Super Sides

Having a great main meal means you have to have a great side dish. You can ruin an entire meal by serving the wrong accompaniments.

A good steak only needs proper seasoning and cooking, but what you serve with the steak will result in that meal being remembered or quickly forgotten. This is what makes a "good restaurant" great and an "okay restaurant" - just okay!

These brinjal steaks are a great side dish and make a perfect main for any vegetarians who might be sharing the table!


Brinjal Steaks

3 Medium Brinjal (Aubergine) sliced long ways, about 1cm thick
1 Cup Flour
1 Cup Bread Crumbs
2 Teaspoons Salt
2 Teaspoons Black Pepper or Jenny Morris Volcanic Spice
20 ml Black Sesame Seeds
2 beaten Eggs for Dipping
Oil for Frying

Drench the brinjal slices in the flour (Ziploc is the answer for no messing).
Dip the slices in the egg.
Mix all the other dry ingredients together (Ziploc again).
Drench the egged slices in the breadcrumb mixture.
Heat the oil to medium hot and fry until golden brown.
Serve hot.

Orange Cake

"There's a special kind of freedom sisters enjoy.
Freedom to share innermost thoughts, to ask a favour,
to show their true feelings. The freedom to simply be themselves."
Author Unknown

I have a sister who means the world to me, while we no longer share a continent and I have not seen her in 8 years, I still feel the bond we shared when we would lie in bed together and she would tell me ghost stories.

My sister is 7 years older than me and she still thinks of me as her baby sister. She has never been ashamed to take me anywhere with her, which is a credit to her and not my maturity. When I was only 13 (and she was already 21), she would take me out with her friends, and dared anyone to complain about the kid. She loved me and gave me tips on boys, make-up and everything else that mothers just aren't qualified to do.

Still today, she'll send me little gifts and messages that make me smile and know how special I really am. Even something as simple as a magazine, which is were I got the recipe for this lovely orange cake. I only wish we could have sat together and had a "cuppa" with a slice of cake and talked like we used to in the old days.

This recipe is dedicated to the world's best sister Janice - or Janna as only I call her - from me your Lamb Chops!

She lives in Australia and sent me the Australian Women's Weekly. This recipe is from there.

Orange Cake

1 medium (240g) whole orange
200g butter, melted
3 eggs, beaten lightly
10ml Orange blossom Water (my optional extra)
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1½ cups (225g) self-raising flour
10ml Baking Powder (my optional extra)

CITRUS ICING
1 medium (140g) lemon
1 small (180g) orange
1 cup (160g) icing sugar mixture
1 teaspoon boiling water, approximately

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Grease a deep 20cm cake pan, line base with baking paper.

Wash and dry orange; cut into quarters and remove seeds.
Process in a food processor until pulpy.

Transfer orange to a mixing bowl, stir in butter, eggs, sugar, orange blossom water and beat until light and sugar is dissolved - this is easily done with a machine.
Add the sifted flour and baking powder and blend with a metal spoon until smooth.
Pour mixture into prepared pan.
Bake for about 40 - 50 minutes or until cooked when tested.
Stand for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

CITRUS ICING:

Using a zester or grater, remove zest from lemon and orange
Squeeze juice from fruit - you will need 2 teaspoons orange juice and 2 teaspoons lemon juice.
Sift icing sugar into a bowl
Stir in juices make smooth paste.
Stir in rind.
Cover cake in the icing and serve.

This cake is even better the next day, once the flavours have had more time to develop.

Very Slow Cooking

My mother is a hoarder! She keeps everything, right down to the till slip of her first monthly shopping trip after she get married. When I was young I thought she was crazy to keep something so silly, but now I find myself keeping little things which hold fond memories.

When you read the slip you realise just what inflation really is. Her total bill was less than I spend on weekly essentials like milk and bread and she bought everything she would need for more than a month.

One thing that amazes my father is the price of oxtail. He would go each week to the butcher to buy their meat and the oxtail was "throw-in" - pasella (free)!

I often look at the oxtail in the supermarket and gasp at the price. It takes a substantial financial commitment to purchase what effectively is a fly swatter. But at least once a year, I take the plunge and decide to treat my husband to one of his favourite meals.

Along with the financial commitment, you have to have lots of time to prepare your oxtail. This is not a dish you throw together when you get home late from work. I cook mine in my slow cooker, on low for about 18 hours. The end result is meat that is falling off the bone with a thick rich sauce.

Oxtail

1 kg Oxtail drenched in flour (use a zip lock bag)
2 Large Onions Sliced
4 Chopped Carrots
2 Chopped and Peeled Tomatoes
1 cup White Beans
1 Cup Pearl Wheat (Crushed wheat / Stampkoring)
1 Chilli ( I used a Habanero, fresh from my garden, see the picture below)
15ml Crushed Black Pepper
1 Large handful of Fresh Thyme (or dried if you don't have fresh)
Salt

Brown the oxtail pieces in a frying pan.
Place everything except the salt and the pearl wheat in the slow cooker.
Cook on low for about 12 hours (while you sleep is best).
Add the salt and the pearl wheat and cook for another 6 hours.
Serve with rice and topped with a few fresh lemon thyme leaves (optional).
You can make this on the stove top (or oven), but make sure you cook it for at least 5 hours.

To give you an idea of the range of heat in an habanero: a sweet pepper scores 0 on the scale, jalapeño chillies score anything between 2,500 to 10,000 and habaneros score 80,000 to 300,000-plus! So watch out when you bite into one - your unborn grandchildren will still be feeling the burn.

MEME

Then I was tagged for a MEME by two wonderful ladies from More than burnt toast and Passionate Baker and my answers are long overdue. So here goes.
1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?

The Pursuit of Happyness

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?

Hearing God's Voice

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?

Trivial Pursuit

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?

Shape

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?

zest of a lemon, chocolate and coffee

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS?

My son laughing during a movie.

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?

When my son is late coming home and I don't know where he is.

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?

What's the weather like and can I run.

9) FAVOURITE FAST FOOD PLACE?

New York Bagels, it's a deli but they are fast!

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME?

None of that here, but I if I had a daughter she would be called Amy

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D......

Travel, travel, travel!

12) DO U DRIVE FAST?

Not since the petrol price increases!

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?

No, but can only use my own pillow.

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?

Very cool when I am inside, hate it when I'm driving.

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?

Mazda 323 1980 model!

16) FAVOURITE DRINK?

Cranberry Juice

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…

Clean the garage!

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?

They the best part!

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?

I love my grey, can't wait to have 100% coverage.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?

Durban and Cape Town

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?

Rugby and the Tour de France (yippee only 2 weeks to go!)

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

She is a Mom like me, who loves to make food that is simple but pleasing on the eye and the tummy!

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?

Dust!

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??

Definitely, only with the ability to listen to my parents from a younger age!

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?

Definitely a morning person, don't even speak to me after 8pm!

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?

Sunny side up, runny and yellow - two please!

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX?

In the bath, talking with hubby.

28) FAVOURITE PIE?

Pecan nut

29) FAVOURITE ICE CREAM FLAVOUR?

Mint chocolate chip

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?

Nic!

I would like to get to know the following bloggers a bit better.

1. Nic Snacks
2. Canary Girl
3. Maryann
4. Food and Fun
5. Kit

Enjoy your weekend!

No Muffin -Top Muffin

I've blogged before on muffin-tops, a subject close to my heart and waist. It actually spreads from my hip to under my bust! But still I love to eat muffins regardless of the top-effect!

I usually send out for my daily fix at about 10am, but with the rising cost of living and my real desire to shrink the waist, I decided to stock up and make a healthy alternative to my daily addiction.

These are very high in fibre, using olive oil instead of butter and they are sugar free!

Sugar-Free Berry Nice Muffins

2 Eggs
150ml Milk
100ml Yoghurt ( Plain or Fruit)
75ml Olive Oil (I used Lemon Infused Olive Oil)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
225g Flour
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoon Bi-carbonate of Soda
Pinch of Salt
100 g Digestive Bran
100g Xylitol (or brown sugar if you don't want sugar free)
250g Fresh or frozen berries (I used youngberries)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Line a muffin tray with 12 muffin cases.
Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk to break them up then add the milk, yoghurt, oil and vanilla and whisk again. Add the berries and stir.
In another bowl sift the flour, baking powder, bi-carb and salt.
Add the digestive bran and mix to combine.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until just combined.
Divide the mixture between the muffin cases.
Handy Tip -
If you are not using sugar you need to spray the top of the muffins with non-stick spray (Spray and Cook or Cook and Bake)). This will ensure they brown slightly on top, otherwise they will be very pale.
Bake for 20 -25 mins until done.

You can freeze these muffins.

This is my submission to the Healthy Cooking - A Cookbook Givevaway Event.