Meet Me At Mikes :: Recipes

Nursery Spaghetti

2012-01-08T12:52:00.003-08:00

Here is what you do.

Cook a packet of spaghetti til it's al dente (I say that to make this seem fancier and more foodie than it is, truth be told, but DO cook your spaghetti nicely)

Then you need

One warmed tin of condensed tomato soup (don't add water! must NOT be salt reduced! if you like a lot of sauce, get the biggest can of soup)

One block of Kraft cheddar cheese, grated (this is the one that is NOT kept in the fridge at the supermarket)

You cook the spaghetti, as we said.

You use the warm non diluted soup as the pasta sauce.

You put a LOT of cheese on top.

You eat it up.

Shame. Shame. Shame. Yum.

Pip's Mexican Style Chicken

2012-01-08T12:51:00.001-08:00

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This is really easy to make. I get the chillis I need from Casa Iberica.

1 kilo of chicken thigh fillets, no skin, fat trimmed

To Make The Marinade

2 dried guajillo chillis : seeds removed and snipped into pieces with scissors

1/2 chipotle chilli (I use the chipotle which are tinned in adobo sauce.... and I add a teaspoon of the sauce)

1 tablespoon of ground sweet paprika

1/2 tablespoon of ground cumin

1/2 tablespoon of dried oregano

1 tomato, chopped roughly

1 red onion, chopped roughly

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp white pepper

Put all these ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it's a nice red paste. You can use a mortar and pestle for this if you like, but I shake all the crockery out of the cabinets if I do. Don't do that, will you?! Scoop it all out into a bowl and throw your chicken in for at least 2 or 3 hours to marinate!

To cook the chicken, heat a slosh of olive oil in a nice, big heavy based pan. Plonk the chicken in and arrange it neatly in one layer. Pop a lid on and simmer over a medium low heat for 20 minutes. You can turn up the heat at the end if you want a bit more colour on your chicken. Cut the chicken into pieces while it's still in the pan and toss in the pan juices.

You can season it with black pepper, coriander and a squeeze of lime to serve!

We have this in tortillas, usually, with lots of fresh salsa, guacamole and crunchy greens!

It's good with spiced rice and corn on the cob too!

Pip's Teriyaki Chicken : uber good

2012-01-08T12:50:00.001-08:00

Pip's Uber Famous Teriyaki Chicken

Serves 6

Ingredients

1kg skinless chicken breast fillets (free range if you can!) cut into rough 1" pieces

1/2 cup of potato starch (from Asian grocers and some supermarkets)

1/2 cup of oil (I just used canola oil)

Sauce :: Mix Together

1/4 cup of good quality soy sauce (like Kikkoman)

1/4 cup of mirin

1/4 cup of sake

1/4 cup of raw sugar

1/4 cup of water

2 teaspoons of sesame oil

To serve::

Short grain rice or sushi rice

Chilli sauce if you are into it

Chopped spring onions and any other chopped raw vegies you like

(I like to use cherry tomatoes and I steam some broccoli to the right side of crunchy to have with it too!)

Let's Make It...

Tip the potato starch into a plastic bag and then dump the chopped up chicken in there. Twist the bag a few times to seal it and then shake it all up to coat the chicken well. We want the starch all over every piece.

Heat your oil in a large frying pan or wok over a medium high heat. Fry the coated chicken in two batches, just until it's sealed and colouring a tiny bit. We don't need to cook it right through yet. Drain the sealed chicken on kitchen towel. Now, tip out the oil leaving just a teensy bit in the pan. There will be bits of fried stuff stuck to the pan too. That is just fine. Leave that in there.

Put the pan with teensy bit of oil and leftover fried bits back on to a medium heat. Add all of your chicken to the pan. It will be a bit crowded. Stir your sauce mixture to distribute the sugar a bit, then tip it over the chicken and toss well. It will bubble up and start to look pretty impressive and delicious.

Put a lid on for a minute or two to help cook the chicken through properly, shaking the pan every now and then to prevent things burning. Then take the lid off and toss the chicken for another minute or two, until it's lovely and glazed and caramelizing a bit. (If you don't have a lid, just cook for four minutes without the lid, tossing well to keep things cooking evenly.) That's all you do!

Serve on top of a few spoonfuls of rice. Top with spring onions and the raw vegies. I always put a big dollop of chilli sauce atop mine.

Serve with green tea and marvel at the amazing texture of the chicken! SO so so so yummy. Try it. You will be amazed. Honest.

Lazy Risotto A La Oven

2012-01-08T12:49:00.001-08:00

Lazy Risotto A La Oven

2 regular size tins of diced tomatoes (or chopped up tinned whole tomatoes)

1 carrot, peeled and grated

2 cups of arborio rice

3 cups of stock or water

1 tablespoon of capers (not rinsed)

1 tablespoon of sweet paprika

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 red onion, sliced

1 tablespoon of pesto if you have it

1 tablespoon of red or white wine vinegar

1/2 cup of mozarella cheese, chopped roughly or grated

1/4 cup of other cheese : parmesan or cheddar : again chopped or grated

Fresh herbs : a half a handful of whatever you have on hand (or a teaspoon of dried herbs like basil or an Italian mix)

Fry the onion, carrot and garlic in a good glug of olive oil until soft and aromatic. Add the tinned tomatoes, paprika, pesto, herbs, vinegar. Cook for ten minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and lots of pepper. (I like white pepper, but black pepper is good too)

While that's cooking, slug some olive oil into an oven proof dish/pot with a lid. I use a cast iron one. Heat the oil over a medium heat and throw in the rice. Saute the rice for a minute or so, stirring all the while. Then tip in the stock. Excellent. Next tip in the tomato sauce you just made. Perfect. Mix it all up and finally throw in the cheese. (You can also throw in some chilli and some lemon juice/nutmeg at this point)

Cook in a medium oven for 30 minutes with a lid on. Ta-dah! Add more salt or pepper as needed and serve with a dollop of chili or more pesto if you like!

(Based on a recipe I found via The Vine)

Pip's Lamb Rolls

2012-01-08T12:48:00.001-08:00

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Pip's Mayo

2 egg yolks

1 tbsp of Dijon mustard

1 tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce (Lee & Perrins is good!)

1 tbsp of red wine vinegar

juice of half a lemon

a slosh of tabasco

a pinch of salt

a pinch of black pepper

1 cup of good quality oil (I used a mild olive oil, but you can use canola oil if you like!)

I use a food processor to make this, but you could use a regular mixer or do it by hand with a whisk if you are very energetic. To make the mayo, plonk all the ingredients EXCEPT the oil in the food processor. Blend or beat until well combined. Now keep the motor running and slowly, slowly, slowly drizzle the oil in. The mixture will thicken up nicely as you drizzle and spin. You must do this slowly, or else the mayo will split and go runny! Ick. We don't want that. Slowly, slowly we go. Once you've added all the oil, add a tablespoon or two of boiling water to lighten the texture and colour a bit. Voila! (Makes 1 cup of Pip's Mayo!)

Pip's Lamb Rolls

Serves 4

300g of lamb fillets (I used 'backstraps')

Marinate these whole for at least 15 minutes in :: two tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tsp of dried oregano, 1 diced clove of garlic, 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Next, sear the lamb fillets in a hot pan, first on one side and then on the other. Once they have lots of colour and smell delicious, put them in a hot oven for five minutes or so to finish them off. They should still be a bit soft to touch when you take them out, if you are after pinkish lamb. Cover them with foil for a few minutes so they can rest and relax.

Now we need

4 soft long rolls, split down the middle (but not all the way through!)

1 large tomato, sliced with some basil sprinkled atop it, if you like

1/2 cucumber, sliced

1 handful of baby spinach or rocket (washed and dried!)

Slice your lamb fillets as thinly as you can. I'm not much good with a knife, but mine were a BIT thin. Now spread your roll with lots of mayo. Pop in the lamb next, then the tomato and cucumber. Finally squoosh in the spinach. Season with salt and pepper and gobble them up!

Also :: You can add feta, avocado, chili, pesto or capers

Pumpkin and Miso Curry

2012-01-08T12:47:00.000-08:00

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Pip's Potato Curry

2012-01-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

serves six

Ingredients

2kg of potatoes (no need to peel, just cut into 1 inch-ish chunks!)

2 onions, peeled and sliced

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons of curry powder (I use this one)

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

1 cup of frozen peas

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

To Serve : fresh coriander or mint and some lemon wedges

To Make It

First boil the chopped potatoes until just tender.

While they are boiling, and in a very large fry pan, fry the onion in a tablespoon of good quality oil over a medium heat. You want the onions to cook for five or ten minutes, until they are soft and golden. Yum.

Then, add the ginger and fry for a minute. Next add the garlic and cooked potatoes to the onions and toss well. Let them fry together for 2 or 3 minutes, so they can get to know each other.

Next sprinkle the curry powder over the top of the whole lot and add 1/2 cup of water and the soy sauce.

Carefully toss and combine, frying for 2 or 3 minutes.

Add the peas and gently mix them through, cooking for another minute or so.

Season with salt and pepper and serve garnished with some fresh mint or coriander and lemon wedges.

The end!

Simple Mexican Potatoes

2012-01-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

1 kg of unpeeled roughly chopped potatoes

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of sweet paprika

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

juice of one lemon

optional : 1 tsp of chipotle powder

Toss all these ingredients together and make sure the potatoes are well coated in the oil and herbs and spices (and lemon juice!) Tumble onto a heavy based tray and bake in a HOT oven for 35 minutes (until nice and golden and tender and crunchy!) Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with salsa or mayo or yoghurt if you would like that!

Pip's Mee Rebus : Speedy Style

2012-01-08T12:41:00.000-08:00

Pip's Mee Rebus

serves 4

Ingredients

A slosh of oil

1 sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced

1 onion, finely diced

1 clove of garlic, finely diced

1 tablespoon of curry powder : I use this one

a slosh of soy

1 tsp of white pepper

1 cup or so of coconut milk

1 cup of chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

1 packet of noodles : around 250g (the fresh, thickish yellow ones) : soaked in boiling water for a few minutes

1 handful of sliced fried tofu

1 handful of baby spinach

1 handful of bean shoots

Garnish

Fried shallots (from a packet!)

Lemon

Coriander

Optional :: sliced fish cake, sliced cooked chicken, sliced cooked potatoes

Slosh the oil into a large fry pan or wok. When it's nice and hot, add the onions and stir fry for a minute or so. Next add the garlic and sweet potato. Toss well and lower the heat (to very low). Put a lid on the pan (or some foil!) and let it simmer for 15 minutes until the sweet potato is soft. Remove the lid and mash the potato in the pan with the onions and garlic. Add the curry powder and the soy and white pepper. Add the stock and mix and mash until you have a puree. Now add the coconut milk and mix well. Then toss in the tofu and any of the optional ingredients. Cook for a minute and then add the noodles. Toss well. Finally add the spinach and bean shoots and toss again.

Spoon into bowls and garnish with coriander, fried shallots and a squeeze of lemon. You can add some chili too, if you like it spicy!

Simple Spanish-ish Beef

2012-01-08T12:37:00.001-08:00

Simple Spanish-ish Beef

1 kilo of diced beef/steak

2 tins of diced tomatoes

2 onions, sliced

2 red peppers, sliced

1 tablespoon of sweet paprika

juice of one small lemon and some rind if you can be bothered

1/2 tablespoon of dried oregano (or a bit more of fresh oregano!)

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 good slosh of red wine vinegar

1 good slosh of olive oil

Slosh the oil into a heavy based pan and heat it up. Now throw in the onions. Cook them over a medium heat, stirring now and then, until softened and a bit golden. Now throw in the peppers and cook until softened. Next throw in the garlic. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring all the while. Now add your tomatoes, beef, paprika, oregano, lemon and vinegar. Season well with salt and pepper. Cook for a couple of hours over a low heat, or until the meat is tender.

I made roast potatoes as a side ::

Peel a kilo or so of potatoes (more if your family are greedy!) Cook the peeled spuds in boiling water for ten minutes. Drain and allow to dry in the colander. Put a healthy slosh of oil in an oven tray. Throw in your potatoes and toss them well. Cook for an hour or so in a hot oven, turning frequently. When nearly done, mix a tablespoon of extra oil, with 1/2 tablespoon of sweet paprika, some sea salt and black pepper and a clove of very well crushed garlic. Throw this over the potatoes and toss them well. Put the potatoes back in the oven and cook for another 5 minutes. Yum.

Serve with international condiments like aioli and chipotle in adobo sauce. Yum. And a crunchy salad too. Yes.

Tessa Kiros Tomato Lasagna

2011-05-10T23:43:00.000-07:00

My version of Tessa Kiros' Tomato Lasagna

Tomato Sauce

1.25 kg of tinned diced tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

a good slosh of olive oil

one cup of warm water of stock

bunch of fresh basil or a teaspoon full of dried Italian herbs

8 sheets of instant lasagna (the dried one) : I used one family sized packet : about 350g

250g Parmesan

Bechamel Sauce

1 litre of warmed milk

3/4 cup of plain flour

120g of butter

nutmeg

Make the Tomato Sauce First

Heat the oil and gently fry the garlic till it's fragrant (not browned!) Throw in the tomatoes. Cook for 15 minutes, and then add 1 cup of water (or you could use stock!) Season with salt and pepper and then simmer it on a low heat while you make the Bechamel sauce. (You are meant to puree it, but I didn't, because I am lazy and I don't like too many dishes!)

Make the Bechamel Sauce Next

First warm your milk. Then in a separate large-ish pot melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk like crazy to make a smooth butter and flour paste. Continue to stir the floury butter over the heat for a few minutes to cook the floury taste away. Now start whisking in the warm milk a slosh at a time. Don't stop whisking! Your Bechamel will end up nice and thick and smooth. Good work. It needs to be thick so that it layers nicely.

Assemble it All

Grease a lasagna suitable dish or just slosh some oil and and coat the dish well with it using a pastry brush or your fingers. My dish was around 20cm x 30cm and quite deep. Slosh a layer of Bechamel sauce in first and spread it over the base. Put two sheets of dried lasagna atop the Bechamel. Now layer tomato sauce, then Bechamel, then Parmesan, then lasagna. Do that two times. Then add a final layer of lasagna and top with Bechamel, more Parmesan and dot with any leftover tomato sauce.

Cook in a 360F/180C degree oven for 30 minutes until golden and cheesy.

Eat it all up!

Serves 6

30 Soupy Recipes

2011-05-06T18:51:00.001-07:00

Salt N Peppa Shakers via here

Last night we put an extra blanket on the bed. And we had the heater on at the breakfast table. You know what that means? It's time for soup! I really love soup! Soup with crusty bread, soup with crackers, soup with toasted sandwiches, soup, soup, SOUP! Here are 30 extra great soup recipes for you to peruse. Let me know if you make anything... I think I am going to do Sophie Grigson's soup tonight!

Chicken and Rice Soup via Martha //// here
Baked Potato Soup via Smitten Kitchen //// here
Happiness Soup via Nigella //// here
Spicy Parsnip Soup via Jamie Oliver //// here
Feel Good Chicken Broth via Jamie Oliver //// here
Cream of Cauliflower Soup via Pip! //// here
Stefano De Pieri's Minestrone via Pip! //// here
Chickpea and Celery Soup via Gourmet Traveller //// here
Corn, Bacon and Potato Soup via Pip! //// here
Lovely Mushroom Soup via Pip! //// here
Creamy Tomato Soup via The Splendid Table //// here
Vintage Vogue Soup Paysanne via Pip! //// here
Chicken Noodle Soup via Gourmet Traveller //// here
Kylie Kwong's Sweetcorn and Crab Soup via Lifestyle //// here
Madame E Saint-Ange's Pumpkin Soup via Recipes For Two //// here
Tyler Florence's Roasted Tomato Soup via Lifestyle //// here
Broccoli Soup via Chocolate and Zucchini //// here
French Onion Soup via Girl Cook In Paris //// here
Pumpkin, Barley and Miso Soup via Gourmet Traveller //// here
Coconut Red Lentil Soup via 101 Cookbooks //// here
Julia Child's Leek and Potato Soup via Food Network //// here
Simple Carrot Soup via Stone Soup Blog //// here
Sophie Grigson's Vegetable Soup via BBC Food //// here
Nigel Slater's Bubble and Squeak Soup via BBC Food //// here
Rachel Allen's Chicken and Udon Soup via Lifestyle //// here
Simple Tom Yum Soup via ABC Sydney //// here
Pea and Ham Soup via Gourmet Traveller //// here
Bill Granger's White Bean and Chorizo Soup via Lifestyle //// here
Rice Noodle Soup with Beef and Fresh Herbs via The Splendid Table //// here
Julia Child's Leek and Pepper Soup via Smell My Kitchen //// here

15 Great Recipes For Baked Risotto

2011-05-06T18:50:00.001-07:00

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Bacon and Tomato Risotto via BBC Good Food //// here
Tomato and Parmesan Risotto via The Vine //// here
Oven Baked Risotto Carbonara via Delia Smith //// here
Bill's Risotto with Tomato and Zucchini via ABC Sydney //// here
Baked Mushroom, Bacon and Spinach Risotto via Donna Hay //// here
Oven Baked Risotto with Mushrooms and Thyme via Rachel Allen //// here
Baked Spanish style Risotto via Silvana Franco //// here
Honey Baked Pumpkin Risotto via Taste //// here
Baked Mushroom Risotto with Sauteed Eggplant via Vegie Num Num //// here
Oven Baked Tuna Risotto via The Australian Women's Weekly //// here
Oven Baked Pumpkin, Leek and Chicken Risotto via Taste //// here
Oven Baked Red Pepper Risotto via BBC Good Food //// here
Baked Sage and Saffron Risotto via Martha Stewart //// here
Baked Beetroot and Goats Cheese Risotto via A Foodie Lives Here //// here
Oven Baked Risotto with Italian Sausage via The Australian Women's Weekly ////here

Ten Warm Drinks To Make You Feel Cozy!

2011-05-06T18:49:00.000-07:00

Because you can't always drink regular old tea... or wine, for that matter. Sometimes you need to change it up a bit, don't you? Here are some nice drinks to give you a fancier time with your favourite mug.

Condensed Milk Chai via The Spendid Table //// here
Very Best Cocoa via K Shimotsu Photography //// here
Gluhwein via Pip //// here
Ginger Tea via Martha //// here
Mexican Hot Chocolate via Nigella //// here
Non-Alcoholic Mulled 'Wine' via Pip also //// here
Warm Apple Cider via Jane Spice //// here
Hot Chocolate via The Hairy Bikers //// here
Irish Coffee via Martha //// here
Warm Vanilla Milk via La Cucina Italiana //// here

Pip's Kimchi Salad

2011-05-06T18:47:00.001-07:00

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My Kimchi Salad

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Basic Ingredients
One tub of Kimchi from your local Asian grocer (I buy the Chinese Cabbage style one!)
One packet of ramen or soba noodles
2 diced cucumbers
1 diced avocado
1/2 tub of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 handful of diced beancurd
(you can also add some blanched peas, green beans, snow pea sprouts... whatever YOU love!)

Dressing
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon of mirin
1/2 tablespoon of nice vinegar (white wine, red wine or sherry are all good!)

Garnish
a handful of fried shallots (the kind you buy in a packet!)
a sprinkling of chopped peanuts if you like
a lemon or a lime squeezed over the top
Optional :: Coriander

How To:
Cook the noodles in a big pot of boiling water as per the instructions on the packet. Be careful not to over cook them. That would be yuck. No one likes mooshy noodles. Test them often until they are done. Now, cool the noodles under cold running water and drain them thoroughly.

Mix all the other ingredients together in a BIG BOWL. You can just slosh it all together and mix it up nicely with a pair of tongs or a spoon.Try not to mush it to much if you have added the avocado, or better still, put it on last. Add the cold, drained noodles and toss well again. If you are hands on, use your hands, but keep your chili fingers away from your face etc!

Plate it up and garnish with the shallots, peanuts and lemon or lime! You can add fresh herbs, too, if you like. Coriander would be lovely!

The Lazy Baker's Hot Cross Buns

2011-05-06T18:46:00.001-07:00

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The Lazy Baker's Hot Cross Buns

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Make the dough the night before and be sure it's in a nice big bowl (so it doesn't overflow!) and well covered (no one likes bug-buns!)

Yeast Mixture:
2 7g sachets of dried yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1 3/4 cups of warm milk (not hot!)

Mix above ingredients together and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes to get the yeast going and the milk frothy.

Dough Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar (yes, more sugar!)
a pinch of salt
50g butter - softened (not melted though!)
4 cups good quality plain flour
1/2 cup sultanas (or you could add some currants as well!)
1 tbsp chopped mixed peel
1 egg
ground cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice - a good shake of each or about 1/4 tsp if you are shy

Make the dough:
Sift the salt and flour together. Sprinkle in the 1/2 cup of sugar. Now add the cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice. Rub in the butter next until well mixed. Plonk the egg in with the milky/yeasty mixture - and whisk with a fork to combine. Now pour the eggy/milky/yeasty mixture into the floury/buttery mix. Add the sultanas and peel. It might be quite sticky. Flour your hands and push on. Sticky is good. Sticky means they will end up moist and bubbly. Knead together with springy, spirit fingers until it's all nicely combined and looks like a nice big lump of speckled dough.

First Rise (the night before!) :
Place into a greased bowl and sprinkle with some cinnamon and nutmeg. I brushed mine gently with some melted butter to keep it moist. You might like to do that if you can be bothered. Allow to rise covered with a clean cloth (until doubled in size). It will rise more quickly in a warm, draught free area.

Here is where you cover them and let it sit overnight. If you want the 'do it in one day' recipe look here!

Get up and shape your buns:
Good morning! I like your hair! Okay. Make a cup of coffee. Preheat your oven to 200C. Next, turn the dough out gently onto a floured surface. Don't knead it! Just carefully cut it into rough square-ish pieces around 4cm square (or bigger if you like big buns!) Gently push them into a nice bun shape with your finger tips, as though you are a very gentle dough sculptor. You should get about 16 or so buns from this - enough for 2 trays - don't worry if you get less (but don't try for 20 or they'll be TINY!) Grease your trays and pop the buns on - a little way apart - they will join together as they rise and bake.

Recovery Rise:
Now cover these nearly oven-ready buns with a couple of tea towels and let them rise again for half an hour or so in a warm spot. They may not double in size, but they will have time to recover and get ready to rise more in the oven.

While you are waiting you could pop over here and have a bit of a read?

Make the flour paste and get piping if you want traditional crosses:
Mix half a cup of plain flour with four or five tablespoons of water and pipe onto the uncooked buns in crosses (use a piping bag or a plastic bag with the corner snipped off a teensy bit)

Uncover the buns and brush them with egg wash:

Mix 1 Egg Yolk with 1 Tbsp Milk to make 'egg wash'. Now brush your buns all over with this mixture using a pastry brush. Be sure to avoid your crosses if you added them! This egg wash will help make your buns a nice burnished golden colour!

Buns in the Oven:
Put your buns in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Put them as high up as you can in your oven, allowing room for the buns to rise upwards too. Keep an eye on them while the cook, they are a bit prone to burn on the bottoms. If they do, they'll still be yummy, but obviously we want crisp bottoms, not burnt bottoms!

Make a pot of tea

Next:
While they are cooking make the sugary glaze to make your buns sticky!

Mix 100g sugar with 50ml water in a pot on the stove. When your buns are ready, boil the sugar and water mix up and pour or brush it onto the just baked buns! Not too much, though, just enough to make them shiny and delicious! Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar if you would like! Maybe some nutmeg too?!

Icing Crosses for Hot Cross Buns : instead of the traditional floury crosses :
Mix 1 cup of sifted icing sugar with 1 dessert spoon full of warm milk (or enough to make a piping consistency) - pipe onto your warm (not hot!) buns!

Variation for Fussy Kids:

Omit the sultanas and peel and add 150g of choc chips!

:: Crockpot Concussion Beef

2011-05-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

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Crockpot Concussion Beef

(to have in tortillas or tacos)

based on this recipe

500g of gravy beef

1 tin of tomatoes, juice and all

1 jar of nice quality salsa

1 cup of chicken stock

1 diced onion

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

a tablespoon of cumin
a teaspoon of paprika : smoked or not

a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs

1 teaspoon of brown sugar

a slosh of sherry vinegar or other nice vinegar

Lots of ground black pepper (or lovely white pepper!)

Some salt

Some olive oil

NB : I add chilli to my own, because my kids are not super spicy, but you can add chilli when you cook it if you like... and some beans would be nice too!

Mix all these things together, drizzle with some olive oil and put in a heavy based pan in a low oven for 4 hours.

Or in a slow cooker for 6 hours on high : if you use a slow cooker you will need to remove the meat and reduce the sauce down at the end.

Pull the beef apart with two forks and serve in tortillas with some of its sauce and lots of avocado, tomato, lettuce, jalapenos and extra salsa! Cheese is nice for some people too, so add cheese if you like!

Sophie Dahl's Chicken Soup (Best croutons EVER!)

2011-05-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

I have made this soup a couple of times. It is a really lovely thing to cook on a lazy day, or to have bubbling away between breakfast and errands and things. The croutons are truly sublime, cooked in the leftover fat from the roasted chicken. Y to the UM.

via

For the chicken

1.8kg free range chicken
1 lemon
1 onion
1 bay leaf
knob of butter
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For the soup

2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic – peeled and chopped
2 leeks, sliced
2 litres vegetable of chicken stock
2 carrots – cut into pieces
2 celery stalks
some bay leaves
small bunch of parsley
white wine

To finish the soup and serve

2 stick celery – chopped into very small pieces
1 large carrot – chopped into very small pieces
1 leek – cut into small rounds
2 large handfuls of freshly shelled peas
small bunch of tarragon – finely chopped
small bunch of flat leaf parsley – finely chopped
fresh parmesan – grated just prior to serving
small sourdough loaf – ripped into pieces

Measurement Conversion Calculator

Pre-heat the oven to 180C
Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the whole lemon, whole peeled onion and bay leaf. Rub the skin with some butter and a little olive oil. Season and roast about 1 ½ hours at 180C FAN/200C/Gas Mark 6 until cooked right through. Keep the roasting tray and juices to one side to be used later on.
For the soup. Gently fry the red onion and the garlic in a large saucepan big enough to fit the whole chicken and liquid in
Add the leeks
Put in the whole cooked chicken once it is roasted – remove the lemon from the cavity before you do this
Add 2 litres of stock – and make sure that the chicken is almost completely covered
Add the roughly chopped carrots and celery sticks
Add several bay leaves, the small bunch of parsley and a lug of white wine
Leave the soup to cook for around 4 hours – check the liquid doesn’t evaporate too much and if necessary add a little water.
When the soup is cooked. First toss the sourdough chunks in the original roasting pan from the chicken and place it back in the oven for around 15 minutes at 180C fan/200C/Gas mark 6 while you are finishing off the soup.
Heat a little oil in another large pan, gently fry and soften the remaining sticks of chopped celery, the carrot and the leek
Remove the chicken from the pan and strain the soup from into the softened vegetables
Add the fresh peas and allow to cook for a minute.
Shred some of the chicken meat (enough for as many portions as you need)
Serve the soup with the meat, tarragon, parsley and freshly grated parmesan – with the roasted pieces of sourdough bread on the side

Tomato Sauce (Like Ketchup not Passata!)

2010-11-12T18:38:00.000-08:00

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Nanna-Rific Tomato Sauce
(Like Ketchup - but Australian!)

10 kilos of ripe tomatoes- chopped roughly
2.5 kilos of granny smiths - cored and peeled and chopped roughly
30g of ground ginger
30g of whole cloves*
30g of whole allspice*
1 tsp of mace
30g cayenne pepper
1 litre white vinegar
1.5 kg sugar
8 tablespoons of salt
2kg chopped onions

* bundle these up in some muslin or calico with string to keep closed and pop in - you need to take it out once cooking time is up, though.
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What to do:
Put all ingredients into a very large pan. Boil for 3.5 to 4 hours. Blend or sieve to make for a smoother consistency. Bottle in sterilised jars. Make adorable labels with smiling tomatoes on them. Give to people for Christmas! Bravo!

(If you like - add a few cloves of garlic, cumin seeds and some chilli for a bit more gusto!)
Let me know how you go - if you make some too!

xx Mikes

Vanilla Berry Tart

2010-11-12T13:21:00.001-08:00

Click to see larger!

Cakey Pear Tart Tatin

2010-11-12T13:20:00.001-08:00

Cauliflower Soup

2010-11-12T13:18:00.003-08:00

Here is what we had for lunch today. I like to go to the market on Saturdays before dawn and shop for the whole week as the sun comes up. Then I like to have a big breakfast at home. Maybe bagels, maybe a fry up, maybe a breakfast pizza.... and lots of cups of tea and coffee. Then I mess about and do a few jobs. Then I put some soup on. This week it's Cream of Cauliflower soup. We had it with a sprinkle of paprika and some Garlic and Cheese bread thrown in for good measure. Probably that is uncouth. But I like to throw bread into my soup. I do. Do you? Or am I freaking you out?

xx Pip

Messy Recipe from last time : Minestrone Con Bruschetta

Minestrone

2010-11-12T13:18:00.001-08:00

This very delicious recipe is taken from Stefano de Pieri's 'Modern Italian Food'. Ari had two bowls and commented that it was 'So good and vegetables don't taste like anything, do they?' Do not ask me why it is called Minestrone con Bruschetta. I do not know. (But if YOU do then DO tell us.)

Also, as an aside, Stefano says to cook little pasta shapes or beans separately and add them in at the end for best results, if you like those in there. In my experience this sounds good as it will keep your soup from being too cloudy and starchy. Enjoy soup. Soup is ace.

xx Pip

Potato Latke (again)

2010-11-12T13:16:00.001-08:00

Yum. Take your time with the frying and these will turn out a golden treat!

xx Pip

Kylie Kwong Chilli Sauce

2010-11-12T13:00:00.001-08:00

Today I have been making fresh chilli sauce a la Kylie Kwong. The recipe is from here , and YES this is the crazy-bountiful sauce Kyles made on Masterchef! It is really delicious and super spicy and sweet and most of this batch is for this gal! I quadrupled the recipe, because I like a LOT of chilli in my house! I am totes spicy, ya know? Yep.

Kylie Kwong's Divine Homemade Chilli Sauce

Homemade Chilli Sauce

Makes 1/2 cup (125 ml)

1/4 cup (60 ml) peanut oil
4 long red chillies, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
7 cm knob ginger, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon tamari

Pound chillies, garlic and ginger to a paste using a pestle and mortar.

Heat oil in a wok until moderately hot. Add paste and cook, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes. Add sugar and stir for 1 minute or until sugar caramelises, then stir through tamari. Reduce heat to low and cook, still stirring, for a further 5 minutes. The chilli sauce can be used straight away, or allowed to cool and then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

xx Pip

Not Too Bitter Chewy Chocolate Brownies

2010-11-12T12:59:00.001-08:00

We made these brownies yesterday. My kids are pretty picky with their brownies. They like them with crunchy tops and fudgy-chewy bottoms. They like them chocolate-y but not bitter. It is quite hard to make them JUST like that, but these brownies are JUST like that. They are not wet or cakey. They are a bit moist and a lot chewy.

A LONG time ago... maybe eight years ago, there was a REALLY GREAT recipe in 'The Age' for Brownies. If you have that could you let me know. I want to try it again and somehow it got thrown out... sigh. If you have a copy neatly filed away I would KISS you. I would. I am a bit sad I don't have that particular recipe because it was Max's favourite. Having said that, he thinks these Brownies are JUST as good. Maybe you would like to make some too? Here is the recipe, my dears!

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Not Too Bitter, Chocolate-y, Chewy Brownies

Adapted from this Cook's Illustrated Recipe

1/3 cup of good quality cocoa
150ml boiling water
60 grams dark chocolate pellets PLUS
3/4 cup of dark chocolate pellets
200g melted unsalted butter
2 eggs PLUS
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups of sugar
1 3/4 cups of plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
Spray on Canola Oil or extra butter and a pastry brush

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You need a pan around 30cm x 9cm. I used a Pyrex one, but you could use a tin, for sure.

Prepare your pan first. Line it well with two layers of foil. The edges of the foil should rise up a bit higher than the edges of your pan so it's easy to get the Brownies out later. Make sure the layers are nice and neat and completely covering the surface of the pan and pushed well into the corners. Now spray VERY VERY well with oil or paint VERY VERY well with melted butter and a pastry brush. This is very important! You do not want your sugary brownies to stick to the foil! So go carefully and do a good job of this!

Put the boiling water in your mixing bowl and add your cocoa. Mix quickly until smooth and then quickly add (one by one) the 60g of chocolate, melted butter, the eggs and egg yolks, the vanilla and the sugar, mixing well after each addition. Next add the flour and the salt and then fold in the remaining 3/4 of a cup of chocolate.

Pour into your foiled and greased tin and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a skewer or toothpick comes out clean when poked into the centre of said Mega Brownie.

YOU MUST allow these to cool fully before you cut them. The longer you wait the chewier they will be, but DO NOT cut them before they have cooled. There is cool brownie-chewy-magic going on!

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Let me know how you go... or post your favourite Brownie recipe in the comments (if you would like to!)

xx Pip

Easy Mix Butter Cake

2010-11-12T12:58:00.001-08:00

Easy-Mix Butter Cake
Favorite Cakes
Card 14

Hi!

When I was a wee gal, I used to come home from school to THIS VERY cake. I loved it. Sometimes my Nan used to sprinkle jelly crystals on the top, you know, the powdered jelly? Yes, that. Always Raspberry or Strawberry flavoured. Golly. I just remembered that as I typed this. I am going to make this again with Jelly Crystals on top of it. Wow. But it is really great with 100s and 1000s or sprinkles too.

This cake was EASY to make. It was lovely and light. I used the Kitchen Aid. And I did burn the edges a teensy bit, but that is because my oven only has HOT or NOT kind of temperatures. So it was a teensy bit HOT! Oops. The dog got the ends and she was VERY happy!

I love this cake as much as I love my Nan. I think it is a simple cake with a lovely crumb and a golden crust. I say go forth and make this. You will like it. Yes you will. It is lovely and light and humble. Just my kind of cake.

xx Pip

Toffees

2010-11-12T12:57:00.003-08:00

Homemade Confectionery
Card 19
Toffees

Have you ever cooked from this recipe card? As a child I was FOREVER making toffees. It is a credit to my mother that she let me play with boiling sugar. Mum, I salute you. Sometimes I rushed these and they were grainy and awful and cloudy. Sometimes I didn't rush them and they were clear and amber and wonderful. Sometimes I added way too much food colouring to these. Sometimes I let them cool too long and the 100s and 1000s would not stick to the surface and my toffees were naked. We made these for fetes that happened and some fetes that never happened because we licked all the toffees and there were none left. Do you remember that the paper stuck to the toffee and you had to determinedly assure everyone that the residue of the torn paper on the sides of the toffee actually tasted REALLY nice?

I made these AWW toffees yesterday. They work perfectly. Here are some extra tips for your toffee making pleasure ::

These would be BEST made in those little petit four cases so they are not too huge and teeth achingly impossible to get through. Tiny toffees would be best. (But I made big ones!)
Make sure you put paper down and protect your surface when you are spooning the toffee into the paper cases : you can easily clean it all up then and will not be chiselling toffee off your counter tops till the cows come home.
It's important to make sure that you DO let the bubbles subside and make sure the toffee is nice and clear before you pour it, if you want lovely clear toffees, that is.
Do make sure you don't let them cool too long before you decorate them.
Work quickly because the toffee thickens up and hardens quite quickly.
Don't worry if you have little spills or toffee threads because that is considered artistic.
When you are done fill up your toffee pot with water and boil it and your spoon to get rid of that hardened toffee.

Do you have any stories about these toffees? Or toffees in general? Do you love the original AWW photo as much as I do? I used to stare at this card as a little girl and wish the toffee fairy would visit us. It's true. How about you?!

xx Pip

Fish and Chips

2010-11-12T12:57:00.001-08:00

Fabulous Fish Dishes
Card 3
Fish and Chips

So, last night I was out at a Trade Show and the boys took the reins with the old Yellow Box. They decided on Fish and Chips, shopped, cooked and even took some stylish photos to prove it! Apparently the Fish and Chips were delicious and the batter was lovely and light and crispy. They made the Tartare Sauce and thought that was good too. My people are big fans of the golden delight that is Fish and Chips and much prefer the home-made version to the shop bought.

How about you? Do you make your own? Do you buy it in? Are you a fan? Potato Cakes? Tartare Sauce? Chiko Rolls? What's your fancy?!

xx Pip

Chicken Pie

2010-11-12T12:56:00.001-08:00

Great Ways With Chicken and Duck
Card 16
Chicken Pie

I will tell you straight up that we LOVED this recipe. It was delicious. We ate it all, as you can see, and Max especially liked it. You can also see that there is a pond of butter left in the dish. It has 60g of butter in it. Yikes. I reckon you could easily use half that amount and still get a great result.

I made this while Gemma and Ari were playing Monopoly the other night. Then Gem headed off to dinner with a friend and we tucked in to this golden deliciousness.

What I like about this recipe is that you get to make a big pot of stock to use later. You boil a whole chicken 'in the usual way' to make stock and then you pull the meat from the chicken and add it to your pie filling. Be sure you add lots of pepper and salt as there is no seasoning mentioned in this recipe. We put enough water into just cover the chicken : about 3 litres. We added carrots and parsley and onion and garlic and celery to the stock pot too.

Also worth noting is that you might want to do the stock/chicken part ahead of time as it's not nice trying to pull a hot chicken apart. So maybe prepare that earlier like I didn't. I burnt my fingers a titch. Not good.

I made pastry leaves for the top of my pie, I think my Nan did that and I like to do that too. You could put chicken shapes or other cute shapes atop yours. That would be nice. Later you can use the stock to make something else great, like wonton soup or chicken and vegetable soup.

Do you like chicken pie? If you do this one is really yummy. The best one I have ever made. Did your Mum cook this?

xx Pip

Emmenthaler Schnitzel

2010-11-12T12:55:00.001-08:00

Superb Recipes From Famous Restaurants
Card 22
Emmenthaler Schnitzel

Right. Max chose this recipe. To Max this looked like the King of Parmigianas. I guess it does look like that, doesn't it? This recipe is taken from my favourite section of the Yellow Box - 'Superb Recipes From Famous Restaurants'. There REALLY are recipes from famous restaurants in there... places like Beppi's, Fanny's, Two Faces, Doyle's and The Hilton. This recipe is taken from The Chesa Restaurant at The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. I wonder if it is still there... hang on... I will Google that.... Wait there.

Oh my gosh. It is STILL there. You can go and take a peek here. It is a Swiss Chalet style restaurant and I bet you they still serve Emmenthaler Schnitzel there. Wow. How cool is that?! If you are breezing through Hong Kong you might want to grab a fondue and schnitzel there, I think. Or you could just make this at home like we did.

Things to note about this recipe:

Fun. It is really fun to make the Spatzli. We had to add an extra half a cup of water to the batter. And we tried so very hard to push it through a colander as instructed, but it did not work. In the end we inverted a wide mesh cake rack atop the boiling pot of water and tipped the dough through that. Our Spatzli were really delicious. Granted the numerous attempts to get the colander method to work resulted in a bit of swearing from Cam. Well. A lot of swearing. He likes things to work. That did not work and he got antsy. But we kept adding water to loosen up the batter and changing methods and finally we got there. And it was totally worth it. Our kitchen was covered in batter after the trial and error approach... but you won't have a batter covered kitchen if you make these, because we just told you an easier way, right?!

Feet. Max did not like the cheese. It is true. He said it smelled like feet. I loved it, however, as did Cam. It smelled like Taleggio when it was melted and it was ridiculously rich and good. If you have a cholesterol problem you might want to hold back a bit in terms of serving size, but DO have SOME. This is totally delicious comfort food. If I made this again, I would use mozzarella. I know... it's not what the dish is about, but the kids would LOVE that and then we'd all be happy. Max did eat some though... and he HAD eaten half a pizza after school so he may have had cheese fatigue.

Crappy. Our oven is quite crappy and it's hard to get things to brown in there. You should make this in quite a shallow dish so that you can grill it if the cheese is not brown (like ours!) I think a bit of golden cheese would be nice.

Butter. Well. Yes. There is a LOT of butter in this. I think you could lose more than half the butter in the veal frying part, as well as half the butter in the mushroom sauce.

Tomato. This looked like way too much creamy, buttery craziness to me. I had a small serve and made a quick tomato sauce to have on the side to cut the crazy a bit. You might like to do that too?

Quick Tomato Sauce
One finely diced onion, one diced clove of garlic, one tin of good quality tomatoes, a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, a tablespoon of fresh herbs, a splash of white wine vinegar :: Fry the onion until soft in a slosh of olive oil, add the rest of the ingredients and mix and mash until a nice sauce is achieved. Simmer for ten minutes and then serve.

So. All in all this dish was ace. It would be more family friendly with the tweaks mentioned. We will revise the recipe and cook this again in a heartbeat. If it is still beating after all that butter.

xx Pip

PS :: Ari was ill, so he did not have this for dinner, in case you were wondering.

Family Chocolate Cake

2010-11-12T12:54:00.001-08:00

Favorite Cakes
Card 22
Family Chocolate Cake

OKAY! So this is a recipe that lots of people mentioned when I first announced this project. I made it today (early this morning, in fact) with the Caramel Icing (as above.) I think it would be extra nice with Chocolate Icing as well. Max thought this cake was quite nice. He said he would prefer it if this cake was rich and chewy and chocolaty like a brownie. It isn't those things, but it is a nice light tea cake. Not very chocolaty though. You could add lots more cocoa, I think, and chocolate icing, and that would placate the Chocolaty People. Ari did not really like the icing. But Max did. So go figure. Maybe chocolate icing is the safest option here?!

Personally, I think it is really nice as is. Cam liked it too, and he thought it was nice and moist. He said he hates dry cakes. This cake is not dry. Phew. It is lovely and moist with delicious caramel icing. That is what it is. Yum.

Points to note ::
The caramel icing took a bit more icing sugar than mentioned to make the icing thick enough, so watch out for that and have a bit extra on hand, perhaps. You will note that I made this in a heart shape. That is because I did not have a big square tin, and also because I like hearts. I lined it well with baking paper and greased it super goodly. You could make a heart cake too, if you wanted to. I think it is nice to defy convention and use fancy tins. Perhaps you have a tin in the shape of a bowler hat, or a monkey, or a bottle of whiskey. Those would all be great options too. Or just make a square and ignore my silly tin fetish.

Is this cake part of your culinary history?! Did someone in your family make this cake for you? We would LOVE to know more. Tell us!

xx Pip

Tuna Casserole

2010-11-12T12:53:00.003-08:00

Money Saving Meals
Card 17
Tuna Casserole

Hi! Hi! Okay. Here's the thing. Max hates tuna. He loathes it, in fact. He really loves anything else fishy, but tuna is a no-go. On Friday Max stayed at Leon's house, which meant we could try this recipe out (again) without Max getting antsy or going hungry.

Let me just put it out there that I LOVE TUNA CASSEROLE. I have not eaten it for years, but my Mum used to make it when we were kids and it was one of my very favourite meals. She used to make a different one to this. It had Cream of Celery Soup in it. I wish I had THAT recipe. If you have it, can you send it to me?!

This AWW Yellow Box recipe was pretty delicious. This really is comfort food. I added HEAPS of lemon and pepper and salt at the end and piled it on to grainy toast. Yum. Ari, who is a fan of rice, tuna and corn did not much like this. Go figure. I am not sure why. I think it was the sort of non-cheesy-mornay-esque base that weirded him out. He's not genetically programmed to like that kind of thing. We live on very clean, simple flavours... creamy saucy things are not on our menu very often. But he TRIED to eat this because he recognized the key ingredients were friends of his. Cam liked it... not a lot... but a bit.

I think Tuna Casserole is the kind of thing you have to have nostalgic ties to, to like. I like it. I grew up with it. Those that have not grown up with it were not huge fans. Do you like it?

xx Pip

Meatloaf In BBQ Sauce

2010-11-12T12:53:00.001-08:00

Best Beef Recipes
Card 22
Meatloaf With Barbecue Sauce

When I was about 15 I used to cook this for my family (along with Tuna Ring... good grief!) with great success. Probably my Mum was just relieved someone else had got off their bottom and had a go at making dinner...? That said, it seemed like a good idea to step back to 1985 and cook this dish for the family again. It can be nice to revisit those old faves, don't you think? (Although sometimes those old faves don't really translate into new faves.) So cook this I did. And...

...The verdict is that..... we liked it. It was good! You might like it too, if meatloaf is your thing. There was a teensy problem with the sauce being a bit too vinegary and strong. Ari was not much into the sauce, but apart from that he thought it was delish. Perhaps just a splash of vinegar might be better?

I confess we did change the recipe a tiny bit because I could not stomach the idea of eating sausage mince. We substituted pork and veal mince for the sausage mince. I know it's not strictly AWW, but I have to draw the line at some things and sausage mince is one of them. Yick-attack. Here is the line... and the sausage mince is WAY over there... far, far away.

We served this with our standard big bowl of green peas, corn, fresh tomato sauce... and I made some mash too. Yum. Max commented that meatloaf is a great meal because you can have it the next day in sandwiches. Max, I totally agree. You are so right. I think I like meatloaf in a sandwich with some chilli or chutney even more than I like meatloaf with peas and mashed potatoes. Yep.

Do you fancy a meatloaf sandwich? Do you like meatloaf? Do you hate it? Have you made this? Do tell!

xx Pip

BTW : Did you watch the premiere of 'Offspring'? I downloaded it today via iTunes and watched it this morning after my jam-seeking visit to the Windsor Deli. I think it's going to be a really great series... I love a local production and most of this show is shot around the streets of Fitzroy... the first episode features Radio on Gertrude St and The Union Club Hotel and Cottage Industry... Cool! (Plus lots of other places like The Black Cat and Carlton Gardens...)

Chicken In Nectar

2010-11-12T12:52:00.001-08:00

Great Ways With Chicken and Duck
Card 7
Chicken in Nectar
(and also Honeyed Chicken)

Hi!

I do not really like Apricot Chicken. I don't know why... I think it might be the whole fruit and meat thing that freaks me out. I do, however, applaud those who DO like it. Good for them. Max and Cam and Ari like it. I prefer something less fruity for my dinner. In fact, I made a big bowl of miso soup with vegetables the night that we had this.

Fruit aside, the thing I do like about this is the soup base... You know a lot of those seventies recipes start with a packet or a tin of some kind of soup. French Onion seems to be a favourite flavour base for this era... and Cream of Celery or Cream of Mushroom Soup. I was at the supermarket this morning turning over the soup cans, and they really do still have some good basic recipes on them. If you had just moved out of home, or you did not have a clue about cooking, a can of soup can totally help you out on the comforting, hearty dinner front.

The other cool thing about this card is that it has a 'hidden' recipe. A lot of the AWW Yellow Box cards have two recipes on the back of them. You can find the 'hidden' recipe in the Index Book that comes with the box, but it's not listed on the top of the card nor pictured on the front of the card. Sneaky and cool, methinks. Kind of a bonus recipe.

Do you make things with tinned or packet soup as the base? Do you like this recipe? Is this something you cook now, or something that someone in your family used to cook?

xx Pip

Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

2010-11-12T12:51:00.001-08:00

Lovely Hot Puddings
Card 8
Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding

Here's the thing. The boys have cooked this three times this week. It is simple (not that they are simple... they are not, they are smart) - it is chocolaty and it is delicious. It is extra good with ice-cream or cream or even custard would be super great. This is a very saucy pudding and delivers exactly what it promises. That is a great quality in a pudding, don't you think?

Quite a few people have said that this is their very favourite recipe from the Yellow Box. Is it YOUR favourite recipe? Did your Mum or Nan or Dad used to cook this for you? Are you the self saucing type? Does that pudding photo make you queasy?

xx Pip

( :: I have been crocheting zig-zags while they have been pudding-ing along..!)

Baked Rigatoni

2010-11-12T12:50:00.001-08:00

Rice and Pasta - The World's Best Dishes
Card 18
Baked Rigatoni

Hmm. Well. Let me just say this straight up. Good concept but bad recipe. Sorry AWW. I do love you a lot, but this recipe was completely annoying. You are meant to COOK the rigatoni. And THEN stuff them. Hmm. Nope. No. Nada. Cooked rigatoni are very prone to splitting. They don't like to be stuffed. But don't let that stop you : just use cannelloni and it will be fine.

I knew my kids would love this recipe if I could get it to work. So I bought some super huge rigatoni from Simon Johnson (which is in my neighbourhood). You may not be able to find super huge rigatoni. And it is expensive. So as I said, just use cannelloni and everything will be alright. Mr Simon did not have cannelloni. Probably cannelloni is a bit retro from him. (I don't think he had vol au vents either.) We had to buy the super huge... and that worked okay too.

It took a while to stuff all the pasta tubes, but it was kind of fun and sort of therapeutic. I got to think about Lou and Frankie in Love My Way.... and wonder what the heck Lewis is all about.... sip wine... listen to Neil Diamond.... that kind of thing. Tubes (uncooked) stuffed, sauce made, into oven. There followed lots of topping up with water (you could use stock) to ensure the pasta was kept moist and cooked through.

I put the cheese on once the pasta was cooked and let it brown a bit more. And then it was all done. And very super hot as it cooked for just over an hour at a pretty high temperature.

The kids DID love this, especially Max. But yes, forget the rigatoni unless you are a masochist like me. Go for cannelloni and you will be grinning from ear to here.

I think this would be even nicer with ricotta and spinach, but I am not allowed to divert from the recipe without good reason (says me) so I stuck with the meaty filling.

I saw Julie in an op-shop in Blackburn on Friday. Hi Julie! I have been working on the zig-zag blanket. I have been making lamb shanks a la Jamie Oliver (with raisins and apples - quite sweet!), I have been going to see James and The Giant Peach at ACMI with Ari. I have been mulling over books for Book Club. I have been watching the final eps of Love My Way Season 3. I have been visiting Camberwell Market with Cam and Ari : I saw Chris and Kitty there and they are rad. I have been eating smoked trout dip on rye bread... and tomato and cheese on french stick (with salami). I have been working on project ideas for Book 3.

How was you weekend? Do you like Baked Pasta? Do you have a favourite recipe? Do you like Love My Way? (I have stopped watching Offspring... sigh. I just can't do it. Sigh.)

xx Pip

Chicken Pot Roast

2010-11-12T12:49:00.001-08:00

Great Ways With Chicken and Duck
Card 22
Chicken Pot Roast

Well. On Sunday Ari and I went to the movies and Cam went to the footy. Ari and I left home first. Little did I know that Cam put the dinner on (chicken curry) while we were watching James and The Giant Peach and then trotted off to see his team get trounced. I unknowingly and hungrily went to David Jones in the city post-James and bought a nice chicken for dinner. Of course when I got home there was already dinner, so the second chicken went into the fridge and popped out again on Monday to become Chicken Pot Roast.

I did not make this Monday dinner, Cam did. He bought an Italian sausage from Jonathan's on Smith Street to use for the stuffing. Thus, the stuffing was super good. The DJs chicken was moist, the vegetables yielding and the sauce was delicious. We did have a bit of a tiff over dinner and I stormed out... but Cam brought my plate upstairs and it was still warm, so I am perfectly qualified to give you a run down of this recipe.

This recipe is good. The stuffing is even nicer than the chicken, I think. I really love stuffing. I would eat a stuffing sandwich if it were not so unseemly. Chicken Pot Roast is a lovely standard for a cosy dinner and hopefully you will not tiff mid-dinner like we did. (I am not sure I remember what the tiff was about, but I am sure that it was very important and I was in the right. Ahem.)

Do you like this recipe? Have you made it? Do you like pot roasts in general? Do you like stuffing sandwiches? I do.

xx Pip

Orange Cake

2010-11-12T12:48:00.003-08:00

click to enlarge

Favorite Cakes
Card 13
Orange Cake

Ooh it has been a while since I posted a Yellow Box recipe... That has more to do with the fact that I haven't taken photos of the recipe cards, rather than the fact that we haven't been Yellow Box-ing. Because we HAVE been Yellow Box-ing!

So here we have the Orange Cake! This cake was quite yummy. Either I cooked it for too long... or it was badly in need of a syrup... perhaps the first, because it was a bit dry. I hate a cake that is not quite cooked, so I think maybe I did err on the side of caution and cook this a bit long... (be careful not to do that, if you make this cake.)

This cake is a real old fashioned tea cake. It will keep for an age, I reckon. Maybe a week or more. I decided to fancy up the icing a bit, and added some Mandarin Zest, which gave it a nice lift. This glace icing is the sort that sets, so you can wrap it in cling film and the plastic won't stick to the top. I think that makes it a good cake to take to a friend's house, which I did. (The friend thought this cake was nice.)

While I was icing this, Ari told me too much icing is a bad thing, so I did not completely smother it as I usually do. He was quite mortified that I slowly tipped the icing on and let it flow volcano style. He thought I should spread the icing carefully. Hmm.

So what do you think? Too much icing a bad thing? Tip or spread? Is this a cake your Nan used to make?

xx Pip

NB :: More on Project Yellow Box here....

:::::::::

Hamburgers

2010-11-12T12:48:00.001-08:00

Best Beef Recipes
Card 11
Hamburgers

When we were kids, our Mum and Dad often took us on day trips to the pebbly, shallow beaches which dot Tasmania's South East Coast. The drive seemed to take forever (must have been 40 minutes or so : wowee!) and we were always so pleased when we finally arrived and we could run along the water's edge while our parents dragged the barbeque out of the back of the Mazda wagon and started flipping burgers and popping cans of Tarino or some such.

So here, in honour of those happy days, we have burgers. Not the beach burgers of my childhood, but burgers all the same. I made these last weekend. They were really great, although I made them a bit too thick, so I had to cook them carefully for quite a long time. I think you should make thinner ones, if you make them. See the picture? Maybe half as thin as that would be good.

We had these with Windsor Deli sauces, french fries and lots of salad in sesame buns. We did not toast the buns. Do you toast your buns? Do you have a favourite burger recipe? Do you have burger night at your house?

xx Pip

NB :: Click recipe to enlarge :: More Project Yellow Box recipes here

Beef In Black Bean Sauce

2010-11-12T12:47:00.001-08:00

Best Beef Recipes
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Beef In Black Bean Sauce

Hello! Wow. What a weekend I had. Did you have a weekend? I bet you did. We have been cooking lots of things! We have! We made this (imagine arrow pointing to images above). Well. Cam made this. Beef In Black Bean Sauce. Mmmm. This reminded me of a big Chinese Restaurant I once went to in Mount Gambier. It was quite huge and red and velvety and was no doubt once very opulent and swish. The toilets were outside and it was beautifully ramshackle when we went there. That was about 15 years ago, mind you. I wonder if it still there.... The people there were lovely and the food was ace too.

Now, this dish would not have been out of place at said Mount Gambanese Chinese Eatery. It was quite delicious, in a comforting, retro way. It reminded me of the Australian Women's Weekly Chinese Cooking Class Cookbook. I think it appears in that too. Ah. That is a pretty great cookbook, isn't it?! Do you have it? My parents used to cook from it when we were little and we always got MOST excited when we saw it appear on the kitchen bench.

Have you made this? Do you like this? Do you have the red AWW Chinese Cooking Class book? Have you been to Mount Gambier?

xx Pip

NB :: Click recipe to enlarge and print, if you would like to!

Health Potato Salad

2010-11-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

Super Salads
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Health Potato Salad

Hello!

I must admit I have a total adoration for potato salad. I love it. In a sandwich ideally with some chilli and lots of salt and black pepper. Or white pepper even. I love white pepper. I know it's considered a bit daggy, but it is a really lovely addition to something needing a bit of a boost. Don't underestimate white pepper, my friends. Sometimes I make a really simple potato salad with some boiled potatoes, a gloop of mayonnaise, a diced avocado and some spring onions and lemon juice. Yum. If you like potato salad, you should try that, it's super good. You can even mash the avocado with the mayo first, if dicing seems to green and messy. That works really well too.

This recipe is called Health Potato Salad. Yep. Cam made this one night last week. We had it with chicken made the Nigella way, which involves cutting the chicken down the backbone and squishing it flat, marinating it with nice things and then popping it in a medium oven until it is nice and golden and delicious.

I really like this herb filled salad, it's real Summery picnicky happy day food. I confess I did not even eat any chicken, I just had the salad in one of those yummy Vietnamese rolls with chilli sauce. It was tres yum. Do you think that is yum? Do you like potato salad? Will you make this? Or is this always on the table at your family bbq, already?

xx Pip

:::::::

:: Coconut Ice

2010-11-12T12:44:00.001-08:00

Homemade Confectionery
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Coconut Ice

THIS was one of my superfaves when I was a kid! Did you love coconut ice?! Did you?! I love it still. I do! Yes!

I made the second recipe :: Creamy Coconut Ice :: and yes it does have COPHA in it! Maybe that will freak you out? Oh well. It is delicious. We have all been eating it all afternoon, although Emma was not at all into the COPHA idea and she just had her garish fruit cake instead. She does NOT know what she is missing out on!

You probably know that there is a different coconut ice recipe which has condensed milk in it. I like that one too, because I get to eat the leftover condensed milk from the can. I love condensed milk. I once made condensed milk ice cream and it was totally delicious and even a bit chewy! YUM! That's how much I like condensed milk. I must never have it in the house, I tell you, or else I will eat WAY too MUCH and Ari will give me a disapproving glance.

So, glances aside... I give you... Yellow Box Coconut Ice. Maybe you would like to make some too?! Who could resist, really... it is CREAMY and super sweet, just as it should be!

xx Pip

::::::

Pip's Potato Latke

2009-11-28T20:24:00.001-08:00

2 cups of grated potato :: peel and coarsely grate the potatoes and then put in your salad spinner and spin dry :: pat dry with a paper towel if they are still a bit soggy.
1 small onion, grated as well
3 tbsp plain flour
2 eggs
salt and pepper
oil for frying :: we need to shallow-fry in around an inch of oil
Optional extra ingredients:: clove of garlic, freshly chopped herbs, grated lemon rind, smoked paprika, chilli

NB :: don't let your grated potato sit around - it will go brown and yicky - grate and use it straight away.

Mix the grated, dried potato with the other ingredients (except the oil).

Heat the oil until a pinch of the mixture fries up nice and golden quickly. Now plonk spoonfuls of your potato mixture into the oil and flatten with a spoon until a cm or so thick. They don't need to be perfect - kind of poke the spoon into the centre of the plonked mixture to make a few little holes for the oil to seep up into. This helps the middle cook evenly. No one likes raw potato! Cook until golden and then flip over and cook the other side. Drain on kitchen towel and transfer to the oven to keep warm. These are nice cold too, though!

Simplicity Chocolate Cake - via NMAA

2009-11-20T23:59:00.000-08:00

I made this today. It turned out great. I used a bit more butter and dutch cocoa and a tablespoon of espresso instead of instant.

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cocoa
1 cup SR flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp instant coffee

Grease a ring tin very well and heat oven to 350F

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Add cocoa, vanilla and coffee. Add flour and milk alternately. Bake for 30 mins. Cool in tin and then turn out.

Upside Down Pear Cake

2009-11-20T19:59:00.001-08:00

3 pears, peeled, halved and cored
175g butter
175g caster sugar
175g self raising flour
3 eggs
3 tablespoons of milk

grease and line your 20cm cake tin with baking paper. preheat oven to 180C.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time. Fold in flour, then milk.

Place pears into bottom of the lined tin. Spoon mixture evenly over top of pears and smooth out.

Bake for 45minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes and then turn out onto serving plate.

Y to the UM.

via Eat Drink Live by Fran Warde

Things To Try :: Zucchini and Cheddar Toast

2009-11-20T19:40:00.000-08:00

2 grated zucchinis - with all the moisture squeezed out of the gratings
200g good cheddar cheese, also grated
1 finely diced shallot
1 small egg
a slosh of worcestershire sauce
bread for toasting
salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients except the bread together.
Plonk spoonfuls onto bread making sure it's not layered super thick and it's pushed to the edges of the bread nicely.
Grill and eat with a big glass of wine (or beer) or if you are saintly, iced water.

via Eat Drink Live by Fran Warde

Chocolate Apricots

2009-11-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

250g Callebaut dark chocolate or other high quality chocolate
250g dried apricots

Melt chocolate in microwave in 30 second bursts - stirring well between each burst. Be careful not to heat it too much or too often as it will separate. Yick. Now when it's melty and smooth spear your apricots with a fork and dip into the chocolate until well coated. Pop onto some wax paper to cool - in the fridge if it's hot at your place. Eat when set. Try not to eat too many. It is VERY hard!

NMAA Banana Loaf :: from NMAA Cooks

2009-11-20T19:16:00.000-08:00

125g butter
2/3 cup raw sugar
1 egg
1 cup wholemeal plain flour plus
1/2 cup wholemeal self raising flour mixed with a pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups mashed banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup yoghurt or 1/4 cup milk mixed with some lemon juice (to make buttermilk!)

Grease a loaf tin and heat your oven to 375f

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Now mix the mashed banana, vanilla and yoghurt/buttermilk together. Add this mix and the flour alternately to the creamed butter until all is mixed in. Pour into a greased tin and bake for 40 - 50 minutes! Cool for ten minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.

I sprinkled the top with cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar before I baked it - for a bit of a spicey crunchy top!

:: Super Delicious Super Simple Pot Roasted Potatoes

2009-09-10T02:56:00.001-07:00

A simplified version of Nigel Slater's spuds. My kids don't like Taleggio :( I do!

You Need ::
1kg of peeled potatoes, sliced into fairly thinnish slices
30g butter
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed

Melt the butter and the olive oil together in a big frypan with a lid- over a medium high heat. Throw in the onion, fry for 30 seconds. Chuck in the garlic. Fry for a few seconds.
Now plonk in all the sliced potatoes and toss them really, really well until they are coated in butter and oil (!) Season with salt and pepper and put the lid on.
Turn the heat down to very low. Leave for 20 minutes, simmering away on the low heat. Now open the lid and toss them. Add any fresh herbs you might like. Nigel Slater puts a few bits of Taleggio in. You could put some brie... or whatever cheese you like at this point in there.
Lid back on - still over the low heat. 5 or 10 more minutes. Check for tenderness. And serve when tender. Sometimes they get a little brown and crunchy on the bottom. But I like that!

:: Warm Roasted Pumpkin Salad

2009-09-10T02:38:00.000-07:00

Illustration : Joseph Giordano

1kg of pumpkin - cut into 1" chunks or thereabouts
1 onion, chopped roughly
1 cup of frozen peas
2 cobs of fresh corn, kernels removed (just cut them off roughly with a knife)
1 clove of chopped garlic
some sprigs of thyme or whatever fresh herbs you have
a good slosh of olive oil
salt and pepper
a teaspoon of sweet paprika
juice of a lemon

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Plonk onto an oven tray, slosh on some more oil and cook in a medium oven for half an hour to forty minutes (or until the pumpkin has a bit of colour and is nice and tender)

Serve warm - or let it cool and serve cold. You could throw some chopped pinenuts or cashews through this and it'd be nice too!

:: Yummy Tofu with Edamame Beans

2009-09-10T02:27:00.000-07:00

We made this after seeing it on the Telly. It was delicious. Click the link right down the bottom for more recipes from this program.

For the bean curd stir-fry

2 tablespoons oil
400g/14oz firm fresh bean curd (dofu/tofu), drained and cut into rectangles 1cm/½ inch thick (I like to use deep-fried tofu here!)
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinkiang black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

For the rest of the stir-fry

1 tablespoon groundnut oil
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
75g/3oz fresh or frozen edamame beans, defrosted
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinkiang black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 large handful of fresh coriander, leaves and stalks, finely chopped

Make the bean curd stir-fry. Heat the groundnut oil in a large flat-based pan over a medium heat, add the bean curd and cook for 2 minutes. Add the light soy sauce and cook until the sauce has reduced and the bean curd is browned on one side. Using a small palette knife or fork, lift and turn each piece (careful not to break the bean curd) and cook to colour the other side.
Add the dark soy sauce and vinegar and cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Season with the dried chilli flakes. Transfer the bean curd to a serving plate and put to one side.
Cook the rest of the stir-fry. Heat the pan and add the groundnut oil. Stir-fry the chilli for a few seconds, then add the edamame beans. Add a sprinkle of water to help create steam and cook for less than 1 minute. Season with the light soy sauce and vinegar and then stir in the chopped coriander.
To serve, pour the beans over the bean curd and serve immediately.
Tip: For a fuller meal, serve with steamed rice.

via

Simple Crunchy Winter Salad

2009-07-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

image via

Ingredients
500g sugar snap peas, cooked for 30 seconds in boiling water - then cooled completely by running under the cold tap or plunging into very cold water.
3 punnets of cherry tomatoes - halved
200g fetta, diced
1 cucumber, halved and seeded, then cut into thin slices
1 red onion, finely diced
1 bunch of basil, roughly torn

Dressing - put in a jar and shake the bejeezus out of:
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp seeded mustard
1 clove crushed garlic
6 tbsp olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Method::
Cut the cooled, blanched sugar snap peas into smaller pieces (cutting them in half or into thirds - depending on what you like!). Now in a big mixing bowl, toss the sugar snap peas, the halved cherry tomatoes, the cucumber, the red onion and the basil. Mix well. Then add the fetta. Dress with the shaken-and-nicely-mixed-up dressing and toss well. Plonk into a serving bowl and VOILA!

Serves 6

'The Brown Owl' :: Mulled Wine for Teetotallers (or Not!)

2009-07-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

image via

Brown Owl Mulled Wine

Makes 3 Litres - enough for 6 people!

1 litre of non alcoholic dark grape juice
1 litre of cranberry juice
1 bottle of red wine*
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves
2 star anise
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced

Mix all ingredients in a large pot whilst stirring - heat until nearly boiling - but don't boil it! Set aside for a couple of hours for the flavours to develop. Reheat gently until nearly boiling again and serve. Delish! (Be sure to cool it a little if you're giving it to kids!)

*Note - You can make this WAY boozier if you like - or you can omit the alcohol and add another litre of grape juice and the kids can partake too. That's a nice idea, huh?

Pip's Tomato and Fish Curry

2009-07-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

image via

Please note :: you can substitute steamed or roasted pumpkin for the fish if you are not fishy! Or even tofu would be good! ALSO this is a really mild, gentle curry, perfect for everyone in the family - but you can heat it up if you like by adding lots of fresh or dried chilli!

Ingredients:
1kg of roughly chopped tomatoes
1kg of trevally fillets - cut into generous bite-size chunks (no bones please!)
200 grams beans, topped and tailed and cut into small pieces and steamed for just a couple of minutes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped finely
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped finely or grated
1 tsp of mild curry powder
1 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of mild paprika
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
a slosh of soy sauce
1 cup of coconut milk
1 cup of stock (fish, chicken or vegie is fine)

Heat the oil and fry the onion until golden brown (this takes time!) Meanwhile - make a paste with the rest of the spices, the soy sauce and 1 tbsp of water.
When the onion is nice and golden, throw in the ginger and fry for 30 seconds, then the garlic and mustard seeds and fry for another 30 seconds or so.
Next add the spice paste you just mixed up and fry for a minute or so, stirring as you go.
Add the tomatoes and give it a good stir. Put a lid on the whole schmozzle and cook gently for 5 minutes.
Now blend this tomatoey and spicy base until pureed (use a food processor or a stabby mixer or even a good go with a potato masher). You want to get a nice even sauce - no big lumps allowed. No need to strain it though - rustic is good.
Now back on a gentle heat with the blended curry-tomato base - add the coconut milk - and the stock. Slowly heat the mixture until it's nearly boiling. Do not let it boil though!
Add the fish pieces and the beans, pop on the lid and turn off the heat. Let the curry sit for half an hour or so so the flavours develop - or overnight even in the fridge - and then reheat it gently and serve - the fish really doesn't need much cooking at all - the residual heat and the gentle reheating will do the trick - taste a piece to see!
Serve with rice or roti or naan even! YUM!

Serves 4 - 6 people

xx Pip

Overnight Rise Casserole-Dish-Baked Bread

2009-07-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

Makes one big loaf - or break dough into 3 sections before putting it in the dish and you'll have 3 pull-apart loaves

6 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
3 cups of tepid water
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
a sprinkle of polenta - optional

Mix the yeast with the water and sugar and set aside for 5 minutes. In a mixer with a dough hook (or a big bowl with a wooden spoon), combine the flour, salt and the yeasty water. Mix well. It will be lumpy and a bit sloppy. Sloppy is good.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave overnight to prove. Somewhere cool is good - the fridge is fine too.

In the morning - punch the dough down and flop it onto a lightly floured benchtop. Knead it as best you can for a minute or two. Grease a heavy, ovenproof casserole dish (round is best - ceramic or heavy metal is the go) The dish needs to have sides at least 5cm high (or higher!) for this to work well and for the bread to rise up (rather then spread out) Sprinkle the dish with polenta if desired. Carefully pop the dough into the greased dish. Dust the top with flour.

Cover with a clean teatowel and let rise for a couple more hours in a draught-free spot.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Then pop the risen dish full of dough into the hot oven. Bake for around 30 minutes, or until golden and hollow-sounding when you tap it. Turn out and eat it up! Yum!

Porcupine Meatballs w Tomato Sauce

2009-07-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

Sauce
2 440g tins of crushed tomatoes - nice ones
1 onion, finely diced
1 large jar of tomato sugo
250ml of stock - whichever you like (not fish though!!)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
a bunch of basil

Meatballs
250g pork mince
250g beef mince
1 cup of cooked rice
1 egg, beaten
1tsp of dried oregano
salt and pepper

For the Sauce
In a BIG POT. Fry the onion in the olive oil until transparent. Add the garlic and give it a quick fry before tipping in the crushed tomatoes, sugo and salt and pepper. Add half the basil - just tear the leaves and throw them in. Leave to simmer away nicely while you make the meatballs.

For the Meatballs
Mix all the ingredients up until well combined. Roll into small balls (wet your hands so they don't stick to you! and have the sink full of nice warm soapy water so you can clean up when you get to meatbally!). Drop the balls into the simmering sauce.

When you've rolled all the meatballs and they are sitting in the sauce - simmer slowly over a gentle heat for 20 minutes. Serve with hot rice, pasta, mash or in a nice soft roll! Yum!

Make Salmon Patties....

2009-07-02T15:23:00.000-07:00

via

We cook some fancy stuff at our house sometimes - but usually we cook simple stuff. The kind of old fashioned food that kids will eat two helpings of. I like to see the kids gobbling their dinner down. No point serving them fancy schmancy if they won't eat it. Well. Max doesn't mind fancy schmancy if he can pick the meat and potatoes out of it. Ari = no fancy schmancy.

1 440g (or thereabouts) tin of pink salmon
1kg of nice potatoes, mashed
3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard - or seeded is good too
a squeeze of lemon
2 eggs
salt and pepper
breadcrumbs
vegetable oil for frying

Mix the salmon, mashed potato, mayonnaise, mustard, egg and salt & pepper together. If it seems super moist, throw in some breadcrumbs until it's a dry enough to shape into patties. Next, tip some breadcrumbs onto a plate. Now form a heaped tablespoon into a pattie shape, using your hands, then roll in the plate o crumbs until well covered. Set aside and continue until you've pattied and crumbed all the mixture. You can store these in the fridge until you are ready to eat, if you like! To cook, heat about half an inch of oil in a big frypan over a medium-high heat and cook each side of the patties until golden. Keep warm in a lidded dish until you've fried all the patties. (Don't stop - you need to fry them all - they are super good cold too!)

You can serve them with more mash, or a salad, or in a sandwich with sauce if you're finiquey. You can also add other things to the patty mix - like fresh herbs, peas, chilli and garlic.. whatever takes your... fancy.

Soft and Sweet Dinner Rolls

2009-07-02T00:34:00.000-07:00

via

6 cups of plain flour
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tsp dried yeast
1/2 cup soft butter
1 egg

makes 30 more-ish rolls

Dissolve yeast in 2 1/2 cups of lukewarm tap water. In your mixer using a dough hook, plonk the flour, beaten egg, sugar, salt and butter - begin to mix it up gently, pouring in the water/yeast slowly. Knead until smooth and elastic. (You can do this by hand too - it'll just take longer).

Leave to rise for a couple of hours. Then punch down and knead again until smooth and elastic. Let it recover for 15 mins and then split your dough into 3. Each third will make 10 dinner rolls - so divvy up the dough into tens. To shape the rolls - flatten each little piece of dough and then roll it into a 'roll like' shape, tucking the ends under and putting it seam/join side down on a well greased oven tray. You'll need a couple of trays - be sure to grease them.

Let your dough rise again for an hour or so - until the rolls are a bit puffed up and nearly twice as big. Bake in a HOT oven for around 15 minutes until nicely browned.

Simple Eggless Tiramisu

2009-07-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

4 tbsp icing sugar
250g marscarpone
250ml cream
100ml espresso coffee (cold)
1 packet of savoiardi biscuits
100ml kahlua or liqueur of your choice
good quality chocolate for grating on the top

Whip the cream and the icing sugar until fluffy. Add the marscarpone and beat until well combined. In a separate dish, mix the coffee with the kahlua. Dip the savoiardi into this coffee mix and pop into a shallow serving dish. Continue dipping and popping until the dish is lined with a layer of coffee soaked savoiardi. Now spread half the cream/marscarpone on top of the biscuits. Add another layer of soaked bickys. Then finish with the rest of the marscarpone/cream. Grate some chocolate over the top and refrigerate for a few hours.

Pikelets

2009-07-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

1 cup of SR Flour
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg
3/4 to 1 cup of milk - until a dropping (not pouring) consistency!

Mix together until lump free. Drop spoonfuls into well buttered frypan and turn when bubbles form on the top (uncooked) side. Cook other side for 30 seconds and then transfer to a dish lined with a tea-towel. Put another tea-towel on top to keep the pikelets warm until you have made enough for the family! YUM!

Basic Sweet Pastry - For Dessert Tart

2009-07-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

Blitz the following in the food-processor until it forms a ball

2 1/4 cups of plain flour
1/4 cup of sugar
180g butter
2 egg yolks lightly beaten
1 tbsp cold water

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins.
Roll out and top/fill with whatever fruit takes your fancy

Nanna-rific Raspberry Jelly Cake

2009-07-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

via

from 1977 Royal Flying Doctor Women's Auxiliary Historical Cookbook

two and a half cups self raising flour
one tablespoon custard powder
four dessertspoons of raspberry jelly crystals
three tablespoons of boiling water
four ounces of butter
six ounces of sugar
three eggs
two tablespoons of milk

Sift the flour and the custard powder. Dissolve the jelly in boiling water. Cream the butter and sugar until pale, add the eggs and beat well. Add the milk to the jelly (it will curdle). Mix in the dry ingredients alternately with the jelly/milk. Place into a greased 7" cake tin. Bake in a moderate oven for 50 minutes. Ice with soft icing and sprinkle with jelly crystals.

Pip's Gluhwhein

2009-07-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

For those ecstatically cold Wintery evenings on the bearskin rug. Or in a thermos for a picnic!

3 bottles of red wine
1 litre of orange juice
2 cups of water
1/2 cup brown sugar
2tbsp honey
1 tbsp golden syrup
a slosh of vanilla essence
1 tsp mixed spice
4 cinnamon sticks
1 sliced lemon
1 sliced orange - peel and pith removed

Put all these things in a big pot and heat gently until nearly boiling. Taste it and make sure it's sweet enough for you - if not add more sugar. Turn off the heat and let the flavours develop for a couple of hours. Reheat until steaming but not boiling and serve. Serves 8 wine liking people.

Pour into thermoses and take on outdoorsy type trips to stay very, very warm.
Substitute cranberry juice for orange juice if you prefer

Vegies In A Bag

2009-06-13T22:13:00.001-07:00

8 baby potatoes - halved
1 small onion - chopped roughly
4 cloves of garlic - chopped roughly
1 cob of corn - cut into 4 pieces
1 tub of cherry tomatoes
a handful of mushrooms, halved
1 bunch of baby carrots washed and trimmed up a bit
1/2 cup of chicken stock
pepper
1 tsp sweet paprika, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander
a few leaves of fresh herbs - or a tsp of dried herbs
1 large oven bag
1 tbsp flour

Put flour into bag and toss about a bit to coat inside of bag. Toss all other ingredients into bag. Combine well by jiggling and massaging (!) Tie closed with the tie provided. Put a couple of teeny holes in the top of the bag. Pop onto oven tray and cook at 400 degrees (or 200) for 40 minutes. Eat with whichever condiments you like...! Pesto, mayo, chutney. Excellent alongside a nice cut of meat - if you are so inclined. You can use this method to cook lots of different combinations. You could make a curry like this - easy peasy. Or you could add tinned tomatoes and go down the Italian route. So many things you could do!

Quiche Lorraine...

2009-06-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

This is super delicious - via the Hairy Bikers..

For the pastry
180g/6¼oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
100g/3½oz cold unsalted butter, cubed
50g/2oz parmesan, grated
2 tsp thyme, leaves only
1 free-range egg yolk
1 tsp chilled water (more if needed)

For the filling
3 free-range eggs
150g/5¼oz pancetta, cubed
250ml/9fl oz crème fraîche
150g/5¼oz Gruyère
freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. For the pastry, sieve the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the butter, parmesan and thyme and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Add the egg yolk and the water and mix to form a firm dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to fit one large flan tin. Line the tin with the pastry, then place a circle of baking paper over the pastry and fill with baking beans.
5. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and return to the oven for five minutes.
6. For the filling, place all the ingredients (except 50g/2oz of the Gruyère) into a large bowl and mix gently, to avoid filling the mixture with air.
7. Spoon the filling into the pastry case and sprinkle the remaining Gruyère on top.
8. Bake the quiche for 15 minutes, or until the filling is set. Serve hot or cold with a green salad.

Never Fail Chocolate Cake

2009-06-13T22:08:00.000-07:00

Okay.. this cake is missing two pieces.. but that's because they've scooted into the lunchboxes of two hungry boys. I got up early to face the week and make soup and cake for the boys and cake for Brown Owls too. Lots of early making makes me happy, I can tell you! I'll show you the cherry cake a bit later on (it's still in the oven.)

Never Fail Chocolate Cake
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa
pinch salt
1 cup of milk
dash of vanilla essence
2 cups of SR Flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time beating constantly. Add salt and vanilla. Mix cocoa and milk together in a jug. Add this cocoa/milk mix alternately with spoonfuls of the flour until nicely combined. Bake in a moderate oven in a 7"pan for 40 mins or until done!

*adapted from 'Royal Flying Doctor Women's Auxiliary Cookbook'

Cherry Cake

2009-06-13T22:07:00.002-07:00

Cherry Cake

2 cups of flour
3 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
100 g butter
1 cup of sugar PLUS 1 extra tablespoon of sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
1 cup of frozen or fresh pitted cherries
rind of a lemon

Cream the butter and the sugar until pale. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the lemon rind, salt and the vanilla. Beat in the sifted together flour and baking powder, and the milk alternately until just combined. Pour into a well greased 7" tin and dot with the cherries, then sprinkle with the extra sugar. Bake for 40 minutes in a medium/moderate oven - or until a skewer in the centre comes out clean. Enjoy! Yum!

* adapted from this recipe

I think I cooked this one a bit long... it was a tiny bit gooey in the centre after 40mins... but I'll just be sure to douse it with lots of cream and I think it'll be fine.... perhaps I might even warm it to serve?!

Pip's Brownies

2009-06-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

via

200g dark cooking chocolate
200g butter
200g caster sugar
3 large free range eggs
150g plain flour
100g cocoa
1tsp vanilla

Melt the cooking chocolate with the butter very gently in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
Meanwhile beat the sugar and eggs in a mixer until light and fluffy, add vanilla.
Next mix in the chocolate/butter melted mix.
Now fold in the flour and cocoa.
Pour into a very well greased tin - i use a pastry brush to paint melted butter on every mm of the tin! And I do that twice!
Bake in a moderate oven for about half an hour until the centre is ALMOST cooked (a skewer in the centre should come out a bit chocolaty, but the sides should be pulling away from the tin and the top should be shiny and cracked). YUM!

Chicken Curry for the Faint Hearted - Not too spicy!

2009-02-03T23:21:00.000-08:00

1 kilo of assorted chicken pieces to your liking - NB you MUST include some wings in the curry because they add HEAPS of flavour
1 440g tin of tomatoes
1/2 kilo of peeled, chopped potatoes (nice ones!)
1 tablespoon of good quality curry powder
1 440g tin of coconut milk
750ml of chicken stock
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, smooshed
1 inch piece of ginger, grated finely
1 tbsp of nice quality oil

Heat the oil over a medium/high heat. Fry the onion until golden (it takes a while!). Mix the curry powder, soy and 1/4 cup of water together to make a paste. Add to pan and fry until combined well with the onions. Add the chicken pieces and seal as best you can. Add the garlic and ginger. Toss it all together nicely. Now throw in the coconut milk, tomatoes, potatoes and chicken stock. Cook for 20 minutes and serve with plenty of rice or roti or sliced white bread if you are a heathen!

Skordalia de Mike - A Dip for Lovers of Mashed Potato and Other Such Good Things

2009-01-02T17:22:00.001-08:00

1 kilo of very nice potatoes, boiled until tender and mashed roughly and lumpily
2 cloves of garlic diced
1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly chopped mint - half a handful

Mix all ingredients together - but not too much - we're going for rustic and lumpy here.
Spread on toast and gobble down.
Or serve as part of a mezze meal - or with a nice lamb chop.

Super Dooper Easy Peasy Peppers with Capers

2009-01-02T17:15:00.000-08:00

3 nice medium sized deep red peppers - chopped roughly
1 head of garlic, sliced in half across ways
1 tbsp of capers - rinsed and drained
1/3 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of sherry vinegar
half a handful of fresh basil

Heat oil and plonk in the garlic (cut side down). Fry gently until fragrant. Throw in the capers. Fry for a minute. Then add the peppers. Put a lid on and allow to cook on a low heat for 15 minutes until soft and juicy. Lid off now. Turn the heat up and reduce the juices down until it looks oily and yummy. Add the vinegar and half the basil and pile into a big bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature and garnish with the remaining basil. Serve as a salad or on toast.

Extremely Good Gazpacho

2009-01-02T17:12:00.000-08:00

1 kilo of tomatoes - chopped roughly
1 small red pepper
2 slices of nice bread
2 small cucumbers
2 cloves of garlic
2 cup of water
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of sherry vinegar
1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
2 tsp of salt
freshly ground black pepper

Process the tomatoes, red pepper, bread, garlic and cucumber until well pureed.
Place in a big bowl or bucket or vessel of your liking.
Add the rest of the stuff.
Let it sit in the fridge and chill until very cold and nicely gazpached.
Pour into tiny tea cups or shot glasses.
You can add vodka if you are naughty.

Mike's Poinsettia - A super festive and delicious cocktail

2009-01-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

This is what you should drink over the foggy, delicious haze of Christmas and New Year's...

Make it like this, please:

500 ml decent champagne or prosecco
300 ml cranberry juice
200 ml pomegranate juice
100 ml grand marnier or cointreau

Mix. Chill very well. Garnish with orange segments or pomegranate seeds or festive berries

Stephanie's (and Elizabeth David's) Chocolate Cake

2008-12-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

I double this recipe and use a bigger tin!

125g good cooking chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp brandy
1 tbs black coffee
100g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
100g ground almonds
3 eggs, separated
icing sugar to dust

Preheat the oven to 160 C. Butter and line an 18cm baking tin - springform is best.

Combine the chocolate, brandy and coffee in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir when melted and add the butter and sugar. Mix very well. Add the ground almonds and mix well. Lightly beat the egg yolks, take the bowl off the heat, and mix in. Beat the egg whites with a mixer until stiff. Fold one tablespoon of the whites into the chocolate mix to loosen it up. Then gently fold in the remaining whites. Goop into the tin and bake for 40 minutes or so. It will be crusty on the top, but fudgy in the middle. Cool completely and serve dusted with icing sugar.

Famous Light as a Feather Gnocchi

2008-12-21T13:14:00.000-08:00

6 large pontiac potatoes (or desiree) peeled and quartered
2 large free range eggs, beaten
250g plain flour
salt and pepper

Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until they are tender. Drain well and mash throughly - or pass through a ricer or food mill for extra lump-free ness! Allow to cool. Add the beaten eggs, flour, salt and pepper. Mix lightly with your hands - but not too much - we need the gnocchi to be feathery light, remember?!

Put on a big pot of fresh salted water to boil.

On a floured surface, roll handfuls of the mixture into long sausage shapes. Cut into two cm pieces and toss in flour to prevent the gnocchi sticking to one another. Once you've made about ten - drop them into the boiling water. When they float, they are cooked! Keep warm (with a drizzle of olive oil) in a big bowl covered with foil until you've cooked them all. Drizzle some more oil on them to stop them sticking to each other - or drop them straight into a bubbling pot of your chosen sauce!

Zen's Mum's Braised Pork Belly

2008-12-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

1kg Pork Belly
200ml Plum Sauce
100ml Oyster Sauce
50g Crushed Garlic
500ml Chicken Stock
500ml Orange Juice
5 pieces Star Anise
3 Dried Chillis

Mix all ingredients except Pork Belly in a deep saucepan.
Place the Pork in this mixture.
Bring to the boil and simmer for two to three hours
When tender, take out and set aside.
Strain the braising liquid into a small saucepan and reduce by half.
Serve with steamed rice and chinese broccoli!

Herbs and Spices... What Goes With What?!

2008-12-15T01:30:00.000-08:00

Beans (dried) — cumin, cayenne, chili, parsley, pepper, sage, savory, thyme

Beef — basil, bay, chili, cilantro, curry, cumin, garlic, marjoram, mustard, oregano, parsley, pepper, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme

Breads — anise, basil, caraway, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, dill, garlic, lemon peel, orange peel, oregano, poppy seeds, rosemary, saffron, sage, thyme

Cheese — basil, caraway, celery seed, chervil, chili, chives, coriander, cumin, dill, garlic, horseradish, lemon peel, marjoram, mint, mustard, nutmeg, paprika, parsley, pepper, sage, tarragon, thyme

Chicken — allspice, basil, bay, cinnamon, curry, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, mustard, paprika, rosemary, saffron, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme,

Corn — chili, curry, dill, marjoram, parsley, savory, thyme

Eggs — basil, chervil, chili, chives, curry, dill, fennel, ginger, lemon peel, marjoram, oregano, paprika, parsley, pepper, sage, tarragon, thyme

Fish — anise, basil, bay, cayenne, celery seed, chives, curry, dill fennel, garlic, ginger, lemon peel, mustard, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme, saffron, sage, savory, tarragon, marjoram

Fruits — allspice, anise, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, mint

Lamb — basil, bay, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, curry, dill, garlic, marjoram, mint, mustard, oregano, parsley, rosemary, savory, tarragon, thyme

Potatoes — basil, caraway, celery seed, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, marjoram, oregano, paprika, parsley, poppy seed, rosemary, tarragon, thyme

Salad Dressings — basil, celery seed, chives, dill, fennel, garlic, horseradish, marjoram, mustard, oregano, paprika, parsley, pepper, rosemary, saffron, tarragon, thyme

Salads — basil, caraway, chives, dill, garlic, lemon peel, lovage, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, thyme

Soups — basil, bay, chervil, chili, chives, cumin, dill, fennel, garlic, marjoram, parsley, pepper, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme

Sweets — allspice, angelica, anise, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, ginger, lemon peel, mace, nutmeg, mint, orange peel, rosemary

Tomatoes — basil, bay, celery seed, cinnamon, chili, curry, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, marjoram, oregano, parsley, rosemary, savory, tarragon, thyme

Bouquet Garnis — basil, bay, oregano, parsley
Herbal — basil, marjoram, rosemary, thyme
Hot — chili peppers, cilantro, cumin, garlic
Pungent — celery, chili peppers, cumin, curry, ginger, black pepper
Spicy — cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, star anise
Sweet — allspice, anise, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg

via

Pop Them In Plum Cake

2008-11-30T22:20:00.000-08:00

I really DO love a cake with fresh stone fruit dotted about it! You can make this with plums - or other things too. Apricots, nectarines, apple segments.... yum.

125g butter
125g caster sugar
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
zest of one lemon
700g plums, halved and pitted
4 eggs
cinnamon
1/3 cup of milk
extra tablespoon of sugar
icing sugar

Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Butter and line a 22cm springform tin.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the lemon zest. Beat in the eggs one at a time until fluffy and light and creamy and nice. Carefully fold in the flour and baking powder. Next mix in the milk, gently. Pour into the prepared tin. Pop in the plums and regular intervals. Sprinkle with cinnamon and extra sugar. Bake for 45 minutes. Dust with icing sugar when cooked and serve with icecream or thick cream thank you very much.

Deliciously Decadent Super BLT

2008-11-30T22:12:00.001-08:00

These are a great supper dish - but you could also assemble lots of them and and take them on a picnic. I would add some chilli to mine.

4 slices of grainy bread
4 slices of bacon - cooked until crispy
4 iceberg lettuce leaves
4 slices of nice tomatoes
1 avocado mashed with the juice of a lemon and some coriander
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
some basil leaves
Salt and Pepper

Toast bread.
And then assemble two sandwiches with equal parts of the above ingredients.
Eat with a HUGE glass of red wine to cut the richness a wee bit.

My Favourite Mayonnaise

2008-11-30T21:50:00.000-08:00

3 egg yolks
600ml of good quality (but not too strongly flavoured) oil
1 tbsp of dijon mustard
1 tsp of seeded mustard
1 tbsp of Lee and Perrins worcestershire sauce
1 slosh of tabasco sauce
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper

In a food processor, beat egg yolks with mustards until well combined and a bit airy. Slowly, oh so very slowly add the oil, trickle by trickle. The mayonnaise will slowly thicken and combine. When you've carefully added all the oil, add the worcestershire sauce, the lemon juice, the tabasco and the salt and pepper. Then add half a tablespoon of boiling water to lighten the whole mix up. Store in the fridge.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup Deluxe

2008-11-30T21:18:00.000-08:00

1 tbsp butter
1 brown onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, diced
1 medium cauliflower, trimmed of it's leaves and cut into florettes
1/2 tbsp curry powder
2 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of water
1 cup of cream
black pepper
a pinch of salt

Heat butter and saute the onion and the garlic until soft and smelling good. Add curry powder, stock, water and cauliflower. Put the lid on and cook over a low heat for half an hour. The cauliflower should be tender by this stage. If it is soft, blend in batches and return to the pot. Stir in the cream and simmer until nice and hot - but not boiling! Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

Max's Favourite Muffins - Carrot and Cheese!

2008-11-30T21:10:00.000-08:00

We like these a lot. We eat them with a big bowl of cream of cauliflower soup for soothed sighs all round.

2 cups of self raising flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of grated carrot
1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup of melted butter
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 200 degrees c

Mix all ingredients together until just combined. Don't mix too much! Fill muffin cases (which are sitting happily in a muffin tray) two thirds full of mixture. Bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes or until cooked and browning around the edges. Eat hot with a big bowl of soup!

LoobyLu's Mum's Chocolate Cake

2008-11-30T19:57:00.000-08:00

via Loobylu and her Mum

Melt 85 grams (3 ounces) of butter.
Put in bowl (in order of appearance) with:
1 cup of sifted self raising flour,
1 cup of caster sugar,
2 Tablespoons of cocoa (sifted) — not drinking chocolate, but real cocoa
2 cold eggs
dollop vanilla
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of whole cream milk

combine & beat 3 minutes.
Cook for 45 minutes on 180°c.
Cool and ice with chocolate glace icing.
Eat. With ice-cream.

Soba- So-Good Noodle Salad

2008-11-29T16:48:00.000-08:00

This is a favourite recipe of mine! You can really add anything you like to it - asparagus, prawns, soused spinach, bbq chicken ... the list goes on. It's yummy to take on a picnic - and it's even better if you make it and then eat it the next day!

You Need:
1 packet of soba noodles
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 avocado - sliced and diced
1 cucumber - sliced thinly
2 tbsp of pickled pink ginger
1/2 punnet of cherry tomatoes - halved
1 tbsp peanuts - chopped roughly

Dressing:
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp light olive or good vegetable oil
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 teaspoons of sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic, diced
1/2 chilli, diced
1 inch piece of ginger - diced

Mix all these ingredients together in a jar.

Cook noodles for 4 or 5 minutes in boiling salted water - then cool immediately in a big bowl of cold water. Drain well once cold. Add all other ingredients. Toss well with the dressing. Eat it all up!

Corn and Bacon and Potato Soup... Chowder if you like!

2008-11-28T00:37:00.000-08:00

My mum used to make this when we were growing up. This is my version, because I don't have her recipe. It's super yum and I recommend making a double quantity and freezing half for delicious suppers at a later date.

Oh... and you can definitely substitute FRESH corn for the corn kernels - but don't leave out the creamed corn - it makes it thick and sweet and super delish!

1/2 kg of peeled diced waxy potatoes
1 tin of creamed corn
1 tin of corn kernels
200 g bacon diced
1 onion
1 litre of milk
250ml chicken stock
salt and pepper
butter

Fry the onion and bacon in a wee bit of butter until lovely and smelling sweet. Add the corn, creamed corn, potatoes, milk and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 25 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Eat it all up.

Carluccio's Meatloaf

2008-11-28T00:25:00.000-08:00

I like this even better the next day. Cold. Sliced thick. In a sandwich with home-made tomato sauce (and sliced roast potatoes if you are feeling super decadent). Yum.

1 kg minced beef (or a mixture of veal, lamb, pork mince)
175g crumbs from stale bread, coarsely ground
2tbs finely chopped parsley
50g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 eggs
oil for frying.

For the tomato sauce:
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic crushed
4tbs olive oil
1 bottles of tomato passata
1 tin of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup basil leaves

Mix the minced meat with the breadcrumbs, add the parsley, Parmesan, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Lightly beat the eggs and add them. Form it into an oval meat loaf. In a large LIDDED oven proof casserole dish/pan, heat the oil and fry the loaf until it is a crisp golden-brown all over. Set casserole aside.

In a separate pan, fry the onion in the oil. When softened add the garlic, then the tomatoes and tomato passata. Cook sauce over a medium flame for 10 minutes, stirring. Season with salt and pepper, add basil then pour the sauce on the meat loaf, and put the lid on the casserole. Bake in a hot oven (200C) for an hour. Carefully baste loaf from time to time. Remove lid after 30 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. The loaf should cool for 10 minutes before it is sliced. Serve with mash and peas or cubed new potatoes fried with garlic and rosemary.

Amazingly Delicious Fish Curry

2008-11-28T00:18:00.000-08:00

If you DEFO won't eat fish - you could try this with chunks of pumpkin in the rolls - you'll just need to cook them for longer (about 15 minutes on an even simmer). Or you could put chicken fillets in there. Or some deep fried tofu would be lovely too.

Please note: This makes a mild curry that Max can eat too - definitely add some fresh chilli to amp things up if you like!

2 tsp of red curry paste - DIY or store bought
1 440 g tin of coconut milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 kilo of nice fish fillets - cut into little bite sized pieces - no bones please!
1 large CHINESE cabbage - for extra stretch
Juice of one lime - or 1 tbsp of lime juice
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 clove garlic, 1 inch piece of ginger, 1 small onion, 3 candlenuts (or macadamias!) - all ground to a paste in a food processor or mortar and pestle
1 tbsp of peanut or other good frying oil
Some toothpicks for securing the 'fishy cabbage rolls'

First cut the end off the cabbage - discard the outer leaves for compost and separate the rest of the leaves nicely. Also remove any hardcore woody ends too - they'll make for a yick mouthful and tricky wrapping too. Put on a large pot of water to boil - and blanch the leaves for about 30 seconds each - until soft. Place a leaf flat and pop the bite sized raw piece of fish in the centre. Fold one end of the leaf over - the fold the sides in - and finally roll the whole lot over and secure into a neat, tightish parcel with a toothpick. (Easy. Max did this for me this afternoon)

Next - fry the garlic, ginger, onion, nut paste in a spoonful of oil until fragrant. Add the red curry paste and fry for 30 seconds or so, stirring. Next add the stock and stir till combined. Then add the coconut milk, lime juice, pepper, soy and fish sauce.

Bring to a fairly serious simmer and then pop in the cabbage/fish parcels. Now, slosh it around a bit so the curry sauce gets all over the fish. Next, bring the whole lot up to the boil, and turn off the heat. Allow to sit for 15 minutes while you cook some rice.

When your rice is done, turn the fish back on and bring up to the boil again. Turn off and allow to sit for 5 minutes with the lid on before serving.

Enjoy with a nice cold beer or glass of crisp white wine!

Dorothy's Scones

2008-11-27T00:28:00.000-08:00

This recipe comes courtesy of the CWA documentary 'Not All Tea and Scones'.

500g flour
60g butter
60g icing sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
30g cream of tartar
15g bicarb soda
1 egg

Rub butter into sifted dry ingredients using spirit fingers. Add milk and egg all at once. Knead gently and lovingly like a CWA chick. Gently pat down to 3cm or so thickness. Rest dough for 5 minutes. Cut into rounds and bake in a hot oven on a greased tray for 15 minutes until risen.

Amazingly Delicious Eggplant with Honey

2008-11-26T18:31:00.000-08:00

Whenever I make this, people moan with delight. It can be a wee bit embarrassing. For them. I am used to moaning. I based the recipe on a Claudia Roden one that I found in an old Cuisine Magazine.

2 medium eggplant, sliced to about 1cm slices
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, diced
1 tsp of curry powder
1/4 cup of honey
1/2 cup of stock or water
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup of olive oil (light)
a sprig of fresh mint or coriander

arrange the eggplant on oiled oven trays - drizzle with 1/4 cup of the light olive oil and bake until golden. Add more oil if they look to be drying out.
meanwhile, in a deep frypan - heat a tablespoon of olive oil and gently fry the garlic and ginger, being careful not to brown it. Add the curry powder. Next add the honey, lemon juice and stock/water. Stir until well combined. Simmer for 5 minutes on a low heat. Add the oven baked slices of eggplant. Cover and simmer, checking often for sticking/burning, until the liquid has reduced and the eggplant has started to go sticky and caramelise a bit.

Serve at room temperature with plenty of sea-salt and black pepper and the mint sprinkled over it too.

eggplant beanbags from here

Best Ever Choc Chip Cookies - via the Frankie Cookbook

2008-11-22T22:01:00.000-08:00

I am lucky. Frankie asked me to be in their cookbook last year. Of course i said Y.E.S. With pretty bells on. Here is my Frankie-Famous recipe.

125g salted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 small eggs
1 or 2 drops of vanilla essence
1 3/4 cups self raising flour
250 grams ! choc chips

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugars until pale.
Beat in the eggs and the vanilla until nicely mixed.
Beat in the sifted flour until mixed through.
Fold through the choc chips.

Grease or line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll dough into teaspoon sized balls and pop onto the tray. Bake for ten to twelve minutes. If you like them chewy don't let them brown. They will crisp up as they cool down. makes about 48.

cookie jar via here

Lemon Squares - Not For Sour Pusses

2008-11-22T14:25:00.000-08:00

Did you know... that this is really a lovely slice. A simple cake topped with a fresh lemony sugary syrup. It's really lemon soaked loveliness... in a square!

Make Le Cake...
175g butter
175g caster sugar
175 g self raising flour
2 eggs

Make Le Topping...
juice of two lemons
120g caster sugar

Cream the butter and the sugar. Beat in the eggs. Fold in the flour. Bake in a greased, square pan measuring 25 X 17 cms. The oven should be at 180 degrees. Bake for about 40 minutes or until cooked.

Meanwhile, mix together the lemon juice and the sugar. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour it over the hot cake. Leave to cool and then cut into squares and serve.

Make some tea.

Play scrabble.

Have fun.

Yellow Tea Bowls from here

Honey Madeleines and Moustaches

2008-11-22T14:01:00.000-08:00

My big girl grew up on these. Icing sugar dusted madeleines sent home from Stephanie's for her munching pleasure. She did turn out pretty sweet. Perhaps it was due to these.

100g butter (unsalted)
1/2 tbsp honey (i like leatherwood)
2 eggs
100g caster sugar
a tiny slosh of vanilla essence
pinch of salt
100g plain flour sifted with 1 tsp baking powder

Melt the butter and honey together. in a big mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. fold in the flour. Let rest for an hour or so.

Butter and flour the madeleine tins well (or if you don't have a fluted madeleine tin - use a patty pan tin). Spoon tin 2/3 full of mixture and bake for just under ten minutes in a 180 degree oven. Allow to cool for a minute or two - then bang the tin on your benchtop to dislodge the sticky cakes. Cool on a rack and dust with icing sugar. Eat lots of them.

Mug from here

Nigella Lawson's Cupcake Recipe

2008-11-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

put zem on zis....

250g softened unsalted butter
250g caster sugar
3 large eggs
250g self raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 200 (or 400)

Throw all ingredients into a food processor. Mix until combined. Spoon into cupcake case lined muffin tin - fill them 2/3 full. Cook for about 15 minutes until well risen and golden and springy on the top. Ice with your favourite icing*. Decorate. Share. Gobble them down!

Cake stand with birdys from here

Egg Baskets - From Cooking With Daisy

2008-11-22T13:23:00.000-08:00

My kids love these. They are crunchy and eggy soothing at the same time. And cheesy. They are cheesy too. It's a bit of preparation - but it's worth it for the fun factor!

Make some toasty baskets with egg in them....!

4 slices of brown or white bread (2 for each child)
4 eggs
a bit of butter
2 tbsp milk salt and pepper
1/2 cup of grated cheese

Preheat the oven to 200c or 400f.
Cut the crusts off the bread and spread both sides with butter.
Press each slice into a muffin tray to form a basket.
Bake for 10 minutes until a bit golden and quite crisp.
Whilst they are baking, whisk eggs, milk and some salt and pepper
Melt a little butter in a pan and add the egg mix. Scramble until almost cooked through.
Tumble the scrambled egg into the bready basket. Top with grated cheese. Return to the oven until the cheese has melted. Keep watching them to be sure the bread doesn't burn. Serve with a smile!

Felt eggs from here

Coconut Tarts with Raspberry Jam a la Mike....

2008-11-22T13:14:00.000-08:00

My nan used to make these.. this is not her recipe.. but it is nearly as nice!

For the pastry
50g butter
100g plain flour
pinch of salt
one tsp caster sugar
one egg yolk and cold water to mix

For the filling
raspberry jam
50g butter
50 g caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
50 g dessicated coconut
3 tbsp self raising flour

Preheat oven to 190 degrees (or 375 degrees farenheit) This recipe makes one dozen.

For the pastry - rub the butter into the flour and salt until it resembles breadcrumbs; stir in the sugar.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the egg yolk and enough cold water to make a firm dough. Turn onto a floured board and roll out thinly.
Cut into rounds large enough to fill a shallow patty pan tin. (We used a glass to to this.. like nan used to).
Line each patty pan hollow, and then put a little bit of jam in each one.

Now make the filling:

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
Add the egg a little at a time. Then fold in the coconut and the flour.
Place spoonfuls of this mixture on top of the jammy lined patty pans.
It will spread out as you cook it.. so don't be too precise...

Bake for 15 to 20 mins until golden and firm. Cool and eat!

Gorgeous cake stand from here

How I Make Super Fizzy Ginger Beer

2008-11-22T13:04:00.000-08:00

This recipe will yield approx 55 cups (a cup is 250ml) of ginger beer.

Week One
Make Your Plant
½ teaspoon dried yeast
1 rounded teaspoon ground ginger
1 rounded teaspoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water

Put all of the above in a jar that will hold about 4 cups of liquid. Give it a good mix. Cover with an open weave cloth and an elastic band to hold it in place. NOT a lid. It could go BANG! Yeast is rather explosive at times!

EACH DAY - you must add one teaspoon of ginger and one teaspoon of sugar. Do that for ONE WEEK.

While you're 'growing your plant' you need to collect plastic bottles. I'm told smaller bottles result in better fizz - but just your regular 1.5l or 2l milk or water bottles will do the trick as well. You'll need to do the sums. But know that you're making about 14 litres of ginger beer - so collect your bottles accordingly - and maybe an extra one just in case!

Week Two - A bit more fortifying!
You need to add to your plant. It now needs a top up of two cups of warm water - NOT HOT! You will kill the yeast! So add those two cups of warm water, and now each day you need to add TWO Teaspoons of Ginger and Two Teaspoons of Sugar. Stir it up. Do this for one week again. And be sure you have your bottles ready for the end of the week!

Week Three
AT THE END OF THE SECOND WEEK - It's time to bottle it!

You'll need a 20 litre container for mixing it all up, a funnel, some muslin cloth for straining your goopy 'plant' and your bottles (which are lovely and clean).

Mix 48 cups of warm water with 1 cup of strained lemon juice and 8 cups of sugar - and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Now, you need to strain your 'plant' (into a large dish through the muslin). It might be easiest to just stretch the muslin over the top of the 'plant' jar - and then secure it well with the elastic band. Now tip it into the bowl, thus straining. Set the leftover goop aside for your next ginger beer 'plant'.

Add the strained 'plant' (not the goop) to the warm water/sugar/lemon mixture. Stir up well and then pour into bottles with the help of a jug and a funnel. Be sure to leave an inch or so space between the ginger beer level and the lid of the bottle. It's nice for the ginger beer to have breathing space.

SET THE BOTTLES ASIDE FOR ONE WEEK IN A COOL SPOT. Make some cute labels for your bottles in the mean time - you might even want to add the 'ready to drink from THIS DATE' label if you're planning on another batch some time soon.

So... It's a week later - the whole process has taken THREE WEEKS - Say 'Hurrah!' Then open and drink! It should be fizzy now! You might like to add lots of ice or some gin or vodka or lime to your ginger beer. Or you might like it 'beach style' fresh from the bottle with no fancy stuff!

Pretty Glasses from here

Picnic Lemonade - It's Delicious

2008-11-22T12:59:00.000-08:00

You definitely need one of those American Style picnic jugs to tote this delicious drink in! You might also want to fortify with a bit of Gin for the grown ups.

Lemonade
via Martha

Makes 10 cups - you might want to make sure your ICE will fit into the top of whatever bottle you are going to carry this in... just a thought.

3 cups lemon or lime juice, about 20 lemons or 25 limes freshly squeezed (perhaps lemons - limes are WAY TOO EXPENSIVE unless you have a lime tree!)
2 cups caster sugar
6 cups cold water
2 cups of ice
2 lemons or limes, thinly sliced for garnish
1/2 cup cranberry juice, optional for pink lemonade

Into a large serving container, strain the citrus juice, mix it with sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add 4 cups cold water and cranberry juice, if using, and stir again until well combined. Add ice to fill and a few lemon or lime slices.

bottle cap magnets via here

Tuna Pan Bagna - Perfect Picnic Fodder

2008-11-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

Pan Bagna is such a cool, portable concept, huh? You really can customise to suit yourself - with a heap of delicious flavours all mixing it up together. I think this recipe came from Martha Stewart's site... but I can't quite remember! I think chicken, avocado, mayo, red onion, almonds, pesto would be super good in a pan bagna. But you do what YOU like!

1 loaf Italian or country bread with crust that is not too heavy
1 large clove garlic, halved
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
medium sized tin of tuna in olive oil
1 large ripe tomato, thinly sliced
a couple of 'fillets' of roasted red pepper
1 handful of rocket
1/2 lemon
a few basil leaves
2 tbsp mayonnaise
pitted olives

Halve bread horizontally. Pull out the soft interior, to within 1-inch of the crust; discard interior or reserve for another use. Rub the inside of bread all over with garlic, then drizzle with oil and vinegar. Cover the bottom half of the bread with onion and tomato slices. Top with pepper strips. Evenly distribute tuna and basil and rocket and olives. Add plenty of salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon too. Spread the top half of bread with mayonnaise and place it mayo-side down over filled bottom half. Wrap in plastic wrap. Place on a large plate, and top with a second plate. Weight with several heavy cans. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Just before serving, cut into 6 to 8 wedges or slices.

Zebra Picnic Print from here

Tea with Delia? Delia Smith's Crumpet Recipe

2008-11-22T12:42:00.000-08:00

You really need to take your time cooking these. Otherwise they will be doughy and yuk. And doughy crumpets are for slappers, right? I make the batter and whack it in the fridge for delicious sourdough crumpets the next morning. I'm a bit clever, sometimes. You could get these started early in the day and have them for afternoon tea. That would be clever too. This recipe makes 12.

8 oz (225 g) strong plain flour
1 level teaspoon salt
1 level tablespoon dried yeast
1 level teaspoon caster sugar
½ pint (275 ml) milk

You will also need a thick-based frying pan, some egg rings and a little lard.

Heat the milk and 2 fl oz (55 ml) water together in a small saucepan until they are 'hand hot'. Then pour into a jug, stir in the sugar and dried yeast and leave it in a warm place for 10-15 minutes till there is a good frothy head on itMeanwhile, sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre then, when the yeast mixture is frothy, pour it all in.

Next use a wooden spoon to work the flour into the liquid gradually and beat well at the end to make a perfectly smooth batter. Cover the basin with a tea-towel and leave to stand in a warm place for about 45 minutes - by which time, the batter will have become light and frothy.To cook the crumpets: grease the insides of the egg rings well, and grease the frying pan as well before placing it over a medium heat.

Arrange the rings in the frying pan and, when the pan is hot, spoon 1 tablespoon of the crumpet batter into each ring. Let them cook for 4 or 5 minutes: first tiny bubbles will appear on the surface and then, suddenly, they will burst, leaving the traditional holes. Now take a large spoon and fork, lift off the rings and turn the crumpets over.

Cook the crumpets on the second side for about 1 minute only. Re-grease and reheat the rings and pan before cooking the next batch of crumpets. Serve the crumpets while still warm, generously buttered. If you are making crumpets in advance, then reheat them by toasting lightly on both sides before serving.

Slapper Tea-Cup and Plate from here