Grilled Sweetcorn with Sweet Chilli, Coriander & Lime (The Cake the Buddha Ate)

This is the first recipe I tried from my by birthday book, The Cake the Buddha Ate and it is divine!  An absolute must make!  Pete and I  did the corn on the braai  but you could easily grill them in the oven too.

Ready to go on the braai for 5 minutes

Grilled Sweetcorn with Sweet Chilli, Coriander & Lime

Ingredients

1kg sweetcorn ± 6
50g butter
¼ cup olive oil
½ tsp cumin seeds, bruised, crushed
½ tsp coriander seeds
¼ cup sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp garlic, crushed
1 tbsp lime juice – you could substitute with lemon
½ cup fresh coriander, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Precook the sweetcorn in the microwave for 5 to 7 minutes until tender alternatively boil in water for ±15 minutes.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan with the oil.
3. Add the spices and sweet chilli sauce and bring to the boil.
4. Add the garlic and cook while stirring for 5 minutes until thick.
5. Add the lime juice and chopped coriander and add seasoning if required.
6. Pour the sauce over the sweetcorn and braai for 5 minutes turning while basting with the sauce.
7. Alternatively place in a preheated oven at 220°C and place on the highest rack in the oven.  Turn the mielies when they turn brown and grill to finish off.

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Green Bean Vinaigrette

In keeping with my tradition of quick and easy recipes, this is another qualifier.  I can quite comfortably polish off all the beans by myself in one sitting.  It does help that Pete says they are squeaky and steers clear of them. 🙂  If you want to get fancy, you could throw a few toasted flaked almonds over the top.

Ingredients

350g fresh green beans
45ml olive oil
30ml red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove crushed
¼ tsp brown sugar
Ground salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Blanch or steam the beans until tender.
2. Mix all of the other ingredients and pour over the beans while they are still hot.
3. Allow to marinate for an hour or more spooning the vinaigrette over the beans a couple of times.

So tasty with a tender piece of steak

 

Baked Sweet Potato with Philadelphia, Dates & Coriander

Quite frankly this is a meal all on it’s own and I have been known to enjoy it more than once for lunch and is another fabulous recipe I inherited from my sister-in-law Karin.  I am also hooked on serving these for guests and they accompany everything from a braai to a roast dinner, well I think so.  If I bake the sweet potato in the oven, I brush them with olive oil before baking but when I do them in the microwave I don’t bother.  There are no real quantities as you can stuff in as much or as little of the cheese, dates and coriander as you like.

Ingredients

Sweet potatoes
Philadelphia cream cheese cut into chunks
Dates cut into pieces
Coriander chopped

Method

1. Baked the sweet potatoes in the oven set at 180°C until soft alternatively cook them in the microwave.
2. Slice the sweet potato lengthwise and place all the other ingredients in the opening.

Watermelon Salad

Finally!  I am back in the swing of things, well, sort of, I am getting there.  I have missed you all so much and feel I have missed out on so much news.  Please do fill me in if there is something I should know. 🙂

Sorry to all you lovely folk in the northern hemisphere, its going to be a while before you can enjoy this lovely salad but can tell you it is well worth the wait.  Simplicity at its best.

Our summer dining is often enjoyed al fresco with not much time at all spent in the kitchen which makes this super easy three ingredient salad the perfect accompaniment for a braai (barbecue) and actually fits nicely into my un-recipe category.

Ingredients

Watermelon chopped
Sliced onion
Feta cheese crumbled

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

See, it couldn’t be easier. 🙂

Mandy’s Tempura

The festive season is well under way so you may have noticed my lack of visiting your blogs – sorry about that.  Things may be higgledy piggledy until the new year before I am back in the swing of things – I will pop in periodically though just to keep up to speed with you all as I hate missing out on things. 🙂

I love when I can put something together that really works, especially the first time and this tempura is one that has jumped right to the top of my favourite list.  I call it Mandy’s tempura as I am sure it is not a traditional recipe and has a slightly thicker consistency, although you could thin it a little by adding more club soda.  This recipe doubles very well too which works well for sharing these light crispy morsels with family and friends.

Mandy’s Tempura

Ingredients

½ cup flour
1 tbsp cornflour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt or season of choice
1 egg yolk
½ cup ice cold club soda

Method

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add the egg yolk and club soda and mix until just combined – leaving lumps.
3. Dunk any julienne vegetable or protein (I used chicken) and fry in medium hot oil until light golden brown on both sides.

Spicy Roasted Chicpeas

With the festive season here and all the extra eating and celebrating we do, a healthy tasty snack is always welcome.  Even if you aren’t a chicpea fan, I urge you to try this easy recipe, the crispy light nutty result is well worth the time in the oven.  I would suggest doubling or even tripling this recipe and use any combination of spice you would prefer.

Ingredients

1 tsp cumin seed
2 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tin chicpeas – drained and rinsed
Salt to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Grind all the spices together and place in a bowl, add the oil and stir to combine.
3. Rinse the chicpeas and mix through the oil mixture to coat.  Add salt to taste.
4. Bake for approximately 30 minutes until crispy.

 

Naan Bread

Pete and I ate copious amounts of wonderful naan while we were living in Mauritius.  Sadly I cannot reproduce exactly what we ate then but this recipe comes close.

I rolled my naan a little too thin

Ingredients

7g active dry yeast
250ml warm water
60ml white sugar
45ml milk
1 egg beaten
10ml salt
± 4½ cups all purpose or bread flour
60ml butter melted
4 garlic cloves minced

Method

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the sugar, milk, egg, salt, and flour to make a soft dough.
3. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface until smooth.  You may need to add more flour if the dough is too sticky.
4. Place the dough in a well oiled bowl, cover and set aside to rise until the dough has doubled in volume.
5. Punch down the dough and knead lightly. Pinch off small handfuls of dough the size of a golf balls and roll into balls and place on a tray, cover lightly and allow to rise until double in size.
6. Roll one ball of dough into a long oval. Lightly oil a heated pan and cook the dough until puffy and lightly browned.
7. Turn and brush the cooked side with butter and garlic and cook until browned.
8. Continue until all the naan have been cooked.

Karin’s Quinoa Salad

My lovely sister-in-law Karin introduced me to the super grain quinoa.  I know, I am far behind in trying new things.  I was also put off by how expensive it is.

Quinoa in a nutshell – it is high in protein, is a good source of dietary fibre and phosphorus and is high in magnesium, iron and calcium, so is good for vegans and those who are lactose intolerant and is also gluten-free and is easy to digest.

On it’s own quinoa tastes pretty much like nothing but has a wonderful texture and put with other lovely ingredients makes a fabulous salad.  Karin adapted a couscous recipe from her favourite recipe book, The Cake the Buddha Ate. I highly recommend you make this for a lovely hot summer’s day salad.

Ingredients

3 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup flaked almonds toasted
1 cup fresh coriander chopped chopped
1 cup tinned chickpeas – oops I forgot to put these in
1 cup red and yellow capsicum peppers chopped – I only had yellow
¼ cup dates chopped
¼ cup figs chopped
½ red onion chopped

Dressing

100ml olive oil
50ml apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
1 small garlic clover crushed
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Combine all the salad ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad and mix through.

Curried Butter Beans

This is a lovely quick and easy recipe which compliments so many meals.  I have been known to eat it as a meal on it’s own too.  I got this scrumity recipe from a friend who always makes these delicious beans when we get together for a braai.  The flavour combination of garlic, ginger and curry is always a winner and these beans remind me of the fillings we used to enjoy in roti’s and dhalpouri’s when we lived in Mauritius.

Ingredients

Half an onion chopped
1 garlic clove crushed
¼ inch piece ginger finely chopped
1tsp mild curry powder
420g tin butter beans in tomato sauce
1 tsp chutney

Method

1. Fry the onion in a little oil in a small pot until tender.
2. Add the garlic, ginger and curry powder and fry for two minutes.
3. Add the butter beans and chutney and heat until the butter beans are heated through.

Fried Rice

This is for my lovely friend Diane over at Photographs and Recipes. 😀

This is my base recipe for fried rice which I throw all different types of rice at, even pasta rice – love versatile recipes that take so well to varying ingredients.  Very rarely I will add an egg to the mixture but don’t find it adds that much to the dish and occasionally will add fresh chilli, corn, chives, parsley and anything else I have taking up space in the fridge.

Ingredients

Olive oil
Half an onion chopped
Half a red (capsicum) pepper diced
8 white button mushrooms sliced
3 cups cook rice of choice – I used basmati
Handful frozen baby peas
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Fry the onion and pepper in a good glug of olive oil.  Once the onions and peppers have started to soften add the mushrooms and fry until tender.
2. Add the rice and stir fry until warmed through.
3. Add the peas and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stuffed Brown Mushrooms

I couldn’t resist a pack of 4 giant brown mushrooms the other day, I had no idea what I was going to do with them – they usually get put on the braai but sadly Pete was away so it was me, the mushrooms and the oven.

The first couple of mushrooms I stuffed with a mixture of crumbled feta cheese, chopped chives, fresh sliced peppadews and crushed garlic with the chopped stems from the mushrooms, which I then drizzled with olive oil and baked at 200°C for approximately 18 minutes.

I also did a few with sliced garlic, sea salt, black pepper and a good drizzling of olive oil.

Both variations were fabulous, couldn’t be easier to prep and cook and would be perfect as a starter for a dinner party.

Warm winters day clean out the fridge salad

Now how’s that for a title!  Quite apt if you were in our kitchen yesterday just before lunch time.   As we do, I have been storing a few bits and bobs in the line of leftovers the last couple of days and thought it time to use them up plus there were little dregs of sauces which I just don’t have the heart to throw away – I always think I can add them to something else but in reality never do, so, it was time to clean out the fridge.  What resulted was a taste bud tantalising and very satisfying lunch.

My salad consisted of crispy baby gem lettuce, onion, cucumber, tomato, coriander, roast chicken and gammon with a drizzling of mayo, sweet chilli sauce and black pepper which I enjoyed in a nice cosy sunny spot in the lounge.

There was a little more motivation to emptying the fridge but you will have to wait to see why.  Sadly no, we are not getting a new fridge, well not yet anyway.

Un-Recipe – Roasted Sweet Potato

I nearly forgot about our un-recipes – can’t remember when I last shared one with you.  Yesterday was one of those “suckers-on-my-butt” kind of days and didn’t leave the computer until it was nearly supper time.  I know, I know – I should have planned ahead.  I needed food but wasn’t much in the mood for cooking so a quick non complicated meal was required.  These tasty sweet potatoes were the perfect accompaniment to some left over roast pork.

Un-Recipe – Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

Sweet potatoes
Grapeseed oil
Salt
Ground cinnamon
Ground ginger

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Peel and slice, dice or wedge sweet potatoes.
3. Place sweet potatoes on a baking tray and drizzle with a little oil salt and the spices.
4. Bake until sweet potatoes are cooked.

Smoked Salmon Terrine

After John’s winning Christmas Lunch Menu and finalising the numbers for Christmas, it seems we have quite a few, let’s call them “particular eaters” so we have had to modify the menu quite substantially and still can’t seem to please everybody’s palettes.   Oh well, we have tried our best.

We have settled on a Smoked Salmon Terrine as our starter and just to ensure we have all of the ratios right, I made a test terrine and it is just perfect!  Think I may add a few prawns to the one for Christmas Day or possibly serve the terrine with a couple of prawns on the side, also I will make two double portions of the recipe listed below to feed the masses.

100g smoked salmon ribbons/slices
15ml gelatine powder
60ml hot water
125g Philadelphia cream cheese
100ml mayonnaise
15ml chives chopped
15ml lemon juice
212g tin pink salmon
Salt and pepper to taste

 Method

1. Rub the inside of a terrine or loaf tin with oil and line with cling film.  Line with the salmon slices arranging them so they overlay slightly and come far enough over the side of the terrine to cover the surface once filled.
2. Dissolve the gelatine in the hot water.
3. Place the cream cheese, mayonnaise, chives, lemon juice and gelatine in a bowl and mix together using a whisk.
4. Add the salmon and stir to combine.
5. Pour into the terrine and cover the top with the overlay of salmon.
6. Refrigerate until set.
7. Turn out of terrine and slice into portions and serve with crackers.

Sweetcorn Bake

I got this recipe from my SIL Trish, who keeps me in good supply of new recipes to try.  Thanks Trishy!  This is a great side dish for with a braai (barbecue).  The lovely light texture of this dish reminds me of a soufflé and has the same rise and fall as a soufflé too.  There are a myriad of other ingredients you could add; like parsley, mustard powder, finely chopped crispy bacon, sautéed mushroom, or even using a different or stronger cheese; you get the idea.

Ingredients

1x 410g tin creamed sweetcorn
2 eggs
3 tbsp cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
45g butter melted
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup cheddar cheese grated – divided

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Mix all the ingredients plus half the cheese together in a bowl.
3. Pour into a prepared pyrex dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
4. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until golden brown and set.

Brown Bread Pizza Dough, Sauce and my very boring toppings

As I have mentioned before, I don’t make pizza very often but when the craving hits, I am obliged to satisfy it.  On this occasion, to keep with my theme of brown bread, I thought it apt to make a brown bread base – result: equally as scrumity and just a teensy bit healthier – bargain. 🙂

Brown Bread Pizza Dough, Sauce and Toppings

Ingredients

Dough

1 cup brown bread flour
1tsp instant yeast
½ tsp salt
1tsp sugar
5ml olive oil
½ cup warm water

Tomato Sauce

30ml tomato paste
10ml olive oil
2.5ml dried oregano
2.5ml sugar

Toppings

1½ cups cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese grated
2 garlic cloves crushed
4 big white button mushrooms thinly sliced
4 rashers bacon diced
3 pieces spring onion chopped
Dried oregano

Method 

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add the oil and water and mix to combine.  The mixture will still be quite sticky.
3. Place the dough on a floured surface and gently knead for 5 minutes.  You may need to add a little more flour over the top of the dough to prevent it sticking to your fingers.
4. Place the dough in a clean bowl and cover with a cloth and set aside in a warm spot until the dough is double in size.
5. Lightly punch down the dough and roll it out as thinly as desired directly onto a piece of tin foil which has been sprayed with non stick spray and transfer to a baking tray.
6. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
7. Spread the tomato sauce over the base followed by the cheese, garlic, mushrooms, bacon and spring onion.
8. Sprinkle over the oregano and bake for 10 -12 minutes.

Vetkoek

I am not entirely sure how to describe these little morsels – think doughnut minus the hole and without the sweet topping; yip, that is about right, well sort of.

Vetkoek is a proudly South African pastry which literally translates to fat cake, which doesn’t sound very appealing but I think it would traditionally have meant the method of cooking in “fat” (oil).  Most recipes are very similar, some using more or less yeast while others include or exclude sugar and oil in the dough.  I have taken from all the recipes I have used through the years and give you my version below.

Vetkoek are usually served with a curry mince (ground beef) and then if you still have space, as pudding with syrup or jam and cheese – very versatile yumminess.  They have the lightest, crispiest exterior with a beautiful soft bread like interior.

Ingredients

4 cups flour
2tsp instant dry yeast
2tsp sugar – I use brown
1tsp salt
2tbsp oil
2- 2½ cups warm water

Oil for deep frying

Method 

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a big bowl.
2. Add the oil and then water bit by bit until you get the consistency of a soft bread dough.  The mixture must still be quite sticky.
3. Place the dough on a floured surface and gently knead for 5 minutes.  You may need to add a little more flour over the top of the dough to prevent it sticking to your fingers.
4. Place the dough in a clean bowl and cover with a cloth and set aside in a warm spot until the dough is double in size.
5. Softly flatten the mixture on a lightly floured board and cut out circles with a cookie cutter or a glass.
6. Depending on the size cutter you use, you should get approximately 18 vetkoek out of the dough.
7. Allow the dough to rest for another 15 minutes.
8. Deep fry a few vetkoek at a time until golden brown over a medium/low heat.  The vetkoek should turn themselves in the oil, if not, turn manually.

Baked Spuddy with left over Roast Chicken

Well, this is a bit of a cheat as you bake the spud in the microwave so you don’t get that beautiful crispy outer skin but it certainly satisfies the hunger pang a lot quicker than baking it in the oven.  This is one of those meals which should really qualify as an Un-Recipe and one I enjoy all too often when Pete is away.  As you know, I have my butt planted on my office chair for too many hours in a day which means I need a satisfying meal in minutes.  It’s not because I have not thought ahead of time, it’s just that turning what I took out in the morning into a meal would just take too long.

Ingredients

1-2 potato/s per person
Butter
Thin slices of onion
Crushed garlic clove/s
Left over roast chicken cut into pieces – proof that I cooked the night before
Mayonnaise
Chopped parsley

Method

1. Pierce the potato a few times and bake for 3 to 6 minutes (depending on the size) on high.
2. Cut the potato as desired and top with the remaining ingredients.

Warm Chicken Salad

We were lucky to be enjoying some beautiful days for this time of year and the barometer has been topping the near middle twenties the last short while, well before the cold spell slap us in the face so a salad for lunch has once again been an option – yay!  This quick and easy salad will have you sufficiently satisfied until dinner time.  Quantities will depend on how many you are feeding or how hungry you are.  I don’t keep a lot of salad ingredients on hand this time of year – lettuce, cucumber and fresh herbs are standard though.  You can add anything else you have on hand and a little dollop of mayo (homemade of course) finishes this off perfectly.

Ingredients

Chicken breasts cut into strips
1 egg beaten
Seasoned flour – I cheated and used Hinds Southern Coating seasoning (thanks Aunty Christine)
Baby gem lettuce
Cucumber sliced and quartered
Coriander leaves
Avo sliced
Mayonnaise

Method

1. Dip the chicken in the egg and flour.
2. Fry in a little olive oil and butter, turning to brown both sides.
3. While the chicken is cooking, plate up the salad ingredients.
4. Serve the chicken over the salad greens with a little mayonnaise

Cheese Sticks

I read about these tasty snacks over at Sarah’s Place a couple of months back and finally got around to making them.  They are super easy to make and are great served with cocktails.  Reckon they would would well with a dip too.  They have a lovely crispy exterior with a lovely soft interior – I’m sure you could bake them longer to make them crunchy all the way through.  These are like little mini cheesy bread sticks.  Thanks Sarah for a lovely recipe.

Ingredients

1¼ cups all purpose flour
⅓ cup cold butter chopped
¾ cup grated Greyere cheese – I used cheddar as that’s all I had on hand
1 tbsp fresh oregano chopped – I used dry
1 egg yolk
1-3 tbsp water
1 tbsp sea salt

Method

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Add the flour and butter to a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
3. Add the cheese and oregano and process for 10 seconds until combined.
4. Add the egg yolk and 1 to 3 tablespoon of water and process until just combined.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball.
6. Using 3 teaspoons of the dough, roll out into a stick approximately 15cm and place on the prepared baking sheet.
7. Repeat with the remaining dough.
8. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
9. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
10. Lightly brush the cheese sticks with water and sprinkle with the sea salt.
11. bake for 12 to 15 minutes until lightly browned.
12. Cool on a wire rack.