Curried Carrot Soup

Ingredients
2T oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 green chillies, seeded & chopped (or substitute 1/2t Tabasco Sauce)
1t ground cumin
1t ground coriander
1/2t ground ginger
1/2t ground turmeric
4-5 carrots, peeled & chopped
1.2L vegetable/chicken stock
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt & pepper
plain yoghurt
naan bread
1T chopped fresh mint

Equipment
large pot
blender/food processor

Method
Heat oil in pot, add garlic, onion & chopped chilli (if using Tabasco, add this with the stock later). Cook gently for about 4 minutes. Stir in the cumin, coriander, ginger, turmeric & carrots, then pour in the stock. Bring to the boil & reduce the heat, simmer for about 20 minutes, until the carrots are tender.

Process/blend the soup until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste. Serve topped with a spoonful of yoghurt & a sprinkle of mint, with wedges of naan bread on the side.

Substitutions
The carrots can be exchanged for parsnips or beetroots, generic curry powder or paste can be used in place of the four spices.

Chicken Pasta NY Times style

Ingredients

bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (legs or drums work well)

cooking oil

paprika

rosemary

butter

pasta (spaghetti or fettucine ideally, but spirals or shells work OK too)

pine nuts (about 50-100g, roasted if you want to)

green veges (peas, beans, courgettes; frozen or fresh, doesn't matter)

Equipment

roasting pan

pasta pot

Method

Heat oven to 150 degrees C.

Pour 2T oil into the roasting pan & place in the hot oven for a few minutes to warm up.

Remove the roasting pan, place the chicken in the pan & sprinkle with paprika & rosemary. Place a small knob of butter on top of each chicken piece. Roast for 45min-1hour, until the juices run clear & the skin is crispy. Turn once during cooking & sprinkle the underside with paprika & rosemary.

While the chicken is roasting, steam the green veges until just tender & cook the pasta to al dente. Drain the pasta but reserve about 1/2 C of the water.

Remove the chicken from the roasting pan & cover with foil to retain heat. In the roasting pan, combine the cooking juices of the chicken with the pasta, pine nuts, veges & about 2T of the pasta cooking water. Stir together over a medium heat until the pasta is coated & the liquid forms a sauce. Serve with the chicken pieces.

Chocolate Brownie

Ingredients
125g butter
1C sugar (200g)
1C plain flour (100g)
1t baking powder
1t vanilla essence
1/4t salt
2 eggs
5T cocoa powder

Equipment
1 square cake tin, lined with baking paper OR 1 square silicon cake tin
medium sized pot
wooden spoon

Method
Heat oven to 180 degrees C

Chop up butter & place in the pot. Melt over low heat until liquid. Remove the pot from the heat.

Add other ingredients, alternating dry & wet. Ensure ingredients are fully mixed before adding the next.

Pour batter into prepared cake tin & bake for 20 min on normal. Finish with 5 min on Fan Bake. (If the oven doesn't have a fan, cook for the extra 5 min then test with a skewer. May need another 5 min)

Allow to cool & cut into small squares. Freezes well. Serve alone or with fruit & vanilla icecream.

Handy tips:

• The flour does not need to be sifted, as this is not a light cake, but stirring the dry ingredients with a whisk can help break up lumps in the flour & cocoa.
• For a fudgier texture, substitute dark chocolate chips for approximately 25g of the butter. Add the chocolate to the melted butter before adding any other ingredients & allow to melt over the heat.