What do you do: First, cook the noodles in a pan of boiling water for 3 minutes until they are firm. Drain the noodles, then rinse them under cold running water and drain them again. Then drizzle with a dash of sesame oil and toss to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other. Place the chicken strips in a bowl and season with a dash of dark soy sauce, the five-spice powder and chilli sauce. Mix well, then lightly dust the chicken strips with the cornflour. Heat a wok until smoking and add the groundnut oil, then add the chicken and stir fry for 4 minutes. Next, add the red pepper and stir fry for one minute, then add the bean sprouts and spring onion and stir fry for 30 seconds. And finally, stir in the cooked noodles and season with the light soy sauce, a dash of sesame oil and freshly ground black pepper.

How do you serve: Put the noodles onto a plate and serve them right away.

Bon appetit!

Drain pineapple reserve 1/2, combine butter,milk,reserve pineaple syrup,pineaple and sugar in bowl. Stir in lightly beatend eggs and sifted flour. Pour mixture into a greased 20 cm ring tin. And cook on convection microwave at 180oC for 25 minutes. Cool tin for 5minutes. If desired decorate with whipped cream,pineapple and shredded coconut.

This should serve 3 people and i hope you all like this cake.

George T Saviel

19 March 2010

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

-1/2 cup vinegar

-1/2 cup canola oil

-1/2 cup liquid honey

-1/4 tsp cumin

Directions:

Blend the above ingredients together in a blender. Refrigerate. Use this raspberry vinaigrette on your favorite lettuce salads.

Yields: 2 cups

Ingredients:

-12 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced

-3 sliced onions

Dressing:

-3 cups mayonnaise

-3/4 cups sugar

-3/4 cup vinegar

Directions:

Sprinkle cucumbers and onions with salt and pepper. refrigerate them overnight. Drain well and absorb moisture between towels. Mix dressing ingredients together and pour over cucumbers. Mix well and let stand. Pack into jars and refrigerate. Enjoy your cucumber salad.

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:

-2 mackintosh toffee bars

-1 Tbsp cream

-1 Tbs margerine

-1 tsp vanilla

-2 cups corn flakes

Directions:

Melt bars and butter; add vanilla and 2 cups cornflakes. Mix together well. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Let sit until fully hardened. Enjoy your cornflake cookies.

Yields: 2 dozen

Cucumber Salad

With a little technique, you’ll avoid them to be deformed and ugly.

Follow these easy tips.

Tip 1: Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour the combined liquid ingredients into the well. mix the ingredients from the centre until just get  a uniform texture, This gradually incorporates the ingredients to ensure a smoother texture.

Tip 2: For a light texture, be careful not to over-mix the batter. put in the muffins chocolate-chips or dryed fruit and then mix until they get combined. If you overfill, they may overflow, giving your muffins a mushroom-top appearance.

Tip3: when finished you can melt chocolate all over the muffins and let it dry when you see it will crunchi by the outside.

Method:

1. Beat the stick of butter with cream cheese until well blended.
2. Add flour slowly beating well.
3. Cover mixture and refrigerate one hour or until firm enough to handle.
4. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
5. Stir together egg, brown sugar, 1 tbsp of butter, vanilla, and salt until well blended.
6. Remove dough from fridge and shape into 24 (1 inch) balls.
7. Place balls into 1 ¾ inch muffin cups and press up the sides and into bottom of cups to create a well.
8. Place two mini chocolate kisses in each cup.
9. Spoon 1 tsp of pecans in each cup.
10. Evenly distribute egg mixture into each cup.
11. Bake 25 minutes.
12. Lightly press one kiss on the top of each cup.
13. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

1 envelope of unflavored gelatin
½ cup cold water
¾ cup of sugar
½ cup cocoa
1 ¼ cups evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of frozen whipped topping
1/8 tsp mint extract
6-7 drops of green food coloring
8 mint leaves

Method:

1. Sprinkle gelatin over water in medium saucepan; let stand 2 minutes.
2. Cook over medium heat until gelatin is dissolved.
3. In a small bowl, stir sugar and cocoa together, and then whisk into gelatin.
4. Continue cooking mixture until sugar is dissolved…about 3 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in evaporated milk and vanilla.
6. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7. Fold ½ cup whipped topping into cocoa mixture.
8. Divide about ½ of the mixture evenly into 8 parfait or wine glasses.
9. Stir mint extract and green food coloring into remaining whipped topping.
10. Evenly distribute whipped topping into each parfait glasses.
11. Spoon remaining cocoa mixture on top of whipped topping layers.
12. Garnish with mint leaves.
13. Serve and enjoy.

Mixture of chocolate and strawberry lead to different sensations. Especially if the two main ingredients are processed into pudding. The result, was flavor.

Material:
700 ml of water
200 gr sugar (one cup or to taste)
7 strawberries
5 tbsp yogurt
1 packet nutrijel chocolate (15 grams)

How to make:
1. Mix the sugar with Nutrijel, enter the water, mix well and cook until boiling.
2. Turn off the fire. Do not forget Nutrijel combine, then mix well.
3. Pour the cooked custard into the pan.
4. Allow to cool, then store it in the fridge.
5th. If it’s cold, can be decorated with fresh strawberry slices on top.
6. Sprinkle with strawberry yogurt.

            Berry Pies, oh me, oh my!  At my house we still call them pie-eee’s!  It just got started one day and is still said like that now… and with the exclamation of pie-eee! there is much happiness in the voice who says it!  For delicious pies, berries give the most flavor and making them is not a hard thing to do.  These days with a lot of women working away from home, we have to find ways to cut corners for saving time and so I would heartily recommend the pie crusts that come already to roll out.  Pillsbury-remember the Dough boy on the outer package, to me are the most tasty of pre-made crusts and taste the best right after coming out of the oven and eaten the first day.  They will not last for taste or texture on the second day, like a homemade one from butter mixed with lard will.  But who wants to save pie for the next day anyway!

  Ready-to-roll crusts should be set out for a few minutes to take some of the chill out for easier handling.  Use one crust for the bottom and when fitted into the pie pan, begin to flute the edges by hand, as pictured above.  When using canned berries, you can enhance the flavor by adding vanilla extract, pats of real butter and a little extra sugar sprinkled in.

  Example:  Cherry pie.

  After the bottom crust is fitted and fluted pour one can of cherry pie filling in, put 3 pats of butter around, sprinkle lightly with sugar.  Then add your second can of cherries and follow suit with the butter and sugar.  Put on the top crust either done in lattice work, or use the whole crust and just cut a hole in the middle and make some slits around it.  Finish off with an egg yolk wash or brush with milk for a nice browning effect.  Also sprinkle a little sugar to show off a sparkling crust.

  *These are only some ways to decorate your pies.  You can also use cookie cutters to top pies with according to the season you bake them in.  I’ve done a hand of cards pie, using blueberries and then cutting out hearts, jacks, kings and queens out of the topper dough and this is a pie that can be made if you have friends over for card games.  Your friends will be so surprised when they see a pie to match the cards!

  *Pictured first is a crust protector-keeps it from burning which they usually will before the pie is finished baking.  If you don’t have this you can line around the top crust with 2 long pieces of foil.

  The best tasting pie crusts, Pillsbury and come 2 in each box.

  When making a homemade pie, the ones that need to be cooked before you put the fillings in them will often times puff up and then the sides slide down making your pie look very disfigured.  So, by putting beads or large dried beans in while the bottom of the crust while you bake it, the pie will not puff up.  Ha, and you thought I was trying to dress up my pie crust!

  All of my berry pies are flavored pretty much the same and I always use just a sprinkling of sugar with the butter pats.  When putting the top crust on and have it fluted, brush it with milk or a wash made from egg yolk only with a little water or milk added.  Then sprinkle just a little bit of sugar on top for a shiny look.  These pies really come out beautiful.  With the easy pie crusts and the two cans of berries for each 9 inch pie, you will have a pie that has a lot of fruit in it that will enhance the taste further.  In the past I’d just use one can of berries and I didn’t like the way they looked, but by adding that second one, it sure made the difference.

  Recipe for a single pie crust:

  1 cup all purpose flour

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening (Crisco, butter or half and half is commonly used)

  2-3 tablespoons cold water

  Mix flour and salt in medium bowl, cut in shortening using pastry blender.  Blend until mixture resembles the size of small peas.  Slowly add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture almost leaves sides of the bowl.  One to two teaspoons more water can be added if necessary and I always find this mostly necessary.

  Gather pastry into a ball and shape into flattened mound on lightly floured surface.  (Some prefer chilling the pie dough for at least 30 minutes.) 

  Roll pastry on lightly floured board into a circle that is 2″ larger than the inverted pie pan when placed on top of crust.  Fold crust in half and place on pie tin, pulling the other half over.  Flute as you choose, fill and line around top of crust edge with aluminum foil.  Bake at time given on your recipe.  Pies are usually baked between 375 to 425 degrees.  Having or purchasing a pie blender really makes a difference in texture too as you do not want to over work pie crusts.  Over working a pie crust will make them tough in consistency.  You want them to be light and flaky!

    Pie blender 

  images by bing.com