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

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.

Grilled Sirloin with Wild Rocket and Rosemary Potatoes

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

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.

Rustic Winter Vegetable Tarts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!!!

Salmon Burger with Avocado Salsa

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

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

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

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.

Sausage Rolls with Heirloom Tomato Salad

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

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

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.