This meal was amazing - time consuming, but not too difficult. Probably because it’s kind of like 3 mini meals in one.

Tomato, mushroom & red pepper pasta

Fry onion and garlic in olive oil, add diced mushrooms and red pepper, added chopped tomatoes. Add pesto or herbs. Cook pasta and stir through.

Pesto and lemon tofu

Tofu marinated in olive oil, pesto, lemon juice, salt and pepper then oven baked in a glass dish.

Onion, tomato, olive oil & herb bruschetta

Toasted bread, rubbed with garlic, spread with olive oil, tomatoes, onions and herbs.

(I wanted to do a recipe, but as usual, didn’t measure anything. I make stuff up as I go along. Maybe it can be meal inspiration instead?)

Green Veg & Olive Spaghetti

Serves 2 or 3

• 1/3 cup Olives (I used garlic & chilli stuffed olives)
• 1 clove of Garlic (optional, depending on whether your olives already have garlic)
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp Water
• Salt & Pepper
• Chilli Flakes (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped Kale
• 1/2 cup sliced Green Beans
• Spaghetti

*

1. Put enough spaghetti for the number of people you’re serving into a pan of boiling water. Add chopped kale.
2. Meanwhile, blend the olives, garlic, olive oil, water, salt, pepper & chilli flakes together. (I use a hand blender and a mug for this.)
3. Add the green beans to the pasta and kale a few minutes before it’s done (or sooner if you like them soft).
4. Drain the pasta, kale & green beans.
5. Stir the olive sauce through the spaghetti and veg. Serve.

I’m also considering adding ‘can bake a pretty great batch of cookies in <20 minutes’ to my skill set. I have the recipe memorised now and everything.

Everyone wants to employ someone who can do that, don’t they?

If you’re looking for a cookie recipe, this is it. Although I probably edited it because I don’t think blackstrap molasses and molasses sugar are the same thing.

Tortilla Bowl Soup

Makes 2 Generous Portions

Quick, easy and good comfort food. Also good for using leftovers from fajita night.

• 2 Tortilla Wraps
• 1 Can Baked Beans
• 1/2 Cup Rice
• 1/2 Cup Sweetcorn
• 1/2 Cup Cooked Mixed Veg (onions, peppers, carrot, etc)
• Mexican Spice Mix (chili, oregano, cumin, coriander, paprika)

*

1. Cook the rice
2. Put rice, beans, veg, sweetcorn & spices into a pan and heat through. Add more water if necessary.
3. Line a bowl with a tortilla wrap
4. Serve with guacamole, salsa and baked tortilla chips (optional)

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Taking pictures during the day is so much more fun. Natural light and all. Oh well - early nights are part of autumn, and autumn means lots of soup, so it all evens out!

• Cut a squash in half, add olive oil and seasoning (salt, pepper, coriander & paprika here)
• Bake at 180°C for 50-60mins
• Fry a chopped onion in olive oil
• Scoop out squash, add to onion & mash (I added in some almond milk, but it’d probably be just fine without it)
• Stir in some stock, and heat though

Mushroom Noodles

Cooking with the boyfriend. This is going to be one of those ‘not really a recipe’ recipes. I don’t really measure stuff like this. It’s all ‘to taste’ really.

• Fry one chopped onion & two cloves of crushed garlic in oil for a few minutes.
• Add around 10 smallish mushrooms (thinly sliced) and stir for about 5 minutes.
• Add soy sauce, lime juice, chilli, coriander, mixed nuts & seeds and around 2 cups of stock.
• Cook noodles and leave sauce to simmer gently while they cook.
• Mix together, serve sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Lentil & Vegetable Stew

Serves 4-6

• 2 Medium Onions
• 2 Medium Carrots
• 1 Large Potato
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Cup Soup & Broth Mix or Dried Beans (soaked overnight & cooked according to packet instructions) OR 1 Can Beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1/2 Cup Lentils (cooked according to packed instructions)
• 1 Litre Stock (or more for a more liquidy soup)
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Coriander
• 1 tsp Cumin
• Salt & Pepper (to taste)
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil

*

1. Cook lentils and beans/soup and broth mix.
2. Meanwhile, chop onions, garlic, carrots & potatoes.
3. Fry onions and garlic in olive oil over a medium heat, approx 5 mins.
4. Add paprika, coriander, cumin and salt/pepper.
5. Add carrots, potatoes, lentils and beans/broth mix. Stir through until coated in spices.
6. Add stock.
7. Adjust seasoning to taste.
8. Leave to simmer for 20 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are cooked.

When I’m in charge of my own shopping, I plan out meals for the week, and leave the day before the next shop as a ‘use up leftovers’ day.

At home, Mum plans out dinners and lunches are for using up leftovers. Which is kind of fun, because it’s like being on some sort of cookery challenge show where you have to make meals using specific ingredients :P

Anyway, today’s challenge was rice, sugar snap peas & spinach. With the added (self imposed) challenge of it being hot out and not wanting to cook or eat a hot meal.

So, the basic outline followed by what I actually used is:

• Leafy Base (spinach)
• Grain (rice)
• Veggies (sugar snap peas, peppers, spring onions, grated carrot, mushrooms)
• Dressing (soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil, coriander and chilli)

Pancake Sunday, ‘vegan butterscotch syrup was on sale at the market yesterday’ edition.

• 100g (1 Cup) Oats
• 70g (1/2 Cup) SR Flour (or plain flour plus 2tsp baking powder)
• 360ml (1 & 1/2 Cups) Milk (I used almond)
• Veg Oil (for cooking)
• 1 Sliced Apple
• Butterscotch Syrup

These measurements are pretty approximate … I usually add the milk bit by bit from the carton until the consistency seems about right :)

Ok, not a recipe, seen as I never use measurements and the ingredients change every time I make this. But granola is really easy to make, and easy to adapt to what you have/what you like.

Ingredients

• Sunflower or Vegetable Oil
• Maple Syrup
• Golden Syrup
• Nut Butter (optional)
• Oats
• Nuts (almonds, chopped mixed nuts, etc)
• Seeds (sesame, sunflower, etc)
• Dried Fruit (raisins, sultanas, cranberries, etc)

Steps

1. Combine oil, maple syrup and golden syrup - roughly a 1:1:1 ratio and a tablespoon of each - and stir. If you’re adding peanut butter, this is where you’d stir it in.
2. Add nuts and seeds, and stir through.
3. Add oats, a little at a time. Stir through before adding more. They should be lightly coated in the syrup, but still sticking together.
4. Spread the mixture over a baking tray/baking sheet. Don’t be too finicky about it if you want clusters!
5. Bake at 175°C/350°F for 5-10 minutes, turning half way. The granola should be just starting to go golden when you take it out.
6. Put the granola back in the mixing bowl, and gently stir the dried fruit through. Of course, you could also just sprinkle the dried fruit directly onto the baking tray. That works too :)
7. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, but check it frequently as it can burn quickly!
8. Take it out the oven, leave it to cool and store in pretty jars (optional).