Food Minia

I came up with this recipe for Parsnip Mash on my new blog but thought I'd would share it here as well because it would be absolutely fantastic for babies too. Very simply made and even easier to eat, this would be great for adults or first weaners. Check out the recipe for Parsnip Mash by clicking on the link!

Stuffed mushrooms are one of those foods people think are difficult to make.  "Life is too short to stuff a mushroom" a phrase apparently coined by Shirley Conran.  Stuffing a mushroom does sound difficult, or fiddly but I promise it's not.   This super simple stuffing also makes it easy (and delicious).  I just had this as an adult meal for one but my son, a fan of both mushrooms and cheese would love these.  Do include the herbs, after all, without them they'd be a two ingredient recipe and that feels a little bit lame! Stuffed Mushrooms - Serves 1 Adult or 1-2 Children Ingredients 5 White Mushrooms (I didn't use large open capped ones, just ones around 2-4 cm across.  The bigger they are, the fewer you'll need.) A few sprigs of fresh herbs, I used parsley, thyme and chives 60g, 2oz Feta cheese, crumbled Method Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, gas mark 7. Take the stalks out of the mushrooms just leaving the caps.  If you like the stalks can be chop...

Cauliflower pakoras are something I'd never made before until recently, but as part of my 7 a day challenge I made some vegetable pakoras using peas and loved them.  When I moved house a few days back and restocked my cupboards (including buying some gram flour), the helpful assistant in the shop suggested cauliflower was pretty good and, in fact her favourite.  She also said that fresh spinach was, in her opinion much better in Indian food than frozen. I always like a bit of advice when it comes to cooking so I gave it a go.  The jury is out in the spinach.  In my opinion frozen is just as good but the great thing about baby spinach is you can use it as a salad vegetable or cook with it and it just so happened I had some in my fridge so I went with it. Traditionally I don't think the cauliflower is precooked but although I don't like soggy cauliflower, I'm not overly keen on cauliflower which bites back either so I partially precooked mine.   Caulflower p...

Quesadillas was something I used to make for my son when he was very little.  This is a slightly updated version with plenty of sneaky hidden vegetables! Quesadillas - Serves 2 adults and a toddler Ingredients 1 tomato, diced 1 tbsp fresh coriander, cilantro chopped 1/4 Green pepper (capsicum), finely chopped Approx 1-2 inches courgette (zucchini) finely chopped 1/2 tin (drained, 120g, 4oz drained weight) red kidney beans 1 Clove garlic 1/2 tsp mild smoked paprika 45g, 1 1/2 oz Extra mature (extra sharp) cheddar 4 tortillas Salsa or chilli sauce, to serve Method Mix the ingredients apart form the cheese tortillas and salsa and heat in a saucepan for 5-10 minutes or until hot through and combined. Spread half the mix on a tortilla, top with half of the cheese then put a second tortilla on top.  Don't be tempted to overfill them as they'll fall apart. Dry fry in a non stick frying pan. When browned on one side, flip by putting a plate on top then turning out and sliding back in...

Cannelloni is a surprisingly easy dish to cook for one.  I had made some tomato and pesto soup the other day and the leftovers were in the fridge.  It occurred to me that it would also make a really good pasta sauce.  But I had no cream cheese, no goats cheese, no mince, nothing traditional for a cannelloni filling in the house.  So why not vegetables.  Why not?  You know what, it didn't just work , it was delicious! A great idea for fussy kids not keen on vegetables (or even adults!) Spinach and Carrot Cannelloni - Serves 1 adult or 2 children Ingredients 1/2 a carrot, peeled and grated 20g, 2/3oz Fresh spinach, finely shredded 2 tbsp Single cream (light cream) but any cream could be used 30g, 1oz Extra mature (extra sharp) cheddar 200-250g 7-9oz of homemade tomato and pesto soup 4 tubes cannelloni.  Mine were quite small, weighing 45g, 1.5oz.  Make sure you choose the dried kind which can be cooked without precooking Method Mix the grated carr...

Chickpea pancakes might sound like an odd proposition for breakfast but bear with me.  Chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour or 'Besan' has a distinctive, savoury taste but there is something delicious about that served with syrup, just like that salty sweet combo of bacon and syrup is something fantastic, so was this. The amazing thing about chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour is it has over double the amount of protein compared with wheat flour which makes them amazingly filling so a great start for the day, and, handily for coeliacs (or people choosing to avoid gluten), it's naturally gluten and wheat free. The verdict was "nice but not quite as good as the normal ones" from the household, I disagreed.  I really liked them and I felt seriously full until lunch. Gluten Free Pancakes - Makes enough for 3-4 Ingredients Batter 225g, 8oz Chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour (besan) 2 tsp Gluten free baking powder 1 tsp Cinnamon 2 Apples, grated (including skin but excluding the core...

Onion rings, love them but don't love the oiliness.  I'm not some health freak but I can feel my arteries hardening as I eat!  These are cunningly baked so much less fatty! Baked Onion Rings Ingredients 1 Small onion cut into 2mm rings 2 tbsp Mayo 1 tbsp Milk 20g, Just over 1/2oz Rice Krispies 15g, 1/2 oz Plain (all purpose) flour 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder Spray Oil Method Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6.  Line a tray with non stick baking paper. Crush the rice krispies and put in a bowl with the flour and garlic powder. Mix the mayo and milk together.  Dip the rings in the mayo mix then into the dry mix.  Put on the tray. Once you've done them all, wash off all the gunk from your hands then spray with spray oil. Bake for approx 10-15 minutes (12 in my oven, keep an eye on them so they don't burn). Make it Thrifty Use the oven for other things to maximise the use of the power while you're cooking these.  Also keep your eyes peeled (excuse the pun) f...