FYBF

It's Flog Yo Blog Friday!

Which is what the little speech bubble in my sidebar means, if you're wondering!

So if you're wanting to participate, and find cool new blogs to follow, head on over to Brenda's blog and join in the linky love!

Sunshine Award

So last week,  I was beyond excited when Lizzy over at Lizzygoesdutch bestowed upon me a Sunshine Award.

Ok, beyond excited is an understatement.

When I first saw Lizzy's blog in my Google Reader, I starred just about every single one of her recipes, so for her to think so highly of my brand-new blog meant a great deal to me.

So let the fun begin!

Rules for the award:

1. Put the logo within your post
2. Pass it on to at least 12 bloggers
3. Link the nominees within your post
4. Let the nominees know they have received the award
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award :)

Gay Fourth and Multiply: My good friend Bec deserves this award for being brave, honest, and just plain funny!

mummy-time: Brenda's blog is bright, pretty, and chock-full of fun stuff. A good read, a good girl, a good blog :)

VintageCookbooks: if there's one thing I have a billion of, it's vintage cookbooks. I heart them dearly, and I heart this blog.

SunnyMummy: Sunny Mummy literally brightens my day. Who better to receive a sunshine award?


1950's Atomic Ranch House: I am positively green with envy when I look at the photos posted on here! Vintage glory.


Circle 7-2009: Again with the vintage! I just can't get enough.


Mother's Kitchen: I literally die of jealousy when I look at pictures of her kitchen. Oh... and her trailer. sigh!


Meals; for Moderns: Even if you don't want to cook, just look at the pretty photos. Yup, you're hungry now.


Someday We Will Sleep: Mummy bloggers rule! and please, for the love of God, check out Veronica's photos. Amazing.


down---to---earth: A wonderful blog about simplicity, getting back to nature, and a peek inside some of the cosiest kitchens in the world.

Mediterranean Roasted Tomato Pasta

Who doesn't love a good pasta? It's easy, it tastes amazing, and you really need a side dish for your garlic bread, right?

So today, as part of my work, I got to tour the Gourmet Garden factory in Palmwoods, on the Sunshine Coast.

You've all seen those squeezy tubes of herbs and things in the refrigerated fruit and veggie section of the supermarket... garlic, basil, lemongrass (my favourite... no hard bits!), etc, and their new Fresh Blends.

The factory was amazing, and Dominique Rizzo (of Ready, Steady, Cook! fame) served up some delicious treats using Gourmet Garden products.

So, obviously, I had to try it too. They make it look so easy.....

My herb/blend of choice was the Mediterranean blend that is made of oregano, basil, garlic, bell peppers and olive oil.

Ingredients


5 Roma tomatoes, cut in half and roasted with olive oil, sea salt and cracked black pepper until very soft
2 zucchinis... as above
1 onion, diced
about 1/2 tube Gourmet Garden Fresh Blends Mediterranean
Wholewheat penne 


(Yup, that's really it. Well, besides the parmesan we added later!)


Method


1. Boil your pasta in boiling salted water until tender. Not sure how? Instructions are on the pack :)


2. Saute your onion in olive oil and half a tube of Mediterranean Blend. It's about two tablespoons. Saute until cooked, about 5-6 minutes at medium heat.


3. Put tomatoes and zucchini in a bowl and mash. Mmmmmm!

4. Add onion to sauce, check for seasoning. Stir through pasta and voila! Easy peasy pasta.


5. Don't forget the crusty bread.




I was not paid or in any way sponsored for this post... I was just curious, is all!

Birthday!

I'm not hard to buy for... I swear!

Just head straight to your local kitchenware store, and basically grab anything. You'll be on to a winner.

I guess that's why by the time I turned 30, everybody had pretty much nailed the present situation. Behold!

Yes, somebody actually baked me a Key Lime Pie with meringue topping... thanks Steve!

And my good friend Rae made me my very own personalised Veggie Mama cookbook. It's adorable.

Veggie Husband hit the jackpot with a gigantic picnic set, and Damian and Jan were kind enough to give me the funkiest salt and pepper dish I ever did see. 

So, score.

But the present of the day/year/decade...

Amazing. Veggie Husband RULES!

Smoky Barbecue Kebabs

Ever since I bought liquid smoke from here , I have been obsessed with making thick, rich barbecue sauce. The kind you can eat with a spoon.

I got one from the Deen brothers, offspring of one of my ultimate cooking heroes, Paula Deen, and oh my Ford, it is unbelievably good!

So for my friend Miss Yesmin's barbecue, where she's hosting some super-cool veggie heads like me, I present to you the dish that will make non-tofu eaters LOVE it. Even if it's just for one night. I should know, I'm one of them.

OHHHHHHH..... good, right?

The tofu HAS to be Pureland... everything else tastes... um... not as good. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 onion, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons orange juice, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 block of Pureland firm tofu
• 1 cup ketchup, or tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke 
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Method

1. Chop your tofu in half widthways, so you have two even-sized squares. then chop these into five long strips, which you then cube. Don't make them too big, or they won't soak up the marinade properly. For even better soaking qualities, place the tofu on a plate, and put a second plate on top with something heavy on it to squeeze all the water out. Leave for about an hour, and drain.

2. Put the tofu in a shallow dish with the onion, orange juice and garlic. Cover and marinate for at least an hour.

3. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.

4. Thread your marinated tofu onto skewers, and place in one layer on a plate. Pour half the barbecue sauce over, and turn to cover thoroughly.

5. Cook on preheated barbecue, turning every now and then until the sauce caramelises on the outside. Keep basting with the marinade every time you turn them. Don't be shy, now!

6. When the kebabs are done, pour the rest of the sauce over and get busy eating!

Roasted Cauliflower Penne with Rosemary Cream

Poor cauliflower. A much-maligned vegetable. That is, of course unless it's covered in cheese sauce, or wallowing in glorious creaminess as soup.

I never knew roasting it could be so damn good.

Unfortunately its white-on-whiteness doesn't photograph well, but it IS delicious.

Ingredients

1 large clove garlic, halved

1 cup cream

3 sprigs rosemary, 1 sprig finely chopped

A pinch of ground nutmeg

Salt and pepper

1 pound whole wheat penne pasta

1 head cauliflower, roasted

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more to pass around the table

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

To roast the cauliflower, preheat your oven to 220 C. toss bite-size florets in olive oil, add salt and pepper. bake for 30 minutes. Oh so sweet and uber-delicious.

Method

1. Rub the inside of a small saucepan all over with the garlic. Add the cream, the two whole rosemary sprigs and the nutmeg; season with pepper and cook over medium-low heat until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Discard the rosemary.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and transfer the pasta to a serving bowl. Add the rosemary cream, cauliflower and Pecorino Romano cheese; toss to coat.

3. Season with salt and pepper and top with the walnuts and chopped rosemary. Pass more cheese around the table. Easy peasy.

It's almost Rachael Ray week on Veggie Mama... haha. Recipe here.

Space Curry

Weird name, I know! But apparently this curry was created for the crew of the space shuttle Discovery in 2006. I had no idea they ate so gourmet! I totally thought it was freeze dried food, Tang and space sticks...

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 1/2 cups Basmati rice

4 cups vegetable stock, divided

1 bay leaf, fresh or dried

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon cardamom (optional)

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small head cauliflower, chopped

1 firm eggplant, peeled and chopped

1 red capsicum, seeded and chopped

1 can diced tomatoes (14 ounces), drained

1 can chickpeas (15 ounces), drained

Salt and pepper

3 slightly rounded tablespoons mild or hot curry paste (I just used curry powder)

3 rounded tablespoons mango chutney

3 green onions, chopped

A handful of coriander or parsley

Toasted slivered almonds or pieces of cashew

Method

1. Heat a medium pot over medium heat with one tablespoon olive oil. Add the rice and toast, 1-2 minutes. 

2. Add 3 cups vegetable stock and the bay leaf.

3. Reduce the heat and simmer the rice for 18 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork, remove the bay leaf and add the butter. Toss to coat the rice evenly, then serve.

4. While the rice cooks, make the vegetables. Heat a deep nonstick pan over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, cauliflower, eggplant and capsicum. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 7-8 minutes until tender. 

5. Uncover and add the tomatoes, chickpeas, salt, pepper, curry paste/powder, chutney and the remaining 1 cup vegetable stock. Simmer 6-7 minutes longer.

6. Serve the curry with scoops of rice on top – Rachael uses an ice cream scoop to portion it. If you put the rice on top, it will not get mushy. Garnish with green onions, coriander or parsley and nuts.

Thanks to Rachael Ray for the spacey goodness. Original recipe here 

Entertaining without a what now?

Darn. There goes the gourmet 14-course candle-lit supper for 12 I was planning. Sorry guys!

Care of the vintage invalid.

While reading The American Frugal Housewife (1828), I came across a few gems. In fact... the book is full of them!

This would have to be my favourite so far: "A good quantity of old cheese is the best thing to eat, when distressed by eating too much fruit, or oppressed with any kind of food. Physicians have given it in cases of extreme danger."

Um ok... what constitutes extreme fruit-consumption overload danger? And how often do doctors have a "good quantity" of old cheese on hand for emergency cases such as this? 

Anyone that knows me will know I have a deep aversion to fruit... and chocolate, but that's a story for another day... and a deep, abiding, life-long love of cheese.

This book obviously validates my cheese-over-fruit choices, and I'm sticking to it. Scurvy be damned!

Now I advise those with weak stomachs (or just common sense) to not read on.

Still reading, huh? Well... it's your funeral.

Bear in mind that this poor chap is already feeling ill...

"Wine whey is a cooling and safe drink in fevers. Set half a pint of sweet milk at the fire, pour in one glass of wine, and let it remain perfectly still, til it curdles. When the curds settle, strain it and let it cool. It should not get more than blood-warm. A spoonful of rennet-water hastens the operation."

What a waste of a glass of wine! So you're feeling queasy, and somebody brings you a warm, curdled milk-and-wine concoction... uh... thanks?

Button Love

I've created a Veggie Mama button to display on your blog, should you wish... we can even do a button swap if you like! Just copy and paste my code to your blog.

Get on the Button Love Express!

Printerrific

Now you can print out my recipes and make them in the comfort of your own kitchen... Just click on the recipe and scroll to the bottom to find the print button. Hurrah for technology!

Vintage Values

I know it's oh-so-unfeminist, but I love it.

Considering my husband is the only person that eats my baked treats, it's not too far off the mark for my home...

Courtesy of my American Woman's Cookbook, 1944.

Little Lemon Squares

Oh so lemony and shortbready!

Given that I'm not a huge fan of sweets, but obsessed with baking, it's a marriage made in heaven when I find a recipe I not only want to bake, but eat as well.

Enter the shortbready, sweet-tart lemony goodness of these squares. Yum!

Ingredients

125 grams softened butter

1/4 cup confectioners (icing) sugar, plus more for dusting

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC . 

2. Butter an 8-inch square pan. I of course used baking paper...

3. Combine butter, confectioners sugar, 1 cup flour and salt and press into the bottom of the prepared pan, making a crust. I of course screwed this up and accidentally used regular white sugar... worked fine.

4. Combine eggs, granulated sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons flour, lemon juice and lemon zest and beat until light in colour. I used the juice of a whole lemon, but after tasting it, I would have used more. But I'm the kid that thoroughly enjoyed sucking on a lemon slice as a baby when my mom gave it to me to watch my hilarious reaction to its sourness. One lemon is probably enough for the uninitiated!

5. Pour over crust and bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool until cool to the touch and dust top with confectioners sugar - cut into uniform squares.

Original recipe from www.rachaelray.com here

Easter baby chick cupcakes!

Probably more a post for the ladies here... or the more nimble - fingered of you.

naw, cute, right?

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups plain flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/3 cup butter

1 cup milk

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

FROSTING:

2 cups icing sugar

cream

yellow food colouring

2 cups coconut

Brown and orange M&Ms


Method:

1. Heat oven to 180 C.  Put paper cases in 24 muffin tins (or halve the recipe and do 12, or bake 12 at a time).

2. In a medium bowl, beat flour, sugar, butter, milk, baking powder, salt, vanilla and egg. Either beat 3 minutes with a mixer, or get that baking bicep out and mix by hand for a few minutes. fill paper cases half full.

3. Bake 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack.

FROSTING:

This is the fun part! add tablespoonsful of cream to the two cups of icing in a bowl, until it gets to the desired stage. Some people like runny, I prefer it a little stiff.

2. Add a few drops of yellow food colouring and mix. Here's one I prepared earlier...

Now for your chick feathers... add 2 cups coconut to a ziplock bag, drop in some food colouring, seal it up and rub it all with your fingers to dye the coconut. Fun!

When cupcakes are completely cool, ice with yellow frosting. Put the coconut in a small bowl, and dip the cupcakes icing-side down into it to completely cover.

Add brown M&Ms for eyes, sticking on with a little frosting for glue. Poke orange M&Ms in for the beak... total cuteness.

Happy Easter barbecue customer...

Recipe from Betty Crocker.

Baby Chick Cupcakes

Real men eat quiche

What's not to love about quiche? Its creamy goldenness? Its smooth cheesiness?

The glorious semi-sweet sauteed veggies you can pack in it? The crispy, crunchy, crumbly pastry shell?

Stop whining and eat it.

And better yet, it's super-easy to make.

I adapted a quiche lorraine recipe, as I'm obviously not a fan of... bacon.

I also made my own pastry case by taking the frozen sheet out of the freezer and allowing it to thaw before placing in my fancy christmas-themed pie plate. Voila!

Ingredients

Pastry (either shell, frozen shortcrust pastry or make it yourself, ha!)

1 onion, chopped fairly small

3 eggs

300ml cream

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup cheese

Method

1. If you're using frozen shortcrust pastry, you'll need to blind bake it. Once you've put it in your pie plate/quiche tin/whatever, you'll need to prick a few holes in it with a knife, cover it in foil and place some dried beans or baking beads on, and bake 10 minutes. Remove beans and bake 10 minutes more.

2. OR, if you're me, you'll poke a few holes in it, and throw it in the oven for fifteen minutes. If it puffs up, burst the bubbles and press them down with the back of a spoon. Moving on.

3. Cook onion in frying pan in a little oil until soft. You don't want too much colour on it, unless you're adding other veggies. If so, saute them along with the onion. Capsicum, zucchini, spinach... plenty of options.

4. Beat eggs in a bowl with whisk, add cream, milk and cheese, whisk until just combined. Pour into pastry case.

5. Bake at 180C for about 35 minutes or until filling is set and brown. Stand for five minutes before removing from tin.