Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake

Sometimes I feel like my casserole dishes are unreasonably small.  You know what I mean - stop pretending you don't.  You start to make a recipe and it's great.  This is looking awesome.  Oh no! Shit! Shit! Everything is overflowing and you're not even finished putting it all in the pan? WHAT THE HELL, CASSEROLE DISH!? What. The. Hell?

This can't just happen to me.  I cope with this either by putting everything into two casserole dishes or by smashing it down ridiculously and hoping that I'm squishing it enough to fit into one.  It rarely ends well and I usually forget to put a baking sheet underneath so I end up with a horrific mess in my oven.  This is one of those recipes.  Save yourself a mess - spread it out into two dishes unless you have one very large one.

Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake

Serves: 8

Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

300g angel hair pasta
1 - 400g tin diced tomatoes
1 - 800ml jar tomato puree
150g fresh baby spinach
300g ricotta cheese
4 eggs
150g sour cream
1/2 cup mozzarella
salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 200C/400F and lightly oil a very large oven-proof dish (Or two, as discussed above.  The original recipe I based this on called for a shallow dish.  AHAHAHAHAHA bullshit.)

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove.  Add the angel hair pasta and stir until starting to flex (this will prevent clumps of it sticking).  Drain the cooked pasta and stir in a small amount of olive oil to prevent a giant clump.  Allow to cool (seriously, let it cool, you have to touch this shit with your hands).
3. Spread the tin of diced tomatoes along the bottom of the pan.  Top with half of the spinach, half of the pasta and half of the ricotta.  Pour half of the tomato puree over the ricotta.  Follow with the remaining spinach and the remaining pasta.  Pour over the last of the tomato puree; top with the remaining ricotta.
4. Whisk together the eggs and the sour cream in a large jug until combined.  Season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour the egg mixture over the pasta and sprinkle with mozzarella.
6. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until lightly browned and set.

So bad for you - yet so...so good.

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving
Calories		345.8
Total Fat		13.2 g
	Saturated Fat	6.3 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.0 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	3.6 g
Cholesterol		165.4 mg
Sodium		678.5 mg
Potassium		883.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate		40.3 g
	Dietary Fiber	6.0 g
	Sugars	5.9 g
Protein		19.5 g

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Spaghetti with Chili and Asparagus

I'm trying new things this month - and one of those is stepping outside of my comfort zone with things like food spiciness.  I've never been a fan of chillies.  I don't have a lot of heat tolerance most of the time but have tended to be downright paranoid with it.

This was fantastic.  It contains two whole chillies and you'd think that makes it super spicy - but it had only the tiniest hint of spice unless you were actually chewing on bits of chilli (Don't do that.  Aaaaugh burn.).  Most of the chilli in the bites you take won't go through such a direct crushing process and you miss the vast majority of the potential heat.  My son's biggest complaint about the existence of the chillies was, "I don't know what this is.  I don't want it." and that's just 4 year olds.

I want to start this with a couple of relevant tips.  A lot of people avoid things like chillies and asparagus because they don't know how to best prepare them.  What parts do I eat? How do I cut them up?  Let me help you with that by showing you (or rather telling you) what I do.

Chillies

So a recipe once suggested that you put chillies into your meal - thinly sliced.  Sweet.  You're going to be a total badass and try this with a mild chilli.  Fuck yeah!

You grab a whole chilli, cut the stem-end off and then slice it finely into rings full of seeds.  You toss it with your meal.  You immediately feel as though you were horribly lied to.  This shit is absurdly spicy.  It's almost inedible.  OMG make the burn stop!

Many recipes unfortunately neglect some basic instructions on exactly HOW to process certain vegetables such as chillies.  They assume a certain level of knowledge that should -never- be assumed.

So here's how I do it.  This works so much better.  Don't be afraid of chillies.  It'll be okay.

1. Keep your hands completely away from your face until you have finished.  For serious.
2.. Cut the stem end off of your chilli.
3. Slice the chilli in half lengthwise.
4. With super clean hands, use your thumbnail to scrape out the ENTIRE inside of the chili.  We want to discard of all of the seeds and membranes.  Contrary to popular belief - the heat is in the membranes, not the seeds.  Get all of that shit out unless a LOT of heat is what you WANT.
5. Set your chili skins aside and clean your cutting area of all membranes and seeds as well as the juice from these parts.  This will reduce the heat of your final dish.
6. On a fresh cutting surface, finely slice your chili skins and add to your dish.
7. Wash your hands -very, very, very thoroughly-.  I usually have to wash mine (including under my nails) at least twice before I can touch my eyes, lips or mouth without it burning.

Asparagus

I avoided asparagus for a long time.  When I tried to prepare it I was overcooking it terribly or undercooking it.  I would eat it past its freshest and I would include the woody parts because I didn't know how to properly prepare it.  This is what I have learned.

* Asparagus is best when either steamed lightly, blanched or roasted.  Squishy is bad.  You want a little crunch.
* The woody, inedible bits of asparagus getting you down? Easily fixed.  Hold the asparagus in your hands and flex it along the stem until it breaks.  It will snap almost precisely along the line where the stem becomes woody.
* Choosing asparagus at the store isn't, unfortunately, as simple as grabbing a bunch and hoping for the best.  After I finally learned how to identify fresh asparagus, I realized that many of the bunches at my local shops were very over ripe.  Asparagus should be firm and crisp.  If you hold up a stalk at one end, it should not bend downward with its own weight.  It should never be wrinkled (as asparagus will tend to become when it starts to wilt).   The tips should be firm when you pinch them.  If they are squishy, it is rotting.

----------------------------------

Knew all of that already? Sweet - you're totally better informed than I was when I started cooking (I couldn't make toast, seriously). Let's move on to the recipe bits.

Spaghetti with Chili and Asparagus

Serves 4

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

100ml olive oil

16 asparagus spears, cut into 5cm pieces

400g spaghetti

150g rocket, chopped

2 small red chillies, deseeded and chopped

1 lemon - zested and juiced into a bowl

1 clove garlic, minced

120g parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. 

2. Blanch the asparagus for 3-4 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately run under cold water (this halts the cooking process). Drain and set asdie to cool.

3. Return the water to the stove and bring back to a boil.

4. Add the spaghetti - cooking until just al dente.  Drain and return to the pan.

5. Meanwhile, add the rocket, lemon zest and juice, garlic and 65g of the Parmesan to the asparagus and toss.

6. Add this mix to the pasta, pouring over the remaining olive oil.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.  

7. Mix to coat - divide among 4 bowls and top with the remaining Parmesan.  Serve hot.

Tomato & Mango Salad

I've tried to get more creative with salads these days.  I'm that person who makes a main dish and then suddenly realizes that we can't eat just meat for dinner - about 5 minutes before we're meant to be having dinner.  I'm super grown up, for serious.

So I looked at what I had in my fridge (oh shit, overripe mango!) and whipped up this salad - which was a total and utter hit.  Especially with my 4 year old.   He gobbled his up and asked for more without even touching his (stupidly delicious) chicken.  Pardon the imprecise measurements - I made this on the fly.

Mango & Tomato Salad

Serves 4
Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup of rocket
1 mango, cubed
2 tomatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
mozzarella (I used string cheese because I'm ultra classy)
fresh lemon juice
honey

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, toss together the cubed mango, tomatoes and rocket.
2. Slice a cheese stick if, like me, you are the classiest bitch around and don't actually bother with fancy schmancy stuff like bocconcini (which I totally can't spell without having to look up - shut up, you know it happens to you too).
3. In a small bowl, mix together small amounts of fresh lemon juice and honey until the dressing is tangy but not too sour - sweet, but not sickly.  Grind in a little fresh black pepper.
4. Toss the dressing with the salad and serve.

A lovely summer salad that my kid went nuts for!  We served this with Roasted Chicken Breasts with Leeks, Basil & Lemon.

Tomato Soup Recipe

This soup is a bit more than just tomato soup - it's really more of a lovely vegetable soup that is simply dominated by the tomatoes in it.  Those other vegetables, however, provide a delicious flavour and a beautiful creamy texture.  This soup is incredibly healthy and incredibly addictive.

Tomato Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, halved

2 brown onions, roughly chopped

4 sticks celery, roughly chopped

3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

10 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped

black pepper

salt

fresh basil leaves

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 lugs olive oil over medium heat.    

Add the garlic and onions, stirring until glassy.  

Add the celery and carrots and stir until the carrots begin to soften slightly. 

Pour in the prepared stock and add the tomatoes.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the carrots have softened.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Let the soup cool significantly and pour into a blender.  Blend until the soup is smooth and creamy.  

Please remember that blending freshly boiled soup is a recipe for horrific third degree burns.  You've been warned.

Serve hot with a garnish of fresh basil leaves. Yum!

Carrot and Ginger Soup Recipe

I'm on a ketosis diet at the moment.  Don't judge.  It works for me and my doctor knows what's up, so I'm not doing anything that is going to hurt me.  Sometimes I just need a little help getting my hunger signals under control.

Anyway, what that means is that my diet consists entirely of protein shakes and non-starchy vegetables.  It's harder to find delicious things to eat when your diet is so limited.  Harder, but certainly not impossible.

Carrot & Ginger Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 lugs of olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
3 spring onions finely sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2kg (2.2 pounds) of carrots peeled and chopped
4 cups chicken stock (I use homemade chicken stock so sodium is at a minimum)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground ginger (or 1.5tbsp freshly grated ginger)
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp whole almonds

Instructions

In a medium saucepan over a low flame, heat your olive oil.  Add to the pan the garlic, spring onion and yellow onion and toss with a wooden spoon until glassy.

Add the carrots, giving them a good stir to coat them in the olive oil, garlic and onions and cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sprinkle in the nutmeg, ginger and pepper - stir for another minute or until fragrant.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the carrot is tender.  Remove from heat.

When the soup has cooled significantly, place into a blender with the almonds to puree (or use a stick blender).  Do not attempt to blend the soup while it is hot unless you're a masochist and you really love getting horrific burns and boiling soup on your eyeballs.  It isn't pleasant.

Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream, a garnish of chives and a sprinkling of pepper.  Goes nicely with a slice of lovely crusty bread.

For people trying to watch their waistline, this is also a really healthy dinner when served without sour cream or bread.

Per serving:

Calories		182.8
Total Fat		8.8 g
	Saturated Fat	1.0 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.5 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	5.9 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		499.1 mg
Potassium		740.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate		23.5 g
	Dietary Fiber	6.9 g
	Sugars	9.5 g
Protein		4.5 g

Hummus

Do you love hummus? I do.  I love hummus so much I make it in massive batches and freeze it so that I can always have some.  My love affair with hummus began about 8 years ago when I was introduced to my first Turkish restaurant.  I can't even.  Turkish food may be the most delicious thing I've ever tasted and people....I've been exposed to excellent Mexican food.  That's saying something.

I spent a disproportionate amount of time trying to imitate the hummus that was sold at my very favourite Turkish restaurant.  This is the result.

Hummus

Makes 1.25 litres (or 5.5 cups) of hummus

Ingredients

3 x 400g cans of chick peas (also called garbonzo beans for all of you from MURICA) - Drain 2, leave one as-is.
3 teaspoons minced garlic (or 3 minced garlic cloves)
4 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor.  Blend until smooth, adding the olive oil in small amounts until the desired consistency is reached.  Serve with bread, vegetables or other delicious things like the flesh of your defeated foes.

Remember that hummus varies.  Some people like their hummus more bland with less tahini, some people like it with a lot of tahini, some people with a lot of garlic or a lot of lemon juice.  Fiddle with it until you have your hummus the way YOU like it.  Mine is quite tahini heavy because I love that toasted sesame flavour in my hummus.  Nomomom.

Happy cooking.

Simple Macaroni And Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese.  There aren't many people who aren't fans of this delicious comfort food.  What you might not know is that making your own homemade macaroni and cheese takes about the same amount of time as making it from a box.  This recipe is a very simple homemade version with a lot of great flavour.

Because I love a bit of sour tang and spice - I've added a bit of horseradish cream to my macaroni and cheese.  If you're not a fan of horseradish or you want a more traditional macaroni and cheese - just leave it out.

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

50g butter
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon horseradish cream
2 cups shredded cheddar
salt & pepper to taste
500g macaroni pasta

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to the instructions and drain well.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.  Whisk in the 2tbsp flour until it forms a smooth paste.  I like to add pepper now - but you can add it at any time.  Continue cooking for one minute, whisking constantly.

Slowly add the milk.  If you add it too quickly the flour will turn into lumps within the milk. If you add it too slowly you'll scald your milk.  What we want to do do here is turn that butter and flour paste into a creamy sauce known as a white sauce.  Stir constantly but slowly.

Add in the horseradish cream (or not, if you don't like it).

Bring the sauce just barely to a boil and turn it down to simmer.  Add your cheese in several parts, stirring until melted after each addition.

When all of the cheese is melted and the sauce is hot - remove from heat and add the pasta, blending completely.   Add salt and pepper a bit at a time until the flavour is right for you.  I'm a big fan of pepper so I probably added nearly 2tsp - but that might be too much for most, sane people. >.>

Serve hot and enjoy!

Potato and Leek Soup

It's winter! While it's been unseasonably warm (thanks, Global Warming), it's starting to feel half-frigid now.  Time for some hearty dishes to fight the winter chill!

So today I thought I would make an Australian favourite - Potato and Leek soup.   It's so easy my three year old Xander could probably make it. If he could read and use knives (don't let your three year old use knives, yo).

Potato and Leek Soup

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oliveoil

2 large leeks, sliced (white part only)

4 garlic cloves, smashed with a hammer like the son of a bitch who cut you off in traffic today.  That's it, get it out (but only in your mind, don't assault people - it's not great for long-term survival)

1kg potatoes - wash, peel, chop

2 litres chicken stock

Salt, pepper, sour cream (to serve)

Instructifications

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the leeks and garlic - stirring for 3 minutes until softened.

Add the potatoes.  Cook, stirring for 5 minutes.

Pour in the chicken stock, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the potato is very soft.  Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes.  No seriously.  If you try to blend freshly boiled soup you'll get burning death all over you.

If you have a stick blender, blend the entire pot of soup at once.  If not, blend in small batches until smooth.  Season to taste.  Serve with fresh ground pepper, a dollop of sour cream and a crusty bread.

Easy Avocado Cutting

Avocados are delicious but cutting them up kind of grosses me out and is fiddly - especially if they're overripe - like mine were.

Here's my trick for cutting up avocados with minimal mess.

Start with half an avocado still in the skin.

Insert the knife and cut it into sections.

Turn the avocado 90 degrees and cut it again.

Now scoop out your cut up avocado with a spoon.

And voilà.  No muss, no fuss.  Chopped up avocado!

Now to go put some lotion on my hands - because boy do they look terrible and dry!!

Curry Spice Red Lentil Burgers

I was a bit skeptical when I saw the original recipe for these red lentil burgers.  I didn't see them turning out as spicy as I like or as healthy as I require. Being the kitchen daredevil that I am, I threw the recipe out and made it up as I went along. 

The result was super yummy!  Now...I like my spices - so I added A LOT of curry powder.  With 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper there was only the tiniest hint of spiciness - and I'm not tolerant of spicy foods at all.

  

Curry Spice Red Lentil Burgers

Makes 12 yummy patties

1 1/2 cup dry red lentils
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large brown onion, chopped finely
3 medium carrots, peeled and grated
5 cloves garlic, minced (I'm a garlic nut - so mileage may vary here)
1 tablespoon curry powder (If you're not a fan of cumin, reduce this by at least half.  I fucking love it.)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh coriander
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon salt (may need more, may need less - depends on taste)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup plain yoghurt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Bread rolls or hamburger buns
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced

Fill a large saucepan with cold water and the lentils.  Put over high heat until it comes to a boil.  Uncover, turn down and simmer for 10 minutes or until the lentils are very, very tender.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until tender and brown.

Add 2/3 of the garlic and the carrots and cook until the carrots soften.  Stir in the curry powder and cayenne pepper and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.  Remove from heat.

Mix in the breadcrumbs, eggs, salt and pepper until combined.  (The salt will vary on your taste.  Go ahead and add it a little at a time, tasting as you go - the raw mix is yum anyway and your risk of food borne illness from eating raw eggs is minimal if they are fresh.  Mine were laid today!)

Form the mix into twelve 1/4 cup burgers.

Heat another 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Cook the lentils for 3 minutes each side or until set and medium brown (they will blacken pretty quickly if you leave them for too long).

Meanwhile, combine the yoghurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, coriander and salt to taste in a small bowl.

Serve the lentil burgers on a bun with a dollop of sour cream and a few slices of red capsicum (or your veggie of choice - or no veggies - whatever).

Plain White Bread

It took me years to get my bread recipe right.  I still have loaves that turn out completely dense or crumbly sometimes.  These days, I know how to fix those problems (usually caused by sloth on my part) and I get it right again the next time.  But I wanted to share this recipe with you because it's great for saving money and being a massive show-off. Nothing says, "I'm a wildly sexy cook." like baking the perfect loaf of bread. Except for nudity.  Nudity also works.

Note: This recipe is extremely simplistic - however, there are many additional tips that should be noted. They can be found in my separate post: Bread Baking Tips

Plain White Bread

500 grams plain flour
7g dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
375ml warm water
Extra water for brushing
Topping of choice (seeds, oats, blah, blah, blah)

First, get your ingredients together.  I don't normally put everything in separate containers all fancy-like but it seemed appropriate for this. :P  Usually I'm too concerned with dirtying too many dishes.

Place the flour, yeast and salt  in a large bowl and combine.

Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm water.  Stir until it comes together into a rough ball.

 Time to get your hands dirty! Sprinkle flour onto your counter and dump the dough unceremoniously into the middle of the whole mess.  Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.

Time to turn 90 degrees!

Too lumpy and inconsistent! More kneading!

 Shape the dough into a ball.  Oil the inside of a bowl (I just use spray olive oil for quickness).  Place the dough into the bowl and roll it around a bit with your hand to coat it.

AW YEAH.  THIS IS IT.

Cover the bowl with a lightly damp tea towel (kitchen towel) and place it in a warm area free of draughts to proof.  Leave it here until it has doubled in size.

My rising location of choice. Across the room from the fire.

Once it has doubled, punch the dough down.  Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead again for a few minutes until once more smooth and elastic. (I was hoping to get a photo of the doubled dough but one of my chickens tore a claw off right before I pulled the dough out.  I was on the phone with my husband telling him what first-aid items to bring home and punched down the dough on auto pilot)

Preheat your oven to 200C (395F) right about now.

Shape the dough into a loaf.  (or whatever you're making - rolls, pullaparts, etc).  Place into an oiled loaf pan (or other pan of choice).

Brush the dough lightly with oil and stand in a warm, draught-free place for about 30 minutes or until it has risen above the edge of the pan slightly.  

Brush the dough very lightly with water and dust with your coating of choice (I often use sesame seeds).  Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.  Turn the baked loaf out onto a wire rack immediately and allow to cool.

A finished loaf! The top deflated slightly when I brushed it with water.
An explanation on this can be found in my separate post Bread Baking Tips.

Makes one large loaf, two small loaves or 8 bread rolls.