For the past while I’ve been fixated on adding olives, feta and pesto to nearly all my savoury meals. Everything tastes better with olives/feta/pesto right? Well, yes and no. After realizing that my last three meals had included all these ingredients I decided it was time to branch out again.
So, I present to you pizza without the OFP combination.
The base spread is tomato salsa with left over Guacamole, topped with chargrilled capsicum, red onion, chillies, cheddar and mozzarella.
A delicious combo. I didn’t miss OFP one bit.
For general pizza making instruction view:
Broccoli or Mushroom Simple Pizza
For other yummy pizza toppings view:
Zucchini and Onion Pizza.
Potato and Leek Pizza
The Silver Spoon
provided us with this treasure.
We cooked Spaghetti with Broccoli as the main for our weekly dinner party and it was so, so, good!
Spaghetti with Broccoli
- 500g of broccoli
- 3 tables spoons of olive oil
- 25g of margerine
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup cashews soaked for half an hour then blended
- 350g spaghetti
- 25g vegan parmesan(optional)
- salt and pepper
- Parboil the broccoli in salted water for 10 minutes.
- Heat the oil and butter in frying pan.
- Add the onion and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Drain the broccoli, add to the skillet and mix well
- Stir in the cashew cream and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a food processor and process to a puree.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pan of salted, boiling water until al dente, then drain, toss with broccoli mixture.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan if using and serve.
We’ve just moved to our fourth house-sitting place since returning to NZ. House-sitting place number three lacked a functioning kitchen. It had no kitchen gear and no fridge! (no fridge?!).
Our current place is full of kitchen goodness including a pizza stone. To celebrate we made Zucchini and Onion Pizza.
I’m quickly coming to the conclusion that nice pizza base + pesto + feta + any* leftover vegetables in your fridge + more cheese = a good pizza.
For cooking instructions see:
Potato and Leek Pizza or Broccoli/Mushroom Simple Pizzas
Mmmm, pizza. So quick (well, it is when you used pre-made bases), easy and yummy.
*lettuce being the exception that quickly comes to mind.
This soup is my entry in the annual super soup challenge hosted by Running with Tweezers.
The soup is rich and thick and reminded us of christmas stuffing (errr, in a good way I promise!).
It’s based on recipe from “The Cooks Encyclopedia of Soups” by Debra Mayhew. I’ve simply added the red wine and rice vinegar.
And as Thomas said when he finished eating it “It’s a keeper!”
I challenge anyone who has yet to experiment with lentils to make this dish.
ingredients
- 1 cup of red lentils (rinsed, they don’t need to be soaked.)
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 2 tbsps of olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsps of dried oregano
- 6 cups of vegetable stock
- 1/2 tbsp of rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsps of red wine
- chunky sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Put all the ingredients in a pot except for the vinegar, wine, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then return to a simmer. Simmer for around 40 minutes. Add the vingear, wine, salt and pepper and serve with crusty bread.
Living in the middle of town has changed what and how I eat. It’s too easy to go out and buy yummy seafood mee goreng from KK or visit a cafe for coffee and a toasted panini. While it’s very pleasant it costs a bit more and isn’t always so good for the whole “healthy eating” thing.
Tonight I resolved to cook something, anything, using just the ingredients that I had on hand. This was complicated by the fact that we’re house sitting at the moment and don’t have a well-stocked larder. I came up with the following and it was damn good.
Potato, Chickpea and Tomato Casserole
Ingredients (serves 3-4)
- 3 tbsp extra light olive oil
- 3 medium potatoes
- 3 tsp ‘cajun spices’
- 1 medium onion
- 1 can chickpeas (drained)
- 1 can tomatoes in juice (not drained)
- 1 cube vegetable stock and a little hot water
- salt
- A bit of grated Parmesan to go on top
Method
1. Wash and chop up the potatoes into small chunks (I am a fan of leaving the skin on)
2. Put the olive oil into a large frying pan and bring to a medium-hot temp
3. Add in the potatoes and then sprinkle the spices over them
4. Turn occasionally and cook until fried golden and worth snacking on
5. Drain any excess oil and turn down the heat to medium
6. Chop the onion and add it
7. Stir the potatoes and onions until the onion is just done
8. Drain the chickpeas and add them
9. Chuck in the tomatoes
10. Dissolve the stock cube in a little bit of hot water and add it
11. Put the plates in the oven to warm up, and simmer the dish for 10 minutes or so
12. Add salt to taste
13. Serve and sprinkle some parmesan on top
14. Get the person who didn’t cook to wash the dishes
~Thomas
If you’re afraid of lentils but intrigued by them at the same time, then now might be the time to give cooking them a go.
Red lentils give this pasta sauce a nice thick, smooth taste. Best of all it’s extremely quick and simple to make.
(Thanks to Healthy Food Magazine for the recipe).
Red Lentil Pasta Sauce
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- red lentils, 1 mug, uncooked
- one onion
- oil, 2 tablespoons
- garlic, 2 cloves, chopped
- tinned tomatoes, 2 x 400g tins, chopped
- tomato paste, 2 tablespoons
- sugar, 1 teaspoon
- dried basil, 2 teaspoons – add more or less to your taste
- Salt and pepper
Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Pour in the lentils and stir to ensure they do not stick to the base of the saucepan. Boil the lentils for 8-10 minutes or until soft.
Heat the oil in a medium pan and saute the onion and garlic until soft.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and herbs. Stir in the lentils.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer until flavours develop, around 15 minutes.