Creamy Zucchini Soup

I now have such a bank of good soups to rely upon it's not often that I feel I need to look for something new. Today I have felt like eating a soup with 'something green in it' and I found this recipe.

Sorry, I wont be serving it with the fries as pictured :)  

INGREDIENTS
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups diced zucchini (3 medium)
1 teaspoon basil
Small handful or chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon honey
Dash nutmeg
3 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup lite carnation evaporated milk
Salt
Black pepper

 METHOD
- In a large saucepan heat butter and olive oil over medium-low heat.
- Add onion and garlic and cook over medium-low heat until very tender and translucent (8-10min).
- Add zucchini, salt, pepper, basil, parsley, oregano, tarragon, honey, nutmeg, and and cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in stock and milk.
 - Bring to a simmer and cook until zucchini are tender.
 - Remove from heat and puree if necessary.

Tip: If you are making the soup a while before eating, add the evaporated milk and parsley when you are reheating and preparing to serve.

Serves 5

Numbers per serving: Calories 136; Protein 6 g; Fat 9 g; Carbs 9 g; Sugar 3 g; Sodium 606 mg

Adapted from: http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/have-an-over-abundant-zucchini-plant-or-10/

Lamb and Lentil Pie

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed 600g lean lamb mince
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 x cans tomatoes
1/2 cup dried red lentils
300g butternut pumpkin, peeled, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled, chopped
1/2 cup buttermilk
Salad leaves, to serve  

METHOD
 - Preheat oven 180°C
- Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
 - Add celery, carrot and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Add mince. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up mince until browned.
 - Add tomato paste. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
- Add tomato and lentils.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until lentils are tender and sauce has thickened. Season with pepper.
 - Meanwhile, place pumpkin and sweet potato in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil. Boil, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return to pan. Add buttermilk. Mash until smooth. Season with pepper. Cover to keep warm.
- Spoon lamb mixture into a 10 cup-capacity, 9cm-deep, round ovenproof dish. Top with mash.
 - Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through and slightly browned.
- Remove from oven, stand for 5 minutes. Serve with salad leaves or steamed frozen peas.

Adapted from: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/20137/lamb+and+lentil+pie

Lamb Leg With Chickpeas

Yesterday was ANZAC Day here in Australia, and this dish is suitably healthy and Mediterranean. I love Neil Perry recipes, they are so simple and I always have to restrain myself from adding more ingredients! I serve this dish with some steamed green beans, because I also need a green on the side.

INGREDIENTS
1 boneless leg of lamb (about 1kg)
1 lemon

MARINADE
2 tbsp chopped parsley (lately I've been using curly parsley again because it seems to last longer in the fridge)
1 tsp chopped thyme (dried is fine)
2 tbsp chopped oregano (dried is fine)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest sea salt

CHICKPEA SALAD
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon sea salt and freshly ground pepper

YOGHURT DRESSING
250g plain yoghurt (I use this delicious yoghurt, the quality really counts here).
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
juice of 1 lemon
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Serves 2-4

Lay the lamb flat on a board, skin side down, and cut open the leg - you should have a rectangle of lamb about 3cm thick. (You can ask your butcher to do this for you but it really isn't difficult, just go for it!)

For the marinade, place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Add the lamb and turn a few times to coat. Cover (I actually place in a large ziploc bag) and refrigerate for 6 hours, or overnight, turning occasionally.
Remove the lamb from the fridge several hours before cooking, if you can.

For the yoghurt dressing, combine all the ingredients in a bowl.

For the chickpea salad, combine all the ingredients in a bowl.

Heat the grill or barbecue to hot (I use a griddle pan as I have no bbq).

Place the lamb on the barbecue and pour the marinade over the meat.
Cook for 8 minutes, then turn and cook for a further 8 minutes.
Transfer the lamb to a plate to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes.
Carve into slices. To serve place some chickpea salad on each plate, and top with sliced lamb.
Add a dollop of yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon, and spoon any juices over.

Adapted from: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/cuisine/mediterranean-feast-20120424-1xi9h.html

Old Fashioned Beef Curry

There are days when I crave rather plain childhood dishes, and one memory I have of good substantial food was the Maggi 'hotpot' curry that mum would cook for me after dance class. I made this dish earlier this year and it tasted pretty much exactly the same! Huge sigh of relief :) This recipe was originally for a slow cooker but I tend to think you don't need to simmer the !@#$ out of it. If you have extra time, all good, but don't worry too much.

INGREDIENTS

800g lean stewing steak, such as chuck, gravy beef or blade
1 tablespoon chutney (any sort)
2 onions
1 tablespoon apricot jam (if you are worried about sugar, some fruit puree would do)
2 carrots
1 1/2 cups water or stock
1/2 small parsnip
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon coconut flour (optional)
Steamed greens for serving

METHOD

- Trim all visible fat from the meat and dice
- Spray a pan with oil and brown meat, one small batch at a time
- Peel and dice the onions. Peel and slice the carrots and parsnip
- Mix the curry powder, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, chutney, jam, stock and salt, stir well to combine
- Place all in a large saucepan with a lid
- Simmer with lid on for 1/2 an hour minimum, preferably 1-2 hours, top up liquid with water or stock as required
- If necessary, mix the coconut flour with approximately 2 tablespoons cold water to a paste and use a little or all of it to thicken the dish
- Add salt and pepper to taste
- Serve with steamed greens

Adapted from: http://www.abc.net.au/local/recipes/2009/09/22/2693077.htm

Roast Eggplant and Bean Salad

I don't make salad quite enough and normally save it for the height of Summer... usually it's easier to zap some frozen peas in the microwave, knowing that all will be ok and my husband will clean his plate. This salad however, was a pleasant surprise! So I'm parking it right here so I can find it easily.

INGREDIENTS

Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
Olive oil spray
1 smallish eggplant, sliced (say, around the size of 2 tennis balls)
1 tablespoon whie wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
Handful fresh mint leaves (larger leaves chopped or smaller leaves left whole)
Handful green beans, trimmed
Handful fresh basil leaves
Sliced lettuce (I used butter lettuce, but any would do)

METHOD

- Spray eggplant slices with olive oil and grill over high heat until a little charred on both sides, then place in a large bowl. Mix together extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and toss through the eggplant, along with the mint. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper and set aside for the flavours to develop for a little while, say a minimum of 20 min.

- Cook green beans in microwave for 2-3 minutes or until just tender. Add tomatoes, beans, lettuce and basil to eggplant mixture. Gently toss and serve.

Adapted from: http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/food/recipes/recipe/-/5346887/roast-tomato-green-bean-and-eggplant-salad/

Silky Caulifower and Chicken Soup

I wasn't well yesterday and after getting over the worst of it I needed something fast and nutritious. I'm a big fan of the Smitten Kitchen blog, and adapted this recipe to my needs.

INGREDIENTS
1 head cauliflower
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
4 cups of chicken stock
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan (I buy Grand Padano from Fratelli Fresh)
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD
- Remove the leaves and thick core from the cauliflower, coarsely chop, and reserve.

- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes.

- Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes.

- Remove from heat and, using a hand held immersion blender, puree the soup

- Add the Parmesan and stir until smooth

- Stir in chicken breast, season with salt and pepper

- Keep warm until ready to serve.

Roost

As you might notice my blog right here is a 'slow burn' project for me; it's more a place to store the healthy recipes in my life where they belong (together)!

Occasionally I hop across someone else who is doing a much better and more regular job of it all, some beautiful photography and description can be found here on this blog.

More focused on a gluten/lactose/starch/grain free diet, there are lots of goodies and inspiration to be found on this website.

You can visit Roost here.

Chicken Larb

I love chicken larb because it's all about the fresh and spicy flavour. It's also great to eat in Summertime when you don't quite feel like a salad, you still want to eat something warm and a little more substantial. It also doesn't heat up the kitchen too much!

INGREDIENTS
Olive oil spray
500g chicken mince (I just buy a tray from Woolies)
1 stem lemon grass, pale section only, finely chopped
2 tsp of minced chilli
1 lime, juiced
Grated rind of 1 lime
1 tbs fish sauce
Pinch of brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
1/3 cup chopped mint leaves
1/2 small red onion, thinly chopped
40g (1/4 cup) finely chopped unsalted roasted peanuts (if I have time I toast them in a pan)

Lettuce of your choice, to serve.

METHOD
- Heat a large heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the mince, lemongrass and chilli and cook, breaking up the mince with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes or until the mince changes colour. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and set aside for 15 minutes to cool.

- Combine the lime rind, lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add to the mince mixture along with the mint leaves, coriander leaves and onion. Gently toss to combine.

- Serve on a bed of leaves. Sprinkle with peanuts and serve immediately.

Chicken with Chorizo and Cannellini Beans

This is such a fantastic midweek meal - simple and delicious with very little preparation. Nigella recommends using any available cold cut of meat and I agree. If the chorizo is too fatty for you I would substitute with a nice trim, smoky piece of bacon.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 chicken breasts
- Approx. 125g of spincah leaves / rocket
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil (not extra-virgin)
- 100g chorizo, sliced then chopped (I just buy one sausage from the deli counter)
- 410g tin cannellini beans, drained
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- A little chicken stock (1/4 - 1/2 cup)
- smoked sweet paprika for sprinkling

METHOD
- If you have the time, marinate the chicken breasts for at least half an hour in a little stock with a tablespoon of paprika. I also throw in a table spoon of the chopped chorizo, just to instill that smoky flavour in the chicken. Sometimes I put in a little herb I have growing on my windowsill, such as parsley or rosemary.

- Cook the chicken breasts on a griddle or in a frypan, approx 5 minutes each side.

- While the chicken is cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan, throw in the chopped chorizo, add the drained cannellini beans, frozen peas and, stirring, warm everything through, moistening with a couple of tablespoons or so of the chicken stock - or more if you want this soupier.

- Arrange the spinach/rocket in 2 x bowls and tip the beans and chorizo mix on top, allowing the greens to wilt a little.

- place cooked chicken on top and sprinkle each chicken breast with a little paprika.

Adapted from: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/chicken-with-chorizo-and-cannellini-beans-187

Cocopure

I'm really excited about cocopure. My neighbour gave it to me as a gift in return for looking after her apartment while she was away recently. I dipped into it straight away, and I think I've found my new favourite thing!

Cocopure has the consistency of nutella, and is generally considered as a mix of raw coconut oil and cocoa. It has a sweet bite, but has no added sugar! I find it especially satisfying on a nice piece of seeded toast, in the afternoons when I am having that chocolate / sweet thing craving.

My trainer Joe even approves! (And he can be a tough customer...)

You can buy it online, and also at health food stores (I go to 'Health Nuts' in the small shopping centre underneath the Coca Cola sign in Kings Cross.)

You can visit the website here.