How To Make Croutons
These little squares are so much more than mere fried bread. They are a taste sensation: Guaranteed your mouth will light up, your taste buds will linger over the flavours, your teeth will revel in the crunchy texture and your tongue will tingle with the excitement of it all…
Have them is soups, salads or on their own as a tasty snack.
True, croutons are tiny pieces of fried bread, but it’s HOW you prepare them that makes the difference..let me guide you in preparing THE most YUMMY croutons.
Summer Spinach Quiche
This is a lovely light brunch, lunch or evening dish full of the tastes and colours of summer. A the best bit is… it doesn’t take that long to prepare so you don’t have to miss too much time in the sun.
I use a traditional flan pastry for the base and fill this with fresh wilted spinach, red capiscums and grated cheddar cheese with some grated Jarlsburgh cheese for a delicious bite.
Dreamy Creamy Mushrooms
I love this dish and I often use it for our sunday brunch, which includes yummy scrambled eggs or a cheese and roasted capsicum omelette, hash browns or patatas bravis.
But you can use it anytime you like!! It is a great way of stretching a portion of fresh button mushrooms as they can be expensive. I am researching growing my own as I adore every kind of mushrooms, but I am not brave enough to gather wild ones… scaredy cat that I am…
What you will need:
• Whole Button Mushrooms, sliced
• Slice of butter and a splash of Vegetable Oil
• 50mls Cream
• Sprinkle of Garlic Salt
• Chopped Parsley to garnish
Tip: When sautéing any vegetables, I always use butter and a splash of vegetable oil, the oil prevents the butter from burning and the butter adds flavour. You may use any kind of oil or margarine that suits you.
Tip: Don’t wash mushrooms, always wipe them using a paper towel. Always store extra mushrooms in a paper bag.
What to do:
• In a frying pan, melt the butter with the splash of oil.
• Add the mushrooms and sauté gently until sort and slightly brown add the garlic salt.
• Add the cream and let the mixture gently simmer until the cream has thickened slightly.
• Remove from heat and serve with chopped parsley sprinkled over the top.
Beautiful Roasted Capsicums
These will blow your guests away, they will think you have slaved over a hot stove for a week… believe me, the taste is sublime and they are SO easy… but that part is our secret 
Choosing the best Capsicums
Make use of the ‘on sale’ capsicums when the are in season as they can be expensive otherwise, usually the big super markets need to move them quickly or try the farmers markets and get a good deal as capsicums cannot be stored for any length of time.
Choose ones that are undamaged, feel slightly heavy in your hand and have bright almost glowing skins but not ‘shiny’ or ‘waxy’ looking.
A little tip: Use nice, fancy jars and make your own labels to put your finished roasted capsicums in and bingo what a gift for your friends and family.
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What you will need and What to Do:
Capsicums, as many as you want. As I said at the start, it’s more economical to do this when they are in season, you can mix the colors and sizes. You have so many colors to choose from. I grow red, green, yellow and chocolate brown capsicums!!
Wash or wipe the capsicums depending upon where you got them, I usually just wipe mine from my kitchen garden then remove the stalk and seeds by cutting from stalk end down to the bottom tip and gently prizing the pepper apart. I usually cut the capsicums into thick quarters, rather than slicing them thinly.
Make nice sized pieces, put them onto a flat baking tray, drizzle over a little olive oil and coat all the pieces on all sides. You need to get your hands and massage the oil into the pieces, don’t use too much oil, just enough to coat the pieces all over. A bit like using moisturizer just enough to do the job!!
Pop under a hot grill, I put my tray quite low down so that the capsicums ‘flesh’ cooks a little before the skin gets too black. Trust you sense of smell, they will be ready when a ‘beautiful sweet smell’ fills the kitchen. Be near by the grill, you can multitask, but keep alert.
The skins should be black but sometimes not all the skin blackens and it kinda bubbles away from the flesh. Don’t over do them or they will be too dry. Aim for sweet and succulent.
Remove from grill and let cool slightly, you want them so you can hold the pieces without burning your fingertips, but NOT cold. Peel off the skins using your fingers, some people put the capsicum pieces in a plastic bag and rub them to remove the skins. But I find this spoils the shape of the pieces and makes an unsightly mess.
Place the whole pieces into a sterilized jar,you can pop clean jars under the roasting tray to warm them gently.
Pack them gently but fill the jar. It’s hard to explain but don’t ‘crush’ or ‘pack’ the pieces in so you reduce the amount of air space between the pieces.
Cover the pieces with olive oil, there is no need to use virgin olive oil unless you want to, but, the second pressing olive oil is just a good for this type of thing and less expensive as well. When you use the end product, you can use the oil straight from the jar for cooking or as a dressing especially if it has steeped for a week or tow and it gets a rosy hue and tastes beautiful.
Seal the jars while they are still slightly warm, this helps to make a good seal and reduce the chances of them going off. Keep refrigerated once opened and use within a month or less.
Believe me, the oil becomes infused with the fragrance of the capsicums and is tinted by their colours, I use this oil for cooking, substituting plain oil. You can use the roast capsicum pieces where and when your imagination lets you. Eat them as part of a Mezza platter or in stir fries, omelets
Go wild…
Patatas Bravis
These are small diced, roast potatoes with a herb coating. The recipe originates in Spain and they are often served as a tapas dish.
What you will need:
• Roasting Potatoes, I use Agria, washed and diced
• Assorted herbs: Dried or Fresh-chop finely if using fresh
• Large Pinch of Garlic Salt
• Vegetable Oil
What to do:
• In a large bowl, add the diced potatoes, herbs, garlic salt and a splash of oil.
Tip: Don’t over do the oil, you can always add more, but you cannot take in away.
• Using your hands toss all the ingredients until well coated.
• Pop the coated potatoes into a large frying pan and slowly fry until the potatoes are golden brown and soft inside.
• Serve hot and Enjoy!!
How To Make Traditional Flan Pastry
Master this easy peasy recipe and I guarantee it will open up a sea of recipes only limited by your imagination:)
Think of the possibilities: flans, pasties, individual pies, children’s lunchtime snacks and more.
You now have a stepping stone for all you family baking and you can control the fat content and sugar content of all the fillings.
A Quick Zucchini Curry
Another zucchini glut lifesaver, but, you will get me in trouble if this recipe leaks out. My friends would be horrified if they saw this post!! I NEVER cook curry quickly, mine takes two days at least to make.
The spices are roasted and ground by hand and lovingly added with the precision only a true Indian cook can imagine. In any cuisine that relies on spices, the order in which they are added to a dish is of the utmost importance and Indian cookery is no exception.
All that said, this is a life saver if you haven’t got two days of tender loving care to spare, it is a beautiful blend of spices and vegetables.
Zucchini Muffins
Drop everything for these muffins, because once they are out of the oven you won’t be able to leave them alone!!
Definitely a move over carrot cake recipe!! And a lifesaver if you have a glut of zucchini, like me every summer!!
Crispy Herb Potato Balls
Now, these are SO simple and taste so divine that people will think you have slaved over a hot stove all day, which of course you have!!! Read more »
Chicken And Vegetable Noodle Soup
A classic soup to cure what ails you. Read more »
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