Thursday, February 27, 2014

Teaching the Husband to Cook

How about that.

Since getting the slow cooker I've been using it quite a lot.

Since getting sick I haven't been cooking much at all.

Gary has started making slow cooker meals every Monday or Tuesday.

We have been having chicken curries, sausage curries, beef curries, beef stews, mince dishes etc

And then when its ready to serve I usually cook some rice in the rice cooker or put on some pasta.

Sometimes we just eat it with some nice fresh bread.

I love that he's enjoying making these and won't even let me help after I showed him how to make them at the start.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Alfredo Pasta & Chicken

Ingredients

500g fettuccine or tagliatelle
100g butter
1 & 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 & 1/4 cups (300 ml) thickened cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt & Pepper, to taste

3 chicken breasts chopped.

Method

Add Pasta to lage pan of rapidly boiling water and cook until just tender. Drain in a colander and return to pan.

While pasta is cooking, heat butter in a medium pan over low heat. Add parmesan and cream, bring to the boil, stirring regularly.




Add parsley, salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Add to pasta and toss well.

Cook chicken in frypan and season to taste (I used salt and onion powder)


Add to pasta sauce and mix together well.


Serve immediately.

Only so bright cause I used my phone camera and the flash decided to work :D

Saturday, January 16, 2010

What's in Season - Summer

I love the fruit of Summer.

Magoes, Melons, Stone Fruit ummmmmmm  I can't get enough.

We were very fortunate this past fortnight.

Gary's uncle has had a really good crop of mangoes.

He has sent us up 2 boxes of them.

The boys love them.

I love them.

Gary loves them.

They have been the best tasting mangoes I've eaten all season.


Saturday, January 9, 2010

BBQs



I love them!
After the yucky weather we've had since Christmas it was so nice today to wake up to the sun shining and no rain :D
So tonight was going to be a BBQ tea ever since waking.
A couple of pices of steak and a few snags .... yummy!


Friday, January 8, 2010

First post of 2010

My intentions were good.

I meant to have at least a few posts here by now but you'll have to go read http://serenitycreek.blogspot.com/ to catch up :D

I am over all the christmas/holiday foods. So yummy, so rich, so naughty but yet so ....... hmmmmm what's the right word?

Boring???

No, not quite the right word hahaha

But I'm so ready to move on and back to normal food.

Saturday is the last day for "junk" food in the house for the boys. Dad is back to work next week so that means holiday food is finished (yay screams my purse).

I hope to start menu planning again. I won't promise anything but I'll try to be consistent :D

Now I'm off to have some quick toast for dinner. Boring yes, but appetising at the same time.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Soy beef with tatsoi salad




This Asian-style beef salad is high in iron and low in carbs.

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 600g piece eye fillet steak, sinew removed
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) soy sauce
  • 1 tsp peanut oil
  • 2 cups bean sprouts, trimmed
  • 3 spring onions with bulb, thinly sliced
  • 80g baby tatsoi leaves* or baby Asian salad leaves*
  • 1/2 firmly packed cup coriander leaves
  • Dressing

  • 1 small red chilli, seeds removed, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbs fish sauce
  • 1 tbs peanut oil
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) lime juice
  • 1 tsp caster sugar

Method

  1. Cut the steak into two long strips, then toss with the soy sauce and marinate at room temperature for 5 minutes.
  2. Heat oil in a large non-stick frypan over medium-high heat. Add steak and cook for 3 minutes each side until rare and slightly charred, or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a plate and rest for 10 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Add sprouts, onion, tatsoi and coriander. Thinly slice the beef and add to the salad, toss gently to combine and serve immediately.

Notes & tips

  • * Tatsoi and Asian salad leaves are from greengrocers and selected supermarkets.

What's in season - November


Chinese greens




Whether they're stir-fried, gently steamed or added to soup, Chinese greens are an easy-to-prepare and nutritious addition to many meals.
Many Chinese greens are members of the crucifer family and have been cultivated since the fifth century. It has only been in the last decade or so that we have been introduced properly to them in mainstream greengrocers, and Australians have since embraced their use in many meals. Each vegetable has more than one name due to the different Chinese dialects, which can be confusing. Chinese greens are high in vitamins A and C, and are deliciously crunchy and nutritious when eaten raw or quickly stir-fried or steamed.

Varieties

Tatsoi: Has a mild flavour and can be used raw or cooked. Its leaves are darker and smaller than other Chinese greens and have distinctive long, white stalks.
Baby tatsoi: Leaves are used in salads and can be snipped straight from the punnet for a garnish.
Bok choy: Also known as pak choy or Chinese cabbage, it has dark-green leaves and a white stalk.
Baby bok choy: The most common Chinese green, it is light green and usually sold in bunches of three.
Choy sum: Produces small yellow flowers, which gives it its other name of Chinese flowering cabbage. Its long, pale stalks and fragile leaves are suited to stir-frying and steaming.
Hong Kong choy sum: This smaller variety has very thin stalks and is delicate in flavour.
Gai lan: Often referred to as Chinese broccoli. The best method of cooking is to quickly stir-fry or blanch to retain its crisp texture.
Chrysanthemum leaf: Featuring a taste similar to spinach, this green is a great addition to soups.

Buying and storing

  • When buying, look for firm stalks that are bright in colour and blemish free. The leaves should be free of bruising or wilting.
  • Store in plastic bags in the crisper section of the fridge to keep them fresh. They should then be used within three days of purchase.
  • When preparing Chinese greens for cooking, cut off the base where the stalks join and separate the leaves for washing. Alternatively, greens such as baby bok choy can be cut in half and rinsed under cold running water.

Tips & facts

  • Chinese greens pair well with soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, shaoxing wine, chicken, pork, seafood, garlic, ginger, chilli, noodles, rice, fermented soybeans, green onions, tofu, butter, Chinese five spice and Sichuan pepper.
  • When cooking Chinese greens you don't have to use an Asian approach. They are also lovely sautéed in a little butter with fresh herbs, as you would cook other vegetables.
  • Gai choy, has a distinctive mustard taste which is why it is also known as mustard green. Its flavour makes it perfect for pickling. Pickled vegetables are a great match for many Asian dishes.
  • Chinese greens are best cooked quickly and at a high temperature. Blanch them quickly, stir-fry in a wok or steam. They should be cooked at the last minute.
  • The Chinese love their greens so much, they eat on average one kilogram per day.


Thursday, November 19, 2009

Carambola iced tea



Preparation Time 

30 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 1 carambola (star fruit), sliced crossways into 5mm slices
  • 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
  • 18g (1/4 cup) Ceylon orange pekoe tea (Twinings brand)
  • 1/3 cup firmly packed fresh mint leaves
  • 2 tbs caster sugar
  • 1.75L (7 cups) boiling water

Method

  1. Place carambola slices on a baking tray and drizzle with half the lemon juice. Cover with cold water and place in the freezer for 6 hours or until frozen.
  2. Combine tea leaves, mint and sugar in a large heatproof bowl and pour over the boiling water. Set aside for 15 minutes to brew. Strain tea through a fine sieve into a large jug and add remaining lemon juice. Set aside for 30 minutes to cool.
  3. Pour tea into tall glasses. Remove carambola ice from the freezer and break into pieces, with one carambola slice in each piece. Place a few pieces in each glass and serve immediately.

Notes & tips

  • Allow 6 hours freezing, 15 mins standing & 30 mins cooling time

What's in season - November


Carambola




Commonly called starfruit, the carambola originated from the tropics of Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia.

What is it?

Carambola is a pale-yellow to green fruit with ribbed edges and firm flesh. When sliced horizontally, it looks like a star.

Is it good for me?

It's a good source of potassium and vitamin C, and a source of dietary fibre.

Buying and storing

Look for firm, evenly coloured fruit that's free of blemishes. Store green fruit at room temperature. Once it turns yellow, store in the fridge for up to one week.

Preparation

Rinse in cool water and trim the edges of the five ribs before slicing.

Cooking tips

  • Slice crossways and combine with passionfruit and papaya for a refreshing fruit salad. Serve with yoghurt.
  • Slice crossways into star shapes and serve as "crackers" on a cheese platter.


Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Corned Beef

Tonight's dinner is Corned Beef crockpot style.

A big hunk of corned beef
(mine was about 2 kgs)
3 tblspns of brown sugar
1 cup of vinegar
Water to cover beef
Cook for 8 hrs slowly

Enjoy!!!



Edited to update with dinner plated.
Sorry took photo with my phone.

Creamy mashed potato, steamed beans and carrots
and melt in your mouth Corned Beef.