Indonesian BBQ

I haven't done much in the way of exciting cooking lately, once school went back life became too busy to spend time reading cookbooks and thinking about what I could make.  This weekend is my birthday so I have invited some friends over and am planning to have a BBQ with an Indonesian influence.  On the menu are sate chicken skewers, using the recipe in this months ABC Delicious mag and then a seafood curry, using a Balinese Spice Paste recipe as the base.  I have had this cookbook for ages, and have made the spice paste for chicken before but not this one for seafood.  My plan is to cook about a cup of the paste with some coconut milk and then gently cook prawns, scallops and some sweetlip fillet in that, served with basil and some steamed rice on banana leaf lined plates.  I often get disappointed living in a regional area as quite a lot of the time when I find a recipe I want to make the ingredients aren't available.  Last time I was in Brisbane I went to Chinatown and bought a few ingredients including the candlenuts needed for this recipe.  

Here are some of the ingredients I needed for the spice paste (along with a Corona which went well with the preparation!)

I love the colours of the ingredients, the candlenuts are the crinkly looking things next to the garlic and lemongrass.

 Everything except the lemongrass, tamarind and lime leaves gets thrown into a food processor. Actually, the recipe asked for Salam leaves, but I used Kaffir lime leaves as I love them and have a tree.  

 After the spices are processed you heat some oil in a frying pan and add the paste, lime leaves, lemongrass and then cook over a moderate heat for about 5 mins until the paste is fragrant and golden.  Then you add the tamarind pulp and stir through.  I made mine a couple of days before I want to use it to let the flavour develop.

Here is the recipe, a bit of the instructions are missing, but if you read what I wrote above you will know what to do!
I will post some pics of the finished curry after Saturday.

Oh, and for dessert I'm making a lime and coconut baked cheesecake.  I will finely shred young kaffir lime leaves and put some coconut milk into the cheesecake mix, serving it with some toasted coconut on top.  I will make this recipe up as I go, as I recently made a baked raspberry and chocolate cheesecake slice and it was really good!  I might go and finish the last piece off now...

David's Kitchenalia - gorgeous tea cosy!

When I first saw this tea cosy I first though, maybe I'd better not blog this as it may be 'politically incorrect' but then I thought about it and for me, Golliwogs are not a symbol of racism or anything negative at all.  I love these and I grew up reading Enid Blyton, where Noddy was gay and Golliwogs were just a character.  Whatever the intentions were, as I was brought up to be accepting of and respecting people from all cultural backgrounds I have no problem to say I love Golliwogs and especially this one.  It's so cute!  I recently read about the history of Golliwogs and I can see there are some negative connections, especially in the UK and the US, however it's all about how you think about it yourself and I think they are just a cute toy.

Fresh and tasty with a bit of spice

I had some nice Sweetlip fillets in the freezer (thanks Chris) and felt like something tasty and healthy for dinner tonight.  This is the recipe I came up with to go with the fish.  YUM

Spice paste for fish
Works well with white fish fillets

1 small bunch coriander, including stems and roots, washed and chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3cm piece ginger, peeled and chopped

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp brown sugar

1 1/2  teaspoons sambal oeleck (chilli paste)

a few sprigs fresh mint leaved, picked

2 tsp rice wine

2 tbs fish sauce

Place all the above ingredients in a small blender and blend to a thick paste.  Coat fish fillets in the paste and cover and marinate at least 1 hour.

Pan fry fillets in a little olive oil, turning once.  When fish is cooked, remove from pan and throw in the cherry tomatoes, cook for 2 minutes until warmed and slightly cooked. 

Serve fish over brown rice, and top with tomatoes.  Serve with Avocado Salsa

Avocado Salsa

1 medium avocado,diced

1 lebanese cucumber, diced

2 tbs chopped coriander

2 spring onions, chopped

juice of  1/2 lime

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Mix all ingredients to combine

Pork Belly - not for those watching their waistline!

Wow, this is a pork belly dish my nephew had when we were

recently in Brisbane. I had a taste and it was great, I had a

seafood risotto which was amazing. I usually don't eat

risotto much at restaurants as it can often be stodgy,

but at Verve Cafe Bar it was excellent.  In fact, eating here

was the best meal I had in Brisbane.  The atmosphere was great

the staff were extremely friendly and helpful and everyone loved

their meals.  I would definitely go there again!  It's in Edward St in the city and just around

the corner from where we stayed. 

David's Kitchenalia

 

This is the latest photo I've received from David of his mushroom butter dish and this cool cannister.  I love this cannister!!!  I would love that design on fabric and to make a skirt from it!!  I never see any cannisters that groovy these days.  I also like the clock at the bottom of the picture, looks like it could be a radio too?  

David's Kitchenalia

How could you pass up the opportunity to buy this little beauty!  David didn't and is now the happy owner of this casserole dish/lobster pot which he snapped up for $3.00, actually no, it was 50% off so it was $1.50.  I think I missed something when I was last in Newcastle, I didn't see any of this stuff...will have to look harder next time.  David uses all his functional art which is great and seems to have an eye for it too.

 

This dish brings back memories of a party I went to in Wolfe St, Newcastle in 1992, where I was given a plastic lobster as a present for turning up at the party by the appreciative host.

It's all in the dressing

This is such a simple thing to make, and common too, but the special thing about this is the coriander yoghurt dressing.  It really makes it extra tasty.  I made the skewers with the dressing and salad for a tasty low carb dinner, then the next day cooked another  skewer and had it in a mountain bread rye wrap for lunch.  I love these wraps as they are so light and don't make you feel overly full.

This recipe is also from the October 2011 Delicious magazine, but it's not on Taste.com so I've put the details here - slightly modified...

Chicken tikka masala skewers with coriander dressing

2 tbs tikka masala paste

1 1/2 cups Greek style yoghurt (I used Farmer's Union Light Greek Style Yoghurt)

1kg skinless chicken fillets, cut into 3cm pieces

1 bunch coriander

2 tsp caster sugar

4cm piece ginger, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbs olive oil

juice of 2 limes

I served this with a salad of snow pea sprouts, seeded cucumber, mung bean sprouts and cherry tomatoes.

• Soak 8 wooden skewers in cold water for 20 mins
• Combine tikka masala paste with 1 cup yoghurt and season well.
• Coat the chicken in the marinde and refridgerate for at least 15 mins (I usually leave for it for a couple of hours)
• Place the coriander, including stalks and leaves, sugar, garlic, ginger, olive oil and half the lime juice in a food processor and whiz until a coarse puree.  Sir in the remaining yoghurt and set aside.

• Place chicken skewers under a hot grill, cook until charred, usually around 5 mins each side (depending on how thickly you've cut your chicken) turning once.

Tip- when cooking the skewers make sure there is a nice thick coating of yoghurt on the, this stops them drying out under the grill.

Serve with the salad and dressing.

For the wrap I used one and a half pieces mountain bread putting the half piece in the centre of the full one - this makes it less flimsy.  Put down a layer of baby spinach and some left over salad, or just some cucumber and sprouts then add the chicken from one skewer, top with dressing and roll up!  Enjoy..

David's Kitchenalia

I was very impressed when I received this photo from a friend, David.  (almost as impressed as when he sent me some before and after photos of his dinner).  I am envious of his cow butter dish, as I haven't seen any like that around here.  I love all the old kitchen paraphernalia you can pick up at op shops, David said he got this one from the Salvos and it was a bargain.  I am also loving the salt and pepper shakers in the background, and I am hoping he'll keep sending more pics of his collection....

Amazing Mexican (not smothered in cheese and stodgy!)

I've been reading some past copies of Delicious magazine and came across this recipe by Jill Dupleix.  I thought it sounded like a nice change from the stodgy Mexican that all seems to taste the same and makes you feel so full!  I've avoided Mexican restaurants for a few years now but thought this recipe sounded like it was worth a go. I can tell you this was fantastic!!  The flavours were amazing, so fresh with a bit of tang and It was the tastiest, yummiest lunch.  This one is a keeper and is so easy too. 

For the tortillas I used Mission Brand Hi Fibre as they have the lowest carbs and calories of the range I looked at in the supermarket.

You could make this recipe with a lower fat content by using a bit less avocado but I wasn't too worried about it.  I always use Josephine's reduced fat Danish style feta, as it's really creamy but low in fat.

I also used double the amount of pumpkin, as pumpkin tends to shrink a bit when roasted and the amount was perfect.   I also used cherry tomatoes instead of roma as in the original recipe

Using my adaption this this recipe had around 495 calories per serve.

Roast Vegetable Tostadas

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

400g butternut or Kent/Jap pumpkin, sliced

approx 12 cherry tomatoes

2 red onions, cut into wedges

4 tbs olive oil

4 corn or flour tortillas

1 tbs finely chopped Jalapeno chillis and 1 tbs of the pickling brine

1 tbs lime juice plus extra to serve

125g can red kidney beans rinsed and drained

1 avocado, chopped

100g feta, crumbled

Mexican chilli salsa (approx 1 tbs per tortilla or to taste)

Coriander sprigs

Preheat oven to 180º and line a large baking sheet with baking paper.  Place the pumpkin, tomato and onion on the tray and drizzle with a little olive oil then sprinkle with sea salt and coarsley ground black pepper to taste.  Bake for around 40 mins or until vegetables are soft and lightly charred. Cool.

Wrap the tortillas loosely in foil and warm in the oven for 3 mins.
Meanwhile, whisk the chopped jalapenos, brine, lime juice and remaining olive oil in a bowl and season to taste.  Add the kidney beans and the avocado and mix gently to combine.

To serve, scatter avocado salad over warmed tortillas and top with roast vegetables, feta and salsa.  Garnish with coriander and an extra squeeze of lime. 

Let me know if you enjoy this as much as I did!

Anyone for a cigar?

One of my favourite cookbooks is 'Arabesque' by Claudia Roden, which I bought at an amazing bookshop in Fremantle, W.A. (although it's much cheaper at Fishpond).   It was one of those bookshops that have lots of books that the standard franchise shops don't have, as well as lots of beautiful cards and paper. 

I made this recipe the other night, but changed a couple of things:

- instead of using lamb mince, I bought diced lamb and put it in the food processor to mince it (less fat)

- I put Nigella seeds on top of each roll before cooking them in the oven

- I used olive oil with a pastry brush for the pastry instead of butter

- I made a yoghurt dip to serve them with ( so I processed a small bunch of coriander  and a small bunch of mint with 2 tbs natural yoghurt) then I added another cup and a half of natural yoghurt to that and put in a bowl with the juice of half a lemon and 1/2 tsp ground cumin.

-  I used 1tsp Sambal Oeleck (chilli paste) instead of dried chilli

• Recipe:
• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 4 tbs veg oil
• 750g minced lamb or beef (I used lamb as above)
• 1/2 -1 tsp ground ginger 
• pinch salt
• black pepper or pinch ground chilli pepper
• small bunch coriander, chopped
• small bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 5 eggs lightly beaten (for a lower fat option, leave out 2 of the egg yolks)
• 500g large sheets of filo pastry
• olive oil to brush on pastry

Method:

In a large frying pan soften the onion in the oil.  Add the meat, spices, salt and pepper or chilli and cook, crushing the meat with a fork and turning it over, until it changes colour, approx 10 mins.  Stir in the parsley and coriander and the beaten eggs and cook on low heat for a few moments, stirring until the eggs are set and a creamy consistency.  Allow filling to cool.

Lay a few sheets of filo pastry on top of each other and cut in half lengthways so you have strips of around 15cm x 30cm.  Put the piles of strips together and cover with a tea towel so they don't dry out.

Place one strip of filo on a chopping board and lightly brush the ends with oil and a little along the middle.  Lay a tablespoon of filling at one short end, about 2cm from each edge.  Roll up like a cigar, when you get to halfway, fold the sides in and then continue to roll letting the sides unfold so the cigars appear to be open.

Place the rolls side by side on a tray with baking paper and brush the tops with a light layer of olive oil.  Sprinkle with nigella seeds, or alternatively you can use white or black sesame seeds, and cook for around 20-30 mins in an oven preheated to 180ºc.  

Serve hot with the yoghurt sauce or plain.

These can be made in advance and just cooked prior to serving.  They got the thumbs up from my friends!

Blackberry Smoothie!

I am LOVING fresh blackberries at the moment, they are even cheaper than blueberries.  I am determined to get healthier this year and lose the weight of my textbooks that I have seemed to absorb over the last year of study.  I am enjoying smoothies for breakfast and this one is extra nice because it's bright purple!!   High in calcium and fibre and only around 290 calories it's a great start to the day.  After one of these I am so full I don't need to snack mid-morning.  

• 1 medium banana
• 1/2 cup fresh (or frozen) blackberries
• 1/2 cup fresh (or frozen) blueberries
• 250ml Physical no-fat milk
• 1 tsp honey (optional for those with a sweet tooth)

Blend all of the above, admire the 'purpleness' and enjoy!

Raspberry, Pistachio and Rosewater Icecream

Yum - I made this for a recent dinner party and it was great!  So easy too!  I had Middle Eastern, mostly Morroccan food, so I wanted something that would go with that theme.  My sister gave me the idea from something my mum had made one Christmas, so I got the recipe from her, not sure where it came from originally.

• 2 litres Streets Blue Ribbon ice-cream, softened
• approx 400g frozen or fresh raspberries
• 85g natural unsalted pistachios
• 1 tbs honey
• 2 tsp Rosewater essence
• Fresh raspberries and honey to serve

Put the softened icecream in a bowl add the raspberries, pistachios and rosewater essence.  Drizzle in 1tbs honey.  Stir gently to combine.  Press into a bowl or loaf tin (I used an extra long loaf tin) lined with plastic wrap and cover with more plastic wrap.  Refreeze.  

To serve, lift the icecream from the bowl or tin and slice, serve with the fresh raspberries and a drizzle of honey.

Enjoy!

New fabric and ideas

So I've just got back from Brisbane where I was inspired with new ideas.  I recently bought myself a wide bias maker and my plan is to make some lightweight denim skirts, blue and black A lines and I'll be putting a patterned bias around the hem.  With this and some original applique featuring some new fabrics and embellishments I should soon have a few one off skirts for sale (and some for me!) which will be around $60 each.    That's all for now (as I get interrupted every 5 mins in school hols) but will be back with some more soon!  I am planning to make 2012 a year of creativity combined with part-time teaching, and hopefully will get to teach my students some creativity too!

Here are some of the fabrics I've just ordered, can't wait to get them.

Wow - so long since I've blogged!!

I just logged in to this blog and realised it's been since May!!!! since I've put anything on here.  Well a good reason for that is this year I finished my post grad teaching degree.  Yes, so next year I can start working at a primary teacher.  Yay!  I can't wait, and the best thing about it is the opportunity to be creative and think up great ideas to inspire my students while making sure they have fun while they learn. 

I recently went to the Jeannie Baker exhibition at Newcastle Library, and while I was there picked up the education kit, with lots of inspiring ideas and activities to use with primary students.  I can't wait to have a fabric collage lesson, especially considering I have such a huge collection of gorgeous fabric scraps.

Next year I'm looking forward to making some one off ladies skirts, more purses and just generally being creative when I'm not working.  These holidays I have already had time to make myself some new clothes and a couple of presents for friends.

Here are a few pictures of things I did manage to make during the year.

Merry Christmas to all my customers too - thanks for supporting my creative addictions!

Carolyne

 I made this dress for Holly for her school Christmas Carols night

 Size 1 dress made with gorgeous Dutch Fabric

 I love this fabric, so made some ladies skirts too, including one for myself.

 Echino is one of my fave fabrics, looking forward to making more skirts next year

 Made this skirt for myself using 'Nature Walk' 100% organic cotton fabric

 Japanese Tensha bead earrings, nearly all sold out now

 These resin and Chiyogami paper earrings proved to be really popular

Fabric earrings

More skirts

Here are a few skirts I've been making lately.  As I am so busy with uni and prac teaching, these are great as they don't take long to make.  I'm having fun using the mountains of gorgeous fabrics I have stashed too!

These are all available in my made it shop.