Oatmeal Cookies

A nice, full of spice, oatmeal cookie that is easy, quick, yummy, and dairy free. Don't skip the walnuts, I think they are key to the yummyness.

1 cup unbleached or whole-wheat pastry flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sugar or other sweetener

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup molasses

1 tsp. vanilla extract

11/2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup fortified soy or rice milk

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional


Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in large bowl.
In separate bowl, mix sugar, oil, molasses, and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture, rolled oats, milk, raisins, and walnuts. Mix well.

Drop rounded tablespoonsful of cookie dough onto an oil-sprayed cookie sheet (DO OIL OR BUTTER COOKIE SHEETS!), about 2 inches apart. Bake until light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Store in airtight container.

Makes 30 cookies

Creamy Cauliflower Mac

Instead of using high-fat butter and cream, Bittman makes his healthier mac and cheese with pureed cauliflower, chicken stock, and a moderate amount of cheese.

2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 cauliflower, cored and cut into large pieces
8 ounces whole-wheat elbow macaroni
1/2 cup grated cheese (such as sharp cheddar, Gruyere, or Emmental, or a combination)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup whole-grain bread crumbs

Heat oven to 400° F. Boil a pot of salted water.

In a saucepan, warm stock and bay leaves on medium-low heat for five minutes; turn off heat.

Cook cauliflower in boiling water for 25 minutes. Put cauliflower in a food processor.

Cook pasta in boiling water for five minutes. Drain and rinse to cool; put pasta in a greased, nine-inch square baking dish.

Process cauliflower with stock (discard bay leaves), cheese, oil, mustard, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, working in batches.

Pour sauce over pasta, toss, and spread evenly in dish. Top with Parmesan and bread crumbs. Bake 20 minutes. Serves four.

Pink Quinoa

Thank-you to my Manchester Mamamigas Sam and Leah for introducing me to this nutritious, delicious recipe!

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
Grated or chopped beetroot (grated from a jar works well)
Olives
Feta Cheese
Other salad ingredients of your choice.

To make:
Cook the quinoa - it's easy peasy. Use one part quinoa to 2 parts water (so in this recipe 2 cups water), put in a covered pan, bring to the boil. Cook for 15 mins undisturbed then turn off the heat and leave for another 5 mins.
Mix in all the other stuff when the quinoa has cooled.
It tastes good with balsamic vinegar on it too.

Potato wedges

To go with homemade fishfingers and homemade baked beans!!!

• Heat up oven to medium.
• Cut a load of potatoes (washed but with skins) into similar size wedges.
• Parboil for 7 mins
• Drain and return to pot they boiled in.  Add a glug of olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, a bit of curry powder, oregano, and juice of half a lemon (adjust all of these according to palate). Jiggle pot with lid on so they get evenly coated.
• Put in oven tray and bake in oven for at least 40 mins or until crispy.

Freshly made fish fingers and snitzel

The best fish for Fish Fingers is Percha (that horrible one from Lake Victoria, see scary 'Darwin's Nightmare' documantary) - its firm and fleshy and doesnt crumble. It's also cheap.

• Cut into fish finger size fingers. 
• Get 3 plates: one with flour, one with beaten egg, one with crumbs. Do the 'conveyer belt' thing: roll in flour, dip in egg, roll in crumbs. 
• Shallow fry until golden each side (careful the egg tends to burn easily).

You can also make Snitzel in a similar way (my Greek yaya used to make this for me when I was little, even though I suppose it must be German by the name).

• Tenderise fillets of chicken or pork by covering in clingfilm and bashing with a rolling pin.
• Do conveyor belt thing.
• Shallow fry.

Total comfort food!

XZ.

Roasted veg and chickpea bake

Just invented this yesterday, i'm proud to say. yummy and easy.

Ingredients: Assorted veg, roughly chopped (i used an onion, half a red pepper, some green pepper, a potatoe, a fresh tomato, a courgette, and about half  aheda of garlic, chopped in half wiht the skin still on). Half cup raisins (any dried fruit like apricots, dates, prunes, dried pears would probably be nice too). About a cup of tomatoes sauce (I used homemade but im sure bought would be fine), a big cup of cooked chickpeas (im sure any other bean would be a good substitute), oil, salt, pepper, herbs/spices, half tsp brown sugar, cup of water.

Method: Mix it all together in a  big ovenproof tin, making sure its all coated with oil and herbs/spices. Cook in medium oven, check after an hour. This dish can be reheated and it's even better for ebign left and reheated the next day, like most 'oily' dishes (that's what we call oil-cooked oven dishes in Greece).

Xzoe.

Amazing Alien Sauce!

Born of the necessity of no cow dairy, no tomato, no tuna, here's a little something I knocked up to go with pasta which turned out to be a great success! It's essentially espinacas a la catalana with pesto ;-)

Ingredients: all quantities are approx, adjust to taste

• Spinach - I use about half a bag of the frozen spinach pellets from Mercadona which defrosts really quickly and is already blended, so perfect for sauces.
• Basil - dried, fresh, in a squeezy tube...
• Peeled sunflower seeds - pipas - or pine nuts
• Raisins
• Bouillon powder
• Goats cheese, one big disc
• Olive oil
• Pesto if you can do dairy, but even without and enough basil it tastes good

1. Toast the  pipas in a dry frying pan then set aside
2. Throw spinach in frying pan with dash of olive oil, stir until it defrosts
3. Stir in a good shake of basil and a teaspoon of bouillon powder and a handful of raisins
4. Crumble in the goats cheese until its all melty
5. Take off the heat and stir in a couple of tablespoons of pesto and the toasted pipas

Et voila!!!