Coburg Night Market 2016

Each year we are treated to the fantastic Coburg Night Markets each Friday in the month before Christmas.  There is lots of interesting food, great crafts and good cheer.  I got along to two markets this year.  No more markets til next year but meanwhile I will share some photos.

The first market I went to was after work.  I saw these eccentric entertainers who rode around the market.  Nearby was Sylvia and a friend eating the Sugar Shack lollies that Sylvia had told me earlier that she would not be buying.  We headed for the ice cream stall where someone was queuing for cones.

Curly spud (spiral cut potatoes that are cooked as chips and given a generous seasoning) is always popular with the kids.  Sylvia had already had a curly spud for dinner and was ready for dessert.

I started to do a reccy of the food stalls but stumbled upon these vegan Indian nachos at a Rice and Dice stall.  They looked so amazing I looked no further and indeed I would say they are the best street food I have had all year.  They were made of roasted papri chips, topped with curried chickpeas and potato, beetroot and carrot slaw, coriander and mint chutney, and tamarind and date raita.  The sign on the stall also said coconut raita available and I am not sure if it was on mine or not as I didn't request it but it looks like it is on the nachos.

They were nowhere to be seen on my second visit but I am tempted to try making some myself because I loved them so much.

My second visit was this Friday.  After muggy rainy weather it was a splendid evening with blue skies and sunshine.  We wandered about looking at the stalls and ended up talking to some friends near the retro tram car and bouncy castle.  Then as we were looking from E who had just finished work, he appeared.

Sylvia and E decided to have the Twisted Mac plain mac and cheese.  We had to wait 5 minutes but I did enjoy watching them stirring the cheese into the pasta.  And I much preferred to have mac and cheese leftovers than curly spud from Sylvia.

No Indian nachos so I went Vietnames with a fried tofu, vegan spring rolls, noodles and salad.  I kept mine simple so Sylvia could have some.  The tofu and spring rolls were crisp and hot but the rest of the salad would have benefited from peanuts, lemon juice and more soy sauce.  Nevertheless, it was a nice healthy meal.  Sylvia really loved the tofu.

We took our meals and found room at a seat.  Which is no mean feat as the market is so busy.  Yet seats come and go quickly.

Then we wondered around some craft stalls.  There are lots of great gift ideas, though some are quite pricey.  I really liked one of the candle stalls.  It had the unusual fragrance of leather and tobacco, which apparently is quite popular.

I really love the stalls where crafters have sourced gorgeous fabrics and make creative products with them.  The bunting at the above stall caught my eye and the dresses below were gorgeous.

We ran into one of Sylvia's friends and her family and E queued for ice creams while I went off in search of Indian nachos (just curious) and was able to peep at lots more stalls.  I really loved the CWA Christmas Cakes.

Once we had our ice creams, E wanted to check out the performance of Bobby and the Pins.  This female barbershop quartet have great retro 1950s dresses.  Twice E tried to make his way along to see them but by the time had had made his way through the crowd the singers had moved on.

I was more fascinated by the Morris dancers.  I can't see them without a smile as I think of Blackadder.  They are so wonderfully British that is seems strange to see them here.  As you can see in the photo, the place was busy.

I found my ice cream quite sweet and as my water had run out, I purchased a home made lemonade at the Corndidos stall.  I really liked it.  The cup was a generous size, though not quite as huge as Sylvia's little hands make it look.

Sylvia was disappointed the kids stall wasn't there this Friday.  She had enjoyed the craft activities there on a previous week.

And then it was time to go home and rest our weary feet.

Read previous posts about my visit to the Coburg Night Market in  2013 and 2014.

Coburg Night Market
Bridges Rd Reserve
(03) 9640 0028
http://coburgnightmarket.com/
Last market for 2016 was Friday 16 December.

Chocolate and Blackberry Pizza

When I made my favourite pizza base recently I kept the savoury pizza simple and spent most of my energies on the dessert pizza.  We were watching a cartoon about a dog's Christmas Carol.  I was in the kitchen for much of it and the pizza wasn't ready until Sylvia was almost ready for bed.  But it was worth it when we all sat on the couch eating pizza covered in melting chocolate and tart blackberries.

Yes, we were all very happy with it but the blackberries weren't a huge hit.  E was pleased to have a piece with not too many berries and Sylvia just picked all hers off.  But I loved the contrast of the sweet and tart.  The blackberries were the perfect contrast to the rich gooey chocolate and cream cheese.

It is based on another recipe for chocolate and raspberry pizza that I blogged about years ago.  However it was madewhen my photography skills were even worse than today.  And besides, I can't resist tweaking a recipe, even mine.  But most of all, I really love it and good food is always worth sharing.  I just wish you have been in my lounge so I could have served you up a slice - we had plenty leftover - but a virtual slice will have to do!

I am sending this pizza to Choclette for We Should Cocoa.

More dessert pizza ideas on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Cream cheese, nectarine and maple syrup
Cream cheese, choc chips, raspberries
Chocolate, caramel chips, coconut milk and mixed berries 
Custard and nectarines 
Nutella, choc chips, raspberries 
Lime cheesecake spread (vegan), choc chips, plums and Viennese Christmas sugar

Chocolate and Blackberry Pizza
Inspired by this Green Gourmet Giraffe pizza
Makes 1 large pizza

1/2 batch of fast track pizza dough
2-3 heaped tbsp cream cheese
1 tsp maple syrup
125g frozen blackberries
1/2 cup dark choc chips

Pat fast track pizza dough into a lined large pizza tray.  Mix cream cheese and maple syrup.  Spread cream cheese mixture over pizza base, sprinkle with choc chips and then dot blackberries over the top.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 220 C until pizza is golden brown around the edges.  (I  baked mine for 20 minutes on middle shelf and then last 5 min on top shelve becasue it was still not browned around the edges.)  Leave for 5 to 10 minutes so you don't burn your tongue.  Eat warm.

NOTES: This could be made vegan.  The pizza dough is vegan and I used tofutti cream cheese.  I don't tend to buy vegan chocolate chips but if you have them then I am sure that would work.  Mine were about 50% cocoa and on the sweet side of dark chocolate.  If the choc chips were bitter, you might need more sweetener.  Other pizza bases could be used here.  Leftovers keep well in the fridge until the next day.

On the Stereo:
Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album: Glee Cast

Parenting wins: A bowl of marbles, a box of coco pops and a diary

It has been a year of challenges with our 7 year old Sylvia.  Thank goodness for the little victories! 

Her sleep and behaviour were very unsettled after we spent a month in Scotland at short notice following the death of her grandfather.

When we talk about children's progress it often is spoken about as a linear development, whereas my experience is that it is two steps forward and one step backwards.  I can't tell you the number of times I feel I have got a routine going and then something upsets it.

Today though I am going to share some little victories we have had along with some strategies that have been working.

A bowl of marbles

One of my favourite recent strategies for managing behaviour has been a bowl of marbles. We have two jars.  One labeled 'good behaviour' and one labeled 'bad behaviour'.

We have tried to reward good behaviour with a marble.  This can be difficult as it is sometimes hard to work out what to reward and what behaviour we want to just accept as the norm.

Where the good behaviour jar has been really useful has been targeting behaviour we really want to encourage by giving a marble.  Getting ready on school mornings has been a struggle with lots of meltdowns.  We have identified activities that Sylvia can improve on doing quickly and independently.  She is offered a marble for each.  Mornings have been so much easier with a bowl of marbles.

The bad behaviour jar is used when Sylvia's behaviour is unacceptable.  This can be when she speaks rudely, disobeys or throws something across the room.  It has been great for us in helping to stay calm when she misbehaves.

While we have talked about consequences, it is not always easy to identify an appropriate one.  The marble is an immediate consequence that is both easy to see (in the level in the jar) and has a very satisfying clink when the marble lands in the jar.

Sylvia has been known to put in a pre-emptory marble on a few occasions before she is knowingly naughty.  I have had to stop myself laughing at the cheekiness and console myself that at least she knows her action is not acceptable.

At the end of each week, we look at the marbles and if the good jar has more marbles, Sylvia gets a lunch order (ie can buy her lunch instead of taking her lunch to school).

The system has been working because a) Sylvia chose to use marbles; b) we are able to talk about her inappropriate behaviour while also acknowledging and valuing good behaviour; and c) the marbles are a useful visual representation of behaviour.

Of course, it isn't the answer every time.  We still  have other carrots and sticks in managing her behaviour but the bowl of marbles has been a really helpful system. 

A box of coco pops

I feel a little more conflicted as the coco pops strategy because I think this chocolate flavoured cereal is terribly sweet and not what I consider a good breakfast.  But we have found coco pops helpful in discussing food choices with Sylvia.  While holidaying in Scotland, we all ate too much sweet food and have needed to get back into better habits.

Sylvia pestered and pestered ... and pestered.  We finally bought a box of coco pops for Sylvia on the understanding that she only had a little with rice bubbles.

Then it was agreed that if she had coco pops in the morning she would not have sweet food during the day.  The exceptions are fruit and yoghurt (as I need to watch she has enough calcium).  It meant that at the start of the day, she was making decisions about whether she would eat sweet food during the day, including her lunchbox and dessert.

I had feared that it might just get her into bad habits of expecting to have coco pops for breakfast.  However I had told her it was just one box and after that it would not be bought again.  Since we finished the coco pops she has not asked for more.

Even more pleasing is that she is still deciding (sometimes with prompts) when she has sweet foods in the day rather than expecting to eat sweet foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A diary

This story is about managing money and purchases.

Earlier this year I told Sylvia that her job in the house was to put away the washing.  Each time she does, we give her 50c.  I know that experts advise giving jobs earlier and not paying for them.  However this was the right time for us.

I chose to give her some money for the job as she loves getting money.  I did not want to give her so much that it was the only reason she does it.  We have discussed that this is her job, just as her dad and I have jobs to do around the house.

Months ago, Sylvia asked for a furry diary at Smiggle.  I said no.  However, I said she could save up for it.  As well as her money for putting away the washing, she has found coins behind the sofa and done a few other jobs for money.  Amazingly enough, she remained focused on the diary and saved up $27.

Sylvia had to leave school early for a dentist appointment a few weeks back.  She is not so keen on the dentist.  (It took a few visits before she would open her mouth for any dentist.)  So I promised her that after the dentist, she could visit a Smiggle shop that was on the way home.

It made me feel proud to see her in the store, looking at the prices for the diaries and other stationery as she decided exactly what to buy with the money she had saved up.  Taking her to Smiggle was an easy reward to give and it really delighted her.  It also gave her great maths experience and independence.


Finally
As I have said, children take two step forward and one step backwards.  On the weekend Sylvia went to a party where the group went to the cinema on the train.  I gave her $5 in case she needed money for train fares or any other small things.  She came home having spent her money on a bag of Maltesers at the cinema.  Sigh!  Parenting is a long journey!  Yet it is good to have some little victories and remind us we are getting there!


I'd love to hear of any strategies that work for you or parenting wins you have had.  Or what strategies did your parents use with you that you now respect?


More child-related posts on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Child friendly almanac: recipes, eating out, play ideas
Craft interlude: the dolls house and cardboard houses
Fussy eating, trying new food and a child's dinner
Lunchboxes - a reflection on a year of vegetarian school lunches

Fast track sourdough pizza

For many years I was under the impression that nothing happened quickly with both pizza and sourdough baking.  It involved waiting around for hours.  It had to be well planned.  It needed great patience.  And indeed this is true of a lot of pizza and sourdough bread recipes.  Thank goodness I have learnt how to break the rules with this fast track sourdough pizza.

It was five years ago that I discovered a fast track pizza recipe that indeed fast tracks the process.  I have played around with it and tweaked it.  The biggest change, however, was a couple of years ago when I tried adding my sourdough starter just because sourdough starters need regular activity.  So now the recipe has yeast for speed and sourdough for added flavour. 

I have made it more times than I can remember.  In fact, I am writing up this recipe as I am tired of finding my scrappy notes at the end of the original post for yeasted fast track pizza. 

The recipe is counter-intuitive, if like me, you are used to traditional yeasted baking.  The dough is better for sitting for an hour or so, but can rest for as little as 20 minutes.  It does not get kneaded and is so sticky that when it is patted into shape, you need to flour your hands.  And yet it works

Lately I haven't had as much time for cooking as I would like.  Pizza has been a simple affair of tomato sauce with grated cheese.  Served with a side salad, if we are lucky.  I have taken to buying a pizza flavoured tomato paste that does the trick.

My preference is to cook up a pizza sauce by frying onions and garlic, adding seasoning (salt, maple syrup, worcestershire sauce, pepper) and tomato paste.  Sometimes I puree in a small tin of baked beans or other vegies.  I usually have too much for one pizza and freeze some tubs of extra sauce.

In an ideal world, I like to experiment with pizza toppings.  Above are some from my archives, as well as a few recent pizzas.  It works well with vegan mozzarella, is fun to try with vegetarian haggis or leftover tofu besan omelette or with chocolate and berries.  I have sprinkled leftover burger or nut roast on top, tried baked beans and love a carrot pizza sauce.  Anything goes if I have the time and inspiration.  Sadly, I haven't had much time or inspiration lately but being able to make pizza quickly really does save my sanity.

If you need more inspiration, you can find a list of my pizza ideas - both bases and toppings that I have blogged.

Fast track pizza dough
Adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe
Makes two pizzas

1 cup sourdough starter*
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast
3 tbsp olive oil 
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sweetener
2 1/2 cups flour

Place the sourdough starter, yeast, and warm water.  Leave a few minutes to check the yeast is blooming into small white bubbly bursts of activity.  Mix to make sure the starter is well combined.  Stir in the oil, salt and sweetener and then add the flour to make a sticky dough.

Cover with a tea towel and leave for about 20-60 minutes.  (Twenty minutes will do but an hour is better or even longer is fine.)

Preheat oven to 220 C with a couple of pizza stones in the oven.  Generously line two 28cm round pizza trays with baking paper (the non-stick type).

Divide the dough between the trays.  Flour your hands and pat down the dough to cover the tray. 

Arrange desired toppings on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toppings are golden brown and edges are slightly puffed and look cooked.


NOTES: I often use sourdough starter cold from the fridge and sometimes not as bouncy and bubbly as I would like.  It still works.  I use whatever sweetener is about - honey, sugar, agave.  I have tried adding a bit more flour but it can be a bit drier - it is the wet dough that makes it so soft.  I have made this and patted the dough thinner so it covers 2 larger pizzas and a small one but I like to have a bit of puff to my dough.  As bread dough is a bit doughy when first out of the oven, I really like the leftovers either hot or cold the next day.

On the Stereo:
Call the Midwife: The Christmas Album

Laverbread vegie soup

Have you ever wondered what miso soup might taste like if it was invented in Wales?  No?  Nor I.  But if you did, I think I might have an answer in this soup that I made for dinner last week using Welsh laverbread.   

After opening my tin of laverbread for a nut roast I wanted to make sure I used the rest.  After all, this laverbread is a rare delicacy that I was lucky to be sent  from Wales by Shaheen.  I didn't want it to go off.  Initially I had an idea I would make potato patties with the laverbread (which is like a seaweed paste).  Then it just seemed practical to make soup.

It is always practical to make soup because I often buy vegies with great hope.  Yet sometimes the crisper drawer of the fridge looks sad with neglect.  And the only thing to do is throw the vegies inot a soup or stew.  As many of my soups do, this one borders on a stew because it was quite packed.  But it was watery enough that I call it a soup. 

The laverbread gave a lovely depth of flavour.  I am still a bit wary of laverbread and again was very relieved that it made the soup so good.  I also loved it being packed with vegies and beans.  It was a very satisfying soup to eat.  We both went back for seconds and on the following night I ate the leftovers myself and found something else for E to eat for tea when he came home later.  (Ssshhh don't tell him!)  I justified this because I thought it was like a Welsh version of miso soup.  And E is not so keen on miso soup.

Thanks again to the lovely Shaheen of Allotment 2 Kitchen for sending this my way.  She has lots of laverbread recipes if you are lucky enough to have a tin.  (Check out my nut roast post if you want to see photos of laverbread in the tin.)  I had thought to put a list of other Welsh recipes at the end of this post but then I found that I have very few Welsh-inspired recipes.  Which is shameful, as my great grandfather come to Australia from Wales. Watch this space.

I am sending this soup to Allotment 2 Kitchen and The VegHog for Eat Your Greens, to Rock My Vegan Socks and VNutrition for Healthy Vegan Fridays, and to Vegetarian Mamma for Gluten Free Fridays.

More broth-based soups from Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Chickpea and spinach soup (with noodles) (gf, v)
Chunky beetroot soup with kidney beans (gf)
Japanese-style pumpkin, sprouts and tofu soup (gf, v)
Miso soup with tofu, vegetables and noodles (v)
Tricken rice soup with celeriac (gf, v)
Wanton dumplings in ginger broth (v)

Laverbread vegie soup
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe
Serves 3-4

1-2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, diced
2 cups purple cabbage, diced
3 cup boiling water
400g tin cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
1 potato, finely chopped
1/4 cup laverbread (Welsh seaweed puree)
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp stock powder
1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp flaked salt
1 bunch asparagus
handful of spinach

Fry onion in oil in large saucepan for 5 minutes over medium heat.  Add carrots and fry an additional 5 minutes.  Add cabbage and cook another 5 minutes.  Add boiling water, potato, laverbread, mustard powder, smoked paprika, stock powder, worcestershire sauce and salt.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes until vegies have softened.  (I cooked it for 10 minutes and left it a few hours.)  Stir in asparagus and spinach and gently cook for another few minutes. 

On the Stereo:
Tinsel and Lights: Tracey Thorn

In My Kitchen: December 2016

December has arrived, breathless and bold.  Everyone is celebrating: the end of school year, the summer and Christmas.  Last weekend we were at Coburg Night Market (Indian style nachos were amazing), a carol service (where a pub rock duo don't seem to know many carols and end up singing Wonderwall and Uptown Funk) and Sylvia's gymnastics display day (where I won the raffle).  We are high on excitement and low on energy!  And I need to find time to vacuum the house.  So let's ignore the floors while we take a peek into my kitchen.

Firstly I must show off our first and finest strawberry that Sylvia ate before they were either eaten by birds or defeated by my lack of watering.  Now that there is more sunshine and less rain, I need to get into better gardening habits.

We went to the Melbourne Vegan Eats Brew and Food Fest in November.  E wanted some sausage rolls but they were taking too long.  Later when we returned to Half Pint Dairy for an ice cream they had lots of sausage rolls.  We bought some beetroot and cashew sausage rolls to take home for dinner.  They were magnificent.  We ate them with leftover bean stew and lettuce.

I haven't had as much time for dinner lately as I would like.  Some shortcuts have been called for.  Such as the wonderful falafel from Half Moon Cafe in Coburg.  They are made with broad beans and lots of herbs.  When fresh they are crispy outside and soft and green inside.  After a day in the fridge, they firm up but still taste exceedingly good.

And then there have been days I haven't got to the shops.  I set out to make overnight sourdough bread a couple of weeks back and found I was out of my regular white flour.  I looked for what flours were about the kitchen and used 1/4 white flour, 1/4 wholmeal flour and 1/2 spelt flour.  The bread was great with far more depth of flavour, albeit a little less lift.

We have made time for the Coburg Farmers Market.  The cruffin was for E though Sylvia and I had to taste the strange hybrid of a croissant and muffin.  The garlic scapes ended up in nachos.  The oranges were quartered and put into Sylvia's lunchbox.  The kale went into this salad.  And I enjoyed the new vegan creamy macadamia and pear chocolate from Cocoa Rhapsody.

I was so excited to see Savoury muesli bars.  But I felt cheated once I got them home and tasted them and checked the ingredients and the sugar content.  They were held together with glucose and tasted slightly sweet with some cumin flavour.  The biggest betrayal was looking at the sugars in the nutritional breakdown which was about 13 g per 100g, compared to Sylvia's regular sweet muesli bars which are about 15g per 100g.  Disappointed!  They wont be in my shopping trolley again.

We have bought some fun stuff too.  I love the colour of the carotino oil.  I thought it was made of carrots but it is actually canola and red palm heart.  The loose leaf Hibiscus tea with ginger, vanilla and mint is from Juanita's Kitchen and very nice (Actually I was given this after a meal at the cafe but not in my capacity as a blogger.)  I love the mini bagels.  They are great to store in the freezer for lunches for Sylvia when we are out of bread!  And I really love the purple carrot, beetroot and apple juice.  I find it quite strong and have it with half juice and half soda water.

I have so many recipes to try that I usually can resist the temptation of food magazines.  However I was tempted by this new Follow the Crumbs magazine I picked up in the supermarket.  It was so interesting I bought a copy (and it wasn't cheap at $9 or $10).  I enjoyed looking at it and then not had time to pick it up again.

Sylvia made this toilet paper roll people one day when she had idle time.  They are rather cute!

My neighbour gave to a charity that came knocking at her door and they gave her vouchers to buy some magazines.  She gave me the vouchers and so I received these cute house pegs with the magazine.

I spent November blogging lots of vegan recipes for Vegan Mofo.  Above are some gingerbread men from Isa's Vegan Holidays Cookbook. I didn't like them quite as much as my regular gingerbread but it was pretty good.  And we had fun decorating the gingerbread men.  Sylvia did the skeleton and I did the guy in the tie.

Finally here is a peek into the raffle that I won at the gymnastics display day.  I had made gingerbread houses to donate to the raffle and was embarrassed to win one back.  In fact, so mortified was I that I asked that it be taken out of the hamper and raffled again (much to Sylvia's dismay).  We had lots of other lovely food and gifts in the hamper, including a David Brewster calendar and some gorgeous fleece hats that one of the coaches made.  Sylvia has been wearing one of the hats to bed every night.  (And yes it is summer!)  We also have a voucher for I Carusi Pizza which I look forward to using. 

I am sending this post to the In My Kitchen event, that invites bloggers to share a peek into their kitchen.  Started by Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, it is currently hosted by Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.  If you would like to join in, send your post to Lizzy by 10 November .  Or just head over to her blog to check out some fascinating kitchens.

Refried lentils with garlic scapes (and zucchini or pumpkin) for nachos

I had a yen for nachos.  It was a eco-friendly way to follow up a taco night where we used a taco kit.  I had leftover seasoning, leftover salsa and I had forgotten to use the yoghurt.  I also had garlic scapes to use.  And the challenge of making my favourite refried beans without kidney beans or black beans.  I was most pleased with how I rose to the challenge.

The garlic scapes were from a farmers market where it was suggested that I just fry them up.  Instead I put them in dip that I found really garlicky.  So I decided to use them instead of onion and garlic in the refried beans.  The first time I used 3 and then next I was determined to use them all and put 10 in.  It was fine.  Actually it was really good!

I tried making the nacos differently to my usual.  I have often layered a bean mixture and cheese and salad between layers of tortilla chips.  This time I looked at photos of nachos in favourite restaurants and online.  I decided just to layer cheese and tortilla chips and then once cooked I piled on topping, making sure to have the refried beans heated.  Delicious and pretty!

The refried lentils were both quick and tasty.  I made them to use up what was in the kitchen rather than shopping while we had lots of food.  I had 20 minutes to make the refried lentils and got it done.  Which means that I could get home from Sylvia's swimming lesson, knock up some guacamole and put together nachos quickly.

This could change the way I do nachos and open me up to trying new vegies and pulses in making refried beans.  And while we don't usually do nachos often, I could do with more quick meals like this.  Life has been so busy that I have been having some very simple dinners.  I finished making 3 small gingerbread houses yesterday but with Christmas looming, I am not sure life will be throwing lots more time my way!

I am sending this to Tinned Tomatoes for Meat Free Mondays, to The Veg Hog. for My Legume Love Affair and to Elizabeth's Kitchen for No Waste Food Challenge.

More Mexican-inspired meals on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Borlotti bean mole with roast pumpkin and silverbeet (gf, v)
Haggis tacos (and nachos)
Kale, cheese and mole quesadillas (v)
Mexicale pie 
Oaxaca tacos (with potato and cheese) (gf)
Potato and kale enchiladas (gf, v)
Tex Mex Pizza with sourdough base (v)

Refried lentils with garlic scapes
Adapted from Alison Holst via Green Gourmet Giraffe
Serves 2-4

1 tbsp oil
3-10 garlic scapes, finely chopped
1 zucchini, finely chopped or 2-3 cups roasted diced pumpkin
2-3 tsp of taco seasoning
400g tin of brown lentils, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp tomato paste

Fry garlic scapes and zucchini in oil until zucchini is cooked.  (Or if using roast pumpkin, cook garlic scapes until starting soften and brown and then stir in pumpkin.)  Add taco seasoning and stir through.  Add lentils and tomato paste.  Warm though and remove from heat.

NOTES: Great for tacos and nachos.  You can mash with a fork or potato masher but it is optional.  If you don't have taco seasoning, add 1/2 tsp each of cumin, dried oregano, sugar, salt and chilli paste.  

For nachos I used 100g tortilla chips, 100-200g grated cheese and put together in 2 layers.  I heated it at 200 C for 15 minutes (but I think I could have done it either shorter or in a 180 C oven.)  I heaped it with refried lentils.  Then guacamole (1 avocado, squeeze of lime, pinch of salt, drizzle of srirach and 2 tbsp of garlicky green dip), about 1/4 cup plain yoghurt and 2-3 tbsp of salsa.

On the Stereo:
Dr Demento presents The Greatest Novelty Christmas CD of time - Various Artists