HEARTY SPINACH POLENTA PIE and A MEAL IN A MUFFIN

Muffins have a made a few appearances on billie bites, but I have a confession to make: Billie didn't actually manage to eat those. She wasn't quite ready to deal with the texture. Too crumbly or something.

But times have a changed. When I pulled out these vegetable muffins at our wee mothers' group gathering at Bronte Park this week, Billie instantly began her arm-flapping routine reserved for letting us know she wants some of that food please. This was despite her already haven eaten a hearty lunch at home. She demolished one and a half muffins, enjoying the freedom of being able to make as much mess as possible.

This was a little experiment to see if there's a limit to how much vegetables pack into one batch of muffins. At first when they came out of the oven I was concerned they were too moist. But after being left a few minutes to cool they were a fabulous mini meal. You could reduce the carrots, perhaps.

MEAL-IN-A-VEGETABLE-MUFFIN

220g self raising flour (half wholemeal)

1 cup grated strong cheddar, or 2 cups mild

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup milk

2 medium carrots, grated

2 small courgettes/zucchini, grated

1 handful parsley, finely chopped

1 spring onion/scallion, finely chopped

Generously grease 12 muffin tins with butter, or line with paper baking cups. Preheat oven to 200 c. 

Sift flour into large bowl, add cheese and parsley and spring onions/scallions. Set aside. Whisk eggs, oil and milk together and add carrot and courgette. When everything is ready, gently and quickly combine wet and dry ingredients in large bowl and swiftly divide into muffin tins. Lingering at this point is not good for your muffins. Place in oven for about 20-25 mins or until browned on top and cooked through. Remove from tins and cool on wire wracks. Nice warm but Billie and I enjoyed left-overs the next day.

Navajo Tribal Nation - Monument Valley

Now for dinner...
I returned home from our re-acquaintance with the ocean to learn friends were coming for dinner. And a gluten-free friend at that. So I dived for the polenta jar and re-created this warming pie which proved popular with the Chicago in-laws. Despite it being the height of summer there.

HEARTY SPINACH POLENTA PIE

2 litres water

350 g polenta

1/4 t salt

 3 T olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

800 g tomatoes

1/2 t salt

2 T fresh oregano or basil, chopped

2 T parsley, chopped

Bunch English spinach

2 cups grated strong cheddar, or Parmesan

First prepare the polenta. Bring 2 litres of water to the boil in a large pot. Grease two large wide square or rectangle pie dishes. Or you can use one pie dish and one baking sheet. Sprinkle from a height 350g polenta and 1/4 t salt, stirring as you go. Turn heat to low and stir almost constantly until thickened. It will probably only take a few mins. When you can almost stand the spoon up in it remove form heat and whip through a tablespoon of butter and grind in some black pepper. Pour and spread evenly into pie dishes/baking sheet. One layer will be left as is in the dish and the other will be removed when cool and set to layer on top of the other.

Preheat the oven to 220 c. Prepare the red sauce (or use a good quality jar if in a hurry). Heat oil in a pot. Saute onions and garlic, add tomatoes and salt and black pepper. Simmer on low with lid off for about 30 minutes (or until you are ready to use). Add fresh herbs and remove from heat.

Pick spinach and wash. Lay uncooked leaves flat on top of polenta layer in large pie dish. Layer up half the bunch. Spoon over a third of the sauce. Sprinkle some of the cheese over. Now place the other polenta slab (you can cut it into manageable pieces) on top and then cover with another third of the sauce and the rest of the cheddar. Place in hot oven for about 20 mins or until golden and heated through.

Cook the remaining spinach in a large pot with a knob of butter on medium heat for 5 mins. Shake half way through. 

Serve the pie with the wilted hot spinach on the side, and a spoon of the remaining sauce, reheated.

Makes very good leftovers for lunch.

Interesting research into how diet affects babies' future obesity and allergy tendancies

PERFECT PIE, CINNAMON PINWHEELS and HAPPY EIGHT-MONTH B'DAY

There's nothing more satisfying, in the kitchen, than serving a pie hot out of the oven. Particularly a perfect pie. Last night we marveled at it for several minutes before tasting. And yes, it tasted even better than it looked. Billie devoured hers.

If you're expecting pastry here you may be disappointed. In my world there are many types of pie, and the pastry version is just one - albeit one of my favorites.

Not everyone sees it this way.  When a friend visiting last year from Chicago arrived for dinner he said he was very curious about "this pie" I had promised. When Brian saw the polenta tomato bake he laughed and said, "that's not a pie". In the United States pies are usually sweet, or if they are savoury they are called pot pies and normally contain chicken.

Last night's pie - delicious tonight as leftovers - involved ahem more polenta, mushrooms and cheese sauce. This is adapted from a fantastic New Zealand Italian cook - Julie Biuso.

As my first attempt at her recipe I was rather pleased with the result. Especially at my new discovery that polenta can take on a bit of a sponge cake look and feel if done like this: I doubled the water,  cooked it for longer but importantly poured into trays while still runny. So the finished product was much lighter and airy. I've turned over a new leaf - I will always make polenta for pies in this way.

MUSHROOM POLENTA PIE

250g polenta

2 litres water

1/2 tspn salt

70g butter

6 T flour

500ml full cream milk

salt

freshly ground black pepper

freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

large knob of butter

300g mushrooms, sliced

First make the polenta (this can be done ahead of time). Grease the oven dish, 30cmx30cm or equivalent. Also grease a second tray (can be plastic, as not going in oven). Bring the water to the boil, then sprinkle in polenta, stirring as you go. Turn heat down to very low and stir until thickened, but still quite runny (you should NOT  be able to stand a spoon up in it). Pour half into greased oven dish and other half onto tray, so both are about the same size. Smooth over and leave to set. 

Preheat oven to 220c. Meanwhile, melt the first lot of butter in small pot and add flour. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Bring to the boil, stirring all the while. Turn to low and simmer for one minute or so, still stirring. Remove from heat and add pepper, nutmeg, 4 T of the paremsan and 3/4 tspn salt. Cover and set aside. 

Heat large frying pan on high and add large knob of butter. When melted, add mushrooms and cook on high for a few mins, until lightly browned and liquid absorbed (mushrooms produce quite a bit, and need to be cooked on high to avoid just going soggy). 

Time to layer up. Spread half the mushrooms on top of the polenta in the oven dish. Cover with half the bechamel sauce and half the remaining parmesan. Place the other slab of polenta on top, followed by the rest of the mushrooms, sauce and finally cheese. 

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbling on top. We ate it both nights with steamed French green beans. Anything green would do though. And it reheats in the oven very well.

Did someone mention a birthday? Well, little Ms Billie turned 8-months today. To celebrate, she had her first cracker. I was impressed how swiftly she got rid of it. Without any choking noises. And they were crunchy crackers.

But later at the park with friends she noticed she was missing out on the celebratory pinwheel scones. She's a fast mover. In a split second she grabbed one-year-old Henry's piece of scone and almost had it in her mouth. But her mother foiled her sugary grab and handed her back a bite of scone minus the sugar filling. Billie didn't notice what she wasn't missing.

This is an easy old classic, you can play around with the size and amount of sugar/butter/cinnamon filling.

CINNAMON PINWHEEL SCONES

First make a basic scone dough. If you don't have your own try this. The key to scones is speed. Don't start until the baby is asleep.

Before making the scone dough prepare the filling. Melt 80g butter and mix with 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar and  tspn cinnamon.

250g self-raising flour (a mix of white and wholemeal)

40g butter, at room temperature - or soft

pinch of salt

150 ml milk

a little extra flour

Preheat oven to 220c. Grease a baking sheet or tray. Sift flour into bowl, add butter and rub with fingers to combine. Add salt and then use a knife to mix in milk gradually. Flour hands and knead into a ball - it should be very wet, but not so much that you can't handle it. Add little more milk if necessary. Roll dough out on a floured bench or board and roll thinly - about 30cm x 20xm.

Now spread cinnamon mixture fairly evenly over dough, leaving about 2cm uncovered on long side away from you. Wet this with water then roll tightly, finishing with wet edge so sticks. Slice into eight pieces, place on tray and bake near top of oven for 15 mins or until lightly browned top and bottom.

Cool on wire rack and eat as soon as possible. No butter, jam or cream needed. Just a nice cup of tea.

                                          Billie and her fellow-8-month-old friend Marilla