Pan Fried Veal Roast with Garlic, Rosemary and White Wine (GF)

from Marcella Hazan's "The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking", I made this for dinner last night - it was VERY good and sooooooooo easy!

Basically I took a rolled veal roast, cut deep slashes into it and filled each with a peeled garlic clove (i halved some of the bigger ones and used about 6-7 in total for a fairly small roast - probably about 5-600g).

heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and fry roast on all sides to brown.

add white wine - around a cup - and stir, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.

i didn't have fresh rosemary so just used a small amount of dried, around 1-1.5 tspns, also put a bit of salt and pepper on.

put the lid on and keep it on, taking off only to turn the veal a few times. if the wine evaporates add a bit more, and / or some boiling water.

when the veal is cooked (took around an hour or just over i think) and tender, remove it and leave the lid off and let the juices simmer into a nice glaze / gravy.

we had ours with smashed potatoes roasted pumpkin, and steamed broccolini and corn on the cob - YUM!

Quick & YUM Rocket Dip (GF, TMX)

we were heading out to a Coeliac Society afternoon tea and needed to take something to share but i don't have much in my pantry or fridge at the moment! (shopping trip is due but am waiting til after school holidays end ;))

i didn't have everything i needed to make the herb dip in the Every day thermomix book so i ended up with this:

2-4 cloves garlic, peeled
handful rocket
125g cream cheese
125g natural or greek yoghurt *

chop the garlic & rocket on speed 6 for 10 seconds
add the cream cheese and yoghurt & mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds, stop, scrape down and repeat.


* this makes quite a runny dip - if you have time try straining your yoghurt for a few hours to thicken

David's Pork

my ex was vietnamese and this is his recipe...


spareribs - boil til cooked
garlic - fry, add sliced pork
carrots - slice finely, add and fry til brown
hoi sin sauce - add & heat
shallots - slice finely and sprinkle over to serve

A Lazy's Mum's Soup

hehe
i always make my soup in the biggest chunks of vegies possible, as i can't be bothered chopping vegies finely when i'm going to puree anyway! today is a holiday, and while it's not cold it is grey and overcast. i made a loaf of gluten free bread and this soup which everyone had a second bowl of...

you'll need a very large saucepan or stock pot for this

1 tab olive oil
1 large onion, roughly diced
1 tab cumin seeds or ground cumin ( i ran out of seeds!!)
1 tab ground coriander
1/2 large butternut pumpkin, peeled, cut into large (2"/5cm) chunks
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cut the same
1 large carrot, ends cut off and cut into smaller chunks (i find carrot cooks slowly when unpeeled)
1 medium potato, washed and cut into quarters
3cm ginger, peeled and quartered
4-5 large cloves of garlic, squashed and peeled
red lentils, maybe about 1.5 cups?
chicken stock to taste
water to cover

heat oil over medium heat and fry onions a few minutes. add spices and cook a few minutes more.

add everything else and cook until vegies are soft enough to break apart (maybe 25 mins).

puree in the pot and serve when smooth. everyone else had theirs with sour cream but i liked mine as it was.

Today's Rice Noodle version... (Gluten Free)

YUM!

1 packet rice noodles, cooked according to directions
2 medium carrots grated
1/2 - 1 lebanese cucumber, finely sliced and then julienned
some lettuce, shredded
1/2 red capsicum, cut into fine julienned pieces
several sprigs of fresh mint, shredded
1/2 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
several cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 lamb fillets, sprinkled with Five Spice Powder, fried or BBQ grilled on a high heat, then sliced
tamari, to taste
(also yummy but not suitable for us would be a little hoisin sauce and / or sweet chilli sauce or jam)

mix well and serve!

Bruschetta

i love fresh homemade bruschetta! i'm not so keen on restaurant versions as they're never fresh enough and garlicky enough for my liking.

here is how i learned to make it when i lived in Italy (albeit from my english boss lol) oh and by the way the 'sch' sound in italian is actaully a hard sound so you say it like "broosketta" not (NOT NOT NOT) "brooshetta" (pet hate in case you didn't notice lol)

1 loaf firm italian bread, a day or 2 old is great, sliced about 1.5cm thick
a number of garlic cloves, peeled and halved lengthwise. larger ones are easier
good olive oil to drizzle

optional -
roma / plum tomatoes diced (removing the seeds is better but not when you're lazy like me lol), mixed with chopped fresh herbs of your choice
freshly ground salt and pepper

toast the bread on one (or both if you prefer or if it's really quite stale) side
rub the toasted side with the cut side of the garlic - be carefu not to do too much as too garlicky is hard to eat! you should get a few slices per half clove

if you're having the tomato mix put that on now (a single layer) and drizzle the lot with a little oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper

YUM!

Christmas BBQ Lamb Cutlets

i know that lamb cutlets are generally horrendously expensive but that makes them a lovely treat for christmas! this recipe is really yummy - just don't burn them lol

CHRISTMAS BBQ LAMB CUTLETS
(For 18 cutlets)


1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh rosemary, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic crushed
4 small red chillies, halved, deseeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup jellied cranberry sauce
18 trimmed lamb cutlets

Combine ingredients and marinate cutlets overnight

Grease bbq plate and preheat to medium high.

Cook cutlets, basting occasionally with marinade, for 4 mins on each side for medium.

Serve immediately

(i've tagged this gluten free as i'm assuming cranberry sauce is GF. will confirm later)

a Thermomix dinner

with rain and cooler weather tonight (and a huge lunch out) geoff wanted to make soup for dinner, so i suggested he try Lexie's lentil soup, with some TM31 bread on the side. (well actually i suggested foccacia but he wasn't organised in time to make that)

the soup was very nice and the kids all had THREE serves each!!! wow!

it's very garlicky and otherwise very smooth and creamy tasting, you'd never know it's sort of healthy lol

i do love the TM31 bread. ok so it's not light and fluffy like foccacia but it's so quick and easy to make and it's got to be better for you! it's made with whole wheat which is ground up in the thermomix - hence the darker colour you can see in the photo above.

it's not sandwich bread, but great as a dinner accompaniment.

thanks for the recipe lexie!

Links - BBQ ideas (marinades, salads etc) #2

some more great ideas for BBQ's :D

chickpea salad with roasted red peppers

cranberry walnut chicken salad

dani's potato salad

silverbeet & orange salad

thermomix moroccan carrot salad

the canberra cook's potato salad

spicy honey chicken

spicy garlic shrimp

Honey Soy Braised Chicken Wings

from my favourite cookbook, Charmaine Solomon's Complete Asian Cookbook

1kg chicken wings
2 tabs peanut oil
1/3 cup dark soy sauce
2 tabs honey
2 tabs chinese wine or dry sherry
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tspn finely grated ginger

cut wings into 3, reserve tips for making stock
heat oil and fry wing pieces on high heat til lightly browned
add rest of ingredients, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 mins until wings are tender. stir frequently and make sure the glaze does not burn
serve warm or at room temperature, either with steamed rice or as an appetiser

i'm planning on doing these in a slow cooker for tonight just to make life easier ;)

we used to make this ALL the time about 15-20 years ago! but to be honest i'm not a fan of chicken wings so i haven't made them in a long long time!

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

Links - BBQ ideas (marinades, salads etc)

Asian BBQ chicken

Barefoot Contessa's BBQ Sauce

Barbequed Chicken

Beetroot & Haloumi Salad with Walnut Dressing

Garlic-Mustard Glaze (for meat)

grilled corn salad

Mango, avocado & red onion salad

Mom's warm potato salad

napa cabbage salad with buttermilk dressing

Potato Salad with apples and bacon this one looks soooo good!

Southwestern three bean salad

Summer lovin' salad (with bacon, chicken, hard boiled eggs, blue cheese, dijon mustard etc etc mmmm)

thai noodle salad

wild rice salad


assorted recipes from eb (main meal ideas)

Day 2 - No-Meat Week

no pics tonight as i wasn't in the mood (plus i skipped lunch and was very hungry)

we had pizza, was very good.

kids had garlic and parmesan pizza (that is the only pizza they will eat)

we had pizza with bbq & sweet chilli sauces, roast pumpkin, onion, feta, sundried tomatoes and cashews.

bases were the thermomix recipe and i made an extra (sometimes we need more than one batch, but not tonight) which i have put in the freezer so it will be ready to go for another time.

Links - Breads, Fruit Loaves & Muffins

aloo paratha

Bran Muffins

NEW Ciabatta

tenina's crackers

Cranberry Almond Multigrain Scones (breakfast)

dosa - masala paper

Garlic Knots

Naan Bread (thermomix)

Onion Flatbread with Mustard and Fennel

NEW Perfect pita pockets

Quick Fruit Loaf

steamed varoma bread (thermomix)

tortillas

vegan gingerbread muffins

Whole Wheat, Honey, Almond, Linseed and Cardamom Bread

za'atar bread (foccacia with middle eastern spices)

zucchini cake

crazy week

i honestly don't know where the week has gone, but it is nearly over. i still haven't even posted my review and pics of the crumpets from last weekend!

anyway, our lentil soup was very nice the other night, geoff commented that "it was much better than i thought it would be" LOL

i won't do a thermomix conversion for it (because i like to have leftovers and the tmx only does enough for a meal for the 5 of us) but if any other tmx owners would like to do their own version please feel free :)

Bacon or salami of any kind - 4-6 slices, finely diced
Onion - 1-2, finely diced
Garlic, crushed
Carrots - 1-2, diced
Celery (optional)
zucchinis - 1-2, diced
red capsicum, finely diced
tomatoes - 6, roughly chopped, or 2 tins of diced
red Lentils - around 2 cups
vegetable stock
tomato paste - heaped spoonful (optional - i can't remember if i acutally put this in or not lOL i think i didn't in the end ;))
baby Spinach - a few handfuls

fry bacon/salami and onion over med-low heat in a large saucepan or soup pot, until onion is starting to turn translucent. add garlic and carrots and fry for a few more minutes.

add in all the other ingredient except the spinach, fill the pot to just below the top with extra water if needed.

bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook until lentils are starting to fal apart and look almost creamy. there will be a 'scum' on the top, you can skim it off if you like or be lazy like me and ignore it and it will go away ;)

when the lentils are done add in teh spinach and stir a few times til the spinach wilted and serve with parmesan if desired, cracked black pepper and crusty bread.

lazy dinner

we've been out all day since just after 9am and i have had to deal with a feral disobedient 2 year old almost all day (the only break being when i went to have a pap smear, oh joy) so i can't be stuffed cooking 'real' food.

a few weeks ago i bought a really yummy soup from woollies - can you believe it? it's the woolworths select brand tomato and lentil soup (in the cold section). i'm going to try to replicate it tonight. i have no celery but i have everything else.

here is the list of ingerdients i wrote from the back of the container, i will finish this after dinner :) i've left it too late (yet again) to make foccacia so will make the basic TM31 bread...

Lentils
Bacon
Onion
Carrots
Celery
Spinach
Garlic

Minestrone & TM31 bread

well, i could have sworn that i'd already posted a Minestrone recipe on my blog but i can't find it!

so here's the one which geoff gave to me based on the one his mum used to make...

Geoff's Minestrone

Serves 4

Another of Geoff’s favourites, based on June’s recipe!
You might want to add extra liquid (water or stock) if it’s too thick.

3 rashers of bacon, fat & rind trimmed
1 large onion, peeled & diced
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
1 large carrot, peeled & diced
¼ cabbage, shredded
800g diced tomatoes
approx 250g pasta shells
1 jar pasta sauce, try garden vegetable
chicken stock cube
1 can kidney beans
2 cups water
parmesan cheese, grated

1. Lightly fry bacon & onion until onion is transparent.
2. Add garlic and fry, stirring for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add all other ingredients and simmer until pasta is cooked.
4. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
5. Serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!

and here's how i made it tonight...

Tonight's Version

6 shortcut rashers of bacon, diced
1 large onion, peeled & diced
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
1 large carrot, peeled & diced
1 small green capsicum, finely diced
a handful of green beans, topped and tailed and cut into 8mm - 1cm pieces
800g diced tomatoes (i used tins)
approx 250g pasta shells
about 1/4 cup white wine
beef stock powder or cube
1 can borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed
around 5-7 cups water
parmesan cheese, grated


1. Lightly fry bacon & onion until onion is transparent.
2. Add garlic and fry, stirring for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add all other ingredients and simmer until pasta is cooked.
4. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
5. Serve with TM31 bread. Enjoy!

TM31 bread
i made this tonight - had my first try at plaiting - it's really hard to plait bread as compared to hair lol
anyway, i was too lazy to brush with milk or water to get the seeds to stick, so drizzled olive oil over it - discovered that the top remained really soft instead of going crunchy!

Creamy Chicken, Bacon & Veg Enchiladas (TMX)

this dish went through about 10 different incarnations in my mind before i started making it - it was going to be mini shepherds pies for a while there!!

anyway, i think it could have been improved but it was a hit with everyone so i'm noting it down for the future :)

you could do this thermomix or non-tmx.

2 medium orange sweet potatoes / kumara, steamed or microwaved until just cooked then peeled and roughly chopped

a few rashers bacon, roughly chopped
(1 onion, quartered. i didn't have any)
garlic to suit your taste - i used about 4 cloves

chop in tmx for a few seconds on 6, scrape down sides and do a few more seconds if needed
cook for 2 minutes on 100' speed 2

1 large head brocolli, roughly chopped (or 1 pkt spinach, you'd add this at the end though)

chop for a few seconds on speed 6
cook for 2 minutes on 100' speed 3-4

remove bacon / broccoli mix from tmx

make white sauce as per tmx book (less milk - 400ml milk - i used skim - 50g flour, 30g butter, 1/2 tspn salt but instead of nutmeg add a little ground cumin and coriander) also add in sweet potato before cooking.

cooked chicken, most of a BBQ chook or 2 breasts or whatever you have, diced
1 tin kidney beans, drained
(jalepeno peppers, to taste, chopped finely)

mix the broccoli / bacon mix, chicken and beans with the sweet potato sauce (i did this in the tmx but i don't really recommend it, there was too much and it ended up nearly pureed as a result)

put 3-4 spoonfuls into a tortilla of your choice, roll up and place in greased oven dish (i used a lasagne dish)
when finished pour some salsa or passata (with spices would be good, but i couldn't be bothered) over the top then top with grated tasty cheese

bake until cheese is slightly browned.

sorry for the shocking recipe writing, i am just so lazy atm...

we are still sick ("just" colds this time!) but i haven't been motivated or inspired to do much good cooking yet again. a lot of the organic express order from last week just went into the compost tonight :(

anyway, i have decided a meal plan of easy meals is called for. it's hard balancing the fact you obviously need healthier food when you're unwell but it's harder to actually DO it.

at least last night we had a good (delicious) meal - mum cooked! we always have a family meal to celebrate birthdays and last night's was a roast chicken dinner with a ton of vegies - mmmmm

tonight was quick and simple (otherwise it would have been a choice between takeaway or baked beans on toast for the second time in a week LOL)

spaghetti aglio, olio and - not pepperoncini (the traditional) - parmigiana
spaghetti, we use one packet
olive oil, ummm maybe 1/4 cup?
garlic, finely chopped - i used about 12-15 small cloves, you do need quite a bit though as it provides most of the flavour!
parmesan, grated / shaved / chopped whatever, maybe about 1/3 cup *
parsley, finely chopped, optional

cook spaghetti, drain
heat oil over lowish heat while you chop garlic
gently cook garlic until translucent (you do not want to brown it! if you were using chilli you'd cook it now too)
mix all ingredients and serve :)

* if you want the chilli (it's really really good!) just leave out the parmesan, finely chop one small red chilli and add with the garlic, don't breathe the fumes!!!

to follow we are having homemade (thermomix-made) chocolate custard :)

"comfort food" recipes from New Idea magazine

all 3 use the same basic principles for making, will convert to slow cooker soon.

beef, bean and bacon casserole
olive oil
1kg diced chuck steak
1 clove garlic
1 onion, chopped
6 bacon rashers, diced
150g tomato paste
2 cups (500ml) beef stock
1 tab chopped fresh thyme
500g chat potatoes, quartered
420g red kidney beans, drained
steamed silverbeet to serve

sticky beef casserole
olive oil
1kg diced gravy beef
1 clove garlic
1 onion, cut into wedges
1 tab brown sugar
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
1/3 cup sweet orange marmalade
2 cups (500ml) beef stock
2 tab cornflour
2 tab water
1 long red chilli, finely sliced
200g sugar snap peas
basmati rice to serve

rolled beef brisket
olive oil
1kg rolled beef brisket
100g sliced pancetta, chopped
2 clove garlic
1 stick celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
400g pickling onion, peeled
1 tspn mixed herbs
200g cup mushies, quartered
1 cups (250ml) beef stock
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tab cornflour
2 tab water
mashed potato to serve

Method
heat oil, brown meat - in batches for diced meat
fry onion / garlic / bacon (plus pnacetta + carrot + celery)
add sauces, stock (plus mushrooms), etc bring to boil, replace beef and cover
cook in 160-180 oven for 1 1/4, 2, 3 hours
transfer to stovetop and add cornflour and water (and potatoes), cook til thickened
add extra veg and cook
serve