Spam

As you may have noticed my little blog has been identified as possible Spam. So I decided to lok through my recipe achives to see if I could find any good recipes that contain Spam. I couldn't, that stuff sucks.

Hope ya keep enjoying the blog.

Another Quick and Simple One

Szechuan Beef with ginger-soy beans

Heat a medium non stick pan over high heat. Add 1 TBSP of szechuan peppercorns and 1 TSP sea salt to the pan and cook till frgrant (about 2-3 minutes). Place the mix in a mortar and pestle and grind it up until fine.

Sprinkle the mixture of a 400g Beef fillet making sure to give an even covering on all sides. Put a little oil in the pan then throw in the beef, cooking for 3-4 minutes each side or until cooked to your liking (this time creates a pretty rare bit of beef). Remove beef and and place on a warm plate, cover the beef to keep it warm

Put 2 TSP sesame oil in the pan and toss in 1 TBSP of grated ginger. Cook for about a minute then add 350g Bok Choy. Cook for about a minute then add 2 TBSP soy sauce, 2 TBSP Oyster Sauce, 1 TBSP sugar, and 1 TBSP Water. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until Bok Choy is tender.

Place Bok Choy on a plate and cover with some of the thinly sliced beef.

SERVES 2

Time

Time. People rush about making excuses for not cooking a health nutritious meal. Even if you are only cooking for one (like me sometimes) you can cook a healthy, tasty meal.

Save the big projects for when you have a whole day, Roasts etc do require a bit of time investment. But weeknights, allow me to give you some ideas.

Pork Chops with a tasty ass coleslaw

4 Pork Loin chops

Cover these liberally with salt and balck pepper, and a little sprinkle of chilli flakes. Cook on a grill plate or in a heavy based skillet for 2-3 minutes either side on high

For the Slaw:

Combine 1/2 cup thinly sliced white cabbage, 1/4 cup whole egg mayonaise, 1 grated granny smith, and a tbsp honey. Give it a good toss together and that is it.

Spicy Lamb with Hummus

Finely chop an onion and a garlic clove and throw it in a heavy based pan over medium heat, stirring for 2-3 minutes. Add a little more heat and throw in 500g of Lamb Mince, some Morrocon Spice Mix, and a couple of grinds of salt and pepper.

It should take about 5 minutes for the meat to brown up, just keep breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you go. Strain off any excess fat, then throw the mix in a bowl. Stir in 2 chopped tomatoes and 1/3 cup of chopped mint leaves. Season to Taste

Serve on a bed of rocket throw over some Hummus and serve with warmed pita bread.

Pasta

Everyone loves Pasta. Well, maybe some diet concious, meely mouthed people may comment that it is too many carbs or some nonsense but really the same people probably hate all food and live on protein shakes and other such nonsense.

Pasta can be light and cool perfect for Summer, or rich and hearty great in Winter. It can be complex and full of ingredients, as simple and just have a couple of ingredients. It's great at lunch, and perfect at dinner. In short, it rocks.

Now you can set out to make your own, and I encourage you to give it a go if you have a few hours to spare. Be warned, home made Pasta is more than just buying a roller. It takes practice and a good eye to get it right. But when you do is very rewarding.

Personally I aint a show off. I have made it myself but in truth a good quality dried or a deli counter fresh pasta is just as good. As far as brands go I am a brand slut when it comes to dried pasta and do prefer to buy Barilla. But really most dried pastas now are pretty good.

Trick to making good pasta is heaps of rapidly boiling salted water with a slug of olive oil Fresh Pasta will take minutes so keep an eye on it, literally 2-3 minutes she should be right. Dried, follow the pack instructions and knock off a minute. It will continue to cook even after straining from the risidual heat. If a recipe calls for ya to cool it under cold water then cook for the full pack time.

When you pasta is cooked one thing you can do is toss through some shoulder ham. Put an egg yolk on the top and then stir it through. Throw some herbs and parmesan cheese on and Carbonara.

Here's one of my favourite pasta recipes. Give it a go, it is awesome and simple.

• 200g pancetta or a hunk of Bacon cut into fine lardons / dice
• 2 tins of chopped tomatoes,
  
• 2 medium red onions, finely chopped,
• 2 tsp (or to taste) chilli flakes
  
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped (or 1.5 tsp crushed garlic from a jar)
  
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ glasses of dry Italian or Italian style red wine (Chianti)
  
• Sprinkle of Sea Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 400g Buccatini or other dried pasta to serve e.g penne

• In a heavy bottom pan, add a little extra virgin olive oil and gently heat. Add the pancetta and cook until it starts to be come crisp. Add the finely chopped onion and cook for about ten minutes on a low heat. After ten minutes add the dried chilli and garlic and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and allow to cook and reduce almost completely. Then add the chopped tin tomatoes. Use the best quality you can find. Cook this over a low heat for about 45minutes to an hour. Season with salt.
• Cook the dried pasta according to instructions, until it has a slight toothy bite to it (al dente) in salted and rapidly boiling water and then drain.
• Serve the pasta topped with the sauce and a liberal grinding of fresh black pepper, which adds a greater aroma and impacts the flavour more.

tip: If you like while the sauce is still in the pan throw some of the pasta through it, it will give you a good covering on each strand of pasta.

Starting Out

So... are you afraid

I first started cooking when I was a kid. Helping my mum in the kitchen. Weird thing was half the stuff I liked to cook I rfused to eat. I was one fussy kid living on a diet of sausage rolls (from only one place on Earth) and cheese sandwiches (only one type of cheese, only one type of butter, and white bread crusts off) That was my diet.

So when did it all change, when did I become a food lover. I now have a much broader palette, enjoy so many different foods and flavours. My first tip for the aspiring foodie, don't be afraid to try new things.

Kids are the pits, but you don't ahve to keep it totally basic. Just don't be heavy handed or give them foods you know are wrong. You won't find many kids have the palette for fois gras with black truffles.

But keeping it healthy and nutritious is the tricky part. But it is not impossible to make healthy tasting good food. Whether you are feeding an army or just cooking for one it's easy to make great food.

And forget restaurants. Yeah they have professional chefs, but really unless you are eating at Claridges and Gordon Ramsay is cooking ya dinner you can do just as good at home yourself.

That $30.00 steak and cold chip at the pub can be made just as easily at home for a fraction of the price and without the cold chips.

I like food that is simple to make, tastes good, and is reasonably good for ya. That's not to say I don't treat myself from time to time, just that a treat isn't something you have every day.

Also if anyone has any recipes feel free to send them to me, I'll be happy to post them here.

Good Eats.