Roasted Pumpkin and Apple Soup

Winter has well and truly arrived this week. While we're still getting glorious sunny days, the nights and early mornings are absolutely freezing. We have so far avoided having heaters on but a few more days like this and that will change!

In our house cold weather is soup weather. I love the fact that both my boys love soup, especially my 4 year old. If you haven't tried soup with your kids yet it's really worth a go, just be prepared for some mess!

We've had pumpkin soup a few times recently and I've always stuck to my tried and true recipe which includes garlic, ginger and coriander. This time I thought I would make something a little lighter and sweeter, so decided to not only include some apple but also to roast all the ingredients first, something that really brings out the natural sweetness.

The taste test ...

Pumpkin and apple really are a match made in heaven! My kids absolutely devoured this for lunch. Both had seconds. You'll notice from the photo how thick this soup is. Not only does it make quite a hearty meal it also makes it easier for little kids to handle.This was a winner and will be added to our regular rotation.

Roasted Pumpkin and Apple Soup

1/4 large pumpkin (I like jap or kent for soup, my piece was 1.6kg)
2 small green apples
1 potato
1 large onion
1/4 ts cinnamon
1/4 ts cumin
3-4 cups stock (chicken or vege work well)
1 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C / 170 degrees fan-forced.

Chop up the pumpkin into thick slices, removing the seeds but leaving the skin on. Wash and core the apples, leaving them whole with the skin intact. Wash the potato and chop into quarters, leaving the skin on. Top and tail the onion and remove the skin.

Place all veggies into a large baking dish. Sprinkle over the spices, drizzle on the oil and toss to combine.

Place in the oven and roast for 45 -60 minutes or until all the vegetables are soft, golden and cooked through. Keep an eye on the apples and onion as they will be done before the potatoes and take them out if they are getting too brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before scooping out the flesh of the apples and veggies into a food processor or blender. Leave any hard or overcooked edges and all the skin behind.

Blitz until well combined. Add the stock and blitz for 2 minutes or until completely smooth (if you want a thinner soup just add more stock now). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the soup into a large saucepan and simmer gently until warmed through. Serve with hot buttered bread rolls.

Serves 4.

Snow White Popcorn Treats (Secret Recipe Club)

SRC time again! This month I was assigned Life and Kitchen by Lindsay. I love that Lindsay posts so many veggie and meatless meals but after doing something savoury for the past few months of SRC I had already decided to do something sweet this month, and was delighted that she had so many to choose from!

The instant I saw these Snow White Popcorn Treats I was sold. It actually is winter here, but this is as close as my boys will get to snow!

We make popcorn a few times a week using our air popper. I like mine with a little melted butter and sea salt but the kids are totally happy having it plain. But let me tell you they were very excited about their special sticky popcorn!

The recipe called for 1 large or 2 small bags of popcorn but I have no idea what size that would actually be. I just did the usual 1/4 cup we always do and hoped for the best. It was pretty much spot on.

So how did it taste? Totally amazing as you would expect! I did find it VERY sweet though and added extra salt to mine (love that sweet and salty contrast). This would be perfect bagged up and given as gifts at Christmas and I will be doing just that this year.

Thanks for a great recipe Lindsay!

Snow White Popcorn Treats
From Life and Kitchen

1/4 cup popping corn
20 white marshmallows
2 tbs butter
1/4 cup white chocolate
sea salt

Pop the corn and spread it out on a lightly greased baking tray, making sure to remove any unpopped kernals.

In a medium pan over lowish heat gently melt the butter and the marshmallows, stirring constantly. Once they are completely melted and liquidy, add in the white chocolate and stir until smooth.

Quickly pour the mixture over the popcorn using a silicone spatula to toss it all together, coating as much of the popcorn as you can.

Sprinkle generously with sea salt and leave to set for about 10 minutes before devouring.

Naked Chocolate Mini Cakes with AntiOx Chocolate Ganache

If you missed my review of the AntiOx Chocolate and Snack Bar range yesterday make sure you check it out. You could win a $30 chocolate gift pack!

While it has certainly been lovely having some chocolate in the pantry to nibble on, I wanted to showcase the chocolate in a recipe. Given it is a sugar-free chocolate I chose to make an equally healthy and allergy-friendly cake.

These mini cakes are gluten, dairy and sugar free but most definitely don't lack taste! They are rich and intensely chocolate-y and when paired with the chocolate ganache make a truly decadent dessert. Keep in mind they are not very sweet so you could add a little stevia into both the cake and ganache to up the sweetness or just serve with some lovely sweet strawberries. Yum!

Naked Chocolate Mini Cakes
Very slightly adapted from The Healthy Chef

Ingredients

1/4 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts ground cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
4 eggs
1/4 cup rice malt syrup
1 ts vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

Instructions

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C / 140 C fan-forced.

In a medium bowl mix together the cacao powder, coconut flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt.

In a small bowl mix the eggs, syrup, vanilla and coconut oil.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until smooth and well combined. Spoon into 6 mini cake moulds (mine were 2 inch square).

Bake for approximately 20 – 25 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before covering with the ganache. Makes 6.


AntiOx Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

80 grams AntiOx Chocolate with Acai
40ml pure cream*

Instructions

Finely chop the chocolate and place in a heat-proof bowl.

In a small saucepan heat the cream until very hot but not boiling. Pour over the chopped chocolate and stir gently from the middle until the ganache is smooth and glossy.

Allow to cool slightly before smoothing over the tops of the mini cakes.

Serve immediately or store in fridge until required.

* For a dairy free topping you could use chilled coconut cream and fold through the cooled melted chocolate.
 

And don't forget you could win your own gift pack of AntiOx chocolate. 

Just click here for all the details!

BWJ - Cheese and Tomato Galette

I actually wasn't really expecting much from this one but I was so wrong. We LOVED it! It was all the best parts of a pizza encased in a buttery flaky pastry. Just divine.

I knew we didn't have any cornmeal and couldn't be bothered searching for it so I used semolina instead for the dough and it worked brilliantly. I also just used regular tasty cheese and shredded mozzarella.

Originally I intended to make a sweet one as well but it actually didn't make as much dough as I thought. I used the full batch for this galette and it was the perfect dinner for the 4 of us with just one largeish piece leftover (for my lunch, yum!).

The dough was a little sticky but I didn't have any problems with it, possibly because it is winter here and quite a cool day?

This recipe is definitely a keeper and we'll be making it again.

AntiOx Chocolate Review + Giveaway!!

**This giveaway has now ended. Congratulations to Rockn and Sapna! Click here to find out how to claim your prizes**

Recently I was sent a lovely pack of chocolates to try thanks to Product Talk by Nuffnang. And these weren't just any chocolates but the new AntiOx Chocolate and Snack Bar range from Vitality Brands.

As I've mentioned before we have been cutting out refined sugar which has meant chocolate has been mostly off-limits. So I was really interested to try the AntiOx range as not only is it 70% cocoa and packed with antioxidants, it is also naturally sweetened with stevia.

The range includes both blocks of chocolate and snack bars, all of which are made with sugar-free dark chocolate. I received 2 x 80 gram blocks of dark chocolate, one with Goji and the other with Acai. I also received 3 x snack bars - Goji, Acai and Chia & Quinoa.

Both goji and acai are considered super fruits because of their nutritional properties. Goji berries contain a very high concentration of antioxidants, vitamins and essential minerals and are also rich in vitamin C. Acai berries have a higher antioxidant capacity than any known berry, with over 16 phytonutrients and antioxidants. When combined in a bar with naturally antioxidant rich 70% cocoa, the result is a hit of antioxidants equivalent to 12 cups of green tea! Pretty impressive.

Even when I was eating sugar I've never been the person to grab a chocolate bar to eat as a snack. So I wondered how I would find a chocolate covered snack bar. When I first opened the snack bars I was hit with a gorgeous berry and chocolate aroma and a taste to match. Yes they are sweet but it's not the cloying sweetness of regular chocolate. Each bar is also packed full of wholegrains and forest fruits and is of course sugar-free, so there is nothing to feel guilty about when indulging in one of these!

I really enjoyed the blocks of chocolate, probably because it is more my style to grab a piece or 2 after dinner than sit down to eat a whole snack bar. The chocolate is smooth and intense and complemented by the tangy fruitiness of the berries. If it happens to boost my immunity and enhance wellbeing over winter than so much the better.

Want to try the AntiOx chocolate range for yourself? Here's how!

Giveaway

I have 2 amazing AntiOx prize packs valued at $30 to give away! Each pack includes:

          6 x AntiOx Snack Bars and
          4 x AntiOx Chocolates.

For a chance to win, simply leave a comment answering this question:

               Why do you want to try the new AntiOx snack bars and chocolate?

The giveaway closes on Friday 28th June and is open to Australian residents only (sorry international readers!). Click here for full terms and conditions.

If you don't happen to win, the lovely people at Vitality Brands are giving away some snack bars through their Facebook page! Just follow the link to the Winter Snack Bar Giveaway.

Check back tomorrow to see how I used some of my AntiOx chocolate in a delicious and intensely chocolatey dessert!

Pumpkin Fruit Cake

{Wheat Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free}

It isn't often I find a recipe one day, bake it the next and am already planning when to make it again! But this Pumpkin Fruit Cake from The Healthy Chef was calling my name the moment I saw it.

I was looking for something sweet but healthy to bake for after kindy, that was also nut-free to include in Oscar's lunch box the next day. This recipe was not only easy but I already had all the ingredients.

I adore pumpkin baked goods but unless I happen to have leftover steamed pumpkin already in the fridge I can never be bothered to make them. This recipe however, just calls for grated raw pumpkin. Genius! The end result was identical to cakes that use pumpkin puree. It was mixed and in the oven in about 5 minutes.

The taste test ...

YUM. Incredibly moist, subtly spiced and filled with little bursts of extra sweetness from the sultanas. We ate half the loaf warm from the oven and stashed the rest for snacks. I will be making it again next week!

Excuse the bad photo. It's a dreary grey day here, not great for photos but perfect for cake.

Pumpkin Fruit Cake
Adadpted slightly from The Healthy Chef

250 g grated raw pumpkin (2 cups)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 orange
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup rice malt syrup
¾ teaspoon bicarb soda (baking soda)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 big handful organic natural sultanas
1 cup (150 g )wholemeal spelt flour

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C/ 150 C fan forced. Grease and line a loaf pan (mine was pyrex).

Combine the raw pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, oil, zest, rice malt syrup, bicarb, baking powder, spices and sultanas in a mixing bowl. Fold through the spelt flour.

Spoon into a prepared tin and bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, covering the top with foil if necessary (mine was done in exactly 1 hour, no covering required). The cake will spring back when pressed lightly.

Allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out.

Oscar's 4th Birthday and a Dinosaur Cake

My big boy turned 4 last month! Such a cliche but he is growing up so quickly.

Although he had been asking for a party we decided to keep it low key and do a family outing instead, especially as his birthday fell on a Saturday this year.

Oscar has always loved animals and nature so we decided to head off to Australia Zoo for the day. This is the zoo that Steve Irwin founded on the Sunshine Coast and is a brilliant place to visit with kids. There is heaps to see so I would recommend getting there as soon as they open if you are to have any chance of seeing it all in one day!

We were a little late getting there (having a few toilet stops on the way for the kids) and I had also stupidly invited more family over for birthday cake at home at 4pm. What I hadn't figured on was getting home by 4 actually meant rounding everyone up to leave the zoo about 2.30. Not surprisingly we didn't see everything we wanted to. Oh well, live and learn.

Anyway, we all had a great time. The kids loved seeing all the animals, the giant tortoises, the bird show and of course the crocodiles were big hits. And we still had birthday cake at home to look forward to.

Oscar had been asking for a dinosaur cake for at least 6 months so I had plenty of time to research. I pretty much just googled 'dinosaur cake', looked through all the images and chose one something that looked easy (I found this one here). And it turned out pretty well if I do say so myself!

The body of the dinosaur is an 8 inch round cake split in half and sandwiched together with icing to form a semi-circle shape. As we are trying to stay sugar-free I chose to bake the vanilla cake from David Gillespie's Sweet Poison Quit Plan Cookbook, and then used a normal sugar icing.

The head, tail, legs and spots were made from ready-made fondant icing that I tinted myself using mostly Wilton gel colours. I was really happy with how the colours turned out, they were just what I was hoping for. It was a lot of fun making the shapes too, a bit like playing with play dough!

So another year, another birthday cake. Stay tuned for Charlie's birthday in November!

SRC - Chicken and Apple Rice Paper Rolls

Well it's reveal day for Group D of the Secret Recipe Club! This month I was delighted to be given Natural Noshings by Nora. I came across Nora's blog quite a few months ago and had already flagged a number of recipes to make.

We have been making a real effort over the past 6 months or so to cut out processed foods and remove refined sugar from our diet. We have a pantry full of oats, coconut oil, chia seeds, natural nut butters and raw cacao. Natural Noshings has some amazing recipes that are gluten free and use real whole ingredients with nothing artificial or processed in sight.

I have bookmarked some of the sweet treats to make like the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough Bites (which will be the perfect after kindy snack for my 4 year old) and the Healthy Nutella (which my peanut butter loving 2 year old will go nuts for - pun intended!).

Yet again though I have chosen to make a main because quite simply I couldn't go past these. Nora calls them spring rolls but in Australia spring rolls use a different wrapper and are baked or fried. We call these rice paper rolls. But really whatever you call them they are little parcels of deliciousness!

Adding the apple was a stroke of genius. The sweetness of red apple paired with the chicken and peanut sauce was fantastic. My kids adored these. Well actually Charlie my 2 year old couldn't be convinced that the rice paper wrappers were actually edible so he just ate the fillings and lots of sauce.

The original recipe had apple and cabbage but as usual I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some extra veges into the kids. All the colours of the rainbow crammed into something they can roll up and dip in a yummy sauce (my version of the sauce has a few extra flavours added). All in all a healthy and delicious dinner!

Apple and Chicken Rice Paper Rolls with Peanut Sauce 
Adapted from Spring Rolls on Natural Noshings

For the rolls:
12 rice paper wrappers
4 small chicken thighs (marinated in a little soy sauce and sesame oil then baked and cut into strips
1 medium red apple, sliced into matchsticks
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 medium avocado, sliced thinly
1 small red capsicum, thinly sliced
½ bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped

For the peanut sauce:
3 tablespoons hot water
3 tablespoons peanut butter (mine was smooth, all natural)
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice malt syrup
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
½ teaspoon sesame oil

To prepare the sauce, place all the ingredients in a small jug and whisk to combine.

To prepare the rice paper rolls, fill a large shallow bowl with just warm water. Working with one wrapper at a time, submerge it in the water and allow to soften (about 30 seconds) turning once or twice. Carefully remove from water and lay flat on a damp tea towel.

Half way between the centre of the wrapper and the edge closest to you, layer on some carrot, capsicum, avocado, chicken, apple and chopped coriander, leaving a gap of about an inch on each side.

Take the edge closest to you and fold it over the filling. Roll it once more and then fold the shorter left and right sides inward, like you would a burrito. Then continue wrapping and rolling until sealed. Place on serving platter, leaving a little room between them as they will stick together.

Repeat with remaining wrappers and serve with the peanut sauce!

BWJ - Savoury Brioche Pockets

 

I had a bit of a brain freeze and totally forgot that this was BWJ week. Luckily without a mixer I have perfected a brioche dough made in the breadmaker and whipped these beauties out in about 2.5 hours!

They are called Savoury Brioche Pockets, and just as the name suggest, they are a brioche dough wrapped around a savoury filling. As I had forgotten about the recipe I didn't have any goat's cheese or chives on hand but I did happen to have leftover steamed potato in the fridge.

To make my filling I sauteed some onion, garlic and spinach in butter until soft then added it to cold mashed potato along with a handful of grated cheddar cheese, some salt and pepper. Basically it made the yummiest mashed potato you can imagine!

The taste test ...

They didn't blow my socks off but it was pretty tasty. The filling was delicious and you can't go past brioche. I'm just not a huge pan of potatoes in bread. It just seemed a bit too heavy even though the filling was lightened up with veg. I think my brioche discs were a bit too thick so the ratio of bread to filling was a bit off. Still a success overall though.

Carrie of Loaves and Stitches will have the recipe up today and to see what the other bakers thought of this one, check out the LYL section.

BWJ - Upside Down Mini Apple Cakes

So yesterday I went to the supermarket specifically to get rhubarb. I came home with bread, lemons, broccoli and a bag of spinach ... and no rhubarb. I really hope other people do things like that! There was no way I was going back there with 2 ratty kids so I made do with what I had, and that meant apples.

I made 12 little cakes using a large hole muffin tray. I put a little blob of butter in the base of each and topped it with a slice of gala apple then spooned the batter on top.

I ate 1 (ok, 2!) warm from the oven and they were absolutely divine. The creme fraiche (or greek yoghurt in my case) made for a lovely moist and slightly tangy cake which paired beautifully with the sweet apple. They may have made out of a mistake but they were a definite winner!

To see the real recipe for Fresh Rhubarb Upside Down Baby Cakes make sure you visit out host Erin of When in Doubt.

Secret Recipe Club - Mongolian Lamb

This is now my third month with the Secret Recipe Club and I'm loving everything about it! From waiting expectantly for the email with my assigned blog inside, to spending many happy hours scouring that blog to find just the right recipe.

This month I was assigned Lynsey's blog called Lynsey Lou's. Despite living on the other side of the world I found we have lots in common from being married at around the same time in 2008 and starting to blog soon after, to just a general passion for food and cooking. I loved all of Lynsey's recipes and had a really hard time choosing just one! In the end I let my husband choose his favourite and that was Lynsey's Mongolian Beef. Not sure whether it's just in Australia but we used to get Mongolian Lamb whenever we had Chinese food so I of course adapted it to use lamb instead. 

I haven't eaten much Chinese food at all in recent years after figuring out I have a sensitivity to MSG aka Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. Hubby and I went to a Thai restaurant on our second date and I spent half the meal locked in the bathroom feeling faint with heart palpitations and a throbbing headache. Lucky for me he stuck around!

Anyway, no such problems this recipe! It was absolutely delicious, packed with flavour and probably the closest thing to takeaway Chinese food that I've ever made at home. It was the first time I've fried meat like this and it really gave the dish that authentic taste and texture. I did find it a little too sweet so next time I would reduce the brown sugar to just 1/2 cup. Otherwise this was a huge success.

Mongolian Lamb
Adapted from Lynsey Lou's Mongolian Beef

2 ts vegetable oil
1 tbs fresh minced ginger
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
Vegetable oil, for frying (about 2 cups)
500g lamb steaks
1/4 cup corn flour
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
2 green shallots, sliced finely

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the ginger and garlic to the pan, give it a quick stir then quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Add the brown sugar, stir to dissolve, and then bring the sauce to the boil until it thickens and reduces, approx 5 minutes. Remove sauce from the heat and set aside.

To prepare the lamb, slice it thinly on the diagonal into ½ cm thick pieces. Tilting the blade of your knife to about 45 degrees will give wider cuts. Dust the pieces in corn flour then leave to rest for a few minutes so it sticks to the meat.

Heat 2 cups of oil in a wok or large deep fry pan until it's hot but not smoking (a wooden spoon dipped in the oil should start to bubble straight away).Carefully add the lamb in 2 or 3 batches to the hot oil and fry for two minutes, or until it just begins to darken on the edges. It doesn’t need to be cooked through at this stage. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly then remove with a large slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Repeat with remaining batches of lamb. Tip the hot oil into a heatproof jug then return the pan to the stove over medium heat.

Add the red onion and shallots (reserving a small handful of the shallots for garnish) and sauté for a few minutes until it becomes soft and translucent. Add the beef and the sauce and cook, stirring for another few minutes until it is well combined and the sauce has thickened.

Remove the lamb and onions (leaving excess sauce behind as it is very rich) and serve with plenty of steamed rice and a sprinkle of shallots over the top. Serves 4-6.