The Hangry Chef

I've decided these are the only onions (French shallots) I will use from now on- I love the subtle, sweet flavour These veggies are a great accompaniment for anything really, in fact, I made so much of it that I've been mixing them with everything, with my fettucini Bolognese , lightly heated on a wrap with baby spinach and hummus, as a side for steak and in a taco... Hahah.. yup... It's that versatile! You will need... (for about 6-8 serves) 1 medium sweet potato 1 large carrot 1/6 QLD blue pumpkin (use butternut or something else if you wish) 1 large zucchini 1 large capsicum 2 largish eschalots (French shallots), if you can't find these then a Spanish onion will suffice 6 large button mushrooms 2 large garlic cloves 1 Tbs olive oil salt and pepper 2 tsp of Herbies Chermoula Spice Mix * Method... 1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. 2. Wash the veggies, then peel the carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin, garlic and onion. Dice everything to about 2cm

Ever wonder how your banana bread always looks anaemic compared to the ones you see online or in cookbooks? 'How can I get mine that beautiful caramelised, rich brown colour?' you ask? Well, it's as simple as getting a nice, sweet, over-ripe banana and mashing it a good 10 minutes before you add it to the mix so that it oxidises and goes all smooshy! Using rich brown sugar also helps a bit! This actually isn't my banana bread because I somehow lost the image of mine, but it looks quite similar! Image from  http://kichencorner.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/oatmeal-banana-bread.html You will need...  For 12 slices 1 ¼ cups (185g) SR flour 1 tsp ground cinnamon ½  tsp ground nutmeg 1 vanilla pod 20g butter ½ cup (100g) firmly packed brown sugar 1 egg, lightly beaten ¼ cup (60ml) milk ½ cup mashed banana (done a little while in advance) ½ cup chopped walnuts Oats, brown sugar and a few extra walnut pieces to sprinkle on top. Method... 1

I can't decide what to cook with these fluctuating temperatures! I give up on trying to cook for the seasons, lets just go free for all and do some of my favourite recipes... Lamb shoulder is a great cut of meat, if you've never cooked with it, go to your butcher and grab a split lamb shoulder (or lamb shoulder bone-out), rub garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary on it and chuck it on a super-hot bbq for half an hour or so, make sure its nicely charred on the outside and pink in the middle, and leave it to rest for about 10-15 minutes before thinly slicing it... You wont be disappointed. http://www.ranchlineallnatural.com/lamb-and-beef-facts/lamb-facts If you've been there and done that, then give this recipe a go next time you have a bit of time and a hankering for lamby goodness... You will need... (10 serves and some leftover for freezing ;-)) 2.5-3kg bone-out lamb shoulder, trimmed of most of the fat, skin and sinew salt & pepper 2 large carrots, peeled, di

I'm ashamed to admit this is actually a Dr. Oz recipe.... Yeah I know, I'm a chef and a food lover- what am I thinking?! But hear me out.. I'm trying to make healthier choices, I quite enjoy eating high-fat foods but unfortunately my metabolism doesn't agree and I don't enjoy exercise. So I have a dilemma, I can continue eating like a grub and watch my health deteriorate or I can make a bit of an effort to eat better (ok and maybe do some kind of exercise-YUCK). So yeah, thats how I stumbled upon this recipe. Don't get me wrong, I actually really enjoy healthy food! I enjoy any kind of food to be honest, I'm not fussy (hence the perpetual food baby), but this recipe actually intrigues me quite a bit. It's got a lot of stuff thats good for you in it, and it tastes quite delicious so don't be a hater and give it a go... If you don't like it, don't stress, I'll post something with meat next time. http://www.doctoroz.com/vide

Bringing foods to room temperature.... When baking cakes or cupcakes, always leave the butter and eggs out to come to room temperature before mixing your batter. The same goes for cooking steaks, leave the meat out of the fridge for 30 minutes (covered) before cooking, this will result in even cooking as the outside wont overcook or dry out before the centre reaches the right temperature.

I received a molecular gastronomy kit for Christmas and thought I'd try it out by making some passionfruit pearls to go on top of one of my favourite trusty desserts- the pavlova! The kit I used was the Cuisine R- Evolution kit which you can purchase at  http://www.molecularfoods.com.au/shop/category/kits/  and I followed the gelification technique using passionfruit juice and agar agar (which basically just turns the liquid to a jelly). Basically to make the pearls, you use a dropper to drop the passionfruit/agar agar liquid into cold oil, which then sets the liquid into small balls and ta-dah! Passionfruit pearls! You can leave the pearls out and just make the pavlova if you wish- that's the greatest thing about pavlova, it can be topped with whatever you like! You will need... For the meringue... 4 egg whites 1 cup of caster sugar 2 tsp cornflour 1 tsp vinegar 1/4 tsp of salt For the topping... vanilla pod 500ml thickened cream 1/2 cup icing (confect

You will need... 300gr green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 2inch pieces 1 cup finely shredded iceberg lettuce 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced 1/2 red capsicum, thinly sliced 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced 1/2 cup bean sprouts, washed and drained 1/2 bunch of coriander, washed and picked 1 sprig mint, picked 2 shallots, sliced finely 1 small packet of vermicelli rice noodles 400gr beef rump For the marinade... 1/2 bunch of coriander, washed and roughly chopped 1 shallot, sliced finely 2 dried chillies, chopped (use fresh if you wish) 2 tsp lemongrass paste (or 1 tsp ground lemongrass) 1 large clove garlic, crushed 1 2cm knob of ginger, minced (I peel the ginger then squish it in the garlic crusher) 1 kaffir lime leaf, finely sliced juice of 1/2 a lime 4 drops fish sauce 2 Tbs soy sauce salt & pepper For the sauce... juice of 1 lime 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 Tbs hoisin sauce 1 tsp shaved palm sugar 1 dried chilli, chopped 1 clove garlic 1/2 cup water

We all like a spring roll, generally they're stuffed with all sorts of goodies like pork, noodles or shrimp then deep fried until gold and crisp. This recipe is a fair bit healthier then that because it's packed full of veggies and is baked, not fried. You will need... 2 shallots 1 celery stick 75g mushrooms   ½ carrot   1/3 red capsicum 2 tsp margarine 1 garlic clove, crushed ¾ cup bean sprouts ¾ finely shredded cabbage 50g diced low fat ham 50g grated low fat cheese 2 tsp soy sauce 8 spring roll wrappers 2 Tbs milk Sweet chilli sauce, for dipping Method... 1. Preheat oven to 200ºC.   Lightly grease an oven tray. 2. Thinly slice shallots, celery and mushrooms, grate the carrot and cut capsicum into thin strips. 3. Melt margarine in an electric fry pan, add all vegetables and cook for 5 minutes. 4. Stir in mung bean sprouts, cabbage, ham, cheese and soy sauce.   Allow to cool. 5. Divide mixture into 4 portions,