I just may bite...

Our journey cooking from scratch took a turn a number of weeks ago when we decided to cut down our meat intake even further. We never have a lot of meat, around 100g per serve and always at least 2 nights a week with no meat but Simon and I decided to change that round and only eat meat 2 nights a week and eat vego style the other nights. 

Can I just say before I continue, that this is right for us. We enjoy eating like this and both have found it to have added health benefits we weren't expecting. We both have different reasons for cutting back the meat intake, Simon more for health reasons, me for more ethical reasons. I am not trying to "convert" you or guilt you or any other nonsense you can think of. This is our journey and we do what is right for us at that time.

When we first started cooking from scratch, way back in January (where has the year gone) when I received my beautiful bench mixer for Christmas people often asked us if we were on a diet, what we could and couldn't eat. They wouldn't offer me store bought biscuits for example cuz "oh you're on a diet aren't you?" Infuriating. (lets be honest though why would I want their crappy store bough biscuits when I could have my own home baked treats!) When you make a complete lifestyle change people have no problems commenting with their two cents (which often makes no sense) about what you should be doing. I often heard: "be careful you are eating the right foods", "HA! we eat three times as much meat as that mwahahah, you poor thing Simon.."

Apparently portion control, eating more vegies then meat, and mixing herbs and spices together, to create my own flavour combinations instead of opening a packet of seasoning which contains vegetable oils, sugar and additives to name but a few nasties, is something other people need to be

concerned about!

Times that concern (unwarranted) by 10 now.

Lets consider the following which are both true and real stories because they are about me.

2013 - Overweight, lacking energy, cooked dinner at home 3 -5 nights a week but our pantry was full of taco seasonings, packets of slow cooker flavourings, cup a soups etc etc etc, takeaways the other nights you get my drift... basically a terribly lifestyle.

Did ANYONE, EVER, question this lifestyle?? NO! Of course they didn't!!

January 2014 to September 2014- Started cooking from scratch. 8kg down. More energy. Sleeping slightly better. Skin is better. Wallet is better (cooking from scratch is cheaper than convenience foods). Pantry is full of seeds, nuts, flours, too many spices to count... nothing that is a one stop option! Everything has to be combined to create something delicious!

Did anyone ever question this lifestyle?? YES of course they did! At first they laughed and told me I wouldn't be able to stick to it. They got annoyed when I told them I couldn't go out for tea because I wanted to cook at home. They tried to tell me I was silly to do it when you can buy things to make it quicker. That THEY would never have time to do it because they work... for the record, I work. I

work full time. Three days I am in an office working for someone else. The other four days in the week and every weeknight I work for myself, trying to establish myself in the world of website design!! Yes when you work for yourself you do have time to step away and get some things ready for tea but anyone can be more prepared in the kitchen if they want to be.

October 2014 - Cut meat intake to 2 days maximum per week. This is more for Simon. I am not really interested in eating meat at all at the moment abut this allows us to eat meat when we are guests at someones home as our main concern with starting this was that we didn't want to inconvenience our families by telling them we are "Vegetarian" and sending them into a flap. So the two days a week is our buffer which we won't always use. Another 2 kg down. Started the gym, energy is increasing further. Sleeping soooo much better, waking is still difficult but I do go to bed late :-/ Skin is MUCH better. Wallet is even better. Pantry is full of things as above except I have lots of beans, chickpeas, chickpeas etc. Fridge is full of fresh delicious vegetables and a thousand eggs haha!

Did anyone question this lifestyle?? YES. CONSTANTLY. I AM STARTING TO BELIEVE THEY DO NOT HAVE THEIR OWN LIVES TO FOCUS ON. Yes I make sure we are getting enough protein. It might not look like it but I actually have a pretty good knowledge of food, I research meals to make sure we are getting a high nutritional value! Yes I understand that the extra weight loss and

other benefits are probably from the gym but combined with cutting out meat I feel I am doing even better. No, I don't feel like my life is over, have you not seen my meals? I would prefer delicious stuffed mushrooms over a hunk of steak! One I heard today: You might get hit buy a car tomorrow, you may as well enjoy it while you can! (Obviously implying that I will not enjoy my life without meat in it). What exactly can you eat is another question I get asked frequently... well obviously we can eat everything except meat or is a product that comes from the meat of an animal. The only time I have had difficulty with this was trying to make a vegetarian gravy, as obviously beef or chicken stock is out. But it turned out amazing with the help of every Australian's favourite yeast extract, Vegemite. Other than that our meals have been delicious and in the past week alone there have been two dishes that Simon has requested we put into high rotation for dinners.

Thanks to the power of the internet if I feel like a dish that we used to eat with meat in it I simply type vegetarian into the search bar before the name of the dish and up pops thousands of vegetarian variations which I then modify to suit us. Many of those dishes I then share with you.

I've calmed down a lot since I started writing this. Obviously I was just running hot from the comment mentioned before, how good is it to be able to get feelings out!

I am not here to preach to you about what foods to eat. If I inspire one of you to clear out your pantry of processed convenience foods then I will be insanely proud. The point I am trying to make is how sad it is, that the social norm is a high meat, highly processed, low fat, high sugar diet and anything else is weird and frightening and "no fun". Instead of questioning each others food choices why don't we find out why and how people have made come to that decisions to eat that way. What works for one may not work for another and it can take a long time to figure out the best way and foods for you to eat to maintain a healthy body and mind.

Do you ever get questioned on your "different from the norm" eating habits? I'd love to hear what foods go on the table at your house.

As always Happy Cooking! (from scratch!)

Erica xxx

Lentil Bolognese

I’ve been having certain negative and guilty feelings lately about food. This is NOT normal for me, I do not get guilty over food. Sometimes I might regret certain food decisions while I am laying on the floor struggling to breath from over consumption of something particularly delicious but I have always felt there is no room in my life for food guilt. I eat what I like and I enjoy it thoroughly, especially now that we eat real food! But in the last 6 months or so I have started getting a real complex about eating meat. I aways try to buy meat that is Organic, Free Range and Family Farmed if possible as I like to know that the hunk of meat I am about to tuck into had a good life, and was slaughtered in a way that was least stressful. But I can’t do it anymore. Even writing about it now makes me feel terrible. Don’t get me wrong… I LOVE meat. It is DELICIOUS but I just can’t stop thinking about the animals while I am eating it.

So we are taking a break. You will have heard me before saying that I don’t like labelling people in certain food types so I won’t label us as “Vegetarian” although for the time being that is how we are eating. Dairy and Eggs are ok (although I have certain views on that as well but one step at a time) but no meat or meat by products (which means no pan gravy!!!) I also don’t want to be a problem and make a big deal of it, I am not trying to “convert” or change anyone else’s food habits (although I do want you all to start cooking your food from scratch!!!) and we certainly don’t want people to find us difficult to feed etc.  (although if you are planning on inviting us over, I would prefer not to have a steak… oh god I love steak.)

So the recipes I will be sharing in the immediate future will be meat free. Most will be adapted from our favourite meat dishes so it’s just substituting one meat thing for something else so feel free to add your own meat in!!

Do NOT be afraid of lentils. I have never cooked with them before but they turned out great! We really did not miss the meat at all in this dish it was so hearty and rich and delicious! Do not knock it until you try it!!

Lentil Bolognese

Ingredients

Olive OIl
1 ½ Cup Lentils (Dried or Tinned)
½ Cup Dry White Wine
2 Cans Crushed Tomatoes
½ Cup Water
1 Brown Onion chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic crushed
Italian Herbs, Fresh or Dried, Basil, Thyme, Oregeno ½ cup of each fresh, 1 tablespoon each dried
Pinch or Two of Salt
Pasta to serve (we used to gnocchi, but any pasta would work!) make your own here.

Method

Brown your Onion and Garlic for a few minutes in a large saucepan with a dash of olive oil.

Add the Cans of Tomatoes, Wine, Lentils, Herbs and one pinch of salt

Give all the ingredients a good stir in the pot making sure everything is mixed thoroughly.

Put the lid on the saucepan and let simmer at a medium low heat for 30-40 minutes stirring frequently (if using tinned lentils you can probably halve this time and you will not need to add the extra water)

If using dried lentils, you will need to add the ½ cup of water at some stage during the cooking process as they will suck up all the liquid from the tomatoes pretty quick smart. I would suggest you keep an eye on the sauce and just put a bit of the water in when required.

When the lentils soften, taste and add salt as required.

Cook your pasta and when that is done simply drain and serve with Lentil Bolognese over the top!

 

Sprinkle some parmesan cheese for extra bite!

Happy Cooking, (from scratch!)
Erica

Mexican Chicken Salad

Monday nights have become very short on time for us! I've started doing a makeup course (one of my many other loves) which starts at 7, so by the time I walk home from work (yes I am lucky enough to live close enough to my work to walk! Having lived in Melbourne I REALLY appreciate it!!) get changed and redo my make-up for the course there isn't much time leftover to make a delicious and nutricious meal for Simona and myself! (Annie's food is pre packaged up in little bags of tasy meat rice and vegies so we just tip it in her bowl and she is happy!) But us humans have been sufering slightly. Eggs on toast has become a regular occurance, and though Simon hasn't complained (he'd eat eggs on toast every night of the week if I let him) I feel a bit slack, and after slacking off slightly on the weekends I feel like something healthy!!

 

It was such a nice day yesterday, it felt like summer, so I got all excited and decided to make a salad!!

This one is super simple yet deliciously tasty, and like a lot of my recipes modifiable for your dietry requirements. Its gluten free, dairy free, wheat free, leave out the chicken for vegetarian/vegan options and you can remove the beans and corn if you are paleo (although it would eliminate the "mexican" edge a fair bit)!

Mexican Chicken Salad 

 Serves 3-4 for a light meal

1 capsicum

1 red onion

1 chilli

2 tomatoes

Lettuce (as much or as little as you want)

1/2 cup- 1 cup of chopped fresh coriander

1 cob of corn

1 - 2 chicken breasts and thigh meat from a previously roasted chicken

1 tin of three bean mix

1 -2 lime

Teaspoon Cumin

Teaspoon Garlic Powder

Teapsoon Paprika

2 tablespoons olive oil

 

Method

1. Chop the capiscum, red onion, chilli, tomatoes, lettuce and place into a large salad bowl.

2. Tip your beans into a colander to strain, then tip beans into your bowl.

Remove the leaves and "hair" from your corn and cut off the kernals. I find it easiest to lay the cob  horizontal and slice off the kernals in a big strip, then turn and do another strip and so on until all the kernals or off. Put into your salad bowl.

3. Chop your chicken roughly and into the bowl!

4. In a seperate little bowl squeeze your limes and mix together with the cumin, garlic powder, paprika and olive oil until combined. Pour into your salad bowl with the other ingredients.

5. Toss your salad. ha ha

 

Serve! The lime comes through in little bursts of freshness as oes the coriander. You could serve with homade tortillas! Leftovers make a great lunch when you remember to get the container out of the fridge before you walk out the door :(

 

Happy cooking! (from scratch)

Erica xx

Reader Request! Asian Wontons (Dumplings, Pots Stickers tiny morsels of deliciousness)

I had a request from a friend for a recipe for Dumplings/Wonton's. I love them yum yum, and they are soooooo versitile. You can pre make and cook them in advance then reheat for parties, put them in a soup, eat them as a entree, a main, hell you could even eat them as dessert if you are so inclined! They can be vegetarian, or full of meat, what a delicious tasty treat!! I don't have any of my own photos at the moment so please enjoy the google supplied image below haha!

Ingredients

• 1 cup roughly shredded Chinese cabbage (Wombok)
• 2-3 spring onions sliced roughly
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 whole chilli (seeds optional)
• 2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
• ½ a kilo of pork or chicken mince
• 1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 package wonton wrappers (in the Fridge in the pasta section, You can get round or square, both work the same). You can make your own Wonton Wrappers. I have tried twice and neither time was it very successful.
• Cooking spray (I use coconut oil)
• 2 cups water
• Soy Sauce or Sweet Chilli Sauce to Serve

Method

1. Put Cabbage, Spring Onions, soy sauce, chilli, ginger, mince, chestnuts and garlic into a food processer and give it a few quick spins. This combines the ingredients and minces it all up. You want the mixture to stick together.

2. Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to keep from drying), spoon about 1 teaspoon filling into center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of wrapper with water (a pastry brush is very handy to brush over the edges). Bring 2 opposite corners together, pinching points together to seal. Bring the remaining 2 corners to center; pinch points to seal. Pinch 4 edges together to seal. Place dumpling, seam side up, to the side. Repeat procedure with remaining wrappers and filling to form the dumplings. Continue until all the mixture is gone. Coat dumplings with cooking spray.

3. Place a large nonstick frying pan (one with a lid if possible) over medium-high heat. Arrange 10-15 dumplings, seam sides up, in the pan; cook 30 seconds or until the bottom is browned. Add 1/2 cup water to pan; cover and cook 5 minutes. Uncover and cook 1 minute or until liquid evaporates. Remove dumplings from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining dumplings and water.

 

4.Serve immediately with a soy sauce, or sweet chilli sauce or a peanut sauce or... you get the gist, whatever delicious sauce you desire!

ALTERNATIVE COOKING METHOD 1

If you prefer to have your dumpling steamed then you can invest in some bamboo steamers (any supermarket or cooking supply store has these).  Fill a saucepan of water and sit your steamers on top. Bring the water to a simmer. Line each basket on the steamer with a piece of baking paper and sit your dumplings on top. Steam for approximately 5-10 minutes.

ALTERNATIVE COOKING METHOD 2

You can also deep fry your dumplings if you prefer tasty crunchy mouthfuls of deliciousness (can you tell I love dumplings hahaha). Heat a saucepan of oil or your deep fryer. Test the oil by putting a cube of bread in the oil. It should turn brown fairly quickly but not burn. You do not want your oil too hot or the wonton wrappers will burn. Similarly you do not want your oil too low or the wontons will just absorb the oil and go soggy not crispy.

 

 

Feel free to eat them all at once, in one giant mouthful like Kung Fu Panda would do... thats how I eat them hahaha!

Happy Cooking! (From Scratch)

Erica xx

Homemade BBQ Sauce

Have you ever been really driven to do/make something and found it insanely difficult to find an easy way to do it? That's the problem I came across when wanting to make a BBQ sauce to go with our pulled pork tonight!! Should it be this hard to find a recipe for a sauce that was actually from scratch? There are hundreds of recipes on the internet for BBQ sauces that contain Worcestershire sauce and pre-made tomato sauce/ketchup, but I struggled so much to find one that didn't contain either one or both of those two ingredients, which themselves contain lots of ingredients, and when store bought contain many additives and extra's that I go to great pains to avoid in our daily cooking!!! I decided to do what I have done quite a number of times and simply read the ingredients on the back of a bottle of BBQ sauce and then use the key ingredients to make at home! Added bonus... it turned out quite a bit simpler than I thought it would be!! I will store the rest in the fridge, as this made around 500 mls and use during the week on other meals!

Homemade BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

Can of diced tomatoes

50g of tomato paste

1 medium sized chilli chopped roughly

1 onion chopped roughly

1 garlic clove chopped roughly

4 tablespoons of brown sugar (you could substitute with Rice Malt Syrup for a fructose free version)

1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon of Smoked Paprika

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

pinch (and I do mean a small pinch of crushed cloves (or 1 clove)

Method

Put all ingredients in a saucepan

Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer until the sauce has reduced to a thick consistency.

As with most of my recipes, make sure you taste as it is simmering and add any extra's of the ingredients as required to taste!

Whiz it up in a blender so its nice and smooth and wallah!! Your very own homemade BBQ Sauce ready to pop on... anything!!!

Hope you enjoy this recipe!! If you would like to request me to cook something you have struggled to find a recipe for simply respond below and I shall see what I can do!!

Till next time, Happy Cooking (from scratch!)

Erica xx

Beef Stroganoff!

I was sitting here thinking about food (nothing new) and realised that unlike other food bloggers I never really have a clever little back story to go with my recipes, nothing that really details why I decided to cook a certain dish that day, how it tasted, what the weather was doing that day, what colour underpants we all had on (Annie the Poodle included)…

Truth is, there generally isn’t a rosy cheeked sunny day kind of story to accompany a dish like Beef Stroganoff. I saw a jar of strog sauce in the supermarket and decided to try and cook it from scratch. That’s the end of that exciting story! It reminds me of my childhood, but it was never my favourite dish so I don’t get all warm and fuzzy like I would thinking about Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings. 

I think about food from the minute I wake up till the minute I go to bed, throwing some sporadic thoughts about work in there and occasionally day dreaming about how many cosmetic products I could buy if I was a millionaire (too damn many that’s how many!!) but that's about as interesting as it gets... I know, not that interesting haha!

However my food thinking is now fairly focused on what other classic home style dishes that really don’t take much longer to cook with fresh whole ingredients rather than packet seasoning or a jar of anaemic looking sauce… I need suggestions!! I am going to cook a Steak and Mushroom Shepherds pie hybrid tonight which I cannot WAIT to put into my mouth! (note: I ended up making two, plus had SOOO much meat left over so now have at least 6 meals out of one batch of meat! I bought a 1.2 kilo blade roast which was $9 a kilo and cooked for around 1.5 hours with seasonings etc on the stovetop, but it would be great in the slow cooker! The meat was SOOOO tender!)

OK so here it is, what you have read through all that nonsense to get to... *drum roll please* Introducing Beef Stroganoff recipe which I based on the same by Julie Goodwin who wont the first Australian Masterchef! I just made changes to the type of steak and made it gluten free by using cornflour instead of plain flour! This ended up being one of our absolute favourite "from scratch" meals I have made... I was positively delicious!!

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

1 kg steak, trimmed and sliced very thinly 

(I used the heart smart steak from Woolworths as it was on special)

1/3 cup corn flour

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika

¼ cup coconut oil

300g button mushrooms, sliced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

¼ cup tomato paste

½ cup beef stock 

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

300ml sour cream

Method

ombine the flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a bowl.  Toss the beef strips through the mixture so they are well coated.

In a large, non-stick fyring pan, heat ¼ of the oil over high heat.  Place 1/3 of the beef mixture into the pan and cook, tossing and stiring for 2 minutes until it is golden brown. Repeat this process with remaining oil and beef mixture. Removing the cooked beef before putting a new lot in.

Remove the last of the beef from the frying pan and sit aside.

Reduce the heat to medium high.  

Place the last of the oil in the pan and cook the mushrooms and garlic until softened. 

 Add tomato paste and stir for a further minute.  

Add stock, Worcestershire sauce and sour cream to the pan.  

Return the beef and stir for a minute or two until well combined and warmed through.

We served with mashed potato as I had some potatoes that needed to be used, but would also be fantastic served with pasta!

Steam some greens and serve on top. This is sure to be a family favourite, especially in the darkest depths of winter!

Share your photos with me if you make this, I would love to see them!

Happy Cooking (from scratch!)

Erica xx

Super Quick and Easy Poached Chicken!

How to poach chicken for salad, pizza etc... In under 20 minutes?! EASY!

This recipe is for ONE chicken breast which will easily feed two people possibly three depending on the dish you are preparing the chicken for. It last us two meals. so really it fed four, but we don't eat large amounts of meat, on the occasions we do eat it :) I would simply increase the cooking and resting times if you are poaching a larger amount. I am yet to poach a whole chicken, I will give it a go soon and let you know how long to do it for!

Super Quick and East Poached Chicken

Ingredients

1 large chicken breast

2 cloves of garlic

Few slices of lemon

2-3 Bay leaves (optional)

Method

Pop all ingredients in a pot of water and bring to the boil

Simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat with the lid on

Remove from heat and leave sitting in the pot with the lid on for a minimum of 10 minutes

Your poached chicken is done! Told you it was easy!!

I made a roast vegetable salad and topped with chicken, but have also used the chicken for sandwiches and on pizza!

Roast Vegetable Salad

Cooking with Artichoke - Antipasto Pizza!

Hands up if you have cooked with artichoke before? No? Me either! I had a request on Facebook to give it a go, and as they where on special at Coles for just $1 I though "why not"! I know some of you obviously will have used it, and know much more about it than I do but it was definitely a new experience for me and to be honest not something I will probably cook with regularly. 

It is a nice, quite a mild flavoured vegetable, not unlike asparagus but it was a bit of mucking around to cook it.

I decided to use it on top of a antipasto type pizza along with my homemade pizza base, homemade pizza sauce (tin of tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, basil, oregano, salt cook until liquid has reduced), olives, semi sundried tomatoes, salami, red onion and homemade ricotta.

Cooking Artichoke

Ingredients

1 artichoke, with the stem chopped off as per the above picture, clip any very dry or rough point bits off with scissors

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

1 bay leave

Method

Put all ingredients in a pot of water.

Bring to the boil then reduce to a medium/low heat and simmer, with the lid on for up to 45 minutes.

Once nice and soft remove from heat and leave to cool.

Pull the "leaves" off (are they called leaves? I am not sure) and scrape the softness from the inside of the leaves

I am pretty sure you can eat them as is, scraping the soft insides off with your teeth. I was a bit lazy here I will admit, I pulled most of the leaves off until I got to the nice soft heart which is the bit I mainly used. I just ripped it up and put on top of the pizza. I probably didn't use as much of the artichoke as I could have, it made me a bit nervous haha!

I might get a few more and try marinating them to eat on a platter, but I did read after cooking you can use like a chip for dips so that might be an option as well!!

It was a really nice flavour on top of the somewhat salty pizza.

In conclusion I feel like I failed a wee bit with this challenge. I am sure that there is a lot more to artichokes than I gave it credit for. 

Do you have any good artichoke recipes you can share with me? Would love to give it a go again doing something different!

Happy Cooking (from scratch!)

Erica xx

Homemade Ricotta

Don't be nervous, this is such a simple thing to make and it is SO DELICIOUS.  I make it to use straight away, it wouldn't last long anyway! It's great in salads, on pizza, on toast with honey, on its own... its damn delicious!!!

Apparently this is a very similar way to making paneer cheese (Indian Cheese) so if you give that a go let me know!

Please excuse the crappy photo!!

Homemade Ricotta

Ingredients

2 litres full cream milk

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons cream

4 tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice 

(I prefer to use vinegar for this one, just gives a little bit more of a bite than lemon juice)

Method

Place the milk, salt and cream in a saucepan and heat until almost boiling (it needs heat to curdle properly).

Then add the vinegar and stir it once or twice very gently just to distribute the vinegar. Do not constantly stir, just leave it be.

Simmer for 1-2 minutes and then allow to sit for 10 minutes and most of the ricotta curds will float to the top leaving the whey at the bottom.

Line a pasta drainer with cheesecloth (I used a very thin brand new pillow case as I didn't have cheesecloth, which worked well) and place it over a large bowl to drain.

Gently pour the ricotta mixture through the cheesecloth and the whey will separate at the bottom in a clearish yellow liquid and the soft and creamy ricotta will sit at the top.

You can mold the ricotta into a ball by holding all the sides of the cloth, twist the cloth so the cheese is in a ball at the bottom. This will also help to drain out any excess liquid.

Your ricotta is now ready to use! If you want a more solid ricotta, drain for an hour or overnight. 

Keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge in an airtight container, use a little bit of the whey in the container to keep the cheese moist.

Happy Cooking (from scratch!)

Erica xx

Pizza Dough

Here is a great recipe that I always use for delicious Pizza Dough! This batch will make roughly two pizza's :)

Pizza Dough

Ingredients

375 ml (1 1/2 cups) warm water

2 tsp (7g/1 sachet) dried yeast

Pinch of caster sugar

600 g (4 cups) plain flour

1 tsp salt

60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil, plus extra for brushing

Method

Combine the water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy. 

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture and oil.

Use a round-bladed knife in a cutting motion to mix until the mixture is combined. 

Use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl.

Brush a bowl lightly with oil. 

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. 

Place in the prepared bowl and turn to coat in oil. 

Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draught-free place to rise for 30 minutes or until dough doubles in size.

Roll out to the size of your pizza tray.

I like to pre cook the dough for 10 minutes or so, but note it will shrink slightly if you do this. Its not essential but I find if you load the pizza up too much the dough won't cook properly :)

Look what happened last time I made the dough... its EXPLODED THROUGH THE PLASTIC hahaha!

Happy Cooking Pizza! (From scratch!)

Erica x

Raw Walnut Chocolate Tart

Please see my last post for an explanation or if you don’t have time, basically a friend asked me to cook something that came under the banner of both Paleo and Clean Eating. I wanted to make a dessert too, to show that even a treat doesn’t have to be laden with sugar and white flour!

I hope you enjoy!

This original recipe has been adapted from Our Paleo Life. Please give me a shout out if you go over to visit them!

 

 

 

Raw Walnut Chocolate Tart

Ingredients

2 small tart tins roughly 10- 15cm across

Crust
1 cup of nut flour.

(I used walnuts as I had them in the cupboard but use any nut you like (except peanuts). Whiz them in a blender until they are very crumbly and a bit flour like. Not too long though or they will turn into butter!!)
2 tsp Raw Cocao
3 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted (20sec on the microwave)
1 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup (or Rice Malt Syrup for Fructose Free!)
⅛ tsp Sea Salt

Filling
3 Tbsp Coconut Oil
4 Tbsp Coconut Milk
 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup (Or Rice Malt Syrup)
6 Tsp Raw Cacao Powder
½ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Method

Crust
In a medium bowl, add all crust ingredients and stir with a fork until evenly combined.
Divide mixture in half and press evenly into the bottom and sides of the prepared tart tins.

 

Filling
Heat coconut oil, coconut milk, and maple syrup together in the microwave until the coconut oil has melted. I did two bursts of 30 seconds.
Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth and glossy.
Whisk in the vanilla just until combined.
Pour the filling mixture evenly between the 2 prepared tart tins.
Place the tarts in the fridge for 1 hour or until they are set (mine didn’t take that long :D)
Garnish with some berries, stir together some coconut cream and vanilla essence and pour over the top.

Enjoy!

 

I found my tarts were a little bit… tart, or had that bitterness that very dark chocolate does. If you are not a fan of that bitterness, or you are an absolute sugar lover then I recommend you add a bit more maple syrup (rice malt syrup) and vanilla essence!

 

 

Happy Cooking (from Scratch!)

 

Erica xx

Paleo and Clean Eating Challenge... Mexican Mince in Cabbage Leaves

I love a challenge in the kitchen, but sometimes find it hard to think of new things that I would like to have a go at cooking. I’ve just gone live with my Facebook page and a friend suggested to me that I allow people to send through a request on something, either a certain food or meal, or cuisine, they would like to me see me come up with a recipe for. GREAT IDEA I said, you can be first!!!

 

A healthy lifestyle is very important to her so she asked if I would be able to make a meal that was both Paleo, and considered clean eating. What a task!! Have you ever seen the do not eat list for Paleo? You can check it out here. We eat a considerable amount of it, in particular beans and legumes, a staple food in a lot of my vegan meals!! We don’t eat a huge amount of sugar so that was easy, but I do love nothing more than freshly baked bread out of the over, so that was definitely out too! I wanted to make something that was filling, but that adhered to the allowable food on Paleo (which actually is A LOT, avoid beans and legumes, wheat and grains, sugar and starchy vegetables like potato and I think your headed in the right direction) and also make a dish that was clean, which as far as I understand, means whole foods like meat and vegetables and keeping the food as close to its original form as possible. I hope I achieved both please let me know if you have any tips for me or you think I haven’t got it quite right! Surprisingly a lot of the food we cook at home is actually Paleao and a lot of it is also Clean (I probably tend to use my homemade shortcrust pastry just a wee bit too often haha)

I made a main and a dessert, just to show that delicious tasty treats don’t have to be packed full of sugar and can fit under the “Clean” and “Paleo” headings! The main was stuffed full of vegies and also tasted delish!!

 

Please enjoy

Mexican Mince in Cabbage Leaves

(perhaps it needs a new name… doesn’t sound exceptionally appetising hahaha)

Ingredients

1kg Mince (I used beef, but any mince will be nice!)
2 grated carrots
1 large onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic squished, or very finely chopped
Big bag full of baby spinach
50g of pinenuts
1-2 chillis chopped and de-seeded (de-seeding is optional depending on your desire for heat)
½ cup chopped coriander
1 large red capsicum chopped
1 tin tomatoes
2 tablespoons each of cumin and smoked paprika
1-2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 whole baby cabbage

 

Method

Pop a bit of oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Once heated put in your garlic and onion until soft then put in mince and brown.

While mince is browning chop up the capsicum and grate the carrot. Add to the mince along with the chilli, baby spinach, pinenuts, coriander and tin tomatoes.

Add your spices, and salt.

Reduce heat to low, give everything a good stir and let simmer, stiring, and tasting occasionaly for around 30 minutes or most of the liquid has evaporated. Add more spices and salt as needed.

While the mince is cooking pop your whole baby cabbage in a steamer over a pot of water on medium-high heat. Remove from heat once the cabbage starts to feel “soft”.

Remove cabbage from steamer and very very gently peel back the leaves. You will need to cut them at the base to remove from the cabbage.

Put some cooked mince mixture into a leaf then roll like you would a burrito! Fold the top and the bottom over then one side over, then the other side, pulling gently but tightly. Once you have done all your cabbage rolls, sit them back in the steamer over medium heat for 5 minutes. This will help the cabbage to seal.

I tried both red and green cabbage… while the green cabbage went a bit transparent it stuck together much better than the red. Both tasted nice!

If you would like to challenge me to cook something, whether it be a type of food or a particular item of food, leave a comment below or email me at yearofcooking@outlook.com.au 

 

Happy Cooking (from scratch!)
Erica xx

Homemade Easy Peasy Onion Rings!

How good are onion rings?!! Damn good. Delicious crunchy batter, sweet tasty insides, they are the perfect accompaniment to almost any meal! Not the healthiest, as they are fried, but cook them in olive or coconut oil for a better oil choice!

We had ours with our steak tonight!

Fried Onion Rings

Ingredients

3 large brown onions

1/2 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup milk

cooking oil for deep frying (I prefer coconut or olive oil)

Method

Serves around 6 people (or 1-2 very hungry onion ring loving people haha)

Wash and peel onions, cut into 1/2 cm thick rounds. 

Separate rounds into rings. 

In a bowl, combine flour, seasonings, and baking powder. 

In a measuring cup, whisk together egg and milk.

 Add milk mixture to dry ingredients, blending well. 

Dip onion rings into batter, then place into oil, one at a time at about 185 degrees celcius. (To test your oil, drop a small piece of bread into the oil, it should brown quickly, rather than sink and go soggy!)

Fry until golden brown, turning to brown both sides. 

Remove to paper towels or brown paper bag to drain thoroughly. 

Sprinkle with a little salt before serving.

Keep your rings warm, and to help them stay crunchy, in a warm oven (around 150 degrees) while you cook the rest!

Happy Cooking (from Scratch!)

Erica xx

I love bacon... but I also love pigs.

It's bacon week! I LOVE bacon! It's definitely one of the number of reasons I could never be completely vegetarian. The delicious salty flavour enhances so many different dishes, its delicious on it's own or in a sandwich, with eggs... we all KNOW it's awesome.

However I also love pigs... they are super cute, super smart and unfortunately exceptionally mistreated.

Did you know sow stall pigs can spend their whole lives cramped in a tiny space, unable to turn around? I'm not here to guilt you, but the decisions we make at the butcher and the supermarket can definitely help to move the meat industry forward into a far more humane way of farming.

I was in the supermarket the other day to purchase some bacon for our caesar salad we had last night. The first supermarket I was in (I visited two as the first one did not have free range), have made a lot of noise recently about making the decision for their own branded pork to be "sow stall free". While this is a step in the right direction, it still means the life of the pig up until it becomes your dinner, isn't exactly pleasant.

This is what the RSPCA website says about Sow Stall Free Pigs:

"The term 'sow-stall free' is used to differentiate pork product from pigs that have been born to sows in group housing. The pig industry defines 'sow-stall free' as a system where a sow may have been kept in a stall for up to 5 days following last mating up to one week before farrowing; however, other definitions allow only one day in a stall. These stalls are called 'mating stalls', are very similar to a sow stall, and are used at mating to prevent aggression between sows and hence potential injury or abortion. Following this period of confinement, the sow is housed in groups with other pregnant sows."

What this doesn't mention is that the mother pig is kept in this stall, for 6 weeks whilst feeding her piglets, twice a year. The piglets, when weaned from their mothers, are then kept in small indoor pens, on concrete floors, in a shed until they reach the right weight for slaughter.

Here's a tricky one... what is the difference between Bred Free Range and Free Range?? This got me, while I was standing staring at the bacon for a considerable length of time. In the past I know that I have grabbed Bred Free Range, in fact the brand of bacon that I always buy has those words on it! So what's the difference?

"‘Bred free range’ is a term used to apply to pig products (pork, bacon, etc) from pigs that were born in a free-range environment but were subsequently raised indoors. These pigs may be raised in large open sheds with straw bedding (known as ecoshelters) or in small pens on concrete floors as in conventional pig farming systems.

The RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme requires that pork marketed as RSPCA ‘bred free-range’ comes from farms where sows and boars range freely outside, piglets are born outside on the range and, once weaned, are raised in ecoshelters with straw bedding."

So it's defiantly a better life than living in a stall for the mumma and pappa pigs, Not so great still for the bacon, I mean piglets!!

"Free-range pork comes from pigs that were born and raised with free access to the outdoors. That is, where the sows and growing piglets have access to paddocks, as well as huts or other forms of housing for shelter, and are not confined to sow stalls (for pregnant sows) or farrowing crates (for lactating sows and their piglets).

The RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme requires that pigs live in a well-managed outdoor system, or within enhanced indoor environments that cater for all their behavioural and physiological needs, or a combination of both (referred to as 'bred free range'). You would not see sow stalls or farrowing crates on an RSPCA Approved pig farm. All pigs are reared, handled and transported with consideration and care and then slaughtered humanely."

Free Range life sounds alright to me! Surely a happier more carefree existence means nicer tasting meat? Ever had bacon from a family farmed pig? Its delicious. Way more delicious than normal. Incredible.

I know there is a cost factor... anything Free Range is going to cost more than something pumped out in factory like conditions, but you have to consider that these pigs give their life so you can eat that scrumptious bacon sandwich.

The more people choose the free range options at the register, the bigger the message it sends to the farmers that we won't accept second best, and that we want to see Farm Animals treated with respect!

Let's celebrate Bacon Week, with delicious Free Range Bacon. The pigs, and your taste buds will thank you for it!

Happy Cooking (from Scratch!)

Erica xx

For further reading check out the RSPCA website and Humane Choice

Easy Lunchbox Savoury Muffins

I've been exceptionally hungry of late, I am always hungry but this was on top of my usual appetite. I am currently doing the Global Corporate Challenge and have to do in excess of 10,000 steps each day so that's what I am putting the excessive hunger down to! While I was scrounging around like a mad woman looking for something delicious to curb the hunger pangs before dinner (and so I didn't eat everything before I had a chance to cook it) I realised that I hadn't whipped up any filling snacks in a loooooooong time!! Poor Simon!!! So while I munched on some dates, and cooked tea I had a think about what I could make that would be good to take to work, as well as an after work quick snack that wasn't full of sugar... then my a hah moment... Savoury Muffins!!!

This is a really great standard recipe that I modify each time with something different to mix it up. It's very yummy, full of vegies and depending on the ingredients can be a guilt free snack between meals.

Easy Lunchbox Savoury Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 small zucchini, grated

1 small carrot, grated

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

125 g butter, melted

optional: Mild Salami, Cup of Cheese (tasty or Fetta, grated or chopped up very small), tomato, baby spinach, ham, bacon... anything you can think of really!!

Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan. For extra protection line base of each hole with rounds of baking paper.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Place zucchini and carrot in a large sheet of paper towel. Squeeze out excess moisture. Add vegetables, and optional ingredients. If using grated cheese only use half. 

Stir to combine.

Whisk eggs, milk and butter in a jug. Add to dry ingredients. Using a large metal spoon, stir until just combined. 

Two-thirds fill muffin holes with mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

 Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand for 5 minutes in pan. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.

I used Salami and Fetta in my Muffins. I also poked a cherry tomato into each of mine for an extra bit of flavour and sprinkled some parmesan cheese on top!

Just you try and stop yourself from eating them all at once! They are delicious!!!

Happy Cooking (from scratch!)

Erica xx

Marco Pierre White's Carbonara

We LOVE Masterchef. I cannot state that more plainly but we just love it. We've watched all the seasons, the American Version, and the Kids Version (both Aus and US). It totally inspires both of us in the kitchen (well it inspires Simon to tell me what he wants me to make in the kitchen haha)! It's not actually until this year though that I have been brave enough to try out some of the recipes that the contestants, guest chefs and hosts cook! Stay tuned for more Masterchef inspired recipes (Quinoa Risotto anyone???)

Carbonara is delicious and definitely a family favourite, especially in this house! This one is especially easy and absolutely ridicuosly delicious! Some say you never use cream in a carbonara, but personally I have found it just doesn't have that same level of creaminess (funnily enough!!).

Marco Pierre White's Carbonara

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 slices pancetta

500 g pasta 

(packet is fine, but nothing beats making your own pasta! It takes some time but you will not go back to packet after making it!)

8 egg yolks

½ cup thickened cream

grated parmesan cheese, for serving

salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.

Lay pancetta on a baking tray and place in the oven to bake until crispy, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to a board and cut into 2cm pieces. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil over high heat, using a deep frying pan as a lid. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente or to your liking.

While the pasta is cooking, whisk egg yolks and cream together with a fork.

Action shots haha!

The easiest way, I personally find, to seperate eggs is to crack the egg in half, then with a bowl underneath, tip the half with the yolk back into the half without the yolk. Go back and forth tipping it back into the empty half untill all the white has slipped into the bowl. Be gentle and take your time, the white may pull at the yolk as it is slipping off so dont be afraid to give it a little push with your finger. Broke the yolk? Try again :)
Save the white for other recipes like scrambled eggs. It can be frozen!

Drain cooked pasta and add to the warmed fry pan and set over medium heat. Add egg/cream mixture and toss to combine.

Sprinkle serving plates with grated parmesan cheese and cooked pancetta. Add some cooked spaghetti. Complete layering until all pasta and pancetta have been used. Season to taste.

This step is really important because it means you get a taste of all the flavours with every mouthful!

Season with a sprinkling of salt if you so desire, a nice crusty roll and a glass of wine! Perfect Friday Meal!!

What inspires you in the kitchen? I would love to know! :)

Happy cooking (from scratch!)

Erica xx

Super Simple Pasta Recipe

We bought a pasta machine about 18 months ago. In the first year we used it once. Ok so it broke and we had to get a new one, but it sat on the bench, in the box, broken for many many months so obviously we were going out of our minds wanting to use it... not.

Deciding to start cooking from scratch in January I realised this meant cooking pasta, a staple food in our house so I quick smart headed down to Harris Scarfe to exchange our pasta machine for one in working order! We have a Woman's Weekly pasta machine which cost us around $40 on special.

Image from harrisscarfe.com.au

Simon has nominated himself as the chief pasta maker in this house, which suits me fine as he is able to make it as soon as he gets home from work and sit it in the fridge to rest, then when I get home it gives me a chance to work on the sauce, and cook any meat we are using.

Once you go homemade pasta, you will never go back. The only thing that comes close at the supermarket is if you get egg pasta from the pasta section in the fridge, but even then it doesn't have the same freshness as homemade.

I do recommend investing in a pasta machine if you want to start making it. It will make your life infinitely easier than rolling out all the dough and hand cutting. Even if you do need lasagna sheets or handcut pasta, using the machine to roll will save you time and a lot of effort. Some bench mixers come with a pasta attachment, so if you have one check it out before rushing out to buy.

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 eggs

200grams Plain White Flour

(yep thats it.)

Method

Put your flour into a bowl, or mound onto your bench. Make a well in the flour (a hole) and break in one egg at a time. 

Mix with a fork.

Once combined, knead the dough until it is smooth on a floured bench. The dough should "bounce back" when you push on it lightly.

If you find your mixture is too wet, add SMALL amounts of flour and mix in. If your dough is too dry add teenie little drops of water and mix until all the flour is incorporated.

Mould your kneaded dough into a ball, wrap in cling wrap and sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Set your pasta machine up on the side of your bench (follow the instructions that come with your particular machine). 

Get your dough out of the fridge and flour it slightly if it is a bit sticky. Halve your dough and feed one section at a time through the roller starting at the widest setting (ours is 1.) Fold the rolled dough in thirds then feed through again. Repeat this 3 or four times before moving onto setting 2. Gradually move up the settings, feeding the dough through a few times on each setting. If your dough starts getting a bit sticky lightly flour it and also sprinkle some on the roller on your machine.

Your dough will start getting quite long, depending on the length you want your pasta, or your ability to roll through a huge long piece of dough simply cut in half.

Repeat with your other half of dough until you have long super flat sheets of pasta.

On the other side of your machine is the cutters. Feed your dough through, just as you did on the roller side in either the fettuccine or spaghetti section (if your machine has these options) You can generally change the width and thickness of the pasta in the cutting sections as well. 

I always jump in to help Simon at this stage, an extra pair of hands is much appreciated!

Drape your cut pasta over the back of a chair or as you can see we like to use a clothes horse haha!!

Your pasta is ready to be cooked!! It won't take as long to cook as packet pasta so make sure you pull a piece out of your water and sample mid cook to see when it is done to your liking!

Serve with your favourite homemade pasta sauce!

A simple one is a can of tinned tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, tablespoon of dried oregano, few sprigs of rosemary de-stalked a really good pinch of salt and a splash of red wine (in your pot and your glass!) Cooked over medium heat until it reduces slightly and the alcohol cooks off.

Happy Cooking (from scratch!)

Erica xx

Beef Fajitas

I am not claiming to be an expert on Mexican food. Just a lover of it. The spices the absolute deliciousness of it, the spices the freshness, did I mention the spices? I just LOVE it! It's a massive toss up between Thai and Mexican to my favourite cuisine at the moment!

This is my recipe for Beef Fajitas! It's a bit of a favourite in our household, and its a quick and easy dish to throw together, especially if you premake your tortillas! The smokey flavour from the paprika, matched with the sweetness from the capsicum and onion is delicious!

Beef Fajitas

Ingredients

Serves 2-3 (we only eat a maximum of 150g of red meat per serve so this leaves leftovers for us. Obviously some of you will eat more than that)

500 grams of Rump Steak (Feel free to use any other beef that is steak quality, porterhouse, eye fillet, scotch fillet, or rump. These cuts work best when cooked quickly)

1 red capsicum

1 Brown Onion

1 Tablespoon of Corn Flour

1 tablespoon of oil

1-2 Tablespoons of Cumin

1-2 Tablespoons of Paprika

1-2 Tablespoons of Dried Coriander

Big pinch of sea salt

1/2 Lime

optional: fresh or dried chilli to taste

Method

Slice your Capsicum and Onion

Slice your meat. Place in a freezer bag with a tablespoon of corn flour. I find this helps the pieces of meat separate, and also helps to keep the moisture in the meat. I believe it is a technique used in a lot of Chinese cooking, as the corn flour sucks up the sauce as well when cooking.

Heat up a frying pan with a tablespoon of your chosen oil (I prefer coconut oil as it doesn't burn when heated to a high temperature). Once hot throw in your onion and capsicum. Once they start to soften put in your meat. Add your spices

Once the meat starts to brown, you can start to taste. Remember you can eat beef very rare, so don't be afraid!

You might be suprised to know (if you read my first post that I have considered a meat free lifestyle) that we like our meat on the rare side of medium rare. It's just so much more tender!

Add more spices if you feel there isn't enough. Don't be afraid to add more salt.

I have only recently started cooking with salt, for two reasons. 

1.My Mum is terrified of the stuff, as I imagine a lot of people her age are, due to the noise The Heart Foundation have made over the years about the dangers of salt. Watch any chef though and they will use sometimes insanely large amounts of salt to season their food. It just really helps to bring out flavours and add a fullness and richness to your dishes. 

2. Pre packaged food contains a lot of salt, so there was never any need to add any extra. Now that I cook from scratch the dishes really do need that pinch or two added.

Once the beef is cooked to your liking, squeeze over half a lime and serve! I like to serve our meat with freshly cooked tortilas, corn (gluten free) or flour, lettuce or baby spinach, homemade salsa and squashed avocado with a squeeze of lime in it!

An easy weeknight meal that is sure to please!

Happy Cooking (from scratch!)

Erica xx