Pumpkin and Sesame Dip followed by Savoury Bread Puddings

Bit of a double-whammy tonight, as it was our 8 year anniversary (hooray for us!), so I thought I'd go a bit all out! We had Pumpkin and Sesame Dip to start, followed by the Savoury Bread Puddings with a green salad. For dessert we had Blood Orange Jelly and Vanilla Panna Cotta trifles. If anybody would like the recipe for that, just leave a comment, although be warmed - although it's easy enough to make, it does take a few hours.


Pumpkin and Sesame Dip
1/2 Jap pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 4 cm pieces
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Bread of choice, to serve

1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Place the pumpkin, tossed in the olive oil, in a roasting pan, then bake in oven for 1/2 hour, or until the pumpkin is cooked through.

2 - Wait for pumpkin to cook, then puree with the sesame oil and 1/2 the seeds. Place in a bowl and top with remaining seeds, and serve with bread.

Savoury Bread Puddings


This is a pretty nifty way of using up that sad loaf of bread that is just about starting to think about moving into mouldy territory. Potential penicillin sources aside, it's also a nice dinner party dish - who doesn't like getting their own individual dish to eat out of? Yeah, yeah, so it's not quite as impressive as a souffle, but it sure is a heck of a lot easier, and you can pretty much pile in any vegetable you like - although for harder vegetables, like carrots, I would recommend steaming them until tender first, like I've done with the sweet potato here. It's also quite handy as you can prepare it ahead of time - just refrigerate after covering with plastic wrap. Bring back to room temperature before baking in oven, though, so your cooking ware doesn't crack.

2 tablespoons olive oil, to grease
9 slices wholemeal bread, crusts removed, and each slice cut into quarters
1/2 bunch silverbeet, stems trimmed and leaves well washed and roughly chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced, and steamed until tender
100 grams sun-dried tomatoes strips, drained of oil
100 grams hard feta, chopped roughly
6 eggs
250 ml (1 cup) cream
250 ml (1 cup) milk
100 grams parmesan cheese, grated
Freshly ground pepper

1 - Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line a large baking tray with non-stick paper, and grease 6 1 cup ramekins with the olive oil.

2 - Over a low heat, saute the silverbeet leaves in a large pan with a little saucepan until the leaves have wilted. Let cool, then squeeze the liquid from the leaves.

3 - Place two triangles of bread at the bottom of each ramekin, then 4 triangles around the sides. Divide the feta, silverbeet, sun-dried tomatoes and sweet potatoes among the ramekins.

4 - Beat together the eggs, cream, milk and pepper to taste in a large jug. Add the parmesan, then pour this mixture among the ramekins. Set aside for 20 minutes so the bread can absorb the mixture.

5 - Arrange the ramekins on the baking tray, then cook for 35 minutes, or until the puddings are puffed, golden and set. Let sit for a few minutes before serving with a green salad.

Mushroom Quesedillas

If you take a peek through the archives, you'll probably figure out that I love my Mexican food. What I don't love, however, are mushrooms. I place the blame squarely on my mother for that one - when I was a child she used to serve a fricassee of chicken and mushrooms, which to my mind looked exactly like vomit on a plate. Really! I used to spend the meal pretending I had to cough, and then race out of the room to spit into a tissue. Truly, it was that bad.

So, as an adult, I've rather tended to shy away from anything containing mushrooms, which is actually a silly thing to do, as mushrooms are full of vitamins and minerals, including that elusive (for vegetarians) B12. This is a recipe I found in an old copy of Vegetarian Times. Theirs calls for 8 oz. of mushrooms. Being a metric girl, I have no idea how much an oz. is, let along 8 of them but it sure sounded like a lot, so I reduced mine to one cup of chopped mushrooms. Try as I might, I just can't handle too many at once! Besides, it means that you don't end up with too much filling, which I have learnt from past experience can make for a messy quesedilla.

Mushroom Quesedillas

1/4 cup pepitas
4 tablespoons olive oil
8 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup chopped button mushrooms
1 smalled red chilli, finely chopped
1 small handful coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
2 flour tortillas per person
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1 lemon, quartered

1 - Warm a non-stick fry pan over a medium high heat, and cook the pepitas for 5 minutes, or until they have turned brown and begun to pop. Set aside.

2 - Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil over a low heat, and cook the garlic for 8 - 10 minutes, until it is tender and golden. Add the garlic and onion to the pepitas.

3 - Heat the rest of the oil in the pan, then add the mushrooms and chilli. Cook gently for 5 or so minutes, or until the mushrooms are dark and tender. Add the coriander, and pepita mix, and heat through.

4 - Heat either a flat non-stick pan or a sandwhich maker, and brush with oil. Place a tortilla on the press, spreading a good dollop of the mushroom mix onto the torilla, then top with the mozzarella. Place the other tortilla on top of the first, then grill for a minute or so, or until nice and crisp.

5 - Using a spatula, transfer the tortilla to the plate, and quarter. Serve with a quarter lemon to squeeze.

Sweet potato and split pea soup with feta bread

These pull apart loaves, a firm favourite around here, are the easiest thing in the world to make, and you could put any sort of filling in them that you wanted, like pestos or tapenades. And this soup is fabulous if you're coming down with a cold - it really gives you a good zing!

Sweet potato and split pea soup

1 onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon cummin powder
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 litre vegetable stock or water
1 cup yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed well

1 - Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, and cook the onion until tender and golden. Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, chilli flakes and cummin, and cook for a minute or two.

2 - Add the vegetables and stir to coat with the spice mixture. Add the yellow split peas and stock, and bring to the boil, stirring often to stop the peas from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

3 - Once it comes to the boil, simmer covered for 30 - 40 minutes, or until the split peas are tender. Cool, then blend the soup until smooth. Reheat and serve.

Feta bread

1 1/2 cups warmish water
2 teaspoons (one 7 gram sachet) dried yeast
2 tablespoons honey
3 1/2 cups plain flour
100 grams firm feta, crumbled
1 handful parsley leaves, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Sea salt

1 - Combine the water and yeast in a jug. Let it sit for a few minutes, then stir in the honey until dissolved.

2 - Put the flour in a large bowl, and make a well in the centre. Pour in the yeast mixture, and use a fork to combine. Turn out onto a well floured bench, and start to knead the dough, for a good five minutes, or however long it takes to sing along to a couple of songs on the radio. The dough should be smooth and elastic. Don't be afraid to put your back into it!

3 - Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and cover with cling wrap or a damp tea towel. Let rise in a nice warm place for a couple of hours, or until doubled in size. Alternatively, you could skip all this, and just nip to the local bakery for one of their finest.

4 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Turn your dough out onto the bench, then punch down on the loaf, letting some air escape. Give it another quick knead, then divide into three sections.

5 - Grease a loaf tin really well. Divide each section into six balls (you shoud have 18 all up). Put the first six balls into the tin, spreading them out evenly. Brush the tops of the balls with olive oil, then scatter over the feta, parsley and garlic.

6 - Place another six balls on top of the others, and repeat. Top with the final six balls, brush the tops with olive oil, and top with some sea salt. Cover the loaf with the damp tea towel, and let the dough rise again in a nice warm spot (should take about 45 minutes).

7 - Bake the load for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden, and the base sounds hollow then tapped. Serve with the soup by pulling the sections apart.

Greek pastries with roasted root vegetable and maple syrup salad

I love these pastries! I always make a few, so there's plenty to chow down for lunch the next day. And you don't even need to reheat them - they're just as good cold as hot!

Greek pastries

4 sheets puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
250 g frozen spinach, thawed
1/2 bunch silverbeet leaves, roughly chopped
100 g firm feta, crumbled
250 g ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to season

1 - Place the spinach and silverbeet in a pan with a little water. Cook gently over a mild heat, until the silverbeet has witled. Let cool, then squeeze out the moisture.

2 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Place the silverbeet mixture in a bowl, then add the cheeses. Combine well, then season to taste with the s and p.

3 - Cut each piece of filo in half. Place a couple of tablespoons of spinach mixture in the lower half of each pastry piece. Brush the edges with the egg, then fold the pastry over. Seal the edges using the prongs of a fork. Repeat until you have 8 pastries.

4 - Place four pastries on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Brush the egg over the top of each pastry, then bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the pastries are puffed up and golden.

Roasted root vegetable and maple syrup salad

2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 3 cm pieces
1/2 small pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 4 cm pieces
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 4 cm pieces
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
small handful pepita seeds

1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Line a roasting pan with baking paper, and place the vegetables in.

2 - Mix together the oil, maple syrup and mustard, then pour over the vegetables. Toss to combine, then roast for 1 hour, or until the vegetables are beginning to caramelise.

3 - Place on a serving dish, then sprinkle over the pepitas. Serve hot.

Shepherd's pie with minted mushy peas

This is comfort food at it's very best. In fact, it was so comforting that I had two helpings, and then scarfed the leftovers for breakfast. Buuuuurrrrrp!

Shepherd's Pie

1 kilo potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
800 g tin crushed tomatoes
400 g tin brown lentils
4 tablespoons sundried tomato strips
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon dried oregano


1 - Preheat the oven to 200 C.

2 - Place the potatoes in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer until the potatoes are tender. Drain, then mash, adding the milk until the mash is light and fluffy. Season with pepper, and stir in the cheese.

3 - Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan. Cook the onion until tender and golden, then add the garlic. Cook for a minutes, then add the tomatoes, lentils and carrots. Bring to the boil, then simmer away until the mixture becomes nice and thick. Add the oregano.

3 - Place the tomato mixture into a large baking dish. Gently spread the mashed potato over the top, and cook for 40 minutes, or until the top is a lovely golden brown. Serve with the mushy peas.

Minted mushy peas

500g frozen peas
50 grams butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves

1 - Cook the peas in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 3 - 4 minutes, or until tender.

2 - Drain the peas, then blitz with the butter and mint in a food processor (Don't over blitz - you want them to be kinda lumpy, not a pea puree). Serve.

Cauli, broccoli and gruyere bakes with broad bean toasties

I'm really sorry about the lack of toasties photo. While the bake was, well, baking, I set up my toasties nicely on a platter, and plonked it on the table. Next thing I know I can hear the sound of two mouths munching away. In horror I turn to find that the Galumph and Grumbles have already started in.

"NOOOOOOO!", I cried. "I need to take a photo of them!"

"Oh!", said the Galumph. "I thought these were just the entree!".

Grumbles didn't say a word. She just kept eating.

I slunk back to the kitchen, mourning the loss of the photo (trust me, the platter was now a disaster zone), and muttered to myself that I sure bet that Martha Stewart didn't have to put up with these sorts of shenanigans. Sigh.

Cauliflower, Broccoli and Gruyere Bakes

1 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
150g gruyere, grated
1 tablespoon plain flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup (250ml) milk
1 cup or there abouts (I just used the heel of our loaf of bread) fresh bread crumbs
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 - Steam the cauliflower and broccoli until tender. Preheat the oven to 180 C.

2 - Meanwhile, melt the butter in a smallish saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, and stir to combine. Slowly add the milk, turning up the heat a bit, and stir until thickened. Add the gruyere, and stir until melted in. Season with salt and pepper. (If you've never done it before, then congratulations - you've just made cheese sauce!)

3 - Arrange the broccoli and cauli in a large baking dish, then pour the cheese sauce over the top. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs, then cook for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Serve.

Broad bean toasties

200 g frozen broad beans (or fresh if you're lucky enough to find them)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Slices of good quality bread, to serve

1 - Cook the broad beans in a pan of boiling water for 3 - 5 minutes. Drain, then blanch under cold water.

2 - When cooled, slip them out of their sad little grey skins.

3 - Place the beans in a bowl with the garlic and olive oil, and roughly mash them with a fork.

4 - Toast the bread, cut into halves or quarters, then smoosh over some of the broad bean mixture. Eat!

Chilli Polenta Chips

This is a really quick and easy dinner. The longest part of it is waiting for the polenta mixture to cool down. If you were really organised you could make the polenta before you headed out the door in the morning (trust me, if you use instant polenta it takes all of about 2 minutes), and then you just have to bake the chips and make the salad when you come home. Too easy!

Chilli Polenta Chips with garlicky aioli

1 cup instant polenta
3 cups vegetable stock or water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon chilli flakes (or two spoons if you like some zing!)
1 cup grated tasty cheese
1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
sea salt, to taste

1 - Put the stock and butter into a saucepan and bring to the boil.

2 - Add the polenta in a slow stream, stirring vigorously the whole time so no lumps form. Let simmer for two minutes, or until the polenta mixture is very thick (Word from the wise: watch out for polenta spits. They really hurt).

3 - Take the pan off the heat, and add the chilli and cheese. Stir until the cheese is completely melted in.

4 - Pour the polenta mixture into a very well greased baking dish. Smooth out the top, then let cool.

5 - Cut the polenta mixture into chips, then put the chips on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper. You can sprinkle some extra polenta on top of the chips here if you like, I but always forget. It just makes them a bit crunchier. Bake in a 200C oven for 30 minutes, or until crunchy on top. Sprinkle with sea salt, and serve with aioli and a simple green salad (I just threw together some cos lettuce leaves and sun dried tomatoes that I had in the fridge. Easy and tasty!)

Aioli

1 - Mix the mayo, garlic and lemon juice together. Add salt to taste. That's it!

Curried Pea and Lettuce Soup

Sorry folks, no photo for this one because I am a big ol' duffer who completely forgot! Both my husband and daughter have that awful leurgy that seems to be taking Melbourne out, so my mind was more on making a soup to make them feel better, or at the very least a little bit less congested, and the whole photo thing simply went out the window.

So you'll have to take my word for it that this soup is very, very green. And very, very good for people with horrible snuffly colds. It's also good for alarming dinner guests (trust me, it's that green!), but that's a story for another day.

Curried Pea and Lettuce Soup

1 cos lettuce, leaves washed well and roughly shredded
1 onion, diced
50 grams butter (or olive oil for vegans)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons hot curry powder
1 litre vegetable stock or water
500g frozen peas

1 - Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then saute the onion until tender and golden. Add the garlic and curry powder, and mix until combined. If you happen to have a cold, take this opportunity to stick you head right in the pan, and breath in deeply. We'll shake off that cold in no time - you, me and the peas!

2 - Add the lettuce, and stir so it is coated with the onion mixture. Wait until it wilts, then add the peas and stock.

3 - Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Let the soup cool, then blend until smooth. Reheat to serve, ideally with some yummy crusty bread.

Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry

This was one of those: Hmm, what the heck shall we have for dinner tonight. Better open up the cupboard and see what's hiding in there. Oh great - sweet mother of nothing. Hang on - I spy a sweet potato! And there's an old capsicum in the fridge, right next to that handful of spinach that I forgot to put into my sandwhich yesterday. I'm pretty sure I've got a can of chickpeas in the pantry. That's it - dinner is served!"

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm squares
1 red capsicum, roughly chopped
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 or 2 handfuls of spinach leaves, washed well
1 800g tin crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons hot curry powder
400g chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
coriander, to serve
cooked brown rice, to serve

1 - Steam the sweet potato in a steamer until just tender. Remove.

2 - Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Saute the onion until golden, then add the red capsicum, garlic and curry powder. Stir and cook for a minute or two.

3 - Add the tomatoes and chickpeas, bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and spinach, and carefully simmer until the spinach has wilted. Be careful not to moosh the sweet potatoes too much! Add coriander to taste, then serve over the brown rice.

Spanakopita with green salad

I have a theory. Stay with me, it's a good one. Say you have a child. Or a pain in the elbow Uncle, who inconveniently pops around for dinner all the bloody time, but never is happy with what he is served. Do they like eating their greens? Nah, I didn't think so. I mean, when was the last time you saw a child sit down at the dinner table and declare "Oh, hip hip hooray - tonight we're having greens. Full of nutrients and so good for me! Thank you, kind parents!"

However, and this is the ever so slightly evil bit - if you hide the greens amongst all different sorts of cheese, then encase the whole thing in pastry, then the little suckers will be chomping it down with the best of them. Just don't let them know it's healthy! Or expect them to eat the side salad.

Spanakopita

250g frozen spinach, thawed out and squeezed of moisture
1 bunch silverbeet or rainbow chard (same thing, yeah, just one has prettier stems)
4 spring onions, washed well and thinly sliced

handful chopped parsley
5 eggs, beaten well
250g ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
300g firm feta cheese, crumbled
1 long red chilli, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
20 sheets filo pastry, only just taken out from the freezer
100g butter, melted
Sesame seeds

1 - Preheat the oven to 190 C. Remove the stems from the silverbeet/chard, then roughly slice the leaves. Put into a bowl, cover with boiling water, then remove once they have wilted. Let the leaves cool, then mix with the spinach.

2 - Meanwhile, combine the beaten eggs, parmesan cheese, feta cheese, ricotta cheese, nutmeg, chilli, spring onions, parsley, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the silverbeet/spinach mixture, and mix until combined. Set aside.

3 - This is the bit where you have to work carefully and quickly. Oil a large baking dish with a little of the butter. Spread out the filo on a work bench, covering with a damp tea towel between bits. Carefully pick up a single piece of the filo, and place into the dish, gently molding it into place. Don't worry if bits are hanging off the side, we'll fix that up later. Brush the sheet of filo with butter, then place a new one on top of it. Brush it with butter, and repeat until you have layered 10 sheets.

4 - Gently pour in the silverbeet mixture. Spread it over the filo so it is even, then place a sheet of filo on top of it. Brush with butter and so on and so on until the remaining 10 sheets are placed on top.

5 - Tuck the overhanging bits into the dish, or trim, then score the pastry in a diamond pattern. Brush with butter, sprinkle over some sesame seeds, and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crinkly. Rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then slice up and serve.

Green salad

3 handfuls lettuce mix, washed well and dried
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced into batons
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 - Mix the veggies into a bowl.

2 - Right before serving, combine the oil, vinegar and musard in a small bowl then pour over the salad. Toss, then serve.

Beany Quesadillas

This is perfect Friday night fare. It's relatively quick, full of goodness and is so delish, what with the squirt of lime juice and the dip of sour cream, that I was practically licking the plate afterwards! And if you decide to pair it with a Corona or four (hey, sometimes those work weeks can be absolute slogs), then so much the better. Loosen the tie or kick off the heels, crack open the beer and enjoy!

Beany Quesadillas

800g tin of crushed tomatoes

1 onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

410g tin of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

1 cup grated cheddar

2 flour tortillas per person

300g sour cream

1 lime, quartered

coriander, to taste

1 - Heat the oil in a large fry pan. Saute the onion until golden, then add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for another minute or so more, or until everything smells yummy and spicy.

2 - Add the kidney beans and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes, bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is a lovely thick goop. Leave to cool a smidge.

3 - Heat up a sandwhich press, dropping and smearing some olive oil on the surface. Place a tortilla on the press, spreading a good dollop of the bean mix onto the torilla, then top with cheese and coriander. Place the other tortilla on top of the first, then grill in the press for a minute or so, or until nice and crisp.

4 - Transfer the tortilla to a plate using a spatula, then cut into quarters. To serve, squirt over some lime juice and dip into the sour cream as you take each bite. Good, huh?!

Chilli and tomato risotto

Eek! No picture today, so please accept my deepest apologies. I had a sick friend over for dinner, and was so busy ministering to her needs by making this fabulously comforting risotto (I tells ya, all that chilli is great for clearing out the sinuses!) that I completely forgot the whole 'take a pic of my dinner' thing. Oops.

Chilli and tomato risotto

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1 litre vegetable stock or water
800 gram tin of crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes (or less if you don't like a big whopping chilli hit)
100 grams mild Taleggio cheese (or something similar)

1 - Heat the stock or water in a saucepan until boiling. Turn down to a simmer.

2 - Meanwhile, heat the oil and then gently saute the onion until golden. Add the arborio rice and chilli flakes and cook in the oil and onion mixture for a minute or two.

3 - Begin adding a ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir well, until all the stock is absorbed.

4 - Next, add a ladleful of the crushed tomatoes. Stir well, until all the tomato juice is absorbed. Alternate between the stock and the tomatoes, stirring continually, until both are finished or the rice is al dente.

5 - Serve in nice deep bowls, and top with some chunks of taleggio cheese, which will melt beautifully into the risotto. Blow nose at regular intervals.

Baked potatoes with coleslaw, smoked cheese and sour cream

I was thinking about these as I was scarfing them down, and came to this valuble conclusion: Baked potatoes are the Irishman's taco - you can stuff them with pretty much anything at all, and as long are they are hot and topped with cheese they'll taste great!

As you can see, I obviously need to get out more.

Baked Potatoes

1 large baking potato per person (I used Bintjes)
100 grams smoked cheddar cheese, grated
1 small tub sour cream
Coleslaw (recipe below)

1 - Preheat oven to 200 C.

2 - Wrap each potato in foil, then place on a baking tray. Bake in oven for 1 - 1 1/4 hours, or until tender.

3 - Unwrap the potatoes, and score with a deep cross. Fill the cross with the coleslaw, sour cream and cheese, then chow on down.

Coleslaw

1/2 small red cabbage
1 red onion, peeled
2 medium carrots, peeled
3 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1 - Place all the vegetables in a food processor with a grate attachement, and grate until fine.

2 - Place grated vegetables in a bowl, and mix with the mayonnaise and mustard. Serve.

Zucchini, Pea and Ricotta Fettucine

Low fat and full of vegetables. And carbs - I love me some carbs (blowing a raspberry to Atkins diets - bleuuuuurrrrrgh!). What more could a girl want? (Besides rubies and picnics with Champagne and cute new red shoes and yes, ok, alrighty, I'll shut up now!)

Zucchini, Pea and Ricotta Fettucine

350 g wide egg fettucine ribbons
20 grams of butter
2 zucchini, julienned
2 cups of frozen peas
2 spring onions, washed and finely sliced
300 ml low fat cream
250 firm ricotta (from the deli, not the runny stuff from the tub)
Parmesan cheese and mint leaves, to serve

1 - Cook the fettucine in a large saucepan of salted water according to the time on the packet. With 3 minutes to go before the end of cooking, add the zucchini. Add the peas with one minute to go. Once done, drain, and add to the big pan cream mixture, which should be finished at about the same time.

2 - Once you've added the fettucine to the saucepan, get cracking on the sauce: Melt the butter, and gently fry the onions for 2 minutes in a large pan. Add the cream, and simmer for 5 minutes. The stir through the pasta, peas and zucchini, adding the ricotta. Stir to combine.

3 - Top with mint leaves, if you desire a fresh, springy taste, or parmesan cheese, if you're a bit of a cheese addict like me. Serve immediately!

Potato and leek soup with caramelised onion bruschetta

I love this combination! The sweetness of the onions works really well with the velvety, peppery soup. And the best bit is that the onions can be easily done whilst the soup is simmering away, and is well worth the effort.

Potato and Leek Soup

6 large potatoes (I used Dutch creams), peeled and chopped roughly
3 leeks, washed well and the white part of the stems finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
20 grams butter (or olive oil for vegans)
1 litre vegetable stock or water
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 - Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Fry the leeks for 3 minutes, or until soft and golden.

2 - Add the potatoes and carrots, and toss in the leed mixture.

3 - Add the stock, and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.

4 - Puree the soup, then season with plenty of pepper. Reheat to serve.

Caramelised onion bruschetta

3 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
50 grams butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
1 thick slice of Italian-style bread per person

1 - Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan. Once melted, add the onion, and cover the pan.

2 - Let the onions cook for 10 minutes with the lid on the pan, stirring reguarly.

3 - Remove lid, add the brown sugar then continue cooking over a medium heat, stirring often, until the onions are dark brown and tender. Add the thyme leaves.

4 - Toast the bread, then spread with onion mixture. Serve.

Cheat's cannelloni with sesame broccoli

This would have to be the world's easiest cannelloni recipe. It's perfect for those Friday nights when you're tired, and you want something that's comforting and tasty, but won't take hours to prepare. And if you don't tell anybody that you cheated with a preprepared sauce, then who will ever know?

Cannelloni

1 packet cannelloni tubes
250 gram tub of ricotta
250 gram frozen spinach, defrosted
3 spring onions, chopped finely
100 gram parmesan cheese, grated
750 ml jar of passata (or any preprepared tomato based pasta sauce)
300 ml cream
200 grams cheddar cheese, grated

1 - Preheat oven to 180 C.

2 - Mix in a bowl the spinach, ricotta, spring onion and parmesan cheese until well combined.

3 - Pour half the passata over the base of a long casserole dish.

4 - Stuff each cannelloni tube with the spinach mixture. Lay in a line along the casserole dish, on top of the passata.

5 - Once all tubes are in the dish, cover with the remaining passata. Pour the cream over evenly, then cover with the grated cheddar cheese.

6 - Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, or until the tubes are al dente, and the cheese is bubbling and golden. Serve with sesame broccoli or a green salad.

Sesame broccoli

1 head broccoli, cut into flowers
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 - Steam the broccoli flowers until tender.

2 - Place in a bowl, and toss with the oil and seeds. Serve immediately.

Silverbeet, pumpkin and feta risotto with brie toasties

There's nothing better on a cold winter's evening, when the wind is rattling the windows and the rain is pattering on the roof, to find yourself sitting snugly inside, tucking into a big bowl of risotto goodness. Unless, of course, it's finding a nice bottle of red to open just prior to sitting down and tucking in.

Risotto
1/2 small Jap pumpkin, peeled and cut into smallish pieces
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch of silverbeet, washed well, leaves removed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups of arborio rice
1 litre of vegetable stock or water
100 grams of firm feta, crumbled

1 - Put the pumpkin into a medium sized saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer pumpkin until tender. Drain the pumpkin, and mash. Set aside.

2 - Heat the stock or water until boiling. Turn down to a simmer.

3 - Meanwhile, heat the oil and then gently saute the onion until golden. Add the arborio rice and cook in the oil and onion for a minute or two.

4 - Begin adding a ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir well, until all the stock is absorbed. Keep adding the stock, a ladle at a time, until the rice is al dente, stirring frequently.

5 - At the stage add another ladle of the stock, plus the mashed pumpkin. Stir until the stock is absorbed.

6 - Add the silverbeet, and stir in until wilted. Take the risotto off the heat, then add in the feta. Divide into bowls and serve with the brie toasties.

Brie toasties
Now this isn't really what you'd call a necessary accompaniement to the risotto, but when you have some beautiful sourdough bread at home, and you've just popped into the cheese shop and come out with some super-ripe brie, what else can you do?

1 slice of sourdough bread per person
1 or two slices of brie per person, enough to cover the bread.

1 - Put the brie on the bread, and put under a grill. Grill until the brie is slightly bubbling, then serve.

Risotto Balls with green salad

I don't know about you, but I find Tuesdays to be killers. It's no longer the absolute beginning of the week, so you're not full of enthusiam. But it's nowhere near the end of the week, and the weekend feels sooooo long away. It's just... Tuesday. Thank goodness most of dinner was made last night, hey!

Risotto Balls

Leftover risotto mixture
2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups dried breadcrumbs

1 - Divide the risotto into balls, using wet hands.

2 - Roll each ball in the breadcrumbs so they are fully coated.

3 - Heat the oil in a saucepan until hot. It should be hot enough that a cube of bread will sizzle on contact.

4 - Free 3 or 4 balls at a time, for 3ish minutes, until the balls are golden. Drain on kitchen towel and serve with the green salad.

Green salad

2 cups of lettuce leaves, washed and dried well
1/2 an avocado, sliced
1/2 a punnet of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard

1 - Add the vegetables to a bowl.

2 - In a small cup, add the vinegar, mustard and oil, and mix well. Pour over salad and serve immediately.

Burritos with chocolate milkshakes

Burritos. So easy. So filling. So messy. So finger-licking, down-my-arm-it's-dripping good! Who needs takeaway when you can whip up this kind of stuff?

Burritos
200 grams of black turtle beans, picked over and soaked overnight
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
800 gram tin of crushed tomatoes
salad leaves, washed well and dried
2 tomatoes, sliced
100 grams feta, crumbles
1 large piece of pita bread per person

1 - Drain the beans from their soaking liquid, and rinse well. Put them into a heavy saucepan, cover with 1 litre of water, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 45 minutes or until tender, then drain well.

2 - Put half the beans in a bowl, add a little water, and blitz with a blender stick until pureed. Set aside.

3 - Heat the oil in a non-stick fry pan, and saute the onion until golden. Add the garlic and chilli flakes, and cook for a minute or two more.

4 - Add the beans, bean puree and crushed tomatoes, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until thick.

5 - Take each piece of bread, and spread the middle of bean mixture. Add the salad leaves, tomatoes and feta, then roll up and eat.

Chocolate milkshake
2 tablespoons of Dutch dark cocoa powder
500ml of milk
Caster sugar, to taste.

Put the cocoa and milk in a blender and whizz. Add caster suger, one spoon at a time, and whizz again until the desired sweetness. Pour into glasses and serve.