Hash Waffles

When I saw this on Pinterest, I made a mental bookmark to make this when I next had the chance. What better time than on a weekend, when ~ for the first time in a long while ~ we had absolutely nothing to do.

Unfortunately, my waffle iron doesn't get hot enough to crisp it in a timely manner, so I finished it off under the grill. However, it's a far better option in that I don't have to deal with all the oil spatter that invariably occurs during such a venture.

Delish!

Magic Microwave Merengues

Too easy merengues: just mix egg white & icing sugar to a dough-like consistency, then microwave on baking paper for about 40secs. Voila!

 

 

Partyzilla ~ Christmas 2011 edition

Last Christmas, I went into full-on Partyzilla mode with custom-made Christmas bonbons, giant Santa sacks for the kids to put their pressies in and lanterns made out of doilies. The menu board at the bottom shows the sumptuous spread we had that afternoon.

I don't think I'll be doing anything as elaborate this year (bubsy Ty will still be under 3 monnths old). Maybe next year!

 

 

Baby Ty's 1st Month Celebration

Our little bubsy Ty just turned one month old, so as our tradition dictates, we had a celebration to mark the event.

I have to admit that pulling this spread together was tricky - every time I started making something, Ty would start wailing. I had to keep running into the bedroom to pacify him every few minutes :P

Kitchen Measurements ~ Metric Conversion Chart

I love trawling the net for recipes, and sometimes need to convert measurements (temperature, weight) to metric.

So I decided to create my own chart. Hope you find this useful too! 

You can download the printable PDF version here.

Kid-friendly DIY Sushi

This is one of our favourite family meals, because you can eat it with your hands! 

The kids especially enjoy making their own sushi - you don't even need a sushi mat ot mould. Just cut the nori into quarters and off you go!

 

Place all the ingredients in bowls on a lazy susan (got mine from IKEA)

The kids can then assemble their own sushi

 Cut the sheet into quarters

Seal the flap with a grain of rice

Ingredients 

Sushi Rice (see below for recipe)  

Teriyaki chicken (see below for recipe)
 Omelette 
Cucumber
 Nori (seaweed) 
Salmon
 
Other options: 

Fish fingers, canned tuna, avocado, prawn

Sushi Rice
Ingredients Sushi rice, vinegar, sugar, salt

Rinse rice a few times with cold water.

Bring to boil & cook until the grains have soaked up all the water.

Turn off heat & leave for another 5 minutes.

Transfer the rice into a big bowl & fluff it up with chopsticks or a fork.

Add vinegar, sugar & salt to taste, and mix into the rice. 

Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients Chicken thigh fillets, oil, teriyaki sauce, honey or sugar, lemon juice

  Heat oil on hgh heat (2 tblsp per fillet) in a wok or frypan until smoking,
then seal the chicken.

Add enough teriyaki sauce to coat the chicken, followed by the honey/sugar & lemon juice.

When the chicken is almost cooked through (but still a little raw), 

remove from pan, leaving the sauce to boil & reduce.

When the sauce thickens & becomes sticky, 
toss the chicken back into the pan & continue to cook till done.

The Crunchiest Pork Crackling Ever!

Using a sharp knife, score the skin crosswise at 5mm intervals. You can get your butcher to do this.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Using tongs, immerse crackling into the water for a few seconds, then set aside & wait for the water to boil again. Do this 3 times.

Dry thoroughly with paper towels, then rub the skin with vinegar and salt.

Leave the crackling in the fridge overnight to dry out.

Cut the crackling into bite-sized chunks.

Preheat oven at 220-250 ºC. Place crackling on a wire rack in a baking tray, skin side up.

If you don't have a wire rack, just place in a pan & drain the fat out every 5 minutes or so.

Ta-DAH! Perfect pork crackling.