I'm a Sucker for Advertising. (Banana Muffin recipe)

I've always said that Advertising works and yesterday those words rang in my ears again as I took Lily to the local news agency to purchase something we had seen on the telly.  The new Dora 'Little Cook Collection'.  How could I resist the $2.99 price tag for the two year old who is Dora mad (just like her big sister once was).   Of course the first issue sucks you in with a low price tag and then the future issues jump up to $7.99, then $12.99!

Miss Lily insisted we make the muffin recipe inside the magazine straight after walking back in the front door.  So, being the obliging mother I can be at times, we did.  A very simple Banana Muffin recipe with easy to follow instructions and the result?  Delicious.

Here's the recipe - it only makes 4, but I didn't mind that as I know that none would go to waste and they were very simple, easy and took no time to make....

You need...
1 large banana
40g soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil (I used olive oil!)
1 small egg
65ml milk
100g self-raising flour

1.  Peel and mash the banana in a bowl using the back of a fork.  Mix in the sugar and the oil.

2.  Crack the egg into the bowl.  Pour in the milk and stir.

3.  Sieve the flour into the mixing bowl.

4.  Gently stir in the flour into the rest of the ingredients.

5.  Spoon the mixture into four muffin cases.  Fill each case almost up to the top.

6.  Place in a 190 degree C oven for 15-20 minutes.  Take them out and leave to cool.

As Dora would say, "Delicioso!"

Red Pesto

Over the last few months I have been making a 'killer' red pesto which I use more like a dip.  Spread on plain dry biscuits or slices of baguettes, it really is delicious - and oh so easy!  I like to use my own roasted peppers by putting slices of red pepper under the grill, blackening the skin, popping in a plastic zip top bag for 5 minutes and then peeling the skin off.

Ingredients
50g sun dried tomatoes
75g roasted peppers
50g blanched almonds (or plain cashews!)
2 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Method
Put the tomatoes, peppers, almonds and garlic in a food processor and process to a paste.  Stir in the Parmesan and oil and season with salt.

It is still quite chunky but oh so delicious.  You should try it!

Crispy Ham and Pear Salad

I was halfway through eating this side salad when I thought I had better snap a photo as it was delicious!!  Though the photo doesn't quite show this...

...you'll just have to trust me on this.

The recipe called for 1 small cos lettuce and 1 50g bag of watercress or rocket, and since I had trouble collecting those items on my recent grocery shop, I opted for a simple bag of mixed Italian lettuce leaves.  I also choose to use balsamic vinegar over lemon juice.  Because I like balsamic vinegar.  ;)  I served mine alongside BBQ steaks. 

Taken from GoodFood magazine's '101 Seasonal Salads', page32, published 2005

Ingredients

1 small cos lettuce

50g bag watercress or rocket

2 ripe avocados, peeled, stoned and sliced

handful of herbs, such as dill or chives

90g pack prosciutto (I had about 6 slices)

4 tbs olive oil

2 ripe pears, cored and sliced

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

juice of 1/2 lemon

Method

1. Tear the lettuce into bite-sized pieces, then arrange with the watercress or rocket, avocados and herbs on four large serving plates.  Heat a large frying pan and fry the prosciutto until crisp.  Lift out and set aside.

2. heat the olive oil in the same pan.  Add the pears, mustard and lemon juice and heat through briefly.

3.  Return the prosciutto to the pan, season, then immediately spoon everything over the salad.  Serve at once.

Serves 4

Chilli Chicken and Bacon Salad

This was really tasty, and no wonder!  Chicken, sweet chilli sauce, oven chips, bacon, avocado!  *nom nom*  Very easy, very tasty, will definitely be making again.  The recipe called for specific items like watercress and chicory which I just substituted with a bag of Italian lettuce.  I laid off the lime juice too - I usually do, so I used about half of the required amount.

Taken from GoodFood Magazine's '101 Seasonal Salads', pg 116, published 2005

Ingredients
2 boneless skinless chicken breast fillets
2 1/2 tbs sweet chilli dipping sauce
2 tbs lime juice
175g oven chips
5 rashes streaky bacon
1/2 x 75g bag watercress
2 heads chicory, thickly sliced
4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced at an angle
2 small avocados, peeled, stoned and cut into wedges.

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C.  Brush both sides of the chicken with 1/2 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce, season well and put on a large baking tray.  Mix 2 tablespoon chilli sauce with the lime juice and 1 tablespoon water to make a dressing.

2.  Dice the oven chips and scatter around the chicken on the baking tray, then add the bacon rashes.  Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the potatoes and bacon are crispy and the chicken is cooked, but still nice and juicy.

3.  Toss the watercress, chicory, spring onions and avocados in half the dressing and pile on to a platter.  Slice the chicken and scatter on top of the salad with the bacon and potato.  Spoon over the remaining dressing and eat while it's still warm.

Serves 2

Beef Skewers with Asian Salad

So, the recipe called for rump steak, and my closest and local supermarket was out at the time, so I used chicken breast fillets instead.  I imagine the result was very similar - it was a delicious meal!  Easy, very tasty and quite authentic.  I do plan on making it with the specified Rump steak one day....

I like to marinate my flavours, especially chicken over here in the UAE.  Sometimes the chicken here is hit and miss in terms of 'tough-ness' so marinating always helps tenderise the meat here.  I marinated the chicken strips for about 3 hours.

Taken from Olive Magazine's '101 Quick Fix Dishes', page 88, published 2007

Ingredients
Chinese five-spice powder, 1 teaspoon
vegetable oil
sweet chilli sauce
rump steak, 250g, cut into strips
clear honey, 1 teaspoon
White wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon
Thai Fish Sauce
garlic, 1 clove, crushed
salad leaves, small bag
cucumber, 1/2 halved, seeds scooped out out and sliced
spring onions, 3, finely sliced
dry roasted peanuts 50g, chopped
mint leaves, a handful

Method
Heat a ridged griddle pan or grill to very hot.  Mix the five-spice, 1 tbs vegetable oil and a few drops of the chilli sauce in a bowl.  Add the meat and stir until coated.  Thread the strips on to metal or bamboo skewers (soak bamboo skewers in cold water for 20 minutes first) and griddle or grill for 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through.
Meanwhile, mix the honey, vinegar, 1 1/4 tbs fish sauce, garlic, a few drops of chilli sauce and 2 tbs oil in a small bowl.  Mix the salad leaves, cucumber, spring onions and peanuts and toss with the dressing.  Rip the mint leaves and add to the salad.  Divide the skewers between two plates and serve with the salad and a little bowl of fish sauce mixed with chilli sauce for dipping.


Serves 2.

Braised Chicken with Olives and Tomatoes

Gotta say, I *love* a meal that is quick and easy to prepare and that the WHOLE family will eat (a rarity around here).

I followed the recipe, except the part about using the thighs or drums - being an old Deli girl from way back, I do know how to cut up a whole chicken correctly into eight pieces, so that's what I did instead.  I did brown off the pieces but I did have to cook the whole dish a lot longer than the specified total time of 35 minutes.  Mine took around an hour.  Don't let the timings put you off, it is worth cooking and was delicious! Nom nom.

Oh yeah, I too par boiled my potatoes (USA baby reds) to make sure they were cooked through, nice and fluffy!

Taken from Olive magazine's '101 Quick Fix Dishes', page 68, published 2007

Ingredients
rosemary, 1 sprig, chopped
onion, 1 large, sliced
garlic, 2 cloves, sliced
new potatoes, 500g small, quartered
olive oil
chicken pieces, 8-10 thighs and drumsticks, skin on
baby plum or cherry tomatoes, 500g
dry white wine, 300ml
chicken stock, 300ml
kalamata olives, 150g, drained
basil leaves, a small bunch

Method
Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7.

Toss the first 4 ingredients in a roasting tray in 2 tbs oil and cook for 25 minutes.  Fry the chicken in 2 tbs oil until browned and almost cooked through.  Add to the tray for the last 10 minutes of cooking, along with the tomatoes, wine, stock and olives.  Scatter with basil and serve.

Serves 4

Sweet & Sour Pork

Yeah, we can get Pork in the UAE and good quality pork at that!  Anyway, it has been a very long time since I made a Sweet and Sour dish and considering that I've been using Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food a lot lately, I thought I'd give his version a go.  It was worth making - it was really tasty, very easy to make and I easily adapted it to suit the girls and what they like to eat.

Jamie served his dish with a gem lettuce and a sprinkling of sesame seeds, which I did not.

My Sweet and Sour Pork 

Taken from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food, pg 64/65, published 2008

Serves 2
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g long-grain or basmati rice
200g pork filler
1 small red onion
1 red or 1 yellow pepper (or 1/2 of each)
a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 - 1 fresh red chilli, to your taste
small bunch of coriander
groundnut oil
1 heaped teaspoon five-spice
1 teaspoon cornflour
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 x 227g tin pineapple chunks
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

To prepare your stir-fry
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the rice.  Cook according to the packet instructions.  Drain the rice in a sieve, put back into the pan and cover with foil to keep warm until needed.
Halve the pork fillet and cut into 2cm cubes.  Peel and halve the red onion, then dice into 2cm cubes.  Halve the pepper, deseed and cut into 2cm cubes.  Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic.  Finely slice the chilli.  Pick the coriander leaves and put them to one side.  Finely chop the coriander stalks.

Top left - browning the pork cubes ; Top Right - cooking chopped ingredients
Bottom Left - All ingredients cooking ; Bottom Right - Final serving on bed of rice

To cook your stir-fry
Preheat a wok or large frying pan on a high heat and once it's very, very hot add a good lug of groundnut oil and swirl it around.  Add the pork and the five-spice and toss or stir them around.  Cook for a few minutes until browned, then transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
Carefully give the wok or pan a quick wipe with a ball of kitchen paper and return to the heat.  When it's really hot, add 2 good lugs of groundnut oil and all the chopped ingredients.  Toss or stir everything together and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in the cornflour and 2 tablespoon of soy sauce.  Let everything cook for 30 to 40 seconds, then add the pineapple chunks with their juice, the browned pork and balsamic vinegar.  Season with black pepper and a little more soy sauce if needed.  Break open a piece of the pork, check if it's cooked through and remove from heat.  Reduce the sauce to a gravy-like consistency by cooking for a few minutes more.

To serve your stir-fry
Divide the rice between two bowls or plates.  Spoon the pork, veg and sauce over the top and sprinkle with reserved coriander leaves.

Sizzling Beef with Spring Onions and Black Bean Sauce.

First things first - I quite like Chinese Food, if it's not full of 'fill-in' ingredients like cauliflower, broccoli and silver beet. I like those vegies but I have had many experiences back in Oz where your main dish (usually take-away) is over 50% of those three vegies.

Chinese food over here is good.  Really good, but seeing that we do live a little out of the city, take aways are a rare option for us.  Over the years I have made quite a few Chinese dishes I'm an old dab at. (*wink wink*)  When I discovered this recipe I gave it a go and have made it quite a few times since.  It is tasty, authentic and relatively easy to prepare and cook.

The egg fried rice, prepared and served with this dish is delicious and is a favourite with the eldest daughter! (bar the fact she doesn't like eggs, she happily eats them in this rice.)  When I make this dish, I cook my rice a good few hours earlier to chill it, but you don't have to if you don't have the time.

Sizzling Beef with Spring Onions and Black Bean Sauce

Taken from 'Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Ministry of Food', page 69, published 2008

Serves 2
Ingredients
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
200g long-grain or basmati rice
1 x 230g sirloin or rump steak
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 a red chilli
2 spring onions
a small bunch of fresh coriander
2 tbs sesame oil
groundnut oil
2 tablespoon of good-quality black bean sauce
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 limes
1 egg

To prepare your stir-fry
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the rice and cook according to the packet instructions. Drain the rice in a sieve, run it under a cold tap to cool, then allow to dry out in the fridge.

Trim any excess fat from your steak and slice the meat into finger-sized strips.

Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic. Finely slice the chilli. Cut the ends off your spring onions and finely slice. Pick the coriander leaves and put to one side and finely chop the coriander stalks.
get yourself a big bowl and put in the ginger, garlic, chilli, spring onions, coriander stalks and steak strips. Add the sesame oil and mix everything together.

To cook your stir-fry
Preheat a wok or large frying pan on a high heat and once it's very, very hot add a good lug of groundnut oil and swirl it around. Add all your chopped ingredients from the bowl. Give the pan a really good shake to mix everything around quickly. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, taking care to keep everything moving so it doesn't burn.

Add the black bean sauce, and stir in 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce and the juice of half a lime.  Keep tossing. Taste and season with black pepper and a little more soy sauce.  Remove the pan from the heat, transfer everything to a bowl and cover with tin foil.

Give the pan a quick wipe with a ball of kitchen paper and put back on the heat.  Add a lug of groundnut oil and swirl it around.  Crack in your egg and add a tablespoon of soy sauce - the egg will cook very quickly so keep stirring.  Once it is scrambled, stir in your chilled rice, scraping the sides and the bottom of the pan as you go.  Keep mixing for a few minutes until the rice is steaming hot, then taste and season with a little soy sauce.

To serve your stir-fry
Dived the rice between two bowls or plates.  Spoon the meat and black bean sauce and sprinkle over the coriander leaves.  Serve with wedges of line - great!

(And because when I made it the other night, early so the girls could eat it too, I decided to put MrL's in a take-away foil container so he could reheat his when he wanted it.  I'm good like that. ;P )

Melody's Pizza House

I'm a bit of a fan of good homemade pizzas, especially ones made from scratch. When the choice of Pizza places are around here are limited and sometimes a bit dodgy (I'm not a fan of Turkey bacon, nor Beef bacon!) it is best to make your own.

I have numerous recipes for pizza bases and I've made about a dozen different types - ones using the bread maker, ones by hand, ones using the mix master (with dough hook). But time and time again I come back to this recipe by Australian chef, Karen Martini. It is tasty, simple and it hasn't failed me. Yet. It also makes the right amount of dough for like 3 big pizzas.

My last batch of pizzas yielded about 4 medium pizzas (MrL and I could only eat 3 of them) and 2 small pizzas (for the girls - Monet likes to decorate those ones). Sometimes I use my pizza trays (if wanting 3 big pizzas), other times I free form and place on semolina laced alfoil - works a treat and doesn't stick.

Here's a photo of the ones we gobbled up the other night, before a light layering of '4 Italian Cheeses' were added.

Top L-R; Tapanade Pizza, Tandoori Lamb
Bottom L-R; Roasted Vegetable Pizza, Salami and Anchovy Pizza

Look nice eh?

I can tell you that these pizzas were honestly the best ones I have ever made and I've been making them for a few years now.

My trick is to make the dough early - like a good 8-10 hours before you are actually going to eat them. The dough rises nicely over quite a few hours to make the base more higher and fluffier than if you just leave it for an hour (where it will still be quite tasty, but a thinner base.) I also roll out the dough about 90 minutes before I'm going to decorate - this way they rise some more but easily pat down with your fingertips. And thirdly, keep your toppings simple and put a few splashes of olive oil over your toppings before adding a light layering of cheese.

*nom nom*

Chicken Margherita

Ooo this was yummy, light to eat and oh so easy. Being the talented (ahem!) mother that I am, I actually made this dish into three different ones - one for the adults (MrL and I), one for the child (being Monet) and one for the toddler (being Lily). It was absolutely not a pain changing it for each group.

The adults recipe is the one that follows the main recipe. (However I couldn't find any bocconcini cheese and had some brie in the fridge so used that instead.) For the Monet version, I excluded the tomato, the spinach and the bocconcini, but instead still used the pesto and added cheddar cheese, then wrapped the chicken in streaky bacon. For the Lily version I just pulled it all apart so she had a bit of bacon, some cheese chunks, some cooked chicken breast which had a bit of pesto on it. Most of it was eaten - always a good sign.

Chicken Margherita

Taken from page 286, Women's Weekly FAST chunky book. (published 2009)

Ingredients
550g baby vine-ripened truss tomatoes
4 x 200g chicken breast fillets
1/3 cup basil pesto
180g bocconcini cheese
20g baby spinach leaves
8 slices prosciutto (120g)

Method
Preheat oven to 200C fan-forced.

Remove four tomatoes from truss; slice thinly.

Split one chicken fillet in half horizontally; open out. Spread one tablespoon of pesto on one side of chicken fillet; top with a quarter of the cheese, a quarter of the sliced tomato and a quarter of the spinach.

Fold chicken over filling; wrap with two slices prosciutto to enclose securely. Repeat process with remaining chicken, pesto, cheese, sliced tomato, spinach and prosciutto.

Roast chicken and remaining tomatoes in oiled large shallow baking dish, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until cooked through (Mine took about 30 minutes).

Serve chicken with roasted tomatoes.

Serves 4.

Wrapped in the prosciutto, waiting to be roasted.

Lily's version on the left, Monet's on the right (served with teeny, tiny cut up potatoes I tossed in olive oil and roasted for the same time as the chicken - tasty!)

Finished version.  Yum.

Cheesy Feet

Nigella made hers (& therefore named hers) using Feet cutters.  I used a Crocodile cutter and a Kangaroo one I have.  They are so easy to make and very tasty indeed.  (Monet loves them!)  I will be making batches more in times to come...

*Taken from Nigella Lawson's 'Feast', pg 253, published 2004*

Ingredients

100gm Cheddar cheese, grated

25gm soft butter

50gm plain flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

Method

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200C.

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until the dough comes together.  Just be patient; it will happen, I promise you.  Form into a fat disc, wrap in clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Roll out the dough on a floury surface to roughly 3mm in thickness, and cut out your feet with your cutters.  You can keep re-rolling this dough and cutting out feet until it is all used up.

Put them on to a lined baking tray sheet and cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes (depending on size).  The biscuits will continue to crisp up as they cool on a rack, so take them out when they're still a little soft in the middle.

Crunchy Pork Chops

A nice coating to try on your pork chops next time...  I served mine with scalloped potatoes and roasted capsicums...

*Taken from Nigella Lawson's 'Feast', pg 345, published 2004*

Ingredients

2 x 250g pork chops

1 egg

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp dried oregano

50g breadcrumbs

1 tbs freshly grated Parmesan

250ml groundnut oil or similar for frying

Method

Trim the thick white fat off the pork chops, cutting carefully around the outside edge.  Lay the chops between two pieces of clingfilm and, using a mallet or a rolling pin, beat them until the meaty part of the chop is half as thick.  You will need to beat around the bone, so turn them over once as you go.

Beat the egg in a shallow wide bowl with the mustard, oregano and salt and pepper.  And, on a large plate or platter, combine the breadcrumbs with the Parmesan.

Press each of the chops into the egg mixture, coating both sides.  Then dip the eggy chops into the breadcrumbs, covering them evenly.  Let them lie on a wire rack to dry slightly while you heat the oil in a large frying pan.  When a small cube of bread sizzles if dripped into the oil, you can get frying.  You need to cook the chops until they're a deep golden colour, about 5-7 minutes a side (depending on how thin you've managed to get them and how cold they were before going into the oil).

Serves 2

Chilli Lime Chicken and Pasta

Ooo I like this recipe a lot.  It is fresh tasting, light and easy to put together.  Nice to eat on a warm summer's day...

*Taken from Women's Weekly 'Meals In Minutes', pg 54, published 1998*

Ingredients

4 (680g) chicken breast fillets

8 large cherry tomatoes

300g fresh lasagna sheets

100g baby rocket leaves, torn

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon drained capers

2 teaspoons finely grated lime rind

2 small fresh red chillies, seeded, chopped finely

Method

Cook chicken on heated oiled griddle, in batches, until browned both sides and cooked through.  Cut chicken, on the diagonal, into 1cm-thick pieces.  Cook the tomato halves, both sides, on same griddle until just soft.

Meanwhile, tear pasta into large, uneven pieces.  Cook pasta in large pan of boiling water, uncovered, until just tender; drain.

Divide pasta among serving plates; top with chicken, tomato and rocket, drizzle with combined remaining ingredients.

Serves 4

Strawberry and Cinnamon Torte

Yum.  Easy.  How could you resist not making it??

*Taken from a Good Food Magazine '101 Tempting Desserts', pg 160, published 2006*

Ingredients

175g/6oz ground almonds

175g/6oz butter, softened

175g/6oz golden caster sugar

175g/6oz self-raising flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk

450g/1lb strawberries, hulled and sliced

icing sugar, for dusting

whipped cream mixed with greek yoghurt, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan-forced).  Butter and line the base of a loose-bottomed 23cm cake tin.  In a food processor, mix the ground almonds, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, egg and egg yold until evenly mixed.

Tip half the mixture in the tin and smooth.  Spread with the strawberries on top.  Top with the remaining cake mixture.  Spread smooth.

Bake for 1 hour - 1 hour 5 mins.  Check after 40 minutes - if the torte is getting too brown, cover loosely with foil.  When cooked, the torte should be slightly risen and dark golden brown.

Cool slightly, then remove from the tin.  Slide onto plate and dust with icing sugar.  Serve warm, in wedges, with spoonfuls of cream and yoghurt.

Serves 6-8

Curried Leek and Kumara Soup

A quick, easy and very tasty soup to make.  I only used about 1 litre of chicken stock and 3 large kumaras (about 1.4 kg) and 1 tablespoon curry powder, instead of the required amount.I also didn't add the yogurt for lack of any.  Apparently a good soup to freeze, before adding the bacon pieces...

*Taken from Women's Weekly cookbooks 'Meals in Minutes', page 72, published 1998*

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium (150g) onion, chopped roughly

2 large leeks, chopped roughly

2 tablespoons curry powder

4 large (2 kg) kumara, peeled and then chopped roughly

2.5 litres (10 cups) chicken stock

2 bacon rashes, chopped finely

1/3 cup (80ml) yogurt

Method

Heat oil in large pan; cook onion and leek, stirring, until leek softens.  Add curry powder; cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Add kumara and stock.  Bring to the boil; simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until kuara is just tender.  Blend or process mixture, in batches, until smooth. (Can be prepared ahead to this point; refrigerate overnight or freeze.)

Cook bacon in small heated dry pan, stirring, until browned and crisp; drain on absorbent paper.

Cook soup in large pan until heated through; serve topped with yogurt and sprinkled with bacon.

Pizza Chicken Melts

I had this recipe, a photocopy taken from one of those small BBC Good Food, 101 Recipes, that my mother had.  This was really nice and will make again soon.  A nice alternative to plain chicken.  

 

Ingredients

2 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp olive oil

50g cheddar cheese, grated

4 cherry tomatoes, quartered

2 tsp pesto sauce

green salad, to serve

Method

Preheat the grill to high.  Sandwich the chicken between cling film or 2 plastic food bags and beat firmly with a rolling pin or the bottom of a saucepan to flatten.  Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the chicken and cook for 2 minutes on each side until golden.

While the chicken cooks, mix the cheese and tomatoes together.  Take the chicken out of the pan and wipe out the with with kitchen paper.  Return the chicken to the pan, spread each breast with a teaspoon of pesto, then pile the cheese and tomatoes on top.

Put under the hot grill for a minute or so (protect the handle with foil if you think it is likely to burn), until the cheese has melted.  Serve with a green salad.

Serves 2 (easily doubled or halved)

Basic White Bread

Oh this bread is lovely - trust me.  Mine turned out great, so much so I am making it again as I type.  I use my mix master with the kneading attachments to do the kneading - takes about 8 mins or so.  I usually cover, first the yeast, then the dough with cling film and leave it on the floor in our spare room which is always warm.  (On hot humid days here in Cairns I tend to leave the yeast/dough to do its thing outside.)

*Taken from the Women's Weekly publication, 'Cook', published 2006, page 480*

Ingredients 

3 tsp dried yeast (7g packet)

1/2 cup (125ml) warm water

2 tsp caster sugar

2 1/2 cups (375g) plain flour (I use 00 flour)

1 tsp salt

30g butter, melted

1/2 cup (125ml) warm milk

Method

Whisk yeast, the water and sugar in a small bowl until yeast dissolves, cover; stand in warm place for about 10 minutes or until mixture is frothy.

Sift flour and salt into large bowl; stir in butter, milk and yeast mixture.  Turn dough onto floured surface; knead about 10 minutes or until dough is elastic.  Place dough into greased bowl, cover; stand in warm place for 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to moderately hot (200C/180C fan-forced).  Grease oven tray.

Turn dough onto floured surface; knead until smooth.  Roll dough to 18cm x 35cm rectangle; roll up from short side like a swiss roll

  Place on tray; cut four diagonal slashes across the top.  Cover; stand in warm place for about 20 minutes or until risen.  Bake, uncovered, 45 minutes.  Turn onto wire rack to cool.

Chicken, Vegetable and Pasta Soup

I love a good hearty soup and this is no exception.  Very tasty indeed and Monet really loved it!  I found this recipe in my folder of 'ripped-out' recipes.  It was originally in the July 2006 issue of Australian Women's Weekly magazine.

Ingredients

40g butter

1 large carrot, halved, thinly sliced

2 trimmed celery sticks, thinly sliced

1 large leek, halved, sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 bacon rashes, chopped coarsely

500g chicken thigh fillets, sliced thinly

1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock

2 cups (500ml) water

1 cup vermicelli soup pasta (or risoni or stellini)

50g baby spinach leaves

Method

Heat the butter in a large saucepan; cook the carrot, celery, leek and garlic until softened.  Add the bacon, cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add the chicken, cook, stirring, until the chicken is lightly browned.  Add the stock and water, simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.  Add the soup pasta, simmer, covered, for about a further 5 minutes or until the pasta is tender.

Remove from the heat, stir in the spinach.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese flakes if desired.

Serves 4-6

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

I found this recipe on the side of a 'You'll Love Coles' SR Flour packet.  The result was a perfect lemon cake and very easy too...

Ingredients

125g Butter, softened

1 cup Caster Sugar

Finely grated rind of 1 lemon

3 Extra Large Eggs

1 tbs lemon juice

1 1/2 cups Self Raising Flour, sifted

1/2 cup Greek-style Yoghurt

Icing Sugar, for serving

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180C/160C fan forced.  Grease and line base of a 20cm cake tin.  (I used a loaf pan.)

Beat butter, sugar and lemon rind in a bowl until light and creamy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fold in the lemon juice then flour, alternately with the yoghurt until combined.  Spoon into the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 15 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool.  Dust with sifted incing sugar and serve with berries and cream if desired. 

Fragrant Chicken Curry

I'm always on the lookout for a good chicken curry recipe.  I found this tucked away in my cupboard, photocopied from some book.  (I think it might have come from a BBC 101 Recipes type book, but I am unsure which one..)  

It was super easy to make and the result was delicious.  Very tasty indeed.  Just the right amount of heat for my liking.  Instead of chicken breasts I used chicken thighs and I also halved the recipe.  I served it with poppadums and steamed jasmine rice.  It is also very low in fat (something like 4 grams)

Ingredients

3 onions, quartered

4 fat garlic cloves

5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled & roughly chopped

3 tbs moglai (medium) curry powder

1 tsp tumeric

2 tsp paprika

2 fresh red chillies, seeded & roughly chopped

40g fresh coriander

1 chicken stock cube

6 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2 x 410g cans chickpeas, drained & rinsed

natural low-fat yoghurt, naan bread or poppadums to serve

Method

Tip the onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder, ground spices, chillies and half the coriander into a food processor.  Add 1 tsp salt to blend to a puree (you may need to do this in 2 batches).  Tip the mixture into a large saucepan and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  

Crumble in the stock cube, pour in 750ml boiling water and return to the boil.  Add the chicken, stir, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

Chop the remaining coriander, then stir all but 2 tbs into the curry with the chickpeas.  Heat through.  Serve topped with the reserved coriander and the natural yoghurt, with naan bread or poppadums on the side.

Serves 8