Chicken and Spinach Tikka Masala with Buttered Lemon Cauliflower 'Rice'

I am really stoked with this recipe - I'm just gonna say that right from the get-go. We eat chicken at least once a week at our house and it's hard to keep coming up with new and interesting things. I was looking for something a little bit different to the usual and came across this recipe by Nadia Lim, of MasterChef and My Food Bag fame, which I found on The Food Show website, somewhat randomly.
I was surprised to find that I had almost all the staple ingredients in my pantry already and I liked the idea of making a curry totally from scratch - I usually use a store bought paste. I'd also never had a go at the latest trend of using cauliflower for everything from pizza bases to mash to rice, so I was keen to give it a whirl. And it looked pretty healthy and quick - very important for a Sunday night dinner, after spending the better part of the day driving back from Hawke's Bay.

1 tablespoon of oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced or chopped
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground tumeric
1 teaspoon of ground chilli
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons of chopped, grated or minced ginger
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 teaspoon of salt
600g boneless, skinless chicken things, cut into 2-3cm pieces
400g can chopped/crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup sour cream or cream - I used lite sour cream
3 large handfuls of baby spinach, chopped
2-3 tablespoons of plain yoghurt (to serve)
1/4-1/2 cup chopped coriander (to serve)

For the buttered cauliflower rice:
1/2 head of cauliflower (including the stem), cut into florets - the recipe said a whole head but 1/2 head was just right for 4 servings.
1 tablespoon of butter
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4-1/2 cup chopped coriander or flat-leaf parsley


Heat the oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Cook the onion for 4–5 minutes until it's just starting to turn brown. Add the spices, garlic, ginger, lemon zest and salt and cook for a further minute or two. If the onion or spices catch or stick to the bottom of the pan, just add a little bit of water to the pan and stir. Add the chicken, tomatoes, sweet chilli sauce, lemon juice and cream/sour cream, cover and simmer for 5–10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened slightly. While the chicken is cooking, make the cauliflower ‘rice’. Put the cauliflower florets into a food processor and pulse until it's the texture of rice or couscous. Put into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes to steam the cauliflower slightly and evaporate extra moisture to make it fluffy. Add the butter and coriander/parsley to the hot cauliflower and fluff, using a fork, then season to taste with salt and pepper. The chicken should be cooked by now, so just stir through the spinach until wilted and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon some cauliflower rice and chicken tikka masala onto each plate and garnish with a little yoghurt and coriander.

This recipe was easy and quick, I already had most of the ingredients and, most importantly, it was delicious! I really liked the cauliflower rice - a simple and healthy alternative to rice - and even my partner who doesn't like cauliflower, thought it was pretty good. I can see this becoming a regular!

Banana Bread

Oh haaaaaay! It's been a month since I last posted but I've had a some other exciting-and-kind-of important-sort-of life-changing stuff occupying my time of late. And I've actually just been pretty busy with quite a few weekends away from home, but I have still managed to squeeze in some cooking here and there.

I was working from home the day I made this, which meant when I finished up for the day I had some time to put a banana bread in the oven. There were a couple of dire-looking bananas in the fruit bowl, which normally I chuck straight in the freezer for future use in cakes or smoothies, but I was inspired to whip something up then and there. I looked for a 'healthy' recipe for banana bread, something without as much sugar and fat and found one on BBC Good Food. I didn't quite have the right amounts of everything so I adapted it a bit to suit, and added some extras.

140g flour - wholemeal would make this even healthier, but I didn't have any.

100g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon mixed spice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2-3 ripe bananas, mashed - I think 3 is best, but I only had 2.

4 tablespoons of agave syrup - I only had honey, so I mixed about 3 tablespoons of clover honey with a little hot water, to make it more like a syrup. I used a little less as I didn't want it to be too sweet.

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

150ml of low-fat, plain yoghurt - I didn't quite have 150ml so about 50ml was some mixed berry yoghurt I also had in the fridge.

chopped pecans or walnuts (optional - and I didn't opt for these).

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees celsius, fan bake. Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and line a loaf tin with baking paper - make sure you leave it coming up over the sides a bit. In a second bowl, combine the mashed bananas, agave syrup/honey, beaten eggs and yoghurt. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour into the tin and sprinkle the nuts on top, if you're using them. Bake for 1 hour 10-15 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean - mine was done in just over an hour though so keep an eye on it. Cool on a wire rack and eat warm, or like the Aussies do, slice it, toast it and spread it with butter, cream cheese or even lemon curd at breakfast time. Store in an airtight container and it should last at least a few days, longer if you're toasting it.

I was a bit over the usual for breakfast and this was a bit of at treat for the rest of the week but it didn't taste overly sweet and a couple of slices with butter were surprisingly filling. It wasn't quite as banana-ry as I would've liked, so I'd use 3 bananas next time. I've recently bought an Easiyo yoghurt maker too, which is great as I use a lot of natural yoghurt, both in cooking, smoothies and just to eat, so it's nice to be able to make your own. It's also great served with any sort of sweet cake instead of cream, to take the edge off the sweetness a wee bit. Enjoy!

Cheesy Tomato and Veggie Pasta Bake

Yay! It's Spring time! And daylight savings! I love nothing better than cooking in my kitchen when it's still light - it's so nice and bright and the lighter evenings are promises of the approaching summer. It also means time to plant a new veggie garden, which I managed to do a couple of weekends ago, including potting some herbs for my window sill.

The weekend before last we were in Brisbane for a wedding, which was lovely - and warm. A couple of days before we left I wanted to try and use up some of the veggies we had in the fridge. Plus it was a Monday, so a good reason to have a meat-free meal. This recipe is great as you can pretty much put in whatever you like/have on hand/need to use up and it's very accommodating. And if you really need meat, you can add that in too. This concoction comes straight from the mind of yours truly!

1 tablespoon oil
1/2 onion
1 stalk celery
1 zucchini
1/2 red capsicum
6 mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes/fresh chilli
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon harissa paste (optional)
can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or 1 teaspoon of sugar (optional)
couple of handfuls of spinach
250g pasta - I used macaroni but whatever you like is fine
50g feta cheese
parmesan cheese
handful of fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Chop up the onion, celery, zucchini, capsicum and mushrooms. Heat a little oil in a pan on medium heat and, when hot, add the veggies. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is starting to become clear and the veggies are softening, Add the garlic and chilli and stir, cooking for another minute or two. Add the tomato paste, smoked paprika and harissa paste and stir, cooking for another minute. I love harissa and always have a jar in the fridge - it's so versatile and gives things a real depth of flavour. I often just have it on toast with eggs and avocado, It shouldn't be too hard to find, but it's not in every supermarket. Next, add the chopped tomatoes, stir, season and simmer for about 10 minutes. At this point, get some water on to boil on the stove, with a little salt and olive oil. Add the pasta when the water is boiling. Taste the sauce and depending on what you like, you can add either the balsamic vinegar or sugar to take away from the tartness of the tomato if you need it. Drain the pasta when cooked to al dente and tip back into the empty pot, off the heat. Add the spinach to the sauce and stir to wilt the spinach, then tip the sauce into the pot with the pasta. Stir gently to combine. Crumble the feta on top and the chopped fresh parsley and give it another quick mix. Pour into a rectangle baking dish, or 4-6 small dishes. Grate over the parmesan cheese to your liking and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with a side salad. Creamy and cheesy but fresh and tomatoey at the same time. A great dish to use up leftover veggies and get your 5+ a day at the same time - and it's perfect for leftovers the next day or feeding a few hungry people.

Chicken and Udon Noodle Soup

It's been pretty cold lately, in case you hadn't noticed, or you're reading this from warmer climes. And I've been feeling it more than most over the last month after returning from northern hemisphere summertime humidity straight back into the depths of winter. Like many of us, I've been in hibernation mode of late as well as a little depressed to be back at work if I'm honest, not to mention sick too. Feel sorry for me, god damn it! But the upside to all this is comfort food, but also lots of quick and healthy meals that don't take too much effort after a long day of work.

In commiserations of the cold winter weather, here's a super quick and warming meal - and you probably can't get any easier than this as there's hardly any cooking! And if, like me, you use leftover chicken from a whole cooked chicken you bought on a Saturday from the supermarket, it's basically just assembling it. Give it a whirl on a week night when you're tired, but need something hot and nourishing.

This recipe is from the August issue of the Healthy Food Guide, which fortuitously arrived not long after I got home. It serves four - or two and lunch the next day.

2 cups chicken stock

2 teaspoons of crushed garlic

1 chilli, finely sliced (or dried chilli flakes, which I used as fresh chillis were crazy expensive)

2 x 200g packets of fresh - as in, not dried but still found on the supermarket shelf - udon noodles (you could also use dried rice vermicelli noodles too, but you'd need to cook them for a bit longer)

450g bag of coleslaw (either a pre-made bag from the supermarket, or make your own, depending on how energetic you're feeling)

1 bunch baby bok choy (spinach would also work, but bok choy has a great flavour for this sort of dish)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast

1/2 cup coriander leaves

Put 2 cups of water onto heat and add the chicken stock, garlic, chilli and noodles when it's boiling. Simmer for 1 minute to soften the noodles, longer if they're dried). I recommend warming the bowls before the next step. Put the coleslaw, bok choy and chicken in four bowls and then divide the noodles between the bowls. Ladle the broth over the top and cover for a few minutes to allow the chicken and veggies to heat through - the veggies will be best when they are still a bit crunchy. Garnish with coriander and extra chilli if you like. The flavours are all spicy and fresh and it's just so perfect for a cold winter night. If you're making it for two with leftovers for lunch the next day, just make the full amount of stock liquid and take that to work with the chicken and veggies in a separate container. Just microwave the stock and noodles the next day, add the chicken and veggies, cover and warm through. Next time I might add baby corn - so good in Asian dishes. It's a little hard to eat on your lap though - I don't know about you guys but we've abandoned eating at the table in the dining room for the warmth of the living room. 

The last couple of weeks I've been Wellington on a Plate-ing it up like a mo' fo' - so next time, I'll tell you all about that. And share something good for the slow cooker - perhaps the most valuable kitchen implement for lazy winter time cooking.

Veggie Curry with Chickpeas

I have recently rediscovered the library and I had a brainwave when I was there recently - I can get cook books out from the library! My first selection was Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals. I've made a few recipes from here before - some of them are conveniently found on the internet - and this one is probably my favourite. I've made it heaps of times over the last few years - it's easy, has loads of veggies and you can actually make it in 30 minutes...without all the other accompaniments that go with this recipe in the book, that is. It's actually called Curry Rogan Josh in the book, but you can make it any kind of curry, just choose whichever kind of paste you like.

I also made the Piri Piri Chicken and the Kind Of Sausage Cassoulet while I had this book out from the library. I didn't rate the sausage cassoulet - it was too oniony for my taste - but the piri piri chicken was really delicious, as were the lemony potatoes with feta, chilli and coriander that went with it. I forgot to take any photos when I made it however, so no blog about it....this time. Anyway, back to the curry. I usually make some adjustments to the amounts of some things in the recipe, so this is my slightly altered version, which should do two meals and two lunches the next day.

1 onion
1/2 medium butternut squash
1/2 small cauliflower
1 fresh red chilli (optional)
2 cloves of garlic (3 if they're small)
a bunch of coriander
1/4 of a 283g jar of Patak's curry paste. I usually go for korma, but this time they only had 'mild curry paste' at the supermarket
1 x 400g can of chickpeas
100g prewashed baby spinach
1 cup (ish) natural yoghurt
oil for cooking

Peel and slice the onion and put into a large pan or pot with some oil and a splash of water, on a medium heat. Use the neck half of the butternut squash, so you don't have to de-seed it. Chop it up into 1cm pieces, skin and all, and add it to the pan. The skin becomes really tender so you won't even notice it, and it saves having to chop the skin off which is really fiddly. Chop up the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces and add to the pan, along with the sliced fresh chilli. I really like cauliflower in curries as it's such a great texture with excellent absorption qualities - so add a bit more if you fancy it. Crush in the garlic and chop up about half the bunch of coriander, including the stalks, and add to the pan. Add in a couple of splashes of water, the curry paste and the can of chickpeas, including the juices. Season, stir well, put the lid on and turn the heat up to medium-high. Basically, just cook this (hard and fast, as Jamie says) for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, and adding more water if it starts to look a bit dry. Add the spinach about 5 minutes before the end and stir through. Cook the rice while the curry is cooking (see below). When it's all done, divide the rice and curry between plates and add about 1/4 cup of yoghurt onto the top of each, with some chopped coriander leaves.

As as little aside, I am rubbish at cooking rice, however I learnt the best and most simple way from this recipe. Fill a mug with rice, put it into a pot and then add two mugs of boiling water with a little olive oil, a pinch of salt and a few cloves if you have them. Put the lid on and cook on a medium heat for 7 minutes. Then take the pot off the heat and leave it, with the lid on, for another 7 minutes - this gets you nice and fluffy rice and (almost) never fails!

Indian Potato and Chickpea Wraps

I'm always on the look out for quick, healthy and tasty recipe ideas. I must admit that I don't often have the patience for food that takes a long time to prepare, especially during the week - by the time I get home from work, I am ready to eat, so anything that can go from fridge to plate in under an hour is my go-to.

I've had a subscription to Healthy Food Guide for the last couple of years, so not surprisingly, a lot of my inspiration comes from these monthly magazines. There are also heaps of recipes on their website, so if I'm looking for seasonal recipes or a healthy variation on something, that's often where I look first.

I also like to try and eat a fair bit of vegetarian food. Not only because it's tasty, I enjoy it and it's cheaper, but it's a good way to get a veggie boost and it's more environmentally friendly - we don't necessarily do Meat Free Monday, but we do try to have at least one or two dinners a week with no meat.

This is one of the latest I've made - it's really filling and super tasty.

Indian potato and chickpea wraps (from the April 2015 issue of Healthy Food Guide)

3 large potatoes
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala (I used some daal masala my sister sent me when she travelled to India)
400g can chickpeas, drained
2 tablespoons of liquid honey
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds (I used regular sesame seeds)
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped
6-8 tortillas

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Cook the potato in boiling water until soft (about 10-15 minutes). When the potatoes are almost cooked, fry the onion in the oil until clear. Add the spices and cook for about a minute, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat. Drain and roughly mash the potatoes and add them to the onions and spices, along with the chickpeas, honey, salt, peas, cumin seeds, sesame seeds and coriander (but leave some of the last three to use as a garnish at the end) and stir to combine. I placed about a 1/2 cup of mixture into the middle of the tortilla and bring the sides in to wrap it - you can use more filling if you're making less, or you have large tortillas - I made 8 medium size ones, so we could take leftovers for lunch. Secure the wrap with a toothpick if you need to. Put them into an oven proof dish, spray or brush with a little oil, sprinkle over the leftover cumin and sesame seeds and bake for 10 minutes until wraps are crispy. Top with the remainder of the fresh coriander and serve.

The only addition I made to this recipe was a yoghurt dipping sauce I made up to go with it:

1 cup plain, natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of honey
Splash of lemon juice
Fresh chopped coriander
Freshly ground pepper

I found these really filling and the spices just make it so delicious. The dipping sauce added a little spicy sweetness to it too. Next time I'd probably add some additional veggies, like spinach or even substituting some of the potato for cauliflower would work a treat too.

Mini Breakfast Frittatas

I don't know about you guys but I struggle to find interesting stuff for breakfast during the week. I don't usually eat breakfast until I'm at work at about 9am and I can only do smoothies and yoghurt with fruit for so long. I love eggs and sometimes a savoury fix is what I need. These mini frittatas (sticking with the mini theme here) are great as you can make them ahead of time, which saves time in the morning. And they are a good protein source - if that's important to you.

I just made this recipe up and the good thing is, you can basically just add what you want. It's a good way to get rid of the ends of veggies in the fridge. This recipe makes six, which is three breakfasts for me - just multiply the recipe if you want to make more.

What do I need?

4-5 eggs (depending on size)
5-ish tspns milk (about one per egg - you could also use water or a combo of both). I say 'ish' because you might find you need a wee bit more when you fill up your muffin trays.
1/4 red onion
1 garlic clove (or a teaspoon of crushed garlic, if you still haven't got any fresh stuff, like me)
Veggies - whatever you like and/or have in your fridge. I used a combination of a handful of chopped spinach and kale (as I had these in my garden), 1/4 courgette, 1/4 red capsicum and a wee bit of grated carrot as I had some leftover from the wraps I made for dinner.
Herbs. Again, choose whatever you like. I am a BIG fan of dill with eggs. This time I used a combo of parsley, dill and chives because I had them all growing fresh in the garden (did I mention my garden?). Dried is also ok too.
Cheese. Again, use what you like. For these I used feta, but I've previously used parmesan or just good ol' cheddar. Finely grate it you're using cheddar or parmesan, and you only need a wee bit to top each frittata.
Optional: a little grated lemon zest, a sprinkle of dried or fresh chilli and 50g-ish of ham if you have it/are so inclined (I wasn't this time)
Oil for cooking (I usually use canola)
Salt and pepper

How do I make it?

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Chop all the veggies up pretty small and fry with a little oil (and the chilli if you're using it) for about 5-10 minutes, until cooked. I stir them pretty continuously so they don't brown or burn. Once cooked, set aside. In a jug, beat the eggs, milk/water, chopped herbs, grated lemon zest (if you're using this - and I recommend it), salt and pepper to taste - if you're using ham, don't add too much salt as ham can be pretty salty. Grab a six hole muffin tin (I don't think that's what you call it, but hey) and grease lightly with a little oil on a paper towel or pastry brush. Distribute the egg mixture between the six holes (!). It should fill each one up about half way - adjust with a bit more milk/water if you need to. Then add the veggies, distributing them between the six holes, add the chopped up ham if you're using it at this point too and top with a little cheese of your choice. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the egg is set. Cool on a plate and voilà - three days of breakfasts! Store in a container in the fridge. I usually wrap two up in a piece of foil and when I get to work, pop them on a plate in the microwave for 1 - 1 min 30 and Robert's your father's brother!