Ham & Egg cups

I stumbled upon this recipe idea a while ago, but have til today never had a chance to try it out. Today I made them for my moms birthday brunch.

You need:
Slices of ham (I used black forest ham)
Eggs
Cheese (I had Jarlsberg on hand)

Full sized cupcake tins.

Line the tins with the ham, add the eggs (I scrambled them before I poured them into the ham cups) sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 mins or until done.

G'morning corned beef hash

A couple days ago I made a corned beef. I bought a beef brisket the beginning of the week and marinated it in a blend of seasoning for 3 days in the fridge.
I used ground ginger, ground cloves, fresh ground pepper, bay leaves, fresh nutmeg, Hungarian paprika & some sugar dissolved in warm water.
After marinating I cooked it in a crockpot for 5 hrs.

Today I cubed a couple of spuds from my dads garden fried them in butter, added a little onion & finely cubed corned beef. Perfect breakfast.

Cajun Pork

I have spied a new recipe site and I am very much hooked - porkbeinspired.com. It has an amazing amount of recipes & other useful information.

I bought a 1lbs & 1/2 pork loin roast the other day & wanted to try something new. After perusing several delicious recipes - I am definitely going to have to try the grilled pork loin in honey and port soon! - I settled on the Cajun Pork Roast (because it didn't need brining).

I mixed the seasonings (& changed them a little)

2 tablespoons sweet paprika

1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons thyme

2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

& rubbed it all over my pork loin

I decided to throw it on the BBQ (we have a gas grill). I roasted it on med-high for 6 mins on each side & then turned it on low & gave it another 20 minutes. (temp should be 145F) Took it off the grill, covered it & let sit for another 10 mins.

Meanwhile I finely diced & fried some potatoes & made a very simple slaw (red & napa cabbage, carrot, salt, pepper, EVOO & white balsamic) as an accompaniment.

    It turned out delish!

S'getti Bolognese

I've been craving Bolognese for the past week & finally made it for dinner last night, with a little twist to it.

Instead of using spaghetti's I roasted a spaghetti squash and served myself a generous helping of Bolognese over spaghetti squash. It was delish!

Bolognese sauce is very easy.

Slow-Cooked Steak & Egg Breakfast

Sometimes you want something a little different. Something with a little oomph to start out your day, but not necessarily spend $ by going out.

Last night, I took a chuck roast, studded it with garlic, placed it atop carrot, onion, lovage and bay leaves in my crock pot, covered it with water and slow-cooked it over night.

This morning the I was able to gentle shred the chuck with a couple of forks, and seasoned it with ground cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper & salt. I placed a scrambled duck egg above this and topped off my creation with a sprinkle of chives.

Voila!

Friday Night Supper

There's always the infinite question "what's for dinner?" inspiration is often sparse, especially when the temps start to climb I feel myself less and less wanting to eat. But eat we must, and feed I must.
It's not super hot out today, but muggy enough that a salad sounds good. Vegetables. But not the boring same-ol' leafy greens.
Today I'm going with an Asian Cabbage Slaw. (base recipe taken from "Greens, Glorious Green!" by  Johnna Albi & Catherine Walters. Which, if you don't own this book I cannot recommend a better cook book. There are so many many delicious ways of eating all of those greens.

You will need:
bok choi
Chinese cabbage
red cabbage
carrot
scallions
parsley or cillantro
rice -, udon -, somen noodles (whichever you prefer)

source of protein:
teriyaki tofu for the vegetarians
shrimp or beef are also delicious options

Dressing:
oil
rice vinegar
Mirin or Sherry
Toasted (dark) Sesame Seed Oil
Tamari or pinch of Sea Salt
dry mustard or Chinese hot mustard
Toasted Sesame seeds


Of course I started dinner and noticed I didn't have red cabbage. Oh well, I just used more green.
Shred the cabbage, carrots, slice the scallions and bok choi & put in large mixing bowl.

Prepare meat - we got a steak (my son thought stakes came from Rhinoceros!), sliced this very thinly and stir fried it in some butter, minced garlic, grated ginger, and rice vinegar.

Prepare noodles according to package directions. Run under cold water & add to bowl. Mix dressing, pour over and mix well. Toast sesame seeds and sprinkle over salad. Place in serving bowls, add meat and enjoy!