Nine To Noon for Monday 27 February 2017

 

 

09:05 Preparing disabled students for life after school

Kathryn Ryan talks with special education advocate and researcher Mark Shanks, who says students with disabilities are being ill-equipped for life after school, because of a fragmented, dysfunctional system.  Mark is joined by the Ministry of Education's Head of Learning Support, David Wales.

09:30 Rat explosion prevents Rifleman move

A plan to bring New Zealand's smallest bird to Wellington's Zealandia Ecosanctuary has had to be cancelled due to a declining population of the bird in the Wainouimata source site. Greater Wellington Regional Council, puts the problem down to high rat numbers caused by an exceptionally high seeding season. It says the worrying trend of more frequent mast events is happening nation-wide, possibly linked to climate change. Zealandia's Conservation Manager is Danielle Shanahan and Tim Porteous is the manager of the Biodiversity Department at Greater Welington Council.

09:45 South Africa Correspondent Debora Patta

Debora reports on the famine in South Sudan where 100 thousand people are without food and on the violence which erupted in South Africa's parliament during President Zuma's state of the nation address.

10:05 Leif Cocks: Saving Orangutans

Australian primatologist and zoologist Leif Cocks about his life-long work with orangutans.  Leif is the founder and president of the international charity The Orangutan Project.  He's spent  three decades campaigning on behalf of orangutans, and is working in particular to save the Sumatran orangutan.

10:35  Book Review

Jenna Todd from Timeout Books reviews "Caraval" by Stephanie Garber, published by Hachette NZ

10:45 The Reading

11:05 Political commentators Matthew Hooton and Stephen Mills

Matthew and Stephen discuss the Mt Albert byelection, Nick Smith's announcement on water quality and Act takes a new position on law and order at its party conference.

11:30 Cooking on a student budget

Kathryn Ryan talks to chef Geoff Scott about tips for cooking on a student budget. Geoff used to own Vinnies restaurant in Auckland, and he is now consulting, judging food competitions and running specialised cooking services. Geoff has recipes for Vegetable Curry, Fast Baked Potatoes and Sausage Pie.

11:45 Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne

Kennedy reports in from Motukawanui Island, the largest of the Cavalli Islands, north of the Bay of Islands.

RECIPIES

FAST Baked Potatoes

Baked potatoes are a super cheap and healthy meal option.  Perfect for lunch or dinner.  What I love about baked potatoes is that you can jazz them up with absolutely any topping that takes your fancy!  By cooking them in the microwave speeds up the process a lot, however you do loose some of that lovely crunchy skin.   If you use this method the skin is kept dry which helps to improve the texture.

One medium potato (about 180gr)
These floury varieties in NZ are best - Agria, Ilam Hardy, Laura, Red Rascal, Fianna

TECHNIQUE

1.    Wash the potato and prick all over with a sharp knife.
2.    Dry the potato well with paper towels and place on a plate in the microwave.
3.    Cook on full power for 2 3 minutes then use tongs or oven mits and turn the potato over. Dry the potato and the plate of all the moisture and put back into the microwave.
4.    Heat on full power for a further 2 -3 minutes.  Remove the plate and leave the potato to stand for a minute, as it will continue to cook.  Check the potato is soft by pushing a sharp knife into the centre.  If it is still hard at all return to the microwave for another 30 seconds.

Every microwave is different - after the first cook check to see how cooked your potato is and adjust the second cooking time so that the perfect softness is reached.

5.     Split potato in half then mash the centre with a fork, or scoop out and mash, season with salt and pepper then return to the scooped out skin.  Top with any flavours and tuck right in.

Some tasty filling options include…
A little fried onion with bacon and cheese -
Tinned tuna and sweet corn with freshly ground black pepper
Panfried mushrooms and chives
Or even just some good old butter with salt and pepper.

***

Vegetable Curry

A vegetable curry is a truly wonderful thing.  It's  the perfect student recipe - being 'flexible' with ingredients means you can add almost any seasonal vegetables to the curry sauce.   Experiment with extra flavours such as kaffir lime or curry leaves,a little soy sauce or fish sauce.   The rice and quinoa together provide a super tasty & healthy combination too.

Serves 4
3 Tbsp oil
1 cup diced onion
2 tsp grated garlic
1 Tbsp peeled chopped fresh ginger
2 Tbsp green curry paste or curry powder
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can coconut milk
1 cup diced kumara
1 cup diced potato
2 cups cauliflower florets
2 cups broccoli florets
½ each red, green, yellow capsicums (keep the remaining for fresh salad)
2 cups rice
1 cup quinoa

METHOD
1.    In a large sauce pan heat oil and fry onion gently without colour for 6 -8 minutes.  Add garlic, ginger and curry paste cooking for a further 2 minutes.
2.    Add stock, coconut milk, kumara and potatoes and bring to the boil then turn down to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes.
3.    Place rice and quinoa in a pot and cover with warm water, rinse and drain three times.  Add five cups of water and 1 teaspoon salt then bring to the boil.  Turn heat down to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 13 - 15 minutes until rice has puffed up.
4.    Add cauliflower, broccoli and capsicums to the curry, simmer for 5 - 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

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Sausage Pie
This recipe is a complete  meal in itself, ideal for feeding the entire flat.  A tasty and nutritious way to enjoy sausages that haven't been cooked on the bbq or under the grill.  Technically speaking it's a crustless pie or quiche.  Any type of sausages can be used, by frying them first will give a better flavour.

Serves 4
4 Tbsp rice bran oil
4 sausages or frankfurters
½ cup diced onion
1 tsp grated garlic
5 eggs
3 courgettes grated
1 cup tasty cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp fresh chopped herbs (any combination of parsley, chives, rosemary, thyme)
or 2 tsp dried mixed herbs
½ cup self raising flour
Salt & pepper

1.    Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large fry pan, cook sausages until browned.  Remove, allow to cool then chop into chunks.
2.    Add remaining oil to the pan and cook onion gently without colour for 5 minutes.  Add garlic and sausages.  
3.    In a large bowl lightly whisk the eggs, add courgette, cheese, herbs, flour and season.  
4.    Spread mix evenly over sausages and onions.
5.    Sprinkle over an extra half cup of grated cheese then bake at 180C for 35 - 40 minutes.