, baking powder and coconut into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and make a little well in the centre. Place your eggs, milk, banana and melted butter into a separate bowl and stir until all is well combined. Add your date mixture. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Give it a good stirring until just combined. Spoon into your loaf tin and pop in the oven. Cook until a skewer comes out clean (do not test in a crack), about 40 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack. Spread a slab with butter and pat yourself on the back.

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One Pot Wonder – Fast French Fish Soup

30 Apr fish soup close

My Mama calls this peasant food. When I think of peasant food, dry, old cabbages and stale bread spring to mind, but I guess in France even the peasants are more gastronomic than the average bear. Either way, this hearty soup is so damn delicious you’ll embrace your inner French peasant. Oui, oui!

I was inspired to make this yesterday for two reasons – the first was it was cold and wintery, the second, I found a delicious loaf of green olive and rosemary bread at the Bourke Street Bakery and needed an excuse to eat large amounts of it. The match was made in heaven. You don’t need fancy bread to complete this, but something fresh and crusty certainly makes a difference. Also, a big, fat bucket of wine would have been a lovely accompaniment. Soon, my sweet, soon.

I favour prawns, white fish and squid in this, but the standard seafood mix from Woolies is fine. My only advice with that is that you separate the components as they have different cooking times and we hate rubbery squid and bouncy prawns.

Perhaps I had a recipe for this once, or perhaps it was just word of mouth from my Ma- but as I do, I’ve bastardised over the years and I make it differently each time. This is how I made it yesterday, and it was really yummy.

Yield : Serves 4

You will need :

  • 500g mixed seafood
  • 3 cups fish stock
  • 1 tin diced tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, julienned
  • 1/2 large red capsicum, julienned
  • 1 baby fennel, julienned (use celery if you’re not a fan)
  • 2 small potato, cubed
  • rind of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • a handful of chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
  • salt and pepper
  • pinch of chilli flakes

Into a large soup pot throw your stock, tinned tomatoes, and add one tin of water and put onto medium heat. Add your garlic, and onion, and fennel and tomato paste. When you bring that to the boil, turn it down to a simmer and add your julienned vegetables and your potato. Leave this to bubble away until your potato is cooked. Add your fish first, then a minute later, add your prawns, then a minute later add your squid, mussels or scallops. Grate in your lemon zest and throw in your parsley and you are pretty well ready to go. Season to taste but remember that fish stock is quite salty already so don’t over do it.

I wonder what the rich people are eating?

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Beat the Winter Blues – Dhal Soup, or Red Lentil Love.

26 Apr dhal soup

With nasty old Winter peering it’s head around the corner, I’ve had a few requests for my Farmhouse Chicken Soup, and I promise it’s ‘a comin’, but on a recent cold and blustery day, all the nearby shops were closed and I needed to make something out of the contents of my house…….this was it. It’s delicate blend of Indian spices make it warming without being too spicy and if you mess with the liquid ratio you can make it thicker and more dhal like or wetter and more soup like…..either way, thick or thin, it will give you wind. I promise you that, my friends. The gift that keeps on giving. (I know I talk about wind a lot, but I have to point the finger of blame at my family – and they would probably pull it. Wind is deeply ingrained as a thing to be celebrated with us lot.)

This is one of my old favourites. I’ve been making this for about 100 years and I have no idea how I first came up with the recipe. Sometimes I throw in a fresh tomato or two, sometimes I throw in a handful of chopped spinach or two….you have a play with it yourself and see where the mood takes you. D Man loves this too. I’ve been giving it to him since he was about 8 months, so it’s suitable for babes as well. He now loves it over rice with a dollop of natural yoghurt and fresh chopped coriander. I keep it a little thicker so it sticks to the spoon and he doesn’t wear it.

Yeild : a pot of soup for 4

You will need :

  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 30g (or the size of index finger to knuckle) ginger, finely chopped or grated (grating is so much easier)
  • 1 level tablespoon cumin (I love cumin)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamon seeds
  • 1.5 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • small handful of fresh coriander root, save leaves for garnish
  • 1.5 cups red lentils
  • 600ml chicken stock (I happened to have some freshly made in the fridge this day, but feel free to use powder)
  • 400ml water
  • 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 large stalks celery, finely chopped
  • natural yoghurt and chopped coriander leaves to serve

In a large soup pot gently sautée your onion in a little oil over a medium heat. When it goes slightly translucent add your garlic, ginger and spices. Stir until fragrant and delicious. Throw in your carrot and celery, give it a stir for a minute or so and then add your lentils. I like to give them a good stir and make sure all is well mixed and then throw in my liquid…..and really, that’s about it, kids. Bring it to the boil, then turn it down to a simmer and pop a lid on.

You will need to keep a little eye on it as the lentils will absorb the water. You can make a call whether you need more liquid or take the lid off and let it reduce if you’d like it thicker. I often play with it, flavour wise, like a total heathen at the last minute. I sometimes add a touch of garam masala, or more cumin, or chili. Start as I’ve written and play with it to your taste. Don’t be scared of spices, they are your friends and contrary to popular belief, kids love flavour.

Ladle into bowls and swirl through(or plop on) some natural yoghurt and a sprinkle of fresh coriander. If I’ve kept it chill free for D Man, I’ll add some dried at this point as I like it to have a little poke.

Enjoy your Red Lentil Love……for hours to come ;-)

 

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Bang Up Lunch – Polenta Chips with Fresh Tomato Salsa

19 Apr polenta and salsa 2

Often lunch time hunger hits around the time D Man goes to bed so it becomes a matter of ‘what goodies do we have in the fridge?’. I get well over eating sandwiches and salads so sometimes I get a little creative. As I’ve mentioned, I love a left over, and polenta is one thing that although, once eaten wet and delicious can never be revived to that state, it takes a whole new form when you cook it again in a little oil – the polenta chip is born!

When I’m finished with my wet polenta I pop it into a square container so it can shape up into a nice block, then you just slice it to whatever thickness you want, roll it in seasoned polenta and give it a little fry in some oil. I try not to use too much oil, but it does benefit from a little to get that nice golden crunch. I just add a little at a time so it doesn’t get drenched, then I make sure I drain it on kitchen towel. This is a great entree, or lunch and D Man loves these dipped in tzatziki, or anything dipped in anything really. He just likes to dip and lick, murmuring a little ‘dip, dip, dip’ as he goes. The salsa is kinda adapted (read : stolen) from my dear friend, who often gets requested to bring a whoop of the stuff to parties. It’s great on quesadilllas, with corn chips….hell, I even eat it with Corn Thins. Use chilli as you will. I like it hot, but D Man is still a little gun shy when it comes to chilli. A little is ok for toddlers if it’s a part of your diet. They actually love flavour and new sensations, just don’t singe their faces off!

So, let’s bang this lunch together. If you don’t have left over polenta, you’ll need to make it a couple of hours in advance to give it a chance to solidify. It’s especially yummy if you’ve put lemon zest and parmesan through it…..but that’s just me.

Yeild : depends on amount of polenta you have, but makes about 1 cup of salsa.

You will need :

For salsa - 

  • 4 fresh tomatoes, cut into quarters, seeds removed then finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 1 Spanish onion- finely chopped
  • 2 big handfuls finely chopped fresh coriander
  • 1 birds eye chilli,finely chopped, if you’re game
  • a big pinch of cumin
  • salt and pepper

For polenta chips - 

  • Sliced, solid polenta
  • Fresh raw polenta for dusting
  • Salt and pepper

Throw all of your salsa ingredients into a bowl and stir. Season to taste. Add more lime, salt, cumin or chilli to your taste. Leave to sit and stew while you cook your polenta. Season your raw polenta on a plate and roll your cops in it, ensuring all sides are covered. Heat a little oil in a pan on the stove, and ensure it’s quite hot before adding chips. Pop them in and turn them regularly ensuring all sides get equally browned. Add a little more oil as required. Make sure you don’t drench them. They are ready when they are golden and crunchy. Leave to cool for a minute or so on kitchen paper to remove excess oil, and serve with salsa. Easy, yummy, fast.

Olé.

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Zesty Baked Chicken Rissoles with Mozzarella

16 Apr rissoles, love 2

Recipes fly back and forth in my family. If someone finds something interesting we email each other, and even send photocopies – old fashioned style – through the mail. I have a big pink folder with tried and true recipes handed down from my family and friends. It’s a faithful ‘go to’ when I’m in need of inspiration. This one was an email from my Mama, to my Nana, with me as a cc. I’m still happy being an afterthought.

My Mama is one of those cooks who is as comfortable tackling a three course meal as she is a weeknight quicky. As the aim of this blog is fast and fabulous, at least for the present moment, so I won’t try to dazzle you with any of her doozies just yet (it’ll come, my pretties, we’re just getting to know each other), but this little recipe is super fast, and easy, and again suitable for little and big munchkins alike. It’s not fancy, but it’s tasty, and it’s healthy.

These zesty, cheesy little morsels are paired perfectly with pasta, or rice, but polenta is having a resurgence in my house, so I make a batch of creamy, delicious wet polenta. I always make sure to have left-over polenta because twice cooked polenta (read : polenta chips, mmmmmmmm) are delicious. These rissoles work equally well with turkey mince if you want to extra lean, but they’re also yummy with lamb mince if you want to go in a slightly different direction. You can add dried mixed Italian herbs to the lamb for a more robust herb aroma.

If you don’t have mozzarella just sprinkle with cheddar but the stringy, gooeyness of mozzarella takes this to a different realm for me. Again, I’m a little modest in my cheese usage for fat reasons but you can go nuts with it if you want to. I also struggle not to sneak in a little vegetable here and there, particularly if I’m feeding it to D Man who’s not yet au fait with ensalada (ha, French and Spanish, I’m obviously a linguistical genius. So tempted to remove this but it’s is how my brain works). These work well with a little carrot finely grated or zucchini. They’re both fairly innocuous and undetectable by the naked eye when smothered in tomatoey, cheesy, deliciousness.

Yeild : 10 rissoles

You will need :

  •  500g chicken mince
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
  • 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 tbls lemon juice
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • 1/2 bread crumbs (make your own if you can, it does make a difference, but if you can’t be arsed, it doesn’t make that much difference!)
  •  plain flour for coating
  • 700ml jar passata (If you want to make your own, throw some onion and garlic into a pan and add some crushed tomatoes and Italian herbs – it’s totally worth the effort, but we’re keeping it simple this evening, because we’re tired and our back hurts)
  • mozzarella (1 cup grated, but I used slices)

Preheat oven to 180c.

Throw into a bowl your mince, breadcrumbs, parmesan and basil. Add lemon juice and zest, crack your egg in and get your hands in there to give it a good ol’ mix. Take your wedding rings off as rissoles in your filigree ain’t pretty. Shape into about 10 rissoles and coat very lightly with your flour. Heat oil in a large frypan and over a moderate heat and lightly sear rissoles on both sides before transferring to over proof dish. Pour over your passata, top with mozzarella and bake in the over until golden and bubbly and yummy. Serve with your pasta or polenta and a big salad.

‘Wow, what do you call these, love?’

‘Rissoles’

Never gets old.

 

 

 

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Chish and Fips – Good for them (but they’ll never know).

11 Apr chish and fips gallery

I have a word of advise for y’all. Don’t ever babysit your friend’s goldfish, especially one that’s referred to like a beloved dog.

I’m not suggesting it’s impossible to love a fish, Daryl Hannah was totally hot in Splash, but this fat, orange goldfish was no mermaid.

We had some friends that owned a fish named Pablo. They really loved that damned fish. They swore blind that Pablo responded to them, remembered them and loved them as much as they loved him. They would regale us with tales of things Pablo did, just like smitten parents.

Then they went away…….and asked us to babysit Pablo.

My cat, Pants was super curious about Pablo in his big, round, exotic looking bowl and we sent them a photo of Pants with his paws up on the table that Pablo’s aquatic home was perched on as a joke.

The Pablo was found floating one morning and although I’m certain he died of natural causes (possibly fright, almost natural, right?), the finger of doubt will always be pointed at poor, old Pants.

They took the news better than I thought they would, but I remember the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I broke in to them gently.

Although we were technically babysitting, it was a trial for possible adoption when our friends left the country in a couple of weeks.

I guess answered that question, huh?

This is a really fast throw-together meal, the only thing is, you’ll need to get your ‘chips’ in the oven in enough time to get a little crispy. I start this half an hour before dinner-time but my oven is a cracker. Basically, if you cut your potatoes into shoestrings, they don’t take long to get a little crunch. Leave the skin on your potato. There’s goodness in the skin so it’s best left where it is.

You’ve seen me use LSA (linseed, sunflower and almond meal) before. It’s a great source of Omega 3, so teamed with fish it’s positively brain food for our little peeps.

Yield : 2 toddler serves. If making for grown-ups also, just adjust amounts accordingly.

You’ll need about 2 tablespoons of LSA and one teaspoon of lemon pepper per fillet.

You will need -

  • 1 small firm fish fillet. Barramundi, salmon or even ling work well
  • 1 small potato, skin on
  • 2 tablespoons LSA
  • teaspoon of lemon zest
  • pinch of lemon pepper
  • vegetables to serve

Pop your oven onto 190C. Cut your potato into shoestrings and place on baking paper. Toss with a touch of olive oil and pop in oven for 20 minutes or until brown, turning once.

Pop your vegetables du jour in the steamer….

Cut your fish into one centimetre pieces. On a plate, toss your LSA and zest and lemon pepper together and roll your fish in it ensuring it is all well covered. Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan on a medium high heat and quickly cook them for three minutes or so each side until just cooked through and a little crispy.

Pop it all on a plate and serve with a little squeeze of lemon if your kids is into it. D Man would suck a lemon all day if permitted so he’s a fan.

If you’re making this for grown-ups, it’s really delicious when served with my quick tartare sauce.

You will need :

  •  1 tablespoon of creamy, natural yoghurt
  • 1 tablespoon good quality mayonnaise
  • 1 gherkin, if you have it
  •  A few capers, chopped
  •  Salt and pepper

What to do :

Toss it all together and stir

Voila. A really quick meal that is 500 times better for you than the take-away version.

 

 

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Super Yummy, Healthy Muesli Bars for Rugrats and Rascals

27 Mar muesli bars


It’s so hard to find good snacks for munchkins that are easy to pack and carry and are not full of preservatives and hidden nasties.

Muesli bars are awesome to throw in your handbag but I made the fatal error of buying a whoop from the supermarket after discovering their popularity. It wasn’t until I was home that I read the ingredients – rookie error. I found that a certain brand, synonymous with ‘health’ were so chocked full of sugar, oil, additives and fake fruit that I really couldn’t in good conscience feed them to D Man (company shall remain nameless although may rhyme with Muncle Schmobys). Then upon further investigation of yummier ones with less additives I discovered they were a million dollars per bar and over a couple of weeks could bankrupt you.

My household is a peanut butter lovin’ household and I’m sorry to say I can’t go past a bog standard salt added, sugar added version….although I do buy light as it makes me feel slightly better about my addiction (hell, if that’s the only one I have left I’m doing ok!), but recently a very dear friend of mine of singing the praises of all natural, all singing, all dancing pressed peanut style peanut butter. I got all righteous about it and decided not to start off with a little jar, no, I bought a whacking great bucket and decided, from now on, my family would only eat healthy peanut butter………Mister H turned his nose on day one, and D Man shortly followed suit, leaving me with a big tub of the stuff sitting in my pantry……. so I got to thinking, mmmmmmm, peanut butter muesli bars????

If you’re a nut free household you can omit the peanut butter but you will need a little more honey to keep it from crumbling into a million pieces upon first bite!

For something I’ve never made before I’ll often poodle around on google for a while and check out a couple of different recipes to see how the basic structure of said thing is (i.e. : what’s needed to keep it all together and not fall apart upon first bite) and then I’ll amalgamate and tweak until it’s mine.

So, after extensive muesli bar consumption, and a lot of dried fruit wind, here’s what I came up with.

Yield : 20 bars, so perfect to take for play with friends

Makes 24

Ingredients:

  • 125g butter
  • 1/4 cup honey (1/2 a cup for no peanut butter version)
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • ¼ cup raw sugar
  • 1.5 cups puffed brown rice (avail in either cereal aisle or health aisle at major supermarkets)
  • 1.5 cups raw quick cook oats (these are smaller pieces and easier for little jaws and digestive tracts to handle)
  • ¼ cup mixed seeds, pepitas, sesame, sunflower, whatever you want
  • 1.5 cups dried fruit of your choice. I love cranberries, sultanas, apricots and dates
  • ½ cup shredded coconut

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Mine is 34cmx22cm to give you an idea of how big you need.
Combine honey, peanut butter, sugar and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and stir for about a minute to let it thicken a little. Remove from heat and set aside.
Throw all your dry ingredients into a big bowl together and make a little well in the centre. Pour over your syrup and stir it until all dry ingredients are well coated and combined. Spoon into tray and I press down firmly with a big spoon to make it nice and even but also to compact it as much as I can before cooking. Pop it in the over for about 20 minutes, depending on oven, maybe 25 minutes, until it’s golden. Remove from oven.
At this stage, I get a clean cake tin and I press this puppy down as much as possible. The first time I made it I was picking up puffed rice from all manner of nooks and crannies so I reckon this step is imperative unless you want to eat outdoors or you have a dog that likes muesli. Leave to cool, put it on a board and cut into desired size.
I get about 20 pieces but I may be known to cut them chunky…..cos I’m a pig.

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Treat ‘Em Green…..5 Minute Pesto

25 Mar pesto bowl


So, for the record – I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel here. I don’t propose to be Neil Perry or Kylie Kwong. What I am endeavouring to do is give food inspiration to busy and tired people. Healthy, tasty, quick. That’s the key.

Let me preface this recipe by saying I love pesto.

I don’t love it because it’s versatile, and can be stirred through mayo to dress a salad or smear on a sandwich, and I don’t love it because it keeps nicely when refrigerated or frozen. I love it because D Man loves it and it takes 5 minutes to prepare. By the time the water for the pasta has boiled my pesto is ready and we’re good to dine, in a messy green fashion. This can be dolloped onto grilled fish or chicken, or stirred through freshly boiled potatoes with a squeeze of lemon. Basically, take what’s in the fridge and fancy it up with green stuff. Works on kids and husbands.

Traditionally, pesto is basil with a few other bits thrown in for excitement, but I’ve discovered that with enough basil and parmesan you can disguise most green vegetables so it’s a brilliant way to get in some sneaky veg. Raw food is incredibly important for the human body so I often don’t bother cooking what I blitz, although if you wanted to blanch quickly, that works too. If you’re all freaky on wheat there are many alternatives available at the supermarket these days – quinoa, rice and corn is a great combo that has fabulous nutritional qualities. D Man can spot it, however, at 20 paces and gives me the Mafioso stare down if I try to feed it to him…..that said, I can do a sneaky half and half if he’s not watching. Cooking times are different though so beware of the crunchy penne dilemma and be sure to read cooking instructions.

Now, I’m writing this as a toddler meal, but on busy weeknights I’ve most certainly been known to buy some good quality spinach and ricotta ravioli and crisp up some pancetta and serve this to us tall people for dinner. It’s seriously so fast and easy….and most importantly, yummy.

NOTE : If basil is too expensive or strong tasting for your bub, you can substitute parsley. The added bonus of this is a monster iron hit, too.

Time : 5 minutes

Yeild : 4 toddler serves or 2 adult and 1 toddler serve

Can be frozen in portions in freezer for a couple of weeks. Then it’s even easier than easy!

  • 2 big handfuls fresh, yummy basil
  • 1 handful or rocket or baby spinach
  • 50g good quality parmesan
  • 30g nuts – pine nuts, almonds and walnuts work for me
  • 1 clove garlic
  • Small handful of choice of veg – sugar snap peas, broccoli, zucchini combo
  • 90ml good olive oil
  • Penne to serve

Place all ingredients into a mini food processor, or blender or container to blitz with hand held Kitchen Wizz thing. Basically, smoosh it all together until it forms a paste. You want it to be luscious, not gluggy so add a little water, if needed, until it’s like a thick sauce.

Meanwhile, boil your pasta. At the last minute I also throw into my pasta water some cubed carrots and cauliflower as this gets devoured when green.

Drain pasta, add a couple of spoons of pesto and serve. You can also add tinned tuna, cooked chicken, cherry tomatoes or whatever you have for variety on the theme.

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