Posts Tagged ‘Easy’

Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

Posted 9 Jan, 2011 in Condiments [ 3 Comments ]

I’ve been a bit lazy over the last week and I’ve been buying my lunch every day. Lucky for me, there is a cool salad bar near my work where you can make your own salad with a selection of greens, veggies, and dressing. My favorite dressing from there is the basil and olive oil dressing.

This recipe for Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette is a take on Jamie Oliver’s recipe. It’s not quite the same as the dressing from the salad bar as it contains balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar gives it a nice tang while the fresh basil adds a different layer of flavor.

So in my lunch box for tomorrow is a salad made of red capsicum, grated carrots, red onion, avocado, baby spinach leaves, leftover roast beef, and of course the Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette.

To save time, I always make two salads at a time so that I don’t have to make lunch the next day. If you layer the salad in the lunch container with the meat and vegetables at the bottom and the spinach greens on the top, the salad will stay fresh for 2 days. I take the avocado and the dressing separately and add them to the salad just before eating. I also got a cheap piece of roast beef from the butcher and slow roasted it this morning in the dutch oven to use as salad meat for the week.

A little bit of planning will save me $50 this week which is what I would have spent buying my lunch.

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Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 clove garlic
1 cup basil
6 tbs olive oil
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

  1. Process all ingredients in a food processor or blender.
  2. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.

Makes 1/3 cup.

Sage and Garlic Stuffed Pumpkin

Posted 4 Jan, 2011 in Main Course [ 1 Comment ]

Sometimes you need a break to recharge and recalibrate. I’ve been on hiatus from this website as I’ve just been mad busy. Really, Christmas and New Years comes around once a year and they are only two days out of the year. But the lead up to it is always so long and so hectic, it’s like the world is going to end.

My work and personal life has been pretty full with parties, meetings and lunches. For New Years, I went to Raglan for 4 days with a group of friends. I even jumped off the Raglan footbridge straight into the water. So much fun. I’m back at work tomorrow but well rested and ready for new challenges.

Now onto the food. I have been cooking and making lots of food. I just haven’t been blogging about it. I can’t say that I have been very strict with the Paleo diet but I have no regrets. For the most part, I have been sticking to the basics of meat and veggies. This recipe for Sage and Garlic Stuffed Pumpkin is super easy to make and also super filling. The pumpkin goes all gooey inside as it cooks with the meat.

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Sage and Garlic stuffed Pumpkin

1 buttercup pumpkin
400 grams beef mince
8 sage leaves finely chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 white onion chopped
1 tbs butter
salt and pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 175°C
  2. Cut the top of the pumpkin using a knife.
  3. Scoop out the seeds and the inside.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix the mince meat, sage, garlic and onion.
  5. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. Stuff the pumpkin with the meat mixture.
  7. Take the butter and rub around the outside and the top of the pumpkin.
  8. Bake in the oven for 1 hour.
  9. Remove and drain the juices from the mince.
  10. Continue baking in the oven for another 1/2 an hour until done.

Serves 4.

Cheats Deviled Eggs

Posted 7 Nov, 2010 in Breakfast [ 1 Comment ]

I’m on a mission to minimize the stress in my life. As part of this decision, I have decided to sell my 49cc scooter and commute to work on the train. Riding a scooter is pretty cool, but it’s also an incredibly stressful way to commute to work, especially when you’re riding in the same lane as buses. And it sucks even more when it’s raining outside.

I’ve been on the train for the last 3 weeks and it’s pretty awesome in that I can just sit there for half and hour listening to music or my favorite podcasts. I’m also walking more as it takes about 10 minutes to get to the train station and then another 1o minutes when I get off the train to my work. It works out to about 40 minutes of extra walking a day. Pretty cool way to add some incidental exercise to my week.

The only drawback to the train is that it only arrives every half an hour meaning that I am on a tight schedule in the mornings to get to work on time. Breakfast at home is no longer an option and I have to get creative about breakfast on the go. I am going back to the basics and focusing more on meat, vegetables, fat, and a little bit of fruit in my diet. I do love baking with almond flour and coconut flour but these should be occasional treats rather than daily indulgences.

Boiled eggs have been my go-to snack for a long time. But it can get quite boring. So I started making these Cheats Devilled Eggs. I’m using store bought pesto and avocado instead of the classic version which uses mayonnaise. I have no issues taking shortcuts as saving time is another way to minimize the stress in my life. These eggs keep well in the fridge when wrapped and stored properly. I use a square glass container that perfectly fits 6 egg halves.

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Cheats Deviled Eggs

6 hardboiled eggs (cooled and peeled)
3 tbs avocado
3 tbs store bought pesto
salt and pepper

  1. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise.
  2. Gently scoop out the cooked yokes into a bowl.
  3. Mash the yokes with the avocado and pesto.
  4. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Add the mixture back to the egg white halves.
  6. Store in a glass

Makes 12 pieces.

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