The Kiwi Mental Kitchen

Sorry, there's been so little content from me lately my mental health hasn't been the best so there have been some med. changes and with med. changes come side effects. This has meant I haven't been spending quite enough time in the kitchen and that for the last we while I've slipped back into old habits but today I'm doing a bit better so today we are eating a bit better! My husband has been a great support through this time but he works 12-14 hour days with a one hour commute each way so he's definitely not up to cooking if I'm struggling. Also as a warning the total cook time on this pie is over 4 hours so make sure to start your prep early enough. Chicken and Pumpkin Pie Serves 3-4 500g pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1cm chunks 1 apple, peeled and sliced oil for frying 1kg boneless pork shoulder 50g butter (or ¼ cup oil) 1 large onion, chopped 6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped or 6tsp of the precrushed 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme le...

So it's been a little bit over a month now, and I think it is time to give you a little update of how I have been finding and what difference I have found. Though I will state that I feel it is very early in the game. I start off with a rip and a roar and was really loving the cooking and the newness of it all and in some ways, this hasn't really worn off. In saying that though It has been a really rough couple of weeks. Not too long before all this started I went through a medication change and initially it looked like this were really good and that it was better than previous mixes but I crashed down into a fairly major depressive episode. This really affected my motivation and ability to cope which in turn affected my ability to go the gym and cook well. I muddled through and have been cooking as best I can but I'm back to see my doctor on Thursday to discuss meds. I'm now seeing just how much of a struggle implementing something like this while depressed can be ...

We call this one Pseudo Satay because it's full of cheat ingredients and yet still manages to taste like a decent Satay. This is a once in a while meal for us and It was a nice change to have in on rice noodles. I'm still working out ways to add in vegetables without ruining the basic feel of the meal. Pseudo Satay Serves 4 3 Chicken breasts or thighs  3-5 Tbsp Sweet chilli sauce 2 heaped Tbsp Peanut butter 1 Can of coconut cream or coconut milk Dice the chicken In a large fry pan fry the chicken until cooked Add Chilli sauce and Peanut butter and mix well Add coconut cream and stir until it takes on the colour of the peanut butter simmer for 10 min Serve over rice or egg noodles Nice, easy and surprisingly good. If you like you satay hot use the hot version of the chilli sauce or add a little chilli powder. If you really like it nutty you can add some chopped peanuts as well, and they make a great garnish.

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...