Strawberry & Feta Salad

This is such a easy and delicious salad.  The sweetness of the strawberries works so well with the heat of the rocket and the creaminess of the feta cheese.   

It is such a fabulous salad to serve at a BBQ with a nice piece of fish or steak or simply by itself with a nice glass of wine.

Ingredients
200 grams of fresh strawberries - quartered
100 grams of feta cheese
125 grams of rocket
1 x spring onion finely chopped
Salt & pepper
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar

Method
Place the rocket and spring onion into a bowl.  Place half the strawberries and half the feta cheese with into the rocket mixture.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Just before serving, add the balsamic vinegar and toss quickly.  Add the remaining strawberries and feta, tossing slightly, but ensuring they remain on top of the salad for presentation.

Devour!

Serves 4-6 people

Pineapple & Avocado Salsa

I made this recipe years ago when I was experimenting.  I wanted a nice refreshing side to go with some cajun fish and this was perfect!  It's light, tasty, extremely refreshing and delicious.

Ingredients

2 cups diced pineapple
1 cup chopped coriander
1 avocado, diced
1 red chilli, seeded, finely chopped OR a pinch of chilli flakes
1 red capsium - diced
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 Tbsp. lime juice
Salt & pepper

Method
Place everything in a bowl and toss gently.  Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Happy living peeps!

Buttered Spinach & Herb Potatoes

I do a little bit of work for my marae and after serving some herbed potatoes for an event late last year, I decided to change that recipe up a bit over the xmas period and invent this variation for my whanau.

It's quick, easy and very tasty!  If you are not a fan of butter, then replace with some olive oil or avocado oil but please DO NOT use margarine.

Ingredients
10-12 baby or gourmet potatoes - halved if necessary
1 cup fresh Spinach - finely chopped
1/4 cup of fresh italian Parsley
Pinch of chilli flakes
Fresh ground pepper
Sea salt
50 grams of butter - cubed

Method
Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked and turn off the element.  Drain the water, then replace the lid on the pot and place back on the element for about 2-5 minutes until most of the liquid is evaporated from the potatoes, watching they don't catch.

Place the potatoes in a serving bowl, then throw in the spinach, parsley, butter and chilli flakes.  Toss quickly until butter is melted, then season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Serve and enjoy!

Serves 4.

Happy living peeps!

Fresh Tomato Pesto Salad

I made this recipe over the xmas holidays and it was absolutely delicious.  It's one of those recipes that was thrown together with what I had in my vegetable garden.

I love pesto!!  So what better idea than to use those ingredients in a salad and with the baby tomatoes being exceptionally sweet at the moment, I guarantee your family will love this.

If you don't have pine nuts in your cupboard, use walnuts or almonds or cashews instead.  You can even replace the basil or parsley with puha or whatever pungent flavoured green you might have in the garden.  As always the opportunities are endless!

Added bonus - this is a very healthy dish!

Ingredients
200 grams cherry tomatoes - halved
1/4 cup of fresh basil - roughly chopped
1/4 cup of fresh italian parsley - roughly chopped
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1 clove of garlic - finely diced
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese - shavings
Olive oil to dress
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Ingredients
Mix the first 6 ingredients in a bowl then toss through olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Happy living peeps!

Orange & Chilli Salad

My dad is a meat and three vegetable person and he finds this dish a little difficult to comprehend when it's on the table.  "Oranges are sweet and should be served as a dessert, not as a salad" he reckons, but he's slowly starting to get his head around it.  My cousin Michael has also been a bit of a meat and 3 vege type person, but when I visited Melbourne last, I made this dish and he loved it!!

This is a pretty simple and quick dish to serve.  It's healthy AND is great with a BBQ.  Of course you don't need to slice the oranges, you can segmet them and toss in a bowl if that's your preference, but I find it takes longer to prepare.  I just want it done so we can enjoy a great meal together.  

If you're not a fan of chilli, then reduce the amount used but try not to omit them completely as it's truly the star of the dish.

Ingredients
3-4 oranges - peeled, deseeded, pith removed and sliced (try to keep the juice)
1 fresh red chilli - deseeded and thinly sliced OR a dash of chilli flakes
A handful of chives
Dash of olive oil
Sea salt
Cracked pepper 

Method
Get out a nice flat platter and lay the oranges in a single layer.  Pour the juice from the oranges.

Sprinkle the chilli over the top of the oranges and sprinkle a dash of olive oil over the top.

Season with salt and pepper and then finish by slicing the chives all over the oranges using scissors.

Enjoy!!

Happy living peeps!!!

 

Cauliflower Rice

With my husband choosing the paleo lifestyle, we've adapted and changed what we eat and this recipe is a perfect replacement for rice and pretty quick and easy to make.

I mainly enjoy pairing this with a curry or stew that needs something to mop up their wonderful juices, particularly when the paleo lifestyle doesn't allow for bread.

Ingredients
Florets of 1/2 a cauliflower
1/2 a brown onion, roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, roughly sliced
Salt & pepper
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil

Method
Throw the cauliflower, onion and garlic into a food processor and pulse until it resembles rice.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the cauliflower rice until the moisture is removed.  Season with salt & pepper and enjoy.

Makes approxmiately 2 cups.

Happy living peeps!

Radish Relish

With radishes being such an easy and fast vegetable to grow from seed in your garden, within 4 weeks you have an abundance at your fingertips.  I find I have to use them while they are quite young or else they can become quite woody and end up as chicken food to the chickens.

Before xmas I found myself in that very predicament.  I was right in the middle of making my xmas pressies so I decided to include a new relish recipe to keep on top of my radish crop I had.

This relish is so simple to make and I guarantee you will adore the end result.

Ingredients
1 kg of radishes
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 cups of white wine vinegar
2 thumb lengths of fresh ginger, grated
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon of mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper

Method
Wash the radishes thoroughly and place them into a food processor with the onion and garlic.  Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped.

Place the remaining ingredients into a pot.  Let it come to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the finely chopped radish, garlic & onion.  Bring it back to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.

Let the mixture cool slightly, then add it too a large sterilised jar to store in the fridge.

Happy living peeps!!



BBQ'd Chilli Corn

I had a couple of friends who went to Mexico for a holiday and came back raving about this chilli corn snack they had on the side of the road.   I just love sweet corn and after listening to their stories I just had to experiment with some ingredients and the results were just fantastic!!

If you’re not a chilli person, the sour cream helps to kill the heat and I guarantee you’ll find yourself wanting more and more.  Just make sure you have lots of napkins on hold because it can be a little messy, but is truly worth the mess!

Ingredients

4 ears of sweet corn
1 cup of sour cream
¼ cup of mayonnaise
½ cup of coriander
¼ parmesan cheese
¼ Colby cheese
Lime juice
Chilli powder

Method

Remove the husks from the corn and grill on the BBQ evenly until cooked.

While the corn is cooking, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream and chopped coriander and set a side.

In another bowl combine the grated cheeses together and set a side.

When the corn is cooked, smother the mayonnaise mixture over the corn generously, followed by a squeeze of lime juice, then the cheeses and lastly finish with a sprinkle of chilli powder.

Makes 4

 

Happy living people!!