PPN Pea lasagne

I had brunch with a friend today who asked what I had been cooking lately. Sadly, I had to tell him not a lot was going on in my kitchen recently. Very little in the way of new ideas. Some good old ones. My most creative moments have come with lasagne.

I recently made a lovely chana masala with the leftovers going into a potato and carrot mash. Tonight I made a great stew on soft polenta a bit like this dish but with more vegetables and beans. Not all my recent efforts have been successful. I have had mushy rice-noodle soup, an underseasoned miso soup (which wasn’t so bad for a headache) and oversweet pancakes.

After my delicious tofu-ricotta, pumpkin and zucchini lasagne, I had 'fresh' lasagne sheets left in the fridge. (Not quite enough for the lasagne as you can see in my photo but close enough!) It occurred to me to use it to make dumplings or cannelloni but in the end I went for the easy option and made more lasagne. I also used up leftover tofu, pesto, passata and cashews!

[Cashews!!! So that is where those cashews went! I spent quite a bit of time this evening looking for them.]

I hadn’t been to the shops so I was using what was at hand. Peas from the freezer were the main vegetable. Partly because I didn’t have many other vegetables and partly because I have been thinking about making a pea filled pasta ever since seeing this pea cannelloni and these pea dumplings. I used some silken tofu in the filling and then rather than having leftovers I decided to make a tofu sour cream. It also seemed easier than making a béchamel sauce.

E loved this lasagne. He preferred it to the tofu ricotta one because it was creamier and had a tomato sauce. I enjoyed it but preferred the previous one because it was lighter and seemed to have more vegetables. In fact if I had had any fresh tomatoes on hand I would have used them instead of the tomato sauce. I also preferred the crispy crunchy topping of the tofu ricotta lasagne. But peas and pasta seem a fine combination so below is what I did.

I am sending this lasagne to Val of More than Burnt Toast. She is hosting this week’s Presto Pasta Night (#182), the blog event for pasta lovers founded by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: MM Heirloom Ginger Fluff Sponge
This time two years ago: A bloody tale of burritos and beans

Pea lasagna
serves 4

Pea filling:

• 2 cups peas (I used frozen)
• 150g soft tofu
• ½ cup almonds, ground
• 45g cashews, ground
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp pesto
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• juice of half a smallish lemon
• few drops of tabasco sauce
  

Tomato sauce (or used sliced tomatoes):

• 1 tsp olive oil
• ½ onion, chopped
• 350ml passata
• 2-3 tbsp red wine
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ tsp balsamic vinegar
• ¼ tsp maple syrup
• good pinch salt
  

Tofu sour cream:

• 150g soft tofu
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp umeboshi vinegar
• ½ tsp mirin
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• pinch of salt
  

To assemble:

• 200-300g lasagne sheets (I used 'fresh')
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• grated cheese (optional - I used about 50g)

To make pea filling, blend ingredients together in a food processor.

To make tomato sauce fry onion in olive oil in a frypan until browned. Add garlic and continue frying for a minute. Deglaze with wine. Add remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Remove from heat.

To make tofu sour cream: blend all ingredients in a food processor.

Grease a lasagne dish and spread a spoonful or two along the bottom of the dish. Lay lasagne sheets on top. Spread pea filling. Top with more lasagne sheets. Repeat pea and lasagne sheets layers. Spread tomato sauce over lasagne sheets. Dollop sour cream over the tomato sauce and gently spread evenly over the tomato sauce with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with cheese and seeds. Bake at 210 C for 40-45 minutes until golden and crispy on top.

On the stereo:
Baalstorm, Sing Omega: Current 93

MLLA Holiday Pasties

Life is busy. Sylvia was up demanding cereal at 2am last night, we have had a two day staff meeting at work, and my blog reader – Bloglines - is closing down so I am trying to organize 1.400 bookmarks and get my head around a new blog reader. I need a holiday. Oops I only just had one! When planning for our recent Port Fairy trip, I decided to make some pasties to make sure we had some decent food while away. Maybe if I tell you about them it will take me back into a holiday mood!

As is too often the case these days, I was glad to get away to Port Fairy. I needed a break! If I tell you that at midnight before leaving I was casting off the stitches of a green scarf I knitted for Sylvia, while packing our suitcases, it might given you some indication of how disorganized I was feeling. I took so long making the pasties that evening and had so much filling that we just ate filling for dinner. While we ate, I cooked the rest of it into pasties to take away.

The next morning I cut Sylvia’s fringe for the first time and then we headed off in the car. We arrived at our holiday cottage and found there was no oven but there was a microwave. Close enough for jazz! After the long drive, lots of songs for Sylvia and a walk in the park, we were glad to have an easy dinner. A couple of nights later we ate the rest of the pasties with Brussels sprouts and hot chips. Delicious!

The pasties that I made were a fusion of childhood memories of root vegetables and flavours I have come to love as an adult. I didn’t follow any recipe. These pasties were inspired by a need to clear out the fridge before going away. I used up some scraps of smoked cheese, vintage cheese and parmesan but the cheese was rather intense and I might just use plain old cheddar cheese or even leave the cheese out altogether. Not perfect pasties but a great work in progress.

It seemed a holiday of pasties. Not only home made pasties. On the way home we stopped in Colac, another familiar town from my childhood. I had a vegetable pastie for lunch at an old fashioned bakery. It had a stodgy bland filling of potatoes, carrot and parsnip. Not a patch on my pasties!

I am sending these pasties to Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook for her My Legume Love Affair blog event, celebrating recipes using bean, lentils and other legumes.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Fruit scones, yellow and uncertainty
This time two years ago: A not-so-nasty pasty

Lentil and root vegetable pasties
(NB there is far more filling than pastry if you make the quantity of pastry below but we ate some of the filling with a mug of tomato soup)

• 1 onion, diced
• 3 medium red skinned potatoes, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 celeriac, peeled and diced
• 1 large parsnip, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ½ tsp mixed herbs
• ¼ tsp fennel seeds
• couple of pinches of salt
• a few glugs of olive oil
• good handful of parsley, finely chopped
• 400g tin of brown lentils, rinsed and drained
• 25g vintage cheddar, grated
• 25g smoked cheddar, grated
• 25g parmesan cheese, finely grated
  

Crusty hot water pastry (makes 4)
(from this pastie recipe)

• 125g butter
• 150ml hot water
• 2 ½ cups (400g) flour (I did half white, half wholemeal)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 egg (or milk), for glazing pastry

Toss the vegetables with the garlic, mixed herbs, fennel seeds, salt and olive oil in two large roasting dishes. Roast at 200-220 C for 60-90 minutes (I have given a range because I roasted my veg at different temperatures and times and moved them about between the top and bottom shelves of the oven.) When vegetables are soft, remove from oven and stir in parsley, lentils and cheeses.

Make hot water pastry by bringing the butter and water to the boil, removing from heat and then mix in flour and salt. Bring together with your hands into a ball of pastry and cut into four pieces. Roll each piece out into about a 20cm circle.

Place 2-3 tbsp of filling to the side of the circle about 1cm from the edge. Brush the edges with milk or beaten egg. Fold the pastry over the filling. Turn edges over to seal and neaten. Press your fingers into the edges to finalise the seal.

Brush pasties with beaten egg or milk and bake for 10 minutes at 200 C. Then turn down the oven to 180 C and bake a further 30 minutes.

On the stereo:
Ashes and Diamonds: June Tabor

Winchelsea Larder - regional goodness

Winchelsea Larder is now closed (2013)

Blink and you will miss Winchelsea. However the small town holds a special place for me, having spent a lot of time there in my childhood. Not to be confused with the other town of the same name in Sussex, England, the Australian Winchelsea grew around the Barwon Inn, established on the banks of the Barwon River in 1842. The town also has the dubious claim to fame for the local mansion, Barwon Park, where Thomas Austin released the first rabbits into Australia.

Those who head west of Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road will miss it but if you take the Warnambool train or the Princes Freeway, as we did on our recent trip to Port Fairy, you will go through the town. One can't help by notice some of the historic buildings such as the Public Library (above - now the tourist information centre), the Shire Hall, the Globe Theatre, the old bluestone bridge, and the School.

In days of old, travellers would stop for refreshments in the town. Today they can still do so at a number of establishments but today I will tell you about the one where we stopped recently. In an unassuming shopping strip opposite the Shire Hall is the Winchelsea Larder. It is run by my old friend and former housemate. Though I will not claim to be completely objective, I am happy to recommend it, having shared cooking with Rochelle for a couple of years in a student household.

Anyway, you don't have to just take my recommendation. When we stopped for lunch on a Thursday, the place was doing a fine trade. I was pleased to have quite a few vegetarian choices for my lunch and chose the pumpkin, brie and sun dried tomato tart. The tart was delicious with some sweet caramelised onions under the pumpkin, and a generous salad.

We also had some dessert. E chose a toffee pecan crunch. He found it a bit chewy for his liking but I loved the thick gooey toffee filling topped with lots of nuts.

We all shared some gingerbread with lemon icing and candied ginger pieces. This was more E's sort of thing and Sylvia enjoyed the cake, though she is not into icing at the moment.

Rochelle sat down to catch up with us while we ate and it was great to see her. She is a busy person; a few times she disappeared when her help was needed. She bakes quite a lot of the food that is served, and makes an effort to make sure there are vegetarian and gluten free options. In such a small town she also knows many of the fellow diners which makes for a friendly atmosphere.

We sat in some couches by the window, and more importantly, by the box of toys. Sylvia had a lovely time with the blocks while E showed off his drawing skills on the etch-a-sketch. Though I think Sylvia's favourite toy at the moment is a fork. Hours of fun!

Winchelsea Larder promotes the regional producers and nowhere is this more evident than in the impressive display of foods on one wall. They are arranged according to locality and it was interesting to see that as well as nearby Geelong, there are many small towns represented.

I was very tempted by the "chocolate pizza" (big discs of chocolate studded with lots of lollies) but we chose to buy some raspberry vinegar, yo-yos and raspberry liquorice. The latter two were much appreciated in our holiday cottage. E said the raspberry liquorice was the best he had ever tasted. We were more than happy to support some small local producers!

Winchelsea Larder
25 Main Street, Winchelsea, Victoria 3241
Telephone: 03 5267 2832
Email: email@winchelsealarder.com.au
Website: http://WinchelseaLarder.com.au

Winchelsea Larder is now closed (2013) 

PPN Tofu-Ricotta, Zucchini and Pumpkin Lasagne

I once made a lasagne with tofu. It was very soon after I became a vegetarian. My mum was away and I offered to make dinner for my brother and my dad. I was both inexperienced and gung-ho with the tofu. Not a good combination. I made a brilliant lasagne with tofu last week and I am confident my dad and brothers would appreciate this one far more now that I know what I am doing.

I was inspired by this Carrot Courgette and Ricotta Lasagne that Katie posted recently. It looked delicious and lighter than the average béchamel-sauce-laded lasagne. Ricotta is a lighter alternative. Perfect if I liked the stuff. But I don’t. I feel I should but it rarely tastes right. Then I looked at all the tofu in the fridge and dug out a PPK recipe for tofu ricotta. So much better.

We needed the vegie-packed lasagne after all the chips and pasties during our trip to Port Fairy. I made it while listening to the independents announce their allegiances to the country. Seventeen days after the national election, seventeen days of a hung parliament, two independent votes gave the Labor Party enough support to govern. The nation breathed a collective sigh of relief when finally we had a Prime Minister appointed. A momentous day. The lasagne was a celebration of interesting times and our female prime minister being returned to power.

It was an excellent lasagne. Different to my regular lasagne. No béchamel sauce. No tomato sauce. Almost vegan. Only a sprinkling of parmesan cheese on top. Nutritional yeast could be used instead. I used pumpkin instead of carrot but either would work well. The tofu ricotta and slices of fresh tomato made the difference. Both tasted lighter and were full of flavour. Exactly what I loved in this lasagne.

I am sending this lasagne to Abby of Eat the Right Stuff. She is hosting this week’s Presto Pasta Night, the blog event for pasta lovers founded by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Chocolate cookies and pizza
This time two years ago: Choc chip and cherry cookies

Tofu-Ricotta, Zucchini and Pumpkin Lasagne
serves 4-6

Zucchini and pumpkin filling:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 3 medium zucchinis, grated (400g)
• 400g pumpkin, grated (weight before trimming and peeling)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup passata
  

Pesto Tofu Ricotta:

• 350g tofu, crumbled (this was what I had but in future I would use 450g)
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• ¼ tsp salt
• plenty of black pepper
• 2-3 tbsp pesto (I used 2 but you could have a bit more in there if you want the pesto taste to shine through more)
  

To assemble:

• extra ¼ cup passata
• 4 (or 5) medium tomatoes, slices in about ½ cm slices
• 2-3 tbsp parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast flakes for vegan lasagne)
• 2-3 tbsp stale breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• fresh lasagne sheets – about 200-300g

To make the zucchini and pumpkin filling: fry onion in olive oil for about 10 minutes on low heat in a large frypan till onions are quite soft. Add zucchini, pumpkin, garlic and salt. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until vegies soften. Stir through passata. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.

To make pesto tofu ricotta: mix all ingredients together with a spoon till well combined. This will be quite crumbly in texture.

To assemble grease a lasagne dish (oops I didn’t grease it so this is optional) and spread layers of components as below:

Layers:

• ¼ cup passata and ¼ cup of zucchini and pumpkin filling
• lasagne sheets
• ½ of the zucchini and pumpkin filling
• ¼ of the ricotta
• lasagne sheets
• half the tomatoes
• seasoning (if I had more ricotta I would used it here but instead I sprinkled a bit of extra nutritional yeast)
• lasagne sheets
• ½ of the zucchini and pumpkin filling
• ¼ of the ricotta
• lasagne sheets
• ½ of the ricotta
• Sprinkle with parmesan, breadcrumbs, sesame seeds
  

Bake at 220 C for about 45 minutes or until the topping is crispy and the lasagne sheets are soft when a knife is inserted in the middle. Check about halfway through and if topping is browning too fast you could cover with foil or place on a lower rung of the oven.

On the Stereo:
Mojo Presents the Quiet Revolution – Various Artists

Isabella's Cafe - lighthouse gourmet

When I told a colleague that we were going on holiday to Port Fairy, she recommended Isabella's Cafe at the Cape Nelson Lighthouse just outside Portland, Victoria. It was an hour's drive from our holiday cottage but the food, the ambiance, and the service were excellent and made it well worth the trip. Just look at this amazing chocolate cake!

The cafe is in a small bluestone building that was once the stables for the lighthouse precinct. The seating and chandeliers are elegantly modern but the bluestone walls are a constant reminder of the history of the building and the view out of the huge windows makes the natural world seem so much closer. I took the above photo shortly before closing but most tables were full during our visit, adding to the friendly cosiness of the place.

On a wintery father's day with intermittent rain, sitting beside the large window was a perfect place to be. The staff were friendly and welcomed Sylvia despite the lack of a highchair. We had a great table just beside this couch. E and I took turns entertaining Sylvia on the couch while the other would sit at the table beside it and eat.

We spent our holiday looking for meals Sylvia might like. Bread is usually a fairly safe bet so we ordered the dips with ciabatta and cheese twists. The dips were an unusual but winning combination of blue cheese and caramelised onion, Thai coconut, and babaganoush. The ciabatta was both char-grilled and soft. But it was the cheese twists that Sylvia loved. E's favourite dip was the creamy blue cheese which was lightened with yoghurt or sour cream. I loved the intense, thick Thai dip with the tomato base.

As soon as I heard the specials, I knew I would choose the roasted vegetable and tomato soup. It was served with a slice of bread and grated cheese, plus a bread roll on the side. When a simple soup tastes so good, you know the food is excellent. It was so full of flavour, not swamped by the tomato, nor lacking in texture despite being a pureed soup. E also loved his chicken, mushroom and leek pie which came with a generous salad.

Upon coming in the door, we passed the front counter with all its curiosities. Sylvia loved the jars of lollies. "Lollies" is one of her favourite new words, though fortunately she just likes saying it rather than demanding them. The counter also had a small but inviting selection of cakes under glass covers.

I was tempted by the chocolate cake. Unlike many cakes on display in modern cafes, this one was even better than it looked. It had a dense crumb with a generous layer of creamy ganache on top. Every mouthful stuck to the fork like thick mud but it tasted soft and intensely chocolatey. The cake was served with an amazingly good vanilla ice cream, cream and strawberry sauce. Though the dessert was too rich to eat more than one helping, somehow I can't help but think that heaven would be eating the whole cake.

Good food, good service, a glass of wine for E, a cosy place to watch the rain outside and Diana Krall on the stereo all made for a very relaxing afternoon. At the end of our meal, we had a quick walk outside to see the lighthouse and the waves lashing against the cliffs. The area was so exposed to the elements that it is no wonder there were wind farms visible from the lighthouse precinct. For those wanting to really get away from it all, other buildings have been converted into tourist accommodation.

Having enjoyed our afternoon, we hopped in the car to drive back to our Port Fairy cottage. However it was not quite as straightforward as it should have been. We had left the lights on and had to call the RACV to recharge our car battery. Filling our petrol tank while keeping the engine running and encountering a police breathalyser made for an eventful drive home but couldn't take away from the warm glow of an excellent meal. I just wish it wasn't so far from home.

Isabella's Cafe
Cape Nelson Lighthouse Road
Portland West, Victoria 3305 Australia
P | (03) 5523 5119
E | lighthouseluxury@activ8.net.au
W | http://www.capenelsonlighthouse.com.au/IsabellasCafe.php

Port Fairy - a welcome break

We got back from a relaxing few days in Port Fairy yesterday. No blogging, not much tv, lots of reading, and early nights. The rain pelted down, the wind howled, but we were snug in a cottage with a warm fire and lots of good food. I was glad we took a box of food with us but we managed quite a few meals out and E struck up a good relationship with the local fish and chip shop.

Here is our kitchen with Sylvia's high chair tucked out of view. Quite symbolic really, given that she preferred to sit on a regular kitchen chair for meals despite being hardly able to see over the top of the table. Last night we had a guest in our kitchen - the hungriest cat I have ever met. He was even eating chickpeas that fell from Sylvia's plate.

The cottage had a feel of yesteryear with old books and photographs around the room. We lit a wood stove each night to keep us warm. E was quite pleased that Sylvia kept yelling "daddy" and pointing at the picture of the UK's King George VI, Queen Mary and Princess Margaret.

Outside the front door was a tree in blossom. It was shaken about by the rain and wind by the time we left but a lovely reminder that the warm days of spring are on the way.

On our first morning, we went to Rebecca's Cafe for brunch. I had toast, baked beans, avocado, spinach and grilled tomatoes. I loved the food. I loved the old wooden high chair that Sylvia sat in. I loved the service and the ambiance.

I loved Sylvia's compote of rhubarb and berries, even without the yoghurt that it usually comes with. I loved that Sylvia ate quite a few of the strawberries. I loved that the compote wasn't too sweet or overcooked but had fantastic flavour.

I even loved E's wild rice porridge, despite him ordering it without rhubarb and berries that it usually comes with. It was more rice pudding than porridge. Soft, nutty and slightly chewy, it was sweetened with maple syrup and a little spicy. I liked it so much I ordered it on our last morning but was disappointed at how little fruit was served with it and found it too sweet to finish the large serving. It was great in small doses.

After my initial love of Rebecca's we returned twice and neither visit was as fantastic as the first time. It still seemed the best place for brunch and I would return for the vegie breakfast and the fruit compote. E also loved his big brekkie. I tried a cake which had been in the fridge too long but would have loved to try the ice creams.

On Saturday, I had a lovely soft lentil burger with salad, avocado, sweet chilli sauce and satay sauce which was delicious but I wasn't keen on the way it was served in parts. However it was the end of a morning when everything went wrong, Sylvia was ratty and I was so disorganised I forgot my camera. A peaceful afternoon when Sylvia slept for 3 hours and we read our books was just what we needed to overcome the morning.

We also had lunch at the Hub on the corner next door to Rebecca's. Port Fairy caters well for vegetarians and gluten free folk. I even noticed that the local pizza place had GF pizza bases. It is that sort of place. The Hub had a few veg options. I had the pesto arancini (rice balls) with chips and salad. E chose the sweet potato and cashew curry. Sylvia had toasted cheese sandwiches. The food was nice but not outstanding. However, the staff get bonus points for being tolerant of Sylvia's shenanigans with a noisy toy lawn mower!

The one restaurant I would have loved to visit was the Merrijig Inn (reviewed by Cindy and Michael earlier this year). Unfortunately, a small toddler didn't seem to be the right accessory for a fine dining establishment so our dinners were more of the fish and chip variety. I also managed to bake some pasties to eat on a couple of nights and took some tinned soup.

Our fish and chip shop of choice was Wisharts at the Wharf just near our cottage. The potato cakes were a bit low on the batter but the chips were crisp and golden. We didn't plan to go there three nights in a row but it was cheap, close and comforting. And if you went walking along the waterfront in the evening, the smell was very tempting. Sylvia loved the chips and they were easy take away food.

It is the first time I have visited Port Fairy outside of their famous folk festival. During the festival the streets are filled with lively and colourful crowds, but this week it was more subdued, though friendly nevertheless. On our last day we went for a walk to Griffiths Island to see the lighthouse (photo at top of post). True to the weather of our holiday it was sunshine one moment and heavy rain the next. The rocky seaside and fierce waves were a reminder that the town was originally a whaling station and saw many ship wrecks.

We left feeling relaxed and refreshed. There were places we didn't get a chance to visit (The History Centre on Gipps Street and the Clonmara tea rooms on the Princes Highway) but we enjoyed our stay. Above is a photo of some of the goodies we took home. E and I indulged in some nostalgia at an op shop with bargain purchases of the Scotland Yard board game and the Patsy Biscoe Nursery Rhyme record. Sylvia chose a toy lawn mower that makes a noise when she pushes it. We also did a bit of shopping at gourmet food stores and a sample of the food can be seen above too. It is just that sort of place!

Rebecca's Café
70 Sackville Street
03 5568 2555

The Hub @ Port Fairy
15 Bank Street
03 5568 2326

Wisharts at the Wharf
King George Square
29 Gipps St
(03) 5568 1884
UPDATE 2014 - Wisharts has closed (try Charlies on East Beach)

Orchard Cottages
18 Gipps Street
Tel: 03 5568 2487 Mob: 0428 326 012
Email: orchardcottages@port-fairy.com
Web: http://www.port-fairy.com/orchardcottage/

Also read my post about the trip we made to Isabella's Cafe Lighthouse - well worth a drive to Portland

Smoky Parsnip Muffins

I had a crazy day yesterday. My day at home started with me whipping up some parsnip muffins, breaking a glass, battling with Sylvia over who would sweep up broken glass, racing to the office to finish off some work while a colleague distracted Sylvia, racing home where I had a friend and her daughter to lunch.

Kathleen had brought a lovely home made loaf of rice spelt bread. I salvaged some salad vegetables from the fridge and offered my parsnip muffins. In an ideal world I would have had more time and energy to put into making lunch but I had been so tired the night before that I had found myself trying to clean the cursor off my computer screen. Simple lunches suit children so it was an easy one to share. Anyway, Kathleen was here to catch up with me, and Rosie was just excited to play with Sylvia.

Life continues to be crazy today. We are going away for a few days tomorrow. I still haven’t started packing though I have bee preparing some food to take with us. The weather forecast is for rain the whole time we are away.

It rained cats and dogs while we rushed about today. Sylvia is in preparation for a wet holiday by getting herself as soaked as possible in our front yard with her little neighbour and partner-in-crime, but at least our washing is hung inside rather than outside. It has been such a wet winter that our succulents in the backyard are out of control. I am looking forward to a drive through some green countryside.

I have been interested in baking with parsnip for a while and was inspired by the King Island Smoked Cheddar that I bought at the Taste of Melbourne. I think the good quality smoked cheddar made a difference. I suspect the recipe would also work with regular cheddar and smoked paprika. Next time I would add the parsley if I wasn’t racing to get out the door.

I wish I had more time to tell you about these muffins. They were a bit disappointing when still slightly warm but once they cooled and the smoked cheese shone through, they were amazing. These had to have been the whitest muffins I have ever made. But they were full of flavour and excellent with tomato soup for lunch today.

I am sending these muffins to Helen Fuss Free Flavours for the Breakfast Club (#3) because the theme this month is muffins. I know I posted muffins for this event yesterday but this were the muffins I had originally intended for the event because I much prefer the idea of savoury muffins for breakfast. Now I am off to get packing and have a break from the blog while on holiday!

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Spring garden and WIP pasta
This time two years ago: Choc chip and cherry cookies

Parsnip and Smoked Cheddar Muffins
Adapted from Stephanie Alexander via A Food Lover’s Journey

• 1 largish parsnip, grated
• 15 stalks of parsley, finely chopped (I didn’t add this but would recommend it)
• 80g smoked cheese (I used King Island), grated
• 1 cup self raising flour
• ½ cup wholemeal self raising flour
• ¾ cup buttermilk (I used milk with ¾ tsp cider vinegar)
• ½ cup canola oil
• 1 egg

Mix parsnip, parsley, cheese and flours in a large mixing bowl. Mix buttermilk, oil and egg in a small bowl with a fork until mixed. Spoon into greased or lined 12 hole muffin tin. Bake at 180 C for 20-25 minutes (I baked mine for 20 minutes at 200 C). Cool on a wire rack. Best eaten when room temperature.

On the Stereo:
The Boy with the Arab Strap: Belle and Sebastian