Orange Sorbet

I made a lot of sorbet last summer, they are perfect in the hot days. With all of the choice of summer fruits that we had, my freezer would never run out of them. I will make them every other day, depending of what fruits I got from the shop.  And the weather continued to feel like summer in the first month of autumn, so I still have excuse to make sorbet.

I will start with this simple recipe for orange sorbet. The taste was so refreshing with its glorious orange colour, and it's so easy to make.

Orange Sorbet

Orange juice from 2 kilos orange

Zest from 1 orange

2-3 tbsp Sugar according to taste (none if the juice is sweet)

Mix all the ingredients in a blender until sugar dissolved. Transfer to a bowl and chill them in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours or overnight. Freeze in the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instruction.

Put in a freezer safe container, cover and freeze for 2-4 hours until firm. Enjoy!

Beef Salad

I tried this salad in Evia Yoghurt for the first time and fell in love straight away. The smell of coriander, succulent beef and tasty vegetables are the treat you'll get in one bowl.  Then I tried to make my own with little twist and modifications, and the results had always been great, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Here it is:

Beef  Salad

2 pcs cucumber - diagonally sliced

2 pcs tomatoes - cut into wedges (you can also use 250g cherry tomatoes)

3-4 leaves lettuce - coarsely chopped

1-2 bunch coriander leaves  - coarsely chopped (use the stalks for dressing)

3-4 stalks spring onion - diagonally sliced

1/2  red capsicum - thinly sliced

300g grilled beef steak - thinly sliced (you can also use leftover beef)

Dressing:

2 cloves garlic              }

1-2cm ginger                }put in the food processor

coriander stalks           }

1/2 stalk lemongrass  }

lime juice

soy sauce

palm sugar - diluted with lime juice

sesame oil

Garnish:

a handful of toasted peanuts - coarsely crushed

Combine the ingredients with dressing and garnish with toasted peanuts. Enjoy!

Bean Salad

This lovely salad is so refreshing, you could eat this by itself or with your favourite meal. Here I use Aldi Five Bean Mix, they includes red kidney beans, green baby lima beans, great northern beans, small borlotti bean and small chickpeas.

Here is the recipe:

Bean Salad

2 pcs cucumber - seeded & diced

2 pcs tomato - diced

3-4 leaves lettuce - coarsely chopped

3-4 stalks continental  parsley - finely chopped

3-4 stalks spring onion

1/2 green capsicum - diced

a quarter of Spanish onion - finely diced

some mint leaves -  finely chopped

a can of Five Bean Mix - drained & heated (in the microwave)

Dressing:

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

lemon juice from 1 lemon

salt & pepper - to taste

Mix all ingredients and dressing until all well combined.

Chicken Caesar Salad

I love salads during hot days, and it was 31°C in my area. So I decided to make Chicken Caesar Salad. My lucky day, the local supermarket offered bbq chicken for only $6.49 each, so that's settled.

My recipe is really simple, instead of croutons, I used honey mustard pretzels I bought from Costco, they'd make a tasty combination, here is the recipe.

Chicken Caesar Salad

1 bunch Baby Cos Lettuce - torn

a handful of Honey Mustard Pretzel - coarsely crumbed

1 single Breast Bbq Chicken - sliced

Caesar Salad Dressing

Grated Parmesan Cheese - for garnish

Put lettuce, pretzels & chicken in a bowl, put the dressing according to taste, toss them around and garnish with grated parmesan cheese. Bon appétit.

Seafood Salad

So I still have the prawns, celery & red capsicum, one thing that came to mind is Seafood Salad! Some people will prefer more prawns or seafood flakes but I like to make them in proportion, so everything is balance. It's really up to your preference, you could make it either way. This one is really tasty, here is the recipe.

Seafood Salad

250g cooked prawn - peel & cut into half

250g frozen seafood flakes - boil until separate & soft

1 stalk celery - thinly sliced

1/2 red capsicum - finely diced

1 stalk spring onion - finely chopped

Mayonnaise

Coleslaw salad dressing

Put prawns, seafood flakes, celery, capsicum & spring onion in a bowl, put mayonnaise & coleslaw dressing according to taste and mix them well.

Best served with fish and chips :)

Stir Fry Udon with Prawn

I'm going to start sharing my recipe here, I have been cooking since I got married and being mum with 3 kids with many different taste buds, I need to think of a meal that all family member could eat. Cooking to me needs to be simple, easy to make and fast, without sacrificing the taste and the nutrition.

This meal is really simple and quick to make. It's a star to my dinner yesterday!

Stir Fry Udon with Prawn

300g cooked prawn - peel

4 packets instant japanese fresh udon

2 stalks celery - cut to 1 cm length

1 red capsicum - cut into strips

2-3 stalk spring onion (shallot) - cut to 1 inch length

2 cloves garlic - finely chop

1/3-1/2 cup light soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

2-3 tbsp canola/vegetable oil

Put oil in a large pan/wok, stir fry the udon and separate them until all loose. Put the garlic and stir fry for while. Put the celery, capsicum, prawn, soy sauce and sugar, stir fry them until all combined and cooked. Put the spring onion, stir fry for a while and turn off the stove. It's done!

For vegetarian, you could replace prawn with carrot, mushroom or broccoli.