Unusual. Easy. Light. Leisurely.

Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm oil on linen.  The spaghetti squash is, to me, a cartoon of a vegetable. It always makes me giggle. It's an amusing absurdity, a cheeky poke at serious food. In Japan it's name translates as golden thread melon, which is a supurb description. Here the golden thread melon has cheekily unspurled itself in squiggles all over this painting.

Original artwork can be purchased in the Official Art Store. This particular piece is currently drying and will be available shortly for $AU150. You are welcome to arrange to come and look at paintings, just contact me.

***

The meatless meals recipe

A small example of a spaghetti squash or vegetable spaghetti. They are usually around 20cm or 8" long.

Vegetable spaghetti was big in the 1970's. If you've never cooked it before, the flesh falls apart into spaghetti strands as it comes out of the shell with no coaxing needed at all. It can just be boiled and served as a gluten free or paleo diet spaghetti, but.... well, it doesn't have a strong flavour and boiling it doesn't do it any real favours. Like tofu, it soaks up the taste (and juices) of whatever it's cooked with, so I prefer tomato juice and spices over water. Stuffing the spaghetti squash makes use of this tendency. Serving it with plenty of sauce would work too. This particular stuffing is Lebanese inspired, mild and fresh, with a satisfying 'every mouthful is different' blend of rough chopped ingredients.

By the way, if you can grow pumpkins, you can grow vegetable spaghetti. Same family, same vigorous and prolific tendencies. Just save the seed from one before you cook it.

one spaghetti squash approximately 20cm long and 12cm in diameter

dash of oil

To make the filling:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 large onion, minced or sliced fine
200g tomato, finely diced
1 3/4 cups cooked lentils
2 tablespoons crushed nuts
1/2 teaspoon treacle or honey
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon allspice powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
optional squeeze of lemon juice

Cut the ends off the spaghetti squash, then cut it in half, down the middle of it's longest side.

Scoop out the seeds.

Place both halves face down on an oiled oven tray and bake at 190C / 375F for 40 minutes.

To make the filling, soften the onion in a frypan with a little oil.

Then also soften the tomato in with the onion.

When these are done, put the lentils, nuts, honey, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl with the softened onion and tomato. 

After 40 minutes of baking, remove the spaghetti squash from the oven, scrape all the flesh out into a large mixing bowl, making sure to keep the shell intact.

Mix the vegetable spaghetti and the stuffing together.

Put this mix back into the shells of the spaghetti squash.

Continue baking at the same temperature for another 20 minutes.

Top with dill, parsley and mint before serving (and a squeeze of lemon juice if you please).

This will make a meal for 4 with the addition of a salad or roast potatoes or similar side dish. It looks like a lot of food but it's quite light and not quite enough to be filling on it's own.

Light. Satisfying. Easy. Moreish.

***

Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm acrylic on Saunders Waterford 100% cotton archival paper.

Another abstract exploration, this time it's my more usual fascination with combining colour, texture and pattern. This painting explores some of the transparent techniques of watercolour and is ruled by the essential corn kernals, the colours of the actual soup and the  tendrilly patterns of the egg in the broth.

Did you know that all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store?  If you want to get your mitts on the original, mailing list subscribers get first dibs on new artwork. Yellow box top left.

***

The meatless meals recipe

A lifetime ago when I still ate meat, my super-favourite-must-have in every visit to a Chinese restaurant was Chinese Chicken and Sweetcorn soup (when I eventually discovered Hot and Sour soup there was decision chaos but that's another story). Some dishes just hit the spot every time. Obviously in this lifetime that dish has been off my menu. I finally got around to figuring out how to make a vegetarian version that is the equal in tastebud satisfaction, no fowl tactics required. This is it.

At least 20g dried shiitake mushroom (don't trust what the weight on the packet says, measure it yourself. I've been caught out, and not quite enough of this ingredient makes for a washed out soup)

1.8L water

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups corn kernals (2-3 cobs of corn), either whole (good) or partly crushed/blended (great)

2 large pinches ground white pepper
4 tablespoons dry or medium dry sherry
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons cornflour
2 beaten eggs
2 spring onions, chopped fine
up to 1 tablespoon sugar to taste, depending on the sweetness of the corn

Gently simmer together the water, dried shiitake mushroom, corn kernals and salt for at least 30 minutes. Be careful, if this is boiling it tends to boil over. Simmer gently.
Add pepper, sherry and sesame oil. Bring back to a simmer.
Mix the cornflour with just enough cold water to form a paste. Add this in a thin stream to the soup, stirring constantly. This will thicken the soup. If the cornflour is added slowly enough and the stirring is constant enough, lumps will be avoided.
When the soup has thickened, remove from the heat.
Stir in the beaten egg in a thin stream. It will cook instantly.
Sprinkle with spring onion.
Taste for sweetness. Sometimes the corn lacks sweetness if it is not at the height of it's season. If a pinch of sugar added to the pot improves/intensifies the taste, then cautiously add sugar until you are satisfied with the balance of flavour.

This makes enough soup for 4.

Light. Unusual. Delicate. Easy.

***

Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm oil on linen. Square pastry pieces. Rectangular pieces of leek. Gentle, elegant shades of greens and creams. How could this be anything else but an understated abstract of these elements? Look for the softly glowing glazing, the ghosted background colours and the linework using sgraffito (that's the fancy term for scratching into  paint). This is a very subtle, understated painting, just like it's recipe is subtle and understated.

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

***

The meatless meals recipe

While perusing the interwebs for winter recipe inspiration I found this simple recipe posted on Taste.com.au. It looked so, well, elegant. Of course I had to try it. Originally by Gemma Purcell from Good Taste September 2007. It has been adapted, of course.

Now some notes from the kitchen. Firstly, don’t try these with mushrooms as I did. Sweet, caramelised mushroom is just disturbing. Trust me on this. I make and eat dreadful cooking mistakes so you don't have to. Well, actually my chickens & dogs do the eating of the truly dreadful ones. Secondly, leek works wonderfully well, so chic and je ne sais quoi. Onion is the acceptable cousin but not quite as, you know, vavavoom.

2 leeks or 4 small to medium onions
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup / 80ml white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
25x25cm sheet puff pastry
125g ricotta cheese

Top and tail your leeks and wash out all the grit. Cut them in half down their length and then into bite size chunks.
If your are using onions, cut them into thick rings.
Gently cook your leeks or onions in butter and oil until softened. For onions, do NOT burn. Golden is good.
Add the sugar to the pan and then the vinegar.
Simmer gently until the sauce thickens, around 5 minutes.
Cut the pastry into 4 equal squares.
Coat the pastry squares with ricotta, leaving a border around the edges.
Top with the cooked leek or onions. Reserve any leftover sauce for drizzling over the cooked tarts before serving.
Bake in the oven
EITHER
at 180 C for 40 minutes on a LIGHTLY oiled tray. Keep out of the hottest part of your oven if possible or the bottoms will go black.
OR
At 220 C on a baking paper covered tray for 15 minutes.

This makes a meal for 4 with the addition of potatoes and a side of greens.

Tangy. Chunky. Light. Satisfying.

***

Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm acrylic on canvas. A French dish calls for a bit of a fleur de lis flourish and elegantly simple whitewashed shabby chic to show off the fresh vegetables, don't you think?

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

***

The meatless meals recipe

Another bastardised staple, this time of French origin. Ratatoille is a bugger to spell but well easy to cook.

oil for sauting

1/2 onion, chopped into chunks

3 tomatoes, roughly chopped

3/4 (about 15cm) zucchini, chopped

1/2 eggplant (150g), cubed

1/2 cup, or more if you like, cooked kidney beans

3 tablespoons wine or balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon seeded mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

lots and lots of cracked black pepper to taste

optional 1/2 teaspoon honey per serve if you find the vinegar flavour too strong

The veges work best when chopped into large bite size chunks.

Heat the oil and saute the onion.

When the onion is softened, add everything else.

Cook slowly for 20 minutes or more at a simmer or less. Make sure the eggplant is nice and soft before serving.

Looks like a lot but it's actually quite light and serves just 2.

Creamy. Easy. Light. Cheesy.

***

Food painting artwork

30 x 30 cm acrylic on canvas. Surreal and slightly magical childrens book interpretation involving a spinach forest on a stormy night overlooked by bright cheese stars. I did say surreal didn't I?

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

***

The meatless meals recipe

This is an aromatic Indian spinach and cheese dish. Many versions of palak paneer include tomatoes but this one is a tomato free zone. Although I am somewhat over Indian cuisine after ODing on it while living in the UK, this is one that I'll happily eat anytime. It does help that it's not arseburningly hot and not overstuffed with onions.

250g spinach, washed thoroughly and chopped fine

1/2 cup stock

1 large bay leaf

3 teaspoons garam masala

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder, or just enough to give a hint of warmth for you

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 1/2 teaspoons cummin seeds

1 tablespoon oil or butter

1 teaspoon grated ginger

100g haloumi or paneer cheese cut into 1 or 2 cm cubes

3 tablespoons creamed cottage cheese or cream

Simmer the spinach on medium heat with HALF the garam masala, all the cinnamon, bay leaf and stock for 20 minutes or until this has all broken down into a thick sauce. Puree this if you want.

In a separate frypan, lightly fry chilli, garlic and cummin seeds in the oil/butter just until the garlic begins to golden.

Add this fried mix, the rest of the garam masala, ginger, haloumi and cottage cheese to the spinach sauce and stir through.

Salt to taste.

That's it!

Serves 2 on rice.

Quick. Easy. Light. Juicy.

***

Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm oil transfer drawing (a kind of monotype print) on oil on canvas. Inspired by Chinese paper cutting or Jianzhi which is a traditional form of decoration. Also usually in Chinese red.

A super quick fantastic meal today for Meatless Monday. Such simple ingredients are really transformed into something else. If you know of the taste sensation of umami, this is it bottled, as far as I'm concerned.

4 eggs

2 tomatoes, chopped into 2cm cubes

1/2 - 1 spring onion, finely sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped fine

about 8 pinches of ground Chinese (Szechuan) pepper

1-2 teaspoons sugar

pinch of salt, to taste

dash of soy sauce

optional dash of Chinese stock sauce or savoury seasoning (add in with the soy sauce in the recipe)

sesame or peanut oil

Crack the eggs into a bowl and add a pinch of salt. Beat the eggs.

Put a really generous amount of oil in a pan.

When the oil is almost smoking, add the eggs, stirring, and scramble very quickly. Remove to a plate or back into the bowl.

Remove most of the oil from the pan.

Fry the garlic, Szechuan pepper and a pinch or two of salt until the garlic has softened.
Add the tomato and a little soy sauce to taste.
After the tomato has cooked a little, add sugar.
After a little more cooking add the eggs back in and taste the dish for salt, sugar and soy sauce. Adjust as needed.
Serve over rice and sprinkle with the spring onion.

For 2.

Quick. Easy. Versatile. Light.

These could also be called Chinese Vegetable Pancakes. The reason they aren't is that I discovered just how many different types of Chinese vege pancakes there are out there and none of them were quite this one.  

These crepes are just right with a side of leafy greens in soy sauce and garlic, just like my Chilli Greens but minus the chilli, and plain steamed rice.  Or choose any stirfried veges or tofu you like as toppings. These are so versatile.  Use what you have in them and eat them with or without other dishes. The extra sides makes this a meal. On their own they make a great snack. Also, try a topping of your favourite asian sauce. We have a stash of a Chinese chilli sauce that is a bit sweet and sour and filled with peanuts and cured tofu. Sounds gross, but I swear it's addictive on these pancakes.

By the way, the optional ingredient purslane pigweed/little hogweed is a weed in the West, not a cultivated vegetable, and you will probably have to go gleaning for it. So for all you free foodies,  this recipe's for you. Don't stress if you're a supermarket person, spinich, chives or silverbeet work very well too.

1 cup plain flour

3/8 teaspoon salt (1/4 teaspoon plus half as much again)

1 beaten egg

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 1/4 cups milk or unsweetened soy milk

1/2 cup water

splosh of sesame oil

1 spring onion, chopped fine

1-1 1/2 cups fine chopped leafy greens (include some garlic chives if you can, the flavour is wonderful)

Put the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and mix.

Slowly add the wet ingredients into the bowl (a whisk is very helpful here) to make a smooth creamy batter.

Then add in the spring onion and leafy greens. Purslane, garlic chives, spinach, silver beet etc all work well.

Fry the batter in 4 batches until golden brown on both sides in a pan oiled with sesame oil. A pancake is ready to turn when bubbles appear on the surface.

This recipe will make 4 pancakes about 8" or 20cm diameter.

+++

Need help with conversions? Download this handy dandy pdf of cooking conversion charts for every cooking measuring system I could find. It should make your life easier.

Want to check out more vegetarian dinner recipes? They're all in the Table of Contents.

+++

Light. Fresh. Filling. Warm.

When the recipe muse smacks me over the head with inspiration, it does it well. That's all I can say. This whole recipe landed from the ether, almost fully formed. Exact quantities were missing, but that was simple to deduce. This is really easy to put together. Just cook the few ingredients that need it and combine.

450g pumpkin, chopped into 1cm cubes

100g green beans, very finely sliced

150g feta cheese, very finely crumbled

100g walnuts, broken up

1/4 small onion, very finely sliced

about 1 cup or 18g parsley leaves (left whole and with stems removed)

1 cup couscous

1 cup or 250 ml water

1 teaspoon salt

cracked pepper to taste

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

3-4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Boil the pumpkin until done.

Steam the beans (on top of the pumpkin?) until they turn bright green.

Put the couscous in a bowl. Add the salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Then add 1 cup of boiling (straight from the kettle) water. Mix and cover with a lid for 3-5 minutes.

Combine the feta, walnuts, parsley and onion in a big mixing bowl.

As the other ingredients are done, add them to the feta mix.

Add a generous amount of cracked black pepper, to taste.

Add a good slosh of both olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the completed mix, about 3-4 tablespoons of each.

Fills 2 people.

+++

More vegetarian cookbook goodies

Need help with conversions? Download this handy dandy pdf of cooking conversion charts for every cooking measuring system I could find. It should make your life easier.

Want to check out more vegetarian dinner recipes? They're all in the Table of Contents.

+++

Light. Quick. Easy. Delicate.

Enoki mushrooms, in case you haven't tried them, are a bit like the mushroom equivalent of noodles. They are easily found in asian grocers and are quite delicate little 'shrooms, in looks and in taste.

This recipe is another super quick one to cook. And as a bonus, it can work as a soup or as a meal in itself.

splosh sesame oil

100g enoki mushrooms

75g smoked tofu or similar, cut into thin slices or cubes

6 cups or 1.5L vegetable stock

2 cups chopped leafy greens (approx 100g)

2 spring onions, cut fine

soy sauce, white pepper and salt to taste

To make this into a meal, cook enough ramen noodles for two ready to add at the end.

So, saute the enoki mushrooms in the sesame oil for a few minutes to give them some extra flavour.

Then add the smoked tofu and saute a little as well.

Finally, add the stock and chopped greens and boil for a few minutes.

Serve into bowls (already filled with hot cooked noodles if you're making a meal instead of a soup), adding the spring onion on top.

Season with soy sauce, white pepper and salt to taste.

Makes two big bowls.

+++

More vegetarian cookbook goodies

Need help with conversions? Download this handy dandy pdf of cooking conversion charts for every cooking measuring system I could find. It should make your life easier.

Want to check out more vegetarian dinner recipes? They're all in the Table of Contents.

+++

Light. Quick. Easy. Zesty.

So the days of summer are over. But that doesn't mean that the days are cold and grey. They sure seem to start out that way, but there are still surprisingly warm temperatures that don't lend themselves to hearty soups and casseroles. Which is where a warmed salad-y type meal is perfect. Lots of fresh stuff. Plenty of zest. Filling noodles. And a few veg.

cellophane noodles for 2 (rice/tapioca/bean)

a tablespoon or two of peanut or sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2cm fresh ginger, grated

125g firm tofu, cubed

8 medium sized cup mushrooms, in thin slices

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons LIGHT soy sauce (Thai/Vietnamese/Japanese). A heavy soy sauce such as Chinese masks these flavours rather than enhancing them

large handful fresh bean sprouts

5 spring onions, chopped

juice of 1/2 a lime

2 tablespoons finely sliced fresh mint (don't underdo the mint)

1/2 tablespoon rough chopped fresh coriander (don't overdo the coriander)

Put the noodles on first so they are ready to go. Follow the packet directions. This dish only takes a few minutes to cook once the chopping is done.

Fry the garlic and ginger in the mildly heated oil.

Turn the heat up to medium high and seal the tofu in the oil. It should be nice and golden all over.

Then add the mushrooms, carrot, sugar, salt and LIGHT soy sauce.

Stir fry until the veges are done.

This step is important: Remove the pan from the heat.

Mix in the bean sprouts so they become warmed through.

Let the dish cool somewhat (attend to the noodles?) and then mix in the herbs, spring onion and lime juice. You are almost aiming for a warm salad as opposed to a hot meal. The herbs shouldn't really shrivel up when they're mixed in.

Heap your cooked and drained noodles into mountains in bowls and then heap the vege mix on top.

Makes a meal for 2.

+++

More vegetarian cookbook goodies

Need help with conversions? Download this handy dandy pdf of cooking conversion charts for every cooking measuring system I could find. It should make your life easier.

Want to check out more vegetarian dinner recipes? They're all in the Table of Contents.

+++