Papaya, Carrot & Sweet Corn Soup

Home style Chinese comfort food. This is great to drink in Summer or Winter for hydration

Ingredients

½ papaya, peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 sweet corn- chopped into large chunks
1 carrot, chopped
750ml-1L water
80g rock sugar
2 honey dates
1 ginger slice
1 white fungus (optional)

Method

1. Add all the ingredients into a pot and boil for 10 minutes
2. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes
3. Serve warm or cool

Roasted Carrot Dip

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens, Episode 38, aired on 18th October 2013

Ingredients

500g carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cinnamon quills
¾ cup water
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon cream cheese
¼ teaspoon salt
pinch of white pepper
dukka, to sprinkle
crackers, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Place carrots, unsalted butter, cinnamon and water into a roasting pan. Cover with foil. Poke some holes through the foil. 
3. Roast carrots for 1¾ hours, cool for 15 minutes. Discard the cinnamon quills then transfer the carrots into a food processor. Add honey, cream cheese, salt and pepper. Blend till smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl.
4. Sprinkle the dukkah and serve with crackers

Notes & Tips

Healthy alternative: substitute the cream cheese with cottage cheese

Classic Shepherd's Pie

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped or grated
1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, trimmed, finely chopped (optional)
500g lamb or beef mince
2 tbs plain flour
375ml beef stock
1 dried bay leaf
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs tomato paste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 (about 200g each) desiree potatoes, peeled, chopped
40g butter, chopped
125ml (½ cup) milk
1 tsp parmesan cheese, grated (optional)
Melted butter, to brush

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add lamb mince and cook, stirring to break up any lumps, for 5 minutes or until lamb changes colour.

Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until combined. Add stock, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until sauce thickens. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile: cook potato in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain well. Return to the pan with the butter. Use a potato masher or fork to mash until smooth. Add milk and use a wooden spoon to stir until combined. Add Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Remove bay leaf from the lamb mixture then spoon mixture into a 2L (8 cup) capacity ovenproof baking dish. Top with mashed potato and use a fork to spread over lamb mixture. Brush with butter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until mashed potato is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Notes & Tips

You can substitute the celery in this recipe with some peas instead

For a nicer presentation, you can pipe the mashed potatoes instead of using a fork. You'll just have to allow the potatoes to cool down a bit before putting it into the piping bag

Carrot Cake

I felt like doing some baking today, so I made this carrot cake which is just so moist and full of taste. WARNING though- It's not for the diet conscience.

I would normally add ½ cup walnuts to my carrot cake but today I just simply forgot! So I added some to the top of the cake as decoration instead :P

The mini carrots around the cake are made out of marzipan. Marzipan is a sweet almond and sugar paste. It can be moulded into any shape and is commonly sculpted and painted into fruit, animals, and flowers. When used to ice a cake, marzipan can be rolled into thin sheets and draped over the cake. It is then carefully smoothed down to provide a uniform look- wedding cakes are commonly iced this way.

You can easily make your own marzipan or purchase it in the baking section of your supermarket. I didn't have any in my pantry and just made it from scratch. I used ½ cup almond meal, ½ cup icing sugar, ½ eggwhite and 1 drop vanilla extract. I then kneaded all the ingredients together until I had a smooth pliable dough. The marzipan carrots are easy enough to make, and they just simply look adorable on top of carrot cake or cupcakes!

Adapted from the recipe in Fresh Living magazine- 9 August 2004, page 53

This recipe makes one 20cm round cake or sixteen 1/3 cup capacity cupcakes

Ingredients

Oil, to grease
2-3 (about 300g) carrots

1 cup self-raising flour
½ cup plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup vegetable oil
½ cup golden syrup
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
½ cup walnuts, chopped

Icing

250g spreadable cream cheese (softened)
½ cup icing sugar
½ tsp vanilla essence

Marzipan carrots

Marzipan
Red and yellow food colouring
Icing sugar for dusting
Edible sprigs of herbs for decoration, such as dill or parsley (optional)



Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease a 20cm (base) round cake pan lightly with oil, and line with non-stick baking paper. Peel and grate the carrots, and set aside. Sift the flours, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon into a large bowl. Mix well together.
2. Put the brown sugar, oil, golden syrup, eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl. Use a balloon whisk to mix until combined.  
3. Pour the oil mixture into the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir gently until just combined. Stir in the grated carrot and walnuts. 
4. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 1 hour. Set aside for 5 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  
5. To make the icing, place the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat until mixture is light and fluffy.
6. Spread the icing over the cake. Decorate cake as desires

To make the marzipan carrots

Coat your hands with icing sugar, or wear plastic gloves (this prevents the marzipan from sticking to your hands).

Knead the marzipan until it has softened slightly. Flatten the marzipan into a disc, and add a few drops of red and yellow food coloring to the middle, using a ratio of 1 drop red to 2 drops yellow. Fold the marzipan into a ball and begin to knead the color throughout the dough, adding more food coloring if desired, working until the marzipan is one uniform color.

Roll the dough into small balls the size of a 5 cent piece. Roll the balls between your palms, elongating them into thin tubes and tapering one end, so that they are shaped like carrots.

Take a toothpick and, holding it perpendicular to the carrots, make horizontal indentations all along the length of the carrot to create slight creases.

If desired, poke holes in the tops of the carrots, and insert the sprigs of herbs to be the carrot leaves.

Store marzipan carrots in an airtight Tupperware container for up to two weeks

Chinese Cabbage Stir Fry

Smell the wonderful aroma of the vegetables cooking in hot garlic oil as you stir fry this quick and easy Asian meal.

Serves 2

Ingredients

4-5 cups Chinese cabbage, sliced into 1 inch lengths
1 cup carrots, julienned or cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp sugar
½ cup water
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp oil

Method

1. Pour oil into wok and heat it over high heat until it starts to smoke slightly.
2. Put in the garlic and stir until slightly golden
3. Put in the cabbage and carrot and hear the loud sizzle in your wok.
4. Stir fry quickly for about 2 minutes.
5. Add water, give the vegetables a good stir and cover the wok for about 2 minutes.
6. Remove cover and put in the rest of the seasoning. Turn off the heat and serve immediately.
   

Notes & Tips

Vegetarians: Substitute oyster sauce with vegetarian oyster sauce 

Balsamic Glazed Carrots

For a simply irresistible side, dish up these bright baby carrots that are bathed in a brown sugar-infused balsamic glaze.

Ingredients

2 bunches baby (Dutch) carrots
50g (1/4 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
15g butter, melted
1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Trim stems from the carrots. Scrub to remove any dirt. Peel.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Place the carrots in a glass or ceramic ovenproof baking dish.
3. Combine the sugar, butter and vinegar in a small bowl. Pour over the carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
4. Bake in oven, tossing occasionally, for 25 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
5. Arrange on a serving platter. Drizzle over the glaze to serve.