{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!!!

{Chick Pea Patties & veggie stack}

If you are new to the blog you may not know that I have mentioned before about how each year I start January with a 21 day Daniel fast. It is for mainly spiritual reasons and also health reasons too. If you have never done this and are interested, see info here. The basic 'jist' is that I eat only plant based food for 21 days, ergo no meat, no diary, no sugars, no processed food, no alcohol and no caffeine (this is always hard to detox from).

I have shared recipes on here before that I usually eat at fast time in Jnaurary, like
- My ESSENTIAL homemade tomato sauce
- Falafel
- Hommus
- Baked Fish Parcels (fish is not strictly on the fast according to my research unless you need some extra protein for an active lifestyle. I choose to include some during the fast.

The next few posts will be Daniel Fast recipes that are delicious enough to eat all year round!

{CHICK PEA PATTIES}

1 can of Chick Peas
1 can of lentils
1 potato cooked (could also use sweet potato or carrot)
1 handful of mixed herbs (i used basil and parsley as I had plenty in the garden)
1 small onion and garlic clove cooked (not essential but i like the taste)
2 TBL pasta sauce (could use store bought if your not being as 'picky as me')


Method:
1. Mash the chick peas, lentils, potato (or similar).
2. Mix other ingredients into it and season with salt and pepper.
3. Form into patty shapes and fry gently.
**i would probably include bread crumbs and an egg when off the fast to help bind it together a bit more. But as long as you are gentle with them, they cook fine**

SERVING SUGGESTION:

My favourite way to eat these is in a stack with char-grilled eggplant, capsicum, avocado, the tomato sauce, avocado, hommus and fresh herbs and rocket. YUM!

Enjoy;
Lauren x

{Homemade Christmas : Yummy Successes & a Failure too}

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you enjoyed some quality time with those you love over the Christmas/ New years period. Such a nice time of year...I just love it.

I have had a few recipes requested so this post is dedicated to the Muesli.

I searched everywhere for a porcelain pen/ texta I'd seen used on a blog to create handmade christmas gifts. Part worked well and part was an epic fail!

The plan was to design and personalize some bowls and include a jar of homemade toasted muesli. These were some we made:



However, even after doubling the drying time on the bowls, the writing came off! To make matters worse, I trusted the product and actually had a recipient of these tell me the next morning. I was furious and hurt. Some gifts I put so much thought into were ruined! I have been in talks with the company and the craft store I bought it from, hoping to find an answer soon. If anyone has had a win or a failure with this technique - please comment!

The muesli however, was a massive HIT!


I have had texts and calls from people who didn't even receive the gift wanting the recipe. So since I kinda made it up, I have spent time figuring out what the recipe was! I love this type of cooking where each batch could be potentially customized to taste or contents of the pantry! Never buying this again!

Ingredients (this made 4 gift jars):
5 cups oats
1 cup pepitas
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup flaked almonds
2 cups of sultanas
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup of shredded coconut
2 Tbl sesame seeds

4T unflavored oil (I used rice bran oil)
100g honey

Preheat oven to 150'C
1. Combine dry ingredients in a big bowl.
2. Heat oil and honey in microwave or saucepan then stir into mixture.
3. Spread onto some baking trays and bake for about 30 mins. You want the mixture to be slightly browned and the fruits to become chewy. Then remove from oven and cool before putting into airtight container.


Enjoy,
Lauren x

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{The Final Christmas Touches}

Well, this will be probably be my last post for Christmas and maybe for 2011. It is very busy around here as we prepare the trimmings for a great Christmas. There is a lot of carols playing, gifts being wrapped decorations and crafts being made and recipes being baked. I LOVE Christmas!

Here are a few of the things we have done to help bring the festive season to life in our house.

1. The Advent Calendar:
Ever hear of 'Real Estate Speak'? Terms like renovators delight or fixer-upper??? Well in 'Craft Speak' a labor of love means something that took much more work than I anticipated, was GLAD to finish but happy I did! This advent calendar was one of those type projects. I know I winged it and made it up as I went, but there was something that I had to contemplate or re-do at several stages along the way. I am very happy with how it turned out though.




2. Snow Dough Ornaments I made salt dough using this recipe from taste.com.au and we cut out mini circles using a lid in the kitchen. The boys pressed a thumb print into half of the circles each and then we painted them white and strung them on a ribbon to make a garland for the tree. 3. Gingerbread Houses: With two little boys 2 & 5 years old, making a full blown ginger house mansion complete with kilo's of sugar seemed a feat that would have me cleaning the kitchen for days and adding an extra coffee or 10 to my day. So, because I still wanted to do this activity WITH my boys, I decided to make it a little different and go 2D instead. This was a BIG hit!!!! (gingerbread recipe here) (pattern for house copied from here) (royal icing recipe here) There are a few other crafts like a hand print wreath and some other ornaments along the way.

So, from my house to yours, I wish you a VERY special Christmas and may your 2012 be blessed and fruitful!

Lauren x

{How foil changed my life}

I know the title for this post sounds dramatic - but foil did change my life.

I thought i would share this post near Christmas time as it is a time of year when people are (typically) thinking most about generosity.

For years now I have always had foil containers with lids of varying sizes in the pantry. I always pick them up in the supermarket for a few dollars.



But how did they change my life you ask?
It has been a practical way that our family has made room for acting out compassion for others. I usually have a meal every so often that I make too much of. Then I label it and freeze it.
Having meals are always handy for yourself.
But having frozen meals ready to go, helps open your eyes to needs in others. As soon as I hear of a friend having a bad week, a baby arriving, someone coming home from an operation, I know I have a meal ready to drop around.
The easy thing is you don't have to worry about getting your dish back.
I have used these to put in such meals as:
- casseroles
- lasagnas
- curries

Not all things need to be frozen and prepared in advance. I have just used them as containers for other easy meal ideas too:
- hamburger kits (patties and salad items separated in zip lock bags)
- fried rice
- mash potato
- salads
- cooked or roasted veggies etc
- brownies and cakes (bake in the foil container)

So, next time you shop, pop a container like this in your trolley and make room in your budget for someone in your world who has a need. I guarantee you I'd you can't think of someone straight away, you will notice a need once your looking!

Lauren x



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