cauliflower paella

Serves 4

Ingredients

onion, diced

red capsicum, diced

3 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 cauliflower, diced in food processor

3 garlic cloves, crushed

3 teaspoons smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3/4 cup hot filtered water

1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt

bay leaf

cracked black pepper

1/2 cup artichokes, diced

400g tin diced tomato

1/4 cup olives, sliced

juice of 1 lime

parsley, for garnish

Method

1. Saute onion in olive oil
2. Add capsicum and celery until softened
3. Add cauliflower and stir for 3 minutes
4. Add garlic, paprika, turmeric, cayenne pepper, water, bay leaf, salt, pepper, artichokes, tomato and olives
5. Bring to the boil, and reduce to a simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed
6. Serve with lime and parsley

Notes
A paella without rice?! Who knew cauliflower was such a great rice substitute. This vegetable-packed meal tastes even better the next day! I love to heat it up in the oven to caramelise it further until the top is slightly crunchy.

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!

sausage, vegetable + bean stew

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 packet (approximately 8) pork sausages

onion, diced

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks

2 potatoes, cut into 2cm chunks

1 teaspoon ground cumin

400g tin cannellini beans

500ml chicken stock

1 cup hot water

1 bay leaf

2 cups butternut pumpkin, cut into 2cm chunks

2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

cracked black pepper

Method

1. Cook sausages and set aside
2. In a large pot, saute onions in olive oil
3. Add garlic, carrots, potatoes, cumin, beans, stock, water and bay leaf; and bring to the boil
4. Reduce to a simmer; then add pumpkin, sausages and parsley
5. Cook until vegetables are tender and season with black pepper
6. Remove bay leaf before serving and garnish with extra parsley

Notes
If you have a large dutch oven, you can cook the sausages in it and use it for the remainder of the recipe, which will incorporate the flavours from the cooked sausages into the dish. It also makes this a one-pot-wonder!

popcorn cacao squares

Makes approximately 12 squares

Ingredients

8 pitted medjool dates

1/2 cup finely desiccated coconut

3/4 cup raw organic cacao powder

3/4 cup coconut oil

2 teaspoons honey

2 cups organic popcorn with salt

Method

1. Finely chop dates and then blend into a smooth paste
2. Over a low heat combine dates, desiccated coconut, cacao powder, coconut oil and honey
3. Take mixture off the heat and stir through popcorn
4. Spread into a slice tin and set in the freezer for 20 minutes
5. Remove from freezer and cut into desired squares

Notes
This sweet snack not only tastes good, but is packed full of flavonoids which act as natural antioxidants!

roast pumpkin + cranberries with red quinoa

Serves 4

Poppy cooks...

1. Cook
   1 cup red quinoa with
   3 cups of filtered water in a rice cooker or on the cooktop.
   
   
2. Preheat oven to 180°C.
   
   
3. On a baking tray, combine
   2.5 cups pumpkin, diced,
   1/2 red onion, finely diced and
   2 cloves garlic, minced,
   olive oil (enough to coat vegetables),
   2 teaspoons manuka honey,
   generous pinch of celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper,1/8 teaspoon ground ginger and
   1/8 teaspoon curry powder.
   
   

   

   
   Preparing ingredients in the roasting tray
   

   
   

4. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin and garlic are golden.
   
   
5. To serve, combine roasted ingredients with the cooked quinoa,
   1/2 cup dried cranberries and
   2 tablespoons parsley, chopped.

blueberry, lime + coconut cake

Serves 10

Dry ingredients

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon coconut sugar

Wet ingredients

4 free-range eggs

3 tablespoons nuttelex, melted

juice + zest of 1 lime

zest of 1/2 lemon

6 tablespoons coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

punnet (1/2 cup) blueberries

Glaze ingredients

1/4 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

30ml coconut cream

Pinch of celtic sea salt

25ml honey

15ml lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. In a bowl combine dry ingredients
3. In a separate bowl mix wet ingredients, excluding blueberries
4. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients using a spatula
5. Combine blueberries into mixture
6. Spoon mixture into a cake tin and bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean
7. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving
8. On low heat, combine glaze ingredients until smooth
9. Cool glaze in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before spreading over cake

Notes
This is a delightfully light and fluffy cake, due to the use of coconut flour. Like most cake recipes, you can use this same mixture to make muffins - this recipe makes about 6 large muffins.

chicken risotto

Serves 4

Ingredients

500g chicken tenderloins, chopped into bite-size pieces

olive oil

celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper

onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 cups arborio rice

500ml chicken stock

1 cup hot water

tin of diced tomato

1 cup sliced green beans

2 tablespoons basil leaves, sliced

Method

1. Cook chicken in rice cooker with oil and seasoning. Remove and place in a separate bowl
2. Cook onion and garlic in rice cooker. Add additional oil if necessary
3. Add rice and toss to coat with oil
4. Add stock, water and tomato. Stir and cover with lid
5. When most of the liquid is absorbed (but before the rice cooker turns itself off) add beans and stir through
6. When the rice cooker turns itself off stir through chicken and basil leaves

Notes
If you don't have a rice cooker, the same method can be used on a cooktop or in the oven. If you don't have fresh green beans, frozen green beans work just as well, or even peas. Feel free to grate fresh parmesan cheese if you aren't avoiding dairy.

yoghurt chicken with a broccolini, beetroot + seed salad

Serves 4

Ingredients: chicken

1/4 cup coriander, finely chopped

1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

garlic clove, crushed

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

1 cup coconut yoghurt

500g free-range chicken tenderloins

Ingredients: salad

250g broccolini, diagonally cut into 5cm lengths

250g cooked beetroot, chopped

1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon pepitas

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

gluten-free soy sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper

small handful chives, chopped

Method

1. Combine chicken ingredients (except the chicken) in a bowl. Add chicken and thoroughly coat in mixture and allow to marinade for as long as you like
2. Blanch broccolini
3. Combine seeds in a bowl and mix together with a dash of soy sauce
4. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning
5. Serve broccolini and beetroot with seeds sprinkled and lemon dressing drizzled on top
6. Grill chicken on both sides until cooked

Notes
You can bulk up this meal with a small bowl of jasmine rice. Any leftovers can be turned into wraps for lunch the next day too!

potato + cauliflower hash

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 potatoes, diced

1/2 cauliflower, cut into small florets

40g (small handful) gluten-free spaghetti

onion, chopped

2 teaspoons mixed herbs

4 eggs

Method

1. Roast diced potatoes with olive oil, celtic sea salt and cracked black pepper for 40 minutes, or until crispy and golden
2. Blanch cauliflower until it begins to soften
3. Bring a small pot of water to the boil and cook spaghetti until al dente
4. In a large frying pan, cook onion until golden
5. Add cauliflower, spaghetti, roasted potato and mixed herbs.  Combine
6. Make 4 slight indents and crack an egg into each indent
7. Cover and cook until eggs are cooked to your preference (I like the yolk to still be runny)

Notes

This is a great dish on its own, or accompany with sausages or steak. My favourite sausages are Peppercorn's Extra Lean Chicken Sausages which have a fresh lime flavour, are gluten free and contain no artificial flavours or colours! I buy them from Farmer Jacks in  Claremont or Subiaco. Even the container is guilt-free being 100% biodegradable and compostable!

http://www.peppercornfood.com.au/Products/Sausage_Range/Extra_Lean_Chicken_Sausages.php

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.

beef hotpot

Serves 6

Ingredients

eggplant, cut into 2cm pieces

800g beef chuck steak, cut into 2cm pieces

2 onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 cup organic tomato paste (check there is no added sugar)

410g tin diced tomato

500ml chicken stock

celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper

5 carrots, cut into 2cm pieces

bunch chopped parsley

4 cups jasmine rice

Method

1. Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add eggplant and cook for 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate
2. Repeat process with beef in 4 batches to avoid stewing of the meat. Ensure pan is always hot
3. Add onion to pan and cook until golden
4. Stir through garlic and cook until soft
5. Add cumin, coriander and allspice and cook for 1 minute, or until aromatic
6. Stir through tomato paste for 1 minute, or until well combined
7. Add beef, diced tomato and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover and stir occasionally for 1 hour
8. Stir in carrots and cover for an additional 30 minutes or until carrots start to soften
9. Stir in eggplant and cook until beef, carrot and eggplant is tender. If there is a lot of liquid, remove the lid; otherwise, leave the lid on
10. Cook rice separately in a rice cooker
11. Stir through parsley before serving on steamed rice

Notes
This Egyptian spiced dish is a great hearty meal for the winter months.

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

cumin spiced chicken on a beetroot rice salad

Serves 4

Poppy cooks...

1. Cook
   2.5 cups of jasmine rice.
   
   
   
2. Boil
   300g beetroot.
   
   
   
3. Preheat oven to 180C.
   
   
   
4. Mix together
   4 tablespoons olive oil,
   2 tablespoon ground cumin,
   4 garlic cloves, minced,
   1/2 teaspoon of celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper and
   1kg chicken thigh, diced in a large baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. This can be done up to 24 hours ahead of time to marinade.
   
   
   
5. Once the rice is cooked, stir through
   2 spring onions, diagonally sliced,
   handful coriander, roughly chopped,
   2 mint leaves, roughly chopped and the beetroot, peeled and diced.
   
   
   
6. Make dressing by mixing together
   orange, juice + zest,
   1 tablespoon white wine vinegar,
   2.5 tablespoons olive oil,
   celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper, to taste. Stir through rice salad.
   
   
   
7. Serve salad with chicken on top.

vegetable + bean soup

Serves 4

Poppy cooks...

1. In a large soup pot, heat
   1 tablespoon coconut oil.
   
   
2. Add
   1 bunch kale, stems removed and torn,
   onion, diced,
   3 garlic cloves, crushed,
   carrot, diced,
   zucchini, diced,
   red capsicum, diced,
   1/4 cup coriander, chopped,
   1/4 cup parsley, chopped,
   1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds,
   1/2 teaspoon ground cumin and
   1/4 teaspoon ground paprika. Saute uncovered over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften.
   
   
3. Add
   2.5 cups filtered water and
   2 teaspoons celtic sea salt, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
   
   
4. Stir in
   2 400g tins of red kidney beans, drained and mashed and
   2 400g tins of black beans, rinsed. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occassionally for 10-15 minutes.
   
   
5. Serve with desired garnish such as cracked black pepper, pepitas, coriander and flax seed oil.

Notes

You can also serve with gluten-free bread or coconut yoghurt. The use of cumin is a great source of iron and was used traditionally to help relieve allergy symptoms, reduce heartburn and improve digestion.