Leftovers & Pasta surprise!

About an hour ago, Joe and I decided it was time to eat. We tossed around the usual luncheon ideas when he mentioned there was some plain wholemeal spaghetti left over from his dinner a few nights ago. The cogs started to turn, and this is what we just dined on!

[  SERVES: 2  |  TIME: 15 MIN  |  COST: <$3  ]
[  JOES' RATING: 4.5/5  |  MY RATING:  4/5 ]

Ingredients

3 cups leftover cooked pasta
2 big handfuls rocket
1 cup cherry tomatoes
½ cup chopped yellow capsicum
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
small handful pine nuts
2 tablespoons  crushed garlic
good drizzle of olive oil
shaved peccorino romano cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Methodology

1. In a warm dry skillet, roast the pine nuts before placing aside.
2. In the skillet add olive oil and garlic before frying it off slightly til fragrant. Add the cherry tomatoes and capsicum, stirring well to coat evenly. Heat through and sauté for a few minutes.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and toss through the pasta. Again, ensure it gets a good coating of oil, garlic and that the vegetables become well incorporated. Stirring continually.
4. Remove from heat and gently fold through the rocket and parsley. Season well with salt and cracked pepper.
5. Garnish with grated hard cheese and pine nuts. Eat immediately.

Observations

• Everything in todays meal was in the fridge. I didn’t organise anything ahead of time. Even so, these flavours just worked fantastically. Joe wants more, but alas, it was leftovers so there is none  left!
• It could have used a freshen up with a tiny amount of lemon juice, but that’s probably more to do with me being fussy than anything else.
• I am not usually one to give much salt to my cooking, but I did with this dish, and I am glad I did. The saltiness worked a treat against the sweetness of the tomatoes and the garlic flavours. Careful not to go over board, though!
• Diabetic Note: My plate was the back one, and as such, it was a smaller server, and was mostly vegetables rather than pasta. Instead of eating bread, I supplemented my meal with a piece of fruit (citrus) and my Blood Glucose Levels should be happy for it.
• Ethical Note: The average household wastes far too much food. Where possible, try incorporating your left overs into a quick make up meal such as this.

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Wholemeal Pancakes with Yoghurt

Don’t you just love a good hearty breakfast? If I don’t have something substantial for breakfast, my entire day suffers. And do you know when it’s even most important to have a good hearty breakfast? The morning after a night of awesome food, brilliant company and general beverage (over) consumption. The lovely Kat came to visit us last night for our customary fortnightly catchup. Joe wined and dined us and I wish I had of gotten photos of his spectacular efforts, but alas, the thought didn’t occur to me until we had consumed every last mouthful! You will just have to take my word for it – his spaghetti meatballs with wholemeal pasta dish was satisfyingly tasty and his berries with Chantilly cream dessert was heaven sent! But I digress…

It would be rude of me to send anyone from this house with an empty belly. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to feed people. Its how I express myself and to me, preparing a delicious meal is the ultimate expression of caring. It’s always a little scary serving Kat with samples of my kitchen creativity though, as she is a chef. I adore teasing some cooking tips from her though and she never fails to impress. This morning I teased this amazing gem from her… *queue heavenly music and rays of sunshine* Yoghurt in your pancake batter.

[  SERVES: 4  |  TIME: 20 MIN  |  COST: <$5  ]
[  JOES' RATING: 4/5  |  MY RATING:  4/5 |  BRITTANYS' RATING:  ?/5]

Ingredients

2½ cups wholemeal flour
1+ cups yoghurt
1+ cups soy milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder

Method

1. Bash Stir all ingredients with a stick spoon until dead thoroughly mixed.
2. Warm some oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Using a large spoon, put some batter into your pan. Use the back of the spoon to spread out.
3. Turn after a few minutes or when the edges are golden brown. Remove from the pan once cooked on second side.
4. Serve in a stack of two with all kinds of divine manna of the gods: fruits, cream, ice cream, maple syrup….

Observations

• I used some low far berry flavoured pot set yoghurt and the flavour and sweetness of the yoghurt could be tasted with each bite of pancake. It actually added a fantastic dimension to an old family favourite. I cant imagine yoghurt-less pancakes any more!
• This batter was a little thicker than I had intended, as I was going by feel rather than a recipe. In hindsight, I should have added more yoghurt and soy milk to thin it out a little.
• The pancakes were a little quite dense. A little more baking powder would have done the trick. Next time, Id double the amount. Just the same, the heaviness of them gave them quite a rustic feeling.
• Diabetic Note: I wouldn’t class this meal as Diabetic friendly as it would be quite heavy in carbohydrates, although, with a little alteration it could definitely fit the bill. Diabetics should not have more than two pancakes, and definately should skip the syrup, ice cream and cream. Otherwise, I think it would be fine. I have to admit that I stayed full for a very long time from just two pancakes with fruit, and skipped morning tea as a result. Ultimately, maybe it could work on a 24 hour scale, but check with your dietitian.
• Ethical Note: I have switched to using wholemeal (also called whole wheat) or blended flour where possible. Not only is it healthier for you, but it is better for the environment. Wholemeal utilises all of the grain as opposed to white flour which discards the germ and bran. Wholemeal has no additives and is not produced using the heat and bleach treatments that white flour does. By contrast, white flour requires refortifying, having killed available nutrients through such processing techniques where wholemeal does not. Additionally, many brands available on supermarket shelves boast being produced from 100% Australian Flour, lowering the carbon miles of the product!

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• Wholemeal pancakes! (kerrycooks.wordpress.com)
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Home-made Pizza

I have had a craving for pizza lately. I mean, real pizza. Not that doughy, plastic crap you get for $5. I remember as a kid having good hardy pizzas with lots of real vegetable topping. The sort that would be a flavour explosion each bite, with a thin crispy base. The sort that didn’t leave a streak of oil running down your hand from too much cheap cheese. The mission was set for me, so when I recently I saw a simple enough recipe for a pizza dough, I thought Id give it a try. And it came out perfect. Not too hard, but delicious!

[  Serves: 4 large pizzas |  Time: 2 - 3hr   |  Cost: $5 - 10  ]

Ingredients

Base

1 satchel 15g yeast (7g condensed)
300g wholemeal flour
150g plain white flour
250mls warm water
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt 

Topping

½ cup chopped zuchinni
½ cup chopped red onions
½ cup chopped red capsicums
Handful pineapple pieces
Handful Cherry Tomatoes, halved
Handful diced bacon
Handful shredded free ranged chicken
4 – 5 Boccocini (baby Mozzarella)
Scattering of grated tasty cheese
A few black olives, pipped
A few basil leaves, torn
A sprinkle of garlic flakes
Splash of pizza sauce

Method

1. In a small jug mix 250 ml of warm water with the sugar and salt. Scatter the yeast over  the water mixture, and leave for 20 minutes in a warm spot.
2. Into a large mixing bowl, mix the two flour ingredients together. Form a well in the middle of the flour and slowly pour the yeast mixture in. Incorporate the flour into the fluids with a clean hand. Once the fluid is incorporated into the flour well, turn out on a lightly floured surface and being to work the dough. You need to kneed the dough for about 10 – 15 minutes or until well incorporated and elastic.
3. Place your dough in to a large lightly oil bowl. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and set aside in a warm place for a one to one and a half hours or until doubled in size.
4. While your dough is growing, dice all ingredients into small chunks. Prepare a sauce if you don’t have a commercially prepared one (see observations below). At this point, turn on your oven onto the hottest setting and allow it to get hot in preparation for cooking your pizzas.
5. Punch down the dough so that it deflates a little to make it easier to divide. Cut the dough into four pieces. Gently work the dough rolling from the centre outwards to form your pizza base. Place your rolled out dough base onto a pizza tray and pierce it all over with a fork.
6. Place a thin layer of sauce onto your base, ensuring it goes all the way to the edges. Add your ingredients to your pizza to suit your own tastes. Finally, sprinkle on the cheeses, herbs and garlic.
7. Cook in a very hot oven for 5 minutes. Turn the pizza 180° in the oven to ensure that both sides cook evenly and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove when the base is crispy.

Observations

• While it is an easy recipe, it does require a lot of elbow grease if you do not have a fancy kitchen machine to do it for you (which I don’t). We took the kneading process in turns, each working for 5 minutes. I did two turns to ensure that it was really worked well.
• Do not over load your pizza with ingredients. It will just fall apart when you try to eat it and will not cook evenly all the way through. If in doubt, cut your ingredients smaller.
• Do not be tempted to over load the cheese. It adds a lot of unnecessary fat, and makes the base sloppy due to the weight and oil content.
• Making a basic Neopolitana sauce will add a nice dimension to your dish if you don’t have a commercial sauce on hand (I usually do my own, but last night I was out of time and use a store bought one). If you wish to make your own sauce by hand, add 1 tin diced tomatoes, 1 diced onion, 4 cloves of garlic and a little oregano and basil to a pan and sauté for 1 hour until well mixed. Blend if / as needed.
• Watch your pizza carefully – at this temperature, it will burn quickly if you don’t.
• The original recipe asked for all plain flour. I adapted this recipe to suit our more organic / rustic tastes by adding the heavier wholemeal flour. Wholemeal flour does not become as elastic as white (processed) flour, so it does require a little more work.
• Diabetic Note: Considering the cheese on this pizza, my BGL’s were fine. YAY! means I can have dessert, right?
• Ethical Note: You could leave meat off this pizza entirely and do a full vegetarian option.