Savvy's Chilli

Guys, I'm too nice. I'm giving you away a recipe LEGEND. A chilli recipe, courtesy of my friend Savvy, so successful, whenever a party opportunity presents itself, I go...


"I'm BUYIIING TEQUIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLAAAAAAAA"


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in the hopes of Savvy making her chilli.


Here goes:

1 onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

500g ground extra lean meat

1 can red kidney beans

1 can black pinto beans

2 bell peppers in the colour of your choice, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can corn niblets

1 package of “old el paso” chilli seasoning

4 tblsp tomato paste

4 tblsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

In a pan, pour the oil, let it warm, and throw in the onion that you will chop prior to this.

Red onions are always a nice twist to this recipe, but a regular one will do.

Once the onions have lightly browned, throw in the beef and let it cook slightly in order to cut it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. 

After the beef is thoroughly cooked, add the beans to the pan and let them warm up. A variation that can be considered here is adding chopped, boiled potatoes or sweet potatoes. They add wonderful texture and are good filler for the chilli. 

Next, add the chilli seasoning and one cup of water then stir it and let it simmer. 

In a pot, throw in chopped bell peppers, tomatoes, and corn and heat them up. Note that you can also spice things up at this stage with hot peppers but when serving many people, it is best to play safe and allow each individual to heat up their own portion as opposes to the whole dish.

Then, add the contents of the pan into the pot, stir, and finally, add 4 tblsp tomato paste to bind all the ingredients together. If the result is too thick, reduce it by adding water.

 Serve in a bowl and garnish with sour cream, shredded sharp cheddar or Monterey jack, and chopped cilantro or parsley if desired.

with freshly-made guacamole, it's a party!

cheers!

best. game. ever.

Zucchini, mint and feta tart

I came to school today to find out that my only class of the day was cancelled. NOT COOL.

On my way back home, I was browsing my mind for ideas of what to cook for an upcoming dinner with friends when I remembered this!

A zucchini, mint and feta recipe I discovered with my Mom over this summer. I found it in the donna hay salads + vegetables cookbook. Here goes:

7oz. sheet store-bought butter puff pastry, thawed

4 zucchini, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon olive oil

sea salt and cracked black pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

150g fetta cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup mint leaves

olive oil, extra, to serve

Preheat oven to 200℃, place pastry on the baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper

Score a 1cm border around the edge of the pastry with a sharp knife

Place zucchini, lemon rind, oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss to coat

Layer the mixture on the pastry and brush the edges with egg

Bake for 20-25 minutes

Top with feta, mint and olive oil

Tadaaa!!!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)

Banana Bread

So here it is at last. The banana bread recipe I've been meaning to share with you ever since I got the haircut last week. I was waiting for it for so long, harassing my friend about it, and how unfriendly is it to harass a friend for a recipe for the sake of a blog? 

Right after a haircut, all you want to do is brag about it to just about everyone . So when Lucia called to invite me for supper, pffff… I was prepared (for my hair) to be the highlight of the night. Little did I know she was making this banana bread. Which of course happened to be the highlight of the night.

With some mahi-mahi (my friend proclaimed "the best fish I ever had") and tomato-mango-coriander salad and guacamole and white wine....

Healthy Banana Bread:

• 2 cups Robin Hood Nutri-Flour Blend (or 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour mixed with 1/2 cup wheat bran)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1 teaspoon each baking soda and baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups mashed RIPE bananas ( remember bananas MUST be super ripe)
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt (2%)
• 2 eggs ( I usually put 1 egg)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, you can put raspberries instead....healthier option :)

The banana bread topped with a mountain of fresh strawberries. Thank you Lucia for the delicious evening! 

Thai Vegetarian Stir-Fry

In Germany I found out that the ubercoolundergroundhipster cousin learned how to cook really well. I couldn't not force a good meal out of him. So voilà! Thai vegetarian stir fry courtesy of my cousin Kostia:

Vegetables:

• kale
• zucchini
• aubergine
• brocoli
• carrots
• pretty much anything except for tomatoes

Paste:

• 2 long sticks of lemongrass (fleshy part-cut it, when it's woody you stop cutting it, slice it longwise and add it in)
• 3-5 garlic cloves
• red onion or shallots
• cloves
• sesame seeds
• turmeric
• 1 thumb amount of galangal
• lime juice
• lime zest
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2-3 tbsp any oil (olive let's say)
• coriander
• kafir leaves chopped
• small green chillies
• basil leaves

Cooking instructions:

• Throw in the pan whatever has to cook the longest (like meat if you add any, carrots, broccoli)
• After some time add the paste
• Throw in vegetables
• Add coconut milk (amount : up to you)

Enjoy!

*My cousin would drizzle it all with crunchy dried onions pictured here above.