asian fusion salad

Serves 4

Poppy cooks…

1. In a small pot bring to the boil
   3/4 cup quinoa in
   1.5 cups hot filtered water and simmer until liquid is absorbed.
   
   
2. In a salad bowl, place the quinoa with
   3/4 cup shelled edamame beans,
   red capsicum, diced,
   carrot, peeled into ribbons or grated,
   1 cup pineapple, cut into bite size pieces,
   1.5 cups purple cabbage, finely shredded and mix together.
   
   
3. In a small bowl, whisk together
   juice of 1/4 lime,
   1.5 tablespoons tamari sauce,
   tablespoon agave syrup and
   2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar.
   
   
4. Add dressing to salad and mix together.
   
   
5. Garnish with
   teaspoon sesame seeds.

cherry ripe tart

Serves 12

This raw tart is so easy to make and is super healthy. You can use both cherries or raspberries - or a mixture of both - though I prefer just frozen raspberries. Even if you use just raspberries, it still tastes like a Cherry Ripe! If you want to make it even more chocolate-ee, add 1 tablespoon of cacao powder to the base mixture when combining the ingredients in the food processor.

Poppy bakes…

1. Soak
   13 medjool dates in warm water for at least half an hour.
   
   
2. Pit the dates, then combine in a food processor with
   2 cups desiccated coconut.
   
   
3. Press the mixture into a 25cm tart dish and place in the freezer to set.
   
   
4. For the filling, in a food processor, combine
   2 avocados,
   7 tablespoons cacao powder,
   6 tablespoons coconut oil and
   2 cups of medjool dates, pitted.
   
   
5. Add
   2 cups of cherries / raspberries (fresh or frozen) to the filling mixture. Blend for as long as you like, dependent on how chunky or smooth you want the filling mixture to be.
   
   
6. Spoon the filling mixture in to the base and set in the freezer.
   
7. You can garnish with extra cherries / raspberries, and be sure to store in the freezer until ready to eat.

egg + beetroot open sandwich

Serves 4

Whenever cooking with beetroot, I like to buy "Love Beets" beetroot which is already cooked and peeled into 250g portions. There are no preservatives, just 100% real beetroot, but it saves a lot of time and mess!

This recipe is great for lunch, or you can use smaller squares of toasted bread to make an interesting canapé when entertaining. You can even ditch the bread all together for a straight up salad.

Speaking of gluten free bread, my favourite so far is Lifestyle Bakery's Soft 'n Light Chia + Quinoa Bread - it is packed full of goodness and super tasty. As the name alludes to, it is light and fluffy unlike many other gluten free breads which are either really dense and strangely sweet in an attempt to disguise the bland taste with sweeteners.

Poppy cooks…

1. In a medium bowl, combine
   250g beetroot, cooked, peeled and diced,
   5 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped,
   zest of 1/2 an orange,
   1 teaspoon ground cumin,
   3 tablespoons Norganic mayonnaise,
   1 tablespoons coriander, chopped and
   1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt.
   
   
2. Serve on toasted
   gluten free bread.

caramelised onion + cauliflower

Serves 2-4

This dish goes really well with a good cut of fillet steak. If you aren't serving it with anything else except a protein, it is enough for 2 people; but as a side to accompany other dishes, it can serve 4. For a vegetarian or lighter option, try serving it with brown rice or quinoa.

Poppy cooks…

1. Cut
   cauliflower into florets and place on a baking tray.
   
   
2. Preheat oven to 210˚C.
   
   
3. Toss cauliflower with
   olive oil and
   celtic sea salt and cracked black pepper. Place in oven for 45 minutes.
   
   
4. Saute
   2 onions, sliced with
   1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar until caramelised.
   
   
5. Combine onion with cauliflower and serve.

fake fried rice with fake honey chicken

Serves 4

I was amazed when I first cooked this dish as it immediately reminded me of being a child because it tasted exactly like my mother's cooking. Without compromising on taste, this version of fried rice with sticky honey chicken is so much healthier than the traditional version - you have to try it to believe it!

Poppy cooks…

1. In a large pot combine
   1/4 cup apple cider vinegar,
   1/4 cup coconut amino sauce,
   2 cloves garlic, minced,
   1.5 teaspoons manuka honey,
   4 black peppercorns and
   2 bay leaves.
   
   
2. Add
   500g chicken thighs to the pot and add enough 
   chicken stock until the chicken is submerged. Place in the fridge to marinade for at least 3 hours.
   
   
3. Whilst the chicken is marinading, cook the fried rice. Begin by scrambling
   4 eggs with a pinch of
   celtic sea salt and pepper, then set aside.
   
   
4. In a wok or large frying pan on high heat, sauté an
   onion, diced,
   4 cloves garlic, minced and
   2 carrots, peeled and diced until onion is golden and carrots are softened, then set aside.
   
   
5. Pulse
   1/2 cauliflower in a food processor until it resembles rice. Then sauté in work with oil until the cauliflower browns slightly.
   
   
6. Add carrot mixture back into the wok, along with
   2 tablespoons coconut amino sauce and
   1/4 teaspoon tamari sauce.
   
   
7. Then add
   1/2 cup frozen peas and stir until peas are cooked, then set aside and keep warm while you cook the chicken.
   
   
8. Place the pot with the marinaded chicken on high heat to bring it to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pot.
   
   
9. Reduce the remaining sauce until it forms a thick and sticky consistency, then add the chicken back in to heat up before serving.
   
   
10. Just before serving, combine the scrambled egg into the fried rice.

strawberry + avocado salad

Serves 4

Poppy cooks…

1. To make the dressing, in a small pot combine
   125g strawberries, chopped,
   1/4 teaspoon coconut sugar,
   small pinch of celtic sea salt and
   1/2 teaspoon filtered water on low heat until the strawberries soften and release their juices.
   
2. Use a stick blender to liquify the mixture.
   
   
3. Stir through
   2 teaspoons olive oil,
   1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar and
   1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds, and then place in the fridge to cool.
   
   
4. In a salad bowl, add
   bag of mesclun,
   avocado, peeled and cut into chunks and
   125g strawberries, cut into chunks.
   
   
5. When ready to serve, drizzle strawberry dressing over the salad.

roast pumpkin risotto

Serves 4

This is somewhat of a cheat's risotto using a rice cooker that doesn't compromise on taste but is a lot easier and quicker than cooking it on the cooktop or in the oven - but if you don't have a rice cooker, feel free to cook this recipe the traditional way by slowly adding 1 cup of hot stock to the risotto at a time until it is absorbed. You will also need twice as much stock if cooking with this method.

Poppy cooks…

1. Preheat oven to 200˚C.
   
   
2. Place
   500g butternut pumpkin, diced on a baking tray. Coat with
   olive oil and
   celtic sea salt and cracked black pepper. Bake for 40 minutes or until slightly caramelised.
   
   
3. Turn on your rice cooker and sauté an
   onion, diced and
   4 cloves garlic, minced.
   
   
4. Add
   1/2 teaspoon curry powder,
   1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg,
   1.5 cups arborio rice and stir to mix.
   
   
5. Stir in
   1 cup white wine and leave for a few minutes.
   
   
6. Then add
   500ml vegetable stock.
   
   
7. When the rice cooker has finished cooking the risotto, and the pumpkin is roasted, add the pumpkin to the rice and stir through.
   
   
8. Serve risotto with
   pepitas,
   parsley, chopped and
   dried cranberries.

mongolian beef

Serves 2

Poppy cooks…

1. Cook
   1 cup jasmine rice in a rice cooker with
   bunch of asian greens in the steamer tray on top.
   
   
2. In a frying pan saute
   4 cloves garlic, minced,
   3/4 teaspoon dried ginger and
   1/8 teaspoon dried chilli flakes.
   
   
3. Add
   3 tablespoons coconut aminos,
   1 teaspoon chicken stock paste (or 3 tablespoons chicken stock) and
   1.5 tablespoons manuka honey stirring frequently until the honey dissolves and the sauce thickens slightly.
   
   
4. Add
   500g stir fry beef and toss until cooked.
   
   
5. Stir through
   3 spring onions, sliced diagonally and serve on steamed rice with steamed greens to the side.

lamb, rosemary + orange cassoulet

Serves 4

This is my first recipe using certified pure therapeutic grade essential oils in cooking. My naturopath introduced me to dōTERRA and I have been blown away by the power of these essential oils in all areas of holistic health. I will have to write more about them another time, but this recipe uses dōTERRA's lavender oil which you can substitute with fresh or dried lavender.

Poppy cooks…

1. In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat up some
   olive oil and brown
   700g lamb, diced with
   celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper.
   
   
2. Add
   onion, diced,
   3 carrots, chopped,
   3 celery sticks, chopped and cook for 5 minutes.
   
   
3. Add
   3 garlic cloves, minced,
   orange zest and juice,
   2 sprigs rosemary,
   1 drop of dōTERRA lavender oil,
   2 cups pinot noir,
   2 cups chicken stock and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, covered for 2 hours (or up to 5 hours if you have the time to make the lamb meat really tender), stirring occasionally. If the dish starts looking dry, add more stock; or if there is too much liquid, remove the lid.
   
   
4. Before serving add
   1 tin cannellini beans and stir through.

give a dog a bone

Poppy eats…

Poppy has always had a love-hate relationship with food. After seeing a holistic vet, we have learned that her appetite is closely linked with her emotional state and past experiences relating to food.

In a nutshell, she has a history of being a fussy eater but we are so glad to have found an alternative and holistic vet practitioner who has been able to help her. 

Following our previous post on ZiwiPeak food, I thought we would this time talk about Poppy's relationship with dog bones and her teeth.

Poppy has never liked Dentastix or other types of dental bones. Because of this, last year we spent close to $600 on a good scale + clean at her old vet (for many reasons we have decided to stop seeing this vet, which I will talk more about another time).

We were then recommended to try sun dried kangaroo bones and have never looked back! We think that because they are sun dried, they have bits of jerky effectively left on the bone, that Poppy finds a lot tastier. They are a good size for her too, as lamb shanks were too big and anything smaller ran the risk of splintering. Compared to products like Dentastix, there are no grains, fillers or preservatives either.

So, if you have a fussy dog, we highly recommend these "Triple side brush teeth cleaners" of organic, and raw, human grade kangaroo!

Poppy now has sparkling teeth and loves her weekly chomp on some kangaroo - how aussie for the dog from Belfast.

mápó dòufu

Serves 4

Poppy cooks…

1. Cook
   2 cups brown basmati rice.
   
   
2. Before putting on the heat, in a wok combine
   1 egg, lightly beaten,
   1 tablespoon cornflour,
   1/2 teaspoon ground five spice,
   1 tablespoon spring onion, finely chopped,
   1/2 teaspoon coconut sugar,
   1/4 teaspoon olive oil and
   1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt.
   
   
3. Add in
   500g free range pork mince, mixing to coat pork in marinade; then cook pork mixture on a high heat.
   
   
4. Add
   red capsicum, finely diced,
   handful green beans, finely chopped,
   1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes,
   1 tablespoon garlic, minced,
   1 tablespoon ginger, minced,
   2.5 teaspoons coconut sugar and combine.
   
   
5. Add
   1 cup chicken stock,
   2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce and
   2 tablespoons coconut amino sauce, reducing the heat if it starts to spit.
   
   
6. In a small dish, dissolve
   2 teaspoons cornflour in
   2 teaspoons filtered water and add to the pot and stir through.
   
   
7. Add
   4 spring onions, finely sliced, and
   2 packets of firm tofu, cubed until most (but not all) of the liquid is absorbed.
   
   
8. Serve on cooked rice with extra
   spring onions, sliced on top.

beetroot + apple salad

Serves 2

Poppy cooks…

1. In a bowl combine
   250g beetroot, cooked, peeled and diced,
   granny smith apple, cored and diced,
   1/2 bunch chives, chopped and
   4 tablespoons mayonnaise (such as Norganic).
   
   
2. Garnish with additional chopped chives.

osso bucco

Serves 4

Poppy cooks…

1. Heat
   olive oil in a large pan / french oven and brown
   4 osso bucco cuts on each side, and then set aside.
   
   
2. Saute
   2 carrots, finely chopped and
   3 celery sticks, finely chopped in olive oil for 2 minutes.
   
   
3. Place osso bucco on top of vegetables in a single layer.
   
   
4. In a separate bowl combine
   1 cup dry white wine,
   410g tin diced tomato,
   1 tablespoon tomato puree,
   celtic sea salt and cracked black pepper.
   
   
5. Pour over osso bucco - if the meat is not covered, add extra wine until it is submerged in liquid.
   
   
6. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and leave covered for 1 hour.
   
   
7. Remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the meet is falling off the bone.
   
   
8. Cook
   2 cups rice.
   
   
9. To make the gremolata, combine
   zest of 1 lemon,
   2 tablespoons parsley, chopped and
   garlic clove, minced.
   
   
10. Serve rice, topped with vegetables, osso bucco and sprinkled with gremolata.