GODOH BIU........

This is  simply fried bananas , served on toasted sourdough bread that has been drizzled with maple syrup , then sparsely topped with sliced button mushrooms and topped  with  sweet and fragrant bananas in a crisp batter .

This is so good , you could use sliced avocado in place of the mushroom ... it is your call.
Sunday mornings should always  be celebrated.
Here is what you need to do to prepare the best Sunday brunch .
Mix together 100gm of rice flour with 50 gm of all purpose flour in 160ml of water and a pinch of salt .
Combine till the batter is smooth and thick...
Dip peeled and sliced bananas ( it is ok to use the banana with the skin on )
Now pan fry or deep fry until battered bananas are golden brown and crispy .
If you want to make this an unforgettable brunch , layer the bananas  with  grilled slices of streaky bacon ...

DARK CHOCOLATE RISOTTO ( ADULTS ONLY )

Put 3 tbs of  unsweetened cocoa powder in a small bowl along with 100gm of castor sugar , 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of ground chilli , (the chilli adds warmth and an enchanting  flavour that compliments the dark chocolate ).
Mix the dry ingredients together with 8 tbs of milk  till well blended .
Place 150gm of risotto rice in a medium saucepan with 750 ml of milk and stir in the cocoa flavoured milk and 3 long strips of orange zest .
Slowly bring the rice mix to the boil , then cover , reduce heat and simmer on low for 20 minutes .
The rice should now be tender , creamy and slightly loose .
Remove the strips of orange zest and stir in 100gm of grated 70%  dark chocolate until completely melted .
Spoon into 4 small warmed jars or bowls and set with a cinnamon quill in each , sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with cream .

MAKING PASTA .......A LOVE STORY

The sauce is made first .
All you need is 4 ingredients for the sauce , wine , meat , oregano and 1 whole onion .
The sauce is made very quickly , toss the meat in a large pan with torn oregano and move the meat around till browned .
Now pour in the red wine , enough to cover the meat sufficiently .
Put the whole peeled onion in the pan with the wine and meat , remove the onion with a slotted spoon once it is tender .
Bring to a gentle simmer and continue to cook and  allow to reduce .
Now for the pasta.
Please use a plastic bowl as plastic won't make the pasta go cold , or make the pasta straight on a wooden table .
Pour 1kg of 00 flour ( this is a hard wheat flour and high in protein , pasta made with a tender grain breaks easily and hard to get al dente ) into the bowl or onto the wooden table .
Make a well in the centre of the flour and add 10 lightly beaten eggs and 2 yolks.
Now start pulling the flour into the middle to cover the eggs and then work  the eggs through to bring it all together .
The colour of the pasta comes from the eggs , once a smooth ball of dough forms , start to push the dough with the heel of your hand and then pull it back into shape .
Continue to push the dough and stretch it to its limit it will go back into itself .
The longer you knead the dough it will become silky smooth .
Now let the pasta dough rest , pour yourself a glass of wine , as it will soon be time to roll out the pasta .
It is essential that you have a clothes horse set up near your work bench to lay the pasta over to dry .
Cut off a slice of the dough , press the dough flat and feed the dough through the rollers of your pasta machine .
Sprinkle the dough loosely with a little flour to prevent the pasta getting too sticky.
Once your have the desired thickness , feed the flattened dough through the cutting blades of the pasta machine and catch the ribbons and lay them over the clothes horse to dry .
When you are ready to eat .......
Boil a large pan of salted water and add pasta to cook till just al dente .
Drain and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice , heat the sauce through and serve over the top of the pasta .
Enjoy .

ORIGINAL GLORY GINGER CAKE

The ingredients you will need for this recipe ........
1/4 lb of butter
1/2 lb of brown sugar
1 tsp of soda
1/2 lb of plain flour
2 tbs of golden syrup
1 egg
1 cup of sour milk OR  1/2 cup of fresh milk
1 tsp of ground ginger
1 tsp of cinnamon

The method given was printed as so ......
Cream butter and sugar , add sifted flour , cinnamon and ginger
Keep back 1 tbs of this dry mixture ; to what remains add beaten egg and milk in which is dissolved the soda .
Grease and flour tin , then pour in your mixture and sprinkle the top with the tablespoon of dry mixture .
Preheat the oven to 375 deg, snap top element off , bottom element low .
Bake about an hour in centre of oven .
This recipe caught  my eye when browsing a recipe booklet put out by the Electricity Commission
( undated )

CHILLI AND GARLIC PRAWN PASTA

 .

Cook 200gm of pasta in lightly salted boiling water , until the pasta is tender .
Drain and drizzle with 1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil .
Now heat a pan over a medium heat with a tbs of oil and add 2 tbs of minced garlic and 1 long red chilli finely sliced .
Stir for a couple minutes to combine .
Add 12 raw prawns , peeled and deveined ( I leave the tails on ).
Continue to cook for 3 minutes .
Toss in the pasta and 1/2 cup of white wine, the juice of 1 lemon , 1 tbs of ghee , 2 tbs of finely sliced chives .
Stir around for a couple of minutes to warm through and melt the butter .
Serve with a sprinkle of finely grated Parmesan and cracked black pepper .

 

A SUMMER TREAT FOR YOUR PETS ( CANINE AND FELINE )

Our beautiful canine and feline babes feel the heat the same as us , and the water in their bowl gets warm .
Please give this little tip consideration .......
All that stock you throw  down the sink each night , the water from vegies or the juice from your protein source , drain it into ice cube trays ...
Freeze it and when the temperature is unbearable  ( imagine what it is like  for our furry babes ), you can scoop out frozen  cubes into their feeding bowls .....they will love you even more .
Just imagine the coolness of the ice block  and the bite of savoury .
Give it a go , your best friend know they are  loved  , now  you can show them how much .

CARBONARRA ONE NIGHT , ALFREDO THE NEXT

Saturday night started off as left over carbonara from Friday night , but I threw in some sliced olives and mixed leaf salad along with a thinly sliced onion and then lashings of cream and a large dob of butter ...
OMG , carbonara one night and alfredo the next .
Alfredo was divine served with garlic sour dough .
Honestly this is  better than any take away , so easy and inexpensive  to prepare .
 

SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI

Wash  and scrub 2 large sweet potatoes .
Pierce the sweet potatoes with a skewer.
Lightly sprinkle the sweet potatoes with cinnamon
Bake on a baking tray until the potatoes are tender / soft top touch .
Remove from the oven , cool and spoon the flesh from the skin.
Use a processor to make a puree.
It is best to measure out the puree in a 250 ml cup , as you need 1/2 a cup of plain flour for every cup of sweet potato puree .
I add 1/2 tsp of baking powder and a sprinkle of sumac .
I use the dough hook on my mixer to make a dough .
You can knead by hand , but the dough needs to be sticky .
Now pour out the dough onto a lightly floured bench .
Use your hands to divide the dough and shape into long rolls .
Slice into bite sized pieces .
Cook the gnocchi in boiling water in batches .
Let the gnocchi rise to the top of the water and continue to cook to warm through .

Remove , strain and add to your prepared sauce .


 

KLADDKAKA

Can’t wait to get home to try this Swedish recipe .....

There is hardly any baking time and it involves freezing .

Preheat your oven to 160 deg C.

Melt 185gm of butter and mix to a smooth paste with 55gm of cocoa powder.

Add 330gm of castor sugar with 3 lightly beaten eggs , 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 225gm of  plain flour .

Stir the mixture until it is smooth .

Spray a 20cm spring form flan pan and lightly sprinkle with fine polenta.

Pour in the prepared batter and smooth over the top with the back of a spoon .

Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the cake is set on top , but creamy in the middle when inserted with a skewer.

Remove from the oven and allow to completely cool in the pan ( about 2 hours ).

Then place the tray in the freezer , remove from freezer and pan about 10 minutes before serving .

Dust the top of the kladdkaka with icing sugar , slice and serve with a dollop of thickened cream or creamy ice cream and fresh berries .

The cake can now be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week .

PANCAKES GALORE

BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES

 

 Mix together 100gm of oats , 40 gm of chopped almonds , a handful of dried cranberries and 1 and 1/4 cups of buttermilk .
Mix these together and let them stand overnight in the refrigerator .

In the morning mix together 2 lightly beaten eggs , 1 and 1/2 tsp of baking powder , 2 tsp of cinnamon ,300gm of buckwheat and the mixture from the day before .

Stir well .

Melt some butter in the pan , place spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan in batches and cook until golden on both sides .

Serve with fresh fruits , fig jam and a drizzle of lemon juice .

 

MANGO PANCAKES

Whisk together 2 eggs in a bowl and add 1 cup of self raising flour , 1 cup of milk, 1 tsp of cardamom and a pinch of salt .

Mix together well .

Heat some butter in a frypan until golden , then add the batter in batches , 1 - 2 minutes each side .

For the topping , peel and mash 2 ripe bananas add a handful of desiccated coconut , 250 gm of Greek yoghurt and the juice of 1/2 lime .

Mix well .

Serve on top of pancakes and finish off with diced mango .

CRESCENT SHAPED ROLLS

Preheat your oven to 220 deg C
Melt 125 gm of butter and add 2 cups of milk and 1 sachet of dried yeast in a bowl 
Now add  5 cups of bread flour , 2 tsp of salt , 3 tbs of castor sugar .
Knead till you get a smooth dough , let the dough rise until doubled in size ( about 60 minutes )
Now divide the dough in half .
Shape the dough into a round shape ( about 40 cm diameter ), cut into 8 triangles ,
Roll each wedge from the wide end to the point and then shape into a gentle crescent .
Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper , brush dough with a lightly beaten egg .
Let them sit for 15 minutes to rise and then place in your preheated oven for 15 minutes until golden brown .
From Collected Recipes by Kristin Hove 

WALNUT BREAD

Preheat your oven to 220deg C
Combine together in a bowl 1 sachet of dry yeast , 1 tsp of honey , 2 and 1/4 cups of lukewarm water.
In a separate bowl mix together 1 tsp of salt , 5 cups of bread flour and 200gm of chopped walnuts .
Gradually work the liquid mixture and the walnut and flour together .
knead together to form a dough and leave it to rise for 30 minutes .
Then punch the air out and leave it to rise for another 30 minutes .
Divided the dough in 2 and shape the halves into 2 loaf shapes .
Place on a lightly oiled oven tray that has been  lightly sprinkled with fine polenta .
Whisk 1egg ( room temp ) and brush over the top of the dough .
Bake for approximately for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden and sounds hollow when you tap the bread crust .
Serve warm from the oven or toasted when cooled .
( Collected Recipes Kristin Hove )

SINGAPORE NOODLES

If you are fan of noodles , you will love this recipe .
Place 300gm of peeled green prawns in a shallow glass bowl along with 300gm of bbq pork and Chinese sausage ( thinly sliced) , 1 tbs of tamari,1 tbs of Chinese rice wine , 1 dsp of minced ginger .
Stir all the ingredients together until well combined , then cover with plastic film and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate .
While this marinates , prepare the rice noodles in a large heatproof bowl , cover with boiling water and set aside for 5 minutes to soften .
Drain the noodles
Heat 1 tbs of rice bran oil over a high heat
Add half the prawn mixture and stir fry for 2 minutes , until just cooked .
Transfer to a plate.
Repeat with the remaining prawn mixture .
Wipe the pan clean with paper towelling .
Heat 2 tbs of rice bran oil over a high heat and add 1 tbs of curry powder and fry till aromatic .
Add 1 sliced and deseeded red capsicum  , and 3 spring onions ( sliced diagonally and thinly ).
Stir fry until the spring onions soften
Now add the prawn mixture and 60 ml of chicken stock
Season with cracked black pepper and a pinch of cayenne ( optional )
Add the noodles and toss until coated and warmed through .
Sprinkle with fresh coriander .

 

CRUNCHY SALMON TRAY BAKE

This is a great summer dish , quick and easily prepared .
You will need 6 salmon fillets ( skin on ).
Preheat the oven to 200 deg C .
Grease a large baking tray and sprinkle the base with fine polenta .
Place the salmon fillets on the prepared tray , skin side up .
Scatter 2 tbs of finely grated parmesan  and 1 tbs of dried oregano leaves over the salmon .
Now add 500gm of sweet cherry vine tomatoes .
2 x  zucchini , thickly sliced .
200gm of stuffed baby peppers .
Peel and slice 1 red onion into rings , scatter rings over the top .
Season with sumac.
Spray with cooing oil .
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven or until fish is cooked through to your liking .
Serve with a green leaf mix and wedges of lemon .
 

FOOD OF THE EASTERN BLOC

My step father Jackiw Grunberg introduced me to the filling , easy food of the Eastern Bloc , through the families we visited , who had shared their journey to Australia  and stayed in touch .
It is a cuisine very easy to fall in love with .
Bowls of borscht , a muscular , magenta soup , sticking to the spoon .
Pierogi, boiled, piled with sour cream and horseradish .
Stuffed cabbage leaking juice into a tomato broth .
Apart  from the basics like flour everything was  home grown .

SOLUTION TO PROBLEMS

' We will never reach a solution to the problem , if we only concentrate how the problem was created'