FRIED BROWN RICE WITH BROCCOLINI

Whenever I am alone for dinner I like to cook meals that my boyfriend would never eat. Hence the broccolini fried rice below. Broccolini and soy sauce together are just divine. Add a few eschalots and some garlic and you have got an amazingly tasty side dish. As I am inherently quite lazy, when I am alone for dinner I make very simple meals…or maybe I unconsciously make them simple as I know that I have no one to show off to…whatever the reason, give this fuss-free dish a try! 

INGREDIENTS

• 100g brown rice, cooked
• 1bunch broccolini, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 eschalot, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce 

COOKING 

1. Steam the broccolini for around 4-5 minutes. (If you do not have a steamer you can just boil water in a saucepan and place a colander on top, placing the broccolini in the colander and the saucepan lid on top). 

2. Heat the sesame oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and eshalots, cooking for 2 minutes. Make sure that you stir the ingredients constantly so that the garlic does not burn. Add the steamed broccolini and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring. Add the rice and soy sauce and stir for another 2 minutes. 

Serves / 2

Preparation & Cooking Time / 15 minutes 

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ROCKET & CHERRY TOMATO BALSAMIC SALAD

I’m very into cherry tomatoes at the moment. You may see a few more recipes containing this delectable fruit/vegetable in the coming weeks. Besides being very cheap at the market, they just seem to taste juicier and fresher than regular sized tomatoes. So there ends the debate that bigger is always better, ladies and gentlemen. This salad was something I threw together last night for lunch at work today. A decent percentage of employees at my place of work have decided to go on a detox cleanse and I must admit that their very clean eating habits are starting to rub off on me. Interestingly, this salad was quite filling due to the chickpeas. Cleansing may not be so bad after all! 

INGREDIENTS

• a large handful of rocket (60g)
• 150g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 200g chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 lebanese cucumber, halved & cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, diced finely
• 1 teaspoon lime juice 

COOKING 

1. Combine rocket, tomatoes, chickpeas, cucumber and chives in a medium serving bowl. 

2. Pour all dressing ingredients into a screw-top jar and shake to combine. Drizzle dressing over salad and serve. 

Serves / 2

Preparation time / 5 minutes 

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MANGO, PEACH & ROCKMELON FRAPPE

It occurred to me the other day that I have not tried my hand at many juices, smoothies or frappes since I bought a very powerful blender a few months ago. I really have no excuse for this, as my kitchen is always stocked with fresh fruit (some 24 year old’s spend their disposable income on clothes, I choose to spend mine on food). Today (Sunday) was a particularly hot day in Brisbane. I suggested making a frappe and my boyfriend was the one who came up with the concoction below. The types of fruit used can be varied as you please, however try to use a whole mango, as this fruit thickens the frappe. You could use raspberries and/or nectarines instead 0f peach and/or rock melon. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 mango, sliced into chunks
• 1/2 a medium peach, cut into thin slices 
• 150g rockmelon, peeled, chopped and seeds removed, plus extra to serve 
• a handful of ice
• a blender

COOKING 

1. Combine all the fruit pieces and the ice in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve with a few rock melon pieces, if desired. 

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CRISPY CHICKEN SCHNITZEL

I have vivid memories of helping my mother in the kitchen when she made chicken schnitzel every few weeks. She would act like she greatly required my help and that my assistance in dipping the chicken into the egg and then covering the chicken with breadcrumbs was fundamental in the process. I now know that she could have completed this cooking step in the half the time that it took me to do it, however I felt extremely needed at the time. I decided to make schnitzel the other night, but did not call my mother for her recipe, wanting to produce something all my own, without any guidance. The herbs and parmesan tasted delicious together and the sauce is a great idea for anyone who does not want to use much oil in the frying process. That said, I don’t think it tasted as good as my dear mothers…..stay tuned for her epic chicken schnitzel!

 INGREDIENTS

• 500g chicken breast 
• Glad wrap (cling wrap)
• A metal or rubber mallet
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (can use gluten-free breadcrumbs or blender 2-3 slices of gluten-free bread to make crumbs)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme 
• a handful of cashew nuts, roughly chopped 
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely diced 
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard 
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar 

COOKING 

1. Make the sauce for the chicken by combining the garlic, lime juice, mustard and white vinegar in a screw top jar and shaking well. Set aside. 

2. Cover the chicken pieces with glad wrap and use a mallet to pound the chicken until it is a 1cm or so thick. Combine the breadcrumbs, parmesan, herbs and cashew nuts in a medium bowl. 

3. In another medium bowl, beat the egg whites slightly. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg mixture to coat entirely and then into the crumb & herb mixture, pressing the crumbs down until the chicken is completely coated. Repeat until all chicken pieces are covered with egg whites and crumb mixture. 

4. Heat a large frying pan on medium heat and add olive oil, swirling to coat. Add the chicken pieces and cook for around 4-5 minutes each side or until both sides are golden and no pink flesh of the chicken remains (to check this, you may need to cut apart the biggest piece of chicken). Transfer chicken on a plate when cooked and drizzle the sauce over the top or on the side. 

NB- I served this chicken with a salad of red kidney beans, tomato, cheese, beetroot and 1 avocado. The recipe is below. 

Super Quick Side Salad 

• 1 x 400g tin red kidney beans, rinsed & drained 
• 1 tomato, sliced into thin wedges
• 1 ripe avocado, diced into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon reduced fat grated cheese
• 2 tablespoons diced beetroot. 

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and serve. You can add your own dressing if desired (I found that the chicken had so much flavour that I did not require a dressing). 

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SEASONED VEGETARIAN OMELETTE

 My attempts to cook breakfast more frequently continue! This morning I cooked an omelette for the very first time in my 24 years of existence. As a present for my boyfriend for cleaning the stove top and setting up my new Macbook Pro (yay!) I decided to do something nice in return for him and make him his favourite breakfast dish. The funny thing is that I have NO idea how to cook omelettes. Feeling a little out of my depth, I decided to do what I always do when I cook something new; add spices! The omelette took on a joint Mexican & Indian theme as I found myself adding smoked paprika, chilli powder, ground cumin & ground coriander. This mixture of spices and flavours worked remarkably well together. Cooking the omelette ended up being incredibly simple, as I just left the egg mixture to set in a non-stick frying pan and then folded the sides over after adding in the vegetarian filling. Stay tuned for more healthy, simple breakfast dishes.


INGREDIENTS

• 5 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup water 
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, roughly chopped
• 40g light grated cheese
• 60g brown onion, finely chopped
• 150g red capsicum, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, diced 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• a pinch of chilli powder
• Optional- 10g extra cheese and cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters, to serve 

COOKING 

1. Heat 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil in a small to medium frying pan on medium heat and cook onion and garlic for a few minutes or until onion has softened. Add capsicum and the four spices and stir for 2 minutes or until well combined and capsicum is tender. Remove from pan and keep warm. 

2. Whisk eggs, water, chives and 40g cheese in a jug. Heat 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil in a small to medium frying pan on low heat and swirl to coat. Pour in half of the omelette mixture and leave until the egg is almost set; this should take around 2-3 minutes. Remove omelette from pan, place on a serving plate and add half of the capsicum mixture and top with cheese and cherry tomatoes. Fold the sides of the omelette over. Repeat with the remainder of the egg mixture. 

Serves 2 

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HAM, TOMATO & CHIVE RISOTTO

This risotto was created out of thin air during one day when I had a double shift at work. I raced home, napped for 30 minutes, then rushed around my kitchen like a mad woman throwing together something for dinner. Being exhausted as I was and scatter brained (as I frequently am), I cooked the rice first instead of letting it cook with the stock and other ingredients. Unexpectedly this little error made the dish taste even better, as the rice became particularly tender, however not too soft. I highly recommend that everyone try to make a risotto this way at least once. The tomato and ham were a surprisingly good combination and tasted even better for lunch the next day.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups doongara rice
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 100g gluten-free ham, cut into cubes
• 1/2 red onion (60-80g), chopped finely
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 x 400g tin diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 150g green beans, trimmed and cut in half
• 1 garlic clove, diced 
• Optional- fresh chopped chives, to serve 

COOKING 

1. Cook rice according to the package instructions. (Add 3 cups of water to rice in a medium to large saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until rice has absorbed and is tender). 

2. Heat oil in a large deep frying pan and cook garlic and red onion, stirring for 2-3 minutes or until onion is soft. Add vegetable stock, tomato paste, green beans, diced tomatoes and rice and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for around 10-12 minutes or until the rice has a creamy texture and 70% of the liquid has absorbed. Stir in the ham. Serve with fresh chopped chives, if desired. 

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