5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
• A small splash of vanilla extract
• 1 large coffee mug

Method
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.

The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

Thanks to Katy for this one, she sent this little gem to me in an email and really makes dessert a charm if you're feeling lazy. This email was accompanied by a little quote:

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?
Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

Spaghetti with Pine Nuts, Sundried Tomatoes and Pesto

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of Spaghetti, cooked
• 80g of Pine Nuts
• 3 Rashers of streaky bacon
• 8 - 10 good sized sun dried Tomatoes
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 tblspn chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flatleaf (continental or Italian) Parsley
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, peeled
  
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method

• While the pasta cooks, take about a quarter of the pine nuts and add them to a mortar and pestle with the garlic. Pound into a rough paste and add a lug of olive oil. Add the chopped herbs and pound into a rough pesto and put to one side. Strain the pasta, add pepper and olive oil to taste, put to one side.
  
• In a frying pan, heat another lug of olive oil. Put the remaining pine nuts in the pan and stir until they begin to brown, then add the balsamic vinegar. Roughly chop bacon into strips, and the sun dried tomatoes into thin strips. Once the liquid has coated the nuts and began to thicken, add the bacon.
• Once the majority of the liquid has thickened, add the tomato and fry until the bacon is cooked to taste, about 5 minutes.
• Add the pine nut and bacon mix to pasta, add the pesto and stir through. Serve immediately.
  

Great for lunch when you have friends over, as it's simple to make and doesn't take long at all. Optionally you can add almond slivers to the pine nuts and bacon, and you can add baby spinach or basil leaves to the pasta when you stir it all through. Experiment with your own herb combinations to make different pestos, or add Ricotta cheese or mascarpone to make a creamy pesto. Cumin seeds, crushed with Coriander, parsley and fennel seeds or tumeric make a nice pesto, especially when you substitute the sun dried tomatoes for roasted capsicum or peppers. I've also used a good dukkah mix instead of pesto before. Possibilities are limited only by your imagination and your pantry.

Enjoy!

-James, the Not So Skinny Cook

Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

• About 1 kg Mushrooms (button or cup)
• 8 Large Swiss Brown Mushrooms
• 10 Oyster Mushrooms
• 45g Dried Porcini Mushrooms
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 1 Spanish, or red Onion, chopped
  
• 2 Litres Chicken or Vegetable Stock
• 250ml Cream (light preferably)
  
• 3 Garlic cloves, crushed or grated (I grate all my garlic)
• Handful of chopped fresh thyme leaves
• handful of chopped continental (flatleaf) Parsley
• 4 or 5 tblsp Mascarpone cheese
• 1 lemon
  

Method

• Place the dried Porcini mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiled water, and place to one side. In a large pot, heat a large lug of Olive Oil and add the onions and mushrooms (excpet the Porcini. Once the mix started to get moist and fragrant, add the herbs and garlic (save a little of the thyme for garnishing if you wish).
• Simmer for about 10 mins and then add the stock. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  
• When the Porcini is soft strain into another bowl to remove grit, and save the water. Chop half the Porcini and add to the mushrooms, put the other half to the side for later. Add the Porcini water.
• Simmer for about 20 mins, then allow to cool a little. Take half the soup and process it, or use a chef master mixer, then return it to the soup. Place soup back on heat. Add Cream and bring to the boil, then remove from heat
• Pour into bowls, garnish the remaining Procini mushrooms in the centre of each bowl, and ladle with a spoon the juice of 1 lemon between the bowls. Lightly dust with the zest from the lemon and any thyme that you reserved. Serve with a big dollop of the Mascarpone, and thick crusty bread.
  

Every once in a while I make something that pretty much ruins meals for me. By this I mean that once I've had it my way, I cannot conceivably order it at a restaurant ever again. I did it with Spaghetti Bolognaise, and now I've done it with this Mushroom soup. Up until about 3 or so years ago, I was not a fan of any mushrooms but there was this Cafe that I used to live above (next door to a porn shop) in Kings Cross, Sydney. They served a massive 3 egg omelette with mushrooms in it which totally rewired my taste for mushrooms. Unfortunately the Cafe is no longer there, but I'll never forget those Omelettes. And so began my exploration of mushrooms.

This recipe is another Jamie Oliver recipe variation, I dont think he uses cream, from Jamie's Dinners (Page 148).

Enjoy!

-James, the Not So Skinny Cook

Tomato and Sausage Bake

Ingredients

• 1kg Tomatoes
• 500g gourmet Sausages (I use fat chicken and garlic snags)
• 2 or 3 strips of streaky Bacon
  
• 1.5 - 2 cups Balsamic vinegar
• Olive Oil
• 1 tblspn Rosemary roughly chopped if fresh
• 2 tspn thyme
• 2 or 3 Bay leaves
  
• 1 tin Tiny Taters (or baby potatoes)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 or 3 Garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
  
• Tasty Cheese, grated (optional)
  

Method:

• Preheat oven to around 190 degrees. Pour oil into oven proof deep dish and layer bacon in the bottom. Put in oven for about 5 mins until fragrant.
  
• Cut the cores out of the tomatoes, about 2 or 3 cm in, and place hole down in dish. They should be snug fit. Place back in oven for about 10 mins, then remove from heat. Roughly remove the skins (should be wrinkly now) and then add the herbs and garlic and season with salt and pepper.
  
• Roll sausages in oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and sausages to the tomatoes and pour the vinegar and a little olive oil over the lot. Return to oven and bake for a further 30 - 40 mins. If cheese is used, add to the top in the last 10 mins.

This is a variation of a Jamie Oliver recipe, one a mate and I have made on occaison and its a favourite. You can substitute the taters for chunky crusty Itallian bread if you like, or just about anything you can think of. The more gourmet they snags, the better the dish so dont just use cheap ones, and they have to be thick snags for this to really shine. You can accompany this dish with mashed potato, polenta, rice, pasta, or chunks of bread. By all means, use several diffferent types of sausages!

Enjoy!

-James, the Not So Skinny Cook

Simon's Ordeal

Hey folks, today's post is in support for Simon. Last weekend he checked himself into the Navy's version of rehab, in an effort to get himself sorted out good and proper. I've known Simon for some 4 or 5 years now, and although he's not my oldest friend, he's one of my closest. He recognized that he has a problem and is taking steps to overcome it and become a better person, and that's something we can all strive to achieve. They say that you can like a man for his qualities, but love a man for his flaws, and this is true where Simon is concerned. I've lost count of the times when I've just rolled my eyes and groaned at Simon's escapades but despite his tomfoolery and hooliganism, his bad judgement and even badder temper, I know that inside he is a noble and brave person and has an amazing capacity for love. 90% of his troubles have their roots in either the bottle or some other excess, but now that's going to become a thing of the past. So, if and when you read this, Simon, I wish you all the best, and to anyone else out there; in support for what Simon's doing, I want you all to give up something that you know you do to excess while Simon is in the tank (1 month). Our own private, non-denominational Lent.

So, a toast....to noble causes!

Handy in the Micro wave

Handy in der Mikrowelle

Vegie and Beef Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

• 500g Beef Stirfry strips (or diced beef)
• 2 Cups pasta (Penne, Rigottini, Fusili)
• 1 Medium Zucchini, diced
  
• 1/3 Cabbage, shredded
  
• 1 medium onion, diced
  
• 3 fresh chili peppers, cut into thin slivers (or 3 tspn chili)
• 1 Carrot, diced
  
• 2x 440g Tins diced Tomatoes
• 1 Capsicum, diced
  
• 2 cups grated Cheese (any type will do)
• 2 crushed Garlic cloves
  
• 2 Tblspn Paprika
• 2 Tspn Oregano
  

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Cook Pasta according to instructions and set aside.
   
2. In a large frying pan, heat 2 tblspn Olive oil and saute onions and carrots for 5 mins, then add chilis, garlic, paprika and oregano.
3. Add meat to pan and brown, then add zucchini and cabbage and cook for about 5 mins. Add capsicum and cook for another 5 mins. Veges should still be slightly el'dente (helps keep their nutritious value).
   
4. In a large oven proof greased deep dish, layer the drain pasta and then the meat and vege mix. Cover evenly with the tinned diced tomatoes. Top with cheese.
5. Place in oven and bake for 15 mins, or until golden brown on top.

Put this number together when I saw I had fresh veges that needed eating, and some beef strips that i was planning on making a stroganof with. More or less chili can be used, depending on taste, and for a twist you can put about a cup of cream in with the tomatoes, and stir through half a cup of cheese as well as topping it with cheese. Or use diced cheese through the tomato. Possibilities are endless.

Enjoy!

-James, the Not So Skinny Cook.

Soused Fish with Saffron and Onions

450g snapper or trevally or red mullet
plain flour for dusting
olive oil for frying
salt
2 large onions, peeled and finely sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 tsp saffron threads
1 fresh bay leaf
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
3/4-1 cup water
2-3 tsp sugar
1 tbsp toasted pinenuts (optional)

Chef: Brigitte Hafner

Photo: Marina Oliphant

Source: The Age
Tuesday May 10, 2005

German, Quick, Contemporary, Healthy, Dairy free, Starter

This isn't really a "pickle" - the fish is first fried then marinated in a sweet and sour sauce of onions, vinegar and sugar. It's very delicious.

Method
Cut the fish into small bite-size pieces. Lightly dust with flour and pan-fry in olive oil over low-medium heat until just cooked through on both sides. Season with salt, then place in a deep enamel or glass dish.

In a pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and gently cook the onions and carrots until pale golden and soft. They should not brown. Add the saffron, cook a further minute then add the bay leaf, vinegar, water and sugar. Reduce heat and cover with a lid.

Cook for 5 minutes then pour the hot liquid over the fish. Allow to cool completely before serving.

To serve
Sprinkle with toasted pinenuts if you wish and enjoy with a crisp salad as a starter or light lunch.

Serves 4 as an entree.

Who does this remind you of?

Resounding Rotisserie Results!

Well folks, its been a week or so and I've finally uploaded the photos from the spit roast night, and its a pleasure to say that it was a great success. It took some time to cook (sorry to Sarah who we kept shouting "Its ready!" several times only to realise the veges weren't cooked or the marinade needed thickening or what not) but in the end the wait was worth it.

We put potatoes and carrots in aluminium foil with olive oil and butter in the coals just before we put the meat on, and that was the main hold up with the meal. Next time I think we'll put the fire on a fair bit before the meat is due to come out of the oven so that by the time its ready to go on the fire has died down sufficiently.

We also found that the marinade left over in the roasting pan fit perfectly over the rotisserie tray, and that opened up a whole world of possibilities. We left it on the heat for a while and added a cup or so of the red wine that I had opened while we were enjoying the fire on a particularly cold night (notice my red face?).

Plans are being formulated for a double chicken spit, not sure what marinade to use this time, maybe a honey soy or similar.

Anyway, we had fun, plus we have plans for more enticing and titilating recipes.

Enjoy!


-James, The Not So Skinny Cook

The Spit Roast

Well, I've decided to take advantage of the old woodfire BBQ housing thats sitting in my backyard and I've gone and bought a small rotisserie. Its hopefully going to fit in the top of it and tonight we're going to try out one of Jamie Oliver's BBQ sauce roast recipes (see below). Got a nice leg of lamb ready to go and as soon as I'm getting home we're starting right away.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp fennel seeds
• 5 cloves
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a bunch of fresh thyme or lemon thyme, leaves picked
• a bunch of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped, a few whole sprigs reserved
• the zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1 bulb of garlic, broken into cloves and peeled
• 4 heaped tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 150ml organic tomato ketchup
• 8 tbsp olive oil
• 10 bay leaves

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree's C
2. To make your marinade, grind the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and cloves in a pestle and mortar with some salt and pepper. Chop the thyme and rosemary leaves, orange zest and garlic together finely. Put into a bowl with the ground spices, then add the rest of the marinade ingredients and mix together.
3. Slice the meat (in the case of lamb) with 4cm holes and rub the marinade into the slices.
4. Place the meat in a snug-fitting roasting tray, top with any leftover marinade and cover loosely with tinfoil. Bake the meat in the preheated oven until sweet and tender. This will take an hour and a half, or an hour if you like your lamb a little pink on the inside.
5. Put the roast on the spit, and continue rubbing the marinade on the meat with the leftover rosemary sprigs or a basting brush, roast until charry and sticky on the outside.
6. Meanwhile, pop your roasting tray on the barbie or over a gas hob and let the juices reduce a bit. Serve the meat dripped with the reduced marinade.

This recipe is originally done with a rack of ribs and a chicken as well, so you'll probably have plenty of sauce. Feel free to bottle it for later use or just use less when you make it. Or use ribs and a chicken as well.

Enjoy!

James The Not So Skinny Cook

Had to show you this....

Cooking at Mums!

A little while back I paid a visit to my Mother and little, sorry Younger Brother and treated them to a cooking fiesta. Money was a tad tight for them so they had been living off the same bolognaise and sausages for a while now. So... Out comes my polished Italian cooking skills, newly honed under the tutelage of a drunken Italian Chef by the name of Flavio. I made them some fettucine Arabiatta, Boscaiola, the Chili and garlic bread, Pizzas, and Mexican Tortillas Fajitas style.

Here is a couple of pics:

Pancakes!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups self raising flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp vanilla essance
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
  

METHOD

1. Place flour in a mixing jug or bowl, make a well and add the milk, egg and vanilla essence.
2. Using a whisk, mix ingredients until no longer lumpy. Alternatively use a mixing tool, like a Mix Master, or Chef Master or electric egg whisk are an easier way.
3. Coat a frying pan with oil and place on a medium heat. Add a small amount of butter and pour pancake mix into frying pan, about 15 cm diameters worth.
4. Once the bubbles have either slowed or stopped forming on the top of the pancake, flip it or just scoop it up with an egg flip and turn it over.
5. After a couple of minutes the pancake should be ready, just check the under side to see if its golden. Place the pancake on a plate and place in the oven at lowest setting to keep warm. Continue making pancakes until there is no more mixture, adding each pancake to the plate in the oven.
6. Serve with any number of toppings (see below)

This ones up here because its an easy way to make pancakes, and i think tastes better than the plastic jugs you get in the supermarkets. The mix will be fairly thick and the pancakes will come out fat and fluffy. Some ideas for toppings are as follows:

• lemon and sugar
• whipped cream and jam
• ricotta cheese and jam
• maple syrup or golden syrup
• maple/golden syrup with vanilla ice cream
• honey
• scrambled eggs and parsley

The list goes on.

Enjoy!

James The Not So Skinny Cook

Creamy Tomato Pasta

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of pasta (Penne, Travelle, Shells, your choice Fettucine is also good)
• 200ml light cooking cream
• 3 tblspn low fat Ricotta cheese
  
• 400g tin of diced italian tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 rashes of bacon cut into small strips
• garlic, 2 or 3 cloves, crushed
• 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup fresh parmesan, grated
• 1 tsp chili, finely chopped - optional

METHOD

1. Cook pasta as per intructions, drain and set aside.
2. Cook the onion with some oil or butter in a deep frying pan or large pot until it becomes soft and translucent (about 3-5 mins). Add the bacon and garlic and cook for a further 5 mins.
3. Add the can of diced tomatoes and half the parsley, plus the chili if you used it. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins.
   
4. Reduce the heat to low and add the cream, Ricotta and half the parmesan. Mix thoroughly and then toss in the pasta, ensuring all the pasta is coated in the creamy sauce.
5. Serve and garnish with the remaining parsley and parmesan, add Salt and cracked Pepper to taste.

This recipe is so easy to make, and tastes great. For the vegetarians out there, you can easily substitute the bacon for sliced or diced capsicum, or even mushrooms. This dish can be modified to include diced chicken breast or thighs, Italian sausages, or 400g of cooked chicken mince. More chilli is great for the adventurous sort. My wife and I also discovered that this dish is wicked served cold the next day also!

Enjoy!

James The Not So Skinny Cook

Chilli and Garlic Bread

INGREDIENTS

• 200g butter
• 2 tblspn dried Chilli
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
• salt
• Turkish Bread
  

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
2. Slice bread along its length sideways
3. Grate or finely slice garlic and mix with butter, Chilli and parsley in a small dish or mixing bowl. Whip butter mix until the mixture is slightly melted and spreads well, add salt to taste.
   
4. Spread butter mixture onto Turkish bread evenly, and place in the oven with the butter side up.
5. Bake for 15-20 mins or until golden. Serve hot.

You can add more or less of the ingredients to taste, I prefer more garlic and perhaps less chilli, but more chilli always goes great when the boys are drinking. I learnt this one off an Itallian Chef called Flavio at a mates bucks weekend. We were in charge of food and I made Chorizo omlettes (recipe to come) and we both put together this garlic bread before the stripper came. At about 3:30 that morning after we got back from the pub Flavio put together this fantastic Fettucine Arrabiatta, which I'll try and recreate before I post it. Flavio works at a restaurant in Sydney called Taste. At least I think he does, it might be Prima Taste. I was pretty drunk.

Enjoy

James the Not So Skinny Cook.

Fettucine Boscaiola

INGREDIENTS

• 15g dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 cup boiling water
• 375g fresh fettuccine
• 30g butter
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 300g mixed mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced sage leaves
• 4 eschalots, diced
• 1 cloves garlic, sliced
• ¼ cup dry white wine, Madeira or port
• ½ cup cream
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Pour boiling water over dried mushrooms and set aside to re-hydrate (20-30 minutes) and soften.
2. Cook pasta in large pot of salted, boiling water, (5-6 minutes) until al dente and drain. Drain mushrooms and strain liquid through a fine sieve to remove any dirt; reserve liquid and slice mushrooms thickly.
3. Heat butter and olive oil together in a large, non-stick frying pan and cook fresh mushrooms, sage, eschalots and garlic until starting to sweat and caramelise. Add sliced porcini and wine, sauté. Add some porcini water and add a dash of cream and pepper. Bring back to the boil and reduce slightly.
4. Add drained pasta and, if necessary, a little of the pasta cooking liquid to thin the sauce slightly. Serve hot.
   

I use either home made fresh pasta, or the gourmet pasta from a deli or supermarket. The dried instant stuff is ok for bulk stuff or just for plain pasta for that really special dish, say you're entertaining in-laws or cooking for your date, i recommend going all out and using the good stuff. It makes all the difference with good pasta dishes. Find yourself a good Italian Deli in town somewhere and ask them whats good for your dish.

Enjoy.

James the Not So Skinny Cook