Ricotta, pea and mint fritters

I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!!! But what's that saying - better late than never!  I had the best of intensions to do a cook-a-long with the lovely Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella (yes I'm a groupie but I just love her writing style that is so personalised and the recipes she posts just speak to me :) so there) but I'm a few days late of the deadline.  

Nevermind, better luck next time, hey.  Here is my spin - of course I changed the recipe up a bit but I brought ricotta instead of fetta for the recipe as I got a bit muddled up and I didn't have any curry powder :) mine are also heavy on the mint.

I fiercely cut back my mint a few weeks ago and look at it now, blooming sensational!!  I just adore adding fresh mint to lots of my dishes, especially into salads or a few sprigs chopped up mixed with hot greens is to die for. 

Pssst...can I just draw your attention to my beautiful sunny yellow eggs!!!

My recipe goes a little something like this:

Ricotta, pea and mint fritters   makes 12

1 x 350g tub of ricotta - drained of any liquid

1 1/2 cups of frozen peas - defrosted

2 googey eggs

a good handful of fresh mint roughly chopped

4 spring onions finely sliced

2 tbspn of plain flour

lots of salt and pepper

• Mix all together - I squished some of the peas but left some whole.  
• Heat oil in a fry pan - I used coconut oil, around 2 tablespoons per batch.
• Place a heaped tablespoon into the fry pan once the oil is hot, but not too hot it has to be just right, so try medium to low gas setting for a few minutes.
• Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side and pop onto paper towel to take up any excess oil.

Serve any way you fancy!  They are also great the next day either cold or give them a quick reheat either in the fry pan without any oil or in the microwave for a minute or so.

I am desperate for some lemons from someone's, anyone's tree so to substitute I used some balsamic glaze to add an acidic hit which worked a treat.

I had them for brunch today with runny poached eggs and some garden ripe tomatoes - ah-mazing! And a great carrier for the eggs just like toast.

I'll make sure I'm on the ball for the next cook-a-long and can't wait to see what Lorraine comes up with....I hope it's nothing like the Daring Bakers challenges she does!

Ciao, Jan x

In my kitchen February 2015

Lots of lovely things have been happening in my kitchen since my first instalment of In my kitchen hosted by Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.  

I thought I'd just share a little about my eating style.

I'm not vegetarian or vegan but I really love exploring healthy alternatives to processed food and minimising how much meat I eat.  I thrill at cooking from scratch and using as much of our own produce and if I can organic products, but it's not always that easy living on a budget!

So here we go....

Our home grown purple garlic 

We found this shoulder of pork which was a bit on the fatty side so I slow cooked it in the oven for 7 hours on a rack so all the fat could render out...it was absolutely fall off the bone lip smackingly delicious!

This was my first attempt at making bap rolls and they were a hit and easy as you just put everything in the mixer using a dough hook.  Perfect carrier for the pork let me tell you.

My little lady and I had some cooking fun over the school holidays.  This dough can be found here.

My spin on pesto minus any parmesan...this one is kale, spinach, mint, basil, parsley, garlic, smidge of chilli, walnuts, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice - all picked fresh from the garden - ah-mazing!

I made cauliflower bread that I used this recipe here as a base.  I changed the recipe a bit and chose to keep them flavour less, so no onion, garlic, nuts  or spinach.  I also added chia seeds, sesame seeds and poppy seeds.  They were pretty good, I toasted them in the toaster the next day and used them just like toast.

These eggplants became chips doused with salt and chilli & smeared with coconut oil.

I've been eating more fish and seafood and this medley of gummy shark, calamari, prawns, greens, herbs and chilli wrapped in foil with a smidge of coconut oil is rock'n' roll.

A visit to my favourite little nook in Melbourne's block arcade Gewurzhaus herb and spice market.  I got whole white peppercorns which can be hard to find and this gorgeous treat of vintage merlot salt which is just darling!  I've been using it on baked fish, chicken, slices of tomatoes & fresh basil - anything really!!

Thanks to Tania from the cooks pyjamas for the idea of making my own granola.  I also got inspiration from another friends recipe she found on this great website.  I made around 500g for a few dollars - a paleo muesli I saw at the health food shop the other day was $25 for 500g!!! WT...

And lastly in my kitchen are 2 chicken ornaments, 

 a milk jug and napkin holder, 

  to further celebrate getting my own real live little ladies which you can read about here.

So that's me for this month.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  There are so many of us on this little adventure to see everyone's kitchen, but if you leave me a comment I will be sure to come and take a peep into yours.

Ciao, Jan x

My super food immune boosting smoothie and week 4 of the 52 week money challenge

Every morning for awhile now I've been slurping on a smoothie for my breakfast.  I love walking out to the garden and picking the ingredients for this, and the herbs and spinach benefit from the daily picking as it encourages more growth. I've been unwell of late so have been drinking this to gain the  myriad of health benefits that are packed in it instead of taking an expensive handful of vitamins I feel I must be lacking.  It may not look pretty, as it is blended in it's pure form but it packs a mean punch which I actually really like and it keeps my tummy sated from breakfast until lunch. 

So whats in my super food smoothie?  A very generous handful of spinach, a small banana, a small handful of blueberries, a few stawberries that may be ready, a handful of both mint and parsley, 1 tspn of chia seeds, 1 tspn of flaxseeds, and filtered water.  Occasionally I will add a dollop of yoghurt also.  Pop it all into a blender and go your hardest.  If it's too thick just keep adding more water until you get it to a drinkable consistency.

Spinach is a powerhouse of nutrients, namely protein, vitamin A, K, C, B, iron, folate, magnesium, manganese, fiber and antioxidants.

You do need to use it up quickly as little as 8 days after harvest it loses a lot of these super food qualities.  For this reason, grab yourself a big pot and grow some perennial spinach, it will save you $'s and be ready for you to keep picking for weeks and weeks each morning as fresh as a daisy.

Chia seeds are an amazing little seed.  They contain lots nutrients and lots of protein so keep you fuller for longer and is great if you are trying to move some of the Christmas cheer off your belly.  When a chia seed is hit with water, it forms a coating of gel, increasing it's size and weight without adding calories.  It is easily added to lots of your cooking~baking-sweet & savoury, salads, smoothies, cereal and anything you would use nuts or seeds for.  I love to dip a banana into them for an afternoon snack that really satisfies.  

Berries are a powerhouse of antioxidants and nutrients that aren't lost when frozen which is great as I buy an organic frozen brand of my blueberries.  They are low GI, improve heart health, high in Vitamin c, potassium and fiber and they have been linked to protecting your cells from damage that can lead to cancer and it helps that they look and taste great too.

Parsley has the potential to help keep your immune system strong, tone your bones and heal the nervous system as well.  It is packed with Vitamins A, B12, C and K, folic acid and is known the help with joint pain as it has anti-inflammatory properties.  Pretty amazing huh.

Mint has soothing properties that help the digestive tract and severity of stomachaches.  It is a strong diuretic and therefore helps eliminate toxins from the body.  Mint is high in Vitamin A & C, iron, magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc, calcium and copper.

Flaxseeds are another amazing little fella.  They are hailed as being a fat burning seed as they can fire up your metabolism.  They have omega 3's, very high in fibre, rich in antioxidants, B Vitamins, potassium and protein.

Are you keen to give it a try?  Do you already drink 'green' smoothies? Your insides will thank you!  If you really can't stomach this type of smoothie for breakfast, you can have it for lunch or add all of these ingredients to a salad for a flavour packed bowl of deliciousness.

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Week 4 of the 52 week money challenge so go and add your $4 to your money box.  It's not to late to start!!

Ciao, Jan.