Olwen Anderson's Blog

Its a cold winters day. You want comfort food - but you don't want a big slab of fat, sugar or salt that's going to undo all your good nutrition work. 

Meet Ratatouille! Made properly, this is an unctuous stew of meditteranean vegetables that you can use in a variety of ways - even dress it up if you like. Its warming, comforting food - exactly what you want on a cold winter's day. Here's the recipe, the instructions and some suggestions for dishes to use it in.

First the ingredients:
two teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
150g brown onion - half cut in small dice, the other half in wedges
four cloves of garlic
200g red capsicum (bell pepper), chopped into thick slices
500g eggplant (eggfruit) cut into large cubes
200g zucchini cut into thick slices
175g yellow button squash cut into wedges
600g ripe red tomatoes cut however you like - it doesn't matter!

How to make it:
1. Saute the onion and garlic gently in the oil until translucent.
2. Add the rest of the vegetables
3. Simmer over a low heat for about an hour, stirring gently occasionally but not often. The vegetables will tend to soften a lot, but you want to retain some large pieces so it doesn't look like sludge.
4. Test and add salt to taste

Now its ready! How to use it:
- as a vegetable base for some char-grilled kangaroo or steamed fillet of fish
- add some cooked chickpeas, or kalamata olives
- pop a poached egg on top and enjoy for breakfast

Ratatouille doesn't seem to freeze well, so make just enough for now, and leftovers tomorrow.

Do you have any variations to share, or your favourite way to eat ratatouille? Leave your comments below!

This is one of those really-handy-to-freeze recipes that you can make in bulk on the weekend and use on a weeknight.

Its a great base for BBQ'd meat (I like it under kangaroo fillets or char-grilled chicken). 

A nice addition is some freshly steamed greens (e.g asparagus, broccoli, snow peas) to make a complete healthy meal real fast. Actually, its a good idea to add some brightly coloured elements to the plate as the lentil stew itself can appear a little grey without them - not very appetising!

Here's the recipe for the whole batch, which will make 5-6 serves

Ingredients: 
1/2 brown onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced finely
one litre of chicken stock
1 bay leaf
375g packet of green lentils.  You can use standard green lentils with their enticing peppery scent, or the french-style smaller green lentils that have a brighter colour. Both types hold their shape well in cooking.

Method: 
1. Saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until softened, not browned
2. Add the carrots, celery, lentils, chicken stock and bay leaf
3. Bring to a simmer and leave simmering for 20-30 minutes. The lentils will become soft but not mushy, and will soak up all the chicken stock. Keep an eye on the pot as it cooks to make sure it doesn't dry out.
4. You're ready. Enjoy!

Did you try the recipe? Got any variations you'd like to share with us? Leave your comment below!

Got home late, ravenously hungry but don't want to spend even 15 minutes cooking dinner? Here's a super fast meal for busy people:

1. Put the kettle on and half fill your soup bowl or large cup with boiling water.

2. Stir in one tablespoon of miso paste

3. Use scissors to snip in some dried seaweed (the same type as is wrapped around sushi; you can buy it at your health food store. It keeps forever in the pantry, and it’s a great source of iodine.

4. If you've got some firm tofu on hand, stir in a few small pieces

5. Top up the bowl with more boiling water and stir gently to mix.

If you've got a little more time……

6. Put the water and miso paste in a saucepan first.

7. Add a 100g portion of raw firm white-fleshed fish, cut into chunks. Snapper is ideal (Tip: Keep portion sizes of fish in tiny containers in your freezer – they thaw quickly. Or if you're a little more organised, take your portion out of the freezer the night before and let it thaw slowly in the fridge.

8. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.

9. Add the dried seaweed, and tofu too if you want.

Fast, healthy food!  Enjoy!

P.S. Any 'optional extras' for this soup that you'd like to share with us? Leave your comments below...

The other day I was writing about how to use protein powders in a smoothie. Its better to avoid flavoured protein powders, as they may contain artificial flavours. But how can you get a nice vanilla flavour in your smoothie?

If you're browsing in an Australian newsagent this week, and you want to discover some more delicious legume recipes, pick up a copy of 'Australian Gourmet Traveller', October 2009 edition. It has a Spanish theme, and spanish food includes plenty of legumes. Chick peas seem to make a frequent appearance through their pages

An emerging trend in smoothie recipes is the 'green smoothie' Yes, it really is green, but it doesn't taste weird.

This is one of those great fast, one pot meals. I've adapted this from one of Donna Hay's recipes (you can see more of Donna's recipes here) It works fantastically with lamb, but I tried it with kangaroo too - the only difference is that its important to let the kangaroo rest for 5 minutes before you serve it. I just take the pan off the heat and put it to one side with a lid on it.

Its Sunday, and yes, I've been experimenting with food again. Today I tried cooking Kangaroo Fillets for the first time, to have in a salad. Here's the method, gets great results.