editor, Author at The Kind Cook

Pomegranate Citrus Iced Tea

on April 17, 2012

YOU NEED

4 cups of boiled water

1 lemon, finely sliced

1 lime, finely sliced

3-4 tablespoons of agave (if you don’t have agave just use sugar)

5 plain black tea bags

1 cup of pomegranate juice (I used freshly squeezed)

ice for serving

YOU DO

Place the teabags into the boiled water for 5- 10 minutes. Don’t leave them too long as it will make the tea bitter. Remove the tea bags and refrigerate the tea.

Once the tea is cold, add the rest of the ingredients and combine. Put in a large jug, with ice and serve 🙂

Servings: Makes approx 1.5 litres of Iced Tea.

Time: 10 minutes plus cooling time.

Freezing: Not suitable for freezing

Dragonfruit, Nashi Pear & Ginger Juice

on April 17, 2012

I am pushing myself top regularly try new foods. Today it was dragon fruit. I was lucky enough to get a stunning ruby red dragon fruit. Such an exotic looking fruit, it tastes a little like a pear but its the colour that impresses me most. Absolutely beautiful.

YOU NEED

1 dragon fruit

1 nashi pear

1 apple

2 soaked dates

½ teaspoon ginger

YOU DO

Cut the dragon fruit in half lengthways and remove the peel.

Juice the dragon fruit, pear and the apple.

Blend the dates and ginger through the juice.

Servings: 1

Time: 5 minutes

Freezing: Not suitable for freezing

Notes: This is gorgeous with lime juice too. It gives the juice a lovely lift.

Tandoori Mushroom and Capsicum Strudel

on April 16, 2012

This recipe illustrates just what one can do with a few bits of veg hanging around the fridge! I had a load of pizza dough, was feeling creative after my pide making session and this was the result.

I’m really proud of this one. It’s delicious too 🙂

YOU NEED (for the filling)

1/2 can of tomato puree

2 teaspoons of tandoori paste

2 field mushrooms, sliced, sliced stems and all

4 button mushrooms, sliced, stems and all

1 medium brown onion, peeled and sliced

1/2 green capsicum (also known as a bell pepper), core and seeds out and sliced

handful of fresh coriander leaves, washed and roughly chopped

#optional few blobs of plain Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese (You can find this in the supermarket sitting in the cold section next to the dairy cream cheeses)

oil for cooking

YOU DO (for the filling)

Stir the tandoori paste with the tomato puree until combined.

Heat the oil in a large pan, sauté the onions till browned. Add the mushrooms and sauté off for a minute or 2. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool for a few minutes.

Add the tandoori and tomato puree mix and the capsicum to the pan and stir to combine.

YOU DO (for the base)

Make my “Pizza Dough” recipe and once you have made the dough and rested it and its ready to be rolled out, roll it into a thin rectangle shape.

Spread the tomato mix across the entire base.

Spoon the mixture from the pan onto the base, covering it all. #At this point just make sure the capsicum and mushroom slices are laid so that they horizontally follow the long side of the rectangle. This only takes a minute and makes your rolling a lot easier. Otherwise as you roll they may pierce the dough. Blob on some random spoonfuls of Tofutti cream cheese on your fillings.

Roll the long side of the dough onto itself to form a long roll. Very carefully place the rolled dough onto a baking sheet lined tray.

Then slicing on an angle make some cuts across the length of the roll a few cms a part. The filling will be exposed at each slice point and put in the oven at 200c until the base has cooked and is starting to brown.

Servings: 2 -3

Time: I haven’t timed this one but you can make up Pizza Dough and freeze it which makes for a quicker dish.

Freezing: Not suitable for freezing

Lime Satay & Zucchini Pide

on April 16, 2012

When I left the cooking world years ago I went into recruitment and one of my regular and absolute favourite clients was (and still is) a well known chef who had a chain of Middle Eastern restaurants and cafes. I use to eat at them before I knew who she was and always loved their zucchini pizza. Their pizza had cheese on the base instead of satay sauce though and was served with lemon.

Here is my interpretation of that pizza with a different base sauce and layout for the zucchini. Cath Claringbold, I hope one day that you stumble across my site and that you are proud of my interpretation.

YOU NEED (for the filling)

1 teaspoon of oil (I use rice bran oil)

1 small brown onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and minced

1 small fresh red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped

1/4 cup of crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup of water

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce (you can use Tamari instead if you wish)

1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar (I often use pure maple syrup or agave instead of sugar)

2 large zucchini with the peel left on, sliced very thinly lengthways

1 lime

a handful of rocket lettuce

YOU DO (for the filling)

Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and browning.

Add the garlic and chilli and cook for a minute or so. Remove from the heat.

Add the peanut butter and stir until well until combined. Place the saucepan back on the stove on a low heat. Add the water, lemon juice, soy sauce and sugar. Cook, stirring until the sauce thickens. Set aside.

YOU DO (for the base)

Make my “Pizza Dough” recipe and once you have made the dough and rested it and its ready to be rolled out, roll it into an oval shape.

Grab one end and twist it twice in the same direction. It should now look like a small rope. Repeat with the other end.

To get the sides wrinkled as shown, start at the left side of the base near one of the knots you have made and place a finger underneath the side of the base about a cm in. Raise your finger, lifting the dough a few cms from the bench and then push that raised piece slightly forward and to the right at the same time. Push it gently back into the top of the pizza. Repeat this process around the entire edge.

YOU DO (to assemble)

Evenly spread the satay sauce across the pide base and place it on an oven tray and into the oven at 200c until the dough is cooked and lightly coloured. Once it has started to brown remove it from the oven.

Roll each slice of zucchini into a tube shape. Place them on the top of the satay sauce on the pide and put the pide back in the oven at 200c again, until the zucchini is warm and the pizza is starting to get to a crunchy texture.

Serve, topped with fresh rocket leaves and a generous squeeze of fresh lime.

Servings: 2 -3

Time: I haven’t timed this one but you can make up Pizza Dough and freeze it which makes for a quicker dish.

Freezing: Not suitable for freezing

Stickydate Pudding w/ a Golden Syrup Caramel

on April 15, 2012

YOU NEED (for the pudding)

3 teaspoons of egg replacer

6 tablespoons of water

200 grams of pitted dates and chopped into small pieces

185 grams of sugar

½ cup of tasteless coconut oil (you can use Nuttelex but I prefer not to)

1.5 cups of water

1 teaspoon of bi carb soda

1.5 cups of self raising flour

YOU NEED (for the sauce)

4 tablespoons of golden syrup

½ cup of sugar

2 tablespoons of tasteless organic coconut oil

½ a cup of Bonsoy organic soy milk

3 teaspoons of cornflour

YOU DO

Pre heat your oven to 175c and line a cake tin with baking paper and set aside.

Whisk the 3 teaspoons of egg replacer into the 6 tablespoons of water and set aside.

Put the dates, sugar, coconut oil and water into a medium pot and slowly bring to the boil, then turn off the heat.

Add the bi carb and gently stir the mixture. It will bubble up at this point. Add the egg replacer mixture into the pot and also stir to combine. Finally add the flour and pour the mixture into the cake tin.

Place the tin in the oven until the pudding is cooked. To check if it’s cooked, pierce it with a bamboo skewer. If it comes out clean the pudding is ready.

While the pudding is cooking place the golden syrup, ½ cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil into a small pan and gently heat until all the ingredients start to melt. Then simmer very gently until all the sugar is dissolved and a caramel starts to form.

Once the sugar is dissolved, add the Bonsoy to the caramel and whisk to combine.

Place the cornflour into a small container and add just enough water to make a paste. Add the cornflour paste to the caramel and whisk until all ingredients are well combined and simmer for another minute or 2. Turn the heat off and set aside till your pudding is ready.

Once the pudding is cooked, carefully remove it from the oven. Let it cool for about 15 minutes, then gently remove it from the cake tin. Serve it warm with caramel sauce and coconut ice-cream

If you are not serving it straight way just remove it from the cake tin and let it stand on a cake rack to cool.

Serves: 6 slices

Time: 20 minutes to prepare and 35-45 minutes to cook. Cooking time will differ depending on the cake tin size you use and the strength of your oven

Notes: I cook mine in a small, round, deep cake tin that measures 8cms (inside the lip) in diameter and 9cms in height.

Egg replacer is available in health food stores and most supermarkets in the health food section

I prefer not to try my best to avoid anything that contains palm oil, when I can find an alternative. Which is why I use coconut oil.I use the Bio Medical Tasteless Organic Coconut Oil so the coconut flavour doesn’t over power the pudding. It can be purchased online and at some health food stores.

Sweet Red Onion & Lentil Dahl on a Mushroom Steak w Mash

on April 15, 2012

YOU NEED

2 portobello mushrooms

½ can butter beans, well rinsed and drained

1 small potato, peeled and cut into chunks

½ cup cauliflower florets

1 red onion, peeled, cored and sliced

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 cup of dry lentils (I used puy lentils as they retain their shape but they also take ages to cook so brown would be fine to use instead)

2 x 1/2 cup red wine

4 button mushrooms, chopped, stalks and all

1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ tablespoon soft brown sugar

3 cups vegetable stock

1 bunch of fresh oregano leaves, washed

oil for cooking

Salt and pepper for seasoning

YOU DO

Give the lentils a good rinse then soak them in cold water for a couple of hours.

Heat some oil in a large pot and gently cook the red onion until it has softened. Cut the stalks off the portobello mushrooms and roughly chop them up.. Add the stalks and the button mushrooms to the red onion and cook till softened. Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the lentils, 1/2 cup of red wine and 2 cups of the vegetable stock to the pot.. Bring everything to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook gently until the lentils are cooked. Keep checking and add more stock if you need to.

Put the other ½ cup of red wine, the soft brown sugar, the tomato paste and the other 1 cup of vegetable stock into a small pan. Bring to the boil and reduce until nice and thick.

Steam the potato and cauliflower till tender and mash.

Blend the butter beans and stir through the mash and season with salt and pepper.

Once the lentils are cooked, stir through the oregano leaves.

Once everything is ready, heat some more oil in a small pan and cook the portobello mushrooms for a few minutes on either side until cooked through.

Put the portobello mushrooms onto a plate each, top them with the mash, then top with the sweet onion and lentil dahl. Pour some of the red wine sauce over the top and serve.

Servings: 2

Time: Takes about 45-60 mins. A lot less if you use brown lentils.

Freezing: Not suitable for freezing

Note: If you use brown lentils instead of puy lentils, use less stock and only add more if needed because brown lentils will cook much faster and your lentils will be too watery.

Scented, Crunchy Black Rice Salad

on April 14, 2012

Scented, Crunchy Black Rice SaladBlack rice is also known as “Forbidden Rice” in China because it is said to be only for emperors. It is said to be a super food that we are fortunate to have access to. Zhimin Xu, PhD, of Louisiana State University Agricultural Centre is quoted to have said “Just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar and more fibre and vitamin E antioxidants…”

There are many varieties of black rise from China, Korea and I think Thailand too.

Someone asked me today what they should do with some black rice they purchased to make a salad. Having not done a black rice salad before I just made suggestions on flavours and ingredients I thought would compliment such a staple. Then I decided to see how it would turn out so I made one.

The result was an aromatic, garden scented, dish with the black rice the platform for a range of fragrant Asian favourites. The nuts, noodles and coriander roots give it a gorgeous crunch. If you want an extra kick, simply leave in the chilli seeds and/or add more chilli.

YOU NEED

For the salad:

½ cup of black rice (I had the glutinous one)

½ small brown onion, peeled and finely diced

10 mushrooms, sliced (I used button as that’s what I had, but some Asian mushrooms would be perfect in this)

3 tablespoons of well washed and finely sliced coriander roots

1 handful of washed and roughly chopped coriander leaves

1 handful of fresh basil leaves, washed and gently sliced (as they bruise)

1 handful fresh spinach, well washed to avoid grit

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon of soy sauce (or tamari for a gluten free option)

dash of sesame oil

½ tablespoon of fresh lime juice

¼ teaspoon of minced ginger

1 teaspoon of agave (if you don’t have agave use sugar but add ½ teaspoon and taste again before adding more)

oil for cooking

1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced

For the garnish

1 small red chilli, cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and finely slice.

2 handfuls of roasted peanuts (Mine were raw so I dry roasted them in a hot pan for a minute or 2)

#optional~ a handful of “Chang’s” fried noodles

YOU DO

Rinse the rice under cold water. Put it in a pot of water, bring it to the boil and simmer until the rice is tender. Mine took about 30 – 40 minutes. I just pottered around and made the dressings etc while the rice cooked. I rinsed mine when it was cooked too in case there were any starches because I used the gelatinous one. Drain and set aside.

Heat a good splodge of oil in a small pan and cook the onion until it caramelizes. Add the mushrooms and cook till they are softened and coloured. Pull the mushroom and onions out of the pan with some tongs and place them on some draining paper. Set aside

Make the dressing. Place all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk.

Add the cooked rice and all the salad ingredient to the dressing and mix everything together.

Give the rice a good stir when you go to serve it. Sprinkle with the finely sliced chilli. Finally top it with the noodles and nuts, just as you are about to serve, so that they remain super crunchy.

Serve warm or cold.

Servings: 2 lunch size serves or serve as a side with other dishes.

Time: 15 minutes preparation. 30-40 minutes of cooking time.

Notes: Don’t be put off by a longer list of ingredients. It’s often the recipes with a lot of ingredients that are the easiest and require the least amount of skill. The result is worth it too!

Marinated Olives

on April 9, 2012

YOU NEED

1 x 900 gram bottle of Spanish Queen Olives, not pitted (picked these up from Aldi on special today)

1kg of Kalamata olives, not pitted

1 full bulb of garlic, peeled and sliced

10 tablespoons of fennel seeds

17 star anise

the rind of 3 large oranges. Make sure you remove all of the pith (the pith is the white part as it will impart bitterness)

1/2 cup of fresh rosemary leaves

5 small red chillies, sliced

4 bay leaves

1. 5 litres of olive oil

YOU DO

Place all the dry ingredients into a large pot over a medium heat and stir for a few minutes.

Add a few tablespoons of oil, the orange rind, chillies and garlic and sauté for another minute or so. You are not trying to colour the garlic. You just want to apply enough heat and a minute to help the oils release.

Add the olives and the olive oil and bring the oil almost to boil. Turn off the heat, let your olives cool then put them and the marinade into sterilised jars.

Give as gifts and/or serve at BBQ’s and partys.

Makes: Makes about 2kgs of marinated olives.

Time: Haven’t timed this one.

Freezing: Not suitable.

Spring Onion Pancakes

on April 9, 2012

Spring onion pancakes are a Northern Chinese dish, that you often see being cooked on the streets. I made these a couple of weeks ago while my parents were here, because they spent many years living in Hong Kong and Beijing.

They are called pancakes but have a pastry like texture. Some eateries in China make them quite thick and others cook them paper thin.

YOU NEED

250 grams of plain flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of oil

220mls of boiling water

1 and a 1/2 cups of washed, VERY well drained and finely sliced spring onions

sesame oil for cooking

YOU DO

Place the flour and salt into a bowl and mix to combine. Add the tablespoon of oil and the boiling water and mix everything with a wooden spoon. Once the mixture resembles dough, pop it onto a floured bench and knead it for a few minutes. Set it aside and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Place the dough on the bench and shape it into a long roll. Divide this roll into 24 pieces.

Using a rolling pin, roll each piece into a small circle. The circle should be approx 10cms in diameter.

Sprinkle some spring onion onto the circle and roll the circle into a skinny log. Gently press down on the log, to lightly flatten it. Then roll the log onto itself from one end to the other to form the shape of a snail and set it aside. Repeat this process with all the circles. Once they are all in a snail/coil shape. Allow them to rest for 15 minutes.

Finally, place the coils on their side and roll them back into a thin circle. Stack the completed circles of dough on top of each other, separated by floured baking paper. Allow them to rest for a final 15 minutes.

Heat a small pan with some sesame oil and cook the pancakes one at a time. Cook one side till golden, then flip them over and cook the other side. I like to sprinkle a little salt on them as I cook them, to bring the simple flavours out.

Serve straight away. They are beautiful served with a curry or rice or noodle dinner. Or just as a snack.

This is one of my more time consuming recipes, but if you love spring onions like I do, love Chinese food and you enjoy cooking, you will enjoy making (and eating) these too. They are simple, fragrant, crispy and delicious.

Yields: 24 pancakes

Time: 30 minutes of preparation and cooking, plus the resting times.

Notes: Make sure your spring onions are as dry as possible. Keep your bench clean, dry and well floured.

Creamy Vegetable Paprika Soup

on April 8, 2012

YOU NEED

1 cup of celery, diced

1 cup of carrot, diced

1 cup of purple sweet potato, diced

1 small brown onion, peeled and finely diced

2 litres of “chicken stock”

40 grams flour (I used quinoa but you can use plain white flour)

1 tablespoon of Hungarian sweet paprika

1 tablespoon of smoky paprika

125 ml of plant based milk (I used Bonsoy because it has a very creamy texture and it fares well in hot liquid.)

oil for cooking

YOU DO

Heat some oil in a medium pot. Add the onion, celery and carrot and cook on medium heat for a few minutes till they soften.

Add the paprika to the pot and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the flour and stir it through the pot ingredients.

Add ¼ of the stock and whisk briskly. Add the rest of the stock and whisk again till there are no flour lumps. Bring to the boil and add the milk.

Simmer on a medium heat for 30 mins. Then add the purple sweet potato and simmer for a further 15 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender.

Check the seasoning. I added 1 more teaspoon of “chicken stock” and 2 teaspoons of salt.

Serve. Enjoy.

Makes: 4 serves

Time: Haven’t timed this one

Freezing: Haven’t tried freezing this one because it contains potato and I haven’t had great results when freezing potato.

Notes: If you want a lower fat option simply omit the oil for water to sauté the vegetables.

Add more of each vegetable to make a dinner worthy soup.