Fresh Fettucini with Pesto

If you are feeling energetic you can make the pasta from scratch, its a fun activity to do with your family but you do need a pasta machine. Its worth making extra so you can dry some to have another day.

Same goes with the pesto - if you have a lot of rocket and basil in the garden make a big batch. It keeps well in the fridge as long as you put gladwrap touching the surface - the top will discolour but its perfectly okay. Adding your fresh pesto will liven up any soup, couscous, pasta, frittata, sandwich or veggie burger.

Basic Pasta Dough

Combine 400g flour with 2 tsp salt in a food processor. With the motor running add 4 eggs and process until the dough clings together and feels springy. If necessary you can add a little olive oil too.

Knead the dough for a few minutes on a clean, dry workbench. Then wrap in gladwrap to rest (preferably) for an hour. Put through the pasta machine on the widest setting and run it through about 3-4 times making the setting thinner and finally changing to the spaghetti or fettucini setting. Flour the pasta and hang it over a broom stick to dry.

Fresh Pesto Recipe

1 bunch basil

1 bunch rocket

2 cloves garlic, crushed

30g parmesan

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup pine nuts

pepper

Rinse the basil and rocket and dry well in a tea towel. Remove all tough stalks and stems. Place the leaves in a food processor along with the pine nuts, parmesan and pepper, then process adding the oil in a thin stream. Scrape down the sides of the processor with a spatula and stir then process briefly again.

Fresh Pasta Dinner

Toast some slivered almonds. Fry thinly sliced mushrooms and zucchini in olive oil with some crushed garlic in a large fry pan. Cook your fresh pasta in boiling salted water - it will only take a few minutes, taste to check when its cooked. Add a few big spoons of pesto to your pan and a big lug of olive oil. Drain the pasta and add to the fry pan then carefully distribute the pesto through the pasta using tongs. Garnish your fresh pasta dish with the almonds, fresh basil leaves, parmesan, cracked pepper and sea salt.

Autumn Pear & Hazelnut Crumble

This crumble recipe is taken from the book 'Vegan Cooking' by Amanda Quinn & Diipali Lilburne and it just goes to show you can make a really scrumptious crumble without loading it with butter. Vitasoy makes a great vanilla ice cream, but I still haven't found a vegan replacement for that damn good refrigerated custard...

4 large pears, cored, peeled and diced into large chunks

1/3 cup dates, chopped

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup water

1 cup oats

1/2 cup wholemeal flour

1/2 cup almond or hazelnut meal

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup hazelnuts, crushed

1/3 cup Nuttelex

Preheat oven to 200•C

Place pears in a saucepan with the dates, water and cinnamon. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Pour into a deep baking dish.

In a bowl mix together the oats, flour, almond meal, sugar and hazelnuts. Melt Nuttelex and add to the oats mixture and mix well. Pour crumble mixture over pears and press down. Bake in the oven 25-30 minutes.

Rustic Mushroom Pies!

If you are craving a hearty winter dinner without the obligatory meat these little pies should do the trick! My kids really like them too served with creamy mashed potato and (of course!) tomato sauce.

They are a little fiddly to make but worth the effort.

Makes 6-8 small pies.

3-4 sheets of frozen puff pastry

1 brown onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 small bag mushrooms - swiss brown or buttons

1 cup vegetable stock

1 small carrot, diced

1Tbs fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or thyme)

ground pepper

1Tbs balsamic vinegar

2Tbs soy sauce

1Tbs (heaped) plain flour

Take the pastry out to defrost while you cook the mushroom filling.

Preheat the oven to 180•C.

Fry the onion in a little olive oil, add the garlic and rosemary. Add the mushrooms and carrots then the balsamic and soy sauce and stock. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the carrots are almost done. Mix the flour with a little water to form a paste then add to the mixture and stir until the gravy thickens. Season with pepper and remove from the heat.

To prepare the pastry cases grease some muffin tin trays then use a large cup or small bowl to cut out circles. Press in the bottom half, add the mushroom filling then add the lid. Fold and pinch your way around - they're supposed to look rustic hence the name! Then pop them in the hot oven for about 30 minutes to brown the pastry while you microwave some spuds to turn into delicious mashed potato. Yum!

Eggplant & Tofu StirFry

This is a really yummy stir fry - crunchy veggies, chewy deep fried tofu, caramelised eggplant! Serve with steamed rice and satay sauce. Herbies Spices does a really excellent and delicious satay spice powder that you just make up on the stove with a little peanut butter, brown sugar and sesame oil.

1 packet hard tofu, patted dry & cubed

1 small eggplant, cubed

canola or peanut oil for deep frying

1 red capsicum, in chunks

1 large red chilli, sliced (optional!)

snow peas, topped and tailed

button mushrooms

2 spring onions, sliced into 1" pieces

2 garlic cloves, chopped

fresh basil leaves

Mix together: 2 Tbs soy sauce + 1 Tbs fish sauce + 2 Tbs oyster sauce + 1 tsp brown sugar

Mix together: 1 tsp cornflour + 1/4 cup boiling water with half a stock cube dissolved

Firstly deep fry the tofu in small batches in hot oil in a wok, draining on paper towel. Then deep fry the eggplant too. Carefully pour the hot oil out of the wok - to a small saucepan is good where it can cool down. Then start your stir fry. Fry the spring onions for a minute, then add the mushrooms and garlic, then lastly the chilli, capsicum and snow peas. Add the soy sauce mixture for a minute then the cornflour stock and stir until the liquid thickens. Serve straight away with the basil sprinkled over.