Tag Archives: Food

Recipe: World’s Easiest Roast Veggie Tart

by Katie on May 4, 2013 in Food, Recipes

This week, with us busy working on the house all day and very tired in the evenings as a result, our eating habits have been a bit all over the place. We’ve been having lots of quick, thrown together meals like this little tart, improvised with pantry staples for an easy (and yummy!) lunch. I roasted the veggies especially, but this recipe is also perfect for using up vegetables leftover from another meal. I used sweet potato, potato and onion in my tart, but you could use almost any vegetables you have on hand (though I would always include an onion!) You could also add fresh herbs, pesto, feta, sundried tomatoes, garlic or parmesan for extra flavour and yumminess. Think of this recipe as a blank canvas and get creative!

1/2 Medium Sweet Potato
5 Baby Potatoes
1 Brown Onion
1 Tbsp Olive Oil (or Olive Oil Cooking Spray)
4 Large Eggs
2 Tsp Self-Raising Flour
1/4 Cup Milk or Cream
1 Cup Grated Cheese
Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Chop sweet potato and potatoes into medium sized pieces and onion into wedges, and place in a baking dish. Drizzle/spray with olive oil and pop in the oven to roast for 45 minutes, or until tender.
3. Once vegetables are cooked, whisk eggs, milk/cream, flour, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Stir in cheese.
4. Pour egg and cheese mixture over roasted veggies.
5. Bake tart for 30 minutes, or until firm and golden.

Katie x

Comments { 9 }

Crumpet Sunday

by Reuben on April 21, 2013 in Daily Life, Food, Home, Recipes

A very exciting thing happened this morning. We made crumpets from scratch! I’ve always loved crumpets and have daydreamed about making them myself for years, but I’m not the greatest cook so have always been a bit scared to give it a go. I recently decided it was time to face my fears!

Crumpets need time to rise, and I didn’t want to have to wait around for them in the morning, so I knocked most of the ingredients together last night and left the batter in the fridge overnight. This morning when we got up I threw the last couple of ingredients in and whisked it all together, then Katie cooked the crumpets in egg rings while I made cups of our favourite coffee. Lattes are a little day off tradition in our house.

It turns out I had nothing to be worried about. Crumpets are easy to make! We used this recipe and they were pretty darn good, though we might tweak it a tiny bit next time. The batter also made a lot of crumpets, but that was quite handy because we were able to pop some in the freezer for quick breakfasts during the week.

I’m so glad we finally made crumpets. Maybe next week we’ll do it again. I’m already looking forward to the next Crumpet Sunday!

Have you tried any new recipes lately? Are there any things you’ve always been a bit scared to make? I’d love to hear about your cooking adventures.

Reuben

Comments { 24 }

Recipe: Raspberry, Coconut and Chia Muffins

by Katie on April 5, 2013 in Food, Recipes

In recent months muffins have become a bit of a staple in our house. Reubs often starts work very, very early and I like to have muffins on hand so that he can grab one for breakfast on his way out the door. Along with my Roasted Pumpkin and Parmesan Muffins, these Raspberry, Coconut and Chia muffins have become a fast favourite.

Makes approx. 12 muffins

1 Cup Wholemeal Self Raising Flour
1 Cup Desicated Coconut
1/2 Cup Almond Meal
1/2 Cup Raw Sugar
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
1 Cup Coconut Cream
1 Egg
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
At Least 1 Cup Fresh or Frozen Raspberries (I use about 2 cups!)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and line muffin tray with paper muffin cases.
2. Combine all dry ingedients together in a large bowl.
3. Mix in egg and coconut cream and stir until well combined.
4. Stir in raspberries. (Use lots. The more raspberries the better, I think!)
5. Divide mixture into muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes or until firm and slightly golden.

These are especially delicious eaten when still warm. Go on!

Katie x

Comments { 20 }

Recipe: Guilt Free 2 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

by Katie on March 19, 2013 in Food, Recipes

Some time ago, when we were still living in Sydney, I shared my version of the 2 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake that has been floating around the internet. Unfortunately, all that butter, sugar and flour means those little cakes aren’t terribly healthy, and though I’m not at all opposed to a treat, recently I’ve been making a real effort to eat well and cook using more whole, healthy, nutritious ingredients. So I’ve been working on giving some of my favourite unhealthy recipes a little makeoever, and last week I was absolutely thrilled when my attempt to make a more nutritious version of the 2 minute chocolate mug cake worked out brilliantly! My new and improved version is low GI, gluten free, refined sugar free, high in protein, and could probably even be made vegan (with an egg supstitute). But what’s most miraculous of all, is the fact that I think the healthier version is equally as yummy, if not more so, than the original. It’s sounds impossible but it’s true! Here’s the recipe:

3 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 Tbsp Almond Meal
1-2 Tbsp Honey (I use one but some might prefer it a little sweeter)
1.5 Tbsp Coconut Cream (or regular thickened cream)
1 Egg

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large mug, until well combined. Don’t fret about little lumps.
2. Microwave for 2 minutes. (I actually found that the cake is done and is slightly moister if I take it out at 1 minute and 40 seconds, but this will vary from microwave to microwave. If you find the cake dry after 2 full minutes, next time try cooking it for 10 seconds less.)
3. That’s all folks! Enjoy!

Katie x

Update: A few people have asked whether or not this recipe could be baked in the oven, rather than microwaved, so I’ve given it a go and the answer is yes! It can! I baked the mug cake at 180ºC for about 20 minutes, and the result was slightly different from the microwave version but still good. The only thing I would suggest is, if you are going to bake it, mix the ingredients in a small bowl then transfer the mixture into a greased mug before popping it into the oven. I mixed and baked mine in the same mug and as a result the edges were really baked onto the mug.

Comments { 37 }

The Italian Kiwi Fruit Incident

by Katie on March 14, 2013 in Daily Life, Environment, Food, Simple Living, Sustainability

Ever since reading Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and writing this post I’ve been making a concerted effort to eat more locally, especially when it comes to fresh produce. We’ve been deliberately steering clear of imported fruit and veggies, that come with a huge carbon footprint, and have been opting for Australian grown (and locally grown wherever possible). Reuben and I are lucky enough to live in a country that is capable of producing vast quantities of fresh produce, so from a sustainability point of view, it just doesn’t make sense for us to buy fruit and vegetables grown overseas. I absolutely love blueberries but have even managed to refrain from buying the pretty little punnets of New Zealand berries in the shops.

All that said, today Reubs and I were picking up some groceries and I was in a bit of a rush to get home. I hadn’t had any lunch so was starving and, as supermarkets are pretty much the worst place to be when you’re hungry, I was keen to get out of there as quickly as possible. In my haste I spied packages of kiwi fruit for just $2. I really, really hate when supermarkets pack fruit and vegetables in excessive plastic so I did hesitate for a moment before I put them in my trolley, but the idea of lovely, fresh kiwi fruit for such a great price was so nice, I couldn’t resist them. It wasn’t until after I got home and was unpacking everything until I noticed this:

That little plastic package of kiwi fruit had travelled all the way from Italy to land in my fridge. When I realised this I wondered exactly how far the distance between Australia and Italy was, so I googled it, and apparently it’s about 14, 400 km. That equates to a lot fossil fuel burned, just so I could eat kiwi fruit out of season! Then when I considered that the package of fruit had cost me just $2, and thought about all the money that must have been spent on transporting and storing them and making a profit for all the parties involved, I couldn’t help but wonder how much the poor farmer who grew them must have received. Suddenly, those sad little kiwi fruits really didn’t look so appealing.

Two years ago, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed where my fruit came from, let alone worried about it. And though I’ll never be able to buy everything I need or want locally, I understand now that every little bit counts. Every purchase I make sends a message. Silly as it might sound, those Italian kiwi fruits were a good reminder that we are on the right path. Together Reuben and I are learning and making positive changes to our lifestyle every single day. It’s the little, seemingly insignifcant, incidents like this one that show us how far we’ve come. And equally, how far we have to go.