I love Garlic. Almost as much as I love Creamed Rice. But Garlic would be my top savoury love. I always use heaps in my cooking (probably why I don't get sick often) and could always use more. I grew up with my Dad eating pickled Garlic, straight from the jar. My poor Mum. I love Garlic a LOT, but not that much.
Pretty close though.
There are quite a few Garlic Chicken variation recipes in Seasons. I am so excited at this. I go through episodes where I just crave garlic, so I just had to try this one out.
Oh wow. It's so simple. Cut up Chicken - check. Cut up some Parsley - check. Crushed Garlic - chec....wait. No. I don't have a garlic crusher.
And I refuse to buy one. I don't mind that chefs use it, I completely understand the easiness of having a garlic crusher and if I'd never had one before, I'd go out and buy one. But I have. All I can say is, it's all well and good for a chef to use a garlic crusher. They don't have to clean the damn thing.
So I finely cut up my garlic instead.
Cook the chicken - check. Add the garlic and parsley - check. Breathe in deeeeeep and absorb the aroma garlic creates in my tiny little kitchen - check! Again, this recipe suggest serving it simply, but again I'm having it for dinner and need my veggies. So I chop up some Leek and Zucchini and after removing the Chicken from the pan, I quickly fry off the veggies in the remaining garlic fumes, with a little splash of Lemon Juice to help get all the yummy garlic flavour off the bottom of the pan. I eat it with the veggies and some polenta. No, I didn't serve it. Hubby was at footy training, so I just ate (inhaled) it myself.
And enjoyed every Garlicy minute of it. Definitely a recipe I will be making again. And again. And again......
And again!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Garlic and Mustard Beef Skewers.
I made these a while ago and just haven't gotten around to blogging about them. I have free time now but am on holiday, so I don't have the photos.
I'll up load them for you all when I get home!
Garlic and Mustard Beef kebabs with Aioli. These were really great. The recipe, I thought would be predictable, but it included Red Wine Vinegar, which I wouldn't have picked. When cooked I really think the vinegar helped mellow out the spiciness (yes, that's a word) of the mustard. I absouletly love mustard seeds though, so I wouldn't have minded anyway, but my 16 month old does mind.
I used some fresh beautiful grain-fed Rib Eye Fillets from out local butcher for this recipe and oh-mi-gosh, they were so so so so good. The meat was marinated in the garlic and vinegar and mustard mix for an hour, while I made the Aioli, before being threaded onto skewers and grilled on my George Foreman. The recipe suggests serving it with Lavish Bread, but as we were having them for dinner I whipped up some mashed Sweet Potato instead. Matched like a dream.
The aioli was a basic mayo recipe, egg yolks, garlic, a few other things, olive oil. It came together in my mixer great and I bottled it and refrigerated it for when the skewers were ready.
We forgot to eat it. But, I did serve it a few nights later with some basic grilled Chicken. Yum.
I'll up load them for you all when I get home!
Garlic and Mustard Beef kebabs with Aioli. These were really great. The recipe, I thought would be predictable, but it included Red Wine Vinegar, which I wouldn't have picked. When cooked I really think the vinegar helped mellow out the spiciness (yes, that's a word) of the mustard. I absouletly love mustard seeds though, so I wouldn't have minded anyway, but my 16 month old does mind.
I used some fresh beautiful grain-fed Rib Eye Fillets from out local butcher for this recipe and oh-mi-gosh, they were so so so so good. The meat was marinated in the garlic and vinegar and mustard mix for an hour, while I made the Aioli, before being threaded onto skewers and grilled on my George Foreman. The recipe suggests serving it with Lavish Bread, but as we were having them for dinner I whipped up some mashed Sweet Potato instead. Matched like a dream.
The aioli was a basic mayo recipe, egg yolks, garlic, a few other things, olive oil. It came together in my mixer great and I bottled it and refrigerated it for when the skewers were ready.
We forgot to eat it. But, I did serve it a few nights later with some basic grilled Chicken. Yum.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Coconut Rice and Vanilla Honey
I love creamed rice. Love, love, LOVE creamed rice. I can't express how much I love it. If i were ever on Death Row (which would probably be for eating too much chocolate!) my last meal would be creamed rice.
I grew up with my Dad's creamed rice. It's my absolute favourite dessert, any time of the year. Hot, straight off the stove with cold, cold ice cream is the best way to eat it. Every birthday I'd get a lovely big bowl of creamed rice, which always followed Dad's Pumpkin Soup. The best two things that Dad can cook, well in my opinion anyway. So when I found this recipe, I had to try it. I knew straight away it would be completely different, but I don't care. It's creamed rice.
The big difference between my Dad's recipe and the Season's one is that Dad uses plain white rice and the recipe I was following uses Arborio, or Risotto, rice. And, the absorbtion method is again different. Arborio rice is renown for being difficult to cook with, having to stand there and stir for what feels like hours upon hours. Season's says to add the rice and water all at once and let come to the boil. Ok. Easy. Gives my arm a break too. (when Dad cooks it he brings milk and sugar to the boil then add's the white rice to cook it)
Once boiling, it only takes 10 min for the water to absorb, which is a lot quicker than I anticipated, I add the sugar and coconut milk and let cook for a few more minutes then its done. Huh? Done already? Seriously? I'm loving this recipe.....!
It's served with Vanilla Honey, which is just a matter of slicing a fresh vanilla bean, removing the seeds then adding them and the bean to 1/2 a cup of honey and heating gently so the vanilla infuses. Some sliced stone fruit and I added some fresh blueberries.
I loved it. So simple. The coconut in the rice wasn't over powering but the honey could easily take over the dish, so only a little is needed. Eating it warm made it seem quite rich but cold the next day and it seemed to have mellowed out a lot. And I ate all the leftovers myself.
I grew up with my Dad's creamed rice. It's my absolute favourite dessert, any time of the year. Hot, straight off the stove with cold, cold ice cream is the best way to eat it. Every birthday I'd get a lovely big bowl of creamed rice, which always followed Dad's Pumpkin Soup. The best two things that Dad can cook, well in my opinion anyway. So when I found this recipe, I had to try it. I knew straight away it would be completely different, but I don't care. It's creamed rice.
The big difference between my Dad's recipe and the Season's one is that Dad uses plain white rice and the recipe I was following uses Arborio, or Risotto, rice. And, the absorbtion method is again different. Arborio rice is renown for being difficult to cook with, having to stand there and stir for what feels like hours upon hours. Season's says to add the rice and water all at once and let come to the boil. Ok. Easy. Gives my arm a break too. (when Dad cooks it he brings milk and sugar to the boil then add's the white rice to cook it)
Once boiling, it only takes 10 min for the water to absorb, which is a lot quicker than I anticipated, I add the sugar and coconut milk and let cook for a few more minutes then its done. Huh? Done already? Seriously? I'm loving this recipe.....!
It's served with Vanilla Honey, which is just a matter of slicing a fresh vanilla bean, removing the seeds then adding them and the bean to 1/2 a cup of honey and heating gently so the vanilla infuses. Some sliced stone fruit and I added some fresh blueberries.
I loved it. So simple. The coconut in the rice wasn't over powering but the honey could easily take over the dish, so only a little is needed. Eating it warm made it seem quite rich but cold the next day and it seemed to have mellowed out a lot. And I ate all the leftovers myself.
Birchier Muesli
Looking through 'Season's' I'm grateful to find a breakfast recipe. I am a big fan of toasted muesli and have never made my own before so I was keen to give it a go.
The recipe supplied is quite simple and neat, so I add my own tweaks to it. It's a great base recipe, of oats, almonds, apricots, pepita's, dried apple and honey, so I add sunflower seeds, LSA (ground linseed, sunflower seeds and almonds) and cranberries, just for a little extra sweetness. I cut up the dried apple and mix it through rather than roasting them as whole slices. Mixing it all up in the tray with the honey, I leave little clumpy bits so they cook together and I'll have little crunchy clusters in my cereal. Tip for the new cooks: spray your measuring cup for the honey with some cooking oil, it will slide right out!
The original recipe cooks the muesli for 15 min, but I leave it in for an extra 10 so it's really golden, just the way I like it. I think there's enough to last me about a week and a half, more than the average $5 - 7 box of decent toasted muesli, so it's definitely a recipe I'll be cooking over and over. I love it's simpleness, so I can add my own flavours to make it just the way I like.
What do you make for breakfast?
The recipe supplied is quite simple and neat, so I add my own tweaks to it. It's a great base recipe, of oats, almonds, apricots, pepita's, dried apple and honey, so I add sunflower seeds, LSA (ground linseed, sunflower seeds and almonds) and cranberries, just for a little extra sweetness. I cut up the dried apple and mix it through rather than roasting them as whole slices. Mixing it all up in the tray with the honey, I leave little clumpy bits so they cook together and I'll have little crunchy clusters in my cereal. Tip for the new cooks: spray your measuring cup for the honey with some cooking oil, it will slide right out!The original recipe cooks the muesli for 15 min, but I leave it in for an extra 10 so it's really golden, just the way I like it. I think there's enough to last me about a week and a half, more than the average $5 - 7 box of decent toasted muesli, so it's definitely a recipe I'll be cooking over and over. I love it's simpleness, so I can add my own flavours to make it just the way I like.
What do you make for breakfast?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Sponge Kisses with Cream
For Valentines Day I thought it only fitting that I make something that's titled 'Kisses'.
Sponge Kisses with Cream, a very simple sponge recipe that's easily whipped up in my Mix-master, baked in rounds and sandwiched together with some thick cream. My husband loved it, but then again, he loves anything with cream. I found it a bit lacking. I could've added a bit more vanilla extract to the mix. Then a friend suggested some lemon zest, which would've been very nice as well. Or mixing somethig through the cream too. Either way, they were very nice kisses. And kisses is what you need on Valentines Day.
Sponge Kisses with Cream, a very simple sponge recipe that's easily whipped up in my Mix-master, baked in rounds and sandwiched together with some thick cream. My husband loved it, but then again, he loves anything with cream. I found it a bit lacking. I could've added a bit more vanilla extract to the mix. Then a friend suggested some lemon zest, which would've been very nice as well. Or mixing somethig through the cream too. Either way, they were very nice kisses. And kisses is what you need on Valentines Day.
X X X X X X
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Promise!
I promise I've been cooking!! Please don't think I started the challenge then left it hanging there....waiting to be eaten.
Last night I cooked some yummy yummy 'Kisses'. Just right for Valentines Day. I promise to share more about them with you shortly. Tomorrow even. Right after I catch up on some much needed sleep........
Promise!
Last night I cooked some yummy yummy 'Kisses'. Just right for Valentines Day. I promise to share more about them with you shortly. Tomorrow even. Right after I catch up on some much needed sleep........
Promise!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Fig and Goats Cheese Tart
Okay, so I don't have a tart tin. I'm improvising. I guess you could say I'm cooking my 'interpretation' of Donna Hay's dishes. Well, I'm trying to anyway.
Fig and Goats Cheese Tart. Do you know how hard it is to get a fig where I live? Impossible. I was lucky enough to be visiting Emerald last week and pounced on the best fig I could find in Wollies, as there's guaranteed to be...uh....NONE here. Ever. So, I had my beautiful ripe fig and wanted to do something beautiful with it. I love figs. I got very close to cutting it up and making my cardboard-tasting-gluten-free cereal a whole lot better, but I resisted so I could bring you my Tart.
As I mentioned, I don't have a tart tin. Well, actually I do. But it's a great big ceramic one and this recipe calls for small individual ones, so I used a ramekin instead. Lined with greaseproof paper so I could lift the tart out effortlessly. Oh, and store bought Shortcrust pastry is a godsend with a clingy toddler. I was so grateful to Donna that she'd put that in her recipe!
This recipe is rather easy and a great summer lunch (or dinner, as was my case). Pastry, fig (cut in half to show off the rose coloured inside), goats cheese (I used goat's Feta, as it was the only goats cheese I could find) then whisk some eggs, cream, chives (or parsley, in my case) and more cheese. Mmmmm....cheese.
The end product is delicious. The crisp pastry contrasts so well with the creamy cheese filling. I love the flavor of the Fig and Goats Cheese together, they compliment each other so well. Definitely one to make again.
Fig and Goats Cheese Tart. Do you know how hard it is to get a fig where I live? Impossible. I was lucky enough to be visiting Emerald last week and pounced on the best fig I could find in Wollies, as there's guaranteed to be...uh....NONE here. Ever. So, I had my beautiful ripe fig and wanted to do something beautiful with it. I love figs. I got very close to cutting it up and making my cardboard-tasting-gluten-free cereal a whole lot better, but I resisted so I could bring you my Tart.
As I mentioned, I don't have a tart tin. Well, actually I do. But it's a great big ceramic one and this recipe calls for small individual ones, so I used a ramekin instead. Lined with greaseproof paper so I could lift the tart out effortlessly. Oh, and store bought Shortcrust pastry is a godsend with a clingy toddler. I was so grateful to Donna that she'd put that in her recipe!
This recipe is rather easy and a great summer lunch (or dinner, as was my case). Pastry, fig (cut in half to show off the rose coloured inside), goats cheese (I used goat's Feta, as it was the only goats cheese I could find) then whisk some eggs, cream, chives (or parsley, in my case) and more cheese. Mmmmm....cheese.
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