Tuna, Rice, Cheese, Egg thingies with zucchini & semi-dried tomatoes (GF, TMX)

we had a meeting with rora's teacher last week and apparently rora has been turning up to school every day hungry (she has a toasted cheese and ham sandwich for breakfast most days at around 7:30am). she then tells her teacher i haven't sent anything for fruit break (she refuses to have anything sent and tells me she won't eat it if i do) and then eats only the high carb recess snack (i generally also include something with protein etc) and complains of hunger all the way til lunch - another cheese and ham sandwich...

so i had 'operation cook second breakfast for school' today...!!

i made:

• Magic Bean Cake, a chocolate cake with kidney beans in it
• the Banana and Blueberry bread from the TMX GF book: she won't eat the blueberries so i added some choc chips to it. i had no buckwheat flour so used a mix of (for a double batch) 50g lupin flour, 30g besan flour, 50g flaxmeal, 80g brown rice flour and the rest plain flour
• and these tuna and rice thingies... with a tad too much turmeric lol (the turmeric was to hide the zucchini ;))

1 large zucchini, chop ends and into pieces and place in tmx with 2 cloves garlic and some fresh parsley or other herbs and chop speed 7 for around 3 seconds or until as fine as you want.

put in as many semi-dried or sun-dried tomatoes as you want and chop on speed 5 for a few seconds

add in around 1.5 cups cooked basmati or brown rice, around 200g drained tuna, about a cup of grated cheese, 1/2-1 tspn turmeric and 4 eggs.

mix on speed 3 until well mixed.

spoon into a muffin tin and cook at around 150' for about 25-30 mins

Zucchini Pasta - the quick version! (GF or not)

made this tonight - Rora loved it! i was able to easily make a gluten and gluten free version to suit those who don't like GF pasta... it's not low fat but honestly you need the oil so i don't care lol

this is based on a recipe i got from a marcella hazan cookbook and learned when living in italy.

 around 1/2 cup olive oil
4-5 baby or small zucchinis, ends cut off and sliced finely
500g pasta (gluten free or regular)
salt and pepper
around a cup of diced or grated mozzarella cheese of any quality (or pizza cheese like me haha! it was still GOOD!)
2 eggs, lightly beaten

heat water for pasta and add pasta to boiling water. cook accoridng to directions.

heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, over a medium heat. it needs to be hot enough to slightly bubble, but not smoking at all, or browning. add the zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally until the zucchini is see through.

add salt and pepper and stir. keep hot.

when pasta is done drain well then tip into the zucchini saucepan. add egg and cheese and stir well until mixed through and egg is mostly or totally cooked. serve.

YUM!

Zucchini (& Pear) Cake (GF, TMX)

Based on my carrot cake recipe, this is easy and delicious. if you don't have any super-ripe pears to use up just use apple sauce, or up the amount of oil & sugar to the amounts in the brackets.


2 medium-large zucchinis, washed and chopped into 1" chunks
60g walnuts (optional)

130g (210g) brown sugar
130g (210g) rice bran oil
2 very ripe pears, cut off the core (or 160g apple sauce)
3 eggs
1/2 tspn salt
1 heaped tspn baking soda (bicarb)
1 heaped tspn gluten free baking powder
1 heaped mixed spice
240g gluten free plain flour (or 80g each of maize, and brown rice flour, and tapioca starch)

place wanlnuts in bowl, chop on speed 3-4 for approx 5-10 seconds, place in small bowl

place zucchini & pear in thermomix, chop on speed 5 for approx 10-15 seconds

add sugar and oil and combine on speed 4 for approx 10-15 seconds. scrape sides down, add applesauce and mix on speed 4 for another 10-15 seconds.

add eggs and mix on speed 4 for 5-10 seconds

add dry ingredients and mix on speed 4 for around 20 seconds until lump free

add in walnuts if using and mix on reverse speed 2 for 5-10 seconds

pour into a greased cake tin and bake in a mod. slow oven 160-180'c (325-350'F) for 1 hour.

Flavours of Italy...

i just found these two recipes on the floor (don't ask) and thought i should type them in before throwing the paper out so it can no longer decorate my floor! i'm pretty sure that i have had these recipes for a long time - probably 14 years from when i lived in italy! i suspect they are marcella hazan recipes but have no notes to say where they came from. i'm sure i'd made them both and they were both good :)

both recipes are for 4-6 people

Zucchini with Bacon
680g firm young zucchini, soaked in water 20 mins
6 tabs olive oil
5 medium onions, sliced very thinly
110g smoked bacon or pancetta affunicata, cut into 3mm strips
salt & freshly ground pepper

scrub zucchini after soaking. trim ends & cut into 5mm slices
choose pan large enough to hold everything. put the oil, onion & bacon in and turn heat to med. high. stir occasionally until onion is pale gold. add zucchini, turn once or twice. cover and turn heat to med. cook 12-15 mins, uncover, add S&P. cook uncovered 2-3 mins, stirring frequently.
may be reheated gently


Penne with Rosemary & Bacon
60g butter
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
2 tspns fresh whole rosemary or 1 tspn dried leaves chopped
340g smoked bacon or pancetta affunicata, cut into 3mm strips
450g penne
50g freshly grated parmesan

in a 20-25cm pan put 40g butter & garlic & turn heat to medium high. saute until garlic is deep gold. remove garlic & add rosemary. stir once or twice then add bacon. saute until bacon is lightly coloured but not crisp.
cook pasta, drain and toss immediately with bacon sauce. add remaining butter and parmesan. toss and serve

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)

Zucchini Slice (Vegetarian)

sorry for the vagueness but i'm writing up for geoff ;p

* 4-5 zucchini
* 1 large carrot
* 1 large onion

chop speed 4 - few seconds at a time, scrape down with spatula and chop again until fine enough.

add in:
* 5 eggs
* 150g self-raising flour, sifted
* 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
* 60ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
* cracked black pepper

mix on Reverse speed 3-4 for 15-20 seconds? or until mixed well.

bake in 160-180'c oven for 30-40 minutes until cooked

serve with TM31 bread

Links - Vegetarian / Vegetables

borlotti bean mole with roast winter squash

Briami (greek vegie dish)

butternut squash & caramelised onion tart

chickpea & sweet potato fritters

creamy carrot soup

falafel

falafel salad

green beans with caramelised shallots

grilled cheese and basil polenta

haloumi salad with hummus & pita crisps

refried beans (using pinto beans)

roasted autumn vegetable chowder

roasted tomato soup

sesame greens (beans & peas)

shredded brussel sprouts & apples

thermomix fennel & apple soup

zucchini ricotta cheese cake (savoury)

Zucchini Pumpkin & Feta cakes

zucchini & tomato gratin

zucchini or squash soup

see also the salads label

Day 1 - No-Meat Week

dinner tonight was pretty damn good. everyone enjoyed it :D (the kids didn't know there was no meat) thanks to bec for the inspiration! I take no responsibility for the lack of mexican authenticity ;)

i'll definitely do this again next time i have the chance to roast up a heap of vegies while the oven's already on...

Roast Vegetable Enchiladas and Mexican Rice

Roast vegies - i used pumpkin, capsicum, zucchini and a small parsnip. i meant to do sweet potato and forgot. i should have done onion too!
olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced (if you didn't roast one)
pinto beans, soaked& drained, or a can of refried beans
spices - ground cumin, coriander and garlic (optional any kind of chilli spice)
10 tortillas
small amount grated cheese

gently fry onion and spices with a little olive oil
if you're using pinto beans put them in with enough water to cover all. put the lid on and cook for 5-10 minutes until the beans are soft enough to mash.
dice all your vegies (or chop in the tmx like i did)
mix your mashed / refried beans with the vegies and put 1/10th of the mix into each tortilla. roll up and place in a greased oven dish.
sprinkle with cheese
bake in moderate oven for about 15 minutes

1/2 onion, finely diced
olive oil
cumin seeds
ground coriander
garlic
around 3/4 cup of rice (? just guessing!)
1 tin of diced tomatoes or a jar of salsa or taco sauce etc etc
stock or a little salt & water
finely diced green capsicum
1 tin corn kernels, and the 'juice'
fresh herbs - coriander and / or garlic chives
optional - also great with sliced black olives, jalapenos

gently fry onion and spices with a little olive oil
add all other ingredients - and enough water to reach 1cm over the top of all the other ingredients.
bring to the boil
cover and turn down to low, cook until rice is done. (you can take the lid off and stir once or twice)
mix herbs through

i did use the thermomix a lot for this and you could probably do most of both recipes in it, but i wasn't in teh mood to play (plus i was making another slice in it lol)

PS: do you think i take too many food pictures? tonight ryan insisted i had to take one of them all eating, when he saw me taking one of my plate lol

that'd be right!

ryan and rory are miserable with middle ear infections so i decided to make chicken soup (i had put the chicken in the SC for a roast but didn't think anyone would feel like it tonight.) rory asked for rice so this recipe was born.

it's FAR too bland and tasteless for me but rory's onto her second bowl already lol

Chicken & Rice Sickie Soup

1 cup rice
2-3 chicken stock cubes
1 onion, finely chopped*
2 zucchinis, finely chopped*
1 large carrot, finely chopped*
1/8 of a cabbage, finely chopped*
3-4 tomatoes, blended into puree
around 2 cups of finely shredded cooked chicken
lots of garlic - around 4-5 cloves or more, finely chopped*
pinch of saffron

simply place ingredients into the saucepan and top up with enough water to read 2cm below the top of the pan. bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer, cook until the rice and vegetables are soft. you will get some scum on top but keep stirring it in and it will pretty much disappear when the soup is done.

serve with parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper


* i chopped them all in the thermomix but a food processor would work just as well.

I'd imagine this would be very easy to make in the slow cooker and would probably take about 4-5 hours on low.

Links - Breads, Fruit Loaves & Muffins

aloo paratha

Bran Muffins

NEW Ciabatta

tenina's crackers

Cranberry Almond Multigrain Scones (breakfast)

dosa - masala paper

Garlic Knots

Naan Bread (thermomix)

Onion Flatbread with Mustard and Fennel

NEW Perfect pita pockets

Quick Fruit Loaf

steamed varoma bread (thermomix)

tortillas

vegan gingerbread muffins

Whole Wheat, Honey, Almond, Linseed and Cardamom Bread

za'atar bread (foccacia with middle eastern spices)

zucchini cake

crazy week

i honestly don't know where the week has gone, but it is nearly over. i still haven't even posted my review and pics of the crumpets from last weekend!

anyway, our lentil soup was very nice the other night, geoff commented that "it was much better than i thought it would be" LOL

i won't do a thermomix conversion for it (because i like to have leftovers and the tmx only does enough for a meal for the 5 of us) but if any other tmx owners would like to do their own version please feel free :)

Bacon or salami of any kind - 4-6 slices, finely diced
Onion - 1-2, finely diced
Garlic, crushed
Carrots - 1-2, diced
Celery (optional)
zucchinis - 1-2, diced
red capsicum, finely diced
tomatoes - 6, roughly chopped, or 2 tins of diced
red Lentils - around 2 cups
vegetable stock
tomato paste - heaped spoonful (optional - i can't remember if i acutally put this in or not lOL i think i didn't in the end ;))
baby Spinach - a few handfuls

fry bacon/salami and onion over med-low heat in a large saucepan or soup pot, until onion is starting to turn translucent. add garlic and carrots and fry for a few more minutes.

add in all the other ingredient except the spinach, fill the pot to just below the top with extra water if needed.

bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook until lentils are starting to fal apart and look almost creamy. there will be a 'scum' on the top, you can skim it off if you like or be lazy like me and ignore it and it will go away ;)

when the lentils are done add in teh spinach and stir a few times til the spinach wilted and serve with parmesan if desired, cracked black pepper and crusty bread.

Zucchini and Banana Muffins

well, these were a bit of a disaster, but totally my own fault :(

do NOT be lazy and do your muffins in the thermomix!!! the zucchinis were chopped too fine so you couldn't see them, and the muffins are way overmixed (my pet hate, so many people just don't understand that you don't combine a muffin mix til well mixed, you do it til barely mixed, and here i am going even further! ack!)

not to mention my stupid oven that overcooked them, i had it on 160-170' and only in there for 20 mins and they are overcooked!

anyway here is the recipe i used , i will write up my version after lunch - we are about to pack our hot muffins in a container and head out for a morning tea playdate :D (*waving hello to my stalker laurel lol*)

and still more...

yes i had a very busy afternoon.

reduced fat and healthier sausage rolls (i dont' think they can ever be really low fat lol)

i made a HUGE batch of meat mix, so will halve it here, but it will still make a lot, just put them in your freezer and warm through when needed :)

4 sheets reduced fat puff pastry

250g pork and veal mince
350g premium beef mince
oatmeal, maybe about 1 cup
mixed or italian herbs, or any fresh herbs finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped or grated
1 zucchini finely chopped or grated
1 large onion finely chopped or grated
1 egg

mix very very well until the meat starts to get a bit lighter in colour (i did mine in my thermomix but pre-thermo days i did it by taking handfuls and squeezing them through my fingers)

take handfuls and form into a sausage on a sheet of puff pastry - you want it to be around 1.5-2" high. roll pastry up and gently cut through into 6-8 pieces. stab the top of each roll a few times

put on baking tray lined with baking paper. if you aren't lazy like me brush the tops with milk or beaten egg.

bake at around 200' until golden brown and meat cooked through (this will take longer if they are thicker)

serve with tomato sauce

Chicken Soup for the sickies and Farmhouse bake for us

this recipe for tonight's dinner needs cooked chicken. so instead of buying a BBQ chook i tossed the 1.5kg of chicken breasts i had in the fridge into the slow cooker, sprinkled oregano over it and put a mostly peeled and trimmed bulb of garlic on top. cooked it for maybe 3 hours on high - only because i forgot about it LOL and then turned it down to warm for an hour or so. if there wasn't wine in the recipe i would have put in a splosh of white wine too.

used two of the breasts shredded in the recipe above. 2 of the breasts went into the freezer to use for quick after work meals, and the juices - probably 1.5 cups - which smelled divine, went into a saucepan with a grated carrot and zucchini, and some alphabet pasta, and enough water to cook the pasta and still be chicken soup-y. ryan and rory are currently demolishing it! i would have also put garlic in it for the sick ones, but ryan has a mouth ulcer that is very sensitive so thought it best to be safe than sorry...

the pasta bake will be ready in about 10 minutes, it was pretty easy to make and easy to use as a starting point - i already added spinach and fresh basil into it and feta on top of it lol

review: it was bland :( it kind of grew on me as i ate it but dh wasn't keen. it needed some more oomph - maybe some stock intead of just water, some feta chunks through it and some sliced olives?

Dhal

the indian dinner the other night was soooooo good and the best bit ws the dhal - which was only supposed to be the side dish LOL

1-2 tspns ghee, melted
1 onion, finely chopped
1-3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into small dice (about 3/4cm)
1 potato, cut into small dice
black mustard seeds, maybe 1 tab
fenugreek seeds, maybe 1 1/2 tspns
cumin seeds, maybe 1 tspn
(you can also add turmeric or saffron for colour if you like)

fry all of the above on a medium heat until the onion and garlic are translucent
add water to cover by a few inches. put in lentils, maybe 2 cups (i really have no idea how many i put in lol)
add 2 zucchini in small dice
chicken stock powder, maybe 1.5 tabs

simmer until lentils become thick and soupy. add more water to have a soup like consistency.

this was a bit different to my usual dhal and a very happy mistake as it was divine, much better than usual! LOL
i have a feeling i might have left something out above so might come back to this recipe later...

oh and i also can't dcide how to spell it LOL

Zucchini Slice

375g zucchini - grated
1 large onion finely sliced
3 rashes of bacon chopped
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup SR flour
1/4 cup oil
4 eggs - lightly beaten
salt pepper
1/2 red capsicum
1/2 green capsicum
mushrooms

Chop all ingredients finely (thermomix)
Combine with rest of ingredients
Pour into greased dish and bake at 175’ for 30-40’

i think this recipe was a blend of some on eb. i don't acutally follow the recipe, i just did this up to print out for g, who needs a recipe to cook! i also prefer it not chopped in the thermomix (too fine) and with just the zucchini, bacon and onion.

MOUSSAKA

this recipe was given to me by a guy i used to work with - it was his daughter's recipe which she got from her (greek) mother. i haven't actually made it myself yet though!

Ingredients:
225g onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 tbsp vege oil
500g eggplant, sliced
1 large zucchini, sliced in strips
handful mushrooms, chopped
2 potatoes, sliced
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 can diced tomatoes
basil and oregano to taste
500ml white sauce (milk, margarine and flour)
150g grated cheese (parmesan and / or mozzarella)

Preparation:

1. preheat oven to 180'c (350F / gas mark 4). fry onions and garlic in 1 tbsp oil til brown

2. in another pan, fry eggplant in remaining all and set aside. repeat with zucchini and potato.

3. add mushrooms to onion and garlic mixture and cook gently for 5 mins, then pour into a shallow oven-proof dish. layer eggplant, potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes over the top.

4. make the white sauce. pour over the vege mixture, sprinkle with cheese and bake for 30 mins.

I'M STARVING!!!!

dinner is cooking and i'm faint from hunger! i shopped at choku bai jo this afternoon and came home with 4 green bags full of goodies.

dinner tonight is baby zucchinis lightly fried with olive oil, a little bacon and garlic, and tossed with pasta. (based on a marcella hazan recipe i love which uses buffalo mozzarella instead of the bacon, plus a couple of beaten eggs - the heat cooks them enough to eat)

tomorrow night will be (bought) turkish pide bread with homemade dips - beetroot (fresh beetroots), hommus and maybe a carrot or something else. tonight i have to cook the beetroot and make the yoghurt ready for tomorrow.

also on the menu is cauliflower soup (maybe with bacon but i read an article today about the health concerns with red meat and processed meats which has made me a little nervous. i only use such tiny amounts but...) and probably with damper.

what else did i buy? hmmm serephina potatoes, carrots and baby eggplants for a beef casserole... i also have some broccoli and spanish peppers to make something with - maybe a stir fry. oh and tomatoes, lettuce and some of the beetroot to make homemade burgers...

i forget what other vegies were filling the bags but i also got apples, bananas, grapes (to send to daycare, we don't often eat them but i like to send something other than apples and oranges to daycare, the kids must get soooo bored LOL), honey and eggs, all organic.

i think dinner must be nearly ready, i HOPE!!! before i fall off my chair with hunger! LOL