CORE Curried Cauliflower and Lentil Soup

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1TB curry powder
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 TB rolled oats
• 1TB cumin
• 1/4 cup red lentils
• 700g cauliflower

Method:

Heat oil and cook onion for 5 mins until softened
Add garlic and curry, stir for 30 secs
Add stock, cauli, oats, lentils and cumin
Simmer for 30 mins
Blend and serve with parsley and salt and pepper

Optional: This is really nice with a little grated low fat cheese (10g Coon Extra Light and tasty = 0.5pts)

CORE Roast Vegetables with Sea Salt and Rosemary

Serves: depends on quantity made

Hint: Make double (or triple) then tomorrow all you need to do is grill up some meat and dinner is done!

Freezes well

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

Whatever roast vegetables your family likes - great with just potatoes, or a mix of all

• Any or all of these vegies: Potato, Pumpkin, Carrots, Parsnip, Onion, Capsicum, Sweet potato
• Olive oil (or oil spray)
• Sea salt
• Twig of rosemary (or dried Mixed/Italian herbs)

Method:

Peel vegies which need peeling, and cut into cubes about 2-3cm. (I prefer skin on pumpkin for that lovely nutty flavour, but depends on your family). Capsicum should be deseeded and cut into chunks. Onions should be peeled and whole if small, or quartered.
Get out a large flat lasagna style dish (not metal if possible) and spray the base with oil.
Add vegies in one layer if possible.
Sprinkle with rosemary or dried herbs and about 2 TB salt.
Bake at 200*C until golden (30-40 mins for 2-3 cm cubes, more if chunkier)

Note
For a nice treat, spray and sprinkle some cherry tomatoes.

CORE Peach / Apricot Mousse

This is a great recipe when you have visitors, as it separates into 3 layers and looks like you've spent all day making a fancy layered dessert. It doesn't tend to layer well in wide glass bowls, so if for dessert, I suggest using plain el cheapo juice glasses (like the ones jam come in). You can use champagne glasses if you like, but they don't fit well in my fridge.

Is is also Core for snacks - put in plastic containers or disposable plastic glasses.

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 2 x 200 g Yoplait ForMe yoghurt in apricot, peach or vanilla flavour
• 2 x sachets Aeroplane Peach Apricot Diet Jelly
• 1 x 400g can (or half a big can) of peaches or apricots in juice

Optional - a few drops of sweetener

Method:

Empty the jelly crystals into a heatproof mixing bowl with a capacity of at least 2l.
Add 1 cup of boiling water and use stab mixer to mix.
Add 1 cup of cold water.
Optional - if using sweetener, add here. I only use if having regular people for dinner who expects sweets to be ummm......sweet :)
Leave on bench and allow to cool to room temp (1 hour or so)
Meanwhile, drain the canned peaches/apricots. Slice half and arrange at the bottom of the glasses. It is OK for a little juice to be pooled around them - for some strange reason it seems to cause a layer.
When the jelly mix is cool, add the rest of the tinned peaches/apricots and blend.
Add the yoghurt and blend. Tilt the blender at an angle to it breaks the surface of the mix to add air to the mix. It needs bubbles on the top. (You can put in fridge for 30 mins and blend if you don't get bubbles).
Pour into the glasses with fruit and put in fridge to set for a few hours.

Notes:
You can use whatever flavour canned fruit, jelly or yoghurt you have to hand to make interesting flavour combos, however, I do not recommend using lime jelly (green colour is way too weird). If using a strong flavoured jelly, go for vanilla flavoured yoghurt to tone down a bit.

I also do not recommend using berries as you get that gritty seeds messing up the smooth texture (like in smoothies).
I also do not recommended any type of acidic fresh fruit like oranges or kiwi as it might make the yoghurt separate (and they have enzymes which can break down the setting power of gelatine).
You could use fresh stoned fruit which has been peeled and steamed.

Not on Core? The total of this recipe is approx 4 points