Yummy Chocolate Brownies

115 g butter
200 g white sugar
2 eggs
5 ml vanilla extract
30 g unsweetened cocoa powder
60 g all-purpose flour
2 g salt
1 g baking powder
Icing and Maltesers to decorate

Icing:
125g icing sugar
2 tsp cocoa
1 Tbsp horlicks or malted milk powder
60g softened butter
1 Tbsp boiling water

Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease and line with baking paper a 20x20cm square tin.

Melt the butter in a saucepan on the stove. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 mins or until still slightly gooey in the centre.

Cool in the pan then ice with malteser icing and decorate with maltesers.

For the icing: Mix together all ingredients except the water in a bowl. Gradually add the boiling water until desired consistency is reached.

Chicken in red wine and tomato sauce...recipe by Winsome

Serves 4


















olive oil
4 skinless chicken thighs, bone in
2 brown onions, cut into six wedges
8-10 cloves of garlic, peeled
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup diced tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Dust the chicken with salt and pepper.
Brown the chicken on all sides in olive oil in a pan big enough to take all the ingredients. Remove the chicken from the pan.

Turn down the heat and then add the onions and garlic and saute until golden.
Return the chicken to the pan and turn up to high.

Pour in the red wine vinegar and let it sizzle until reduced by at least half.

Add the stock and tomatoes. Make sure the chicken is fully covered by liquid, if not add a bit more stock or water. Bring back to a simmer.

Put a lid on the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 25-30 mins or until the chicken pulls away from the bone. If the sauce is looking a bit thin, remove the lid for part of the cooking time.

Season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle generously with chopped parsley and salt and pepper to serve.

Serve with mashed potato/rice/pasta and a green vegetable or salad - delicious.

Grublover comment
This is an adapted stephanie alexander recipe from her much loved book - The Cook's Companion.
I made this for the first time tonight, and it was simple and easy.
Most people would have these ingredients in the cupboard - so all you would need to buy is some chicken. Feel free to use different parts of the chicken, or a whole chicken, jointed. My favourite part is always the thigh, so that is why i used it here. It always gives a tender and juicy result, without much fuss about cooking times

Corn Chowder...recipe by Winsome

1 tbsp olive oil

3 rashers bacon, chopped

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 large potatoes, diced

1.5L chicken stock (i used the liquid stock from the supermarket)

3 cups corn kernels (i used frozen)

coriander leaves - to serve

finely sliced spring onion - to serve (i didn't use this and it was still delicious)

Fry the bacon rashers in olive oil in the pan you are going to make the soup in until crispy.

Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.

Fry the onion with freshly ground salt and pepper, until the onion is soft but not coloured - approximately 5-6 minutes.

Add the potatoes and stock. Bring to the boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the corn and cook for another 5 minutes or until the potato and the corn are both tender.

Puree half of the soup and return to the pan.

Bring back to the boil, and serve scattered with coriander and spring onions.

Grublover comment
This was so delicious!! my photo doesn't really do it justice, but it is great. Really light, but definitely filling because of the potato. It is a nice hearty soup for a summer night (it is probably still 30 degrees here and was up to 38 today).

Moroccan Chicken with Orange

(serves 4)

1 red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lemon, juiced
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground cumin
4 tbs sultanas
4 tbs pine nuts
40ml (2 tbs) olive oil
800g chicken fillets, cut into thin strips
1 orange, halved, sliced
4 tbs freshly chopped mint

Place chilli, chilli flakes, garlic, lemon juice, cinnamon, cumin, sultanas, pine nuts, half the olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Mix well. Add chicken and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a large frypan. Add the chicken pieces and cook on one side for 1-2 minutes or until golden.

Turn over, add the orange slices and cook for 2-3 minutes until cooked through. Stir through the mint.

Serve with couscous and some low-fat yoghurt.

Grublover comment
I haven't tried this recipe yet - found it on taste this morning and am keen to try it. Let me know if you get in first and tell me what it's like! Looks delicious. Some people have suggested adding some natural yoghurt to the marinade - I might try that...

lazy bones balsamic chicken

It is really hard to get motivated to hit the shops after a long day at work. Today I just couldn't face it, so scratched around at home and came up with this scrumptious dish. Enjoy it on a Tuesday night.

Serves 4 (or in our case, a big helping for Dan and leftovers for lunch)

4 chicken thighs, diced
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 Tb sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups couscous (dry)
2 1/4 cups boiling chicken stock
60g butter
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Tb thyme

Combine the balsamic, stock, sugar and garlic. Rub into chicken and leave to marinate for at least 10 minutes.

Place the couscous in a bowl and pour in the boiling stock. Cover with glad wrap and allow to stand for 5 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed.
Melt the butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 3 minutes or until garlic is soft, but not brown. Add the couscous and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Heat an oiled fry-pan over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and add to the pan, cooking 3-4 minutes. Add the marinade to the pan and cook for another 1 minutes or two until the chicken is cooked through and marinade is thicker.

Serve the chicken on the couscous and drizzle the jus over the meal. Serve with steamed green beans.

Grublover comment
Yum! This recipe is from Marie Claire's 'Fresh'. It is so easy and the best thing is everything you need is in the cupboard.
I used thighs because they are juicier and its a lot quicker to cook diced chicken. You can substitute for breast if you prefer - leave the breasts whole and cook 3-4 minutes each side.

Choc-Bananzacs.....recipe by Claire Hollingsworth

1 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats (regular oatmeal) uncooked
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
100 grams of choc chips (milk or dark, or a mix)
1 banana (cut into small chunks, or mashed)
2 tbsp golden syrup (or honey)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp boiling water

Preheat oven to 180 celcius.

Combine the flour (sifted), oats, coconut and sugar in a bowl.

Melt the butter and Golden Syrup in a saucepan over a low heat.

Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the water and add to the butter and Golden Syrup.

Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and mix well, add banana and choc chips.

Dollop onto tray and cook for 15 - 20 minutes.

Grublover comment (Today's Grublover = Claire)
This is a variation on an old war time Aussie favourite treat- Anzacs. The only reason I added banana and chocolate was because I thought it'd be cool name - "choc-bananzac"...turns out they taste pretty good! Next time I'll add peanut butter - choc-peanut-buttanzacs, for kel and ange

Pork Chops with gnocchi and creamy sauce

2 pork chops, bash with mallet in bag to make thin
Fry in oil - 5 mins each side
Cook gnocchi
Take chops out

Pour into pan hot pan glassful cider
1 Tb grain mustard
Slosh in some cream (around 1/2 cup)
Stir - ends up being thin white sauce. don't have to cook for long.
Spoon sauce over chops

put gnocchi in pan with remaining sauce, stir and serve with pork chops

Linguine with mushrooms, thyme, lemon

100g mushrooms sliced
pour into bowl with 2 Tb olive oil
crush 1 clove garlic
zest and juice of small lemon
salt and pepper
thyme a few sprigs stripped
mush around

take 1 cup water out of pasta and set aside

drain pasta
pour into bowl and toss
pour hot water over top, toss more
generous amount parmesan grated over top
rip parsley over top

Nigella's Green Chicken Curry in a Hurry

heat vege oil in a wok. add garlic and ginger.
snip in 2 spring onions
add 2 Tb green curry paste
add 1kg chicken thighs and let cook
add coconut milk 1 jar
add some stock
add fish sauce 1 Tb
add frozen soya beans, peas (ok frozen)
fresh coriander chopped
add beans
squeeze lime over the top

My favourite Jenny Salad (crunchy chinese cabbage salad)

1/2 medium chinese cabbage, shredded
1 bunch shallots, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
3/4 cup (60g) flaked almonds, toastsed
1/3 cup (55g) sunflower seeds, toasted
100g packet fried noodles (may be hard to find, can get at Claremont Fresh for those of you in Perth)

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp soy sauce

Combine all ingredients except noodles and dressing in large bowl.
Just before serving add noodles and dressing. Toss well.

Dressing: combine all ingredients in a jar, shake well.

Grublover comment
I love it when Jenny makes this salad. It is really light and fresh and has a great crunch.

Spaghetti Caprese

I have always been a big fan of the Caprese salad - light, fresh and so summery and delicious.

Last night at Gino's Fremantle I tried for the first time Spaghetti Caprese - I can't believe I haven't been making this dish - so simple, and so delicious.

Spaghetti
Fresh tomato
Bocconcini (or mozzarella)
Freshly torn basil leaves
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

While the spaghetti is cooking mix remaining ingredients. Drain pasta, reserving about half a cup of the cooking liquid. Mix the sauce through the pasta with the cooking liquid and serve!
The bocconcini will melt through the dish. Delicious! Serve with lots of freshly cracked pepper and parmesan cheese.

Fish Tacos

This summer I am looking forward to my dear friends Kelly and Tim returning and introducing me to the wonderful world of fish tacos. I have never had a fish taco, but I love fish and I love tacos and putting the two together sounds pretty damn good. See the email Kel sent me below:

I really really really want you to get into fish tacos. God they are good. This site goes into a lot of detail with actually making the tortilla, but good explanation of them: http://www.thepauperedchef.com/2006/06/baja_fish_tacos.html

"On an elemental level, the fish taco can be reduced to a very simple equation: Fish + Tortilla = Fish Taco.

From this perspective, there is little question that people have been eating fish tacos in the coastal areas of Mexico for an awfully long time. It probably goes back thousands of years to when indigenous North American peoples first wrapped the plentiful offshore catch into stone-ground-corn tortillas.

More recently, somewhere in Baja California, sometime in the last 30 or 40 years, someone concocted what is generally considered to be the prototypical fish taco. According to aficionados - call them the codnoscenti - this humble delicacy consists of a lightly battered mild white fish that is deep-fried, then served in a corn tortilla (often two) with shredded cabbage, a thin sour-cream- or mayonnaise-based sauce, a bit of salsa, and a most vital spritzito of lime."

I think this is a good recipe to start with: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/fish-tacos-recipe/index.html

I usually just make it up... but corriander is the key for me!

MMmmmmmmmmmm!

Chilli Con Carne - ole!

1 tbs peanut oil
1 brown onion, halved, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbs ground cumin
1 Tbs ground coriander
2 tsp cayenne pepper
600g lean beef mince
1 x 400g can Italian diced tomatoes
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 x 300g can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
2 Tbs drained, chopped jalapeno chillies
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 x 250g carton light sour cream
3 green shallots, diagonally thinly sliced
handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves
rice, to serve

Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes or until onion softens.

Add cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add mince and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps, for 5 minutes or until it changes colour.

Stir in tomato, tomato paste and kidney beans. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until mixture thickens.

Remove from heat and stir in chilli. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, combine the sour cream, three-quarters of the green shallots and the coriander leaves in a small bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon rice and then chilli con carne into bowls. Top with a dollop of the sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with remaining green shallots. Serve immediately.

Grublover comment
I just love chilli con carne. Good, warm, comfort food, and so delicious! You can serve it in baked potatoes for something different - like the stuffed spud that keeps me going back to the Royal Show every year....
This is a really easy recipe and you can whip it up quickly for a weeknight meal. It is also very healthy - provided you use lean mince and light sour cream.

Seafood Stew

Serves 6










3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 small)
2 cups large-diced small white potatoes
2 cups chopped fennel (1 large bulb)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups good white wine
1 (28 ounce) can plum tomatoes, chopped
1 quart Seafood Stock (recipe follows) or store-bought fish stock
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (3 cloves)
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined (use the shells for the stock)
1 pound each halibut and bass fillets, cut in large chunks
24 mussels, cleaned
3 tablespoons Pernod
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Toasted baguette slices, buttered and rubbed with garlic

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or stockpot, add the onions, potatoes, fennel, salt, and pepper, and sauté over medium - low heat for 15 minutes, until the onions begin to brown. Add the wine and scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the tomatoes with their juices, stock, garlic, and saffron to the pot, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add the shrimp, fish, and mussels, bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit covered for another 5 minutes. The fish and shrimp should be cooked and the mussels opened. Discard any mussels that don't open. Stir in the Pernod, orange zest, and salt to ¬taste. Serve ladled over one or two slices of toasted baguette.

Grublover comment
I just saw "Barefoot Contessa" cook this on her show. It looked absolutely fantastic and I have to make it! Let me know if you cook it before I do and tell me what it's like... I could almost smell it from the tv mmmmm

Cumin-roasted chicken with red capsicum jam

Serves 4

2 tsp ground cumin
2 and 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 x 1.6kg free-range chicken, quartered
1/4 cup olive oil
2 red onions, peeled and thickly sliced
1/4 cup dry sherry

For the jam
1 onion, finely choped
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground allspice
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 red capsicums, deseeded and finely diced
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
100ml sherry vinegar
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup italian parsley, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 220C.

Mix the ground cumin with the salt and dried oregano and rub into the chicken quarters.

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a heavy-based baking tray and brown the chicken with the onion slices.

Pour over the sherry and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Fry the chopped onion in 3 Tbsp olive oil with the paprika and allspice until softened. Stir through the capsicum and chilli and fry for 2 minutes before adding the soft brown sugar, sherry vinegar, tinned tomatoes and 1 tsp salt.

Simmer for 15-30 minutes until of a thick and jammy consistency.

Leave the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving with teh red capsicum jam, garnished with the roughly chopped Italian parsley.


Grublover comment
This savoury red capsicum jam recipe makes more than enough for one good meal. It would be delicious served with fish or steak.
Mum made this last night and it was absolutely delicious. Serve with a crisp green salad. Yum!
Recipe by Sophie Zalokar.

Baked seafood with coriander and coconut chutney

Serves 4

12 large prawns
1kg fresh mussels
8 scallops
400g firm white fish

Coriander and coconut chutney
115g flakey coconut
2 teaspoons of coriander seeds - roasted and ground
1 garlic clove
2.5 cm ginger
1 green chilli - seeds removed
1 bunch coriander
100ml coconut cream
Juice 1 lime plus wedges to serve

Preheat oven to 200c

Chutney
Process coriander seeds, garlic ginger and salt. Add chilli and blend. Add coconut to blender, 2/3 of fresh coriander and some coconut milk to make a paste. Stir in coconut milk and lime juice. Season to taste.

Make an envelope for each person with 2 layers of baking paper or an inside layer of baking paper and alfoil on the outside (easier to shape). Share the seafood and chutney between the envelopes. Bake for about 10 minutes or until seafood cooked.

Serve in envelopes on large plate with a lip - be careful when opening that the steam does not burn. there will be quite a lot of delicious juice that will have formed.

Garnish with reserved coriander and lime wedges.

This chutney would also be delicious on a whole baked fish or even just mussels alone.

Grublover comment
This recipe was in the October edition of Delicious magazine. Mum made it for us on Thursday night and it was absolutely delicious. Check out the review at: EveonKeane

Lamb Fillet

Serves 2

200g (one fillet) lamb fillet

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

1 small tub low fat yoghurt

1 x 400g can chick peas, drained

1/2 red onion, sliced finely

2 tomatoes (or 10-15 cherry tomatoes), chopped into cubes

1/2 large cucumber, chopped into cubes

1 lemon

1 clove garlic

handful fresh mint

Mix the coriander and cumin with half of the yoghurt and rub into the meat. Leave to marinate for 1 hour and go for a walk or a swim!

To make the salad combine the chick peas, onion, tomato and cucumber. It is good to chop all of these ingredients around the same size or a little larger than the chick peas (except the onion which should be sliced finely). Squeeze a lemon over the top of the salad and rip the mint up into it. Season and toss to combine.

Crush the garlic clove into the yoghurt, add a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of cumin for flavour.

Take the fillet and cook on a very hot grill pan (you can use the flat or the grill side, but the pan must be really hot. you don't want it to stew). Cook for around 3-4 minutes each side.

Take the meat off and let it rest for 5 minutes. Slice the meat and serve with a dollop of yoghurt and some salad. The meat should be tender and pink in the centre.

Grublover comment

This is such an easy, cheap, low-fat and delicious meal. Winner all round. Last night I got home, raced to the butcher and bought the lamb for just $12 and then whipped this up using things in the cupboard. It tasted delicious. Make sure you have a nice hot grill pan to cook it on, and the bbq would be even better.

Haslett’s Banana Bread

4 oz butter
4 oz caster sugar
8 oz SR flour
3 overripe bananas, mashed (the blacker, the better)
vanilla essence
3 eggs
approx 8 Tb milk
Optional: sultanas, apple, walnut, lemon

Cream butter and sugar.

Add eggs, banana, flour.

Add milk to right consistency - wet, but not runny.

Add goodies - sultanas, apple, walnut, squeeze lemon.

Bake 180 degrees for 40 minutes.

Easy peasy spaghetti wtih lemon, chilli, garlic and rocket

Serves 4

750g fresh spaghetti, linguini or fettucini
3-4 Tb olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 Tb baby capers
1.5 tsp dried chilli flakes or 3 fresh red chillies, seeded and sliced (alter to taste)
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
3 Tb lemon juice
3-4 cups roughly torn rocket leaves (or basil)
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
cracked black pepper

Cook spaghetti in a saucepan of rapidly boiling water until it is al dente.
While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the garlic and capers and saute for 1 minute.
Add chillies, lemon rind and juice and cook for another minute.
Drain pasta and add it to the pan with rocket and parmesan. Toss to combine and serve with a generous sprinkling of black peppper and a glass of wine.

Grublovers comment
Danny and I make this all the time. Whenever we don’t know what to make and we don’t want to go shopping, this is the answer. You can tailor it to your ingredients on hand - substitute spinach for the rocket, add anchovies, capers, olives. You can also add some spicy sausage e.g. chorizo, if you feel like some meat. Use your imagination and come up with any fantastic dish. As long as you have that basic oil, chilli and garlic combination it will be a winner.
I like to use a full flavoured olive oil - like Jingili of Western Australia.

Graduation chocolate rasberry dessert cake

Serves 8-10

185g (6 oz) butter
185g (6 oz) dark chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups caster sugar
1 cup plain flour
2/3 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 cup rasberries

Place butter and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat and stir until melted, then cool slightly.
Place eggs, vanilla extract and sugar in a bowl and beat until mixture is light and thick. Fold through flours, almond meal, chocolate mixture and half the rasberries.
Pour mixture in a 20cm (8 inch) round cake tin lined with baking paper. Sprinkle over remaining rasberries.
Cook for 180 degrees (350 F) oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until top of cake is firm to touch. Cool cake before cutting, and serve with strong espresso, extra rasberries and thick cream.

Grublover comment
The rasberries give a delicious moistness and flavour to chocolate cakes. Divinely decadent. One of the girls made it on our graduation vacation and I had to have the recipe.