Pistachio cupcakes with Rose Petal Butter-cream (Makes 12)
Ingredients
125g butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (175g) caster sugar
2 eggs 2 cups (300g) self-raising flour
100g ground pistachios
3/4 cup (125ml) milk
Frosting
125g butter, room temperature
3 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar
1 tbsp dried rose peatals
¼ cup milk Pink food colouring
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 12 x 1/2 cup (125ml) muffin pans with paper cases. Use an electric mixer to beat together butter and caster sugar until pale and creamy.
2. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing for 1 minute on high after each one.
3. In another bowl combine flour, ground pistachios and baking powder. Then fold flour mixture into the butter and egg mixture, a third at a time, alternating with the milk.
4. Spoon into the lined pans. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
5. In a saucepan, steep the rose petals in the heated milk water for about 20 minutes or until milk has cooled and water has infused with flavour.
6. In a bowl cream the butter and icing sugar together until smooth and pale. Strain the rose petals from the milk and add to the icing mixture a little at a time until the perfect consistency is achieved. Add 6 or so drops of food colouring to get a pale pink hue and continue mixing until mixture is smooth and fluffy.
7. Using a palate knife smooth the icing onto each cupcake once cooled. Decorate with a few sprinkled rose petals.

Roasted tomato and eggplant pasta.

1 eggplant cubed
4 large tomatoes cut into eighths or a punnet of cherry tomatoes
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
Pasta (enough for two) (Gluten free if you like – 100g of dry pasta should be enough)
Olive oil

(Add 100 grams of grilled chicken breast to make it a little more figure friendly)

Preheat oven to 200c. Place tomatoes on one oven tray, eggplant on another and season (make sure the trays are oiled or lined with baking paper). Cook until everything is a bit shrivelled. In the meantime boil the water and cook the pasta, drain. In the saucepan fry the garlic in about a tablespoon or two of oil, then put the pasta back in the pot along with the tomatoes and eggplant, toss, and season.

Serve with parmesan if you like (but I don’t think it’s needed). You can also add sliced grilled prosciutto if you want some meat in there.

one head cauliflowerm
cumin
garlic
onions – two or three
chilli powder
paprika
chicken stock cubes
water

roughly chop onion, throw it in with as many peeled but whole garlic cloves as you want. I use brown shallots usually but they push it over ten dollars cos they aren’t as cheap. brown in a bit of butter for a while, then throw in the broken oup cauli, a few litres of water and all the other ingredients plus salt and pepper to taste, cook it til the cauli is mushy and the water has reduced down to the level suitable for how thick you would like the soup. blend the lot, salt and pepper to taste, and at this point if ive made it too runny i add a couple of potatoes and then blend it again once they are cooked. tastes like it has cream in it and is very cheap and healthy!!!

It’s winter time and what better on a cold cold night than a steaming bowl of soup!

RED LENTIL SOUP

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
Cracked black pepper
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 cup red lentils
1 litre vegetable stock
2 red onions, finely sliced
1 bunch (90 grams) coriander

Method
Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan and add diced onion, ginger and pepper. Cook over a medium heat until the onion is soft. Add the carrot, lentils and stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over medium heat and add red onion. Wash coriander, and finely chop coriander, including roots, setting aside the top leafy bits for the garnish. Add the chopped coriander roots and stems to the red onion in fry pan and continue to cook, until the onion has caramelized.

To serve, ladle the soup into four soup bowls, garnish with a sprinkling of coriander leaves, then top with a spoonful of the caramelized onion. Yummy!

From Marie Claire – Kitchen

Apple & Sour Cream Pie.

Filling:
2 cups apple, chopped finely
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup crushed nuts
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp. cinnamon

Pie Filling:
Peel fruit. Slice and dice apples so they are very fine. Arrange fruit in the bottom of the pie shell. Mix together egg, sour cream, salt, sugar, flour, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg; Pour over the fruit in the pie shell. Bake at 200 degrees for 15 mins.

Reduce heat to about 180 degrees.

Topping:
Mix ingredients together until crumbly. Sprinkle top with crumbled topping and bake for about 30 more minutes. Let cool. Serve.

Easy peasy!

Spinach and Feta Frittatas

from the Jenny Craig cookbook Healthy Living for Life

Makes: 6

Olive Oil Spray

150g English Spinach Leaves

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 eggs

2 egg whites

60 ml skim milk

1tblsp grated parmesan

70g low fat feta cheese

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Method
Lightly coat a muffin tin with olive oil spray. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius. Put spinach and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat. Cover and steam for 3 minutes or until spinach wilts. Allow spinach to cool slightly then squeeze out excess liquid and chop roughly. In a bowl, whisk eggs, egg whites , skim milk and parmesan. Stir in spinach and season with ground black pepper. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin holes, filling each three quarters full. Press three cubes of feta into each frittata. Bake for 15minutes or until frittatas are golden and set.

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Nutritional information
Calories: 71cal per frittata Carbs: 0.8g Fat: 4.1g Protein: 8.1g

Fish cakes – Thai salmon

Suitable to freeze Store covered in fridge (under 5°C) Nutritional Analysis	Good source of: calcium Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Makes: 40
Ingredients: 2 200g cans pink salmon, drained 2 eggs, beaten 2 teaspoons chillies, seeds removed, chopped (optional) 4 tablespoons coriander, chopped 4 tablespoons coconut, finely shredded 1 teaspoon five spice powder 2 kaffir lime leaf, sliced thinly (optional) 2 teaspoons fish sauce 4 spring onions, chopped 2 tablespoons canola oil, for frying

Method:
1. Remove any large bones from salmon.
2. Process all ingredients (apart from oil) in food processor until smooth.
3. Refrigerate the fish mixture for 15 minutes for easier handling.
4. Form the mixture into small cakes.
5. Heat oil in a non-stick frypan over a medium heat. Fry cakes approximately 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Notes: Cakes can be dusted with cornflour before cooking. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice.
If you are preparing food for people on a gluten-free diet, always check the ingredients on all food labels, especially any prepared items like sauces.