kitchen scale

I am in love with my new kitchen scale - a retro styled Anna Gare Lucy Mechanical Scale 5kg/20g in the vintage white and blue colour.

I am quite a lucky girl when it comes to kitchenware as my mum works in the kitchenware section of David Jones (for those of you not in Australia, David Jones is one of the large department stores here). I had been researching all the different types of kitchen scales, both digital and mechanical, trying to evaluate the best functioning and most aesthecially pleasing product.

My mum soon informed me that some digital scales are "designed" to last a specific amount of time. My best gauge of whether to buy a product, is to ask my mum how often that product gets returned in their store. As it turns out, digital scales are returned more often than mechanical scales. In addition, mechanical scales are cheaper than digital scales - or at least cheaper than the ones worth buying as I hear the really cheaper digital ones aren't very good. I purchased this Anna Gare one for $49.95.

It now sits in my kitchen, performing its task as would be expected, whilst looking pretty. Highly recommended!

pork + pineapple salad

Serves 4

Poppy cooks...

1. Cook
   2 cups brown basmati rice and leave to cool (best to cook rice earlier in day or night before).
   
   
2. In a large frying pan, saute
   shallot, finely sliced, 
   2 cups red or green cabbage, shredded and
   1/4 pineapple, cut into pieces in
   olive oil until onion is slightly browned.
   
   
3. Add cold rice,
   punnet cherry tomatoes, halved and season with
   gluten free soy sauce and
   cracked black pepper to taste. Toss for 3 minutes and set aside.
   
   
4. Season
   pork fillet with
   celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper and cook in frying pan.
   
   
5. Slice pork and serve on bed of fried rice.

pumpkin soup

At Poppy Loves Pear, we are not only about tasty and healthy food, but also easy food. We live in an age where everyone is time poor, so we need to work smart as much as working hard.

I love pumpkin soup, and stumbled across this La Zuppa Roasted Pumpkin soup which has no nasties in it and tastes beautiful. I could make pumpkin soup myself, but this product saves me the time and mess. Simply pour into a saucepan and bring to the boil on the stovetop and it is done!

As the label says, it has no artificial additives, is gluten free and dairy free. The ingredients list is simply: water, 38% pumpkin, potato, onion and salt. It is fast food, but it is healthy and tasty fast food. It is a great pantry staple to draw upon for those stressful days when cooking is the last thing you have the head-space to do.

I find this to be a great lunch time meal when I have no time to cook. It serves 2, and I usually accompany it with 2 slices of toasted gluten-free bread (I will give you my top tips for gluten-free bread in another blog post) and with cracked black pepper and pepitas sprinkled on top.

I buy La Zuppa from Farmer Jacks in Claremont or Subiaco. Here is the La Zuppa website for more information: http://lazuppa.com.au

quick spaghetti

Similar to my previous post on gluten-free pizza, gluten-free pasta is a great pantry staple that you can whip up very easily and quickly for lunch, or for dinner when you don't feel like cooking anything too labour intensive.

Pictured is some gluten free spaghetti with asparagus, semi-dried tomatoes and seaweed sprinkled on top.

After boiling your pasta, you can add anything that is in your fridge and pantry: tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, any vegetables in your fridge or freezer, tinned tuna or salmon, fresh or dried herbs etc.

tofu paella

Serves 6

Poppy cooks…

1. Add1 tablespoon coconut oil and
   onion, diced to a rice cooker and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.
   
   
2. Stir through
   red capsicum, diced for a further 3 minutes.
   
   
3. Add
   2 garlic cloves, minced,
   2 cups arborio rice,
   500ml vegetable stock,
   1.5 cups hot water,
   tin of diced tomato,
   1/4 teaspoon saffron,
   1 teaspoon dried thyme,
   1 teaspoon sweet paprika,
   1 teaspoon celtic sea salt and
   1 teaspoon cracked black pepper, stirring occasionally until rice cooker has finished cooking.
   
   
4. Stir through
   1 cup peas and
   350g silken tofu, chopped and leave in the rice cooker to warm through before serving.

Notes
Some rice cookers need a certain weight before they will turn on - simply apply a bit of pressure to the bowl if your rice cooker won't turn on with just the onion in it to begin with. My easy rice cooker version can also be replicated in a large pan. If preferred, firm tofu can be used by cutting into cubes and frying off prior to the method described above.

kale + tomato spaghetti

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 packet gluten-free spaghetti

2 tablespoons olive oil

red onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bunch kale, chopped

1 packet cherry tomatoes, halved

pepitas

Method

1. Bring 2 litres of water to the boil in a large pot. Add gluten free spaghetti and gently stir to prevent spaghetti sticking together
2. Remove from the heat once spaghetti is al dente and drain water
3. In a non-stick frying pan, heat oil
4. Add onion and garlic and stir until brown
5. Add kale and toss until wilted
6. Add tomatoes and toss until softened
7. Add kale mixture to spaghetti, combine and serve with pepitas on top

Notes
Feel free to grate some parmesan cheese on top to serve as pictured above if you are not following a dairy free diet

oven roasted chickpeas

Serves 1-6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon coconut oil

400g can of organic chickpeas

1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt

OPTIONS:

pepper

1/4 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon coconut sugar

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C
2. Place coconut oil in a medium or large sized baking dish. If necessary, place in oven until coconut oil is melted
3. Rinse and drain chickpeas and soak up extra moisture with a kitchen towel
4. Place chickpeas in baking dish with coconut oil
5. Toss through chosen seasoning and spices
6. Back in the oven for 30 minutes or until they start popping and are crunchy

Notes
This is a great guilt-free protein packed snack! It is a good idea to bake them in a deep dish rather than on a baking tray, as when they pop they can make a mess of your oven

vegetarian nasi goreng

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 cup rice

4 eggs

2 red onions

2 red chillies

3 cloves of garlic

1 red capsicum

1 carrot

2 spring onions, sliced diagonally

coriander

Method

1. Cook rice in advance and stand to cool
2. Scramble eggs and set aside
3. Add one onion, half a chilli & garlic to a food processor to make a paste
4. Heat oil in a wok and fry paste for 3 minutes or until fragrant
5. Add thinly sliced onion, red chillies, yellow capsicum & carrot for another 3 minutes
6. Stir through rice, eggs and season with celtic sea salt & pepper
7. Toss through spring onions and coriander

Notes
This dish, as well as any other fried rice dishes, work best with left over rice or rice that has been cooked in advance and allowed to cool.

moroccan lamb soup

Serves 4

An excellent winter warmer that is hearty and filling. Feel free to accompany with gluten-free bread or make your own toasted gluten-free herb bread.

Poppy cooks…

1. Boil
   1/2 cup quinoa in
   1 cup of hot filtered water until all the water is absorbed and then set aside.
   
   
2. In a large pot over medium heat, place
   2 tablespoons coconut oil,
   2 cloves garlic, minced,
   1/2 teaspoon ground coriander,
   1.5 teaspoons ground cumin and
   3/4 teaspoon turmeric. Stir for 1-2 minutes.
   
   
3. Add 2 lamb shanks and toss to coat with spices until lightly browned on all sides.
   
   
4. Add
   2 purple carrots, sliced,
   2 orange carrots, sliced, 
   1/2 red capsicum, diced,
   1 cup pumpkin, diced,
   400g tin diced tomatoes,
   500ml gluten-free vegetable stock,
   celtic sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste and bring to the boil.
   
   
5. Add
   1 cup hot filtered water, reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 2.5 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Add more water if required.
   
   
6. Remove shanks, shred meat and add back to the pot.
   
   
7. Add quinoa into the pot and stir through.

chocolate + strawberry cake

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 tablespoons gluten free self raising flour

4 tablespoons coconut sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

3 tablespoons rice milk

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 egg

punnet strawberries

coconut ice cream

Method

1. Combine all ingredients (except strawberries and ice cream) and whisk well with a fork
2. Cut strawberries into bite-size pieces and add
3. Pour into a mini cake tin, small oven-proof bowl or 2 ramekins (or you can mix it in the bowl you plan to cook it in)
4. Bake in a fan forced oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes
5. Serve with your choice of coconut ice cream and strawberries

Notes
You can double, triple or quadruple this recipe to make a larger cake. I like being able to make a single serve cake for my husband and I for a one-off bit of indulgence. You can also cook this cake in the microwave by cooking on high for 1.5 - 3 minutes. Pictured below is an organic coconut ice cream I have come across called Coco Luscious...

pumpkin + fish risotto

Serves 5

Poppy cooks...

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC.
   
   
2. Dice
   butternut pumpkin into 1cm squares, place in a baking tray and coat with
   olive oil and bake until the pumpkin starts to get a little colour.
   
   
3. In the meantime, heat
   3 tablespoons coconut oil in a cast iron casserole dish.
   
   
4. Add
   onion, diced and
   2 cups arborio rice, tossing to coat in coconut oil.
   
   
5. Add
   5 cups filtered water and
   2 teaspoons celtic sea salt.
   
   
6. Once half the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, stir through
   6 mushrooms, sliced,
   handful spinach, sliced,
   2 white fish fillets, chopped.
   
   
7. Occasionally stir the risotto, and when all the liquid is absorbed, add
   3 tablespoons parsley, chopped and roasted pumpkin.
   
   
8. Serve risotto into bowls topped with a sprinkle of 
   chia seeds,
   crispy bacon and
   parmesan cheese.

kaffir lime chicken with cucumber + mango salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups jasmine rice

16 kaffir lime leaves, centre vein removed, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

60ml (1/3 cup) lime juice (or juice from 1 fresh lime)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 lebanese cucumbers, halved lengthways, thinly sliced diagonally

mango, sliced

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup coriander

160ml (2/3 cup) coconut cream

500g chicken tenderloins, chopped (or pork)

Preparing the salad

Method

1. Cook rice
2. Combine 16 lime leaves, garlic, lime juice & oil in mixing bowl. Add chicken, coat, cover & place in fridge to marinade for 4-6 hours
3. Place cucumber, mango, onion & coriander in large bowl to make salad & toss
4. Drain chicken and cook in a non-stick frying pan
5. Serve rice, top with salad & chicken, and spoon over coconut cream to serve

The finished product!

Notes
Kaffir lime leaves can be quite hard to cut, so feel free to use kitchen scissors instead!