Healthy Eating

I have been trying to eat healthily recently. Think lots of vegetables, brown rice, oats and poached eggs for protein.

This is a recipe I would definitely recommend - it is traditionally from provincial France - and it's something I've grown up with.

It has a movie named after it (which is very cute) and most people can't spell it, but it's called Ratatouille, and here's the recipe (serves 4):

Ingredients:

• 4 tomatoes
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red capsicum, diced
• 1 yellow capsicum, diced
• 1 eggplant, diced
• 1 tbs tomato puree
  
• 2 stalks celery sliced
  
• 2 zuchinni sliced
• 2 carrotts diced
  
• 1/2 tbs chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tbs torn fresh basil leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

Method:

• Score a cross in the base of each tomato and plunge into a bowl of boiling water for 20 seconds.
  
• Peel the skin from the tomatoes and discard.
  
• Chop the tomato flesh into medium dice.
  
• Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes then add the celery, zucchini, carrots and capsicum and cook for a further 5 minutes. Transfer the onion and capsicum to a plate and set aside.
  
• Add the eggplant to the pan and cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Return the onion and capsicum to the pan and stir in tomato puree. Add thyme and tomatoes.
  
• Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the basil and garlic.
  

Ratatouille is perfect for winter; it is delicious served hot on a bed of brown rice and you could poach some chicken (in a chicken stock) for protein too if you liked.

Photo courtesy of: http://progressives.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/ratatouille.jpg

Christmas cheer

Today I made some incredible (if I do say so myself) Christmas mince pies that got the approval of those who tried them.
The pastry is a little fiddly, but once you've mastered that, they're a cinch to make.
All you need to do is follow this recipe:

Preparation Time 30 minutes
Cooking Time 35 minutes
Makes 40

Ingredients
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs brandy
1 small Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, coarsely grated
85g raisins, coarsely chopped
85g currants
85g sultanas
60g glace cherries, coarsely chopped
115g (1/3 cup) breakfast marmalade
1/4 tsp mixed spice
600g (4 cups) plain flour
80g (1/2 cup) icing sugar mixture
300g chilled butter, chopped
2 egg yolks
4-5 tbs water
White sugar, to sprinkle
Icing sugar, to dust
Method
Combine the brown sugar, brandy, apple, raisins, currants, sultanas, cherries, marmalade and mixed spice in a bowl. Set aside, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 days to macerate.
Place the flour, icing sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and water, and process until the dough just comes together.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Roll out the pastry between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper until 3mm thick. Use a round 6.5cm-diameter pastry cutter to cut 40 discs from the pastry. Line forty 30ml (1 1/2-tablespoon) capacity patty pans with the discs. Use a fork to prick the bases.
Re-roll leftover pastry between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper until 3mm thick. Use a round 5cm-diameter pastry cutter to cut 40 discs from the pastry. Spoon 1 heaped teaspoon of fruit mixture into each pastry case. Top with pastry discs. Press edges to seal. Sprinkle with white sugar. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Set aside for 15 minutes to cool before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Dust the pies with icing sugar to serve.
Notes & tips
Freezing tip: At the end of step 5, layer the fruit mince pies between sheets of freezerproof paper in an airtight container. Label, date and freeze for up to six months. Thaw overnight at room temperature.
Allow two days macerating and cooling time.
Taste.com.au has everything you need for Christmas including Christmas gift ideas like truffles and rum balls, Christmas menu plans and handy video how to tips.

I got this recipe from Good Taste magazine in 2007 - worth keeping!!