Ingredients:

500 grams ground lamb or beef
2 large onions, (grated)
one clove garlic, (crushed)
one large egg, (beaten)
4 medium tomatoes
salt
black pepper
one teaspoon turmeric, (optional)
sumac (optional)

Procedure:

Mix meat, onions, garlic, egg, salt, pepper and turmeric well and leave in the refrigerator overnight (or for several hours). Press the meat around long, thick metal skewers and shape evenly. Thread whole tomatoes on another skewer. Barbecue each side for about five minutes, turning frequently. (If skewers are not available or barbecuing is not possible, kabab-e koobideh can be shaped into long, thin portions on aluminum foil and grilled at high temperature in the oven. The oven should be pre-heated and kabab-e koobideh should be placed as high as possible near the source of the heat. Again, turn a few times.) Serve with hot basmati rice or on middle-eastern bread. If serving with rice, some sumac may be sprinkled on top. If kabab-e koobideh was made in an oven, the juice from the kabab can be poured on rice or bread. Makes 4 servings.

This popular Malaysian dish is eaten at all times of the day and you can certainly serve it for breakfast. When making this dish, I usually make a big batch of the gravy then deep freeze it in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Ingredients:

625 grams fresh Hokkien noodles or thick egg noodles
340 grams mung bean sprouts

For Gravy Sauce:
2 litre beef stock
10 dried chillies (soaked & drained)
3 candlenuts or macadamia/cashew nuts
5 cm piece fresh turmeric
2.5 cm piece galangal
20 small onions
1 tbsp. corainder powder (roasted)
2 small sweet potatoes (boiled, peeled & mashed)
salt to taste
3 tbsp. vegetable oil

For Garnishing Mee Rebus:
3 to 4 hard boiled eggs (cut into wedges)
2 potatoes (boiled, peeled & cut into cubes)
2 squids (cleaned, boiled & sliced)
4 deep fried tofu (cut into cubes)
4 slices prawn fritters (broken into pieces) or 250 grams cooked prawns
4 fresh red chillies (sliced thin)
3 to 4 limes (halved)

Procedure:

Set aside all ingredients for the garnish, place them on an attractive platter for guests to serve themselves. Using a food processor, process the following ingredients: dried chillies, candlenuts, galangal, small onions and turmeric till well blended. Heat oil in a big pot. Add in the processed ingredients and coriander powder, stir-fry till fragrant. Slowly add in the beef stock and bring to a boil. Add in the mashed sweet pototoes to thicken the gravy, then salt to taste. Keep gravy simmering over low heat. In another pot, boil the water then add noodles for a few seconds. Remove and drain noodles. You may wish to scald the mung bean sprouts in the same hot water if you wish or serve as is. To serve the mee rebus, place noodles into individual dishes. Allow each guests to take the garnished ingredients themselves. Pour hot gravy over noodles and eat immediately. Make sure that the gravy is thick enough to coat the noodles. If too watery, add in more sweet potoatoes.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 serrano chile, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 cup dark rum
4 cups hot brewed coffee
1 tablespoon ground coffee
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pounds pork tenderloin
cooking spray

Procedure:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, and serrano; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in molasses. Remove from heat; carefully stir in rum. Cook mixture 2 minutes. Stir in brewed coffee, ground coffee, cinnamon, and cocoa. Bring to a boil; cook until reduced to 1 1/2 cups (about 20 minutes). Remove from heat; cool. Place mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Stir in butter and salt. Trim fat from pork. Cut pork lengthwise into 8 1/2-inch-wide strips. Thread pork strips onto 8 (10-inch) skewers. Prepare grill. Place kebabs on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness, turning and basting frequently with coffee mixture. Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons peanut butter

Procedure:

In a medium bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners’ sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 inch pan. In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the 4 tablespoons peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares. Store in the refrigerator.

This chilled meat and vegetable soup is a popular Russian dish. It’s served with ice cubes in it. Since there’s no substitute for Russian Kvass, a fermented and slightly alcoholic liquid made from grain, the ingredients in this recipe will have to do.

Ingredients:

1 cup meat, cooked
1 cucumber
2 eggs, hard-boiled
3 onions, green
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 cup sour cream
4 cup apple cider

Procedure:

You may substitute 3 c beef stock and 1 c white wine for the apple cider. Dice meat. Peel and dice cucumber and eggs. Slice green onions. Combine first 4 ingredients. Mix together sugar, mustard, sour cream, and cider, and beat well. Add beef mixture and chill. Serve sprinkled with dill.

Note:Used apple juice and leftover corned beef, and it was wonderful. Absolutely addictive.

Before you actually get the cabeza (beef head), understand that it won’t look very nice -in fact it will look pretty gruesome. Therefore, I suggest purchasing the thing the day you cook it.
In the Rio Grande Valley, barbacoa de cabeza is traditionally eaten on Sunday mornings.

Ingredients:

1 cabeza, beef head
4 large Texas yellow onions
3 heads garlic
2 bunches cilantro
salt
pepper
corn or flour tortillas
Pico de gallo and your favorite salsa(s)

Procedure:

Clean the cabeza, removing eyes, ears, etc. Discard the tongue. Leaving it will impart an odd taste to the meat. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the whole cabeza. Wrap the cabeza in a paper sack,along with onions, garlic, and cilantro. Wrap that in burlap. Dig a hole 2 feet deep and build a driftwood fire in it. Wait until the fire goes to coals, then cover them with ashes, followed by the cabeza, then about 2 inches of dry dirt or sand. Fill up the hole. Add 6 to 8 inches of dirt or sand over it. Build a fire on top of the ground. Use slow-burning wood such as oak or mesquite. Leave the cabeza in the hole 12 to 18 hours. For example, if you begin cooking it at 4:00 p.m., it should be ready by the next morning. Serve with tortillas. If your spouse objects to the digging the hole in the backyard, then wrap the cabeza in foil and bake it in an oven or over a charcoal grill. Using foil in place of the paper bag keeps the cabeza slightly moisten while cooking.
If you cannot get a fresh cabeza, use a large chuck roast (10-12 lbs.) nd follow the same directions. Not as ‘tasty’, but a good substitute and less work to prepare.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon curry powder
2 onion
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups water
2 cubes soup bouillon
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon grated garlic
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons butter

Procedure:

Heat water in a pan and add soup bouillon to make soup. Slice onion thinly. Heat butter in a pan and saute onion slices slowly until they are brown for 15-20 minutes. Add garlic and ginger in the pan and saute well. Add flour and curry powder and saute over low heat. Pour soup in the pan little by little, stirring quickly. Simmer the curry roux until thickened, and add garam masala at last.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 shallot, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 cup minced crabmeat
1/2 cup chopped cooked pork
1/2 cup diced firm tofu
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
4 teaspoons canola oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 chili pepper, chopped (optional)

Procedure:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, eggs, water and salt. It will be very watery, as the pizza is like a crepe. Stir in the crabmeat, pork, tofu, bean sprouts, mixed vegetables, and cabbage until well blended. Heat some of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Your pizzas will be the size of your skillet. Spoon in enough of the vegetable batter to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 8 minutes, or until the underside is golden brown. Flip, and cook until browned on the other side, about 3 minutes. The edges should be crispy. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve pizzas with dipping sauce. To make the dipping sauce, mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and chili pepper in a sealable container. Seal, and shake until well blended. Shake again just before serving.

Crème caramel is one of my favorite desserts and using native ingredients there are many varieties which can be made like Rosella Crème caramel or Wattleseed Crème caramel.

Ingredients:

50 ml. lemon aspen syrup
200 grams of white sugar
100 ml. of water
30 ml. extra water for dipping pastry brush
1 litre of milk
100 grams castor sugar
6 large eggs
4-5 drops of gumleaf oil

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 160°C, while you are preparing the caramel. Grease eight ovenproof dariole moulds or ramekins which hold around half a cup of liquid. Then in a medium sized saucepan combine the lemon aspen, 100g sugar and 100ml of water over a low heat and bring to the boil; it is important not to stir the caramel to prevent it forming crystals. Boil for around 5 to 10 minutes brushing any sugar that lands on the side of the saucepan and crystallizes back down into the mixture with a pastry brush dipped in water. Remove the mixture from the heat when it has changed to a golden caramel or light amber colour; a dark amber colour indicates the caramel is over-cooked and will taste burnt and bitter. Pour a little of the hot caramel into each of the prepared moulds and swirl the mixture around to cover the bottom of each mould. Once the caramel is done, in a medium saucepan warm the milk and briefly remove it from the heat. Then in a large bowl, whisk the eggs and 100g castor sugar together until the sugar has nearly dissolved; add the gumleaf oil and warm milk. Sieve the custard mixture into a jug or pitcher, then skim off any bubbles or froth from the custard; pour evenly into the 8 moulds and place in a baking dish. Pour hot water (not boiling) into the baking dish until the water reaches half way up the sides of the moulds. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the custard is set; cool and refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours before serving. Makes 8 servings.

This dish is called a fish garden because it contains masses of green fresh vegetables coupled to slices of deep fried fish. This is an excellent healthy dish with fish, fish oils and plenty of crisp vegetables all on a single plate.

Ingredients:

500 grams white fish (hake, cod, haddock etc.)
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried flaked chillies
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon chopped red onion
1 teaspoon toasted rice
1 tablespoon chopped spring onion
1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
10 grams mint leaves
oil for deep frying

Procedure:

Clean the fish and deep frying until the fish is golden brown. Place into the serving plate.
Mix the flaked chilli with the lemon juice, fish sauce, toasted rice, and chopped spring onions. Spoon this thick ’sauce’ over the fish. Chop the garlic, red onion and mint and pile onto the plate to form the ‘garden’. Serve with chillies, hot fragrant Thai rice, lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, green beans.