It is fair to say that I spend a lot of time thinking about food.
It’s such a shame that the joy of preparing and eating good food gets crushed under all the fretting and fear that can attach itself to what we eat. Is this meal high protein, low fat, good fat, sugar free, low potassium, phosphate rich, ethically sourced, paleo, vegan friendly, freezer friendly, calorie controlled, suitable for left handers?? I’ve lost m appetite just typing that absurd and absurdly long sentence,
Anyone who follows me on social media knows that a fair few plates of food feature in my weekly snaps.
I plan my weekends around what I need to buy, and what I’ll cook for myself, not only to enjoy while I spend two days in my pjs, but to get me through the week to come.
Due to popular demand – I believe at least two people have asked – I’ve decided to start sharing recipes on my blog. Huzzah!
It’s very important to state that my recipes are just the recipes of a ‘servantless Australian cook’, to bastardise a Julia Child reference.
They’re not double tested in a beautiful test kitchen a la Donna Hay. They’re not going to guarantee you glowing skin and life-changing weight loss, they’re just recipes of the things I enjoy making, and eating. And they are wilfully imprecise! I don’t measure and weigh everything, I use lugs, sprinkles, handfuls and clatterings, they’re my versions of standardised measurements.
Many of the things I cook are just riffs on existing recipes. My general rule of thumb is that I’ll follow a recipe closely the first time I make it, more than once if it’s got unfamiliar processes or ingredients, and then I freestyle a bit.
As someone on a low sodium regime, that’s the first thing I omit. there’s no salt added to anything I make. I substitute coconut aminos seasoning for soy sauce, I don’t use jarred ingredients as much these days. and I do use a lot more herbs and spices. Basically, I just cook and eat and enjoy myself.
One of my favourite things to riff on is a fritter recipe. Last weekend I cooked these sweet potato and zucchini fritters and they were great!
Sweet potato and zucchini fritters
Simply delicious vegetable fritters.
- 1/2 sweet potato (peeled)
- 1 zucchini
- 1 handful corn kernels
- 1 tsp garlic (minced)
- dried herbs of choice – basil, oregano, chili flakes
- just enough feta (crumbled)
- 1 cup self-raising flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 lug good olive oil
-
Peel the sweet potato and take the ends of the zucchini.
Using a box grater, or food processor, grate the sweet potato and zucchini and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the corn kernels to the grated veg.
Next, add a heaped teaspoon of minced garlic to the grated vegetables.
Flavour this with any combination of herbs and spices you like. I usually go for lots of cracked black pepper, with basil, oregano and chili flakes.
Add the cheese next.
Fold the mixture gently, then add your eggs and flour and mix until everything is combined, and you’re happy with the consistency of the batter – how’s that for imprecise!
Get a fry pan and whack it on the heat. Oil up your pan a little, let it come to a medium heat then put heaped dessert spoonfuls of your veg batter into your pan.
I can usually fit three or four fritters in at a time. I flatten the spoonfuls out a little to form fritter-y shapes.
Don’t turn them too early. You want a nice golden brown fritter.
Once they’re ready to flip, flip them. Let them cook through on the other side and then transfer to a plate with a few pieces of paper towel on it.
Repeat the spooning, flattening, waiting and flipping until all your batter is gone.
The beauty of fritters is you can serve them with any number of things.
I used a microwave packet of coconut rice and some blistered tomatoes with these, but I’ve also served them in rolls with leafy greens, on toast with a poached or fried egg, or next to a bit of chicken.
They are great for a simple dinner, excellent for next day lunchboxes, weekend brunches, after school snacks or meatless Mondays.
If you’re feeding a crowd, double or triple the recipe.
These quantities made enough for me to have for dinner and then leftovers the next day.
And most importantly, substitute anything I’ve used with something you’d prefer. Recipes are guidelines, not dogmas. Employ your own judgment liberally!
I hope you have a go at these fritters. Let me know if the recipe works for you.
Even though I’m not 100% happy with my recipe plug in lay-out, I am hitting publish, because like cooking, you have to just give things a go. Tweaking can wait.
Fritters wait for no-one!
Happy cooking.
Annette x
I Give You The Verbs 
Thank you, Nettie! I love you imperfect measuring, a lady after my own heart!! I will be giving these a go, maybe even tonight!! 💜💜
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Hope they work and taste yummy for you Maz, I am so into being imprecise and bending the ‘right’ way to do things, it’s the only way I know to enjoy life!
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Thank you. You pictures always look very delish.
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I’m all about food that’s simple and colourful, that’s my cooking style. I don’t want to slave over my meals, I want to enjoy them, and make sure there’s always enough for seconds!
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👏thank you so much! These are definitely on the menu for dinner tonight! I think I was one of the ones that asked, and I have to say, I’ve been thinking about these fritters all week! We’ve been out for my niece’s 18th birthday lunch so we are all full. A light dinner like this is just what we need. I’ll let you know how we go.
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I hope they turned out well, Collette, they’re a favourite go-to of mine.
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I left a long comment then my internet glitched so i lost it – annoying!! So I was saying I am definitely cooking these for dinner tonight. I’ve ben thinking about these fritters all week and we had a big lunch out today for my niece’s 18th, so a light meal like this is exactly what we need! Thanks for sharing!
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