editor, Author at The Kind Cook

Cheesy Olive Scrolls

on May 8, 2012

I LOVE these if I say so myself.

YOU NEED

You simply make my Olive Tapenade recipe then pop it in a sieve, over a bowl for a few hours to drain the extra juices.

While the tapenade is draining make my Basic Pizza Dough recipe. #Both recipes can be found using the “Search” button on the top right hand corner of my “Home” page.

You also need nutritional yeast (which you get at your local health food stores.) This is what makes your scrolls “cheesy”. I used 1-2 cups.

oil to brush over the scrolls

salt

YOU DO (to assemble)

Using a butter knife, evenly spread the olive tapenade onto your dough rectangle, being sure not to cut the dough and spread right to the edges of your rectangle.

Sprinkle a cup of nutritional yeast evenly over the rectangle.

Gently roll the dough from the longest side of the rectangle onto itself until it is completely rolled.

Evenly slice roll and place onto a large (baking paper lined) tray…..cut side up. Brush generously with oil and sprinkle more nutritional yeast over the top of the scrolls. I also then seasoned with some salt.

Allow the scrolls to proof. You want them double in size.

Place into a preheated oven at 200c for approx 20 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the strength of your oven and size of your scrolls. Once cooked, remove and cool on cooling rack.

Yields: This made 18 scrolls. Alternatively, you could obviously cut much larger scrolls or much smaller scrolls.

Freeze: I prefer to eat recipes like this fresh so I haven’t tried freezing this one. You can certainly freeze the pizza dough though and just let it that which makes for a much quicker cheesy olive scroll recipe.

Notes: #Try not to get intimidated by what seems to be a long recipe. In essence you are simply making some bread dough and a tapenade..both of which are EASYYYYY.

Don’t stress if you don’t have nutritional yeast. You can still make olive scrolls 🙂

Olive Tapenade

on May 7, 2012

I use to hate olives but they have been growing on me over the last couple of years. The catalyst for this revolution was trying *good quality* marinated olives one day. Like so many food items, you get what you pay for and I tell you..olives aint olives. So if you make this, do yourself a favour and buy good olives, from a good deli and/or marinate some and then and only then…. make a tapenade.

YOU NEED

2 cups of pitted olives, drained (I used Kalamata olives)

4 tablespoons of capers, *well* drained

6 tablespoons of olive oil (I use cold pressed olive oil)

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced

3- 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 bunch of fresh basil leaves, washed well and drained

YOU DO

Roughly chop the basil leaves.

Blend all the ingredients except the basil. Blend it to me as chunky or smooth as you like it.

Stir the basil through.

Serve as a dip, spread on your favourite bread, use in sandwiches or toss through pasta.

Yields: 1.5 cups of dip

Time: Takes 5 minutes

Freeze: Not suitable

Chocolate Salty Balls

on May 6, 2012

YOU NEED

1.5 cups whipped peanut butter

2 cups of rice bubbles

4 tablespoons of icing sugar

1 x 200 gram block of Whittaker’s Dark Ghana or your favourite dairy free chocolate

salt for garnish

YOU DO

Combine all the ingredients (except the chocolate), in a large bowl. Scoop approx ½ tablespoon of the mixture and ball it in your hand. I find sometimes I am unable to ball the mixture and it falls apart, so I just wash my hands and continue. If this is the case just make a few balls and wash your hands…make a few balls and wash your hands etc. It’s worth the angst! Place in the freezer for 30 – 60 mins until the balls are firm and cold.

Lay some baking paper on a couple of plates. Melt the chocolate and using a fork, coat each ball with chocolate. Once each ball is covered in chocolate, scrape the excess chocolate off by scraping the bottom of the fork on the edge of the chocolate bowl.

Place each ball on the baking paper, sprinkling salt on them as you go. That way the salt will be trapped in the cooling chocolate. Repeat till all the balls are coated.

Place in the fridge to allow the chocolate to set. Then serve or store in an air tight container in room temperature.

Yields: Makes 30 pretty chunky balls.

Notes: You get whipped peanut butter in the supermarket. I normally buy organic peanut butter that has*just* peanuts, but I felt this recipe needed something lighter.

If you are having a lot of trouble balling the mix try adding a little pure maple syrup and if they are too wet to ball just add a little more rice bubbles or a little icing sugar.

Cabbage Pakora

on May 3, 2012

YOU NEED

½ cup of green cabbage, finely shredded.

½ cup of red cabbage, finely shredded

1 cup of chickpea flour (aka besan flour or garbanzo flour)

1 tablespoon of curry powder (I use Clive of India)

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1 -2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

½ teaspoon of fresh minced ginger

3/4 cup coriander, washed, drained and roughly chopped

1 red bullet chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

water

1/2 teaspoon of salt

YOU DO

Heat a medium pan of oil on the stove top until it is hot enough for deep frying.

Put the curry powder in a dry pan and dry roast it on a low to medium heat for a couple of minutes, then put it in a large bowl.

Sauté the ginger and garlic in the same pan in small amount of oil for a minute or 2 and put in the bowl with the ginger.

Add the chickpea flour, onion powder, chilli, coriander and salt into the bowl with the garlic and ginger mix. Add the water and stir well to combine. Then keep adding water a little at a time until the batter is thick but you can still whisk it. You don’t want a runny batter.

Add the cabbage to the batter and mix them until they are well combined.

Using a tablespoon pick up blobs of the batter and place carefully in the oil until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone. Place on draining paper and serve. I like to serve them straight away.

Serve as a starter or a snack or with steamed rice and loads of fresh raw salad and your favourite dipping sauce.

Servings: Makes 10 plus pakoras.

Time: Takes about 2o minutes

Freezing: Not suitable.

Berry & Orange Infusion

on May 1, 2012

I have discovered that berries and oranges are a match made in heaven! So apologies in advance for all the orange and strawberry recipes that are to come. These Twining’s Infusion bags are really fragrant and with the juice this made a really lovely, iced tea, style treat. Perfect for a hot day and a really special non alcoholic drink.

YOU NEED

5 Twining’s “Infusions” bags, Raspberry, Strawberry and Loganberry flavour

4 cups boiled water

3-4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup

½ cup of orange juice (I used freshly squeezed)

½ cup of strawberry juice (I used freshly juiced)

1 orange, finely sliced for garnish

1 punnet of strawberries, finely sliced for garnish

Ice for serving

YOU DO

Place the Twining’s Infusion bags into the boiled water for 4 minutes. Remove and discard the bags and refrigerate the tea.

Once the tea is chilled, add the maple syrup and both the juices and whisk well to combine.

Pour the tea into a large jug, with loads of ice, orange slices and the strawberries and serve

Yields: Makes approx 1.5 litres

Time: 10 mins. Plus the cooling time.

Notes: If you don’t have maple syrup, you can substitute it with sugar.

Mexican, Rice and Bean Soup

on May 1, 2012

YOU NEED

250 grams of long grain brown rice

1 brown onion, peeled and finely diced

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

2 teaspoons of smoked paprika

1 ½ litres of vegan chicken stock

1 ½ teaspoons of tabasco sauce

2 small red capsicums (also known as bell peppers, cored and diced)

2 x 400 gram cans of red kidney beans, rinsed *well* and drained

1.5 cups of corn kernels

1 bunch of coriander, washed, roots finely sliced and leaves roughly chopped.

a double batch of my guacamole recipe

YOU DO

Put the rice into a pot of boiling water and boil until cooked.

While the rice is cooking, place a large pot on a low to medium heat. Place a small amount of water in the pot, add the onions and cook them for a few minutes until they have softened. Add the garlic and paprika and cook another or minute or 2.

Add the, stock, tabasco, capsicum, beans and corn and bring it all to the boil. Then turn it down to a gentle simmer, for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to blend. Turn the heat off and make the guacamole.

Once the rice is cooked, add it to the pot, and bring everything to the boil once more.

Throw the coriander in at the last minute. Top with a generous blob of the guacamole and serve.

I serve it with spicy corn chips and use the corn chips like a spoon. So easy. So tasty. For a SUPER quick dinner have your rice cooked and in the fridge ready to go. Great for lunch the next day at work on a cold day.

Servings: Serves 4.

Time: Takes about 30 – 40 minutes to make unless you have the rice cooked ready the night before. If you do that dinner will be on the table in 20 minutes.

Freezing: Not suitable.

Notes: #Note if you have left overs, you will need to add some more stock, as the rice and/or beans soak up loads of the liquid when it’s stored in the fridge.

You can replace half a litre of the stock for a can of chopped tomatoes for a richer flavour but I like the fact that this is like a broth. With the guacamole, coriander and the crunch of corn chips there is plenty going in with this dish.

Orange, Ginger & Coconut Ripple Cakes

on May 1, 2012

These have been such a hit with everyone. It is my version of ripple cake that I use to enjoy in childhood. So many of you have made these and enjoyed them. Many of you have made them again and again and posted pictures of your efforts on my Facebook page. It’s quite the thrill for me that you all love this recipe so much and one of the reasons I love it.

YOU NEED

1 packet of Macro Gingernut biscuits (I get these from the health food section of the supermarket)

1/2 can of Ayam Coconut Cream (It’s the only coconut cream that I have found that is thick enough for this kind of dish. I like to pop this in the fridge the night before)

1 tablespoon of agave syrup (I get my agave syrup from health food shops. If you don’t have agave syrup, use the equivalent measurement of icing sugar or pure maple syrup)

3 oranges

#optional some dairy free chocolate for garnish

YOU DO

Open the can of coconut cream and scoop out all the thick stuff (which is most of the can). Put the watery stuff that is left in the can in a container and back in to the fridge to pop through a smoothie or curry another day.

Grate the zest of 2 of the oranges and add that to the coconut cream and the agave syrup to the coconut cream and mix to combine.

Place 1 biscuit on the bench and spread some of the coconut cream mix onto it. Place another biscuit on top. Repeat this until you have 4 biscuits in a stack.

Pick the stack up and hold it between your pointer finger and thumb. Now using a butter knife, spread more coconut cream around all the edges of the stack until it is covered. Put the stack back down and spread some coconut cream mix on the top and set aside. Repeat until you have 4 stacks.

Pop the 4 stacks on a plate and on the fridge for a couple of hours. When you are ready to serve them grate the zest from the 3^rd orange and garnish the top of each stack with the zest and also grate some dairy free chocolate over the top.

Don’t worry if they don’t look perfect. They taste amazing.

Servings: Serves 4.

Time: This all takes me less than 30 mins.

Freezing: Not suitable.

Notes: You can refrigerate the stacks for a lot less or a lot more time. The longer they are in the fridge, the softer the biscuits get. They are lovely either way.

If you make these in hot weather refrigerate the coconut cream for a few hours or overnight before you prepare the stacks.

Don’t worry if you can’t get them looking super neat. The taste is all worth it. Alternatively you can break your biscuits up, mix the cream and all the other ingredients together with the biscuits and place them in 4 small glasses for serving. When I do this I tend to use more biscuits per serve though. Don’t forget to still garnish them generously with grated chocolate and/or orange zest.

# I can NOT recommend a citrus zester enough for recipes like this.

Creamy Oat Milk, Onion & Potato Bake

on April 29, 2012

Growing up my mum use to do scalloped potatoes. She would make them with cow’s milk or stock, always generously topping it with Season ALL. She then covered it in glad wrap and cooked it in the microwave. I use to cheekily pull all the well seasoned slices from the top once it was cooked.

My cooking and ingredient preferences have changed dramatically since all those years ago but as with most old favourites there is always a way to reinvent them.

I have tried this a few times with almond, soy and rice milk but my favourite outcome was with the oat milk. I can now create memories of creamy potato bake on cold nights for my son.

YOU NEED

oil for cooking

2 small brown onions, peeled and finely sliced

1 ½ cups of oat milk

3 teaspoons of egg replacer (I use Orgran brand which I find in the health food section of most supermarkets and in health food stores)

1 heaped teaspoon vegetable stock

8 small potatoes (I used Sebago), peeled and *finely* sliced

Season All seasoning

YOU DO

Preheat your oven to 200c

Heat some oil in a small pan and cook the onions till caramelised. Once done, set aside.

While the onions are cooking blend the oat milk, egg replacer and stock together and set aside.

Layer the potatoes and onions in an oven proof casserole dish, pour the milk mixture carefully cover the top and cover with foil.

Place in the oven for 30 mins, then remove from the oven, generously sprinkle some season all over the top and place back in the oven uncovered for another 30 minutes.

The result is earthy and creamy with the sweetness of the onions and a lovely chew and crunch of the top layer of potato 🙂

Serve with vegetarian sausages or vegie burgers and loads of crisp fresh salad.

Time: Preparation time is 20 mins. Plus 1 hour of cooking time.

Carrot & Coriander Relish

on April 29, 2012

Ever since I stopped relying on a slab of meat to be the main component and “highlight” of my meals I have become more creative, eat a more diverse diet and ridiculously more experimental with the plethora of diversity the plant world offers. A favourite these days is a creamy hummus, fragrant pesto and also ……………spicy, tart relishes.

YOU NEED

200 grams carrots, peeled and grated

1 small brown onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

juice of 1 small lime (you are after 1-2 tablespoons juice)

1 small red chilli, seeds out and finely diced

1 bunch coriander, washed and roughly chopped

YOU DO

Blend all ingredients except for half of the bunch of coriander and the chilli.

Stir the other half of the coriander and the chilli through the mixture.

Serve as a condiment, as spread in a salad sandwich or on a grainy biscuit or any way you would normally have relish.

Serves: Makes about 1 cup of relish.

Time: Takes me about 20 mins.

Freeze: N/A

Indian Spiced Swede Patties

on April 29, 2012

YOU NEED

1 swede, peeled, cut into cubes and steamed or boiled until tender

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1 small brown onion, peeled and finely diced

1 cup breadcrumbs (use gluten free breadcrumbs if you wish)

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

1 teaspoon of ground coriander

¼ teaspoon of dried chilli flakes

1 bunch of fresh coriander, washed and roughly chopped.

salt/pepper to taste

YOU DO

Sauté the onion in a small pan, on low heat with some oil until softened. Add the garlic and cook another couple of minutes.

Add the cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and chilli flakes and cook for a further couple of minutes.

Mash the cooked swede. Add the onion and spices. Add the bread crumbs, the coriander and season.

Form small patties with the mixture. Then cook in a pan with a little heated oil for a few minutes on each side. Pop them in a pre heated oven for another 10-15 minutes to really cook them through also if you wish.

Serve with rice and salad or with relish and rocket in a pita pocket.

Servings: Made 8 small patties

Time: This all took me less than 30 mins.