Till We Meat Again

Meals with mince - Baked Enchiladas

2011-07-15T16:07:00.001+10:00

Once a month or so I make up a big batch of mince which I then make into various meals quickly and conveniently. This one is a favourite of Ron's, the girls will eat it but prefer to make their own "wraps" and fillings.

Make your mince up in the way that you prefer. I like to use a kilo of premium mince which I brown, remove from the pan and fry onions, capsicum, garlic and celery until softened. Add back the mince and I add plain tomato passata and then gently simmer before adding tomato paste, worcestershire sauce and a couple of finely grated carrots. Season to taste. After the mince has cooked for a few hours I seperate it out into containers, removing some to use for spaghetti bolognaise at which point I then add mashed red kidney beans to the remaining mince along with some cumin, coriander and seasoning. After this has cooked down a little longer I put this into containers to be used for Baked enchiladas and mexican rice bake.

Baked Enchiladas
Ingredients:
6 small tortilla wraps
500g mexican mince
salsa
sour cream
grated mozzarella

Put a few spoonfuls of salsa in the bottom of an oven proof dish, rectangle shaped. Spread this around and then put some spoonfuls of mince into the centre of a wrap, fold it over itself and tuck in the edges, place the wrap into the dish, continue until all your wraps are lined up next to each other. Spoon over some more salsa, spread it around. Drizzle some sour cream over and then sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden. Serve with a green salad and some quacamole.

Salmon and caramelised onion quiche

2011-05-21T20:45:00.000+10:00

Ingredients

5 eggs

½ cup of thickened cream

½ cup of finely grated parmesan cheese

a tin of pink salmon, flaked

1 large onion, sliced and caramelised in butter

salt and pepper to taste

Pastry

125g plain flour

100g unsalted and cold butter

60ml sour cream (approximately)

Chop the butter into small pieces and blend flour and butter in the mixer until it looks like coarse bread crumbs

Gradually add spoonfuls of sour cream until the pastry comes together

Tip out onto a floured surface and bring into a rectangle, don’t work pastry at all

Cover in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

Roll out on a floured surface

Method

I used a 26in quiche tin with a loose bottom, its quite a shallow one so I had to adjust the volume but its pretty easy to fiddle the quantities.

Roll the pastry out line the tin. I left the bits hanging over the edges because this pastry does tend to shrink.

Blind bake for 12 minutes in a 180degree oven using pastry weights or dried beans in parchment paper

Remove the pastry weights and bake for a further 5 minutes.

Turn the oven down to 160degrees and remove the quiche and trim the excess pastry with a knife, be careful as its easy to break the sides doing this and then your filling will run out.

Mix the eggs with the cream and the cheese and season lightly.

Arrange the caramelised onions over the quiche base and then add the flaked salmon.

Pour the egg mixture over the top until it is completely covered

Return the quiche to the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until the top is lightly golden, leave in the tin to cool for another 10 minutes and then carefully remove the tin.

A great big internet hug!

2011-03-28T20:55:00.001+11:00

If you have found your way here, to my (Super Sarah from thesuperwhites.com) humble food blog then you are a friend of the gorgeous Tiff and that means you care about her lovely family and want to help out while Ivy has to endure another stay in the hospital, another wait for treatment while the Dr's try to find a new plan. This means that the rest of the family has to make do without Mum for a few days, Dave has to hold down the fort while Tiff is torn between taking care of Ivy and being at home with the rest of her children.

Trish from My Little Drummer Boys wanted to try and arrange a little something for Tiff and her family and I absolutely want to get involved, ideally we would love to get a bunch of people together to cook some big meals for the family to help them out while Ivy is in hospital. This is just too complicated to arrange at short notice so instead Trish has put together a donation widget to collect some money to buy the family a few meals so when they all come together to visit Ivy in hospital, they can enjoy a meal and spend some valuable time as a family.

We thought we would use my much neglected food blog as a place to plan this little suprise for Tiff because right now the last thing she will be thinking about is recipes or cooking! This is going to be a tough week for her and we are hoping that by Friday we can pass on a little something to cheer her up and show her that she is much loved by her internet family!

Russell's sesame (or not!) chicken salad.

2011-01-02T12:17:00.000+11:00

If you want the original recipe, you need to go here
http://barnes-cubed.blogspot.com/2010/07/sesame-chicken-recipe.html
to my good friend Russell's food blog. You can see a photo of his version here
http://barnes-cubed.blogspot.com/2010/07/sesame-chicken-salad-with-cucumber-and_21.html

I tweaked his version a little, ok, a lot and somehow created one of our favourite meals of last year!

Here is my take on Russell's chicken salad:

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1/2 a large cucumber
2 medium carrots
2 stalks of celery
a bunch of coriander
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 lime

For the marinade:
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp sugar

Secret ingredient - 1 packet of crunchy oriental noodles

Dice the chicken into large chunks, mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and marinade the chicken ahead of time. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius and roast the chicken pieces for 15 minutes until
cooked and sticky!

While the chicken is cooking, peel and prepare the cucumber, carrot and celery. Peel into long strips and finely julienne. Toss the julienned vegetables with the sesame oil and rice wine vinegar.

To serve, dish the vegetables, scatter with crunchy noodles, top with sticky chicken and scatter with coriander.

WOLF IT DOWN.

Chocolate cake in a mug in the microwave.

2010-06-18T10:08:00.000+10:00

The other night I was craving something chocolately and delicious and the cooking chocolate chips just weren't doing it for me. I remember reading a while back about a chocolate cake in a mug that you make in the microwave which sounded like just the thing.

Five minutes later and my dessert was ready!

Probably the easiest chocolate recipe I have ever made:

Chocolate Cake in a mug.

Ingredients:
2 tbs flour

2.5 tbs sugar
1 tbs cocoa
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp coffee granules
pinch of salt
1 small egg
1.5 tbs milk
1.5 tbs oil
1.5 tbs chocolate
½ tsp vanilla extract

Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and coffee in your mug. Preferably a larger than regular sized coffee mug. Pour in the milk, oil, broken up chocolate and vanilla extract. Mix well. Whisk the egg in another mug and pour into the mixture. (TIP if your eggs are large I would suggest doubling the rest of the ingredients and making two mugs, sharing the large egg across both mugs.) Sprinkle the batter with some more chocolate and cover with clingfilm. Cook in the microwave on high for 1 minute, check the consistency, it should be gooey but appear cakelike on top, I needed to cook mine for a further 30 seconds and it was perfect, cakey on top, moist and chocolately inside and I couldn't eat the whole thing on my own!

Pork San Choy Bau

2010-04-06T11:38:00.000+10:00

This one's for you Russell, I don't have any photos because I haven't made it in a while, but trust me, its good!

Ingredients
1 tbs oil
400g minced pork
230g tin of water chesnuts, drained and chopped finely
125g tin of bamboo shoots, drained and chopped finely
6 spring onions, finely chopped
2 tbs rice wine
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp oyster sauce
lettuce leaves
chopped mint for serving

Sauce: 2 tbs plum sauce, 1 tbs hoisin sauce, 1 tsp soy sauce

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a wok and at high heat, add the pork and cook until brown.
Add the water chesnuts, bamboo and spring onions and cook for a minute.
Combine the rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil and oyster sauce and add to the wok. Cook for a few minutes.
Make the dipping sauce by mixing the sauce ingredients together with a drop or two of water to loosen it.
Spoon the mixture onto the lettuce leaves, top with finely minced herbs and drizzle the dipping sauce over.

Ron adores this but I haven't made it in ages! I confess to having left out both the bamboo shoots and the water chesnuts before, I don't know which it is but one of the flavours I just don't like. I think its the bamboo although I do like the crunch texture of the water chesnuts. I make sure to fry the mince until brown and slightly crispy and then I add more or less sauce depending on the texture. Quick and delicious.

Butternut and Chickpea Curry

2010-03-24T20:05:00.004+11:00

Butternut & Chickpea Curry
1 onion
1 medium butternut squash
2 medium carrots
splash of olive oil
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp red chilli flakes
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 tbs fruit chutney
1 tin chickpeas
handful of diced coriander

Dice the onion and lightly fry in some olive oil.
Peel and chop the butternut and carrots into small chunks and add to the pan.
Add the cumin, coriander and chilli flakes, stir for a few minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes and chutney and leave to simmer for 45 minutes until tender.
Add the chickpeas and cook until soft, another 10 minutes.

Serve over steamed rice and top with chopped coriander.

Bridget’s spiced slow cooked lamb shanks

2010-03-18T18:12:00.000+11:00

Serves 4

3 lamb shanks
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1tbs coriander seeds
1 tsp dried red chilli flakes
1 tbs fresh rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbs flour
1 tbs olive oil
1 garlic clove finely chopped
2 large carrots, diced
6 sticks of celery, diced
2 medium onions, diced
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
170ml white wine
6 anchovy fillets
3 tins whole plum tomatoes
1 handful of fresh basil or flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper
Smash up the coriander seeds and dried chilli, mix with the finely chopped rosemary and dried oregano. Roll the lamb in this mixture and press it in well. Dust with the flour.
Heat a thick bottomed casserole, add the oil and brown the shanks. Remove from the pan.
At this point you can transfer them to your slow cooker if you are going to be using this. Otherwise you will put them back into the casserole later and cook in the oven.
Add the garlic, celery, carrot and onion and sweat until softened with a pinch of salt.
Add the balsamic vinegar and reduce to a syrup.
Add the white wine and simmer for two minutes.
Add the anchovies.
Add the tinned tomatoes.
Either transfer the mixture to the slow cooker or return the shanks to the casserole and put into the oven.
Oven cook with the lid on in a 180 degree oven for 1 ½ hours and then a further ½ hour without the lid.
Cook in the slow cooker on high for 6-8 hours.
Skim the fat off and taste for seasoning.
Before serving stir in the fresh herbs.
Serve on mashed potato.

Lamb and red wine casserole

2010-02-10T12:49:00.002+11:00

I know its not the prettiest photo (this is before cooking) but this meal was super easy and delicious. I used to make a lot of soups and stews in my Le Crueset casserole pot but now that I have a slow cooker, I have been wanting to make better use of it. This recipe was the perfect jumping off point.

Lamb and red wine casserole.

6 large lamb loin chops
1 large onion diced
2 cloves of garlic chopped
3 carrots chopped
2 cups of red wine
1 tbs tomato paste
1 1/2 cups of beef stock
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 springs of thyme
2 tins of borlotti beans

Season some flour and lightly coat the chops before browning them in a frying pan. Remove and place in the slow cooker.
Saute the onion until translucent in the same pan then add the garlic and carrots, cook for a few minutes until softened.
Add to the slow cooker and pour in the wine, beef stock, tomato paste.
Add the herbs and cook on high for 6 hours until the meat falls off the bones.
Add the drained borlotti beans and cook for as long as necessary until the sauce has reduced.

Serve over mashed potatoe.

Cappaccino Fudge Cheesecake

2010-01-27T21:06:00.004+11:00

This Australia day I decided to make something different to take to friends for dessert. My regular recipes include baked cheesecake and banoffee pie but this time I wanted to make something truly indulgent. If there is one blogger I aspire to, its Deb from Smitten Kitchen and
I decided to make something I have had bookmarked for a few months from her website:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/11/cappuccino-fudge-cheesecake/

I had to make a number of adjustments to Deb's already adjusted recipe. I decided to make a simple cookie crust and in the end I left off the ganache decorating because I was transporting the cheesecake still in its tin before plating up and just couldn't face the extra work! I also would have preferred to make this cake ahead of time and let the flavours mature but I ran out of time on the weekend so made the cake in the morning. In my rush I didn't ensure the base and ganache layer was sitting level in the freezer so the one side of my cheesecake had a thicker layer of ganache than the other. (You know which side I cut myself a slice from!)

Overall I would say this is a winner however it was just too hot for us at lunch and so no one felt really starving for a piece and instead we all had small helpings which is probably better for THEM in the long run, but not for me because I now have two quarters of cheesecake in my freezer and a container of ganache which I just can't resist eating. Sigh.

Below is my adjusted recipe. Please refer to Deb's if you want something a little more technical!

Baked Cappaccino Fudge Cheesecake.

Crust
250g chocolate biscuits
7 tablespoons hot melted unsalted butter

Ganache
1 1/2 cups thickened cream
500g dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup Kahlúa

Filling
3 1/2 x 250g packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 tablespoons instant coffee

1 tablespoon ground espresso coffee

1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs

Topping
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

For crust:
Finely grind cookies in processor. Add butter and process until crumbs begin to stick together, scraping down bowl occasionally, about 1 minute. Transfer crumbs to 10-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Wrap plastic wrap around fingers and press crumb mixture firmly up sides to within 1/2 inch of top edge, then over bottom of pan.

For ganache:
Bring whipping cream to simmer in large saucepan. Remove from heat; add chocolate and Kahlúa. Whisk until chocolate is melted and ganache is smooth. Pour 2 cups ganache over bottom of crust. Freeze until ganache layer is firm, about 30 minutes. Reserve remaining ganache; cover and let stand at room temperature to use later for creating lattice pattern.

For filling
Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 180degreesC. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in flour. Stir rum, instant coffee, ground coffee and vanilla in small bowl until instant coffee dissolves; beat into cream cheese mixture. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl.
Pour filling over cold ganache in crust. Place cheesecake on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until top is brown, puffed and cracked at edges and middle 2 inches move slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack. Cool for 15 minutes while preparing topping (top of cheesecake will fall slightly). Maintain oven temperature.

For topping:
Whisk sour cream, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl to blend. Pour topping over hot cheesecake, spreading to cover filling completely. Bake until topping is set, about 10 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack. Refrigerate hot cheesecake on rack until cool, about 3 hours.

You can decorate the cooled cheesecake with the remaining ganache. Or just leave it and eat the ganache with a spoon, like I did!

Bridget's sticky chicken curry and noodles

2009-08-07T09:45:00.002+10:00

This is another meal that Mum made for us while she was staying after Stella was born. Its so delicious and decadent and yummy that I could happily eat it every week. Its on a monthly rotation here at the White House.

4 tbs teriyaki sauce

2 tbs brown sugar

2 tbs olive oil

500g of diced chicken thigh (you could use chicken wings or mini-drumsticks, just messier to eat)

2 tbs tikka paste (this is what the original recipe calls for, we weren't able to find it here in Oz so we used a thai basil & garlic stirfry paste instead)

1x 400g can coconut milk

200g padthai noodles (I used thick egg noodles)

2 ripe mangoes (I used one tin. First time using tinned mango and I wouldn't eat it straight from the can but its good for cooking when ripe mangoes aren't available)

1 red onion thinly sliced

1 green chilli finely chopped

1 cup of coriander finely chopped

Juice of a lime

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Combine the teriyaki sauce, brown sugar and 1 tbs olive oil, toss the chicken to coat and then place on a baking tray. Bake for 20-25 minutes turning and basting with the remaining marinade until cooked and sticky.

In a saucepan saute the stirfry sauce until fragrant and then add the coconut milk. Allow to simmer for 25 minutes until reduced. Add the cooked noodles and coriander and lime juice. Distribute between bowls and top with chicken, sliced mango and onion and a garnish of chilli and coriander (to taste.)

Amy loved the sticky chicken on its own and I have left the chilli out the last few times I made this as it disagrees with Stella. I also added a splash of fish sauce to the coconut milk sauce but only because we love it! You can use different stirfry sauces and make it as hot or as flavoursome as you like!

2009-07-21T14:43:00.003+10:00

This is our new favourite meal and given half a chance we would eat it at least once a week! Its a forgiving recipe and I am sure you could adjust it to suit your tastes, hold the capers, increase the olives, leave off the coriander.

Bridget's chicken with capers, olives and prunes.

Marinade:
8 chicken thighs - remove skin
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup dried oregano (or Italian herbs)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup pitted green olives
1/4 cup capers (with a little of their juice)
3 bay leaves

Before baking:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a glass jug and pour over the chicken thighs. Marinade overnight or all day. I find depending on how much olive oil I use that sometimes the marinade can solidify in which case leave the chicken out for longer before cooking.

Before cooking sprinkle the brown sugar and wine over the chicken. You can adjust the amounts you want to use at this point. I like to make sure the baking dish I use is shallow enough that some chicken pokes out so this goes brown and sticky when cooking.

Bake uncovered for 50-60 mins, basting frequently.

At this point remove the chicken from the marinade and transfer to a serving dish. Pour the sauce into a pan and reduce until thickened to your liking. I usually boil rapidly for a few minutes and then add a mixture of 2 or 3 tsp of cornflour dissolved in hot water. This helps the sauce to thicken and gives it a glossy texture.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve over steamed rice.

This meal is even better the next day for leftovers.

2009-07-13T19:59:00.002+10:00

I have been wanting to organise our eating habits and meal plans a little better now that Stella is a little older and less likely to sleep for hours at a time. I really need to be more organised with our meals so that we can spend less and eat more healthily. I will be working on this over the coming weeks and posting my meal plans, recipes, shopping lists etc to the blog.

These are the current meals on my meal planner, in no particular order.

Chicken fajitas
Mince Tacos
Spaghetti bolognaise
Chicken and Rice with peas
Chicken risotto
Fish and chips
Fishcakes and Cous cous
Pasta Bake with sausages
Sausages and mash
Meatballs and Sauce with Spaghetti
Meatballs and gravy with mash
Pasta with tomato, peppers & peppadews
Cauliflower soup
Lamb chops
Thai Beef Curry
Thai Chicken curry
Ham and pea Soup
Spicy pumpkin and coconut soup
Citrus chilli pork with cashews
Sticky Chicken curry and noodles
Pasta E' Fagioli
Chicken with prunes and capers
Beef burgers
Chicken snitzel
Chicken Tikka Masala
Creamy chicken pesto pasta
Homemade pizzas
Pork stirfry with ginger and green beans
Sweet and sour sausage stew
Taglietelle with chicken
Vietnamese lemon chicken with peanuts
Oxtail and mash
Lamb shanks

2009-06-23T08:22:00.002+10:00

This is another one of Mum's recipes from when she stayed with us and took care of us after the birth of Stella. I have made it twice since, its fast becoming a firm favourite.

Sticky Chicken Curry & Noodles

Ingredients

4 tbs teriyaki sauce

2 tbs brown sugar

2 tbs olive oil

quantity of diced chicken thigh fillets (I use about 5/6 for 2 people)

2 tbs tikka paste (we weren't able to find this here in Oz so have been using Thai basil and garlic stifry paste)

the juice of a lime

1 400g tin of coconut milk

200g pad thai noodles (I have been using a packet (containing 2 serves) of thick egg noodles - couldn't find them this time so thin egg noodles are pictured)

2 ripe mangoes sliced (no ripe mangoes so used one tin)

1 red onion thinly sliced

1 cup coriander, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180degrees celcius and combine in a mixing bowl the teriyaki sauce, brown sugar and olive oil. Toss the chicken in the marinade to coat and then place on a baking tray and bake until cooked through and sticky.

In a saucepan add the remaining olive oil and the tikka/stirfry paste. Fry over a medium heat for 20 seconds until fragrant then add the coconut milk. Simmer for 20 minutes until slightly reduced, add the cooked/heated noodles and coriander and squeeze in the lime juice. Distribute amoung your serving bowls and leftovers containers and then top with the sticky chicken, diced mango and sliced onion. Garnish with coriander.

2009-06-09T21:18:00.004+10:00

We had a BBQ at our house on Sunday to take advantage of the Queen's Birthday long weekend. Ron and I used to entertain all the time and then we moved to Australia, into a small house with a dangerous deck and had our entertainment budget cut by one salary. I realise that having friends round doesn't mean a three course dinner like it used to and so we have had casual evenings, BBQ's and lunches but nothing with quite this many people, and a new baby. There were 8 adults and 8 children under the age of 4 which was fun. I made sure to keep the menu simple and easy to prepare ahead of time.

This is what we ate:

To start - a selection of cheeses served with grapes and crispbread, a selection of dips with crackers/chips and doritos with salsa dip.

For main Ron did two easy carve legs of lamb on the BBQ, these are an brilliant invention prepared by our butcher where the leg is boned out leaving one section still on the bone then rolled back up again and tied so you roast it with the bone attached but can carve it straight down like a rolled roast. The lamb was heavenly, perfectly cooked by Ron and served with mint sauce/jelly and preserves.

I served the lamb with my special roast potatoes and a winter salad of mixed leaves and baby spinach with roasted butternut and pinenuts. I only realised the next day that I forgot to crumble the feta cheese over the salad but no one missed it.

The meal was wonderful, everyone commented on how delicious and simple it all was and it was so easy to prepare that morning thanks to my angel baby Stella who slept all morning. But where I really excelled myself was with dessert. I hardly ever make desserts unless I bake but I really wanted something tasty with wow-factor that was easy to make, luckily I found just the recipe a few days before.

Banoffee Pie
250g digestive biscuits
160g melted butter
300ml thickened cream
5 small ripe bananas

Toffee sauce - 1/2 cup or 100g brown sugar
395g can condensed milk
160g butter

Line the base and sides of a 22cm springform pan with baking paper, chop the biscuits in a food processor and pour the melted butter in until the crust comes together. Press into the pan and chill in the fridge until needed.

For the sauce combine the brown sugar with 3 tablespoons of water in a heavy bottomed pan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil without stirring, occasionally swhirling the pot and brushing down the sides with a pastry brush dipped in water for about 3-5 minutes until the syrup turns a deep amber. Reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk in the butter and condensed milk. Continue whisking for 5-8 minutes until the sauce thickens.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool then spread 3/4 of the mixture over the chilled crust and put it back into the fridge until ready to serve. Whisk the cream until billowy peaks are formed and then slice the bananas finely. Stir most of the bananas through the cream and spoon onto the toffee filling using the reserved bananas to decorate the top. Just before serving reheat the remaining sauce and drizzle across the top of the pie.

2009-06-08T10:24:00.003+10:00

Some meals and tastes are so ingrained in my past that to smell an old favourite cooking can take me right back to my childhood. This is one of those meals. It was a recipe that my aunt used to make on request and I seem to recall that it became a special occasion dinner, on the eve of returning to boarding school, or the first night of holidays for both my cousins and myself. Eventually it found its way onto our request list too so Mum would make it for my sister and I. She even made it in huge batches and froze it into bags for me to take back to university one time which made me immensly popular in my student digs!

While Mum was staying with us in the days after Amy was born in 2006, she cooked endless meals that just appeared in front of us whenever we were hungry. Its a wonderful gift to have someone you love prepare food for you when you are least capable of making your own and she really helped Ron and I through the rollercoaster that was Amy's first few weeks in the world. This visit was the same excecpt this time Mum had Amy at her feet in the kitchen! She still managed to make us a wonderful selection of delicious meals and like last time, she left her recipe binder with me so I can add some of our new favourites to our regulars. I will post some of these new recipes but I only had one request this time, sweet and sour sausage stew!

Sweet & Sour Sausage Stew.
The quantities are easily adjustable, more sausages, more sauce, more veg depending on how many you are cooking for and how many leftovers you want. The recipe as it is feeds 4.

6 pork sausages
2 onions
1 carrot
1 capsicum/pepper
1 small cucumber/ can be substituted for a handful of small gerkins if you like the flavour
1 can pineapple chunks

Sauce - I like to double this to make it extra saucy, depends on how much veg you use.
60mls water
60mls pineapple juice
60mls brown sugar
30mls vinegar
15mls tomato sauce
15mls soy sauce
10mls cornflour

Fry the sausages in a casserole pot until browned. Remove and cut into chunks.
Cut the veg into strips and gently fry in the casserole, add the drained pineapple chunks.

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a pot and heat, thicken with the cornflour and pour the sauce over the veg in the casserole. Add the sausages back, stir and put into the oven at a low temp 140degrees for about 30mins until bubbling and hot.

There is massive room for personal input with this recipe, more pineapple juice in the sauce if you prefer it sweeter, more vinegar and the gerkins if you like it sour. I like to double or triple the recipe and add lots more carrot and capsicum and then freeze it into portions for later.

Serve over steamed white rice.

2009-03-19T21:17:00.002+11:00

Tonights dinner was a variation on this Thai Curry recipe which has become my go-to quick midweek meal.

Ingredients:
600g diced chicken breast (grabbed a pre-cut bag from the freezer)
1 medium onion diced
2 tbs green curry paste (this was the open jar in the fridge, could have been red)
juice of a lime
dash of fish sauce
big handful of finely chopped coriander
1 can of coconut milk
1/2 bag of frozen green beans

Instructions:
Fry the onion and chicken in a little vegetable oil until browned, make a hole in the middle and add the curry paste, fry for a few seconds till fragrant and then stir in. Add the coconut milk, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and add the frozen beans. Cook until softened, add the lime juice and a few splashes of fish sauce and the chopped coriander.

Serve over fragrant steamed rice, or for an even quicker meal like we had tonight, soak some egg noodles in a little hot water and serve over those.

Unbelievably delicious and ready in under ten minutes. This hit the spot BIG TIME tonight and I might pull a Nigella and sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night to tuck into the leftovers that Ron is supposed to be taking to work tomorrow!

2009-01-12T18:24:00.002+11:00

Lemon and Poppyseed Muffins.

2 cups self raising flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup poppyseeds
grated rind of 2 lemons
100g butter
2 large eggs
1 cup milk

Lemon drizzle
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat fan oven to 190 degrees with a rack above the middle shelf
Measure flour, sugar, poppyseeds and rind into a large bowl.
Heat butter till melted, beat eggs with milk and mix together.
Mix liquids into the dry ingredients, do not overmix.
Spoon into muffin tray lined with muffin papers

Bake for 10-15 minutes until they are golden and the tops spring back to the touch.

Cool in the pan for a few minutes, transfer to a wire rack and spoon the lemon/sugar mix over the tops.

CHANGES: These were delicious but had too many poppyseeds, the original recipe called for 1/2 a cup which I would definitely change to 1/3 or even 1/4. Also the muffins could have had more lemony flavour so I would use the juice of the other lemon to add to the batter to enhance the flavour. I would also consider cooking out the lemon/sugar drizzle mix a little just to dissolve the granular sugar but the crunch was nice.

2008-11-22T15:11:00.002+11:00

Right, so I have made myself a little badge, swopped it out for the other one on my sidebar and will be accepting defeat graciously! Instead of blogging here everyday this week I have been walking the coastal path from Bondi to Bronte, enjoying fresh fish and chips on the water at Watsons Bay, walking on the beach up the coast at Palm Beach, sharing lunch with my daughter at the Newport Arms overlooking Pittwater and all the yachts and eating bbq'd prawns on our new deck with friends from faraway whom we haven't seen in a long time. Its been a blissful week complete with late night chats, wedding highlight videos and a scan where we decided not to find out the sex of our unborn baby and still aren't regretting that choice!

I will continue to use this food blog to post about recipes I make and things that are directly food related, so bookmark me or add me to your feedreader, but in the meantime a more regular service will resume over at The Super Whites blog complete with pregnancy postings and photos of Amy and deck updates.

2008-11-18T17:15:00.002+11:00

Things I plan on cooking/baking/making when our guests have departed and I have some timre on my hands. You can hold me to this list, I will tick them off and report back - also, any other suggestions appreciated.

Spanish Tortilla with potatoes, capsicum, onions and chorizo, set with egg.
Chicken, sundried tomato and mustard pasta. (As seen on Cooksister recently)
A variation on this chickpea and roasted capsicum salad as seen on Smitten Kitchen
These apple pancakes, also from Smitten Kitchen
A cheesecake slice in the true aussie tradition of slices
Cinamon rolls like the kind you buy in the bakery or at coffee shops
Pasta bake
Veronica's pastryless quiche - this sounds so easy and delicious, just right for lunches and snacks in an emergency

2008-11-17T22:53:00.002+11:00

I am tired, its nearly 11pm which is WAY past my bedtime, but I blog. We have friends staying with us from the UK on an extended honeymoon around Bali, Australia and New Zealand so we have been busy. Tonight we left Amy with Grandma and Grandad and drove into the City to meet Brendan and Rachel for drinks and dinner. They had spent the day sightseeing and we met up at the Harbourview Hotel before heading off to the Austrlian Hotel in The Rocks to sample their beer menu and fulfill another pregnancy craving - roast duck pizza.

It was lovely, the End.

2008-11-16T22:26:00.002+11:00

Its been a long day, we have friends staying from the UK for a couple of nights and today we went out for lunch with Ron's parents to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary! In the absence of anything noteworthy to write about food, I shall leave you with photographs of my strong-willed child trying to eat her fried rice with chopsticks!
Look at the concentration on her face, she spent almost 20 minutes painstakingly picking up grains of rice and eating them with intense satisfaction. Its never too early to introduce her to new foods, tastes and cultures.

2008-11-15T15:29:00.001+11:00

This is the best way to start a rainy Saturday morning. Instead of leaping out of bed to finish cleaning the house before some guests arrive tonight, I made myself a homebrand caramel macchiato, grabbed the papers, checked husband was in charge of parenting and went back to bed for another hour. Total indulgent luxury!

2008-11-14T20:27:00.003+11:00

Yes, I look slightly disturbed in this photo. Its a combination of humidity (frizzy pregnancy hair) and the fact that I am almost at the end of making 2kg's of chicken schnitzel from scratch. One of these days I am going to have to price this out to see if it really is cost effective to make my own. Ron does say he much prefers the flavour of my homemade version and of course I make small portions that I bag and freeze for suppers for Amy, its just that its such a process. Trim chicken and cut into portions, place on wooden chopping board, cover in clingfilm, beat the crap out of them with a rolling pin, then flour with seasoned wholemeal flour before dipping into egg wash and coating in Kellogs crumbs.

They are mighty delicious served with a caesar salad though!

2008-11-13T21:28:00.002+11:00

I was hungry for something substantial for lunch today and Amy and I had been to the supermarket this morning so we had a fridge full of options. I asked Amy what she wanted for lunch and suprise, suprise, she wanted pasta so pasta salad it was. Amy did taste the salad but as she has done since she started on pasta, she prefers hers plain with no sauce. I loved this salad and will definitely make it or variations thereof again.

Ingredients: cooked and cooled pasta shells, chopped cherry tomatoes, a can of mixed beans, chopped ham, shredded basil, half an avo chopped, grated parmesan and a dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

2008-11-12T20:32:00.002+11:00

My poor husband and child, they are enduring my pregnancy cravings by default and so tonight's nutricious and delicious supper was bacon sandwiches on the bbq. We stuffed them with freshly harvested rocket from the garden so at least we did eat our greens. I have asked Ron to write a list of all the meals he would like to eat over the coming weeks and have promised to start cooking again! We have friends coming to stay on the weekend so I will have to be more organised which will be good motivation.

2008-11-11T21:53:00.002+11:00

(Not a recipe I have made recently, but its still a great morning tea standbye!)
Marmalade Drizzle Cake

175g (6oz) butter at room temperature
175g (6oz) golden caster sugar
1 large orange
3 large eggs
75g (3oz) orange marmalade
175g (6oz) self-raising flour

Drizzle
110g (4oz) icing sugar
A few teaspoons of orange juice

You will also need:
A loaf tin measuring about 25x11x7cms (10x41/2x3in), greased with the bottom and sides lined with parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 180degreesC, gas mark 4.
Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy (this will KILL your arm!)
Finely grate the zest of the orange.
Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl with a fork.
Add the egg a little at a time to the large bowl of sugar and butter, beating thoroughly as you go (this will destroy what little strength you have left in your arms!)
Then beat in the marmalade and orange zest.
Fold the flour in slowly, firmly but carefully until there is no sign of the flour.
Lastly stir in the juice of half the orange.
Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and lightly smooth the top.
Bake for 40 minutes (checking after 35 mins using a metal skewer, poke the loaf and if it comes out sticky, give it a bit longer)
Leave the loaf to cool in the tin, it will sink a bit, don’t panic! Then remove and cool on a wire rack. Sieve the icing sugar and mix it with as much of the remaining orange juice as it takes to ensure a smooth, slightly runny consistency (about two tablespoons) and then drizzle the icing all over the cake, making nice swirly shapes.

2008-11-10T22:59:00.002+11:00

All this talk of pregnancy cravings has me analysing every food thought at the moment. Last Friday when I took Amy shopping and we had such a bad morning, the one thing I was looking forward to was a vegetable samosa from a little Indian cafe that I remembered from a while back. Trust my pregnant luck, it had closed down, lunch was a plastic toasted cheese and ham instead and a pink milkshake that sent Amy hyperactive!

Vegetable Samosas have been on my mind since and today I chatted to a lovely Indian woman at playgroup and told her I was craving real, Indian, street food type samosas, not the tiny, crispy triangles you so often get, but instead the big twisted up pockets stuffed full of spicey vegetables that I ate from the street when I was in Mumbai on business in 2005. The lovely Indian woman at playgroup laughed when I told her what I was craving because she said she only wanted cheeseburgers when she was expecting and then she reminded me of the street of Indian cafes and restaurants that is literally on the other side of the road from where Ron works in Parramatta.

This is why we made a detour into Harris Park this afternoon after picking up Ron and we stopped in a little Indian cafe and entertained a barefoot Amy at a greasy table whilst we waited for the cooks to make some FRESH spicey, huge, delicious, craving-fulfilling vegetable samosas that we ate dipped into tamarind sauce. Even Amy ventured a taste before declaring it "PICEY" and having a big drink of milk.

I am so going back there tomorrow!!

2008-11-09T17:59:00.002+11:00

Another White family favourite recipe is for homemade pizzas. I make the dough from scratch and freeze a batch for next time, it does need all day to defrost on its own so the yeastie beasties can come back to life but it makes delicious pizza on a baking tray with no pizaz stone in sight!
We usually top with whatever we have going begging in the fridge however a firm favourite is a classic Hawaiian with tinned pineapple, sliced ham and lots of cheese on top.

I wish I could remember where I found the recipe from so I can give credit where credit is due but I have been using it for close to five years now and I can't even remember what I had for breakfast, let alone something like that!
Simple pizza dough from scratch

Starter:
3 tablespoons of dried yeast (usually about one packets worth)
½ cup wholemeal flour
½ cup lukewarm water

Dough:
1 cup of lukewarm water
6 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of salt
3 ½ cups of plain flour

Start by combining the ingredients for the starter in a large bowl, stir until mixed and then cover with a dishtowel and leave to stand for 30 minutes in a warm place.

Retrieve the bowl and add remaining ingredients and mix well. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. You might need to keep flouring the surface to stop the dough from sticking. It should end up soft and pliant.

Place the dough into a well oiled bowl and cover with a slightly damp dishcloth and put it back into the warm area to rise and double in size in about two hours.

Marvel at the incredible scientific miracle that has occurred and turn the dough out onto the floured surface and knead it back down into a soft and pliant ball.

Cut into two and form into balls. (This is where you can freeze one ball for later, just make sure its well wrapped in loose, oiled clingfilm so it can expand when you defrost.) Roll out into rough circular shapes with a rolling pin and transfer to a well floured baking tray for preparation, flatten out with your fingertips, this stuff is pliant alright!

Prepare your choice of toppings, suggestions as well as the Hawaiian include sundried tomatoes, fresh rocket from the garden and lashings of mozzarella! This is the best bit because everyone gets to have the toppings THEY want and in the style THEY prefer! You can make two big pizzas, four littler ones, or even one GIANT one!

Bake in a hot oven (220 degrees C) for about 20 minutes until the edges are golden and the cheese is melty. Tuck in!

2008-11-08T21:11:00.002+11:00

Ok, so here is the rest of the post I promised you. Does posting twice in one day make up for not posting yesterday? I don't know, and you know what, it actually doesn't matter!

So, like I said before Veronica wrote on her blog about pregnancy cravings which prompted me to do a comparison between last pregnancy and this pregnancy. Last time round I was living in London, working full time in the City and commuting by tube, earning a comfortable disposable income and used to a social life played out in bars and restaurants.

Referring to my pregnancy journal I was experiencing cravings, nausea and related increased snacking as early as 4 weeks pregnant which seems remarkable considering that wasn't what happened this time, in fact I worried because of a lack of symptoms early in my pregnancy!

(extract from pregnancy journal)
Friday 14th October - 4 weeks and 1 day
I had my first experience of retching while brushing my teeth, nothing came up but I had to stop brushing and start breathing until the feeling went away. The noticeable feelings today are extreme hunger and extreme tiredness. Even after a good sleep I was exhausted. Also the breasts are way out of control. I commented to Ron before going to sleep that I probably wouldn’t be able to sleep on my tummy for much longer and not due to a protubing belly but more because the boobs are growing each day. I am definitely going to need new bras and sooner rather than later! My hunger was killing me so I went to M&S for supplies and picked up two of our favourite pizzas for dinner along with naughty chipsticks and a Chicken Caesar wrap and spicy houmous and pita bread for weekend snacks. It seems snacks are top of my list at the moment, almost every night after getting home from work I have been making a small plate of cheese and biscuits with fruit chutney to tide me over till dinner!
(end extract)

So the extract above couldn't be more different from my pregnancy this time round. At 18 weeks I can still comfortably sleep on my stomach with one leg up and a pillow between my knees, I am still wearing my underwired bras, I have had horrible nausea which caused me to vomit morning, noon and night indiscriminantly and on two seperate occasions the vomiting has caused me to become dehydrated resulting in unpleasant migraines and severe illness and exhaustion. I have lost 4 kgs since getting pregnant and still not gained any of that back despite not being ill anymore and actually getting my appetite back. This pregnancy I have not had the luxury of cash to spend in shops such as M&S (Marks and Spencers) or Pret or any other fantastic, fresh food cafe shops and the only junk food I have had in over four months is a couple of take away pizzas and Chinese one night. The rest of the time I have existed on white bread toast with peanut butter and jam, home made special fried rice and lots and lots of fresh fruit.

Last pregnancy I craved the following (with actual photos that I took at the time for my pregnancy scrapbook!)

Sorbet ice lollies in assorted flavours.

Toasted tuna fish and mayo sandwiches on white bread.

Fizzy drinks such as ginger ale.

And Appletizer.
And lots and lots of fresh fruit salad.

The interesting conclusion? That despite living in different countries, living different lives and having clearly different pregnancies, my cravings have been remarkably similar. This time I have eaten lots of icy poles (or frozen ice lollies - the ones in plastic), I still have tuna fish toasted sandwiches on white bread at least once a week and Amy loves them too, when I was really sick the only thing I wanted to drink was fizzy things like bundaberg ginger beer or flavoured homebrand fizzy mineral water and as I mentioned before, I have survived on fresh fruit.

The only unusual cravings I had last time around was for marmalade and sausage sandwiches at breakfast. I used to go into a Benjy's cafe on my way to work and try and explain to the Polish lady behind the counter that I wanted a sausage sandwich, on white toast and when she asked me what sauce I wanted, I had to convince her I wanted marmalade. It was a relief to go in when my belly grew and point to it so she understood! This time round the strangest thing I have wanted to eat was natural yogurt in the little tub with spoonfuls of dark brown sugar stirred in. I do have a childhood memory of eating this at a friends house after school for a snack but I am not a big fan of yogurt so it was a little odd.

2008-11-08T13:33:00.003+11:00

Seven days in and I stuffed up. And I don't even have a decent excuse. Yesterday was a bad day, Amy is not showing any visible symptoms of her cold/virus from earlier in the week but is acting like a small child possessed. We are battling each other on every little thing, every task, meal, snack, nap, nappy change. Everything is a fight in the White house this week and I am tired. Yesterday I was supposed to post about pregnancy cravings after something Veronica wrote about last week. I had my photos ready to go and my post drafted in my mind. Then I decided to pop out with Amy to meet a friend at a local superstore to browse the craft shop. I forgot the pram so Amy had to walk and it went downhill from there. Back home a few hours later, exhausted, worn out and emotional we battled for 45 minutes to get her down for a sleep she and I desperately needed and then she woke up after 50 minutes.

So, I will post that pregnancy craving draft later, right now I am trying to tune out the howls of a two year old who is so tired she can hardly walk in a straight line, but determined to bend her parents to her will. Phew, can anyone remind me why we wanted to do this all over again?

2008-11-06T18:29:00.002+11:00

This is one of our all time favourite meals. The story attached to the photo above is a good one. We had invited close friends around for dinner the night the Olympics started. I was preparing an asian inspired feast and wanted to use the beautiful set of plates that my Mum had painted for Ron and I on the occasion of our wedding. (A post and photos about these plates to follow for those of you who are interested!) The menu was simple but delicious, spring rolls to start (remember last night's party food!) followed by Pork Sang Choi Bao then Vietnamese Lemon Chicken and fortune cookies to finish. I made both the Pork and the Chicken dishes ahead of time so I just needed to steam the rice and reheat to serve.

The 8th of the 8th month is a special day in my family, its my mother's birthday and it was also the day that I decided to do a pregnancy test after waiting four or five days for a period that I thought was going to show up. Ron and I were both thrilled and excited and called my Mum to give her the best birthday present we could think of! We decided that although we really wanted to share the news with the friends coming to dinner, we would hold off a while because we knew that they were also trying to get pregnant and it might be hard news to handle. Little did we know that the 8th of the 8th, 2008 was an auspicious day for both couples, we found out a few weeks later that they had also done a pregnancy test that day and found out they were expecting and we are now a week apart!

So, want to celebrate special news, make this Chicken dish, just wanting a delicious, quick meal, make this Chicken dish, we love it!

Vietnamese lemon chicken with rice

(quantities feed 2 adults for dinner and 1 portion for taking to lunch the next day)

500g chicken, diced
2 lemons, rind finely grated and juiced
4 spring onions, finely chopped
a sprinkling of dried chilli
a handful of finely chopped peanuts/cashews
a selection of stirfry veg (I use frozen so sue me!)
(also very good with just steamed green beans)
1 tablespoon brown sugar, mixed with,
1 tablespoon fish sauce, mixed with
1 tablespoon oyster sauce in a cup.

Marinate the chicken in the lemon juice, rind, spring onions and chilli for a few hours. This makes it easy to prepare ahead of time.
Heat the wok up extra hot and fry the mixture in a little cooking oil in batches until golden and cooked through. Add the stirfry veg, cook and then add the mixed sauces, cook until heated through.
Serve over jasmine rice with the nuts scattered on top.

2008-11-05T20:10:00.002+11:00

My new found appetite is revelling in all things fruit at the moment. I crave platters of fruit, sliced, diced, prepared and so morning tea has become a selection of fruits and Amy and I are both very happy.

My husband is not so happy because I had a bad day and so we are having party food for supper. Yes, instead of a nutritional, balanced, tasty meal, we had party pies, sausage rolls and spring rolls for dinner. Oops.

Back to scheduled posting/cooking tomorrow!

2008-11-04T11:52:00.003+11:00

Last night we had homemade hamburgers for supper. These are usually a weekend meal but we ended up being busy on Saturday and Sunday and then by Monday they needed to be made or the mince would have to be thrown out and that would NEVER happen in my thrifty household!

As far back as I can remember my Mum has made burgers from scratch including her magic burger sauce. I love, love, love these kinds of mix and make meals where you can add whatever is in the fridge to the burger mix and then everyone can taylor make their own burger to their specific tastes.

Last night Ron mixed up the burgers using 750g premium beef mince, 1 finely diced onion, 1 beaten egg, salt and pepper and a large handful of finely chopped fresh basil. He shaped them into smallish patties and took them outside to cook whilst I prepared the extras. Unfortunately I had used up the last of the tinned pineapple the night before for pizzas so we just had melted cheese on the burgers. I finely sliced some brown onion and tomato and quickly harvested some rocket from our veg patch. The buns were toasted on the bbq and buttered and I whipped up a batch of Mum's famous burger sauce. I will disclose the recipe but now I will have to hunt you all down and kill you because its a family secret! (mix together tomato sauce, mayonaise, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper until it makes a pale pink dressing.) These were delicious and I could have eaten three but should have stopped at one and a half, even though the burgers themselves were quite little, with all the extras and the bun they filled me up A LOT!

2008-11-03T12:55:00.002+11:00

On Friday night Ron and I were both hungry, but still full of meat from our birthday feast the night before. We felt like something light but full of vegies and so I threw together this little marvel. I am a big fan of cous-cous salad, I think it takes a dressing very well and bulks out something that might otherwise be a side dish. Ron likes his cous-cous hot and flavoured so hasn't been a big fan of other versions of this that I have made in the past but this one was a winner.

Roasted vegetable cous-cous salad.

Ingredients:
2 carrots
2 capsicum
2 onions
2 parsnips
or any other assorted veg left in your fridge in need of eating. Chop into slices, toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a hot oven until caramelised and soft.

1 cup of instant cous-cous, soaked in 1 cup of hot water for a few minutes until soft

dressing: juice of a lemon, large bunch of coriander finely chopped, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, salt and pepper to taste.

Mix all the ingredients with the cous-cous and dressing, serve and wolf it down whilst feeling virtuous for consuming such a varied selection of vegetables!

I am off to have the left overs for lunch now.

2008-11-02T13:31:00.003+11:00

I love breakfast. Its my favourite meal of the day. I am a creature of habit and go through phases of eating and drinking the exact same thing every morning for breakfast. Last pregnancy it was a bowl of coco-pops at home before getting on the tube followed by peanut butter toast (spread with butter as well - gasp!) from the Italian cafe on the corner, washed down with a decaf caramel macchiato from St@rbucks. This time round its been toast with peanut butter on one half and raspberry jam on the other half, folded over into a sandwich washed down with a homemade mocha using decaf instant and two teaspoons of milo. Depending on how sick I have been feeling, its either been eaten after a good vomit, or before in which case I have sometimes made another piece of toast to eat gingerly whilst sipping on a glass of water.

Thanks to the anti-nausea medication I have been taking I have been indulging in few different breakfasts recently. Last week for Ron's birthday we made American-style pancakes (see the labels on the right hand side for the recipe) and this morning I made Eggs Benedict Chez White-style with poached eggs and ham on top of hash browns with a dollop of hollandaise from a jar. It was a quick, delicious meal, not very glamorous but very tasty and Amy loved the hash browns.

2008-11-01T13:01:00.002+11:00

To kick off my month of food blogging I present to you:

Chicken Tikka Masala, an attempt to recreate a favourite Friday night curry meal in London.

Since moving to Australia many things in my life have changed. Some changes are for the better: the seasons have finally gone back to being the right way round, hot Christmas, cold birthday (June!) but some have been very hard to get used to, like the fact that Ron and I never eat out anymore due to budgetary constraints. On the rare occasions that we do have a meal in a restaurant, we find ourselves often critical, we could cook a steak better at home, my mushroom sauce tastes nicer, why order a thai curry when I make a mean one in my own kitchen.

There are some meals that I will order in a restaurant knowing I will probably never attempt them at home like the slow cooked tender pork ribs I had on Thursday night when we went out with Ron's parents for his birthday dinner. They were heavenly, melt in the mouth, delicious and conjoured up all sorts of memories of home when going out to eat ribs was a family ritual we all loved until my sister decided there was something very wrong with people chewing meat off a bone and developed a phobia about ribs!

The one meal I miss the most about London has to be the traditional English curry. I miss the little Indian restaurants conveniently situated next to the tube station so you stumble out into the night and straight into the fragrant space decorated with moving pictures in gold frames and gaudy faux gold objects on the walls. I miss the smell and the beer and the poppadums and chutneys. I miss the polite waiters and the prompt arrival of little copper serving dishes full of all the things you need to make a great curry dinner, sag paneer, tarka dhal, boiled rice and a lucious curry swimming with oil and spice.

In a fit of melancholy I decided to try and recreate a meal that Ron and I often enjoyed on a quiet night in London. One of us would stop by Sainsburys on the way home and pick up a "curry in a box for two" and then back home I would nuke the containers in the microwave for just long enough to heat them up and then we would feast on suprisingly good Chicken Tikka Masala or Butter Chicken or Lamb Pasanda with naan and rice washed down with bottled beer. It was cheap and easy and convenient and a guilty pleasure. This is my version of Chicken Tikka Masala and although its delicious and filling and very satisfying, it still doesn't beat "curry in a box for two."

Chicken Tikka Masala

(feeds two with leftovers)

6 chicken thigh fillets chopped into chunks marinaded overnight in the following:

Marinade:

juice of a lime

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp cumin

a knob of ginger, grated

3 cloves of garlic, grated

150ml plain yogurt

1 onion, diced

another tsp each of ground coriander, tumeric, chilli powder, cumin

small knob of ginger, grated

2 cloves of garlic, grated

1 tbsp tomato puree

3 diced tomatoes (or 1 tin)

1 cup water

100ml double cream

1 bunch of fresh coriander

Method:

Marinate the chicken chunks overnight then fry the onion, ginger, garlic and spices lightly in vegetable oil until fragrant, add the tomato puree and diced tomatoes, cook for a few minutes then add the chicken, stir to coat, add 1 cup of water and cook covered for about 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Add the double cream (more or less depending on your tastes) and the bunch of chopped coriander, stir to incorporate.

Serve on steamed rice with naan bread on the side. Eat, reminisce.

2008-10-31T20:30:00.000+11:00

Thanks to a recent discovery of Veronica's Food Blog I have decided to do nablopomo again this year. Last year I blogged every day of the month of November over at my personal blog The Super Whites but this year what with being pregnant and being Mum to a demanding two year old, I have decided to blog over here on my food blog. This way even if I am strapped for inspiration I can always post a recipe I loved and I have a huge file of those so shouldn't find it too hard!

Stick around if you want to join in the fun!

2008-08-01T13:25:00.000+10:00

In the two years since Amy was born I have made Jam and Marmalade with my Mum on three separate occasions. Its a tradition I love and I am so glad that its something I am able to do with my Mum. We started off making Apricot Jam and Chilli Peach Chutney like my Mum's Mum used to make and I gave those to family and friends in South Africa for Christmas in 2006. Mum and I made Orange Marmalade in July 2007 and then I made my own batch of Apricot Jam for Christmas gifts last year.

This year my next door neighbour said I could take all the oranges off her tree and so Mum and I set to perfecting our recipe and making a large batch of Orange Marmalade for my Mother-in-law's August Church Fete.

Last year we were duped into using something called Marmalade and Jam Sugar which contains pectin. Although our marmalade did set well, it had a funny taste which we attributed to the sugar. This year our collaboration was a great success and we have come up with the perfect recipe that requires only oranges, sugar and a little water and some patience in cooking it all up.

Bridget and Sarah's Orange Marmalade.

1 kg oranges (approx. 6)
2 kgs sugar
1 cup of water
the juice of 4 oranges
1 muslin square

Method:
Quarter the oranges and finely slice the rind, remove any pips and pith and tie this up in the muslin square. The pips are rich in pectin which will help the marmalade to set. Put the sliced oranges, juice of 4 oranges, the cup of water and the muslin bag filled with pips and pith into a large pot and bring to the boil. Simmer for approx. 45 minutes until the orange rind is soft. Add the sugar in one go and stir to dissolve. Bring the marmalade back to the boil and using a jam thermometer, keep at a slow rolling boil until the temperature gets to 106c. Continue boiling at a slow rolling boil for approx 1 hour until setting time is reached. Don't be worried if the temperature continues to rise, our temp reached nearly 120c in our first batch and it was still fine.

My stovetop is very hot and a slow rolling boil was achieved at around about 1/2 the dial. I managed to slightly caramelise the last batch of marmalade I made on my own after Mum had left by boiling it for the hour at a too high temperature. The marmalade still tastes delicious but its darker in colour than the other batches.

The trick to making jam and marmalade is knowing when its set. After the sugar had dissolved and the marmalade had been boiling slowly for about 45 minutes, I started testing the setting on saucers that had been in the freezer for 15 minutes. A spoonful on the saucer, left to cool for a couple of minutes should form a skin when pushed across the plate with your finger. There is a trick to knowing when jam is set and Mum and I were both suprised at how long it took. Many recipes will say boil for 10 minutes until setting temp of 106c is reached but this wasn't nearly long enough for ours. Now that we have our definitive recipe I need to get working, despite the 24 jars of marmalade currently sitting on my table, I still have another whole bag of oranges to use up!

2008-07-28T09:11:00.000+10:00

My Mum and Dad have been staying with us over the last three weeks. Mum came earlier than Dad and unfortunately he was only able to stay a week but we still managed to cram a lot into those few days, including a lot of good eating.

An Australian friend of Mum's recently showed her how to make a delicious pasta soup with marrow bones which the family nicknamed Aussie Pasta soup and so Mum and I cooked up a large pot for the week that Dad was staying. We were all really busy finishing off the bathroom, hanging pictures, grouting and taking care of Amy and a large bowl of this soup is the perfect way to fill lots of hungry bellies. Last week Mum and I caught up with her Aussie friend here in Sydney and she told us the real name of this one-pot meal is Pasta e Fagioli.

Pasta e Fagioli or Aussie Pasta Soup.

Ingredients (makes approx. 14 bowls)
1 bag of marrow bones (approx. 10 bones, split)
3 tins of red kidney beans (or 1x 500g packet of dried, soaked overnight)
3/4 large white onions
5 garlic cloves
1 large bunch of flat leaf parsley
1x 500g jar of tomato paste
olive oil
400g penne pasta
salt and pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
parmesan cheese

Instructions
1. Cover and soak the kidney beans overnight if you are using dry beans
2. Put the marrow bones into a large pot and cover with boiling water to three times the height of the bones. Bring to the boil and add the tomato paste and (dried, soaked kidney beans) hold off if you are using tins, they only need to be added later in the cooking.
3. add 3 flat tbsp of salt and pepper
4. stir well and reduce to a simmer, allow to simmer for 3 hours (or completely forget about the soup and come back to check on it nearly 4 1/2 hours later!)
5. heat 1/2 inch of olive oil in a frying pan
6. fry the roughly chopped onions, garlic and chopped parsley in batches until soft. DO NOT BROWN!
7. Add the onions, garlic and parsley to the pot about 45 minutes before serving along with a tsp of cayenne pepper.
8. 20 minutes before serving add the pasta.

Serve with a generous sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese. This is a phenomenal soup, rich and filling with a complexity of flavours from the marrow bones and parsley. It will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days and trust me, this only improves with time!

2008-07-02T19:03:00.000+10:00

Its State of Origin Game Three tonight and because I spent all day yesterday in bed with a funny kind of flu, I didn't get to the shops. Ron stopped off on the way home and picked up some party pies, sausage rolls and little boys for supper. A proper aussie feast while we watch the game!

My mother-in-law gave me a pie machine for a christmas gift, its kind of like a sandwich toaster with non-stick plates and you can use ready made pastry. The pies that this makes are unbelievable and have become a fast family favourite. I grab a couple of containers of bolognaise sauce from the freezer and defrost them in the microwave. A sheet of puff pastry and a sheet of shortcrust pastry, slightly defrosted on the counter and you are ready to go. The pie maker comes with a cut out so you can get perfect sizes for the top from puff pastry and the bottom from shortcrust, stick them in the machine, spoon the filling in, lid on, close it up and 5 minutes later, hot, crispy delicious homemade pies!

Serve with mashed potatoe and minted peas for quick and easy midweek meal.

2008-06-30T14:00:00.000+10:00

It was my birthday this weekend and as always it involved lots of eating! Just the way I like it. My special birthday breakfast was American style pancakes with crispy bacon and lashings of maple syrup. There is nothing healthy about this meal and thats why its a birthday special occasion feast.

I love these fluffly pancakes and think I actually might prefer them over the more traditional recipe, mainly because the batter doesn't improve through standing infact because you fold beaten egg whites into the mixture, its best cooked and eaten immediately.

American style pancakes.
3 eggs
1 cup plain flour
1 heaped tsp baking powder
1/2 cup of milk
pinch of salt

First seperate the eggs and put the yolks into a bowl with the flour, baking powder and milk. Mix to a smooth batter. It was a lot thicker than I was expecting!

Next beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they form stiff peaks.

Fold the whites into the batter and you are ready to cook.

I use a non-stick frying pan with the lightest spray of vegetable oil.

Serve with crispy bacon and drizzle with real maple syrup for a delicious special occasion breakfast.

2008-06-20T20:11:00.000+10:00

This was a new recipe and a very successful one. So successful that once again I forgot to take a photo after serving up so instead we have a comparison picture between the recipe book and Ron's left overs for lunch! Looks the same right?!?

This is a delicious stirfry, fragrant with a hit of chilli and the pork fillet was melt-in-the-mouth tender. I had never cooked with pork fillet before moving to Australia and now I can't imagine a week night stirfry without it. Its not a cheap cut of meat but used like this it does go a little further. Next time I would use even more green beans, we loved their crunch and texture.

Pork Stirfry with Green beans in Ginger sauce.

450g trimmed pork fillet, sliced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice or white vinegar
1 tsp sugar
pinch of dried chilli flakes
3 tsp cornflour
2 tbsp peanut oil
350g green beans, trimmed and chopped into short lengths
2 cloves of garlic, grated
a medium knob of ginger, peeled and grated

Marinade the pork in the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, chilli and cornflour.

Heat the wok over a high heat, add half the peanut oil, drain the pork and stirfry until browned. Remove from the wok and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the wok, stirfry the beans over high heat for a few minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and continue cooking for another minute.

Return the pork and the remaining marinade to the wok and cook for a further minute or two until the sauce has thickened and the beans are al dente.

Serve with rice and expect to come back for seconds.

2008-06-09T20:51:00.000+10:00

Ok, so its not pretty, its not pretty at all and I could have dressed it up or at least cleaned the plate, but it was late and this is indulgent food which is kind of a confession.

I love chicken livers. I adore peri-peri chicken livers on floury white rolls with butter. I love the texture and the flavour and the heat of the peri-peri.

This is a recipe I borrowed from the Nand0s website when I discovered they don't serve these chicken livers at the restaurants here in Australia. Subsequently they have introduced them on the menu and I am a happy girl because I already know I can make them myself at home for a fraction of the price.

Figados de Galinha (peri-peri chicken livers)

500g chicken livers
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp hot paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 bay leaves
a glug of white wine
Nand0's Peri Peri Sauce (to taste)

1. Trim and wash livers.
2. Place butter and olive oil in a frying pan.
3. Add livers and spices and fry until just brown.
4. Add onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes.
5. Add bay leaves and wine and simmer over low heat for 5-8 minutes.
6. Adjust seasoning and add the Hot or Medium Peri-Peri sauce if required.

Enjoy hot with fresh white rolls and butter, washed down with a large glass of wine.

2008-05-30T09:38:00.000+10:00

Quickly, a couple of recipes I have made successfully this week because I have to give the recipe book back to my sister-in-law at work tonight.

Tagliatelle with Chicken, Herbs and Mushrooms.

(or fettucine if you are cheap like me!)

2 tbsp olive oil
400g diced chicken breast
20g butter
400g mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
125ml white wine
185ml cream
400g pasta (tagliatelle or fettucine)
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente.

Heat one tbsp olive oil and cook the chicken until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the butter and the remaining olive oil and cook the mushrooms over a high heat for 3 minutes or so. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine is almost cooked away. Stir in the cream and return the chicken to the pan. Simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice and the parsley. Season.

Combine the pasta and sauce and test the seasoning. The recipe called for parmesan cheese over the top but I felt this would compromise the creamy mushroom flavour so didn't use it. This was heaven in a pasta bowl!

2008-05-30T09:30:00.000+10:00

Creamy Chicken Pesto Penne

1 tbsp vegetable oil
40g butter
400g diced chicken breast
1 cup frozen peas
3 spring onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
125ml cream
300ml sour cream
185ml chicken stock
1 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup finely chopped basil
2 tbsp roasted pinenuts
400g penne pasta

Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente.

Heat the oil and half the butter in a pan and fry the chicken over high heat until browned. Remove and set aside. Add the spring onion, fry lightly and then add the frozen peas. Remove and set aside. Wipe the pan out and add the remaining butter and garlic, cook lightly for a few minutes and add the cream, sour cream and stock and simmer for 10 minutes until reduced slightly. Lightly toast the pinenuts in another pan until golden. Add the parmesan and basil to the creamy sauce and stir until cheese has melted. Return the chicken and vegetables, add the toasted pinenuts and season.

Combine the pasta with the sauce and test for seasoning. I could say garnish with fresh basil leaves but that annoys the hell out of me! Who wants a big chunk of basil in their first mouthful when the intention of the dish is to combine the flavours! You could use fresh asparagus instead of frozen peas but I am cheap!

2008-05-28T13:29:00.000+10:00

Spicy pumpkin and coconut soup.

This is one of the best soups I have made in a long time. I made a few adjustments to the recipe which is a universal one and I have included my changes in the recipe below because they definitely enhanced this winning combination!

Spicy pumpkin and coconut soup.

Half a pumpkin chopped into chunks.
1 tin of coconut milk
1 litre of chicken stock
1 large onion
1 tbsp chilli flakes (could use 1 small red chilli instead)
1 stem of lemongrass, soft white inside, sliced
1 tsp ground coriander
2 large gloves of garlic
the juice of a lime
1 large chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 handful of finely chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp brown sugar (could use palm sugar)
a couple of generous dashes of fish sauce

Put the chilli, ginger, lemongrass, garlic, ground coriander and lime juice into a food processor and process until smooth. Add a few tsp of chicken stock if necessary to allow it to bind. This can be really rough as you are going to blend the soup later anyway.

Gently fry the onion in vegetable oil until translucent and then add the spice paste. Cook until fragrant and soft (a few minutes) and then add the pumpkin and cover with chicken stock. (use more or less until the pumpkin is just covered) Simmer with a lid on until the pumpkin is soft. This took about 30 minutes.

Use a stick blender to process in the pot until the soup is smooth. Add the coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce and coriander and stir until silky and warmed through.

Serve and enjoy and then return for a second bowl and then lick the ladle after you have dished up leftovers!

2008-05-13T21:51:00.000+10:00

Citrus chilli pork with cashew nuts.

2 tbs vegetable oil
375g pork fillet, finely sliced
2 small red chillis (I have been known to use a sprinkle of dried instead)
6 spring onions, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 tbs fish sauce
1-2 tbs lime juice (I have increased this to the juice of 2-3 limes)
2 tsp palm sugar (easily substituted for brown sugar)
2 tsp corn flour
1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews

Mix the pork with the spring onions, 3/4's of the lime juice, chilli and cumin and tumeric and allow to marinade.
Heat the wok up to sizzling and stirfry the pork in the oil in batches until browned.
Return all the pork to the wok.
Mix the remaining lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and corn flour in a cup and pour into the wok.
Add the cashews and stir until the pork is cooked and the sauce has thickened (approximately 3-5 minutes)
Serve over fragrant jasmine rice.

2008-05-06T22:16:00.000+10:00

I have been going through my photo archives and reworking some of my favourite foodie pics in the spirit of all the photoshopping that I have been doing. I will post some of the results when I get some time!

2008-04-27T22:01:00.000+10:00

Jars of chutney with their wax seals in place, all ready to be labelled and delivered to my mother-in-law's for the Church market day.

Yes, that is a bottle of Jack Daniels in the background, and no my husband and I are not turning to heavy drink, at least not on week nights - its the special ingredient in last week's banana bread which I made again yesterday to take to a friend for afternoon tea. It was just as delicious second time around! Yay!

2008-04-23T18:14:00.001+10:00

Its raining again and the only thing for it on a cold and wet day is to stay home, catch up on some reading, watch a load of recorded stuff on the foxtel IQ and cook up a batch of Apple Chutney for the church market day.

I love this recipe, I clipped it from the Sainsbury Magazine that I used to buy with my groceries in London. I loved that magazine and almost every month I would end up tearing the magazine apart and saving most of the recipes.

This recipe is from the September 2005 magazine in a section called Cooking with Confidence concentrating on pickles and chutneys. I absolutely LOVE chutneys and can think of nothing nicer than a plate of crackers, some mature, crumbly chedder and a jar of chutney. I like strong flavours, the tang of vinegar mixed with a sweet and spicey combination and this recipe has all those components.

I have adapted the recipe by substituting granny smith apples for the bramleys it calls for and when I am making a batch for gifts (last Christmas) or church, I double the quantities and just cook it for a couple of hours longer.
Apple Chutney

1kg apples, peeled and cored
3 medium onions, peeled
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
95g piece of ginger, peeled
1x 500ml bottle of apple cider vinegar
1x 500g bag of dark brown sugar
315g raisins
1 cinammon stick
1 tablespoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt

Pulse the apples in batches until finely chopped, add to large saucepan.
Pulse the onions, garlic and ginger until finely chopped, add to the apples.
Add the vinegar, brown sugar, raisins, cinammon, mixed spice, cayenne, 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt and 100mls of cold water.
Bring to the boil, stirring frequently, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1-2 hours until the vinegar has evaporated and the chutney is reduced and soft. Watch that it doesn't stick.
Preheat your oven to 150C and heat your clean, dry jars. Remove the cinammon stick from the chutney and fill the jars while the mixture is still hot.

I like to seal the jars with melted wax and I have a cheap, little saucepan that I use to melt plain candles down. I pour this onto the cool chutney and then screw the lids on tightly.

This chutney is good the day after but matures well and tastes great after a few weeks. The recipe says that it will last for up to a year if kept in a dark, cool place.

2008-04-23T16:58:00.000+10:00

Quick Thai Red Chicken curry
Rice noodles (or substitute)
600g thinly sliced chicken breast
1 tbsp red curry paste
1 can of coconut cream (milk makes a thinner sauce which we didn't like so much)
juice of two limes
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 can baby corn, drained and chopped into chunks
1 bag of baby spinach leaves
1 handful of basil, shredded

Fry the chicken in batches in the wok, remove and add curry paste, fry for a few seconds until fragrant, add coconut cream, lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar. Return the chicken to the sauce, stir in the corn, spinach leaves and basil. Put the lid on the wok.

In the meantime prepare your noodles. This sauce would be just as good over rice.
Serve and enjoy.

I like this recipe because its really quick, the most complicated thing is preparing the chicken but I buy my breasts in bulk and prepare all in one go, that way I have bags of chicken chunks frozen already and can just grab one from the freezer in the morning all ready to go for dinner that night. This time round I used coconut milk which was very thin and served the sauce over noodles, I think the thinner sauce would be better over jasmine rice, and a thicker sauce from coconut cream or thickened with corn flour works better with noodles.

PS we ate this so quickly I forgot to take a photo. To be honest, it wasn't that pretty either but man it tasted good!

2008-04-20T14:00:00.000+10:00

So, I am going to post recipes and food related stuff over here to make it easier for me to keep a record of my meal plans and successful recipes.

Last week I posted about the Banana Bread that I found over at Smitten Kitchen. It was such a successful recipe that I will be making it again at my earliest convenience, its just a bugger that I have to wait for the bananas to get really ripe and soft!

I am going to post the recipe that I ended up with as I made it:

Banana Bread (adapted from Deb at Smitten Kitchen's Speckled and Freckled)

4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon Jack Daniels
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cup of self-raising flour

Preheat the oven to 170 C (my oven is fan assist, if yours isn't go for 180 C).

Mix the butter and well mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.

Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and JD.

Add the spices and salt and mix well.

Add the flour last, folding in.

Pour mixture into a greased, lined loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour.

This makes a dense but moist bread that tastes even better the next day, toasted with butter.

2008-04-20T12:23:00.000+10:00

I have been tagged over at my other blog by Guera of a roaming aussie kitchen and this is a more than good enough excuse to resurrect my long neglected food blog. I won't be tagging anyone because my little old food blog is so ancient no one will remember it yet!

I hope to start posting more recipe ideas and successes on this blog along with my weekly meal plans in my ongoing quest for cheaper, quicker and healthier food options for us and for Amy.

1. What food do you consider the best “date” food? In other words, what meal or food item do you think is sexiest to eat in the company of someone you would like to look sexy around?

Apparently my husband thinks I am sexy even when I am scoffing a homemade burger with sauce running down my chin so I don't often think about what I am eating in terms of how sexy it makes me look. I used to be one of those silly teenagers that worried about eating in front of boys but luckily I soon realised that being comfortable around boys made them feel more comfortable around me so I stopped worrying. When I think "date food" I always think of chocolate mousse because thats what Ron and I shared on our first proper date. He had the calzone and I had pasta with a salmon sauce and we shared a delicious chocolate mousse for dessert. Its always held a special place in my culinary heart!

2. What well-known person would you like to share a meal with—with or without clothing. (saying whether or not clothes are involved is optional).

Without clothing it would have to be Gy.ton Gran.tley with whom I have an unhealthy fascination at the moment thanks to Under.belly, a brilliant program on tv currently about the gang.land murders that took place in Mel.bourne. I don't know what it is about fat Carl that has grown on me so much since first seeing him in H0me and Away!

With clothes I was lucky enough to sit down for dinner with Nel.son Mand.ela himself. He presented an award to a group of us at school and we ate with him at a small dinner after the ceremony. This was before he became President but it was an honour and a privilege to meet him.

3. What does your perfect breakfast-in-bed look like? (Food AND the details, please. Candles? Music? Flowers? Hot tub? Dancing girls?

The concept of breakfast-in-bed has changed dramatically since having Amy. Before Amy I might have opted for champagne, smoked salmon bagels and the papers but after Amy my idea of the perfect breakfast would be a lie-in followed by a cup of fresh coffee and croissants with peanut butter, served to me by my husband but consumed privately with the radio on and a good book, utter luxury.

4. What do you consider the best application of whipped cream to be?

Squirting it straight from the can into my mouth! (and on chocolate mousse, obviously!)

5. Oh-God-No, Biff, the yacht is sinking! You are sent to the galley to retrieve the food. What luxury food items do you snatch first? The champagne? The caviar? Smoked Salmon? Truffles? Chocolate? Or something else?

This is an impossible question to answer. If I go for the literal translation and I really am on a sinking yacht then I would have to grab the hamper of cheeses, cold meats, quince paste, grapes and selection of breads and crackers that the crew prepared earlier! If I opt for reality then my luxury food items would be chocolate covered coffee beans, chicken livers and fresh white rolls and a bottle of sweet dessert wine.

2007-05-09T15:56:00.000+10:00

Recycling vegimite jars with zuchini pickle, or courgette as us non-aussie folk would say! Did you know that Ready Steady Cook in Oz has red tomato and green capsicum? How peculiar!
The pickle turned out well, but the best was the apple chutney I made. I was cooking for my mum-in-law's church market day so I only kept one jar for us and I am halfway through that already... its so good!

2006-11-29T16:57:00.000+11:00

I am currently at home in Johannesburg, South Africa, staying at my parents house on holiday. Its heaven to be home eating my favourite meals and planning lots of culinary exploits! So far we have had Gina's famous meatballs and mash, a huge piece of rump steak on the braai (BBQ) a roast chicken with Mum's roast potatoes (the best in the world!) and last night we had meatloaf with asparagus and new pots. We also went to the gym to get free guest passes for a month which we will be needing if we carry on eating the way we have!

I have a couple of things on the go that I will be posting about shortly, in the meantime I leave you with a scan of a recipe that I typed out for my sister around about the time that I met Ron, so Christmas 2001. Liv came to stay with me in London for a few weeks and enjoyed cooking meals with me in our massive basement kitchen in Islington. I decided to send her back to SA and university with a couple of my tried and tested recipes, so I typed them out and gave them to her. Below is my take on Jamie Oliver - this made me laugh when I came across it in my mum's recipe folder!

2006-11-20T04:43:00.000+11:00

A clever name for a wine merchant!

2006-11-13T09:08:00.000+11:00

Being a stay at home mum sometimes means a bowl of soup and bread and cheese for supper on a Saturday night whilst the husband is out watching the rugby! My special treat was the cappuchino cupcake for pudding! The simplest meals can be the most delicious, fresh crusty brown bread, savory Italian bean soup, salty mature chedder. Fantastic and satisfying!

2006-11-08T20:51:00.000+11:00

I had a wonderful lunch at Aurora with my friend Sally back in December last year when I had just had our 12 week scan and felt able to tell the world about Amy! Sal and I booked a table and spent a fabulous 3 hours sitting in this tiny, warm, friendly restaurant eating and drinking (only one small glass for me!) and enjoying each others company. I haven't been back since, but Sal is coming back to London on business next week and I think we might have to make a return visit!

2006-11-08T20:48:00.000+11:00

Ron and I ate in this restaurant when we went to Dublin for our two year wedding aniversary in January this year. We wanted an early dinner and stumbled upon this little place whilst walking through Temple Bar on Saturday night. The waitress advised us we could have a table and enjoy the early bird menu so long as we vacated the table before 8pm. We had a delicious meal, I can't even remember now what we ate, I think we had steak. But I do recall a lovely room, delicious food, friendly staff.

2006-11-03T05:59:00.000+11:00

My favourite time of year at Starbucks! Welcome back the Gingerbread Latte. I wonder if they do seasonal coffees at Starbucks in Oz? Somehow I don't think this coffee will taste the same in the hot sunshine round Christmas in Sydney. Oh well, best I make the most of them while we are still here and the days get darker and colder.

2006-10-31T20:16:00.000+11:00

Ron's 33rd Birthday dinner at Chez Bruce - Monday 30th October 2006

My starter of Roast foie gras with shin of beef, sweet and sour endive and quince jelly. This was absolute perfection. Tender melting foie gras, caramelised on the outside, fluffy and soft inside. The shin of beef was rich and soft, an intense beef flavour which complemented the sweet foie gras and quince jelly. The endive was hard to cut but had such depth of flavour that I didn't mind shoving it into my mouth all in one go!

Ron's starter of Ragout of Devon Mussels, lemon sole and artichokes with creamed potato and chorizo. Ron said this was delicious, the mussels plump and fresh and the strong flavour of the chorizo was an unusual complement to the gentle taste of the lemon sole, but he didn't think the creamed potato worked as part of the whole. Too similar in texture to the fish maybe?

Ron's main was the Roast grouse with braised celery, port glazed pear, bread sauce and game chips. It was recommended by our lovely French waiter who advised us it was Norfolk grouse, hung for two weeks and cooked very pink. The thing that Ron and I both love about Chez Bruce is that you will be served a plate of Michelin starred food, but in a quantity that leaves you satisfied, not starving! Ron's plate was practically bursting with delicious morsels. There wasn't even room for his bread sauce which came in a seperate dish.

My main course was Rump of lamb with braised savoy cabbage, bacon, sarladaise potato and prunes. Really most of my favourite things all in one plate! The savoy cabbage braised with bacon was contained in a cabbage leaf but at first glance it looked like a giant brussel sprout - my least favourite thing! The potato sarladaise (according to google - crispy layers of potatoes, butter, nutmeg, crispy spring onions and wild mushrooms) was delicious, a rich complex flavour. I also enjoyed the prunes which tasted as though they had been soaked in a rich brandy.

I didn't take photos of our last course. Ron requested the cheese plate and the waiter grinned and asked him if he had had this before? When we said no he grinned even wider and we realised why when he arrived with a massive tray covered in cheeses. Ron had a selection on his recommendation and enjoyed everything apart from the Caerphilly which I requested which was quite dry in comparison to the melting Brie De Meaux and the Camembert.

I had creme brulee which was wonderful. Light crisp caramelised sugar, heavy custard specked with vanilla. A perfect way to finish off the meal. We managed to stagger to the car and drive home where we both collapsed into bed in food comas while Liv gave Amy her bottle!

2006-10-17T02:00:00.000+10:00

From my recipes for busy mum's.....

Homemade Meatballs with Spagetti
For the meatballs:
1 500g pack beef mince
2 cloves garlic minced
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 egg
Fresh herb of your choice (basil, oregano and parsley all work)
Sauce:
I jar store sauce
1 tin chopped tomatos in juice

I whiz the onion, garlic and herbs in my mixer until finely minced. (usually a handful of herb) then add this to the mince and mix until well combined. I then add the egg, salt, pepper and a squirt of worcestershire sauce. Now you need to get your hands dirty. I roll the mixture into small meatballs that fit into the palm of my hand. Place them on a plate until ready to cook.
Put them in an oiled baking tray in a hot over for about 30 mins until they are browned. Turn them halfway.

For the sauce I cheat and use a bottle sauce and a tin of tomatos, heat together, season and add the browned meatballs. Now reduce the sauce with the meatballs in it until the texture pleases you! (like spagbol some people like their sauce wet and some like it really thick!). Boil up some spagetti and spoon a few meatballs and the sauce over the top. Grate fresh parmesan and eat!

2006-10-14T05:01:00.000+10:00

Nigel Slater's Roast chicken thighs with lime and ginger
For 2 people
6 chicken thighs
juice of 4 limes
2 stalks lemongrass, sliced
4 red chillies, chopped
a knob of ginger, shredded
4 spring onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons honey

Slash the skin on the chicken thighs and put them in a roasting tray. Mix the marinade ingredients together, season and pour over the chicken, rubbing it into the skin. Marinade for an hour or two, turn the chicken once. Cook at 200C/Gas 6 for about 40 mins.

This recipe sounds divine, even looks divine and might even taste quite good, but it was SUCH a disappointment when I made it for the first time for dinner with Ana and Russel. The juice burnt to the bottom of the pan so it was dry, I made rice to go with it thinking there was going to be loads of sauce so that was a disaster! For some reason I thought broccoli would be a good accompaniment, not so much!

Everyone was very polite but I couldn't sleep that night thinking about how to improve the recipe! Prehaps more lime juice? Maybe steamed bokchoi? Coconut rice? I am going to have to make this again and make it better.....

2006-10-13T22:39:00.000+10:00

What not to cook for Ana and Russell!