Chicken and pumpkin korma

The kids love this korma recipe and it’s a great way to start introducing stronger curry flavours to our fussy eaters. The pumpkin breaks down and makes the sauce thick and creamy and adds even more sweetness to the already sweet korma curry.

1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 butternut pumpkin, diced 1cm
500g chicken thighs, diced 1cm
2 tbsp Korma paste (I use Pataks)
200ml water
150g sour cream
steamed beans and brown rice to serve

Heat pan on low heat. Add oil, then onion. Stir then put the lid on and cool gently for 5 mins until the  onion is translucent. Slow cooking equals sweet onion.

Chop chicken and increase pan heat. Move onion to one side and add chicken, stirring to seal and brown the chicken. Add diced pumpkin and stir through .

Add Korma paste and cook on a medium heat until fragrant. About 3 mins.

Now add water, bring to boil and then turn heat low, replace lid and gently simmer for 10 mins. Mix through sour cream (or just cream will do) and serve with steamed rice and green beans.

stove top pizza

Since joining The Chefs Toolbox I’ve been on a pizza binge. The recipe for stovetop pizza has revolutionised lunchtime in our house and right now, as I type this, my darling husband is in the kitchen whipping up his own Wednesday night pizza special. I LOVE IT!!

The key, of course, is great cookware. It must be totally, fabulously non-stick, and you need a lid that will let you create an oven effect on your stove top. Of course, the best solution is the 28cm Saute Pan from The Chefs Toolbox.

This recipe is so easy my three year old has almost mastered it, well, the important parts of it. He is the dough mixer, the dough spreader, the cheese sprinkler and the taster.

Try this – you won’t believe how good it is. You won’t believe how easy it is.

ingredients

Dough:
3/4 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup plain flour
Good pinch of salt
1 rounded teaspoon of dried yeast
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup lukewarm water

Topping suggestion:
1/3 cup pasta sauce of your choice (or 1/3 cup tinned tomatoes)
1/2 cup mozarella cheese (I keep a bag of grated mozza in the fridge)
Sliced ham
Tomato slices
Fresh basil leaves, torn

method

Combine all dough ingredients in Sauté Pan and mix well. Spread the dough evenly ontot he base of the pan. Spread the pasta sauce onto the dough taking it as close to the edge as possible. Add all the other toppings of your choice.
Place the pan over a medium heat and cover, making sure the vents are closed. Cook 5 minutes.
Turn the sauté pan lid to open side steam vents, reduce heat to low and cook for a further 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and slide out onto a chopping board. Serve immediately.

ps… I’m booking parties for September at the moment. If you want a pizza demo in your home, get in touch. All parties booked this month get a free piece of silcon bakeware valued at $39. Woo hoo!

raspberry and white chocolate muffins

I’ve been making these muffins at cooking parties this month and they are just delicious – so delicious they get eaten before I have a chance to take a photo of them. Coming soon.

The basic muffin recipe ingredients are listed  below with some notes on substitutions – don’t let not having the exact ingredients put you off. If you plan to eat the muffins straight away use butter, but if you’re going to freeze some or keep them and eat over a few days use sunflower or any other lightly flavoured oil – they’ll stay fresher for longer.

The raspberries and white chocolate can be replaced with anything you like – blueberries? mashed banana and milk chocolate chips? apples and sultanas? Use your imagination and experiment – muffins are so easy and so quick to make, and they’re a great way to get your kids involved.

ingredients:

baby food and silicon bakeware

I spent a lot of time when my first son was a baby freezing tiny ice cube portions of pureed vegetables. I had a super little system of plastic bags and tiny portions which could be defrosted quickly. But I also spent a lot of time trying to get those portions out of my ice cube makers – food sticks harder than water and sometimes needs to be chiseled out, or partially defrosted to make it slide out.

No more, I say with glee.

simple salmon

Jamie Oliver put me onto the idea of wrapping a whole meal up in baking paper and tinfoil and baking it. He does bags of all sorts of things, but I’ve had most success with bags of salmon.