Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Recipes, Soups, Winter and Vegan

Since starting my blog I’ve only posted two recipes. It’s not like I haven’t been cooking, I just don’t feel I’ve been cooking anything particularly interesting. Then I was thinking, maybe that’s missing the point. There are plenty of places where you can get recipes for fancy and unusual food, stuff that takes time, lots of ingredients and skill to cook – the food we might make if someone was coming round for dinner. However it’s the normal, every …

Read more 07 July, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Recipes, Dinners, Winter and Vegan

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 Legumes and Vegan

So having talked about why legumes are so good for you, it’s time to post about how to cook them. While tinned beans and lentils are really convenient and I always have some in the cupboard, soaking and cooking them from scratch is definitely cheaper. It also means you can cook the legumes to exactly the texture and taste that you want – whether that be soupy or more crunchy. Cooked legumes freeze really well, so I always make more …

Read more 13 July, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Recipes, Soups, Winter and Vegan

I’ve had a rather strange time the last two days. It’s cold, wet and windy in Sydney, but I’ve been working on Christmas recipes for one of the magazines I write for. So while I’m planning and testing recipes using asparagus, mango, strawberries and other lovely summer foods, I’m also rugged up at home with the heaters on. The summer ingredients are beautiful, but all I want is soup. I’ve finished the batch of lentil soup I made the other …

Read more 20 July, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Recipes, Dinners and Vegan

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 Legumes, Recipes, Grains, Dinners and Vegan

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 Vegetables, Legumes, Recipes, Soups and Vegan

Celeriacs are funny, knobbly looking vegetables. While they’re the same species as normal celery, they are bred produce a large stem base – which is the part you eat. Celeriac has a milder and slightly sweeter flavour, which makes it quite different from standard celery. It’s also a very flexible vegetable and can be used both cooked and raw in salads. Celeriac can be baked with other vegetables, made into soups and is often mashed in with potatoes. The …

Read more 03 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Recipes, Soups, Winter and Vegan

Since Sydney has returned to winter weather over the last two weeks, I’ve been craving soups. I’m a big ginger fan and over the weekend I made this beautiful soup, which I’ve adapted from a recipe on the Fat Free Vegan database. It’s another good way of using split peas and is PACKED full of flavour and nutrition. I’ve had some chipotle chillies in my cupboard for the last couple of months, so this was also a good opportunity …

Read more 09 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Salads, Spring and Vegan

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

Read more 10 November, 2006

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Recipes, Nuts & seeds, Dinners, Winter and Vegan

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 Dinners, Summer and Vegan

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 Recipes, Fruit, Baking and Vegan

After posting my date and walnut muffin recipe, I’ve recently adapted it, for using fresh fruit. I’ve cooked these muffins all summer, using peaches, nectarines, apricots and even mangoes, but I keep on forgetting to photograph them, hence the delay in posting this recipe. These muffins are really good. They’re low in kilojoules, have no added fat, as well as being low in sugar . . . and yet they taste great. Moreover, most of the fat comes from …

Read more 15 February, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegan

In the Post Punk Kitchen Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero cook vegan food, including . . . cupcakes. In Vegan Baking 101 they run through the range of replacements for eggs, milk and butter, giving recommendations on which work best with different types of baking. I’ve used silken tofu before, but have never thought of flax seeds. Baking without eggs, milk and butter also means many of their recipes are useful for people with allergies. Source: Good Living …

Read more 17 March, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Vegan

The diet dish has an excellent introduction to becoming a vegan. Cynthia answers basic questions like what does it mean to be a vegan and why people choose to become a vegan. However she also covers the practical stuff like, what vegans eat (and it’s not just carrots and lettuce), along with how to get enough protein and calcium, and whether a vegan diet can be healthy. Being a healthy vegetarian or vegan is certainly possible and while we’ve all …

Read more 17 March, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Legumes, Recipes, Soups, Winter and Vegan

I’ve posted lentil soup recipes before (basic lentil soup and lentil & barley), it’s one of my favourite meals. I usually make it on the weekend, use dried lentils and make enough for that night and the freezer. While we were on holiday and cooking on a small camping stove, I made up a quick and easy version. This soup takes me about 20 minutes from start to finish. I’ve recently discovered the McCormick’s Middle Eastern spice blend and …

Read more 09 May, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Breakfast, Ethics & Sustainablity, Grains and Vegan

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

Read more 02 November, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Breakfast, Salads and Vegan

• Kitchen tips: Three mini tips from Mark Bittman – foods he keeps in the kitchen, to make meal preparation easier. I’ve used parmesan rind in soups and it’s wonderful – but never thought to freeze the stuff. * Quinoa breakfast: I’ve previously linked to some of Ricki’s wonderfully imaginative quinoa recipes, now Heidi at 101 Cookbooks has posted a nutty, cinnamon breakfast quinoa. This looks glorious and a great way to start the day. * *The difficulties of …

Read more 09 May, 2008

Posted by kathryn in Dinners and Vegan

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 Legumes, Dinners and Vegan

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 Legumes, Dinners and Vegan

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 Vegetables, Breakfast, Soups and Vegan

• Soy bomb: It took me two goes to get these little gems right, but it was definitely worth persisting. Soy bombs from Cindy at Where’s the beef? * Trying new foods: In response to the 31 Days to a Better Diet Kada at Through Thick & Thin tries some new foods. Loved this account of her progress. * Simple green beans: A super simple way with green beans from Eating Out Loud. "Crunchy fresh beans with toasted sesame …

Read more 12 September, 2008

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

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 Legumes, Dinners and Vegan

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 Dinners, Soups and Vegan

• 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 Blogging, Dinners and Vegan

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 Breakfast, Ethics & Sustainablity, Salads, Snacks and Vegan

• Breakfast cereal is healthy right? A recent survey by Which? (similar to our Choice) looked at breakfast cereals. And found some contained more sugar than a Cadbury Flake. * Tofu salad: I read a lot of healthy eating blogs. But there are other blogs I read for other reasons – the writing, the blogger’s perspective, the photos. Lemonpi is one of those. There’s a lot of cake and dessert on Y’s blog but her photographs and writing are …

Read more 16 May, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Lifestyle, Dinners, Salads and Vegan

• 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 Ethics & Sustainablity, Vegan and Labels & advertising

• Double the broccoli: I just love the look of this recipe from 101 Cookbooks. It’s called double broccoli quinoa and features a pesto made of . . . broccoli. * Experimenting with flax: On the Bitten blog Cory Ramey has been experimenting with using flaxseed as an egg substitute. This is something I’ve read about on many vegan blogs, but it’s interesting to hear the results from a non-vegan. * Smart Choices? In the US there’s a new …

Read more 11 September, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Breakfast, Miscellanea and Vegan

• Vegan lasagne: I do like this recipe from Messy Vegetarian Cook for a vegan lasagne. It contains tofu, vegetables and a creamy sauce made of cashews. * Hospital food: Via The Guardian is Hospital Notes. Traction Man posts photos of hospital food and asks readers to guess what it is. It’s hard to tell sometimes. * Home made granola: Most shop bought granolas are high in fat. Shauna from The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl has posted a "healthier, …

Read more 22 September, 2009

Posted by kathryn in Vegan, Legumes, Grains and Vegetables

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

Read more 22 June, 2007

Posted by kathryn in Fats & oils and Vegan

I’ve written before about how important Omega 3 essential fatty acids are to our health. One of the biggest Omega 3 containing food groups is fish, particularly the oily fish like sardines and mackerel. Although of course it’s a more tricky problem if you try to choose a sustainable source. But what about vegetarians? It is harder for vegetarians to get adequate quantities of Omega 3s. While there are quite a few vegetarian sources which I’ve listed here, most …

Read more 01 December, 2009

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

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