Cauliflower & Potato Soup

If you'd asked me a few weeks ago what I thought of cauliflower, I probably would have told you I thought the stuff was vile and to be avoided. It's not really the flavour, I just figured it didn't really have anything going for it. But I just had not had it prepared in an appetising way before I discovered this quick and easy winter warming soup. Determined to get more veggies into my family, and being winter, I decided to try something different. I went and brought cauliflower. My husband stared at me as if to say "what are you going to do with that?!"
I'm currently 39 weeks pregnant and have not had the energy for anything too convoluted. Seriously, I can't really even get that close to the kitchen bench with baby bump in the way-I literally feel like a T-rex, with a huge body and puny arms that just don't reach far enough. So as you can imagine, I need something remarkably quick, something that limits my time reaching over the belly to the bench.. (Don't even ask how I manage to wash the dishes, I am sure my back will not thank me for it in the future.)
I need simple, tasty meals that are not going to take me all day to prepare, so I am sharing this beauty with you. It's simple! It's tasty! It's veggies! Even my kids eat it with gusto, served with a side of steaming garlic bread.
I love these type of meals you simply chop, throw into a pot and later on puree and serve. It doesn't get much easier. You could even do this meal in a slow cooker or crock pot if you preferred. That's always a great option for busy people who can't keep going back and checking on the stove every few minutes! And-it's freezable. Just leave out the cream until you've defrosted and reheated it, and you're good to go.

CAULIFLOWER & POTATO SOUP (Adapted from Taste.com)

1 onion, roughly chopped (I used a red onion, but a brown one is great fine)
2 tsp crushed garlic
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets (about 1.3 kg)
500g potatoes, peeled and cubed
salt and pepper to season
1 litre chicken stock
1/2 cup cream

Toss the chopped onion and garlic into a large pot with a dash of oil or butter and cook until the onion begins to soften. Add the cauliflower florets and potato, and season with salt and pepper as desired. Add the chicken stock and place the lid on the pot. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from heat for 5 minutes, then puree in a blender. Before serving, stir the cream through and garnish, if desired.

Serves 4
NOTES: This recipe is suitable for freezing. Freeze the soup without the addition of the cream, and add the cream after defrosting and reheating.

Ultimate Potato Soup

Recently I touched on a topic I am sure we have all experienced at some stage in life before-food ruts. You buy the same ingredients repeatedly and use the same recipes. You cycle through and through until you no longer enjoy eating and cooking what you're serving. Or worse still, you have no idea what you're having for dinner, and end up spending a fortune on take away or some last minute ingredients that are quick and easy solutions. So how do you get out of food ruts? Here are a few ideas on how to move away from living the same food day in day out. Any step is a step forward!

1. Buy something you've never tried-a vegetable you've never tasted, that quinoa that everyone has been raving about, or that weird gooey stuff you have been curious about in the foreign food isle at your supermarket. Ensure it gets used within your grocery period. It might just become a new favourite.

2. Menu plan, making sure that you schedule to try one new recipe. Menu planning not only ensures you're only buying what you need for the week/fortnight, but you have everything ready to go without any last minute grocery store dashes (and lets face it, you always end up buying more than you intended!) Menu planning has been the best way in cutting down costs for me personally. Our shopping bills have been heavily reduced. There is great peace of mind in knowing what you're cooking at the beginning of the day.

3. Use pinterest for inspiration-sometimes all it takes is a little tweaking of the same ingredients to make it a whole new meal. Do you always buy chicken breast? There are a million and one ideas on how to change up chicken breast on that damned addictive site.

4. Challenge yourself to use what is in the pantry before stepping out to grocery shop. Had a can of  cream of chicken soup in the pantry for a few months? Got chicken and pasta and broccoli? Type these ingredients into a recipe finder such as Recipe Matcher to generate dozens of new recipes using those ingredients.

5. Buy a food magazine every so often. Woolworths and Coles often has publications they give out for free. Have them in a central area like the coffee table and you will probably have other family members looking at them and making requests. These mags are also great reminders that you are in a food rut and should or can do something about it.

Good luck getting out of the rut and finding new favourites to cycle through! Here's one to kick start you off. It's the best potato soup I have ever tasted. It's the ultimate comfort meal- hot and hearty, thick, cheesey, bacony, potatoey goodness just packed with flavour. You will have people groaning with delight as they spoon this down-it's a real keeper! I have served this at the end of a party once, serving it in mugs as everyone huddled around the fire outside. My guests just couldn't get enough! I have also served it as a dip in a cob loaf, which worked well, as it gets quite thick as it cools. It's one of my most requested recipes. I know you will cherish it too.
Got any other tips? I'd love to hear them! 

THE ULTIMATE POTATO SOUP

500g diced bacon
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cups potato, peeled and diced
1 carrot, finely grated
2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tbsp plain flour
3 cups milk
1 cup grated cheese
1/4 cup green onions, finely chopped (optional)

Fry the diced bacon until golden and crispy. Drain any bacon at that may be in the saucepan. Add the onion, potato and carrot, along with the stock, parsley, salt and pepper. Place a lid on the saucepan and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the potato is quite tender (this time will depend on the size of your potato chunks.) Meanwhile, place the flour in a bowl, and adding a little of the milk at a time, whisk until a smooth paste forms. Add the remainder of the milk, and mix until well incorporated. Add this milk mixture to the pot of stock and potato. Let it reach the boil, then stir continuously for a further two minutes, until it thickens. Add the cheese and stir through. Serve sprinkled with chopped green onion if desired.

Serves 6-8

Oven Baked Fried-Style Chicken

I've never really been into eating fast food like McDonalds and KFC. But I have on occasion reveled in the idea of easting a KFC twister wrap, and have indulged myself in buying one. The salad in it makes it okay, right? That's what I try to convince myself.
I'm sure it's not as unhealthy as some of the other options, but I'm also sure that chicken can't be great for you. I have no idea how they cook it however and maybe it is baked? (I highly doubt that given the name of the store, but lets give them the benefit of the doubt for a second.)
Anyway I found this great recipe for oven baked fried-style chicken, and just had to try it. I'm in love!
They are delicious portions of chicken breast covered in a layer of Dijon mustard mayonnaise, dipped in golden, crispy crumbed deliciousness on a par with KFC chicken, and healthier for certain! So if you want a recipe for KFC style chicken, this is it! I've altered it from the original recipe as I didn't have all the ingredients such as crushed bagels and melba toast--my version is very easy to make and quite irresistible. Can't wait to try it Twister-style in a wrap with some lettuce, tomato and peppered mayo!

OVEN BAKED FRIED-STYLE CHICKEN (adapted from Food Network)

1 1/3 cup crushed wheatbix
150g Shapes savory biscuits (I used pizza flavour, Chicken Drumstick biscuits worked great last time too)
1 tbsp. oil
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon mustard
800g chicken breast cut into portions

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line and grease an oven tray and set aside. Place crushed wheatbix and savory biscuits in a food processor and blend until finely crushed and ground. Place this mixture in a  large plastic bag along with the oil, salt, pepper, and paprika. Mix until thoroughly combined.
In a shallow dish, place the mayonnaise and the mustard together. Stir to combine. Dip the cut strips of chicken breast into the mayonnaise mixture and thoroughly coat. Add these chicken pieces to the bag of cereal. Shake the bag until all the pieces are well covered in the dry mixture.
Lay the chicken pieces out on the greased and lined tray. Spray each piece evenly with oil and place the tray in the preheated oven. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and moist and tender, and the outer layer is crisp and golden (about 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the pieces of chicken.) This time will depend upon the size of your chicken portions, so keep a good eye on them after the 30 minute mark.

Grilled Smashed Potatoes

I've been making these beauties for a while. They're a nice spin on the more plain "potatoes in their jackets", as my mum used to call them, and take almost as little time. Best of all, you can add whatever delicious toppings you want and get really creative. Chicken parmigiana smashed potatoes? Go for it!

My husband and I are avid potato lovers, so we thoroughly enjoy having these as a side dolloped with sour cream, alongside the fresh greens and meat. It's also a kid friendly and kid approved dinner side, so that is always popular when you have fussy little undeveloped taste buds in the house.  

They bring back childhood memories of camping with the family, wrapping potatoes in aluminium foil and burying them under the coals of the campfire, to later find them cooked--and then we proceeded to lather them in melting butter.

Here I have spun over to Kate's Kitchen for inspiration for the Secret Recipe Club Reveal this month and found Grilled Smashed Potatoes. I've added bacon  and tomato pasta style sauce to the recipe, and I've just sizzled them under the hot grill because unlike Kate, I don't have a grill basket (I'm not even sure what that is). They are delicious! Don't stand for plain-jane jacket potatoes any longer!

GRILLED SMASHED POTATOES (Adapted from Kate's Kitchen)

Washed and brushed potatoes, skins left on
Diced bacon
Tomato Sauce (pasta style)
Basil
Oregano
Parsley
Grated tasty cheese
Sour cream

Boil the potatoes until tender.
While they are cooking, heat up a little oil in a fry pan and cook the bacon until browned.
Remove the cooked potatoes from water and set on some aluminium foil on the grill tray. Set the grill to high to heat. Meanwhile, using a potato masher, gently crush eat potato downwards. (Don't mash it right up, you still want it to basically be in one, crushed piece.) Spread about 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce on each potato. Sprinkle the potatoes with herbs and lastly the grated cheese.
Grill until golden and bubbling, and serve immediately topped with a dollop of sour cream.

Zesty Cannelloni

If you're in Australia and you love food, you have to make a trip to Melbourne. I know I am biased about that beautiful city, but it's been my romping ground for a while. Sadly I have moved away from it, only to take some pretty fond memories with me and a list of great foodie haunts. I've been away too long it seems, as new and exciting restaurants have popped up all over the place. I'm keen to try Chin Chin on Flinder's Lane, Manchester Press and Chez Dre. I cant say how good these spots are because I haven't been yet but the reviews on Urbanspoon sound pretty fantastic.
My hot spots for Melbourne visitors would be:

Lygon Street in Carlton, to tease and satisfy the Italian in you
Brunetti's for to-die-for cakes, great coffee, biscuits and desserts. My kind of place.
Flinder's Street Station Spanish Donuts stand--hot churros like you've never tasted in your life!
Spaghetti Tree, for some seriously fine dining.

You can tell I like my Italian, right? There are lots of brilliant places to dine in Melbourne, as it has a large Italian community. That's mighty fine for someone like me who's favourite cuisine happens to be Italian. Anyone who thinks Italian is just pasta and pizza is seriously missing out...there are so many Italian foods that don't even come close to being pasta or pizza!
But pasta is my "one weakness". There's nothing like a good home made pasta, made from scratch, with love. Left to rise, stretched and re stretched through a pasta press. Cut out into little circles, filled with some delicious mixture. That's how I like it.
If you like Italian foods, you will most definitely enjoy this recipe for cannelloni. Think of mozzarella cheese melted over herby pasata, and home made pasta that has been wrapped around a delightful, zesty, ricotta, cottage cheese, and spinach filling. Everyone who tastes this delicious vegetarian dish will be wanting seconds. So make two batches. You won't regret it.

Obviously if you have the time, home made pasta wins over store bought any day. You can even make the pasta without a pasta press, if you have some brawn in those arms and a good rolling pin. Try to roll the pasta as thinly as possible without it breaking, as the texture makes all the difference and the thinner the pasta, the less cooking time is involved.

ZESTY CANNELLONI (adapted from Heart of the House)

Basic Pasta:

2 1/2 cups plain four
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup virgin olive oil

Filling:

1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp. crushed garlic
1 tbsp. olive oil
250g cooked spinach, chopped and drained
500g cottage cheese
500g fresh ricotta
100g parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs
grated zest of 1 lime
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (preferably flat leaved)
salt and pepper to taste
1 jar of pasata, or tomato based pasta sauce
1 cup cheese, grated (we suggest mozzarella)

Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
To make the pasta, sift flour and salt into a large glass bowl. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, and break each egg into the well. Add oil. Using your fingertips, gradually blend the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Continue to blend little by little until a thick dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 3-4 minutes until smooth and elastic. Leave dough on surface, cover with the mixing bowl and leave for 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, to make the filling, place the onion and garlic in a fry pan and cook with the oil until softened. Add to a large bowl, along with the cooked spinach, cottage cheese, ricotta, half the Parmesan cheese, the eggs, zest, nutmeg and parsley. Mix thoroughly to combine and season with salt and pepper if desired.
Take a quarter of the pastry dough and run though the pasta press until very thin and stretched into a long portion. Cut as desired into squares (about 15 x 15 cm) and place 1/2 cup of the mixture in the centre of each. Roll up and place, seam down, into a 19x13 inch glass dish. (You could also use high-sided foil tray or something similar). Fill the ends with a little extra cheese mixture once in the dish.
Repeat with the remaining pasta dough and cheese mixture, lining all the pasta parcels up along side each other, until the tray is full and all the dough and mixture is used up. Top with pasata and remaining Parmesan and grated cheese.
Cook for 45 minutes covered in foil. Remove the covering and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 8 adults, with a side of veggies.

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.

Silky Thai Sweet Potato Soup

For our Gourmet Garden Blog Off dinner party, we had a sublime Thai inspired sweet potato soup for the entre. I had invented this previously but with the simple addition of coriander powder, but when I was sent the delectable Thai Paste via Gourmet Garden, I knew I just had to try it in this silky soup.
This soup is all about textures and subtle flavours. It's an exquisite feast for the senses and is not to be eaten in haste, but relished and savored so as to experience all the flavours that come through along with the satiny smooth consistency. In addition to the soup, we enjoyed home made Garlic Bread Knots, hot from the oven and spread with butter, which tied in magnificently with the other flavours. Does food get any better? There's nothing quite like a delicious soup paired with hot, home made bread.

Course 2:

SILKY THAI SWEET POTATO SOUP (A Louise Creation)

2kg sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
600ml coconut cream
4 cubes of dry chicken stock (I use OXO brand)
2 tbsp. Gourmet Garden Thai paste
1 cup hot water
salt and pepper to taste (optional)
fresh or ground coriander to garnish (optional)

Peel the sweet potato and cut into large, rough chunks. Place in a large saucepan and fill the pot to the 3/4 mark with water. Place over high heat until the sweet potato is tender when pierced with a knife.
Drain away the liquid, and place the sweet potato in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, place the crushed dry chicken stock with the boiling water and stir until dissolved.
Stir the coconut cream until well combined and thick. Add to the sweet potato, along with the thai paste and chicken stock liquid. Blend with the electric beater until well combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.
In batches, blitz in a food blender until a silky smooth consistency is reached. Return all soup to the pot and reheat. Serve with coriander as a garnish, if desired.

Serves 8-10 as an entre.

Beef and Red Wine Casserole

Wanting to appeal to the variety of different taste buds at our Gourmet Garden dinner party, I decided to go for two different main meals. One was the delicious Moroccan dish Aubergine Tagine, and the other was Beef and Red Wine Casserole for the meat-cravers among us. This is a Massey family favourite which I've adapted. I made it in the slow cooker and marinated the beef overnight to make the meat nice and tender. It was really delicious! The sauce is rich and hearty, thick with flavours of tomato and red wine, mushrooms and herbs.

Course 3:

 BEEF AND RED WINE CASSEROLE (An adapted Massey family favourite)

700g beef, diced
3/4 cup red wine (I used Merlot)
2 rashers bacon, diced (rind left on)
1 medium red onion, diced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
3 tbsp. flour
30g butter
1 3/4 cup water
1 heaped tbsp. tomato paste
2 cubes of beef stock (I use OXO brand)
1 1/2 heaped tbsp. Gourmet Garden basil paste
1 1/2 tsp. Gourmet Garden Thyme paste
1 1/2 tsp. Gourmet Garden oregano paste
1 level tbsp. Gourmet Garden Garlic paste

Place the diced meat in a zip lock bag. Add the wine and seal overnight in the refrigerator.
Drain the wine from the beef and set aside for the sauce.
Brown the beef and bacon lightly. Remove from heat and place in the slow cooker bowl. Cook the onion until softened and add to the beef. Brown the mushrooms and add to the beef.
Place the butter and flour in the hot saucepan. Cook, stirring, until well combined and golden. Take off the heat and gradually add the water and the reserved wine, stirring to form a smooth paste. Return to heat and add crushed stock cubes, tomato paste and herbs. Stir until thick and then pour over meat in slow cooker.
Cook on low for 8 hours. Serve over pasta or cous cous, garnished with fresh basil, parsley or oregano if desired.

Serves 6

NOTES: You can cook this meal without a slow cooker. Place all prepared ingredients in a casserole dish instead of the slow cooker bowl. Cover and cook in the oven at 180C for 1 1/2 hours. Marinating the meat over night is also optional, but we found it made the meat more tender and infused the meat beautifully.

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

Winter Warmers--Zucchini Soup

It sometimes amazes me what people will eat. Down the road there's a place called Chompers which specialises in fish and chips and burgers. Now remember when Krispy Kreme Donuts first came to Australia? People camped out overnight just to be the first to line up for those donuts. Over time, the stores have increased and I believe the faze is generally over. But at this particular store down the road, I viewed the most hideous looking burger. It was a Krispy Kreme Donut burger, featuring cheese, bacon and lettuce, the works.

Ewww! I wonder how popular they are? I am sure they appeal to some but the thought makes me want to roll over and die, very prematurely. Dear Lord, take those burgers away!

It sounds like a pregnant woman's midnight craving session gone wild. Even I'm not that crazy!

What has your strangest craving been? What's your most detested food? Well, I havnt had so many unusual cravings, but I sure have list of detested foods. From when I was a kid, of course. I have long developed my tastebuds to appreciate them.

I'm sure they're on most kid's lists, but these used to make me retch at the table.

Silverbeet

Brussel Sprouts

Zucchini

Now my husband has never tasted brussel sprouts, to my horror. His mother is kind! But I am sure he didn't like the sound of me telling him I was making Zucchini Soup. The truth is, until I tasted this amazing stuff I probably would have had a little shudder run through me thinking of my childhood qualms. But this soup has become such a hit at our house. I must say, my inspiration comes from my friend and my old housemate who once made it for dinner. I don't remember her exact recipe but its along the lines of what follows.

I will never think of zucchini the same way again.

I am even willing to try adding zucchini to sweets...just watch me!

ZUCCHINI SOUP (serves 2-3 depending on desired consistency)

1 can evaporated milk (Carnation brand)

500g zucchini

½ packet dried French onion soup mix

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut up the zucchinis into rounds. Boil until they are soft, then drain and cool. Place zucchini in a blender, add half the evaporated milk and process. Add more evaporated milk until you get the desired thickness of the soup. Add the dried soup mix and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until very smooth and well combined. Reheat on stove and serve. Delicious with a dob of sour cream in the middle! 

NOTES: this recipe does not freeze well. Best eaten on the day it is made. The smaller the zucchinis, the better the flavour.

The Secret to Amazing Roast Potatoes

I know its silly, but something makes me rejoice inside when I know an incredible aroma is wafting from my kitchen into the neighbours house. Let's just say we haven't had the best of luck with those particular people, and, as much as I refuse to stoop to their level, I let myself feel a mean satisfaction when this culinary delight occurs. I know they don't often cook, and I refuse to believe that such fragrances floating by anyone's nose does not touch some sense of longing. Long away, long away, neighbourinos. The roast is going on our table and we will devour every delicious piece of it!
Alright, I admit its my husband and not me that's the master of roasts. I'm the queen of sweet delights and he is the king of savouries. But when it was his birthday, I promised I would make him roast duck, and I wanted it to be perfect. It was delicious! (okay, he cooked it). But I had a little victory while preparing that roast dinner. Roast vegies! I have never ever been able to get crispy, golden looking roast vegies and it has long bothered me. The potatoes always look pasty and simply boiled, the others limp and unattractive.
I discovered a very simple and magnificent little secret. Well, I think it has to be a secret because I have never dined anywhere on any cooks roast vegies that were so crisp and delightfully golden. I love giving away secrets. Whats my excuse today? Well...lets just say its in celebration of my husband and my anniversary coming up. Why not. Read away! (unless you are those particular people next door...no secrets coming your way).

BEST ROAST POTATOES (Super Food Ideas June 2004)

1 kg Coliban or Sebago potatoes
3-4 tbsp. oil

Preheat oven to 200°C. Peel potatoes and cut into chunks. Place into a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 15 minutes or until partially cooked (potatoes should be only just tender when pierced with a skewer).
Drain potatoes well. Return to saucepan over low heat until any remaining water evaporates. Shake saucepan vigorously to rough up surface of potatoes (this will make them crunchy when roasted). Alternatively, scrape surfaces of potatoes with a fork to create a rough texture.
Pour oil into a large roasting pan. Place roasting pan into oven for 5 minutes or until oil is hot. Working quickly, add potatoes to hot oil. Use tongs to turn potatoes to coat in oil, then return roasting pan to oven.
Roast potatoes for 40 minutes. Turn and roast for a further 30 minutes or until golden and crisp. Season with salt. Serve immediately.

NOTES: We used the oil left in the bottom of a jar of sundried tomatoes, which was full of herbs and spices. This added a great flavour to the potatoes! We also used the same "roughing" technique on sweet potatoes and they turned out beautifully golden and crisp too.

Winter Warmers--Roast Pumpkin Soup

Maggie Beer says its all the little details that count when it comes to making a great soup. Apparently she recently gave away her secret Pumpkin Soup recipe, but I like recipes that are simple and made from everyday ingredients. I mean, how many people have verjuice and marscapone cheese just hanging around the kitchen? Sounds yummy though.
Well I have a pretty fabulous pumpkin soup recipe too, excuse me blowing my horn a bit. Okay, let me blow, after all, I am revealing another one of my "not-so-secret-now" recipes, and the occasion is my birthday. Well, we're a few days off, but I'm posting it in celebration. If you want to know how young I'm going to be, it's not so secret that I'm turning 21 again. 21 is such a good age to be.
This soup is made from just a few main ingredients and herbs, and is so satisfying on one of those chilly nights we've been having here in Australia recently. Its thick and creamy and so rich in all its pumpkin-y goodness. Why is it my "secret" recipe? Well, lets just say people came from all around just to eat this soup when I made it at Marmalade Deli where I used to work. Its liquid gold. Hoot Hoot!
Some people ask what pumpkin is best to use and I personally like the butternut best--it has a silkier texture and never fails to taste delicious. But the success of this recipe is all in the roasting of the pumpkin. It's a little more time consuming but well worth it. I have cut corners with this recipe before and it just doesn't have the same pizazz. The pumpkin needs to be roasted in strips for that extra flavour.

MY SECRET ROAST PUMPKIN SOUP

1 Butternut pumpkin, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup cream
2-3 cups milk
1-2 tsp. salt
pinch pepper
approx 2 tbs mixed dried herbs (I used a pinch each of cinnamon, oregano, parsley, dried onion flakes, basil. lemon pepper etc)

Cut the pumpkin into this strips. Place under a grill or in a sandwich press until the tops and bottoms are brown or even crispier. Place roasted pumpkin in a blender and add cream, salt and other spices. Begin to process, adding milk as you go until you reach the desired texture and thickness. Add more salt and herbs to taste if desired. Place in a large saucepan and reheat before serving. Serve with a dollop of sour cream if desired. Fresh chives go down a treat as well!

Serves 4-6

                                              My son really rocks the pumpkin mustache!