Ginger chicken balls

I always feel like meatballs - of whatever flavour. These ones combine some of my favourite flavours: ginger, garlic, Thai basil, chicken, and spring onion and are simmered in tomato sauce and served on a bed of basmati rice. I used a Dolmio spicy pepper sauce which went well with the other flavours, but you could make your own or use a different sort of ready made sauce. However, the meatballs could also be cooked and eaten without sauce, or with sauce served with noodles or pasta. Meatballs are very flexible! I cooked these on the top of the stove but they can be baked in the oven at 160c for 45 minutes.

Ingredients
600 gr minced chicken
2 spring onions
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
8 gr Thai basil
Dry fine bread crumbs
Olive oil
250 gr ready made tomato sauce
Water
Steamed rice or noodles
Shaved Parmesan

Mode
Slice spring onions finely
Crush garlic and ginger
Chop Thai basil fairly finely
Add chicken, spring onions, garlic, ginger and Thai basil to a bowl
Combine ingredients thoroughly with hands
Using a heaped soup spoon of mixture form meatballs
Coat lightly in bread crumbs
Place tomato sauce in large pan to heat 
Heat olive oil in pan on stove top
Add the meatballs in batches and quickly seal on both sides
Add sealed meatballs to the tomato sauce
Simmer on the top of the stove for 20-30 minutes
Serve on a bed of rice or rice noodles
Top with shaved Parmesan

Pomegranate and citrus chicken

 

A couple of weekends ago, in between viewing the Gertrude Street Projections with my friend Karen, we ate at a yummy Spanish restaurant in Gertrude Street. To hit our thirst initially we had a refreshing drink which included lemon, lime and pomegranate.  Well, I pondered on the walk home, those flavours would be a nice combination with chicken.And they certainly are!

This recipe is a variant on Abla's Chicken Wings in Garlic. I used chicken drumettes instead of wings, and citron salt (thanks for the present, Bast!), and where she uses lemon juice, I used lemon juice, lime juice, and pomegranate molasses.  However, the cooking method is the tried and true Abla one.

 

Ingredients

730 gr chicken drumettes
1 dessertspoon citron salt
A total of 200 ml made up from:
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 2 limes
Pomegranate molasses
1.5 tbs of minced garlic

Mode

Preheat oven to 210c.
Arrange the chicken drumettes in a baking dish
Sprinkle with citron salt
Roast for 30 minutes
Meanwhile squeeze the lime and lemons
Add pomegranate molasses to citrus juice
Add minced garlic to the citrus and pomegranate and stir thoroughly
Remove the chicken from the oven and pour the garlic, citrus and pomegranate mixture over
Return to oven and roast for another 20 minutes.

Pork and coriander stirfry with black rice

Black rice is packed with nutrients and adds a great favour to salads or stirfries. This is a simple stirfry with the added pleasure of black rice. I like cooking up black rice and freezing individual portions (50 gr) so that I have them ready for a quick meal when I have been at a meeting late. This recipe serves one and can be prepared very quickly so it provides a quick and nutritious meal if you come home late (1862 kJ).

Ingredients

1/2 cup broccoli flowerets
30 gr pak choi
1/2 red capsicum
1 baby carrot
1 pork butterfly steak (175 gr)
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp sambal oelek
1/2 bunch fresh coriander
50g (raw measurement) cooked black rice
Olive oil

Mode

Quickly seal the pork on the grill basting with a little olive oil
Meanwhile chop the broccoli, pak choi, capsicum, carrot and coriander
Crush the garlic
Heat oil in a wok
Cut the pork into thin slices
Add vegetables, pork, coriander, garlic, ginger, and chilli to the wok
Stir fry quickly to desired crunchiness
Stir though the black rice until heated

Lentil and egg salad

The hot Melbourne summer this year called for lots of fresh, crisp salads.  This is one that I made for lunch one day.  I love the combination of the lentils, hard-boiled eggs and crisp vegetables.  There are so many lovely textures and colours. I often soak dry lentils overnight before I cook them but it is not strictly necessary.  They will just need cooking for longer. If you don't want to cook lentils, you can easily add canned lentils to the mix.  When I buy fresh basil leaves, I always seem to have some over.  I hang them to dry and enjoy the intense taste of them in salads or when grilling meat.

Ingredients

100gr French style lentils (puy)
12 red and yellow cherry tomatoes
1 Lebanese cucumber
1/2 red capsicum
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 clove Garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Dried basil leaves


Mode

Soak the lentils in a saucepan of water overnight
Remove water and rinse lentils
Add fresh water to the lentils and boil until tender
Boil the eggs
Cool the eggs
Strain lentils and add to a salad bowl
Peel and roughly chop eggs
Half cherry tomatoes
Roughly chop cucumber and red capsicum
Add egg and vegetables to the lentils
Add dried basil leaves to taste
Add crushed garlic, ginger, and olive oil
Toss all ingredients
Eat for lunch with a crusty loaf of bread

Almond chia pudding with raspberries

It is probably a misnomer to call this a pudding as that implies a bit more effort going into the making.  But it is a pudding. I am a chia seed novice and bought some for the first time this week.  So this is really playing.  I have seen people with fabulous chia breakfasts and that's what I wanted too.  It was yummy.  I'll be continuing to experiment.

Ingredients

1 cup almond milk
3 tbs chia seeds
1/4 cup raw almonds
45 gr frozen raspberries
Cinnamon


Mode

Add chia seeds to almond milk in a bowl
Put in the refrigerator overnight to allow the seeds to absorb the almond milk
In the morning remove from the refrigerator
Add almonds and frozen raspberries
Sprinkle with cinnamon
Enjoy!

Berry and yoghurt icy poles

I have had several people asking me recently when I was going to post here again!  It is good to know that I have readers who are hanging out for one of my recipes! Thanks for your interest.

During the long hot we have been having in Melbourne this summer, several times I have purchased fruit with the idea that I would make some healthy, no-sugar icy poles. But I have always eaten up the fruit before I made them.  This time was no different.

On Saturday when I was hunkered down at home on a 40c day, @kimtairi posted a photo on Instagram of a raspberry, lime and yoghurt icy pole that she had made and was eating. I was reminded that yet again I hadn't made any and had eaten the fresh fruit. But I had yoghurt and I had frozen berries!  This time, envious of Kim's snack I hopped to and got on with it immediately.  This is the end result.  I have been enjoying them since and they were especially refreshing on Sunday which was another 40c day.

This recipe makes about six icy poles, but the size of your mould will obviously have an impact.  If you prefer sweeter icy poles, you can add a teaspoon of honey to the mixture. Don't have icy pole moulds?  You can make them in muffin trays or patty pans or make bars in foil.  I am not sure if they still have them, but I got my moulds at Daiso a while ago and you can probably guess the price!

Ingredients

400 gr light Greek yoghurt
1 cup frozen berries


Mode

Place yoghurt and berries in food processor
Blend until combined and as smooth as you wish
Spoon into icy pole moulds
Place into freezer for 10 minutes without sticks
Remove from freezer and insert sticks/lids
Return to freezer
Freeze for at least five hours or until solid (overnight is good)
Loosen from mould by holding under warm water

Hallowe'en Soup

In Australia we don't tend to have fields of pumpkins lying waiting for us at this time of the year.  But when I made a pot of soup this week I realized that I must have been influenced by my recent indoctrination in the US.  This soup actually came about because I had a cauliflower that needed cooking, espied the butternut pumpkin and wondered how that would work. I cooked it as one would a standard vegetable soup and added cummin and turmeric as these are flavours I like with both cauliflower and pumpkin.  The amounts for the spices are indicative so please add what you would like.

It is my hommage from afar to the pumpkins in the US and to my fellow travellers who have allowed me to indulge in my fascination with the cult of the pumpkin. You know who you are!

Ingredients

1 butternut pumpkin
1/2 cauliflower
1 onion
Olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tsp cummin
1 tsp turmeric
2 litres chicken stock
1 tbs Greek yoghurt per serve

Mode

Slice the onion
Peel and press the garlic
Peel and roughly chop the pumpkin
 Heat olive oil in a pan or pot large enough to contain the soup
Add onion and cook until soft
Add garlic, cummin and turmeric and mix
Add chopped pumpkin and stir
Break cauliflower into florets and add to mixture
Allow vegetables and spices to sweat for a while until flavours are mixed
Add the chicken stock
Bring to the boil
Reduce to simmer and simmer until all the vegetables are tender
Check for flavours and add more cummin and/or turmeric according to taste
If needed, simmer to incorporate extra spices
Blend until smooth
Place a tablespoon of Greek yoghurt in each serving bowl and add soup
Enjoy!