Nothing beats homemade pizza

I really should have continued on with becoming a baker.. I love playing with dough!
Here's a really simple pizza dough recipe, which when done properly (because lets face it, dough can be a bitch, what with the yeast and the temperature.. fussy.) turns out light and fluffy.
I've found this recipe enough to make 1 large thick base and 1 mediumish size thin (Because I like thin and crispy anyway.)

2 cups plain flour
1x7g packet of dried yeast
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup warm water

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Add the oil and water, mix with your hand and knead lightly in the bowl until it's all mixed through and is soft and pliable. Form the dough into a ball type shape, cover with gladwrap and leave someplace warm for half an hour, until risen to double in size, or almost at least.
-30 minutes later-
Lightly punch once then tip out onto a floured bench. Using flour dusted hands, knead gently and roll out into pizza-base-type-shapes.

I would say circles, but for some reason mine (back) never turn out that way...

 Let sit for a further 10-15 minutes to rise a bit more if you wish, other than that, they are ready to be topped!
I guess the toppings are entirely up to you, but I'll share what we usually have.
Plain tomato paste for the base, or in some odd cases, Frosty likes Spaghetti sauce on his.
For a normal Frosty pizza, the toppings are as follows: Sauce, cheese, shredded ham, tin of pineapple, roast chicken and some more cheese. Oh and chili. Lots and lots of chili.
Mine: Sauce, cheese, chili, tomatoes, onion, salami, roast chicken.

Mine are always odd shapes :/

Roast Lamb :)

My dinner for the night, very om nom nom. :D I cooked a roast lamb for myself, since Frosty doesn't really eat lamb.. I think there's enough leftovers to do me for lunch for the next 2 weeks!
I miss the Sunday roasts we used to have at Mum & Dads.. They were always epic. And I miss the awesome gravy Dad would make...  :)

Chocolate icecream

I'd like to point out that you don't need a machine to make icecream, just whip the mixture up, pour it into a freezeable tub, pop it into the freezer and mix it by hand every hour to break up the crystals etc. Hard work but it's still nice end result. :)

Anywho, here's a simple chocolate icecream recipe I tried today, which came with my machine.
This made 1lt, so next time I am doubling the ingredients to get a decent 2lt amount. One just isn't enough in this house!

1 cup unsweetend cocoa powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups full cream milk
3 1/4 cup Double cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Place the cocoa and sugars in a mixing bowl, stir to combine. Add the milk and whisk to combine until the cocoa and sugar has dissolved. Stir in the cream and vanilla.
Turn the machine on and pour mixture in.
Transfer to a freezeable container when done, to firm up some more. I found it quite soft, but I think my bowl wasn't completely frozen. (I'm impatient!) :)

This icecream is very decadent.

I scream you scream we all scream for Ice Cream!

Very impressed with my new toy so far.. Have just made my 2nd batch of icecream and now waiting very impatiently for it to set firmer in the freezer!
The first flavour Frosty insisted on (me) making.. was Butterscotch, with honeycomb bits. I made it lastnight, and I'm guessing it was just that good that when I'd gotten up this morning, it vanished sometime throughout the night...
This is the recipe I used, which I found online. Pretty simple :)
This recipe only  makes 900mls, so next time I'm going double the ingredients..


1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla essance
1 1/2 cup Pouring cream (Pauls Pure Cream I think it's called)
2 cups Light cream (equates to 1x300ml pot of thickened Light Cooking cream is what I found)
6 large egg yolks - lightly beaten. (Don't waste those egg whites either! Keep them for a Pav or meringue for lemon meringue pie!)

Prep time!
In a small saucepan on medium to low heat, stir the brown sugar, butter and vanilla until smooth, melted and a few bubbles. Then whisk in 1/2 cup pouring cream, until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In another saucepan on medium to high heat, combine the 1 cup pouring cream and the light cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Whisk half of the cream mixture into the bowl of egg yolks slowly, whisking while you pour. Then pour the egg cream mixture to the remaining saucepan of cream. Stir until mixture is thickened slightly then remove from the heat.

Pour through a fine strainer (or colander in my case!) into a clean large bowl and whisk in the butterscotch mixture. Chill for a few hours or over night until completely cold.

With your icecream machine all ready to go, dump it in and watch it turn into ice cream. 5 minutes towards the end of the icecream process, add some chopped honeycomb/crunchie bars :)

God I could just eat this as is!!

After a few hours in the deep freeze.

Happy birthday to me...

So last week was my birthday, I am now 28.. I still have no intentions of acting my age. :P
 An icecream machine as my gift has been placed on order, and hopefully will arrive sometime this week! /happydance
So many icecream flavours to make...

Omelette

This was my "Brunch" for the day. A standard Omelette, some bacon and a grilled tomato half with cheese.

I am getting better at mastering the Omelette. For someone who can cook all sorts of fancy things and have them turn out quite good on the first attempt, I still have trouble with the simple things such as frying an egg, or an omelette for that matter.

And I have learnt that using water in the omelettes, rather than milk or cream, turns out alot lighter.. And healthier I guess!! :) And it tastes no different.

For this one that took up half the size of the dinner plate.. was just 3 eggs and about less than 1/4 cup water. Whisk with a fork, add in some pepper to taste. Tablespoon of butter into a frying pan on medium until it's melted then pour in the egg mixture, covering the whole pan. Let it cook for about 5 minutes or thereabouts - turn the heat down if it starts to burn. Carefully lift one part of the side with an eggflip, if it comes away easily and looks lightly browned, get the flip under some more and flip half onto itself. It'll cook through in about 2 minutes. Serve, enjoy!

Cheesecake!

I LOVE cheesecake. It was one of the first things I learnt to make in grade 8 Home Ec class (1995!)  (and probably the only thing I made in that stupid class!) It's still the same recipe I use and it's very simple. No gelatine, no baking.. no fuss! It's usually a  lemon cheesecake recipe, but you can leave out the lemon juice if you wish to make something else. Today I made Cookies and cream. :)

Biscuit base -
1 packet of crushed biscuits (milk coffee, chocolate ripple, whichever. This time I used Malt o Milk.)
100g  melted butter.

Mix biscuit crumbs with melted butter and press firmly into a greased pie dish / flan. Put in the fridge to set.

Filling -
250g philly cream cheese softened
150ml whipped cream - I usually whip this beforehand and keep in the fridge.
1/2 cup condensed milk

In a large bowl beat the cream cheese until it's smooth, add the condensed milk and beat until smooth and creamy. If you're making this a lemon cheesecake, mix in 1/2 cup lemon juice, if you like it tangy!
Fold in the whipped cream until all is combined. Cookies and Cream - add a packet of crushed/broken (with your hands) Oreo biscuits and gently stir in.
Turkish Delight, Honey Comb, Chocolate Chip, Mixed berry and Caramel all make for a real tasty cheesecake. Just mix in at the end. Allow to set in the fridge for a few hours before attacking it! :)

Simplicity

I have been rather busy and run down lately, so our meals have been rather simple. But sometimes the most simple meals are the tastiest.
Frosty often enjoys just a bowl of sausages and chili onions -  We buy a great curry flavoured sausages from our local butcher, fry them up with some sliced onion and a few sliced chilies, and towards the end of cooking I remove the snags from the pan, slice them up and return to finish cooking off.

Scrambled eggs, tomato and bacon on fresh breadrolls - who says bacon and eggs is a "breakfast only food" ? :)
4 eggs, a splash of cream or milk, a few sliced shallots, some pepper, whisked together and poured into a small pot with melted butter. Set it to medium with the lid on, checking every 5 minutes or so with a small stir until cooked. Fry some bacon and sliced tomato in the mean time and serve on fresh rolls.

Chicken nuggets and wedges - Chicken breast fillet (or thigh if you prefer) cut into chunks, coated in a mixture of either bread crumbs or Southern Chicken Coasting with spices mixed in, I use Piri-Piri because we like it spicy :) Potatoes - cut into wedges, lightly sprayed with olive oil and generously sprinkled with Lemon Pepper Seasoning. Pop the wedges on a tray into the oven and bake at 180c - Once the potatoes are half way cooked, put the chicken in on a separate tray.. OR squash them all in with the potatoes if you're feeling extra lazy ;)


Sausage Rolls - Squeeze out sausage meat from your favorite flavoured sausage. I like to use our local butchers own recipe of a cheesy Spanish chorizo, very spicy.  Or if you like you can use the prepacked roll of Sausage Mince found in the meat section of the supermarket, just add some finely diced onion, garlic, pepper, parsley and whatever else you want. Grab some thawed puff pastry and cut it in half. Place some handfuls of meat on each half of pastry in the middle, not too much though, kinda like a sausage shape I guess, and roll up, sealing the ends. Brush each roll with a lightly beaten egg. Bake at around 180c for oh.. half an hour or so I guess? Until cooked, lightly brown etc.

A new favourite of Frostys is  Stuffed chicken fillets wrapped in bacon or prosciutto. - Butterfly some breast fillets and pound them flat. On one half of the fillet lay some sliced tomato, pineapple pieces, onion and mozzarella cheese, fold over the other half of fillet and wrap in bacon or prosciutto. Bake at 180c until cooked, around 20-30 minutes.  Another tasty stuffing is Ricotta cheese and baby spinach, but instead of flattening the chicken fillet, leave it hole but cut a small pocket on the side to stuff tasties into.

Meat Pie

Everyone loves a decent meat pie.. This can be made with either beef mince or diced chunky beef.

 500g beef mince or diced beef steak, diced into small chunks

1 large onion diced

1 clove garlic crushed

1 cup beef or vegie stock

half cup water with 3 tablespoons gravy powder.. Roast Meat is a good flavoured one.

few splashes of Worcestershire sauce

few tablespoons of good tomato sauce

cracked black pepper to taste

1 sheet puff pastry and 1 sheet shortcrust pastry. (shortcrust on the bottom, puff on the top)

In a large pot cook onion and garlic until translucent then add the beef, cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add the gravy mixture and stock, stir. Add a few good splashes of Worcestershire sauce, and same with the tomato sauce and mix well. Bring to the boil then reduce to a low simmer, add pepper to taste. Simmer for an hour or 2, or until (if you're using beef steak) the meat is very soft. Remove from the heat, allow to cool a bit before putting it in the fridge. Cool it right down for an hour or so. 

Grease a large pie dish.. I dunno what size mine is.. "family size" apparently.. Put the shortcrust pastry sheet on the bottom, and leave the puff pastry aside, to thaw. Once thawed, press the pastry into the dish so it's all nice and snug, trim the corners with a knife and use the offcuts to fill any sides of the dish.. try to get the pastry to sit on the lip of the dish. 

Using a slotted spoon (because you don't want too much liquid) spoon the meat mixture into the dish, add a small amount of liquid at the end. Carefully place the puff pastry over the top, and crimp down the sides with a fork. Trim the edges and cut a V into the top. Brush with a lightly beaten egg or spray olive oil over the top. 

Bake at around 180c for an hour-hour and a half or until golden brown.

Serve with a decent mash and tuck in!

Buttery soft roast potatoes

Okay so these alone are definatly heart attack on a plate.. But oh so tasty. Quick, delicous and easy.

Peel and chop some spuds. I cut mine up smaller so they cook quicker. Into the roasting pan, lightly drizzel or spray some olive oil over, and generously sprinkle over some Tuscan Seasoning and some chunks of butter. Bake at around 180c for around an hour, checking and mixing/turning the potatoes around in between that time. Give or take time until they are soft.

Garlic chilli prawn pasta

So I made this for Frosty, who demanded I make it again, and again.. and again. :)

About 20 prawns, peeled, deveined (tails removed, or if you like them on for presentation, whatever. :) )
Tablespoon of butter
Half cup of vegie stock (or white wine if you want to be fancy)
Half cup of pouring cream
4 or more (or less!) birds eye chillies, sliced
2 cloves of crushed garlic
Small bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

Cooked pasta, drained and set aside. Fettuccine, Linguine, Orecchiette or Shells are all good.

In a frying pan, melt the butter, add the chillies and garlic, stirring. Add the prawns, cook for about 5 minutes or so, stirring every now and again.
Pour in the stock or wine and cream, cook off for about 2 minutes. Stir through the parsley and add the pasta. Mix well to coat pasta, serve.

(Sorry I didn't get a photo.. it was awesome though. :D

Baked Spring Rolls

I don't deep fry at all, infact I cook with minimal oil. My stomach can't handle it, so it's a big risk for me when I order fish and chips. :) Anyway, this recipe can be deep fried if you really want heart-cloggy goodness.

1 packet of frozen spring roll pastry
500g beef mince
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 stalks of shallots, chopped finely
1 stalk of celery, diced small
1/4 cabbage, chopped
2 medium carrots grated
1/2 packet Wai Wai brand rice noodle (I say that brand because in the packet is 2 noodle cakes.. use 1 of these cakes.)
1/2 cup soy sauce

In a saucepan, throw in the garlic and mince, lightly brown the mince. Add the cabbage and let it wilt down a bit then mix. Mix in the celery, carrot, shallots and soy sauce. Cook for 10 minutes on medium then turn off and set aside. Once it's cooled slightly, in a separate pot bring some water to the boil. Add the rice noodle cake, cook for 5 minutes then drain. Allow the noodles to cool then using scissors or dump it on a board and cut it up into smaller strands with a knife. Add to the meat mixture.
Put the whole lot in the fridge to cool down for an hour or 3.

Once it's all cooled down, take the pastry and let it thaw on the bench. Don't make the mistake I did of trying to unfold it while I thought it was thawed.. Stupid picky thing snaps in half. :)
Pastry is very testy to work with. Keep it covered so it doesn't dry out. With a sharp knife, slice about half the packet of pastry in half for smaller finger-food style rolls, or leave as big sheets for gigantic rolls.
Carefully peel off some sheets - they tear more easily than homebrand bog rolls, so have patience.
Grab a sheet, lay it flat on the bench, using your hand, dip into the meat mixture, and place a small handful on the pastry, making a log-type shape I guess you'd call it :) Roll it up, tucking in the sides as you roll.
If you're using the big sheets of pastry, lay the meat across / near the corner diagonally and roll on the diagonal.
Pop on on a baking tray, and keep doing this until the tray's full or you run out of ingredients. Bake at 170ishC for about 10 minutes, turning once, or until lightly golden.

Tandoori Prawn Skewers

Don't panic if you don't have a tandoori oven in the backyard, these work well on the BBQ or even just in the oven.. :)

1/2kg prawns, peeled, devained and tails OFF. (sorry, alot of people leave tails on for show.. stupid if you ask me. :) )
1 cup natural plain yoghurt
3 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground or fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds or just some fresh bunch coriander chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon ground (making sure it's not Cinnamon SUGAR! :) )
1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon cardamon seed gound

(those measurements are all guestimates. add as much as you see fit!)

Mix all spices with yoghurt in a bowl, add prawns and coat well. Leave to marinade for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
Soak skewers in water during this time.
Skewer 4 or more prawns per stick, and grill, bake or whack them in your fancy tandoori outdoor oven! Prawns cook quick, so, 10 minutes.

Curry

Have made this with both chicken and beef.. err as separate dishes. :)
I really had no clue when I first made this curry, I still don't really now but hey it tastes great :) Make it as hot or mild as you like. It also helps to have the spices already measured out into a small dish, ready to go.

500g diced steak or chicken
diced brown onion
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoon coriander (fresh or powder)
1 tablespoon chili powder
4-5 sliced fresh chili
3 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ginger (fresh or powder)
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon garam marsala
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 cinnamon quill

500ml low salt vegie stock
1 can diced tomato or 5-8 diced fresh tomato
other vegies if you wish - potato, sweet potato, pumpkin. I don't add these. :)

Heat a small amount of oil in a pot, add the mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, add the onion and stir until light golden. Add the spices and stir, then add the beef or chicken. Stir and pour in stock and tomatoes. Bring to the boil then reduce and pop in the cinnamon quill. Simmer on low for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally or until the meat is very tender. :)
Serve with steamed basmati rice and na'an bread.

Chicken Stir fry

2 chicken breast fillets, sliced thinly and smallish
1 onion sliced thinly
1 red capsicum sliced into strips
handful of snow peas or sugar snap peas, cut on the diagonal
handful of bean sprouts
1/4 cabbage, sliced
2 medium carrots, julienned
1 large celery stalk sliced
clove crushed garlic
teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 thinly sliced fresh chili's

sauce:
1/2 cup low salt soy sauce
1/2 cup hoisen sauce
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1 cup low salt veggie stock
2 teaspoons corn flour

With stir fries it's best to prep everything beforehand and have it in separate containers etc, make the sauce and set it aside.

Heat some oil in a wok and add the chicken, stirring. Add onion, garlic, ginger, cabbage and carrot. Stir frequent until chicken is almost cooked. Add the rest of the veggies and sauce. cook a further 5-10 minutes and serve.

Apple and Raspberry pie

2-3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced/chopped (im using pink ladys i think.)
1/4 cup Castor sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (wet sand kind.)
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon
2 cups frozen raspberries

combine all of the above into a mixing bowl and let sit for an hour or 2, room temp. to macerate and get all juicy and yummy :D
strain off liquid into ANOTHER bowl (cos you need to save the juice, duh!) til you get at least half a cup of juice. put this into a small saucepan with 2 tablespoons of butter (BUTTER not marge!) boil on medium for a few minutes until its reduced to about 1/3 cup and its syrupy & lightly caramelized.

back to the drained apples and raspberries - mix with about a tablespoon of corn flour, then pour the syrup over it and combine well. add to your pastry-lined dish (you can make your own shortcrust pastry, I'm using frozen cos im out of flour. ) top with another sheet of pastry for the lid, chuck it in the oven at.. ohhh i guess 190 for ... an hour or so? until pastry is golden brown and I'm guessing the apples will be soft. :P

serve hot or cold, or warm, with icecream or cream. yum!

Potato & Leek bake

1 large leek, washed and sliced thinly
3 medium spuds, peeled and sliced (thick or thin, up to you!)
3 rashers of bacon diced
600ml pouring cream
half cup chicken stock
2 cups grated tasty cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
pepper and salt to taste.

in a saucepan, add stock, cream, leek, potatoes and bacon, bring to the boil, stirring, reduce to low simmer and add cheeses and salt/pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes roughly, then scoop out potato etc with a slotted spoon, into a baking dish. whisk the egg into the remaining liquid and pour over potato mixture. sprinkle extra cheese over top if wish, bake for 15-20 minutes.

Chef Celtys Spaghetti special

500g (small) diced chicken, or chicken mince (can be made with beef mince!)
1 large onion diced
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 700ml jar passata
tablespoon tomato paste
2 large grated carrot
2 diced celery stalks
Fresh or dried tablespoon each of basil, marjoram, oregano and thyme
splash of balsamic vinegar
olive oil
4-6 diced fresh vine ripened tomatoes
half to 1 cup stock

In a large pot, splash in some olive oil, heat up. add onion and garlic, stirring until translucent, not brown. Add chicken and brown lightly. Add sauce, paste, vinegar and stock, stir, then add fresh tomatoes, carrot, celery and herbs. stir well, bring to the boil then turn to a low simmer for an hour or 2, stirring occasionally.

In a larger pot fill with water and bring to the boil, add spaghetti pasta. Boil away until cooked.. Packet instructions kgo.

While the spaghetti water is boiling, feel like making some garlic bread?
6 slices of bread (2 per person I guess?)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 fresh chili sliced
teaspoon Italian herbs/seasoning

Add garlic etc to butter, mix well, slather onto the bread, be generous. On a lightly greased oven tray, get a slice of bread, roll diagonally from the corner up, secure with a toothpick. Do this with all of them, then spray lightly with some olive oil. Bake at 180C while the spaghetti pasta cooks. Remove toothpicks upon serving.

What's that? You like chocolate cake?

Here's a little something I whipped up earlier...
Possibly the sweetest chocolate cake I've made to date. That's homemade chocolate fudge on the top.. and chocolate mousse in the center! Sandwiched between two chocolatey layers of chocolate cake goodness.


(note the bowl of apples in the background - see! we are healthy!!)

Chicken, spinach and ricotta cannelloni

500g chicken mince or 2 breast fillets cut up really small.
400g fresh ricotta
as much or as little spinach as you wish, i used half a bag of coles baby spinach, bunched up and chopped.
1 large onion diced

1x700g jar of Passata (italian tomato sauce)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
teaspoon thyme and oregano
combined and mixed together into a large measuring jug or something.

1 box cannelloni tubes

in a saucepan, cook the chicken and onion together, until chicken is just cooked. remove from heat.
crumble in the ricotta cheese, mix, then add the spinach, mix.

in a lasanga tray or similar, pour about a cup of the sauce on the bottom.
now heres the fun bit - grab a cannelloni tube, using your hands/fingers, stuff it with the chicken mixture. do this over the chicken mixture pot, that way theres no waste when it spills out. place onto the tray. do this over and over until all done. pour the remaining sauce over the whole lot, top with parmesan cheese, bake at 190 for about an hour or until golden and cannelloni is soft if you were to stab something into it.

Brekky quiche

basically it's just your normal quiche ingredients - for my sized quiche it's (I used a family PIE DISH.) :
6 large eggs
2 cup of milk or 350ml thickened cream
4 or so shallots chopped
lots of bacon - I usually use about 4-5 large rashers, rind and most fat removed, chopped.
pepper to taste
(you can also add whatever else, sliced tomato, mushrooms, corn kernels etc.)

now, the only difference is instead of fluffing around with pastry and blind baking it - I lined the pie dish with large slices of hot hungarian salami. You can fill in the little gaps by overlapping more if you want but i didn't bother. Makes for a real nommy breakfast quiche, adds spice and flavour. just remember that salami is oily due to the high fat, but still tasty. :P didn't come out *too* oily either though.

Pesto, chicken, bacon and tomato pasta

3 cups penne pasta
2 chicken breast fillets, diced smallish..
5 rashers of bacon, trimmed of fat and diced
150 ml cooking cream - i actually used the new philly cooking cream, very nice.
2 teaspoons pesto (jarred stuff if you're like me!)
About.. oh.. 7-10 semi dried tomatos, chopped (again, jarred stuff.)
60g crumbly fetta (whichever takes your fancy. i quite like the Coles deli "lennos full fat/cream fetta" :) )

cook pasta according to packet directions/however you cook your pasta.
MEANWHILE, while the pasta's cooking, in a saucepan fry up the bacon and chicken until chicken is cooked through.
pastas cooked? ok good, drain it. Back to the chicken and bacon, add the pesto, tomatos and fetta, stir through, add the cream, stir, add the pasta, stir well to coat and reheat pasta.

Chocolate Mud Pie

1 sheet frozen sweet shortcrust pastry, or a sweet shortcrust premade flan, or fresh made if you prefer. whatevers easier!

250g good quality chocolate (milk or dark, either or.) DONT use nestle. just. dont.
125g chopped butter (butter, not marge!)
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup thickend cream - whipped until soft peaks form, set aside in the fridge.

orange or peppermint essence if making for a flavoured one. :)

Lightly grease an oven proof pie/tart dish, line with pastry, blind bake until golden brown. oven temp around 180C. When cooked, set aside.

place choccie and butter into a heat resistant bowl, over a pot of gently simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. stir occasionally while melting gently and slowly. choccie will be smooth, melty and should be blood temperature. remove from the heat and quickly beat in the 2 egg yolks. set aside to cool slightly lower than blood temp.
if you're adding flavours, now's the time to do it! start with 2 drops of your flavouring, mix, taste. If you think it needs more, add more.
Gently fold in the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture til mixed through, then pour into the cooked pastry shell. Refrigerate until set.

Salmon and steamed veg

One of the healthier recipes the other half and I enjoy now.. :)

Veges for steaming - baby potatoes, baby carrot, broccoli, (whatever you want really.)
Fresh chopped Dill to go into steamed vege at last minute.


4 portions of fresh Atlantic salmon
sliced chili's
red capsicum Julianne
fresh coriander leaves
fresh lemon for juicy goodness
red onion, thinly sliced

sheet of baking paper per portion

place salmon on sheet of paper, top with onion, chili, capsicum and some coriander, squeeze over lemon. Do this for each piece.
wrap up paper to make a parcel. Bake for 15-20 minutes depending how you like your salmon cooked. serve with veges, nom nom nom.

And it begins...

So, because I obviously feel the need to share my love of food and cooking with everyone I talk to, I thought I'd best post it all here. Yes I do have most of it posted elsewhere such as the Gaming Forum and my Facebook.. but meh! :)
This way I can post whatever, with pictures, no complaints, all in the one place. And now those without Facebook can share the love!!

I love cooking, I love eating, I love food, I love cooking for others and watching them enjoy my food. I'm a self proclaimed MasterChef of my own Kitchen and that's all that matters.. right! Right??
;)

Here's where I'll post recipes as I make them or find them and haven't made yet, or just general foods I've taken odd photos of and want to share...