Eye Fillet with Char grilled vegies with avocado oil and balsamic vinegar

This was our anniversary dinner. Honestly I couldn't have asked for better in a restaurant.

I didn't have a recipe - just an idea.

I cooked the most tender eye fillet steaks. They were about 2" high and pink in the middle, just perfect, Peter's was a little more rare. The vegies were char grilled, potato, sweet potato, onion, garlic, red capsicum and organic asparagus. These were cooked with olive spray oil and then I added a dash of avocado oil at the end. The potatoes were pre cooked in the microwave, so didn't take long, I just basically wanted the 'lines' on them. Instead of piling the vegies on the plate and then the meat beside, I 'built' it up and put the steak on top with a couple of tender asparagus spears. I dribbled a little avo oil and expensive balsamic vinegar around the edge of the plate. The result was absolutely fantastic.

Thai Beef Salad

This was probably the best one I have ever made. Absolutely scrumptious.

Ingredients
Aged rump steak cooked medium.

Salad consists of
Baby spinach leaves
baby rocket leaves
spring onions
lebanese cucumber
red capscicum
cherry tomatoes

Dressing
Tiniest amount of sesame oil
two cloves crushed garlic
tablespoon corinader (from tube)
tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
tablespoon soy sauce
2 chopped green chillies
fish sauce

I would adjust the above once it's made and tasted. You may need to add white wine vinegar. As I never measure these things I have given a starting point and then the rest is up to you. Fresh coriander was not nice, so I couldnt' add any, but normally I would have it chopped and placed on top to serve. It's a delicious and filling and extremely low fat dinner, fit to be served in a good Thai restaurant if I do say so myself.

Carrot Cake

Image Jenny Schimak

Have been slack with my food blog of late. I take the food photos and then don't get around to doing the recipe to post on my blog.

I made this today to take to Peter's parents' house tomorrow for Fathers' Day.

Ingredients (serves 12)

• Olive oil, to grease
• 2 (about 300g) carrots
• 1 cup (150g) self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup (75g) plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (80g) brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (185ml) oil
• 1/2 cup (125ml) golden syrup
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

• Icing

• 250g spreadable cream cheese
• 1/2 cup (80g) icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease a 20cm (base) round cake pan lightly with oil, and line with non-stick baking paper. Peel and grate the carrots, and set aside. Sift the flours, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon into a large bowl.
2. Put the brown sugar, oil, golden syrup, eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl. Use a balloon whisk to mix until combined.
3. Pour the oil mixture into the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir gently until just combined. Stir in the grated carrot.
4. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 1 hour. Set aside for 5 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. To make the icing, place the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Use a wooden spoon to mix until well combined.
6. Spread the icing over the cake.

Source

Fresh Living - August 2004 , Page 53

Recipe by Tracy Rutherford

Cooking today

I am in birthday mode again. It's July and birthdays are abound. Mickey's was on the 5th, Billy-Joe's is on the 27th, and the Bunny's is on 7th August.........so I get to enjoy making lots of decadent stuff, and what's better I get to do it all in my brand, spanking, new, divine, awesome kitchen........... I love spending time in it.

Photography by Luke Burgess

Melt-and-mix chocolate chunk mud cake

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 200g butter, chopped
• 300g good-quality dark chocolate
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup self-raising flour
• pure icing sugar, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a 6cm deep, 20cm (base) round cake pan. Line with baking paper.
2. Place butter, 200g chopped chocolate and hot water in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH (100%) for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every minute with a metal spoon, or until smooth. Add cocoa to warm chocolate mixture. Stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla, caster sugar and egg. Sift flour over chocolate mixture. Stir gently to combine.
3. Pour half the batter into cake pan. Chop remaining chocolate and sprinkle half over batter. Top with remaining batter and chopped chocolate. Bake cake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre has moist crumbs clinging.
4. Allow cake to cool completely in pan. Remove and dust with icing sugar. Serve.

Notes & tips

Variation: You could ice the cake with rich chocolate icing or spread with ganache (see related recipe), if you prefer.
Note: This cake keeps well for up to 1 week stored in an airtight container lined with baking paper.

I make a ganache to put on top. Just melt chocolate and mix cream in it. You need a fair bit of chocolate.........it goes hard, but not too hard and it's yummy.

Source

Super Food Ideas - December 2005 , Page 115

Recipe by Janelle Bloom

Super Food Ideas - December 2005

Have been cooking up a storm

I have been cooking quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, since the completion of my kitchen. But I have been slack with photos. I baked some Chocolate profiteroles (out of the packet) while the kitchen was being done, I have a post on my other blog.

I have this favourite meal from the local Thai restaurant. It's a Yellow Chicken Curry and it's delicious and different from any other curry I have ever had. It's quite sweet and the sweet potatoes in it, add a really yummy wholesomeness to it.

I made the curry paste with a mortar and pestle and cooked the curry in the crock pot. I always brown the chicken and the onions first. To me that is the secret of the crock pot. My brand new crock pot was destined for Ebay until I worked this one out. I can't stand food that has been stewed without that caramelisation happening first. Whatever I make in the crock pot, even soup, I always make sure the meat or the onions are browned off first. I always deglaze the pan too, so that all that brown flavour isn't wasted.

I took a base recipe I found on the internet and then changed it as the flavour wasn't what I was trying to emulate.

Thai Yellow Curry Paste

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 yellow chillies, depending on desired spice level (if unavailable, substitue 1-2 red or green chillies- I desseded these as my kids were eating the dish too, for us I would leave them in)
• 1 brown onion
  
• 1 generous slice ginger
  
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. ground coriander (grind seeds yourself with a coffee grinder or pestle & mortar)
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
  
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinammon
  
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons tumeric
  
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice (or the juice from 1/2 a lime)
• Tin Coconut Cream

I would cook the above in the crock pot, without the cocounut cream. There is enough water from the deglazing of the pan. I added about 1kg of sweet potato. Add the coconut cream just to heat it through at the end. Cook in the crock pot for about 3-4 hour is enough. I cooked mine for 61/2 hours and although it was delicious, the chicken was falling apart, I like it when the chicken is still in large hunks.

Delicious.

One of my favourite meals

Yesterday we had what is probably one of my most favourite meals.

Roast pork, with crackle
Apple Sauce
Potatoe Dumplings
Sauerkraut
Gravy...........
Just heaven.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

125g Butter
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/3 cup cocoa
3/4 cup Dark Chocolate chips

1. Preheat Oven 160 degrees celcius
2. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy
3. Mix in vanilla essence and egg
4. Stir in flour and cocoa
5. Add chips
6. Place teaspoon fulls on cookie trays, cook for 15 mins.

Eat and Enjoy
This recipe is from the dark chocolate chips packet. There are other recipes like this which can be found on

Coconut Prawns

These are just divine, and oh so naughty. They are very rich too, you don't need very many. The salad which accompanied this meal was an avocadoe and artichoke one. This added to the richness of the meal, next time I made it, I just made a simpler salad.

Simply crumb the prawns in coconut rather than in breadcrumbs. I used both dessicated coconut and the 'long' coconut. The name of it escapes me........... Absolutely delicious.