She's in the Army Now!

So- I'm going to divert from the recipes for a minute - though I do have an amazing VERY easy bread recipe - in fact I now only eat home made bread thanks to this find!

I have 3 beautiful daughters and I am proud of all of them!!

 A shout out to Vanessa and Courtney who are not well and enjoying the soup I dropped of to them - that Gianni made (I like cooking but I'm not silly).

Right now Lauren is in Lismore being fitted for her Army Reserve uniform!!  Go Lauren!!

 After a year of tests, psych test (she passed?!), fitness tests and having 3 (small, minute, could HARDLY see them) Tattoo's surgically removed - Lauren was finally inducted into the Army Reserve late last year!

She joins a long list of serving family members from Uncle Phillip, Barbara & Louis LeBoydre, Errol, Michael and of course her dad - Peter (proud much Dad hahaha). Well done!

Now to the cooking part!!

There are some amazing recipes out there and Gianni wants me to try each and every one!!!  After 8 years doing all the cooking this is heaven for my man!

I have made this loaf with brown sugar and treacle and while both work I will use the  brown sugar from now on.

This bread is sensational toasted (smells like popcorn for some reason when toasting? - go figure) with marmalade or topped with a poached egg or with soup or............. well you get the picture! It does fall apart much easier that store bought bread but well worth that!!

Thanks for the Banana Bread recipes Peta, Karen and Lauren. I will be trying them all as well as a tasty Banana and Maple Syrup cake recipe I found - Yum right?

As long as the loan is approved so I can buy 4 bananas - Thanks again Yasi!!

Happy Eating!!
            

10 Minute Wholemeal Bread

(makes 2 tasty, healthy loaves with a crisp crust)

Ingredients

6 cups wholemeal flour ½ cup unprocessed Bran

2 raised tsps Baking Soda ½ cup Olive oil

½ cup brown sugar or Treacle ½ tsp salt

4 cups Water

Method

Stir all ingredients together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until you have elastic dough that will hold its shape without slumping (approx 2 mins).

Divide the dough between 2 Teflon or greased loaf tins and bake for 45 – 60 mins at 200 C. For a crisp all over crust, remove the loaves from the tins while hot.

The good, the bad and a Yasi week.

First of all lets send our thoughts, prayers and affordable donations to those in the path of Yasi (Loved the sign "Kiss my Yasi" on a shop in Townsville), everyone in Victoria affected by the flooding and those in W.A. facing fires - not forgetting everyone in N.S.W. affected by the heat wave.

Thing should improve as The Chinese year of the Rabbit has just started and it's forecast to be calmer and more prosperous than the Year of the Tiger (explains why I'm a dog person!)

So on to the cooking ..................  and I need help!!!

I am still looking for the best ever Banana Bread recipe and have tried about 3 but while Gianni loves them all - I know there is a perfect one out there so if anyone can help - let me know please. I bought 3kgs of Bananas and froze them for cooking before they become an urban myth!

Also -  I was wrong in my first blog - I actually can't follow a recipe!!

Shaheen from India sent a sensational recipe for Byriani which is like an Indian Risotto. To do it properly the recipe is cooked over 2 nights/days - so despite the heat on Friday night I did the first part with lamb and the best smelling combination of  Indian spices....the whole house had an amazing smell all weekend .....

Then to the second part on Saturday - all the way to serving and .... I forgot the saffron!!!  So no colour in this beautiful dish!!! I did take a picture but didn't feel that I could post someone else's dish unless it was cooked according to the recipe!!!

Will do it all again with pleasure (and Saffron) and I can't wait to share the recipe over the next few weeks.

Today is a very basic but delicious and healthy loaf of Pumpkin, Almond and Raisins. The owner of the coffee shop near work has asked me to make a few loaves for him to sell so it must be OK!

So - hope you enjoy this recipe and happy eating!!

Pumpkin & Raisin Loaf

Ingredients

1 cup cold mashed pumpkin ¾ cup skim milk

¼ cup oil (vegetable or olive) ¾ cup raw sugar

¾ cup unprocessed bran ½ cup almonds

2 tsp grated orange rind

2 eggs lightly beaten 1 ½ cups S.R. Flour

1 tspn Mixed Spice (I add a large pinch of ginger)

1 cup raisins (cranberries, sultanas – whichever you prefer)

Method

Grease 1 large Bar Pan. Combine Pumpkin, orange rind and milk, eggs and oil in large bowl. Combine flour, sugar, spice, bran raisins and almonds in a 2^nd bowl. Add flour mix to pumpkin mix and stir until combined. Pour into pan. Bake at 180 C for Approx 1 hour Stand in pan for 5 mins – cool on cake rack.

Chicken with Orange & Mustard with Couscous

I wish I could invent a way to take a photo for the taste buds!!!  This recipe looks uninteresting in the pic - it does however have an  amazing taste.

The combination of Orange and Wholemeal Mustard actually explodes in your mouth and best of all - it only takes 20 mins to make!

It is best served with Couscous - either the method with the recipe or simply follow the directions on the pack!

Orange Mustard Chicken with Couscous (serves 4)

4 small chicken breasts                        1 tblsp olive oil

1 clove garlic crushed               juice of 1 large orange

¼ cup wholegrain mustard               ¼ cup marmalade

1 cup chicken stock     (you can just use boiled water)

1 cup couscous                   1 tblsp grated orange rind

¼ cup sultanas (optional 50g butter)

Method

Cut chicken fillets in half (you can use chicken pieces). Heat oil in a large frying pan over
medium heat – cook chicken on both sides until brown and just cooked through.
Remove from pan – cover to keep warm. Add garlic to same pan, cook stirring until soft. Add orange juice, mustard and marmalade and bring to the boil, then simmer for 3 mins.
Add chicken to pan and leave to simmer for 3-5 mins.

If using only boiling water first put couscous in a bowl then gently pour boiling water over; stand for 5 mins.
If using stock- bring stock to boil in a saucepan; add the couscous; stand for 5 mins. (Optional – add chopped butter and fluff with fork.)  Fluff couscous with a fork. Stir in rind and sultanas – mix well.

Serve the chicken and sauce over the couscous.