food

ok so this year i have tried to do more cooking...Frank started cooking all our meals early last year & while it has been great for him to take over i have found lately that i have craved some time in the kitchen.
So i started slowly with easy and quick dishes that i knew i could rest in between processes [i cant stand for long] ... thermomix & crockpot have been awesome tools :)

Tortilla Soup

Since getting the Pinterst bug i have been pinning great food dishes and slowly been going thru them and trying them out.............YUMMO - so many great dishes out there :D

I LOVE indian food the most but havent really tried making my own [other than super simple stuff] but i am also pushing myself to make Indian dishes even tho i am the only one who likes that type of food [more for ME hehehe]

ALOO METHI

Do you have any fav's that you can share??

smiles [with mouth full of latest dish tried]
trace xo

wed winter tea

Tomato Basil Soup

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 - 14 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes

1 - 14 oz. can of whole tomatoes

2 cups of stock (chicken or vegetable)

1 tsp of sea salt

1 tsp of sugar

1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup of heavy cream

3 tablespoons of fresh basil, julienned

parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute - being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the crushed tomatoes.  Add the whole tomatoes one at a time, squeezing them into the pan to break them up.  Add the juice from the whole tomatoes, as well.  Add chicken stock, salt, pepper and sugar.  Cook the soup on medium at a simmer for 10 minutes.  

To finish, reduce the heat to low and stir in heavy cream and basil.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese or with The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich [below]

 

The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich 

4 sandwiches

8 slices of Italian Bread

1 cup of extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

2/3 cup of provolone cheese, shredded

2/3 cup of swiss cheese, shredded

2 tablespoon of butter

salt & pepper

Divide the bread into 4 stacks of 2 pieces.  butter the tops and bottoms of the sandwiches.  In between the slices, divide up the shredded cheeses.  In a hot skillet - or cast iron pan/griddle works best - grill the sandwiches on medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side until they are brown and the cheese has melted. 

 

2 slow cooker recipes [one vego & one for meat lovers]

here are 2 awesome Winter Recipes that we love 

[Frank is a BIG meat eater so i do tend to make 2 soups or stews at the same time when using the slow cooker as we have 2 of them..... i eat the vego dishes while he tucks into the meat based ones]

Bean & Pumpkin Stew  (serves 4)

* 250g butternut pumpkin, deseeded, peeled, cut into 2cm pieces
* olive oil cooking spray
* 1 red onion, halved, thinly sliced
* 1 garlic clove, crushed
* 1 teaspoon Middle Eastern spice blend
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 400g can diced tomatoes
* 1 zucchini, diced
* 1 red capsicum, cut into 2cm pieces
* 150g button mushrooms, thickly sliced
* 400g can cannellini beans, rinsed, drained
* 1/2 cup basil leaves, shredded
* 1/2 cup grated low-fat cheddar cheese
* 8 slices French bread stick, toasted


Method

Wash pumpkin and place, with water clinging, on a microwave-safe plate. Cover and microwave for 3 minutes or until almost tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, spray a saucepan with oil. Heat over medium heat until hot. Add onion. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and spice blend. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until aromatic.

Add tomato paste, tomatoes, zucchini, capsicum and mushrooms. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until thickened.

Add beans and pumpkin. Cook for a further 10 minutes or until pumpkin is tender. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat grill on medium-high heat. Spoon bean mixture into four 2-cup capacity, heatproof bowls. Sprinkle with cheese. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese melted.  Serve with toasted bread.

Lamb Shank Tagine

• 2 kgs Lamb shanks (approx. 400 g each)
• 1 tablespoon Ras-el-Hanout (Available in Middle-Easten delis)
• ½ tablespoon salt
• ½ cup plain flour
• Olive oil for frying

Sauce:

• 1 medium size sliced onion
• ½ cup olive oil
• 200g diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• ½ tablespoon Ras-el-Hanout
• ½ tablespoon cracked black pepper
• ½ tablespoon sumac (Available in Middle-Easten delis)
• ½ tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 dried Persian lemon crushed (Available in Middle-Easten delis)
• 50mls pomegranate molasses
• 2 cloves garlic (finely grated)
• 50mls honey
• Water

Garnish:

• Rough chopped parsley
• Yoghurt
• Chopped dried fruit
• Toasted pine nuts

Method

1. Mix flour. Ras-el-Hanout spice and salt together thoroughly. Flour shanks, reserving remaining flour mixture for sauce. Heat oil in frying pan. Brown shanks on high heat on all sides and bottom. Store shanks for later.
2. Heat olive oil and fry sliced onion until golden. Add remaining flour mixture from shanks and fry for few minutes to create a roux-like mixture. Add all sauce ingredients (apart from honey) together in a slow cooker. Add shanks and enough water to almost cover. Stir gently to combine. Bring to boil on highest level of cooker and then cook on medium heat for 6-8 hours (at Taboon we do this overnight in our stone oven!). Remove shanks from sauce, add honey and check for seasoning.
3. Serve individually on rice or couscous with a generous amount of sauce. Top with a spoon of yoghurt and garnish with parsley, dried fruit, pine nuts and a drizzle of olive oil.

 ENJOY!!

smiles, trace xo

new food toy

Gosh many apologies but i just haven't been in the mood nor had the time to Blog [naughty me!!!]

but thats me i guess as i tend to be full on or NOTHING :P

Anyways last week i was given a new Thermomix by my parents [how spoilt am i!!]

So i have been non-stop cooking......oh i can feel my hips getting bigger as i write LOL

BUT good thing is i have been making the most fabulous healthy foods with vegies hidden in everything :P

so stay tuned as i will share some photos etc as i remember

smiles,

trace xo