Choice Kai on Tuesdays at Waltham Community Cottage

It is my intention to build up a profile of recipes that fully makes use of new ingredients that participants are being introduced too. For instance week one had us indulging in a titillating spicy Kumera soup introducing such ingredients such as green curry, coriander and fresh ginger. This is a great infusion of fresh flavours and I suspect may become a firm favourite good enough to impress friends and at a low cost especially when kumera is on special. This soup incorporates the fresh and aromatic flavours of Thailand and with its kiwi kumera influence may be an example of Pacific Rim and Eastern fusion.

Week two has us dipping back into the jar of green curry paste and clipping coriander for both recipes Green Curry in Hurry 2 min Soup and Quick Chicken Green Curry. In following weeks kumera & coriander will pop up again in a gorgeous kumera salad. Again finding a good old kiwi staple and fusing it with pacific and eastern influences that produces a meal in its self, consisting of peanuts, bananas and light lemon dressing. Yes, well you might be salivating but you will have to wait a couple of weeks for that one.

Week three will see us using up that bunch of coriander when we go to Mexico for the hot exotic flavours of freshly made salsa and guacamole ~ join us as we enjoy the explosion of Mexican. “Hola”
From Isabella

Recipes:

Bean & Pepper Feta Tart –from NZ Women’s Weekly with Robyn Martin

!/4 cup of Olive oil
1tsp of minced garlic
4 small tomatoes halved
2-3 small –med egg –plants / aubergine
pinch of sugar
Salt & pepper
Juice of 2 lemons
2tblsp Grated lemon rind
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (for dressing)

Combine the garlic with oil and brush on tomatoes season with salt & pepper and pinch of sugar.
Grill the tomatoes 10 mins under medium grill. Lay the eggplant and zucchini sliced length ways on tray and brush with oil mixture and grill until slightly charred on both sides.
Arrange all grilled veg and tomatoes on a serving platter and drizzle over dressing of the extra olive oil, lemon juice and rind.
This recipe is beautiful with smoked mussels grilled for 4 mins and added to the vegetable salad it also looks stunning. Garnish with water-cress or coriander

Smoked Potted Salmon
I have chosen to use smoked salmon today as a treat. It was also on special this week. The great thing about smoked fresh salmon is a little goes a long way. We fed 7 people for lunch with less than $5.00 worth of smoked salmon.

250gm Smoked salmon either vacuum packed oe fresh from the fish counter
1 cup of crème fraiche
juice of a lime or lemon – a little thinly sliced zest
1 small clove of garlic crushed
2 tsp of either fresh thyme leaves chives or dill

Beat together the cream cheese, crème fraiche, lime, garlic and fresh herbs. Discard the salmon skin and cut into 2cm chunks.
Mash some chunks of salmon into the mixture
Gently fold through the chunks. Put into ramekins, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.
Serve on your favourite toasted bread made into rounds or rectangles – we tried Vogels new Organic Mixed Grain

Lunch on the Wild Side

Weeds of your choice- we found young perky dandelion leaves, fat hen, cleaver, white and red clover flowers, puha, oxalis, and lemon balm.
Mint
Watercress
4 hard-boiled eggs
Lemon rind + juice
Olive oil
Cracked pepper and sea salt
Toasted sesame seeds & sunflowers – lightly toast in nonstick pan and remove to cool
· Rinse and dry all greens
· Put on dish
· Place eggs quartered
· Cut thin lemon ring strips sprinkle over salad with toasted sesame seeds
· Drizzle with 75mls olive oil & juice of lemon add sea salt
· Garnish with mint

Mushroom Delights
Mushrooms – med sized flat mushrooms
Roast capsicum
Pesto
1 egg
Crumble toasted bread 2 slices
Feta cheese
Blue brie (optional)
· Cut off bottom of stalks chop up rest put aside
· Roast capsicums under grill brushed with olive oil
· Brush mushrooms with pesto on inside
· Brush bottom mushroom with oil
· In bowl whisk egg, add mushroom stalks, bread crumbs, feta, chopped capsicum
· Spoon over mushrooms add slice of blue brie and put in pre heated mod to hot oven for 10-15mins

4 red or yellow peppers

13-14 Slices of wholegrain bread

200gms of feta cheese¼ cup olive oil (for brushing bread and peppers)

salt & black ground pepper

1) 150g green beans

– cut in half and blanch, put under cold water and put aside

2) 4 red or yellow peppers

– Roasted, cut in half, brush skin with olive oil, put on tray and put under griller skin side up. Leave until they blister and start to blacken around the edges, cool and peel skins off and cut each piece into 3 or 4.

3) 13-14 Slices of wholegrain bread

(we used Burgen Linseed & Soy) brush each slice - top and bottom with olive oil and line 20cm flan or pie dish with bread overlapping and pressing into dish.

4) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C for 45 mins or until bread is dry and crisp.

Cool and Spread with pesto over the bread casing.

5) Layer 1/2 the peppers over the pesto, then layer all the beans on top of the peppers. Lightly beat the 4 eggs with salt & black ground pepper and 1tsp paprika crumble in the 200 gms feta cheese and pour mixture over the beans.

6) Top with remaining peppers.

Bake at 180 degrees C for 20mins until just warm and feta mixture has set. Optional - scatter top with basil leaves.

This recipe has got to be the tastiest toastie around and the smell is sensational and colour glorious.

These would be great done in muffin tins for picnics, lunches or a great plate to take anywhere.

We teamed this with a yummy green salad.

Bella’s Lemony Green Salad

A bunch of Rocket lettuce or mesculin leaves wash and pat dry toss on platter
A good handful of mung beans
2 avocados
2 spring onions sliced
Roughly chopped coriander leaves and parsley
Optional sprinkle 4-5 strawberries cut in half leaving on green stalk

Dressing
– ¼ cup Olive oil, 4 lemons squeezed + 2tbls of grated lemon rind, tsp sugar, 1tsp balsamic vinegar if you have it. Mix all together and pour over salad when its time to serve.

Now you have 3 quick meals if you have these 3 basics - green curry, coconut cream and fresh veg.

The following soup is great for jazzing up 2min noodles and you are getting the added goodness of greens and good protein with either the chicken or the tofu. Sometimes I add both of the proteins and everyone can choose if they want to be meat eating or not. Whatever the choice you are choosing quality protein. Those who join the Choice Living group will recognize the organic tofu is a great choice when considering your hormones and the good estrogens provided by tofu. (I personally prefer to use organic tofu eg sprayfree and GM free)

Using a tray of chicken – skinless thigh fillets or breast fillets – either marinade before freezing or marinade just before cooking. Buy these chicken pieces on special when under $10 a kg for an economical, healthy and waste-free quality protein.
This recipe is one I caught from “Nigella Bites” series on TV.
4-6 pieces skinless chicken thighs (leave whole or cut in half)
4-5 lemons squeezed with a little grated rind added to juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin powder
3 cloves crushed garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1. Mix all ingredients in bowl.
2. Add chicken and mix around.
3. Heat pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
4. Drop chicken in as well as juice. Cook on med-high heat for 5 minutes, turning pieces.
5. Turn heat down and let chicken simmer in juice with a lid on for another 5-8 minutes.
6. Check chicken is cooked all the way through. Serve with juice from pan poured over chicken.

Vegetable Salad
This is a great way to get everyone to eat veges and lots of them with this tasty mixture of raw and just cooked vegetables.
Choose all or any of the following vegetables to blanch:
Broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, carrot

Blanching
Cut lengthwise, not too thin and drop into boiling water for 3-5 minutes.
Pour into colander while vegetables are bright green, crispy and shiny looking.
Pour cold water over them immediately and leave to drain.

Meanwhile, slice all or any of the following-:
Avocado, tomato, capsicum, spring onion, onion rings, cucumber, mushrooms,
Saving any chopped herbs for sprinkling over top.
· Use a big plate or platter and stack cooked vegetables on bottom, saving asparagus
· Poke raw vegetables around and about the others and cris-cross asparagus on the top
· Toss over the herbs

Dressing
In a jar or jug, pour ¼ cup olive oil and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (for optimum taste) or ordinary wine/white/brown vinegar, sea salt and ground pepper, chopped parsley. Add lemon or lime juice (optional).
Mix lightly together. Adjust vinegar or oil to suit your taste.
Pour over salad and serve immediately. This salad is beautiful with just slices of good bread to soak up the dressing, a baked potato with sour cream, or any meat.

“Hola”! It’s Mexican for dinner tonight!
For flaming taste buds, flashes of colour, texture and taste sensations good for your health
try Caleb’s Guacamole, Cheats Salsa and Nachos!

Guacamole 4 soft avocados
Finely chopped onion
Finely chopped tomato
1 teaspoon samba olek or sweet chilli or tabasco
Juice of 2 lemons or limes
Mash avocado and mix everything together for stunning dip.

Cheats Salsa Small jar tomato Pasta Sauce
1 teaspoon Samba olek, tabasco or chilli of your choice
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
½ cucumber, chopped
Red Spanish onion, chopped
Handful coriander, chopped roughly

1 Pile nachos on separate plates
2 Spoon through some chilli beans and grate cheese over top
3 Cook on high 2minutes in microwave or put everything in baking dish and heat on moderate oven heat until cheese has melted. (Keep an eye on corn chips – they burn quickly!)
4 When cooked, serve with sour cream and a generous dollop of guacamole and salsa.

Both guacamole and salsa are divine served with fish, steak, chicken(especially Cumin, Lemon and Chicken), baked potatoes or special breads or simply as dips with corn chips. I have also given my secret recipe for Salsa To Impress if you want a fresh sensation. Watch out, though – this stuff is addictive!!

Bunch of radishes, diced
3 tomatoes, diced
Bunch coriander, chopped roughly
1 lime, squeezed
Black olives, chopped
½ Telegraph cucumber, diced
1 tin tomatoes, chopped up
1 fresh chilli (optional)
1 teaspoon or more sambaolek
3 spring onions
1 Spanish red onion, diced

Combine everything together.
Pour over anything – it’s even great on toast for breakfast.
I told you it’s addictive!!

Green Curry n a Hurry Chicken Noodle Soup
3 packets of Maggi 2 min Chicken noodles
1tsp Green curry (John West has a little jar)
1 Can Coconut Cream
2 Spring Onions
1 bunch of Bok Choy (Chinese Green Veg) or spinach chopped roughly
Broccoli florets chopped
OPTIONAL: organic Tofu cubed or 1 chicken thigh or breast fillet (skin off)

1. Lightly fry chicken or tofu in small amount of oil (1tsp) until just cooked through
2. Boil 10 cups of water together with 2 chicken flavour sachet from the 2min noodle packs and 1tsp of green curry paste
3. Add your chosen green veg - broccoli, bok choy or spinach simmer 3mins
4. Turn up heat to high add noodles, spring onion boil for two mins and turn down and add coconut cream simmer 1min and serve
5. Optional – Sprinkle a few chopped coriander leaves over top

Quick Chicken Green Curry
(Isabella’s no fuss, it’s not authentic Thai but pretty good all the same our aim is to keep costs down)
Enough Chicken thigh/ breast skinned for family slice & dice
Green Curry 1tsp or more if you want hotter flavour less for a mild aromatic flavour; it is easy to overdo green curry so go easy, adding tiny bits at a time
1 Onion Chopped fine
1 Carrot thin sliced
Broccoli Florets chopped
Optional – Grated ginger, Cabbage or zucchini thinly sliced, mung beans thrown in at the very end for crispness

1. Lightly fry in olive, canola or sesame oil chicken and onion until chicken is golden
2. Add Vegetables
3. Add green curry
4. Add coconut cream simmer for one minute
5. Serve with coriander chopped and mung beans sprinkled over the top. This dish should come out with veggies just cooked and coconut cream just warmed.

Adrienne’s No Fail Rice
2cups of Rice
Rinse and drain twice
Cover rice with water adding at least one inch of water above rice above the rice. Bring to boil, stir with lid off. Put lid on and turn down to lowest heat and leave for 20 minutes.

5 Large Kumera (red skin)
1tsp green curry (John West) small jar in fridge keeps for ages.
1 can coconut cream (Pam’s in pink tin usually best buy)
Small piece of fresh ginger (peeled & grated)
Chopped coriander and fresh lime juice and grated lime zest (optional)

1. Peel and boil kumera until soft keeping liquid aside
2. Mash or whiz kumera, add ginger a little chopped coriander saving some for garnish, continue to whiz or mash.
3. Add coconut cream and gently stir through if the consistency is to thick add the kumera liquid or water to get the desired consistency.
4. Garnish with coriander leaves

Choice Kai

Kia ora and welcome to Choice Kai @ the Cottage

This all happens at the cottage on Tuesdays Live

after Choice Living and Chi Gong at 12 noon

Recipes:

Lunch on the Wild Side

Bella’s Lemony Green Salad