Caprese Salad + side of fresh Figs topped with Maple Syrup

My philosophy with food is simplicity using affordable seasonable produce. This is one of my Summer favourites and hope you will try it sometime.

Caprese Salad serves 2

3 Truss Tomatoes, sliced thickly (9 slices)
1 big ball of Mozarella, sliced thinly (9 slices)
9 freshly plucked Basil leaves
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Mixed Olives in Italian dressing, bought from the Deli (optional)

1. On a wide platter, assemble all the ingredients and serve immediately. Serve with side of rice crackers!

Fresh Figs topped with Maple Syrup serves 2

3 fresh figs (12 slices)
4 tbsps Maple Syrup

1. On a small platter, arrange all the ingredients. Served immediately.

My Kitchen Garden continues to flourish!

This Kitchen Garden was established in October 2009 under the initiative of my husband who measured out the space, ordered the basal blocks required, constructed it over a few weeknights after work, etc. It has been one of the best additions to our home as we continue to derive much satisfaction watching its continual flourish!

These photos were taken on the second last day of Summer and hope that they inspire you as much as it has nourished us!

(from left to right:  The last crop of cherry tomatoes, Passionfruit vine growing along the fence)

(from left to right: A passionfruit flower waiting to be pollenated, Lemongrass)

(from left to right: Okra also known as 'Ladies' Fingers', one of four cucumber seedlings)

(from left to right: 4 bushes of Lebanese eggplants, check out their healthy sizes)

(from left to right: 1 of 4 Basil bushes, delicious & peppery rocket leaves)

(from left to right: 1 of 4 Zucchinis, 1 of 4 Squashes - they've been establishing their roots very quickly!)

(from left to right:

Bok Choys have been very generous - I harvest a huge handful of leaves every 3 days to keep up with its vigiorous growth and have never bought another bunch of Chinese Vegetables from the supermarket since last October, 1 of 6 Beetroots - the leaves are delicious)

(from left to right: 1 Capsicum seedling, my Kitche Garden in 2 basal block garden beds)

Why raised garden beds?

We have clay soil which makes it incredibly hard to dig and clay soil does not drain well. Hence raised garden beds are perfect in this case. No digging involve and the water drains from the plant so that it does not suffer from root rot.

Is it high maintainence?

Not at all. I water our garden beds every other day using the rainwater harvested from our watertank and apply liquid fertiliser to them once a week during the growing season.

Any pests?

Definitely. However if you check your garden out at least once a day or every other day, you are able to combat them with your fingers! It's important to note also that Magnolias (the orange and yellow flowers bordering the garden beds) are great deterant of bugs!

What about Campanion Planting?

Oh! I definitely practice that. With the help of Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Campanion, I have certainly learnt never to plant tomatoes next to Asian Greens and to plant tomatoes next to basil!

Chilli Con Carne

With the arrival of our new 4 door stainless steel fridge, we decided to to go to Super Butcher to buy our meat in bulk since we now have a huge freezer! One of the many items we bought was lean beef mince. A very versatile meat for meatballs, bolognaise, stir-fries, etc.

I decided to make Chilli Con Carne with mine and it's yummy - fast to cook - with heaps of left overs for lunch the following day + another dinner for next week as it freezes very well.

Easy Peasy Chilli Con Carne serves 6

1kg lean beef mince
1 red onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
4 fresh tomatoes, cut roughly
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
6 tsps ground cumin
4 tsps ground coriander
2 tsps ground chilli powder
4 tbsps beef stock powder
1 tin of red kidney beans
1 tin of whole tomatoes
Salt & Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Fresh coriander, optional

1. 
   
   In a deep stainless steel pan, add oil and fry spices (cumin, coriander and chilli powder) until fragrant. Add onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Combine well with spices
2. 
   
   Add beef mince and combine well. Making sure to break up the clumps of meat. When it is brown, add the rest of the ingredients. Cook it on high and simmer for 20 minutes
3. 
   
   Serve hot on its own, with tortilla or rice. Add salt and pepper to taste

Tips to enable successful multi-tasking

While the meal is simmering over the stove for 20 minutes, jump into the shower to wash the day off or partake in some menial household chores so that you don't have to do it 'later' e.g. folding and putting away laundry, tidying the couch of the various remote controls, feed the cat (in my case), etc

This meal freezes very well and that's why I cook this in bulk. I have enough to feed the husband & I for dinner, lunch for next day and another meal for the following week. That means, that's one less meal to cook the following week!

Yummy Fresh Basil Pesto

If you don't think you have 'green fingers', plant Basil. This wonderful herb / vegetable grows well in a pot or in the ground and it is oh-so-hardy! Plant basil next to your tomato plants and you will have no pest problems! I kid you not! Basil is a miracle plant.

So what am I going to do with the 4 thick bushes of basil plants growing in my garden? Well, I have a few recipes to share with you and today, I shall stick to the good old Pesto!

Yummy Fresh Basil Pesto

3 huge handfuls of fresh basil, leaves picked
1 handful of pine nuts, lightly roasted
1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
1 handful of freshly grated parmesan
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Lemon juice,optional

1. Add all the ingredients except lemon juice in the food processor and pulse it until well-combined
2. To serve, add lemon juice, extra olive oil and salt & pepper to taste

Uses for Basil Pesto?

• Stir through pasta for a quick meal
• As a sauce base on pizzas
• Marinate chicken pieces with pesto for stir-fries or BBQs
• Spread over toast, topped with a slice of tomato, a piece of crispy bacon and poached egg (yummy, filling and nutritious!)

Other information

This pesto will keep up to 3 months in an air-tight container stored in the refrigerator!

Chicken Risotto with Mushroom and Spinach

There's something comforting in a bowl of creamy risotto and since we haven't had a bowl since winter, I decided to make this for Sunday Dinner. Yes, risotto requires a lot of continuous arm movements and in my view, this is so worth the effort!

Ingredients serves 4

Part 1:

3 garlic cloves, diced finely

250g mushrooms (I used a combination of fresh portobello and shitake)

250g chicken thigh fillets, sliced thinly

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Part 2:

1 red spanish onion / brown onion, diced finely

3 garlic cloves, diced finely

2 cups arborio rice

4 cups chicken stock (temperature hot)

40g Borsin (garlic and chives cheese)

200g spinach leaves

olive oil

1. In a wide stainless steel pan, add the ingredients from part 1 in the following sequence: Add oil and stir fry garlic until fragrant. Brown chicken fillets and add mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once it is cooked, set aside in another bowl
2. In the same wide stainless steel pan, add the ingredients from part 2
3. Set your stove to medium low heat, add oil. Stir fry onion and garlic until fragant. Add rice and mix well with onion and garic
4. Add a ladel of the chicken stock to the mixture and stir rapidly around the pan. Once the stock is almost absorbed, add another ladel of stock and stir rapidly around the pan. Continue this sequence until all the stock are absorbed
5. Add Borsin to the rice and mix well. Add the stir-fry chicken and mushrooms and mix well.
6. Turn off the heat, add all the spinach leaves and mix well
7. Serve in a bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil and serve immediately

Linguine with Ricotta and Rocket by Stephanie Alexander

The 'Kitchen Garden Companion' by Stephanie Alexander which was gifted to me by my husband for Christmas has been my constant (almost daily) companion on the couch as it inspires me with delightful recipes catergorised according to the produce in one's garden. Since I am currently growing rocket, I decided to try this recipe.

This is a very delicate and gently flavoured pasta dish which is delicious and oh-so-easy to put together. This is also suitable for vegetarians (not vegans as it uses Ricotta made from cow's milk).

Ingredient (serves 4)

Salt

400g dried or fresh linguine or fettuccine

50g butter

250g fresh ricotta, crumbled

2 cups loosely packed rocket leaves

1/2 cup grated parmesan

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. 
   
   Bring a deep saucepan of well-salted water to the boil over high heat. If using dried pasta, dtop into water and wait 8 minutes before making the sauce. If using home-made pasta, drop into water as you add rocket leaves to frying pan
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Melt butter in a large non-stick frying pan over mediaum heat. When foaming, drop in ricotta. Stir gently but don't try to break up the lumps
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Drop in rocket leaves and stir to coat with buttery juices. Cover with lid for 45 seconds - 1 minute. The leaves should just be wilted, not collapsed. Remove from heat and season very well with salt and pepper
   
   
   
4. 
   
   Drain pasta in a colander over a sink and give it a good shake, then tip into the dish. Tip over sauce, add parmesan, toss to mix and serve at once
   
   
   

Bircher muesli with Summer fruits

I am one of those people who need breakfast and cannot function with it. Whenever I'm staying in a hotel, I will take my time to enjoy the array of choices laid out at breakfast time. Besides the hot dishes, I find myself checking out the Bircher muesli which I love - it's healthy, gives you loads of energy and cleans out of your insides too!

Therefore, I thought I might try my hand at making my own! After trawling through different recipes, I have combined the elements that I love (to ensure that it is idiot proof) and here it is:

Ingredients (serves 2)

1/2 cup rolled oats in a deep mixing bowl, soaked in 1 cup water & juice from 1/2 lemon (refrigerate overnight)
2 tbsps best quality vanilla yoghurt
1 tbsp best quality honey
1 green apple, core and grated or slice thinly into matchsticks
4 strawberries, sliced thinly
1 handful of blueberries
1 handful of whole almonds
1 handful of prunes (optional)

1. Take your soaked roll oats out of the fridge and mix  in the yoghurt, honey and grated apple until well-combined
2. Serve the mixture in individual bowls and top with the remaining ingredients. Served immediately

Notes and Tips:
Adapt this recipe to suit your tastes or whatever you have lurking in the pantry. Add some shredded coconut, diced dried apricots or currants, seasonal yummy fruit like mango. The combination is endless!