Vegan banana cake

• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 6 ripe bananas (overripe work best)
• 2 2/3 cups plain flour
• 3 tablespoons baking powder (bi-carb soda works just as well)

Preheat oven to 180C.

Melt margarine . Add in sugar, mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, mash the bananas until smooth and creamy.

Add sugar/marg mixture to the bananas and mix well.

Add flour and baking powder slowly, mix until thoroughly incorporated.

Pour into greased cake tin.

Bake for 35 mins.

I've never iced or glazed this. I imagine it would be lovely with a thick chocolatey icing or frosting, though.

"Mexican" Sausages

These aren't actually Mexican, by any stretch of the imagination. I guess you could also call them a sausage casserole. Similar to my Savoury Mince recipe, you can change it fairly easily. Depends on what you have on hand, and how hard or easy you want to make it for yourself.

• 2 sausages per person (You can use 1 thick one, or 2 thin ones. It's much the same)
• 1 cup tomato paste
• 2 cans of tomatoes
• 2 medium onions (sliced)
• 4 cloves of garlic - minced (you can use 2 tablespoons of minced garlic from a jar if you're feeling particularly lazy. same with the ginger and chili)
• 2 cm piece of ginger - chopped finely
• 1 red chili - chopped finely
• paprika, cinnamon, cumin and coriander to taste
• 1 large potato per person, peeled and sliced finely

Cook sausages under a grill. Slice into bite sized pieces.

While sausages are cooking, cook onions until transparent. Add garlic, ginger and spices. Stir through well (the paprika will burn otherwise. We discussed this in my goulash recipe

Add the tomato paste and keep stirring. Add the tins of tomato. Continue stirring.

Add potatoes.

When potatoes are almost cooked, add sliced sausages.

I serve this with either grated cheese or greek style yoghurt. It gives it a more mellow flavour.

Savoury mince

This one is an Aussie favourite...
Every Aussie mum has her own recipe. (even my mum, a notoriously and famously bad cook made it. She called it "concoction meat")
Here's my take :

1. 1 kg beef mince
2. 1 can diced tomatoes
3. half a cup of worcestershire sauce
4. half a cup tomato paste
5. herbs and spices to taste (I use paprika, cumin, ground coriander, dried rosemary and dried thyme. I use dried because it has a more intense flavour)
6. 1 litre vegetable stock
7. 2 chopped onions (I use a Tupperware Happy Chopper. It means that Katharine can help me cook)
8. 2 cloves garlic, diced
9. 1 cup frozen peas

• Fry off onion is a small amount of canola oil.
• Add garlic, and a splash of water.
• Add in the mince, breaking it up.
• Add in the can of tomatoes. Keep breaking up the mince.
• Add in the tomato paste, and the stock.
• Add in the worcestershire sauce.
• Simmer for around 10 minutes.
• Add in the herbs and spices, and frozen peas and simmer for another 10 minutes, or until still wet, but not sloppy.
• Meanwhile, cook some rice, mash potatoes or pasta.

Serve mince over rice.

Warm chicken pasta salad

Having made chicken with chorizo last night, I found myself with a spare chicken.
I hate wasting food, so I stripped the bones tonight. I ended up with around 2 cups of chicken, and a bit of chopped, cooked chorizo.
So, here's what I made...

2 cups chopped chicken
120 mL cream
1 teaspoon mild curry paste
5 cups of cooked pasta
1 cup cooked peas and corn kernels, mixed together.

100 g grated tasty cheese

1. Mix cream and curry paste together.
2. Pour over chopped chicken and cheese. Stir well.
3. Add pasta, peas and corn. Stir again.

See how easy that one was? Serves 3.

Roast chicken with chorizo

So, today is my 30-somethingth birthday.

I'm making my own dinner tonight, and its made with 3 things I really love. Chicken, chorizo, and mash.

I've taken this recipe, and altered it slightly... no marjoram, canola instead of olive oil, and real sides.

Here's my take...

Slice up the chorizo, and place under the skin as in the other recipe.

Place in the baking tray, drizzle with the oil as in the other recipe.

Sprinkle well with fresh thyme.

Bake for the 1 hr, 15 minutes.

While the chickens are roasting, peel 6 medium to large potatoes. Cut into 1 inch cubes. cook until tender. Mash with plenty of yellow heart attack butter, and cheese. Stir through some chorizo, which you have fried off, diced, and drained well.

Serve the chicken on a bed of mash, and some blanched greens.

EDIT: It was a bit dry. Next time, I think I'll make a butter from paprika, garlic, and chili. That might be a good substitute for the chorizo, with the right flavours, but more moisture

Super easy pumpkin soup...

• 1 large butternut squash (or pumpkin of your choice)
• 1 tablespoon curry paste (mild)
• 500 mL sour cream
• vegetable stock

1. Peel and chop the butternut squash, removing all seeds. Place in a large boiler, and add enough vegetable stock to come to half way up the squash.
2. Cook until all squash is cooked - firm, but not hard.
3. Blitz with an emersion blender.
4. Add the curry paste to taste.
5. Add sour cream until a smooth consistency, blending as you add the sour cream.
6. Serve with crusty bread, and a dollop of sour cream on top.

Chicken and mushroom risotto

I figured I'd try a recipe card recipe today.
You know the ones. You're walking through the supermarket, and there's a card, with a very nice looking meal on it.
So, here's the one I did for dinner tonight. It is meant to serve 6, but I'd rather guess 2 adults with decent appetites, 2 kids, and a toddler.


40 g butter
3 tbs oil
1 onion - finely chopped
2 garlic cloves - crushed
2 cups arborio rice
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
1 tbs fresh thyme - chopped
1 bunch asparagus - trimmed
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
600 g chicken - fat trimmed

1. Place butter and 2 tbs oil in a microwave safe dish. Heat uncovered on high for 2 minutes. Add onion and garlic, stir well and cook a further 3 minutes. Add rice, stir until coated in butter, and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Stir in stock and white wine, cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Add thyme, and season (salt and pepper) to taste. Cover with a tight lid. Cook for a further 10 minutes, until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Cut asparagus into 4 cm pieces, and stir through the risotto with the peas and parmesan cheese. Replace lid, and set aside.
3. Heat remaining oil in frying pan, and cook the chicken over a medium-high heat, until golden. Remove to a chopping board, and cover.
4. Cook risotto a further 2 minutes, slice chicken. Spoon risotto into bowls, and top with chicken.

So. The critique of the dish...
It was dry. Very dry. Next time, I might stir some cream through before serving, or I'd do it on a cook top, simply so I have more control of the fluid/liquid levels.
Also, the thyme was very over powering... I'd probably halve it for next time.