Student kitchens
Easy, delicious, healthy(ish) recipes that won’t own your budget.Wanna be a groupie?
In case you haven’t noticed, TwoSpoons has a Facebook group you can join and be cool in, and for a while now I’ve had the idea to do a cafe review of some sort. I hadn’t really thought about it, but due to being driven to insane levels of boredom at my parents’ place (although it is nice not fussing over what to buy & cook), my mind is fluttering about in all sorts of directions. I have even done some research on venues for a possible 21st Birthday party coming up (July 28th, for those planning to shower me with extravagant gourmet goods). What I’d really like to do though, is meet up with some of the friends who frequent this site. Friends, acquiantances, people who have found this via Facebook, complete strangers…come join me for a coffee/tea, and maybe cake. Or something. Seeing as it’s the Uni holidays, I propose we have this group cafe review next Saturday (11th July) or Sunday (12th) at 3pm.
Yes, I am excited already. Suggest a cafe by commenting below (by Friday 10th July, so I can book), or suffer my random but subjective selection! Only post if you’re going to be there though, or I’ll get my hopes up, hehe. Tell me if you prefer a certain day as well. Details below.
TwoSpoons’ groupie cafe review
Who is invited: YOU. Yes, you.
Date/Time: Saturday 11th July, 3pm
Cafe to be reviewed: The Globe Cafe.
Transport: If you live in Riccarton or are on the way I may be able to pick you up. Email me.
What to do if you’re joining us: Confirm your attendance before 10th July, via email to zo.zhou[at]gmail.com, and include your cellphone number if possible. Show up. Order at least one thing from the cafe. Rate it (out of 10). If you want, you can write a whole review :)
EDIT: Details have been confirmed! My attendance is tentative however, as I’ve had the flu recently :( I will post again Saturday morning here to tell you if it’s postponed, so check, okay? Love you all.
Warm pasta salad
Ever since I whipped up my slaw dressing, I’ve had a healthy respect for raw cabbage. Ok, ok…this is mainly a sneaky attempt on my behalf to direct you to my new dressings & sauces page (for which there is a permalink under the “My pages” section to your right). It’s all for good reason, however. It’s been sunnyish recently (still freezing though of course, quite literally for once) so it seemed appropriate for a non-roast. Eating this salad made me feel like slipping back into a bikini and hitting the beach, but it was creamy enough to ensure I stayed put. It’s just the sort of thing that I’ll be eating possibly all summer (although I’m not sure what all the mayo/hollandaise is going to do to my bikini prospects). It takes barely any time to throw together, has raw vegetables (did I mention that they’re much better for you than cooked veges? Watch Food Matters if you’re intrigued), and is creamy, crunchy, tangy, soft and mildly sweet – all at the same time. Indeed.
Just in case I haven’t already mentioned this, a great big thank you goes to my flatmate Adam whose brother made the gorgeous hot pot wood block thingee that has been gracing so many of my photos. Its rich, warm golden hues always make me feel all caramelly inside.
A quick note before I divulge the recipe: Some added nuts, particularly walnuts, but possibly also roasted pistachios or roasted cashews will add even more deliciousness and protein. To roast cashews, heat on a single layer on a plate in the microwave or oven on high or 180C (350F) at a time, turning/tossing at 2 minute intervals until golden. Cashews will feel rubbery at firstbut will harden up as they cool. Wish I had thought of it before devouring the lot, but after tasting the first sliver of dressing-endowed cabbage, there was no stopping me.
Warm pasta salad
serves 2 relatively big eaters
Half a 500g bag of pasta (preferably shaped), or however much pasta you normally have
Hearty amount of salt for the pasta
1 onion, finely chopped
about 2 c very thinly sliced (or “shaved”) cabbage (green, red or Chinese will all work)
about 1/2 c peas
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
about 15g butter
pinch salt
Slaw dressing (quantities are approximate)
1/3 (heaping) c quality mayo or hollandaise (Japanese mayo or Kato Hollandaise, or Free Range mayo…any thick stuff that’s not too white)
1 1/2 Tbs white wine vinegar, or white vinegar, or lemon juice
1/2 Tbs dijon or wholegrain mustard
pinch salt
plenty of freshly ground black pepper
about 1/4c powder fine grated aged gouda or parmesan (optional)
a handful of walnuts, cashews, pine nuts or pistachio nuts (optional)
Place your pasta on to cook according to packet instructions, with salt. Don’t worry about using oil, it’ll just make the pan greasy and annoying to wash. Just make sure you occasionally stir. Just ask Donna Hay!
While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a medium frypan on medium heat, add a pinch of salt and the onions. Let cook, stirring occasionaly, until properly golden. Mix in peas (if frozen) and garlic, and cover, letting cook for about a minute. Uncover, stir, and cover again for another minute. Continue doing this until the peas are cooked. DO NOT BOIL THE PEAS. Thank you. Remove from heat, and leave cover on the pan until pasta is done.
Mix up the dressing in a cup or small bowl (or if you hate dishes you can mix it up in a large bowl you’ll be eating the salad out of). Mix the cabbage into the dressing, then mix in the peas, onions and garlic. Finally, once the pasta is cooked, drain and immediately mix in to the other ingredients. Scatter over any nuts you wish to use, and serve while warm, although it’s also fine cold. If you want it for the next day, make sure you cover the salad (with a pot cover or plate if you want to save money on clingfilm).
Cous cous and wintery herby veges
I finally decided to grab some wholemeal couscous at Piko’s the other day, and I now really wished the other packet I’d bought was wholemeal too. Unlike wholemeal flour, which cooks differently in bread and has a definite flavour (bitter but nutty), wholemeal couscous cooks exactly the same as the normal stuff, and barely tastes any different. The texture is similar enough – but it keeps its shape much better, so really, I don’t see a reason to ever get white again. If you’ve ever considered getting more wholegrains into your diet, this is a great way to start – remember that couscous is the fastest, easiest grain to cook!
Perching atop that mountain is my fresh herb trio (they’re all shivering outside in the garden, along with the oregano which I now can’t find among the forest of rocket plants): rosemary, sage and thyme, the wintery herbs that make this combo feel as comforting a steaming bowl of noodle soup. Easy enough to adapt for vegan friends, too – just be sure to use vege stock and olive oil instead of butter.
Also, I was comparing the two different kinds of cous cous (plain & wholegrain) and wholegrain has a respectable amount of iron in it (1/3c gives 10% of your RDI of iron). It also had a small amount of calcium, as opposed to none in the white, and slightly more protein. Just a thought, even though I normally don’t espouse nutritional advice… I think it’s winter and the fact that everyone is getting sick. Take care of yourselves and eat well damnit!
Cous cous with cabbage, mushrooms, and wintery herbs
serves 2 hungry souls
1c wholemeal couscous
1c vege or chicken stock, super hot (bring to a boil, or use bouillon/stock cubes + just boiled water)*
about 25g butter or some olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
about 2c finely sliced cabbage
as many mushrooms as you want (or substitute matchstick-cut carrots if you hate mushrooms)
a small handful of fresh rosemary, thyme and sage leaves (discard stalks), or 1/2 tsp each dried, finely chopped with 4 cloves of garlic (hey, it’s good for the immune system!)
salt and pepper to taste (at the end)
more butter, or olive oil if you’re harbouring illusions of diet consciousness
about 1/4 cup powder-finely grated parmesan (optional)
*If you’re out of stock, to be honest I think this dish will work fine without it, as long as you compensate with salt.
Pour hot water over cous cous in bowl or saucepan and cover (not with clingfilm if you can help it, but just a plain pot cover – come on, it’s easier and cheaper). Let sit about 3-5 mins before uncovering, fluffing it up with a fork, and re-covering. If you’re a multi tasker, you can do this while your onions are cooking.
In a large frypan or wok, melt butter or heat olive oil (about 25g/3Tbs) on medium heat, and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Add onions, and cook on one layer until translucent, shaking and tossing every now and then. Once quite translucent and beginning to go golden, add cabbage, and let sit on one layer, cooking until the undersides are lightly golden, and then tossing. Keep doing this until the cabbage starts getting softer and starts taking on golden notes all over.
Mix in garlic, herbs, and mushrooms, and let cook on an even layer until the undersides of the mushrooms get golden fringes. Stir, and mix in all the cous cous. You may want to add the butter specified with the cous cous now as well. Continue cooking for a minute and then remove from heat. Stir in parmesan now if using, and serve up.
I haven’t tried this heated up the next day, but I can’t imagine it would be too bad, as long as you avoided the microwave. Just make sure to fridge it overnight, and you should be fine.
Lemon buttermilk tart, made from scratch!
Baking from scratch is always so exciting, but this was not just a cake or cookies which required limited patience on my behalf. Tart dough tends to need more waiting around, much like bread, and therefore deciding on an appropriately mind blowing filling is a matter of great importance to one’s sanity. Of course, I didn’t exactly have the pantry of a French chef, or a freezer full of blueberries to make the tart of my dreams. But sometimes forced simplicity is a good thing.
If you’re looking for something that’s not too involved, and a process that’ll keep your mind off your next exam (or the possible results for the last one you took) but won’t use all your precious stores of resilience, this is the tart for you. Plus you’ll have all the awe of your flatmates or friends to contend with after you announce that no, you did not buy your crust dough from the ruddy supermarket, so take it easy, an 1/8th is all you’re getting.
To be ever more helpful, I shall share the other crusts I was considering using. Of course, my first stop was Smitten Kitchen, where Deb posted Dorie’s unshrinkable pie crust. Now, I always approach fail-proof claims carefully, possibly because I’m insecure about being one of the few people who somehow make a dud. Further, I had a 10″ tart pan, ya know? If it shrinks a little, it’s still pretty impressively big. So I moved on to Manggy’s blog for her poached plum frangipani tart crust, which I was rather tempted by due to the measurement of butter in grams (THANK YOU!). It also catered to my laziness as there was no need to bake the shell before adding the filling!
However, I had a lemon that really needed using, so I didn’t stop there: Jo’s lemon blueberry tart looked perfectly do-able, and I could just skip the blueberries. The resulting 4 egg whites that would be leftover could be used to make this tart. So, away I went, not without some lazy adjustments of my own…
Lemon buttermilk tart
makes one 10″ tart
Crust
1 1/3 c plain flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
113g cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 large egg yolk, beaten with 2 TBsp super cold water
With a pastry cutter or your fingers, rub butter, sugar, salt, and flour together (or use food processor) until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, but still has some pea-sized chunks of butter in (see picture above). Add egg yolk and water and mix in with a wooden spoon, adding dribbles of cold water if needed to bring the dough together (be very careful with this step as sometimes it looks like it needs more water, but actually it just needs more kneading together). Once you’ve got a dough ball, flatten into a disc and let rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, you can separate the eggs for the filling.
Filling
1 c buttermilk (or just under 1c milk + 1 Tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice)
3 large egg yolks
1/2 c sugar
1 Tbsp freshly grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract (don’t use the imitation stuff here PLEASE)
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp plain flour
2 c blueberries
Icing sugar for sprinkling
Whisk all filling ingredients together in a medium size bowl, but do this while the tart crust is cooling so as to not leave the filling sitting too long.
After your dough has rested, and roll it out to however large the pan you’re using is plus two inches (keep rolling if it’s more than about 7mm thick though, you’ll just have taller sides). Fit into your greased tart pan. Prick all over with a fork, and freeze for about 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) before this 20 minutes. Place into the centre rack of your preheated oven, letting bake for about 25 minutes until lightly golden. If it puffs up, press back down with the back of a spoon. Take out after golden, and let cool almost completely (or completely).
Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Pour filling into your cooled, cooked tart, and place in fully preheated oven on the center rack. Let cook for about 30-35 minutes until the top of the filling gets golden spots. Remove, cool completely. Serve with fresh fruit or proper greek yoghurt, and dust with icing sugar! Nom.
Soo hot right now…rosemary garlic baked mushrooms
THE most delicious thing you can add to you roast meal? Rosemary and garlic mushrooms. Even ordinary white button mushrooms.
These go in the last 15 minutes of roasting at about 200C (400F), or 20 minutes at 180C (350F). It’s super simple. Once all your other thing shave gone in the oven, brush your mushrooms (or clean them your way). Finely chop some garlic with fresh rosemary (or dry), about one small clove per mushroom. Place the garlic and herbs in a bowl with extra virgin olive oil (just enough to coat) and some salt and pepper. Mix it all up, and let it sit until it’s ready to go in the oven. Throw in with the rest of your veges, toss/mix, and let cook until the outsides are dark brown. So moreish and versatile, I used an entire half bag of mushrooms on these babies. Enjoy! x
PS. some fresh or dried thyme also works intead of, or in addition to, the rosemary.
…a quick brag
Okay. Imagine two slices of home made bread, pan toasted in butter with a sprinkle of dried basil. Then between them, place some rocket picked from the garden, and some locally made aged gouda cheese, plus a drizzle of kato hollandaise sauce.
This is my lunch. I love my life.
Eating your greens – the sustainability issue
Ever thought about GE protests? What all the “fair trade” fuss is about? Why home made food tastes better than the supermarket equivalent? How cows have perhaps more to do with climate change than the daily car trip? The answers, 
or at least debates, surrounding these questions are implicated in some of the most significant global issues today. They’re fascinating, rewarding to delve into, and will affect where you buy, what you buy, and how much you’ll be willing to fork over for it. “You are what you eat,” and therefore what ends up making its way to your stomach will be changing the way you think, behave, and even the way you associate with those around you. Dramatic, I know…but more than ever, what and how we eat is somehow exerting unprecedented influences on our personal and political lives.
In the last few months I’ve had the pleasure of gaining serious interest in how the planet, social justice and the political/corporate relationship are intertwined with the food we eat and the drinks we consume. While I’m no expert, I thought I’d share the resources (which ARE written by experts!) which have interested me, informed me, and inspired me to change the way I live, not just eat. I’ll hopefully be posting more in future about possible solutions…but first, some things to get you more informed!
Here are some great resources that should get you warmed up on some of the issues (note that many of them cross over to various other issues, and that you don’t have to read everything to gain some sort of understanding). Please remember to purchase books from independent stores, and DVDs direct from the films’ websites if possible :)
Super simple tomato soup
I know, I’ve been failing rather miserably lately. While I may only have one exam looming (on the 22nd, too), and it’s a multi-choice exam, I know a lot of students out there are slogging it away, with barely any time for sleep, let alone making tortellini from scratch. I know, I know. This is where I make it up to you. I’m sharing my method for making tomato soup. It’s ridiculously easy and versatile, thus its one of the few things I use canned food for (that and green curries are my weak spots).
As you can see, I’ve gone a little crazy with dairy (and Adobe Lightroom*) at the moment. There was the last of my buttermilk in the soup (optional), and I got a bit happy with the Parmesan I got at Canterbury Cheesemongers. It’s such a wonderful place, by the way – it’s so nice being able to taste a sliver of whatever you’re contemplating spending over $10 a slab for! Their recommendations have been brilliant so far. Anyway, I served this alongside some brie sliced up with home made bread rolls. In any case, this soup makes a great dip for any heading-for-staleness bread you have left.
* Yes, I did get carried away with making the red the perfect shade of hot, sexy, fiery red. Admittedly the actual soup did not hurt to look at nearly so much :P
Before I proceed, I know everyone has different methods of making their tomato soup. Share your tomato soup prowess with a comment, go on.
Quickie tomato soup
serves 2
1×400g can chopped tomatoes (preferably plain. You can use flavoured ones if you reeeaaally want to, but plain gives you more versatility. Also whole tomatoes chopped up by you are perfectly admirable)
2 stalks of celery, chopped finely (optional, but I like celery and texture in my soup)
1 onion, finely chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste
dash red wine vinegar (optional)
enough water to make it soupy (to your liking)
any herbs and spices you feel like. Good ones for tomato soup:
oregano, basil, thyme (herbs – about 1/2 tsp dried each if using)
cumin, curry powder, cayenne pepper, chilli powder, (spices – about 1/4-1/2 tsp each if using)
splash of cream or buttermilk, or a dollop of greek yogurt or sour cream (optional). Creamy dips work okay too, just ensure the flavours will gel with the rest of your seasonings.
parmesan for grating on top, or a nice cheese to serve alongside bread.
butter or olive oil (approx 2 Tbs)
In a medium sized saucepan, heat oil/butter on medium heat. Add onion, celery and garlic, along with salt and pepper, herbs and spices, and cook, stirring, until the onion is slightly golden. Thrown in tomatoes, bring to a boil, and add water to bring to your desired consistency. I like mine thick, so sometimes I just throw in another can of tomatoes! Bring to a simmer, turn heat to low, and partially cover, letting slowly simmer for five minutes or so.
Uncover, taste, season further (add vinegar here if you feel the soup lacks acidity), and add your creams. Let simmer another 2 mins and serve. Grate over parmesan if using, and add another sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper, fresh herbs or a pinch of cayenne if you have them. Serve with some sort of crusty bread (if it ain’t crusty, make it crusty by toasting it first), and maybe more cheese if you’re that way inclined!
SK’s soft & chewy oatmeal raisin cookies!
Snack #3 in my snack series commences!
When I have nothing particularly appealing in the pantry for breakfast, and last night’s dinner yielded no leftovers, and the bread is so stale I can barely cut it…this is a lifesaver! It’s also a particularly satisfying, yet almost healthy snack. I know, they’re loaded with sugar and butter, but at least the oats have plenty of fibre and the raisins have some goodness in them. Or something. You can easily get away with adding some wheatgerm or bran to add extra goodness, and added walnuts make this a rather complete breakfast option (you may want to skip the sugar in your tea, though, or any other sugary things for breakfast or lunch).
Like Deb promises, this recipe makes soft cookies, which are a little crispy around the edges just after they’ve cooled (not the next day, but they’re still soft and chewy). They’re rather rich, and of course, do that thing to raisins that make them take on a texture like a special, other-world-y candy. I accidentally added twice as much flour to the butter mixture, so I had to make a double batch with not enough rolled oats, but this recipe accommodated that well. This may have led the mixture to be different, as mine weren’t thick even after freezing. The mixture reminded me of chunky peanut butter, and I didn’t have much fun spreading this out. I’d definitely recommend freezing and then you can usually (with some effort) scoop the mixture out and shape it into rough balls. Anyway, let’s get ready to crumble!
Soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies
from Smitten Kitchen (halved recipe below, makes about sixteen 2″ wide cookies)
115g butter, softened to margerine consistency*
2/3 c light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 tspn vanilla extract
3/4 c plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt (up to 1/2 tsp ok)
1 1/2 c rolled oats (I used less which is fine, this quantity is pretty variable)
3/4 cup raisins (again, use your discretion)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional, and you can vary this quantity)
*I know this is hard in winter. I accidentally melted mine, which is ok, just let it sit on the side if cold and it will harden up again. Alternatively, if you chop it up and partially melt it a little, then let it sit, it will be much easier to beat.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. Sift in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, and stir in. Add the oats, raisins and walnuts, and stir in until well distributed.
Preheat oven to 175C (350F), with a rack centred. Now you can scoop the mixture onto a baking tray (they spread lots so leave at least an inch and a half between cookies), or chill the dough first and then scoop. It’d best to chill overnight, but if you’re impatient, scoop first, freeze for ten minutes, and then bake. You can do whatever size you want, although I’d stay under golf ball size scoops (they’ll be easier to take off the tray later). Just remember to leave an inch and a half between cookies! These don’t stick too badly to an ungreased tray (if you use a metal spatula/fish slice), but a slight greasing will make dislodging a breeze.
Bake one tray at a time, for about 10 minutes (depending totally on how chilled the dough is and cookie size). Take them out when golden brown at the very edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. When you prod them, even at the edges, they will give in easily, almost like they’re sponges. Let cool on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. These are much more satisfying with a little crispness to the edges (after cooled), as the cookies are very soft when you first pick them up.
Dough can be easily frozen, and you can (with effort) scoop frozen dough and cook it straight away, which is brilliant if you’ve got the oven on anyway a few days later and feel like fresh cookies!
Snack #2: Emily’s vegan chocolate chip cookies
I’ve gained a healthy respect for vegan baking since Emily came along. I want to emphasise the fact that these cookies are more than you probably expect, and they’re a lot easier to make with the lack of beating butter and eggs together. Fresh, classic chocolate chip cookies fast – you can’t argue with that. Especially during exam time!
Emily and Bob made giant cookies, which sort of stuck together…but they were still delicious!
And what would a giant cookie be without giant chocolate chunks?
…just to put the sizing into perspective for you. (That’s Bob, not Emily, just so’s you know)
Emily’s vegan choc chip cookies *please see note below
makes 5 giant cookies or some smaller ones
2c plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of cinnamon (optional)
1c sugar
1/2 c oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c soymilk (I’m guessing normal milk is ok if you only have that on hand)
chocolate chips (use your discretion)
Preheat oven to 175C (350F), centering a rack.
In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, making a well in the centre
In a seperate bowl mix sugar and oil. Add the vanilla and then add soy milk. Mix well.
Add the wet to the well in the dry. Mix it well but be careful not to over mix it.
Add chocolate chips
Spoon onto ungreased baking trays.
Cook for 8-10 minutes (depending on size). Take out of oven when they look slightly undercooked, but are golden around the edges. The ones pictured could have been a little less cooked if you like having a softer cookie.
Next up: soft, chewy oatmeal and raisin cookies, from Smitten Kitchen.
*EDIT: A friend of mine tried baking these the other day (with milk instead of soy milk) and the batter was very crumb-y. I advise starting with 1 1/2 c of flour, and working more in to achieve a very moist, wet dough (think fondant icing, but with more oil). Please let me know how you go…I will be trying these out myself in a few weeks, and will update again then. Cheers!
