Easy Entertaining - Easy as Dips

 

At high school I did this horrible subject called Easy Entertaining. The idea on this cooking class was to show  you how easy it is to cook for people you are entertaining for. A roast dinner, complete with bread & butter pudding for dessert plus the kitchen cleaned up all within an hour was not Easy Entertaining! Saucepans on fire, silicon paper causing toxic smoke after someone put it in the microwave, shaking with fear when showing your cooking efforts to the teacher for inspection.... ahh, the memories. Needless to say this subject left a permanent scar on me as far as what "easy" cooking entailed and scared me away from cooking for years.

If I was in charge of the subject, first lesson - making dips! Dips are so ridiculously easy, even my high school self could make them and would come away smiling.

For a Melbourne Cup barbecue this year, I decdied to make 3 very simple but tasty dips in a flash!

As I am unsure of the exact amount of dip made, I will use the size of the dip bowl in the pictures to  try and explain.

Tzatziki

I like to make this dip first, as I like to put it back in the fridge for a while before serving.
Grate up half a lebanese cucumber. I chopped mine with a knife when grated, but to break up the pieces a bit smaller.
Combine in a bowl: 2 crushed garlic cloves, the cucumber and 360g of Greek style yoghurt, pepper to taste. Mix until the cucumber is evenly distributed in the bowl, then put in the fridge until serving. This also allows time for the cucumber and garlic flavours to infuse in the dip for longer.

This dip is the perfect partner for some freshly baked pita bread chips - brush some oil lightly over pita bread, add some spice mix (I like cumin and pepper), then bake in a 180C oven for 10 minutes, or until crispy. YUM.

Makes 5 bowls worth.

Hommus

Hommus, hummus, houmus... you get the idea. Its one of these. This was my first attempt at hommus after half watching a chef make it on tv. Surely I won't need a recipe!

Blend together in a food processor or good blender: 1 can of drained & washed chickpeas, 2 tablespoons of tahini, 2 garlic cloves, the juice of 1 lemon, 1/4 cup of water, 1 tsp cumin, a good dash of olive oil and salt, chilli powder and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth.
Drizzle some olive oil on top with some paprika before serving

The mixture will be quite dry and may clog up. I spent a lot of time declogging my blender, but it worked out in the end!

Makes 4 bowls worth.

Guacamole

This tasty one I left until last, as avocado can change colour if left out too long and I wanted the dip to look its best! It also takes a total of 2 minutes to make.

Buy 1 avocado, which is pretty ripe (when squeezing it, it should be fairly soft, but the outside should not crack when squeezing). Spoon out all the flesh from one avocado into a bowl. combine with a dash of extra virgin olive oil, the juice of 1/2 a lime, 1 tsp of freshly chopped coriander, plus pepper & chilli flakes / powder to taste. Mash up the avocado using the back of a spoon (the softer the avocado, the easier to mash) and mix with all the ingredients until you get a consistency which you like - some like smooth, some like chunky!

Makes 2 bowls worth.


Once you start making your own dips, store bought ones just won't taste as good and you will be a hit at your friends parties for putting in the extra effort.

Good luck with your next entertaining project!

Whats on tonights menu? Quinoa Tabouli!

Ok, so its not really tabouli. Tabouli is traditionally made with bulgur, parsley and tomatoes chopped up. This is a bunch of other things chopped up, but its pretty and green and still just as nice to have as a side.

With winter approaching, its important to keep up our leafy greens. They are still out there growing, but because we associate making salads as a summer affair, we tend to skip our raw crunchy fresh veg and replace it with roasted goodies. Don’t get me wrong, roasted vegetables still are a fantastic source of nutrients, however some nutrients can be lost in cooking, so its important to keep up the raw stuff as well!

This salad is chock full of leafy greens, which are a powerhouse of nutritional goodness and are one of the most concentrated sources of nutrients in foods. They are a rich source of minerals (including iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium) and vitamins (including vitamin C, E, K and many of the B vitamins). They also contain a variety of phytonutrients including beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin which are important for protecting cells from eye damage and age-related problems.  The darker the green, the richer the nutrients. Kale (also known as Tuscan cabbage) is a favourite among naturopaths and healthy food followers as it very dark green and therefore very nutritious (and delicious!).  To learn more about kale, goto my friend Natalies brilliant blog, where she shows you how to cook kale in 5 ways... http://nataliethenaturopath.tumblr.com/post/21426066710/kale-five-ways-part-i-kale-smoothie

Now its salad making time!

How to make...

1. Cook up ¾ cup of raw quinoa (pronounced keen-WAH) in a rice cooker (the ratio of water to quinoa is 2:1) or saucepan. It should take about 20 minutes to cook. Drain (if cooked in a saucepan) and allow it to cool.
2. Toast a handful of pine nuts in a frypan on a low heat. Once they start to be aromatic and turn golden, take off the heat, they can burn quite quickly. Set aside to cool. *This is an optional extra, but adds new dimensions when added to foods!
3. Using a knife or food chopper (not sure if thats the official name of it, but it chops food, so therefore I name it this!), chop up finely your greens. This can be whatever greens you want. Tonight I used a mix of spinach, rocket, kale and basil. I used a few handfuls of spinach, 1 handful of rocket, a handful of basil and 10ish kale leaves (stalks removed).You could also add parsley, mint (if you’re after a freshness, but I wouldn’t add much), beetroot greens, coriander, mustard greens, carrot tops, celery leaves, bok choy...  Once finely chopped, put into your salad bowl.
4. Chop up any extra ingredients you want. This not only gives you colour, but provides the extra flavours which will complement your greens. Tonight I added pine nuts (see above), sundried tomatoes, red onion and capsicum. Stuck for other vegies to add? I’ve also used tomatoes, carrot and celery. Use your palate to decide what you want. Add the chopped extras to the bowl with the greens.
5. Just before serving, combine all ingredients, add cracked pepper, olive oil and a dash of sesame oil (if you have it), then toss.

Serves 4.

This can served as a side (as pictured above), or by itself. Tonight I served it will salmon cooked in coconut oil and topped with salt, pepper and shichimi (Japanese pepper mix).

Don’t be afraid of your kitchen, it can smell your fear. Instead, face it head on armed with a bunch of ingredients and show it what you can do!

 –Laura x

Whats on tonight's menu? Ridiculously Easy Pasta!

I grew up on supermarket pasta sauces. Ads make them look delish, showing a saucepan filled with tomato, garlic, onion and other herbs which have been gently simmering together.  Apparently this saucepan of goodness is the sauce you buy in the jar.  I don’t know what half of the ingredients are on the back of those sauce jars, but I know its not like an Italian mamma used to make!

People buy stuff in a jar because its convenient and easy. I offer you a pasta sauce which is ridiculously easy, 100% real food ingredients and healthy for you too!

All you need...

• Roma tomatoes (2-3 big ones, or 5-6 small ones)
• 1 Red onion
• Fresh basil leaves,torn up (a small handful should do)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

*****

1. Chop up your onion and gently fry.
2. When onions are translucent, add the tomatoes (which are diced up to your desired level of chunkiness), plus some salt & pepper to taste. Allow it to simmer gently (just like the ads!)
3.  Add the basil a few minutes before the pasta is cooked.
4. Once the pasta is drained, put the pasta back in the saucepan, add the sauce plus a few drizzles of olive oil. Toss, then serve with freshly shaved parmesan cheese.

Yep, thats it.  And you can improvise with this too – pine nuts, garlic, carrot, fresh mince, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, chilli, beans, rosemary, oregano, parsley – all these can be added to the sauce.  My sauce tonight has added sundried tomatoes, pine nuts and garlic.

Simmering up a storm!

 To keep the healthiness going in this dish, avoid using white pasta. There is little nutritional value in white pasta and it has a high glycemic index (which means it will give you a high energy boost quickly, followed by a quick energy drop). Wholemeal pasta, buckwheat pasta or spelt pasta has a lower glycemic index (lower energy release) and contains fibre. Did I mention that they taste good as well?

Bon appétit!  

-Laura x

Creamy sauces on a non-refrigerated shelf... anyone else think this is just plain wrong??