burnt toast

August 24, 2012

Pasting it up

I have a soft spot for hand held blenders. Wack them in a pot of cooked vegetables, tadaa, you’ve got silky smooth soup. Give some chickpeas and some tahini a whirl and you get a delicious dip. Same with curry pastes. You may have discovered by know that I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to ready made things. And I may sound like a broken record, but people, making your own curry paste takes literally as long as it does to open a jar of ready made stuff, and it will seriously taste ten times better. “Yeah but the ingredients list is sooo long!” So what. After having bought all your ingredients, you’ll have everything on hand for the next curry night. Kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass sticks are quite happy to hang in the freezer. Cook this and you will see the world with different eyes. You can join my snob club if you want. We can even be friends.

Red Thai Curry Paste

½ onion, roughly chopped

½ red capsicum, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, halved

4 cm knob of ginger, grated

1 bunch fresh coriander, stems and roots, roughly chopped, leaves reserved

1-3 chillies, depending on heat, chopped

3 kaffir lime leaves, shredded

1 lemongrass stalk, thinly sliced

1 heaped Tbsp peanut butter

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp sweet paprika

½ tsp salt, to taste

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

So basically, throw the lot into a jug-like device and give it a good workout with the blender, trying to get it as smooth as possible. Yep, that was it.

I’ll tell you what fun things I make with it next time.

Leave a comment
August 20, 2012

Ginger, lime and colds

Hi. How are you. Feeling like crap? Join the club. I don’t know if it’s a cold, the dust mites under my bed or a newly acquired allergy to some new pollen hybrid, but I am over going through a tissue box every few days. Weak and vulnerable could be one way to describe my delicate self at the moment. Or just plain over it. Have I tried taking cold and flu tablets? Yeah those things are crap. I’m convinced all they’re made of is compressed lint. Those people are making a fortune out of our gullible little minds. We’ll do anything to get better faster. But really, all we really can and should do is drink bucket loads of hot herbally liquids and stay in bed. With a few panadol. That always helps. Or at least my mind wants me to believe that.

So what to drink when Mr. Cold is visiting? Lemon and ginger always sounds like the best option. The teabag version is alright. It’s a bit weak in my opinion though. I like something that makes my lips pucker, my throat burn and my eyes water, just ever so slightly. The zingy spicy punch it gives my tastebuds after that first sip. Something with that effect must be good for me. Home made lemon and ginger tea, my savior.

Both lemons and ginger are both known for their vitamin C content, a powerful antioxidant that can help boost your immune system and decrease the severity of some of the symptoms associated with the flu and other illnesses. Lemon ginger tea may also temporarily relieve sinus pressure, a runny nose, a sore throat and coughing. This mixture of lemon, ginger and honey can stimulate the release of dermcidin, which is a compound that has anti-microbial properties and can help fight the flu. Let’s get ready to terminate this sucker.

You can use lemon instead of lime if you want. I’m quite partial to lime because on one of my trips to India one of the things I would frequently order at our favourite seaside restaurant in Goa was “Lemon Tea” – made with these round little lemon limes and lots of honey.

Lemon Lime and Ginger Tea

1 lime, juiced

3-4 thin slices of fresh ginger, bashed with the back of a knife to release the gingery goodness

1+ Tbsp honey

Recently boiled water

Combine the juice, ginger and honey in a mug. Give the ginger a bit of a workout with the back of a spoon – get those flavours going. You don’t want the water to be boiling or else it will kill the goodies in the juice and honey. You need these vitamins for a rapid recovery. Stir and add more honey. You’re sick, you can have it as sweet as you want. That’s my excuse anyway.

Get well soon chicken.

Leave a comment
August 17, 2012

Yeah. That stuff. Pesto.

One of the simplest dinners ever would be pesto pasta. Tasty and filling. Or at least I hope it’s like that for you. Quite possibly, you’ve got your own very special reipe which was handed down to you by your Italian great grandmother. I’m sure you’re recipe’s great, I really am. But this here is how  I do it.

Thinking back, as a young ‘un, I always felt there was never enough pesto on the actual pasta. Those store bought jars were always just too damn small. And if I put too much parmesan on it I’d almost choke on the dryness it imparted on this otherwise beautiful little dish. That is why these days people, I make my own pesto. My father’s girlfriend looks after these amazing basil bushes at the back of our house, so whenever the urge comes upon us, we make pesto. I like my pesto cheesy, and nutty. And salty, with a bit of tang. I like to mix it with cream cheese and a little sour cream for a yummy dip, or mix it into a salad dressing…or slathered over pizza. Whatever you’re up to with this, make sure you make twice the amount, if you can. Because it’ll vanish far quicker than you’d think.

Pesto

¾ cup firmly packed fresh basil

35g grated parmesan cheese

40g roasted cashews

2 large garlic cloves, halved

1 Tbsp lemon juice

4+ Tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Add all the ingredients to a measuring jug or some sort of vessel with high sides and puree until smooth and creamy. You may have to add some more olive oil to get the right consistency, which isn’t too thick, but also not too runny. Transfer to a jar and cover with more olive oil. It’ll keep for about a week in your fridge. Enjoy pumpkin.

Leave a comment
August 16, 2012

Chocolatiness

I like brownies. I like them a lot. So do you. Especially with walnuts and big chunks of dark chocolate. Or blonde with toasted macadamia nuts and raspberries. Yum right? I like them dense and chewy, especially out of the freezer. Sounds weird? Have you ever had a frozen mars bar? I needn’t say more. The thing with these brownies here is that they’re a winner in the fancy dress department. All dark and mysterious with a lacy ribbon of creamy white goodness, flirtaciously inviting you to take a naughty bite.

Cheesecake Brownies

200g unsalted butter, diced
100g good quality 70% dark chocolate, chopped
200g dark chocolate melts, chopped, half set aside
3 eggs
250g caster sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
115g plain flour

250g cream cheese, softened
80g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 24 x 24cm tin with baking parchment.

Melt the butter and the two types of chocolate in a saucepan over low heat. Set aside.

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the sugar and the vanilla and beat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the egg and beat until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

In a jug, whisk the eggs, the sugar and the salt until the mixture lightens to a creamy custard colour. Pour into the slightly cooled chocolate mixture and stir until combined. Add the flour, then the chocolate. Once it looks all delicious and glossy, pour half into the prepared tin. Make sure you scoop out some of the chocolate bits from the pan, as they tend to sink to the bottom. Now dollop the cheesecake mixture over the top, as regularly or irregularly as you like. Cover with the rest of the brownie batter. Send the tin off to oven land for about 40-55 minutes, checking after 30 mins to see where the giant brownie is up to. A skewer inserted should not come out clean, rather stickily covered in crumbs. Then, remove from the oven and cool. It will continue to bake once out of the oven, so don’t be afraid of taking it out too early.

Don’t eat this still warm. It’s best cold, or frozen. With a cup of tea. Or ice cream. Or for breakfast. Or instead of dinner.

1 Comment
August 15, 2012

Frittata time

In all honesty, I’m not much of a frittata fan. Too much egg and too much undercooked/bland/boring veg. Its name has been over-used, as an unimaginative solution for hungry vegetarian lunch-seekers. However, my neighbours of all people can cook frittata. Oh and cook it they can. They are the reason I gave it another chance, and regret it I did not.

The ingredients list is quite long, but to me the ingredients are all vital to the success of a tasty frittata.

I was close to making this with only 7 eggs. But I couldn’t. I don’t like that number, especially when it concerns eggs.

Gourmet Frittata

¼ jap pumpkin, diced into 2cm cubes

1 regular-sized kumara, diced into 2cm cubes

6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 sprigs rosemary, picked and chopped

1 large onion, sliced

1 Tbsp each of soy sauce and honey

1 handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 handful basil, finely chopped

8 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

1 handful grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling on top

1 Tbsp sour cream

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp stock powder

black pepper

8 eggs

21 (just kidding – a handful is fine) pitted kalamata olives, halved

2oog feta, in 1cm cubes

8 cherry tomatoes, halved

more green herby stuff for decoration

First of all, preheat the oven to 200°C and combine the pumpkin, the kumara, the garlic, the rosemary, some seasoning and a few tablespoons of olive oil in a baking dish and roast for 20-30 minutes until tender. Remove and cool slightly.

In the meantime, fry the onion in a saucepan until soft. Add the honey and soy and let it caramelize nicely. Remove from heat.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the herbs, sundrieds, cheese, sour cream, mustard, seasoning and eggs and whisk until combined. Add the roasted veggies and the onion and mix. Transfer into a lined, 25x25cm square baking dish. Top with the set aside parmesan, the olives, feta and cherry tomatoes, and put it back into the oven for 30 minutes until set.

Let it cool, and top it with chopped herbs and cut into squares, stars or rectangles, whatever may tickle your fancy.

Leave a comment
August 15, 2012

Dip that thing.

I love tapas. Mezze. Antipasti. Amuse-bouches. Nibbly finger food. The variety, the mix and match nature of it all. Calling this my favourite dip would be like favouring a child, so instead what I will say is this: This is my favourite dip of the sour cream and caramelised onion category. And I love it with all my heart.

Caramelised Onion Dip

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp honey

250g sour cream

1 Tbsp mayo (because mayo makes everything taste good. In a secret, subtle sort of way)

1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard

chopped parsley

Combine the onions, a splash of water and a glug of oil in a small frypan and cook on a low heat with the lid on until onion has softened. Remove lid and continue cooking, on a higher flame now, until liquid has evaporated and onions are beginning to go light brown. Add the soy and the honey and stir until dark and sticky and caramelised. Cool slightly.

Combine the onion with the sour cream, mayo, and mustard. Adjust the seasoning, then transfer to a bowl and top with the chopped parsley to make it look pretty.

1 Comment
August 15, 2012

Hi.

If you’re anything like me, then this is the place for you. But what is “me” like? Well my friend. To narrow it down for you – I like food. I like to look at it, cook it, style it, photograph it, eat it and write about it. You’re with me? Good.

Leave a comment