Friday, November 2, 2012

Pumpkin 'Crack' Soup

Ok, i have this recipe for curry pumpkin soup that my cousin LOVES. She calls it my crack soup because she can't get enough of it!!! Every time we have a sewing day at my house, we have to have it :D

Anyway, it's another one of my recipes that i make with varying amounts of ingredients - basically depending on what i have in my cupboard!!!

Ingredients

A few cups of Pumpkin (Butternut is nicest, in my opinion)
2-3 Potatos
1-2 Carrots
1 Onion
Curry Powder
Chicken Stock
Evaporated Milk

Method

1. Roughly chop all of the veggies
2. Heat some oil in a pan and throw the veggies in, mixing for a couple of minutes
3. Add 1-2 teaspoons of curry powder, depending on how spicy you like it
4. Pour the chicken stock in until the veggies are covered. I usually need about 1/2 litre. Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes, until all the veggies are nice and soft.
5. Take the pot off the heat and wizz it all up
6. A few minutes before you are going to serve it, add some evaporated milk, stir it through and reheat

I like to have some sour cream with my soup and it's lovely with some cracked pepper on top too!!!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Flourless Orange and Almond Cake

Well, it's been a while since i've posted, but i'm going to try and share a recipe a week, especially in the lead up to Christmas as things get busier and we have more guests around!!!

I cooked this recipe the other day and it is AMAZING!!!! The moistest, yummiest cake you will ever eat!!! I made it using Nutura sugar, which is a new 'sweetener' that is all natural and doesn't contain any of the nasty things that have given sweeteners a bad name. So it's a low calorie, high protein, gluten free snack!! Great to have on hand for 3:30itis!!!

Source

"Quick and Easy Cakes" by Bay Books

Ingredients

2 Oranges
1 1/2 cups (280g) ground almonds (note - i actually used half almond, half coconut, measuring by the cup, as coconut is a lot lighter :D)
1 cup (250g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon Cointreau (i didn't have any in the cupboard, so i didn't use it)
6 eggs, lightly beaten

Method

1. Place the whole oranges in a saucepan, cover with pater and place a small plate or bowl on top to keep the oranges submerged - like this:

Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App

2. Gradually bring to the boil, the reduce and heat and simmer for 40 minutes, or until very soft. Preheat the oven to moderate (180C/350F/Gas 4). Grease and line a 23 springform tin. I actually used a Tupperware round silicon form which is bigger than this, and it works out fine :D

3. Cut the oranges into quarters and leave to cool. Remove an pips, then blend in a food processor until very smooth. I dont' actually own a processor, but i used a stick wizzer with a blender attachment, so you can definately do this with a blender, or probably even a stick wizzer in a bowl :D

4. Add the ground almonds, sugar, baking powder, vanilla essence and cointreau and, using the pulse button, process until just combined.

5. Add the egg and process again until just combined - do not overprocess.

6. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes, or until firm and the cake leaves the side of the tin. Leave to cool in the tin. Dust with icing sugar to serve if desired.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Basic Curry

Welcome to 2012 everyone, and happy new year!!!

Sorry it's taken me so long to blog recently - it's been a bit mad around Christmas!! I hope you all had a delicious Christmas with friends and family :D

My family came to stay over Christmas, and my dad (who is a VERY fussy eater) asked me to cook the same recipe twice!! A very rare thing for me dad :D Mum just asked for the recipe off me - you know you're cooking is going OK when your mum is asking you for your recipes!!! So, i thought i'd share it with you all.

This curry recipe is very basic, and doesn't really have measurements, but i tend to make it as a chicken/turkey curry or a sausage curry - it's a great way to use up left over roast meat or a leftover BBQ chook :D

Basic Curry Recipe

Heat pan and cook some finely chopped onion in some butter.

Add curry powder (1-2 tsp should do the trick) and cook for 1 minute.

Add flour (1-2 tbsp should do the trick) and cook again for 1 minute.

Add stock while stirring constantly. If i'm making a chicken/turkey curry i use chicken stock. If i'm making a sausage curry i use beef stock. You will need enough to just cover all the veggies and meat when it's added.

Bring to the boil.

Add meat and veggies and season to taste. Stir and allow to simmer.

If the curry is too thin, add more flour. If there is not enough sauce, add more stock or water. You may then need to add flour as well :D

Hope this helps you use up some of your leftovers, and enjoy a hearty home-cooked meal at the same time!