oh my, what a pie

Well 'tis the season. Melbourne is f-f-f-freezing at the moment and there's nothing more warming than a yummy pie. Last week I baked this recipe from taste.com.au (minus the egg wash), and it was pretty good. So I decided to try it again but change it a bit.

The original recipe is a bit dry, so I ended up adding another half cup or so of Massel vegetable stock. I also added two teaspoons of tomato paste and fresh parsley.

I made 5 small pies instead of one big one, and to get the shine on top I baked them for 5 minutes or so then used spray oil on top and baked them for another 10 minutes - or until golden brown. Also, I used double the mushrooms (because I luuurv mushrooms) and a little less potato.

They were so very delicious - I'm drooling just looking at the pics! They're a slow cook but so worth it. My new favourite winter dish.

The recipe is a great base too, you could really add whatever you wanted to it. I'm going to be experimenting more with this little ditty.

Marrow, mushroom, barley risotto

I whipped up this risotto today because I was given some wonderful marrows (like zucchini) and wanted to make a hearty meal with them. I much prefer barley to arborio rice - it's much lower GI and is all round better for you - it's also got a great nutty texture if cooked 'just so'. Anyway, it turned out delish so here's the recipe, it serves 4.

What you need;

1 large marrow
3 large field mushrooms
a bunch of asparagus
1 brown onion
1 cup of barley
3 cubes Massell chicken (or) veg stock
half a cup dry white wine
olive oil
3 garlic cloves
fresh thyme
fresh continental parsley
2 tablespoons Tofutti Sour Supreme
1 teaspoon Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese


What you do;

1) Heat about two litres of water in a large pot and add the stock cubes. Heat oil in a separate deep pan and fry garlic and onion til translucent. Add barley and toss for a minute or so before adding the wine.

2) Add the stock to the barley a few cups at a time. Keep it on a simmer, if it's boiling the barley will stick to the bottom.

3) When the barley's half done, fry the marrow, mushroom and asparagus till just under-cooked in a separate pan (yep, we're up to 3 pans now). Then set it aside. I added some chopped thyme to the barley at this point.

4) It's just a matter of waiting for the barley to cook through now. It can take up to 2 and a half litres of liquid, I just kept adding to it until it was as soft as I like it.

5) Once the barley's done, add the veggies and mix til heated through and the barley takes on the colour from the mushrooms. Then take off the heat and stir through the Tofutti creams and as much parsley as you like (I put heaps because I love it).

It should look something like this;

That's about it - enjoy!

Mushroom Wonton Soup

Wonton soup is really easy and yummy - it's just a bit time-consuming - so it's good for a weekend meal. This is just a twist on the classic chicken wonton soup, with mushrooms instead ... yep, I love mushrooms. This mix makes about 50 wontons - you can freeze them too.

What you need;

for the broth

1.5 litres water with 2 Massel chicken stock cubes

1 tablespoon soy sauce

a chunk of peeled ginger 

for the wontons

3 large field mushrooms

1 small zucchini 

1 small carrot

fresh chives

2 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons cornflour

wonton wrappers

 What you do;

1) Get the water boiling and reduce to simmer. Add the stock cubes, soy sauce and the chunk of ginger. Leave to simmer while you make the wontons so the ginger can infuse.

2) Grate the zuchinni and carrot and chop up the mushroom into little pieces. Mix in a bowl with chives, crushed garlic, soy sauce and cornflour. 

You might want to add a bit more cornflour depending on how wet the mix is.

3) I like to make the wontons in my hand. You put the wrapper on your palm, then spoon a bit of the mix in to the centre. Run a wet finger around the edge of the wrapper and fold it over into a rectangle. Press the edges closed, and try to get as much air out of the centre as possible. Then pinch the edges into a wonton shape - it's a bit like a pleated skirt ... but not really.

 

4) By this time the broth should be smelling amazing. While it's simmering, put in the wontons (however many you need - a good meal is probably 8 per person, an entree 3 or 4). They'll go translucent and float to the top when they're done. I always put in an extra one to taste test and make sure the edges are cooked through.

5) Divide the wontons into bowls with a slotted spoon and cover with the broth (get rid of the ginger). Add some chopped chives to make it pretty and eat!

Trying new things

I made a yummy dinner tonight - so yummy I didn't get a chance to take a photo of it before it was devoured - I'm sure I'll be making it again though.

Three things on the plate;

This awesome mushroom recipe I found on Taste.com.au.

To accompany the mushrooms I made cous cous in Massel chicken stock (vegan) with crushed peanuts, fresh parsley and Parmazano (vegan parmesan cheese substitute). The third thing on the plate was grilled asparagus covered in olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt.

Speaking of cheese substitutes, I generally don't love 'em, but Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese is a really nice spread.

 

I usually eat Helga's bread but was getting a bit bored with it so picked up something new today. Lawson's Traditional Bread is so delicious!

I hadn't tried it before. I got the seed and grain one and put the Tofutti on it with sliced tomato and a bit of salt. So simple and so yummy. I'm hoping it freezes well because the loaf is pretty big. A great new find. Yay for Lawson's!