Fetta Bust Out The Watermelon

Where's the fruit? Today it was pointed out to me that out of 100 blogs only one recipe contained fruit. Not fruity enough. So lets get the fruit on. For dinner that is.

In rising to the 'fruit for dinner challange'. It occured to me that apart from tomatoes, fruit is very rarley used in the main meal at dinner time. As such, I was hard pressed to come up with the goods.

But, I think you'll find this one a real cracker. With a salad like this it's all about the sweetness of the watermelon, balanced with the saltiness of fetta. Chuck in a bit off mint for contrast. Voila, a fruity salad that goes well with red meat, or other robust savory flavors like that. This ones for you Steff. Hope you like it...?

Ingredents:

1kg diced watermelon. Seeds removed.

200g Australian fetta.

1/2 Cup of fresh mint. Roughly choped.

Method:

Combine all ingredents.

Notes:

As this is the first time I have ever cooked watermelon salad. I will atempt to refine both the ingredents and the method. I would like to develop a dressing. Possibly just a squeeze of lemon, and a crack of pepper. I will post the results of future experiments....

I know you don't eat lamb (You know who you are). But I feel lamb works wonderfully with this salad. It's all in the mint. I would love it if you gave it a try. Later.......B

100 Blogs!

Holey shit. I got to 100 blog enteries. For some reason, in the 'Blogerverse' . It is considered good form to list a few things about oneself. 100 things actually. One for each blog entry. Not being the type to back away from traditional traditions, I will attempt my one hundered list. No doubt, shit a house interpretation. Yes I did mean to shit a house.

1. I've posted 100 blogs.

2. I love my wife and kid very much.

3. I love food 100% of the time.

4. My boss is a wanker.

5. I am in love with my knives.

6. I think about my knives when I'm not useing them.

7. I meditate when I sharpen my knifes.

8. I own 3 different steels, a 2 sided stone, and a razor strop. (Keeps my knifes sharp).

9. I don't like it when other people look at, or handle my knifes.

10. I think organic, and free range, always taste better than. Pesticide, and cage

bread animals.

11. If you can make it from scratch. It will allways taste better than pre- processed shite.

12. I like to grow my own herbs. You can't get fresher than picked 10 seconds ago. Plus there free...
13. Is the day in December that my sister has her birthday.

14. I still remenber the day my butcher retired, and took with him the best 4kg rump steaks the world has ever seen.

15. I love to make my wife great cups of tea ;-)

16. My wife loves to let me sleep in on weekends.

17. 15 is only to because I love my wife and because she loves me. 16 never happens.

18.

Bun-cho-piks

Ta.......

Santa Chook

Yo. Word on the street is that Santa is on his way into town. In my half of the word, the bottom/ or better half, it's really starting to heat up about this time of year. But many of us anglo homies, are still tryin to keep it real. We're still holding on to our northern heratage. Rather than cooking up a curry or sum such that would suite a hot climb like ours. We still want to do. 'Baked ham, roast pork, or chicken, or something totally inappropirate like that.

Roast chicken, with sage, mint, parsley, mint, lemmon and cous cous stuffing.

Sided by baked potaoes with sage and mint marinade. Alongside slow roasted roma tomatoes with a balsamic and peper reduction.....

Ingredients:

1 size 18 free range chicken.

8 long sprigs of sage.

12 long sprigs of mint.

1/2 cup of parsley.

4 cloves of garlic.

1 cup of cous cous.

1 table spoon of butter.

Pepper.

Olive oil.

Salt flakes.

Ingredience, Sides:

4 ripe Roma tomatoes. Halfed.

12 small Duch cream potatoes. In half.

1/4 cup balsamic vinager.

Peper. Fresh cracked.

Olive oil.

Salt flakes.

Method:

Sorry. You'll have to wait untill next time, coz I'm totally knacked. See you soon. B-Rock

Thanks Stephanie Alexander. (For the scones).

Lady Flo, I am told. Thinks pumpkin scones are wicked. I think they are wicked also. The above pic is the result of one of my best friends recepies. Who I am sure you all know. 'Stephanie Alexander'.
If you spead butter over them when they are still warm from the oven, It's just heaven.
So, as Stephanie tells us:
Ingredents:
250g pumkin. Peeled and cut into chunks.
300g self raiseing flour.
20g butter.
Pinch of salt.
1 lightly beaten free range egg.
Method:
Steam pumkin untill soft. The in a pre heated overn at 200c, breifly dry off, and pruee. Add this to sifted flour with the butter, and salt rubed in. Add the egg, and some milk to make a soft dough. Tip the mixture onto a floured bakeing tray. With floured hands, pat the dough into rounds, about 3cm thick is good. Useing the back of a knife mark into wedges or squares. Brush with milk and bake for 15 to 20 minutes untill golden brown. Cool, then brake them open and spread with butter. Consume promptly for best results.

It's English. So I Boiled The Shit Out Of It.

A big hello all lovers of boiled food. On the menu tonight: We've got an old (Thoroughly boiled for hours on end, just to be sure.) English classic....

Corned Beef. (Sliverside). With White Sauce.

Now I can understand that if you have never tryed silverside. The idea of a hunk of beef thats been soaked in sea water, then boiled for several hours. Can sound a bit off putting. But... If you've tryed A good corned beef. Then you'll now it's totally wicked, and you'll want to eat it all the time. Just like me. Also the rest of my family goes ape shit every time I cook it. Plus, the left over meat is awsome on white bread with tomato sauce. The following is one of many, many ways of cooking silverside. Hope you like it.

Ingredents:

1.5kg of corned silverside. Trim the fat.

2 brown onions. Peeled.

8 whole cloves.

3 large peeled and chopes carrots.

1 dozen peper corns

2 fresh bay leaves.

Method:

Fill a large heavey based pot with enough water to immerse the beef. Bring it to the boil. Rinse the beef, then place it in the water. Alow it to come to the boil. After 30 seconds, remove the beef. Drain the water and rince the pot. (This step is to remove excess salts from the beef.) Refill the pot, replace the beef. Return to the boil. Add the bay leaves, pepper corns, carrots, onions and cloves. Simmer slowly for three hours. As serving time nears. Prepare a white sauce. Flash boil some sliced cabbage.

Serving:

Place some cabbage onto a plate. Next layer 3 or 4 medium thick (3-4 mm) peices of silverside over the cabbage. Add some of the boiled carrots on the side as a garnish. Ladlle a real good dollop of the white sauce over the top. Crack a bit of pepper over it. Now eat it. After every third bite, take a sip of amber ale.

Chilli pork rissoles. Potato Fritters. Mango salad.

Hot weather is upon me. As such I am inclined to prepare meals that are trpoical in nature...

Pork, chillis, mangos, can be worked up to create magic on hot evenings.

This meal has quite a few ingredents. I'll just get straight into it.

Ingredents: Chilli pork.

500g minced pork.

1 small brown onion.

1/4 cup of mint.

4 cloves of garlic.

3 small red chillis.

1/4 cup bread crumbs.

Pepper.

Salt.

Ingredents: Fritters.

200g Sweet potato. Grated.

3 Free range eggs.

2 cloves garlic.

Dash of oyster sauce.

Pepper.

Ingredents: Salad.

1 mango. Sliced.

Cos lettues. Sliced.

Spring onion. Sliced.

Dressing;

1 tbl spoon malt vinagar.

1 tbl spoon sweet cherry.

1 clove of minced garlic.

Juce of 1/4 lemmon.

1/2 tea spoon of palm, or raw sugar.

Pepper.

Method:

For the burgers. Finley chop all the ingredents. Combine and form into patties. When it comes time to cook em: A hot, hot plate will do. Make sure to char each side, this will give the best flavor.

Next. Salad. For this one, greener mangoes are best. Toss all the ingredents together. Very difficult I know.

As for the dressing: This is an opportunity to bring together a whole bunch of oppisites. Mix em into one harmonious flavor, trust me it works! Sweet, tart, heat, bitter. Dress mangoes in this way, so as to equalize the sweetness of the fruit.

Getting to the fritters: As the egg tends to run. I recomend useing an egg ring, or something similar. Other wise. Mix all the ingredents, and cook over a gental hot plate.

When I served this, I made a sauce useing yougart and mint, peper and garlic helps. But you won't die if it's not included. If you do decide to go with the sauce. Drizzle it all over. Yum Yum.

Deglazed Egg Yoke Carbonara. (Brock special).

Carbonara is a favourite in our house. This varient utilises the deglazeing of the bacon in a very hot pan. I wont tourture you all by re-writeing the hole recipe. Instead I'll just give you the things that I changed from my other carbonara posting. If your wondering, that posting was called "Carb-o Nar Nar Ra Ra".
Tranformation A-la Methode:
Get your pan real hot. Slap in the bacon. Work it well, in a minute or so, a brown glaze will start to appear on the base. Bring the heat down real low. Deglaze the pan with the onion. Make sure to scrape off as much of the glaze as possible. If you look real close at the photo you can see small peices of it contained within the sauce. The de-glazeing of the bacon transformes the taste of this dish.
As for the sauce:
All you need to do is. Use a dash less cream. But add the cream just as you remove the heat. Also add an extra egg yoke at the end. Plus I used alot more parley, but it was more finely choped. Note the golden hew in the finnished dish....

Slow Cooked Basil Lamb Fettucine.

Will finnish later. Ta....

OK... Finally, I'm here to finnish this posting...

For the most part. The recipes that I post are either: Quick but hard. Or long winded, but piss easy.

This dish is definately in the latter catagory. Dead easy. But make sure you set aside a good 4 hours to 'whip' this one up. However, I would never expect you to waste 1/2 a day cooking, unless the end result wasn't totally awsome.

In saying that. Can you please ignore the pic. I had friends over, as such my home brew was sampled. The result being a half assed effort when it came to plate up time. Slip. Slap. Slop.

Ingredents:

2kg Lamb neck. (On bone).

750g tomatoes. (Diced).

2 medium brown onions. (Diced).

6 cloves garlic. (Minced).

1/2 cup of fresh choped basil.

Salt& pepper. (To taste).

Fresh made pasta. (To serve 4-6).

Olive oil.

Method:

In a large heavey based pot. Fry off the lamb in a little oil over high heat. When mostly done, add the onion. After a couple of minutes, stir in the garlic, at the same time remove from the heat. Work in the garlic so as to seal. Return to the heat. Add the tomatoes. Crack in some pepper. Bring to the boil. Test for seasoning. Now place the covered pot into a pre heated oven at 180c for 2 & 1/2 hours. Check at the half way point, top up with water if it's looking a little dry. Coincide cooking time with the preperation of fresh pasta. Other wise: (If you haven't figured out how to make pasta by now. Try to buy premium fettucine). At the last minute, add the basil, Just wilt it in.

Now your ready to plate up. Spiral the pasta onto the plate. Not like the car crash of a job I did. Ladle a small amount of the sauce over the top. (Strip the meat from the bone first). Shave some fragerent hard cheese over the top. Wash it all down with a robust red.

Ginger Ribs

Soooo. First of all. Like I'm realy sorry about the lack of posting... For a second there, I thought I was like, bumed out. But then I realized, I was just over worked. So like, totaly! For real! Get out! No way!

Soy Ginger Ribs:

Ingredents:

4 Free range pork ribs. (Any weight will do).

Big knob of ginger. Finley diced.

4 Cloves of garlic. Finley diced.

Juice & zest of lemon.

Fresh cracked peper.

Soy sauce.

Fish sauce.

Method:

Add the ginger, garlic, lemmon, and peper to a non reactive dish for marinateing the pork. Pat the pork ribs in the goodness. Coat evenly. Leave for 15 minutes. Now add enough soy so as to cover the ribs. Marinate for an extra 15 minutes. (Give it 20-25 if they are extra thick). Don't forget about the marination time. Soy as a marinde will easly over power most other flavors. But if you nail the timeing, you will experence the very best flavors that soya sauce has to offer. At the same time allowing the other subtle flavors to show through. After the marinating period is over. Slap them (The ribs) onto a moderate hot plate. Don't go to hot or you'll burn the marinade. But if your hot plate is to cold it will allow the moisture to release it's self from the flesh, leaveing your ribs tough and dry. OK . got all that?

Look... Sraight up. This one is easy to make. But it's bloody hard to marinate and cook properly. If you want to be a great chef. Don't expect to be an expert on your first shot at it. Practice makes perfect.... Before anything hits my blog. It's cooked and cooked again. Eventualy, after many fuck ups, I'll get it right... Sometimes.

Apologies to my family for haveing to suffer through this. Also for haveing to endure my culanary experements...

Country Bumkin Beef Pie

In regards to the comment left on this posting:

I can only conclude from the idiosyncratic grammatical nuances, that the author of the said posting is indeed my good friend, that we will call for the sake of privacy, 'A'.../....../.....

Hello 'A'. thanks for leaving a comment.

In responce to your question. Why don't I have more non meat recipes on my blog? I can say this:

Bloody (Non meat blood) oath. Your right. I should have more vegaterian meals listed on my blog. I mean the fat found in meat is a cheats way to add depth, texture, and flavor to a meal. If I was worth my salt as a home cook, I would try to find ways of extracting, depth, texture, and flavor out of vegtables alone.

However in the last Austrialian census. It was disclosed that 2.78% of people surveyed said that they were vegatarian only. The total percentage of my postings that are not only vegaterian, but vegan aswell, stands at 3.20%. Thus I can say that my blog exceeds the demographic requirement for vegetarian meals. In saying that. Offensive as I may be. You can rest assured.

Know this: Any vegaterian meal contributed in the comments section will be prepeared to the letter, and posted here for all to see. With full credit to the postee. Thanks for reading my blog/...... Later, 'B'.

PS: The correct spelling of the word idiosyncratic, was provided by my wife. All other spelling mistakes are intirely my fault.

PSS: The pictured beer is not vegaterian. Colagen was used as a finning agent. I must say that I am very much against such additives. If one was to make a good beer in the first place. It would not need such things. But I did buy the pictured beer from Ikea. What else should I expect?

Pork barreling

I cooked a one pot pork casserolle. Oh yeah.... I'll tell you how.
This is a cross between English, and French techniques. ( I hope saying shit like that doesn't get me blasted of the web). Here I have combined skills learnd after many-a one pot simmer sessions.
Ingredence:
5 Full free range for quater pork chops.
5 Peeled small waxy potatoes.
2 Large onions.
3 large peeled carrots.
5 sticks of choped celery.
1.5lt of beef stock.
1/2 cup of stout. (Optional).
6 cloves of garlic.
100g fresh green peper corns.
3tbl spoons plain flour.
Olive oil.
Salt & Pepper.
Method:
In a large oven proof heavey based pot. Fry off the chops in a little oil. Set aside. Add the finely chopped onions, cook untill semi done. Add the choped carrots, and cellery, along with the potatoes. Sweat off for a full 5 minutes with reduced heat. Now add the flour. Stir in and add the liquid. Bring to the boil. Tip in the pepper corns. Layer in the chops, cover, place in a pre heated oven at 180c for 2&1/2 hours.
Serving:
Layer out some liquid, Then some veg, potatoes on top. Finnish off with the wonderfuly softned pork. Garnish with parsley if you want. As I don't know what to make of the style. Pepper corn pork casserole. Can be served with what ever beverage you want.

Spag Blog

Spaghetti Blognaise. If you have lived in Melbourne for more than a week, you will have tryed 'spag bog'. Now you you've tryed it and you love it, you'll want to know how to cook it.

This is how I do it.

Ingredents:

500g minced beef.

1 large brown onion.

440g diced tomatoes.

3 cloves of garlic. Finley choped.

Char grilled vegtables. To taste.

1 tbl spoon of tomato paste.

Salt & peper.

Olive oil.

Method:

In a large heavy based pot. Fry off the onion in a little olive oil, untill soft and transparent. Then add the beef with the heat turned up. When thats cooked, add the tomato paste. Fry on the move for a few seconds. Now add the garlic salt and peper. Stir then add the tomatoes. bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Give it a drink if it looks a bit dry. Also be a bit naughty and add a splash of red wine to the mix....

Serving:

Plate up on a bed of #4 spaghetti. Some like to toss through the sauce. Thats fine. Infact, thats more than likely how it should be done. But here I just plonked it on top. Must be eat'n with a red. Thanks for reading.

Curryed Lamb Burgers.

First things first. Gota answer the comments from my last post. 1: Yes the pictures I post are most of the time just one serving. I make the servings so big because: From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep, I work, Damn hard. I have a family to support, and I don't want to let them down by not working as hard as I can all of the time. As such, I burn a huge amount of energy through out the course of the day. Hence the wopping plate fulls. Cool. 2: Yes you can come over for dinner next time I make that meal. I promise you a, 'Bloody wicked mate', dinner.

As for the curryed lamb burrgers. Let get it on. (Iron chef).

Ingredents:

500g minced lamb.

1 small brown onion. vrey finely chopped.

2 cloves garlic. Minced.

1/2 tblspoon cummin seeds.

3 cloves.

3 cardomon pods.

1/2 tbl spoon tumeric.

1/2 tbl spoon paprika.

1&1/2 tbl spoons of fresh choped parsley.

1/2 tbl spoon salt. Same peper.

Method:

Pound all the spices to a powder. Add this to the other ingredents. Combine well and form into patties. Cook on a medium hot plate.

Serving:

Look. What you serve'em with is up to. In the pix they got grilled vegies. I like beer for this one. Ta...

Succulent Lamb Balls. (Curryed).

Curry rocks.

These recipes are complicated., But with a wow factor of warp 10. I just have to share it with you. Try this:

Ingredents: Lamb Balls:

500g minced lamb.

200g standard sausage mince.

1 brown onion. Very finely diced.

Several sprigs of parsley.

Pepper.

1 tbl spoon. Harrisa curry spices.

Ingredents: Curry Sauce:

1/2 tea spoon tumeric.

4 cloves.

5 green cardomon pods.

1 tbl spoon of cummin seeds.

1/2 tbl spoon of black mustard seeds.
6 dryed red chillis.

1/2 tea spoon of pepper.

1/2 tea spoon of salt.

4 cloves of garlic.

1 brown onion. Finely choped.

450g diced tomatoes.

Olive oil.

Method:Balls:

Combine all ingerdents. Roll into little balls and fry off in a little oil. Set aside.

Method: Curry:

Combine all ingredents, bar the tomato and onions. In a mortar, pound the shit out of the spices with a little oil, untill they are a nice paste.

Fry off the onion in the same pot as the balls. Deglase the base. When onions are about done, add some extra mustard and cummin seeds. When they start to crackle and pop, add the paste. Move constantly. As you do this, lean over the pot and wait untill the aromatic oils are released. This should only take a few seconds. As this happens, tip in the tomatoes, deglase the pot for the final time. Top up with half a cup of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer. Now add the lamb balls. Return to a simmer and cook for at least 1 & 1/2 hours.

Serving:

Ladle out the sauce and meat balls onto a furrowed bed of rice. Also, make a yogart sauce with finley diced cucummber, minced garlic, crached pepper, mint, and raw sugar. Drink a dark ale.....

Skewerd Cow Yum Yums!

This one it kinda like my last posting in it's construction , just different. Cow not chook here...

Ingredents:

Small Rump steak.

1 rasher of middle bacon.

1 medium flat mushroom.

Spring onions

Seed mustard.

Horse radish.

Peper.

Method:

Pound the shit out of the beef so as to end up with a nice thin, elongated steak. Spread a small amount of mustard and horse radish over the top, along with a generous cracking of peper. Slice the mushroom an place in the middle of the steak, along with the spring onions. Trim the rind from a rasher of bacon. Lift up the meat, place it over bacon. Roll the whole thing up. Impale it on a meatal skewer.

Cook it on a hot BBQ plate untill the bacon is well browned off on boath sides. Transfer to the bakeing tray and give it about 15-20 minutes. Remove and rest for a few minutes before serving.

Serving:

I think a red. Not to fancey. But if you have to, a dark ale, (Wich is what I drank) will do fine.

Skewer Yum Yums!

Tonight I've got stuffed thy fillet of chook filled with asparagus garlic and curry spices. BBQed with a bacon wraping.... Shit yeah.

Ingredence:

2 free range thy fillets of chicken. Skin off.

4 Slim asparagus spears.

2 rashers of middle bacon. Eye removed.

2 cloves of garlic. Finley choped.

1 tea spoon of curry spices. See 'High Speed Chick Pea' posting for ingredents.

Method:

Lay out the fillets. Across the length of the fillet, place the asparagus. (Snap the ends of first and discard. Then snap em in half. This should be a good size.) Sprinkle the garlic over the top aswell as the spices. Place the fillet in line and over the top of a bacon rasher. Useing the bacon as a wrap, roll up the fillet. Skewer and repeat for remaining ingredents.

Place skewers onto a medium hot BBQ grill. With the cover on, grill for about 5 minutes. Turn over and give it another five minutes. Move to the roasting tray, and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Remove, but only rest for about 2 minutes befor serving.

Serving:

For the pictured meal, I used a bed of cous cous with parsley. You could probably use what ever you wan't. I liked to drink a clean ale with this meal. This is a beverage non descript meal. But a bloody good one... Enjoy.

Blogs Revisited!

Kon ban wa blog viewers. From time to time. I try cooking things that I have cooked before. The reasons why are: Can I cook it the same again? Can I tweak it with subtle changes to the ingredents that will make it better? Can I make subtle changes to the ingredents so as to change the flavor, thus creating a new dish? With the same ingredents, can I alter the method so as to present it in a different style? Can any of the above questions teach me anything new about the combinations of ingredents and/or methods that that I have used before?

In essence my core cullanary values are:

Can I do it again?

Can I make it better?

Can I make it different?

Can it look different but taste the same?

Have I learned anything?

Every time you cook. Try to make something youv'ed never made before. If you do this as often as you can, you'll learn a shit load, and end up a way better cook.

As for the pix pictured:

The egg and bacon pie needs tomato on the botton as well as the top. Plus, sprinkle parsley all over just before it goes in the oven.

The lasagne needs to be cooked for about 20 minutes longer than stated in the original posting. Also, try useing a little less topping. I feel this will better balance the flavor.

Finelly. In my last posting I talked about shooting kangaroos. To all of the offended peoples. My apologies. Here is the same meal useing T-bone steak.

Roo-n-Mash

G-day. Tonight it's full blooded Aussie. Grilled kangaroo on potato mash, with mushroom sauce.

These days, you should be able to buy good quality kangaroo at your locall supermarket. I would go so far as to recommend it as a good substitute for beef. The flesh is some what more lean than beef. As it is not farmed, all kangaroo can be considered organic. When cooked, it will grey more than a cow, but will retain more flavor. The only real down side to roo is. If you don't seal it on a red hot pan, It will loose all of it's moisture. To let roo dry out when not sealed properly. Well you might as well eat my work boots. It's that bad.

If like me, you went down the back paddok to waste a fresh one. Use something with a bit of stopping power. 303, .22 magnum with hollow or star point. Anything .45, of even 50cal. All bored weapons with these numbers should bring down a large roo with one chest shot. In saying that. Steer clear of the big males. They are a bit tough.

Also, if your out roo shootn. I feel it is your duty as an Australian to kill atleast 60 rabbits, 14 foxes, 6 cats, 4 pigs, 2 goats, and a deer. All of these can be eaten. Foxes and cats however, taste like shit.

Ingredents:

250g (Per serve). Kangarook, rump steak.

2 large flat mushrooms.

4 large potatoes for mash.

1/4 cup plain flour.

2 tbl spoons butter.

Fresh choped parsley.

Fresh choped spring onions.

1/2 cup milk.

Salt & pepper.

Method:

Cook and mash the spuds. Heat a bbq hot plate to smokeing hot. Add the spring onions and parsley with a knob of butter to the mash. Pound it to a,.. Mash.

On your ultra hot hot plate, cook the roo. Test for doneness with the finger method.

Now make a roue with the mushroom.

Plate up...

Serving:

Make a stack of mash. Lay the steak on top. Drizzle roue over the lot. Done.

Drink with either a deep red or a rich larger.

Thanks for reading.........Hope you cook it.

Chermoula Grilled Chicken

Good look chook ya?

A post or so ago, I was asked to give a few more recipes for hot summer nights.... This is a north African corssing into spanish and middle eastern dish that is perfect for hot dry weather.

The spices involved are highly open to interperatation. However, I would strongly suggest that Papreka is left in. As I feel it is central to this dish. As for the rest. Couc cous, or rice, capsicum, or mushroom. It's all up to you. For this posting I will list the ingerdents used in the pictured dish.

Ingredents:

2 Free range chicken brest fillets. Skin off.

6 cloves of garlic. Finley choped.

1 heaped tea spoon of cummin seeds.

1 table spoom of papreka. (Smoked).

1/4 tea spoon of tumeric.

1/2 tea spoon of raw or palm sugar.

1/4 cup of fine choped spring onions.

1/4 cup of fine choped parsley. (Fresh).

1/4 cup of fine choped corriander. (Fresh).

1/4 cup of olive oil.

1 tea spoon of pepper. (Fresh cracked).

1/2 red capsicum.

1/2 green capsicum.

3/4 cup of uncooked cous cous.

extra parsley.

Small knob of butter.

Method:

Slice tops of brest to alow flavor to penitrate. Pound to a paste all the ingredents, bar the cous cous, capsicum, extra parsley, and butter.

Marinate the chook in the paste for about 30 minutes. Slice the capsicum into strips. Seal the chicken on a medium hot grill plate. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the capsicum. Keep the capsicum moveing every few minutes. Turn the chook one more time. Use the finger method to tell doneness. Just befor this happens. Prepear the cous cous with the extra parsley, and butter.

Serving:

Make a bed of cous cous on a large plate, place the capsicum in a florett over the top. Then the chicken over the top of it all.

Red wine, or a full bodied beer will suffice. what ever you feel like.

Pork on fork.

Sup Blog Blog?

A few people have beem asking me about the loin pork steaks I cooked. (Although, none of the comments reflected this. Hint, hint). Anyway. For this one I took the same cut of meat and served with a very different flavor. Also the salad was rearranged. Simmilar style but revised ingredence to balance out the meal. Check it y'all.

Ingredents: Pork:

Trimed loin of pork 200g per steak.

1/2 cup soy sauce.

1/4 cup ketchapmannis.

3x3x5cm peice of ginger. Finley choped.

6 cloves of garlic. Finley choped.

1 chlli. Finley choped. (Optional).

2 tea spoons of palm sugar.

1/2 cup of fresh corriander. Choped.

Ingrenents:Salad:

1/2 cucummber. Cut on lenght then sliced.

1 carrot. Cut on lenght then sliced.

1 tomato. Equator cut then quartered.

1/2 cup of whole skinned water chestnuts.

Small bunch of fresh choped corriander.

Simple vinagrett. To taste.

Extra corriander. (Looks good).

Method:

Combine all steak ingredents. Allow to marinate f0r about 15 minutes. Don't over do this marinade. It's a full on sub-whooffer master blaster. 15 minutes tops, OK, Good. Lets move on.

As for the salad. Combine the listed ingredents in a salad bowl. Tip in enough dressing to coat the lot, what you want is a nice glisten. Cook the pork on a moderate hot plate. Use the finger method to tell doneness. Dont have the plate to hot, that will burn the soy marinade. Don't have the plate to cold, that will boil off any avalible moisture. If you have a grill plate, even better. Not that it will do a better job. It just looks cool.

Serving:

If you can slap it on a plate so it looks good. Your a better chef than I. Apart from that. Make sure the meat has had a chance to rest befor sreving. (Helps no end). Guzzle something like a mahogany porter with this one. (If you are a moron, and you don't know what a mahogany porter is. I'm talking about beer. Got it? Good).

What to do with a shit load of herbs?

Chomp- Blog. Yum Yum.

In my last posting I talked up growing your own herbs. At this time of year they grow so fast, it's sometimes difficult to know what to do with them all. The above pictured casserolle uses an absolute shit load.

Look, straight up. If you don't have access to lots of fresh herbs don't attempt this one. For one. Dryed herbs suck, and you'll need bucket loads to get the flavor right in this meal. Secondly, to buy the herbs required for this dish fresh. Well, you'd have to bre a dickhead! So, if you got your shit together and are plucking your herbs fresh, Lets rock.

Ingredents:

6 Forquarter lamb chops.

1 large brown onion.

6 cloves of garlic.

4 large carrots.

1lt of beef stock.

5 medium potatoes for mash.

3 tbl spoons fresh choped tyme.

2 & 1/2 tbl spoons of fresh choped rosemary.

1/2 tbl spoon of fresh choped marjoram.

1/2 tbl spoon of fresh choped parsley.

2 tbl spoons of fresh choped of spring onions.

1/2 tbl spoon of fresh cracked pepper.

1/2 tbl spoon of quality salt flakes.

Flour to thicken.

Olive oil.

Method:

In a large heavy based oven proof pot, gently fry off the lamb in a little oil untill just cooked, remove. Deglasse the pot with the finely choped onion and sliced carrot. Add the finly chopped garlic, keep it moveing for about 45 seconds befor addind a dusting of flour. Mix in the flour and add the beef stock, finnish the deglasse, bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer. After about 15 minutes of reduction, cover and place into a preheated oven at 190c for about 2 & 1/2 hours.

As it comes time to get the pot out of the oven. Smash the spuds adding the parsley and spring onions, a little bit of butter wont hurt em either.

Method:

Make a bed of mash heap some up the side, ladle some sauce from the casserole on top, then some meat and more sauce..... Yum.

Herb-O-Matic

Herb superb!!!

So often I crap on about the importance of fresh herbs. Yes, dryed herbs are avalible at the supermarket. Even so called fresh herbs can now be bought in the fruit and veg department.

What is shown in the above photo, would cost about $50 to buy. Only a moron would pay that price for something thats a few days old, and is doused in chemicals. I got these herbs for free! Super fresh. Guess how? They were grown in my sisters back yard. They were given no special treatment. They just grew. No fuss. No bother. Very little space, and no pesticides needed. But the best bit of all, just open the back door, pick what you need, enjoy the freshest herbs possible, for free.

Now I've said my peice. It's your turn. Get up tomorrow morning, go to the markets or where ever. Buy all the herb seedlings that you normally use in day to day cooking. Bung em in the garden, or in a pot if your like me. Give it a month, and with regular watering you can enjoy the wonderful flavors of fresh herbs yourself. Free and organicly good ofcourse.

Pictured:

Sage.

Tyme.

rosemary.

Marjoram.

Thanks sis for all the goodness...

Loin-o-pork. Carrot-o-cucummber.

What up 'Blogtastic'?

Summer slamed into me like a freight train. I can't stand heat!

The suffering of summer does have a few good bits. I get to do all the summery cooking. This one I banged out in no time flat. If your not quick with a blade you might want to use a machine for the julienne. Cost $4 per serve.

Ingredents:

Extra trim loin of pork.

1 large carrot.

1 cucummber.

3 small pickled cucummbers.

8 small grape tomatoes.

Basic vinagrett.

Method:

Finely julienne the carrot and cucummber. Cut in half the tomatoes, cut pickled cucummbers length ways then into slices. Toss the lot with some dressing in a non reactive bowl. Fin.

Tie off the loin then cut into thick steakes. Cook these on a very hot BBQ plate. Seal boath ends, then lower the heat and cook untill doneness is reached. Use the thunb and finger method for this.

Serving:

Place the rested steak on top of a stack of salad. Enjoy.

Beverage:

A full bodied fruity white should suffice.

Lamb Burger / Potato Salad!

Lamb Burgers! The recipe that I'm posting here are a huge hit with friends and familiy. Give em a burl and I promise you'll never look back. 'Bloody beautiful'....

Potato Salad. Every body knows potato salad. A real Aussie BBQ tradition. I've had a few shit ones in my time... This one, far from it. This is the best potato salad recipe I have ever tasted. Recipe complements of my wife. Thanks babe.... Here goes:

Ingredents:

Lamb burgers:

500g Lamb mince.

1 Brown onion.

100g Australian Fetta.

Zest and juce of 1 lemon.

1/2 tbl spoon dryed oregano.

Small handful of fresh mint.

4 cloves garlic.

1 tbl spoon bread crumbs.

Salt & pepper.

Salad:

500g Waxy potatoes.

2 Boiled free range eggs.

3 diced sweet pickled cuccumbers.

2tbl spoons whole egg mayonase.

1tbl spoon sour cream.

Basic salad vinagrett.

Kabana; Optional.

Method:

Burgers:

Combine all ingredents evenly. Form into patties. Set aside.

Salad:

Peel and cut the potatoes into even bite sized peices. Boil untill they are about 3/4 cooked. Drain and pour over a good amount of the salad dressing. Allow to marinate for upto one hour. Add the Quatered egg, cucummber, mayonase, sour cream. Very gently combine.

Beverage:

Wine or beer? I was hard pressed it call this one. I'll leave it up to you... Enjoy..

Ginger Beef Fryed Rice

Fried rice has been eaten by Aussies of decades. Yet so few of us have cooked it for ourselves at home. Why?
That authentic take away flavor is not hard to acheve. (Minus the MSG). Asian-Austrialianized flavors are actually very simple. If you can grasp the basic principles of cooking a stir fry, fryed rice is dead easy. First though, allow me to impart a few simple rules for all of us who are not wok masters.....

Use only a high carbon steel wok in the traditional concave shape.

Get your self a mega heavy duty gas burner. (Wok burner, 20,000 btu.)

Stay away from Teflon, or hard anodized woks. They just can't take the heat.

Season your wok with sesame oil. This will make it non stick, naturaly.

Get your self the right tools for the job. Wooden spatular that has been mated to the wok.

Your wok can never be to big.

Don't be afraid to give your wok hell. Carbon steel woks love to be heated to melting point!

Don't be afraid of fire. When your wok is really hot you will get flames leaping out as you cook. (Guests think this is cool, plus they will think the food tastes better. True.)

The final and by far most importaint rule is. 'Hot woks cook quick. Over cooked stir fry tastes like boiled cabbage!!!

Ingredents:

500g sirloin beef.

1 Chorizo sausage.

1/2 cup spring onion choped.

1&1/2 cups sliced bok choy.

3x3x5cm peice of ginger finley choped.

3 cloves of garlic.

4 tbl spoon of soy sauce.

1 tbl spoon of fish sauce.

Peper to taste.

Sesame oil to cook with.

Method:

Marinate the sliced beef and sausage with the ginger, garlic, soy, fish sauce, peper, and a few splashes of sesame oil.

Give it about 20 minutes.

While that is going on. Cook some long-grain rice. 1 dry cup should be good.

Heat your wok to smokeing hot. Add beef and saugsage in batches untill cooked. Remove, reheat wok, add all other ingredents. Stir fry for about 30 seconds. Combine with rice and reseved beef. Add the rest of the marinade and cooking juces. Toss through and serve....

Don't serve wine. Give beer for best results.

Lasagne Maxed Out!

Lasagne, doesn't sound like you spell it. But who doesn't love it. Variations abound. Tonight I cooked this one..... Holey crap! Vain, yes. Delicious, you beter beleve it.

Ingredents:
Fresh pasta sheets. Enough for about 6 layers. (Check older posts for recipe).
1kg Beef mince.
700g tin of chopped tomatoes.
1 large onion.
600g Grilled veges. See recent post.
400g Rocotta.
150g Fetta.
4 cloves garlic.
1 Egg.
Salt, pepper.
Method:
Gently fry the onions, when they are nearly done add the garlic. After another minute. Bring up the heat. Chuck in the beef. Cook it off. Add the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer. Roughly chop the grilled veg, bung em in. Allow to reduce. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 200c.
In a large bakeing dish layer a small amount of sauce on the bottom. Now on top of that, layer some fresh pasta. Repeat, adding some cheese if you like. When you have allmost filled the bakeing dish. Mash together the Fetta and Recotta, add an egg aswell, plus a splash of milk. Pour this over the top. For good looks sprinkle on some smoked paprika.
Jam it in the oven for about 50 minutes.
Serveing:
As this dish contains all the ingredents of the food pryimid, almost in the right order. I feel I can say; Nothing else needs to be added to this to make it a meal.
Beverage:
Red wine. Full stop.

Rosemary Beef Pie. (Or not).

Wow. After my modem caught fire. After I could not blog to the world. It occurred to me that I was addicted to blogging. Or at least I was addicted to telling the world what I had cooked for dinner. In any case. Even if my modem exploded. That doesn't mean my kitchen did...... I cooked this meal for a great friend of mine. (What up Gerard)? Rosemary and beef are a match made in heaven. To infuse them boath in a casserole come pie, well, it's truley very special.... Cook this one on a cold rainy night.

Ingredents:

750g Osso Bucco.

1 large onion.

4 Small carrots.

1/2 cup of peas.

2 cups of red wine.

1/4 cup of flour.

salt/ peper.

1 heaped tbl spoon of fresh rosemary.

1 heaped tbl spoon of freash tyme.

6 cloves of garlic.

Beef stock.

Method:

In a large heavy based pot. Brown off the osso bucco with a little olive oil. Add the diced onion, brown it off. When this is done, add the carrots, (diced), allong with the flour. Sweat this for about 2 minutes on low heat. Pour in the wine, bring this to a rolling boil. after about 4 minutes, add the stock. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Stir occasionally. After about 30 minutes, remove the lid, start to reduce. At this time start some potatoes for mash. As you finnish the mash, the casserolle should be thickening up nicely. In an oven heated to 200c. Place some squares of puff pastery that have been brushed with olive oil on a bakeing tray. Cook them untill they are puffed and golden brown.

Serving:

Lay down a bed of mash. Spoon a generous amount of the beef filling over the top. On top of the lot, wack on the pastery square. take a step back, admire.... Well done!

Beverage:

Wine or beer.... Wine is and ingredent. So wine should be drunk with this meal. But beer... Beer matches beef and rosemary, to a tea. (Larger, or Stout). Its up to you.

Mo Mo. Bang Bang.

Holy crap. While transmographying my dilitham matrix. The modem exploded.. Finally, after much delay, the warp-drive is back up and running, so.... Full ahead 'Blogtastic'.

Tonight, I give to you 'BBQ combination skewers'.

Combination, because the combined ingredents work well and have a great flavor. Again, this one is soooo piss easy. Just use fresh herbs, and quality olive oil. You can't go wrong...... The listed ingredents serves 2.

Ingredents:

4 skin off free range chicken thy fillets.

2 baby zuccinis.

1 golden capsicum.

1 red capsicum.

2 Chorizo, (Spanish) sausages.

Zest & juice of 1 lemmon.

1 tea spoon fresh tyme. (Chopped).

1 tea spoon fresh rosemary. (Chopped).

1 tea spoon quality salt flakes.

1/2 tea spoon of fresh cracked pepper.

100ml of quality olive oil.

Method:

Create a marinade with the tyme, rosemary, lemmon, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Cut the other ingredents into chunks. toss them all into the marinade. Allow to infuse for about 1 hour. Spear the lot onto skewers.

Char over a medium hot grill. Brush some of the marinade on if you want.

Serving:

Jazz em up abit. Wrap them as you would a sovlaki. Or eat them with a green salad. I've even used them in a bolognase sause, brilliant flavor addition there.... Or just eat them on there own.

Beverage:

Basic Tuscan flavors like this can work with either red or white wines. I'll leave that decision up to you. But no beer for this one please.