• 3 bunches or asparagus (500g)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 french shallots or 1 onion; finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic; finely chopped
• 2 cups arborio rice (400g)
• 1 cup white wine
• Pinch of saffron
• 6-8 cups stock (veggie or whatever you like)
• 1 cup parmesan cheese + extra to serve
• 3 tablespoons butter

1. Heat your stock in large saucepan and keep it warm. Break the woody ends off the asparagus and discard; then chop the asparagus into 2 or 3 (depending on the size of your asparagus). Set the asparagus tips to the side.
2. Add the oil, garlic and shallot to a large frying pan and sauté until softened. Add the rice and stir to coat in the oil. Add the wine and stir until it has absorbed. Add asparagus (expect the tips), saffron and a few ladles of stock and stir until absorbed. Continue adding a ladle at a time. Toward the end of cooking add the asparagus tips. The risotto is ready when all the stock is gone or the risotto is creamy and cooked through – but not mushy. About 25 minutes or so.
3. Add the butter and parmesan and stir until melted through. Serve with extra parmesan on top.

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• 210 g tin red salmon
• 2-3 medium sized potatoes (you want about equal quantities of salmon and potato – or adjust to your liking)
• 1 small onion , finely chopped
• 1 tbls chopped parsley
• Salt (optional)
• Oil for frying
• Flour to coat patties

1. Cook the onion – either steam or toss in the frying pan until tender
2. Boil the potatoes in water until also tender; mash
3. Combine the cooked onion, mashed potato, salmon, parsley and salt if using, in a bowl
4. Form into little patties and toss in flour
5. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook patties until golden brown.

All the ingredients are cooked so you are really just trying to achieve a nice golden colour.  Suitable to freeze.  Once H was a little older I left the onion raw and it cooked enough in the pan alone. 
Try adding veggies like broccoli, grated carrot or sweet potato to the mix if you like. 

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• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic; crushed
• 1 onion; finely sliced
• 2 stalks celery; chopped
• 2 carrots; chopped
• 1 big bunch of silverbeet; finely sliced
• 400 g tin whole tomatoes
• 1 litre stock (good quality veggie stock, chicken, beef or whatever you like)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes *or adjust to your liking
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 400 g tin cannellini bean
• 1 loaf of country style white bread; cut into chunks
• parsley for serving

1. Add the olive oil to a large saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic. Add the carrot and celery and continue cooking until softened. Add the silverbeet and cook until starting to wilt. Add the tomatoes, stock, bay leaf, chilli and salt. Bring to the boil and then cover and let simmer for about 45 minutes. Add the beans and allow to cook for an additional few minutes.
2. Add the crusty bead to an oven tray and bake until golden and crispy
3. To serve, ladle the soup bowls, add some bread and then another ladle of soup. Garnish with parsley and serve

Serves 6 as a mainIf also preparing for baby, take a few portions for baby before adding the salt. Puree or mash to suit age and chewing abilities.

Add 2 tins of beans if you like

• 300 g fennel (approximately 2 large bulbs)
• 1/2 leek
• Butter
• Tarragon
• 2 1/2 cups organic chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

1. Sauté the trimmed and chopped fennel and leek with 1 tablespoon of butter to soften – about 5 minutes
2. Add 2 1/2 cups stock; boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer until fennel is tender – about 15 minutes
3. I used a vitamin to purée which produces a beautiful creamy soup but depending on your type of blender you may need to strain the mixture at this point
4. When cool, garnish with tarragon and serve

Adapted from NY Times – 12 Cold Soups

• 2 Kohlrabi (green & purple – they taste the same)
• 3 Apples (I used pink lady but use any)
• 3 Carrots

1. Peal all ingredients. Grate ingredients to a medium coarseness
2. For baby – Add a portion to steamer basket and steam for roughly 5 minutes – server warm or cold
3. For Mum & Dad – Add some mayonnaise and mustard – server

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• 150 g Sole Fillet (approximately 2 fillets with skin off and bones removed)
• 2 cups roughly chopped cauliflower
• 1 witlof
• a few sprigs of parsley
• zest of one lemon and a little squeeze of lemon juice

1. Add all ingredients to a steamer basket except the lemon juice and cook until the vegetables are tender and the fish is cooked through. About 15 minutes
2. Once cooked add to a blender with a squeeze of lemon juice and puree until smooth
3. Serve warm, freeze remainder

Makes approximately 8 x 60 ml portions

Take saucepan off the heat and add the cup of popcorn kernels.  Swish the popcorn around in the pan or 30 seconds off the heat to make sure they are covered in the oil.  Return to the heat and partially cover with a lid.

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• 1 bunch Kale (any sort – curly, ornamental or dinosaur)
• Olive oil
• Celtic Sea salt (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F)
2. Wash kale and remove the leaves from the stem. Tear large leave into medium size pieces
3. Allow to dry thoroughly (I used a salad spinner)
4. Drizzle with olive oil toss it around so it is all coated. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and bake in a single layer approximately 8 – 10 minutes (ornamental or dinosaur) or the curly variety takes a little longer approximately 10-12 minutes

Switch to Celtic Sea Salt, it retains the oceans moisture, which helps lock in many vital trace elements.

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• 4 oranges or as many as you like
• 1 block of good quality dark chocolate

1. Wash the oranges really well because we are keeping the skin on. Then slice very finely. I used a mandolin which makes easy work of this
2. If you have a food dehydrator, use according to your machines guidelines. I dried mine for approx a day and a half but this really depends on how juicy your oranges are and the thickness of the slices
3. If using the oven, preheat oven to 160 degrees C, pat oranges with a paper towel to absorb some of the moisture and then lay oranges on a fine wire rack. (something like a cake cooling rack would do). Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes checking often. Like above this really depends on the thickness of the slices so check regularly

For the chocolate

1. Break the chocolate up and add to a saucepan or metal bowl. Sit this over another saucepan with water in it to create a double boiler. Heat on the stove top until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat and dip the orange slices in to the chocolate and place on baking paper to set (takes about 20 minutes)

My oven instruction is a quick technique that I experimented with, but you don’t quite achieve the results you do in the dehydrator. A quick search of the web and there are longer techniques that involve drying in the oven over 8 hrs.

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• 3/4 cup of quinoa and white rice; mixed – or just use quinoa if you prefer
• 1 zucchini; halved down the centre and chopped
• 1/2 capsicum , chopped
• 3 asparagus , chopped
• 2 big handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 bunch of mint , chopped
• 1 small head of broccoli
• juice of half a lemon
• olive oil
• pinch salt

1. Cook Quinoa and rice on the stove top using the absorption method (see how to, in notes below). Alternatively cook rice your usual way and add veggies later
2. Once rice has cooked or all the water has absorbed. Add the veggies on top of the rice. Allow to steam for 5 min or until tender. The heat should be very low so the rice doesn’t catch on the bottom of the saucepan. Alternative steam veggies separately and mix together later
3. Once cooked, allow to cool slightly, transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cool
4. Once cool, add mint, lemon, a few good splashes of olive oil and salt

Easily serves a family of 3Don’t be concerned about quantities, add as many or as little veggies as you like.

Absorption Method: to do this I add rice to the saucepan and add enough water so the level comes to or just below the first bend in my index finger – If your finger is poking straight down just touching the top of the rice. Place lid on saucepan and bring to the boil. Once boiling turn down heat as low as it will go and leave rice to cook for about 10 minutes