pots & vans

A few months ago, on the spur of the moment we decided to drive to Ballarat for the day. We found ourselves at Racers Cafe for lunch and decided to try Janine's salad. I've never committed to understanding and making good salads, but this simple lunch inspired me to have a crack. Since then, I've tried a few variations on the original. Never the same because you go with the available ingredients, but the basic idea is retained. Today on the drive home from Lismore, we agreed we needed something vegetable-y for dinner, After we cycled through baked veggies and a veggie lasagna, we decided to stop in at FoodWorks in Bangalow to pick up some ingredients to make what I'll now call our Ballarat Salad. I love the textures, flavours and colours in this mixture. The halloumi adds saltiness, the beetroot and sauerkraut some acidic bite. The avo and humus offer some creaminess, the nuts and seeds some crunch and the fritters some warmth and substance. Ingredients mixed lettuce le

This is a recipe from The Chicken Manifesto  and comes from the Konga Nadu area of India, which I adapted with simplified ingredients for the van. This meant using spices that I had, for example ground cumin rather than cumin seeds. I also added greens (broccoli and beans) and a dollop of yogurt to serve.  We've been in Brunswick Heads for a while, and even though it's not cold, the perpetual rain showers make it feel like soup weather. We're also cooking big pots of food to share with Johanna, Luke and Willow while they wait for a new little human to come into the world. I've been making pots of soup to fill their freezer ... Unlike most chicken soups I've cooked, this one cooks the chicken in water/stock, then adds it later to a paste flavoured broth prepared in parallel. Servings pot of soup, 4-6 people Time 2½ hours, most of that cooking time. Equipment (main) Chopping boards and knife Wooden spoon soup pot, plus saucepan for cooking chicken and rice pan for fry