Pasta with the lot

Why should only pizza get to have all the toppings when pasta tastes great with everything as well? Why not give your spag bol a makeover and clean out your veggie crisper with this delicious pasta dish.



1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp crushed chilli
1 kg premium beef mince
400g mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red capsicum, diced
1/2 green capsicum, diced
1/2 yellow capsicum, diced
1 carrot, diced
4 Tbsp Sacla Olive and Tomato Pasta Sauce (or pesto)
1 jar Bolognese Pasta Sauce of your choice
400g tin whole tomatoes
10 Kalamata olives, pitted
1/4 cup red wine
pasta of your choice, cooked
parmesan cheese, to serve

Heat large saucepan over med-high heat and add oil. Sauté onions with garlic and chilli until soft.
Add mince and cook, breaking up large pieces, until cooked through.
Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add all remaining ingredients except pasta and simmer, covered for 20-30 minutes.
Stir through cooked pasta and top with parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Serves 6

Perfect mashed potatoes

For perfect mashed potatoes every time get yourself a potato ricer. There are a few different varieties but the common theme is that the ricer incorporates air into the potatoes, making the fluffiest, most luxurious mashed potatoes. But the best thing is that you will never have lumpy mash ever again!

The potatoes are prepared the same as for normal mash:
Peel and chop the potatoes into 1 inch pieces.
Place in a saucepan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and simmer until fork tender.
Drain the water and place the drained potatoes back into a hot pan to help evaporate remaining water.
Spoon the potatoes into your ricer a few at a time and turn the handle or press down (depending on the design). The potatoes will be pressed through the holes in the die of the ricer (mine came with three different sizes). This is called "ricing." Perform this step over a bowl to catch the riced potatoes.
Continue to add more potatoes to the ricer until you have riced all of the potatoes.
Stir in warmed milk and butter with a fork and season to taste.

Variations:
- add chopped chives
- add dry mustard powder
- add French Onion Soup packet mix
- make a Root Purée: try using the ricer for mashed summer squash, pumpkin, carrots, turnips, celery root, parsnip and sweet potato

Vegetable Rice

Here is a quick and easy recipe using your rice cooker. It can be adapted to use up any vegetables that you have on hand. I only had green capsicum, cauliflower and frozen peas & corn so that's what I used. But this made it predominately green and gold - a great Aussie dish but it would look much better with some red capsicum to liven it up a bit. Swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock if you want to make this a vegetarian dish. You could also cut up some chicken thighs and toss them in as well.



Serves 2

1/2 brown onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 green capsicum, diced
1 cup cauliflower florets
1/2-3/4 cup basmati rice
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp hot ground chilli (optional)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup frozen peas & corn
1 spring onion, sliced to serve
fresh green herbs to serve

Place all ingredients except spring onion and herbs in your rice cooker bowl and stir to combine. Switch to the Cook setting.

When it switches to the Warm setting remove the lid and fluff up. Spoon onto plates and top with spring onion and any other green herbs of your choosing.

Corned beef with cabbage, horseradish mash and mustard sauce

Corned beef and mash has got to be an all-time family favourite. I adapted this from numerous recipes and what I had on hand. Paired with horseradish mashed potato, mustard sauce and cabbage with bacon it was the perfect Sunday dinner.



Corned Beef1.5 kg corned silverside
1 1/2 brown onions, quartered
6 whole cloves
4 Tbs brown sugar
3 Tbs apple cider vinegar
8 whole black peppercorns
2 dried bay leaves
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 carrot, roughly chopped

Push a clove into each onion quarter. Place all ingredients in slow cooker and top with just enough water to cover. Cook on High for 6 hours.



TIP: To keep corned beef submerged during cooking, weigh it down with a small lid or plate.

Mustard Sauce50g butter
2 Tbsp plain flour
1 cup milk
1 cup strained cooking liquid
2 tsp mustard

Heat butter in a pan over low-medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, until it bubbles. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in strained cooking liquid milk. Return to heat and stir until mixture thickens. Stir in mustard.

Horseradish Mashed Potato3 medium brushed potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
milk
butter
2 tsp horseradish
freshly cracked black pepper
strained corned beef cooking liquid or water

Strain a third of the cooking liquid into a clean saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Add potatoes and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes and mash or put through a potato ricer. Add milk and butter and mix gently with a fork. Add horseradish and freshly cracked black pepper.

Fried Cabbage with Bacon2 tsp olive oil
100g bacon, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 large cabbage, shredded
freshly cracked black pepper



Heat oil in a large deep frypan or wok and fry the bacon for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 2 minute.

Stir in the shredded cabbage and season with freshly cracked black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Cabbage will retain it's crispness, if you prefer it softer you can cover it and let it steam until it is coked to your liking.

Remove meat from cooking liquid and slice against the grain.

Serve with steamed broccoli & cauliflower, horseradish mashed potato, cabbage with bacon and mustard sauce.

Carrot, Snow Pea and Red Pepper Julienne in Honey Vinaigrette

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

3 medium carrots, cut into julienne strips
1/4 pound snow peas, trimmed and cut into julienne strips
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 small red bell pepper, cut into julienne strips

In a large saucepan of boiling salted water blanch carrots 1 minute. Add snow peas and cookmixture 10 seconds more. In a colander drain carrots and snow peas and rinse under coldwater. Drain carrots and snow peas well.

In a bowl stir together vinegar, mustard, and honey and add carrots, snow peas, and bellpepper, tossing to coat. Season salad with salt and pepper.

Serves 2.

Each serving about 104 calories and 1 gram fat (9% of calories from fat)

Serve with Chicken with Mustard Seed Crust and Couscous

Source: Gourmet May 1996

Mashed Potato Variations

- Add a teaspoon of garlic and sweet chilli sauce.
- Add a big dollop of Horseradish Cream.
- Add some Honey Wholegrain Mustard.
- Add some Dijon Mustard.
- Mash and add chicken salt and a bit of cream.
- Mash and add chicken salt, milk and butter.
- Add a splash of mint sauce and lemon.
- Dice up some onion and add it in after mashing.
- Add Sultanas
- Add BBQ Sauce, Peas n Corn
- Add a little bit of Cumin
- Add crispy bits of bacon, some onion and a tiny sprinkle of cheese all mixed through
- Add cooked finely sliced cabbage, diced bacon and spring onions

Yatala at home

It was finally time to test out my mushy pea making abilities and cook up our family size Yatala Pie..

As any home cook does these days I trawled the internet looking for a good recipe and finally decided on  a quick and easy Jamie Oliver recipe:

Jamie's Minty Mushy Peas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
1 handful fresh mint, leaves picked
1 pound (500 grams) frozen peas
2 large knobs butter
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a pan and add the chopped onions, mint, and peas. Cover and leave for a few minutes to steam. Mash with a potato masher. You can do this with a food processor as well, just pulse it until smooth. Whether mashing or pulsing, when it's done add the butter and season very carefully, to taste.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/minty-mushy-peas-recipe/index.html

I think next time I wish mash up the peas a bit more but it was still delicious. Here is the final product:

Yatala Steak and Mushroom pie with home made mash, mushy peas & gravy

Baked Sweet Potato

Wrap sweet potato in foil
Cook in oven at 180C
Check by softly squeezing - when very soft it is ready
Unwrap and scoop flesh out from skin
Serve when cooled slightly

Eggplant, pumpkin & zucchini curry

Preparation Time
10 - 15 minutes

Cooking Time
25 minutes

2 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium brown onion, cut into wedges
3 tsp Madras Indian curry paste (medium hot)
450g (about 4 large) baby eggplant, halved, cut into thick chunks
450g medium zucchini, halved, cut into thick chunks
500g Jap pumpkin, deseeded, peeled, cut into chunks
1 x 140ml can coconut milk {Ayam brand)
250mls (1 cup) vegetable stock
3 tsp brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
Salt & ground black pepper, to taste
300g (1 1/2 cups) Basmati rice

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until slightly golden. Add the curry paste and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add the eggplant, zucchini and pumpkin and toss until well coated in the paste. Add the coconut milk and stock, stir to combine and bring to the boil over high heat.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for a further 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly and the vegetables are just cooked. Stir in the brown sugar and coriander and season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook the rice in large saucepan of salted boiling water, according to packet directions, until just tender. Drain.

Serve the vegetable curry with the rice

Notes
Leftovers: use curry paste in vegetable or meat curries. Use stock in soups or casseroles. Use rice to make pilaf. Use coriander in pesto.

For the kids: mild vegie curry - reduce the curry paste to 1 tsp.

Pepper your pumpkin and store it for weeks

To stop pumpkin from going mouldy and growing fur, simply scoop all the seeds out, along with any loose bits, then sprinkle black pepper all over the cut flesh and the pumpkin will last for weeks in the fridge. Every time you cut a piece of pumpkin off, just add more pepper over the sliced area.

Roasted Vegetable and Couscous Salad

1/2 butternut pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into 2cm pieces
Olive oil spray
1/2 Eggplant, cut into 2cm cubes
2 zucchinis, cut into 2cm pieces
3/4 cup couscous
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
1/2 red capsicum sliced
150 g baby rocket leaves, baby spinach or mixed lettuce

Dressing:
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon honey

Pre heat oven to 250 degrees c
Place pumpkin pieces in a deep baking tray and spray lightly with olive oil spray. Bake for 10 minutes then add the eggplant, zucchini and capsicum (also sprayed lightly with olive oil). Roast for a further 20 minutes or until cooked. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Cook couscous according to instructions on packet.
To make the dressing place all the ingredients in an air tight jar and shake until combined.
Once couscous is cooked, loosen with a fork until light and fluffy and place in a large salad bowl. Add the roast vegetables, onion, mixed lettuce leaves, avocado and cherry tomatoes. Mix the dressing through the salad and serve. Enjoy!

Serves 4

Per Serve:
801kj
192cal
11.7g Carbs
4.2g Protein
13g Total Fat
1.5g Sat Fat
5.6g Fibre

Ratatouille Polenta Bake

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 medium red capsicum, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
1 small unpeeled eggplant, (1 pound), diced (2 cups)
1 medium zucchini, diced (1 cup)
2 rashers bacon, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tin chopped tomatoes, undrained
1 serving Creamy Polenta (see below)

Heat oven to 190ºC. Spray a large frying pan with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Cook onion, bacon and capsicum in skillet 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in eggplant, zucchini, salt and pepper. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomatoes, reduce heat to low & cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spray rectangular baking dish, 11x7x1 1/2 inches, with cooking spray. Spread polenta out evenly, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese & spoon vegetable mixture evenly over top.

Cover and bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and parsley. Bake uncovered about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.


Creamy Polenta
6 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups finely ground corn meal
2 cloves garlic - minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1/3 cup chopped chives
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter or margarine

Add the water and salt to a large stock pot.
Bring the water to a boil.
Turn the heat down to low and slowly whisk in the corn meal.
Stir in the garlic and thyme, and cook the polenta until thick and
creamy, approximately 5 minutes.
Remove the stock pot from the heat source and immediately stir in the
chives, mozzarella, Parmesan and butter.
Pour the polenta into a large serving dish.
Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese and a few chives on top of the
polenta before serving.

Tips for eating more vegies

Make stuffed baked potatoes with corn kernals, spring onions, mushrooms & capsicum.

Stir diced red capsicum, currants, pine nuts, sliced spring onions, drained tinned salmon, lightly steamed broccoli & fresh basil through cooked rice, serve warm.

Serve salsa with chicken or fish, diced avocado, finely chopped spring onions (or diced red onion), chopped chilli & fresh coriander or mint.

Add grated carrot to rissoles.

Blend apple, ginger, carrot & OJ for a healthy drink.

Asparagus

Asparagus is available for most months of the year, but it is at its best in spring. While most of us are familiar with the more common green asparagus, it also comes in white and purple varieties.

Nutrition notes:
Asparagus is low in energy (one spear contains just 3 calories) and is cholesterol free. It’s a good source of folate, which helps your body make new blood cells and also helps prevent birth defects in pregnant women. It also contains fibre, potassium and vitamin C, one serve of asparagus providing a quarter of our daily vitamin C requirements.

Buying:
Look for asparagus that is brightly coloured with firm, green stems and full heads. It’s best to buy bunches with spears of the same thickness so they cook evenly.

Storing:
Asparagus can be kept in the crisper section of the fridge, where it should last for about three days. Alternatively, keep the stems moist by standing them in about 1cm of water, cover with a plastic bag and place in the fridge. It’s a good idea to remove any rubber bands or ties from around the stems before storing.

Preparing:
Trim the coarse, woody stems. With a peeler or knife, cut away any blemishes and then rinse under running water. You do not need to peel asparagus, but some people do prefer it this way.

Enjoying:
- Steam or cook asparagus in boiling water for a few minutes, then drizzle with lemon or lime juice and cracked pepper.
- Pop some asparagus on the barbecue for several minutes, then sprinkle with low-fat fetta or goat’s cheese.
- Add a few stems to your usual salad or risotto to give it a new twist and added nutrition?
- Serve raw with the usual carrots, celery and cucumber when offering guests crudités and dips.