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    Tuesday, January 31, 2017

    Simple Chicken Soup - Cost Virtually nothing - Waste Not Want Not

    I am in the process of making a Korean Barbecue Dish
    It consists of Chicken Thighs Marinated for a few hours then onto the grill

    The thighs I bought, had a bone in them
    So I removed it. Of course I cant throw anything away, so I threw the 3 little bones into a pot with some Vegeta Powdered Stock and about a litre of water
    Brought to the boil and simmered for about 20 minutes

    Meanwhile,  using what I had in the fridge and freezer, I chopped an onion, 2 sticks of celery
    Added them to the pot. In the freezer, I always have Frozen Corn and Peas
    Grabbed a good handful of them both
    I also have in the pantry, Asian Egg Noodles

    I popped the corn in with the onions and celery, simmered them for about 15 minutes.
    Throw in one little nest of Egg Noodles
    Bring back to the boil
    Swirl them around with a fork to separate
    Simmer for 3 minutes
    And at the last moment a good handful of frozen peas

    Another couple of minutes so that the peas are just cooked

    Tip into the bowl and serve
    Lunch is served



    Monday, January 30, 2017

    Spicy Qunioa Coated Fish- with Roasted Sweet Potato- Dont forget the leftovers!!! #grainfree

    Once again thanks to Donna Hay and Bon Appetit for this recipe
    I'm a bit philosophically anti Quinoa...as I am about the Term Super Foods and other..."Let's be
    Over Healthy" Food Fads
    It's the hype that bores me also I had to chase all over town to buy these flakes!!!
    Luckily it wasn't a hot hot day.
    Meanwhile there are some very good uses for all these foods and I love eating ALL beautiful produce
    AND I do

    On my Grain Free "feed the mob" week, I found this recipe of coating Fish with Quinoa Flakes.
    It was very delicious and I may even... in fact I will... do it again
    Served with Spicy Roasted Kumera (sweet potato)
    A winner

    Ingredients
    1 teaspoon ground cumin
    2 teaspoons chili flakes
    1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
    1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
    Cracked black pepper
    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    2 cups quinoa flakes
    1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
    2 eggs
    4  snapper fillets
    1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

    Mayonnaise and lime wedges, to serve


    Preheat oven to 200C
    Place the cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of the chili flakes and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a bowl
    and mix to combine.
    Place the sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and
    Sprinkle with half the salt mixture, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the oil.
    Roast, turning halfway, for 20 minutes or until golden.
    Place the quinoa, lime zest, remaining chili flakes, salt and pepper in a bowl
    and mix to combine.
    Place the eggs in a bowl and whisk to combine.       
    Heat the remaining oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
    Dip the fish into the egg and press into the quinoa mixture to coat. 
    Cook for 2–3 minutes on each side or until golden and cooked through.
    Serve the fish and potatoes with the remaining salt mixture,
    the parsley, mayonnaise and lime wedges.

    So not to forget the Leftovers... which we had, as I had been very generous, with the amount of fish that I had bought

    Fish Cakes for lunch. Double Quinoa Use!
    Yes in fact, I suggest,  cook excess so that you have enough to make these little gems
    So so tasty

    Hard to give exact amounts but as a rule of thumb, I would suggest
    Equal amounts of potatoes and fish and enough egg to bind

    Crumbed Fish
    Potatoes, peeled cubed
    Olive oil
    Parsley finely chopped 2-3 tablespoons
    Egg
    Sea Salt and Freshly ground Black Pepper
    Quinoa Flakes

    Oil for frying

    Cook the potatoes in salted water and mash roughly with a little olive oil
    Meanwhile flake remaining crumbed fish and
    Add to potatoes
    Add parsley and beaten egg
    Season to taste

    Meanwhile roll into balls and dip into Quinoa Flakes
     Place oil in medium hot pan and cook Fish Cakes, till Golden all round
     While Dan cooks
    Games are being played

     Serve with a nice green fresh salad

      Definitely a keeper

















    Friday, January 27, 2017

    Zucchini Noodles - Perfect Replacment for Pasta - #grainfree

    Continuing on the Theme of Grain Free, I didn’t want to just have meat and vege, fish and
    vege. or boringly "Just Salad" on its own, so I looked around for some interesting ideas.
    Donna Hay had this recipe for Zucchini Noodles using Chili Tuna for your protein
    Haven't had canned Tuna for  a while and it was good.  This Tuna packed a lunch
    However I think this dish can be used with any protein. 
    In fact you will see further down, what we did with it, in the following week

    ¼ Cup (60ML) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    3 Cloves of Garlic thinly sliced
    2 Tablespoons Capers Drained
    2 Teaspoons of grated Lemon Zest
    6 Medium Zucchini Thinly sliced lengthwise with a julienne peeler

    Or a Spirializer or finely cut. they need to look like noodles
    2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
    ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
    ¼ cup dill sprigs
    2 cups Rocket leaves
    2 X 185 gms tins of Chili Tuna
    Freshly ground black pepper
    Toasted Pistachio Nuts, to serve


    First I have to mention my julienne peeler
    Love it
    Just slide it down the vegetable
    and Voila
    Noodles
    Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat,
    add the garlic, capers and lemon zest
    and cook for 1–2 minutes or until lightly golden and crispy.
    Add the zucchini, lemon juice and salt.
    Cook for 1 -2 minutes or until heated through.
    Remove from the heat,
    Place the rocket on a platter
    Pour noodles over the top
    Sprinkle the nuts and dill
    Divide between bowls
    Top with the tuna and serve
    Serves 4.


    SO the following week in my time at Pauanui on the Coromandel Coast
    So beautiful down there
    The kids practising their dance to the very popular and very annoying song from the Moana Movie
    "Shiny", we heard it a lot.

     Up she goes
    These Noodles certainly needed another outing
    This time served with Barbecued Chicken Breast
    We also blended the noodles with some packaged coleslaw
    Served with sliced Chicken Breast
    and some tasty Croutons over the top
    for a bit of extra Crunch
    These noodles are so good, I have been making them even just for me on my own
    Perfect





    Chicken, Avocado and Cabbage Salad #GrainFree

    It's holiday time, and I had two wonderful weeks away with my family
    First week was spent in Leigh, north of Auckland
    An amazing view from the deck

    Of course we all went shopping for food
    The fridge was full
    This was going to be an Almost Grain Free week
    Some of us had toast for breakfast, others omlets
    But generally the rest of day was without Grain.
    I did a bit of research and found some interesting recipes
    Making sure we were all satisfied
    You might notice,. there was no shortage of alcohol
    What is a holiday without wine?
    Anyway I digress.
    Paleo Pete has published this recipe of a Chicken Salad
    I had a trial run on New Years Eve for my friends
    Served it with my Herbed Rice, Tomato and Feta Dish
    Click here for the recipe

    1/2 a green cabbage, shredded
    1 ripe avocado, stone removed, diced
    1 roast chicken, removed from bones shredded or chopped
    3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
    3 tablespoons lemon juice
    A good handful mixed herbs, torn (tarragon, parsley and chervil)
    Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
    2 tablespoons almonds, toasted and chopped

    Roast the chicken have a look here for the best roast chicken
    Or buy one from the supermarket, your choice

    Place cabbage in a large bowl, add 1/2 the chopped herbs
    Mash the avocado slightly to a creamy and slightly chunky texture
    Add to the bowl with the roast chicken, olive oil and lemon juice 

    Season well with salt and freshly cracked pepper.
    Give it a good toss through so the avocado dresses the salad evenly.
    Cover and chill
    When you are ready to serve
    Lay salad out on a platter
    Dress with almonds and extra herbs
    It was very nice but in Leigh we changed the format
    Used red cabbage
    and served the salad without the chicken and served it separately
    And to spice it and bulk it up, we made a salad of Roasted pumpkin, barbecued corn, with some spring onions and a French Dressing
    Delicious
     More Grain Free recipes to follow




    Tuesday, January 03, 2017

    Jacques Pepin’s Monkfish on a Bed of Ratatouille

    The first time I cooked Monkfish, I don’t know what I did...but it was not pleasant, in fact, so bad
    I  threw it out. Whoops, what a waste
    But recently, I saw some particularly nice Monkfish filets at the Fish Market
    Time to try it again
    Also Monkfish is a reasonably priced fish, that's a bonus
    My hero Jacques Pepin, had this recipe in his Essential Pepin Book

    He roasted the filet, well what a difference, it was beautiful

    Studded with garlic and roasted in some unsalted butter. Yum
    Once again...very simple and siting on a bed of Ratatouille.
    Can’t get much better than that
    Perfect for the Summer, when all these vegetables are all around us
    These quantities for 6 people 
    For the Ratatouille

    2 tablespoons olive oil
    2 cups diced onions
    3 cups 2.5 cm diced Courgettes
    3 cups 2.5 cm diced Eggplant
    1 large Yellow pepper large dice
    3 cups quartered tomatoes
    1 tsp fresh Oregano  (I used dried)
    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
    1 teaspoon grated orange rind

    For the Monkfish
    I like to supply about 150  - 200 gms per person
    So it’s up to you how much you buy
    The tail pictured below, fed 2 people

    3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut into slivers

    Sea salt and Freshly ground black pepper
    2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    1/4 cup chopped parsley


    Method

    Heat oven to 200C

    Heat the oil in a large heavy based pot
    Add onions and saute for about 2 minutes
    Add all the remaining ingredients except the lemon and orange rind
    Bring to boil and turn down
    Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes
    Remove lid and cook for another 10 minutes to evaporate most of the liquid

    Meanwhile, make random cuts in the Monkfish filet
    Stud with the garlic slivers
    Sprinkle with S & P
    Heat the butter in a Gratin dish or an ovenproof skillet
    When it is hot
    Add the fish and brown it all over on medium heat
    Turning occasionally for 2-4 minutes
    Transfer to oven and roast for 20 minutes
    Basting the fish with the juice after 10 minutes

    Remove and let it rest for about 5 minutes
    When the Ratatouille is cooked, add the lemon and orange zest
    Place Ratatouille on a warm platter
    Top with the fish
    Sprinkle with chopped parsley
    Serve with some crusty french bread
    Something to mop up those beautiful juices

    Perfect