Tag Archives: dinner

02/04/2013 · 10:53 am

Moving on from March

Moving on from March

Moving on from March

And so here we are, another month down. Where is this year disappearing?

Another month of cooking fabulous, delicious things, without too many failings or freak outs!

Here’s a quick recap of the highlights:

Top 3 sweet treats

  1. Plum tray bake (Mar 2012, p. 66)
  2. White & dark chocolate jaffa swirl cake (Mar 2007, p.93)
  3. New York vanilla cheesecake with blueberries – COVER (Mar 2005, p. 25)

Top 3 easy weeknight dinners

  1. Stir-fried rice with chilli tuna (Mar 2004, p. 72)
  2. Beef and vegetable stir-fry (Mar 2006, p. 40)
  3. Chilli salmon noodle salad with lime & herbs – COVER (Mar 2009, p. 89)

Top 3 cheap and cheerful and vegetarian!!!

  1. Greek bean & silverbeet stew (Mar 2007, p. 138)
  2. Root vegetable & chickpea tagine (Mar 2012, p.70)
  3. Pasta puttanesca (Mar 2003, p. 146)

I feel like I am starting to get my groove on with this whole little challenge now. It feels really comfortable.

Some people have asked me how I go about choosing what I make so as I start a new month, I thought I might give you a brief insight into how I approach each month:

  • In the last week of the month prior, I pull out all of the magazines for the next month. (of which there are twelve)
  • Starting in 2002 I start looking through each magazine and tagging the recipes that catch my eye or appeal to my tastes. I do this fairly quickly, so as not to get too caught up in the stories or other bits and pieces in the magazine. (otherwise you can imagine this would take me a week!)
  • The next step is to write a list of all the recipes I have tagged and where they come from. I do this by year.
  • Once this is complete, this is the list I go to each week to create my menu plan. It is a quick glance system where I can choose a good balance of sweet or savoury, easy or difficult recipes to cook based on my time and other commitments that week. For example, I save complicated or time consuming recipes for the weekend when I have more time.

I hope that this gives you a little insight into how I find the time to cook my family a delicious meal every night.

I would really like to thank each and every one of you who have taken the time to read the blog, leave a comment or like what I am doing.

I am particularly chuffed by how many of you have already signed up to take part in the very first My Delicious Year cook-a-long. In case you are yet to sign up, the recipe and shopping list is out now. Head over to the My Delicious Year facebook page to be kept up to date with what is going on. And mark your calendar for Wednesday 1o April.

I look forward to continuing to share My Delicious Year with you!

X Bree

P.S You can find a full list of what I cooked during March here

2 Comments

Filed under March

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

01/04/2013 · 11:25 pm

April cook-a-long: Recipe reveal

Hello friends,

Here is the moment you have all been waiting for. The details for the April cook-a-long are here.

I have chosen a recipe that I hope you will find easy, fast and affordable.

The possibilities are endless. If you are not particularly fond of prawns, feel free to swap them for something you enjoy. Try chicken or a firm fish fillet or even fried tofu.

Don’t forget that this month’s cook-a-long will take place on Wednesday 10 April.

Once you are finished cooking, take a moment and capture a photo your meal. Post your picture and comments on the My Delicious Year Facebook page or share it on instagram using the hashtag #cookalong and tag @mydeliciousyear.

I can’t wait to see how you all go.

X Bree

2 Comments

Filed under April, Cook-a-long

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

26/03/2013 · 11:45 am

Introducing the My Delicious Year monthly cook-a-long

What is it?

Join in for a once a month cook-a-long. On the first day of each month I will provide you with a recipe and shopping list. The recipe will be affordably priced and of easy to moderate difficulty.

When will it take place? 

The cook-a-long will take place on the second Wednesday of each month. An event will be created on the My Delicious Year Facebook page at the start of each month. Please join the group to stay up to date, and don’t forget to invite your friends to join in.

Where will the cook-a-long take place?

The idea is for you to cook the recipe in the comfort of your own home. Cook the selected recipe for your family, friends, neighbours or someone special. Once you are finished cooking, take a moment and capture a photo your meal. Post your picture and comments on the My Delicious Year Facebook page or share it on instagram using the hashtag #cookalong and tag @mydeliciousyear.

Why a cook-a-long?

One of the main goals I set when starting out on this blogging adventure was to inspire others to cook. The idea behind the cook-a-long is to encourage you to try a new recipe each month by making it accessible to all and as simple as possible. After the cook-a-long we can then come together as a group to talk about the recipe – like a virtual book club, but for recipes.

The first cook-a-long will take place on Wednesday 10 April.

I’d love to hear what you think about this idea and whether you will be participating.

X Bree

4 Comments

Filed under Cook-a-long, March

Tagged as , , , , , ,

20/03/2013 · 11:31 am

Pizza + cake = amazing pizza cake!

“Oooooh, I love a bit of cake. Oooooh, cake. Oooooh, cake. Cake. Cake. Cake. Cake. I’m just one of these people. I come home and I need a piece of cake.” – Marjorie Dawes, Little Britain.

There’s no secret, I do love a bit of cake. I do love a bit of Little Britain too. Eating cake while watching Little Britain? Now you’re talking.

I have been known to be a bit partial to all things sweet when it comes to cake.

  • Honey sponge roll (a classic from my late grandma)
  • Chocolate cake for a crowd (the cake I’d make most weekends when I still lived at home with my parents)
  • No-bake cheesecake (which I perfected, and then somehow forgot how to make, much to my father’s disappointment)

But now, the greatest invention to arise from my kitchen is the pizza cake, the savoury alternative. 

But of course it’s not actually called a pizza cake. It’s really a wonderful, easy, upside-down tomato & basil pie from the March 2007 delicious. magazine. A recipe from Belinda Jeffrey’s.

Clearly my taste buds have changed over time.  Back in 2007 when this recipe was printed, I was not drawn to it nor its author. But now, some six years later, I came across this recipe and knew I had to make it! It was something about the simplicity of the ingredients – tomatoes, basil, cheese. I instantly knew it would be a winner. But what I didn’t realise was how awesome it really was or the endless potential for this cake.

Let’s begin. This cake, in all its rustic beauty, is only as good as the ingredients you use. My suggestion is buy your tomatoes a couple of days before you are ready to use them and leave them on the bench to ripen further. Smell them. If they smell like tomato, use them. I also like to use organic tinned tomatoes. Don’t judge me. I think they are affordable and that you will taste the difference. As for the basil, grow your own. Or not. Basil. Yum. I can almost smell it while I am typing this.

Of course, in the pursuit of shortcuts in the kitchen, I broke all the rules, and chose to ignore Belinda’s carefully written instructions by placing all the “cake” ingredients into the food processor at once. No harm done. Amazing pizza cake!

Once you have carefully sliced your roma tomatoes and made a pretty pattern on the base of the pan you have chosen to use, carefully spoon the tinned tomatoes over the top. Next time I think I will actually mix the basil through the tinned tomatoes rather than sprinkling it on top. I think it will only improve the flavour.

When choosing your pan, don’t do what I did and use a springform pan. Big mistake. All the juicy goodness from the tomatoes kind of oozed out of the bottom of the pan and out into my oven. What a waste. Use a pie dish or something similar, but don’t forget to grease it and line the base with baking paper. Even if it is non-stick.

Spread the cake mixture over the tomatoes and bake in the oven as suggested. Check it after the cooking time is up to make sure it is completely cooked through. Bring it out of the oven, flip it onto your serving plate. Slice it up and devour! Amazing pizza cake!

After consuming more than our fair share of our newfound favourite amazing pizza cake, Mr Picky Palette and I slothed on the couch devising a list of the endless possibilities and potential for improving the already amazing pizza cake. Some of the combinations we thought of to stir through the cake mixture before baking included:

  • shredded ham and pineapple
  • shredded hot salami, sundried tomatoes and olives
  • jalapenos  (Mr Picky Palette’s idea, not for me thanks!)
  • small chunks of fetta and dried oregano
  • anchovies and oregano.

Let it be said that you will see this cake again this month.

When you make this cake it will be the most amazing, mind-blowing, wonderful, easy, amazing pizza cake you have ever tasted!

And I owe it all to Belinda Jeffrey’s. Thank you!

Eat it!

X Bree

Amazing pizza cake!!!

Amazing pizza cake!!!

A wonderful, easy, upside-down tomato & basil pie

Serves 6

delicious. magazine, (Mar 2007, p. 79)

This is one of my great stand-bys when I want something delicious that looks special but doesn’t take forever to make

800g can diced tomatoes
1 ½ cups (225g) self-raising flour
1 tsp dry mustard powder
100g parmesan, freshly grated
50g good cheddar, finely grated
125g cold unsalted butter, chopped
2 eggs
1/3 cup (80ml) milk
A couple of shakes of Tabasco sauce
6 ripe tomatoes (preferably roma), thinly sliced
1/3 cup finely shredded basil
Basil leaves, to serve

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius. Butter a shallow 26cm round ovenproof dish and line the base with buttered baking paper. Set it aside.

Pour canned tomatoes into a sieve over a bowl. Leave to drain for 5-10 minutes. Give it a stir occasionally to make sure as much liquid seeps away as possible.

Meanwhile, whiz flour, mustard and 1 teaspoon of salt in a food processor. Add cheeses and whiz to just combine. Scatter butter over the top and process until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. (if you don’t have a food processor, you can do this in a bowl and rub the butter in by hand.) Tip mixture into a bowl.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and Tabasco. Make a well in the cheese mixture and pour in the egg mixture then stir to make a fairly stiff batter.

Lay the sliced tomatoes in overlapping circles in the base of the buttered dish so the bottom is completely covered. Spread drained tomatoes evenly over the top and sprinkle with the shredded basil. Dollop spoonfuls of the batter over the tomatoes, then, with lightly floured hands,pat it out with your fingers to spread it evenly. (Don’t worry if there are a few little gaps – they will fill out as the pie cooks.) Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pie is risen and golden. (The time will vary a bit depending on how thick your dish is.)

Test it by inserting a fine skewere into the pie, if it comes out clean the pie is ready. Remove teh pie from the oven and leave it to settle in the dish for 5 minutes before inverting it onto a warm serving platter. Mop up any juices that seep out onto the platter and scatter over basil leaves.

1 Comment

Filed under easy, March

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

08/03/2013 · 11:42 pm

This little piggy went in my oven…

Pork. Not something I cook often. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I cooked it. Maybe a bit of mince in a spag bol or a chop to appease Mr Picky Palette’s demands for a taste of his youth. But here I go – pushing my culinary boundaries.

I confess to being a little bit confronted by the 1.5kg of pork shoulder, on the bone, which I purchased from my local meat man. I was a little bit overwhelmed by that kind of porky smell that pork has (funny that!). Fortunately, the recipe I had chosen to make, Katie Quinn Davies Slow-roasted pork & red wine ragu with pappardelle from the March 2013 issue of delicious. magazine, required very little preparation. A good season with salt and pepper. Pop it on a rack. Underneath, in a roasting tray, place a couple of roughly chopped onions, a whole head of peeled garlic, a cup of water and half a bottle of red wine (preferably shiraz). It then goes into a slow oven (140 degrees celcius) for six hours!

This is a recipe you definately want to get started first thing in the morning if you want to eat your dinner sometime before midnight!

Ready to go into the over for 6 hours

Ready to go into the over for six hours

After four hours of cooking, the recipe asks you to put eight large roma tomatoes onto a separate tray in the oven with the pork. My little oven wouldn’t fit another tray so I just added them to the onions and garlic underneath the pork. No harm done. One less tray to wash up though! Win!

I was surprised by how crispy the outside of the pork got even from being cooked at a very low heat. Not sure if this was supposed to happen. Fortunately, a special friend of mine (hello Leo!) had coincidently cooked this same recipe the day before me, so a quick text to her to find out that she too had ended up with crispy pork. Good.

Crispy skinned pork...

Crispy skinned pork…

When the six hours is up, everything comes out of the oven.

The tomatoes, onion and garlic get blitzed in a food processor along with the basil (which I didn’t have – oops! I replaced it with a handful of parsley.) I admit that basil would have tasted better though. Tomato and basil are meant to be together! This tomatoey mixture then goes into a clean saucepan with two tins of canned tomatoes, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, the zest of one lemon, two tablespoons of chopped oregano (from the garden of course!) and the other half of the bottle of wine. It gets simmered for 45 minutes until the sauce is thick.

Once the shoulder of pork is cool enough to handle, shred the meat and discard any skin, fat or bones. I also put aside any meat that was too crispy for a sneaky treat for Mr Picky Palette later. Best wife ever, right?

Pulled pork

Pulled pork

Once the sauce is nice and thick, all the pork goes into the saucepan for a few minutes to heat through.

Red wine ragu ready for the pasta

Red wine ragu ready for the pasta

The recipe called for packet pappardelle. You know me. I made my own pasta using my fool-proof Jamie Oliver basic egg pasta recipe which I’ve shared with you before. There is something about fresh pasta. It just tastes so much better. Do it! Do it! Do it!

Once you’ve cooked the pasta, stir it through the sauce and serve it up with freshly grated parmesan. Delicious!

The finished product

The finished product

But you know the whole time I was shredding the pork all I could think of was crusty bread and creamy coleslaw.

Note to self: next time one decides to spend the whole day with the oven on roasting a shoulder of pork, save some for a sandwich!

X Bree

P.S I lied – I actually have cooked pork before. I just remembered. I roasted a ham last Christmas and the one before that. Obviously not memorable!

slow-roasted pork  & red wine ragu with pappardelle

Serves 6-8

delicious. magazine, (Mar 2013, p. 94)

2 onions, quartered
1 garlic bulb, cloves separated, peeled
1.5kg pork shoulder (bone in)
Olive oil, to drizzle
750ml bottle shiraz
8 large roma tomatoes, halved
1 cup (80g) basil leaves
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs finely grated lemon rind
2 tbs chopped oregano leaves
600g pappardelle* MAKE YOUR OWN! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!
Grated parmesan, to serve

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees celcius.

Scatter the onion and garlic over the base of a large roasting pan. Sit a roasting rack over vegetables and place the pork on the rack. Season well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Pour half of the wine (375ml) and 1 cup (250ml) of water into the base of the pan, over the onion and garlic.

Slow-roast for 6 hours, checking every hour to make sure that the liquid doesn’t fully evaporate (if necessary, add extra water to the pan). I needed to a couple of times.

Place the tomatoes on a baking tray, then season and drizzle with olive oil. Roast with the pork for the final 2 hours of cooking time.

Remove roasting pan and tomatoes from the oven. Place the tomatoes, onion and garlic cloves in a blender, along with the basil. Whiz until a smooth sauce. Place tomato sauce in a large saucepan, along with canned tomatoes, vinegar, lemon zest, oregano and remaining 375ml wine. Season and simmer over medium-low heat for 45 minutes or until well reduced.

Shred the pork, discarding the skin, fat and bones. Add the meat to the saucepan and cook for a further 15 minutes or until reduced and thick.

Meanwhile, cook pappardelle according to packet instructions. Drain and divide pasta among serving bowls. Ladle pork over pasta and scatter with parmesan before serving.

Leave a comment

Filed under budget friendly, March

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

02/03/2013 · 1:56 am

Farewell to February

Some of my February favourites

Some of my February favourites

It’s official. I have made it through the first month of the My Delicious Year challenge! Round of applause please?

In the end I managed 31 recipes in 28 days. Not a bad effort for the first month of the challenge. In all honesty though, it has been a whole lot of fun.

Here’s a quick recap on some of my favourite recipes from the month:

Top 3 desserts

Real strawberry jelly (Feb 2011, p. 44)
Vanilla panna cotta with roasted plums – COVER (Feb 2003, p. 10)
Strawberry & almond crumble with crème fraiche (Feb 2004, p. 81)

Top 3 easy weeknight dinners

Minced chicken with Thai basil (Feb 2006, p.76)
Prawn, zucchini & mint tagliatelle (Feb 2011, p. 52)
Honey lemon chicken wings (Feb 2004, p. 104)

Top 3 fancy weekend dinners

Smoked salmon & pea risoni with a coriander mojo (Feb 2007, p. 80)
Ravioli with roasted pumpkin & herbs (Feb 2002, p. 128)
Roasted vegetable strudel with pesto sauce (Jan/Feb 2002, p. 86)

Top 3 cheap and cheerful

Tuna-stuffed capsicum (Feb 2004, p. 74)
Stir-fried pork and pickled cucumber on rice noodles (Feb 2008, p. 96)
Chicken dumplings in broth (Feb 2005, p. 62)

This whole little project has been good for me. I used to be a disorganised cook, often waiting until mid afternoon  before I would start to think about what I would cook for dinner. Now I sit down at the start of the week and plan my meals out for the week and only shop once or twice.

It has also been good for the rest of the family. B2 and B4 are your usual fussy eaters. But they have been really great. Trying lots of new things. Finding new things that they like. Generally being awesome little dudes – except for the one or two times I have had to spoon feed them or threaten to send them to bed without any dinner!

Even Mr Picky Palette has been awesome. He is the first to remind me that I am a quitter or that I never finish what I start. But I have proved him wrong so far. He happily wolf’s down the food I make, offers his two cents on what I should or shouldn’t have put in it, and then asks for seconds. I’m happy with that…

I would really like to thank each and every one of you that are reading my blog, leaving comments and liking what I am doing. That is really what keeps me going each day, knowing that I have your support. If I have inspired just one of you to try something new, then my job is done! Thank you so much! 

Now that March is underway, I can’t wait to get into some delicious Autumn food! I look forward to continue sharing My Delicious Year with you!

Take care,

X Bree

P.S You can find a full list of what I cooked during February here.

1 Comment

Filed under February

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

25/02/2013 · 1:59 am

Stretching the pennies for a cheap weeknight dinner

I was surprised to receive a bit of backlash during the week about how much money (and time) people assumed I was spending feeding my family on this new “delicious” diet.

The thing is, from Monday through to Friday I am drawn to recipes that are quick and simple to prepare and only require a few ingredients. On the weekends, when I have a bit more time, I like to go all out and try out the more lavish recipes that require more time and more money. The weekend is also the time when I might bake something special for morning tea and try out something a bit extravagant for dessert.

Chicken dumplings in broth

Chicken dumplings in broth

Take for example last week’s Chicken Dumplings in Broth. The list of ingredients were:

250 gm chicken mince
1 garlic clove
1 tbs chopped coriander
1 eggwhite
4 tbs light soy sauce, plus extra to serve
1 L chicken stock
1 lemongrass stem
2.5cm piece ginger
2 small red chillies
2 star anise
2 tbs lime juice
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbs fish sauce
1 /2 bunch garlic chives (which I didn’t use)
chilli bean sauce, to serve

Out of everything on the list, the only things I didn’t already have  in the fridge or pantry was the chicken mince and lemongrass. A quick check of Coles online and 500g chicken mince is currently $5.90 (and you only need half of that) and one bunch of lemongrass is $2.48. I also threw in a few rice noodles to bulk out the meal which are very cheap at my local Asian store. So really, in order for me to put this meal together for the four us, it cost well under $10.

What i’m trying to say is that it doesn’t cost a lot to feed your family fresh, fancy looking food, if that is your thing. Looks can be very deceiving!

Maybe I have Instagram to thank for making my food look fancier than what it really is…

X Bree

P.S You can find the full recipe here.

Whats your family’s favourite cheap, but a little bit fancy, dinner?

6 Comments

Filed under budget friendly, February, low fat

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

18/02/2013 · 1:53 am

Pasta and Panna Cotta – A fancy Sunday night dinner

In our house Sunday night dinners are not flash. They usually consist of scrambled eggs or fridge leftovers. But since I embarked on this cooking extravaganza Sunday nights dinner have been a bit more fancy.

Tonight we took a trip back to 2002 and 2003 and enjoyed Ravioli with roasted pumpkin & herbs and Panna cotta with roasted plums. One word = yum!

I have made fresh pasta before, and in fact, the recipe calls for fresh, shop bought lasagne sheets a la Latina style. But I chose to make my own using my faithful Jamie Oliver basic pasta dough recipe. It’s a simple recipe – 100gm of strong “00” flour to each egg. Make as little or as much as you like. I use my food processor so it is whizzed together in a moment. I make enough for six so I can freeze half. Once you’ve made it a few times it is simple. The hardest part really is the rolling out and getting the texture smooth and silky.

Rolling out the fresh egg pasta

Rolling out the fresh egg pasta

The filling for the ravioli is a simple mix of roasted butternut pumpkin, ricotta, egg yolk, parmesan, toasted pine nuts, fresh herbs (I used sage, basil and thyme) and a pinch of nutmeg (which I forgot – whoops!). I’m not a fan of butternut pumpkin. I find it kind of stringy. I prefer the blue or jap and would probably use that next time. Any herbs will do. Whatever you like to eat. Fresh from your own garden is even better!

The ravioli filling

The ravioli filling

Next is the most difficult part – rolling and filling the ravioli. The secret is not to overfill the ravioli and to make sure that you get all of the air out before you seal each one. I made little round ones because that is the only cutter I had, but you could also cut them by hand into squares or use a fancy crimper cutter. Whatever…

Even little mounds are best

Even little mounds are best

Perfect little packages

Perfect little packages

While you are boiling your ravioli in salted water (4 or 5 minutes until they rise to the surface) you can make the sage flavoured oil by warming your extra virgin olive oil and dropping in a dozen sage leaves till they sizzle and crisp up.

The result is perfect little pillows with a sweet and savoury pumpkin and cheese filling. Really delicious. Give it a go!

The end result

The end result

Now for the panna cotta. Confession! This recipe is SO easy I actually whipped it up 15 minutes before I went to bed on Saturday night. I’m not sure why I thought it would be more difficult. Maybe it’s Masterchef’s fault. Or Matt Preston. You’ve got to get your “wobble” right. Miraculously, I did.

This recipe is NOT low-fat. It consists of cream, cream, vanilla, sugar and more cream. It is very rich, very sweet and very much a sometimes food! But so, so good.  You simply heat the two types of cream, vanilla bean and sugar in a pot and bring it to a simmer and switch it off. Let it cool for a few minutes then add your softened leaf gelatine. Strain it and pour it into little dariole moulds, or if you don’t have them, just pour it into whatever you want to serve it in. Leave them in the fridge over night to set. The recipe said it would make six. I made eight. Any bigger and I think I would have had a sugar convulsion (did I mention this recipe is rich?)

While I was cooking dinner last night I made the roasted plums, which is pretty much that. Plums, sugar, more vanilla bean roasted in a hot oven for about 20 minutes.

The trickiest part of this recipe is getting the panna cotta out of the dariole moulds. The easiest way I found was to run a knife around the edge of the mould to break the seal, dip the mould into warm water for a minute, turn it upside down onto the plate you want to serve it on and give it a little bang. Ta da! Magic! All the little seeds from the vanilla bean have now settled on top of your panna cotta which makes it look pretty. Add a couple of plums and you have a very good-looking dessert.

Vanilla panna cotta with roasted plums

Vanilla panna cotta with roasted plums

These two recipes were published in delicious. magazine more than ten years ago, yet they have not dated a bit. If you want to impress somebody, without going to a whole lot of trouble, you must give them both a go.

However, after such a decadent dinner last night we are one fruit and salad today! Until dinner of course, where I am planning on using the rest of my fresh egg pasta to make another delicious dinner!

X Bree

5 Comments

Filed under February, special occasion

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

14/02/2013 · 2:36 am

Dinner for the kids

February 13 is all about me! T’hat’s right, it’s my birthday! You’d think i’d get the day off cooking, but alas, no.

Mr Picky Palette kindly offered to take me out to a place for grown ups (yay!) while B2 and B4 are left supervised by their Aunty Beck.

But before the grown up fun can commence, I made dinner and dessert for my three lovelies. Thinking something quick and kid friendly I opted for Bill Granger’s honey lemon chicken wings from February 2004 and for a special treat Real strawberry jelly from February 2011.

Chicken legs are very popular in my house. Actually, any food that does not require a knife and fork is pretty popular in my house. Knowing this, I swapped wings for legs and went ahead with making up the honey lemon marinade. Chicken legs go in the oven in their nakedness with a good sprinkle of salt  for 30 minutes at 200 degrees celsius. Then you whip them out. Pour over the marinade, swirl them round and throw them back in the oven for another 20 minutes. During the last 20 minutes I checked on them every 10 minutes and turned them over in the marinade to ensure an even coating of sticky, sweet, savoury, lemon yumminess! The legs do take longer than wings to cook so you just need to keep an eye on them. I cooked them an extra ten minutes, then they were ready to devour. Finger licking goodness!

Honey lemon chicken legs

Honey lemon chicken legs

Honey lemon chicken wings

delicious. magazine Feb 2004: Issue 24, p 104

Serves 8

16 free-range chicken wings, tips removed, jointed (or 6 – 8 legs, I used organic)

1 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup (125ml) lemon juice

3 garlic cloves, crushed

3 tbs (1/4 cup) honey

2 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

Lemon wedges, to serve

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Place chicken in a large baking dish. Toss with oil, season with salt and roast for 30 minutes

Place lemon juice, garlic and honey in a bowl and stir to combine. Pour over chicken and stir to coat well. Cook for another 20 minutes or until tinged golden and cooked through. Garnish with parsley and serve with lemon.

– – –

Up next, jelly. Not just any jelly. Real. Strawberry. Jelly! Jelly where you know exactly what made it go that glorious pink colour. Jelly with only five ingredients, none of which are scary little numbers. Real. Strawberry. Jelly!

Until now, I didn’t realise how simple it was to make jelly. Why hadn’t I done this before? Why on earth, had I given my children green jelly from a packet, that 20 minutes later made them a little crazy? Never again…

This recipe is so versatile. Swap the strawberries for any seasonal fruit. Or any juice in fact. It is after all the juice or flavour of the fruit that you combine with a simple sugar syrup and gelatine that ends up as your jelly. I can’t wait to experiment with my juicer and make apple jelly or carrot jelly or pineapple jelly! My only criticism of this recipe is that it is super sweet (probably why the kids loved it!). The strawberries have a natural sweetness to them when they are really ripe so next time I would definately halve the amount of sugar I used and just double-check the gelatine packet to make sure that my liquid levels match up with the amount of gelatine required (the recipe calls for 3 tsp).

The method for the jelly is lengthy, but is not a true representation of how quickly you can pull this together. Don’t be put off by all the words. I had the mixture made and ready to eat in about 4 hours (including setting time.)

Fortunately, there was one left over, so I am off to enjoy it now. Jelly for lunch? Yes please! It is Valentine’s Day after all, and this is my gift to myself.

X Bree

Real strawberry jelly

Real strawberry jelly

Real strawberry jelly

delicious. magazine Feb 2011: Issue 101, p 144

3 x 250g punnets ripe strawberries, hulled

180g caster sugar

1 tbs lemon juice

3 tsp powdered gelatine

300ml thickened cream, lightly whipped

Halve 500g strawberries. Place the sugar and 1 1/2 cups (375ml) water in a large pan over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes until slightly reduced. Add lemon juice and halved berries to the pan, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until berries are soft. Carefully transfer berry mixture to a fine sieve set over a bowl, and stand for 40 minutes or until most of the liquid has drained from the berries. (Don’t push down on the berries or the jelly will be cloudy.) Discard solids.

Return the berry syrup to the pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until hot but not boiling. Transfer 1/2 cup (125ml) hot syrup to a large bowl, then sprinkle over gelatine and stand for 2 minutes. Whisk to completely dissolve gelatine, then stir in the remaining syrup. Transfer to a jug and chill for 20-30 minutes, stirring regularly, until jelly is thick, but not set.

Pour the jelly into four 150ml serving glasses and return to the fridge for a further 10-15 minutes until starting to firm up.

Meanwhile, slice the remaining berries.

Gently press most of the berry slices into the jelly – being careful not to disturb the jelly too much. Return to the fridge for 6 hours to set. (Jellies can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days at this point.)

Just before serving, spoon a dollop of whipped cream over each jelly, then top with remaining berries and serve.

1 Comment

Filed under family friendly, February

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

11/02/2013 · 12:05 pm

Monday night dinner, fast and fresh

These are the kind of dinners I like to cook. You know the ones? It’s Monday night. Fridge is near empty after the weekend. Too tired to go shopping. What to cook? Enter Minced chicken with Thai basil. And it’s low-fat!

It turns out my fridge was emptier than I first thought. The basil I had bought on the weekend had seen better days so I substituted it for some of that herb in a tube stuff. No harm done. The lettuce I bought seemed to be flood affected and was in no way going to form the perfect little cups it was supposed to (a la san choy bow style). So in the end I formed a kind of warm salad.

Minced chicken with Thai basil

Minced chicken with Thai basil

The lettuce is a crucial ingredient, don’t be tempted to replace it or leave it out. The combination of fish sauce, oyster sauce and kecap manis makes the mix really salty and the lettuce somehow cuts through that. It also benefits from the addition of the (optional) jasmine rice. I stirred it through the chicken mince mixture which helped bulk out the meal.

Of all people, B4 proclaimed dinner “yum”. I was shocked as he is always the first to complain when there is visible green things in his dinner (in this case, thinly slice kaffir lime leaves). He must have been hungry!

This is a cheap, quick, family friendly meal. Try it.

X Bree

 

Leave a comment

Filed under February, low fat, Monday night

Tagged as , , , , , , ,