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Hummus

Apr 162009

For a long time I had no idea how to make hummus and thought it was the most amazingly delicious mystery food, until my sister decided to make it and I realized that it was so easy with such simple ingredients. Since then I make it all the time and enjoy it so much more than store-bought kinds! And it couldn’t be easier to make custom flavours such as, red bell pepper and lime with coriander (cilantro)… just add those ingredients and there you have it!

Ingredients:
note: you will need a food processor or hand blender for this recipe

-1 can (200g/7oz) of chickpeas/garbanzo beans or equivalent amount of dried beans that have been soaked over night

-1-2 tbs olive oil

-1-2 tbs lemon juice

-1-2 cloves of garlic

-salt to taste

-1 tsp tahini (ground sesame seeds – optional)

What to Do:

Drain chickpeas/garbanzo beans, reserving some liquid. Place in a food processor or large bowl if using a hand blender.

Add 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs lemon juice, 1 tbs reserved liquid, 1 clove of garlic, and salt. Blend until smooth. Taste and if needed add more olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, or salt. I don’t like to add too much of the reserved can liquid because I find it adds a bland taste, instead I just add some water. Some people add tahini or peanut butter, but I find it doesn’t really need it. I’ve used my own ground up sesame seeds a few times and it’s ok, but I don’t notice that it adds much to the taste or texture, just my opinion!

When storing leftover hummus (if there is any!), I find that it keeps better is drizzled with olive oil, then covered with plastic-wrap (or container of your choice).

When serving I also like to drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with cayenne pepper or smoked paprika, yum! Then eat with warm pitta bread/naan bread, carrot sticks, bell peppers, small cherry tomatoes, or any other vegetables you fancy!

Shepherd’s Pie

Main Dishes No Responses »

Apr 162009

This is one of my favourite meals and so tasty! My sister thought it sounded complicated and a lot of work, but once I explained that all you have to do is make the meat sauce and mashed potatoes, layer them and pop in the oven, she realized how easy it was! It’s great to add vegetables to the meat mixture for extra nutrition and the kids will hardly notice them!

It makes for a very hearty, fulfilling meal that will warm you through and through! Be sure to add lots of cheese!

What you Need:

-Meat Sauce (recipe here, can be made with lamb or beef, but you may need to leave some of the tomatoes out so that it doesn’t get too wet)

-Mashed Potatoes (recipe here)

-1 cup or more grated cheese (white cheddar is best)

What to Do:

Preheat the oven to about 190-200 C (gas mark 5-6) or 375-392 F.

Make meat sauce and mashed potatoes and grate cheese.

In a large casserole dish, place meat sauce and pat down. Sprinkle about half of the grated cheese, then layer the mashed potatoes and spread. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

Place in the oven and cook for about 15-30 minutes, or until the cheese turns a bit brown and bubbly.

Lasagna

Main Dishes No Responses »

Apr 162009

I woke up one day with an urge to make little individual lasagna’s and had to try it out! I had an idea in my head of the kind of lasagna I wanted to make, but searched online for lasagna recipes just to get a general idea of what all should go into it. Unfortunately, most of the recipes were elaborate or had a bunch of ingredients that I either didn’t like (mushrooms) or thought were completely unnecessary. So, I just decided to do my own thing and surprisingly it turn out amazing on the first try! Hooray! So here it is, so easy to make and even easier to eat (once cooled, if you can wait that long!). It’s always best if you tweak it to fit your own likes and dislikes (I won’t hold it against you if you add mushrooms) and measurements are always approximate!

You’ll see I’ve used my recipes for meat sauce and white (cheese) sauce because they fit perfectly and taste amazing together!

What you Need:

-Meat Sauce (recipe here)

-White Sauce (recipe here)

-1-2 cups grated cheese (white cheddar is my favourite)

-2 balls of authentic mozzarella cheese cut into slices

-lasagna noodles (fresh, hard or uncooked)

What to Do:

Preheat the oven to about 190-200 C (gas mark 5-6) or 375-392 F.

Make the meat sauce and white sauce and set aside with the grated cheese and sliced mozzarella.

If you have hard or uncooked lasagna noodles, boil in salted water until just soft (still al dente), then remove from water and set aside.
If you have fresh lasagna noodles, dip for a few minutes in warm salted water just before layering.

Choose an oven proof casserole dish of your choice (size and shape). You could also make individual lasagnas by using ramekins and cutting the lasagna noodles to fit.

Add the meat sauce to the bottom of the dish or dishes of your choice, then add a layer of lasagna noodles (if you pre-cooked the noodles, you may need to dip in warm salty water just before layering). The key is for the lasagna noodles to be partially cooked, so they will be flexible for layering, but still able to absorb the sauces and finish cooking in the oven.

Add the white sauce on top of the noodles and layer with some of the grated cheese and the sliced mozzarella, then cover with another layer of lasagna. Add more meat sauce and continue layering until your dish is filled. Add all extra cheese on top and place n the oven.

Cook for 30 minutes or so, until the cheese on top goes brown and bubbly. Remove from oven, allow to cool, then serve!

Meat Sauce

Sauces No Responses »

Apr 162009

This recipe is something that kind of developed naturally as I made a few different dishes using ground beef and found myself adding some of the same ingredients with delicious results! It’s so easy to make and the ingredients can be adjusted or added to, etc to suit whatever dish you’re making! Just like the white sauce, you’ll find I refer back to this recipe quite often!

Ingredients:

-1 tbs olive oil

-1 large white onion, chopped (or 2 small)

-2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped

-1/2 chili pepper finely chopped (if you like a little spice)

-about .500 kg ground beef (about 1 lb)

-4 tomatoes, chopped (add more if you wish to make it more or a tomato sauce)

-other veggies chopped into small pieces (carrots, zucchini/courgette, bell pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, etc)

-Worcestershire Sauce

-mixed herbs of your choice

-salt and pepper to taste

What to Do:

Begin by heating the olive oil in a large pot and frying the onion. When the onion gets soft and begins to caramelize, add the ground beef. Mix and cover partially and allow to cook for a few minutes.

Add garlic, chili pepper, tomatoes, any other veggies and mix. Then add Worcestershire cause, herbs and salt and pepper and mix.

Cover partially and allow to cook, being sure to break up the meat and mix every few minutes until the meat is cooked throughout, tomatoes are liquefied and veggies are soft.

White Sauce

Sauces No Responses »

Apr 162009

I got the original recipe for a plain white sauce from a friend and have since used it for a number of dishes. In fact, you’ll see that I often refer to it and use it as a part of many other recipes. It’s so easy to make and can be easily tailor-made to suit whatever dish that needs a nice sauce!

Ingredients:

-2 tbs butter

-1 tbs flour

-1/2 – 1 cup milk (whole milk works best)

-pinch of salt and pepper

-1-2 cloves crushed or finely chopped garlic

-Worcestershire sauce

-mixed herbs

-1 cup of grated cheese (white cheddar is my favourite)

What to Do:

Begin by melting the butter over low heat, then add the flour and mix until it goes a bit pasty. Remove from heat, let cool for a bit, then add the milk and mix thoroughly. Place back on low heat and add salt, pepper, crushed garlic, Worcestershire sauce and herbs.

Mix often while the sauce thickens. The sauce should begin to go thick and bubbly, then add the grated cheese, mix and remove from heat.

Cheese Stuffed Bell Peppers

Snacks and Side Dishes No Responses »

Apr 162009

I had an epiphany for this recipe a few days ago and decided to try it out for dinner and it was amazing. I didn’t actually use measurements for anything, so it’s all guesstimation really! I served it along with some roasted chicken thighs which complimented it perfectly!

What You’ll Need:

-2 bell peppers (red or green)

-1 cups grated cheese (white cheddar)

-2 rashers of bacon, cooked then chopped

-1 tbs olive oil

-1 onion, chopped

-2 large cloves of garlic, crushed (more is always better!)

-1/2 small chili pepper, chopped

-about 10 leaves of spinach

-White Sauce (recipe here)

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to about 190-200 C (gas mark 5-6) or 375-392 F.

Make the white sauce and set aside.

Carefully cut the tops off the 2 bell peppers and clean out seeds. Add any excess of the pepper top to the onions.

Saute onions, half of the crushed garlic, the chili pepper and any excess bell pepper in the olive oil until softened.

Begin to layer into the opened peppers in the following order:

-couple pinches of cheese
-a few leaves of spinach
-onion mixture
-2 large spoonfuls of the White Sauce
-half of the bacon pieces
-spinach leaves
-cheese
-more onions
-more white sauce
-rest of bacon
-rest of onions
-rest of white sauce
-rest of cheese

Put the stuffed peppers into the oven for about 25 minutes or until peppers are softened to your liking.

Alternatively, you could cut the bell peppers length-wise and layer ingredients inside the halves.

Curry – my version

Main Dishes, whole, real and raw 2 Responses »

Apr 162009

There’s no official recipe for Curry, everyone has their own way of preparing and eating it, so I will just share the way I learned and the way I enjoy eating it! It may look complicated or confusing, but once you get the general idea of amounts, etc, then it’s easy to adapt it to your liking!

Ingredients:

- coconut oil, olive oil or palm oil to cover bottom of large pot
- 1-2 onions (chopped into half-moon shape)
- 2-3 tomatoes (chopped into half-moon shape)
- 1 tsp garlic (crushed)
- 1 tsp ginger (crushed)
- 2 large potatoes cut into large chunks
- 2 large portions of meat of your choice
- salt to taste

Spices:
- 2 tsp cumin/jeera seeds
- 1 tsp aniseed
- 2 pieces of star anise
- 2-4 cardamon pods (black and/or green)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3-4 curry leaves
- 1 tbs garam masala
- 1 tsp haldi powder (turmeric)
- 1/2-1 tsp chili powder (based on heat of chili powder and preference of spice)

What to Do:

Heat oil in the pot, test with a piece of onion. When test onion sizzles, add the rest of the onions. Allow to fry until the onions begin to soften.

Add cumin, aniseed, star anise, cardamon pods, cinnamon sticks, curry leaves and garam masala. Mix and allow spices to fry, but be careful to watch heat so as not to burn. After a few minutes, add tomatoes, garlic, ginger, haldi powder (turmeric) and chili powder. Mix and continue to fry, if mixture is too dry, add a little bit of water. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes or until tomatoes get soft and fall apart.

Add potatoes, add water to cover and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then cover partially and allow to boil gently for 15-20 minutes (or until potatoes begin to soften).

Add meat, making sure it is covered by the sauce (adding water if necessary). Bring to a boil while stirring, then lower heat, cover and simmer until meat is cooked.

The curry is ready to serve once the meat is cooked and potatoes are soft.

Alternatively, you can prepare the curry ahead of time and allow to simmer gently until you are ready to serve, the flavours permeate the meat and potatoes the longer you allow it to sit together.

If you find the spice too intense, either add less chili powder, or add some cream, coconut milk (gives it more of a Thai flavour) or Greek yoghurt before serving or a pat of butter to individual dishes.

Serve with rice and/or naan bread. Also good with a side dish of Greek yoghurt with a chopped green pepper mixed in, and any pickle (my favourite is lime).