I’m sure you’re like me and you buy something for a recipe and the recipe was “okay” but not something you want to add to your recipe roster.  Several months ago I made a citrus and fregola sarda salad.  I liked it but the husband thought it was less than spectacular.  He eats anything I cook but I could tell he wasn’t enjoying it.  You know when they push things around on their plate to make it look like they’re eating.  Then miraculously before his plate was finished, he was full.  Confirmation.

So, I had half a bag of fregola sarda that I’d vacuum sealed. Fregola sarda is Sardinian pasta where it’s hand rolled by rubbing semolina and a little bit of water a bit at a time and then toasted.  I was stuck with finding something to make with it or toss it.  I hate tossing food.

I found a recipe for caramelized butternut squash (pumpkin) with fregola sarda and chermoula on Food52 and that’s where I started.  I thought it sounded good but It seemed hotter than I had in mind.  Then I went to the pantry and found 5 little pickling onions and a head of garlic.  I went to the fridge and found half a butternut squash (pumpkin), 1 1/2 sweet red peppers (capsicum) and that decided lunch.

First I roasted the peppers (capsicum) at 215C til they were blackish and placed them in a bowl and covered it with cling film for them to sweat their skins off so I could seed and chop them up.   I peeled and chopped the butternut into 3/4 inch pieces and put them in a bowl and drizzled olive oil, a tablespoon of brown sugar, kosher salt and some pepper and mixed to coat.  I placed the orange chunks of joy on some baking paper on a baking tray and popped it in the oven at 185C for about 40 minutes til it was golden brown on the edges but not burnt.  Caramelized butternut squash (pumpkin) – doesn’t that just sound delicious?  It was. Before I added it to the bowl I tasted a piece just to be sure.  It took a 2nd piece before I was totally convinced.  Heavenly.

I peeled the onions and placed them in a microwave safe dish with a pat of butter and some sea salt for about 5 minutes til the edges were just beginning to caramelize. Yum.

After I put the squash in the oven I took a head of garlic, sliced off the bottom (I know we’re supposed to slice off the top but I have better luck doing the bottom.  The cloves come out all caramelized and perfect without getting squooshed.  I took a big sheet of aluminum foil (normally I say tin foil so I don’t have to suffer with alyoomineeum because it just doesn’t roll off my tongue.  it’s aluminum where I come from, no extra i.  I lived in Alcoa, Tennessee when I was in college and they know aluminum there.  lol)  Now where was I.. oh yes.  Fold the foil in two and put a squirt of olive oil and rub the cut side of the garlic in the oil and then roll it around.  Sprinkle some kosher salt on top and fold the edges of the foil around the garlic, twist to seal and pop it in the oven at 200C for about 40 minutes.  The cut edges should be golden brown and the cloves will be all soft and sweet.

While the garlic and butternut were roasting I put half a cup of fregola sarda in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes and then drained it and placed it a dish to cool, then put it in the fridge.  Btw. when you take the fregola out of the fridge and put it in the mixing bowl, don’t use your hands.  Those little buggers stick EVERYWHERE on your fingers and they don’t shake off.  I had to flick them off with a sharp knife, rolling my eyes as I realized how silly I looked.

Once I washed my hands I went outside.  This is a big thing because it’s been raining so much around here that nobody goes outside any more.  For this salad I needed fresh herbs and we keep them outside so out I went.  Yes, I got wet.  Yes, I yelled at the dog for going in the pool – it’s green from all the rain.  We’ve had 19 inches of rain in the past week and lots more rain expected this weekend. Yes, it’s been flooding.  Yes, I’m still dry.  The pool guy was here this morning and he backwashed the pool for 15 minutes.  I did it for 20 minutes yesterday.  It’s still raining.

Anyway, about the herbs.  You could use anything you have handy.  I chopped off a pot of chives, pinched some young basil leaves and harvested some flat leaf parsley and ran back into the house, yelling at the dog to get out of the pool but not come in because he was all wet.  Thankfully he understands all of that.  He sat at the back door and asked for a bone from the freezer.  I speak dog so I knew what he wanted.  Everyone was happy.

Yes, this is Charlie.  He looks full of marrow bone doesn’t he?  He sleeps under my chair most of the time so when I need to get  up I have to trip over him.  Oh, looking at the photo I know why my headphones don’t work.  Probably need to charge them up with that cord on the floor next to the dog.  Argh.

The cat’s on my old chair over there.   It’s still in my office because it has never made it to the garage on its way to someone else’s house so the Lucy has taken it as her own.  Unless she’s sitting my chair.  My chair is black – it should have been cat hair brown.  She’s a beautiful cat but she doesn’t like anyone except the dog and he hates her. I mean she’s a cat, right?  NO self respecting dog likes a cat – that’s what he told me.  (see above about speaking dog)

The butternut was beautifully roasted, the garlic made the whole house smell good and I was getting hungry.  The cricket test match had just started so that must mean it’s lunch.

I chopped the herbs and put everything in the bowl and then (only then?) decided how I was going to dress it.  I thought I’d just know when I looked at it and it seemed to be asking for extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice with a bit of seasoning.  So that’s what I did.

THIS is when I thought it looked good enough to blog about and ran upstairs for the camera.  Sorry about no prep photos but honestly, roasted veg and garlic isn’t exactly new.  You did get the cat and the dog.  heh.

I plated it up and then called his majesty the husband who does not cook by going to the stairs and yelling, “John!!! It’s lunch!” and then waited so see if he heard me.  I don’t climb the stairs for a personal invitation — but he already knows that and he came right down.

Remember he was the one who didn’t like the previous fregola sarda dish I made so it was iffy but he loved this one.  He likes most anything that has roasted garlic or roasted onions in it.

So if it’s time to clean your fridge or pantry – make a salad.  You’ll save money and the food will be fantastic!

 

 

 

I just got home from a pre-Australia Day party where pizzas were cooked in the outside pizza oven.  It was just next door and several of us made a LOT of pizzas.  Everyone on our street was invited as well as the people across the canal we live on.  It was so nice to catch up with old and new friends.

One family from across the canal live in Christchurch, New Zealand and their house here is their holiday home.  When Christchurch had the big earthquake they lost nearly everything.  Rebuilt and then lost everything again in the 2nd huge quake last year.  Now they live in their garage while waiting for the insurance to pay off to rebuilt their house again.  How sad!

I brought this curried quinoa salad and every bit was eaten.  It’s my very favorite salad.  I call it vegetarian crack but you can call it salad.  I love it because it’s sweet, hot, spicy and delicious.

The only cooking takes 9 to 10 minutes and that’s just putting the quinoa into boiling water and then straining the water off.  Bingo.  There IS a bit of chopping but seriously, how hard is that for the best salad in the world?  That’s what a lovely English gentleman said to me tonight as he got on one knee and begged for the recipe.  Okay, he was pretty tanked at the time so maybe it’s really NOT the best salad in the ENTIRE world but hey, he could be right!

Start by making the salad dressing.  Mix extra virgin olive oil (the good stuff) along with the white balsamic vinegar.  Then add one long red chilli finely diced, the ground cumin, ground coriander, cassia bark or cinnamon and the teaspoon of freshly grated ginger.  Mix well and set aside so the flavors combine well before dressing the salad.  Cassia is also called baker’s cinnamon.  It’s a bit like cinnamon light.

Next, cook the quinoa.  The recipe calls for one cup of quinoa and I just happened to have both red and white in my pantry so I cooked half cup of each.  I think it worked really well.

Boil 2 cups of water in a saucepan, add a pinch of salt and toss in the quinoa.  Cook for 9 or 10 minutes or until the grains are soft but not mushy.  Strain the water off and set aside to cool.  I put mine in a bowl and tilted the bowl and turned the fan on.  It only took a few minutes for it to cool enough to put in the fridge.

Quinoa is a grain-like product originally from South America where the Incas felt the crop was sacred.  It’s good for you too as well as being gluten free. It’s got more protein that other grains, it’s slow digesting with a low GI and polyunsaturated fats.  It’s got lots of calcium, iron and Vitamin B.  It really IS good for you and not only that… it’s part of the best salad in the world!

While the quinoa is cooling, it’s time to start chopping and gathering all the ingredients.  Nothing worse than getting half of something made only to find out some son of a gun ate the dried blueberries you were saving for this salad.

Finely dice the capsicum (green peppers, sweet red peppers or sweet yellow peppers).  I used all three colors just because I love a rainbow salad.  It looks healthy to see all the colors.  Then finely dice a red onion. Finally finely dice a half cup of celery.

Remove the leaves of the parsley and coriander (cilantro) and roughly chop and that’s it for the chopping department.  The rest is just measuring.  It’s 1/2 cup of sultanas or raisins, 1/2 cup cried cranberries, 1/2 cup dried blueberries, a cup of frozen baby peas (thawed) and a cup of unsalted peanuts (save some for garnish).

Take out the bowl of cooked quinoa and toss in all the chopped ingredients and stir to mix.  Then add the dried fruit and stir again.  If you’re going to eat the salad right away, add the peanuts, then add the dressing and garnish with coriander (cilantro) leaves, finely sliced chilli and reserved peanuts.  If it’s going to be a while til you eat the salad, it will keep undressed for up to 4 days.  Just add the peanuts and dressing and the salad is wonderful.

Here’s the recipe.

 

 

 

It’s been a very long haul but I’ve come through the uncomfortable bits and I’m on the other side of all the health issues I had.  The holidays are over and the weather is warm and sunny and I can’t wait to get in the kitchen and create more orgasmic food!

Imagine going for what seemed decades on only raw food?  Bed rest, sleep and a rainbow of veggies and here I am, nearly brand new.  LOL  Okay that’s bit’s a lie but I do feel immensely better.

I’ve watched a LOT of television and a few weeks ago I watched a guy make Chicken Kiev and thought, “why have I been buying these at the butcher or frozen all these years if it’s that easy??”

So I decided I’d cook one for my long suffering husband.  It WAS easy.  I didn’t plan to blog about it so I only have one photo.

You start by getting your chicken breast.  Traditional Chicken Kiev leaves the first wing bone on but that’s not how mine came so I didn’t worry about it.  Put the breast between two pieces of cling film (plastic wrap) and hit it with a meat mallet or rolling pin but do it gently.  You want to flatten the chicken but it’s already dead so a gentle nudge is all it needs.  It needs to be flat enough to wrap around the garlic butter and have all the butter enclosed.  Add salt and pepper and set aside.

Once that’s done, mix softened butter – but you don’t want it so warm that it’s nearly melted, only soft enough to work the garlic and parsley in.  Mix well and form into a log.  I think the next time I make it I’ll put the butter mixture in the freezer after the log has been made. I think it will make all the rolling, dipping and rolling much easier.

Place the log on the back side of the chicken breast and wrap it like you would a parcel.

Roll it in flour but be careful not to unwrap it as you roll.

Then roll in beaten egg, again don’t let it unroll.

Finally roll it in fresh breadcrumbs that you’ve added salt and pepper to and place in a frying pan with a little bit of oil and it needs to be hot enough that the chicken sizzles when you place it in the pan.  Cook til the chicken is golden brown all around.  You’ll love it.

 

Welcome to my very first guest post on Orgasmic Chef!  I’ve been a bit under the weather with first one thing and then another and I was so pleased that Anuradha from Bakerstreet.tv (@bakerstreet29) agreed to do a guest post for me.  I’m tickled pink to share this wonderful cupcake recipe with you because I think she’s a wonderful baker.

I’ve known An for a while now and I’ve really enjoyed watching her blossom as a blogger and on Twitter.  She is always first to sign on to help another blogger with project and she does a fantastic job with Muffin Monday.  Please visit her blog post and tell her you saw her here?  That would make me feel really good because she’s been so nice to offer to help.  Her photos remind me so much of Donna Hay style. Here’s her post!

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I’m thrilled to guest post for Maureen today. This is my first ever guest post and it is my absolute pleasure to write one for my very talented friend, Maureen. I’ve always admired her work. Her blog Orgasmic Chef says a lot about who she is. Her love for cooking and experiments with flavors shows in the results: mouthwatering food she shares with us week on week.

Unlike so many professionals, she not only creates her own signature recipes but also doesn’t mind sharing her secrets with the world. Even her misadventures in the kitchen evokes empathy!

Extremely excited when Maureen asked me, I instantly had a million ideas running through my head because she left it entirely up to me to decide what I should bake for her. There were several options but I jumped when she suggested cupcakes. I almost never get a chance to bake them since I am baking muffins week after week for Muffin Monday. And yes, even though cupcakes and muffins are technically very different, they’re still distant cousins in the same family.

I love cupcakes. They are tiny bites of manna. And there are no pangs of guilt should you try a tiny little cupcake. Right?

What I’m baking for Maureen today are Vanilla Almond cupcakes with a maple cream cheese frosting. These cupcakes are unbelievably delicious. There are two very simple flavors put together in a soft and moist cake. Perfect to share with a friend.

 

Some of you know I had a bout of vertigo recently that really set me behind in my regular job. Orgasmic Chef is a labor of love but it doesn’t pay the bills so it must come after I’ve helped to put a roof over our heads. I’d gotten back into the swing of things and I felt a lump under my right arm – about the size of a baseball, so I was more than a little concerned. Turns out it was the beginning of shingles. Thankfully today there are drugs you can take if you get to it early enough but that’s where I’ve been. I didn’t want to say anything because I felt like a freakin’ hypochondriac.

Anyway, I’m back.  I go to a local cooking demonstration class every Friday and recently we had a guest presentation by David Bitton, a chef and entrepreneur visiting from Sydney.  He came to Australia after meeting some Australians in France where he began his life and quickly established himself as a good chef. Years later, he’s married with children and he and his wife have created Bitton Gourmet — heaps of wonderful sauces and spice blends.

David started his presentation with the best bruschetta I’ve tasted in a long time. Who knew that the combination of pears, goat cheese, onions and chives would make my mouth sing to the heavens? Certainly not me but that’s what happened!

Now that I look at the photos, maybe they don’t look as fantastic as I thought they did before I popped them into my mouth, but trust me.  You need to try these.  They are definitely orgasmic.

Preparations for the bruschetta take only a few minutes and then they’re popped in a big bowl. David mixed the cheese with the ingredients and then the he added some of his lemon dressing (he sells his products worldwide) and placed the mixture on some lovely toasted slices of baguette.

After they were plated he drizzled some of his orange jelly (more like a sauce to me) over the top.  If you would like to be a hero at your next gathering, try this.  Even if you have to make your own lemon dressing and orange jelly.  It’s worth the effort.

Now, here’s a trick for you that we learned at the demonstration.  How often have you cut a mango and wished it looked like the ones in the photos?  If you’re like me you cut down the side and then score the fruit (sometimes going through the skin) and then popping the little pieces off.  Well, here’s a new way that I’m dying to try.  It’s just beginning to be mango season and I couldn’t be happier.  I love love love mango.

Cut down the front and back of the mango to get the cheeks and then run the knife down the two edges.  You should have 4 pieces of mango.  Cut the large cheeks into two pieces lengthwise.

Now here’s the trick!  Get a large wine glass and take your piece of mango and put the skin of the mango to the outside of the glass and push down.  The mango falls into the wine glass in one piece and the skin goes down the side completely with no waste of mango.  (you won’t need to take a bath after licking the inside of the skin – or maybe I’m the only one who does that?)

How simple is that?

I hope to have a guest post from Anuradha from Bakerstreet.tv very soon.  I can’t wait for it to arrive.  She’s a fantastic baker.

Sensing a trend here?  I don’t know about anyone else but sometimes I get on a flavor kick and this time it’s Morocco.  The blend of spices, the end of winter, the texture of the food in my mouth — not sure what it is but we’re really enjoying the experimentation.

I had some eggplant jam a few weeks ago and have been dying to try it and yesterday was the day.  It was a good thing really because we had intended to have thick juicy beef filets for dinner.  I’d bought the meat, cut the steaks really thick and sat them on the counter to bring to room temperature.  I went to the sofa with my iPad to send some Twitter messages and then went back into the kitchen.  I put the grill pan on the stove to heat to sizzle and then turned around to get the steaks.  No steaks.

Small dog who has learned to jump was very damp around his mouth and looking VERY guilty.  Damn well he should!  I’d been looking forward to my steak all day long.  “Bad dog!!” didn’t make me feel one bit better.

But then…

We’d had a big dinner the night before and we’d had lunch so why not a dinner of dips with my fancy dancy eggplant jam and the other dips in the fridge?  Dinner was sorted.  I’ll admit that rather than tossing away the baked potatoes and asparagus, we ate those too.  Not very Moroccan but good.

Eggplant jam originates from Morocco but until recently had fallen out of favor with the younger generation.  The Jewish community in Morocco has kept the dish alive and its popularity is now spreading around the world and I can see why.  It’s absolutely delicious and it keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. It’s sweet and tangy and goes well with heaps of dips.

I put the pizza stone in the oven.  Then I brushed some pita bread with olive oil on both sides and cut it into triangles with my pizza cutter.  Once the stone was hot, I put the “chips” on just until they started to turn brown and crunchy.

That was all dinner required.  Making the eggplant jam was really easy. Start by peeling and chopping the eggplant.  I like the little ones but I think any eggplant would work.

Then chop the onion and garlic and cook these three ingredients in batches because it looks like a lot but it reduces as it cooks.

When all the ingredients are soft, place all the batches back into the pan and add the paprika, cumin, turmeric and chilli and cook for only 30 seconds.

Then add the vinegar and brown sugar and stir well.  Reduce the heat and cook til most of the moisture has evaporated.  Stir in the salt and pepper to taste and the fresh herbs.

Eggplant jam is best at room temperature but it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.  It won’t last that long at my house.

Place the jam in a bowl and sprinkle with chopped parsley or coriander (cilantro) and serve with pita bread, pita chips or anything else you want to use as a shovel.  heh

I had a meal of lamb and chicken Marrakesh last week and I liked it but without the lamb.  I came home and tried it with just the chicken and it was great.  I love Moroccan cuisine. My sister spent a few weeks in Marrakesh last year and ever since I saw all her photos, I’m dying to visit. Moroccan cooking feels like you put everything in the spice rack in the pot but the combination of flavors is fantastic.

Nothing about this meal is difficult unless you find peeling and chopping vegetables difficult.  I don’t.  I would much rather cook a meal from scratch than get anything prepared from the supermarket.  I know exactly what goes into the meals I put on my table.  I like that.

Start by heating oil in a frying pan and adding the diced onion.

Once the onions are softened, add the garlic and spices.  You can use ras el hanout, which is Arabic for “top of the shop” meaning all the best spices the spice blender has in his shop, or you can add 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp cumin, pinch of paprika and 1 tsp ginger.  Ras el hanout gives a more complex taste and it’s what I prefer to use.

Add the chicken and brown in the onions, garlic and spices.

Once the meat has browned, add stock to cover chicken, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Once the 20 minutes are up, add all the vegetables, raisins, chickpeas and preserved lemon.

Simmer this until the veggies are cooked and then check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

I served it over couscous with currants but plain couscous would be fine.

Here’s the recipe:

p.s. I know it’s been too long since the last post.  I’m finally coming out from under all the quirky problems I’ve been having.  My apologies!  You’re all wonderful to visit and I should post more often!

 

Dave D from What Is It?  made this recipe and sent a photo for you to see.  Looks Yummy Dave!