Homey Mac'n'Cheese with lotsa veggie

Mac n Cheese with lotsa veg

Mr T and I returned from our brief break from sunny and warm Surfers Paradise and was greeted by the wet and freezing cold of M Town.

I was really craving something homey and decide to make mac'n'cheese. It's also Mr T's number 1 comfort food. This is what he would request when he's sick. No Congee for him....

I remember we had this whole head of cauliflower sitting in the crisper section of our fridge that we got at the market nearly a month ago and this long forgotten leek. So thought we'd better use them up now that our oven has been fixed (it was out of commission for nearly 6 months! >.<)

Ingredients (feeds 4 or more)

• 1/2 packet of pasta (I used macaroni coz I like their shape)
• 1 whole head of cauliflower, separated into florets
• 1 leek, sliced finely up to all the edible bits 
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
• 1 carrot (grated)
• 1 red capsicum, diced
• frozen green peas (optional and use as much as you like)
• bacon, diced (optional, use as much as you like)
• butter
• flour
• milk
• white wine
• 1 egg
• 1 heaped tablespoon of whole grain mustard
• mixed herbs
• Slap ya'Mama (cajun/chili powder - optional)
• Dukkah (optional)
• cheese (cheddar, Parmesan, mozzarella)
• breadcrumbs (optional)
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

• Season the cauliflower florets with mixed herbs, salt & pepper, slap ya'Mama and Dukkah in a roasting pan (or whatever you'll be making the mac'n'cheese in), place in oven and roast for 20 mins or so, until soften. 
• Cook pasta on stove top per packet direction til 70% ready (under cook them, because they'l cook further in the oven).
• In a large saucepan, over medium heat, fry up the bacon bits over a splash of olive oil, add the leek, cook for 5 mins.
• Add garlic and grated carrots cook for another couple of minutes, add capsicum & frozen peas, keep stirring so they don't stick to pan and everything is thoroughly mixed, season slightly with salt and pepper.
• Pour out cooked pasta and drain.
• In pasta pot over medium heat, make a roux with the butter and flour until it's a nice nutty tan/brown colour.
• Add in milk and white wine, make sure it's NOT bubbling and crack in the egg, keep whisking so it doesn't form a poached egg!
• Season with whole grain mustard and Slap ya'Mama, keep whisking and add in cheese until it's one gooey gooey glob.
• Transfer cooked cauliflower to the saucepan of veggies along with the cooked pasta and mix well.
• Pour the mixture back into the roasting pan and then add in the cheese sauce, top with a sprinkle of breadcrumb to give it that crunchy top 
• Bake for 20 mins until it's golden. 
• DIG IN!!!

Taiwanese 3 Cup Chicken (Samg Bui Gai)

So apparently the '3 cups' in 3 cups chicken is in reference to the quantity of soya sauce, Chinese cooking wine and sesame oil in the dish. Unless you're cooking a banquet for 100 people you just need 1 tablespoon each. Though '3 tablespoon chicken' doesn't quite have the same ring to it does it?

This was super quick to make and it was ready to eat before my rice even finish cooking. So I had to wait around smelling this aromatic dish. Not good on a hungry belly.

Ingredients:

3 Cups Chicken

• 4 chicken thigh fillets (approx 500g)
• 1 red onion, choppped
• 1 red capsicum, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp of chopped ginger 
• red chillies
• Thai basil leaves
• spring onion
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1–2 tspn cornstarch
• 1 tbsp peanut/vegetable oil

Directions:

• cut up chicken to bite size, I removed the excess fatty bits
• add cornstarch, soya sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil, ginger and garlic to chicken and mix well
• heat oil in pan/wok on medium heat
• add chopped onion and cook for a little til soften
• add chicken mixture and leave it don't stir for a few minutes
• add chopped red capsicum to pan and stir to make sure the other side of the chicken is cooked
• add red chilies, spring oil and Thai basil leaves a few minutes before serving
• the cornstarch in the marinate would thicken to a nice sauce.

Served hot with white Jasmine rice. yummm

Meatballs with Romesco Sauce

Mozzarella stuffed spicy meatballs with romesco sauce

Meatballs!

So after visiting the Scorsese Exhibition at ACMI I simply could not get the meatballs that his mom Kathy made out of my head! (And wanting to watch all his movies as well, this guy is a cine-genius!)

I knew I didn't want big fist-sized meatballs because I just find them too dry, eating this massive chunk of mince meat did not appeal to me, but little ping-pong ball size ones filled with gooey mozzarella cheese....ooooh yeah baby! Get in mah belly!

We had pasta at a really cute Italian restaurant in the city after the exhibition, called Il Solito Posto, it was quite cozy and the food there was lovely, will definitely be going back there again. Though then made me crave something less traditional to go with my meatballs, so I decided to go Tapas/Spanish style with Romesco sauce, if you haven't tried it before, it is amazing! My Romesco sauce is made with roasted char-grilled red capsicums, so their flavours really intensify and brings out the sweetness and slightly smokiness, there's almond flakes, breadcrumbs to give the sauce body and other spices like smokey paprika to up the pepper and smokey flavour. It went really well with the meatballs. Here's what you'll need to make this simple but yummy dish.

Romesco sauce ingredients:

• 2 large capsicums, grilled whole in the oven on high heat for 30 mins
• breadcrumbs
• almond flakes
• tomato
• garlic
• smokey paprika
• chili flakes
• red wine vinegar/balsamic vinegar
• salt & pepper
• basil
• leek/onion
• olive oil

Directions

• Remove grilled capsicums from oven and place in ziplock bags, careful not to lose any of it's juices, this is vital part of the sauce!
• Let the capsicums cool in bag and remove the skins and the seeds
• In a blender thingy add all the ingredients except the basil and leek/onion and blitz til smooth
• In a saucepan, add olive oil and brown/sweat the onion/leek
• Add in the sauce, it is now ready for the meatballs to be be simmered in.

So let's get right into them.

Meatballs ingredients:

• 500 g of half pork half beef mince, you can incorporate other mince if you like
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1 egg
• breadcrumbs
• mozzarella/bocconcini quartered
• mixed dried italian herbs
• chilli powder/flake
• paprika
• salt & pepper
• kasundi

Directions

• Add all the ingredients except the cheese together, mix well
• Take a spoonful of the mince mixture and flatted it a bit and add the piece of cheese in the centre, then wrap mince around and roll it up into a ping pong ball size
• Add them to a fry pan with butter/olive oil to brown on all size, doesn't need to be cooked through.
• Do this in batches until all the meatballs have been browned, then add them all to the Romesco sauce for simmering for 15-20 minutes until they're cooked through and the sauce thicken up a bit.
• Serve with some chopped basil and you may top it up with shaved Parmesan cheese if you like.

Yuuummm :D

Jamaican Dinner

Yummy Jamaican Brown strewed chicken with red beans and rice

This was the night after the Attica Degustation dinner. And what do you eat after a delicate 5 course dinner?
A hearty, spicy, full of flavour Jamaican meal of course!

This one is a handy, foul-free treat.

Brown stewed chicken with red beans and rice. I also had some left over pumpkin from the previous week's Sunday roast dinner. So here's how you go about getting this easy dinner on the table.

Ingredients

• Chicken pieces
• Onion
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Chili
• Red capsicum
• Green capsicum
• Soya sauce
• Pickapepper sauce
• Ketchup
• Apple cider vinegar
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Thyme
• Sugar

Directions

• Season the chicken with salt, pepper, chili
• Heat up the olive oil in a dutch pot, add the chicken pieces to brown
• Remove the chicken when they look 70% done
• Top up a little more oil if you need and then add the aromatics: onion, garlic and ginger
• Add the capsicums
• Add the seasonings: soya sauce, ketchup, pickapepper and top up with some hot water
• Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer, add back the chicken and the juices, cover lid
• Add the sugar, vinegar, hot sauce, thyme to taste and reduce the sauce til it's nice and thick and just coating the chicken.

I basically cook all my rice in a rice cooker, never learned to do it any other way.

So I added a drained and rinsed tin of red kidney beans to my washed rice, along with a tin of lite coconut milk (I find the coconut cream too sweet). Long grain rice is best to get that individual grain result. season with a little bit of salt and allspice/mixed spice.

Thai Chicken Larb Salad

Spicy, Salty, Sweet and Sour. It packs a punch of flavours!

I just adore Thai food. The spicy, salty, sweet, sour and fresh flavours are tantalizing to your tastebuds. Though some people might not be fans of fish sauce, but it's ok in moderation.

Here's a pretty quick salad that's something different. I combined a few different recipes and added my own twist to it.

Even my new housemate who hasn't had much appetite of late had 2 servings of this yummy salad.

Ingredients:

• Chicken Mince
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Coriander (including the roots)
• Cucumber
• Green beans
• Basil
• Mint
• Kaffir lime leaves
• Dried chilli flakes
• Fresh chilli
• Bean sprouts
• Fish sauce
• Lime/lemon juice
• Sugar
• Salt
• Peanut oil

Directions:

• Heat oil in wok, add the minced garlic, ginger and coriander roots
• Add chicken mince brown and break into little bits with dried chilli
• Add fish sauce and sugar 
• Add the chopped up green beans and stir until heat through, this is all the cooking done.
• Remove from heat and toss in all the remaining ingredients, all chopped up except the beans sprouts
• You can top it off with some crushed peanuts for the extra crunch but I ran out of peanuts.

Random Spicy Sausage and Potato Stew

I went to the markets over the weekend and got a bit over enthusiastic with the vegetables. Now my fridge is completely packed so I had a few friends over for dinner every night.

 

Last night, I initially wanted to cook vegetarian but then I got distracted when I saw these sausages on special at my local supermarket. Plus I wasn't sure if the Persian lentils and vegetable casserole along with the rice pilaf would be enough to feed us all. Better to have more than less right?

Spicy!

I didn't really have a concept in mind when I bought the sausages, but it turned out really well.

Ingredients

• Beef sausages cut into chunks
• Potatoes
• 1 can of tomato
• Onion
• Garlic
• Red capsicum
• Parsley
• Chilli
• Sugar
• Thyme
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive oil

Easy Peasy Instructions

• Heat some olive oil in a hot pan, brown the sausages, onion and garlic
• Add the potatoes and tomato and a bit of water
• Season with chilli, thyme, sugar, salt and pepper,
• Cook covered til potatoes soften and the sauce thickens.
• Add the capsicum and cook for another 5 mins
• Top with parsley and serve

Tuscan Sausage and Bean Stew with Kale

It's already getting quite cold here in M town, the nights starts early and last night, along with that chilly wind it was also wet. Uuuugh. It's the kinda weather that makes you want to stay at home, curl up on the couch with a good book or Netflix marathon....

I've been meaning to eat healthier, since my obsession with Fried Chicken is really not working out (super sad). So I scour the web for tonight's dinner inspiration. My current flattie is returning to Italy end of next week and is super critical of all Italian cooking. So it was with trepidation that I decided to attempt my take on a Tuscan classic, the Sausage and Bean stew with Kale.

Yummmy, so much veg

Luckily my version was met with approval :)
I think I'll be adding it to my repertoire of Winter favourites.

Here's what you need: 

• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 2 carrots, cubed
• 1 - 2 zucchinis, cubed
• handful mushrooms, cubed
• bunch of kale leaves
• 1 can of white beans
• Sausages, chucks (I used Lamb with rosemary)
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Chili
• Paprika
• Stock
• Worcestershire sauce
• Sugar
• Salt & Pepper

And how to make it:

• Heat up the pot, sauté the onion and garlic til soften, add the chucks of sausages and brown.
• Add the hard veggie (carrots and zucchini), add the mushroom
• Add the seasoning and some stock, top up with water so it slightly covers everything.
• Cover and simmer for 20 mins or so, (til your kitchen smells nice)
• Add in the beans and kale, stir
• Taste, and add more sugar/Worcestershire sauce/chili

Korean Fire Chicken

I was craving something spicy last week when the weather was really crappy. This spicy and sweet dish really lifts your mood.

It was actually quite easy to make, and I did tone down the spiciness just a notch so my flatmate could eat it without dying. Also I didn't have quite a whole chicken. But you can just adjust the spiciness to your taste.

Here's the ingredients (And I'll try to be more specific with the amounts)

• 1 kg Chicken
• 2 Onion diced
• 4 cloves of Garlic crushed
• 2 tablspoon of Soya Sauce
• 1 tablespoon of Sesame Oil
• 2 tablespoon of Honey
• 2 tablespoon of Sugar
• Pinch of Salt and Pepper
• 2 stalks of scallion/spring onion/ eschallots (Was having this discussion with Squishies what the long green tubes with white bits at the end are called....)
• 1 tablespoon toasted seasame seeds
• 1/2 Nashi Pear
• 1 tablespoon Chili Powder
• 3 tablespoon Korean Chili Paste
• 1 tablespoon of Dried Chili Flakes

Directions:

• Marinate the Chicken with 1 of the onions, 1 stalk of scallion, garlic, soya sauce, seasame oil, honey and sugar for 30 - 45minutes
• In the food processor/blender thingy, add the nashi pear, chilis, honey, sugar, other onion and blitz into a thick red paste - aka Fire sauce
• Brown the chicken in a hot pan with some oil, add the Fire sauce to the chicken and cook until sauce thickens.
• Serve with remainder scallion and scatter the toasted seasame seeds
• Best serve with white rice

Dinner for 1

So I'm determined to post a bit more this year than I did last year....and one of the recipes I'd like to share is this ridiculously easy Berlotti Beans with Tomato Stew. With Melbourne's crazy weather, one day it's 30 degrees plus but then the next drop to the teens. A hearty bean stew sure warms your body and soul when it's suddenly very cold. But this would still be great during warmer weather.

Easiest Stew Ever!

 

The original recipe recommended 20 minutes cooking time, but since I did this in my slow cooker it didn't even count. I chucked everything into the crockpot in the morning before I head out and I am greeted by a delicious aroma when I open the door in the evening when I get home. This just made me so happy and so little efforts involved.

So Healthy and economical

 Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups dried Berlotti Beans rinsed well (no need soaking overnight)
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 diced onion
• 2 diced carrots
• Allspice
• Rosemary
• Mixed herbs
• Chili powder
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 Stock cubes
• Chopped Parsley

Directions:

• Dump all but the parsley into the slow cooker, cover with water and leave it on high/auto
• Go to work/play/sleep
• Ta da, all ready when your house seems slightly smokey (in the bbq way, not the burning house way)
• To serve, top with chopped parsley

Breakfast and Brunch

Breakfast and Brunch - definitely the most important meal of the day. Well especially Brunch since that's 2 meals in one and usually the highlight of my weekends.

Shashuka with Feta

This morning I was having a craving for poached eggs in a spicy tomatoey sauce - Shashuska. It's a popular Israeli dish that can be eaten at brekfast/lunch or dinner, but usually doesn't have cheese, but I'm a rebel! heh

I've made it once before and it was great. But alas, my fridge was empty :( and needed to make a quick trip to the local fruit and veg shop for some ingredients

Ingredients

• Onion
• Garlic
• Capsicum
• Can of diced tomato
• Eggs
• Chili
• Cumin
• Salt & Pepper
• Parsley
• Feta (optional)

Directions

Cook the diced onion, garlic and capsicum, add in the can of tomatoes, season, cook uncovered to reduce the sauce and then crack in eggs, cook til eggs are almost ready, top with feta and parsley. Served with toast

Vegetarian Frittatas

 Vegetarian Frittatas

These gorgeous little frittatas are made with so much veggies, they're really good for you - plus it's low carbs!
Basically cook mixed veg (onion, garlic, capsicum, mushrooms and spinach) and then add in beaten eggs, fill the muffin pan and topped with feta of course and bake in oven. Perfect snack and great for picnics!

Weekend Brunch

More Brunch

Here's just some other breakfast I made, the poaching technique is coming along  

2014 Cooking and Eating

I meant to post earlier but then my laptop died O.o and I really couldn't do it properly from my phone, so that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

There's been a few highlights so far:

Firstly Fijian Kokoda, this was one of the food highlights from my trip to Fiji last year, I kept thinking about it upon my return. It was the perfect meal on a 40+ degrees C day.

Fijian Kokoda - Cerviche with Coconut Cream

Ingredients 

• Any Firm fish 
• Celery 
• Spanish Onion 
• Tomato
• Capsicum
• Chili
• Salt & Pepper
• Light Coconut Cream
• Lemon/Lime juice
• Parsley

Directions:
Dice up all the ingredients, add the Lemon/Lime juice to "cook" the fish for 30 minutes, then add in the coconut cream and mix. Top with chopped parsley.

Pan seared Salmon, Creamy Feta with Beetroot Salad
and Orange Sesame Salad

Another dinner I was particularly pleased with was this Pan-Seared Salmon with 2 salads. The Feta was the souvenir from my trip to the Hunter's Valley with some friends at the Smelly Cheese Shop and it is divine! Really lifted the simple Beets and Mint with Feta salad.
The 2nd salad was an orange with sesame salad for some citrus notes to cut through the creaminess and sweetness of the other side. the Salmon was cooked skin side down until the skin was crispy and there's still a hint of the bright pinkness in the middle of the flesh. Perfect!








It's been a while since I made my Jamaican curries and since Mr Shy Guy doesn't eat beef, the usual meat substitute I use is Kangaroo, when I first posted this picture on FB, my Yaardie friends were all slightly horrified (and intrigued no doubt). It was actually really yum, the sweetness of the kangaroo meat added a twist to the usual Caribbean flavours, with thyme, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and habanero chili for the extra kick - which is what makes it stand out from the other curries.

Jamaican Curried Kangaroo

Tikka Masala Chicken with Raita

 Here's a couple more dinners I made

Sweet potato and Quinoa Patties with Fig Salad