Spicy Burmese Cabbage

So I mentioned my new cookbook, and I am so excited to own it. I was so excited to post it that I didn't even explain why I am so darn excited about it. Remember that whole England escapade in 2009? Levi's friend took us to this place with food and I was like "Eh, sweet potato falafel, looks a bit expensive but I'll get it." NOT EXPENSIVE FOR HOW MUCH YOU GET. OMG. I was so pleased I took a photo.

I actually pulled this picture from Facebook (I was sure I had one of the actual food, but nonetheless) and it is captioned "I will miss you, Leon, and your tasty sweet potato felafel."

So when I was walking past a new cafe near my place a couple of months ago and saw the spine of a Leon book in there, I ran in and opened it and was excited and then ran back out to text Levi a picture of it. Lois was there, she can verify. And now I own the book (albeit the second one, which doesn't have the sweet potato felafel recipe, but I DONT EVEN CARE)! Huzzah! 

HUZZAH, I SAY. 

I was kind of skeptical about this recipe, because I've never had cabbage outside of coleslaw. I'm not entirely sure why it was the first recipe I decided to cook from it, to be honest, but it ended up being delicious. I think it would be good with the little black seeds they have on turkish bread on it. We ate it with plain rice, and it was great and filling. The recipe is insanely easy, and I've pared it down even more because I hate peanuts (you heard me) and I didn't want to buy fresh ginger or garlic, and couldn't use fish sauce because I was cooking for Levi.

SPICY BURMESE CABBAGE

Serves 2 hungry people (eaten with rice) with leftovers for tomorrow, or 4 as a side dish

Total time commitment: 15 minutes

Adapted from the Leon Cookbook, numero 2!

400g green cabbage

Ginger

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp turmeric

Juice of half a lemon

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp olive oil
100ml hot water
Garnishes - chopped fresh coriander, peanuts, sesame seeds, whatever tickles your fancy.

1. Slice cabbage thinly. Heat oil in a pan, and chuck on the garlic with it (the recipe says to do this after the cabbage, but because I was using minced garlic/am a maverick I swapped it around). Put the cabbage in the pan and let it soften for a minute or two.

2. Meanwhile, add turmeric to the hot water, stir until smooth, and then add the lemon juice and soy sauce.

3. Back to your delicious cabbage - add the hot water concoction and watch it change colour.

4. Stir for a minute or so, add any garnishes you want, and serve however it pleases you.

Birthday!

I've been kind of absent lately, and I apologise, but I am in one of my lazy spells.

I did,  however, have a birthday in all that time, and got some pretty radbiscuits presents.

Expect many recipes from this in the next few weeks.

Cooked in my new Weber Baby Q, because I am SO EXCITED ABOUT HAVING A BARBEQUE.

Curried Lentil Dip: Gluten Free Friday

I've had this recipe bookmarked for ages. It looked so good when I found it in my reader, so I diligently bookmarked it, and then remembered that I very rarely eat dip.

However, I bought a weekly meal planner the other week (not that meal planning is new for me, but having a nice, pretty meal plan on the fridge door is) and while I was trawling through my recipes, I thought WHY ON EARTH NOT.

Result? Good. I forgot how amazing Tahini is, Mum and I used it a lot making my various vegetarian dishes but I haven't had any for ages. Sesame seeds are the bomb. My dip ended up looking a little less green than the original recipe, because I didn't have any fresh herbs on hand and I didn't think dried parsley and cilantro would have the same effect. It was also a bit too spicy for my weak-ass mouth, but I still ate a darn good lot of it.

CURRIED LENTIL DIP
Makes 1 cup
Total time commitment: 10 minutes
Recipe from Adrienneats

400g cooked lentils, drained
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp olive oil

Blend everything together. BAM, done.

Gluten Free Friday: Vegetarian Chilli

This is one of those recipes for days (or weeks) where you really can't be bothered cooking, but still need to get your vitamins and other goodness from vegetables. Its one of the most colourful meals I've had in a while, and in my book that also makes it one of the healthiest. 

Unless you're using blue food dye or something, then you are not healthy in my book.

VEGETARIAN CHILLI
Serves 
Total time commitment: 15 minutes active time, 20-40 minutes simmering
Recipe adapted from something The Uber-Blonde cooked me once


1 onion
3 small capsicums
2 potatoes
200g red kidney beans
150g salsa
1 cup water (see note)
Spices

1. Dice onion and cut capsicum into manageable chunks. Heat oil in a frying pan (you will want a very large pan!) and cook onion and capsicum.

2. Cut potatoes into pieces (I did eighths) and add to pan. Add kidney beans and spices.

3. Cover with salsa and water, and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

NOTES:
The original recipe had a jar of passata, which made it a lot more flavoursome and tomatoey. I, however, am saving my pennies, so didn't buy any. I would highly recommend it, though.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

I hate hot cross buns.

You heard me.

I also hate coffee and Christmas cake. So sue me.

These were my hot cross bun substitute, and I enjoyed them very much. Thats why the photo is so unimaginative, because I was too busy eating. Facts! Enjoy them.

SWEET POTATO BISCUITS
Makes 24
Total time commitment: 15 minutes active, 15 minutes cooking
Recipe from The Kitchn

2 cups flour
85g butter, cubed
1 large sweet potato, cooked and mashed
1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Put flour in a bowl and cut in the cubes of butter until they are little pebbles of butter.

2. In a separate bowl, combine sweet potato and buttermilk. Add to the flour and butter mixture, and form into a ball.

3. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat out to about 2.5cm/1 inch thickness. Don't use a rolling pin or you'll RUIN EVERYTHING.

4. Cut into circles with a cookie cutter or use a knife and make squares. Whatever floats your boat. If you do circles, roll up the scraps and pat out again and just keep making circles until its all gone.

5. Place the biscuits on a tray and bake for 10-15 minutes. Delicious.

Flatbread

I've had this recipe bookmarked for I don't know how long. Actually, that's a lie, I've had it bookmarked since it was published on February 15, but two months is a long time.

I went to make it shortly after I bookmarked it, but I had no bread flour.

I went to buy bread flour at the supermarket, but you can only get it in 5kg bags.

I went to the place where you bring your own containers, and tried to buy some there. They had weevils in their bread flour. I told the sales lady and she opened a new bag for me.

I took that home, but didn't have enough time for all of the rising the bread needs to do (FLATBREAD, WHY YOU NEED RISING TIME), so I left it.

I went to make it again, opened the bread flour, and it had moths. Decided never to go back to that store again.

Yesterday, was hungry, made it with regular flour. Deliciousness ensued. To think I could have avoided all that malarkey! If you eat this straight out of the oven, it will actually change your life.

FLATBREAD
Makes 9 large slices/one square sheet pan
Total time commitment: 20 minutes active, 2 hours 15 minutes resting
Recipe from The Kitchn

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 1/4 tsp yeast
1 tbsp granulated sugar
3 3/4 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
Olive Oil

1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add the plain four and salt, and mix until combined. I have decided bread is my gym-less way to massive guns, you can use a dough hook on your mixer if you are so inclined.

2. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes, then shape into a ball. Transfer the ball into an oiled bowl, cover, and let stand for 90 minutes. The recipe specifies to do this 'somewhere warm', Western Australia seems to have no shortage of warm at the moment.

3. HELLO. Please get your dough out of the bowl. Oil a sheet pan and put the dough on it, and spread it out to the edges. I needed a bit more kneading to get the dough to cooperate, maybe if you own a rolling pin that isn't so much of a problem. Drizzle with olive oil, and let stand for 45 minutes.

4. Preheat your oven to 200C, sprinkle the bread with salt, and bake for 20 minutes until the bottom is browned and the bread smells yummy.

5. Please eat a bit right away, it tastes lovely.

Lasagne

This lasagne recipe has to be one of the easiest things ever.

And oh man, has this lasagne has got me through a tough week.

Like that time I didn't sleep enough and cried because I'd already eaten two servings and I still wanted more. Seriously, this is why I advocate going to bed early. But also why I advocate this lasagne, it is clearly delicious. I mean just look at all that cheese.

LASAGNE
Serves 6-8, you don't want to cry because you didn't eat enough
Total time commitment: 10 minutes actively doing things, 45 minutes cooking; not including actually making the bolognese and white sauce
Recipe from common sense/Mum's advice


2 quantities of bolognese sauce
1-2 quantities of white sauce, depending on your mood
Lasagne sheets
Extra cheese

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Get a large baking dish and layer it with half of the bolognese sauce.

2. Top with lasagne sheets so you're covering the top of it.

3. Add the rest of the bolognese.

4. Add more lasagne sheets.

5. Pour the white sauce over the top. Mmm, delicious.

6. Grate extra cheese on top. Even more delicious.

7. Pop it in the oven and cook until the cheese is golden and delicious and the lasagne sheets aren't chewy any more. It will probably collapse a bit as you serve it, embrace it as the joyful mess of lasagne.

DELICIOUS JOY.