DECEPTIVELY DELICIOUS

This is sort of a book review, promotion etc... that I am undertaking. Firstly, let me say that I am not a fan of 'celebrity' anything, especially cookbooks. But, I read about this one, and then I got it out of the library, and now I am VERY tempted to buy it. Deceptively Delicious is by Jessica Seinfeld, wife of Jerry. She has written this book about 'hiding' vegetables so that your kids eat them without knowing.
Basically, she purees everything (sweet potato, squash, pineapple, spinach, avocado, carrots etc) then freezes it in 1/2 cup amounts, then adds it to everything from tacos to chocolate cake.
And, tonight, eating our tacos, it worked. The meat sauce is made up of ground beef, crushed tomatoes, taco seasoning and 1/2 cup butternut squash puree. You don't taste it, don't see it, and eat it.
In saying all of this hurrah, I must also note that my girls do eat their vegetables, even when they look like vegetables, but it is also kind of a nice way to add more and try new things.
I currently have sweet potato, butternut squash and cauliflower purees resting nicely in my freezer.
So, those with picky eaters, try this out, and those without picky eaters, it gets more veges into you and your kids, and less high fructose corn syrup and soy extract into them, which is a very good thing.

CARROT CAKE with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

This recipe is from the Every Girls Rally Cookbook, and was submitted by Jill Gillies (don't know who she is, but she makes good cakes).

Cake
1/3 cup vegetable oil (canola)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups grated carrot
4 tablespoons crushed pineapple
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (I never put these in)

Blend oil and sugars. Add eggs and beat well. Fold in dry ingredients lightly and then carrot, pineapple and walnuts. Do not overmix. Pour into a greased tin (for cake) or divide mixture into muffin tray.
If making a cake, bake in 350F oven for 35-45 minutes. If muffin tray, guess.

Cream Cheese Frosting
125g (1 box) cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup confectioners sugar (icing sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind or 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Bring cream cheese and butter to room temperature, then mix all ingredients together and spread over cake/mini-cakes.

Oven Fries a la Nicole

From 'Joie de Vivre' by Robert Arbor

10 cloves garlic, 5 smashed and 5 whole
3/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
Herbes de Provence
6 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and kept in water to preserve colour

Preheat oven to 375F
Mix the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and heres de Provence in a bowl.
Cut peeled potatoes in half lengthways, then into 4 wedges each.
Put potatoes in bowl and toss with olive oil mixture.
Arrange potato wedges on a sheet pan one by one so that the point of each wedge faces up.
Cook in oven until tender and brown, around 30 - 35 minutes.

I have already made these, and they taste wonderful.

Basic Fruit Compote

Another recipe from the book 'Joie de Vivre' by Robert Arbor

3 pieces large fruit such as pear, apple or peach - if using apricots, figs or plums, double the amount
Butter, a thumb size chunk
Juice of half a lemon
1 vanilla bean, split with insides scraped out
1 cup sugar, or to taste

Peel the fruit, remove cores, and cut into half-inch chunks
Melt butter in skillet and add fruit. Add lemon juice and vanilla bean scrapings to the butter mixture. Add half cup of sugar.
Cook on very low heat, covered, just until the fruit is tender. Do not brown. Add more sugar as needed. Kep in covered glass jar in the fridge.

Immediate Gratification Jam

This is from the book 'Joie de Vivre' by Robert Arbor.

If you like jam, try making little batches of your own. This jam will keep for a week or so in the fridge, so you don't need to use airtight jars etc...
The ratio is 1 pint fruit to 1 cup sugar.

2 pints small fruit, such as strawberries, blueberries or raspberries
2 cups sugar

If the strawberries are large, cut them into 4 wedges. The blueberries and raspberries don't need to be cut.
Toss fruit in sugar until coated, and then place fruit in a saucepan. Add enough water to come halfway up the fruit. Do not cover.
Bring to the boil, then immediately lower heat to a simmer. Stir occasionally. When the fruit has melted into liquid, check for sweetness and add more sugar if needed. When the extra sugar has melted into the fruit mixture, your jam is ready to use. It will be quite runny, but will thicken up in the fridge. Store in fridge, and use with a week.

BAREFOOT CONTESSA ICED TEA

This is the best iced tea I have ever tasted - I make a batch every morning and it is gone by lunchtime - usually.

4 Lemon Zinger teabags
4 Red Zinger teabags
4 cups boiling water
4 cups apple juice

Put teabags in bowl, and add boiling water. Let steep for around 10 minutes, then pour into a bottle, add the apple juice and cool.

I changed the Red Zinger to Raspberry Zinger, which I like better, but the original is still great.

RIGATONI WITH CHICKEN, VEGETABLES AND TOMATO SAUCE

This is the last one from the low-chol cookbook, mostly because my fingers are tired. I have actually made this one, and it is delicious. It makes a lot, and tastes great cold as a kind of salad thing the next day.

2 cups uncooked rigatoni, preferably whole wheat
2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
2 cups broccoli florets
1 medium zucchini washed and sliced
1 small red pepper, washed and small diced
1 lb boneless chicken, cut into small pieces
3 cups high quality all-purpose tomato sauce (the stuff in jars - pasta sauce - not the stuff you put on hotdogs)
1/2 cup sliced fresh basil
2 cups shredded low fat mozzarella cheese

Firstly, have a large baking dish ready.
Cook rigatoni according to package instructions, then put return to pot and cover.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in pan and add broccoli, zucchini and pepper and saute for 5 minutes. Add a little water to prevent sticking. Transfer to bowl with pasta.
Add remaining oil and saute chicken until cooked through. Add tomato sauce and stir until heated through.
Add to pasta bowl, and add basil. Mix carefully, then pour into baking dish. Put cheese over, and place under grill (broiler) until cheese is bubbly.

SAUTEED SHRIMP (or CHICKEN) WITH ZUCCHINI AND TOMATOES ON PASTA

Yeah to the low-cholesterol cookbook

12oz whole wheat thin spaghetti
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups diced zucchini
salt and pepper
1 cup sliced thin scallions (spring onions)
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (or chicken)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons grated lime or lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime or lemon juice
1/2 cup thin sliced fresh basil or chopped fresh cilantro (

Cook pasta according to instructions. Place back in pot, stir in 2 teaspoons olive oil to prevent sticking. Cover, and set aside in warm place.
Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons or olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, salt and pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Add to pasta and recover pot. Return pan to heat and add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil. Add scallions, garlic, and shrimp and saute for 3 minutes. (If using chicken, I would brown the chicken separately and then do the scallions and garlic). Gently stir in tomatoes, and lime and saute for a minute longer.
Add to pasta, and stir gently. Serve.

BOK CHOY WITH SOY SAUCE AND GARLIC

Again, from the low cholesterol cookbook.

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 pound bok choy, washed, stems trimmed and sliced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar
toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

In a large pan, heat oils together over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute. Add garlic and bok choy and saute, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes, or until the bok choy stalks are tender. Add soy sauce and vinegar, stir and cook no longer than 30 seconds.
Transfer to serving dish, and garnish.

CLASSIC MINESTRONE

This is from a book called "Eating for Lower Cholesterol" by Catherine Jones. I haven't yet made this, or the next few recipes, but I need to return the book to the library, so I am posting the recipes I want here so I can find them again.

3 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 carrots, peeled and sliced (or 1 cup sliced baby carrots)
1 cup thinly sliced leeks
1 medium potato, peeled and small diced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 medium zucchini, small diced
1 cup frozen green peas
1 cup great northern beans, rinsed and drained
8 cups fat free low-sodium stock
3/4 cup ditalini pasta, or other small pasta
1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes
salt and pepper

Heat oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute, then add garlic, carrots, leeks, potato, celery and oregano and saute for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add zucchini, peas, beans and stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
Add pasta and tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes.
Adjust seasoning, add more stock if soup is too thick.
Garnish with chopped basil and parmesan if required.

GUINNESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
(again, thanks Nigella. I haven't made this yet, but it sounds great, and I have to return the book to the library).

1 cup guinness
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups superfine sugar (castor sugar)
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 350F (180C), butter and line a 9" springform pan.
Pour guinness and butter into a wide saucepan, and heat until butter is melted. Whisk in cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown mixture, and then whisk in the flour and baking soda.

Pour cake batter into the pan, and bake for 45-60 minutes. Leave in pan to cool, and turn out when cold.

TOPPING

8oz cream cheese
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, add sugar and beat together. Add cream and beat again until spreadable.

SPECIAL NOTE: The idea is to ice the cake with lots of white topping so it looks like a pint of guinness.

CHEATS BUTTERCREAM FILLING (for cakes)
Many thanks to Nigella for this one

1 cup confectioners (icing) sugar
4 teaspoons custard powder
3/4 stick soft butter (a stick is a 1/4 of a pound of butter, so figure it out yourself)
1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water

Process sugar and custard powder to get rid of any lumps, and then add butter, processing until it all comes together. Add boiling water slowly while still processing, to make easier it easier to spread.

CHICKEN ASPARAGUS PARCELS

This recipe was given to me years ago by Pauline who I used to work with. It is the easiest recipe in the world. You can either make individual parcels, or two bigger ones and plait the pastry so it looks really fancy!

2 sheets puff pastry
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shreaded
1 tin asparagus, tips and stalks
1 block cream cheese
salt and pepper

Mix the chicken, asparagus, cream cheese, salt and pepper together in a big bowl. (that is the hard part!)
Lay our the pastry, and if making two big rolls, divide the mixture into two and put it down the middle of each piece of pastry. Cut out the corners of the pastry, and fold the ends over the mixture, then cut the sides of the pastry into strips that you then fold over the middle to make a plait. Use a little water to stick the pastry to itself.
Or, cut the pastry squares into quarters, and then put a blob of the mixture into each, and fold over to make triangular parcels.
Bake in a 375F oven until pastry is golden.

These also taste really good cold.

CHICKEN POT PIE

Thanks to Real Simple magazine (I think) for this recipe.
Note, for the main ingredients, I just make sure if we are having a roast chicken, that I make more vegetables, and then cut everything up and freeze it, so then I just dump the chicken and vegetables straight from the freezer into the pot.

2 sheets puff pastry
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup flour
3 cups shreaded cooked chicken
5 cups roasted vegetables (carrots, parsnip, potato, sweet potato, onion)
1/2 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375F
In a saucepan heat 1 1/2 cups chicken stock. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock and flour. Add to saucepan, and stir until boiling. Add chicken and vegetables and simmer until thick.
Spoon mixture into individual ovenproof dishes, and top with rounds of pastry.
Bake until pastry is cooked.

Kid friendly version: I usually just cut the pastry into shapes with cookie cutters, and bake it by itself. Then the kids can just dip the pastry into the pot pie mixture.

WILD RICE SALAD

Many thanks to Martha Stewart for this recipe.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper
3 1/2 cups cooked rice (mix of wild and brown seems to work best)
1 yellow pepper, cut into small squares
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, cut into small slices
1/2 cucumber, cut into small slices
cherry tomatoes

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and mustard. Set aside.
Put all other ingredients into a large bowl, and mix together. Add dressing, and toss well.