tagliatelle with prawns & chilli

The boy and I have been doing a lot of cooking lately; it helps us save a little money and means we're eating a bit healthier so win-win. Some days it's a bit of a struggle, especially after work and we're both tired but getting past that barrier and just making that effort to cook goes a long way. If you were to ask me for my top three cookbooks for the home-cook, these would be Hamlyn's '200 Thai favourites', Annabel Langbein's ' Free Range in the city' and Nigella's 'Nigella Express'.  For a quick, wholesome and plate-licking delicious pasta dish, look no further than Nigella's taglietelle with prawns and chilli.

Defrost 200g frozen uncooked peeled prawns. Cook 250g tagliatelle according to packet instructions. Heat 2 heads of chopped garlic and 20mL oil in a large pan and fry 4 spring onions and 1/2 tsp crushed chilli flakes for a couple of minutes, then tip in 200g sundried tomatoes (including the oil), and then add the defrosted prawns. When both have warmed through, add 125mL white wine and let to bubble up. Add in 50g spinach leaves and stir until wilted a little. Drain the pasta when ready, reserving 125mL or so of the cooking liquid, and toss the drained pasta in the chilli-prawn pan.

Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve. And if you're hungry, you'll be like the boy and me and gobble all this up.

One word - amazing! We used up our bag of frozen prawns which mum had given us when we moved out. She'd bought them from Costco and I can certainly vouch for them. Have been hunting down for a replacement bag but all the other supermarkets seem to be selling frozen cooked prawns; perfect excuse for a trip to Costco methinks.

thai style tofu fried rice

It was actually dad who bought me my first Annabel Langbein cookbook; I didn't think much of it at the time and in fact, the book probably sat on my shelf for a good couple of months before I actually opened it up. The first time I used one of her recipes was after reading about Annabel on another food blog and it was the story about her that got me to give the recipes a go (she's from New Zealand and her career in the food industry has spanned more than two decades). Trust me, I haven't turned back. Since moving out, the boy and I have been cooking our way through Annabel's 'Free Range in the City' cookbook which offers a wide selection of everyday meals and we have yet to find a bad recipe!

This recipe for Thai style tofu fried rice requires some day old rice so best to cook a bit more rice the night before (otherwise you'll probably get a sloppy fried rice if you use fresh boiled rice).

Place 300g sliced tofu in a bowl with 1 tbsp soy sauce and stir to coat evenly. Set aside to marinate for at least 10 minutes. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok and fry tofu on high heat until lightly browned. Add 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1 tbsp grated ginger, 1 sliced capsicum, 2 thinly sliced spring onions and 1 red chilli and sizzle for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Lightly whisk 2 eggs and 2 tsp fish sauce together in a bowl and add to the pan, keep stirring. Add 3 cups day old rice, 2 handfuls of chopped bok choy and 2 tbsp soy sauce and cook until heated through (about 5 minutes). Add 2 tbsp toasted peanuts and 2 tbsp chopped coriander.

As Annabel puts it, makes enough for some today and some left over for tomorrow.

This recipe is absolutely amazing! A few bites in and you'll find yourself wanting more - something about the chilli and the fish sauce which gives this recipes a real tang to whet the appetite. I have a whole load more recipes from Annabel to post but out of all the ones we've tried so far, this is probably my favourite. If you get around to trying this recipe, let me know what you think!

yama japanese cafe @ qvb

When we were sitting down going through our wedding cards, one of the messages that stuck out amongst the rest was a lovely reminder from Char that we shouldn't forget date nights; it's something she swears by with her hubby and something that I'd pass on to any soon to be wed. The last couple of months of married life have gone by in a bit of a blur and sometimes the boy and I really have to make a conscious effort to treat ourselves (sometimes being too good and eating home can get quite taxing!)

This particular weekend we treated ourselves in the city and stopped by Yama Japanese Cafe at the top of QVB for lunch; it was actually a chance find after seeing a sign for the Chinese restaurant that was next door but Yama managed to get our attention.

With a wide selection of teas on offer, a pot of sencha seemed to be fitting.

Hands down, the Green Tea Battered Fish and Chips was the dish that got our attention. Mildly flavoured by the green tea powder, this was a refreshing take on the classic fish and chips - definitely crunchy but could've done with some thicker fish fillets.

Second after the Green Tea Fish & Chips was this Teriyaki Beef Burger and yes, it looks as good as it looks - plenty juicy and well and truly touching the sides in serving size.

There's some more traditional Japanese dishes on offer including sushi and bento boxes so will have to go back and try at some point. It's actually quite relaxing sitting up the top of the QVB; it's a lot more quiet and also away from the hustle and bustle of the city crowds which you'll find if you head back downstairs. Let's just say it's an unsuspecting oasis dining at Yama Japanese Cafe.

transparent noodles with prawns

The average Asian supermarket is full of wonders, you never know what you might find down those aisles and well, I probably spend too much time perusing those shelves and buying way too many things (as one does of course). So you see, I was particularly excited to discover the big bags of dried black fungus on a recent shopping trip to New Yen Yen Supermarket in Eastwood. First of all, I love mushrooms and black fungus is one of those things I've grown up eating in stir fries, braises, casseroles and to this day, it's one of those things I'd pick out of a dish just because I love it so much. Put me with a dish of black fungus, I can polish it off for you too easily.

So it was that I wandered off home with my bag of black fungus in hand and found this recipe for transparent noodles with prawns - thought I'd throw in a bit more black fungus than the recipe actually asked for; which makes perfect sense when you love black fungus.

Defrost 200g medium-large raw prawns. Soak 125g Korean vermicelli in boiling water for 4-5 minutes or until soft. Drain the noodles and set aside. Soak a big handful of black fungus in boiling water for 4-5 minutes or until soft, then drain. Heat 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in a wok and stir fry 2-3 cloves chopped garlic over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the prawns with 3 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp light soy sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the prawns turn pink. Add the vermicelli and fungus and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, add 2 tbsp of lemograss paste, 3-4 finely chopped shallots, 2 chopped chilliies, and mix together.

Top off with coriander leaves and a few slices of red chilli.

This dish is like a salad (refreshing and comes with a slight chilli bite) but yet decently filling to serve up as a meal at dinner time. Recipe has been tweaked slightly from Hamyln's '200 Thai favourites' which is my latest go to book for meals - going through a bit of a Thai food phase at the moment and absolutely loving all the recipes in this book; everything has turned out spot on and they're quick recipes to make too. Anyway, more recipes/cooking adventures to follow!

banana caramel muffins

When I was younger, I loved shopping with mum at the supermarket and discovering what new products were on offer. If there's one thing Mum and I share, it's that we both love trying new products and giving things a go. Though sometimes I have to admit, writing a list is probably the best way that the two of us shop; otherwise more often than not, we'll come home with a bagful of that day's specials rather than the things we actually need. And well after all these years, neither of us have really changed one bit!

A recent trip to Coles saw me come home with a bag of Nestle Caramel bits. They say they're new but I swear Nestle have sold and marketed these in the States for ages (as usual, it's taken Australia a little more time to catch on).

And it just happened to be that I had my copy of Nigella Express out and about that I found the recipe for Banana Butterscotch Muffins which was perfect to accommodate these caramel bits. I've rejigged the recipe a little to accommodate the ingredients I had at home. Preheat oven to 200 degrees and line 6 holes of a muffin tin. Mash together 2 bananas. In a jug, combine 70mL vegetable oil and 1 egg. Place 125g flour, 50g caster sugar, 1/4 tsp bicarb soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder in a large bowl. Add in the beaten egg and oil mixture followed by the mashed bananas. As Nigella would put it, fold in 75g caramel morsels and then bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

I made 6 out of this recipe; which works out perfect for the boy and I to chomp over for a few days. Found that when I bake a full dozen, we just don't get through them all.

It's a rather good looking muffin but unfortunately didn't keep so well in the fridge. The texture seemed to harden despite reheating in the microwave (which usually softens most muffins). 

The caramel bits actually weren't quite what I'd expected. In a way, I was expecting them to be a little bit sweeter and hold their shape a bit more. Biting in to them when the muffins were straight out of the oven, they were molten on the inside but didn't really have that caramel bite to them.  Good to see though that Nestle are releasing a few more baking goods to their portfolio; picked up a bag of mini dark chocolate melts which were also new so will no doubt have a little bit of fun with those!