Fish w/Olive, Tomato & White Wine

Yes again I should have taken a picture but I was just to keen to begin eating.

2 fish fillets (whatever you like)
olive oil
white wine
1 small onion, diced
1 large head of garlic, diced
2 small tomatoes, chopped
12 kalamata olives, cut in half lengthwise

In one pan, heat up some olive oil, then fry fish a few minutes on each side or until cooked through. In the other, heat some olive oil and saute onion and garlic a couple of minutes, then add tomatoes and olives, as well as a healthy dash or two of white wine. Cook through (simmer for about 5 minutes) then place fish on plate and top with tomato, olive & wine mix.

Mash, on the side
3 large red potatoes
butter
ranch salad dressing
milk
sea salt & pepper, ground
fresh dill

Boil potatoes and using hand masher, mix other ingredients in.

Concord Grape Pie

Just as I am about to head off overseas the grapes in the backyard are looking mighty ripe and plentiful. Good thing hubs mentioned to me that he was planning on cutting down the grape vines while I was gone! I showed him the above picture of grape pie from Food & Spice and he was all for just slightly trimming them instead. My plan is to freeze as many of the grapes as I can fit in the freezer and defrost later to use in a few recipes. I love crumble toppings so much better than traditional pie so this one is a must try. My pics will follow in a few weeks!

4 1/2 c of Concord grapes
1 c of sugar
1/4 c flour
2 tsp lemon juice (preferably fresh)
1/8 tsp salt
1 unbaked 9 inch pastry shell

Streusel Topping
1/2 c of oats
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c flour
1/4 c of butter, melted

Dash or two of cinnamon

Splash or two of vanilla

Squeeze the end of each grape opposite the stem to separate the skins from the pulp. Set the skins aside in a medium-sized bowl. Put the pulp in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Press the boiled pulp through a strainer to remove the seeds. Add the seedless pulp to the bowl with the grape skins, along with the sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt. Stir well to combine. Transfer the mixture to the (pre-baked) pastry shell.

To make the topping, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, melted butter, vanilla and cinnamon. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 35-40 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Stuffed Zucchini

My mother-in-law gave us the biggest zucchini I have ever seen this weekend, along with some homegrown tomatoes. Picture a normal green zucchini, but about a foot long and twice as thick as a Subway sandwich. She told me to stuff it with onion, bacon, tomato and cheese, so I change it up a bit. I cut it in half lengthwise and scooped out the junk in the middle, then rubbed some olive oil on the inside and sprinkled salt, pepper and basil over. Next I cut up 1/2 a red onion, diced 4 tomatoes, and placed that in. I baked it on about 180-200C for about an hour. When it was cooked I shut the oven off and topped with some tasty cheese, although I think mozzarella would also do. I will attempt to take a pic of the leftover one tomorrow, although as you know, I'm very slack on the photos.

Peach & Nectarine Crumble

My mother-in-law gave us a huge bag of fresh picked peaches and nactarines this weekend, so I decided to make a crumble. You can fit more fruit into this, since you can use any size baking dish, and I didn't feel like making two pies. This is a loose recipe, so you have to determine your own amounts. I used the same ingredients for the filling as I did for my apricot pie, and based the crumble topping on a few different recipes. The topping was really really lovely, without being too sweet.

Filling
Fruit, cut into 4-6 slices per piece depending on size (In this case about 6 peaches and 10 small nectarines)
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp lemon juice, preferably fresh

Mix lemon juice with fruit. Whisk dry ingredients together, then gently mix into fruit. Add to baking dish.

Crumble Topping
Oats
Coconut, shredded
Flour
Sugar
Vanilla
Cinnamon, ground
Ginger, ground
Butter, a little bit, melted

Like I said, you have to sort out your own amounts of the above and get the mix right. Mix all the dry ingredients together than add a splash of vanilla and mix in the melted butter. It shouldn't be too moist but not dry either. Top fruit with mix and bake on about 170C/350F for 45 minutes or so, until fruit is completely soft. Enjoy warm or cold. It's fine on it's own. You don't need any custard or ice cream with this one.

Roasted Broccoli with Prawns

I made the above last night (photo courtesy of The Wednesday Chef). I also added some seafood extender, and mixed it up slightly different than this recipe.

1 head broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt (might try sea salt next time)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot chili powder
1/4 kg prawns, shelled and deveined
1/4 kg seafood extender
juice from 1/2 lemon
Lemon wedges, for serving

Preheat oven to 160C. In a large bowl, toss broccoli with 2 tablespoons oil, coriander, cumin, dash or two of salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and chili powder. Place broccoli onto 2 non-stick baking sheets .In the same bowl, combine prawns and seafood extender, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, dash or two of salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Roast for 10 minutes. Add shrimp & seafood extender to baking sheet and toss with broccoli. Roast until shrimp are just opaque and broccoli is tender and golden around edges, about 5 minutes more. Serve with lemon wedges.

Passionfruit Cake

Steve brought home 7 passionfruits from work Friday, so I decided to make something with them, especially as they wouldn't last long in this heat. I did a quick on-line search and found this recipe for passionfruit cake. It's really amazing, so I may need to try more from Amanda.

Cake:
3 eggs
1 c sugar
1 1/2 c self-raising flour
1/2 c passionfruit pulp (about 3 fruits)

Icing:
1/3 c butter (75 grams)
2 c icing sugar
4 passionfruit

Cake:
Separate eggs. Beat yolks and sugar together, gradually add flour and passionfruit pulp.The mix will be very dry. Beat egg whites stiff with a clean beater. Gently fold into the mixture (will be moist now). Bake 40 mins at about 160C.

Icing:
Beat butter until light and fluffy.
Gradually add icing sugar and passionfruit pulp.

Coconut Rice Pudding

As if the Chicken in Heart Attack Sauce wasn't enough, I had a craving for rice pudding, which I haven't had in ages. It was my favourite dessert as a child.

1 1/2 c rice, cooked
1 c coconut milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 c sugar

Place rice, coconut milk, milk, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes or until mixture thickens.

*Optional toppings: shredded coconut and cream

Sticky Rice with Mango

This is a simplified recipe. I haven't had sticky rice in ages, but it's lovely and easy.

1 cup rice (Thai sweet rice if you can find it)
400 ml water
1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 c coconut cream
mango, peeled and sliced

Steam rice. Mix coconut cream and sugar in pot and heat through but do not overcook or you will lose the flavour of the coconut cream. Take off heat and mix in rice.

Note: can be served hot or cold and there are versions with coconut milk if you would like a lighter version

Sweets: Soul Food Desserts and Memories

I recently did a review on Patty Pinner's other book, Sweety Pies. If you like that one, you will also love Sweets: Soul Food Desserts and Memories. It's just as good but rather than only containing pie recipes it also has recipes for cakes, puddings and the like. The stories that come along with all of the recipes are delightful, and make the sweets seem that much more appealing.

Kangaroo Salad with Beetroot, Orange, Parsnips & Blue Cheese

This is as simple as it sounds.

Lettuce
Kangaroo Fillets, cooked and sliced
1 Can Beetroot
1 Orange, sliced
2 Parsnips, cooked and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Blue Cheese, crumbled

Dressing:
Sesame Seed Oil
Rice Vinegar
Dijon Mustard
Soy Sauce

I'm not sure you even need directions!

Margaritas

I found this on Adelaide Now (a fantastic site by the way) and it might have to be given a try, as the margarita mixes I usually get are quite shocking actually. I miss Lalo's!

45ml tequila
15ml Cointreau or triple sec
10ml fresh lime or lemon juice

Salt-frost the rim of a cocktail glass.
Shake the ingredients together well then strain into the prepared glass.

Crockpot Kangaroo Chili

I love chili and make it differently each time, using different meats and different versions of veggie chilis, so when I saw a recipe for kangaroo chili I had to try it out. I've modified it to my taste and to make it slightly more robust. This chili is sweet, spicy, and smokey. It's a rich one, but a goodie.

1. Fry 3-4 slices bacon, non-stick pan (set aside)
2. Fry 1 chopped onion and 2 cloves minced garlic in bacon grease
3. Add 1/2 kg kangaroo mince and 1 red and 1 orange capsicum/bell pepper
4. Add chili powder, cayenne and cumin, to taste
5. Cook until mince is browned
6. Put the lot in a crock pot, along with:

• 2 cans spicy chili beans (or regular beans doctored up with spices if you can't find spicy chili beans: kidney, pinto, mixed)
• 1 can corn
• 1 bottle of beer (any type, to taste--half for the cook and half for the pot)
• 2-3 tbsp Vegemite, or to taste, but do not overdo it (you can do without it you can't find this in the US)
• 1 big squeeze of maple syrup
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 big squeezes BBQ sauce (must be American, preferably a nice mesquite)

Cook on low for 3 hours or so, and serve topped with some grated cheddar and sour cream, as well as come crusty bread (homemade beer bread if you have the time).

**Kangaroo, if you didn't know is a very lean, healthy meat which is similar to steak as a fillet and much tastier than ground beef/mince.