565/1038 - Chestnuts and mushrooms

More chestnut fabulousness! 

Over the years I have improved my vegetable based cooking considerably, ensuring flavour is key when putting a meat free meal on the table. I am one of those people who wishes animals did not have to die for my gastronomic enjoyment but I also like meat far too much to stop eating it altogether. The compromise I have made is to dramatically reduce the amount of meat we eat as a family. I try to serve up a minimum of two or three vegetarian meals per week and when I do cook meat it is generally a small amount (500-700 grams between four) with a lot of vegetable and grain padding. 

This meat free meal was made up of three components; chestnut stuffed mushrooms, edamame pasta with parmesan and parsley and freshly made guacamole (not pictured). 

When this meal was finished, we unanimously decided that chestnuts make everything better! Creamy, nutty (obviously) and with a sweet potato-like finish they are a fabulous addition to almost any dish.

Looking at the pile of chopped nuts that were to be piled on the mushrooms, I was convinced that there were far too many. I was wrong. This dish is incredible and should not be messed with! Honestly, this is the kind of recipe that makes meat-free eating so very easy.

I have decided that the only thing I don't like about chestnuts is that I can't buy them all year 'round. Expect to see more of this wonderful nut over the next couple of months before they disappear x

564/1038 - Chestnut and bacon salad

Who says you don't make friends with salad? 

Chestnuts have become a new staple in our house since they have regularly been available at our favourite fruit stall. Although I am getting better at the peeling, the scoring has me beat. This session saw me sporting three new band-aids and at least one cut that just would. not. stop. bleeding. 

I blame the little chestnuts (I bought two sizes) and also the chunky ones devoid of a flat side. I have decided it would just be easier to cut them deeply rather than trying to gently score the skin. Particularly when they are going to be chopped anyway! I do believe my poor massacred fingers will thank me. 

Given the amount of calories in this salad, it is a bit scary how easy it was to put together. Apart from the chestnut peeling (kill me now) this really was a matter of simply chopping everything and then giving each ingredient a turn to baste in the fabulous bacon fat. Have I mentioned how much I love bacon fat? 

My husband declared this to be the best salad he had ever eaten and I think we all agreed that it was pretty spectacular. If it was a slimmers salad it would surely be on the menu every week. But seriously, how fat is this challenge going to make me?

I am not sure I want to know the answer to that question! x

Beautiful chestnuts from the Queen Vic market

563/1038 - Oyster spring rolls

I am not sure if I have mentioned that we have now passed our one year anniversary for weekly shopping trips at the Queen Victoria Market. If not, well we have! Shopping there certainly makes it easier to execute recipes such as this one, with oysters being plentiful and also quite reasonably priced. 

My family were sceptical of this recipe, and rightly so. Oysters are definitely not an ingredient we are used to tasting in our much loved spring rolls and each family member approached their first tasting with trepidation. As usual, I was the tasting guinea pig and I think the surprised and happy expression on my face as I chewed was the impetus the boys needed to take one for themselves. Once we realised just how good they were I think we all wished I had not halved the recipe. Yes, I only bought one zozen because, let's be honest, buying two dozen oysters for an untested recipe is a big investment! 

Did I mention I made the spring roll wrappers myself? I would make a big deal of this achievement but if I am honest my uninspiring first attempt at these was either the result of a dodgy internet recipe or terrible execution on my part. There were just enough good ones to cover a family sampling and then the rest (those with a hole or tear) were fed to our lucky chooks. Given that only a limited number of my wrappers were able to be fried, we also rolled a pile of rice paper rolls filled with raw vegetables. 

This is one of those recipes which, while unlikely to be recreated for another family dinner, may definitely come out as a decadent little dinner party entrée. 

...but I may buy pre-made wrappers next time! x

562/1038 - Buckwheat blini

The other day I used the term "absent minded professor" whilst talking to my eldest. He had no idea what I was talking about and thought it was some sort of insult. I consider myself an incredibly capable person but I swear this is how I feel so much of the time! Give me a big and complicated job and I am on it, dotting every i and crossing every t. Then, on a daily basis, this same capable person forgets the little things. Things like cooking dinner, picking my kids up from school and getting dressed. You might think that having the occasional pyjama day is not being absent minded - but it is if you don't realise you are doing it! I haven't quite left the house in my pj's but have made it all the way into the car with slippers on...

Occasionally my absent-mindedness makes its way into my cooking and this recipe was no exception. The first step of the recipe was to mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients and then to combine the two. The mixture was to sit and rise for an hour. So far, so good! 

Once the mixture had been left to rise I was to beat the egg whites to soft peaks and then fold this through the mixture....except that I had tossed in the eggs (whites and all) at the beginning! Oh...

I decided to forge ahead anyway and the result was still really lovely. Being fairly intolerant to wheat (a FODMAP rather than a gluten issue) I decided to make these with all buckwheat flour. The taste was very strong but it was nice to know I could eat as many as I liked without having to worry about adverse side effects.

Always looking for gluten free options for clients, I will definitely be trying these again. Let's see if I can remember to separate the eggs next time! x

Not to be confused with a blenny, which is what we have in our home aquarium.
 My son was appropriately mortified when he misheard what I was cooking…