Académique Documents
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CONTENTS
General Information
The Basics on cooking / shopping for the kitchen
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Recipes
Breakfast
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Mains
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Soups
p.24
Pasta
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Savoury Snacks
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Sweet Snacks
p.37
Biscuits
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Don t buy label food items when brands like Home brand and Black and
Gold sell exactly the same thing at a cheaper price. Be humble!
Dont shop when you are hungry because you will be tempted to buy
goodies you dont really need, want or can afford.
Cooking on a budget
These hints that can help you save money on food:
Cook extra in the evening meal so you can use the leftovers for a
quick meal the following night or for lunch.
Cook double the amount then freeze what is left over in meal
size portions.
Shop at the local markets late for discounted fruit, vegetable and
meat bargains.
Buy in bulk (its usually cheaper) and freeze in smaller portion
sizes to use as required.
Use cheaper cuts of meat for curries and casseroles for long slow
cooking, and then add extra vegetables and beans to make the
meal go further.
One-pot dishes where you throw everything in together saves
energy, time, money and washing-up.
Watch out for supermarket specials of staples (rice, pasta, pasta
sauces, bread and tinned vegetables) and stock up on them when
cheap. Bread can be frozen for at least two months, and items
such as pasta and rice have a long shelf life.
Limit takeaway foods; they are expensive, high in fat, high in
salt and low in nutrition, and leave you hungry again a few hours
after you eat them.
Tomato paste is also an essential for French and Italian food. This is
cheapest bought in large containers. In Armidale, you can keep unused
tomato paste in an airtight bottle in the fridge, but in more humid
climates, you may need to pour a little oil on top of the paste to keep it
from growing mould. You can also freeze it in small quantities if you
wish. Canned tomatoes are also very useful and a cheap way of buying
tomatoes for cooking.
For Asian cooking green ginger is a staple ingredient. This keeps for
several weeks unpeeled in the crisper of the fridge or can be peeled and
stored covered with sherry in the fridge or frozen wrapped in foil or put
in a zip-lock plastic bag. It is possible to grate frozen ginger, but it's a
little chilly on the fingers, especially in winter.
For Asian food, you will also need cornflour, soy sauce and perhaps
oyster sauce, fish sauce and Chinese five spice. Ordinary soy sauces
can be stored at room temperature unless it is very hot or you take a
long time to use a bottle, but low salt soy sauce should be refrigerated
after opening. All the supermarkets in town stock a range of ingredients
for Asian foods, but some have a wider range than others.
If you want to cook curries, it is possible to buy a variety of curry
powders and curry pastes from supermarkets. I find that blending spices
produces a better result as you can control how much of each ingredient
you add, and it's cheaper, but it's also slower. Using ready-ground spices
is easier and faster than grinding your own unless you have an electric
spice and coffee grinder (you cannot grind whole spices in a food
processor).
Plain and self-raising flour,
sugar, salt, pepper and eggs are
also all very useful things to keep
around and you might like to add
tomato, chilli and/or barbeque
sauce as well.
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Oil and cooking spray are also useful. Cooking spray is obviously
more expensive than ordinary oil and there are some things that you
simply can't use it for. Olive oil and canola oil are best health-wise in
that they're rich in unsaturated fat. The darker an olive oil is, the more
olive flavour it will give to your food.
COMMON COOKING TERMS
"Bake" Baking refers to cooking food in the dry heat of an oven. Foods
commonly baked are breads, cakes, and roasts.
"Blanch" Blanching refers to the method of loosening the skin on
vegetables and fruits by plunging them into boiling water for a short
period of time. Blanching is also used to help preserve their colour
"Boil" Boiling refers to cooking foods fully immersed in boiling water,
where bubbles are constantly breaking the surface of the water. Foods
commonly cooked this way are pastas, vegetables, and soups.
"Braise" Braising refers to cooking food long and slow in a few inches
of liquid. The food is not quite covered by the liquid, producing both a
steaming and stewing effect. This long, slow cooking method allows
you to use less expensive cuts of meat because the fibres break down,
making it tender. Foods commonly braised are large, tough cuts of meat
such as chuck steak. Vegetables and broth are usually added to produce
a tasty mixture of flavours.
"Broil" Broiling refers to cooking food in an oven with an intense heat
source above the food. Broiling pans are usually used to hold the food,
allowing the fat to be collected in the pan under the grate so that flare
ups don't occur. Foods commonly broiled are steaks, poultry, fish fillets,
and vegetables
"Grill" Grilling refers to cooking food over an intense source of heat.
This heat is usually provided by charcoal or gas grills. Because of the
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high heat, using thinner pieces of meat or vegetables produces the best
results. Popular items cooked on a grill are steaks, chicken, ribs, fish
fillets and vegetables.
"Fry" Frying refers to cooking food in fat over high heat. Deep-frying
refers to immersing the food entirely in hot fat and cooking until crispy.
Common fried foods are eggs, vegetables, and hamburgers. Common
deep-fried foods are French fries and breaded vegetables.
"Parboil" Parboiling refers to partially cooking foods by plunging them
briefly into boiling water. Foods commonly parboiled are potatoes,
carrots, and rice.
"Poach" Poaching refers to cooking foods in simmering, but not
boiling liquid. Liquids could be water or vegetable stock. Foods
commonly poached are eggs and fish.
"Roast" Roasting refers to cooking food uncovered in an oven.
Commonly roasted foods are meat roasts, poultry, fish and root
vegetables like carrots, onions, and potatoes.
"Saut" Sauting refers to cooking food in a hot pan, and is sometimes
referred to as pan-frying. Butter or oil may be used to keep the food
from sticking to the pan. Sauting is performed in a pan over mediumhigh to high heat and constant attention must be used to keep the food
from burning. Foods commonly sauted are vegetables, steaks, chicken
breasts, and fish fillets. Sauting cooks the seasoning into the vegetables
and acts to sear steaks, chicken breasts, and fish fillets to trap the juices
in the meat.
"Scald" Scalding refers to heating milk over medium-low heat until it
foams, but doesn't boil. This is primarily done to shorten cooking times
when making sauces and custards.
"Sear" Searing refers to subjecting the food to high heat in a pan, under
a broiler or in the oven to quickly brown it. Searing helps to lock in the
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BREAKFAST
French toast (Kylie Gough)
2 eggs
cup milk
Bread
Mix eggs and milk together in a bowl.
Preheat fry pan to high.
Place bread into egg mix and coat thoroughly.
Transfer bread to fry pan until bread is browned and then flip and repeat
process.
Serve with hot spreads.
Spreads: Golden syrup, honey, jam, butter are just examples.
Try adding a tsp of cinnamon to the egg mixture.
Mummys Breakfast Special (Nicole Makrides)
2 eggs
2 pieces of toast
Handful of rocket
tomato
avocado
1 garlic clove
Olive oil for taste
Poach eggs. While eggs are poaching prepare toast.
Cut garlic in and smear onto toast.
Place a handful of rocket on toast.
Slice tomato and layer on top of rocket.
Carefully place egg on top of tomato.
Slice avocado thinly and place on top. Drizzle with a little olive oil.
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3 cups SR flour
1 egg
Enough milk for a smooth mix
cup sugar
Melted butter, enough to cover the bowl
Strawberries (or other fruit) with chocolate topping
Mix flour, sugar, melted butter, egg and milk until smooth.
Cook in microwave butter bowls (flat dishes) until mixture is gone.
Pile on a plate, cool and decorate with strawberries, or other fruit.
Drizzle with chocolate topping.
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MAINS
Shepards Pie
2 teaspoons canola or olive oil
200g lean minced Veal or Beef
cup thinly sliced carrots
1 X 125g can dices tomatoes
1 cups diced celery
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
beef stock cube, dissolved in
cup hot water
300g cooked peeled potatoes, hot
cup reduced fat milk
Pepper and garlic salt, to taste
Heat Oil in non-stick frypan; add meat and stir-fry for 5 minutes or until
browned.
Stir in carrots, tomato, celery, onion, tomato paste, thyme and stock.
Reduce heat, cover and cook stirring often for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile place potatoes, milk, pepper and garlic salt in a bowl and
mash until smooth.
Place veal mixture into a casserole dish and arrange mash potato is
golden brown. Garnish with a sprig of thyme
Note:
Serve with lightly steamed or stir fries green vegetables (for example,
beans, broccoli, snow peas)
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Lentil Burgers
4 cups cooked McKenzies Whole Green
Lentils very well drained (see notes)
1 medium carrot, grated
1 onion, finely chopped
1 egg beaten
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs, with dried mixed
herbs if liked
cup plain flour
2 tbsp peanut butter
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Soak rice paper until soft. Let it drip over bowl and then bring to your
plate.
Lay out rice paper on your plate. Put approx one small handful of rice
vermicelli noodles on the rice paper first, put a pinch of herbs on top
plus approx one to two pieces of each other filling on top
Bring sides into the middle first, and then fold in the ends
You now should have a rice paper roll.
Tofu Marinade:
Mix together 3 Tbs of honey and 4 Tbs of soy sauce in a container and
place tofu in and soak overnight.
For extra taste: set aside one small dish for sweet chilli sauce and one
for soy sauce. Dip your rolls into the sauces.
Angus Chowder (Angus Curnow)
2 medium onions
6 rashers bacon
6 medium potatoes
1 can creamed corn
1 can corn kernels
2 cloves garlic
Salt and black pepper
Parsley
300 ml cream
1 litre chicken stock
Cook diced bacon rashers and diced onion until golden brown.
Add diced potato, parsley, garlic and both cans of corn with the juice to
the bacon and onion.
Add stock and cream shortly after.
Bring to the boil and simmer until potatoes soften.
Blend slightly to thicken the soup.
Serve with crusty bread.
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Ghetto Pizza
2 Tbs spaghetti sauce
1 slice of white bread
1 slice of cheese
Put the sauce on the bread and cover with cheese.
Optional: pepper, dried oregano
Put in the toaster oven, grill or oven until cheese bubbles
You can substitute bread with English muffins, Bagels,
Herbed Potatoes
Make up the filling just before serving
3 large potatoes
teaspoon paprika
1 small carrot, chopped
75g broccoli, chopped
150g reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
Scrub and dry potatoes.
Prick potatoes all over with a skewer, bake in moderate oven for 1 hour
Cut potatoes in half, scoop out flesh leaving 1cm shell; reserve flesh.
Place shells on oven tray, bake in hot oven for 10 minutes.
Spoon filling into shells, (see below) and sprinkle with paprika.
Bake in moderate oven for 15 minutes or until hot
Filling:
Boil, steam or microwave carrot and broccoli until soft, drain
Beat cheese in a small bowl until smooth, stir in potato flesh, carrot
mixture and chives.
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SOUPS
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Minestrone Soup
pkt Italian style soup mix
1 Tbs onion
1 stalk celery
1 clove garlic
2 Tbs parsley
1 medium carrot
cup of oil
120g tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste
cup shell noodles or macaroni
2 Tbs rice
Soak Italian soup mix for 6-8 hrs or overnight.
Drain and add 6 cups of fresh water and cook until tender (approx
45mins)
Chop onion, celery, garlic, parsley, carrot, and saut in oil until golden
brown.
Add tomato paste and chopped cabbage. Season to taste.
Add this mixture to the cooked soup mix and add half cup shell noodles
or macaroni and rice. Simmer for 30mins.
Serve with grated parmesan cheese.
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PASTA
Fettuccine with pumpkin, pine nuts
and poppy seeds
1 tbsp pine nuts
500g fettuccine
1 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
2 cloves garlic
500g butternut pumpkin, peeled, sliced thinly
cup vegetable or chicken stock (125ml)
2 tsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
Cook pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a low heat, tossing frequently
until light brown. Do not burn. Set aside.
Cook fettuccine according to packet directions. Drain well when
cooked.
While fettuccine is cooking, heat oil add garlic and pumpkin slices.
Cook, turning frequently, for 4 to 5 min.
Add chicken stock and simmer for a couple of mins so that pumpkin is
tender but not mushy.
Add poppy seeds.
Place fettuccine in warmed serving bowls, top with pumpkin and
sprinkle with pine nuts and parsley.
Note:
Pumpkin makes this a deliciously high-fibre dish. Use a strongly
flavoured, extra virgin olive oil, if possible. For vegetarians, use
vegetable stock rather than chicken stock. Use egg free pasta if you are
preparing food for people with an allergy to egg.
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Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook,
stirring occasionally, for 5 min or until is soft.
In a large bowl mix onion soup, tuna and cooked pasta until combined
then place into prepared ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake
for 20 min until golden brown.
Garnish with chives and serve with your favourite steamed vegetables
or a fresh green salad.
You can make Tuna & Vegetable Pasta Bake by adding 1 clove garlic,
crushed with the onion and 1 cup of your favourite frozen mixed
vegetables with the soup.
Layer lasagne dish with lasagne sheets, lentil mixture, zucchini and
ricotta.
Repeat this for several layers. Top with grated cheese.
Bake @ 200 for 40-45 mins.
SAVORY SNACKS
Crack an Egg Pies
6 slices wholemeal bread, crusts removed
40g Australian Butter
6 X 45g eggs
2 spring onions, chopped
1 cup grates Australian Swiss Cheese
Flatten each slice of bread with a rolling pin; spread both sides of bread
with butter and press into muffin tins.
Crack an egg into the centre of each muffin bread case. Sprinkle with
spring onion and cheese.
Bake at 180C for 20 min or until the egg has set.
Zucchini Slice
2 Medium Zucchini Sliced
1 onion chopped
1 cup grated cheese
1 cup self-rasing flour
6 eggs, beaten together
Coarsely grated unpeeled zucchini
Add chopped onion, cheese, flour and eggs
Pour into greased baking dish
Bake in moderate oven (180C) for 20 min or until set. Test with a
skewer. The skewer should come out clean. Slice will be firm to touch.
Notes:
Use half white flour, half wholemeal flour for extra fibre. You could
also add a couple of slices of chopped up ham.
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Bake Beans
250g Haricot beans
425g can tomato paste
1 small onion, chopped and sauted (optional)
Half tsp mustard
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp treacle or molasses
Salt and pepper
1 tsp stock powder if desired
Prepare and cook beans as per packet.
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SWEET SNACKS
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BISCUITS
Oat and Linseed Cookies (Erin Kuilart)
1 cup rolled oats
cup linseeds
cup honey
cup peanut butter or tahina
1 tsp cinnamon
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl
Add honey and peanut butter and stir to combine
Line baking tray with baking paper.
Roll mix into balls approx the size of golf balls
Squash lightly with the back of a spoon or fork
Bake @ 140-150 for approx 10 mins or until golden brown.
Choc Cookies (Kylie Gough)
225g butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups SR flour
1 tin condensed milk
cup cooking chocolate
1/3 cup coco
Place butter and sugar in a bowl, beat until light and creamy.
Stir in flour, condensed milk, coco and grated chocolate.
Mix well.
Half the mixture and shape into logs and wrap in non stick baking paper
and refrigerate for 30 mins. Then slice into 1 inch thick cookies.
Bake @ 180 for 8-10 mins.
Tip: you can add sultanas, nuts or choc chips. Logs can also be frozen
for future use.
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Spice Cookies
125g margarine
cup castor sugar
1 egg
1 cup chopped pitted dates
cup walnut pieces
1 cup SR flour
1 tsp cinnamon
tsp mixed spice
4 breakfast cereal wheat biscuits, crushed
Place margarine and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer
until light and creamy.
Add egg and beat well
Stir through dates and walnuts, add sifted flour and spices. Mix well.
Form spoonfuls of mixture into balls and roll in crushed wheat biscuits.
Place on a lightly greased oven tray and press down with a fork.
Bake @ 180 for 15 mins or golden brown.
Tip:
If you like chewier cookies try cooking them for 15mins.
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