One of the problems with a young family is that you're still really only cooking for two. But I like roasts. But its hardly worth it for two. But I like roasts. So managing leftovers from roasts is a big deal in my house.
Chicken Pies
left over roast chicken
left over roast vegetables
roasted pumpkin puree (when pumpkins are $1/kg buy them whole, bake in a slow oven, cut a whole in the top scoop out the seeds, set aside. Scoop out flesh - I divide it into 250g lots and freeze flat in ziplock sandwich bags)
frozen peas if you didn't have any peas leftover
100g or so of cheddar
50g or so of chia seeds
3 sheets of frozen butter puff pastry
1 egg beaten with a little water
Method
Spray a standard muffin pan. Heat the oven to 220C
Roughly mash roast potatoes. Dice other vegetables and the chicken.
Mix chook, veg, chia and cheese together.
Line the holes in the muffin pans with puff - leaving sufficient for the tops.
Fill pies. Top pies with remaining pastry. Brush with egg wash. Prick the tops with a fork. Pop 'em in the oven!
Bake for 15mins or till golden (let's be honest, maybe 20mins).
Actually pretty much everything can be jammed into little pies and its amazing the things your kids will eat if it's wrapped in puff and baked.
Frittata is another good idea. A frypan that can be stuck under the grill without burning your house down is essential.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Green Eggs and Ham
What to do with leftover pesto and ham from the weekend's pizza adventure? Green eggs and ham. Of course!
Green Eggs and Ham (serves 1)
2 or 3 eggs
a splash of full fat milk (I'm a little lactose intolerant so I use Liddells lactose-free milk)
a little grated cheddar
a couple of thin slices of ham roughly chopped up
a tsp of pesto
olive oil and butter if you like that sort of thing
Method
Heat frypan on a medium heat. Add oil and butter once pan has heated.
Mix everything together except the pesto.
Scramble those babies. When egg is nearly cooked stir through the pesto.
Serve on toasted sourdough. YUM
Green Eggs and Ham (serves 1)
2 or 3 eggs
a splash of full fat milk (I'm a little lactose intolerant so I use Liddells lactose-free milk)
a little grated cheddar
a couple of thin slices of ham roughly chopped up
a tsp of pesto
olive oil and butter if you like that sort of thing
Method
Heat frypan on a medium heat. Add oil and butter once pan has heated.
Mix everything together except the pesto.
Scramble those babies. When egg is nearly cooked stir through the pesto.
Serve on toasted sourdough. YUM
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
A post about Sunday
Dear Reader,
Sunday, as well as being the anniversary of an important Mexico v France showdown, was the birthday of two very important people; my cousin, Alexander (erudite brainbox, chef and restauranteur), and also Jo, friend and godmother to my children (you might ask why an atheist has godparents for her children, good question and I'll tell you all about it another day). I didn't get to see my cousin but we did get to see Jo - her would-be-wife, the ever delightful Jac, organised a semi-surprise party for her. We were invited/instructed to bring something savoury and not too messy. I left it too late to bake so decided on something quick instead. Here it is, my take on the Cantonese classic san choy bau. I've given it a Szechuan twist.
San Choy Bau - Ma Po Doufu style
(Apologies in advance for imprecise possibly untranslatable measurements)
baby cos or little gem lettuces - pull off the leaves, wash and neaten stem ends (they usually come in packs of two, I bought two packs)
250g beef mince
packet of fried beancurd - diced (sometimes sold as golden nuggets or alternatively, fry your own)
some dried shiitake mushrooms
rice bran oil
a dessert spoon or thereabouts of fermented soybean (aka blackbean) chilli paste (an oily blackbean and chilli condiment that most of the Chinese world is addicted to - see your local Asian grocers, they'll get you on to the good stuff. Don't say I didn't warn you. See here for a picture of the sauce in question, it's the second from the right but there are a couple of varieties so read the label carefully)
a dessert spoon of hoi sin sauce
Tbs blackbeans (the fermented Chinese sort)
a jolly good splash of light soy sauce (I recommend Healthy Boy previously branded Fat Boy)
a good splash of xiao sing rice wine
heaped tsp or so of Szechuan (AKA Sichuan) peppercorns, toasted and crushed with a mortar and pestle (these really are essential they give a lovely crunch to the finished dish)
2 cloves garlic - grated
about a 2-3 cm lump of ginger - grated
1 heaped tsp cornflour
Method
Put the shiitake on to soak in a 500ml jug of boiling water - I like to rest a ricebowl on top so the mushrooms stay submerged.
Mix cornflour with 1Tbs of cold water, set aside.
Put wok or large frypan on a high heat, add oil.
Brown mince, stirring to ensure it breaks up rather than cooking into large lumps.
Add bean paste, hoi sin sauce, blackbeans and Szechuan peppercorns. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add beancurd. Reduce heat to medium.
Add soy sauce and rice wine.
Fish out mushrooms - save the water, remove any hard bits, dice finely, add to mince mixture.
Start adding mushroom water gradually, allowing it to absorb before adding more - a little like risotto.
When there's about a third left of the mushroom water, add the cornflour paste.
Add as much of the remaining mushroom water as is necessary. You want the mince to have a nice thick consistency, when you run a spoon through the mince it should take a moment or two for the parted sauce to flow back together.
Now if you're taking this to a party, throw sauce in a container, grab your prepared lettuce and GO! Assemble them in situ. A teaspoon or so of mince per little cos leaf. And that's it!
Coming up: my recipe for green eggs and ham, some musings about bread-making, a little chat about exercising during pregnancy and maybe a wee chat about boobs and bras.
Sunday, as well as being the anniversary of an important Mexico v France showdown, was the birthday of two very important people; my cousin, Alexander (erudite brainbox, chef and restauranteur), and also Jo, friend and godmother to my children (you might ask why an atheist has godparents for her children, good question and I'll tell you all about it another day). I didn't get to see my cousin but we did get to see Jo - her would-be-wife, the ever delightful Jac, organised a semi-surprise party for her. We were invited/instructed to bring something savoury and not too messy. I left it too late to bake so decided on something quick instead. Here it is, my take on the Cantonese classic san choy bau. I've given it a Szechuan twist.
San Choy Bau - Ma Po Doufu style
(Apologies in advance for imprecise possibly untranslatable measurements)
baby cos or little gem lettuces - pull off the leaves, wash and neaten stem ends (they usually come in packs of two, I bought two packs)
250g beef mince
packet of fried beancurd - diced (sometimes sold as golden nuggets or alternatively, fry your own)
some dried shiitake mushrooms
rice bran oil
a dessert spoon or thereabouts of fermented soybean (aka blackbean) chilli paste (an oily blackbean and chilli condiment that most of the Chinese world is addicted to - see your local Asian grocers, they'll get you on to the good stuff. Don't say I didn't warn you. See here for a picture of the sauce in question, it's the second from the right but there are a couple of varieties so read the label carefully)
a dessert spoon of hoi sin sauce
Tbs blackbeans (the fermented Chinese sort)
a jolly good splash of light soy sauce (I recommend Healthy Boy previously branded Fat Boy)
a good splash of xiao sing rice wine
heaped tsp or so of Szechuan (AKA Sichuan) peppercorns, toasted and crushed with a mortar and pestle (these really are essential they give a lovely crunch to the finished dish)
2 cloves garlic - grated
about a 2-3 cm lump of ginger - grated
1 heaped tsp cornflour
Method
Put the shiitake on to soak in a 500ml jug of boiling water - I like to rest a ricebowl on top so the mushrooms stay submerged.
Mix cornflour with 1Tbs of cold water, set aside.
Put wok or large frypan on a high heat, add oil.
Brown mince, stirring to ensure it breaks up rather than cooking into large lumps.
Add bean paste, hoi sin sauce, blackbeans and Szechuan peppercorns. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add beancurd. Reduce heat to medium.
Add soy sauce and rice wine.
Fish out mushrooms - save the water, remove any hard bits, dice finely, add to mince mixture.
Start adding mushroom water gradually, allowing it to absorb before adding more - a little like risotto.
When there's about a third left of the mushroom water, add the cornflour paste.
Add as much of the remaining mushroom water as is necessary. You want the mince to have a nice thick consistency, when you run a spoon through the mince it should take a moment or two for the parted sauce to flow back together.
Now if you're taking this to a party, throw sauce in a container, grab your prepared lettuce and GO! Assemble them in situ. A teaspoon or so of mince per little cos leaf. And that's it!
Coming up: my recipe for green eggs and ham, some musings about bread-making, a little chat about exercising during pregnancy and maybe a wee chat about boobs and bras.
Welcome Back! (to the tune of Welcome Back Kotter)
Dear Reader,
You could be forgiven for thinking that I fell off the face of the planet. In a way, I did. I'm 5 kilos and 1 baby heavier. The newest addition, The Lady Hat, is 5 months old in a couple of days and I'm 5 kilos (or thereabouts) heavier. Low carb went out the window as soon as I knew I was pregnant - I just had to eat pasta and bread made out of CARBO-BLOODY-HYDRATES. I wanted potatos and wheaty things. Doing Barre throughout my pregnancy was AMAZING and I promise to talk more about it as I ease back into this blogging thing.
Tonight (Saturday night) I am making pizza from scratch - never done it before. I'm using the recipe for basic pizza dough from Stephanie Alexander's Cook's Companion AKA The Bible.
Mrs M's Capricciosa (Theme music Cat Power "Satisfaction" - pictured prior to cheese application)
Scottsdale Pork Free Range Ham - finely sliced and chopped
salami
red and yellow capsicum - finely sliced
kalamata olives - stoned and chopped
Swiss brown mushrooms - you guessed it finely sliced
cheddar - finely sliced
Anchovies
Passata
Chicken, Pesto and Bocconcini
(pictured prior to the application of cheese)
chicken breast - thinly sliced and lightly pan-fried
passata
basil pesto (for convenience I just buy a tub of it from Hill St)
baby rocket
cheddar thinly sliced
bocconcini
pepper
Method
Preheat oven and pizza stone to 220ºC (I really do recommend a thermometer for your oven, makes a world of difference to baking). Stretch out your prepared pizza dough on a work surface liberally dusted with polenta. I like to use a large chopping board, all the better for sliding said pizza on to the pizza stone. Let it relax for a minute or three. Layer your pizza with desired ingredients. Always leave a naked edge, it's prettier, leaks less and provides a handle. Manoeuvre pizza onto hot stone. Bake for 10-15mins. Eat immediately with gusto and red wine.
You could be forgiven for thinking that I fell off the face of the planet. In a way, I did. I'm 5 kilos and 1 baby heavier. The newest addition, The Lady Hat, is 5 months old in a couple of days and I'm 5 kilos (or thereabouts) heavier. Low carb went out the window as soon as I knew I was pregnant - I just had to eat pasta and bread made out of CARBO-BLOODY-HYDRATES. I wanted potatos and wheaty things. Doing Barre throughout my pregnancy was AMAZING and I promise to talk more about it as I ease back into this blogging thing.
Tonight (Saturday night) I am making pizza from scratch - never done it before. I'm using the recipe for basic pizza dough from Stephanie Alexander's Cook's Companion AKA The Bible.
Mrs M's Capricciosa (Theme music Cat Power "Satisfaction" - pictured prior to cheese application)Scottsdale Pork Free Range Ham - finely sliced and chopped
salami
red and yellow capsicum - finely sliced
kalamata olives - stoned and chopped
Swiss brown mushrooms - you guessed it finely sliced
cheddar - finely sliced
Anchovies
Passata
Chicken, Pesto and Bocconcini(pictured prior to the application of cheese)
chicken breast - thinly sliced and lightly pan-fried
passata
basil pesto (for convenience I just buy a tub of it from Hill St)
baby rocket
cheddar thinly sliced
bocconcini
pepper
MethodPreheat oven and pizza stone to 220ºC (I really do recommend a thermometer for your oven, makes a world of difference to baking). Stretch out your prepared pizza dough on a work surface liberally dusted with polenta. I like to use a large chopping board, all the better for sliding said pizza on to the pizza stone. Let it relax for a minute or three. Layer your pizza with desired ingredients. Always leave a naked edge, it's prettier, leaks less and provides a handle. Manoeuvre pizza onto hot stone. Bake for 10-15mins. Eat immediately with gusto and red wine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)