Student kitchens
Easy, delicious, healthy(ish) recipes that won’t own your budget.More miso, less misery
So…I went overseas for about a month and forgot to say anything about it, and then I realised wordpress is blocked in China (where I went). Let’s not get into the political frustration of that right now. Personally, oops, and sorry, and if you bought miso due to my rapturous recommendation last post, then here’s another way to use it. Just as fast and easy, quite a bit more delicious. Before I get down to the recipe (miso glazed noodles with sesame oil and spring onions, plus an optional green salad on the side with a super simple soy and rice wine vinegar dressing), let me show you how ridiculous my 5 square meter garden is right now, after 4 weeks of me being gone:
Planted in my precious 5 square metres: sage, thyme, oregano, carrots, leeks, celery (2 types), 4 types of lettuce, kale, snow peas, mesclun salad leaves (my favourite being mizuna red coral), radishes and spinach. In the pots: leek? onion?, flat parsley, chives, garlic chives, blue cornflowers, blueberry bush, rhubarb, and Bob has half a dozen kids of berries.
That’s after I pulled out about 5 carrots whose tops had grown about a metre high. The front pots do contain some of Bob’s achievements, such as the boysenberries, but other than that, there are very few weeds, and Will didn’t even water the vege garden once (to his credit, he didn’t forget, the plants just kept…growing…). I used some organic fertilisery stuff before I left, but the nitrogen fixing from the snow peas staked at the back must have given the plants around their roots a bit of a boost. I have so much vegetable.
In this section: mesclun salad leaf mix (kale, mizuna, mizuna red coral, mustard streaks, some magenta coloured thing, and a whole bunch or other things I dunno the name of…maybe raddichio?), spring onions, carrots, unhappy (ok, dead) purple beans, and flat parsley. In pots: Marigolds and blue cornflowers, plus some more mesclun salad in the big tub…although maybe I shouldn’t grow any more for a wee while…
This is the second 5 square meter vege garden I dug up, but it doesn’t get nearly as much sun, so the spring onions (which is in the same family of onions, which wards off slugs) surrounding the mesclun mix got a bit weed choked. So far the companion planting seems to be working wonders, as this garden has very few bug bites or problems. Let me know if you’re interested. Before you think I’ve lost my mind gardening, let me show you who I feed some of the scraps to:
Bob and Emily’s rabbits! Adam says the left one looks like a Panda rabbit.
Anyway, onto pressing issues such as how to use up that miso you bought!
Miso glazed noodles
per person
A bunch (about 2cm diameter) of soba/buckwheat noodles (see photo below)
3/4Tbs miso paste
approx 1 Tbs chopped spring onion
approx 1 tsp sesame oil
approx 2 tsp canola or cooking oil
Bring about 2-3c unsalted water to the boil in a saucepan on medium high heat, add noodles. Stir occasionally for about 3-5 minutes, until noodles are softened. Drain, but retain some moisture. Immediately add the rest of the ingredients, and stir until thoroughly combined and evenly distributed. Serve.
These buckwheat/soba noodles are my new version of 2 minute noodles, but healthier and just as versatile. They taste different to 2 minute noodles, but not enough for them to be off putting. They aren’t as cheap, however, with this 1.3kg packet costing about $10 at Kosco on Blenheim Rd (most Asian supermarkets, particularly Korean or Japanese ones, have several varieties in stock). Still…1.3kg is a lot of noodle.
Onto the green salad, which consists of mesclun salad leaves (easy find at the vege section at supermarkets, you can pick as much or as little as you like. Growing is easy too, even in containers) and chopped or shaved cucumber. The dressing is just 1 part good Japanese soy sauce (such as Kikkoman), 2 parts rice wine vinegar or white vinegar, 1 part sesame oil and 1 part canola oil. Use about 2 Tbs dressing per serving for good measure.
I’ve had this for dinner and lunch already, and I’ve only been home 2 days! If you want you can add nuts or chopped hard boiled egg to the salad to add even more protein, but remember miso is relatively high in protein anyway. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!
PS. Anyone notice that I didn’t use my DSLR camera? I got a new point and shoot, and thought I’d try it out. Lightroom did wonders too.
Miso-ry soup
When I have no time to cook, I revert to miso soup, the perfect healthy fast food. Not that I wouldn’t eat it otherwise, but miso soup has become a ritual for me for when I have an essay due (like…erm…now). It’s that time of year for students – the end of term is rolling around, and you’re either partying to celebrate, or if you’re an unfortunate law student, you’ve already been cramming since last week. Well, since forever really. So here is my lunch solution to those of you who don’t mind soggy bread or noodles, and want to eat healthy but comforting for the slogging days ahead. Fortunately, it’s super light, so even on sunny days it’s fabulous.
My version of miso is simply some stale bread chopped up into large chunks, with hot miso and some peas (maybe snow peas if there are some in the garden, or kale or whatever) poured over. It takes about two minutes, and I am not exaggerating. The miso contains a pretty impressive amount of protein, plus the veges and carbs are all in there. If you’re wondering what those flowery things are, they are called miner’s lettuce, and you can get the seeds to grow your own at Kings Seeds. Great for pot planting, plus they are frost hardy so you can grow them any time of year.
So, where does one find miso paste? The supermarket has some in the international food section, but most Asian supermarkets stock it for much less (Korean ones tend to have them in stock more often, like Kosco on Blenheim Rd, and they speak great English so it’s not a hard find). One 500g pottle is just over $5 at Kosco, which will last you ages, since you only need 1 Tbs per person. Wikipedia and Annabel Langbein have some interesting facts about miso as well, if you’re interested. I keep mine in the fridge after opening, and I suggest you do too.
Miso with bread
(quantities are per person)
1 Tbs (approx) miso paste
1 c water (approx)
some peas or snow peas
some spinach, bok choy, or whatever green leaves you have, or even some tofu (optional)
a handful of bread cut into large chunks
Place bread in serving bowl. Bring water to the boil in small saucepan. Add miso paste, smoosh a little to dissolve. Once dissolved, add peas and leaves, cook another minute, and pour over bread. Alternatively to save washing up you can dump the bread in the saucepan and eat out of that… desperate times call for desperate measures, you know?
Miso with noodles
Bring water to the boil in small saucepan. Add whatever noodles you want (I use soba noodles, which are healthy yet delicious, also available at Asian supermarkets), cook according to packet instructions. A minute before they’re done, add miso and dissolve it. Add veges, cook another minute, then serve. If you want you can serve it with a poached egg, just add the egg when you add the noodles (just be careful when mixing not to break the yolk).
Just a note: try not to eat more than one bowl of this a day. Miso has a very high sodium content, so unless you get the low sodium stuff, a bowl a day will keep your bodily bits happy.
PS. If you’re wondering about the title, it’s referring to the misery of being too busy to cook. That and existing the day before your essay is due. Sigh.
Taste and haste – apple oat muffins
I am a big fan of Donna Hay. Which is why I was truly elated when I received her Fruit book from my good friend Gina as part of a 21st present. So many helpful hints, definitions for the amateur cook, recipes using the proper measurements…all illustrated with a photography style to envy. However, before I wax lyrical about the loveliness of simple setups and beautiful colour combinations, I shall share the first recipe I tried from the book. As a poor student, I had to improvise a little with the recipe, but even so, I ended up with beautiful muffins, moist and flavoursome, despite the minimal effort required.
As breakfast muffins, these really hit the spot, and I like to think a little healthy with the fruit and the oats. You can easily use a little wholemeal flour (I’ve tried half and half) and you can’t taste the difference really, so if you’re not normally a wholemeal fan, give it a try. The more whole grain goodness you get in there the longer they’ll last you through the day! Which is always nice when you’re at Uni and you realise you have a negative balance on your card. Gah.
Breakfast muffins
makes 12 (I usually divide the recipe by 3 and make 4 but you can freeze them)
3/4c (185ml) oil
1 1/3 c caster sugar (for a milder sweetness)
1/2 c milk or yogurt
3 eggs
3 c flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 c rolled oats, plus some for sprinkling
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 apple, grated
optional: 1 banana, mashed, 250g strawberries, chopped
1 Tbs raw sugar (for sprinkling)
Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Whisk together the oil, caster sugar, milk and eggs until everything is fully incorporated (preferably in a medium large bowl). Sift together the flour, baking powder, oats and cinnamon. Mix in the fruit to the flour mixture. Pour in the liquid mixture, until just incorporated – do not over mix. Spoon into lightly greased muffin tins or ramekins, and sprinkle with some of the rolled oats and raw sugar. Bake 25 minutes in centre of oven or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before serving.
How I like my veggibles…
…cooked, but still pretty crunchy, never boiled, brightly coloured and brightly flavoured, not drowned in sauce (except maybe…cheese..sauce), but seasoned enough to bring out the individual flavours and complement them well.
If you like your vegetables this way too, but haven’t yet tried doing so on your own, then this is your lucky day. Gather round, for I be sharing my super simple, highly versatile, top secret way of getting stir fried vegetables perfect.
Zo’s guide to getting to the peak of vegetable perfectiondom.
Ingredients needed:
Veges
Cooking oil
salt
possibly a splash of water or two, depending on what veges you use
extra optional additions (just some suggestions, don’t use the lot obviously):
seeds (esp. sesame), flavoured oils (eg. chilli, garlic, or sesame oils), pepper, light sauces (eg. light soy sauce, oyster sauce, or even a light chicken stock), freshly roasted nuts (these go in the oven while you’re cooking the veges), herbs, spices (eg. cumin), finely chopped garlic…
Equipment needed:
cast iron or regular frypan, or a wok with fitting lid (no need for non stick, unless you’re adding meat to the mix)
a heat-proof cooking spoon or spatula or large wooden spoon (never use metal on non stick pans)
a decent chef’s knife or cleaver, and chopping board
The basic method I use is a combination of steaming & stir frying. The only bit of stir frying you really need to put a thinking hat on for is the order in which to put your veges in the pan, and also how well you like certain vegetables done. This is why frozen vegetable mixes are not Zo’s friends (among other reasons). Individually, frozen veges are fine. They will need a little adjusting in terms of cooking time though. Below is a rough guide on the order of things, vegetably speaking:
Put in first:
anything cut larger than a walnut, especially things like broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes (which I generally avoid in stir fries, but if using, I wouldn’t cut them any bigger than small, 2cm cubes) etc. Also, onions. Unless you like your onions “just cooked,” in which case you can put them in last or second. Generally these ingredients want about a minute or two in the pan (maybe partially covered) before moving on to second base.
Put in second:
Anything thicker than 1cm, but less than walnut sized. So if you cut carrots into cubes, for example, you put these in earlier than if you cut them into thin matchsticks. If you like your cabbage softened, throw them in here rather than at the end. If you like them really soft, throw them in at the beginning. Generally these ingredients want about a minute or two in the pan (maybe partially covered) before moving on to second base.
Put in last:
Anything less than 5mm thick, or anything you can pretty much eat raw. So, even if you cut spinach into huge leaves, you’d put these in last, because you can eat spinach raw. Most leaves follow this rule, except for cabbage (although raw cabbage doesn’t exactly taste bad, y’know?). You want them JUST wilted, and then everything should come out of the pan, pronto. The heat retained in the vegs will mean they keep cooking even after out of the pan, so that’s why you should be taking them out even if they’re not totally wilted. Capsicum/bell peppers always go in last. Mushrooms can also go in last, if you don’t want them thoroughly cooked. Peas also go in last, although maybe half a minute before leaves. Generally these ingredients want about thirty seconds in the pan (NOT covered) before serving.
Now, there is a reason Chinese take outs can do fresh vegetable stir fries to order in the amount of time it takes McDonalds to serve up a hamburger. This is because it’s meant to be a fast cooking process, because most of the time is spent on prepping the ingredients. However, to cut time here, you can prep ingredients that go in later while the “big” veges are cooking. So for example, you can start with just chopping your onion, throwing it in the pan with some oil, and while it’s cooking, chop the next ingredients to go in, and so on.
If you like bits of your veges a little “seared” or “charred,” all you need to do is put the pan on a medium high – high heat and leave your veges alone for about 30 seconds so the bottom gets a little brown touch. Don’t do this for every side, or your veges will be overdone. However, if you can get only one side browned, they will taste AWESOME. Think seared meats. Yeah.
The process as a whole requires a little common sense on your part. If stuff looks a little too wet (there’s water surrounding the veges where they touch the pan), leave the pan uncovered. If things keep going brown faster than you’d like, turn the heat down and add a little splash of water.
Meat, eggs, tofu, nuts or other nice things
Before I begin, just a note about seafood: it generally does not like being in a stir fry. Squid is okay, but considering the amount of effort required, generally I don’t add seafood to my stir fries. Nothin wrong with a fillet of fish on the side (if you’ve overcome the overfishing argument), but avoid it in stir fries.
Par-cook your meat (preferably marinated beforehand in some sort of sauce) before even starting the veges, and set aside. Same with eggs and tofu. Eggs should not be wet but should have lmost no golden brown spots. Tofu should be stir fried in some sauce.
With nuts or seeds, roast at 180C for about 3-7 minutes until the nuts are golden or seeds are slightly puffed up and darkened a touch. Remove, cool on a cold plate, and mix in just before serving veges, after you’ve removed the veges from the heat.
Sauces
I generally use light, liquidy sauces that stick to the veges but don’t coat them in a slimy layer of excessive sauce-ness. To each his/her own, but I promise you, less is more. Add sauces near the end of cooking, because otherwise most will burn. You can add half at the middle of the process, but generally, don’t add it at the very beginning. If you want to use store bought sauces, try using half the reccommended amount and you may be pleasantly surprised (assuming you use fresh, not frozen, veges).
Add a pinch of salt with the onions, but otherwise, add salt and pepper at the end.
Here are my top five favourite sauces/additions:
1. Light soy sauce (get an Asian brand, at an Asian supermarket) – about 1 tsp per cup of veges
2. Oyster sauce (ditto above) – about 1/4tsp per cup of veges
3. Sesame oil – drizzle a little over your veges after you’ve plated them. Sesame oil brings out the flavours of most veges, and tastes delicious on its own. Use sparingly.
4. White vinegar – for cabbage, about 1/2 tsp per cup of veges
5. Butter – a few tiny cubes of butter are amazing to top your hot veges with if you’ve used oil sparingly. Or cook your onions in butter. Works great with cabbage.
I have yet to try teriyaki sauce, but have heard it is great for marinating meats.
Happy vegetable-ising!
Bread and butter pudding
Just because today was a crappy day, I feel the need to post about some real feel good food, classic, dependable, unfussy and fuzzy wuzzy. Bread and butter pudding is my saviour – since I bake my own bread, there’re always times when the bread is a little too dry but would taste simply lovely in blankets of eggy custard and sprinkled with cinnamon or vanilla sugar.
This time I had a slightly failed batch of buns (let’s not get into this so much as to say that I need to use some more common sense) to work with – they were barely risen, hard lumps, but I knew how to comfort myself. These look prettier than your average perfectly risen buns, because they kept their shape, but really, anything sort of slightly stale bread will do.
For those of you who already have a go-to recipe and what to know whether this one is any different: this is not a watery/liquidy pudding. It goes “glop glop” when serving rather than “squish squish.” It does not have chocolate, and personally I doubt that chocolate would improve things, or too many other over excited additions. Sorry, but this is a classic, okay? If you’re pregnant and have a craving, I would understand, but otherwise, try not to overwhelm the flavours.
Thanks goes to Laura at Hungry & Frozen for the original recipe, and delicious prose.
Bread and butter pudding
serves two
2-4 buns or enough thickly sliced bread to fill a small ovenprood dish about halfway. Don’t use that cottony soft supermarket sliced bread, it’s too thin and too soft – unless you like a soggy pudding.
25g softened butter
30g brown sugar
2 small eggs
1c milk (none of this low fat stuff, y’hear?!)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (best stuff you can find, or home made)
optional: extra sugar and cinnamon for dusting
Heat the milk and vanilla in a small saucepan until hot to the touch but not boiling. Layer buns or thikc slices of bread in a casserole dish or ovenproof fish. Beat butter and sugar together, then beat in eggs one at a time. Slowly whisk in the hot milk, and pour the mixture over the buns. Preheat the oven to 170C (330F) and let the pudding sit until the oven is up to temperature (about 10 minutes). Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes.
Cheesy roast vege pasta with caesar dressing
It has been rather summery of late, so it seems inappropriate to wax lyrical about bread and butter pudding (to come though, don’t you fret). If you like what cheese does once it has been baked, read on. Now that the sun is shining and my tomato seeds have been planted, it seems right to unveil something that will be easy, relatively fool proof, yet super rewarding. This is non-fussy, versatile and relatively cheap too, so I shall probably be making it again tonight.
Cheesy roast vege pasta with caesar dressing
serves 2
250g (half a conventional bag) uncooked pasta of your choice
salt
veges to roast: broccoli or cauli cut into large florets, carrots cut into chips, or whole button mushrooms, or pumpkin cut into chunks… about 1 1/2c per person
about 100g-200g cheese, grated
dried or fresh herbs of your choice
about 1/3c caesar or ranch dressing (paul newman and kato are great), plus extra for drizzling
optional: 1/2 c (ish) roasted red peppers, pitted olives, or artichoke hearts
Turn oven on to about 200C (400F). Cover the bottom of an ovenproof dish large enough to hold the veges to be roasted in a single layer of veges. Sprinkle over some cheese, herbs, and a pinch of salt. Add another layer of veges, then cheese, then veges, until you’re out of both. Place in the center rack of the oven, and let veges cook until they are as tender as you like (test with a fork or small sharp knife), checking every 15 minutes.
About 15mins before the veges are done to your liking, put the pasta on to cook according to packet instructions. Once cooked to your liking, drain. Roasted veges should be done by now – using a fork or knife, add the contents to the drained pot of pasta, drizzle in about 1/3c caesar dressing with any other optional extras, and mix it all in. Once everything is evenly distributed, serve up and give another quick drizzle of dressing to make it a little prettier. Enjoy!
More exciting Cadbury news, plus promises!
Thanks to the recent change which Cadbury UK & Ireland made to making their Dairy Milk chocolate fair trade certified, New Zealand consumers have applied pressure to Cadbury NZ & Australia to follow the lead. Just earlier today, Cadbury NZ announced that they would be aiming to have Diary Milk sold under the fair trade logo from Easter 2010. Yay!
Onto more food-bloggy things, I know I’ve been neglecting the posting a bit; it’s all very much a mood thing, as well as just starting holidays and wanting to finally enjoy the sunshine, get spring seeds planted in pots etc…whew. I promise at least one post in the next few hours or so! There are several photos waiting to be shown to the world, so keep your eyes peeled.
Cadbury chocolate and palm oil
I was sent the following news release from the Greens today, outlining the issue of palm oil use and how consumer backlash has caused Cadbury to stop using it in their chocolate. If you’ve noticed that Cadbury’s chocolate has tasted different (and not in a nice way) lately, it is partly because of the use of palm oil instead of cocoa butter, but thankfully anyone who has noticed has stopped buying the stuff. If you want to know more about palm oil and avoiding it, check out the links at the bottom of the article.
Cadbury’s palm oil about-turn highlights consumer power
Cadbury’s announcement that it is dropping palm oil from its chocolate shows the power of consumers to make a difference, Green Party MP Sue Kedgley said today.
Ms Kedgley welcomed Cadbury’s decision and called on other food manufacturers to follow suit, and remove palm oil from their products.
Ms Kedgley said consumer concern over Cadbury’s earlier decision to switch from cocoa butter to vegetable fat and palm oil, was an example of consumers becoming increasingly active in their purchasing decisions – and the power of the Green message.
“Today’s back-down by Cadbury’s is a fantastic example of the ability of consumers to influence food producers and manufacturers by voting with their wallets and avoiding buying products which raise ethical concerns,” said Ms Kedgley.
Indonesian and Malaysian rainforest, the habitat of rare and endangered species such as Orangutans, is often cleared to make way for palm oil plantations. The forest clearance also displaces indigenous communities. Hundreds of thousands of acres of rainforest are cleared each year for palm oil plantations.
Ms Kedgley said it was also time for the Government to take leadership on the issue, by introducing labelling to identify foods that have palm oil in them. At present palm oil is usually labelled as ‘vegetable oil’.
“There are literally hundreds of foods on the market which contain palm oil, including many processed foods, cosmetics and cleaning products, but consumers are in the dark because there is no label to identify where palm oil is used.
“Consumers have a right to this sort of information, so that they can avoid buying products which destroy native forests and contribute to deforestation, climate change and species extinction,” Ms Kedgley said.
“Consumers are increasingly interested in how their food has been produced, as well as what it is in it. Food companies need to take on board the growing ethical concerns of consumers.”
Ms Kedgley said her colleague Catherine Delahunty’s Private Members Bill, which will regulate the import of illegal and unsustainable tropical timber and products, was another way of keeping out unsustainable imports which destroy forests and forest communities.
Oven fries, tried and true.
You’d think something like oven baked chips would be a simple process. If not, a simple google search would surely tell you how to solve the dilemma of getting your chips not to stick, or someone will have posted why they never come out all crunchy like the pre-fried, frozen packeted stuff. Even if you want to bombard me with links confirming your convictions in the food blogosphere, I will tell you this much: every trick that I’ve picked up from google searches and otherwise perfectly likeable food blogs have not made me a happy oven chip maker. Why? Well, even if I wasn’t too lazy to boil the potatoes first for the exact right amount of time, then coat them in chickpea flour to make them crunchy, and somehow on top of that remember to preheat the oven with the pan and oil in…would I? I can say right now that I’ve never done all three, and pretty much never intend to. You know why? Because, GODDAMNIT, they are oven fries. If I wanted perfect fries, it ain’t hard to find them in less time and effort. If I was in the mood for finicky business, I’d make a filo pie or something, right? With caramelised onions, just to up the potential for screw ups (do not ask me about screw ups, by the way, unless you’d like a lengthy rant about the perils of whisking your own mayo or the importance to always use common sense, no matter what a recipe tells you…oh, wait, too late, I seem to have expelled a lengthy sentence within brackets already).
It’s okay…the need to insert a picture has somewhat distracted me. Basically, I thought it was high time for me to post the method I finally figured out that didn’t involve much effort, had a total cooking time of only 30 minutes (even frozen fries require about that much time, except maybe for shoestring fries), and were acceptable to the palate. Of course, I didn’t manage this all on my own, and credit must be given to Emily, new flatmate addition, for making chips one night. There I stood, disbelieving, and now here I am, converted. I may use two to three times as much oil as Emily does, but really, if you’re going to punish me for that, you’re evidently just a nit picker. Nit picker.
One thing I will say about the oil quantity: Loads of oil will mean the chips will end up softening as they cool. On the other hand, if you skimp on the oil, your chips will be relatively hard but drier, which is fine if you plan to drown them in aioli, but I figure I should mention these things. At the end of this post I will also provide some tips should you one day decide to take on the task of making the perfect oven chips/wedges, you nutjob. Heh. Only kidding. Also, I know the guide looks long, but really, I’m just giving you very detailed instructions and tips throughout so that there is pretty much no way you’ll screw this up, unless your oven explodes unexpectedly or something.
The guide to EASY, no-anguish oven fries/wedges
potatoes
oil
salt
pepper
herbs (optional)
Preheat your oven to 230C (450F), with one rack arranged on the VERY bottom, and one rack arranged on the VERY top of the oven. Grease 1-2 baking trays or flat bottomed roasting dish with about half as much oil as you intend to use (see above my note about oil quantity and how it affects chip texture). Cut your potatoes into chip shapes, about 1cm wide and 1cm thick, or wedges about 2cm thick. Place them on your greased tray(s) as you go, all on a single layer, leaving enough space between the chips. This bit is key to the not sticking part of the process – make sure you leave at least a 1mm gap between every chip. Corners can touch, but not sides. Drizzle the potatoes with the second half of the oil you intend to use, and brush with a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to coat the chips in oil (unless you like hard, leathery chips). Remember to maintain that 1mm distance between the chips. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and herbs if you want.
Now, you can do two trays at a time with this method, or one tray (I think one tray serves one relatively student as lunch on its own), but the rotation halfway is essential. Once your oven is up to temperature, place trays in, one on the very bottom, one on the very top. If you’re only doing one tray, start the chips on the bottom rack (they stick the least) Set your timer for 15 minutes (although I’d check at 10, just in case). Once the 15 minutes are up, swap the trays over, or move your single tray from the bottom to top rack. Let bake another 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven once the tops and bottoms are golden, or have golden patches. Wedges may need a few extra minutes. Let cool on trays for a minute before removing with a heatproof spatula or tongs.
Serve with your favourite sauce, or on their own.
Tips & Tricks
Crunch
Instead of putting the potatoes straight onto your tray, put them in a large bowl and add 3/4 of the oil, some chickpea flour, and any herbs/spices you like, plus salt. Toss to just coat the chips/wedges in the mixture, and then spread out on your oven trays.
If you want the chips to be as not-soft as possible, place a napkin/paper towels/serviettes in your serving bowl before putting them in the bowl.
Flavour
Check out my simple cajun spice mix. For a really simple flavour boost, you can use garlic salt (sprinkle onto chips 15 minutes into cooking when rotating so the heat doesn’t zap the flavour), mixed herbs, or simply a pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli powder to add a spicy punch. Lemon pepper always goes well with any sort of seafood.
Check out my sauces and dressings page if you feel like whipping up a really simple dipping sauce while the chips are cooking. Personally I’m a big sucker for tartare, but of course, it all depends on your mood and the day.
Functional quiche
I’ve done quiche recipes in the past, but there are a few things about this one that are worth a mention. The tart dough is what’s leftover from making a Frangipani tart (that’s an almond-y tart), and it’s completely different to the shortcrusts I normally whip up in ten minutes (check past quiche recipes for the fast crust if you’re short on time).
The dough I used is super flaky, very much like using puff pastry, yet doesn’t require nearly as much folding. I made a very thin crust, so the edges were even crisper. You can of course use any pastry dough you want, but this one will be a winner on my list for a good long while. Meanwhile, the filling is the sort of thing you wack up in ten minutes, with whatever veges you have lying around, some eggs, and salt. So really, it’s like an egg & vegetable tart. No added cream makes it really easy to decide to whip up on the day without really needing to pop out for extra ingredients (especially if you make the pastry ahead of time and freeze it…or I suppose you could use store bought…sigh). Perfect for lunch the next day, reheated or cold.
I also got to use my brand new non stick quiche pan, which has higher sides and bigger folds, making it super cute and pretty. What can I say – I’m a sucker for kitchenware sales ($10 from Stevens, down 50%). Bring on the quiches and tarts with a decent heft of filling, I say!
For this particular quiche I used some small broccoli florets and onion that I cooked up first, plus some mushrooms and peas – a strange combination, I know, but it makes a decent lunch with the inclusion of all that greenery, you see.
Super casual, functional yet delicious vege quiche.
makes one 9″ quiche, just under 1″ thick (serving 4 as a large side)
Crust (makes 2 lots, I say make it all and freeze half for using later)
from Manggy’s blog No Special Effects
150g unsalted butter, chopped into 1 inch cubes and frozen 20 mins beforehand
225g (1 1/2 c + 1 Tbs) flour
1/2 tsp salt
75ml (approx 1/3c) super cold water
First thing to do is put your cold water in the freezer. Meanwhile, cut butter, flour and salt together with two knives, two forks, a pastry cutter or a food processor. Do not do this with your fingers, as the heat from your hands will soften the butter and it will not turn out flaky. You want the largest chunks of butter to only be about 2cm at the greatest length, and the whole thing to look like breadcrumbs with some small lumps of butter in. Remove water from the freezer and add gradually to the flour & butter mixture, using a spoon to bring it together into a dough. Only add as much water as is needed to get the dough to come together. Here you may need to use your hands to incorporate the last bits of flour (best to rinse hands in cold water first). See, cold kitchens can come in handy!
Divide the dough in half, form a ball with each half, and flatten into a disc. Place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. If you want to make the quiche as a speedy dinner, it’s best to prep the dough the night before.
Filling
4-5 free range eggs
1c broccoli , cut into small walnut sized florets
1 onion, chopped finely
approx 1/3c frozen peas
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
pinch dried oregano
cooking oil
optional: 1/2c grated strong cheese
Heat about 1 Tbs oil in a frypan over medium heat. Add onions, oregano and broccoli to the pan, and cook, stirring every 2 minutes, until onion is golden and translucent and the broccoli has changed colour to a much brighter green. You’re only half cooking the broccoli at this stage remember, as it will cook further in the oven. Remove pan from heat, and add frozen peas to the hot pan, and let defrost in the pan.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and salt until slightly frothy. Set aside.
Construction
This bit requires you to work speedily, so the pastry stays cold (and turns out flaky). Preheat the oven to 190C (375F), with a rack in the center. Grease a 9″ cake tin, quiche pan with removeable bottom or 9″ springform cake tin (unless they’re nonstick). Make sure all your filling ingredients are ready to go. Flour a working surface, and roll one portion of your dough out to a 13″ circle (you want just under 2 inches of overhang on each side to be the edge of your quiche). Fit into your prepared pan (if using a cake tin, you may need to press the pastry to the sides).
Pour the whisked eggs into the crust, and scatter the broccoli and onion over evenly. Scatter over the mushrooms, and then the cheese. Finish with freshly ground black pepper. Bake in the center of your oven for about 30 minutes (check at 20 minutes), until the sides are golden and the egg filling is just set. Remove from tin and cut up to serve on a chopping board or similar. Enjoy with a fresh salad. 
