Chicken or prawn Laksa

Laksa paste:
1 onion
5cm piece fresh ginger
8cm piece glanagal
1 stem lemon-grass
2 cloves garlic,
1 tsp chopped chili
2 Tbs oil
process in food processor or mortar and pestle until fine..

500g chicken breast fillets, cut into cubes or
500g peeled prawns
2 cups chicken stock
100g rice vermicelli or egg noodles, cooked
1 cup light coconut milk
handful snow peas
3 spring onions, sliced
100g bean sprouts
1/2 cup fresh coriander (optional)

Add curry paste to wok and stir over low heat until aromatic, increase heat to medium and add chicken, stir and cook until well coated with the mixture.  Stir in stock and simmer for about 10 minutes.   Just before serving stir in coconut milk, noodles and snow peas. Bring back up to heat and divide between four deep bowls, garnish with spring onion, bean sprouts and coriander leaves.

Home made baked beans

1 onion, diced
1 potato, finely diced
2 Tbs molasses
1 cup dry mixed beans, soaked overnight, and drained
1/2 cup dry lentils
1 large tin diced tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato paste
4 cups water
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chopped chili or to taste

Place all ingredients into crockpot and leave on low for 4- 6 hours.  Stir after about 4 hours if possible, adding more water if necessary.  

Stuffed zucchini

In anticipation of the huge zucchini harvest I am going to have this year I dragged my sister -in-laws stuffed zucchini recipe out of the depths of my memory.

2 zucchini about 6 inches long

1/2 onion

1/2 red capsicum (bell pepper)

1 tsp grated garlic

1 tsp chopped chili or to taste

favourite seasoning mix

1 slice mulitgrain bread, crumbled

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, then steam for about 3 minutes or until just softened, but still holding its shape.  Remove and cool slightly.  In the meantime saute onion and pepper in a little olive oil until softened, add garlic and chili.  Then scoop out the flesh of the zucchini - leaving enough on the shell so that the shape is still preserved.   Mix the mashed zucchini into the onion mixture, add in your favourite seasoning mix to taste - leave it in the pan on low heat until liquid is absorbed.  Place zucchini in casserole dish and fill with filling.  Bake in a hot oven for about 10 minutes then mix together breadcrumbs and cheese and spread over the top.  Return to oven until  browned - turning on grill if necessary.  This also works well with mushrooms.

Note:  I make a mix of rosemary, mother of herbs (oregano and marjoram) kaffir lime and lime peel, freshly dried from my garden.

Dilled Salmon cakes

1 can salmon, drained, skin and bones removed
3/4 cup oats
1/3 cup skim milk
1 egg
2 tsp finely chopped onion
1 Tbs chopped fresh dill

sacue
1/2 cup yoghurt
1/3 cup seeded chopped tomato
1/3 cup seeded chopped cucumber
1 tsp finely chopped onion
1 Tbs chpped dill

Combine sauce ingredients and leave to marinate for 30 minutes   Combine ingredients for salmon cakes, let stand 5 minutes, shape into 6 patties.  Cook salmon cakes in a  little oil for 4 mins each side.

Yellow rice with raisins

Yellow Rice with Raisins


1 cup (250ml) long grain rice
1 tsp (5ml) turmeric
Pinch salt
¼ cup (125ml) raisins or sultanas
2 cups (500ml) boiling water


Place all ingredients except sultanas into a heavy pot, cover, bring back up to the boil and then turn down heat as low as possible and leave for 25 minutes. stir in sultanas just before serving. Alternatively cook on low in microwave for 25 minutes in a covered microwave safe dish, or in a rice cooker.  stir in raisins just before serving.

sunflower rice variation:
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 red capsicum, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup sunflower seeds

saute onion, capsicum  and cumin seeds with the rice.  cook as above, then stir in peas, sulflower seeds and sultanas at the end.

Chicken soup thai style

1 chicken
1 red chili
2 shallots
2 sticks lemongrass
1 inch piece of ginger
1 inch piece glalangal
2 garlic cloves
3 kaffir lime leaves
small bunch coriander
1 Tbs fish sauce
100g thin rice noodles
1/2 tsp sugar

Place chicken in a big pot and add the flavourings, cover with 4 litres of water.  Bring to boil then turn down to a gentle simmer, cook about 2 hours until very tender and stock reduced by half.  Strain stock and discard flavourings. Remove breast meat and shred finely - use the rest of the chicken meat in other dishes. Add rice noodles, coriander leaves, fish sauce and sugar and return to boil.  Simmer 5 mins and serve.

Coconut crusted fish

This recipe was originally just for the fish with coconut topping, but when making it I decided to cook potatoes at the same time and am glad I tried it.  I served bok choy alongside, sauteed in a little chili oil with coconut milk, but you could add a layer of that to the casserole under the potato and have a meal in one dish.!

1 kg snapper or white fish, cut into serving sizes
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1 Tbs sesame seeds
1/2 bunch fresh coriander (optional)
zest and juice of 1 lime or lemon
2 stalks of lemongrass (optional) cut into long stalks
3 potatoes (nice with one sweet and 2 regular) sliced about 1/2" thick- skin on ok.
salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes
1 onion, sliced
1 cup coconut milk.
1 Tbs (or to taste) chili paste.

Lightly salt and pepper the fillets and drizzle with a little of the lemon juice. set aside to marinade for about 20 minutes.
In a dry frying pan place the coconut and sesame over a medium heat. Watching carefully, stir until it turns a nice toasty colour. Add lime juice and zest and coriander if used, and set aside.
Lightly saute the onion and sliced potatoes in a little olive oil, and then turn into a 9X13 casserole dish. Sprinkle the lemongrass stalks over the potato and pour the coconut milk mixed with chili paste over it all.  Cover with a piece of foil and bake in a medium oven 350*F for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes feel tender. Remove from the oven and lay the fish pieces over the top.  Press the topping onto the fish pieces and bake at 350*F  for a further 10 minutes or until fish flakes evenly with a fork.