Links - Biscuits & Cookies #2

link to first lot!

chocolate biscotti

chocolate chip cookies

Koulourakia (Greek Cookie Twists) with cardamom

spicy chewy molasses cookies

sunflower butter cookies

spiced holiday biscotti

cheese biscuits

Links - Vegetarian / Vegetables #2

first list of links to try here http://brazen20au.blogspot.com/2008/07/links-vegetarian-vegetables.html

baked vegetable jalfrezi

Dhansak (eggplant, pumpkin & lentils, indian)

5 minute indian style cabbage

malai kofta

paneer tikka

Punjabi Aloo Gobi – Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes

creamy black lentils

dani's greek style baked beans

red kidney bean curry

roasted garlic cauliflower

mediterranean carrot rolls & salad

sweet potato falafel with yoghurt tahini sauce

cauliflower & date curry

paneer pasanda

masoor dal with lemon

malai kofta

Links - Meat Dishes

Beef Chimichangas

broccoli beef

chicken bean & tomato soup

chicken enchilada throwdown

chicken poppers

Costa Vida Chicken (good for entertaining)

garlic chicken with white wine

Greek Chicken (thanks susana ;) and chris lol)

kerala style chicken curry

Old Fashioned Fried Chicken - want to try this for chicken nuggets for the kids

Spicy Shredded Pork - for enchiladas etc

taco soup

NEW Wednesday Night Chicken Delicious

Links - Vegetarian / Vegetables

borlotti bean mole with roast winter squash

Briami (greek vegie dish)

butternut squash & caramelised onion tart

chickpea & sweet potato fritters

creamy carrot soup

falafel

falafel salad

green beans with caramelised shallots

grilled cheese and basil polenta

haloumi salad with hummus & pita crisps

refried beans (using pinto beans)

roasted autumn vegetable chowder

roasted tomato soup

sesame greens (beans & peas)

shredded brussel sprouts & apples

thermomix fennel & apple soup

zucchini ricotta cheese cake (savoury)

Zucchini Pumpkin & Feta cakes

zucchini & tomato gratin

zucchini or squash soup

see also the salads label

Cake for Mothers Day

I already gave mum her MD present earlier in teh week (a gift voucher for IPOD songs. i gave it already because i got her a bigger one because i realised i hadn't bought her birthday present yet - bad brazen!)

anyway, i thought i'd make her a cake for MD as a treat.

I just found this in my email so I'll either make this one or a carrot cake (but i'd have to buy cream cheese for the carrot cake)

Greek Yoghurt & Lemon Loaf

moussaka report

i stuck pretty closely to the recipe (gosh i find that hard LOL speaking of which have a read of this on dixie's blog - is that you? the cooking style not the cleavage lol)

it was a lot tastier than i expected!

having googled other recipes while eating it though and seeing the reaction to the vegies, next time i'm going to do it with mince and chop the vegies finely through the mince. plus add some spices and herbs.

should be good!

i served the moussaka with garlic bread. our neighbours' church has bread donated to it from bakers delight and they don't always manage to give it away, so every few weeks he will arrive on our doorstep with 2-3 bags full of bread! it's hard as we don't eat that much of that sort of bread and our freezer is usually too full for much, but i'm getting into the swing of using it up ;p

spanakopita (well, the cheat's version!)

tonight's dinner was a pretend spanakopita (i'm too lazy to make it properly!) with a quick salad which i was also too lazy to put much effort into - hey, it's friday!

spanakopita, brazen style

2 sheets puff pastry (or do the filo thing if you're less lazy than me lol)
olive oil
1 red onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 pkt greek feta (or any nice firm yet crumbly one), crumbled
a large container of either cottage cheese (drained) or ricotta (low fat for us)
some parmesan if desired (maybe about 1/4-1/3 cup)
black pepper
nutmeg, a pinch
salt, to taste
3 eggs
as much fresh dill, finely chopped, as you like (i love lots but the family aren't as keen)
2-3 bunches spinach (i used a red stemmed chard) or 2 pkts frozen spinach, steamed and drained
hint: as a tupperware addict i have to recommend the salad spinner for draining the spinach, omg it's good! lol

turn oven on to approx 190-200' (i'm not really sure, mine was on 180' but mine cooks hot)
thaw the pastry
gently cook the onion and garlic with oil until soft (i actually did it in the microwave)
basically mix everything else together
grease a pie dish and line with 1 sheet pastry (if you're motivated you might like to blind bake it, far too much effort for me lol)
top with the cheese / spinach mix
top with the other sheet (cut a few slits in teh centre of the top to let the steam escape)
bake for around 30 minutes or so until it's golden brown all across the top.


quick salad
i had plans of making a green salad but was far too lazy to make it lol so i just tossed together a few things and put on a bought dressing. the kids all ate different bits but love salads like this :)

1 tin kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 tin corn kernels, drained
few small tomatoes, in large dice (i used some cute egg ones we grew in our vegie garden!)
baby beetroots, quartered
mix and toss with italian dressing

MOUSSAKA

this recipe was given to me by a guy i used to work with - it was his daughter's recipe which she got from her (greek) mother. i haven't actually made it myself yet though!

Ingredients:
225g onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 tbsp vege oil
500g eggplant, sliced
1 large zucchini, sliced in strips
handful mushrooms, chopped
2 potatoes, sliced
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 can diced tomatoes
basil and oregano to taste
500ml white sauce (milk, margarine and flour)
150g grated cheese (parmesan and / or mozzarella)

Preparation:

1. preheat oven to 180'c (350F / gas mark 4). fry onions and garlic in 1 tbsp oil til brown

2. in another pan, fry eggplant in remaining all and set aside. repeat with zucchini and potato.

3. add mushrooms to onion and garlic mixture and cook gently for 5 mins, then pour into a shallow oven-proof dish. layer eggplant, potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes over the top.

4. make the white sauce. pour over the vege mixture, sprinkle with cheese and bake for 30 mins.