Chicken and beans with mint and basil (GF)

our friend / natropath has suggested i go on an anti-candida diet and see if it helps. i'm easing onto it but made this for dinner for myself tonight, it's delicious!!!!!!!

this amount serves 2, especially if you have it with rice (which i'm not ;))

2 handfuls green beans, trimmed and chopped into bite size pieces
small red onion, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
1 tspn coconut oil
1 chicken breast, trimmed and finely sliced
lots of ground black pepper
1 tspn stock concentrate (or whatever saltiness you prefer)
little water
juice of half a lime
4-6 stalks each of vietnamese mint and basil, roughly torn

melt oil over medium high heat, fry onions, beans and nuts until vegies are just softening, place in bowl
fry chicken until nearly cooked
add all other ingredients and keep stirring until chicken is cooked through and serve

Tonight's Nachos (GF, TMX)

quickly before i duck off to bed! (have been sick with pneumonia and bronchitis so this is a late night for me lately!)

the recipe below is enough for 2 batches of nachos (ie: 2 packs of corn chips). halve it if desired, or freeze half.

1 large onion, peeled and quartered
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
40g olive oil
2 tspns ground cumin
1 tspn ground coriander
1/2 tspn dried oregano
1/2 tspn paprika (i used smoked but any kind is good)
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
250g lean beef mince
splosh of red wine (maybe 30g)
1 jar passata (mine was 690g)
2 tspns stock concentrate, or 1-2 stock cubes
1 tin beans, drained & rinsed (i used cannelini)
1 small green capsicum, diced finely

corn chips & grated cheese as desired
serve with sour cream and avocado / guacamole as desired

chop onion and garlic speed 4 for 5 secs. add oil and saute for 3 mins varoma speed soft

add spices and saute another 2 minutes varoma speed soft

add sweet potato and chop speed 4-5 until the size chunks you want (i over did mine a little). place mince in and cook for 5 minutes 100'c reverse speed 3. (you might need to stir during cooking time)

add the rest of the ingredients (except maybe the beans, mine cooked down, but kidney beans probably would have been fine) and cook for around 15-20 mins 100'c reverse speed 1. again you might need to stir once or twice (or maybe i just had too much in there lol)

when it's done grease 2 large baking dishes (lasagne dishes). spread corn chips over the dish then top with nacho mix. top with cheese if desired. bake at 180'c for around 15-20 mins until cheese is golden brown.

serve with sour cream & avocado / guacamole, a side salad would be great too.

you can also add olives into the mix, extra beans and capsicum instead  of the mince. or try adding bacon and chicken instead.

Fennel, Bean and Bacon soup (GF)

just found a pile of old recipes. this one is merely some scribbles on the back of an envelope (stamped in 1990 lol) so i'm guessing how it goes...

375g dried cannelini or other white beans (?*)
2 tabs olive oil or butter
2 rashers of bacon, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 onions, peeled & diced
1/2 bulb fennel, diced
oregano, dried or fresh
2-3 bay leaves
black pepper to taste
4 cups tomato couli (or a bottle of sugo / passata etc)
2 cups chardonnay
salt
chopped italian boiling sausages ** (GF if needed)

put beans in a bowl and cover with twice as much water as beans (ie: if beans come 1" up the bowl put 2" of water in). leave to soak for 1 hour

heat oil/butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. add bacon, garlic, onions, and fennel and cook, stirring, until onions & fennel are soft.

add oregano, bay leaves, pepper, drained beans, tomato couli, chardonnay and salt. turn to a high heat and cook until beans are done.

add sausages in and cook for 10 more minutes then serve.


* i'm pretty sure 1 hour of soaking would not be enough for this to be cooked, any thoughts?
** what on earth are these???! just regular italian sausages you get everywhere?

Easy Bean Dip (GF)

you could easily do this in the thermomix (though TBH it took me less time to make than cleaning my dirty tmx would have lol would be creamier and smoother though...)

1 tin cannelini or other white bean, drained and rinse and placed in a bowl
1 tab olive oil
salt to taste
good sprinkle ras el hanout to taste (or any other spice blend)
1 heaped tspn tahini
1 garlic clove crushed or 1 tspn crushed garlic

mash well with a fork, mixing as you go. this makes a really thick dip / paste (use it on sandwiches etc) - if you wanted it 'dippier' add some water and mash to mix.

i had mine with seaweed rice crackers.

to thermomix put it all in the bowl, mix on speed 6 for 10 seconds, scrape down and repeat. (you might want to chop the garlic first)

Green Bean Salad (GF)

quick and easy but surprisingly nice!

green beans, topped, tailed, cut into 2" / 5cm pieces and steamed or boiled until green and starting to soften
1 red capsicum, finely diced
1/2 green capsicum, finely diced (optional)
1 stick celery, finely diced
1 rasher bacon or 3 shortcut bacon, fried or grilled til crispy, crumbled or finely diced
black pepper, freshly ground
balsalmic vinegar *, a drizzle
olive oil, a drizzle

suggested additions:
handful of toasted pinenuts
1/2 red onion or 2-3 shallots (green onions), finely chopped


* googling informed me that balsalmic vinegar is Gf, please check for yourself

mix and chill before serving

mmmm soup!

Best thing about the cooler weather is being able to eat soup :)

last night i wanted to make a very quick and lazy soup for work day lunches. I had a bag full of pumpkin geoff had peeled and cut into large pieces. I put a few tspns of stock concentrate in a saucepan with the pumpkin and filled the saucepan with hot water. when the pumpkin was nearly done i added in a drained tin of cannelini beans. i decided it needed something else for flavour and found a half jar of pesto in the fridge. added that in and then used a stick blender to make it smooth. ate it today and YUMMO! the beans added just enough protein to keep me from getting hungry before getting home so perfect! (just plain vegie soups aren't enough for me these days)

definitely one to do again!

Chicken & Pumpkin Chilli (GF, TMX)

Yum! this was wayyyyyy nicer than i expected! will definitely make this again!

original recipe for Pumpkin Turkey Chilli

1 chicken breast, half frozen and cut into 1-2" cubes
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 onion, quartered
15g olive oil
1/2 green capsicum, cut into small dice *
1/2 red or yellow capsicum, , cut into small dice *
1 tin diced tomatoes
either around 400g tomato puree or 1 tin of water
1 tin drained kidney beans (around 400g)
4-500g diced pumpkin **
2 tspn ground cumin or cumin seeds
few sprinkles cayenne pepper
2 heaped tspns chicken stock concentrate

coriander to serve
grated tasty cheese to serve
sour cream to serve

place chicken in the thermomix and turn to closed lid. mince chicken using turbo button. when desired texture is reached place chicken in bowl and set aside (don't worry about cleaning out the bowl)

place garlic in bowl and chop speed 6 until it stops hitting the sides (around 5 secs). scrape down and place onion and oil in. cook for 2 minutes 100'c speed 5

add capsicum and cook for another 3 minutes 100'c reverse speed soft

add chicken and cook for 4 minutes varoma reverse speed soft

add in tomatoes and puree / water, beans, pumpkin, spices and stock concentrate. cook for 20 minutes 100' reverse speed 1

serve topped with coriander / cheese and cream as desired. we also had ours with steamed basmati rice and gluten free foccacia


* you could chop them in the thermomix, but i prefer the shape and texture of hand chopped capsicum
** i chopped the pumpkin to about 1-1.5cm dice. most of it cooked down, but some were left in chunks which was perfect :)

Links - Indian

oh dear, i have 133 links saved in my bloglines ! no wonder it's so hard to find the new posts if there's not more than about 50 lol so here are the Indian ones I had saved to try one day...

Curry (Leaf) Powder
cumin / jeera bread
GLUTEN FREE bajra roti

Palak Panir
moth beans spinach gravy (what are moth beans)
vegetable & egg pulav
egg biriyani
pulav with whole spices
sweet & spicy okra
tomato saar (have made this and it's nice, VERY quick)
paneer butter masala
quick chickpea curry
aloo methi
bean & potato stirfry
garlicky lentils with spinach
potato okra stirfry
brinjal potato stirfry
tomato paneer
potato cauliflower curry
chickpea curry
Channa hariyali (chickpeas with coriander)
black bean curry & potato curry
mock aloo gobi (tmx)

chicken biriyani & gravy
methi chicken
grilled chicken kebab
Hyderabadi chicken biryani
methi murgh - chicken with fenugreek
murgh masallam
chicken vindaloo
chicken masala

koftas

aam kulfi
doodh peda
aam khand

hmmm well that got rid of 32 links lol i feel likei need to hold an indian themed dinner party to try some of these recipes - who's in?!



posted by Karen at http://brazen20au.blogspot.com

Bean and Bacon Risotto (GF, TMX)

based on the same risotto version as last time, and this recipe i found online (i was actaully looking for a recipe using green beans but decided i liked the sound of this one lol) sorry for the shocking picture! (don't click on it, it gets no bigger, i didn't have a single pic that wasn't out of focus! and yes, id idn't use my tmx to chop my bacon, naughty me lol)


3 bacon rashers, or 6 shortcut pieces, roughly cut into largeish pieces
1 medium onion, peeled and halved
15g olive oil
380g arborio rice
100g red wine
1 tin chopped tomatoes
900g water
1 tin borlotti beans, drains
chopped parsley, to serve
40g cream, optional


heat the thermomix 2 minutes varoma speed 1
add bacon, chop for 10 seconds on speed 5-6
saute for 3 minutes varoma speed 1
add onion on speed 5 for a few seconds
add olive oil
saute for 2mins 100C speed 1
pop in the butterfly
add arborio rice and wine
saute for 2mins 100c reverse speed 1
add in stock concentrate (or 2 stock cubes), tomatoes and water
cook for 11 mins 100c reverse speed 1
add borlotti beans and cream and cook a further 5 mins 100c reverse speed 1

Pour into thermoserver, mix to stir parsley through and leave to stand for 5 mins or so until more of the liquid is absorbed. serve with parmesan if desired




posted by Karen on http://brazen20au.blogspot.com/

Black Eyed Bean Jambalaya (GF)

I discovered a container full of unopened packs of dried beans in our pantry while menu planning last week, and resolved to use some of them! I have never cooked with (or eaten that I know of) black eyed beans so I had no idea what to make with them! I googled and found this recipe which sounded good, and got my beans soaking overnight.

that was on monday and i didn't get to the supermarket to buy the meat part til today LOL (i did drain the beans and put them in the fridge though, they didn't soak til now!)

I made some minor changes to this recipe and it was SOOOOOOO tasty - we loved it! a definite hit in this house!

Black-Eyed Bean Jambalaya

1 Onion, chopped
2 sticks Celery, chopped
1 green and 1/2 red capsicum, seeded and chopped
5-6 shortcut pieces gluten free bacon (or 3 rashers)
Oil for sauteing
2 c Uncooked rice (i used jasmine but would rather use basmati if i had any)
2 1/2 cups water
2 heaped teaspoons chicken stock concentrate, or 2 gluten free stock cubes
1 can diced tomatoes
400g dried black eyed beans, soaked overnight and drained
6-8 sliced of gluten free salami, diced
6 mushrooms, sliced
2 chicken breasts, diced
chillis of your choice, optional (i would use a couple of jalapenos if i could)

Heat oil and add onion, celery and capsicum. fry for a few minutes then add bacon. fry for another 3-5 minutes then add rice. cook for another few minutes and then add water, stock, tomatoes, soaked beans, salami and mushrooms. stir well.
let it come to a boil, lower heat and cover, then leave for 30 minutes. stir well and let stif ro 5 mintues then serve.



so easy and sooooo tasty. i meant to boil the beans before inlcuding them but forgot, but they were the perfect texture - just slightly chewy.

Cavolo nero (kale) and bean soup

from the SMH Good Living magazine for 2/6

2 tabs EVOO, plus extra
2 sticks celery, sliced
1 carrot, chopped
1 brown onion, chopped
1.5L chicken stock
1 x 400g can diced tomatoes
200g cavolo nero, shredded (discard thick stems)
1 x 400g can white beans, rinsed & drained
80g dried stelline or other soup pasta
shaved parmesan, to serve

heat 2 tabs oil in large saucepan. add celery, carrot and onion & cook over medium heat for 5-8 mins, stirring often.
add stock, tomatoes & cavolo nero, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins.
Mash half the beans to a paste and stir into the soup with the rest of the beans.
season with salt & pepper, add stelline and simmer for 3-5 mins
top with parmesan & drizzle with EVOO
serve with crusty bread


i have some kale from choku bai jo so i think i'll make a batch of this for my lunches (that way kale-hating geoff doesn't have to eat it). i'll convert to thermomix too of course ;)

Curry Vegie Fritters (GF, TMX)

I'm not going to post the method, as this is more a record of ingredients for me :) This recipe is in the new "A Taste of Vegetarian" cookbook from Thermomix. it is vegan and a perfect recipe to use up leftover veg in your fridge ;) here is the gluten free version i made tonight which was YUM!!!! 5/5!

it's a funny recipe though - you swear there's no way it's enough batter for that amount of veg but it's perfect!

600g roughly chopped veg - i used 1 onion, 1 small yellow capsicum (though something red would have been great ;)) half a small cauliflower, some beans and 3 small potatoes, plus half a bunch of finely chopped coriander
3 corn cobs, kernels removed
2 cloves garlic
110g gluten free plain flour (i used white wings)
80g besan / chickpea flour
1 tspn garam masala (made in tmx ;))
1 tspn curry powder
210g water
oil for frying

** see the recipe book for the method!

as i didn't have any avocado to make the salsa the book suggests and dh doesn't like it, i just mixed natural yoghurt and sweet chilli sauce, though i'd thought a spiced yoghurt (with cumin, coriander, S&P and fresh mint) would have been great, but couldn't be bothered to do it lol

i think that these made in teaspoonfuls rather than large spoonfuls would make fantastic finger food for a cocktail party

Links - Vegetarian / Vegetables #3

link to last post #2


palak tambli (spinach dish)

mixed bean palya

eggplant cauliflower & chickpea curry

sweet potato soup with haloumi & seeds

Santa Fe Huevos on Polenta Recipe aka Eggs Ranchero

Quick & Dirty Baked Beans -version #2 (TMX, GF)

this version was even easier and yummier than my other version! it reminded me of the pasta e fagiole without the pasta.


this quantity serves around 2-3 as a main (with toast or baked potato etc)

2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 green capsicum (pepper)
5g olive oil
3 ripe roma tomatoes, quartered
1/2-1 tspn beef stock powder (i use massell)
1 tin drained rinsed butter beans
1-3 tabs chickpea flour (or other, chickpea is what i had on the bench from last night)

chop the capsicum and garlic finely on speed 6 for around 2 seconds. scrape down bowl.
add oil and cook for 2 minutes at 90' speed 1 (you might not need as long if not using onion)
add tomato and chop on speed 6 for about 5-10 seconds
add stock powder, 1 tab flour and beans and cook for 10 minutes at 90'c reverse speed 1
check thickness, add more flour if required and cook for a further 5 minutes at 90'c reverse speed 1

i think these were nearly good enough to be acceptable for the kids ;)

Quick & Dirty Baked Beans (TMX, GF)

last night i just couldn't be bothered cooking, it's been too hot and I'd had an awful day (everything that could go wrong had gone wrong). inspired by Caroline's baked beans, which i didn't have time to make, i decided to go with a quicker version which was a bit plain but nice enough for me to write down in case of other lazy nights...

this quantity serves around 2-3 as a main (with toast or baked potato etc)

1/2 small red onion, optional *
2 garlic cloves, peeled
5-10g olive oil
2 ripe roma tomatoes, quartered
1/2-1 tspn beef stock powder (i use massell)
1 tin drained rinsed cannellini beans **

chop the onion and garlic finely on speed 6 for around 2 seconds.
add oil and cook for 5 minutes at 90' speed 2 (you might not need as long if not using onion)
add tomato and stock powder and cook for 5 minutes at 90' speed 4
add beans and cook for 15 minutes at 80'c reverse speed 1 with measuring cup out of lid


* i used a full one and it was a bit strong tasting, i'm not sure if i needed to cook it longer or leave it out
** i think you could probably use 2 in this quantity

a dollop of tomato paste in with the beans would probably be good too

just can't compare...

my friend irene first made this bean salad for us when we were camping with her at kangaroo valley last year. rory loved it! now ryan loves it too. i've tried to replicate it with a non-commercial dressing and they won't touch it LOL so now i've given up and i just make it like she does :)

Irene's bean salad
1 tin mixed beans (4 or 5 bean mix), rinsed and drained
french or italian dressing (low fat and / or gluten free)

mix and serve, chilling optional lol

Links - Vegetarian / Vegetables #2

first list of links to try here http://brazen20au.blogspot.com/2008/07/links-vegetarian-vegetables.html

baked vegetable jalfrezi

Dhansak (eggplant, pumpkin & lentils, indian)

5 minute indian style cabbage

malai kofta

paneer tikka

Punjabi Aloo Gobi – Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes

creamy black lentils

dani's greek style baked beans

red kidney bean curry

roasted garlic cauliflower

mediterranean carrot rolls & salad

sweet potato falafel with yoghurt tahini sauce

cauliflower & date curry

paneer pasanda

masoor dal with lemon

malai kofta

layered mexican dip

i've made this a few times and really you don't need a recipe, you just use whatever ingredients you have / you feel like at the time :)

eg:
sour cream
guacamole / avocado
diced tomato
salsa
refried beans or kidney beans
chopped olives (black is best but green or a mix would be fine)
taco spices
chopped red onion or green onions
grated tasty cheese
or anything else you like in mexican food :D

just layer it up - try not to make the layers too thick as then you can't get enough flavours on your corn chip lol - and serve with corn chips and any other dippers you want (carrot sticks and capsicum sticks would probably be nice too)


...or see here

Quick, easy and healthy - oh and yummy!

spaghetti with vegetable and bean sauce
Originally uploaded by brazen20au

spaghetti with vegetable and bean sauce

serves 6

1 packet spaghetti (cook and drain according to directions)

around 1 tspn olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
several garlic cloves, chopped as desired
1 red and 1 green capsicum
1-2 sticks celery, finely diced (we have a lot of celery leftover from teh party lol it wasn't a very nice bunch :()
4 baby zucchinis, diced into 1cm pieces
several mushrooms, sliced (i use my tupperware egg slicer, done in seconds ;))
3 medium tomatoes, cut into 2cm dice
1 jar pasta sauce (i was going to use more tomatoes but they weren't ripe enough to make a nice sauce)
few tablespoons tomato paste
around 1/3 cup white wine
1 stock cube (chicken or vege)
1/2 tspn italian herbs
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

heat oil over medium heat and cook onion and garlic til starting to soften
add vegies except mushrooms and gently fry for 5 or so minutes
add the rest of the ingredients and simmer covered until the vegies are softened but not soggy (about 15 mins).
serve spaghetti topped with sauce and a little cheese (tasty or parmesan)

Potato, Bean & Bacon Salad

POTATO, BEAN AND BACON SALAD
one of mum's :)

500g beans. trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
500g potatoes
2 medium tomatoes. cut in wedges
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 rashers bacon cut into strips
1 tab margarine
1 medium onion
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup chopped parsley


Cook beans in large saucepan. Remove and drain. Add potatoes and simmer till tender (15mins). Drain, peel and slice

Put beans in middle of dish. Arrange potato slices and tomato wedges around. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In small frying pan sauté bacon in butter until crisp. Add onion and cook till tender. Add vinegar. Heat till boiling. Pour over beans, pots and toms.

Sprinkle with parsley....toss together just before serving