Running Bread-cake Thing

Some of you may know that i tried my hand at bread making today. and those who follow me on twitter would also know that that didn't go too well... but it's been a long day, including waking up at 6AM for the Singapore Yellow Ribbon Prison Run, which didn't go too well either, at least for me.

But more on both tomorrow. for now, i can barely stay awake. Such a long and tiring day. Will blog soon! with lots of pictures. i went out of my way to snap them for these posts (Y)

Yogurt Basil Chicken, 'Grilled' Leeks & Herb Roasted Potatoes

I made dinner!

The theme for today's dinner was for everything to be easy to cook, cheap, and healthy, and of course, with great flavor and texture.

I prepared three dishes, from left to right:

• Yogurt Basil Chicken
• Herb Roasted Potatoes
• 'Grilled' Leeks

And I think they all turned out okay! I'll tell you a bit more about them, just keep in mind that this isn't a how-to or a guide, just a short expository on my experience preparing these dishes. I'll provide a recipe if you really want it though!

Yogurt Basil Chicken

I've always wanted to cook with yogurt. It always looks so cool and refreshing when you see it on TV. It's also smooth, creamy and with that great semi-sweet tangy flavor.

This is actually the second time I've prepared this dish, but I think it was better the first time, largely because this time I accidentally procured dark meat instead of white meat /:

I started with my chicken 'marinade' of sorts; I mixed my yogurt with Basil, Lime Juice and some Lime zest. then I just tossed my chicken about in it and put it in the fridge while I took a shower... It was a hot day.

This is really a simple dish to prepare. Out of the fridge and into the frying pan... but because I increased my portions this time, I tried it with a Wok...

It was only okay. I still prefer my frying pan. but because the Wok retains so much of the liquid, I ended up doing some boiling/broiling thing, haha. The plan was to sear it first, then slow cook it.

All that liquid is the juice from the chicken, and the yogurt separating.

I didn't see so much liquid the last time so I panicked a little. After letting the chicken cook abit more, I chose to drain the liquid and fry/grill the chicken on my good ol' frying pan.

Yay!

Back to normal! The chicken was looking right again:

At this point, the chicken was almost done. so I brought my heat down and poured in the remnants of my marinade, which I'd added more yogurt to. This cooked down really fast, and really developed a sweet and sour flavor I've come to love. It took on a tasty color too:

This sat on low heat under a metal cover for awhile, then I just plated it up and garnished with some fresh parsley.

Yogurt Basil Chicken!

And that was it! It didn't really get the same flavor as the last time, because dark meat isn't as ready to soak up flavor the way white meat does. It was really tender though.

Grilled Leeks

Leeks are great. They're a low-calorie, fat-free food offering a handful of important nutrients, including folate, iron, vitamin B6 and vitamin C. They also cook down to have a smooth buttery texture and have a great flavor. It's also a great way to ease onions into your diet, because leeks taste like a milder, meatier onion.

Cooking them was even easier than researching for that last paragraph. haha. First you clean your leeks, then you cut your leeks.

Butter in the pan, throw in some garlic: Garlic and leeks work well together. Just a quick toss about, then pour in some vegetable stock; just enough to cover your leeks.

Simple as that. just pop a cover over that and put your heat down to a medium low flame, just enough to simmer.

That'll sit there obediently for the next half hour, and when you open the lid again, most of the stock would have been boiled off or absorbed by the leeks, and you'll have smooth-as-butter, tasty veggies that taste like you labored over them for a good 20 minutes!

Herb Roasted Potatoes

This is my favorite dish for tonight, its the first time I'm trying this, and I sorta made it up as i went along. I only thought to take photos after they were in the oven though... ):

But this was another easy dish, in a large baking tin, I just threw in my potatoes, fresh rosemary, fresh parsley, some oregano, garlic, and olive oil. I tossed them about and then decided I could throw in some leeks too. then tossed them some more, added more olive oil, salt and pepper, then straight into the oven.

Just drizzle some olive oil every now and then, and that's rock n' roll.

When the potatoes look nice and crisp, and a fork should be able to pierce to the bottom of the tin without any resistance, you know they're good to go. Again with the fresh parsley, and done!

Am I going overboard with the parsley?

Quick and easy dinner for 5. It was fun to do too! Again, if you want a more precise recipe just drop a comment and I'll try and draft out a recipe card, but these are so simple, I'm sure you'll have no problem after reading through! Till next time!

Baked Ribs with BBQ Onion Sauce

Baked Ribs with BBQ Onion Sauce

You'll Need:

1. MasterFoods' BBQ Base
2. Worcestershire Sauce [I like MasterFoods]
   
3. Ketchup [I like Heinz]
4. Mustard [I like MasterFoods]
5. Vingiarette, Salad Dressing or Balsamic
6. Nutmeg
7. Cinnamon
8. Basil
9. 2 Onions
10. 2 Racks of Ribs [QB FTW]

Making the Sauce:

A Bit Of:

1. Ketchup
2. Worcestershire Sauce
3. Vingiarette

A Smaller Bit of:

1. Mustard
2. Nutmeg
3. Cinnamon
4. Basil

A Shit Load Of:

1. BBQ Base

Stir Well. You need 3 small bowls full of it.

Prepping the Ribs:
IMPORTANT: There is a thin membrane on the inside of the ribs, you need to RIP it off. this may prove challenging, but its satisfying.

Take one small bowl of the BBQ sauce you prepped, and RUB it into the Ribs. Really get it in there. If the ribs are coated and you still have sauce left in that bowl, rub some more or just pour it over the ribs. stuff that into the fridge for awhile.

Prepping the thing-that-goes-over-the-ribs-while-it-cooks-that-i-don't-have-the-name-for:
You have 2 onions. chop em into rings.

Take a large saucepan. put just a wee bit of oil, so the sides are slick. Heat it up till its pretty hot.

Throw in them onions, and if there are any rings still stuck in each other, try to split them up unsuccesfully with your spatula. Almost immediately, throw in one bowl of the sauce you prepped and saute the mixture.

Don't undercook it, The onions will be too stiff and spicy, but don't overcook it, the onions should not be soggy. You just need to saute it until its well mixed and the onions are coated and smell awesome.

Final Stretch:
Ribs are ready, take em out of the fridge. [preferably been there for an hour. i only gave it 5 minutes the last time]

Let the onion mixture cool off a little and the ribs warm up a little, WHILE you begin to preheat the oven to 220 C.

Pour that onion mixture under and over the ribs, then stick the ribs into the oven

it should stay there for 40-50 minutes, depending on how well done you want it.

About 5 minutes before you take it out, you want to stick in the last bowl of BBQ sauce to warm it up so you can use it as a dip.

Serve:
Take the ribs out and the sauce, place on the table, and get everyone to the table. eat while piping hot.

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