NCR Chang's crispy salad with green burgers

A while back I was intrigued to see Lucy blogging about reducing the sugar in a famous recipe.  I had never heard of it.  But I had to try it and find out if it was worth the fuss. We enjoyed it but the fried noodles that form the backbone of the salad aren't regulars in my pantry and is unlikely to ever be, given that I prefer dried noodles.  Nevertheless it was a nice change of salad served with some green green burgers.

As is my way, I meddled with the recipe.  So I am not sure exactly how close it was to the famous original.  E was dubious at first and asked was I sure I shouldn't cook the noodles.  Fried noodles are a curiosity in our house.  Sylvia honed in on the carb factor and gobbled them up but they were rather spillable.  (I have wondered if freshly cooked noodles would work just as well in the salad.)  I added my current favourite tofu bacon instead of nuts and added a touch of spice for E - and for Lisa.

Whenever I add spice to any meal I often think of Lisa  of Lisa's Kitchen.  She is such a spice fiend!  So it was no surprise that when she announced that for her birthday month, the theme for No Croutons Required (that she co-hosts with Jacqueline) was a salad or soup with a kick of spice.  The chilli paste worked well in the salad dressing to give it a lift.

Lisa also asks how we would serve the dish.  One of my favourite ways to serve salad is with burgers.  I made a batch of spinach and chickpea burgers.  I made some alterations to the recipe and found I needed more starch to hold them together so they were quite dense but enjoyable nevertheless.  Sylvia had a few bites but was more interested in the tomato sauce on top.  I also served some corn on the cob.  We didn't have dessert but if I were to choose a cake to celebrate Lisa's birthday, it would be honey, yoghurt and chocolate cake.

A few days later I mentioned to my mum that I had made the salad and she told me how much she loved it when one of her colleagues had brought the salad along to work functions.  Have you heard of this famous recipe, and if so what do you think of it?

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Artichoke muffins for the zoo
This time two years ago: Green salads for Paddy’s Day
This time four years ago: Mulligatawny and dubious traditions

Oriental Fried Noodle Salad
Adapted from Changs
serves about 4 as a side dish

1/8 cabbage, finely chopped
1 medium green capsicum, finely sliced
1/2 cup chopped and cooked tofu bacon
2 spring onions, chopped
1 x 100g packet of Chang's fried noodles

Dressing:
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp raw sugar
1/2 tsp chilli paste

Place all ingredients, except fried noodles, into a medium salad bowl.  Make dressing by lightly whisking all ingredients.  When ready to serve, add fried noodles and dressing.  Toss well and serve.

Spinach and Chickpea Burgers
Adapted from Veggie Burgers Every Which Way
Serves 4

150g baby spinach
400g tin of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 eggs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp flaked salt
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 cup besan (chickpea flour)
2/3 cup corn crumbs (or bread crumbs for non-GF burgers)
oil spray

Blend spinach leaves in food processor.  Add chickpeas, parmesan cheese, salt and smoked paprika.  Blend briefly so it retains a little texture.  Stir in besan and corn crumbs until it is firm enough to be able to handle.  Make into flat patties with damp hands.  I made 9 burgers.  I put them straight onto the grill because they were very fragile.  Spray with oil and grill for about 5-10 minutes until dry and very lightly browned.  Turn over and spray the other side with oil.  Grill until lightly browned. 

On the Stereo:
Worker's Playtime: Billy Bragg

Ukes, Labour Day and Pumpkin facon soup

Monday was the Labour Day long weekend in Melbourne.  It started at the Melbourne Ukelele Festival on Saturday morning.  We saw a few interesting performances - loved the washboard accompaniment to one band and hearing Creep accompanied by ukelele - and I loved the ukelele artwork.  The star of the show for me though was being in the Trades Hall Building, an apt place to reflect on exactly why we were celebrating Labour Day.

When Kari recently posted about International Women's Day and asked what would be our wish for future generations, I piped up with "remember our history".  I have written about this before.  I would also say the same for the union movement.  Too often I see people taking what we have for granted.  Yet I fear that Edmund Burke was right when he said "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." 

Not only do I love history, but I love the way it is reflected by our built environment.  Trades Hall is a great example.  It is one of Melbourne's grand old Victorian buildings.  In the top two pictures of the ukeleles in the Ballroom, you can see that the decor is a bit shabby, despite the red velvet curtains and the ceiling packed with .colourful flags  The place is very much alive though with conservation work being done in other parts.   it seems that there is work being done to preserve the building.  The grand staircase and list of the pioneers of the 8 Hour Movement are more newly painted than the Ballroom.

We need to conserve this building as a reminder of the Trade Union heritage, because it seems that unions' reputations have suffered in recent years.  They have been portrayed too often as aggressive and corrupt.  Last year, however, when I went through the process of developing an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, I was very glad to have our union's support and very sad to see how few staff were members and yet happy to take the benefits of their advice and support.

Much as I would love better working conditions, we have much to thank our forefathers in the unions for the conditions we enjoy today.  WorkChoices showed that we shouldn't take them for granted.  I am glad we have Trades Hall where we can remember these giants of the trade union movement in such a tangible way.  We can see their names on honour rolls, the hollows in the stairs where they have trod, and a giant picture of Gough Whitlam covered in lipstick kisses.

After the uke festival, we went to my friend Heather's birthday party.  Here is her cake.  It was a delicious flourless orange cake.  Sylvia had a tantrum over tomato sauce upon arriving but finally calmed down - if "calm" is the way to describe running non-stop around the tables.  E and I were very pleased to find lots of delicious food - spinach and ricotta pastries, rice paper rolls, chocolate tarts and a gorgeous fruit platter.  We had expected to find food at the uke festival but nothing was on offer and we had existed on some packets of roasted chickpeas.

During the rest of the weekend we did a lot of craft.  We were inspired by the festival to decorate Sylvia's purple ukelele with some stickers and sparkles.  I worked on some cards while Sylvia did her own gluing, drawing, sparkles and stickers.  We managed to see two movies on DVD.  I loved the Descendants which was so amazing that the second film - Another Year seemed ho-hum in comparison.  We also visited my sister Fran and her husband John who have moved back to Melbourne.

At the Ukelele Festival, E bought me a cookbook called What do Ukelele Players Eat? by Rose Turtle Ertler.  It includes recipes and reflections by ukelele players from around the world.  It even comes with a CD of their songs.  How's that for a quirky cookbook?  I liked one recipe for a pumpkin soup with white miso.  I also had lots of vegies to use as well as silken tofu just past the best-by date, a corn cob that Sylvia had rejected the night before and the last of my latest batch of tofu bacon.

Those who have read my previous post about tofu bacon will be aware that this is my latest culinary love.  One problem I have with it is the lovely marinade that is leftover after I cook the facon (fake bacon).  I hate to throw out food, especially one with maple syrup that is quite pricey.  I struck upon the idea of adding it to the pumpkin soup.  After all it contains ingredients that I would happily use to flavour any soup.  The white miso complemented the flavours nicely.  It was a delicious creamy soup with a crispy topping.  Perfect for a relaxed long weekend.

I am sending this soup to Souper Sundays hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: CC Dried fruit and coconut balls
This time two years ago: Awards, happiness, quicklinks and a conference
This time three years ago: Broccoli Burgers are Winners
This time four years ago: WHB: In Search of the Nectarine

Pumpkin facon soup
serves 4-6

2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
800 to 1kg wedge of pumpkin, peeled and roughly chopped
250g silken tofu
2 1/2 cups water
*1/4 cup leftover tofu bacon marinade, or thereabouts
1 1/2 tsp flaked salt
20-25 min
turn off heat
1 tbsp white miso

Tofu and corn topping:
1 tsp oil, or thereabouts
*about 10 slices of uncooked tofu bacon (or as much or as little as you have or desire), chopped
kernels of 1 cooked corn cob

*If you don't have leftover tofu marinade, you could add 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp maple syrup and 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika to get a similar taste.  You could also omit the tofu bacon and just use corn fried with a bit of soy sauce, maple syrup and smoked paprika.

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan.  Fry onion, celery, carrot and parsnip for 5-10 minutes until soft.  Add garlic and stir into mixture about a minute.  Add pumpkin, tofu, water, bacon marinade and salt.  Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20-25 minutes or until vegies are soft.

While the soup is simmering, gently fry the tofu bacon in the oil and when it is starting to brown, add the corn.

When soup is cooked, turn off the heat and put a few spoonfuls of the liquid in a small cup.  Gently mix in the white miso until combined and return to the saucepan of soup.  Blend until smooth.  Serve warm with the tofu and corn topping scattered over the soup.

On the Stereo:
What do Ukelele Players Eat? - Various Artists

WW Tofu bacon - and a fried rice recipe

It's a mystery to me why it took me so long to try tofu bacon.  I tried Tempeh Bacon even though I don't eat tempeh so much and it is sometimes hard to find in the supermarket.  It never crisped up for me.  I tried Bean and Buckwheat Facon even though it takes quite some effort to prepare with soaking and grinding.  I tried Coconut Bacon which was brilliant in sandwiches but not so great on pizza and I haven't come across flaked coconut since.  Yet since making tofu bacon for the first time at the start of last month, it has been so popular and easy that I have lost count of how many times I have made it. 

The first time I tried it was to use in fried rice.  I think, if memory serves me correctly, that I was so excited about it that I ate a few slices of tofu bacon before I had even served dinner.  E exclaimed that he could eat it by the truckload!  The next day I cooked more of the tofu batch and left it while I entertained Sylvia and found that it is not advisable to burn it.  The fried rice was so good that I have written the recipe below.  It was a lot drier than my usual ones and had more simple seasoning too.

As you will see in this post, I have experimented a bit with it.  One of the first time I made the facon (yes that is faux + bacon) it was all higgledy piggledy.  I shook the tub around quite a bit.  Mel of Veganise This - one of the main sources of inspiration for the tofu bacon - suggests putting it in the fridge in a shallow dish but I never seem to have much fridge room so I use a tub.

These days I am far neater and stack it neatly with a spoon of marinade smeared over each slice before I put the next one on.  It doesn't take much longer and means I know every inch is covered in marinade.  Speaking of the marinade, I also took a tip from Cindy and Michael and use maple syrup rather than Mel's brown sugar.  Both used liquid smoke which I never see about so I used smoked paprika which is easy to find and smoked salt which is a little more obscure but I have some.  I have been using a bought tomato sauce but often I have swapped this for tomato paste and will try this in the future.

My next experiment was with ways of cooking the tofu bacon.  I did slices in the frypan at first.  Then I tried the grill pan for the above groovy look (yes pun intended).  This is the most low fat way to cook it but I missed the all over crispiness and I am very impatient and waiting until the grill stripes appear. But with both I found that I was using the tofu chopped smaller and it looked wrong to see the white tofu flesh where it was cut.  However I have done it this way when serving on stews or just as nibbles at Sylvia's recent party.

Finally I tried chopping it into smaller pieces (using the lid of the tub as a chopping board because it is so messy) and frying it in a little oil.  This is my favourite way to cook it.  It doesn't take too long but having to flip it all about every now and again works well for me rather than waiting for individual slices to cook. 

These are some of the ways I have used tofu bacon.  I have tried it in soups, risotto, pasta, pies, sandwiches, pizza, stews and salads as well as the fried rice.  You will see it in a few posts on recent dishes, as well as a recipe using the leftover marinade - too good to waste.  I want to try it in a few of the facon recipes I previously listed.  We all love it in my household.  Sylvia gobbles hers all up and then demands to eat our share too.  As if we would give up our tofu bacon!

Update: Find more facon recipe in my post called 20 Facon Recipes for Vegetarians and Vegans in Bacon Week.

I am sending this tofu bacon to Ricki for her Wellness Weekends event.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: MLLA Renovation pancakes
This time two years ago: Bread and Roses for International Women’s Day
This time three years ago: WTSIM… Pineapple and Banana Chutney
This time four years ago: PPN #54 The Princess of Pastas

Tofu Bacon
Adapted from Veganise This and Where's the Beef
Makes enough for about 6-8, depending on use

500g tofu*
1/4 cup tamari
3 tbsp maple syrup (or brown sugar)
1 tbsp tomato sauce (or tomato paste)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp smoked salt

Press tofu if you have time.  Often I just wrap it in a clean tea towel while I prepare marinade but Mel says she gets more flavour into the tofu if she presses it well (check out Mel's tofu press gadget).  While tofu is pressing, made marinade by mixing remaining ingredients in a largish tub with a lid.  Cut tofu into thin slices - preferably no thicker than 1/2 cm.  (Mel uses a cheese slicer.)

Place tofu slices into marinade. I do this by layering them neatly slice by slice and spooning a little marinade over each slice as I go to make sure they get enough exposure to the marinade.  Leave tofu in marinade as long as you can - 8 hours is great.  However I have done this with only about 30 minutes in the marinade and it works for me.  I have also left leftover pieces in the marinade for a few days and they seem to last well - I give them a bit of a shake every now and again when I remember they are there.

Cook them any way you like.  I haven't tried baking but as the weather gets cooler I might try it.  I tried a spray of oil on the grill pan which was good but wasn't quite as crispy as I like.  I tried frying whole slices in a splash of oil which was good but left white tofu edges where I had cut them.  Finally I tried chopping them into small squares and frying in a splash of oil.  This is my favourite way to cook them.

Mel very wisely advises that it crisps up, so once it is golden brown, take it off the heat even if you leave it in the frypan.  I can also add that I have tried adding more marinade to the frypan and it just makes the tofu very soft and does not crisp up.

* Update June 2014 - am still making tofu bacon regularly, and Sylvia still loves it.  Sometimes I scale back the marinade if my tofu packet is less than 500g.  If the marinade gets too sludgy, I've found adding a dribble of water helps to loosen it up so it will run over the tofu.  Tonight I tried making tofu bacon with smoked tofu - to add to fried rice.  I really liked it.

Fried rice with edamame
serves 2

Splash of canola oil
1 carrot, diced
kernels of 1 corn cob
1/2 red capsicum, diced
2 cups of cooked rice*
1/2 to 1 cup edamame
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
splash of ketjap manis
1 spring onion
handful of diced and fried tofu bacon

*Rice is best if at least a day old.  I have also frozen it and gently defrosted it in the microwave which works fine.

Fry carrot over high heat in a large frypan or wok for a few minutes or until starting to soften.  Add corn and capsicum and fry another couple of minutes.  Add rice, edamame and garlic.  Fry a few minutes.  The mixture should be quite dry.  Now add in a splash of ketjap manis and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes until rice has absorbed the liquid and is fairly dry again.  Stir in spring onion until warmed through.  Check seasoning and adjust as desired.  Serve with tofu bacon scatter on top of the fried rice.

Update September 2016: I still love making tofu bacon (almost know the recipe off by heart.  So I have updated the photos with some I took today but kept a few of the old ones that you can probably tell by the lack of natural light.

On the Stereo:
Spandau Ballet (freebie CD in The Mail on Sunday)

Grrrr Dinosaur Birthday Cake (from Peppa Pig) - WSC

After making two 'plain' cakes for Sylvia's birthday I finally made a chocolate mud cake, which is far more my sort of cake.  It was the most challenging of her three birthday cakes.  I shaped it into George Pig's dinosaur from the children's cartoon, Peppa Pig.  Sylvia loves Georgie Pig.  More importantly, a cartoon figure is so much easier to cut out into a cake when busy.

If you don't know Georgie Pig, he is very attached to his dinosaur and is frequently heard to say "Dinosaur, Grrr).  You could see pictures of him and his dinosaur here or here or you could find Sylvia's new George pig toy in the above picture.  Actually it is a self indulgent green photo that I did to celebrate this being my 1000th post since starting my blog in 2007.

But enough about me, let me tell you about the cake.  I thought it would be easy to find guidance to making a Dinosaur cake from Peppa Pig.  The best I could find online was this photo.  So I just used images on the web to guide my drawing of a template.  I made the cake gluten free for the celiacs in my family.  A GF mud cake made for a very fragile crumbly cake.  Many others would have be sturdier but perhaps not tasted quite so good.  However it did make life more difficult when rushing to make the cake and Sylvia suddenly changing her mind and deciding she wanted a pink cake.  I finished it at 12 when I had told people to arrive.  Fortunately everyone was late!

As always I overstretched myself on the food.  Entertaining always means lots of leftovers in our house, which is just as well because I usually am happy not to cook for a few days afterwards.  The menu was:

• Potato salad
• Mock Tuna (Chickpea) Salad
• Creamy pumpkin dip with basil instead of chives
• White bean and nut butter dip made with with almond butter, lemon juice and sage (it needed thinning)
• Hummus (bought)
• Corn chips
• Chickpea chips (made by my mum) with tomato sauce
• Roast chickpeas (Chicnuts)
• Tofu bacon
• Chopped vegies

• Dinosaur mud cake
• Cherry Ripe lolly pops 
• Avocado pound cake (leftovers)
• Watermelon, pineapple and grapes
• Soft drink

Unlike last year when Sylvia's birthday party was on a rainy day, this year it was on a hot 34 C day.  Which perhaps would account for the fights over Sylvia's cash register so it had to be taken out of circulation.  I am not great at party games, nor is Sylvia.  For entertainment I threw the kids a bag of balloons and asked them to blow them up.  My niece Ella managed to let go of a balloon that flew into the cake!  While the kids played, the adults talked politics because the leadership challenge for our Prime Minister was looming.

Keeping Sylvia away from her birthday cake before we lit the candles and sung happy birthday was a challenge.  Once she had blown out the candles, she found that the cake was the same height as her mouth and she could easily bit into the nearest edge!  I think she might have had visions of chomping through the whole cake before I stopped her.  Whereas her cousin Cooper just wanted a piece of cake with teeth.  The cake went down very well but we had a lot of that cake leftover and lots of scraps are still in the freezer.  So long as there is cake and kids about, Sylvia is very happy and had a lovely time.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Dinosaur farm, white mudcake and teddy racers
This time two years ago: Sylvia's green pram cake
This time three years ago: Hummingbird Cake
This time four years ago: Nutroast in the time of vagueness

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Adpated from here
Makes almost 2 cups

100g white chocolate
55g butter
350g cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups icing sugar (aka confectioner's sugar)

Melt white chocolate in the microwave in a small heatproof bowl.  Stir chopped butter into white chocolate until it melts and is well mixed in.  Use electric beaters to beat in cream cheese and then gradually beat in icing sugar.

How to Make a (Peppa Pig) Dinosaur Cake

What you will need:

• 1 mud cake baked in a lamington tin (13 x 9 inch) that has been made a day in advance to make it easier to handle - I used orange juice instead of whiskey and gluten free flour.  Any sturdy cake would work.
• Between half and two thirds of white chocolate cream cheese frosting, with green food colouring (see above recipe)
• Soft white lollies (aka sweeties or candy) - I used banana and cream lollies
• Dark fudge frosting - I used a tube of pre-made frosting
• Green lollies - I used rainbow roll ups/fruit leather would look for brighter colours next time - eg mint leaves or jelly frogs, and maybe green musk sticks for the legs and arms
• Pen and paper for stencils
• A large board or baking tray covered in foil
• A skewer and a sharp knife

What to do:

Firstly take a pen and paper and draw a stencil to get the right shape.  An A4 sheet of paper fits on a lamington tray nicely but I found that two pieces helped me to view it as the cake would be.

I fitted both pieces of paper onto the cake and used a skewer to make dots around the outline.  Once these were done, I took the paper away and used a sharp knife to join the dots and draw the shapes in the cake.

The I cut out the shapes with my sharp knife.  I then had help from E to use egg flips to transfer the cake from the baking paper to my large baking tray covered in foil.  A sturdier cake would have been easier to handle.  Brush away as many crumbs as possible before frosting.

Spread the frosting over the cake.  Cut out white teeth for the mouth and use white circles to do the eyes.  Pipe a dark dot in the middle of each eye.  Cut the fins, arms and legs out of the green lollies and push them into the icing on the side.  If I had the time and patience I might have piped an outline around the cake (or used thin strips of fondant) but I am no expert at such fancy work at the best of times.  Place the candles in the cake and serve with lots of fruit and sweet food.

Chele has kindly commented that this cake would be welcome in the We Should Cocoa event this month.  The challenge is to create something green with chocolate in it.  (Hey I already did that last month!)  I'd been dreaming of some other green delights but a bird (or dinosaur) in the hand is worth two in the bush!

On the stereo:
A Short Album about Love: The Divine Comedy

Pea pancakes with sun-dried tomato pesto

Shrove Tuesday this year was full of colour.  I stumbled across a bookmarked recipe for Pea Pancake recipe in the Guardian newspaper by Bruno Loubet.  It attracted me because it was green, cheery and gluten free.  I wasn't about to serve it with poached egg as he did.  Instead I served ours with a dollop of sun-dried tomato pesto and some salad vegetables.

I had had great success with basil pesto shortly beforehand, but I didn't have any basil on hand and I needed a colour contrast.  I looked up a few red pesto recipes that were quite complex before finding a simple sun-dried tomato pesto recipe that didn't need lots of extra ingredients like basil and red pepper.  After all, I was looking for something because I wanted to use what I had on hand.

My pesto mojo is alive and kicking right now.  This was a fantastic pesto.  I didn't need much for the pancakes and had lots leftover.  It was lovely with pasta, on sandwiches or just stirred into some soup.  I loved the bright red colour.  It has a little oil sitting on the top of the batch but once it was creamy with lovely intense tomato, cheese and garlic flavours.

Once I had mastered the pesto I turned my attention to the pea pancakes.  Actually, once I cooked them, they were more like pea cakes (reminding me of these burgers that I have had bookmarked for some time).  If Sylvia had been well she might have been excited by the brilliant green colour.  As it was, she was too ill to care.  The poor wee thing sat on the couch falling in and out of sleep so our priority was to get her to bed as soon as possible.

So that is how I can remember that these were a cinch to put together and cook.  Not only was she tired but she was grizzly and wanted me to carry her around.  Then we had the palaver of trying to get her to take some antibiotics prescribed by the doctor.  I had little time and energy to get dinner on our plates once Sylvia was fast asleep.  These pancakes were no bother at all. 

Making side dishes was a bit beyond me.  I had thought about making some cauliflower cheese and roast potatoes to serve with the pea pancakes.  It would have made it a really satisfying dinner with lots of leftovers.  Instead, I added a dollop of the red pesto on the pancake stack and scattered some chopped vegies around it.  Who was I kidding when I thought I might have time for anything more!  It was a very light meal and I found myself having a cracker or two later that night spread with pesto.

I am sending these pea pancakes to Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes for her Bookmarked Recipes event.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: A Neb at Nut Roast II - Announcement
This time two years ago: WHB Potluck pumpkin cheesecake brownies
This time three years ago: Citrus Grape Cake
This time four years ago: Garam Masala and Gravy Mysteries

Pea Pancakes
From Bruno Loubet in the Observer Food Monthly
Serves 4 (I made 11 small pancakes)

• 350g frozen peas
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper
• butter, for frying

Cook the peas.  I did this in the microwave like my mum does - cut a tip off the packet of peas and bunged it in the microwave until they were hot.

Place cooked peas in the food processor with cornflour, egg, a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper.  Blend, scrapping down the sides once or twice.  This took me a few minutes.  Check seasoning and if you need to add some more, blend again and check it is too your liking.

Heat a frypan and melt a small knob of butter on the hot pan.  Drop dessertspoonfuls in the pan and spread out a little with the back of a spoon.  Relax, talk about the day at the office, flip over when dried out a bit.  Chop some vegies and check the other side.  They should be a lacy golden brown but still soft inside when cooked.  Serve hot or I think they would be nice at room temperature.

Sun-dried tomato pesto
Slightly adapted from taste.com.au

• 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1 (small) garlic clove, chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Blitz sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts and garlic.  Add oil and parmesan cheese until well blended.  The recipe said to drizzle the oil but that wasn't possible in a little blender like mine and it didn't seem to matter.

On the Stereo:
Set List: The Frames

PPN Cheesy Cauliflower and Bean Pasta and happy times

On Friday night we went to our local library to see Shirley the Ukelele Lady.  It was a relaxed event and lots of fun.  Sylvia had plenty of space for her Whirling Dervishes dancing.  We also won two door prizes.  A cookbook and a book about food - how wonderful that libraries now have musical performances and give away books!  Afterwards we walked home and ate a bowl of pasta while watching our new Swallows and Amazons DVD.

I wasn't going to post this Cheesy Cauliflower and Bean Pasta.  It was a quick weeknight dish that I made on a low energy night when I was very tempted to get takeaway.  There was a large cauliflower that had been in the fridge for a week.  I was starting to feel guilty every time I looked in the crisper.  It was really intended for Mel's risotto but pasta seemed easier.  It was surprisingly good.  E loved it.  And there were leftovers for Friday night.  So it is recorded below.  Quantities are approximate because I didn't use measurements.

I was inspired by this pasta dish.  Frying vegies on the stovetop, adding a can of beans and some cheese makes for very tasty pasta.  It doesn't seem the healthiest way to eat vegies but it is more satisfying than a jar of pasta sauce and makes the pasta go further.

After a wonderfully serendipitous dish, I wanted to share some recent good things in life.  Not everything has been great - last week was busy with staff meetings at work, it rained all day yesterday - albeit good for the garden - and the trains were terrible today.  But it doesn't do to dwell on such things when I have lots to make me happy:

1. A sunny Sunday.  After yesterday's rain I really appreciated a fine sunny day today.  Sylvia and dolly had a few lovely rides around the block on the new bike.  We had curry, apples and ice cream in the city for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.  And the washing dried on the line.

2. Pancakes.  Yesterday I tried a teddy bear pancake for the first time (inspired by Jim's Pancakes).  I need more practice but am pleased with my start and it made us all smile before dousing it in maple syrup.  Flipping pancakes for Sylvia's amusement is also fun.  Last weekend we had pancakes for breakfast outside before the day heated up (to 38 C) and it was just such a relaxing way to start the day, with the couple across the back lane picking figs from their huge tree that overlooks our yard.

3. Books.  I am really enjoying reading Cold Light by Frank Moorhouse (very slowly).  Yet my most amazing moment with books happened earlier this year.  I had just finished reading a novel and found a picture that looked exactly as I thought the main character might look.  I emailed the picture to my sister who knows the author and passed it on.  The author wrote back to say yes that is her, without the glasses.  If only I had a hotline to authors of other books I read to check I am on the right track.

I am sending the pasta sauce to Simona of Briciole for Presto Pasta Nights #254, a great pasta event coordinated by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.  Last week was the 5th birthday bash for the event.  Belated congratulations to Ruth and all the hosts and participants for keeping it going so long.  I am sorry I have been AWOL from the event for so long but glad to be part of the fun again.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: PPN Spring Rolls, Salad, Changes and CNY
This time two years ago: Each Peach - baby blocks and ice cream that rocks
This time three years ago: Hospital food and mum’s cooking
This time four years ago: Sydney Road – one street, two festivals

Cheesy Cauliflower and Bean Pasta
serves 4

• Olive oil
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, cut into thin sticks
• 1/2 cauliflower, chopped into small florets
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp seeded mustard
• 1 dessert bowl of dried wholemeal pasta
• 400g tin of beans (I used borlotti but would chickpeas would be great), rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• seasoning

Heat slurp of olive oil in a large saucepan.  Fry onions, celery and carrot until softened (5-15 minutes, depending on how high the heat is).  Add cauliflower, smoked paprika, mustard and a pinch of salt.  Drizzle a bit more olive oil over it and fry over medium high heat until cauliflower is soft (10-15 minutes).  While cauliflower is heating, cook and drain the pasta according to instructions on the packet (ours took about 14 minutes).  Add beans and stir for a minute or two to heat them up.  Stir in cheeses and add pasta. Add a spoonful or two of pasta water if needed to loosen up the sauce but not too much or you will loose the creaminess of the cheese.  Check seasoning.  Serve hot.

On the Stereo:
Hawiian Sunset: Arthur Lyman

Butterless Butter Cake

When I was planning the three cakes for Sylvia's birthday last week, I kept it simple to try and keep my sanity intact.  For a cake to take to Sylvia's child care, I decided to use a cake mould.  I usually make plain cakes and slice them into the shape I want (as I did for her third cake).  A mould however seemed a great shortcut.  It was a present from Paula after I had admired her son's birthday cake.

I am always a little nervous about baking for children that I don't know.  They like plain.  I do not.  Using the cake mould presented an even greater challenge because chocolate would be too dark to show up all the details.  I have 76 cakes in my index and over half of these are chocolate.  Kids also love icing but I didn't want to cover up the details, and by the time the cake went in the oven on the night before taking it to child care first thing in the morning, I wasn't sure I had time for it.  And then there is the dilemma of wanting kids to be excited about a cake but not wanting to feed them unhealthy food.

If I had a plain cake recipe that I loved, I would have made it.  Instead I search for something that wouldn't offend kids but would interest me.  I found it in a book that I received for my birthday called Have your cake: no butter, no white flour, no added sugar.  The recipes are appetising but not as alternative as I had expected.  They use rice bran oil instead of butter, honey instead of sugar and wholemeal wheat flour.  Perhaps I have been hanging around bloggers like Ricki for too long, and expected more obscure ingredients such as carob, stevia and coconut oil.

In Have your Cake, I found a recipe for a Butterless Butter Cake.  This was perfect for me.  It was butterless because it had oil instead of butter.  What I loved was the addition of coconut, orange juice and honey.  This gave it enough added flavour and added texture to please me but not too much for the kids.

It was an excellent choice.  I was very pleased that the cake held its shape well.  I was very pleased that the cake was moist.  The honey gave it a richness and its flavour was quite prominent.  Yet it wasn't strongly flavoured.  I was very pleased that the cake didn't need icing.  I was too disorganised for such things.

I went to child care to be with Sylvia when they had the cake.  My dad was able to come along too.  We loved seeing Sylvia with her little playmates.   They were very excited that it was her birthday and that she had a castle cake. 

My dad commented on how every kid ate their cake in a different way.  It was eaten with a fork or with fingers, broken into chunks or crumbled, eaten delicately or eaten in great big bites.  Every one ate their piece.  Not one complained.  Some asked for seconds.

This is a cake I will be making again and I look forward to exploring more recipes from the book.  I am also excited by my new castle cake mould.  Paula tells me the first time is the easiest.  But I am game to try it again.  It just looks so cute with so little effort.  And most importantly, it made a birthday girl very happy!

I am sending this cake to Anjali of Spice n Sugar Tales for her Cakes, Cookies and Desserts event.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Fast track pizza with sweet potato sauce
This time two years ago: PPN: Of birthdays, farewells, and noodles
This time three years ago: Welcome little one!
This time four years ago: My Friend the Chocolate Cake

Butterless butter cake
Adapted slightly from Emily Rose's Have your cake

2 eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup rice bran oil (or other neutral oil)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup orange juice
1 vanilla bean
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
1/2 cup white plain flour
1/3 cup dessicated coconut
3 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 180 C.  Grease and line a 20cm cake tin or if you have a cool silicone mould, just have it at the ready with no greasing or lining!

Beat eggs and oil until creamy (I used electric beaters).  Stir in honey until well combined.  Add in orange juice.  Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean and stir into mixture, pressing with a back of a spoon on the side of the bowl to break up any clumps.  Gently stir in dry ingredients.

Pour mixture into prepared tin.  Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Leave in tin for about 20 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack.  NB I turned mine straight onto the cake container because I was worried the castle shape would collapse if I had to transfer it later.

On the stereo:
More Music to Watch Girls By: Various Artists