cauliflower pizza base

Poppy cooks...

Makes 12 small or 2 large

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC.
   
   
2. Blitz
   500g cauliflower, roughly chopped for 5 sec/speed 4.5. You can also sneak in some broccoli with 400g cauliflower and 100g broccoli if you prefer.
   
   
3. Add
   2 eggs,
   75g buffalo mozzarella cheese, shredded, (or bio cheese for a dairy-free version)
   75g bio cheese, grated (or tasty cheese),
   celtic sea salt and cracked black pepper (optional) and mix 20 sec/speed 4.
   
   
4. Press into pizza base shape on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

In true toddler fashion, Ella loves the mini versions of these healthy pizza bases without any toppings. To be fair, the mini versions are much firmer and easier to eat. Depending on her mood, she'll have them topped with avocado, my home made chutney or ham and pineapple; but feel free to put anything you like on top. 

Sticky ribs

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Serves 2

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC.
   
   
2. Cut
   rack of pork ribs into individual ribs and place in a roasting dish (with a lid) lined with foil.
   
   
3. To make the marinade, place in a small pot
   1 teaspoon ginger, grated,
   clove of garlic, minced,
   75ml apple juice,
   50ml white wine vinegar,
   1.25 tablespoons tomato paste,
   2 teaspoons dijon mustard,
   50ml soy sauce and
   4 tablespoons manuka honey, whisking together over medium heat until sauce thickens (approximately 10-15 minutes).
   
   
4. Coat the ribs with marinade, put lid on and place in oven for 10 minutes.
   
   
5. Flip ribs over, place lid back on and in oven for another 10 minutes.
   
   
6. Remove from oven, turn ribs around, and place back in oven without lid for a further 5 minutes.
   
   
7. Flip ribs over, still without lid on and in oven for a final 5 minutes.
   
   
8. We serve these with rice and stir fried greens to make a whole meal.

cranberry sauce

Makes 1 large jar

Poppy cooks...

1. Place
   500g cranberries,
   2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and finely diced,
   150g coconut sugar,
   1 cinnamon stick and
   splash of filtered water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil.
   
   
2. Reduce to a simmer and continue to simmer until the apple softens and the sauce boils down to the desired consistency.
   
   
3. Allow to cool and serve, or pop in a jar to store in the fridge for later.

In the pot, ready to cook

I store my cranberry sauce in a jar in the fridge and it lasts seemingly forever, but maybe that's because we go through it so quickly! A great home made version that you can make well before Christmas dinner

Scooped up into a fancy secondhand glass bowl ready for Christmas dinner (or any meal!)

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spinach + ricotta cannelloni

Serves 4-6

Poppy cooks...

1. Place
   360-400g spinach and
   olive oil in a large pot with the lid on over low heat, stirring occasionally until spinach has cooked down. Set aside in a bowl to cool.
   
   
2. Place
   onion, diced in same pot with
   olive oil until onion softens.
   
   
3. Add
   2x 400g tins of diced tomatoes,
   2 cloves garlic, minced,
   bay leaf,
   15g basil and
   zest of 1/2 lemon and bring to a simmer for about 20 minutes.
   
   
4. Squeeze liquid out of spinach, chop, then return to liquid in bowl. Add
   egg, beaten,
   2 teaspoons parmesan cheese, grated,
   250g ricotta.
   
   
5. Preheat oven to 180ºC.
   
   
6. Place
   250g gluten-free cannelloni (approximately 18 tubes) in an oven proof dish and then fill the tubes with the spinach mixture.
   
   
7. Cover the cannelloni with the tomato sauce mixture and slice
   250g mozzarella balls and place on top.
   
   
8. Place in the oven for 40 minutes.

frittata

Serves 24

A great easy dish to get a decent serve of vegetables into your (or your child's) diet. Whilst this is a Thermomix recipe, a food processor would do exactly the same job.

Poppy cooks...

1. Preheat oven to 170ºC and either line two small slice trays with baking paper, or oil two pie dishes (or one of each!).
   
   
2. Place
   onion, chopped and
   2 cloves of garlic, peeled in mixing bowl and chop 3 seconds / speed 7.
   
   
3. Scrape down bowl, add
   splash olive oil and saute 2 minutes / varoma / speed 2.
   
   
4. Add
   2 carrots, chopped,
   zucchini, chopped,
   small sweet potato and chop 5 seconds / speed 5.
   
   
5. Add
   400g corn kernels,
   100g bio cheese, grated,
   1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard,
   180g gluten free self raising flour,
   6 eggs,
   1 teaspoon baking powder,
   celtic sea salt and cracked black pepper and mix 20 seconds / reverse / speed 4.
   
   
6. Pour mixture into slice tins or pie dishes.
   
   
7. Sprinkle
   pepitas and
   sunflower seeds over the top.
   
   
8. Place in oven for 50 minutes or until golden brown.

mushroom + cauliflower penne

Serves 2-3

Poppy cooks...

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil.
   
   
2. In the meantime, saute
   3 cloves garlic, finely sliced,
   15g thyme in
   1 tablespoon olive oil until golden.
   
   
3. Add
   300g mushrooms, sliced and
   350g cauliflower, riced (i.e. pulsed in a food processor until it turns into fluffy rice), cover with a lid and cook until softened for about 10 minutes.
   
   
4. By this point, the large pot of water should be boiling. Add
   250g brown rice penne and cook according to instructions.
   
   
5. Stir into the mixture
   120g ricotta,
   1 teaspoon celtic sea salt and
   1/2 lemon, juiced.
   
   
6. Drain penne and add to mixture with
   25g parmesan cheese and
   15g flat-leaf parsley, chopped.
   
   
7. Serve with a little extra celtic sea salt, lemon juice, grated parmesan and/or parsley to taste.

shepherd's pie (lamb + sweet potato)

Serves 4

Poppy cooks...

1. Saute
   onion, finely diced in
   ghee until translucent.
   
   
2. Add
   2 garlic cloves, minced,
   2 bay leaves,
   2 carrots, finely diced and
   4 celery stalks, finely diced; cooking until soft.
   
   
3. Add
   2 tablespoon tomato paste; cooking for 5 minutes.
   
   
4. Add
   600g lamb mince (you can also use turkey mince which is just as delicious and a little less fatty too),
   2 sprigs rosemary and
   8 mushrooms, diced until mince browns.
   
   
5. Sprinkle
   2 tablespoon buckwheat flour and stir through.
   
   
6. Add
   1/2 cup vegetable stock and
   1 tablespoon tamari sauce and
   cracked black pepper until sauce thickens.
   
   
7. To make mash, boil
   1kg sweet potatoes, diced in a large pot until soft, drain and mash.
   
   
8. To make crumb, blend
   1/4 cup sunflower seeds,
   1/4 cup pepitas,
   small handful parsley and
   1.5 tablespoons olive oil.
   
   
9. In individual ramekins or a large dish, serve filling, cover with mash and sprinkle seed crumb on top. Place under a grill for 5-10 minutes or until topping is slightly browned.