Ingredients:
Lug of olive oil
1 Large onion chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 tspns of groud coriander
2 tspns of ground cumin
Pinch of chili powder
½ kilo of sweet potato peeled and diced
½ kilo of carrots sliced
6 cups of veggie stock
A can of chicpeas drained
½ lemon juice
Bread to serve

1. Sweat onions and garlic on a medium heat. Add coriander, cumin and chili stirring through for about a minute until the aromas emerge.
2. Add vegetables and stir for several minutes stiring regularly.
3. Add veggie stock and bring to the boil reduce and cook for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
4. Allow to cool and blend.
5. Return to the saucepan to cool and season with salt and pepper. Add lemon juice and serve.

I’ve written this recipe up with a smidge less cumin than I made it – but I just must say it is creamy, sweet and luscious.

Warning: Sieve needed.

Serves: 3 for entre
Prep: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min

Ingredients:
4 roasted ears of corn
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 medium/smallish zucchini
2 small red chilli
3 cups of vegetable stock
1 tsp of garam masala
Sprinkle of cumin
½ cup of milk
Salt and pepper

1. Rub down the corn with salt pepper, some olive oil and chilli
2. Roast the corn ears until golden brown along with the zucchini
3. Slice the kernels off the cob
4. Place roast corn and zucchini in a saucepan with the veggie stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes
5. Pass contents of the pot through the sieve to separate out the corn skins and discard
6. Return to the pot adding the garam masala, cumin and milk. Warm and serve with crumpets!

Serves: 6
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
2 punnets of strawberries
1.5 cups of white wine
1 cup of sugar
.5 cup of water
1 star aniseed
1 cinnamon bark

1. Top the strawberries and chop in half.
2 Pop all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil
3. Simmer for 30 minutes
4. Blend and refrigerate until cool
5. Serve cold

Optional: You may wish to strain to remove the seeds and roughage. I think it is fine without it. However, if you allow to sit long enough the soup separates in two. By skimming the roughage off the top you get a clearer soup as shown below.

Because I didn’t eat all of it at the time – the remainder was frozen, turning it into this great sorbet sort of thing. Frozen strawberry soup tastes lovely. I think this soup could also have very easily be turned into jelly.

At Gioan, Hoi An I was taught a really quick method of making pho – but from this I know what I would do if I was to ramp it up a little bit and make it more special by making my own stock and stuff like that. This method really only took about 10 – 15 minutes and was delicious.

Serves: 2
Cook time: 15 min

Ingredients:
100g of beef
2 teaspoons of veggie stock powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon of chili paste (sweet and spicy)
1 tablespoon of veggie oil
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1/2 liter of boiling water
100g of rice noodle
100g of bean sprout
1 tablespoon dried coriander powder
1 tablespoon fresh mint
1 tablespoon of dry fried onion
Pinch of pepper

1. Marinate beef in a bowl with veggie stock, sugar, sesame oil and chili paste
2. Add vegetable oil to a pan and bring up the heat until medium hot.
3. Add garlic and cook for 30 second, then add the beef to cook for a minute (the beef should be cut into small thin pieces)
4. Add boiling water and dry coriander to the pan and bring to the boil. Once it has reached the boil – turn off heat.
5. In a bowl add rice noodles and bean sprouts before serving the soup on top.
6. Garnish with fry onion, mint and pepper.

Salute!

Serves: 6
Prep: 20 min
Cook time: 90 min

Ingredients:
2 liters of water
20 garlic cloves
¼ cup of olive oil
½ cup of sliced onion
1/3 cup of sliced celery
1/3 cup sliced fennel
½ cup of white wine
3 thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary chopped
1 bay leaf
4 cups of chicken stock
300ml of thickened cream
1 slice of white bread
Salt and pepper

1. Place the garlic and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Then turn down the heat to simmer for 10 minutes
2. Remove the garlic from the stock and add olive oil, onion, celery, fennel, and white wine. Continue to simmer on a relatively low heat until the liquid has reduced by half and stir occasionally.
3. Add thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, chicken stock, cream, and the bread and continue to simmer for around 45 minutes stirring regularly. The soup should reduce by around one quarter.
4. Allow the soup to cool so that it may be blended thoroughly.
5. Reheat to serve.

Yes. Yes, I did….

Full on, man.

I’ve been looking forward to making French Onion soup for a long time.

I’d strongly suggest the following things are really important: small serves (it’s full on) – the cheesy bread is very very important – AND slice the onion finely.

/a>

Serves: 3-4 (small serves!)
Prep: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of butter
1 thinly sliced brown onion
½ medium leek thinly sliced and rings halved
1 tablespoon of flour
1 bay leaf
2 cups of beef stock
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce (bit of a cheat, no?)
Salt and Pepper
Thin slices of baguette (or crusty white bread with a small diameter)
Good melting cheese…

1. Finely chop your onions ready for cooking
2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan before adding the onions to cook until they begin to soften and add the flour while continuing to stir.
3. Add white wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and gradually some of the beef stock so that you keep the temperature reasonably warm. Meanwhile add quite a bit of pepper and they bay leaf.
4. Continue to simmer for another 20 minutes stirring occasionally
5. Toward the end of your preparation make the little crusty toast for serving.
6. Also remember to taste the broth for seasoning. It is likely that it will require a little salt.

I think my second or third job ever was in a pizza shop. At least once a week it was my job to peel and dice a 20 kilo bag of onions while serving customers. I can’t think of how many people saw me crying at work. I cried again today…

P.S I got very excited today because I’ve booked my tickets to go OS for my birthday. I’m a very happy girl who now has to save up some spending money!!!

Serves: 3 – 4
Prep: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min

Ingredients:
Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower cut into one inch pieces
5 garlic cloves
1 liter of chicken / veggie stock
1 leak sliced
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
1/8 cup of parmesan

Varieties include more or less garlic, roasting the garlic, or sprinkling a tad of paprika.

1. Lightly sauté the leek and garlic until soft.
2. Add cauliflower and cook for a few minutes to coat in the flavours
3. Add the stock, which should just cover the cauliflower – if not add a little more water
4. Boil until the cauliflower is soft.
5. Allow to cool for a while so that when you blend the soup no splatters burn you. During this time add, 1/8 of a cup of parmesan cheese to the broth and check for seasoning.
6. Blend until smooth and reheat to serve with a crumble of parmesan in the centre.

Kumara soup is one of Aaron’s favorite dishes which he showed me how to make during a cook-off. I have tried to recreate it here from memory.

Emma, James and I ate Kumara n’ coconut soup and roasted chicken as we caught up on our major project – am online booking system for Queen Street Studios. It should be fully implemented in three weeks or so… then I will chewlog more. :]

Serves: 4
Preparation: 10min
Cook: 25

Ingredients:
1 onion finely chopped
2 med to small cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 inch of ginger very finely chopped
1 kg of sweet potato (kumara) cubed
1.25 liters of vegetable stock
1/2 cup of coconut cream
I red chili deseeded and finely chopped

Garnish
1 handful of coriander
A sprinkle of sesame oil
Spring onion (optional)

1. Lightly sauté the onion, garlic and ginger in a large pot.
2. Add the cubed kumara and stir for a few minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.
3. Add the vegetable stock and boil until very soft.
4. Cool and blend for a few minutes until smooth. (cooling is basically so that you don’t scorch yourself when it splatters – which it will do- so save time and don’t worry about it being cold – just cool so that it is not dangerous.
5. Add the coconut milk and continue to blend until combined and even smoother!
6. Heat the soup for 10 minutes on a low heat when you are ready to serve. Garnish with a careful swoosh of sesame oil, chopped coriander and spring onion if desired.
7. Serve.
8. :]

I shared this soup with Ann. She has sat across the table from me two sunsets in a row, being really supportive and positive. I love Newtown, I love my home, I love my friends and I love sounding like a lover hippy of all things. :] (don’t tease me for being whossy Martine! Xx )

Serves: 6
Preparation: 20 min
Cook: 40 min

Ingredients:
Olive Oil
3 medium brown onions cubed
1 stick of celery cubed
1 carrot cubed
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 fresh red chili seeded and thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
A handful of parsley finely chopped
2 cups of brown lentils
4 or 5 big handfuls of baby spinach
3.25 liters of water
4 teaspoons of salt
¼ cup of red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper seasoning to taste
½ cup of chopped dill to serve

This dish can be made ahead and eaten for up to three days.

1. Cook the onion, celery and carrot until soft.
2. Add chopped garlic, parsley, chilli and bay leaves to the pot
3. Measure out your lentils and wash in a colander add to the pot and stir through to coat the lentils.
4. Add your 3 liters of water and salt. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 20 minutes until the lentils are soft.
5. Remove bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste, add the red wine vinegar and stir through the baby spinach just before serving. Top with dill.

Soup ‘n’ Stuff with Bits is most certainly a meal. It’s a hearty soup with lots of filling ingredients. I love to make a big batch and eat for days. When I am getting a bit sick of it, I’ll add some asparagus or whatever.

This soup was made to share with Cindy Girl at work. She has been blessing me lately with the best and most dedicated cook in Sydney’s (her mum) food! I love food, and I love to cook, but I find it so hard to organise myself for work. Cindy took control and decided she didn’t want to see me eat high calorie expensive lunches and has blessed me with her organization and her mother’s cooking. I have glowed this week with Dad’s BBQ, mum’s grilled chicken and brussels sprouts and cannelloni with French beans.

Cindy Girl, I know I had a really grumpy week… but your sharing made me so happy and lucky. AND I lost a kilo. :]

Serves: 6
Prep time: 20min
Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients:
2 lamb shanks
2 tins of Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 carrots, cubed
2 stalks of celery, cubed
1 onion, cubed
2 medium potatoes cubed (or one large)
1 turnip cubed
1.5 liters of veggie stock
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 bay leaf
Parsley
A little flour to coat the shanks

Grilling cheese on rye bread to serve makes this dish like a warm hug on the couch.

1. Grab a large pot to cook your soup in and begin by browning the shanks off. To do this simply rub in flour to add a thin coat all over the shank. Fry for a few minutes either side on a high temperature until browned, remove from heat.
2. Into the same pot add the carrot, celery, onion and bay leaf and turn the head down to the low range of medium. Continue to stir occasionally sweating the onions and softening the carrot and celery. Once the onions are almost clear add the garlic, some parsley and cook for another minute
3. Add the potatoes and turnip, stirring through. Pour over the stock, and return the shanks to the pot, immersing them. The stock should cover the vegetables. Cover and bring to the boil.
4. Finally add the cennellini beans and continue to cook slowly, covered on a simmer for 1.5 hours checking it every 20 minutes or so.
5. Once the shank is tender it should tear easily from the bone. Be careful to remove any fatty or gristly bits. (We leave them in during the cooking as that little bit will add to the flavor of the stock – but you don’t want your guests biting into it)
6. Serve into big bowls and top with a sprinkle of parsley. You may also add some parmesan if you choose.