Take One Veg

It has been a while since I did a post about a cookbook. With all the seasonal... autumnal hues that reflect the assortment of vegetables available at the local shop; it is time to put more hearty vegetables at the centre of the table.

I was drawn to this book merely by it's title plus that fact that I enjoy vegetables. Many times as I shop, certain vegetables catch my eye and my attention then settles on pondering the possible dishes one may create. Often times I will randomly buy a certain vegetable with no pre-planned dish. I will bring the spontaneous vegetable of choice home, leaf through many cookbooks... looking for the right dish before choosing a recipe. I am not trying to re-invent the culinary vegetable wheel, just opting for a variety with plenty of vegetables that are provided from the local shop.  

Vegetables are cost effective and as we all know, nutritious. Vegetarian cooking has changed throughout the years. It has become more flavourful and now some are gaining superfood status. This cookbook has plenty of recipes that stretch the full 4 seasons and any budget. This cookbook inspires you to eat more veggies... to incorporate more veggies into a meal and therefore one is eating less meat, whether or not that is your objective. The 6 chapters offer easy and delicious recipes for just about every vegetable imaginable. I made the Red Potato Curry recipe however the Beetroot Espresso Brownies, Hidden Butternut Mac and Cheese and the Speedy Pea Mozzarella and Lemon Tart caught my eye. There are plenty of recipes in this book I want to make. Since it is fall and soup can nourish the soul I wanted to share the Butternut and Coconut Soup recipe...

Butternut and Coconut Soup

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makes enough for 4 bowls - prep time : 25 minutes - cook time: 35 minutes

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 shallots, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 large butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 3cm cubes

5cm piece of ginger, grated (add more if you want an extra hit of ginger)

a sprinkling of dried red chilli flakes, plus extra to garnish

200ml hot vegetable stock

400ml coconut milk, plus extra to garnish

1. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Pour in the olive oil and heat for a moment or two before adding the shallots and garlic. Gently fry for 3 - 4 minutes until the shallots have softened. Then stir through the butternut cubes, ginger and chilli flakes.

2. Turn the heat down and sauté the butternut squash gently for 8-10 minutes, with the lid on. Stir regularly to prevent it catching on the bottom of the pan. 

3. Remove the lid and pour over the hot vegetable stock and coconut milk. Bring the pan to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15 - 18 minutes, until the butternut squash is tender and cuts like soft butter.

4. Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until really smooth and silky. Return to the pan to heat through. Season to taste - it might take a few tastes to get this right. Serve in deep, warm bowls with a splattering of coconut milk and a few chilli flakes.

It is Wednesday and the week is almost done. - JD 

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

Usually I like measuring and mixing about the list of ingredients of a recipe, makes me feel like a scientist, however I have heard about these simple 3 ingredient recipes and wanted to give one try. Upon my search I found  many similar recipes for peanut butter cookies, like this one, however they were all just slightly different somehow. Offering different measurements for ingredients and baking temperature and times varied as well. I made two batches because I wanted to tweak the recipe here and there. I added ground flax seed and lessened the sugar. I let the taste testers decide and my modified version got the most thumbs up. This is a great recipe if you are pressed for time and low on certain ingredients. Also this recipe is gluten free! 

The original Peanut Butter Cookie recipe:

Mix together:

225 grams of peanut butter

225 grams of casters sugar

1 beaten egg

Mould into "blobs", flatten on a baking tray with a fork then bake in a 225ºC oven for 12 minutes.

Here is my modified version of this recipe: 

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

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Mix together:

225 grams of natural no salt peanut butter, room temperature

110 grams of casters sugar

1/3 cup ground flax seed

1 beaten egg

Pre-heat the oven to 375ºF. 

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside. 

I spooned the dough with a dessert teaspoon and then moulded the dough into rounds... no smaller than a walnut however no larger than a golf ball. Gently flattened the rounds with the back of the teaspoon. Bake in the pre-heated 375ºF oven for 9 minutes. 
Remove from oven and gently press the top of each baked cookie with the back of the spatula or fork, this makes the cookies more compact and chewy on the inside when completely cooled. Let the cookies set on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Notes: I baked the first batch for 12 minutes, as the original recipe suggested, and the bottoms burnt therefore I reduced the baking time to 9 minutes and they turned out nicely. Next time, I would like to add some shredded coconut, dried cranberries, dates, apricots, sunflower seeds or oatmeal into the mix. You could refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes before baking, if you prefer. I didn't have to convert the peanut butter and sugar into cups because my lovely husband bought me a great multi weight scale; however in my research I found that 225g approximately equals 8 ounces, 1 cup and 110g approximately equals 4 ounces, 1/2 cup. 

My eye is doing much better. Have a good weekend everyone! - JD 

Pumpkin Pie with Crumbly Nut Topping

This time the dessert was the focal point of the holiday meal but then again when is it not. Classic pumpkin pie is sweet and full of warm spices with a golden amber perfection. Even though this recipe uses condensed milk I found that the pumpkin pie taste was not overly sweet. The nut topping was a wonderful change from the usual dollop of whipping cream or vanilla ice cream. You may use this recipe or what ever pumpkin pie recipe you like however I do recommend you try this crumbly nut topping, you won't be disappointed. It is a such a simple topping that can be made for many different pies.   

Pumpkin Pie

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1 can (15 ounce) of pumpkin purée

1 can (14 ounce) of sweetened condensed milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or British mixed spice

1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 - 9 inch unbaked ready made pie shell or make pastry dough using whatever pastry recipe you have; roll out and form the dough into a pie baking dish. Use unbaked.  

Crumbly Nut Topping 

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2 tablespoons of flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon dried orange peel

2 tablespoons of butter, chilled

1 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 425ºF (220ºC)

In a large bowl combine the pumpkin purée, condensed milk, the beaten eggs, cinnamon, ground ginger, pumpkin pie spice or British mixed spice if using, freshly grated nutmeg and salt. Stir to mix everything together nicely. Then pour the pumpkin mixture into the unbaked made pie shell or a unbaked ready made pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven.

While the pie is baking, you can prepare the crumbly nut topping... In a medium bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, dried orange peel, chopped walnuts and chilled butter; mix together with a fork or use your clean fingers. 

When the 15 minutes are up remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle the topping over the pie. Before placing the pie back into the oven; Reduce the heat to 350ºF (175ºC) and bake an additional 40 minutes or until set. 

Aqua Hydrate

All this week I have been battling a terrible cold. Trying to stay warm and hydrated. Aqua Hydrate was suggested to me by my doctor for a few health reasons. Until then I had not heard of Aqua Hydrate and I am unsure if most know about it. Before I would drink Powerade because of the B vitamins it offered however the sugar content I was not thrilled with. Finding Aqua Hydrate has me ditching the sugar and calories... and unfortunately the B vitamin's, I do take a B vitamin twice a week anyway, for a high performance electrolyte enhanced water with a pH9+ to help restore and balance my body when I need it. It is sold in 500ml and 1 litre bottles and can be found at most grocery shops.  

I am feeling a bit better today. By Sunday I should be into my Thanksgiving swing, cooking a modest feast for us. Have a good weekend! - JD  

Pumpkin Bread

'Tis the season to make everything pumpkin and this pumpkin bread is super moist and easy to make. Delicious and decadent. A lovely dark amber colour with a nice seeded date top. I much prefer this over banana bread. There is definitely more to this pumpkin loaf than meets the pumpkin pie eye.       

Pumpkin Bread

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1 1/2 cups (200g) of all purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup (200g) of caster sugar or coconut sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon British mixed spice or pumpkin pie spice

freshly grated nutmeg or 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1 cup of pumpkin purée

1/2 cup of vegetable oil 

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup water

3 teaspoons of molasses

Options: 1 teaspoon of orange zest and or about 1/2 cup (120ml) chopped walnuts.

Topping: handful of pumpkin seeds, chopped dried dates and sunflower seeds

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).

Butter and flour a loaf tin. Then line the bottom of the prepared tin with a piece of parchment paper. Set aside. Trust me, adding parchment paper will help ease the loaf out of the tin and prevent it from from cracking.

In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and British mixed spice. Set aside.

In another bowl combine the pumpkin purée, vegetable oil, water, molasses, and orange zest, if using. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Making sure that there is no dry flour in the batter. Then gently stir in the chopped walnuts, if adding. 

Pour into the prepared baking tin; making sure that the batter is even and nice and smooth on top. Spread the topping: pumpkin seeds, chopped dried dates, and sunflower seeds on top. 

Place in the oven and bake for about 45 to 60 minutes or until a knife in the centre comes out clean and the loaf is nicely darkened. 

Let cool slightly in the loaf pan before running a spatula around the sides, to loosen before removing from the pan and allowing to cool further on a wire rack.

Notes: I had a heavy duty light loaf tin therefore I baked the pumpkin loaf for a full 60 minutes. If I had a darker tin then perhaps the loaf would have needed less time, as darker tins or pans cook their contents more quickly than light tins or pans. The topping can be optional. If you can't have nuts then omit them. You can replace the vegetable oil with apple sauce or reduce the amount of oil to 1/3 cup. Although I didn't you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed to the dry ingredients. I omitted the orange zest as I wanted full pumpkin flavour.  

Oven Roasted Mini Potatoes

I am going to start the week off with a simple and comforting picture recipe of the oven roasted mini potatoes I made for Sunday roast. This is very simple delicious recipe that even the kids can get in on. These oven roasted potatoes can vary in flavour depending on which herbs, spices and seasonings you choose and possibly what you are serving the potatoes with. I do not stray from the use of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Together they compliment each other and the balsamic vinegar when baked adds a slight tangy sweetness to the potatoes.  

First, wash or rinse the mini potatoes that is if they do not come already washed regardless it is still a good idea to give them a rinse. Cut each potato in half... even the wee ones. I know it sounds tedious with mini potatoes however trust me you will be surprised at how fast you can cut them in half. Place the cut potatoes into a large bowl. 

Once all the the mini potatoes have been halved drizzle with olive oil and some balsamic vinegar. Using a spoon stir to coat. Then add the herbs, spices and seasonings of your choice. Toss to coat. I added cumin, fresh rosemary, a bit of seasoning salt, crushed garlic, and cracked pepper.  

Place the well seasoned potatoes on a parchment lined baking tray and roast at 400ºF for about 45 mins to 1 hour. 

When the potatoes are nicely browned, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, remove from oven and serve.

Notes: This recipe may work with regular sized potatoes. The cooking time will vary depending on the size you cut the potatoes to.  

This was our meal for Sunday roast. Meatloaf with steamed carrots and asparagus and of course those lovely oven roasted mini potatoes that everyone could not get enough of. 

Hope everyone had a good weekend. We did. - JD 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Pumpkin Waffle with Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Occasionally I have dessert however this was not one of those times. This was my son's dessert idea. The kidlets like when there is an overabundance of breakfast waffles for this and other various reasons. A quick breakfast on a school morning and or a quick dessert in the evening. According to my son nothing beats leftover pumpkin waffles with a scoop of chocolate peanut butter ice cream... except with a drizzle of caramel. Unfortunately, to his culinary desires and my sugar overload relief, we were out. Regardless, he was in heaven and so was my daughter. 

We have been enjoying the lovely Fall weather this week. Have a good weekend everyone! - JD