risotto al funghi.

serves 3-4
you will need
dash of olive oil
small knob of butter
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
4-6 field mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
splash of verjuice
4ish cups vego or chicken stock
1/2 a lemon
parsley, finely chopped
parmesan, grated
pepper

method
get stock on a gentle simmer in a saucepan and let it do its thing. in a larger saucepan, heat olive oil and butter over a medium heat, add onions, saute until translucent, add garlic, stir and add mushrooms. saute until the mushies soften a little. add rice and stir for a minute or two until the rice is well coated in oniony/mushie mixture. deglaze with a good splash of verjuice. using a ladle, slowly add hot stock, little by little, until the rice is cooked and will absorb no more liquid, continually agitate the rice while doing this. it should take about 20 minutes. when the risotto is creamy and the grains of rice are cooked, add a good squeeze of lemon juice from half a lemon, and some zest if u like extra zing. stir well and remove from heat. stir in parmesan and parsley and some freshly ground pepper at the last minute.
enjoy.

soup of potato, potato and leek.

for best results eat wearing trackpants and ugg boots.
serves 4

you will need
5-6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 large leek, halved and sliced
olive oil
butter
1-2 thyme sprigs
1-2 bay leaves
700ml-1L vegetable or chicken stock
150 ml milk
salt and pepper

method
sweat off leeks with a generous splash of olive oil and small knob of butter in a large saucepan over a low heat for around 10 minutes. add a few sprigs of thyme, a couple of bay leaves and a good grind of black pepper to the leeks. add potatoes to the saucepan, stir and add stock, enough to cover all but 1-2 cm of the potatoes. simmer with lid on the saucepan until potatoes are tender, 15 minutes or so. take saucepan off the stove, add milk to the soup and pulverize using a stick blender or food processor until smooth. add more milk or stock to achieve desired consistency, taste for salt* and add if required. reheat for 5 or so minutes after blending and serve.
enjoy.

*depending on the saltiness of your stock you may or may not require salt.

a bowl of bircher to nurture your morning hunger pangs.

serves 1

you will need
1/2 a cup or so of muesli (i either use Carman's Natural Bircher Style muesli or my mothers own muesli blend, consisting of rolled oats, crushed almonds and walnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, dates, sultanas, sesame seeds and linseeds.)
1 apple
lemon
ground cinnamon
natural or greek yoghurt
blueberries

method
start this recipe the day before by adding the muesli to your favourite breakfast bowl along with  an apple which has been grated using a microplane, to create a fine juicy apple mush. mix the apple and muesli with a good squeeze of lemon to taste and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon. leave to soak in the fridge overnight.
wake up the next day, walk to fridge, take bircher out of the fridge along with some yoghurt. add a good dollop or two of yoghurt to the muesli, mix well and scatter with some little blue balls of antioxidants... the humble blueberry.
enjoy.

fish stew w. white bean and roasted garlic puree and roasted carrots.

this delicious meal was just engulfed by three large mouths. it made fore-mentioned mouth's taste-buds dance with delight.
serves 3

stew

olive oil

1 spanish onion, sliced

a scattering of fennel seeds

a pinch of chilli flakes

1 bay leaf

1 tin of tomatoes

some water or verjuice

salt and pepper

500gms firm white fish in large pieces

basil leaves

puree

1 tin of cannellini beans, rinsed

1/2 bulb of garlic

some lemon zest and rind

dash of water or stock

olive oil

salt

carrots

6 medium carrots

olive oil

salt and pepper

method

preheat oven to 160/180*C. oil carrots liberally and throw some salt and pepper on them. chuck on an oven tray with unpeeled garlic (for puree) also drizzled with olive oil and pop in the oven for around about 25-30 minutes or until soft and golden.

preheat frying pan. sweat off onions until softened. add some fennel seeds, chilli flakes, and bay. throw in tomatoes, add a splash of verjuice and simmer awhile, for 5 minutes or so. add fish and gently simmer until cooked, 7-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. it should feel firm and become opaque. tear basil into stew before serving. season with salt and pepper.

take garlic out of oven after 15-20 minutes, when lightly golden and soft, and squeeze out of skin. blend cannellini beans, and garlic, add water/stock to make a smooth puree. add lemon juice, zest and salt to taste. heat puree over a low heat on the stove.

serve fish topped with tomatoey goodness beside a dash of bean puree, with the carrots resting upon the puree. garnish with some basil leaves.

enjoy.