I’m normally the “chuck in whatever you have” kind of vegetable soup maker, but my latest version of this has gone done in the annals as Best Veggie Soup Ever. So I’m going to write it down.

Get a large splash of Olive oil, enough for a thin layer across the bottom of the large pot that you’ll need for this recipe. I’m not a food technologist but I think the extra oil helps give a creamy texture that has had people ask me more than once, how much cream I added.

Rough dice two onions, two sticks of  sliced celery, dice two carrots and crush and chop four cloves of garlic.

Place them all in the pan and fry on a medium heat,  The aim of the game here is to get a bit of caramelising going on in the bottom of the pan, ie stuff should be sticking to the base of the pan and the vegies should be picking up a bit of colour.

Once you have a good amount of colour (brown is good, black is bad) take a jug of cold (tap) water and pour a bit into the pan slowly with one hand, while using the other hand to scrap the caramelising bits off the bottom of the pot. If you watch cooking shows, they call this technique deglazing. The sudden temperature change makes it easier to scrape the bottom of the pot. It works and better yet it adds more flavour.

Flavour wins!

Once you have the pan deglazed, dump in the rest of the water, a can of diced tomatoes, five peeled potatoes in rough chunks, one small butternut pumpkin, peeled and deseeded, half a sweet potato and three zucchini with the ends trimmed but skin on.

Add a large tablespoon of chicken stock powder (I use a vegetable based one like Massel or Vegeta)and add enough water so that the just the top of the veggies are above the surface. Bring it to a slowsimmer and stir occasionally for the next couple of hours.

If all goes to plan your soup should be as thick as mud. Take it off the heat, let it cool a bit and attack it with the stick mixer until you’re happy with the consistency. You may want to add a little more water for personal choice, but if the spoon won’t stand up on its own then I don’t think it’s thick enough. Add a heaped teaspoon of Keen’s Curry Powder, and a normal teaspoon of ground pepper. There is normally enough salt in the stock powder that I don’t bother adding any more.

Stir this in and return to the heat for 15-20mins and it’s ready to serve.

Refrigerate any unused portion and it will be good for at least three days. It might last longer but our leftovers have never lasted long enough to test it.

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Posted by Ted on May 19th, 2012 :: Filed under Recipes

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I’m always in a rush, so this is a quicky and easy way to make a nice flavoursome sauce in just a few minutes. It’s great with a steak.

1. Make one cup of instant gravy as per the packet directions.

2. Stir in one teaspoon of cracked pepper,

3. Rinse and pat dry 2 heaped teaspoons of green peppercorns. Use the back of a spoon to crack about half the peppercorns. Mix into the gravy.

4. The peppercorns will need about 5 minutes in the gravy to add there flavour.

5. That’s it.

Obviously adding more ground pepper or pepper corns will increase the heat.

 

 

 

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Posted by Ted on March 13th, 2011 :: Filed under Recipes,Sauces

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The traditional Spanish style paella is steeped in much tradition, The traditionalists will tell you that you must use a certain kind of rice,  a certain kind of pan, the rice must only be half a thumbs depth and it goes on.

I’m not much of a traditionalist so I was quite happy when I found this simple recipe that’s packed with flavour. As always I’ve modified it a bit for easily available and affordable  ingredients and personal taste.

I used a very old but still like new Bessemer ware frypan that when left on low for long enough produces the much prized caramelised crust (socarrat) on the bottom of the pan.  While I don’t doubt that the most traditional results come from a traditional paella pan, any heavy based fry pan should do the trick. I’ve cooked this half a dozen times and have only got the perfect crust twice, obviously it takes some practice, and the extra flavour in the crust makes it worth the effort, but it’s still an awesome dish without it.

And crust or no crust, there has never been leftovers!

Ingredients

1 Chorizo Sausage, sliced and quartered.

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into large chunks

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped finely

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 cup medium grain rice

4 cups of chicken stock

1 red capsicum, sliced thinly

12 green beans, trimmed

10 cherry tomatoes, halved.

Method

1. Fry off Chorizo in a dash of olive oil until slightly browned,remove and set aside but don’t clean the pan, it adds to the flavour.

2. Brown the chicken thighs in another splash of olive oil, set aside with chorizo when done.

3. Add 1 tbbsp of olive oil to the pan and fry onions for three to four minutes until they start to soften. Then add paprika and garlic and combine well.

4. Add the rice to the pan, making sure all the grains get a coating of oil, add a little more oil if necessary.

5. Add the chicken stock and bring it to a simmer. Return the chicken and chorizo to the pan, add the the capsicum and beans and mix gently.

6.  If you are aiming for the caramelised crust then this is where you stop stirring. The dish is ready to serve when the rice is cooked.  However if you’re after the crust then reduce the heat to very low and leave it to cook for 20 minutes. Add more warm stock or water if neccesary. Press the cherry tomatoes into the rice for the last five minutes of cooking.

8.  Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving with lemon wedges, salt and pepper.

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Posted by Ted on July 14th, 2009 :: Filed under Recipes

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There is probably a million different variations of this traditional chinese soup that you could find online. This is an easy one that doesn’t take long to make.

The other bonus is that it’s low fat, low carb and high on flavour!

Ingredients

300 grams chicken breast meat

3 litres of chicken stock (or substitute)

1 onion diced

2 celery stalks sliced thin

1 clove crushed garlic

splash of olive oil

1 440 gm tin corn kernels

1 440gm tin of creamed corn

salt and pepper

Method

1. Fry the onion, celery and garlic in the olive oil in the bottom of a heavy based stock pot for 3-5 minutes.

2. Add chicken stock and bring to boil.

3. Add the chicken breast meat and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Remove chicken breast and set aside to cool.

5. Add the tins of corn and stir in.

6. Shred the chicken and return to the pot and stir.

7. Season to taste and serve with a sprinkling of  sliced chives or spring onions.

If I was entertaining I would slowly drizzle an egg white into the swirling soup to add another element of texture and flavour, but I’m not a fan of eggs so I skip that step.

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Posted by Ted on May 13th, 2009 :: Filed under Asian,Chicken,Kitchen Tips,Pasta,Soup,Techniques

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It’s been a while since I’ve updated, a lot has happened in the last six months,  traveled quite a bit for work, bought a house,  started renovating said house and it hasn’t left a lot of time for the kitchen or the website.

However the colder weather is upon us down my end of the world so hopefully I’ll get some quality kitchen time and computer time. I’ve already tried a couple of new recipes that were hits that I will right up in the near future.

I’ve also relocated the website to a new host. I think I’ve moved everything on the site properly but if there are any problems then please let me know in the comments.

Also on my renovation agenda is a new kitchen. I have a tricky space to utilise and it’s taken three months of living here and thinking about it to come up with a workable idea.  I can’t wait to have a kitchen I’ve designed and built!

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Posted by Ted on April 5th, 2009 :: Filed under Recipes

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In the scheme of shell fish I would probably rank the humble mussel in third place after oysters and scallops. What gets mussels into third place is they are abundant (where I am), cheap and reasonably easy to cook.

They are a bit of a pain to clean, but if you get the farmed mussels they are generally sand and grit free, and it doesn’t take much to give them a quick scrub and debeard them.

Here’s a quick and simple muscle recipe that tastes great. It will serve two as a main meal or 4-6 as an entree.

Ingredients

1kg Mussels (scrubbed and debearded)

1 tin diced tomatoes

1 onion (finely chopped)

1 clove garlic (crushed)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 glass dry white wine

1/2 glass water

parsley

Method

1. In a large pot fry off onion and garlic in oil until onion is clear.

2. Add tomato wine and water and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Add mussels and place the lid on the pot to allow the mussels to steam for 10-15 minutes. While the mussels are cooking they will release their juice which adds to the flavour.

4. Serve into large bowls and garnish with the parsley.

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Posted by Ted on September 6th, 2008 :: Filed under Recipes,Seafood
Tags :: mussels, recipe, Seafood

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This soup is a great winter warmer on a cold day. The ginger gives it a real zing that warms you up on the inside. Another bonus is that it’s fat free and has a low salt content (depending on which stock you use).

Although this would qualify as vegan food I won’t advertise it as being a vegan recipe, it’s just simple food that tastes good.

Ingredients

2 Large Sweet Potatoes – peeled and cut into chunks

1 Large Onion – peeled and roughly chopped

2-3 inch piece of green ginger -roughly chopped

1 Litre Vegetable Stock

Method

Place all ingredients into a large saucepan, cover with water then bring to the boil.

Reduce to a simmer for one hour.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Using a stick mixer blend it together until you get a smooth consistency.

Reheat and serve.

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Posted by Ted on August 19th, 2008 :: Filed under Recipes,Soup,Vegetarian
Tags :: Ginger, Soup, Sweet Potato, Vegan, Yam

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This arrived in my inbox today. For the people that have never heard of Margaret Foulton she’s written a lot of cookbooks in Australia, and possibly even had her own TV show (before my time)

Margaret Fulton’s way: Stuff miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice-cream drips.
The Working Mum’s way: Just suck the ice-cream out of the bottom of the cone for Pete’s sake. You are probably lying on the couch with your feet up eating it anyway!!

Margaret Fulton’s: To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
Working Mum’s:Buy a packet of DEB and keep it in the cupboard for up to a year.

Margaret Fulton’s:When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking tin, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won’t be any white mess on the outside of the cake.
Working Mum’s: Woolworths sell cakes. They even do decorated versions.

Margaret Fulton’s: If you accidentally over salt a dish while it’s still cooking, drop in a potato slice.
Working Mum’s:If you over salt a dish while you are cooking, tough! Recite the working Mum’s motto: ‘I made it and you will eat it and I don’t care how bad it tastes!’

Margaret Fulton’s:Wrap celery in aluminium foil when putting it in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
Working Mum’s: It could keep forever. Who eats it??

Margaret Fulton’s:Cure for headaches. Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
Working Mum’s:Cure for headaches. Take a lime, cut it in half and drop it in a double vodka. Drink the vodka. You might still have the headache, but you won’t care!

AND FINALLY, THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP.. Margaret Fulton’s: Freeze leftover wine into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.
Working Mum’s: Left over wine??? HELLO!!!????

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Posted by Ted on May 19th, 2008 :: Filed under Recipes

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Being a bit of a cook and a bit of a geek, I’ve had a look at my server stats and come up for the 5 most popular recipes on the site for April 2008.

• Seafood Risotto
• Thai Beef Massaman Curry
• �Creamy Smoked Salmon and Fettucine (with asparagus) -don’t try this one yet, still needs some work.
• Simple Chilli Stir Fry Sauce
• Lamb Shank and Vegetable Soup

Now I should mention that these are the 5 recipes that viewed the most. If I was to pick a favourite it would be a toss up between the Seafood Risotto and the Thai Beef Massaman Curry

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Posted by Ted on May 12th, 2008 :: Filed under Recipes

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The key to this very simple recipe is good ingredients and not overcooking. My oysters came off the water some time this morning, Can’t get much fresher than that unless your picking them off the rocks yourself.

There are probably dozens of different variations of oysters kilpatrick, but this is the simplest of them all and if follow my instructions you can’t go wrong.

Ingredients

1 Dozen oysters in the half shell

2 Rashes middle bacon

Worcestershire Sauce

Method

1. Dice the bacon and fry off it off in it’s own fat, you want it cooked but not crispy as it’s going to get some more cooking time under the grill.

2. Put the oysters on an oven proof tray, sprinkle evenly with bacon and add a small splash of the Worcestershire sauce to each oyster. No need to drown them as they have plenty of their own flavour.

3. Place under a medium to hot grill for 5-8 minutes, You’re not actually cooking the oysters, just warming them through.

4. Serve them up, being careful as the shells will be hot.

A lot of the recipes you’ll find tell you to place the raw bacon straight on top of the oyster and to grill them until the bacons crisp. I find this overcooks the oyster, something which can quite happily be eaten raw and only needs warming.

If you want the presentation to look a little more restaurant like, you can put a bed of rock salt on the serving plate so the oysters sit evenly. If you’re going to do this often then consider getting a bag of swimming pool salt from one of the discount stores. It will cost you almost as much as a kilo of salt from the supermarket. You can use it for other things as well like whole baked fish….. I will let you know when I try that one.

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Posted by Ted on October 27th, 2007 :: Filed under Recipes,Seafood

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