5 Minute Food Fix

It sounds silly but farting is a genuine consideration in a lot of peoples' cooking, especially those of us with the most tedious of all the tedious food intolerances, #FODMAP.

Garlic and onion are the devil to our digestive systems and a "bad case of the farts" is way worse than it sounds!

BLACK BEAN RAGU - NO FARTS!

Dice 2 medium eggplant to a 1cm dice

Fry that off in a big frypan in 4tbs of HOT olive oil. Allow 10 mins to really get it soft and a little browned, shrunken down and looking edible and awesome.

Meanwhile, in a blender/food processor, whizz 1 tin of black beans, including the liquid, with 3 good-sized tomatoes, 1tbs white miso, 2tbs tomato paste, and 2 tsp of chilli oil (I use gochujang)

Add this to the frypan with a second tin of black beans, this one drained and rinsed, and 200ml stock.

Allow to cook down for another 5-10 minutes.

Serve on rice, pasta, polenta, toast or on its own.

BASED ON AN ORIGINAL RECIPE FROM Bee Wilson 'The Secret of Cooking'

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YES, we do exist! Not just figments of your fever dream that is 2024!

And we'll be meeting you in person at the Sydney Writers Festival 2024 - Saturday 25 May, 11am with special guest foodies Alex Elliott-Howery (aka "Alex Cornersmith"), and Lucy 'Every Night of the Week' Tweed.

It's 11am so you have time to get to the shops, chuck on the slow cooker, grab a coffee and then come sit with us.

https://www.swf.org.au/program/season-2024/the-dinner-dilemma

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Okay, if you're part of a diasporic community in Australia, there's a strong chance you're all over Plantain as an ingredient! But this incredible, versatile and super delicious ingredient was previously it's not grown locally, was hard-to-find, and expensive. THAT'S ALL CHANGING. (Coming soon to a fancy restaurant near you!)

Plantain is Yumi's prediction for hitting the mainstream here in restaurants, cafes, cooking shows and at home - - so get onto it first!

TO MAKE SIMPLE PLANTAIN CHIPS YOU'LL NEED:

3 yellowish to black plantains

1 flat teaspoon cayenne pepper

generous pinch of salt

4mm sunflower oil for frying

ALSO - We are very excited to be coming to Sydney Writers Festival! Saturday 25th May, 11am at Carriageworks, Simon and I will be joined by Alex from Cornersmith, Lucy 'Every Night of the Week' Tweed and all our usual LoLs and obsessive food chat so please come along!

https://www.swf.org.au/program/season-2024/the-dinner-dilemma

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Don't forget you can come see us with Alex Cornersmith and Lucy 'Every Night of the Week' Tweed at the Sydney Writers Festival on Saturday 25 May, at the extremely farmer's-market-friendly time of 11am! Carriageworks!

On today's episode we're celebrating the rando gadgets you find in hotel kitchens, in this case, the legendary JAFFLE PRESS.

To make The Perfect Baked Bean Jaffle?

plug in the jaffle and get it going

2 slices of sandwich bread (wholemeal or white)

butter the outsides

swipe the insides with a little mustard if you're into that kinda spice

fill the sandwich with a few spoonfuls of drained Wattie's Baked Beans

topped with cracked pepper

generous Havarti cheese

Toast until the cheese is oozing

EAT IMMEDIATELY WHILE ALSO AVOIDING SCALDING THE INSIDE OF YOUR MOUTH

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Simon and Yumi go deep on the humble potato in this episode.

Can washing grotty old potatoes be worth the effort?

What's the difference in supermarket varieties?

NOTES: The word "yogghurt" is not used once in this effort.

WARNING: Curve ball about dishwashers saved til end of episode.

The Dinner Dilemma is going to be a hoot at this year's Sydney Writers Festival! For more info follow this link

https://www.swf.org.au/program/season-2024/the-dinner-dilemma

and to send a couple of photos of the contents of your fridge and pantry?

[email protected]

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Rhubarb only has a short season, but that just makes it more glorious!

It *does* require sweetening, so how do you measure what's the appropriate amount without killing the delicate, perfumed flavour?

Yumi does have a terrific and doable RHUBARB COMPOTE recipe:

800g trimmed, washed and dried rhubarb, cut into finger-lengths

250 - 300g sugar

1 tsp vanilla (optional)

juice of 4 imperial mandarins

Juice the mandarins and cook down with the sugar until reduced by about half before adding all the rhubarb and stirring continuously for 12 minutes. Store in the fridge for 1 - 2 weeks. Eat on cereal with Greek yoghurt or top with crumble topping!

WE ARE AT SYDNEY WRITERS FESTIVAL 2024! Simon and I (Yumi) will be onstage on Saturday 24 May with Alex Elliot-Howery from Cornersmith and Every. Night. Of. The. Week. cookbook author Lucy Tweed. Come along! And if you want your fridge and pantry to be featured, discussed and "solved", email [email protected] with photos of their contents!

https://www.swf.org.au/program/season-2024/the-dinner-dilemma

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This episode is a game-changer for the time-poor home cook.

You've got some zucchini, broccoli stems, a few withered cherry tomatoes and an eggplant looking more wizened than Gandalf?

Use them up in this amazing way to reduce waste and have food ready to go for when you need a pasta sauce, a soup base, or something to layer in a lasagna.

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Avocados being as cheap as they are right now (May 2024) feels like a TREAT.

So what can we do with them and how do we get our kids to eat them?

Yumi has a couple of ways to get them into your body! And your kids!

And Simon knows about what the different varieties mean and how much a local cafe can charge for Smashed Avo these days.

JAPANESE ABSORPTION METHOD RICE

You need a relatively small, good quality saucepan with a lid that fits. You also need kitchen scales.

Weigh out your rice.

Rinse rice in cold water twice.

Allow the rice to sit for at least half an hour, no more than 16 hours.

Cook on your smallest stove element, on HIGH for 7 minutes. Turn the heat to the stove's lowest settings for another 7 minutes, then switch off the heat and allow the rice to steam. (Don't remove the lid.)

Some portion options...

I use this quantity most often. It's enough for a modest portion for 3-4 people.

240g rice + 360g water = 600g total weight (not counting the saucepan)

Single serve?

150g rice + 220g water = 370g

Bigger family?

300g rice + 440g water = 740g

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Today we're taking a break from the old routine. I've got a recommendation for you that is NOT food related.

Check out the podcast "Can We Be Real?" hosted by two of my friends - Meshel Laurie and Simon Baggs. We've known each other for years, I love them both dearly, but more important than that, they're fantastic broadcasters.

Can We Be Real is a weekly show that delivers laughs. If you like it, it's available on all major podcast platforms.

I highly recommend it. XX

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From bolognese on toast for one, to a GLORIOUS tuna and tomato on toast for 2 - 4, today's episode is a chance to shed shame around picking the easy route to dinner. Toast is FINE. Toast is GOOD. And if you want to elevate your dinner toast? Listen up.

5 good tomatoes

1 medium tin of tuna in springwater

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried oregano

fresh basil

4 slices of excellent sourdough

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