Entries categorized as ‘Recipes’
On my second date with Dave we spent a good part of our evening out-doing each other by detailing our love for condiments. “How much do you love mayo?” “THIS MUCH!” I screamed, ignoring the grill marks I was getting on my cheek from the outdoor heater. Seven years later I realize that Dave really does love condiments…all kinds from HP to French’s Mustard (I prefer Dijon) to Ranch and back again. Me, I love mayonaise, plain and simple.
The very best is the kind they put on those delicious fries in Holland. Now that’s tasty. The next best is Hellman’s.A different animal altogether but still terribly tasty is Japanese mayo. Absolutely not tolerated is anything called Miracle Whip or anything that is low fat.
Well, now that I’ve whipped myself up into a frenzy, I think I’m going to go and have myself some mayo! What’s your favourite condiment of all time?
Categories: Recipes · Where's my gonch & other stuff
Tagged: the best mayonaise in the world, what's your favourite condiment? love of mayonaise
One of the great benefits of forced relaxation is that I had to time to hunt down the world’s best laksa recipe. Laksa is much easier to make then you might think. You make the paste first, prepare the rice noodles, and then the toppings. The toppings can include any combination of chicken, shrimp, tofu, finely minced coriander, bean sprouts, vietnamese mint, green onion and boiled eggs. A little taste of sambal on the side completes this very tasty soup. (more…)
Categories: Asian - Curries · Recipes
Tagged: laksa, singaporan laksa, malaysian laksa, asian curry noodle, eat brisbane laksa
I get a lot of my Asian recipes from an old cookbook that I’ve used for years called the All Asian Cookbook by Jacki Passmore
Last night I made fried chili prawns (Sambal Goreng Udang). This is a quick, super easy and tasty dish. I served it with basmati rice and steamed spinach but it could also be included in a larger Indonesian rijstijfe or served as a tapas. (more…)
Categories: Asian - Curries · Recipes
Tagged: Fried Chili Prawns, Sambal Goreng Udang, simple asian recipes
These noodles are a cross between pad thai and bami goreng and they’re easy to make and delicious. Dave’s not putting HP Sauce on them so I take that to be a good sign.
Ingredients:
Serves 4 people
medium sized prawns (six per person)
1 large block tofu cut into very small pieces (finely chopped up should be about 2 cups)
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 inch of peeled fresh ginger also minced
1 shallot
1 savoy cabbage finely chopped
2 eggs
Thai rice noodles (half a package)
3 cups of bean sprouts
3 stalks of minced green onion
fresh basil minced
slightly less than a 1/4 cup of fish sauce (I know this sounds weird but a 1/4 is too much. It has to be about an 1/8 of an inch less than that)
white pepper
oil
While you’re frying everything up, place your rice noodles in hot water for approximately 20 to 30 minutes (they can’t be mushy so stir them from time to time so they don’t stick together and check them for doneness)
Heat oil in a large skillet to medium high heat. Add garlic, shallots and ginger and saute for 5 minutes. Add cabbage and stir. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on medium high heat, add fish sauce and then add shrimp. Cook on medium heat until the shrimp is pink and done, add two eggs and stir vigorously making sure to blend it in with everything else. Add tofu and stir in. Then add drained noodles and mix thoroughly.
At the very last minute add bean sprouts. Stir thoroughly so that they’re fully incorporated into the rest of the mixture.
Season with white pepper to taste. White pepper has a unique taste so I would definitely go out and buy this rather than black pepper.
Garnish with green onion/basil and enjoy.
PS. meat eaters can add or substitute the tofu or shrimp for beef, pork or chicken. I actually think pork or chicken would work best.
Categories: Asian - Curries · Recipes
Tagged: asian noodle recipe, Tessa's asian noodles
I should have made my commitment to trying a hundred new recipes this year rather than read a a hundred new books. Reading seems to have fallen by the wayside and cooking experimentations have increased exponentially.
Anyways, I grew up with a parent who was raised in Indonesia so a lot of what I ate growing up was Indonesian. I used to think that cooking Indonesian was a big mystery with my dad standing over some cauldron of spices and my grandmother grinding spices into fine pastes with her mortar and pestle.
It is a bit of a mystery until you familiarize yourself with a few key ingredients like trassi, lemon grass, coriander and turmeric.
I am something of a slapdash cook, prone to substitutions and other flourishes. There are some things I won’t mess with though and that is any of the above ingredients. If the recipe calls for these, use them. The one you have to pay particular attention to is trassi which is very strong and smells like hell but it’s a necessary ingredient.
Now, without further ado, one of my childhood favourites, reprised here for your culinary enjoyment. I served this with Indonesian chili eggs and basmati steamed rice. (more…)
Categories: Asian - Curries · Recipes
Tagged: gluten free, gluten free- dairy free indonesian vegetable soup, indonesian vegetable soup, sayur lodeh
My friend Lorraine introduced me to Rinconcito, a great El Salvadoran restaurant on Commercial Drive. It’s cheap, the food is fresh, simple and delicious and the margaritas are fantastic.
For the real deal I would go straight there and enjoy papusas, fresh guacamole, chicken chimichanga, fish tacos, salsa roja or any number of other El Salvadoran treats. (more…)
Categories: Recipes
Tagged: dairy free, Fish tacos, fish tacos gluten-free, wheat-free
Sometimes things are so much simpler than you ever thought they would be. Take ginger tea for example. All you need is hot boiling water and a piece of fresh ginger, (peeled, about an inch long, cut in half) Add to cup, let steep for 5 minutes and enjoy. Scott, Dave’s friend told us about it and lo and behold it is amazingly delicious.
Categories: Asian - Curries · Recipes
Tagged: fresh ginger tea
I found this Lucy Waverman recipe on the Globe & Mail site. I haven’t had time to make it yet but it looks and sounds great.
“This cake is almost like marzipan (YUM) in texture – soft and very moist. It may be used as a Passover dessert too – just substitute margarine for butter.”
Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 Pink Lady or Gala apples
1/3 cup sugar
Cake:
3 cups ground almonds
2 teaspoons ground ginger
6 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
Topping:
2 tbsp. demerara sugar
(more…)
Categories: Desserts and Cakes · Recipes
Tagged: gluten free ginger almond cake with apples, Lucy Waverman recipe, Passover cake, wheat-free
This is the easiest salad to make on the planet and it’s colourful, healthy and tasty.
I can black beans rinsed.
¼ Spanish onion finely sliced and diced
1 avocado (same as above)
I mango (same as above)
¼ cup finely diced cilantro
1 to 2 cloves minced garlic (only if you like garlic…it can be a bit strong for some people)
1 tsp chili powder
Juice of 1/2 lemon or one whole lime
Drizzle with olive oil and serve!
Categories: Recipes · Salads and Main Courses
Tagged: black bean, avocado lime mango salad
No week is complete for me without curry of some kind. This week’s curry was intended to bring extra flavour to white fish which I eat quite a lot of (mainly basa and tilapia). I followed the recipe for the most part…not an easy feat for me but I wanted to get as close to the intention of this recipe as possible. I served it with white rice and a medley of curry vegetables. Truthfully, two curries in one meal overwhelmed my fish a but it was still delish fish. I’d make this again in a snap. (more…)
Categories: Asian - Curries · Recipes · Salads and Main Courses
Tagged: dairy free fish thai fish, gluten free, thai fish recipe
On my second date with Dave we spent a good part of our evening out-doing each other by detailing our love for condiments. “How much do you love mayo?” “THIS MUCH!” I screamed, ignoring the grill marks I was getting on my cheek from the outdoor heater. Seven years later I realize that Dave really does love condiments…all kinds from HP to French’s Mustard (I prefer Dijon) to Ranch and back again. Me, I love mayonaise, plain and simple.
