THE RELUCTANT GLUTTON

Rhubarb, pastry and the virtues of pie

2010-04-21T13:54:00.001+10:00

One of my favourite desserts is pie, primarily because of all the butter, flour and sugar involved. There's not many things I don't think can benefit from a bit of rule breaking, but I'm very sorry to say pie is not one of them. Pie is the golden god of food. You can put anything in them. You can take them anywhere. Even the bad ones are really good. And if you think the pie needs changing, maybe it's time for YOU to take a good hard look at yourself and do a little changing yourself. (See what I did there? I psychologied you. Rest easy, Australia - the future of mental health is in good hands!)

Anyway, that was all very well and good until I googled the average fat content of pre-made pastry. Holy heart attack, guys - that shit is lethal! (On a side note, I love how "googled" is now a verb as well as a noun. The future is here! But someone forgot the flying cars, boo.)

So here is a pastry recipe which is much better than pre-made pastry. I have to admit, it isn't perfect. But eaten with filling, it can pass as pastry without anyone really noticing it's the "healthy" version.

INGREDIENTS
2 & 1/4 cups of wholemeal self raising flour
1/2 cup rice bran oil
1/3 cup regular, rice or soy milk, chilled
1/2 tsp plain salt (leave out for sweet pastry)

Bunch rhubarb, leaves removed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 apples, peeled and cut into quarters
Agave syrup
Raw sugar

METHOD
Combine dry ingredients, then pour in oil and milk and mix gently until combined. Don't overwork mixture.
Cut in half and roll dough on a floured surface until it's the same size as your pie dish. This will make a bottom and top layer of pastry.

Blind bake bottom layer of pastry in oven at 180 celcius for 10 minutes. (Blind baking is to ensure the bottom isn't soggy. Do this by placing pastry in bottom of dish, then cover with baking paper and dry rice or lentils to weigh it down. This prevents the dough rising. If you don't care about an uneven bottom, just bake it with no weights. It makes no difference to the taste, just looks a bit messier.)

Remove pastry when blind baked and add apples, rhubarb and agave syrup if you would like it sweeter. A couple of tablespoons should be enough. Alternatively, add sweet fruits like blueberries, strawberries, mashed banana or mango to sweeten the filling without sugar or agave syrup. You can use whatever filling you like - leftover baked vegetables, leftover casserole or stews, frozen fruits, cooked mince and vegies, leftover roast chicken and gravy, etc. Make sure any meat you use is cooked though, as it won't cook once it is inside the pastry.

Cover top of pie with pastry lid and sprinkle with a TINY bit of raw sugar. Cut small hole in pie for steam to escape or your pie will start coming out the sides (like mine did.) Bake in 180 celcius oven for 25 minutes, or until top is golden and crisp. Serve dessert pies in a bowl with cold milk poured over instead of cream. (It's really good that way, promise!)

Bean burritos

2010-04-21T12:53:00.000+10:00

Oh dear. It's been a very long while between posts and I'm very sorry to all 3 of you who read this blog. Welcome to the BodyGO people who may have wandered here from the newsletter. I hope you like what you see and please forgive me for the sloppy internet work ethic. I'm a student and that's my excuse for ~~failing at life and never leaving the house~~ not posting new recipes.

Anyway, here is a recipe for bean burritos that I invented on an evening when my best mate and I wanted to eat something quick and healthy, but also substantial. And by substantial, I mean filling. And by filling, I mean sit in front of the TV and eat until our brains fell out. He is a big fella and he only ate 2, so I think that means I managed to fulfil the brief successfully.

INGREDIENTS
6x tortillas (look for wholemeal or spelt varieties)
1x cup reconstituted kidney beans or black (turtle) beans - you can use canned if you prefer
Tsp paprika
Tsp coriander seeds, ground
Tsp cayenne pepper
Tsp chilli (optional) or use fresh if you prefer (which I do)
1x cup (approx.) of finely chopped spring onions
1x cup (approx.) chopped fresh tomato
1x cup (approx.) fresh corn, shaved from cob (canned if you prefer)
1x red capsicum, chopped finely
1x avocado
1x lime, juiced
1/2 cup low fat cheese (optional)
1/2 cup greek yoghurt or low fat cream cheese (optional)
Fresh coriander, chopped (optional)

METHOD
In a fry pan, fry spring onions and spices in a small amount of rice bran oil until translucent. Add tomato, corn, capsicum and beans and fry on medium to high heat until ingredients have softened. Add pepper and herb salt to taste.

In a bowl, mash avocado with lime juice. Serve on warm tortillas with avocado, yoghurt or cream cheese and cheese. Add fresh coriander or lettuce if desired.

It's Mexi-can, not Mexi-can't!

Hommous

2010-02-08T19:04:00.000+11:00

Worst camera-phone photo ever.

Hommous is one of my favourite foods, mostly because how easy it is to make and have in the fridge as a high protein snack. I use it instead of butter on sandwiches, to dip veggies into, with my homemade crackers, as a side dish with salads or as a base to thicken soups and stews.

I find it outrageous how expensive hommous in supermarkets is - I don't mind spending money on food, but considering hommous is about 90% chickpeas, I don't understand why it's so expensive. Besides, it's always runny, full of crap ingredients and preservatives and tastes nothing like real hommous does.

Hommous also freezes very well, so I make a huge batch and freeze it in small tubs, then pull one out once a week and let it thaw in the fridge for 24 hours. It doesn't change the consistency at all when thawed.

This recipe is only a guide - you decide how much salt, lemon, tahini and oil you would like to add. I find olive oil changes the taste slightly, so whichever oil you prefer is fine. I tend to use half olive, half sesame and put lots of extra lemon. To minimise the amount of oil used, I also add some cooking water to thin it out, rather than lots of oil. This changes the taste slightly, and a hommous purist would be mortified, but it still tastes fine.

You could also add spices like sumac, paprika, chilli or cayenne if you want it flavoured, or fresh herbs like sage, lemon thyme or oregano.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups organic dried chickpeas
1/2 cup organic tahini ( make your own by food processing unhulled sesame seeds with a tiny bit of water until they are a thick paste)
2 x lemons, juiced
1/2 cup of sesame, olive or rice bran oil
Vegetable salt, to taste

METHOD
In a large pot or bowl, wash and soak your chickpeas overnight in the fridge, covered in water. They should approximately double in size so make sure there is extra water.

Cook chickpeas for about 30 minutes in fresh water, skimming the top of the water occasionally to remove froth. They will be slightly more tender, but still solid.

Reserve one cup of the cooking water, then drain chickpeas and add to food processor along with lemon juice, tahini and vegetable salt.Whiz until chickpeas are just broken up, then add a splash of oil and a splash of cooking water. Whiz again, and slowly add both oil and water until it reaches the consistency you prefer. I like mine chunky and a bit moist, so I try not to process it too much.

Eggplant parmigiana with kalamata and caper tomato gravy

2010-02-08T00:48:00.001+11:00

I lived in Melbourne for a while, where they are obsessed with parmigiana in it's many forms. Instead of going to the pub for a schooner and a steak, Victorians go for a pot (yeeeuch) and a parma. There's even a restaurant called "Mrs. Parma's" (chortle, chortle.)

Anyway, I'm not a massive fan of meat, especially not chicken, but eggplant parma I can handle. The eggplant lends itself nicely to being sliced thickly for "steaks" and holds up well while frying. It also has a creamy texture and buttery taste when cooked that tastes great with breadcrumbs.

INGREDIENTS
1 x large eggplant
1 x tin chopped organic tomatoes
1 x clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (or brown onion)
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 x tbspn capers
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup fresh oregano, chopped
1 x cup breadcrumbs (make your own by whizzing 2 slices of bread in the food processor)
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1 x egg (use water for a vegan version)
Fresh cracked pepper
Rice bran oil for frying
1 x chilli (optional)

METHOD
In a frypan, fry minced garlic and shallots until translucent in a splash of rice bran oil. Add capers, olives, cracked pepper, tinned tomatoes and chilli (if desired) to pan and leave to simmer on medium heat.

Slice eggplant lengthways into thick slices. Coat in flour, dip in egg then dip in breadcrumbs. In a separate frypan, fry eggplant steaks in rice bran oil on high until golden on both sides. Drain on paper towel.

Add chopped herbs to the tomato gravy, and spoon over eggplant steaks. Serve with green salad or steamed vegetables sprinkled with seeds (for protein.)

Crackers

2010-02-07T18:17:00.003+11:00

I'm not sure if it's because of my European blood or whether it's just cause I like animal fat, but in my opinion, there's not much better eating than a big plate of cheese, crackers, meats and dips.

This cracker recipe was born out of my frustration with the types of crackers available in supermarkets - they are either full of crap, or very expensive (and still kind of full of crap.)

I tried several different versions, but finally adapted this recipe from 101 Cookbooks to use wholemeal flour as the cracker base. I also made several variations by adding chopped rosemary, lemon zest, orange zest, basil, grated reggiano and sage to the batter.

If you would like your crackers to be lighter and with more bubbles, I discovered if you roll a single layer of dough very thinly, then fold it in half and roll once to squash it back together, it creates a pocket inside your dough and will rise when cooking. Alternatively, if you don't wish for your crackers to rise at all, poke them all over with a fork before putting in the oven.

INGREDIENTS

3 x cups wholemeal flour

1 x cup warm water

1/3 cup rice bran oil

1 tsp vegetable salt

METHOD

Combine all ingredients in a stand mixer and beat with dough hooks for about 7 minutes at medium speed. Your mixer manual should have suggestions for the speed when using dough hooks. If you wish to add other ingredients such as cheeses, herbs or spices, do this now.

Once the mixture is fully combined and is tacky to the touch, but not too dry, it is ready to be rested. Turn onto a floured surface and cut into 10 even sized pieces. Cover with a clean, damp teatowel and rest for an hour.

Once your dough has rested, roll onto a floured surface until it is very thin - just thick enough that it doesn't break. You can use cookie cutters, old jars, cups or a knife to cut into whatever shape you prefer. I bake mine in large sheets and break pieces off when I want to use them. I also used a toast imprinter of the Virgin Mary to remind me which ones had the cheese in them. Of course, you can use whichever religious iconography you prefer in your snackfoods - just don't put bacon chips in the dough if you're gonna stamp it with the Star of David.

Once you've placed your rolled dough on baking paper, cook for about 7 minutes, or until the colour is golden and the crackers are crisp to touch. Cool on wire racks. These keep well in an airtight container in the cupboard.

"Holy crackers, Batman!"

Limeade

2010-02-07T16:13:00.007+11:00

A big problem for me (and everyone else, it seems) is drinking enough water. I've heard varying recommendations for daily intake, but as far as I can tell, between 1 and 2 litres a day seems to be the average.

Unfortunately, I am not one of those people who likes or even remembers to drink water, so keeping this intake up has been one of my biggest challenges. I often make it to lunch time without remembering to drink, and by then I am already dehydrated and dreading having to squeeze a litre in before dinner.

My naturopath advised me that mineral water is a good alternative, particularly to replace drinking alcohol if that is something you're trying to cut back on. I had read somewhere a while ago that carbonated drinks leach calcium from your bones, but apparently this is only when consumed in conjunction with sugar (i.e. soft drinks).

Additionally, mineral water is great way of getting extra minerals. So now I have a bit of a mineral water habit, and seem to drink more of it than actual water, but hey, it's not the worst vice to have.

For this recipe, you could use any citrus fruit you want, I just used limes because there are no local lemons available here at the moment - they're all imported from the US. Make sure you wash your fruit well to remove any wax and chemicals on the fruit.

You could also make the lime and agave mixture into icecubes and just add a few to a glass of mineral water as needed.

INGREDIENTS
2 x limes
3 x tablespoons agave nectar (dark or light, your preference)
1 x litre mineral water

METHOD
Juice limes and combine in a jug or bottle with agave nectar. Stir or shake well until nectar has dissolved.
Add mineral water and stir gently to combine.
Chop remaining lime skins into quarters and use to serve drinks. Don't leave fruit skins in the jug if storing in the fridge as they can make the drink bitter after a while.

Hazelnut biscuits

2010-01-03T22:26:00.005+11:00

I tried making these last night as a high protein alternative to biscuits. The bulk of the biscuit is made up by hazelnut meal, so those with intolerances to wheat could eat these too. Unless you're also allergic to nuts, in which case, I have no advice other than to consider ending it all now.

I cooked these at a lower temperature for longer in the hope the nuts wouldn't go rancid. I don't actually know what temperature makes a nut go rancid (and therefore stop being good for you) but I'm going to try and find out. Let me know if you know the answer to this one.

INGREDIENTS
1x cup organic hazelnuts
1x tbsp organic self raising flour
2x tbsp organic dark agave nectar
4x tbsp organic fair trade cacao powder
1x tsp organic vanilla extract (or fresh vanilla pod)

METHOD
Place hazelnuts on a baking tray and bake in at 150 degrees C for about 10 minutes or until skins start to split and flake away. Remove from oven, wrap in a clean tea towel and rub together until skins are removed.

In a food processor (or hand chop if you have the patience), whiz hazelnuts until you have a coarse meal. Add agave nectar, flour, cacao powder and vanilla extract and whiz until combined.

Spoon mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper in portions about the size of a bottle cap. (The smaller the size, the less cooking time, the better for you.) Bake at 150 degrees C for 5 minutes, or until biscuits begin to brown and are slightly crunchy on top.

Allow biscuits to cool before eating. They should still be a little soft on the inside.

Tomato soup, butter bean dip and garlic pita

2010-01-03T21:48:00.006+11:00

I had an insatiable craving for salty potato crisps tonight, so I cooked the following in the hope it would dull just a little.

The butter bean dip is very similar to the butter bean mash from this post, only much more chunky and with sesame seeds for extra protein, since the rest of the meal has none.

The pita I used was wholemeal, but you could substitute white if you want, or use lavash bread instead. There is a great organic brand that escapes me right now in supermarkets that come in corn, rye, white, wholemeal, spelt and a few others, so if you try a different one, let me know how it goes.

I use rice bran oil or sesame oil wherever possible as both oils have a high smoke point and therefore are less likely to become toxic. There are lots of different oils with high smoke points, but these two seem to be the least expensive and the flavours aren't too overpowering. Rice bran oil is also great for baking (more recipes to come.)

This meal has no fresh vegies, so I suppose I won't make it too often, but it definitely filled me up and satisfied my chip craving.

TOMATO SOUP
1kg overripe tomatoes
1 cup fresh basil, chopped coarsely
Herb salt
Fine black pepper

METHOD
In a large pot, boil tomatoes with 2 cups water for about 20 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. With a potato masher or electric mixer (careful not to burn yourself with splashback) puree the tomatoes. Pour tomatoes through a fine sieve to remove seeds and skins and return to pot to simmer.

Continue to cook until the soup sweetens. This will depend on how ripe your tomatoes were in the first place. I have no idea why this is, but I've been making this soup for years and it always varies. If any scientists out there know why, please let me know.

Once your soup has reduced, changed to a darker red in colour and is sweeter, remove from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Add chopped basil just before serving.

This soup freezes very well for up to 3 months and can also be used as a base for lots of things, including pasta sauces.

BUTTER BEAN DIP
1x can organic butter beans or 1x cup reconstituted butter beans
1x tbsp unhulled sesame seeds (ground if preferred)
2x cloves garlic, minced
2x tbsp rice bran oil
Herb salt and pepper to taste
1x handful fresh sage leaves, chopped finely (optional)

METHOD
In a frypan, fry garlic in a little rice bran oil until browned. Add butter beans and sage and warm through. Remove from heat, pour into a serving dish, add sesame seeds and mash with a fork. Add more rice bran oil to desired consistency. Season with herb salt and pepper to taste.

GARLIC PITA
2x wholemeal pita breads (or preferred flat bread)
2x cloves garlic, minced
Rice bran oil

METHOD
Tear bread into pieces, about the size of your palm. Heat a little oil in the same frypan from the butter bean dip and add bread. Towards the end of cooking, add garlic until both garlic and bread is brown and crunchy. Remove and drain on clean tea towel or paper towel. Serve with soup and butter bean dip, using the bread to dip into both.

Chocolate truffles

2009-11-02T23:45:00.003+11:00

Amongst this new spate of nutrition-boosted cookery and constant visits to the gym (shudder), it occurred to me that it's probably not wise to keep ingesting the amount of chocolate I am accustomed to. Now, both good and bad have come from this little predicament I've found myself in. Since being instructed to eat small portions (always including protein) every 3 hours, my afternoon crash has become a thing of the past. So I don't NEED the chocolate anymore. That's a good thing, especially if you happen to be near me at 3pm. I'm told it's akin to a werewolf undergoing the moonlight treatment, except far more terrifying. I have no exact recall of these moments because it takes all my energy to bite my lip and tell myself not to kill anyone. Oddly, within 5 minutes of consuming sugar all the diabolical fucktards who seem to be plaguing the universe all disappear and I'm left with an odd feeling I've said something I perhaps might regret.

The bad, however, is that I frigging love chocolate, and quite frankly I think it's rude I'm not supposed to eat it. Chocolate contains dairy (which is on the blacklist) and copious amounts of sugar. Apparently even dark chocolate isn't terribly good for you, especially if it's not the super expensive, unprocessed, non-heat treated, organic, fair trade type.

So, what's the solution? Chocolate truffles, that's what. And for further justification, I've added a shitload of really good stuff so I can skite to my naturopath about what a model patient I am.

Edit: See the 'Kitchen Helper' page for information about these ingredients

INGREDIENTS
200g organic fair trade coconut butter (sometimes called oil)
100g organic dark agave nectar
2x tbsn organic fair trade cacao powder
1x tspn linseeds
1x tspn unhulled sesame seeds
1x tspn sunflower seeds
1x tspn pepitas
1x tspn black and white chia seeds
1x tspn shredded coconut
1x tspn slippery elm powder
1/2 tspn ground cinnamon

METHOD
Place coconut butter in a glass or metal bowl over another bowl of hot water to melt. Once melted, add cacao, slippery elm and cinnamon until dissolved. Add agave nectar and beat with fork or whisk until thoroughly combined. Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly. At this stage, taste the mixture to check it is sweet enough - you may prefer to add more agave nectar.

Place in freezer for 5 minutes, until mixture begins to solidify enough to handle. Break mixture up with fork and roll into small truffles. If you wish, you can roll the truffles in shredded coconut or cacao powder, then place on a tray covered with baking paper and leave in freezer to set.

These are best stored in the freezer or fridge as the coconut butter melts easily.

You could also add chopped nuts or nut paste, dried fruit, berries or tahini to this recipe. I'll be trying it a few different ways soon and will let you know how I go.

Meat and 4 veg with mint sauce, Reluctant-style

2009-11-02T22:57:00.011+11:00

Well, I'm sure you've read the sidebar and know what this is all about. I had a blog once, and occasionally wince at my youthful verbosity. So I'll get right to it on this one.

In my quest to turn my home cooking into something more nutritionally...erm, viable...I whipped together this dinner last week. It quite literally took 10 minutes to make.

Now, a few things first. You can use any "sausages" you like. I like Sanitarium soy sausages, but there are lots of new ones available. I think the Sanitarium ones are closest to actual sausages (which is why I eat them) but I think there are probably better options in terms of nutrition out there. I also have a carnivorous husband to consider, so I figure it's only fair to serve him those if I'm not going to give him actual meat. And of course, you could have good quality meat sausages if you prefer.

In this recipe, I have used fresh corn and beans, but you can use frozen if you want. Obviously, since this new cooking style is an exercise in nutrition rather than speed, I choose fresh wherever possible.

For the mashed "potato", I used canned butter beans. I don't know if using canned is nutritionally better or worse than reconstituting dried beans, but I'll be buggered if I'm keeping fresh butter beans in the fridge. If memory serves me correctly (which it often doesn't), I think I learned the mashed "potato" part from Nigella Lawson. That woman is so dishy. I'd switch sides for her in a heartbeat.

Anyway, before my verbosity gets the better of me again, here it is.

INGREDIENTS
1x packet soy sausages
1x can organic butter beans
2x cobs corn
1x cup beans
1x cup frozen peas
1x tspn sesame or linseeds
4x fresh mint leaves
100ml apple cider vinegar

METHOD
Rinse butter beans and warm in small saucepan. If they begin to burn or get dry, add a splash of water.

Cut corn cobs into thirds, top and tail beans. Place both in steamer with peas for 3 minutes. The less you cook your food, the better it is for you. So if you don't mind them crunchy, less than 3 minutes is even better.

In a non-stick frypan, warm soysages. These dry out quickly, so a minute is usually long enough.

Once warmed, mash butter beans with some vegie salt (I use Herbamare) and small amount of organic olive oil.

For the mint sauce, finely chop (or whiz in a coffee grinder) mint leaves and add to apple cider vinegar.

Serve soysages, mash and vegies with Hot English mustard or organic tomato sauce. To complete the amino acid chains in the vegies for extra protein, sprinkle them with sesame or linseeds. You'll have to take my word on that one because the info I have is on a piece of paper from my naturopath. I promise to be better at referencing in the future.

Edit: See 'Kitchen Helper' page for info on ingredients