bear necessities

Salad of Parsley, Capers, Black Olives and Tomatoes on Bruschetta

2008-01-02T20:00:00.000-05:00

Well, its that time of year again, where we need to make new year's resolutions and as always, mine is to lose a few pounds. I always do this to myself. I spend the first half of the year being super good, so I can lose all the wight I put on over the holidays, just to over indulge in the last couple of months of the year and then vow to do it all again. Maybe this year, my resolution should be to stay good over the holidays. But for now, that is 10-12 months away and I need to drop the pounds from this past holiday season.

Therefore, we start the year with a salad. No the best time to do this, as its cold and produce is not exactly fresh, however I did manage to find some great tomatoes (surprise) at the wholesale market. Yes, I know they are imported from California, or some such place and have a big carbon footprint, but I couldn't help it...I was just dying for some great tasting veggies.

This recipe comes from Delicious magazine, Volume 4, Issue 10 and was wonderful. I didn't think it would fill me up, but it definitely did and for a bit of protein, I served with a couple slices of deli cut turkey. Not really suited to the frigid cold outside, but it went down a treat in our lovely heated little home and provided just the veggie boost I have been craving :)

Happy New Year!!

Salad of Parsley, Capers, Black Olives and Tomatoes on Bruschetta
(Serves 4)

1 bunch flat leaf parsley
3 ripe tomatoes
1 tbs capers, rinsed and roughly chopped
20 small black olives, pitted
2 tbs olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 slices of ciabatta bread
1 garlic clove, cut in half
soft goat's cheese, to serve

1. Remove the leaves of the parsley and discard the stems. Roughly chop and place in a bowl. Cut up the tomatoes in uneven wedges and add to the bowl. Throw in the capers and olives and dress with olive oil and lemon juice. Generously season with salt and pepper.

2. Preheat the grill (broiler) to high. Broil bread slices for 1 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Rub gently with cut side of the garlic and drizzle with a little extra olive oil.

3. Top each slice of toast with salad and dollops of goat's cheese. Serve immediately.

Chicken Salad with Grapefruit and Pistachios

2007-12-12T20:58:00.000-05:00

This is another salad from the wonderful Bill Granger and Bill's Food and another hit this week. Simple to put together and really tasty. Definitely a winner!

Chicken Salad with Grapefruit and Pistachios
(Serves 4)

4 skinless chicken breast fillets
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon sliced
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
1/2 cup fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup pistachios, roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
2 grapefruits, segmented

yoghurt dressing
1 cup plain yoghurt
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs lemon juice
salt freshly ground black pepper

1. Slice each chicken breast into three escalopes on a chopping board, put a freezer bag over them and pound them with a mallet or rolling pin until they are about 1/4 inch thick.

2. Place the chicken escalopes in a flat ceramic dish and pour 1/4 cup of the olive oil over them. Distribute the lemon and pepper over the chicken, cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

3. Heat a large frying pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Remove the chicken from the marinade and sprinkle it with sea salt. Cook in the pan for 1 minute each side or until cooked through and golden.

4. Toss the herbs with the pistachios, onion, grapefruit and remaining olive oil, then season well. Divide this among four plates and top each with three pieces of chicken. Serve with the dressing on the side.

5. To make the dressing, stir all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Grilled Sirloin with Wild Rocket and Rosemary Potatoes

2007-12-10T20:55:00.000-05:00

My wonderful hubby took me away to Philadelphia this past weekend and it was an eating-fest. We dined at lots of wonderful places, then on Sunday spent the day watching football and eating bar food....always fun at the time, but regrettable after the fact. So, I figured I better make something light for dinner tonight to compensate for a weekend of overindulgence.

The first book I turned to was Bill Granger's Bills Food. I love Bill's food because its so light and simple. No fussy ingredients, just simple and tasty. I chose to make this semi-salad as I am not usually one to eat salads in winter. But this one still evokes the heartiness of meat and potatoes, but is still light like a salad. It was the perfect remedy for my expanding holiday waistline!!

Grilled Sirloin with Wild Rocket and Rosemary Potatoes
(Serves 4)

4 sirloin steaks
2 tbs olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 large handfuls of wild rocket (arugula)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbs olive oil
rosemary potatoes

rosemary potatoes
1kg potatoes, cut into 2cm dice
3 tbs olive oil
2 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Remove steaks from the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature. Brush with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. heat a large frying pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Sear steaks for 2 minutes on each side, by which time they will be done if you like rare steak. Cook for a minute or two more if you like it medium or medium well.

2. Remove the steaks from the pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes in a warm place. While the steaks are resting, put the arugula, lemon juice, olive oil and a little salt in a bowl and toss to combine. Divide the rocket among four serving plates. Put the steaks on a chopping board and cut each into slices, then place on top of the arugula, pouring any escaped juices over them. Add rosemary potatoes to the plate.

3. To make potatoes, preheat oven to 400F. Place the potatoes, olive oil and rosemary in a bowl and toss. Place potatoes in a single layer on a baking tray and bake for 1 hour or until crispy. Transfer to a serving plate and season with salt and pepper.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce

2007-12-04T19:38:00.000-05:00

These ravioli are a little fiddly to make, but you get a lot and can freeze them for later use. You could even double the ravioli recipe easily as cans of pumpkin tend to be really big. I considered making fresh pumpkin mash, but didn't end up having the time and the canned worked just fine. It is also pretty easy to find this time of year. This is a good vegetarian recipe. tasty and low calorie. Its from the November edition of Cooking Light.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce
(Makes 6 serves)

1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
2 tbs dry breadcrumbs
2 tbs fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp minced fresh sage
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
30 wonton wrappers
1 tbs cornstarch
cooking spray
1 cup fat free milk
1 tbs all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tbs butter
1/2 cup (2 oz) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
3 tbs chopped hazelnuts

1. Spoon pumpkin into several layers of heavy-duty paper towels and spread to 1/2 inch thickness. Cover with additional paper towels; let stand for 5 minutes. Scrape into a medium bowl using a rubber spatula. Stir in breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt, minced sage, pepper and nutmeg.

2. Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to keep from drying), spoon 2 teaspoons pumpkin mixture into the center of wrapper. Brush edges of wrapper with water and fold in half, pressing edges firmly with fingers to for a half moon (or triangle). Place on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch. Repeat process with remaining wonton wrappers and pumpkin mixture.

3. Fill a large dutch oven with water; bring to a simmer. Add half the ravioli to pan (cover remaining ravioli with a damp towel to keep from drying). Cook 4 minutes or until done (do not boil), stirring gently. Remove ravioli with a slotted spoon; lightly coat with cooking spray and keep warm. repeat with remaining ravioli.

4. Combine milk and flour in a saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. remove from heat. Add butter, stirring until butter melts. gently stir in Gorgonzola.

5. Place 5 ravioli in each of 6 shallow bowls and drizzle each serving with 3 tbs of Gorgonzola mixture. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 tsp hazelnuts. Serve immediately.

Mum's Minestrone Soup

2007-12-02T18:45:00.000-05:00

This is a recipe that I love to make in the winter. It's definitely one of my favourite soups and it comes from none other than my mum. She doesn't like to cook that much, but she does have a couple of stellar signature dishes, and this is one of them. Its a hearty, healthy soup that always last for a few days and is absolutely delicious served with fresh, crusty bread. I made this for dinner tonight and thought I would share with the rest of the world. Hope you don't mind, Mum!! :)

Minestrone Soup
(Makes about 8-12 servings)

1-2 Bacon Bones
1 onion, chopped
1 stick of celery, sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 litres (12 cups) of beef stock
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 large carrot, chopped
2 zucchini's, sliced
1-2 potatoes, chopped into cubes
a handful of green beans, cut into small pieces
as much broccoli (cut into small florets) that you like
1 tbs dried basil
1 tbs dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 -1 cup of small macaroni
grated parmesan cheese to serve
crusty bread with butter to serve

1. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat a little olive oil, then saute bacon bones, onion, celery and garlic over low heat until onions are transparent.

2. Add stock and tomatoes, then turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Whilst waiting for the soup to boil, add the vegetables, basil, oregano and bay leaf.

3. Lower heat and simmer, covered for at least 2 hours. Add macaroni 10 minutes before serving, then serve with cheese and bread.

# This soup gets better the longer you leave it. I like to leave it simmering for at least 3-4 hours and it is even better the next day. Enjoy!

Rustic Winter Vegetable Tarts

2007-11-27T20:45:00.000-05:00

This recipe comes from this months Better Homes and Gardens. It has some bacon in it, but that could easily be removed if you wanted a completely vegetarian version. I decided to use honey smoked ham slices instead of bacon, as I find the bacon in the States too fatty, but feel free to use whatever you like. You could even do prosciutto.

Rustic Winter Vegetable tarts
(Serves 8)

71/2 cups winter vegetables (such as winter squash, sweet potatoes, red onions, parsnips, carrots, turnips and rutabagas), peeled and seeded as necessary and cut into bite size chunks.
4 slices thick-sliced bacon, cut into pieces
3 tbs olive or canola oil
2 tbs chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 pkg rolled refrigerated unbaked pie crusts (2 crusts)
1 cup crumbled goat's cheese
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
fresh rosemary sprigs

1. In a large bowl, toss prepared vegetables with bacon, tbs of the oil, thyme and 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Spread evenly on a baking tray and place in cold oven. Turn on oven to 425F and roast vegetables for 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until golden and tender.

2. Meanwhile, roll each pie crust to about 12 inches square. Cut each piecrust square into four free form shapes. Divide between two parchment lined baking sheets.

3.Remove vegetables from oven and stir in 3/4 cup of cheese, vinegar and garlic. set aside. Leave oven on. Divide vegetable mixture among dough shapes, leaving a generous 1 inch border. Fold dough borders around vegetables, pleating as necessary to for tart edges. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup goats cheese.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, then drizzle with remaining olive oil and garnish with rosemary sprigs.

Spicy Turkey and Sweet Potato Gumbo

2007-11-26T21:08:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry for leaving my blog unattended for so long, but life and work have been crazy lately and I needed a bit of a break. I hope to be a little better leading up to Christmas.

So to get back into the swing of things, I am putting up a recipe I found on the cooking light website, from December 2001. I had some leftover turkey to get rid of and I found this whilst doing a search for turkey soup. I thought it would be much more interesting and I was right! This was delicious, we both really liked it.

The only change I made to the recipe was that it said to serve it over rice. I wanted to freeze the gumbo, so I just mixed all the rice in at the end. It all ends up in the same place anyway, so no big deal and it still tasted fantastic. It was also really quick and comes in at only 379 calories a serving.

Spicy Turkey and Sweet Potato Gumbo
(Serves 6)

1 (6 oz) box of long grain/wild rice mix (such as uncle ben's)
2 (4 oz) links hot turkey sausage
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups cubed, peeled sweet potato
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
2 (14 oz) cans fat free and reduced salt chicken broth
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes with green pepper and onion, undrained
1 bay leaf
2 cups cooked turkey (dark, or white, or both)
1/2 tsp hot sauce

1. Cook the rice according to package directions, omitting seasoning packet.

2. remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage in a dutch oven over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion, celery and green pepper. Cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook for another minute.

3. Stir in flour, cook for 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring constantly. Add sweet potato and next five ingredients (through bay leaf). Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add turkey and hot sauce, cook uncovered for 3 minutes. Discard bay leaf and serve over rice.

Fresh Vegetable Barley

2007-10-25T15:27:00.000-05:00

It seems like getting more fibre and whole grains in your diet is all the rage at the moment, so much so, that in the October edition of Cooking Light they had a whole section on recipes that would give you a fibre boost. I was actually very happy about this because I have recently discovered the joys of eating more interesting grains such as barley, quinoa and bulgar wheat. These are my new favourite grains, as I love the taste and the texture...and getting an added boost of fibre doesn't hurt either. Oh, and they are lower in calories than rice, which makes them super foods in my book.

Anyway, I was surprised to find this recipe in the Autumn/Fall edition of Cooking Light as the ingredients are distinctly summery. And as my summer CSA subscription has now finished, I had to purchase supermarket tomatoes and zucchini for the first time in almost 6 months...the horror!!!

But it turned out ok. This dish was very tasty, almost risotto-like in texture and great as a vegetarian meal. Even my meat eating hubby enjoyed it very much. At 177 calories per serving, you can't go wrong!

Fresh Vegetable Barley
(Serves 4)

1 tsp olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup uncooked pearl barley
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups chopped zucchini (about 1)
1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs crumbled feta cheese
chopped fresh parsley

1. heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add barley and cook for 1 minute. Stir in chicken stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, over and simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Stir in zucchini, tomatoes, salt and pepper, then cover and cook for a further 5 minutes. Ladle barley mixture into bowls, then top each serving with 1 1/2 tsp of feta cheese and parsley.

Brunswick Stew

2007-10-25T15:05:00.000-05:00

As I sit here looking out my window at a cold, windy and rainy afternoon (it looks like 7pm at 4pm), I thought it would be a good time to post this recipe that I made at the start of the week. This stew, is kind of a cross between a soup and a stew and is very satisfying for a wintery day like today. The chicken makes it very hearty, but with loads of veggies, this is a low calorie and extremely tasty dinner, that's good for you too. And its served with garlic bread, my fave!! yum!

The recipe is from the October edition of Cooking Light.

Brunswick Stew
(Serves 6)

1 cup chopped red bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tbs peanut oil
1 tbs all purpose flour
1lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups fat free, less sodium chicken stock
2 tbs no-salt added tomato paste
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco)
1 10 oz package of frozen corn, thawed
1 10 oz package of frozen Lima beans, thawed
6 slices Italian bread, toasted
2 garlic cloves, halved

1. Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan in cooking spray, then add bell pepper, onion and celery to pan. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add oil to pan. Combine flour and chicken in a bowl, tossing to coat. Add chicken to pan and cook until lightly browned. Gradually stir in stock and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Add tomato paste and next 5 ingredients (through to Lima beans) to pan. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Rub toasted bread with cut sides of garlic bread and discard garlic. (Optional: I also like to add a bit of olive oil to the bread before rubbing the garlic, but this adds a few extra calories). Serve 1 slice of bread with each serving of stew.

Chicken Risotto

2007-10-21T16:04:00.000-05:00

In putting this recipe on my blog, I almost feel like I am giving away one of my trade secrets. This is a recipe that I reserve for special occasions and it has never let me down. My husband asked me to make it this weekend, so I will pass it on and hope that if you make it, that it might become one of the weapons in your cooking arsenal, too.

This is one of those recipes, that when you look at the ingredients, you think it can't possibly be that good, yet when they come together, it just blows your mind. This is definitely my favourite risotto recipe and I have many of them....risotto is one of my favourite foods. This one always surprises me in its simplicity and tastiness. I can't stress enough how flavourful this dish is. You'll just have to try it for yourself.

Unfortunately I can't take credit for inventing the recipe, it comes from a book I bought years ago called the practical encyclopedia of potato and rice. Enjoy!

Chicken Risotto (Serves 6)

2 tbs olive oil
8oz skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 1/3 cups risotto rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 tsp saffron threads
7 1/2 cups simmering chicken stock
2oz prosciutto, cut into thin strips
2tbs butter, cubed
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
salt and freshly ground black pepper
flat leaf parsley to garnish

1. Heat oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring until it turns white.

2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring until the onion is soft. Stir in the rice and saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly until the rice is coated in oil.

3. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until the wine is absorbed. Stir saffron into simmering stock, then add ladlefuls of stock to the rice, allowing each to be absorbed before adding the next.

4. When the rice is three-quarters cooked, add the prosciutto and continue cooking until the rice is just tender and the risotto is creamy.

5. Add the butter and Parmesan and stir until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve risotto sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and garnish with parsley.

Apple-Cheddar Soup

2007-10-11T18:17:00.000-05:00

This has been a crazy week weather-wise. We started off in the 90's and today was in the low 60's! A nice excuse to make some soup though. This recipe comes from this month's Better Homes and Gardens in a section on apple's. I have never even heard of apple-cheddar soup, but thought it would be fun to try...and I'm glad I did. This soup was actually delicious. Almost like having cheese fondue (one of my favourite things) for dinner, but not as bad for you!!

I decided to serve it with cheddar roles that I got from Shawnda at Confections of A Foodie Bride. My only problem was, I ran out of bread flour, so had to substitute one of the cups with some whole wheat flour. This made the roles a little heavier, but still delicious. A nice accompaniment to the soup.

This was a very "fall-inspired" recipe, that was great for a windy, autumnal day....enjoy!

Apple-Cheddar Soup
(Serves 4)

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1tbs butter
2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups apple cider
1tsp snipped fresh thyme
1/2tsp salt
dash cayenne pepper
1 medium cooking apple, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup milk
2 tbs all-purpose flour
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
fresh apple slices
green peppercorns

1. In a large saucepan, cook onion in butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in potatoes, cider, thyme, salt and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add chopped apple and simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes or until potato is tender.

2. In a small bowl combine milk and flour. Stir into soup and cook until bubbly. Slowly add cheese, whisking until cheese is melted. Divide evenly among serving dishes and top with apple slices and peppercorns.

Korean Beef Salad

2007-10-10T19:34:00.000-05:00

This recipe comes from a New Zealand magazine that I found the other week in Barnes and Nobles called Dish. I haven't seen this magazine before, but it is fabulous....certainly on par with Donna Hay. This particular recipe was in a section entitled "meals for every night of the week", so it was nice and quick. The recipe was delicious and healthy and I would definitely make it again.

Korean Beef Salad
(Serves 4)

marinade
2tbs soy sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
5cm piece ginger, grated
2 scallions (spring onions), thinly sliced
1tsp sesame oil
2tsp sugar
1tsp salt
1tbs sesame seeds, toasted
1lb sirloin steak, thinly sliced
dressing
1tbs sesame seeds, toasted
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2tbs rice vinegar
2tsp soy
1tsp sugar
1tsp freshly grated ginger
1tsp sesame oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
pinch of chilli flakes - optional
salad
400g thinly sliced cabbage
1 carrot, peeled julienned
3 radishes, thinly sliced
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 cup snowpeas, blanched and julienned
1 red capsicum (red pepper), thinly sliced
shredded mint leaves
2 tbs sesame seeds, toasted

1. Combine the soy, garlic, ginger, spring onions, sesame oil and sugar in a bowl. Grind the salt and sesame seeds together in a mortar and pestle. Add to marinade along with beef and mix well. Leave for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours.

2. For the dressing, grind the sesame seeds in a mortar and combine with remaining ingredients.

3. For the salad, toss all the ingredients in a large bowl with the dressing.

4. Heat a wok or large fry pan with 2tbs of vegetable oil until very hot. Add the beef and stir fry for 1-2 minutes, or until just cooked. Either toss the beef through the salad or divide salad between serving bowls and top with beef. Sprinkle extra toasted sesame seeds to serve.

Turkey Spinach Toss

2007-10-09T19:50:00.000-05:00

Wow, its been a little while since I updated my blog and I apologise. This has mainly been due to being out of town, being sick and then not cooking anything blog-worthy for a while. This doesn't mean I haven't been cooking, but nothing has really grabbed me in the last couple of weeks.

However, this recipe tonight was actually pretty good, so I thought I would share. It comes from the recent edition of Better Homes and Gardens, of all places and was in their section on autumn dinners. It was fast, tasty, healthy....all the things I love in a recipe. Felt a bit more summery than autumn I thought, but seeing as we are still getting 90 degree days, I think its fitting.

Turkey Spinach Toss
(Serves 4)

2 8oz turkey breast tenderloins, halved horizontally (I couldn't find any, so just used turkey breast chops)
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2 tbs butter
2 oz thinly sliced deli ham, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup orange juice
2 10 oz pkgs of fresh spinach
1 orange cut into wedges

1. Season turkey with pepper. In very a large skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add turkey and cook for 12 minutes, or until no longer pink. Turn once.

2. Remove turkey from skillet, slice into strips, cover and keep warm. Add ham to skillet, cook for about 1 minute or until heated and starting to crisp. With slotted spoon remove from skillet, add juice and bring to boil.

3. Add spinach, half at a time, to skillet. Cook 1 minute or until just wilted. Add orange wedges with second batch of spinach. Using tongs, remove from skillet, divide among plates sprinkle with slat and pepper. Top with ham and turkey. Drizzle with remaining juices from the skillet.

Stuffed Eggplant

2007-09-19T19:46:00.001-05:00

Here is yet another recipe of my own creation designed to clean out my fridge. I am doing great though, and have almost used all of the leftover produce, cheese and other accoutrement's that I had. So hopefully, I can get back to making other fun stuff in the next couple of days.

This is also our fourth vegetarian meal in row! Not bad considering hubby is an avid meat eater. I wanted to stuff my eggplants with rice, but all of the recipes I could find used some sort of mince, or had indian spices...that is, they were stuffed with a pilaf. This would be fine, but I didn't think that would allow me to use my tomatoes, herbs and mozzarella. So, I devised this recipe after looking through tons of others. Again, I'm not going to write it out carefully, as I threw in whatever I had and didn't measure anything. Feel free to omit or add anything you like.

I had 2 small white eggplants, which I pierced and then boiled for about 20 minutes. I then cut them in half and scooped out the middle flesh. In the mean time I cooked some basmati rice, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup and sauteed some onions, garlic and some peachy momma hot peppers. I then added the onion mixture to the rice, then added some lemon juice, chopped heirloom tomatoes, bread crumbs, an egg, grated Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and some fresh herbs (thyme, oregano and basil). The eggplant halves were then stuffed with the rice mixture, placed in a baking dish and covered with pasta sauce (I used jar marinara/napolitana), but you could use fresh. I just wanted to use up what I had), some slices of fresh mozzarella and a bit more grated Parmesan cheese. Baked for about 20-25 minutes at 375F, then served with arugula dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.

Really tasty. Even better than I expected. I think this is quite a good vegetarian recipe and you could use the stuffing for anything. I had some left over and used it to stuff a tomato, but you could also do a pepper or a squash.

Ratatouille Risotto

2007-09-18T19:48:00.000-05:00

I love risotto. I love to eat it and I love to cook it. I think it is very hard to make a bad risotto and I love that you can make it as simple or as complicated as you want and it never fails to please. Its my ultimate comfort food. I can even get my hubby to eat things he hates like salmon and mushrooms if I put them in a risotto. Its also great for cleaning out the fridge, which is why I came up with this recipe tonight.

I mentioned yesterday that I have an abundance of squash this week, but I failed to mention that I also have loads of eggplant. I think I got five this week!! These are not your regular purple type, I got white ones, green ones and mauve and white ones. All a lot less bitter than the regular, which makes them a bit easier to cook.

Obviously squash and eggplant are the basis of most ratatouille's, hence the name for this one. I won't put up an in depth recipe as I think most people know how to make a basic risotto and really, you could omit or add anything you wanted to, to this one. I have to say though, this tasted even better than I expected, it was really good.

So, in short, I cut up some onion and sauteed with some garlic in olive oil. I added the arborio rice and then some white wine and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Then I put in a small can of diced tomatoes. I could have used fresh, but I don't have that many this week and want to use them for something else. Once the liquid had been absorbed, I started to add my chicken stock. You could use vegetable if you wanted it truly vegetarian.

In the meantime, I sauteed the squash, eggplant and a large, fresh ancho pepper for a bit of kick. These veggies were added to the risotto just before the last of the stock had been absorbed. Then finally I tossed in some fresh herbs from the garden (oregano, thyme and basil). I served hot with some crumbled goat's cheese on top. Delicious!!!

Curried Squash Soup

2007-09-17T19:53:00.000-05:00

I found this recipe in my Good Food, Fast cookbook by Martha Stewart and I decided to try it to get rid of some of the excess summer squash that I got from my CSA this week. The original recipe is for zucchini, but I had crookneck and courge longue de Nice.

I found that the soup was a little watery for my taste. I think if I made it again I would use less water. So, depending on how you like your soup, you may want to play around with the amount of water. Because I found it watery, I added a small amount of single cream at the end to give it a bit more body and I think this was a nice addition.

I wouldn't rave that this was the greatest soup I ever had, but it was pretty good (although hubby didn't like it). However, it was a good way to use up your excess squash. I think this makes more than the 4 serves that Martha suggests.

Curried Squash Soup
(Serves 4-6)

1 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
course salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 pounds squash, sliced 1 inch thick
1 baking potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup single pouring cream (optional)
1/3 cup sliced almonds for garnish (optional)

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and a tbs of salt. Cook, stirring constantly until onions are soft, then add garlic and curry powder. Cook for another minute, stirring, until fragrant.

2. Add squash, potato and about 4 cups of water (less if you want it thick). Bring to boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender.

3. In batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Pour back into the pot to warm through, then stir in the cream if desired. Serve warm or cold.

Baby Shower Bash

2007-09-12T16:04:00.000-05:00

A colleague of mine is having a baby sometime around the 15th of this month (well, his wife is having the baby) and so we decided to throw him a baby shower on Tuesday to celebrate. It was my job to bring the sweets so I made two different types of cake. The first is a peach upside down cake from taste.com.au. I made this to get rid of some peaches I had picked up the other day that I hadn't eaten in time and everyone absolutely raved about how wonderful this cake was. I also thought it was very good. The link above is to the recipe and I followed it exactly, so I won't republish here. I did want to make them individual, but having never tried this recipe before, I didn't want it to be spoiled and inedible for my coworkers, so I just stuck to the recipe as it was, however if were to try again, I think I would give the individual ones a go.

I will say that I used a candy thermometer to measure the sugar, as I can never tell by eye whether or not it is at caramel stage or hard crack stage etc. This is the most accurate way I know of to do that, so make sure that your sugar is really caramelized properly in the first step, or I don't think it will work so well. This is about 338F or 170C. Do make sure you watch it carefully though, because the time from caramel to burned is only a couple of seconds. I learned this the hard way as I turned my back on the first batch I made for just a few seconds and it burned. Its not easy getting super heated sugar out of your pan and clean up is a bitch, so try not to do this if you can avoid it!!

The second dessert I made were s'mores cupcakes. I made a hybrid of a bunch of different recipes I had seen for these to come up with this recipe and I think it turned out really well. Hubby thought they were great, as did everyone at my work. There was none left, so that has to say something.

The only thing I will say about these is that I decided to make s'mores cupcakes so I could use my new kitchen torch (a super cool and super nice gift from my parents), however I quickly learned that butter and flame don't mix very well. I didn't think about this at first as the majority of the icing is made from marshmallow. I thought I could "roast" it under the kitchen torch, but the small amount of butter in there was not having a bar of that. So, the marshmallow topping went un-roasted....kind of a bummer...so if you wish to roast yours if you make these, then omit the icing and just stick a real marshmallow on top and roast away!! These still turned out great and the icing was yummy, so whatever floats your boat, it will be great either way.

S'mores Cupcakes
(makes 24)

graham cracker base
2 cups graham cracker crumbs from actual crackers, not the box ones (I used teddy's)
1 stick of butter melted
chocolate cake
any chocolate cake recipe you like (I used betty crocker for this one due to lack of time)
marshmallow icing
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar (icing sugar)
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 tub if marshmallow fluff
teddy grahams for decoration
graham cracker crumbs for decoration (can be from box)

1. Place the crumbs and melted butter for the base in a bowl and mix. Spoon a small spoonful of the base into the baseo f greased cupcake patties and press down with the back of the spoon.

2. Prepare your cake mix and divide evenly among the cupcake patties (about 2/3 full each).

3. bake for directed amount of time in the chocolate cake recipe, then remove from the oven to cool. Peel away the patty liner.

4. Cream the butter for the icing until fluffy. Add confectioners sugar a 1/4 cup at a time and beat until fluffy each time. Beat in the vanilla until incorporated, then dump in the marshmallow fluff and beat until creamy and mixed in. Transfer to a pastry bag (if desired) and pipe onto cupcakes. Top with teddy grahams and a sprinkle of graham crumbs.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2007-09-06T19:04:00.000-05:00

Just when you thought all of the summer squash was gone, along comes another wave!! Yes, that's right, I am once again drowning in squash from my CSA, with an enormous, nearly two foot long, courge longue de Nice as well as a bunch of yellow crooknecks and other squash. I need to do something other than ratatouille and other sauces, so I decided to do a chocolate zucchini cake. I guess this can not "technically" be called a zucchini cake as used half of the courge longue de Nice squash, but it is in the same family, so I am not being nit picky about it.

The recipe actually comes from Clotilde over at Chocolate and Zucchini, so I won't repost the recipe. However, I did not use her nutty topping, instead going with a chocolate fudge icing. The cake is moist and you can't taste the squash at all, so its a good way to use it up if you have a lot. It makes the cake nice and moist. The recipe for the icing is below, but I will say I only made a half batch and that was enough for one cake.

Chocolate Fudge Icing

1 stick butter
1/2 c. cocoa
1/3 c. milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla

Melt butter, add cocoa and boil 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. Spread while warm.

Salmon Burger with Avocado Salsa

2007-09-06T18:27:00.000-05:00

This is my last Thursday evening of eating my favourite foods, as hubby has his last class tonight. I usually use these nights alone to eat things that he doesn't like, such as indian food or seafood, so I won't be able to do that any more. These yummy goodies will be relegated to when we eat out....very sad!

Tonight I made a recipe from Delicious magazine (vol 4 issue 7) and it certainly lived up to that name. This was a really simple and quick recipe that was very fresh and great for warm weather, especially if you like salmon.

Salmon Burger with Avocado Salsa
(makes 4)

600g fresh organic salmon fillet, skinned
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tbs flat-leafed parsley, finely chopped
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 small egg white
1 tbs olive oil
2 english muffins, split in half
1 cup watercress sprigs
avocado salsa
2 ripe avocado's
2 tbs lime juice, plus lime wedges to serve
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 long green chilli, seeds removed and chopped
2 tbs chopped coriander leaves

1. Roughly chop salmon into pieces and place in the bowl of a food processor with the shallot, parsley, mustard, egg white, salt and pepper. Pulse very briefly, only 3-4 times until the fish is roughly chopped but not pureed. Divide the mixture into 4 and with hands, form into large patties. Place on a tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes to help them 'set'.

2. For the avocado salsa, place all the ingredients, except the lime wedges, in a bowl and gently combine.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Sear the burgers for 1-2 minutes each side, turning carefully, until cooked to your liking.

4. Meanwhile, lightly toast the muffin halves. Top each with watercress, a salmon patty and a spoonful of avocado salsa. Serve with lime wedges.

Barbecue Chicken

2007-09-05T19:55:00.000-05:00

This is a Martha recipe from Good Food, Fast and was actually pretty good. I served this with the quinoa salad I made a few weeks ago, which has become a bear household favourite. This recipe was quick and easy and very tasty. This was also my first time cutting a whole chicken and my technique leaves a little to be desired, but it did not affect the taste.

Barbecue Chicken
(Serves 4)

1 tsp hot sauce
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
3 tbs dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1 cut-up-chicken (3lbs)
1 tbs vegetable oil
salt and pepper

1. Heat grill to medium. Simmer hot sauce, vinegar, sugar, molasses, mustard, garlic and ketchup in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to about 1 1/4 cups (5-7 minutes).

2. In a large bowl, toss chicken with vegetable oil and season well with salt and pepper.

3. Place chicken on the grill. Cover and cook, turning frequently until chicken registers 165F (about 10-15 minutes). Uncover the grill, continue cooking and basting frequently with the sauce until chicken is glazed thoroughly (3-4 minutes more). Serve with remaining sauce.

Dominican Chimichurri Burger with Poppy Seed Fruited Slaw

2007-09-04T18:06:00.000-05:00

Growing up in suburban Melbourne, I did not really come into contact with a lot of Latino food. In fact, the closest I came was at our local Taco Bill, but later in life, that was more for the Margarita's than the food. Therefore, I am not that familiar with a lot of Latino foods and don't cook it very often, if at all. So, I was kind of disappointed when I picked up the September edition of Gourmet, to find that it was dedicated to Latino foods, but I decided that it would be good for me to learn more about this exotic (at least to me) food.

I was fortunate enough in the last two years to travel around central and Eastern Mexico for two weeks and to try some authentic Cuban in NYC and Miami. I am still getting used to the flavors, but decided to dip my toe in the water (so to speak) for tonight's dinner and make these Dominican Chimichurri burgers from the September Gourmet edition. They were very nice, but were extremely messy!! Just make sure to have loads of napkins handy.

I decided to serve this burger with the poppy seed fruited slaw from the September 2006 edition of cooking light. Both hubby and I are not huge fans of coleslaw, but this one was pretty good. I don't think you need as much dressing as the recipe provides, but that's just my taste. Enjoy!

Dominican Chimichurri Burgers
(makes 4)

1 1/4lb ground beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup cilantro
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
4 hamburger buns, split
2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
1 carrot, coarsely grated
1 small red onion, cut into rings
1 tomato, sliced 1/4" thick
2 tbs ketchup
2 tbs mayonnaise
1 tbs yellow mustard

1. Mix together beef, onion, bell pepper, garlic, cilantro, oregano, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper. Form into patties.

2. Heat the grill, then cook the patties (about 8 minutes) turning once. Toast buns.

3. Meanwhile, cook cabbage and carrot with 1/4 tsp salt over medium high heat, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Oil pan again and sear onion and tomato until slightly charred.

4. Mix ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. Place burger, cabbage mixture, tomato and onion on the burger bun. Top with sauce and remaining bun. Serve with salad.

Poppy Seed Fruited Slaw
(Serves 6)

coleslaw
1/2 cup orange sections
1 cup halved seedless red grapes
1 package of cabbage and carrot coleslaw
dressing
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbs minced onion
3 tbs cider vinegar
1 tsp poppy seeds
4 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp salt

1. To prepare coleslaw, chop orange sections. Combine oranges, grapes and coleslaw in a large bowl.

2. To prepare dressing, combine ingredients and whisk until sugar dissolves. Add to cabbage mixture and toss well. Cover and chill for 30 minutes before serving.

Lamb with Grilled Ratatouille

2007-08-27T20:11:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted much lately as I have been drowning in tomatoes and cucumbers and there are only so many tomato and cucumber salads one can post. However, the summer bounty from the CSA is coming to an end and I am now getting more manageable amounts. Although, I do have a lot of eggplants. This is the reason I made tonight's dinner, which allowed me to utilize some of my tomatoes, eggplants and late summer squash. The ratatouille comes from Cooking Light Grilling and I decided to serve it with lamb chops, although you could serve it with anything you like, including rice or pasta for a vegetarian dish. It was very tasty and healthy and great for utilizing that late summer produce.

Grilled Vegetable Ratatouille
(Serves 8)

1 medium eggplant, halved lengthwise (I used a small white and a small green eggplant)
1/4 tsp kosher salt, divided
2 medium zucchini or summer squash, halved lengthwise
1 medium green bell pepper, halved
1 medium red bell pepper, halved
1 medium red onion, quartered
cooking spray
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp herbs de provence
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove minced

1. Prepare grill. Salt eggplants if bought from the supermarket as they can be bitter, but if using fresh picked eggplant, they do not need to be peeled or salted. Coat eggplant, squash, peppers and onion with cooking spray and grill 5 minutes on each side or until tender.

2. Coarsely chop vegetables, place in a large bowl. Stir in salt, tomatoes and remaining ingredients, stirring until blended. Serve with lamb, chicken, beef, pasta or rice.

Mixed Berry Steamed Pudding

2007-08-15T14:56:00.000-05:00

This recipe comes from Donna Hay Magazine, issue 32 and was originally supposed to be a blackberry steamed pudding. However, I was unable to find any frozen blackberries, so settled on mixed berry instead. This dessert looks gorgeous and tastes just as yummy. I love pudding and I love berries, so this was a perfect combination for me. Not a lot of effort, but super tasty...yum!

Mixed Berry Steamed Pudding
(Makes 6)

75g unsalted butter
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup self raising flour, sifted
1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup milk
berry syrup
2 cups frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 tbs water

1. Preheat oven to 355F. To make syrup, place mixed berries, sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir well to combine. Cook for 2 minutes until syrupy, but berries remain in tact. Spoon berries into lightly greased 3/4 cup capacity cups, reserving syrup. Set aside and keep warm.

2. Place butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Add flour, almond meal and milk and beat until well combined. Spoon 1/3 cup of the mixture into each cup and place in a baking dish. Pour enough hot water into dish, to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Remove cups from baking tray and invert puddings onto plates. Spoon over the syrup to serve.

Sausage Rolls with Heirloom Tomato Salad

2007-08-14T20:40:00.000-05:00

One of the things I love from home is sausage rolls. Its not something I can get in the US and every time I go home I always make sure to try and get one. So, when I was browsing through Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Dinners this past weekend and saw a recipe for his sausage rolls, I had to try them. These are not the good ol' Four & Twenty from Oz, but they were certainly delicious.

As usual in the Jamie Oliver way, there aren't really any quantities in his recipe, so I will give what I used, which was enough to make 8 rolls, with 2 per person.

The heirloom salad came from the same book and was great with our CSA tomatoes this week. I couldn't find any fresh horseradish, so used some chillies from my garden to give it a kick.

Sausage Rolls
(Serves 4)

3 sausages
handful of mixed herbs (I used rosemary, sage and thyme)
1/4 apple, chopped finely
1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped finely
2/3 packet frozen puff pastry
1 egg

1. Take the sausages out of their skins and mash together with herbs, apple and hazelnuts. Roll out puff pastry until its 8" wide and about 16" long. Cut puff pastry in half lengthwise, so that you have 2 x 4" wide pieces. Divide stuffing in two, make into a sausage shape and place lengthwise on the pastry. Egg wash the pastry, then roll up the pastry into a tube, then seal with a fork. Cut each roll into four equal pieces and egg wash. Bake for about 20 minutes at 425F, or until golden and crisp on the outside.

2. These can be frozen before baking for later use.

Heirloom Tomato Salad
(Serves 6)

4 large handfuls of mixed heirloom tomatoes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar
1/2 clove of garlic, grated
2 tsp fresh horseradish, grated
a small handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely sliced

1. Cut bigger tomatoes into slices. Sprinkle them with salt and leave them in a colander for 30 minutes. Place tomatoes in a large bowl and dress with enough olive oil to loosen them and about 1-2 tbs vinegar. Toss around and check for seasoning. Add the garlic and then horseradish to taste. Throw in some parsley, then serve.

Fettuccine with Salami, Olives and Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

2007-08-12T18:55:00.000-05:00

Tonight's dinner comes from the September 2007 edition of Bon Appetit and was very yummy. I saw the photo for this meal last week and new I just had to try it....and soon. Its in the quick menu section and was also served with a great salad. This meal didn't take a lot of time to prepare and was delicious. I just love salami, but don't eat it very often due to the high fat content. But I think its ok every once in a while to have a treat.

I apologize for not writing too much on my blog lately, but it was difficult to find the time whilst my parents were visiting. Unfortunately for me, they have gone home to Australia, but for my readers, it will free up my time to work a bit more on my blog. I hope you enjoy this recipe :)

Fettuccine with Salami, Olives and Oven-Roasted Tomatoes
(Serves 4)

2 12oz packages cherry tomatoes (or heirloom if you have them)
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil, divided
8oz spicy Italian salami
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup black pitted olives
1/3 cup drained capers
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
12oz fresh fettuccine

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Place tomatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1tbs of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes until slightly wrinkled and starting to split, about 30 minutes. Remove tomatoes from oven and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tbs oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add salami and minced garlic, saute 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl. Add wine to same skillet and simmer until slightly reduced (about 3 minutes). Stir in roasted tomatoes, olives and capers, toss to coat. Bring mixture to simmer, remove from heat and stir in salami mixture and parsley. Set sauce aside.

3. Cook pasta in a pot of boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain, add sauce to pasta and toss to warm through. Serve with salad.

Mixed Greens with Goat Cheese and Toasted Walnuts
(serves 4)

1 1/2 tbs tarragon vinegar
2 1/2 tbs plus 3/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
6 tbs olive oil
2 tbs water
2 tbs fresh tarragon, chopped
6 cups mixed greens
1 cup toasted walnuts

1. Whisk vinegar and 2 1/2 tbs goats cheese until smooth. Gradually whisk in oil, then 2 tbs water and fresh tarragon. Season with salt and pepper. Add greens to bowl and toss with dressing. Top with remaining goat cheese and walnuts.

Barley Risotto with Summer Vegetables

2007-08-08T10:13:00.000-05:00

This recipe comes once again from the August edition of Cooking Light. It was very nice and pretty low calorie. I had never had barley like this before and wasn't sure I would like it, but it was great. I really liked the texture of the barley, as opposed to arborio rice in this different type of risotto. It also helped me use up a lot of my summer produce.

The only thing I will say about the recipe, is that it says it serves six, but I only got four serves out of it. But then again, perhaps we just eat a lot. But keep this in mind if you need six main serves.

Barley Risotto with Summer Vegetables
(Serves 6)

6 cups water
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow squash
1 cup finely chopped orange bell pepper
1 cup cut green beans
1/2 cup minced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 cups pearl barley
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup crumbled goat's cheese

1. Combine water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat.

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add squash, bell pepper and beans to pan. Saute 6 minutes or until tender, set aside.

3. Heat remaining oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic to pan. Cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add barley, cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly, then add wine. Cook for 2 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Add water mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of water is absorbed before adding the next (about 45 minutes). Add squash mixture and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in tomato and basil. Top with goat's cheese and serve.

Lamb Chops with Quinoa Salad

2007-08-06T19:58:00.000-05:00

Wow, this meal was awesome! Everybody loved it, especially my mother. It was quick, healthy and super tasty. The lamb comes from Martha Stewart's Good Food Fast, which is yet to let me down, whilst the salad is from the August edition of cooking light. I used my CSA cherry tomatoes, which are so sweet right now, as well as some local corn.

I had never had quinoa before, but read that it is really healthy and a wonderful grain. I didn't expect it to be as tasty as it was, but I think that was due a lot to the chive infused oil in the dressing.

The lamb recipe called for red pepper, whereas I only had green, but the picture in the book looks great with the red. If you have red, use it.

Definitely try this recipe, if you like lamb. A real winner!

Lamb Chops with Mint Pepper Sauce
(Serves 4)

4 trimmed lamb shoulder chops
1 tbs dried rosemary
coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
3 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1 scallion thinly sliced

1. Heat the broiler. Rub both sides of chops with 3/4 tsp each of dried rosemary and course salt and 1/4 tsp ground pepper. Place the lamb on a broiler pan; broil until chops are browned, turning once, about 4 minutes per side for medium rare.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and dijon mustard. Stir in the bell pepper, mint and scallion. Serve the lamb chops warm, with the sauce spooned over the top.

Quinoa, Corn and Tomato salad with Chive Infused Oil
(Serves 6)

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leafed parsley
2 tbs chive-infused oil
2 tbs fresh lime juice
2 tbs white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1 garlic clove, minced
chive infused oil
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup slices of fresh chives
1/2 tsp salt

1. Combine water and quinoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

2. To make oil, place olive oil, chives and salt in a food processor and blend until chives are finely minced. Strain into a small bowl and discard solids. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

3. Combine quinoa, corn, tomatoes and parsley in a medium bowl. Combine chive infused oil and remaining ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over salad, toss well to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Greek-Style Mini Lamb Burgers

2007-08-01T08:58:00.000-05:00

Last night I once again turned to Martha's Good Food Fast for some delicious lamb burgers, which were perfect as the temperature soars into the nineties. She hasn't let me down with this book so far and last night was no exception.

I served these burgers with a fresh salad with loads of heirloom cherry tomatoes, although I didn't photograph it. I also served the burgers with the tzatziki already on them, but mum asked for hers on the side and I thought it would make for a little better picture. So the picture above has the sauce in a ramekin, but you could serve it either way.

Greek-Style Mini-Lamb Burgers
(Makes 4)

tzatziki
1/2 english cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp chopped fresh mint
1 small clove garlic, minced
coarse salt and pepper to season
lamb burgers
1 1/2lb ground lamb
1/2 small onion, minced
1/4 cup choppd fresh parsley
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 pita rounds (6")
2 medium tomatoes, sliced

1. Heat grill to high. To make tzatziki, in a medium bowl combine cucumber, yogurt, .lemon juice, mint and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

2. In a medium bowl, combine lamb, onion, parsley, oregano and salt and pepper. Gently form 16 small patties, then grill until medium-rare, about 2-3 minutes per side.

3. To serve, warm pitas on the grill, halve and fill with burgers, tzatziki and tomatoes. Serve with a salad.

My First Blogging By Mail

2007-07-31T16:21:00.001-05:00

This is a really cool blogging event that was organized by Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness, where everyone who signed up had to send out a box of their favourite things. How great to be able to share with others, the things you love and then to receive a lovely box of goodies from somewhere else in the world. Thanks Stephanie for putting so much work into such a wonderful event.

I need to apologise to Stephanie and Eva though, as it has taken me a week or so to get this post up. My parents are currently visiting from Australia and are keeping me very busy. However, I finally have a couple minutes to myself and am happy to be able to put up a post about the very thoughtful box Eva sent to me from Switzerland. Unfortunately, she didn't tell me which blog she has, so I can't link to it, but if Eva is reading this....please send me a note and I will remedy the situation ASAP.

The first thing I noticed about the box that Eva sent, was it was from Fisher Scientific, a company that I order from all the time at work as a scientist, so I wonder if Eva is also a scientist....small world!!

Anyway, she themed her box around lazy Sunday mornings, which is a really cute idea. She included a huge bag of biscotti, which I have been working my way through, as well as some asian cookies that she really likes. She gave me two coasters that I could put my tea on if I wanted, as well as some farmer's market honey and Swiss chocolate. She also included 2 CD's for me to listen to. Last but not least, she had read that I like growing my own food and that I like thai basil, she included some seeds of thai basil that I can grow myself.

Thanks Eva, for a little taste of Switzerland!! And thanks Stephanie for organising such a fun event :)

Citrus Risotto with Garlic Chilli Prawns

2007-07-30T18:49:00.000-05:00

This recipe comes from Bill Granger's Bills Open Kitchen. It was in the lunch section, but I found it was definitely big enough for a light summer dinner. I had to use some prawns I had in the freezer, so this was perfect, as I love risotto as well. Very tasty and pretty quick, easy and healthy. Even my visiting parents liked it :)

Citrus Risotto with Garlic Chilli Prawns
(Serves 4)

6 cups chicken stock
1 tbs olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely diced
1 tsp sea salt
1 3/4oz butter
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbs lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper
2 small red chillies
2 garlic cloves
2 tbs olive oil, extra
20 green prawns (shrimp), shelled with tails intact and deveined
1/4 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add olive oil, onion, salt and half the butter. Stir until the onion is translucent, then add the rice and stir for 1-2 minutes, or until rice is well coated.

2. Gradually add the stock a cupful at a time, stirring constantly and making sure the stock is absorbed before adding more. This should take about 20 minutes and the rice will be creamy. Remove from heat, then stir in the remaining butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and pepper to taste. Cover the saucepan and leave to sit for 3 minutes for the flavors to develope.

3. Meanwhile, pound the chilli and garlic in a mortar and pestle. PLace the extra olive oil in a frying pan over high heat and heat until hot. Season the prawns with salt and pepper, then cook for 2 minutes, shaling the pan, until the prawns are just opaque, then add the chilli and garlic and cook for 1 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Stir the risotto and divide bewteen four bowls. Toss the prawns with the parsley then place on top of risotto.

BLT and Potato Salad with Basil Oil

2007-07-25T20:16:00.000-05:00

These two recipes come from August Bon Appetit. The BLT is on the front cover and I just had to make it, it looked so good. I also had a load of baby new potatoes from my CSA and wanted to do a potato salad to use them up. This was an awesome one! I highly recommend. Another great summer meal.

This recipe called for burrata cheese, which I could not get my hands on. So I used a cheese from a local dairy called Merry Goat Round cheese. It is a soft cheese, that is almost like brie, but made from goat's milk. Very tasty. However you could use mozzarella, or some other soft cheese.

Best Ever BLT
(Makes 6)

4 3oz packages of thinly sliced pancetta
6 large slices of fresh heirloom tomatoes
1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
6 tbs olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp course kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
12 slices of egg bread or brioche
18oz Merry Goat Round cheese
4 cups baby arugula

1. Working in batches, cook pancetta in a heavy skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp. Transfer to paper towel to drain.

2. Place tomato slices in a shallow dish. Add basil, olive oil, oregano and salt and pepper. Turn to coat and let stand for 30-60 minutes.

3. Place 6 toasted bread slices on work surface. divide cheese among bread slices and spread to edges. Top each with 1 tomato slice, then pancetta slices, dividing equally. Top with arugula and cover with remaining slices of bread, pressing slightly to adhere. Serve.

Potato Salad with Basil Oil

1 cup whole fresh basil leaves plus 3 tbs thinly sliced basil
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 tbs unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tbs dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 pounds new potatoes

1. Add basil to processor with oil and process until basil is finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and season with salt.

2. Whisk vinegar and mustard in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in remaining 2 tbs olive oil, then stir in red onion and 3 tbs thinly sliced basil. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Place potatoes in a large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until tender, about 17 minutes. Drain, then let potatoes stand until cool enough to handle. Cut into small pieces and place in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over potatoes and toss to coat. Pour over basil oil and toss to coat. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Farmer's Market Salad

2007-07-23T20:15:00.000-05:00

This recipe comes from the August edition of Bon Appetit and was great for using all the produce I received this week. It was very healthy and tasted great. Awesome served with crusty bread.

Farmers Market Salad with Spiced Goat's Cheese Rounds
(Serves 4)

goat cheese rounds
2 tbs sesame seeds
2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp coarse kosher salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
16 1/3" thick rounds of goats cheese (from an 11oz log)
vinaigrette
2 tbs red wine vinegar
1 shallot, minced
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp dijon mustard
5 tbs olive oil
salad
1lb baby new potatoes, halved
1lb green beans
8 cups mixed salad greens
1/3 cup small fresh basil leaves
12oz assorted small tomatoes
1/2 up black olives (such as Nicoise)

1. For goat's cheese rounds, line baking sheet with waxed paper and mix first 6 ingredients in a shallow bowl. Dip cut sides of goat cheese rounds into spice mixture to coat. Place on prepared baking sheet and chill until ready to serve. Can be made 1 day ahead.

2. For the vinaigrette, whisk first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Season with the salt and pepper.

3. For the salad, steam the potatoes until just tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cool. Steam green beans until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water, drain and pat dry with paper towels. Combine greens and basil in a large bowel. Add enough vinaigrette to coat and lightly toss. Arrange on a platter. Add potatoes and green beans to same bowl, add remaining dressing and toss. Arrange potatoes and beans atop greens, scatter tomatoes and olives over and surround with goat cheese rounds.

More Goat's Cheese

2007-07-22T19:17:00.000-05:00

As regular readers may know, I am in love with goat's cheese. So when I had to use a bunch of thai basil, I decided to stuff some chicken with the basil, some goat's cheese and sundried tomatoes. Yum!! This is the first meal I have cooked for my parents in a few years and thankfully they were very happy with it.

This is super easy, really quick and so yummy. I served with some roasted CSA potatoes and some other veg that I got at the farmers market.

Chicken Stuffed with Goat's cheese, Basil and Sundried Tomatoes
(Serves 4)

4 chicken breasts
1 5oz packet of goat's cheese
about 8 sundried tomatoes packed in oil
1 cup thai basil leaves
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs

1. Make a slit in the side of each chicken breast. Combine the cheese, basil and tomatoes, then stuff a quarter of the mixture into each breast.

2. Whisk together the 2 eggs, then dip each breast in the egg, followed by the bread crumbs. Lay on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 350F. Serve with roast veggies that have been baked for 45-60 minutes.

Pasta With Pesto, Tomatoes and Goat's Cheese

2007-07-19T17:32:00.000-05:00

Tonight I am home alone and I couldn't be bothered doing anything fancy, so I decided to toss together this really quick and easy pasta that I first had years ago at my friend Lisa's house. She used orzo, which I prefer, but I didn't have any so I used some rotini that I had in the pantry. She also didn't have the goat's cheese, but I think it makes a really nice, creamy addition to the dish.

Basically all you do is cook up the pasta, drain it (leaving a tbs or two of the pasta water behind), then stir in some fresh or store bought pesto (as much as you like, usually 1 or 2 tbs), some chopped cherry tomatoes and then crumble over some goats cheese.

I actually made some pesto the other day from basil I recieved from my CSA, but decided to freeze it for later use. The pesto I used tonight came direct from Italy. My friend Lindsey was lucky enough to get married in Italy last year and was kind enough to bring me back a gorgeous little jar of pesto and this is what I used tonight.

This is a super tasty meal that can literally be thrown together in 10 minutes. Perfect for me tonight as my parents come in from Australia tomorrow to visit for 3 weeks and I am madly trying to get the house (and kitchen renovation) under control!! Ok, back to the cleaning :)

Deja Vu

2007-07-18T19:53:00.000-05:00

Well, you know you have made too many different meals when you can't even remeber that you made something before. I was super excited to post the grilled peaches and pork recipe that I made for tonight's dinner, until I realized that I had already made it!! I didn't make this realization until I entered the title for my picture into its folder and it came up as already there. Crazy!!

Anyway, you can check out the recipe here. I liked this even better the second time around. Its a great recipe and I am happy to have found it again....however, I'm sorry I have nothing new to post tonight.

Tuna with Sorrel and Green Peppercorn Aioli

2007-07-17T19:41:00.000-05:00

I received some sorrel in my CSA box this week and had no idea what to do with it. I had never even heard of sorrel before, so I set out on a quest to find out what it was and how I could use it. Turns out it is a herb (which I'm sure nearly everyone but me probably knew) and that it apparently tastes somewhat lemony. I read that I could use it in salad and that a lot of people will make sorrel soup. However, being summer and pretty hot, I didn't want to go the soup option, so when I found a recipe for sorrel and green peppercorn aioli by the New England Herb Company, I decided to go for it. I decided to serve it with grilled tuna and salad and it turned out great.

The green peppercorns gave this aioli a very spicy flavor which went perfect with the tuna. The salad was a watercress, carrot and capsicum salad that I found on the Taste website and utilized my CSA baby carrots. This was a super healthy meal and very fresh and tasty.

Grilled Tuna with Sorrel and Green Peppercorn Aioli

tuna
4 x 5oz tuna fillets
salt and pepper
aioli
1/2 cup sorrel
1 tbs parsley
1 clove garlic
1 shallot
1 tbs green peppercorns
1 tsp vinegar
1 egg
1 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

1. Prepare grill. Season tuna with salt and pepper, then grill a few minutes on each side, until desired doneness.

2. In blender combine first seven ingredients for ailoi and puree until blended. With blender running, slowly add oil until sauce thickens. Remove from blender and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready for use. Place a spoonful on top of tuna, or serve in a small ramekin on the side.

Watercress, Carrot and Capsicum Salad

1/3 cup currants
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup pistachio kernels
1 bunch watercress, washed, dried and sprigs picked
1 red pepper, halved, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1. Combine currants and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside for 15 minutes to soak.

2. Combine watercress, pepper and carrot in a large bowl. Add the oil and currant mixture, then top with pistachios. Toss gently to combine.

Gnocchi with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

2007-07-16T20:15:00.000-05:00

I have had a packet of tri-coloured gnocchi from Wholefoods sitting in my freezer for a couple of weeks now and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it until I saw this recipe on the Taste website. It was a bit of a twist on a classic and was very tasty. I love pesto and I love sun-dried tomatoes, so I was very happy to combine the two. This dish was absolutely super and even hubby approved.

Gnocchi with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
(Serves 4)

1 red pepper
1 cup of fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
2 tbs pine nuts, toasted
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed, chopped
3 tbs tomato paste
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
150ml olive oil
1 packet of potato gnocchi

1. Place pepper, basil, garlic, pine nuts, tomatoes, tomato paste, chilli powder and half the parmesan in the bowl of a food processor. Process to combine, then slowly add the oil until a smooth sauce forms. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Pre-heat grill (broiler) to high. Cook gnocchi per manufacturer's directions, drain and toss with the pesto. Divide between 4 oven proof dishes, top with remaining cheese and grill for 2-3 minutes. Serve.

Beef with Thai Basil

2007-07-15T19:18:00.000-05:00

I received some thai basil leaves in my CSA box last week and I finally got around to using them. I have never cooked with thai basil before and wasn't really sure what to do with it. Therefore, I turned to a cookbook I bought a couple of months ago called Food of Thailand. There was a great recipe for beef with thai basil that was super easy and nice and healthy, so I decided to use my new found basil in this recipe. In the book, it was served as is, but I think in hindsight I would have liked to have served this with some rice.

The thai basil had a very different flavor to regular basil. It is said to have more of an anise flavor, but it tasted more lemony to me. Anyhow, if you can get your hands on some of this interesting herb, I would recommend this recipe as a way to try it.

Beef with Sweet Thai Basil Leaves
(Serves 4)

1 tbs fish sauce
3 tbs oyster sauce
4 tbs vegetable or chicken stock, or water
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbs vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 bird's eye chillies, lightly crushed with the side of a cleaver
1lb beef rump or fillet steak, finely sliced
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
2 handfuls of thai sweet basil leaves

1. Mix the fish sauce, oyster sauce, stock and sugar in a small bowl.

2. Heat the oil in the wok or frying pan and stir-fry half the garlic over medium heat until light brown. Add half the crushed chillies and half the meat and stir-fry over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until meat is cooked. remove from the wok and repeat with the remaining garlic, chillies and meat. Return all the meat to the wok.

3. Add the onion and the fish sauce mixture and stir-fry for another minute. Add the basil leaves and stir-fry until the basil begins to wilt. Taste and then adjust the seasoning if necessary. Spoon onto serving plate.

BBQ Harissa Pork on Zucchini Couscous

2007-07-12T19:00:00.000-05:00

I have been trying to make this meal for nearly 2 weeks now, but something alwasy keeps coming up. I finally got around to making it tonight and it was pretty good. The couscous was supposed to be made with zucchini and haloumi, but I didn't have any haloumi, so I used feta. I also added some sweet potato greens from my CSA box, as I needed to use them up. All in all, a pretty healthy meal.

BBQ Harissa Pork on Zucchini Couscous
(Serves 4)

1.5lb pork tenderloin, cut into 2cm cubes across the grain
3 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbs chicken stock or water
1 large zucchini, ends trimmed, halved lengthways, cut crossways into 1cm slices
2 cups of sweet potato greens, rinsed and chopped
80g feta, cut into cubes
1 cup couscous
2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup loosely packed coarsely chopped parsley
2 tbs finely chopped fresh mint
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
pinch of salt

1. Thread pork onto skewers. Place in a glass or ceramic dish. Combine cumin, coriander, caraway seeds, chilli, garlic and stock or water in a bowl. Rub over pork to evenly coat. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2.Pre-heat BBQ on high. Add pork skewers and cook 3 minutes on each side or until cooked to your liking. Transfer skewers to a plate and cover with foil for 5 minutes to rest.

3. Meanwhile, place some olive oil in a medium fry pan. Add zucchini and saute until golden brown. Add sweet potato greens and saute for a few more minutes until wilted and tender. PLace couscous in a large bowl and pour over boiling water. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir to separate the grains. Add zucchini mixture, feta, parsley, mint and lemon rind to couscous and stir to combine. Season with salt.

4. Spoon couscous onto plates, then top with pork skewers and sprinkle remaining parsley. Serve immediately.

Keeping It Local

2007-07-11T18:57:00.000-05:00

I was quite proud of our dinner tonight as nearly everything was either from our CSA, the local farmers market or my own garden. I made Grilled Onion and Steak Sandwiches from the Cooking Light Grilling magazine, with corn on the cob and a creamy potato salad with lemon and fresh herbs from the July edition of Bon Apetit magazine.

This was a great meal, as everything was grilled (yes, I even boiled potato's on the grill), because we just got our new oven and it is not yet hooked up. The steak was actually marinated in cola (two of the things that came from the supermarket) which made it really tender and very tasty. The potato salad was lovely and fresh, not at all heavy like some can be and the potatoes themselves came from our CSA farm and were incredibly tasty. The corn was from the farmers market, so was about as fresh as it gets.

The onions were supposed to be vidalia onions, however to buy these locally I would have had to go to Georgia. Only onions grown within a few miles of the town of Vidalia can be called vidalia onions, so there is no way I can get them locally. However, I did buy some beautiful spring onions at the farmers market, which are pretty much identical to vidalia onions. Just as nice, but I think even better as I was able to support the local farming community by purchasing them. All in all a wonderful summer meal with nearly everything purchased from within a few miles of our house. I feel like that's something to be proud of.

Grilled Onion and Steak Sandwiches
(Serves 6)

3/ cup cola
2 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp coarsely ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bay leaf, crushed
1 pound flank steak
3/4 cup minced arugula
1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise
6 thick slices of onion
6 kaiser rolls
12 slices tomato

1. To prepare steak, combine first 7 ingredients in a ziplock bag and add steak. Seal and marinate in the fridge for 2 hours. Remove steak from bag, reserving marinade in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave marinade on high for 2 minutes or until it boils. Set aside.

2. Prepare the grill. Prepare the dressing by combining arugula and mayonnaise. Set aside.

3. Place steak on the grill and grill for 8 minutes on each side, or until medium-rare (or desired doneness). Remove steak from the grill and cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Place onions on the grill rack and grill 4 minutes on each side, basting occasionally with reserved marinade. Place rolls on the grill rack, cut side down and grill for 2 minutes, or until lightly browned.

4. Cut steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Spread 2 tbs of of mayonnaise on bottom half of roll. Divide steak, tomato and onion evenly among rolls. Place top half of roll on top and serve.

Creamy Potato Salad with Lemon and Fresh Herbs
(Serves 8)

3 pounds of potatoes
3 tbs rice vinegar
3/ cups of mayonnaise (I used low fat)
3 medium green onions, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/3 inch cubes
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tbs fresh chopped dill
1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon peel

1. Bring potatoes to a boil in a large pot of water. reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender. Drain and then let stand until cool enough to handle.

2. Cut potatoes into 3/4 inch pieces. Place 1 layer of potatoes in large bowl and sprinkle with some vinegar and salt and pepper. Continue layering potatoes with vinegar, salt and pepper. Add all remaining ingredients and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Pollo in Padella

2007-07-09T19:37:00.000-05:00

This literally means chicken braised in the pan and the recipe comes from the Vol 4, Issue 5 of Delicious magazine, the Italian edition.

This was the perfect meal for a night like tonight, where we were both coming and going at different times. I made this dish in 30 minutes after work, then was able to let it sit on the stove, to be reheated when hubby got home from class and then again when I got home from the gym. The beauty of this type of meal is that it just gets better with time. Its lovely and healthy too and super tasty. I highly recommend for any night, but especially a busy one.

The only changes I made to this were to keep the sauce ingredients the same, but to halve the chicken to make 2 instead of 4 serves. We tend to like a lot of sauce on our pasta and our chicken, so if you are like me and want more sauce, then I would either halve the chicken like I did, or double the sauce and keep the chicken the same. If you are a true Italian who likes your sauce as a condiment, then follow the recipe as is. Enjoy!!

Chicken in Padella
(Serves 4)

1/4 cup plain flour
pinch of dried oregano
4 chicken thighs and 4 drumsticks
20g unsalted butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion halved, sliced
150ml dry white wine
400g can of chopped tomatoes
1 large fresh tomato, chopped
1 tbs tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tbs salted capers, rinsed and drained
100g mixed black and green olives
1 tsp castor sugar
2 tbs parmesan cheese
2 tbs oregano leaves

1. Mix the flour with the dried oregano and then lightly dust the chicken with the flour. Melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat in a large based fry-pan. Add the chicken, a few pieces at a time, brown well for 2-3 minutes on each side, then remove and set aside.

2. Drain excess fat, then add the onion and fry for 5 minutes until golden. Add the wine and bring to a boil, stirring. Boil for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and tomato paste, garlic, capers, olives, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir to combine, then return chicken to the pan. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

3. Serve scattered with parmesan and fresh oregano.

I've Been Tagged!

2007-07-09T08:37:00.000-05:00

For my very first Meme, thanks to Katie at Other People's Food.

“I have been tagged to post 8 random facts. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts: Each participant posts eight random facts about themselves. Tagees should write a blogpost of eight random facts about themselves. At the end of the post, eight more bloggers are tagged. Go to their blog and leave a comment telling them they're tagged."

I’m not sure I have 8 interesting facts about my life, but I shall try to come up with something worth reading!!

1. I used to do competitive ballroom dancing (a little like “strictly ballroom”, for those who have seen the film). In fact, I have danced for most of my life, up until about 5 or 6 years ago. I started out doing ballet when I was 4 and then went on to do tap and jazz as well. But my heart was stolen by ballroom when I was about 14 and I went on to do it competitively until I was 25. I just loved it!! I loved everything about it, the dancing, the costumes, and the music. It was a very hard thing for me to give it away and I still miss it all the time.

2. Which brings me to I guess the second point about myself. I am a scientist and completed my PhD in 2002. That’s also how I ended up in the USA, as I moved here to do my postdoctoral studies. However, having said that, I don’t particularly like my job and would love to do something else…either related to cooking, travel or something to help the environment….. or even forensics (keep reading)

3. This one is a little weird to admit, and I hope it doesn’t turn anyone off reading my blog, but my dream job was to be a forensic pathologist…you now, like the guys who perform autopsies. Yes, I get that some people find this creepy, but to me it was always fascinating. I wanted to be like Kay Scarpetta in all those Patricia Cornwall novels. Without doing a medical degree, this is never going to happen, but I am still hopeful that one day I could perhaps be an assistant to the medical examiner…I can still dream at least.

4. As a kid I moved around a lot. My Dad was in the army, so we were never in one place more than about 2 years. So because of that, I have lived all over the east coast of Australia. It wasn’t particularly conducive to making friends at school, but in hindsight I am happy to have experienced living in so many different places. It sure makes for some interesting stories at least….like the time we had a python on our back porch…….

5. I love love love to travel! It is one of my favorite things to do and if I were independently wealthy, I would spend all my time traveling around the world. I have been fortunate enough to do my fair share of traveling and have been to some wonderful places, such as Italy, France, England, The Netherlands, USA and one of my favorites, French Polynesia. But I still have a huge list of must see places before I die, with some at the top of my list being Machu Picchu, Bhutan, Morocco, India, Nepal, Africa, Spain……and the list goes on and on and on.

6. I met my husband, who is American, in Europe when we were both on the same bus tour (Contiki for those who know of it). We didn’t hook up straight away, but remained friends for a couple of years. However when I moved to the USA for my postdoctoral work, we finally got together and a couple of years later were married on the beautiful island of Maui. The reason for the location….it was halfway between his family home of New Jersey and my family home of Australia. Couldn’t have asked for a more perfect place though, as we both love the hot weather and the beach. We were lucky enough to honeymoon in French Polynesia, our second trip to those beautiful islands. And we will definitely go back again when time and funds permit!!

7. My mother does not like to cook. I read a lot about people’s mothers on their blogs and about how they got their love of cooking from their mum’s. But that is definitely not the case for me. My mum hates cooking and only does so, so that we don’t starve. In fact, I recall her saying when I was younger, that if money were no object, she would eat out every night. And baking…forget it! I have no fond memories of baking cookies or cakes with my mum, as she never got near a baking pan. I never really cooked all that much either. But when I moved away from home and started cooking for my hubby, I found that I really loved it and have never looked back. Sometimes things are a bit of a learning curve for me, and my baking doesn’t always turn out so great, but I certainly have taken a liking to it and now when my mum comes to visit, she is happy to have me wait on her….and I of course, also have no objections.

8. Last but not least….I have taken a very keen interest in growing my own food. My dad used to have the greatest veggie patch, which would yield some fabulous tasting food for our table. And I never really thought about doing it for myself until this past year. I have a lovely patch of herbs growing in our small garden that have been great for a lot of the dishes I have cooked. But I really want to expand my repertoire and hope one day to have a big enough garden to be able to comfortably feed our small family. For now, in our small townhouse, I can only squeeze in a few things. It’s enough to get me started though and to see if I am at all competent in small-scale farming. This past weekend I planted some seeds for beets, chard, zucchini and snow peas….all great late summer and fall crops. I will be reporting on their progress later in the year, but for now I just hope that they germinate, so I will wait with baited breath for 2 weeks, to see if their little heads push up through the dirt and flourish in the sunshine. Wish me luck!!!

Thanks Katie for wanting to know more about me :) Now I am hoping to get to know more about the following blogs.....tag, your it!!

Little Paths
Straight From The Farm
Vicious Ange
Tummy Rumbles
Should You Eat That
Ms. Adventures In Italy
Green Gourmet Giraffe
A Taste Of Tina

It's A Hot One!

2007-07-08T17:38:00.000-05:00

Wow, the weather is sure heating up and we were lucky enough to enjoy 2 lovely days soaking up the sun at the beach. Tonight however, I had some time to make a great pasta dish and an even better loaf of bread.

The pasta comes from Cooking Light summer grilling magazine and was made of grilled vegetables and goat's cheese. I utilized a bunch of veggies from the farmer's market, making this a lovely, fresh dish perfect for summer. Grilling them on the BBQ brought out the sweetness, which was perfect with some goat's cheese. Perfect!

The bread I served with it was a garlic, herb and feta pull-apart that came from the taste website. So yummy, with the bread being lovely and soft and fluffy, with some extra flavor from the herbs, which I am proud to say were grown in my own garden.

This was such a great summer meal and the pasta was very healthy with all of those veggies. Definitely 2 thumbs up from myself and hubby.

Pasta with Grilled Vegetables and Goat's Cheese
(Serves 4-6)

1 large zucchini, quartered lengthwise
1 red bell pepper, cut into 4 wedges
1 leek, trimmed and halved
1 14oz can of artichoke hearts, drained
1 head of radicchio
1/2 tsp salt divided
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
cooking spray
4 cups hot cooked rotini (I used tri-coloured)
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup goat's cheese, crumbled
2 tbs fresh chopped basil

1. Prepare grill. Arrange zucchini, bell pepper, leek, artichokes and radicchio in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 tsp of salt, pepper and garlic. Lightly coat vegetables with cooking spray and then place on the grill rack. Grill 3 minutes on each side or until browned and tender. remove vegetables to the cutting board and chop into bite-sized pieces.

2. Place pasta in a large bowl and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp of salt, tossing well. Stir in grilled vegetables and tomatoes. Sprinkle each serving with goat cheese and basil.

Garlic, Herb and Feta Pull-Apart
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet of yeast
2 tsp castor sugar
3 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp sea salt flakes
olive oil to grease
2 tbs finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tbs finely chopped fresh thyme (I used a combination of regular and lemon thyme)
1 tbs chopped fresh basil
80g feta, crumbled
1 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbs milk

1. Combine water, yeast and sugar in a bowl and let sit for about 5 minutes, or until frothy.

2. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add in the yeast mixture. Use a wooden spoon to stir until combined, then use hands to bring the dough together.

3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Brush a bowl with oil to grease. Place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 45 minutes or until double in size.

4. Heat oven to 410F. Brush a loaf pan with oil to grease. Combine the parsley, thyme, basil and feta in a small bowl. Punch down the dough with your fist and knead for 2 minutes, or until dough has returned to original size.

5. Divide into 18 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 6cm disc. Combine oil and garlic in a bowl. Place 6 discs in the pan. Brush with oil mixture and spoon over 1/3 of the feta mixture. Continue layering with remaining dough, oil mixture and feta mixture. Cover with a damp towel and set aside in a warm, draught-free place to proof for 30 minutes or until almost double in size.

6. Brush pull-apart with milk. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Serve warm or at room temperature.

We're Back In Business!!

2007-07-05T18:49:00.000-05:00

After what seemed like a very long week without an oven, sink or dishwasher, we have finally gotten our kitchen to a state where our appliances are hooked back up. We are not finished by any stretch of the imagination, but at least I can cook now.

Tonight I made a dish that I had planned on making last Sunday and I wanted to do it before the veggies I bought at the farmers market went bad. It is a rustic looking ratatouille and goat's cheese pie and was very nice. It has lots of veggies and could be served with a salad and crusty bread. One note however, I had quite a bit of leftover ratatouille mixture, so you may want to cut back on the amounts shown below. For me though, I am happy to have the leftovers :)

After eating out for the last week, it was good to have a home cooked meal. Its good to be back in the game!!

Ratatouille and Goat's Cheese Pie
(makes 4)

2 cups plain flour
150g chilled butter, chopped
1 egg yolk
2 tbs ice water
1 tbs olive oil
4 green zucchini's, coarsely chopped
2 red onions, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200g semi-dried tomatoes
200g char grilled capsicum (peppers), coarsely chopped
200g char grilled eggplant, coarsely chopped
1 cup feta stuffed green olives, halved lengthways
1/4 cup water
150g goat's cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup finely shredded fresh basil

1. Place the flour and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Add the egg yolk and water and continue to process until the dough starts to come together.

2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Shape into a disc and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, onion and garlic and cook for 4 minutes or until soft. Add tomatoes, capsicum, eggplant, olives and water and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until heated through. Set aside for 15 minutes to cool.

4. Pre-heat oven to 450F. Line a baking tray with non-stick paper. Cut pastry into quarters, then roll each piece into a 20cm disc. Spoon the zucchini mixture evenly amongst the pastry discs, sprinkle with goat's cheese and fold the edges of the pastry to partially enclose the filling, leaving the center open. Press the edges to secure and place on the prepared tray.

5. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until pastry is golden and cooked through. Place the pies on serving plates and sprinkle with basil.

No Kitchen = No Food

2007-07-02T10:04:00.001-05:00

Well, I had warned in previous posts that the time would come when my kitchen became completely without function... and that time has come :( I currently have no sink, no dishwasher and no oven, therefore no food....but fear not, we are not starving. Yes, the diner down the street has seen us a couple of times in the last few days and last night when we went for dinner at 10pm, after a very hard day of construction and removing moldy drywall (yes, I know...ewwww), we were even recognized and cordially greeted by a past server. Scary!! I don't think I ever want to be known as a regular at our local diner. But in any event, the cooking is on hold for at least a few days until we get our base cabinets in and can reconnect the plumbing and the oven.

We do have our trusty BBQ that will probably get a work out tonight, but I don't think kebabs will be that interesting to read about. So, for the next few days, I apologise for the lack of posts and hope that you guys bare with me whilst myself and my hubby work our butts off to obtain our nice new and much improved kitchen!!!

Thanks!

Chicken and Lemon Spaghetti Carbonara

2007-06-29T19:06:00.000-05:00

Traditionally, I am not one for creamy based pasta sauces. In fact, I never order them. Not only do they usually contain loads of calories, but they are just too heavy and rich for me. However, when I saw this recipe for spaghetti carbonara in the vol4 , issue 5 of Delicious magazine, it looked like it was none of these things. Sure it has some cream and eggs, but it wasn't drowning in gross amounts white, claggy sauce. So I decided to take a punt and try it.

And I was pleasantly surprised. I don't think this is something that I would eat every week, but as a special treat, it was great. Hubby raved about it and said it was extremely tasty, and he is a very picky eater. The lemon in the recipe really gave it a kick and the pancetta was lovely and salty. I definitely recommend this recipe for Carbonara.

Chicken and Lemon Spaghetti Carbonara
(serves 4)

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 chicken breast fillets
450g dried spaghetti
175g smoked pancetta, cut into thin strips
4 sage leaves, chopped
2 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks
100ml thickened cream
finely grated zest of one lemon
50g unsalted butter
100g aged parmesan cheese, finely grated

1. Heat half of the oil in a small fry pan over medium heat. Season the chicken and then cook for 6 minutes on either side, or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely with foil.

2. Cook spaghetti according to packet instructions. Whilst the pasta is cooking, heat the remaining oil and cook the pancetta for 3-4 minutes until lightly golden. Stir in the sage, then remove from the heat.

3. Cut the chicken into small pieces. Lightly beat the eggs, egg yolks, cream and lemon zest in a small bowl. Drain the spaghetti, then return to the saucepan, off the heat. Immediately add the pancetta, egg mixture, chicken, butter and 2/3 of the parmesan cheese. Toss with some fresh ground black pepper...the residual heat from the spaghetti will produce a smooth, creamy sauce.

4. Serve immediately and sprinkle with remaining parmesan.

Grilled Eggplant Stack

2007-06-28T18:08:00.000-05:00

This is a lovely summer meal that is especially great for this time of the year...squash season. When I went to the farmers market last week, they seemed to be practically drowning in squashes!! I availed myself of a few of them, but I'm sure my purchase was just a drop in the ocean of squashes that were there.

You could serve this dish as a cute appetizer, but we had it as a main, served with salad. Either way, its healthy and delicious. I used baby eggplant, but it would better if you could find the larger kind. This recipe again has goat's cheese, which seems to be creeping into almost every meal I make lately....but its so yummy, I don't see an end to it soon :). If you like grilled vegetables, then I suggest making an extra batch whilst you are doing this recipe, because they are super tasty fresh off the grill and you could use them later in sandwich's or just on their own. Lovely and sweet.

The recipe is from this month's issue of Cooking Light and only has 117 calories per serve. Yum!!

Grilled Eggplant Stack
(makes 4 stacks)

1 (1 pound) eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/2" thick slices
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 tbs brown sugar
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 large red bell pepper, quartered lengthwise and seeded
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
1/4 cup (2oz) goat's cheese
1 tbs fresh chopped basil
1 tsp fresh chopped oregano

1. Place eggplant slices in a colander and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 tsp salt. Toss well and let stand for 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and dry with a paper towel.

2. Combine vinegar, wine and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 8 minutes).

3. Prepare the grill. Trim ends from the zucchini and yellow squash. Slice each lengthwise into 4, 1/4" thick slices. Flatten the pepper with your hand. Brush eggplant, zucchini, squash and pepper with oil and sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Place pepper pieces skin down, eggplant, zucchini and squash on the grill. Grill 8 minutes or until tender, turning once.

4. Combine cheese and herbs. To assemble the stack, place a slice of eggplant on a plate. Top with one fourth the cheese mixture. Lay a strip of zucchini and yellow squash side by side. Drizzle with 1 1/2 tsp of balsamic reduction. Top with a slice of pepper and another slice of eggplant and drizzle another 1 1/2 tsp of balsamic reduction. Repeat procedure three more times with remaining vegetable slices and cheese, let stand for 5 minutes and then serve.

Almond-Apricot Chicken

2007-06-26T19:47:00.000-05:00

I have a small confession to make....I am not a fan of Martha Stewart. I am sure I am not the only one and its not that I have anything against her personally, its just I don't think she's that good. I feel like her popularity has made her sell out and that as a cook, she is not in the same league as the likes of Donna Hay, Nigella Lawson, Giada DeLaurentis etc.

Having said all that though, I picked up her new book, Good Food Fast, and its pretty good. Fortunately for Martha, the book store I purchased it from had placed a sticker over her name, otherwise I never would have given it a second look. Instead, under the guise of anonymity, I picked this book off the shelf to flick through and to my pleasant surprise, it was set out in seasons. I have been on a quest since reading Vegetable, Animal, Miracle by Barabara Kingsolver (kindly recommended to me by Katie over at Other People's Food), to eat more locally and seasonally, so this appealed to me very much. I purchased the book and upon closer inspection, not all of the recipes contain seasonal ingredients, more that the recipes suit the season....however, it still has a lot of merit and each recipe is accompanied by a lovely photograph....always a must for me :)

Anyway, so the recipe I made tonight comes from this book and was absolutely fabulous. I also made some beef tacos with radish and avocado salsa last night from this book (but did not have a chance to blog about), which were equally great.

I loved stuffed chicken and I love goat's cheese and this recipe had both. Combined with the apricots, this chicken was very moist and extremely tasty. The recipe suggest serving with a mint pesto, but instead I sauteed some different types of squash that I picked up at the farmer's market this weekend with some olive oil, garlic and some special pesto genovese.....a lovely gift from a friend who wed in Italy and brought this back for me. I also served some garlic bread from Wholefoods Market.

I would absolutely make this meal again, it was really wonderful....maybe I was too harsh on old Martha. I will certainly be making some more recipes from this book in the future.

Almond-Apricot Chicken
(Serves 4)

4 boneless chicken breast
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 oz goats cheese
6-8 dried apricots, cut into 1/4" pieces
course salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1 large egg, beaten
1 tbs olive oil

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Cut a slit in one side of each chicken breast to create a pocket about 4 inches long.

2. In a small bowl, combine a 1/4 cup the almonds with the goats cheese and apricots. Stuff each breast with 1/4 of the mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

3. On a plate, combine bread crumbs and remaining almonds. Dip each breast into the beaten egg and then dredge in the crumb mixture.

4. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and cook chicken until golden, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Transfer to oven and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Apple of My Eye

2007-06-25T14:09:00.000-05:00

When I saw that this month's edition of Sugar High Friday was your favourite, most craved dessert, it took me all of about 2 seconds to know what I was going to make. Now don't get me wrong, I love all types of desserts from pavlova, to tarts, cakes, pies, ice cream, biscuits, scones.....you name it, I probably love it. I have a very over-active sweet tooth!! But invariably when we go out to dinner, I always scan the dessert menu for one thing...apple crumble!! If there is an apple crumble, or actually any kind of crumble, I am all over it. I love them....they could be of the crumble variety, the crisp variety, in peach, blueberry, strawberry, rhubarb.....but if there is an apple crumble, I cannot go past it.

Yet, I have never ventured to make my own version and figured this would be the perfect opportunity to give it a go. I did not find my recipe in any one place, instead borrowed lots of different bits from lots of different recipes to come up with my own. See, I love the cinnamon-y, apply goodness of the filling, but it has to have just the right crust and of course, caramel. It isn't as good as it can be without caramel, as apples and caramel are just a match made in heaven.

I really wanted to make my own vanilla ice cream to go with this as well, but unfortunately due to time restraints in the last couple of weeks, the props for the ice cream has to go to Mr Haagen Daas. Oh well, the rest is all me and can I just say....this crumble was really great. I have many in my time and I don't know if I would go as far as saying it is the best....but it sure is up there.

Thanks Jennifer for prompting me to come up with my own apple crumble recipe, so now I can enjoy it whenever the craving hits. Yum!!

Apple Crumble with Caramel Sauce
(Makes 6)

Apples
6-8 granny smith's, peeled, cored and chopped
75g unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp allspice or nutmeg
2 tbs lemon juice
zest of one lemon
Crumble
50g pecans
50g rolled oats
1/2 cup self raising flour
100g melted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch allspice
Caramel Sauce
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup evaporated milk

ice cream to serve

1. To make apples, melt butter in a deep pan over medium heat and add apple. Cook for 5 minutes or until they start to soften, the add brown sugar, lemon juice, zest and spices and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Transfer to 6 one cup capacity oven proof dishes.

2. For the crumble, process the pecans in a food processor until finely chopped, then combine with flour, oats, sugar and spices. Melt the butter and mix into the pecan mixture until all ingredients are moistened. Spread over apples and bake at 350F for approximately 40 minutes or until golden.

3. To make the sauce, in a small saucepan, melt butter with the sugar and salt over medium heat. Bring to boil, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and evaporated milk. Set aside and keep warm.

4. To serve, spoon vanilla ice cream over apple crumble, then top with caramel sauce.

Fava Bean and Goat's Cheese Crostini

2007-06-22T19:36:00.000-05:00

I had originally planned to serve these crostini's with a browned butter and sage spaghetti, but after having an enormous lunch, I wasn't that hungry. However, the crostini by themselves were the perfect light snack and were absolutely delicious. I had expected them to be good, but they far exceeded my expectations. Yum!! The color is gorgeous as well, making these perfect to serve to guests. You could make little appetizers by putting the topping on mini toasties, or just serve the whole crostini with a soup, salad or gazpacho. These definitely get 2 thumbs up from me.

Fave Bean and Goat's Cheese Crostini
(makes 4)

4 slices of rustic bread such as ciabatta
3oz goat's cheese
1lb fresh fava beans
1 clove garlic, crushed
tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
about 1/4 cup of olive oil

1. Bake the bread at 350F for approximately 5 minutes, or until golden.

2. Remove fava beans from pods, then boil for about 2 minutes. Remove beans from soft white shell and add to a food processor. Place the rest of the ingredients except olive oil into the food processor. Turn the processor on, the drizzle oil through feed tube until beans turn into a smooth paste.

3. Spread goat's cheese onto each piece of bread, then top with fava bean mixture. Serve.

Chicken, Fennel and Rapa Terrine with Drunken Figs

2007-06-21T18:17:00.000-05:00

The inspiration for this meal came from the May 2007 edition of Food and Travel, a great UK magazine that combines two of my favourite things!! There are some really great recipes in this magazine, but I have to say this wasn't really one of them. In all fairness, I changed the recipe a lot, but I just think that a meat based terrine is just not my cup of tea.

Now, don't get me wrong, this was not a bad recipe, hence I am still posting it. The original was made with pork, fennel seeds and spinach, but I changed out the pork for chicken (as that's what I had), used fresh fennel instead of seeds and used Italian rapa greens from my CSA box instead of spinach. But really, you could use any greens you like I think (chard, kale, mustard greens etc). I also used prosciutto instead of streaky bacon and served the terrine warm instead of cold.

This was not a weeknight friendly meal and I had actually planned to make it last weekend. However, our kitchen renovation put the kibosh on that and I decided to make it tonight as I had a bit of extra time. Personally I don't think the effort was worth it, but I don't want to be so negative as to turn off anyone else who might like to make this dish.

Chicken, Fennel and Rapa Terrine with Drunken Figs
(serves 4)

2 bay leaves
150g prosciutto
200g Italian rapa, chopped (or any other leafy green)
2 tbs olive oil
1 small onion
1 small fennel bulb (or 1/2 a large)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
300g minced chicken
200g chicken breast, coarsely minced
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
20 dried figs, halved
1 cup Marsala wine

1. To make drunken figs, put the figs, Marsala and 4 tbs water in a saucepan and bring nearly to boiling point. Remove from heat, cover and leave to cool. Can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Oil a small terrine or loaf pan with canola oil. Arrange the bay leaves on the bottom and then lay the prosciutto across the width. Put the rapa in a colander and pour over boiling water to blanch. refresh with cold water and squeeze out any excess and set aside.

3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over low heat and saute onion, garlic and fennel for 10 minutes, or until soft but not brown. Transfer to a large bowl with half the spinach, the chicken, nutmeg, allspice, salt and pepper. Mix together well.

4. Put half of the chicken mixture in the prepared terrine and press down firmly. Top with remaining spinach, then the remaining chicken mixture. Press down firmly, then fold over the overhanging prosciutto. Firmly cover with oiled foil and put in a baking dish. Fill the baking dish with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the terrine. Bake in the oven for an hour. Either serve warm, or place in the fridge with a weight on top for up to 2 days before serving.

5. Serve the terrine with drunken figs.

(Another) Salad and Frittata

2007-06-20T20:27:00.000-05:00

The recipe for this frittata came from Donna Hay Magazine, issue 32 and was really great. Sometimes I love eggs, whereas other times I just can't deal with them. I wasn't sure what this one would be like and if I would really like it, but it was fabulous. A little more calories than I would normally like, as there was some cream and cheese, as well as the eggs, but the recipe served four, so its not too bad. And it had lots of veggies.

I served the frittata with yet another salad, this one from Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef Takes Off. It was a watercress, arugula, pear, walnut and parmesan salad. You don't really need a recipe as the name says it all. The only addition is to add some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to dress.

Pea, Pancetta, Leek and Onion Frittata
(Serves 4)

3/4 oz unsalted butter
2 tsp olive oil
1 brown onion, sliced
1 leek, sliced
6 eggs
1 cup single pouring cream
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
sea salt and cracked black pepper
7oz ricotta cheese
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
5 slices pancetta, roughly chopped

1. Heat an 8 1/2" pan over medium heat. Add the butter and oil and swirl in the pan to coat. Add the onion and leek and cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until soft. Place the eggs, cream, parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to combine. Reduce heat to low, pour over the egg mixture and cook for 5 minutes or until the edges start to set. Top with ricotta, peas and pancetta and cook for 15 minutes or until the egg is almost set.

2. Place under a pre-heated broiler (grill) for 5 minutes or until the egg is set and the top is golden.

Japanese Style Steak Salad

2007-06-19T18:33:00.000-05:00

As the thermometer pushed 100F today, it seemed like the only logical choice for dinner was a salad. This one comes from Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Dinners and was absolutely delicious. The only changes I made to the recipe were to add some mixed salad greens (heirloom lettuces and arugula), as I wanted more greens than Jamie originally included. The tahini sauce went fabulous with the steak and radishes and was a bit different from your regular oil and vinegar based dressings.

This is definitely a keeper and was great for a summer evening in 100F and (still!!!) no airconditioner.

Japanese Style Saturday Night Steak
(Serves 2)

1 large sirloin steak
1/2 a daikon
1 small bunch of fresh radishes
1 fresh red chilli
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro
2 large handfuls or salad greens
2 tbs water
2 tbs tahini
1 tsp soy sauce
juice of one lime
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
olive oil

1. Take steaks out of the fridge 15 minutes before you want to cook them. Peel the skin off the daikon, then continue to peel long strips off it and place in a bowl. Slice the radishes into fine rounds, de-seed the chilli and slice thinly and place both in the bowl. Tear the cilantro into pieces and place in the bowl.

2. Add water to the tahini and mix until its a smooth paste. Stir in the soy sauce and lime juice and mix until smooth.

3. Heat a frying pan and season steaks with salt and pepper. Rub in a little olive oil and place it in the pan. Fry for about 10 minutes, turning steak every minute and lowering heat to medium after the first minute. Rest the steaks for a couple minutes before slicing them thinly. Tip any juices from the steak into the tahini and mix.

4. To serve, dress the salad with the sauce, add the steak and toss. Place half on each plate.

Fava Bean and Arugula Risotto

2007-06-18T19:55:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a crazy weekend in the bear household!! Our kitchen renovation is in full swing, so a lot of the things I wanted to make this weekend did not materialize. We no longer have any wall cabinets, but thankfully I still have a working stove and sink.

Tonight's recipe utilizes some of our CSA fava beans, onions and arugula. I love risotto and this was a great way to use some of our produce. I have never had fresh fava beans before and whilst they were a little time consuming to prepare, the taste was definitely worth it. Very tasty and fresh.

I am not going to post a formal recipe as most people know how to make a basic risotto, however I started with some onion, garlic and white wine, expanded the rice with vegetable stock and then added the fava beans and arugula, as well as some Peccorino, at the end.

To prepare the fava beans, peal the vein on the bean pod and then remove the beans from the pod. Boil for1-2 minutes and then pop each bean out of its milky casing.

Just as an aside, after two weeks of receiving produce from my CSA farm, I have started to find that my grocery bill has gone down significantly. Amazing that such fresh food that is so much better for you and better tasting can be loads cheaper than the supermarket crap that travelled halfway across the world to get there....just another reason I am glad to have joined this program :)

HHDD #13 - Sorbet

2007-06-15T12:28:00.000-05:00

When I saw that this month's edition of Hay Hay it's Donna Day, hosted by Laura over at Eat Drink Live, was sorbet I had mixed emotions. I do love sorbet, but how was I going to make it special.

Then, fortuitously, on the same day I got an email from my CSA farm (Even' Star Organic Farm) that said I would be receiving some lavender in this weeks share. It also stated that "foodies" might like to use it an ice cream recipe. Perfect!! I decided to use my lavender for this sorbet recipe and also serve it alongside some lavender and almond biscotti.

I love the smoky taste of lavender. My favourite tea is lavender Earl Grey and I make a killer lavender shortbread, if I do say so myself. It works really well in this milk and honey lavender sorbet, with the smokiness offset by the sweetness of the honey. There is also just a hint in the biscotti, which seems like the perfect accompaniment to his fabulous sorbet.

Milk and Honey Lavender Sorbet
2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1 cup honey
1/4 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
1 tbs dried lavender buds, slightly crushed
pinch of salt

1. Combine milk, water, honey, vanilla pod and seeds in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the honey. Bring to a boil, whisk in the lavender and salt, then remove from heat. Infuse mixture for 30 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

2. Transfer mixture to ice cream machine and freeze as per manufacturers instructions.

Lavender and Almond Biscotti
(Makes 30-40)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
4 medium eggs
3 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried lavender buds, finely ground
1/2 cup sliced almonds

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in extracts and eggs and blend until combined. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, lavender and almonds. Stir into sugar mixture and mix until just combined. Do not over mix.

2. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Halve dough and turn out onto a cookie sheet. Dough will be sticky. Without handling dough excessively, pat the dough into two 13"x2" logs. Place the logs 3" apart. Smooth each log and place in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

3. Cool for 10-15 minutes and reduce oven temperature to 300F. After cooling, cut diagonally into 1/2" slices with a serrated knife. Lay slices on cookie sheet and return to the oven for 8 minutes. Turn slices over and bake for another 7 minutes until golden. Transfer to a rack and cool completely. Stores for up to one month in an air tight container.

(recipe adapted from http://www.gildedfork.com)

CSA - Week 2

2007-06-14T19:01:00.000-05:00

Its amazing what a difference a week can make in the world of farming and fresh produce. Our weekly share this week was completely different from last week and we got lots of great stuff. The only similarities were that we got another 2 heads of heirloom lettuce, plus some lavender, fennel, arugula, fava beans and onions. Whoo hoo!! I also picked up a dozen fresh eggs from the farms free range chickens.

There should hopefully be some great recipes with all of this produce, so look out next week for a risotto, a frittata, a terrine and some great salads :)

Veal with Lemon and kale

2007-06-13T19:46:00.000-05:00

Tonight's dinner is adapted from a recipe in Donna Hay Flavors. I wanted something that I could serve with my enormous bag of CSA Kale and this seemed to fit the bill perfectly. The lemon gave a lovely tang to the dish and it was very quick, healthy and tasty.

This was my first time cooking kale and I didn't know what to expect. I was absolutely delighted when I put it in the pan and it turned from a dull, grey/green to the most vibrant, brilliant shiny green. Gorgeous! And it tasted great as well, not bitter at all. A little chewy in texture, but still delicious.

Veal with Lemon and Kale
(Serves 2)

1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter
shredded lemon rind of 1 lemon
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs oregano leaves
2 veal loin chops
cracked black pepper
greens
2 tbs of olive oil
4 cups of kale
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbs lemon juice

1. Place oil and butter in a frying pan over low-medium heat. Add lemon rind, juice and oregano leaves and cook for 3 minutes or until leaves are slightly crisp. Remove lemon and oregano mixture and set aside.

2. Increase heat to high. Sprinkle the steaks with pepper and add them to pan. Cook for 2 1/2-3 minutes each side or until cooked to your liking.

3. In the meantime, heat another pan on high and heat oil, onion and garlic. Add Kale and cook for about 2 minutes until kale has reduced down and is tender. Add the lemon juice and stir for a few more seconds.

4. To serve, place half the kale mixture on each plate, top with veal chop and then sprinkle the lemon and oregano mixture over the top.

Mammoth Burgers

2007-06-12T17:32:00.000-05:00

Whilst the title of this post may sound like I am making burgers from (albeit extinct) mammoth meat, I assure you that no mammoths were harmed in the making of this meal!! The actual title of this dish from Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef Takes Off, is a Botham burger. For those of you who did not grow up with an intimate knowledge of cricket, Ian Botham was a very famous English bowler and Jamie's dad invented this burger that he says is the size of a cricket ball. That is an understatement! This thing is huge...one might even say, mammoth!! But very delicious.

I served my Botham/mammoth burger on a bun with some melted cheddar, sliced locally grown tomato, sauteed onions, pickle, lettuce, ketchup (tomato sauce) and mustard.....yum! I also added some of my fresh CSA parsley and Italian rapa to the burger so that I could pump up the vitamin content and use up some of my greens.

I served the burger with a side salad made from my CSA heirloom lettuce, red onion, sliced pear, some raspberries, tomatoes, blue cheese and raspberry vinaigrette.

This was meant to be a great summer evening meal....until a huge thunderstorm rolled in and we could no longer eat out on the deck. At least the meal was still delicious.

Botham Burger
(makes 2)

1lb ground beef (preferably organic)
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 large egg
a handful of fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 tbs coriander seeds, crushed
small pinch of cumin seeds, crushed
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian Rapa
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 450F. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, then form into 2 giant patties. Place in the oven and roast for about 25 minutes, which should leave the middle slightly pink and the outside crispy.

2. Serve with whatever burger fixins' you like.

Linguine with Spicy Leek and Tomato Sauce

2007-06-11T20:22:00.000-05:00

I found this recipe whilst looking for something to do with my CSA leeks.. It comes from the June edition of Bon Appetit and was perfect to utilize my leeks and also some locally grown tomatoes that I picked up at the market. I had originally thought I would end up doing a fritatta or a risotto with the leeks, but when I saw this recipe, I thought it was something a little different and really made great use of the fresh seasonal produce.

The result was a lovely, sweet and fresh pasta. A perfect spring/summer dish.

Linguine with Spicy Leek and Tomato Sauce
(Serves 4)

2 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 medium leeks, split lengthwise, sliced crosswise and rinsed to remove grit
1 1/4 tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tbs white wine vinegar
12oz linguine
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, red pepper and fennel seeds and saute for 1 minute. Add the leeks and cook until they begin to soften. Add diced tomatoes and cook for another minute. Add wine and vinegar, bring to a boil, then cover and cook until tomatoes break down, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook pasta per package directions. Drain and add pasta to the sauce in the skillet. Toss to coat, then add cheese and salt and pepper to season. Serve and garnish with a little more grated parmesan.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

2007-06-10T16:48:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Katie from Other People's Food recommended a fabulous book to me called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. It documents the story of one family trying to live off the land and all local food for a year and also has a lot of valuable information on buying local produce, growing various vegetables and fruits as well as sustainable farming practices. Really interesting!

The recipe for this strawberry rhubarb crisp comes from the book and I wanted to make it this weekend as this is the last week of the strawberry season around here and I had also picked up some magnificent looking rhubarb at the farmers market yesterday.

The resulting crisp was very yummy (although there was a lot of liquid). A very unique flavor, but the sweetness of the strawberries and the tartness of the rhubarb worked great together.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
3 cups strawberries, rinsed, hulled and halved
3 cups rhubarb, chopped
1/2 cup honey
topping
1/2 cup flour (I used white whole grain)
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/3 cup butter

1. Mix the strawberries, rhubarb and honey together and then place into an 8" baking dish.

2. Add remaining ingredients into a bowl and mix together with fingers until a crumb texture forms. Spread the topping over the fruit mixture and bake for 40-50 minutes at 350F.

3. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Aubergine rolls with Foccacia Bread

2007-06-10T16:23:00.000-05:00

Tonight's (not particularly photogenic) dinner is adapted from a book I have had for years, but haven't cracked open in a long time. I was actually looking for a recipe to use my lovely CSA leeks and happened upon this one instead. The book is called The Practical Encyclopedia of Potato and Rice by Alex Barker, Sally Mansfield and Christine Ingram. It is a great cook book. I have made some really fabulous risotto's from this book

The recipe for aubergine rolls is found in the rice section in a chapter on Greece, Turkey and the middle east. It suggests that this would make an interesting appetizer or part of a Turkish-style meze buffet, but I thought it would make a lovely dinner and would allow me to use some of my CSA herbs. Turns out that my foccacia dough from yesterdays bread class was an excellent addition as well!

This is a lovely, fresh, healthy meal. The tomato sauce utilizes canned tomatoes, but I had bought some local ones today from the nursery as well and added one of those for some extra sweetness and a brighter red colour. Beautiful!

Aubergine Rolls
(Serves 2 for a main, or 4 for an appetizer)

1 large eggplant
olive oil for shallow frying
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used fat free)
1/2 cup goat's cheese
1 cup cooked rice (I used basmati, but long grain or even brown would work)
1 tbs fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp fresh mint, chopped
salt and fresh cracked black pepper
tomato sauce
1 tbs olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
14oz can chopped tomatoes
1 large fresh tomato
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbs fresh parsley, chopped

1. Pre-heat oven to 375F. Make the tomato sauce by heating the oil in a saucepan. Saute onions and garlic for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock and parsley and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until slightly thickened.

2. Slice eggplant lengthwise into 6-8 slices (discard the end pieces). Brush olive oil on each side and fry in batches until the slices are golden on both sides.

3. Mix the ricotta, goat's cheese, rice, basil and mint, salt and pepper. Place generous portions of the cheese mixture at the end of each eggplant slice and roll up. Arrange the rolls in a shallow baking dish and pour over the tomato sauce. Bake for 10-15 minutes until heated through and garnish with mint sprigs and serve.

L'Academie de Cuisine - Bread Making

2007-06-09T20:02:00.000-05:00

Today I had the great pleasure of attending my first cooking class at the L'Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, Maryland. I have been excited to take this course ever since I signed up about a month ago and today was the big day....and it lived up to all of my expectations. It was fabulous. Not only was it informative, but fun and delicious and I met some really nice people.

This course was on bread, which as I have mentioned in previous posts, is something I have only recently gotten into baking. My efforts so far haven't been too bad, with only one bad mishap with an attempt at Naan, but I certainly still have a lot to learn and I thought this would be a step in the right direction.

The class focused more on sweet breads, but we also made a foccacia as well. The first thing we did was to make the dough for a milk bread and also for a chocolate bread. Both are enhanced breads, but are not as rich as brioche (something I have yet to tackle, but am really looking forward to trying soon). The instructor said that the milk bread is a good substitute for brioche, when you don't want something quite as rich and when I tried this bread in its various forms I was very impressed. It was so light and fluffy, it was almost like sponge cake....lovely. And it is so versatile, you could do a million things with it.

In the class, we divided the two doughs in half and I got to take the half of the chocolate bread home, as we didn't need it. The other half of the chocolate was braided with the milk loaf, to create a fantastic, marbled looking bread. Very tasty as well.

The other half of the milk bread was used to make a poppyseed and apricot loaf, which was absolutely sensational. So, yummy and again, you could make almost any filling you wanted with this dough. We spread the dough as long as the loaf pan and about three times the width. Sprinkled poppyseeds and then spread over a dried apricot puree. The dough was then rolled up and placed in the pan to bake. This would be a perfect bread for afternoon or morning tea, but you could add any type of seed, nuts, dried fruit or fresh fruit that you wanted. You could also bake it as a loaf, or cut it up to make sweet rolls, which is what the instructor showed us with another batch of milk bread dough.

She had a pre-prepared dough that she rolled into little balls, put into a springform, then covered with streusal topping and blueberries. When this came out of the oven, it was pure heaven.

When I got home, I baked the other half of my chocolate bread. I decided to bake it like the instructor had done with the streusal rolls, so I made it into balls, put them in a springform pan and covered with raspberries. Again, a really versatile bread, that was so delicious.

Lastly, we made a walnut and raisin foccacia bread that was super tasty. We actually didn't bake the dough we made, but got to taste the one the instructor had prepared earlier, as this dough needed more rising time than the class allowed. So tomorrow I will bake this bread just before dinner, so we can have some fresh foccacia...yum!!

Hopefully this will be the first of many classes that I can take at the L'Academie de Cuisine. I am always hoping to improve my cooking skills and this was a fun, delicious way to do it :)

Coconut Blackberry Slice

2007-06-08T12:11:00.000-05:00

Considering I am home today waiting for our air conditioner to be repaired and it is close to 100 degrees (F), it is probably not a wise thing to do some baking. But I have been waiting all week to make this slice, so I wasn't going to let a little heat drive me out of the kitchen!

This recipe comes from Bill Granger's Bills Food and is found in the afternoon tea section of the book. I just love that he includes recipes for afternoon tea! Something I definitely miss here in America. When I was doing my PhD in Melbourne, me and all of my lab mates would trot off to the break room for afternoon tea (or sometimes morning tea.....and shamefully sometimes both!) and spend fifteen minutes having a lovely old chat, sometimes with something yummy to accompany our tea or coffee.

Ahhh, memories :)............

Anyway, back to the slice. This almost turned into a disaster as I had made the crust with 4 1/2 tablespoon of butter, instead of the required 4 1/2 oz (big difference), but realized my mistake before it was too late and re-made the base before assembling and placing in the oven...whew, crisis averted. Actually, it probably wouldn't have been a crisis, because what I had made was very much like a shortbread crust, instead of the more cake like crust in this recipe. It may have been different, but probably would have tasted alright. I will never know though, as I managed to get it right and the outcome was lovely. This slice is not sickeningly sweet, with blackberries giving it a little bit of tartness against the sweetness of the jam and coconut. Lovely!! This would have gone down a treat in the break room, but instead, I will enjoy it whilst I swelter in this very warm day without my air conditioner.

Coconut and Blackberry Slice
(Makes 12-16)

base
4 1/2 oz unsalted butter
1/4 cup castor sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk
filling
1/2 cup blackberry jam
1 cup blackberries
topping
3 1/2 oz unsalted butter
5tbs castor sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups dessicated coconut
1/2 cup all purpose flour

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. To make base, cream the butter and sugar, then add egg and vanilla extract and stir to combine. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and stir in with the milk. Flour your hands and press the base evenly into a greased, lined 12"x8" baking tin. Spread the base evenly with the jam and sprinkle with blackberries.

2. To make the topping, cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg and beat until combined. Stir in coconut and 1 tbs of sifted flour, then the remaining flour. Spread the topping evenly over the blackberries.

3. Bake the slice for approx.30-45 minutes (depending on your oven) or until the top is golden. Cover with foil and bake for a further 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Cut into slices.

My First CSA Box!!

2007-06-07T16:20:00.001-05:00

Its exciting to see a lot of food bloggers joining up for these great programs and blogging about the produce they get and what they do with it!

I am doubly excited today because I finally got my first box from Even' Star Organic Farm. I have been looking forward to this day for about 2 months now and was not disappointed.

This weeks share consists mainly of leafy greens, which the farm has said are not standard fare for the rest of the summer, so we need to enjoy them whilst they last. Included in our share was some lovely leeks, a bag of curly Kale, 2 different types of heirloom lettuce, some English sugar peas, 2 small baby turnips, a bag of herbs containing mint, parsley and cilantro flowers and a type of Italian cooking green called trasamiento rapa. Phew! That's a lot of greens, so we will be eating healthy this week :)

One of the reasons I wanted to join up for this CSA was try and eat more seasonally and to try new things. So this week will be the first ever time I have Kale (not something that is popular in Australia....not sure if you can even get it there) and rapa, which I have never even heard of. great! I am off to rummage through my recipe books......

The Hubby Challenge #1 - Gunslinger Burritos

2007-06-06T15:06:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that my all time favourite author is Stephen King and that his Dark Tower series of books are an obsession. For those who aren't familiar with this series of seven books by Stephen, you can check out this website. This is an amazing series of books that took Stephen three decades to write and the story is incorporated in some way into almost every other book he has written. That in itself is sheer genius!!

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because when I was reading the last few books in the series...actually waiting agonizingly for each new one to come out and nearly having a heartache when I found out Stephen was hit by a truck and may never finish, at around book 4....I got my hubby onto them as well. We were discussing them again last week and he came up with a challenge for me....to make my own version of a gunslinger burrito.

Now, most are probably thinking what the hell is that?? And in order to answer that question, I have to refer to the story of the Dark Tower............

The main character is Roland Deshain, who is a gunslinger. The books are set in a time that is a cross between now and the old west. Roland lives in Mejis and is trained to be a gunslinger as was his father before him. However, the world is changing and the fabric of time is becoming warped. The Dark Tower, which is at the center of all universes, is dying and it is up to Roland, the last gunslinger, to get to the dark tower and fix it. This, obviously, is an epic journey that occurs over the series of seven books and is a bit like Lord of The Rings, crossed with Indiana Jones.

The gunslinger burrito, mentioned above, is the meal of choice for Roland on his journey as he has to eat whatever he can find. He usually makes his burrito with some sort of animal meat (that he has killed) wrapped in a leaf. Not particularly appetizing...so I asked hubby if he wanted an authentic gunslinger burrito (hoping of course the answer was no)...and thankfully, he said he just wanted me to come up with my own burrito recipe that we could affectionately call a "gunslinger burrito".

Yes we are dorks...I'll freely admit it. But you gotta keep life interesting :)

At first I had no idea how to make an interesting burrito, but I knew I liked Chipotle burritos and wished to emulate something like that. For those not in the US, Chipotle is a chain that sells organic, environmentally friendly burritos and is super yummy. I particularly like their Barbacoa beef burrito, which is lovely and spicy.

So, after researching a fair bit on the web about what makes up the Barbacoa beef in a Chipotle burrito and switching it up to my own particular tastes, I hereby present my answer to Hubby Challenge #1 - The Gunslinger Burrito!!!

Gunslinger Burrito

Beef
4-6 Chipotle Chile's in adobo sauce (canned)
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp allspice
zest of one lemon
4-6 sprigs of fresh thyme
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 Spanish onion, roughly chopped
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2-3lb beef roast
salt and pepper
bay leaf
3 star anise
1 cup chicken stock

Cilantro-Lime Rice
1 cup basmati rice
juice of one lime
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Guacamole
3 ripe avocados
2 tbs minced onion
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 small Serrano chili, seeded and minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbs fresh squeezed lime juice
salt to taste

salsa
2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and cored
1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 tbs red onion, minced
1 small clove of garlic, minced
2 tbs freshly squeezed lime juice
salt to taste

large flour tortillas
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream

1. To prepare the meat, place all ingredients into a slow cooker, then cook on low for 6-8 hours. remove meat from juices and shred with a fork. Drizzle some of the pan juices over the meat and set aside.

2. Cook rice as per packet instructions, then add oil, juice and salt. Allow to cool slightly then add cilantro.

3. To make guacamole, halve the avocados, remove the pits and dice. Place into a large bowl and mash together with onion, garlic, chili, cilantro, salt and cumin. Add the lime juice and stir to combine. (Will keep in the refrigerator for a day or two).

4. For the salsa, finely dice the tomatoes. Place in a bowl with jalapeno, onion, garlic and lime juice. Season with salt and set aside.

5. To serve the burritos, place desired amount of meat, rice, guacamole, salsa, shredded cheese, sour cream and shredded lettuce onto a flour tortilla. Wrap the tortilla around the filling and place on a plate. Alternatively, serve ingredients in individual bowls on the table and let people make their own with whatever ingredients they choose.

An Amazing Book...An Even More Amazing Man

2007-06-06T10:55:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to take a minute to bring a book that I have just finished reading to the attention of those who sometimes frequent, or just stumble upon, my blog.

The book is "Three Cups of Tea", a bestseller by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It outlines the accomplishments of mountaineer, Greg Mortenson and his quest to improve the lives of the people, especially the girls, living in the impoverished highlands of Pakistan and Afghanistan through education and building schools.

This guy is the most amazing person I have ever read about and I think this book should be mandatory reading for all! His philosophy of spreading peace through education is truly remarkable and the way he has been able to garner the respect of people who in general "hate" the western world is nothing short of a miracle.

This is the story of how one person truly can change the world. I was shocked that I didn't know about the accomplishments of Mr Mortenson before I stumbled inadvertently upon this book.

I too am only one person and I know that I cold never hope to change the world like this man....however, if I can do one small thing and encourage people to read this book, then I feel like have done a good deed.

From the back cover:

"Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan), we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend and the third, you join our family and for family we are prepared to do anything - even die."

- Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief, Karakoram Mountains, Pakistan

In 1993 a mountaineer named Greg Mortenson drifted into an impoverished Pakistan village in the Karakoram mountains after a failed attempt to climb K2. Moved by the inhabitants' kindness, he promised to return and build a school. Three Cups of Tea is the story of that promise and its extraordinary outcome. Over the next decade Mortenson built not just one but fifty-five schools - especially for girls - in the forbidding terrain that gave birth to the Taliban. His story is at once a riveting adventure and a testament to the power of the humanitarian spirit.

I don't really like to promote too many things on my blog, but this is seriously the best book I have ever read and I don't think you can read it without it touching your heart and changing how you see the world!!

Chicken and Caramelized Pineapple Pizza

2007-06-05T19:49:00.000-05:00

There are 2 different types of people in this world. Those that like pineapple on their pizza and those that don't. It doesn't seem to me that there are too many in between. People who are "anti- fruit on their pizza" are violently opposed to the addition of pineapple and will never be swayed.

Me...I am on the side of the pineapple lovers. Please no hate mail...there is room in the world for all of us!. One of my favourite types of pizza is the Hawaiian, so when I saw this recipe for chicken and pineapple pizza in Trish Deschain's book "Caramel", I knew I would love it. I wasn't sure about hubby, but he surprisingly liked it and that means quite a lot, as he is the biggest pizza snob I know.

A couple of things about my version of the pizza. I did not use a typical pizza base, but instead used individual pita pockets. They are a little healthier than a regular pizza base. The recipe also called for smoked chicken, which I didn't have. I did however, have a leftover chicken breast, so this was a great way for me to use that.

Never one to just throw a piece of pizza on a plate and call it dinner, I added a salad to at least try and make this meal more healthy. All in all a very yummy meal. The caramelized pineapple was fabulous, so if you do not sit in the "anti-fruit" camp, definitely try this!

Chicken and Caramelized Pineapple Pita Pizza
(Makes 2)

2 pita pockets
4 tbs tomato paste
1 chicken breast
1/2 pineapple
2 tbs butter
2 tbs granulated sugar
4oz fresh mozzarella

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425F. Place pita pockets on a baking sheet with non-stick paper. Spread over 2 tbs of tomato paste on each pocket.

2. Dice chicken finely, then saute in cooking spray for a few minutes until browned. Set aside. Add butter to pan and melt. Add pineapple and saute for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally. Whilst pineapple is cooking, add sugar and continue to stir so that the sugar caramelizes. Continue cooking until caramel thickens.

3. Sprinkle chicken evenly over pita pockets. Add pineapple, then spread sliced mozzarella evenly. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Don't let the pineapple burn.

4. Serve with salad.

Seared Tuna Salad with Fennel and Lemon dressing

2007-06-04T20:02:00.000-05:00

Where did the time go?! I ended up making dinner tonight much later than I planned, so I had to make some adjustments, but thankfully they didn't effect the overall dish.

I made this seared tuna salad tonight from Bill Granger's Bills Food, but as I just mentioned, had to tweak it a little bit. This recipe is actually found in the lunch section, but I thought it would be good for a summer dinner and also to use up some tune I had left in the freezer.

The first change I made was to cook the tuna a little more than suggested. Bill asks for rare tuna, cooked 20 seconds on each side, however hubby does not like his tuna that rare, so for his benefit, I seared for about 2 minutes on each side until it was done on the outside, but still blushing on the inside. Next Bill suggests leaving the tuna to sit for about an hour, however I didn't have the luxury of that much time, so mine only sat for about 5-10 minutes. To me, it made no difference.

Lastly, the lemon was supposed to be segmented for the dressing, however again, I didn't have time for this fiddly task and just added the juice of the whole lemon instead. Again, this didn't seem to make a difference and it actually gave the whole salad a lovely tang.

All in all, this recipe actually exceeded my expectations and was a great salad :) Healthy too....always a bonus!

Seared Tuna Salad with Fennel and Lemon Dressing
(Serves 4)

1 tbs olive oil
500g tuna cut into large batons, roughly 5cm
1 tbs sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
11oz green beans
1 baby romaine lettuce
2 heads of Belgian endive, broken into leaves
1 baby fennel bulb, sliced thinly
lemon dressing
1 lemon, juiced
3 tbs capers, rinsed
1/4 cup olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Brush tuna with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick skillet over high heat, add tuna and sear for 1-2 minutes per side (depending on how raw you like it). remove from the pan and cut into 5mm slices.

2. Blanch the beans in boiling water, then refresh in cold water to cool. Arrange the lettuce, endive, fennel and beans on plates, top with tuna. Sprinkle over lemon dressing.

3. To make dressing, mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Foodie Blogroll

2007-06-04T09:58:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to give a quick shout out for the foodie blogroll, started by Jenn at "The Leftover Queen". Its a great way to find new food blogs and to have your blog recognized. You can click on the link in my right hand column if you wish to join. Thanks Jenn!!

Cannelloni and Salad

2007-06-03T18:06:00.000-05:00

Whew!! What a weekend. We have officially started renovating our kitchen :) I am very happy about this as our kitchen drives me mad! However, this will be a really big project and may impact some of my cooking for the next 6 weeks or so. At the moment, all of my cooking appliances are still in tact, so I can still make some decent meals.

I was looking for a recipe this weekend that would utilize the rest of the tomato sauce I made the other week. I found a recipe for cannelloni in Bill Granger's Bills Food and this was our dinner tonight, served with a side salad.

First off, I think I have discovered that Australian and American lasagne sheets are distinctly different. I believe the Australian ones are thicker, allowing them to be rolled up along the long axis. American ones are quite thin, meant to be laid side by side, hence rolling them along the long axis is impossible. Therefore, my cannelloni rolls were somewhat different to Bill's, but still tasted great, I thought. As I mentioned above, I also used the tomato sauce I made from Jamie Oliver's recipe, rather than the one that came from Bill in this recipe.

The cannelloni turned out great. I rolled them into almost a "rollotini" and served 2 per person. I think the ruffled edges gave a nice touch as well. Then I threw together a tossed salad of arugula, tomatoes, onion, walnuts, red pepper and nectarines.

This was a lovely recipe from Bill's book. I loved the addition of the prosciutto to the cannelloni. Very tasty and hubby asked for seconds, so it got his thumbs up :)

Cannelloni with Fresh Tomato Sauce
(Serves 4)

1 lb of ricotta
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tbs chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tbs chopped fresh basil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper
8 lasagne sheets
2 tbs olive oil
8 slices prosciutto
cooking spray
basil leaves to garnish

1. Pre-heat oven too 400F. Stir together the ricotta, parmesan, herbs, eggs, salt and pepper in a bowl.

2. Cook the lasagne sheets as directed then cool in a bowl of cold water and olive oil. Drain lasagne sheets on paper towel. Place a slice of prosciutto lengthwise on each slice, then spread 2 tbs of ricotta mix on top. Roll up lasagne sheet and place into a baking dish coated in cooking spray. Place remaining rolls in a single layer, then coat with cooking spray. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until puffed and slightly crispy.

3. Whilst the cannelloni is cooking, prepare your tomato sauce as desired and make salad.

4. To serve, place 2 cannelloni rolls on each plate, cover with tomato sauce. garnish with basil leaves and serve with salad.

Thai Chicken Salad

2007-06-01T20:02:00.000-05:00

This recipe was loosely based on a recipe in Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef Takes Off. He has a recipe for a thai salad, but it is more of a suggestion than a recipe. He suggests a bunch of things you can put in your salad and gives a recipe for a thai dressing, so I used some of his suggestions, then decided I wanted this a main course salad, so I decided to add some chicken as well.

I guess what I am saying is you could add almost anything to this salad, so I am not going to post a formal recipe. Instead, I'll list what I used, but its also merely just a suggestion and could be changed to be whatever you wanted it to be.

The salad I made consisted of baby spinach, arugula, red and green pepper strips, mung bean sprouts, chopped green chilli, cilantro, mint, sesame seeds, scallions and some shredded chicken breast that was cooked on the grill. The dressing was made from lime juice, olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, cilantro and chilli flakes.

This was really easy to throw together and perfect for a summer evening out on the deck sharing a bottle of lovely Spanish red wine. Happy Friday!!!

Fit for a Queen!

2007-05-31T19:16:00.000-05:00

Today was one of those serendipitous days where I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. These things don't happen to me very often, but fate sure shined on me today!!

I happened to stop by TJ Maxx on my way home from work today, with the hope of perhaps finding a t-shirt for my summer wardrobe. As I always do when I go to TJ Maxx, I stopped by the cooking aisle just to see if there were any books that were on sale. Usually they only have some Williams -Sonoma books and other non-descript titles. But this day was different. When I glanced at the shelf, I couldn't believe my eyes. In fact, as some of the shoppers there will attest, to my great embarrassment, I yelled out "no way"!!!! Right there, in front of my eyes was the Bill Granger cookbook I have been coveting for ages and haven't gotten around to getting yet. Every time I go to the book store, its a constant battle against my cook book collecting sickness and to date I had been successful with the Bill Granger Books. They are on my Christmas/Birthday wishlist this year for family and friends, but now I could take it off.

Gingerly, I took it off the shelf and turned it over to see what the price was. And, to my disbelief, the tag read $4.99! Could this be possible? This was a book that retails for $24.95 and here it was for $4.99. Was there something wrong with it? I checked it thoroughly for defects (not that that would have swayed me from purchasing it, at that price) but it was in perfect condition. No tears, no stains...perfect. This was truly my lucky day!

Then it got even better. As I tucked the book under my arm, ready to take it to the cash register before anyone could steal it from me, I glanced down at one of the lower shelves....and there was another one from Bill Granger!! Unbelievable. This one too, was only $4.99. I could barely believe my luck. I kept waiting for someone to come over and tell me that they were sorry. That the books were put there by mistake. Or that when I got to the cash register, it would really be $19.99 or something like that. But no, they let me escape from the store with my two precious purchases, for just $4.99 each. I love a bargain, but this went beyond even my wildest expectations!!

And yes, I am aware that its a little weird to be so excited by a cookbook...but hey, every girl loves a bargain and all food bloggers love a great cookbook.

So, of course the first thing I did when I got my purchases home was to sit on the couch, cross legged and pour over every glorious recipe. Trying to decide which I could possibly make first. Everything looked great, but the desserts looked especially yummy. When I saw the recipe for scones with jam and cream, I knew I had found my winner. I had all the ingredients and this brought back so many great memories of tea with my family, that I just had to make them.

If you have never been to Miss Marples teahouse in Sassafras, in the Dandenong mountains, just outside of Melbourne, Australia....then, you simply must go if you have the opportunity. This place does the greatest afternoon tea that I have ever experienced...its really out of this world. The scones are enormous and they are served with lashings of whipped cream and fresh strawberry jam. The other offerings there are also fabulous, but you cannot go there and not get the scones. I have very fond memories of going there with my mum and also with both my parents. We love this place and this is not something I have had since I moved to the US 4 years ago.

I also have never made my own scones before, but this recipe was very easy, had few ingredients and once paired with whipped cream and jam, were truly like heaven on a stick.

I had these for dessert tonight, but this truly makes for a high tea fit for a queen! Make these for afternoon tea and your friends will swoon with pure joy at such a simple, yet sensational snack.

This recipe comes from Bill Granger's Bills Food. I should say that these are not the scones that are found in the US, which are more like cakes. These are a traditional English type scone, a scone that imagine Queen Liz would enjoy on a regular basis....and if not, then she should!!

Simple Scones
(Makes 8)

1 tbs icing sugar
2 1/2 cups of plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup of milk
1oz butter, melted
jam
whipped cream

1. Pre-heat oven to 425F. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Add the milk and butter and stir to combine with a knife. Knead quickly and lightly until smooth and then press out onto a floured surface.

2. Use a glass to cut out rounds roughly 2" in diameter and 1 1/2" deep and place them close together on a greased baking sheet. Cook for 8-10 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve with jam and whipped cream.

Shrimp and Chutney

2007-05-31T18:38:00.000-05:00

Tonight's dinner was shrimp, which can only mean one thing!! Hubby has class and its seafood city for me :) This dinner was nice. Aside from the marinating it was really quick and tasty. The recipe however only allows 3 shrimp for each person, which seems like slim pickings to me. As a main, I doubled the number of shrimp for myself and that seemed to be a suitable number. Obviously if you made it, you could have however many you wanted.

The only changes I made to this recipe (from Cooking Light Grilling) were the marinating and the mango. It called for 2 hours in the fridge and I just didn't have the time for that today, as I got home later than I thought. I left it in there for an hour and that seemed fine to me. Its only in some oil, pepper and coriander, so I don't think another hour would have improved the flavor any....but that's just me. Also, I didn't have any mango chutney, so I just added some fresh mango.

This was a low calorie, low carb meal and left me feeling not too guilty about the dessert to follow (see above).

Black Pepper Shrimp with Cilantro-Coconut Chutney
(serves 2-4)

shrimp
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp canola oil
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 tsp salt
cooking spray
2 tbs fresh lime juice
chutney
1 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbs flaked sweetened coconut
2 tbs fresh lime juice
1/2 cup mango
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp minced fresh green chili
1/4 tsp salt
2 cloves of garlic

1. To prepare the shrimp, combine the first three ingredients in a ziplock bag and add the shrimp. marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

2. Prepare grill to medium-high heat. Remove shrimp from bag, sprinkle with salt and then place on the grill which has been coated with cooking spray. Grill for 3 minutes on each side or until done, then drizzle with lime juice.

3. To prepare chutney, place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

4. Serve shrimp over chutney.

Breakfast for Dinner

2007-05-30T19:54:00.000-05:00

One of the things I love about summer is the fact that you can have lovely light meals for dinner and feel comforted. In winter, comfort food is a lot heavier, with dishes like casseroles, roasts, tagines etc. Summer you can get by with just a salad....and its great!

I saw this recipe in Cooking Light and thought it would make a lovely summer dinner and it was pretty good. I have never added flour to an omelet before and this recipe called for it. I don't think I would add it again, as it made more like a pancake on the outside. I also decided to add some leftover danish blue cheese to this and I think it gave it a much more interesting flavor. It would have been good without, but I think it definitely added a tang that was much tastier. However, having said that, it was too much for hubby and he ended up eating the salad and then a bowl of cereal. I guess you can't win them all. I was happy to eat his left overs :)!!

So here is the recipe, adapted from this month's Cooking Light magazine.

Onion and Fresh Herb Omelet with Mixed Greens
(Serves 2)

Omelet
3 eggs
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp fresh minced thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 cup plain flour
cooking spray
2 cups sliced onion
1 garlic clove, crushed
2-3 tbs blue cheese, crumbled
Salad
3 cups loosely packed salad greens
1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbs crumbled goats cheese
1 1/2 tsp sliced almonds, toasted
1 cup strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced

1. To prepare omelet, whisk together the first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Add flour and mix well.

2. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray, add onion to pan and saute for 7 minutes or until browned. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Pour in egg mixture, reduce heat and cook until almost set Sprinkle over blue cheese, then fold omelet in half. Place half on each plate.

3. To prepare salad, combine ingredients and toss well.

Chicken Parcels with Watermelon Salad

2007-05-29T19:42:00.000-05:00

When I saw the picture of these spicy chicken and corn parcels in Vol 31 of Donna Hay magazine, I had to make them! They looked so cute and elegant, I thought it would make a great meal. But to my dismay, when I started assembling them, I started to think that maybe they might look great, but the taste could be a little lacking.

Too late to turn back though, I plunged ahead and finished the parcels...all the while worrying that dinner was going to be a big flop. I wanted to serve these with a salad and in an effort to make something a little different, I made the watermelon-feta salad with fresh herbs, from this month's edition of Cooking Light.

When the meal all came together, it turned out quite well....better than I had expected. The salad was actually very refreshing and very tasty. A definite keeper. The chicken parcels were tastier than I expected, but not a flavor sensation. After it was cooked, the chicken came out of the parcels almost like little sausages. However, the addition of tomato and corn was not enough to make this dish really sensational. Putting them together was very fiddly and I don't think I would bother again for this particular recipe. Its still a neat presentation idea though and would perhaps be good with a different type of filling.

Not a disaster, but not one of my better efforts...however in fairness, I think the recipe was a little bland, even with the addition of a red chilli.

Spicy Chicken and Corn Parcels
(Serves 4)

1 cob corn
1 tbs olive oil
1 red onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small red chilli, chopped
1 vine-ripened tomato, chopped
2 tbs cilantro, chopped
8oz chicken, minced
sea salt and cracked black pepper

1. Carefully remove the corn husks and discard the silk. Place the husks in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 1 minute to soften. Drain and pat dry. Slice the kernels from the corn and set aside.

2. Heat a large pan over high heat. Add onion, garlic and chilli and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Place in a bowl and mix with cilantro, salt, pepper, chicken and corn. Reserve one husk to cut into long strips for securing the ends of the parcels. Spoon tablespoons of the mixture into the husks and roll to enclose the filling. Pre-heat the grill and cook parcels for 2-3 minutes on each side or until firm.

Watermelon-Feta Salad with Fresh Herbs
(Serves 6)

6 cups of cubed seedless watermelon
2 cups chopped watercress
3/4 cup crumbled, reduced fat feta cheese
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
3 tbs thinly sliced fresh mint
3 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently to combine. Serve immediately.

Twice Baked Souffle

2007-05-28T19:12:00.000-05:00

Souffle's are notoriously difficult to make, so I am not sure why I decided to take on this project tonight. But I guess its because the photo in April's Delicious magazine looked so good. To be fair, I think mine turned out pretty good, but there were a couple of little problems with them.

The end result was that they definitely tasted good. The article accompanying this recipe suggests to serve these as an appetizer or light meal, but I thought it would be ok to serve for dinner. I halved the recipe (which was originally for 6) and thought I would get 3 out of it. It ended up giving me four though, so I served 2 each. However, they were very rich and I struggled through my second one and hubby couldn't eat his. So, if you are going to try this recipe, I would probably only serve one and also would probably serve this for brunch or an appetizer, like the recipe stated.

It wasn't too difficult to make and mine rose as it should. However, it did stick to the ramekin a little bit and was hard to get out, even though I had greased them thoroughly. The recipe called for Roquefort cheese, which I couldn't get a hold of, so I used some Danish Blue cheese which worked fine. Also, the recipe was supposed to contain hazelnut meal, which I also couldn't find, so I used almond meal. This gave my souffle's a paler appearance than the one in Delicious magazine, but it did not affect the taste at all.

This would make a lovely brunch for something special like a Mother's Day or Valentine's Day, however it was a little fiddly, although not really difficult.

Twice Baked Souffle
(Serves 6-8)

1/4 cup hazelnut or almond meal
225ml milk
75g butter
1/2 cup plain flour
90g blue cheese
60g gruyere cheese, chopped
3 egg yolks
7 egg whites
Slices of pear and bitter salad leaves (such as frisee or raddichio)
oil and balsamic to dress

1. Butter 6 or 8 ramekins, then dust with almond or hazelnut meal, tapping to remove excess. Refrigerate until needed. Gently heat milk until just warm and set aside. To make a roux, melt butter over low heat, then gradually add flour, stirring constantly until it bubbles and forms a paste. Gradually add warm milk to the flour mixture until it is fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth.

2. Remove from heat, then stir in cheese and stir until combined. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Stir in egg yolks, then season with salt and pepper.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Use a spatula to fold in half the mixture to the cheese mixture until well combined. Gently fold in remaining egg whites, being careful to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.

4. Place moulds in a roasting pan, then fill 3/4 full with egg mixture. Fill pan halfway up the sides of the mould with boiling water. Place pan in the oven and cook for about 10-12 minutes, or until the tops are golden and firm to touch. Remove moulds and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then turn souffles out onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick paper. Bake for a further seven minutes or until lightly golden.

5. Serve over salad of lettuce, sliced pears and oil and vinegar.

Steak with Nectarine and Arugula

2007-05-28T11:18:00.000-05:00

Last night's dinner was a good one, from this month's Cooing Light. It was super fast....about 10 minutes....and was very tasty and healthy. The steak was tender and pairing it with the nectarine, arugula and parmesan was genius. Very yummy! Also great for summer, as it is definitely getting into salad season.

Steak with Nectarines and Arugula
(Serves 4)

2 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/4lb flank steak, cut into strips
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper
5oz arugula
cooking spray
1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots
3tbs balsamic vinegar
2 medium nectarines, sliced into wedges
4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 oz parmesan cheese, shaved into thin strips

1. Place oil and garlic in a pan over medium heat and cook until garlic is lightly browned. remove garlic and discard. Increase heat to medium-high. Season steak with salt and peppers, then add to pan. Saute for about a minute, or until done as desired. Transfer steak to a bowl, top with arugula and toss well.

2. Wipe pan with a paper towel and then coat with cooking spray. Reduce heat to medium and add balsamic and shallots. Cook for about 2 minutes until shallots are soft. Add nectarines and saute for 30 seconds. Add nectarine mixture and lemon juice to salad and toss gently. Add shaved parmesan and serve.

Rich Tomato Bread

2007-05-27T15:41:00.000-05:00

The weather here in Maryland is finally starting to feel like summer and that means tomatoes!! I have been seeing tomato plants for sale everywhere recently and usually I would be picking some up to plant in my little garden. There is nothing better than fresh-off-the-vine tomatoes. However, this year I have refrained, as the CSA I have joined and that I spoke about a couple of days ago, specializes in tomatoes and in particular, heirloom varieties (at least 12). Therefore, I anticipate getting a lot of tomatoes in our weekly share!! At least, I hope so....love 'em!

I stumbled on the recipe for this bread a week or so ago when I was idly scrolling around on the Cooking Light website....well, to be completely honest, I was dying for this months magazine and was trying to see if it had come out yet. Anyway, I saw a page devoted to tomatoes and checked it out. The recipe sounded so amazing, I knew I just had to try it...and soon. I know most people do not bake bread in the summer for fear of heating up their homes, but I have no such qualms. I love the heat and am perfectly happy to swelter in the kitchen in return for some yummy bread. And let me tell you....this bread is out of this world!!!

Wow...the aroma, the color and last of all the delicious taste of this bread makes it a total winner. This will definitely be made again (multiple times I imagine). It was very easy, which is great for a bread beginner like myself, although as with most breads you need to be able to have time to let it rise etc. However, seeing as my Sunday mostly consisted of chores and reading a great book (Eat, Pray, Live by Elizabeth Gilbert if you must know), the addition of some baking was definitely within the realm of possibility.

This bread smelled so wonderful while it was baking...but really, is there anything better than the smell of fresh baking bread?? I could not help myself. I couldn't wait for this loaf to cool before I hacked into it....so I waited about 10 minutes after it came out of the oven to cool slightly, before I cut of the end piece (my favourite piece of the bread!) and slathered on some goat's cheese I had in the refrigerator and then just savored the wonderful smooth taste of the cheese and the lovely tangy bite of the tomatoes. This was truly heaven....you can't buy that kind of flavor from a store. I encourage everyone to try this bread. It really is amazing.

The only changes I made were to use a whole jar of sundried tomatoes in oil (I couldn't find the ones without oil). I just drained them into a sieve and rinsed thoroughly in water. I also added some dried basil flakes to the top of the bread before the last rise, to give a nice herby flavor.

Rich Tomato Bread
(Adapted from cookinglight.com)

1 cup boiling water
1 jar sundried tomatoes packed in oil
1 packet dry yeast
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
cooking spray
1 tsp dried basil

1. Combine water and tomatoes in a bowl, cover and let stand for 30 minutes.

2. Strain tomatoes, reserving liquid and finely chop. Heat reserved liquid to 110F, transfer to a large bowl and add yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes.

3. Add 3 cups of flour, chopped tomatoes, oil, salt and egg to yeast mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding the remaining flour a tbs at a time to prevent dough from sticking to hands. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes or until double in size.

5. Punch down the dough, cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll the dough into a 14"x7" rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Roll up the rectangle, starting with the short edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets. Pinch seam and ends to seal, then place in a loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Lightly spray the dough with cooking spray, sprinkle dried basil, then cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

6. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Uncover dough and bake for 40 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

2007-05-26T18:48:00.000-05:00

This recipe comes from David Lebovitz's new book, The Perfect Scoop. I picked up some fresh strawberries at the Farmer's Market this morning and decided to use some of them to make some ice cream.

I would never have thought to put sour cream in ice cream and certainly not in combination with Strawberries, but the flavor is really delicious and fresh. This was a fabulous ice cream and I don't think it will last long!! This is the first recipe I have made from my new purchase and I can't wait to try the some others. This is truly a great resource for ice cream recipes.

Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream
(Makes about 1 1/4 quarts)

1lb fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
3/4 cup sugar
1tbs vodka
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

1. Slice strawberries and toss in a bowl with sugar and vodka, stirring until sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring every so often.

2. Pulse the strawberries and their liquid with sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until almost smooth but still slightly chunky.

3. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce

2007-05-25T17:05:00.000-05:00

Tonight's dinner was supposed to come from Donna Hay's Flavours, however due to a dubious bunch of Basil from my local grocery store and the lack of other pertinent ingredients, it morphed into something else.

I had initially planned to make salmon with crusted chilli salad, but alas, it was not to be. I am actually quite miffed that the bunch of hydroponic basil I bought at the grocers this week had already decided to turn into a rotted mess. I am so glad the farmer's market season is finally here, because I am very sick of the rubbish that some of these supermarkets try to palm off as good produce. Anyway, I digress. As I slowly realized that I did not have all the ingredients for my intended dish...that I had been looking forward to all day, mind you....I became horrified that I had no idea what to do with my piece of salmon, that was sitting there just waiting to be turned into a culinary masterpiece.

I admit, I am not that inventive or inspired when it comes to cooking fish. I like it well enough, although its not my favourite thing in the world, but I know its good for me, so I try to have a crack at it at least once every week or two. Hubby, however, hates it with a passion, so it is not something I cook often. Especially salmon, which to him it is like being made to eat monkey brains or some other gross thing from a Survivor episode. So I started scouring my cook books for something to do with the Salmon, that I actually had the ingredients for. Unfortunately the fridge was looking a bit bare, not a lot of options. Salmon Nicoise salad...umm, no. How about Salmon Caesar salad...again, no. Salmon with maple glaze, salmon with asian marinade...no, no , no. I didn't have the ingredients for any of these things.

Finally, I broke out my new grilling book, which doesn't have an author, but I think is written by one of these companies that actually makes grills. Its called Modern Grilling by Vermont Castings, but its actually very good. Lots of pictures, just as I like it (Sorry Bobby Flay, I wanted to buy your books but alas, no pictures!).

Anyway, I found a recipe for lemon butter Salmon that I had the ingredients for and it was nice and simple. You take a large piece of foil, layer lemon slices over enough area to cover the bottom of the fish. Lay the fish on top of the lemon, season with salt and pepper, add a sprig of rosemary and two knobs of butter. Wrap it up and place on a medium grill for 15-20 minutes.

I have to say I am quite proud of myself with this dish. I lamented on my poor grilling abilities the other day, but today...I actually turned the grill on all by myself!! Now to some, this is not much of an accomplishment at all. But to me...one who has never even turned on the grill before...it was definitely a step in the right direction to becoming a grill master!! I am home alone this weekend (hubby has gone racing), so I managed to tame the grill all by myself.

**Yes, I can hear the roar of my adoring fans now :)**

My only problem then was what to serve with the salmon. Again, there was slim pickings, but I managed to throw together a salad of baby spinach, grape tomatoes, onion and some goat cheese. Oh, and a killer glass of wine :) !!!

To be honest, I didn't hold high hopes for this being the tastiest of meals, but it was pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. The salmon was very tender and quite tasty. It may not have been Donna Hay, but it worked out alight. Catastrophe (or at least a run to the Chinese take out store) successfully averted!!!

Linguine with Tomato Sauce, Spinach and Goat's Cheese

2007-05-24T17:17:00.000-05:00

This recipe is adapted from Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Dinners and is in the section I spoke about the other day called Family Tree. This section was based around Jamie's Basic Tomato sauce and was very yummy.

Jamie's Tomato Sauce is not that different than how I would usually make a tomato based pasta sauce, except that where I would normally use crushed canned tomatoes, he uses whole canned tomatoes. His reason being that he says the seeds should not be released from the tomato until near the end of cooking, as they impart a bitter flavor to the sauce. To be honest, I didn't find his sauce much sweeter, but it was still very tasty. He also adds a dash of red wine vinegar at the end of cooking, whereas I would usually use red wine if I have it. The vinegar gave the sauce a nice little kick.

The goat's cheese that is added at the end also imparted a lovely flavor to the overall dish. This is not an ingredient I have ever used in pasta, but it is one that I would definitely use again!

Jamie's recipe for the tomato sauce is quite simple. Finely chop 2-3 cloves of garlic and saute in some olive oil for a few minutes. Then add either some dried basil or oregano and a whole chilli (Jamie takes this out later, but I love spicy food, so I chopped mine and left it in). Then add 2 large cans of whole tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 30 minutes. Break up the tomatoes with a spoon, then cook the pasta. As the pasta cooks, add a handful of spinach and let it wilt. Drain pasta, toss with the sauce, then add some parmesan cheese and sprinkle with goat's cheese.

Easy peasy, as well as healthy and delicious. I had enough sauce left over that I could freeze it for later use as well...yum!

Only 2 Weeks Until My First CSA Box!!

2007-05-24T15:42:00.000-05:00

I am sure some of you are asking "What the heck is a CSA?". Well, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture and is a wonderful way to help out your local farmers and receive wonderful fresh produce at the same time.

I am so excited about this and I have been counting down the days until June 7th, when I receive my first box. I never really knew these programs existed until earlier this year when I read an article in Cooking Light about what they were and how they worked. Basically, a farm (or sometimes groups of farms) will create "shares" in their produce and sell them to the community. You buy in to one of the shares (usually about $25-30 a week for the period of the share) and this way, the farmer has guaranteed income for the period of the share, usually one season. The farm I have joined has a summer and a winter season, although most farms will generally only do the summer shares....just depends on the farm and what they produce. There is some risk to the consumer, in that if there are harsh conditions or the crop is not great, be it through drought, hurricane, frost, whatever, then you may not get as much produce than if the weather is perfect and everything goes to plan. This definitely gives the farmer some piece of mind and ensures that they get some money for the season, no matter how poorly their crop yield is. Given that I live in the relatively mild Mid-Atlantic region, where severe weather extremes are not all that common, I think the risk for us is fairly minimal.

The benefit to the consumer of course, is that you get fresh, usually organic produce direct from the farm with no middle man and no freezing etc. Most of my grocery bill goes towards produce, so for me, this was a no brainer. It would also give me a chance to cook with some fruits and vegetables that I may not be familiar with, as I don't have a say in what I get. I know the farm I have signed up with grows okra and this is not something I have ever cooked. So I am looking forward to trying some new things.

Also, I want to try and cook with more seasonal produce that is at its best and freshest, rather than using fruits and vegetables that are available at the supermarkets year round and taste terrible. There is nothing better than freshly picked, vine/tree ripened produce that has never been frozen. Most produce at the supermarkets is grown for aesthetic appeal and lacks any kind of flavor. I am looking forward to receiving fresh heirloom tomatoes, greens, herbs, flowers and vegetables.

If you want to find out if there is a CSA near you, just go to the Local Harvest website and search using your zip code. It is a wonderful site and couldn't be easier to use. I will definitely be posting about the shares I receive from Even Star farm in Southern Maryland, but for now I have posted a picture of some of my culinary herbs that I planted this year and some that require planting this weekend.

Grilled Peaches and Pork

2007-05-23T19:43:00.001-05:00

I have a confession to make. Although I feel pretty competent around the kitchen, I am terrified of the BBQ (or grill depending on how you like it)! Its silly I know. This is just another cooking device that is not in the least bit scary...unless you have an unfortunate accident combining the gas with an open flame....however, I always defer to my lovely husband when it comes to cooking on it. I marinate the meat and when the time comes, dutifully turn it over with instructions on cooking time. He trots outside to become one with the BBQ for a few minutes then brings the meat back in when its done. Not that he really knows what he is doing either. I am by no means calling my hubby incompetent, its just that we don't tend to grill all that much and I think he knows about as much as me.

I don't know where my fear comes from. I suspect that it is an eagerness to please and I am afraid that the meat I cook out there will be tough and rubbery, rather than tender and juicy. This summer however, I am determined to overcome my fears and become master of the grill....well, I'll settle for being halfway competent...but you get the point.

I went out and purchased a book on grilling with loads of pictures and recipes (I am sure you'll be seeing a lot from there over the summer) and also found the Cooking Light Grilling magazine at the supermarket, which I also purchased. I pledge that our BBQ will not be just for steaks and chops any longer.

So tonight's recipe comes from the aforementioned Cooking Light Summer Grilling magazine and it is the cover recipe. In fact, the cover recipe was one of the reasons I purchased this magazine, because it looked really delicious....and, I am happy to say, it was really delicious. The recipe was for grilled pork with grilled peaches and it was very tasty. It would probably be even better if we were in peach season and I guess that is why everyone advocates seasonal produce...but I couldn't wait until the fall to try this. Even with the out-of-season peaches, this recipe was really great and very healthy, with each serve coming in at only 216 calories. You can't beat that!!

Grilled Peaches and Pork
(Serves 4)

4x4oz boneless center cut pork loin chops
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, divided
2 tbs fresh lime juice
3 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
4 large peaches, peeled, halved and pitted
cooking spray
6 cups arugula
1 tsp turbinado (raw) sugar

1. Pound each piece of pork to 1/4 inch thick, using a mallet or skillet.

2. Combine 2 tbs vinegar, juice, thyme, salt and pepper in a bowl. Reserve 1 tbs of vinegar mixture. Pour remaining vinegar mixture in a large zip-lock bag. Add pork, seal and marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour, turning bag occasionally.

3. Prepare grill to medium heat. Place peaches, cut side up on a plate and drizzle with remaining 2 tbs balsamic vinegar.

4. Place pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray, grill for 3 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer registers 160F. Set aside.

5. Place peach halves, cut side down on grill rack and grill for 4 minutes. Turn and cook a further 2 minutes or until heated through. Cut each into 4 slices. Slice pork into strips.

6. Drizzle arugula with reserved vinegar mixture, tossing to coat. Divide arugula among 4 plates. Top with pork and peach slices, then sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Plastic Bags Blow!

2007-05-23T07:04:00.000-05:00

I don't really want to use my blog for standing on a soap box and preaching about political or environmental issues. After all, it's supposed to be all about the food. But I wanted to make a quick post about a great website call reusablebags.com.

The overuse of plastic bags is such a huge problem to the environment and if each one of us decided to stop using them when possible, then this would truly make a great difference in saving the planet. At Reusable Bags, they sell a variety of different bags, mostly made from organic cottons or hemp, that you can take to the supermarket when you do your groceries to reduce the number of plastic bags in circulation and their impact on the environment.

Some facts from reusablebags.com

Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.

According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)

Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.

Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.

The solution would appear to be simple: Stop using the bags. However they are such an ingrained part of society, that this seems unlikely to happen. However, in Ireland, the addition of a plastic tax (or Plastax) caused a 90% reduction in the use of plastic bags. So, it can be done. We just need to change our habits.

I know all the food bloggers take great joy in going to the supermarket and farmers markets and I think if we all tried to reduce the number of plastic bags we consume, then it would be a start. I am a culprit too, but have just purchased a bunch of string bags, so that I may so no to that cashier when she asks if I want paper or plastic. I feel terrible that I fell into such bad habits, as when I would go shopping with my parents at a young age, they would always take along their reusable bags. After moving to the States, I became part of the great machine that thrives on the consumption of plastic bags, but I feel great that I can do my small part in changing the world, simply by "byob" or bring your own bag.

OK, I'll hop of my soap box now. But I encourage everybody to check out the facts at reusablebags.com and even go that little extra mile and purchase some reusable bags. They even donate 1% of their profits to saving the environment. Its easy to believe that one person can't make a difference, but one person can become many and together we can make a huge difference to the fate of our planet.

Plastic bags consumed this year:

Calzone and Salad

2007-05-22T15:38:00.000-05:00

The recipe for these calzones comes from Jamie Oliver's "Jamies Dinners". It is a section of the book called Family Tree, which is really fabulous. Jamie basically gives you a recipe for something like pesto or basic tomato sauce and then follows with a bunch of different ways to use it. Very useful.

These calzones are in the section on puff pastry, however Jamie does not endorse making the pastry yourself and suggests using store bought. This is fine by me, because I would never be able to attempt anything with home-made puff pastry on a weeknight!! Not too many folks out there could pull that off, I think.

So, these were super simple to make, taking only a few minutes....lucky for me I actually remembered to take my puff pastry out of the freezer the night before, so that also cut down on the time, as I did not need to defrost it. These little beauties also used up stuff that I already had, so were handy little fridge cleaners as well. I am sure you could add whatever you liked, but for my first time around, I decided to go with Jamie's suggestions for the filling.

I served these with a side salad that I whipped together with greens, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, walnuts, crumbled feta and the leftover low-fat Caesar dressing from last week. Yum! This was a winner of a meal and hubby agreed :)

Calzones with Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Tomato

Frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1-2 slices of prosciutto per calzone
thumb sized piece of fresh mozzarella per calzone
2-3 cherry tomatoes per calzone
a few basil leaves
salt and cracked black pepper
egg

1. Roll out puff pastry to about 1/4" thick. Using a plate or bowl as a template, cut out 7" diameter circles. On one half of each circle, place a piece of prosciutto, followed by a piece of mozzarella and a couple of tomatoes, halved. Add a few basil leaves, season with salt and pepper, then wrap the prosciutto around the filling to hold it together. Egg wash the edges of the circle, then fold in half and press the edges together, so the filling can't come out.

2. Bake at 425F until golden and crisp on the outside.

Note: I got two 7" circles from half a packet of frozen puff pastry with a little left over, so I suggest you should get about 4-5 from a full packet. Jamie calls these mini, but they seemed large enough to me that we only needed one each. He must be a very hungry boy!

Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Lettuce Cups

2007-05-21T20:26:00.000-05:00

Tonight's dinner comes from the May edition of Cooking Light. They suggest that it is to be served as an appetizer, but it was definitely enough for dinner. Also, this was super easy, very tasty and really low calories....only 103 per serving.

I couldn't find any cremini mushrooms, so used button instead, but this didn't seem to effect the taste. I also forgot to add the water chestnuts, but again, I didn't notice until I was writing out the recipe. They would have given a nice crunch though.

Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Lettuce Cups
(Serves 8 appetizers, approx 4 for a main)

1 tsp sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups minced cremini mushrooms
1 cup minced shiitake mushrooms
1lb ground chicken breast
3 cups shredded napa cabbage
1/4 tbs kosher salt
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1 can whole water chestnuts, drained and minced
1 cup minced green onions
2 tbs oyster sauce
2 tbs soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
24 Boston lettuce leaves

1. Heat sesame oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add cremini and shiitake mushrooms and chicken. Cook for 8 minutes, then add shredded cabbage, salt, crushed red pepper and water chestnuts. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until cabbage wilts.

2. remove from heat and stir in onions, soy sauce, oyster sauce and cilantro. Spoon about 3 tbs of mixture into each lettuce cup.

SHF #31 - Shades of White

2007-05-21T20:05:00.000-05:00

This months Sugar High Friday is being hosted by Tara at Seven Spoons and she chose "Shades of White" as the theme.

This SHF was posted a little late this month, so there wasn't a lot of time to work out what to do. At first I thought it would be cool to do a white chocolate lamington, but that turned out to be a total disaster, so I decided instead to do a white chocolate coated ice cream bombe. This too did not go as planned, but time has run out, so I will post it anyway.

This recipe takes a few days, as you need to freeze each layer in between and make sure the bombe is really solid before pouring the chocolate over. But it is pretty basic and you could do it with any flavors you like. I would have liked to do it with home made ice cream, but I didn't have time for that, so I just used Haagen Daaz light in vanilla bean and cookie dough.

To make the bomb, line a bowl with plastic wrap and then alternatively layer the two flavors of ice cream. I did 2 layers of each. In between each layer, I put in crushed twix bars, roasted pecans and nutella, again you could put whatever you wanted.

I tried to coat the bombe in caramel, but it just seemed to slide right off the ice cream and was not particularly successful. I then coated the entire bombe in white chocolate and coconut.

Not my finest effort to date, but hopefully it will be acceptable for SHF #31. It is certainly white !

Peach and Blackberry Crisp

2007-05-20T18:56:00.000-05:00

What does one do on a lazy Saturday afternoon, with not too much to do and yucky weather outside?....bake of course!!

Whilst visiting the in-laws this weekend, we decided that we felt like a pie or cobbler or something yummy with peaches. So after going onto the Taste website and finding a recipe for peach and blackberry crisp, we ended up with afternoon tea of this lovely, fresh dessert.

The fruit was sweet, with a tang coming from the lemon juice, whilst the crisp on top was lovely and buttery. Just the thing for a dreary Saturday afternoon!! This recipe was actually supposed to be for 8 individual serves, which would usually really appeal to me. But I was not in my own kitchen and thus decided to make 2 large, 8" pies. This still worked out great and everybody absolutely loved this dish.

Peach and Blackberry Crisp
(Serves 8)

8 large peaches
3 punnets of blackberries
2/3 cup plain flour
2 tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup pecans, roasted and chopped
125g unsalted butter, chilled

1. Pre-heat oven to 380F. Blanch peaches in a large saucepan of boiling water for 30 seconds, then transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water and leave to cool. Drain peaches, then peel and discard the skin. Cut in half and remove the stones. Then cut each half into 4 and place in a large bowl. Add blackberries, 1 tbs flour, lemon juice and sugar. Toss to combine.

2. In another bowl, place remaining flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, oats and pecans. Using a fork, stir to combine. Grate butter over, then using fingertips, rub butter in until fine clumps form.

3. Spread berry mixture into 2 large pie dishes or 8 individual ones. Sprinkle generously with pecan topping. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

HHDD #12 - Parmesan Crusted Chicken Caesar Involtini

2007-05-17T17:22:00.000-05:00

This round of Hay Hay it's Donna Day is hosted by Katie over at Other People's Food, after her triumph with the Le Kit Cat Mousse in Round #11. Congrats Katie and thanks for picking this rounds challenge of "Caesar Salad".

To be perfectly honest I am not a huge fan of Caesar salad. I may be the only person on earth but I tend to find it bland, claggy and calorie loaded. For those who are not familiar with clag, it is an Australian glue that is non-toxic and paste-like and is usually given to small children for arts projects, but tends to end up in their stomachs, rather than on their art. This is what Caesar Salad conjures up to me, especially here in the US, where it seems to be served at almost every chain restaurant in the country and consists of some limp romaine lettuce, a few stale croutons, some parmesan cheese and a heavy helping of the most calorific dressing you can find. No thanks!

Suffice it say, that when I saw Katie's choice, I was none too pleased. What the heck was I going to do with a Caesar Salad. Clearly my disdain for this dish means that I do not make it at home, so what was a girl to do....especially when she so desperately wanted to contribute to HHDD #12.

So, I wrote down what a Caesar salad was to me...from home in Melbourne, where I must say they are marginally better than what I have found over here....but not by much. Romaine (Cos) lettuce, parmesan, anchovies, egg, croutons, Caesar dressing and sometimes bacon and chicken. Hmm...what to do???

And then it hit me!! I love chicken and even more than that, I love stuffed chicken. Or chicken rolled around yummy, cheesy ingredients. And so the parmesan crusted chicken Caesar involtini was born. This is a chicken rolled around Caesar salad ingredients, roasted and served with a low-fat Caesar dressing.

I made this on a night that hubby was not home, as there is no way I could get him to eat something with anchovies and if the meal was a disaster, I didn't want him to go hungry. So, when he was at class tonight, I got to cooking up my chicken Caesar concoction...and the outcome??

Amazing!! Wow, this was so yummy. The chicken was delicious, with the prosciutto, parmesan cheese and anchovies complementing wonderfully. The low-fat dressing was lovely and tangy and really made the whole dish. I encrusted the chicken in croutons and parmesan that had been processed in the food processor and served it all over a bed of lemon risotto. You could serve it with anything you like...roast veggies would be great and healthy, however for this challenge I wanted to use one of the ingredients in the Caesar salad, and lemon is a big component of Caesar dressing. Everything worked together beautifully and now I wish that hubby had have been here to enjoy it with me. It felt very decadent and something I would be happy to serve to guests.

So, maybe my views on the old Caesar salad were a bit harsh and I may need to revisit this staple found on nearly every restaurant menu. However, I think this take on an old favourite was really something special and I have to thank Katie for making me think outside of the box and come up with something that I would absolutely make again.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Caesar Involtini
(Serves 4)

4 chicken breasts
4 slices of prosciutto
1/2 cup of romaine, chopped
6 anchovies
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 egg, beaten
flour for dredging
1 cup of Caesar salad croutons
cooking spray
dressing
juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 anchovie
1 tbs white wine vinegar
1/2 cup fat free natural yoghurt
2 tbs low fat mayonnaise
1 tbs grated parmesan

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.

2. To make dressing, place ingredients into food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Pound chicken breasts until flattened. Lay 1 slice of prosciutto on each breast, followed by some romaine, anchovies (broken into small pieces and scattered) and grated parmesan cheese. Roll up chicken breast and secure with toothpicks. Process croutons and 1/4 cup grated parmesan in a food processor until it resembles bread crumbs. Dredge chicken roll in flour, then coat in egg. Roll in crouton crumbs and then spray with cooking spray. Bake in the oven for approximately 20-30 minutes.

4. Remove chicken from oven when cooked through. Cut into slices and serve on a plate with desired side dish and drizzle with dressing.

Lemon risotto: If making lemon risotto, prepare risotto base as usual with onion, arborio rice and chicken stock. Just before serving, stir in the zest of one lemon, juice of one lemon and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Season with salt and cracked black pepper.

Coconut and Passionfruit Self-Saucing Puddings

2007-05-16T20:18:00.000-05:00

I am very excited to be posting this recipe tonight, as I finally managed to lay my hands on some passionfruits last week!! I have lamented in previous posts about the difficulty in getting these delicious little morsels in the States, so when I saw some at Wholefoods on Friday, I basically cleaned them out! Then I went hunting for something interesting to do with them and found this recipe on the Taste website.

The original recipe was for one large pudding, but I decided to see if it would work as individual ones, as I find these much more fun and interesting to serve. Thankfully, they did work out very nicely, so I am posting the recipe below. The passionfruit gave such a nice tartness to the lovely coconut pudding. Yummy!! I should mention that I forgot to add the icing sugar just before serving, but it didn't really matter. Probably would have made for a nicer photo, but I was too busy trying to tuck in to remember such a minor detail!!

Individual Coconut and Passionfruit Self-Saucing Puddings
(Makes 6)

1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
2/3 cup light coconut milk
1 egg
80g butter, melted, cooled
pure icing sugar, to serve
sauce
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup milk
2 small lemons, juiced
3 passionfruit, halved

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 6 ramekins and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

2. Sift flour into a bowl. Stir in sugar and coconut. Whisk coconut milk, egg and butter together in a jug. Pour into flour mixture. Gently stir until combined. Spoon into prepared dish. Smooth surface.

3. Make sauce: Combine sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. Sprinkle over pudding. Combine milk and 1/3 cup lemon juice (don't worry if mixture curdles) in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until mixture comes to the boil. Remove from heat and stir in passionfruit pulp. Pour hot lemon mixture over the back of a large metal spoon, over pudding.

4. Bake for approx. 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted halfway into pudding comes out clean. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Pasta with Pureed Yellow Pepper Sauce

2007-05-16T19:57:00.000-05:00

Tonight's dinner would have been perfect for a taste of yellow! It comes from Weight Watcher's Cook It Quick, which is actually a really good book for fast, healthy meals. Everything I have made from here so far has turned out very tasty and is pretty easy to make. Great for weeknight meals.

This recipe was also easy and only took about 15-20 minutes. It was creamy and tasty and nice and light for after the gym. The original recipe said to use Fusilli, but I only had cavatapi. I'm sure you could do whatever pasta you liked.

Cavatapi with Pureed Yellow Pepper Sauce
(Serves 4)

3/4 cup water
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
cracked black pepper to taste
2 cups pasta
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta
2 tbs minced parsley
4 tsp grated parmesan cheese

1. Combine water, pepper, onion, tomato, oil, salt and pepper in a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender and the liquid evaporates, 15-18 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook pasta and drain into serving bowl.

3. Transfer vegetables to a blender or food processor. Add ricotta and puree. Pour over pasta and toss to coat. Sprinkle with parsley and parmesan and serve.

Spring..ehhh....Egg Rolls

2007-05-15T19:51:00.000-05:00

Ugh, tonight was one of those nights that we should have got take away! I had seen some lovely looking spring rolls on the blog Definitely Not Martha and wanted to make them. I am not very savvy when it comes to asian food, as we never had it growing up (mum is not a fan), but this looked fairly straight forward....and it would have been, had I not thought that egg roll wrappers were the same thing as rice paper wrappers. Oh well, you live and learn.

When I opened up the package I thought the wrappers looked distinctly doughy and upon closer inspection of the ingredients, there was no mention of rice. So, I quickly realized that they needed to be fried. I was not happy. I don't own a fryer...we never fry food in our house. So, I pulled out the wok, poured in some canola and fried my little spring/egg rolls. Then I drained them on some paper towel and served with a peanut sauce.

The verdict:...They weren't horrible. In fact, some might say they were even pretty good, but I wasn't too happy about the fat content of tonight's dinner as this was supposed to be a really healthy meal.

No point dwelling on it though.....tomorrow is another meal. I am not posting the recipe of this, but if you want to check out the spring rolls on Definitely Not Martha, then click here.

A Tart and Salad

2007-05-13T18:14:00.000-05:00

I haven't started the week off well, with tonight's dinner coming yet again from Donna Hay's Flavors, however this tart needed a little extra time then what I would usually have during the week, so for me, it was definitely a weekend meal.

It was very easy though and quite tasty. I only made half the recipe as I didn't think this would be very good reheated or frozen. I served with a quick salad of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, red pepper, mung bean sprouts, goat's cheese and sunflower seeds. This was a very nice, light dinner....great for summer.

Tomato, Basil and Ricotta Tart
(Serves 4-6)

4 tomatoes, halved
2 tbs olive oil
cracked black pepper
12 oz ready-prepared puff pastry
6oz fresh ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
3/4 cup shredded fresh basil

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Place the tomatoes on a baking tray and sprinkle with the oil and pepper. Bake for 50 minutes or until soft and slightly dried.

2. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface until 3mm thick. Cut the pastry into a 20cmx30cm rectangle and place on a baking tray lined with a non-stick baking paper.

3. Place the ricotta into a fine sieve and press to remove any excess liquid. Process the ricotta, parmesan and eggs in a food processor until smooth, then stir through the basil. Spread ricotta filling over pastry base, leaving a 2cm border, then press tomatoes into the filling. Bake for 30 minutes or until the filling is set and the pastry is golden.