Travelling the globe from the comfort of my kitchen, to bring you my favorite recipesHi, my name is Bailey and from a young age I have loved to cook. Food culture has always been a very important part of our family life. Food can take hours to prepare. It involves everyone in the kitchen preparing, tasting, cooking and laughing. Our meals are strongly influenced by my mother as she is vegetarian. We predominately cook vegetarian food and adapt it to include meat. I've grown up eating a large variety of foods from all over the world. Our home vegetable garden has given me an appreciation of food production. On my blog, you will see regular updates of food that inspires me and techniques to assist you in your day-to-day cooking. This blog is all about sourcing locally produced food, fun, culture with an aim of zero waste.
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Potato & Onion Soup |
Good morning! I was hunting around the kitchen trying to find something to cook that was vegetarian, with a goal to leave as little waste as possible. Flipping through books and checking the fridge my options were tricky to say the least. My Frenchie 'Winston' was very keen on following my every move incase something delicious fell on the floor. It was a cold winters day and I wanted something nourishing and warm to fill me up. We had some home grown potatoes and garlic from my Nan's farm that needed to be used. I settled on Potato and Onion Soup!
A Delicious Dessert
HOW MY DISH RANKED
Sensory Evaluation Table: Taste: The truffles have a rich earthy taste to them. The coconut adds a dimension of nutty taste to the dessert. Texture: The texture of the truffle is doughy and smooth. The mix melts in your mouth. Aroma: The smell of the truffles gives a distinct chocolate and coconut aroma. Appearance: A lump of rich chocolate covers in sprinkles of grated coconut. Family Star Rating: 4/5 stars Warning this dessert does not comply with the Australian guide to healthy eating and should only be eaten in small amounts less often. It only incorporates the dairy component of the healthy eating guide. I prepared all of this meal by myself and mum assisted. It was easy to prepare as it didn't use many ingredients and it mainly involved stirring and rolling. I really like cooking desserts more than a main meal as I have a sweet tooth and I love chocolate. Dessert like this can last for a longer period where as the family eat the main meal straight away. It is also good as mum doesn't allow us to have many sweet foods in the house so by making these I am able to treat myself more often. The main component of this recipe is really stirring and rolling. The dessert doesn't need oven time. It is important to only have a small amount of dessert in your diet as they do not contain large amounts of foods in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. They mainly contain large amounts of calories, fat, or carbohydrates which is why you should only eat very small amounts to maintain a healthy diet. If you are a beginner and you would like cook this dish I would recommend that you prepare all the ingredients first. Once they are mixed together take care to only roll even and small amounts at a time as it end result is rich and can only be eaten in small amounts. |
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Open Boa Buns with Crispy Tofu or Chicken
Open Boa Buns with Crispy Tofu and Chicken is a crowd favorite that the whole family enjoys. Food Culture is very important to our meal decisions and we like to incorporate many meals from other origins.
HOW MY DISH RANKED
Sensory Evaluation Table
Taste: The Boa bun had a sweetness to it but the sauce and tofu/ chicken added a savory aspect to the meal.
Texture: The bread was light and airy, the tofu was chewy and the carrot was crisp and fresh.
Aroma: The sauce gave the dish a smell of spices that hangs heavy in the air.
Appearance: A little messy but leaving you wanting to taste each element.
Family Star Rating 5/5 stars
How does it fit with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating? The bread sits under the Grain foods, the carrot under the vegetables, tofu or chicken under the meats/ tofu portion and mayo under the dairy section. The hoisin sauce is sugary and would sit under the small amounts area. If we look at the portions in the dish it meets the guide to healthy eating.
How did I help during the process? I prepared and assembled all elements of the dish except for the cooking of the tofu which mum helped with.
Define what is meant by food culture? Food culture is making and eating food from our family heritage. It can incorporate foods from all around the world.
What food culture is your family dish? Boa buns were first invented in Taiwan but we came up with the idea after ordering these from our local Vietnamese restaurant in Glen Iris called 'So Pho So Good'.
What are some of the most common ingredients from this culture? The most common ingredients used in cooking is fish sauce and rice noodles.
Outline some of the other main foods eaten by this culture? Pho (pronounced Fur) soup is a staple meal in Vietnamese culture.
Sensory Evaluation Table
Taste: The Boa bun had a sweetness to it but the sauce and tofu/ chicken added a savory aspect to the meal.
Texture: The bread was light and airy, the tofu was chewy and the carrot was crisp and fresh.
Aroma: The sauce gave the dish a smell of spices that hangs heavy in the air.
Appearance: A little messy but leaving you wanting to taste each element.
Family Star Rating 5/5 stars
How does it fit with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating? The bread sits under the Grain foods, the carrot under the vegetables, tofu or chicken under the meats/ tofu portion and mayo under the dairy section. The hoisin sauce is sugary and would sit under the small amounts area. If we look at the portions in the dish it meets the guide to healthy eating.
How did I help during the process? I prepared and assembled all elements of the dish except for the cooking of the tofu which mum helped with.
Define what is meant by food culture? Food culture is making and eating food from our family heritage. It can incorporate foods from all around the world.
What food culture is your family dish? Boa buns were first invented in Taiwan but we came up with the idea after ordering these from our local Vietnamese restaurant in Glen Iris called 'So Pho So Good'.
What are some of the most common ingredients from this culture? The most common ingredients used in cooking is fish sauce and rice noodles.
Outline some of the other main foods eaten by this culture? Pho (pronounced Fur) soup is a staple meal in Vietnamese culture.
Pasta with Napoli SauceYou would never know how quick and easy this delicious pasta sauce can be. To this base you can add feta cheese, olives, capers... what ever else you may like to add further depths of flavor. Personally i just like it with a small amount of Parmesan cheese. The sauce can be pre-made and lasts for up to a week in the fridge or frozen for 2 months. This recipe is a vegetarian friendly dish that can be modified for different family members!
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HOW MY DISH RANKED
Sensory Evaluation Table
Taste: The sauce is a full bodied sauce that has an acidic taste that is complemented by the creaminess of the pasta and cheese.
Texture: The pasta brings a silky element to the meal and the sauce gives it a velvety taste to the dish.
Aroma: A rice tomato aroma with the sharpness of the Parmesan.
Appearance: The appearance of a typical Italian meal. It looks rich, colourful and delicious.
Family Star Rating 4/5 stars
How does it fit with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating? 80% of this meal is pasta and it sits under the grains section of the healthy eating table. The tomato is vegetable and this makes up 18% of the meal. I added Parmesan which was 25 of the dish and this is a dairy product. It is a healthy and nutritious meal.
How did I help during the cooking process? This recipe was simple to prepare. I sliced the garlic and fried it gently in the pan. I added the tinned tomatoes and tomato paste. I boiled the water, added salt and ad mum help me check the pasta was ready. Mum strained the pasta for me and I added it and the sauce to the dish before serving the family.
Vegetarian/ vegan have become more popular in recent times, why do you think this is? Sustainability and accessibility plays a large role in making this choice much easier for people than it was before. Celebrates have large followings and people follow the trends they set.
Does your family usually eat a mix of vegetarian/ meat meals? Did this dish inspire you to eat more vegetarian dishes? My mother is vegetarian so we have all grown to eat a large variety of vegetarian meals that can be adapted for meat also. I would say my diet is 'flexitarian' which is 80% vegetarian and 20% meat. This dish didn't change my eating habits as we already eat allot of vegetarian dishes.
What are some of the main reasons people choose to eat a vegetarian diet? There are a large number of reasons people choose a vegetarian diet. It can be for religious reasons, health related or over their concerns for the environment and sustainability.
Could not eating meat have a positive effect on the environment? YES! Recent studies have shown that with the increase in population and our meat eating habits that it is not sustainable. We will not be able to produce enough meat to feed the masses and we need to reduce our intake to be sustainable.
Vegans not only avoid eating meat, they avoid using animal products in other ways too. Do you think this would be challenging? Being vegan would be incredibly hard. So many product and material we use are related to animal products. From simply not being about to add honey or dairy to your meals from not being able to wear leather shoes, being vegan would be a very hard lifestyle to follow. I also think it would be hard to get enough vitamins from this diet to be healthy at my age.
Do you know any famous vegetarian? Research this and find out their reasons. There are allot of celebrates that have become vegetarian. It is popular at the moment and people say they feel heather and stronger because of it. In 2020 celebrates such as Beyonce to Bill Clinton are vegetarian but this is not a new concept. Through out history there were vegetarians such as Pythagoras and St. Anthony of Eqypt.
Sensory Evaluation Table
Taste: The sauce is a full bodied sauce that has an acidic taste that is complemented by the creaminess of the pasta and cheese.
Texture: The pasta brings a silky element to the meal and the sauce gives it a velvety taste to the dish.
Aroma: A rice tomato aroma with the sharpness of the Parmesan.
Appearance: The appearance of a typical Italian meal. It looks rich, colourful and delicious.
Family Star Rating 4/5 stars
How does it fit with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating? 80% of this meal is pasta and it sits under the grains section of the healthy eating table. The tomato is vegetable and this makes up 18% of the meal. I added Parmesan which was 25 of the dish and this is a dairy product. It is a healthy and nutritious meal.
How did I help during the cooking process? This recipe was simple to prepare. I sliced the garlic and fried it gently in the pan. I added the tinned tomatoes and tomato paste. I boiled the water, added salt and ad mum help me check the pasta was ready. Mum strained the pasta for me and I added it and the sauce to the dish before serving the family.
Vegetarian/ vegan have become more popular in recent times, why do you think this is? Sustainability and accessibility plays a large role in making this choice much easier for people than it was before. Celebrates have large followings and people follow the trends they set.
Does your family usually eat a mix of vegetarian/ meat meals? Did this dish inspire you to eat more vegetarian dishes? My mother is vegetarian so we have all grown to eat a large variety of vegetarian meals that can be adapted for meat also. I would say my diet is 'flexitarian' which is 80% vegetarian and 20% meat. This dish didn't change my eating habits as we already eat allot of vegetarian dishes.
What are some of the main reasons people choose to eat a vegetarian diet? There are a large number of reasons people choose a vegetarian diet. It can be for religious reasons, health related or over their concerns for the environment and sustainability.
Could not eating meat have a positive effect on the environment? YES! Recent studies have shown that with the increase in population and our meat eating habits that it is not sustainable. We will not be able to produce enough meat to feed the masses and we need to reduce our intake to be sustainable.
Vegans not only avoid eating meat, they avoid using animal products in other ways too. Do you think this would be challenging? Being vegan would be incredibly hard. So many product and material we use are related to animal products. From simply not being about to add honey or dairy to your meals from not being able to wear leather shoes, being vegan would be a very hard lifestyle to follow. I also think it would be hard to get enough vitamins from this diet to be healthy at my age.
Do you know any famous vegetarian? Research this and find out their reasons. There are allot of celebrates that have become vegetarian. It is popular at the moment and people say they feel heather and stronger because of it. In 2020 celebrates such as Beyonce to Bill Clinton are vegetarian but this is not a new concept. Through out history there were vegetarians such as Pythagoras and St. Anthony of Eqypt.