Pumpkin and Tuna Pasta

Simple. Quick. Delicious. 

Having Italian grandparents my family have always been really big on eating pasta. Weirdly enough we don't really experiment that often, tomato sauce base or pesto sauce base, never plain simple good old pasta. After seeing my friend Sabine at lunch munching on tuna pasta that looked delicious but was apparently so easy to make I had to get the recipe from her. Tweaking it here and there I came up with this pumpkalisious pasta dish that was a perfect treat for when I got home from racing that night.

Simple Pumpkin and Tuna Pasta 

Ingredients

1-2 cups pumpkin, cut into small cubes

500g penne pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Salt and pepper to taste

400g tin of cooked tuna

250g canned corn kernels

250g whole olives, kalamata or black

Extra olive oil, enough to coat all the cooked pasta

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Fill a large pot with water about ¾ of the way.
3. Heat the pot over medium heat, add a handful of salt and allow to boil. 
4. Meanwhile on the prepared baking tray add pumpkin cubes, cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Be sure that all the pumpkin cubes are coated.
5. Put the pumpkin in the preheated oven and roast for 20 minutes or until slightly tender.
6. When your pot of water is boiling add your pasta and stir immediately. Cook the penne until al dente. Drain and run over with cold running water. Set aside.
7. In the same pot that you cooked the pasta in heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.
8. Add the garlic.
9. Once garlic cooked and oil is hot add your drained pasta and mix for 3 minutes allowing the   pasta to slightly crisp up.
10. Add corn, olives, tuna, and roasted pumpkin to the pot with the pasta and stir until combined.
11. Then stir in enough olive oil to coat your pasta completely, but not drench it.
12. Continue to stir for about 5 minutes.
13. Be sure your tuna, olives and corn are warm then turn off the heat and serve.

    Printable Recipe

- Grace

 Discover. Cook. Then just show the world.

Late Christmas and Birthday Food haul

We all love it when we get loads of brand knew things and don't have a clue what to start using first, your all crazy excited that you just stare at your goodies for a while being jelly of yourself. Especially when you get given them by someone else.
Lately I have been feeling these exact feels and thought I would share my pressies with you. This is basically a Food related haul showing all the latest gifts I've gotten for either Christmas or my birthday.
Just a pre warning this is my first time writing a blog post like this so I'm not all up to date with the how it all works.
I realise it is a bit late to be doing a Christmas and birthday haul as it was about 2-3 months ago. But really what the hell there's no rules and if there is I'm gonna break them because I'm excited and want to share all my goodies with you.

OK LETS BEGIN

These cuties are from Dasio for only $2.80 a packet. If you have never had a awesome shopping experience in Dasio WOW your missing out. It's the best little(really huge) Japanese shop that has stores in Australia too!! Everything and I mean EVERYTHING is $2.80 andIt sells from the most basic to the most quirkiest stuff you'll ever want. My sister actually came home one day with these for me after thinking they would be absolutely perf for peanut butter cups. Good choice Beth

I had been wanting for these baby's for a while. When one day I randomly found them chillin' on my kitchen bench. Apparently mums friend didn't want them anymore... well beauty ! Cake Time

I think these are the most convenient simple to use things ever. Flower fondant punch cutters. I got these given to me by my lovely bestie Brigitte for Kris Kringle last year. HAHAHA she knows me way to well.

                         

Very simply a well awaited thermometer I got this one given to me by a family friend for my birthday along with the Great Australian Bake Off Cookbook that I LOVE. It's just so beautiful.                                

A zester and a spatula. Shockingly I didn't have these two items before and I really thought they would come in handy often. My mum and sister obviously thought so too (or knew I wanted them) because I got them given to me for Christmas YAYA

My mother is a absolute second hand book store juncky and she told me when she was hunting in one she came across this and thought I would appreciate it. And I do! Its so vintage and actually old. The way the recipes are written is so awesome. Its an original Esk Valley Cookery Book which is written by members of the Esk Valley Group of the C.W.A situated in Tasmania. It is made up of treasured recipes given to be shared with others.

Did you really think I would write a post like this without mentioning my fav Jamie Oliver! I got this amazing cook book from my lovely mum and dad for Christmas. I was so excited I was drooling over all the food as soon as it was opened. This is Jamie's cookbook Cook With Jamie - a guide to making you a better cook. It sits on my desk and I am absolutely in love with it!

THAT'S IT I hope you enjoyed a little insight on my new goodies (well not so new anymore)

- Grace

Discover. Cook. Then just show the world.

Thursday's Dinner

Thursday night for me are hectic ! I come home from school, prepare dinner, go to cycling training for two hours, come home and cook dinner for my fab fam.
I try to make each Thursdays meal different. Each recipe including skills I don't already know, so I can learn and become a more experienced cook.

This week I wanted to create something delicious and vegan. So delicious that my parents wouldn't even question that it is meatless (as they are not vegan themselves). I find vegan food scrumptious but I know a lot of people look down on it and just think it will taste bland and boring, that is why I wanted to prove my parentals wrong and cook up a pumpkin, pasta loving storm.

Pasta with Butternut Squash, Sage and Pine Nuts

My end result

I found this recipe whilst pondering on Pinterest for yummy vegan meals. Luckily i came across this recipe created by 'The Kitchn' seeing as I absolutely love pumpkin and pasta I thought this would be the winner. 

The Kitchn - Pasta with Butternut Squash, Sage and Pine nuts

These are all the ingredients I intended on using when I began cooking, I did though not use the zucchini but instead I used about a cup of spinach in its place; I did this to add an element of greenery to the pasta recipe. The place i thought best to add the spinach in, is when the recipes instructions call on you to add the toasted pine nuts, this will give the spinach enough time to heat up and wilt a bit.

I would recommend using the freshest sage possible I grow some in my veggie garden so I just picked a few leaves and was ready to go.

Before roasting the butternut pumpkin; mixed with sage, onion, garlic, oil and salt and pepper.

A little tip for avoiding your pasta sticking together is to add about a tablespoon of olive oil when boiling your water for the pasta to cook in.

I like to toast my pine nuts myself so I can be sure there is not added salt, sugar or oil. If you are interest in doing the same as I, add natural pine nuts to a small sauce pan, heated to medium. Be sure to keep string the nuts so they do not burn but only become slightly browned. They burn easily(I learnt the hard way many times)

Be sure to run hot water over the pasta once drained in order for the pasta not to stick together.

I thoroughly enjoyed cooking and especially eating this meal. I made sure not to add cheese so the recipe would be completely vegan. Feel free to add as much cheese as you like, put some in bowl so you can sprinkle it on top if you wish to do so. Next time I make this pasta dish I would roast more pumpkin so there is enough to puree about 1/4 of it. I would then add it to my pasta when frying it off so my end result will be more creamy and saucy.

- Grace

Discover. Cook. Then just show the world.

Why i Stopped Eating Meat - Tim Sheiff  http://www.youtube.com/user/99timshi

Direct link to the AMAZING video

I never thought I would actually truly consider going vegan. I always though maybe vegetarian that would be easier, 'just no meat'. But really if your going to do it do it right. 'Go hard or go home'

I have had chickens as pets all my life... I never really took it in that I am eating my pets basically for dinner about 5 times a week !
My most recent chickens were battery hens saved from an old caged chicken farm. I used to think wow we did something really good by saving them and bringing them to a free life. Whilst I was still able to eat eggs and chicken nearly everyday. I can't even comprehend the pain my chickens and billions of other chickens go through day in and day out when caged. Ever since they were 'lucky' (really how could I even use the word lucky) enough not to get slaughtered, they still are forced to live their life in cages that they can't even walk in; so small their feathers are worn away from how tightly squeezed they are into these cages.

I always thought I was dong the morally right thing by not buying caged eggs from the food store, which I defiantly was but why haven't I ever taken it to any further and really made the right change to my life. As I have always felt strongly about animal rights I should of come to this conclusion long ago but to be honest the only reason I hadn't tried going vegan or vegetarian before is because I though secretly 'that would be to hard' gosh how selfish can I be. I also never realised how much energy, carbs and protein you can get from an all vegan diet because I am a cyclist I never wanted to miss out on eating food that would give me energy for the best result but really as this video says you can get all the energy you need from the most natural and raw source there is, FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

My recipes will still be no vegan but hopefully soon when i gain more knowledge i will be able to give advice on how to make them vegan.

Thank you Tim Sheiff. This video was amazing it has influenced me to try being vegan for myself. It is going to be tough I know! Defiantly coming from a Italian background and because our family eats chicken nearly for every dinner meal. If I fail I will got vegetarian and if that fails i will cut out all major meats, or go vegan a few days a week, trying as hard as I can to make the difference one person at a time to improving this major problem in the world.

Quote from Tim Sheiff  'Pigs are as intelligent as 3 year old children'

- Grace

Discover. Cook. Then just show the world.