Recipe #2 - Moroccan Beetroot, Red Cabbage & Chickpea Bake

 This makes a large baking dish sized amounts. As my baking dish was otherwise occupied I used two smaller ones.

Like I said, substitute and adapt as needed. Measurements are always approximate.

Ingredients:

Red cabbage 400gm

Carrot 250gm

Pumpkin 300gm

Beetroot (use gloves) 250gm

Olive oil 2 tbsp

Black pepper - to taste

Smoked paprika 2 tsp

Coriander ground 1 tsp

Cumin ground 2 tsp

Onion 1

Diced tomatoes 1 x can 

Cinnamon 1 pinch

Chili powder (optional) to taste

Chickpeas 2 x 440gm cans

Feta or grated cheese 200gm

Method:

Step 1:

Pre heat the oven to 200deg C (fan forced).

Step 2: 

Chop vegetables.

Step 3:

Add to a large bowl, along with olive oil.

Pepper, smoked paprika, ground coriander and ground cumin.

Mix well.

Step 4:

Spread on baking paper lined trays suitable for roasting.

Roast in oven for 25 minutes, stirring half way through. Watch them as it gets near to the 25 minutes you want them roasted not burnt.

Step 5 - while these are roasting

Add quartered onion to thermomix bowl and chop 5 seconds / speed 5 (or chop by hand).

Add can of diced tomatoes, a pinch of cinnamon and however much chili you want.

Cook for 6 minutes 100deg C speed 1 in thermomix, or bring to boil and simmer for a bit on the stove top.

Step 6:

Drain chickpeas

Step 7:

Once vegetables are roasted, mix in baking dish(es) with chickpeas and sauce. Then smooth.

Step 8:

Top with feta or grated cheese.

Step 9:

Bake in oven at 200deg C (fan forced) for 20 minutes, checking to make sure cheese doesn't burn.

Step 10:

Portion and store in fridge or freezer. This should last fine in the fridge for 4 - 5 days 

Enjoy!

Back in the kitchen

It's been a long time since I used this medium, however I've been doing some cooking that i'd like to store and share.

These recipes are ones I cook on a Sunday to give me lunches and dinners for the week.

I normally make two - one meat based, the other bean based.

If you'd like to make them - great. Just remember you can change or substitute whatever you want or need to. You also don't have to stick exactly to the quantities either, in my opinion there is no point leaving 50gm of a vegetable in the fridge. Just add it. 

Mostly the vegetables are whatever is on special when I go shopping.

Recipe #1: Smoky Tuna, Broccoli & Sweet Potato Bake

This makes a large baking dish amount.

Ingredients:

Capsicum (pepper) 150gm

Broccoli (use that stem) 400gm

Sweet potato (peeled) 200gm

Zucchini 250gm

Onion 100gm

Olive oil 2 tbsp 

Smoked paprika 2 tsp

Mixed herbs 1 tsp 

Garlic powder 1 tsp

Salt pinch

Black pepper good amount

Diced tomatoes 1 can

Tomato paste 2 tbsp

Oregano 1 tsp

Cottage cheese / yoghurt 200gm

Tuna, drained 425gm can

Cheese grated (as your heart desires), I used 1 cup

Method:

Step 1:

Pre-heat oven 200degC (fan forced)

Step 2:

Chop vegetables.

Capsicum

Step 3:

Add to large bowl along with olive oil 

And salt, pepper, smoked paprika, mixed herbs and garlic powder.

Mix well

Step 4:

Spread on baking paper lined trays suitable for roasting.

Place in oven for 25 mins. Stirring half way through.

As it gets close to the 25 mins, watch them. You don't want them burnt.

Step 5 - while these are in the oven:

Add to the Thermomix bowl, or a saucepan on the stove, the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, 

Oregano and some black pepper

Cook for 5 minutes at 100deg C on speed 1. (Stove top - bring to boil while stirring).

Cool for 10 minutes.

Step 6:

Add cottage cheese / yoghurt and stir 10 seconds speed 3 (just mix it through if you're doing it by hand).

Step 7:

Add drained tuna to sauce and mix through (10 sec speed 3, or whatever you need to do to mix it manually).

Step 8:

Once the veggies are out of the oven

Add half to the baking dish with the tuna sauce.

Mix well to combine and then add the rest of the veggies. Mix and smooth out.

Step 9:

Cover with cheese

Step 10:

Bake at 200deg C (fan forced) for 20 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted and the sauce is bubbling.

Then you can fridge or freezer as needed. I find it's fine in the fridge for 4 days (if it lasts that long).

Outback ...

Headed up to Gabyon station for a couple of days.

The weather was perfect - well a touch cold, but that just meant we could build a large fire each night to cook on and to keep warm.

Shooting Buddy cooked some delicious dinners using the dutch oven and the coals from the fire.  We had some steaks the first night with vegies, and lamb legs & vegies the second night.

The girls also did bananas and apples in foil for desert.

Hubby was on breakfast duty and the eggs & bacon for breakfast was delicious (but not cooked over the open fire :) ).

One of the things that's really hard on these types of holidays is that you don't want rain, but know that the station owners - and farmers in the district really, really, really need the rain.  Unfortunately it didn't rain while we were there.

This is our second trip to Gabyon, and we stayed in the quarters near the main house again.  These have REALLY comfortable beds and all the mod-cons, like power and hot water (well when you get the donkey going anyway).

Was surprised to see a microwave now in the kitchen - and no, we didn't use it :)

The owners are lovely - and it was great catching up with them, and doing some clay target shooting together.

We also did a bit of driving around one of the break-aways - Miss 13 decided she was on the hunt for skulls, so lots of dead animals were investigated.

Here are some photos of the trip:

Maija, our Finnish Exchange Student - at the Outback sign on the Morowa -> Yalgoo Road

Maija and Miss 13 climbing the hill (yes, they are in the photo)

And off for a horse ride - they had fun, even with the unexpected canter :)

If you want more photos, check out the last year's visit here.

Recent, random photos

Hi All

Here's some recent random photos of Miss 15's japanese adventure -

Out and about in a yukata for a day (the shoes didn't fit)

Doing her Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy impression

HAIR CUT - better for the humidity and for the daily swimming club -

Math's Class

Break Between Class

Police Car - First one she's seen in Japan

Rain from the class window

Train ride home