Pretzels!!

I've always loved pretzels and although they were the cause of some serious weight gain, they are still my #1 choice when it comes to bread. I found this recipe which I tried out today and it turned out delicious! Almost as good as store bought. 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/buttery-soft-pretzels/

A minor note: I used instant yeast instead of active yeast (same quantity as in recipe below) and the warm water wasn't enough to make the dough soft and homogenous, so I kept adding water until it felt right. Not sure exactly how much though..

Also, I made a few with sesame seeds, one with olives, and another with olives and oregano.

Ingredients:

• tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• 1/4 cupkosher salt, for topping

• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
4. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Brazilian Chicken with Coconut Milk

I made this with 4 chicken thighs yesterday and replaced the jalepeno peppers with red chilli peppers and it was really good. I also used canned chopped tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes. Next time, I'll use less coconut milk (half a can) because there was too much sauce. I also put the chicken back in the sauce at the end and let it simmer for a while and garnished with both parsley and fresh coriander. Next time, I would leave the chicken to marinate overnight because although the sauce was really tasty, the chicken was a little flavourless. Otherwise, delicious!

http://www.food.com/recipe/brazilian-chicken-with-coconut-milk-sauce-307015
Ingredients:

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk
1 bunch chopped fresh parsley

Method.

1 In a medium bowl, mix the cumin, cayenne pepper, turmeric, and coriander.
2 Place the chicken in the bowl, season with salt and pepper, and rub on all sides with the spice mixture.
3 Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
4 Place the chicken in the skillet.
5 Cook 10 to 15 minutes on each side, until no longer pink and juices run clear.
6 Remove from heat and set aside.
7 Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet.
8 Cook and stir the onion, ginger, jalapeno peppers, and garlic 5 minutes, or until tender.
9 Mix in the tomatoes and continue cooking 5 to 8 minutes.
10 Stir in the coconut milk.
11 You may add additional salt and/or pepper to the sauce, if desired.
12 Serve over the chicken.
13 Garnish with the parsley.

Moroccan Kofta

This is a variation of a recipe I found online (but can't seem to find it now)

1. Caramelize an onion and add a few cloves of garlic
2. To make the Kofta mix, mix together the following ingredients: the caramelized onion/garlic, salt, pepper, dijon mustard, some cinnamon, a bit of chili pepper, some nutmeg, chopped fresh mint, ground dried coriander.
3. Shape the kofta and grill on medium heat.

To make the tomato sauce:
1. Add a bit of garlic to a pan with hot oil. Add crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper and some sugar, and let it heat up.
2. Add a thinly sliced yellow bell pepper
3. Add some chopped up fresh coriander or parsley.
4. Let simmer until it thickens

To arrange:
In a baking dish, pour the tomato sauce and place the grilled koftas on top. Sprinkle with some toasted pine nuts.

Hamburger

I tried this recipe a couple days ago (it's based on a mix of ingredients from several recipes I came across online) and I thought it was pretty good :)

1. Caramelize an onion and mix in a few cloves of garlic
2. Add half the quantity of onion/garlic to the minced meat (the rest will be added on top of the cooked burger in the bun.
3. Mix in the following with the minced meat: salt, pepper, dijon mustard, cayenne, soy sauce
4. Shape the burgers and grill on medium heat
5. Devour :)

Simple Garlic Shrimp Recipe

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/simple-garlic-shrimp/

Thai Chicken and Rice Recipe Courtesy of Z

YUM!

Coconut Chicken:
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/thai-style-coconut-chicken/1273016a-f6f7-42f7-acf5-70e80584324e
"I added a tablespoon of peanut butter, and only half the amount of coconut milk, and it made the sauce thicker and more flavorful." -Chef Z

Thai Rice:
http://www.cbc.ca/bestrecipes/2011/10/coconut-thai-rice.html

Veggie Lasagne

A great recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10603/roasted-vegetable-lasagne

Ingredients:

• 3 red peppers
• 2 aubergines
• 8 tbsp olive oil, plus a little for greasing
• ½ quantity tomato sauce (see below)
• 300g fresh pack lasagne sheets
• ½ quantity white sauce (see below)
• 125g ball mozzarella
• handful cherry tomatoes, halved

 

 Method:

1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Deseed the peppers, halve, then cut into large chunks. Trim ends off aubergines, then cut into slices about ½cm thick. Lightly grease 2 large baking trays, then place peppers and aubergines on top. Toss with the olive oil, season well, then roast for 25 mins until lightly browned.
2. Reduce oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Lightly oil an ovenproof serving dish (30 x 20cm). Arrange a layer of the vegetables on the bottom, then pour over a third of the tomato sauce. Top with a layer of lasagne, then drizzle over a quarter of the white sauce. Repeat until you have 3 layers of pasta.
3. To finish, spoon remaining white sauce over the pasta, making sure the whole surface is covered. Scatter mozzarella over the top with the tomatoes. Bake for 45 mins until bubbling and golden.

Tomato Sauce:

 

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan. Add 2 onions, finely chopped, 2 garlic cloves, sliced and 1 carrot, roughly chopped. Cook for 5-7 mins over a medium heat until softened. Turn up the heat a little and stir in 2 tbsp tomato purée. Cook for 1 min, pour in 200ml white wine, then cook for 5 mins until this has reduced by two-thirds. Pour over 3 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes and add 1 handful basil leaves. Bring to the boil then simmer for 20 mins. Leave to cool, whizz in a food processor.