SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTY MEAL.

Ingredients....skinless chicken thighes, halved lengthwise and sliced, frozen winter vegetable mix, frozen chips, a mix of honey, soy and garlic to marinade. Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Mix the honey, soy and garlic in a bowl and brush over the chicken thighs. Lightly grease an ovenproof dish and place on the chips and slices of the chicken thigh. Place the frozen winter vegetable mix in the top of your steamer pot and steam until tender. Sprinkle the vegetables with dried onion and garlic flakes. Cook the chicken and chips in the preheated oven until the chicken strips and chips are cooked through. Spoon the steamed winter vegetable mix around the chips and chicken to serve. Perfect meal to eat while watching the Saturday evening footy. Which by the way Collingwood won !!

MARSHMALLOW SKEWERS WITH CHOCOLATE FONDUE.

Ingredients......400 gm of 70% cocoa chocolate, 250 ml of thickened cream, 280 gm of pink / white marshmallows, wooden skewers / toothpicks. First, soak the wooden skewers in boiling water for 30 minutes before using as this prevents the wood from splintering. Melt the chocolate and cream together in a small saucepan over a low heat. pour the melted chocolate mixture into a medium bowl. Place the marshmallows on the ends of the skewers / toothpicks. Now all you have to do is dip them in the melted chocolate mixture and enjoy.

SWAHILI CHICKEN.

Ingredients.......8 - 12 chicken drumsticks, 1 tbs of minced ginger, 3 tbs of minced garlic, 1 tsp of ground turmeric, 1 tbs of ground papriks, 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, 8 tbs of lemon juice, 4 tbs of canola / rice bran oil, 1 dsp of ground cumin, 1 tbs of ground coriander, 1 dsp of chilli flakes, 100gm of narural yoghurt,1 tbs of runny honey, ground black pepper to taste. Place the chicken drumsticks in a large mixing bowl. Mix together all the above ingredients and pour over the chicken, cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Place the chicken drumstick mixture in a lightly oiled, shallow ovenproof dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes. Cover the dish with aluminium foil for the last 30 minutes of cooking, when the drumsticks are quite dry. Serve with plain rice and flat bread or with a cumin dip. The cumin dip is easy to make, whisk 250 gm of natural yoghurt with 1/2 tsp of ground cumin and 4 tbs of finely chopped fresh mint. Season with cracked black pepper and chill until ready to serve.

DEEP FRIED HONEY PUFFS.

Ingredients....3 eggs, lightly beaten, 1/4 cup of orange juice, 1/4 cup of canola/ rice bran opil, zest of 1 large orange, 1/4 cup of castor sugar, 300 gm of plain flour, 1 dsp of baking powder, canola/ rice bran oil for deep frying. Syrup..... 2 tbs of lemon juice, 1 and 1/2 cups of castor sugar, 1/3 rd of a cup of honey, zest of 1 large orange. Mix together the eggs, orange juice and 1/4 cup of oil. Add the orange zest and sugar and whisk well to combine. Mix together the flour and baking powder and stir into the egg mixture with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined. Sprinkle your work surface with extra flour, turn out the dough and knead lightly until smooth. Shape out to 5 cm thickness. Cut into 5 cm rounds with a biscuit cutter. Place the syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan with 1 and 1/2 cups of water, stir while it comes to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes . set aside. Heat the oil in your deep fryer to 170 deg C. Add the honey cakes a few at a time and fry until puffed and goldenon both sides. Remove and drain on absorbent paper. Place a couple of the cakes at a time in the syrup, turn to coat, then remove to a serving dish with a slotted spoon. Serve immediately.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ?

The answers to June's challenge... 1. Salad. 4.Bartlett. 2. Pineapple. 5. Feijoa. 3. Turmeric. 6. Lemon curd. Here is my July challenge for you...... 1. Remember when Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey? What was she eating? 2. To plunge food into boiling or simmering water for a short period of time? 3. To heat a liquid to a point to a point just before boiling? 4. A chocolate coating for cakes? 5. A hihly perishable summer squash. The blossom of the young plant can be eaten, stuffed or fried? 6. Cooking vegetables in a little oil or fat over a medium heat in a covered pot or pan which releases moisture and intensifies the flavour?

BALTI FISH FILLETS IN A SPICY COCONUT SAUCE.

Balti is an economical, easily prepared style of Indian food. Balti food consists of marinated and spiced ingredients usually stir fried and cooked in a pan. Ingredients.....30 ml of canola oil, 1 dsp of dried onions, 2-3 dried chilli flakes, 3 tbs of minced garlic, 1 onion, sliced, 8 cherry tomatoes, sliced, 2 tbs of desiccated coconut, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp of ground coriander, 4 firm white fish fillets, 75gm - 100gm each, 150 ml of water, 15 ml of lime juice, 1 tbs of fresh coriander, chopped. Heat the oil in a deep round frying pan over a high heat. Lower the heat and add the onions dried and sliced, chilli flakes. Cook for 4 minutes stirring until the sliced onion softens. Add the tomatoes, coconut, salt and ground coriander, stir through to blend thoroughly. Cut each fish fillet into 3 pieces. Drop the fish pieces into the mixture and gently turn them until they are well coated. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 7 minutes. Add the water, lime juice and fresh coriander and cook until the water has almost evaporated. Serve with a plain steamed grain.

VEAL SALTIMBOCCA

Saltimboca is a Roman speciality, that means " jumps in the mouth". It is made from very thin slices of meat, usually veal and topped with sage leaves and prosciutto or ham, rolled and sauteed in butter and wine. Ingredients.....4 x 100 gm veal schnitzels, uncoated, 4 fresh sage leaves, 4 slices of prosciutto / 4 rindless middle bacon rashers (260 gm), 250 ml of dry white wine. Roll up each schnitzel and top with a sage leaf. Wrap one prosciutto / bacon strip around each schnitzel, secure with skewers or toothpicks. Cook the schnitzels in heated oiled frying pan, bacon seam side down, turning occasionally, until cooked. Remove from pan, keep warm. Pour the wine into the pan, bring to the boil, stirring until the the liquid has reduced by half. Drizzle the sauce over the saltimbocca and serve with chips and a salad or as you like.