Ravishing Runny Raita…

This yummy, slightly hot dipping sauce or raita, was originally supposed to be a “chutney”, but it turned out way too runny to be spread on anything. It is, however very very tasty, and spooned or poured over an Indian dish or a bowl of plain rice, it is very moreish and delicious.

Makes a great dip for poppadoms while you are waiting to serve your main curry.

Green Raita

12 tbsp low-fat Greek yoghurt

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped

4 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

1 large green chilli, finely chopped

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

Place all ingredients in a bowl and blend thoroughly with a hand blender, until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Happy Fooding!

Zucchini Bread (Cake?)

It’s interesting that carrot cake is always cake, but banana cake and zucchini cake are often called breads. The ingredients for all of these are very similar, but we never say carrot bread (or beetroot bread!) do we! I think they’re all really cake, because bread in my view is generally a savoury thing. But who am I to argue with the masses…….

Anyway I came across this great looking zucchini “bread” recipe a couple of weeks ago via a Food.com e-newsletter, and decided to make it for morning tea at work, last week. As I had successfully made my usual carrot cake in the bread machine the week before, I looked at the zucchini bread ingredients and thought hmmmmm they’re very similar in quantity etc. so I’ll do this one in the bread machine too.

It worked, but it was not as moist as the carrot cake, so I think this one would be better eaten straight after cooking (I made it the night before taking it to work). Also it didn’t rise quite as much and I think would have been better on the medium crust setting, which would have baked it about 8 minutes longer. It was good enough to be a “keeper” though, so I will change the baking time slightly next time.

Below is my bread machine version for 1 cake – if you want to do it the original, oven way, here is the website I got it from – which is in fact quantities for 2 loaves.

The Ultimate Zucchini Bread (CAKE!!)

In order, place the following ingredients in bread machine bowl:

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 1/4 cups grated zucchini

1 tbsp orange zest, grated

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 3/4 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp bi-carb soda

1/2 tsp salt

Bake on bread machine’s Cake setting, with Medium crust and 750gm loaf settings.

If you’re feeling like a more savoury bread, try this lemon & dill bread, also in the bread machine. I made this again recently and we had it at work with apricot & almond cream cheese on top – a great combination with the bread flavours.

Happy Fooding!

Cooking With Herbs – An Old Fave

Chicken, mushrooms & vegie snags

This terrific and easy marinated chicken thigh fillet recipe is from another great old Women’s Weekly Cookbook from yesteryear – Cooking With Herbs. My copies of all of these old WW books are very food-stained, falling apart at the seams and generally well-loved! When I first bought this particular one, coriander was one of those “weird” herbs that you had to be innovative and daring in your food tastes, to use! Now of course it is a staple flavour in most kitchens, and deservedly so.

I have usually made this in a wok, but this time decided to rev up the barbie, as I had just given it a good clean (anticipating Summer, even though it’s still only mid-Winter – ever hopeful, I am). As you can see, I threw on a lot of food for just one person, but I find if I’m going to heat up the barbie, I have to make it worthwhile, so I just cook a heap of stuff and then have it as leftovers on sandwiches or in salads etc.

The fresh herb/garlic/ginger odours as the chicken cooked, were lovely – a good aroma coming off the bbq is always a delight.

Coriander Ginger Chicken

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp crushed fresh ginger

1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1/4 cup light soy sauce

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp castor sugar

cracked pepper, to taste

6-8 skinless chicken thigh fillets, trimmed of fat

Add chicken to combined remaining ingredients in a bowl or marinating dish. Mix well and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Cook chicken in a single layer either in a wok, a medium frypan or on the bbq, for 5-7 minutes each side until cooked through. Pour over any leftover marinade during cooking.

Serves 4.

Mild Thai Vegies

It is really, really hot here at this time of year. I love it, as I hate the cold, but many are not happy right now. Over Christmas we had about 10 days in a row of 37-42C with no relief, and even night minimums only getting down to 23-27C.

Finally a minor cool change came through on New Year’s Day, and since then it hasn’t been too bad, but even with a bit of a cool breeze, it is still way too hot inside my tiny place to think about using the oven much. The aircon is very inefficient and there is no insulation, making it freezing in Winter and stinking hot in Summer!

On New Year’s Day, when I was in post-Hawaiian-party recovery mode and pretty much doing nothing all day, I wanted to make a healthy vegie dish to go with my crumbed salmon (which I did in the microwave rather than the oven). I also needed to make do with whatever was in the fridge, as the shops were not open and I had not yet fully re-stocked from being away for 2 weeks.

I made up this curried veg dish – Massaman curry paste is very mild, so this is not a spicy dish at all, and you could use whatever vegies you like.

Massaman Thai Vegies

1 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, cut into wedges

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tbsp Massaman curry paste

400 mls coconut milk (low-fat)

400 mls tinned, diced tomatoes

7 baby potatoes, cut into quarters

2 small carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1/2 red capsicum, sliced

kernels of 1 corn cob

2 tbsp fresh basil, torn

2 tbsp fresh mint, torn

Heat olive oil in large saucepan, and saute onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Add curry paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add coconut milk, tomatoes, potatoes and carrots. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Add capsicum, corn kernels, basil and mint, and simmer for a further 10 minutes or until potato/carrot is tender, stirring occasionally.

Serves 4

Happy hot weather fooding!

Thai Beef Salad

In theory it might now be Autumn, but no one has told Perth weather that!  It is still quite hot, which is fine by me – long may it last.

This refreshing, slightly spicy beef salad is easy and full of yummy flavours – the blend of lemongrass, herbs, garlic, chilli and sauces makes for a really pungent and fresh taste. It is also ideal for preparing early in the day, as you can just leave it in a bowl to help the flavours really permeate into the meat.

I have made this a couple of times with kangaroo fillet instead of beef and it was delicious – I think ostrich would work very well too, and when I was eating it this time I also wondered how it would go with prawns…

I have suggested cherry tomatoes and cucumber for serving, but you can use any salad ingredients you like. Avocado and bean shoots would be great.

Thai Beef Salad

2 spring onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped (if you can’t find any fresh, use about 1 tbsp of the chopped stuff in a jar)

1 cup fresh coriander, chopped

1 cup fresh mint, chopped

1 cup lime juice

zest of 1 lime

1/3 cup fish sauce

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1/4 tsp chilli paste

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1/2 cup white sugar

cracked pepper, to taste

600-700 gms beef scotch fillet

In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients except steak. Mix well until the sugar is dissolved.

Cook the steak in a pan, grill or wok, for 4-6 minutes each side until it is medium-done. Remove from heat and let rest for a few minutes then slice into thin strips. Add the meat and its juices to the sauce mixture and refrigerate, covered, for at least 3 hours.

Serve the meat/sauce mixture over a bed of mixed lettuce leaves, cherry tomatoes and diced cucumber.

Serves 4

Happy Fooding!

Dinner For One

Last night I needed to whip something up just for me, and I had some minced beef in the fridge, so made this up using what I had lying around. Actually I had a recipe for a lamb mince dish using Tasty Bite Madras Lentils, ages ago, and searched everywhere online and in my recipe files (I have LOTS of manila folders stuffed with recipes pulled from magazines or printed from websites), but just couldn’t find it. So I just made it up, and although it’s nothing fancy, it is nice and simple and was quite a tasty bite (haha).

I always have a couple of Tasty Bite vegetable things in my pantry – I find them very handy for an emergency vegie dish that you just zap in the microwave – they’re vegetarian, all-natural so no nasties, and gluten-free as well.

Madras Beef

1 tbsp olive oil

400 gms minced beef

1/2 brown onion, chopped

285 gm pkt Tasty Bite Madras Lentils

2 small tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 tbsp capers, drained

a handful fresh mint leaves, torn into bite sized pieces

Heat olive oil and brown mince and onion. Add all remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Serves 1-2

Happy Fooding!

Real Falafels…

I’ve been making my own baked falafels for a few years. About a year ago I tried one of those dried falafel mix boxes, where you just add water and an egg or something. Disgusting! Then a couple of months ago I saw some nice looking ready-made ones in a vacuum-sealed packet, in the supermarket. They came in different flavours and were on special so I thought I’d try them, as we were going away on the boat that weekend and wanted easy nibbles to take with us. Also disgusting! SO dry and tasteless.

I think I’ll just stick to my tried and true homemade ones. I bake them rather than fry, as I do not like food where all you can taste is oil. These are easy and delicious, and if you don’t like the yoghurt dipping sauce, sweet chilli is just as good.

Falafels

425 gm can chickpeas, drained

3 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled & grated

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 egg

1 tsp cumin seeds, ground

Sauce for Serving:

1 cup low-fat Greek yoghurt

1 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp chilli paste (optional)

Mash the chickpeas in a food processor until smooth. Place in a bowl and mix with all other ingredients.

With clean hands, form into smooth oval shapes of about 1 tbsp of mixture each. Refrigerate for an hour, then bake on a greased oven tray at 200C for 20 minutes (turning over after 10 minutes).

Serve with dipping sauce – mix all sauce ingredients together and refrigerate until needed.

Makes 16.

Happy Fooding!

Delightfully Fresh & Healthy

Well it’s back to the real world now 😦  And the weather here in Perth has decidedly ‘turned’ – no more cold for us, yay. Mind you, we were supremely lucky with the UK weather, it was amazing most of the time.

So thinking thoughts of warmth, bbqs, eating outside, picnics etc., here is a quick, easy and refreshing tomato & onion salad. Summer-y meals are well and truly back on the menu 🙂

You can play around with the quantities of this – I’ve given the basic amounts but just increase it to suit, if you need a really big serving for a larger gathering. Although it doesn’t look like a lot of ingredients, it makes a surprisingly large amount, and also makes a great salsa to accompany Mexican dishes.

I am not a fan of using salt much in my cooking, but it is a vital ingredient in this and makes all the difference, so don’t be tempted to leave it out.

Tomato & Onion Salad

2 large or 3 small tomatoes

1 medium red onion

1 large or 2 small cucumbers (any kind)

a handful of fresh mint, chopped (see pic below for the approximate quantity I use)

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp good quality extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp salt

cracked pepper, to taste

Finely chop the tomato, onion and cucumber (I use a V-slicer for really quick results) in a serving bowl.

Mix the mint, lemon juice, olive oil and salt together, and combine with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well, cover and place in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow the flavours to develop.

Give it a good mix with a spoon before serving, as the tomato juices and dressing pool at the bottom and need a good stirring.

Happy Fooding!

No-Bake Slice Using Mint Aero!

How about this for a delicious, no-bake slice! This literally took 10 minutes to make…..the only way I deviated from the recipe was that I added 2 tablespoons of condensed milk instead of 1, as it seemed a bit dry when I mixed it together.

Makes 24 pieces (I made it in a Tupperware Slice N Stor container).

Happy Fooding!

Chargrilled Capsicum

I love all those yummy antipasto things that you buy in delis – olives, artichokes, eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes etc. When I was living in Suriname a few years ago I couldn’t get any of these things, so did a bit of experimenting myself to come up with different things for when we entertained (which was a LOT – it was pretty much 18 months of bbqs, picnics, dinners, drinks at the club or by the pool, with all the other expats in the company village we lived in).

I’ve continued to make my own chargrilled red capsicum, as I tend to buy a heap of them when the prices are good, and I love it on sandwiches or chopped up in a salad.  There are no quantities really so this is just a guide:

Cut 4-5 large red capsicum into 4 flattish pieces (trim off any bottom edge bits that are kind of curling under).

Lay flat, skin-side up, on a foil lined grilling dish or oven tray.

Place under a hot grill and cook for about 15 mins, checking OFTEN (and put the fan on or have windows open, or your smoke detectors will go off!!!).  And don’t go off to play games on the computer lol – you must hang around keeping an eye on the capsicum, and move it around every few minutes to evenly cook it all – it will blacken and get blistery.

Remove from the grill and use tongs to place the hot capsicum pieces in a plastic bag (I use the bag that I brought them home in). Tie a knot in the bag and let them sit for about 20 minutes to sweat.

Remove from the bag, and when cool enough to handle, peel the skins off and discard.

Now all you do it layer the capsicum in an airtight container, with a little cracked pepper and chopped fresh basil, and a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil, in between each layer.

Store in the fridge and use as required – I usually leave it for 24 hours initially, to allow the flavours to develop.

(Note: if you prefer, fresh mint or parsley is also good instead of basil – whatever fresh herbs you have on hand really)

Stay tuned for my very easy semi-dried tomato recipe, later this week.

Happy Fooding!