Halloumi

By sallymay ~ Posted 5 September 2010 - 2:02pm

Frypan, fresh chunks straight off the frypan into my mouth :) YUM

alternatively topped with relish or chutney or just freshly squeezed lemon. 

Thrown on top of salad is good too...

Chicken Pie

By sallymay ~ Posted 28 August 2010 - 3:04pm

mah I thought for some reason that chicken pie would be difficult and more of an ordeal than vegetable pie. Vegetable pie makes me want to cry just a dirty dish pile up and requires a lot of concentration to put it all together... This chicken pie was like a walk in the park in comparison, a walk in a nice breezy park... 

I used

- chicken thighs (contrary to popular belief, the breast is harder to cook, and the thigh is wonderful and doesnt toughen on pie baking)...

- flour

- butter

- stock (chicken or vegetable)

- chicken

- mushrooms

- onion

- garlic

- vegetables (I simply used beans and carrot)

- herb

- salt and pepper and cheese if it takes your fancy

So first the pastry, I have to admit I hate making pastry, but anyway my method now is the least fiddliest compared to all those perfect pastry methods I was trying to follow from recipe books, i add a punch of butter in a bowl and add some flour and rub it all together with my fingers till it is like breadcrumbs, then add some milk with a fork till it collects into a bowl then chuck it into a bag in the fridge while i get busy with the inners 

The chicken is diced into bite sized chunks and thrown in a plastic bag with a couple teaspoons of flour for each thigh and shaken to coat. 

The onion and vegetables and mushroom and garlic was chopped up again into the piece size you most desire, then you 

- fry the onion

- add the chicken and a little kettle water and cook a little

- add the vegetables you desire and mix it about add some stock and let it all chill out and get to know each other,,, while you add some of whatever you want to flavour it with, paprika, salt, pepper, herbs, spices, coconut milk and green curry paste if you are feeling crazy...

- roll out your dough and line a dish and pop it into the oven for about ten minutes 

When your innards look happy in their pot you can dump them all in your pie crust and put on the top and pop it into the oven until the top is crispy...

 mmmm chicken pie 

Beetroot condiment

By sallymay ~ Posted 22 August 2010 - 8:39pm

So Grabbing a large bowl and grating in some

- beetroot

- and onion

- some pear or apple

- garlic and ginger

then add to this some 

- mustard seeds 

- ground cumin and coriander

- ground allspice, nutmeg and clove

then chuck this in a pot and cook it down, after the vegetables and such have softened you can add some 

- malt vinegar...

watch not to put your face over the pot and breath in too sharply or quickly, it is powerful stuff

but then after it has all had its little relish party on low heat for about half hour you can turn it off and let it recover...

Yum yum, this goes great on your morning eggs on toast, on top of halloumi cheese or anywhere you please... 

Description: 

Powerful and versatile beetroot relish stuff,

Pita

Pita

By sallymay ~ Posted 22 August 2010 - 8:27pm

This is easier to buy but if you feel so inclined you can make them quite easily... 

- instant yeast packet, 

- flour

- water

adding two cups of warm water to a bowl and adding a packet of yeast, add enough flour until all the water is absorbed throw it on a floured surface and knead it for ten minutes till it is elastic ...

Leave this big happy ball somewhere warm to rise for at least ten minutes... then punch it down a little, knead it for a bit and leave it again for forty minutes somewhere warm, it should rise again,,, then you can divide it out into little balls and roll them out to about  half a cm. thickness and fold them over onto each other and throw them on a little oiled cooking tray and leave them again somewhere warm to rise again till they again return to the same puffy size...

now put them in the 180c oven for ten to twenty minutes turning them over a few times to coook evenly.. 

Yum yum falafel feast with pita, tzaziki, tabouleh and humus :) Happy days:) 

Taboleh

So chop up lots and lots of fresh parsley very finely and add to it some cous cous, the juice of a lemon, some garlic, salt to taste, and some tomato, and some red onion... Thats pretty easy in theory ...

Goes great with tzaziki, falafel  ... 

Falafel

By sallymay ~ Posted 11 August 2010 - 9:29am

I admit this is a tough recipe to master... It can be really temperamental when you being the cooking/frying/baking part... I do say you can try frying in some quality frying oil, but do not let the oil get too hot, too dirty or the pan too overcrowded... Also to keep the falafel from just dissolving in the oil, and ending up with falafel soup, here are a few things we learnt...

-keeping the mixture in teh fridge after mixing it for an hour to settle before frying, 

-making sure the mixture is not too dry and nto too wet, this means adding a little flour to the mix

-baking it in the oven if it doesn't look like it will work, 

-having the falafel balls already rolled out and ready to go into the oil 

In the end though it is so tasty that it is all worth it in the end, golden crispy delicious balls of goodness that make you feel master of the kitchen... 

Soaking some dried chickpeas overnight in water, then boiling them in water for half an hour the following day then straining them out and mashing them into submission, a thick paste... I haven't tried canned beans for this recipe, but i imagine they would need more flour to keep the mixture dry enough... 

- chickpeas (or traditionally fava beans if you can find them)

- chopped parsley

- ground cumin 

- ground coriander

- lemon juice

- flour

- tiny chopped onion and garlic

It is nice to add fresh herbs and spices but I find that using ground cumin, coriander allows it to blend easier and gives it a nice warmth...The colour of fresh chopped parsley looks and tastes lovely,,, once you have a mash of chickpeas all these ingredients get mixed together and formed into balls, you can leave it in the fridge or just to sit for an hour, before or after ball formation and prepare yourself for the frying process...

About 2cm deep on oil in a pan heat the oil and drop the falafel balls in being careful not to put too many in at once, leaving them space to cook, and you room to manoeuvre and keep an eye on their progress... once lightly browned take them out and leave them on paper towel or in a colander over a bowl to collect the hot oil...  

great with humus, tzaziki and tabouleh in pita... 

Tzaziki

Tzatziki

By sallymay ~ Posted 11 August 2010 - 9:28am

I stole this recipe a little from the blog Kalyns Kitchen,,, http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2007/07/worlds-best-tzatziki-sauce-recipe-greek.html

The trick is to make it keep it from being too runny a very thick greek yoghurt will prevent you needing to spend extra time and energy straining out your yoghurt through cheesecloth... You might want to google that because I couldn't ever say I would go through that trouble, much preferring to have watery tzaziki...

You do however have to go to the trouble of peeling and deseeding your cucumber and salting it a little and leaving it to drain in a colander over a bowl to rid it of excess moisture... I eat the seeds and skins as an extra treat while undertaking this whole process. It should really only take about an hour, leaving the grated deskinned, deseeded cucumber to drip out and then mixed in with some thick greek yoghurt, juice of a lemon, some fresh chopped dill and a little salt and fresh crushed garlic... mixed up and served...

-cucumber

-greek/thick yoghurt

-garlic

-lemon

-dill 

- salt to taste... 

This goes well with fresh hot pittas, and falafel 

Tzaziki

Tzatziki

By sallymay ~ Posted 11 August 2010 - 9:28am

I stole this recipe a little from the blog Kalyns Kitchen,,, http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2007/07/worlds-best-tzatziki-sauce-recipe-greek.html

The trick is to make it keep it from being too runny a very thick greek yoghurt will prevent you needing to spend extra time and energy straining out your yoghurt through cheesecloth... You might want to google that because I couldn't ever say I would go through that trouble, much preferring to have watery tzaziki...

You do however have to go to the trouble of peeling and deseeding your cucumber and salting it a little and leaving it to drain in a colander over a bowl to rid it of excess moisture... I eat the seeds and skins as an extra treat while undertaking this whole process. It should really only take about an hour, leaving the grated deskinned, deseeded cucumber to drip out and then mixed in with some thick greek yoghurt, juice of a lemon, some fresh chopped dill and a little salt and fresh crushed garlic... mixed up and served...

-cucumber

-greek/thick yoghurt

-garlic

-lemon

-dill 

- salt to taste... 

This goes well with fresh hot pittas, and falafel 

Accidental Herbtastical nutty salad

Accidental Nutty Herbtastical curried potato salad with egg, feta and advocado

By sallymay ~ Posted 6 July 2010 - 1:16pm

So this recipe was born from hunger and a wild raining outside world too harsh to be ventured out in...

Looking inside the fridge and cupboard there was a list of ingrediants like so

-walnuts

-pecans

-yoghurt

-curry powder

-tumeric

-corriander

-spring onions

-parsley

-potatos

-advocado

-feta

-egg

So that was lunch

the potatoes preboiled while the advocado was diced and thrown into a bowl with a few each of some lightly crushed pecans and walnuts, the chopped fresh herbs and some crumbled feta

the potatos then added to the fry pan with and covered in curry powder and tumeric and finally yoghurt was added this was then mixed into the other mixture

into the remaining water an egg was dropped and left to cook, longer for soft boiled, this was then removed peeled smashed and thrown over the top of the salad... 

YUM

lunch is served 

Cheese Scones

Herb and Cheese scones

By sallymay ~ Posted 1 July 2010 - 3:15pm

Cheese and herb scones

chop up some cold butter into a bowl and add some flour and rub the butter into make a breadcrumb consistency. add a big handful of cheese, romano works well or any salty hard cheese, or just cheddar, a sprinkle of mixed green herbs I like thyme and rosemary and a little nutmeg and paprika if you are feeling spicy, then add a tablespoon of baking powder and salt and pepper if your into that king of thing and stir it all together with a fork then add in some milk until it is all combined but not wet or sticky you can kneed it a bit if you like ad get a nice flat blob of it to stick on a tray and in the oven for twenty minutes to bake, you can paint some milk over it, or sprinkle it with pumpkin seeds or cheese if you are feeling fancy. 

Tea Yes Please

By sallymay ~ Posted 23 March 2010 - 11:46am

fix the family bug killer ginger tea

this tea is the best thing in the universe,

for stomach upsets

digestive aid

as a kill bugs in your system
boost your circulation and can even help ease period pains...

you can make this as strong as you like by changing the amount of ginger you add...
I like to add lots so I get a face burning feeling,,,  then I know that no little bugs will survive inside...

you need to grate some fresh ginger root into a small sauce pan (add as much as you like, start small by using just a tablespoons for a large cup full) then add some boiling water over this and bring it to the boil on the stove... leave it to brew on low for a while
get yourself a big teaspoon of honey and add that to your cup then squish a lemon and half it ready to add the juice of a quater to a half a lemon to each cup

strain the ginger water into the cup over the honey then add the lemon juice to this and stir and then wait till it is cooled a little as not to literally burn your face and then drink... This is a good alternative to getting the benefits of ginger without having to actually just chew on ginger root...

Sleep Calm Mind Peace and all good things

-Chamomile and lavender flowers

this tea is wonderful and I thought I ought to share it

- a few sage leaves

- a few cloves

- a few mint leaves

- and hot water

:)

Kawakawa FIRE

kawakawa leaves dried 

fresh ginger

lemongrass...

Recipe Topics: 

tea

Images: 

Description: 

How can you not love a good cup of tea, at any time, for any ailment, all hail tea... here is a few favourites!!!

Main Image: 

Christmas Roast

This was our little christmas cooking with chicken instead of turkey...

I stole this from nigella lawson, christmas is so exciting for cooking, fantastic time to cook without fear and limit... Nigella just really understands this on my wavelength... Owww i am excited about Christmas... 

So instead of making a big turkey bath I just used the bag the chicken came in and added some extra spare sealed bags I had around, and filled them with water add goodies to make the brine for a moist turkey...

-salt

-pepper

-cloves

-star annise

-mustard seeds

-parsley

-allspice berries

-cinnamon 

-a little sugar/maple syrup

-chopped onions

-quartered orange, squeezed and chucked in

-rough chopped ginger

Then this is left in the fridge secured for an afternoon or overnight. 

ready to be cooked for a lovely moist and delicious dinner. The bird gets drained off, stuffed and painted with maple syrup for a delicious crunch.

this means the bird is taken out of liquid and left to strain, it will still have a very moist wet skin, it can be basted in butter and maple syrup to give it a lovely richer glow... 

Nigella says that a 4-5 kilo bird will take 2.5 hours in the oven... 

(try the online bird calculator)

Hokey Pokey Cookies

125g Butter                      

1/2C Sugar

1T Golden Syrup

1T Milk

1 1/2C Flour

1t Baking Soda

Combine Butter, Sugar, golden syrup and milk in a saucepan. Heat until butter is melted and mixture nearly boiling. Stirring constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm. Sift flour and baking soda together to the mixture. Stir well, roll into balls and press down with a fork. Add chocolate buttons on each cookie. Bake for 15 to 20 mins at 180degrees Celsius. Makes 22

Orange & Berry Delicious Cake

This recipie is inspired from here

I just added a whole orange's rind and juice, and about two tablespoons or natural unsweetened yoghurt. Took 50 mins to cook.

1 c flour
1 t baking powder
zest of 1 orange/juice of orange
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
100g Butter
1 t vanilla

2 T natural unsweetened yoghurt

1 1/2 c boysenberries (frozen) (or any soft fruit)
1 T raw sugar

Slivered Almonds

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, add vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and orange zest, juice and yoghurt.  Mix to combine. Butter an 8 or 9 inch cake pan and add in batter. Batter will be quite thick, so use a spoon to smooth out the top. Drop in berries, pressing them into the batter. Sprinkle with raw sugar and slivered almonds. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hr or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean. Best served,  warm with a dollop of natural unsweetened yoghurt, or cream if your feeling decadent.

Nana's Red Pepper Chutney

4 large red peppers                                      1tablespoon mustard seeds

500grams tomatoes                                      2tablespoons flour

4 medium onions                                         1/4teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon salt                                         1/4teaspoon turmeric

2 cups white vinegar                                     

1/2cwater 

1 and half cups sugar

 Chop seeded peppers finely.Chop tomatoes finely.Peel and chop onions finely.

Combine vegetables in bowl,sprinkle the salt over and let stand for a few hours then drain.[This process is to get most of the moisture out of the tomatoes or your chutney will be too watery.]

Combine in large saucepan vinegar sugar and mustard seeds,stir over low heat until sugar dissolves,bring to boil.Add vegetables, bring back to boil 10 minutes.

Combine flour,paprika,turmeric with the water, add to pickle,stir until boiling.Simmer a further 10 minutes.

Pour into hot sterilised jars and seal. Makes 4 medium Jars.