Mexican spiced roast potato and aubergine

I rarely post side dish recipes, for the simple reason that I rarely make them. I tend to include vegetables within dishes or prepare them very simply if served on the side (unless we are entertaining, but we rarely do that either!). Sometimes, though, I do make a specific vegetable side dish and today's is an example.

This is not the most attractive dish, but it is a tasty one. It's also not strongly Mexican but the use of paprika and dried coriander conjured up, to me, Mexican flavours. Nutritional yeast and tahini round out the flavour mix. If you were to make this truly Mexican, some chillies would be a pleasing addition.

I cheated a little with my cooking of the potato, microwaving it first before chopping and roasting. This cuts down on cooking time enormously and gives the potato a pleasing fluffy texture. If you prefer to cook fully in the oven just add extra time to the roasting stage - at least 30 minutes, or longer if using large pieces of potato.

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Mango chutney roast cauliflower and broccoli

From mango cookie balls we move to mango roast vegetables! In truth, I made these recipes a few weeks apart but my blogging places them in rather closer proximity.

With thinking about starter foods for Mini Bite, I have had broccoli and cauliflower on my mind lately. This particular recipe is not very baby friendly, but it is a delicious way to boost your intake of the vegetables. Indeed, this reminds me that I don't roast cauliflower and broccoli often enough as they are delicious with an oven-lent crisp.

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Malt vinegar and paprika vegetable fries

Everyone knows how to make vegetable fries (or chips, as I prefer to call them). However, sometimes it is nice to be reminded of how delicious they can be with just a few simple seasonings. These malt vinegar and paprika fries are such an example and were a hit with me and Mr Bite. I used a mix of regular potato, sweet potato and carrots, although left the sweet potato variety off Mr Bite's plate (he is not a sweet potato fan).

One nice thing about cooking your fries with vinegar is that you need less oil than you otherwise might. Another nice thing is that you get a subtle vinegar flavour with each mouthful. Vinegar lovers can add vinegar after cooking as well, if you really want to pack a vinegar flavour punch!

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M&S-style nutty super wholefood salad

I mentioned in my last post that my favourite Marks and Spencer salad is their nutty super wholefood salad. Featuring green beans, peas, broccoli, carrots, black-eyed beans and quinoa plus peanuts, almonds and pistachios, it is absolutely packed with delicious ingredients. A dollop of hummous and a soy and ginger dressing finish the everything off.

Whilst I have no qualms about buying prepared salads on occasion, it's obviously nice to make them at home when possible. It saves money, for one, but it also allows you to customise ingredients and portions - and make up a batch to cover lunches for several days if you're so inclined. With salads like this one, it's also a good way to use up leftover grains or vegetables.

There are a few takes on this M&S salad online already, some following it extremely closely and others using it as a springboard for inspiration. My version is somewhere in between. Like the M&S original, my salad featured green beans, peas, broccoli, quinoa, almonds, hummous and a soy and ginger dressing. I omitted the carrots, black-eyed beans, peanuts and pistachios, but added butter beans, pecans and brown basmati rice (a half-half mix with the quinoa because I had some already cooked). In truth, small beans (black-eyed or otherwise) are probably better suited to this than butter beans, but you can use whatever you have to hand.

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Tomato, red wine and oregano roast tofu and vegetables

After today, I will be taking a short break from blogging as we drive north to Scotland for an outdoor, autumnal, laid back holiday. I am very excited. Work has felt very busy lately and whilst I am blessed to enjoy my job, I am ready for a break. I did a lot of travelling in August and September but those trips all had work included - this one will be entirely work (and laptop) free.

Before I depart, I wanted to share this recent recipe that provided me with lunch on several busy work days. It is a classic roast in that you put everything in the oven and leave it to cook itself. It's also a classic roast in that the flavours and seasonings are full-bodied and comforting. It's a meal to curl up with when you want something hot, nutritious and satisfying. Autumn weather is optional...

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Vegetable stock and soup from scratch

One of the minor benefits of moving house and/or countries is that you get to start over with filling up your fridge and freezer. Our freezer situation in Australia was a little challenging last year, because the freezer section of our combined fridge/freezer stopped cooling effectively. We were fortunate to be able to borrow a full-sized, rather old (but effective!) freezer from my parents, which gave heaps of space but needed to live in the garage and thus required a trip outside to access. As our move was on the horizon, I also refrained from stocking it too full.

Vegetable scraps post stock making.

All of this means that when we reached London, I was pleased to have a functioning fridge/freezer and the opportunity to stock it up. In particular, I wanted to use my new freezer to store vegetable scraps that could. in time, turn into vegetable stock.

Stock

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Italian roast vegetables and beans

I hadn't originally planned to post this recipe. It was something I made up last Sunday, inspired by a large volume of vegetables in the fridge and cooler weather outside. It is such a novelty to use my oven without risking heat stroke in the kitchen! Thankfully, I scribbled the recipe down and snapped a few photos just in case the dish turned out.

I'm glad I did, because we both loved this meal. It is the sort of dish that is hearty and rich and satisfying, while still delivering a decent serve of your daily vegetable requirements. It's definitely suited to cool weather, and will make your house smell lovely at the same time as warming your kitchen (and subsequently, your stomach!).

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Tri-pepper, five-colour spaghetti

Remember, in this post, when I talked about the various 'niggles' that may haunt a dish? The things that can go wrong, the ideas you can't quite make, the recipes you somehow lose...

Dear readers, I have lost a recipe. Not a terribly complicated recipe, or even a very exciting one, but a combination of ingredients that turned pasta from simple to exciting. Lost might in fact be a little generous; I distinctly remember throwing the piece of paper out (!). I thought I had transferred my scribbled notes to a draft blog post, but it seems that happened in my imagination and not reality. 

I am really very sorry. 

On the plus side, I can remember most (perhaps all - who knows!) of the things that went into this dish. And, pasta dishes are pretty much a concept anyway. And, I'm sure you all adapt recipes to what you have to hand. 

Maybe we can pretend it isn't so bad.

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Baked cabbage and apple

You know those weeks where you open your fridge and a full-sized cabbage stares back? Taking up precious fridge space (in our house at least; fridge space is never sufficient!) and asking for attention? And, you know that as soon as you take it out of the fridge and chop it up, the cabbage will magically expand across your chopping board and generate a larger quantity of vegetable than you started with?

I know. Cabbage has its merits, but it can also be a bit challenging.

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Vegemite stir fry

I suspect a lot of Australian (and overseas Australian) bloggers have tried Vegemite with tofu at some stage. There are a few recipes around, but it's the kind of dish that doesn't necessarily require a recipe. There seem to be some Vegemite chicken recipes out there too, and I imagine Vegemite has been paired with all sorts of other ingredients that I've never thought of.

Vegemite stir fry may not be a new concept, but I thought I'd post this version for my own reference, and perhaps to inspire those of you who haven't come across this use for the ingredient. If you're from the UK, Marmite would work equally well, and Promite would give a milder but still similar result. If you're from the US, I'm not sure if you have an equivalent product, but you can probably get hold of Vegemite, Marmite or Promite if you're really keen! (I summarised the differences between the three here.)

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Zucchini noodles with a tahini lemon sauce

What makes an ideal dinner on a 40'C (106'F) day? Last night, my answer was raw zucchini noodles with a tahini-based sauce, followed by soy vanilla ice cream.

I'm sure you can figure out soy vanilla ice cream by yourself (hint: visit a store) but the zucchini dish deserves sharing. There are lots of similar recipes around, but I think that speaks to how well veggie spirals pair with creamy nut and seed-based sauces.

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Carrot and chickpea salad with orange and avocado

This salad was an impromptu side dish made to complement a roast vegetable strudel like the one I did last Christmas. The strudel was hot and appropriate to winter. The salad is probably more appropriate to summer, but it was highly enjoyable regardless. Plus, it packs a hefty dose of vitamin C, and that at least is winter appropriate.

In addition to Vitamin C, this salad provides protein from the chickpeas and it is sweet from the orange. I think corn would be a nice addition to the mix too, and in future I may try that variation.

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Easy roast baby eggplant with herbs and balsamic vinegar

Is anyone else intimidated by eggplant? All that instruction about using salt to draw out moisture and offset bitterness, but then reading that modern eggplant isn't bitter anyway so don't worry about it? I'm never even sure how I should cut the thing.

Recently, I saw some baby eggplant on special and thought it would be a good opportunity to get over my eggplant trepidation. It's winter here, after all, and if there is any time to experiment with roast vegetables - now is it.

And you know what? It wasn't that hard.

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Harissa-spiced pumpkin and chickpea smash

I wasn't sure what to call this dish. It is a bit like a curry and a bit like a stew, but not properly either. Mr Bite called it a pumpkin and chickpea mash. I decided on smash.

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Creamy smoothies: Peanut butter and carob (with broccoli!) and strawberry-mint-avocado (with cauliflower!)

I have given away the twist to these smoothies in the post's title. However, I figure that most of you are used to seeing odd things turn up in smoothies. It's not a big leap from spinach or kale to broccoli or cauliflower. So - I'm sharing the twist with you from the start and plan to use the rest of the post to convince you that these particular smoothie additions are worthwhile (and edible)!

I have a bit of an obsession with peanut butter and carob at the moment. To clarify: I have a bit of an obsession with peanut butter and carob together at the moment. I am obsessed with them on their own pretty much constantly. Now, I want them together in everything.

In smoothie form, this desire played out very well, in all ways except the photography aspect. To my shame, I snapped images on my phone only, and taking photos of a browny liquid in questionable lighting on my phone...well, the result wasn't great. I apologise. I was going to make another version before sharing this post, but I was so enamored with the drink that I thought you deserved to hear about it promptly.

The broccoli in this smoothie is limited to the broccoli stems. It's something I've been meaning to try it for some time, having seen the idea mentioned in various places over the years. The idea is that you have a container in your freezer that you add broccoli stems and/or other 'waste' vegetable or fruit components to, and then add them to your smoothies as desired. Once the broccoli stems are processed - and I use my food processor, not a high powered blender - they aren't noticeable at all. You end up with a creamy drink that is more like a thickshake than a smoothie, tasting as decadent as can be, but which incorporates broccoli that would otherwise be wasted. It's really quite brilliant.

Having used broccoli stems with success, the obvious next step was to try cauliflower stems. I added them to a variation of the strawberry, avocado and spearmint smoothie that Gena posted on Choosing Raw last week. 

As with the broccoli stems, the cauliflower wasn't noticeable once processed. This was also the first time I'd used avocado in a smoothie, and that wasn't noticeable either. It makes a nice change from bananas, in terms of thickening the texture and creating a creamy drink, and you could probably use water rather than milk for all of the liquid additions (I used half of each). Whilst I froze my avocado before blending, I'm not sure that's strictly necessary either.

Whether you make these particular drinks or just tuck the idea of broccoli and cauliflower stems away, I hope you end up with a smoothie that makes you as happy as these two made me!

Peanut butter and carob shake with broccoli

Serves one

Vegan

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Ingredients

1 medium banana, frozen

2 tsp carob powder (or cocoa powder; adjust to taste)

1 tbsp peanut butter (or any nut butter)

1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped broccoli stems, frozen

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used sweetened almond; or use coconut water or milk for a raw alternative)

Method

Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor, and process until smooth.

Strawberry-mint-avocado smoothie with cauliflower

Serves one

Vegan

Print

Ingredients

1/2 medium hass avocado, frozen

1 cup strawberries

1 small bunch mint leaves, removed from their stem

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped cauliflower stems, frozen

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used sweetened almond; or use coconut water or milk for a raw alternative)

Method

Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor, and process until smooth.

Submitted to 5 ingredient Mondays, 
Raw Foods Thursdays, and
Ricki's Wellness Weekend

What do you like to add to your smoothies?

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Mother's Day picnicking with salads galore, apple cider cake, jaffa brownies, and sunshine

Having Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May is a tradition that Australia shares with America but not with Britain. As my mother's mother lives in England but has children in Australia, England, Canada and the US (Hawaii), I have often wondered whether she gets multiple mother's days or misses out altogether.

These cross-country musings aside, we celebrated Mother's Day with a picnic that included myself and Mr Bite, my parents and two siblings, my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law and her husband and three children, plus one Labrador dog.

King's Park, Perth, Western Australia

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Roast vegetables and chickpeas, with apple

You provided me with some excellent pumpkin ideas when I requested inspiration in my pumpkin cookies post. Over winter, I now hope to work through pumpkin in scone, curry, bread, and cake form. I also foresee lots of roast vegetable mixes.

This easy meal is of the roast vegetable variety. To complement the pumpkin and cauliflower, I threw some apple in too. It might not be conventional, but I highly recommend it. The soft sweet apple pieces paired wonderfully with the vegetables, and made eating chickpeas even more enjoyable than usual.

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Vegetable soup with split peas and caraway seeds

This soup is, on the one hand, just another vegetable soup. You'll have seen, made, and eaten similar dishes before.

On the other hand, it wondrous and joyful and worth taking the time to get to know. 

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Rum and raisin vegan cupcakes and roast peppers with currants and pine nuts: Easter Sunday

As a child, Easter was a big event. Not as big as Christmas, but similar to a birthday. There was anticipation, excitement, and a sense of importance attached to the day.

The Easters of my childhood usually followed a similar structure. There was an Easter egg hunt in the morning, to find small eggs left by the Easter bunny. There was a bigger egg or chocolate rabbit from my parents. We would see my Australian grandparents for lunch, and that meeting would generate more chocolate. The lunch itself was appropriately eventful too: a hot lunch, perhaps a roast, which was not common in my family. After lunch we might go for a walk, or visit a park. In later years we sometimes had picnics.

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Roasted pumpkin and cauliflower with molasses, hemp seeds and quinoa

This is a recipe for busy weeks, where time dictates that cooking must be practical but you want it to be fun as well.

It is a recipe for autumn days, where turning your oven on is a novelty after months of avoiding anything that might increase the temperature of your summer-heated house.

It is a recipe for evenings when you want a dinner that will cook itself, giving you time to tap-tap-tap at the computer, or talk to your partner, or perhaps just fold some washing.

It is a recipe for warmth, nutrition, flavour.

It is a recipe for weekends where work is required, and every minute seems to be accounted for.

It is a recipe for sharing, or for keeping to yourself.

It is a recipe for life, whatever it throws up.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Roasted pumpkin and cauliflower with molasses, hemp seeds and quinoa

Easy, delicious, and can stand alone or pair with a protein-based side

Vegan

Serves 2-3

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 butternut pumpkin

1 head of cauliflower

1 tbsp blackstrap molasses (or other molasses, or maple syrup)

1 tbsp water

1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp hemp seeds

1/2 cup quinoa, uncooked

Nuts or seeds, extra, to serve (optional)

Method

Preheat your oven to high (200'C) and cut the pumpkin and cauliflower into chunks. Place in a large oven-proof dish.

Combine the molasses, water, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast and hemp seeds in a jar of bowl, and whisk to combine. Pour over the vegetables. Roast in the oven for at least one hour, checking after 30 minutes.

About 15 minutes before the vegetables are ready, rinse your quinoa and then combine with 1 cup of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil. Reduce to simmering, cover, and allow to cook for 10 - 15 minutes until fluffy.

Combine the vegetables and quinoa, and sprinkle with nuts or seeds if desired.

Submitted to Ricki's Wellness Weekend March 28th to April 1st 2013.

What are you eating (or doing) this weekend?

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