Spicy Chicken Wings

I bought some chicken drumsticks and wings last weekend with the intention of making something really yummy. On Monday I had a feeling the week wasn't going to be a relaxed one so I popped them in the freezer for later on. On Wednesday I pulled them out again and last night (Saturday) I finally got inspired to make them into tasty morsals.  We usually eat Saturday night dinners separately from the boys so we can eat flavours Nic and I really enjoy and ones that the boys aren't quite ready for. Nic usually whips up a delicious and hot eggplant and potato curry or I'll make a stir fry with plenty of chilli and greens. Saturday is a night of no arguments at the dinner table because we all get to eat the foods we like and no one has to rush off anywhere!

The boys have the same reaction to chicken wings and legs as Nic and I do and I knew they would be gutted if they missed out so I marinated their chicken bits in a soy, garlic, black vinegar, curry powder (Keen's) and brown sugar mariande. Sadly I only had about an hour to let them marinate, however, that didn't seem to matter as they ate them with their noodles and veggies at rapid speed.

Once I had their chicken marinating I started on ours. Garlic, chilli and ginger were always going to be main contenders but I hadn't yet worked out the rest. I made a rub that was inspired by Vietnamese street stalls last year and it was a wonderful flavour with peppercorns being one of the main ingredients so I decided to try another version, also adding lime leaves to this equasion. Once I had pounded about 4 garlic cloves, a good size piece of ginger, 2 birds eye chillies and a pinch of salt together with the whole peppercorns, I then added the chopped lime leaf and about 2 tablespoons of rice bran oil to combine the flavours which will also make it easier to rub into the chicken wings.

The aroma was delicious as was the thought of combing them on the grill with the smokey BBQ flavour. They would be a wonderful snack if your sitting around watching the football, for a cocktail party or to eat with a big bowl of veggies and noodles as we did.
The wings crispen up on the bbq and are incredibly morish. Max had one of the leftover ones for lunch today and said he really enjoyed the flavour and that he likes chilli now....but the ones he had last night were yummy too. I guess we will be all eating dinner together on Saturday nights if the boys are enjoying our leftovers so much.......maybe we need to feed them a bit of leftover eggplant curry to deter them, after all we all need our relaxed meal times at least once a week.

Rick Stein's coconut chicken.....the family friendly version

  

I'm sure you have all heard of Rick Stein. If not, he is a fantastic chef who is well renowned for his seafood cooking. Anyway, Rick had a documentary on telly a month or two ago about his trip around Asia. I was checking out one of my favourite kitchen shops the other week when I came across his book Rick Stein's far eastern odyssey. After flipping through it I just had to own it. The book is full of wonderful recipes that were on his show and a few extras for people like me who just want more!

After bringing the book home and drooling over the pages I came across a dish I thought I'd make for dinner. I had a whole chicken in the fridge, most of the ingredients needed and a lot of enthusiasm for anything delicious.

When I tell you I have most of the ingredients, what I should really say is I have a few of the ingredients that are similar to the ones asked for, and then a few I know I need but also know I can't use due to Alex and Max sharing the meal....that's right, the 2-3 tablespoons of three different chillies required were never going into this dish, so I figured I'd follow the recipe with what I had.
Another reason why I love buying and reading books from great chefs who really just care about flavour and happiness. Stein gives you two to three examples of other household ingredients you can substitute to get a great flavour instead of insisting you go and buy everything from a specialist shop. As a parent and working person, this is something I really appreciate!

So here is my interpretation of Rick Steins coconut chicken that is suitable for toddlers as well as grown ups and I have to say I didn't even reach for the chilli jar. I just loved the flavour this dish produced all on it's own. I defiantly recommend this dish to anyone who LOVES a flavour packed family meal.....

Recipe
Balinese spice paste (mild version)
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 heaped tablespoon salted peanuts
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
3 spring onions, sliced
4cm piece ginger, peeled and sliced
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
bottom 2 inches of  lemongrass, roughly sliced
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
juice of half lime
Put peppercorns, nuts and sesame seeds into a spice grinder or mortor and pestel and grind to a fine powder.
Place into a large jug with remaining ingredients and blend with a stick blender until it turns into a very smooth paste.
Reserve until needed.

For the chicken
4 chicken thigh with bone in
2 drumstick and 1 breast cut into 3 pieces
1 quantity above spice paste
400ml coconut milk
1 lemon grass stalk, lightly bruised and knotted ( I used the remaining top piece of my lemongrass as I only had one)

Sprinkle the pieces of chicken with salt on both sides and let rest for 20 minutes
Put the spice mixture into a medium sized saucepan and add coconut milk, lemongrass stalk and 1 teaspoon salt.

Bring to the boil slowly, then add chicken pieces and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for one hour or until the chicken is cooked and tender and sauce has thickened.

Serve with steamed rice, fresh bean shoots and slices of cucumber drizzled in salt, lime juice and a splash of fish sauce.

I tell not a lie, my kids asked for seconds after they tasted it....when they first saw it, there were the usual noises of "dear god what is this green stuff mum?" but I told them it was this or bed...I think they would agree with me that they chose well and even got dessert!

Lentils we love

I think by now it is clear my eldest son is not ever going to be a vegetarian. And I think after reading my blogs for a while, readers have come to realize I am as stubborn as a mule when it comes to feeding the family good, tasty food even if that does include the odd meat free variety. I put up with the moody pouts, whining and dry reaches from the boys, as I live in hope that one day they will see I was only trying to develop their taste buds and introduce them to flavours of the world.

So after having said all of this, you will note my surprise and shock when Max scooped up his last spoonful of lentils on this nights dinner and stated
"FINISHED!.....hey, can you believe I finished before ALL of you AND it was vegetarian!!?"
He was right, I was lost in quiet high fives with myself while grinning at him and patting myself on the back. That fact that he went on saying it was pretty good, actually (yes, he really talks like this, bless!) made my day.

Lentils are fabulous and super good for you, and the fact that the kids will devour them with the help of a few chapatis is all good in my books.
Ever since travelling to Turkey in my early twenties where I was introduced to a delicious lentil soup served with natural yogurt, fresh lemon juice and chili flakes I have been hooked on this combination ever since.
 I pulled my fridge apart to see what I could add to my lentil dish. The pumpkin was on its last legs and I thought it would be a great way to thicken my broth and add a bit of depth to the dish. As you can see it is a simple, quick recipe to whip up; perfect for dinner on the fly.
I even took the leftovers to work for lunch the following day and fed them to my business partner and barista. Lisa wanted the recipe as she is always looking for recipes that are gluten free and filling, while Brett informed me the following day, he had loads of energy for his squash game that evening and now wanted to eat lentils before each game.......loving the lentils!

Lentil curry (but not really hot, just yummy....)
2 cups green lentils, pre soaked*
2 cups hot water
1 tin crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoons salt

Strain lentils from soaking water then combine with the above ingredients in a medium saucepan.
Place them on the stove and bring to the boil, stirring to combine.
Once boiling add-
1 cup green capsicum, diced
11/2 cups pumpkin, diced
Bring to the boil again, stir then reduce to a medium low heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

1 tablespoon oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander, ground
1 teaspoon cumin, ground

Heat a separate saucepan on medium heat.
Add oil and add onions, stir to combine and leave for 1-2 minutes.
Add ginger, garlic and saute on low for 3 minutes.
Add remaining spices, stir to combine and cook for a further 3 minutes on low heat.

Once your lentils are soft on the inside, add your onions and stir to combine.
Leave to let the flavours meld together for a few minutes then serve with rice, chapatis, a drop of natural yogurt, a squeeze of lemon juice and a few chili flakes.
If I had some fresh herbs I would of added them also, alas I didn't and still thought it was really yummy.

*I soaked mine the night before as they need at least 12 hours of down time

4 ingredients

Last night was my turn to make dinner. It was the end of a long day, I was tired and had no thoughts on what to cook. As Nic and I sat down for our evening beer to relax and unwind I asked what he fancied thinking it would be something Asian. "Pasta, I could eat some pasta" was his reply.
With that I finished my beer and headed for the kitchen, I knew we had bacon in the fridge so I was thinking maybe a spot of carbonara, then I spotted a chilli- nice a little heat to give it a kick, then I thought maybe I'll give this '4 ingredient' idea a go. (For all of you who haven't heard of the 4 ingredients- basically two ladies got together and wrote a cookbook using a maximum of 4 ingredients per recipe. They sold millions and millions of copies and haven't looked back).
So to start with I had my pasta, chilli and bacon that left me with the addition of only one more ingredient. I had to choose between onion and parmesan. I was stuck!
After a few moments of deliberation I decided to go with the parmesan, however as I open the fridge I spot a bunch of basil. Come on I mean you can't go wrong with bacon, chilli and basil but where were my veggies? I'm always telling the kids they MUST have salad or veggies with the evening meal so how was I going to fit it all in?
I think it took me all of 5 seconds to dump the idea of 4 ingredients and go with 4 x 4 plus a few more instead. The following recipe was mighty fine, took maybe 5 minutes longer than if I'd only used the original 3 ingredients and in my families opinion tasted AWESOME!
I take my hat off to the ladies who invented the concept but I'm going to have to take a pass on the concept until maybe Friday when my cupboards will be bare and I'll be rattling through the kitchen trying to find 4 ingredients!

 4 ingredient pasta- NOT
1 pkt spaghetti
1 tablespoon butter
3 rashers of bacon, finely shredded
1 medium onion, small dice
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 red birds eye chilli, finely sliced
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 4 cm pieces (about 1 inch)
3/4 cup frozen baby peas
1/2 cup shredded basil leaves
1/2 cup shaved parmesan

Pop on a pot of water to boil with a pinch of salt.
Cut all ingredients and have them set out on a plate ready to go.
Melt butter in a large frying pan, once bubbles appear add bacon and stir.
Put pasta on to cook and add onion and garlic to bacon, saute on MEDIUM heat to soften onion.
Add chilli, asparagus and peas with a pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper.
Saute for a few minutes then add about 1/3 cup of pasta water to make a sauce.
Drain pasta, turn off heat for sauce.
Add pasta, basil and parmesan- stir to combine then serve.

Note: the chilli really didn't have that much heat in it so the kids were fine, however if you don't want to add it, it will still taste fabulous!

Ethiopian Chicken

I have been a bit behind in my blogs and I do apolagise. There seems to be an awful lot going on these days and sometimes I wonder how I can fit it all in. I usually look at other blogs and read about so many other

peoples cooking/life experiences but lately I haven't even had time to look at my favorites which I am not to happy about. How do bloggers do it? How do they continually keep their blog updated on a daily schedule, fit everything else into the day and then proceed to blog about the most fantastic meal they happened to whip up in the dinner hour- I don't know?

What I do know is I am trying to keep pace but am slipping! I feel like I haven't cooked an exciting meal in weeks and now I am going to blog about a meal Nic cooked about three days ago when mum was still here because-

a) it was dam fine and

b) it is from my most favorite cooking magazine- Saveur.

As most of you know my hubby is non to shabby in the kitchen. He likes to read a few cookbooks and then try out his version of the recipe at hand. When the April '08 issue of Saveur came out it was the beginning of his best chicken dish yet!

Nic first cooked this for me in April of '08 and I nearly fell off my chair. The flavour was intense, heart warming and I remember feeling duped when I licked my plate clean and there was nothing left but bones sucked dry.

I suggested to Nic he should make it for mum when she was over and he was happy to oblige. The real name for this killer dish is Doro Wot. The only time Nic wasn't really happy with his end result was of course when mum was here. Due to my heavy use of paprika there wasn't as much in the jar as he thought so the above dish was lacking it's usual deep potent redness. I thought the flavour was still wonderful and when you blend in the hard boiled egg with the chicken and sauce you really do feel like you are eating in someone else's home (another reason why I love Saveur so much).

I would love to re write this recipe for you, however when I flip to the page it is filled with handwritten notes in Nic's handwriting and if you have ever had the pleasure of reading Nic's handwriting you'd know it is a no go zone unless you have studied ancient scripts! I will however advise you to find a copy of Saveurs no: 110 issue, flip to page 76 and give it a go. The recipe is not hard and you will be over joyed with the results I promise.

A late lunch

I wasn't going to blog about my lunch today but after finishing it I decided I would because it really did taste yummy and really, I should share the basic everyday foods I devour if of course they are delicious.

OK so now I have you all captured and dying to know what I just consumed, let me tell you it was a very tasty little melt that I whipped up. The kids are in their last week of school holidays (thank god!), we have just been whizzing around the Sydney Olympic stadium with friends and of course we stayed way to long. The 5 minute car drive home was 5 minutes to long and we were all starving as we poured into the house. Melts are a big hit in our house, they are fast, quick and a great way to use up leftovers with out the rest of my family knowing (seriously getting them to eat leftovers is like pulling teeth, Nic included!).

I whipped open a tin of tuna, added mayo, diced tomato and slathered it onto the rolls I had cut in half. With that done and the grill turned on to HIGH I grated cheddar cheese to top them with then popped the melts under the grill (melting the cheese to cover the tomato so Alex will never know). They were ready before Max could finish telling me how starving he was and that he didn't think he was able to sit at the table due to lack of energy (my own little drama queen) the kids were eating within 8 minutes of getting through the door and I was almost there, I just needed to drown mine in sweet chilli sauce; I have to say it sealed the deal. There's nothing quite like creamy mayo and sweet chilli sauce combined with melted cheddar and tuna- YUM! Max opted for some sauce on his also but Alex had found an edge of tomato while halfway through his melt and was trying to come to terms with the fact he had mistakenly eaten tomato; the pain and torture I put my kids through!

Seriously though, for a quick yummy lunch that isn't a classic sandwich you should give a melt a go and I defiantly recommend a splash of sweet chilli sauce.

OK so after looking at the photo it doesn't look fabulous BUT it did taste yummy...or was that just because I was starving? Oh what the hell it tasted good at the time.

Butter with added flavours

I love butter. All through my 20's I didn't really eat it because "it is so bad for you" and evil fat monsters will come and deposit lumps all over your body if you don't watch out!

I moved in with Nic in my late 20's (thank god) and very quickly all my skim and low fat products soon got replaced with full cream this and high in fat that- that's right butter was put back in the fridge. When I first said to Nic "Oh no this is all bad....don't you read about it?" Nic just looked at me and said something along the lines of "Yeah well the skim stuff tastes like crap and if your going to eat you might as well enjoy it, just don't eat so much of it", to this he continued on with his day and took his then 28 inch waist out of the kitchen and left me weighing up what he had just said.

In the end I agreed with him and welcomed the new fridge arrivals, I mean the guy was smaller than I back then..... who was I to argue?

Last night I had brought steaks for dinner along with brussel sprouts and not much else but I decided I'd grill the steaks, roughly mash some spuds with olive oil and salt (seems to be a favorite of mine lately) then serve them with roasted brussel sprouts which I just love- they have a nutty almost sweet flavour that compliment steak beautifully. The kids on the other hand think I am nuts and reckon they smell like old feet so green beans for them!

Because the rest of the meal was quick and simple to I wanted something else to kind of bring it all together- straight away I thought of garlic butter. Jam packed with flavour, yet complimenting both meat and veg.

Of course the butter was still rock hard when I got it out of the fridge and we don't have a microwave to speed up the process so my next brainwave was to make it in my mortar and pestle- perfect!

Firstly I popped 2 cloves of garlic in the mortar with a good pinch of salt to help release the flavour and produce a paste, secondly I cut my butter into small dice so I could break it down faster. The pounding of the very cold butter released all the tension I was carrying from listening to the boys whinging and carrying on about tidying up their room so the calming effect of pounding butter was much appreciated.

With the butter and garlic melded together I thought it could do with some parsley (but of course, a classic really) and then always the chilli freak I ground a few flakes into the mix for a small punch of heat. By the time I had finished the butter, it was at the perfect room temperature to serve; the sprouts were cooked, potato was keeping warm and all that was left was to cook the steaks.

Dinner was ready without much effort, the boys had finally tidied their room and I had extra garlic butter to store in the freezer for another meal, be it chicken, roast veggies or another steak, so everyone wins.

All in moderation and who needs a 20 something inch waist in your 30's anyway!

YUMM!

Lemongrass and dumpling soup

It is cool and rainy here in Sydney and since I've been back home in Australia I have had huge cravings for Asian flavours. I can't seem to get enough of chilies, limes, fish sauce, and ginger just to name a few. One of my all time favorite things to eat, even as a kid as been dumplings. Whenever we went to a Chinese restaurant when I was a kid, I'd always order wonton soup- there is something comforting and nurturing about minced meat and herbs wrapped up in a soft wonton skin.

After zipping down to Eastwood, my neighbourhood shopping village where there is about 4-5 Asian grocers, butchers and seafood mongers I came home to make my dumpling soup.

Alex has been sick lately, catching every little bug this side of Sydney harbour- so a hearty chicken dumpling was my agenda. I needed to pound all my herbs and spices together so there we no flecks of green for the boys to pull out and say 'oh I don't like this....what is this?'

Before making my dumplings I popped on my stock. For this I used chicken Maryland's. They are a really cheap cut of chicken and when you buy from a Chinese butcher you get the whole bottom end of the chook, so more bone/flavour for my stock and a can also use the meat for a risotto or chicken pie later during the week.

When making lemongrass stock I always bash my stick of lemongrass with the back end of my biggest knife to tenderise it. The stick will become softer and much easier to tie in a knot- thus releasing more flavour then if you just chop it up. Something I learnt from an Indonesian friend of mine.

My Lemongrass chicken stock

3 Maryland chicken pieces, cut at the joint

1 lge stick of lemongrass, bashed and tied into a knot

1 head of garlic cut in half

5-8 black peppercorns

1 inch piece ginger, smashed

2 brown onions, quartered

2 carrots, roughly chopped

2 sticks celery, roughly chopped

3 lime leaves

Wash your chicken pieces in cold water then drain.

Fill a large stock pot with above ingredients, fill with cold water; about an inch over ingredients then put on to boil.

Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Skim top and cook for one hour.

Remove chicken pieces and continue cooking stock with 3 tablespoons fish sauce for a further 30 min.

Leave to steep for a further 20 minutes off the heat (this is when I make my dumplings)

OK for the dumplings:

300g chicken mince

1 tablespoon ginger, chopped (skin removed)

1 shoot spring onion chopped

2-3 whole black peppercorns

2 tablespoons mint leaves

1 tablespoon coriander (cilantro) leaves

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1 teaspoon lemon rind

Place all ingredients excluding chicken into a mortar and crush into a paste.

Place the paste into a medium bowl with the chicken and mix to combine.

Lay out your wonton skins and place a heaped tablespoon of mixture in the centre of each skin. Lift four corners up to the top of the mixture and squeeze together to close into a dumpling.

Note: you will need to wet the ends of your skins with water so they seal together.

This mixture makes approx 30 dumplings.

Once your dumplings are made, strain your stock through cheese cloth and a strainer, or if you don't have cheese cloth hanging about the house then use a clean chux.

You will be left with a beautiful amber broth. Place back on the heat and bring to a boil.

Once stock is boiling add dumplings and simmer for 5 minutes (at this stage I popped in some store bought fish balls because I love the texture with dumplings and these can be found at any Asian grocer fresh or frozen). Only add as many as you need. I used 6 per serve then froze the rest.

After 5 minutes remove dumplings to the side, drop your preferred fresh noodles into the stock to heat for 2-3 minutes ( I used an egg noodle). Add noodles to each serving bowl followed by the dumplings. Just before serving add Asian greens to your stock to blanch like boy choy, choy sum, sugar snap peas etc, they only need a minute. Once you have all your noodles, dumplings, fish balls (if using), and Asian greens in your bowl add some crunchy bean sprouts then pour over the lemongrass stock and serve.

I always add a good dollop of chilli sauce and then I am in dumpling heaven! I have even been known to drizzle a little soy sauce into the soup if it is lacking depth.

A seriously comforting and warming meal for anytime of the day and if you make your stock and dumplings before hand it is a 10 minute meal for a week night- this is AWESOME, especially if you have been at footy practice watching your 7 year old kick around the field while you stand in misty rain, in the dark wondering when it was going to be over!!

Cucumber and Melons

Alex and I share a great love for cucumbers. They have a crisp, watery flavour that goes with just about any salad combo I know. If Alex asks for a 'salad' he usually means cucumber rounds, carrot and olives. When I tell him a salad usually has some type of lettuce in it he reassures me I am completely wrong and not to speak of lettuce again!

 With Sydney's fantastic weather 90% of the time my taste buds with the Mexican flare suit this climate very well. When cooking in summer at Campagnola you'd get hot, when working on the grill section your body would boil. Many a night servers (waiters) would ask me if I was OK due to the redness in my face and sweat running down my back. As uncomfortable as it got at times I wouldn't swap it for any other spot in the kitchen. Working the grill was one of the best parts about a restaurant kitchen. If you were having a good night, the whole restaurant was running well, if you started to go down then you'd pull the whole restaurant with you- yep it is all about the control factor!

Anyway I am getting side tracked- on summer nights the prep guy would usually have a few spare minutes before or after service and would peel and scrape out cucumbers 2-4 at a time then soak them in lime juice, chilli flakes, lots of salt and then we would all dig in. It was such a refreshing snack; reviving you while leaving a refreshing flavour in your mouth. 

I started this at home and the family hasn't looked back. Along with cucumbers, any melon gets a good going over with lime/lemon juice and a shake or two of chilli. It's a bit like eating peanut butter- very nice on it's own but when spread with jam (jelly) it is just delicious!

For a family friendly recipe visit kidspot

Chicken wings

The other day at work I was boning out some chickens for roasting. We usually make stock from the carcass and throw the wings away, or pop them in the wood oven for a 'kitchen snack'. Right now all the guys are going through a fat stage (??) and are all on diets, so I decided I'd take the wings home for dinner the following evening. The next morning I dropped both boys at school and felt like experimenting so I decide to bone out the wings and stuff them (anything to get out of mopping the floors!). Half an hour went by and I had only boned out 10 wings- it takes longer than I think, knowing I had to pick up Alex in 20 minutes I decide to marinate the rest of the wings and figure out the 'stuffing' later.

OK people, if there is one marinade you try this year let it be this one. I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing, just throwing spices and herbs together when I saw them. I have to say this marinate was -DIVINE!! The kids devoured there's in a matter of seconds (I can't say the same for the broccoli) and asked for seconds- there wasn't any sadly.

Chicken marinade

I am sorry I didn't measure anything this time around but when I make them again I'll pay more attention to measurements. In the mean time if you feel like giving it a go, do as I did:

In a mortar and pestle add about one inch of roughly chopped peeled ginger, two cloves of garlic, about 1 and a bit teaspoons of whole black pepper corns (have to be the whole pepper corn for full flavor) a good splash of fish sauce, 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder, a hand full of cilantro (coriander) leaves and stems chopped up and 1-2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil.

When you have all these ingredients in the mortar begin crushing and pounding them until the pepper corns are all broken up, the leaves and stems of the cilantro (coriander) are bruised and mashed and it all looks to be a rough paste- you can try doing it in a small blender also.

Pour the paste onto the wings and rub with your fingers to get good coverage. Place covered wings back in the fridge for at least 6-8 hours (up to a day) then preheat your oven to 500 (220) and lay them on a tray. Place them in the oven for 6 or so minutes, turn to brown evenly. Once done (approx 10-15 minutes) serve with plain rice and stir-fry veggies- I did broccoli, onion and peppers in oyster sauce.

 For the 'stuffed' wings I grabbed a hand full of pork mince, chopped two little HOT chile's into thin slices, minced one garlic clove, added a whoosh of fish sauce and cut up one green onion (spring onion), finished with seasoning and then stuffed the wings. 

To cook them I had the oven on 500 (to cook the other wings). I heated up some vegetable oil in the wok- about 1/2 an inch. Lightly coated the stuffed wings in corn starch and then quickly fried the skin. Once brown I placed the wings on a tray and finished them in the oven for 5-7 minutes. 

We didn't give these to the kids because they were loaded with chile's and I have to say they were more than happy with the marinated ones. The kick of the chili and texture of the pork made these little beauties finger lickin' good. 

I don't know when I am going to bone out chicken wings again (if ever??) but I do know I will make the marinade over and over...

Let me know if you give it a go, I am still thinking about the flavor this morning!

Salsa Verde #1

Sorry it has been a few days since my last post. Life has moved on and I am playing catch up, some weeks are more unorganized than others so that is all I am going to say on the matter!

It has been a middle of the range week for food in our house, I have been out most nights cooking for half of Evanston while my family have been living on take out from work (don't feel sorry for them- tonight they have a fabulous veal, pork and panchetta lasagna to devour). 

I was home a few nights ago and found some tomatilla tomatoes ( actually don't know if this is the right spelling but it will take me another week to find out so you'll have to live with it or drop me a line and correct me) in the fridge I bought last week. Terrible I know, but they last really well and the salsa tasted awesome as usual which brings me to this blog entry.

While working in the Chicago area for the past 6 years on and off (minus the 10 months we spent in Italy and the past year in Virginia) I have learn't quite a lot about Mexican food from the various Mexican guys I have worked with. Sometimes it is what I observe when they cook comida (family meal) or what they tell me they had for lunch before work.  I try to duplicate it from random notes I wrote. One of my favorite recipes I was taught is the salsa verde.

Salsa verde can come in many different shapes, flavors and forms. Today I am talking about the stove top variety, I'll save the others for another day.

Depending on the jalapenos hotness the kids will try it, otherwise Nic and I store it in the fridge and pour it on anything from eggs in the morning (actually that is just me), tacos, grilled fish, chicken- anything that needs a little flavor kick. The night I made it, I served it with pork marinated in cumin, paprika and cinnamon (wanted to see what it tasted like and I was suitably impressed, however use less cinnamon than cumin for a balanced savory, sweet flavor if you'd like to try). We wrapped it all up in a flour tortilla with smashed pinto beans, topped with the salsa verde and there you have it a tasty, fast family meal- perfect for a hot night.

Salsa

Tomatillas 3-4

jalapenos 2-3

yellow onion 1, medium

garlic clove 1

cilantro 1/2 bunch leaves

Juice of one lime

salt and pepper to taste

When making the salsa you simply pop tomatillas (or green tomatoes, you can use red ones also but the flavor will be a little different), jalapenos, and yellow onion-quartered into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Once boiling simmer for 2-3 minutes to soften the tomatillas and jalapenos.

Drain off all the water and pick off stems if any- set to one side.

Meanwhile, pull out your trusty Cuisinart- add garlic clove and pulse for 10 seconds to chop it up. Add HOT tomatilla mix and process until combined well. 

Remove lid add half a bunch of cilantro leaves, juice of 1 juicy lime and salt and pepper to taste. Return lid, blend until well processed then pour into a jar and store in the fridge until needed.

It last for two weeks.

NOTE:

Now you are probably thinking the photos don't add up to the recipe- You are correct! I didn't have any cilantro in the fridge on the night so I decided fresh corn would be good (?) it was very yummy. I put the corn in the water after I shut off the heat- 1 minute before I drained it. These are the things you have to do when your living in the real world and not on telly- ha,ha. It was very yummy but I did miss the cilantro.

There are many different varieties of this salsa as I said, but this is the one I use over and over again. I hope you can get Mexican ingredients in Australia otherwise I'll have to start up an importing business!

Once again, sorry for the delay......

Chili sauce kids?

When is it time to introduce chili sauce to kids? Some people might gasp at the question and think it insane to do so before 20, 12 or even 8- Why?

I am a total chili addict. I knew I had a problem when I was pregnant with Max. I was working in Scotland at the time. I was a first time mum, delighted to be pregnant (I hadn't read any parenting/baby books at this stage and clearly did everything 'wrong' according to half the books I did end up reading) but I had cravings and desires just like most pregnant mums. 

We had just finished a busy service, it was hot, sweaty and I was exhausted. I opened the walk in cooler for some fresh air and found a small jar of pickled jalapenos that had been put in the wrong place. My attempt to put them back was foiled by a strong desire to gobble down the entire jar! There were times I felt like I was going to pass out from the heat the least I should of done was to have some water- but no I continued until the jar was empty.

I don't know if I set a good or bad example but some how I passed on my love of all things hot to Max. He first wanted to taste chili at the age of 2 and to no surprise of mine he hated it! I asked him why he wanted to try it and he said 'you like it'. At age three he asked to try it again on a bowl of noodles he was eating. I reached for my favorite sweet chili and that is where his love of chili sauce was born. Everything in moderation and small drops grew into teaspoon size portions and now at the age of six, he is dipping everything in it from pork dumplings to steamed vegetables.

Alex has just started his chili sauce stage. So far he hasn't been interested but just the other day over a soba noodle salad Max reached for the sauce and Alex decided to join in, I couldn't of been happier.