Posted by kathryn in Vegetables and Dinners

• Mental health: Finding Optimism has a wonderful series on being the partner of someone with depression. The posts are written by Anna, the wife of Finding Optimism’s blogger James. It’s a personal, but practical look at how to cope if the person you love has a mental health issue. The series starts here: the depression dialogue. * Mediterranean diet: Revolution Health has a post about the Mediterranean diet – the “behind the scenes” facts which make this way …

Read more 05 October, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Breakfast, Salads, Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

• The Great Big Vegetable Challenge: The Great Big Vegetable Challenge has charted one family’s attempt to convert vegie-phobic children into vegetable lovers. They’ve come to the end of the alphabet and are challenging you to make a vegetable face. * Strawberry salad: I love the strawberry salad on this post from Just Braise_. Leaves, kohlrabi, fresh herbs, strawberries and goats’ cheese. Light and delicious. * Sustainable food: Interesting debate on "_The Gobbler":http://the-gobbler.blogspot.com/2008/07/is-there-food-related-culture-war-going.html about the possible backlash against eating …

Read more 18 July, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Salads and Dinners

• The US$7 Dinner Challenge: Sarah’s Cucina Bella has set a challenge: making a two-course dinner for four people for US$7. That’s not a lot of money, about $10 Australian. I’m taking part – are you up to the challenge? * A selection of salads: I’m new to Food Blogga, but particularly love her salad selection. There are side salads, meal salads, dishes suitable for winter, as well as lighter salads for the summer months. The Food Blogga salad …

Read more 10 October, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Blogging, Desserts, Salads and Dinners

Bananas, custard and asparagus are not the most obvious elements on which to base a meal. And when I started thinking about Sarah Cucina Bella’s $7 dinner challenge they were far from my mind. Originally I was planning a red lentil dal with yoghurt and rice. Good bargain fodder. Until I saw asparagus for a dollar and realised bananas were the cheapest fruit in the supermarket. Which is when my plan changed. Instead my meal is a barley, fetta …

Read more 13 October, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Dinners

A friend sent me a link to cuisine.com.au. This website is based on the recipes published in the The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and NZ Cuisine, so it includes dishes from Bill Granger, Stephanie Alexander, Lynne Mullins, Jill Dupleix and many more. It’s an easy to use, smart looking website, with lots of pictures and recipes categorised by meal, cuisine and also special diets. There are a couple of functions I really like. The What’s in the fridge? search function …

Read more 01 September, 2007

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 Fruit, Vegetables and Dinners

It’s been a light blogging week for me. My attention has been taken up by our new Balance2health clinic website. It’s nearly, nearly ready and should be fully functioning next week. Which means I’ll have that bit of spare time back, which I need for blogging. In the meantime – here’s the usual Friday Quicklinks. * Re-gaining weight: Short piece at Weighty Matters on why Oprah regained her weight. We don’t usually talk celebrities and gossip here at Limes …

Read more 12 December, 2008

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 Fruit and Dinners

• I’m becoming a fan of Half of Me’s regular Lick The Produce section. I’ve linked to it before – hoping to inspire the vegie- and fruit-phobics out there. In this episode she tries mango, kiwi fruit and purple cauliflower for the first time. * The Guardian blog asks if you’re vegetarian and have given up meat then why do you eat so many meat-substitutes_? The post is beautifully titled Hard-core Quornquorn.html. * Those of you following the "31 Days …

Read more 20 August, 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 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 Soups, Salads and Dinners

It’s Friday – so instead of quizzes, it’s time for some links: * Salt & pepper: Startling photos from the BBC of a peppercorn and a grain of salt. * Using seaweed: Another great recipe from Food Stories – this time it’s mushroom, nori and wakame soup. * The easiest chickpea salad?: I love the simplicity of A Life Time of Cooking’s quick and easy chickpea salad with ginger, herbs and citrus. * Gingery mushroom salad: Delicious autumn food …

Read more 25 April, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Soups, Salads, Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Over at the Guardian blog they’ve been exploring strange food combinations. Peanut butter and cornflake sandwiches, chips wrapped in naan bread, broccoli and marmite sandwiches, people are confessing their innermost food secrets. * Trusted MD and Envisions Solutions are taking the pulse of the healthcare blogosphere. If you’re a healthcare blogger, then you might want to take part in their online poll. * Veggie Meal Plans has a beginner’s guide to worm farming. * Perfect for this time of …

Read more 07 September, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Dinners and Legumes

A while ago I blogged about how small impediments can stop us from eating well and why I never cook stir frys. I love eating them. They’re quick, tasty and healthy. You can add in lots and lots of vegetables, change around the flavours, use some low fat protein. What’s not to like? Instead I don’t cook stir frys because I hate cleaning the wok afterwards. So this meal is what I make instead. It has many of the …

Read more 27 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Eggs and Dinners

Monday is always the night I want something quick and easy for dinner. While home-made and healthy are important, I’m mostly after speed and simplicity. Some quick and easy suggestions are: * Pork&Asian greens stir-fry – although I’d probably miss out the five-spice mix and use a pack of frozen vegies * An omelette with a big pile of steamed vegetables and (if I could be bothered) oven-baked wedges * Tuscan bean soup – it may be from Sunrise, but …

Read more 09 July, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Eggs and Dinners

I’ve written before about frittatas being one of the staple meals in my house. They’re a quick-ish, flexible dish. As long as you have eggs, you can make a frittata with whatever else is in the cupboards. Which makes a frittata a perfect meal for the Pantry Challenge. Eggs, olive oil, some herbs, an onion and a few frozen vegetables are all you need to make a basic frittata. I made this frittata for lunch today and had it …

Read more 25 November, 2008

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 Desserts, Salads and Dinners

Great summer recipes from Bill Granger in yesterday’s Good Living. I particularly like the vietnamese style salad, which could be turned into a light meal by adding some cooked tofu, chicken or fish. The pork burgers are quick and easy, plus the watermelon granita is a summer dessert that’s lower in kilojoules than ice-cream.

Read more 22 November, 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 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 Vegan, Dinners and Summer

When the hot weather hits I found myself craving rice paper rolls. On a day which is 36°C and humid, the last thing I want is turn the oven or hot plates on. Which makes this recipe perfect. We’ve been eating these a lot. I generally prepare the filling and dipping sauce, put the dried rice papers on a plate and put out a bowl of warm water. Then Richard and I can sit there, soaking and filling our …

Read more 02 February, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Dinners

The latest issue of Life etc magazine is out, complete with my regular Ten Minute Kitchen recipe column. In this edition the feature ingredient is chicken and the three recipes are: * Chicken, tomato and olive tart * Oat and sesame crumbed chicken * Chicken noodle soup The three recipes can be downloaded from the Life etc website. Simply click on the link half way down the right-hand sidebar.

Read more 23 October, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Desserts and Dinners

• On becoming an omnivore: This has nothing to do with health, nutrition or even being sensible really. But I just love Jeffrey Steingarten’s writing. Here he talks about becoming an omnivore. * Mediterranean-style quinoa: Each week I say to myself I’m not going to link to 101 Cookbooks again. And then Heidi posts another superlative recipe and I just have to let you know. This one is culturally confused quinoa dish – with "pesto, roasted cherry tomatoes, pine …

Read more 03 October, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Dinners

I thought I’d do something a bit different with today’s Quicklinks. Usually I post a round-up of what I’ve been reading: new information, recipes and resources. However instead today I thought I’d link to a group of recipes I use all the time. I enjoy cooking and love trying out something new. However we also have our staples. Recipes which are used over and over and over again. And in amongst these are a number written and published by …

Read more 21 November, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Miscellanea and Dinners

The latest issue of Life etc, including my regular Ten Minute Kitchen recipe column. The theme for this issue is walnuts and the recipes include: * Barbecued flathead with walnuts * Walnut & egg salad with creamy eggplant dressing * Spiced lamb with walnuts For the next two months you can download the recipes from the Life etc website. The button is in the right-hand sidebar, about half way down. If you do pick up the magazine, I’m one of …

Read more 27 August, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Labels & advertising, Vegetables, Salads and Dinners

• How to cook: Mark Bittman hands his Bitten over to his producer, who wants to learn to cook. Her first effort is pumpkin soup. Not everything goes to plan, but she makes a soup that’s “tasty and satisfying”. * Credit crunch lunch: Shocked to realise the real cost of school lunches, Charlotte from The Great Big Vegetable Challenge has made some butternut pumpkin tarts for packed lunches – and they’re only 40p a serve. * Chickpea salad: Lovely …

Read more 24 October, 2008

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 Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

• For all of you having problems with those afternoon munchies, Chew On This has some good advice on taming food cravings. Paula quotes research from the Journal of Applied Psychology which found “rather than actively trying not to think about the food you crave, it’s better to focus on an image of something completely different”. * Despite it’s salt content, I’m a big, big fan of haloumi – which means this dish from Figs, Olives and Wine is going …

Read more 10 August, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Fuel prices vs food prices: Interesting read from Crikey. While we’re concentrating on rising fuel prices, it’s food prices which are more worrying. * Easy fish: Another of Mark Bittman’s easy recipes – this time grilled fish with fennel. Only six ingredients and takes about 20 minutes. * Beer-baked beans: One recipe I’m going to make very soon is Cassie’s beer-baked beans from Veggie Meal Plans. * Filo samosas: Wendy from A Wee Bit of Cooking has been …

Read more 25 July, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Labels & advertising and Dinners

• Food labelling: I’ve blogged about being wary of food marketers using the word natural before. This week Refrigerator Raid posted about discussions in the US of what is natural?. There’s also some good advice on choosing the best foods for you. * Mediterranean lamb pizza recipe: Should You Eat That posted a simple Mediterranean lamb pizza recipe. Pitta bread bases, covered with pesto, lamb mince and a reasonable veg component. It’s then topped off with ricotta, a healthier …

Read more 16 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Dinners

Given my one-pot meals focus I thought I’d continue the theme into this week’s Quicklinks. * Haloumi & vegetable bake: It was Sophie from Mostly Eating who directed me to this fabulous recipe potatoes and lots of vegetable baked in the oven and topped with haloumi. Which sounds absolutely lush. * Quinoa tagine: I’ve linked to it before, but I’ll link to it again, because Ricki’s quinoa tagine with chickpeas and olives is a brilliant example of one-pot cooking. …

Read more 30 May, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Desserts, Miscellanea and Dinners

The latest issue of Life etc magazine is out, complete with my Ten Minute Kitchen recipe column. This month the three recipes all feature ricotta: * Lemon chicken with pea & ricotta puree * Lentil, ricotta & rocket tarts * Toasted brioche with warm fruit salad The magazine is available from newsagents and ABC shops. You can also download the recipes from the Life etc website – simply click on the link about half way down the right hand sidebar. …

Read more 01 July, 2008

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 and Dinners

I’m bending my own rules with this recipe. It’s not quite a one-pot meal. I’ve tried adding more vegetables and increasing the variety of ingredients, but it’s one of those dishes you just shouldn’t tamper with. It’s not a very glamorous dish, or even particularly good looking. However it is one of the best and easiest ways to cook lentils. Five minutes of prep, put it in the oven and it cooks away all by itself. No stirring, sauteeing, …

Read more 03 June, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Dinners

Yesterday’s Good Living featured easy fish recipes from Bill Granger. While there are many health benefits to including fish in your diet, people seem unsure of what to do with it. As Bill says: bq. Fish can strike terror into the hearts of novice cooks, but ironically it is probably the quickest and simplest thing to cook. If you’re a fish beginner, then why not try one of Bill’s recipes? They include a grilled coconut salmon, polenta crusted fish and …

Read more 04 July, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegan and Dinners

This is one of my favourite, favourite one-pot meals. I’ve been making this vegetable and bean stew for years. I’ve made it for Richard and I, for dinner parties and it never fails to please. In some magic way it manages to be both warming and light, at the same time. It’s exactly the kind of food I’m loving at the moment. A perfect example of my one-pot cooking strategy. While there’s a bit of vegetable prep and a …

Read more 29 May, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Desserts and Dinners

Not quite back into my blogging routine – which means I didn’t get the chance to post the normal Quicklinks yesterday – so here they are on Saturday. Because of the delay I’ve made it a bumper edition. * Salad Bar: Sue from Noodlebowl comes up with such simple and useful suggestions. The salad equation (in the comments); her ideas on keeping portions under control. And then late last year I spotted her genius suggestion to organise a "home …

Read more 17 January, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Soups, Eggs and Dinners

• Negotiating food at kids’ schools: Pizza Day seems to be a common thing in the US, although I haven’t heard about it over here (anyone?). Yoni Freedhoff from Weighty Matters approached his child’s school about the food and they’ve reached a compromise. It’s a good example of how to negotiate the subject of food at school. * Brown rice with roasted pumpkin: A lovely simple, vegetarian meal from a non-vegetarian – ChichaJo of 80 Breakfasts cooks "brown rice …

Read more 28 November, 2008

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 Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

Today’s quicklinks is for the omnivores out there. I’ve just been responding to comments and in one answer I mentioned that one of the best meats to eat, here in Australia, is kangaroo. Kangaroo is low in fat, plus they’re adapted to living in our harsh environment and cause much less damage to top soil than cows and sheep. However, it’s still not a popular meat and I think most people just don’t know what to do with it. So …

Read more 20 July, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Dinners

Today I have another guest post – from the lovely Wendy of A Wee Bit of Cooking. I asked Wendy to tell us about one strategy that helps her eat well. And this was her answer. Tuesday nights kill me. The days are always the busiest; the evenings are often filled with meetings, parents’ nights and/or marking and, to make matters worse, the weekend is never anywhere in sight. Arriving home on a dark and cold Tuesday night it …

Read more 29 October, 2008

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 Vegetables, Salads and Dinners

• 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 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 Legumes, Soups, Salads and Dinners

• Beetroot muffins: Having completed the A – Z of vegetables, Charlotte from The Great Big Vegetable Challenge has started posting school lunch recipes. In response to her son’s questions where’s the pudding? she made these beetroot, apple and buttermilk muffins. * Nigel Slater cleans out his cupboards: I’ve been sorting out my pantry recently, in preparation for moving. So it was lovely (and timely) to read Nigel Slater’s piece about what he calls the annual mung bean shuffle. …

Read more 23 January, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Blogging, Vegan and Dinners

It seems I’ve been a day late with everything this week. Including Friday’s Quicklinks . . . which I’m posting today, Saturday. Also a warning – I’m going to be off air over the next week. We are moving and in a moment of very poorly timed clumsiness, I’ve fractured my ankle. So I’m in plaster and on crutches. All of which means the logistics of working, moving and getting around, are going to pre-occupy me for at least …

Read more 14 February, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Fruit and Dinners

Super quick Quicklinks today, as I’m rushing, rushing to get everything finished before going away for the weekend. Which means I’m not going to get a chance to tell you about the new Wellbeing Food magazine which is available in newsagents and gorgeous. If you get a chance take a look, otherwise I’ll chat more about it next week. * An apple a day: What a lovely idea for using those annoying little stickers you get on fruit. A …

Read more 30 January, 2009

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 Salads, Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Eating well with limited resources: Really like this post from The Simple Dollar. It’s all about making your diet better when you have minimal space, equipment and dollars. * The Cheese Guide: Good information on cheeses. Which have the most fat, calories and calcium. Thanks to Sophie. * Ethical fish: Fascinated to read Kale for Sale’s review of Bottomfeeder – as she says it’s the Omnivore’s Dilemma of seafood. I’m going to look out for a copy of …

Read more 04 July, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Fruit, Soups and Dinners

• Obesity: Fascinating article on CalorieLab about the difference between Japanese and American cultures, food habits and attitudes to obesity. It’s written by Makiko from Just Hungry. There’s a follow up perspective here. * Beetroot soup: It’s been at least a month since I linked to the last beetroot recipe, so how could I pass up the opportunity to show off Green Gourmet Giraffe’s chunky beetroot soup with kidney beans? * Don’t know what to do with fish? Why …

Read more 25 January, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Salads, Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

• A week of salads: Over at Food Stories Helen Graves has celebrated her blogging anniversary with a week of posts on salads. My two favourites are the zucchini with cornichons, herbs and capers and the glorious looking beetroot, pumpkin & haloumi. * Rhubarb with lentils: I’ve been buying the most glorious rhubarb recently. Once a week an organic shop near my clinic has vegetables picked that morning. At the moment it’s rhubarb. With this week’s bunch I’m making …

Read more 11 July, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Desserts and Dinners

This is a Christmas menu I developed for Life etc magazine last year. It’s an easy-summer Christmas menu. Each dish is designed to take no more than ten minutes of preparation and to keep the cook out of the kitchen. This also makes a light and healthy meal, with a few Christmas treats to follow. I’ll also post a preparation guide, showing what you can do the day before – to make Christmas day even easier! h3. The Menu …

Read more 19 December, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Blogging and Dinners

What can you make for dinner from a list of 15 long-life ingredients? The kind of foods you’d have in your pantry? This was the question I asked a few weeks ago, when I announced the second round of the Pantry Challenge. And what a list of meals it is. I love these entries because they’re all so different. It shows that even with a limited set of ingredients you can make a range of different meals. h3. "Mograbieh Dinner …

Read more 02 December, 2008

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 Vegan, Lifestyle, Salads and Dinners

• Spinach with tomato & tofu: Lovely recipe from A Vegetarian in the Middle East teaming tofu with tomatoes and Indian spices. There are a few ingredients, mostly spices, but it’s a simple recipe. Thanks to A Life (Time) of Cooking for pointing it out to me. * Eating to fuel exercise: I liked this piece from the Well blog about eating pre and post exercise. It’s a basic run-down of the issues, with some good practical advice and …

Read more 31 July, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Soups, Dinners and Work life integration

• Counter-productive TV ads: Over at Chew on This Paula Goodyer discusses adverts that poke fun at healthy habits. * Well balanced pasta: I like this pasta dish from Vegan Yum Yum. It has over three serves of vegies and looks delicious. * Celeriac chowder: I’m always a bit unsure what to do with celeriac, so I was delighted to spot Lily & Chew’s celeriac, sweetcorn and butterbean chowder. * 7 days of wellness tips: Another great link from …

Read more 29 February, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

Before the Quicklinks – an Australian plug. Wellbeing magazine have just published their first edition of Wellbeing Food. And it’s a beautiful thing. Sub-titled Eating for Pleasure & the Planet, it’s a cross between a magazine and a book. Well maybe it’s better described as a thick, advert-free magazine. I’ll admit to a bias – as I have an article in there on whether fresh is best – but I think it’s a really, really good, comprehensive, basic guide …

Read more 06 February, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Breakfast, Vegan, Mental & emotional health, Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

It’s been a light blogging week for me. I’m working hard on a writing project for Wellbeing – something interesting they’re releasing early next year. But I shall be back properly next week. For a few days of food made from the pantry. I’ve had some entries already and am going to post a couple of recipes of my own. In the meantime, here’s the usual Friday Quicklinks. Plus a photo of my fridge – which is for Wendy. …

Read more 26 September, 2008

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 Legumes, Salads and Dinners

I seem to have bumper list of Quicklinks today: * How virtuous are you?: A gentle poke at dietary snobbery that made me laugh. I am as guilty of this as anyone! * Healthier baking: Sophie from Mostly Eating has written an excellent post with tips on making your muffins healthier. It’s solid and useful advice. * Our diet is killing us?: Michael Pollan was recently in Australia for the Sydney Writers’ Festival. He did an interesting interview on …

Read more 06 June, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Desserts and Dinners

Yesterday I posted recipes for an easy Christmas menu. Each dish takes no longer than ten minutes of prep – so you can get out of the kitchen and enjoy the day. I’ve put together the following preparation guide – to make the day even easier: h3. The night before * Baked cod with lime & summer vegetables: prepare the whole dish up to the cooking point, cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge overnight * *Roast potato, …

Read more 20 December, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Salads and Dinners

• Quinoa tagine: Over at Diet, Dessert & Dogs Ricki has been running a series on using quinoa. She’s surpassed herself with this beautiful tagine of chickpeas, olives and prunes. I cooked this during the week and it was wonderful. * Wild rice salad: I’m new to Syrup & Tang but this week Duncan posted a gorgeous looking wild rice, apricot and almond salad. * Veggie burgers: Another blog I’ve only discovered recently is Food Stories from the UK. …

Read more 18 April, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Soups and Dinners

• Sweet potato, halloumi & seed soup: I first saw the link to this recipe on The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl and thought what a glorious sounding soup. Sweet potato cooked with leeks and chickpeas, and then topped with sauteed haloumi, seeds and fresh parsley. * Health & the economy: The launch last month in the UK of Change4Life has prompted some debate. Should new health initiatives be delayed until the economic forecast improves? A perspective on Foodnavigator. * …

Read more 05 December, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Eggs and Dinners

I’ve had some lovely entries for the Pantry Challenge. I’m in the process of collating them and putting together the round-up – which I’ll post on Thursday. In the meantime though I have a recipe of my own. I’ve been making variations on this tagine for years. It started with a recipe I spotted in a North African cookbook for vegetarian kofta balls in a tomato sauce. The meal was finished with whole eggs, cracked into the dish and …

Read more 30 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Blogging and Dinners

I’ve been thinking recently about one of the difficult parts of keeping on the dietary straight and narrow. Planning and shopping. They’re an integral part of eating well, but for most of us there are days and weeks when thinking ahead and getting to the supermarket just doesn’t happen. At these times it’s easy to fall back on fast food and take away. h3. The challenge So a few weeks ago I set a challenge. Was it possible to make …

Read more 02 October, 2008

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 Snacks, Vegetables, Mental & emotional health, Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Easy way with broccoli: There’s a big promise in The Wednesday Chef’s post on broccoli, but this is a super simple and great looking recipe. * Huevos Rancheros: Smitten Kitchen is a new blog to me, but I love the look of this recipe for the Tex-Mex dish huevos rancheros. * Indian spiced croquettes: I’m loving the idea of these spinach and pea tikkis from Quick Indian Cooking. And they’re grilled, not fried. * BBC’s food resource: There’s …

Read more 05 September, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Dinners

I have my own business and when I’m not seeing clients at the clinic, I work from home, which I really enjoy. I’ve been thinking over the last few days about what, for me, makes the perfect mid-week meal. It really started when I put together an easy vegetable casserole this week. It took ten minutes of preparation and then cooked away, by itself, in the oven for an hour. Food and eating well are such an important part of …

Read more 25 May, 2007

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 Lunch, Easier eating and Dinners

Mid-week meals can be tricky. If you’re late home or tired, then putting together a meal that’s quick, easy, healthy and tasty can be a big-ask. A while ago I posed the question what’s your perfect mid-week meal? Two themes that came through the responses were, pre-preparing meals on the weekend (which could then be frozen and re-heated), and making use of leftovers. Last week I had a few meals which illustrate both of these scenarios. For starters, I did …

Read more 25 June, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Legumes and Dinners

We ate this last week. And it was wonderful. It’s another one pot meal which takes about 10 minutes to prepare and then cooks away in the oven, requiring very little attention from you. I didn’t have a recipe, but instead put this together from ingredients we had in the cupboard, fridge and freezer. It’s another flexible recipe, allowing you to adapt and vary, depending on what you have on hand. You could replace the edamames with white beans …

Read more 11 June, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Cooking pasta: Harold McGee has done some experiments. To find out how much water you actually need to cook pasta. And it’s not as much as you think. * Pasta bake: I cooked Heidi’s almost cheeseless pasta bake this week and it’s really, really good. Next time I’d also add some broccoli to the mix. * Stuffing a roast: I really liked Mark Bittman’s easy idea for stuffing a roast. He just sticks a wooden spoon in and …

Read more 20 March, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Dinners

As we move into autumn I find myself wanting baked potatoes more and more. Potatoes, in their skins (or jackets) cooked in the oven until fluffy and soft in the middle are one of my favourite cooler weather foods. I see nothing wrong with eating potatoes. Whatever the low-carb enthusiasts tell you, there is nothing inherently wrong with the simple spud. Eat too many of them and they can stack up the kilojoules. But then that’s true of many …

Read more 31 March, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Baked sweet potato: After my post about baked potatoes, Dietgirl left a comment linking to this post on Traveler’s Lunchbox. It’s a recipe for roasted sweet potato with a spicy olive and fetta salad – and it looks fantastic. * Do you have a scale addiction? If you’re trying to lose weight, weighing yourself more than once a week is counter-productive. Yoni Freedhoff from Weighty Matters counsels against scale addiction. * Two miso recipes: Miso is one of …

Read more 04 April, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Soups, Salads and Dinners

• Peanut allergies can cause people to limit their life and activities. Professor Robyn O’Hehir an allergy specialist from the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne has some simple and practical advice. * Family Therapist, Rod E Smith’s blog Difficult Relationships is a wonderful resource of compassionate and straight-talking relationship advice. * Since the beginning of July, Veggie Chic has been on a shopping strike. She’s only allowed to buy fresh fruit, vegies, tofu and milk – everything else has to come …

Read more 31 August, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Dinners

Despite the cookery books, TV programmes and heavy interest in food, research from the UK claims most people only cook nine different dishes. Lack of time, the problems of feeding fussy eaters, worry that kids will reject new foods are all given as reasons for this narrowing of meal choices. Nine out of 10 families cooked the same meals over and over again, while one in four made the same meals on the same day of the week. Plus 81 …

Read more 18 November, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Winter, Easier eating and Dinners

Among the ingredients I find immensely useful in the kitchen are a group I’ve named the Flavour Boosters. These ingredients add huge amounts of taste, richness and / or complexity to a dish. And they do this without requiring complicated or long-winded cooking. They make cooking easier, because you can count on them to make your dinner interesting and tasty. Mid week, when I want good food fast, I rely heavily on these ingredients. They add heaps of flavour, …

Read more 13 January, 2010

Posted by kathryn in Grains, Spring, Vegetables and Dinners

I’ve been cooking a lot recently and have made some delicious meals. I’ve been concentrating on actually trying out some of the long list of recipes bookmarked in my Delicious account. Here’s a selection of what I’ve been cooking. * Broccoli pesto: I made Heidi’s broccoli pesto last week. I used a whole head of broccoli and about half a bunch of parsley, instead of the spinach. I also replaced the parmesan with a spoonful of white miso. It makes …

Read more 29 September, 2010

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

I don’t usually write product reviews or take part in campaigns on Limes and Lycopene_. I try to keep this an advertising and PR free space. However today I’m making an exception for the Mushrooms Go Pink campaign, which aims to raise $50,000 for breast cancer research during October. I know many people affected by breast cancer, including family members, friends and clients. My contribution? A pink mushroom dish, which "_of course":/blog/2006/10/20/beetroot-curry includes beetroot. Frittatas are easy-peasy, weeknight food. …

Read more 21 October, 2011

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Spring, Summer and Dinners

A few weeks ago, I was talking pasta – why it isn’t as bad for you as people think, plus five lovely looking recipes I’d seen recently. Well today I have an actual pasta recipe for you. When tomatoes and avocadoes are in season, this is the meal I turn to when home alone. It’s easy, makes little washing up and the sauce can be prepared while the pasta is cooking. I often make changes around the edges, adding …

Read more 12 October, 2011

Posted by kathryn in An Honest Kitchen, Eggs, Dinners and Ethics & Sustainablity

• Thoughts on Food: I love this poster. It’s so relevant, timely and in tune with much of the current thinking about food and yet it’s from 1917. * Healthy Fast Food: Ages ago I put together a recipe feature for Reader’s Digest on Healthy Fast Food. The recipes are now up on their website, including fish and oven cooked chips, chicken ‘nuggets’ with coleslaw, a beef burger, mushroom, zucchini and feta pizza and spiced apple pies. * *Draft …

Read more 18 September, 2012