Simple Chicken Soup - Cost Virtually nothing - Waste Not Want Not

I am in the process of making a Korean Barbecue Dish
It consists of Chicken Thighs Marinated for a few hours then onto the grill

The thighs I bought, had a bone in them
So I removed it. Of course I cant throw anything away, so I threw the 3 little bones into a pot with some Vegeta Powdered Stock and about a litre of water
Brought to the boil and simmered for about 20 minutes

Meanwhile,  using what I had in the fridge and freezer, I chopped an onion, 2 sticks of celery
Added them to the pot. In the freezer, I always have Frozen Corn and Peas
Grabbed a good handful of them both
I also have in the pantry, Asian Egg Noodles

I popped the corn in with the onions and celery, simmered them for about 15 minutes.
Throw in one little nest of Egg Noodles
Bring back to the boil
Swirl them around with a fork to separate
Simmer for 3 minutes
And at the last moment a good handful of frozen peas

Another couple of minutes so that the peas are just cooked

Tip into the bowl and serve

Lunch is served

Spicy Qunioa Coated Fish- with Roasted Sweet Potato- Dont forget the leftovers!!! #grainfree

Once again thanks to Donna Hay and Bon Appetit for this recipe
I'm a bit philosophically anti Quinoa...as I am about the Term Super Foods and other..."Let's be
Over Healthy" Food Fads
It's the hype that bores me also I had to chase all over town to buy these flakes!!!
Luckily it wasn't a hot hot day.
Meanwhile there are some very good uses for all these foods and I love eating ALL beautiful produce
AND I do

On my Grain Free "feed the mob" week, I found this recipe of coating Fish with Quinoa Flakes.
It was very delicious and I may even... in fact I will... do it again

Served with Spicy Roasted Kumera (sweet potato)
A winner

Ingredients
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
Cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups quinoa flakes
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
2 eggs
4  snapper fillets
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

Mayonnaise and lime wedges, to serve


Preheat oven to 200C
Place the cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of the chili flakes and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a bowl
and mix to combine.
Place the sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and
Sprinkle with half the salt mixture, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the oil.
Roast, turning halfway, for 20 minutes or until golden.

Place the quinoa, lime zest, remaining chili flakes, salt and pepper in a bowl
and mix to combine.
Place the eggs in a bowl and whisk to combine.       
Heat the remaining oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
Dip the fish into the egg and press into the quinoa mixture to coat. 

Cook for 2–3 minutes on each side or until golden and cooked through.

Serve the fish and potatoes with the remaining salt mixture,
the parsley, mayonnaise and lime wedges.

So not to forget the Leftovers... which we had, as I had been very generous, with the amount of fish that I had bought

Fish Cakes for lunch. Double Quinoa Use!
Yes in fact, I suggest,  cook excess so that you have enough to make these little gems
So so tasty

Hard to give exact amounts but as a rule of thumb, I would suggest
Equal amounts of potatoes and fish and enough egg to bind

Crumbed Fish
Potatoes, peeled cubed
Olive oil
Parsley finely chopped 2-3 tablespoons
Egg
Sea Salt and Freshly ground Black Pepper
Quinoa Flakes

Oil for frying

Cook the potatoes in salted water and mash roughly with a little olive oil
Meanwhile flake remaining crumbed fish and
Add to potatoes
Add parsley and beaten egg
Season to taste

Meanwhile roll into balls and dip into Quinoa Flakes

 Place oil in medium hot pan and cook Fish Cakes, till Golden all round

 While Dan cooks
Games are being played

 Serve with a nice green fresh salad

  Definitely a keeper

Zucchini Noodles - Perfect Replacment for Pasta - #grainfree

Continuing on the Theme of Grain Free, I didn’t want to just have meat and vege, fish and
vege. or boringly "Just Salad" on its own, so I looked around for some interesting ideas.
Donna Hay had this recipe for Zucchini Noodles using Chili Tuna for your protein
Haven't had canned Tuna for  a while and it was good.  This Tuna packed a lunch

However I think this dish can be used with any protein. 
In fact you will see further down, what we did with it, in the following week

¼ Cup (60ML) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Cloves of Garlic thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons Capers Drained
2 Teaspoons of grated Lemon Zest
6 Medium Zucchini Thinly sliced lengthwise with a julienne peeler
Or a Spirializer or finely cut. they need to look like noodles
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
¼ cup dill sprigs
2 cups Rocket leaves
2 X 185 gms tins of Chili Tuna
Freshly ground black pepper
Toasted Pistachio Nuts, to serve

First I have to mention my julienne peeler
Love it

Just slide it down the vegetable
and Voila
Noodles

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat,
add the garlic, capers and lemon zest

and cook for 1–2 minutes or until lightly golden and crispy.

Add the zucchini, lemon juice and salt.
Cook for 1 -2 minutes or until heated through.
Remove from the heat,
Place the rocket on a platter
Pour noodles over the top
Sprinkle the nuts and dill

Divide between bowls
Top with the tuna and serve

Serves 4.


SO the following week in my time at Pauanui on the Coromandel Coast
So beautiful down there
The kids practising their dance to the very popular and very annoying song from the Moana Movie
"Shiny", we heard it a lot.

 Up she goes

These Noodles certainly needed another outing
This time served with Barbecued Chicken Breast

We also blended the noodles with some packaged coleslaw
Served with sliced Chicken Breast

and some tasty Croutons over the top
for a bit of extra Crunch

These noodles are so good, I have been making them even just for me on my own
Perfect

Chicken, Avocado and Cabbage Salad #GrainFree

It's holiday time, and I had two wonderful weeks away with my family
First week was spent in Leigh, north of Auckland
An amazing view from the deck

Of course we all went shopping for food
The fridge was full

This was going to be an Almost Grain Free week
Some of us had toast for breakfast, others omlets
But generally the rest of day was without Grain.
I did a bit of research and found some interesting recipes
Making sure we were all satisfied
You might notice,. there was no shortage of alcohol
What is a holiday without wine?
Anyway I digress.
Paleo Pete has published this recipe of a Chicken Salad
I had a trial run on New Years Eve for my friends
Served it with my Herbed Rice, Tomato and Feta Dish

Click here for the recipe

1/2 a green cabbage, shredded
1 ripe avocado, stone removed, diced
1 roast chicken, removed from bones shredded or chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
A good handful mixed herbs, torn (tarragon, parsley and chervil)
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons almonds, toasted and chopped

Roast the chicken have a look here for the best roast chicken

Or buy one from the supermarket, your choice

Place cabbage in a large bowl, add 1/2 the chopped herbs

Mash the avocado slightly to a creamy and slightly chunky texture
Add to the bowl with the roast chicken, olive oil and lemon juice 

Season well with salt and freshly cracked pepper.
Give it a good toss through so the avocado dresses the salad evenly.
Cover and chill

When you are ready to serve
Lay salad out on a platter
Dress with almonds and extra herbs

It was very nice but in Leigh we changed the format
Used red cabbage
and served the salad without the chicken and served it separately

And to spice it and bulk it up, we made a salad of Roasted pumpkin, barbecued corn, with some spring onions and a French Dressing
Delicious
 More Grain Free recipes to follow

Jacques Pepin’s Monkfish on a Bed of Ratatouille

The first time I cooked Monkfish, I don’t know what I did...but it was not pleasant, in fact, so bad
I  threw it out. Whoops, what a waste
But recently, I saw some particularly nice Monkfish filets at the Fish Market
Time to try it again
Also Monkfish is a reasonably priced fish, that's a bonus
My hero Jacques Pepin, had this recipe in his Essential Pepin Book

He roasted the filet, well what a difference, it was beautiful

Studded with garlic and roasted in some unsalted butter. Yum
Once again...very simple and siting on a bed of Ratatouille.
Can’t get much better than that
Perfect for the Summer, when all these vegetables are all around us

These quantities for 6 people 
For the Ratatouille

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups diced onions
3 cups 2.5 cm diced Courgettes
3 cups 2.5 cm diced Eggplant
1 large Yellow pepper large dice
3 cups quartered tomatoes
1 tsp fresh Oregano  (I used dried)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated orange rind

For the Monkfish
I like to supply about 150  - 200 gms per person
So it’s up to you how much you buy
The tail pictured below, fed 2 people

3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut into slivers
Sea salt and Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Method
Heat oven to 200C

Heat the oil in a large heavy based pot
Add onions and saute for about 2 minutes
Add all the remaining ingredients except the lemon and orange rind
Bring to boil and turn down
Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes
Remove lid and cook for another 10 minutes to evaporate most of the liquid

Meanwhile, make random cuts in the Monkfish filet
Stud with the garlic slivers
Sprinkle with S & P

Heat the butter in a Gratin dish or an ovenproof skillet
When it is hot
Add the fish and brown it all over on medium heat
Turning occasionally for 2-4 minutes
Transfer to oven and roast for 20 minutes
Basting the fish with the juice after 10 minutes

Remove and let it rest for about 5 minutes

When the Ratatouille is cooked, add the lemon and orange zest
Place Ratatouille on a warm platter
Top with the fish
Sprinkle with chopped parsley

Serve with some crusty french bread
Something to mop up those beautiful juices

Perfect