Marinated pork steak

My boys really enjoyed this one!

Pop 6 juicy pork steaks into a freezer bag and add a good generous dash of soy sauce (you get low sodium soy sauce if you are watching the salt intake), 2 tsp of crushed ginger, about 1 Tbsp of brown sugar and a generous sprinkling of garlic salt (fresh crushed garlic cloves would be just as good again especially if you are worried about salt intake). Finish off with a small dash of olive oil. Seal the bag and move the pork steak around in the bag and leave in the bag for about an hour (shorter time is also fine). Fry the pork steaks in a small amount of olive oil. Once the pork is nicely browned and cooked through, squeeze the juice of half a fresh orange over the pork, turn the heat down and leave to cook for another 10 minutes watching that the pork does not burn. Yum yum yum......

Serve with potato wedges and a salad - a really quick and delicious meal.

Fragrant chicken curry

Wonderful fragrant chicken curry. Mild enough for my little one but spicy enough for my teenager and husband. Served with basmati rice and honey roasted butternut, it almost qualifies as comfort food. Roasted cauliflower is also rather delicious served with this curry. Cut the cauliflower into bite sized pieces and place in a roasting dish. Add 3 whole peeled garlic cloves. Add a couple of slices of real butter and then add maldon salt to taste. Place in the oven at 180 degrees for about 25 minutes. The butter will help brown the cauliflower and add to the delicious taste, remember to remove the garlic cloves.

For the curry:

• Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil and saute 1 diced red onion and 1 diced shallot for about 5 minutes
• Add 1 teaspoon of crushed fresh ginger and 2 crushed garlic cloves and saute for a minute
• Add the following spices to the onion, ginger and garlic and fry the spices for about 2 minutes:
• 1 tsp whole cumin
• 1 tsp aniseed
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 heaped tsp ground tumeric
• 1 tsp paprika
• I tsp curry powder
• 2 green and 2 white cardomom pods
• 2 whole star anise
• 2 bay leaves
• About 4 curry leaves
• 5 cloves
• 1 stick cinnamon
• Add 8 skinless chicken pieces  (I used fillets) and brown the chicken in the spices
• Add about half a cup of chicken stock and simmer, covered on medium heat for about 25 - 30 minutes stirring ocassionally
• Season to taste and then add about half a cup of buttermilk
• Simmer on low heat for another 10 to 15 minutes
• Serve with the basmati rice, naan bread and fresh cilantro / coriander leaves

This curry tastes even better the next day!
You could add plain yoghurt or cream or coconut milk in place of the buttermilk for a variation in taste.

Meringue and chocolate mousse cake

This is a variation of my lemon-custard filled cake with meringue topping...simply replace the lemon-custard with chocolate mousse. A delicious idea is to fold chopped nuts into the meringue mixture. I added honey-roasted cashew nuts!

I used instant chocolate mousse for the filling by the way  - a bit of a sin really, but if it is a good brand, it is really quite fine! Here is another chocolate mousse idea courtesy of one of my favourites, Nigella http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/instant-chocolate-mousse-4

A great site for "Easy Cooking"

What a great site for quick and tasty meals. I am going to be trying a few this weekend and will report back ....
Meraai se Chicken Pie sounds really really good as does the lemon and thyme roast chicken.
And for those of you who want to know what "Meraai se" means, Meraai is a typical local (Western Cape, South Africa) variant of the name Marie, so it is translated simply as "Marie's Chicken Pie".
http://www.my-easy-cooking.com/

Nigella's Eton Mess: Meringue diviness!

If you want a really quick really yummy dessert which is really perfect for summer, you just have to try Nigella's Eton Mess! When I made it for a lunch a little while back and everyone asked what it was, I called it 'Eton Mess' of course and they all thought I was saying 'Eat 'n Mess' - what a giggle. Whatever you want to call it - it is a marvellous meringue miracle! Sweet meringue with tart berries and dollops of cream, you can't get better than that. I personally did not use additional sugar as the meringue is sweet enough. Go on, try it for yourself: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/eton-mess-19

Janet Moat @Work_and_Cook

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The Mac & Cheese Bake

Well this is as easy as pie. All you need is:

• Macaroni pasta, actually any similar shape will do, fusilli is very pretty
• Bacon, chopped
• Spanish (red) onion, finely chopped
• 1 tin evaporated milk (Nestle Ideal Milk)
• Thin pouring cream (about 1 cup)
• Cheddar cheese, grated
• Packet of instant brown onion soup mix

All you need to do is prepare your pasta the usual way. While the pasta is cooking, saute the onion in olive oil, add bacon and fry until the bacon is crispy. Add the bacon and onion to the cooked pasta and then layer the bacon and onion pasta mixture with evaporated milk, cream, cheddar cheese, sprinkling the instant soup powder between the layers as you go. End with a layer of cheddar cheese on the top. About 2 - 3 layers should be good depending on your dish size. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees celcius for about 30 minutes. Serve with a salad or not, very very delicious. This is truly a super quick meal which the whole family will love......

Idea: you could saute mushroom with the onion and bacon, and include sliced tomato between the layers of pasta.