Potatoes: Is there anything they can't do?

Seriously, I am a girl who loves her vegetables in all their shapes and sizes, from artichokes and asparagus to zucchini and ... zucchini flowers. But the humble spud may just be my king in the kitchen. You can have them mashed, roasted, steamed, pureed in a soup, made into vegetable patties and even wrapped in foil and baked over a campfire! 

One of my go to snacks (and sometimes dinner when just can't be bothered 'adulting') is a quick and easy batch of baked potato wedges. Sometimes I get fancy and throw a sweet potato in there too but only when I'm feeling super pretentious and watching home reno shows while agreeing with the neutral colour palette of that wealthy couples new open plan lounge. But I digress.

So, I am sharing with you all today my favourite quick and easy recipe for oven baked potato wedges which you can be shovelling into your face holes in less than 1/2 an hour! Flavoured with simple salt and pepper and sprigs of fresh rosemary, the crispy potato goodness gets to shine through with just enough flavour to give it a delightful kick! Obviously you could douse your cut wedges in whatever spice and herb blends you want but generally I like the stick with the old 'less is more' principle.  

You're welcome fellow potato-fiends! You're welcome. 

Baked Potato and Rosemary Wedges

~5 medium/large potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
4 sprigs fresh rosemary



Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Cut your potatoes into wedges as thick or thin as you like (if you're hungry and want them to cook faster then go the thin option!) and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper then toss your rosemary sprigs into the mix and toss to make sure each wedge is covered in the spiced oil.

Bake for ~20 to 30 minutes (depending on your oven and how thick or thin your wedges are), turning and tossing occasionally until the potato is cooked all the way through and the outside has browned and crisped up.

Enjoy!

Choc-Mint Nice Cream!

  

 Well hi there! I hope your having as good a weekend as I am! Oh wait, your can't possibly be because unlike myself you haven't been enjoying this summery delight!

It's Choc-Mint Nice Cream y'all!

Now I have posted about banana ice cream (a.k.a 'nice cream') before (check it out!) but this time I decided to mix it up a bit and add one of my sister's all time flavour combos to the equation. The result, the perfect treat to munch through on this glorious spring day.

 FYI I decided to top mine with a drizzle of raw chocolate sauce (simple mix of cacao, melted coconut oil and maple syrup) and some crumbed chocolate 'biscuits' (process some walnuts, dates, oats, cacao and maple syrup then shape into flat disks and bake or dehydrate until just crisp on the outside).

But now, on to the star of the show....

Choc Mint Nice Cream

4 small bananas 

Dash of milk (almond, dairy, soy, whatever!)

3 tsp Stevia (or your preferred sweetener)

2 tsp vanilla

Small bunch of mint, roughly torn up

3 tbsp cacao 

Start by slicing your bananas and placing them in a single layer in a zip lock bag. Freeze overnight or at least until fully frozen. 

Pop your frozen banana slices into a food processor with a small splash of your chosen milk and blend until it looks like soft serve. add the sweetener and vanilla and process again to combine. 

 

Split your banana mix in half and stick one half back into the food processor with the mint. Process the other half of the blended banana with the cacao until totally combined. 

Voila! If necessary you can stick your two mixes into plastic containers and freeze until they firm up to your liking or just alternate dollops of your nice cream into a hip-tastic mason jar and enjoy on the spot!   

 

 

What's this? Where am I? Oh that's right, I once had a blog that used to post photos of food.... and yeah mostly just food on.

Well it has been an incredibly long time between posts but I am back with... *pause for drum roll*... SUPER EASY KALE CHIPS!

Yes kale chips, the darling snack of vegans, health nuts and hipsters everywhere which give you the perfect crunchy sound effect to slightly annoy everyone else in the movie/lecture/library/other generic quiet location, while at the same time being packed full of flavour, iron and fibre!

Did I mention they are super low in fat? No? Surprise! Yay for health benefits!

Now there are literally (not literally) a bazillion different recipes out there for kale chips, so I thought I would stick with the quickest and super easiest (title reference check) version you can whip up with very little forethought. You can literally walk in the door after a day at work and be munching on these babies in less than 20 minutes!

Annnnddddddd here's how:

Ingredients:

 

A bunch of fresh kale
3 tbsp olive oil (or coconut or whatever type you like!)
Large pinch each of sea salt and ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like fire in your mouth)
1/2 tsp each of ground turmeric and paprika
2 tsp ground cumin

**You can really use whatever spices you like and/or have on hand, I just happen to like this combo!
 
  
Wash your kale leaves and dry well. Strip the leaves from the stalks and spread out over a couple of baking trays lined with baking paper, making sure they are in a single layer and not overlapping to much.

Pour the oil evenly over the leaves and use your hands to rub it in, making sure the leaves are well covered. In a small bowl combine the remaining ingredients and then rub this spice mix into the leaves. 

Bake at 150 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes or until the leaves are crispy and smell aromatic but haven't started to brown. 

Remove, allow to cool to a temperature accommodating to the human tongue and enjoy!

  

 

 

Let the Rawsome Roll On!

So not 24 hours ago I posted a recipe for some Rawsome Bliss Balls and after receiving many positive comments I decided to keep the health ball rolling (see what I did there!).

As it so happens my sister is flying out for work tomorrow and was after some healthy snack ideas to take away with her. Cue an excited me! I raided my kitchen for whatever nuts and fruits I had lying around and upon spying my bottles of rose and orange-blossom water, decided we were taking a trip to the Middle East (or at least in that general flavour-inspired direction!).

Here are a couple of new flavour combinations I came up with which are both delicious but are also  raw, so all you Rawsome people rejoice!

Wow. These terrible puns are making even me want to punch myself...

Figgy-Orange Bliss Balls

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Pitted Dates
4 Dried Figs
1/2 cup Dried Apricots 
1/2 cup Pistachios 
1 tsp Orange-Blossom Water 

Method:

Blitz all the ingredients in a food processor until well chopped. Mould into small, walnut sized balls with your hands and refrigerate until firm. 



 

Apricot and Coconut Bliss Balls

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Dried Apricots 
1 cup Cashews
1/4 cup Dessicated Coconut, plus extra to roll in
1 tsp Rose Water
1/2 tsp Orange-Blossom Water 

Method:

Blitz all the ingredients in a food processor until well chopped. Mould into small, walnut sized balls with your hands, roll them in extra coconut

and refrigerate until firm.