in the kitchen july august

Beetroot and Dark Chocolate Brownie from River Cottage Cookbook loaned from the Library. This recipe has been on repeat all through winter. Toss your brownie recipe and get this one. It's totally addictive!

Buckwheat Pancakes with a Blueberry coulis made with water and a little raw honey. In winter I eat only warm foods for breakfast and keep juicing and smoothies for later in the day.

Sweetcorn Pancakes with quiona flour and Coriander Pesto from the Endoempowered Holistic Program. These are my go to dinner patties, so quick and easy for when I haven't prepared anything special for me.

Local organic produce from my bulk healthfood shop, Moontree. I've been getting blood tests done over the past few months for any deficiencies and slowly my vitamin collection is growing and so is my health improvements.

Ham and Vegetable Frittata for the males in the house. The mountain man took two weeks off work in the school holidays and spent his time taking us to the snow and cooking dinners. Lucky me! He dusted off the CSIRO total wellbeing diet and made several recipes like the above and the following...

Pumpkin and Spinach Frittata with Kale Avocado Salad. We also took some frittatas to the snow because at Selwyn there's an indoor seating area where you can take your own food. It's fun to see the different nationalities and how far they will go to eat their favourite foods such as camping style Chinese Hot Pot and others just bring sandwiches and snacks. Mostly people do this to save money and that is our goal too but also to avoid the really dodgey food sold at the one cafeteria there. Think processed wheat, high salt, vegetable oils and very cheap melted cheese. Otherwise, It's a lovely place for family skiing.

Tomato Soup with Apple and Walnut Kale Salad.

White Fish with Parsley Relish. From memory I grabbed Basa Fillets from the Supermarket, not something I have bought in recent years due to the mercury and over fishing concerns. The most pressing issue now is microbeads and just recently I've read how microfibers from the clothing industry is causing more pollution in our oceans! We do eat Salmon fortnightly and only eat white fish when we stay at my mums in Sydney because she shops at local fish markets. But now I really don't feel that it is ethical or safe to eat fish even occasionally.

White Fish with Char-grilled Vegetables. The last recipe from the CSIRO cookbook. Thank you Mountain Man for the kitchen break!

Back on duty starting with Homous. I've been making a point of cooking the family similar foods from my childhood. Living far from Sydney and the diverse multicultural eats, the kids are not getting the same exposure (like I did) outside of the home either.

Organic Beef Kofta with herbs from the garden and Lebanese spices from the pantry.

Kids lebanese plate. I like to think of this as my version of "Nuggets and Chips" but tastes heaps better and has lots more nutrition. Always a winner with the kids.

Nice Cream. I had a little yearning for "Summer" so I blended up some frozen bananas, honey, coconut cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon in my froothie. I threw on my coat and beanie and found a little sunny spot in the yard to enjoy my little treat. It felt like I was on vacation for ten whole minutes.

Macadamia Raw Brownie. Based on the one from Happy Hormones.  A much more beneficial treat for when those monthly sugar cravings hit.


What's been happening in your kitchen? Do you have access to fresh seafood and do you have any concerns about fish?

Zena xx

in the kitchen june

Still catching up on my food posts!

Spicy Apple Quiona from the Holistic Endoempowered Program.

Squirrel shopping at my bulk health food shop. Being particularly vigilant about pesticide free salads and food I can not peel the skin off. Unfortunately I haven't been able to source my amazing and abundant organic fruit and vegetable box from Canberra anymore - due to the business closing for personal reasons.

Kale, Avocado and Kiwi Fruit Salad from the Endoempowered Holistic Program. This combo is so different and delicious. Chicken Patties with Herbs and Shallots and Baked Sweet Potato and can't remember what type Potatoes.

Apple Slaw with Walnuts, Tahini Dressing & Orange for a catch up with friends.

Spanish Mussels. Working my way through the recipe book, Eat Endo Happy from the Endoempowered program. Oh night time shadow you strike again!

Gluten Free Sweetcorn Fritters. I used lentil flour instead of coconut flour. From The Healthy Chef.

More squirrel shopping from my bulk health food shop. I use to go fortnightly or weekly when we had a Waldorf playgroup in town but these days I go few times a week. Diversifying my organic wheat flour with Buckwheat flour. A little cinnamon sprinkled on my Dandelion Tea; farewell coffee and good riddance high cortisol levels.

Chocolate Beetroot Brownie a gluten free brownie using Almond Meal. From Home Grown Kitchen.

We're in the depth of Winter here and I usually cook a lot of casseroles, tagines and soups but my health issue has lightened my usual menu plan with a lot of clean eating plant based foods.

Are you eating comfort foods this season or eating lighter foods due to health issues? Or are you in Summer, frolicking at the beach in warmer weather and indulging in refreshing salads and juicy fruits? If so, lucky you!


Zena xx

what's with wheat

Knitting
The little one found the bear pattern in his brothers' craft book and insisted I make it for him. So off we went to the craft shop to buy the yarn (nothing in my stash) and over a few days he watched in absolute awe and "helped" craft its construction. What a beautiful life lesson to teach our young children the beauty of slow hand making in this very fast paced consumer world.

Incidentally the pattern is incorrect. The bear knitted up quite large and out of proportion. On my third attempt I halved the number of knitted rows and the bear came out just right:)

More knitting and some reading

Grandma's Favorite Heart Shaped Dishcloth for a dear friend.

A quilt for Christmas By Sandra Dallas was a quick read with wonderful characters. Centered around Eliza and her life tending to the farm with her two children whilst her husband is away fighting in battle during the civil war era. She took in a widow and a baby who fled violent relatives and later helped save the life of a slave by keeping her hidden on her property. It depicts the strength and compassion of women during incredibly difficult times.

Watching


This documentary gets a 10 out of 10 from me. Just some of my favourite speakers on real food and transparency in the food industry are in this film: Sally Fallon, Joel Salatin, Cydni O'Meara and Vandana Shiva.

The film covers the history of wheat, the hybridisation of wheat, pesticides and chemicals in wheat and advertising of wheat products over real food throughout the decades. It depicts how wheat in its new form and mass consumption of it has had detrimental effects at epidemic proportions in the western world. Am I against wheat? No not all. If we all ate slow fermented biodynamic sourdough bread for breakfast and buns for lunch we wouldn't have chronic gut and bowl issues that plagues many of us today. The bread at the supermarket is cheap and nasty and full of chemicals. I can't believe I use to buy it for my children. This film is a public health service.

Listening

 

Source

Getting to know Alisa Vitti, the founder behind the blog, Flo Living on this podcast.

Alisa believes that women live in a time where our work schedule, exercise recommendations and nutritional advice are all centered around male hormone patterns. By optimizing our female hormones Alisa has proven through her Flo Living Protocol that we can improve or fix PMS, cramps, unexplained infertility, low libido, PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids, and eczema.

You can find practical and helpful information on women's hormones through her blog at Flo Living. A dear friend is currently enrolled in the protocol and gives it the big thumbs up.

Y'all know I'm all about the hormones these days!

How are my crafty comrades? How are your hormones? We are a special breed us women and we need to look after our precious hormones...and keep crafting!

Joining in with Keep Calm Craft On and Yarn Along.

in the kitchen April 2016

Pizza Night! I love making pizza's on Friday nights or the weekends. Accompanied with red wine and kitchen tunes, standing (and dancing) in the kitchen all evening serving them as they come out of the oven and popping the next one in. Family favourites: Pumpkin, caramelized onions, feta and sage; Chorizo and roasted vegetables; Roasted zucchini, eggplant, red capsicum and caramelized onions; Tomatoes, black olives and fresh mozzarella; Ham and Pineapple (not mum's favourite at all!)

These pizzas were made several weeks after surgery and I almost collapsed after making them. There was definitely no wine drinking and I made them early in the day. My wild and free pizza making and wine drinking kitchen days are sadly over or at least for a year.

Sea Shepherd Pie. I'm making lots more vegetarian dinner meals (again) since my health issue. This one has french lentils, mushrooms, leek, carrot, celery and nutritional yeast flakes. Recipe here.

Chicken and Mayo Rolls. Left over roasted free range chicken drumsticks. Chopped up with parsley, squeeze of lemon and pepper on fresh bakery rolls. The kids enjoyed these the next day.

Lebanese Picnic for the kids while the big peeps enjoyed stuffed zucchinis. Kafta sausages are made with lean beef or lamb mince, cumin, shallots, parsley and white pepper. Here's how to do it. I make the wraps using my old faithful recipe, Flour Tortillas from The Waldorf Book of Breads. I think these days everyone knows how to make Hoummous but just in case Jamie Oliver's hoummous is pretty authentic.

Stuffed Vegetarian Zucchini. Brown Rice with Chia, a chopped tomato, fresh coriander, parsley and mint. Cumin, coriander, hot chilli, salt and pepper spices and tomato paste and water. Growing up this dish was known around my house as Kousa Mahshi and was made with minced beef. Recipe for the traditional dish can be found here including a video episode showing you exactly how to make it from Food Safari.

To make Kousa Mahshi (stuffed zucchini) you need a Manakra tool to core and scrape out the flesh of the zucchinis. I bought mine from a Lebanese grocery store.

Cheesy Broc Frits. From the Lunch Lady Mag Issue 1. Made with loads of broccoli, a bit of flour, an egg and parmesan to bind. Scrumptious! Pretty much been making these every second or third night.

Keen-wah and Carrot Patties. Another one from the Lunch Lady Mag issue 1. Alternating between these and Brocoli patties above. I can't stop making them!

Bacon and Zucchini Cashew Cream Penne. A packet of organic penne, one zucchini, footpath growing thyme, all natural ingredients bacon, local garlic, a supermarket bought onion and a cup of raw cashews loved by all three males in the house. For this dish I always whiz up a cup of cashews and a cup of water in my Froothie and add it to the cooked pasta, then I add the rest of the sauteed ingredients that is bursting with strong flavours.

So cooking friends, what have you been making?

in my kitchen march 2016

Afternoon treats for my boys. Frozen Bananas with dark chocolate, coconut and walnuts. I've been making these weekly with different nuts. The kids can't get enough of them. Thank you Lunch Lady!

 Afternoon treats for me! Raw Chocolate Coconut Bites inspired from here.

Spaghetti Bolognaise made with organic beef mince and loads of Rob's homegrown garlic and our fresh garden herbs. Organic pasta for the boys and organic zucchini noodles for us.

Free range chicken wings with garlic and oregano and thyme and drizzled in Australian Olive Oil. Coleslaw with a tasty garlicy sunflower seed sauce.

We had a cold spell so I made the gang Coconut Curry Chicken and Vegetable Pie. Mostly organic from the pastry flour to simple vegetables. The sauce is made with a cup of homemade chicken stock, a small can of ayam coconut milk and some natural arrowroot powder to thicken up and pepper for taste. Wholesome and comforting family food.

Vegan Mexican Bowl with brown organic rice. Red kidney beans sauteed with onions, paprika, cumin, garlic and fresh oregano. I have started to prioritise "clean eating" foods after my ambulance trip to the hospital. The delicious vegan tofu coriander dressing really accentuates this dish.

Chickpea, Spinach and Pumpkin Curry with organic rice for the whole family. Similar recipe to this one.

My mum came to stay after my surgery to cook and look after the children. She prepared all this food the night before a 7 hour bus and train trip from Sydney to the Snowy Mountains. Stashed in her suite case: Babaganoush, Tabouli, Serbian Cheese and Spinach Pie, a ball of Lebanese Shanglesh, A big piece of Prosciutto from Fairfield, Lebanese Bread, and four Lemons cross lime cross grapefruit from her tree. Her description not mine. Dinner was sorted the first night! Oh, and she carried a big curry plant on her journey too!

The next night, Bubba Masa (my mum) made traditional schnitzels served with Rob's delicious wild fermented saurekraut.

The day after she made traditional Serbian Cheese and Spinach Pie, also known as Burek, before anyone woke up!

What have you been cooking folks? Or like me, is someone else cooking and giving you a bit of a break.

Zena xx

in my kitchen february 2016

Joining in with In My Kitchen at Orgasmic Chef, previously Celia's invention from Fig and Lime Cordial blog.

Rob's fermented sauerkraut on proscuitto and mountain bread. This was a delicious hit, unfortunately the ones in the back were misses. But you loose some and win some with fermentation; it's just part of the learning process. Rob is a big fan of Katz Sander's wild style of fermentation. A prosciutto shoulder piece was gifted to us from my mum. Ordered months ago from Liverpool, Sydney. A delicious treat for us every day to the last bite. Until next year!

Tomato Sauce especially for Mr Eight. I used what I had in the fridge - an assortment of tomatoes approximately 600grams, 1/4 onion, cumin, cloves, mustard seed, salt, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar on the stove top for an 1 hour, cooled and wizzed up in my new Froothie.

Sunflower seed condiment especially for Rob and his month detox from the Christmas holiday excess. I can't find the recipe link! One cup sunflower seeds, juice from one lemon and some Himalayan salt and home grown garlic to taste.

Warmer weather means lighter food. Vietnamese Spring Rolls: Tofu, carrots, cucumber, coriander wrapped in Rice Paper. The dipping sauce is made of Bragg All Natural Purpose Seasoning and fresh ginger.

Haven't made the move to the capsule craze and although tempting for the convenience, I won't for environmental reasons. However, for a change, I would like to try a different ethical and fair trade brew. Any suggestions? I like my coffee strong and sweet.

Pumpkin, fetta, caramelized onions and sage pizza. Our toddler's favourite. I absolutely love rolling out dough; I actually find it liberating. This is how I feel in action, shown here on the Radical Homemakers book cover.

Lots of Juicing over the warmer months. Celery, apple, pear and lemon recipe inspiration from Reboot with Joe. Incidentally, I have put on a whole dress size over Summer eating "lighter" foods! Zero excercise and perhaps two servings of dinner and baked goods may have something to do with that!

Last night I made everyone Chicken Korma, since a cold has claimed us one by one. Free range chicken, organic carrots and good ole dependable frozen peas, fresh coriander on a bed of organic basmati rice. I always add a cup of homemade chicken stock and a can of Ayam coconut milk to my curries for nutritional benefits and delicious natural flavours.

Warm and nourishing Chicken Korma with homemade chicken stock and Ayam coconut milk enjoyed by the toddler of the house. I just can't get enough of his little pudgey hands.

Lunching on Red lentil organic curry spice soup with potatoes, carrots, onions, homegrown garlic, homemade chicken stock and a little Organic Vegetable bouillon. Our saviour - Rye bread ordered weekly from our little local Bakery.

What a great way to showcase your cooking. I must make an effort to capture the actual cooking around here and take note on night time shadows. So, dear fellow cooking friends, what's in your Kitchen?