Here is my favourite and most popular "gourmet" salad. This is a fantastic salad as you can use pretty much whatever you like, and you can make it vegetarian or even vegan, and you can use different meats in it as well. If you have the time, I recommend making this the day before you want to eat it, to allow the flavours to develop and infuse. Fried tofu is my favourite protein for this salad. It tastes totally different when made this way.
For 4 big serves, you need:
1/2 packet of Rice Vermicelli noodles (The very fine dried white noodles)
1/4 of a wombok (Chinese Cabbage)
1/4 small red cabbage
1 small red onion
Leaves of 1 bunch coriander
1 punnet of fresh bean shoots (or 2 tins, drained REALLY well)
1 tin water chestnuts, roughly chopped
Tofu/meat of your choice
Dressing:
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Kecap Manis
1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds
1 Teaspoon Fish sauce (not for vegos though)
1-2 small fresh chillis (to your liking), chopped finely
The stalks of one bunch coriander, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
2cm piece of ginger, grated
Lime juice
Sugar, to taste
The first thing to do is to make your dressing. Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and put on a medium heat.
For the meat/tofu component, you need to have it cut into reasonably bite size pieces. Cook it to your preference while the dressing is still cooking. When your protein component is cooked, add it straight to the hot dressing. You can serve it hot but it is better if you can leave it to cool and allow the flavours to soak in.
For the salad, put the rice vermicelli in a bowl and pour boiling water over to cover. Allow to stand, and drain when they are soft. You can cool the noodles down by rinsing them under the cold tap.
Cut the wombok and red cabbage as finely as you can, so it resembles coleslaw. Also finely slice or chop the red onion.
Place all these ingredients in a large bowl, along with the bean shoots and water chestnuts. Add the cooled noodles as well. Now place your protein in with the salad, and add dressing to coat everything. Garnish with the coriander leaves and enjoy.Keca
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Mayonnaise and it's most popular derivatives
I love making mayonnaise. It is so different to the Kraft or Praise stuff that most of us know as Mayonnaise.
Mayonnaise is great to know how to make as well, as it is the base for so many sauces and dressings. Tartare sauce, Caesar Dressing and any number of personal twists can be done with mayonnaise. Easy examples of different mayonnaise flavours include Lime, Chilli, Wasabi, Sun-dried Tomato, Parsley... you can do anything you want with it really. With thing like Sun-Dried Tomatoes, consider using some of the oil from them in your mayonnaise to really boost the flavour.
There are a few things to think about with Mayonnaise. First, the oil that you use. It is perfectly fine to use vegetable oil for Mayonnaise. If you use something like Olive Oil, the taste of the Olive Oil will come through.
I use hot water as a stabiliser. It stops the mayonnaise from splitting.
Adding water also allows you to dictate how thick or runny your end mayonnaise will be.
If however, your mayonnaise does split - DON'T throw it out. All you need to do is start again, using a new egg yolk, and adding the split egg and oil mixture gradually to the new egg.
A stick mixer (ie a Bamix) is perfect for this job, but you can use a food processor, mixer or do it by hand with a whisk (!).
So, to the recipe:
To make 1 1/2 cups (approximately 400ml), you need:
4 egg yolks
2 Tablespoons Lemon juice OR vinegar
400ml plain oil (vegetable oil)
white pepper
salt
Boiling water
1 Tablespoon Dijon or Hot English Mustard (optional)
A jug would be good to do this in.
Place your egg yolks in the bowl of your food processor or jug. Add the mustard, Lemon juice or vinegar. Start the mixer/food processor/whisking. With the motor running, add a tiny amount of oil to the egg yolk mixture, and wait until you can't see it separate from the yolks. Then add a small amount, bit by bit, each time waiting until you can't see the oil as separate from the eggs. Once you have added about a quarter of the oil, you can start adding it in a steady stream. You should also start adding a spoonful or two of the boiling water at this stage.
Continue adding the oil until it has all emulsified with the egg yolk mixture.
Now, season for taste with salt and pepper. A good thing to bear in mind when doing this is what your mayonnaise is going with. Eg if you are using it plain, it may need more seasoning that if you are going on to make another dressing with it.
Derivatives of Mayonnaise:
Tartare Sauce:
To your mayonnaise, add finely chopped capers and gherkins
Caesar Salad Dressing:
Add Anchovies to your liking. You can do this by either chopping them up very finely and mixing them through or you could chop them up and process them, then mix them through the original mayonnaise. If you use anchovies in oil, you can also add some of the anchovy oil when adding the main amount of oil to the dressing.
Mayonnaise is great to know how to make as well, as it is the base for so many sauces and dressings. Tartare sauce, Caesar Dressing and any number of personal twists can be done with mayonnaise. Easy examples of different mayonnaise flavours include Lime, Chilli, Wasabi, Sun-dried Tomato, Parsley... you can do anything you want with it really. With thing like Sun-Dried Tomatoes, consider using some of the oil from them in your mayonnaise to really boost the flavour.
There are a few things to think about with Mayonnaise. First, the oil that you use. It is perfectly fine to use vegetable oil for Mayonnaise. If you use something like Olive Oil, the taste of the Olive Oil will come through.
I use hot water as a stabiliser. It stops the mayonnaise from splitting.
Adding water also allows you to dictate how thick or runny your end mayonnaise will be.
If however, your mayonnaise does split - DON'T throw it out. All you need to do is start again, using a new egg yolk, and adding the split egg and oil mixture gradually to the new egg.
A stick mixer (ie a Bamix) is perfect for this job, but you can use a food processor, mixer or do it by hand with a whisk (!).
So, to the recipe:
To make 1 1/2 cups (approximately 400ml), you need:
4 egg yolks
2 Tablespoons Lemon juice OR vinegar
400ml plain oil (vegetable oil)
white pepper
salt
Boiling water
1 Tablespoon Dijon or Hot English Mustard (optional)
A jug would be good to do this in.
Place your egg yolks in the bowl of your food processor or jug. Add the mustard, Lemon juice or vinegar. Start the mixer/food processor/whisking. With the motor running, add a tiny amount of oil to the egg yolk mixture, and wait until you can't see it separate from the yolks. Then add a small amount, bit by bit, each time waiting until you can't see the oil as separate from the eggs. Once you have added about a quarter of the oil, you can start adding it in a steady stream. You should also start adding a spoonful or two of the boiling water at this stage.
Continue adding the oil until it has all emulsified with the egg yolk mixture.
Now, season for taste with salt and pepper. A good thing to bear in mind when doing this is what your mayonnaise is going with. Eg if you are using it plain, it may need more seasoning that if you are going on to make another dressing with it.
Derivatives of Mayonnaise:
Tartare Sauce:
To your mayonnaise, add finely chopped capers and gherkins
Caesar Salad Dressing:
Add Anchovies to your liking. You can do this by either chopping them up very finely and mixing them through or you could chop them up and process them, then mix them through the original mayonnaise. If you use anchovies in oil, you can also add some of the anchovy oil when adding the main amount of oil to the dressing.
Salads
Aside from making curries from scratch, salads are my particular passion, so I am going to put up some of my most popular salad recipes. I will also put dressing options up as well.
The first one I have been asked about is Potato Salad. So here goes:
16 chat potatoes, skin on
2 boiled eggs, peeled
1/2 cup mayonnaise (bought or made - I will post how to make mayonnaise separately)
1/2 cup sour cream (low fat is fine)
2 rashers bacon, chopped
2 Tablespoons Wholegrain (seeded) Mustard
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
Juice of 1 Lemon
2 Tablespoons Chopped Parsley
Salt and Pepper
Depending on the size of the potatoes, you can leave them whole or half or quarter them. Then boil or steam them until they are tender.
While you are doing this, Get a large bowl and add the mayonnaise, sour cream, Wholegrain and Dijon Mustards, Lemon juice and half the parsley.
Fry your bacon pieces until they are done to your liking. Add them to the bowl for dressing, including any fat that has rendered out.
Using a whisk, mix the dressing ingredients thoroughly, and taste for seasoning. Add salt or pepper if needed.
You can also add the eggs at this stage, if you like. You can crumble them up and mix them through the dressing or chop them up for a topping, or a mix of both if you like.
When the potatoes are ready, drain and allow them to dry off a bit. Then put them in the bowl with the dressing, and make sure all the potatoes get covered in the dressing. You may want to use your hands for this.
Use the remaining chopped parsley to garnish.
This can be served hot or cold.
The first one I have been asked about is Potato Salad. So here goes:
16 chat potatoes, skin on
2 boiled eggs, peeled
1/2 cup mayonnaise (bought or made - I will post how to make mayonnaise separately)
1/2 cup sour cream (low fat is fine)
2 rashers bacon, chopped
2 Tablespoons Wholegrain (seeded) Mustard
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
Juice of 1 Lemon
2 Tablespoons Chopped Parsley
Salt and Pepper
Depending on the size of the potatoes, you can leave them whole or half or quarter them. Then boil or steam them until they are tender.
While you are doing this, Get a large bowl and add the mayonnaise, sour cream, Wholegrain and Dijon Mustards, Lemon juice and half the parsley.
Fry your bacon pieces until they are done to your liking. Add them to the bowl for dressing, including any fat that has rendered out.
Using a whisk, mix the dressing ingredients thoroughly, and taste for seasoning. Add salt or pepper if needed.
You can also add the eggs at this stage, if you like. You can crumble them up and mix them through the dressing or chop them up for a topping, or a mix of both if you like.
When the potatoes are ready, drain and allow them to dry off a bit. Then put them in the bowl with the dressing, and make sure all the potatoes get covered in the dressing. You may want to use your hands for this.
Use the remaining chopped parsley to garnish.
This can be served hot or cold.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Wonton Soup
One of the easiest, CHEAPEST and tastiest comfort foods you can make.
This will make more than enough for one meal for 6 people. It's another one of those recipes where you can put whatever you like in the mix, so you can use a smaller amount of meat and bulk it out with veges! I have left chilli out of this recipe so that it is a bit more kid friendly, but if you love chilli like I do, you can add it to the pork (sauce or chopped fresh) and also to the soup as you serve it.
250g pork or chicken mince
1 bunch coriander
2cm knob of ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch bok choy
1 small onion
soy sauce
1 packet wonton wrappers (in the fridge with the fresh pasta and noodles at the supermarket)
2 cartons chicken stock
1 Spring Onion
any other veges you have around, eg carrots, zucchini, squash
Finely chop the stems and roots of the coriander, the ginger, garlic and onion. If you have a small food processor, you could whizz it in that as well to make it finer and smoother.
Add to the mince along with a tablespoon of soy sauce and mix it through with your hands until everything is thoroughly mixed. You can also add some finely chopped bok choy stalks to the mince as well, or chopped water chestnuts for a great crunch.
Now, clear as much space as you have on your bench. Separate the wonton wrappers and lay as many as will fit out on your bench.
Take a teaspoon and place a small teaspoon full of the pork mixture into the middle of each wonton wrapper. When they are all done, you need to do them up!
With a bowl of water nearby, dip your fingers in it and go through the wrappers and wet the sides around the pork mixture.
Take the first one, bring opposite diagonal corners together, then squash the other corners in, and use the moisture to seal them up. Repeat with the rest!
To cook the soup, Put a pot on the stove on a moderate heat, and pour in the stock. Roughly cut up the rest of the bok choy and place in the stock, along with any other veges you want to throw in. Place the wontons in the stock (6 is enough for a meal for 1 person). They are cooked when they float to the surface.
To serve: Spoon equal amounts of wontons and veges into bowls, and cover with the stock. Top with the coriander leaves and chopped spring onion stalks.
Serve with soy sauce to allow people to adjust saltiness to their taste. ENJOY!
Wontons that you don't use can be frozen as well. If you have left over meat, freeze it and use it another time. Or you could make meatballs or asian style burgers.
This will make more than enough for one meal for 6 people. It's another one of those recipes where you can put whatever you like in the mix, so you can use a smaller amount of meat and bulk it out with veges! I have left chilli out of this recipe so that it is a bit more kid friendly, but if you love chilli like I do, you can add it to the pork (sauce or chopped fresh) and also to the soup as you serve it.
250g pork or chicken mince
1 bunch coriander
2cm knob of ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch bok choy
1 small onion
soy sauce
1 packet wonton wrappers (in the fridge with the fresh pasta and noodles at the supermarket)
2 cartons chicken stock
1 Spring Onion
any other veges you have around, eg carrots, zucchini, squash
Finely chop the stems and roots of the coriander, the ginger, garlic and onion. If you have a small food processor, you could whizz it in that as well to make it finer and smoother.
Add to the mince along with a tablespoon of soy sauce and mix it through with your hands until everything is thoroughly mixed. You can also add some finely chopped bok choy stalks to the mince as well, or chopped water chestnuts for a great crunch.
Now, clear as much space as you have on your bench. Separate the wonton wrappers and lay as many as will fit out on your bench.
Take a teaspoon and place a small teaspoon full of the pork mixture into the middle of each wonton wrapper. When they are all done, you need to do them up!
With a bowl of water nearby, dip your fingers in it and go through the wrappers and wet the sides around the pork mixture.
Take the first one, bring opposite diagonal corners together, then squash the other corners in, and use the moisture to seal them up. Repeat with the rest!
To cook the soup, Put a pot on the stove on a moderate heat, and pour in the stock. Roughly cut up the rest of the bok choy and place in the stock, along with any other veges you want to throw in. Place the wontons in the stock (6 is enough for a meal for 1 person). They are cooked when they float to the surface.
To serve: Spoon equal amounts of wontons and veges into bowls, and cover with the stock. Top with the coriander leaves and chopped spring onion stalks.
Serve with soy sauce to allow people to adjust saltiness to their taste. ENJOY!
Wontons that you don't use can be frozen as well. If you have left over meat, freeze it and use it another time. Or you could make meatballs or asian style burgers.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Vege Lasagne
This is one of my most popular dishes I have made at the different kitchens I have worked in. It is very hearty and its as delicious as a meat version.
I like to make a combination of slices of veges and using them in the sauce as well, making a sort of vegetable bolognese.
This is as an example, but you could interchange the veges used to change the flavours a bit.
For the bolognese sauce:
1 Brown onion
1 Tin of crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 Zucchini
1/4 pumpkin
1 carrot
1 Dessertspoon of dried Mixed Herbs
Finely dice the onion and crush the garlic. Heat about 2 Tablespoons of Oil in a saucepan and cook the onion and garlic over a medium low heat until onion starts to go clear. Add the tin of tomatoes and refill the tin with water, and add that as well. Also add the dried mixed herbs.
For the rest of the veges, you have 2 choices. You can grate them all up or dice them finely. If you grate them, you will have a smoother end product, if you dice them, you will have a slightly chunkier sauce. Entirely up to you!
Cook the sauce on a simmer (a few bubbles in the sauce) until the pumpkin is cooked.
For the rest:
1 packet of Lasagne Sheets
1 Eggplant
1 Sweet Potato
2 Zucchini
2 tubs of Ricotta Cheese (500g)
1 cup of Cream
Grated Tasty Cheese (or your other favourite melting cheese)
Oil
Salt, pepper
Mixed Herbs
Thinly slice the eggplant, peeled sweet potato and zucchini
Toss through oil with salt, pepper and mixed herbs to lightly coat.
If you have a char grill, or a bbq, cook the sweet potato, eggplant and zucchini slices until they are soft. The Sweet potato will probably need to be transferred to a tray in the oven at about 180C to finish cooking.
If you don't have something to grill them on, you could cook them under a grill or in the oven until they are soft.
To Assemble:
Mix the ricotta and cream together to get a smooth sauce consistency. You may need to add some hot water to get it to loosen up and thin down.
Spoon a thin layer of your tomato sauce on the base of your lasagne dish. Lay out lasagne sheets to cover (you might need to break some to fill in spaces). Then place a layer of your cooked sliced veges, a layer of ricotta mix and a layer of tomato sauce. Keep going in this manner until you have 4 layers. The top layer should be just ricotta on the top, and then cover with tasty or other cheese.
Cook until a knife will go through easily - approximately 35 - 40 minutes at 180C.
This is enough for about 8 serves of lasagne.
I like to make a combination of slices of veges and using them in the sauce as well, making a sort of vegetable bolognese.
This is as an example, but you could interchange the veges used to change the flavours a bit.
For the bolognese sauce:
1 Brown onion
1 Tin of crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 Zucchini
1/4 pumpkin
1 carrot
1 Dessertspoon of dried Mixed Herbs
Finely dice the onion and crush the garlic. Heat about 2 Tablespoons of Oil in a saucepan and cook the onion and garlic over a medium low heat until onion starts to go clear. Add the tin of tomatoes and refill the tin with water, and add that as well. Also add the dried mixed herbs.
For the rest of the veges, you have 2 choices. You can grate them all up or dice them finely. If you grate them, you will have a smoother end product, if you dice them, you will have a slightly chunkier sauce. Entirely up to you!
Cook the sauce on a simmer (a few bubbles in the sauce) until the pumpkin is cooked.
For the rest:
1 packet of Lasagne Sheets
1 Eggplant
1 Sweet Potato
2 Zucchini
2 tubs of Ricotta Cheese (500g)
1 cup of Cream
Grated Tasty Cheese (or your other favourite melting cheese)
Oil
Salt, pepper
Mixed Herbs
Thinly slice the eggplant, peeled sweet potato and zucchini
Toss through oil with salt, pepper and mixed herbs to lightly coat.
If you have a char grill, or a bbq, cook the sweet potato, eggplant and zucchini slices until they are soft. The Sweet potato will probably need to be transferred to a tray in the oven at about 180C to finish cooking.
If you don't have something to grill them on, you could cook them under a grill or in the oven until they are soft.
To Assemble:
Mix the ricotta and cream together to get a smooth sauce consistency. You may need to add some hot water to get it to loosen up and thin down.
Spoon a thin layer of your tomato sauce on the base of your lasagne dish. Lay out lasagne sheets to cover (you might need to break some to fill in spaces). Then place a layer of your cooked sliced veges, a layer of ricotta mix and a layer of tomato sauce. Keep going in this manner until you have 4 layers. The top layer should be just ricotta on the top, and then cover with tasty or other cheese.
Cook until a knife will go through easily - approximately 35 - 40 minutes at 180C.
This is enough for about 8 serves of lasagne.
More Pasta - Creamy!
My last post was about making tomato pasta sauce bases more exciting on the cheap. This one is creamy instead.
You can use different types of creams, thickened or pure or sour cream all work well, as do low fat versions.
Different things work better with tomato based sauces than creamy ones. There is hardly any work to be done for creamy sauces. The same principle as before applies. Get a pot of water on to boil for the pasta, and get everything else happening while that is boiling.
You can put pretty much anything in a creamy sauce, but I generally like strong tasting things with cream, as the cream will damp the strength a bit down a little bit.
So, while you pasta is boiling, chop up whatever you want to use in your sauce (again, get whatever is cheapest)and start cooking it in butter or oil. When you are ready to serve it, drain the pasta, and stir enough cream in to draw all your other ingredients together.
Good ingredients for creamy sauces include:
Mushrooms
Chicken
Bacon
Onion
Garlic
Sundried Tomato
Chargrilled Eggplant
Chargrilled Zucchini
Roasted Capsicum
Chilli
Parsley
Remember again, cut your ingredients small so they cook quickly, and you can have dinner ready is 15 minutes!
A super easy creamy sauce can be made by cooking off a tablespoon or two of pesto, then mixing through cream to make it a sauce consistency.
You can use different types of creams, thickened or pure or sour cream all work well, as do low fat versions.
Different things work better with tomato based sauces than creamy ones. There is hardly any work to be done for creamy sauces. The same principle as before applies. Get a pot of water on to boil for the pasta, and get everything else happening while that is boiling.
You can put pretty much anything in a creamy sauce, but I generally like strong tasting things with cream, as the cream will damp the strength a bit down a little bit.
So, while you pasta is boiling, chop up whatever you want to use in your sauce (again, get whatever is cheapest)and start cooking it in butter or oil. When you are ready to serve it, drain the pasta, and stir enough cream in to draw all your other ingredients together.
Good ingredients for creamy sauces include:
Mushrooms
Chicken
Bacon
Onion
Garlic
Sundried Tomato
Chargrilled Eggplant
Chargrilled Zucchini
Roasted Capsicum
Chilli
Parsley
Remember again, cut your ingredients small so they cook quickly, and you can have dinner ready is 15 minutes!
A super easy creamy sauce can be made by cooking off a tablespoon or two of pesto, then mixing through cream to make it a sauce consistency.
PASTA!
Pasta is one of my favourite things to cook. It is so cheap and easy, and you can do pretty much anything you want to it!
Last night I made a really tasty sauce. Its so easy to make these kind of things up - just get the cheapest veges on special, Home brand pasta sauce- if you look up or down at Woolies or Coles you will find these under the Dolmio and other expensive brands for sometimes a quarter of the price. Essentially the same product! Same goes for pasta - at the moment, home brand pasta (Smart buy at Coles) costs 70c for a bag! So you can realistically cook a meal for 4 or 5 people (or more) for $5, in about 15 minutes!
The pasta sauces like Dolmio etc are usually a basic Napoli sauce - that is tomato, onion, garlic, and herbs.
First thing you need to do is put some water on to boil for the pasta. While that is happening, get your veges going - you can use anything you like, bear in mind that the smaller you cut things, the quicker they will cook. Heat up some oil in another pan, and add your veges of choice hardest to softest. Once they have been going for a couple of minutes, add the softer veges, and then your pasta sauce. Let that cook away until your pasta is ready. Drain the pasta and put the pasta in with the sauce, mix it and serve!
Good veges to add to tomato pasta sauce:
Capsicum
Eggplant
Zucchini
Onion
Garlic
Carrot
Squash
Pumpkin
Spinach
Silverbeet
Mushrooms (cook in a little oil or butter first)
Sweet Potato
Asparagus
Broccoli
Corn Kernels
I also like to add legumes, like tinned chickpeas, 5 bean mix. You can get these for about $1 a tin at Woolies and Coles.
Last night I made a really tasty sauce. Its so easy to make these kind of things up - just get the cheapest veges on special, Home brand pasta sauce- if you look up or down at Woolies or Coles you will find these under the Dolmio and other expensive brands for sometimes a quarter of the price. Essentially the same product! Same goes for pasta - at the moment, home brand pasta (Smart buy at Coles) costs 70c for a bag! So you can realistically cook a meal for 4 or 5 people (or more) for $5, in about 15 minutes!
The pasta sauces like Dolmio etc are usually a basic Napoli sauce - that is tomato, onion, garlic, and herbs.
First thing you need to do is put some water on to boil for the pasta. While that is happening, get your veges going - you can use anything you like, bear in mind that the smaller you cut things, the quicker they will cook. Heat up some oil in another pan, and add your veges of choice hardest to softest. Once they have been going for a couple of minutes, add the softer veges, and then your pasta sauce. Let that cook away until your pasta is ready. Drain the pasta and put the pasta in with the sauce, mix it and serve!
Good veges to add to tomato pasta sauce:
Capsicum
Eggplant
Zucchini
Onion
Garlic
Carrot
Squash
Pumpkin
Spinach
Silverbeet
Mushrooms (cook in a little oil or butter first)
Sweet Potato
Asparagus
Broccoli
Corn Kernels
I also like to add legumes, like tinned chickpeas, 5 bean mix. You can get these for about $1 a tin at Woolies and Coles.
Friday, July 16, 2010
MolkFest Details
Hi everyone, here are the details for MolkFest this Sunday:
10.00 Sunday morning at Black Star Patisserie, Newtown. Its opposite the Newtown Courthouse/Cop Shop/Fire Station, and across the road from Newtown Station.
http://www.yourrestaurants.com.au/guide/?action=venue&venue_url=black_star_patisserie
The weather forecast is OK at the moment, so thinking we can grab some treats and head to Camperdown Rest Park which is just up the street. See you there!
10.00 Sunday morning at Black Star Patisserie, Newtown. Its opposite the Newtown Courthouse/Cop Shop/Fire Station, and across the road from Newtown Station.
http://www.yourrestaurants.com.au/guide/?action=venue&venue_url=black_star_patisserie
The weather forecast is OK at the moment, so thinking we can grab some treats and head to Camperdown Rest Park which is just up the street. See you there!
MasterChef - The Beanie is gone!
Well while I was off Learning to Breathe I taped MasterChef. The only one I was particularly going for was Alvin. I have had him as one of my picks from the start. I love the food he comes up with, and I love his attitude and personality!
Jimmy I don't really pay much attention to as he doesn't really do anything differently much of the time, and Aaron is a bit too much for me. Pretty sure I figured out where he lives from his homecoming on tonight's episode too. Would explain why I am positive I saw him a couple of weeks back on Norton Street.
So no great surprises or traumatic dramas like with Marion and Jonathan being eliminated. I do wonder at the "developing a range of sauces" that many of them seem to be going in to. How many sauce ranges can our shops and palates take???
Looking forward to the masterclass tomorrow night, not so much the Gs, but the Christine Manfield part looks enticing!
I am wondering now who our vilification turns to now though? I assume it will start hitting Jimmy and Callum?
Jimmy I don't really pay much attention to as he doesn't really do anything differently much of the time, and Aaron is a bit too much for me. Pretty sure I figured out where he lives from his homecoming on tonight's episode too. Would explain why I am positive I saw him a couple of weeks back on Norton Street.
So no great surprises or traumatic dramas like with Marion and Jonathan being eliminated. I do wonder at the "developing a range of sauces" that many of them seem to be going in to. How many sauce ranges can our shops and palates take???
Looking forward to the masterclass tomorrow night, not so much the Gs, but the Christine Manfield part looks enticing!
I am wondering now who our vilification turns to now though? I assume it will start hitting Jimmy and Callum?
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Learning to Breathe
So, tonight I went to my first of 8 classes of the Breathing For Vitalitycourse at Leichhardt Womens Health Centre. It is going to be 2 hours a week for 8 weeks.
The idea behind it is that people forget how to breathe as they grow up. Babies and little kids apparently breathe as we should but as we get older we become shallow breathers. When you are watching someone breath, their abdomen should rise and fall, rather than the chest.
So, there were about 9 women there, varying ages, and it seems like a very nice group. We started by feeling how we should be breathing - good belly appreciation! Relearning how to push your abdomen out when you breathe in and then having it retract when you breathe out. It was very relaxing!
We then learnt how to do a complete breath - this means that you fill up the whole of your lungs and then take a "sip" to top it up to full. It was a bit Yoga like, and it felt good.
We are also going to be doing some meditation and relaxation techniques each week, which will be very useful as well I think. We did a quick relaxation exercise tonight, which involved closing your eyes, gently pushing your tongue against the roof of your mouth, thereby letting your jaw drop a little bit and relax. Then you slightly raise your eyebrows, do a tiny smile and drop your chin towards your neck about 1cm. All these actions release all the stress holding muscles in your face, and we did all feel great after doing it!
More next week after the next class.
The idea behind it is that people forget how to breathe as they grow up. Babies and little kids apparently breathe as we should but as we get older we become shallow breathers. When you are watching someone breath, their abdomen should rise and fall, rather than the chest.
So, there were about 9 women there, varying ages, and it seems like a very nice group. We started by feeling how we should be breathing - good belly appreciation! Relearning how to push your abdomen out when you breathe in and then having it retract when you breathe out. It was very relaxing!
We then learnt how to do a complete breath - this means that you fill up the whole of your lungs and then take a "sip" to top it up to full. It was a bit Yoga like, and it felt good.
We are also going to be doing some meditation and relaxation techniques each week, which will be very useful as well I think. We did a quick relaxation exercise tonight, which involved closing your eyes, gently pushing your tongue against the roof of your mouth, thereby letting your jaw drop a little bit and relax. Then you slightly raise your eyebrows, do a tiny smile and drop your chin towards your neck about 1cm. All these actions release all the stress holding muscles in your face, and we did all feel great after doing it!
More next week after the next class.
Easy as finger food
After a twitter discussion with Zan from Triple J (follow her on twitter @triplejmornings), I thought I'd put up some of my super easy snack/finger foods.
The first one, based on said convo, is Cheesymite Scrolls. Super easy, kids will love making and eating them, and you can play around with the fillings.
All you need is:
Puff Pastry
Vegemite
Cheese - Grated is easiest
You also need a greased tray or if you have it, use glad bake - so much easier to remove when cooked!
Preheat your oven as per the packet instructions for the puff - usually about 180C.
Separate a sheet from the stack of pastry (this is easiest to do when it is still frozen - use a knife blade between the sheets) and leave the plastic on the bottom.
Now, spread vegemite all over the sheet, leaving a 2cm width along one edge.
Then, sprinkle the cheese over the vegemite, again making sure you leave the 2cm edge.
Next you need to roll up your pastry - start at the opposite edge to your free 2cm, pull the plastic off partly and use the plastic to roll the pastry together into a roll. When you get to the end, use the empty 2cm to stick it all together. You can use a little beaten egg or water to help it stick.
When you have it all stuck in a nice roll, take a knife (serrated edge works best) and cut the log into 1.5cm discs.
Place the discs flat on your tray, and into the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the pastry is puffy and golden. Let them cool on the tray for a couple of minutes, then remove.
These are great hot or cold, so you could pre-make them and serve cold or reheat them.
OTHER FILLINGS
The great thing with these is that you can make them as fancy as you like. Some other fillings I have done are:
Sweet Chilli Sauce and Cheese
Ham and Cheese
Olive tapenade and crumbled feta
Pesto and parmesan
Peanut Butter and Jam
Peanut Butter and Honey
Nutella
Sugar and Cinnamon
Lemon and Sugar
Hope you have a go and enjoy!
The first one, based on said convo, is Cheesymite Scrolls. Super easy, kids will love making and eating them, and you can play around with the fillings.
All you need is:
Puff Pastry
Vegemite
Cheese - Grated is easiest
You also need a greased tray or if you have it, use glad bake - so much easier to remove when cooked!
Preheat your oven as per the packet instructions for the puff - usually about 180C.
Separate a sheet from the stack of pastry (this is easiest to do when it is still frozen - use a knife blade between the sheets) and leave the plastic on the bottom.
Now, spread vegemite all over the sheet, leaving a 2cm width along one edge.
Then, sprinkle the cheese over the vegemite, again making sure you leave the 2cm edge.
Next you need to roll up your pastry - start at the opposite edge to your free 2cm, pull the plastic off partly and use the plastic to roll the pastry together into a roll. When you get to the end, use the empty 2cm to stick it all together. You can use a little beaten egg or water to help it stick.
When you have it all stuck in a nice roll, take a knife (serrated edge works best) and cut the log into 1.5cm discs.
Place the discs flat on your tray, and into the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the pastry is puffy and golden. Let them cool on the tray for a couple of minutes, then remove.
These are great hot or cold, so you could pre-make them and serve cold or reheat them.
OTHER FILLINGS
The great thing with these is that you can make them as fancy as you like. Some other fillings I have done are:
Sweet Chilli Sauce and Cheese
Ham and Cheese
Olive tapenade and crumbled feta
Pesto and parmesan
Peanut Butter and Jam
Peanut Butter and Honey
Nutella
Sugar and Cinnamon
Lemon and Sugar
Hope you have a go and enjoy!
MasterChef - The Signature Dish Challenge
Well, I was initially very excited about the Signature Dish challenge last night on MasterChef. I thought it would be a nice insight into what makes the top amateurs tick and drives them in their kitchens and cooking.
My understanding of a "Signature Dish" is something that you are known for, and that you know how to make successfully and well. A few of the contestants did that, Claire, Courtney, Adam, Alvin and Jimmy (who of course made a curry).
The others though seemed to understand "Signature Dish" to mean go nuts with a big budget on stuff you've always wondered about making. Callum chose pheasant. Now, if you're making your signature dish, wouldn't you assume that you'd have an idea of how much it would cost?
Aaron was just playing the nutty professor with his pasta and prawn creation. Sure try new mixtures and play around with ingredients and flavours, but when you're trying to show it as a signature dish, and trying to impress the likes of Matt Preston, Jacques Reymond, Kylie Kwong, Alla Wolf-Tasker and Mark Best.
The dishes put up by the others were excellent. I particularly like Courtney's Asian platter, and Adam's Seven Gods plate. I too would have likely put up an Asian dish, as that is my preferred style of cooking, and it is what people know me for being good at making too.
I do believe that Callum should have automatically been up for elimination for not serving his entire dish, that was very unfair. Not one of those chefs would allow an incomplete meal to leave the passe in their restaurants, and it should have been judged accordingly.
My understanding of a "Signature Dish" is something that you are known for, and that you know how to make successfully and well. A few of the contestants did that, Claire, Courtney, Adam, Alvin and Jimmy (who of course made a curry).
The others though seemed to understand "Signature Dish" to mean go nuts with a big budget on stuff you've always wondered about making. Callum chose pheasant. Now, if you're making your signature dish, wouldn't you assume that you'd have an idea of how much it would cost?
Aaron was just playing the nutty professor with his pasta and prawn creation. Sure try new mixtures and play around with ingredients and flavours, but when you're trying to show it as a signature dish, and trying to impress the likes of Matt Preston, Jacques Reymond, Kylie Kwong, Alla Wolf-Tasker and Mark Best.
The dishes put up by the others were excellent. I particularly like Courtney's Asian platter, and Adam's Seven Gods plate. I too would have likely put up an Asian dish, as that is my preferred style of cooking, and it is what people know me for being good at making too.
I do believe that Callum should have automatically been up for elimination for not serving his entire dish, that was very unfair. Not one of those chefs would allow an incomplete meal to leave the passe in their restaurants, and it should have been judged accordingly.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Recipe: Beef Rendang
I thought I would post some of my favourite recipes on here as well. They will generally be budget conscious, and seriously tasty.
So here is my first, and favourite ever to make:
BEEF RENDANG
This is a Malaysian/Indonesian dry curry. This recipe is my bastardised version of a few from different sources. Its is really easy to make and tastes awesome. It does help if you have a food processor - even one of the small bowl and blades that you attach to a bamix/stick mixer will do the job.
This will be enough to feed four adults. You can also bulk it out with things like potato cut into chunks and added about an hour before you want to serve it.
Like all curries, it will be even better the next day.
You need:
1.2 kg Chuck steak
2cm fresh ginger, chopped
half a bunch of coriander (roots and all, chopped)
4 cloves of garlic, peeled, roughly chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised and chopped
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Kecap Manis (Sweet Soy Sauce)
2 tablespoons chilli - dried or fresh, or a combination of both
2 Tablespoons Tamarind Pulp
1 small Red Onion, roughly chopped
1 lime - rind and the juice (can use lemon if you don't have lime)
Desiccated Coconut
Powdered Coconut Milk
Vegetable Oil
For the
For the meat:
Cut the chuck steak into chunks about 2cm by 2cm. Don't trim the meat of any fat or sinew.
For the paste:
Process the ginger, coriander, garlic, lemongrass, fish sauce, Soy Sauce and Kecap Manis, chilli, Tamarind, red onion and lime rind until its finely processed and mixed - it will be very colourful and fragrant. Add in a cup of desiccated coconut, and some of the lime juice, and some of the oil. You want the coconut, juice and oil to bind all the ingredients together to a paste.
When the paste is ready, heat some more oil in a heavy based saucepan, and fry off the paste until it starts to become fragrant (if you're not used to it, it might make your eyes water!) then add your meat. Stir to cover in the paste and start the meat cooking. Then add 2 cups of made up coconut milk (follow the instructions on the milk packet). Top up with water to make sure the meat is covered. Then reduce to a low heat (barely simmering) and let it cook away. It will usually take about 3 hours. If you feel that its sticking or drying too fast, add some more coconut milk.
When the meat is falling apart, it is ready. If you want it saucier, finish cooking it now, but if you want to make it more coconutty, you can add some powder to thicken the sauce up and flavour it more. If not, you can cook it down until it looks like dog food (sorry!).
Serve with rice. You can stir vegetables through the curry as well as potatoes.
NOTE: The paste is very light and colourful when you start, but it will end up very dark brown.
ENJOY!
So here is my first, and favourite ever to make:
BEEF RENDANG
This is a Malaysian/Indonesian dry curry. This recipe is my bastardised version of a few from different sources. Its is really easy to make and tastes awesome. It does help if you have a food processor - even one of the small bowl and blades that you attach to a bamix/stick mixer will do the job.
This will be enough to feed four adults. You can also bulk it out with things like potato cut into chunks and added about an hour before you want to serve it.
Like all curries, it will be even better the next day.
You need:
1.2 kg Chuck steak
2cm fresh ginger, chopped
half a bunch of coriander (roots and all, chopped)
4 cloves of garlic, peeled, roughly chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised and chopped
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Kecap Manis (Sweet Soy Sauce)
2 tablespoons chilli - dried or fresh, or a combination of both
2 Tablespoons Tamarind Pulp
1 small Red Onion, roughly chopped
1 lime - rind and the juice (can use lemon if you don't have lime)
Desiccated Coconut
Powdered Coconut Milk
Vegetable Oil
For the
For the meat:
Cut the chuck steak into chunks about 2cm by 2cm. Don't trim the meat of any fat or sinew.
For the paste:
Process the ginger, coriander, garlic, lemongrass, fish sauce, Soy Sauce and Kecap Manis, chilli, Tamarind, red onion and lime rind until its finely processed and mixed - it will be very colourful and fragrant. Add in a cup of desiccated coconut, and some of the lime juice, and some of the oil. You want the coconut, juice and oil to bind all the ingredients together to a paste.
When the paste is ready, heat some more oil in a heavy based saucepan, and fry off the paste until it starts to become fragrant (if you're not used to it, it might make your eyes water!) then add your meat. Stir to cover in the paste and start the meat cooking. Then add 2 cups of made up coconut milk (follow the instructions on the milk packet). Top up with water to make sure the meat is covered. Then reduce to a low heat (barely simmering) and let it cook away. It will usually take about 3 hours. If you feel that its sticking or drying too fast, add some more coconut milk.
When the meat is falling apart, it is ready. If you want it saucier, finish cooking it now, but if you want to make it more coconutty, you can add some powder to thicken the sauce up and flavour it more. If not, you can cook it down until it looks like dog food (sorry!).
Serve with rice. You can stir vegetables through the curry as well as potatoes.
NOTE: The paste is very light and colourful when you start, but it will end up very dark brown.
ENJOY!
MasterChef
Well, we are getting to the pointy end of the competition on MasterChef here. It has been compelling viewing, and if you're interested, I tweet it pretty much every night.
There was such a massive fallout when Marion was eliminated last week! It was almost like the country went into mourning for Marion. A similar thing happened last year, and I think I can understand the judging decisions when it gets to this stage in the contest. I am a staunch support of Marion, as I was of Poh and Justine last year. I still don't think that Julie is much chop as a cook, and that Poh and Justine were waaay more talented than she is. I think the kicker was that it was quite obvious that both Justine and Poh would be quite fine on their own - they are both very sellable and have very strong, great ideas of what they want to do with themselves in the business. Their ideas and appeal (during the show) were possibly a bit hard for what the producers were thinking of their target audience being. I think Julie's down home just a suburban Mum probably had the wider appeal, and when she gave her book pitch to Donna Hay, Donna's eyes just lit up with the $$$ rolling in them like a pokie!
The great thing for Poh as well, is that she doesn't have to march to the MasterChef beat of the drum. She has a fantastic show on ABC1 at 6.30 on Wednesday nights, and her enthusiasm for not only sharing what she knows and learning shines through. She has also been able to work with Curtis Stone out of her time on the show.
Marion this year has the same appeal as Poh did last year. She's fantastic in the media (which you would expect from an ex-journo) and has some great ideas, and is very personable.
Jonathan, on the other hand, may have to fight a bit harder with the public, but I'm sure he'll find his niche.
My bets from the start were Marion, Claire and Alvin for the final 3, but I added Adam to that. So I guess my tip is now Adam, Claire and Alvin.
There was such a massive fallout when Marion was eliminated last week! It was almost like the country went into mourning for Marion. A similar thing happened last year, and I think I can understand the judging decisions when it gets to this stage in the contest. I am a staunch support of Marion, as I was of Poh and Justine last year. I still don't think that Julie is much chop as a cook, and that Poh and Justine were waaay more talented than she is. I think the kicker was that it was quite obvious that both Justine and Poh would be quite fine on their own - they are both very sellable and have very strong, great ideas of what they want to do with themselves in the business. Their ideas and appeal (during the show) were possibly a bit hard for what the producers were thinking of their target audience being. I think Julie's down home just a suburban Mum probably had the wider appeal, and when she gave her book pitch to Donna Hay, Donna's eyes just lit up with the $$$ rolling in them like a pokie!
The great thing for Poh as well, is that she doesn't have to march to the MasterChef beat of the drum. She has a fantastic show on ABC1 at 6.30 on Wednesday nights, and her enthusiasm for not only sharing what she knows and learning shines through. She has also been able to work with Curtis Stone out of her time on the show.
Marion this year has the same appeal as Poh did last year. She's fantastic in the media (which you would expect from an ex-journo) and has some great ideas, and is very personable.
Jonathan, on the other hand, may have to fight a bit harder with the public, but I'm sure he'll find his niche.
My bets from the start were Marion, Claire and Alvin for the final 3, but I added Adam to that. So I guess my tip is now Adam, Claire and Alvin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)