Quinoa Salad, Thermomix Style!

Summer. The weather's so hot, the last thing you feel like doing is slaving over a hot stove, cooking. Green smoothie for dinner? Hmmm, don't know about the guys in your house, but mine wouldn't be too happy. What to do? Quinoa Salad! It doesn't take a lot of effort (especially with the Thermomix), you can pretty much chuck in whatever's in the fridge (bonus: it's different every time!), and everyone likes it. (Well, except for the pine nuts in this one - my eleven year old picked those out... Oh well. Can't win 'em all.)

This salad ticks all the boxes - quick, easy, healthy, yummy and there's lots of variations possible. Sometimes I add meat - chicken, tuna, or salmon - sometimes I leave the meat out. Eggs are optional too, but are an easy filler. You can try different dressings - for my quickest of quick versions, I just drizzle over some balsamic vinegar and my specially good extra virgin olive oil that I save for salads, plus a little herb salt. Other times I use my homemade mayonnaise, which is made with seeded mustard, honey, garlic and herbs. Beck from Thermosisters made a version with a dressing consisting of flaxseed oil, garlic, seeded mustard and honey. Yum!

Just a note on quinoa (pronounced 'KEEN-wa'): I've had some people comment that they don't like quinoa as it has a bitter taste. If the quinoa you are using is bitter, it needs to be well soaked and/or rinsed to remove the natural saponins coating the seeds. Quinoa grown in Australia is usually sold un-rinsed, whereas quinoa from Peru or Bolivia is usually pre-rinsed and ready to use. If you have Australian quinoa, follow these guidelines before cooking:
     - Rinse quinoa in a fine strainer for 1 to 2 minutes under running water, the evening before using it, then soak in a bowl of water overnight.
     - In the morning (or before cooking), rinse again under running water for another minute.
If you follow these steps, you shouldn't have a problem with bitterness.

So here's my 'chicken & pumpkin' version of quinoa salad - see what other variations you can come up with.

1. Weigh dry quinoa into a bowl and cover with water, then set aside to soak for 7-12 hours. Drain and rinse in a fine seive under running water. Or, if you're in a hurry, pour boiling water over quinoa and let sit for 10 mins or more, then rinse.
- 350g quinoa, weighed when dry
- 500g water

2. Weigh water into Thermomix bowl, place quinoa in steamer basket and insert into bowl. Place eggs on top of quinoa in steamer basket.
- 800g water
- 4 eggs, preferably organic free range, well rinsed

3. Place the lid on the bowl, with Varoma on top, and place chicken and pumpkin in Varoma dish, leaving some spaces for the steam to get through. Cook for 20 minutes, Varoma temperature, speed 4. (Check chicken and pumpkin in last five minutes of cooking time and break apart with the spatula so it cooks through evenly.)
- 3 chicken thighs, cubed
- 250g pumpkin, sliced thinly (about 5 mm)

4. When the quinoa, chicken & veges are cooked, remove eggs from quinoa (scraping off quinoa from shells) and peel and quarter eggs.

5. Prepare salad ingredients in a very large salad bowl. I like to use:
- a bag of mixed salad greens or baby spinach
- sun-dried tomato strips
- kalamata olives
- thinly sliced shallots or red onion
- boiled eggs, quartered
- cubed sheep or goat milk feta (optional)

6. Add quinoa, chicken and pumpkin to salad ingredients. You can wait until they're cool if you like, or use straight away for a warm salad.

7. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and a good quality cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, or whatever dressing you prefer.

8. Sprinkle with toasted seeds and serve. I like a mixture of sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and pine nuts, toasted in a dry skillet until they're starting to pop, then drizzled with tamari and toasted a little longer. They give a lovely 'crunch' to salads.

Another variation we love is smoked salmon, avocado, olive, sun-dried tomato or cherry tomatoes and baby spinach. What variations do you like to make?

Share your versions in the comments below!

Healthy Fried Chicken Strips & Salad

Fried chicken is considered a bit of a no-no these days, in our fat-paranoid society. But I love it. The homemade version, that is. My Mum (being a Southern girl from Texas) makes the best fried chicken ever. However, I've figured out how to make a healthier version that's just as good as Mum's (hope you don't mind Mum!), and I serve it with lots of salad to make this a deliciously healthy meal that the whole family will enjoy!

This recipe can be made into chicken strips, or cut into nuggets for the kids, or made with whole chicken pieces. (If you're cooking chicken pieces, you'll need to have a lid on the pan for part of the time to help them cook through, turning the pieces now and then and checking if they're done by poking them through the middle with a skewer.)

Chicken Strips
(Serves 6 or so)

1. Slice up chicken thighs into 2cm strips:
- 1 kg chicken thighs

2. Whisk up eggs & milk in a bowl:
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup cashew or almond milk (or preferred milk)

3. In another bowl, mix together:
- a cup or so of rice flour (can make your own in the Thermomix)
- 1 tsp of herb salt
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)

4. Begin to coat the chicken strips in the egg mixture, then the flour mixture, while heating a large, heavy frying pan with the oil and ghee on med-high heat:
- a good drizzle of melted coconut oil
- a good drizzle of melted ghee
(The oil & ghee should just cover the base of the frying pan - no need to have the chicken 'floating' in it.)

5. Fry the chicken strips on both sides until golden brown. If the oil drys out, you can drizzle in a little more. Drain on paper towels and enjoy with lots of fresh salad!


Carrot, Celery & Cranberry Salad

Here's one of our favourite salads - a quick and easy grated carrot salad, jazzed up with dried cranberries! You can add cranberries to coleslaw too, and some roasted pumpkin seeds for extra crunch - it's so good. (Thanks to Leeanne for this idea!)

Chop in Thermomix on speed 5 for about 4 seconds:
- 4 carrots, quartered
- 2 celery sticks, quartered
- a couple of tablespoons of homemade mayonnaise, or aoli
- a handful of walnuts (optional)

Stir in on reverse speed 3 for a few seconds:
- a handful or two of dried cranberries

{I was sent a couple of bags of delicious, dried cranberries to try, and they are just amazing! Not too sweet (like other brands), and they're dried whole. Here's the link if you'd like to order some - you can get them from 2Brothers Foods Online. I've heard so many good reports about 2Brothers - great products, great prices, and awesome service.}


Leafy Green Salad

Very quick and easy... and so satisfying.

Toss is a big salad bowl:
- a couple of big handfuls of baby spinach leaves
- a few more handfuls of baby cos lettuce leaves
- spiralized raw zucchini (or super thin slices)
- some avocado slices

That's it :) I like mine with a big blog of my homemade herb and garlic mayo - my hubby likes his with balsamic vinegar.

Deep Dish, Gluten Free Pizza with Raw, Dairy Free Toppings

 

How do you like your pizza crust - thin and crispy, or thick and fluffy with a crunchy crust? Thin and crispy gluten free pizza bases are easy enough - here's my recipe. The thicker you go, though, the more difficult it is to get that soft, fluffy texture with gluten free flours. So here's my solution - a gluten free (and egg free) focaccia base for your pizza that the whole family will love, gluten free or not!

1. First make the focaccia base with this recipe. If you want your pizza base really thick, just use one, deep baking dish. I used two dishes as I only wanted my base about 4cms thick. Before you pour the batter into your dish/es, drizzle the dish really well with EVOO and spread around and up the sides of the dish. This will make the base nice and crunchy. (Or you could use melted butter, ghee or coconut oil if you'd rather.) Pour in the batter and leave it to rise for about half an hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 210 degrees C (or 200 degrees if you have a fan forced oven).

 

2. Bake the focaccia for about 30 minutes, until nicely browned and crusty. When you insert a knife in the middle, it should come out clean.

3. Whip up this quick, raw sauce, and spread it on top of the cooked bases.

Blend in Thermomix on speed 8 for 10 seconds:

- 2 Italian tomatoes (halved)

- 2 cloves of garlic

- small handful of fresh basil
- small handful fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp rapadura
- Pinch of sea salt
- 80g sun dried tomatoes

4. Top your pizza with your choice of raw toppings - I like salad greens, kalamata olives and salmon or tuna. (My quick and easy version is to use those little tins of flavoured tuna - salsa or sun dried tomato.)

You could also sprinkle it with some macadamia cheese, or some dairy free sour cream.

Or go for a zingy avocado and salad topping!

Of course, you can make a baked topping if you'd rather - just par bake the focaccia base for about 20 minutes, add toppings, and finish baking.

Tex-Mex Raw Corn Salad

Last night I was in the mood for a big, fresh salad. I'm enjoying having more raw these days. I'm trying to serve up at least 50% raw fruit and veges at mealtimes, plus fruit and veges at snack times either on their own, or in smoothies, juices and sorbets. I had lots of pesticide free, local, fresh fruit and veges in my CSA vege box, so I decided to experiment with what I had, and this is what I came up with. I loved it, but one of my kids wasn't too keen on the fresh coriander... he picked every little bit out! My sister's the same - she hates the stuff. So if you are one of those strange people who can't stand coriander, swap it for Italian parsley. Or maybe a little fresh oregano or basil.

I decided to make this a Tex-Mex style salad, but I didn't add jalapenos because although the hubby loves them, the kids don't like things too hot. If you like a bit more of a 'bite' to your salad, add a few chopped up jalapenos or maybe a few splashes of jalapeno Tabasco sauce.

I did add some Natural Mesquite Liquid Smoke, which is a real Texan thing and you may not have heard of it... I got mine from Texas, but apparently you can now buy it from USA Foods here in Australia. It is an 'all-natural liquid smoke with no additives or preservatives'.  I love the flavour of mesquite smoke, so now and then I'll use a little. You don't need much. It's great on barbequed meats too!

Tex-Mex Raw Corn Salad

1. Cut corn kernels off the cobs and tip into a large salad bowl:

- 5 fresh cobs of corn

2. Mince garlic in Thermomix on speed 7 for 3 seconds:

- 1 or 2 cloves raw garlic

3. Add dressing ingredients to the Thermomix bowl and mix on speed 6 for 5 seconds:

- 4 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

- 2 big Tablespoons of raw honey

- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

- 1/2 teaspoon Mexican chilli powder (or more to taste)

- 50g extra virgin olive oil

- pinch sea salt or herb salt

- freshly ground pepper

- a few dashes of Natural Mesquite Liquid Smoke (optional)

4. Add and mix on speed 4 for 5 seconds:

- half a red capsicum, deseeded

- half a green capsicum, deseeded

- quarter of a red onion (or more if you like)

- a handful of fresh coriander or cilantro or parsley

   Tip the chopped veges and dressing into the salad bowl with the corn.

5. Add to salad bowl and mix through gently:

- some halved cherry tomatoes or cubed tomatoes

- a handful of roughly sliced snow peas or sugar snap peas

- an avocado, cubed

- a sliced shallot

- 1 tin of black beans or kidney beans or mixed beans

Optional: add some sliced jalapenos, or some jalapeno Tabasco sauce for extra kick!

This is delicious served with barbequed steak or grilled chicken, or as a side dish with Fajitas.

Christmas Jelly Salad

I love this jelly salad as a side dish with Christmas dinner!  You can also serve it as a dessert, if you'd rather - it's kind of halfway between a dessert and a salad.  You can add or subtract fruits as you like - green grapes and strawberries are nice in it too.  Hope you like it :)

1.  Drain pineapple, and pour juice into the Thermomix bowl; set pineapple aside for later:

- 2 x 440g tins of crushed pineapple, unsweetened

     There should be approx. 400g of pineapple juice.

2.  Add berries to the juice in the Thermomix bowl and cook at 100 degrees for 15 mins, reverse, speed 1:

- 450g frozen berries (cranberries/mixed berries/cherries)

3.  Juice an orange and stir gelatine into juice until dissolved:

- 1 orange, juiced

- 2 heaped Tblspns gelatine powder (3 sachets)

(For a vegan version, substitute agar agar powder for gelatine)

4.  Add thickened orange juice and honey to berry mixture in bowl and cook at 100 degrees for 2 minutes, reverse, speed 2:

- orange juice mixture

- 180g raw honey

5.  Pour juice and berries into a large jelly mold (or bowl), leaving about a cupful in the Thermomix bowl.  Add orange to Thermomix and blend until smooth, moving speed dial slowly up to speed 9 for about 20 seconds:

- 1 peeled orange

     Add orange-berry mixture to berries and juice in the jelly mold (or bowl).

6.  Place in Thermomix bowl and chop on speed 4-5 for 5 seconds:

- 2 sticks of celery (no leaves)

- 1 green apple, quartered

- 65g raw walnuts or pecans

    (if you want pretty slices, you could chop by hand)

7.  Add to the berry mixture in the bowl:

- chopped celery, apple & nuts

- reserved crushed pineapple

     Stir together, and cover.

8.  Chill for a few hours or until jelly is set - you can put it in the freezer for a little while if you're in a hurry!

Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad

The boys made pasta salads for lunch today (with a bit of help from me).  We had some chicken thighs in the fridge that needed using up, as well as some homemade pesto, and some tuna, so we decided to make two pasta salads, a tuna one, and a chicken pesto one. The tuna pasta salad is the same as the recipe below, except you just add tuna, sliced black olives and chopped boiled egg instead of the chicken and pesto, and dress it with some homemade mayonnaise, or balsamic vinegar.  
Pasta salad is something I don't really use specific amounts for, so excuse my vague measurements - and the ingredients always vary with whatever I have in the fridge, so use your imagination :)

1.  Cook up a batch of pasta - I usually use shells or spirals - as much you think will feed your family:
- 250g (or more) pasta (I use gluten free Orgran pasta)

If you're adding broccoli to your salad, cook it with the pasta, adding it during the last few minutes of cooking time:
- one head of broccoli, cut into florets

Tip the pasta (and broccoli) into a colander in the sink, and rinse well with cold water.  Tip into a big salad bowl (or two).

2.  In Thermomix bowl, cook at 100 degrees, 8 mins, reverse, speed soft:
- a couple of handfuls of cubed chicken thighs/breasts
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
(You may need to stop halfway through and push chicken off blades with spatula.)

3.  Now, this is where all the little helping hands come in useful...  Prepare whichever of the following additions you like, and mix them into the pasta and broccoli, along with the cooked chicken and pesto:
- a few big blobs of fresh basil & cashew pesto (with or without parmesan, just add salt if not adding parmesan)
- a drizzle of olive oil
- grated carrot
- thinly sliced celery 
- torn lettuce leaves
- baby spinach leaves
- semi-dried tomato strips
- halved cherry tomatos
- cucumber pieces
- sliced black olives
- thinly sliced Spanish onion
- sliced shallots
etcetera...

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and enjoy!

P.S.  This would also be really nice with sun-dried tomato and red capsicum pesto - my favourite! You can find the recipes for both these pestos in the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook.

Salmon Salad Pizza

Salmon Salad Pizza

We had a great time at the 'Master Thermy Chef Challenge' last night - we had teams cooking against each other from a mystery box of ingredients, and we had 30 minutes (and two Thermomixes) to prepare/cook three dishes.  My team had in our box: a turnip, a piece of pumpkin, an orange, some soy sauce, some golden syrup, garlic, a tin of lemon salmon and a sprig of rosemary.  Our theme was 'Celebrate', and we had to make a sorbet, a bread and a main!  (Thankfully, we were allowed to add a few ingredients to the ones in our box!)  It was a lot of fun, and our team WON!!  Yay!  If any of you locals would like to have a go at the next cooking class, let me know.

It was a bit of a challenge making a bread, a main, and a sorbet, from scratch in 30 minutes, but we managed it - with 30 seconds to spare!  The quickest bread we could think of was a pizza bread, so we decided to use the salmon and garlic for that, and added raw salad greens to make it a kind of entree.  It turned out really yummy.  Here it is, a great, quick meal for when you're running out of time but want something healthy and delicious!

Note: Our other recipes were Meatballs in Turnip and Pumpkin Sauce, and Chocolate Orange Sorbet... you knew I had to get chocolate in there somewhere, didn't you!! :D  Recipes coming soon for those...

If you have them, place 2 pizza stones in oven and preheat oven to 250 degrees.  (If not, it will still work - pizza stones just help make a crisper crust.)

1. Base: Mix all ingredients in Thermomix, 6 seconds, speed 6:


- 500g spelt flour
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 60g oil
- 2 tsp of yeast
- 270g water

  Knead for 1 ½ mins on interval setting.  Wrap in thermomat (or in an oiled bowl and cover) and set aside until sauce is ready. OR, cook base on it's own and top with raw sauce & other toppings once it's done.

2. Sauce: Mix all ingredients in Thermomix, 4 seconds, speed 6:

- 2 Italian tomatoes (quartered)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- small handful of fresh basil
- small handful fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp rapadura
- Pinch of sea salt
- 80g tomato paste
- 1/2 a fresh chilli, deseeded (optional)

  Remove to a large bowl, set aside.

3. Divide dough in two, roll out into two circles and place on lined or oiled pizza trays. Drizzle with oil.

- 2 Tblspns extra virgin olive oil (optional)

4. Spread sauce over pizzas, leaving about 3 tablespoons in bowl for salad; flake salmon over, and sprinkle with grated mozzarella.  (Mozarella is optional - if you can't have dairy it tastes fine without it.)

- 2 x 95g tins of lemon salmon, drained & flaked
- 100g mozzarella cheese, grated roughly

5. Place pizzas in oven on pizza stones and bake until crisp, about 15 mins.

6. Salad Topping: While pizzas are baking, chop in Thermomix, 3 seconds, sp 5:

- ½ red onion
- Handful Italian parsley
- handful fresh basil
- 2 Tblspns extra virgin olive oil
- juice of half a lemon
- Salt and pepper

7. Toss salad topping ingredients together with olives & greens in bowl with reserved sauce:

- 100g of sliced Kalamata olives
- a few handfuls of salad greens (rocket, mizuna, tatsoi, baby spinach, etc)

8. Sprinkle salad topping over pizza, slice, and serve.

Lamb Mince & Salad Pizza

A bite of Lamb Mince & Salad Pizza with 'Poor Man's Parmesan'

I've been so busy this week that I haven't had time to post a menu plan, or much of anything... so I'm sitting down to quickly type up this recipe I made last week.  It's a new family favourite!  We all loved it.  We don't have pizza too often these days, as the boys and I can't have cheese, so I was excited to find a recipe for 'Poor Man's Parmesan' in my new pizza cookbook - it's dairy free!!!  (The recipe for this pizza is my version of one in 'Pizza Modo Mio', by John Lanzafame.)

I used the Spelt Artisan Bread dough to make the pizza base, but you could use any pizza dough recipe - just make sure you roll it nice and thin so it's crispy - if it's too thick the juices from the meat may make it soggy.  And if you have one, cook it on a pizza stone, or at least on a thick, preheated oven tray.

Recipe makes 1 pizza.

1.  Place pizza stone (or heavy oven tray) in oven and preheat to 250 degrees C for about 20 minutes.  While it's heating, pull off a grapefruit sized piece of Artisan Bread dough, flouring it with some spelt flour so it doesn't stick to your hands.  Pat it onto a greased pizza tray, spreading it out so it's about 5mm thick.  (You may need more if you are using a large rectangular tray.)  Brush dough with olive oil.

2.  When the 20 minutes is up, place the pizza tray in the oven for 5 minutes (on the pizza stone) to prebake.

3.  Place in Thermomix bowl and chop on speed 7 for 5 seconds:

- 1 large handful of fresh parsley

- *1 clove of garlic

- *1/2 an onion

- chilli to taste

4.  Add to bowl and mix on reverse, speed 3 until combined:

- 300g raw lamb mince (or beef mince)

- sea salt & freshly ground pepper

(or you can mince your own meat by placing cubed meat in Thermomix and pulsing on Turbo 3 or 4 times until the desired texture)

5.  Remove pizza base from oven and spread meat mixture over it, not quite to the edges.  Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through and nicely browned.  (Edges of crust should be browned and crispy.)  Drizzle lamb mince with a little lemon juice.  (Omit for beef mince.)

6.  Top hot pizza with mixed salad greens, vine-ripened tomatoes, sun-dried tomato strips, sliced olives (opt) and sprinkle with 'poor man's parmesan'.

*Note: I used garlic and onion confits instead of raw garlic and onion, as per the original recipe - they're lovely and mild when baked in olive oil.  For onion confit, bake 2 brown onions (chopped) in 150ml EVOO for 2 hours at 120 degrees C.  For garlic confit, bake 200g peeled garlic cloves , a few parsley leaves and 150ml EVOO for 2 hrs at 120 degrees C.  They can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Dairy Free 'Parmesan'

We love this dairy-free parmesan substitute. The original recipe is from a cookbook called 'Pizza Modo Mio,' by John Lanzafame, and is called 'Poor Man's Parmesan'.  He uses sourdough bread crumbs, I use leftover Artisan Bread crumbs.  Add anchovies to taste, depending how salty you want it.

Mix together in Thermomix on speed 7, until crumbs are formed:

- a big handful of pieces of torn up stale Gluten Free Artisan Bread or Spelt Artisan Bread
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4 anchovy fillets
- 1 large handful flat-leaf parsley

You can just use it like that, if it's going to be cooked on top of a pizza or casserole... If you want to sprinkle it over a salad or something that's not going to be baking in the oven, just brown it in the Thermomix first - 10 mins/100C/speed 1, or in a dry frypan on the stovetop.

Holiday Cooking

I hope you're all enjoying the Christmas break - isn't it nice to have some time off! I didn't get around to taking photos of everything I made at Christmas, but here's a few photos from our holiday cooking... using my Thermomix, of course! If you want the recipe for any of these, let me know. They are all dairy-free and naturally sweetened.

Happy holidays!

Raw Dairy-Free Berry Cheesecake

Chicken & Potato Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing

(from the Thermomix Festive Cookbook - the dressing is amazing!

Kiwi Fruit, Lime and Mint Sorbet
(So refreshing!)

Sabayon with Poached Meringue and Pistachios
(Very rich - take my advice and don't eat it late at night - you won't be able to sleep!)



Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Cranberry & Pistachio Stuffing

(Steamed in Varoma with sauce cooking in bowl, sliced potato steaming in small basket in bowl, and broccoli on top - delicious!)


Mini Steamed Puddings
(Steamed in Varoma - a bit rich for me!)

Crustless Macadamia Pie
(Delicious and very quick! Also made a Pecan version, which we liked best - no photo, must have eaten it too quickly!)

Holiday Jelly Salad

(A family favourite - homemade jelly made with cranberries, green apple, orange segments & juice, pineapple pieces & juice, pecans/walnuts, celery, honey & gelatin.)

Christmas Wreath Bread

(Homemade spelt & seed bread braided into a wreath shape - made these for gifts.)

Beetroot Salad

Beetroot Salad (this photo shows one with a little more carrot, as my kids love carrot!)

This is a very quick and easy salad, especially if you have a Thermomix! You can make it in a food processor, but you may need to cut the veges in smaller pieces before processing or you'll crack the jug! (I know, I've done it in my pre-Thermomix days!) Recipe from Thermomix cookbook.

- 400g raw beetroot (peeled & quartered)
- 100g carrot, quartered
- 1/4 small red onion
- 1 green apple, quartered & deseeded
- 1 handful of fresh coriander/Italian parsley leaves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tsp Rapadura
- pinch salt

Place roughly cut vegetables in Thermomix/food processor and chop on medium speed (sp. 5) until evenly chopped (2-3 seconds in Thermomix). Scrape down sides and chop again for a couple of seconds until desired consistency.

If you accidently process too much, or you have leftovers, add some raw cashews or almonds, process until finely ground, and use as a dip!

I sometimes make this with half carrot, half beetroot - it's a bit cheaper, and the kids like carrot more than beetroot! :)

Soltero de Queso

This recipe is from Sue Gregg's 'Lunches & Snacks' cookbook. This is a great book for teaching children to cook, and helping them learn the basics of good nutrition. It even comes with a CD-rom with step-by-step picture instructions for the recipes. The kids will be making this meal themselves this week. I can't get lima beans, so I'm going to try broadbeans.

1. Soak onion in salted water 10 minutes (to mellow it); drain and combine with remaining ingredients in large salad bowl:
- 1 med. to large onion, chopped
- 250g (10 oz.) corn kernels, fresh or frozen (rinse off chill)
- 400g (16 oz.) green lima beans, rinsed
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 200g (8 oz.) feta cheese, coarsely chopped (or goat's cheese/soy cheese)
- 100g (4 oz.) sliced black olives
- 1/2 red capsicum (bell pepper), chopped
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons grapeseed/olive oil
- oregano
- parsley
- sea salt

2. Mound salad into lettuce cups on salad plates.

Easy Carrot, Celery & Grape Salad

My good friend Vera tweaked a carrot and raisin salad the other day when I was over for lunch, and made it with green grapes instead of raisins - it was soooo yummy and fresh, and EASY I just had to share it!

Just grate a few fresh, yummy carrots into a nice salad bowl, add a couple of handfuls of fresh, sliced celery, a couple of handfuls of green seedless grapes, and moisten it with a couple of blobs of mayonaise (preferably homemade!). Stir it up and enjoy! Too easy. Even the kids will love it.

Roast Vegetable Salad

A friend of a friend sent me this recipe - it sounds absolutely delicious! I think I'll have to stick it into my menu somewhere this week - it will make a great lunch when I have a friend or two over. I still have plenty of eggplants and pumpkin to use up, as well as potatoes, capsicum, garlic and sweet potato from my vege box, so it's perfect. The lady who sent it said she also added whole garlic cloves and small onions, and red and yellow capsicum and parsnip... you can double the veges, and the dressing will still be plenty. Yum!

Vegetables...
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 med Eggplant (480gm) cut into quarters
2 med Potatoes (480gm) halved
1 large red Capsicum quartered
400 gm pumpkin into 4
Sweet Potato into 4

- Salt liberally and roast the above with oil for about 1 hour turning occasionally until golden brown. Add the dressing while veges are warm, so the flavours soak in.

Dressing
1 Tblsp Chopped basil
1 Tblsp chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped chives
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 Tblsp white wine vinegar
1 teasp Rapadura/honey/raw sugar
Pepper to taste

- Put it all into a screw top jar, and shake!

Pizza!

This is an egg pizza with tomato paste, herbs, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, fetta, onion & capsicum.

Who doesn't love pizza?!! It's such an easy meal, and the options for toppings are endless. When there's lots of kids here (which is quite often!), pizza is a popular meal - the kids all like to help make them, and I save dishes and mess by serving slices on paper towels and sending the kids outside!

Pizza Dough

1. Preheat oven to 200° C (400° F).

2. Place in food processor/Thermomix:
• 1 tablespoon dry instant yeast
• 500g (approx. 18 oz) spelt flour (half w/meal half white is nice)
• 1 t salt
• 65 ml (2 fl oz) olive oil
• 3 teaspoons sugar or 2 t honey
• 265 ml (9 fl. oz) warmish water

3. Process on medium speed for 10 seconds, or until mixed in, then on kneading setting for 2 or 3 mins, adding more flour if needed, until dough is soft and springy, but not sticky. (Or knead by hand, approx. 10 mins.)

4. Leave in processor to rest while preparing toppings.

5. Divide dough in two, and roll out to fit two large pizza trays. If you like thick, bready bases, add toppings, leave for 20 mins, then cook. If you like thin bases, add toppings and cook straight away. Takes about 15 mins to cook, or until ready.

Topping Ideas
(pick a spread and try different variations of toppings - the more the merrier, except when it comes to a great mushroom, garlic, olive oil & mozzarella topping - my favouite!)

• Spread base with: tomato paste / pizza sauce / olive oil & fresh minced garlic / baba ghanoush (roasted eggplant & garlic dip)
• Sprinkle with mixed herbs / garlic powder / fresh chopped garlic / chopped onion, capsicum, olives, fetta cheese, fresh bocconcini, parmesan, ham, pineapple, sun-dried tomatoes, chargrilled eggplant or capsicum, anchovies, whisked raw eggs, etc...
• Top with shredded mozzarella or a little fresh parmesan if you can have it.

Dairy free toppings

• pesto; grilled eggplant, zucchini, mushroom and onion slices (brush w/ olive oil & crushed garlic, bake 5 mins in hot oven); roasted red pepper / sun-dried tomatoes; fresh tomato slices; chopped olives; fresh or dried basil & oregano.

Salad Pizza Bread

• Spray pizza bases with olive oil spray & prebake.
• Chop up 2 cups mixed lettuce leaves, 2 cups fresh tomatoes, 1 cup chopped avocado & 1/2 cup chopped red onions, and mix together in large bowl.
• Mix together in small bowl: 3 T red wine vinegar, 2 T fesh lemon juice, 1 t raw honey, 1 t sea salt, 2 T water, 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 t each of dried oregano, dried basil, freshly ground black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes (opt); add 1/4 cup olive oil and whisk thoroughly. Pour over veges, mix in, spread on base, slice and enjoy!

I have another dairy free topping that's my favourite, and you don't even notice the cheese missing - I've lent out the recipe book, so I'll post that one next week.