Saturday 24 July 2010

oatmeal squares
2 3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup butter type substance
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 mashed banana
1 teaspoon cinnamon

grease an 8x12inch baking dish, preheat oven to 350

melt the butter in a sauce pan, mix in the brown sugar.
in a medium sized bowl mix the oats with the raisins, cinnamon. when the butter is melted pour the butter/sugar mixture over the oats. add the mashed banana and stir everything together. dump the mix into your greased baking dish. press everything down and bake for like 20min. take out from oven, cut into squares and eat. store in airtight container.
i made these this afternoon. pretty good. i'm going to see if i can get my toddler to eat them for breakfast since he no longer eats regular oatmeal.
yes, yes updates i know. right now i'm busy making and eating food.

Friday 16 July 2010

all the stuff i made yesterday was a huge hit. the pulled pork in bbq sauce turned out awesome. the homemade coleslaw was excellent. today was more cooking, trying recipes off allrecipes.com
my son has turned 3 and become a picky eater, total nightmare. today i bought some quinoa to see if that would work for breakfast. i made a sweet version, looks a little like tapioca when done. he didn't like it so i ended up eating it. did a batch of my granola bars, he devoured a bunch of those so at least i have something i know he will eat. did a sausage and tomato sauce for husband's dinner and a batch of homemade granola cereal. will post up links tomorrow

Thursday 15 July 2010

slowly getting back into the swing of things here. restarting the $75 a week food budget on saturday. (this week i've been restocking supplies to normal levels. i haven't been keeping track but i'm probably at around $100.) my son got back from his vacation yesterday. i've been doing some cooking this week, trying out a few new things.
since my inlaws are here i decided to pull out the large chunk of pork i've had in my freezer for awhile. it kind of looks like an unsmoked piece of ham with a thick fat cap. i don't know what pig part it's supposed to be. anyway i'm doing pulled pork bbq sandwiches for dinner with coleslaw and i guess french fries. i've got my starter recipes off allrecipes.com and modified them.
pork: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Southern-Pulled-Pork/Detail.aspx
bbq sauce: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Nanas-Barbeque-Sauce/Detail.aspx
now i guess the traditional way is to cook the pork separate and then add to the bbq sauce just before serving. we'll see how it goes. i have made the bbq sauce before- with my own additions and it turns out really nice and lasts ages in the fridge.
going to go with this slaw recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Moms-Coleslaw/Detail.aspx
i've got an ass load of cooking still to do and don't feel like bullshitting around with fancy slaw.
also doing a batch of granola bars today.

Sunday 11 July 2010

katsu curry from cook yourself thin

For the curry sauce:

  • 1 tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, peeled and chopped
  • 5 whole garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp medium curry powder
  • 600ml chicken stock
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • Salt and pepper
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1. To make the sauce, heat the oil in a small pan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, then throw in the carrot pieces and cook slowly for 10 minutes, with the lid on, giving the odd stir occasionally. You want to sweat the vegetables until softened and starting to caramelise.
2. Stir in the flour and curry powder and cook them for a minute. Slowly pour in the chicken stock bit by bit until combined (do it slowly to avoid getting lumps). Add the honey, soy and bay leaf then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer and cook for 20 minutes. The sauce will have thickened and taken on all of the flavours, although you still need it to have a pouring consistency. Add the garam masala, salt and pepper, then pass the sauce through a sieve. (if you like a chunky sauce so feel free not to strain it.)