KUMARA - THE NEW POTATO

Are sweet potatoes better for you than regular potatoes?

The answer, though debated, appears to be YES from my research. Sweet potato (or Kumara) has a lower GI index (Glyemic index) than regular potatoes, meaning that your stomach stays filled for longer after consuming this vegetable. In addition, sweet potato is rich in Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Of course regular potato has its health benefits as well, however in my personal opinion, I'd prefer to eat the vegetable that is going to fill my stomach the longest, so that I'm not reaching for carbs at 10pm.


In light of this new research, I went on a sweet potato cooking frenzy last night and made 2 dishes. Both dishes are vegetarian and quite simple to make.




SWEET POTATO AND SAGE RISOTTO 


This is my go-to dish when I don't want to do too much work in the kitchen. I have made this recipe countless times and have invented short cuts (as you do) from the original recipe. I have decreased the amount of olive oil and cheese in the recipe to make it lower in fat.


Ingredients 

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small to medium red onion, chopped finely 
• 600- 700g orange sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
• 400g (2 cups) doongara rice 
• (the recipe calls for arborio rice, however due to my deep love of doongara rice I have altered this. Either type of rice will work). 
• 1.25 litres (5 cups) hot vegetable stock 
• (Use Massel Stock Powder if possible).  
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 
• (a quick way to lower the fat content is to reduce the cheese component to 1/4- 1/2 of a cup).
• 3 tablespoons fresh shredded sage 
• 1 tablespoon ground sage 
• (this is optional but it just seems to improve the taste for me). 

Cooking 

1. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan (emphasis on LARGE) and cook the red onion over medium- high heat for 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Add the sweet potato and rice and stir well until both are coated in oil.


2. Add 5 cups of hot vegetable stock to the saucepan and lower the heat to simmer. Stir occasionally until the stock is absorbed into the rice. This may take around 20-25 minutes.


3. When the stock has absorbed, taste test the rice to make sure that it is soft. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the parmesan and shredded & ground sage if you desire.


4. Serve and enjoy!


Note- this recipe states that it serves 4. From my experience it can serve 5-6 quite easily.

Recipe adapted from 'Vegie Food', a chunky cookbook, published by Murdoch Books.
-On a side note; I adore this book. For anyone that is partial to vegetarian food, this book is amazing. It is 400 pages in length and filled with countless tasty recipes. You can find this cookbook at most Coles Supermarkets for only $12.00.





SWEET POTATO & CHICKPEA BURGERS 

This dish I found in a recently released Weight Watchers Cookbook called 'Eat & Enjoy'. I greatly recommend this cookbook, as the food is low fat and not lacking in taste. These burgers are a great substitute to meat. The chickpeas and sweet potato are quite filling and taste delicious together. The 2 spices used in this recipe, ground cumin and ground coriander, greatly compliment each other.


Ingredients 

• 300g sweet potato, cut into 3cm pieces
• 400g can chickpeas, drained 
• 1/3 cup (25g) breadcrumbs made from fresh white, multigrain or wholemeal bread 
• TIP- to make fresh breadcrumbs, remove crusts and cut bread into cubes. Process cubes for a few seconds in a food processor or blender. You can freeze the leftovers in a sealed bag for up to 3 months. Please do not use stale breadcrumbs from a packet, as your patties will not taste nearly as fresh. 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed 
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1/4 cup (60g) no-fat Greek-style yogurt 
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice 
• 4 x 80g wholegrain bread rolls, split and toasted in the oven for 5 or so minutes. 
• 1-2 cups salad leaves 
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced 
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced

Cooking 

1. Boil, steam or microwave sweet potato until just tender. Personally, I prefer boiling. This will take around 15 minutes. 

2. Place the tender sweet potato in a large bowl with the chickpeas and mash until smooth. Add fresh breadcrumbs, ground cumin, ground coriander, garlic and egg white and mix until combined. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

3. Using damp hands, form mixture into 4 similar sized patties. 

4. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook patties for 4-5 minutes each side. Then transfer the patties to the oven and cook for around 10 minutes on a setting of 200 degrees Celsius for a fan forced oven.  

5. Whilst the patties are cooking, combine yoghurt and lemon juice in a small bowl. 

6. Serve patties with salad, tomato, cucumber and yoghurt mixture if desired. 

Preparation time: 20 minutes 

Cooking time: 25 minutes 

x E

GLUTEN-FREE and EGG-FREE FRUIT CAKE

(My sister Lisa can't eat egg or gluten and came up with this amazing fruit cake recipe that everyone will love!)

Ingredients
1kg mixed fruit
2 cups of cold tea or apple/pineapple juice
2 cups gluten-free self raising flour

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Baking Time: 2 – 2 ½ hours

METHOD

1. The night before, the fruit and liquid in a bowl and put it in the fridge to rest.
2. The next day (or a minimum of 6 hours later), stir in the flour. It’s best to do this gradually as gluten-free flour is very dry and fine.
3. Preheat the oven to 125 degrees Celcius and bake for 2 to 2 ½ hours.
4. Rest on bench, then after 10-15mins, tip onto a cooling rack. Don’t cut the cake until it’s substantially cooled; it’s much easier to cut through the doughy texture once it has cooled down.

NOTES

I made this recipe with 450g of tinned pie apples, 500g sultanas and a few handful of pitted dates. With the use of tinned apples, I only used 1 cup of cold tea (as the moisture from the apples is a substitute for the other cup). If I was to make it ‘traditionally’ with 1kg of sultanas, raisins and currants, then you do want the 2 cups – it will soak into the fruit overnight, and provide moisture for the cake.

You can put any sort of fruit in this cake, and experiment with the moisture and flour required to get a consistency and balance that you enjoy.

However, even if you halve the quantities and make a smaller, apple and sultana tea cake, I suggest cooking at a low temperature for a similar amount of time. The apples make the cake very moist, and though some recipes say you can cook at 160-180 degrees for around one hour, I’ve found the cake doesn’t rise as much, and isn’t as fluffy as the slower process (plus, the kitchen smells delicious for much longer!)

Lisa x

 

KEBAB BLISS

ROSEMARY AND GARLIC KEBABS

Another summer recipe! Spring is in the air and I find myself dreaming of bbqs and lazy Sunday afternoons filled with sticks of meat, colourful salads and good conversation. And of course a bottle of wine. 

This recipe I made as a side to the summer pasta salad, just to increase the protein on the table. Like the pasta salad, this dish is extremely effortless and tastes delightful. 

Ingredients 

• 8 x 15cm stalks fresh rosemary 
• I admit I used dried rosemary for this- use between 1-2 tablespoons depending on your love for the herb. 
• 1 clove garlic, crushed 
• 1/2- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic from jar 
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice 
• either from a lemon if you have one sitting around at home, as this will taste a little fresher than a tablespoon from a bottle of lemon juice. 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 500g diced lamb
• 6-10 skewers

Cooking 

1. Place skewers in water for approximately 20 minutes, so they do not burn during cooking. I used around 6 skewers for this dish. 

2. Pull enough leaves from the bottom of the rosemary stalks to make 2 tablespoons of finely chopped leaves (or use 2 tablespoons dried rosemary); toss in small bowl with garlic, juice and oil. 

3. Thread lamb onto skewers, brush with rosemary oil mixture. 

4. Cook kebabs on heated oil barbecue until cooked as desired. 

- I want a barbecue desperately for this summer. Until I have one in my possession, I use the oven for bbq dishes. When the top side of the lamb became brown, I just turned the skewers over so that both sides were cooked evenly. Simple!

Preparation time- 20 minutes 

Cooking time- 20 minutes 

Serves 4 

15.6g fat per serving / 1024kj (245 calories) / 0.3g carbohydrate / 26.2 protein / 0.1g fibre. 

xx E

SUMMER PASTA SALAD

Me and Danni made this humble dish a few weeks ago for a light dinner and we were not disappointed. The effortless preparation and fresh ingredients make this dish scream SUMMER. 


Ingredients 

• 250g orecchiette pasta 
• I used gluten free penne pasta due to my coeliac tendencies. You can also use gluten free spirals. 
• 2 tablespoons drained sun-dried tomatoes, chopped coarsely. 
• 1 small red onion (100g), sliced thinly 
• 1 small green capsicum (150), sliced thinly. 
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 
• I know I am usually an advocate for dried herbs but please use fresh parsley for this recipe! the difference is noticeable. 

Sun-dried tomato dressing 

• 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato pesto
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 

Cooking 

1. Cook pasta in large saucepan of boiling salted water, uncovered, until just tender; drain. Rinse under cold water; drain. 

2. Meanwhile, make sun-dried tomato dressing by combining ingredients in a screw-top jar; shake well. 

3. Combine pasta with remaining ingredients and dressing in large bowl; toss gently. 

And your finished!! Its almost too easy.

Preparation time- 15 minutes 

Cooking time- 10 minutes 

Serves 4 

12g fat per serve / 1405 kj (336 calories) / 46g carbohydrate / 8.8g protein / 3.6g fibre. 

Recipe from The Women's Weekly BBQ Cookbook. 

xx E & D

ARTICHOKES MADE EASY

ARTICHOKE RISOTTO


I have made this recipe no less than 30 times in the past year or so. I just love it. So simple, so low in fat and very very tasty. 


Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium brown onion (150g), chopped finely 
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• or our little trick, 1- 1 1/2 teaspoons of crushed garlic from a jar. 
• 6 or so green onions, sliced thinly
• 2 cups (400g) doongara rice 
• 3/4 cup (18-ml) dry white wine 
• any cooking wine will do. 
• 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) chicken stock 
• 3 cups (750ml) water 
• 400g can artichoke hearts, drained, sliced thinly 
• 1/2 cup (40g) finely grated parmesan cheese plus extra for serving. 

Cooking 

1. Heat oil in large saucepan; cook brown onion, garlic and half of the green onion, stirring, until brown onion softens. Add rice, wine, stock and the water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, simmer, covered for around 15 minutes or until rice has absorbed into the liquid, stirring occasionally. 

2. Stir in artichokes, cheese and remaining green onion and cook, stirring, for around 5 minutes or until artichokes are heated through. Serve with a little extra parmesan and salt and pepper, if desired. 

Serves 4-6 

Per Serving: 4.5g fat/ 1353kJ (323 calories)/ 1.2 saturated fat/ 1.8g fibre/ 37g carbohydrate. 

Recipe from the Australia Women's Weekly Low-Fat Food for Life. 

xx E

SWEET SWEET STRAWBERRIES

I scream and shout for joy when spring comes in Brisbane, as this means STRAWBERRIES!! Now I am well aware that due to a few strawberry farms recently constructed that this delicious fruit is available during winter, however, answer me this: is there anything better than eating a fresh, juicy strawberry in spring or summer? 


Due to my immense love of this berry, I bought a kilo of strawberries from the West end farmers market the weekend gone by. As if by fate, I stumbled across a recipe for Strawberry Cake that very same day. Now, when I first looked at this recipe my initial thoughts were : too much work. BUT PLEASE PLEASE trust me when I say, this is the best tasting cake that I have ever made, and I am not a good baker. And its a weight watchers recipe!


STRAWBERRY  SWIRL YOGURT CAKE 


Ingredients 

• 500g strawberries
• 1/2 (100g) caster sugar
• 100g Weight Watchers Canola Spread 
• I used Meadow Lea as it is cheaper and was what was available in my fridge. 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence/ extract 
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups (200g) self raising flour
• 150g tub NESTLE Diet Vanilla Yoghurt 
• Now, I would usually make a note here saying that you can buy any yoghurt that you want. However, I have recently tried my hand at a few weight watchers recipes with this type of yoghurt and other yoghurt brands and I strongly believe that the brand mentioned above is the best. 
• 1/2 (60ml) low fat milk
• 2 teaspoons icing sugar, sifted. 

Cooking 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C or 160 degrees C for a fan-forced oven. Lightly spray a 20cm round cake tin with oil. Line base and side with baking paper. 

• Quick Tip- No issue if you don't have a 20cm cake tin, my cake tin is around 30cm in diameter. All this means is that your cake will be shorter in height. I also shortcut the recipe and did not line the base and side of the tin with baking paper- which did not affect the finished product . 

2. Cut half the strawberries into quarters. Place half of the quartered strawberries into a bowl with 2 teaspoons caster sugar. Using a fork, lightly crush strawberry mixture and set aside. 

3. Using an electric mixer or beaters, beat spread, vanilla essence/extract and remaining caster sugar in a medium to large bowl for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well with the beaters/ mixer after each addition.

4. Stir in flour, yoghurt and milk, alternately, until combined. Stir in remaining quartered strawberries. Add crushed strawberry mixture and SWIRL LIGHTLY through cake mixture (do not mix!). 

5. Spoon cake into prepared tin and smooth the surface. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. 

• Now, each oven is frustratingly different. This cake was in my oven for 1 hour minutes at 160 C (fan force) until it was ready. Your oven may be more powerful than mine (lets hope is it!). 

6. Stand cake in tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. 

7. Cut remaining strawberries in half and arrange on top of cake. Serve dusted with icing sugar. 

NB- This cake will store in an airtight container for up to 3 days- if it lasts that long uneaten in your home. It was not so lucky at mine. 

Recipe from 'Eat & Enjoy', Weight Watchers Cookbook. 

xx E

COMFORT FOOD

Last Saturday afternoon took a windy turn and became rather chilly (as chilly as Brisbane can be on a spring afternoon). I seem to crave soup as soon as the temperature gets under 15 degrees Celsius. Saying that, I usually despise cooking soup as it can be rather fiddly (the majority of soup recipes I have come across you have to use a food processor and by 6 or 7pm I do not have the energy). 


I had bought a second hand cookbook at the West end Farmers Markets several months for a few dollars which I browsed through, looking for something to satisfy my craving. As I flipped the pages I can across a recipe for Curried Chicken and Zucchini Soup. Intrigued, I read on. 


CURRIED CHICKEN AND ZUCCHINI SOUP


Ingredients 

• 1 tablespoon low-fat spread
• Use whatever in is your fridge- I use low fat meadow lea margarine. 
• 1 medium brown onion (approx. 150g), chopped finely
• 1 clove garlic, crushed 
• Again my tip- crushed garlic from a jar. use about 1/2 teaspoon. 
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 cup (100g) doongara rice 
• 340g chicken breast fillets, sliced thinly 
• 2 cups (500ml) water 
• 1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock
• 4 medium zucchini, grated coarsely. 

Cooking

1. Melt spread in large saucepan. Add onion and garlic, stirring until onion softens. Add curry powder and cook, stirring, until mixture is fragrant. 

2. Add rice and chicken. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the water and stock; bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Add zucchini and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked though. 

What I LOVE about this recipe is how easy it is, as well as being a rather unique kind of soup. Also, did I mention it was low fat? 

Serves 4

Per serving: 6.7g fat / 1098kJ (262 calories)/ 2.1 saturated fat / 2.7g fibre / 25.7g carbohydrate. 

Recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly Low-Fat Food for Life Cookbook. 

xx E