News

New potato & green bean salad with black olive and mint vinaigrette

This weekend we hosted our first BBQ at the new house! Yes it may have taken a few months to happen and we still may be short on dishes and cutlery but it was a great way to spend a Sunday. Apart from the stress of having 11 people at our house for the first time, we thought we would really up the anti and make all new recipes for the salads. Nothing like a little challenge! Our New potatoes in the garden were ready for harvesting so I started looking at my cookbooks for some great recipes. I decided to go with the new potato & green bean salad with black olive and mint vinaigrette recipe I found in my STOKED book by Al Brown - a really fantastic cook book! Here is the recipe for you all to enjoy. It's super easy to make and super refreshing on a hot day. Enjoy! Ingredients: Black Olive and Mint Vinaigrette 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons finely diced shallots 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar 150ml extra virgin olive oil 3/4 cup sliced good quality black olives 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint New Potato and Green Bean Salad 1 kg new potatoes, scrubbed and cooked 300 kg French green beans, cooked 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh mint Step 1: Black Olive and Mint Vinaigrette Ina medium-sized bowl, combine the vinegar, shallots and sugar. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until all incorporated. Fold in the olives and mint and season with a good couple of grinds of black pepper. Refrigerate until serving. Step 2: New Potato and Green Bean Salad Cut the potatoes into large dice and lace in a decent-sized mixing bowl. Add the green beans, toss in the vinaigrette and mix through. Dish out on to a platter or bowls and top with fresh mint. Serve. Photo credit to Kieran Scott

Coconut, almond and tahini cookies

Yesterday I decided to do some baking so I could have some treats with me at the Trade Show (eating at those things can be tricky and there's nothing like a good sugar boost!). I saw that Lauren from Needle & I had posted what appeared to be a 'healthy' cookie recipe that sounded delicious! So yesterday I headed to the supermarket in the morning and purchased a few missing ingredients. I will warn you now, these cookies are aaaaamazing! I made a couple alterations to Lauren's recipe to be just a wee bit healthier / it's what I had at home. This recipe is dairy free, gluten free, and only contains natural sugar and still takes good. If you're looking for some new items to cook or bake make sure to check out her In the Kitchen section of the blog, there are some real gems in there! Enjoy! INGREDIENTS (makes approx. 30 cookies) 150g coconut oil – at room temperature (original recipe used butter) 1/3 cup liquid honey (I used Clove Honey) 85g hulled tahini 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 1.5 cups desiccated coconut 1 cup ground almonds (I used both almond meal and LSA, again it's what I had on hand) 1.5 cups gluten-free flour (I used barley rice flour as it's what I had on hand) METHOD 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line two oven trays with baking paper. 2. Put the oil, honey, tahini and vanilla into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed until thick, creamy and pale. 3. Add the coconut, almonds and gluten-free flour and mix on a low speed until everything is just incorporated. The dough will be quite sticky. 4. Roll tablespoons of the dough between your hands into walnut-sized balls. 5. Place the balls onto the lined oven trays allowing about 5cm between each cookie. Flatten each one slightly with the back of a fork. 6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes – set a timer as they will burn quickly if left any longer. They should be a lovely golden brown. 7. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. 8. Store in an airtight container. These cookies will keep well for up to a week - if they last that long...

(All photographs taken by Needle & I)

Note: My cookies didn't come out quite as thick as pictured here due to using a hand electric blender and using butter but they still taste fantastic!

Green Juice

This year for my birthday I bought myself a juicer! Sure, not your typical birthday gift but with 2013 being so busy, my health took a bit of a backseat priority. So I've decided to put my health a bit forward on the priority list this year and with us now having our own veggie patch, a juicer seemed like a perfect pressie! I do have to admit, I have taken it out of the box, assembled it, displayed it nicely on the kitchen bench, but have yet to use it! I've been spending some time looking up delicious and healthy recipes to try and this beautiful print by Verysarie, based in LA, has inspired me to get my grocery list together and start juicing! Green juice is something that sounds super scary but tastes delicious! Here are some recipes I've found online for a mean green smoothie: The Juice Box Ingredients: 1/2 a box of arugala an apple a cucumber half a lemon about 1.5 cube inches of ginger Directions: 1. throw all those ingredients in your juicer 2. adjust for your personal preference 3. sip up! Joe Cross Ingredients: Apples - 2 medium (3" dia) 364g Celery - 4 salk, large (11"-12" long) 256g Cucumber - 1 cucumber (8-1/4") 301g Ginger - 1 thumb (1" dia) 24g Kale - 6 leaf (8-12") 210g Lemon - 1/2 fruit (2-3/8" dia) 42g Directions: Process all ingredients in a juicer, shake or stir and serve.

My Baby Birds Blog

Ingredients: 6 kale leaves 1 cucumber 4 celery stalks 2 apples 1/4 lemon, peeled sliver of ginger root Have a favourite juice recipe? We'd love to know!

Chocolate Chunk Oat Cookies

Hello again Toodles Noodles readers, it’s Lydia from Lydia Bakes here again bringing you another yummy recipe. These cookies are an absolute favourite in our house. Everyone I’ve shared the recipe with has kept it as their go-to cookie recipe, once you taste them you’ll know why. The cookies are delicious and chunky, with a bittersweet chocolately kick. The best part is they’re made with oats so they’re filling too! Chocolate Chunk Oat Cookies Recipe by Jo Seagar Ingredients: 250g Butter, softened 3 T Sweetened Condensed Milk 3/4 C Sugar 1 1/2 C Flour 1 1/2 C Rolled Oats 1 t Baking Powder 200g Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped (I use Whittaker’s 50%) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line two baking trays with baking paper. Beat butter for about 30 seconds then add the sweetened condensed milk and sugar. Beat until light and creamy. Sift in the flour and baking powder then throw in the oats and chopped up chocolate. Mix together until nicely combined then roll heaped tablespoons full of mixture into balls and place on baking trays. Flatten with a fork (I love the look that gives them!) and cook for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Cool cookies on wire racks and then try not to eat them all at once, believe me, you'll want to!

Healthy Zucchini Muffins Post:

Hello lovely Toodles Noodles readers, it’s Lydia from Lydia bakes here, thank you so much for having me today! I am honoured to be guest blogging for the lovely Liora. A while back a decided to do the Paleo diet to get my health and fitness where I wanted to be. It was great but some things I found challenging, like baking.  

Homemade Muesli

This weekend I decided to raid our pantry and make muesli for the first time!  My partner has a fantastic recipe that he used to make a couple years ago - but being from California - muesli was a bit foreign to me before moving to New Zealand. Over the past few years I've learned to love and crave this filling morning treat!  So an effort to do a little Spring Clean of our pantry I decided to make my own! This recipe is low in sugar and high in fibre and will keep you full all morning long (and is particularly good with natural yogurt). Enjoy! 1 1/4 C Oats 1/4 C    Pumpkin Seeds 1/4 C    Sunflower Seeds 1/4 C    Sesame Seeds 1/4 C    Chia Seeds (I found mine at the local Farro) 1/4 C    Raisins 1/4 C    Dried Cranberries 1/3 C    chopped Dates 1/4 C    Coconut Shavings 1/4 C    Bee's Blessings Mulled Honey 1 T        Coconut Oil Dash of Salt Mix ingredients together and toast in 150C oven until brown.

SPCA Cupcakes

This past month I participated in the SPCA cupcake day by baking three different kinds of cupcakes!  As promised here are the recipes I used to - all super delicious! Pumpkin Cupcakes by Smitten Kitchen Peach Cupcakes with brown sugar frosting by Smitten Kitchen Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting by Not without Salt Unfortunately I didn't get many images of the final product but all three recipes were really delicious and devoured.

Berrylicious Sorbet

Have that sweet tooth craving at night but don't want to load up on sugar and carbs? Yup, same here!

My Mr. has come up with a super delicious, easy, and healthy alternative.

Ingredients: (yields 2 servings)

1 banana 2 cups of frozen berries 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder (can be substituted for Complan or alternatives) a dash of probiotic yogurt Simply combine all items in your hand mixer (I'm sure a blender will work just as well) until berries are blended and all ingredients have a smooth consistency. For presentation and a bit of texture, sprinkle frozen black currents (full of antioxidants, Vit C, and fiber!) Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

Tonight I tried a new cookie recipe - and let me tell you - yum! When I read this recipe and it said that it contains no flour, sugar, oil, butter, or eggs I had my suspicions but they just looked so good. So straight after work I made my way to the supermarket buying the missing ingredients. Prep-time took approximately 10 minutes and with bake time only being an additional 10-15 minutes, these cookies are perfect for midweek baking. Enjoy! Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups canned* chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (165 grams) natural peanut butter (I used 100% pure nutz) 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey (I added a bit more due to peanut butter being quite dry) 1 teaspoon baking powder a pinch of salt (if your peanut butter doesn’t have salt in it) 1/2 cup (90 grams) chocolate chips * My can was a 390 gram can and used 2 full cans ** I added in a bit of cinnamon for extra flavour** Directions: Preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C. Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they’re combined. Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky. With wet hands, form into 1 1/2? balls. Place onto a piece of parchment paper. If you want them to look more like normal cookies, press down slightly on the balls. They don’t do much rising. Bake for about 10-15 minutes. Yields about fourteen cookie dough balls.

Chicken Soup

(image source)

As most of you know, I've been struck by the horrible flu going around New Zealand for the last two weeks. With what feels like nothing working, I decided to act on my mother and grandmother's solution for when you're sick: chicken noodle soup. My amazing partner went out over the weekend and bought me the ingredients for a delicious, hearty chicken noodle soup. Ingredients 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices 2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices 4 fresh thyme sprigs 1 bay leaf 8 cups chicken stock - I used cube stock with water 1 bundle of soba noodles (I used these) 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken Directions Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Fold in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through; season with salt and pepper. Recipe adapted from here.