leek and chickpea soup

I've been charging along with my New Years resolution to eat more veg meals (I'm being so good and only have fish - no red meat or chicken). Here is a great one I pulled out of a library book. It's oh so tasty! This mighty Italian dish is a meal in one that will warm your cockles and give you some good ol nourishment of body and soul. Be patient with your sweating, its worth it. It doesn't look like much but serve this baby with some sourdough and you'll be blushing in shame at how judgemental you were.
This amount makes two servings.

You'll need:

1 cup of dried or canned chickpeas
1 tblspn olive oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1-2 leeks, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tblspn of rosemary, finely chopped
1 litre of stock or water. I used vege stock but you could use chicken if you're that way inclined.
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch of spinach leaves (remove the stems), chop up coarsely

If you're using dried chickpeas, soak these overnight.

Heat the oil in a medium size saucepan. Saute the onion, celery, leeks, garlic and rosemary VERY slowly, until soft but not coloured. We're talking half an hour of sweating, keep your temp low and the veges moving. Don't add salt yet.

Add the chickpeas and the stock/water and bring to a simmer. If you're using dried chick peas cook these for around 60mins, canned only needs 10mins.

Place a cup and half of the soup in a processor and make it smooth. Add it back to the soup, add your salt and pepper now and then just before it goes in a bowl pop the spinach in until its wilted.

Hot Dang, that's some good soup - is what you'll be saying. C gave this one a 10/10.



We had a lovely weekend up in Riwaka. That area is gorgeous, did some sea swimming at Kaiteriteri (no crowds!), wine tasting in Mahana, lunching in Mapua and kayaking in Riwaka.

pizza pinwheels

woah! double recipe trouble! C has been working which means the craft room slash office has been out of bounds. I have been working in my next favourite room - the kitchen! These party delights are very moorish, warning: it is hard not to stop munching the little beauties!

 

This recipe is a bit hap-hazard as I just make it up as I go along but it means that you have the freedom to add and remove what you like.

What I used:

2 puff pastry sheets

1/2 a red capsicum, finely chopped

few squirts of tomato paste

finely chopped spring onion

grated cheese

finely chopped basil

Pre-heat your oven to around 190-200.

Lay your pastry sheets out to start defrosting - this should only be about 3 minutes before they're workable, don't leave any longer as they will be very floppy.

Spread out your squirts of tomato paste onto the sheets - go right to the edges.

Sprinkle your toppings (just like a pizza) on top.

Roll up the square into a log.

Cut 1 inch slices from the log. (what's a more appetising word than log? stick?)

Lay out your slices on an oiled baking tray, give them enough room to expand.

Chuck in the oven for around 15 - 20 mins until pastry is puffed up and golden brown.

I know how tempting it will be to grab one of those little circles and shove it in your gob straight away - beware - they are super hot nuclear reactors so take care and blooowwww (yes I learnt the hard way!). Eat hot or cold. Hurray.

mint berry frappe

Fzzzz, its been hot. As I mentioned on my last post I was going to try out a Mint Berry Frappe. It was delish and sooo refreshing. Here's the recipe for my cooler-downer.

Few tips of mint - save one for the garnish
A handful of frozen berries (you can get these in a bag from the supermarket)
3 or 4 ice cubes
4 freshly squeezed oranges

 

Chuck it all in a blender and ta-da! If don't want such a thick result add more orange juice. Next Frappe will be pineapple and mint with a sneaky dash of vodka.

muesli bars

These healthy treats are a great lunch box addition or handy snack for unexpected guests. Give them a whirl!

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup desicated coconut
1/3 cup wheatgerm
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 sunflower kernels
1/2 pumpkin seeds
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup flax seeds
100g butter
1/2 cup honey
1/8 cup brown sugar

Grease and line a square tin with baking paper.

Cook oats, coconut, wheatgerm, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds over a low heat in a fry pan. Stir occasionally for 8 mins but don't let it burn!

When light brown, transfer this mix to a metal bowl.

Stir in the cranberries and flax seeds.

Cook butter, honey and sugar in a saucepan and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer without stirring for 5 mins. Add the wet mix to the dry.

Stir until combined and then spoon into your tin. Press down on the mix firmly and pop in the fridge until set. Chop up into slices and store in a tinfoil-lined container.

Munch at your desire.

cinnamon scroll

These little treats are a great alternative to cupcakes or muffins as an afternoon tea snack are they are fun and easy to throw together. In around 30 mins you can fill your kitchen with the most delicious smell. Give them a go and feed the troops after a hard morning gardening or chores.

2 cups self raising flour
pinch of salt
90g butter, chopped
2/3 cup of milk

the filling:
120g  softened butter
4 tblspn soft brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

the icing:
1 cup of icing sugar
1 tblspn boiling water

Turn your oven onto 210 degrees celcius.
Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and rub in chopped butter with the tips of your fingertips until crumbly (I love this part!).

Make a well in the middle and tip in nearly all of your milk, mix lightly with a flat bladed knife until you get a soft dough. Only add the rest of the milk if you need to.

Turn your dough onto a lightly floured bench and knead briefly. Roll out into a square around 25cm x 40cm.

Get your filling ready by beating the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until it's light and fluffy and then spread onto your square of dough.

Roll it up from the long side and then slice into 3cm pieces and lay these out on a greased tray with the cut side up. Pop them in the oven for aorund 12 mins.

Mix your icing sugar and boiling water together then drizzle over the buns. Done. Eat immediately for warm comfort. Delicious!

We have had a really productive long weekend and have managed to tick off all our spring cleaning jobs. Oh domesticity! Roll on long evenings sitting in the garden, barbeques and reading in the sun.

ginger

 

I love this ginger loaf, when smeared with butter and consumed alongside a hot cup of tea it is the ultimate heart-warmer. It's super simple to throw together too!

This recipe is enough for a small loaf.

50g butter

1tbsp golden syrup

1 egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1tsp baking powder

2tsp ginger

1tsp mixed spice

1tsp baking soda

3/4 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees celcius.

Melt your butter and golden syrup on a low heat in a small saucepan. Pour into a mixing bowl.

Add the egg and sugar and mix well.

Add all the dry ingredients except the baking soda and mix well.

Mix the soda in the milk and then slowly stir into the rest of the mix.

Pour your mixture into a baking paper-lined loaf tin.

Bake for 30-40min until a skewer comes out cleanly. Leave on a rack to cool.

Also featured in the pics is my new blanket that I picked up from Retropolitan. I love the colours and is perfect for sitting on in the sun with a good book (which I did this afternoon!).

steam bake

Warm, crusty, hot-from-the-oven loaf. Yep, it sounds amazing and in real life it was rather darn good too. Here is Wendyl's recipe that I tried:

25g butter
1 tblspn salt
1 tblspn sugar
400ml boiling water
1 tblspn active dried yeast granules (not Surebake)
100ml water - blood temperature
6 cups white flour

Put butter, salt and sugar in a large bowl and pour over boiling water.
Stir in the butter until it has melted and leave to the side to cool down.
Sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm water and whisk with a fork. Set aside for 10 mins until the yeast goes frothy.
Stir yeast mixture into the butter mixture and stir in nearly all of the flour (the rest goes on the bench). Your dough should be able to be kneaded easily and leaves the bowl clean.
Knead for 10 mins by pushing it away from you with the heel of your hand and then rolling back towards you.
Rinse your bowl out with hot water so that it heats up, dry and coat with oil then put the dough into the bowl and pop it in a warm place for around an hour until it has doubled in size.
Push the dough down gently (don't punch!) then cut it in half and mould it into two oval shapes.
Put your loaves side by side on a greased tray and leave to rise for 5 mins.
Slash the tops with five deep cuts and put on the middle rung of the oven. Boil a jug of water and fill a roasting pan and put this on the rung directly under the loaves. Close the oven door and set the temp to 200 celcius. Bake for 40 - 45mins. Eat with butter and honey straight from the oven.

Next post I'm going to rave about my new Yoga classes. Be prepared.

chewy oats

These little treats are the easiest afternoon tea snack and lunchbox addition.

75g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
75g brown sugar
75g porridge oats
75g polyunsaturated margarine
1 tablespoon golden syrup
cooking spray


Put your oven on to 170 celcius.
Sift the flour and bicarb soda together then add the sugar and oats
Melt the marg and golden syrup in a saucepan then turn off the heat and add the dry mixture
Mix it all together and put tablespoon size dots on a baking sheet sprayed with the cooking spray
Be careful to leave enough space between each biscuit so they can spread out. Flatten them down a little bit with your fingers.

After 15 min or when they're golden brown take them out and let them cool on a rack.


What a crazy week at work. It has been exhausting and has meant that I have severely neglected my blogging!

on the side

tomato and zucchini gratin

This is a really simple and very flavoursome side dish. I started making this a few years ago and we tend to have it once a month. This recipe is for two people.

Olive Oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 zucchini

2 tomatoes

Preheat your oven to 180 celcius

Wash your veges (especially if from the supermarket)

Put around a tablespoon of oil in the baking dish and add your crushed garlic. 

Slice zucchini and tomato (around 1/2 cm width - try and keep this consistent)

Layer the zucchini and then the tomato (if you are feeding more then keep alternating the layers, adding crushed garlic between them)

Sprinkle grated cheese on top and bake in the oven until the cheese is golden brown and the zucchini is cooked. 

Back at work yesterday and quite a shock to the system! Most of the snow has melted now but is creating a new potential hazard. See the pics below:

the river two days ago

 

 

the river now!

zesty!

 

This zesty lemon slice was the perfect afternoon pick me up while working through some projects. My friend passed on the recipe and here is how to make it:

The base
175g butter chopped
300g caster sugar
2 eggs
70g self raising flour
220g plain flour

500g lemon curd (if you have a spare 1/2 hour you can make this from scratch, otherwise use an off-the-shelf)

The topping
2 eggs, beaten lightly
75g caster sugar
2 cups desicated coconut

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius. Line a 20cm x 30cm lamington pan with baking paper.

Beat the butter, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy.

Sift the flours and stir them into the butter mixture.

With lightly floured hands, press the mixture evenly over the base of the prepared pan.

Freeze for 15 minutes and then bake for another 15 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

Spread the lemon curd over the cold base.

Combine the topping ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well and sprinkle over the curd.

Bake for around 30 minutes or until browned. Let cool before cutting into slices. DELISH!
Still no sign of the snow yet, the anticipation is certainly building as the mercury drops.
With a casserole in the oven, a glass of pinot and some good company we're ready for a cosy night in

shanky lamb

This is a great hearty meal for a winter sunday. Very much a 'chuck it in and walk away' scenario with bold flavours. This recipe serves two.

Olive Oil
2 Lamb Shanks
1 onion
1 tsp ginger
3 garlic cloves (or however many you prefer)
1/2 tsp chilli (add more if you want the heat)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 can tomatoes
1 can chickpeas
2 carrots, chunky sticks
1 tsp honey
300 ml water

Pre-heat your oven to 150 celcius.

1. Brown the shanks in oil in a casserole dish. Remove the lamb from the dish and pour off any excess fat, leaving around 1 tsp in the dish, add the roughly chopped or processed onion and fry gently until soft.

2. Mix together the ginger, garlic, chilli, cumin, coriander, pepper and paprika. Add half the mix to the onions and tip in the tomatoes.

3. Pop in the shanks and cover with 300ml of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 min.

4. Cover and put the dish in the oven for around 1.5 hrs.

5. Remove dish from oven and stir in the remaining spice mix and your chickpeas, carrot, honey and salt. Return to the oven for around 45 mins until the carrot is cooked and the meat is falling off the bone.

6. If your casserole is still watery add a handful of split red lentils and gently simmer for 10 min.

Serve it with couscous, mash or with some green veg and a chopped coriander garnish. So easy, so heartwarming and so delicious!

bedridden

For the second time this winter I have a cold.

The first time around I tried to continue on with life and not let the cold get me down. I was pig-headed, I went to work, I kept drinking coffee, I had early showers. In response to this behaviour, the cold hovered around for two weeks, and then stayed a little bit longer just as a lingering cough.

This time, I'm frustratingly letting the cold force me into bed and am dosing up on immunity support in the hope that if I give the cold my weekend then maybe it won't stay around for as long this time. I struggle with this as I'm not very good at sitting around and not 'achieving' anything. C is making it as easy as possible for me to be lazy, with breakfast and endless supply of hot drinks brought to me in bed, not to mention, my laptop, reading material and the opening and closing of curtains.

Due to the mass snot production that is my focus at the moment I haven't brought myself to do any crafty activities. Life is more about the timing of sneezes and the containment of germs in my tissues.

Wendyl Nissen has a cold potion in her book which I'm nervous about trying - she warns that it is DISGUSTING and should be taken with whiskey to make it easier to consume. I don't have any whiskey!

This is Wendyl's recipe:

1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
pinch cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon of honey
juice of half a lemon

Boil the water, ginger, cayenne, and garlic for one minute. Remove from heat and add honey and lemon juice. Cool then hold your nose, close your eyes and drink. Should give relief from cold symptoms for 3 hours.

Do I dare? Does anyone have any other concotions for me to try?