Soul Cages and Japanese Food

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My current musical obsession is Sting’s latest album ‘The Last Ship’, a musical inspired by his childhood experiences and the shipbuilding industry in the north of the UK. The music and lyrics are beautiful, folksy and are a moving and melancholy delight.

I am particularly struck by a song in which Sting suggests that we keep our souls in a cage. That is, before they are set free from this mortal coil and sent to the ‘Island of Souls’ for eternity. He talks about his father’s soul, living in the same cage as the carrier pigeons that he lovingly tended to. My understanding is that his fathers soul resides in the place it feels whole, happy and rounded. Which gets me to thinking, where would my soul cage be?

Probably somewhere in our kitchen. Perhaps squashed between the pages of one of the many loved recipe books or nestled in a well used mixing bowls? Is it tucked away in the motor of the KitchenAid or possibly lounging in the base of my cast iron casserole dish? I do know that one of the places I feel most content and most, well, myself, is the kitchen.

This is how I show my sons, husband, family and friends; my love and appreciation. Through baking and cooking food that nourishes them, warms them, cheers them up, heals them and sometimes even challenges them.

The Yak is a vegetarian and a coeliac and these dishes were cooked because I love him. Well, most of the time, except when he ships me. (That is not a mis-type.)

The inspiration came from a giant eggplant that needed to be eaten and a Hairy Bikers episode in Kyoto, Japan. The Hairy Bikers (like Sting and The Yak), herald from the north of England. Their passionate love of food and delightful turn of phrase is an absolute joy.

The silken eggplant combined with the umami miso paste is a revelation. Teeny miso angels rose up and played little eggplant trumpets whilst we ate…really, they did. Combined with crunchy bites of tofu, we were replete and content.

As the Hairy Bikers, Sting, Northern English shipwrights or The Yak might say, this was a right cracking feed.

NASU DENGAKU (Miso glazed eggplant)

WHAT YOU NEED
1 ginormous eggplant or two medium sized
1 tbl sugar
1 tbl mirin
3 tbl miso paste
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbl water
1 tbl toasted sesame seeds for garnish

WHAT YOU DO
Slice the eggplant in half lengthways and score with a criss cross pattern, this helps retain the sauce.
Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, scored side down and bake in oven for 20 to 25 minutes until tender. Remove and set aside.
Whilst the eggplant is baking, place all the remaining ingredients (except the sesame seeds) in a saucepan and stir over a low heat until they are combined.
Brush sauce over the cooked eggplant and grill for 3-5 minutes until dark golden brown and bubbling.
Serve and garnish with sesame seeds.

TOFU AGEDASHI

WHAT YOU NEED
400g silken tofu (I only had firm so I just used what I had, you can make this recipe with less tofu.)
1 cup Vegetarian dashi (which I didn’t have, so it was really Tofu Age?)
2 tbl Soy sauce
2 tbl mirin
Vegetable oil for shallow frying
5 tbl brown or white rice flour for coating
1 Spring onion, finely sliced ( which I also didn’t have)

WHAT YOU DO
Wrap the tofu in paper towel and drain by placing a dish upon it to get rid of excess moisture.
Put the dashi, soy sauce and mirin in a saucepan, bring to the boil then take off the heat and set aside.
Discard the paper towel, slice the tofu in half lengthways and cut each piece into 9 pieces.
Heat 1 cm of oil in a frypan or saucepan. Coat the tofu in brown rice flour and fry on each side until they are light golden brown.
Drain on paper towel.
Serve the tofu with the dashi sauce poured over and garnish with the spring onion.

Both recipes are based on past experiments and the recipes from websites listed after the photos.

http://www.justasdelish.com/grilled-miso-glazed-eggplant/

http://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/agedashi-tofu-2/

Husbands don’t listen and gluten free buckwheat omelettes

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The other day I was crapping on talking to my wonderful husband about something inane very important. The following conversation ensued.

Me: Do you sometimes wish you hadn’t married me?
Yak: Yeah.
Me: What?
Yak: What did you say?
Me: I just asked, do you sometimes wish you hadn’t married me and you said yeah!
Yak: Oh, I wasn’t listening.
Me: Are you embarrassed now?
Yak: No, I’m just normal.

Despite many conversations like this, I continue to feed my vegetarian coeliac husband. (I know, I am an awesomely forgiving and kind human being). This ain’t my recipe folks. Straight up. It’s borrowed, stolen, nicked, knocked off from the wonderful Sneh Roy and her Cook Republic blog. Hence, I have provided my photos then linked to her fabulous recipe afterwards.

These buckwheat omelettes are pancake like and have an Indian twist. They are a well tasty brunch, lunch or light dinner option. We adore the fresh and light coriander burst they provide.

Many of you may already be aware of this but I just wanted to share a wee cheffy hint given to me many moons ago by a real life cheffy type person. When dicing, chopping, crushing, squashing, pestle and mortaring garlic, always add a big pinch of salt to help ‘bring the garlic down’. (By this I don’t mean to depress the poor member of the onion family with pithy and personal put downs. ‘Yeah garlic, you are so much more stinky than your other close relatives’.) Adding the salt helps the garlic to release it’s delicious oils and also stops it sticking to your knife.

Cheergerm adaptations to this excellent recipe include bumping up the salt to 1 tsp sea salt, using 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger powder as I had no fresh ginger, adding 1/4 diced red pepper and 100g cherry tomatoes (as I didn’t have any big tomatoes) Also, as we didn’t have fresh chilli, I used sweet chilli sauce and tomato sauce mixed together as the accompanying sauce.

Here are my photos, I have given a link to the recipe at the end. Once you have visited Cook Republic, you may never leave.

http://www.cookrepublic.com/journal/savoury-buckwheat-omelettes-a-newspaper-column-and-the-title-of-my-first-cookbook/

Gluten free onion and mushroom tart. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

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A tart by any other name is simply a topless pie. My goodness. This is all sounding a tad x-rated.

Gluten free pastry has, thus far, felt somewhat beyond me. Having enjoyed some perfectly lovely gluten filled pastry bakes in my past, a reluctance to stuff up gluten free pastry has always felt a bit too, well, potentially painful.

This bake was a game changer. Yeah baby. Well, kind of.

Starting at 5pm on a Saturday afternoon was probably not the best choice. Bite the bullet I told myself, now or never. Carpe diem, momentous self-help talk, yada, yada, yada. Snoreworthy.

After dicking messing around with the recipe, (it’s a medial condition), the recipe called for the pastry to rest for at least one hour. Here is the (pastry) rub. I knew it wasn’t right the minute I took it out of the food processor, but I ignored my gut instinct. Then, as I went to roll it out. The pastry completely fell apart…Arggghhhhhh…my nightmare was coming true.

However, a tad more iced water, a quick knead and it came together. With no time to waste, I rolled it out between two sheets of baking paper, blind baked it, filled it and baked it again. A millennium later, Bob was your uncle . (By this time the Yak had passed out on the floor from utter hungation.)

It turned out a treat. Second time around, I added just a tad too much water to the pastry. So it took a little more blind baking to dry it out. The moral of this story? Don’t be afraid if things go slightly wrong, you can usually fix them.

Love, love this sexy little tart. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more…) The filling is based on a French provincial classic. Caramelised onions, earthy mushrooms, floral thyme with some hacked up greens. Be inventive with the greeny bits. There was kale in the fridge but baby spinach, silverbeet, rocket or parsley would be just as good.

It is rich, filling and would be awesome cut with a sharply dressed salad. (By this, I don’t mean a bespoke suit with a french cuffed shirt and a pair of brogues.) When I asked The Yak if was it too rich, his reply? No way, are you kidding, I want chips with it. Sigh.

The crust is buttery, crunchy and this cheergerm don’t miss no gluten. The Yak went into raptures (as much as an Northern English born lad is able to.)

This pastry is a more ‘wholegrain’ adaptation from the Simply Gluten Free blog. I have provided the link below, it contains some fantastic pastry baking tips.

GLUTEN FREE ONION AND MUSHROOM TART

THE FLOUR MIX
3/4 brown rice flour
1/4 buckwheat flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1tsp xanthum gum

Whisk this together, this leaves you some flour for rolling the pastry out on. You use one and 1/4 cups of this flour for the actual tart base.

THE TART CRUST
1 1/4 cups flour blend (see above)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp sugar
125 grams cold cold butter (pop in freezer 15 minutes before using)
5 to 6 tbls iced cold water (put ice cubes in cold water)

WHAT YOU DO
Place flour, salt and sugar into a food processor and pulse 5 times to combine.
Add the butter and pulse 6 or 7 times until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with some pea size butter pieces.
With the processor running, add the water 1 tbl at a time until the mixture just clumps together. (This is the tricky bit, don’t go nuts with the water.)
Wrap (using a plastic bag for this step is a good idea) and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. This allows the water in the pastry to redistribute.
Whilst pastry is resting, preheat oven to 180C and make the filling. (See below)
Bring pastry back out and let it sit for 5- 10 minutes.
Roll between two sheets of baking paper dusted with remaining GF flour mix.
Place pastry a pie/tart tin (I used a glass Pyrex) that has been buttered.
Blind bake 20 mins. (This means lining the pastry with baking paper and using dried kidney beans, dried soup mix (as I did) or blind baking stones.)
Remove baking paper and beans, gently prick the base of the tart with a fork and bake for another ten minutes.
Remove tart pastry, strew the onion filling over the base of the pastry, gently pour the egg, cream and parmesan mixture over the onion mixture stir through carefully, not touching the pastry.
Bake at 180 for 30 to 40 minutes until the top is golden and puffy.

THE FILLING
3 large sliced onions
2 tbl olive oil
200g mushrooms, sliced
5 leaves of kale finely sliced
1 tsp dried thyme (or 1 tbl fresh chopped thyme)
Splash white wine
3 eggs
100 ml cream 1/4 to 1/2 cup
2 tbls grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

WHAT YOU DO
In a large frypan heat the olive oil then add the onion. Cook on a low to medium heat until the onion has begun to caramelise. This takes about 30-40 minutes.
Add thyme, mushrooms and kale. Stir through. Turn to medium heat
Add a splash of white wine and stir until all of the liquid has evaporated, season with pepper and salt and set aside to cool.
Whisk the eggs, cream, salt and pepper together. Stir the parmesan through this mixture.

Crust recipe adapted from Simply Gluten Free blog. (The link is provided after the photos.) The filling is a Cheergerm creation.

http://simplygluten-free.com/blog/2013/11/perfect-gluten-free-pie-crust-recipe.html

Roasted cauliflower soup and doonas

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Hot soup is like a winter weight doona. It wraps it’s arms around you and bear hugs you into a calmer state of existence. (Put that on a card Hallmark.) Soup is by nature pretty forgiving. It’s a nifty way of using up spare veggies and other assorted leftover bits and bobs.

Rarely does it taste exactly the same twice and making soup is always a bit of an exciting adventure. (Please keep in mind that I don’t get out much anymore.) It reminds me of 1970’s flannelette pyjamas, Walt Disney movies on the television, Mum’s veggie soup and her homemade scones.

Autumn is upon us. The days here have been unseasonably warm but the nights are certainly cooler. As the Yak stretches up to the top of the linen cupboard for cosier bedding, I also dust off the soup pot, ready for heavy usage. (In other words, expect a plethora of soupy type posts over the new few months.)

Roasting the cauliflower emphasises this vegetables nutty flavour and gives it some gorgeous caramelisation. Preparing this cruciferous veggie in this manner is like eating cauliflower on steroids. (Without any uncomfortable enquiries from official sporting governing bodies.) This soup is soft and harmonious with a slight garlicky hint and earthy undertones from the cumin.

Keep in mind that roasting garlic will give it a it milder and sweeter flavour. My cloves of garlic were very small but it was all I had left. Next time I would use bigger cloves or add a few more in. At least it was Australian garlic, the upside being there were no food kilometres/miles/cubits/furlongs on it.

Roasted cauliflower soup

WHAT YOU NEED
1 head cauliflower cut into large florets
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
Olive oil to drizzle
2 tbl olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 large peeled potato, small dice
1 tsp cumin powder
6 cups water
1 teaspoon Massel vegetarian stock powder (or stock powder of your choice)
1/2 tsp sea salt
Black pepper to season

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat oven to 170C.
Place cauliflower and garlic cloves into a roasting pan lined with baking paper . Drizzle over olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, remove and stir then for another 15 minutes.
Check at 30 minutes and remove from the oven if the cauliflower is tender. Place aside and peel the garlic when it has cooled.
In a large saucepan, pour in 2 tbl olive oil and sauté onion for 1 – 2 minutes then add potatoes, cumin and stir for a minute or two.
Add the cooked cauliflower and peeled garlic, water, stock powder, salt and some pepper.
Bring to the boil then reduce the soup to a simmer.
Cook for 30 min, until potatoes are soft then blend with a stick blender.
Check for seasoning and serve.
We enjoyed this soup topped with crumbled fetta and crunchy toast on the side.

A cheergerm recipe

Kale, red onion and a splash of verjuice

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Dear snotty lady in the overpriced posh food shop many years ago,

Four score and twenty years ago, I came in to your store and asked for some verjuice. I pronounced it exactly as it was spelt. Saying ‘ver’, then ‘juice’ as in ‘orange juice’. You looked down your elongated nose and pronounced in your very best plum in the mouth, lower northshore accent. ‘Surely dear, you mean ver-jus’. (Your pronunciation of the ‘juice’ as in the French pronuciation of the word jus…rhyming with zhoo..like ach-choo but softer).

Yes, you did make me feel ten cm tall (and I am barely taller than that anyway). I slunk away that day, clutching my bottle of unripe grape juice to my slightly wounded pride.

I write today to happily inform you that your elitist attitude didn’t deter me from continuing on my food journey. Some of the foodie jobs I have held did consist of educating others. I truly hope I have never contributed towards making anyone feel as small I as felt, when I left your shop that day.

This big, wide wonderful world of food is a never ending journey of exciting discoveries. Learning new things everyday rocks my very being.

Yours delightfully,

Cheergerm

PS Get stuffed.

KALE AND RED ONION with a splash of verjuice!

WHAT YOU NEED
2 tbl garlic infused olive oil or regular olive oil
1 medium red/Spanish onion, sliced
1 red capsicum, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
1 bunch kale washed and chopped into 2-3cm strips
Splash of verjuice or squeeze of lemon

HOW YOU DO IT
In a large frypan, sauté the onion, capsicum, salt and chilli over low to medium heat until they are soft and starting to caramelise, about 15 -20 minutes.
Add the kale, stir and cook for 10 – 15 minutes until it starts to soften.
Add a large splash of verjuice (or lemon) and stir to mix through until the verjuice starts to sizzle.
Season with extra salt and pepper to taste.

This dish is great by itself as a light lunch or dinner. Also as a side to eggs, grilled meats, casseroles, tofu dishes, anything your wee heart desires really.

This is also good with a couple of cloves of crushed garlic, added just before you pop in the kale. Due to the Yak having to talk to people all day, sometimes we have to dial back on the garlic during the week.

A cheergerm recipe

What the heck is verjuice anyhoo?

Made from unripe grapes, it was used in the Middle Ages as a condiment in sauces or to deglaze particular dishes. It is a alternative to vinegar. One of my food heroes, Maggie Beer, was at the forefront of bringing verjuice back into popularity by being the first (her claim) in the world to produce it commercially.

The mild acidity of verjuice is a real bonus. It isn’t as ‘in yo face’ as lemon juice or vinegar and is great in dishes where you want a gentler acidic alternative. You should be able to find it in good delis and in some supermarkets.

I love it as an alternative to vinegar and lemon in dressings, tossed over sautéed veggies and also to deglaze the pan juices of meat, cheese and other veggies dishes.

Please note the beautiful white pottery bowl I popped the kale in. Made by one of my fabulous New Zealand aunts who is a very talented potter.

Verjuice 375mL

Heirloom carrot autumn salad

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Hello sweet little baby carrots in varying shades of orange and purple….lying there beguilingly, coaxing me into wanting to eat you all up.

Sorry, that may have come across as a tad creepy. These beautiful heirloom carrots, purchased from the Agrestic Grocery in Orange on our recent country sojourn, were just crying out to be paired with the local feta cheese from the Second Mouse Cheese Company. One of my nicknames as a child was Mouse (as well as Electric Rat and E Rattus, charming I know) so how could a mouse not buy this mousy cheese?

The bloke behind the counter informed us the cheese had recently won an award against other fetas at a cheese show (somewhere) and that it was a bit controversial due to the fact that this feta cheese is made of cows milk, instead of sheeps or goats milk. (Rumblings and bumblings, a possible cheesy fisticuffs, oh my!) How did it taste? Tangy, smooth, a wee bit crumbly, salty with background notes of the grass that those sweet cows had chowed down on. It certainly deserved it’s wee gold medal.

This salad is a grand accompaniment to whatever takes your fancy. The carrots are oven roasted in a coating of spices and topped with zesty feta and sweet, lemony, crunchy pomegranate seeds. A beautiful addition to our Easter feast this year.

WHAT YOU NEED
1 bunch baby orange carrots, scrubbed and topped
1 bunch baby purple carrots, scrubbed and topped
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tbl olive oil
50 g Feta to garnish
1/2 a pomegranate, seeds scatter over
Extra virgin olive oil to garnish

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat oven to 180C.
Place carrots on tray lined with foil and toss with with salt, spices and olive oil.
Roast for 20-30 minutes until carrots are tender.
Place on a pretty dish, dob the feta over the dish.
Squeeze and sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over and add a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

We served this salad with grilled haloumi, lamb chops marinated in ras el hanout, and a big plate of roasted kumara and potato.

A cheergerm recipe

What the heck is an heirloom carrot you ask? In brief, heirloom vegetables, fruits and flowers are grown from seeds passed down from generation to generation. Heirloom seeds rely on natural pollination from insects or the wind.

These often unusual looking, multi coloured fruits and vegetables are more likely to be grown by small suppliers and are often organic. By buying or growing heirloom produce, you are helping to support crop biodiversity and assist in helping to keep these older varieties from becoming extinct.

http://secondmousecheeseco.com.au

https://www.facebook.com/theagresticgrocer?fref=ts

Pumpkin soup, the best you ever tasted?

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The wee lads have a beloved book, it’s called Pumpkin Soup. It is impossible to say how many times this book has been read. One particular stanza has stuck in my mind.

‘Pumpkin Soup. The best you ever tasted. Made by the Cat who slices up the pumpkin. Made by the Squirrel who stirs in the water. Made by the duck who scoops up a pipkin of salt, and tips in just enough.’

This mantra is always in the back of my mind when making pumpkin soup. (Or as the Yak and I call it, snoup…no idea why.) Naturally, the children won’t touch the stuff.

Now, this may not be the best pumpkin soup you ever tasted but it ain’t half bad.

You could have a pumpkin soup recipe you love so much that no other can or will, hold a candle to it. If you have a hankering to try something new, this soup is buttery and softly sweet with a mild undercurrent of warming Indian spices. Feel free to add half a teaspoon of red chilli powder if you fancy a hit of the good stuff. Hearty autumnal soup, good for the soul and just the thing for the gobshite horrid weather that has descended upon us recently.

Spiced pumpkin soup

YOU NEED
2 tbl oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped (I don’t peel, lots of goodness in the skin!)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried coriander
1/2 tsp dried cumin
1/2 tsp dried ginger
1/2 tsp dried turmeric
2 tsp sea salt (or a pipkin)
1 potato, roughly chopped (don’t bother peeling)
butternut pumpkin (my 1.4kg pumpkin yielded 900g chopped pumpkin)
6 cups water
1 cup dried red lentils, rinsed under cold water
Salt and pepper to taste

HOW YOU DO IT
Sauté onion and carrot for 3- 4 few minutes over medium heat.
Add garlic, spices and salt and cook for one minute, stirring.
Add the pumpkin and potato and stir through.
Add the water, lentils and a few grinds of black pepper.
Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook on medium heat.
Whilst cooking, check for salt, you may need to add a bit more.
When cooking lentils, sometimes a ‘frothy scum’ rises to the surface. Don’t go nuts but do skim off some of it whilst cooking.
Once the vegetables are soft and collapsing (about 40 minutes), take off heat and blend with a stick blender until smooth.
Add water to get the consistency of soup you prefer and gently heat through. I added about an extra 3/4 of a cup as I don’t enjoy overly gluggy soup. This soup does thicken quite a bit as it cools.
Garnish with a sprig of coriander and a dollop of plain yoghurt if you have it and serve with crunchy toast or your favourite crackers.
Great for the next day and for freezing.

A cheergerm recipe

A quick note on stock, many years ago I used to make my own chicken, seafood and beef stock. Then I had children. That is my excuse and I am sticking to it. Store bought ready made stock is very salty, so when I do use it, I either water or it down or try and buy the reduced salt variety. Frozen meat or vegetable stocks from butchers and gourmet food outlets are also a great alternative.

For veggie soups, I often don’t use any stock and try and let the natural ‘vegetable flavours’ shine through. (Although I will use a spoon of Massel veggie stock powder which is gluten free and vegan, sometimes.) Lately I have had a hankering to try making my own veggie stock. Stay tuned for that.

Book photo credits: ‘Pumpkin Soup’ written by Helen Cooper, published by Picture Corgi Books Transworld Publishers Ltd. Copyright 1998 by Helen Cooper.

Baked polenta pie and carking it

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The following is a recentish conversation with Kid 1. The exact origins of how it began are murky. He may have been talking about living in our house once the Yak and myself had shuffled off this mortal coil.

Me: That can wait until you bury me in the cold hard ground.
Kid 1: Would you rather be buried or incinerated?
Me: Eek! Incinerated!? I hope you mean cremated?
Kid 1: Yes, yes! Actually, I think I will mount your head on the wall, hang on, maybe I will put you in a glass coffin like Snow White!
Me: Ummm…cremation will suffice thanks kiddo.

There is absolutely no way of linking this discussion to our recent ‘early Easter mums birthday family get together.’ Except that if you were to eat like this every day, you probably would shuffle off to an early grave. These events are no mean affairs, everyone contributes joyfully and the table groans from the weight of a feast fit for a King. That day we began with varying cheeses and crackers served with a nutty, rich fruit paste. Next was roast lamb, cauliflower cheese, potato bake, polenta pie and a green salad. To finish, a fruit platter the size of a small baby, lemon meringue cheesecake (to die for) and a decadent chocolate cake (both gluten free).

This vegetarian polenta pie is a great ‘big group gathering dish’, as it makes a motza. It’s an adaptation of a recipe from Two Peas and a Pod, a delightful food blog with tonnes of varied recipes. It’s a bit like a lasagna, without the pasta and white sauce. Polenta is cornmeal that is boiled into a hearty porridge (sounds scrumptious?) then eaten directly or baked, fried or grilled. It is gluten free so it’s a great ingredient for Silly Yaks.

(Ps whenever I do ‘pass onto the next realm’, can someone (anyone) please ensure I don’t end up hung ‘moose like’ on the wall or spend eternity on display in a glass box?)

Baked vegetarian polenta pie

YOU NEED
4 tbl olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 medium red pepper, diced
1 large eggplant, peeled and diced into 3cm dice
2 medium zuchinni, diced 2 cm dice
200g mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (leave out if you choose to)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
2 tins (400g) crushed/diced tomatoes
1 cup water
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
1 cup grated Parmesan
2 cups shredded/grated mozarella

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat oven to 180C and lightly oil a 3 litre baking dish.

The sauce
Sauté onion and red pepper in olive oil for a few minutes.
Add eggplant, cook stirring for 2 minutes, add the zuchinni, cook 3 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, chilli, fennel, garlic and oregano. Stir for a minute or two.
Add tomato, water and season with salt and pepper.
Cook for 30-40 minutes until vegetables are tender and sauce is reduced and silky. Remove from heat and stir in the basil.

Polenta
1.5 cups instant polenta
4.5 cups milk
1.5 tbl butter
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper

Place the milk, butter, sugar, salt and a few grinds of black pepper into a large saucepan and bring to a light simmer.
Using a whisk, slowly add the polenta to the pot, whisking constantly. When the polenta starts to thicken swap the whisk for a spoon.
Once the polenta pulls away from the pot, add half of the Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Remove from the heat.

Assembling the pie
Spread the polenta into the baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Pour the tomato vegetable sauce over the polenta and top with the mozarella.
Bake in a moderate oven for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
Rest for ten minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

It goes beautifully with a crisp, green salad and leftovers of this dish are fantastic the next day.

Adapted from Two Peas in a Pod. Go here for the original recipe:
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/baked-polenta-pie/

Get stuffed eggplant

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‘Get stuffed!’ Growing up in a certain era, as one did, this was a charming way you could tell someone who was irritating you, to get lost. Other equally lovely Aussie vernacular of the day included: ‘Get knicked!’, ‘Rack off!’ and ‘Bugger off!’.

What’s not to love about a stuffed vegetable? This is a rhetorical question. If you dislike or hate them, well, you know what you can do. Get stuffing a vegetable, you may change your mind!

Get stuffed eggplant

YOU NEED
2 cups cooked quinoa (see quinoa notes below)
2 medium eggplants
2tbl olive oil
1/2 red onion
1/2 small red capsicum
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
1/2 tin (200g) chopped tomatoes
1 tsp dried basil
2 tbl chopped parsley
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
salt and pepper

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat oven to 180C.
Cut the eggplants in half lengthways, oil the flesh and place them flesh side down on a lined baking tray. Bake for 40 min at 180C or until they are tender.
Scoop out the flesh of the eggplant, let it drain for five minutes in a colander to get rid of excess water.
Chop the eggplant flesh. Place aside.
Sauté the onion and red pepper for a few minutes, until onion starts to soften.
Add the garlic and chilli flakes, cook for one minute.
Add the eggplant, cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add tomato and basil, cook for 5 minutes.
Stir in the cooked quinoa and chopped parsley.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Scoop filling back into eggplant shells and top with grated Parmesan
Cook in a 180C oven for 30 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
Serve with a salad.

Other stuffable veggies include red capsicum (peppers), zuchinni and mushrooms. This is a great way to use up leftover quinoa, it is just as delish using cooked brown rice or cooked buckwheat.

A cheergerm recipe

Quinoa: As you all know, it’s very hip and cool so I won’t crap on about it too much. The Incan’s called it the ‘mother seed’ and considered it to be sacred. It is being touted as a ‘superfood’ these days. Really, we are just walking in the footsteps of a long gone ancient race who used it as their staple food source for nigh on 5000 years. (Ain’t nothing new people.)

Pronounced ‘keen-wah’, this gluten free ‘grain’ is actually not a grain but the seed of a vegetable related to spinach. It is high in protein and is a complex carbohydrate with a low glycemic index. I actually HATED it when I first tried it but since then, have actually grown to enjoy chowing down on it, in various forms. Of course, it’s great for the Yak.

In it’s natural state, quinoa is coated with something called ‘saponin’ which is actually toxic and makes the quinoa taste bitter. Most commercial brands have been washed before packaging but it is a good idea to rinse your quinoa before use and like any food, moderation is the key. (Ie don’t chow down on it every day.)

I love using a tri-coloured blend of quinoa but use whatever you have. Cooking instructions should be on the packet but it is usually 1 part quinoa to 2 parts liquid. This will yield about 3-4 cups cooked quinoa, more than enough for this recipe and for other uses. I like to use a part stock/part water blend to add a bit of flavour to the quinoa.

Yes, I did crap on for too long about ‘keen-wah’….sorry….

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Green beans in olive oil (Loubyeh bi Zaht)

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A standard purchase from our local Hornsby Growers Market is a bag of green beans. Sometimes they are added to a curry, sometimes they are blanched and tossed together with fennel and orange to make a vibrant salad. Sometimes I will just stare at them for hours at a time, pondering the true beauty of their verdant, glossy, bean-like attributes. But mostly likely, they will end up in this dish.

I like to fancy that I am a teeny part Lebanese, not through blood but through osmosis. A dear friend (who’s hubby is of Lebanese origin) gave me Abla Amad’s cookbook, ‘The Lebanese Kitchen’ about 12 years years ago. Abla started her restaurant in 1979. It soon became a Melbourne dining institution and is still serving simple, traditional style Lebanese food today. Having never eaten there, it is definitely on my list of things to do. Anyhoo, it has been a pleasure to trawl through this book and experiment with the variety of tasty dishes that grace the pages.

My next Middle Eastern connection was making friends with yet another amazing chick through mothers group. Our sons were born around the same time and she is also of Lebanese heritage. The tip of caramelising the onions for this dish came from her mum. (Just saying, but this good friend has yet to cook me a Lebanese feast…..I am still waiting.)

The Yak and myself love this dish served with baked or roasted potatoes and veggie burgers. It’s equally good with kafta (lamb mince patties), grilled chicken or haloumi. Other great pairings include quinoa dishes, stuffed eggplants or capsciums and flatbreads. It is equally yummy served hot, cold or warm.

Mopping up the velvety sauce at the end with whatever carbohydrate you fancy is the best bit.

Green beans in olive oil (Loubyeh bi Zayt)

YOU NEED
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
500g green beans, top and tailed and cut into 2cm length
1 1/2 tsps ground allspice
1 tin (400g) diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

HOW YOU DO IT
Heat oil in a saucepan, add onion and sauté the onions until they are a dark golden brown. Cook over medium heat, this takes about 10-15 minutes.
Add beans and stir, then add allspice and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add tomato, salt and pepper.
Replace lid and cook for 30 minutes over low heat, cooking until beans are tender. (I usually take the lid off for the last 10 minutes). I taste for seasoning about half way through, you may need a touch more salt.

You can make this dish without tomatoes but I never have. I love allspice but if you are unsure, try 1 teaspoon to start with. Seriously folks, take the time to caramelise the onions. It adds a depth of flavour that was missing when I used to sauté the onions lightly.

Adapted from The Lebanese Kitchen by Abla Amad