Vegie Dumplings!

I usually have a box of frozen Coles Vegetable Dumplings on hand in the freezer - they are quick and easy to get ready after I get home from training on the days I train in the evening. Quick dinner is good dinner!! Anyway, I decided it would probably be just as easy to make up a batch of my own!

To make the filling, I was lazy, and whizzed up various vegies in the food processor, as well as some firm tofu. in the interest of extra laziness, I threw in half a bag of pre-grated vegies from Woolies.  I then fried the chopped up vegie and tofu mix with a little oil, and added some soy sauce, garlic, ginger and chilli .  I then left the mix to cool down.  Next step was to fold up the dumplings. Of course, I used wrappers I bought from the supermarket! I put a little filling in the centre of each one, lightly wet the edges with a little water, and then tried to fold them up neatly.  I don't think I did a bad job actually!



The dumplings were then pan fried in batched until golden, then thrown back into the pan with about half a cup of water and a lid on to steam for a couple of minutes.  We then ate way too many, which defeated my intended  purpose of having leftovers to keep in the freezer!  Will have to make MORE next time!!

Barbeque Lunch - Tygum Lagoon

Its been a little while between posts! Not that there has been a lack of cooking, or eating, just a lack of posting! Shall try to rectify that situation


We decided that we would like to have a barbeque lunch, and since we deposited our bbq on the footpath during a council clean-up, we had to find a bbq in a park!  Janet hit the computer and Googled up Tygum Lagoon, at Waterford.  Armed with our google map, an esky of food and a happy dog, we set off!

We managed to not get lost, despite there seeming to be a lack of street signs.  We even managed to find a bbq that was not being used!


its quite a nice park, with a walking track all the way around the lagoon (there is also exercise equipment all the way around if you are so inclined)


I cooked up our lunch, while Janet kept Shadow entertained.  I had Tofu & red capsicum kebabs (marinated in soy and lemon) and some salad.  Janet had sausages on a bread roll.  I managed to forget to bring the sauce! oops!)



This rather magnificent model sail boat was being sailed on the lagoon!


Now we know this park exists, I am sure we will be back another day!

Garden Goodness Pasta Sauce

A nice simple dinner that begins with a walk around the garden to gather ingredients!!

In a saucepan with some olive oil, saute a chopped onion and fresh herbs from the garden (I used sage, parsley stalks, oregano, thyme and basil).

When the onion has softened, add some vegies from your garden - today, I added zucchini and silverbeet stalks at this stage.  I also added some firm tofu which I diced quite small.  After the vegies had softened and the tofu was nicely covered in herby goodness, I added a tablespoon of tomato paste, which I allowed to cook for a minute of two before adding a can of diced tomatoes. (if I had any I would have used tomatoes from the garden, but none are ready yet!!).  Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add a splash of Worcestershire sauce.  I use Spring Gully brand because it is VEGETARIAN (no anchovies!!).

A couple of minutes before you want to serve this, add the chopped silverbeet leaves and some more fresh basil & parsley.


boil up some pasta - I used small shells in this instance - the chunky sauce fills up the shells quite nicely! Serve the sauce with the pasta!


serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan and some more parsley if you like!

Janet likes to eat from a plate

whilst I like to eat from a bowl!

and dinner is always nicer with some fresh flowers on the table!

If I was making this dinner for just myself, I would have added a tin of 4 bean mix to the sauce! In fact I might just do this with the left overs!

Pink Fried Rice

I have some lovely Bulls Blood Beetroot growing in the garden, so am using it up in as many ways as I can..... on this occasion I added it to my fried rice, resulting in pink fried rice!

To make the beetroot component, I simply chopped it into small cubes, and microwaved until soft, but not mushy in some soy sauce (a couple of teaspoons) and a squeeze of lemon juice.  This created beetroot in lovely pink sauce, which I stirred through my fried rice at the end!  (other things in my rice included zucchini, carrot garlic, onion, parsley stalks, peas, corn and tofu, oh, and some brown rice!)


(apologies for the kind of blurry photo...and it was pinker in real life :-) )


Janet had the same, minus the tofu and beetroot, plus some beef mince.

dinner at home - garden marinated chicken/tofu

I marinated the Chicken & Tofu in mostly things I picked from my garden - I pounded together in the mortar & pestle -  lemongrass, chilli, basil, and a clove of garlic (from the shop!), with a drizzle of vegetable oil, and rubbed this over the chicken and the tofu, then left it in the fridge for about an hour.  I then simply panfried until the tofu was crisp, and the chicken was cooked.




I served both with some steamed rice and some braised vegies (cooked with a little soy sauce).

Delicious and Simple!

Dinner at Home - Lemon Chilli Chicken with pan fried potatoes

An easy weeknight dinner - Before work, I put a chicken breast into a bowl with the juice of a lemon, a tablespoon of olive oil, a sprinkle of paprika, and a chopped red chilli, and left this to marinate in the fridge for the day.

 Spend the day at work, then come home and start to prepare the potatoes!

I simply sliced a potato into 3 lengthways, leaving the skin on. Into a cold frying pan I put some olive oil, a red chilli, a peeled clove of garlic and some thyme and rosemary from the garden. I gently heated this up and then added the poato slices, and cooked slowly until the potato slices were cooked through. Before serving, I turned up the heat a little to increase the crispness of the potatoes.





The chicken, I simply panfried until it was golden brown and cooked through





I was quite impressed with the colour of the chicken!




For myself, I threw together a quick, but delicious salad - I panfried some Soyco Thai Tofu, and served it on a salad of baby spinach, red capsicum, cherry tomatoes (from the garden), red onion, and a coupe of raw purple beans.  I squeezed over some lemon juice just before serving. YUM!!