Thoughtful Foods

Ingredients

• 30g butter
• 1 large celery stalk, very finely sliced
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated tasty/cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• extra 60g butter, melted

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius. Melt butter in a small saucepan and add the celery. Cook for about 10 minutes or until slightly softened, place a lid on top and leave over low heat to 'sweat' until it is quite soft. Remove, season and let cool. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl and add the cheese. Mix the egg with the milk and melted butter and pour into the flour. Add the celery and mix until the flour is just moist. The batter will look a bit lumpy, don't overmix. Spoon into 12 well-buttered muffin moulds, filling each one about two-thirds full. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and well risen. These muffins won't be smooth on top - the end results are rather uneven. Turn them out on to a cake rack and eat while warm.

Makes 12

Source: Beverley Sutherland Smith, The Seasonal Kitchen

A Chinese inspired soup, great as a light lunch or an entree.

Ingredients

• vegetable oil
• 2 small red chillies (deseeded and finely sliced)
• 1 red onion (sliced)
• 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 4 cups stock
• kernels from 2 cobs corn
• 2 sticks celery (sliced)
• 100g shiitake mushrooms (trimmed and sliced)
• 250g fresh Singapore noodles
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• ¹/³ cup coriander leaves

Method

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Cook 2 small red chillies (deseeded and finely sliced), 1 red onion (sliced) and 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped) for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 4 cups chicken stock, kernels from 2 cobs corn, 2 sticks celery (sliced) and 100g shiitake mushrooms (trimmed and sliced). Bring to the boil, then simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Ingredients

• 400g baby potatoes
• 50ml extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard,
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)
• salt
• pepper
• a pinch of sugar
• 3 free-range eggs
• 2 sticks celery (sliced on the diagonal)
• 4 sprigs torn flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp chives (snipped)

Method

Cook 400g baby potatoes (halved) in a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water for about 10-12 minutes or until tender.

From Will

Ingredients:

Below are the quantities of vegetables I use. You need about 9 bunches of herbs/lettuces for this recipe: