Food for Thought

Australians waste three million tons of food each year -  worth an estimated $5.2 billion! Plus 60 per cent of Australians admit wasting more than usual over Christmas.  Boxing Day is now recognised as National Leftovers Day and here are some great recipes to save Christmas excess from landfill and turn them into yummy meals.

Ham and turkey/chicken are the most common leftovers

Ham will keep if stored correctly. Rinse out a calico bag or old pillowcase in a vinegar solution to keep the ham. Rinse out every couple of days.

Ham bones should be stripped of excess meat and frozen for use in soups in the cooler weather.

Turkey carcasses make the perfect stocks, but not if you’ve stuffed your turkey. Instead use leg bones and wings that have not come in contact with the stuffing to make flavoursome stocks. Use in risottos and soups.

Turkey stock: Break up the carcass and put in a pan with stock veg (celery, onion, carrot, maybe some parsley stalks), garlic and peppercorns. Cover with cold water and simmer for two hours. Strain off the stock and store in the fridge (for a few days) or freezer.

Turkey and veg pilaff: Cook onion, garlic and curry powder in butter, then stir in some rice. Add turkey stock, simmer and when the rice is almost tender add any chopped leftover veg. When cooked, stir through shredded cooked turkey and herbs.

Use up  leftover cheeses such as blue cheese. Place softened, unsalted butter, grated cheese, a little sherry and Dijon mustard, to taste, in a bowl and beat with an electric beater until smooth. Place the mixture in ramekins and serve at room temperature with crackers.

 Pasta dish with Xmas leftovers

·         canelloni pasta shells

·         1 onion, chopped

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 green pepper, seeded and chopped

·         1/4 cup butter or olive oil

·         1-2 cups cooked cubed ham

·         1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

·         6 Tbsp. butter or olive oil

·         6 Tbsp. flour

·         3 cups milk

·         2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

·         1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bubble and squeak

Chopped cooked brussels sprouts, or leftover cabbage
Leftover roast potatoes
Salt and pepper
Flour for dusting
oil for frying

Crush the roast potatoes and mix well with the chopped sprouts (or cabbage). The starch in the potatoes will hold the mixture together. Season well and, if you like, add a touch of dried chilli, or chopped, cooked bacon. Mould into six patties, dust in flour and leave to one side.

Heat some oil in a non-stick frying pan and then add the patties. Cook on each side for two minutes until golden brown. Place on a baking tray and finish in the oven, until they’re totally heated through – this should take three to four minutes.

Thai turkey/ chicken  salad

400g leftover turkey or chicken

4 spring onions, sliced

6-8 radishes, sliced

200g Chinese cabbage, shredded

½tsp chopped chilli

1tsp chopped ginger

2 cloves of garlic

2tbsp olive oil

2tsp fresh coriander, chopped

2tsp fresh mint, chopped

1tsp fresh basil, chopped

2tsp fish sauce

4tbsp rice wine vinegar

Slice the turkey into strips and place in a large bowl. Add the spring onions, radishes and cabbage. Blend the garlic, ginger and chilli in a pestle and mortar, then place in a bowl and add the rice wine vinegar, fish sauce and olive oil. Mix well and check the seasoning before adding to the turkey mix. Sprinkle in the chopped herbs and mix well. Check seasoning again, and serve.

Festive bread and butter pudding:

If you have any Christmas pudding left, crumble it into small pieces, then mix the pieces into the custard in a bread and butter pudding recipe. It adds a warming spiced flavour.

Leftover berries can be turned into a summer pudding.

1kg mixed fresh berries, especially raspberries and redcurrants

50mL water

175g caster sugar

8 stale slices good white bread, thinly sliced

This is best made a day ahead, allowing the juices to ooze into the bread and turn the lot into a juicy, vividly berry-red dome. Don’t fuss about doing perfect trapezoids of bread – it all seems to meld together when left overnight.

Combine three-quarters of the berries with the water and sugar in a small saucepan and gently heat until sugar has dissolved. Remove and add more sugar if too tart. Add almost all of the remaining berries and strain the fruit, keeping all the juices.

Remove the crusts from the bread and cut a piece to fit the base of a one-litre pudding basin or bowl.

Cut the remaining slices into rectangles and triangles to cover the sides of the bowl.

Add the berries and some of their juices and top with a final layer of bread, cutting to fit. Press lightly until the juices rise to the top, covering the bread. Place a weighted saucer on top and refrigerate overnight. Refrigerate the remaining juices as well.

To unmould, ease a knife between pudding and bowl, place a serving plate on top and invert.

Spoon the reserved juices on top and arrange the reserved berries on top. Serve with cream or ice-cream – YUM!

Mary Valle author of the new release My Greek Kitchen talks with Maria and Viarnne about her journey in creating this wonderful new cook book… YUM! Many of the beautiful photos that add such atmosphere to the recipes were taken by Mary herself when on holiday in Greece.

Mary Valle author of My Greek Kitchen [ 25:46 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Naturopath Angela Smith talks about medicinal and culinary herbs as a healthy addition to any diet and for creating a healthy kitchen!

Find out the value of ‘Kick a germ joy juice’

Medicinal and cullinary herbs with Angela Smith [ 21:50 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cooler Weather means a yearning for warming comfort foods and a reminder to build up your winter pantry.

Stock up with variety of pulses such as lentils, split peas, chick peas etc. Buy in packets or tinned, Make sure you have tinned tomatoes, passata and tomato paste, also a variety of pasta shapes from risoni for soups to rigatoni and spaghetti for Bolognese, carbonara and other sauces. There should always be rice, both brown and white. Tins of tuna in olive oil for that quick meal, anchovies to flavour sauces and pizzas. If you still haven’t got around to having home made stocks in your freezer make sure you have some of the supermarket variety on hand for soups, stews and casseroles.

What’s in Season?

A slow cooker is a good investment for the busy family

Pumpkin Soup

This recipe works well cooked in a slow cooker.

• 3/4 medium sized butternut pumpkin, skin and seeds removed, chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-1 1/2 teaspoons mild curry powder
• salt and cracked black pepper
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup full cream
• chilli powder to taste, if desired

Place pumpkin, potatoes, onion, curry powder and stock in a large slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for several hours until vegetables are tender.

Turn off the heat and allow to cool. Using a food processor or stick blender, process until smooth.

Stir through the cream and chilli powder (if desired). Warm the soup through again, season to taste and serve.

1. Note that you can make many other hearty soups in slow cooker

Irish Stew – can be made in oven or slow cooker

• 1.25kg lamb neck or shoulder chops, trimmed
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 3 brown onions, chopped
• 1kg potatoes, peeled, sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced into rounds
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 cups boiling water
• 3 cups beef stock
• 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped, to serve

1.      Cut chops in half. Place flour in a plastic bag and season with salt and pepper. Place chops in bag and shake well to coat. Transfer chops to a plate. Reserve flour.

2.      Preheat oven to 130°C. Place onions, potatoes and carrots in an ovenproof dish. Top with half the chops. Repeat layers with remaining onions, potatoes, carrots and chops.

3.      Whisk reserved flour, tomato paste and 2 tablespoons cold water in a large jug until well combined. Slowly add boiling water, whisking constantly. Add stock cubes and parsley. Stir to dissolve stock cubes.

4.      Pour flour mixture over chops. Cover and cook for 4 hours or until meat tender and sauce thickened. Sprinkle with mint and serve.

Eggplant and Potato Stew

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 small brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tablespoon curry paste
• 1 potato, peeled, cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 small eggplant, cut into 2cm cubes
• 3/4 cup canned chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• steamed rice to serve

1.      Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and curry paste. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic.

2.      Add potato, eggplant, tomatoes and 2 tablespoons water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15 to 18 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in coriander.

3.      Serve curry with rice.

Lentil and Chorizo Stew

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 250g piece pancetta, cut into 1cm cubes
• 2 chorizo sausages, sliced
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 red capsicum, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 large potato, peeled, cut into 1.5cm cubes, cooked for 2-3 minutes until almost tender
• 400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
• 1/2 cup (125ml) dry white wine
• 600ml tomato passata
• 1/2 cup (125ml) chicken stock
• 1 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Crusty bread, to serve

1.      Heat oil in a casserole or large, deep frypan over medium-high heat. Cook pancetta and chorizo, turning, for 2-3 minutes until starting to crisp. Remove and drain on paper towel. Drain excess oil and fat, leaving 2 tbs in pan.

2.      Return the pan to medium heat. Add the onion and capsicum and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Return the pancetta and chorizo to the pan with the garlic and oregano. Stir for a further minute, then add the potatoes, chickpeas, wine, passata and stock. Season, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Garnish with parsley and serve with crusty bread.

Easy Kiwi Fruit with Ricotta Cream – In season now!

1/3  cup sugar, ¼ cup lime or lemon juice, 8 kiwi fruit, peeled and cut into wedges, lime/lemon zest, ½ cup ricotta, 2 tbls sour cream, julienned zest for decoration

Combine a little of the sugar and lime juice in a bowl. Add kiwi fruit

Combine ricotta, sour cream, zest and remaining sugar

Put fruit and syrup in serving bowls, spoon ricotta mixture over and top with julienned zest

For the first in the series Food for Thought chatted with Leigh Drew about low GI recipes. Podcast coming shortly – in the meantime check out these yummy recipes!

Breakfast

Date and Ginger Muffins

Makes 12 small muffins

1 and ½ cups wholegrain flour, such as oat, barley, spelt or buckwheat

• ½ cup wholemeal plain flour
• 1 cup grains, such as steel cut oats, rolled rye or barley
• ½ cup linseed meal
• 1 and ½ tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup dried or fresh dates, roughly chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated
• ½ cup water
• 1 cup apple sauce
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celcius.

Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners, or grease and flour the muffin tin.

Place the dates, ginger and water into a saucepan and simmer over a medium heat until the dates are softened and the water has been absorbed. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flours, baking powder and spices together. Add the grains and linseed meal to the flours.

Stir the apple sauce, orange juice and blackstrap molasses into the date mixture.

Pour the date mixture into the dry ingredients and fold through until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin, filling to the top of the cases.

Bake the muffins until firm and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Lunch

Citrus Coleslaw

Serves 2 to 4

• ½ red cabbage, finely sliced
• 2 carrots, finely sliced
• 1 granny smith apple, cored and finely sliced
• 1 red capsicum, finely sliced
• ½ cup walnuts or pecans, broken up
• Zest of one orange and one lemon
• ½ cup orange and lemon juice
• ¼ cup linseed oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Combine the cabbage, carrots, apple, capsicum, nuts and zest in a glass or Pyrex bowl.

Whisk together the juice, linseed oil and apple cider vinegar, and pour over the cabbage mixture. Marinate, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes before serving.

Serve with wholegrain bread spread with avocado and topped with smoked tofu.

Dinner

Fridge Clean Out Chilli

Serves 4 to 6

• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 broccoli stem, peeled and diced
• 1/2 head of broccoli, chopped small
• 1 cup beans, diced
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• ½ green capsicum, diced
• ½ red capsicum, diced
• 2 small carrots, grated
• 2 small zucchini, grated
• 2 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped (or 1 bird’s eye chilli, chopped, and a teaspoon of smoked paprika)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 vegan “beef” style stock cube
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 3 squares of good quality vegan bittersweet chocolate
• Olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan, over a medium hot flame/heat. Toss in the garlic and onions, and cook until translucent and fragrant. Add the chipotle (or bird’s eye chilli and smoked paprika) and stir to combine.

Add the broccoli stems and beans, and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the broccoli heads and capsicum, and cook for another couple of minutes. Pour in the red lentils and stir through vigourously. The mix will start to stick a little, so movement is very important to make sure it doesn’t burn. Throw in the mushrooms, carrots and zucchini and toss quickly.

Sprinkle in the cumin, coriander and smoked paprika and stir through the vege/lentil mixture. Pour in the Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice, and stir. Pour in both the tins of tomatoes, and fill one of the tomato tins with water. Add this water (and another half tin at a time as required) to the vege/lentil mixture, and stir through well.

Simmer the mixture at medium high heat, and stir regularly. You may need to add more water as the mixture thickens. When the lentils are cooked, and the mixture is thick and maybe even sticking a little, stir through the drained can of kidney beans. Take off the heat and serve.

Serve with cornbread or corn chips or tortilla chips, topped with guacamole, with a salad on the side.