Easy Beans

Budget friendly, healthy and tasty baked bean dish that is easy to make as a mid-week meal.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
250ml (1 cup) passata (tomato pasta sauce)
125ml (½ cup) water
1 tbs golden syrup
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
400g can cannellini beans, drained
2 tbs chopped fresh continental parsley

Method

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft. Add the carrot and cook for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add passata, water, golden syrup, paprika and cayenne pepper to the pan and stir until well combined. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens.
3. Add cannellini beans. Turn off the heat and allow the residual heat to cook the beans. Stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on buttered toast or with garlic bread.

Chocolate Cake Truffles

I made these chocolate cake truffles for a women's evangelistic event at my church. It was a great night of chocolate feasting and hearing about what the bible and God had to say about the topic of forgiveness.


For these cake truffles be sure to use couverture chocolate and not compound chocolate for a more luxurious taste. Also, be careful to not overheat the chocolate when melting it otherwise it will be clumpy and gluggy making it difficult for you to coat your chocolate cake balls evenly. However, if that does happen, try adding a bit of vegetable oil and it should thin out a bit making it a bit easier to work with.

Warning! These chocolate cake truffles are very rich and not good for the waistline!

Ingredients

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cake Mix)

1 tub chocolate frosting (I used Betty Crocker chocolate frosting)

375g milk chocolate (couverture)

375g white chocolate (couverture)

shredded coconut

chocolate sprinkles

piping bags

icing pens

styrofoam box or old egg cartons

skewers

electric fondue pot (if you can afford one)

Method

Bake the cake mix according to package directions. Once the cake has been cooled completely,  process it in a food processor until fine crumbs form. I usually bake the cake overnight.

Transfer to a large bowl and stir in half of the frosting container. You just want enough to get the crumbs to stick together when you roll them into balls.  Do not add so much that the mixture becomes soft and mushy! (The chocolate frosting is what acts as a glue to hold the cake balls together). Use your hands to mix the frosting evenly throughout the crumbled cake mix until the cake mix is well moistened. Your cake mix should be moist enough to shape into a large mound and keep its shape.

Line a tray with non-stick baking paper. Roll 2 teaspoonfuls of cake mixture into a ball. Place on the prepared tray. Repeat with remaining cake mixture. You should be able to get 45-50 cake balls from a single batch of cake mix.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. I usually do this step the day before and then dip them the following day or for same day results, leave the balls to set early in the morning and dip later in the afternoon.  Do not freeze them before dipping or it may cause the chocolate to crack after they are dipped.

Place the milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir with a metal spoon until the chocolate melts and is smooth

or

Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook on medium for 60 seconds. Stir. Repeat until chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.

Use a skewer or truffle dipper to dip truffles, one at a time, into melted chocolate to coat. Gently tap the skewer or dipper on the edge of the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off.  

Immediately cover with chocolate sprinkles/toppings before the chocolate has a chance to set, then insert in a Styrofoam block or upside down egg carton to harden. (I wrap my Styrofoam board in plastic wrap to keep it clean so I can reuse it).

Notes & Tips

·     Make sure you process the cake to fine crumbs; if there are chunks of cake, the mixture may be hard to roll and your truffles may be uneven and lumpy.

To turn these chocolate cake truffles into cake pops, simply insert a lollipop stick into the base of the cake truffle (the flat bottom end), dip into the melted chocolate, decorate as desire, then once set package in clear cellophane tied with a ribbon. 

You can also pipe patterns onto the top of the chocolate cake truffles if you wish.

Le Chat Noir

Le Chat Noir is located in Terigal (near the Crowne Plaza hotel and a short walk to the beach). The restaurant serves classic French meals that you would typically find in a French bistro. When you walk into the restaurant, you see pictures of the different regions in France on the walls and can hear French music playing in the background. Le Chat Noir offers both an a la carte menu and a set menu. Hubby went for the set menu whilst I opted for a la carte.

For entrée I had snails! This dish had loads of garlic and butter. In fact, I had so much I could dip my bread into the sauce and make some instant garlic bread. Fortunately, I love garlic butter! Apart from one of my snails tasting a bit gritty all the others were absolutely delicious. Plus I had an extra one on my plate (got 13 snails instead of 12)!

Escargots a la Bourguignonne $21.00

For main course I had a duck confit served on a bed of pan-fried potatoes, with Forestiere mushrooms, garlic, parsley & duck jus. The duck meat was tender, juicy and cooked to perfection. The duck jus was very flavoursome. Side vegetables were nicely cooked and seasoned. My potatoes though were very overpoweringly garlicky that I couldn't eat all of it. The only disappointing element on my dish.

Confit de Canard $37.50

For dessert, I chose to have a warm raspberry & almond tart served with vanilla crème anglaise and crème chantilly. This tart was absolutely delicious and was a great way to finish off a lovely meal. Whilst the tart itself looked quite dense, it was actually very light and refreshing. I also liked that the base of the tart wasn't too thick.

Tarte aux Amandes et Framboises $13.50

Hubby decided to go for the set menu which was pretty good value for money- $55 for a 3 course meal. To start his meal off, hubby chose the seafood soup for entrée which was lovely and creamy but not tasting "heavy". There were lots of different kinds of seafood in his soup such as mussels, prawns, octopus and squid, all cooked to perfection and served with toasted sourdough bread.

Soupe de crustaces 

For his main meal, hubby chose the prime scotch fillet, served with demi-glace, green peppercorns, red wine, shallots, garlic and mushroom sauce, served with fresh vegetables. The steak was cooked to as hubby had requested which was medium rare. Mushrooms and sauce all had a nice balance of flavours and complemented the steak beautifully.

Entrecote paysanne

      

Finally for dessert, hubby had a very yummy chocolate brulee served with ice cream and a cat's tongue biscuit. The brulee was oozing decadence from that very lovely and rich chocolate custard. Thank goodness for the serving of ice cream that came with it. 

Brulee au Chocolat $13.50

All in all, Le Chat Noir has food that is well presented, tasty and generous. I didn't expect to leave the restaurant feeling so full! The service was attentive throughout the night, except at the end when we tried to ask for the bill and were kept waiting for quite some time. A la carte menu prices are reasonable but if you are budget conscious you can opt for the 3 course fixed price menu instead.

Pork Ribs with Orange Sauce

Ingredients

720g pork spare ribs, chopped
2 large oranges
2 garlic cloves, crushed
⅓ cup rice or tapioca flour
Oil

Marinade:

2 tablespoon light soy sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
a pinch of pepper

Orange Sauce:


200ml fresh orange juice
50ml orange liqueur (e.g. Cointreau)
2 tablespoons white sugar
4 teaspoons orange zest
1 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Zest the oranges and squeeze the juice
2. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a shallow dish, add the pork ribs and marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Heat some cooking oil in a fry pan over medium high heat. Dust the marinated pork ribs with the flour. Fry the pork ribs until they become golden. Drain on paper lined plates to remove excess oil. Drain the oil and wipe pan clean.
4. Combine the orange sauce ingredients together in a jug and set aside
5. Put 2 tsp oil into another pan and sauté garlic until fragrant. Pour in orange sauce and bring it to the boil. Return the pork ribs back into fry pan and pour the orange sauce over the pork ribs, stir well to combine. Cover pan and cook on medium heat for a few minutes or until pork is cooked through.  Serve with orange slices and rice.

Apple Crumble

Apple crumble- it's a delicious, fruity and an old-style dessert that is real comfort food on a cold Winter's night. Apart from using apples, other fruit (or canned fillings) can be used such as rhubarb, cherry or peaches to make this crumble.

Ingredients

4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 8 wedges or 800g tinned apples
¼ cup, white sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup plain flour
½ cup, firmly packed brown sugar
100g chilled butter, chopped into small cubes
¼ cup rolled oats
Vanilla ice-cream, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Place the apples into a lightly greased 1.5L (6-cup) capacity oven-proof dish. Combine the white sugar and cinnamon powder in a bowl and mix until well blended. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apple slices in the baking dish and combine well.

Combine the flour, brown sugar and butter in a food processor and pulse briefly, or rub with your fingertips, until the mixture resembles very coarse breadcrumbs. Put this mixture in the freezer for 10 minutes, or if making ahead, in the fridge until you're ready to bake (this step improves the texture of the crumble topping, feel free to omit this step if you're pressed for time).

Scatter the crumble mixture evenly over the apples. Sprinkle with oats if using.

Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until apples are tender when poked and the topping is golden brown. Spoon the apple crumble into serving bowls. Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

Notes & Tips

Have fun experimenting with different ingredients in your Apple Crumble. Try these ideas:

Add frozen blueberries or raspberries to the apple.
Replace the apple with fresh in-season fruits or drained canned fruits.
Use 800g can baker's apple if fresh apples unavailable
Try adding nuts such as pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts, in the crumble.
Try adding dessicated coconut

Steamboat/Hot Pot

Why hotpot/steamboat is an ideal meal for social gatherings:

• It is so easy to prepare! It involves more of logistics (gathering ingredients) rather than any expertise in cooking. Hence anyone can host a fail-proof, yummy meal.
• You get to sit around the table for a long time as you cook your own food, hence promoting interaction and bonding
• You can choose almost any ingredients for your hotpot based on your preference and budget. It can be really lavish (with lobster, abalone etc) or really simple. Either way is totally delicious.

Ingredients for a Sumptuous Hot Pot (Steamboat) Feast

1) Equipment

A) Hot Pot

A gas powered hot pot

The basic equipment is of course a hot pot. I use one with a gas canister and my hotpot actually has a divider in case I want to have two different soup bases- one plain and one spicy.

B) Cutlery

Each person should have his/her own soup ladles as well as a slotted ladle to cook foods. Do provide an extra pair of chopsticks specifically for cooking raw meats. The other usual utensils include chopsticks, plates, bowls and soup spoons.

2) Soup base

I personally like to use instant chicken stock liquid with some finely chopped shallots to make a fuss free soup base. I don't think that it is necessary to brew a special soup base since the soup will become really sweet by the end of the meal due to all the ingredients that are cooked in it. If you cook sweet corn and carrots as part of your hotpot meal, at the end of the meal, the soup will be really sweet and you can also eat the sweet corn which will become very juicy.

Main Ingredients

A) Sliced Meats

Thinly sliced lamb and beef

Thinly Sliced Pork and Chicken

Due to the extremely thin slices (which are cut by machines), the meat will be cooked within seconds of dipping in hot broth. Because they are usually sold frozen (and vacuum sealed), you can buy them in advance and store in the freezer.

B) Seafood

Mussels (cleaned, scrubbed and debearded)

Fresh Prawns

Popular seafood for hot pot includes firm white fish fillets (e.g. Ling, Ocean Perch), prawns (either with shells on or heads, tails and veins removed, leaving only a bit of shell and a part of the tail intact), mussels, oysters, scallops, abalone (thinly sliced), squid, octopus and fish maw. 

C) Vegetables

"Tong Oh"

One of the most popular vegetables for hotpot is "tong oh". Other vegetables you can also add include Chinese cabbage, baby bok choy, baby choy sum and moon bok.

Chinese Cabbage

D) Mushrooms

You can use an assortment of mushrooms such as shiitake mushrooms, button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and enoki mushrooms in your hotpot. 

E) Non Meats

Non meat choices include tofu (buy firm tofu which is recommended for steamboat/soup, cut to cubes), corn, carrots and daikon (cut to large chunks), tomato (cut to large wedges), and eggs. If you are adding eggs to your hotpot, add them at the very end because it will cause the soup to be murky. Eggs are also good to add into your bowl and to coat your other cooked ingredients.

F) Carbohydrates

Besides rice, you can also prepare long strand noodles which is a symbol of longevity (hence do not cut them to shorter strands). Popular hotpot noodles include udon and cellophane noodles. To prepare, soak the noodles in hot water for a few minutes than drain.

Wontons and dumplings are also common additions to steamboat/hotpot.

G) Meatballs

Lobster Balls

Beef Balls & Fish Balls

Stir Fried Beef Rice Noodles

If you've ever wondered how to achieve that soft, tender meat that you get from your local Chinese restaurant at home, then wonder no more. The Chinese method of tenderising meat is to marinate thinly sliced meat with baking soda! I've used fillet steak for the following recipe, however you can use a cheaper cut of meat when using this form of marinating since it will tenderise the meat so much, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference! Great tip for home cooks especially when watching the budget :)

Ingredients

600g beef eye fillet, thinly sliced
2 tsp baking soda
4 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 red onion, sliced
1kg flat rice noodles, strands loosened
100g bean sprouts
2 shallots, cut into 2.5cm lengths
Sesame seeds, as garnish

Seasoning

2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (Shao Hsing wine)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

Sauce

3 tablespoon dark soy sauce
3 tablespoon light soy sauce


Method

Marinate the beef with the baking soda for 20 minutes and then rinse the beef thoroughly (make sure that the beef is properly rinsed clean of the baking soda). Pat the beef dry with paper towels and then marinate with the rest of the seasoning ingredients for at least 2 hours.

Heat the wok over high heat and add 2 tbsp oil. Stir fry the beef in several batches for 20 seconds then set aside.

Heat the rest of the oil in the wok then add the onions and stir fry until they are lightly browned.

Toss noodles in and stir gently until heated through. Add combined soy sauces and stir fry until well mixed.

Return beef slices to the noodles, add bean sprouts and shallots then stir fry until heated through and all ingredients are mixed together well. Dish out and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top as a garnish, if desired.

Eggs Benedict

Ingredients

4 eggs, at room temperature
4 English muffins, split
20g baby spinach leaves
100g smoked salmon

Hollandaise Sauce

1 tablespoon water
3 egg yolks
125g butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste

Method

To make hollandaise sauce: process water and egg yolks in a food processor until creamy. With motor running, slowly add butter in a thin stream. This should take 3 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Transfer to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover surface with cling film.

To make poached eggs (the way professionals do it): Tear a square of cling film. Drizzle with oil, and spread with your fingers to evenly grease. Lay into a small cup or bowl, overhanging the sides. Break the egg into the cling film and pull the plastic up to gather it around the egg.

Expel all the air around the egg, and twist the cling film to shape the egg. Tie the plastic, sliding the knot down close to the egg to preserve the shape. Place into a pan of simmering water and poach for 5 minutes, until the white has set but the yolk is still runny.

Meanwhile, toast muffins. Top muffin base with spinach leaves and smoked salmon.

Lift the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon, place on top of the smoked salmon and using scissors, carefully cut the cling film below the knot. Gently peel away the cling film.

Drizzle with hollandaise sauce and season well. Serve.

Notes & Tips

Hollandaise sauce is a simple emulsion of butter, egg yolks and lemon juice. It is made easily in a blender or food processor and can be kept warm in a bowl sitting over warm water, the surface covered with cling film to stop a skin forming.

Musashi Japanese Restaurant

Hubby and I went to see Mary Poppins in Capitol Theatre and just before watching the show we thought we'd have dinner at a nearby restaurant. So I had a look at the Capitol Theatre website to see what restaurants were suggested and noticed Musashi Japanese Restaurant which is conveniently located next door to Capitol Theatre. Great!

When we arrived we noticed immediately that it was a popular place to eat. The restaurant was packed and looked very busy so we had to wait outside the restaurant (they apparantly don't take bookings). 15 minutes later we got a table inside the restaurant and immediately upon walking in, all the wait staff and sushi chefs greeted us in Japanese (I think they were saying welcome or hello??)

We kicked off with an entrée of soft shell crab- one of my favourite dishes. This soft shell crab was nice and crispy with just the right hint of spiciness. Presentation of this dish is beautiful and vibrant looking.

Mushashi Bento $24.80

Whilst waiting to order our food, I could see what some of the other tables had ordered and the nice displays of sushi and sashimi on their plates/platters. Since hubby and I didn't have a lot of time to sit down to a three course meal we decided to order a Mushashi bento box each so that we could get to try a bit of everything- sashimi, sushi, teriyaki chicken, tempura etc.

When our bento boxes arrived it looked so well presented and appetizing. The sashimi was very fresh and well prepared and the sushi delicately moulded. The tempura had a nice and crispy batter and did not taste oily and the teriyaki chicken was tender and not overly sweet.
Overall, the bento box contained good quality food with lots of variety and tasted absolutely delicious. The only disappointment with the bento box is that it didn't come with miso soup or rice. I had to pay extra for my miso soup ($2.80) but I'm just nit picking here.

Overall I had an enjoyable experience at Musashi. The food was delicious and was at a reasonable price. The service was polite despite the dinner rush and the waiters and waitresses rushed off their feet the entire time we were there.
Walking out, I hear the wait staff and sushi chefs shout out something in Japanese to us, maybe they're saying thank you for coming???

I must come back to try their desserts and their mocktails- I saw on their dessert menu they had tofu pannacotta and green tea creme brulee. Yum!

Pasta with Tuna, Chilli, Lemon and Thai Basil

Ingredients

300g dried ribbon pasta
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 lemons
425g can of tuna in brine, drained
3 eschalots, finely chopped
2 long red chillies, halved lengthwise, seeded, finely chopped
1 bunch Thai basil, leaves picked

Method

1. Cook pasta in a saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain. 
2. To make lemon oil: place oil in a large frying pan. Using a vegetable peeler, thinly peel rind from lemons over the pan. Place pan over low heat and wait for the mixture to sizzle. Cook for a further minute, then remove from the heat. Remove lemon rind from oil and chop finely.
3. Meanwhile reheat the lemon oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook eschalots for 5 minutes or until soft. 
4. Add the lemon rind, pasta, tuna, chillies, basil and the juice of 1 lemon to the pan. Toss gently to combine and warm through. Serve.