{Sweet Potato Hummus : Super Food Heaven}

It's been a while since I've been on here...but I've missed my little space.
I thought I'd show you one of the new things I've added to the snack bar in our fridge and it has also been a great accompaniment to after school snacks and lunch boxes.

In my experience, kids are all about colour, variety and options (even the grown ups like this too). So, when you present a snack like this, who wouldn't love to dive in!



1. Start with raw fresh produce:
Simply cut up a variety of veggies. Take the opportunity to branch out from just carrot and celery, there's so much you can choose from. I've cut up carrots, celery, capsicum, cucumber, green beans, broccoli florets and grapes. You could also use snow peas, baby corns or even cauliflower florets. Stick to whats in season too, and you will cut down your costs massively.
2. Add some extra crunch:
I chose to add a few different crackers I had on hand and some BBQ floured corn kernels that my youngest son loves. You can choose whatever is on hand, but I usually have a packet or two of different crackers in the pantry in case I need to put together a platter at a moments notice (because that can happen quite frequently around here). 
3. Dip It Up:
This is the new hero in our family. Simply peel, cut up and steam a sweet potato (such a great superfood) and add it to the food processor next time you whip up some hummus {link here}. A few of my friends are rolling your eyes now saying 'of course you make your own' hummus. Trust me if you never have done it, try it! It is cheap, easy and if your like me, you'll never buy it again.

Lastly, I added some cheese to please the kiddies and voila! My boys and I literally devoured it!

Lauren x

{Carthardic Organising & Introducing the Snack Bar}

Today I had one of those days where I felt like I would have earned a bonus because I met and exceeded my 'KPI's" (in my dreams).

Thanks to the movie 'CARS 2', I managed to tick off three things that have been on my to-do list since Christmas. I managed to re-organise and clean the fridges (the only time having two fridges is a nightmare - double the work), the freezers, and clean out my plastics cupboard.

"Before" - It's not hard with two boys who like to get and put away things for it to get to this state (I can't stand this!)


How many plastic cups does one family of four need? Major culling happened!!

"After" (*sighs* ...... ahhhh much better!)

Then I decided to cut up carrot sticks for morning tea. Before I knew it I had washed and cut up enough fresh produce to create a "snack bar". Not only does it satisfy the organiser in me, it also doubles as some great incidental word association and learning for my boys (WIN/WIN!).

After the cleaning but before the snack bar. In the right hand fridge door, I decided to put some of the copious bottles to use and create a water bar too. Constant water ready to go and that's all my boys drank all day!

Snack Bar includes: Fruit Salad, Watermelon slices, Mini pears, grapes, celery sticks, carrot sticks, red yellow and green capsicum, snow peas, cheese cubes and little pots of hommus.

The right hand fridge after the snack bar was installed....couldn't get rid of the glare, sorry!

Not only did I find that it helped our boys to eat healthy today, it has helped us too.


Enjoy;
Lauren x

{Cashew & Herb Crusted Salmon}

This is the most simple and delicious meal ad it was GOBBLED up by my hubby, 5 year old AND 2 year old boys! They loved it and it tasted so fancy which is a great trick since it was so simple!

INGREDIENTS:

4 salmon fillets
100g of cashews (could use other nuts also like almonds or macadamias)
A handful of fresh herbs (I used basil & parsley - they are fresh in the garden)
1/2 a lime
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

METHOD:
Pre-heat oven to 160'C
1. Place the nuts in a food processor and blitz up until sort of like bread crumbs.
2. Add the herbs and squeeze the lime in also.
3. While it's processing, drizzle olive oil in until it binds it together. I used about a few dessert spoonfuls, but just add a little and test as you go.
4. Season and then gently place onto the salmon in an oven proof dish.
Place in the oven for about 20 mins until cooked through.

SERVING SUGGESTION:
I stirfried some Asian greens (bok choy and pak choy) with 1/2 a red onion, 1/2 a chili, the other 1/2 of the lime from above, 1 tsp fresh ginger, 2 garlic cloves, corriander stems & 1 TBS sesame seeds.

Once cooked, serve alongside the salmon with fresh corriandar on top - SOOO GOOD!!!

{A Vegetarian Christmas: Sweet Potato & Leek Roulade}

We hosted a Christmas Dinner/ Feast for two of our dear friends last Friday night. I had a blast planning the menu and trying to find a yummy main for my beautiful friend who also is a vegetarian. Now I don't have a problem using imagination for meat free meals normally, as we eat that a lot here.
However, when I think Christmas, I think hams and roast lambs, chicken or pork. I wanted something delicious and not an 'after thought'. I would never want anyone coming over for dinner feel like an after thought just because they don't eat meat. Insert Google and here was the menu:

Entree
Goats cheese and Cranberry Tartlets

Mains
Minted Roast Lamb
Sweet Potato and Leek Roulade

Sides
Balsamic Vine Tomatoes
Chili and Almond Asparagus
Honey Carrots
Rosemary and Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Drinks
Chilled Egg Nog
Warm Mulled Wine

Dessert
Christmas Pudding Ice Cream with Frozen Chocolate Sauce
Tea & Coffee

The mulled wine was a little bitter as I think I let it simmer too long but it was still worth a try.
Here is the recipe for the Roulade...Mine didn't look that pretty, but it held its shape and was DE-LISSSHH!!! Its worth the effort ;)

(image from taste.com.au)

INGREDIENTS:
Roulade

20ml (1 tbs) olive oil
1 leek, finely chopped
60g butter
1/3 cup plain flour
300ml milk
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan

Stuffing
30g unsalted butter
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tbs chopped fresh sage
1 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley

Filling
500g sweet potato, peeled, chopped
15g unsalted butter
100ml thin cream
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 39 x 26cm Swiss roll pan.

2. To make the roulade, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the leek and cook gently for five minutes until soft. Remove leek from pan. Wipe pan, then add the butter. When it has melted, add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Start adding the milk, a little at a time, whisking until all the milk is combined and the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat, beat in egg yolks, one at a time and season.

3. In a separate, clean bowl, beat the eggwhites until stiff. Add a quarter of the eggwhites to the roux, then gently fold in the remaining eggwhites. Fold in leeks and cheddar until just combined, then pour into the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden and puffed.

4. Meanwhile, to make stuffing, melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for five minutes until soft and translucent. Add garlic and breadcrumbs and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Stir in herbs and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

5. For the filling, steam or boil the sweet potato until tender. Drain and mash with the butter, cream and nutmeg. Season well and set aside.

6. When the roulade is cooked, place a clean tea towel on your workbench and sprinkle with the parmesan. Turn the roulade out onto the tea towel and peel off the baking paper. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes, then spread the sweet potato over the roulade.

7. Sprinkle the stuffing over the sweet potato. Using the edge of the tea towel, carefully roll up the roulade from the longest side finishing with the seam-side down. Slice and serve warm.

I hope you enjoy the idea and even if I wasn't serving for a vegetarian...I would definitely make this again :)

Lauren x

The Joy of Spring Gardening

Well, for those of us in Sydney, the weather has been quite unpredictable of late. As I sit here on a rainy Saturday night (watching Toy Story and having pizza with the fam) I had to show you these photos. I took the rubbish out and caught a glipmse at what this constant drizzle is doing to our humble herb/ veggie patch.
Now, I know it's common sense, and something that's not new - but kids LOVE gardening. There is something so 'earthy' and pure about the idea of going out to the garden and picking your own produce. We have had herbs for a while, but some new plants have just taken off BIG time.

We don't exactly have a lot of space or a farm to fit massive amounts (yet), but I encourage you to plant some seedlings in your yard whether it's in a pot or in the ground. I find that the seedlings are cheaper to buy than more established plants but also 'take' better than the bigger ones. I find that the seeds take a lot longer and it's harder for the kids to be that patient waiting.

I would love to hear from you and if you have things planted in the garden. What have you planted? What worked and what didn't? What tips have you found helped you in your gardening attempts?

Enjoy,
Lauren x

Baby Cucumber Plants

Yellow Capsicums (well they will be hopefully)

Strawberries

Celeriac

Celeriac is a yummy vegetable that I served up for dinner the other night, with pleasant results. I boiled it like i would for potato for a regular mash. Then I pureed it with parmesan, light cream cheese and a little milk to thin it out. The boys loved it when i told them it was a new vegatable they had NEVER had before and it was delicious!!!

Some healthy facts about this WONDERFUL vegetable!

Celeriac is:

• Low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol
• High in Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Phosphorus, Potassium, Dietary Fiber, Vitamin B6, Magnesium and Manganese

The nutritional value and health benefits of celeriac makes it ideal for:

• Maintaining optimum health
• Weight loss

Don't include too much celeriac in your diet if you're interested in:

• Weight gain

For some recipes and cooking ideas see:
- Taste.com.au
- Weight Watchers
- Jamie Oliver