Meal plan week commencing 8 Feb

We spent all of Saturday stripping wallpaper off 2 walls in our living room, followed by sanding and painting said walls. There are 3 walls left and we were thinking of continuing with our good work on Sunday. I had bits of wallpaper stuck in my hair, but decided to wait until Sunday evening to wash it – no point washing it twice when there was more DIY to do on Sunday.  Big mistake.

We had a lie-in on Sunday and I complained to hubby that it was cold. I went downstairs and boosted the temperature up, and plonked myself in front of the telly. 20 minutes later and the room was still freezing. I got up and checked the boiler. It was dead. 

Hubby rang the boiler company only to be told that the earliest an engineer would get in touch was Monday.

So, hubby helped me boil 4 kettles of water for my wash in the bath this morning.

Everyone at work was complaining that the weather has turned cold overnight. As far as I’m concerned, it’s warmer outside than it is in our house.

I have a very low tolerance to the cold and suffer poor circulation, so you can imagine that I’m not in the best of forms at the moment. Still, hubby has been very sweet and positive, so I need to get my act together and try not to be such a crybaby.

So, I’m going to keep up with the meal plan this week, as tempting as it is to eat out. We’ll just boil hot water to do the dishes. It can be done.

Meal plan for the week:

Monday – chicken curry with potatoes

Tuesday – squash risotto (I didn’t cook this last week as I had loads of thai chicken curry left over)

Wednesday – grilled seabass (using a recipe I found in Barefoot in Paris)

Thursday – no cooking – I’m attending a cooking workshop and we’ll sit down for a meal at the end of the session and hubby has a night out with work

Friday – simple fried rice

Saturday – EarlyValentine’s dinner out

Bill Granger’s Coconut Bread

Ok, so I’m on a roll here with Bill Granger’s recipes. I wanted to make something sweet to have with our tea this afternoon after all the DIY we were doing. This recipe took about 10 minutes to prepare and in it went into the oven. Lovely toasted, with some kerrygold butter, but equally good on its own.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups self raising flour ( I used a small tea-cup)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 150g dessicated coconut
• 75g butter, melted
• 300ml milk
• 2 eggs, beaten

Method

1. Mix the eggs, milk and vanilla in a bowl
2. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, coconut and ground cinnamon
3. Make a well in the middle of the 2nd bowl and pour in the egg and milk mix
4. Stir slowly until the ingredients combine
5. Add in the melted butter, and give it another mix
6. Grease and flour a loaf tin (21cm x 10 cm)
7. Pour the mix into the tin and bake for 1 hour at 180 degrees celsius

Bill Granger’s Ricotta hotcakes

We set out to do some DIY today, and I wanted to keep our energy levels up. What better way to start of the day than with Bill Granger’s ricotta hotcakes. We had this at Bill’s in Surrey Hills in 2008, and it was yum. I’ve made it a few times but never blogged about it. To accompany the hotcakes, I made another Bill Granger’s dish – caramelised bananas which he demonstrated during his book launch in April 09. I have to say the house was filled with lovely vanilla and caramel aroma while I made this dish.

You can find the ricotta hotcakes in Bill’s Sydney Food, and the caramelised bananas in Feed Me Now.

I tweaked the recipe for the ricotta hotcakes for smaller portions, and didn’t separate the eggs:

Ingredients:

• 1 small cup (about 125g) of self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg,  beaten
• 1 small cup ricotta cheese
• 3/4 small cup milk
• a pinch of salt
• 50g butter

Method

1. Mix the ricotta, egg, vanilla and milk in a bowl
2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt
3. Transfer the flour mix into the ricotta and mix gently
4. Heat the butter in a non-stock pan
5. Put 2 spoonfuls of batter per hotcake on the pan, and leave for 2 minutes
6. Flip over to the other side and cook for another 2 minutes
7. Transfer to a plate

Caramelised bananas:

• 3 bananas, cut lengthways and cut into chunks
• 60g brown sugar
• 75g butter
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp vanilla

Method:

1. Place the butter, sugar and water in hot pan
2. Add in the bananas and vanilla
3. Coat the bananas with the syrup once the sugar and butter have melted
4. Pour onto the hotcakes

Friday date night – Cinnamon Kitchen

Hubby and I went to the Cinnamon Kitchen in Devonshire Square for dinner last night. We made our booking through toptable and selected their set menu offer.

For starters, both hubby and I opted for the venison sheesh kebab, and it was absolutely gorgeous, albeit spicy. It came with two side dips, but I really could have eaten the kebab on its own.

I chose chicken, lentil curry and pilau rice for my main course. The chicken had a lovely charcoal flavour, melt in your mouth texture. The lentil curry was quite understated so as no to overpwer the taste of the chicken, but it was still very pleasant.

Hubby went for sea bream and spicy potatoes (note: this is not the exact name of the dish). I had a taste of his dish and it was indeed very good. The fish was simply grilled and the potatoes offered a bit of kick on the side.

For dessert, I ordered a selection of sorbet. The waiter explained that it was a trio of berry, pear and mandarin-chilli sorbet. My favourite was the pear.

Hubby’s choice of dessert was toffee pudding with vanilla ice-cream. The toffee pudding had a lovely taste of ginger to it.

 

The food was as I remembered it from my last visit – delicious and authentic. The waiters were very attentive and courteous.

Hubby and I had a lovely date night and I think we might pay this restaurant another visit in the not so distant future.

Thai green chicken curry – hubby’s turn

Hubby cooked a lovely Thai green chicken curry for dinner tonight. The recipe is the same as the one for the red curry posted last week. He was meant to cook yellow curry, but decided to use up what was left of the green paste. He used green beans, potatoes, green and red peppers in the curry as well.

Well done hubby! I had seconds, and there’s plenty left over for tomorrow.

I had a packet of okra in the crisper, which I bought over a week ago. I didn’t want it to go to waste, so I cooked it as a side dish (not that we needed it).

Spicy okra

Ingredients:

• 10 okra, washed and sliced
• 1 shallot
• a handful of ikan bilis (dried anchovies) (I got the ok from hubby to add this in)
• 1/2 red chilli, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp kicap manis (dark soy sauce)
• salt to taste
• vegetable oil

Method

1. Heat some oil in a pan
2. Fry the anchovies until crisp. Place into a bowl and leave aside
3. Fry the shallots and chilli for a minute
4. Add in the okra and give it a good stir for 2 minutes
5. Add in the soy sauce, and season with salt and fry for 3 minutes
6. Add in the anchovies and stir for a minute before serving

 

Salmon and puy lentils

I have never liked salmon – I always found it too ‘meaty’ for fish, so have never cooked it.

I’ve been watching the Barefoot Contessa on Food Network recently, and decided to order one of hers cookbooks, ‘Barefoot in Paris – Easy french food you can cook at home’. The book arrived yesterday and I’ve found some lovely, inspiring recipes. I decided last night that I would try one of her recipes – Salmon with Lentils, for dinner tonight. I can’t not eat salmon forever…..

I had most of the ingredients for the dish but tweaked the recipe slightly.

Ingredients:

• 125g puy lentils
• 1/2 carrot, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 shallots, finely sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• a handful of chopped parsley
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 cube vegetable stock
• olive oil
• 2 cuts of salmon
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp tumeric powder

Method

1. Cook the puy lentils in boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain and leave aside
2. Heat some oil in a heavy based pan
3. Fry the shallots for a minute, followed by the garlic for 10 seconds
4. Add in the carrots, celery and lentils and stir well
5. Pour half a cup of water into the pan and crumble the stock in
6. Put the lid on and leave to cook for 10 minutes
7. Add in ketchup, chopped parsley, season with salt, pepper and squeeze in lemon juice. You might need to add another half cup of water
8. Put the lid back on and cook on low heat for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat
9. Coat the salmon with paprika, tumeric, salt, pepper and olive oil
10. Heat a non-stick oven proof pan
11. Place the salmon cuts skin side down when the pan is hot. Leave to fry for 2 minutes
12. Flip the salmon onto the its other side and cook in the oven (180 degrees) for 5 minutes and it should be done

Hubby loved this dish! My very first salmon.

Meal plan week commencing 1 Feb

I started planning my weekly meals ahead of time recently. I found a very inspiring blog today http://lesardoises.wordpress.com/ and the author recommended that I post my meal plans. So here goes week commencing 1 Feb 2010 covering dinners only, as hubby and I both eat breakfast and dinner during weekdays at work.

Monday (yesterday) – Wonton noodles

Tuesday (today) – Salmon and puy lentils

Wed – Thai yellow curry with chicken

Thursday – leftover from last night

Friday – Butternut squash risotto

Sat – Malaysian nasi lemak

Sun – possibly dining out

I’ve done the grocery shopping for the above, so unless I get held up at work until late, I hope to follow through with the plan!

Wonton noodles – Monday night special

Wonton noodles was a big favourite of mine when I was a kid, although I was never one for the accompanying dumplings. I had wonton noodles with boiled chicken in Singapore recently, however it didn’t quite hit the spot.

I was inspired to cook wonton noodles when I stumbled upon a blog over the weekend. I dragged hubby to an oriental supermarket ( we were almost in a crash en route!) yesterday and found them.

This is my take on a childhood favourite.

Wonton noodles served with garlic kai lan and pan fried chicken:

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken thighs, boneless – marinated in 2 tbsp sweet soy sauce, a pinch of white pepper, 1/2 vegetable stuck cube, a pinch of salt, 1 tsbp cornflour
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 250g kai lan
• sweet soy sauce
• sesame oil
• salt and white pepper to taste
• 1/2 cube vegetable stock
• fresh wonton noodles (enough for 2)
• vegetable oil

Method:

(a) Chicken

1. Heat sone vegetable oil in a frying pan
2. Pan fry the chicken thighs – 2 minutes on each side
3. Transfer the chicken onto a foil lined baking tray and transfer to the oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes

(b) Kai Lan

 

1. Boil water in a medium sized pot
2. Add 1/2 cube vegetable stock into the water
3. Place a bamboo steamer over the pot once the water has boiled.
4. Place the kai lan onto the steamer, cover with a lid for 5 minutes
5. Heat some oil in a frying pan
6. Brown the garlic for 30 seconds, and transfer the kai lan to the pan. Leave the pot of water on a low simmer
7. Add a dash of water, soy sauce, salt and pepper to the kai lan. Stir for a minute and remove the pan from the heat

(c) Noodles

1. Add the noodles into the pot of water (from step 6 above) and bring to a boil
2. Add in sesame oil, 1 tbsp soy sauce, a pinch of salt and pepper into the water
3. Cook the noodles for 4 minutes (or as per the instructions on the pack)
4. Plate up : Using a pair of tongs, transfer the noodles (minus broth) into a bowl
5. Pour 3 tsbp of the broth onto the noodles
6. Slice up the chicken. Place chicken and kai lan on top of the noodles
7. Serve with sweet soy and chilli dip (might need this for extra flavouring depending on your taste buds!)

Peach and sour cream layer cake

I ate a delicious peach cake from the canteen at work a few days ago and have been craving it ever since. I looked around for a suitable recipe but most of the pound cake recipes I came across online were on american sites, and I was unfamiliar with the measurements.

I finally found one for victoria sponge on bbc online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/get_cooking/recipes/010.shtml 

Instead of jam, I used sour cream and peaches for the filling. Here is the recipe for ease of reference:

Ingredients

• 225g unsalted butter, softened
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g self-raising flour plus 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, beaten
• a pinch of salt

For the filling:

• a tub of low fat sour cream (150ml or so)
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp Cointreau
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• a can of peaches

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees (gasmark 5)
2. Cream the butter and sugar using an electric beater until the mixture is pale and creamy
3. Mix in the eggs gradually
4. Add in the vanilla extract
5. Add the self raising flour plus baking powder and salt into the egg mix
6. Prepare an 8 inch springform cake tin by greasing and lining the bottom with baking paper
7. Pour half the cake batter into the tin and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until the cake is nice and golden
8. Remove the cake onto a cooling rack, peeling away the baking paper
9. Repeat steps 6-8 for the remaining batter
10. For the filling, whisk the sour cream with sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest and Cointreau
11. Slice the peaches and leave aside
12. To plate up, place one cake topside down on a plate (cake stand). Spread the sour cream mix generously on top of the cake.
13. Arrange the peach slices in a fan shape on the sour cream surface
14. Top with the remaining sour cream mixture
15. Place the second cake top side up on the fruit layer
16. Chill for 2 hours before serving (and I’m guessing hubby will want it with custard!)

 

Quick thai red chicken curry

Hubby is busy DIY-ing today. I figured he could do some food which packed a punch and to keep his energy level up. Hubby was inspired by Nigella’s curry in a hurry a few weeks ago, so he stocked up our fridge with thai curry essentials. I would have preferred to make my own paste, but wouldn’t dream of knocking hubby’s interest/motivation in preparing food. I offered to make the curry for him today, but made sure to check that he was happy with the ingredients I was about to use.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp thai red curry paste
• 4 chicken boneless thighs, cut into chunks
• 4 baby potatoes, halved
• 4 small asian aubergines, cut lengthways and quartered
• 1 red pepper, cut lengthways and into strips
• 1/2 yellow pepper, cut lengthways and into strips
• 1 lemon grass, bruised
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• salt, pepper and thai fish sauce to taste
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• a squeeze of lemon
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 1 garlic, chopped
• vegetable oil
• 1/2 can of coconut milk

Method

1. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy based pot
2. Fry the shallots, followed by the garlic
3. Add in the curry paste and fry for 30 seconds
4. Brown the chicken in the pot and ensure it gets a good coating of the curry paste
5. Add in the lemon grass and lime leave and stir for a minute
6. Pour in the coconut milk, lower the heat and add in the potatoes
7. Add a dash of fish sauce, sugar and a squeeze of lemon
8. Put the lid on the leave to cook for 10minutes
9. Add in the peppers and aubergine and leave to cook for a further 10 minutes
10. Season with salt and pepper
11. Serve with piping hot rice