Pumpkin Chocolate Brownie

I was browsing on the Yummly app one afternoon and came across a pumpkin chocolate muffin which intrigued me because I know how yummy chocolate zucchini cake is. So, I did some more searching around and found this Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Brownie that I wanted to try. Lucky me I had some pumpkin in the fridge that needed to be used! A super easy, super delicious, and not so naughty brownie.

So here is the recipe with a few changes of my own, after reading a few other similar recipes:

(adapted from this recipe)

You'll Need:

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1/2 cup white (or plain, all purpose flour, pastry, spelt, or even oat flour)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder 
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2c brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (or canned pumpkin or pureed sweet potato) 
• 3 tbsp oil (You can omit, but be warned: the brownies will be gummy) 
• 2 tbsp milk of choice 
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract 
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional) 

How To:

1. Make your own fresh pumpkin puree, further instructions here. 
2. Combine dry ingredients, and mix very well. 
3. Combine wet ingredients, then mix into dry.
4. Pour into a greased pan (it will fill up half an 8×8).
5. If you have left over pumpkin puree, put a few spoonfuls on the top and swirl it around.
6. Cook for about 23 minutes at 330 F (170 C) or until a tooth pick comes out clean when you poke the middle.

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Recipe Share: "Melt In Your Mouth Kale Salad"

I just wanted to quickly share with you a great recipe I found while searching for some kale salad inspiration. It's yummy and it's super easy to make!

Skip the kale massage, and pull out your food processor.

This "Melt In Your Mouth Kale Salad" by Food Babe is a hit with those that I've made it for. Even the boyfriend highly rates it! So try it out and let me know how much you like it.

Recipe as follows:
Melt In Your Mouth Kale Salad 
 Prep time 10 mins | Total time 10 mins

Author: Food Babe
Serves: 2

You'll need: 

• 1 bunch of lacinato or dinosaur kale, stems removed, rinsed and patted dry 
• ⅓ cup currants, or chopped raisins (I left these out since I don't really like raisins)
• juice of one lemon 
• 1 tbsp of olive oil 
• 1 tsp local honey (adjust to your liking)
• ½ cup pine nuts toasted salt and pepper to taste 
• 4 tbsp grated raw parmesan cheese 

How to: 

1. In a food processor, process kale into small chopped pieces
2. To make dressing, stir lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper together in a large bowl 
3. Add chopped kale, currants, pine nuts and parmesan to bowl with dressing 
4. Stir all ingredients together and serve 
5. (Optional – Save some pine nuts and/or parmesan cheese for top of salad before serving for presentation purposes) 

Notes **Choose all organic ingredients if possible**

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Parsley, Mint, Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad

From Leftovers to Newovers: I had some mint, parsley and quinoa in the fridge and started searching online for some recipe inspiration which used these ingredients. I found this great Parsley, Mint and Quinoa Salad recipe by Martha Stewart which I experimented with by adding some other ingredients to the recipe.

I just love it! It's so refreshing with the mint and lemon. It was one of the dishes I made for Shane's 30th back in April and finally got around to posting the recipe for it. Great on it's own, side salad or with pita!

Parsley, Mint, Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad
(adapted from this recipe)
Makes about 6 servings.

You'll need:

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 2 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves finely chopped 
• 2 cups mint leaves finely chopped 
• 1-2 cucumbers diced
• 1-2 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 green onions chopped
• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa (from about 1/2 cup dry) 
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus fresh lemon juice 
• Extra-virgin olive oil 
• Coarse salt 

How to:

1. Cook quinoa ahead of time and let it cool down completely. (Here is a great recipe on how to cook perfect quinoa every time)
2. Preheat oven to 180ºC (about 365ºF). Peal and dice the sweet potato. In a bowl, drizzle a bit of olive oil and toss to lightly coat. Spread the diced sweet potato on to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Bake for about 15 to 25 minutes and turning them over half way through.
3. Combine chopped parsley, mint, cucumber, garlic, green onions, cooled quinoa, in a large bowl.
4. Mix in a juice of a lemon, lemon zest, olive oil and a touch of salt and mix it all together
5. Once the sweet potato is out of the oven and cooled, mix it in with the salad.
6. Serve as the main dish, a side salad or with toasted pitas.

Optional: Serve with pita

• 3 whole-wheat pitas (or tortilla, which is what I had in my pantry at the time) - heat up pitas or tortillas, until toasted, on a sandwich grill or under the broiler in the oven. Cut into wedges.
• In a bowl, a couple spoonfuls of greek yogurt with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes, salt and olive oil.

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Chocolate Cake with Zucchini?? Yum!!

I've always wanted to try and make a chocolate zucchini cake. And when I had a bunch of zucchini kicking around in my fridge, I decided to give it a try. I found a recipe with high ratings on All Recipes, read some of the reviews and after a few of my own modifications, it was time to start baking!

To my surprise, the cake turned out perfectly! It was absolutely moist and chocolatey and I didn't feel as guilty having a piece.. or two (with all that zucchini and some of the modifications to try and make it semi-healthy haha). The original recipe uses 1-1/2 cups of vegetable oil and 2 cups of sugar!! Yikes! So, I swapped a cup of oil for plain fat-free yogurt (some reviewers used apple sauce), to cut down the fat, and cut out 1 cup of sugar.

The second time I made it, was for Shane's 30th birthday party (kept the decorating to a minimal, as you can see (but it probably was because I iced the cake after a few drinks - during the party lol). Anyway, those that had a piece said they really liked it so yay!

I totally forgot to take a good photo of a the finished product and a slice of cake, but I'm sure you all know what a moist, chocolate cake looks like!

So, here is my version of a Chocolate Zucchini Cake:
(adapted from this recipe)

Prep Time: 15 | Cook Time: 50 min | Servings: 24

You'll need:

• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 2/3 unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup + 1 tbsp plain/greek yogurt
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

How to:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2) In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt. Add the eggs and oil, yogurt, vanilla, mix well. Fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.

3) Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting with your favorite frosting.

Note: This cake freezes really well. Wrap tightly with aluminium foil then plastic freezer wrap or place in a heavy-duty freezer bag. It stores for 4-6 months.  

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What to do with leftover chorizos?

I know, it's been a few weeks since my last post! I've just been a bit busy with one thing after another. We went to Thailand for 10 days at the end of March, then it was a last minute birthday party for Shane and I (as we share the same birthday - April 16), then we had to find a new place to rent (with our lease ending and the owners wanting to renovate), pack up and move (five flights of stairs because the elevator was being serviced), unpack, settle in, Anzac Day (Australia's Memorial Day), a music festival and then me getting sick for the last few days, which brings me to now. *phew* Happy to say I'm nearly feeling back to my self.. about 80% there.

So in the midst of all the ness for the month of April, comes a new post. We had a bunch of chorizos leftover from our birthday party, which didn't get cooked up. I tried to come up with something to use them up with what little ingredients we had in the new place, having just after moved in. We were so busy we didn't even get a chance to go grocery shopping that week.

What did I come up with? Chorizos and Baked Beans on Brown Rice! Kind of 'student' / I'm-too-poor meal but it works quite nicely. It had a similar texture to risotto. Then the next day we made Slow Cooked Chorizo & Quinoa Chilli (aka Chilli Con Carne). That very well covered the meals for the rest of the week until grocery day. Yay!

And here's another - From Leftovers to Newovers: 

Chorizos and Baked Beans on Brown Rice

You'll need:

• 2 chorizos, chopped up in quarters
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 can of baked beans in tomato sauce
• ketchup (tomato paste), optional
• salt & pepper
• brown rice
• green onions, chopped, garnish

How to:

1. Cook your rice according to the directions on the rice package, either on a stove or rice cooker.
2. While the rice is cooking, in a medium sauce pan, heat up a bit of olive oil on medium heat and saute the onions until soft softened.
3. Add in the chopped chorizos and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add can of baked beans (more/less depending on your preference). Add a squeeze of ketchup for more tomato flavour (or tomato paste if you have it - optional). Cook until it starts to bubble. Turn off and remove from heat. 
5. Salt and pepper to taste. 
6. Serve over brown rice and garnish with green onions.

It had the texture of risotto which I really enjoyed! Such a cheap and delicious meal!

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Slow Cooked Chorizo & Quinoa Chilli

Oops, I forgot to take photos of it mixed up and served!

You'll need:

• 3-4 chorizos, chopped in quarters
• 1 cup of quinoa
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can of red kidney beans
• 1 packet of chilli (chilli con carne) mix
• 2 cups of water
• chilli powder, optional for more spice
• shredded cheese, garnish, optional

How to:

1. In your slow cooker, add onions, chorizo, kidney beans including bean liquid, quinoa, chilli mix, 2 cups of water.
2. Set it on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for 4 to 6 hours.
3. Once it's done it should look like the above photo. It looks like the quinoa didn't cook but when you mix it all you'll see the yummy cooked quinoa under that top layer. 

I found ours to be a bit on the thick side so I added a bit more water (or stock if you have it). It was really tasty but a bit strong in chorizo flavour so, personally, I couldn't have a big bowl of it.

A few ways to serve this yummy chilli:

1. As is, in a bowl, with cheese sprinkled on top
2. On a piece of toast
3. A grilled chilli cheese sandwich (our roommate Hoffy's idea - great idea) as shown below.
4. A chilli cheese wrap
5. Over nachos

Grilled Chorizo Chilli and Cheese Sandwich with a glass of wine!

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From Leftovers to Newovers: Creamy Curried Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Soup

Now that's a mouthful! Let's hear you say that 3 time fast! Haha

Today I'm introducing a theme for my blog: 'From Leftovers to Newovers.' When I was as kid, I didn't really like eating any leftovers from the fridge. Now, I've grown to like leftovers and I enjoy finding leftovers to create 'newovers' (does that work?? It's going to be a thing I tell ya haha!). I like to try to use up all the odds and ends I find in the fridge to come up with an new dish. Whether it be a bowl of rice, half a jar of sauce, veggies that are just about to go bad, or a bowl of butter chicken, it's fun to try and figure out what you can make with it all - kind of like my very own little Master Chef challenge. Once it's cooked up, it will last a couple more days in the fridge. Unless of course it's been eaten up, which is even better!

So instead of letting stuff in the fridge go to waste, try to find ways to use it up and you might end up with something delicious and maybe even a new recipe. Trying to find ways to combine ingredients that you wouldn't normally combine, is the challenging part but also fun part because you get to be creative and experiment! It's so rewarding when you've successfully made a nice meal and knowing that you got the most out of your money and groceries.

Here's my version of a curried cauliflower soup with my leftovers, but feel free to improvise your version!

Oods and ends findings: cauliflower and half a jar of butter chicken sauce.
What I turned it into: creamy curried cauliflower and sweet potato soup!

Tip: Having a well stocked pantry (as Jamie Oliver likes to say), helps for turning odds and ends into something yummy.

Serves: 4 to 6

You'll need: 

• 1 small head of cauliflower, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium sweet potato, chopped 1 inch cubes
• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 500ml chicken/vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp curry powder, 
• butter chicken sauce (if you have it kicking around like I did, if not you can substitute with 1 tbsp of curry powder / curry paste)
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (1 tsp if you like some more heat)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 can coconut cream (optional, but recommended)
• salt & pepper to taste

How to:

1. In a large sauce pan, heat the vegetable oil on medium heat and sauté the onions until softened, about 5 minutes. If it starts to burn, add a tbsp of water.
2. Add cauliflower, sweet potato, chicken stock, spices, butter chicken sauce and if needed, add just enough water so the vegetables are just submerged. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes or until veggies are tender.
3. Once the vegetables are soft, remove from heat. Using a stick blender, purée until creamy and smooth. 
4. Return to heat and if it's too thick, thin with more stock if desired, add coconut cream (optional). Salt and pepper to taste. Heat for a few minutes until hot.
5. Ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley or cilantro. 

Tip: Alternatively you can use a light cream instead of coconut cream. The soup is pretty good with out the cream but the coconut cream and curry go so well together and gives it that extra creaminess. 

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Blueberry and Cream Cheese Wrap

A quick way to satisfy that sweet tooth! I've seen this done as a grilled sandwich but I wanted something on the lighter side. I usually get Mountain Bread for my lunch wraps but I found these new Sorj wholemeal wraps and decided to give them a try. They are quite similar to Mountain Bread wraps and are pretty tasty. I love how there are so many different options for wraps here in Australian grocery stores! Now, you could use fresh blueberries but I chose to use frozen blueberries because I would be grilling the wrap and wanted the blueberries to stay nice and cold.

You'll Need:

• frozen blueberries 
• light cream cheese (or regular)
• light wrap
• sandwich grill
• dust of icing sugar (optional)

How To:

1. Just simply spread as little or as much cream cheese to your liking
2. Add a few blueberries 
3. Dust a bit of icing sugar for an extra touch of sweetness
4. Wrap it up and grill, on medium heat, it for about 30 seconds to a minute 
5. Enjoy!

PS. This filling would totally be yum in a crepe too, might try that next time!

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Quinoa Sweet Potato Burger

I absolutely love this recipe for quinoa sweet potato cakes that I found by GenY Foodie. I was looking for ideas to make something with quinoa and sweet potatoes and Google search led me to this!

I am currently obsessed with quinoa and its versatility and I have also been having sweet potato cravings lately. So, I am thrilled to have found something that combines the two and, let me tell you, this quinoa sweet potato cake is very delicious, full flavoured and juicy. Even the boyfriend gave his 2 thumbs up knowing that it doesn't have any meat in it!

It is very filling and you can eat on its own, burger style, as a sandwich or break it up into a salad. Each cake is ONLY 164 calories (if you're counting that is)!

I chose to have it burger style:

• sandwich thins
• a dark green leafy lettuce
• sliced cucumbers
• avocado slices
• havarti cheese
• a touch of ranch dressing

And it kept me full and feeling satisfied. 

Here's the quinoa sweet potato cake recipe! Yum!!

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