CHICKEN MARINADE

In a large bowl combine 4 garlic cloves , finely chopped
1 medium onion sliced
Juice of 1 lime
1 and 1/2 cups of Greek yoghurt
1 dsp of salt 1 dsp of sumac
The yoghurt makes the chicken unbelievably tender and difficult to overlook .
Now add 4 thick chicken breast fillets, mix thoroughly with the marinade.
Cover with a small plate and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours , you can also marinate chicken breast on the bone if you prefer .
To prepare for cooking , take the chicken out of the marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
to cook you have a few options ........ cube the chicken and thread onto skewers .
You can add vegetables  ( sliced capsicums , onions ) in between the cubes on the skewers and make shish-ke-bob , or bake the fillets whole and serve with oven baked vegetables that have been drizzled with balsamic prior to baking .

BEEF STROGANOFF

While I was picking the field mushrooms from my neighbour’s nature strip I knew what I was going to prepare with them ......

Beef Stroganoff ( bef stroganov)

Trim the fat off 1 kg of sirloin or rib eye fillet and slice into 1/2 inch ( 1 cm ) thick stripes 2-3 inches ( 5-7 cm ) long .

In a medium bowl , combine 220gm of all purpose flour ( plain flour ) , with1 tbs  of salt , 1 dsp of cracked black pepper .

Mix thoroughly .

Now add the steak , coating each piece .

In a large pan over a medium heat melt 2tbs of butter and add 2 large peeled and thinly sliced onions and cook until golden .

Add another tbs of butter and add 500gm of washed , trimmed and sliced field mushrooms , cook until the mushrooms have wilted .

Add another 1 tbs of butter and the steak strips , continue cooking on medium high , turning occasionally , about 15- 20 minutes .

When the meat is cooked through to your liking , turn off the heat and stir through 500gm of sour cream .

Adjust seasoning to your liking .

Serve this over cooked and buttered fettuccine or vermicelli,  which are tiny egg noodles , Russians
call it lapsha .

LEMON YOGHURT LOG CAKE

THIS IS SO EASY ........

Preheat your oven to 160 deg C
Grease and line a log pan .
Whisk together 125 ml of canola oil , 2 lightly beaten eggs, 1 tbs of grated lemon rind  and 2 tbs of lemon juice .
Now simply add 220gm of castor sugar( 1 cup )
225 gm of self raising  flour ( 1 and 1/2 cup)
 200 gm of natural Greek yoghurt thick pot set style ( 3/4 cup )

Whisk to a smooth batter or beat on low till just combined .
Bake for 50 minutes or till a skewer inserted comes out clean .
Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack .
LEMON GLAZE
Place 240 gm of icing sugar in a bowl with 2 tbs of Greek yoghurt and 1 tsp of lemon juice , mix till smooth .
Drizzle over the cake once cooled .

RUSSIAN TEA COOKIES

Preheat your oven 160 deg C.
Line oven trays with baking paper.
Cream together 110 gm of  butter / marg wh 100gm of castor sugar .
Add 1 lightly beaten egg yolk and 1 tsp of vanilla extract .
Beat well
Stir in 125 gm of plain flour with a wooden spoon .
Place the egg white in a small bowl and whisk it till it is frothy .
Wet your hands and roll the cookie dough into the size of small meatballs .
Spread out a sheet of baking paper and sprinkle over almond meal or tigernut flour .
Dip the dough balls into the egg white , then roll in almond meal or tigernut flour .
Place the balls on the oven tray and push down the middle with your thumb .
Bake for 10minutes and lightly press the centres down with the back of a teaspoon .
bake till golden .
Bake till golden .
Cool and fill with 1/2 tsp`of plum jam .

CHOC CHIP COOKIES for Robyn

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C.
Line 2 baking trays with baking paper .
Gently stir together 50 gm of plain flour , 1 tsp of salt ,1 tsp of baking soda .
In the bowl of an electric mixer , cream together 225gm of marg / butter  170 gm of castor sugar , 150 gm of brown sugar .
Add 2 lightly beaten eggs mixed with 1 tsp of vanilla extract ...mix lightly .
Add 1 tsp of water .....this prevents cookies being too chewy .
Stir in the flour mix , don’t over stir or the cookies will harden ...
Place tablespoons of the dough on the cookie sheet , cookies will spread while cooking , so give them enough room .
bake for 15 minutes or until the edges have browned .
leave for 5 minuteson the baking tray , then transfer to a wire rack to cool .
These are delicious .....mmmmm.

MEATBALLS IN BOLOGNAISE SAUCE

MEATBALLS
Mix together 1 kg of sausage mince with 1 small onion , grated , 2 cloves of garlic sliced thinly , 1 tbs of Italian herbs , 2 lightly beaten eggs 1 cup of breadcrumbs , salt and pepper to taste
Use your hands to shape into old ball sized shapes .
Set aside to prepare the bolognaise sauce  ......
BOLOGNAISE SAUCE
Place 10 finely sliced garlic cloves in a large pot (or 5 tbs of minced garlic )
Add 100 ml of oil
1 large onion finely sliced  ( earlier softened in a pan with a oil )
1 bottle of Passata 700gm
800 gm of diced tomatoes ( tinned )
1 cup of tomato sauce
4 tbs of dried Italian herbs mix .
1/2 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese  ( in packet )
1/2 cup of sherry or masala
Mix through a bunch of fresh parsley chopped .
Mix thoroughly , place pot over a low heat and slowly bring to a simmer .
Place meatballs in the simmering sauce , cook for about 30 minutes till cooked through .
ALTERNATIVELY......
You could place all the sauce ingredients into your slow cooker, cook on HIGH till the sauce starts to simmer and then add the meatballs will be cooked in about 4 - 5 hours .
Serve with garlic bread .

SOUR GRAPES

These are to be served as a side to cold meats , curries and silverside .
Dissolve 1 packet of low sugar jelly in 1 cup of boiling water .
Once dissolved add 1 cup of cider vinegar .
Place 8 juicy green or red seedless grapes into 10 ramequins and pour the dissolved jelly crystals between the ramequins .

TIGERNUT FLOUR

I found this amazing flour on the depleted shelves in the flour aisle of my local supermarket .
Tiger nut is a small wrinkled brown tuber which forms on the roots of the plant , Cyperus esculentus , that grows around the Mediterranean .
It has a crisp , sweet , light nutty flavoured white flesh and is eaten as is .
Tigernut is a non -nut substitute to almond meal .
When tigernut is ground it is granular in texture similar to almond meal .
It is also gluten free .
VANILLA TIGERNUT CAKE .....
Preheat your oven to 160 deg C
Line a 20 cm round ring cake pan .
Using a large bowl combine 2 and 1/2 cups of tigernut flour , 1/2 tsp of bi carb of soda , 1/2 tsp of salt ........
In a separate bowl lightly beat 2 eggs ( room temp ), 1/4 cup of coconut oil ( melted ) , 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of maple syrup  and 1 tsp of vanilla extract , once you have whisked the wet ingredients together ....
Create a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients .
M,ix well .
Pour the mixture into a well sprayed cake pan .
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean .
Let the cake stand in the cake pan for 15 minutes before removing .
GLAZE
Mix together 1 tsp of lemon juice , 2 tbs of coconut oil ( melted ) ,zest of 1/2 lemon , 2 tbs honey , 1 tsp of arrowroot ( tapioca ) flour ....until smooth .
Spread over cooled cake .
Alternatively .....I mixed together the honey , lemon juice, the coconut oil and drizzled over the

prepared cake , topped with shredded coconut .

A FOOD JOURNEY

"Good morning Noelene,

As the teen sons blissfully sleep through the morning, I am having time to go through my emails.

Ones that I just generally just scan past, I’m reading…

Like this one I forwarded to you….

I don’t even know why I receive it

But my interest was pricked at the ‘chocolate brownie’ part, and then I went on to read it…

When it had ….‘the people who give you their food, give you their heart ‘(Cesar Caves)… I straight away thought of you.

I can still remember our earliest classes, when you spoke about the sharing in the kitchen and having conversations around food… it was really the first time I had really thought about food, other than ‘what will we have for dinner??...

So you opened my eyes, to a whole new idea of food and cooking…. Of sharing and caring for others… of having a go…of not giving oneself the message – ‘I can’t cook and she can!’ and ‘it doesn’t have to be  perfect !

So if it isn’t ‘normal’ to rant before 8 am nor ‘normal’ to remember over 6 years ago so readily…. I’m ok with that!!!!!!!

Hope your day is good."

 

........Thank you Robyn for your kind words, friendship..... sharing in the community of the table and the journey .

Noelene Marchwicki 

 

 

CARROT AND APPLE SOUP

I made carrot and apple soup ....this is really good plus it is my own recipe .

The soup was made from what I had in my refrigerator.......I dont go to the supermarket unless it is essential .

Preheat  your oven to 160 deg C

I trimmed 1 and 1/2 kg of carrots , peeled and sliced 3 cloves of garlic , place these on a lined baking tray and sprinkle with ground sumac .

Bake in the preheated oven until  skewer tender 

Peel and core 4 green apples along with 1 peeled and sliced brown onion , place these on another over tray and oven bake until tender .

I loosely covered both trays with baking paper to prevent excess colouring 

When that was done .. I placed the baked apples , carrots , garlic and onion in a processor with 1 can of coconut milk (400ml) , 1 can of creamed corn (400gm ),    500 ml of vegetable stock , 1 dsp of ground ginger , 1 dsp of ground cardamom , salt and pepper to taste .

Now blitz till well combined and smooth serve with a sprinkling of fresh parsley .

This  is delicious  as a hearty soup or sauce with a ravioli .

FRENCH APPLE CAKE

This is a sophisticated cake but very simple in its preparation just like all French cuisine .
Preheat your oven to 160 deg C .
Spray a slice tray with cooking oil .
Peel , quarter and core 9 green apples( 1.8 kg )
Slice the apples thinly  , place them on the slice tray and sprinkle with a little oil , lemon juice , the grated zest of 1 lemon and a sprinkling of ground cinnamon at least 1 tbs .
Toss gently .
Place in your preheated oven until just warmed though and slightly softened .
Grease your baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs .
It’s now time to make a packet of jelly with 2/3 rds of a cup of water  and add 1/3 of strawberry jam
Mix together until jelly crystals are melted and jam combined .
This is how simple this exquisite cake is .....
Now arrange a layer of overlapping apple slices over the base of your greased baking dish /pan  as this base will be the top of your French apple cake .
Spread 1/3 of the jelly mixture over , sprinkle another 2/3rs of  breadcrumbs over followed by 2/3 rds of the remaing apple slices.
Repeat layers with remaining  bread crumbs , apples and jelly .
Place in preheated oven for 35 minutes ......and let your kitchen fill with sweet aromas ...
 Remove from oven , and cool in pan . .....
Refrigerate until  well chilled at least overnight .
Run a spatula around the edges loosen , dip the base of the pan into a bowl of warm after .
Place a serving plate on top and invert onto a serving dish .
If some of the top layer sticks , simply remove. And place back on the cake.
Dust with icing sugar.

KALE ,PEA AND RICOTTA PATTIES ( Vegetarian )

Preheat your oven to 180 deg c
These are delicious , place 1 cup of frozen green peas thawed into a large bowl along with 3 cups of finely shredded kale leaves 375 gm tub of ricotta cheese , 3 lightly beaten eggs , 100gm of chia seed , the grated rind of 1 small lemon , and chopped leaves of mint and savoury thyme ( 2 tbs ) or 1 dsp of dried mixed herbs .
Mix to combine ....
Set aside for 10 minutes
Prepare a baking tray with cooking spray and line with baking paper
....shape the mixture into ball sized rounds and flatten slightly.
Bake  for 20 minutes or until slightly coloured on top .
Divide between serving plates , or serve as a light lunch ..... great with a drizzle of lemon juice .

INCREDIBLE COCONUT PIE

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C.
Now place into your food processor bowl the following ingredients ......
4 lightly beaten eggs ,
225gm of castor sugar
100gm of melted butter/ sugar ,
100gm of almond meal or alternatively 100gm of slivered almonds
1 cup of desiccated coconut
The grated rind of 1 lemon or 1 orange
1 cup 250 ml of lemon juice or orange juice , which ever you have .
250ml of coconut milk .
1/2 cup of plain flour ,if you dont have plain flour its ok to use coconut flour , quinoa flour , spelt flour , tigernut flour ....the recipe will still work .
OK turn on your processor and blend till well combined .
Pour into a buttered 28cm pie dish ......this is seriously how simple this pie is to make .
Bake in your preheated oven for 1 hour or until the top is lightly browned .
Remove from oven and then refrigerate till completely chilled .