The Fremantle Nutritionist

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone.

This is the first time I’ve managed to successfully make hot cross buns. I used the recipe from a Greek chef I was recommended by my landlady. They were delicious.

And the good thing is it’s actually Greek Orthodox Easter next weekend so I can make them again. YUM.

Been a while between posts. Where does the time go?
This was tea last night. Crispy zucchini, roasted tomatoes and chickpeas and garlic bread.
Glass of wine an optional extra x

How I love the Mediterranean diet.

Instructions in the comments.

It must be the weekend… pancakes for breakfast before we head to the market.

A great breakfast option over the Christmas break.

I make them with half wholemeal flour, less sugar (but still some so the pancakes are crispy) and oil instead of butter. (Recipe on page).

Served today with Greek yoghurt and blueberries 🫐

What is your favourite topping?

Weekend cooking vibes.

My first attempt at Avgolemono Greek chicken soup turned out more risotto like as I put in a little too much rice. But was delicious. Thanks for the suggestion Susie. I will keep practicing.

Roasted whole cauliflower and broccoli. The broccoli was bigger than the cauliflower but took the same time to cook. Both brushed with butter/oil and herbs & spices.

Chocolate orange cake baked in my new cake tin. Looks fancy…

What did you cook or eat out at the weekend?

Ready for a new week ahead xx

What’s not to love about frozen veg. Good to have in your freezer for a rainy day or a time poor day.

Last night I added frozen peas to my risotto as an extra veg.
And the other day I added the Mexican veg to my fish wraps. I’ve never had Mexican veg before, which was veg with Mexican spices. Not a bad idea.

Always good to add extra veggies to your diet. They are nutrient dense, full of vitamins and minerals and help keep you regular.

What happened to the leeks? Thanks for the suggestions…

Dish 1 - leek and chicken risotto
Dish 2&3 - leek bruschetta (one at home with mushrooms and tomato & one to take to our landlords for drinks)
Dish 4 - leek & potato soup
Dish 5 - the base of a veggie/lentil dish.

It’s a versatile veggie….

Yesterday we plucked up the courage & bought a whole fish. Bit of background is that white fish here are sold mainly whole. We’ve been thinking about it for a while as neither of us have filleted a fish before….
However, thanks to YouTube we had instructions and it was a success. The fillets we got were not the biggest and I’m sure we can be a bit more thorough next time but we used the rest to make stock (using one of last week’s leeks).
We made fish wraps and if we do say so ourselves they were delicious 😋.
Fish recipes to follow…

What’s your favourite fish recipe?

Happy 21st birthday to my favourite daughter. I miss our livestreams together. Hope you have a great day with your brother, welcome back to Oz & enjoy the yummy 🧁 🧁. (Thanks for fetching her from the airport Amelia)

The joy of language barriers. We ended up with lots of leeks as we couldn’t work out how to get only one! Many leek recipes this week. Suggestions welcome.
We also bought so much that we stopped to buy a trolley to pull it up the hill home 😀

I was like a kid in a sweetie shop when we pulled up at this roadside stall. The mandarins were delicious and the stall holder was trying to teach me the names of the fruit in Greek. I remember ‘mandarini’. 🍊and lemoni 🍋 😀
We also bought some delicious fresh walnuts.

This week I have been lucky enough to be in Athens so no cooking for me which I actually did miss!
Here is a selection of the yummy foods I’ve eaten: a koulouri sandwich, with feta, tomato and olive Tapenade; beautifully cooked fish; dolmades (stuffed vine leaves); grilled halloumi and cheese crusted zucchini.
Challenge for next week is to replicate the zucchini and to try to learn how to fillet a fish! Looks easy on you tube 😀. Watch this space for bloopers….

Today was a trip to the baker for all fine baked goods.
Started with croissants (not Greek!) complete with chocolate spread inside that we did not know was there. We did not need 1 each!
Then was traditional Greek koulouri for lunch with pan fried aubergine and feta. Am a big fan of koulouri (and aubergine). We think a cross between a bagel & a pretzel. Delicious

Avocados are cheap right now in Australia and if mashed they add a creamy texture to a sauce.

Last night was ‘green’ night. I decided to use the green veg in the fridge.
I fried up 1/2 a leek, added garlic & sliced Brussel sprouts, cooked until they had softened a little. Meanwhile I cooked potatoes for gnocchi as added some broccoli to cook it a little. Added the broccoli to the sauce with a mashed avocado for creaminess and a couple of tbsps of green basil pesto. Seasoning Ned and topped with fresh basil.
The gnocchi didn’t materialise as we were hungry so we just served it with the potatoes and a little grated cheese.

What’s your favourite green veg? Mine has to be Brussel sprouts 😀

Here’s one for you Sarah and Mhairi… aubergine/eggplant bruschetta
I took 1 aubergine & sliced about 1.5cm thick, drizzled with olive oil, seasoned & added a chopped garlic clove & chilli flakes, then I lightly fried it in the olive oil & added some extra (my pan is not very non-stick). I cooked it til it was a little squishy, then removed from the pan & squished it up with some feta cheese. It was served on crisped up bread with olive oil & garlic rubbed over it.
So delicious.
I also made tomato/feta bruschetta in case I didn’t like the aubergine! And mushrooms as mark bought a lot & they had to be used up.

Greetings from Greece. Yes I have been lucky enough to move to Greece.
Below are a few purchases from the local weekend food market (you could buy clothes too).
We just popped down for some chili olives (the bag in the bottom left but we bought a bit more as I was excited to see so many wonderful fruits & veg. I clearly forgot about the walk home up the hill!
Hopefully it will become a regular Saturday trip.

I’ve always been a big fan of the Mediterranean diet so now I get to live the dream for a bit and share ideas with you.

More food adventures to follow.

Freshly made Som Tum (papaya salad) for dinner. Made with turnip though not papaya as that’s hard to get.
Relatively easy to made & just took a few minutes.
Normally eaten with sticky rice but I was too hungry to wait for it to cook 😀
Used a recipe from this book from when we did a cooking course in Bangkok.
Bashed garlic & chilli together added chopped green beans, brown sugar, and continued to crush. Added lemon juice, fish sauce & chopped tomatoes and crushed a little more. Finally stirred in grated carrot & turnip.
Simply delicious. Glad I’ve got more of the ingredients left for some more tomorrow

It’s been a while. Who knew doing a masters at uni was so much work?!
Anyhow. Jono and I made some ravioli tonight and I thought I’d share some photos.
It had roasted veg and cream cheese filling and was in a simple tomato sauce.
We still need to work on sizing of each ravioli but it tasted mighty fine and there is enough to last a couple of days.

What’s your favourite ravioli filling?

I shall call this ‘PIZZA PASTA’. I cooked some pasta and stirred in last night leftover pizza sauce, grated cheese and chopped salami. Also stirred in half a bag of spinach and topped with a little of the cheese. Then I baked for about 15 mins until crispy on the top. Quite delicious.

I love a bargain and the opportunity to buy non-perfect fruit that would otherwise end up in the bin. Misshaped mandarins 🍊are really delicious and nice and cheap. Look out for less than perfect fruit & veg at your supermarket or for bargains at the fruit & veg shop. I also quite like awkward avocados 🥑 when they’re in stock!

Oven roasted garlic Cauliflower

1 whole cauliflower, cut stem out to sit flat
I tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Finely dice 1-2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp parsley
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper

Mix oil & butter, garlic, herbs & spices together
Brush over the cauliflower inside & out
Place on a tray with 2 squashed garlic cloves underneath (optional extra garlic)
Bake, covered in tin foil for about an hour at 180, put up to 200 for last 15 mins uncovered. (Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn on top)
It’s ready when it’s golden and you can put a knife in easily.
Enjoy on its own or as part of your dinner.

Today Eilidh & I enjoyed an afternoon tea at home. Unfortunately still in lockdown we couldn’t go out as planned as a farewell. So we got some tasty goods from local bakeries and enjoyed it at home. Note to selves - don’t shop when hungry as our eyes were bigger than our stomachs & there is a lot left over! But we do like leftovers….

Today was my favourite kind of day. There were leftovers in the fridge for lunch and dinner.
Lunch was veggie sausage rolls (still perfecting the recipe). 🍽
Dinner was chicken fajitas that Eilidh made yesterday. 🌯
What’s not to love?!

We call them ‘Larry Leftovers’ in our house.

It’s a great idea to make a little extra for meals as you can eat the next day or put them in the freezer for a busy day.

Tomorrow morning we’re live-streaming making polenta chips and brown rice crackers. Perfect to have with dips or cheese. Join Eilidh and I at 9.30am AWST. See you then.

Yesterday while at uni (yes I spent Saturday researching for my proposal) I was dreaming about veggie sausage rolls. So I found a recipe online & cooked up a storm for tea! I didn’t stick to the recipe so they tasted good but the filling was a bit soft. I plan to attempt to perfect them. I used filo pastry btw which was nice & crispy. Anyone want the recipe once I perfect them?

Ruby wanted some arancini balls. Watch the video on Facebook to see how we made them. Btw she didn’t get any!

Cooking up some risotto for tea with leftovers for arancini balls in the morning. Hope to see you tomorrow

Am pleased to say eilidh and I will be live-streaming this Friday. Uni semester is over so we have a little more free time. We’re going to make arancini balls so hope you can join us. 9.30am perth time.