I'm not dead!...

...I've just been having a few problems lately. Tonight, however, I've got my inspiration back and got back into the kitchen.

Pear and Celery Heart Salad

Serves 2 as a side

Midnight Snack

The other day, Benjamin and I went to Chadstone shopping centre to get cat food (among other things). On ou way home we stopped by The Oriental Tea House, where we had a lovely iced tea each and I had dumplings. Benjamin, not being able to eat the dumpling wrappers, had Hot and Spicy Turkey, which was served in a bed of green soy beans. I had never seen them before (though I do enjoy soy products), and had never been interested enough to try Edamame at my favourite Japanese restaurant (I'm usually too busy rifling through their extensive menu).

Of course, I stole (with permission!) a few from Benjamin's plate. I really quite enjoyed them. They were a beautiful colour, an interesting texture and paired with the sauce quite nicely (though it was neither hot nor spicy).

On my way home from work today I decided to have a quick look in the Asian grocery store nearby but sadly did not find any fresh beans. I did, however, find a 500g packet of frozen beans for something like $1.65. I also picked up a daikon radish, something else I was keen to try.

 

This isn't quite a recipe post. My edamame beans are tasty, but I didn't get everything quite right. I cooked the beans in salted boiling water until they were tender, then drained and plated them, arranging julienned daikon and cucumber on the top. I couldn't resist adding some finely shredded pickled ginger (I always have a jar of it in the fridge these days - I'll just grab a little bit each night to nibble on - as it's currently one of my favourite things in the world) and added some bought chuka salad sauce: you know, the amazing tangy dressing on seaweed (chuka) salad from sushi places? I've never been able to replicate it, so I hunted it down in a couple of Asian grocery stores (I managed to find it in Laguna Oriental Supermarket in the QV complex on Lonsdale/Swanston/Russell Sts).

All in all it's not a bad snack, but I think the ginger is what makes it work; I think the daikon and cucumber are a little watery, so I've got some sitting in a bowl in the fridge, covered with vinegar and a little bit of sugar and salt: a quick pickle. I'll try again in a couple of days and see if it improves the dish.

Wonton Soup

I mentioned in an earlier post - Green Tea and Red Bean Cupcakes - that Benjamin and I had cooked a Japanese feast for some of his friends. This, of course, involved making a lot of gyoza (Japanese dumplings), but we couldn't find the round wrappers for them, only the square. We ended up having a lot of wonton wrappers left over, so I took them home, bought some more pork mince and made more dumplings, adding sesame oil, soy sauce and ginger to the mince. I cooked all the dumplings I could eat, then packed the rest into containers to put in the freezer.

The other night, I dug out the last container of six dumplings, but instead of cooking them "pot sticker" style (frying them in a little oil, then adding enough water to cover the base of the pan, putting the lid on and steaming them, before uncovering them and frying them until the base is crispy), I decided to make a soup with them.

 

Wonton Soup

Serves 1

Fix With Five II

When I visited the market the other day I bought a lovely butternut pumpkin with the idea of making pumpkin muffins. Unfortunately, that's not the recipe I'll be sharing today, as I didn't manage to get it quite perfect. I had some leftover mashed pumpkin and didn't want to freeze it, so I found four other ingredients: bacon, red onion, chicken stock and pistachios. Here is today's Fix With Five:

 

Quick and Tasty Pumpkin Soup

Serves 1

Asparagus

Asparagus is another of those foods I never really liked much. When I was growing up, it was usually boiled until soft, so I didn't much care for the texture on top of disliking the taste. In recent years, though, I've become reacquainted with this lovely spring vegetable, mainly through the influence of Benjamin and his family. My favourite way to cook asparagus (and green beans, incidentally) is to heat a little olive oil and butter in a pan, then add the asparagus, a pinch of salt and some freshly cracked black pepper, and cook for not much longer than it takes to heat the asparagus through.

Today, I've been stuck inside finishing an assignment for my Certificate IV in Retail Management, so I didn't want to spare much time to make lunch. When Benjamin and I visited the Queen Vic Market yesterday, a display of asparagus bunches caught my eye: they were very skinny spears; younger asparagus than you'd normally find in a greengrocer or supermarket. I decided I had to have them.

 

Young Asparagus in Garlic Butter

Quanitity adaptable

Capers

"Yuk!" I can hear some of you say at seeing the title of this post. You might want to stop reading this one here, then. Although you could cook the recipe I am about to post, just omitting the capers...

I love capers. I grew up "acquiring tastes". I love all kinds of olives, and will usually buy a container from a deli just to snack on. I enjoy artichokes, blue cheese, coffee and really dark chocolate. I put spoonfuls of capers in my basic tomato pasta sauce, sprinkle them over pizzas and grill english muffins with capers and mozarella on top.

Today I purchased a small jar of capers in salt from a lovely deli in the Queen Vic Market. I had only ever had capers in vinegar before, so I thought I'd give them a go. They are a lot more salty than capers in vinegar (surprise, surprise) so you do need to rinse them quite well. While I usually use whole capers in my cooking, if you feel they might be a bit strong for your taste (or that of the people you are cooking for), you might consider chopping them in half, or more finely, so they are spread around the dish more evenly.

 

Penne with Bocconcini, Red Onion and Capers

Serves 1

Fix With Five

Have you got something in the fridge or the pantry that you need to use soon? Are you down to the last of your pay or are you on a budget and can't afford to buy anything expensive (or anything at all)? Or are you just looking for something simple to cook? This is where Fix With Five comes in (or, at least that is my aim). I take up to five ingredients (basic kitchen staples like flour, sugar, eggs, milk, oil, salt and pepper excluded) and come up with something tasty for you to cook. In the photo above are the ingredients that I used tonight, to come up with -

 

 Easy Vegetable Fritters

Serves 1 as a main or 2 as a side dish

Ruby Red Grapefruit

I never used to like grapefruit, they were too bitter for my tastes. Even now it's not something I cook with often; it's still an ingredient that intimidates me a little. I think this might be true for a lot of people - though supermarkets always stock them when they're in season - who perhaps think a grapefruit's use is limited to an ingredient in a fruit juice. I find they are best paired with creamy ingredients, as in tonight's recipe, so the Ruby Red can be the standout ingredient of the dish.

 

Grilled Chicken with Ruby Red Salad

Serves 2

Macadamias

I love macadamias. Benjamin (my Other Half) and I were at the Queen Victoria Market this afternoon looking for inspiration for dinner, and we came across a nut stall selling unshelled macadamias at $8/kg. We bought 500g, as well as a leek from one of the fruit and veg vendors, and some "Goats Cheese Surprise" (it has tomato and chilli pesto on top) and beautiful Sicilian olives from one of the delicatessens.

When we got home, Benjamin had ... well, I won't say fun, cracking half the macadamias on the concrete outside, but he did a wonderful job. Unfortunately, without the right tools, the nuts tend to split on impact, but it does mean you don't have to do much further to the nuts before cooking them.

Something I might mention now, while I remember, is that Benjamin is a coeliac; ie: he has a gluten intolerance. You might have noticed on my last entry, dear reader, the "allergies: gluten free" tag down the bottom. I intend to tag both gluten free and dairy free recipes, with a view to adding more tags as my blog increases in popularity (well, I can hope, right?). In light of this, may I present tonight's recipe:

 

Spring Spaghetti with Sicilian Olives

Serves 2