fish soup for the soul

20 12 2008

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fish soup
400g cod fillet
1 cup chicken broth
chilli flakes
salt
pepper
soy sauce
1tsp grated ginger
spring onion
1 pkt rice vermicelli
6 cups water
2 cups sliced mushrooms

bring water to boil. add chicken broth. lower to simmer.
marinate cod fillets in some soy sauce and ginger. leave for 15-30 minutes.
slice the cod fillets and add to pot of simmering broth.
add in vermicelli, mushrooms, chilli flakes, salt and pepper to taste
garnish with sliced spring onions.





chikkity chinese the chinese chicken

8 12 2008

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stick spare ribs

ingredients:
2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
crushed garlic
salt

in a small saucepan, mix the ingredients together and heat until boiling, then leave to simmer until sauce thickens.
baste the ribs with the sauce and lay in a baking dish and bake at gas mark 6 for 15 minutes, then turning it down to gas 3 and baking for another 45 minutes, turning occasionally and basting with the juices in the baking dish.
sprinkle sesame seeds on top when done.

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cha ye dan (chinese tea eggs)

ingredients
10 eggs
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt

in a pot, boil eggs for 7 minutes and simmer for 3 minutes.
take out the eggs and make small cracks using the back of a knife.
pour the tea leaves, soy sauce, star anise, cinnamon, sugar and salt into the water used for boiling the eggs and continue simmering for 1-3 hours, adding water if the level runs low.
enjoy hot or cold.

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sweet and sour chicken

ingredients
4 chicken breasts
2 egg whites
cornstarch
1 10oz can of pineapple chunks
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp honey
1/4tsp salt
1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper

wash breast fillets and coat with eggwhite and salt.
mix ketchup, pineapple juice, honey and cornstarch in a small bowl.
stirfry chicken in a frying pan til almost cooked. add in chopped bell peppers and the sweet and sour mixture.
serve hot.





2 dresses for one pasta

30 11 2008

i had some friends over for a satnight dinner just for fun.
cooked up some no-fuss pasta and couldnt decide on the dressing. so we divided the pasta into two, and dressed them differently.

Saturday night fuss free pasta
750g (dry weight) of any short pasta (fusilli, penne, macaroni etc)
3 cans of tuna packed in springwater, drained
1 bell pepper
1/2 red onion
1 can of sweetcorn
baby new potatoes, quartered

dressing 1:
3 tbsp light mayo
1 tbsp lemon juice
grated black pepper
salt to taste

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dressing 2:
75g sun dried tomato puree
1 tbsp red pepper pesto
salt to taste
touch of lemon juice

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there you have it. pasta to feed 9.

curried chickpea salad
adapted from fatfree vegan

4oz cooked chickpeas
1 tsp cumin
1tbsp curry powder (mild, medium, hot according to preference) i used medium but it was not spicy enough.
1tbsp hot chilli powder
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 red onion
1 block firm tofu
touch of lemon juice

mash up cooked chickpeas to the texture you want.
at the same time heat up the onion and pepper in a pan with a spray of olive oil.
add in the tofu and mash everything up.
add in mashed chickpeas.
add spices to taste.
add salt to taste
add lemon juice to taste.
leave to cool.
serve on a bed of lettuce with pita chips/warm pita slices on the side

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susan of fatfreevegan offers a creamy chickpea salad alternative that i’m dying to try. her blog features a great collection of vegan, AND fat free/low fat recipe ideas so check it out! this curried version was well received so stay tuned for the next kitchen (mis)adventure!





12 hours in the kitchen

9 11 2008

chocolate mousse cake
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mmmm it really tasted like ice cream when just thawed out of the freezer!

orange flavoured earl grey cake
this was purely a taste-while-i-bake cake.
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lemon mousse cheesecake
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tiramisu
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cheesecake pops
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pecan pie!
pt had lusted after pecan pie for quite a while now and it didnt cross my mind to make a huge pie for his birthday “cake” so this was a last minute addition to the cake crew!
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not a pretty picture. and i forgot vanilla essence……hrm.

i’ve still got some chocolate truffles sitting in the fridge but apparently my box is full enough as it is. i have to figure a way to sneak them truffles in! my chocolate dipped strawberries fell through on me and i had to eat every single one of them up!
i’ve had waaaaay too much chocolate my stomach’s all grunting and sweating now. no good.
anyways. PHEEEEW. 2 days of baking!!! i hope pt likes these cakes!

more foodporn before i end off!
the final work:
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i’m beat.