Chicken and Lemongrass Dumplings

Recipe modified from Super Food Ideas

This is a delicious dumpling recipe that I would strongly recommend to anyone. It is very simple to prepare and the combination of flavours is beautiful.

Ingredients:

• 250g chicken mince or 250g chicken, diced
• 1 stalk lemongrass (white part only), bruised, finely chopped
• 2 cm piece of fresh ginger, finely grated or 2 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
• 1 tblsp fish sauce
• 2-3 tsp sweet chilli sauce
• 275g packet gow gee wrappers or fresh handmade pastry, rolled very fine

Method:
Place all ingredients (except the pastry) in a bowl and combine. Spoon teaspoons of filling into the gow gee wrappers or circular pieces of pastry. Brush edges with cold water. Fold over to enclose the filling. Pleat edges together to seal.

To cook, sit a few dumplings at a time on a sheet of baking paper in a frying pan. Steam the dumplings in the frying pan with 1tsp olive oil and half a cup of water, until cooked. Serve with sweet chilli sauce or soy sauce.

Caramel Tarts

Recipe by Yasmin

I love making caramel tarts because they are so quick, easy and delicious! I am a sweet tooth and love the taste and texture of caramel.

Ingredients:
Pastry:

• 100g chilled butter
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 50g icing sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tblsp chilled water

Filling:

• Caramel Top 'n' Fill can

Topping:

• Cream, whipped

Method:
For Pastry; pulse butter, icing sugar and flour in a food processor until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Combine the egg and water in separate container. With the motor running, slowly pour water mixture into the food processor. The mixture should stick together making a dough. Remove and roll into a ball. Chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out dough onto a floured board until thin. Using circle cutters, cut out pastry cases. Spray cup cake trays with non-stick olive oil. Place uncooked cases into each section of the tray. Blind bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked.

When cool spoon 1-2 tsp of caramel filling into each case. Then top with whipped cream to serve.

Zucchini and Parmesan Muffins

Recipe from 100 Favourite Muffins and Slices
Images by Yasmin

This is a really scrumptious and filling savoury bite of goodness. The different types of cheese just take this muffin to a whole new dimention! I really enjoy eating these muffins because I can have the satisfaction of eating something delicious without feeling guilty about eating something sweet and unhealthy.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups standard (plain) flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup grated tasty cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 zucchini, grated (250g altogether)

Method:
Heat oven to 200'C fanbake, with the rack just below the middle.

Sift or fork together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Grind in black pepper to taste, then add the grated cheeses and stir to combine.

Break the eggs into another large bowl, add the milk and whisk together with a fork, then add the grated unpeeled zucchini.

Tip the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture, then carefully fold everything together, taking care not to overmix. As soon as all the flour is moistened, spoon the mixture  into 12 lightly buttered or non-stick sprayed regular muffin pans or 24 mini muffin pans.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are golden and the muffins spring back when pressed in the centre.

Citrus Slice

Recipe and Images by Yasmin

I have modified a slice recipe to accommodate my love of citrus flavours; producing Citrus Slice. This is a delicious slice to share amongst friends for afternoon tea.

Ingredients:
For base and topping:

• 1 cup SR flour
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 100g butter
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tblsp milk

For filling:

• 100g butter
• 1 lemon, grated rind and juiced
• 1 orange, grated rind and juiced
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Method:
For base, mix the sifted flours and sugar in bowl. Grate in cold butter, then rub it in until it resembles rolled oats. Make a well in the centre and add the lightly beaten egg. Add just enough milk so that the particles will stick when pressed, making a dough. Press 3/4 of this over the bottom of the pan, keeping the rest in the fridge to crumble on top.
For filling, melt butter on stove on a medium-sized pot. Take off heat. Mix in the grated lemon rind and juice, grated orange rind and juice, sugar and eggs, then heat again, stirring constantly, until first bubbles form. Pour it evenly over the base and crumble remaining dough mixture on top.
Heat oven to 180'C and bake slice for 35- 45 minutes, until golden brown, with centre almost as firm as the edges. Remove from loose bottomed pan. When cool, dust with icing sugar (optional).

Enchiladas

Recipe and Images by Yasmin
I LOVE enchiladas because they have a great flavour and can have a soft or crunchy texture depending on which enchilada you take; the one at the top (most exposure to heat from oven) or the bottom (least exposure to oven heat). Since my mum has been in Melbourne for a week, I have been the designated cook, meaning I have had more practice at savoury main meals! This was one of the first recipes for the week. I will post the other recipes shortly.
Makes approx. 8

Ingredients:

• 500 - 600g beef mince
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 - 3 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1/4 tsp crushed chili, from jar
• 1/2 cup carrot, finely chopped
• 1/2 zucchini, grated
• tin red kidney beans, well drained
• approx 8 flat bread wraps

Method:
Brown the mince in frying pan with 1-2 tsp of oil. Strain and rinse thoroughly. Lightly rinse fry pan. Add 1 tsp of oil to frying pan and cook diced onion, garlic and chili until onion turns a foggy white. Add carrot and zucchini, cooking until carrot is softened. Add browned mince, stirring thoroughly. Lastly, add the red kidney beans and mix well. Put the lid on the fry pan and allow to cook for a few minutes.

While the filling is cooking, lay out the wraps - ready to roll. Place a couple of spoonfuls of cooked mixture 3-5 cm from the end of one wrap. Roll the wrap into a enchilada and place in a greased casserole dish. Continue rolling enchiladas until all of the filling has been used - stacking the enchiladas in rows on top of each other in the casserole dish. Cook for 20 minutes at 180'C.

Serve the enchiladas with sour cream and guacamole.

To make guacamole, mash 2 avocados, 1 onion (diced), a pinch of salt and 3 tsp of tomato sauce into a paste. Serve sour cream and guacamole with a garden salad as sides to the enchiladas.

Pasta with potato, beans and pesto

Recipe from Perfect PastaImages by Yasmin

Use the recipe for making pasta/fettuccine previously to enable this dish to be created. In this post I will show you one way to serve your homemade pasta. This recipe is vegi-licious! No meat required.

Ingredients:

• 600g small new potatoes, halved or quartered
• 250g broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1/2 cup  shelled broad beans, peeled or 350-400g in pods
• 175g fine green beens, topped and tailed
• 2 zucchini, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 300g fettuccine or tubular and hollow pasta shapes (homemade)
• sprigs of fresh basil to garnish

For Pesto:

• 3-5 cloves garlic, coarsley chopped
• 2 tblsp pine nuts
• 100g fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parnesan
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
• salt

Method:
Cook the potatoes in boiling water for about 15 minutes or until they are tender but not soft. Add the broccoli, broad bean, green beans and zucchini, simmer together for a further 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the homemade pasta in boiling water for 2-4 minutes or until al dente. If not using homemade pasta, cook in boiling water for 10-15 minutes.

Make the pesto while the vegetbles and pasta are cooking. Using a food processor, add all ingredients except for the oil and whiz to paste. Gradually add the oil through the feed tube with the motor running.
Drain the pasta and vetgetables  and toss both together. Top with the pesto, garnish with sprigs of basil, scattering them over the top. Serve immediately.

Homemade Pasta

Recipe and Images by Yasmin

For my birthday last year I received a pasta machine!!! However, these holidays have been the only opportunity thus far to use the machine and make my very own fettuccine!!! As a first timer, my first tip is to give yourself PLENTY of time before the designated dinner time to prepare the meal. My second tip is to prepare pasta with another person, I find that it is helpful to have two sets of hands rather than one. My third tip is two lightly flour both sides of the rolled out pasta before putting it through the part of the machine which cuts the pasta. This ensures that the pasta won't become stuck in the machine and bunch up when coming out because it is stuck to the sides. Taking all of these tips into account when making pasta is VERY helpful. Upon my second attempt this holiday at making pasta I produced the perfect fettuccine! My friend and I were dancing around the house we were so excited!!! The fettuccine we produced was picture perfect! Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the pasta before cooking it; however, the first time I made pasta I did take photos before cooking it. This means you will see the not so perfect first attempt at pasta rather than the picture perfect pasta, but it all tastes good anyway! I hope you are all successful in your attempts at making pasta. The best part about pasta is that you can add anything to it to serve. However, before I teach you how to make a meal out of pasta, I will devote this post to mearly teaching you how to prepare and cook plain fettuccine. Enjoy!

Before beginning the Recipe I would like to type out an excert from my new pasta recipe book which explains the ingredients.

Flour Special flour for making pasta may be 100% durum wheat semolina, such as an aithentic Italian flour called doppio zero (double zero). Other types may be a combination of durum wheat semolina and ordinary flour. Alternatively, use unbleached strong (bread) plain flour or plain wholemeal flour, or a mixture of unbleached strong plain flour and buckwheat  or rice flour. A small portion of soya flour will boost the protein content of the pasta.

Eggs Although much commercial pasta is made with just flour and water, most homemade pasta includes eggs. Standard medium eggs are ideal.

Oil Olive oil is authentic. Since the amount used is small, it Will not have a great impact on the fat content of a dish.
Salt fine sea salt offers the best flavour.



Fettuccine

Ingredients:

• 500g bakers flour
• 4 eggs or 320ml of water

Method:
The basic recipe per person is: approx. 125g of wheat flour and 1 egg (at room temperature). For 4 people, this equates to 500g of wheat flour and 4 eggs. Water can also be used in place of eggs. 1 egg = approx. 80 ml of water. For this particular recipe do not add any salt.

Pour the flour into a bowl and add the eggs/water into the middle of the flour. Mix the eggs with a fork until they are completely blended with the flour. Knead the mixture with your hands until it is completely homogenous and consistent. If the mixture is too dry add some water. If the mixture is to moist or soft and some flour. Remove the mixture from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured table. Cut the piece of dough into smaller and more manageable sized chunks before putting it through the pasta machine.

If you don't own a pasta machine simply roll the dough with a rolling pin and cut it into long thin strips of pasta.

When using the pasta machine, simply feed it through the rolling end a few times to ensure it is thin and smooth (with no holes or bubbles). Then lightly flour it both sides before feeding it through the cutting blades. This ensures the perfect slices of fettuccine. Repeat this step until all of the dough has been used.

Boil water in a big saucepan. Once the water has come to the boil, add the fettuccine. Cook the fettuccine on high for 2-4 minutes. Drain the fettuccine and place in a bowl for flavouring which will be found in the next post.