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I made this last night and it was amazing, so I promised the recipe. Gluten free and dairy free and actually vegan not that it has to be!

POLENTA BAKE

Polenta (1 cup) - cook with 1 litre vegetable stock, chopped jalapeno, and chilli seasoning
Kidney Beans (1 can) - sautee with chopped onion, cumin, coriander, chilli powder, chopped capsicum and 2 tablespoons salsa (Black bean salsa is best)
Pumpkin/Butternut Squash - Chop in small pieces and steam til just tender
Corn tortillas
1 jar black bean salsa - either chipotle balck bean from mission or the byron bay co.
Dozen cherry tomatoes chopped and mixed with salsa.

Take a 9x13 pan. Spread with polenta over the bottom. Then 2/3 the bean mixture, then tortillas, then pumpkin, then rest of bean mixture then more tortillas. Top with Salsa. Bake for 20 minutes at 190.

So there you go. My made up polenta bake recipe. If you want to add cheese before baking, go for it.

I've been promising a couple recipes to people for a bit, so it's time to deliver.

Crunchie/Violet Crumble Cheesecake

Crust:
1 packet arnotts choc ripple biccies, crushed
125g butter melted
100-125g caster sugar (depending how sweet you want it)

Crush biccies, mix with sugar and butter. Press into 23 cm springform pan. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 220C.

Filling:
2 block packets of cream cheese softened
175g caster sugar
2 eggs (large)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix these well until absolutely smooth. Take 2 violent crumble/crunchie bars. Smash thoroughly. Stir into cream cheese mixture and then pour into pan on top of base.

Cook at 220 for 10 minutes, and then reduce heat to 190C. Cook for a further 20 minutes or until it pulls away from edge of pan.

Let cool for 1 hour before removing from pan.

Chicken and Pumpkin Chilli

500 grams diced chicken breast or thigh (skinless, fat removed)
1 large can diced tomatoes
2-3 cups cubed pumpkin
1 cup chicken broth
2 large onions diced
5 cloved garlic chopped
1 red capsicum chopped
1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
2 large chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp each - cumin, coriander, oregano
1 tsp each - paprika (smoked), salt, pepper

Toss together into crockpot. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4. Serve with toasted corn tortillas.

There you go. I'm sure more will follow.

Tonight I found myself inspired by two recipes from smittenkitchen.com I blame misspeacock entirely.

The first was the asparagus, goats cheese & lemon pasta and the second was the 44 cloves of garlic soup. Being one of those people who never leaves a recipe alone and wanting the best of both, I made what was possibly the best soup in the world.

Garlic, Potato and Goats Cheese Soup with Homemade Rye Croutons and Asparagus

Ingredients
26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 cup white wine
1 chopped sliced onions
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (or a tbsp dried)
18 garlic cloves, peeled
4 cups salt-reduced chicken stock
8-10 baby potatoes
100-150 g goats cheese
1 bunch asparagus
salt/pepper
4 slices rye bread (or wholegrain if you prefer)

Separate 26 cloves garlic without peeling. Put in glass dish with 1 tbsp oil and salt/pepper and cover tightly. Bake at 200C for 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Whilst those are cool, peel the rest of garlic and chop onion. Heat remainder of oil and butter in stock pot. Add uncooked garlic and onion aong with more salt and lots more pepper.

Chop potatoes and boil, straining when done.

Start removing garlic from peels. (I moved it from its baking dish to a smaller bowl and threw in the feezer to cool it. Squeezing it should get 95% of it out) Add that garlic and white wine to pot. Also add thyme. Stir and sautee on medium heat until onion is clear. At that point, add 4 cups stock. Turn up heat until it reaches a boil and then reduce and let simmer for 20 mins.

Whilst that is cooking, chop bread into cubes and place on baking tray. A light spray of oil is al you need to turn this into wonderful addictive croutons.

Add potatoes. Add goats cheese. Blend (I use a stick blender, but if you use a container one, have a secnd container to put the blended soup into)

Chop asparagus and steam in microwave for 2 minutes (or on stove, your choice)

Ladle soup into bowls, add croutons, and asparagus. ENJOY.

Honestly? So good I was licking the bowl.