CHILI & LIME BEEF AND NOODLE WARM SALAD

I love the combination of chili and lime. Citrus is one of my favourite flavours and partnered with the punch of chili is just divine and perfect for the warmer nights. Seeing as winter is lifting and gloriously sunny days and warmer evenings are starting to happen this was the perfect dinner dish!

INGREDIENTS

500 grams rump steak
MARINADE
4 cloves garlic chopped
2 limes zested and juiced
1 long red chili
1 stalk of lemongrass chopped
2 cm piece of ginger roughly chopped
5 coriander roots well washed
60 grams coconut sugar
60 mls vegetable oil
WARM NOODLE SALAD
200 grams rice noodles
vegetable oil
1 red onion cut into thin wedges
4 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
2 cm ginger julienned
2 tbs oyster sauce
2 long red chillies deseeded and sliced
200 grams green beans trimmed and sliced into 2cm battens
handful of coriander, leaves picked
handful of mint, leaves picked

Place all the marinade ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth. Pour over beef leaving 1 tbs behind and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

Pour boiling water over noodles and allow to sit while preparing the rest of the salad. Fry beef in a little oil to just under desired finish. Eg cook to rare if you like you meat medium rare. Remove from pan and allow to rest. Clean out pan and add a little more oil and add onion, garlic and ginger and cook stirring for 5 minutes until softened and starting to get some colour. Add oyster sauce, reserved marinade and beans and cook for a further 5 minutes, meanwhile slice up steak. Once beans are tender add drained noodles, steak and half of the herb and toss. Serve up and scatter remaining herbs over the top. Serves 2.

CROYDON FOOD SWAP

I headed down to my second food swap. I have found 5 in my area and I am heading to them all to see which ones I like the best and when I am in peak production I will try and head to one every weekend to swap some of my goodies. Hopefully I will still be able to do this with a newborn, that is both garden to the extent that I do and head out to swap my goodies and chat!

The one I visited this weekend is Croydon Food Swap which is held at a local primary school amongst their kitchen garden. I forgot to take a photo of this beautiful location but hopefully I will remember next month! It was a lot smaller than the first one but this one hasn't been running as long. Given it is winter as well, a lot of people feel they don't have excess to swap. I found it quite difficult to find out about swaps in the first place and really think the local council should get on board and really help promote these great community groups and events. I met some lovely fellow gardeners and swapped some equally lovely produce!

This is what I took along ~

Zucchini, Maltese long marrow and some pumpkin.

Parsley and some dried chili

bay leaves, green feast peas and broad bean seeds

This is what I got in return ~

Coriander seedlings

Celery seedlings

Finger eggplant

Tiny hot chilis

Kumquat marmalade

Chili

Oranges

Squash

TOM KHA GAI SOUP - THAI HOT SWEET AND SOUR SOUP

I love this soup. The combination and balance of hot sweet and sour in a creamy coconut base is just delicious. The recipe is hard to write because it really needs to be tasted as it's made and adjusted to the ingredients you are using. Some limes are juicier than others, it is dependant on the sugar that is used and of course some chilis are intensely hot while others not so, so the recipe is a guideline and please please taste as you go! I used some of the lovely home grown produce that I acquired at the Whitehorse urban harvest.

INGREDIENTS

400 mls coconut cream
800 mls chicken stock
2 chicken breast
2 stalks lemon grass sliced in half and cut into 4 cm chunks
1 hot chili sliced in half
3 tbs jaggery (or palm sugar)
3 shallots cut into quarters
4 coriander roots well washed
5 cms ginger cut into thick slices
3 kaffir lime leaves
3 tbs fish sauce
2 cobs of corn kernels removed
1.5 limes juiced
1 handful coriander leaves
Rice noodles prepared to package

In a large pot combine coconut cream, chicken stock, lemon grass, jaggery, shallots, coriander roots, ginger, limes leaves and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with fish sauce and limes juice and taste, adjust if not balanced in sweet salty and sour. You will know if it's not balanced if it doesn't taste quite right. Add corn and chicken and serve when chicken is cooked through on top of rice noodles.

I have linked up with Tuesdays Table so go check out what everyone else has been up too!

MOROCCAN PUMPKIN DIP

This is a delicious light dip which is full of flavour. It's sensational with chicken or crusty bread, served on a dip platter. I used the pumpkins I harvested a couple of weeks ago.

INGREDIENTS

250 grams steamed pumpkin and mashed
200 grams tinned chickpeas rinsed and mashed
2 tbs oil
2 tbs lemon juice
1 small onion grated
1 tbs vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 clove garlic minced
handful shredded coriander leaves


Mix all ingredients together. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days

DECEMBER PLANTING GUIDE

Successive planting for a family of 4...

Week 1
Lettuce 10 seeds
Turnips 4 seeds
Spring Onion 12 seeds

Week 2
Cabbage 3 seeds
Beans 6 seeds
Broccoli 6 seeds
Coriander 2 seeds
Kohlrabi 2 seeds

Week 3
Lettuce 10 seeds
Carrot 20 seeds
Silver Beet 1 seed
Beetroot 6 seeds

Week 4
Turnips 4 seeds
Parsnips 12 seeds
Potato 8 tubers
leek 8 seeds
Beans 6 seeds
Broccoli 6 seeds
Cauliflower 8 seeds
Celery and Celeriac 4 seeds
Coriander 2 seeds
Cucumber 3 seeds

Week 5
Lettuce 10 seeds
Cabbage 3 seeds
Peppers and Chili 2 seeds
Kohlrabi 2 seeds

SATAY CHICKEN WITH NOODLES

No recipe yesterday as we went to a friends house for dinner! This one is from Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals. I made some changes to the original recipe :D I had some help from hubby as I sprained and bruised my thumb in an intense game of twister...had fun explaining that one to the doctors! This was an easy dinner to make injured and all! Even for a hubby that never....ever cooks (sorry babe :p)

INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts

Satay Sauce:
Hand full fresh coriander
1 dried red chili
1 clove garlic peeled
3 heaped tbs crunchy peanut butter
2 tbs soy sauce
2 cm piece ginger grated
juice 1 lemon
150 ml coconut milk

Noodles:
1 packet egg noodles
100 g peanuts crushed
1 onion diced
1 dried red chili
1-2 tbs soy sauce
1 lemon
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tbs honey

Add chicken to a pan with a little oil and fry over medium heat until cooked. In the mean put kettle onto boil. Put all satay sauce ingredients in jug and with a bar mix puree all ingredients. Add to a sauce pan and cook over low heat. Pour boiling water over noodles in a large bowl. Fry onion in small pan until tender. add rest of the ingredients for the noodles except noodles. and cook for a few minutes. Pour over drained noodles and toss. Chicken should be cooked by now, when it is serve on top of noodles with some satay sauce.

MOROCCAN BEEF TAGINE

O love tagines soft meat, a lovely spicy gravy, chickpeas, a sweetness derived from fruit, and fluffy couscous to soak it all up. This one is one of Jamie Oliver's from his book Jamie Does. I used a different cut of meat to his which I think gives it more richness as the bone is still in. I also used chicken stock instead of vegetable stock, purely because I didn't have any vegetable stock. I also used sweet potato instead of pumpkin, which held it's shape even after 3 hours of cooking time. In the original recipe, you add the pumpkin after 1.5 hrs of cooking time. when I slow cook I like to forget about it after it's all in the pot so this suited me well.

INGREDIENTS

1 kg osso bucco beef shin
olive oil
1 onion diced
small bunch of coriander
1 tin chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 tin tomatoes
800 mls chicken stock
800 g diced sweet potato chunks
100 g prunes pipped

Spice Rub:
1 level tbs ras el hanout
salt and pepper
1 level tbs ground cumin
1 level tbs ground cinnamon
1 level tbs ground ginger
1 level tbs sweet paprika

Mix all the spice rub ingredients together and massage into the meat. Cover and refrigerate over night or a couple of hours minimum, this allows all the flavors to penetrate the meat.

The next day, pour some olive oil into heavy bottom frying pan, and fry meat with spice, until golden. remove from pan and add onion and chopped coriander stalks (reserving the leaves until after the tagine is cooked). When softened, add tomatoes, chickpeas, sweet potato, prunes and stock, bring to boil and add meat, reduce to simmer cook covered for 3 hours on a very low heat or until meat falls apart. When meat is cooked and the sauce looks too runny remove lid and increase heat so sauce thickens. Serve on top of couscous and sprinkle with coriander leaves.

NOVEMBER PLANTING GUIDE

Successive planting for a family of 4...

Week 1
Lettuce 10 seeds
Carrot 20 seeds
Silver beet 1 seed
Beetroot 6 seeds
Spring Onion 12 seeds

Week 2
Turnips 4 seeds
Beans 6 seeds
Broccoli 6 seeds
Coriander 2 seeds
Cucumber 3 seeds

Week 3
Lettuce 10 seeds
Cabbage 3 seeds
tomato 3 seeds
Kohlrabi 2 seeds

Week 4
Parsnips 12 seeds
Potato 8 tubers
Carrot 20 seeds
Leek 8 seeds
Peppers and chili 2 seeds
Silver beet 1 seed
Beans 6 seeds
Broccoli 6 seeds
Cauliflower 8 seeds
Celery and Celeriac 4 seeds
Coriander 2 seeds
Beetroot 6 seeds

SPRING GARDEN SNAPSHOT

My spring garden is doing really well! I thought I would share some pictures with you.

red cabbage

yellow silver beet

potato

growing seedlings

carrots

sprouting broccoli green and purple

garlic going to seed, nearly ready to harvest

celery, has been so productive but i think it's life is nearly over looks like it's going to seed.

strawberries coming into flower and some little ones starting to grow!

peas have been so productive!

parsley

Rhubarb

coriander

Thyme

Tomato's already flowering!

blood orange in bloom

bay leaf

broad beans

savoy cabbage

Happy gardening!