Roast Pumpkin Dip

I am always looking for something I can munch on without feeling guilty, something I can eat lots of while watching Masterchef and other trash tv.  This dip is so sweet I find I don't actually have to eat the whole lot in one go, rare for me!

Ingredients

Pumpkin, Jap or Kent

Sweet potato (half)

Half a brown onion

2 big cloves of garlic, skin on

3 tbs Soy milk, purely for consistency, if req'd*
Mint to serve

Method

Chop the pumpkin, sweet potato and onion into chunks, not too big/not too small.   If you cut them really small then tend to brown and caramelise too quickly, they're better slowly roasted. 
Steam about a cup of the pumpkin until it's just cooked, and place the rest of the pumkin, onion and sweet potato onto a tray (sprayed with some cooking oil), and into the middle of the oven.  Cook at about 150 for 45 minutes.

By the time the vegies are finished in the oven, the sweet potato should be soft and the onion half soft half crunchy.  Don't worry if the onion has browned a lot in cooking, this will deepen the flavour.  Scrape the garlic out of its skin and place all ingredients in a mixer, I use a Breville stick mixer with the mixing bowl-thing. Blend all the vegetables to desired consistency- it's nice if the dip still has some texture remaining. Serve with snappy crunchy crackers!

*The steamed pumpkin should contribute smoothness to the otherwise scrunchy vegetables, but you can use soy milk such as So Good Lite if you want a smooth dip. Use a mild tasting soy, you don't want to add the flavour of the milk, it's just for the sake of the consitency.

Grilled Vegetable Lasgna

This lasagna is easy peasy and takes next to no time to make!  It slices well and holds its shape nicely on the plate.  The sauce is lovely and thick and is a good way to get some healthy spinach into a meal if you're not a big fan of it.

Ingredients

Red and yellow capsicum
Zucchini
Mushroom
Eggplant
Grated carrot, steamed a little

GF Lasgna sheets, I like San Remo and these can be par-boiled

Sauce

1 tin whole tomatoes or passata

1 packet frozen spinach, thawed

Salt & pepper

Paprika
2 cloves fresh Garlic

Thyme (fresh)

2 tsp tomato paste
1tsp Green peppercorns, tinned*

Method

Slice the vegetables long-ways (including the mushrooms, slice them across the top 3 times) and grill on a griddle plate with a light spray of oil.

Meanwhile combine the sauce ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and reduce, squish the tomatoes a little with the back of a cheeky wooden spoon.

Layer in a loaf tin: sauce, then vegetables, then lasagna sheets (about 3 layers).  Spoon more sauce over the top and garnish with some of the sliced mushrooms.  Bake in a moderate oven for 20 minutes.

*Tinned Green Peppercorns are fantastic, such a useful thing to have in the cupboard! Great as a garnish. They are a little tricky to hunt down in the supermarket, keep an eye out for them.

Humbles

My sister named these funny little biscuits 'Humbles', because they are fairly basic and unassuming. Yummy though, particularly warm from the oven. I must confess I usually microwave them a little before I eat them later on, microwaving seems to make them more moist and yummy. This recipe is a little vague, this is how I tend to cook- throw it all in the bowl and mix till it forms like biscuit dough, you can't really go wrong.

Ingredients
1 cup GF SR flour or almond meal

1.5 cups rice flour

Vanilla essence, a good splash, don't be shy

Rosewater- about a third of one of the small   bottles, again, more is more here!
2 tbs DF Butter equivalent, I use Nuttelex
1 egg lightly beaten

Just enough soy milk to make the mixture combine, prolly half to 3/4 of a cup. I like Vitasoy Soy Milky Lite

Some kind of sweetness- I use either 8-10 drops of Stevia or 10 drops of agave syrup, depending on how sweet you want them to be*

10-20 Nuts to decorate, I like almond or pistachio.

Method

Sift the flour into a bowl with a well in the centre.  In another bowl, melt the butter (or butter equivalent!), whisk the egg into this bowl, add all your wet ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Form into balls in the palm of your hand and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Press nuts of your choice on top.

*With this ammount of stevia/agave the biscuits won't actually taste sweet, so are also suitable for young children steering clear of refined sugars.

Warming Breakfast Soup

Breakfast Soup

This is an easy peasy, fragrant soup that takes under 10 minutes to make and is a warming, light start to the day. I made one this morning, it didn't need any seasoning or stock and it leaves you feeling as though you've made a healthy, zen start to your day. Great textures with the soft mushrooms  and crunchy vegies.

Ingredients
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Snowpeas

Bean sprouts

1 Baby Bok Choy
Dried Shitake Mushrooms, half a packet*
Green snake beans, chopped
3 slices fresh ginger
Fresh Corriander
1 Bay leaf
No seasoning req'd

In a small saucepan, heat up some cold water. Add the beans, then the Cauliflower. A moment later add the broccoli, mushrooms, ginger and bay leaf. Wait for the mushrooms to soften slightly and throw in your snow peas and a moment later, place the chopped Bok choy on top so it steams slightly.
Rinse your bean sprouts and place them in a bowl, ladling the soup over the top.  The vegies should all be just cooked, with the Bok Choy and Snow Peas still crunchy. Tear up some corriander on top and there you go. I had mine with toast with macadamia spread.

*These dried Shitake Mushrooms are available in the Asian section of supermarkets. They are a great addition to soups, they have a lovely, chompy texture and when you soak them or place them in soup they create a great stock base.