Happy New Year

Well 2012 is here, no idea where it came from or how it got from January to December, but I guess its time for a new post.

As far as taking stock of whats happened this year, i'm completly useless. I have no memory this year for events, but I do know it's been very busy. I've been finishing off the last of my degree, working way too much while trying to finish said degree and not having time to have a social life. Good times. This year hasn't been all bad, but being so concentrated on finishing uni, which has been such a giant part of my life for so long, has kept me a bit stuck in the same place. I think my resolution much be to actually move forward this year. Well, lets see. Maybe I'll open a bakery.

I had a few friends round for new years and as usual, i cant help myself but to make too much food, even when I'm consciously trying not to. I was somewhat restrained, I only made 3 things and sangria. (Everyone brought a plate though, so there was more than enough food)

Honey Soy Sausages (always tasty and easy), Vietnamese Pork Rolls and Watermelon, Fetta and Olive salad.

Vietnamese Sandwich (Banh Mi)

Vietnamese Pork Rolls are my absolute favourite sandwich in the world, and definatly up there with favourite foods of all time. This version is a little different to the Viet Sandwich (Banh Mi) that you buy in the bakery which has pate (apologies for the lack of the accent, i don't know how to put it in on my laptop - worst Gen Y ever) and usually the special vietnamese pork loaf.

This recipe I actually got a few years ago from the paper's food section. It omits the pate and the pork loaf and opts for the amazing barbeque pork, the kind that hangs opulently in Chinese restaurants, dripping sauce. The pate does make a difference but being a poor student, I don't buy pate very often. One of the most important parts of the sandwich is the pickled daikon (white radish) and carrot. It gives a tart quality, contrasting the creamy mayonnaise, fragrant coriander and sweet pork. If you are looking for that hit, its really those three ingredients that make all the difference.

I've made this recipe only once before yesterday and did so before I had ever eaten a banh mi. It just looked like the most delicious thing ever - it was. (Since then I have eaten many many many Banh Mi, being lucky enough to work next to a Vietnamese Bakery.) I used my little recipe cutting, but while looking up the proper name for the Vietname pork loaf (Cha Lua, incidentally) on one of my favourite blogs (www.theravenouscouple.com), I realised that it is much easier to link you to their recipe. You will also notice they have variations for the fillings including pork patties and grilled pork. You can also use chicken - the bakery I go to offers chicken kebab banh mi which is very tasty. They even have recipes to make your own pork loaf or pate, if you so desire.

*A tiny note, if you have a vegetarian to feed, obviously omit the pate (you could try to make some sort of mushroom pate in its place, but I don't know whether it would be worth it.). In place of meat, try some vegie sausages or some of that fancy vegetarian mince.

So this is Banh Mi Thit Nuong - Grilled pork Banh Mi. It gives you the full recipe from scratch with links to pickling the carrot and daikon and making your own pate and mayo! Even if you just take the easy way out like i did with bought whole egg mayonnaise, no pate and bought BBQ pork, it is very much worth it. (and the minor amount of work to pickle the daikon and carrot is more than worth it.)

http://www.theravenouscouple.com/2009/08/banh-mi-thit-nuong-vietnamese-sandwich-with-grilled-pork.html

Watermelon, Fetta and Olive Salad

I will actually get back to posting original recipes at some point! This is in fact a Nigella Lawson recipe, although definatly not a new combination. Turkish people have probably been doing this for centuries. Either way, I was desperate to try this and a 33 degree New Years Eve seemed like an ideal setting.

I'm not a huge fan of watermelon, messy and overtly sugary its not really something I enjoy. There is something about this salad that is irrisistable, very refreshing and so summery.

1 red onion

2-4 limes (or a lemon if thats all you have)

1.5kg watermelon (its of course a salad, so it is not essential that all these quantities be exact)

250g feta cheese

bunch of flat leaf parsley

bunch of fresh mint, chopped

3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

100g pitted black olives

black pepper

1. Cut onion into very fine half moons and steep in the lime juice

2. Cut watermelon into chunks - about bite sized pieces. Cut the feta into similar pieces and put both into a large, shallow bowl

3. Tear up parsley - you are using it more as a salad leaf rather than a garnish. Add to the bowl along with the mint

4. Add the onions along with the juices into the salad. Also add the oil and the olives and toss everything together. Season with pepper.

Original recipe: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/watermelon-feta-and-black-olive-salad-205

Its amazing! It actually delivers on the picture. Which is nice!

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Other lovely things eaten were a moroccan cous cous salad with craisins rather than dates, brought by a friend - I think I actually prefer the tartness of the craisins. Another brought plate was some fantastic mac n cheese, which I'm hoping I will get again when its cold and rainy and I'm feeling sorry for myself (hint hint appropriate person).

I also got a crepe (again, no circonflex) pan for christmas which I have definatly been making use of. I will definatly make a crepe blog in the near future. I can't wait.

x

Things ive eaten: The most amazing lunch.

The best food I've ever had almost always comes when I go to my parents house. My dad is an amazing cook, and I attempt to be as good as he is. He doesn't do recipes - ever, at all but it always seems to work! His birthday is coming up and I am going to cook dinner for it, hopefully I'll make something good!

Anyway, most recent of lunches, apologies for the photo quality, it doesnt quite do the real life sight justice.

So thats vegetable soup unlike any id ever tasted, ash brie, ham, avocado, bread, gouda, leberwurst and BEER.

x

bagels!

Vegetarian Lasagna photo recipe

First: Tomato Sauce

Of course, quite possible the greatest ingredient ever, the humble onion.

Next, its more glorified cousin, garlic

1. Chop them up, as roughly of finely as you like your sauce (i like chunky! :P) and brown in a pan with a generous slurp of olive oil for a couple of mins (onions first)

Bok choy Silverbeet

2. Now chop up random vegetables of your choice, I like uber greens like spinich and silverbeet that are really high in vitamins and will retain more nutrients (rather than something like celery) when cooking. In this case I had some leftover Bok choy and silverbeet (i also used the stalks of the mushrooms that are used in a later part)

3. Stir the vegetables through the onion mixture until the vegies wilt slightly.

4. add two cans of diced tomatoes (if you have some spare fresh tomatoes, I like to add them as well to supplement the taste) and add 800ml (two empty tomato cans worth) of water with the corresponding amount of stock powder.

I like to use Massel Stock Powder in Chicken flavour, its very concentrated and totally vegetarian.

5. Season with Pepper and Herbs. If you have fresh, even better. Season with salt also, but be careful to taste it first as the stock has a salty taste.

et voila.

Now, assemble.

6. Put one layer of sauce and one layer of pasta sheet.

7. Next, and totally optional, chop mushrooms into crescent shapes

...And arrange into a layer.

8. Add more tomato sauce and another layer of pastaand more sauce over the top.

9. Cover with cheese. I used tasty and some parmesan. mmm

10. Put in an oven at 180C, covered with foil for around 45 mins. The last 10 mins you should take off the foil and brown the cheese. (alternatively, put in the oven without the cheese if your pan is quite full, otherwise the cheese sticks to the foil. Then in the last 10 or so mins, put the cheese on top.

I realised I neglected to take a picture of the final product! But it was terribly exciting.

x

fat full dinner and food philosopy rambles

As I may have mentioned, my gf is a vegetarian. Being german, this is a foreign concept to me- not because I dont understand why someone might become one, but that I have such a love of meat that all of my favourite recipes include meat in some form or another.

Even as a meat eater, Im a staunch believer that the meat I eat must be sustainable and humanly kept and killed. I also am a secret vegetarian in that I crave and adore vegetables just as much as I adore good meat.In that sense it makes it a little easier to contemplate the idea of making meals for a vegetarian and a meat eater - at least we have one thing in common.

Right now, most of our diet comprises vegetarian (although she does still eat fish) food, its cheaper for one thing, but I like the option to have a meal with meat if I want.

The challenge for me, is coming up with recipes that are versatile to include meat or vegetarian, but dont seem to have that 'stir-fry with meat added on in the end' feel to them. That default recipe where the meat is just an unnecessary extra, or the vegetarian option is lacking in nutrition.

Should be a tasty endeavour.

In other news, tonight i made hasselback potatos

vegies (zucchini, onion, silverbeet, mushroom, lemon and garlic, pan cooked)

and oven baked mushrooms with butter, garlic and parsley (for the vegetarian)

and pan fried pork cutlet with parsley, garlic and lemon (for me)

Not the most healthy choice, but who cares. Good food doesnt always have to be so fat free (also, olive oil is a good thing right?) Anyway. This is very delicious, especially for a Sunday evening after a stressful day.

Incredibly tasty and comforting.

x

Linguine with thyme and mushroom

I cant claim any credit or originality for this recipe, its taken straight from nigella lawson, from her Express book. Trust me when I say, its the most amazing dinner ever. seriously.

Get the recipe here

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/linguine-with-lemon-garlic-and-thyme-mushrooms-24

Pumpkin soup and curry

Today I am making pumpkin soup, bit of chilli and coriander on the side, and some tortilla to dip in and crunch over the soupy goodness. Mmmmmmm...



A few nights ago I made chicken in curry sauce with homemade gnocchi.

Because my girlfriend is now a vegetarian, I used half an eggplant for her (in place of a chicken breast) and stuffed both of them with spinich and eggplant middle. And covered them in:

coconut milk (I didn't have any so I used evaporated milk and a couple of tsp of coconut essence)

curry paste

couple of table spoons of soy sauce

Rice wine vinegar

You might want to taste it and alter the measurements to taste, especially given that curry paste is hot.
I ended up using about a can of coconut milk.

Put the chicken or eggplant in a relatively small dish (so the milk mixture will cover most of it when poured in) and marinate for 15mins.

I then baked it in the oven at 200c for about 20mins or so.

Be prepared, the coconut mixture curdles a bit, but I actually like it. I you don't, maybe drain the liquid off and bake it dry.

Gnocchi is super easy and tastes amazing.
I can't remember the exact recipe so you might want to look it up but the gist is:

1kg potatoes (I know it sounds a lot but potatoes are heavy! You can always freeze excess gnocchi)
1egg
3 cups of flour.

Boil potatoes until soft, peel off skins (usually I don't do peeling -why cut down on the nutrition, but I feel Its necessary here) and mash them as finely as possible.

Let them cool a little and then add the first cup ish of flour and mix preferably with your hands (plain four- although I had to use self raising. They just poofed up a little)

Add the egg and mix, then keep adding flour until you can knead it into an elasticy ball of dough.

Then enlist a small child to make the dough into 50bazillion gnocchi balls.

You can make them whatever shape. The idea with traditional gnocchi shape with the grooves or crease down the middle is so the sauce clings to the pasta- im not going to tutorial that. Cbf. Look it up. You don't need a degree to work it out.

Then it's simple gnocchi cooking as per commercial packet instructions. Boiling, well salted water. When they float to the top, they're done!

So take out the curry chicken or eggplant, put it on a plate with gnocchi and maybe a little fresh salad, put juices over the top.


Next time, something to do with chestnut cream which I just bought! I wonder what I can do with it. Never had it before and super excited!!!

x