the big success of the summer

A couple of weeks ago I was all like 'Nooooo', digging my heels in and straining to hold back the sun and summer. Then the clocks turned back, darkness descended and the days began to cool. However it has all been so gentle and gradual I am actually enjoying it and looking forward to cold nights snuggled inside.

Here is my final hurrah for the summer - couscous and fennel salad. It's a twist on a recipe that uses bulgar wheat, which I replace with couscous.

2 cups couscous

1 fennel bulb, very finely sliced

1 red onion, finely sliced

5 tablespoons chopped mint

5 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons fennel seeds, crushed

2 tablespoons olive oil

Finely grated rind and juice of 2 lemons

Salt and pepper

Place the bulgar wheat in a bowl, add enough cold water to cover, then set aside for 30 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. (2 cups boiling water for couscous and soak for 5 minutes) Line a colander with muslin or a clean tea towel. Drain the bulgar wheat into the colander, then gather up the sides of the cloth or tea towel and squeeze to extract as much liquid as possible from the bulgar wheat. Transfer to a salad bowl.

Stir in the fennel, onion, mint, parsley, fennel seeds, oil, lemon rind and half the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavours to develop, then taste the salad and add more lemon juice if required. (I’m rarely organised enough to wait and taste and just tip in all the lemon juice!)

I made this more times than I can count this summer. Quick and easy and a hit everywhere I took it!

diabetes eat your heart out...

I've just submitted one of the final assignments in my Grad Dip Counselling. It was a personal reflection in which I was asked to identify strong attitudes and values which might impact on my work with clients. I mentioned all sorts of things, but one thing I failed to mention are my increasingly strong views on healthy eating.

The more I read, the more I am convinced that we in the west are slowly killing ourselves with our diet. Take this news headline today: by 2050 one in seven Australians will have type two diabetes. One in seven! That would be fourteen percent of the population.

Does anyone else have alarm bells ringing in their head? Are you looking at our diet and thinking we just might be bringing this on ourselves? Do you walk down the aisle and silently rage against the rubbish supermarkets peddle as food? Can you see the health system, already crumbling, imploding under the weight of bad food?

We could avoid this disaster if we made a few better lifestyle choices. It might mean ditching processed foods for real fruit and vegetables, taking more time with food preparation, and even (heaven forbid) choosing to work less so we don't need to reach for those convenient packet foods. Radical I know, but wouldn't it be worth it? (And we might even be a little less stressed)

So there you have it - my exceedingly strong attitudes on the state of the nation's health. Before I get back in my box, here is my offering in the fight against diabetes:

asian-style chicken salad
photo: happy chatter
recipe: 'light & lean', The Australian Women's Weekly

this is what i did with the beetroot

I confess I didn't eat the beetroot as immediately as my post indicated... I cooked it up tonight. Roast beetroot is a bit of a favourite, so I made a roast beetroot and sweet potato (kumara) salad.

Even with a few less herbs than directed (due to a paucity of supply), and lettuce replacing the baby spinach leaves, it tasted amazing. Here's the recipe:

Beetroot and sweet potato salad with feta (from 'cool food' again - page 273)

350g fresh baby beetroot, trimmed and washed
250g orange sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
60ml (1/4 cup) garlic oil
1 garlic bulb
3 tablespoons olive oil
20g butter
1 red onion, cut into 1cm wedges
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon shredded basil
150g baby English spinach leaves
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed and stems discarded
120g feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/Gas 4). Wrap each beetroot in foil and place on a baking tray. Brush the sweet potato with garlic oil and season. Place on another baking tray with the whole garlic bulb. Cook with the beetroot for 35-40 minutes, or until tender. Test with a skewer, and when tender, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter has melted. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for minutes, or until soft. Add the vinegar and sugar, cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the onion is golden and starting to caramelise.

Peel the garlic cloves and combine them with the lemon juice, basil and remaining oil. Season to taste.

Toss the spinach, beetroot, sweet potato, onion and rosemary in a bowl. Crumble the feta over the top and drizzle with the dressing. Serve warm.

Serves 4


Then I cooked up this Eggplant, tomato and sumac salad and a couple of rumps of lamb and served it all up for tea. Yummo.

(This recipe came from the sister book 'bbq food', another fabulous investment)

i couldn't help myself

I love recipe books, a trait I have no doubt stems from my mother and her rich collection.

Not long after we got married Frank humoured my recipe book obsession and bought me a small bookshelf which has gradually filled with a collection of yummy books.

When it came to Christmas 2007, Frank was as stumped as ever at what to buy me. I suggested a fancy recipe book and pointed out a some of the fine specimens that could be found at a local book store. Frank (secretly) settled on Nigella Express and I duly received it on Christmas morning. Thankyou lovely Frank.

And then my recipe book cup did run over, for following on from Frank's present came a plethora of recipe books from my Mum, my brother and sister in law and a friend. (the barbecue bible was a gift to Frank, but since he doesn't cook I'm counting it in) Ah, recipe book heaven.

Then while we were travelling in South Australia in December, and in particular on Kangaroo Island, (yes Mum, I will get to blogging about the trip, I promise) I spied a cute farming recipe book and added it to my collection.

So now my little recipe shelf is pretty well full up. But I just can't help myself. When I noticed a 1800 number promising a free recipe book from the Tahini jar I had to phone up and place my order.

And now my recipe collection is complete...

... for a while.

I'm still working my way through the new books and discovering our favourites, but here is a recipe we enjoy quite often from cool food:

Brown rice and puy lentils with pine nuts and spinach

200g (1 cup) brown rice
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
185g (1 cup) puy lentils (or green or brown lentils)
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons chopped coriander
3 tablespoons chopped mint
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
90g (2 cups) baby spinach leaves, washed

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and the rice, and cook for 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and refresh under cold running water.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan and add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until softened, then add the put lentils and 375ml (1 1/2 cups) water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain well, but do not rinse. Combine with the rice, tomato, coriander and mint in a large bowl.

Whisk the remaining oil with the balsamic vinegar and lemon juice, and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour over the salad, add the pine nuts and the spinach, and toss well to combine.

Serves 6-8

Bon Appetit!