Well praise be the kitchen gods! Finally, a food entry. And about time too. To end the drought, I thought I would offer up this little concoction of mine. It's the Son's current favourite and he deigns to consume even the odd couple of carrots and mushrooms. On the subject of Vegetables one must pry his mouth open to get them down and even then, it's not always a sure thing. I suspect in this dish, the carrots and mushrooms being drowned in cream and cheese, makes it somewhat palatable for him.

I personally can't handle more than a few mouthfuls of this, it's too rich for me but goes down quite the treat for the two men. And that is why, more often than not, I cook two sets of meals. Conflict in taste-buds and all that.

Some of the following ingredients will have no measurements for I measure them out by sight and the all important taste test. This may cause inconvenience to some of you so you can do what I do: When in doubt, start with half a teaspoon and work from there. Unless it's salt or pepper, then it's pinch, pinch, pinch all the way.

Dutchess' Chicken and Pasta Bake

You Need:

1 medium sized chicken breast diced into 1" cubes

300g of penne cooked to al dente

1 small carrot, skinned and thinly sliced

250g of white button mushroom, thinly sliced

1 tsp of chopped garlic

chicken stock; cube or powder

1 bay leaf

parsley, finely chopped (dried version is good too)

thyme, finely chopped                    "

salt and pepper

300ml thickened cream

olive oil for sauteing

mozzarella cheese, grated

red cheddar cheese, grated

You Do:

1. Heat olive oil in frying pan over medium fire. Brown chicken cubes to seal in flavour. When chicken turns a light golden brown, add chopped garlic, sliced carrots and mushrooms. 
2. Stir fry until carrots and mushrooms start to soften. Add a bit of water to prevent things from drying out. Add chicken stock, bay leaf, parsley and thyme. Saute some more till cooked.
3. Pour thickened cream and mix thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add cooked penne and give the whole lot a big stir. Turn off fire.
4. Divide penne into three or four different oven-proof bowls. Set aside.
5. Spread a layer of red cheddar and mozzarella cheeses over the penne. Amount depends on how much you love your cheese. 
6. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 30 minutes or until a deep golden brown.

Lekker!

Labels: one dish meals, pasta, she cooks

Labels: pasta, she cooks

1. In an extra large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add leek and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, rosemary and crushed red pepper. Bring to boiling. Stir in ravioli; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.




2. Stir in spinach. Cover and cook 3-4 minutes more or until ravioli is tender. Top with cheeses. If desired, garnish with rosemary. Makes 4 servings.

Lekker!

Labels: one dish meals, pasta, she cooks

Line the casserole dish with sliced courgette and tomatoes. Give the vegetables a few splashes of olive oil. Spread sprigs of fresh thyme all over.

Slice chicken breast in half, taking care not to go all the way through. Season with a little salt and chopped thyme on the insides before placing the goat's cheese on. Fold the chicken breast in half and secure with strips of streaky bacon.

Place wrapped bundles on the vegetable lined casserole dish. Pop into oven (pre-heated to 200C) and cook until a beautiful golden brown.

Lekker!

Labels: one dish meals, she cooks

Labels: asian food, she cooks, soups

Labels: Beijing, one dish meals, she cooks, soups

Stir Fried Pork Liver With Ginger

Labels: Beijing, she cooks

Labels: she cooks

1. Cook pulled noodles, blanch and set aside in serving bowl.


2. Add fish stock, garlic and spring onion in a soup pot, bring to boil.


3. Add white clams, salt and pepper. Let boil till clams are cooked. Turn flame off.


4. Ladle out soup and clams onto cooked noodles. Garnish with dried seaweed and fresh red chilli. Serve piping hot.
   

Labels: asian food, one dish meals, she cooks, soups

1. Bring chicken stock to boil.


2. While stock is boiling, prepare the vegetables. Chop carrots and celery into chunks, onions into thick wedges.


3. When stock is ready, put in the chicken breast. Let it boil for a couple of minutes, then lower flame. Simmer covered for about 30-40 minutes.


4. Remove chicken breast, blanch in cold water. Shred meat and set aside.


5. Bring stock to boil again, this time adding vegetables, parsley and thyme. Again, let boil for a few minutes, then lower flame. Simmer covered until vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper.


6. Return shredded chicken into the soup and give it a good stir.


7. Serve piping hot with crusty bread rolls, rice or pasta.

Labels: one dish meals, she cooks, soups

Who's the chicken here - it or me?

On the left is the nice clean cut, albeit a stray tendon peeking out. On the right, however, is a fine example of what not to do.

Another example of what not to do - notice a bit of bone jutting out where the neck is supposed to be.

Labels: home life, one dish meals, she cooks

Rib-eye steak with a bed of pan fried herbed potatoes and french beans.

Comfort food - Fresh spinach tagliatelle tossed in olive oil with black olives and sun-dried tomatoes.

Little bowl of heaven

Labels: home life, pasta, she cooks

Tagliatelle alla Bolognese

Labels: home life, pasta, she cooks

1. Cook eggs in boiling water until hard-boiled. Drain and leave to cool for a few minutes.


2. Tap eggs on work surface or with a spoon to get cracks all over, taking care not to break open the shells itself. This step is to achieve the pretty marbling effect of the eggs.


3. In a medium sized pot, add in water, bag of spices, light and dark soy sauce and hua tiao wine. Bring to a boil.


4. Season with salt and sugar and do a taste test. Add more soy sauces if needed.


5. Gently place the eggs into the mixture and let boil for 10 minutes.


6. Lower the flame, cover the pot and leave the eggs to simmer slowly for 1 - 1.5hrs.


7. Turn heat off and let eggs cool slightly before eating.

Labels: asian food, she cooks, small bites, tea, the cheat's guide

1. Thinly slice beef fillet across the grain. Marinate with soy sauce, salt and pepper and a dusting of corn flour. Set aside.


2. Heat up cooking oil in wok. When sufficiently hot, add in beef, fry for a minute or so, remove and set aside.


3. Pour in more cooking oil, add garlic and fry to golden brown.


4. Toss in the capsicum, chilli and chinese mushrooms, stir fry until half cooked. Add in kimchi (including the pickling sauce), cook for a few minutes.


5. Finally, mix in the beef and give it a good once-over before serving hot with steamed rice.

Labels: asian food, one dish meals, she cooks

Labels: asian food, she cooks

1. Marinate beef and set aside for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, bring a pot of water to the boil and blanche sliced asparagus and carrots. Set aside.


2. Heat up oil in a wok till smoking hot. Slide the marinated beef in, fry until brown to seal in the juices, remove and set aside.


3. Add more oil and on high heat, fry garlic until golden brown. Throw in onions and when it is slightly transparent, add in the bell peppers, asparagus and carrots. Stir fry for a minute or so.


4. At this point, pour the soy sauce and oyster sauce in. Add some water so it doesn't burn. Stir fry for another minute or until almost done. Season to taste with salt and pepper.


5. Finally, add the beef and mix well. Splash some Hua Tiao Wine, give the whole lot one final stir and you're good to go. Serve hot with boiled rice.

Labels: asian food, she cooks

Labels: asian food, she cooks

Labels: asian food, one dish meals, she cooks

1. Heat a wok over high heat, add the oil and heat until very hot.


2. Stir fry the chilli and spring onion for 30 seconds then add the bean sprouts and toss until they start to wilt.


3. Add the soy sauce and fry for another minute. Season to taste.

1. Sift the flour into a bowl, slowly pour in the boiling water, stirring as you pour. Add the oil and knead into a firm dough. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside for 30 minutes.


2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Divide the dough into three equal portions, roll each portion into a long cylinder, then cut each cylinder into 6 pieces.


3. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and press into a flat disc with the palm of your hand. Brush one disc with a little sesame oil and put another disc on top. Using a rolling pin, flatten each pair of discs into a pancake.


4. Heat and ungreased frying pan over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and place the pairs of pancakes, one at a time, in the pan.


5. Turn over when brown spots appear on the underside. When the second side is cooked, lift the pancakes out carefully peel them apart. Set aside under a damp cloth.

1. Place a pancake with cooked surface facing down on a board.


2. Spoon some bean sprouts onto the lower end of the pancake, tuck the bottom end in and make one turn. Tuck the left and right edges in and continue rolling until you've reached the end. Make sure you roll everything nice and tight or everything will fall apart when eating and you really don't want that to happen.

Labels: asian food, one dish meals, she cooks