Serves: 2
Prep: 15 min
Cook: Optional (add grilled seafood, beef or chicken)

Ingredients:
2 handfuls of baby salad leaves
1 small Lebanese cucumber
½ red capsicum
1 mango (consider nectarines or oranges)
½ Spanish onion

Dressing:
1 garlic clove finely chopped
1 small red chilli deseeded and finely chopped
2 limes juiced
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of soy sauce

1. Begin with mixing the dressing together to allow it time to mature. I like to begin with dissolving the sugar into the lime juice and adding the garlic. The longer the garlic is in the citrus the more will cook slightly in the acidity.
2. Add remaining ingredients and set to one side.
3. Wash and chop together the main ingredients in a separate bowl.
4. Dress just before serving.

Simply times the amount by the amount of people.

Serves: 1
Prep: 2 min
Cook: 15 min

Ingredients:
Knob of butter
Splash of olive oil
10 button mushrooms sliced
1 small shallot finely sliced
1/5 cup of white wine
1/4 cup of vegetable stock
2 teaspoons of flour
Pepper to taste

1. In a small saucepan melt the butter and heat the olive oil.
2. Add mushrooms and shallots and cook until soft
3. Add the white wine and cook until almost totally absorbed (5 or so minutes)
4. Add the vegetable stock and reduce by half
5. Finally add the flour and pepper to taste.
6. Serve on top a lovely tasty stake

Serves: 4
Prep time: 25min

Ingredients:
200g of lean pork mince
1 knob of ginger chopped
1 pack of rice paper rolls
1 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon of sugar dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water
1 handful of finely chopped spring onion
1 handful of finely chopped coriander
1 handful of finely chopped mint
A handful carrot
A handful white radish
Shredded lettuce
Cucumber sliced into thin strips

Dipping sauce
1 tablespoon of caster sugar
1/4cup of water
1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
1 small chili, seeds removed and sliced

1. Cook ginger on medium heat for one minute. Add the pork mince and cook until almost ready before adding the fish sauce, sugar water, spring onion, coriander and mint. Stirring through.
2. Chop and prepare the salad for rolling up.
3. In a saucepan heat water so that it is just warm enough to cook the rice paper but still cool enough for you to put your hands in and fish out. Heating one piece of paper at a time, allow just long enough to become soft – about 45 seconds. Any longer than this they will tear.
4. Lift out the rice paper and lay out flat on a plate placing the ingredients at the top of one side before rolling up. I’ve found that once I’ve laid the rice paper out on the plate if it is at this point that I put in another piece, if I’m working quickly then it doesn’t need to soak any longer than the time it takes me to roll one.
5. Mix the dipping sauce and serve. These will remain fresh and tasty for up to four hours – any longer than this and the rice paper will begin to become hard.

Makes: A cup

Ingredients:
Two ripe tomatoes cut into wedges
A few handfuls of cherry tomatoes halved
Lug of balsamic vinegar
A green chili seeds removed and sliced
1/4 of a Spanish onion diced
A handful of cilantro
Lug of olive oil.

1. Roast the tomato slowly for around one hour. when half way through roasting, lug a little balsamic vinegar over the top.
2. Mix with sliced chili, onion and add a lug of olive oil.

Hmmmm… well perhaps roasting a clove of galic with it would have been a good move. And maybe I just used whatever tomatoes I had around… which is why there is the mix. But to be frank… hmmm… I’ve have used a punnet of cherry toms because they are sweeter.

Yields: ¾ of a cup
Prep: 5 min
Cook time: 60 min

Ingredients:
1 ring of red onion
1 garlic clove
4 green olives stuffed with sun-dried tomato
A giant handful of parsley
Juice of half a lime (lemon if you want)

1. Combine ingredients and chop thoroughly.
2. Use as is or add olive oil to keep for the next day.

I think the rocket makes this salad a bit rougher. Some might think it is all very unusual – but I really liked it.

Serves: 1
Prep: 5 min
Cook time: 7 min

Ingredients:
1 small piece of rump stake
1 carrot
A handful of baby rocket and baby spinach
1 Lebanese cucumber

Dressing:
1 teaspoon of peanut oil
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 clove of garlic finely chopped

Sesame seeds to serve

1. Wash your salad leaves and leave to dry off a little while you begin to cook your rump.
2. Place a little olive oil into a hot pan and fry (or grill if you have one!) the stake for 3 or so minutes each side before resting for three minutes. Of course it will depend on how you like your stake cooked. I have mine medium rare.
3. During this time you will have been able to peel and slice your carrot and cucumber.
4. While resting the beef make the dressing by combining the above ingredients
5. Finely slice the stake into strips to serve and bring all of the ingredients together and gently mix through the salad and dressing.
6. Plate and serve with sprinkles of sesame seeds.

Vera and I have had some lovely meals together… and we’ve also reclaimed Lambrusco which is a wonderful summer drink and not as alcoholic as other wines. Very suitable for a school night and nice with this salad.

Serves: 2
Prep: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min

Ingredients:
Lean pork meet cut into strips
Vermicelli noodles (otherwise known as glass noodles)
1 carrot grated
A bunch of iceberg lettuce leaves shredded
½ red onion sliced
A handful of almonds cut in halves
A fresh lime

You could also add capsicum, paw paw, cucumber or replace the iceberg with Chinese cabbage.

1. Firstly pan fry the pork until cooked while bringing a saucepan of water to the boil (this is for the vermicelli)
2. Use some of the down time here to grate your carrot, shred the iceberg and slice the onion adding all to one bowl.
3. Once the water has boiled add the vermicelli noodles and cook for 3 or so minutes until tender. Strain and run under cool water.
4. Place in the bowl with salad and stir through. I find that I really need to take a pair of scissors to them, to shorten the lengths or I find it very difficult to stir through.
5. Pour over dressing and serve into two plates top with a slice of lime, the almonds and pork.

Dressing:
¼ cup of Rice Vinegar
¼ cup of caster sugar
1 long red chili, seeds removed and sliced
1 garlic clove finely chopped

6. Add the rice vinegar and caster sugar to a saucepan and heat through until the sugar has melted. Turn off the heat adding chilli and garlic to infuse.

This recipe is great to spread on toast, mix through pasta, sprinkle over roast veggies or with eggs. (Ann style)

Serves: 2
Prep: 15 min
Cook time: zilch

Ingredients:¾ cup of rocket chopped
¾ cup of baby spinach chopped
¾ cup of macadamia nuts chopped
¾ cup of parmesan grates
1 garlic clove
A few lugs of olive oil

It is easy to let the garlic over power this dish – so use a medium clove, not a big one. Raw garlic is very strong.

1. I used the flat of the knife to crush the macadamia nuts one by one before chopping them which was easy enough as they are a soft nut.
2. Combine the chopped spinach, rocket, garlic and grated parmesan with the chopped macadamias.
3. Blend for a minute. Personally I found that if you blend it a lot it can become quite creamy, so I like to stop at the half way point so there are some creamy elements but still the chunkier rustic home made elements too.
4. Add olive oil a few lugs at a time and stir. Basically the oil should moisten the mixture and hang it together, it doesn’t need to be swimming in it.

Mix:
For every two handfuls of kalamata olives chopped
One huge handful of basil, chopped
One garlic clove
The juice of half a lemon
A tablespoon of olive oil
A bit of fresh chili is optional
Salt and pepper to taste

Serves: 2
Prep: 10 min
Cook time: n/a

Ingredients:
1 small red bell pepper cubed
1 small red chili seeds removed and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
A handful of cilantro chopped
2 spring onions sliced
Juice of one lemon.

Could this possibly be the beginning of a fresh finely chopped full flavorsome fetish?

1. Combine and serve with all matter of yummy treats.