Making Meals in my Kitchen

I grew up eating my mother's homemade food. It was rarely anything fancy but it was good and filling and nourishing and there on the table every day. Now I cook for my own family. The food I make isn't that fancy either but it's fresh and wholesome and there on the table every day. 

This past week there was one roast dinner and lots of salads among other homemade deliciousness. I planned out our meals for the week, substituted what I did have for what I didn't have, shopped for what I needed and made the most of the ingredients I bought. Nothing was wasted; the compost bin got the peelings and my enthusiastic Labrador "supervisor" got the tidbits with roast chicken and leftover gravy being one of his favourites ... among his many favourites!

A lovely roast dinner.

On the one cooler evening we had this past week, I roasted a whole chicken (I had one left in the freezer that I did not cook up for Christmas lunch) with lots of roasted vegetables and made pan gravy from all the goodness stuck to the bottom of the roasting tray. We had leftover chicken wraps for lunch the next day too. Yum!

An oven baked frittata filled with roast veg.

From the leftover roast vegetables, I made an oven-baked frittata for dinner the next night. It stretched to lunch, accompanied by a summer salad, the following day.

Mmm ...  Macadamia & Mango Rice Salad

Salads are on our plates often during these Summer days. They are quick to make, full of revitalising colour and healthy goodness, taste amazing and there's always leftovers if you make a big enough bowlful to begin with. 

This Macadamia and Mango Brown Rice Salad is full of flavour and crunch! I bought the mangoes and raw macadamia nuts from Aldi and I have enough of both to make another big bowlful of this over the coming weekend. Besides roasting the macadamias and cooking the rice, there's very little else other than chopping up some fresh veg, throwing in a handful of currants and whisking up a two-ingredient dressing. So simple and so good!

Macadamia nuts roasted in my oven.

I roasted beautiful macadamia nuts for the salad while I was toasting a batch of homemade granola. Granola, or toasted muesli is so simple to make and so versatile. I added dried cranberries and chopped almonds and shaved coconut to this one. My husband loves coconut-everything (me, not so much) but you can add in your own favourites be it coconut or dates or dried apricots or pecans or sunflower seeds. That was breakfast taken care of!

Toasty homemade granola.

While the oven was on, I baked a lovely lemon slice using more of the rolled oats I bought for the granola, a tin of condensed milk I had in my pantry and some lemon juice I had in the freezer. I should have photographed that slice before putting it out for afternoon tea because it was gone before I remembered ... and I don't think the aforementioned Labrador had anything to do with that!

Meg

Zucchini Slice Muffins: Freeze For Later

Simple and nourishing, good 'ole Zucchini Slice is on the menu here regularly. It's usually baked in a tray but I make it into muffins because I freeze them individually. They are perfect for discovering in the freezer on busy nights when you've forgotten to defrost something for dinner. (Ahem! Yes, I do that more often now that I work outside of home a lot.)  A quick reheat and served with salad, they can be a saviour!

A quick and delicious meal for busy nights.

My Mum taught me to make Zucchini Slice and she never used a recipe. The recipe I use now for these muffins is based on the one from Stephanie Alexander in her cookbook, Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids. (Great for teaching children to cook!) I have fiddled very minimally with the recipe, namely changing from self-raising flour to spelt flour.  Here's how I make them in my kitchen:

Healthy ingredients for muffins.

Zucchini Slice Muffins

2 medium zucchini, finely grated

1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

1/2 cup corn kernels

1/2 cup chopped ham (*optional)

5 small or 3 large eggs

1/3 cup olive oil

150g white spelt flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

black pepper

tomatoes

1.  Put sifted spelt flour & baking powder, cheese, corn and ham (if using) in a large bowl.

2. Wring moisture out of grated zucchini by wrapping in a tea towel and squeezing over the sink.

3. Chop grated zucchini finely and add to other ingredients in the bowl.  Slice tomatoes.

4. Make well in centre of these dry ingredients.

5.  Whisk eggs and olive oil in jug or separate bowl.

6.  Add to ingredients in bowl and mix until just combined.

7. Put spoonfuls of mixture into muffin pan being careful not to overfill.

8. Place a slice of tomato on the top of each muffin.

8.  Bake in a 180C oven until risen and golden.

9. Eat when warm from the oven or freeze individually (and then thank your organised self when you 

   take them out of your freezer on nights when you've forgotten to defrost something for dinner!

Some with and some without tomato.

I was so very glad to find my stash of Zucchini Slice Muffins in our freezer this past couple of weeks. With a trip to the hospital's allergy clinic, carpets being ripped up and floating floors put down (half my house is still in my lounge room) and a boy on crutches, I was beyond happy to find them there!

Do you have a recipe that you learned to cook when you were young and that you still make today?

Meg

Little Lazy Apple Pancakes

One lonely Granny Smith apple, half a pot of forgotten plain yoghurt and a rumble-y tummy on a Sunday morning, wanting something different to our mostly usual omelette and toast, inspired what turned out to be, as I am calling them, Lazy Apple Pancakes. Not quite an Apple Dutch Baby, but delicious all the same!

Perfect for Sunday morning breakfast.

Lazy Apple Pancakes

1/2 cup white spelt flour

1/4 cup wholemeal spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 small eggs

1/4 cup natural plain yoghurt

1/4 cup milk

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored and thinly sliced into rounds

2 Tablespoons brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon mixed together

butter, for frying

maple syrup (*to serve*)

1.   Sift flours and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.

2.   Whisk eggs, yoghurt and milk together in a measuring jug.

3.   Make well in centre of flours and pour in egg mixture.

4.   Mix until combined and there are no lumps in the batter. Try not to overmix!

5.   Heat skillet or frying pan over medium heat and melt a small knob of butter.

6.   Place large spoonfuls of batter into warmed skillet. (Don't overcrowd your pan.)

7.   Peek under each cooking pancake and ... 

8.   ... gently place an apple round on top when the bottom of the pancake becomes firm and             before bubbles appear on top.  

9.  Sprinkle each apple slice with brown sugar and cinnamon mix. Continue cooking and ...

Flip and cook the apple on the other side.

10.  ...  Flip pancakes when little bubbles appear on surface, around edge of the apple slice.

11.  Cook, apple-side down, until apple softens, the brown sugar and cinnamon become 

       caramel-y and the pancake is firm and springy.

12.  Serve warm with a swirl of maple syrup or some extra dollops of a thick yoghurt.

The tartness of the Granny Smith apple works well with the sweetness of caramel-y brown sugar and maple syrup too. Not quite an Apple Dutch Baby but perfect for a lazy Sunday morning breakfast all the same.

Meg

Making It Count

How often do you eat out or get take away food? It's a pretty rare thing around here but, when I do decide to indulge, I make it count!

My "Once-in-a-Blue-Moon" Breakfast. Yum!

This last week of school term has been a big week!  School concert night is no small thing so there has been op-shop browsing for costume clobber, evening sewing to add final little touches to said costume (It is not always easy to attach cute little piglet ears to a hat!), an after-school dress rehearsal and then a long and very late drive home after the wonderful performance itself. 

The sparkle of a much-anticipated event!

This late night was way too quickly followed up by the 'turn-around' drive back up to school the next morning. I was pretty sure when I woke up yesterday that I had only just, in fact, gone to sleep!! So, after dropping off my beautiful boy, together with the homemade cake for shared last-day-of-term morning tea, I decided I was in need of a long sit still and some sustenance before heading back to school for the special end-of-term assembly. So, I found myself a quiet table in a bustling little cafe and ordered a late breakfast I would never make for myself. And then I breathed out. Whew!

Something warm &  frothy to drink!

The joy in a once-in-a-blue-moon treat like this, for me, is that it is not a regular thing. It is a hardly ever thing.  That means I truly appreciated it for the rarity it was. I made it count by patronising a little local business and not a multinational purveyor of 24 hour drive-through "food?" I chose a nourishing meal, with lots of healthy veg. (There is actually a delicious vegetable rosti under the bacon, avocado and peas ... and I couldn't not have haloumi. I 💗haloumi!) I ate. it. slowly. and thoroughly enjoyed it while watching the world go by through the windows of the cafe that frame the street outside. I ate all of it, no waste of food or money left on my plate.  And I did not need lunch!  

I left the little cafe quite content after my once-in-a-blue-moon brekkie. How about you? What rare treats do you indulge in and how do you make them count?

Meg

Nourishing Winter Breakfasts

An early morning storm is rolling through, the sky is dull and grey and the horizon invisible behind the cloud. It began as a gentle pattering on the roof, in keeping with the forecast showers, but it wasn't long before we heard thunder rumbling in the distance and the rain began bucketing down. The cold has settled in around us and will probably linger after such a damp and chilly start.

Just the type of morning for porridge! Topped with little blueberries and the distinct sweetness of a swirl of maple syrup, it's delicious. There are other breakfasts that we love just as much:

Our Breakfast Porridge

You can top it with any berries you like or a banana or add some coarsely chopped nuts.

Creamy avocado & feta on toast with last night's leftover roasted veggies.

(You can also make Bubble & Squeak with leftover roasted veggies too:)

Breakfast Banana Bread

(Toasty, warm and delicious on a cold morning with a warm drink.)

Omelette with the goodness of eggs, greens from the garden & leftover roasted veggies. You could add toast, bacon or some baked beans on the side, of course!

Breakfast Muffins

(You begin these the night before & bake the next morning for a warm start to the day.)

All of these breakfasts are a nourishing and filling way to start a Winter's day...or any day really. Perhaps you'll be able to make yourself a hearty breakfast or two this coming weekend. Perhaps someone could even be persuaded to make it for you and serve it to you in bed on a tray with a warm cuppa and the day's newspaper (Now, I'm getting ahead of myself!). 

Have a lovely weekend.

Meg

Homemade Summer Granola

Breakfast sets us up for the day ahead, at school or work or home, so it's important it's nutritious and filling. There's always toast on offer at our place but often there's omelette with something green from the garden or buttery mushrooms or homemade breakfast muffins or banana bread drizzled with honey. Porridge is the staple of the cooler months but in Summer it's too hot for porridge so I've started making this delicious oaty granola instead. It's delicious with a thick yoghurt or cold, creamy milk. It's so easy to make too!

Yoghurt topped with a simple, homemade granola. Delicious!

I began with a recipe for granola clusters from Karlynn over at The Kitchen Magpie and simply tweaked it to suit us. I reduced the amount of honey, left out the extra sugar, substituted a nut oil for the canola oil and then I put in the nuts, seeds, coconut and dried fruit we like and that I had in the pantry at the time. Here's how I made it: 

Homemade Summer Granola

(Leave out the nuts and substitute no-nut oil if you have a nut allergy.)

3 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1/4 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
handful of raw almonds, roughly chopped
handful of coconut flakes
1 Tablespoon chia seeds
1 Tablespoon sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch or two of ground rock salt

1/4 cup macadamia nut oil
1/4 cup honey

1. Preheat oven to 150C and line a flat baking tray with baking paper.

2. In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the macadamia oil and honey.

3. Whisk together the macadamia oil and honey in a separate jug then pour over dry 
     ingredients.

4.  Mix lightly to coat dry ingredients.

5. Spread mixture out on prepared baking tray. Push together little "clusters" of mixture 
    so they stick together as they bake. 

   (You may like to use the full 1/3cup honey to make clusters stick together more readily. 
     In using less honey, I found my clusters didn't hold together too well.)

6. Bake in oven until lightly golden. (Keep an eye on it so that it doesn't burn!)

7.  Cool completely then store in airtight containers ready to serve with breakfast. Yum!

Two jars of homemade granola for the pantry.

While I chose to add dried cranberries, almonds, coconut, chia and sunflower seeds to this batch of granola, next time I might choose different dried fruits, nuts and seeds. You can mix in whatever you fancy for a combination that your family loves. Yum!

I hope you enjoyed a hearty, healthy breakfast this morning and that it left you feeling ready for the day ahead.

Meg

p.s. The other thing I like about making our own granola is that I can forgo a cereal box, and the obligatory plastic packet inside that cereal box, when I shop.  Another good reason to make your own!

Breakfast Banana Bread

This nutty and delicious banana bread is a favourite alternative to cereal and toast in our home. We like it gently warmed, spread with real butter or topped with yoghurt and berries. It's a nourishing, gluten-free way to break a fast.

A healthy and delicious breakfast bread.

The original recipe comes from one of my favourite cookbooks, The Art of Nourishing, by Therese Steele, a local author who lives in a picturesque valley not far from me. My version is adapted from her original recipe. This is how I make it:

Breakfast Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas

1/3 cup macadamia nut oil

1/4 cup raw honey

1 egg, separated

1/4 cup milk

1 cup gluten free flour (I use Kialla's Non Gluten Grain Flour)

3/4 cup almond meal

4 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1.  Preheat oven to moderate (180C) and line a loaf tin with baking paper.

2.  Peel bananas and place in a food processor along with all the other ingredients except 

     the egg white. Blend these ingredients together thoroughly.

3.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg white until frothy, soft peaks form.

4.  Gently fold the frothy egg white through the blended mixture.

5.  Pour mixture into your loaf tin and bake until golden (about 40minutes). 

     Loaf should spring back when pressed gently in the centre. 

6.  Turn out of loaf tin and cool on a wire rack.

7.  Slice and serve warm. Spread with real butter  or top with yoghurt and berries. Yum!

A thick slice of early morning goodness.

This bread is quick and easy to prepare. After it has cooled, and everyone has enjoyed a piece, I cut the remainder of the loaf into slices and freeze them for another morning. Simple!

Meg

p.s. More about Therese Steele's cookbook can be found at this link for her cookbook. There are a couple of sample recipes at this website, including one for a gluten-free bread.

p.p.s. I have also made this loaf using spelt flour. If using spelt, the loaf is no longer gluten free but equally delicious:)

Pear and Blueberry Breakfast Muesli Muffins

In the quiet of the morning, and after a good soaking the night before, I mixed together the healthy and nourishing ingredients for these delicious breakfast muffins. A wonderful wheat-free alternative to toast!

Fresh and warm from the oven. Mmm...

Following Jude Blereau's recipe, from one my favourite cookbooks, Coming Home to Eat: Wholefood for the Family, I began, just before bedtime last night, by combining fruit-free muesli, wholemeal spelt flour, greek yoghurt and filtered water in a big glass bowl and leaving it the fridge to soak overnight. This morning it was nice and thick and ready for further additions of baking powder, egg, honey, melted butter and fruit.

Whisked egg & honey ready to be mixed into the soaked muesli mix. 

Our own blueberries, frozen and plump, are the perfect addition to these muffins. As they cook, the berries become jam-like and oozy. Their flavour teams beautifully too with diced pear, fresh or tinned. While blueberries and pear are a delicious combination, these muffins lend themselves to all kinds of fresh fruit additions. Think of an apple and cinnamon combo. Mmm...

Lovely fruits to be mixed in and a crumbly coconut topping...for the top!

After I gently folded the fruits in,  I filled my muffin tray with generous scoops of the fruity muffin mixture. Almost to the top! Then, just before placing them in the oven, I sprinkled them with a crumbly topping of desiccated coconut, coconut sugar and cinnamon. 

A sprinkling of crumbly coconut topping before baking adds the final touch on top.

As they baked, these muffins filled our kitchen with wafts of cinnamon-scented goodness that only served to intensify the rumbling of my tummy for breakfast. I couldn't wait to have one (or two or even three) with a glass of fresh, cold milk. And, half an hour later, they emerged from a warm oven, ready to be devoured.

Some for now and some to be frozen for quick breakfasts on future mornings.

Jude Blereau is passionate about her muffins!  If you would like to read more about her muffin ways, this link will take you there. If you scroll down, you'll find her recipe for classic muffins. They are just as delicious and nourishing as these breakfast versions. 

If you have your heart set on having muesli muffins, then Teresa Cutter has a recipe where you only have to soak some rolled oats for 10 minutes. 

Whatever you have for breakfast tomorrow, I hope it's nourishing and delicious!

Meg

Rustic Ham and Egg Pie

Getting the most out of the food we buy and grow is an essential part of the simpler life we are crafting here at our place. Planning and purchasing food wisely, making healthy meals from scratch, using up leftovers in creative ways and making multiple meals from meat and produce are key ways that stretch our food dollars and reduce food waste in the process. A win, win situation!

So, when I purchased a half leg of ham to serve at Christmas lunch, I wasn't just thinking about one meal on that special day. I was thinking ahead to all the other meals I could make from that delicious ham. Toasted sandwiches, fritters, salads, pea and ham soup (for quick homemade meals from the freezer) and moreish pies have all come from that one Christmas ham.

Slices of a rustic Ham & Egg Pie

Ham and egg pie, with spinach and onion and tomato, was a simple and nutritious discovery this festive season.  Inspired by this recipe, from Teresa Cutter (a.k.a. The Healthy Chef), and using up what I had on hand, I made this rustic and delicious pie. I opted for ready-made Butter Puff Pastry instead of making my own pastry because I had one and a half sheets of it left in the freezer and couldn't think of a better way to use it up. By choosing this option, it was very quick to assemble. This is how I made it:

Rustic Ham and Egg Pie

2 sheets ready-made puff pastry
olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 small capsicum, diced
100g leg ham, diced
1 large handful of baby spinach, washed and stalks removed
thin slices of fresh tomato
small handful of fresh parsley, washed and finely chopped
4 fresh eggs
black pepper

1.  Defrost pastry and preheat oven to temperature recommended on pastry packaging. (Mine required a hot oven set at 220 degrees celcius.)
2. Choose a medium-sized pie dish and line it with baking paper to prevent pastry from sticking to dish during cooking. (Make sure your pie dish will allow pastry to ease up sides of dish to form sides of your pie.)
3.  Lightly fry onion and capsicum in frypan with a glug of olive oil.
4.  Sprinkle fried onion and capsicum over pastry base of your pie.
5.  Sprinkle diced leg ham pieces and parsley over onion and capsicum.
6.  Lay baby spinach leaves over top of ham, onion and capsicum.
7.  Top spinach leaves with a layer of fresh tomato slices.
8.  Crack the eggs, one a a time, over the tomato layer. (You want to try to keep the white and yolk intact as  they plop onto your tomatoes.) Season with black pepper.
9.  Gently fold in sides of your pastry over the edges of the pie filling.
10. Cut remaining sheet of pastry into 2cm wide strips and lay them, in a criss-cross pattern if you wish, over the top of your pie filling. Pinch pastry together where strips meet edges of your pie.
11. Bake in oven until pastry has puffed, egg yolks have set and pie is golden brown.

12. Slice and serve warm or cold for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Enjoy!

Fresh ingredients for the pie.

The makings of a delicious pie filling.

Eggs will cook in the oven.

Pastry sides folded in and pastry strips on top.

This pie is so easy to make and the variations are endless. You can substitute bacon for the ham. You could add fresh sweetcorn kernels or roasted capsicum. You could use shredded silverbeet (chard) or kale instead of the baby spinach. You could sprinkle with parmesan cheese or crumble in some creamy feta. You could serve it with a fresh salad and some homemade chutney. You could make your own pastry! 

Whatever version you make of it, be sure you breathe in deeply as it cooks. The aroma wafting through our house while it was baking was mouth-watering. Mmm!

Meg

Beautiful Blueberries

I was gifted a blueberry bush a couple of years ago and  have been lovingly tending it since. I potted it up in a large terracotta pot and positioned it where it gets the morning sun and it's been in that pot, and in that position, since. I've topped up the soil with good quality potting mix occasionally, watered the bush with seaweed extract every now and again and mulched this acid-loving blueberry with pine needles and lucerne mulch whenever needed. I pruned it once too! 

In return for my care, it is now fruiting. Plump, blue berries are ripening and they are delicious. To me, they taste a little like mulberries when I eat them straight off the bush.

A plump and juicy blueberry waiting to be gobbled up!

Frozen berries, like blueberries and raspberries, are very expensive to buy. We do have them here to use sparingly but how wonderful to have our own blueberries to top our porridge with...if they aren't gobbled up between the garden and the kitchen!

Our Breakfast Porridge

1 cup porridge oats

2 cups milk

small handful fresh or frozen blueberries

maple syrup or honey

dessicated coconut

chia seeds

1. Place the oats and porridge in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the mixture bubbles and               thickens. (Don't let it get too dry!)

2. Spoon out portions into bowls.

3. Add a generous drizzle of maple syrup or honey.

4. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of chia seeds.

5. Sprinkle with as much dessicated coconut as you desire.

6. Top with blueberries.

7. Sit down somewhere in the morning light and enjoy this nutritious start to the day!

Delicious!