zucchini and pumpkin stir fry

Zucchini, thinly sliced
Pumpkin,thinly sliced and microwaved for 3 mins
Tofu cubes, fried
Egg, made into omelette and chopped small
Red onion, thinly sliced
Garlic, crushed
Thai basil

Caramelise onion. Add garlic and zucchini. May need to add water to steam zucchini a bit. Add rest. Sauce with oyster, kecap manis and sweet chilli. Serve with rice.

Result: 4, more with homegrown zucchini
Preparation: quick and easy

Spicy beetroot relish

Also try Stephanie's buttered beetroot.

http://www.abc.net.au/tasmania/stories/s2176016.htm

Result: 5. Great on sambos and with curry.
Preparation: very easy. Takes a while to cook.

Fennel and Saffron Soup

One large fennel, diced into medium size pieces discard the core. Two waxy potatoes (Royal Blue), peeled and diced, a bit smaller than the fennel. 400g diced chicken thigh. Onion and garlic (4 or 5 cloves).

Sweat the onion, garlic and fennel. Should use olive oil but the first time we used gee which was very tasty.

Add chicken to brown. Add salt and plenty of pepper. Add potatoes and about 700ml of chicken stock. Add some saffron to the stock, a good pinch (1/4 tsp). Simmer for 40 minutes or so.

Serve with lots of chopped fennel fronds on top.

Result: Outstanding. Very tasty although it looks pale and simple. Would be excellent dinner party fare.

Ricotta Pie

adapted from Play School ...

300g fresh ricotta cheese
2 tbsp grated parmesan
3 eggs
fresh spinach (lots)
parsley, finely chopped
sage (2-3 leaves), finely chopped
nutmeg, tiny bit
cracked pepper

Cook spinach for 2 mins in microwave. Drain and squeeze out most of the water. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Add all the other ingredients and beat with a whisk until fairly smooth. Oil a pie dish. Pour in mixture. Cook for about 35 mins at 160 fan bake.

Result: 5. Like a frittata, but much easier. Tastier than quiche.
Preparation: Dead easy, about 10 mins.

Lentil Salad(s)

The basic salad was puy lentils, diced carrot, celery and onion.  Bring to boil in a large pot of boiling water.  Add bay leaves and some salt.  Simmer for 20 minutes, the lentils should still have some bite.

Once drained add some chopped red capsicum.

This was dressed with olive oil, red wine vinegar and lemon juice.  While still warm two cubes of frozen bail puree were added, they added a great taste, some sort of fresh herb was needed.

This was quite sensational.

Since there was so much (one cup of lentils made heaps!) the remainder was rebirthed the following night by combinig with very small pasta (risoni style).  Added cinnamon, sweet paprika, sumac and sultanas.  Added more lemon juice.

Result was a 5.  Definately make again.

Roast Brussels Sprouts with Dukkah

From Karen Martini:

1 tbsp oil
15 brussels sprouts, trimmed and scored with a cross on the bottom.
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp dukkah
2 tbsp hummus

Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan-forced (200 degrees conventional).
Heat oil in medium baking tray. Add sprouts, season with salt and pepper and roast for 35 mins, shaking tray occasionally, until they are tender and leaves curl back. Remove from oven and drizzle with honey while sprouts are hot. Toss in half the dukkah. Spread hummus on a serving plate, pile on sprouts, sprinkle with remaining dukkah and serve.

Result: 5. Dinner party quality.
Preparation: easy

Salt & Pepper Tofu

Refer to Ken Hom's recipe. Make with about 1/2 tsp salt, and 2 tsp szechwan pepper, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp sugar. Fine without the chilli.

Rather than just tofu, also fry up (separately), small cubes of: eggplant, red capsicum, green capsicum, green beans. Serve with rice, topped with spring onion.

Result: 5. Would be good as part of a fancy meal, not as the only thing.
Preparation: very quick and easy (about 25 mins).

Quick Garlic Prawns

Green prawns. Marinate in crushed garlic, jar chilli and lime juice for about 20 mins. Quickly cook in non-stick pan and serve with noodles.

Result: 4
Preparation: quick

Topside Roast

Piece of topside roast. Rub with mustard and garlic and worstershire sauce. Bake on fan grill 180 degrees with probe to 70. Rest for 15 mins.

Slice thinly. Serve with roast veges.

Also then excellent for lunches with mustard, cheese and fresh lettuce, and in Asian-style soup with chicken stock base, cinnamon, mushrooms, random green stuff.

Result: 4
Preparation: easy

Chuck Steak Burgers

Approx 200g minced chuck steak per person. Form into 2 patties each, with a bit of salt and pepper. Press into very thin patties and stack with glad wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.

Fry thinly sliced onions in hot non-stick pan. Remove. Cook patties (separately to start with) to seal, and then finish cooking through all together with lid on pan. No oil in pan.

Serve as burgers with toasted rolls, dijon mustard, tomato sauce, lettuce, tomato, grated cheese, onion and sliced pickles.

Result: 5
Preparation: really easy.

Corn bread

1 cup polenta
1 cup yellow maize flour (makki atta)
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 tsp bi-carb
2 tsp baking power
1 tsp salt (or none!)
1 1/4 cup milk

Sift together dry ingredients. Mix egg with milk then mix with flours.

Melt butter into skillet (that is oven proof). Pour in mixture and cook over flame for 3 minutes. Place in heated 160 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Turn out onto rack.

This turned out a bit thin so try double recipe next time.

Also try some wheat flour rather than all corn flour as source recipe suggested.

Ham pasta bake

Cook pasta with whatever veges are around like broccoli and green beans. Fry up finely chopped onion, capsicum and chopped ham. Make a white sauce and add grated cheese. Mix all together in oven dish. Top with home-made pesto mixed with breadcrumbs. Bake at 160 degrees about 30 minutes.

Result: 4 (bonus points for hidden veges)
Preparation: somewhat involved, but a warming and tasty result. Lots of dishes.

Steamed snapper with black bean

Snapper fillets in red plastic steamer. Tsp of black bean sauce on top, and shredded spring onion and ginger. Steam for about 8 minutes. Serve with rice and stir-fried veges.

Result: 4
Preparation: what preparation?

Beef in Red Wine

1 kg large diced casserole beef. One large onion, three cloves of Garik, one carrot, mushrooms. Two cups of red wine, three frozen cubes of chicken stock, three bay leaves, two small sprigs of Rosemary.

Brown beef in batches. Saute the onions\garlic\carrot\mushrooms in the pan, scraping the base to remove stuck beef. Sprinkle two table spoons of plain flour into pane and mix well. Add wine and stock cubes, bring to the boil then allow to thicken slightly. Add beef and herbs.

Simmer low for 2 hours or until meat is very tender.

Transfer to a warm serving dish and allow to rest for a few minutes.

Serve with potatoes or plain polenta. Probably should have some green veg too.

Result: 5, nice!

Poached Pears with an Asian Twist

Make sugar syrup of one cup of sugar to 2 cups water. Dissolve and then simmer for 5 minutes. While simmering add a Cinnamon stick, two star anise and a two slices of lemon rind.

Peel 2 brown pears and poach in the syrup, until pears are tender.

Can leave to cool with pears in the liquid. Serve at room temperature with a dollop of yogurt or cream.

Result: 5. Sensational.

Pork Medallions with Cream & Dill on Lentils

Pork fillet in a piece, about 300g. Brown on all sides for a few minutes only, butter in the pan if possible. Move to a baking dish and bake in 150 C oven. Will take about 20 minutes to cook through. Rest for 5 minutes before cutting!

Cook French lentils.

For sauce cook some very finely chopped onion and garlic, in pork pan if not too blackened. Deglaze with white wine, about a cup. Add frozen chicken stock cubes. Reduce until slightly thickened. Add cream (lots!) and dill and reduce a little further.

Serve pork fillet sliced into thiock medallions on the lentils, pour over the cream sauce.

Accompany with steamed green beans.

Result: 5. Quite messy and time consuming but worth the effort.

Red Kidney Bean and Capsicum Hotpot

Karen Martini's recipe, "Feasting" p.133

A fantastic savouring stew of beans and leek yumminess.

Need leek and celery. Worked with Carrot omitted and capsicum quantity increased. Also used five frozen chicken stock cubes when adding the water.

Serve on brown rice as suggested in the book, as well as dressing with yoghurt (Greek style is just fine!) and avocado, lime juice & coriander.

Result: Definitely 5, think this would also be good served with polenta.

Beef & Black bean stirfry

Beef strips, marinated in Chinese wine, dark soy, sesame oil, sugar.

Chop up lots of broccoli and steam in microwave. Thinly slice red capsicum, onion, ginger, and long slices of spring onion, and one clove of garlic.

Stir-fry beef, onion, ginger, spring onion, capsicum. Sauce with black-bean sauce, add broccoli and thicken with cornflour.

Result: 4.5.
Preparation: no time at all.

Pork Wontons

Somewhat following Ken Hom's recipe:
- 250g pork mince
- packet wonton wrappers (or gow gee wrappers)
- fresh coriander, finely chopped, including stems
- ginger, finely diced
- spring onion, finely diced
- cabbage, finely chopped
- mushrooms, finely chopped

Make two fillings:
1) pork + coriander + ginger + spring onion
2) pork + cabbage + mushroom + ginger + spring onion

and add light soy, dark soy, shao xing wine, sugar, black pepper. Refrigerate for 15 mins.

Make wontons. Two ways to cook: steam in steamer, or pan-fry then steam in pan (with not too much water). Cook for about 10 mins.

Serve with: fried tofu, microwaved bok choy, sang choy bao for leftover filling cooked in pan. Serve with chinkiang vinegar + soy sauce.

Result: 5. Wonton pastry turned out a bit funny but the pork + coriander dumplings were very yummy!
Preparation: Somewhat messy and time consuming, and lots of chopping. Worth it, but would take a long time to scale up.

Spicy Roast Chicken & Pumpkin

Based on Karen Martini's Spicy Roast Chicken recipe, "Feasting" p. 151.

Crush coriander seeds and pepper corns in mortar and pestle. Mix in chili flakes, salt and garlic cloves. Smash into a paste.

Take a chicken that has been cut in to 6 pieces (for a size 12) and place in snap-lock bag. Add spice mix and some olive oil, seal bag and massage in. Leave in fridge for several hours.

Chicken is cooked in a pan at 220 degrees fan forced. About 50 minutes.

Large dice the pumpkin, sprinkle on nigella seeds, ground cumin, ground cinnamon, sweet paprika and salt. Add oil and mix around. Place on baking tray, not in the chicken dish. Large pumpkin pieces will take the same time as the chicken if the chicken is small, place on top or bottom shelf as needed.

When chicken is just off done add a big handful of cherry tomatoes to the dish and a little fresh rosemary.

Serve with steamed beans and broccoli.

Result: 6 out of 5. Sensational!

Fish Burgers

Ocean trout fillets (cheap from Preston Market), BBQ - oil on BBQ, salt & pepper on top, skin side down for about 10 minutes. Don't turn.

Flake fish off skin into long roll with tartare sauce (mayo, capers & lemon juice) and shredded lettuce.

Result: 5
Preparation: Non-existent! Fish needs to be bought on the day as it is smelly.

Chicken & Kale soup

Saute chopped onion and carrot and garlic. Add block of chicken stock and hot water. Add 2 whole chicken thighs. Add chopped kale and whole home-grown cherry tomatoes. Cook for about 20 mins. Remove chicken and dice. Cook for about 10 mins more, then add chicken back in, and chopped fresh basil, and tin of cannellini beans. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Result: 4.5. Very healthy too!
Preparation: dead easy, and quick.

Pesto Chicken Pasta

Make pesto: Fresh basil (best from garden), grated parmesan cheese, cashews (pine nuts would be better), garlic, olive oil, blitzed in blender.

Chicken thighs, cut in small pieces and pan-fried. Add pesto, cream and baby spinach. Serve with pasta.

Result: 5. Yummo. Not for everyday eating!!!
Preparation: very quick and easy.

Baked fish with tomato, basil and mozzarella

Piece of fish (e.g. swordfish, or white fish fillet)

Place fish on baking tray on paper. Top with fresh basil, halved cherry tomatoes and sliced bocconcini. Bake at 160 degrees fan bake for 20 mins, then set oven to 'warm' and leave for further 20 mins, or until needed. Serve with green salad.

Result: 5
Preparation: less than 5 mins into the oven, including the salad!

Tomato, Basil and Tuna Quiche

Make quiche (with puff pastry base, uncooked) following Margaret Fulton's Quiche Lorraine recipe, but with tinned tuna, chopped cherry tomatoes and fresh basil instead of onion and bacon.

Result: 5
Preparation: just mix and cook

Quick Lamb and Eggplant Curry

Eggplant, diced, salted, drained and dried.
Onion, roughly chopped.
Garlic, crushed.
Lamb leg, diced.
Tomatoes (only a few), chopped.

Fry onion in ghee and oil. Add eggplant and garlic and fry for a bit. Add diced lamb and spices - Cam's Sri Lankan curry powder, black mustard seeds and turmeric. Fry for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and water to cover about half way. Cook for about 20 mins. Serve with rice and yoghurt and/or honeyed sweet potato.

Result: 4.5. Remarkably nice curry for quick-cooked meat.
Preparation: quick and easy.

Turkish Green Bean Salad

http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/278/Turkish-Green-Bean-Salad/

INGREDIENTS

* 450 grams / 1 pound fresh string beans
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 ripe tomato, chopped
* Salt and black pepper to taste
* 1/2 cup water
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced


METHOD
Remove stems from the beans, wash and cut into 2.5 centimeter / 1 inch pieces.

Heat oil in a lidded saucepan. Saute onions for several minutes, then add tomato and beans. Continue to toss and saute for several minutes, then add salt, pepper and water. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until beans are tender. The water should have evaporated and be nearly gone. Remove from the heat, check seasonings, add lemon juice and chill. Serve at room temperature with parsley.


Result: 4.5
Preparation: quick and easy, especially if some of the tomato sauce is used for something else like eggplant parmigiana.

Zucchini Slice

INGREDIENTS

375g zucchini
1 large onion
3 rashers bacon
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup self-raising flour
½ cup oil
5 eggs
salt, pepper

METHOD

Grate unpeeled zucchini coarsely, finely chop onion and bacon.

Combine zucchini, onion, bacon, cheese, sifted flour, oil and lightly beaten eggs, season with salt and pepper.

Pour into well greased lamington tin (base measures 16cm x 26cm), bake in moderate oven 30 to 40 minutes or until browned.

Also works with ham, and is good with some chopped fresh basil.

Result: 4
Preparation: dead easy, and makes good leftovers