Spicy Pesto Prawns and Pasta

This one has become our favourite. It's very easy to whip up and if you are up to a past that's full of flavour and really spicy - then this is the one. You can also use chicken instead of prawns. And any small type of pasta will do - in fact, I've used linguine before as well. However, I like best using the fusilli pasta (smooth  spirals) because the gaps between the spirals catch the pesto and makes the pasta really tasty when you eat it. Give it a try and I'm sure if you are one who enjoys spicy food - you got to love this one, too. Enjoy... :-)

Ingredients:

500 g uncooked fusilli (or any small pasta like farfalle, etc.)

3 tbsps olive oil

1 tbsp hot chilli paste (I normally use 2 tbsps to make it extra hot)

500 g raw prawns

6 tbsps pre-made basil pesto

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped coriander

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place pasta in the pot, cook for 8 to 10 mins, until al dente and drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in  large fry pan over medium heat.

3. Mix in the chilli paste and prawns. Cook and stir the prawns for 10 minutes or until pinkish.

4. Toss the cooked fusilli, pesto, parmesan cheese, and coriander into the frypan and continue cooking until heated through.

Italina Beef Pot Roast in Red Wine Sauce with Creamy Mashed Potato

This was my first beef roast (be it pot or something else). And it was one great flavoured roast. The red wine combined with the rest of the ingredients was really very tasty. You would see in the picture - it's quite well done but that's because I like my beef cooked that way (actually I like all my meat cooked that way). The sauce compensates for the well done beef though. My husband, everytime we go out for a steak dinner, he always orders his steak medium rare but when he tried this roast, he said it was really good. So, I think pot roasts are really good because you get all that sauce that complements if ever you make or like your beef a bit well done.

Also, I never imagined myself eating onions - but once I marinated those and then, cooked in the oven with the beef - result was a resounding 'wow...'. Even celery was never my favourite but when you cook that with this - it was amazing. By the way, did I mention that raw celery sticks are really good in loosing weight in a sense that it helps your digestion. Anyway, I think the key is to try on new things even if that's somehow out of ordinary for you because you will always miss if you don't try new things. :-)

Whipping up the creamy mashed potato is quite easy as well and goes very well with this roast.

So - give this a try and enjoy. :-)

Italian Beef Pot Roast in Red Wine Sauce

Ingredients:

1.8 kg brisket of beef
225 g small onions, peeled
3 garlics cloves, peeled and chopped
2 celery sticks, trimmed and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
450 g ripe tomatoes
300 ml Italian red wine (or any cooking red wine will do)
2 tbsp olive oil
300 ml beef stock
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp freeze-dried mixed herbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
25 g butter
25 g plain flour
freshly cooked vegetables to serve

1. Place the beef in a bowl. Add the onions, garlic, celery and carrots. Place the tomatoes in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for 2 minutes and drain. Peel away the skins, discard the seeds and chop, then add to the bowl the red wine. Cover tightly and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 150 deg celcius, 10 minutes before cooking.
3. Lift the marinade beef from the bowl and pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper. Heat the olive oil in a large casserole dish and cook the beef until it is browned all over, then remove from the dish.
4. Drain the vegetables from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Add the vegetables to the casserole dish and fry gently for 5 mins, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are browned.
5. Return the beef to the casserole dish with the marinade, beef stock, tomato puree, mixed herbs and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then cover and cook in the preheated oven for 3 hours.
6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef and any large vegetables to a plate and leave in a warm place. Blend the butter and flour to form a paste.
7. Bring the casserole juices to the boil and then gradually stir in small spoonfuls of the paste. Cook until thickened.
8. Serve the beef roast with the sauce and a selection of vegetables.

Creamy Mashed Potato

Ingredients:
4 large potatoes
3-4 tbsps milk
60 g butter
2 tbsps sour cream

1. Chop the potatoes and cook in boiling salted wated until just tender, then drain.
2. Return the potato to the pan over low heat. Add the milk and quickly mash, adding more milk, if necessary, for fluffy potatoes.
3. Beat in the butter and sour cream and season well with salt and pepper.

Pineapple Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

This is another real easy recipe. Something that is hard to get wrong. :-) And very tasty, too. I've tried this recipe twice now. The second time when some of our friends came over our house - there was only one small slice left afterwards. :-) So - give this recipe a try.

Ingredients:

20 g butter, melted

2 tbsps soft brown sugar

440 g can pineapple slices in natural juice

90 g butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup raising flour

cranberries for topping (fresh or canned) - you can also use other types of berries

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 180 deg celcius. Grease a 20 cm ring tin. Pour the melted butter into the tin and tip to coat the base evenly. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter.

2. Drain the pineapple, reserving 1/3 cup of the juice. Cut the pineapple pieces into halves and arrange over the brown sugar.

3. Using electric beaters, beat the butter and sugar in a small bowl until light and creamy.

4. Add the eggs gradually, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla essence.

5. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Using a metal spoon, fold in the flour alternately with the reserved pineapple juice.

6. Spoon the mixture evenly over the pineapple and smiith the surface.

7. Bake for 35-40 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the center.

8. Leave in the tin for 10 mins, then cool on a wire rack.

Spiced Couscous & Vegetables with Baked Salmon

This is one great recipe and one both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed. I prepared this for my husband's success on CISCO (part of his career development as a network engineer) at that time. This was one of the things I tried at the beginning of my cooking escapades and it did help me to keep on cooking because it was so good - I wanted to do another recipe that I would be proud of again. And it was easy to do, too. The spiced flavour of the couscous paired with the baked salmon - yuummmm. Even while I'm blogging now - I am thinking of revisiting this recipe this weekend. On top of all that, the couscous and vegetables recipe is guaranteed low fat - a very healthy recipe indeed.

So do try this. Hope you'll enjoy as much as we did. :-)

SPICED COUSCOUS and VEGETABLES

 Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large shallot, peeled and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

1 small red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips

1 small yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into strips

1 small aubergine or 2 medium size egg plants

1 tsp each turmeric, ground cumin, ground cinnamon and paprika

2 tsp ground coriander

large pinch saffron strands (as this is quite expensive in Australia, I just used 1/2 tsp of imitation saffron powder)

2 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and diced

2 tbsp lemon juice

225 g couscous

225 ml vegetable stock

2 tbsp raisins

2 tbsp almonds

2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the shallot and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add the peppers and aubergine or egg plant and reduce the heat.

2. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the vegetables are tender, adding a little water if necessary.

3. Test a piece of aubergine or egg plant to ensure it is cooked through. Add all the spices and cook for a further minute, stirring.

4. Increase the heat and add the tomatoes and lemon juice. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes have started to break down. Remove from heat and leave to cook slightly.

5. Meanwhile, put the couscous into a large bowl. Bring the stock to the boil in a saucepan, then pour over the couscous. Stir well and cover with a clean tea towel.

6. Leave to stand for 7-8 munutes until all the stock is absorbed and the couscous is tender.

7. Uncover the couscous and fluff with a fork. Stir in the vegetable and spice mixture along with the raisins, almonds, parsley and coriander. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

BAKED SALMON

Ingredients:

2 salmon steak fillets

half of lemon

salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven at 180 deg celcius. 

2. Drizzle the salmon with olive oil and lemon then, season with salt and pepper.

3. Wrap the salmon with aluminum foil and place in a baking dish or tray.

4. Bake for about 20-25 mins. Then, serve hot with slices of lemons and couscous.

Banana Cake

This was one of the few recipes I tried when I started cooking. It wasn't as easy as I thought it was supposed to be. I think may be I didn't know better in the kitchen at that time. I think it wasn't that bad, I mean we still enjoyed eating it. But now looking back, I think I may have over beaten the banana mixture - which made the cake a bit hard. I am definitely going to try this recipe again one of these days and see if I have improved.

The recipe as follows.

Ingredients:

125 g butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 cup milk

2 cups self-raising flour, sifted

Butter Frosting:

125 g butter

3/4 cup icing sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup nuts

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 180 deg celcius (350 deg farenheit). Grease a 20 cm (8 inch) round cake tin and line the base with baking paper.

2. Using electric beaters, beat the butter and sugar in a small mixing bowl unitl light and creamy. Add the eggs gradually, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla essence and mashed bananas, and beat until combined.Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.

3. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the milk. Using a metal spoon, fold in the sifted flour alternately with the milk. Stir until the ingredients are just combined and the mixture is smooth. Spoon into the tin and smooth the surface.

4. Bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clent when inserted into the centre of the cake. Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

5. To make the frosting, beat the butter, icing sugar and lemon juice with electric beaters until smooth and creamy. Spread onto the cooled cake.

6. Toast the nuts in a moderate 180 deg celcius oven for about 8 mins and sprinkle on top of the cake.