Nanna’s Best Nibbles

Leave a comment

My Nanna used to make these moorish nibbly (aka Nuts & Bolts) things up for us, and for as long as I can remember there was always a bowl of them sitting on the kitchen bench. Nan’s gone now, but we’ve all carried on making Nibbles in her memory. I’ve altered her recipe slightly by spicing things up a little, and using less oil. She fried them in a deep-sided electric frypan, while I prefer to bake them for health reasons.

 

Nanna's Nibbles

Nanna Knows Best!

Large packet of Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain breakfast cereal

2 packets of French Onion dry soup mix

¾ cup of vegetable oil

1 packet of unsalted peanuts

1 packet of beer-nuts

1tsp curry powder

1tsp paprika

½ tsp chilli powder

**optional – mixed nuts and other spices of your choice, such as onion or garlic powder.

 

How it’s done:

In the largest mixing bowl you have, add the Nutri-Grain and nuts. Shake the soup mixes over the top, and mix through. In a separate jug, add the oil, curry powder, paprika. Stir to combine and then pour over Nutri-Grain/nut mix. Now, you need to get your hands a bit icky and work the oil mixture through, so that everything is coated as evenly as possible.

Line a couple of baking trays with baking paper, and spread the mixture thinly. Bake in a very slow oven (about 120 C) for an hour, turning every 15 minutes or so with an egg lift.

Cool, and store in an airtight container.

Kale Chips

Leave a comment

Okay, so we all know Kale has been named the new uber-food. It has just about everything good vitamin and mineral known to man crammed into those weird-looking curly leaves. But, let’s face it, it’s kind of bitter just boiled up on the side of your plate. And just how many green smoothies can you drink? Kale chips are huge at my place. Everyone – and I mean everyone – loves them. And they couldn’t be easier to make.

Kale

Kale

*A bunch or good handful of kale leaves. I grew my own this year (yes! That’s my real veggie patch in the pic!) and I’ve just been trimming leaves off as I need them. But it is also readily available in the local supermarket or green grocer’s.

*A tablespoon of olive oil.

*Sea salt.

*Lemon.

*A tablespoon of white vinegar (optional)

*Pepper or other spices, eg: garlic powder, chilli, paprika (optional)

Kale Chips

Kale Chips

Wash and pat dry your kale leaves. Using scissors, cut any thick white stem out, just leaving the greenery. Trim to bite-size. In a large bowl, toss the kale with the olive oil and salt to taste. This is where I like to add the vinegar and some cracked pepper. Salt and vinegar chips, anyone?

On a lined baking tray, place the kale pieces flat, without overlapping each other. Cook in a low oven (120 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Be really careful, because they WILL burn quickly. You’ll be amazed at how crispy a vegetable can be in such a short time. Serve with a drizzle of lemon juice and more pepper, if desired.