Spicy Chicken

I had this delicious chicken dish at my aunty’s house whilst in Melbourne over Christmas, and immediately had to try it myself when I got home. It did not disappoint, and was fabulous served with a light and refreshing Cucumber & Dill Salad and some steamed broccolini.

This salad was amazing! I did it exactly as the recipe stated, and bought a piece of Danish feta to sprinkle over the top as I thought this would be a great addition to the flavours of cucumber, dill and zucchini – however, I completely forgot until we’d finished eating, that the feta was still sitting in the fridge waiting to be used! Oh well, I’ll try that idea next time, as I fully intend to make this salad again.

You can use whatever chicken pieces you like – I love drumsticks, and they’re great for picking at cold the next day. This would be a great picnic dish too.

My quantities are double the original, so increase/decrease accordingly as you see fit!

Aunty Helen’s Spicy Chicken

1 tbsp olive oil

8 chicken drumsticks

Spice Rub:

2 tsp salt

4 tsp sugar

2 tsp ground pepper (I had a jar of ground pepperberries so used that)

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp curry powder

2 tsp dry mustard powder

Sauce:

6 tbsp mango or lemon chutney

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

a splash of white wine

Combine spice mixture and coat chicken in it (I placed it all in a plastic bag to shake it around easily). Leave for at least 1 hour (overnight is good) in the fridge.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and brown the chicken on all sides. Place in a casserole or baking dish.

Combine remaining ingredients in a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over low heat.

Spoon over the chicken pieces.

Cover with foil or lid and bake at 180C for 40 minutes.

Remove foil/lid and cook, uncovered for a further 20 minutes.

Happy Summer Fooding!

Another Quick Salad

Creating a healthy meal in a hurry does not have to be complicated. This salad incorporated what I had on hand at the time, as well as including beetroot and pear, two things that (according to practitioners of Chinese medicine) are very good for the skin. As I have had rosacea for years, I try anything and everything to give my skin a helping hand.

Steam 1 whole beetroot in the microwave (skin on or off, up to you). Trim roots and cut into wedges.

Place a heap of baby spinach leaves on your plate, and top with beetroot wedges, chopped pieces of ripe pear, chopped avocado, bits of cheese of your choice (I used torn bits of shaved Jarslberg as that’s what I had, but I also like feta or blue, or sauted cubes of yummy haloumi) and a sprinkling of walnuts.

For a dressing, just whisk together some extra-virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar (use balsamic if you can’t find sherry vinegar, which is expensive but lovely for this kind of thing) and a bit of dijon mustard – drizzle over the salad and tuck in!

Happy Summer Fooding!

The Warmth Hath Arriveth

I should have mentioned about the lack of Summer weather earlier, because as soon as I posted about how cold and wet it was, the heat arrived! And I am certainly not complaining now – it’s quite lovely and should remain so now for the next 5 or so months. Hooray!

So……salad time.

After a couple of days of not eating proper meals, in fact not eating much at all I have to say, as well as too much wine consumption (what can I say, my friends are a bad influence….), I was badly in need of something healthy and vibrant. This dish, adapted from a recent Super Food Ideas recipe, fit the detox bill perfectly – light and crunchy, great colours, full of vitamins and goodness, and tasting great too.

Chicken & Broccolini Salad

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 skinless chicken breast fillets (about 500 gms)

2 bunches broccolini, cut into 3cm pieces

⅓ cup pine nuts

¼ cup dukkah (whatever flavour you like – I used Hot Chilli by Gourmet Spice Blends from Mt Tamborine, Queensland)

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

60 gms baby spinach leaves

Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a deep fry pan or wok. Add chicken fillets; brown on both sides then add the soy sauce, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until cooked all the way through (add a splash of water if it starts to stick). Remove from pan, cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes then slice and put aside.

Steam broccolini pieces in microwave for 2 minutes on HIGH; let stand for a few minutes then drain.

Heat the other tbsp of olive oil in the same frypan or wok; add pine nuts and dukkah and stir frequently for 1-2 minutes until starting to toast and become aromatic. Returned sliced chicken to pan along with all remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly and gently heat through until spinach wilts.

Serves 2-3

Happy Summer Fooding!

Shhhhh….The Kids Will Never Know It’s Not Rice

At the risk of totally boring you…..yes it’s cauliflower again! But does it look like it?? Not a bit.

I like to think I’m pretty much up there with the latest food trends, products and “in things”, but it was made clear to me last week (thanks Jane!) that I have missed the cauliflower rice phenomenon, completely and utterly.

I picked up a large cauli for $1.37 on Friday, so after scouring the e-world for many variations, this is my version of “fried rice” without rice. You can really use this in any way that you would use rice, and add anything you like. I really wanted the zing of fresh lemon juice/zest, plus a bit of pizzazz from chilli (not much, just a hint), and it worked beautifully, in fact I scoffed a bowl of this and thought omg how moreish is this.

Super healthy, versatile and soooooo easy if you have a food processor. As long as cauliflower stays cheap this will be a new staple food in my cooking. Plus you can freeze it in sandwich bags for future use, when cauli is in season.

There are many step-by-step photos around, of how to make cauliflower rice – just google and you’ll find plenty of recipe ideas. If you don’t have a food processor, use a cheese grater – works just as well but is more labour intensive and slower.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

1 large head of cauliflower

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp chilli paste (I like Masterfoods)

juice of 1 lemon

zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp vegetable stock

1/2 cup frozen peas

(and next time I’ll add some chopped coriander – just didn’t have any to hand this time)

Cut the cauliflower into florets (make sure it is completely dry)  and place in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped – should be rice sized grains.

Heat olive oil in a pan or wok. Add the onion and garlic, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Serves 6 as a side dish, or if you are having it on its own as a bowl of deliciousness, serves 3.

This is a perfect dish to serve fussy kids who like rice but won’t eat vegies – they’ll never know it’s not rice! You can make it plain without adding the onion etc too – just saute for 7-8 mins until “al dente”.

Happy Fooding!

 

Healthy Little Goodies

These balls are adapted from a recipe in a food magazine from a couple of years ago – I adjusted the quantities to suit what I had in the cupboard and how fussed I could be on the day. These are great for a sweet but reasonably healthy snack – perfect for lunch boxes or after school munchies. Certainly they all disappeared at work!

Apricot Energy Balls

200 gms dried apricots (the soft kind)

120 gms walnuts OR macadamias (or a mixture of both)

2 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp honey

1/4 cup sesame seeds

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until finely chopped and sticky (add a little extra honey if necessary)

Using clean, damp hands, roll mixture into 3cm balls. Place on a dish lined with baking paper, and refrigerate for half an hour until firm.

Makes 18-20

Mixture can be doubled easily, and if you like you can roll the balls in either extra sesame seeds, coconut or cocoa.

Happy Healthy Snack Fooding!

Steamy Citrus Goodness

I made up this carrot recipe to go with a chicken dish I tried last week that wasn’t so fabulous…..I did this in one of those steam bags you buy for the microwave. It is amazing how much juice comes out as the vegies steam in their own juices – no water or other liquid required. I just added the lemon juice for flavouring.

Steamed Citrus Carrots

4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, snipped

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1 tbsp apricot jam

cracked pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in steam bag. Seal bag and toss until carrots are coated with the other ingredients. Lay flat in the microwave and cook on HIGH for 5 minutes. Remove carefully from the microwave (these little buggers are burning hot and will give you a massive steam burn if you aren’t careful when opening!), give the bag a gentle toss and let stand for a further 2 minutes.

Serves 2-3 as a side dish

Happy and Steamy Fooding!

Finally…..Celeriac

(sorry for the blurred pic)

Since March when I tried pureed celeriac at a French restaurant, I’ve been really keen to have a go at cooking some myself. This week, my chance came, as finally I found some in my local supermarket.

Now this is a truly ugly looking vegetable! I expected the skin to be very difficult to cut off, sort of like cutting pumpkin skin, but it was actually super easy. The vaguely celery-like, peppery scent came out as soon as I cut it up – a lovely smell to inhale.

I just simmered and mashed the celeriac, as my son (who works part-time as a bar waiter at said French restaurant) told me how to, and it was delightful to taste and simple to cook. I must buy some more before they disappear from the shops – we don’t tend to get some cold season vegetables much here, due to the short and relatively mild Winter (which btw is still WAY too cold for me – I’m really suffering at the moment).

Mashed Celeriac

1 whole celeriac

milk

1/4 tsp vegetable stock powder

cracked pepper, to taste

Peel the celeriac with a knife and chop into 2cm pieces. Place in a small saucepan and just cover with milk. Add stock powder, bring to a boil then turn down heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes or until celeriac is tender.

Drain most of the milk but keep a little in the pan. Mash the celeriac (use a hand held blender if you want it really smoothly pureed) with cracked pepper.

Serves 2

Happy Fooding!

Green Bean Salad

Well my Christmas cake is a success – we cut a bit off to try and it’s very yummy, so I will share that with you soon. It has been a busy week as I finished my studies for the year, and also attended 14 hours of boat school – both theory and practical – and today passed my skipper’s licence, which is very exciting. Tonight I’m going to a fancy dress party – pirate theme – so have my little pirate wench costume all ready – should be huge fun!

I picked up a Christmas recipe leaflet in the supermarket last week and tried this easy salad. I changed it a bit as I wanted to use ingredients I already had, so if you prefer it more tomato-y and less bean-y, you can find the original recipe here.

Green Bean Salad

200 gms cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

juice and zest of 1 lemon

3 spring onions, chopped

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup additional extra-virgin olive oil

500 gms green beans, trimmed and cut into 3cm pieces

1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

Microwave the tomatoes in olive oil for 2 minutes on HIGH. Set aside to cool, then mix in a bowl with the lemon juice, zest, spring onions, vinegar and the rest of the olive oil.

Steam the green beans in a little water, in the microwave on HIGH for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse.

Mix the beans with the tomato mixture and basil. Season with salt & pepper to taste and serve on a large platter.

Yo ho ho and Happy Fooding, me hearties!

Tomato & Thyme Fish

Healthy & Fast

Simple and tasty, this fish dish is great for when time is short or you are tired after a hard day at the office! Choose a firm, strongly flavoured fish – any kind you like.

Tomato & Thyme Fish

3 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

425 gm can diced tomatoes

1 tsp brown sugar

4 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)

2 tbsp soy sauce

cracked pepper, to taste

2 fish fillets

Heat oil over medium heat, in a heavy based pan; add onion and saute for 5 mins. Stir in tomatoes, sugar, thyme, soy sauce and pepper, and bring to boil.  Simmer for 5 mins then place fish on top. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and cook for 5 mins until fish is cooked through.  Carefully lift out some mixture with fish on top, with an egg slide.  Spoon remaining sauce mixture over the top. Serves 2.

Happy Fooding!