Shroom Storg

Basically this was an accident one day when we felt like a rich dinner but didn't want the messy meat business...
so I am still not sure what makes a stroganoff and I am sure the beef version tastes fine but here is a great vegetarian alternative that is now a favourite in our home, and so damn easy to make,

fry some
garlic (and a little ginger if you like, needs to be fresh and diced)
and
shallots (or just finely sliced onions)

add in some sliced
Portobello mushrooms ( or any mushrooms but the big flat ones are best, mushrooms hold a lot of water so dependent on how many your serving you will still need a good amount for example three mushrooms per person )

to this a decent dash of paprika and braggs (Yum I like smoked paprika )
then add about a cup of vegetable stock and leave to simmer
salt and pepper to taste
before adding the stock to lift the mushrooms and shallots from the pan you can add some wine if you have some lying around

then you need to cook some pasta or some rice to serve it on
We once made this recipe while camping and ate it with japanese soba noodles, it was delicious...
then when about to serve the magic ingredient is a big spoonful of quality sour cream mixed into the mushroom mixture, to match the creaminess you desire...
then I suppose you serve and eat, if your feeling fancy and if you have any a sprinkling of fresh diced parsley is nice...

Veg! Stock

You may need to save up your plastic containers to keep this in the freezer, and use it for all things including obviously soup or savory rice, lentils and whatever else you cook that absorbs water and you want a little extra ooomph of flavour...
This is a fine affair if it is a cold rainy day and you want to keep the house warm, because your stove needs to be on for at least three hours to extract all the flavour...

you will need water
salt
peppercorns
bay leaf
garlic
leeks

basically this is fun if you have a cleaver handy, or a big knife and chopping board to whack away at all these veggies, mind your fingers do not get in the way, which could include any mix of the following
celery
carrot
pumpkin
radish
fresh herbs, basil or parsley thyme and rosemary
ginger for bite
onion
best to keep it simple and flavoured to your taste which means your own choice of vegetables and herbs or chilli added if you wish.
get a very large pot and lightly fry the leeks and celery and then add all the roughly chopped ingredients and fill with water to boil, watch it doesn't overflow then leave it to simmer with a lid on for a few hours until everything inside looks a little dead and drowned... basically you want to steal all the goodness (flavour and nutrients) from the ingredients... I tend to enjoy letting it sit until it has completely cooled and then pouring it into old plastic containers to put in the freezer with enough room left on the top for expansion... and I like most the part of squeezing ever last drop of goodness and fluid out of the heap of leftovers of what used to be vegetables till I get an inedible mass ball that I can throw guilt free in the bin...
then one day it is rainy and cold and I have nothing in my fridge but some wilting sad vegetables that need to be eaten quickly they get chopped up into nice chunks and thrown into a pot with this stock from the freezer and a handful of beans or lentils or barley and voila ' vegetable soup :)

Delicious Messy Veggie Wraps

Whats for dinner tonight ???
This question always bugs me...
hmm eggs on toast
advocado and tomato on toast
thank lordy for having bread in the kitchen

Quick easy
But for tonight something more fun and still just as easy

slice into a long strips:
a red capsicum (bell pepper)
zucchini (courgette/squash)
a few mushrooms ( the delicious big field ones)
an onion


chop up to tiney tiny sized :
a few cloves of garlic
and some ginger
and a chilli

Braggs ( I suppose you could use soy sauce, but do your self a favour go buy some braggs, because braggs makes everything better and it is vegan)
Smoked Paprika ( or just paprika )


get some: wraps, pitta or whatever you have even tortillas

chop up whatever else you have and put in bowls:
lettuce
spinach
cucumber
tomato
salsa
advocado

also good to put in:
grated cheddar cheese
feta cheese
sour cream
pumpkin or sunflower seeds


place it all nicely on the table with some plates because this is messy eating
then dig in
dinner done
delicious fun eating

Simple Salmon Recipe with love from Krista

SALMON YUM.

1. In a greased glass pan, put salmon.
2. Put a bit of mayonaise on top.
3. Put Breton cracker crumbs (or any bread crumbs/cracker crumbs) on top, coated fairly well.
4. Put almost the same amount of parmesan cheese on top.
5. Spices too (I like DILL the best.)

Bake at about 400 F for 20 mins or until salmon is flaky and done. Don't forget to put a bit of water in the pan and cover with tin foil if you can.

SALMON YUM.

The Humble Choc-Chip Cookie

bless the humble chocolate chip biscuit, a sweet homey treat for any occasion...
secret to chewy choc chips is to add an egg or two

choc chips,,,
flour
butter
brown sugar
baking powder
twirl whirl mix blend till combined
spoon a BIG or small spoonful on your baking tray and bake for 15 minutes... the less time the more cookie dough consistency you keep and the longer you leave them the more crunchy and biscuity they will be ...

Give them a special touch with whatever you fancy
any type of nuts; maple syrup and walnut or white choc chips; macadamia nuts; oats; cranberries or blueberries

With love from Asha

• vegan banana bread yum yum
  
  
  ½ cup chocolate chips (optional)
  
  3 ripe banana’s mashed
  
  1 tbsp lemon juice
  
  ½ cup oil
  
  ½ cup sugar
  
  ¾ cup chopped dates
  
  1 ½ cups flour
  
  ½ cup wheat germ
  
  ½ tsp salt
  
  ½ tsp baking powder
  
  ½ tsp baking soda
  
  
  
  Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small bowl, mash the banana’s with a fork until the mixture is very mushy. Add the lemon juice, oil, sugar and dates and stir together. In a separate large bowl, stir together the flour, wheat germ, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and fix together gently until ‘just mixed’. Spoon the mixture into a lightly oiled loaf pan and bake for 40 – 50 minutes. Test with a knife to see if done.
  
  This makes one loaf.

Yum Yum Wild Welly

Some damn fine work on putting New Zealands backyard on the table

http://wildconcoctions.blogspot.com/

http://wildpicnic.blogspot.com/

Homemade Bread

So i don't use too many measurements for this but i will try and put it into a way that makes some sense (hopefully!)

Into a bowl put:

2c white flour

1c wholemeal flour

I also add 2T gluten flour

Tablespoon of raw sugar

Tablespoon of salt

Tablespoon of active dry yeast

Mix these together well then add a little warm water at a time, making sure the dough is very wet and sticky (similar to scone mixture). On the bench put down a cup of flour, pour the mixture on top and add another cup of flour on the top and start slowly kneading and mixing in the flour. Knead for ten mins or so until the dough is able to be worked into a ball and is no longer sticky. Oil a bowl and put the dough into it, placing the bowl somewhere warm, in the oven is fine if its on the lowest, or if the heat is now turned off. Leave this till it has doubled in size (about half an hour) and punch down, this mixture makes enough for two loafs, or one loaf and the other half for pizza dough.

I half the mixture, then add pumpkin, sunflour, and linseeds and knead in a little.

Put into a well greased tin (Olive Oil) and put back in the oven on the lowest heat for half an hour till it has risen to double its size, once risen, turn up the heat to 170'c for half an hour. Enjoy!

Berry rhubarb crumble

I just had a bunch of fruit i needed to use up and crumbles and pies are great like that, just throw in whatever you have lying around (edible, that is).

So here goes...

7 big stalks of Rhubarb

cup full of frozen berries

i also threw in a few plums

any fruit you like, apples, berries etc etc

Stew the rhubarb but cutting it up into little piecies and adding 1/3c sugar and the same amount of warm water into a pot for 10-15mins until stewed, add other fruit in near the end to stew aswell.

Topping:

1/2c Flour

50g Butter

1/4c Brown Sugar

Add:

Rolled Oats, Coconut, Mixed Spice, Sliced Almonds and anything else that takes your fancy!

Pour fruit mixture into a dish and sprinkle over the topping, put into the oven at 180'c for 20 minutes or until fruit juices are bubbling away and is to your delight.

Chocolate Beetroot Cake

Beetroot just gives this a moist delicacy and can not be tasted,,,

It makes a great birthday cake

:)

Sage Mint and Clove TEA

this tea is wonderful and I thought I ought to share it

- a few sage leaves

- a few cloves

- a few mint leaves

- and hot water

:)

PIZZA

Well Pizza is one of the best meals you can make yourself, and have company over and enjoy showing off your dough throwing in the air skills. It is the meal I have at home on the day I make bread, easily enough to pull of some of the dough and throw some herbs in it and a little oil for pizza dough,,, YUM

dough requires

a couple teaspoons of yeast risen (in a cup with a small pinch of sugar and a little tepid water and then mixed till somewhat dissolved)

then a couple of cups of tepid/warm (definitely not hot) water

then add some quality bread type flour (white is easiest) to the water until you get a big dough mess

then throw it out onto a table a flour and sprinkle some salt on it and knead, knead for about ten minutes then leave it to rise...

once you get a big puffy ball of fun you can knead it again a little and leave it to rise again...

then that is your dough,,, It should be workable and not sticky,

on a floured surface roll out your dough, or whatever makes you look the most skillfull, like spinning it in the air doing backflips...

until it looks like a pizza base...

add some pesto or/and tomato paste

some bocchini (yum,,, you can use the standard mozzarella or cheddar if makes you happy)

whatever you want really

spinach

mushrooms

olives

artichoke hearts

sundried tomatoes

anchovies (if your into that kind of thing)

basil

sunchokes sliced

baked and seasoned tofu chunks

lar

lar di

dar

bake for fifteen minutes

EAT

eat delight

smile

edamame hummus

ok edamame is brilliant, having a bag in the freezer to pour into a bowl and some hot water over the top to sit for about ten minutes then drained off and served in pods with some salt sprinkled over the top...

that is so good for you, and great to munch on while watching movies or cooking up a storm...

once upon a time I was in a supermarket in Vancouver when I came across edamame hummus, so I tried and it was amazing,,,

easy to make to

just make hummus

- two cups of shelled cooked edamame

- a couple spoonfuls of tahini

-juice of a lemon

-a pinch of salt

-a dash of olive oil

-garlic or wasabi if your feeling adventurous.

mash, blend and serve

I read somewhere (here) that you can use sesame oil instead of tahini and olive oil, but then you need to add also a bunch of water... This same article says you have to use all edamame but I used half chickpeas and half edamame and it wasn't too bad at all very different but not bad at all.

Hummus hummus hunky chunky

always in the fridge for hungry boys and girls when they get home and can't wait for dinner...

- chickpeas ( just a can is easy but you can be fancy and soak a cup and a half full until soft)

- a couple big tablespoons of wholegrain tahini (you could also be fancy and make your own with blended sesame seeds)

- a lemon (just the juice)

- salt

- big dash of olive oil

- a clove of garlic (roasted if you feel you want a subtler taste, two fresh cloves or more if you want real zing)

I use a solid hand held potato masher to mash this all up and thats it

erb Crackers

ok these herb crackers are so easy and yet make you look like master of your pantry :)

so bits and pieces that taste nice in these are as follows using dried herbs and spice about a good full teaspoon should be about right depending on how plain or herby you want them

- cumin

- fennel seeds

- nigella

- rosemary

- thyme

- paprika

- allspice

- a decent sprinkle of salt and

pepper

then a mixture of seeds

- pumpkin seeds

- sesame seeds

- sunflower seeds

- Ground flax/linseeds ( these are important to bind the mixture )

- then a cup or two of wholemeal flour

- a few tablespoons of olive or avocado oil

mix this together until it is well blended indulge for a second in the smell of your hands if you are using them to mix, YUm

then add enough warm water slowly slowly until you have a somewhat solid ball of herby-flour then oil your rolling pin to press out the mixture onto a flat baking tray,

(use wine bottle if you do not have a rolling pin or if you have no wine bottle you can always just flatten it out with your hands)

it should be about 2-5 millimeters thick or less, the thicker it is the less it brakes when you dip it in your dips and business

bake it in the oven for about ten- fifteen minutes but keep an eye on it, meant to be slightly underdone and then left inside the oven after it has been turned off for a further twenty minutes to dry it out (I am notoriously bad at watching things in the oven and mine always come out too browned around the edges, but still good I say) ...

then when your ready just brake it up into the sized pieces you desire and store it, or into a bowl to serve it, goes best with freshly prepared hummus or sharp cheeses...

YUM

Salad and Orange dressing

yum salad always brilliant on the side of dinner, to keep up the seven veggies a day...

to make a simple dressing we use an old glass jar rinsed out to put the ingredients in then secure the lid and shake shake shake a drizzle over the top and toss,,,

we use sprouts, mixed greens, kale, cucumber and feta, and a few chives, mint leaves, coriander or edible flower petals, with nerds like crushed nuts like walnuts or almonds, and sunflowers or pumpkin seeds to add more nutrients and tasty fun goodness....

the salad dressing can be varied according to tastes so it is best to start with a small amount and play with the proportions till you hit a combination you like, more vinegar or more mustard everyone is different!!!

- mustard, wholeground

- vinegar, red wine

- vegetable oil, advocado or olive

- orange juice

- a teaspoon of honey

Banana bran choc spice muffins

1/2c White flour

3/4 c Wholemeal flour

1/4c Bran

1/2c Raw sugar

1 1/2t Baking powder

1/2t Baking Soda

vanilla

1 Egg

1c mashed banana

50g Butter

1/2c Milk

mixed spice

cinnamon

Choc chips

Walnuts

Melt Butter, add egg, vanilla, bananas and milk. Stir well. Add sifted dry ingredients, walnuts and choc chips and stir until just combined. Dollop into greased muffin tray and sprinkle a few choc chipies on top. Bake at 180'c for 20 mins- best eaten warm from the oven yum!

Mouth watering Plum Pie

This pie is honestly one of the best pies ever invented... its tangyness of the plums and lemon juice mixed with the sweet stickness of the golden syrup entwine together for a dreamy mouthful everytime. The best recipies i find and enjoy the most are the ones my mother made for me when i was young which makes it all the more special. Enjoy!

PLUM PIE

1 cup flour

75 grm butter

wizz together & add ice water slowly

pat into tin

halve plums - cut side up & add to pie base

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

25grm butter

wizz together & sprinkle over the plums!!

1/4 cup golden syrup

lemon juice

warm & mix together as a syrup then drizzle over pie

Bake for 220'c 10mins - then reduce to 180'c & bake for 20mins.

Take out of oven to settle, then devour to your hearts content - YUM !!!!

Leek and mushroom pie with cheesy wholemeal pastry

This recipie is one of my all time favourites.. its so easy and tastes amazing...

Cheese pastry:

90g Butter

90g Cheese, grated (1 1/4c)

1cup wholemeal flour

water

Soften Butter and cream with cheese. Add flour and mix until the dough holds together. Knead gently, adding water if too crumbly. Chill for one hour

then press into greased flan tin. Pre bake for 10-12 mins at 190C.

Filling:

garlic

1 Leek, thinly sliced

1 large carrot, grated,

1tsp oregano

mushrooms sliced, 100g

salt and pepper

oil

Fry these all up in a pan starting with garlic and leeks, add the rest and cook for 5 mins, if looks too dry add some warm water. Take off heat

Sauce:

100g Butter

5T flour

salt and pepper

1C milk

2T parmesan cheese

pinch of cayenne pepper

dash soy sauce

oregeno and mixed herbs (watever u wanna put in)

In a saucepan melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook for 2 mins making a rue. Add the millk gradually and sir over a medium heat

until very thick but still able to be stirred easily. Add parmesan cheese and seasonings. stir into the vegetables and mix well. pile into

the pastry case and bake at 190C for 30 mins, covering with tin foil for the first 20 mins. YUM!!!

YOGURT CRANBERRY APPLE MUFFINs

made these when I got back from yayoi kusama exhibition
to ground myself
these I was very pleasantly surprised with
I used

a cup of chopped frozen cranberries
a grated apple
two huge spoonfuls of plain yogurt
a teaspoon of vanilla essence
a teaspoon of nutmeg
a teaspoon of ground ginger
half a cup of soft brown sugar
a quater of a cup of vegetable oil
a cup of wholemeal flour
and a cup of self raising flour
a little baking soda and baking powder

I think that was about it
I cooked them for logner than I normally do over half and hour in my little oven
YUM