Mash for grown-ups - episode 4

Cheat’s risotto

(Makes 1 serve)

Leftover steamed rice (cooled)

Handful of fresh basil leaves

2 tbsps baby peas (cooked)

1-2 slices of luncheon meat

¼ cup fresh pasta sauce (I used Latina sundried tomato)

1.   Combine rice, luncheon meat and basil in a food processor until rice looks like it is ‘short grain’ and the basil and meat have been completely diced.

2.     Stir in peas and add pasta sauce.  Mix well.

3.     Microwave on high (900W) for 1-2 minutes.

The piping hot rice is moist and soft.  Serve with some grated cheddar and it has a similar texture to risotto but in only a fraction of the time.  A great way to use up leftover rice!

Mash for grown-ups - episode 3

Teriyaki salmon mash

(Makes 4 serves)

2 x salmon fillets (skin removed)

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup mirin

½ tbsp brown sugar

Squirt of lemon juice

Small piece of fresh ginger (grated)

For mash:

1 x sweet potato

3 x medium sized potatoes

Salt, pepper, butter and/or milk to taste

1.     Combine soy, mirin, sugar, lemon juice and grated ginger in a bowl.  Stir to combine and marinate the salmon fillets in the mixture inside the fridge for 15-20 minutes.

2.   Grill the salmon (approx. 6 minutes each side on medium heat or until cooked through).  When turning the fish, spoon over some more of the marinade.  It should caramelise beautifully under the grill.

3.   Boil potatoes until soft and then mash until smooth with salt, pepper, butter and/or milk to taste. 

4.   Now the fun bit!  Blend half a salmon fillet with two generous spoonfuls of the sweet potato mash and serve.

Serving suggestion: I sometimes like to blend in up to half an avocado (or a few tablespoons of cooked peas) and 1 tsp of sour cream. 

Potato and broccoli mash

(Makes 2 serves)

2 x medium sized potatoes

1 x small head of broccoli

Salt and pepper to taste

(To serve: 2-3 tbsp chicken pate and some grated parmesan cheese)

1.   Boil potatoes until soft.  In the same or a different saucepan, boil/steam the broccoli until soft.

2.     Season and mash together the potatoes and broccoli.

3.   To serve, mix the potato and broccoli mash with chicken pate (this should melt from the heat of the mash) and grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Mash for grown-ups - episode 2

Slow cooked chicken goulash

(Makes 4 serves)

See brilliant recipe from Slow Cookers - more than 100 easy recipes 

To turn it into mash, simply blend a serve of the chicken (and plenty of the sauce) with some steamed rice.

Great idea for leftover sauce (for lunch the following day)...

Boil up some risoni until it is very soft, drain and mix in some reheated sauce (which may still have fine shreds of chicken through it).  Top with some grated parmesan and sprinkle some marjoram on top and voila!

Risoni with goulash sauce and grated parmesan

Mash for grown-ups - episode 1

Okay so the dietary highlights of my last four weeks post-dental trauma have been as follows:

• Week 1 - graduating from liquids to rice pudding (trust me it was a huge milestone at the time)
• Week 2 - rediscovering bircher muesli (albeit finely processed)
• Week 3 - mmmmm, teriyaki grilled salmon blended into sweet potato mash
• Week 4 - pasta at last (albeit tiny risoni) and a first welcome taste of slow cooked chicken...

The simple pleasures.  Still another four weeks of soft food to go before the splint comes off my teeth and I can (hopefully?) chew again.  Something I've learnt over the last month - baby food is okay but not terribly satisfying.  There are loads of puree recipes out there for kids but not a lot of flavoursome stuff for grown-ups.  So here are some of my own.

Dawn’s ‘wholemeal’ bircher muesli

(Makes 3-4 serves)

2 handfuls of porridge oats

3 tbsps All Bran cereal

3 tsps LSA mix

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

1 orange (zest and juice)

1 apple or pear

Approx 350ml soy milk

1.     Place the oats and All Bran in a food processor and pulse until very fine.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg and LSA mix.

2.    Place the orange zest and apple (or pear) into the food processor and finely chop.  Transfer to the bowl and combine with the oat mix.

3.     Juice the orange and make up to 400ml with soy milk.  Pour over the oats and stir until everything is combined.

4.     Refrigerate overnight.

'Wholemeal' bircher muesli

Serving suggestion:  I use my blender to mash up a small banana, a spoonful of fresh blueberries, half a peach (or whatever seasonal fruit is handy) and a tablespoon of plain greek yoghurt.  The resulting fruit smoothie spooned over the bircher with a drizzle of pure honey adds some colour and extra flavour.  Wonderful!

The final product

Simple snack

(Single serve)

½ avocado

3 tbsps of hummus

Simply mash the avocado, mix in the hummus and enjoy!