Chicken Stroganoff

This is not the traditional stroganoff recipe I will admit. I am hopeless as following recipes because I cannot help but to add a few other ingredients according to my taste. This is an example of my "tweaked" recipes that turned out good and I am proud of.

It should work in principle with beef, though I have not yet tried it. I do not stand by these exact quantities as they are educated approximation of what I added to my pan. My advice is to try them but feel free to adjust them as per your taste. Cooking is more of an art than a science.

PS For those who do not eat pork , the bacon is optional. You can still have a try at the sauce without it.

Ingredients

400 g Chicken breast , sliced into strips
1 tbs Butter
2 tbs Olive Oil
1/2 a brown Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, pressed or thinly sliced
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup of sliced leek
2 rashers of bacon
3 tbs Worcester sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock * originally the recipe asked for white wine
1 tsp wholegrain Mustard
1/2 cup of Cream
Salt and pepper

Method

Melt the butter and heat the oil.
Gently fry the onions, garlic, mushrooms,leek and bacon .
Add the chicken and the Worcester sauce, stirring it in evenly
Cover and allow the chicken to cook until lightly bronzed.
Add the stock and allow the chicken to cook through.
Add the mustard and the cream.
Season with salt and pepper and allow the sauce to thicken.

Serving suggestion: Garlic Butter Rice


Garlic Butter Rice

3 Cloves of Garlic, thinly sliced
20 g Butter
1 & 1/4 cup of Rice ( Basmati)
1 & 1/2 cup of water/stock of your choice

Melt the butter.
Fry the garlic.
Add the rice and the stock.

Seafood Chowder

My first sight of seafood chowder did not entice me in anyway to actually taste it. It was a bowl of sloppy white liquid which did not in any way seem appetising. And that impression has been enough to ensure I never bothered ordering it.

My husband had been promising to change my opinion on Seafood chowder for the past 4 years. And in his own time, he has finally gotten around to it. Our first attempt at it was such a smashing success that he has indeed converted me.

Worth noting that I substituted potatoes with sweet potatoes ( the orange ones) because I just have a thing against white food ( white bread excluded).As a kid I refused to drink plain milk, it always had to be flavoured and subsequently coloured!

I also have an aversion to thin watery soups, so the extra texture provided by the seafood mix and the corn did wonders to get me on board the chowder train.

Ingredients

1 tbs of butter
2 tbs of olive oil
Equivalent of 2 tsp of thyme leaves
1 medium brown onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced or pressed
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 rashers of bacon, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 potato ( I personally used a sweet potato) , chopped
1 Litre of stock (chicken or fish)
1/2 cup of corn
500g Marinara mix
200ml of cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish *Optional 
Chives, Parsley and/or Dill

Methods

In a large pan, melt the butter and add the oil.
Lightly fry the onion and garlic.
Add the bacon and the rest of the vegetables (minus the corn)and lightly fry
Add the stock and cover.
Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes
Remove from heat and allow to cool
Blend into a smooth mixture using a stick blender (or cool further if using a food processor)
Add the corn and Marinara mix and allow to cook for another 10 minutes.
Add the cream and lightly simmer for 3-5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot garnished with herbs

Accompany with Garlic bread or mustard toast.

Mustard toast is my new garlic bread. I found the recipe online and since my first taste of it I have been hooked. It is also considerably easy to prepare also leaving your fingers free of the garlic smell.

Cut a french baguette into sideways slices
Combine 1 tbs of wholegrain mustard with 1 tsp of Olive oil to form a spread
Apply to bread and toast under the grill for 3-5 minutes depending on how bronzed or crunchy you prefer your toast.

Bacon, Mushroom and Spinach Risoni

I have to admit that I had ever heard of risoni before moving to Australia. It was on my first day in Australia that I tried this  rice shaped pasta in a tomato sauce with meat balls.I was thoroughly mesmerised by its shape as a pasta.

Upon a little research I discovered that it is commonly used in soups and salads. I experimented with it and came up with this delicious and fairly light recipe which can also be tweaked into a vegetarian one. It can also be paired with meat or simply served plain as a light lunch.

Ingredients

1 cup Risoni
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or pressed
1 brown onion, diced
100g roughly chopped or sliced mushrooms
100g fresh spinach leaves
3-4 rashers of Bacon
15g  Butter ( a healthier alternative is olive oil)


To serve

Salt and Pepper
Parmesan cheese ( alternatively any other cheese of your choice)
Fresh Basil leaves

Method

In a pan, melt the butter on a medium heat.

Lightly fry the  garlic, bacon, mushrooms and onions until lightly bronzed.

Add the spinach and lightly sautée the mixture.

Add the risoni and the stock, mixing evenly through.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and allow to cook for 6-10 mins.

Serve warm, sprinkle with Parmesan with a few basil leaves.

Mushroom and Spinach Risoni served with Herb Roasted Lamb

*Alternatively you can precook the risoni al dente by boiling for 5-7 minutes and drain before adding to the sauce and substitute the stock with half a cup of cream.

Spicy Rice

If you grew up with rice as a staple food like me you most probably do not look forward to having plain white rice for every single meal. Apart from the occasional Saffron rice or a fried rice on Sundays, every gravy, sauce, bouillon etc is  served with white rice in Seychelles.

Whilst living in India, it was a Ugandan friend who introduced me to a "Tomato Rice" which consisted of lightly fried onions and tomatoes cooked with the rice. Not to mention my addiction to biriyani and pulao, which was adequately suited to the Indian subcontinent!

This is the recipe which can be varied to match your personal taste but in essence is using spices, nuts and raisins to spruce up a culinary staple.

Bear in mind that my quantities are for 2-4 persons depending on serving sizes. I mostly cook for my husband and I and it usually lasts for 2 different meals.

Ingredients 

1/4 cup of nuts (Almonds, Cashews etc...)
1/4 cup of raisins
2 tbs Oil
2-4  Cloves
2 Cardamom pods
1/4 tsp Cumin powder
1 tbs Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder ( or a cinnamon quill can also be used)
1/2 tsp Chili powder ( or a fresh chili or 2 chopped) *Optional
1 cup of rice (preferably Basmati or Jasmine)
1 1/2 cup of water
Salt and Pepper to taste

*Alternative if you have a curry powder mix (masala ) that you like you can just use 2-3 tbs of it.

Method

Lightly fry the Spices in the hot oil to make a paste.

Add the rice and water.

Add the nuts and raisins.

Cook on a medium heat, covered for 3-5 minutes ( I usually tip the pan to the side to check if the water is all used up to know if ready).

Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes covered.

Spicy Almond Rice with raisins

* Some people prefer using a rice cooker, in which case you can make the paste on the fire before adding to the rice in the rice cooker.

Spicy Lemon Rice using a mild curry powder mix and Lemon Juice

Sesame pork

I found this recipe on the Atkins Diet online recipe and I have tried it a few times and each time it has been devoured because it is truly irresistible. It is basically a sesame flavoured pork stir fry.It is very easy to prepare and equally fast to cook.

My ingredients are what I usually prepare for 2-3 persons but you can play around with the quantities to match your preference or your number of servings.

Ingredients

250g pork , cut into thin strips ( julienne)
3 sprigs of Spring onions (alternatively scallion or chives can be used or added) also cut into thin sideways strips
3 tbs Sesame seeds
2 tbs Sesame oil
3 tbs Soy Sauce
1 tbs Honey (or Sugar)
1 tbs Oyster sauce
2-3 Chilies , also cut into sideways stripes
 Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Combine all the ingredients into a bowl, mix well and leave to marinate for at least an hour. This can also be left overnight in the fridge.

Heat 2 table spoon of Sesame oil in a large pan on  medium heat with a table spoon of sesame seeds.
Lightly fry the seeds (you might want to increase the heat if you want the sesame seeds to fry to a deeper golden colour but I found that the seeds keep jumping around all over my kitchen if the heat is too high)

Add the meat with the marinade and stir fry until cooked to your preference.

Serving suggestions

Rice, Steamed Vegetables or Noodles

Mixed Berries Scones

 The saying goes Necessity is the mother of all inventions but in my case laziness is the mother of this invention. I was craving a sweet baked anything but had no eggs in the fridge. Reluctant to actually go to the shop I decided to look up egg less recipes I could conjure up without much a do.

Hence is how I came upon an egg less banana scone recipe, followed by a Mixed berry scone recipe.

I played around and tried mixing both, but somehow I botched that up when I too cocky winging it and forgot about the milk! So lets just say scraping the mixing off the baking tray after 2 minutes of baking to add the milk is NOT a good idea. The resultant "pastry" despite being very delicious and smelling like an amazing banana loaf was way too flat for my liking.

So today, being out of bananas and still refusing to walk to a grocery store, I tried the Mixed Berries recipe and that has beautifully turned out like actual scones!

I tweaked it by sprinkling desiccated coconut on top before putting into the oven.

I also cut back on the sugar as I planned to serve mine with Jam and Butter with afternoon tea.
If you want to try the banana combo just add a mashed ripe banana to the mix.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups Wholemeal flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/3 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Butter
1 1/3 cup Oats
1/2 cup frozen Mixed Berries
3/4 cup Milk
1 tsp Lemon juice *Optional
1 tbs desiccated coconut  *Optional

Method

In a large bowl combine the flour, the baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar.

Cut the butter into the mixture.

Add the oats, milk and mix until it forms a sticky ball.

Knead for 3-5 minutes.

Cut into  circular pie shape.

Press the frozen berries evenly into the batter.

Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 20 mins, or until the edges turn a golden brown colour.

Cut into 8 slices then allow to cool.