Spring Bake! – Spiced Chicken with Eggplant October 31, 2010

Hey there! There’s not so much to tell you this time, but I thought I’d just get straight to the cooking. I made up this recipe the other day, and I have to say, it’s one of the most delicious things i’ve made this year! Don’t get this recipe confused with another one I made, Spicy Pepper Chicken. There’s a difference between spicy (hot, burns the mouth), and spiced (to have spices added to). The incredible smell wafted into my nostrils as I prepared this meal, and I thought it was going to be heaven. I was completely right! It was incredible. Read through the recipe before you cook this one, as it could be a bit disappointing to find out that you have to put it in the fridge. Here it is:

4x Chicken breasts, skinless
3 Cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander (cilantro)
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped mint
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
8 finger eggplants, halved
Lime wedges, to serve

Preheat oven to 200oC (400oF). Place the chicken, garlic, cumin, coriander, lemon juice, mint, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss until well combined. Place in fridge for 1 hour. Place the eggplant on a large baking tray with the chicken. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is golden and cooked through. Serve the chicken with the eggplant and lime wedges (I added some cous cous – I love it!). Serves 4.

Well have a good one!
Chaos Kitchen.

Spring Bake! – Pizza Time! October 24, 2010

Hey there!
Now – if you haven’t read my last posts you mightn’t know that I started a scientific YouTube channel. The other day I decided to change the name – as Mythbusterson would have gotten me sued for copyright reasons – to a slightly nerdier name. I’ve decided to go with ScientificHypothesis, and I transferred my existing videos to the new channel.
Anyway, I’ve decided to have a blogging schedule, so now I’m only going to post on Sundays (if you’re lucky, maybe even a wednesday).
In other news, I’m still writing my book, and I’ve plotted out many twists and incredible ideas for action scenes in my little notebook. Last night, I bought a book (from the series: Conspiracy 365, just in case you haven’t read my earlier posts) and I bought the November edition! Even though it wasn’t supposed to come out for another 9 days, somehow it was on the shelf! I raced through it, and I’ve already finished it! In one day!
So instead of babbling on about books, I decided to chuck on a recipe for a pizza base. I love homemade pizzas because they’re customisable and you can put on them whatever you can dream of! So, here it is:

220g Plain flour, sieved
15g fresh yeast OR 1 tsp dried yeast
1 tsp salt
8 tbsp lukewarm water
1 tbsp olive oil

Place sieved flour and salt into a food processor or a mixing bowl. Dissolve yeast in a little (not too much – otherwise it will go runny) lukewarm water then stir in remaining water. Make well in centre of flour mixture, place water-yeast mixture and olive oil into the well and gradually work the flour in from the sides. Remove dough from bowl and knead by hand for about 5 minutes. Place dough in bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume (45+ mins). Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Makes 1x30cm pizza base. Add toppings, place in oven for about 20-25 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Serves many (depending on what size you cut the pieces!).

If you want, you can double the ingredients to make two pizzas, as one pizza is never sufficient for me! I hope you enjoyed this, some good pizza toppings include: ham, cheese, basil leaves, basil paste, salami, chilli (if you’re looking for a thrill!), tomato and much more. You can practically put on anything you wish.
Enjoy!
Chaos Kitchen.

Spring Bake! – Lemon Cream Tart October 13, 2010

Now I know I said to you guys in my last post that I was trying to focus on mains, but I remembered a delicious recipe that I had once made. Earlier in the year I made this twice, and it was quite good. I adapted this recipe from Gourmet Traveller, a great cook magazine (similar to Donna Hay) that includes a lot of international cuisines.
This recipe originally included candied lemons on the top, and I know they may sound incredible but at the time I made them they tasted a horrible mixture of sour and bitter. Before you recipe I’ll let you know that it does take around 5 hours, so be aware that it’s a bit tricky to mix it all up for a quick desert. The recipe is a bit long so it’s not exactly for the faint hearted. Anyway, here it is:

Ingredients:
Lemon Cream Filling
5 eggs
450 ml pouring cream
155 gm caster sugar
Juice of 4 lemons
Rind of 1 lemon
Lemon-vanilla Sablé
300 gm (2 cups) flour, sieved
150 gm butter
Rind of 1 lemon
Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean (I just use the vanilla paste stuff – you can grab from any supermarket)
1 egg yolk
3 tbsp pouring cream

1. Process eggs, cream and sugar in a food processor until just combined. With motor running, add lemon juice and rind in a stream until incorporated. Transfer to a jug and refrigerate until froth separates from liquid (at least 4 hours).
2. For lemon-vanilla sablé, process flour and butter in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add remaining ingredients and 1 tbsp chilled water and pulse to just come together. Turn out onto a work surface and knead lightly until smooth, then form into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll pastry to 4mm thick on a lightly floured work surface, then line a lightly buttered and floured 24cm-diameter tart tin, trim edges and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 175°C. Blind bake tart* until edges begin to turn golden (25-30 minutes), then remove paper and weights and bake for 8-10 minutes until just cooked, pressing occasionally with a clean tea towel on pastry base to flatten if beginning to puff. Reduce oven to 150°C. Skim top of lemon filling to remove froth, pour into pastry case and bake until just set (30-40 minutes). Cool to room temperature in tart tin and serve with cream on the side (optional). Serves 8-10.
*For blind baking, line a pastry-lined tart tin with baking paper, then fill with weights (ceramic weights or rice work well).

Well I hope you enjoy this recipe; it’s one of my favourites (and it took me forever to write ) Also, if you wish you can chuck a cup of caster sugar into the Lemon-vanilla sablé as it tasted a little bland.
Have a great tart!
Chaos Kitchen.

Spring Bake! – Lavender Lemonade October 9, 2010

I love summer. I subscribe to Donna Hay magazine and my “Spring” edition came in a few days ago. I’ve been darting through the recipes and I found a few really good ones which hopefully I’ll be cooking soon. I thought to myself, “I need a series. I’m obsessed with desserts and I need to do something creative,”. I came up with the name “Spring Bake!” and in a few months I’ll be starting my summer series. There was some really nice drinks in the Donna Hay so I’d thought I’d mix one up and share it with you guys. This one’s a Lavender Lemonade (actually Lavender “infused” lemonade) and it looked really good in the mag. I halved the recipe because it makes four litres and that could be a bit of a mouthful. It’s super simple and great as a refreshment now that the weather’s starting to get a bit warm. I couldn’t not share the recipe with you fellows so here it is:
Ingredients:
4 litres water
5 sprigs lavender (make sure you wash it)
2 cups caster sugar
2 1/2 cups (625ml) lemon juice (ours was great because we squeezed using the lemons from the tree)

Place the water and the sugar in a very large saucepan over high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and remove from the heat. Add the lavender and lemon juice and set aside to cool completely. Strain and pour over ice cubes for a cool drink. Top with lavender sprigs to serve. Makes 4 litres.
What I did was i funnelled the mix into glass water jug-bottle things (you know the ones with the suction lids) and we just poured them into separate glasses.
Enjoy!
ChaosKitchen.