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IRISH STEW – MY VERSION !!

by March 16, 2020

Tomorrow is St Patrick’s Day so I thought I would make a big pot of Irish Stew.   This is my version, so I don’t know what purists would think of it, but as I am Australian I can get away with it !!!

My elderly in-laws are in self imposed isolation with the Corona Virus so I will drop around a big pot of it tomorrow for them.  Elderly people often do not eat enough protein, as sometimes they find it hard to chew meat, so dishes like Irish Stew are perfect for them, as the meat is very soft and they are getting all the nutrients from the meat, stock and the vegetables in an easy to digest manner.   I have made this for them before and they loved it.   This is also excellent to freeze, so they can have some for dinner and freeze the rest for meals in the coming weeks.  Also the beauty of this dish is it is all in one, no need to do anything else but heat it up!!!!!

This is like a hug in a bowl, which is definitely needed these days!!!!

I make this up as I go along, so amounts are purely up to what I have on hand but this is roughly the recipe.

  • 3 Onions – diced
  • 1 kg stewing Lamb – cut into pieces
  • 1 packet of Rooster potatoes – peeled and cut into big chunks
  • 10 Organic Carrots – peeled and cut into rounds
  • 1 big bunch of Thyme
  • 2 litres of Chicken Stock
  • Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper

Place the diced Onion, Lamb, Carrots, Thyme and Potatoes into a big oven proof pot.  Place the Thyme on top and pour over the Chicken Stock.  Season with Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper.

Put on the lip and put on the stove top and bring to boiling.

You can either continue to cook it on the stove top, or put it in a preheated oven at 180 degrees.

I cook it for about 1 1/2 hours until the Lamb is melt in the mouth and the potatoes are very soft.  They break up in the broth and thicken the sauce.

It keeps well in the fridge for a few days, freezes well and is delicious in a comforting hug sort of way !!!!!

 

OLIVE OIL ROASTED SALMON

by March 16, 2020

I had some Salmon fillets in the fridge and then on Saturday Lilly Higgins in the Irish Times had a delicious sounding recipe for Olive Oil Roasted Salmon so I thought I would try it for Sunday nights dinner.  Lilly suggested serving it with Cauliflower Puree but I served it with Stir Fried Green Vegetables.  It was very tasty, quick and very easy!!!

Here is how I made it.

  • 4 Salmon Fillets
  • 1 Lemon cut into round slices
  • bunch of Basil
  • 150 mls Olive Oil
  • bunch of Cherry Tomatoes –  (I take mine of the stem as I find once they are cooked they are hard to get off without them all squishing)
  • Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

Lay the Salmon on a rimmed baking tray.  You want the Salmon to be cosy in the tray as you want the oil to surround the Salmon.

Season the Salmon with Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper.

Tuck the Basil in between the Salmon fillets.

 

Layer the Lemon slices on top of the Salmon.

Arrange the Cherry Tomatoes around the Salmon.

 

 

Pour the Olive Oil over everything, ensuring the fish is coated in the oil.

Place in the oven for 15 minutes then take out and baste the fish with the oil.

Cook for a further 10 minutes.

Whilst the Salmon is cooking for the last 10 minutes, prepare and cook your Green Vegetable Stir Fry.

 

GREEN VEGETABLE STIR FRY

These are the vegetables that I used as I had them in the fridge.  You can use whatever vegetables you want.

  • One bunch of Asparagus
  • One bunch Tenderstem Broccoli
  • 1/2 head of Romesco
  • Large bunch of Spinach
  • 2 cloves of Garlic, crushed
  • Oil for stir frying – approximately 2 tablespoons

 

Heat the oil in a Wok or large frypan.  Add the Vegetables and stir around.  Add the crushed Garlic and continue to stir fry.   Add two tablespoons of water and stir around whilst it evaporates.  The vegetables will now be ready.

 

 

 

 

VEGAN BANANA BREAD

by March 15, 2020

This Banana Bread is the nicest Vegan Banana Bread I have tried so far.  It is incredibly moist and tasty.  I used the recipe from the book Mildreds Vegan Cookbook but changed it to make it Gluten Free by using Doves Gluten Free Flour.  It worked perfectly, although took maybe an extra 10 minutes cooking time (my timer malfunctioned halfway through, so I had to guess).

 

  • 160 g soft light brown Sugar
  • 80 g Coconut Oil – melted
  • 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
  • Grated Zest and Juice of one Orange
  • 350 g Mashed Ripe Bananas (roughly 4 bananas)
  • 180 g Plain Flour (I used Gluten Free)
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Bicarbinate of Soda
  • 70 g Walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.  Line a 1 litre loaf tin with baking paper.

Beat the Brown Sugar, melted Coconut Oil, Maple Syrup and Orange Zest and Juice together in a large bowl with a balloon whisk, until well combined.

Add the mashed Banana and beat again for a few minutes.

Mix all the dry ingredients together with a balloon whisk until combined.

Fold the dry ingredients into the Banana mixture.

Place the mixture into the prepared loaf tin.

 

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Leave to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes and transfer to a rack to finish cooling.

This banana bread keeps up to 3 days, and on the third day is good toasted  –  if it lasts that long !!!

 

ROAST CHICKEN WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES

by March 12, 2020

This dinner is perfect for putting in the oven and just leaving it to do its thing!!!!   The leftovers also make an excellent packed lunch the next day for school or work.  For lunch it can be eaten hot or cold and is very tasty.  You could make it into a Chicken and Roast Vegetable Salad, or mix it through some pasta and put it in a thermos for a hot lunch.

My son made a delicious Garlic and Chilli Oil using Extra Virgin Olive Oil, so I used this to cook the Vegetables in the oven.  If you were using normal Olive Oil, you could add some Chilli Flakes to the vegetables to give a little kick!!!

Don’t waste those bones!!!!!   Take the left over Chicken off the bones for the next day, and put the bones into a stock pot with Celery, Carrot, Onion, Garlic, Bay Leaves, Pepper Corns and simmer for as long as you can (minimum of 3 hours, but up to 24 hours for bone broth) and you will have the most delicious stock.  This can be used to make Risotto or Soup the next night using up the left over Chicken.   This is why it is so worth paying the extra money for an Organic Chicken as you will easily get two dinners and one lunch out of it, and not be eating anything nasty, ie antibiotics, hormones etc.  We always make stock with our bones and if we don’t use it the next might, we freeze it in portions for future soups etc.

  • Organic Chicken  –  spatchcocked for quicker cooking
  • Spice of Choice for rubbing on the Chicken  –  I used a Middle Eastern Spice Mix
  • Juice of 1 Lemon
  • 2 Red Onions – cut into wedges
  • 10 cloves of Garlic  –  left whole
  • 3 Courgettes – chopped
  • 3 Red Peppers –  chopped
  • 2 Carrots  –  peeled and chopped
  • 4 large Tomatoes  –  Cut into big chunks
  • Blob of Olive Oil   ( I used my son’s garlic and chilli oil)
  • Chilli Flakes if you wish
  • Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper

Pre Heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Place the Chicken in a roasting tray and rub in the Lemon Juice and Spice Mix.

Place an empty roasting tray in the oven with some Olive Oil to warm up for the Vegetables.  It will only take a minute.

Place the prepared Vegetables in the roasting tray and toss around with the warmed up oil.

Place both the trays with the Chicken and the Vegetables in the oven (you will need two shelves) and cook for 1 hour.

After 1/2 hour, take out the Vegetables and toss around to coat with the oil and so they brown nice and evenly.

After an hour, check the legs of the Chicken to see if the juices are clear.  If so take the Chicken out of the oven and allow it to rest on a separate plate for 10 minutes.  (If the juices are still pink, cook the Chicken longer until they run clear) The vegetables should be cooked also at this stage, and if so you can turn the oven off and leave them there whilst you let the Chicken rest.

 

While the Chicken is resting, put some water (not too much)  into the roasting pan and cook on the top of the stove for a few minutes, scraping all the delicious juices off the bottom of the tray.  This will give you a lovely sauce to pour over the chicken.

 

 

Put the juices into a gravy separator so the oil sits on the top and the juices settle on the bottom.  Transfer to a jug for the table and serve up the Vegetables and Chicken.

Enjoy!!!

QUICK AND EASY FRIED BROWN RICE WITH PRAWNS AND SALMON

by March 11, 2020

If you are looking for a very quick and easy dinner this Fried Brown Rice is perfect.  It is also a great way to get fussy eaters to eat a variety of vegetables and fish.  I find that most children like Fried Rice and don’t realise they are eating lots of veges.  The Salmon and Prawns are tucked in there, so they also get eaten without any hassle.  If you left them out it would be an excellent Vegetarian/Vegan dish.  This also makes an excellent packed lunch the next day for school or work.  For lunch it can be eaten hot or cold and is very tasty.

  • Cold cooked Brown Rice
  • 2 small onions – finely diced
  • 1 knob of Ginger  –  grated
  • 3 cloves of Garlic  –  crushed
  • 3 sticks of Celery – finely sliced
  • 2 Red Peppers –  chopped
  • 2 Carrots  –  peeled and chopped
  • 1 Pineapple – peeled and chopped
  • 2 Red Chillies
  • 1 bunch Tenderstem Broccoli –  stems chopped and heads left whole
  • 2 packets of Prawns in Garlic and Parsley (I used M and S packets)
  • 2 Organic Salmon Fillets
  • 4 tablespoons of Sweet Chilli Sauce
  • 4 tablespoons of Tamari (Gluten Free Soy Sauce)
  • 1 tablespoon of Coconut Oil

Heat the Grill and when it is nice and hot grill the Salmon fillets until nicely brown on top.  Put aside.

In a large wok or deep sided frypan, heat the Coconut Oil.

Add the Onion and cook until it is transparent.  Add the Garlic, Red Chillies and Ginger and stir around.

Add the Peppers,  Celery, Carrots and Broccoli and stir fry for a few minutes – the Broccoli will turn a lovely bright green.

 

Add the chopped Pineapple and stir fry.

Add the cooked Rice and stir fry – at this point I turned the heat up a little bit to fry the rice.

Add the Sweet Chilli Sauce and the Tamari and stir around.

 

 

Add the Prawns (and the garlic and parsley juices in the packet) and mix through.

Add the flaked Salmon and mix through.

Leave on the heat for a few minutes until the prawns are heated through, but don’t over cook as they are already cooked and they will go rubbery.

Serve and Enjoy!!!

CHIPOTLE FISH AND CAULIFLOWER TACOS

by February 1, 2020

We love Tacos in this house and I am always trying new recipes and combinations.

 

This recipe was originally for chicken, but as I have a pescatarian in the house I wanted to just make one dinner for everyone, so I swapped the chicken for Monkfish.

 

I made the Pickled Onions earlier in the day, so they were ready to use for dinner.  Recipe to follow in next post!!

 

  • 1 can Chipotle Chillies in Adobo Sauce – chillies drained and finely chopped – keep the sauce though!
  • 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup
  • 2 cloves of Garlic – finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 500 g Monkfish fillets – sliced into largish pieces
  • 1 head of Cauliflower – broken up into florets
  • Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper
  • Corn Tortillas – prepared as you usually would
  • finely sliced red cabbage for serving
  • Coriander leaves for serving
  • Pickled Red Onions for serving
  • Lime Dressing for serving ( plain coconut yoghurt mixed with lime juice and salt and pepper )

 

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.  Line 2 oven trays with non stick baking paper.

 

Place the chopped Chillies and Adobo Sauce in a large bowl.  Add the Maple Syrup, Garlic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil and mix to combine.

 

Place the Monkfish in a separate bowl and top with half the Chipotle mixture.   Coat well.

 

 

Add the Cauliflower to the remaining sauce again coat well.

 

Transfer the Cauliflower and Monkfish to the lined baking trays and sprinkle with Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper.

 

 

Roast the Cauliflower in the hot oven for 20 minutes and then take out and turn pieces over and put back in the oven for 10 minutes or until the Cauliflower pieces are getting nicely charred.

 

Add the Monkfish to the oven for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

 

 

Fill the warm Tortillas with Monkfish, Cauliflower, Red Cabbage, Coriander, Lime Dressing and Pickled Onions.

 

 

 

YUM !!!

 

This recipe is based on Donna Hay’s WeekLight cookbook.

 

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