Divine chicken muffins... ( kluck kluck)

What can I say- I looovvvve new recipes and especially if I can combine good healthy complex carbs with yummy protein for a 100% wholesome and healthy snack.. I give all credit to Jamie Eason from LiveFit for the original recipe- which I tweaked here and there to make it 'n Super Sanja special!lol..

 This recipe makes 16 mouth watering muffins of Chicken goodness!

Ingredients 

1 kg chicken/turkey breasts ( diced up )
1 onion
1 carrot
1 cup oats
1 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp garlic powder / 1 clove garlic
1 tsp mixed Spices / Salt
1 chicken stock cube
1 tsp baking powder
3 egg whites
2 tsp mustard
a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds (OPTIONAL)

Method to the madness...

1. Preheat oven at 180'C

2. Grate the carrot, chop up the onion, dice the Turkey / Chicken into small pieces, and add ALL the ingredients together in a BIIIG bowl. Mix gently until all the goodness is all mixed up.
3. Dissolve the chicken stock cube in 2 tbs of boiling water. Add to the mixture.

4. Grease cupcake tins / place cupcake wrappers in each muffin tin separately.

5. Spoon the mixture into muffin tin and sprinkle with roasted pumpkin seeds.

 ( Roast pumpkin seeds by 'clean roasting' them in a pan on medium heat.) No oil needed . Just wait for them to start popping and they are ready!

6. Bake muffins for 25- 30 minutes . Allow to cool.

There you go- This a a great snack / meal and each serving of 2 muffins roughly delivers a whooping 20 grams of protein and almost zero carbs! I enjoyed mine with some long grain brown rice and a fresh salad. 

See you ladle!

ENJOY cooking

Flip the switch!

Have you ever had one of those "AHA" moments? Where the light bulb suddenly just turns on? ( excuse the pun ).. I had one of those the other day. We were doing a Science week at school with the  kids I teach, and one of the Scientists we studied was Thomas Edison- who's epic invention surely set the course of modern commercial electronics.. Just by the way.. The first light bulb was actually invented in the 1800's by Humphrey Davy who made the 'arc lamp' BUT Edison was the first man to construct a practical commercial Light Bulb as we know it today..(: 

  Later that day I was just spending time in God's word, and John 5 v 14-16  really ministered to me... 

" You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick: and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

What a powerful scripture! I had a good laugh imagining all of us walking around like little light bulbs with arms and legs...(:  but what I really came to  realize was that similar to a light bulb that doesn't merely generate it's own electrical current- We cannot either..we can only be the light of the world, IF we are plugged into the power source.. You see, when we were born again- our Spirits became eternally changed, transformed, and on a spiritual level we can now relate to God, and are plugged into God- into the main hub, the power plant! 

A light bulb merely relays an electrical current and does what it was CREATED to do- TO SHINE! It fulfills it's function to create light and in so doing glorifies the power source and the wonder of electricity.. 

As God's children it's life changing to realize that we are always plugged into Christ. There is never a short circuit, never a black out... never HAPANA ZESA ( No power in Shona   lol... )   May we just remember to flip the switch and let the powerful current of the Holy Spirit flow through us. 

Perspective

It always amazes me how small things look when we take a step back.... This photo was taken on a trip to Europe.. One cold, crisp morning my mom and I trekked up on of the highest buildings in Paris and took this awesome shot of the Eiffel tower. Funny how this colossal monument suddenly  fit between my fingers. 

This really let me think of Psalm 8 v 4-7. Isn't it amazing how He cares for us, loves us and knows us by name, even though we really are so small?  In our world man has placed so much emphasis on self importance, self preservation and " I" .... I-Phone, I-pod, I........ ...may we take a step back, let go of self.. and realize we are significantly insignificant, and not so big after all. 

Psalm 8 v 4-7

"When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, 

  The moon and stars that you set in place- 

  What is man that you are mindful of him, 

   and the son of man that you care for him?

   Yet you made him a little less than a god, 

  crowned him with glory and honor.

  You have given him rule over the works of your hands, 

   put all things under his feet."

Kimbap for 'Waygooks' 

Ok, so for those of you who don't know a 'Waygook' refers to a foreigner in Korean...    For us living in Korea, just using the term 'waygook' is an easy way out of an akward situation.. (:   like when you mistakenly don't take off your shoes when going indoors, or have to decline eating the very popular Korean Sausage Sundae.. ( it's a concoction of cooked pigs intestines, also known as blood sausage!! )

Kimbap is like Korean padkos! Of all the Korean food I have tasted it's one of my favorites. Needless to say - I'll never look at Sushi the same way again. (:  When I recently went home to Zim for a holiday, I decided my family MUST try some Korean food.. So I packed in all the necessary ingredients and made then a full on Korean meal !Kimbab was the starter. 

Ingredients

Kim / 1 seaweed sheet
1 cup of  cooked long grain rice 
2 tablespoons vinegar
Yellow pickled radish / mango
1 egg
Some spam / crab sticks 
1 Cucumber / some cooked spinach
Some tuna / meat
Sliced carrots (cooked )
Kimbab rolling mat

Method

1. Start off by making sure all your ingredients are ready and prepped. It can be quite a process to make these rolls if everything isn't ready from the start. Begin by cooking the rice  - it should be cooked to a sticky consistency. Once cooked, drain and allow to cool.

2. Whisk the egg with some milk and make a very thin omelet in a frying pan. Once cooked, flip into a plate and cut into long thin strips. Allow to cool.

3. Cut the mango / pickled radish into thin strips. 

4. Place the tuna / crab meat aside ready to use. 

5. Cook the spinach, once cooled set aside. Alternatively, wash the cucumber and cut into thin strips. Set aside ready to use. 

6. Cook the carrots, and allow to cool. Cut into strips. 

7. Place the seaweed sheet on a rolling mat. It helps to have this, but it is doable without..Just use some cling wrap / foil under the seaweed. 
        
8. Take 1 cup of rice and place it over 2/3 rds of the sheet- spread it evenly. Leaving about a 1cm border around the rice. 

9. Place the ingredients ( radish, spinach, carrot trips, egg strips, etc) on the rice.... 

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/07/how-to-make-kimbap-korean-sushi-recipe.html



You can even brush a little sesame seed oil over the edges of the seaweed to make it stick.

10. Now roll the mat into a nice compact Kimbap roll. !! YUMM!



AND YOUR DONE!!

Enjoy !! If you are vegetarian, you can even substitute the meat for other veggies.
It's great dipped in some soya-sauce...

See you ladle!
Sanja

Chicken Curry with Cashew nuts

I never even used to eat pepper. Maybe because my first memory of 'hot stuff' was of it being smeared all over my face in an EPIC food battle at a Youth Camp when I was 8 years old. No doubt, it left me washing out my puffy eyes with milk for the rest of the camp!

However, since I've moved to Korea I've really taken to hot/spicy food! Probably because you can't really avoid it in Asia..  (:  I made this dish the other day, and it was DELICIOUS!! Tasty, spicy, hot...... just enough to warm me up on a -21' day of snow.

Ingredients

500 g chicken pieces
1 onion
1 Red Pepper
a handful of cashew nuts
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
2 tablespoons of curry powder
Salt and pepper
1 cup of coconut milk
half a cup of water
1 tablespoon flour

To garnish
half a cup of peas, some herbs, slices of banana. 

How to..

Saute sliced onions, and diced Red Pepper

Add chicken pieces, and season with salt. .

When chicken is browned sprinkle over the curry powder, and half a cup of water. 

Allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

When liquid has reduced check that the chicken is cooked. 
Add the cashew nuts

Mix 1 tablespoon of flour with some coconut milk to form a paste. 

Pour the rest of the coconut milk over the chicken, and add the paste.  Allow the sauce to thicken... and DONE! 

 There you go!! AUTHENTIC Oriental Chicken curry. i made some for my friends, and they LOVED IT! (: 

Serve with some noodles, and garnish with fresh garden peas, some herbs and a few slices of banana. 

See you ladle

Sanja

Semolina, Date and Cashew nut rusks

Whilst on holiday in Zimbabwe, I came up with this delicious recipe! I was  leaving to go back to South Korea, and baking a HUGE batch of rusks to take back with me was definitely on my bucket list!! Our domestic worker at home looked at me puzzled and asked “You baking again?” lol.. I laughed and said   “Rusks are our stable diet…..it is almost like Sadza to you”(Sadza is the staple diet in Zim)  She just grinned, and gave an approving nod when I handed her one to ‘test’..

My mom always seems to have EVERYTHING in her pantry, so I could pick and choose what I wanted to use – any cooks dream! I picked a few otherwise ‘odd’ ingredients, and decided to combine them into crunchy, fruity, filled with home goodness rusks!...and it worked. (:  It was a team effort and I even got our lovely domestic worker and my dear old (93 years old) Gran to pitch in and help.

Ingredients

400g margarine / butter
1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup pitted dates, roughly chopped
1 cup cashew nuts, roughly chopped
5 cups whole wheat flour
5 cups Semolina flour  / or if you cannot find it use white flour
15 ml baking powder
10 ml Bicarbonate of Soda
1 ½ cups milk
3 eggs

Method

Step 1 –Pre heat oven to 180’C

Step 2- Sift together all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Step 3- Add the raisins, dates and cashews.

Step 3- Melt margarine/ butter until soft (not completely melted). Allow to cool down a bit. Add eggs and milk to margarine. Whisk


Step 4 – Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.  Keep a bit of flour and milk at hand if you find the dough to be too dry / wet.

 Step 5- Grease a baking tray. Spread the dough onto tray and 
                                       

Step 6- bake at 180 ‘C for 45 min- 1 hour, or until rusks are golden brown.

Step 7- Remove from oven and allow rusks to cool down. Once cooled remove from pan and cut into desired bit size rusks.

Step 8- Place the rusks onto the oven rack and dry out for about 5 hours , at 50 ‘C

After 5 hours test if the rusks are completely dried out by breaking one or 2 in half and checking the middle.

VOILA!! Delicious, crunchy, wholesome rusks (: I am still enjoying my home made batch in Korea- savoring every bite 

Hope you enjoy making this one, Let me know if you have any questions?

See you ladle
Sanja

Ricotta Salata    

“Ricotta” refers to a soft Italian cheese made from the whey of milk. So in true Italian style, you can use whey ( left over from making cheese) to make Ricotta. BUT.. if this is your first attempt rather use milk , and attempt using the left over whey for your next Ricotta making endeavour (:  Ricotta Salata however is ricotta cheese that has been dried and salted. It us a hard cheese that is delicious with salads and pastas.

I hope you had a read through my previous post “ A crash course in cheese making”. Now you are ready to attempt your first yummy cheese!!  This is the recipe I started with and on  difficulty levels it ranks ‘easy’ and you’ll be surprised how easy it really is.Italians typically use Ricotta in Lasagne and Cheesecakes.

You will need

-    A pot

-    A wooden spoon

-    A strainer.

-    A cooking thermometer is best, but I actually just use  a room thermometer (: just make sure it can go up to 100’C

-    A cheese cloth

-    A cheese press mould

Ingredients

-        2 cups full cream milk / low fat milk. 

       (remember not ULTRA   PASTEURIZED)

-        2 Tablespoons distilled white vinegar/lemon juice

-        ¼ teaspoon salt

Method

Step 1- Pour milk into saucepan, and whisk frequently. Heat to 75 ˚ C, and take the pot off the stove.

Step 2- Add vinegar / lemon juice. Do not whisk, but rather slowly stir with a wooden spoon. The milk will start to form a curd. 
( If you stir too much you will break up the curd)

Step 3- Leave the pot off the stove and allow the curds to rest for 25 min. This allows the curd to set.

Step 4- Pour curds into a strainer, lined with  cheese cloth .

Step 5-  Salt the ricotta, and then let it drain for 30 min – 4 hours. You will know the curd is ready when most of the whey 
( or yellowish substance) has drained out, and the ricotta is clumps together. 

At this stage you have made yummy ricotta – use it in lasagne, on a salad or in cheesecake.

Step 6- To make Ricotta Salata - 

Place the cheese cloth in a cheese mould. You can use any plastic container and make small holes in it to allow the whey to drain out.  I just improvised and bought a (clean and new) kitchen sink drainer . It works perfectly and already has holes in it. (:

Step 7 – Place a small plate / or an extra clean sink drainer on the cheese mould . ( so that the weight does not press directly into the cheese) Place a weight on the cheese overnight. This helps to further drain the whey form the cheese and make a delicious hard cheese. Place a 2-3 kg weight on the cheese , and leave it overnight.

Again I improvised and used my couch as a weight (:

Step 8- The cheese should not be noticeably firmer. Remove it from the mould and wrap it in cling wrap. Leave it in the fridge.

Step 9- From now on the cheese must stay in the fridge. For the next week you need to unwrap your cheese once a day and sprinkle 1 tsp of salt over the outside of the cheese. This is to absorb any more whey that leaks out.

Step 10 – After 1 week of treating your baby- leave it in the fridge to rest and mature. After another 2-3 weeks you will have a beautifully nutty, and creamy Ricotta Salata!

There you go!! Your very own cheese! Enjoy it with on a lovely fresh salad , with A  creamy Rosa tomato pasta or combined with Rosemary and Olives for a delicious chicken stuffing.

Hope you enjoy making this cheese as much as I do!

See you ladle

Sanja