feast
In Auckland humidity it’s hard to encourage my kids to eat. I was out of ideas but on Twitter I found some inspiration from Laura Vincent (@Hungryandfrozen) who had written an article for http://www.3news.co.nz/ Laura’s suggestions were for raw cold food -veggies and dips, salads. I didn’t have all the ingredients she suggested so I made some things up as I went, using what was available here.
I followed her advice and chopped up: capsicum (yellow & green), cucumber, beans, carrots and celery. I added mung bean sprouts to the plate too.
I made guacamole using:
2 ripe avocadoes
2 cloves of fresh NZ garlic
a dash of balsamic vinegar
a dash of olive oil
a pinch of salt
ground black pepper
mash the avocadoes
mince the garlic
add the rest of the ingrediants to the mix and stir
I made hummus using:
a 390g tin of chick peas (mostly drained)
a tablespoon of tahini
3 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of fresh NZ garlic (minced)
juice of one lemon
salt and peper to taste
Put the mostly drained chick peas and some of their juice into a bowl.
Add tahini, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice.
Blend together using a stick blender (or food processor if you prefer)
Add salt and pepper to taste.
If the consistency is too tacky – add olive oil and more lemon juice
until it is a smooth but thick. Add more salt & pepper if needed.
Sprinkle with powdered paprika (if none available you can use a little
chilli powder or as I did today you could try tumeric)
Laura also had a wonderful recipe for marinated mushrooms but I didn’t
have all the ingredients she suggested so I took some liberties and ad
libbed…
2 large handfuls of button mushrooms (raw & sliced)
4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon treacle
½ a teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch of garam marsala
1 pinch of cumin powder
a dash of balsamic vinegar
a pinch of salt
Put the sliced mushrooms in a bowl.
Cover with oil, vinegar, treacle, salt and the other spices.
Turn the mixture several times until the mushrooms are evenly coated.
Cover and put in the fridge for a hour.
These were delicious but I am keen to try Laura’s recipe as well!
I also made a raw broccoli salad using
a brocoli head chopped into small florets
a vinegarette using olive oil & balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper
covered with toasted sunflower seeds.
(Again Laura had another suggestion using broccoli & cauliflower but I
made use of what I had in my cupboard)
I roasted in olive oil & a clove of minced garlic: one zuchini
(courgette) sliced & a handful of fresh asparagus. Once cooked I
drained them & put in separate bowls in the fridge to cool.
I cooked three fresh beetroot in boiling salted water.
Wash the beets but do not cut the stems from the top – the beet will
be bitter if you do.
Once cooked (test with a knife like you would potatoes) drain and
place in a bowl of cold water.
Peel the cooked beets with your hands. The skin should come off easily
in the cold water.
Chop into a clean bowl, cover & refridgerate.
I also cut fresh (bought) pita bread pockets into triangles for
additional dipping into the guacamole & hummus.
The family enjoying a picnic tea
Dinner turned into a ukelele jam with Jacob on uke, James on vocals.
