Apple and Berry Quinoa Crumble

This morning I arrived home from Darwin. Sunny, warm, dry, blue-skied Darwin. Our convenient 2am flight landed us in chilly old Melbourne at 6.45am. After 2 weeks camping our way around Kakadu, Katherine and Litchfield, going to bed when the sun did and waking up when it rose- we were struggling to drag ourselves to the airport at such an ungodly hour.

Feeling tired and sorry for myself today in my cold hometown of Melbourne, I'm posting this crumble recipe that Luisa and I made when we were feeling just as sorry for ourselves when our original flight to Darwin got cancelled and we had to stay in Melbourne for the first 2 days of winter before we could get on another flight. We needed something warm and wintery to brighten those blues.

Crumble
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup oats
1 handful pumpkin seeds
1 handful sunflower seeds
1 handful shredded coconut
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 small pinch of salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil

Fruit
1 apple sliced
1-2 cups frozen berries
1 vanilla pod
3-5 cloves 
1 tsp cinnamon
water
 
Preheat oven to 180-200 degrees. 

Stew the apple in some water with the cloves and cinnamon. When it starts to soften, scrape the vanilla pod into the mix and let the pod stew too. Add the berries. Stew until you reach the consistency you prefer. Remember to remove the cloves and vanilla pod before cooking.

To make the crumble topping, combine cooked quinoa, oats, seeds, coconut, spices and salt. Rub in the coconut oil to the rest of the mixture with fingertips.

Grease a baking dish and pour in stewed fruit mixture (don't forget the cloves and vanilla!)  Sprinkle crumble mixture on top and bake in oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Serve with yoghurt, cream or coyo!

*The only sugar in the recipe comes from the stewed fruit. We found that the apple gave the crumble plenty of sweetness and we didn't feel as though we had to add any other sugars. If you're a bit more of a sweet tooth, try some chopped dates in the crumble mixture. It will sweeten it and give it a stickier texture when cooked.* 

Happy winter everyone.

Choc Beetroot Cake

Friday was my mum's birthday. She's a bit of a fan of the colour red. She buys red shoes, red scarves, her chausseur pots and pans are red, the coffee machine is red and the splash back in the kitchen is even red.

For her birthday she received a red design fountain pen and a burgundy leather document folio. A beetroot cake seemed to be a fitting addition to the RED theme.

These are my pictures, but please see the recipe HERE from Green Kitchen Stories, a beautiful blog that i perve at all the time!

Baked Eggs in Leftover Tofu Bean Stew

So, a volcano erupted in Indonesia on Friday and as a result, our long-awaited flight to Darwin got cancelled. BOO! We now have to wait until tomorrow night to fly.

Might as well eat brunch...

A good friend of mine Luisa has been living with us for the last 2 months and, like me, the kitchen is her haven too. It's always such a pleasure to come home to all the delicious dinners and treats she makes and to share our recipes with each other.
 The other night she made a yummy tofu, bean stew which i will share with you now.

Tofu Bean Stew
Plenty of oil to cook in (coconut oil, olive oil etc)
250 g Firm Tofu, mashed
2 Cans Red Kidney Beans
1 Can Corn/ Fresh corn kernels
1 Eggplant diced small
5 Mushrooms sliced
1 Red Onion
1-2 Cans diced tomatoes/passata or 10 fresh tomatoes (or a combination of both!)
2 Cloves Garlic
Chili according to taste
Salt and Pepper
Turmeric
Smoked Paprika
1 tbs Sliced Jalapenos

Heat the oil in a pan and fry off the onion, garlic and tofu. Add the corn, eggplant, mushrooms and fresh tomatoes (if you have them). Add the spices and salt and pepper and fry until all the vegetables are coated.
Add the tin tomatoes, kidney beans and jalapenos. Allow to cook for 15 minutes so all of the flavours are incorporated.
Taste and add more seasoning if required.

Serve by itself or with, rice or yummy bread.

We had some leftovers and trust me, this tastes even better when it's 2 days old. After a few wines on Friday night, a decent brunch was in order for Saturday morning.

Baked Eggs
Eggs (as many as you need)
Leftover tofu bean stew. Any other leftover tomato based sauces will do as well.

Heat the stew/sauce on the stove until just boiling. Pour in to an oven proof dish and crack the eggs on top.
Place in the oven on grill until your eggs begin to firm up. Keep an eye on them as they often look like they're not cooked when they are! The grill will dry out the eggs pretty quickly. Usually they take about 10-15 minutes to cook.

Serve on toast with fresh parsley or basil. We also enjoyed ours with some soft goats cheese and sauteed kale.

Pumpkin Coconut Icecream with Candied Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

I've been living in Marysville since the start of the year and although it's a quiet little town with not a lot to do, i always make a little visit to the Marysville Lolly Shop. Not only does the lolly shop sell lollies and chocolate and really yummy homemade ice cream from Butter's Cafe in Buxton, they also sell heaps of local produce from the surrounding towns in the Murrindindi Shire and fruit and veg from their little garden.
This week i managed to buy a beautiful butternut pumpkin from them and decided to experiment a pumpkin ice cream recipe.

Pumpkins are in season at the moment. Yes it's almost winter, but who doesn't eat ice cream all year round? Plus, the warming spices in this recipe will make you forget it's cold outside!

PUMPKIN ICE CREAM:
2 Cups Pureed Pumpkin (1 small butternut pumpkin)
1 Can Full Fat Coconut Milk/Cream
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ginger Powder
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Rind and Juice of One Lime
Rind of One Lemon

FOR THE PUREE:
Cut the pumpkin in half, remove seeds and place skin side up on a baking tray. Pour some water in the baking tray and put in the oven on 200 degrees for about 40 minutes. If the water dries up, add some more. For the last 10 or so minutes, flip the pumpkin over and cover tray with aluminum foil to allow the flesh to become really soft. Once soft, allow to cool and remove the flesh from the skin.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend into a smooth consistency. If the mixture is still warm from cooking your pumpkin, allow to cool before churning.

WITH Ice Cream Maker:
Churn in your ice cream churner for about 30 minutes, then put in the freezer to freeze for a further 1-2 hours.

WITHOUT Ice Cream Maker:
Place cool mixture in a container in the freezer. Every 30 minutes take out the mixture and stir thoroughly. Repeat this for about 3 hours. 

THE SEEDS:
Pumpkin seeds
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Ginger Powder
Tiny Pinch Salt
1-2 tbs Coconut Oil
a drizzle of Maple Syrup

Keep the seeds from your pumpkin and soak in a bowl with warm salty water for about 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Remove seeds from the water, remove any excess pumkin flesh that might still be hanging around and dry them with paper towel or a tea towel.
Mix the seeds in melted coconut oil, maple syrup and spices and lay on a lined baking tray. Bake for about 30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes.
Sprinkle over the top of your ice cream or eat them as a snack.

When serving your ice cream, it's best to take it out of the freezer at least an hour before you want to serve it as the coconut milk freezes super hard and icy!
 Good luck scooping!

Marysville Lolly Shop: https://www.facebook.com/MarysvilleLollyShop
Marysville Tourism: http://www.marysvilletourism.com/

Green Goodness in a Glass

I'm not gonna lie. I am one to follow food trends. Why do you think i have a food blog?
So to celebrate all things food-trendy I am going to get this one out of my system and post the damn Green Smoothie.

Why?
Well, it shot so well on  the camera and to tell you the truth i do actually drink these for  about 4 out 7 of my breakfasts in the week.They're yummy, energising, quick to make and, well, pretty nutritious.
Smoothies are one of those foods that, while I'm sipping away, i wish it would never end.

1 Big Glass Full of Green Goodness:

1 Green Apple

2 Beetroot Leaves

2-3 Kale Leaves

1/2 Small Avocado

Ice cubes

Lots of Cinnamon

5 cm Piece of Cucumber

Milk of choice (rice, almond, soy, coconut water or just water.)

 Blend well and enjoy slowly. You can top it with oats or anything crunchy is you're feeling adventurous. Mine has popped amaranth and goji berries.

Happy Sipping!

Recycling Soup Pulp

Waste not want not.

Here a some helpful ideas on how to use your left over pulp from soups/veggie juices etc.

After Cook Club a few week ago, Cal and I had a large amount of pulp left from our Spring pea and mint soup. There was so much green-goodness in that pulp that we didn't want to just throw it away!

Freeze your pulp until you're ready to use it! Otherwise it will sit in your fridge and it WILL go off. Wait for that inspiration.

My first batch of pulp.

Spelt Flour Bread Rolls
400g spelt flour
100g strong wheat flour
1/2 tbs instant yeast
1/2 tbs salt
1tbs olive oil
150ml warm water (you may need more)
200g soup pulp (my pulp was quite moist. If you're using juice pulp, that's usually quite dry so  you might need to add morel liquid)
Pumpkin and sunflower seeds for the top

*makes about 15 muffin-sized rolls*

If you've got a mixer with a dough hook (i don't) then use it! Combine all ingredients and knead for 10-15 minutes. You may need to knead a little longer if you're doing it by hand.
You may need to add more liquid or more flour depending if your dough is too dry or too wet.
Place in a lightly oiled bowl and leave to double in size- about an hour.
Knock back the dough and roll in to small balls and into a greased muffin tin. If you don't have one you could make a loaf or just put the balls on a tray. They will keep their shape.
Paint the tops with a bit of milk and sprinkle some seeds.
Bake in 180 degree oven for 15-20mins.

Serve with good butter and ANOTHER soup!

 The second batch of pulp i used was for a simple recipe!

Stuffed Filo Parcels with Goats Cheese
Filo pastry
Good quality butter
Goats cheese
Soup pulp
Poppy seeds

Defrost your soup pulp and heat it through on the stove. If you want, you can add to your pulp.
Layer 4-5 sheets of filo pastry, painted with melted butter in between each sheet.
Cut the filo in to 4 pieces and drop a big spoonful of the pulp in to the centre of each square. Add a teaspoon or so of goats cheese. Pain two edges with butter and fold over the other corner in to a triangle to seal. Give the pastries a little brush with milk, sprinkle with poppy seeds and bake in the oven on 180 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Anything tastes good in pastry! Serve these with a simple salad and some steamed greens. Or whatever inspires you!

Besides from these recipes, you could make burger patties, mix the pulp in with a pie, make a quiche, fritatta, pasta sauce or another soup! Use your imagination and you won't waste a thing!

Sunday Buckwheat Pancakes

Good morning all!
This week i was in the Asian grocer and i stumbled upon 1kg of buckwheat for $3.90. Bargain! Pancakes with the parents on a Sunday morning. What a treat!

Deceivingly, buckwheat is not actually related to wheat. In fact, it's not even a grain at all. Buckwheat is actually a seed related to rhubarb and sorrel. There's a fun fact!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup almond milk (or whichever milk you choose)
1 tsp vanilla essence

 *Makes about 6 small pancakes*

Method:

Heat some coconut oil (or butter) in a  frying pan and drop in a small ladle of the pancake batter. Cook for a few minutes or until bubbles appear on the top of the pancake. Flip and cook the other side for a minute or so.

*These pancakes are a little dense, so if you'd like them a bit more moist, add a mashed banana to the pancake batter before cooking. *

Serve with fruit, yoghurt, maple syrup, nuts, or any sort of nut butter. 

Bon Appetit!

(I should polish my cutlery!)