In my kitchen - November 2012

In my kitchen we currently have vegemite and promite.  Thanks to Kathryn I know that vegemite has less salt than promite.  I told Sylvia.  This has results in no end of fascinating conversations on the topic.  I grew up on vegemite but prefer promite these days.  E brought the vegemite out of curiosity.  To me that is the sign of a migrant.  No Aussie would ever wonder what it tasted like.  We grew up on the stuff!

I bought some of these Cadbury's Marvellous Creations after being intrigued by Hannah's review.  Unlike Hannah, I love the popping candy and could eat this chocolate by the bucketload.  It was very sweet and moreish and full of fascinating textures.  In the interests of eating this chocolate in moderation, E and I decided to try the smaller bars.  However in the interests of our waistlines, we have not been buying even the smaller bars often.

I bought the Ghirardelli squares out of curiosity.  It is a brand that I often come across on blogs but have never found in our shops until recently.  This chocolate was far more grown up than the aforementioned Marvellous Creations.  I loved the sweet caramel filled milk chocolate squares but also loved the mint filled dark chocolates.  Yet you can have too much of a good thing.  So we haven't bought more of this chocolate either.

I am a big fan of Emma and Tom's juices.  They have lots of interesting flavours and taste great.  So I was interested to see that they are now producing these Life Bars in a range of flavours.  Predictably, I decided to try the chocolate one.  It was delicious and a healthier chocolate fix than the Cadbury or Ghirardelli offerings.  I think it is fairly similar to Lara Bars (US)and Nakd Bars (UK) in that it is mainly dates and nuts.

Despite my recent vegan cheese experiments, we eat a lot of cheese in Chez GGG.  Unlike the UK where the Vegetarian Society wields some power, most cheeses in the Australian supermarket use animal rennet and are not vegetarian.  We usually buy Nimbin Cheese from NSW.  Recently we have been enjoying a new local vegetarian cheese that has appeared in the shelves.  Sylvia calls it 'man cheese'.  You can see why in the photo.

It had been a long time since I ate potato gems.  Then I bought them on a night I fancied fish and chips.  They filled a void.  E and Sylvia loved them.  Frankly though I doubt I will be hurrying to buy them again.  They are so salty and need 30 minutes to cook.  They seem neither healthy nor much of a time saver (mashed potato takes less time). But nice for a trip down memory lane.

These Twisties ghosts are a Halloween purchase made while shopping after work.  The lesson is that I shouldn't go to the supermarket while tired.  It skewers my judgement.  I quite enjoy regular cheese Twisties.  They have a pleasing crunchy texture though they are junk food through and through!  These Twisties ghosts tasted more like flavoured polystyrene.

A while back we found ourselves in possession of a seed kid thanks to a child care fundraiser.  Sylvia and I planted them and kept the baby seeds in a sunny place on the kitchen windowsill.  I remembered to water them often enough.  I quite enjoyed watching their progress.  My mum has recently repotted them outside.  I fear we might never see them flower as they should.  One seedling has already withered away and one seems to be the food of insects.  I still have hope and will share any flowers we might see.  Fingers crossed! (Update December 2012 - our flowers)

I recently bought this glue in the supermarket.  Have I been incredibly ignorant all these years or it is a new thing.  It is blue when wet and clear when dry.  This is great when Sylvia uses it as I can easily see if she has put enough blue on the paper.

My friend Yaz came to dinner this week and brought us some chocolate orange sticks.  They were enjoyed by all.  Even more importantly, he helped to attach the engine and tray of our craft truck.  It was a very tricky operation of threading wire through two holes in a box that I had accidentally sealed without leaving space to get in.

Life is incredibly busy right now with holiday preparations.  I have been meaning to bake but just don't have the energy.  Thank goodness that cherries are coming into season.  We bought some today after a long day of swimming and shopping.  They were a highlight of the evening.

This post is being sent to Celia as part of her In My Kitchen event.

Dragon birthday cake

On the weekend Sylvia and I headed to my parents' house to make a dragon cake for my nieces' birthday cake.  Last year Grace chose a flower cake and this year Ella had her choice.  An excellent choice too.  The cake looked very impressive if I may say so.  In fact, having limited time this year meant that the cake was a true team effort.

My mum baked the cakes (using a gluten free cake mix) and cut them into pieces according to the instructions.  She also bought the lollies and made the buttercream icing.  The dragon required quite a large board.  Larger than anything my mum or I have.  Fortunately my dad is a whizz with his tools down in the shed and cut a piece of plywood to size, which was then covered with foil.  Their mum didn't join in but she had already made some cute barnyard cupcakes like these for their party with friends the previous day.

 

When I arrived at mum and dad's place, everything was waiting for me.  This made it very easy.  I then had help from Ella in spreading the icing over the cake.  Chris helped by taking Sylvia to the park at a critical moment.  The rest of the kids helped with organising the lollies and placing them on the cake.  I love the kids being able to help but it does require giving up some control.  At one point four of us were adding smarties and there were at least three styles being applied.

One of the trickiest parts of doing the cake was that I forgot to take my hardcopy recipe that I had found in Super Food Ideas magazine.  It had seemed like a good idea to rely on the online recipe.   Big mistake!  It was a really frustrating recipe.  The only visuals were on the video, which had no rewind or fast forward.  To find the bit where the cake pieces were assembled I had to watch some woman tell me how to bake a cake.  I was most displeased.

Which brings me to tonight's rant about technology.  I have finally signed up my applecare cover (warranty) and MS Office with much hurrumphing.  E said that I sounded like Victor Meldrew.  I encountered outrage after outrage.  Apple terms of service begin with claiming that they can change the terms of service at any time and I need to be responsible for regularly checking for updates and if I don't like that then I can just go and get a refund.  While I read these terms of service I was thrown out of the sign up page from where I was directed because I was taking too long.  Then there was all sorts of annoying moments of being asked for too much information.  I felt too cynical to read the rest of the terms of service so if you find that I have given my blog to Apple or Microsoft it is probably because it is in the terms of service!

Onto the finer things in life - food!  We had an excellent tex-mex lunch.  Tacos, nachos, grilled corn, avocado, excellent chilli non carne etc etc.  There was something for everyone.  After we had our fill of Mexican food, we had a break for presents and photos.  Then onto dessert - I was amused to see Ella and Grace plunge a knife into the dragon and to be able to say I have eaten a dragon.  Alongside the birthday cake we had mum's caramel tart, Erica's chocolate cake, John's pavlova and Sylvia's chocolate coins.

Sylvia had a lovely time playing with her visiting cousin.  When it was time to go they found all manner of hiding places.  Finally I picked her up to take her to the car and he clung to her foot.  A testament to a lovely friendship between the two!  As for Ella and Grace, I think it is safe to say that they had an aMAZEing birthday.

How to Make a Dragon Cake

You will need:

• 1 x 20cm round cake (see my recipe suggestions here)
• 1 loaf cake
• 4 or 5 mini loaf cakes or another regular size loaf cake
• buttercream icing (250g butter, 3 cups icing sugar and 2 tbsp milk beat together until creamy with colours added as desired)
• 55cm square cake board
• 2 1/2 (total of 500g) bars of toblerone chocolate broken into triangles
• packet of m&ms or smarties (the recipes says 38 orange and 2 brown but I think you can be creative about colours)
• 2 chocolate bullets
• 5 jelly snakes - 3 red and 2 orange 
• 6 lolly bananas (or alternatives for claws)
• 2 white marshmallows (ours were large marshmallows)

Cut 20cm round cake in half and arrange side by side with cut edge facing down.  Cut the loaf cake into two smaller circles to arrange either side of the larger semi-circles, plus the rectangular-ish shape for the head.  Take 4 mini cakes or cut 4 longs blocks - 1 for the neck and 3 for the tail.  Finally cut a triangular piece for the tail.  For more information on doing this, go to the Friendly Dragon Cake Recipe page and click on Notes to download a template to help cut out the pieces.

Cover cake board with foil (or use wrapping paper with clear cellophane over it or just coloured cellophane) and arrange cake pieces on the board.  (If your board is not quite big enough the tail could be either curled around more or just shorter.)  Now trim the pieces so they will join seamlessly and sit against each other nicely. 

Spread buttercream icing one side of the 20cm round cake half and use it to sandwich together with the other half, as you can see in the large hump of the picture above.  Use buttercream icing to join other pieces of the dragon together.

Cover the cake with buttercream, being careful where the cake is crumbly and using generous amounts of icing to join all the parts together.  Smooth the icing with a hot knife and use a cloth to wipe down the foil to remove any messy icing along the edges.

Place the toblerone triangles along the neck, back and tail of the dragon.  The snakes are the fire that the dragon is breathing.  The bullets become the nostrils and the marshmallows and 2 matching coloured smarties or m&ms (glue smarties/m&ms on with icing) become the eyes.  The banana lollies are the claws but I would look for an alternative as I didn't think these looked quite right.  The smarties or m&ms are used for spots on the dragon.  The recipe I followed just had them on the haunches but I would have preferred them all over.

On the Stereo:
There is death in the pot: various artists

Corn fritters

Some time ago I made corn pancakes but I think I really wanted corn fritters.  For those who are pondering the difference, corn pancakes are largely batter with a smattering of corn kernels through them, while corn fritters are largely corn kernels with a thin coating of batter.

The corn fritters that I had in mind were those served by a Thai restaurant called Lemongrass in Carlton.  After a bit of searching I found a recipe for Thai Corn Fritters (Tod Man Khao Pod) on Serious Eats.

I didn't have any Thai curry paste so I improvised with the flavours.   I am not sure I got them right.  The fritters were definitely not authentic.  They were certainly tasty.  Fresh corn with a bit of rice flour and egg for crispiness is a guaranteed winning combination.  In returning to the recipe afterwards I noted that I hadn't used the baking powder at all and nothing close to the amount of salt in the recipe.

The recipe called for deep frying but that is too much of a challenge for me.  Instead I tipped far more oil that I usually do to fry them.  It worked quite well.  My main quibble is that the mixture didn't hold together brilliantly.  The result was actually a handful of fritters in a scattering of fried corn kernels.  This did not make for brilliant photos.

No matter.  I hope you can see past the unsatisfactory photos.  They tasted delicious and crispy.  I loved how they were light because, despite more oil than I usually use, they were mostly vegetable.  Served with potato gems and salad, they made a lovely easy meal. 

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: MLLA Avocado soy rotis
Two years ago: Apple and Cranberry Chutney
Three years ago: Mexican Lasagne and our Jetset Baby
Four years ago: Accolades and some random facts

Corn Fritters
Adapted from Serious Eats
serves 2-3

kernels cut from 2 ears of corn
6 tbsp (90ml) rice flour
1 egg
1-2 tbsp chopped basil
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp chilli sauce
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp lavender salt (or regular salt, and possibly more)
2-4 tbsp canola or peanut oil

Mix all ingredients except oil.  Check and adjust seasoning.  Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and drop spoonfuls of the batter in the oil.  Fry over high heat until golden brown underneath.  It took me about 7 minutes but I could tell they were ready when they smelled cooked and some brown specks appeared in the batter.  Flip over and cook for about 4-5 minutes until golden brown on the other side.  Drain on kitchen towel and serve hot.  We served ours with chutney.

On the stereo:
Music from "The House of Dr Faustus": Ergo Phizmiz

Tempting Fete at Spensley Street Primary School

We recently attended the Tempting Fete at Spensley Street Primary School in Clifton Hill.  We were really there to see E play ukelele but enjoyed browsing the stalls.  Actually it was quite overwhelming because there was so much on that it was hard to follow the map of activities.  Yet after a while we worked out the lay of the land and where the best food could be found.

Our first port of call was the cake stall.  It was heaving under cellophane wrapped cakes and jar after jar of preserves.  I was quite excited to find a plate of vegan chocolate cakes topped with lurid icing roses.  Sylvia also loved them and insisted on buying them to take to visit her friend Amelia.  (The cakes were rather stodgy but great if you love icing as small children do.)  I much preferred the chocolate wheatbix slice which was crumbly but tasted amazing with chunks of chocolate and a chocolate topping.  We also bought some tomato chutney and raspberry jam.

Other than cakes, the fete had lots of the usual stalls of face painting, second hand books, preloved clothes, trash and treasure and toys.  I loved the idea of a stall where you could choose flowers for a garland to wear on your head.  I was less enthused about taking your dishes to the dishwashing sink but I appreciated the sentiment.  E was very excited to buy four children's videos (yes we still have a video player) for $1. 

My favourite stall would probably be this craft stall.  It was full of lovely home made stuff.  I wanted to buy it all.  Instead I settled with a few presents, plus a bag and hair ribbon for Sylvia and a party dress for her doll.  I also couldn't resist buying the Recipes from the Childish Plot cookbook after talking to the coordinator of the cookbook.  (I have already made the pumpkin damper which is fantastic.)

This being an inner-city fete, I was interested to see what food would be on offer.  All Sylvia wanted was sushi.  I think her love affair with sushi is because it is an excuse to eat something with soy sauce.  She pushes out the vegies but at least she eats the nori.  I chose the steamed dumplings.  They were ok but a little pasty and not that filling, with only vegies inside them.

E was keen on having a sausage from the BBQ.  (I don't think they had vegetarian sausages.)  He queued for a while and then found that he hadn't prepaid so he gave up and bought dahl and rice instead.  He was very impressed with it.

Sylvia wanted a choc top but my dumplings had been little more than an appetiser.  I wandered off in search of pizza.  It was far more impressive than I expected.  The school has a brick oven in their grounds and there was a team effort going on in making pizza dough, rolling it out, making up the pizza and baking it.  The end result was amazing.  The bases were thin and crisp.  The toppings were minimal.  You will see that this was no ordinary pizza when I tell you that I was offered olive oil and fresh basil on my slice.  Well worth the wait.

When I rejoined E and Sylvia, E was raving about the hedgehog at the cafe.  Actually I had already run my eye over the cakes on offer and considered the scones with jam and cream that looked rather good.  However I took E's recommendation and sampled the hedgehog.  It was unbelievably good.  So often when I try other people's hedgehog it is disappointing because it doesn't live up to my family hedgehog recipe.  This one surpassed it.  Not only was it soft and full of biscuit chunks (not ground up biscuits or lots of other things like dried fruit and nuts), but it had condensed milk in it and milk chocolate on top. 

Sylvia wasn't very interested in the facepainting (just as well because there was a long queue), hair styling, adventure playground and other children's activities.  We don't go to many fetes but this was a far fancier fete than those that I used to attend as a child, and I suspect than those that are held in schools in suburbs further from Melbourne.  Nevertheless, it was good fun and we came away with some good bargains.

Update: see my write up of the 2013 Tempting Fete.

Tempting Fete at Spensley Street Primary School
193 Spensley St, Clifton Hill
Saturday 27 October 2012
School website

Kale, pumpkin and black bean enchiladas

Some days dinner seems such a challenge.  I was rushing to get enchiladas ready for dinner and chucked all the kale into the filling mixture.  The tomato sauce had too much balsamic vinegar.  Sylvia pilfered one of my wheat tortillas and spilled her cup of milk. Yet at the end there was a magical alchemy as it baked in the oven while we were out walking and we came home to a delicious dinner.
 

It truly was a dish where the sum of it was far superior to its parts.  I barely seasoned the kale mixture and the tomato sauce was too sweet and acidic with the balsamic vinegar.  Yet together the flavours meld marvellously.  It was rather spicy for me as I originally wanted to put in chipotle, forgot and added liquid smoke and chilli paste, then returned to the chipotle in an attempt to tame the sauce.

It is quite a light dish.  I added some cheese but as the original recipe says this is an easy recipe to veganise because it doesn't rely on the cheese very much (actually the recipe that inspired me was vegan).  I had heaps and heaps of filling leftover, no doubt as a result of my reckless decision to add the whole bunch of kale.  Incidentally I bought the kale at a trendy wee greengrocer where they kept calling it cabbage.  It is such a charming little shop that it is a shame the staff didn't know their goods.

I was still hungry after my enchiladas and ate a bit of the filling mixed with sauce after dinner and it was quite nice.  I found it even more satisfying the next night when I had time to make some guacamole and corn with mint to serve alongside the enchiladas.

The tortillas didn't last the distance but the filling lasted us a few nights.  Once the enchiladas were finished, I was tired and just cooked up lots of pasta and stirred in the remaining kale mixture, pumpkin mixture and tomato mixture with a little grated cheese on top.  It was delicious.  I put a couple of serves in the freezer.  This week has been so busy that I was really glad of a ready made meal. 

If I made this again, I would probably have less balsamic vinegar and less spice in the tomato sauce but I probably worried more about the sauce than I should as it mellowed out once mixed with the other fillings. Likewise the kale filling was a bit underseasoned but once mixed with the tomato sauce it is fine.  I also noticed that I needed a lot less liquid than the original recipe called for, possibly because I used home made mashed pumpkin which I think has more water than the tinned version.  The recipe below is a bit of work in progress, reflecting what I dd with some comments.

I am sending this to Joanne of Eats Well With Others and Heather of Girlichef for their 12 weeks of winter squash event, that celebrates pumpkin and other winter squash.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: CC Cheesy pumpkin sausages
Two years ago: Leonard Cohen, rice salad and the great outdoors
Three years ago: Pizza for the Impatient
Four years ago: Nut roast with chestnuts
Five years ago: Fantastic Falafels

Kale, Pumpkin and Black Bean
Adapted from Manis Kitchenworks
serves 4 (with sides and leftover mixture)

Tomato Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
400g tin of diced tomatoes
140g tub of tomato paste
1 and 1/4 cups vegetable stock (oops did 1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (less next time)
1 chipotle in adobo sauce, finely chopped
3 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp honey (too sweet - maybe leave out next time)
1 tsp cumin (would have added more if I didn't run out)
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp promite
1 tsp liquid smoke (omit next time?)
1 tsp chilli paste (omit next time?)
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste (may be less if less balsamic)

Pumpkin sauce
800g wedge of pumpkin, peeled and diced
1 tbsp soy milk
1 tsp smoked salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chilli paste

Kale filling
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 large grated carrot, grated
1 red capsicum, diced
4 cups washed and torn kale - I used a big bunch which was more than 4 cups
1 tin black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 to 1 cup grated cheese

To assemble
6 whole-wheat tortillas
1/2 to 1 cup grated cheese 

To make the tomato sauce, fry the onion in olive oil in a small saucepan for about 3-5 minutes until translucent.  Add garlic and stir for about a minute.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.  (I think I simmered mine for 20 minutes to try and reduce it a bit but this may be because I added too much liquid.)

To make the pumpkin sauce, cook and mash the pumpkin.  (I cooked my pumpkin in the microwave until very soft with no water and I still drained a bit of liquid off my mashed pumpkin.)  Add remaining ingredients and stir well.

To make the filling, fry onion for 5 to 10 minutes until browned.  Add carrot and red capsicum towards the end of the onion cooking.  Add kale and cook until it has wilted.  Add black beans and cook briefly to warm through.  Stir through grated cheese.

To assemble enchiladas, first smear a spoonful or two of tomato sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish (about 9 x 13 inch).  Place a tortilla on a flat surface.  Layer 1 dessertspoonful of tomato sauce, 2 spoonfuls of pumpkin sauce, two to three spoonfuls of kale filling and a small handful of grated cheese.  Roll up and carefully transfer, seam side down, to the baking dish.  Once all enchiladas are in the baking dish, spoon tomato sauce over the tortillas (I leave the edges uncovered to get crispy) and sprinkle with cheese.  (As mentioned above, I had lots of filling leftover that I mixed with cooked pasta.)

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes at180 C (350 F) or until top is crispy and browned.

On the Stereo:
Skull and Roses: The Grateful Dead

Truffles, the weekend and random notes

 

I had a jar of almond butter and the perfect recipe.  It was easy, chocolate, gluten free, vegan and delicious.  Only I sort of forgot to make it while at my parents' for my brother Dave's birthday.  I finally made it after we had pavlova but before we had the birthday cake.  Despite working with my mum's kitchen and not quite having the right amount of ingredients I loved these.  They were great nibbly snacks to eat mid-afternoon.

We didn't get to my parents' place as early as I had planned because Sylvia and I got caught up in our latest craft project.  It started out as Mr Maker's truck because we have been watching Mr Maker comes to Town where he drives around in a funny truck based on a craft truck he makes.  Our didn't look like his but it was fun.  We stuck together some old boxes, with a shoe box (with a lid that hasn't been used yet) and glued on lots of green tissue paper scraps like papier mache (I did most of this).  Once it dried we painted stripes, stuck on windows with faces, did head lights, made wheels out of foil covered bottle tops and decorated with stickers.  You can see that new dolly quite enjoyed it.

We stayed the night at my parents so that they could babysit while we went to the movies.  We saw Woody Allen's To Rome with Love.  Occasionally quite silly, it was lots of fun with a great ensemble cast and spectacular photography of Rome.  And above is the view I woke up to in the morning.

Sylvia meanwhile had a lovely time with her cousin Dash who is staying at my folks' house too.  What's not to love about playing with a gorgeous little boy her age and helping her grandmother make cupcakes!  We had a lovely Chinese lunch for Dave's birthday.  I am usually suspicious of Chinese takeaway but I had some great vegies in black bean sauce and my sister Susie made a lovely fried rice.

Now for some esoteric random notes:

• I found a new blog this week called type:melbourne.  It is photographs and reflections on historic signage in Melbourne's inner North.  I highly recommend a visit if you love seeing faded old painted advertisements on the sides of terrace houses.
• One of my favourite place names in Edinburgh was a tartan tat gift shop called Thistle Do Nicely.  I was sad this week to discover it has closed.
• I have had a couple of nice Japanese lunches recently but haven't taken my camera along.  However I must return to cibi and Bento King who both provided well for vegetarians.
• Ignoring the inbox - a new morning mantra - this is what I should do but I always like to look at emails first thing!

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: PPN hurry up pumpkin alfredo with pea and lentil salad
Two years ago: Butterfly birthday cake
Three years ago: Polenta Pizza People
Four years ago: A cool week of casseroles
Five years ago: Swinging Pancakes

Chocolate almond and coconut balls
Adapted from Bite Sized Thoughts

1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup maple syrup (I used half maple syrup, half golden syrup)
1 cup dessicated coconut (I only had 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup cocoa

Mix and roll into walnut sized balls.  Eat!

On the Stereo:
Astor Piazzolla Boxset

Easy tomato pasta, quinoa salad and vale Presto Pasta Nights

When I started blogging over 5 years ago I had pasta fatigue.  I had cooked pasta as a quick meal so often as a quick meal that I wasn't that enthused by the stuff.  Quick meals often meant lots of carbs and not many vegetables. Early on in my blogging I discovered Presto Pasta Nights (PPN), an event hosted by the lovely Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.  Her enthusiasm for pasta reignited a spark for me.

Week after week I would visit the round up (ie list) of bloggers' pasta offerings and always find something I really really really wanted to cook.  So many beautiful photos, delicious dishes and great ideas.  It really opened up my mind to lots of different approaches to pasta.  

These days I cook pasta less but when I do it is full of vegetables either in the pasta or on the side and I really love it.  A quick count turned up 57 pasta recipes on this blog.  Most of these have been sent in to the PPN round ups.  So I was really sad to read that PPN #290, hosted by Ruth, is the last ever week of the event.

I dug out a pasta recipe that I had meant to post last month and never got around to.  Two recipes actually.  Both from Robin Robertson's Quick-Fix Vegetarian.  A great way to illustrate just why I love blog events so much.  Not only are they a great way of discovering other interesting recipes and blogs, but the people who host are wonderfully generous.

This book was actually won in another blog event, My Legume Love Affair that is coordinated by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook.  Susan is another warm and welcoming presence in the blogosphere.  When I won, she found a book she thought I might like.  Like many new cookbooks, it took a while to dive in but once I did I have been impressed by how quick these recipes are.  They have really made life easier on busy nights.

So here are a couple of recipes from the book.  A fast tomato sauce for pasta with enough proteins and greens to please me.  I made it a bit slower by adding fried onions and mushroom, and I didn't have quite as much spinach as the recipe called for.  Yet the sundried tomatoes made the sauce really rich and satisfying without much cooking.  I served it with a simple salad and some vegan parmesan.  The quinoa salad was also great with the sweet apple and buttery walnuts.  It was on the slightly bitter side - perhaps as a result of not rinsing the quinoa - but delicious when served with the tomato pasta and corn on the cob.

So I encourage you to send Ruth a pasta dish (by Thursday 15 November) to send off Presto Pasta Nights with a bang.  And to all those who are not familiar with the event, if you ever are struggling for inspiration with pasta, just visit the Presto Pasta Nights archive to find links to round ups that will get your creative juices flowing.  A big thanks to both Ruth and Susan for all their hard work and inspiration.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Vegan nutella fudge for eat.drink.picnic
Two years ago: NCR: Quinoa Soup and Archeology
Three years ago: PPN Sausages Pasta, Garden and Global Warming
Four years ago: NCR Pumpkin and Tofu Laksa
Five years ago: Novelty Cakes from the Archives

Pasta with chickpeas, baby spinach and sun-dried tomatoes
Adapted from Quick Fix Vegetarian by Robin Robertson
Serves 4

about 3-400g dried pasta shapes
slurp of olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 large button mushroom, diced
3 cloves garlic
1x 400g tin diced tomatoes
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup chopped sundried tomatos in oil
few handfuls of baby spinach (recipes said 300g but I didn't have enough)
drizzle each of maple syrup and worcestershire sauce
pinch fresh lavender salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook pasta for about 10 minutes or according to directions on the packet.  Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile fry onion and mushroom about 5 to 10 minutes until soft.  Add garlic and cook about 1 minute.  Add diced tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, maple syrup, salt, spinach and chickpeas.  Check and adjust seasoning.  Cook for 5 minutes.

Stir sauce through drained pasta and serve.

Quinoa salad with asparagus, walnuts and apple
Adapted from Quick Fix Vegetarian by Robin Robertson
Serves 4

1 cup dried quinoa
2 cups stock
splash of olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 chopped apple
1 bunch of asparagus
150g baby spinach, roughly chopped
add quinoa
seasoning and lemon juice to serve

Cook quinoa in stock for approximately 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed.  (My quiona was a little soggy after this time so I removed it from the heat and left it for a while with the lid on to absorb more water.)

Fry shallot and walnuts in a splash of olive oil for about 2 minutes or until fragrant.  Add apple and asparagus and fry about 2 minutes further.  Stir in spinach and cooked quinoa.  Season to taste and squeeze in some lemon juice, if desired.  Serve warm.

On the Stereo:
The Rip Tide: Beirut