Salmon and rice

 

Recently when a cousin visited us in Sydney, her daughter noticed this pickle in the Indian food store we were browsing saying they had that at home and it was quite nice. I took her recommendation and bought the bottle. It is very hot and tastes like the Chinese pickled chilli one eats with wantan mee in Malaysia. It goes very well with any Indian meal, it adds the sour citrus flavours with the chilli kick. Exactly what we need when cooking for children sans chilli.

I dont cook much Indian food, but something that works is grilled salmon, healthy, quick, full of omega 3. However, being farmed salmon, there is such a great risk the flavours just isn't good enough always. I marinade the fish and here is the quick grilled salmon I find works. Eaten with this chilli pickle, it works to make a favourite comfort food. 

Grilled Salmon

1 piece of salmon

2 tspn organic soy sauce

2 tspn cooking sake

salt

Spoon marinade over salmon and grill

 Serve on white rice with 'Mother's recipe green chilli pickle on the side.

Marble Ice cream

This is the best chocolate ice cream ever. I thought that in 2009 before I left Japan. Tasting it again, I re confirm this. I wish I could taste the other flavours - citron milk.

Yoghurt Breakfast

At the Sri Lankan grocery store, I saw Larich's Kittul. I had seen my cousin have it with natural yoghurt and ever since I wanted to try it. I had seen some others eat yoghurt with honey and I guessed this must be similar combination. I was curious to the difference between honey and Kittul, they both look the same. So I bought it. It was a large bottle and as I dont usually eat yoghurt as a breakfast dish, I needed to find ways to use it.Otherwise it would end up being, just another bottle in the pantry - unused for a decade.

Jun's baptism lunch was a big event in our house. I decided I'd use some of it here. I would serve a yoghurt breakfast. Natural greek yoghurt served with good quality home made toasted maple flavoured muesli, sprinkled with crushed Ikea's Anna's ginger snaps and drizzled with Kittul and Cherry Berry Jam. I wanted to serve strawberries but I forgot to get it out of the fridge. It was the best idea I had - no preparation, ask a guest to combine it and serve. So easy, but I had not tasted it. They finished all the yoghurt.

A few days later, I thought I should try it, I had left over muesli and Kittul. Delicious.

A Christmas gingerbread house needed to be finished, so I crushed that up into the yoghurt. It has been the sweetest breakfast ever.

Roast Chicken

I am making a roast chicken for 3 of Nathan's friends and 2 of their mothers. One of them is vegetarian so I am including lots of vegetables for her. This is how I do it:

Menu
Roast chicken
Roast vegetables
Roast vegetables tossed in homemade pesto
Celery and apple salad
Bean salad
Roast Sweet potato

1. Peal and soak potatoes in lots of salted water. I make roughly one potato per person. I have one less (none for Stephen, but I think the children all wont eat their potatoes..)

2. Prepare the vegetables: Peel and chunk organic carrots (this is the only vege I expect the children to eat!), remove stalk from shitake mushrooms, cut zucchini into large chunks, cut red and orange peppers into 2 inch squares, slice naga negi from left over piece. I might add aubergine later??

3. Peel and slice celery for salad. Peel and cube apples. Add raisins. Mix all together. This is a waldorf salad with no mayonaise because Nathan wont enjoy it otherwise (Dressing???? yuckh). I would put walnuts (yum!) but Dylan is allergic to nuts.

4. I also have a sweet potato and a whole head of garlic to add to the roast vegetables.

5. Heat the oven to 180 Celsius and bake the potatoes.

6. Prepare the chicken: poke a fork round a lemon and rub it on the chicken, squeezing gently. Then stuff the chicken with the lemon. Slice 3 cloves of garlic into slivers, make holes into chicken flesh and stuff the slivers into them. Separate the skin from the chicken breast and add garlic to the deepest parts. You may add thyme and butter the same way too. Salt and pepper the chicken, brush a little olive oil to the highest parts of the chicken.

7. Add the chicken breast side down on top of the potatoes. Add the carrots and one head of garlic now.

8. Half an hour later turn the chicken over.

9. Another half an hour add the rest of the vegetables to the roasting dish or into another dish. Try not to overcrowd the dish.

10. When the vegetables are nicely caramilised, the dish is done.