The Kiwi Mental Kitchen

I was meant to put together a casserole last night but I didn't really think about dinner until far too late for mutton with needs to be in a slow cooker for a while to be tender. So I went searching for a recipe in my collection of books that I could put together in a reasonable amount of time with the ingredients I had on hand. I found a recipe for bean burger patties and realised I could make a quick soda bread as buns to make our own burgers with an extra trip to the shops. The original recipe used dried beans and would have taken too long so I worked with canned beans. Black Bean Burgers makes 6 reasonable patties 2 cans of black beans drained and rinsed 1 large or 2 small onions oil to fry 2 tsp oregano 2 tsp marjoram 1 tsp chilli 1 tsp beef stock 2 eggs 2-4 Tbsp breadcrumbs Mash the beans in a large bowl or pot (I find it easier to mash against a large flat bottom) Add onion, herbs and spices and mix well Beat in the eggs Mix through b...

So I've got two recipes for you for this post. I had cooked up the soup and then found out my husband had invited someone over for tea last minute. So I whipped up a soda bread to go with the soup so that it spread further. I really shouldn't have worried though as the soup recipe made enough for 4(there are normally 3 of us as we have a flatmate). Also with having a guest I totally forgot to take a photo to put with the recipe for you. With the soup, I didn't have any bok choy so I just used silverbeet from the garden, a little less Asian but still tasty. The soba noodles are Japanese buckwheat noodles for a diversity of grains but you could use rice or egg noodles instead. Asian Inspired Chicken Noodle Soup Serves 4 easily 6 cups (1 1/2 litres) chicken stock 2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, finely chopped! otherwise, you find bits in the soup 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped ...

Well, it's been a bit of a week of kitchen failures, first the cornbread then last night I lost count of how much milk I put in the toad in the hole and ended up putting too much in. It looks like 50% white spelt and 50% rye flour will work but I need to try again to be sure. I've asked a couple of friends about corn bread recipes and seem to have found one to try next time. Tonight I'm trying an Asian-inspired chicken noodle soup so hopefully, that goes better for me. Wish me luck!

So tonight chocolate chilli was back by popular demand though I cooked it as more of a mix between the happy kitchen recipe and my normal recipe. Though I did find out that it's better not to add extra chocolate. This also gave me another chance at cornbread. Armed with more research I tried a cornmeal only cornbread (no other flours). This was a disaster and I'm going to have to have another try another day. I'll ask around my friends and see if anyone has a good recipe. Chocolate Chilli Serves 4 Oil for frying 1 onion 2 cloves of garlic chopped or 2 tsp of crushed garlic 1 Tbsp tomato paste 500g lean mince 2 tsp paprika 1 tsp ground chilli 1 tsp cinnamon 125ml red wine 1 diced red capsicum 2 cans of chilli beans 1 can of chopped tomatoes Up to 8 squares dark chocolate preferably over 80% In a large pan fry the onion and garlic for approximately 2 minutes Add the tomato paste, mince, paprika, chilli and cinnamon  Once the mince is cooked add t...

I'm a fan of the occasional easy but tasty meal. This one is a mix of my mums fish pie but using my mums chicken pie "crust". I was lucky and found smoked snapper at our local farmers market on the weekend. I know this doesn't look like much but it's tasty! Smoked Fish Pie Serves 4 Half a medium sized smoke fish 5 slices of bread 100g of butter melted 1tsp mixed herbs frozen mixed veg or fresh beans 2 handfuls 1 can of condensed mushroom soup Pepper A handful or mushrooms (optional) Blitz bread in a food processor to make fresh breadcrumbs Mix in butter and herbs into the breadcrumbs Press the bread mixture into a pie or casserole dish  Shred fish into the pie base Mix in veg and mushroom Sprinkle on pepper to taste Pour over the can of mushroom soup Bake at 180 degrees for 20-25 min When you serve it, the base does not always hold together well. Don't worry it will still taste good!

I bought some frozen surimi at the fish shop over a week ago now and had no idea how I was going to use it. After reading many recipes I came up with this hot pot inspired recipe. In future, I would double the liquid content and make the liquid in a large stock pot and use that as a place to mix it together. Seafood Hot Pot Serves 4   A couple of handfuls of shrimp 1tsp sesame oil Salt and pepper to taste Around 300g of surimi oil for frying 200ml of chicken stock 1/2 cup of water 2 Tbsp of oyster sauce 1 Tbsp of dark soy sauce 1 Tbsp of crushed garlic (or 3 cloves crushed) 1 medium onion pinch of salt 2-3 tsp of chilli oil 200g of rice noodles 1 spring onion for garnishing In a large bowl soak the rice noodles in water In a small bowl combine the shrimp and sesame oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. leave for at least 10 min In a medium saucepan combine the chicken stock and water and bring to the boil Add the oyster sauce and soy sauce...

A few nights ago my husband and I both had a craving for pizza. So rather than head to the takeout, I whipped up a homemade base. I've done many pizza bases and breads before but this was my first time doing a pizza dough with something other than white flour. This base was such a success that it will definitely have repeat performances. while nowhere near as instant as ordering in they are worth the wait. Pizza dough makes 3 medium or 2 large bases 2 cups of tepid water 1 tsp of sugar 2 tsp of dried yeast salt 1Tbsp of oil 2 cups of rye flour 2 cups of white spelt flour In a large bowl combine water, sugar and yeast and stir until yeast is mostly dissolved. If the water is too hot you will kill the yeast if it's too cold it will take longer to activate. Leave to sit for 10 min. You should now see a froth formed on the top of the water, if not check the temperature of your water and leave it for another 5 min. If it still hasn't frothed you are better t...

This cacao chili comes from the comfort food section of the book the happy kitchen . It is a very rich chili with both red wine and chocolate as enriching agents. I know that the idea of putting chocolate in chili seems rather unusual but don't knock it until you try it. This chili had my husband saying his chili, which is famous among our friends, has finally been defeated. With there being 3 adults in our household I had to increase the recipe by a half though I must have over done it as there were leftovers. With this, I made a cornbread that, while still very tasty, I was rather of unhappy how it came out. I will post a recipe after I get the kinks out. All in all a 10 out of 10 meal with room for technical improvement thought the flavors are brilliant.

One of the things that seemed most challenging to me about moving toward more fish and less meat was the costs involved. This recipe was my first attempt using canned salmon I needed to know what it looked like inside the can before I could use it in a recipe that called for whole fillets and I think it will do well even as fillets. The main trick is going to be getting the fish warm without overcooking it. These fishcakes came out creamy and fluffy and filling. I served them with salad from our garden and a balsamic dressing. Salmon and Kumara Fish cakes Serves 3 500g of cooked kumara (either boil or bake until soft) 1 cup of cooked frozen peas (you can even boil them with the kumara) 1 large can(approx. 420g) of pink salmon 1 diced chili  1 chopped stalk of mint 1  chopped handful of parsley  2 eggs 1 cup of flour(preferably wholemeal or spelt) salt and pepper to taste Oil for frying Mash kumara and peas in a large bowl Flake in pink salm...

I grew up in a household that never ate seafood that wasn't fish and, up until tonight I had continued that trend in my own cooking. I have always said I don't like other seafood but I recently realized that really I was too scared to try them. Having realized the ridiculousness of that I decided to remedy that. I made and adaptation of The happy kitchen's  satisfying prawn penne with broccoli. I had to make some major adaptations to this recipe to have it today. Locally a series of floods wiped out most of the broccoli making it very hard and expensive to get. Because prawns cannot be produced locally that can be a bit pricey. In the end, I substituted frozen spinach for the broccoli and shrimp for the prawns. In the future, I would use less lemon juice as in the end, the sauce was a little sharp. Also, I found out that shrimp are ok and even nice. I would not say they are a new favorite but they are definitely going to continue to be part of our n...

This recipe is taken from The Happy Kitchen  because I do not want to breach copyright I will not be posting the recipe here unless I make big changes to it. The cost of goats cheese locally is too high for our budget so I  switched it for cow feta. Also when I went to get out the onion I realized ours had gone off, so I ended up with no choice but to omit it. The first thing I noticed is that it did not go as purple as the picture in the book, I believe this was due to how much flesh was exposed when I boiled my beetroot. The beetroot was fresh from my garden but we have had a very damp end of summer and start of autumn and it has effected anything even slightly above the ground, because of this I had to trim more than would usually be the case. The walnuts really make this dish, it would be a little bland without them. The cheese and the beetroot balance each other nicely and even with brown rice, you can achieve some risotto creaminess. This was the first risotto I...

My husband's favorite dish is Toad in the hole, which is sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding. He requests it most weeks so tonight I made my first attempt at change a recipe I currently use to better fit with the 10 Rules . In New Zealand I am lucky that it is easy to get sausages without preservatives or other nasties, they still have quite a high amount of fat so I am trying to reduce how often we eat them, but I do not see a need to cut them out entirely. While it was a great success I will probably continue to make more changes as I try more variations in the future. For example, I would like to try moving to non-dairy milk and whole wheat spelt flour. I want to make only one change at a time so that I know what works and what does not. Tonight my one change was replacing standard white flour with white spelt flour. Toad in the hole Serves 4 8 Sausages Oil 3 cups of white spelt flour 3 cups of milk 3 eggs Salt to taste Grease a Large casserole dish with the oil...

The following is adapted from the happy kitchen but I have rewritten them in a way and order that prioritises the most difficult or hardest to remember for me.  Eat mostly plants: make most meals half plant and of those plants predominately veges Keep an eye on blood sugar levels: Be aware of how food effects your blood sugars and don't forget to eat Get the right balance of protein and use more fish: Decrease meat portions at dinner and rely less on animal meat Vary your diet: this includes vary what grains you are using. Use herbs and spices Add nuts and seeds wherever possible Eat for your gut: include probiotic and prebiotic foods Fats are friends especially Ω3 Relax and enjoy food Avoid sweeteners and additives This list lives on my fridge as a reminder whenever I'm cooking.

Hi I'm Sarah and I've had a rough 7 or so years, on and off, with my mental health. Over these 7 years I have been both on and off medications as my doctor and I were working out what was going to work for me. Whatever a doctor and patient decide I feel nutrition can be complimentary. During this time I have picked up tidbits here and there about how food and nutrition can impact mental health but I have never really been able to synthesize it together into some sort of plan. I recently stumbled upon The Happy Kitchen  by Rachel Kelly with Alice Mackintosh, thanks to an interview Rachel did with the BBC that got played on Radio New Zealand National . I have found this book to be a great synthesis of the research I had come across to date as well as a few new things as well. While this book has a great collection of recipes and is a great starting point for nutrition based around helping mental health, some ingredients are hard to get here or they are beyond my family budget. Th...