Oh dear....

Poor, POOR neglected food blog. :o(

I have exerted myself in the kitchen on odd occasions over recent months and produced (among other things): chicken meatballs in tomato sauce, turkey burgers, and a totally AWESOME beef & lager pie. But alas, no time for the photographing and the recording of quantities and the blogging of said recipes.

By way of a lame apology for my slackness, here's a few links to recipes you might like:

Tonight's dinner was a Charmaine Solomon favourite, a pork curry from Sri Lanka, Ooroomas Rathu.

One of my favourite lunchtime takeaways is from a nondescript suburban Vietnamese cafe - a delicious coleslaw with chicken (you can substitute prawns or tofu if you prefer). This isn't exactly like it - but it'll do, and the dressing appears to be very similar. It needs finely sliced red chillies though. Those are compulsory.

And this pizza recipe from Taste.com just sounds good....

Now to the important stuff: We're having an afternoon tea party for my Mum's 70th birthday in a couple of weeks, and I have pledged to make some cupcakes. Maybe some of these would be the go?

I'm open to suggestions if you have a favourite recipe or decoration. Hit me with your fabulous secret cupcake recipes! :o)

Paleo pancake Mk II

Sick of bananas? Run out of bananas? Allergic to bananas? Try this instead...



Serves 1

1 egg
2 egg whites
2 tbs unsweetened apple sauce (the IXL one is perfect)
1/2 a small-medium apple, cored and sliced
Cinnamon to taste
1 tsp butter or oil

Mix egg, egg whites and apple sauce with an electric beater for about 3 minutes until the mixture is light and creamy.

Heat a small non-stick pan, melt the butter. Arrange the apple slices over the base of the pan, sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook over medium heat for a minute or two, then pour the egg mixture over. Give it another minute or so, then place it under a pre-heated griller (or in the oven). If using the griller, watch it carefully - it may only need a minute or so. In the oven, you may need around 4 minutes. When it's lightly browned on top and set right through, it's ready.

Turn out onto a plate and tuck in.

Warm pumpkin and green bean salad

I just created this one tonight. I was looking for the caraway seeds, but can't seem to find them. Sesame seeds are nice, but nothing like the same thing... and I'm not ALL that sure about the nutmeg. It tastes good, but not quite the flavour I was after.



Serves 1-2

About 2 cups diced butternut pumpkin
120g green beans, cut into 2cm lengths
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbs chopped coriander leaves
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp sesame seeds
Shake of nutmeg

Steam or microwave the pumpkin and beans till tender, drain and place in a large bowl with the coriander leaves. Pour the olive oil over, add cumin and sesame seeds and stir through gently. Add a shake of nutmeg to taste, plus salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve warm.

Pina Colada pudding

This is a no-fuss recipe, ideal for a snack or dessert. And please don't leave me comments saying that you don't like cottage cheese. Just make something else, OK? :o)

Serves 1

100g creamed lite cottage cheese
1 cup diced fresh pineapple
1/4 to 1/2 tsp coconut essence

Blend everything and eat. Easy!

No photo - it looks like blended cottage cheese. You all know what that looks like.

Paleo pancake

More of an omelette, really, but whatever you call it, it's good!



Serves 1

1 egg
2 egg whites
1/2 a medium banana, mashed (about 70g)
25g pecans, finely chopped
a generous shake of cinnamon

Throw everything into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until it's light and fluffy. Heat a small non-stick pan and spray with cooking spray. Pour in the mixture and cook over medium-low heat until set on the bottom. Place under a griller to cook the top, but be careful not to overcook. Depending on how hot your griller is, this may take a minute, or it may take 5-6, so watch it carefully.

Turn out onto a plate and if you want to tizzy it up, add extra sliced banana and a little honey.

Lamb saag

Yes, it does look like greeny-brown gloop, but I promise it tastes fabulous. Honest.



Serves 4

500g diced lean lamb
1 medium onion, diced
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp crushed garlic
1 tbs crushed ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs garam masala
1/2 a 400g can diced tomatoes
1 cup water (omit if using a slow cooker)
1 tsp salt
1 bunch English spinach, washed
1 tbs water, extra

In a large frying pan or flameproof casserole, fry onion, ginger and garlic over medium heat till onion is golden. Add all spices except garam masala and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the garam masala and cook for a further minute. Add tomatoes, stirring well to remove the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for a further minute or two. Add the lamb, and stir until well coated with the spice mix and sealed on all sides. Add 1 cup water and the salt, then cover and cook for one-and-a-half hours (if using a slow cooker, skip the cup of water, transfer the mixture at this point and cook on low for 6 hours).

Place the spinach and the extra tablespoon of water into a large saucepan. Add about one-and-a-half teaspoons of salt and cook, covered, till spinach is wilted and all the fibrous stems are soft. Process to a puree and add to lamb mixture, cooking for a further 10-15 mins (in the slow cooker, add and cook for a further hour).

Casablanca Chicken

I took the new slow cooker for a test drive today and the verdict is a big thumbs-up! This was something I made up this morning, pretty much based on what we had available. A few minutes preparation in the morning, chuck it in, turn the knob and voila! Dinner at 6:00pm.

Like most casseroles, the photo looks a bit...um... Well, let's just say I could use a food stylist.



Serves 6

½ tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 whole cinnamon stick, broken into 2-3 pieces
4-6 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
½ tsp hot paprika (optional)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
½ cup chopped coriander leaves and stems
½ cup roughly chopped dried apricots
1 sachet tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock
Zest and juice of one orange
½ butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into 5cm cubes

1 tbs olive oil
1 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1.5kg skinless chicken pieces, with bones
2 medium onions, chopped

Place all ingredients except oil, pumpkin, chick peas, chicken and onion into a large casserole or slow cooker, mix well. Toss in the pumpkin and chickpeas, stir through. Heat half the oil in a non-stick pan and fry onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Remove and add to the mixture in the casserole. Add the remaining oil to the pan, brown chicken a few pieces at a time and add to the mixture in the casserole.

Cover and bake at 150C for about 2½ to 3 hours or until chicken is tender. If using a slow cooker, cook on the low setting for about 7-8 hours.

I recommend serving this with a green vegetable in season - and some couscous if you like. You could add a small bowl of harissa, so people add the appropriate level of heat to their own serve.