Sweet and sour power

I came across this recipe on another foodie blog yesterday.  It was titled Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken.  Healthy because the chicken was shallow- rather than deep-fried.  I'm not convinced that this makes the meal overly healthy, given it still contains a truckload of sugar.  However, it was very quick and easy to make, contains veges (and you could easily add more in), and was incredibly tasty.  I will definitely be making it again.  This fed 4 people, and you'll likely find you have some sauce leftover, which could be thrown into a lasagna sauce, or some kind of curry, or...  So - I totally recommend this meal, but enjoy it for it's ease and taste, not for its health benefits.  ;) 

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks

1/3 cup cornflour 

oil/butter for frying

1 capsicum (I used red), chopped

cup of greens - I used combination of peas and very finely chopped broccoli

1/2 onion, diced

pineapple chunks, optional

SAUCE 

1 cup sugar 

1 cup apple cider vinegar

juice of 2-3 limes

4 tbsp soy sauce

italian seasoning

salt 

2 large clove garlic, crushed or finely diced

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 tbsp cornflour + 4 tbsp water

1. Start by preparing the sauce - bring all sauce ingredients, except the cornflour and water, to the boil in a small saucepan.  Lower heat and stir until sugar is dissolved.  Whisk together the cornflour and water, until cornflour is dissolved, and stir into sauce, stirring until thickened.  Either remove from heat, or keep on a low heat (depending how far in advance you're making the sauce - I made it earlier in the day, then reheated it when we cooked the chicken and ate).  
2. Put some rice on, so it's ready when the chicken's ready.  
3. Put chicken pieces and cornflour into a large ziplock bag.  Seal and shake, to coat the chicken.  Heat oil/butter in a large pan, add coated chicken and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Add capsicum, onion and greens (you could use a green capsicum, if you don't have, or don't feel like, other greens).  Continue to cook until chicken browning and cooked through.  
4. Add sauce to chicken, stir through and serve with rice or roti.  Top with a few pieces of pineapple.  

Pavlova - need I say more?

Pavlova is a kiwi icon, as much a part of our national psyche as jandals, rugby and the buzzy bee.  It's featured on stamps, for goodness sake, and no Christmas season would be complete without at least one serving (and leftovers for breakfast, if you're really lucky).  

My Mum has always made a kick-ass pav.  I've never actually gotten around to making one (leave it to the expert, is my excuse), but while watching Mum whip a couple up on Sunday (she was making them for her fellow staff at school, best morning tea shout EVER) I thought that perhaps it was time I wrote out her recipe, and shared the love with you all.  Recipes abound in NZ, but they're all a variation on the theme of meringue, cream and awesomeness.  

6 egg whites (I'd use the yolks for an omelette, or as a treat for our dog)

2 cups sugar

4 heaped dessert spoons cornflour

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 tsp vinegar

1/4 cup boiling water

whipped cream and fruit/chocolate for topping

1. Beat all together until thick.  Arrange on lined baking tray. 
2. Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 12 minutes then reduce to 120 and bake for further 48 minutes.  
3. Remove from oven, and when cool dress the pav.   

Creamy garlic parmesan chicken

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled on a recipe for what was basically a creamy chicken casserole, on Damn Delicious.  Basic or otherwise, it did indeed look and sound damn delicious, so I saved it with the promise to try it one day soon. 

That one day was yesterday.  We whipped it up last night, teamed with some steamed greens.  It was delicious!  I made a couple of minor amendments, mainly to do with the amount of time the sauce was in the oven (so as not to end up with little or no sauce!), and added a couple of extras.  Next time I think I'll try using coconut cream in place of the half and half.  And maybe use a little more stock, so there's a little more sauce.  

Buon appetito!  

4-6 chicken thighs (I used skinless, boneless) 

1 tbsp Italian seasoning (Simon Gault's is really nice)

salt and pepper

3 tbsp butter

2-3 cups baby spinach, chopped up

500 g potatoes, chopped into large bite-size pieces

handful fresh parsley or coriander, chopped up

1/4 cup butter

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed 

2 tbsp flour

1 cup (or more) fresh chicken stock (powdered at a pinch, but it is a lot saltier) 

2 tsp dried oregano (or thyme, basil...) 

1/4 cup milk 

1/4 cup cream 

1/2 - 1 cup grated parmesan 

sesame seeds

lime wedges 

1. Season chicken with seasoning and salt and pepper, preferably a couple of hours before you intend to start cooking.  
2. Melt 2 tbsp butter in pan and sear chicken on both sides.  Place into greased casserole dish.  Surround with potatoes.  
3. Melt 1 tbsp butter in pan and saute spinach for a minute, until wilted.  Sprinkle over the chicken.  Do the same with fresh herbs.  
4. Place in the oven at 200 degrees celcius and bake for about 15-20 minutes.  
5. To make the sauce melt the butter in a pot.  Saute garlic for a half minute then stir in flour.  Add stock and stir until beginning to thicken.  
6. Add milk, cream and cheese, stir until smooth and remove from heat.  
7. Remove chicken from the oven and pour sauce over, covering all completely.  Sprinkle with seeds and return to the oven (reduced to 150) for a further 15-20 minutes.  
8. Squeeze lime over servings once plated and serve with greens. 

One-pot fusion chicken

This recipe came to me, via my Mum (thanks, really yum!), from Donna Hay.  It's part of her TV Series 'Fast, Fresh, Simple'.  She calls it her 'one-pot chinese chicken'.  I've gone with fusion purely because it also reminded me of ingredients and the subsequent aromas elicited by south-east asian cuisine.  Anyhoo, the fast, fresh, simple is absolutely correct.  This dish quick to throw together; it was highly fragrant of fresh herbs and spices (and the awesome smell of fresh chicken stock warming through!); and it was easy.  We used a red chilli - it's what I had available and let's be honest - more colour.  I'll be making this one again, but next time I might try it with thin strips of schnitzel or lamb...and with a good squeeze of lime.    
Come to think of it, it would also be really good with prawn and fish, with a little coconut cream added in as well.  The possibilities are close to endless! 

2-3 cups chicken stock
large thumb ginger, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 spring onion, thinly sliced diagonally 
1 long chilli, thinly sliced 
1 cup rice
3-4 chicken thighs - meat cut into chunks off bone
1 cup coriander leaves 
1/2 cup peanuts, crushed slightly
soy sauce and lime, to serve

1. Put stock into large pot (with a lid) along with ginger, garlic, spring onion and chilli.  Bring to the boil.  
2. Once boiling add rice.  Stir once, so rice is spread evenly.  
3. Place chicken pieces on top of rice.  Turn down to lowest heat and cover with lid.  
4. Cook for 20 minutes, or until liquid absorbed.  Add more stock, if liquid absorbs too quickly.  
5. Serve topped with coriander and peanuts, drizzle with soy and lime to taste.  

enter, the fabulous baker boys

The fabulous baker boys.  Not the 1989 Michelle Pfeiffer film.  Two men in the kitchen, making bread.  Awesome!  Everyone loves the smell of freshly baked bread, and what better way for a young man to learn to make it, than with his Dad?  I'm very lucky to have an other half who genuinely loves being in the kitchen.  It makes for a much more interesting meal repertoire, and it means there's another male for the young males of the household to learn from.  And men do tend to cook in a different way that women - more shooting from the hip, wild west style.  Throw it in, stir it up, see what happens.  Then add a little more (especially if it's chocolate chips, or chilli).  

Anyhoo, moving on.  Bread.  It's arguably one of the more important foods in the world.  Right up there with rice and potatoes as a staple in most cultures.  There are a myriad of different types - a seemingly endless array of flavours, shapes, ingredients and uses.  As a side, a holdall (think tortillas), for dunking, for a food ol' sandwich.  For breakfast, for lunch, with dinner - heck, even desserts can include bread!  

Bread fills an spot socially as well, significant beyond its importance as a basic foodstuff.  It plays essential roles in both religious rituals and secular culture.  Its prominence in daily life can be seen reflected in language - it appears linguistically everywhere from proverbs ("know on which side your bread is buttered") to slang ("dough" for money), and even in the basic etymology of words ("company" - from Latin com 'with' + panis 'bread').  

This particular bread recipe comes from my lovely South African sister-in-law Cindy.  She showed the boys how to make it and cook it on the BBQ when we were on a holiday at the beach earlier this year.  It made a beautiful tasting bread, and was incredibly versitile - the first had some herbs through it; the second Kyle and Cindy made in balls, pushed together on the baking tray, to make an easy-pull-apart bread, with each piece stuffed with garlic, herbs and cheese; the third (made by Harry and Kyle just over the weekend) was made into two smaller loaves, spiced with cumin seeds and dried oregano.  Next time I think cumin seeds and dried rosemary are on the cards... 

1.5kg flour (high grade, if you have it) - this makes a lot of bread, half will make enough for most situations

8 g active yeast (make sure this is fresh, or not been sitting for toooooo long in the pantry)

500 ml warm water

3/4 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt 

spices etc, if using 

1. Put flour and salt in large bowl. 
2. Fill cup with warm water, dissolve sugar in it then add yeast. 
3. Once yeast has sunk to the bottom and begun to froth, mix with the flour.  
4. Knead (in the bowl, or on a floured/oiled surface) for 15-20 minutes (it's a good idea to have a couple of you to share this job!)  Oil your hands, so they don't stick to the dough as it forms.  Add more water as necessary. 
5. Clean bowl, lightly oil and place the ball of dough back in it.  Cover with a teatowel and place somewhere warm to rise (I go with the hot water cupboard, or in the oven - turn it on for a few minutes before you need it, then turn off).   Leave it for about an hour.
6. Once risen you can either bake (180 degrees celcius for about 25-30 minutes), or repeat steps 4 and 5 first.  
7. You'll know it's ready to take out of the oven (or BBQ) when you can start to smell it.  It should be a nice golden colour too.  You can brush the top with egg/milk prior to cooking, but it won't matter if you don't.  

You put da lime in da crockpot and heat dem bode up...

How do you say 'fajita'?  It's fageeta mate.  Anyone remember that ad on TV about 15 years ago?  Anyhoo, I love fajitas.  Like an enchilada, but not baked; like a burrito, but without as much salad in them; like a quesadilla, but with less cheese (and not flat!).  And as with most tex-mex foods (the mexican variety of this dish is called arrachera), tasty as hell.  

These ones came along after I saw an idea for slow-cooker fajitas on a Facebook page 'Tasty'.   There is a list of ingredients on there, if you're interested in making your own taco seasoning.  I loved making these because it just looked so colourful in the pot.  And my hands smelled of lime juice for the rest of the afternoon, bonus!  And the best part - they were all done at the end of the day, which meant we could pour a glass of wine, enjoy a really tasty meal, and just relax.  

1/2 onion, sliced (I also used a red spring onion)

2 capsicums, sliced

2 carrots, cut into little pieces

500 g chicken breast, cut in half longways 

taco seasoning (I used Old El Paso)

3 cloves garlic, diced 

tin tomatoes, drained of bulk of liquid

lime 

1. Sprinkle 1/2 of your onion, capsicum and carrot in bottom of crock pot (slow cooker).
2. Add chicken, sprinkle with 1/2 taco seasoning (about 2 tbsp), turn pieces and repeat with remainder of seasoning.  
3. Sprinkle garlic over chicken, pour tomatoes over all.  
4. Layer other half of onion, capsicum and carrot over top of tomatoes.  Squeeze lime juice over.  
5. Cook on high for 3-4 hours.  
6. Remove chicken and cut/shread (chicken cooked longer will shred more than cut, so cook to your preference).  Return chicken to crock pot and simmer on low until ready to serve (not much more than half an hour - turn off and reheat later, if likely to be longer than that).  
7. Assemble on your tortillas with grated cheese, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, refried beans...  

Zucchini bolognese

It's been a long time, shouldn't of left you (left you), without a dope beat to step to...

Aaliyah and Timberland aside, it has been a long time.  3 and a bit months since I last put a post up.  Apologies mes amis, all I can say is that summer holidays were cray cray, and I just wasn't all that much in the kitchen.  

However, back into it people.  And to get things started, I'll introduce you to my newest kitchen toy - spiraliser!  So far I've only used it to make zucchini 'pasta', but the same can be done with carrots, beetroot, and I suppose potatoes and kumara.  I started with zucchini 'cause they're already fairly soft and flexible, so pretty close (even completely uncooked) to cooked pasta.  

I spiralised the zucchini (two medium sized and two small) and laid the lot on a paper towel, to absorb some of the excess water.  When we were ready to eat KB sauted the lot in a little butter.  We served the zucchini on top of the bolognese, so as to retain some of the crunch (it was still more or less raw).  If you wanted an even softer, more cooked 'pasta', you could fry for a bit longer, or even steam it for a bit.  

For the bolognese... 

1 small onion, diced
500 g mince (I used beef)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp pesto (optional, but I had a heap of pesto cubes in the freezer) 
good dash worchester sauce
2 cups beef stock (I like fresh stock, less salty and more flavour)
1 tin tomatoes 

1. Saute the onion in butter.  Add the mince and brown slightly.  
2. Add all other ingredients and bring to the boil.
3. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for a couple of hours, until the liquid has reduced to leave a nice, thick meat sauce.  
4. Serve with pasta, vegetables (as above), and grated cheese.  Buon appetito!!