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Custard & Chocolate Tart Thing

So I tried to make dessert, I've always sucked in this department. Afterall I am male and it's already a gift I can cook better than most females in my age group (didn't say anything about presentation alright!) so I'm not overly sad this looks like shit.

As expected, I got no sexy time for this.

Failed, will not try ever again.

Simple Sliced 5 Spice & Garlic Rump

Simple meal, great for when you're getting back into the training (like myself) and needing something healthy to eat. I chose use rump because it's easy to cook and tasty with minimal seasoning. With the portion used, it should easily feed 1x person four times. Please note, this meal is not really that tasty LOL...

Ingredients:

• 1x clump of rump (approximately 1.1 kgs)
• 1x teaspoon of garlic powder
• 2x teaspoons of five spice powder
• salt and pepper

Method:
Slice rump however you like it, I prefer little logs because it is heaps faster to cook. Cover the sliced rump with the seasoning and let it sit for about 15~20 minutes. Heat up a pan with some olive oil and cook it for about 10 minutes, constantly tossing it about. Serve on a bed of brown rice (as I did) or some sweet potato.

Time: ~25 minutes
Cost: ~$10 (buy your meat from a butcher, support them)
Serves: 4

Caramelised Bananas with Rum

Had some left over bananas lying around at home and needed to use them up quick smart! This recipe was inspired by Gabriel Gate's version of flaming bananas or some shit. I saw it on Channel 9's morning show when I home kind of sick many years ago :)

Ingredients:

• 2~3 Sliced Bananas (length ways would be more preferable)
• 1x shot of rum (I used cognac because I ran out of rum lol)
• 1x clump of butter
• 2~3 tablespoons of brown sugar (any is fine)

Method:
Chop up the bananas and sprinkle it with sugar, covering all sides, let it sit in the fridge for around 30 minutes. Once ready, heat up a pan, and melt the butter. Add in bananas and let them caramelise, noting colour, flip when ready desired colour has been reached. Add in rum/cognac and set alight (CAUTION THIS COULD BURN THE HAIRS OFF YOUR FINGERS) and remove from heat. Let the alcohol burn off completely (this takes around 40~50 seconds).

Serve up with extra fruits, icecream and chocolate sauce.

** Gym for 2 hours the following day.

Super Fast (Lazy Spec) Bolognese Sauce

Simple, quick to make... I wasn't even going to even blog it, but why not? This can be easily knocked up by anyone short on time. Doesn't involve much as you can see, it's all in pot and walk off. Oh, my new Ikea mat is so cool aye?

Ingredients:

• 400~500 grams of minced beef (the leaner then better)
• Herbs of all sorts (I pretty much just threw in anything I found)
• Jar of bolognese sauce
• 1x tin of chopped tomatoes (not pictured)
• 2x bay leaves
• 1x cup of stock
• 1x cup of red wine (optional)
• 2x teaspoons of sugar
• 1x teaspoon of salt (optional and if low salt stock is used)
• Pepper to taste

Method:
Heat up a pan/pot and jam all the herbs, spices, with a tablespoon of sugar, immediate add in the meat and briefly. Add in wine to deglaze the pot, then jam everything else in, reduce heat to around 25% and walk off. Occasionally check if kitchen is on fire.

Serve with your favourite pasta, I usually prefer wholemeal penne :)

Cost: $10? (depends what you have at home)
Serves: 8
Time: 30 minutes

Enjoy :)

Lazy Garlic & Paprika Chicken Breast

  

Something I knocked up for after the gym, it's quick, simple and healthy. I usually don't bother blogging about simple meals, but this is one I usually make so I might as well share it with others. Eaten with 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice (110 calories) and 200 grams of the breast (220 calories, 45 grams of protein, 2.4 grams of fat) makes a very good post workout meal. This could also be lunch as well!

Ingredients:

• Free range chicken breast or standard chicken breast is fine too (has more saturated fat though)
• 1x tablespoon of garlic powder
• 1x tablespoon of paprika
• 2x teaspoons of garlic flakes
• 1x teaspoon of crushed rock salt
• ground pepper
• 1x juice of a lemon
• lemon rind (optional)
• 2x tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Method:
Combine all the ingredients together and just mix up the shit. Let it sit for around in the fridge for more flavour, but if you're in a hurry just cook it up straight away. Heat up a pan with some olive oil, and sear both sides on maximum heat. Once golden, reduce heat to around medium low, cover with water and cover with a lid (I used the mixing bowl because I was lazy and didn't want to wash up). Check every 10~15 minutes. Once all water has evapourate, it's ready. This usually takes approximately 25 minutes, depending on how you crank up the heat.

Serves: 4, depends on serving size
Cost: $6
Time: 35 minutes

Basil, Chilli, Garlic & Lemon Salmon with Wholemeal Pasta

 

 

 

 

 

Super nom nom nom... lol

Tasty, healthy, and quick to make... although it took me a bit longer than expected, but whatevahhhs :)
I got inspiration from watching Ready, Steady Cook (the most boring cooking show ever made) watching a chef make chilli basil pasta without anything else in it. Being slightly athletic, I needed something with protein, so in went in the salmon.

Ingredients:

• 400grams of de-boned salmon fillets
• 5x chillis
• 1x teaspoon of chilli flakes
• 4x cloves of garlic (less if you wish)
• 1x lemon (rind & juice)
• 1x bunch of fresh basil
• 1x bunch of bok choy
• 2x stalks of shallots (scallions for those yankies)
• 1x cup of chicken stock
• Wholemeal pasta
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Olive Oil or other is fine

Method:
Chop, cube the ingredients, grate rind, and juice the lemon, marinate the fish with salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Heat up a hot pan, drizzle some oil on and add in some garlic, salt and the bok choy. Cook until leaves wilt, place on one side. (Begin to cook pasta, as wholemeal takes longer) Add in chilli, garlic, pinch of salt, fish and fry up, try not to break the fish so flick the pan rather than toss and turn the fish. Add in lemon rind, lemon juice, shredded basil, stock and salt & pepper to taste. Simmer till minimal liquid, turn off heat and throw in chopped shallots. To serve, add in wholemeal pasta to base, bring heat to maximum and toss.

Lobster Tail with Creamy White Wine Sauce

 

Yay... got sponsored a couple of lobster tails from the other half. Let's cook up some food brah!

Ingredients:

• 2x Lobster Tails
• 100 grams of butter
• 1x Cup of Thicken Cream
• 4x Cloves of Garlic (less if you want to get it on afterwards)
• 2x White/Brown Onions
• 1x Cup of White Wine
• 2x Cups of Chicken Stock (fish or vege works too!)
• 1x Sprig of Fresh Thyme
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:
Chop up the garlic, onions and brown them in a pan till translucent, reduce heat and add in 50 grams butter. Deglazed with the wine then follow with the stock. Bring to boil with the thyme, then add in cream and simmer till thick. Salt and Pepper to taste, keep it more on neutral side.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add in lobster tail (notice mine have a split in them so I can bast them) and fry till shell changes colour. Reduce the heat a tad and add in the rest of the butter and continue basting for around 5 minutes. Remove and place into previously made sauce and bring to a quick boil and remove straight away. Serve split in half with crusty bread if needed.

Serves: 2
Time: 30 minutes
Cost: ~$30

Home Made Garlic Sauce

 

 

 

 

 
Been pretty bored at home lately because my previous work place went belly up and have been having a strange craving for garlic sauce, don't ask me why, just go with it!

I think anything home made wins over store bought, so here goes!


Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic
• 1.5 cups of olive oil (canola oil will have a nicer colour)
• 1 juice of a lemon
• 1 egg white (yes that means no yolk!)
• Salt to taste

Method:
Peel and crush the garlic so it is easy to blitz up and add into a food processor (I'm jobless so I used a blender). Set to medium speed and begin to add in the oil DO NOT GO APE SHIT AND POUR IT ALL IN! Using a tablespoon, alternate slowly between the lemon juice and the oil, this takes time rushing it will lead to nothing but a horrible looking sauce. Once a white mixture starts to appear, add in the egg white and keep alternating between the oil and lemon juice, as it thickens up add in salt and stop the process to have a quick taste. Add more salt if required, then continue blitzing it up till the sauce is nice and thick. The entire blitzing process should take around 10 minutes.


Serves: Alot?
Time: 15 minutes
Cost: < $5

Quick & Healthy Pumpkin Soup

Yes I have been a lazy mofo, started a new job and haven't posted anything in a while LOL....

Easy pumpkin soup that nearly anyone can make. Perfect for a cold night with some crusty sliced bread. Fresh, delicious and healthy, really can't go wrong with this classic!

Ingredients:

• Whole Pumpkin, about 1kg will do
• 1x White Onion
• 1x Cups of Chicken Stock
• 1/2 Cup of Dry Cooking Wine
• Tablespoon of Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Some cream to serve (optional)

Method:
Roughly cube up the pumpkin and the onions as it will be blitz up later anyways. Add oil to pan, drop in onions and cook till translucent then add in the pumpkin. Add in stock, wine and simmer on low heat till the pumpkin softens up and thickens up. This should take a total of 15~20 minutes depending on the heat setting. I used a gas stove so it is a tad quicker. Once done, remove from heat and blitz it up using a stick bender or a normal bender. Don't over do it or else you will end up having baby food. Just give a quick light whiz and you should be fine. Serve with crusty bread in a deep plate and add a touch of cream for that kick!

Serves: 6~8, depending on serving size
Time: 30 minutes
Cost: < $10

Japan: My Favourite Ramen Place in Akihabara

My favourite Ramen shop in Japan! I know it's unrelated to my blog, but I was just thinking about it today at work and I had to share it!

Super tasty Ramen, nice and thick and boy the broth is the best I have ever had! I'll try to find photos of it and post it up tonight!

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Spaghetti with Pork & Beef Meatballs



Cold and windy nights are always great tied in with some hearty food! This dish best served with some wine too! Probably not the healthiest dish ever, but it is not as bad as you think it is!

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti or Fettuccine (whatever is in the pantry will do)
• 5x Fresh Tomatoes
• 4x Pieces of Sun-dried Tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1x Jar of Pasta Sauce (yes I was lazy, I usually would make it from scratch)
• 1/2 of Red Wine (some cheap stuff will do)
• 250 grams of Pork Mince
• 250 grams of Beef Mince
• 1x Cup of Bread Crumbs (I used whole grain ones)
• 2x Eggs
• 1/2 Cup of Chopped Salami (Anything with good flavour will do)
• 1/4 Cup of Grate Cheese(s) (I just grated anything I found in the fridge, NFI what they were)
• 1/4 Cup of Parmesan Cheese (Optional)
• 1x Tablespoon of Mix Herbs
• 1x Teaspoon of Parsley (Fresh is better)
• 1x Teaspoon of Oregano (Fresh is better)
• 10x Garlic cloves, chopped up finely (Adjust to liking, I like HEAPS!)
• 1x Pinch of Salt and Pepper
• 1x Teaspoon of Chilli Flakes
• 2x Table spoon of Olive Oil

Method:

Combine all the non pasta sauce ingredients, i.e. everything excluding the pasta, pasta sauce, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, wine and save like 5x cloves of chopped garlic for the sauce.

Mix the load with your hands or with a wooden spoon if you fancy. Once ingredients are all mixed thoroughly, roll into gold sized balls. Heat up a decent sized non-stick pan and fried all the meatballs, making sure they do not stick together. There's no need to cook them thoroughly, so remove once brown. Now add in the rest of the garlic, fried with the meatball oil/residue till brown, add in tomatoes, add in wine, pasta sauce and then simmer with the meatballs placed back in. Simmer until thicken to liking, flavour with some pepper and some salt and more herbs.

 

You guys all know how to cook pasta, no need for instructions :)

Serves: 6?

Time: ~1 hour (rolling up balls are boring)

Cost: $25 (provided you go to a butcher not a supermarket!)

Pho - Vietnamese Beef Soup with Rice Noodles

A nice and tasty dish best served when it is freezing. I often crave this at least once a week no matter where I am, or what I am doing. This meant I just had to learn how to make it, so with some researching and speaking to my aunty it turned out to be quite easy, although quite time consuming and best made a day before serving.

A quick fact, this dish is Vietnam's most famous which is ironic because the country is blistering hot!

Ingredients:

(Soup)

• 5kgs of beef bones (I used Ox tails and shoulder bones)
• 1x piece of tripe (optional, but I like to keep it authentic)
• 250 grams of tendon (optional, but I like to keep it authentic)
• 1kgs of Beef Balls
• 1kg flank (make sure it has nice fatty bits in it)
• 2x Pho satchels (contains: star anise, cinnamon, coriander seeds, other shit)
• 2x roasted onions
• 1x whole ginger root, squashed
• 1/2 cup of fish sauce
• 2x table spoons of sugar

 (To Serve)

• Rice Noodles, preferably fresh, not the dried shit you find in your supermarket, FRESH people!
• Hoisin Sauce, a fermented bean sauce used as a dipping sauce
• Hot Sriracha Chilli Sauce, a really hot chilli sauce, fantastic mixed with the hoisin
• Slice beef scotch fillet
• Fresh bean sprouts
• Thinly sliced onions
• Chopped Corriander
• Chopped Shallots, scallions as you Americaaaannns call them :)
• Asian basil
• Asian sawtooth basil
• Lemon or Lime

Method:

Soup: Launch all the bones, onions, ginger, pho satchels into around 8 litres of water and bring to a hard boil for around 15 minutes. Scoop off the layer of fat, then reduce heat and simmer for at least 5 hours to maximise taste. After the simmer period, scoop off the fat once again. Now add in the 1kg flank (whole), beef balls, tripe, and tendon, cook for around 45 minutes with the heat on medium. Once done, remove the tripe, tendon, flank making sure the tripe and tendon are soft. Begin to flavour the soup with fish sauce, and sugar. You will find out that the soup itself it quite tasty after adding the fish sauce, add sugar to balance out the flavour. You might find that adding some salt to it as well will make it taste better along with the fish sauce.

Once the soup is complete, and you're ready to serve. Slice up the flank, around 5mm thick, chop up the tendon into nice bite size chunks, and as for the tripe into strips.

To serve, layer the bowl first with rice noodles (makes sure you nuke them so they're hot), layered with bean sprouts, thinly sliced onions, shallots, basil, sawtooth basil, then the tendons, beef balls, flank and lastly the raw thinly sliced scotch fillet. Bring the soup to a boil and pour on top, this will cook the raw beef. Serve with some lemon squeezed over and with the hoisin and the hot chilli dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

Serves: 10+

Time: ~ 6+ hours

Cost: $60