Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

• Cooking at home: Mark Bittman talks about why he cooks at home and how to start cooking more. * Food at work: The Shifting Times blog has an excellent list of foods to have at work – to make it easier to eat well during the day. Lots of US brands, but a good guide. Thanks to CookinPanda for pointing it out. * Peanut noodle salad: Another great recipe from Heidi at 101 Cookbooks – a “quick and …

Read more 04 April, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

• Butter alternatives: Chew on This has put together a list of six alternatives to using butter. * Simple, simple cooking: Lisa’s Vegetarian Kitchen has a recipe for a vegetable side dish – beautiful in it’s simplicity: Carrot and turnip kinpira. * Learning to love potatoes: Mallika from Quick Indian Cooking fame has just started blogging at Indiwo. Her latest is a neat piece of writing about whether it’s possible to include potatoes in a healthy diet (and not …

Read more 28 March, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

• Eating more vegetables: The Go for 2&5 campaign is aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. I particularly like their weekly healthy eating email – a quick, regular reminder of the practical ways you can eat more fruit and veg. Sign up here. * Root vegetables: In the Northern hemisphere root vegetables are in season. In the Guardian this week, Nigel Slater has a great column discussing different ways of using carrots, kohlrabi, parsnips, etc: The Root Master ...

Read more 07 March, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

• Gluten-free cooking: I was asked a couple of weeks ago about guidelines for cooking without wheat flour. At the time I posted some links and then this week I saw Gluten-Free girl has written a guide to using gluten free flours. * Ethical eating can be a minefield. Full of complex decisions about the value of food miles vs local eating vs fair trade vs organic. It’s hard to shop ethically and still stay within a budget. This week …

Read more 02 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

• I originally saw the link to Shape of a Mother on Cranky Fitness. This is a wonderful site, giving a refreshing dose of reality about womens’ bodies after pregnancy. * After discussing the Australian proposal to offer people money to lose weight, over at Dietriffic Melanie has brought up the topic of workplace better health incentives. Do they work and are they a good idea? * Veggie Chic has posted about calling a truce with your vegetable enemies. ...

Read more 28 September, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

• Refrigerator Raid has posted a beginner’s strength training programme. It’s a simple 30 minute programme, covering both upper body and lower body strength. If you have less time try the 15 minute home fitness circuit I posted last month. * A woman after my own heart, over at Veggie Chic, Jul asks is it really so hard to eat vegetables?. Confused about how many vegies you should be eating each day? Take a look at my post on …

Read more 21 September, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

• Wow – chocolate mousse: I’m seriously not pushing chocolate on you, but Lobstersquad’s version of chocolate mousse seemed like a good idea. It contains two ingredients – chocolate and eggs. There’s no cream or sugar to bump up the calorie and saturated fat content, so while it’s not necessarily something you should eat every day, it’s a perfect occasional dessert. * Ways with broad beans: Haalo has been cooking with broad beans over at Cook (almost) anything once making …

Read more 14 September, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

• Family Nutritionist has a recipe for green and orange ribbons with fettucine, a lovely way to balance out the vegetable to starchy carbohydrate ratio. If you can’t get mustard greens you could use silverbeet. * I wouldn’t recommend this approach to anyone, but here’s what happens when a meat addict goes hard core vegan for one month. * I love the sound of these Turkish Red Lentil Balls – I think I’ll be cooking them this weekend. * Chew …

Read more 22 June, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

Rain, rain, rain and more rain made cooking on the weekend very attractive. My nephew’s fifth birthday party was washed out, so Sunday was an unexpected free day and an opportunity to cook some meals and ingredients for the week ahead. h3. What I cooked Lentils: I cooked three cups of lentils in my rice cooker. I used half of them to make Quick Lentil Soup and the other half has gone in the freezer. Barley: I also cooked …

Read more 18 June, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

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, ...

Read more 30 May, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

One of the main subjects I find myself returning to on Limes & Lycopene, is the importance of vegies and how to get those five daily recommended servings. Simply put, vegetables are a crucial part of a healthy diet. This applies to everybody, it’s not just sick people, or old people who need to keep up the vegies. It’s not just those with a family history of cancer, cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Instead, it’s you, me, our families, friends – ...

Read more 07 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

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. 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 Recipes: vegies

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 Recipes: vegies

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 …

Read more 04 January, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

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 …

Read more 28 December, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

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 Recipes: vegies

We had risotto for dinner last night – this beautiful pumpkin and cinnamon risotto. I started with a recipe from Rose Gray&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 the …

Read more 28 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

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 Recipes: vegies

I had a wonderful dinner last night. It was just me at home, so I wanted something quick, easy and tasty. Plus I had some tofu, bok choy and asparagus in the fridge and wanted to use them up. I’ve been playing around with Google Coop over the last few days – setting up some specialised search engines for finding healthy recipes and good health information. Rather than googling the whole world, you can select a group of sites …

Read more 10 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

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 Recipes: vegies

Celeriacs are funny, knobbly looking vegetables. They’re the same species as normal celery, but celeriac has been bred to produce a large stem base and it’s this part which is eaten. Celery’s botanical name is Apium graveolens , while celeriac is Apium graveolens var rapaceum (so they’re very close relatives). Celeriac has a milder and slightly sweeter flavour, that makes it quite different from standard celery. It’s a very flexible vegetable and can be used both cooked and raw …

Read more 03 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

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 Recipes: vegies

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 Recipes: vegies

As I’ve said before , mid-week 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 …

Read more 29 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

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 …

Read more 28 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

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 Recipes: vegies

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 years. ...

Read more 12 September, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

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 unique …

Read more 16 August, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegies

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 Recipes: vegies

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 Recipes: vegies

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 Recipes: vegies

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