EGGPLANT AND LENTIL CURRY

EGGPLANT AND LENTIL CURRY

1 x Large Eggplant

5 x Large Tomatoes

1 x Large Onion

1 x Cup of white wine

1 x tin of brown lentils or 1 cup of pre cooked lentils

1/2 x Cup of water

2 x Cloves of garlic

3 x teaspoons mild curry powder

1 x teaspoon caraway seeds

1 x teaspoon coriander seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Rice, Yoghurt, Coriander & Chutney to garnish and serve. I used my home made organic plum chutney - don't you just love the colour!

Cook the onions, garlic and spices first, then add the tomatoes, then the eggplant and liquids, cook for about 45 minutes and then let it rest for about 25 minutes, serve with the rice and condiments.

This is a good dinner for any of my friends who are gluten free.

STIR FRY WITH FLAT RICE NOODLES

STIR FRY WITH FLAT RICE NOODLES

You can use any vegetables for this dish - I used the following because they were in my fridge:

1 x Pack Firm Tofu

1 x Onion

1 x Bunch of Broccollini

7 x Mushrooms

10 x Baby corn

1 x large carrot

1 x bunch of coriander

Stir fry everything up - starting with the onions and tofu, meanwhile prepare your rice noodles according to the packet instructions (super easy, I just had to soak the noodles in boiling water in a big bowl for about 20 mins, then rinse with cold water)

Make up a sauce using Asian ingredients from your cupboard, I heated the following ingredients

in a pot for about 3 minutes

1 x Tablespoon of sesame oil

4 x Tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce

3 x Tablespoons soy sauce

4 x Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 x crushed garlic

1 x teaspoon grated ginger

Once your vegetables are tender, add the rinsed rice noodles and heated sauce (Chop the noodles a little if you want to make them easier to eat)

Garnish with lime wedges and chilli. Looks great served straight from the wok

ZUCCHINI AND COUS COUS PIE

ZUCCHINI AND COUS COUS PIE

5 Medium Zuchini

1 Red Pepper

1 Small Onion

1 tablespoon olive oil for cooking

Salt, Pepper, mixed spice or curry powder

1 large tub of ricotta or cottage cheese

1 cup low fat grated cheese

2 Cups of prepared couscous

Filo Pastry or puff pastry

Cooking spray if you are using Filo Pastry

Cook the zucchini, red pepper and onion & seasoning in a little olive oil until soft. Cool and mix in the couscous then the  ricotta or cottage cheese & grated cheese. Lightly oil a baking dish and throw on a few pieces and roughly tear and layer on some filo pastry sheets, spraying with cooking spray as you go. (If you are using puff pastry - cook the base blind first). When you have your base ready, pour in the filling and top with more pastry. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees C for about 40 minutes or until brown on the top.

THAI SPICED TOFU CAKES

THAI SPICED TOFU CAKES

It was a really hot day in Perth - so I felt like something light and easy but filling.

These tofu cakes did the trick! 

1 packet of firm tofu crumbled

1 tablespoon of green Thai curry

5 tablespoons of sesame seeds

6 tablespoons of gluten free flour

2 cups of cooked rice

Mix together and shape in to patties. I cooked these under the grill to minimise the fat content - but you can shallow fry them if you wish. Serve with sweet chilli dipping sauce and a salad with an Asian dressing:

4 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 teaspoons of honey

1 teaspoon of dijon mustard

1 teaspoon of sesame oil

LOTS OF VEGGIES LASAGNA

VEGETABLE LASAGNA

Layers of delicious market vegetables chopped and cooked with two tins of  diced tomatoes & one tin of kidney beans

White Sauce - I used margarine, cornflour and milk (and if I am honest a teeny bit of cheese)

Easy cook Lasagna Sheets

There are no rules in terms of which layer to start with - I normally start with the pasta, then vegetables then white sauce, then go again and top with a little grated cheese. Bake for 45 minutes and let it cool a little before serving. Serve with salad, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and crusty bread if you are very hungry.

EGGPLANT DIP

EGGPLANT DIP

This reminds me of my mum - we used to have a massive eggplant plant growing in our garden so my mum used to make this dip and serve it with home made melba toast.

1 x Eggplant

1 x clove crushed garlic

Juice of one lemon

5 heaped table spoons of greek yoghurt

Cut the eggplant in half, score the flesh and bake face down in a hot oven for 40 minutes

Remove from the oven and cool. Scrape out all the flesh and mush it up with all the other ingredients. Serve with crusty bread or melba toast.

ZUCCHINI PASTA

ZUCCHINI PASTA

I am in love with the pasta from my local market! I made this dish in to take to a BBQ. As you can imagine going to BBQ's when you are a vegetarian can be quite uncomfortable so I always say "I'll bring a pasta salad"! There is always a green salad on offer to go with the meal, so no one goes hungry.

Hope you like this simple dish!

1 pack fresh pasta

6 small zucchini's

1 clove of garlic crushed

8 mushrooms quartered

Dressing:

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 cup of fresh Greek yoghurt

a liberal dashing of good quality olive oil

Cook pasta in boiling water, meanwhile lightly fry the vegetables and garlic.

When pasta is cooked (takes about 4 minutes for really fresh pasta) add the vegetables and stir through the dressing. Top with fresh herbs. This can be stored in the fridge until needed - but it may need some more olive oil tossed through it before serving.

RED TOFU

RED TOFU

1 Pack of firm organic tofu diced in to bite size pieces

1 tin of chopped tomatoes or 4 large tomatoes chopped

1 red capsicum chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

1 small onion grated

2 teaspoons of your favorite chilli sauce - or use fresh chilli

Salt and pepper to taste

Basil or Coriander & Cashew Nuts to top

Cook Onion, garlic, capsicum until tender, add the tofu turn a few times then add the tomatoes & chilli sauce. We had this on toast because I couldn't find any rice in the cupboard, but it was really yummy anyway! It took under 10 minutes from the time of the idea to sitting down to eat....just how we like it!

TOMS ON TOAST

TOMS ON TOAST

I was lucky enough to find a whole lot of different tomatoes at my local organic market - you can just use any fresh tomatoes. Toast some delicious whole grain bread, top with cottage cheese & tomatoes, salt pepper and a dash of olive oil - add some fresh herbs (I used basil). Lunch is served.

Flat Spinach Pie

FLAT SPINACH PIE LUNCH

Make up some home made pastry - or use store bought

Fry up onions, spinach, garlic and herbs, salt & pepper

Mix in some cottage cheese

Spread over pastry, fold in to a nice pocket and bake

Serve with a delicious fresh salad.