corncakes with tartare sauce

1c frozen corn kernels, thawed

1c soymilk

1.5c cornmeal

1tsp baking powder

0.5tsp bicarb

1tsp salt

2Tbs agave or maple syrup

2Tbs oil

1 lemon, juice and rind

2Tbs herbs/spices to taste: smoked paprika, cayenne, dried ground rosemary and thyme

blend the corn and soymilk in a food processor four about 30 seconds. add all remaining ingredients and blend until combined. 

preheat a non-stick pan on medium heat for 1 minute; add a teaspoon of oil and measure out 3 large tablespoons of mixture for each cake. cook for 2 minutes then flip; cook for 3-5 minutes or to taste.

tartare sauce

total cheat, but yum: finely chop 1 gherkin or medium pickle, mix into 3Tbs mayonnaise. that's it!

sarma: serbian cabbage rolls

so delicious! the filling is lovely stuffed into green capsicums. even better the next day! the rice can be cooked and baked on it's own in ramekins or a baking dish if you don't have cabbage or capsicum.


4Tbs olive oil
finely chopped:
1 onion
3 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 small green capsicum 
2 cups white rice
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
700ml tomato sauce or passata or tinned tomatoes - reserve 0.25c
2Tbs dried herbs (oregano, basil)
2Tbs paprika
salt, pepper to taste
1 head of cabbage, approx 1.5kg, 25cm diameter


preheat oven to 190C.


on low-medium heat, saute onion until translucent. add celery, carrots, capsicum and cook for 5 minutes. add garlic, cook for 1 minute. add rice, 0.25c tomato sauce/passata, and all seasonings; cook for 5 minutes. 


meanwhile, remove the 3-4 outermost leaves, and reserve. trim the base of the cabbage and cut an X in the base. steam the whole cabbage until leaves are limp (about 7-9 minutes). gently peel off whole leaves and remove the tough spines that make rolling difficult; resteam the remaining cabbage head if leaves aren't soft enough to remove. 


fill each leaf with 3-4Tbs of filling. fold the leaf over the filling, and place in a lightly oiled baking tray (at least 35cm long). repeat with all leaves until filling is gone.


pour the remaining tomato sauce/passata over the rolls, then top up with a little stock or water until the rolls are covered two-thirds the way up.


cover with reserved cabbage leaves or foil; cook for 1 hour.

raspberry lemon pancakes

un. bel. ievable.

0.75c plain flour

0.5c cornmeal (very fine polenta)

2tsp baking powder

0.5tsp salt

2Tbs sunflower/canola oil

1.25c soy milk

1/3c water

1tsp vanilla

3Tbs sugar

zest of 2 lemons

0.5c frozen raspberries

heat a non-stick pan on low-medium heat. sift flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar into a medium bowl. in a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients, then stir gently into the dry ingredients until just combined.

lightly oil pan; make pancakes the size you want (i drop two tablespoons of mixture on top of each other to form each pancake of about 10cm). when bubbles appear on top of each cake, flip with a silicone spatula and cook for another 2-4 minutes or to taste. serve with maple syrup and a squeeze of lemon juice.

ohhhhhhhhhhhh yes.

falafel wraps

i haven't made falafel from scratch yet, but the packet mixes i buy are great: mix with water and add spices and shredded carrot to taste; shallow fry and crunch away! i eat them on fried corn tortillas with babaganoush, salad and ribbons of moroccan preserved lemons. wonderful!

babaganoush

oh eggplant, you are so wonderful. this is my favourite eggplant recipe of all time.

1 medium (500-600g) eggplant

to taste:

tahini

olive oil

lemon juice

smoked paprika

salt

chilli powder

crushed garlic

on a gas burner, sit the whole unpeeled eggplant over the flame. turn gently so that the whole eggplant is burnt on the outside and soft and cooked inside. carefully rinse the burnt skin off under cool running water. 

blend the peeled eggplant with all the other ingredients. add the flavours a little at a time and adjust as needed.

tapioca pudding

so good for breakfast!

0.5c tapioca pearls (small)

1c water

0.5tsp salt

0.5c coconut cream

3Tbs brown sugar

cinnamon and grated orange zest to taste- or other flavourings (scraped vanilla pod, rose water, fresh or tinned pinapple or lychees)

in a small saucepan on low-medium, heat the tapioca, water and salt. the mixture will thicken fairly quickly, so keep stirring gently until the pearls start going translucent. stir in the sugar and coconut cream, and keep stirring until the pearls are almost fully translucent. remove from heat and gently stir in flavourings of choice.

black sticky rice and coconut pudding

my favourite winter breakfast; a hearty, decadent, tropical desserty dish that makes a dreary morning special. this is rich, and makes a fairly big batch- at least a week's worth of brekkies!

rice

2c black glutinous rice
150g palm sugar (shaved or grated)- brown or raw sugar will suffice
1 orange, finely grated zest
200ml coconut cream
0.5tsp salt

custard  

800ml coconut cream
2tsp agar agar powder
2Tbs arrowroot powder
0.25c water
50g palm or other sugar
1tsp salt

if possible, soak the rice overnight in 1L water. drain half the water; bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium, stirring and adding water as needed (as for risotto). it will take approx 40 minutes to cook; be patient and stir every 5 minutes until rice begins to be purple and starting to thicken. taste rice for desired consistency (should be a little al dente but cooked).

remove from heat; stir in coconut cream, sugar, orange zest and salt. pour into individual ramekins or a 25cm round pudding basin or baking dish, smoothing top with spatula.

on low, heat the coconut cream in a small saucepan; add sugar and stir to dissolve. in a small bowl, mix arrowroot and agar agar with water to form a paste. gently whisk this into the coconut cream until it thickens into a smooth custard. remove from the heat and pour gently over the rice to form a 2cm thick custard. cool in fridge or eat warm.

party bear birthday card for bez

the message inside rather unsubtly exhorted berin to stop cheating in our games of words with friends.

the most perfect chocolate cake. ever.

just divine, and so quick to make.

cake

1c soy milk 

1tsp vinegar

0.5c sugar

0.3c oil (sunflower, canola or other light oil)

1tsp vanilla 

1c plain flour

0.3c cocoa 

0.75tsp bicarb soda

0.5tsp baking powder

0.5tsp salt

preheat oven to 180C.

whisk soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. whisk in the sugar, oil and vanilla.

sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. add in two batches to wet ingredients; mix until just combined.

lightly grease an 8 inch springform pan. pour in the batter and bake for 30 minutes, until a knife inserted through the center comes out clean. cool in tin for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on a wire rack. optional: slice cake in half horizontally and spread with 4Tbs warmed marmalade or raspberry jam.

icing

0.5c copha or coconut oil (at room temperature or warmed very slightly)

0.5c margarine

3c icing sugar, sifted 

0.25c cocoa, sifted

1tsp vanilla
1Tbs strong espresso or 2tsp coffee powder dissolved in 1Tbs hot water (or 2Tbs soy milk)

beat the coconut oil and margarine together until well combined. add the sugar, cocoa, vanilla and coffee; beat for 5-7 minutes til smooth and fluffy.