Chilli coconut prawns with rice

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

500g fresh raw tiger prawns shelled with tails intact
2 cups long grain rice
3 spring onions diced finely
olive oil for cooking
2 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce
4 tablespoons of light soy sauce
1 clove of garlic crushed finely
2 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon of ginger paste
250mls coconut milk with 1/2 cup of water
1 teaspoon of sambal olek (only if you like extra heat, alter to your liking)
handful of snow peas or you can use beans chopped (as i used beans)
2 Mangoes sliced into long pieces

In a large bowl prepare the marinade - Sweet chilli, light soy sauce, garlic, ginger, lime juice.  Place the prawns into the marinade and leave for 20 minutes mixing occasionally.

Boil the rice in a separate pot for ten minutes and drain.

In a large stove top pot or casserole / tagine place some olive oil and the spring onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, then place the prawns in and marinade a little more oil.  Then you can place the coconut milk, sambal olek, snow peas or beans and mango and cook for around 10 minutes until prawns cooked and taste to check the heat is how you like.

Red Snapper with carrot and spring onion and a hint of chilli

 Red Snapper is delicious!

Serves 6

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

I used a large cast iron baker which can be used on the stove top on the fish burner which is long (or you can use any good quality stove top fry pan which is flat based)

Lemon Olive oil

Virgin Olive oil 

6 pieces of fresh Red Snapper boned and scaled (best quality fish monger)

1 cup of rice flour

1 cup of corn flower

shake of peppercorn

shake of chilli flakes (alter to your liking or omit)

freshly grounded pink rock salt

2 Spring onions sliced thinly white end only up to light green area

1 carrot peeled then curl into large slithers

Prepare your fish by placing in a large mixing bowl the rice flour, corn flower, peppercorn, chilli flakes and a little rock salt.  Blend through and coat each piece of fish in the flour rolling on both sides thoroughly. Place each piece on a large plate and set aside.

In a large cast iron baker or stove top fry pan place around 1 cm deep of a mixture of the olive oils 50/50 and a handful of the carrot and spring onion.  Turn the heat up to medium heat and when it starts to sizzle place the fish into the baker skin side down first.  Turn heat up a little more as fish in cast iron cooks beautifully and fairly quickly.  Around 6 minutes turn over and cook other side. 

 Place the carrot and spring onion pieces on top of the fish so not to burn and the flavors of the onion and carrot melts into the fish.  Cook for around 6 minutes til perfection white and firmness and then add to your serving plates with a side salad of your choice.  

Shake some freshly ground pink salt onto the fish and enjoy!

Singapore noodles

Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

250g vermicelli
2 tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons of madras curry paste or powder
2cm ginger peeled and grated
1 cup of chicken stock
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
10g of Porcini dried
1 tablespoon of sambal oelek
2 sticks of celery sliced and leaves reserved
2 long green chillies sliced
1 small roast chicken, cut into small pieces with no bones
1 red capsicum seeded and diced
6 shallots cut into 5cm pieces
1 cup of bean sprouts
400g cooked prawns, peeled and deveined, tails
1/4 cup of oyster sauce
300g  Chinese BBQ pork (if you can find it)


Place the vermicelli in a bowl and cover with boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside with a lid.

Heat some of the olive oil or vegetable oil in a frying pan and add the curry paste/powder, half the ginger and half the garlic.  Cook for two minutes.  Then add the soy, sambal oelek and the chicken stock. Bring to the boil for around 5 minutes.  Turn off heat then set aside.

Heat the rest of the olive oil in a fry pan over medium heat and add the other half of the garlic and ginger.  Then add mushrooms, celery, chillies and capsicum.  Cook for 5 minutes until softened then add the liquid curry mixture with the shallots and vermicelli.  Cook until mixture liquid absorbs a little then add in the bean sprouts, chicken pieces, pork and prawns.  Add the oyster sauce at the end and mix through.  Top with some celery leaves and serve.

Spicy Vegetable and Lamb Couscous

 Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4 people

Olive oil for each frypan (2)

1 small red chilli diced finely

1 white end of leek diced up finely

1 teaspoon of cumin ground

1 teaspoon of turmeric

shake of black pepper

1 sweet potato peeled and diced

500 ml vegetable stock

1 zuccini diced

1 bunch of broccolini (just the florets)

1 small tomato diced

1 tablespoon of parsley

1 tablespoon of thyme

400g lamb diced

6 pitted dates chopped

1 cup of vegetable stock

shake of black pepper

1 teaspoon of moroccan spice

Couscous

1 cup instant couscous

30 g butter

1 cup of hot vegetable stock

 Add a little oil to a frypan and add the lamb pieces, dates, vege stock, pepper and moraccan spice. Simmer on medium heat on stovetop making sure to add stock to just cover the meat. This makes a gorgeous thick sweet lamb after around 30 min simmering.  

To make the vegetables place some oil in a deep frypan and add the chilli, leek, cumin and turmeric and cook til leek is slightly opaque.  Then add the sweet potato and half the vegetable stock and simmer.  Add the broccoli florets, tomato, parsley and thyme and simmer uncovered for around 20 minutes (or until vegetables are tender). Add stock as required .

Make the couscous by placing the couscous grains in a large glass bowl and place butter and hot vegetable stock over the cous cous.  Leave to absorb for around 5 minutes then fluff gently with a fork to separate the grains.

To serve place Couscous in serving bowl then place vegetables and meat on top or you can mix meat into vegetables first then onto couscous.  Delicious food!

Atlantic Salmon with cauliflower puree, beetroot crush and radish

Serves 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

2 pieces of fresh Atlantic Salmon cut in half
Salt and pepper
olive oil
1/2 yellow cauliflower (or any colour you can get)
1 tablespoon of lurpak butter
1/2 cup of Mixed fresh salad sprouts
1 large radish sliced thinly
Few thin slices of a quality aged cheese for each plate
1 beetroot (organic) peeled and chopped up

Prepare the fish with salt and pepper on top and place onto a cast iron baker slightly oiled. Place in griller on around 180 degrees celcius (quite hot).

Prepare the cauliflower by steaming it in a pyrex dish with lid in the microwave with butter.  When ready puree down into a mash consistency and place into a small pastry bag or similar with wide tip and place in long dobs on the plate.  Place the radish next to each dob maybe 3 or 4 spots around the sides. Then place the cheese on top of the radish.

Then place the beetroot into the pyrex and steam same way and do exactly the same preparation as the cauliflower. Place one or two spots onto the plate around the radish.

Place sprouts around plate.

When the fish is ready take out from oven and place on centre of the plate with the and serve with fresh ciabatta.

Very tasty!

Red Lentil and Vegetable soup (easy)

Cooking Time: 30 minutes with preparation
Serves approx 2 large bowls or four small

1/2 cup red lentils
4 - 5 cups of boiling water (small saucepan just below the top)
2 massell chicken stock cubes
1 carrot diced
1 celery stick diced
A few tiny florets of broccoli
Handful of diced pumpkin
1 small sprinkle of chopped chives
1 small sprinkle of cumin spice
1 teaspoon of butter (lurpak)
salt and pepper to taste
sprinkle of grana padano


Place all in your saucepan and boil for around 20 minutes and taste to test salt and pepper additions.


Top with grana padano cheese.

Serve with crusty bread or some corn thins with butter

Lemon and thyme quinoa with prawns and avocado

  Serves 2
  Preparation  and Cooking Time: 20 minutes


   1 1/4 cup of boiling water
   130g quinoa
    few leaves of thyme from garden
   1/2 lemon squeezed in a cup
   shake of pepper
   8 prawns cooked and set aside
   1/2 avocado diced into pieces


In a saucepan on slow heat place the water and quinoa, thyme and half the lemon juice and boil slowly for around 10 minutes.  Stir as it cooks and then turn heat off and place lid on the saucepan for 5 minutes to soak even more.

Then making sure prawns are cooked properly add them and stir through.  Then add the avocado slices and the remaining lemon over the top, shake some pepper and serve in a bowl.

Apple, Blueberry & Cinnamon Muffins

Makes approx 12 muffins
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time 25 minutes on 170 degrees celcius

2 cups of self raising flour
pinch of salt
4 tsp of baking powder
3/4 cup of caster sugar
2 eggs
10 tbsp of butter at room temp if possible or slightly microwave it til it is
1 tsp lemon juice
grated lemon zest (skin) a pinch
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of stewed apples (canned ones i used)
1/2 cup of blueberries (fresh is best)
raspberry jam to fill each (teaspoon each)
cinnamon to shake on top of each before baking


Prepare the butter and sugar beating together in a bowl until creamy.  Then add egg one by one slowly.

Add lemon juice, zest, then milk slowly.  Fold in dry ingredients to the mix and the apples and blueberries are to be stirred in last.  These muffins don't rise too much with the fruit content in them.

Spoon half the muffin case (i used a metal one and then transferred them later to cupcake/muffin papers carefully).  Top that layer with a dollop of jam

Then top with more mix to just below top of muffin case.  This makes a gorgeous jam centre.

Make sure to place blueberries in the batter evenly and some on top.  Shake cinnamon when finished and even a little dash of sugar with it if preferred.

Cook on 170 degrees for approx 25 minutes and enjoy either hot with icecream or cold with a spoon of course.

Lamb pie

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Serves one (adjust ingredients to how many people you are serving)


This little pie i made on its own as a test for my kids and they loved them so its a great idea for kids meals and if you cant get them to eat veggies you can add whatever you like and see if they like it this style.


Ramekin dish for the pie/s


A piece of puff pastry 


3 lamb back straps diced  (3 make one little pie in a larger size ramekin bowl)
1/4 cup onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
1/4 cup of sugo (tomato passata)
1/4 of a beef stock cube ( in the passata above)
1/2 teaspoon of cornflower
shake of salt and pepper
shake of Moroccan spice (if desired)
diced corn was added for my kids in this idea



Place your onion in some olive oil in a saucepan and cook for a little while until soft.  Then add the garlic and stir in the lamb meat.  Cook around 5 minutes until browning then add your remaining ingredients.  Simmer this collection for around 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  This will create a gorgeous gravy and once the liquid slightly evaporates you will have some amazing pie contents.

Place your ramekin face down onto the puff pastry to get the lid imprint for your pie lid.  Then cut this out and place aside.

Once the meat looks ready remove the garlic clove if you can find it and  place the meat mix  into the ramekin and place puff pastry on top and slightly brush with egg for a beautiful brown pastry puff glow.

Cook the pie in the oven at around 180 degrees for around 25 minutes.