Spanish Chickpea & Spinach Stew (Garbanzos con Espinacas)

I totally love my sweets and processed foods, but you only realise how they lack when you eat something that is delicious, nutritious and made of good, unprocessed natural ingredients. I find myself taking a spoonful and sitting up a little straighter, and thinking "Why the heck don't we eat like this everyday?"
It's the type of food that fills you with a sense of nurturing your system. You find yourself thinking on this food often, wanting more of it in the future, yet being completely satisfied and not needing more after a serve. All that processed food leaves you feeling momentarily satisfied, then almost instantly wanting more. It's like a drug. It doesn't fill you.
That's why I usually don't buy cereals for my kids, but give them porridge made on milk instead. After a bowl of cereal, my kids are asking me for snacks. After a bowl of porridge, I don't hear the word snack for a few hours.
This is one of those high fibre, super nutritious and utterly delicious meals that eaves your tummy feeling happy for a long time. If you're vegan or vegetarian, this is also the perfect meal for you and will leave you with a happy face as well.
It's great for meat free Fridays if you're Catholic like I am. (In case you where unaware, we traditionally don't eat meat on Fridays. Fish is permissible.) If you totally need your meat in every meal, shredded roast chicken is perfect in this dish too.
Whip this up and your house will be smelling amazing, with infusions of garlic, onion, paprika and cumin. You can serve with rice or cous cous- pasta would probably go well too! Buen provecho!

SPANISH CHICKPEA AND SPINACH STEW (Adapted from Lazy Cat Kitchen)

2 tbsp oil
2 heaped tsp crushed garlic
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
3 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp brown sugar (optional)
2x 400g tins diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
100g baby spinach, stalks removed
1/4 cup almond flakes

Heat up the oil in a large fry pan. Add the onion and cook on medium with the lid on, until almost translucent. Add the garlic and cook, stirring a little, for two minutes.
Add the spices and stir through the onion and garlic mix, careful not to burn these ingredients.
Add tomato paste, combine thoroughly.
Pour in the tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper to your taste. (At this point you can add the optional sugar if your tomatoes are very tangy, or just leave out.)
Turn the heat to low and let the sauce thicken, with no lid on. Stir it from time to time so that it doesn't burn.
Stir in the chickpeas. Lastly, add the spinach and heat until wilted. Garnish with the almonds. Scoop generous serving on rice and enjoy!

SERVES 4

Spiced Mango Lassi

Life's been a little lumpy in the last month and a bit. I'm talking surgery, bloody messes, hospitals, screaming babies. On the up side, I got to see the 20 week ultrasound of my latest little angel, and it's a beauty. Fat and rounded and big for it's estimated age, with a straight little nose and sweetly sucking his or her tiny thumb.
So that wasn't so lumpy. Neither was the Spiced Mango Lassi I made, that went down a treat. Smooth, creamy, cold and refreshing, you could serve this tropical Lassi as a dessert, a afternoon snack or a meal. It's super easy to make as well, and only requires a few minutes of your time, some delicious ingredients and a food blender.

SPICED MANGO LASSI (A Lick The Spoon Original)

1 large mango, peeled and seeded
1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp honey
1 flat tsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt

Combine all ingredients in a food blender. Process until smooth.
Pour into glasses and serve with a sprinkling of cinnamon on top and a mint leaf garnish if desired.
Serves 2 (as a snack or meal) or 4 (as a dessert.)

Crumbed Parmesan Zucchini Fries

I don't follow fads. I pride myself on not following them. For example, when adding bacon to every dessert became popular in the cooking blogosphere, I did not go there.
When everyone had their cake-pop faze, I refused to go there too. Regardless of how pretty some people made them. I think people can get totally carried away on the waves of what's popular without thinking.
But I have been meaning for a long time to make zucchini fries. That's one craze I cant resist, and when I saw them featured on Chelsy's blog, Magnia, I knew I was about to taste those lovely, crumbed vegetable sticks. I know that doesn't particularly sound appetizing, but they make great vegetarian appetizers, or a delicious, meatless side to your Lenten dinner plate.
And we're sneaking veggies in here.
In a very delicious way.
I was delighted to discover through my designated Secret Recipe Club reveal blog, that magnia means eat in Italian. I'm a total sucker for Italian food, and Chelsy's blog is packed with yummy recipes that show off that gorgeous culture.
Seriously, if I were ever to travel the world, I'd go directly to Italy and do a culinary tour and put on at least 20kg just from taste testing. It would be heaven.
There has been a request or two in the past few months for some Italian foods to be featured here--so, you have your wish in these crunchy on the outside, soft in the inside Crumbed Parmesan Zucchini Fries. Actually, they're not even fries, because they're baked, so I suppose that title is a little misleading.
Chelsy's recipe had pecan meal instead of bread crumbs, but I found myself nut-less, and hence I omitted the nut for bread.
I also made my own Italian Seasoning, because I'm not Italian enough to have it kept in my pantry. Shame on me! Luckily the home made Italian Seasoning has been a hit since I made it, and will certainly become a staple in this house. Home made is always better--but feel free to simplify this recipe by buying your own Italian Seasoning all bottled up from the store if you're pressed for time.

CRUMBED PARMESAN ZUCCHINI FRIES (Adapted from Magnia)

1 large zucchini
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. Italian Seasoning
salt to taste

Preheat the oven at 220C. Line a tray with non stick baking paper and set aside.
Cut the zucchini down the centre lengthways, then halve both pieces again and again until you have long, thin strips of zucchini. (the thinner the tastier!)
Combine the egg and egg white in a small bowl, whisking until well combined.
In a shallow dish or plate, combine the Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, seasoning and salt to taste.
Dip each zucchini strip into the egg mixture and shake off the excess. then coat it in the dry crumb mixture and place it on the prepared tray. Repeat until all the zucchini strips are coated. Then place the tray in the oven for 10 minutes before flipping the zucchini fries and cooking for a further 10 minutes. Serve immediately with a dipping sauce or salsa.


 HOME MADE ITALIAN SEASONING (Adapted from Food.com)

3 tablespoons dried basil
3 tablespoons dried oregano
3 tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
a pinch of black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a mortar and crush with a pestle until well ground. 

Place in an airtight jar for up until 6 months.

Raspberry Mango Yogurt Slide

Some have claimed to have put on pounds looking at this blog.
It's hazardous.
It's wicked.
It's to be had in moderation. For sure.
There's no harm in looking, in dreaming and drooling.
I say don't touch what you can't afford, but it's hard sometimes, especially when somethings dripping with chocolatey goodness and it's been one of those days!
Trust me. I know what it's like. I get to that stage several times during the day, where a quick sugar fix is super tempting, just to pick my energy up, even if only momentarily.
But considering I'm about to gain about 15-20kg in the next five months, I don't really need any help with extra delights adding to the grand total. (Just so you know, I'm expecting a wee one, and my last two pregnancies have resulted in whopping, healthy babies).
So where do I now turn? In the discovery of this chilled yogurt and fruit blend, that both satisfies my sweet tooth, while remaining nutritious and delicious. It's also a super refreshing snack to have on these hot summer days...I personally don't know anything quite as refreshing.
I make my own yogurt with an easi-yo flask. Just so you know, it's totally amazing with no added sugar, unless you want it--so you know what's going into it. Yogurt is really healthy for you and contains lots of live bacteria cultures, calcium, aids in nutrient absorption, aids in weight loss, helps prevent infections, and is said to reduce the severity of PMS. Worth a try, right?
Combined with my one of my favourite berries, the raspberry, and my favourite tropical fruit, the mango, this is a to-die for blend that you laze back and scoop from the glass. It's not quite a smoothie, it's not quite frozen yogurt, but it's a gorgeous in between.

For the mango version (which is equally as divine) visit here.

RASPBERRY MANGO YOGURT SLIDE (A Lick the Spoon Original)

1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup frozen mango
3/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

Combine the fruit and yogurt in a food blender. Blend until all the fruit has been pureed and well incorporated into the yogurt. Pour into a glass and enjoy.

Serves 1

Roasted Strawberry Poppy seed Salad

I told you I had strawberries coming out of my ears, didn't I? Forget 4 kg of berries...the quantity eventually exceeded that, and I fear this whole month will be comprised of strawberry recipes due to us all wading through those fat, shiny and delicious berries here in Queensland.
I don't hear anyone complaining.
And I certainly wasn't complaining when I discovered a delightful Strawberry Poppyseed Salad through The Savvy Kitchen. I missed out on being part of the Secret Recipe Club last month but I'm back in the game with this tantalizing and festive looking combination of leafy greens, poppyseeds and fruit. I admit, it's an unusual medley, and something that has been on my to-make list for a long time. Thankfully my husband enjoys the occasional blind-date with a new and unusual gourmet creation of mine, so I put it to the test with him 1.) knowing that he hates small seeds such as poppy seeds and strawberry seeds in anything because they are hard to get out of your teeth, and 2.) that he comes from a line of people who do not have fruits or nuts in their salads.
The outcome? "That's really good! surprisingly good!" says he as we stabbed our forks around that colourful bowl of salad.
And so it was. The textures and the flavours were beautifully balanced--the nuttiness of the slivered almonds, the crunch of the onion, the tanginess of the strawberries, and the sweetness of the dressing were all a feast for the senses. Not to mention how pretty it looked. To top it off,  neither of us ended up with any demon seeds in our teeth.
I made this recipe with a little twist, as I had been experimenting with strawberries at an earlier point. I decided on baking a tray of sliced strawberries for a few hours in the oven and arrived at a very interesting new garnish. I thought these roasted strawberries would go beautifully in this salad. The roasting process seems to infuse the air with the sweetest strawberry aroma, removing that sweetness from the berry and leaving a very tangy crisp strawberry chip at the end. I think it went beautifully in the salad, but if you cant afford the time in strawberry roasting, fresh berries would be equally as delightful.

ROASTED STRAWBERRY POPPY SEED SALAD (adapted from The Savvy Kitchen)

2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. poppy seeds
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 bag mixed lettuce
1 cup roasted strawberries
3 tbsp. slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly

In a small bowl, combine sugar, mayonnaise, milk, poppy seeds and vinegar. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
Ina large serving bowl, place the washed lettuce leaves. Spinkle the strawberries, almond slivers and onions over the lettuce. Dollop the poppy seed dressing onto the salad and serve.

Serves 6 as sides

Best Ever "Scrambled" Eggs and a Proposal

They say food is the way to a man's heart. I think it definitely is, and the way to a woman's heart too. Any man that can cook a nice feed at the end of the day gets brownie points in my books, and lots of them.
But can food really make someone fall in love? I don't know if it can, to be honest, but it can make a man get down on one knee and propose.
Never! you say.
Well, I'm about to share a recipe that did. Every six months or so, I give away one of my secret recipes that I have always sworn is signature and not to be parted with. Anyway, I'm feeling generous today, and feel like sharing some humour as well. Be warned...this might be a love potion of sorts!
So, I used to work and supervise at a small cafe, the Marmalade Deli. Yes, it was just as quaint and pretty as its name, with pots and colanders hanging from the ceiling, polished wooden surfaces, adorable cakes for sale and floral tea towels. I felt this place was mine in many ways, and any one who entered it was entering my house. I put my heart and soul into creating gourmet food for my guests and took pride in whipping things out at top speed.
Anyway, every morning for several months, a troop of tradesmen would come in and order breakfast, sitting down together at the large wooden table that had become a centrepeice of the cafe. There was one guy, a big fellow, and I cant for the life of me remember his name--so he shall be Russel, because he looked like one.
He would grin, blue eyes sparkling, lean in close in and order, then say something cheeky to me just before he walked away. He became a bit of an embarrassment to me, and the other guys would always laugh at how red he made me turn. Poor shy creature that I am! He ordered the same every day...Scrambled Eggs, extra bacon. Every day the same, every day a cheeky comment, and almost every time when he dropped the plate back at the counter he would tell me I made the "best eggs in the world".
One day I got up the nerve to be saucy right back, and after a very  cheeky comment from him, I had enough and told him I was indeed engaged. I proudly flashed my diamond ring in his face, and I still remember what he said. "Aw darling! Don't do this to me! I was getting up the courage to ask you--would you marry me? Marry me, and cook me those scrambled eggs for the rest of my life!"
Is there a deeper shade of red than scarlet? Crimson? Maroon!
Of course it was all in silliness, but forever more when he came in, he would give puppy dog eyes at me, order, and ask "Are you still going to marry him?"
He later disappeared and never came back, to my relief.
So, do you want to get a proposal out of you man? I'd say its worth a try!!

I posted this recipe a little while back, but decided to re-post it due to the questions that arose. I have added pictures to increase the ease of replicating these scrumptious, fluffy, creamy, folded "scrambled" eggs.

BEST EVER "SCRAMBLED" EGGS--THE SECRET RECIPE

2 eggs
a dash of cream (about 1/4 of a cup)
a dash of water (about 2 tbsp.)
a pinch of salt
a dash of pepper

Break eggs into a microwaveable plastic measuring container. Add the dash of cream, water, and salt and pepper. Whisk vigorously until well combined and fluffy. Place the container in the microwave and set on high. Check every 20-30 seconds, gently swirling the container to shift the cooked egg and coat with it with uncooked egg. Repeat until  the liquid egg is significantly reduced. Fold the cooked egg in with the raw gently using a spatula (do not break it up too much!) Microwave again until you get moist, creamy, folded eggs. The success is in the folding, and not letting any part of the egg become dry and over cooked. Sounds too easy? It is. Best eggs ever.

Want to watch me do it? I'll go through the folding with you. And give you a running commentary.

 You egg mixture should look a bit like this after the first 30 seconds or so of cooking. Of course this depends upon the power of your microwave. See how the edges are starting to cook yet the centre is still very liquid? Just give it a swirl in the bowl. No spoons yet! Pop it back in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Remove from the microwave and swirl again. Try to get the liquid egg mixture on top of the cooked edges. We don't want that egg to dry out! Pop it back in for another 30.

Repeat the above process, covering the cooked edges with the egg liquid every time, with a simple swirl of the bowl. It's a very gentle process, as we don't want to break up the egg too much, we just want the cooked egg to shift so it doesn't dry out.

There will come a stage where the cooked egg on the edges is quite thick and the uncooked centre reduces in size. If the cooked egg no longer moves when you swirl the bowl, gently ease it off the side with a spatula.

I'm just going to take a moment here to say YUM! And that's saying something. I don't even like egg. But I simply LOVE this scrambled egg we're making. It's...well, you'll find out. It converted me to eating eggs again. Okay. Stick it back in the microwave, we're almost there!

Be careful at this stage where there isnt much liquid egg left, because the cooked egg can dry out if not watched well. Get your spatula and gently fold the cooked egg into the uncooked to moisten it. You can now set it aside! The heat in the cooked egg will cook the rest on its own.
If the scrambled egg looks dry, you can try and save it by adding a dob of butter to the top and letting it melt in. It should moisten the egg sufficiently. Serve immediately.

If your using one egg instead of two, I recommend cooking the egg at 15 second increments.

Mushroom Feta Risotto with Wilted Spinach

Some one asked me the other day what it's like to work in a kitchen. I mean a real kitchen, back of house with production lines and yelling chefs, giant ovens and long, stainless steel benches, and tall trolleys decked with plated food.
I had the privilege of working for the prestigious Peter Rowland Catering company when I lived in Melbourne. He started out selling sandwiches down on the beaches of Melbourne, and the business expanded to event catering--weddings, corporate dinners, galas, the Melbourne Cup Races, you name it. Their exclusive venues include the beautiful Rippon Lea Estate, Melbourne Museum, Port Melbourne Yacht Club, The Ian Potter Centre, Gardens House, The Chapter House, and many more fancy locations.
It was all rather hoitie toitie--imagine Melbourne's polo playing, Ferrari-owning crowd and you're right in amongst them. They notoriously didn't hire staff without a private school education or some sort of social connection, and just about every staff member was a son of this well known person, or so and so that knew so and so. I managed to get through on the private school education part, and probably because I could also twist my long fingers into bizarre shapes and hold three dinner plates at once. (There's a story there about a hot quail flying off the plate, but I'll leave that for another time).
I didn't particularly like mingling amongst the guests front of house, sporting heavy trays of wine and champagne glasses, but loved being assigned to the kitchen. It was always abuzz with certain excitement and pressure. Everything had to be just so. No that salad wasn't high enough! The jus was swirled too far to the centre of the plate! That scoop of caviar was too small! There was often yelling and swearing, red faces and irritability.
The chefs were basically like over-seers and were responsible for everyone, rushing from production line to production line, making sure everything was being plated impressively enough. They had the worst job, in my opinion. They had the time pressure upon them and had to sort of work around the time schedule of the event, even if it was not going to plan. If the speeches were going longer than expected at a wedding, and the desserts were due to come out after they finished, we had to try and keep them warm somehow until the signal came that we were ready to go. Then there was a huge influx of waiters rushing in and out with multiple plates, and then the hullabaloo was over within 5 minutes.
Sometimes we had to plate up as many as five course meals for over 1000 guests. That was the first day I came to work. It was an event held at Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building, and it was a sit down dinner. The kitchen was most impressive because it was all constructed on the day. You've never seen anything like it! There was a huge curtain separating the kitchen from the event, and it was the longest, largest kitchen set up you will ever see in your life. There were hundreds of long trestle tables set up for plating up food and as work benches, there were mobile ovens moved in and lined up in a row along the back wall. It was insane. I cant even tell you how many staff and chefs were working back of house. There were trolleys stacked with plated meals being wheeled to and fro and somehow we all had to work in silence so as not to disturb the event behind that curtain!
Anyway, I have many fond memories of working for Rowlands. And I have many more stories to come. I think I was very lucky to work with such creative and talented chefs and they taught me a lot about food.  Their food is amazing, and actually turned me from borderline vegetarian to full-on carnivore. Those chefs sure do know what they're doing with a steak! But...despite being carnivore, I have a wonderful vegetarian recipe for you all today. It really ticked my fancy because it was so packed with flavour and contained no meat what so ever. You cant go past a great risotto.

I didn't have any arborio rice, so I just used regular, and it was beautiful! I guess this made it less like a typical risotto however, and it meant less stirring (good for the busy mums who could do with a few more hands. I've noted the recipe changes below if you wish to use regular rice). Improvise as you like, I don't think you can go wrong with this flavour combo!

MUSHROOM FETA RISOTTO WITH WILTED SPINACH (adapted from Ezra Pound Cake)

Topping:
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 tsp. crushed garlic
1 tbsp. cooking oil
2 tbsp. white wine (we used a sweet Moscato, but dry white is great too--Chardonnay or Sauv. Blanc)
1/2 tbsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to season

Risotto:
5 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock if your are vegetarian)
3 tbsp. cooking oil
1 medium red onion, finely diced
2 cups rice (arborio or carnaroli is recommended, see note below)
3/4 cup white wine
5 cups spinach, stemmed and chopped
1 cup feta, crumbled

To make the topping, heat oil in a medium frypan. Saute the mushrooms and garlic in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the wine and thyme and cook for a further minute. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Turn the stove off but leave the frypan on the element to keep warm until the rice is ready.
To make the risotto, heat the stock very gently so that it is at a low simmer. In another large pot, add the oil and saute the onions until light golden brown, on a medium-high heat. Add the arborio rice* to the onions and stir with a wooden spoon until all the contents are coated in oil. Add the wine and stir continuously until the liquid is completely absorbed. Take one cup of the stock at a time and add it to the rice. Cook, stirring frequently until each cup of stock is absorbed by the rice before adding the next cup of stock. Continue this process until all the stock is absorbed. It should take about 25 minutes and the rice should be al dente. Then add the chopped spinach and cook, covered, until the spinach is bright green. Stir the feta through the rice. Serve Topped with the mushroom mixture.

*If you are not using arborio rice and just the regular rice as I did, place the wine and simmering stock together in a large pot. Saute the onion in another pan and add to the stock mixture with the rice. Cook on high until boiling and turn down to medium. Give it a stir and leave it until holes appear in the rice. Turn it off and cover, leaving it on the hot element. It should absorb all the liquid just standing still. You can add some more liquid, such as wine or water if the rice is still looking too firm, and reheat until the rice is tender. Then stir though feta, wilted spinach and top with mushroom mixture.

Aubergine Tagine

Finally, a wonderful excuse hit me to take my wonderful red tagine down from it's nook in the kitchen corner. Moroccan has always been a favourite for us on those cooler night, and it certainly has been a cold May in Queensland! That combined with the fact that Gourmet Garden had sent me a variety of delicious herb and spice pastes was enough to get me looking for a wonderful main meal to whip up in this fabulous earthenware pot. We enjoyed this vegetarian dish as a meat-less alternative to Beef and Red Wine Casserole at our five course Gourmet Garden Dinner Party, and it was a big hit all around. It features a lovely combination of aromatic spices including cinnamon and turmeric and Gourmet Garden's very own garlic paste, coriander, and hot chilli paste. Paired with warm cous cous, this veggie packed meal was a real crowd-pleaser, and it's so healthy too.

Course 3:

MOROCCAN AUBERGINE TAGINE (Adapted from 500 Main Courses, Jenni Fleetwood, 2011)

1 medium aubergine, diced (1 cm cubes)
2 zucchinis, thickly sliced
4 tbsp. oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 tbsp. Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic Paste
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp. Gourmet Garden Coriander paste
1 tbsp. cinnamon, ground
2 tsp. turmeric, ground
2 1/2 cups passata
1 heaped tbsp. tomato paste
1 flat tbsp. Gourmet Garden Hot Chilli paste
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
fresh coriander to garnish

Sprinkle salt over diced aubergine and zucchini. Set aside in a bowl for 30 minutes. Heat the grill on high and place the aubergine and zucchini on a tray underneath. Grill until tender and golden, turning occasionally to prevent burning, for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in the tagine, or heavy based pot. Cook the onion and garlic until softened, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and saute until tender; then add the spices. Stir through for 1 minute until aromatic and well combined. Add passata, tomato paste and 2/3 cup water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the aubergine, zucchini, chickpeas and apricots and chilli paste. Cook, partially covered, for a further 15 minutes, adding a little extra water if the tagine becomes too dry. Serve with cous cous and garnish with fresh coriander if desired, and serve.
Serves 6