Wraps are ideal for Alfresco dining

Autumn and Spring are my favourite times of the year - the best times to enjoy the outdoors with the slight coolness in the air and the sun on your back.  

Wraps are a convenient way to satisfy those healthy appetite and they appeal to everyone.  Of course you can put them together at home and transport to the site but some prefer the extra freshness when they are rolled on site.

Here are some suggestions:
Supply the mustard, relish, and pickles.
Cream cheese, thinly sliced red onion and smoked salmon;
Dijon mustard spread first, then layer with thinly sliced pear, chopped walnuts, crumbled blue cheese or sliced brie;
Sliced smoked turkey or ham and Swiss cheese pair nicely with Dijon mustard too;
Guacamole or sliced avocado, cheese slices, thinly sliced red onion, thin slices of canned, drained jalapeno.

chicken wrap with rocket and parsley aioli

4 Greek Yiros Wraps, 225g roasted chicken breast, shredded (about 2 small chicken breasts); a good handful, baby rocket leaves,
For the Parsley Aioli    Combine in a food processor - ; 50g fresh flat-leaf parsley, 1 anchovy fillet, 2 tsp chopped fresh chives, 1 small garlic clove, chopped coarsely, 120ml natural yoghurt, 1 tsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp lemon zest, Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Add the shredded chicken to the aioli and mix well.  Transport to the picnic in a plastic container. At the picnic spread with the chicken mixture, leaving a 1.25cm border.  Sprinkle with rocket and carefully roll up the tortillas, Swiss roll fashion, tucking in the ends.  Cut each rolled sandwich in half, diagonally.  

It would be great to receive your feedback or suggestions. Click on "0 comments". You can choose 'anonymous' from the drop down menu if you don't have a google account. Or send an email - clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au

Warm Thai beef salad is simple and has many variations

Thai Beef Salad

There are many variations on this theme.   This is a simple version featuring fresh crunchy vegetables, tender beef and tangy chilli dressing.   I served it with vermicelli noodles - see below.  Tomorrow's variation includes  dried mushrooms.

Thai Beef Salad
1 tbsp oil for frying
500g (16 oz) thick-cut, premium-quality beef steak (sirloin, rump or fillet) fat and sinew removed
Sweet Chilli Dressing:
3 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice

Salad
1 lebanese cucumber, chopped into small finger-sized batons
1 cup cherry tomatoes. halved
2 spring Onions, finely sliced
handful sugar snap peas. finely sliced (optional)
1/4 cup each chopped mint and coriander
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 handfuls baby spinach or rocket leaves

Heat oil in a large frypan. Season beef and cook 2-3 minutes each side until medium rare. Set aside to cool and, meanwhile, combine dressing ingredients.

Place  rocket or spinach leaves, cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions and sugar snap peas in a bowl with the herbs. Drizzle over half the dressing and toss to coat thoroughly. Thinly slice the cooked meat across the grain and toss through the salad. Drizzle over remaining dressing.

Vermicelli Noodles are boiled  for 3 minutes in stock
or simply covered with water then drained.  Add a little
sesame oil and coriander etc

Make sure you buy vermicelli in serving sizes.  If  you buy
the large single size you may end up with it all over the floor

How to do OK Seafood Pizza at Nambucca Heads and still fit in your jeans



Nambucca Nosh

John's OK  delicious Pizza  served at sunset

Star ingredients

Secret is having a thin base -
this one is a commercial wholemeal version

Spread some tomato pizza sauce

Add the seafood (and if you wish some salami slices -  hmmmm)

Add red onion slices and artichoke hearts

Finish with a slurp of sweet chilli sauce and a
light sprinkling of mozzarella cheese
Bake in a moderate to hot oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy,  with the sunset at Nambucca Heads

Is crostini a mini bruschette? Is bocconcini really mozzarella?

Some vital questions!   Qu 1 - Crostini or Bruschetta?   Is crostini a small bruschetta? 




The difference is fuzzy.

Give up? Yes, crostini is smaller and is served as an aperitivo but the correct answer is that crostini is usually made with white bread instead of sourdough but the difference is fuzzy.   

The Italians simply grill a half-inch slice of ciabatta, rub it with a cut clove of garlic, drizzle it with oil, and season it with salt and pepper.



My favourite method, being an 'ovenphile' is to  preheat oven to 160°C/ 320 F.  Line an oven tray with baking paper and bake slices which have been sprayed on both sides with olive oil,  for about 8-10 minutes or until golden and crisp. While hot, rub with garlic.  Add prepared topping of your choice. For approx 12 crostini, here a few favourites but you can use your imagination and personal taste to create the perfect Italian aperitivo, whether it be a crostini or bruschette.

tapenade with goat's cheese

Intense flavours offset with
goat's cheese & basil

Process the following in a food processor; 1 cup (175g) pitted kalamata olives, 4 anchovy fillets, drained on paper towel, coarsely chopped, 1 tbsp drained capers, 1 garlic clove, crushed, then add ¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil to make a smooth paste. 

Spread on crostini, then sprinkle with crumbled goat's cheese and torn basil.
Or  for green olive tapenade, replace black olives with 1 cup green olives.

mixed herb crostini 

Roughly chop  any mixture of soft herbs like fennel tops,  basil, parsley, mint, chervil or thyme leaves. Take six cherry tomatoes and halve them, then rub one of the halves into each of your hot crostini. Grate some pecorino or Parmesan over the top and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with good-quality extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the chopped herbs.

cannellini beans with garlic
Pound a couple of sprigs of rosemary gently in a mortar and pestle with a little salt. Add a good swig or two of extra-virgin olive oil and stir, then put to one side. Fry two sliced cloves of garlic in a little olive oil until lightly golden. Add 1 ¾ cups of good-quality drained and rinsed cannellini beans and continue to simmer gently for approx seven minutes. Season the beans well with salt and pepper and a little red wine vinegar, then mash to a coarse puree using the back of a fork. Spread onto hot crostini and spoon rosemary oil over the top.

prosciutto, figs, and mint
For this delicious concoction you need six large ripe figs, halved, 12 slices of prosciutto, and a small bunch of fresh mint. Drape piece of  prosciutto over  hot crostini and squash a piece of fig on top.  Finish with mint leaves and serve drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil, a drop of balsamic vinegar, and some freshly ground black pepper.

blue cheese with pear
Salty, sharp blue cheese combined with sweet, juicy pear is sublime. (75g / 3 oz Gorgonzola or any good blue cheese) 
Peel and core the pear, then slice it into 12 thin wedges.
Top crostini with a sliver of blue cheese, a slice of pear and a good grinding of black pepper.  Serve immediately. 

ham & smashed pea crostini

Use a  narrow baguette to make these crostini .  Fry  2 finely chopped shallots in olive oil , add  140 g/5 oz frozen peas and a slurp of white wine then cover and cook gently  for about 5 minutes, until the peas are tender. Turn the peas and juices into a food processor, season with salt and pepper and process to make a chunky puree.

Cut 3 strips of proscuitto into 12 pieces ( cut each in half lengthwise, then across). Prepare the toast,  spoon the smashed peas on top and finish with a twist of ham. Drizzle with a little more oil, if liked, and a grinding of black pepper.
Sprinkle the crostini with mint and serve immediately.

I'm just a baby!

 Qu 2 -  What is bocconcini - is it the same as mozzarella?
Bocconcini are Italian cheese balls about the size of cherry tomatoes. They are actually a fresh type of mozzarella. small, semi-soft, white and rindless,  unripened, usually made from a combination of water buffalo and cow's milk. Bocconcini are packaged in whey or water, have a spongy texture and absorb flavours.

buffalo mozzarella and chilli
Deseed and finely chop a fresh red chilli.  Top each hot crostini with 1/4  Buffalo mozzarella (for 12, approx 180 g / 5 oz,  torn into quarters)  and sprinkle with chilli.   Add a little seasoning and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and fresh torn basil. 

There are endless possibilities.
Clara


Parsley Salsa Verde with olive oil provides health and taste to pasta



Flat leaf parsley considered to have
the best taste



Pasta with salsa verde



Loaded with flavour and nutrition, this is a sensationally, simple way to serve your favourite short pasta.  Great as an accompaniment or stirfry 24 green prawns in a little oil for 1 to 2 mins and add to pasta for a main course to serve 4

For Salsa Verde, pulse to a smooth paste:-
1 1/2 cups (1 average bunch) flat leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic
1  to 2 tbsp capers
2 anchovy fillets
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or more up to 1/2 cup (I prefer to serve olive oil on table for individual choice - see note)
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1tsp Dijon mustand
Salt & Pepper

Cook 400g / 12oz short pasta in boiling salted water until al dente then drain (reserve 4 tbsp cooking water).  Toss pasta with Salsa Verde (adding a little reserved water if needed.
NB - The Mediterranean-style diet, recognised by experts as a healthy way to eat, particularly as we age, with a heavy focus on vegetables, fruits, fish, legumes, whole grain and of course olive oil.  High in mono-unsaturated fats, olive oil has been linked to a reduction in coronary heart disease risk and cholesterol.  

In the United States, producers of olive oil may place the following health claim on product labels:

Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about 2 tbsp of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the monounsaturated fat in olive oil. To achieve this possible benefit, olive oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day.

Pork enjoys its reputation as a white meat

Hi there from Milwaukee
My last dinner here, so what could be better than a Sweet and Sour pork with pineapple and basil, to satisfy Aussie and American taste buds; sweet and sour adored by Americans combined with Asian spices, embraced by Australian cuisine.  This all-in-one version of the dish gets the tick for Fit in your jeans cuisine, since it's not cooked in batter nor is it too sweet. 
Nutritionally  - Pork producers have enhanced feeding and breeding practices to deliver leaner options for today’s health conscious consumers. it now enjoys a reputation as a white meat due to the fact that many lean pork cuts are similar in fat to a skinless chicken.
Clara 
ps -Today  I took my very own photo of 2 beautiful friendly deer in the back yard.  Lucky we hadn't chosen venison for our meal tonight!

Sweet and sour pork with basil
600g (1 1/2 lb lean pork fillets)
2 tbsp curry paste (In Australia we can readily buy this, but we made our own - recipe below)
2 tbsp oil
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1 red onion  (cut into wedges)
250g  (a good  1/2 lb) green beans - topped
250g cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp fish sauce
1tbsp brown sugar
lrg handful basil leaves

to serve
Steamed rice

Stir curry paste with pork.
Heat a wok or heavy pan over high heat.  Add half the oil and heat until hot.  Stir- fry pork in batches for 2-3 minutes until cooked through and golden. Remove from heat.  Caramalise pineapple by stir-frying for 1 min then remove.

Reheat wok to high and add remaining oil.  Add onion - stir-fry 2 mins until golden.  Add the beans and 2 tbsp water and stir-fry 1-2 mins.  Add tomatoes and stir-fry for 1 min.

Toss together pork and pineapple. add lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and basil leaves and stir.  Serve straight away with rice.


If Thai curry paste is unavailable you can make your own but leave out the fish sauce and brown sugar from the above recipe since it is included in the paste.

Thai curry paste

1-2 red chilies (or substitute 1/2 to 1 tsp dried chilli)
1/2 to 1 stalk lemongrass, minced (or substitute with 1 tsp lemon zest)
2 shallots, sliced (or 1/3 cup onion chopped)
1 thumb-sized piece of galangal, or ginger sliced
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp fish sauce
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp tomato ketchup (or substitute tomato paste plus 1/2 tsp sugar)
Blend until smooth. Can be kept for 2 weeks in airtight bottle, or  can be frozenThai Curry Paste
1-2 red chilies (or substitute 1/2 to 1 tsp dried chilli)
1/2 to 1 stalk lemongrass, minced (or substitute with 1 tsp  lemon zest) 
2 shallots, sliced (or 1/3 cup onion chopped)
1 thumb-sized piece of galangal, or ginger sliced
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground coriander
1tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp fish sauce
1/3 tsp pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp tomato ketchup (or substitute tomato paste plus 1/2 tsp sugar)
Blend until smooth.  Can be kept for 2 weeks in airtight bottle, or it can be frozen.