Phil has a cold! I'm worried that this could be because we are a bit run down? It's hard to tell. He isn't too unwell, but it's definitely not fun being sick.
Yesterday I ate:
3 pieces of Vogel toast, 2 with peanut butter, one with Marmite.
1 trim latte.
Chocolate brownie.
1 Gala apple.
Baked potato leftover from the previous night.
1 mango and passionfruit yoghurt.
2 glasses of riesling.
Barley and haricot bean risotto with a rocket, avocado and sunflower seed salad.
Crepes with blueberries, raspberries and vanilla bean ice-cream.
What with Phil being sick and me feeling quite tired I have been getting a bit paranoid about our iron intake. So I decided to soak some haricot beans, as according to the internet they are high in iron.
My friend Reuben came over for dinner to discuss plans for a possible vegetarian feast. Reuben is vegetarian himself and a very good cook. More on the feast to come.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Beetroot and Feta Tart
This recipe is based on a tart that my aunt made for a lunch a few weeks ago. She used puff pastry but I decided to make this with filo, as I like how light it is. I have a feeling that it would be very suitable for a picnic.
Beetroot and Feta Tart
Ingredients
2 small onions, halved and sliced.
1 Tbsp butter.
1/4 cup of white wine (or water).
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar.
3-4 beetroot.
8 sheets of filo pastry.
200 grams feta cheese.
Olive oil.
Handful of rocket.
Method
Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the onions.
Fry over a low heat in order to caramelize. This should take about 30 minutes. Stir them occasionally to make sure that they don't burn. You want them to slowly turn a light brown colour. After about 20 minutes, add the wine or water. Fry for another 10 minutes, then add the balsamic vinegar (that is, add it once they have been frying for 30 minutes total).
Meanwhile, cook the beetroot by chopping them into large chunks and boiling them in water in a medium saucepan. It is easier to take the skins off once they have cooked but you could do it before you put them in the water if you prefer. Test the beetroot by poking them with a fork. They should be firm but not hard or crunchy when cooked.
While you are cooking the onions and the beetroot, get the filo pastry ready. Line a dish with some baking paper, then start layering the sheets of filo. Each sheet needs to be brushed with a little olive oil to make them stick together. You can do this by drizzling say 1/2 teaspoon of oil over each sheet and then spreading it around with the back of the teaspoon.
If there is a bit of overhang around the edges of the dish, fold them in neatly.
When the onions and beetroot are cooked, cool the beetroot in some cold water and peel off the skins (if you haven't already). Chop them into say 2cm pieces.
Layer the balsamic onions over the pastry, then add the beetroot. Crumble the feta over the top.
Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 30 minutes, or until golden. Scatter with rocket and serve.
What I Ate - 8 February 2010
Today I ate:
2 pieces of toast with peanut butter.
1 trim latte.
Chocolate brownie.
2 apples.
Leftover chana masala from yesterday with brown rice.
2 fruit yoghurts.
Small handful of cashew nuts.
Baked potato with black beans, cheese, avocado, spring onions and capsicum.
Whittaker's Dark Ghana.
So far I have been feeling quite good, better even than usual. Today however, my energy really tanked. It happened late this afternoon and I suddenly felt very tired. I'm starting to wonder if I am running a bit low on iron.
2 pieces of toast with peanut butter.
1 trim latte.
Chocolate brownie.
2 apples.
Leftover chana masala from yesterday with brown rice.
2 fruit yoghurts.
Small handful of cashew nuts.
Baked potato with black beans, cheese, avocado, spring onions and capsicum.
Whittaker's Dark Ghana.
So far I have been feeling quite good, better even than usual. Today however, my energy really tanked. It happened late this afternoon and I suddenly felt very tired. I'm starting to wonder if I am running a bit low on iron.
What I Ate - 7 February 2010
Today I ate:
1 piece of toast with peanut butter.
Quite a lot of chocolate brownie.
1 trim latte.
1 glass of orange juice.
Homemade potato wedges with sour cream.
Bread topped with balsamic onions and parmesan cheese.
Channa masala curry with Indian spiced potatoes and cauliflower.
2 glasses of pinot gris.
Oat fruit crumble made with nectarines, cherries, apple and rhubarb.
Phil makes really, really good home made potato wedges. In fact, I think I might write a post about them. One secret that I will give away is that Agria potatoes make the best wedges, crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle.
We had some friends around for dinner and I made a curry that was quite good but probably a bit on the spicy side. Still, it was pretty good and there was enough left over for us both to have little containers to take for our lunches tomorrow.
The Phoenix are currently 1 up against Gold Coast! Got to go.
1 piece of toast with peanut butter.
Quite a lot of chocolate brownie.
1 trim latte.
1 glass of orange juice.
Homemade potato wedges with sour cream.
Bread topped with balsamic onions and parmesan cheese.
Channa masala curry with Indian spiced potatoes and cauliflower.
2 glasses of pinot gris.
Oat fruit crumble made with nectarines, cherries, apple and rhubarb.
Phil makes really, really good home made potato wedges. In fact, I think I might write a post about them. One secret that I will give away is that Agria potatoes make the best wedges, crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle.
We had some friends around for dinner and I made a curry that was quite good but probably a bit on the spicy side. Still, it was pretty good and there was enough left over for us both to have little containers to take for our lunches tomorrow.
The Phoenix are currently 1 up against Gold Coast! Got to go.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Today's haul
This morning I went to the markets. This is what I got:
Fruits of my labour (sort of)
I have been making an effort to get to the markets on Sunday mornings as I think that this would be much harder if we didn't have a good supply of fresh veges.
Tonight I am going to attempt to make a chickpea curry called Channa Masala. The chickpeas are currently simmering on the stove. Cooking with dried pulses requires a bit of ahead planning as generally you need to soak them overnight, and then boil them for up to 2-3 hours.
What I Ate - 6 February 2010
Today I ate:
1piece of toast with peanut butter.
Huevos rancheros, made by Phil.
1 trim latte.
1 glass of lovely orange juice from Moore Wilsons.
Corn chips with homemade guacamole and salsa.
1 chocolate gelato.
Baked potato with black beans, cheese, avocado, carrot, spring onions and sour cream.
2 glasses of pinot gris.
1 piece of chocolate brownie.
Phil is quite fond of bacon and eggs for weekend breakfasts. I have heard anecdotally that bacon is something that a lot of vegetarians struggle to give up. I got quite a surprise to hear that my friend Claire was a vegan for a year as a teenager, especially when she qualified it in the same breath as having been subject to a bacon sandwich every month. So huevos rancheros is an attempt at a special weekend breakfast. You make a spicy bean and tomato mixture, and then poach some eggs in it while it cooks. Then you pile the eggs and beans into a tortilla with some cheese. It's pretty filling, to the point that we didn't really have a proper lunch because we just didn't feel like it.
I also want to comment on the orange juice. If you have never have it, I strongly recommend that you try it. It is like drinking oranges. This shouldn't be too remarkable, for orange juice, but too often it just tastes like pulpy bitterness and isn't all that pleasant. This stuff is very fresh and sweet. I often get it after yum char, as it is exactly the kind of astringency that you need after eating lots of heavy Chinese breakfast food.
As for dinner, yesterday I had a baked potato from Ka Pai, and as good as it was, I decided that it was probably something that I could do a better job of. At the very least, I can pile them high with lots of yum ingredients. So, tonight I decided to give it a go. I scrubbed some agria potatoes and baked them in their skins in the oven. Then we essentially made the bean recipe for huevos rancheros to stuff the potatoes with, and cobbled together some toppings based on what was left from last week's trip to the vege markets. They were really good! Something to make again.
I hope you are all enjoying the weather and haven't been too traumatized by sevens revelers. So far the worst thing that has happened to me was three Willie Apiatas surrounding me and dancing like Chandler Bing while I showed a bouncer my ID.
1piece of toast with peanut butter.
Huevos rancheros, made by Phil.
1 trim latte.
1 glass of lovely orange juice from Moore Wilsons.
Corn chips with homemade guacamole and salsa.
1 chocolate gelato.
Baked potato with black beans, cheese, avocado, carrot, spring onions and sour cream.
2 glasses of pinot gris.
1 piece of chocolate brownie.
Phil is quite fond of bacon and eggs for weekend breakfasts. I have heard anecdotally that bacon is something that a lot of vegetarians struggle to give up. I got quite a surprise to hear that my friend Claire was a vegan for a year as a teenager, especially when she qualified it in the same breath as having been subject to a bacon sandwich every month. So huevos rancheros is an attempt at a special weekend breakfast. You make a spicy bean and tomato mixture, and then poach some eggs in it while it cooks. Then you pile the eggs and beans into a tortilla with some cheese. It's pretty filling, to the point that we didn't really have a proper lunch because we just didn't feel like it.
I also want to comment on the orange juice. If you have never have it, I strongly recommend that you try it. It is like drinking oranges. This shouldn't be too remarkable, for orange juice, but too often it just tastes like pulpy bitterness and isn't all that pleasant. This stuff is very fresh and sweet. I often get it after yum char, as it is exactly the kind of astringency that you need after eating lots of heavy Chinese breakfast food.
As for dinner, yesterday I had a baked potato from Ka Pai, and as good as it was, I decided that it was probably something that I could do a better job of. At the very least, I can pile them high with lots of yum ingredients. So, tonight I decided to give it a go. I scrubbed some agria potatoes and baked them in their skins in the oven. Then we essentially made the bean recipe for huevos rancheros to stuff the potatoes with, and cobbled together some toppings based on what was left from last week's trip to the vege markets. They were really good! Something to make again.
I hope you are all enjoying the weather and haven't been too traumatized by sevens revelers. So far the worst thing that has happened to me was three Willie Apiatas surrounding me and dancing like Chandler Bing while I showed a bouncer my ID.
Friday, February 5, 2010
What I Ate - 5 February 2010
Yesterday I ate:
2 poached eggs on marmite toast.
1 piece of peanut butter toast.
1 baked potato with mexican beans, cheese, capsicum, sour cream and avocado from Ka Pai (I had no idea they did baked potatoes but it was delicious).
1 apple.
1 berry yoghurt.
Quite a lot of white wine (mostly pinot gris but at least one glass of sauvignon)
Several crackers with feta and feijoa chutney.
Chips and dip.
Beetroot and feta filo tart with balsamic caramelized onions and rocket.
Mesclun salad with rockmelon, tomato, cucumber and feta.
Chocolate self saucing pudding with whipped cream.
Last night was out first real test. We went to Phil's old flat for dinner and we were a bit nervous as they are all quite fond of roasts. Phil didn't know how he would cope if there was pork crackling. In the end though, one of the girls made a bacon and egg pie, and we didn't feel too tempted. Pastry is pastry, but it is definitely not pork crackling.
2 poached eggs on marmite toast.
1 piece of peanut butter toast.
1 baked potato with mexican beans, cheese, capsicum, sour cream and avocado from Ka Pai (I had no idea they did baked potatoes but it was delicious).
1 apple.
1 berry yoghurt.
Quite a lot of white wine (mostly pinot gris but at least one glass of sauvignon)
Several crackers with feta and feijoa chutney.
Chips and dip.
Beetroot and feta filo tart with balsamic caramelized onions and rocket.
Mesclun salad with rockmelon, tomato, cucumber and feta.
Chocolate self saucing pudding with whipped cream.
Last night was out first real test. We went to Phil's old flat for dinner and we were a bit nervous as they are all quite fond of roasts. Phil didn't know how he would cope if there was pork crackling. In the end though, one of the girls made a bacon and egg pie, and we didn't feel too tempted. Pastry is pastry, but it is definitely not pork crackling.
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