Recipe

Fruity Pikelets

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:02:00 +0000

Serves: 16
Preparation: 10 mins
Cooking: 1½ mins each batch

Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour
1 tbsp caster sugar

¾ cup milk

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

½ cup chopped dried fruit

20g butter (chilled)

smooth ricotta cheese (to serve)

extra chopped dried fruit (to serve)

1) Sift flour and sugar into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Whisk milk, egg and vanilla essence together in a jug. Pour mixture into the dry ingredients in mixing bowl and stir gently until just combined. Stir in chopped dried fruit.

2) Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Wrap the cold butter in a piece of paper towel, carefully wipe over the surface of the pan to grease it (the butter will melt slightly through the paper towel).

3) Drop tablespoonfuls of mixture into the pan, not too close together. Cook for 1 min, until bubbles appear on surface of pikelets. Turn and cook for another 30 seconds, until golden brown. Transfer pikelets to a wire rack to cool, while you cook the rest of the mixture. Serve spread with butter or ricotta cheese and topped with extra dried fruit.

Fish with Mandarin and Dill Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 May 2009 06:38:00 +0000

Serves: 4
Preparation: 10 mins
Cooking: 20 mins

Ingredients:
500g straight cut frozen chips
4 imperial mandarins
50g butter
500g barramundi or other firm white fish (cut into 4 fillets)
2 tbsp snipped dill
1 pkt salad leaves (to serve)

1) Preheat oven to 210ºC or 190ºC fan. Spread chips in a single layer on a baking tray. Cook according to packet instructions.

2) Finely grate rind of 1 mandarin. Juice 2 mandarins and set aside. Peel and segment remaining 2 mandarins and set aside.

3) Melt butter in a non-stick frying pan on medium. Add rind and swirl to combine. Cook fish for 1-2 mins each side, until golden and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper.

4) Reheat butter in a pan. Add juice and simmer for 30 seconds. Add mandarin segments and dill, swirl to warm through. Top fish with mandarin and dill sauce. Serve with chips and salad leaves.

Home-style Burgers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 May 2009 06:11:00 +0000

Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 8 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil
500g pkt Home-Style Burger Patties
4 hamburger buns (halved)
4 slices cheddar cheese
2 ripe tomatoes (sliced)
4 iceberg lettuce leaves (shredded)
Sweet Pepper Topping

1) Heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat and cook the patties for about 4 minutes on each side or until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.

2) Meanwhile, toast the hamburger buns, if desired, cut-side up, under a preheated grill until golden.

3) To serve, lay a cheese slice onto each bun base. Top with lettuce, tomato and a cooked pattie. Add a dollop of sweet pepper topping and the bun lid.

Nutritional value per serve:
37g protein, 30g fat (12g saturated fat), 31g carbohydrate, 4g dietary fibre, 2265kJ (540 Cals).

Savoury Toasts

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:11:00 +0000

- Serves 6
- Preparation 10 mins
- Cooking 5 mins

- Ingredients:
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 lemon (finely grated rind only)
150g cooked, peeled prawns
75g seafood highlighter (sliced)
120g roasted peppers (cut into strips)
150g Dodoni Fetta (sliced)
12 slices white crusty bread (toasted, eg. baguette)

1) Mix sour cream, mayonnaise, chives and lemon rind together. Fold through the prawns and seafood highlighter.

2) Spoon the seafood mixture onto half the toasts.

3) Arrange fetta and peppers onto remaining toasts. Serve immediately.

Ham and Tomato Crumpets

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 08:50:00 +0000

- Serves 4
- Preparation 10 mins
- Cooking about 30 seconds

- Ingredients:
4 crumpet snaps
1/3 cup sour cream (or cream cheese)
100g shaved honey leg ham (torn)
2 medium tomatoes (sliced)
small basil leaves (to serve)

1) Toast crumpets until lightly golden. Cool slightly, then spread each with sour cream.

2) Top each with ham. Cut the tomato slices into quarters and arrange over the ham.

3) Top with basil leaves. Serve crumpets immediately.

Pork and Pak Choy Fried Rice

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 08:17:00 +0000

- Serves 4
- Preparation 10 mins
- Cooking 5 mins

- Ingredients:
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil
500g pork mince
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 tbsp grated ginger
4 green shallots (thinly sliced)
1 bunch pak choy (trimmed, shredded)
3 cups cooked jasmine rice
1/2 bunch coriander leaves (to serve)

1) In a small bowl, combine hoisin, soy, sugar and sesame oil.

2) Heat oil in a large wok or frying pan on high. Cook pork, garlic and ginger for 2 mins, until pork is brown. Add half of the shallots and cook for another 1 min.

3) Add hoisin mixture and pak choy and stir fry for 1 min. Add rice and toss together for 2 mins, until heated through.

4) Serve topped with remaining shallots and coriander leaves.

Creamy Potato Bake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 08:01:00 +0000

- Serves 6
- Preparation 20 mins
- Cooking 1 hr 30 mins

- Ingredients:
1.5kg brushed potatoes (peeled and thinly sliced)
2 onions (halved and thinly sliced)
3 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 cup milk
300ml thin cream
30g butter (melted)
2 tbsp finely grated parmesan

1) Preheat oven to 180ºC or 160ºC fan. Lightly grease a 7-cup ovenproof dish. Layer 1/3 of potatoes over base. Top with half the onion, garlic and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over 1/3 of combined milk and cream.

2) Repeat layers. Finish with remaining potato, and pour remaining milk and cream over. Brush a sheet of foil with oil and place oil-side down over the potato. Seal tightly. Bake for 45 mins.

3) Uncover and brush top with melted butter. Cook a further 45 mins until tender and golden brown. Sprinkle with parmesan for last 15 mins of cooking.

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 08:11:00 +0000

Preparation: 30 minutes + chilling
Serves: 10

Ingredients:
200g plain sweet biscuits
80g butter (melted)
1 tbs powdered gelatine
1/4 cup boiling water
2 punnets strawberries
2 tbs icing sugar
2 x 250g tubs of cream cheese
395ml can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
extra strawberries, halved, to garnish

1) Line base of a 20cm springform tin with baking paper. Process biscuits in a food processor until fine crumbs. Add butter and process until well combined. Press firmly over base of tin to cover. Chill while preparing cheese filling.

2) Sprinkle gelatine over boiling water and whisk well to dissolve. Set aside.

3) Trim tops from strawberries. Puree half with the icing sugar until smooth. Set aside. Finely dice remaining strawberries.

4) Place cream cheese into food processor and process until smooth. Add condensed milk, vanilla and gelatine mixture and process again until combined.

5) Stir in diced strawberries. Pour mixture over base. Using a teaspoon, drop small dollops of strawberry puree over the mixture. Drag a knife through the puree to give a swirl effect. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set.

6) To serve, remove from tin and cut into wedges. Serve with extra puree and extra strawberries.

Nutritional value per serve:
11g protein, 21g fat (13g saturated fat), 50g carbohydrate, 1.5g dietary fibre, 1800kJ (430Cals).

How to maintain good teeth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:27:00 +0000

Here are the things we can do to maintain healthy teeth:
1) Floss and brush daily.
2) Try to avoid food and drinks containing too much sugar.
3) Prevent the risk of trauma to teeth, for example, wear a mouthguard when playing sport.
4) Do not drink too much coffee, tea and red wine to avoid staining the teeth.
5) Perform a routine teeth check-up by visiting a dentist once or twice per year.