My aim here is just to keep track of the recipes I have invented along with those I have tried from around the world. It’s also a place for me to keep track of the many different sites I find along the way that I find helpful in learning to further my cooking ability.

After many years I have decided that food should not only look good but should also be very tasty. So I intend to learn to make my food not only look great but taste great also.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Pork with Celery in Egg and Lemon Sauce - Greek



INGREDIENTS
  • 1-1.25 kg lean boneless pork, or 4 medium-sized pork chops
  • 1 large head of celery
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely sliced
  • 600 ml hot water
  • salt and white pepper
    Avgolemono Sauce
  • eggs
  • 1 tablespoon cornflour diluted in 3 tablespoons cold water
  • lemons
METHOD

Rinse the meat and drain. Discard the root end of the celery, separate into stalks, trim and rinse individually under cold running water. Using the sharp point of a knife, dislodge any suspicion of grit in between its ribbed back. Cut the celery into 5 cm pieces, using its leaves as well. Drop the celery into salted boiling water in a large saucepan, about 22-25 cm and boil for 5 minutes, then drain and keep aside. In the same saucepan, heat the oil and sautee the meat and then the onion. Neither should get brown but just be slightly transparent. Add the hot water, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the meat is tender. Season with salt and white pepper, add the celery and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the celery is very tender. Turn the heat off and let it stand for at least 5 minutes before you add the sauce.
Prepare the Avgolemono Sauce - egg and lemon sauce. Pour it slowly all over the meat, rotating the saucepan at the same time. Put back on a very low heat for 5 minutes only, in order to cook the cornflour and thicken the sauce, but on no account let it boil.
Serve with fresh green salad, fresh bread and, if you have a large appetite, with mashed or roasted potatoes.

Reference: http://www.greek-recipe.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article105

Greek Baked Vegetables



INGREDIENTS
METHODClean and chop the eggplants, the zucchini, the peppers and the potatoes in pieces. Mash the tomatoes and chop the onions. Add all the above in a deep pan, add salt, pepper, parsley and olive oil and bake for about 1 1/2 hr in medium oven (120 C).

Reference: http://www.greek-recipe.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article31b

Bahamas Grilled Fish



Ingredients



  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 tbsp
  • fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
  • 1 Scotch bonnet pepper seeded and thinly sliced
  • Four 6 - 8 ounce fish fillets
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

  1. Combine the olive oil with the garlic, lime juice, ginger and scotch bonnet in a mixing bowl.
  2. Add the fish fillets and turn to coat them well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  3. Light a grill and remove the fillets from the marinade and scrape off most of the garlic and ginger pieces.
  4. Season the fish with salt and pepper and cook over grill

Malaysian Mango Chicken




Ingredients:
8 oz skinless and boneless chicken thigh (breast or leg), cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 small onion, quartered
1/2 small red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1/2 small green bell pepper, slivered into 1-inch lengths
1/2 medium ripe green mango, peeled, pitted and slivered
Marinade:
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 dash of black pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Sauce:
2-3 tablespoons tomato puree, or tomato ketchup
2 tablespoon chili sauce (Lingham or Maggi)
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon A1 Steak sauce
1 teaspoon honey
2-3 tablespoons mango juice, pineapple juice, or water
1/2-1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, balsamic or black vinegar
sugar and salt to taste
Method:
1. Marinate chicken pieces with Marinade ingredients for 10 minutes.
2. Mix the Sauce ingredients in a bowl. Adjust sugar and other Sauce ingredients to your liking. Set sauce mixture aside.
3. Heat up a little oil in a wok, stir-fry onions, red and green bell peppers until fragrant and slightly charred. Dish up and set aside.
4. Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok, toss in marinated chicken pieces, mango slivers and give it a quick swirl for 1 minute or until the chicken gets a bit sticky on the wok. Cover wok and simmer on medium-high heat for another 2 minutes to draw the mango juice out.
5. Remove wok cover, add in the sauce mixture, stir well and bring it to a quick boil. Cover wok, turn heat to medium-low and let it simmer until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
6. Toss in items from step 3., stir well, salt and sugar to taste. Dish up and serve with steamed white rice.

Simple Rice


2 cups Jasmine rice
2 cups water
1 spring onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
1/2 cm cub ginger grated
1 clove garlic crushed
2 tablespoons oil

Place rice and water into rice cooker  and turn on or boil 1 liter of salted water on stove add rice and cook for 12 minutes, drain, rinse and cool.

Add oil to wok and heat. Fry spring onions, carrot, ginger and garlic until the onion becomes transparent.

Add rice and stir to coat with oil.

Serve immediately

Reference: Roses original recipes

Chicken & Peppers done in Oyster Sauce



500g Chicken wings or drum sticks
4 spring onions chopped
1 clove garlic sliced
1 cm cube root ginger grated
1 green or red pepper sliced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 table spoons of oil

1. Pluck any left over feathers from chicken and place in a mixing bowl..
2 Add the ginger, garlic, spring onions, soy sauce and sherry to the mixing bowl and stir it well. Be
   sure to coat all the chicken and then leave to marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in the wok and then add the chicken marinade and stir-fry for 15 minutes.
4. Add the green or red pepper and oyster sauce and stir-fry for a further 4 - 5 minutes.
5. Serve immediately.

Serves 2 - 4

Reference: Roses original recipes

Stuffed Green Peppers



1 tablespoon oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Piece root ginger, finely chopped
250g (8 oz) minced pork
1 spring onion, chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
grated rind of 1 lemon
4 green peppers

Heat the oil in wok or frying pan, add the garlic and fry until lightly browned. Lower the heat, add the ginger and pork and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the spring onions, celery and lemon rind, mix well and coo for 30 seconds. Cool slightly.

Cut the peppers into quarters and remove the core and seeds. Divide the mixture between the pepper quarters, pressing it well into the cavity.

Arrange the pepper quarters in an oiled ovenproof dish. Cook in a preheated moderately hot oven, 200C (400F), for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender. Transfer to a warmed serving dish and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6

Reference: Margaret Fultons Book of Chinese Cooking pg 83

When I made this dish I cut the peppers into halves instead. I found them to be really yummy but they do have a very strong pepper taste.

Fruity Yogurt Smoothies

Original Recipe

200g tub Australian Fruit Yogurt
1/2 cup Australian milk
1/2 cup chopped Strawberries

1. Blend ingredients together until smooth.
2 Pour into tall glasses or cups and serve with a straw.

Reference: Healthy family recipes for growing kids

Julz and Rose's choice of fruity



200g tub Australian Fruit Yogurt
1/2 cup Australian milk
1 Mango chopped

1. Blend ingredients together until smooth.
2 Pour into tall glasses or cups and serve with a straw.

Mini Vegetable Quiches



We used vegetables such as carrots, pumpkin and capsicum for this recipe.

1 Sheet puff pastry thawed
1/2 cup finely chopped vegetables
1/4 cup Australian thickened cream
1/4 cup grated Australian cheddar cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce, optional

1. cut pastry into twelve 6cm x 7cm rectangles and line 12 buttered shallow patty tins.
2. combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and spoon into the pastry cases.
3. Bake at 210 C for 20 minutes or until cooked and golden

Reference: Healthy family recipes for growing kids pg 10

Julz and I used the veggies listed above and found these so simple and easy to make. They work wonders for simple quick snacks later and refrigerate well.

Creamy Spinach Fettucine



Serves 2 adults and 2 children

400g Fettucine
10g Australian Butter
2 Spring Onions, Chopped
375ml can Australian Evaporated Milk
2 Teaspoons seeded mustard
1 Teaspoon cornflour dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
3 cups (120g) baby spinach leaves, washed shredded Australian Parmesan Cheese, for serving

1. Add pasts to a large pot of rapidly boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes or until pasts is 'al dente'. Drain.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan and cook spring onions for 1 minute.
3. Add milk and mustard and cook stirring until mixture boils
4. Add cornflour paste and cook stirring until thickened. Stir in spinach and pasta and serve with
    cheese.

Reference : Healthy family recipes for growing kids pg 16

This dish turned out really yummy but we found it had to be eaten straight away. Once reheated it seamed to loose its creaminess.

Crisp Veggie Noddles


Ingredients:

Veggies

100 grams Champignon
1 Bok Choy Chopped
1 Small Brown Onion Chopped
I Celery Stick Chopped
I Small Carrot Chopped
Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Heat oil in work and stir fry all veggies till they become just soft. Them put them to the side.


Sauce


2 Cloves of Garlic Chopped
1/2 CM Cub Ginger Chopped
1 Pinch Hoyt's Hot Dried Chilles Crushed.
1 Teaspoon Ayam Malaysian Nyonya Curry Paste
1 Teaspoon Ayam Oster Sauce

Mix all content together as a paste and put to the side.


Other ingredients


1 Liter of Water
1 Teaspoon Turmeric


Putting it all together


1 Now in a clean wok at 1 Liter of water and bring it to boil.
2 Drop a teaspoon of Hoyts Gourment Spice Turmeric in the water.
3 Add 200 grams  Chang's Authentic Asian Cooking Egg Noodles. Cook for 4 minutes or until tender.
4 Strain part of the water leaving about 3 cm still in the wok.
5 Add the sauce and stir it through  cook for a further 2 minutes.
6 Add the veggies and stir them through. Cover and simmer for a further 5 minutes then serve.

Serves 2 main meals or 4 entrees

Reference: Roses original recipes