Playing catch-up

I've been a little bit slack over the weekend so here I am playing catch-up again.

In my now-regular mission to use up the veges in the fridge before the new delivery arrives I wanted to do something with zucchini for breakfast on Saturday. I toyed with the idea of a zucchini quiche but I didn't have any tofu on hand & couldn't be bothered going out in the crazy-crazy wind. So I decided on zucchini & corn fritters. After checking all my cookbooks I couldn't find a decent recipe so I made these up. And they turned out to be delicious - even D loved them. He went out to get the all-important coffee & brought back a sourdough baguette so I thought I may as well add that to the plate (with a little olive oil drizzled over - yum!). I served my fritters with some tomato relish that I bought from the Williamstown Farmers Market quite some time ago - it was the perfect accompaniment.

Zucchini & Corn Fritters

• 1 large zucchini, coarsely grated
  
• 1 TBS tahini
  
• 1/3 cup besan flour (you could use plain flour - but the besan makes these super healthy & adds a lovely nutty flavour)
  
• 1/2 cup corn kernels
  
• 1/2 tsp hot paprika
  
• Salt & pepper to taste

Place the grated zucchini in a colander & squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Then mix all the ingredients together. Heat a little olive oil in a frypan over medium heat & drop large spoonfuls of the batter into the pan. Use a spatula to flatten the fritters and cook 3-4 mins on each side, until golden brown.

I served these hot but I could tell they would be equally good cold - I'm thinking they would be perfect for a summer picnic (if this greyness ever goes away!)

Moving on to dinner on Sunday night. Again, trying to use the veges - particularly an abundance of carrots & celery. Since the weather was so miserable I also wanted something hot & comforting - so I made up a Vegetable & Bean chilli, served with cornbread. This was also delicious & lived up to D's fussy palate. I made heaps because I know I won't feel like cooking much this week with a few late-ish nights lined up.

Vegetable & Bean Chilli

• 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed & drained
  
• 1 can cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
  
• 2 cans crushed tomatoes
  
• 4 small carrots, diced finely
  
• 1 onion, diced finely
  
• 4 sticks celery, diced finely
  
• A few dashes of liquid smoke (I used the Hickory one) - if you don't have liquid smoke, use smoked paprika & other spices of choice to add some flavour
  
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  
• 1 chilli, chopped finely or 1 tsp store-bought chilli in a jar (which is what I had on hand)
  
• 1 cup veg stock - I used the Massel beef-style.
  
• Salt & pepper to taste

Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan over medium hot. Cook the onion, carrot, celery, garlic & chilli, stirring, 5-10mins, until softened. Add the remaining ingredients & bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover, & simmer, stirring occasionally, 20-30mins. Serve hot with cornbread from The Joy of Vegan Baking.