vegetables – What’s Cookin’ Good Lookin’?

Mediterranean Scrolls

Now that lockdown is slowly relaxing and picnics are the activity du jour, I felt the need to make something delicious and portable for a reunion with my in laws. Unfortunately, the crappy weather had other plans, but I’d already made these scrummy scrolls, so in the interest of looking for silver linings, at least I can say dinner was delicious and super easy tonight!

I adapted this recipe from Jamie Oliver’s Veg, making just a few substitutions. Miss 10 doesn’t love olives, so I substituted semi dried tomatoes, forgot the couscous (accidentally but we didn’t miss it), upped the artichokes a bit because I love them but so rarely eat them, and failed the spiraled snake shape so did a crescent. And it was gooooooood. The look, smell, taste, smug satisfaction of a vegetarian dinner… it was all awesome.

All in all, it comes to a very respectable 350 calories a serve, and while a salad on the side goes very nicely, it stands on its own just as well. Perfect for lunch, premade for a quick dinner, or – should the stars ever align – a great picnic option.

Ingredients

1 brown onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbs olive oil

50g sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped

500g baby spinach

200g jar baby artichoke hearts, drained

250g red peppers in brine

Salt and pepper to taste.

6 sheets filo pastry + 1 sheet for repairs

Spray oil or 1 tsp olive oil.

100g Greek feta

2 eggs, beaten

1 egg, beaten separately for egg wash.

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C and position the shelf low in the oven.
Heat oil in a large, deep frypan over medium heat. Add onions, and cook for 3 minutes until softened. Add the tomatoes, spinach, artichokes and peppers, and cook down for 5-8 minutes, until the spinach has wilted. Season to taste (I like a lot of pepper in this) and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, lay three sheets of filo pastry, slightly overlapping, on a very clean, large surface,. You may need to stick the sheets together with a little (very little!) water. Spray or brush lightly with oil, then place another three sheets over the top to create a double layer.
Once the vegetable mixture has cooled, crumble in the feta and add the two beaten eggs. Stir gently to combine well.
Spoon the mixture evenly along the long edge of the pastry. Roll it gently into a log. If it tears a little, use your spare sheet to patch it, sticking it to the roll with a little water.
Bring into a crescent or spiral shape and gently place on an oiled baking sheet or silicone mat. I use a silicone mat, but you might want a tray or something firm when transporting to the oven, for support.
Brush gently with egg wash, taking care not to tear the pastry.
Bake for 50 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Heat oil in a large, deep frypan over medium heat. Add onions, and cook for 3 minutes until softened. Add the tomatoes, spinach, artichokes and peppers, and cook down for 5-8 minutes, until the spinach has wilted. Season to taste (I like a lot of pepper in this) and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, lay three sheets of filo pastry, slightly overlapping, on a very clean, large surface,. You may need to stick the sheets together with a little (very little!) water. Spray or brush lightly with oil, then place another three sheets over the top to create a double layer.
Once the vegetable mixture has cooled, crumble in the feta and add the two beaten eggs. Stir gently to combine well.
Spoon the mixture evenly along the long edge of the pastry. Roll it gently into a log. If it tears a little, use your spare sheet to patch it, sticking it to the roll with a little water.
Bring into a crescent or spiral shape and gently place on a baking sheet or silicone mat. I use a silicone mat, but you might want a tray or something firm when transporting to the oven, for support.
Brush gently with egg wash, taking care not to tear the pastry.
Bake for 50 minutes on a lower shelf of the oven. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting, for structural integrity. If you’re serving it cold, cutting it after it’s completely cool is the best option.

Warm Potato Salad with Roasted Cream Cheese

Hands up who knew you could roast Philadelphia cream cheese into crispy little chunks? Me either! But you can, and they add a novel saltiness to a warm potato salad, making any meal a little different. Shout out to the Simply Heaven Philly cookbook that I stole from my sister for the idea!

Ingredients

3 medium potatoes, diced

2tbs white wine vinegar

2tbs olive oil

1tsp wholegrain mustard

1/2 tsp sugar

125g block cream cheese, broken into 2cm pieces

1 bunch asparagus, sliced

200g green beans, trimmed

250g cherry tomatoes, halved

100g baby capsicum, sliced

1 bunch broccolini, trimmed

Salt and pepper, to serve

Method

Combine oil, vinegar, mustard and sugar and mix well.
Preheat oven to 200C. Line a baking tray with foil, spread out potatoes and drizzle with half of the oil mixture. Roast for 20 minutes on top rack.
Arrange remaining ingredients on another prepared tray and drizzle with the remaining oil. Roast for a further 20 minutes.
Remove vegetables from oven and carefully combine in a large bowl. Season well and serve.

Smoked Salmon and Veggie Rice Bake

As you can see, I’m a big fan of the rice bake – it’s a great way to get dinner ready quickly, and boy, is that the name of the game lately! We’re up to four days of sports practice for the kids, and of course, they all start at 6pm. So anything I can make quickly… or better yet, the night before, after I’ve run around all evening, is relatively cheap AND is healthy, holds a special place in my heart. Taste.com is a little hit or miss sometimes, but this is definitely a hit!

This bake is a prime example. It’s full of kale, broccoli and capsicum, as well as eggs and salmon for a nice protein hit. And because it’s so flavourful, having used marinated capsicum and Australian mustard to up the ante, you only need a small amount of salmon, keeping it so much more budget friendly than most seafood dishes. Personally, I’d love to swap the kale out and use baby spinach, but after 3 years of me living off the stuff, the husband is begging for something a bit different!

Taste has this recipe yielding six serves, but for once, I go a bit bigger, and have it feed four. It’s still only 485 calories, which is absolutely reasonable, and you can bask in the knowledge that if you don’t need quite so much, you can enjoy a dinner just under 400 cals. Which is handy when you’re eating on the run… and these days, that’s pretty much the only way we eat dinner anymore.

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil

1 brown onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Zest of 1 lemon

1 small bunch kale, chopped roughly

300g broccoli, cut into small florets.

8 eggs

2-3 tsp Australian mustard

1/2 cup Greek yoghurt

290g jar marinated grilled capsicum, drained and diced

250g microwavable brown rice (no need to microwave it)

150g hot smoked salmon, flaked

2tsp dried dill

Salt and Pepper, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.
Steam broccoli in the microwave for 2 minutes until tender, but not mushy. Drain and allow to cool while completing next steps.
Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and lemon and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in kale, cooking until just wilted. Add broccoli and break up larger pieces. Stir to combine, then remove from heat.
In a clean bowl, whisk eggs, mustard, yoghurt, capsicum, rice and salmon until fully combined. Season with salt, pepper and dill, and pour over kale mixture. Combine well and smooth the top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, and serve.

One Pot Chicken, Bean and Veg Rice

Now that I’m back at uni (and doing it so slowly that I’ll be here for about 5 years, which is vaguely horrifying!), while still teaching full time, raising kids, maintaining a marriage, pretending to have a social life,
spoiling a high-maintenance dog, playing sport, making noises about work-life balance (hahahahaha) and trying to stay sane through it all*, I’m relying harder than ever on quick meals that are nutritious, delicious, cheap, and require no mental energy to prepare.

I’m rather fond of this one-pot wonder, which is very tasty, allows the throwing in of whatever you have on hand, can absolutely be made the night before, is basically begging you to use pre-cooked rice (but is still a one-pot cinch if you cook it from scratch) if you’re feeling particularly rushed, and is full of veggies and protein. We use brown rice most of the time, so there is some wholegrain goodness going on there, too. It takes all of 15 minutes in front of the stove, and is an absolute treasure on those evenings when you’re pulled from pillar to post after a long day at work, but want dinner to consist of something decent (does anyone else have those nights when you don’t even have time for takeout? We call them Thursdays around here).

As if this wasn’t already the dinner that keeps of giving, it’s relatively low calorie, with 1/4 serve consisting of 400 calories. I routinely eat 1/5, and it’s more than enough for me, but I generally don’t eat huge meals at night. One day, I’m sure I’ll use barley instead of rice, but that kind of defeats the quickness of the whole thing.

*Note to self: don’t list it all out like that again in black and white if you want a snowball’s chance of that last one!

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 yellow capsicum, diced

500g chicken thigh fillet, cubed

400g tomatoes, diced (quartered cherry tomatoes are particularly nice, but regular sized tomatoes are completely fine)

375g microwavable rice (or 3/4 cup rice, cooked however you please. I steam mine, leaving it just underdone)

200g chicken stock

400g red kidney beans, drained

1 zucchini, diced

pinch cayenne, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

preheat oven to 180C. Heat oil in an oven-proof skillet over low heat, and cook onion, garlic and capsicum until softened.
Increase heat to medium-high and add chicken, cooking for five minutes, until well browned.
Add remaining ingredients, and stir to combine and coat rice with juices. Ensure that the rice has separated, as it sometimes comes out of the pack in clumps.
Bake for 15 minutes until golden.

Okonomiyaki

I’ve made a few savoury Japanese pancakes in my time, but this is the closest I’ve come to the okonomiyaki I’ve eaten that were actually made by Japanese people. Other attempts have generally tasted more frittata-esque, lacking the body I craved, and being just a little too eggy (not a complaint that this egg-lover often makes). I do like this one, though. And so did everyone else. A true indicator of how good a dish I make is, is whether or not the leftovers are left over the next day. Both boys in my house eradicated every last crumb of the bit I stashed away for tomorrow morning before I’d even finished my first round.

It hasn’t escaped my notice that most of my blog posts have some iteration of “it’s so quick and easy, it’s low calorie, and uses simple, wholesome ingredients”. What can I say, I have a type! And this is no different. A very generous serve of this is 450 calories, and when I say “generous”, I mean it. It’s a big slice, and it’s very filling, as it’s jam packed full of veggies. I say it serves 4, but 5 at 340 calories isn’t a stretch whatsoever.

Ingredients

200g streaky bacon

1 zucchini, coarsely grated

1 carrot, coarsely grated

1 onion, coarsely grated

1/4 green cabbage, shredded

500g cooked prawns, shelled

1 cup self raising flour

1 cup water

4 eggs

Salt and pepper, to taste

Barbecue sauce, to serve

Mayonnaise (Kewpie, preferably), to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 200C.
In a large oven-proof skillet, cook bacon, removing from heat before it gets crispy (it will crisp up in the oven, and nobody wants burnt bacon!). Set aside on a plate, leaving the grease in the pan.
Place all the vegetables and prawns in the hot skillet, and cook over medium heat, tossing gently, for 5 minutes, until cabbage has wilted, but not coloured.
Meanwhile, whisk eggs, flour and water into a smooth batter. Season well. Pour over the vegetables in the skillet, and mix very gently to distribute the veggies evenly. Cook over the medium heat for 2-3 minutes , until the base is starting to firm up.
Place the bacon rashers over the top and gently press into the batter. You’re not looking to fully submerge the bacon, here.
Transfer skillet to oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until set and golden. Remove from oven, drizzle with sauces and serve warm. (I’m really light on the mayo because it’s a total calorie bomb, but feel free not to be so stingy!)

Pork and Mushroom Udon Soup

Silly me, I called out a dangerous sentence in my household this morning. I should have known better, or stopped myself when I felt it coming on, but nonetheless, “I’m doing a shopping list, what do we want for dinner?” fell out of my mouth. Such a question will result in one of two responses: a shrug of the shoulders and non-committal grunt of “I don’t know”, or a very excited, specific request.

Today, I got the latter. The 12 year old Japanophile piped upped almost instantly, “Ramen!” and of course, he didn’t mean the cheap, quick 2 minute noodle style (thankfully, because I really don’t care for those). I tried to point out that even in Japan, people don’t make ramen at home, they go to a noodle house. He saw right through that, and I found myself at the huge Asian supermarket not too far from my house.

As grumpy as I sound, I am of course, quite pleased with the outcome. I cook a lot of soup, even a lot of Asian style soups, but I think this might have been the best yet. I got a little inspiration from Nigella Lawson, a little from the Japan cookbook by Nancy Singleton Hachisu, and a little from years of eating ramen and never coming across one I didn’t love. I won’t claim pure authenticity, but I will claim deliciousness. And healthfulness – it’s pretty wholesome at only 450 calories a serve.

Ingredients

20g dried, sliced shiitake mushrooms

5 cups dashi or chicken stock

2tsp minced ginger

2tsp white miso paste

2 radishes, thinly sliced

1tbs soy sauce

2tsp olive oil

300g pork loin, thinly sliced and seasoned with salt and pepper

4 eggs

400g udon noodles

2 bok choy, shredded, or 100g baby spinach

8 slices narutomaki

scallions, sliced thinly, to serve

1 small chilli, sliced thinly, to serve.

Methods

Place mushrooms, stock, miso and ginger in a large saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. In the last 3 minutes, add radishes and soy sauce. Meanwhile, continue with the following steps.
Saute the pork in the oil over high heat until just cooked through, Set aside.
Boil eggs for 6.5-9 minutes, until set to your preference. We like a 6.5 minute egg, where it’s hard around the outside of the yolk and still slightly soft toward the middle. When done, remove with a slotted spoon, reserving the water, and run under cold water, peel and set aside.
Place udon in the water from the eggs and cook for 4 minutes, or to package instructions. Drain and rinse.
To assemble, place noodles in bowls. Add spinach/bok choy and pork, then ladle in soup. Top with narotmaki, scallions and chilli.

Sweet Chilli Dumpling Stir Fry

Why did I never think to do this?! Why did I inhabit this planet for 33 years without this?!

I LOVE stir fry, we eat some version of it weekly. I LOVE dumplings. My whole family would subsist on nothing but pot stickers, xiao long bao and wontons, given half the chance. Combining the two was so obvious. So perfect. So… not something I’d ever considered until I came across a recipe from taste.com.au. I’ve made it a couple of times, and never the same way twice: different dumplings, different veggies, different ratios. The sauce is amazing, and that always stays the same, but the beauty of stir fry is that you use what you have. So this recipe is a guideline, a serving suggestion at best. But a truly delicious suggestion that I urge everyone to make their own. I’ve made these with various flavours, shapes and styles of dumplings with success, but find pot stickers are the hardiest, and therefore, best to toss around. But substitute away… it’s all good. One day I’ll be super smug and use homemade dumplings (I went to a funky class months ago, and so far have done nothing with that experience), but I’m absolutely not above throwing in some good quality frozen pieces.

This meal serves 4, and is about 350 calories per serve. Of course, that’s hard to gauge when you change everything each time, but if you stick to the spirit of the recipe, it’s a safe bet.

Ingredients

1.5 tbs peanut oil

400g dumplings of your choice – I’m partial to prawn or pork

100ml water

1 onion, thinly sliced

200g mushrooms, sliced

1 small handful of baby capsicum, sliced (or 1 regular pepper)

4 heirloom carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 small head broccoli or 3 bunches broccolini, cut florets and stalks thinly sliced

100g beans or snow peas, trimmed

400g can baby corn, drained

3 cloves garlic, minced

1tsp minced ginger

1/4 cup oyster sauce

2tbs sweet chilli sauce

1/4 cup Shaoxing wine

Large handful baby spinach

Method

You’ll want everything ready to go before you start. Chop all vegetables and place in one large bowl. Combine oyster sauce, sweet chilli sauce and Shaoxing wine in a jug and set aside.
In a large frypan with a lid, heat 1tbs oil over medium heat. Add dumplings and cook one side without turning or stirring. Carefully pour water into pan (it will sizzle like mad… I often turn the heat down to low because it freaks me out a little), cover with lid and steam for 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with slotted spoon and keep warm (this is a quick method – throwing a clean teatowel over it should do the trick).
Heat remaining oil in a hot wok (you can use a frypan, in fact I have most of the times I’ve cooked this, but since getting one recently, I cannot recommend a wok highly enough!) and add all the vegetables, ginger and garlic. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes, until veggies are tender but not mushy.
Pour the sauce over the veggies and give a good stir.
Add the spinach and dumplings and turn gently until the dumplings are coated with sauce and the spinach is wilted.

Spiced Cauliflower Soup

Like so many others – if social media is anything to go by – I’m somewhat struggling to eat well during this time of social isolation and lack of routine. This week was particularly hard for a multitude of reasons, but while those reasons are understandable (a crash of emotions, a huge change to my routine, or what passes for one these days, into one that is significantly more stressful, and one which I find even more challenging than it’s predecessor… my husband’s birthday… finally being allowed out to see people… the list goes on), they’re irrelevant. The fact of the matter is, I feel so much better both mentally and physically when I eat well and exercise. The dog helps me with the latter, but I have to take responsibility for the former. Of course, that’s not about restricting food, it’s just about upping the plants and being mindful of what I’m eating and how it’s affecting me. This week I’ve felt slumpy and grumpy, and at least some of that feeling like crap is related to the fact that I’ve been eating like crap. There’s a chicken/egg element to it, too, but it’s a cycle that isn’t too hard to break once you identify it.

Which brings me to this soup. Not an atonement (because I didn’t do anything wrong – food isn’t a moral compass), not a punishment (food is a blessing, NEVER a punishment!!), just a step back into what makes my tastebuds, mind and body feel good: simple, delicious, nutritious food. A kickstart out of the doldrums and back into mindfulness to all aspects of my life. Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, it is a bowlful of flavour and comfort that tastes divine, fills you up, makes your house smell like heaven, and brings some sensory interest to a very strange yet boring world. All for 10 minutes of easy prep, 20 minutes of simmering away, and a handful of really simple, nourishing ingredients that you probably have stashed already (you can definitely use frozen cauliflower for this). At 211 calories a bowl, it’s also a very low calorie option, perfect if (again, like me) you’re leaning on bread for a little emotional support right now. I can attest that an English Muffin with just a smear of cottage cheese is a perfect companion to this soup.

Serves 4, rather generously

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon whole fenugreek seeds

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

2 baby chat potatoes (about 200g), washed and diced

2 teaspoons minced ginger

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (more to taste)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 small cauliflower

400g tinned tomatoes

3 cups vegetable stock

Salt and pepper, to taste (I ditched the salt and went to town with the pepper)

Yoghurt (coconut if you’re keeping it vegan) to serve

Method

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add cumin and fenugreek seeds, and wait a few seconds for them to pop.
Immediately add onion and potato, and stir to coat with seeds. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook for 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and add cauliflower and spices. Cook, stirring, for a further 5 minutes, ensuring the vegetables are evenly coated.
Stir in stock and tomatoes, season, and bring to the boil. Reduce back to low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until everything is very tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Use a stick blender to blitz to desired consistency. I like to blend about half way to smooth – I like some texture, so ensure that tiny bits of florets and at least a few small cubes of potato are left intact.
Ladle into bowls and season. Top with yoghurt, if using, and serve.

Easiest Egg Muffins

Looking for something quick and easy to make? Something that could be a meal or a snack, while clocking in at less that 100 calories (93 to be exact)? Something that uses up the sad veggies dwelling in the bottom of your fridge, can be eaten on the run with one hand, are low carb and high protein, and are bursting with veggie goodness?

Well, look no further.

I mean, you could; the internet is full of recipes for egg bites/muffins/mini quiches. But if you’re here… well, it makes perfect sense to look no further. These muffins tick all the boxes.

The only caveat to these is that you MUST use paper cases. Unless losing half your muffin to the bottom of the muffin pan is your thing, of course. Trust me. They stick. But apart from that, they’re so simple, and not at all labour intensive – even making them after a long day of work isn’t as harrowing as it sounds.

I like to make 6 at a time – they’re not going to keep for much more than that. No one wants slimy eggs as they’re running out the door!

Ingredients

6 eggs

125g cherry tomatoes, cut into eights

100g mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup broccoli, finely chopped

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 180C, and line a muffin pan with 6 paper cases.
Over medium heat, cook onion, mushrooms and broccoli until onion is translucent – about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, crack eggs into a large bowl, and beat well. Stir in cherry tomatoes.
Add cooked vegetables, and mix to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Evenly distribute mixture into the paper cases. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and firm.

Spicy Cauliflower and Potato (Aloo Gobi)

In the interminable search for vegetarian lunches, I have found yet ANOTHER spicy roasted cauliflower dish. Who’d ever have thought that I’d be tripping over myself to roast cauliflowers constantly? Sometimes, I don’t even recognise myself. But as with most veggies, roasting cauliflower to sweet perfection is the most wonderful way to avoid the soggy blandness that comes from steaming (or gods forbid, boiling!) them. I wish I’d learned this earlier, I was choking cauli down until I was 30. Now I can’t get enough of it!

I’m really hesitant to call this Aloo Gobi: the spirit is there, but I don’t think we’re talking authenticity here. However, what we ARE talking is a delightfully fragrant bowlful of vegetable goodness that keeps you satisfied both physically and emotionally, and makes your little corner of the world smell like heaven. AND IT’S VEGAN, so we can all feel a little smug on this coolish Meatless Monday. Or not. The vegan-ness isn’t really a selling point for me, and I didn’t even bother mentioning it to the husband. At any rate, it’s healthy and delicious. And low calorie – 250 calories per serve, and chock full of nutrition. Winner winner vegan dinner!

Serves 4 (smallish, but not ridiculously so, serves)

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
600g baby chat potatoes, diced
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2tbs olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed under the heel of a knife
2 teaspoons minced chilli
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cup water

Parsley, to serve.

Method

Preheat oven to 200C. Spray two baking trays with oil.
Arrange cauliflower and potatoes on trays, spray with oil and sprinkle with cumin seeds. Season.
Roast vegetables, turning halfway through, for about 30 minutes until until cauliflower is tender and browned in spots (just a little char isn’t a bad thing) and potatoes are just cooked.
Meanwhile, cook onion, garlic, chilli, and ginger in olive oil over low heat in a medium sized pan for 8 minutes or until it begins to turn golden and soft. Stir frequently.
Add ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and cook, stirring constantly for a minute or so. Stir in water, scraping any caramelised bits from the pan. Allow to thicken slightly
Stir in roasted vegetables, turning to coat in the spice mixture.
Serve, sprinkled with parsley.