Green Bean Salad

Green Bean Salad 1 lb green beans , trimmed 1 tomato , diced 1/4 red onion , finely diced DRESSING 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (or white wine vinegar) 3 - 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (adjust to taste) 1 tsp dijon mustard 1 garlic clove Salt and pepper GARNISH Finely chopped parsley (optional) Combine the Dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well. Set aside - or refrigerate up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before using. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the beans, bring it back up to a boil and boil beans for 60 seconds - no more! Drain and plunge in ice cold water (or run under cold tap water) to stop them from cooking. If making ahead, leave in the colander to dry before transferring to the fridge. To serve, pile the beans on a plate, top with tomato and red onion, drizzled over dressing. Sprinkle with parsley if using.

Smashed Cucumber Salad

Smashed Cucumber Salad 1 lb cucumbers (4 medium or 2 long cucumbers, Note 1) 3/4 tsp salt 2 tbsp coriander/cilantro , roughly chopped 1/4 cup green onions , sliced DRESSING: 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar 2 tsp sesame oil , toasted (Note 2) 1.5 tsp ginger , freshly grated 2 tsp soy sauce 1/2 tsp sugar Bash the cucumbers until they split open on the sides (see video) using something heavy like the smooth side of a meat mallet, rolling pin, pestle or even a can. Cut into 2.5cm/1" chunks then place in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt, toss, leave for 20 minutes. Drain excess liquid in the bowl. Shake or mix Dressing well. Drizzle over cucumbers, sprinkle with coriander and green onions. Toss and serve immediately. Notes: 1. Cucumber type - use 2 long cucumbers (Telegraph/English Cucumbers) or 3 medium standard cucumbers (called "Lebanese" cucumbers in Australia, these are the most common variety). 2. Sesame oil - toasted sesame oil is brown and has more flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). Default sesame oil sold in Australia is toasted, untoasted is harder to find. 3. Coriander is optional. Green onion is ideal - can sub with finely sliced red onion, eschallots/shallots/French onions or chives.

Lo Mein Noodles

Lo Mein Noodles 1.5 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil 2 garlic cloves , finely minced (Note 1) 1/2 onion , finely sliced 10oz chicken or other protein , sliced 0.5cm / 1/5" thick (Note 2) 2 medium carrots , peeled and cut into 4 x 0.75cm / 1.75 x 1/3" batons 1 large red capsicum / bell pepper , sliced (or 2 small) 6 green onions , cut into 5 cm/2” lengths 1lb Lo Mein, Hokkien or other medium thickness egg noodles, fresh, , prepared per packet (Note 3 for dried) 1/4 cup (65ml) water SAUCE: 4 tsp cornflour / cornstarch 2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 4) 2 tbsp soy sauce or light soy sauce (Note 4) 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine or Mirin (Note 5 subs) 1 tsp white sugar (omit if using Mirin) 1/2 tsp sesame oil , toasted, optional (Note 6) 1/4 tsp white pepper (sub black) GARNISH (OPTIONAL): Green onion , finely sliced Sauce: Mix cornflour and dark soy until lump free, then add remaining Sauce ingredients. Season Chicken: Transfer 2 tsp Sauce into bowl with chicken. Toss to coat. Heat oil in a wok or large heavy based skillet over high heat until smoking. Add onion and garlic, stir 30 seconds. Add chicken, stir until white on the outside, still raw inside - 1 minute. Add carrot and capsicum/bell peppers, cook 2 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Add noodles, Sauce and water. Use 2 wooden spoons and toss for 30 seconds. Add green onions, toss for another 1 minute until all the noodles are slick with sauce. Serve immediately, garnished with extra green onions if using. Notes: 1. Garlic - don't use jar paste or a garlic press, makes garlic watery = spits & burns when it hits the oil. Finely chop it - even sliced is enough. 2. Proteins - how to cook & cut: Beef, pork, turkey - slice and cook per recipe Ground / mince meat - cook garlic and onion per recipe, then cook ground / mince. Once cooked, add 1 tbsp sauce, stir, then proceed with next steps in recipe. Hard tofu - cut into 1 x 4cm / 1/3 x 1.5" batons, cook per recipe. Prawns/shrimp - use small peeled, cook per recipe. More veggies - use another 2 1/2 cups chopped veggies. 3. Lo Mein noodles are fresh yellow noodles (usually labelled "egg noodles") that are about 3mm / 1/8" thick, sold in the fridge section of grocery stores. Dried noodles - use 200g/8oz uncooked ramen noodles or other dried noodles. They will increase in volume and weight once cooked per packet. Note - Lo Mein is still delicious made with ANY type of noodles - thick, thin, fresh, dried, egg or rice - or ramen noodles, or even spaghetti or other long pasta (trust me, no one will know!). 4. Soy Sauces: Dark soy sauce is labelled as such, provides colour and gives more flavour to the sauce than other soy sauces. Sold at Aussie grocery stores nowadays. Fallback: sub with more ordinary or light soy (below) Soy Sauce - ordinary all purpose soy sauce, they just say "soy sauce" on the label (eg. Kikkoman). Can also use Light soy sauce - bottle is labelled as such. 5. Chinese cooking wine ("Shaoxing wine") is an essential ingredient for making truly "restaurant standard" Asian noodles. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic sub - sub both the cooking wine AND water with low sodium chicken broth/stock + reduce light soy sauce to 1.5 tbsp. 6. Sesame oil - toasted sesame oil is brown and has more flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). Default sesame oil sold in Australia is toasted, untoasted is harder to find.

Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Soup

Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Soup 1 tbsp olive oil 1 onion , diced (brown, white, yellow) 1 red capsicum/bell pepper , large, diced 3 cloves garlic , minced 3 cups (750ml) chicken broth/stock , low sodium 28 oz canned black beans, drained (2 cans, or other beans, Note 1) 28 oz canned corn, drained (2 cans, or 500g/1lb frozen or fresh corn) 28oz crushed canned tomato OR 700g tomato passata (Note 2) 1 lb chicken breast SPICES 1 tbsp dried oregano 2 tsp cumin powder 2 tsp paprika powder 1 tsp each onion powder and garlic powder (or 2 tsp of one of them) 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, adjust spiciness) 1 tsp each salt + black pepper TOPPINGS Shredded cheese (recommended) Sour cream or yogurt (recommended) Coriander/cilantro (recommended) Lime wedges (recommended) Avocado, diced Corn chips or tortillas , for dunking Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet and sauté the onion, capsicum/bell pepper and garlic for 5 minutes until translucent. Add a splash of chicken broth, bring to simmer then tip it all into the slow cooker. (Instant Pot: Do Step 1 & 2 on saute function). Add remaining chicken broth, Spices, corn, bean and tomato. Give it a good stir, then add chicken and push down to submerge. Slow cook for 6 to 8 hours on LOW. (Or pressure cooker 25 minutes on high, see Note for stove). Remove chicken onto plate, shred with 2 forks. Return into slow cooker, give it a good stir. Check if it needs more salt or pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve with Toppings of choice! Recipe Notes: 1. Beans - You can use red kidney beans instead of black beans, or 1/2 cup of dried beans. 2. Tomato passata is pureed plain tomatoes that is the consistency of a thick, smooth liquid, not like a paste or sauce. In Australia it is found in the pasta section of supermarkets and costs around the same as canned tomatoes. 3. Stove - simmer on stove for 40 min on medium low, remove chicken and shred. Simmer soup for further 20 minutes, then return shredded chicken into pot then serve. 4. Storage - cooked soup will keep in the fridge for 5 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months - it freezes perfect (soup only, not toppings).

Easy Chocolate Brownies

Easy Chocolate Brownies 14 tbsp unsalted butter (1 3/4 US sticks) 1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips (7 oz) (Note 1) 1 cup (175g) brown sugar , loosely packed 3 eggs , lightly beaten 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup (75g) plain flour 1/4 cup (30g) cocoa powder Pinch of salt 6oz dark chocolate block/bar (optional) , chopped into chunks rather than shards, (bittersweet or semi-sweet, cooking chocolate) (Note 2) ALTERNATIVE STIR IN 1.5 cups roughly chopped walnuts (or other nuts) Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan forced). Spray a 20cm/8" square tin with oil and line with baking/parchment paper with overhang (Note 2). Place butter and chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl, microwave in 30 second bursts (takes me 1m 30 sec) until melted. Stir until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla, mix, then add eggs and mix well until smooth and molten. Add flour, cocoa and salt and stir until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate, pour into pan. Bake 24 minutes for really gooey in the centre, 28 minutes for fudgey but still very moist (my favourie, shown in video & photos), 32 minutes for moist fudge-cake-like. (See in post for toothpick testphotos). If you didn't use the extra chocolate for stirring in, reduce cook time by 2 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes before lifting out of the pan. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting. Store in an airtight container for 4 days (bet they don't last that long!) or freeze for 3 months. Notes: 1. Chocolate - Use cooking chocolate chips from the baking section of the supermarket, not eating chocolate. Also use cooking chocolate bars for the add in chunks (though eating chocolate will work here too, just that not all types/brands will melt so you get a smooth molten ooze like you see in the video) 2. Lining pan - Have overhang so you can lift the brownies out of the tin. 3. Baking measures - Cups, tbsp and tsp measures differ slightly in size between countries. For most recipes on my blog, the difference is not enough to make a difference, or the difference is relative and consistent across all ingredients in a recipe. Where the difference DOES matter, I specify the measurements for different countries, like I do for my Chewy Oatmeal Raisin cookies. For this recipe, it DOES NOT matter so you can use cups or weights per the recipe, no matter which country you are in. The only exception is Japan, please use the weight measures, not cups. 4. Storage - airtight container for 4 days, refrigerate only if it's very hot. Or freeze for up to 3 months.

Salad Dressing

Salad Dressing 1 tbsp any vinegar or lemon juice (my favourite is cider vinegar) (Note 1) 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or other neutral oil 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard (or other non spicy smooth mustard) 1/2 tsp EACH salt and pepper OPTIONAL FLAVOURINGS - CHOOSE: 1/2 - 1 small garlic clove* , pressed through crusher or smashed (Note 2) 1 tsp lemon zest* 1/4 tsp sugar (Note 3) 1 tsp honey (Note 3) Finely chopped fresh herbs 1/2 tsp dried herbs* Pinch of red pepper flakes Place Dressing ingredients and Optional Flavourings in a jar and shake well until mustard dissolves. Makes enough for a big leafy salad for 4 people (4 big handfuls of lettuce), or garden salad. Storage: Excluding garlic and fresh herbs, Dressing will keep for weeks in the fridge - just give it a good shake before using. Big batch - click servings and slide. Use to dress any fresh salad (make sure leaves are dry otherwise it won't stick) or steamed, boiled or roasted vegetables (douse while hot so it absorbs!). Drizzle and toss well just before serving. Notes: * These are my favourite flavourings that I use most frequently. Though when I use good extra virgin olive oils, I tend to leave the dressing plain to let the flavour of the oil shine through. 1. Vinegars - the ratio of vinegar to oil used in this dressing is standard so you can really use any vinegar at all, including but not limited to: Apple cider vinegar (my most used) White wine vinegar (2nd most used, use a touch more as it's milder) Balsamic Red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, champagne vinegar Plain white vinegar (most sharp, so you may need touch more oil) Rice wine vinegar 2. Garlic - Either press 1/2 a clove through a crusher and add into jar. OR burst it open by smashing with side of knife or similar, then leave in dressing for 20 min or so for a lovely garlic "perfume" (restaurants do this because they prefer not to have garlic "bits" in the dressing). 3. Sugar and honey can take the sharp edge off dressings without using more oil. Don't use BOTH, use one! 4. Fresh herbs - amount required depends on what you use. Use more of subtle herbs (parsley, dill, chives) and less of stronger tasting ones (sage, thyme, rosemary). 5. Dried herbs - I like using oregano (very Greek!) or thyme, or combo of both. Or mixed dried herbs. 6. BIG batch - scale it up and keep it for weeks in the fridge, just give it a good shake before using. BUT just be mindful of shelf life if you add fresh garlic (3 days) or herbs (will go brown in a few days).

Extra Crispy Corn Fritters

Extra Crispy Corn Fritters 1/4 cup flour , plain / all purpose 1/4 cup cornflour / cornstarch 1/4 tsp baking soda (or 3/4 tsp baking powder) 1 egg 2 tbsp milk (any type) 2 cups fresh corn kernels , raw (2 cobs) (canned or frozen also fine - Note 1) 1/2 cup parmesan , finely grated 3/4 cup green onions , sliced 1/2 cup coriander/cilantro , roughly chopped (sub more green onion) FOR COOKING: 1/2 cup vegetable oil Oil spray SERVING - CHOOSE: Avocado sauce Sour cream, ketchup (don’t judge until you’ve tried it!) Preheat oven to 120°C / 250°F and set a wire rack on a baking tray. Place flour, cornflour and baking soda in a bowl, mix to combine. Add egg and milk, mix until incorporated (batter will be lumpy and thick). Add corn, parmesan, green onions and coriander. Mix until all the corn is evenly coated in batter. Add enough oil into the skillet so it just covers the base. Heat over medium high heat. Spray the underside of a spatula with oil (so batter won’t stick when you flatten). Place 1/4 cup batter into skillet (ice cream scooper with lever is handy), then flatten to 1cm thick. Repeat with 2 or 3 more, but don’t crowd the skillet. Cook 3 minutes until deep golden and crisp, then flip and cook the other side for 2 – 3 minutes. Transfer to rack and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining fritters, using more oil as necessary. Serve with sauce of choice for dunking! Recipe Notes: 1. Corn - fresh is best for both flavour and crispiness. For canned corn, drain then do everything you can to dry those corn kernels as best you can (I have resorted to spread out on tray and 5 minutes in the oven). Same for frozen (thaw then dry).