Posted by kathryn in Desserts, Summer and Recipes

I’ve got a few unfinished blogging strands at the moment, including the dessert from this dinner party. I rarely make desserts, so far there are only three posts in my pudding category and at home we generally stick to the trusty fruit and yoghurt combination. For a dinner party though, I like to do something special, a little bit decadent even, but without tripling everyone’s saturated fat intake. This berry and mango pavlova fits the bill. It’s adapted from …

Read more 12 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Legumes, Soups, Recipes and Winter

Since Sydney has returned to winter weather over the last two weeks, I’ve been craving soups. I’m a big ginger fan and over the weekend I made this beautiful soup, which I’ve adapted from a recipe on the Fat Free Vegan database. It’s another good way of using split peas and is PACKED full of flavour and nutrition. I’ve had some chipotle chillies in my cupboard for the last couple of months, so this was also a good opportunity …

Read more 09 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Fruit, Desserts and Recipes

Coming from the UK most of my family Christmas traditions revolve around turkey, roast potatoes, gravy, Christmas pudding, fruit cake, mince pies – heavy, heavy foods that we only eat once per year. A more recent tradition for me though, is panettone.Since moving out of home I’ve always lived in the inner west of Sydney, surrounded by a large proportion of Sydney’s Italian community, as well as Italian delis, cafes, foods, restaurants and so on. At this time of …

Read more 30 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Legumes, Dinners and Recipes

Annatto seeds – have you ever heard of them? Well I hadn’t, until this month’s Tigers & Strawberries Spice is Right challenge, called Back to School. The aim is to use a new spice, one you haven’t tried before or don’t know a lot about. My highly technical spice selection process involved going to my favourite spice shop, starting at the beginning of the alphabet and picking the first spice I hadn’t heard of, which didn’t take long as …

Read more 16 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Dinners, Grains, Vegetables and Recipes

Onions are one of the staples of our diet – well they’re certainly one of the staples of mine. We always have garlic and onion in the house and I would say about 80% of the things I cook, are started by sauteeing together these two ingredients. Their rich intensity adds so much flavour to even the simplest of dishes. Onions are also extremely good for you. They contain the flavonoid quercetin , which has antiinflammatory action. It inhibits …

Read more 29 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Salads, Dinners, Dairy, Spring and Recipes

This was my dinner on Tuesday night. Richard was out and I wasn’t in a big cooking mood, but I still wanted something tasty, healthy and home-made. This salad fitted the bill. The original recipe prescribed tinned lentils, but I already had some dried to use up. Rather than fuss around cooking them on the stovetop, I thought I’d try cooking them in my rice cooker. I used one part lentils to three parts water, added a pinch of …

Read more 08 February, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Grains, Vegan, Legumes, Dinners and Recipes

I’ve been cooking a lot with split peas over the last two weeks. While I favour split mung beans when making dal, Richard always uses split yellow peas. Some time ago he went through a dal-making craze and and we ended up with a cupboard full of the little critters. Trouble is, I’m not a huge fan, so two large jars of yellow split peas have been stuck at the back of the cupboard for quite some time now. I …

Read more 02 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Vegetables, Soups, Legumes and Recipes

Celeriacs are funny, knobbly looking vegetables. While they’re the same species as normal celery, they are bred produce a large stem base – which is the part you eat. Celeriac has a milder and slightly sweeter flavour, which makes it quite different from standard celery. It’s also a very flexible vegetable and can be used both cooked and raw in salads. Celeriac can be baked with other vegetables, made into soups and is often mashed in with potatoes. The …

Read more 03 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Eggs, Snacks, Recipes and Summer

While the photo is not brilliant, these were really good – little bite sized morsels packed full of flavour. At one point I thought there was going to be a fight over the last three – good manners won out in the end, but there was a fair bit of “well I’ve only had one, how many have you had?” going on. While fights can spoil the mood of any dinner party, it is lovely when your guests enjoy …

Read more 29 December, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Dinners, Dairy, Grains, Spring, Vegetables and Recipes

I love cooking. Spending some time concentrated on beautiful ingredients and making a meal that both tastes good and is also healthy, is how I unwind. However, like most people, during the week I don’t want to faff around too much. If I can make something in 30 minutes and more importantly make minimal mess, then I’m happy. The ultimate mid-week meal for me, is one that contains all my food groups, including plenty of veg and most importantly, can …

Read more 26 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables and Recipes

To say I love beetroot would probably be an understatement. To say I adore it, am obsessed by it, think about it far more than is healthy, is probably a more accurate statement. Which means, this has been a GREAT week. On the weekend I purchased the hugest bunch of fresh, baby beetroot I’ve ever seen. Plus, yet more beetroot arrived in my vegetable box this week. Oh dear, how awful, an excess of beetroot. It gave me the …

Read more 20 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Legumes, Dinners, Recipes and Winter

Since reading Jocelyn’s post about cabbage dal over at She Spills the Beans, I’ve been slightly obsessing about making this dal. I love, love, LOVE dal and we’ve always got a few tubs of it in the freezer. While I often include silverbeet in my dal and despite being a huge cabbage fan, I’ve never made dal with cabbage. After receiving reasurrances from Jocelyn about how good it was, I decided to make some over the weekend. This was …

Read more 11 July, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Eggs, Dinners, Recipes and Winter

What a cutie, this is a Barbara pumpkin and she appeared in my last Lettuce Deliver box. I was intrigued, as I’ve never heard of or seen Barbara pumpkins before. To me she looks like a cross between the shape of a butternut and the colour and markings of a jap pumpkin. On the inside she was a rich orange colour, much stronger than a butternut. Richard’s been calling her Barbarapapa since she arrived. I’m not sure I’d …

Read more 05 July, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Eggs, Dinners and Recipes

As I mentioned, I have a lot of eggs in the pantry at the moment. For the next three weeks I’m going to be eating a LOT of eggs. Which is fine, because I love eggs, plus . . . they’re very good for you. Here is the first of my egg-fest recipes h3. Hard boiled eggs in red lentil curry sauce Serves 4 This is an Anglo-Indian recipe adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s Ultimate Curry Bible. I’ve simplified the …

Read more 09 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Soups and Recipes

When I lived in the UK I thought corn only came from a tin. Sure it was a vegetable and it grew somewhere, but I didn’t know you could buy it in another form. Only when I came to Australia did I realise corn came on cobs and tasted really, really good. Fresh corn is now one of my favourite vegies. As well as being a beautiful colour, it’s so juicy and sweet. I love it barbecued, cooked in the …

Read more 14 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Fruit, Desserts, Eggs and Recipes

I grew up in the UK in the 70s and 80s, a time way before Jamie, Nigella, Gary, Ainslie, Rick, Gordon et al started redefining British food. This was the time of roast dinners, semolina pudding, Victoria sponges, steak and kidney pie, toad in the hole, gammon and pineapple. A time when kedgeree was exotic, pasta was a weird “foreign” meal and Angel Delight was considered sophisticated. In talking to my mum about the spices she used when I …

Read more 16 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Dinners, Grains, Vegetables and Recipes

This post is part of the Spice is Right, this month hosted by Habeas Brulee and it’s all about mixing up spices from one region, with recipes from another. My recipe is a chermoula risotto, which seems like a bizarre combination, but works very well. Chermoula is a Moroccan spice mix, made up of cumin and paprika, along with garlic, lemon juice and fresh coriander. I’ve been thinking about making something with chermoula for a while. Then my "organic …

Read more 15 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Fruit, Baking and Recipes

I’ve had a lot of deadlines recently, which has made it hard to blog with my usual regularity. I’ve been writing articles, recipes, sending out newsletters and finalising details of a new monthly column. In amongst this I’ve been seeing clients and been putting together two new seminars at the clinic. On top of that, Richard and I are beavering away on a new project. It’s very exciting, but not due for release until later in the year, so more …

Read more 07 March, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Legumes, Soups, Winter and Recipes

I’ve posted lentil soup recipes before (basic lentil soup and lentil & barley), it’s one of my favourite meals. I usually make it on the weekend, use dried lentils and make enough for that night and the freezer. While we were on holiday and cooking on a small camping stove, I made up a quick and easy version. This soup takes me about 20 minutes from start to finish. I’ve recently discovered the McCormick’s Middle Eastern spice blend and …

Read more 09 May, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Grains, Dinners, Spring, Vegetables and Recipes

As I’ve said before I love a one-pot meal. To be able to make a healthy, quick meal and only dirty one saucepan, is a good thing. Which makes risotto a good option – everything goes in together, to make a beautiful rich and creamy textured meal. However, for me, most risotto recipes just don’t include enough vegies. One way round this is to serve it with a salad, but sometimes I just want one bowl of steaming risotto goodness. …

Read more 29 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Salads, Summer and Recipes

This recipe is adapted from the December/January Delicious magazine. Corn is in season at the moment and beautifully juicy. Corn is also a good source of the antioxidant lutein, which is important for eye health and preventing macular degeneration. h3. Rocket, corn & zucchini salad I made this for my dinner party , so quantities below are for 12 people as a side dish. You could also add some lima beans and fetta cheese, to make it more of …

Read more 05 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Baking and Recipes

A couple of weeks back I made some more muffins. This time I had two little helpers – a two and a four year old who were staying with us. The four-year-old only liked apples, so I adapted my usual recipe and this time I used tinned Baker’s Apple. SPC Ardmona make a variety that is 100% apple – no sweetener and no juice. It’s like using chunky stewed apple, but quicker and easier than making your own. I didn’t …

Read more 17 April, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Winter and Recipes

A few posts ago I promised a recipe for home-made potato wedges. I make these a lot because I love potatoes, they’re super-easy and always work. Moreover, given that most potato wedges and chips are deep fried, these are a good low fat alternative, with only about 2.5g of fat per serving. I always leave the skins on, but you don’t have to. In this recipe I’ve tossed the potatoes in fresh rosemary, but you could use some paprika, or …

Read more 13 August, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Salads, Vegetables, Winter and Recipes

I have a complex relationship with red cabbage. On one hand, it’s so pretty with it’s pinky/purpley leaves and shiny exterior, but I find raw red cabbage boring, a little too “healthy” tasting and I never know quite what to do with it. Oh I’ve done the braised with apple thang and that’s okay, but I just don’t get excited about it. About once a month, during the season, it appears in my organic vegie delivery. Surrounded by all …

Read more 26 June, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Dinners, Dairy, Vegetables, Winter and Recipes

Australian bush foods are always something that have intrigued me, but I’ve never really known what to do with them. This month’s Spice is Right is about using a locally grown spice in combination with fresh and local produce, in a dish that reflects the flavours of home. This month I was in the mood for experimenting and thought it was time to try out something new – a native spice. Many of the bush foods and spices are …

Read more 16 August, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Legumes, Soups, Recipes and Winter

Since starting my blog I’ve only posted two recipes. It’s not like I haven’t been cooking, I just don’t feel I’ve been cooking anything particularly interesting. Then I was thinking, maybe that’s missing the point. There are plenty of places where you can get recipes for fancy and unusual food, stuff that takes time, lots of ingredients and skill to cook – the food we might make if someone was coming round for dinner. However it’s the normal, every …

Read more 07 July, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Legumes, Soups, Recipes and Winter

I’ve had a rather strange time the last two days. It’s cold, wet and windy in Sydney, but I’ve been working on Christmas recipes for one of the magazines I write for. So while I’m planning and testing recipes using asparagus, mango, strawberries and other lovely summer foods, I’m also rugged up at home with the heaters on. The summer ingredients are beautiful, but all I want is soup. I’ve finished the batch of lentil soup I made the other …

Read more 20 July, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Soups, Eggs, Recipes, Spring, Summer and Autumn

One thing I love about blogs is the way they connect people. Different countries and cultures share interests and experiences via blogs. For example in the food blogging community there are a whole series of events, where participants cook and photograph food, all based around a theme. One of these food blogging events is called the Spice is Right and it’s hosted by Barbara at Tigers&Strawberries. The latest theme ingredient is chillies and this is my entry. Chillies are …

Read more 16 July, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Dinners, Recipes and Spring

They say pride comes before a fall. Having confidently talked about how good legumes are for you and how easy they are to cook – I now have to blog about what to do when you’re distracted while cooking chickpeas and end up boiling them into a mush. Whups. I was at home yesterday and foolishly thought I’d multi-task by cooking a batch of chickpeas while working. However the distractions of work, phone calls and emails, meant I forgot …

Read more 03 August, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Snacks, Summer, Salads and Recipes

Now to the dinner party recipes. I knew everyone would be hungry when they arrived, having come directly from work, so I thought a couple of canapes would be a good idea – just enough to take the edge off the hunger. These little morsels worked well. They’re adapted from a Donna Hay recipe (issue 21 of her magazine) – I’ve changed the quantities around and used goat’s cheese instead of bocconcini. I made the pitta rounds and balsamic …

Read more 28 December, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Eggs, Dinners, Spring, Vegetables and Recipes

I’m gradually making my way through the glut of eggs, by adding them to salads, making lablabi , having them for breakfast and so on. My latest Lettuce Deliver box contained the first asparagus of the season, which is always an exciting addition – tangible evidence that summer is on its way. To celebrate, I put together this little concoction, which really lets the asparagus shine. The bunch of asparagus was quite small, so I bulked it up with …

Read more 28 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Dinners, Grains, Vegetables, Winter and Recipes

We had risotto for dinner last night – this beautiful pumpkin and cinnamon risotto. I started with a recipe from Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers River Cafe Cook Book Green * and made a couple of tweaks. I’ve been quite intrigued by this recipe for a while and after my recent experiment with chermoula risotto, I decided to give it a go. The combination of cinnamon, chilli and oregano gives the risotto a beautiful, rich flavour. It’s not super-hot, with …

Read more 28 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables and Recipes

This is a side dish I make a lot – it’s quick, easy, incredibly good for you and very tasty, which are four very good things from one recipe. One of the most exciting things at my dinner party (for me anyway), was how enthusiastically everyone tucked into this dish – in fact it was the greens that disappeared first! Green vegetables are supremely good for you – they contain iron, folate, magnesium and calcium, but they’re also packed full …

Read more 05 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Eggs, Dinners, Spring, Summer, Vegetables and Recipes

Fritters are a great way to make vegetables a bit different. If you struggle to get your daily vegetable quota, or find it impossible to get your kids to eat vegies, then fritters are a good option. They don’t really look or taste like vegetables and don’t have an obvious vegetable texture. They can be “sold” to kids as burgers, something all kids recognise (certainly in Australia). Fritters are also quick and easy to cook – grate some vegetables; …

Read more 13 October, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Dinners and Recipes

Last night my kitchen was a MESS. One lazy night, followed by one late-home (and therefore cooking late) night meant the stove top was a mess, the dishwasher was full until overflowing and it seemed like every single pan and piece of cutlery had already been used. However, I was home early, which meant I had time to cook and clean up, which made this recipe from Albion Cooks very attractive. While it does take about an hour to …

Read more 08 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Soups, Eggs and Recipes

I’m in the middle of a three week egg-fest. My normal egg repertoire is limited: omelettes and frittatas. Plus I often add a poached or boiled egg to something, to bump up its protein content. However, when you have three dozen eggs in the house, it’s time to try something new. I found this recipe in an old, old cookery book that I hardly use anymore: Vegetarian Pasta by Marlena Spieler. It’s similar to the Greek egg-lemon soup called avolgemono. …

Read more 11 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Dinners, Grains, Vegetables and Recipes

Since cooking with wattleseeds for the Spice is Right food blogging event and then finding lots of other ways to use them, I’ve been thinking more about Australian native spices. While I regularly cook foods from around the world, I’ve never used these home-grown flavours and spices before. I’m comfortable cooking Indian, Italian, Greek, South American, North African and yet I don’t know where to start with foods that have been grown and eaten in Australia for thousands of …

Read more 12 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Fruit, Baking and Recipes

I’ve been slowly working away at this muffin recipe for about 6 weeks now, tweaking, testing then re-tweaking, until there was a huge eureka yesterday when I finally cracked it. There are a gazillion muffin recipes out there, so why all the bother? Well I had certain requirements for my muffins. I wanted each one to contain at least one serving of fruit, to contain walnuts, to taste really good and to have no added fat and very little …

Read more 24 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Fruit, Baking and Recipes

After posting my date and walnut muffin recipe, I’ve recently adapted it, for using fresh fruit. I’ve cooked these muffins all summer, using peaches, nectarines, apricots and even mangoes, but I keep on forgetting to photograph them, hence the delay in posting this recipe. These muffins are really good. They’re low in kilojoules, have no added fat, as well as being low in sugar . . . and yet they taste great. Moreover, most of the fat comes from …

Read more 15 February, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Dinners, Vegetables, Recipes, Dairy and Winter

I recently asked the question what’s your perfect mid-week meal and received some interesting and useful responses. I had assumed everyone would be after speed and minimal preparation, but readers also commented they were looking for ways to use up leftovers, meals to freeze and how to recycle last night’s dinner into something new and fabulous. I’m still mulling over these answers, but they have persuaded me I need to tweak my recipe categories, as well as alter how …

Read more 30 May, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Dinners, Nuts & seeds, Recipes, Vegetables and Winter

I’m finally getting back to my dinner party menu. On the night I had twelve people for dinner, including one person who can’t eat wheat (but is okay with spelt) and another friend who is lactose intolerant. For the main course I made two of these tarts. They’re vegan and I used spelt flour for the crust. I’d love to say I came up with this recipe, because it’s inventive, full of flavour and really adds to the total …

Read more 04 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Breakfast and Recipes

As promised, here is the recipe for my home-made muesli. h3. Why have muesli for breakfast? This muesli is a great way to start the day: * the combination of grains contain potassium, magnesium, iron, fibre and protein * the nuts and seeds add more protein, potassium and magnesium, as well as zinc, folate and Omega 3 essential fatty acids * the dried fruit provides iron, yet more potassium and fibre, while fruits like apricots and cranberries also add …

Read more 07 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Dinners, Winter and Recipes

After my weekend cook-fest, I have a fridge and freezer full of ingredients. Last night, instead of using the roasted pumpkin in a risotto, I decided to combine it with some of the beans and barley. All the ingredients were cooked, so they just needed to be warmed in a saucepan with a small amount of water. I then made a quick dressing and dinner was ready in minutes. h3. Roast pumpkin with white beans and barley These quantities …

Read more 19 June, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Fish, Vegetables, Salads, Winter and Recipes

I’ve been surrounded by fennel recently. I’ve been buying fennel, cooking with it and eating it. But also clients and friends have been asking me for tips on using the stuff. I’ve included fennel recipes in recent cooking classes. It’s appeared in my weekly vegetable box. And I keep on spotting amazing fennel recipes. While I love cooked fennel, one of my favourite uses is in a simple salad. This dish is easy and yet packs a superb flavour …

Read more 14 July, 2010

Posted by kathryn in Spring, Salads, Winter and Recipes

I’ve been making variations on this salad for several weeks now. It’s absolutely delicious and seems perfectly suited to the half winter, half spring, in-between weather we’re having in Sydney. The salad has four basic elements, each of which I tweak and change depending on what’s in the fridge. # Roasted cauliflower – usually tossed in this spice mix and then roasted in the oven until soft and just starting to brown around the edges. # Couscous – your basic …

Read more 15 September, 2010

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Vegetables, Autumn, Soups and Recipes

There is something special about roasted pumpkin. In the oven the flesh softens, the flavour intensifies and sweetens, and it comes out tasting completely different from pumpkin that has been boiled or steamed. I had never eaten pumpkin until I came to live in Australia, but in the twenty-something years I’ve lived here I have come to absolutely love it. However, while I’m happy to eat pumpkin in any form, Richard is not a fan. Until I started making this …

Read more 11 May, 2011

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Vegetables, Winter and Recipes

I know the words “cabbage” and “lentils” don’t get everyone excited, but don’t let this put you off. Home alone for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been cooking this recipe a lot. It’s quick, tasty, filling and very satisfying. My starting point was this excellent recipe from Michael of Herbivoracious. It’s a lovely side, which I’ve coupled with dhal and other beany things. However, as I mentioned, at the moment I’m cooking for one and not in the …

Read more 17 August, 2011

Posted by kathryn in Grains, Legumes, Vegetables, Autumn, Winter and Recipes

I made a wonderful dinner last week – polenta covered with greens and chickpeas and then topped with tahini sauce. It was an experiment, and I wasn’t actually expecting it to be as beautiful as it actually was. I have a small polenta fixation, but I rarely cook it as you seem to need so much fat and dairy in order to make the stuff tasty. My normal method uses milk, butter and cheese, so I’ve been wanting to …

Read more 30 May, 2011

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Eggs and Recipes

I have made this tart three times over the last few weeks. It is so very good. I first put it together for our New Year’s Eve picnic at Coogee Beach. The second time was for a film night at a friend’s house, where we all had to bring a plate. The final one I made . . . because I’d enjoyed the other two so much and there’s a big piece currently sitting in my fridge, ready to …

Read more 15 January, 2013

Posted by kathryn in Soups and Recipes

I made a bloomin’ marvellous stock on the weekend. Now, stock is not something I make or even use very often. I find most bought stock quite boring and one-dimensional. They’re all salt and front of mouth flavour, with little depth and frankly I can do better with good ingredients, some seasonings and careful cooking. However, I also love noodle soups and for a noodle soup you need a good stock. No amount of fiddling and slow sauteeing while do. …

Read more 30 April, 2013