Mixed Vegetable Soup

Category: Entrees/Mains, Recipes, Savouries

I had a ball Friday night making this soup from scratch. I basically just added and added and came up with something awesome… I think so anyway! Heh.

Vegetable Soup

Ingredients (makes about 3-4 litres of soup, can be re-heated)

  • 2 x 400g cans of roma diced tomatoes
  • 1 x 400g can of red kidney beans
  • 1 large eggplant
  • 2 large carrots
  • 200g cup mushrooms
  • 200g kalamata olives
  • A teaspoon of crushed garlic
  • Small handful of rosemary leaves
  • Small handful of dill tips
  • Tablespoon of dried basil
  • A dash of sweet white wine
  • A dash of extra virgin olive oil
  • 750ml vegetable stock
  • 250ml beef stock
  • All-purpose seasoning (Masterfoods brand is good)
  • Salt
Method
  1. Drain the red kidney beans, and rinse in cool water.
  2. Place beans and diced tomatoes in a large pot, and bring to the boil whilst adding the rosemary leaves and dill tips. Season generously with all-purpose seasoning.
  3. Bring heat of pot down to low and cover. Let sit, stirring occasionally whilst you dice the eggplant, carrots (peeled) and the mushrooms.
  4. Place the carrots in the pot and mix. Let sit, stirring occasionally.
  5. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan.
  6. Fry the eggplant, seasoning with a generous amount of all-purpose seasoning.
  7. When eggplant is browned, remove from heat, add to the pot and mix. Let sit, stirring occasionally.
  8. Add a little more oil to the pan. Fry the mushrooms, seasoning with a generous amount of all-purpose seasoning.
  9. Add garlic and wine to the pan and stir to mix with the mushrooms.
  10. When mushrooms are browned, remove from heat, add to the pot and mix. Let sit, stirring occasionally.
  11. Add dried basil to the pot and bring to the boil.
  12. Remove pot from heat, and process the mixture in a blender with the olives. Add the stock slowly to help the mixture blend into a chunky soup.
  13. Return the soup to the pot to reheat, bringing it to the boil. Add salt to taste.
  14. Serve, with rice crackers if desired.

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October 24th, 2010
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Mandarin, hazelnut, almond and coconut cake

Category: Sweets

I modified this awesome gluten-free cake recipe and made a similar one with mandarins, hazelnut meal & coconut. Mandarins instead of the oranges. Easy, too! My hubby is yet to try it… hopefully he’ll like it :D I sure do!

Mandarin cake

Ingredients

  • Light olive oil spray
  • 3 mandarins (unpeeled, sweet is good)
  • 7 medium size eggs (or equiv.)
  • 3/4 cup caster sugar
  • 300g hazelnut meal
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • Small handful of silvered almonds
  • Extra caster sugar for dusting before baking
Method
  1. Put mandarins in zip lock bags in microwave. Heat for 10 minutes on high.
  2. Preheat oven to 180°C on ‘fan-forced’ setting. Spray a cake tin with light coating of olive oil, line with baking paper, spray again.
  3. Let mandarins cool, then cut up, discarding seeds and pith. Put remaining fruit and skin in a blender, and blend until fairly smooth. Leave the mixture in the blender for now.
  4. Combine eggs and sugar in a bowl, whisking until blended.
  5. Place egg mixture, hazelnut meal, baking powder and coconut flakes into blender with mandarin. Blend until fairly smooth.
  6. Pour mixture into pre-lined baking tin, and sprinkle almonds over evenly and a little caster sugar.
  7. Bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  8. Let cool, then serve.

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September 30th, 2010
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Retagged all recipes regarding gluten

Category: Personal

Hey!

Another quick post before I get back to recipes, I’ve tagged all my recipes (and will from now on) either gluten free or not gluten free, for those looking. :-)

~ Julieanne

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September 30th, 2010
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Well, this is a change! I’m gluten intolerant!

Category: Personal

Hey readers :-)

Well, the tone of this blog is going to change a little from now on!

After 6 months of chest pain (Costochondritis) and a myriad of other symptoms, I’ve discovered that I’m gluten intolerant! It was purely luck how I discovered this too… this lovely lady on Twitter happen to mention that costochondritis and gluten intolerance were related for her. Bazinga! :P

Not only am I much healthier now I’ve gone gluten free, my eyes have been completely opened to the world of food intolerances and catering for these. And it’s nowhere near as hard as I first thought I’d be.

At first, being a lover of food of all kinds, I was pretty depressed coming to the realization I’d have to be a whole lot more careful with my food intake. But it’s actually not that hard to be gluten free here in Oz, as by law, if something has a gluten-containing ingredient it in, it needs to be labeled. The most common one used in things is wheat, which is not only in bread & pasta, but also some thickeners, soy sauce, etc.

Whilst I realise there are a lot of gluten-containing foods, there are also a lot that are gluten free by nature (or by processing). Rice, polenta, corn, potatoes, fruit, beans, yoghurt, most chocolates, etc., etc., etc. If you’d like to read more about it, check out this link about coeliacs, and foods with and without gluten.

I should note, however, I’m not coeliac, just gluten intolerant. Being coeliac is a bit of a different boat, and my blood test before going gluten free were negative for being coeliac. But I am, at this stage, following the same diet a coeliac has to; no gluten at all. I may discover later though that I can handle some gluten, say in thickeners, but not until I work through things with my dietitian over time.

Anyway, I just want to say thank you for those who were awesome and very caring and supportive, my family and friends, whilst I suffered through the chest pain this year. I’m so glad I have the answer!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for gluten free recipes from now on (to be enjoyed by all, not just me :-P).

~ Julieanne

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September 30th, 2010
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Strawberry & Banana Muffins

Category: Recipes, Sweets

I looked at this awesome Strawberry Muffin recipe from taste.com.au, tweaked it a little to use some different and additional ingredients, and wol la. AWESOME result, if I do say myself! Good for breakfast, and I now have enough for the rest of the week and them some! Hubby liked these too, and he’s not usually a big muffin fan. :-)

Strawberrry & Banana Muffin

Ingredients

  • Light olive oil spray
  • 450g (3 cups) self-raising flour
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 x 250g punnet strawberries, washed, hulled, coarsely chopped
  • 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (as in, brown outside! great for cooking)
  • 200g (3/4 cup) low-fat vanilla yoghurt
  • 100g (approx 1/2 cup) low-fat lemon creme yoghurt
  • 60ml (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 eggs, lightly whisked
Method
  1. Preheat oven to 200°C on ‘bake’ setting. Spray 18 80ml (1/3 cup) capacity muffin pans with light olive oil spray to grease.
  2. Sift the flour and sugar into a large boil. Add strawberries and banana, stir together. Make a well in the centre.
  3. Combine both yoghurts, oil and eggs into a large jug. Pour into the centre of the flour mixture. Stir until just combined.
  4. Divide the mixture evenly among the prepared pans. Make sure to fill up to only around 3/4 depth.
  5. Bake for 25 minutes of until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Let cool, then serve.

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July 25th, 2010
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