Dinner Time

You will never be stuck for what to cook for dinner ever again!

Whether you crave pork, fish, tofu or lamb – there is something for everyone. I’m a firm believer in lowering my carbon footprint by eating more vegetarian meals, so there are plenty of those, and although I don’t have any food intolerances I have lots of friends who do so I cook my fair share of vegan and gluten free goodies too.

Broccoli, blue cheese + chargrilled pear soup

Posted on April 12, 2011

Remember last week when I received those pears to cook with? This is what I made!

This recipe has now been entered into a competition run by PR company Impact Communications and will be judged by David Bitton. I’m a big fan of his lovely cafe in Alexandria so it’s a bit nerve-wracking, to say the least.

Autumn is the perfect time to get cosy with a steaming bowl of soup. As the weather gets colder it’s nice to indulge in richer ingredients like blue cheese and have a bit of fun by doing something different with seasonal fruit, like chargrilling it.

Or if you have simple tastes, like my five month old daughter Poppy, you simply suck on thick slices of pear that have been chilled in the fridge to soothe your teething gums. You can read more about that here.

For grown ups, chargrilling pear is an interesting flavour and texture sensation, and it offsets the strong blue cheese and slightly bitter broccoli with a welcome sweetness.

Happy cooking! Christie x

Broccoli, blue cheese and chargrilled pear soup recipe
serves 4 as a starter

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium leek, white part only, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
500g broccoli, about 2 medium heads including stems
4 Packham pears
1 litre vegetable stock or water
100ml cream
80g blue vein cheese
salt, ground white pepper, ground black pepper

1. Place a large pot over medium heat and add the olive oil, sliced leeks and garlic and saute for 5 minutes until softened, but not coloured.

2. Wash the broccoli and chop into small florets and thinly slice the stems. Add to the pot. Peel and core two of the pears. Roughly chop and add to the pot.

3. Pour in the stock or water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down a bit and gently boil for 20 minutes until the broccoli and pear are very soft.

4. Blitz with a stick blender until very smooth then remove from the heat and crumble in the cheese, pour in the cream and stir until the cheese melts and everything is well combined. Season with salt and white pepper. Keep warm.

5. Heat a chargrill pan over high heat. Chop the remaining two pears into quarters and cut out the core. Thinly slice into 1/2 cm wedges and season both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Grill on both sides for a minute or so until the fruit is tender and has black/brown grill lines.

6. Serve the soup in warmed bowls topped with the chargrilled pear and toast soldiers on the side.

Slow cooker sweet beef curry

Posted on February 21, 2011

I received this recipe more than a year ago and I cooked it in October 2010.

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to post about it, but I guess that is what happens when you have a newborn taking up 110% of your time! That percentage is not a typo, it really feels like more than all of the time!

But back to the recipe. I was given it by Ian, a family friend. It is his old family recipe and includes many surprising ingredients – so many, in fact, that I was quite dubious about how it would taste as I was making it.

I needn’t have worried though as it tasted delicious. Luckily, because the generous recipe means I still have about 6 portions in my freezer to enjoy for the rest of the year! (more…)

Tofu Laksa – Happy Chinese New Year!

Posted on February 11, 2011

I know it’s a bit late (and it’s almost over!), but… Happy Chinese New Year!

I made this yummy tofu laksa to celebrate and remembered to keep the noodles long to symbolize longevity and good luck for the coming year, as per Chinese tradition.

It was super easy to whip up using a spice paste from Asian Home Gourmet that I was sent to experiment with. I reckon even hubby (a complete non-cook, since he never gets a chance to get in the kitchen) could even give this a go. Maybe your man could too?

The best part about laksa, I think, is the tofu puffs. Delicious chunks of deep-fried tofu that are available chilled in packets at Asian grocers. The texture is amazingly spongey so they soak up the laksa gravy beautifully. (more…)

Shiitake Okonomiyaki: Please vote for me!

Posted on September 15, 2010

UPDATE: I won this competition! Thanks so much to everyone who voted for me, I really appreciate it.

I created this yummy recipe for the Australian Mushroom Growers Association for a fun little competition called the Mushroom Masters Tournament.

The competition pits food bloggers from America, Canada and Australia against each other to see who can come up with the best recipe using a particular mushroom. It’s being held on the popular food-porn site Tastespotting.

I got picked for the shiitake mushroom battle and made this delicious Shiitake Mushroom Okonimiyaki w/ Shiitake Salt.

Please, my fabulous readers, help me (and Australia!) to win the shiitake battle. CLICK HERE to VOTE for me now. Simply scroll to the bottom of the post, select the circle next to my name and click vote.

It’s that easy! It will take you 2 seconds and help me out enormously.

To see more pictures and get the recipe, click the button below. (more…)

Orange braised fennel w/ roast pork

Posted on September 5, 2010

I just couldn’t resist a massive crunchy bulb of fennel at the market the other week. It seemed to be crying out ‘take me home!’.

Young small bulbs are irresistible sliced paper-thin and eaten raw, but the larger ones, like this one, are best suited to braising so the flavour mellows out and sweetens.

The addition of fresh orange juice adds another layer of sweetness and makes it a great partner for pork, which I sat on top of the fennel while it braised.

Click the button below for photos of the final result, to get the easy recipe and see a drool-worthy crackling shot! (more…)