Portuguese Chicken Salad

This yummy salad was something I put together this afternoon because I was too lazy to make anything else.

I dare say this salad is a healthier alternative to the chips and ham sangers you are possibly contemplating.

It was fricken delish!

I’ve used yellow plums in the recipe but if you can’t get them, you can also use mango for that beautiful sweetness.

This is a very yummy, dead easy lunch for those lazy days.

Ingredients

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

1/2 small cucumber, finely diced

1/2 tomato, finely diced

1 yellow plum, sliced thinly

olive oil, to serve

balsamic vinegar or dressing, to serve

1 chicken breast

Portuguese seasoning or spice rub

Method

Rub the Portuguese spice rub or seasoning over the chicken breast, ensuring you coat all of it well.

You can throw the breast on a hot grill, but for those too lazy to get the grill going like me, just put it in a non-stick pan with a smidge of olive oil and cook it over med-high heat until cooked inside and the outsides have a slightly charred appearance.

Wrap the chicken breast in some foil and set aside to rest for a few minutes.

Arrange your carrot matchsticks in the middle of your plate.

After the chicken has rested for a few minutes, slice it thinly against the grain and arrange atop the carrots.

Mix your plums, tomato and cucumbers in a bowl with a drop of olive oil.

Sprinkle your tomato, plums and cucumbers over the chicken and let it tumble down the sides.

Drizzle some olive oil and basalmic vinegar over the plate and gobble it all up!

Image

 

Off for Christmas

Well, it is time for me to get busy with my Christmas preparations and I need to bathe my stinky dog, so I must bid you adieu for a few days while I stuff myself silly with copious amounts of fattening food.

Merry Christmas to you all- I hope your bellies are all full with delicious food and drink and that Santa is especially good to you this year.

Merry Christmas! 

 

Avocado

Avocado is everywhere nowadays.

I must admit that the first time I tried avocado, it tasted like soap.

I’m still not salivating over the taste of avocado, or it’s lack thereof, but I must admit I’m entranced by it. It must be something about how lovely the green, glossy slivers of the fruit (yes, fruit) look sitting atop a delicious meal. Or the fuzzy, oily warmth I feel as it slides down my throat.

Yes, there’s something about avocados that keeps me interested, so that’s why today we’re going to talk about everything avocado.

Let’s start with the basics. Avocados are the fruit of the avocado trees native to Central America and Mexico.

Now I know you think of avocado and think, “OMG IT’S SO HIGH IN FAT!!”- yes, you’re right. It’s higher in fat than most fruits and vegetables, but it’s mostly monounsaturated fat.

They also have 60% or so more potassium than bananas and are rich in B vitamins, as well as vitamin E, vitamin K, and folate. So they’re fricken good for you, alright?

In the supermarket, you’ll know if an avocado is ripe by gently squeezing the fruit in your hand. I’m not talking death-grip here. Just a gently squeeze. If it’s ripe, it will be a little bit soft.

When you slice one open, the flesh will be a greenish, Exorcist-rotating-head-spew green or a golden yellowish colour.

If you’ve left it out just a little too long, you’ll know about it. The flesh oxidizes and turns brown quickly after exposure to air. To prevent this, lime or lemon juice can be added to avocados after they are peeled.

Avocado is a great healthier alternative to using margarine or butter spreads on sandwiches. Simply mash it up and spread it over the base of your sandwich.

It’s as the base for yummy Mexican guacamole and as the filling for several kinds of sushi, like California rolls.

In Brazil and Vietnam, avocados are frequently used for milk-shakes and occasionally added to ice cream.

In the Philippines and Indonesia, a dessert drink is made with sugar, milk, and pureed avocado.

In Central America, avocados are served mixed with white rice.

The fruit is also pressed for avocado oil production.

In Chile it is often used in hamburgers, hot dogs and celery salads.

It’s a great base for all the yummy salsas that are all the craze at the moment to serve over your chicken or fish. Dice it up finely with tomato, mango, or whatever else strikes your fancy and add some olive oil, seasoning and lime juice and spoon it over delish grilled chicken breasts or fish fillets.

Image source

Image source

Info source

 

How to deglaze

 

What is this deglazing crap you always hear these bloody chefs carry on about?

Why make things even more difficult for you by having to get all fancy and ‘deglaze‘ your pan?

Before you panic, it’s not that hard.

In short, deglazing is scraping the shit out of your pan, adding some liquid to it and pouring it over your dinner.

The whole idea is that when you cook something yummy, little bits of food are going to stick to the bottom of the pan and caramelize. These yummy little scraps are actually full of flavour and when you pour your liquid in, like some stock or red wine, these yummy flavour infuse the liquid as you cook it down over a high heat. This is not the part where you walk away and chat on the phone about Laguna Beach or tend to your cuticles. You need to stand there and work at scraping these scraps off with a wooden spoon and stirring as the liquid reduces.

At this point, you can add your seasonings like chopped parsley, salt and pepper, peppercorns, whatever you want.

If you’re happy with the texture the way it is, serve it over your meal, but if you want that perfectly creamy, velvety kinda feel, chuck in a knob of chilled butter once you take the pan off the heat and stir it through as it melts. This will act to thicken the sauce up and give it a lovely, seductive flavour.

When you’re ready to plate up, pour some of your yummy sauce over the meal and be satisfied in the knowledge that nothing got wasted! Woohoo!

Oh and the best bit? You don’t have to stand at the sink scrubbing like a lunatic to get all the crusty bits off the bottom of the pan! Double woohoo!

Image Source

 

Top 10 things you should ALWAYS have in your pantry

If you’re lazy like me, which I assume you are because you’re on the internet reading blogs rather than doing something productive, like SHOPPING, then it’s safe to assume that you despise grocery shopping like I do.

I hate shopping.

• Hate browsing the aisles, trying to find one particular item when I have a dozen other coloured logos, the words 98% FAT FREE! and NEW & IMPROVED! popping at my poor eyeballs.
• Hate the unflatteringfluorescent lighting. It makes me squint and shows off my imperfectly blended make-up.
• Hate the grubby trolley with its’ grubby dirty handle. Hate being looked at like a FREAK when I pull out my sanitizing hand spray from my bag and spray like crazy.
• Hate people who won’t move and hog the whole aisle, especially when standing there reading the MAGAZINES! Just buy the damn thing you fricken tight-arse!
• Hate the grotty fruit and vegies that are left over at the end of the day.
• Hate finding a tray of beef minute steaks stashed on the taco shell shelf because some fat-arse couldn’t be bothered putting it back.
• Hate, hate, hate the stench of the pet food aisle.
• Hate having to pretend to be nice to the cashier, when in reality, I’m annoyed, my feet hurt, I’m hungry and having heart palpitations over how much of a dent this trolley full of shopping is going to put in my bank account.
• Hate cringing while cashier gets a price check on something embarrassing like KY Jelly/condoms/supersized tampons/Family-size block of chocolate.

Okay, so I hate shopping. I could go on, but I will spare you.

The point is, having a well stocked pantry can help you avoid having to go the horrible supermarket as frequently.

So here are the top ten things you should have in your pantry at all times- with these lifesavers, there will always be something to make a meal out of.

1. Tinned Tomatoes

Image Source http://www.channel4.com/

These are essential to any pantry. I cannot imagine my

pantry, or my life for that matter, without tinned tomatoes. They are perfect to whipping up yummy pasta sauces and they’re good for you. I read that they also contain high amounts of lycopene, a powerful anti-cancer antioxidant.

You can throw in a can of tomatoes with some olive oil, chopped onion and garlic, a few sprigs of basil, a bay leave and some salt and pepper and have yourself a delicious sauce for your pasta in no time. You can also use it to make soups, like tomato soup, lentil soup, bean soup and minestrone soup.

2.Pasta

Pasta is not an option. YOU MUST HAVE PASTA! Even poor people have pasta.

I don’t care what shape, what colour, whatEVER, just make sure you always have a few reserve packs of pasta waiting for you in case you catch a bad case of toolazytoshopitis. Apart from

the fact that dried pasta seems to keep forever, it’s a good base for a hearty, filling meal.

Image Source http://www.pastaatlarge.com

You can make a gazillion different pasta dishes with the variety of sauces out there. Tomato based sauces are easy to make or alternatively, you can do a cream based sauce. Chuck in some vegies, a few herbs and voila. Lazy mans’ dinner. Pasta like penne, orichette and other cute little shaped pastas are also great for pasta salads. Just mix in with some vegies like chopped capsicum or sweet corn kernels and mix with your fave dressing.

3. Chicken stock

You can add stock to give any meal flavour- everything from your lovely creamy pasta sauce to your minestrone soup, pumpkin soup, whatever soup! You can boil your pasta or rice in some stock to give it extra flavour and don’t forget it is the staple of a good risotto! You can sprinkle powdered stock over vegetables and roast in the oven for a pop of flavour or use as the base of finishing sauce for your chicken or vegetables.

This stuff can turn something drab into something edible.

4.Canned corn & canned beans.

Image Source http://www.prevention.com

These ingredients are very important to always have in your pantry. If you tend to suffer from Icantbebotheredshopping Syndrome, then the only vegetables you will have around will be part of the rotting sludge on the bottom of your crisper section of the fridge. An organised cook with always have canned corn and beans in their pantry…or suffers of paranoid schizophrenia (where they’re sure aliens are going to kick start Armageddon next Wednesday and have started stockpiling the rations in their bunker).

You can get almost any vegies in cans these days. I didn’t say they were any good however. I mean, potatoes out of a can will never be right. Ever.

Stick to the corn and beans because they’re probably the only ones that are any good.

You can use the corn in everything from chowders, minestrone, as a side, in fritters or patties with other ingredients, as a dip,slices, in quiches and muffins,  in a salsa or if you’re really lazy and really desperate, you can eat it out of can while you watch American Idol. I have done this. Wearing fluffy blue slippers.

Image Source http://examiner.com

5. Tuna

You either love tuna or you hate it. There is no in between.

Tuna is a great addition to always keep in the pantry if you’re okay with fishy flavours.

You can use tuna in almost everything, from salads to sandwiches, to dips, to patties, to pastas. Tuna casserole or tuna mornay are a must for tuna lovers. My mum makes an easy, yummy comfort tuna casserole and I will have to get around to sharing the ridiculously easy recipe.

And nowadays there’s those fancy pants tunas with gourmet flavours, like chargrilled and with lemon pepper and red chilli pepper and sun-dried tomato and onion and BLAH BLAH! It’s fricken FISH, in a CAN, with oil or brine. Goes good with stuff. Staple amongst the poor uni students and working schmucks who stink out the office at lunch time with their little tin of stench and then throw the empty can into a wastebasket under their desk, where it CONTINUES to stink until the unforunate cleaner has to get rid of it.

Tuna is a good supplement for any recipes where you don’t want to use chicken. Just be sure to brush your teeth afterwards. Not to mention, its lean and healthy.

6.Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs are a fatties’ pantry essential.

With their potential for so much greasy evil, why wouldn’t you want to keep some in your pantry?

Breadcrumbs are great when you have some meat to crumb and fry up (HELL YEAH!) or if you want to make some patties, meatballs, rissoles, fried with some garlic and shallots and served with oil over pasta or even make some potato croquettes (mashed potato and chopped flat-leaf parsley rolled in egg wash and breadcrumbs and fried until golden and delish!) or even arancini, which are Italian rice balls. They are really yum. Which brings us to our next pantry life-saving item.

Image Source www.citcom.in

7.Rice

It isn’t just for Asian people anymore, okay?

Rice is a great staple to always keep in the pantry. It’s filling and can be used in a variety of ways.

The type of rice you want to keep in there is up to you, however for diversity, I think just regular long grain rice is the best.

Now I’m not usually one to endorse packet foods, but we live in a day and age where people waste most of their live chained to a desk at work and come home and don’t have a lot of time, or will to live energy and just want something quick. So those little packets of instant rice that you zap in the microwave are a solution for these situations. They may be a ridiculously overpriced rip off, but for the time poor, they are a  heavensend.

With rice, you can do risottos, add it to soups, make sushi, fried rice, arancini, rice salads, rice pudding, eat it plain with butter and cheese (another whilst watching American Idol moment) or use it to stuff vine leaves or make cabbage rolls. YUMMO!

8. Flour

For those nights when pancakes seem like a good dinner. Yep, you guessed it, during American Idol.

If you’re too proud to sink down to the level of having pancakes for dinner (and I can guarantee almost EVERYONE has done it ONCE!), then flour always comes in handy for making batters for fritters and patties, deep frying anything you can find or baking a cake, muffins, making pastry for a pie or quiche or baking a slice. It can also be used to thicken stews and sauces, used as the base of a roux for a cheese sauce or just toss it at your kids if they are giving you the shits, that ought to shut the little turds up.

Image Source http://www.donnahay.com.au

9. Potatoes

If they haven’t gotten to the point where they’re sprouting alien-looking lifeforms, potatoes can be your saviour. They come in handy for everything from potato croquettes, to helping make tuna or salmon patties, to delish mashed potato. Alternatively you can keep them whole and bake them in the oven and split them open, slather them with garlic butter and eat with coleslaw and sour cream.

You could also top a baked potato with slices of avocado, beans, salsa, Cheddar cheese and sour cream. Yummity yum!

Slice em, fry em and make your own chips.

Cut them into wedges, give them a good toss in some olive oil and seasoning and bake.

Dice em up and cook em with some capsicum, garlic, tomato paste and onion for a yummy dinner to dip some bread into. The smell is DIVINE.

And last of all….

10. A box of your favourite cereal.

For when American Idol is on.

Like pancakes, eating cereal for dinner is something we’ve all done at least once in our lifetimes and really, it’s not so bad. It’s a healthy, complete meal (I keep telling myself that). There’s grains, rice, fruit, nuts, vegetables like corn….and you’re getting a dose of dairy from the splash of milk….Okay. I wouldn’t recommend eating cereal for dinner as a long term solution. Especially the high fibre ones. But for those nights, where the thought of cooking dinner is enough to make you wanna get all emo and start writing death poetry, a bowl of cereal isn’t the worst thing you could sit down with.

You can also use certain cereals to make muesli bars, muffins, slices, cookies or eat it straight from the box as a snack…

 

Disgusting Dinners

Omg!

I have spent the last hour laughing so hard that I almost couldn’t breathe!

You have to check out this thread for pics of peoples’ cooking disasters.

Click here to see it (you will have a great laugh, just make sure you haven’t just eaten or are about to eat!)

Some of that stuff is so freakin’ foul!

It was a great laugh and mighty, mighty entertaining!

One of my faves , pictured  left.

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

 

Endeavouring into the land of the cupcakes

I will be attempting my first cupcakes in the next few days after a lengthy visit to the baking aisle at Coles!

Oh yay, the excitement.

Be sure to check back for pics!

 

join the The Cupcake craze

What is with cupcakes being so, well, in the words of Paris Hilton, so hot lately? Everyone is jumping on the cupcake bandwagon these days, trading multi-tiered wedding cakes for tiered cupcake creations and spending hours perfecting their own cupcake recipe.

Me? I never saw the appeal in cupcakes. To me, cupcakes were reserved for childrens’ parties and afternoon teas in nursing homes.

Then I started noticing that I was flicking through cooking magazines and gazing longingly at glossy pictures of perfectly formed cupcakes with luscious frosting on top and decorated with little flowers, butterflies, candy, you name it. And they looked really pretty.

Suddenly, there are blogs devoted to cupcakes.

I find this all very interesting. Interested enough to have a renewed interest in cupcakes and enough interest to start contemplating experimenting with my own cupcake creations. After a visit to the baking aisle in Coles, of course.

Here is a basic cupcake recipe.

Use this as the foundation for all future cupcake experiments. This recipe makes about 12- enough for you to figure out if you suck at baking cupcakes and should give up entirely, or if you are a culinary cupcake genius.

Ingredients

• 60g butter, softened
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup self-raising flour, sifted
• 1/4 cup buttermilk or milk
• icing sugar, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Line a 12-hole patty pan with paper cases.
3. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale and creamy.
4. Add vanilla and egg.
5. Beat until well combined.
6. Transfer mixture to a larger bowl.
7. Fold in half the flour, followed by half the buttermilk/milk.
8. Repeat with remaining flour and buttermilk/milk.
9. Stir until batter is smooth.
10. Fill just over half of each paper case with batter.
11. Smooth surface of all cupcakes to ensure a lovely finish.
12. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
13. Stand cakes in pan for 10 minutes.
14. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
15. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Source

Super Food Ideas – April 2006 , Page 81

• 50g butter, softened
• 1 cup icing sugar mixture
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• food colouring of your choice

1. Using an electric hand mixer, beat butter until pale.
2. Add icing sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until pale.
3. Stir in vanilla.
4. Add colouring, 1 drop at a time, stirring until icing is is the desired colour.
5. Spread icing over cakes.

Image Sources

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

 

Table Manners Basics

I know most of you will skip this post, thinking you don’t need to hear about table manners. After all, your mother drummed it all into your head whilst you were growing up. You can almost hear her again, sternly saying, “Elbows off the table!” and “Only cows chew with their mouth open.”

You’d be surprised how often we go out to dine in restaurants and have to see people with appalling table manners, who don’t even realise how disgusting they are.

I’m big on table manners, not because I’m a snob, but I think if someone went to the effort to cook you a good meal, you should have the common courtesy to eat it properly and show some respect for your fellow diners. Despite what you may think, they don’t want to see what’s in your mouth while you talk. They don’t want you to lean over them and their plate while you help yourself to the salad. And they almost certainly don’t want to see you try and swallow the spoon while you slurp that soup down.

Now before you get your goat up, nobody is asking, or expecting you to be all prim and proper at the table. No pinky-finger out while you sip your tea, no standing when a lady leaves the table, none of that. Relax. Just be fit to be seen eating in public and say it, don’t spray it.

Some basic table manner hints and things to remember are:

Don’t be a bogan and butter your whole breadroll and then eat it whole. Tear off small, manageable pieces of bread and butter it as you go.

Do not season your food before you’ve tasted it. It’s rude and makes you look like a bogan.

Do not slurp soup from your spoon. Spoon the soup away from you when you take it out of the bowl and sip it from the side, not head on. Slurping is so…bogan.

If your soup is too hot to eat, let it sit until it cools; do not blow on it. This makes you look like a bogan.

Don’t stuff your mouth full of food. Not only does it make you look like a starving bogan, but you could choke and there is nothing more embarrassing than choking in the middle of a restaurant or formal dinner.

Chew with your mouth closed. Nobody wants to see what that veal looks like after being attacked by your chompers. Neither do they want to hear all the juicy, slopping, bogan sounds of you chewing it. Don’t utter one word until you have swallowed.

Don’t make any rude comments about any food being served. Attempting to joke that the casserole on your plate looks like dog mush will only result in two outcomes. 1) You will not be invited to any future dinner parties. 2) If you are lucky enough to be invited back, your food will spat in by an angry cook with a long memory.

Always say thank you when served something. It astounds me how many people go to restaurants and totally ignore the waitstaff when they deliver their meals, drinks and cutlery. Take a minute to say thankyou, you jerks! These people handle the food you’ll be ingesting and you don’t know what goes on behind the scenes, so be appreciative.

Wait for your fellow diners to have their meals served before you tuck in. There’s nothing worse than The Pig of the table slobbering all over their plate in a hungered frenzy while the rest of the guests wait patiently. You should all start eating together.

Speaking of The Pig of the table, you should eat slowly and don’t hog into the food like a starving bogan who hasn’t been fed this fortnight because his dole money hasn’t come through yet. Slowly means to wait about 5 seconds after swallowing before contemplating your next bite.

If you get something stuck in your chompers, don’t sit there and pick it out, even if you think you’re being discreet. If you absolutely cannot handle it anymore, excuse yourself and go the toilets and deal with it.

We’ve talked about napkins before. It should be on your lap. If you somehow managed to dribble some of your French onion soup on your chin, use your napking to dab your mouth and chin gently, not smear it across your face like a …yep, you guessed it, like a bogan! Don’t wipe your face or blow your nose with a napkin. I have seen people do this.

Any utensils that have been used should not touch the table again – leave it on the plate at all times.

If someone asks you to pass the salt, you pass both the salt and pepper. Don’t ask why, just do it, okay? That’s just how it’s done. Don’t be a bogan.

When the meal is over, thank the host and if they ask how it was or if you enjoyed it, tell them it was great and you were very impressed, even if this is a lie. Telling them it tasted like “dog shit” probably isn’t appropriate.

Image 1

Image 2

 

Everybody Loves Scones

I’ve never met anybody who doesn’t like scones.

Scones remind me of childhood winters, snug at home while the rain poured outside and the delicious aroma of freshly baked scones wafting from the kitchen. Soft, warm scones slathered in tarty fruit of the forest jam and topped off with a dollop of smooth cream.

Okay, well I know it’s the middle of summer here down under. I know it’s so freakin’ hot today that you think you’re going to die. I know that at the moment you’re more interested in ice-cream, ice-cubes and potato salad instead of warm, wintery scones.

But, here’s the upside. Scones are so dead-easy that you can indulge yourself, and your family with their yumminess and actually do minimal work- they’re the perfect hot weather snack because they take 20 minutes from oven to your belly. And everyone will think how wonderful you are because you slaved away in the kitchen, over a hot oven, to make them something yummy.

Everyone fights about scone recipes. Some swear by cream, others swear by buttermilk and ricotta and almond meal. Pooh, pooh. The secret ingredient is lemonade. Don’t argue with me, don’t pfft me, I am your friend and I wouldn’t lie to you. So you toddle off and go and by your bloody lemonade and then we’ll talk scones.

Ingredients

4 cups self-raising flour

300 ml cream or chilled milk

1 can lemonade (355 ml) Sprite or 7UP etc

½ teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat oven to 220ºC.

Prepare a baking tray with some baking paper and spray with canola oil or similar cooking spray.

Mix all your ingredients in a bowl until it becomes a smooth dough.

Sprinkle some flour on your bench or board and knead it. Yes, get your hands in there. Plus, getting flour all over your hands and clothes makes it look like you worked really hard in the kitchen.

Roll the dough out flat (not pancake flat, but enough to allow them to rise a little bit without resembling little dinner rolls).

Use a round cookie-cutter or even the rim of a glass, bottle or jar of the appropriate size to cut out little circles. Flour the rim of the glass or jars so they don’t stick.

Place the scones on the baking tray, leaving a decent space between each of them so they don’t stick and all that.

Brush the tops with beaten egg or milk to give that lovely golden glaze.

Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes until starting to colour pale golden.

Cool them on a wire rack when ready and perhaps cover them with a tea-towel to keep them soft and prevent them from drying out.

When they’re ready to eat, cut them in half, spread with jam and and top with a dollop of cream.

Eat as many as you can before they disappear.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Once in a while, someone thinks up a great idea to put a twist on the old-fashioned scone. Here are some variations I’ve tried, tested, read about and dreamt about.

· Add some dried fruit to the mixture. Fruits like chopped dates, sultanas and even dried cranberries. Glace cherries, dried figs, dried apricots- you name it, if it’s dry, you can add it.

· Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to the mixture for those with a sweet-tooth. Be prepared to double the quantities of the recipe to make enough because these go. Fast.

· If you outgrew your sweet-tooth when you were eight years old, try making some savoury scones. Try replacing the lemonade with soda water and add any of these extras or a combination of a few–
· 1 large onion, finely chopped
· 1 cup grated tasty cheese
· 6 rashers lean rindless bacon, or smoked ham, chopped
· 3 tablespoons chopped parsley or fresh herbs
· 1 cup chopped gherkins or pickled onions

Here are some other variations I found:

• Spiced Scones: Add enough cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice to the dry ingredients to total 1/2 teaspoon.
• Raisin Wheat Scones: Substitute white flour with whole wheat pastry flour or half and half white and wheat. Use brown sugar instead of white and plain yogurt instead of whole milk. A healthy take on a delicious treat!
• Buttermilk Scones: Substitute buttermilk for whole milk and add 1 tablespoon sugar to the basic recipe.
• Walnut Scones: Add 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts.
• Cheddar Scones: Add 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese and 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard.
• Dried Fruit Scones: Add 1/2 cup raisins, currants, cranberries, or chopped dried apricots.
• Vanilla Chocolate Chip Scones: Add 1/2 cup white or dark chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon vanilla to the basic recipe.
• Lemon Scones: Add the juice and zest of 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon sugar to the basic scone recipe.

Image Source, top left.

 

Top 5 Most Versatile Herbs

Thinking of starting your very own herb garden (i.e, a few pots near the back door or on the balcony)?

Well, I am.

Deciding what herbs to incorporate into my little herb garden has taken some research, but it mostly comes down to your own personal taste and which herbs you can see yourself using most in your cooking and for other purposes, like medicinal or fragrance purposes.

Here are my top five picks for the most versatile herbs used in cooking- they will all be featuring in my herb garden.

Basil

This is one of my favourite herbs. Growing up in an Italian family, I have eaten quite a lot of basil in just about everything and to this day, I still love it. My husband, on the other hand, just can’t seem to warm to it because it gives him a blood nose. Maybe I should sneak it into his dinner when I’m pissed off at him, hey? Rub a little under his nose while he’s sleeping? Hmm, better not because who would then be left washing the sheets? Yours truly, of course.

So anyway, back to basil.

Basil thrives in warm weather and lots of sun, so putting a pot out on your balcony is a great idea. It’s an annual plant, meaning you have to replant the bloody thing every year and it can’t survive the winter if you’re keeping it outdoors. Basil doesn’t like frost.

It’s so versatile, you can use it in a variety of ways. You can use it to flavour oils by popping a spring into a bottle of olive oil and storing it. You can chuck it in the food processor with some pine nuts, parmesan cheese and oil to make your own yummy pesto. Finely chopped, it goes well on fish and chicken and makes a delicious dressing with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The leaves can be eaten whole or shredded in salads like garden salads and warm potato salads. And don’t forget what basil was put on this earth for – Caprese salad (with bocconcini and little cherry tomatoes, DELISH!!). Image source

Rosemary

Believe it or not, rosemary is a member of the mint family. And a really annoying little girl who used to kick me in kindergarten with her stubby little legs. She clearly had some behavioural issues. I wonder what she is up to nowadays. Probably a suicide bomber.

Rosemary is easy to grow and doesn’t have the same problem with a lot of other herbs in the pest department as it seems to pest resistant. It can also tolerate drought conditions, which is good for us Aussies suffering water restrictions (and even better for those of us who are so lazy and cannot be bothered watering our pots regularly!).

This plant also flowers and the the little blooms are a delicate white or sometimes even blue- they are just gorgeous.

Rosemary has been used in the past to treat headaches, dandruff, poor circulation and epilepsy. Hippie nerds reckon it helps improve memory. Hippie nerds reckon it helps improve memory. Hippie nerds reckon it helps improve memory. HAH! (God, kill me now).

Because of its’ sweet fragrance, rosemary is popular for use in all kinds of lotions and tonics, essential oil blends and even incense sticks- one of my favourites, in fact.

Rosemary really is one of the most versatile herb- you can use it in so many different ways. The most traditional and much loved way, of course, is with roast lamb. Rosemary and lamb go together like… well, other good stuff. Crush and chop the leaves and use with pork or chicken dishes. Toss leaves with some chopped potatoes, salt, pepper and olive oil and bake for the best roast potatoes EVER! You can even use the stems as skewers because they’re so nice and sturdy- thread your meat or vegetables on to impart a beautiful flavour. Or like our friend, Jeff Jansz (I can’t be bothered trying to find out if I spelt that right), you can even use a sprig of rosemary as an oil brush when barbecuing. Just dip the sprig in some olive oil and brush the barbecue and baste the meat as you go. Ingenious.

You can add rosemary to sausages, with a good old fashioned roast, as part of stuffing mixes (perfect for chicken and turkeys, YUM!) and even sauces to drizzle over a baked chicken breast. It also makes a fabulous marinade. Definitely a favourite of mine.

Image source

Mint

There are heaps of varieties of mint, but perhaps the most common are spearmint and peppermint.

Now, talk about versatile.

You can use mint in everything from desserts, fruit salads, drinks, meat, vegies and seafood. There is a trick to choosing which mint goes best with which though- the general rule is that spearmint is ideal for savory dishes and peppermint is better for sweet desserts.

We most commonly associate mint with lamb, but it can also be used in making tea (perfect for settling a queasy belly), marinades and more commonly, used as a garnish for desserts and drinks.

Mint is also widely know to be a very good source of potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, manganese, copper, iron, calcium and magnesium = GOOD SHIT!

The fragrance of mint is often used in essential oils and perfumes and is thought to be revitalising and energising.

It’s also dead easy to grow- in the words of my husband, who hates gardening with a passion, “That bloody thing is unkillable!“[sic]. Righty-oh love. You just toddle off back to your computer and leave the killing of herbs to me. I’m quite good at it.

Image source

Sage

From my reading , I have learnt that sage is a powerful medicinal herb, having been used in a variety of cooking and medicinal scenarios. It’s been used to treat everything from sprains, swelling, ulcers and to control bleeding. Infused in a tea, it said to be good for sore throats and coughs. I will personally pass on that one. I’m all for herbal tea- as in, peach and mango; strawberry; lemon and ginger, and other sugary crap varieties, but sage? HELL NO!

Herbalists have also used this herb for rheumatism, menstrual bleeding, strengthening the nervous system, improving memory, and sharpening the senses apparently. That’s nice. Let’s get back to the cooking part, this isn’t a bloody herbal remedy lesson.

Now the most important thing you need to know with sage is, GO EASY! This stuff ruins everything when used generously- it basically makes your food taste like compost. Not that I’ve eaten compost, but you get the idea.

One of my favourite ways to eat sage is cooked the traditional way in a saltinbocca dish. Saltinbocca is a dish usually made with thinly sliced veal which is rolled with prosciutto and sage leaves, then pan fried and served with a white wine sauce. This is also fabulous with chicken.

Sage also tends to go well with the zesty flavour of lemon. Lemon and sage chicken is also a delicious favourite. Just remember to go easy on the sage and you’ll enjoy it in almost anything you cook that has a meaty, hearty flavour.

Image source

 

Flat-leaf Parsley

I’ve eaten so much parsley in my lifetime, I am surprised my farts are not parsley-scented.

NUMBER ONE LESSON I LEARNT ABOUT PARSLEY: It cures stinky breath! Not for me of course…but for other people. I wouldn’t know about stinky breath…thank you.

I also learnt that this herb is a part of the carrot family! Amazing what you learn every day. Now because it’s related to carrots, it also has the same high levels of beta carotene. It’s also a great source of vitamin B12, chlorophyll, calcium and even has more vitamin C than citrus fruits!

I have also heard that parsley is supposed to help improve the health and fragrance of roses when grown nearby.

Parsley has a variety of uses in the kitchen. Chop it finely and blend it with butter or mayonnaise as a perfect accompaniment for steak or seafood. Use it as a garnish or chop finely and sprinkle over your meal as you plate up. Blended with other herbs and a little oil, it can be a yummy marinade for fish and chicken. Chop it and mix it into your breadcrumb mix when making schnitzel- it really is lovely. Or make a delicious tabbouleh which is a Middle Eastern salad made of chopped parsley, burghul (cracked wheat), diced tomato, mint, lemon juice and black pepper. This is one of my, “Oh crap, I don’t have anything for dinner” summer meals and we usually just scoop it up with toasted Turkish bread and burp at each other and rate the aroma out of ten.

Image source

 

The Forbidden List – Foods to say buh-bye to.

The following list of foods might shock you. It might even anger you, or send you into fits of absolute rage.

Consider this a friendly, helpful guide that will save your poor widdle taste-buds, who have been tortured long enough by your laziness!

- The Forbidden List -

 

1.

 

Baked beans, left.

Yeah, you always hear me ragging on about baked beans, but this is some serious shit people! I can’t even begin to count the amount of Aussies people who have resorted to a can of these gluggy beans in sugar tomato sauce on toast after perusing the pantry and deciding they just could. not. be. bothered.

You should be ashamed of yourself! Surely you could have come up with something a little more creative, and appetising, than that! Baked beans should be reserved for four year old’s learning important life lessons in microwave use and for lifting weights around the house to lose the arm jiggle fat YOU put on by eating this crap in the first place! Only drunk yobbos’ getting home after a late night, and unemployed people like baked beans as much as four year olds.

 

2.

 

2-Minute Noodles, left.

Maggi can make all the bloody flavours they like. Satay and sweet and sour and roast chicken- PFFT!!! I will still never eat this stuff again, and neither should you if you want to be a valuable member of society. The only people who have an excuse to eat these are elderly pensioners with no teeth and soft gums and guys who just got home from the hospital after losing their teeth in a Saturday night bar brawl. And almost every Aussie bloke has been there once. These noodles are a cop out- you have no excuse to reach for a pack of these because all you have to do is add hot water- be kind to your tastebuds, please, I beg you!

 

 

 

3.

 

 

 

Instant mashed potato, left.

I have never tasted anything more wrong, anything more unnatural in my whole life. This stuff is bizarre. I don’t pretend to understand and I am definitely NOT going to pretend to like it. I think it is just downright freaky!

I know sometimes washing, peeling, chopping and waiting for your potatoes to boil before you can mash them is a pain in the butt. I know you wanted your mashed potato fifteen minutes ago. I know the only potatoes you have in your pantry are growing things on them you’ve only ever seen in Alien films, but please, don’t resort to this instant mash business. Why? Because first of all, it tastes like shit. Second of all, it’s full of shit and thirdly, because you will feel like shit after eating it knowing you are a lazy turd who couldn’t be bothered feeding your face with anything better! Leave the dehydrated, just-add-water foods to the astronauts, okay?

These three items are the biggest threat to your tastebuds, so avoid them at all costs.

What foods do you think should be added to The Forbidden List?

This list will be frequently updated, so get thinking!

 

 

 

Thai Fish Cakes & Snowpea Salad with Japanese Dressing

 

You need:
Ingredients for Salad

250g mangetout (snowpeas), trimmed & blanched
50g snowpea sprouts
1 red capsicum, julienne
½ teaspoon dashi granules
1 ½ tablespoons hot water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
seasoning

Ingredients for Fish Cakes

450g white fish fillets, skin & bones removed
45g rice flour
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons coriander, chopped
3 teaspoons red curry paste
1 teaspoon red chillies very finely sliced
100g green beans, very finely sliced and blanched
2 eschalots, very finely sliced
vegetable oil for shallow frying

Method:
Method for Salad

1. Combine the snowpeas, sprouts and capsicum in a bowl.

2. Dissolve the dashi in the hot water and add the soy, mirin, sugar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, vegetable oil and half the sesame seeds.

3. Pour over the snowpea mix toss well and season.

4. At service sprinkle the remaining sesame seeds over the salad.

Method for fish cakes

1. Cut the fish into small pieces and process until smooth in a food processor. Remove from the processor and place in a cold mixing bowl.

2. Add the rice flour, fish sauce, egg, coriander, curry paste and chilli. Mix until well combined.

3. Form into 6 even sized patties.

4. Heat the oil in a fry pan and shallow fry over a low heat until golden and cooked through.

Serving Suggestion: n.b Mirin is Japanese rice wine.

Source

 

Veggie, pesto and fetta parcels

Preparation time: 40 mins Total cooking time: 30 mins Serves 4

You’ll need
30g butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
150g asparagus spears, trimmed and chopped
1 carrot, cut into julienne strips
1 zucchini, cut into julienne strips
6 spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
90g mild feta cheese, crumbled
8 sheets filo pastry
60g butter, melted
1/3 cup good-quality ready made pesto
2 tsp sesame seeds

Here’s how
1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Heat the butter in a large frying pan, then add the garlic and vegetables. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or until just tender. Cool completely and fold in the feta. Divide the mixture into four equal portions.

*
2. Work with four sheets of pastry at a time, keeping the rest covered with a damp tea towel. Brush each sheet with melted butter and lay them on top of one another. Cut in half widthways and spread 1 tablespoon of the pesto in the centre of each half, leaving a 2cm border lengthways. Place one portion of the vegetable feta mixture on top of the pesto. Repeat the process with the remaining pastry, pesto and filling.

*
3. Brush the edges of filo with a little butter, tuck in the sides and fold over the ends to make four parcels. Place on a greased baking tray, seam-side-down, brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden. Cut in half diagonally and serve hot with tomato chutney.

*

Source: The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook (Murdoch Books)

Source

 

Foods you should not freeze!

- Hard boiled eggs go rubbery
- Fried and crumbed meats go soggy
- Whole eggs in their shells will break as the contents expand
- Vegetables with a high water content, such as lettuce
- Sour cream and yoghurt separate
- Meringue weeps
- Custards, mayonnaise and dishes containing gelatine
- Herbs and spices lose their pungency after two weeks

Image source

Source

 

Acapulco Gold

Ingredients

Ice
30ml tequila
30ml Tia Maria
30ml dark rum
30ml pineapple juice
30ml coconut cream

Method

Combine ice, tequila, Tia Maria, dark rum, juice and coconut cream in cocktail shaker; shake well.

Strain into highball glass.

 

 

Angel

 Ingredients

Ice
30ml Baileys
20ml Cointreau
20ml strawberry liqueur
30ml pineapple juice
30ml cream
4 strawberries

Method

Combine ice, Baileys, Cointreau, strawberry liqueur, pineapple juice, cream and strawberries in a blender and mix well.

Pour into a large goblet.

Garnish with skewered marshmallows and strawberries, if desired.

Source

 

Blue Lagoon Cocktail

Ingredients

Ice
30ml vodka
15ml blue curaçao
Lemonade

Method

Half-fill a highball glass with ice.

Add vodka and blue curaçao.

Top with lemonade.

Source

 

Food safety at Christmas time

Christmas is the one time of the year you can guarantee almost everyone is splurging on good food.

However, it’s also the time of year when many people suffer from horrible food poisoning from ill-prepared food and by not observing some basic safety rules.

Here are some food safety tips to keep in mind for Christmas time, courtesy of the Food Safety Information Council .

Avoid keeping food in the temperature danger zone between 5^oC and 60^oC where food poisoning bacteria grow best.
Keep hot foods steaming hot over 60^oC and keep cold foods refrigerated at or below 5 ^oC.
Ready to eat food should always be defrosted in the fridge or microwave, never on the bench top, unless the manufacturer recommends that you do so.
You can defrost the turkey in the fridge, or ask your butcher to defrost it in the coolroom but make sure it is completely defrosted in the centre before cooking. It’s OK to defrost a turkey on the benchtop, but you must make sure it is thoroughly cooked all the way through to make sure any bacteria are killed – use a meat thermometer to check that the temperature in the thickest part reaches 75 degrees Celsius.
Because stuffing slows down cooking and cooling, it is best cooked separately.
Before preparing food for Christmas make sure that there is enough room in the fridge to keep cold food at or less than 5^oC. If there is not enough room in the fridge, remember that soft drinks and alcohol,, jams, pickles and other acidic condiments do not require refrigeration to remain safe. Drinks can be kept cold in an esky with ice.
Prepare foods as close as possible to eating time.
Use separate cutting boards and utensils for raw meats and poultry and ready to eat foods.
Cook foods properly. All rolled & stuffed roasts, poultry, sausages, mince dishes and liver need to be fully cooked. Steaks, chops and solid pieces of meat can be eaten rare.
If you cook large amounts of food in advance, divide it into smaller portions or shallow containers, cover and place in fridge or freezer. Make sure there is good air circulation around the containers.
Refrigerate leftovers immediately after the meal.
Always store perishable leftovers in the fridge and use them up within 2 to 3 days.
When reheating food ensure that it is steaming hot all the way through (at least 75^oC).
Your Christmas ham will keep several weeks with proper handling by removing it from its plastic wrap, covering with clean cloth soaked in water and vinegar so it doesn’t dry out, following any instructions on the packaging and storing it in the fridge below 5 degrees Celsius. Reduced salt hams are now becoming popular but will not last as long as conventional hams so follow instructions on the packaging.
Before preparing foods and between handling raw meat or raw chicken wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water and dry thoroughly.

Image source

 

Christmas favourites- Chocolate Truffles

Thanks to Josephine for contributing her favourite Christmas recipe for these delish Chocolate Truffles.

These are perfect for when you offer to bring something to the Christmas party, hoping the host will say “No, don’t worry about it” but they actually say yes.

At this point, you panic because you were only asking to be polite, not because you really intended to bring anything.

These little beauties will rescue you every time and remember, if someone rolls up with a plate of these at your next do- they were only offering to bring something to be polite! Hahah!

These are quick and so easy to make- but beware, they don’t last long, so make a few extra!

Ingredients

1 pack of Marie or similar biscuits (plain, sweet biscuits or digestive biscuits)
1 tin condensed milk
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
¼ cup rum (optional)
extra coconut for rolling

Method

Crush biscuits until fine – think breadcrumbs, or cheesecake base.

Combine with remaining ingredients and with damp hands (to prevent you becoming a big, sticky mess) roll into small, bite-sized balls.

Lick the bowl clean while you watch Days of Our Lives.

Roll the balls in extra coconut and refrigerate.

These are great to enlist the help of the kiddos- they love the rolling and general making a mess of everything.

Image