We made this in my friend Jo’s Thermomix a couple of weeks ago, and I made it at home in my food processor.  The thermomix was a lot faster and didn’t create the pile of dishes I had from using the grater and food processor at home.  I have a basil plant, so am making pesto to use more of this prolific herb.

1/2 cup raw cashews (pine nuts or macadamias would be fine too)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated

2 cups basil leaves

1/2 cup olive oil

squeeze of lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Grind the cashews into small pieces.  Add basil, garlic, grated parmesan and blend.  Add the oil and squeeze of lemon juice until the texture seems right.  Serve with pasta, on crackers, on toast with cheese grilled on top…  Keeps well in fridge.

6 Chokos
2 carrots
1 onion
Fresh beans
Water
Salt, pepper and curry powder
Peel all vegetables and dice.  Place into a saucepan with enough water to just cover and boil until tender.  Add curry powder, salt and pepper to taste.  Puree to serve.

1 kg chokos
1 tablespoon white vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly crushed garlic
1 medium onion finely sliced
salt and pepper
Heat enough water with a pinch of salt in a large saucepan and boil all the chokos for about 20 minutes or until tender. Remove from boiling water and allow to cool. Peel and halve the chokos. Discard the seeds and cut into slices. Mix together the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and sliced onions. Pour over the sliced chokos and carefully mix without breaking the choko slices. This salad makes a good addition to any meal as a side dish.

1 onion
1 carrot
1/2 capsicum
1 cup green beans
440g tin pineapple pieces, with juice
1 tblspn tomato paste
2 tblspn lemon juice
2 tblspn rapadura sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tblspn tamari (soy sauce)
1 tblspn cornflour + 1/2 cup water, combined

Heat oil, saute vegies.  Add pineapple juice, tomato paste, lemon juice, sugar, tamari.  Bring to the boil and reduce heat.  Add cornflour and water mixture.  Stir until thick.  Add pineapple pieces and heat through.

500g dry lima beans

800g tin diced tomatoes

2 medium onions, chopped finely

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups hot water

2 tblspn fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp dried herbs

salt and pepper to taste

Soak the lima beans overnight.  Rinse and simmer in fresh water for 50 minutes.  Heat a little oil and saute onion.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes.  Mix with rinsed beans and place in lightly greased baking dish.  Bake uncovered at 170 degrees C for 30 minutes.

This recipe makes a lot and freezes well.  Serve with crusty bread and salad or steamed vegetables.  Very hearty!

1 medium avocado

3/4 cup water

1/2 tblspn olive oil

juice of half a lemon

3 tsp fresh herbs (1/3 tsp dried herbs)

sprinkle of salt to taste

In blender or with stick blender process avocado & water.  Add oil, herbs, salt, lemon juice.  Process until creamy.

For anyone who has been thinking of joining Simple Savings…

It currently costs $33.00 to join the Savings Vault - save $14! And it’s only $17 per year to renew.

Remember, they have a 1 year refund policy. If you aren’t completely happy with what you find in the Savings Vault, they will give you a refund without any questions asked.

The special offer goes till 11pm, Wednesday 8th April.

To order, click here.

I love April!  The autumn weather, Easter holidays, our wedding anniversary…

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lasagne sheets
500g chopped pumpkin
olive oil
medium onion, chopped
clove garlic, crushed
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup tomato paste
3/4 cup mozarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup tasty cheese, grated

Cook & mash pumpkin. Add olive oil, onion and garlic. Place a layer of pumpkin, lasagne sheets, half the ricotta… Then lasagne sheets, tomato paste, etc, etc until ingredients are used up and dish is topped with cheese.

Bake at 180 degrees C for around 35 minutes or until pasta sheets are cooked through.

*Tip* Frozen pumpkin, cooked and mashed when in season, is fine for this recipe too!

900g pumpkin, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbspn olive oil
6 eggs
1/2 cup cream
40g spinach leaves
sprinkle of parmesan & grated cheddar

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Bake pumpkin, brushed with oil and garlic, till tender. Line baking dish with paper. Whisk eggs and cream and season. Layer ingredients in dish & bake for 25 minutes.

250g butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed pumpkin
2 cups wholemeal flour + 1 tsp baking powder
250g mixed fruit of your choice, diced

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat well one at a time. Add the pumpkin, flour with baking powder and fruit. Mix well and bake at 170 degrees C or until brown on top and inserted skewer comes out clean.

*Tip*  At harvest time, boil or steam pumpkin, mash and freeze in 1-cup portions in the freezer. Then you have pumpkin for this cake (and other recipes) for months to come.

To celebrate our beautiful Autumn days, I’ve put together a prize pack!  To enter, you need to order from Spiral Garden.  The order must be over $40.00, not including postage, and received before Friday 1st May, 2009.

The prize pack includes: Autumn cotton playcloth, beeswax candle, nut baby, Farm Yard Friends Snap Cards, Sarah Laidlaw Autumn card, red medium main lesson book, Spiral Garden magnet, The Nature Corner by M v Leeuwen & J Moeskops and Lono & Coco Boato by Susan Whitehead, posted to winner’s Australian address.  Prize drawn and posted Friday 1st May, 2009.

Total value approximately $100.00.

Terms and Conditions can be found here

Good Luck and happy Autumn Equinox to you and yours!

I’ve been attempting my Buy Sustainably Challenge challenge for nearly three months now.  It’s taken me ages to get around to an update.

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I first saw this one on Simple Savings and this is our variation.  My daughter tried it last week for the WOW factor and the kids voted it as “delicious!”

4 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons rapadura sugar

2 tablespoons organic cocoa

1 large egg, beaten

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons sunflower oil

small splash natural vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.  Add the egg and mix thoroughly.  Pour in the milk, vanilla and oil, mixing again.  Put your mug into the microwave and cook on High for 3 minutes.  The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but that’s fine!  Allow to cool a little and top out onto a plate to serve.  Cream or ice-cream are optional.  It’s moist enough on its own.

Not healthy, but delish!

1/2 cup organic cocoa powder

450g icing sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup dessicated coconut

Mix cocoa and icing sugar in a microwave safe dish.  Slice butter on top.  Pour milk over but do no mix.  Cover and cook on High for 2 minutes.

Add vanilla and coconut, stir well to combine.

Pour into a greased 18cm square pan.  Chill for one hour and cut into squares.  Keep refrigerated.