Asian Slaw

Coleslaw is a good old favourite, particularly in the warmer months with BBQ's. As I love coleslaw and Asian, it interests me to mix the two - a little fusion? Here's my take....

Salad

• 1/4 Cabbage - thinly sliced
• 2 Carrots, grated
• 2 Spring Onions, thinly sliced
• 1 Granny Smith Apple, peeled, cored and grated
• 1/4 Red Capsicum, thinly sliced

Dressing

• 100ml Water
• 100 ml Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Fish Sauce +/- to taste
• Pinch semi dried or fresh Ginger - grated
• Pinch semi dried or fresh chilli - finely chopped
• 1/2 clove finely diced Garlic

How to.....

For the salad, toss everything together in a bowl. I'm a lazy cook - I use my food processor to slice and grate everything, it means I get a more consistent mix.

For the dressing, place all ingredients into a saucepan and heat, gently, until all the sugar is dissolved, let it cool before pouring onto your salad.

Tips

• The dressing makes a great dipping sauce if you reduce it until its thick
• Adding snow pea sprouts and some roasted peanuts to your salad makes a lovely crispy change in flavour
• The dressing is not diabetic, or diet, friendly

Pictured above - with my Panko Crumbed Turkey Balls

Crispy Vegetarian Won Tons

This was a first round, so I only made a small mix that served two for a light lunch.

I truly love the delicate flavours of Asian cooking, and often put in my own twist. For me, cooking is something I do by using my senses - visual, smell, touch and instinct, therefore my measurements are approximate, and I encourage others to do the same.

 

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 T young ginger, grated
• 1 shallot, finely sliced
• 1 baby corn, finely diced
• 1 T red capsicum, finely diced
• 1 T snow pea shoots, finely chopped
• 1/2 carrot, finely grated
• 1 t finely chopped coriander
• 1 1/2 t finely chopped mint
• Little dash of Mirin
• Little dash light soy sauce
• Pinch palm sugar
• 10 Won Ton Wrappers
• 1 egg, lightly beated for sealing Won Tons

How to?

Mix all filling ingredients in a bowl, top each wrapper with about 1 teaspoon of mix, and brush two edges of wrapper to glue together when folded into a triangle, when you fold them, be careful to squeeze all the air out!

Deep fry in hot oil, until golden and blistered - enjoy with a simple honey and soy dipping sauce.

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Tomato Soup, for the Winter

Winter is coming, here in Australia, and I love a warming soup, snuggled up on the lounge, mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
As a child, one of my favourites was Campbell's Tomato Soup, now that my taste has matured somewhat I like to make my own!
Ingredients
12 or so large tomatoes - a mix of roma and field are great
Drizzle of olive oil
1/2 t Salt
1/2 t Pepper
1 tBrown sugar
Drizzle balsamic vinegar
6 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 Spanish onion
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup fresh cream
Some lovely fresh Thyme
Method
1/2 the tomatoes and place on a baking tray with garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar - roast at 180 degrees for an hour.
Sauté onion until clear and add tomatoes, squeeze garlic cloves into pan and add stock, add a little more balsamic vinegar at this time. Simmer for about 1/2 an hour. Purée in batches and pass through a sieve, and cream and heat. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve with nice bread........... We like ciabatta.
Yum yum yum! Enjoy

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Peta's Guacamole

Ingredients:
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 pepper corns
good pinch of salt
2 cloves of garlic - roughly chopped
1 shallot - roughly chopped
Flesh of 1 Hass avocado
2 Tablespoons lite sour cream

How to?
Place first 5 ingredients in  food processor, and process until smooth, add avocado and sour cream, and process again, until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste, and refrigerate for a few hours before eating. Refrigeration before consumption lets the flavors develop, and it is delicious!
Great served with nacho's, crackers, vegetable crudites, or even used instead of better on your toast or sandwiches!

Quickie Soup for Lunch

• 1C Cauliflower 
• 1 medium carrot 
• pinch fennel seeds 
• pinch coriander seeds 
• pinch Szechuan pepper 
• 1 1/2 cups reduced salt chicken stock 
• 1T Philadelphia reduced fat cream cheese 

 How???
Place all ingredients, except the cream cheese, in a small saucepan and simmer until the vegetables are soft. Drain the vegetables, reserving the stick. Blend the vegetables with a stick blender, adding reserved stock until you achieve the desired consistency. Mix in the cream cheese and season to taste. Notes I get my Szechuan pepper from a specialist Asian grocer.
 Serves 1
 Approx. 140 Calories per serve.
Tips
This is nice served with some home made croutons and some sliced shallots