Simple Vegetable Curry, yoghurt and Butterscotch Almond Cake

i forgot to say that for some bizarre reason our new increased download limit started today - but then it restarts for the new month again tomorrow! how bizarre lol. i need to remember to go find a program to download some stuff as we have 10MB to use today LOL!

Vegie Curry
anyway, last night G was making himself and the kids sausages & vegies for dinner but i wasn't really in the mood for it so i asked him just to leave me soem of the cut vegies and i'd make something. i decided i was in the mood for a curry so i pulled out some books and had a play.

the curry i ended up with wasn't the greatest but it was quick and easy and you could substitute just about anything into it, so perfect for after work dinner. i think if you added lentils or chickpea or paneer it would be a great meal on its own, or as i made it as a side dish.

the original recipe was vendakka vazhuthananga masala (okra & eggplant spicy masala) from my new curry cookbook.

this is just a rough draft of a recipe

oil
around 1/2 tspn each of
fenugreek seeds
fennel seeds
2-3 cardamom pods
cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 onions, finely chopped
heat oil and add the rest above. cook over medium heat, stirring until onions are golden brown

1/2 tspn each of
turmeric
ground coriander
chilli powder (i didn't have any chilli left in the house so had to go without :()
salt
around 2 cups of chopped mixed vegies (i had potatoes, carrots, beans and corn off the cob)
stir and cook for a few minutes

2 tomatoes chopped or some leftover pasta sauce ;)
add, bring to a simmer, partially cover and simmer until vegies are done.

around 1/3 cup natural yoghurt
fresh coriander leaves
turn heat off, add and stir through. serve with rice, pappadums or a bread of some sort

Yoghurt
i finally remembered to save some yoghurt to try making my own yoghurt from the old batch. i used (probably out of date) skim milk powder and it worked perfectly! i thought 1/4 cup sugar was way too much but the final product tastes ok. i think i'll still try to get it as low as possible though.

here is the previous post about it

Butterscotch Almond Cake
over on eb someone requested testers for a new cake for a fete stall. i needed to cook a cake to share with friends so i made it. it didn't quite go according to plan though lol. now i have more of an idea of what i'm doing i will try it again in a smaller quantity and see how i go next time.

the thermomix made making it an absolute breeze, with it taking only seconds to make the ground almonds from whole ones and to mix the batter. and then only seconds more to pour it all back in and add the forgotten butter lol

Potato Gnocchi - wow!

i always thought that potato gnocchi would be too hard to make. but i was wrong! very wrong!

well, maybe it's harder without a thermomix, i'm not sure :p

anyway, i made it and it was very good. i doubt i'll buy it again if i can help it! i think i'll have the occasional gnocchi making session and then freeze quantities for quick dinners. i have to admit that i didn't 'pretty' mine up ie: roll into balls and press with a fork, but once they had sauce on them no one would know.

i used a combination of recipes from taste and used 1kg of potatoes which gave us just a little more than we needed for all 5 of us. other ingredients were salt (i use vegemare), plain flour and an egg.
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/8775/step+by+step+gnocchi
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/2446/potato+gnocchi

i cooked the potatoes whole then i acutally refridgerated them for 24 hours as i wasn't feeling well enough to make the gnocchi on thursday night. i then peeled them, cut them into quarters or eighths and put them in the thermomix. i think next time i will chop them up in smaller quantities, about 300g at a time. as it was i used the interval setting with constant scrapedowns and stirs with the spatula, as well as having the spatula in the top, trying to mix as it chopped. it mostly did an ok job though there were some chunky bits (that didn't matter in the finished product). i added the other ingredients and had to mix on about 6 to get anything to happen! i only did that for a very short time then tipped it out and kneaded by hand for a minute or two. divided into about 6 or 8 pieces, rolled into 2cm 'snakes', cut into 1cm pieces and cooked them a serve at a time with a slotted spoon.

no comment on the sauce, it wasn't a success and i won't make it again! (undercooked onions)

Good Luck Dani!!!!

the talented and frugal Dani of The Kitchen Playground is a finalist in a dairy recipe competition on the Pioneer Woman's website. Please cross everything for her that this recipe does the trick!!!

*sob*

we have gone over our download limit for the first time ever so i am down to snail speed :(

i won't be back til nxt week some time but i will blog then about homemade potato gnocchi (mmmm) butterscotch & almond cake (ho hum) and whatever i get made on the weekend.

in the meantime here's a link i've been meaning to save dutch speculaas

have a great weekend all!

Camp Cooking part 2

lots of ideas are out as we're pretty sure we can't have an open fire (but will check) so it means gas stove only for cooking.

ideas:
pasta or gnocchi & pesto
bacon sandwiches / BLT's (breakfast)
hamburgers
butterscotch pudding or golden syrup dumplings
salad with macaroni / quinoa / cous cous / rice and sun dried tomatoes, corn, tinned capsicum (?) pine nuts or almonds, pesto or oil & vinegar dressing


links:
eb search
summary of ideas from link
main meals

• Omelette - mix all ingredient in ziplock bag and boil
• damper on a stick (for open fire)
• baked bananas with marshmallows
• steak salad sandwiches
• hamburgers
• beef & tomato casserole
  
• steamed baby potatoes
• roast (in a dutch oven)
• fried rice already cooked
• nachos
• fajitas
• kebabs
• stir fry with long life noodles (udon etc)
• pizza
• premix dry ingredients for pizza bases, dampers, scones etc etc
• risotto

breakfasts

• baked beans, tinned spaghetti,
  
• eggs, tomatoes, sausages, bacon
• premixed pancake
  

snacks

• cookies, cakes, muesli bars
• fruit tubs
• tins of creamed rice
• nuts & bolts
• anzac biscuits

more links (thanks dixie :))
http://camprecipes.com/index.php?comm=2&PH...8020c579899aaba

• cowboy mac & cheese
• Anciu Stew (beans & sausages)
• dumplings in soups or stews
• hot dogs
• satay noodles
  

http://www.aussiecampovencook.com/
http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/Outdoor_Cooking.htm

• breakfast burritos
• french toast
• vegetables in foil
  

http://www.koa.com/recipes/campfirecooking.htm

• taco salad (basically tacos with corn chips instead of taco shells)
• 
  

things to buy
small UHT milks
pkts of fried noodles
dried parmesan
golden syrup in squeeze tube
foil

Camp Cooking

we are going camping for a week in october. it's the first time we've camped for more than 2 nights so it will be interesting to see how we go foodwise! we don't have a fridge or any great way to keep things cold - we have an esky and can borrow another but last time we tried to pack for a weekend the food was all swimming in water after 24 hours :( the last few days won't be so bad as we're camping with friends who'll be staying in cabins (*waving hello to my lurkers lol*) so we can refreeze freezer blocks etc, but the first 4-5 days we'll be on our own in a campground with no electricity.

we do have a campstove now which is more than we've had before! we dont' have any pots though as i gave all our old ones away before we started camping. i need to get out to some garage sales to see if i can get some more. i do have a huge cast iron frypan i picked up that way but it needs serious rust removal done on it first...


so anyway, i've been meaning to post some ideas on here, but kept forgetting, but i just found this link on taste which reminded me :)

Sloppy Joes...

In Australia a sloppy joe is a sweatshirt. In America it is a yummy messy food that kids and adults alike enjoy.

Elise on Simply Recipes just posted a recipe for sloppy joes which i went on to my mum as a suggestion for Thursday night dinners (my sister and nephew eat there every thursday. we only go every month or two but it makes it a bit more complex trying to find something everyone will eat!). as we were chatting i remembered that i had a different version that was served with wedges and sour cream that was really yummy and went in search of it. It's originally from an Australian Women's Weekly cookbook.


potato wedges with sloppy joe topping
4 medium potatoes (or a packet of frozen wedges)
2 tabs olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 large brown onion, chopped finely
1 small green capsicum, chopped finely
1 trimmed celery stick, chopped finely (i usually add more as it gets wasted otherwise!)
150g beef mince
2 tabs mild american mustard
2 tabs cider vinegar
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese
2 green onions, sliced thinly

1. preheat oven to hot
2. cut each potatoes in 8 wedges, place in shallow baking dish, drizzled with half of the oil
3. roast, uncovered, in hot oven 30 mins or until tender
4. meanwhile, heat remaining oil in fryin gpan; cook garlic, onion, capsicum and celcery, stirring, until vegies soften. add mince, cook, stirring, until changed in colour. stir in mustard, vinegar and sauce, bring to a boil. reduce heat, cook, stirring, until sloppy joe is cooked through and slightly thickened.
5. serve wedges topped with sloppy joe mix, top with cheese and green onion.

when i do it in the slow cooker i fry the mince and onion ** and then put it all in the slow cooker to cook. takes 2-4 hours.


** when i'm organised i will fry up several kilos of mince and chopped onions and freeze into 500g portions, great for quick meals

oh my! i am drooling!!

look at all these delicious indian dishes..... yum yum! (yes i know, not the healthy food i was after but i have to perfect my butter chicken! lol)

What's for Lunch, Honey - Indian

and here's her butter chicken

ISO....

I'm looking for some new blogs to read - but.... the catch is i want healthy and simple recipes!

there are so many yummy blogs but all this baking is not good for me. i need to start eating healthier so i'm hoping to balance out all my cake and cookie blog subscriptions by also tracking down some healthy blogs :) extra points if you find me a blog which does healthier versions of sweets ;p (my downfall in case you didn't notice lol)

Garlic Knots

dinner tonight was lentil soup with garlic knots.

i made them based on this recipe but was too lazy to go and find the recipe to check out to make them LOL hence they didn't quite work as they were supposed to, but doesn't matter - everyone loved them and there are NONE left! lol

i used the thermomix pizza dough. after letting it rise, punch down and then re-rise, i cut it into around 14 pieces. i then rolled it into balls and then between my hands into 'snakes'. tied them into tight knots.

i drizzled olive oil over them, and sprinkled them with a little salt (won't next time, the kids didn't like that), dried rosemary and lots of chopped garlic. i also put a little cheese on half of them.

i chopped 6 cloves of russian garlic (equivalent to about 12-18 cloves of regular garlic in quantity) in 2 seconds in the thermomix - i love my thermomix!

the lentil soup wasn't all that good tonight :( not sure why. didn't stop rory eating all hers and all ryan's too though lol

i also made applesauce puffs tonight. they are very yummy :) next time i will change the recipe though, won't worry about the topping plus i think i'll put a little more applesauce and less sugar. oh and i'll put less in the holes so i make 12 instead of 6 lol

Mini Freckle Pancakes

just found these in an old new idea at mum's, might do them for emelia's party perhaps, they're kind of cute :)

Mini Freckle Pancakes
25 g unsalted butter, chopped
1/2 cup dark choc melts
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tabs caster sugar
1 cup self raising flour
cooking oil spray
100's & 1000's
icing:
1/4 cup thickened cream
3/4 cup dark choc melts

1. make icing by combining choc & cream in heatproof bowl and placing over saucepan of water, stir til smoooth. (you can also do this in the microwave, but don't put a lid on it!) refridgerate for spreadable consistency
2. combine butter, melts & milk in small saucepan. stir over low heat til smooth. whisk egg and sugar until combined. whisk into chocolate mix with flour until smooth.
3. heat frypan,. spray with cooking oil. spoon tbspn of mix into pan and cook for around 1 1/2 mins or until lightly browned. turn over & cook til browned. remove & cool on wire rack. make 20
4. to serve spread icing over cold pancakes, sprinkle with 100's & 1000's

An Indian Themed Sunday Dinner

mmmmm

the butter chicken was better. however i burnt the spices :( plus it still seemed to be not quite right. i'm happy enough to keep playing with the same recipe though :)

to go with it i made a potato, spinach & chickpea curry, based on this one (though i make similar ones all the time, i was just looking for some inspiration for something different, which i didn't get lol)

Ryan loved the vegies, in particular the chickpeas. i think he is most likely to be a vegetarian as he gets older ;)

here's the recipe (all quantities approximate as usual!) :

potato, spinach & chickpea curry

2 tspns ghee
melt in a large pan

1 red or brown onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tspns garam masala
2 tspns black mustard seeds
2 tspns cumin seeds
2 tspns coriander ground
1-1.5 tspns turmeric
lightly fry until the onion is soft and the mustard seeds pop a little

2 medium large pink or red skinned potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1cm dice
add in, stir well to coat

chicken stock powder (2 tspns) or cubes (2)
water - start with 1/2 cup and add more as needed
chickpeas - 1 tin drained
add to potatoes, stir to mix, cover loosely and leave to cook for around 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally

1-2 bunches english or baby spinach, washed and ends trimmed off
place on top of potatoes, cover and leave to wilt for 5 minutes.
when wilted stir well.
add some yoghurt if desired.

serve :)

Challenge #2 - Recipe books!

ok, i know we probably all love using online as a resource, but i'm sure we all have at least a handful of recipe books :)

so share...

1. please post a photo of your book collection on your blog, in your flickr, wherever you can and share the link in a comment here. (you can still play without a photo :))
2. how many do you have? (rough is fine!)
3. do you use them much? and if so how?
   
4. share your favourites
5. and if you have a favourite online site that isn't a blog please share that too!!!

here's mine!

1. here's a link to a picture of all mine where they are pointed out and commented on
2. last time i counted (over 4 years ago) i have nearly 70 plus magazines. in that time i have decluttered and got rid of some but invested in a few more lol. i still have a lot in another shelf to get rid of, including a heap of freebies if anyone's interested ;) i don't buy magazines much these days!
3. i don't use them much *blush* and really only for inspiration. i admit that i generally do follow cake and cookie / biscuit recipes fairly closely the first time though.
4. my favourite is my charmaine solomon asian cookbook, i'd love to update it some time! i'm also partial to jackie passmore's curry in a hurry and some of the old womens weekly ones such as the chinese cookbook etc
5. mine are in the link down the bottom right of my blog of course! but the one i most go to, after tracey-leigh's recommendation, is taste.com.au
   

Outrageous Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

thanks to Cookie Madness for this recipe which i made during the week.

when i made the mix it seemed way too dry and i was worried that i should add more moisture somehow but couldn't make up my mind what (lol). then when they came out they were a bit dry and crumbly and didn't have all that much taste - i wasn't all that impressed.

but.... the next day they were lovely! now they're one of my favourite cookies lol the recipe will be a keeper ;)

Butter Chicken

2 tb oil
1 kg chicken
60g butter of ghee
2 tspns garam masala
2 tspns sweet paprika
2 tspns ground coriander
1 tab finely chopped fresh ginger
¼ tspn chilli powder
1 cinnamon stick
6 cardamom pods, cruised
350g pureed tomatoes
1 tab sugar
¼ cup plain yoghurt
½ cup cream
1 tab lemon juice

Heat wok til very hot, heat oil and stiry fry chicken half at a time.
Reduce heat, add butter and melt, add spices and fry 1 min. return chicken and coat in spices
Add tomato & sugar, simmer 15 mins.
Add yoghurt, cream & juice and simmer 5 mins
Serve with rice & pappadums
Serves 4-6

one of my workmates shared this recipe with me - it's from the book Bowl Food which looks like a good one (like i need another recipe book lol).

we made it the other night and it just didn't taste or smell as good as his but he said he cooks it a lot longer than the recipe says, so i'm going to give it a try in the slow cooker. he does his on the stove but our stove doesn't cook as low as he says his does.

Bit of a catch up...

Last night i made (sort of lol) sesame pork cups . I couldn't follow the recipe exactly because i didn't have any hoi sin sauce - so i discovered at the last minute (i used char sui sauce instead) and i couldn't get a butter lettuce so got a coral, which made it impossible to eat these as cups or rolls!!

I also added to the pork mix 2 finely grated carrots and a finely sliced green capsicum - brilliant idea as the kids had no idea it was there. (when i 'hide' vegies like this i'm more than happy to tell them theyr're there, so they know they aren't so bad after all!! but i admit i do try to put extra vegies into everything as much as possible, i did this prekids anyway, to try to cut down the calorie intake and up my own vegie intake :))

they were very popular with the whole family though! next time i'll probably chop the pork up into a coarse mince so it's more like a sang choy bow, and seeing as the 'sesame' taste was negligent, will add a little sesame oil (which i'm also out of atm).

on the right in the picture is an omelette which i made by quickly stirfrying some garlic (yay, i finally got fresh garlic that wasn't mouldy! even if it was russian / elephant garlic), ginger and 2 bunches of pak choy. then pour off lots of beaten eggs mixed with a little soy sauce, sherry and cold water. usually i would make a sauce to go over it but i was too lazy plus i couldn't cope with the idea of having it with no sesame oil in it lol

i also made the thermomix marble cake for the rest of the family to have for dessert after.

yesterday afternoon i also made a batch of the salsa to have baked over chicken (this is the world's easiest recipe and i can never get over how good it tastes! you just pour a jar of salsa over some chicken breasts and top with grated cheese then bake!) i did the salsa in the thermomix and was hoping to have a new recipe conversion to post but i think it's one i need to work on - i cooked it too low and it took forever. once i turned the heat up it was much better :) anyway, i'm impressed, the salsa looks just like the bought stuff and hopefully when i cook it in the next few days it will taste just as good if not better! (the tomatoes weren't the greatest so i'm not really sure...)

i realised this morning that i forgot to post ages ago (after i had the food poisoning) that i had tried the crumpets again and had more success with them! i'm sure i changed the recipe just a little and now of course i can't quite remember how *rolling eyes*

so today i want to try to get the sausage rolls and pizza scrolls done and in the freezer ready for the party. i always get so stressed trying to be the mega hostess so i'm hoping to get as much done ahead of time as possible :) i'm going to do the pizza scrolls with a scone dough rather than puff pastry.

tonight's dinner will be butter chicken, which i'll cook in the slow cooker. will post the recipe later...

Menu Plan

key lime meltaways
sausage rolls (for party)
pizza scrolls (for party)

homemade gnocchi & tomato, olive & pinenut sauce
baked chicken in salsa and steamed vegies
chickpea & sweet potato cakes with salad
sesame pork cups (with a few vegies thrown in)
lentil soup
butter chicken with a potato & spinach curry


limes
sweet potato
mixed salad
tomatoes
cucumber
avocado
red onions
zucchinis
green capsicum
long red chilli
baby spinach
red capsicum
potatoes (desiree)
english spinach
butter lettuce

ignore this post ;-p

i dont' have time to post these links where they belong but i have so many posts saved on bloglines that it's getting hard to find the new ones lol!! thanks to everyone who posted these yummy recipes!

Southwestern CrockPot Sweet Potato and Corn Medly

Coconut Beef CrockPot Recipe

Weird potatoes

Roast tofu, sweet potato and lentil salad...

Melting Moments Recipe

Mandarin Curd: A Beautiful Thing

arepas

Delicious Mexican Lasagna

Crispy Yogurt Chicken

Schiacciata con l'uva

slow-roasted tomatoes

chocolate peanut butter cake

Bifes de Cebolada!

All Photo Friday fennel-and-sage crusted pork tenderloin

Hitting the Road Chilled Sweet Potato Salad

Grilled Ratatouille

My New Favorite Brownies

Random Act of Quinoa Salad

Roasted Eggplant-Almond Dip

Achiote Beans Recado

Dorset apple cake

http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/chickpea_and_tuna_patties

bizarre the way the links have gone... and you're supposed to be ignoring this post not commenting on it ;p

alack alas

stocking the pantry up and doing the homeshop delivery and the aldi shop in the same week has meant that we have no more space left on our card (i forget if it's credit or debit) so i'm unable to do a choku bai jo shop this week.

luckily i think i can still cope with our menu plan despite the lack of shopping (yes, we have that much F&V left from last week lol). we do have full pantries so we won't starve that's for sure!! (makes me wonder how people can afford to stockpile though when our full pantries will be mostly empty in 4-6 weeks)

tonight we had spaghetti pie - yum! though we made it a little differently because my printer wouldn't work and my memory doesn't last that long lol

on the weekend i made thermomix anzac biccies (with sunflower seeds in them) and a whole lemon cake based on the orange cake. it is pretty good :) i didn't bother with the syrup or icing sugar on top.

i'm sure i've done some other cooking lately but i've been a bad bad blogger and i forget what!

Menu Plan

tonight - baked potatoes, baked beans and bacon (and grilled tomatoes)
spaghetti pie (and a batch of spag sauce for the freezer)
minestrone
indian chicken pies
Roast Vegetable Enchiladas and Mexican Rice
lentil & salami soup

some great TMX ideas

in Tenina's blog

ISO... in search of...

does anyone have any favourite savoury cracker / biscuit recipes? esepcially cheese free ones, or ones that use parmesan.

or know how to make your own semi-dried tomatoes (without giving yourself food poisoning lol)??

and some more "New Ideas" - dips

and from another New Idea magazine

creamy tomato & bacon dip
fry 2 rashers bacon, finely chopped, until crisp. drain and add mccormick lemon, basil & thyme seasoning
put in bowl and add sour cream, finely chopped semi dried tomatoes, finely chopped gherkins and finely chopped basil.
refridgerate
serve with crudites

beetroot & hummus dip
mix hummus (damn, i didn't realise this used bought hommus), can of baby beets (drained), garlic, cumin and lemon juice in food processor
season and refridgerate
serve with asparagus spears, toasted naan bread wedges & slice sausages

corn & chilli dip
in food processor mix cream cheese and half a can corn (drained) til smooth
in bowl mix in remaining corn, sweet chilli sauce, lime zest, lime juice and a long red chilli, finely sliced. season and refridgerate
serve with lime wedges, rice crackers and grissini sticks

Pastry to the rescue!!!

it has been my experience that a few pieces of pastry can save just about anything! even the most bland, boring, or not nice leftovers can be delicious baked into some flaky golden pastry!

this is not a recipe for pastry - i can't make pastry to save myself! i have tried (and i haven't given up yet) but so far i am just not good at pastry lol

leftovers i have used in pastry for a yummy pie include:
beef in red wine
nachos or taco mix
leftover curry of any kind
any leftover casserole or even a stir fry
bolognese sauce

sometimes you might need to add more liquid or thicken up the sauce, but often it will be fine to plonk straight into the pastry and cook. if you dont' have enough leftovers for a meal now you dont' need to stuff yourself with it or chuck it, just make it into a pie! put in the freezer utnil you're ready to make a batch of pies, or make a batch and freeze reading for lunches etc (if you've already frozen the filling once dont' refreeze though.)

i was inspired by this recipe in my mum's New Idea magazine...

Indian Chicken Pies

olive oil
1 onion, thinkly sliced
1/4 cup balti curry paste (mild)
500g chicken thigh fillets, chopped
2 desiree potatoes, peeled, cut into 2cm pieces
1/2 cup coconut cream
1/2 250g packet frozen spinach, thawed
cooking oil spray
4 frozen shortcrust pastry sheets, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed, halved
cooked peas and plain yoghurt to serve
coriander sprigs, to garnish

1. heat oil in large saucepan, add onion. cook until soft. add curry paste, cook one minute. add chicken and potatoes. cook for 2 mins until chicken changes colour. add coconut cream and bring to bil. simmer 5 mins or until chicken cooked. squeeze excess moisture from spinach, add to chicken mix. mix well, cover, refridgerate until cool.
2. spray 4 pie tins with cooking spray
3. cut out oval shape from each sheet of shortcrust patry, big enough to line tin. place in tins, brush edges with egg. divide filling among tins. place puff pastry over filling. press along rim of tins, trim edges, use fork to seal. brush tops with egg. make two slits in top of each pie
4. cook in a hot oven (200c) for about 30 mins or until pastry is golden & puffed
5. serve with peas, top with yoghurt & coriander.

there's also a great weekday chicken, leek and corn pie
1 large bbq chicken - remove meat & chop
melt butter, cook onion & leeks
add flour & cook 1 min
stir in stock, then add chicken, creamed corn and some cream
simmer for 5 minutes, stir in chives
cool, place in pastry and bake :)

this would be an easy peasy one for the thermomix to make ;)

what else have you put in your pies?

Links - Entrees, Appetisers, Dips etc

assorted dips : Basil & Fetta Cheese Dip, Beetroot Dip, Sesame & Ginger Dip, Blue Cheese & Bacon Dip, Avocado & Sardine Dip, Hot Crab Dip, Guacamole, Hommus Dip, Roast Pumpkin Dip, Salmon & Ricotta Dip, Smoked Trout & Dill Dip

Baked Suppli al Telefono - my sister used to make these when we were growing up and they are delicious! but deep fried :( now here's a healthier version!

Monkey Mix Snack Mix (slow cooker)

Thermomix Eggplant & Walnut Dip

hmmmm

please make sure that you sterlise all jars correctly before preserving.

please don't ask me how to do it as it is obvious i dont' know how... after giving myself food poisoning with the apple relish the other night. sigh. today is the first day i've had a real appetite.

and in that time i have found nearly 20 recipes in my subscribed blogs to save links to. don't you wish there were more days in teh week so you could try more recipes? lol

off to update my links, check them out shortly to see some delicious new ones, some healthy, some VERY not, some savoury, some sweet, some thermomix and lots not :)

a brief update...

i have hardly been cookign because i've been sick - so that was the end of the meat free week! lol geoff's idea of dinner almost always includes meat ;) he used the thermomix to make the easy chicken curry and beef stroganoff, plus i'm sure he cooked something else in it but i forget what now!

today has been my first day to cook since last week. today i made carrot cakes, foccacia, honeyed parsnip soup and finally got to try my apple mustard relish * with the sausages (organic & preservative free) i got at the griffith butcher ** the other day, smothered in thermomix made gravy (water, massel beef stock, flour and a dab of vegemite). also served with pumpkin and potato mash and lots of brussel sprouts - which ryan has discovered he likes :D yay, g & i are HUGE brussel sprout fans!!


* it was good! definitely needed more cooking but tasted good, especially with the gravy
** they had a bbq set up out the front and were selling snag sandwiches for $2 each, what sausage fan could resist buying more once one was tasted??

Apple & Passionfruit Shortcake

was going to make this today for people coming for motning tea, but ran out of time! will have to send g to bakers delight i think lol


APPLE AND PASSIONFRUIT SHORTCAKE

125g butter
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup SR flour
3/4 cup plain flour
410g can pie apple
1 passionfruit
1 tspn finely grated lemon rind
extra castor sugar

Cream butter and sugar lightly, add egg, beat well. Beat in sifted flours. Turn out onto lightly floured surface, knead lightly until smooth, divide in half.

Roll each piece in a round between 2 sheets plastic food wrap or greaseproof paper to fit a 20cm round sandwich tin.

Place into greased tin which has base and sides lined with greased greaseproof paper. Press edges to fit in tin.

Break up apple roughly with spoon, add passionfruit and lemon rind. Spread over shortcake base leaving a small border around edge. Sprinkle with 1 tab extra castor sugar.

Place second round of pastry over fruit mix, press edges together around side of tin.

Brush with water, sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake mod oven 35-40 mins. Allow to stand 15 mins before removing from tin.

Thermomix report - Crepes

Thermomix Crepes = Success

that is all there is to say :D

Potato, Bean & Bacon Salad

POTATO, BEAN AND BACON SALAD
one of mum's :)

500g beans. trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
500g potatoes
2 medium tomatoes. cut in wedges
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 rashers bacon cut into strips
1 tab margarine
1 medium onion
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup chopped parsley


Cook beans in large saucepan. Remove and drain. Add potatoes and simmer till tender (15mins). Drain, peel and slice

Put beans in middle of dish. Arrange potato slices and tomato wedges around. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In small frying pan sauté bacon in butter until crisp. Add onion and cook till tender. Add vinegar. Heat till boiling. Pour over beans, pots and toms.

Sprinkle with parsley....toss together just before serving

Asian Noodle Salad

I think I've posted this one before but thought i'd post it again as it went down so well at the canberra eb chrissie do today (it's on the back of the noodle packet too) I've changed the way i make it a little from the original recipe - i'll put the original amounts in brackets...

1/2 - 1 chinese cabbage (wom buk) or savoy cabbage, shredded finely
6 green onions or 1/2 red onion - shallots - finely sliced (i usually use these but forgot to buy any )
100g roasted slivered almonds or pinenuts
1 pkt chang's fried noodles 100g (original or onion flavoured) www.changs.com
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup (1/2 cup) castor or brown sugar (actually i generally don't use this at all now, just lots more ketjap manis!)
1 tbspn ketjap manis - sweet soy sauce (1 tbspn changs soy sauce)
a few tbspns of sesame oil (2 tspns sesame oil, optional)
(1/2 cup olive oil - i don't put this in at all)

combine all dressing ingredient and stir until sugar is dissolved (i just shake in a jar)
mix all ingredients but the noodles. add the noodles and mix well just before serving.

you can add chicken or grilled sliced beef to this to make a meal in a bowl out of it.

Zucchini Slice (Vegetarian)

sorry for the vagueness but i'm writing up for geoff ;p

* 4-5 zucchini
* 1 large carrot
* 1 large onion

chop speed 4 - few seconds at a time, scrape down with spatula and chop again until fine enough.

add in:
* 5 eggs
* 150g self-raising flour, sifted
* 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
* 60ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
* cracked black pepper

mix on Reverse speed 3-4 for 15-20 seconds? or until mixed well.

bake in 160-180'c oven for 30-40 minutes until cooked

serve with TM31 bread