Fortnightly Favourites Newsletter

Hi and welcome.

Yes, it is that time again. Time to bring you some exciting recipes on the humble pumpkin (but the recipes are far from humble)!
Saratoga Fresh Fruit has Jap pumpkin on sale this fortnight for a tiny $1.29 a kilo so if these recipes tempt you to make them, make sure you see Lorraine and the gang to stock up.

It's hard to believe that we are now moving into the end of March.
It seems like I only just stopped writing the last newsletter.

We are heading off to Kantara House again this Sunday for another great afternoon of Jazz in the Rainforest.
If you have been thinking of going down, there's a couple of great discounts available to you.
*If you prebook your tickets you pay only $15 or buy at the door on arrival, $20.
*You can become a member of the my Local Card club by purchasing a card for just $10 when you purchase your ticket and receive 10% discount on all your drinks both on Sunday and at any venue at Kantara for a full 12 months. (there are currently about 50 great businesses on the Coast all offering fabulous discounts to members as well)
To see all the discounting businesses CLICK HERE

We hope that you enjoy looking at and making the following recipes and to start them off we have Mel's offering of Crunchy Chicken Strips just perfect for the family with the school holidays on their way.

Cheers

Gay and the team

CRUNCHY CHICKEN STRIPS

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

1 teaspoon mustard powder

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1kg chicken tenderloins

1 cup cous cous

3/4 cup boiling chicken stock

¼ cup ground parmesan cheese (optional)

1 tablespoon Basil leaves, chopped

olive oil spray

1. Pre-heat oven to 200ºC. Mix mustard and egg together.

2. Place cous cous and stock in a bowl. Stir to combine then mix through parmesan and basil leaves.

3. Dip tenderloins in egg then place in cous cous mixture and spread with fingers to coat. Place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Spray with oil and cook for 10 minutes, turn and cook a further 10 minutes.

4. Serve with salad, sweet chilli sauce and sour cream if desired.

Serves 4

Note: If you can’t buy tenderloins, you can use chicken breast fillets and cut them into strips.

Pumpkin scone loaf

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 300g jap pumpkin, peeled, deseeded, cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 3 cups self-raising flour, sifted
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 100g tasty cheese, finely grated
• 1/3 cup thickened cream
• 1/3 cup milk
• butter, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Line a flat baking tray with baking paper. Place pumpkin on a microwave-safe plate. Cover and microwave on HIGH (100%) for 3 to 4 minutes or until tender. Drain pumpkin. Allow to cool. Mash with a fork.

2. Combine flour, sugar, nutmeg and cheese in a large bowl. Mix well. Combine pumpkin, cream and 1/4 cup of milk in a bowl. Add to flour mixture. Using a flat-bladed knife, stir until mixture comes together, adding remaining 1 tablespoon of milk if necessary. Turn onto a lightly-floured surface. Knead until just smooth.

3. Roll out dough to a 20cm x 30cm rectangle. Roll up from 1 long end to the other like a Swiss roll. Place on prepared tray. Make 1cm-deep cuts, at 2cm intervals, across the top of the loaf. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Serve warm with butter.

Notes

• This scone loaf can be served warm or at room temperature. Leftover slices can be toasted under the grill.

• Variation

• You could replace the tasty cheese with soft, creamy feta, crumbled.

Warm pumpkin & goat's cheese salad (vegetarian)

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1/2 small jap pumpkin (skin on), cut into thin wedges
• 100ml olive oil
• 1 tbs thyme leaves
• 150g firm goat's cheese, cut into rounds
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs*
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 4 cups baby salad leaves (mesclun)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2. Toss pumpkin with 2 tablespoons of the oil and thyme. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, turning once, until cooked and lightly caramelised. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Meanwhile, brush the cheese rounds with 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil and coat in the breadcrumbs. Place on a separate greased baking tray and chill until just before you're ready to serve the salad.

4. Whisk together the vinegar, mustard and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Place the goat's cheese in the oven for 5-6 minutes until crumbs are golden.

6. Toss the salad leaves and pumpkin in half the vinaigrette and pile onto plates. Add the warmed goat's cheese and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette.

Notes

• * From Asian food shops. Substitute dry breadcrumbs.

Salmon with spiced pumpkin and tomatoes

Preparation Time

15 minutes

Cooking Time

20 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, trimmed, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup (55g) blanched whole almonds
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 800g jap pumpkin, peeled, seeded, cut into 2cm pieces
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 4 x 175g pieces salmon or ocean trout fillet, skinned
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped coriander leaves
• Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

1. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, celery and almonds. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes or until vegetables are beginning to soften. Add spices. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.

2. Add pumpkin to pan. Stir to coat, then add tomatoes and 1/2 cup water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low-medium. Cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until pumpkin is tender.

3. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add salmon. Season to taste, then cook for 4-5 minutes, turning once, or until pale golden and cooked to your liking.

4. Divide pumpkin mixture among plates. Sprinkle with coriander then top with salmon. Serve with lemon wedges.

Roast vegetables with pine nut crumble

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 3 large Desiree potatoes, peeled
• 1 large kumara (orange sweet potato), peeled
• 600g Jap pumpkin, peeled, deseeded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 slices white bread, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 40g butter, melted, cooled

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Cut potatoes, kumara and pumpkin into 5cm pieces. Place all vegetables into a roasting dish in a single layer. Drizzle with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast for 45 minutes or until golden and just tender.

2. Place bread and pine nuts into a food processor. Process until crumbs form. Transfer to a bowl. Add parmesan, parsley, garlic and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Remove vegetables from oven. Sprinkle crumble over vegetables. Roast for a further 10 minutes or until crumble is golden. Serve.

Notes

• Hint: This crumble goes well with any roast meats.

Well that's it from us again this fortnight. Until next time we meet may you all stay happy, healthy and safe and
Bon Appetit!


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Fortnightly Favourites Newsletter

Hi all and welcome back to the fortnightly favourites newsletter.
This fortnight we are bringing you recipes on an old favourite, the carrot. At just $1.29c per 1 kilo bag, they are a great buy this fortnight at Saratoga Fresh Fruit.

We are also bringing you the updated list from my Local Card. There are close to 50 businesses on board now as discounting businesses (just on the Central Coast) so do your self a favour, spend $10 at any of the participating businesses that are selling the cards and take advantage of all the great savings that you will make throughout the year, both on the Central Coast and in the CBD area of Newcastle.
To find out who's selling my Local Card on the coast, click here.
If you wish to get an updated list of all the my Local Card discounting businesses click here.

As we talked about last fortnight, a group of us went down to Kantara House on Sunday 28th Feb and had a wonderful afternoon sitting in the garden listening to the fabulous Shuffle Kings and guest artists play from 2pm to 6pm.
I beleive that the band that they are having next Tuesday evening 16th March are an awesome trio so am looking forward to heading down there again.

If you wish to know more or would like to prebook tickets, click on the for more information. (and don't forget if you take along your my local card and show it, you will save 10% on all your drinks (yes, even if you purchase your card on the day or night of the concert or performance)

Please feel free to contact us if you have anything of interest that you would like to share with the community.

And now to the recipes (enjoy)!

If you no longer wish to receive this email please send an email to
time4youlifestyle@gmail.com
and type unsubscribe in the subject bar.

Skin cleansing juice

Preparation Time

5 minutes

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 2 carrots, unpeeled, ends trimmed
• 1 small red capsicum, halved, deseeded
• 1 small apple, halved, cored
• Ice cubes, to serve

Method

1. Cut the carrots, capsicum and apple into small pieces. Use a juice extractor to process the carrot, capsicum and apple, one at a time, into a jug. Pour into a serving glass and stir until well combined. Add the ice and serve immediately.

Notes

• Note: The amount of dietary fibre in this recipe will depend on the type of juicer used. With most juicers the fibre level will be 2g.

Carrot and cumin dip

Preparation Time

10 minutes

Cooking Time

30 minutes

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 1kg carrots, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• Turkish pide, to serve (see related recipe)

Method

1. Cook the carrot in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 30 minutes or until tender. Drain.

2. Place the carrot, oil, cumin and garlic in the bowl of a food processor, and process until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with pide.

Notes

• You can make this dip up to 2 days ahead. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Remove from fridge 15 minutes before serving to bring to room temperature.

Caramalised spiced carrots

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 750g carrots, peeled
• 1 red onion, halved, thinly sliced lengthways
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 1/2 tablespoons caster sugar
• pinch of chilli powder
• pinch of ground nutmeg

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 large, 2cm-deep oven trays with foil.

2. Using a processor or mandolin, finely shred carrots. Place in a bowl. Add onion, oil, sugar, chilli and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.

3. Divide carrot mixture between prepared trays. Roast for 1 hour, swapping trays over in the oven after 30 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Allow to cool slightly. Using tongs, tear carrot mixture into pieces. Serve.

Old fashioned chicken noodle soup

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1.5kg whole chicken
• 12 cups water
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 brown onion, unpeeled, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 6 black peppercorns
• 2 carrots, extra, cut into thin sticks
• 1/4 Chinese cabbage, finely shredded
• 140g (2 portions) instant noodles

Method

1. Place chicken, water, carrots, onion, celery and peppercorns into a large, deep saucepan. Cover. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, using a slotted spoon to skim any residue from surface. Simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from stock. Set aside. Once cooled, remove meat from bones. Shred chicken, discarding skin and bones. Cover. Refrigerate until required.

2. Strain stock through a sieve into a bowl. Use a spoon to press vegetables to extract liquid. Discard vegetables. Set stock aside to cool. Transfer to an airtight container. Cover. Refrigerate overnight.

3. Remove stock from fridge. Use a spoon to remove fat from top. Pour stock into a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil. Add extra carrots. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add cabbage and chicken meat. Simmer for 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender and soup is heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Meanwhile, cook noodles in a saucepan of boiling water. Drain well. Cut noodles into shorter lengths and divide between serving bowls. Ladle over soup. Serve.

Notes

• Start this recipe the day before.

We hope that you have enjoyed these recipes and we look forward to bringing you more next fortnight.
Until then stay safe and happy and
Bon Appetit!