Lentil Carrot Soup

Well, if you couldn’t tell from some of my recent posts, Australia’s weather has taken a turn for the cold—at least by our standards! My house has been enjoying some cold-weather dishes, and this soup is one of them. “Good” recipes to me these days seem to be ones that fulfill a number of criteria: simple to make, healthy, budget friendly, large enough to create leftovers, and of course, tastes good! This recipe is a perfect example of all those criteria, so it gets a gold star from yours truly.

This can be made on a stove top or in a slow cooker. My flatmate recently cashed in some of his reward points for a spiffy new slow cooker, and its maiden voyage was this recipe. Maybe it’s time to get your slow cooker out and try it!

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Edited: May 23rd, 2010

Basil & Maria’s Peanut Satay Sauce

Luke and I visited friends in November of ’08, and they made us a delicious dinner of chicken skewers with peanut sauce. The sauce was so good that I had to steal the recipe from them right then and there. Ever since, it’s been my go-to for peanut sauce, and it’s ever so much cheaper and yummier than the store bought stuff!

This sauce lasts well (though not forever) in the fridge—I recommend using it within 2-3 weeks at the longest, freeze a portion if you use it only sparingly. Use as a stir fry sauce, dip, or spread for a wrap or sandwich. It packs a lot of punch. I’ll also be posting my Thai Chicken Pizza recipe in a couple days that you can (must) use this with.

Many thanks to Basil and Maria for their delicious peanut satay sauce, it’s brought joy to many stomachs!

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Edited: April 29th, 2010

Broccoli, Bean, and Sausage Salad

At work one afternoon, I started day-dreaming about the veggies in my fridge that needed using up as I hadn’t been home all week to make proper meals with them. So, I concocted this recipe for a healthy, go-to meal for the working lad or lass. I got home from work at around midnight, and was up until 2 am making this and other yummy dishes–it was a bit of an adventure, but this is the revised recipe for a delicious work week. I didn’t hard boil the eggs in my version, but hard boiling them would certainly work better than our semi-poached, semi-scrambled, semi-fried attempt.

This would also make a great dish to bring to a potluck, as it needs to be made ahead of time and travels well. For a vegetarian option, omit the sausage in the salad and use more eggs.

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Edited: January 15th, 2010

Healthy Lentil Salad

Last summer, I was looking for recipes that would work well served cold–eating hot dishes on hot days just isn’t very satisfying. I had also just received a bag of green lentils from my SPUD! subscription–they had caught my eye because of their oh-so-affordable attributes. This recipe is easy to do on a budget, as lentils are cheap and the veggies required are delicious in-season but also store well if you’re making this in the winter months for packed lunches at work.

Lentils are a cheap dietary staple, packed full of health essentials like iron, folate, magnesium, thiamine, dietary fibre, and have a low GI (Glycemic Index) rating, meaning that they help to stabilize your blood sugar levels while providing steady amounts of energy. Because this recipe contains cheese, you’re getting some full protein action, too–omit the cheese for a vegan option, and pair instead with your favourite grain (rice, barley, cous cous, corn), or your favourite nuts.

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Edited: January 13th, 2010