Pad Thai

The measurements are simply a guide as I tend to cook from the heart.

You will need:

• 400g dried flat rice stick noodles
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 eggs lightly beaten (I use four as we have an abundance of eggs)
• 1 onion cut into thin wedges
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• red capsicum - 1/2 large
• 100g of fried tofu - trust me, do it - there is a lovely thai flavoured one in the vegetarian section of most supermarkets
• 6 spring onions sliced on the angle (go on you know you want to)
• 1 x bunch of coriander chopped
• 1 cup of bean sprouts
• Handful of roughly chopped peanuts

Mix the following in a bowl;

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
• Sambal oelek or chilli sauce (to taste)
  
  

Putting it all together;

1. Cook noodles in a saucepan of boiling water for 5 - 10 minutes, until soft. Do not over cook them. Drain and set aside
2. Heat wok, with oil…..swirl the oil around to coat the wok.
3. Add egg, swirl the egg a bit to create a omelette. Remove, place on paper towel. When cold chop it into 2cm cubes (ish)
4. Heat oil in wok. Stir fry onion, garlic, and capsicum over high heat for 3-4 minutes.
5. Add noodles, tossing well.
6. Throw in omelette, tofu, spring onion and coriander
7. Pour sauce mix over the noodles and toss well. 
8. Sprinkle with bean shoots and nuts.

I serve this with condiments on the side - chilli, basil, salt, cut lemon and lime….people can then adapt it to suit their personal taste. 

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

         

You will need

            
100g packet vermicelli noodles

            
1 tablespoon peanut oil

            
3 shallots, sliced

            
2 garlic cloves, crushed

            
1 large carrot, peeled, coarsely grated

            
1 ½  cups shredded Chinese cabbage

            
1 x can water chestnuts, drained, roughly chopped

            
1 tablespoon soy sauce

            
A hefty shake of pepper white pepper

            
2 teaspoons cornflour

            
20 frozen spring roll wrappers (21.5cm square), thawed

            
Vegetable oil, for frying

Optional Extras: cashews, mint, coriander, curry powder (I used them all)

            


         What you need to do;

·      Place noodles in a large, heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water. Stand for 5 minutes or until soft. Drain. Using scissors, cut noodles into 3cm lengths.

·      Heat a wok over high heat until hot. Add peanut oil. Swirl to coat. Add onion, garlic, carrot and cabbage. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until soft. Add noodles, water chestnuts, soy and pepper. Transfer to a bowl. Set aside to cool.

·      Combine cornflour with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl.

·      Place 1 wrapper on a board with a corner pointing towards you. Brush edges with cornflour mixture (keep remaining wrappers covered with damp tea towel).

·      Spoon 1 tablespoon vegetable mixture into corner of wrapper. Fold corner over filling then roll up from corner to corner, folding edges in to enclose filling.

·      Repeat with remaining wrappers, cornflour mixture and filling.

Spaghetti with Lemon, Rocket, Basil and Cashews

Spaghetti with Lemon, Rocket and Basil

What a lovely meal this is. I made the spaghetti from scratch, having received a pasta machine as a gift last year. I have decided it is time to take charge and command of the kitchen. Too often recently I/we have resorted to quick and easy – which doe not always equate to healthy.

To make the pasta you will need:

·                400 grams of flour – Graded 000 pasta flour or plain

·                4 fresh eggs (straight form Cluckingham Palace – thanks ladies)

The rest is very easy. Simply prepare the following, place it in a large bowl.

The following are rough guesses. I simply cook prepare this according to my tastes, what is available in the garden and what happens to be convenient. Except for the oil, feel free to chop and change accordingly

·                300g Rocket

·                zest from one lemon

·                handful of basil - chopped

·                1 small chilli chopped

·                125ml of extra virgin olive oil

·                ½ cup of finely grated parmesan cheese

·                handful of cashews, chopped

When the pasta has cooked, drain and toss it through the ingredient prepared in the bowl. Season with sea-salt and pepper