Home Cooked Food And Forgotten Recipes

We-ell, remember what I said about that Protein + Vege vs Carbs challenge we were doing in preparation for the Melbourne Marathon?

I took plenty of pictures, hoping I could share with you some of the recipes and food preparation I did and tried.

From roasting peanuts for the satay sauce ...

And just how little chilli I had, which was definitely less than what is required than the recipe... (hey, I only make do with what I have!)

Chopping them peanuts ...

Onions diced/chopped ...

Chicken satay marinated and skewered ...

For a delicious chicken satay dinner, with spicy peanut sauce and a side of cucumber!

The chicken was marinated with turmeric, honey, garlic and ... I'm not sure what else because I LOST THE RECIPE!

*knocks head against wall*

I have tried another one but it wasn't good as this one. :\

Grilled trout with sweet and sour dressing.

We try to have fish most of the time for our dinners, which means I have to buy different types of fish every now and then.

Grilled fish is the easiest, sometimes topped with sweet and sour sauce, chopped spring onions, crushed peanuts (just once) and sliced chilli. Or coriander dressing!

Meatballs. I am so thankful for this recipe, because bouncy meatballs are just THE BOMB.

You can try it with beef or chicken, if pork is not your thing, but the important ingredients that MUST not be excluded are fish sauce and ginger. It brings the taste of everything together, enhances the flavour of the meat, I might dare say.

The slowest part of cooking this is waiting for them to float up and ensure that they are cooked. They may float but could still be rather pink in the inside. So you have to leave them in the pot for a while more, before scooping them out.

Best served with noodle soup!

I have made them again and again, and I really think it's a winning recipe.

I've stuck it onto my fridge, lest I forget. :D

The recipe can be found here.

Making them on your own taste way better than prepacked ones at the supermarket. :)

The hubby says that these meatballs is one of the best things I've cooked EVER. I'm not sure what would top this, but so far, this one stands on top of the charts.

The challenge is clearly starting to crack, since we haven't really avoided carbs. *throw hands in the air* It's really hard when we get hungry too quickly at times!

I didn't know what else to do with my spring roll wrappers, and I still don't. I mulled over this experiment and decided to wing it.

Fried sweet potato and red bean/adzuki spring rolls for dessert, and they looked really nice and crunchy, hot from the wok that evening.

Topped with frozen Greek yoghurt, the sour taste of cold yoghurt was lovely. However, the flavours of the sweet potato and red bean were very mild and clearly required a bit more seasoning, Perhaps a wee hint of cinnamon.

I'm a cheapskate. I love buying salmon bits for AUD$4.00 per kg, which I think is a steal, by the way.

It's hard work, I admit, to cook them and taking the bones out.

There is sufficient flesh to make salmon potato cakes. Some spring onions, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, ...

I know, I know. It would be so much easier if I bought a salmon cutlet instead, but please, I'd rather devour the cutlet for a proper meal instead of mashing it up for salmon potato cakes!

It would be a waste. ;)

Dinner is served, with a side of broccoli, carrot and kale salad.

Potato. Tsk tsk. Starch. Tsk tsk.

Sorry, what diet did I say I was on again? :P

(Previously I attempted a different recipe 2 years ago.)

Kakiage is a type of tempura of mixed vegetable strips such as carrots, onion, french beans, taro, etc ...

Which I'm never again attempting.

It took ages to finish a batch of vegetables, waiting for clumps of it to cook thoroughly in a pot of hot oil. 

And the oil!

But anyway, too much work so, no thanks! 

Somewhere in between, I'm sure you caught my earlier posts on our tapas dinner, veggie burgers, steamed cakes, steamed yam cake/radish cake, glass noodle salad with beef, homemade bibimbap, ... and goodness knows what else.

Steamed banana cake for tea. :)

The scary thing is, I am beginning to sound like our (Asian) elders. Eating out at Chinese eateries is no longer fun. We gasp in horror at the exhorbitant prices, stick our noses in the air at the mere taste of MSG in the food and I return home thinking to myself, "I can do better."

*laughs like crazy*

It truly is madness!

Me, do better?

Surely not!

Cute veggie burgers for lunch. I swear I topped them with more greens after this picture was taken!

Fried vermicelli with fish slices and squid. 

Our weekend breakfasts tend to be more carb heavy so we can head out for a lunchtime run or errands. 

OK, I hope I've made you hungry or have given you some ideas what to have for lunch or dinner today.

Have a great weekend! :)