Tali's Tomatoes

What you need to serve 4 people:

• 6 eggs
• 3/4 cup Greek yoghurt
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 4 mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups spinach or kale cut into thin strips
• 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, each tomato chopped in half
• salt and pepper to taste
• butter or oil for cooking (I used coconut oil)

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and grease a quiche dish with butter or oil. Rinse the quinoa, add to a saucepan and then cover with the stock. Bring the stock to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook until all of the stock has been absorbed and the quinoa is cooked.

While the quinoa is cooking, add some oil to a frying pan and saute the onions and garlic until soft and fragrant. Add the spinach and  mushrooms and stir until the spinach has just wilted. Set aside to cool.

Whisk the eggs with the Greek yoghurt until frothy. Add the spinach mixture, parmesan cheese, cooked quinoa, nutritional yeast and salt and pepper and mix until well combined. Pour the mixture into the greased quiche dish.

Carefully place the cherry tomatoes seed side up all over the top of the quiche and place it in the oven. Cook for approximately 45 minutes until golden.

Make it Naughty: add some tasty cheese and bacon pieces.

If you would like to see a video on how to cook quinoa, there is a quirky video available here - http://vimeo.com/21870705.



Sources: 1, 2, 3

This week I had a bit of a Mexican craving. We have some really great fast food type Mexican places popping up in Australia at the moment, with some of them even having brown rice burritos! However, they still always come covered in cheese and sour cream so I generally try and avoid them for that reason.

While on the hunt for some take-away type food during the week I came across sweet potato and black bean burrito recipes.

I prefer to use black beans because I like the flavour but you could use kidney or pinto beans instead. The beans paired with the sweet red onion, sweet potato, spicy chilli and creamy avocado make you not even realise you are missing the sour cream or the cheese - I promise! I felt like I was eating something really naughty when in fact it was super healthy.

Try wrapping them in a large lettuce or cabbage leaf for a healthier alternative to the wrap bread.

• 1 1/2 limes, juiced
• 1/2 lemon, juiced (could use lime juice instead)
• 3 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 500 g sweet potato, skin on and chopped into 1 cm cubes
• 3 cups cooked black, pinto or kidney beans (1.5 cups dried*)
• 1 cup thinly sliced red capsicum
• 1 cup chopped silverbeet, kale or spinach
• 2/3 bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 2 avocados, flesh removed and roughly mashed
• 8 tortillas
• 1/2 to 1 tsp chilli powder (or cayenne powder)
• 2 tsp dried cumin
• 1 tsp dried coriander
• 1/2 tbsp coconut oil for cooking
• salt and pepper to taste

• lettuce
• cooked brown rice
• cooked quinoa
• jalapeños

Add the sweet potato to a saucepan, cover with filtered water, bring to the boil then cover and simmer until just tender, around 20 minutes. Drain the sweet potato and set aside.

Prepare your salsa by adding 2 chopped tomatoes, coriander, a pinch of cumin, salt and lemon juice to a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside to allow flavours to develop.

Heat coconut oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft. Add the capsicum, sweet potato, 1 chopped tomato and spices and stir regularly for around 3 minutes to avoid the mixture sticking to the pan, mashing some of the sweet potato softly so that you have some mashed and some whole pieces of potato. Add the black beans, spinach/kale or silver beet and lime juice and stir until combined and heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Heat tortillas according to packet directions (I didn't bother and they were still great) and then top with some sweet potato mixture, avocado and salsa and roll to combine. See here for a photo demonstration of how to roll a burrito.

As you may know from my previous Carrot Cake post, I am not much of a baker. Keeping this in mind, when I was invited to a friends place for a catchup I quickly scoured the internet looking for something that I didn't have to bake for dessert that would be tasty, healthy and a little bit different.

To my delight I happened across avocado key lime pies made using avocados! I was absolutely thrilled to discover that avocados can be used to make a creamy rich raw dessert.

This recipe has a yoghurt topping which provides some tanginess, however it can be omitted if you are lactose intolerant or sticking to a paleo diet. Cocoyo (coconut yoghurt) and perhaps soy yoghurt (don't quote me on that one -  yet to be tested) would be great substitutions. Or you can make less of a base and only use the avocado filling, at which point it will be an avocado lime pie.

Avocados, which are actually a fruit (my boyfriend didn't believe me), contain a range of vital  nutrients and healthy fats while being low in sugar and sodium. High in vitamin C, fibre, folate, vitamin K, vitamin E, antioxidants and potassium, it really is a super food.

You can keep the recipe as a cake, or alternatively you can layer it into a round glass placing some base, followed by avocado and yoghurt. Repeat so that you have three layers. Place in the freezer to chill and set slightly for about 20 minutes and serve.




What you need to make one cake (or 4 parfaits)

Total shopping list (see below for breakdown):

• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup other nuts of choice
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• up to 1 cup rice syrup, honey or agave nectar (use honey or agave if you like sweet desserts, rice syrup has half the sugar)
• up to 3/4 tsp stevia
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• up to 6 limes (juice and zest)
• 2 ripe avocados
• 1 cup Greek yoghurt
• 2 tbsp chia seeds

Breakdown of ingredients:

Base:

• 1 cup sunflower seeds (soaked for at least 2 hours then drained)
• 1 cup of nuts, I used a combination of pecans and almonds (soaked for at least 2 hours then drained)
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 1/3 cup rice syrup, honey or agave,
• dry or liquid stevia to taste (up to 1/2 teaspoon)
• pinch of salt

Avocado filling:

• 2 ripe avocados, flesh removed
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 coconut cream
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• lime zest of 2-3 small limes
• 1/3 cup rice syrup or 1/4 cup honey or agave
• liquid stevia to taste (up to 1/2 teaspoon)

Yoghurt topping:

• 1 cup Greek yoghurt (or Cocoyo or soy yoghurt)
• 1/3 rice syrup or 1/4 cup honey or agave
• 1/4 cup coconut cream
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• lime zest of 2-3 small limes
• liquid stevia to taste (up to 1/2 teaspoon)

My partner doesn't cook me dinner very regularly, but when I showed him a recipe for zucchini spaghetti and meatballs I couldn't hold him back.

You can make zucchini spaghetti (or zucchinighetti) using a spirooli or a mandolin on the thinest setting or a vegetable peeler. Basically you are turning your regular vegetables like zucchini, beetroot, potatoes etc into noodles. I like to use them in salads or as a replacement for regular spaghetti.

Vegetable noodles would be a great trick to get your kids to eat more vegies! It is also makes your meals wheat free and paleo friendly.

Feel free to replace the meatballs with some lentil balls or falafel if you don't want to eat any meat. Alternatively you could just add a mixture of beans like cannellini and butter beans to the sauce to make it more like a bolognaise.

This recipe has some red chilli in it, but feel free to leave it out if you can't tolerate it. This pasta sauce can also be used on pizza bases etc so make a double batch if you can.



What you need to serve four lucky people:

• 400g beef mince
• 1 egg
• 1 onion, grated (I used my processor)
• 1/2 bundle of parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• ½ tsp hot chilli powder
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, finely chopped, or 1/2 bulb fresh fennel
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper

Zucchinighetti

• 4 zucchinis
• Herbs to serve such as parsley or basil

Optional extra: freshly grated or shaved parmesan cheese

How to make it:

To make the sauce, in a pot add some olive oil, onions, garlic and chilli and simmer over low-medium heat until the onions are soft - around 5 minutes. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer for as long as possible while making the rest of the meal, stirring occasionally.

To make the meatballs combine all ingredients and mix well. Let the mixture set in the fridge for half an hour.

Using your spirooli or other device, make the zucchinighetti. Don't grate the middle of the zucchini where the seeds are because it is too soft to make noodles. Arrange one zucchini turned into noodles onto each plate.

Heat some oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Shape one tablespoon of meatball mixture into a ball by rolling it in your hands and placing it onto the pan, repeat with the rest of the meatballs. Cook them on each side for around 5 minutes or until they have browned and are cooked through.

As promised, here is my coconut and almond pancake recipe, which has absolutely zero bananas in it unlike my 3 Ingredient Paleo Pancakes. They are still wheat free, dairy free, gluten free and refined sugar free (it can be completely sugar free and Paleo by omitting the maple syrup).

The addition of blueberries as a replacement for bananas adds the desired sweetness. These pancakes are also much thicker than the 3 Ingredient Paleo Pancakes. Feel free to make them thinner using more coconut cream, however be extra careful when flipping them as they will be more likely to fall apart.



What you need to make 8 pancakes:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1-2 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
• 1/2 punnet fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen defrost and discard liquid)
• 5 organic eggs
• 1/3 cup coconut cream (or other milk such as almond milk or oat milk)
• coconut oil for frying

Optional additions: stevia, vanilla essence, cacao nibs or powder, flavoured protein powder

Topping suggestions:

• butter
• maple syrup
• strawberries and stevia - see 3 Ingredient Paleo Pancakes for recipe and photo
• fresh banana
• chopped nuts such as walnuts
• almond butter
• coconut cream
• ice cream

How to make them:

Mix the eggs, maple syrup and coconut cream together in one bowl. Mix the flour, almond meal and baking powder in a separate bowl. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together and then fold in the blueberries.

Heat a non-stick frying pan or skillet over low heat and add some coconut oil to coat the pan. Add 1/4 cup of the pancake mixture to the pan. I find the easiest way to do this is to measure 1/4 cup and then roll it into a ball in my hand and then flatten in the pan with my hand. After a few minutes carefully flip the pancake over and cook the other side.

If you are making a big batch I suggest having a couple of pans going at the same time. Cook about 3 - 4 pancakes per pan and keep warm while under some aluminium foil while cooking the others.

Substitutions: almond meal can be substituted with any other nut flour. Blueberries can be substituted with other fruit. Coconut cream can be substituted with any other kind of milk.

Make it naughty: cover with almond butter and the strawberry topping, it tastes just like peanut butter and jelly

There has been a lot of buzz lately surrounding the Paleo (short for Paleolithic) diet. Essentially it it is a caveman diet consisting of meat and other hunter/gatherer type foods:


On the Paleo diet you only eat grass-fed pasture raised meats, fish, fruit and veg (including root vegetables like potatoes) and nuts. You are not allowed to eat any grains, legumes, dairy products, refined salt, refined sugar or processed oils.

I am mainly a veggie eater so could never follow a strict Paleo diet but I do like the idea of trying to reduce the amount of grains, dairy products and refined/processed foods/oil that I consumes so I have been looking at Paleo recipes for the last couple of weeks. My Thai Chicken Burgers could easily be made Paleo by replacing the breadcrumbs with almond meal.

One of the recipes I came across is Paleo Pancakes using only three ingredients - egg, banana and almond butter. I love eggs, banana and of course my precious nut butter (on how to make it - see my Nut Butter post), so this seemed like a winning combo.

After reading lots of comments where people had problems making their pancakes (they would crumble and fall apart), I gave it a go being very careful to cook it on a low temperature and turn carefully after around 3-4 minutes. The results were wonderful!

I have a warning for people who don't like cooked banana i.e. banana bread - you won't like these pancakes. My friend who came over to help me make them didn't like the banana so I made an big batch using more eggs, coconut flour and almond meal to mask the flavour of the banana and they eventually also turned out well after a bit of experimenting.

My partner and I ended up eating the leftovers during the week as a high protein snack topped with blended strawberries and stevia and more nut butter - it was like eating peanut butter and jelly pikelets!

What you need to make 2 pancakes:

• one ripe banana
• one organic egg
• one tbsp almond butter
• coconut oil for cooking

Optional extras include: cinnamon, baking powder to make them fluffy, stevia, almond meal, coconut milk, nuts, vanilla extract, chia seeds, flax seeds and/or coconut flour (note: if you are adding coconut milk, almond meal or coconut flour you will have to experiment a bit)

For the topping:

• strawberries
• a few drops of liquid stevia
• 1tsp lemon juice
• blueberries (optional)
• maple syrup (optional)
• coconut cream (optional)

How to cook them them:

Add all of your ingredients for the pancakes to a blender and blend until smooth. Let the pancake batter sit until it is no longer bubbling. Add a small amount of coconut oil to a non-stick frying pan over low heat. Give the batter a quick stir then add a small amount of batter to the pan. You need to make these pancakes small or you can't flip them - they are more like a pikelet size. Wait 3-4 minutes and then carefully flip them over and quickly cook the other side. I find I can do three in the pan at once if I am making a big batch.

While your pancakes are cooking blend some strawberries and stevia until you have a sauce.

Serve the pancakes with the strawberry sauce and coconut cream (optional), or some maple syrup. YUM!




If anyone is interested in the not-so-bananery version of these pancakes please let me know and I will do a follow up post x

For the toppings:

• 1 carrot, grated
• 6 tbsp natural plain yoghurt (I used Greek)
• 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• 2 sliced tomatoes
• handful torn lettuce leaves (or lettuce mix)
• other options - chopped roasted peanuts, bean sprouts

• 6 wholemeal bread buns OR 6 large lettuce leaves OR 6 large cabbage leaves quickly blanched until they are just soft and bend easily (I used savoy cabbage)

• process the bread into breadcrumbs
• process the spring onions, green chilli and coriander together until finely chopped
• process the chicken into mince

Following our trip to Scotland we headed over to Greece for a week of sun - specifically Santorini and Mykonos. In my attempt to stay healthy while on holidays I ordered baked or grilled eggplant on a number of occasions. Each bite was a slice of heaven as I indulged in the flavours of the earthy eggplant and rich tomato sauce, swiftly followed by a sip of rose wine.

Sometimes the eggplants would come covered in cheese, whether it was parmesan or fetta (or both) and sometimes they would be topped with some fresh tomatoes, raw red onion and lettuce (you add vinegar and oil yourself).

The eggplants, tomatoes and absolutely EVERYTHING else grown in Greece (particularly from the volcanic soils of Santorini) were absolutely out of this world. Unfortunately I only had Aussie eggplants to contend with for my re-creation, none-the-less I think the result is still delicious.

Serve the eggplant with a basic Greek salad consisting of wedges of tomato, peeled and sliced cucumber, thinly sliced green capsicum, a few black olives, capers, small amount of cos lettuce, fetta, dried or fresh oregano and a splash of vinegar and olive oil.

What you need to serve 4 lucky people:

• 2 large eggplants
• 1 red or white onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup basil, finely chopped (optional)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup dry white wine or a dash or white wine vinegar
• 2 x 400 ml tins of organic chopped tomatoes (or around 8 very ripe fresh tomatoes)
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• Large handful of fetta, crumbled (goats or ordinary Greek fetta)
• 1 tsp all spice (optional)
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, cut into 4 wedges for serving
• Handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped to serve
• Salt and pepper to taste

How you make it:

• Preheat the oven to 200 °C (or 180°C fan forced). Slice the eggplants in half length ways. Score the flesh on a 45 degree angle about 5 mm apart, then repeat going the other way making a diamond pattern on the eggplants. Brush the eggplants with olive oil on both sides, sprinkle with salt and bake in the oven for around 30 minutes or until the flesh is soft and golden in colour and the eggplant has started to collapse. 
• Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over a low-medium temperature, add onion and garlic cloves and cook until soft. Add the white wine and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half. Once the wine has reduced add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, all spice and basil and simmer with the lid on the pot for around 20-30 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste once the sauce has thickened.
• Once the eggplants are ready, spoon 1/4 of the tomato mixture onto each piece and put back into the oven for 10 minutes. 
• If you are having fetta, sprinkle some on the eggplant at the end and put under a grill for a couple of minutes or until the fetta is soft and heated through. Drizzle the eggplants with olive oil and scatter some parsley once you have plated it up. Serve with a Greek salad or other salad of your choice.

Make it naughty: add some freshly grated parmesan and/or mozzarella cheese and quickly place under the grill during the last step of the recipe. Serve with some fresh bread to mop up the sauce and a glass of red wine like the Greeks do.

Notes: This dish is fantastic heated up the next day. Putting the sauce and cheese in the oven for 10 minutes at the end is optional - it still tastes amazing if you don't. Feel free to add some grated or finely chopped vegetables to the sauce towards the end of cooking e.g. zucchini or carrots

During my time in Scotland with my partner's friends and family I was fortunate to eat a few local delicacies that I wouldn't normally eat at home such as local smoked salmon pate, black pudding, haggis, cheese and oatcakes from the Isle of Arran (a wee island off the west coast).

I wanted to post a recipe that is traditionally Scottish but instead came up with this healthier, modern twist on a Scottish breakfast which can be eaten without the black pudding if preferred. Black pudding is normally part of a full Scottish breakfast (as well as beans, square sausage, a white roll, mushrooms, broon sauce and scrambled eggs) but the combination with sweet potato is by no means traditional. The sweet potato tower was inspired by the Veggie & Egg Tower of Power at My New Roots.



What you need to serve 4 lucky people:

• 500g sweet potato
• 4 slices of black pudding (optional)
• 4 organic free range eggs
• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• 200g cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 2 cups baby spinach (optional)
• Coconut oil or grapeseed oil
• Salt and pepper

I stumbled upon these Vietnamese pancakes, called Banh Xeo which literally means 'sizzling cake', when going through my Yotam Ottolenghi vegetarian book  which I bought on a whim about a year ago. Some of his recipes are a little too cheesy (as in too much cheese in the recipe!) for my liking but these pancakes resonated with me with all of the fresh flavours in the sauce and herbs plus a tonne of crunchy vegies (I added a lot more than the original and authentic recipes).


 
What you need to serve four lucky people:

Pancakes:

Dressing:
40 ml lime juice
1 1/2 tbsp seasame oil
1 tbsp brown sugar (optional - I used organic molasses sugar)
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) or fish sauce
2tsp freshly grated ginger
1 frsh red chilli, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp salt

Vegetables:
Bok choy stems and leaves thinly sliced
1 large green chilli, sliced (optional)
2 carrots thinly sliced
Tips from my friend Y-Linh: add some chopped spring onions to pancake mixture and cook some sliced brown onions in the pan before adding the pancake mixture.

How to cook them:

Prepare all of the vegetables (and meat if you are using meat) and set aside.

Variations - add meat, wrap the pancake in a crispy lettuce leaf or rice paper.

Make it naughty - add some poached pork belly

My partner and I found the most wonderful Syrian restaurant in Shepherds Bush during our brief stint living in London where we gorged on cheap, filling mezzes.

Having only ever bought tabouli pre-made from Coles along with my regular dolmades (lazy I know), I decided to make it myself when I got back to Australia. Tabouli (tabouleh) is a Levantine Arab salad traditionally made with bulgur, tomato, parsley and mint, seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice.

I have made a few different varieties of tabouli because you can make it with non-traditional ingredients like couscous, quinoa and coriander, but in my opinion the recipe below is the best I have tried. Soaking the bulgur in ground cumin makes such a difference.

If you want to try something different or want to beef it up to make a large salad, toss in some cooked beans or lentils (such as adzuki beans or chickpeas), try quinoa instead of the bulgar to be gluten free, coriander instead of the parsley or mint (or any combination you like), try cherry tomatoes instead of tomatoes, add other vegetables like lettuce and red cabbage, add some cooked free range roasted chicken and top with a nut medely, goji berries, crumbled falafel or some roast sweet potato.

I like to eat mine as part of a mezze with other dips and some flat bread, or as part of a wrap or salad for lunch with some home made baked falafel drizzled in yoghurt.


Nutritional Benefits: Parsley contains fibre, vitamins and minerals like potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. It is also rich in many antioxidant vitamins including vitamin-A, beta-carotene, vitamin-C, vitamin-E, zea-xanthin, lutein, and cryptoxanthins. The herb is also an excellent source of vitamin-K and folate. Bulgur wheat does contain gluten, but offers similar amounts of nutrients as quinoa per calorie. Bulgur contains a high amounts of fibre.


What you need to serve a group as a mezze or delicious kebab:
1 big bunch of parsley (I prefer curly for tabouli), large stems removed and the rest finely chopped
1 small bunch of mint, leaves removed and finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1/3 cup fine cracked bulgur
2 tsp ground cumin
Juice of 1 large lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

How to make it:
Mix the bulgur and cumin in a bowl and cover generously with water. Let sit for 45 minutes and add more water if necessary as the bulgur expands. While the bulgur is resting, add parsley, mint, tomatoes and spring onion to a large bowl. Mix together the lemon juice, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper then add to the parsley mixture. Drain the bulgur, add to the parsley mixture and mix well. Set aside to allow the flavours to develop while you prepare the rest of your mezze.

Make it naughty: enjoy it with some grilled halloumi - yum!

Sources: 1, 2, 3

Our team at work received an invite to attend Australia's Biggest Morning Tea at our previous office to raise money for the Cancer Council. Following this I decided to host my own ABMT at our office, and then I had a panic attack... I can't bake! I tried to make my partner some scones one day and they turned out more like pretzels. I have no idea how it happened!

So, following my original freak out I decided that I would make something healthy. There are so many amazing bloggers out there who are making vegan, gluten free and sugar free treats. During my search I came across Lee from Supercharged Foods and saw a recipe for a gluten free, sugar free, dairy free carrot cake. Following this I did a quick google search for a regular carrot cake recipe only to be shocked to discover the recipes have two cups of sugar in the cake, let alone the icing!

I ended up adding raisins to the recipe and made two healthy carrot cakes. The result was wonderful, everyone raved about it. Best of all we ended up raising $120 for the Cancer Council, who provide such a wonderful service for people with cancer and those who are close to someone who has/had cancer. I know my mum has called the helpline on a couple of occassions.

What you need to make one cake:

• 1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour of your choice i.e. almond flour (you can use regular flour if you are not avoiding gluten)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup dried raisins, soaked for half an hour until plump
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon stevia powder (or 9 drops of stevia liquid)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 4 tablespoons coconut cream
• 1 1/2 cups (200 g) grated carrot

Creamy coconut and cashew icing:

• 3/4 cup of raw or dry roasted cashews
• 250 g coconut cream
• The zest of one lemon, finely grated
• The juice of half a lemon
• 5 or 6 drops of stevia (to taste)

How to cook it:

• Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease a round cake tin with grapeseed oil. 
• In a bowl sift the flower, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, add the walnuts, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and stevia (if powdered), and stir to combine. 
• Put the eggs, grapeseed oil and coconut cream in a separate bowl and whisk together. Add with the raisins to the dry ingredients and fold through.
• Squeeze the excess water out of the carrots with your hands and add them to the bowl. Fold in lightly. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until the cake springs back when pressed in the centre. Take out of tin and place on a wire rack to cool.
• For the icing, place all ingredients minus the stevia, including just half of the coconut cream into a food processor or blender and turn on and off for a few minutes, slowly adding more coconut cream until the consistency is like crème fraiche (not runny, but not like thickened cream- you will see when I took the photo above it was a little bit runny, once I added some more cashews it thickened up significantly). Add the liquid stevia once you have the desired consistency and give it one last quick blend. Place the icing into the coldest section of your fridge (or freezer) to thicken.
• When the cake has cooled, spoon the icing all over the top.

Make it naughty: there is no need it is tasty enough! You can add more stevia to the icing to make it sweeter.

To host your own Biggest Morning Tea or donate to the Cancer Council go to http://www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/?gclid=CIe3qcDSpLACFU1spAodyywuWg

How to cook it
Thoroughly rinse the barley and set aside (soak up to 12 hours if you have time). Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat then add the leek, onion and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes stirring occasional until soft. Add the white wine or stock and the barley and simmer until the liquid has been almost completely absorbed, around 5 minutes. Add the stock, pumpkin and carrot, pop the lid on and simmer for around 30 minutes stirring occasionally to stop it from burning until the stock has been absorbed and the barley is cooked but still a little bit chewy. If there is too much liquid take the lid off and cook for a further 5-10 minutes. Stir the risotto vigorously so that the pumpkin is mashed and thoroughly coating the barley.

Note: if you are using organic barley it may need some additional liquid and cooking time as I have found it to be less processed than the supermarket variety

Season with salt and pepper, stir through the parmesan cheese or butter (optional), sprinkle on some freshly chopped parsley and goats fetta cheese (optional) and plate it up. I like to serve it with a spinach and green bean salad.

Be naughty
Sprinkle some fried bacon or prosciutto over the top when plating it up.

Dinner party tip
Serve the risotto on a roasted round of pumpkin (this will be in addition to the pumpkin you use for the risotto).

Variations
Use rice instead of pearl barley if you are gluten intolerant. If you don't like pumpkin use cauliflower instead.




*Note re Pearl Barley: This grain is packed with fiber, contains important vitamins and minerals, is slim on fat, is cholesterol-free and contains antioxidants ("aunty-who?" for those of you who remember that the advert trying to get people to drink more coffee). Barley contains several vitamins and minerals including niacin (Vitamin B3), thiamine (Vitamin B1), selenium, iron, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and copper. Source 1, 2.

I first discovered there was more to life than regular peanut butter last year at the Ekka (Brisbane's Royal Show). This was Steve's (my partner) first trip to the Ekka so of course Steve indulged in dagwood dogs (a battered sausage on a stick covered in tomato sauce), I made him watch horses, we drank some wine and patted small furry animals.

Whilst in the wine pavilion tasting all of the regional goodness, we stumbled along the Macro wholefoods stand. Because it was the last day of the show they were basically giving away raw nibble mix and different types of nut butters - almond, almond cashew & brazil nut etc. We were immediately excited by the prospect of other types of nut butter and have never bought peanut butter since.

What I didn't realise at this time was how easy it actually was to make nut butter and have seen it pop up on lots of the blogs I follow lately. You literally just roast or soak the nuts (for raw nut butter) and then blend. Obviously you can make your nut butter as fancy as you would like by adding things like extra virgin coconut oil for a silky texture, cashews, almonds, chia seeds, sesame seeds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, hemp seeds, maple syrup, agave nectar, honey, cinnamon, cocoa... yummmmmm.


Some quick nutritional facts - peanuts are not quite as good for you as say almonds. Both nuts contain similar nutritional benefits such as monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, protein and manganese. However peanuts are linked to allergies and may contain added sugars and oils. There is also some concern that peanuts contain levels of aflatoxin, a toxin that has been linked to cancer.

• 2 cups made up of any type of shelled/raw nuts and seeds - cashews, almonds, chia seeds, sesame seeds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, hemp seeds
• 1 tsp of sweeter if desired - agave nectar, honey, honey, cinnamon, cocoa, vanilla essence, salt (optional)
• 1 tsp extra-virgin coconut oil (optional)

How to make it

• preheat the oven to 150°C (fan forced, 170°C conventional). Scatter the nuts across some baking paper on an oven tray. Roast for approximately 10 minutes or until the nuts are a caramel colour on the inside. if you have smaller nuts/seeds add them in towards the end. Keep an eye on the nuts after 8 minutes, they burn quickly. Once the nuts are ready take them out of the oven and let them cool (this should take around 5 minutes).
• once the nuts have cooled completely put all of the ingredients into a food processor or blender and whizz until it forms a powder and then a paste (should take around 10 minutes), scraping down the sides of the bowl every once in a while. You can tell it is ready when the oil starts to separate from the nuts.
• spoon out into a sterilised jar*.

Keep it in the fridge for at least 1 month. Keeping it in the fridge will stop it from going off and stop the oil from separating from the ground nuts.

Tip - If you want chunky nut butter, remove 1/4  cup of the chopped nuts from the food processor before it turns into a powder. Set aside. Fold it to the creamy nut butter before storing.

Make it naughty: by eating too much of it!!

*The easiest way I have found to sterilise a jar is to clean it out thoroughly and boil it a saucepan of water for 5 minutes.

Sources of info re the nuts:1, 2, 3