RECIPE LIBRARY
STARTERS
Marinated Cucumber Crostini
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Noodle Balls with Mussels
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Warm Marinated Olives
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LIGHT MEALS
Asparagus Caesar Salad
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Broccoli Soup with Fennel Seed
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Buttermilk Quiche
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Cannellini Beans & Roasted Vegetable Salad
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Curried Parsnip Soup
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Feta & Bacon Quiche
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Italian Meatball Soup
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Pumpkin & Coconut Prawn Soup
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Salmon Cakes with a Walnut Coating
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Spicy Moroccan Tomato Soup
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Tortellini Green Salad
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Vegetable Minestrone
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Yummy Butter Bean Stew
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MAINS
Coconut-crusted Chicken with Lemon Soy Sauce
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Festive Apricot-glazed Ham
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Five-spice Chicken & Rice
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Indonesian Stick Chicken
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Jungle Curry with Mango
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Mexican Meatloaf
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Mussels & Chorizo Steamed in Sauvignon Blanc
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Oriental Burgers
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Roasted Ostrich with Vegetables
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Rosemary Roast Lamb with 2-Mushroom sauce
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Slow-cooked Mediterranean Pot Roast
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Tamarillo Stir-Fry with Beef & Bacon
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Thai-Style Pork Patties
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Vietnamese Lemon Chicken
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VEGETABLES
Asparagus Salad with Walnuts & Goat's Cheese
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Avocado & Red Onion Salad
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Herbed Baby Potatoes
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BAKES
Gingerbread People
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Gluten-free Christmas Ring Cake
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Gluten-free Loaves with Persimmon Topping
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Mulled Wine Christmas cake
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Saffron Bread Pudding Muffins
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Spiced Pumpkin Bread
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SWEET ENDINGS
Apricots with clusters
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Blueberry Pudding
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Craisin Crockpot Christmas Pud
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Cranberry & Apple Pie
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Great Grape Puddings
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Kaffir Lime Ice Cream
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Marinated Char-grilled Peaches
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Strawberry Gateau
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MISCELLANEOUS
Diabetic Muesli
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Gluten-free Chocolate Fudge
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Goat's Cheese Chocolate Truffles
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Shallot & Cassis Marmalade
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Spiced Oven Roasted Plums
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Thai-style Avocado Oil Dressing
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HINTS
Stock Hints
• A good stock prepared from meat, chicken or fish adds protein to a vegetable soup to make a nutritionally-balanced meal.
• Liquid stocks, packaged in tetrapaks or pouches, are readily available from supermarkets. Or you can make your own and freeze in user-friendly quantities.
• To make your own two litres of chicken stock take two kilograms of chicken frames and place in a saucepan with two litres of water, two teaspoons of salt, a large bunch of parsley and other herbs, some chopped celery, onion and carrot and bring to the boil.
Skim the surface of any sediment then simmer over low heat for about three hours.
Strain the liquid, cool, then refrigerate.
When well chilled, the liquid will turn to jelly because of the gelatine extracted from the bones and meat. If a darker stock is required the chicken frames and vegetables should first be browned in butter or oil.
Ten handy hints for using paper towels
1) Place paper towels between your good china plates to prevent the base of each plate scraping the top surface of the plate below.
2) Use a whole roll of paper towels as a back support
(lumbar roll) when driving the car.
3) Drain fried foods on paper towels. The towels absorb the excess fat.
4) Wipe up messes on the floor with paper towels rather than using your dish cloth — it is more hygienic.
5) Paper towels are great for cleaning glass.
6) Cover potatoes or kumara with paper towels before microwaving. The paper towels absorb the steam from the vegetables and help to keep the surfaces dry.
7) Before microwaving bacon on a rack, loosely cover with paper towels to absorb the steam and fat.
8) Always stand breads, rolls muffins or scones on paper towels when reheating in the microwave. The towels absorb the steam.
9) Use paper towels to pat dry lettuce, greens or herbs after washing.
10) Always carry paper towels on picnics for use as napkins.
Asparagus Hints
Asparagus is one of the more expensive vegetables but this is due to the unusual way it is grown — beds require two or three years of cultivation before they yield a crop. Furthermore, careful tending is essential and asparagus must be harvested by hand.
• When buying asparagus, choose firm, bright green (or pale ivory) stalks with tight tips.
• Contrary to popular belief, thin asparagus spears aren't more tender than the thick ones. Tenderness is usually related to colour — the greener or purpler or whiter the better.
• If asparagus stems are tough, remove the outer layer with a vegetable peeler.
• Asparagus is best cooked the same day it's purchased but will keep, tightly wrapped in damp paper towels for three to four days in the refrigerator. Or, store standing upright in about 3 centimetres of water, covering the tips with a plastic bag.
• To cook, steam, stir-fry or quickly boil asparagus in a small amount of water in a frying pan, until just tender.
• Tender asparagus can also be enjoyed thinly sliced and eaten raw in salads.
A GUIDE TO COOKING OILS
Sources of cooking oils.
Cooking oils are produced by pressing seeds, beans, fruit or nuts to extract natural vegetable oils. They perform the same function as fat in shallow and deep frying. Oils can also be used in baking, sauces and salad dressings.
Unrefined oils
These have been cold-pressed then left to mellow for a few months before being bottled. They tend to be cloudy but have good colour and flavour. They are often more expensive than refined oils.
Refined oils
These have been extracted under heat. They are then degummed, neutralised, heated, blanched and winterised to keep them from going cloudy and deodorised by an injection of steam. Sometimes artificial preservatives are added to replace those lost in processing.
Kilojoules
All fats and oils have about the same energy potential. One gram fat or oil yields about nine calories
Storage
Store oils in a cool, dark place. Make sure the oil is capped. Salad oils can be stored in the refrigerator. Because oils can become rancid, avoid buying bulk oil unless it is to be used quickly.
Frying
For best results, heat until a faint haze rises from the oil . Never allow it to smoke. When a cube of day-old bread turns golden and crisp in one minute then the temperature is right for frying.
A good oil can last up to five fryings. Strain after use. Do not allow the oil to smoke on re-heating. The smoke point decreases with the age of the oil. If dark or thick, discard. Old, dirty oil will affect the texture and flavour of fried foods.
