Bumper cooking post!

Daily updates may have been over ambitious, it's not that I lack the motivation, just that I get distracted and cook more things, and it's kind of hard to type while your hands are covered in dough.

Still, even if it wasn't delivered when promised, this post should make up for any I've missed, a bumper post of all the things I've cooked over the last week, so pick one out and try something new, if variety is the spice of life, then life may well be better over seasoned.

A quick note about the following recipes, I have not listed the details of most of them as the original posters of the recipes got it bang on so I changed nothing, just visit their websites, and hopefully you'll find some other things you'll like too.

Also, I will now be adding hyperlinks instead of plain text links, just to make things even easier.

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Onion bhajis

As long as you don't mind hot oil, onion bhajis are as easy as you like, just don't make the mixture too moist or too doughy, you want the onion to be the main feature (unsurprisingly) so don't add more dough if you think there's too much onion no matter how it looks, the recipe is perfectly weighted. Once you scrunch a ball of it up and drop it in the hot oil, it all holds together perfectly, promise.

Excellent served with brinjal pickle though I haven't been bold enough to make my own yet.

Link - http://goo.gl/ISQy

Photo (pictured with bean patties, make as falafel http://goo.gl/0GEB, substitute chick peas/garbanzo beans with mixed beans)

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Tropical grilled chicken with pineapple salsa

I love this salsa! Seriously, after dinner was done, I tucked in to the rest of the bowl, but my housemate wrestled it from me before I got all the way through so he had the final extra juicy bit to himself.

A perfect combination of the warm spicy chicken and cold, fruity and crunchy salsa, a must try, if you need to, substitute the chicken, but please at least try the salsa.

Link - http://goo.gl/H76P

Photo

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Thai chicken satay served with authentic thai peanut sauce

In the photo it is sadly only with normal boiled rice, but I would have loved to have done this with coconut rice, all you have to do is cook the rice in 1 part coconut milk to almost 3 parts water instead of just in water, and it absorbs so much tasty flavour.

The link for the chicken satay does include its own peanut sauce however, the separate link is superior, trust me on this, this peanut sauce is to die for!

I've been getting it out of the fridge and just eating big spoonfuls of it when I wanted a snack but it's sadly all gone now.

You will need thai red curry paste for this, and I strongly suggest making your own for that truly authentic flavour, see my earlier post for links.

Link - http://goo.gl/3hGH (satay) and http://goo.gl/qxbB (sauce)

Photo

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Rice crispie cakes

They were all over the local co-op at easter and I just couldn't resist making my own, and yes, they did get eaten very quickly.

Make sure to use fairtrade chocolate!

Link - http://goo.gl/Rjv4

Photo

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Thai prawn cakes served on spring onion pancakes, drizzled in chilli sauce

Making your own chilli sauce is extremely satisfying, and I can think of nothing better to show it off that these prawn cakes and the pancakes, the flavours just work perfectly together with neither overwhelming the other, just remember to omit the fish sauce from the prawn cakes, it makes them too salty.

It is sometimes nice to have a sit down lunch as well, and as you'll see, that thai peanut sauce appears again.

Link - http://goo.gl/HPIv (prawn cakes) and http://goo.gl/YMze (pancakes) and http://goo.gl/kjAA (sauce)

Photo

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Truly vegetarian mushroom risotto

Most risotto uses chicken stock, as does Jamie Oliver in this recipe, however, I found that this one works perfectly using oxo vegetable stock, just dissolve 2 cubes in 1.3 litres of boiling water and use that instead of the 1.5 litres of chicken stock.

Link - http://goo.gl/8P0r

Photo

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Vegetarian/Vegan lentil burgers

There is a slash in the title of this as you have a choice in the recipe, you can add an egg and have the patties hold together a little better, or omit it and just be more careful cooking. It is entirely up to you, and I can assure you that they are delicious either way.

What's more, this is entirely my own recipe so feedback on this one would be most appreciated.

Recipe -

1/ Cook 1 cup lentils in 4 cups water, boil vigorously for 5 mins, gently simmer for another 10 mins, drain

2/ Dice 1 1/2 onions (shallots work nicely too), 2 sticks of celery, 1 large carrot, crush 3 cloves of garlic (omit if using garlic sauce)

3/ Fry the chopped veg in a little oil, until soft, not discoloured

4/ Take about 1/2 cup to 1 cup breadcrumbs, crush a handful of nuts (optional, you can experiment with any type of nut you like)

5/ Add all this to a blender with 1 egg

6/ Season (I'm adding himalayan hot garlic sauce, otherwise, 1tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 2 tsp cumin, fresh parsley, pepper and lemon juice)

7/ Add more breadcrumbs if too moist, add some liquid if too solid, but make sure not to blend too much, we still want some substance

8/ Form into patties and toss in flour, I made 4 large ones

9/ Pan fry until golden and delicious, or bake at 200C (180C fan) until they again look golden on the outside, just remember to grease the tray adequately

Photo (masked by lettuce, not because they're ugly or anything, but because I started building the burgers before I got my camera out, and by this point they were covered in mayonaise anyway, omit the mayonaise as well if you would like them vegan by the way).