We’ve been enjoying this simple snack for supper the last few nights.
Mix together equal amounts of ‘trail mix’ type foods. In the mix above there is a dessert spoon each of cacao nibs, goji berries, sunflower seeds and almonds. I’ve been adding pumpkin seeds too, but we’ve run out.
Pour over a small amount of whatever kind of milk you like. Allow to sit for a minute or two, to allow the chocolate flavour to infuse, then enjoy.
To borrow a jingle, ‘Tastes like chocolate milkshake, only crunchy!’
This has been our go-to egg recipe of late. I’ve been able to easily adapt it to the ingredients we have at hand. For example, the recipe calls for salmon, but ham works well too. It also calls for asparagus, which is great, but I’ve successfully used zucchini on one occasion and broccoli this time. I also used leek in place of the onion this time.
The original recipe (below) is from Australian Good Food, May 2010.
Smoked Salmon & Asparagus Frittata
Serves 4 | Prep 15 mins | Cook 1hr | gluten free
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, thickly sliced
3 small potatoes, peeled
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
200g smoked salmon slices, halved [I use Smoked Salmon for Cooking; it’s cheaper but still tastes good]
60g goat’s milk fetta, crumbled
6 eggs
¼ cup (60ml) skim milk
3 cups salad greens, to serve
1 Preheat oven to 180C or 160C fan. Heat oil in a small frying pan on medium-low. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, for 15 mins, or until caramelised.
2 Meanwhile, cook potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 10 mins, until par-cooked. Drain. To blanch asparagus, cook in a separate pan of boiling water for 1 min, until just tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again.
3 Slice potato and arrange over base of a [sprayed] 6 cup-capacity baking dish. Top with layers of caramelised onion, smoked salmon, blanched asparagus and fetta.
4 Lightly whisk eggs and milk until just combined. Season with pepper. Carefully pour egg mixture into baking dish, taking care not to disturb layers. Bake for 45 mins, until frittata is golden and just set. Spoon onto serving plates and serve with salad greens.
To use up last week’s leftover tomatoes, I tried out a new recipe: South African Bean Curry. The recipe is from an Australian Women’s Weekly magazine and it has been sitting in my ‘recipes to make’ folder for a while. I really enjoyed it - for a vegetarian recipe, it had a surprisingly bacon-y flavour.
South African Bean Curry
Serves 4*
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
15 fresh curry leaves
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1-2 fresh long green chillies, seeded, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sugar
1½ teaspoons salt
4 medium (600g) fresh tomatoes, chopped finely
1 cup (250ml) vegetable stock
400g can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup (150g) frozen broad beans, thawed and peeled
yogurt and fresh mint leaves for serving (optional)
1 Heat oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat; add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, ground coriander, cumin, green chillies, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, until the seeds begin to pop. Add sugar, salt, tomatoes and the stock. Bring the mixture to the boil, then simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
2 Add kidney beans and broad beans; simmer, partially covered, for about 5 minutes or until the beans are heated through and tender. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
3 Serve with yogurt and mint, if desired.
* In my opinion these would be 4 fairly small servings. I nixed the yoghurt and mint and had it with rice instead.
This is my favourite smoothie at the moment.
The recipe calls for red cabbage, spinach, blueberries, cherries, coconut or almond milk, ice, bananas, chia seeds and protein powder, but it’s easy to make substitutions depending on what you have at hand (kale instead of spinach, mixed berries instead of blueberries and cherries, soy or rice milk instead of coconut or almond milk etc).
Yum!
We had our fruit and veg delivery today (a ‘mystery box’). The driver kindly brought the box inside and put it on the table for me so I didn’t have to lift it off the doorstep.
Here’s what we got
Fruit: apples, bananas, oranges, lemons, pears, kiwifruit, mandarins, a grapefruit and a lime
Vegetables: potatoes, pumpkin, corn, sweet potato, carrots, parsnips, zucchini, cauliflower, red and green capsicum, silver beet, bok choy and a leek
Can you see the little guy that came along for a ride? Check out the cauliflower at the front of the picture
Here’s a close-up
I also ordered some extra bananas and kale (not pictured) to go in our smoothies with the frozen berries I get from the supermarket.
Anyway, I decided to wait and see what vegetables we got this week to help me make up my mind what to make for dinners for the next seven days. Here’s what I’ve come up with.
tomatoes leftover from last week –> South African bean curry
sweet potato, parsnips, cauliflower –> Roast chicken and veges
silverbeet –> Quinoa with feta, swiss chard and black olives
carrots, bok choy –> Kangaroo cashew stir-fry
pumpkin, green capsicum –> Chilli black beans
potatoes, pumpkin, corn –> Winter one pot (chicken)
red capsicum, zucchini –> Spicy lentil soup
I’ll pop back next week with recipes/photos if they turn out well.
Since I’m not comfortable with a lot of movement at the moment, food has been fairly simple at our house recently. Last night for dinner I made a lentil salad with beets and goat feta. (Recipe here, but I chucked some old beetroot in the oven and roasted it for the salad instead of using tinned baby beetroot.) It was yummy and I had the leftovers for dinner tonight.
Would love to hear what your favourite simple meal is.
This morning’s breakfast
Pear & Greens Smoothie (makes 2 serves)
In a high-powered blender, blend together
- 3 generous handfuls kale or spinach leaves
- 1/2 a small bunch flat-leaf parsley
- 2 ripe pears, cored
- 1 cup almond milk
Enjoy!
Adapted from this recipe from the Food Coach
