Corn, Bean and Pepper Salad in a Lime Oil Dressing



This colourful salad is health in a bowl. The golden yellow of the corn kernels  contrasts vividly with the various shades of green beans ( tinned and fresh) the red peppers and cherry tomatoes.

Corn and lime make good partners so I wanted to use lime in the dressing. But right now , while so many other vegetables and fruits are abundant and cheap, limes are very pricey.

The answer was the " Foodies Lime Oil"  which was a birthday present from Alison my sister in law.It had been lingering in my pantry until I could think how best to use it. .This new Foodie product is a combination of extra virgin olive oil and natural lime oil.

Over the years I have gradually reduced the amount of oil and vinegar dressing in my salads so they no longer swim in it, but are still moistened. This is healthier too.

This salad can be left to stand ( or kept in the fridge for a day or two)In this case  I'd add some chopped coriander and/or parsley just before serving.

We all liked it just as it was but I also think it will turn out to be a very flexible recipe. I plan to try different varieties of tinned beans, add some chopped avocado ( Just before serving) or leave out the tomatoes and add more red pepper.

Ingredients:

Corn kernels scraped from 3 cobs
1 tin of flageolot beans  (14 oz/398 ml)
4 cups of green beans ( chopped into thirds)
A cup of cherry tomatoes (each halved)
2 sweet long red peppers ( chopped into smallish chunks)
4 tablespoons of lime infused olive oil.
The juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons of cumin seeds (roasted and ground)
1 teaspoon of Hot Chilli Sauce ( I used the Hot Samoan Boy's brand)

Method:

Toss all of these together, and taste before seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Garnish with Chopped parsley/ and or coriander /slivers of basil






 

Lemon Slice

When I was teaching at Marcellin College Miss Kirk was renowned for her tangy lemon slice which she shared with the staff on numerous occasions. A generous and prolific baker she was reputed to have worn out a Kenwood mixer. I never did ask her to divulge the recipe but here is the closest I have come to producing the perfect lemon slice.

For this recipe I was inspired by a Canadian Cookbook I found in an op shop  : Land O Lakes Treasury of Country Recipes. This large hardback book cost me the princely sum of $2.00 and it is an excellent source of traditional American Cooking.

When using American recipes I usually find that because our kiwi palate is not as sweet as theirs I need to cut back on the sugar, sometimes quite drastically. But not in this recipe. The base was not too sweet at all. I did add an extra tablespoon of lemon juice to the sugary filling to make it a little sharper.

The recipe ( which was originally called Lemon-Butter bars) specifies sugar, I used castor. And I speeded up the making of the pastry by doing it in my food processor.

This is quite a rich slice so I cut it into dainty squares.

Preheat the oven to 180C

Base:

Ingredients:
200 grams of plain flour
4 tablespoons of castor sugar
125 grams of butter/margerine softened

Method: Put all the ingredients in a food processor and whizz in bursts until the mixture becomes crumbly and a creamy colour and when a little is squuezed between thumb and forefinger it will hold together.This may take 1-2 minutes.

Press on the bottom of a lightly greased and baking paper lined baking tin.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the edges are lightly browned.

Filling:

150 grams of sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of plain flour
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Put the filliing ingredients into a microwave safe bowl.
Microwave the filling on high , stirring every minute until it is warm and slightly thickened. This can take 2-4 minutes ( it took only 2 in mine)
Pour over the hot crust
Return to the oven and continue to bake for 18-20 minutes , or until the filling is set.
Sprinkle with icing sugar
Cool and cut into small squares.










 

Apricot, Sultana and Sesame Seed Flapjacks

Flapjacks are a traditional British Treat whch are ususally made with demarara sugar and golden syrup.In this recipe brown sugar and honey are used instead which makes them a little less crunchy. But be careful not to overbake or they can become rock hard. Mine took 20 rather than 25 minutes. They  still felt a little soft as I took them out of the oven, On standing they firmed up.

I cut them into very small pieces, rather than long fingers as they are rather indulgent.

I have to be honest and say only one of my granddaughters liked them and kept coming back for more ,so perhaps more for adults.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

175 grams/6 oz of butter/margerine

85 grams/3 oz of brown sugar

55 grams/2 oz of honey

100 grams of ready to eat dried apricots

40 grams of sultanas

2 teaspoons of sesame seeds

225 grams/8 oz of rolled oats.

 

Method:

 

Preheat the oven to 180C

Roast the sesame seeds in a dry frypan until they are lightly browned

In a food processor whizz the apricots and sugar together just until the apricots become small chunks

Melt the honey and butter together over a low heat in a saucepan

Put the rolled oats into a bowl and add all the other ingresients. Mix well.

Tip into a lightly greased, baking paper tin lined 22 inch square baking tin

Smooth the top gently with the back of a spoon or your fingers.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until goldebn brown,

Cut into small squares and leave in the tin until they are completey cold

Can be stored in an airtight tin for a week or so,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Royal Chicken Cooked in Yoghurt

This is my adaptation of a Madhur Jaffrey recipe called Royal Chicken Cooked in Yoghurt ( Shahi Murgh) in her Quick and Easy Indian Cookery (a paperback published by the BBC in 1993)

She called it " An elegant dish that could be served to the family or at a grand party" with rice as the ideal accompaniment.

Hers was a recipe in which some spices, chicken, almonds and sultanas were fried. They were then combined with yoghurt into which black pepper, ground cumin, ground coriander, chilli powder and green coriander had been stirred. Then all were simmered together gently for 20 mintues. At this point the heat was turned up and the sauce was reduced until it was thick.

In my simplified version I  marinated some chicken legs in a spicy yoghurt in the morning . The yoghurt I used was Clearwater's Cream Top Apple and Cinnamon. This is a beautiful natural yoghurt made from organic milk. It is only very slightly sweetened and there is a hint of apple and cinnamon. This added a subtle fruity flavour and a very little sweetness, Instead of 2 1/2 tablespoons of raisins I added 200 grams of dried apricots

In the late afternoon I  baked the chicken. Apart from an occasional stir, it could be left alone to bake and once garnished with sliced almonds and green coriander it looked sumptious.Even my usually non Indian food-eating partner enjoyed this dish and would happily eat it again.

I adapted this recipe as my challenge in the I Hearts Cookery Club. The Madhur Jafffrey theme this week was Dried Fruits . Take a look to see how other cooks have interpreted it. at
http://iheartcookingclubs.blogspot.co.nz/

Ingredients:

10 chicken legs
200 grams of dried apricots
250 ml of natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes (or to taste)
8 cardamom pods
6 cloves
1 5cm cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
3-4 tablespoons of sliced almonds
4 tablespoons of finely chopped green coriander

Method:

• Cover the apricots with cold water . Leave them to swell for at least  an hour. Then drain.( I did this because I wanted the apricots to be really soft and tender, but if they are reasonably soft to begin with this step could well be eliminated.
• Roast the cumin and coriander seeds separately in a hot dry frypan and then grind with a pestle and mortar, or in a spice grinder.
• In a bowl mix the coriander, cumin, chilli flakes, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and yoghurt .
• Add the chicken legs and apricots and stir well.
• Leave to marinate in the fridge for the day.

When ready to prepare dinner heat the oven to 190C

• Put the chicken legs and their marinade in an oven dish in one layer.
• Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
• Turn the chicken legs over.and bake for a further  15 minutes.
• Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top and bake for a further 10 minutes until the chicken is done and the almonds are a golden brown,
• Garnish with gren coriander leaves just before serving.

 

Baking for a Tenth Birthday Party



Today Becky turned 10 and completed her baking challenge which was to make all the food for her party. She read through some of my cookbooks and chose the recipes, helped with the shopping and did all the baking (with just a little bit of help) .

Becky is a chocolate fanatic with a sweet tooth so apart from the tomato, bacon and cheese pastry scrolls she made chocolate, walnut and apricot clusters, baby meringues with strawberries and cream, marbled chocolate muffins, lollies, chips,and a huge chocolate mudcake. And a couple of old favourites: cheese and pineapple hedgehogs and cheerios with tomato sauce.

Ten, not too old for licking the bowl, and not too young to dress up in the purple ball dress which had been hanging in the wardrobe for years waiting to make a re-appearance on this special occasion

 



 

 

 

 

Home Made Tapenade

 

I like tapenade, that pungent olive paste but it's expensive to buy so decided to make some at home..It was surprisingly easy to do and it is also a very flexible recipe. You can taste as you go and adjust the amount of anchovies, capers, garlic and lemon juice until it's just right.

My family is not particularly fond of anchovies . The two anchovies I  used (which is a bare minimum) do add to the flavour and are not overpowering. If they protest the anchovies can even be left out entirely next time. I did add some basil, as I thought it would taste better than parsley. The final result was not quite as intensely flavoured as some tapenades I have bought but it was more than good enough to eat.

Once made it can be covered and stored in the fridge for a week. I may also try freezing some to use later on in the year. But if not serving on the day I'd add the anchovies just before serving.

Sliced pitted olives can be rather bland in taste so I used a well flavoured  olive oil ( from Rockhaven Estate) which our friends Gill and Dave gave us for Christmas.

Ingredients:

2 cups of  drained and rinsed pitted and sliced black olives
The juice of 1/2-1 lemon
2-3 tablespoons of capers ( drained)
2 anchovy fillets ( rinsed)
2-4 tablespoons of olive oil ( I used Rock Haven Estate)
1 garlic clove crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Optional (6 sliced basil leaves or a small  handful of fresh parsley)

Method

I simply whizzed all of these together in my food processor to make a rough paste . I like to leave some texture but for a smoother texture simply whizz for longer.

Some recipes have parsley or basil addded . If I was not using all of this tapenade straight away I would leave any fresh herbs out until just before serving. You can simply put the tapenade back in the food processor, add some chopped fresh basil or pasrley and rewhizz.
A garnish of finely chopped fresh herbs when serving also looks good.

 

Panzanella with Microwaved Croutons

I was keen to use some of our homegrown tomatoes and basil to make Panzanella. Traditionally this tomato and onion salad  is made with chunks of stale bread but the idea letting them soak in the dressing until they were in a soggy mushy state just didn't appeal . Over the decades cooks have taken all sorts of liberties with the original recipe so I decided to create my own version by adding some croutons instead. Usually I'd bake these in the oven , but for a quick lunch I looked for a shortcut and discovered they can be microwaved (which saves power as well)
Once in the salad these microwaved croutons became slightly chewy which actually tasted just right in this recipe, so I'd happily make them this way again.
It easily serves two.It's so hot and summery here today, this was all I thought we needed for lunch. John, however snuck back into the kitchen and made himself a ham sandwich as well (with the leftover Christmas ham)
My panzanella tastes good but is very basic. You can play around with it and add any combination of sliced cucumber, peppers, black olives,  or capers. Use what you have on hand. And if anyone throws up their hands in horror and tells you this is not how a true panzanella should be ignore them and eat up.

Method:

In a salad bowl put:
5 medium sized tomatoes ( ripe but still firm) cut into chunks
1 medium sized red onion (sliced)
20 leaves of basil (not too finely sliced/torn)
Dress with a  mixture of 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

Microwaved Croutons:

In a small microwave jug or bowl melt 1 tablespoon of olive oil with 1 tablespoon of butter
Add 1 clove of crushed garlic  and a little salt
Toss 1 1/2 cups of white bread cubes in this mixture
Add 2 tablespoons of finely grated parmesan cheese and toss again to mix well
Microwave uncovered in a single layer on a microwave safe dish or plate for 1 minute on High.
Stir and then continue to microwave.
At 30 second intervals stir them again. Continue until the bread is golden and crisp.
This could take up to 3 minutes in all

If they are not entirely crisp ( and mine weren't ) they will crisp up more on standing.

Leave the croutons to stand for a mintue or so before tossing through the Panzanella Salad. Serve at once.





 

A Nepalese Dinner

We're a travelling family. This January my daughter Kate has been trekking in Nepal.She loved the food . Here is one of her photographs of a Nepalese Cook. making  dinner. As you can see he is using  only a few fresh ingredients, a glowing fire, a frypan and a kettle.

Sometimes I think that simplicty has become a casualty of our Western lifestyle and a little decluttering would not be a bad idea. Although, to be honest, there are quite a few things I'd hate to be without.

Vegetable Market in Mysore: India

 

Our son Nick has been staying in Mysore and doing yoga there for the last few months and this is his photograph of a local veggie market. I love the way the vegetables are so artfully arranged as well as the harmonious and vibrant colours.

Tamarind Fish

 

I made Tamarind Fish from Madhur's Jaffrey's Flavours of India for the I Heart Cooking Clubs Challenge at http://iheartcookingclubs.blogspot.co.nz/

Each week there is a different topic and you can find some really interesting variations of her recipes here which are well worth trying. 

 

 This week the challenge was a Potluck Theme. I interpreted it literally and chose to make this dish

because I thought it would be easy to pack up and carry and could be served at room temperature. This means it would not need to be reheated at its destination. Guests could just help themselves to chunks of it with a fork.

 

I hadn't made this recipe before but it looked reasonably straightforward and I thought it would not take too long to make, especially as I had already made the tamarind sauce the day before (as described it in a previous post.) 

 

In the finished dish the tamarind and turmeric flavours were less dominant than I thought they would be, making this a dish that would not be too challenging to eat for those who are unfamiliar with Indian Food.

 

The recipe is traditionally made with Hilsa, which Madhur describes as a " beautiful silvery fish" found in the estuaries of Bengal;s rivers where it comes from the sea to spawn. It is very expensive and revered so it is reserved for special occasions. We can't buy it here but salmon makes a good substitute.

 

I don't like using too much fat in my cooking so adapted the recipe by frying the salmon in 3 tablespoons of oil rather than the 1/2 cup originally called for.Madhur does drain the fish after frying but I think that it would still have absorbed rather a lot of fat by this stage. What I may have sacrificed in the way of crispness was outweighed by fewer calories.

 

Her preferred oil for this dish is mustard oil. I have seen mustard growing in India but I have never seen mustard oil on sale here, I thought ( wrongly) that it was only grown for the seeds. It may well have added to the flavour and I'd like to taste it .

 

The original recipe called for 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper but I used a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper whick I think is more aromatic ( especially the black pepper I have in my pantry which I brought back from a visit to Kerala last year)

 

.For the sugar I substituted brown for white.

 

I have presented the fish as is, but I do think it would have benefited with a garnish of some kind as it looked a little bare, although it tasted good.

 

Ingredients:

 

450 grams of salmon ( Madhur used steaks but I used one large piece of New Zealand King Salmon)

3/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric

3/4 -1 teaspoon of salt

3 tablespoons of rice bran oil

3 tablespoons of thick tamarind paste

1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of brown mustard seeds. ( I used yellow , this was fine)

200 ml of water

 

Method:

 

Rub 1/2 teaspoon of the turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon of salt over the salmon. Leave it to stand for 10 minutes.

 

Whie the fish is standing mix the tamarind paste , the remaining turmeric and salt and sugar  with the water. Stir well to make the sauce.

 

Heat the oil in a preferably non stick frypan and when hot fry the salmon  for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from the frypan.

 

Heat the oil which remained in the frypan till medium hot before putting in the mustard seeds. They will pop within a few seconds ( It's wise to hold a lid over the frypan as they do to stop them splattering in your face or over the kitchen)

 

Add the tamarind sauce and bring to the boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring regularly, until the oil bubbles to the surface and the sauce has become very thick.

 

Put the fish back in the pan. Simmer for a further 5-8 minutes turning the fish gently once. By this time the fish should be cooked through and it should just be coated with the sauce.

 

We ate most of it straightaway but the leftovers also tasted good at room temperature.